Forgiveness

Teacher (to Kid 1): "Tell her you're sorry!"
Kid 1: "No, I'm not sorry!"
Teacher: "Tell them your sorry or you're going to sit in time out."
Kid 1: "Fine! I'm Sorry!"
Teacher (to Kid 2): "Now tell him you forgive him."
Kid 2: "No! I won't!"
Teacher: "Now..."
Kid 2: "Ugh! I forgive you."
Teacher: "Now you two hug and go play nicely."
*Kids begrudgingly hug each other and run off in separate directions*


How many of us have either experienced this scenario when we were younger, or have seen it occur with other children at the park?

Chances are you have. It is very common place in today's world, but what is that really teaching children?

To really truly apologize for something is more than just belting out "I'm Sorry!!" in order to not be punished
And
To true forgiveness is more than just begrudgingly saying "I forgive you." because you feel like you HAVE to.

If you don't have genuine regret or conviction for what you've done...you aren't sorry.
If you don't make a decision in your head to forgive that person and not to bring up their offense again...you haven't really gave forgiveness.

Both apologizing and forgiving play key roles, but tonight I'm going to focus mainly on forgiveness.
Because even if the other person is being stubborn and believes they have done nothing wrong, we can srill chose to forgive them and let it go.

So if forgiving someone isn't just saying "I forgive you", then what is it?
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines forgive as: "to cease to feel resentment against an offender."

 To truly forgive someone we need to make a decision in our heart to no longer hold the wrong they did to us against us.


The perfect example of forgiveness is Christ.


When we repent of our sins, "He is faith and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all un-righteousness." (1 John 1:9)


When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we are bought with the price of the blood and the blood covers any sins we have/will commit. 
When Satan stands before the Lord and tries to show that we are guilty and deserve death God looks at us and sees the blood of Christ on us and says to Satan, "It's been covered by the blood, they are free. CASE CLOSED!"
Now that's forgiveness!

I love the Casting Crowns song "East to West" at one point it says:

"I know you cast my sins as far as the East is from the West

And I stand before you now as though I never sinned." 

And that is the example we are to follow. It says in Ephesians 4:31-32, 

               "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

But I already forgave them and they keep doing it! You can only forgive someone so many times and then they don't deserve it anymore....WRONG!
How would you feel if Jesus said to you, "Look here, you lied when you were 5 and I forgave you. You lied again at age 6, and twice at age 8, and I forgave you. You lied last week and I forgave you. Now you come to Me saying you lied again? Really? Well I've forgiven you many times before and you keeping doing it again, so I'm not going to do it anymore." 
God wouldn't do that! DUH! That's the point He wouldn't and neither should me. 

Jesus told a Parable in Matthew 18 about a certain unforgiving servant: 
                      
                    "Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him^. Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. “At this, the slave fell face down before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’  Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ “At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. “Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?"


I believe in the parable the King represents Jesus and the 2 slaves represent us. 
Christ forgives us of the debt we can pay and we thank Him and rejoice of how good He is, then we turn right back around and refuse that same forgiveness to others. 
This shouldn't be so!

"Do unto others are you would have them do unto you." Wouldn't you want to be forgiven?
So when you are wronged, choose to be forgiving. 
An un-forgiving heart is a heart that doesn't know true peace. 
When you hold onto the wrongs done to you, it eats away at you and robs you of your happiness.
Forgiving them doesn't make what they did OK but it does show them that you love them and are willing to over look the offense. 
Let it GO!

"It takes a strong person to say sorry, and an ever stronger person to forgive."

 "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

"Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting, nor does it mean that you've given the message that what someone did was okay. It just means that you've let go of the anger or guilt towards someone, or towards yourself. But that can be easier said than done. If forgiveness was easy, everyone would be doing it."

"When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free."

"Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me."

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."

 "Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much."

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time, 
Racheal <3

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Let's be honest life can be hard.

Sometimes everything may be going smothly and all or a sudden it just seems like everything hits us at once.

Maybe it's being laid off from a job.
Maybe it's getting a speeding ticket.
Maybe you find out that a relative is sick.
Maybe you have an important meeting coming up and it doesn't seem like you are going to get everything done in time.

You begin to stress. You begin to worry. And from that stress you begin to feel physically ill, which just causes you to stress more.



It's times like those listed above that we need to calm down and take a deep breath and LAUGH.

Somtimes we just need to do to a doctor and have him write us a prescription like in the picture. "Laugh More!"

Life is too short to be serious all the time.

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3,
"There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven...a time to weep and a time to laugh;  a time to mourn and a time to dance..."

And trust me, when it is my time to dance....it will be your time to laugh! (I can't dance to save my life!)

Well, back to the point....
If God tells us that the is a time laugh because He knows that it is good for us!

According to care2.com laughing can:

• Lower blood pressure
• Increase vascular blood flow and oxygenation of the blood
• Give a workout to the diaphragm and abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles
• Reduce certain stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline
• Increase the response of tumor- and disease-killing cells such as Gamma-interferon and T-cells
• Defend against respiratory infections–even reducing the frequency of colds–by immunoglobulon in saliva.
• Increase memory and learning; in a study at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, humor during instruction led to increased test scores
• Improve alertness, creativity, and memory

While worrying (according to heathcentral.com) causes:

       • fast heartbeat
       • rapid breathing
       • shortness of breath
       • fatigue
       • headaches
       • inability to focus / short-term memory loss
       • irritability
       • muscle aches / muscle tension
       • nausea / digestive disorders
       • suppression of the immune system
       • premature coronary artery disease
       • heart attack

Now after reading both lists, you tell me which is the better medicine? Laughter or Worry?

You can worry about something all day every day, but if it's God's will...it's going to happen no matter how many sleepless nights you spend awake worrying about it. Because worry is like a rocking chair, it give you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.

You may be thinking to yourself..."You don't know what's going on in my life. There is nothing funny about it. There is nothing to laugh about."

Well, no there may not be anythiig funny about the situation, but maybe you just need to clear your head from it and focus on something else.

Go out with a friend for coffee. Watch a YouTube video or two. Go to Walmart!

...and if all else fails, look in the mirror at the mess you have become from the stress.
Look at the bags under your eyes, the crazy hair pointing every which way and laugh at yourself.

Because I can only imagine God sitting up in heaven looking at us shaking His head (maybe even chuckling a little) while saying "Look at them! Didn't I bring them through the last valley? They prayed, I rescued them, They said they were going to give up worrying and have more faith in Me... and look what they are doing again! Do they really think that I can't handle this??" And if you don't believe God has a sense of humor, just look at some of the things He created. He was definately showing off His sense of humor when He made ME!

Life is ana sickness that will eventually will kill everyone, but laughter is like Lortab...it helps loosen us up and numbs the pain.

So the nest time you feel like stressing out, belt out a big ole LOL and relax.

It will make you a happier person and will make everyone else arounf you happier too!

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.” 

“If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.”

“Sometimes crying or laughing are the only options left, and laughing feels better right now.” 

“I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.” 

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” 

“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” 

“Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can; all of them make me laugh.” 


Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3







No U-Turns

In life you have two choices:

1.     You can stay where you are at

OR

2.     You can chose to move forward

But no matter how hard you try, you can't turn back time.

Once a chance is gone...it's gone.

There are no U-turns in life.


We have all done something or said something that we wish we could take back.

We have all passed up some opportunity because we were scared of what may happen.

We have all  let someon down.

We have all looked through old pictures of friends we have lost touch with and shed a tear or two.

We have all caught ourselves thinking, "Man, if I could only go back and _____________. My life would be so much better."

But by constantly thinking about what-ifs and what we could have done differently in the past, we are draining today of it's joy!

Everything that has happened in your life is exactly what God had for us. He knew what we were going to do and say before it ever crossed our minds. The Bible says in Jeremiah 1:5,
                  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Before we were even born, God has a plan and a purpose for our life and He doesn't allow us to go through anything that won't either strengthen us or teach us a lesson.

We may not see the reasoning behind our circumstance, but God is looking down on us and sees the larger picture that we can't

 We may be thinking that we screwed up big time, and want to invent a time machine so that we can go back and fix it...but what if God allowed us to make that mistake so that we can learn something.


What if God allowed us to lose that job to teach us how to better manage the money He gives us.
What if God allowed that friend we took advantage of to move out of our life to teach us to appreciate people more.

I've heard it described as a marching band. At ground level it may seem like a mess. People going this way and that way, and it may look un-organized. But if you get a chance to go up in a blimp and look down on it in an aerial view, it's making something beautiful.

God has a reason for every mistake or bad thing that happens to us. He uses it to mold us and make us into what He wants us to be.

We are like a clay pot and each time we make a mistake or do something we regret, it's like a hole or crack is put in our craftsmanship. We feel useless and ruined. We want to go back and patch up the imperfections because we don't think we can be of any good,  but in reality because of the holes we are more able to let the light of Christ shine through us.

You may not like you life the way it is going...you may feel no good can come from your circumstances, and if that is you...let me ask you one question?
Is it doing you any good by sulking and whining about wanting to fix something that can't be fixed?

How do you even know that by "fixing" what you think went wrong your life would turn out better?
For all you know if that trail or test had never occured, your life could be in even worse shape than it is now.
Everything that happened made you who you are and resulted in what you have.
It reminds me of the song "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts it goes:

"Every long lost dream, led me to where you are. Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars, pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true. That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."

 

 Would you really want to turn back time and start over if it meant you could lose your family? your best friend? your job?
I wouldn't. Because the way things are, are the way things are supposed to be. Nothing more...Nothing less.

You can't make any U-turns...BUT you can decide to make a change right now to prepare yourself for a better future!

What will you chose to do today? Keep your eyes on the prize.

"You can’t change the past. But you can always do better today and have a brighter tomorrow."

"You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying."

" There's a reason your windshield is larger than your rear-view mirror. It's more important to know where you are going than to look back at where you were."

"Focus on your future, rather than on the past."

"I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not." 

"Don't live in the past, thinking about mistakes or changes you made. Think of your life as a book, move forward, close one chapter and open another."

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3

Stumbling Block

We have all heard the saying, "Do as I say not as I do."

Don't even get me started on how overly hypocritical that sounds...

But what I want to focus on with that quote right now is the idea of, we want to be able to go out and do whatever makes us feel good and not have any retribution for it.

People are always watching us wether we want to believe it or not.

As Christians, we are supposed to be clearly different from those around us. We are to be "IN the world but not OF the world."

People should be able to look at us and see (at least a glimpse) of Christ. If people can't tell you are a Christian by the way you carry yourself, you might want to re-evaluate the way you are living.

People look at Christians and have a picture in their head of what they should act like, and when they see us doing things that we shouldn't be doing they get the idea that, "Hey, maybe we aren't so different after all. They are saved and they are out doing the exact same thing I am doing. So I must be Ok." WRONG! You just casued that person to stumble. and that is not good.

You may be thinking to yourself. "Man, all those laws and what not are Old Testament! I'm under grace now, I don't have to obey that anymore." and to some degree you may be right.

The law said not to eat pork or cut your hair. So does that mean if a Christian get a buzz cut while eating a bacon burger that he is going to go to hell? Not at all.

But Galatians 5:16-18
                        "I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

What that is saying is basically. We who are led by the Spirit (AKA Christians) are not under the law... but by being led by the Spirit we should no longer find the morally wrong things which the law forbids as fun or OK. By having the Spirit in us we should WANT to obey the law even though we don't HAVE to. When we do something wrong and against God's law we should feel ashamed and convicted, And if you don't I would take a look at yourself in the mirror because the Bible says "When He [The Spirit] comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment." (John 16:8)

The Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 6:12
                       "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything."

What that is saying is  that yes we aren't bound by the law anymore, but morally do you think doing that is any good for you? Is it going to do anything to help further the kingdom? Is it going to hurt anyone else?

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:13
                       "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall."

The background of the verse was that the meat being fed to them was meat that had been offered to idols. Would it have been a sin for Paul to have eaten the meat? No, because He had not been involved in the sacrifice nor did he believe in the god to which it had been offered. To him it was just meat. But  because of the fact that he knew by eating the meat it might confuse his spiritually younger brother and cause him to get the wrong idea and stumble, Paul refused the meat.

What it all comes down to is your testimony.
Is the way you are living going to cause someone else to fall?
In Romans 14:13 it says,
                          "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."

If you know your buddy is a recovering alcoholic, are you going to offer him a beer?
If you know your friend struggles with bad language, are you going to swear around him?
If you know your pal is trying to keep a pure thought life, are you going to constantly tell him dirty jokes and watch inappropriate movies?

No, because that would put us partially at fall if they fall into that sin.

So the next time you want to do something, just take a moment and ask yourself

1. Will it casue someone else to stumble?
2. Will it hurt my testimony?
3. Will it further the kingdom?

If you answered "yes" to the first two or "no" to the third one...is it really worth it?

I love the line in the song "Jesus Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns that says:
"The world is on their way to you, but they're tripping over me."
 How true is that in your life today? Are you causing people to trip and fall over you?

"Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains."

“A good example is the best sermon.”

"For me right now, its all about image. You cant walk around looking like a thug. There are kids out there looking up to me. Ive got to set a good example."

"Be the best you can at what you do because remember there's always a little girl looking up to you thinking she wants to be like you."

  

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3

 

Baggage

We all carry around baggage.

Some of it we have shared with others, but some of it we keep to ourselves.

We keep telling oursleves that no one else on earth understands what is weighing us down and if we shared our bags and someone happened to peek inside and see what we were carrying with us, it would scare them away.


We are all "typically born baggage free.  Then as we grow older, slowly yet surely, we begin to pick up a bag here and and another bag there.

Maybe you experienced something traumatic as a child, Like the death of a parent or being abused... And that causes us to pick up a bag.

Maybe as a child or teen, you were picked on/ bullied or you did something stupid that you regret...And that causes you to pick up a bag.

Maybe as an adult, you got fired from a job or dealt with a nasty divorce...And that causes you to pick up a bag.

You begin to look in the mirror and not like what you see, and you start believing the lies being whispered in you ear that you "aren't good enough" or that "you're damaged" or "worthless"....And yet again more bags are placed upon your shoulders.

The weight becomes unbearable. you begin sweating and you knees begin shaking. You use up the last bit of energy you have in your reservoir to plaster a fake smile on your face so youe friends and family can't see the the true pain in your eyes. Then later that night in the dark and privacy of your room, with the door locked and blinds closed, you finally let it all fall off so that you can get some rest.

But what happens the very next morning? The alarm rings, you wake up, place all your baggage back on your shoulders, re-plaster on your fake smile, and head back out into the world.

You finally find someone who seems sincere and genuinely concerned about you and you decide to 'unpack' a little only to find out that the person isn't at all who you thought they were. They leave you high and dry and flaunt your dirty laundry out on a line for all the world to see.
You quickly re-pack everything, and guess what...you just earned yourself a new bag.
You get angry and tell yourself that you are NEVER going to share your history again because ALL people are the same and you can't afford to get hurt again.

And that may be true. But I can assure you there is one place you can safely lay down your bags and unpack them without any fears, and that place is at the feet of Jesus.  I mean, let's be honest. He created you and He already knows everything you have tucked into the corners of every bag before you even begin to unzip the first zipper.
You have no problem too small that He doesn't care, nor do you have any problem too large that He can't handle.
And trust me, you aren't going to scare Him away either.

 The Bible clearly says to hand our burdens over to Him:

Psalm 55;22~"Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you..."
1 Peter 5:7~"Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you."
Psalm 68:19~"May the Lord be praised! Day after day He bears our burdens; God is our salvation."

and my favorite...


 Matthew 11:28-30~"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

In the last verse not only does God tell us to cast our burdens on Him, He also promises to give us rest!And I believe here He is not just talking about physical rest, like sleep, but also spiritual and emotional rest...or in other words, peace. A peace only He can give.
That sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me.

So what are you waiting for? Cast your cares on Him, Drop your heavy bags at His feet. They aren't doing you any good. In fact, they are doing a lot of damage, We weren't created to be able to hold onto all this. All they are doing is weighing you down and causing you to slip and stumble, and not allowing you to be the  best you and you can be. You are missing out on all the good God wants to give you because you are to concerned with holding onto the bad the world has given you.

You have a choice. The world's lies OR God's peace. You can't carry both. Which will you choose today?

It is God's will that I should cast my cares on Him each day.
He also bids me not to cast my confidence away.
But, oh, how foolishly I act when taken unaware.
I cast away my confidence and carry all my care.

People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them. 

None knows the weight of another's burden. 

It's easier traveling the road of life when I don't have so much to carry on my back.

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3

Qualifying the Called

Today's topic has really been hitting me hard a lot lately.

I've heard it said numerous times over the past week, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

I never completely understood this until quite recently.



Satan is attacking the church today like never before. And I honestly believe one of the biggest lies he is telling is that God's people aren't qualified to carry out God's work.

We sometimes believe that in order to be of any value to God we have to be perfect, but that isn't so.

We seem to look at ourselves more through the eyes of those trying to destroy us than through the eyes of those trying to build us up. Our flaws and limitations are continually shoved in our faces and we begin to use them as excuses.

God says "I you to lead." ...but Satin is right there whispering in our ear "Really? You think you're qualified to be a leader? HA! You get shy around others, are completely un-organized, and afraid to put your foot down." And he keeps poking us with that and we turn to God and say, "Sorry Lord. I can't do it. I'm not qualified. Use (insert name here) they are great at public speaking and there is not a shy bone in their body, and they can stand their ground." To which God calmly replies..."But I called you."

When God calls us to something it's not always because we are great at it or because we are the most qualified. Sometimes He calls those who aren't considered to be the ideal person for the job to show His power.

God can use anybody to perform any job just as long as the person is open to being used and has a little faith. 

Feeling under-qualified for God's work is nothing new.
One of the best examples I can think of is the story of Moses.
God wanted Moses to go to Egypt and deliver the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh, and just like naby of us Moses had excuses:

1. He said he was underqualified
2. He said he was un-educated
3. He said he didn't think it would work
4. He said it wasn't his gift
5. And finally he said he just didn't want to do it.

Moses didn't feel qualified. He pointed to Aaron, and made excuses to why God should use Aaron instead.

How many times have we done that exact same thing?
Here I am Lord! ...send someone else please.

You may be thinking to yourself
"OK well, feeling under qualified isn't my problem. My problem is my past. I've done a lot of things when I was younger that I'm not proud of. I've screwed up and there is no way God can use me."

Well, hate to burst your bubble, but you are wrong in that line of thinking as well.
Remember the story of David?
David committed adultery and murder, but yet is still refereed to as a "man after God's own heart."
Even after David's past, God still you used him and chose to send the savior of the world down to earth from his family line. So try to tell me God can't use you because of something you have done.

God can use anyone He choses to fulfill any purpose He may have.
It's not about us any way. God created the world by the word of His mouth. He doesn't NEED us to accomplish anything, but He chooses to anyway, 

We may not be the smartest, but God is Omniscient.
We may be weak, but God is Omnipotent.
We may be only one person, but God is Omnipresent.
We may only have a set amount of time on this earth, but God is Eternal.

So the next time you feel like telling God to use someone else, just remember...He purposely chose YOU for a specific purpose. He will qualify you. He will work through you. And He will give you the courage and strength to fo what needs to be done.

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember...Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Samson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and Timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, Peter denied Christ, The Disciples fell asleep while praying, Martha worried about everything, The Samaritan woman was divorced, Zaccheus was too short, Timothy had an ulcer, and Lazarus was DEAD!

I Would like to dedicate this post to anyone out there who is struggling with feelings of being under qualified to a calling God has put upon them. I know how it feels.


Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3

Say What's On Your Mind

You never get the moment back after it's wasted.

The Casting Crowns song, "Who Am I" states perfectly and clearly how quick life can pass by us.

Its says:
"I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today but gone tomorrow."

We all to often puff out our chests and claim to be in-destructible

We think no one can hurt us, and the stuff that happens in the news will never happen to us.

But the reality is we are never promised tomorrow... we aren't even promised our next breath.

The story happens ever so often,
A loved one passes unexpectedly and and we are left with regrets and what ifs about what we wanted to say but didn't, or about leaving each other for the last time during an argument and never having the chance to make what happened right.
It doesn't even have to be death, it could just be someone moving away or drifting apart from you.

Always tell people you love that you love them...
 Lee Brice has a song out called Love Like Crazy, and at one point it says "...be a best friend, tell the truth, and overuse 'I love you'. Go to work, do your best, and don't out smart your common sense. Never let your praying knees get lazy, and love like crazy." The part that really gets to me are the four words, "overuse I love you" How many times today did you tell someone you love them?
While we still have the chance we need to let people know what we are thinking. People can't read our minds. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone that you love them. Never assume they know and that you don't need to say it. Because those 3 little words have one big meaning that can brighten anyone's day and give them the strength to carry on.

Never let the sun go down on you wrath...
Like I said above, we aren't promised tomorrow. If you are arguing with someone, you need to do everything in your power to fix the problem before you go to bed that night. I know that sometimes people do things that tick us off, and we need some time to cool off  and blow off some steam before we try to create a solution to the issue...BUT try and hurry it along a bit. You don't want to go to bed angry, because one of you may not wake up the next morning and then you will have to live with that for the rest of your life.

Honest critism shouldn't be held back.
If someone you close to you is doing something wrong...call them out! Don't do it publicly, don't harshly accuse them (ESPECIALLY if you don't have your facts straight), and always do it in love. I once heard it said that "If it's painful for you to criticize your friends, you are safe in doing so,  but if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue."
If you are genuinely concerned about the welfare of another...speak up! If the person really values your companionship they will take what you say to heart...They may not agree with what you say, but they can at least respect you and your opinion. If they get angry and hostile towards you...let them be. You now know where you stand with them.

Share your Faith.
If you go to church, you have probably heard  a pastor say this numerous times (I know I have!), "If you had the cure for cancer...would you keep it to yourself or share it with those dying of the illness?" The answer should be a DUH answer, you would share it. Well God's Word is the cure for sin, and if you are saved you should be sharing your faith with others who are out there dying with out Christ.
The Bible says in Matthew 10:33,
           "But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven."
I wouldn't want to be denied before God...so why would I dent Christ before my friends?

I love how in the space for you to write your Facebook status it says, "What's on your mind?"
Because honestly if I typed exactly what was on my mind in that box every single time...I probably wouldn't have very many friends left.

Use caution when you speak, but don't be afraid to speak. Chose your words carefully and mean what you say. What you have to say may mean something to someone and it may be exactly what they need to hear.

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

 

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.

When you give yourself permission to communicate what matters to you in every situation you will have peace despite rejection or disapproval. Putting a voice to your soul helps you to let go of the negative energy of fear and regret.

Take the time to make some sense for what you wanna say, and cast your words away upon the waves.


Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3

Role Models

When we hear the term 'role model' we typically in our mind picture someone:
older than us
someone who has been through the fire and come out strong, and someone who we feel comfortable around.

As humans we are natural imitadors.

In our early years we mimick our parents/close family relatives and teachers.

As we get older we still look to some of those same people, but we also begin to look more towards our peers and to celebrities (Movie stars, pro athletes, singers, ext.).

Some of which may be good others of which not so good.


But what makes a good Christian role model?

Here are some verse I have found:

Titus 2:3-5
             "The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things, that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
This verse is refering to the older women to be someone of integrity for the younger once to look up to.

1 Timothy 4:12
        " Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
This verse is telling us that even children and teens can be good role models. Though you may not "look up to" a child in a physical sense, you can look up to some of them spiritually depending on their spiritual maturity. I have had the pleasure to meet many christians younger than myself who are more spiritually mature than most of the adults I've met.

3 John 11
       "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God."
No matter the age, a role model should be a Chirsitan and should not be involved in a habitually sinful lifestyle. We cannot serve 2 masters. How can we be of God if me are imitating people of Satin?

1 Corinthians 11:1
      "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."
Paul talking to the church at Corinth said for them to imitate him. Paul was trying to build himself up and say "Hey, look at me! Act like me! I've got it all together!" Far from that. Paul said to imitate him because he imitated Christ, and by having the people follow his example, they were in turn following Christ as well.

Hopefully through these verse you should be able to picture at least one person in your head, and if you can't, let me give you one more verse to consider

1 Peter 2:21-24
      "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,  who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;  and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

What it boils down to is that Christ should be any Chirsitan's head role model.
Though it is nice to have human role models that we can touch and see, humans will err. Humans will fall, stumble, and back slide. Humans make mistakes and sometimes aren't the best examples...But Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Even though we know that being in the flesh, we cannot be perfect. We can strive to be more like Christ always being molded into a better vessel for service.

And remeber...just as you look to other people, other people look to you. Eyes are always watching whether you want to believe it or not.
Are you being a good example of Christ?

The best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men.

What is buried in the past of one generation falls to the next to claim.

Very few men are wise by their own counsel, or learned by their own teaching. For he that was only taught by himself had a fool for his master.

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent.

The most important single influence in the life of a person is another person who is worthy of emulation.

I would like to dedicate this post to my grandfather. A strong Christian man and influence in my life.

Live...Laugh...Love
Until Next Time,
Racheal <3