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Category Archives: Christian Living

Accomplish Glory

4 / 4 / 172 / 7 / 22
By lizziejank | Filed under Affliction, Christian Living, Daily Devotional Thoughts, Marriage, Mothering

 

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is the chief end of man. So simple.

It isn’t a long to do list and it isn’t a situationally dependent complicated activity. Just imagine if the answer to this question was all about your credit rating and income, and the house you need to buy. Imagine if our faith said that the chief end of man was to put in a certain number of hours reading, or to have a certain number of children. Imagine if we thought that you had to work exclusively inside the home, or exclusively outside of it. Imagine if the church confessed that we had to have immaculate yards, sew all of our own clothes, grind our own wheat, or get a certain number of meals for the needy delivered. Imagine if the chief end of man was to be fit, or beautiful, or wear designer clothes, or have a home that could be featured on a blog. Many of these things are outside of our control, if not outside of our desire.

Now I know, and you know, that most Christians would not put any of the above random requirements into words as a statement of faith. But many of us slip equally ridiculous things into our own private goals and expectations. So while it is rare (probably not rare enough!)  to hear a church state that you have to have at least four children, it is not at all rare to hear the sorrows of a woman who always thought that she had to do just that or she wouldn’t be a real Christian. It is not normal for Christians to express these things positively as a statement of faith, but it is absolutely common place for them to express it negatively as a failure. What I mean by that is, “I am not a real Christian like those other ladies in our church because I work part time outside the home” or “I am just doing the worst job because chronic pain and personal suffering has made it so that I can’t have large groups over for dinner regularly.” Or  for a woman to feel less than a good Christian because she still has a bunch of baby weight (or bake sale) weight to lose which can be easily done if you buy phenq here.  Read More

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Clear as a Bell

3 / 1 / 173 / 1 / 17
By Nancy Ann | Filed under Christian Living

If you’ve had a two-year-old in the family, you know that the heart of man is prone to disobedience.

“Don’t ride your big wheel in the street,” my husband said to my son.

“But I want to,” replied the two-year-old.

“You may not,” answered the voice of authority.

“I’m gonna,” was the reply as he sailed off on his big wheel across the street.

We laugh about this story, which is a family favorite, and we laughed at the time, even though justice was meted out in such a way as to teach our son to be wise in the future.

(No, that’s not my son in the two-year-old picture above, but my grandson Judah at age two.)

But the thing that I want to bring to our attention is not that our young children need to be taught to obey, but that we grown ups must be taught to obey as well. All the time.

Think about the children of Israel as they followed Moses into the wilderness. God provided manna for them to eat, but gave very specific instructions, kind of like, “You may not ride in the street.” And they replied, “I’m gonna.” Read More

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Witty Discontent

2 / 28 / 17
By Nancy Ann | Filed under Christian Living | Tags: Contentment

“The sin of discontent is very witty with its apologies” (Thomas Watson).

I sometimes think that since I have read enough over the years about contentment that surely I must be doing it. But then God opens my eyes to some discontent that has not only slipped into my heart and mind, but has positively set up shop there. Usually I have been listening to myself complain or worry about something, and the quickest way to be free of the discontent is to replace the complaints with gratitude.

A new difficulty or affliction or hardship takes us into new territory, opening up new possibilities for discontent, or giving us new opportunities to learn to be content.  You were doing just fine until…

A new family moved in next door and their dog is barking all hours….or they park their car in front of your house….or the kids are always in your yard….or…..

My friend has broken a confidence….or has never returned my phone call….or forgot my birthday….or….

I had to empty out my savings to pay my taxes….and now I can’t go on vacation ….or buy the new furniture I was wanting…or..

You get the idea. What seems to me to be something that I am perfectly right to be indignant about turns into a discontent that begins to fester until I am noticeably unhappy. Then when I go looking for the culprit, it’s actually not the neighbor or the friend or the taxes causing the problem but my very own heart. The happy news is that my heart can repent and be cleansed.  And this new cleansed heart is much more comfortable to live with.

 

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Trials and Temptations

6 / 30 / 168 / 5 / 22
By rebekah | Filed under Christian Living

RoadI’ve been thinking about different kinds of temptation lately – and something just struck me about the whole category of “mental” sins. When I say mental sins I am distinguishing them from those obvious and tangible sins like murder, rape, theft, adultery . . . although of course we do know that those things launched their careers as the purely mental sins of hatred, lust, or greed. Right now I’m talking about the sins that come to roost in your head like discontent, moping, anger, self-pity, or the inability to forgive – basically those sins that, one way or another, interfere with joy. You can look into Virtualtreatmentcenter.com and get virtual counseling with a therapist who can help you solve your problem.

They seem to always be provoked by an external trial of some sort – and that trial can be big or small, real or imagined. Maybe your house is too small, or your husband isn’t a spiritual leader, you don’t have a husband and wish you did, your best friend turned sour on you, your kids colored on the couch, you don’t have money to pay the bills, you were abused, or you are struggling with a crippling illness. Whatever it is, whether it is a genuine trial or just an imagined trial that could be filed under the category of first world problems (you don’t have very many followers on Instagram but you can see how the experts uses Instagram Likes kaufen to make this possible), the point is that this is the moment at which the temptation sprouts.

But here’s what I’ve noticed – there are always two things in play. The objective trial is one thing – the temptation to sin about it is another. But temptation is a master of disguise, and what it usually does is pretend to be the trial itself. I think that falling for this little ruse can often be why we struggle with something that just seems unconquerable – we’re looking at and fighting against the wrong thing and that’s why we don’t get the victory. Read More

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Dumpster Diving

6 / 14 / 166 / 14 / 16
By Nancy Ann | Filed under Christian Living
diving
I can’t find my Bible . . .

One of the central ways we overcome the temptations to fear, worry, anxiety, or bitterness is to obey the Scriptures that tell us to set our minds on things above. Consider these commands to set, seek, and meditate:

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

We all know how our minds drift all the day long, and we tend to be easily carried along to where ever they might take us. But thoughts left to themselves often go dumpster diving, digging through fleshly things, carnal things, earthly things, untrue, ignoble, unjust, impure, unlovely, and unkind things. The dumpster is always full of this stuff: your own past sins and failures, the sins of others, bitterness, worries, and lusts. And then we wonder why we are worried, envious, lustful, bitter, anxious, or fearful. But we’ve been feeding on this stuff from the dumpster all day!

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Come Down!

4 / 19 / 164 / 19 / 16
By lizziejank | Filed under Christian Living, Mothering

FullSizeRenderLet me tell you a little something about myself as a way of breaking the rather prolonged silence on my part. Life has been so wildly busy! We are getting deeper and deeper into what feels like the splits of parenting.  A nursing baby but also junior high track meets. Moses is a darling, wonderful, lively and cheerful 6 month old. So far, his spiritual gifts have not included napping. He dabbles in them at best. I am not complaining, because really he is so happy and thriving – but he certainly makes sure that even though he is number 7, he gets his full share of our attention. He has initiative, that one.

The other day, it took me about 3 hours to do 15 minutes’worth of dishes. Because every two or three minutes I had to go nurse, or go change the venue of play, or put the baby in the ergo on my back, or take a shower, or whatever. Read More

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