THANKFUL THURSDAY...childlike faith

I love watching a young mother with her baby. The interaction between the infant and the mother is one of total trust. A baby never questions his mother when she buckles him in his car seat. He never asks, "Why are you taking me there?" Instead, the baby just sits back in his car seat and trusts that wherever his mother takes him, he will be safe.

This is the same kind of trust that we should have with our Heavenly Father...

"One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them, but the disciples told them not to bother Him. But when Jesus saw what was happening, He was very displeased with His disciples. He said to them, 'Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you, anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will never get into the Kingdom of God.' Then He took the children into His arms and placed His hands on their heads and blessed them." (Mark 10:13-16)

A child has complete security in knowing that his parents love him and will take care of him. He has no worries. No concerns. No reason to doubt. This is the kind of child-like faith that can give us complete trust in the One Who cares so deeply for us.

Aren't you thankful that we have a Heavenly Father that we can trust in? Completely. It's much simpler than we try to make it. Trust Him and put your child-like faith into action!

I have been honored to be your hostess for THANKFUL THURSDAY this month. Next week, we will be meeting at Iris's for the month of March. Share your grateful heart with us by linking up below and be sure to come back next week! HAPPY TT!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...if the horse dies, should you dismount?

So many times I see myself doing the same things, the same way, over and over and over again. Many times we tackle the day-in and day-out activities of our day with the same attitude and the same approach. I wonder what would happen if we shook things up abit and changed a few things?

Would it be better, worse or no different?

It is hard to change things. Especially if things are going good. But what about when things aren't working right...why are we afraid to change things then?

Being unwilling to change things reminds me of the old saying, "You can't beat a dead horse"...in other words, if the horse is already dead, beating it is not going to change a thing.

I wonder if sometimes we try to keep things alive that are already dead by doing things the same way. For instance if putting the wrong kind of oil in your car causes your car to stall...why would you keep putting that oil in your car? Sometimes you have to change your method of madness to get different results. More positive results.

According to Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Community church and author of the book, The Purpose Driven Church, the reason that 95% of all churches in the world never grow past 300 members is because their structure keeps them from growing beyond that point.

"When a thing grows weak and out of date, it is obviously soon going to disappear. That's true of churches, too. If a church cannot change, it will eventually die." -Rick Warren

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "What kind of change do you anticipate in the year 2012?" The top 3 responses were...

1. 44% of those voting said they anticipate a change in their spirituality.
2. Another 44% voted and said a change financially.
3. 33% responded and said that they plan to change where they live.

"When a thing grows weak and out of date, it is obviously soon going to disappear." (Hebrews 8:13 NIV)

Probably one of the hardest places to accept change is in our churches. We get comfortable doing the same thing. Many times, we have the mindset that since we have done it "this way" since the beginning of time, we can't do it any other way. I full heartily believe that if it ain't broke, why fix it...but I also believe that why should we wait until it is broke to try other things.

In the spiritual world ... this may mean trying new and exciting ways to draw people in. It isn't changing God's Message...it is just trying new methods to present the Gospel.

In the physical world...this may mean putting away some old habits and trying some new habits that will spur on new growth and vitality. It may mean paying your bills in a different way, or changing some eating habits or altering the things that we allow our ears and eyes to fixate upon.

2012 can be a year of change. But we got to stop trying to beat a dead horse...we have to have a willing heart and an obedient spirit to change the things that God would have us change.

This same principle applies to many areas of life. Often we do not want to make changes in our life, especially if it is to our disadvantage...but the truth is there are times in our lifes that we NEED to make changes.

A PIECE OF MY HEART...Take a stand!

Isn't it interesting that when we pick up the newspaper or turn on the news, we hear about all the protests that people are making about their rights. Gay rights. Abortion rights. Right to commit mercy killing. However, I seldom see headlines that say, "CHRISTIANS FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!"

Don't get me wrong. I think there is a right way and a wrong way that Christians can take a stand. I have been to places like Los Angeles where I have seen people marching up and down the street holding signs and hollering out to all of the pedestrians how they are going to die and go to hell. I'm not sure that this is the RIGHT way to get the message of Christ across to people. But I do think there IS a RIGHT way that we can take a stand for Christ.

With the increasing number of teen pregnancies and the overwhelming amount of overcrowding in our prisons, it almost seems to me that not only do we live in a world that is rampant with sinful behaviour but we, as a society, have become numb to it. We have looked the other way. We have become too accepting. We no longer take a stand against it.

WHY?

Partly, I think because we feel outnumbered. Maybe we are afraid. Possibly people will laugh at us. We want to make a difference but feel like it is impossible.

In my small town where I live, often, you can see a middle aged man who rides his bicycle up and down the street. He waves a huge American flag and shouts out at cars as they drive by. I don't necessarily think that many people pay attention to what he is saying as much as they are laughing at him for being such a spectacle. I don't even really know what the guy is shouting, but I have to admit, I give him props for being brave enough to take his conviction to the level of not being afraid to share it with anyone.

You can find people everywhere who believe in something. Many will even stand up for what they believe. Few will die for what they believe. I wonder why it is rare that we hear about Christians standing up for what they believe. In the book, FOXES BOOK OF MARTYRS, you can read about how some Christians not only stood up but they died for the cause of Christ. I don't really read that in my local headlines.

ROMANS 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes."

Isn't it time that the voice of Truth is heard? God is looking for some brave warriors that will stand up and be counted! Can you be counted on?

and this has been a piece of my heart today!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...will anyone remember my name?

It seems like people are constantly trying to make a name for themselves. It starts out at a young age, while in school, we strive to be known as something .... class clown, school jock, teachers pet and making a name for ourselves continues on all thru adulthood.

We eventually get to a point in our life that we wonder if people will even remember us when we are long gone from this earth. Will they even remember our name or what accomplishments we achieved in our life?

As I pondered this thought this week, I tried thinking back to my school days and I tried to list at least 10 people that I remembered from school. It was harder than I thought it would be. I could not even remember my teachers names, names of  people who had huge impacts on my life. I have memories of their faces and the classrooms, but their names just escape me.

Wouldn't it be awful if our own loved ones forgot our names?

My dad has been battling dementia and often times gets confused. Sometimes his speech is not what it should be and it is difficult to communicate with him. Today, his wife put the phone to his ear so I could talk to him and when I asked him if he knew who he was talking to, he said, "Laurie Ann". That tickled me to hear him say that, it has been years since anyone has called me "Laurie Ann".

Today, I was reminded that no matter what our circumstances are, we all have a Father who will never forget our name. He knows us so intimately, more intimately than anyone else, and when others forget...God will always remember who we are. For we are His chosen, His children, His beloved.

Isaiah 43:2 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."

This week I am so thankful that God knows my name! What are you grateful for? Please share your grateful heart with us and link up your THANKFUL THURSDAY post below!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...handling strife like the Velveteen Rabbit

Some people just have a need to argue everything. It doesn't really matter what it is about. If the color of the carpet is blue, they want it to be red. If everyone likes the movie, they think it was horrible. If the temperature is just right outside, they think it is too hot or too cold. No matter what the topic, they will try to argue just for the sake of arguing.

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "Is there someone you have conflict with right now?" The top 2 answers were:

1. 42% responded and said they have conflict with someone in their family.
2. Another 42% voted and said that they are conflict-free right now.

Conflict. It happens everywhere. In the home. At school. At work. Yes, even at church.

The Bible does not condemn conflict, however, the Bible does give instruction on how to be more Christ-like and allow God to use strife in our life to mold us, strengthen us and change us.

People can have different opinions and beliefs. Different does not always have to mean "conflict". But there should also be a warning to us when people try to impart their different opinions on us, especially when it comes to faith and beliefs. We are not called to blindly accept everything that we hear, in fact, we should as Christians challenge things we hear that go against our understanding.

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11

Faith is not about blind acceptance. But it is certainly not about quarreling either. Quarreling can go beyond mere words and turn into physical fighting. There are ways that we can disagree while maintaining order.

I personally do not like strife. In fact, I will go to great lengths to avoid it. But sometimes the lesson  learned from strife is exactly what I need to sharpen my iron. In the book, The Velveteen Rabbit, the skin horse tells rabbit..

"Real isn't how you are made. It's a thing that happens to you ... it doesn't happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept."

Just like rabbit, we often times wish we could become "real" without uncomfortable things happening to us. But life just isn't like that. We must struggle, confront and engage fully in life if we are to become all that God has intended for us to be. Sometimes, along the way we become bruised, but with each bump and bruise, we become stronger.

Stronger in our faith and stronger in our walk with God!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...aiming high

Are you willing to dream big dreams? My teen daughter has had a dream. A dream to be a model and break into the fashion world. Most people probably thought that her dream was unrealistic. She is young. She is not tall. Face it, in today's world everyone is a critic. One of the worse critics of all, is yourself. And I can imagine that even my daughter had a glimpse of doubt that her dream could come true.

But I found a Christian modeling agency that acted as scouts looking for fashion models, commercial models and actors. I sent them an inquiry and the next thing I know they are calling us for my daughter to come audition.

Dream big? I would say that Walt Disney is not the only one who can make dreams come true. God promises that we can do "all things" through Him.

"I am able to do all things through Him Who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

But yet, most of us live far below our potential. We take half measures; we dream small dreams, we waste precious time and energy on the distractions of this world. But God has so many other plans for us. Our Creator intends for us to live faithful, hopeful, courageous and abundant lives. He knows what we are capable of so much more than we do.

I don't know how my daughters name got to the top of the list to be called for that audition, but I am pretty sure God had something to do with it. When we put our talents and treasures in God's hands, anything is possible. The day after the audition, my daughter got a callback and was chosen to represent our state of Arkansas as a teen commercial model.

I would like to tell you today...you CANNOT out-dream God!

and this has been a piece of my heart today;

How much do you love me?

Today is Valentines Day. A day set aside once a year to express our love to our beloveds. Even though this is a holiday, that in my opinion, is totally over commercialized, I love the whole concept of what Valentines Day brings.

LOVE

Some people think this day is about flowers and chocolate but really it is more about the expression of love. Sometimes it feels like my heart is going to burst wide open when I think about how much I love certain people in my life. Especially my family. But just about the time that I think that I cannot love them anymore, I think about 1 Corinthians, chapter 13...

"Love is patient, it is kind, it is not jealous, boastful or rude. It does not demand it's own way, it is not irritable or does it keep records of wrong doings. Love never gives up, it never loses faith. It is always hopeful. Love endures."

I have great love for others, but when I look to the cross I realize just how weak my love is. It is my desire to love people, and not just as an expression of emotion but I want to love people like God loves ... unconditional.

Love is a choice. Not just today, but 365 days a year. There should never be a question in your loved ones mind as to how much they are loved. When I think about the love of God, there is never a question of how much He loves me!

Happy Valentines Day! You are loved!