Loved By The Father

Why Can't Anybody Tell Us Anything?             I hope that you've read and meditated a bit on last weeks' blog post, the first in this series, 'Why Can't We Get Along In The Church?' After reading, I hope you really gave some thought to the idea that everybody isn't out to get you and sometimes the changes our pastors preach need to take place within us aren't just for others. I hope you gathered that some of them are for us. Introspection is so important for us, as believers, because so much of the Bible tells us that things must be removed from within us for God to live there.       Perhaps I should've talked about this last week, but here goes. Read Psalm 51 , one of the psalms of repentance . It's pretty intense. David talks about confessing his sin to God and how the Father delights in the truth in our "inner being." (verse 6) Family, that comes from the cleansing David talks about in verse 7: " Purge me   M...

Why Is It So Hard to Get Along in The Church?      Shame on whoever hurt this poor little boy!! L.O.L.      Family, I know we're not supposed to publicly talk about how difficult    tough   frustrating   annoying   downright hellish ministry feels sometimes, but er- uh- I'm going there. Brace yourselves...      First of all, I say this  with love. Really. I say this, as a person who is committed to being the change I want to see within the body of Christ as well as working toward the goals and objectives that God has set for us. I think that if I didn't say anything, knowing that something needed to be said, I'd be doing a disservice, being disobedient, and ignoring problems which is being a part of the problem.      I was talking to a sister just the other day about how some people sometimes seem to thrive in messiness and chaos and how much it bothers me. Now, I've never been one of...

     One of the things I'm more and more grateful for lately is wise council. There are people around me who will sometimes give me constructive criticism, insight, and advice and I'm glad I'm at a point where I can cheerfully receive it. I'll admit, sometimes I still get a little annoyed, but I remember what Hillary Clinton said: Take criticism seriously, not personally.       Constructive criticism is something you'll face only if you do anything ever in life. Learn to use it to your advantage. For instance, there are times when I'm given constructive criticism from people that genuinely love me. When they do, I take it for what it is: constructive; not for what it isn't: destructive. Chances are, the people who are close enough (if you're minding who allow into your space. *hint* That's important.) to you to give criticism are giving it with good intentions. If they have ill intentions, take it as an opportunity to lift them up in prayer and ...

Every now and then, I get a little weary. I get frustrated with ministry, specifically, some days. It gets especially tough when it seems everything I'm shouting from the rooftops of my heart (dramatic, I know) is being ignored or getting drowned out by the sound of everything else. And I ask God, 'why did you ask me to do this? why did you bring me here? what IS the point of all this?' Sometimes, He answers. Sometimes, He doesn't and I'm left (poor choice of words, I know) to remind myself of what He said the last time. And that's so... something. And I'm an only child, so being ignored is just about the last thing I ever want. But it happens. Often.  Maybe, that's why He allows it so often.  Lol. Grow up, Princess.  " Don't grow weary in well-doing..." (Galatians 6:9)   *grumble, grumble* But sometimes, that's so much easier said than done and sometimes I just wanna stay at home and let weariness keep me on the couch in my pajamas...