Christianity is NOT a buffet line

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27


"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." James 1:22


God requires our obedience. It's that simple. What kind of obedience does He require? Complete obedience. In fact, if one does not give their entire obedience to the Lord, or partial obedience, it is considered rebellion.


"For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." 1 Samuel 15:23

Loving God is not enough. It is important, yes, but without the obedience that MUST come with that love, we are hypocrites. His word tells us that “If you love me, obey my commandments." John 14:15

Going through our day in partial obedience, or like we're in a buffet line, might go something like this...

"Love? Sure, I'll have a helping of that! Forgiveness? Ok, but only a little spoonful. Tithing? Not this week! We're tight on bills as it is! Compassion? That sounds good, plus it'll make me look good too!"

When we are HIS, we hear his whispers throughout our day. We read HIS word and know the truth, but if we stop there, we are not completing the work that needs to be done.

Dear Lord,
We are so thankful for your presence in our lives. Help us to be accountible to your Word, your Truths, your complete breath of life. Let our lives be a light in a dark world. In your Son's precious name we pray,
Amen

The many faces of Kayla

Kayla's new favorite game is the "faces" game. She has a book where you try to guess what Big Bird is feeling by looking at his face, so this must be where she has gotten it from. It cracks me up....everytime! She is so animated and precious. I thought I would share this, as I get the giggles just looking at these pics. Hope they bring a smile to your face as well....




Blessings, Ali

Christian Lingo

"Is the glass half empty, or half full?"

"Oh, how lucky you are!"

"Wasn't that such a coincidence?"

I'm sure there was a time when we've all used one or all of these phrases. After regeneration, God gives you new eyes to see, new ears to hear, and new desires of your heart. This is not to say that you will never again sin or have the temptation to do so. In fact, quite the opposite. The devil will hit you even harder then before. The difference is now you will recognize it for what it is....evil. I pray each one of you sees the "luck" in your life for exactly what it is....blessings. For there is only one place that it comes, and that is from God the Father. I pray that everytime you start to think something is a coincidence, you will look deeper still and see that it was only due to God's perfect orchestration. Finally, I pray that as you look at your own life, you are able to see the abundance of joy in it, a joy that can only and will only ever be found in HIM.

Blessings,

Ali

Love this guy!

Ok....gotta make a dedication blog to my adoring husband. He had Monday off from lack of work around ol' TIMCO, so we had a 3 day weekend of sorts as Tuesday and Wednesday are his regular days off. What a blessed time we had! Monday night he came home from class around 9 with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me....just because! Now, I know what some of you ladies must be thinking....he was either appologizing for something or had done something wrong and was trying to butter me up, but neither one of those are true! It really was, "just because!" What a sweetie! Also, he more then did his share around the house, everyday cleaning dishes in the kitchen. I even convinced him to clean a VERY dirty diaper of Anna's today (I took pictures, but unfortunatly can't post them here as he is in his boxers, but trust me when I say they are FUNNY!!!) I am just so blessed to have a husband who cares....cares about me, cares about his children, cares about helping me with our home, but most importantly cares about the Lord! I love that he's just as goofy as me (see attached pic), I love that he's a dedicated father, I love that he's handsome (hey.....it doesn't hurt, right?), and I just plain LOVE HIM!! Here's to growing old and grey with the love of my life.......

Blessings,

Ali

A New Day in America

Written by Leslie Nease of Survivor China

Today is a day when many people have some pretty heightened emotions. Some are excited beyond words because their Presidential pick won the Presidency last night, others are feeling hopeless and like the world is crashing down.

I must admit, I haven't been so affected by a voting process since a certain time when I was actually the one whose name was on the ballot. In Survivor, when I was voted off the show in the 3rd episode, I was devastated and I felt as though the world was crashing down. I felt rejected and even a little hopeless initially.

I have learned so much about rejection through my experience. No, my experience is not comparable in status to the presidential election, I realize this, but the principle is the same - man's rejection is God's protection. God allowed Senator McCain to be rejected for a purpose and allowed Senator Obama to win for a purpose. We do not know the purpose but we know our God! He is faithful, even when we are faithless because He cannot deny Himself. (2 Tim 2:14)

The purpose is known only by God and even if it is a purpose of discipline, we can rest assured that God only disciplines those He loves. If the purpose is to prosper us, then the fact that the election doesn't make sense to us shouldn't matter, we should trust His ways, not ours. If it is to teach us a lesson (like the Israelites were taught when they wanted a King and the Lord gave them King Saul) then let us learn! Friends, let's listen to what God is saying, seek Him first and trust Him!

Today, no matter how you are feeling, please don't forget something. Our God is in control! We may have stood in line to cast our vote and let our voice be heard yesterday, but ultimately, God is Sovereign and He has a plan for our country. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan for us, to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us a hope and future. I can't help but know that even if this election was a huge mistake on the part of the voting Americans, God has a plan. I can rest in that, I can trust in that.

One last verse that I am clinging to this day after the election...Romans 13:1(NLT) "Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God." Did you get that last part? The new President was placed in office by GOD, not the people. He allowed this for His good purpose. We know not what that purpose is, but it's certain. Our job is to submit, but also to stand firm in our values and what we believe to be true.

I don't know who you voted for yesterday but I do know that God knew who would win long before our votes were cast. Today is not a day to feel hopeless, my friends! If you are one of the ones who voted for our new President, today is a day of gladness and hope for you and if your choice for the Presidency lost, it can also be a day of hope and gladness because we can remember that this decision was made by God, not man.

So, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice!

Proverbs 16:31 (MSG) "Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say".

Every life has purpose

This video has been circulating for some time now, but with the sanctity of life being so passionately on my mind these days, I wanted to share it here. Some will argue that babies who are found to be ill in the womb are one of the circumstances where abortion may be an option. This video so beautifully illustrates why that is not so. God's perfect will is in everything....We must have faith that it is so.

Blessings,

Ali

What it's NOT about for me...

Tomorrow is election day, and I have so many emotions running through my mind and heart today. First and foremost, I am leaning on HIM for support in my moments of weakness concerning this election. Let me share with you what this is NOT about for me...

It's not about race
It's not about age
It's not about experience
It's not about cultural background
It's not about gender
It's not about tax cuts
It's not about health care
It's not about charm
It's not about good speeches
It's not about charisma

For me, it's pretty simple. It's about life. It's about leaving life up to the Creator, the Lord God Almighty....

It is not, nor will it ever be up to us to decide who dies and who lives. Period.

I am praying for this election....fervently. I trust HIM and know that HIS plan is perfect.

Blessings,

Ali