Is it a Sin???

Just a thought...
If you have the Holy Spirit living inside you, sin should be convicting without question. But, if you're still argumentative on whether or not something is a sin, ask yourself these questions....

"Could this action be a stumbling block to others, especially unbelievers?" or "Is what I'm doing glorifying the Lord?"

Very simple....

Romans 14:21-23 says, " Don't eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if its might cause another Christian to stumble. You may have the faith to believe that there is nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. If people have doubts about whether they should eat something, they shouldn't eat it. They would be condemned for not acting in faith before God. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

Romans 15:1-2 says, "We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong."

The point.....

People are always watching.... You may not believe that what you're doing is a sin, but your actions could cause others to stumble. That's a sin.

Love ya'll! Strive to be Different!

Even in the Small Stuff....

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things." Phil 4:8

Years ago, long before we went into the ministry, I would often pray this prayer....

"Lord, I love you. I want to live my life for you. I pray that you would mold me and make me into the person you have called me to be and USE ME, Lord, for your kingdom. Amen."

A simple prayer....so I thought. Little did I know that He would actually hear my prayer and start chiseling away at me right then and there!

The things I once did that were "just in good fun" started becoming sinful...difficult to do.
The TV shows or movies I once thought were ok to watch started becoming wrong...disgusting to watch
The music I loved to listen to, that perked me up, or made me "happy" started becoming shameful... difficult to listen to.

All these areas of my life that once seemed so unimportant, started becoming increasingly significant and I couldn't deny them anymore!

God was teaching me that even in the seemingly "small" areas of our life, He is and should always be, Lord. The things we allow into our homes or our lives, whether it's on television, movies, in music or whatever.... should only be to glorify Him.

I failed at that this past week. I gave in and allowed the flesh to take over and loaded my mp3 player with some music I "used" to listen to, thinking, "oh, it's no big deal, it's fun and it's only music....."

My son picked up my mp3 player yesterday to listen to it and he asked me what "this" song was? I cringed....

See, we've always made sure that whatever our children listened to glorified the Lord... nothing else. They've never known anything different.

Well, I let him listen to "the song" thinking, "what can it hurt? It doesn't have any bad words in it......no big deal!"

When I heard the words coming from my son's mouth, great shame took over my heart...... In that "small" area of our life, in that quick instant.... I gave the devil a foothole into our family. I let him in...

You see, the "little" areas in our life that we think hold little significance in our walk with the Lord are the ones that are sooo hard to let go of and for good reason! It's in those small, little areas (in music, tv shows, etc...) that the devil takes and uses to work in his favor. We just don't realize, what we allow in our minds and in our thoughts, how powerful it can be over our lives!

"If you want to live a life that honors God, you cannot continue to let things in your life that are likely to draw you in the direction to disobedience. You have to make a decision to focus on what is good rather than what is evil. You have to choose to fill your mind and heart with things that God would praise rather than things you would be ashamed to have revealed." -John McArthur

"I stand convicted and corrected Lord. Forgive me. I pray you will be Lord even over the "small" areas of my life. Amen."

Love ya'll! Strive to be Different!

"Do not be afraid"

I came on here to post a verse that's been on my mind alot lately, but when I opened my Bible to find it, God had this one right smack in front of me.... think He had another one in mind... I love that about Him... He always knows best!

"O Jacob, my servant, do not be afraid. O Israel, my chosen one, do not fear. For I will give you abundant water to quench your thirst and to moisten your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit and my blessings on your children. They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank."

Isaiah 44:2-4

Rent a Friend....

So... yesterday Nate got mad because he didn't have anyone to play dart tag with him.... well, he solved that himself.....

I didn't know whether to laugh or

feel sorry for the little fella...

I laughed.....lol

Mud Day

So.... yesterday I went out to my mom and dad's (aka Grammy and Grandaddy's) to visit... while the adults were next door at Great-Granny's house, visiting, the kids were all out in the yard playing..... To our surprise they were having a "little" more fun than we were aware of......

Yes, Maggie was involved...

and

having the time of her life I might add!!!

Oh, and did I mention that the mud wasn't just "regular" ole mud???

It was fresh compost, full of worms, egg shells, newspapers...

You get the picture....

The three culprits...

That's right Gavin... rub a little in your hair....

Looks so innocent, doesn't he?

Notice "cautious Nate" is having nothing to do with this mess!

He thought they needed a little more water....

Notice the shoes in the background.... Nice....

Eventhough the stench will forever haunt my nose,

and the kids may never be fully clean again....

Good times....right?!:)

My sweet momma started a tradition with the grandkids a couple of years ago when we go to her house for Christmas, in hopes that our children would really "get" what Christmas is all about.... We look forward to Jesus' Birthday Party every year!:) Thank you Grammy for teaching them about the most important gift.....

Love ya'll! Strive to be Different!