Help Me Win the Kroger Bag Contest

Hi everyone.  I wanted to ask for a huge favor.  I submitted a bag design for Kroger's Design a Reusable Bag Contest.  My bag number is 6919.  I am asking for your support.  If I win, I will be donating $500 to my local food bank and the other $500 to a mom I know that has a great need right now.  You can vote every day so please help me out!  Thanks and God Bless!

Out with the Old You, In with the New Creation

     The stores are starting to get rid of the old winter stock and bringing in the new spring lines.  I love this time of year.  I get rid of socks and dig out my sandals.  I put the sweatshirts away and get the tank tops out.  I hate the cold weather and I am happy that spring has arrived.  It doesn’t make sense for stores to keep those cold weather clothes in stock when the weather is getting warmer, does it?

     In the same way, as Christians, we need to clothe our selves with the qualities of Christians.  In Colossians 3:12-14, Paul tells us, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

     Isn’t it great to be considered holy and dearly loved?  To be God’s chosen people?  Forgiven by the One who created the whole universe?  In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul also says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”  The first day of spring was officially March 20^th.  Winter is gone.  The animals will be giving birth to new babies, the flowers will start their blooming.  All around us the shedding of the old is occurring.

     As your putting away those old winter clothes and getting out your spring wardrobes, think about your life as a Christian.  Are you clothed as a new creation or are you still clothed as you were in your “old” life?  Will you choose to live in the new, or suffer in the old?  Spring is a beautiful time of year with the ground clothed in newly greened grass and colorful flowers.  Being a Christian, one of God’s chosen people, is the most beautiful way for you to clothe yourself.

Seek God first, even in Politics

     I felt compelled to write this post this morning after reading an article about Glenn Beck and how people are focusing on his comments instead of what is important.  After reading the article, I was slightly frustrated.  Okay, really frustrated.  In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Then in Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says,  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."  These three verses make it very clear to me, and hopefully to you too, that everyone who seeks God first will be given everything they could possibly ever need.
     Why are we looking for our government (which is made up of men and women) to give us the things we need?  Why aren't we seeking God first?  I had someone tell me recently that God can't have a part in politics.  WHAT??  God must, I repeat, MUST have a part in everything we do. 
     We can't remove God from our political beliefs.  If you are going to do that, then you might as well remove him from the rest of your life as well.  Seeking God first means seeking him first, always, in everything.  Not just when it fits what we want to say or do.   Whether its politics, parenting and everything in between, seek God first.  Isaiah Chapter 31 gives an example of what will happen if men rely on other men instead of God.  It says that if we rely on men and help people who are wicked then God will reach out with his hand and those who help the wicked and those who were helped will fall and both "will perish together" (Isaiah 31:3).  Okay, that should be a clear enough example of what happens if we rely on men to help us.  Did you know that the saying, "God helps those who help themselves" is not a biblical saying?  This chapter of Isaiah shows what happens to men who "help themselves."  They die.  End of discussion. 

    I am tired of hearing people complain about all the problems they have and why can't the government do something to help them?  After all they are Americans and deserve everything handed to them, right?  No, you don't.  Not if you have the ability and the opportunity, just like the rest of us, and choose not to act on those abilities and opportunities.  Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are very successful business men.  They didn't become successful by sitting on their behinds and complaining that everyone else has things they don't.  They chose to act.  They used their gifts and talents and put them to use and now they reap the rewards.  We all have this option.  We all have gifts that God has given us and we can choose to use them.  All we have to do is seek God first.
     I have mentioned the parable of the talents before in my posts, but I want to look at it in a different light today.  The parable tells of three servants who were all given talents (money) by their master, according to their abilities.  The first two servants invested their talents and doubled what the master had given them and so to them, the master gave more.  The last servant went and hid his talent in the ground because he was afraid.  The master took his talent away and gave it to one of the other servants.  The master did not take the talents away from the faithful servants and give it to the one who was afraid to act.  It was just the opposite.  Why does our country think the right thing to do is take away from people who have used their talents wisely and give to the people who are afraid and lazy and want everything handed to them instead of having to work for it?  Seek God first, use your talents wisely, and don't wait for a handout.

Even when you don't know, God does

     On Palm Sunday, the church my husband and I attended talked about a recent mission trip they were going to be taking.  The were going to Rancho Sordo Mudo, which is a Christian school for deaf children in Baja California, Mexico.  The were leaving on Easter Sunday morning and flying out there for two weeks.  During the Palm Sunday service, the pastor talked about how they didn't have any idea what they were going to be doing for the school, just that they God called them to go and assist in any way that they could.  We prayed for the group of 25 that was heading out and that God would keep them safe and show them what they could do for the school.
     Have you seen the news?  When I saw that an earthquake had hit the very area that this group was going into I smiled.  Not because they were hit with an earthquake, but because God knew what was going to happen and sent this willing group of servants there at the precise moment that they were needed.  God knows, even when we don't know.  If you place your life in God's hands, it's gonna be a great ride.  You are not always going to know what is ahead of you on the road, but if you trust in Him, he will lead you where you are needed and get you there when you are needed most.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this group of willing servants.  They didn't know what they were heading into, but You did.  Thank you for sending them where they were needed and when they were needed, even when they had no idea what they were going to be facing.  Please be with them and the residents of the school and help them all to see that you have a plan for them and for all of us.  All we have to do is accept and follow.  In Jesus' name, Amen.