:)

Well.... It's been what, a year?

Hopefully I'm back. For my children, I do hope I will make an effort to keep this up. I have no idea who reads this thing, but I need an accountability partner for this writing often deal.

So.... what's new? Right now my heart wants to instill in my kids the sermon I heard yesterday on wishes. What do you wish? There are countless things for us to hope for and about. The pastor touched on the fact that he feels wishes are based, across the board, on one of two things: frustration or opportunity. Then he posed the question "What does God wish?" and followed with scripture from Philipians2.

" 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus." ....Paul....NIV

I guess I had never really thought that God would wish. I know that He is soverign and that He holds the universe in the palm of His hand, but the idea that He wishes...WOW, and that He tells us what He wishes had just not quite come together for my pea-brain. I know that He wants me to put others first....remember that acrostic?

J----Jesus
O---Others
Y---Yourself

I think Mr. Johnson taught me that in church training one year. Of course, I know that, but the word yesterday took on a different meaning for me when it was put into terms of what God wishes. I am sure now that He wishes a lot of things about me, like that I would spend more time with Him, that I would be more obedient, that I would pay more attention to what He is doing all around me, that I would notice His miracles, that I would be more thankful, and I could keep on going......

But, what I really believe in my heart is that although He does want all of this for me, because that is how I am blessed beyond belief, He loves me just the way I am. He created me and He alone knows my heart and its intentions. He loves me just like I love each of my kiddos, only He loves me more. I can not even wrap my head around that, because if you know me, you know I LOVE these kids!!!!

So, I need to figure out how to teach them that we need to always put others above ourselves. It is a decision that we need to make daily, just like deciding to live today for Him and pick up our cross and carry it each day. In that decision is a value statement about others and ourselves that is a direct reflection of who Christ is to us. Once again it all goes back to GRACE.

God did not send Jesus to die for me because I deserved it, or because He would gain anything from it. He was not selectively selfless or selectively generous. He put everyone before Himself, and what does He wish? For me to have that character, so that anyone who is in my life knows who's I am. Lots of teaching to do over here. Let me know if you have any ideas for the lessons. :)

I'm His!
Shae