I am so getting ready to rant ! So there is this arrogant lunatic named Harold Camping who believes that he knows more than God. It would be amusing if not for the many lost souls who instead of cracking open a Bible, reading it , and believing it blindly listen to his craziness and follow him. Many of these people have sold everything they have , cleaned out their savings and spent all their money on spreading his perverted message . His message ? Well that he can predict the day of Christ's return. He KNOWS the day that the world is going to end, judgement day. Except that he was wrong in 1994, and he was wrong about May 21, 2011. Make no mistake, the world, christians and sinners alike will see Christ return someday but the Bible is clear : No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matthew 24:36. Hmmmm, the angels and Jesus live in heaven with God and even they don't know when its gonna happen.
Here is what bothers me most about this whole fiasco. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of people haven't studied God's word enough to entertain the notion that Camping was right. How many panicked and decided that if he was right they were going to hell? How many said a generic cookie cutter prayer asking God to forgive their sins believing after that they were good to go? How many were counting on that fire insurance to usher them into heaven and spare them the fire of hell? Do you think any of those people even knew what they were doing? Did they, thinking that time was rapidly running out, sit down and count the cost? Chances are the answer is no. Why would they? They would only have to be good for what , 24 hours or so? I wonder how many people got "saved " on Saturday only to return to their sinful ways on Sunday . Getting saved isn't just saying a prayer and then taking up a pew on Sunday mornings . "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this : God has made this Jesus whom you crucified , both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36 " But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have." 1 Peter 3:15 Being saved involves making Jesus Lord. "Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. " Luke 9:23-25
Making Jesus Lord involves commitment. Many say they want to follow Jesus but the kingdom of God is not about comfort , pleasing people or putting our hands to something we can't finish. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes even his own life-he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26 " He said to another man, Follow me. But the man replied Lord, first let me go bury my father. Jesus said to him Let the dead go bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Still another said, I will follow you , Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family. Jesus replied, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. " Luke 59-62. This is a life long commitment we are talking about here. God isn't interested in half -hearted emotional decisions . He wants forever just as he is willing to give you forever. "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness , than to have known it and then turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit and a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing int he mud." 2 Peter 2:20-22. God ain't playing. He takes salvation very seriously and we should too. Its the difference between eternity in heaven and eternity in hell.
Want to go to heaven? "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who say " I know him" and does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word , God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2 :3-6 Notice it doesn't say some of the commands, or only the commands you feel like obeying.
Ok, enough preaching.Maybe there is one positive thing that has come from Mr Camping. He has opened doors for discussion and made people want to learn more . The only way to be prepared is to open your Bible and read what God has to say. What are you waiting for? Crack it open. Christ could return at ANY minute. If he came RIGHT NOW what would he find you doing?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Marital Bliss
Today is my 15th wedding anniversary. Yay us ! I am not going to lie and say that every day for 15 years has been joyful, peaceful, and smooth sailing. There have been days when I have just wanted to throttle him as I am sure there have been times when he has wanted to do the same to me. Lets be honest here, marriage is hard . Life is stressful and tiring even before children. Throw in a couple of those and well lets just say "honeymoon over". The divorce rate in this country alone is staggering to me. I myself am a child of divorce and right now have 3 family members separated from their spouses with divorce looming. I don't think there is one magic secret to marital bliss. I think there are many .
When I was younger I used to hear people say " when you find the right person, you will just know." I can only speak from my own experience here but for me that was true. After the first date with my husband I told my mom that he was the one I was going to marry. While most of my friends got married soon after high school, I was 23 before I found the "one". I am not knocking getting married young, some of my friends are still married to that high school sweetheart and I think that is awesome. There is a reason that most wedding ceremonies begin with the phrase " Marriage is not to be entered into lightly." I will say it again, marriage is hard, therefore should only be reserved for adults. Before I met Eric I was beginning to wonder if I was going to find someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with . I had almost given up, in fact I wasn't seeking anymore. He kinda just fell in my lap. I believe that a huge majority of failed marriages begin with just not being patient for the right one to come along. It's like there is this race to see who can get married and have kids first. And for those who don't participate in the race, watching from the sidelines becomes scary and lonely and in an attempt to catch up they just end up settling .
If you ask couples who have been happily married for years what the secret is you might hear "communication is the key." Maybe not the key that unlocks the door to forever happiness but I do believe that it is essential. Communication is tricky. The definition of communication is the exchange of information between people. The trick is knowing what kind of and how much information to exchange.Some things are better left unsaid and more often there are some things better said immediately instead of later.For example if you are unhappy with your marriage after 2 years its better to relate that fact to your partner after 2 years instead of waiting til your 10th year and out of the blue saying" I'm just not happy and I haven't been for years."
Trust is another biggie. Trust doesn't come easily and must be earned , not just given. Chances are if you are the person your boyfriend cheated on his ex girlfriend with , its probably not a "forever" kind of relationship. If your partner lies to you while you are dating, chances are they will lie to you when married. There are just some people who can't be trusted with little things, so why trust then with big things like forever?
Happiness . This is something that I feel strongly about. Happiness should come from within yourself not from someone else. NEVER depend on another human being to make you happy. In fact, NEVER depend on another human being for anything. Dependence means giving someone else control of something . I for one don't want someone else to control my happiness. Its mine and I will control it thank you very much.
Love is a powerful emotion, scary, life changing, and weird. Lust is also a powerful emotion and sometimes people confuse the two. As long as you have both you're good. Base a marriage on lust and watch it fall apart very quickly.
Are you a giver or a taker? Hopefully you are both. Unfortunately some people only know how to take and marriage will not survive with one full time taker and one full time giver. Eventually the giver is depleted and the taker must find a different giver source.
I haven't covered all the many secrets of marital bliss, only those that have earned me 15 years of it.My keys may not be your keys and that is ok. No two marriages are the same . The true key is to find out what your keys are and perfect them. As for me, I didn't settle just so I wouldn't be alone. I waited til I found my prince charming. I have learned when to open my mouth and when to shut it.I trust my husband and he trusts me. I do not depend upon him for my personal happiness. We have the love AND the lust balance down to a fine art. We both give and take equally. well most of the time. I am blessed and I recognize it. I wish everyone a marital bliss kind of day !
When I was younger I used to hear people say " when you find the right person, you will just know." I can only speak from my own experience here but for me that was true. After the first date with my husband I told my mom that he was the one I was going to marry. While most of my friends got married soon after high school, I was 23 before I found the "one". I am not knocking getting married young, some of my friends are still married to that high school sweetheart and I think that is awesome. There is a reason that most wedding ceremonies begin with the phrase " Marriage is not to be entered into lightly." I will say it again, marriage is hard, therefore should only be reserved for adults. Before I met Eric I was beginning to wonder if I was going to find someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with . I had almost given up, in fact I wasn't seeking anymore. He kinda just fell in my lap. I believe that a huge majority of failed marriages begin with just not being patient for the right one to come along. It's like there is this race to see who can get married and have kids first. And for those who don't participate in the race, watching from the sidelines becomes scary and lonely and in an attempt to catch up they just end up settling .
If you ask couples who have been happily married for years what the secret is you might hear "communication is the key." Maybe not the key that unlocks the door to forever happiness but I do believe that it is essential. Communication is tricky. The definition of communication is the exchange of information between people. The trick is knowing what kind of and how much information to exchange.Some things are better left unsaid and more often there are some things better said immediately instead of later.For example if you are unhappy with your marriage after 2 years its better to relate that fact to your partner after 2 years instead of waiting til your 10th year and out of the blue saying" I'm just not happy and I haven't been for years."
Trust is another biggie. Trust doesn't come easily and must be earned , not just given. Chances are if you are the person your boyfriend cheated on his ex girlfriend with , its probably not a "forever" kind of relationship. If your partner lies to you while you are dating, chances are they will lie to you when married. There are just some people who can't be trusted with little things, so why trust then with big things like forever?
Happiness . This is something that I feel strongly about. Happiness should come from within yourself not from someone else. NEVER depend on another human being to make you happy. In fact, NEVER depend on another human being for anything. Dependence means giving someone else control of something . I for one don't want someone else to control my happiness. Its mine and I will control it thank you very much.
Love is a powerful emotion, scary, life changing, and weird. Lust is also a powerful emotion and sometimes people confuse the two. As long as you have both you're good. Base a marriage on lust and watch it fall apart very quickly.
Are you a giver or a taker? Hopefully you are both. Unfortunately some people only know how to take and marriage will not survive with one full time taker and one full time giver. Eventually the giver is depleted and the taker must find a different giver source.
I haven't covered all the many secrets of marital bliss, only those that have earned me 15 years of it.My keys may not be your keys and that is ok. No two marriages are the same . The true key is to find out what your keys are and perfect them. As for me, I didn't settle just so I wouldn't be alone. I waited til I found my prince charming. I have learned when to open my mouth and when to shut it.I trust my husband and he trusts me. I do not depend upon him for my personal happiness. We have the love AND the lust balance down to a fine art. We both give and take equally. well most of the time. I am blessed and I recognize it. I wish everyone a marital bliss kind of day !
Monday, May 9, 2011
No wonder I am tired
A couple of weeks ago I drove to Statesville and had massive blood work done. Today I got my results . No huge dangerous surprises. Praise God ! While I was there the doctor asked me about my exhaustion. I explained to him that I had been told that I was vitamin B12 deficient , major symptom is fatigue. I also have totally out of control periods , major complication is fatigue. Well , blood tests show that sometime in the last 6 months to a year I have had mono and had been exposed to Fifth's disease. Both of which cause ??? You guessed it, FATIGUE. So he says if I had been feeling tired lately , that was probably why. Ya think? I have 4 things going on in my body right now that causes fatigue.No wonder I am tired.
When I say I am tired, I am not sure anyone can fully understand what I mean. My tired does not translate to I need a nap. It means I could sleep for 3 or 4 days straight and still not want to get out of bed. It means I do not want to put one foot in front of the other. It means I never am alert and thinking straight.It means that on any given day I am 5 minutes away from just collapsing. I find it pretty sad that I had mono and have felt so bad for so long that I didn't even realize it. How screwed up is that?
June 28th is the day that I start to reclaim my life. A procedure to rid myself of the hormonal issues is scheduled for 8 am . At some point my body will recover from the mono and Fifth's disease and if the B12 supplements don't bring up my levels then I can take injections. Some day maybe before this year is over I will feel well. At least that it what I am counting on.
When I say I am tired, I am not sure anyone can fully understand what I mean. My tired does not translate to I need a nap. It means I could sleep for 3 or 4 days straight and still not want to get out of bed. It means I do not want to put one foot in front of the other. It means I never am alert and thinking straight.It means that on any given day I am 5 minutes away from just collapsing. I find it pretty sad that I had mono and have felt so bad for so long that I didn't even realize it. How screwed up is that?
June 28th is the day that I start to reclaim my life. A procedure to rid myself of the hormonal issues is scheduled for 8 am . At some point my body will recover from the mono and Fifth's disease and if the B12 supplements don't bring up my levels then I can take injections. Some day maybe before this year is over I will feel well. At least that it what I am counting on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)