kaitkris2005's Xanga

Don't forget

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:07:53 GMT

To come visit me at my new blog site...

therealmimi.wordpress.com

Moving Day

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:05:11 GMT

My blog has a new home at

therealmimi.wordpress.com

Come see and visit often!

Bible before breakfast

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:03:09 GMT

A good friend of mine taught his children and anyone who happened to stay at their home that they read God's Word and prayed before eating breakfast and starting the rest of their day. "Bible before breakfast!" he would cheerfully tell them, as they sleepily rubbed eyes and followed him into the den.

I found a Scripture this morning - Deuteronomy 8:3 - that would probably back him up in that habit:

"...people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." A very hungry Jesus used these words to rebuke satan when being tempted to turn stones into bread. I remember Him also saying to his disciples one time when they asked if he had eaten - he told them that he had food they knew nothing about: doing what his Father wanted Him to do. Time and time again Jesus told people that he only said what His Father told him to say. We can trust His words.

It's no wonder I stumble and fall sometimes as I'm trying to walk along and keep up with Jesus on this narrow path. If I haven't been "ingesting" God's living Word, I become malnourished or even starving. How will we be able to live like Jesus if we don't know how he lived? How will we know how he lived unless we read the testimony about his life in the Bible? How will we resist temptation and stay on track if we don't have God's Words of guidance and encouragement engraved into our hearts? How will we know God if we don't read the Word He himself gave to us?

I'm trying to follow my friend's advice and get my daily dose of Bible before breakfast. I want to be healthy and strong, fortified with a fresh daily portion. It's better than frosted flakes, poptarts and even cinnamon rolls (then you know it's good) and has eternal effects on my heart and life. Are you hungry? ~grabs a Bible~ Dig in!

"...you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say,

   People are like grass;
      their beauty is like a flower in the field.
   The grass withers and the flower fades.
   But the word of the Lord remains forever.”    I Peter 1:23-25 NLT

A God too big for your little box there.

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:59:04 GMT

Don't look directly at the sun - it'll make you blind! Did you ever hear that as a little kid and wonder if it was really true? Did you cock your head to one side, squint, and try barely opening your eyes to look at the sun anyway?

It's one of those no-brainer tips in the category with "don't stick your tongue to a frozen pole", "don't put peas up your nose" and "don't jump into the crocodile pen at the zoo."

Sometimes when we're not thinking about the sun, or it's overcast, or we're busy and not getting to spend much time outdoors we forget how brilliant and bright it really is. We forget the power behind that mammoth ball of gas and fire, so many light years away yet sustaining all of life on this little dustball of a planet.

I think we forget how amazing and powerful God is all the time. We get caught up in our lives, our problems, ourselves and start thinking that God must be like the best version of us. How crazy and small-minded we are sometimes! That would be like trying to physically grab and use the sun to light a little birthday candle on your cake.

As I was writing an email this morning to send to my immediate family sharing a verse that touched me this morning, something amazing happened and I know it was God at work. You know how when you begin typing email addresses in outlook once you type a few letters it "remembers" that person and shows you the address? Then you just hit enter and it puts the rest of the address in for you. Well I was zipping through the emails for my family, hit a few letters, enter, hit a few, enter, until they were all there. Then "click" - I sent the email. In a moment I got an email from a dear friend of mine thanking me for the note and scripture and saying that it touched her, that she needed to hear that today. I was a little confused. Did I send that email to her??   I looked back at my sent list and sure enough, there was her name. I then realized that the first two letters of her email address are the same as the first two letters of my grandmother's.

I think God wanted her to read that scripture today and be encouraged. My friend has been going through a tough time and has a lot of uncertainty facing her right now. As I responded to her I was overcome with emotion thinking how much God must love her to work through that little goof on my part. WOW. He is at work on her behalf and would do that just to encourage her!

Job was troubled after enduring horrible hardship after hardship. Three well-meaning friends couldn't seem to help him through and after a while even Job started complaining and saying how God was against him, he shouldn't have even been born, blah blah. Well, a younger man, Elihu, steps up to the plate and says that he's been itching to speak his mind but was waiting out of respect. He finally can't take it any more and reminds Job, with beautiful descriptions and heartfelt praise, who God really is. This verse is the end of Elihu's reminder to Job and the one I shared with my family (and surprise friend) this morning:

"We cannot look at the sun,
      for it shines brightly in the sky
      when the wind clears away the clouds.
²² So also, golden splendor comes from the mountain of God.
      He is clothed in dazzling splendor.
²³ We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty;
      but even though he is just and righteous,
      he does not destroy us.
²⁴ No wonder people everywhere fear him.
      All who are wise show him reverence.”    Job 37:21-24

Next time you go to church, focus your mind on God and ask Him to show you who He really is so you can truly respond in awe-filled worship. As you pray, seek His will and bring requests before Him, ask Him to remind you how powerful and able He is, how good He is, how trustworthy. As you remember these things, tell Him how much you love and praise Him! Take your place, along with me, as a tiny, humble, finite human bowing before an immeasurable, glorious, holy and infinite God.

He won't fit in that little box you've got there

Big, stinky, problematic pride

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:43:11 GMT

"Let another man praise you and not your own mouth" was a verse my sister loved as a child and would quote to the rest of us on a regular basis. It became a joke in a way, to teasingly bring someone back down to earth if they started thinking too much of themselves. Have you read the book of Proverbs? Wow. Talk about practical advice on how to live a good, peaceful life - a life that pleases God. I've read it through and want to again. One thing I noticed that made me laugh is that in almost every chapter, one of the proverbs has to do with nagging women/wives. I think that's a window into the life of the one who wrote them don't you? I mean, listen to this one, "A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day." One of my favorite proverbs is Prov. 11:22, "A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout." I tell you, it's an entertaining book.

I digress.

Back to the thinking much of oneself issue. I have thought a lot about it and have come to this conclusion: Pride is the root of all sin, the root of our rebelion and separateness from God. Do you agree? As I think about sin, anything we do or say that goes against God's high standards, I can trace each one back to problematic pride. Pride keeps us from admitting we've done wrong, from reconciling with someone else in a relationship because they've "offended us" for goodness sake, from loving people the way Jesus did because we're caught up in ourselves, from giving up control to God because we think we can do better. Face it, that really must be why we do that. Pride can keep you from forgiving someone, from accepting someone, from submitting to God's will or plan because it doesn't make sense to us, which down deep means we think we know better.

There are many verses that tell us we should think of others better than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), be careful not to think too highly of ourselves (Romans 12:3), to humble ourselves following Jesus' example (Phil. 2:5-8), to consider other's needs before our own, and on and on. In fact, Matthew 23:11-12 tells us, "The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

In order to walk in Jesus' steps we have to figure out how to keep pride at bay. We're not supposed to berate ourselves because Jesus also said to love our neighbors as ourselves. Maybe our self esteem and ability to love come from remembering our place and what God has done for us, that we're his children and that alone gives us our worth. If we remember that our relationship with God has nothing to do with us or anything we've done, surely our pride wouldn't cause so much trouble.

God help me remember!

I know his heart

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:16:38 GMT

My friend tended to be a bit abrasive and blunt and what she said to me hurt. It wasn't the first time she had taken me by surprise by what she said or did. Sometimes, though, (often actually) there was truth behind it all...and the truth can hurt! Before I got all bent out of shape and offended, however, a little voice reminded me that although her way of interacting wasn't always what I would choose, I knew her heart. I knew that she loved me. I knew that she loved Jesus and deep down wanted to please Him and do what's right. Knowing this helped me keep loving her and wanting to be friends with her. I did share with her when she hurt me, but you know you can't really change the way a person is made up or their personality. I knew there would be other times she accidentally hurt me or did something that bewildered me.

Sometimes I hurt people unintentionally or mess up and when I do I desperately want people to stop and think about my heart - who I really am down inside. Hopefully that will help them come reconcile with me, give me grace, be patient with me.

If people would not stop at the outward actions of a person, or the words they say out loud, or the way things appear but remember to look into the heart a lot of conflict and broken relationships could be avoided. Consider what God said to Samuel when he was surprised God was choosing a young boy named David to be king when David had many older, stronger, more capable brothers: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7

This week while questioning God I was thinking about this. I feel like I know His heart and if I remember that, it helps me want to stay close to Him and love Him when He does something I don't understand, or allows something to happen that doesn't seem right, or seems to be far off and not listening...taking too long to act. His heart is revealed in what He did: sacrificing Himself and taking on our punishment just so we could have a relationship with Him. He loves. He forgives. He shows mercy. He is truth and never lies. He is faithful and keeps promises. I know His heart: love.

God, help me to know Your heart more. In fact, take out my stony, so prone to stray and doubt heart and give me Yours, Lord...please.

Ever feel like this?

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:48:28 GMT

Sometimes I feel like Calvin - ready for fun or SOMETHING and can't find any takers.

Words of Life

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:09:12 GMT

My family and I went to see the movie "Inkheart" on Saturday. It's the story of a special group of people called "Silver tongues" who have the ability to read things into reality. When they read aloud, the characters and things in the story enter our world, real as can be. It's an interesting idea and the movie was entertaining. As we watched the final scene, one of the silver tongues writes a new ending to a story that was to end badly and then reads it right away. Her words change the outcome and save the day.

As I watched, I thought about God and His Word. The Bible is His Word and in it we're told that His Word is living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:11) We're told it's God-breathed and is helpful for teaching, correcting and training us. (II Tim. 3:16) It's a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (Ps. 119:105) We're told that Jesus IS the Word, the living Word of God. The Word of God was with God from the beginning of everything, in fact WAS/IS God. (John 1:1-4)

When there was nothing God spoke and things happened. (Genesis 1) He was the first, original, ultimate "Silver tongue". His voice called out and the earth took form, the sun made a blindingly glorious debut, the moon reflecting it's beauty at night. The stars were spangled across the darkness of space like tiny diamonds on black velvet. The sea swept back from land so that mountains could rise up, valleys spread out in wide green expanses spotted with all colors of wild flowers, jungles grew thick, tangled and lush as God continued to speak. His voice, his Word was life. It was and is the source of life. His final and most wonderful act in Creation was to create humans, to form a man. The Bible tells us that God breathed life into the man.

I heard Beth Moore, a well known and loved speaker and author, say the other day that when she looks into and reads God's Word, she knows it is God exhaling life and truth and she wants to simply inhale.

I can think of times in my past when godly friends would speak God's Word into a struggle and it brought peace. I can think of other times when it would bring rebuke and convict me of a sinful attitude. Have you heard someone praying the actual words of the Bible before as their prayer? It is beautiful. It is definitely a living prayer, full of God's Spirit and power.

What if we, the "silver tongues" of The Way (Jesus' way), would read and speak God's Word more into the lives of our family, our friends, anyone who will listen? How awesome it would be to see more things begin to change, more new life appear, more miracles taking place, more of God recreating and making old things new! The ending the world has in store doesn't have to be our ending. When we read and speak God's Word instead of just our own or what the world writes for us, change is possible and even inevitable!

My heart echoes that of Peter, when Jesus had been abandoned by many of his followers after some hard teaching he had given. Jesus turned to the disciples and asked, "Will you leave me, too?" "Where would we go, Lord?" Peter asked incredulously, "You have the Words of eternal life!" (John 6:67-69) God, draw me to Your Word more and more. Help me to remember that it is a sustaining life force, even more valuable than food. It is living and active still. Your Words are life to me!

Truth Hero

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:27:09 GMT

The other night I awoke about 3 am feeling anxious and afraid. I was thinking about my daughter and how quickly she's growing up and wondering what kind of choices she was going to make as she continues through her teens. You know how it goes, once you start thinking those kinds of thoughts your mind has a hay day and runs away with you being dragged behind in building panic. What if John and I haven't done all we could have done to teach our girls about the Bible and faith? What if we haven't helped them learn what they need to about prayer? We haven't prayed as a family as much as I wish we would have. We've always had trouble being consistent with family devotions. The guilt and worry started to manifest itself in a lump in my throat and a quickening heartbeat.

Time to go downstairs and pray. "Enough of this! I know the only One who can help me," I thought. I put on my bathrobe and crept downstairs, sitting in a chair in our family room in the darkness. I started pouring out my fears to God, tears coming easily and quickly. Apologies flowed, too, as I confessed my regrets at not being a better, discipling parent to my daughters whose spiritual lives are more precious to me than I could say. More than anything, I want them to know Jesus and to be consumed with love for Him, reading His word, talking to Him regularly, living for Him. One problem: I can't control their choices or make those decisions for them, as much as I wish I could sometimes.

In our culture young people are bombarded with worldly views on life. They are surrounded with all sorts of opinions on what's okay and what's not okay, on why we're here, on how to live life. If John and I don't make sure they know what God's opinion is, how will they make good choices? One of my "enemies" is the television. I watch television sometimes so I'm not against watching it completely. I do think TV is more of a harm than help when it comes to protecting truth in my girls' hearts. They have become desensitized to so much, things I hadn't even seen on TV yet when I was their age.

While trying to express this to them I get rolled eyes and sighs. "Mom, we can handle it. It doesn't bother us." "I know! That's precisely what bothers me - that these things don't bother you!" I reply, my voice raising in pitch and volume. "You don't have to let these worldly thoughts and images fill your minds. It makes it harder for you to focus on Jesus - it distracts you from good things, from spending time with Him, from life in general."

I thought of the story "The Silver Chair", one of the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you've read these stories, you know that although they are really entertaining and engrossing, they also carry beautiful allegory - great messages about faith and life.

In The Silver Chair, two young teens embark on a mission given to them by Aslan the Lion, who represents Jesus/God. They are to go and find a prince whose been kidnapped by a wicked witch/queen. Along their journey they meet a tall, skinny, stringy character named Puddleglum. He tends to look at the gloomy in life, but he is ultimately loyal to Aslan and vows to help.

To make a long story short (you should read it if you haven't before!) they find the Prince deep within the earth in an underground kingdom, in a grand underground palace. He has been tied to a silver chair that is bewitched and causes him to forget who he really is and all that is back up above ground where he's from. The queen wants to keep him fooled and brainwashed so she can use him in her conquest of that land. The children and Puddleglum free the Prince, who comes to his senses and then smashes the chair. Before they can escape, the Queen finds them in the room and comes in, locking the door. She begins speaking to them in a smooth, soothing voice and walks gently around the room. She throws something on the fire that creates a very pleasing, calming fragrance. As she walks she begins telling the children and the Prince "There is no such thing as a place above this place. There is no one such as Aslan. This is the only real place. How foolish to believe in those other things..." and so on. The prince and the children begin to fall under her spell and begin repeating these lies after her. Fortunately, Puddleglum is unaffected and as he looks around the room realizes that whatever the queen put on the fire is the very thing that's putting the others under the deceitful spell. He makes a decision, a decision for truth's sake, and leaps to his feet, running to the fire and stamping it out with his bare feet. Once the fire is out, the spell wears off and the prince and the children awake. The prince battles the queen and prevails. Truth is avenged! Puddleglum is the hero. His convictions about truth caused him to make a painful but crucial decision. He couldn't allow the others to be victim to the enemy's lies anymore.

I should follow Puddleglum's example, even when it hurts, even when people (sometimes my daughters) roll their eyes and act like I'm so naive or so old-fashioned. I don't want to see my girls, or anyone for that matter, led down a path that ruins them or influences them to make decisions against what they know in their hearts is right. I have to do my part and be a truth hero.

After laying it all out before God that night in my family room, I felt such peace. God reminded me that although my girls are growing up, they're still in my home and they're still my daughters. He urged me to pray more for them, intentionally, daily. "Pray, pray!" He told me. "Have you forgotten that your daughters are really just on loan to you and John? I made them. I know them even better than you do. I have plans for them. I can influence their hearts and lead them."

I stood up and walked back up to my bed, feeling comfort and trust instead of panic and anxiety. The enemy loves to make us afraid, he loves to stir us up until we're feeling helpless and frantic. That's when we have to remember the truth: God is bigger. God is sovereign. God is love. God is in control. God is with us. God is merciful. God's plans are for good.

Don't let the world subtly put you under its spell and make you forget the truth. Even if it hurts you for a time, even if it requires sacrifice... be a truth hero.

Dreams do come true

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:51:10 GMT

I know I'm not the first or only person to put two and two together, but while watching a Disney special for kids celebrating the coming inauguration, I had a moment of poignant realization. Michelle Obama and her two beautiful daughters were standing on the front row of this concert for kids, watching singers like Miley Cyrus, Usher, the Jonas Brothers and more. They jumped up and down, taking pictures with their digital cameras, smiling and dancing with all the other excited people around them. As the cameras panned the large crowd from time to time you could see people of all different races intermingled, especially black and white people. All of them were singing along, no matter who the artist was, and just about all were smiling and dancing laughing and having fun with the white Biden granddaughters and thought to myself, "This wouldn't have happened about 30-40 years ago." When Martin Luther King gave his famous speech proclaiming his dream that one day people would live side by side, regardless of skin color, and look at each other as people for who they are, not what race they come from he was hoping deep in his heart that someday it would be a reality. He was praying for it to happen, I know he was. He basically gave his life to see it happen someday. There are still racial prejudices and problems between races but we've come such a long way. I could see at that concert a big part of MLK's dream coming true and it moved me.

Although President Obama may not be everything I hoped for in a president or have all the same values I do, what an amazing moment in history it is to witness: a black presidential family taking office and residence in the White House. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn't get to see it happen firsthand, but he planted seeds and paved the way. He had a compelling, God-given, passionate dream.

",,,when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'" - Martin Luther King, Jr. in his speech August 28, 1963