Warriors

Why do we (women) love the Hunger Games? More specifically, why do we root for Katniss? She's a heroine that we can relate to and want to be like. She's strong, she's brave, she's fiercely protective and passionate, she questions, she rebels, she fights.

As a woman, as a Christian, as a wife -- at times this is a difficult balance to find. Once a friend told me "I feel like I don't fit in with all those 'perfect' Christian women because I'm opinionated and I'm not quiet at all." -- to which she said she's glad that she's my friend bc I'm the same way. It's at times difficult to 'fit in' when I've never been known to submit well, think before I speak, or sit quietly when I disagree.

I'm thankful for 2 things today:

#1 - He is at work in me! He is changing my character to better fit this balance. He is guarding my mouth, allowing a bit of wisdom to enter before i speak, giving me a heart of patience to overlook an insult, a softer tone of voice that doesn't always defend when feeling hurt. Praise God, He is not done with me!!

#2 - However, He does not want me to be a quiet meek being with no opinion or voice. Today at church we read about Deborah - a judge, in charge of Israel, a prophetess, a woman who praised and feared the Lord. She went into a battle, she went into the front lines, and (probably bc I'm re-reading the HG books) I could see the scene a little more clearly. Horses' hooves, metal clanging, armor put on, charging with the army, bearing weapons, perhaps taking part of a battle cry -- strong. willing. brave. bold. protecting her people. inspiring others. a fighter. a warrior.

He'll help us find the healthy balance, but may we as women rise up to be brave and bold warriors to fight against the difficulties that rise in our life, continually looking to the Lord for strength and praising Him after the battles!

humility

humility - to lower oneself

an enemy of humility - recognition.

an experiment for one week: seek no recognition for the things you do for others. do them without expectation of gratitude or recognition of what has been accomplished.

(one hour later - already having to bite my tongue several times and realizing i love recognition for my acts of "service"

reflection:

- acts of service must come from an overflow of the heart, a willingness to do the job out of love for the person being served and not for self and recognition/gratitude. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" Phil 2:3-4

- acts of service cannot truly come from the heart if the heart is set on self "He must become greater, I must become less" John 3:35

- remembering Jesus' example gives us perspective of our lowliness and an example of how to be humble in heart

"...have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God (with every right to brag about how great He is)

did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage (He had the highest position and was not prideful);

rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (He came as a slave, He literally lowered Himself and served those He loves)..." Phil 2:5-7

if the Creator of the Universe, the one who holds it all together with His breath, can be humble in all He has done, in His service of giving up His life then i have more perspective about how "spectacular" i am for folding laundry.

Easter Candy Lesson

(can do with jellybeans, M&Ms, or skittles - geared for missions, outreach, or children's ministry)

Easter Candy Gospel

The Bible is a book that always tells the truth and today we are going to read some of the truths that are inside. If you have a question it’s okay to ask, you can raise your hand or wait until the end if you don’t want to ask in front of everyone.

SIN – Some people think that all people are good. What do you think? The Bible says Eccles 7:20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. – Sin is a sickness in our hearts that make us think, feel, say, and do bad things. Did you know that your heart is sick with sin? (Give time for examples or questions.) If you have ever been angry, said mean words, hurt someone’s feelings on accident, thought mean things, or disobeyed your parents or teachers then take a purple/brown/black candy. (leader takes one first and reminds that the Bible says NO ONE is free from sin). There are consequences to this sickness. God doesn’t have sin, His heart is perfect and we can’t go to Heaven to be with Him if we have this sickness of sin in our hearts. So anyone with a sick, sinful heart deserves to die. Raise your hand if you have sin in your heart. Me too; we are in a lot of trouble!

BLOOD –Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Even though we deserved to die and not be able to go to heaven to be with God, God loves us so much that He asked His Son Jesus to take our place. The people made fun of Jesus, hit and beat Him, killed him on a cross in front of everyone. Jesus had no sin in His heart because He was all of God poured into human skin. He didn’t have to die but He did this for you and for me because He loves us so much. Since He died for all of us, everyone take a red candy. How does that make you feel? (sad)

FORGIVENESS – Because Jesus took our place and died for us, we can be forgiven by God for all of our sin, the bad things we think, feel, say and do. God can heal the sickness of our heart! Hebrews 8:12 - For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (will take a white candy *not in M&Ms or Skittles, may need white chocolate something)

THANKFULNESS – How does that make you feel? If you were playing in the street and a car was coming, and your dad pushed you out of the way and got hit so you wouldn’t get hit – how would you feel? What if your dad told you before he got hit that he was doing it to give you a good life too? Jesus died for us so that we could live a life free from the sickness of sin and healed from our hurts. He did it because He loves us. If you are feeling thankful, take a yellow candy. Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever., v.15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

LIFE – The good news is that Jesus wasn’t just any human. Even though people didn’t believe Him at the time, Jesus was all of God’s power, character, and personality poured into human skin. God cannot die and so Jesus raised from the dead to show that Jesus is more powerful than anything, even death! Acts 13:29-31 They took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. When He was raised from the dead, people believed Him and realized that He is how God shows us that He loves us! We celebrate that He is alive! (take a green candy)

RELATIONSHIP - But since He is alive and lives in Heaven we can talk to Him and have a friendship with Him! Jesus loved you when He died on the cross before you were born, and He loves you today. You can show Him that you love Him and that you are thankful by inviting Him into your heart. Then He will never leave you and always watch over you, help you, and be with you. The Bible says Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. If you believe that Jesus is God, died on the cross so you could live, and that He loves you, and if you want Him to be with you forever pray this prayer with me. (lead in salvation prayer, those who accept can take an orange candy to symbolize the Holy Spirit). It’s okay if you’re still not sure, Jesus loves you and that will never change. If you have questions or you want to know more about Jesus you can ask me or come to church next weekend and we can talk.

stand in the midst of the challenges

The Lord is with us.

In answering a prayer you have prayed earnestly for years but never thought would happen.

In watching a loved friend have blessings spoken over her.

In creating and providing community.

In protecting those you love from a skidding car in the rain.

In providing for a vehicle.

In giving strength when you feel exhausted.

In a wagging dog who greets you at the door.
In a husband who serves you amazingly and shares your interests.

^{Psalm 121:3-4} He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

twisted.

gaychurch.org defines sin as "the absence of love".

the Bible defines sin as a lack of submission to God's ways.

watered down so it's easier to swallow does not make it true.

more to come soon.

Shake it Out

it's hard to dance
with the devil on your back

so shake it out, oh-oh

My kinder kids have kindergarten problems. She took my crayons. He called me a name. They aren't sharing.

Middle school kids have middle school problems. Fitting in. Wearing the right clothes. Puberty. Acne. Getting the class with the cute boy.

College people have college problems. What do I want to do when I grow up? Who will be my roommate next year? How will I pay for everything? Where is my husband?

It stands to reason, therefore that adults have adult problems. And I am an adult now, whether I want to believe it or not. (Not that I still don't question what I want to be when I grow up...)

cancer.
divorce.

miscarriages.

cheating.

hospitals.

My friends are going through these things now. And I'm hurting alongside them.

I learned a while ago that there are some problems you can't solve (shh! don't tell my kinders!). Some hurts don't magically go away with the right words and a hug. Some actions can't be explained rationally. Some diagnoses can't be expected or reversed.

Sometimes all you can do is pray and sit quietly by their side like Job's friends did.
Then get in your car, shake it off, and ask Jesus to take care of them.

it's always darkest before the dawn

Dancing in the New Year

While I don't believe in resolutions (why wait til the new year to change what needs to be changed?) Javi and I have been discussing our health recently.

I'm a stubborn person. When ppl said "freshman 15" as I left for college, I decided I would NOT be a statistic and began to be unhealthy. When I saw that a lot of ppl fall into the "I'm married now" weight gain we decided that we would NOT fall into that either. I still for the life of me can't figure out why ppl gain when they get married (you don't just "let yourself go") but it really does happen. As I am not pregnant and have no babies, I have no excuse for my body to not be in it's ideal weight*.

*I refer to ideal weight not as a perfect number but at the weight where I feel the healthiest and strongest. When I do not feel like I'm carrying much excess and I can physically do all the things I want to do.

As I've been looking for some exercises to spice up my weight training/yoga routine I see some music playlists for exercising. But the music either a) sucked or b) was something I've never heard of - making it very unlikely that I would actually take the time to download and listen to all those songs.

So here, for you resolution lovers who are gearing up for a new year, new you - I give you some excerpts from my workout playlists:

Guilty Pleasure Pop-

1- Womanizer (Britney)

2- Since U Been Gone (Kelly Clarkson)

3- Get On Your Boots (U2)

4- Shake Me Like a Monkey (Dave Matthews Band)

5- Sexy Back (Justin Timberlake)

6- Single Ladies (Beyonce)

7- Ain't No Other Man (Christina Aguilera)

8- Party Rock Anthem (LMFAO)

9- Fighter (Christina Aguilera)

10- Say Hey I Love You (Michael Franti & Spearhead)

11- Don't Stop the Music (Rihanna)

12- Roller Coaster of Love (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

13- Cowboy Casanova (Carrie Underwood)

14- Hey Mama (Mat Kearney)

15- Dog Days are Over (Florence and the Machine)

Hip-Hop Pop Playlist

1- Yeah (Usher)

2- Fergalicious (Fergie)

3- Apple Bottom Jeans (Flo Rida)

4- Bon Bon Bon (Pitbull)

5- Rude Boy (Rihanna)

6- OMG (Will.I.am and Usher)

7- Shake Ya Tailfeather (Nelly)

8- Pose (Daddy Yankee)

9- Bon bon (Pitbull)

10- Fire Burning (Sean Kingston)

11- I Like You Just The Way You Are (Timbaland)

12- Abusadora (Wisin and Yandel)

13- Boom Boom Pow (Black Eyed Peas)

14- In Da Club (50 Cent)

15- Tonight I'm Loving You (Enrique and Ludacris)

A Little More Rock Playlist

1- Uprising (Muse)

2- Spotlight (Mutemath)

3- Never Take Friendship Personal (Anberlin -- really, anything from this album is golden)

4- Dismantle Repair (Anberlin)

5- Eye of the Storm (Blindside)

6- Going Under (Evanescence)

7- Bring Me To Life (Evanescence)

8- Coming Back to Life (Blindside)

9- Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet)

10- Crushcrushcrush (Paramore)

11- That's What You Get (Paramore)

12- Howl (Florence and the Machine)

13- 1901 (Phoenix)

14- Cochise (Audioslave)

15- Gives You Hell (All American Rejects)