$$$=lame

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Timothy 6:10

Money is lame.  Of course, we all need a little bit of it, but once we get any decent amount of it, we become its slave.  In turn, we become slaves of our jobs, our cars, our mortgages, and anything else that involves our  money.  It causes us to rely on man, rather than God, and to make it the most important part of our lives.  How sad.  I often wonder if we would be better off living in a cardboard box somewhere (ok, not with Baby Jude) or just finding a house half the size and getting rid of all of our junk.  We would definitely be better off with less stuff, cause the less stuff, the less maintenance, the more time for things that actually matter.  I'm trying to get rid of as much as I can, but finding it difficult to do that and keep up with the house and baby.  I should have done this when I had more time.  Oh, wait... I never did... cause I was too busy making money.

Ugh.  I hate money.  

Here I go again...

"Cleanse your hearts, ye sinners,

and purify your hearts, ye double minded!"

I don't understand humans and their double mindedness.  Why can't we remember that we blaspheme the name of our creator when we claim to know him but act in completely contradictory ways?  (I know why, it's a rhetorical question.) You love Jesus, you say?  Then maybe you shouldn't get trashed to celebrate the blessings he's given you.  Your purpose in life is to glorify God?  Then treat others the way God would, not the way you think they deserve to be treated, or you are doing the oppposite.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, & being, or don't bother claiming to know Him at all.  There is nothing worse than a lukewarm "Christian" who claims to follow Christ.  I challenge every one of you today who says claims to be a Christian to live BIBLICALLY and to not subject the Word of God to crooked human interpretation and preference.  Submit your entire being to the one who created you, lest he say on judgement day, "Depart from me, for you I never knew." 

Happy Anniversary to.... me!

And only me, cause my husband is vacationing (ok, he's there for work) in the beautiful state of Arkansas.  If I had thought of this earlier, I would have asked for awesome ideas for things to do alone on your anniversary.  There have to be some things that are more fun by yourself, but that you need an excuse to do/celebrate.  Any ideas for the next holiday Jake decides to spend in Arkansas?  Haha... 

(Disclaimer: I am not whining.  At least I'm not the one stuck in Arkansas!)

The Bible is better than my brain.

The heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked--who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

I heard a great sermon this weekend by C.J. Mahaney about looking for evidences of grace in your fellow believers before focusing on their faults.  It's important to hold each other accountable, of course, but he said we should first look for evidence that God is indeed working in their lives and that they are moving forward in the sancitification process.  I wasn't really on board until he read from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, who were really messed up as far as personal holiness and running the church in a Godly manner.  Paul spends most of the book correcting them and imploring them to change, but begins by praising God for the evidences of His grace that could be seen there, though they may have been small.  

I want to be able to do things this way.  I want to see the small workings (to me they seem small) and be encouraged, rather than being constantly discouraged because of my own and others perpetual failure to glorify God.  There are some people in my life that claim to be Christians and KNOW the truth, but for some reason (the flesh!) willfully ignore it.  Why would you do that?  Why do I do that?  I pray every day that every person I know would hold me accountable and call me out when I am not acting/living/speaking in accordance with what I claim to believe.  I feel that it is my duty as a friend to do the same.  But some people are not willing to hear it.  If I (think I) know that my bringing their lack of regard for the commands of God to their attention will sever the friendship and not do any good (again, these are things that I think I know), is it still my duty?  These things drive me crazy.  My brain hurts.  I'm tired of my sinful, deceived heart and its propensity towards the flesh.  Ugggggggh.

This is why Proverbs 3:5 warns us not to rely on our own understanding of anything, because it will always be flawed.  Lord, help me to rely on you, and take away any of my feelings that are rooted in sin!

Goodnight.