Taking a Break

Well,

After a lot of prayer and some Godly guidance, I have decided to take a break from the social network scene for awhile. It's a place I spend a lot of time...wait, let me reiterate that....A LOT OF TIME! LOL, yeah, I do spend quite of bit of my time on the social page of places such as Facebook. Well, that is pretty much the only place I spend it. It has become a leach of sorts in my life. Now don't get me wrong...it can be a good place, and I have been there for a great amount of time. First signed on back in 2007.

I mainly have used FB as a ministry tool, however that is not the only reason I am there. But it has always remained the main reason.

I am an encourager. It's one of my spiritual gifts. Of late, my tank has become pretty dry. When you are gifted spiritually as I am...giving, exhortation and mercy...you give a lot of yourself, but it often goes that you don't get much of that back. This has been happening to me. I'm not being refueled. It's very necessary to refuel. When the tank is low, things suffer in ones life. Oppression sets in. This is what has come to my attention, which is the reason I am taking the break.

So, if you don't see me, you will know why. Of course, I have been off (with the exception of wishing folks happy b-days) for a couple days shy of a week now and nobody seems to have noticed yet, but that's okay. I pretty much expected that one too. :) I'm not going to deactivate like I have done before, just not going to spend hours a day sitting in front of my computer at the beck and call of Facebook. I can't. I have far too many other things that God needs me to do right now. But don't worry...in the famous words of the ever popular Tom Bodett (Motel 6 fame) I'll keep the light on for ya!

I'm always shining for Jesus....it's what I'm called to do.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

Val

Can't Sleep

Have you ever wondered why you can't sleep?

Do you ever just sit and tilt your head to one side and think...I'm so stinking tired, but yet I can't sleep...why?

What is keeping me up? What has me troubled? Why will my brain not shut down so I can drift off into that land of slumber like a normal person...that stuff of babies?

It's after 2:00 in the morning and I sit at my computer, awaiting my dogs to come back inside so I can shut the back door. Naturally, I go and check my Facebook. Not much going on there speak of. Normal chatter. So I thought...I'll write a blog. I mean, why not? Nobody will read it anyway, so I might as well just sit here and type away about my thoughts on my lack of sleep. :) But, there isn't much else you can say, other than...I CAN'T SLEEP!

So with that said, I guess I will just close this post with a prayer.

Dear Lord,

Please allow my brain to shut off! Please allow me to be able to go back to my bed, close my eyes and drift off into a peaceful and wonderful sleep. Help me to wake rested and ready to meet the new day with a renewed spirit. I await whatever you have for me next.

I love you Jesus.....Amen

Let Your Light Shine

Matthew 5:16 says: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (NIV) The Message translation says it this way beginning in verse 14:

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven"

Did you catch that last part? You will prompt people to open up with God. By you shining your light...you can show a lost world a ray of hope. But you can't do it by going out and living a life full of garbage.

This post has been prompted by me seeing a lot of friends or acquaintances who continually post things out on the internet about the happenings in their life. What their doing, watching, listening to. Have you heard the statement, garbage in, garbage out? Well, it's true. What you choose to fill yourself full of is what eventually comes out. It works very much the same as what you are is what you eat. The stuff we put into our bodies is in direct correlation to our overall health and well-being. You put nothing but junk in your body...your body is going to be junk. It will emit junk. If we insist on placing lemonade in our engine, instead of oil, we will destroy it. We need to take care of our bodies. Just the same, what we put into our mind and our heart via music, movies etc should be closely monitored.

God is not an evil God. He is not vengeful, but He has given us a mechanic's manual for our well being. He very plainly tells us things to avoid. How many Christians are avoiding those very things? Are we being drawn into these poisons that seem to be cleverly disguised as mere fiction, love stories or here is a good one, "it's just a good movie!" Poison is poison. A little recreational poison can be as lethal as a lot of poison from the hand of an assassin. I for one am tired of seeing my fellow brother's and sister's being drawn away into an obsession with things that are not of God. As cliche' as it may have sounded...what ever happened to "What Would Jesus Do?" When did we, as Christians, stop checking ourselves on that? As parents, why aren't we watching more closely to the things that our children are listening to or watching? I too am at fault here...I need to be reprimanded. Take this post from a movie review...just one section on language content. I won't name the movie, but it is a very popular movie out there than many Christian kids have been watching and adults too.

"Over 70 f-words, including a handful used in sexual contexts and several combined with "mother." About two dozen s-words. And close to a dozen combined misuses of God’s and Jesus’ names. (God’s name is coupled with "d‑‑n.") After that leadoff, it hardly seems worth mentioning that there are plenty of milder profanities, numerous references to male and female anatomy, and an obscene gesture. "

That's just the language content part of the review. Doesn't even touch the sexual content or other parts of the review. Would you even want to know? So....is this really what you want your kids watching, and moreover, would you feel good about watching it?

I think we really need to take a second look at the WWJD.

As Christians...our lights are growing very dim.

We are ALL Jacked Up!

(A repost from August 2008)

We are ALL Jacked up!

Now, I don't mean that by saying we are like high or spaced out, drugged up...I mean, we are all messed up! We ALL have pain, problems and troubles. Every single one of us do. If we were to say we didn't...then we would be the biggest liars around.
Here's the deal, we want other's to believe or see that we have our acts together. We have the perfect family, perfect spouse, perfect life...when in reality, we are all struggling with something. Something that we hide.
Yes, I said it...we hide it. Take this scripture out of Genesis....after Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit from the Tree that God had specifically told them NOT to....

3:8 And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. 3:9 And Jehovah God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Genesis 3:8-10

They were ashamed of what they had done....and then they hid. See, we've been doing it forever! God knew where they were the whole time and He knew what they had done. Can't hide from God!

We go to church and someone will ask us, "how are you doing?" and how do we respond? "Why, I am just great, thank you and how are you!" We LIE! We hide it. And those that ask, do they REALLY want to know? Wouldn't you just love for somebody to ask you how you are doing and you just unload it! If so, why don't we? It's a pride issue. (yes, that P word) But you see, The Cross of Jesus Christ DESTROYS PRIDE.
We need to be walking in confession. If we are not then we are living a lie. The true church will respond the way that Jesus would want them to. It's okay...I guarantee you that the pastors in that church are all in the same boat. I repeat...We are all jacked up! What I wouldn't give to go to a service and hear the preacher just unload it! Or how about this...a sermon titled "Let's Unpack our Junk" .

You see, when we sit in our happy place, thinking that we are okay and we can make it, even though we are hurting beyond belief...we are telling God that we don't need his help. How can HE do a good work in us if we won't even confess that we are messed up. We put up a wall in between ourselves and the ONE who can make us whole again. He so wants to make us whole again, fix us. He is just waiting for us to confess it. Remember, He knows...He sees.

The following song lyrics are from Casting Crowns' Stained Glass Masquerade.

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they'll soon discover
That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who's been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who's traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

******************************************

How much more free will you be, once you have let it go, unpacked your junk? Imagine not having to "put on airs". Imagine just being able to tell it like it is the next time someone asks, "how are you doing?" And for those of you who ask that question...you really should be prepared to hear it....otherwise, don't ask.

Random Thoughts....or not

So...I have discovered that I am far too outspoken at times. LOL Yup, tis true. This can be a blessing and also a cursing. I do tend to want to speak out, but at the same time...it will no doubt get me into much trouble. So, I will say things that, to the general public, are random thoughts...but to me, they are things that I say instead of what I want to say in order to keep me out of trouble.

Like...why do people talk in code? Why don't they just say what's on their mind? It truly is much more freeing. Think of it this way...if you are bothered by something, or someone...just go to that person or talk about that situation with another person or a group of people and get some wise counsel. Instead...there are some that will put up a cryptic message and more often than not, it doesn't really fool anyone. There are some pretty smart people out there. It's not really that hard to figure out what you are talking about.

So...to keep myself out of trouble, or to not bring embarrassment to my family, I will hold my tongue, practice a little from the Book of James and say other things instead. That is where a lot of my funny status posts on Facebook come from. I will post a funny, to keep me from posting my irritations with those who post the coded or cryptic messages or if someone has posted a status that just, downright upsets me. Now...don't get wrong. Not all my funny statuses are for that purpose. I do like to smile too and I am a true proponent of laughter being a true medicinal plus in life.

So with all this said...I guess the point I'm trying to make here is this: Just speak truth, in love, of course...but if you really need to get something off your chest, don't post coded garb out there. Go that person or people and talk about it. Or if it is something that is okay for public posting, then by all means...just say it.

Hatred stirs up quarrels,
but love makes up for all offenses. Proverbs 10:12 (NLT)

Just speak the truth in love!