Flashback Friday: Worth
FLASHBACK FRIDAY The boys recently asked my about my teaching past. They wanted to know what grades I taught and what I thought of the kids. They asked if it was hard and if I liked to teach. Jack asked me if I wanted to …
Tag: Jesus
It’s Complicated
The complexities of faith. We google and search trying to find answers to our faith. We look up the Hebrew and Greek translations studying the context of the time trying to make sense of it all. We listen to the voices from the pulpit and …
The Circle
I have a circle.
You do, too. Inside of our circles are all the rules; a certain way to live. We like things a certain way. We also like to force others to live inside our circles. We desire them to abide to our rules, opinions, and ways. If they do not conform to our circle, we become frustrated and angry.
My husband and I got into a fight. Well, not really a fight but a disagreement. Over what, you ask? Oh, you know, a pan. Like a pan you cook with. I will spare you the (lame) details, but let’s just say this “disagreement” was my fault. I wanted something a certain way and he did not heed my desire. When we hashed it all out, I realized I wanted him to live inside my circle. And you know what? He doesn’t reside there. I do. And while he does have the right to tell me how I can and cannot treat him, he doesn’t have the authority to tell me how I should feel in a certain situation (and vice versa).
This is the same when it comes to our faith journeys. Each of our journey looks different yet we desperately want them all to look the same. We may say we don’t, but our actions speak differently. When someone doesn’t live in our faith circle, we will do anything and everything to make the jump.
We want all our circles to be perfectly round and the same size; cookie cutter. There is no room for ovals or circles that are off-center. No one’s circle needs to be bigger than the next guys and our circles aren’t supposed to be small. Just like the houses of the suburbs, every circle should look the same.
Let me challenge us (especially us, Christians) to stop forcing each other to fit in our circles. While we do have the authority to tell people about Jesus, we do not have the authority to tell people how to get there. That’s their circle. Not ours.
My husband and I like to take different routes home from church. I like to avoid this one highway (it’s a mess) and he likes the speed he can travel on said highway. We take our separate paths but both make it home. One may take longer than the other, but we both make it. Neither way is wrong. Just different. The destination, Jesus, is the same for each of us. The way we get to that end is our own circle.
I found freedom when I released others from living inside my circle. I understand that they, too, have a circle where they reside. My circle is for me and me alone. It only works for me and no one else. Jesus talks to me in a particular way in my circle that is unique to me. He speaks to you in your circle in only a way you can hear Him.
I like the space inside my circle. A lot. But, my circle isn’t for everyone else. Just me.
Don’t force others to live in your circle. It wasn’t meant for them. Respect the boundaries of their circles, too. You’ll find freedom there. And, who knows, maybe Jesus will be seen more vibrantly when we all stick to our own circles.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Perception vs. Deception
When we live in others’ perception of ourselves, we are deceived. When we live for our own perception of ourselves, we are deceived. Only God’s perception matters. I have a saying written on a chalkboard in my office. It reads, Confidence in Christ. I wrote the …
Be the Change
I did it, y’all.
I did what we all do.
I saw the controversial post and got sucked into the train wreck that is the comment feed left in its wake. This one wasn’t too bad. Well, in regards to today’s standards, that is.
I have a confession to make. I have noticed some anger welling up inside me. Let me give you some background to me so you understand. I am your textbook A-type personality. Micah 6:8 is my mantra. You better act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly or I’m comin’ after you. Not really. But, in my head I’m comin’ after you. I am a rule follower and if you break the rules, I ain’t playin’.
Now that you know my personality type, you can understand this anger that was percolating within me. I’ve had two phone calls in the past month that did not end well. Both were with front-desk people in the medical field. Both wanted something from me that had absolutely nothing to do with the health and well-being of the persons involved. They wanted more money from me withholding prescriptions until we did this and that. This was not a matter of unpaid bills. Instead, it was a matter of our broken healthy system. But, this is not what this post was about.
Anyway, like I was saying. Anger. It spewed from me like something I haven’t seen in a very long time and don’t want to really ever see again. I was not horrible, yet, I was not loving and kind either. If they found my blog, they would probably wonder if I were the same person.
I then come across this friend’s post. I notice someone says something horribly unkind to the poster. The person who post this is someone I love, respect, and care deeply for. My first instinct? Teach this comment-er that those words were not okay. And then I took a breath. I didn’t respond to the negative comment. I usually don’t. I just can’t. It’s not my thing; not my way. Yet, I felt like I had to do something. I had that stirring, the good kind, within me.
I decided to comment to the poster. I let her know she is loved not despicable. That she is beautiful and valued no matter what she posts. I saw in that moment that it doesn’t matter what we post, what we say, or how we act. I mean, it does matter, BUT when God looks at us do you know what He sees?
Jesus.
The words, the comments, the posts they all fade away when God looks our way. Instead He sees His Son. And if God can see His Son through all the harsh words and anger, than I can too.
As odd as this sounds, I needed that post. I needed to see it so I could be reminded of how God sees us. He doesn’t see our anger. He sees forgiveness. He doesn’t see our nasty posts online. He sees love. He doesn’t see our mistakes. He sees the scares on His Son’s hands.
He sees Jesus.
And so do I.
The next time I get wrapped up in this cold harsh world, I will choose to see Jesus. The next time I am wronged, I will choose to see Jesus. The next time I am wrapped up in some kind of injustice, I will choose Jesus. The next time I feel anger towards someone who wronged me, I will choose to see Jesus.
You are loved. You are beautiful. You are valued.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
Jesus
Jesus
You make the darkness tremble
Tremble
By: Mosaic MSC
Get Out of the Way
Are we getting in the way of the Church? If you study any type of church history, you will find that it is and has always been messy. People are involved. People are complicated. If people are complicated and people are what make up the …
Pointing Fingers
Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning, walked into the bathroom, quickly looked at your reflection as you passed by, and gasped because you didn’t recognize the person staring back at you? Or, you flip to your camera app on your phone …
Sleep
I love my sleep. I may not be good at resting, but sleeping is my jam. I love the feeling of getting into my bed after the day is done. I always have to get into a made bed. I cannot get comfortable in a messy bed. Weird, I know. Just one of my things. I recently read a quote on a shirt (You know, those shirt companies that advertise on Facebook). At first, I thought it was cute. Then, I came to my senses. This shirt is part of what is wrong in this world; what is wrong with our priorities.
Sleep is for the weak.
That is what the quote read. “Sleep is for the weak.” At first I thought, “Ya! That’s right! You’re weak if you stop and rest.” I have been conditioned to think this way. If I am not doing, I am lazy. If I sit down, I am not earning my keep. I’ve latched onto Dori’s fin and sung, “Just keep swimming,” in harmony. Just. Keep. Going.
Y’all, this is a LIE. A bold-faced flat-out lie. The shirt should read: Sleep makes you strong.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Genesis 2:2
If the Creator of the universe rested, than we should, too. God rested. He saw that all the work he had completed was good and accomplished, so he rested. I feel like if the mention of rest is in the first few sentences in the Bible, than maybe, just maybe, we should adhere to this way of living.
We have been absolutely conditioned in our culture that rest is for the weak. Go on. Wear yourself out. Do everything. Do it all. And when you do, you can have it all.
LIES.
All you will have if you strive to live this way is the flu and a mental breakdown.
Have you ever been so tired you started crying for no reason? Just me? Have you ever been so tired that you snapped at your kids or your spouse or the checker at the grocery store? Just me? Have you ever been so tired you put your clothes on inside out? Just me? I know I am not alone in this. Neither are you.
Stop striving to be strong by being busy. There is no strength in exhaustion. There is no strength in striving. But rest? Oh, there is strength in rest.
Think of all the things you can accomplish after a good night’s sleep. Think of how clear-headed you are when you feel like you have taken a moment to be still. We are better, I know I am better, when I allow myself to rest.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Time and time again, the Bible talks about the importance of rest. Jesus naps during a storm. He removes himself from the crowd to pray.
Rest is for the strong. Not the weak.
Lay down the guilt and go lay yourself down. Be still. Take a nap. Remove yourself from the chaos and go for a walk; no ear buds.
We were created by the Creator to rest. He rested. Jesus rested. It’s time we all take a pause and rest.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
What’s Happened to Us
I was sitting outside watching my kids enjoy the first warm day in a long time when I received a text. The message informed me of another school shooting. I told my friend that I was so happy I didn’t watch the news. I had …