A Strong Woman -Vs- A Woman Of Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...
But a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...
But a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...
But a woman of strength gives her best to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future...
A woman of strength realizes life's mistakes can also be God's blessings and capitalizes on them.

A strong woman walks surefootedly...
But a woman of strength knows God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman wears the looks of confidence on her face...
But a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...
But a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

By Cathy Berry

Wordless Wednesday

12 Sins We Blame On Others

It started in the Garden. Adam said to God, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Genesis 3:12

The first man, caught in the first sin, turns to blame his wife and then he extends the blame to God as well. He implies that he would have remained innocent if God hadn’t put Eve in the garden with him.

The blame-shifting in the Garden continues today. Our proud hearts send us desperately looking for someone else to point to every time we’re confronted with our own sin. There must be someone else—our spouse, sibling, parent, boss, co-worker, friend, or God himself. We are so desperate to justify ourselves that we become irrational.

Here are 12 examples:

1) Anger
I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, or if my kids behaved better, or if my spouse were more considerate.

2) Impatience
I would be a very patient person if it weren’t for traffic jams and long lines in the grocery store. If I didn’t have so many things to do and if the people around me weren’t so slow, I would never become impatient!

3) Lust
I would have a pure mind if there weren’t so many sensual images in our culture.

4) Anxiety
I wouldn’t worry about the future if my life were just a little more secure—if I had more money and no health problems.

5) Spiritual Apathy
My spiritual life would be so much more vibrant and I wouldn't struggle with sin if my small group were more encouraging, or if Sunday school were more engaging, or if the music in the worship service were more lively, or if the sermons were better.

6) Insubordination
If my parents/bosses/elders were godly leaders, then I would joyfully follow them.

7) A Critical Spirit
It’s not my fault that the people around me are ignorant and inexperienced.

8) Bitterness
If you knew what that person did to me, you would understand my bitterness. How could I forgive something like that?

9) Gluttony
My wife/husband/roommate/friend is a wonderful cook! The things they make are impossible to resist.

10) Gossip
It’s the people around me who start the conversations. There’s no way to avoid hearing what others happen to say. And when others ask me questions, I can’t avoid sharing what I know.

11) Self-Pity
I’ll never be happy, because my marriage/family/job/ministry is so difficult.

12) Selfishness
I would be more generous if we had more money.

Making excuses like this is arrogant and foolish. It’s a proud way of trying to justify our actions and pacify our guilty consciences and it keeps us from humbling ourselves before God to repent of our sins and seek his forgiveness.

We have to accept the humbling truth that “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” This will end the blame game, and it will send us pleading for Christ’s mercy and grace.

What Is A Christian?

What is a Christian? Is a Christian a person who goes to church? Well I would certainly hope so! Is a Christian a person with good morals? Well this is obviously important! Is a Christian devoted to his or her family? Well this is certainly expected of a Christian! How does a person become a Christian? By attending church, acting morally and being devoted to his or her family? No. This sort of good behaviour is expected of a person once he or she becomes a Christian but it is not how he or she becomes a Christian in the first place.

Consider this question for a moment: How does a woman become a mother? Is it by changing diapers? Is it by dressing her child warmly? Is it by feeding her child good food? No. This is the behaviour we would expect of a mother, but it is not how she becomes a mother in the first place. In the first place, she becomes a mother by having a baby!

Many people think that if a person lives a certain way, it makes that person a Christian. But this is simply not true! A good life is expected of the person who has become a Christian, but it is not the good life that makes a person into a Christian in the first place. In the first place, to become a Christian, you must be born again.

Click here to find out what being born again means!

REST

"He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul."

Psalm 23:2

I always key in on the "He makes me lie down…" part in that verse. Maybe it’s because I make my kids lie down in their beds for a nap. My kids need to rest and they would never go take a nap voluntarily. So..... they need me to enforce this much needed down-time.

52 Weeks Of Conscious Contact

I have a book that I really enjoy and I wanted to share it with my family, friends, and fellow bloggers. It's called 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie.

What gets in the way of serenity? For most people, the answer is life--those everyday distractions, obligations, and frustrations that cause chaos and clutter. This week-by-week guidebook brings more balance into my life by

• nurturing inner peace


• reaching out to others


• carrying through on good intentions


• making time for fun


• cultivating a deeper prayer life

Today's Sermon 5/25

Pastor Pete councils a lot of people who deal with all kinds of issues. Many of us struggle with something in our lives..... addiction, anger, job loss, death of a child, marriage problems, greed, and so on. These people go to him to ask for advice on how they can fix their problems. He said the that first thing he asks them is, "How are you doing spiritually?"

When I decided to become a Christian, I agreed to make every effort to live like Jesus did. Instead of trying to fix problems externally through my own efforts, I developed a trust in God who could fix me internally to better deal with problems, should they arise.

When I live for God, the things that used to bother me don't anymore. I look at things differently because God changes the way I think. For example, if I struggle with eating healthy and the only way I can avoid eating cookies is to throw them away in the trash (out of sight out of mind) then I am trying to fix the situation externally. When I live for God, he changes me on the inside and when those cookies are around, I have no desire to eat them. It's not about getting rid of the cookies, it's about not wanting them.

Ephesians 4:20-32

I Don’t Have Time For This!

Probably the most common reason people give for not having a regular quiet time with God is, “I just don’t have time!" But, have you ever stopped to think about what you’re really saying when you give that excuse? You’re saying that you have filled your life with other activities and you’ve pushed out God. Each of us has the same amount of time. We all have 24 hours in our day. How you spend your time is an indication of what really matters in your life.

“What we love to do we find time to do.”
~ John L. Spalding

Of course, there are seasons of life when others control how you spend your life to a large degree. If you are a mother to several small children, there are many legitimate demands on your time throughout the day. However, even in those times, you often have more control than you may think. You have control over whether and when they nap. You have control of when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed.

Spend as much time as possible performing tasks that are important. These are the stuff that life is made of. If you spend the day performing tasks that are important, you have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day that is worth all the hard work and planning.

I’d like to leave you with one last thought: Time is the currency of life and you can determine how you spend it.

Neat-o Bible Verses

Acts 3:19
So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven.

Matthew 6:34
Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.

Matthew 6:27
Can worry make you live longer?

Luke 21:34
Don't spend all of your time thinking about eating or drinking or worrying about life. If you do, the final day will suddenly catch you.

What does it mean to be a Christian? (TO ME)

Christianity (TO ME) is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a Christian means that you are changed on the inside, not controlled from the outside. It does not mean that you are required to go to church, required to pay tithes, required to be good, required to do anything in order to stay a Christian. It means you desire to do those things because you’ve been changed. Therefore, he will naturally desire to go to church. He will desire to be good, to be honest, etc. He does not go to church, or be good, or be honest in order to be a Christian.

Faith Doesn't Come Easy

Sometimes we would like to believe in God.

It would be reassuring to believe that the universe was controlled by an almighty supreme being, especially if we believed that He was benevolent and looked after us.

But faith doesn't come easily.

We see the power that evil has and wonder why God doesn't intervene. We pray, but sense that our prayers go nowhere. We've gone to church but have found no connection to our lives.

We try to convince ourselves that believing in God is irrational, but being certain that He doesn't exist is also irrational, so we end up with nothing but uncertainty.

We can't believe, but we can't altogether dismiss the idea either.

We may know people of faith and envy their faith but don't understand how they got there. "Why do they believe and I don't?" Are they just deluding themselves, or is there some real basis for their faith? Do you have to stop thinking and questioning to believe in God?

God made man a thinking, questioning creature; He expects us to think, question, and doubt. What we shouldn't do is assume that we know all about it.

The way to faith is much the same as the way to any deep knowledge:

· put your mind on the subject

· submit to it, not expecting to master it in a moment

· come in a seeking mode, listening, trying to absorb, not rejecting what you don't understand yet

· learn from those who know

Oddly, we seldom seek God in this way. Instead, we tend to make up our own ideas about who God is (or isn't) and what our relationship with Him is (or isn't).

Just as there is real truth to be discovered about the world, there is real truth to be discovered about God and man's relationship to Him.

Pain & Suffering-Why does God allow it?

We all question why God allows pain and suffering in this world. People who struggle with cancer, an innocent baby born with birth defects, or a woman who is beaten and raped and left for dead.

Are there benefits of pain and suffering? We learn things from suffering that we connot learn by studying. There is one very obvious benefit of pain. It keeps us from seriously hurting ourselves. When you touch something hot, you instantly pull away because of the pain. If you did not feel the pain, you might have seriously injured yourself without realizing it. Pain can save our lives in this way. However, there are other benefits of pain and suffering.

My list of the benefits of pain and suffering:

1- Pain and suffering can help us to learn important lessons in life. Example: A mother eagle forcing her baby out of the nest to teach it to fly.

2- Pain and suffering can bring about creativiy, resourcefulness and courage. Example: Parents who lost a child helping to pass laws or starting organizations to protect other children. Artists and composers sometimes do their greatest work during times of pain or loss.

3- Pain and suffering can help us to comfort others who are going through similar pain. Example: This is the benefit of support groups for various problems. People who have faced the same problems are able to help and encourage others.

4- Pain and suffering can help to shape our character. Example: People who have survived as prisoners of war or persecutions often have a strength of character which is admired by others.

5- Pain and suffering can test us to show what we are made of. Example: The patriarch Abraham was tested; Job, the ancient man of wealth was tested; the apostle Peter was tested; and the early Christians were tested. In all cases the testing showed the weaknesses and the strengths of their faith in God.

6- Pain and suffering can lead to repentance and salvation. Example: Sometimes it takes pain and suffering to turn a person's life around and head it in the right direction.

7- Pain and suffering can sometimes help us to trust God. Perhaps we are forced to turn to God because we have no other place to turn. Example: There are numerous people who have made the decision to trust God because of their pain and suffering.

8- Bearing pain and suffering well can be an inspiration to others. Example: A child born with no hands, only one stub of an arm and no thighs, but he has been an inspiraton to many.

9- Pain and suffering can prevent us from becoming dangerously proud. Example: Again Paul said that his "thorn in the flesh" was to keep him from becoming proud and arrogant.

10- Sometimes pain and suffering in the life of one person can result in the advancement of the gospel in the life of another person. Example: I know a family who accepted Christ because of the suffering of one member who died of cancer.

MY FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES!

Colossians 3:23
"Do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work."

Matthew 6:34
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."