Glazed and Confused

Refused a complimentary Hinkley's doughnut at work this morning.....

should be celebrating the sheer act of willpower, 

but the only thing I can think to reward myself with is...

....one (or two) of those three chocolate crescents.  

HINKLEYS!  I hate to love you, but I just can't hate you!

If I made the right choice, why do I still feel such regret? :P

Trust In Love?....Or....

Ummmmmmm.....nope.  

The verse Love Always Trusts does not mean we should be gullible, naive, or not use wise discernment.  It is not a flat-out TRUST everything statement.

What is does mean is do not lose faith in GOD or in people.  Intentionally choose to see the best in people...don't jump to conclusions and always see only the negatives....give them the benefit of any doubt....believe in them.  Give them a springboard to jump from not a roadblock of negativity.  This is an area where I really need to work and where I know I am blessed with my husband.  Where I can look at a structure like a house or a room and see amazing potential for something beautiful or creative...I am horrible at seeing this in people....especially, if I feel like I have been "burned" by them.  Karly has a phrase she says right now that goes along with this..." BAM, you just got burned on the stove and served on the splatter!"  It's supposed to be platter, but I think it's so funny that she says splatter, so that's our phrase at the Foster house :)  Anyway, Brad is the opposite of me...he never seems to understand what I am telling him about how a space could look once I am finished with it, but he almost always looks beyond faults in people to show them he believes in them.  I always admire that quality in him and am thankful to have his example lived out in front of me.

I guess where it must come from is that our trusting of others really has nothing to do with them....stay with me.... humanly speaking, we cannot be trusted.  A belief in humanity has to come from a belief in what God can do through humanity.  Does that make sense?  So, if I show someone with a horrific past that I believe in them and that they can have an amazing future, it is not ruined if they fail or disappoint me, because that trust I place in them is founded on GOD'S ability to change them through His LOVE for them.  Giving trust to someone is a ministry because it is meeting a need everyone has to be given a new start and a friend who will encourage them.

Pardon Our Fairy Dust

Finally all the bank issues are worked out, permits are pulled, and the construction is underway for Hopetown, the children's wing at our church.  I am so excited!  I get to help with the creative brainstorming for the decorating and design of the area....one of my favorite things to do :)

And, I mentioned earlier that Karly's fingernail fell off.....this was a long time coming since she actually broke her finger in November and the doctor told us that as the other one grew in underneath the top nail would detach itself.  So, she did not want to part with the nail.  She said, "What if there is a nail fairy?"  I gently tried to explain that I have never heard of a nail fairy, but her imagination (with the help of her sisters) took that to the next level and said, "SO, I bet you get lots of money for a nail that fell off!"  She put her nail in a plastic baggie and it has been sitting on the counter.  I do this thing where I let things like that sit for three days and if they have forgotten about them...somehow they disappear.  But, tonight when I went to tuck her into bed, I felt that ziplock baggie under her pillow.  I said, "What's under your pillow?"....she just grinned and giggled.  I said, "How much do you think you will get for that nail?"  She said..."alot"....."like toothousand dollars!" ....and she just laughed hysterically (she is my mini-me).

WOW!  I am pretty excited for the morning.

Good Night!

My Own Worst Enemy

We sometimes refer to people as over-protective.  I tend to gravitate toward that direction with my kids because of my personality.  I want to save them from making mistakes, so sometimes I feel like it is better not to give the opportunity that may prove to be a temptation for a wrong decision.  However, so much of life and learning has to occur in the middle of these moments....where the temptation exists, but my kids can choose wisely....I'm learning that I have to let them make choices or they will not grow up into maturity.  Most of my over-protective tendencies deal with things that could affect my children physically.  But, part of me learning to protect them is actually giving them age-appropriate opportunities...freedom to choose between right and wrong...to grow and strengthen their faith.  This is so hard sometimes and I am not even at the toughest place, I'm sure!

Where I think Biblical promises of protection trip people up is when they believe God is always referring to protection over our physical life.  Something bad happens and many people start believing God is a liar.  We have to remember we are SOULS who just happen to be living in bodies.  It's not the other way around.  Many of us live without a clear understanding of who our enemy really is....God promises to be with us and protect us from the enemy who wants to destroy our SOUL.  That is our own worst enemy...and God gives us TOTAL PROTECTION from him if we accept it and walk with Christ.  That is why, no matter how bad it can get physically or even emotionally, there is still hope! (MAYBE THAT IS WHY HOPE IS COMING UP SOON IN THE "LOVE IS" CHAPTER :)

Love Always Protects.

I am so thankful for that!

Through The Eyes Of Love

I was walking across campus today to get the mail.  It was right after chapel got out, so there were a lot of students out and about.  I was in front of a girl who's friend ran up to her and said, "Guess what!  He winked at me today!"  Her friend responded, "He did?"....then she said, "No, his contacts were just bothering his eyes!" .....(LOVED THAT!...ha!)

This is a pretty funny thought....

 ;)  This is true.

A Most Delightful Sunrise

I do not particularly delight in the month of February in Michigan.  I try....seriously, when I say I try...I put forth a good amount of effort to find lovely things in life.  So, I cannot name as many "likes" in February as I can in other months, but I LOVE THE SUNRISES.  In February, they are occurring as I commute to work and so many days they are so spectacular as they light up the sky.  The light hitting the snow is sometimes blinding, it is so brilliant!

Love Does Not Delight In Evil But Rejoices With The Truth.

This is an interesting part of the "love is" scriptures to me because it is contrasting evil and truth...(not good and evil, or truth and falsehood), that those two things come up throughout scripture so often as evil = darkness and truth = light is the contrast here, and that in this "love does not" verse, we are actually given a remedy.  It is almost impossible to take an application of this verse in any direction other than to stand in the light of truth and be faithful....especially in our intimate relationships, the ones where God has blessed us with the ability to experience more pleasure and freedom than any others. 

Intimacy in marriage is such a fabulous thing.  Sometimes it takes a while to come to an understanding of it with a spouse because we are all so different.  We have different expectations and desires for one thing.....the challenge there is mainly developing an understanding of our spouse and how to care for them...how to put their needs before our own.  BUT, there is a danger that can be destructive to our intimacy with our spouse and, most importantly with our creator, if we do not identify it and bring it into the light of Truth.  That is that we have probably allowed ourselves to be tempted and carried away with a false version of intimacy...(if you never bought any of the lies, you are rare!)... lies about pleasure that leave us feeling horribly empty and unsatisfied...lies that are almost entirely based on physical attraction and selfish desires instead of a physical, emotional, and spiritually giving love.  That type of passion is not holy and, because of that, it cannot be sustainable for a long-term, healthy, Christ-honoring relationship.  We will not see lasting marriages where this LIE is not dispelled by the powerful light of Truth!

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

Know This, Whatever Dirt They Have On You.....

God Makes Beautiful Things Out Of The Dust!

Imagine being in the temple praying on the day Jesus was crucified, feeling the earthquake and hearing the enormous temple curtain to the Holy of Holies tearing from top to bottom.  As my mind has been contemplating what it means that...

Love Keeps No Record Of Wrongs

I was thinking about my long list of sins and seeing, in my mind's eye, GOD totally ripping that list in two and discarding it....not that it means nothing to HIM that I committed those sins, nor that my objective as a believer should not be to "go and sin no more!", but that HE loves me more than all of that and wants me to live in Christ, to live a life without condemnation in an intimate relationship with Him that has no barriers.  That led me to thinking of the tearing of that holy curtain and a connection in understanding that because of God's plan for Christ to be our High Priest and our atonement or payment for sin, I can and should forgive myself for the past and not fear future failures.  I take sin very seriously, but sin and death do not have to hold any power over me because of Christ.  Does that mean I will never sin?  Does that mean I never need to seek forgiveness?  NO, but I strive to be holy and when I mess up, I know I need to go straight to the one who offers me forgiveness.  

This should also apply to my attitude toward my brothers and sisters in Christ.  It has been crazy awesome this weekend how GOD has reinforced this point to me.  We were at Solo and Ensemble with Savannah and on the way back to Jackson we were talking about the judge's comments and criticisms and how Vannah could take those points and use them to become better.  Don't you love when a simple conversation suddenly becomes a spiritual conversation?  She asked, "But, isn't it wrong to judge?"  "Doesn't the Bible say that?" So we talked about the difference between pronouncing judgement in order to condemn someone and our responsibility to still hold each other accountable for mistakes and sins in an effort to build each other up, correct, guide....those things are definitely not wrong, but a lot of Christians group all of this together into "JUDGING" and want to say it is all sinful.  AND THEN OUR PASTOR SPOKE ON THE EXACT SAME THING....right on, GOD!

It's not my responsibility to condemn.  I have no idea what is in the hearts of men or why they behave the way they do sometimes.  It is my responsibility to offer forgiveness with complete understanding that I have also been offered it MANY times.  AND, it is my responsibility to show others what grace looks like through a life lived with no condemnation.  I believe the beauty in this is what the Spirit so often uses to draw men to Christ if we are faithful.  Let's be people who are rich with forgiveness.  I think I have posted this video before, but it so powerfully illustrates this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGT1rGxfaKw

I wanna be the little girl with the camera, don't you?  Know what I like about her?  Besides her photography, I like her feet.  It's not just her shoes, but I love how whoever made this video started it by showing her feet....and her All Stars :) I think it is symbolic whether they meant it or not.   It makes me wonder if they were considering the verse from Romans that talks about the beautiful feet of those who bring good news :)  This little girl is bringing GREAT NEWS!