The difference between men and women

Well, we know there are several, but since my husband gets the kids ready for school, their hair is always a mess. And I recently bought several cute outfits from Gymboree for the girls. He put the girls in one new outfit on Friday. I did laundry over the weekend and found out at pick up line on Tues that he had put one in the same outfit from Friday! So I'm forced to either wait at least a week to do laundry or lay out outfits the night before! I've also bought lots of headbands for them to do their own hair, but they always seem to forget. Oh well.

God's mercy, love and forgiveness

I have always felt a bit sorry for Judas. I mean did he really have a choice to betray Jesus? Was that his destiny and he had no control? Of course he did. Jesus knew he would betray him but it was Judas who made the decision. What hit me recently though was that it didn't have to be the end. Many of the disciples betrayed Jesus or denied him. Peter famously denied him 3 times yet still was the rock from which the church was built. If Judas had repented, wouldn't the Lord have forgiven him? What sets him apart from the other twelve is his lack of acceptance of the mercy that was offered. He could not seem to repent and accept God's amazing grace. You are never too far gone to be accepted into the family of God. If we only understood how great His love is for us.

Amazing Love

"The cross redefines God as One who was willing to relinquish power for the sake of love. Power, no matter how well-intentioned, tends to cause suffering. Love, being vulnerable, absorbs it. In a point of convergence on a hill called Calvary, God renounced the one for the sake of the other."

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew

Pride - the respectable sin

I'm about half way through reading The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey. I'm enjoying it and seeing Jesus through new eyes. Today this hit me hard...

"the more unsavory the characters, the more at ease they seemed to feel around Jesus. In contrast, Jesus got a chilly response from more respectable types....the Christian church now attracts respectable types who closely resemble the people most suspicious of Jesus. What has happened to reverse the pattern...?"

This is another reminder to me of how dangerous it is to be viewed as successful in the eyes of this world. Dangerous because we are tempted to feel that we don't need a savior at all, that we can take care of ourselves. The blatant sinner can't hide his need, but the respectable folks hide our "respectable sins" very well. He quotes C.S. Lewis, "Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God: the proud, the avaricious, the self-righteous, are in that danger."

Is anyone reading this?

I wonder if anyone reads this. Leave me a comment if you do.

Floss Picks

Ok, I've always heard that you should floss every day. But who really takes the time to do it??? I get on a kick but it never sticks. But the girls' dentist really wants them to floss, but we can't get our large fingers in their mouths. So I bought floss picks. They really aren't expensive, you can get about 100 for $3. They are wonderful! Everyone should use them. It makes flossing so much fun and easy! Now we all floss every day! I've heard that people with the healthiest gums live the longest. So now that I floss every day and drink Shakeology, maybe I'll live to 100!

Live NOW

God has been reminding me of something lately. That he is in the business of character building. He cares much more about who we are becoming rather than where we're headed. I'm trying to stop living for that someday... someday when I can quit my job and be a stay at home mom... someday when my kids won't be so messy and my house will be clean... someday when I'll have time to exercise... someday when I can focus on my marriage. Life is to be lived NOW! Lord, help me to stop focusing on what I don't have that I desire and focus on all the blessings you've put in my life. Help me take steps today to meet the needs of others, love my kids, love my husband, and look for your hand on my life. Amen.

I hope you use every moment you're given TODAY!