Ephesians 2:1-10

I've got an action item I need to create based on our study of Ephesians chapter one from last week. Our study group discussed the lost art of letter writing. Of course, after the discussion, the next day I realized why letter writing is so much more then what you get in an email or especially on Facebook, etc. Letter writing is really much more in-depth which is much more likely to ellicit emotions from the reader. These emotions are what keep us connected not the short here's what I had for breakfast junk you see on Facebook. So, my action item is to start a letter writing campaign. I am going to try to get a letter written to someone once a month and I will be doing more updates, thoughts and feelings emails to the grandparents. I feel disconnected from my parents so I can imagine my kids probably don't feel so connected with them either.
This week's lesson was on the beginning of chapter two and had much to do about grace. The sermon Jim Singleton preached on it was very passionate. He had a coffin out as his "big prop". This is your funeral he said. I already have a good fondation on this concept of what Christ did for us but sacrificing himself on the cross he brought us back to being Alive! We are all dead. It's a spiritual dead but that means when your body dies you won't be going to heaven to live forever. "Dead! We are all dead!",he said. But thankfully we have good news, because of God's great love for us and Jesus' death on the cross we are brougth back out of death into life in the light with Christ. The things that most stood out to me on this sermon were the phrase dead man walking. Most people out there are dead men and women walking. The other word that captured my attention was the word desparate in this quote Jim gave "Salvation is not for the well-meaning but for the desperate. I so remember the time before I came to truley know and accept Jesus when I was in an emotional state of desperation. I was at rock bottom with how to deal with not getting pregnant and the abortions of my past. I had always justified my abortions but finally changed my feelings about that because of the desperation. I needed the forgiveness that only through Jesus anyone can have. Realizing that what I did was a sin was the first step into my new life. So, are there things in your past you are rationalizing. Are you living in denial of what you have done? I thank God for leading me back to him and helping me to understand what I did was wrong but through Jesus I am forgiven and am now ALIVE!

Figured it Out

Okay, so I was driving home last night and it came to me how we were chosen but we have free will thing. God chose all of us, all of mankind. He loves us all, each and everyone of us. He made the choice to send Jesus, his only son to Earth so that our sins attoned for by his death. He made the ultimate sacrifice watching his only son tortured and death on a cross. He chose us! It's up to us to use our own free will to choose him. He loves us but wants us to have the free will to make our own choice. It's all pretty clear now and it will be interesting to see how my pastor explains it and if I am even close to be correct about this.
That word choice seems to have been coming up a lot in my life lately. Maybe I am clearly seeing for the first time how much we can change ourselves simply by deciding to make the right choices. I have for too many moons been using excuses like it's my hormones or whatever but the truth is everything we do is a choice and God gives us the power to not only make that choice but live up to it. I may be grumpy from hormonal imbalance but I can choose to not be grumpy and call on my God to help me ungrumpify. I think you have to come to a place where you realize you need help in pretty much everything and God is the only one out there that will consistently be there and guide you. Choices. What can I choose to do today that would be a reflection of God? I will start by choosing to be positive and have a kindhearted, caring and patient attitude with my children, my co-workers, my husband and my friends. What choice will you make today to bring glory to God?

Waterfall of Blessings

We are starting a sermon series and bible study based on the book of Ephesians. Our first sermon was on Sunday. We are given a "waterfall of blessings". There are 8 gifts based on Ephesians chapter 1. #1 He chose us. This one is a little intriguiging because what about the whole free will thing. Our paster plans on digging more into that in future sermons so I will be waiting to see what he says about that one. #2 We are predestined to be adopted children of God. Apparently the Romans consider any adopted child to get the full rights and everything as a natural child. So, it's the same for us. We are adoopted by God and get all these spiritual blessings because of it. #3. We are favored by God. He explained how in Ephesus they worshipped the goddess Artemis and you had to do a whole lot to be in her favor. We don't have to do anything. #4 Redemption. I like the word ensnared he used. We are ensnared by sin but the blood of Jesus Christ released us from this bondage with sin. #5 Forgiveness. #6 Lavished with Grace. #7 Mystery of his Will #8 Marked by the seal of the Holy Spirit. He plans on digging into these last ones in future sermons. I really liked his story about the 1/2 head of lettuce. A lady wanted to buy a half a head of lettuce. The produce clerk was new and went to his boss, the lady followed but he didn't know it. He says to his boss, "This old bag wants to buy a half a head of lettuce. The boss is horrified. The produce clerk realizes somethings up and turns to see the lady and says with very quick thinking, and this nice lady wants to buy the other half. There was more to the story and the produce clerk was quick thinking again. Quick thinking was the theme surrounding this lesson. I am still not sure how the quick thinking applies to this stuff in scripture except that maybe we should know all these gifts we are given so we can quickly be able to answer questions of non-believers? He also gave a story about Christmas presents and how his 2 year old newphew opened the first present and was so engrossed in it he forgot all about the other presents. Okay, that would not happen in my family but I do see his point. He says we have been given all these gifts but we haven't necessarily opened them all. I think I have opened them all but I also think that you have to open these gifts everyday so you can be reminded and keep all these wonderful gifts we are given in the front of your mind.
This is going to be a very interesting series. Have you opened all these gifts?

Thankful Thankful Thankful

1. for a God who loves me not matter what.
2. for my husband whom I love.
3. for my kids who bring me so much joy. Thanks to Tristan for making the beer bread last night per my instructions. Very impressed that you listened and followed through.

Lesson Learned

Little did I know that after reading about the cracked pot I would be using that visual to help me work through the next difficult challenge that came into my path. I got a scathing email from a board member with my networking group. Being the President, I guess the buck stops with me. It was never my intention to continue being president of the group for another year but nobody else was stepping up to the plate and I didn't want all my hard work over the last year to be wasted and the group fall apart. But leadership is tough and it's even harder when you work full time and have a family and life that you have to keep in balance. In hindsight I can see how she may have felt the way she did but I emailed her back with an apology, another attempt at explaining why decisions were made and to ask for her forgiveness. I was very angry after reading it at first. I was ready to just quit! But I took Faith swimming at the YMCA and distracted myself with a good book and prayed a little prayer that God would work on my heart to let this go and be forgiving for this email that basically critized my leadership ability. I have been struggling with this negative thinking track and I didn't want to let this issue get me back to that. God heard me. She emailed back simply that I was forgiven and thanks for the grace. I don't know maybe she felt bad for sending the email in hindsight. In any case, I had my first real lesson in loving someone you don't want to love, in letting go of judgement and just extending grace and love back. I don't know how I will feel when I am face to face with her possibly next week at our networking dinner meeting but I will be praying that God will prepare me to keep the positive thinking going and keep that visual of the cracked pot. I am not perfect. I have flaws but I have a sneaking suspision that God will use this for something good. Amen to that.

I am a cracked pot!

That's what it said in my devotion this morning. We are all like clay pots which always have cracks in them. Not perfect by any means. But God shines through the cracks using our imperfections for his glory. Wow, that is just an amazing visual for me. I went a step further and decided to create an alarm on my I-phone to remind me I am a cracked pot. I will have to create more of these reminders on my phone. That's really what we all need everyday is someone or something reminding us of how loved we are by God and how we are gifted and talented and God uses us for his good purposes. I say that phrase, "I am a cracked pot" and it makes me smile. Everyone needs to consider themselves cracked pots and we would all be smiling and feeling how valuable we are to God. My positive track is going pretty well. I have sent off one thinking of you card and have two more ready to go. It does make you feel good to write just a little something to someone and I would hope a good feeling will be received by the recipient. I have to get to making more cards. I am thanking God for giving me a more postive outlook and attitude about everything and thank my hubbie for getting The Bachelor Season Premier ready to watch last night for me. What an awesome surprise that was! I think we all need to do new year's resolutions once a month not once a year!! I still need to get my memory verse picked out. Got to check my alarm on that. Thought I set one? hmm.... Speaking of alarm... my lunch break is over. Hope you feel like cracked pots in the days and years ahead.

Forgiving yourself is the hardest thing to do.

So, I made an error in judgement last night at my networking board meeting and brought up some things said to me by another member. I ended up waking up with this nightmare about the lady finding out and being horribly angry. Funny it was, because it had the actor from Grey's Antaomy that plays the ex-army doctor and he's always angry and trying to protect his new wife on the show. He was the one delivering the message to me about my friends anger. Ugh. Needless to say, I couldn't get back to sleep. I was in turmoil over what I had done. In hindsight, I could have left her name out of it. Duh. I even went so far as to get up and go write an email to one of the ladies who was courageous enough to put up her hand last night and try to stop me from going further in "gossip". Funny again, the email came back undelieverable. I finally managed to get back to sleep out on the couch and woke feeling a little better. I think my mind and heart finally were working together and I was accepting the fact that I am forgiven. Let it go and move on and try not to do this kind of thing again. Forgiveness is never easy but I think we are always hardest on ourselves but there are many songs out there that I have been hearing that remind me that I am forgiven. It's all about grace. I asked God to forgive me and he did so now I am moving on and hopefully will grow.

A New Year and lots of goals!

Too much time goes by before I get myself back on my blog to record my thoughts and feelings about things. In the sermon at church yesterday, the pastor talked about Joseph and his side of the story. Not alot is known about him but the pastor focused on these three major things about Joseph. He was the one to give Jesus his name. According to the pastor, women were the ones to name the baby. Jesus name means the Lord of Salvation. Wow, didn't know that one. There is a lot to what you are named. Joseph also was a righteous man which wasn't too common. Being righteous is being in a right relationship with God. Joseph was also obedient. The angel told him what to do and he did it. The pastor said something that in particular stood out to me, "we have to create a pattern of obedience". That keeps coming into my mind especially with this new year. The new year you always want to start something to improve who you are. This may seem so trivial but last year after seeing the dentist in January and hearing once again you must floss, I finally made the choice to committ myself to flossing everyday and you know what I only missed one day in the whole rest of the year! Everything is about a choice so now I am making another choice to get on my blog everyday and write. Get it out! Help myself process feelings or figure out things. They say journaling is very good for this among other things so this is it. I am making the choice to come and write everyday. I have to create a pattern. I think I will do it at my lunch hour when my brain is still working and not pooped out. So, what will you choose to start this new year to better yourself?