3 hours ago
Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and everyone will be making their lists of things they are thankful for.
Somewhere in my list I always include my salvation, because really, isn’t the fact that Jesus died for our sins the ultimate gift for which to be thankful?
I realized a couple months ago that I have never posted the story of how I met Jesus on my blog. You can get the short version in the “About Me” tab, but I’ve never devoted an entire post to the most important event of my life, the moment I’m most grateful for. Why I haven’t is beyond me. I think it has been a thought niggling in the back of my brain for a while now, but I’ve never sat down and typed it out.
I decided that as we enter this season of Thanksgiving and then celebrating the birth of our Savior, it would be a great time to finally share my “salvation story”, if you will.
As I thought about it, I realized a lot of you might never have posted your testimonies either. I’m not judging – sometimes things get busy and you just don’t think of it. I know! So I thought I’d ask if any of you want to join me in thanking our Savior for what He has done in our lives in the best way we can – by sharing our stories with others.
I’m planning on posting my testimony on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, November 17th. It seemed like an appropriate way to lead into a holiday that is all about thanking God for our greatest gifts.
Will you think about joining me and posting your testimony on your blog that day as well?
I’m planning on doing a link-up, and there will be a button made at some point.
I’ll post a reminder as it gets closer, but I’m giving it a full 2 1/2 weeks – I think that’s plenty of time to decide on whether to join in and to write up your testimony if you do decide to do it. If you have written a post about your testimony in the past, you can definitely just link to that as well.
If you’ve never devoted an entire post to sharing your salvation story, I hope you join in!
More details and a button coming soon!
Lately I've been thinking alot about the Future. But not in the way you might think.
At first I was thinking about the Future in regards to everything it may or may not hold. What will happen with our jobs in the Future? Will we live in this house forever? So much has changed in this past year - what will life look like at this time next year? Will I have as much trouble getting pregnant with our next baby as I did getting pregnant with our first? How many kids will we have? Mostly just questions of the unknown.
But lately, my thoughts about the Future have been more focused on my actual thinking about the Future. Sure, it can be fun thinking about what might be, but is it really healthy? I've been convicted recently that it's not, not in the way that I have been thinking about it.
Two Exceptions
I don't think there is much good to be done in thinking about the Future, except as it may affect our present actions.
If I'm thinking about the Future only so I can plan appropriately for what I need to do today, there really isn't too much of a problem (got that tidbit from "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis, and I agree).
If I'm thinking about and focusing on Eternity that is a very good thing, because it has immediate repercussions in the Present - I'm going to live in a more godly manner today if I'm living with Eternity in mind. (see Chapter 15 in "The Screwtape Letters" for a good discussion about this whole subject).
But in this post I'm talking about thinking on my physical Future here on earth.
If I'm thinking about the unknowns of the Future, it only brings about two reactions: worry about the Future or discontent with the Present.
Worrying About The Future
When I start thinking too much about what might happen in the Future, it's almost impossible not to worry. I get to thinking about all the "what-if's", wondering what will happen, and then wondering what I should do if it does happen.
It's so easy to forget that worry is a sin. And I mostly worry about things in the Future - I don't worry so much about what is happening right now. Worrying about Future events that may or may not happen is a huge joy-stealer in my life - how am I supposed to be joyful when so many cares and worries are loading me down?
If not thinking about the Future helps me to worry less, not only am I sinning less by not worrying so much, but it's so much better for my mental and physical health as well
(Kara wrote a good post on worry, and that's where I found the above quote.)
Dreaming About The Future
But not all thoughts of the Future are filled with doom and gloom - sometimes I like to dream about the Future. And really what is wrong with that?
I think sometimes it's okay to just dream a little, but if my mind is often consumed with daydreams about things that may or may not happen, I don't think that is healthy. It's not at all helpful for appreciating the moment - in fact, focusing on what might be in the Future takes my attention away from being thankful for all those everyday gifts that I have right now (this also ties in with the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp, which for me has become partially about living fully in the Present, not with the Future constantly in mind).
And then on top of that, there is bound to be some disappointment if my actual Future doesn't live up to my expectations, or I may find myself discontented with the moment and wishing it away for the sake of things in the Future. How ungrateful that is! The Lord showers blessings on us every day, and I'll miss most of them if I'm always looking for the next thing.
Minding The Present
Right now, today, is all I have. I have no gaurantee about anything in the Future - why do I spend so much time thinking about my Future here on earth when what I do with each Present moment is what will really count for Eternity? What eternal value is there in focusing so much on the earthly Future? There isn't much.
Can focusing much of my thoughts on the Future help me live better today? Not really, unless I am only thinking about the Future so I can plan present tasks. But then I still have to be careful not to let worry sneak in, and that is so easy to do.
Can thinking about the unknowns of the Future help me serve the Lord better? No. It takes my attention away from the Lord and focuses it on temporal dreams or fears.
(Katie wrote a great post recently, "On Tomorrow", that also touched on this subject - I borrowed the quote from her.)
I don't want to focus so much on the "what if's" or "maybe someday's" of the Future. I don't want to waste the Present - this moment is all I have any control over, because once it has passed me by it becomes the Past, and I can't have it back.
I want to appreciate every gift and make the most of every moment that is given to me right now, because what I do right now is what will matter for Eternity. I think I could honor the Lord much better if I think less about the Future (or even the Past, but that is a different subject), and just practice minding the Present.
Obviously I'm still working on it, and this is a struggle I'll probably have until my Future no longer includes this physical world, but only Eternity - but then it won't be the "Future" anymore, it will just be a never-ending Present with my Savior.
And that is the most beautiful thing to look forward to.
At first I was thinking about the Future in regards to everything it may or may not hold. What will happen with our jobs in the Future? Will we live in this house forever? So much has changed in this past year - what will life look like at this time next year? Will I have as much trouble getting pregnant with our next baby as I did getting pregnant with our first? How many kids will we have? Mostly just questions of the unknown.
But lately, my thoughts about the Future have been more focused on my actual thinking about the Future. Sure, it can be fun thinking about what might be, but is it really healthy? I've been convicted recently that it's not, not in the way that I have been thinking about it.
Two Exceptions
I don't think there is much good to be done in thinking about the Future, except as it may affect our present actions.
If I'm thinking about the Future only so I can plan appropriately for what I need to do today, there really isn't too much of a problem (got that tidbit from "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis, and I agree).
If I'm thinking about and focusing on Eternity that is a very good thing, because it has immediate repercussions in the Present - I'm going to live in a more godly manner today if I'm living with Eternity in mind. (see Chapter 15 in "The Screwtape Letters" for a good discussion about this whole subject).
But in this post I'm talking about thinking on my physical Future here on earth.
If I'm thinking about the unknowns of the Future, it only brings about two reactions: worry about the Future or discontent with the Present.
Worrying About The Future
When I start thinking too much about what might happen in the Future, it's almost impossible not to worry. I get to thinking about all the "what-if's", wondering what will happen, and then wondering what I should do if it does happen.
It's so easy to forget that worry is a sin. And I mostly worry about things in the Future - I don't worry so much about what is happening right now. Worrying about Future events that may or may not happen is a huge joy-stealer in my life - how am I supposed to be joyful when so many cares and worries are loading me down?
If not thinking about the Future helps me to worry less, not only am I sinning less by not worrying so much, but it's so much better for my mental and physical health as well
(Kara wrote a good post on worry, and that's where I found the above quote.)
Dreaming About The Future
But not all thoughts of the Future are filled with doom and gloom - sometimes I like to dream about the Future. And really what is wrong with that?
I think sometimes it's okay to just dream a little, but if my mind is often consumed with daydreams about things that may or may not happen, I don't think that is healthy. It's not at all helpful for appreciating the moment - in fact, focusing on what might be in the Future takes my attention away from being thankful for all those everyday gifts that I have right now (this also ties in with the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voscamp, which for me has become partially about living fully in the Present, not with the Future constantly in mind).
And then on top of that, there is bound to be some disappointment if my actual Future doesn't live up to my expectations, or I may find myself discontented with the moment and wishing it away for the sake of things in the Future. How ungrateful that is! The Lord showers blessings on us every day, and I'll miss most of them if I'm always looking for the next thing.
Minding The Present
Right now, today, is all I have. I have no gaurantee about anything in the Future - why do I spend so much time thinking about my Future here on earth when what I do with each Present moment is what will really count for Eternity? What eternal value is there in focusing so much on the earthly Future? There isn't much.
Can focusing much of my thoughts on the Future help me live better today? Not really, unless I am only thinking about the Future so I can plan present tasks. But then I still have to be careful not to let worry sneak in, and that is so easy to do.
Can thinking about the unknowns of the Future help me serve the Lord better? No. It takes my attention away from the Lord and focuses it on temporal dreams or fears.
(Katie wrote a great post recently, "On Tomorrow", that also touched on this subject - I borrowed the quote from her.)
I don't want to focus so much on the "what if's" or "maybe someday's" of the Future. I don't want to waste the Present - this moment is all I have any control over, because once it has passed me by it becomes the Past, and I can't have it back.
I want to appreciate every gift and make the most of every moment that is given to me right now, because what I do right now is what will matter for Eternity. I think I could honor the Lord much better if I think less about the Future (or even the Past, but that is a different subject), and just practice minding the Present.
Obviously I'm still working on it, and this is a struggle I'll probably have until my Future no longer includes this physical world, but only Eternity - but then it won't be the "Future" anymore, it will just be a never-ending Present with my Savior.
And that is the most beautiful thing to look forward to.
Edit: Good news! I was just testing the technique that I originally thought would allow anyone to find the sign-in e-mail for any blog, and I realized that when I originally tested this it sent it to the account e-mail that I was signed into because it was the same e-mail I had listed as my contact e-mail in my profile - so people actually can not find your e-mail sign-in this way.
However, in the past Blogger has reset my settings (without my permission - so annoying) to the default settings which did make my private e-mail visible for a short period of time, before I discovered it and hid it again. I've wanted to change my e-mail sign-in ever since this happened so that I'd have the peace of mind of knowing that if Blogger "reset" my settings again, it would be my blog e-mail (instead of my private e-mail) that showed up anyway. The instructions below are still the only way I've found to change your sign-in e-mail, but I will let you know if I ever find an easier way!
I had a few requests for me to post the "how-to" on switching your blogging account from one e-mail address to another - this is handy if you created your blog with a personal e-mail address before you were aware of blog security (like I did). If you are concerned about making sure your private e-mail stays hidden, it may be a good idea to switch your blog to a different account.
1. So the first thing to do is to create another e-mail address that you want to be associated with your blog. This can be with whatever service you want, but I think you'll have to set up a Blogger account with this e-mail if it's not a Gmail account.
Update: Jessica told me of an easier way to change your e-mail, but this will only work if the e-mail you used to set up your Blogger account is not a Gmail address.
If it is with another service, you can go to your Google homepage, click on your username in the upper right-hand corner, click on "Account Settings". Under the "Security" section, you can select to "Change Your E-mail" - then change it to your new blog e-mail address. You'll also want to update your contact e-mail in your Blogger profile if you have it set to your old e-mail. Then you are done.
If, however, your sign-in e-mail is a Gmail account, you'll have to go through the below steps.
2. After you create that e-mail, go to your Blogger account and click on the "Settings" tab. From there, click on "Permissions".
3. Click the "Add Authors" button, and enter your new blog e-mail. Click "Invite".
4. Open your new blog e-mail account and accept the invitation.
5. Go back to the permissions page signed in with your original e-mail. It should show your original e-mail as the administrator, and your new e-mail as a contributor. Click on the link to make your blog e-mail an "administrator" too.
6. Once you have both of your e-mails set up as administrators, sign in with your new blog e-mail. You should have access to all aspects of your blog from that e-mail now.
7. Once signed in with the new e-mail, go to "Permissions", and remove the other e-mail. That e-mail address will no longer be associated with your Blogger account. Don't delete the old Blogger account though, because it will delete your entire Google account associated with that e-mail, and any pictures you uploaded previously to your blog will be deleted too, unless you use an outside service.
8. Make your new Blogger profile look all pretty.
If all you want to do is switch to another e-mail, then you are done! However, if you are like me, you were following all of your blogs with your original e-mail. This is a problem because if you use Google Reader, you want to be able to read in Google Reader and comment on blogs with the same account, so you don't have to keep signing out and signing in with the new account every time you want to comment. There are two ways to handle this problem.
1. Just keep your original profile up and running, list your blog as your "website" in that profile, and read and comment with that account. I don't know of a way to find out the e-mail address associated with a Blogger profile, but I'm not certain - there could be a way to find the e-mail associated with your profile that I don't know about.
2. Or, if you're like me and get a little OCD about this stuff, you can re-follow all of your blogs with your new account and then un-follow with your old account. Unfortunately, there just isn't an easy way to do this - you have to re-follow individually. Yes, it takes forever, but it was worth it to me to just have everything transferred to one new account, and for my peace of mind. One advantage of this is you show up at the top of the follower list in the little "followers" gadgets, so you might get more new traffic that way - I consider that a little bonus for all my hard work.
And that's it! I hope this is helpful, and let me know if you have any questions - I'll do my best to find the answers for you!
However, in the past Blogger has reset my settings (without my permission - so annoying) to the default settings which did make my private e-mail visible for a short period of time, before I discovered it and hid it again. I've wanted to change my e-mail sign-in ever since this happened so that I'd have the peace of mind of knowing that if Blogger "reset" my settings again, it would be my blog e-mail (instead of my private e-mail) that showed up anyway. The instructions below are still the only way I've found to change your sign-in e-mail, but I will let you know if I ever find an easier way!
I had a few requests for me to post the "how-to" on switching your blogging account from one e-mail address to another - this is handy if you created your blog with a personal e-mail address before you were aware of blog security (like I did). If you are concerned about making sure your private e-mail stays hidden, it may be a good idea to switch your blog to a different account.
1. So the first thing to do is to create another e-mail address that you want to be associated with your blog. This can be with whatever service you want, but I think you'll have to set up a Blogger account with this e-mail if it's not a Gmail account.
Update: Jessica told me of an easier way to change your e-mail, but this will only work if the e-mail you used to set up your Blogger account is not a Gmail address.
If it is with another service, you can go to your Google homepage, click on your username in the upper right-hand corner, click on "Account Settings". Under the "Security" section, you can select to "Change Your E-mail" - then change it to your new blog e-mail address. You'll also want to update your contact e-mail in your Blogger profile if you have it set to your old e-mail. Then you are done.
If, however, your sign-in e-mail is a Gmail account, you'll have to go through the below steps.
2. After you create that e-mail, go to your Blogger account and click on the "Settings" tab. From there, click on "Permissions".
3. Click the "Add Authors" button, and enter your new blog e-mail. Click "Invite".
4. Open your new blog e-mail account and accept the invitation.
5. Go back to the permissions page signed in with your original e-mail. It should show your original e-mail as the administrator, and your new e-mail as a contributor. Click on the link to make your blog e-mail an "administrator" too.
6. Once you have both of your e-mails set up as administrators, sign in with your new blog e-mail. You should have access to all aspects of your blog from that e-mail now.
7. Once signed in with the new e-mail, go to "Permissions", and remove the other e-mail. That e-mail address will no longer be associated with your Blogger account. Don't delete the old Blogger account though, because it will delete your entire Google account associated with that e-mail, and any pictures you uploaded previously to your blog will be deleted too, unless you use an outside service.
8. Make your new Blogger profile look all pretty.
If all you want to do is switch to another e-mail, then you are done! However, if you are like me, you were following all of your blogs with your original e-mail. This is a problem because if you use Google Reader, you want to be able to read in Google Reader and comment on blogs with the same account, so you don't have to keep signing out and signing in with the new account every time you want to comment. There are two ways to handle this problem.
1. Just keep your original profile up and running, list your blog as your "website" in that profile, and read and comment with that account. I don't know of a way to find out the e-mail address associated with a Blogger profile, but I'm not certain - there could be a way to find the e-mail associated with your profile that I don't know about.
2. Or, if you're like me and get a little OCD about this stuff, you can re-follow all of your blogs with your new account and then un-follow with your old account. Unfortunately, there just isn't an easy way to do this - you have to re-follow individually. Yes, it takes forever, but it was worth it to me to just have everything transferred to one new account, and for my peace of mind. One advantage of this is you show up at the top of the follower list in the little "followers" gadgets, so you might get more new traffic that way - I consider that a little bonus for all my hard work.
And that's it! I hope this is helpful, and let me know if you have any questions - I'll do my best to find the answers for you!
I live in a small town with a tiny library. For most of my book reading needs, I go to a larger library in a neighboring city. But recently I discovered that our tiny little library that’s just a few minutes from my house actually has a pretty good movie selection.
I made a trip to library recently to get a couple movies, and as I was waiting for the librarian to check them out for me, I saw written on a board behind her that September was Banned Book Month. The library is encouraging people to read books that have been banned.
I’m not exactly sure what I think of this, because a lot of those banned books are banned because they are inappropriate. But as I thought about what books they are encouraging people to read, I began to wonder about the greatest book that has ever made a “banned books” list – a book that is banned in 52 countries today, because it tells the Truth.
I wonder if the Public Library system included the Bible on their list of recommended banned books?
I guess I inadvertently may have participated in Banned Book Month in September.
How about you?
I made a trip to library recently to get a couple movies, and as I was waiting for the librarian to check them out for me, I saw written on a board behind her that September was Banned Book Month. The library is encouraging people to read books that have been banned.
I’m not exactly sure what I think of this, because a lot of those banned books are banned because they are inappropriate. But as I thought about what books they are encouraging people to read, I began to wonder about the greatest book that has ever made a “banned books” list – a book that is banned in 52 countries today, because it tells the Truth.
I wonder if the Public Library system included the Bible on their list of recommended banned books?
I guess I inadvertently may have participated in Banned Book Month in September.
How about you?
I am just overwhelmed at God's goodness as I write this!
I can't go into details, but Derek has been going through a situation at work. Basically, if things went one way, it could make his job for the next year alot more stressful. From all appearances, it looked like this change was going to be inevitable, and we were both kind of resigned to it, though we did pray that things would just stay the same if at all possible.
Well, Derek recently had the meeting that would decide whether this thing at work was going to change or not, and I was praying for the meeting, that if at all possible the Lord would work it out for things to stay the way they are.
But with the Lord, nothing is impossible! It was decided that the changes were not going to happen after all! When I heard, I just wanted to cry, because I know it was wearing on Derek, but the Lord worked it all out for us!
I'm just amazed at how the Lord cares about the little details about our lives. This wasn't anything too drastic or earth-shattering - it just would have caused a bit more work and stress. But the Lord heard our prayers, and showed His love to us this way.
This reminder that the Lord cares and wants to hear about even the little things we have to deal with in this life came at such a perfect time for me. I know the Lord not only did this for Derek, but He did it at this precise moment in time to remind me that He's got this - He's got everything under control. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), He loves us (1 John 3:1), and He works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28), even when it is in a less obvious way than in this instance.
What an awesome God we have!
I can't go into details, but Derek has been going through a situation at work. Basically, if things went one way, it could make his job for the next year alot more stressful. From all appearances, it looked like this change was going to be inevitable, and we were both kind of resigned to it, though we did pray that things would just stay the same if at all possible.
Well, Derek recently had the meeting that would decide whether this thing at work was going to change or not, and I was praying for the meeting, that if at all possible the Lord would work it out for things to stay the way they are.
But with the Lord, nothing is impossible! It was decided that the changes were not going to happen after all! When I heard, I just wanted to cry, because I know it was wearing on Derek, but the Lord worked it all out for us!
I'm just amazed at how the Lord cares about the little details about our lives. This wasn't anything too drastic or earth-shattering - it just would have caused a bit more work and stress. But the Lord heard our prayers, and showed His love to us this way.
This reminder that the Lord cares and wants to hear about even the little things we have to deal with in this life came at such a perfect time for me. I know the Lord not only did this for Derek, but He did it at this precise moment in time to remind me that He's got this - He's got everything under control. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), He loves us (1 John 3:1), and He works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28), even when it is in a less obvious way than in this instance.
What an awesome God we have!
Forgiveness is sometimes a hard thing for me.
I have no difficulty whatsoever forgiving someone who asks me for forgiveness. They are obviously sorry and know that they hurt me if they ask for forgiveness, so it's easy for me to forgive them then.
But it's really hard for me to forgive someone who hurts me and never expresses the slightest bit of remorse about it.
In these situations, each time I think of the offense, I get more and more frustrated. After all, I was clearly right, and that other person (whoever they may be), was clearly wrong, and don't they see how they've hurt me?
This frustration just festers, like an infected sore on my heart. Then the bitterness takes root.
Once the bitterness starts, it spreads like a cancer. It seems to me that at this point it is not just my relationship with the offender that is hurt - my whole outlook suffers.
Little annoyances or inconveniences that I would normally brush off with a smile suddenly irritate me to no end. Every little rude remark from a stranger sets me off, and I find myself complaining about all the rude people in the world, without realizing that when I snapped back I became one of the rude people.
I become a complainer, because when all the little irritations build up, I've got to get my frustration out somehow.
My relationship with the Lord suffers, because when I try to pray, I either can't focus or I find myself complaining to the Lord about so-and-so (I don't think He appreciates that).
What I've described above sounds a bit extreme when I read it back to myself. You must realize that this doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen every day. It's just an ever-so-gradual shift in my way of thinking, and after several months in this downward spiral, I realize where I've fallen. I realize what a crabby person I've become. And I realize this is not who I want to be.
How does this all come about from one little offense that should have been no big deal? It all comes back to selfishness. I get absorbed in my own hurt, I feel a little self-righteous, I take things into my own hands and refuse to forgive because it makes me feel better - not realizing that this self-absorbed, self-righteous attitude will gradually extend to every other situation I find myself in.
Not realizing that in the end, it's a poison to me.
Not realizing that of course that Lord would want to deal with that poison in my system before He takes care of the situation.
Bottom line: I've yet to find a verse that says you only have to forgive someone if they apologize first. In fact, I can think of plenty of examples in the Bible where the offended party forgives the offender before they ever ask for forgiveness. They are some of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, and some of my personal favorites. The story of Esau and Jacob, the Prodigal son, and Jesus and Peter come to mind.
I think if I really realized the weight of all that I've been forgiven, I wouldn't have a problem forgiving someone else - even if they never apologize at all.
Instead I become like that despised servant who was forgiven so great a debt by his master, and then had a fellow servant thrown in jail over a few pennies (Matthew 18).
It pains me to even write that sentence, because I don't want to be like that. And when I come to a point when I realize that I have been like that, there is only one thing to do.
Let go of those silly pennies. Ask the Lord to forgive me (again) for allowing that bitterness to take root in my heart, for not extending the grace that has been extended to me, for being self-righteous and selfish. And then change my attitude toward those who hurt me, and toward those innocent bystanders who have felt my anger without doing anything to deserve it.
When will I learn this lesson for good? When will I not have to go through this over every little offense that is not accompanied by an apology? I feel ridiculous to still be struggling with something like this. I'm so glad the Lord forgives me - if only I could more readily extend that forgiveness to others, instead of taking so long to realize what is happening.
Unforgiveness is such a sneaky sin. It sneaks into your heart when you aren't paying attention, and you barely realize it's there until it has grown out of control. And then it's painful to cut it out, but once it's out, things begin to heal.
I confess my sin to the Lord, and He helps me root it out. I take steps to change my attitude. I offer a token of renewed friendship; I practiced giving grace to an innocent bystander.
Little by little, I get back on the right track.
It feels so trite to say it now, but it is so true. Refusing to forgive someone really hurts them much less than it hurts you.
I have no difficulty whatsoever forgiving someone who asks me for forgiveness. They are obviously sorry and know that they hurt me if they ask for forgiveness, so it's easy for me to forgive them then.
But it's really hard for me to forgive someone who hurts me and never expresses the slightest bit of remorse about it.
In these situations, each time I think of the offense, I get more and more frustrated. After all, I was clearly right, and that other person (whoever they may be), was clearly wrong, and don't they see how they've hurt me?
This frustration just festers, like an infected sore on my heart. Then the bitterness takes root.
Once the bitterness starts, it spreads like a cancer. It seems to me that at this point it is not just my relationship with the offender that is hurt - my whole outlook suffers.
Little annoyances or inconveniences that I would normally brush off with a smile suddenly irritate me to no end. Every little rude remark from a stranger sets me off, and I find myself complaining about all the rude people in the world, without realizing that when I snapped back I became one of the rude people.
I become a complainer, because when all the little irritations build up, I've got to get my frustration out somehow.
My relationship with the Lord suffers, because when I try to pray, I either can't focus or I find myself complaining to the Lord about so-and-so (I don't think He appreciates that).
What I've described above sounds a bit extreme when I read it back to myself. You must realize that this doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen every day. It's just an ever-so-gradual shift in my way of thinking, and after several months in this downward spiral, I realize where I've fallen. I realize what a crabby person I've become. And I realize this is not who I want to be.
How does this all come about from one little offense that should have been no big deal? It all comes back to selfishness. I get absorbed in my own hurt, I feel a little self-righteous, I take things into my own hands and refuse to forgive because it makes me feel better - not realizing that this self-absorbed, self-righteous attitude will gradually extend to every other situation I find myself in.
Not realizing that in the end, it's a poison to me.
Not realizing that of course that Lord would want to deal with that poison in my system before He takes care of the situation.
Bottom line: I've yet to find a verse that says you only have to forgive someone if they apologize first. In fact, I can think of plenty of examples in the Bible where the offended party forgives the offender before they ever ask for forgiveness. They are some of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, and some of my personal favorites. The story of Esau and Jacob, the Prodigal son, and Jesus and Peter come to mind.
I think if I really realized the weight of all that I've been forgiven, I wouldn't have a problem forgiving someone else - even if they never apologize at all.
Instead I become like that despised servant who was forgiven so great a debt by his master, and then had a fellow servant thrown in jail over a few pennies (Matthew 18).
It pains me to even write that sentence, because I don't want to be like that. And when I come to a point when I realize that I have been like that, there is only one thing to do.
Let go of those silly pennies. Ask the Lord to forgive me (again) for allowing that bitterness to take root in my heart, for not extending the grace that has been extended to me, for being self-righteous and selfish. And then change my attitude toward those who hurt me, and toward those innocent bystanders who have felt my anger without doing anything to deserve it.
When will I learn this lesson for good? When will I not have to go through this over every little offense that is not accompanied by an apology? I feel ridiculous to still be struggling with something like this. I'm so glad the Lord forgives me - if only I could more readily extend that forgiveness to others, instead of taking so long to realize what is happening.
Unforgiveness is such a sneaky sin. It sneaks into your heart when you aren't paying attention, and you barely realize it's there until it has grown out of control. And then it's painful to cut it out, but once it's out, things begin to heal.
I confess my sin to the Lord, and He helps me root it out. I take steps to change my attitude. I offer a token of renewed friendship; I practiced giving grace to an innocent bystander.
Little by little, I get back on the right track.
It feels so trite to say it now, but it is so true. Refusing to forgive someone really hurts them much less than it hurts you.
Do you ever read a story in the Bible and just wonder if you've ever even read it before?
I'm not lazy in my Bible reading. I've read through the entire Bible several times. So I know, no matter what story it is, I've read it before.
But it's amazing to me how different stories and different verses stand out to me each time I read it. I think it has alot to do with my life situation - I pay attention to certain stories more depending on where I am in life.
This is why it says that God's word is "living and active". The Bible will never become obsolete, and there will always be something new you can take away from it! I love that.
Oh, yes, but back to the story I'm sure I've never read before (that's not true, I vaguely recall it, but it never stood out before).
You know in the Old Testament, when the Hebrew people are in Egypt, and they become a great nation, and the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, enslaved them? Then he decided he needed to start getting rid of the Hebrew boys that were born?
Well, his first plan to get rid of the baby boys was to tell two of the Hebrew midwives (whose names were Shiphrah and Puah) to go ahead and help the Hebrew women deliver, and then kill the new babies if they were boys, but to let the girls live.
I don't know what made him think they would actually obey those orders. I wonder if Shiphrah and Puah were Egyptian or Hebrew themselves? Anyway, the Bible says they feared God and did not do what Pharaoh ordered. (Can you imagine actually obeying an order like that? It makes me shudder.)
So Pharaoh called them and asked them why they didn't obey his orders (that would be so scary - after all, he could order that they be killed).
And they said something along the lines of "Oh, Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women - they have really fast labors, and we don't get there in time to kill the babies."
Sounds a bit like a lie to me. But the Bible doesn't specify, so maybe that was actually true. Regardless though, Shiphrah and Puah didn't obey Pharoah's orders because they knew it was more important to obey God's orders.
Amazingly Pharaoh did not kill the midwives, the Hebrews continued to multiply, and God was pleased with the midwives because they feared Him and chose to obey Him over Pharaoh.
In fact, God rewards the midwives by giving them families of their own.
Now, isn't that a happy story?
I know the rest of the story goes on and horrible things happen before God delivers the Hebrews out of Egypt. But I like that in this facet of the tale, we have a happy ending on our hands. It's comforting to me to hear another example of God rewarding those who fear Him.
And He does reward us when we choose to obey Him - sometimes we can see those rewards here on earth, and sometimes our rewards don't become evident until eternity, but they are there nonetheless.
Are there any stories or verses that you've read lately that you had forgotten about?
P.S. The above is just a paraphrase of the story in Exodus 1. You should go read it yourself if you're interested.
I'm not lazy in my Bible reading. I've read through the entire Bible several times. So I know, no matter what story it is, I've read it before.
But it's amazing to me how different stories and different verses stand out to me each time I read it. I think it has alot to do with my life situation - I pay attention to certain stories more depending on where I am in life.
This is why it says that God's word is "living and active". The Bible will never become obsolete, and there will always be something new you can take away from it! I love that.
Oh, yes, but back to the story I'm sure I've never read before (that's not true, I vaguely recall it, but it never stood out before).
You know in the Old Testament, when the Hebrew people are in Egypt, and they become a great nation, and the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, enslaved them? Then he decided he needed to start getting rid of the Hebrew boys that were born?
Well, his first plan to get rid of the baby boys was to tell two of the Hebrew midwives (whose names were Shiphrah and Puah) to go ahead and help the Hebrew women deliver, and then kill the new babies if they were boys, but to let the girls live.
I don't know what made him think they would actually obey those orders. I wonder if Shiphrah and Puah were Egyptian or Hebrew themselves? Anyway, the Bible says they feared God and did not do what Pharaoh ordered. (Can you imagine actually obeying an order like that? It makes me shudder.)
So Pharaoh called them and asked them why they didn't obey his orders (that would be so scary - after all, he could order that they be killed).
And they said something along the lines of "Oh, Hebrew women aren't like Egyptian women - they have really fast labors, and we don't get there in time to kill the babies."
Sounds a bit like a lie to me. But the Bible doesn't specify, so maybe that was actually true. Regardless though, Shiphrah and Puah didn't obey Pharoah's orders because they knew it was more important to obey God's orders.
Amazingly Pharaoh did not kill the midwives, the Hebrews continued to multiply, and God was pleased with the midwives because they feared Him and chose to obey Him over Pharaoh.
In fact, God rewards the midwives by giving them families of their own.
Now, isn't that a happy story?
I know the rest of the story goes on and horrible things happen before God delivers the Hebrews out of Egypt. But I like that in this facet of the tale, we have a happy ending on our hands. It's comforting to me to hear another example of God rewarding those who fear Him.
And He does reward us when we choose to obey Him - sometimes we can see those rewards here on earth, and sometimes our rewards don't become evident until eternity, but they are there nonetheless.
Are there any stories or verses that you've read lately that you had forgotten about?
P.S. The above is just a paraphrase of the story in Exodus 1. You should go read it yourself if you're interested.
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