What I'm Reading - God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life

Hmmm... I hesitate to even write the title of the book at the head of this blog. Why? Because it's a myth! The subtitle of this book is "The Myth of the Modern Message." For anyone familiar with the writings and/or teachings of Ray Comfort, his book will be a review. If you've never heard of Ray Comfort, your eyes may indeed be opened by this book.

Comfort teaches that when sharing Christ with others, we can't just tell them that Jesus loves them. Rather, they need to heart the bad news. They must see themselves as who they really are - sinners who will one day stand guilty before God. Sinners who deserve to spend an eternity of torment in Hell. Until they realize this truth, they will never be ready for the good news of God's grace.

To accomplish this, Comfort turns to the Law. He constantly takes people through some of the Ten Commandments. I mean, who hasn't told a lie? That makes a person a liar. Who hasn't stolen something, regardless of how big it was or the value of it? That makes a person a thief? Rare is the person who has not lusted after another individual. But according to Jesus, when you look at a person lustfully, it's the same as committing adultery. So, in the eyes of God, someone who "merely" lusts is an adulterer. (Matthew 5:27-28) The person who has used the name of God as a swear word is guilty of blasphemy.

So, the Law is vital in showing people that they are indeed guilty before God. Comfort bases his teaching on countless Bible verses. One of which is Galatians 3:24. It says, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The law was what brought people to Christ 2000 years ago, and the law is what will continue to bring people to Christ today.

Multitudes of people profess to be Christian, but their hearts are far from Him. They turned to Christ to find out what His wonderful plan was for them. They didn't repent. They didn't agree with Him that they deserve eternal torment in Hell. They didn't believe that Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the only way to forgiveness and Heaven. They didn't flee to Jesus because they were fleeing the wrath that is yet to come. They don't realize that to sin against man-- to tell a lie, to steal, to have an affair-- isn't a sin against another human. It's a sin against a holy, a perfect, a righteous God!

According to Comfort, these people believe they are going to Heaven because they "prayed a prayer" a long time ago. But Jesus doesn't want a prayer prayed a long time ago. He wants your heart, broken from the weight of its sin. He wants your life. Are you ready to confess your sins against Him? Are you ready to submit yourself to His authority in your life? Are you ready to forsake all else in order to follow after Him?

Unfortunately, too many people profess to be saved but lack those necessary steps. Are you one of them?

Favorite Songs - Soar

Wayne and I were introduced to the music of Buddy Davis two summers ago at an Answers in Genesis conference. And "Soar" is one of the songs with which we immediately fell in love!

I never knew that eagles didn't "hunker down and weather the storm." No. Rather, they fly above the storm. Oh, to mount up with wings as eagles when the storms in our lives arise! Enjoy!

Home Keeper's Journal - Being a Christian

Each Wednesday, The HomeKeeper’s Journal is led by Sylvia at CHK. You’re welcome to join The HomeKeeper’s Journal, too. To see Sylvia’s entry for this week and/or find instructions for participating, visit Sylvia’s entry for this week at: http://christianhomekeeper.org/blog/homekeepers-journal-july-27-with-linky-love/

The ways that being a Christian has made a difference in my life ….. There's a quote I have hanging by my desk, "God wants us to experience hunger so deep that it drives us to forsake physical, relational, and circumstantial fulfillment and finally find our satisfaction in Him." How true that is, and how neat it is to know God is at work doing that in my life! I am learning that He is the only One Who can satisfy. Oh, what contentment and peace that brings!

I believe that knowing Jesus and being a Christian has made me a better mother because ……. I try to follow the principles the Bible lays out in raising my children in the way they should go. I may not always be the most patient, but when Christ works through me, He accomplishes so much more than I ever could, whether that be in parenting or anything else.

I know that being a Christian has made me a better wife because ….. Knowing that divorce is not an option has forced Wayne and me to work out our differences. It's not always an easy road, but we agreed eighteen years ago that divorce is not an option. We're stuck with each other for life. And personally, I'd rather work on a relationship than feel "stuck" in that relationship. Also, as I submit to Christ's will for my life, that affects all areas of my life, marriage included. And so I can honestly say that yes, I am married to my best friend! ~smile~

The way I respond to others is affected by my relationship with God through Jesus and is obvious when …. I try to encourage people in love, even when encouraging them means confronting them. That's not always easy to do, but Christians are commanded to do so. Sometimes it'd be much easier just to let that person have it, but we are to respond in love, and that makes all the difference.

The way I respond to pain and/or bad things coming into my life is different from non-believers in these ways ….. Even in the worst of circumstances, I know He is still on the throne. I know He will always love and care about me no matter what. I know He will never leave me or forsake me. And I know that nothing can happen to me (or my loved ones) without His permission. So, when pain/bad things come into my life, I accept them as from His hand. I check to see if I'm in sin. If so, repentence is in order. If not, then I accept the situation as an opportunity to lean on Him and learn from Him.

Recipe - Chocolate-filled Cupcakes

Alicia and I recently took a cake decorating class, and we fell in love with decorating cupcakes. To us a beautifully decorated cake is one thing, but a beautifully decorated cake that tastes good is another. Here's a recipe we stumbled across that definitely qualifies as "Tried and True!"

CHOCOLATE-FILLED CUPCAKES

3 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
1/3 C baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C milk
1 C oil
1 C water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients. Add the other ingredients. Beat until smooth. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


CREAM FILLING

1/4 butter or margarine, softened
1/4 shortening
2 C confectioners' sugar
3 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

Combine all the ingredients for the filling. Beat until fluffy (about five minutes). Use a small tip (a bismark tip) to fill each cupcake. Frost tops of cupcakes as desired.

To-Do Lists, Tyranny of the Urgent, and What's Important

Sometimes it's easy to let the important things in life slip by us because they aren't urgent. While I will be accountible to God for how I raise my children, no one on earth is going to hold me accountible in the next twenty-four hours. So, it's easy to let a teachable moment pass us by because laundry needs to be done, a letter needs to be written, or a meal needs to be made.

This is when tyranny of the urgent usually trumps the important. And unfortunately it's all too common in our rushing American culture. The things that are truly important are put off because the oil needs to be changed in the van, the lawn needs to be mowed, or we have a softball game to go to.

Sound familiar?

Last night our Pastor said something that reminded me of all this. He said, "You are doing those things that you consider to be important."

Ouch!

Let me rephrase that. "By choosing to do something instead of another thing, you are giving the thing you chose to do more importance than the thing you chose not to do."

So, is spending time at the beach more important than fellowship with other believers in church?

Is watching TV in the evening more important than a good night's sleep?

Is checking email more important than a quiet time with your Creator?

Is reading the newspaper more important than playing catch in the backyard with the kids?

Is surfing the internet more important than getting some exercise?

You get the idea... Those things we choose to do are more important to us than the things we choose not to do.

Perhaps one way to combat this is to add those "most important" things to our to-do lists. I love my to-do list. I love the feeling of being able to cross something off. It's a feeling of accomplishment, even if I only pulled fifty weeds! I set out to meet a goal, and I did! Perhaps we would be better off if these "most important" items were on our to-do lists. It's sad to think that "playing catch in the backyard with the kids" might have to go on a list to actually get done, but if that's what it takes, then so be it!

May this be a wake-up call to all of us to choose to spend our time doing the things that are indeed more important.

Bike Riding with a Six Year Old

Yesterday morning before all the rain started, I took Alicia and Justin for a bike ride to the library. (Carl is at summer camp this week.) We had some books we needed to return, and of course, we wanted to look for some new ones!

It was on the way there that I remembered how much of a hoot Justin can be!

Justin: "Oh, Mom!!! Look out!!! You were almost hit by anti-aircraft fire!"

ME: "Hmmm..."

Justin: "Mom!!! There's a lot of flack up ahead! Be on the alert!"

ME: "What do you mean, Justin?"

Justin: "Well, the filled-in potholes are flack. If you run over them with your bike, you're wounded. The potholes that are still holes, are the anti-aircraft fire. If you hit one of those on your bike, you're done for. Approaching vehicles are snipers. They can come at us from in front or from behind. And they can be off to the side as well. If a dump truck or a cement mixer passes us, they are a B52."

ME: (Thinking to myself) So many rules for a simple bike ride to the library.

But as I joined in his play and warned him of approaching snipers (which as a Mom, I'm going to warn him about anyway), I was reminded that you get out of life what you put into it. If you put a joyful, fun attitude into a bike ride, you're certainly much more likely to enjoy your ride!

So, the next time you take a kidlet for a bike ride, watch out for the snipers, the flack, and the anti-aircraft fire. And trust me, in Michigan, we have a lot of anti-aircraft fire!

Favorite Songs - Amazing Grace

Many of us know the song "Amazing Grace." And many of us know a bit of the history of this song. John Newton wrote it. He ran a slave ship, hauling slaves from Africa. Well, this version will open your eyes a bit more to the likely origin of the music to that song. Enjoy!