Am I the Only One?

This time of year just does something to me...

I get this giddy feeling like a child gets as their sleepy little eyes first begin begin to open and they realize that the magic and wonder of Christmas morning has finally arrived! For me, the entirety of Fall and Winter are just that! 
 

The fall air is fresh and crisp. 

Everything has been scrubbed clean by the rain.

The rich aroma of pine hangs softly in the air. 

The welcoming scent of the warmth to be found by many a firesides drifts slowly on a gentle breeze. 

Nature bursts forth in a glorious display of color as the leaves sing their final song just before the trees slumber...
 

There is a sense of mystery and intrigue that is evoked in me when I see heavy fog slowly oozing it's way across a field, enveloping everything in it's path. In an orchard it ignites a spark of curiosity that practically begs to be explored. I long to walk in the mist among the trees.

There is little that compares to curling up by the fire with a soft blanket, a warm cup of spiced tea and watching as the trees bend and sway in the dance of their wind churned branches. 

Then winter comes, softly and quietly.

Bringing with her the beauty of ice crystals glistening in the moonlight. 

The air carries a smell so light and fresh that it invigorates my soul with every breath. 

Homes become a place of warmth and the inviting aroma of holiday meals shared with those we love.


My heart longs for the day that the first snowflake will lazily drift down from the sky. Carrying with it the promise of the joy, the laughter of children and days spent at home sipping hot cocoa together.  

It is a time of nostalgia. Of memories to cherish and thoughts of those we love who are no longer with us. It is a time when we embrace the people in our lives and share the love of our Father in Heaven and the gift of our Savior.

For me, nothing compares. There is no time more peaceful and comforting. No sight more beautiful, no sound more joyous. This time of year my troubles melt, my soul is refreshed and the happiness of these simple, little things is overwhelming.

Take time to breathe in the peace, revel in the beauty and let the joy seep into your soul. 

Bless and be blessed, y'all! <3

Is it Religion or Faith?

This is a topic about which I hear a great deal of confusion. People tend to lump "religion" and "faith" into the same category. Yes, they go hand in hand, but I believe that is a far too general classification. Let me tell you my reasons why. I'll begin with the definitions (see Merriam-Webster):

Religion: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.

Faith: strong belief or trust in someone or something; belief in the existence of god.

Faith is pure belief. Religion, while it may be based on a system of beliefs, centers around rules and practices.

Christianity is a faith, and there are what we call religious denominations, or groups, based upon that faith.

I heard a fantastic description that I believe sums it up nicely.  It is a case of "DO" vs "DONE". 

In many religions the focus in on what you have to do in order to "earn" God's forgiveness. Rituals, tasks, "good works" (doing "good" things), etc. 

In Christianity there is nothing you can do... It has already been done for you! 

I would like to elaborate a bit on the latter.

As a Christian our faith is placed in our creator. 

1. We believe that God exists. We know that He is loving, that He is Holy (good/pure/without sin) and that He is just (sees justice done). 

2. We know that we are inclined to sin, or do things wrong. We make selfish choices. Sometimes we simply choose to do bad things. We are broken and we have no ability to change this or fix it on our own. This "sin" has separated us from God. As He is holy, (good), He cannot be in the presence of sin, (bad).

3. We believe the Bible is truth and that it is the word of God. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Meaning, just as we earn a paycheck, we also earn spiritual death, or eternal separation from our loving Father in Heaven.

This sounds bleak, I know, but there is good news!!!! 

4. The Bible also tells us that because of His great love for us, even while we are off doing bad, He has given us a great gift!! He sent Jesus, His son, who is God come to Earth as a man, to take our place and pay the price for our sins. He died for us, so that we may be reunited with our loving Father!!!

5. We have been given the opportunity for forgiveness and healing. All He asks of us is that: We BELIEVE that Jesus is God, that He died for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead. We RECEIVE this FREE gift of salvation that He has given us through Jesus, meaning that we accept what He has done for us to set us free from our sin. We ask His forgiveness for what we have done and we ask that He become the leader of our life. As a result we become the adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father!

To sum up "DONE", God loves us in spite of all of our wrong choices. He paid the ultimate price to have us, His children, with Him. All we have to do is believe and receive and we will become. 

Please know, I am not saying that we don't need religion. Once we have faith, faith and religion go hand in hand. Our faith leads us to live a life that follows the rules that God has given us and a desire to adhere to the covenant that we made with our savior. We were bought at a price and out of love and gratitude we strive to serve as best we can and follow the will of our Father. Religion provides a support system and accountability, both of which help us to keep walking rightly. Faith without works is dead, and just as in marriage the commitment to Christ is one that has rules and requires obedience and self sacrifice to fulfill them. We cannot just run amok doing as we please. We must honor the oath we made to follow Christ and all His ways.

*If you have questions or want to know more, please leave me a comment or if you are a friend on Facebook or Google, send me a message. <3

Bless and be blessed, y'all!

Questions..

As a Christian I get asked what my "opinion" is on a variety of issues that are currently considered "political". I see two problems with this…

1. More often than not this ends up being a form of baiting because the person asking usually responds as if they know what I believe and their prepared reply is an attempt to shame me or, frankly, prove they are superior to me.

2. The issues may be debated politically, but that does not make them "political issues", they are still *human* concerns.

I have been asked what my stance is on Phil Robertson's "gay bashing", I have been asked about whether this or that is a sin, I have been asked if I believe so and so is going to hell, how I feel about the president, so on and so forth. My response, which is more often than not twisted, taken out of context or completely ignored, is usually followed by being called a bigot, or a racist, or any manner of term meant to paint me as "hateful" or point out my low intellect. All of that I can deal with because they are the assumptions of someone who has made a generalized judgment of me based on their own ideas.

The response that bothers me is this: I get told that my faith makes me believe I am better than others. That statement could not be further from the truth…

My faith very clearly tells me: We are *all* capable and guilty of sin. We all make mistakes...

Believe me, I know. I have a list of sin a mile and half long. Some the world considers “big” and some “small”. Either way SIN IS SIN. I believe in transparency. You want to know who I was, what I have done, the mess that God has and continues to rescue me from?

At some point in my life I have done the following, which is likely not limited to, but including: I have stolen. (Whether it be a paper clip from work, a pen from the bank or something bigger, taking without permission is stealing.) I have lied. I have cheated. (Ask my mother, I used to hide the Old Maid because I didn’t want to get stuck with it again.) I had sex outside of marriage. I have done whatever someone asked in order to “earn their affection” over receiving God’s perfect and healing love. I tried to kill myself. I talked unkindly about people who weren’t there to speak for themselves, which is basically gossip, or bearing false witness. I wished horribly unkind things on those who hurt me. I took the Lord’s name in vain. (I’m still working on reigning in my habit of using colorful language. Work in progress, y’all.) I envied. I was not compassionate. I disobeyed the laws of the land, yes this one even includes little things like speeding. I disrespected my parents. I got drunk. I tried more times than I can count to do things in my own power, my own way, instead of trusting God. I became too good at building walls and cutting people off. I have hated and I was unforgiving.

More importantly my faith tells me this: That we are all equally loved by our Father in Heaven!

Think about that for a moment… Regardless of my “list”, regardless of your “list”, He LOVES us all!!

His heart is not for one of us to perish in our sin, but to be washed clean by the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. That His unending grace is enough to forgive all of our sins… all of our mistakes. AND that is exactly what He wants to do for us! Jesus chose to suffer and die so that we can be forgiven and spend eternity with our Father who loves us enough to let his perfect and blameless son die in our place! What one of us would send our child die to save someone who wronged us? Yet that is what our Father did for us!!! God’s love is so far beyond anything we have experienced in this world! His love and sacrifice would be meaningless without our freedom to choose it for ourselves, which does mean that His wrath is still on the table.

So when people want to keep Christians from sharing their faith, what they are doing is denying the opportunity for those who don’t yet know that love and forgiveness are theirs if only they ask. That is why as Christians, His sacrifice and His love are something that we cannot “shut up about”. ;)  

So yes, life style choices, actions, behaviors, habits, words, attitudes, treatment of others, beliefs or unbelief, etc. are sins against God, but they are equally forgivable! He loves us in spite of what we have done! Jesus is the answer to our brokenness. Romans 10:9 – “⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

So no matter what the response is going to be, I will keep answering the questions because I believe that everyone deserves the freedom to choose for themselves, and without the knowledge that there is a choice or the need to make one, what hope is there for healing?

His love is for you. Forgiveness and healing are yours all you have to do is ask. <3