This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Have you ever had to keep reminding yourself of this. There have been many days that as I get to the point of complete frustration/melt-down-point, that I have to stop, get my bearings, pray and then force myself to sing "This is the day". Now, this doesn't take everything away that is happening, it doesn't really change anything, but my attitude. I believe attitude is key. Do I naturally want to have a good attitude when everything around me is falling to pieces? Absolutely not - but praying and singing of God's goodness, brings the reminder that I don't have any control, anyway. I helps me to focus on Him instead of my circumstances.

No matter how your day has been going, join with me today in singing "This is the day" because it just may give you new perspective.

James 4:13-16 "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil."

How many times have you heard the saying "life is short"? How many times have you heard "just do it" because "you only get one chance at life"? Why is it that when it comes to doing something that we know we shouldn't do, we justify it with these words?

When its doing the right things: obeying God, spending time with your spouse our children, loving others, etc., we tend to lean more towards "I'll have plenty of time for that when _____"?

Remember God is in control. It doesn't matter how many plans we make or why we make them - God is in control. Are you living your life and then asking God to bless it or are you living your life to be a blessing?

You and I are but a vapor - a vapor that can be sucked away at any moment. Are you ready?

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Yesterday, our dogs were in BIG trouble! We have been trying very hard to contain our dogs in our "yard". We allow them to run free on about 6 acres and then on the fields to the east and west of our house but they know that they are not allowed to cross the street in front of our house. For the most part, they do a good job at staying where they are supposed to. Well, I caught them not just once, but twice in the field across the road. Their punishment for crossing the road is being tied up to a tree in our back yard. Oh, how they hate to be tied up but as we all know, there must be consequences for our bad decisions.

If you look very closely at the pictures, there is a squirrel on the side of the tree. We don't see many squirrels around here, but there just happened to be one yesterday. The dogs went crazy being tied up and not able to chase said squirrel and he antagonized them most of the afternoon. Just one more example to me of making good choices makes life so much more enjoyable but the consequences of the bad ones, is enough to drive me crazy!

James 4:11-12 "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?"

Who am I? Who are you? God knew how we would struggle with loving others. In many scriptures, God tells us to show love. Why is it that we think we know so much better? Why is it that we allow our emotions to override God's commands to us?

PRIDE and SELFISHNESS. Those prideful thoughts of "I'm better than you" "You can't make that mistake on me" "I deserve better" "Do you know who I am?" "I give, give, give and I get nothing"

Any sound familiar to you? Me, too. We will only be able to control our sinful tongue, heart and mind, when we fully humble ourselves and submit to our Lord. It's only His love and mercy that can shine through us to be a blessing to others. Will you let Him shine through you today?

Have a great day

Living fearlessly in Christ

Christie

God accomplished something very big in me, yesterday. See, I have this tendency which is really dumb. A tendency in which is very difficult for me to overcome, but praying throughout the entire day, I did it for the first time. I have this tendency to get angry at someone who is angry at me. I know, it doesn't really make any sense, but when someone is upset with me, I get very defensive and become angry at them for being angry at me. This is especially true when it comes to my husband. I knew when he left for work, that he was angry over a misunderstanding - a miscommunication. As my defenses began to rise, I decided to stop and pray. I prayed that I would only respond in a way that would be pleasing to God. I prayed this and much more throughout the entire day as the situation would arise in my head. When he came home last night, I was able to keep a positive and non-defensive attitude throughout our entire discussion. I was amazed at what God had done. Because I know myself so well, I knew this was definitely not something I could have done on my own, so I have continued to thank God ever since. Our God is an awesome God who is willing to help us in any and every situation!!

James 4:8-10 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."

How can we draw near to God?
Submit to God
Commit your life to God
Recognize satan's lies and defeat him
Replace your desire to sin with leading a pure life in Christ
Have sincere sorrow for committing sin
Humble yourself before God

Those sweet words, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" have brought me much comfort. The thoughts of the God who created and sustains our universe, drawing near to me is an unfathomable idea but an amazing experience as I feel it happening.

Praise God for His goodness
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Good morning and happy Monday! Hope your weekend was good to you! My husband and I went to a marriage seminar on "the time starved marriage" by Les and Leslie Parrot. During that session, we were recommended to go to www.realrelationships.com and take a "time-style" assessment. This proved, once again, that opposites attract as my husband and I are at opposite ends of the time-style spectrum. I encourage you to also check out the website which is filled with lots of good marriage helps.

We also went to see "Fireproof" which I highly recommend. It was a realistic and moving movie. My husband and I's reactions were different to the movie. For him, it was discouraging because it brought up reminders of the past struggles in our own marriage but for me, it was a great reminder of the power of God to do amazing things in our lives. If you have seen it or when you do, let me know your reaction.

Today, I would like to stick with one verse. James 4:7 "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Although, submitting to God is not an easy thing to do, resisting the devil is sometimes even harder for me. I have allowed satan to conjure up some great lies in my head. I have allowed feelings to make decisions for me. I have not submitted to God at times, but to satan. The desires of our flesh can so easily be fallen to. They "feel" so right - how can they be wrong?!!

Resisting the devil is hard, but I've found from my own life experiences - it is so worth the fight! Even though giving into satan may give me temporary pleasure, when I resist and submit to my God, I gain a connection with Him that surpasses any earthly pleasure - a connection that I know will last for eternity.

God never said that following Him was going to be easy but we have to remember that the reward is so great, we can't even wrap our minds around it.

You and I will face temptations today. Will you resist satan or succumb to his lies. The choice is up to you and you alone.

Have a great day
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Happy Friday!! Last night, we watched our daughters basketball team beat their rival school, Pontiac. What was even more exciting than winning, was the fact that their coach had made a deal with them - if they won the game, there would be no practice on Saturday. Guess this means, that mom gets to sleep in tomorrow. Yeeee Hawwww! Our son doesn't have a game until 1:15 so that leaves me with a whole lot of relaxing time - I'm loving it!

Tonight, my husband and I are attending a "Couples Night Out" on a time-starved marriage topic. I'm excited to have a date with him and to make things even better, we are going to see "Fireproof" tomorrow with some friends. It will be a wonderful weekend for our marriage adventure.

Now, on to our study. James 4:1-6 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Oh, such good stuff!! Remember when we talked the other day about selfish anger that erupts when our egos are hurt and how it doesn't help anyone or anything. Many of our problems with others arises from our own selfishness. We want what we want, any amount of neglect or inconsideration throws us into a hissy fit. Looking out for number one is the source of many of our connection problems with God, too.

What kind of prayers are you lifting up? Are they filled with what you want and desires for God to bless what you are already doing? Instead of always living for our own pleasures, we need to submit ourselves, including our selfishness, to God and then truly seek what it is that He desires. This is not easy and will take moment by moment discipline, but it can be done.

It is our pride that makes us so selfish, so humility is the cure. "God is opposed to the proud", means that if we continue with our pride, God will have no other choice but to humble us. I don't know about you, but being humbled by God is not something I want to endure.

Again, I think the advice of Lysa Terkeust, yesterday, applies. Take the time to pause. Think about what it is that you truly desire. Pause, consider God's will over your own selfishness. Pause.

Have a great day and a great weekend
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Hope yesterday's motivational thoughts got you thinking about the question - Am I living a life that requires much faith?

In addition to that wake up call, I got another - on Tuesday, we read about controlling our tongue from James 3:1-12 and then when I checked Lysa Terkeurst's blog for the day, this is what I read:
The very last good nerve
In the South we have a phrase that appropriately describes the way one might feel after returning home from a wonderful trip to many demands of many people:"I only have one good nerve and you are about to get on it!"You see when mama is away, the little people tend to play. Chores sometimes only get half done. Wet laundry gets left in the washer for days and stinks to high heaven. And the drying rack that mama treasures because the dryer sins against all things with shrinkage possibility, gets broken into six pieces.Not that I came home and started complaining or pointing these things out or letting any of this get on my VERY LAST GOOD NERVE. Or anything like that. For all three of you that can identify with getting frustrated with those you love the very most in the whole wide world, there is hope.I'm learning there is a silver lining to every frustrating experience. Every time I'm pushed to the point where I want to raise my voice and let my head spin around three times, I have to see it as an opportunity to let God interrupt my natural way of responding. These can be a growth opportunities, if I chose to react God's way instead of my way. But oh what a battle this can be! My feelings say, "Yell! Scream! You should be stinkin' mad over this!"God's spirit in me says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath. No good can come out of losing your temper."But then my feelings say, "Oh no ma'am. It will make you feel so much better to just have a little hissy fit."God's spirit in me says, "What might feel good in the moment will just pile more turmoil and yuck on this situation."Ephesians 4: 29 tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the holy spirit with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ God forgave you."Why is this so hard to do?I remember seeing June Clever on the TV. Nothing got on that woman's nerves! She was always responding so gently with, "that's okay dear."I'm convinced June had none of the Italian blood that I have coursing through my veins. But I'm also convinced that with God all things are possible. And even if you have fire cracker blood like I do, there is one thing that has helped me more than anything in the staying calm department...pausing.When something happens that triggers an instant rise in my frustration, if I can pause just for a second or two, God can interrupt my natural response and redirect me.If I respond instantly, my natural reaction can be so ugly sometimes.Pause.It's a wonderful thing.Pause. God will you help me?It's a redirecting thing.Pause. God will you show me?It's a growth thing I'm slowly learning.Pause. God will you grow me into the woman I so desire to be?Pause.

I think God is trying to tell me something. I think I need to do alot more "pausing" before I open my mouth for any reason. Most times it's open before my brain begins to work so maybe the pause will give my brain and God, an opportunity to intercede.

Now, on to James 3:13-18 "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

Do you know people who are really book smart but have no common sense whatsoever? Well, just like being book smart, we all can gain worldly wisdom but godly wisdom, comes only from God. Godly wisdom and understanding produces more than prestige in this world - it produces fruit in us. When we have godly understanding, we act in a way that represents our Lord. Our character is what shows our wisdom. Are we making the right choices? Are we setting a godly example? Are your motives for gaining wisdom pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy?

Don't allow others perception of what wisdom is to alter yours. Remember, God's wisdom can only come from Him - not what this world describes as wisdom.

Have a great day
Living fearlessly
Christie

Happy Wednesday all my bloggy friends! Since I have very little free time, I am still reading the same book I've been working on for about 2 months - "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. I was reading while I waited for my son's basketball game to start last night, and came across some very true words that I wanted to share with you.

"I had a college professor who said, 'All around your, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip or dance, just don't tiptoe.' In my youth-group days, I had seen all too many wild would-be Jesus radicals fall by the wayside because they had never been trusted with the adventure of revolutionary living. When I was a youth leader, one of the high school kids who had 'given his life to Jesus' got busted only a few weeks later for having acid at school. I remember asking in disappointment, 'What happened, bro? What went wrong?' He just shrugged his shoulders and said, 'I got bored.' Bored? God forgive us for all those we have lost because we made the gospel boring. I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it's because we don't dare them, not because we don't entertain them. It's because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what are they to do with a church that teaches them to tiptoe through life so they can arrive slowly at death?"

"I'm not sure where we get the notion that Christianity is safe or that Christians should play it cool.....the more I get to know Jesus, the more trouble He seems to get me into."

"Some Christians take so few risks, it's no wonder folks have a hard time believing in heaven."

"While the ghettos may have their share of violence and crime, the suburbs are the home of the more subtle demonic forces - numbness, complacency, comfort - and it is these that can eat away at our souls."

"Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort."

"It's not hell that makes me shudder but God, because I have no idea what in the world God's going to dare me to do next."

"I heard that disturbing whisper of Jesus telling me that even pagans hang out with their cool friends, that instead we are to be extraordinary and hang out with the not-so-cool, the people sitting in the lunchroom alone, folks who talk to themselves and have distinct aromas. In fact, Revelation warns that we must be either hot or cold, because if we are lukewarm (an old-school way of saying 'cool'), we will be spit out of God's mouth (Rev. 3:16) The end of cool - left in the smoke of people set on fire by God. I started to think maybe I should beware of things that are cool and normal, because Jesus didn't seem to be either of those."


I think this has given you alot to think about today - we'll continue our study of James tomorrow. Think - change - act.

Have a great day
Living fearlessly
Christie