"You're Crazy!"

This is a phrase I hear on a regular basis and I'm fairly certain that it is meant in a good way most of the time when people say it although I guess it would depend on who said it, how they said it, and the circumstance in which they said it...

For example:

If I were to tell someone I wanted to jump off a bridge and someone said, "You're crazy!" in an excited sounding tone they probably were meaning to say something more like "That's stupid!" or maybe even "Awesome! Count me in!" though the latter is not likely for most people I know. But what about sarcasm??

Hold everything.

Sarcasm? What even is sarcasm? The dictionary defines it as: 1. harsh or bitter derision or irony. 2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark.

Oh...I know that when I call someone crazy (or any other seemingly rude adjectives) I am most often being sarcastic...but is that ok?

The Bible commands us to tell the truth. "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." - Proverbs 12:18 and after all, "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." - Proverbs 12:19

Probably the worst part about sarcasm is that you are telling the truth but pretending it's only a joke. At least that's how my sarcasm works and therefore how I read other people's sarcasm. 

It's bad because I say something that is hurtful and then try to downplay it and basically try to convince the person that I was "just kidding" like "jk guys" and hope that they don't take the harsh words to heart.

I can't ever take back what I say, so why am I so quick to speak? Scripture says, "let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak..." - James 1:19 

May the Holy Spirit work within me to help me to stop being sarcastic. I want to be known as someone who speaks the truth in love or keeps her mouth shut.

I may be crazy, and in a lot of different ways too! But I want to be the good kind of crazy. Someone who is crazy because she is full of joy and seeks to bless others. Someone God would smile upon.

Family

- noun
"a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not" and/or "a group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together" (dictionary.com)

Family is so much more to me than what the dictionary says about it.

I was reminded today about how important family is and I realize that I am not thankful enough for how God has blessed me with and through my family.

First, I have a fantastic father. I call him daddy, papa, dad, and sometimes other embarrassing names that I am lucky he tolerated well :). I cannot say enough good things about my father, I have no doubt that he loves me and I would not trade him for any other father in the world. He's mine. Even though I may joke about being adopted sometimes, I (and many other people) know that I am my daddy's daughter. Though he has a great sense of humour and a pleasing personality, the best thing about my dad is the fact that he is a godly leader who loves Jesus. He knows his role as the head of our household and he takes it seriously. My dad has always worked hard to provide for his family but his reliance on the strength of the Lord, he will tell you, is the reason he is able to do so. When I look at my dad I see self-sacrifice, patience, perseverance, but mostly love. True love. Jesus love.

As my dad and mom are a team, I must acknowledge my mother next. She is truly marvelous. I can't think of many people who serve more than my mom does. I have watched and experienced her constant giving of herself for others. For example, every morning my mom gets up before everyone else and makes sure that we all have what we need for the day. She makes lunches for those who need it, gets dad his coffee, and makes sure that details are taken care of before the day begins. My mom also volunteers her time out to help with school events, encourage friends, and serve at church. Those who see my mom surely see an amazing, beautiful, woman and marvel at her fear of the Lord. She is the perfect team mate for my dad and I am truly blessed to have her as my mother.

I also have four younger siblings who are all unique and special in their own ways as God has designed them. All have servant's hearts and I am privileged to watch them as they learn how to love God through serving others. They provide me with opportunities to learn and grow as I seek how to best love and serve them as their older sister.

I will admit that the biological family does present challenges, but all are minimal compared to the support and love that far outweigh the struggles. I wouldn't trade my family for the world and I want to someday (Lord willing) raise a family similar to the one my parents have raised.

Ephesians 5:22-6:4, Proverbs 23:22; 23:25; 29:15; 30:17

My second family is the body of Christ. The brothers and sisters that God has brought into my life who also have faith in Jesus. I cannot talk about how many ways that the family of God has encouraged and shown me love in my life. One recent example of this love was demonstrated by a girlfriend/sister of mine who gave me $100 when I was really feeling the need for a break. With this money I was able to bless another friend of mine when she came to visit for part of the week. I could also talk about how we serve one another as a big family both at and outside our Sunday morning church services. It brings me great joy to see so many people putting themselves aside for the sake of others and enjoying doing so because Christ has filled them with love and compassion for those in need. The many kids programs, men's and women's caregroups, friendship club for the disabled, youth group, and many other ministries are jam packed with volunteers fueled by the love of Jesus. I am never without a family member who will encourage me, challenge me, pray for me, and just love me as I am.

2 Corinthians 13:11, Galatians 6:1-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

More than anything I want to share what God has given me with this broken world.

All around me families are broken. Divorce. Loneliness. Abuse. Hatred. Mistrust. Disrespect. Those are but few of the words which describe and contribute to broken families. Why must we let sin destroy what could be?

I beg that God would mend the brokenness. That this world would soon be made new. All pain and suffering will end someday and I pray that that day comes soon. But until then may the power of Jesus continue to lighten the darkness of this world and may families thrive in his name for his glory!

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." - Psalm 68:5

Care

I just finished my last clinical shift for this year of nursing school and if there's one thing that I've learned over the past month, it's that I need to care. The best nurses are the ones who truly know what it means to care.

You can tell how much someone cares by how they live their life.

For example, someone who cares about getting high grades in school is going to study hard just as someone who cares about their dog is going to feed it, walk it, bath it, etc.

If you were to look at my life and make a list of the things I care about, you might write the following:

- Friendships
- Church
- School
- Canadian Tire
- Running
- Soccer
- Sleep/Eating

It is not a very long list at all but it is the things that I have as top priorities in my life at the moment.

That's not what it should be.

I want the list to look more like this:

- Jesus
- Other people
- Everything else

What is it going to take to change? The grace of God.

I've proven over and over that I don't put Jesus first the majority of the time in my life but when I do, those days are the best days.

God help me to care about you more than anything else in this world because I know that if I put you first, everything else will naturally fall into it's rightful place.

Why...Everything?

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to ask questions, but there is one word in particular I like to use that poses as a question all by itself: why?

I wouldn't say that I am someone who does a lot of intentional sitting and thinking, but I know that my mind is always filled with questions, so I thought it might be useful to take some time to jot down some significant Q&As that I have had over the past 22 years of my life.

I'll start with some whoppers (or Big Macs...depending on your personal preference):
1. Why am I here? 
Honestly, for the longest time I didn't know the answer to that question. I mean, I knew I was here for a reason, some purpose, but I just didn't know. I thought maybe I was supposed to grow up to be just like my Mom (which I would love because my Mom is awesome!), or maybe I'm just supposed to do whatever it takes to be happy, or perhaps I am supposed to just take what life throws at me, leaping into every available opportunity and see what happens.
But God has shown me the meaning of purpose: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." - Psalm 139:14-16 God has always had a plan for my life, from before I was born until the end of eternity. "For we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:10 He gives me purpose. "The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." - Proverbs 16:4 He gives everything and everyone purpose. "'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." - Revelation 4:11 We are created for the glory of God and to worship him alone. Everything in my life should be based on that fact. That's why I am here.

2. Why should I obey God?
This is a tricky one to answer from the human perspective because we are all inherently naturally wired to want to have complete control over our own lives. I know that I need to answer this question for myself on a daily basis because it's so easy to forget and just do what I want because I want to. Human nature often gets the better of me but here's what's important to know: "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?...For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:16,23 So one main reason I choose to obey God, or be a slave of obedience as the verse reads, is because I want to be righteous and gain eternal life rather than be a slave to sin which leads to death. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36 "He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury." - Romans 2:6-8 Well I don't know about anyone else, but I choose life! "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honour and life." - Proverbs 22:4 There are other perks for choosing to obey or fear God, this is but one of countless examples in Scripture. "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Matthew 10:28 I know that I am often too concerned with pleasing the human race because I'm afraid of being an outcast, I'm afraid of offending others, I'm afraid of failing in front of people...and the list goes on from there but Jesus calls me to fear God and not to worry about what other people think. If I am living in obedience to him alone, opinions of the human race shouldn't matter because I can trust in God's perfect truth to tell me what is right.

3. Why is it so hard to follow Jesus?
The simple answer to this is because we are only human and Jesus is God. But the Bible sheds some light on this as well. "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 As a follower of Christ, Jesus speaks to me in this verse. He encourages us that, despite the fact that we will have tribulation or trouble in the world, he has overcome it and offers us peace in the midst of the hard times. "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." - 1 John 2:4-6 Just reading that passage makes being a follower of Christ seem impossible because no human being can possibly obey the entire Bible! The standard that God has for those who claim to believe in him is unreachable. But it is that way for a reason. "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." - 2 Peter 1:3-4 So in the midst of our sinfulness, God saves us. We cannot be perfect and holy in order to meet the standards of God but he promises to provide everything we need to get to heaven. The struggle is in trusting him to provide as we press on in faith. "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." - 1 Timothy 6:6-10 One of the biggest issues in our world is with money. Everyone needs money for survival but we often find ourselves wanting more than we need. It is true that the richest people in the world are far from happy. We think we know what will make us happy, but God knows that we are happiest when we are most satisfied in him. This is but one of the many examples of human struggle mentioned in Scripture. In summary, it's hard to follow Jesus because everything we are naturally is in contrast to what God wants us to be and we have to fight against ourselves to follow Christ.

Haters Gonna Hate

I'm proud of those who will not associate the title with a certain Taylor Swift song, but the statement is true.

I sit convicted.

People at my work place do not hate me.

At least I assume they don't.

Or they just don't express their indwelling hatred.

Let me explain...

Yesterday's sermon at church was on John 15, a very challenging passage in Scripture.

Verse 19 says, "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

Definition: "the world" refers to everything and everyone who is in opposition to Jesus Christ.

I have been friends with the world lately on a number of levels and it is really starting to weigh heavily on my soul.

I try hard to impress the world, to fit in, to be liked and wanted by it.

Why is that such a craving?

I'd like to use the simple answer and say that it's just because I'm human but I know that it's more complex than that because I am a human who has been saved by Jesus Christ who has overcome the world and who gives us the power to do the same.

I am met with the challenge every day to hold firm to what I believe and live it out before the world. But sometimes I mess up. I get caught up in the demands of the day and forget what my purpose is: to be a light.

But back to the haters. I know that some of the people I associate with are part of the world. They claim to believe in Jesus, but not His Word. They claim to love Jesus, but hate what the Bible says.

This is a problem. A BIG problem.

You cannot claim to believe in or love Jesus Christ because He is inseparable from Scripture. You either take all of Him and His Word, or none of it.

These people in my life I still love, despite their efforts to convince me that they are right and God is wrong. They may not hate me as a person, just what I believe.

I pray that someday they see that God is God and there is no other. That they would take Him at His Word and believe ALL of it.

I am just a human. I cannot convince another human of the truth. So I pray for mercy.