Posts Tagged ‘Children of the Day’

02
Jan

The 12 Days of MIP 2014: 4 & 3…

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2015 is a year in which you find personal success mastering challenges that have proven difficult in the past. Today’s choices for my favorite posts are about taking on the challenge to improve your walk with the Lord and to improve your physical health. Self-improvement, in whatever “realm” is at the heart of why I write this blog. I hope MIP inspires you to take charge of your life, punch fear in the face (in the words of Jon Acuff), and not only improve you, but the world around you. Here’s for a sampling of what I mean.

My 4th most favorite post is about changing one simple thing to improve your health. I asked all of you to wear a pedometer each day. It’s amazing how knowing how many steps you have taken each day causes you to be more active. If I were to issue this challenge today, I’d ask you to purchase an activity tracker that not only counts your steps, but tells you how many calories you have burned and evaluates your sleep patterns. Knowledge is power, folks, and merely knowing how well you’re meeting your fitness goals can spur you on to take control of your health in a relatively easy. But, if you can’t afford an activity tracker, a pedometer is a good alternative. Go here to see what I wrote in 2014.

If you had told me that I would blog about Beth Moore’s latest study when I started MIP, I would have seriously taken your temperature. I am still a little stunned that her organization gave me permission to do this. And many of you enjoyed these posts, particularly some of you who weren’t able to participate in her study because of distance or time constraints. Expect more of this in 2015! And for those of you who didn’t like these posts, I’m praying for you. 🙂 Go here for a sample of what I wrote this past fall and my choice for my 3rd most favorite post this year.

What simple things can you do this year to improve your life and the life of people around you? You are more powerful than you know. 🙂

Monday’s Post: What was your favorite WOW of 2014?

You Might Also Like: The 12 Days of MIP 2014: 6 & 5; The 12 Days of MIP 2014: 8 & 7; and The 12 Days of MIP 2014: 10 & 9

29
Oct

Fast 5: Oh, Bad Obadiah…

Petra

Confession Time: I often loathe reading my Bible. (I’ll wait for my Christian friends to gasp in horror from that little statement.) It’s not that I don’t want to hear what the good Lord wants to say to me through His word; it’s just that a good portion of the Old Testament is an odd collection of writings about times I have difficulty relating to modern life. In the words of Beth Moore, “It’s not always about you!” and I agree. Sometimes I just need to study those ancient writings and wait for the Lord to tell me its relevance.

If you also sometimes struggle to to read your Bible often or you have decided it’s a total waste of your time, may I suggest some of the following tips to help with that? Here they are:

1. Find a translation that works for you. I’m currently partial to the Message (or the Bible According to Eugene, as I like to call it–Eugene Peterson is the author of this paraphrase.) because it puts difficult passages into everyday English.

22
Oct

Children of the Day Post 9: 2 Thessalonians 3

Children of the Day

Today marks the last Children of the Day post, but have no fear–next week Wednesdays will feature a new feature: Fast 5 Reflections! What is “Fast 5”? It’s a study on the five shortest books of the Bible: Obadiah, Philemon, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Jude. Who’s the author of this study? Yours truly. Yes, I agree–we’re in trouble now! We will look at a new book each week and “weave” this study around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. And since Christians rarely give these books their due diligence, I hope it forces all of us to find what we should appreciate about some of the briefer “elements” of the modern Bible.

Before we can focus on that, let’s conclude our study by summarizing Beth‘s next to last video and on the beginning of the last week of homework for 2nd Thessalonians. Here’s what one might have missed if they were unable to hear her discussion of 2nd Thessalonians 2:

15
Oct

Children of the Day Post 8: 2 Thessalonians 2

Children of the DayIt was a relief to watch Beth’s video on 2 Thessalonians 1 last Sunday. Why? Because she chose to talk about a subject that most of us agree is essential to Christianity–the second coming of Jesus and avoided some topics that we, even as Christians, have a variety of opinions that can cause some lively discussion! Here is a little of what Beth said about his return to planet Earth:

1. Relief will come to those who are in discomfort.

2. Eternal “relocation” will be assigned.

3. We will marvel.

4. Jesus will be glorified by the “saints” around Him, because they will be perfected and complete.

This last statement floors me. If I believe that Jesus died in payment for all of my faults, mistakes and stupidity, then that must mean that Jesus thinks there is at least one redeeming quality about me that is worth crucifixion. And while that concept alone does floor me, it floors me even more to know that Jesus will be excited to have all of us around Him when He comes again. In fact 2 Thessalonians 1:12  states that we will be glorified. Say what? Come again? I must have misunderstood you, Paul. I shouldn’t be glorified, but yet there it is in black and white. The Message interprets it this way, “If your life honors the name of Jesus, then He will honor you.”

Guess I’d better get busy honoring His name, then! If that isn’t a reason to get busy and do good things for this decrepit world of ours, I don’t know what is. And trust me–this week’s homework cries for us to honor Him in a decrepit world because it talks about the “end times.”

I don’t know about you, but I have trouble reading and talking about the end of the world as we know it. The counselor in me took over this week and asked myself (Yes, I talk to myself–probably an indication I should seek counseling!), “Why do you hate this topic so much?” Hmmm….good question. But here are the possible answers:

1. I don’t like thinking about evil consuming our planet and someone so despising Jesus and His followers that they would have the audacity to claim they are God.

2. I am scared, that if this period of time occurs in my lifetime, I won’t be able to withstand all the persecution and will wind up caving to this evil.

3. I don’t completely know how to interpret these events as listed in the Bible and thus, I grow weary of trying to discern what’s symbolic and what’s literal.

Do any of these possible answers sound like you? Please tell me I have some company here! The Day 2 and Day 3 homework really made me feel this way, so it probably comes as no surprise that Beth’s writing in the Day 1 homework resonated with me far more.

It has always been a “bee in my bonnet” that all of us (Yes, Christians, too!) often put on a facade when around others so that people will think we “have it all together.” I get particularly irritated when a person in authority does this. Why? Because the Bible clearly states that all of us have screwed up–none of us are perfect!

There is a huge danger when we put on these facades and try to avoid difficult subjects and the ugliness of our lives. Those subjects gain power through our fear of them. And what we fear often paralyzes us at best and wrecks whole families and communities and nations at worst. It is far better to discuss these subjects, learn about how to deal with them in a healthy way and forgive anyone who falls prey to their tenacious claws. That’s when fear is dispelled and those nasty subjects suddenly don’t seem so powerful. They’re now manageable–they’re survivable. In fact God will probably use those experiences to make us even better equipped to help others through similar situations–equipped with compassion, patience, and understanding empathy.

So, why do we put on these facades? Because we want people to like us. And we think people won’t like us if we aren’t perfect little muffins. Well, sports fans? Generally speaking, when I show all “my warts,” people like me better. Don’t ask me why–they just do. Maybe because they see a little of themselves in my shortcomings? Maybe because they can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s okay not to be perfect? So, how do we get brave enough to show our warts to each other?

Yes, when we show them, there are some who will not like us. We’ve all had experience with that, haven’t we? Beth reminds us how to have the courage to be real on page 169, despite this: “If we don’t get our inherent need to be significant met by Jesus, we will shape a deceptive persona from the malleable clay of our vain imaginations.” We get the courage to be real from Jesus.

Jesus isn’t and wasn’t everyone’s “cup of tea,” either. And yet, that ridiculously ostracized guy wound up saving the world. And saving me just so He could honor little old me someday. Now, if that doesn’t make you feel better about your warts, I don’t know what will. And when you feel better about your warts, they suddenly are easier to share with others openly. They just don’t seem as important to cover up as they once did.

So, put away the wrinkle cream. Take off the Spanx. Chuck the hair dye in the trash. Use a little less make-up this week. Buy a bigger pair of jeans. Forget to dust your furniture. And tell someone about your warts. It’ll be okay. Jesus said so. 😉

Friday’s Post: Another “My Favorite Things“…

You Might Also Like: Children of the Day Post 7; Children of the Day Post 6; Children of the Day Post 5; Children of the Day Reflection # 4; and Children of the Day Reflection #3

08
Oct

Children of the Day Post 7: 2 Thessalonians 1

Children of the Day

Today I’m breaking with my “tradition” of summarizing last Sunday’s DVD session and then giving my thoughts about the homework for the week so far and simply tell you a little about myself as it pertains to the last DVD session. I promise to return to homework reflections next Wednesday! The topic in the last DVD session just demands the story, if I am to remain a transparent Christian here at MIP. If my past experience with telling this story has taught me anything, it’s that I usually lose the respect of half of my friends telling this story. But, Jesus told me that I should expect exactly that when sharing my faith story with others and since He’s “Exhibit A” of such a thing, I guess I’m in good company. Honestly? To retell this tale fills me with dread. But, my God told me to be “strong and courageous”, so here I go:

06
Oct

Word of the Week: froward

Book Club Readers: I’ve read the first few chapters of Beating GoliathIt never occurred to me that the Branch Davidian debacle had a negative impact on Baylor. How about you?

Children of the Day Post: Beth didn’t mince words about yet another tricky topic. Make sure you “tune in” Wednesday for a recap and my thoughts about this week’s homework so far.

Top Mommy Blog: Thanks to all who have helped MIP spread to new audiences! I would so appreciate it if you would rate MIP by clicking on the button to the right of this post!

Last week’s WOW (Word of the Week) was bonnyclabber. According to Merriam-Webster Online a bonnyclabber is the same thing as clabber. If you, like me, didn’t know what clabber is, the hubby and the daughter were right about this one: sour milk that has thickened or curdled. Thanks to the uneven dairy consumption rates at my home, clabber is something I ought to know all too well! That makes 2 in a row for the hubby and the daughter is getting way too many of these correct. I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, knowing the intellects involved of both parties.

01
Oct

Children of the Day Post 6: I Thessalonians 5

Children of the Day

The last video session from Beth Moore was interesting to say the least! I Thessalonians 4 addresses the issue, head-on, regarding sexual immorality. Because our society now thinks that living together, aka adultery (Don’t blame the messenger here–that’s God’s definition!), is okay and normal, we have become numb, in many cases, to the onslaught of media, digital entertainment and books that all espouse a liberal policy here.

Let me state, most emphatically, that if you have lived with someone out of wedlock or slept with someone without being married, you will not get anything but love from me. God loves you just as much as He loves me and that will never, ever change because of some action on your part that doesn’t exactly square with the Word of God. If I believed anything other than that, then there is no hope of me ever getting to Heaven! Thankfully, all I have to do is say I believe that Jesus’ death and living again are enough to secure me at least a tiny piece of real estate in the back corner of Heaven. The same is true for you, my friend!

29
Sep

Word of the Week: bonnyclabber

Book Lovers: Do you have your copy of Beating GoliathIf not, now’s the time to download it on your e-reader. Go here for all of the details.

Have you missed a few sessions of Children of the Day? Read all of my Wednesday posts to catch up. Go here for the first one!

If you like this post, please consider clicking on the Top Mommy Blogs button to the right of this post and rating my blog. It helps MIP get noticed! Thanks!

Happy Monday, Word Lovers! Last week’s Word of the Week (WOW) was inkhorn. The hubby said an inkhorn was an inkwell for a quill pen and he was right! I knew I married a smart man!

This week’s WOW is bonnyclabber. And yes, I do sometimes pick WOWs that are just too much fun to play around with and bonnyclabber certainly fits that description! My guesses are as follows:

24
Sep

Children of the Day Post 5: 1 Thessalonians 4

Children of the Day

Last weekend I accompanied 15 old and new friends to the Dallas Women of Faith conference. Since we arrived late last year for this same conference for a variety of reasons, we adjusted the itinerary to allow us to arrive on time. The result? We were 40 minutes early for when the doors opened at the American Airlines Center. (My husband said that if we had left any later Dallas Friday rush hour traffic would have made us late, so I guess we’re doomed to be early!)

As a result we were chatting with the one woman in front of us as we awaited “open doors.” The conversation rambled as you would think and then, out of the blue, this nice woman said, “Well, Sister Loved by God…” All of us in line were astonished since we were all studying Children of the Day together! It’s as if Beth Moore has given us “code” for greeting other fellow Thessalonian students! We all giggled at realizing that we were all studying these two books at the same time!

Here’s a brief summary of the points made in the last video session:

17
Sep

Children of the Day Reflection # 4: I Thessalonians 2 & 3

Children of the Day

Are we’re moving fast through Beth Moore’s study on Thessalonians? The homework for this week on pages 63-76 should slow us down. This week’s homework examines the end of 1 Thessalonians 2 and the beginning of I Thessalonians 3. Before we get into my thoughts on the Day 1 through Day 3 homework this week, let me summarize the points of Beth’s last session:

1. Paul speaks about the Thessalonians as his “own dear children” and thus, Beth discusses what “complete parenting” would look like. Only God can parent us perfectly and regardless of age, we all need that complete parenting from Him.

2. If our own parenting is missing a “piece” of complete parenting, then we lack “peace” there.

3. Complete parenting has 6 components:

  • Nurturing
  • Being affectionately desired by a parent
  • Accepting Parent’s Very Self – A good parent pours him- or herself into the child’s life
  • Exhortation – encouragement accompanied by instruction
  • Encouragement
  • Charged to walk worthy – one might call this the discipline part of the parenting process