Living Today for Tomorrow

 It's the paper you pushed on till 3am to finish because you wanted an A instead of a B. It's the math homework you finished the last problem on because you wanted to go the extra mile and get 100% rather than a 90. It's saying "Wow! I'm so proud of you!" and giving your child a genuine smile and hug when they show you their latest drawing, to show them you want to be actively involved in their life. It's the listening to someone to show them you care when they're struggling, and crying with them because you've allowed yourself to be put in their shoes so you can understand their pain.  It's the taking a little time out of "your day" to talk to and inspire someone who looks up to you. It's pushing past your pride to say something nice to someone who has hurt you. It's holding your temper when your toddler has broken your favorite ceramic mixing bowl. It's pushing past your laziness to read your Bible, and begin praying to God even when you don't feel like it.

What is?

•  The little choices you make in your day. They are the things that will "make or break" your future, who you are, and who you become. 

"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34 KJV)

Your Heart- A Vessel

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Galatians 5:16, 17 KJV)

What a great verse for the day! This isn't just talking about sexual lust, Y'all. This is talking about *anything* you want to do that does not honor God. I find so many complaining about sins they just can't seem to shake- "I can't keep my anger under control", "I can't seem to stop going to bad websites", "I can't respect my parents", "I can't love my wife like I should". 

See this passage from Galatians^? You can.

I think the "secret" to defeating those sins is revealed here in these two verses. 

So what is holding you back from finding true victory? 

Is it friends, music choices, or just plain ol' laziness? Remove these things from your life, but you must replace them with things that will help you to grow. Colossians 3 talks about putting off the things of the old man, but it doesn't stop there. You can't just stop "doing" something. The passage goes into detail about what we must put on in order to live a successful Christian life. Read your Bible more, find a pastor/speaker that really ministers to your heart then listen to their lectures, and read books that answer your spiritual questions but also convicts you in areas of needed growth. 

Our hearts are vessels that will pour forth whatever we put into them. 

"Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it  spring  the issues of  life." (Proverbs 4:23 NKJV)

• Filling your mind and life with books full of fluff and fantasy (I'm not saying a bit of fiction is wrong- that's not my point), songs that are lust-filled and vulgar, and friends who are caught up in a materialistic and narcissistic culture? That's where you'll find your thoughts, words, and actions reverting to.  

• Filling your mind and life with God's Word, sermons that inspire you to grow in your walk with Christ, and friends that give you a godly and strong vision? That's where you'll find your thoughts, words, and actions reverting to. 

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

                                                    Matthew 6:21-22 (KJV)    

You see, it's no different what we put into our hearts than what comes out. Plumb the depths of your soul, and ask God to reveal to you what keeps you from tasting the sweet nectar of life that only comes from walking with Him. When you do this you will find favor with God, and in so doing, man as well.

Music Purge!!!!!!

So I've heard of girls who periodically go through their closet, and examine each and every article of clothing, while asking themselves; "Does this honor God?".
  Well, guys don't really have as much of a problem with that sort of thing, but here's another things we Christians should consider; (guys *and* girls included);

 What about the kind of music you listen to?
Music is a powerful thing, and whether or not you want to admit this to yourself, the facts are inevitable. Music is a drug, it can make you use energy you didn't know you had; for the better, or worse. I've even heard of friends who I would consider more on the sane side, reduce themselves to even "head-banging" to music. At a Christian band concert no-less!      
  God created us to be so intimately connected and affected by music, but not for the purpose of bringing glory to ourselves and spouting reasons like "It just feels good", but to bring glory and honor to Him who sits on the throne.
  It's when people take the unique gift that God has given; to create music, and use it in a way that glorifies one's-self rather than The One who created them, and gave them that ability. The devil well knows this, and it's one of his best tools in his "arsenal".

Lately I've really been evaluating where I'm at with the Lord, and asking myself what are some of the things that could be standing between me, and a better relationship with Jesus Christ.
I'm not going to list them all here, but one of the main things I've been realizing more and more is the music I listen to, and how it effects me; Most, to which I've kept my mind in an almost jaded state.
 I really don't want to admit it, but I'll eat crow; Mom always said "The music you listen to will effect the way you look at life.", and at first I didn't believe her, but it turns out she was right. Music is one of the most powerful ways of indoctrinating, and a valuable deice for good... and evil.
  Every song has something it wants to teach you. It holds a presupposition, and it's up to you to figure out what the artist is really trying to convey.
Ask yourself a few questions like;
1. "What are some of the artist's outlooks on life?"
2. "Does the lifestyle he/she is promoting, honoring to God?"
3. "How can/is this music having an effect on me?", and after you've asked yourself these questions, be sure to ask yourself;
 "Am I being honest with myself in answering these questions?".

 I would encourage you, Brother and Sister, to take a look at your collection of music and remove anything that is less than satisfactory from your music library.
I actually just finished doing a music purge, and the feeling is great! I'm honoring God, and I'm making less of a struggle for myself in my walk with Christ! I'm excited for a better chance to be closer to The God who loves me, and it doesn't get much better than that, Folks. :)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and the Unseen Children of Today

As I watched "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" tonight, I felt the knife-in-the-heart kind of sorrow the director intended every viewer to feel.
It was a real eye-opener at how not-so-long-ago it was when the holocaust against the Jews happened.
It amazes me. It amazes me to think that such a modern day society would stoop so low, and act just like the savages they accused the Jews of being. Well what do you know; the "savage" was more human than the accuser, and the accuser the least "human" of all.
The thought that so short a time ago, all this went on, makes my stomach churn, and I feel as if I should be sick. The thought of innocent children, women, and men being killed in the most horrific ways is enough to make any civilized person's blood boil.
"Well", you may say. "Thankfully that is all behind us, and our country would never do something like that!"
Guess what. A real, live, actual holocaust is happening right here in your local county. One that kills boys and girls in the most horrific ways known to man.
This holocaust my dear friends, is abortion. Millions of little boys and girls who may not even have visible bodily features to determine their gender, (or may not even be visible themselves to the naked eye) who are genetically male or female from the moment of the fusion of cells from the mother and father, are tortured and killed to this day.
I call you to become aware, that the days of holocausts in America and other "civilized" countries is far from over.
The way propaganda was spread to candy-coat the dreadful conditions Jews lived in while they were in concentration camps, is the same way propaganda has been spread throughout the world on how abortion isn't as sick as it seems. Through the media and other ways of spreading ideas, the government, and advocates of radical pro-choice beliefs have essentially brainwashed today's society to the point where many mothers don't believe the child forming inside her is even alive until it can be considered one who can survive out of the womb with our relatively poor technology.
So I call you to awareness. Awareness of this holocaust which is very much alive and well in our modern-day society, and I call you to pray, act, and play your part in defeating this monster.
                Remember the Jews, and remember our children. Soli Deo Gloria.

Overview;

Hey everyone, due to the fact that I have been so busy, I haven't had much time to post, so I'm doing it in one big blow, to give you snippets of what has happened in the last few months in my life. I'll have to say, my pointer finger is tingling and threatening to go numb from using my laptop's trackpad.
Because of the lateness of the hour, I'll be trying to add a few more captions to these pictures sometime soon!

Overview Part 4 Mandisa!

   

Singing "My Deliverer"!

Like she said; "I believe in gettin' a little dance on when worshiping! If you don't want that, you got deh wrong girl." :)

Mr. Toadie Pie

A local toad who is almost a pet because we see him so often. 

 He has taught himself how to hop onto the deck and explore.

He'll hop all the way onto the deck then to the back, 

hop up 2 steps, and would find this specific pot to hide in.

The last time I saw him in here, he had two fairly good sized thorns sticking out of his nose,

and many more all over his little body. :( I think he did this for about a week!