God as Your Guide

Is God your guide on the highway of life?

It amazes me over and over how no matter what road I take in life I'm never really alone - even when I make poor decisions. I think that we all try to navigate our way to a destination without a map or directions - doing it on our own - at times. But it would be so much easier if we'd just use the map. It's the same thing in life. We try to make our decisions without prayer...without our Guide through life. And many times we make a huge mess and get lost along the way.

I don't know about you, but I get really stressed if I am driving somewhere and I get lost - especially if I am alone. I feel that way even in life sometimes. When I make a wrong turn and end up somewhere I didn't plan to be in life it can get scary. But knowing that God is always with me helps to ease that fear and anxiety. Sure, I still worry about some things. But just knowing that God is faithful and always there to open a door and light the path in the direction I should go is such a huge comfort....it's settling to know He's on my side...even when I've made poor decisions.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

The last several weeks have been tough on social media. I've seen so many that do not believe really attack in harsh ways the faith of those that do believe. I've read many things that have just really broken my heart. And many that just are adamant about not believing that God even exists. My heart breaks for them. When I see and hear people say that God does not exist I just cannot imagine a world without Him. No, I do not see Him with my physical eyes like I see my husband, my kids, my friends and family. But I see Him in everything around me. I see Him in my healed body. I see Him in my son that the enemy tried to steal from me multiple times already. I see Him every time a new door opens when I thought there was no other way. I see Him in the love I have for others and in the love in my relationships. I see Him in every sunrise. I see Him on every road I take in life. He is always, and has always been, the one constant that I could depend on. So it's difficult for me to understand why it is so hard for others to not see Him and not believe in His existence.

I've shared my past (well, a big part of it anyway) so it's no secret that I took a few wrong turns in my life. And it's no secret that I lived a life outside of a godly path. But I've also shared that now that I can look back on my life after taking those wrong turns I can see where God was with me and guiding me even when I didn't realize it. He never leaves us....He never left me. We just block Him out of our line of sight. But oh how wonderful it is when the path becomes clear...when we have a clear line of sight right to God.

I'm in a new transition in my professional life right now. And it could be a pretty scary transition. Yes, it makes me a little nervous. But what keeps me grounded is knowing that God is in the lead. He is guiding me every step of the way. It's up to me to listen and follow His lead though. I do not believe one door will close without God already having another cracked open, ready and waiting. So I look forward to what comes next. I look forward to how God is going to work and move in my life in this new season. And although it may stretch me a little (maybe even a lot), I'm going to breathe it all in, smile and just enjoy this new ride on this new road.

Nurturing the Talents

From the moment of conception we want nothing but the best for our children. We often wonder what they will be when they grow up. What will their interests be? Will they follow their dreams? And what will those dreams be?

I believe we should nurture the natural abilities and interests our children have from a young age. These interests and abilities come natural to them. And when we force them to be something they're not or do something they don't want (career path) they will end up being miserable......every now and then there might be a happy adult that comes out of that. BUT, what if we were to watch them, learn from them, observe them using their interests and abilities during play time.....and then, we help to nurture those interests and abilities....those talents and gifts!!

I manufacture bath and body products, and I work in the nail care industry specializing in diabetic foot care. Why is this important? Well, when I was a young girl I used to take my mother's perfumes, powders and lotions and lock myself in the bathroom to create my own concoctions. This would be an early interest in what I am doing today with the bath and body products. I've always enjoyed caring for people. I did work in the health care industry but wasn't fond of that. So being a Nail Tech specializing in diabetic foot care (and providing in home services to folks who are home bound) gives me that same opportunity to take care of others. I knew at a young age that I enjoyed creating scented products and helping people. But I never expressed that to my parents or anyone else (thus, locking myself away in the bathroom to make my concoctions). Had I made it known I know that my parents would have nurtured that in me. Thankfully, I found my way to a career that I love.

My next example is one of my own children....my oldest son, Anthony. He expressed to me when he was 12/13 years old that he wanted to be a Chef. I put my own things on hold and we opened a chocolate business for my son so that he could get some experience in the food biz. Of course, this wasn't a full blown restaurant (we didn't have the finances for that so we did what we could with our budget...which was chocolates and coffees). I remember so many people telling me how crazy I was because my son would change his mind many times by the time he is actually an adult. I remember people telling me I was wasting our financial resources and our time on doing this for him. I have news for all those who claimed I was wasting resources.......he is now a Sous Chef and he is nearly 25 years old. He might not care much for making chocolates anymore, LOL, but that experience helped to nurture what was natural for him....what he enjoyed doing. Then he went on to college and seeking out his own path into the culinary industry on his own. I take no credit for his abilities, talents and gifts.....that's all God and my son.

But the point here is this, nurture the interests, abilities, talents and gifts in your children when they are young.

And just for kicks, and to show that this story about my son is true....here's a link to a news article about it. http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/110679/

Work In Progress

I am willfully disobedient every single day. I am, in fact, nothing but a sinner.

Yes, you read that right.... My true confession. I'd also be able to add "liar" to that statement if I said I did not sin every day. We all sin. And one sin is not greater than the other. God doesn't love me more because my sin was "better" or your sin was "worse". Sin is sin is sin all day every day. One sin is not greater or lesser, better or worse, than the other.

Someone walks into church and they are expected to be sin free from that moment on? Or they are saved and automatically they are living a sin free life from that point on? Are you kidding me? I don't know about you but I need forgiveness daily. My flesh is weak. I break down and sin ..... Even with the things I know to be sinful (that's where the willful disobedience comes in). Truth is that God is always working on me. I'm His little hot mess. Yes, that's me. I'm sure there are days He'd like to just throw His hands in the air, walk away and just give up on me. But I am surely thankful that He hasn't done that yet.

I have tried to see this as being the case for others too. When I see and hear some of the things people do and say I sometimes start to get a little bit of a haughty attitude. Then I remember where I came from. I remember how willfully disobedient I can be at times. I remember how God loved me through it. I also remember how the changes in me happened over YEARS. And I know that God worked on me one sin at a time (and continues to work on me, which is why I say that I am a "work in progress"). I know God is not done with me yet. So then, I also know He's not done with you yet either.

The next time you look at someone and see they aren't living as they should (cheating, lying, drug addict, sex addict, homosexual, stealing, gossiping.....or any other number of sinful ways) remember that they are a child of God too. And they, too, may just be a work in progress. And it's not your place to tell them they aren't up to the speed you think they should be (calling out sinful behavior to a fellow believer is a different story for a different day). That's up to God. It's your job to love, guide and lead by example. And it's ok to admit that you are a work in progress also. We all have our weakness and temptations to deal with.

The next time you decide that you are going to judge someone else for their "sin", pick up a mirror and take a long hard look at yourself. You are responsible for YOU. I am responsible for ME. It is not our place to decide what sin the Holy Spirit should be working on in someone's life.....not one of us has been given Divine permission to dictate the order in which the Holy Spirit deals with sin in others. We are all just a "work in progress".

I'm just a work in progress. And I'm thankful that my Father is the Potter and can mend whatever is broken in this vessel. I am thankful for the sacrifice He made so that I may be forgiven, so that I may be saved. I am thankful for His grace and that it is available to me every single day of my life.

The Wrong Path

We all go through so many ups and downs in this thing called "life". And God is with us every step of the way, even when we aren't fully aware because we are just hurting so much and can't see past the tears, or because we are just in a place where we CHOOSE not to be aware of His presence. Either way, He is always with us.

In my book, Just Be!, I share part of my testimony. This part covers a 7 year jaunt down a pagan path. I shared in the book my view of others prior to this path. It was one of pure judgmental attitude towards those that lived different than me. I would go from one extreme (in my wild young adult years) to the other extreme of being literally a "hateful, judgmental Christian". I thought I was doing the right thing. Yes, I was telling people about Christ and His sacrifice for us. But I wasn't doing it with much love. But I didn't realize that back then, in the moment. It wasn't until a move, having no family and friends around other than my husband and children, that I really began to understand that my behavior was wrong.

When I turned to walk down that path of paganism it was because I had now been on the receiving end of the judgement that I was so quick to dish out before our move. It was this judgmental attitude that was shown towards me and my family that caused me to walk away from the church, the people in God's house. I had some very deep hurts to deal with. And the ones that accepted me completely and fully as myself with no judgement and no condemnation were the pagans in the community. They took me in and loved me and allowed me to see the hurt they too had been through at the hands of other Christians.

Don't get me wrong, there were some very hateful and cruel folks that I met while on that path as well. But I had the opportunity to see how much love the majority of them have to share. More than that, though, I was able to see and hear the "WHY" to each of their stories. This was a learning experience for me. And one that ultimately led me closer to the Lord and helped to strengthen the relationship that I once had with Him. It helped me to see how much He really loves me and how He will never let go of me and never leave me alone unguarded and unprotected.

I'll share a little more about some specific things that took place that really showed me His love and protection through this time in another post. What I want to share today is more about the people that I met on this journey of mine.

You see, most of the pagans I met and had the opportunity to grow close to during this time were in the same place as me for the same reason......they were deeply hurt by someone or many someones that called themselves Christians. They were looking for the love and acceptance that they SHOULD have been able to find in their own community of other believers. They were looking to fill a void with human love that can only be filled with the love of God. They were blinded to the love of God by the judgment of other believers. If you were to ask any one of them what they don't like about Christianity their answer will be "the people". Almost always it's the people. And since "the people" are a reflection of the God we serve what, then, do you think their perception of God is? They were confused just as I was.

Confused? Yes, confused. You see, when God's people act in an ugly and hateful and judgmental way toward others it causes pain which leads to confusion. Why you ask? Simple, if we are to be Christ-like, as the title Christian implies, then why are we not actually being Christ-like? Why aren't we loving others regardless of where they are in life or what they have or are going through? Why are we judging so many based on what we see with our own eyes when we really truly do not have the full and clear picture as God does? Why are we picking and choosing the parts of the Bible that WE ourselves live out in our lives and then criticize others for what we perceive as being sinful? Why are we making one sin out to be worse than another? Why are we just teaching the wrath of God and not at all the love He has for every single one of His children?

So the Bible tells us that Christ came to redeem us, that we are ALL sinners, we ALL fall short of the glory of God.....but that God has such a deep passionate love for ALL of us that He gave up His one and only Son to pay the price of our sins. And then you have people who call themselves by His name that behave in an opposite manner. Yes, that is confusing. And yes, it causes people to turn away from the "church" and seek out a community of people that will accept them for who they are no questions asked.

You see, most of the pagans that I have met have made their decision about God based on the words and actions of the people who call themselves by His name. They have been judged and hurt and shunned by the very people that are supposed to be the "salt and the light" to this world (Matthew 5:13-16). How can we be the salt and the light in this world if we are so busy being judgmental and hateful and cruel to both believers and non-believers?

Something that I learned while on this path is that while they may believe different than Christians do, they are still people. They have feelings. They have love in their hearts. They are still God's children. Even if they don't know it yet.

What did it take for me to find my way back to the Lord? I never really turned away from God completely. I wasn't able to abandon the truth that I really truly knew deep down in my heart. I wasn't able to abandon the knowledge that Christ gave His life for my salvation. But I wasn't ready to deal with His people. And I was walking the pagan walk, talking the pagan talk. It wasn't until a very dear friend of mine reached out to me in love. She extended her hand to me and extended the invitation to go visit her church. She knew what I believed. She knew the life I was living. Incidentally, at that time I had only known her for a few months when she did reach out to me. The point is, she loved me for me and was able to see past the life I was living. She invited me without judgment to experience God's love once again.

Now there are some who would be so bold as to say that God would never love a pagan.....that God would never accept a pagan back into His family. These are all lies of the enemy. The enemy wants you to believe that your place is in a world void of God. The enemy wants you to believe that God does not love you and that you can only be accepted by those that have turned away from Him. The enemy wants you to remain in a state of confusion. But I'm here to tell you different. God has fully accepted me back into His family. He has never stopped loving me. He has never stopped being my Heavenly Father. And the same goes for every single person that has taken a wrong turn in life. God loves you still. And He is waiting for your return.

So what's my point in all this? LOVE LOVE LOVE People, wake up and realize that others are never going to see the love of God in and through you if you aren't willing to just love them. Share the truth of Christ's redemptive work on the cross and then just love them and let God sort it all out. It's not our job to "make" someone believe or to "make" someone do what we think they ought to be doing. It is our job to spread the Gospel and to be the salt and the light of this world. We cannot do that if we are always sitting in the seat of judgement that is not even ours to sit in.

Later this week I will also be posting about some of the dangers of paganism. It wasn't all a bed of roses. And yes, there were some painful times during those 7 years. I don't want to leave anyone thinking this is a good path to go down because it's not. But I do hope that believers who do read this will take into consideration that others are not seeing the love God has to offer when His people are the ones doing the hurting.