Love Your Neighbor

"The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31a)

LEGOS!!! A source of fun, creativity, wonder, and excitement. Each time you play with them, you can create oodles of designs. I have spent countless hours creating the design they were intended for (according to the directions) and many more hours coming up with my own creation based on suggestions from my children. (Children really do have creative imaginations.)

After spending what seems like hours building ships, castles, skyscrapers, cruisers, and an army of various lego people to be integrated into each new scene, my kids would sometimes spend only 10-15 minutes playing before my lego building skills would once again needed to repair a broken ship or put back together a crashed cruiser.

Confused by the quick destruction and rapid rebuilding process that was needed, I decided to watch my youngest play with his legos once I was out of sight. Lego warriors scaled the tall building, rescued other lego buddies from a burning ship, and crashed their modes of transportation into other legos. There also were swords flying and Tae Kwon Do matches going on among the lego people. Very fascinating!

I bet you are wondering how this all relates to "Love you neighbor". As a Christian, we are asked to rescue (help) those around us who are in need of assistance. That could be by holding the door open for them when their hands are full. It may mean taking an extra 5-10 minutes to call a friend who is struggling with something. But, we are not to have our swords flying at one another. That means, watch what you say to others. Our words can be so sharp and hurtful that we actually injury someone emotionally with them. Gossip is another way that we can harm another. Loving your neighbor means to be considerate of them. No verbal or emotional Tae Kwon Do matches!!!

Who is God asking you to be kind to? Be aware that sometimes, it may mean going out of our way to help them or show compassion to them. Listen for God's direction and ask Him everyday, how you can show kindness and love to someone else.

In His Service,

A Solid Foundation

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established" (Proverbs 24:3)

Building a house takes a lot of planning, work, and money. It must begin with a solid foundation. If this foundation is weak, the house may be blown away when the storms of life come.

Our own personal faith can be considered to be like a house. We must build our faith on a solid foundation (Christ alone is that solid foundation). As we study God's Truth in the Bible, we are to pray for God's wisdom and insight so that we can understand the words written in scripture. As God opens His truth to us, we begin the develop a deeper understanding of Him. This deeper understanding helps to develop strong "beams" and brick walls to make our house stronger.

It does take planning on our part to set aside time on a regular basis to spend with God, it takes work (discipline) to not let the distractions of this world draw us away from studying or away for believing that God is the answer! It also takes a money (an investment maybe money or maybe an investment of time). God's Word tells us that were our treasure is, there our heart will be also.

When the storms of life come, they may rattle our windows but when our foundation is built on Christ and His Word serves as the beams and walls of our house, our house is not shaken off its foundation.

As you look at your own life, are you investing your time to build a solid foundation (one built on Christ)? Do you set aside time regularly during the week to pray and seek God's direction and wisdom? How do you spend your money? Do you give back of your time and money to serve others (participate in canned food drives, volunteer at a homeless shelter, donate to the Cancer Society or other worthy causes) and are you teaching this to your children, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren?

I challenge you to be sure you have build a solid foundation on Christ. Be ready for those storms. It is not if they come, it is for when they come. Blessings,

Listen to Your Father

"Listen to your father, who gave you life..." Proverbs 23:22a (NIV)

Listening is almost a lost art. We live in a society of fast communicators. We communicate with cryptic text messages, short voices messages, IM short-hand, quick facebook one to two liners, ... We have a drive-through line mentality in so much of our interactions today. Listening you say, that takes too long. I can't afford the time.

This verse in Proverbs, however, encourages the idea of listening but not just to anybody out there. We are to listen to our father (both earthly and heavenly-I would challenge you). Sometimes our earthly fathers have served as wonderful examples of what a father should be like, however, at other times, we may struggle with any type of "feelings" of kindness, compassion, or care toward our earthly father. The important fact is that whatever kind of earthly father you had, it is because of them that you are here. You are worth it!!! The fact that they had a part in your creation is enough to be thankful to them for.

The other part of your creation came for your Heavenly Father. He not only helped in giving you physical life, He offers spiritual life to all who call on His name and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. That Eternal Life He offers is life everlasting. That is truly something to celebrate.

I struggle at times to set aside time in my daily schedule to spend time reading my Bible, praying, and then being silent with God. It is in the times of silence that God can speak to us. Just as in any great friend/mentor relationship. We speak a little and then let our friend speak to us while we listen. Are you spending time "listening" to God everyday? I encourage you to take time to listen to Him. If you can, write down your thoughts during those times of listening. Remember, God's will for you will never contradict what scripture says.

The Bible tells us to "be still and know that I am God". Won't you be still before Him today?

Going from Ordinary to Extraordinary

Have you ever had a mountain top experience spiritually, emotionally, or professionally? Have you ever been at a loss to truly describe something you experienced? Well, that is exactly were I am right now. I will try to put words to my feelings of joy, anticipation, and excitement.

This past weekend, I attend my 3rd "She Speaks" Conference offered by Proverbs 31 Ministries (www.proverbs31.org). I knew the Lord had something special but I was unsure what that was. I always come to this conference expecting one thing and going away with more than I even imagined. I learned long ago to not put God in a box (try to limit what He is able to do based on my own human ideas).

The Friday evening session of the conference, presented by Lysa Terkeurst (www.lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com) was the beginning of my wonderful weekend journey. The verse that stood out to me the most was Acts 4:13-"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (NIV)

Wow. Christ spent time with ordinary men. The rulers, elders, and teachers in Jerusalem could see this very clearly. Yep, these were just ordinary men. But, the fact that they had been around Jesus, in His presence, spending time listening to His teachings--this changed them. They showed courage. They astonished people with their teachings.

Could it be that because I too spend time with Jesus, studying His Word, praying, meditating on scripture,...could this change me from ordinary to extraordinary? Well, scripture suggests that "being with Jesus" does change people. I am not an extraordinary person. However, when I spend time in the scriptures, when I pray, when I wait on God's truth to teach me, I am changed from ordinary to extraordinary. It is only by the grace of God that this happens.

What about you? Do you regularly spend time studying God's Word? Do you take time daily to pray-to praise God, thank Him for the blessings He has given you, confess your sins to Him and receive His cleansing, and present your prayer requests to Him believing that He is able to answer them in His perfect time? I encourage you to develop a daily habit of Bible study. This time with the Savior will take you from ordinary to extraordinary.

In His Service,

Ministry is a 2-way Street

This summer, my family had the wonderful privilege of going to a Christian family Dude Ranch near Estes Park, Colorado for a week. We spent an amazing week enjoying God's creation in the mountains of Colorado, getting to know several other families from around the U.S., studying God's Word together every morning, horseback riding, having fun with our kids (even our teenagers), and being spoiled by the staff at Wind River Ranch (windriverranch.com). My brief description here will never do it justice. This is a ranch you must experience for yourself.

I continuously saw examples of how the staff took their job seriously as they served others by praying for them, offering words of encouragement, teaching our children about God's love for them, role modeling Christian values for our teenagers, glorifying God in all they did,... The staff and ranch hands put in long days but their focus seemed unwavering. Keep your eyes on Christ-the maker and perfecter of your soul.

It was truly a mountaintop experience. While I thought I might have been able to offer some encouragement to some of them, they gave back so much more to me and my family. Too often, we approach ministry as a 1-way street.
What can my pastor do for me?
How can this person serve me?

We forget that healthy relationships and healthy ministries must be built on 2-way communication. While I may have been able to encourage a few people while we were there, I can certainly continue to offer words of encouragement to them through cards and prayers on their behalf.

What ministries has the Lord put in your life? How have you viewed those ministries (ie-as a 1-way or 2-way street)? What action do you need to take to begin to have 2-way communication with those ministries (ie-offer words of encouragement, send an email, offer to pray for them,...)?

We are to be Christ's hands and feet in this world. Let Him lead you as you begin this 2-way process.

Serving Him,

Created to Serve

I have just returned from a wonderful week of serving Christ in Ecuador. I traveled with a team of 16 others (6 of whom were teenagers-including my daughter) who served tirelessly. Our team had 6 tasks this week.

First, we completed construction on a school building. The area we worked in was the only area (out of 4 total) that did not have a school building.

Second, we worked on an actual bathroom for this school (they currently have a bamboo building with a hole dug out in the middle of the ground) and a septic area.

Third, we paid for a well (for fresh water) to be dug while we were there. Their current water source was a well dug near a drainage ditch which supplied them with brown water they used for washing dishes, clothes, and drinking.

Fourth, we conducted a Vacation Bible School all week so the children could learn about Jesus. Our teens gave out hundreds of Gospel bracelets and had a blast playing soccer with the children.

Fifth, we held medical clinics in all 4 of the schools that were located on the plantation were we worked.

Sixth, our most important work was sharing the love of Christ with each person we encountered.

Our work has only just begun, however. Our continuing task will be to pray for this group of people to not only accept Christ as Lord and Savior but also to grow in their faith and love of Christ. Being there last week helped to plant seeds of faith, to show them that they have not been forgotten by the Lord, and that He loves them deeply.

This is my third mission trip to Ecuador and my daughter's second trip. My job as a mother is to not only role model servanthood for my children but to also encourage them to serve as God directs them. What a privilege it has been to serve Christ with my daughter at my side. Even though we are back in the states, our service must continue through our prayers for the people we encountered, the physician and his family from Ecuador that we work with each year, and for God to provide new ways to serve Him locally.

What are you doing with the talents and abilities God has given you? How can you serve those around you both near and far? I would encourage you to ask Him to guide you into an area of service for Him. The world needs to see Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.

"Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out, yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now." by Saint Teresa of Avila

In His service,

Distractions

Wow. Time flies when you are busy. Sorry I have taken several weeks to do a post. May is such a busy month in our home. There are end of the school year activities, track meets to attend, outside landscaping to attend to (or try to attend to), work trips, family gatherings, and other periodic things that come up that need to be handled.

Too often, I let the "activities/things" in life squeeze out my needed time with God. I can see the shortening of my prayer time, then the occasional skipping of my Bible study for a day or 2. Then suddenly, I have missed spending time with God for several days in a row. Guilt creeps in. I sometimes let those feelings of guilt overwhelm me so much that I believe the lie--> God won't notice me gone if I don't say anything. HA!!! Who am I kidding?

My Lord and King always knows when I have missed a day with Him. His quiet, compassionate voice whispers in my thoughts--> Karrie, I am waiting right here for you. I love you. Come and spend time with me, let me give you encouragement, love, and forgiveness. You are my beautiful child. I will always love you.

One of satan's ways to draw us away from God by distractions. Who really wants to add more "things to do" to their schedule than anyone can humanly accomplish? None of us would volunteer to have such full schedules but it happens very gradually. I know the importance of praying before I volunteer to do something extra at work, church, or in our community but I too get in trouble with an overbusy calendar at times.

This summer, I am working diligently to ask God to order my days. I desire to do His good and perfect will each and everyday. I don't want to be distracted and miss any time with my precious Lord.

What distractions exist in your life? How do you handle requests for your time? Do you pray about each request to be sure that it is God's best for you? Be careful to not let the things of this world squeeze out your precious time with God. He loves you and wants to spend time with you.
Blessings,