When was the last time you challenged your beliefs?

"My feelings are not God. God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God’s word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes - many times - my feelings are out of sync with the truth. When that happens - and it happens every day in some measure - I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.”
― John Piper, Finally Alive



"If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t, it's not the gospel you believe, but yourself." Augustine



“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It's a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God. If we don't want God above all things, we have not been converted by the gospel.”
― John Piper, God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself



“There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world, that is not intended to make us rejoice.”  John Calvin
 


“Love may, indeed, love the beloved when her beauty is lost: but not because it is lost. Love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal. Love is more sensitive than hatred itself to every blemish in the beloved… Of all powers he forgives most, but he condones least: he is pleased with little, but demands all.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain



“I [God] am what some would say 'holy, and wholly other than you.' The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think.”
― William P. Young, The Shack



“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”    Matthew 10:34



“We...sin not because we want what is evil, but because we want what isn't good enough.”
― Scott Hahn, Lord, Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession



“Never think that you need to protect God. Because anytime you think you need to protect God, you can be sure that you are worshipping an idol.”
Stanley M. Hauerwas



“We fear men so much, because we fear God so little.” William Gurnall




“If tribulation is a necessary element in redemption, we must anticipate that it will never cease till God sees the world to be either redeemed or no further redeemable.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain



“Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions implicitly to the Church?”   John Calvin


“In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians.”
― Karl Barth



"Choose... this day whom you will serve! Joshua 24:15 Remember, any day not surrendered to the Spirit is virtually surrendered to the flesh by simple default!" -Beth Moore

Where Do We Go For Inspiration?

One of the things I love about Facebook is noticing the trends among my friends' posts. It amazes me the "familiarity" they all have! One of these trends is the new "inspiration" quotes people have been posting. I look at these and think to myself, "What in the world do they think is inspirational about that?" But over and over and over these get posted on people's walls. These quotes are "touching" lives, "changing" opinions, "making a difference" but they are all so...WRONG...some more obvious than others, some great on the surface, but one thing they all have in common is they fall so very, very short. Here's the one that really made my heart cry out inside of me

What if the words we find so "inspiring" are wrong?

Oh, how I wish everyone had the freedom to realize the deception of these words. Perhaps the reason I had such a strong reaction to these words is because of the recent events surrounding this blog (esp my first post). The personal attacks for my beliefs, the rift it has caused in certain relationships, the fact that it has shed light into areas that I had been able to keep covered in darkness and ignore. But through all the harsh words, the tears, and perceived truths that were being revealed as lies, God began to reveal this falsehood to me. The lie that had been planted who knows when. The lie that what others feel or think about me should effect my beliefs, my happiness, my view of myself. Enduring weeks of constant attacks from someone who felt my beliefs were "harmful to mothers" who felt it was a sign of "mental instability" who took it as a "personal attack on her" was the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. Then to have certain other "Christians" in my life side with her had cast me into a state of insecurity. This lie that had been planted in my heart that if someone is "hurt" by my words then my words must be wrong, the lie that if others "disagree" with me then I must be wrong, the lie that my beliefs should be influenced by others opinions of the "truth". Lies, lies, lies. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5.

 Here is a small snippet of one of the countless messages received and how God was able to use it for postive in my life...

"You just aren't using your gifts. No one will hear your message if it's oozing with judgement and condemnation...you are turning people off left and right. Have you received any positive feedback on your blog--at all? I am positive you are totally lying. I know several women that have told you that parenting is hard and that it's not okay to say it's not -- strong Christian women that are devout. And your blog has five followers as of today. I'm a mental health clinician and when you're ready to admit that you need help, I hope you seek it. Lying (even to strangers) is not only an unhealthy habit, but being untruthful is preached against in the Bible. I really can't say anything else to you, but I am terrified of people on the edge like you and I'll continue to watch you in order to protect my family."

It makes my heart race and tears well up in my eyes to even read this again, to think about the other messages, to think how she (whom I have never met) and others (some of whom I have) have tried so hard to not only change what I believe, but put an end to my sharing it. The accusations of judgement are the worst since anyone who knows me, knows that my heart is so far from that. But as my pastor helped me to realize these attacks had nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my actual content, there was no truth behind the words that were being thrown at me. It is all about their feelings, their problems, their misconstructions and defenses, their misunderstanding of the truth. I pray no one has to endure such criticism, such personal attack for sharing their beliefs, such pain as I did through this, but if you do I pray that you can remember what it is that God was able to scream through my pain...My beliefs are not dependant on your view of the truth, my opinion of myself is not based on what you think about me, my happiness is not dependant of how you treat me! I know that this was God speaking into me because it was the last thing that was going through my head at the moment. Do not listen to the world when it tells you that your "attitude is based on how others treat you." Cling to the promises we have in Christ, hold on to His truths, use Him as your source of inspiration and you will not be led astray.

Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Today was a crazy day! It was my "YES" day (which I'm striving to make happen everyday), I found a wonderful challenge that really encouraged me to bring the R&R back to my life (but also required hours of work to get our bedroom even remotely out of the "war zone"), and I still have to manage to live my life in The Spirit, be a purposeful wife, and maintain my position as manager of our household! Whew! The great thing is that this is all becoming more and more natural as I continue to practice it. Less and less overwhelming with each passing day. But when I really stop and think about what it is I'm trying to do, I start to feel like I'm trying to accomplish too much. If I look at this list of things I'm trying to do with my life, changes I'm trying to make, and goals I'm trying to reach, I start to feel like it will never happen. That was when I walked outside to pick up the endless trail of toys my children had brought outside and left out in the rain. In the midst of the chaos I looked up and saw this. I saw the sky, dark from the rain that had just passed; trees turning the most beautiful shades of red, something we don't often get in Louisiana; and this beautiful space God has blessed us with. I immediately felt peaceful, calm, encouraged. It wasn't until I was still, for just a second, that I was able to remember that God is God. That what I am trying to accomplish is not about me, but Him. And in that moment of stillness He said, "I AM, AND I WILL." Praise God for the moments of stillness, no matter how short. Praise God for bringing pause to our hectic lives to remind us that He is and that even though we cannot, He will!