Conformed or Transformed?

I am amazed at all that happened this year....and these pictures from msnbc don't even cover it all. We live in a world that has exciting things and devestating things happening at the very same time. These pictures remind me that I need to be praying for our world! And so much more than "Bless the people in Africa" type prayers. I am also reminded of God's greatness in creation. What amazing beauty he has given to us. The space pictures are incredible! Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Lord, we need you!

I made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and why is it that every time I have to burn at least one sandwich? I started thinking about this and much of it is attributed to the fact that I always do things at warp speed. I tend to think that if I push through as fast and hard as I can, I will get the maximum results. I cook at a higher temp so the food will get things done faster. I would rather run on the treadmill at a 6 incline for 10 minutes rather than a 1 incline for 60 minutes. But is there something wrong with my philosophy? In my food, am I missing maximum taste by cooking it as fast and hot as I can? Am I gaining the maximum results by exercising at maximum levels? In my relationship with the Lord.....am I missing out on miraculous opportunities that God has for me, because I am so busy doing my spiritual disciplines as fast as I can?

There are some meant to sing this song. Have you heard this version in your church? ( Make sure you listen to the song all the way to the end!) http://mikepiera.com/

I read Neil Anderson's daily devotional. I thought this one was especially good and worth passing on....it speaks for itself..... 2 Corinthians 5:17 If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it's a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who gets forgiveness, who gets to go to heaven, who gets the Holy Spirit, who gets a new nature. A Christian, in terms of our deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn't exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn't the point; it's who you are. It's not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it's who you are that determines what you do (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9, 10; 1 John 3:1, 2). Understanding your id...

Wow, how quickly a week goes by! I just spent some time reading email updates from two of our missionary friends, the Yosts in Sonora, Mexico and Blake Wood in Cairo, Egypt. I was touched by the impact they are having on their communities. Every day is a new adventure and is focused on "doing something that has kingdom value". Wow! It's the Christmas season and I am looking forward to a few days of spending time relaxing with our immediate family, but also with extended family. Even though I have been prepared for Christmas for a while and everything is wrapped and under the tree, I feel the "stress" of Christmas. I do not feel like I have focused and reflected with thanksgiving on the reason for this season sufficiently......nor focused on doing things with kingdom value. Points to ponder: What if every day was spent looking for opportunities to do things of eternal worth? How would your priorities change? Would that mean drastic changes for you? How many thing...

Last night as I was doing some cooking in the kitchen, the smoke alarms went off in the house. Now, some of you who know me, wouldn't really be suprised by this and are laughing at me right now, but I wasn't burning anything.....this time! We had company visiting, and I looked at them and said "Wow, that shouldn't be happening, I'm not doing anything worthy of that!" I decided to head down the hallway to fan the alarm, realizing that small children were sleeping and I needed to get them off (especially, since all the alarms in the house are connected and it was not only going off in the hallway, but in each of the bedrooms too!) As I walked down the hallway, I smelled smoke. I knew it was more than my cooking that set the alarms off. I ran into my bedroom, where my daughter was sitting on the bed crying and next to her was a burned kleenex from the candle burning in my bedroom. I made sure all the pieces were blown out and got the alarms off. I discussed with ...

I took a quiz about what theological world view I have. I am Holiness/Wesleyan! Good thing, since I am pursuing ordination in the Wesleyan Church! Here are my results: You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 86% Reformed Evangelical 50% Neo orthodox 46% Fundamentalist 46% Emergent/Postmodern 32% Roman Catholic 29% Charismatic/Pentecostal 29% Classical Liberal 29% Modern Liberal 21% What's your theological world view?

A woman was Christmas shopping with her two children.. After many hours of walking down row after row of toys and after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the store elevator with her two children in hand. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card. Finally the elevator doors opened revealing a crowd in the elevator. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids and all her bags of stuff in with her. As the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot." From the ...

Our small group is studying the book Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. This week's topic was about influence. "Human beings are created for influence, to be influenced by the lives of others and to influence others." My take away from tonight: What if someone seriously said "I want to model my life after YOU!" What would their life look like?

When you come to see Him face to face, and tell Him what you think of His plan, when you are some thousands of years older than you are now, Will you not adore that Wisdom that manages this scheme, and the Infinite Love in which it had its birth? O, what will you then say of that amazing condescension that brought down Jesus to your rescue! Say, Christian, have you not often poured out your soul before your Saviour in acknowledgment of what you have cost Him ... And there seemed to be a kind of lifting up, as if the very bottom of your soul were to rise? And if any earthbound one had seen you, they would have wondered what had happened to you ... That had so melted your soul in gratitude and love. by Reverend Charles G. Finney

This morning as I was praying, I asked God to increase my faith. And, as soon as I did, I said to myself "you know what praying for faith does...it means God will give you something that will require you to have faith". I knew I was in trouble. Why did I pray that? "God, I do want to have faith, but please don't make me......" Here it is 2:00 in the afternoon of the same day.....a husband with some huge life decisions and a choice to worry or trust in faith. Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. My job today is to believe he exists and earnestly seek Him....nothing more, nothing less. Hebrews 11 is a great faith chapter filled with those who had faith "even though...." God is bigger than the "even though". I trust that today!

Since last Friday we have been getting dumped on as far as the snow goes. I have been procrastinating putting new tires on my car. They are the low profile summer tires that do absolutely nothing for you but slide all over on the winter roads. Now, don't forget, I live in Northern Michigan. I know how to drive in snow, so getting stuck this early in the game shouldn't happen......especially in your own driveway! AHHHH!!!! This morning I was backing up and hit the brakes and the car spun around almost hitting two trees. We have about a 4-5 inch drop off the edge of our driveway, because we only poured the cement and haven't put the yard in yet, so my car slid off the edge and plowed through the pile of snow from the snowblower. Of course, I was in a hurry because we were late for school....NOW....we're really late. I called my neighbor and asked her to come take Olivia to school for me. She gracious obliged. I figured I would come in and call Brian and have him come home...

Our small group is studying Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. Tonight we talked about uncertainty and what faith really is. McManus says "Faith is the ability to know that God can be trusted." Sometimes God requires different levels of faith for different tasks. For example, what is the difference in the faith required in the crossing of the Red Sea vs the crossing of the Jordan River? With Moses, God parted the water and they crossed. They watched God at work. With Joshua, the people became a part of the miracle. They were told to step into the water and when they did, the water dried up. No matter what God is calling us to.....we must do so in faith. Sometimes this will mean we need to take action. Other times, it means we need to just be still and know that He is God. Hebrews 11 is filled with heroes of the FAITH. They believed God. God CAN be trusted. Why do I ever doubt?

The past few months have been difficult with my daughter. Has anyone noticed that girls are soo different than boys? My son, now 13 years old, never cared what I picked out for him to wear. He was just glad that I picked them out! My daughter, almost 7 years old, HAS AN OPINION! My daughter and I have been struggling every day with our morning routine. And somewhere in the morning, I get a "NO, MOMMY!" from her. But, today was a different kind of "NO" from her. We have discussed our morning attitudes and she truely desires to do what God wants her to do, because she has Jesus in her heart. So, we started to pray about it together that Jesus would help her make good choices regarding her attitude. She asked me to remind her when she started to get a bad attitude that we should pray. This morning, as she started to get a little testy with me, I said "Olivia, let's pray!" So, we prayed and I asked Jesus to help Olivia have a good attitude this...