A PIECE OF MY HEART...most influential

I was reading the latest edition of TIME magazine, mainly because the cover caught my attention:

"The 100 MOST Influential People in the World"

LEADER

Some of the most influential leaders, according to TIME, Barack Obama (#4 in the top), Nancy Pelosi (#8 in the top), Sarah Palin (#9 in the top) and Glen Beck (#14 in the top).

ARTIST

The top Artist in the world? LADY GAGA with Conan O'Brien following as #2 in the top. Also making the TIME top list were Oprah Winfrey (#4 in the top) and Taylor Swift (#9 in the top).

HERO
TIME listed Bill Clinton as the #1 hero. Also making the list for heroes were Ben Stiller (#4 in the top) and Serena Williams (#14 in the top).

As I read over these lists (and chuckled at a few of the names that made the top list), it took me only a moment to realize where our society is putting our trust, our admiration and our focus. It is not on Jesus Christ.

I noticed that Jesus did not make the list for any of these, and in my eyes He should be the #1 influential person that ever walked this earth. Was Jesus not the greatest LEADER you will ever know? Did He not influence not only His disciples greatly, but everyone that He came in contact with?

ARTIST? How can anyone not recognize God as being the ultimate artist of the world? All you have to do is open your eyes and look around. Gaze upon the mountains and the sunset, look at the animals and see how each one was created uniquely. The stars, the moon, the trees, the flowers, the oceans, the birds, the change of seasons. Such artistic beauty all around us, none can compare to the artistic hand of God, our Creator.

I cannot even imagine how Jesus Christ was overlooked on the top HERO list. Last I checked, I don't believe that Bill Clinton gave his life for anybody! Jesus Christ is my ultimate hero! He loved, He gave, He sacrificed, and He gave me life!

JOHN 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."

If you could come up with a list of most influential people in your life ... who would make the list? Would Jesus Christ be #1?

and that's a piece of my heart today!

ALSO...You can check out my devo that I have written for the AT THE WELL site today. It is entitled, " Leave the light on."

                          CLICK HERE!

I am UNIQUE

Yesterday, from state to state, from living room to living room, we celebrated our Mom's! It was a day of universal celebration, celebrating a common bond that we each have.

As I sat with my family in the packed out restaurant yesterday, I was thinking about how everyone in the restaurant had something in common. We were all there honoring the same thing ... our mother. As a mother, I realized that I was the same as many of the women in the restaurant. We all had the same name ... "MOM"!

Even though we were all the same, we were all different. We looked different, we acted different, we have different habits, different goals, different ideals. Different is good though, nobody would want to be exactly like me! The only person in the entire world that is exactly like you is ....YOU!

This makes us special - special to God, special to our family and special to our friends. The Bible says that we are made in "an amazing and wonderful way". So the next time you think you just might just be an average mom or woman of God, remember that God made ALL of the people in this world but He made only one YOU!

PSALM 139:14 "I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well."

Your family may wish the BEST for you, but your Heavenly Father not only wants the BEST for you but He thinks you deserve the BEST! You are worth it because you are unique!

"Today you are you! That is truer than true!" - DR SEUSS

LACED WITH GRACE...mother knows best

Today you can find my thoughts over at the LACED WITH GRACE site. I have shared a devo over there entitled "Mother knows best". Please stop by over there ... if you are a mother or ever had a mother, it is sure to make you smile!

Click HERE!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...wearing true colors

It is baseball season again. Whether it is little league games or major league...it is fun to root for your team!Have you noticed how some sports teams emblems or logos make total sense? For example, the New York Yankees is Uncle Sam's top hat on the end of a baseball bat. The Dallas Cowboys have a lone star (which Texas is the Lone Star state) on their helmets.

But yet, other team traditions seem very strange to me. Like the Ohio State Buckeyes ... what is a buckeye anyway? And what about Penn State, their school colors are blue and white but their team, the Nitanny Lions colors are not even blue nor white.

And what about strange mascots that these teams have? Utah has a gorilla for a mascot? and Florida has a fish? Seems strange to me, but the strangest thing to me about these teams isn't even their colors or mascots ... what about some of the fans?

The fans go all out for their favorite teams. They wear hats, wigs and jerseys. They carry towels and Styrofoam hands with upraised index fingers indicating "We are #1!" Fans will paint their faces and their bodies the team colors, they wave pennants, they wear team pins, they chant team songs and they are clearly identified with the team that they are rooting loudly for.

You can go to any sports event and find all of the above and know exactly WHO is rooting for WHO. A sports fan can be clearly identified with their team!

I wonder how closely we are identified with God? How exactly do people know which team we are on? After all, God doesn't have "team colors" or a "team mascot". We might wear a christian t-shirt, or listen to christian music. We might even go so far as to carry around the team program (a Bible)...but none of this shows our true "team" colors.

Identifying yourself with God's team comes from the way we worship Him! We can wave pennants and even paint our faces with John 3:16, but the way we live is the true color of being a #1 fan of Christ!

EPHESIANS 5:15 "Live life, then with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning of life but as those who do."

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am so glad that GOD'S TEAM is the WINNING TEAM and I can proudly wear the true colors of Christianity. May those around me identify me as a dedicated, true, and responsible follower of Christ!

What are you grateful for today? Share your thankful heart with us today as we celebrate being on His team!!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...are you willing?

If I were to ask you the top 3 things that you disagree with your closest friend about, I am sure that it would not take long to probably come up with a top ten list.

In fact, if some of the things on your list continue, it will only be a matter of time before it begins to affect your relationship. Sadly, unless someone doesn't start giving in, some of the issues on your list will probably just keep popping up between you and a loved one.

Disagreements are most evident and most talked about in marriage relationships. In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question: "What do you think is the #1 thing that couples disagree about?" The top 3 answers were...

1. 62% of those voting said that they think FINANCES is what couples disagree about.

2. 18% polled said that KIDS is what they disagree about.

3. 12% voted that INTIMATE ISSUES causes disagreements with couples.

Defending our rights and our opinions is a foundational part of our make-up, but within the walls of a marriage - stubbornness will steal time and productivity from your relationship.

No matter what kind of relationship you have disagreements in, there is one way to get beyond the "stalemate" of your relationship and save what may be headed down a disastrous road.

WILLINGNESS...

To be "willing" is an attitude and spirit of cooperation in all that we do and all that we say to one another. It's like a palm tree by the ocean that endures the greatest winds because it knows how to gracefully bend. Do you know how to bend in your relationships?

PHILIPPIANS 2:4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

Look at the willingness of Jesus:

• He had the right to refuse becoming a man but was willing!
• He had the right to be served by all mankind but was willing to come to serve instead!
• He had the right to live in peace and safety but willingly laid down His life for our sins!
• He was willing to suffer and endure the grueling torture of the cross!
• He loved and cooperated and was willing to do His Father's will instead of His own!

Jesus exemplifies the attitude of willingness. Willingness is the attitude of laying down for the good of others what you have the right to claim for yourself. (Philippians 2:5) "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."

ARE YOU WILLING to lay down something for someone today?

A PIECE OF MY HEART...Invisible fence

We have 3 dogs and when they are outside, they know what their boundaries are. Basically, they know their boundaries because of the wood fence that surrounds them. They can't go outside of it and nothing can come inside. I have always wondered how pet owners could get their dogs to stay in their yard with no barrier. Then I learned what that "thing" on their pet's collar was ... a shocking device!

An invisible fence. What a great invention. If the dog crosses the line, the invisible fence, it will receive a shock. I always found it fascinating that after just one shock, that the dog seemed to learn its lesson to not cross the line. But in reality, what the dog learned is that crossing the line would cause something bad to happen to them.

In life, we should have an invisible fence. Every time we cross a line by acting or talking the way we know we shouldn't or worse yet, committing a sin...we would be shocked! In reality we know that we cannot walk around with a shocking device tied around our necks and be jolted each time we mess up. But for every Christian there is an invisible fence already in place, you might recognize it as a fruit of the Spirit ... SELF CONTROL.

The Holy Spirit already lives in us if we have accepted Christ, but we still need to submit to His control each and every day. The Spiritual Invisible Fence will warn us and keep us from doing things that we ought not to do. But we have to submit to His Spirit.

GALATIANS 5:25 "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

The Raging Storm

Well, you have either SURVIVED the raging storm that swept thru our area or you have HEARD about it in the news. A fierce and mighty storm ravaged our city and surrounding towns in the last two days. Killing some, destroying property and leaving streets and homes flooded.

Luckily for me and my family, we had gone out of town for the weekend. We were in another state, picking our college son up and bringing him back home for the summer. We were safe and sound on dry land in Texas while our friends back home were holding onto mattresses, cowering in bathrooms and praying very hard that the tornadoes and storms would pass by.

Fear. It is a force to be reckoned with. And fear certainly gripped many this past weekend as the storms brewed overhead. I am reminded of another storm that kicked up some fear. A frightening storm rose quickly on the Sea of Galilee, and the Disciples were afraid. Yes! Even the Disciples struggled with fear!

MATTHEW 8:26 "He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' The He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm."

When the Disciples turned to Jesus, He calmed the waters of the storm but then He turned and rebuked the Disciples for their lack of faith in Him. Sometimes, I think that I am like the Disciples on that day, frightened by the waves and winds of the storms that brew up in my life.

When we accept God's promises as absolute truth, we will find we have little to fear! Faith in God is the foundation of courage and the source of power. One thing I know, storms will brew all around us, not only in threatening thunderstorms and tornadoes but also storms that take us by surprise in life. When your storm rages, remember that God is the One who calms the raging winds.

"Only believe, don't fear. Our Master, Jesus, always watches over us, and no matter what the persecution, Jesus will surely overcome it." - LOTTIE MOON