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.