When you are feeling down...make someone else smile :)

I like to do this and I don't do it often enough.

When I am having a lousy day or I am just feeling depressed and run-down, it helps me to I stop thinking about myself and start encouraging others.

I like to get a whole bunch of greeting cards and start to write away. I pray and think about who might need some encouragement, who is going through a difficult time, and that is who I write to.

Sometimes I don't even write. Sometimes, my heart is just burdened to pray. Today I even cried as I prayed for one family and the things they are going through.

I want to fix everything and make everything better, but I CAN'T. 

So, I bring my prayers and petitions to the One who CAN.

...And I can pray and encourage and uplift others. It may not fix things, but it sure does help me to feel better and I hope it makes them feel better too :) 

Pet-peeves...

This week, these pet-peeves have really been bothering me...

1) Using Scripture incorrectly and/or taking Scripture out of context. I think some of this is due to spiritual immaturity, some from ignorance, and other times on purpose to serve a selfish purpose.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I have done this on a few occasions in my life (not on purpose tho) so I do try to give people the benefit of the doubt. It is sometimes easy for a Christian to buy into something because of tradition or because a lot of people you happen to interact or surround yourself with believe it to be true or because you are being led astray by church leadership. 

I don't normally watch T.V. church preachers, but flipping thru the channels, I will sometimes pause a bit to listen. And it makes me so mad sometimes! I think, these people are supposed to be educated! They are supposed to have gone to school to learn in-depth so they help us understand things better! They are supposed to be leading us closer to Christ and the truth, not further away!

I have learned a lot in this area over the years. It is very easy to be misled when you are on a superficial level with the Scriptures. YOU have to dig into the Scriptures and see what God has to say for yourself, not take someone else's word for it. You can't bit and piece the Scriptures together. You have to read the passages in context. Do a little bit of research to see the relevance of why it was written for that time period and see what it means for us today. You have to sincerely pray that God will help you to understand and reveal His truth to you.

2) Putting words in God's mouth and trying to make our will His will.  Again, I think this is due to spiritual immaturity, to ignorance, and other times to serve a selfish purpose. 

Take, for example, all this 'name it and claim it' junk. If you pray it enough, God WILL do it....as if WE can tell GOD what to do!?! Don't get me wrong...God cares about everything. He promises he will never leave us and that he will be there with us through it all, but he never promises to control everything according to our will and our desires. He never promises to get us out of all of our jams or that life will be rosy all the time. 

When we put words in Gods mouth and say he will do something and that something doesn't happen, WE make God out to be a liar. WE instill doubt in people who are desperate to believe these things will happen like we said they would. And when they don't happen? Then what? People are left doubting. They are left questioning God. They turn away. Problem is, God may never have ever been the one to promise that thing. WE did and WE put the words into God's mouth, so to speak. 

3) God is on our side...we will be victorious. Of course, we can't go wrong when we choose to follow God; I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about God automatically helping you win or succeed at something simply b/c you prayed for it or said it. A LOT of people do this. all. the. time. 

2 Christian schools play against each other. Both teams love the Lord equally. Both teams pray for God to help them be victorious. One team loses and the other team wins. So, was God against the losing team? Did He hear the winning team's prayer louder?

2 candidates (and I'm thinking of past presidential candidates) run against each other. One loves the Lord and his walk with God is sincere and evident. The other *claims* to love the Lord, but you have serious doubts b/c there is no fruit, no walk with the Lord, and the actions don't match the words. The follower of Christ loses and the faker wins. The faker's constituents claim it was because God was on their side. So, was God really on his/her side? Was God against the one who sincerely follows Him? 

Anyway, just a few pet-peeves getting on my nerves this week. 

Now that it's all out, I'm going to bed ;)

Political woes...arg!

Well, it's that time of year. 

Normally, politics don't bother me much. I do my research on the candidates and go into the voting polls to do my part and vote and that's it.

However, when you have a family member running for office...things can get pretty ugly :(

I try to keep calm and stay out of things for the most part, but people can be quite cruel.

It doesn't bother me if people do or do not vote for my family member. It doesn't bother me when people discuss the issues and stances and agree or disagree with my family member. What gets me is when people start making it personal by taking personal attacks and jabs at not only my family member, but the rest of his immediate and extended family. Some people will use every opportunity to drag my family's name through the mud. THAT bothers me.

The funny thing, or should I say the sad thing is, they have to make up these accusations because they can't come up with anything factual. My family is not perfect by any means, nor do we claim to be, when we make mistakes, we own up to them, but I guess we just aren't scandalous enough for them to have any real dirt on, so they resort to making things up.

My family and I and our real friends know what the truth is, and knowing the false accusations are meaningless and untrue should be enough for us, but there is just something about it that gets under your skin. It's like those old school 'your momma' jokes. They can get your blood boiling and you want to shout out the truth to everyone or sometimes smack them upside the head...lol!

One thing is for sure though, you learn who your real friends are and I'm not just talking about the people who are voting for my brother. I have friends who are voting for my family member's opponent, and that is ok. They can vote for who they want, yet they don't take part in bashing, name calling, or dragging my family though the mud. 

Facebook and social media can be a very telling thing. Some of these people probably don't realize I see what they are writing and saying on various political pages (or maybe they do), although they'll be as sweet as pie to my face, behind my back they use every chance to say ugly things about my family. THOSE are the "friends" I am referring to.

THOSE are the "friends" I don't need in my life. Most things I try to let roll off my back especially when they are said by people who really don't rank in my life anyway. Not to be ugly or anything, but some people are more like acquaintances and an occasional run-in with them isn't earth shattering or anything. We smile and pass in the grocery store and that's it. Every once in a while though, I have to talk to someone about it. Especially if it's a person I have to see or come in to contact with...or *gasp* attend church with on a routine basis. It's not as simple as letting it roll off. I can't keep up a false friendship and pretend everything is ok when it is not. And let me tell you, THAT is hard. So, I approach the situation in the most loving and sincere way I can. Thank goodness it doesn't happen very often with a close "friend", because even just once is enough for me. Wether or not things end on a happy or not so happy note, the friendship usually ends up dwindling away and that is probably for the best in the end.