Summer Break

The Queens went on summer break. They will be back September 7! Check back then for some great new posts!!! Praying for you all!

Summer Snapshots

I can't believe how quickly the summer is passing. School is looming just around the corner and I'm bummed. I love summer and this one has been amazing! I was lucky enough to attend two youth camps and got to see first hand God work in many lives...including mine. I thought for my blog I would write some of the stuff God's been teaching me this summer. I call it...My Summer Snapshots.

-We all have names. Some names given to me by others...bossy, creative, friendly, moody, mom, teacher....

God named me loved, accepted, child, created, cared for, FORGIVEN...

I need to discover the name God gave me and live up to that.

-What walls have I built up to keep me from doing what God wants?

SELFISHNESS is my wall. I don't need to be in control I need to allow God to be Lord of my life.

-Our God does impossible stuff. What is the impossible in my life?

-God created me to fly...so what is it that keeps me walking on the ground"?

-God is beyond my knowledge, but not beyond my experience.

-Our relationship with God is not based on how much we love him, but on how much he loves us. (Rev. 3:20)

-God is not the God of condemnation, but the God of love and forgiveness.

-For every lie there is an absolute truth from God.

-Jesus said, "Wherever two or more are gathered, I will be there." He didn't make that promise to an individual, but to 2 or more. We need coummunity in the body of Christ. We can't bring glory to the father when we are independent of the body. Community is important.

I think the biggest thing I've learned this summer is to be still and listen. God says, "Be still and know that I am God". That's a hard one for me. I'm not good at being still and I'm even worse at listening. My goal for this year is to learn to listen for my name and to be what God created me to be.

25-1 Odds

James 3:5 The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.

Wow, the tongue...what damage it can do. It only takes a few minutes of hanging with some kids or teens to know that. How many of us have some "language baggage" from our childhood or teen years? That's why I want to everything possible to be positive...especially with kids.

But let's look beyond the obvious like curse words, gossip, or hurtful words. What about just negatives? While taking a course on Positivie Discipline for the classroom, I discovered something... I was actually more negative than positive with my words. I was amazed at how many times a day I said NO or NOT or DON'T. I was equally surprised how hard it was to STOP doing it. Trying to say only the positive and say only what you want instead of just what NOT to do was a hard habit to start. Now it is a good habit / second nature.

It was worth the months of practice it took because here are the odds...
It takes 25 positive statements to erase 1 negative one!
So how are your words?

Queen JJ

Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine

Unlike my sister I have never had a potty mouth (after all I am the good child)! It is true, that on occasion, I have been known to let it fly with the best of them (Amy), but I am much too worried about what others think to let it get out of control. However, I have a problem that is as equally, if not more poisonous. I am a complainer. I try to mask it as "concern", but the truth is... it's just complaining. You see I have a deep embedded sense of justice. I hate it when things are unfair or people get away with stuff and I make it my "job" to point it out. I will go on and on and on and on about how unfair it is and how that person is getting away with something. I just can't let it go. I worry about it so much that it literally eats me up inside and I drive myself and everyone around me nuts! But here's the thing. It's not my business to judge. When I finally realized that fact, I felt like a HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I am not the one who has to carry that burden. That is for God and guess what? He doesn't need my help or my view of justice.

This summer has been a time of introspection for me. There are things about my character that I don't like and I am working to change. Complaining is one of them. It brings me and those around me down. I want to be seen as a postive, the glass is half full, kind of person. It's hard to change a 37 year habit, but I am working on it.

1 Corinthians 10:10 - And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

Job 10:1 - I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

FOUL!!

If I wasn’t too old to be punished by my mama, I’d be walking around with a bar of soap in my mouth 24/7. Let’s just say I have a serious case of potty mouth! I will say I have tried to tame it down these last few years but it is hard. Sometimes the only thing I can say that gets my point across is a dirty one! Come on, you know what I mean…you’ve done it too.

I grew up with a very foul-mouthed Grandfather who used GD like it was his job. I NEVER use that word…must be my good Baptist upbringing! But I did learn quite a bit from him and developed my own bad habit. When I was younger, I knew when to use the bad words and when not to. At home my parents found it somewhat amusing when I threw it in conversation as a joke. I NEVER cussed in public being the daughter of a preacher and all. But then when I was out in the world on my own, it became a habit that I no longer hid and it got out of control.

In church yesterday we sang an old favorite of mine…Thy Word. The lyrics of this song are a perfect reminder of why it is necessary to be careful with our choices of words and language.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path

If the Bible is our guide, here is what it says about our language:

Ephesians 5:4 – ‘Dirty stories, foul talk and coarse jokes-these are not for you. Instead remind each other of God’s goodness and be thankful’

Exodus 20:7 – ‘You shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently, nor use it to swear to a falsehood. You will not escape punishment if you do.’

Colossians 3:8 – ‘But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.’

Proverbs 13:3 – ‘He who guards his lips guards his soul, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.’

Colossians 4:6 – ‘Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’

1 Timothy 4:12 – ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

Not only is what we believe reflected in what we say, but our manner of speech will influence others. Choose your words carefully. I’m getting better at it and this is a great reminder!

Lord, deliver me.... from me.

This month, I had the pleasure to meet one of God's best storytellers. SaraBeth Goeghegen is a clever songwriter who, in honest lyrics, captures to me, one of the greatest obstacles to living a God-like life in a very non-Godly world.

The obstacle: ME! My ME thoughts, actions and words create a blockade for others to see my Savior: JESUS. Putting ME first, and getting caught up in my need to be needed, wanted, or afraid not to be included or forgotten does separate me from God's peace.

Living Godly... means deliverance from ME. SaraBeth's prayer/song is a constant reminder to turn the focus from me but, to God's goodness and promise of peace. Below are SaraBeth's lyrics... check out her website: http://www.sarabethsongs.com and a recent review of her cd: http://www.christianitytoday.com/music.

Lord Deliver Me:

based loosely on a prayer by mother teresa and maybe st. francis?

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from the desire to be noticed, loved, exalted

Lord deliver me from the desire to be favored, popular chosen or acknowledged

Lord deliver me from the fear of being wrong, forgotten or ignored

Lord deliver me from the fear of being humiliated or left behind

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Grant that I may seek to comfort rather than be comforted by others

Grant that I may understand and love more than be understood and loved well

Lord deliver me from the desire to be noticed and encouraged

Lord deliver me from the desire to be appreciated and included

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Lord deliver me from me Lord deliver me to You

Let Freedom Ring

Happy Independence Day all!

FREEDOM: freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated

This side of heaven, we never have the “total absence of restraint".

As Americans, we struggle with this back and forth and even have two major political parties that are basically advocating for systems, policies, laws, etc…that impact our freedoms. I think both sides of aisle can go a little overboard in this area:
-Too much control
-No control

Here are just a few of our “freedom” documents:
-Magna Carta - 1215
-The Mayflower Compact
- 1620Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges
- 1701Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
- Patrick Henry, 1775
-The Declaration of Independence
- Articles of Confederation
- Constitution of the United States
- Bill of Rights and the Later Amendments Petition from the PA Society for the Abolition of Slavery
- Treaty of Tripoli
- The Star Spangled Banner
- Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Gettysburg Address
-The Pledge of Allegiance
-The American’s Creed

Then I think of all kinds of other Freedom-oriented events, documents and more. Work that gave protections and freedoms to children (labor laws), women (voting, ability to serve in the military), racial diversity (ability to marry interracially), etc…

May you celebrate today - all of the work that has come before you:
-Those who physically fought for our freedoms
-Those who intellectually gave/worked for our freedoms
-Those grass-roots organizations, which have both fought and monitored our fredoms….

That is what today is about. Indepence was only the first steps. We are a country with a long line of advocates who have fought so that we can be this blessed to live in the land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE.

May you too be one of those freedom fighters when you see injustice in this world. Stand up! Make a difference! Be/become an advocate (a rewarding and draining experience). Work to better the lives of others!

Eternal Freedom:
But the best writing on Freedom is actually found in the Bible...the promises of Christ.

True, authentic freedom comes from a personal relationship with the living and loving God. All of the rest of this is wonderful (and it is a great country in which to live) but don’t miss an eternity of freedom (regardless of your homeland today).

Organized religion often gets this freedom in Christ thing all messed up with their church rules and rituals. Don’t miss the promise of true freedom…the freedom that comes from Christ. His love. His promise. His hope…all for you.

Freedom doesn't mean lack of conflict. Rather, freedom in Christ means that you don't have to be constrained by working or otherwise trying to earn your way to heaven. Nope, it's your free gift. Instead, you might want to work for His purpose so that others may come to know of Christ; so others will have the security of eternity in heaven.