If Jesus is all we really need, why are we continually asking Him to bless us with more and better material things? Are we lying? Is He really all we need? What’s your take on this?

What others are saying:

Another friend of mine said:

We ask God to give us material things we don’t need, certainly. But even He acknowledged there are material things we do need (He mentions food and clothing, specifically). Just because He’s all I need doesn’t mean I don’t need to eat food this week. At the same time, when I’m not getting my needs met by Him, I find myself looking to the material things.

My thoughts:

I think that we ask God for the needs, but even as Christians and non-Christians alike, there are many times we go overboard on “God bless me with (whatever it is).” We should ask God (and praise Him) when we get the food and clothing taken care of — many times we take the little needs met for granted, while turning around and cursing God when he doesn’t provide us with the means to get the new flatscreen HDTV.

All in all, let’s focus on praising God (towards his face) for who He is and not for what he gives us (from his hand); God is God and we should worship and be as faithful as the flowers in the field that do not care is they will be clothed or fed — they are just made to worship him no matter the season of life.

What is your take on it?

That was awkward - May 22nd, 2011 Billboard

God to me is more than just a word or something out there that I follow by faith. But God is real to me. God is there in the form of the Holy Spirit to guide me in life and give me wisdom for the day. He is not just a figment in my mind, but close to me and is my spiritual Father. In the Bible, God’s message that he left for us as a road map to know him and know the way that he writes on our hearts, this is the God who knows me personally and calls me friend.

God sent His son, Jesus, to take my place, died spiritually in my place do that I could know God both here on Earth and after I leave this body.

To anyone who does not know my God, that probably sounds crazy… But since my God will ever be faithful to me, let me be ever faithful to Him.

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

Thanks Emma for this encouragements and thought of something to remember for daily living.

When time for myself or others get rough and you get weary, it’s easy to feel weighted down and discouraged. When this happens, I attempt to be an encourager, and I try to interject a little wisdom; I usually in these times bring up the verse from Nehemiah 8:10b that says,“the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

Backing up a little, I think that this is a beautiful passage; it’s one where the the man of God comes to the gathering where the people are and begins reading the scripture. When he begins reading, during this time of feasting and having fun becomes a time when the people begin to weep and be heavy hearted because they are hearing God’s Law and realizing that their lives are not living for God — they they are living their lives upside-down. The reason that I say it’s beautiful is because they are living a life turned away and off track from what God wanted, and they hear the commands of the Lord and they actually get it. If something similar were to happen today when at a big Mardi Gras party was going on and someone came in, onto a stage off Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and began reading the scripture and the real purpose of why they originally started the celebration of Mardi Gras, for some reason I don’t see today’s society getting it. In fact, I could see them chasing those reading the scripture off the stage. But in this passage, the Word of the Lord came, and the heard it, received it, and got it.

Going back to my original thought — “the joy of the Lord is your strength” — what do you think about this? I truly believe this and take this phrase literally. Some might just this as, “Cheer up! Don’t be sad, be glad. God is there for ya’ kid.” — and while that is true, his Holy Spirit is here with us always to encourage us and bring us wisdom and strength; much of how we are able to “get things” is all in our perspective on things. If we change out mid-set, and don’t allow the frustrations of life to be the driving force, but let God’s vision and will for us be the driving force, then we have the ability to have a positive reflection on life instead of a negative one. And it’s only in the letting go of selfish ambition, and the taking up of God’s humble joy and that lifts us up in the hardest of moments, that we can truly see clearly and have the drive and strength for the moment that we need to get through.

On the website Foundations for Freedom, in talking about the book over Nehemiah, they have a great reminder: “God’s idea is not just to get us a home in heavenly Jerusalem but to restore us that we might resemble Him here on earth.” — Let us remember that God desires not only to see us do good, to be protected from the bad in world, and to “to be saved,” but he wants us to be whole again, made complete, and be restored through Christ and be a light so that others may know him and an everlasting life.

I pray that you have Joy today — that you really allow God’s joy to be with you and to be your strength… you can only truly have this if you have God’s peace first, which comes through Jesus. Contact me if you want to know more about that part — that is a whole different conversation.

Waiting on, well, anything, is the worst sometimes — especially when you know it’s something good. Kinda of like a child for Christmas morning, waiting in dire expectation.

Waiting on God can feel the same. The results when we are patient can be so muich more rewarding when we wait for God’s perfect timing, rather than opening our “gift” before it’s ready. When we jump too early, it’s like opening up the cacoon of a butterfly before it’s fully developed — we otherwise are stuck with a “blessing” that look more like a sickly moth or caterpillar that cannot fly — and is therefore more useless than it is beneficial.

So, yeah… waiting is hard. But it’s worth it in the end.

Hear Hannah preach it.

And while she might just be repeating what she hears at church, it’s still powerful nonetheless and I believe that her faith is stronger than some Christians I know. It’s obvious that her faith is strong because she believes it and does not see it.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

And just another thought, from the Bible in Hebrew, Wikipedia tells us that the Hebrew word “Hannah” has many meanings and interpretations, including “beauty” and “passion”. I believe it!

Twenty weeks into their pregnancy, T. K. and Deidrea Laux found out that their son had Trisomy 13—a rare DNA abnormality. After being counseled that “terminating the pregnancy” would be an option, they chose life. In Deidrea’s own words:

“We didn’t not terminate because we were hanging on to some sort of hope that there was a medical mistake or there was gonna be some sort of medical miracle. We didn’t terminate because he’s our son.”

The Dallas Morning News has produced this video chronicling the birth and home-going of Thomas after just 5 short days — even longer than most baby’s with his condition live. This is an amazing story of love and life, and you need to watch it.

The good news is that about one year after Thomas’ life ended, earlier this January, the Laux family were blessed with the birth of a healthy baby daughter. To the family who thought that they would never be parents, God’s grace is sufficient.

(Portions of text for this post were taken from fellow Seinfield fan, Denny’s Burk, on his blog about Choosing Thomas). Thanks Denny.

Zac died yesterday.

This video is story of Zac Smith‘s battle with cancer, the love of his wife and children, and how he, despite his fervor for life and desire for living for God and his family, he knows that whether he lived or died that God would still be God, and God would still be good.

Zac’s message is an inspiration to everyone to live life, love each moment we have, and make each second count.

If he can live well and with such a good attitude about life, despite the difficulties — and if his dad can do it with such fervor and passion, what do we have to complain about?

Article from MichaelHyatt.com

Born without eyes and with a tightening of the joints that prevents his limbs from ever straightening, Patrick has been blind and crippled from birth. Yes, despite these “disabilities,” he was playing requests on the piano at age two. As he grew older, his musical genius became evident. Along the way, he also become an accomplished trumpet player.

As I watched this video, I jotted down three take-aways:

1. Attitude is everything. Patrick doesn’t see his physical constraints as disabilities. In fact, he refers to them as abilities. Jason Fried, in his new book, Rework, says “Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got. There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.”
2. Sometimes you just need a little help. The University of Louisville, where Patrick is a student, wanted him to play in the marching band. Only problem was that he couldn’t walk, let alone march. He was confined to a wheelchair. So, his dad agreed to attend all the practices and push him around the football field so Patrick could play his trumpet.
3. You have to focus on what you have. Patrick says, “God made me blind and unable to walk. Big deal. He gave me the musical gifts I have and and the great opportunity I have to meet new people.” He doesn’t whine about what he doesn’t have. He is grateful for what he has. Unlike so many people today, there’s not an ounce of entitlement in his voice.

Stories like Patrick’s are inspiring. He is taking his “five loaves and two fish” and feeding a multitude with inspiration. How about you? What are you doing with what you have been given?

Question: What did you take away from this video?

Basically, all families that choose to have one parent stay home to care for their children will no longer receive a tax break.

If you feel the way I do, that parents should be able to choose how their children are cared for and not get penalized for it than please go to this link http://www.taxcreditforfamilies.org and sign the petition!

This video is titled “God of Impossible.” Enjoy!