"God helps those who help themselves."
We've all heard it. And it is probably the most quoted statement that is attributed to the Bible, but is not actually found there. It has been credited to both Ben Franklin and a columnist from the late 1600s named Algernon Sidney.
The quote is a poetic way of saying "I can do it myself."
Sound familiar? How many times have we all thought that we shouldn't "bother" God or other people with our problems because we can handle them or we don't want to bother them with our issues?
Proverbs 11:14, however, directs us differently.
"Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances." (Message translation)
Wise counsel is important. Next to going to God, wise counsel is imperative to making it through the trials of life. Vs 14 says that your chances are better with it, which means your chances are WORSE without it.
Set your pride aside for the greater good of your life. You'll be happy you did.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday Morning Minute-September 20, 2010
This week, my sister in law cracked my up with her status update.
It's not like her to rant about anything, but she spent a good 7 lines rebutting a conversation she overheard while at her daughter's tennis match. The person spent most of the match complaining about how busy she was and how exhausted she was because she was so busy.
My sister in law's main rebuttal was that we are all busy with the activities of children or just life in general and rather than seeing it as negative, we should have a cheerful heart and be glad that our children have all of these chances to explore their options.
I had to shrink a little bit. I know I have been guilty of the same rambling as that lady at the tennis match and more so, of having the same nasty attitude.
Proverbs 17: 22 (God's Word Translation) says: A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength.
Depression or negative thinking drains your strength, while having a joyful heart is like an instant B12 shot to your life. No wonder we're exhausted with the things that have to get done it a week! It's not the activities themselves-it's the attitude with which we pursue them!
So be an example this week of a cheerful heart and be good medicine to yourselves and those around us this week. You'll be surprised at how much better your week will go.
It's not like her to rant about anything, but she spent a good 7 lines rebutting a conversation she overheard while at her daughter's tennis match. The person spent most of the match complaining about how busy she was and how exhausted she was because she was so busy.
My sister in law's main rebuttal was that we are all busy with the activities of children or just life in general and rather than seeing it as negative, we should have a cheerful heart and be glad that our children have all of these chances to explore their options.
I had to shrink a little bit. I know I have been guilty of the same rambling as that lady at the tennis match and more so, of having the same nasty attitude.
Proverbs 17: 22 (God's Word Translation) says: A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength.
Depression or negative thinking drains your strength, while having a joyful heart is like an instant B12 shot to your life. No wonder we're exhausted with the things that have to get done it a week! It's not the activities themselves-it's the attitude with which we pursue them!
So be an example this week of a cheerful heart and be good medicine to yourselves and those around us this week. You'll be surprised at how much better your week will go.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday Morning Tidbit, September 14, 2010
Eighty Percent of my life is ruled by a Type A personality.
I like rules.
I like following rules.
I am the first to read the rules of a new board game, explain them in minute detail and the first to drop the hammer if you dare violate said rules.
However, until recently, I didn't realize that I was taking that engrained need for rules and order and letting over shadow my spiritual walk. I had begun to believe that if (and only if) you do A, B, C and/or D, you get to heaven; if you don't..well you would go to the other place. It was all very black and white.
But one day, a few months ago, Pastor Benny said something that revolutionized my way of thinking. He said "Why are we so quick to send people to hell? Isn't God's grace enough for everyone?"
I was dumb-founded. Is that really what I had been doing in my mind? I thought I was being the good little Christian and abiding by all the rules I was suppose to and as a good little Christian I was making sure that everyone else was as well. But...had I really been mentally religating each of those people to hell because they didn't measure up to my ABC rules? Did I not think that God's grace applied to them as well?
Talk about a wake-up call.
I went on to read verse after verse in Romans about grace:
Romans 3:24 " are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
Romans 4:16 "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law..."
Romans 5:2 "through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
The list goes on...
So I had to change my way of thinking. And maybe today, so do you.
I needed look at people through "grace-glasses" instead of by my list of rules and how I think things should be.
What about you?
I like rules.
I like following rules.
I am the first to read the rules of a new board game, explain them in minute detail and the first to drop the hammer if you dare violate said rules.
However, until recently, I didn't realize that I was taking that engrained need for rules and order and letting over shadow my spiritual walk. I had begun to believe that if (and only if) you do A, B, C and/or D, you get to heaven; if you don't..well you would go to the other place. It was all very black and white.
But one day, a few months ago, Pastor Benny said something that revolutionized my way of thinking. He said "Why are we so quick to send people to hell? Isn't God's grace enough for everyone?"
I was dumb-founded. Is that really what I had been doing in my mind? I thought I was being the good little Christian and abiding by all the rules I was suppose to and as a good little Christian I was making sure that everyone else was as well. But...had I really been mentally religating each of those people to hell because they didn't measure up to my ABC rules? Did I not think that God's grace applied to them as well?
Talk about a wake-up call.
I went on to read verse after verse in Romans about grace:
Romans 3:24 " are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
Romans 4:16 "Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law..."
Romans 5:2 "through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."
Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
The list goes on...
So I had to change my way of thinking. And maybe today, so do you.
I needed look at people through "grace-glasses" instead of by my list of rules and how I think things should be.
What about you?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Monday Morning Minute-September 6, 2010
DECONSTRUCTED
I've been sitting on this MMM for a few weeks and have not felt a release to leave it on paper. However, I think now is the time.
A few weeks ago my 3 year old daughter and I were driving to the Mom's day out where I work and she attends, when we passed some road construction.
She asked me "Mommy, why are they tearing up the road?" And without really stopping to think about it, I answered "Well, sometimes they have to tear things down so they can be built up even better."
After that came out of my mouth, I thought about the it the whole rest of the way to work and thought how true that is sometimes. Sometimes what we see as a storm or a crisis, is really just a chance to God to break us down so that we can be rebuilt: bigger, better and more beautiful.
2 Corinthians 1: 3-5, 9-10 says:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows....Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."
We have received comfort from Christ so that we might bring comfort to others and even though we might feel like our storm is holding a death sentence over our lives, he WILL DELIVER US and He will CONTINUE TO DELIVER US.
Be comforted during your deconstruction phase that you will be delivered to the other side.
God Bless and have a great Labor Day.
Keri
I've been sitting on this MMM for a few weeks and have not felt a release to leave it on paper. However, I think now is the time.
A few weeks ago my 3 year old daughter and I were driving to the Mom's day out where I work and she attends, when we passed some road construction.
She asked me "Mommy, why are they tearing up the road?" And without really stopping to think about it, I answered "Well, sometimes they have to tear things down so they can be built up even better."
After that came out of my mouth, I thought about the it the whole rest of the way to work and thought how true that is sometimes. Sometimes what we see as a storm or a crisis, is really just a chance to God to break us down so that we can be rebuilt: bigger, better and more beautiful.
2 Corinthians 1: 3-5, 9-10 says:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows....Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."
We have received comfort from Christ so that we might bring comfort to others and even though we might feel like our storm is holding a death sentence over our lives, he WILL DELIVER US and He will CONTINUE TO DELIVER US.
Be comforted during your deconstruction phase that you will be delivered to the other side.
God Bless and have a great Labor Day.
Keri
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