Community

Today at church our pastor gave a sermon on community. He talked about how the people in your life can make or break who you are. He used the bible verse Proverbs 13:20 as a reference which says:

Walk with the wise and become wise,
for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Well as great as that verse is, the footnotes in my bible made it mean so much more. They said:

"The old saying "A rotten apple spoiles the barrel" is often applied to friendships, and with good reason. Our friends and associates affect us, sometimes profoundly. Be careful whom you choose as your closest friends. Spend time with people you want to be like -- because you and your friends will surely grow to resemble eachother"

 

This really hit me hard. You see I have a couple close friends here in Texas, and they are all about to leave (the joys of living near a military base). In preparation for this change, I have been trying to put myself out there so I can make new friends. I have been very specific at where I look for these friends. I joined a La Leche League (LLL) Facebook Group for a local group, and went to one of their meetings. I met a very nice woman through them that I am very much enjoying getting to know. I have also been in contact with a Cloth Diapering group that meets once a month for play group, but haven't been able to meet with them yet. But other than that its been church related places. Small Groups or our church Facebook page, play groups, etc.

 

It is very important to me that the friends I bring into my life are good Christian women. For the exact reason stated in that quote "Spend time with people you want to be like....[you] will surely grow to resemble eachother."

 

I have spent so much time over the past 3 years becoming a person that I can be fairly proud of, and I do not want to throw that away now by choosing the wrong company. I know how much people can affect your thinking and decisions. As a mother, wife and especially a Christian, I have to stand up for what I believe in. And I need others who will help.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I definitely do not think that means that I can only hang out with or be friends with "perfect" Christian people. Jesus himself hung out with the worst of sinners. I just think that my closest friends, the people I count on, the people I turn to in times of need, know the Lord. And in the meantime, I reach out to those who may not know the Lord, or who may need love and I show it to them. Having a good backing of friends and spiritual strength will certainly help that.

Chow Down at Chick-Fil-A

There as been a recent uproar against the popular food chain Chick-fil-a because the President expressed his opinion on gay marriage. Let me begin by stating that this restaurant is a fairly well known restaurant that takes a radical stance to have their establishment closed on Sundays (I know Christian bookstores that won't even take this stance). They throw profits out the window as a stance as what they believe in. The president of Chick-Fil-A, Dan Cathy, admits that his goal is to,  "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." He blatantly states that he is a Christian man and has Christian values.

However, in interviews this week he was asked on his view on marriage, and specifically gay marriage. He holds his stance as a Christian man stating that he believes that we are asking for God to judge us by what we are allowing marriage to be (http://news.yahoo.com/chick-fil-sandwiches-become-political-symbol-203947966--finance.html).

After thinking on this topic all day today, I went back and forth as to what I believe in this. And I finally come to a conclusion of "Bravo". As Christians in America we are allowing our belief's and integrity be stomped all over. As Casting Crowns says in their song "Slow fade", our Christian stances are becoming more and more "gray". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASREBVDsLk)

Cathy is a Christian man and instead of leaning one way to get more profits he stands up for what he believes in and lives by the Bible. I think that Christians and Cathy are in a lose/lose situation on this topic (and other hot topics) because if we state what we believe and what the Bible says then we are "shoving our religion on others" and being "rude". However, if we sit back and don't say anything, then we are hypocrites or compromising our position for money (or whatever it may be).

 I am not a regular Chick-Fil-A customer, but that is just because I am not a huge fan of fast food chicken. However, based on the recent news, and the upcoming "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" . I will choose to support the establishment more often, and encourage others to do the same.

I love to hear from you. What do you think of Dan Cathy's stance? Will you continue to support Chick-Fil-A?

Day 27 -- Describe a truly spiritual moment in your life.

After such a dark time in my life, I looked in the mirror and was mortified. I knew I needed to change, but I was so far off course, I didn't know where to start. So I started the only place I knew how to...in the bible.

Beginning around May 2009, I took this time and read my bible, I read bible studies, and I read a book called "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things" by Beth Moore. This book changed my life. (If you are in a dark time, and don't know how to get back on track, this is the book for you, I can not say enough good things about this book). Slowly I began to change (and by slowly I mean months, possibly years), slowly my thinking started to align with God's thinking.

On January 1, 2010 I opened my bible and read 4 chapters in the book of John. Then on January 2, I read the next 4 chapters, and January 3rd, and 4th, etc. Before I knew it, it was February and I had read every single day in January, then March, then April. I promise you that reading my bible daily transformed my life. It made me on a daily basis think "Have I read my bible?" which made me think of God daily. During the year of 2010 I grew in my relationship with God, which was helping my marriage quite a bit.

Everything changed however in October 2010. My (then) husband left for a school in Virginia, and this time, instead of me, Satan grabbed him. February 2011, my marriage had officially dissolved. And this shook my faith momentarily. I had promised God that I would hang on tight to His word. His promise to me. And from February - July 2011 God and Satan had a tug of war with my soul. I had grown so much in my faith in the past two years that I knew what was right and wrong. But Satan wasn't going to let me go without a fight. He put all the same temptations in my path as was there before. He knew my weaknesses better than me, and he exploited them. Thankfully though I was still close enough to God and His word that I was unable to stray to the degree that I had before.

I praise God for the year of 2010. It was one of the hardest year's ever. It had many many downs but God used this time to prepare me for what was to come. He brought me close enough to Him that I couldn't live without His presence. He never left my side. He gave me a desire for His word so I could hide it in my heart and never be without it.

When I started to stray, he placed the right people in my path to gently remind me of His love. When I looked to men for comfort and love instead of God, he put Charlie right there to catch me. It could have been so many other people that could have hurt me, but instead it was a man that wanted to love God as much I want to, a man who would love me deeply, tenderly and wholely. I praise God for orchstrating my life without me seeing it at the time.

 Since August 2011 Charlie and I have taken the time to read the bible everyday as a family (btw we were married on July 21, 2011 and only have missed 1 or 2 days of our entire marriage). We both see (from our previous failures) that God being in the center of our lives is how we keep this marriage pure. It is so important to us we do not allow even a day of failure. Satan loves failure, and if we open that door for one day of missing reading the bible...then we will allow two days, and then where does it end.

Read your bible. It is a life changing task and it only takes a 10 minutes a day. I began by reading four chapters a day. And now a little more, but no more than 15-20 minutes a day. I spend longer than that on Facebook, or writing/reading blogs. It will be worth it, I promise you.

Day 26 -- Describe a dark/turbulent moment in your life

I have been dreading this blog for the entire month. I know exactly what time period I am going to write about, I just am not sure "how" to write it. How much detail to go in to? Whether I should go into detail at all. Its been a battle. I still don't know the answer to it, but I am going to start writing right now and see where it leads me.

I will start with a tiny back story. I was a "Christian" by name only for many years. Sure, I would go to church, and even bible study. But I never really gave my life over to God for real until after 2009/2010. And this was during/right after I hit the lowest low of my life. I was previously married to my high school boyfriend. And our entire marriage was tainted by infidelity, lies, insecurities, control and lots of other evil. This gave Satan the perfect foothold into my life to finish the evil he started. Now don't get me wrong, I am not "blame shifting" here, I accept full responsiblity of my actions. I just know that in my weakness and distraction, I gave Satan the perfect opportunity to plant seeds in my life.

 In 2008 he deployed to Iraq and our marriage was in a rough spot as it was. The day he left, neither of us knew how that deployment would affect us. Neither of us were mentally ready face such a challenge. For a couple of months though, things turned around, and I was trying to turn back to God and do good. He was trying to help as well.

But then Satan grabbed a hold of me, and refused to let go....and I didn't fight it much. From the months of November 2008 until May 2009 I was Satan's puppet. I was the perfect definition of a "hypocritical christian". If it was wrong, I did it. I lied. I cheated. I stole. I ruined lives/families.

I lived two lives.  One life that my Christian friends and my ex-husband knew about. The one where I went to work, came home, vegged out with TV Series. And then there was other life. The one that only those apart of knew about.

During this time, I had blinders on. If I would have looked at my actions I would have known what I was doing was ungodly, it was so ungodly, that the ungodly even knew it was wrong. But I refused to look. I just kept going. I did what I wanted and was totally OK living this lie.

That is, until I was caught. (Isn't that always how it is...) God set it up where I would get caught no matter how well I thought I "covered my tracks". Once I was caught, those blinders came flying off, and I was mortified. I could not believe the things I was doing with no guilt, no shame, and no care. I just could not believe it. I still can not believe it.

 I looked in the mirror and was disgusted. I became the person I swore I would never be. I did things that I swore I would never do. I was just mortified. I made decisions during this time that were unchangable. And when I was faced with that realization, I realized that I was drowning. I lost my way and I needed help.

Praise the Lord though that when you hit the ground, you have no where to turn but up. And Jesus is always there to grab your hand and help you back to your feet....and that blog is for tomorrow. I will tell you all about how I truly found the Lord and how much it has helped me.

Day 16 -- Picture of Someone Who has the Biggest Impact on Your Life

When I truly found Jesus and made a turn to live my life for him, it changed me radically. Before, I was an adulterer, liar, thief, and so much more. But when I made a choice to follow Jesus, he saved me. He turned me from all those things I used to be and into his beautiful child. The sin has been taken away and "as far as the east is from the west" is how far he took it. I thank Jesus everyday that he did not force me to love him, and that he patiently waited for me to come to him. Because of it being my willful choice, and knowing the price he paid for my salvation, it means so much more to me.

Juggling life

Being a wife and a mother means juggling many different things at once. Tending to the baby, keeping the house cleaned, getting dinner done, and of course I strive to be the best I can be, so I am adding on there more things. So how do I do it? There is no magic potion. The way I think that made things a bit easier is adding a little at a time, and definitely accepting help.

I am a Christian, a wife, a mother, a housekeeper, and a cook. And I want to do all these things well. I have learned that if I allow Charlie to help, then I can be better.

Charlie and I read our bible everyday, but since Ethan's arrival it was harder to find time to do it. So instead of us finding time (besides right before bed when we are both exhausted) when Ethan is asleep to read, we have gotten in the habit of Charlie reading to me every night when we bathe Ethan.

Instead of me feeling that it is completely my responsibility to keep the house up, I have learned that if I share the burden with my wonderful husband than we are both less stressed. If we both do a little, it is not overwhelming for either of us and we feel like more of a team.

This next step, was/is probably the hardest for me. Sometimes Ethan gets so fussy that there is nothing I can do to stop him from crying (crazy I know...lol) and I get frustrated. I am still learning, that it is OK to call Charlie and have him take over for a while. I mean after all we are a team.

So my biggest tip to how to juggle life is don't feel like you have to do it all yourself. You got married to have a partner, and a partner shares responsibilities. Let your spouse help.

Second of all, don't try to do it all at once. Start with what you are comfortable with. If you can't handle reading the bible everyday, do it once a week. If after dinner you are to tired to do dishes, do them in the morning. If the baby won't stop crying and nothing helps, skip bath time tonight and head straight to bed. Do the minimum that needs to be done and add a little at a time.

When you are comfortable, try adding another thing you want to do to make "you" the person you want to be. For example, I want to be the best mom I can be, so I added "Without Wednesday" to our schedule to try to focus on Ethan (and Charlie) more. I want to do more "do it yourself" things, so I am SLOWLY adding things to try to do myself (first cooking spray, then laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner, etc). I want to live more green, so we started with cloth diapers, and now we are hang drying our clothes.

I am by far an organized woman, but I love my family. This is what I have wanted my whole life, so I strive to be all I can be. It's fun to see how the little things add up and before you know it, you have implemented many things that you wanted to do. One at a time.

It all can be done, if you don't overwhelm yourself or your family. Remember, clean dishes don't mean more than a happy family. Make time for family and build that relationship. I am certain you won't think back and wish you did the dishes (this doesn't mean keep your house trashed, just focus on priorities).

Do you have any tips on how you juggle life? How do you make things run organized? I would love more tips.

Love the Lord your God

The bible shows it pretty simple. The way to heaven is to believe in Jesus. But what does that mean? Does that mean anyone that says "I know that there is a god" or "Of course I believe in god" is a Christian?

Well first of all, the good news is, I don't make that choice. I am so thankful not to have to choose who is "worthy" to go to heaven and who is not. But I do read my bible, and I do think that it is pretty obvious about certain topics. Most of these topics that the bible is black and white on are hot button topics, but that is not the point of this blog. My goal in this blog is to hopefully open the eyes of my readers and see that it takes more than "knowing" that there is a god to be accepted into heaven. The bible says that even the demons know that there is a God and shudder (James 2:19).

I don't think that's enough. I think that what God is asking of us when he asks us to believe in Him is to believe in the God that is portrayed in the bible (Jeremiah 29:13). I believe that He wants you to make a decision to follow Him, but not the "Him" that you think you are following, but the true God. The God that is plainly laid out in the bible. The God that plays hard ball when he has too (Matthew 21:12), but is also loving and kind when you are hurting (Psalm 109:21).

God is never changing. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). He doesn't change for you. The bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), and it doesn't change just because you don't agree with something in it. You don't get to pick and choose what you believe in the bible. It's all or nothing.

Now that statement gets people all crazy because they argue "well you eat pork", "you wear clothing of mixed materials" etc. My rebuttal to that (whether you agree or not) is that Jesus Christ came to the Earth to help bridge that gap. The Old Testament is full of rules. Those rules had there place, they were to help the Israelite people. Where I do not think we can fully discredit the Old Testament, I do believe there is ton to learn and grow from it. Jesus' coming and dying fullfilled those rules for us. He stepped and and became the sacraficial lamb so we don't have to keep "doing" to be saved. Now all we have to do to be "saved" is to believe in the Lord (John 3:16).

Now back to my original point. The Lord that you have to believe in, is the Lord that will be saving you. Any other lord, would be your own creation and in essense a "idol". For those who say things such as "I don't believe that a loving God would _______ (fill in the blank)" it confuses me. My God, the God that is protrayed in the Bible, the Christian God, does not want you to hurt. But because of a mistake that Adam and Eve did forever ago, we are given free will. We decide how we live our life. Our decisions dictate how God reacts to us. I believe fully that He doesn't "want" any of us to hurt. But when we mess up. It happens.

For example, you tell your child don't play on the furniture he could get hurt. He continues to do so, until one day he falls and hurts himself. You didn't want him to get hurt, but he failed to live by the rules you set out, so he was hurt.

(Side note: This does not pertain to death, or illness. I believe that God allows people to get sick and/or die for a purpose that I am not smart enough to understand, nor do I want that responsiblity. I know my God is a loving God and choose to trust his judgement).

So if you live a life that is not how God calls you to live, and you are hurt in the process, I would argue that it is not God's doing, but your own. God knows that we will not be sinless, He knows that we will mess up. That is why He sent His son to die for our sins. He doesn't expect perfection. But I strive to live a life that is so thankful for the gift God has given us that I do not want to live any other way than how he has called us to live.

So in conclusion:

Find out who God is

Believe in His salvation

Follow His Word 

Be Eternally Grateful

What I deserve

My life has not been perfect. I have done quite a few things that are not things that "good Christians" should do. And I held alot of shame over those things for a long time. It wasn't until a friend approached me (with equal types of "bad" things in her past" and asked me, if I have a problem forgiving those who have hurt me, or forgiving myself for the bad I have done. This really got me thinking. The quick answer was no, I no longer feel guilty. But then I had to ask myself "Why?"


I do not "deserve" the blessings that God has given me, I do not "deserve" this amazing family i have, I do not "deserve" this second...third...forth...etc chance that I have been given. And then it clicked. I do not "deserve" any of this. But isn't that alone, the whole point. We as humans do not deserve the eternale life God has promised. We will never live up to those standards and we will never be "good enough".

I told my friend (which was God speaking through me, considering it was in the moment, and wasn't until hours later I realized how true of a statement I was making) that once I truly gave my life over to Jesus, and leaned on him for my salvation. Once I made life style changes to become a child of God and not a child of Satan, that God had forgiven me. I had become a new creation in Christ. I was no longer who I had been, but I was now God's chosen child. The old me was gone.


So as a follower of Jesus, once I asked for his forgiveness, he wiped my sin away, made me white as snow. He no longer held those sins over me. So if the creator of the universe had forgiven me, and I had made life style changes, and I was now walking as a child of God, then why shouldn't I deserve the blessings God has given me.


I will never be deserving of God's goodness. I will never be sinless. I will never be all that I should be. But I try everyday to be a little bit better and I believe that God sees that I am trying and honors that.


There are two songs that helped me during my walk back to Christ, two songs that made me realize, I am not who I was, I am not the mistakes I made. I am Kari Rose Hache. And Jesus Christ loves me and has forgiven me. I hope that if you are struggling through past sins, and whether or not you deserve anything new they will help you too.

Change in the Making

Addision Road

You are More

Tenth Avenue North

Just remember two truths from these songs. God is not done with you yet and you are more than the sins you have made. I pray that this blog reaches someone deeply, because it has been just tugging at my heart for days to write. If you have any questions, or need to talk more in depth about Gods love for you, about his forgiveness, or about how you can also be free from bondage, please comment or email me at faithcanmove7@gmail.com. I would LOVE to talk to you.