Does Anyone Hear Her?

Check this video out...it continues to challenge me

I love this band, Casting Crowns. They address real issues through music.

This should be a wake up call for all Christians. HELLO. People are there. CRYING out. Watching you. They know who you are. Notice how the video shows the Christians literally crossing the street, sitting in coffee shops, or worse, actually walking into church minding their own business, and not even thinking twice about the people around them.

Those of us that have been in church for awhile can get comfortable with everything. We know everyone, park and sit in the same spots each week, shake the same people’s hands, discuss life with the same friends, and maybe throw in a little change here and there. Bottom line, and I am just as guilty of this, too often we get caught up in our comfort zone without even realizing that there are literally people right next to us hurting, crying out, wanting and needing maybe just a hello, a hug, someone to accept them for who they are and guide them along the way.

My heart hurts so bad and the tears start rolling down my face when the “lost girl” is getting out of her car and the “church lady” looks at her horribly because of what she looks like...seriously? She didn’t even make it to the door. What’s to make her want to come inside now? What’s to make her ever want to come to Jesus? Really, people? Really? Is that what “Christians” want to be known as? Judgmental and critical? Is anyone hearing me on this? These are serious issues.

At the end of the video they talk about how “he” is running. The girl finally connected to another girl at the cafe who decided to take a little extra time to show God’s love, but there is always someone else “running a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction.”

With Easter right around the corner...there are going to be tons of people that are going to be sitting next to you at church maybe even in your seat. Please be mindful of this and make the extra effort to show them the love of Jesus. They may only come to church for Christmas and Easter, but this may be the day that changes their forever; changes their whole life. This might be the day it finally clicks with them.

Embrace them, welcome them, make them feel accepted before they even get into the church. We ALL need the love and mercy from our Heavenly Father.

Slow Fade

People never crumble in a day! Check this out...

This video truly shows that each choice we make every day leads somewhere. God has given us the opportunity to choose. Each decision we make will have a consequence either, bad or good.

I love how the video is talking about a slow fade. It’s never one choice you make that changes everything. It’s choice after choice that changes life. You could think, “Nah, it’s not that big of deal...I am only having one drink, I am only going to that one party, I am going to have one hit, I am only going to cut one time.” Then before you know it, you are staring up out of a massive, tangled net wondering how you got there.

The devil has one job. Just one. We all carry multiple hats in our lives, but the devil only has one purpose. To steal, kill, and destroy your life, like John 10:10 says. He wants you to make that seemingly harmless, but bad choice just this one time. Then the next time it’s just a little bit more. And the slow fade begins. But John 10:10 also states another even more powerful truth: Jesus came so that we may have life and have it to the full.

My entire life, my mother always offered me some advice that has become somewhat of a running joke in our family, but I guarantee I will say the same thing to my children because it is so true. She said, “You have a choice. You can choose the path God has planned for you and you will be blessed and things will go well for you, or you can choose your way and things will not go well for you. Now, which one do you want?”

Such a simple thought. Which do you want? Who do you want to choose? Who do you want to serve? When it comes down to it, that becomes a daily prayer. “Lord, help me choose You in EVERYTHING I do!”

One of the many great leaders in my life challenged me as a teenager with this quote: “Are the things you’re living for worth Christ dying for?” That has moved and shaped me for years and continuous to do so. I want the things I am living for to be worth Christ dying for. I want to be making Him famous everywhere I go and to everyone I come in contact with.

We all have choices we make each day....Which path do you choose?

The Olympics!

I am so sad the Olympics are over, but I know those athletes are so glad they can relax and rest. I am what you would call an “Olympiholic”. I just love watching these people perform the particular sport that they have been training for their whole lives.

After watching story after story about the athletes and their dedication to their sport, I realized just how much they sacrificed to compete. They would do their sport even with broken fingers and shin pains...they didn’t care; they were still going to race no matter what. They would fall and be hurdled down a mountain like I’ve never seen and get right back up and race with the same tenacity the next time around. What dedication!

What if as Christians we lived as Olympians? What would happen if we got up and trained everyday... in the Word? What if all we cared about was...God! We would give up all other earthly things for Him. Nothing else would matter except running our race. We wouldn’t care if we had broken fingers or bruised anything...all we’d care about would be running our race! The race God set before us... winning souls, caring about others, and the joy of being in Gods presence.

I want to be an Olympian for God! I am running this race. I am training everyday. I want to give up all other things that don’t matter. Even when I might be bruised or have a few things broken, I am still going to run. I might fall down, but I am going to get up and keep racing, and at the end there will be an award ceremony.

Will you join the race? God never said it would be easy. He never promised it would be perfect. It’s a lot of work; it’s going to take dedication. You are going to have to give up things, but the reward is eternal. Let’s run our race to win!

O Praise Him

This video just brought me to tears....check it out!

I love the fact that life is just going on all around him, and he is trying to hold back from bursting out so many times, and then finally he just can't take it anymore. Can't hold the passion for God back any longer. Doesn't care who sees him or what others think. All he cares about is worshipping God. How awesome is that? I love to worship God, and to think that is what I will be doing for eternity. Woohoo!!!!

What if Christians lived life not holding back from their passion for God? What if we didn't care what others thought of us? I personally threw what others thought of me out the window a long time ago. Who cares what they think? All that matters to me is what God says. I've had so many people look at me crazy while I'm in my car praising Jesus with my hands lifted. What they don't know is I am having church in my car.

What keeps you from just bursting out and praising God in the middle of life? Are you scared what others may think? Just stop today in whatever you are doing and PRAISE HIM!!!