WHAT IF THERE IS NO THEM IN THIS?

Over the summer, my sisters, mom and myself have been doing Kelly Minter's Nehemiah bible study as a part of Living Proof Ministries Siesta Summer Bible Study. While there have been many points that have stuck with me, one that she (Minter) has pointed out multiple times is the value of the people. 
The people built the wall.
The people helped one another.
The people protected one another.
The people made a covenant before the Lord.
The people... the people...the people.
The people matter.
I couldn't help but turn that lens to my own life and see if the people mattered.
If I still had them them in this I was doing for them?
In my work, is it still about the kids or is it about me looking like a master teacher?
At my house, are my efforts to clean and cook and do the laundry and mow the yard and do whatever else we moms and wives do, for their training and edification, or for me to look like a mom and wife who has it all together?
When I go to church and serve, is it for the people I am serving, or for me to look like an awesome Christian? 
More recently, even in my disagreements with others, both public and private, am I looking out for myself, trying to ensure every one knows I AM RIGHT, trying to be the better wordsmith, trying to have the last word, or is it about them? Is my heart tender and broken toward them? Am I asking the Lord how to love them?

You will have your own examples.
Bottom line....the this without the them doesn't matter.
It doesn't.
Now, my flesh wants to say it does.
My sinful nature loves the this and all the accolades it brings.
Pride lures me in and pushes me to do more of this.
Then, the accuser turns on me and beats me up for leaving them out.
The only way I know to keep them in this is to keep Him in this.
Him being Jesus.
Jesus Christ must be in the middle of the this I am doing.
My flesh must be submitted to Him in the this, regardless of what the this is.
That, my friends, is the only way to keep the them in the this.

LET US BURST FORTH

I blew my knee out playing basketball while at A&M.

I know, you are thinking I didn't know she played ball at A&M.   

Oh yes I did.

Church league.

On a rubber court.

Hence the knee.

Anyway, I walked around on it for a few weeks before we actually had it confirmed that my ACL was torn. You would have thought that having it buckle on me repeatedly as I pushed a buggy around a store would have clued me in but apparently not.

 The great thing about being in a university town is the fact that there are amazing doctors there as well. The doctor who fixed my knee was also the orthopedic doctor for the Aggie football team, and he fixed Bo Jackson's knees. This guy was no slouch.

Fast forward about 16 years, and 2 metal screws in my knee later, you find me trying to jog around my self- made track. A task my knee was not fond of. The first week it swelled up, got stiff behind the kneecap, and was painful to walk on.

As I was jogging, I tried to notice how I was running. What I found out was I wasn't. I was simply letting that leg hit the ground straight, jarring my knee and all the hardware in it. After realizing that, I tried to figure out why? I kinda already new. It was the same problem I have had ever since I had the surgery. I wasn't running like it was fixed. Now, granted, I have NEVER been a great runner, but at least I bent both knees. I wasn't anymore. I was running like I didn't trust the healing that had taken place. Running as if it was still sore from surgery and not completely restored.

So, I have been making a conscious effort when I "run/jog/pick my feet up at a faster gait the a turtle" to be aware of my knee and foot placement. To be sure I am letting it bend. To listen how my foot hits the ground. I am talking to myself throughout the lap- bend your knee, pick up your foot, push off - until I get all the way around. Sounds silly, and honestly, probably looks even worse, but it is working. My knee is not swelling.

I am not lame after the run.

 I feel it getting stronger.

The Lord brought to mind the other day how often we do that as people, how often I do it. We get hurt. Wounded by someone or something or whatever, and instead of believing the healing that has been offered us, we walk around lame. Even as believers, after we have brought it to the Lord, we walk around like we don't trust the work He has done. We aren't quite confident in His restoration of our injury.

Guys, my doctor was great, but we, as followers of Christ, have been healed by the Great Physician. If you are not a follower of Jesus, then you need to know the Great Physician is always taking new patients. He has room for you.

We need to walk this thing out like the healed people we are and can be.

Just like my knee, it may very well take us talking ourselves through it for a bit.

Former things have passed away. I am a new creation.

My sins have been forgiven and I stand before God blameless.

I am redeemed by Christ and nothing can snatch me from Him.

My identity and worth are in Christ Jesus and not in man's opinion of me.

So what if it does?

Talk yourself through it. Who cares if it looks pretty? Who cares if deliberately placing one foot in front of the other looks slow in this Christian race? It is your race to run.

My hope for my knee is that as it gets stronger, the running form will become second nature. It will become my natural response to the movement I put it through and the

pressure I place on my leg.

My prayer for us, for me ...we become stronger runners in this race. Our feet get steady on His solid ground. We listen to the Holy Spirit for our foot placement. Strides taken in our Christian walk get bigger. HE becomes our natural response to the pressures and movements of this worldly existence.

Peeps, we can trust Jesus. We can be healed. We have been healed. Let us act like the whole, healed, redeemed people of Christ we are.

Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.

Isaiah 35:3-6 (NKJV)

A SHARD...

The following is a compilation of recent conversations MC 1 & I had over the past weekend.

MC 1 : Mom...that was not me in there. I was telling MC 2 about God.

What do you mean?

MC 1: It was like an alien took over my mind.

What did you tell him?

MC 1 : I don't remember.

.........................................................................

What did you tell MC 2 about God? I want to make sure you said right stuff.

MC 1: I told him God had a plan for him and he could do anything he wanted to.

That is called witnessing. You just witnessed to your brother.

A shard of light in the sometimes dark days of parenting.

(For the record, we cleared up the it wasn't an alien point

 and had a discussion about the Holy Spirit

 and the boldness He can give us.)

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

I know...I know...some of you just read the title and said ehhhhh.
Hang in there.
The link, LINK, is to a video on Life Today and it's running time is all of about 29 minutes. The actual meat of the video is only about 16 minutes.
The snippet of discussion that most caught my attention was the freedom of religion versus freedom of worship one.
Are we being duped into believing that allowing us to go into the house of worship of our choice (freedom of worship) is the same as allowing us to take those beliefs from that house and implement them into our every day lives (freedom of religion).
As he states, it is a subtle yet very dangerous change in terminology.
I must tell you, as I am reading the book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Metaxas, the similarities are NOT lost on me and are chilling.
No heads in the sand.
Eyes open.
Wisdom sought.

It is worth the watch.

FITNESS CRUSADE 2012

If you know me on Facebook, then you know about the track.

I thought you might want to see it.

Yeppers.....that's it.

Cut right in the middle of hayfield.

Why, Rhonda?

Why not just walk the neighborhood?

Reason #1

He has been lying in a mud puddle.

Add 2 more dogs to him,

 and 2 men children who are all over the road,

and you see why.

Here is another look at the track.

It had to be extra wide because

all the aforementioned dogs

and children like to walk right beside me.

Anyway, there it is.

Now you have a frame of reference.

HH made the comment yesterday that I was serious about it this time.

Of course, there is a promised trip to Hawaii on the line.

Next summer....next summer.

But there is also being around for my kids,

and just liking the way I look.

I cringe when people tag me in pictures on Facebook.

But you know what?

I can choose different.

I can choose to surrender this area, again,

and again if need be,

to the Lord and change.

So....

I choose.

RANDOM PHONE PHOTOS

MC 2 got stung by something and felt the need to document to event.

HH cooked for his dad's birthday party.

Farm that we keep for the little cousins.
 MC 2 has played with it since we got it out last week.

Tractors in a row

MY LITTLE RED NOTEBOOK...

of which you will apparently see no pictures because my laptop is, once again, playing hard to get with my phone and ignoring it, is where I take notes from TV sermons I see. It is mainly my notes from Wednesdays with Beth on Life Today, but there are also notes from sermons by Brian Houston of Hillsong and James Robison of Life Today.
I don't know about you, but I have been know to take notes and then never look at them again. Much like some of my students. I mean I am great in moment. I have bold prints and arrows and bullets, and then I close my little red book and never look at it again. I did the same with my sermon notes for a bit, until I decided I needed to be a better student.
I decided last week I wanted to read back over my notes in the red book. I have 2 years worth of notes to look through. I ran across one over desire and desperation and felt the highlights were worth sharing. This material is from Beth Moore. Not Rhonda. This is Rhonda.

• What is it you feel you lack that would make you complete?
• wealth, fame, husband, kids, great friends, that particular friend, skinny thighs...
• Because right there is the place you are vulnerable.
• oh man.....
• Guard that area! That is where the heavenly war is raged.
• be diligent!
• John 1:38
• What seek ye? What do you want?
• Genesis 30:1
• What do you think you will just die if you don't have? (See bullet #1)
• My enemy is watching over my desire.
• IF UNGUARDED, MY DESIRE TURNS INTO DESPERATION.
• Get completion in God first
• Don't make decisions out of desperation.

That last line makes me think of those Direct TV commercials, especially the one with Charlie Sheen.


I don't need to give you a list of the examples we all see of desire becoming desperation in our very own lives, much less the ones played out on a national forum.
Eating disorders, money stealers, adultery, jealousy, lust,  murder...we can list all the examples we want.
Since reading this last week, I have been looking at my own life and found a few places where the wave of desire is trying to turn into a tsunami of desperation. Let's surrender those areas to Jesus. It won't be easy. Our flesh so wants what it wants, and sometimes it wants good things, but even our desire for good things can turn into a not so good desperation.
With Christ Jesus, though, we can choose.
Choose today.

BECAUSE IT'S THURSDAY....

We are about like this today.

A FINANCIAL PEACE UPDATE....CRITICAL CONDITION

I felt you deserved an update about our Financial Peace journey. (I actually wrote on my "blog ideas" notes list - a Dave Ramsey update - an honest one). I think this scripture hits the very small nail on the head.....

Matthew 7:14 (NKJV)

Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

I really hope that is not sacrilegious. But if you have been on the Dave Ramsey road, you know it is a narrow one, with steep slopes on each side that you can easily fall off. Especially when not walking completely in step. Either of you. Read that again.....EITHER OF YOU.
Please be clear, there is no finger pointing here. HH and I have both taken missteps and fallen off the path. However, we do get back up and start walking again.
Dave told us the first month wouldn't work perfectly.
He was right.
June was the first month I could devote my full attention to the budgeting process. The paper work looked good. Tight but good. The manifestation was a bit of a mess.  And that frustrates me. I tend to be of the mindset that IF I CAN'T DO IT PERFECTLY, JUST FORGET IT!
Steep slope right there, and I tumbled right down.
Here is July, so we get back up, and start walking again.
If you have traveled this narrow road, and have encouragement for us, well, I'll be honest, I could use it:)
In the mean time, I will be choosing to be diligent and get back at it.

THIS TUESDAY...

Discussing Saul and Ananias today.

WHERE YOUR RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD...

Her husband has decided to be an atheist.
He just got back from a mission trip and fears the sting of what he saw will fade.
She was sick for 2 years.
Her man was deployed for a year.
They lost a child hours after he was born.
Her mind has become a battlefield.

As we sat in class discussing how we get through the dark times, I heard or thought about these stories I knew to be true. The answer was the same - you stay in the body of Christ, you focus on what you know to be true, you get deep in scripture. You choose.
As I sat there listening, I couldn't help think of how we, sometimes, can make it sound like an easy choice, like if you're a good Christian it should not be difficult, and how unfair that is of us. We make newbies think they are failing if they struggle with it. We make older Christians want to hide their struggles because they should be better and be stronger by now.
It is not always the easy choice. It takes work. It takes being intentional and deliberate.
As I said to one, do not let anyone condemn you for being afraid, or for crying, or for being upset. You need to shed those tears and you need to be honest in those fears. However, in the midst of all that is where your rubber meets the road. At the bottom of all those emotions and vain imaginations and hurts, you must make the choice to believe Jesus or not. We all have to make that choice. And it's usually not a one time decision. You may have to choose every day, you may have to choose it every hour, or you may have to choose it with every thought.
And only you can make it.
We can believe Jesus for you.
We can pray and intercede for you.
We can encourage you.
But we can not choose for you.
You choose.
And you can not choose for me.
I choose.

Today, if the darkness is trying to overtake, if the tears come up like a fresh hit oil well, if the fears try to cripple your every muscle, you take every bit of that before God. You be honest and you pour it all before the feet of Jesus. Don't try to hide it. Don't try to act like a good Christian who has it all under control. You lay it all out. If need be, you lay it all before a trusted brother or sister in Christ as well. You unload all your baggage you have been carrying on your walk, and then you let that rubber hit the road. You choose. One foot in front of the other in steps surrendered to Jesus Christ. You stay in the body, you restate over and over what you know to be true about the heart and character of God, and you dig up Scripture.

Each step will become more sure.
Each mile walked will be with more confidence.
Not in you but in Him.
Your knees will steady, your back will straighten, and your head will look up.
Soon you will see that on this narrow road, you do not walk alone.
He chooses to walk with you.

Psalm 9:9-10 (NKJV)

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

THIS WEEK....

ARE WE COMMITTED OR SURRENDERED

"Americans love commitment because they are still in control. But the key word is surrender. We are to be the slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ."
                        (p. 28, Kingdom Authority, Adrian Rogers)

This quote was at the end of a story Mr. Rogers shared about ministering in Romania. The pastor speaking was describing American Christianity.

Did it strike a cord with anyone else?

It sure did with me. Just looking at my own walk, I found myself agreeing with his description. I can recall times when I was committed on my own terms versus surrendering on God's terms.
Listen, not that commitment is a bad word or even a bad thing. But I've found for myself, that my commitment in some areas tends to waiver with my comfort. Do you know what I mean?

The question is asked how I would explain the difference between the the two.
How is commitment different form surrender?
My answer- commitment is fulfilling my obligations while surrender is doing whatever I am asked to do.

Surrender is scary for me.I don't like not being in control. I don't usually think of being a captive as a good thing. I see being forced to do things I don't want to do. But you know what? Fear is from the devil. When I am called by God to surrender, I need to remember that I am being called to be a captive of the Most High God. The One who loves me. Period. The One who sifts all that comes my way through His nail pierced hands, seeing my name before His eyes. The One in whose heart I can trust. The Faithful One.  

So my questions to you are:
Do you see a similar contrast in your own life? Do you find you do more because of commitment rather than a surrendered heart? Can commitment lead to surrender? How would you distinguish the two?

Fire away:)

AND THE FOLLOW UP...

The other day I posted this to Facebook.
             

I've gone back and forth all day as to address this or not. I am just heartbroken for what I fear has happened and will happen to many many marriages and relationships. 50 shades of Grey. Magic Mike. These are just the front runners today. We have seen it with Twilight. We have seen it in TV shows for years. Ladies, please be on your guard. We have an enemy looking to devour us and ours. That little sting of discontentment you feel after reading books or watching shows of that nature, or any that we use to fill a void we think we have, that may well be his first bite before he devours you, your relationships, and your family. You may not see it until it is too late. Please, please be on your guard and use discernment. Ask yourself if you would be ok with your husband or boyfriend or son seeing and reading similar stories involving women. It is something we all, myself included, need to be alert about. Our enemy, the devil, is sly. He often hides great falls under the guise of fun.

Honestly, I struggled with it. Not because I don't stand behind it, because I do, but because I didn't want you to think I have it all together and never struggle with discontentment in my life.

I don't.

I have.

I still do.

That it is not enough. Our job. Our home. Our relationships. Our spouses. Our God. It is the goal of the enemy to get us to doubt those things. More importantly, it is his goal to get us convinced that Christ is not enough. To forgive our sins. To heal our wounds. To redeem what has been lost. To restore our lives.

Maybe you are content with all you have. I say great! Praise God that you are. In that contentment, be alert. Even in the midst of our learning to be content, and choosing to be content, we must be on guard. Even the smallest hint of wistful thinking, of vain imaginations, of lust (in any sense), could be just the root that tiny seed might need to flourish. I can testify to that fact...the smallest, most fleeting of thoughts can cause a root to dig in so deep you won't even know it until it is too late.

I am not talking about wanting to better your life. Wanting to have a better job, a better marriage, a better handle on your money, or whatever. I am talking about the feeling that what you have been given is not enough, a feeling that leaves you extremmely unsettled and void of peace.

What if the seed has already been planted? What if you have crossed that line and find yourself gnawing on the bone of discontentedness - in any area?

READ ME CLEARLY - JESUS CHRIST IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO HANDLE THAT!

It won't be easy. It will take choices on your part. The choice to look at what is really going on inside your heart, which is usually the ugliest and scariest part. The choice to call sin out. The choice to willingly submit your ways, actions, words, and decisions to Jesus Christ. The choice to let go of it and let Jesus help you. Maybe even the choice to tell someone else and get an accountability partner.

But it can be done. Your contentment can be restored. Your joy can be restored. Your peace can be restored.

With your spouse.

Your life.

Your job.

Your relationships.

Jesus Christ in more than enough.

So be wise guys and gals. Wise as serpants.

Be gentle peeps. Gentle as doves.

Be confident. Confident in Christ Jesus.

He is our victory.

1 John 5: 3-5(NIV)

In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.