God’s Gift and Happiness

You will see the Lord save you today.
— Exodus 14:13a

If one were to look for something the Lord has done in one’s life everyday, it is amazing how many blessings there are from Him to us. Whether it is the life of a new baby, the kisses and hugs of a three year old who is too young to think more than one kiss and hug is enough, the compassion of a friend when in need, or the direction that all children need from their Father, no life is more blessed than the one who lives for God through Christ.

Many look for the meaning of life. I don’t know that life itself has a meaning to us outside perhaps the meaning we give it. The gift of life is complicated and while we don’t think about it everyday we may have our moments when we reach out and wonder, “Why?”

Someone thought getting a degree would make them happy, another married and had children. They both proclaim happiness but in a sense, it is not what they imagined. It wasn’t true happiness. Have they missed true happiness or did they just misunderstand it? Maybe true happiness is just being happy in whatever we find in our life, whatever hand we’ve been dealt.

We can find something important and find meaning in it. One thing that is important to me is the Bible. His greatest gift after Christ is the Bible. I find a few minutes everyday can bring one the greatest peace of mind. Everyday, you can visit with a good friend, be reminded of grace and mercy. Some days I might not be able to see what God has done in my life, but it is comforting enough to be reminded that He is doing something. While I may not find true happiness in everything, moments reflecting on the word and remembering what Christ has sacrificed for us brings peace of mind that I can be happy in all I am given.

May God continue to bless us all through His word.

Is there such a thing as true happiness? Do we give life meaning? What’s your favorite Bible? What time of day do you set aside to study or just read and reflect?

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Being a parent isn’t easy. Do you wonder if being a Christian parent has made it any easier? Although we didn’t go to church while I was growing up in a small rural community, church was too far away and my mom didn’t drive…and oh, my dad wasn’t exactly a church-goer (remember Mr. Walton), I would say we were raised Christian. Read the rest of this entry »

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

James 5: 16

One place to find peace is through confession. About a third of the way through our worship service there is a time for the Silent Prayer of Confession followed by the Assurance of God’s Forgiveness. The most recent book I’ve checked out of my church library has given new meaning to me for that quiet time of oneness with God.

Search For Silence by Elizabeth O’Connor is a book about our potential for growth through the act of confession. She delves deeper into not just what it would mean for our own personnal growth, but the possibility of growth for the Christian communitiy when we have a true understanding of confession and how our attitudes and belief system affects those around us. When we can better learn things about ourselves we are well equiped to have a better understanding of others.

“We do not confess our faults in order that God may be better acquanted with them, but in order that the concreteness of words will increase our own understanding.” (page 29)

She speaks of a journey, a pilgrimage of Christianity. She refers to the Sermon on the Mount as a call to pilgrimage, our examples to live by. Unfortunately it is stated that an error has been made when we set these examples as standards for everyone to live up to. We are reminded that we should not be concerned with the speck in our brothers’ eyes. Let me tell you how peaceful it is to not judge others. Now there is a fruitful act of peace.

The book is broken up into two sections and includes exercises and passages for meditation following each section for spiritual growth and contemplation. Section one has a focus on confession and the second section has a focus on prayer.

This is an enjoyable book and can be approached as a personal study. The meditation passages are wonderful, some names are familiar others more often are new to us. I recommend this book, even if you skip the exercises and just skim the meditation passages, it is still a contemplative book and offers food for thought. Unfortunate if you have to go that route but any bit of peace you can find in the day is peace well found.

Although the time for the Silent Prayer of Confession followed by the Assurance of God’s Forgiveness is brief, it could be the most important part of our worship in that we are communicating with God and he to us. If any are on a search for silence, I believe this book could greatly enrich this time when we have true silence in our week, and we need to speak to God and hear him speak back to us… CHECK IT OUT!

I hope you can find this book or even similar meditations that will bring you closer to God and to His peace.

Where are some of the other places you find peace? Is there a book you can recommend? A daytime ritual you follow or a part of your church service that brings you this peace from the Spirit? Share with us…

To families and soldiers, to the past, present and future…

In reflection on Memorial Day, we should remember for more than just a day. While it was instituted for us to remember those who made a great sacrifice to this nation and its people we should note that it is much more than that.

From An Army Wife’s Life we read:

And this day is also about their families–who carry the weight of that sacrifice.

This day is about those who have passed, but it is also about our living veterans.

And these are the days. So, let’s move forward and remember the sacrifices that our soldiers and their families continue to make.

This weekend we will be celebrating and honoring our veterans and fallen heroes in church. We sing Christian songs and invite veterans in our community to stand up for recognition. We may even go to a local parade. Some other ideas to observe Memorial Day include the following:

- Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.

- Visit memorials.

- Fly the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.

- Fly the ‘POW/MIA Flag’ as well.

- Participate in the “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.

- Renew a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.

“…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.” –General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868

For further reflection, here is a Memorial Day tribute called American Medley from GodTube.com.

For additional ideas visit Military Moms. She recounts a few of her Memorial Day holidays including:

We’ve also visited the Florence American Military Cemetery in Italy; my great-uncle is buried there, and we took flowers to leave on his grave for Memorial Day in 2004.

Have you made plans for Memorial Day related to honoring relatives or our current military? What ways do you think you support the military during this holiday set aside for our heroes?

Brenda Emmett shares her take on relating to Jesus.

One of the most important relationships you will ever develop during your life is the one that you will have with your Savior, Jesus Christ. It is also the one relationship that many people neglect as they are not sure how to develop this all important relationship. But if you are truly diligent and have real intent, developing this relationship is really not as difficult as it might seem. And the rewards that you will reap are perhaps some of the most life changing ones you will ever experience.

Read
The first thing that you need to do in order to develop a relationship with your Savior is to read about His life. You must learn about Him in order to understand Him. There are many different resources available to help you to learn about your Savior. The scriptures are perhaps the best choice as they document his life and words.

Study
As you read your scriptures, really study the words of the Savior. Think about what His words mean and how they pertain to your life. The Lord will often speak to us through his written word and we are able to find the answers to our own problems through His spirit as we study His word.

Ponder
As we study the words of the Savior, we must really ponder their meanings. Really think about what He is saying to you. Learn his parables and discover how they apply to you in your life.

Pray
Pray for understanding of his word. The Lord is anxious to help us understand his teachings through His spirit. When we fervently pray with real intent, the doorway to heaven is opened and He will bless us and touch our lives with His spirit. This is perhaps one of the most intimate moments that we can have in our relationship with the Savior as He acts as the mediator of the desires of our heart with our Father in Heaven.

Emulate
One of the most difficult things to do is to emulate the Savior in all that we do. We are not perfect, but the Lord, Jesus Christ was. He is the perfect example. If we take the time to think how He would handle each situation in our lives, then we will be one step closer to becoming like Him.

Developing your relationship with the Savior is a personal journey that you must take, but it will not be a journey you must do alone. He is there waiting to help you every step of the way. What are some of the ways that you can help to foster your relationship with Jesus Christ?

That is a question that I would readily say no to. No, it is not really hard to be a Christian.

Ask yourself, how could it be hard to love God? Even with Job moments, which we will all have even as Christians. And how could it be hard to Worship God?

As a Christian loving your neighbor is not hard, no matter how many differences we have with our neighbors sometimes, love is the easy part.

And what could be easier than saying, “God, I have this problem here you see, and I don’t know what to do about it, could You carry it around for a while and get back to me on how I should handle it?” And He never, not ever, says no. That would be my favorite part of being a Christian. I got a house out of that one once. Read the rest of this entry »