We had a sweet, beautiful time in our ladies Bible study tonight. The Lord has reminded me of the following post several times over the last few days, and tonight He has it burning in my soul to share...it is from December 2013. Not much has changed...I continue to pray for earthly peace, all the while choosing to walk in His perfect peace in the midst of our not so perfect circumstances. God's bigger. Every time.
From the same heart, one year later...
I looked up the definition of 'peace'..."freedom from disturbance; quiet
and tranquility". I can barely type this out from laughing
hysterically one moment and crying a very ugly cry the next. Laughing
because our home experiences 'freedom from disturbance' only if no one
is home, and crying because I don't think we experience 'quiet and
tranquility' even while sleeping...seriously. I have commented many
times lately that our home has no peace. I continually ask for prayer
any chance I have and I certainly have not grown weary of asking the
Lord for it myself. But I believe that I need to expound on what I
mean.
There is a verse that appears in two separate chapters of Jeremiah that
recently grabbed my attention in a whole new way. You see, the Lord has
been teaching me a powerful truth over the last several years and just
when I think I'm getting close to fleshing it out in a way that would be
pleasing to Him, He grabs my attention yet again. What is this truth?
It is the beauty of living a transparent life...no pretenses, no
duplicity, only authenticity! For years I honestly believed that I was
living a transparent life...only to have the Lord open my eyes to the
lie I had been living and sadly, teaching my children to believe and
live as well (that's a post all of it's own...and will come soon!)
So, back to this verse..."'Peace, peace' they say, when there is no
peace...", Jeremiah 6:14 and 8:11. In these chapters the Lord is
preparing to unleash His wrath because of the wickedness that abounds
among His people. They ignored their circumstances and tried to cover
it up by shouting, "peace, peace", when in actuality there was no peace
at all! So many of us are guilty of this very lie...I was for so long
and I don't want to be ever again! There are people all around us that
have yet to make their eternity secure in Jesus and they are in turmoil
and chaos...lacking any sign of hope or peace. They look at those of us
that call ourselves Christians, as we walk around with our plastic
masks on trying our best to disguise our chaos, shouting, "peace,
peace", all the while our bank accounts are overdrawn, our children are
misbehaving, our marriages are struggling and we're fighting all manner
of physical, mental and emotional sickness...no peace at all. No
earthly peace, that is...here's the perspective that we're missing...
Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid." One of the wonderful blessings of
having a personal relationship with Jesus is the peace that passes all
human understanding that only He can give (Philippians 4)! Do we have
troubles? Yes! Do we have struggles? Yes! Do we have difficulties?
Absolutely! However, we also have the powerful promise of Jesus
Himself...this part is my absolute favorite!! Just two chapters over,
in John 16:33, He gets real with us, I can hardly bare it..."I have told
you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Wow!!
Such joy and yes, peace, in that one powerful verse! He is so
honest...there is no pretense about Him...He tells us exactly what to
expect. In this world we WILL have trouble, but IN HIM we have
peace...real peace...not fake, not plastic!
So, if you peep inside the windows of the Chamblee home...and you're
very welcome to do so, but you better bring your Windex if you expect to
actually SEE inside...you will not see earthly peace...yet, but I
refuse to stop asking;) You will see some siblings argue, you will see
one of our sweet blessings struggle with sensory sensitivity disorder
which causes a little turmoil and heartache most days, you will see
toys, laundry and half empty bottles of soda lying around, you will see
me...the mommy...send some very loud kiddos to their rooms and you will
see our friends and others from the community stop by for some
encouragement in the midst of it all.
But here is what you will NOT see...you will not see or hear us
shouting, "Peace, peace" when there is no peace. You will see and hear
us shouting, "We're having a hard day and chaos abounds, but we have
peace like a river because our mighty Savior has overcome the world and
filled us with His Spirit!" and all the while I will continue to daily
ask the Lord for that earthly peace to be present in our home, knowing,
believing and accepting that if it is His will He will grant it, if
not...His grace is sufficient! As followers of Jesus, we do not need to
pretend that our circumstances are perfect and peaceful...we need to
proclaim that our God is perfect and peaceful in the midst of our
circumstances.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
50 shades of Grey...and one shade of crimson
I have been compelled for a couple of weeks to talk about the upcoming movie, "50 Shades of Grey", but to be completely honest it is much easier to sit back and allow others to do the speaking out. Every time I would feel a strong urge to share my heart on the subject I would see an article or a blog post from someone who professed to be writing from a "Christian" perspective, and so I would exhale and tell myself that there is no reason for me to waste people's time reading similar thoughts from me...then I would read the article and within the first few sentences be so very sad because once again it would be comprised of mostly aggressive and hateful accusations toward people who have read the book or are planning on watching the movie. So...this morning I spent some time asking the Lord for His clear direction, which He will always give if we are willing to simply see it.
Here was my request of the Lord...I had tried several times over the last few months to log onto my blog site and was denied access each time because it had been so long since I had posted anything. I worked outside of the home all of 2014 (which I loved and miss greatly), but I came back home at the end of November to home school our Aubri girl because of a neurological issue she is walking through...but that's for another blog post;), which would also give me more time to write. However, the blog site had decided that I had waited much longer than I should have, so they revoked access. This morning, I opened my computer and took a few minutes to talk with the Lord before I tried to log on again. I asked, "Lord, IF you want me to share what you have placed in my heart then please allow me access to the blog once again. IF not...thank you!!". I'm just being honest here. So, obviously He did whatever it is that He does and He swung the door wide open. Now, here is my heart...
I am blessed beyond measure to be able to spend so much of my time around women. Some profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus, others do not. I can't even begin to express the love that I have for ALL of them...I would not trade the relationships that I have for anything this world has to offer. I write to all of you, separately, but from the same beating heart and propelled from the overflowing love that I know Jesus has for all of us.
To my friends that do not have, nor necessarily yet want, a relationship with this Jesus that I speak so much about...I have tears streaming down my face as I type this...I love you SO, SO much! You are all joys to me beyond what I could ever express. I would love nothing more than to write your names out one by one so that you know exactly whom I'm talking to...I hope that you do know even though I'm not going to write your names;) I understand that you can think of no good reason to not go to the movies this weekend, perhaps even with your husbands or your boyfriends, to see this movie. You see no harm in it because it is merely fiction and in all honesty it may put a little "fire" back into your sex life. You long for closer intimacy with your man and our society tells us that things like this book, or movie will give us just that. What they don't tell us is that if it actually does enhance our love life, it is only for a time. It too will soon become routine and common place and we will seek more, and more, and more ideas or "fuel" to ignite a more intense fire within our relationships. Or, maybe you don't want that connection with your man because you're thinking "he had his chance", or "I'm too tired from working and taking care of the kids", so you just want to live vicariously through the characters in the story. (that portion is for my Christian friends also...these are real thoughts that real women have...Christian or not)
No matter which scenario you find yourself in, I ask you to truly think about making the choice to not put those images in your mind. I promise you with my whole heart that if you do decide to go see this movie I will NOT judge you, I will NOT condemn you, I will NOT throw a stone at you, I will NOT stop being your friend, I will NOT say one single hateful word about you...I WILL continue to love you, I WILL continue to maintain a close friendship with you and I WILL continue to beg God to grab your heart so that you can know that you were created for so much more...to "know the love of Christ that surpasses any human knowledge..." (Ephesians 3:19...that's a portion of the Bible...talk about a love story;). I just need you to know, if I haven't already told you...and if I haven't I'm SO sorry because I should have...that there is a God who loves you SO much that He didn't send a man to tie you up to a bed post and spank you with a belt in order to stimulate you to "feel love", He sent His one and only Son to be beaten with a belt of nine straps of leather, with bone fragments woven within, and He was not tied to a post, but nailed to a tree, breathed His last earthly breath and rose again so that you can "KNOW love"...the kind of love that we will never experience from any earthly person or thing. I love you...you know that I do...and I am not confident in many things, but I am fully confident in this truth...and I am praying for YOU!!
Now, to my friends who profess to have a personal relationship with the risen Jesus...I have tears of a different kind for you. I hope with my whole being that you know how much I love you...how much I pray for you to "be filled to all the measure of the fullness of God"...same chapter in Ephesians. My heart breaks in two at the amount of women who profess Christ with their lips, and then choose to expose themselves to this type of book or movie. The popular statement for Christians these days (and my husband and I say it all the time and believe it to be true) is "it's not about religion, but about a relationship with Jesus Christ". Never have truer words been spoken. BUT...because of the undeserving relationship we are allowed to have with Jesus, because of His sacrifice, not because of any 'good behavior' we might could throw His way, it should...should...SHOULD compel us to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received". Ephesians 4:1 (that must be one of my favorite books in scripture, huh?) Not to earn anything from our God, or to be "burdened by a yoke of slavery", but to live a life that is set apart for Him..."be holy because He is holy."
One last appeal...if you have convinced yourself that the Lord truly does not mind if you see this type of movie, and that His reputation as Lord will not be tainted in the eyes of those who do not know Him and are around when you are professing Him and then engaging in this type of entertainment, I want to pose two questions for you to ponder and pray through...1) If your husband or boyfriend (whether you have one now or not, you probably will in the future) were to decide they were going to see a full out triple xxx movie and wanted you to go with, or he just wanted to go with the guys, how would that make you feel? Would you not constantly have images of other women that look "so perfect" seared in your thoughts, or be constantly thinking that your man has those images seared in his thoughts and that he would rather be with that type of woman while being intimate with you? There is a reason that scripture tells us in Psalm 101:3 that "I will set before my eyes no vile thing"...we must, we MUST hold tight to this truth and choose what is holy over what is vile. 2) Where is the change? Where is the "old is gone and the new has come" that we are told we have in 2 Corinthians 5:17, once we have placed our trust in Christ? It doesn't take long to see how much the one true God detests the evil behaviors from those who profess to be His. We see it in Exodus 32...Isaiah 1...all through Paul's letters in the New Testament. What are we doing??? Why are we embracing the vile things of this world and then justifying them by saying, "God wants us to come just as we are...He does not condemn...". SO, SO, SO true...He takes us just as we are...we do not, can not, 'clean up' before we surrender our lives to Him and know His eternal life, BUT...once we surrender, we are NEW...HE cleans us up...He gives us a new nature...new desires. We are told to "kill the flesh and it's desires that war against the new nature". How do you kill a bacteria or weed that has grown up to choke something beautiful...you choke the life out of it...you kill it. How are we killing our flesh and feeding our new nature that God has given us by watching such sad, vile things. We can't. We only feed it. We make it stronger.
There is zero judgement coming from me...I have too many planks in my own eye to try and judge anyone for a spec of sawdust in their eye...however, this is a call to walk what we talk. We must stop casting stones at the 'world' for various sins all while choosing which sin we deem bearable in the eyes of God. If you know Jesus as your personal savior and you are enticed by this movie, I beg you...please take the time to ask God what HIS thoughts are...dive into His word, His letter to you. Don't deceive yourself into thinking it's no big deal because it's only fiction. It is a big deal. The very same words that I wrote to my non-Christian friends apply to us...every single one of them...the reasons why women would want to see this movie are all basically the same...to try and meet an unmet longing. The only One who can truly meet that longing is the One who shed His blood for you...for me...for the women who are searching. A man named Christian Grey (or men in this world that are like him) can't meet our need for love, no matter how many shades he has. Only One can...and His shade is crimson.
"And God demonstrates His love toward us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people, teaching us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2: 11-14
Here was my request of the Lord...I had tried several times over the last few months to log onto my blog site and was denied access each time because it had been so long since I had posted anything. I worked outside of the home all of 2014 (which I loved and miss greatly), but I came back home at the end of November to home school our Aubri girl because of a neurological issue she is walking through...but that's for another blog post;), which would also give me more time to write. However, the blog site had decided that I had waited much longer than I should have, so they revoked access. This morning, I opened my computer and took a few minutes to talk with the Lord before I tried to log on again. I asked, "Lord, IF you want me to share what you have placed in my heart then please allow me access to the blog once again. IF not...thank you!!". I'm just being honest here. So, obviously He did whatever it is that He does and He swung the door wide open. Now, here is my heart...
I am blessed beyond measure to be able to spend so much of my time around women. Some profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus, others do not. I can't even begin to express the love that I have for ALL of them...I would not trade the relationships that I have for anything this world has to offer. I write to all of you, separately, but from the same beating heart and propelled from the overflowing love that I know Jesus has for all of us.
To my friends that do not have, nor necessarily yet want, a relationship with this Jesus that I speak so much about...I have tears streaming down my face as I type this...I love you SO, SO much! You are all joys to me beyond what I could ever express. I would love nothing more than to write your names out one by one so that you know exactly whom I'm talking to...I hope that you do know even though I'm not going to write your names;) I understand that you can think of no good reason to not go to the movies this weekend, perhaps even with your husbands or your boyfriends, to see this movie. You see no harm in it because it is merely fiction and in all honesty it may put a little "fire" back into your sex life. You long for closer intimacy with your man and our society tells us that things like this book, or movie will give us just that. What they don't tell us is that if it actually does enhance our love life, it is only for a time. It too will soon become routine and common place and we will seek more, and more, and more ideas or "fuel" to ignite a more intense fire within our relationships. Or, maybe you don't want that connection with your man because you're thinking "he had his chance", or "I'm too tired from working and taking care of the kids", so you just want to live vicariously through the characters in the story. (that portion is for my Christian friends also...these are real thoughts that real women have...Christian or not)
No matter which scenario you find yourself in, I ask you to truly think about making the choice to not put those images in your mind. I promise you with my whole heart that if you do decide to go see this movie I will NOT judge you, I will NOT condemn you, I will NOT throw a stone at you, I will NOT stop being your friend, I will NOT say one single hateful word about you...I WILL continue to love you, I WILL continue to maintain a close friendship with you and I WILL continue to beg God to grab your heart so that you can know that you were created for so much more...to "know the love of Christ that surpasses any human knowledge..." (Ephesians 3:19...that's a portion of the Bible...talk about a love story;). I just need you to know, if I haven't already told you...and if I haven't I'm SO sorry because I should have...that there is a God who loves you SO much that He didn't send a man to tie you up to a bed post and spank you with a belt in order to stimulate you to "feel love", He sent His one and only Son to be beaten with a belt of nine straps of leather, with bone fragments woven within, and He was not tied to a post, but nailed to a tree, breathed His last earthly breath and rose again so that you can "KNOW love"...the kind of love that we will never experience from any earthly person or thing. I love you...you know that I do...and I am not confident in many things, but I am fully confident in this truth...and I am praying for YOU!!
Now, to my friends who profess to have a personal relationship with the risen Jesus...I have tears of a different kind for you. I hope with my whole being that you know how much I love you...how much I pray for you to "be filled to all the measure of the fullness of God"...same chapter in Ephesians. My heart breaks in two at the amount of women who profess Christ with their lips, and then choose to expose themselves to this type of book or movie. The popular statement for Christians these days (and my husband and I say it all the time and believe it to be true) is "it's not about religion, but about a relationship with Jesus Christ". Never have truer words been spoken. BUT...because of the undeserving relationship we are allowed to have with Jesus, because of His sacrifice, not because of any 'good behavior' we might could throw His way, it should...should...SHOULD compel us to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received". Ephesians 4:1 (that must be one of my favorite books in scripture, huh?) Not to earn anything from our God, or to be "burdened by a yoke of slavery", but to live a life that is set apart for Him..."be holy because He is holy."
One last appeal...if you have convinced yourself that the Lord truly does not mind if you see this type of movie, and that His reputation as Lord will not be tainted in the eyes of those who do not know Him and are around when you are professing Him and then engaging in this type of entertainment, I want to pose two questions for you to ponder and pray through...1) If your husband or boyfriend (whether you have one now or not, you probably will in the future) were to decide they were going to see a full out triple xxx movie and wanted you to go with, or he just wanted to go with the guys, how would that make you feel? Would you not constantly have images of other women that look "so perfect" seared in your thoughts, or be constantly thinking that your man has those images seared in his thoughts and that he would rather be with that type of woman while being intimate with you? There is a reason that scripture tells us in Psalm 101:3 that "I will set before my eyes no vile thing"...we must, we MUST hold tight to this truth and choose what is holy over what is vile. 2) Where is the change? Where is the "old is gone and the new has come" that we are told we have in 2 Corinthians 5:17, once we have placed our trust in Christ? It doesn't take long to see how much the one true God detests the evil behaviors from those who profess to be His. We see it in Exodus 32...Isaiah 1...all through Paul's letters in the New Testament. What are we doing??? Why are we embracing the vile things of this world and then justifying them by saying, "God wants us to come just as we are...He does not condemn...". SO, SO, SO true...He takes us just as we are...we do not, can not, 'clean up' before we surrender our lives to Him and know His eternal life, BUT...once we surrender, we are NEW...HE cleans us up...He gives us a new nature...new desires. We are told to "kill the flesh and it's desires that war against the new nature". How do you kill a bacteria or weed that has grown up to choke something beautiful...you choke the life out of it...you kill it. How are we killing our flesh and feeding our new nature that God has given us by watching such sad, vile things. We can't. We only feed it. We make it stronger.
There is zero judgement coming from me...I have too many planks in my own eye to try and judge anyone for a spec of sawdust in their eye...however, this is a call to walk what we talk. We must stop casting stones at the 'world' for various sins all while choosing which sin we deem bearable in the eyes of God. If you know Jesus as your personal savior and you are enticed by this movie, I beg you...please take the time to ask God what HIS thoughts are...dive into His word, His letter to you. Don't deceive yourself into thinking it's no big deal because it's only fiction. It is a big deal. The very same words that I wrote to my non-Christian friends apply to us...every single one of them...the reasons why women would want to see this movie are all basically the same...to try and meet an unmet longing. The only One who can truly meet that longing is the One who shed His blood for you...for me...for the women who are searching. A man named Christian Grey (or men in this world that are like him) can't meet our need for love, no matter how many shades he has. Only One can...and His shade is crimson.
"And God demonstrates His love toward us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8
"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people, teaching us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2: 11-14
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