Music Monday — “I Can’t Give Up” by Lee Williams

Life is full of disappointments. Trust me, I know.

But, no matter how many things don’t go my way, I’m determined to keep my hand in God’s hand, as the old folks would say. Hills and mountains will come, but God is faithful to His word.

“And God said, ‘Good eyes! I’m sticking with you. I’ll make every word I give you come true.’ ” Jeremiah 1:12, The Message

\”I Can\’t Give Up\” by Lee Williams

Music Monday — “Stand Out” by Tye Tribbett

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:2, The Message

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand.” Matthew 5:13-15, The Message

We are the salt and light. We have got to raise the standard. It’s time out for Christians trying to water down the message and be politically correct. We have to declare the word of God. It’s time to STAND OUT!

\”Stand Out\” by Tye Tribbett

Snow day

I love to see snow, although we don’t get to see much of it in the South. When we do get a good bit of snow, the excitement level is pretty high here in North Carolina.

The threat of snow sends folks rushing to the store to buy milk and bread. No one seems to know exactly why everyone goes to buy those two particular items. Tradition, I guess.

The best thing about a lot of snow is getting snowed in. You don’t have to worry about going out, running errands or doing anything else but staying in, staying warm and spending some time with your family. That’s pretty cool.

I’m not too sure what Wayne and I will do during our snow day(s). Maybe watch a couple of movies. Maybe we’ll play some games. Who knows? I’m definitely not planning to go outside at all. It’s too cold and too slippery for that.

So, what does your family do on snow days?

Music Monday — “The Best in Me” by Marvin Sapp

Grace and mercy. That’s what Marvin Sapp is singing about on his new song “The Best in Me.”

Romans 3:23 says that all of us have sinned and come short of God’s glory. But in the next two verses, Paul tells us how we are justified by God’s grace through Jesus Christ.

God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public — to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. — Romans 3:24-25, The Message

Once God forgives our sins, no one can hold them over our heads. It doesn’t matter what anyone else sees; God sees us for who we really are.

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A life that speaks volumes

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.” John 9:4

I enjoy listening to Dr. Adrian Rogers‘ preaching on the radio. Of all the times I listened, there was one thing I didn’t know — Dr. Rogers has gone on to be with the Lord. He died in 2005. Although he’s gone, Dr. Rogers continues to touch people with the work he did while he was alive.

What about for each of us? There’s a song that says, “Let the works I’ve done speak for me.” What will your life say about you? When we’re dead and gone, the only thing that can speak for us is the kind of life we’ve lived and what we did with the time God gave us here on earth.

I hope when I die, people can look back on my life and see that I lived in a way that honored God. I hope my life makes my family proud. I hope I leave something that will continue to bless people even after I’ve been gone for years. My former pastor was like that. She died in 2008, and I still miss her today. I remember things she said, songs she sang. Her ministry is still blessing me even though she’s gone.

The point is, we  have to work while it’s day, because night is coming for all of us. We don’t know when God will call us home so we have to make wise use of our time. If you’re waiting to do something in ministry or to accomplish something in your life, what are you waiting for? Tomorrow isn’t promised. It’s time to get busy.

Music Monday — “Everything to Me” by Fred Hammond

God has given Fred Hammond an amazing gift as a psalmist. His songs inspire reflection, worship and praise. I was listening to this song the other day, and though I’ve heard it hundreds of times, one line just stood out to me. Fred sings, “On the pages of my life You have revealed Your glory.” If we look back at some of the different things we’ve experienced over our lives, we will agree that God has been working in it all and through it all. And at the end of the day, God gets all the glory.

This is truly an awesome song. What joy we experience in our lives when we make Jesus our everything.

How long is too long?

Image via Wikipedia

About two weeks ago, Wayne and I watched a movie called “Away We Go.” It’s a cute movie starring Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live fame as Verona and John Krasinski from The Office as Burt. They play an unmarried couple preparing for the birth of their first child. Throughout the movie, they go on a journey to decide where they will raise their child.

“Away We Go” was a sweet, funny movie, but I think Wayne and I were definitely a little unsettled at the end. That’s because one of the couples Verona and Burt visit is a husband and wife who want children but have suffered through several miscarriages. One of the lines was something about waiting too long to have kids.

Tom Garnett:
She had another miscarriage.

Burt Farlander:
What? When?

Tom Garnett:
Thursday.

Burt Farlander:
This Thursday?

Tom Garnett:
Yeah. This is her fifth. I know she loves all those kids like, like they were her own blood. But, I wonder if we’ve been selfish. People like us we wait till our thirties and then we’re surprised when the babies aren’t so easy to make anymore and then every day another million fourteen year olds get pregnant without trying. It’s a terrible feeling, this helpless, man. You just watch these babies grow and then fade. You don’t know if you’re supposed to name them, or bury them, or… I’m sorry.

So that sparks the question, how long is too long?

I want to be a mother someday, and my fear is waiting too long to start trying. I’m 30 years old, and I’ve heard everything from “take your time, you have plenty of time” to “you better hurry up and get started.”

Based on this chart, it looks like I may have a little more time on my hands.

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“One Big Happy Family” is feel-good TV

It’s hard to lose weight. It’s hard to break those bad habits that made you gain that weight to start out with. It’s hard to stop eating yummy, bad-for-you food and start making better choices. But that’s just what a North Carolina family with a new TLC show is trying to do.

TLC’s “One Big Happy Family” chronicles the Coles family. Each one of them — a mom, dad and two kids — is morbidly obese. The series shows their attempt to make a lifestyle change and start losing weight.

What I love about the show is that it’s real. It’s a real family with real struggles with weight and food. But, in the middle of all that, you see the love and the support they have for each other. Watching them trying new foods and getting out to exercise is inspiring. On top of all that, they are funny!

Some would argue that what this family needs is a team of doctors and trainers to help them, not a TV show. But how many average families can afford to hire all those people? And not every one who has a lot of weight to lose can be on “Biggest Loser.” The Coles are already doing what they need to do. They’re taking the steps necessary to improve their health, and they’re doing it with advice from their personal physicians.

No matter how much weight you want or need to lose, the key to success will come from exchanging bad habits for good habits.

“One Big Happy Family” is going on hiatus until the summer, but I look forward to seeing this family reach their health goals.

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Music Monday — “Word of God Speak” by MercyMe

Billboard Magazine recently named MercyMe the Christian artist of the decade, and they chose their song “Word of God Speak” as song of the decade. I think it was a great choice. That is one of those songs I could just put on repeat and never get sick of hearing it.

Among my other favorites from MercyMe are “I Can Only Imagine” and “God With Us.” What I love about their songs is that they are so simply and beautifully presented. They don’t muddy the message with all this extra stuff. It’s just good music.

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Who do you look like?

We’ve all seen children who are the spitting image of one of their parents. I’ve had many people tell me, “You look just like your mama” or “You look like your daddy.”

Just as we have a physical resemblance to our earthly parents, we as Christians should bear some resemblance to our heavenly Father. To resemble someone involves sharing some of the characteristics that person has. When someone looks at you, can they see any resemblance to Christ? Can they tell if you’re living the faith you’re professing?

For me, to look like Jesus is to live a life that honors Him. It means my relationship with Him must be above everything else in my life. My identity as a Christian is more important than my race, nationality, family background, the school I went to, the team I cheer for — whatever. I’m proud to be apart of those different communities and groups, but I don’t make decisions based on that.

I’m not perfect by any means. None of us are. My prayer is to look more and more like Jesus every day.

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.” Ephesians 5:1, The Message