We have purpose

I'm a fan of Glee, and this week on the episode it dealt with a topic that hits home to many individuals -- self image. In the show, Rachel, one of the leads, breaks her nose and considers having surgery to resize her nose before it heals. Many of her friends try to discourage the cosmetic procedure, and try to convincer her that she is beautiful just the way she was made. Quinn, another one of the characters, is encouraging Rachel to have the surgery though, and tries to convince Rachel that she would look so much better with a new nose. Rachel and Quinn sang a duet that I found quite moving that is a mashup between Unpretty by TLC and I Feel Pretty from West Side Story. Here is the video...

Self worth is something that a lot of women struggle with. From the awkward years of adolescence, to being a single adult, to being a middle aged mother and wife - it is a doubt or fear or insecurity that attacks the heart of people from every age, sex, socioeconomic standing, religion, race, nationality, etc. We all have times when we wonder "Am I worth it? Does anyone love me? Do I matter?"

This is a topic that was also covered in church this morning. Our pastor spoke on Ephesians 2:10 that says,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The sermon centered around our worth in the Lord. In Psalm 139 it says that God created us and knew us before we came to be, and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. In Ephesians the idea is that we are created in the image of God, for His glory, and though we would fulfill the purposes He has set forth for us. A purpose that, in Psalms, was known by God when we were formed in the womb.

We have worth. We all have worth. And we have a purpose in the Lord. God created us for a reason, and if we seek Him and trust Him, He will guide us to that purpose. We are loved. We are the beloved to God. Each of us. Each of you. You are the beloved of God and you have purpose and worth in Him.

When I was younger, I received a phone call from a very good friend who informed me she was having a cosmetic procedure done. I really thought she was joking. I mean...we were in our young 20's. She is gorgeous, and I mean the kind of gorgeous where you stop and stare if you pass her on the street. I was completely shocked when I found out the surgery was not a joke, but something she chose to do.

This is a friend I cared for dearly. And, like I said, she is gorgeous. I didn't think there was anything about her that needed to change. She's extremely smart, successful, kind, laid back, outgoing, and caring. Why did she think she needed to change something about her body? She is perfect, just as God made her.

Because I had known this woman for the large majority of my life, I thought it would be okay for me to express my feelings about this procedure. I discouraged her, and tried to convince her this was the wrong decision. I tried to tell her how beautiful she was, and that God made her as she is for a purpose. I also expressed my opinion on the desire for cosmetic surgery being a heart issue. Its a self worth issue. And its conforming to what the world wants to impose on you as a model for beauty, not the beauty that God created.

I thought our friendship could survive me speaking my heart, even though it was hard for my friend to hear. But it did not. Do I regret sharing my opinions with her? Yes and no. Yes because she was a dear, dear friend and I miss her terribly. And yes because I know that sometimes I can share my opinion too much. But no because I stand by my convictions. I prayed about it after our initial conversation, and truly felt the Lord was asking me to share with her. I felt she needed to know how special she was to God, and that she didn't have to define herself by what is seen in fashion magazine, but who God created her to be.

God has created us to look and be just who we are. There is a purpose. He has made us each to be unique, beautiful beings. No matter our skin color, our size, our height, our age, our background...God made us to be who we are. Its hard to accept that sometimes when we are bombarded by images of these so called perfect, skinny, tanned, well-groomed and well-dressed individuals on TV, the Internet and in magazines. However, we must look past all of that and see who we are in God. Amazing, beautiful, purposeful creations.

My heart breaks for the men and women of the world who do not know their self worth. I long for a time when we are judged not by the outward, but by our hearts. It may not be until we reach the pearly gates, but when it comes to the end, when our life on this earth expires, we will be judged by our inside and not outside. So, its important now to work on what counts.

If you feel like you want to change something about yourself, I suggest starting with your heart. We all need a little heart surgery every now and then. And know with every part of your being that you were created by God for God and with purpose. You are worth it. We all are.

Below: Full video of sermon from church

May 1: Does my life matter? from Pinelake Church on Vimeo.

Conversations with a 4-year-old

Saturday night I was sitting on the couch at my mother's house, and my nephew came into the living room and crawled in my lap. He had his children's picture Bible with him, and needed to show me something. He opened the Bible to the story about Jesus' crucifixion.

He wanted to know why the men were hanging on the cross and why the Roman soldier "poked them" with his sharp stick. He also asked what the men did to die. I explained that the two men on the sides were bad and that they died because they did bad things. But then I explained that Jesus never ever did a bad thing his whole life. I also explained the Jesus was God, and that he was very good. However, he had to die so we could go to heaven and be with him one day.

We had to discuss this for a few minutes before he fully understood. And then he asked why the Roman soldier was so bad. Being the caring auntie that I am, I tried to soften the story a little and say the soldier was guarding the men. But then Will corrected me and said he was bad and poked the men. My sister said he already knew the story, and he knew the soldier was bad. (Oops!) My nephew then said he wished he could crawl in the book and hit the bad soldier so he didn't poke Jesus or other men. My sweet nephew is such a caring little boy, and he wanted to protect Jesus.

Will is a very smart child, and I was impressed with how much he has retained from going to church and talking to his parents about Jesus. I am always impressed with his sensitive and caring heart. He is a precious little boy.

We went on and discussed other parts of the book, including the resurrection and ascention to heaven. Will does not want to fly in the air and go to heaven like Jesus. He also doesn't want to have holes in his hand. Even though is is young, he really seems to understand who God is and the stories of the Bible.

It was a very precious time sitting with my nephew and discussing our Lord. I pray for him and his sister all the time to grow up in the ways of the Lord, and to love and follow Him from a young age. My job as an aunt will be to pray for them, speak with them, and help their mom and dad and grandparents as we all train them up in the ways of the Lord.

Merry Xmas!!!!

I don’t have a problem with Merry Xmas.

(pause)

I’ll say it again...

I do not have a problem with saying, writing, tweeting or posting Merry Xmas. It’s not offensive to me.

I do have a problem with individuals who get irate about other people using, saying, tweeting, writing or posting Merry Xmas. Typically their reason for being so severe is because they are “Christians” and they want to tell you not to take the Christ out of Christmas.

Well, to me, Xmas doesn’t take the Christ out of Christmas. In fact, to me, it puts the Biblical Greek back into Christmas. That’s right, folks. X in Xmas stands for “chi” (written as X) in Greek, which is the first letter of Χριστός (Khristós), the name for Christ.

(another pause…let this one sink in)

Χριστός, which means the anointed one, is the name used for Christ throughout the New Testament writings. The first two letters became a prevalent symbol for members of the early church. The usage of the chi-rho symbol dates back to the Roman emperor, Constantine, and was representative of the crucifixion.

When individuals refer to Xmas, it is just a shortening of Christ in the Greek form. Technically people should probably say Xpmas, but the X can stand in for Χριστός just as well as the full chi-rho symbol.

I think what bothers me most about the debate is not the use of Christmas verses Xmas. What bothers me is the fact that so many Christians get their panties in a wad and have to attack Xmas users by saying they don’t believe in Christ. You know, a lot of Xmas users probably don’t. But you know what else…a LOT of Xmas users know the true meaning of Christmas and may just need to shorten the word for a particular reason. Like fitting it in a 140-letter tweet!

Next time you feel a surge of anger when you see Xmas being used, think about why you are getting so mad. And think about your attitude and how it portrays Christ or Χριστός to those around you.

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“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” ~ James 3:9-10

How to preach a GOOD sermon: (completely based on my opinion only)

1. Get a Bible.
2. Open it and read it.
3. Take a passage of scripture (hopefully through the leading of the Holy Spirit) and work through it. Go verse by verse. Don’t just take one verse out of context. Actually take then entire passage and teach from it.
4. Exegete!!!! Dive into that passage. Look at the Greek or Hebrew meaning behind some of the key words. If you don’t read Greek or Hebrew, that’s okay. Find a word study or check out a commentary on that particular book of the Bible. Use the sources provided by the great Biblical scholars/researchers that came before us!
5. Bring your Bible to the place where you are preaching…and…*gasp* actually OPEN it and READ FROM IT! I know…this is hard for some of you to grasp. But if you are preaching on the word of God, it requires actually using the word of God and not just spouting out verses you know from heart. Even though, it is very good to know lots of verses from heart. However, you still need a Bible if you are preaching the Word to a group of people.

I realize not everyone is meant to be a preacher of the word. It’s not everyone’s spiritual gift and/or calling to preach. Some folks are just called to be inspirational speakers. But there’s a difference between a public speaker and a preacher. For those who are called to deliver and teach the precious word of God to the world, I believe you should do it well. And you should do it properly.

All of this stems from a service I attended at a local church yesterday. I believe that the particular pastor has an earnest and sincere heart from God. And he seemed to know a lot about scripture because he was able to recall many different verses from memory. However, he never once preached on a specific verse and didn’t even have a Bible with him.

To give him the benefit of the doubt, I went home and scanned through several of his sermons posted on his church’s Web site. I came across one particular part of a sermon where he even said he didn’t bring his Bible with him and he didn’t have the specific verse he was trying to remember written down. Hmmm…problem? I think so.

Preaching the word is a very important and very big deal. If not done properly, the message of God can be misinterpreted and skewed. And that just created division and confusion among God’s people. When preaching the word, it is very important to actually USE the word, or at least in my opinion…

I realize that not everyone will agree with me. And that’s fine. But you know what. I have the same degree as many pastors out there. I’ve taken preaching and have been taught the correct way to write and deliver a sermon, and I have sat under incredibly well executed Biblical teaching. I’m not claiming to be an expert, by any means. I myself do not feel called to “preach the word,” but I can offer an informed opinion on the subject. Or at least I feel like I can….

As I stated earlier, this post is based purely on the opinion of one individual. It in no way reflects the spiritual relationship or passion of the individual I heard yesterday. Like I said, I believe he truly has a passion and heart for the Lord, and is trying to honor the call on his life. However, my post comes with a surge of emotion and disappointment after hearing someone who I feel is gifted and equipped not do what God has called him to do. God expects better. I want to be better. We should all strive to do better. For His glory and His alone.

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Is that too mean???? I’m sorry if it is. I don’t like to be mean…

The meaning of Christmas

So many times I feel like I get bogged down in just making it to Christmas to really sit down and think about the meaning behind the holiday. We spend so much time preparing our homes and lives, but tend to forget about our hearts. However, there is one song out of all the thousands of Christmas songs out there that makes me pause and think about why we celebrate.

The song, Joseph's Lullaby by MercyMe, is a simple ballad from the perspective of the man who raised Jesus. He was not his biological father, but he did serve in the role of an earthly father while Christ was growing up. Everytime I hear this song I think about Jesus as a baby. He was fully God and fully man. He was tiny and vunerable, but could command the earth and the winds. He cried, coulnd't walk or crawl, yet he was, from the beginning, God.

The words of this song move me, especially when I look at my niece and nephew and see them growing each day. Christ had to grow up just like the rest of us, and didn't even begin his ministry until he was a year older than I am now. He went through life just like us so that he could be sacrificed for the sins of the world. To think of how he came here, as a tiny, fragile baby is so humbling to me. Why would God lower himself to that? Because he loves us and wants to save us. It is all so amazing!

Anyway, read the words below, then watch the video I found on YouTube with scenes from The Nativity Story and The Passion of the Christ. Picture our very big, very powerful God as a baby, and remember this is why we celebrate this holiday. (Even though, as Daisy pointed out on Bones last week, Jesus was most likely born during the spring because that's when the census was taken. We celebrate now because it was to counter a pagan holiday.)


Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

Alone in my principals...

Though this song is really about a break up, it helps set a humorous stage for my post...



There’s no real hiding or denying that I’m an older, single lady. I guess in the grand scheme of life I’m not really “older.” I’m only 29, but for the culture and context in which I currently live, being single past 24 is older.

The other night I had a few girlfriends (and fellow singletons) over to cookout and watch a football game. Our conversation covered everything from religion, to football, to politics, and, of course, being the singletons that we are, dating and men. I always find it interesting to hear other Christian’s perspectives on the do’s and don’ts of courtship. I realize I tend to be on the conservative, almost uptight, end of dating “world-views,” and differences in opinions/customs/choices is always refreshing, challenging and reassuring to me.

So, we get to chatting about boys. (Yes, we are all in our late 20’s, but can still refer to them as boys.) There were several questions raised during the topic of conversation that dealt with who, how, and what goes on with dating. A few of the questions covered dating divorced men, what’s too old or too young, being set up verses an online dating service verses letting things happen naturally, and much more.

One of the more intriguing conversations, though, dealt with sex/sleeping together/the appearance of evil/etc. This is something I have discussed with several Christian friends before, and where I get the label “uptight” when it comes to my views on dating. So, what’s acceptable and what’s not for Christians who date? I’m going to list a few of the opinions that are held by many Christians I know (but not necessarily the ladies I chatted with), and then list my opinion on the topic.

Disclaimer – I know that I’m completely opinionated and I don’t try to hide my feelings. But this is my post and my blog. If you reading, just know you are getting my sole views based on personal conviction, and I do not expect or anticipate everyone or even anyone to feel the way I do. On with it…

1. It’s okay to sleep together in a bed, as long as you aren’t having sex. Therefore, napping, spending the night or any general sleeping side by side is okay.

Sheri: Well, no, that’s not okay. One reason is because I know how humans are, and I imagine it to be extremely difficult to lay and/or sleep in a bed with a man you are extremely attracted to with no hint of “hanky panky” there. Doesn’t it say that even just looking at someone and lusting is as bad as doing it? (Matt. 5:28) I can imagine being in bed with someone and the thought crossing my mind…so…its best to avoid any mattresses.

2. Since we are women of a certain age (and yes, I’m making myself sound older than I actually am), maybe its okay for us to “sin a little” before marriage (i.e. do the hanky panky…not to be confused with the hokey pokey) in order for us to keep the boys interested.

Sheri: Okay, that one doesn’t fly with me either. Yes, I understand that men are driven by sexual desire, but so are girls. It’s part of our created nature. But God has called the unmarried to be celibate. Now Paul does say in 1 Corinthians that if you burn with passion, then you should probably get married. But if you can handle it, remain a virgin. It does say, though, that passion is for married peeps...And when I say passion...I mean the hanky panky.

3. PG-13 topic - As long as you are not having intercourse, then it’s not really sex, and its okay to conduct the act with your boyfriend/girlfriend.

Sheri: If the word sex is in it, its sex. Don’t be fooled by the “everything but” argument. That’s a load of crap.

4. Its okay to hanky panky with someone you are engaged to. After all, don’t you want to find out if you have sexual chemistry before you legally commit to this person for a lifetime?

Sheri: Not gonna fly with me either! I understand that hanky panky is an important part of marriage, but physical connections are NOT what make marriage work, and they are NOT what you should base your life on. Intimacy is much more than just sex. It’s about sharing your life with someone. If you have nothing to base a relationship on besides the physical stuff, then it’s going to be a long rest of your life trying to find something else to build upon.

So, I’m conservative. Big deal. I don’t think that you should have sex, sleep with, or be physically intimate with someone before you get married. That’s just my opinion. I know my limitations, and I believe my personal convictions are based on how I feel I should live my life. I do understand that most other people don’t agree with me. And that’s okay…convictions wouldn’t be called “personal” if that weren’t for a person.

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic. I didn’t base this post on scripture, but on where I feel God has led me in my spiritual walk. If you want, I can dig up some versions to support my claim, but really, my thoughts/opinions/convictions were based on my relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Coming up next….my thoughts on falling in love and how to find “the one.”

Love. Love. Love.

Thanks for passing this along, Marg.

Goes along with what I'm currently reading.

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