A Gardening Lesson

I'm trying to grow daisies because I killed my poppies before they were even close to sprouting! Now I am not a gardener at all, so I don't know anything about keeping plants alive except that they need water and sunlight. And I'm realizing that keeping plants alive when they are already grown is not nearly as hard as keeping them alive while growing them from the seed. Just like keeping a fragile baby alive is much more difficult than keeping an adult alive because adults know how to survive, when they need food, etc.

My problem with the poppies was that I just placed the seeds on top of the soil. I didn't know you had to bury them into the soil! (like i said...i'm NOT a gardener). So when the little fragile sprouts started showing, they died under the pressure when I watered them. I expected them to just pop right back up but they never did! I realized this when I was reading the instructions for the daisies...the packet told me to cover the seeds with some soil.

Being the thinker that I am, I immediately related this to our lives. God is the soil. We have to root ourselves deep in Him or we will never be able to survive under the pressures of the world. Placing ourselves (the seed) on top of the soil is like being a one-foot-in-one-foot-out christian (surface level). This is when we think we are strong enough to handle the harshness of the world on our own. But it doesn't take long for our fragile, exposed selves to cave under the pressure.

BUT when we are rooted in Christ, He protects us when we are fragile (He never gives us any temptation we can't handle--1 Corinthians 10:13) and grows us up to have the strength (His strength) to face the harsh pressures of the world.

When Reality Hits

Spiritual warfare is real. I have been learning that a lot recently. I haven't given much thought to it in years because I didn't realize how real it is in my life. Satan's attacks are becoming more evident to me now, but what really scares me is that I haven't been seeing his schemes in flying bombs and explosions; I see them in the things that look "good", in my thoughts, and in the things that make sense.

As I was driving last night and calling him a jerk out loud, I kept thinking, "if he is this sneaky to make his schemes look like 'good' things, how am I going to always know whether it's him or not?" Well this is why we need to spend time with God, getting to know Him more, growing our relationship with Him. The more action we allow God to have in our lives, the more we will be able to identify satan's dirty schemes. God's Word is truth. If we put His Word in our heads, it will be easier to identify satan's lies.

Satan doesn't have the power to control us unless we give him that power. We have victory in the One who has already won the war and He can help us win all the battles along the way. That requires us to be meek...

meekness: "the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness"

If we fight our own battles, we will lose. If we give them to God with meekness, He will show us victory in each situation. The victory may not come at the time of our choice or in the way we would like it to, but it will come and it will be for the best.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

You

A random childhood memory that I have not thought about in months just popped into my head. When I was in middle school, there was this high school girl that I wanted to be just like. I wanted to walk like her, talk like her, dress like her, I wanted to be her. So I (very creepily!) watched her every move so I could learn what I was supposed to be like.

I thought I had her figured out...she was a tomboy. And she was cool. She was fun to be around and everyone liked her. She wasn't really girly and I liked that. So I slowly stopped wearing jewelry, dressed up as little as possible, and worked on my "cool" mannerisms and faces in private...I had now declared myself a tomboy. Just like my role model. 

And then one day, I sat behind her in church and I saw something that literally crushed me...her nails were painted! Was she hiding a girly side? What about being a tomboy? I was having an identity crisis...who am I if this girl isn't who I thought she was? 

As I repeat this story, I realize how ridiculous I was. But I'm learning a lot from this childhood memory...when I thought about the advice I'd take from this story, I immediately thought "just be you." I wanted to scream at my middle-school self "just be YOU!" 

You is quite a word. You is different for everyone. You's are like snowflakes...no 2 you's are alike. 

This girl has no idea how much I watched her, how desperately I tried to be like her. What if she was doing the same thing to someone else? What if while I was trying to be her, she was trying to be someone else? Now that would cause a lot of identity crisis'! 

My point is that there is no rule book on how to be you. Even though we think society has made an unwritten list of do's and dont's, there are no right and wrong answers. Pave the way; make your own path; just be you and learn to love it! 

Refined Silver

What does worship really mean?

I've grown up looking at worship as being moved by the Spirit to raise your hands while the praise band sings or closing your eyes and having an intimate moment with God. But if that were the only way, then we couldn't worship when we aren't in that wonderful revival mode.

I was reminded recently that we can honor God just as well by what we do when we DON'T want to praise Him. Let's say we're mad at Him...He doesn't want us to fake a good time while the music plays at church or pretend like we never stray from Him. Just like we all get mad at our closest friends at times, we all get mad at God sometimes. But as our close friendships prove, it's how we react that matters...if we react correctly, we come out stronger and closer to Him. He knows very well that we are not perfect children and He doesn't want us to pretend that we are. He doesn't expect us to be on a spiritual high for our entire lives. In fact, He doesn't want us to be. He sends fire to make us stronger. This doesn't mean we should take a break from worshiping God. This is where worship may even be the strongest, depending on how we react.

In her book "As Silver Refined," Kay Arthur describes how silver goes from being impure to pure, dirty to spotless, invaluable to precious. And the process always includes fire...lots and lots of fire.

The refiner sets the silver in his crucible and the crucible in the fire. And there he waits... and waits... and waits... and then the silver starts melting and as it melts, the impurities which are still solid rise to the top. The refiner scrapes off the impurities, leaving the silver to continue melting, the impurities to keep escaping, as he continues to scrape off the ugliness which was once embedded in the silver. He takes the crucible out of the fire for a little while and then puts it back in for the silver to melt yet again. As more and more impurities are taken out of the silver, the refiner's reflection in the silver becomes clearer and clearer.

Kay Arthur says that we are the melting silver. Our Refiner puts us in the fire on purpose and yes, it hurts, but it makes us more beautiful, more reflective of Him, and the best part is...He never leaves our side. He is there protecting us the whole time, making sure the fire doesn't get too hot for us to handle.

Do you want something to look forward to? One day we will be completely refined, beautiful, finished products of silver that reflect God's face more purely than ever. We will be done with the fire. There will be no more impurities in us and no more chances for us to fail. This day is looking more and more beautiful the older I get and the more impurities I discover. But what I keep forgetting is that God sees us as pure now. When He looks at us, He sees perfection, holiness, and righteousness even though He hasn't finished sifting out our impurities.