WHAT GOD HATES

Proverbs 6:16-19There are dsix things that the Lord hates,dseven that are an abomination to him:    
17  ehaughty eyes,~Think about it. If a person has "Haughty Eyes"- looks down on others, thinks they are better than others- no one really enjoys a relationship with them. They will feel judged and less worthy. They may not be honest and show their humanity in front of such a person as they can't really lower defenses and be "real" with a person they feel is already looking down on them!If you can't be real, there won't be much of a relationship.~

 fa lying tongue,~If you are around a person who is a liar, there is no trust and therefore you will again not be open with them in relationship. If someone can lie to you about something- they will most likely be able to lie to anyone about anything!~

and ghands that shed innocent blood,~ I have not been around a person who shed innocent blood- but I can't begin to imagine WANTING to be around a person who was capable of it!~

18  ha heart that devises wicked plans,~I have been around a person who devises wicked plans.... plans that can bring trouble or pain into another person's life aren't GOOD plans.... if they devise those kinds of things for one person, who is to say they won't do it to you? Again, relationship breaker. No trust.~

ifeet that make haste to run to evil,~Feet that make haste to run to evil. This reminds me of a soap opera--- you know, the people who seem to thrive on drama?? Who needs to add to the drama already provided naturally just through living..... Relationship breaker- too much energy is lost.~
19  ja false witness who kbreathes out lies,~A false witness who breathes out lies. Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!! Who wants to hang out around anyone who is going to talk about you behind your back? Or make us stories? Or tries to make you look bad???? NO ONE..... with any sense....~

and one who asows discord among brothers.~One who sows discord among the brothers..... Wasn't Jesus' last prayer about us all being ONE. Not divided.... but UNIFIED.~ 

This is in the Bible. Reality- these are things the Lord must hate because they do exactly OPPOSITE of HIS WILL. Instead of drawing people together and to Him, they push people AWAY from each other and from Him.

My church had a wave about a year ago of people leaving for various reasons. I loved how my church leaders continued to love on the people who felt they needed to leave. It is not for a person to decide for another where they should go to worship God. That is between that person and God. 

Our church leadership encouraged us to PRAY for and love on those who felt they needed to leave. And that is what we did.

If we are part of a church and we are doing these things pictured above, no wonder God hates it! He created us to be in relationship with Him and others... and all of these things will do nothing but break those relationships down.

People who see and hear Christians living this way, have no choice, really, but to assume they don't want to be a part of this thing called "Christianity" if that's how people act. So, in essence, we push people away from ourselves AND GOD.

Please do what you can to live at peace with everyone. Please do what it takes to be as loving as possible.....Please try not to stir up trouble- especially among fellow believers.... It must be important if it was Jesus' last request before dying - that we would be unified.......

Losing Religion

Hey there!
Last Sunday my pastor spoke about something that rings true for me.....
He spoke about GUARDRAILS......

He compared them to guidelines set up for people in the Bible..... Don't leave yet.... hear me out. Share your thoughts after you do!

So many people I know have this fear of religion. A prejudgment of religion or a judgement. I would have to say for those of you who are religious.... I would LOSE IT! Those of you who dislike or fear religion- you may have good reason. See, in religion, often times, people get into this habit of just conforming, mindlessly.... (and maybe that is just my own opinion).

Religion defined :
1   a : the state of a religious religion
>      b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance

2

: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

3

archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness

4

: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Being religious isn't what I believe God is interested in, anyway..... It is a relationship.

If God is my Father (spiritually) and I make that my comparison to a relationship one would have here on an earthly realm....You would understand, I think, that a Dad isn't interested in having a kid grow up in his house acting like a robot. I mean, for me, I would hate to think that I raised children who would blindly follow a set of rules I made for them without having the ability to think them through.... sometimes test them, but to learn that rules I set were guidelines to keep them safe and had their best interest at heart. If at some point I had a rule or guideline that wasn't good anymore or was imperfect, I would be ok with them coming to me to discuss it. Since I am not perfect, I would expect that sometimes, I would make mistakes.I would not want them to mindlessly or out of habit follow rules.... I would want them to think about what habits they were developing as they were developing and not just fall into some mindless rut..... I would want them to share with me their triumphs and failures and let me comfort them when needed, or share in excitement of their triumphs with them. I would want to be involved and more than anything, I would want them to KNOW without a shadow of doubt that I didn't expect perfection from them- but that the things I do I do to help them and not harm them- to guide them into a happy, rich and fulfilling life.

I look at the commandments or rules that are in the Bible as such - rules- however....more than that I have come to realize that they are guidelines set up to keep me safe and pretty much in a "happy place"....

These are things that all of humanity struggles with.... maybe you personally do not struggle with a particular one, but, for the most part.... being that we are all imperfect - we are all in the same boat.....

#1- Put God first. When we put things or other people in our life before God, we are bound to be disappointed and unbalanced..... 

For instance, maybe it is work- you wake up thinking about it, go to bed thinking about it.... it is your number one priority. When that happens, other things in life get slighted- family and friends- other things are not given the same priority that they need/ deserve..... God calls us to follow HIM first- give Him priority and then when we do that, we find other things and people falling into place. (God, Family, Business....) Maybe you have done this before- maybe not with work, but with a person, or a sport- making them or it your everything and then slowly watching most of the other things in your life fall apart....

#2- Do not make yourself graven images....

 If we make an image to worship, we will always be let down as they are not real. They are of our own making and we are not infinite, so neither is what we create. Eventually, what we create will fail to some degree. God never fails. To those who follow Him (relationally), they will fail at times as they are not perfect- but He never does.

 Maybe you don't know that about God. If you don't it may be because you don't have a relationship with Him. For those who do- life comes at them just as hard as it does anyone. The difference is they are not in it alone, ever. And, any situation that they go through, no matter how bad at the time can eventually be used for good. For themselves and most likely someone else they will eventually be able to help. There is a constant source of HOPE and HELP a believer and follower of Christ has that many others don't. Often times we think a person has everything- money, fame all they could want in life- and yet they feel completely alone and without hope until they begin a relationship with God. That booze, those drugs, that sex, those thousands of dollars spent on stuff just weren't enough- because they aren't.

#3 Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.....using God's name in emptiness...meaningless....futile ways.....

I am a huge believer in this. A person can SAY whatever they want- but if you are just throwing God's name around and AREN'T believing and acting on it.....you have nothing. That, in my opinion, is why religion is bad. People pray, but it means little or nothing to them. People say they are a Christian and they follow God-- but it is just that- something they "say". There is no relationship there. A relationship goes both ways. A person can't expect anyone to feel close to them when they just talk about people and not with them. A person can't feel close to anyone that they just think about spending time with, but never see or do anything with.

Have you ever tried to have a relationship with a person like this? I have and it JUST DOESN'T WORK!

#4 Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 

For crying out loud! Even God needed a day to rest during creation. If He does- we being mortal and imperfect certainly do!! Yet, we sometimes feel we can go on forever without a break! Personally, I get both recharged and  ready to tackle a big week every time I take that one day of the week to only rest and focus on God. I have been through periods in life, repeatedly, when I do not pay attention to this one and it shows..... I get exhausted, cranky, tired and unable to keep on keeping on at my normal high energy level!

#5 Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.

For the most part, a person's father and mother, like God, want what is best for their child. (At times, since we are imperfect human beings this is not the case- and then it becomes more difficult as a child to show honor and respect- but it can be done with help- and sometimes is better done from a distance, if there is abuse and neglect involved.)

When, as a child, you disobey, dishonor and disrespect your parents, you are learning and implementing a behavior that will serve to destroy many potentially wonderful things in life. For one, you may come into harm's way when you break a rule they have put into place for your safety. For another, you learn that authority isn't important and so you get into trouble for treating a teacher at school poorly- or lose your job because you cannot handle being under the authority of your boss.

#6 Thou shall not kill.

I know this one may seem kind of obvious. People, even those who kill because we are in battle or war- are often traumatized by the memories of such an act. This one, unless you are mentally unstable is easy to understand why it is in place, I think. 

#7 Do not commit adultery..... this one kind of goes in line with the last one. 

Marriage is a commitment between a man and a woman. One of the biggest commitments you can make. It is a commitment that was also intended to involve God. People can break that commitment in a number of ways- they can emotionally, sexually or visually and also thoughtfully run away with another person outside of that marriage bond. When that happens, it doesn't really fill a void. It pulls you further away from your spouse, causing more problems than you had already. Feelings of mistrust, guilt, separateness and the like develop and a greater strain is put on the marriage than there was to begin with. This is one of the only times the Bible actually says it becomes "Okay" to divorce.....On the other hand, I know of several marriages that have been through an affair of some type or combined types and actually come out stronger- but in the cases I know of, the marriage relationship and each person's relationship with God is focused on and improved upon very intentionally for this to happen.

#8 Don't steal.....

Have you known a person who has stolen? They have to lie.... then make up another one to cover something else....it turns into a big mess. Also, they aren't satisfied with what they have. People lose trust in them. They usually feel guilty.Relationships are harmed, if not completely ruined. Why did they steal in the first place? Learning to earn what you have is important in life. Hard work is something that brings satisfaction- just taking things that do not belong to you, doesn't bring that satisfaction. Not being satisfied or happy is one thing, but we need to learn to be happy and content and even thankful for what we have as when we aren't, it can lead to many bad things....(this goes along with the last one)

#9 Do not bear false witness.... why lie about another human being.....? 

Again, this will only cause trouble. Destroy relationships, cause disharmony, chaos, emotional, verbal and sometimes leading to physical harm. When we speak of others it should be to edify, help, encourage..... not to destroy. I think about kids who are bullied..... so much harm is done when we speak lies to people telling them they are ugly, amount to nothing, spread rumors, say they are disgusting.... the truth is humanity is beautiful and amazing and has so much potential if only......

#10 Do not covet your neighbor's house, wife or possessions.

This one, in my mind is reflected in many others. We have given ourselves over to many temptations when we want something or someone we do not have..... Often times, people have this tendency to look at their own life and compare it to another person's. When this happens, often times, the only things we can see are what is allowed to be seen in public- and people generally don't allow too much of the bad in their lives show (a whole other topic, really). But, when we look from the outside in, things look shiny and new and lovely and so attractive. It is only when we live in it that we truly come to know where the dust collects, where the cracks and spider webs are, that the floors squeak or just how much water and fertilizer are needed to keep that grass so green! If we aren't careful and we buy into what we see from the outside looking in, we can become disenchanted with our own things and life and people in our lives and start trying to get in on what we think might be "better". When in the end, it is all pretty much the same.... You focus on good - you get good. You focus on bad- you get bad. You take the time to nurture- it grows, you don't it dies.....

I hope this shows- these "Commandments" aren't set up to make a person miserable or to be a "rule- follower"..... the Bible is clear that none of us are perfect or capable of keeping our noses out of trouble or not messing up! What is set up in the Bible again and again are GUARDRAILS- much like the ones on the roads that keep you safe. If you start to go off the path, and you hit one of the guardrails, it stops you or at least slows you down....to help keep you safe so you can continue the journey. 

Sometimes, we just scrape by the guardrail and it causes some dents and paint smudging....Sometimes, we break through the guardrail. Maybe we were going faster than it could handle or we just didn't pay attention or care at all that it was there and we flip and total our vehicle....

No matter what the case, there is no damage done that I know of that God can not redeem and restore! In a relationship with Him, we can come back to our Dad in heaven, because of Jesus' blood shed for us, and we can find forgiveness and hope. We don't have to continue driving around in a damaged vehicle and we don't have to keep repeating and replaying the accident again and again in our minds.....

Therefore, I don't like mindless RELIGION. Religion condemns me and reminds me I cannot live up to all the rules and regulations. I love God who wants a RELATIONSHIP, who knows I can't and won't be perfect and loves me through the mess ups and sometimes because of the mess-ups- because it is during the mess-ups that I realize most sometimes how much I need God! 

And I don't understand why people who feel like these Commandments shouldn't be shown in public or talked about. What makes them bad? But, I guess that, too is a thought for another blog..... ;)

If You Don't Know What You Are Talking About--SHUT UP!

I recently talked with the girls in my youth group and told them how sometimes we keep things in because we feel like people will judge us or abandon us or reject us. There is something that has bothered me for quite a while and I have kept quiet about it. But, since it bothers me, I am sure it also bothers others- so I am going to speak about it! :)

What we often forget is that as human beings, we all struggle with the same kinds of things...

One huge struggle I have had when I decided to become a "stay at home homeschooling mom".... (Which if you have made a decision to do that, you KNOW staying home is a definite LIE!) is this..... a feeling of being around people all the time- but being lonely and a feeling of being judged.....

The thing is, we get so busy preparing our lessons, designing our own curriculum (I can't stay in the lines- so the only thing I have ever really stuck with as an already made curriculum is Math.... as without the curriculum for it, my kids would only know what I know of it- which is very little!) and then implementing. So, it really is a pretty much full time job- (which almost no one realizes - again, unless they have done it) that you do not receive money for. In fact, you may end up in the hole more often than not as you decline a pay check in order to meet certain goals you have in mind for your family which you find more important than money....

Anywho.... so, you are often misunderstood. 

People say things like- "Well, you don't work."- "You don't have anyone to answer to...."- "You get to stay home all day."

And, honestly, there is absolutely no point in trying to explain to them that they are wrong and have no clue!! You DO have someone to answer to- What if your kids turn out stupid? What if they are behind everyone else? There ARE requirements! (Some states more than others- but in most, your kids have to be tested and/or their work examined by a certified teacher- thereby making you accountable).

 And because you ARE home more than a lot of people- guess what? You get to do the laundry, the cleaning, the shopping, cooking, taxi driving, making appointments, keeping appointments, bill paying and just about anything that is part of running a home simply because you are there- and so is everyone else so everything is always getting dirty or cluttered and unorganized! Who cares if you are overwhelmed? Overloaded? Finding no time for yourself? 

Yes, of course this is your choice.... but would it hurt another human being to just TRY to understand that it is a JOB??? MANY JOBS? Would it hurt another human being to admit that you, too, have pressures and obstacles and you get tired and sometimes feel like you are in it all alone...?

Many of us who choose to home school  even have had at least part time jobs outside the home on top of all of this.... I know for me, that was mostly the case over the last 13 years since we decided to home school..... and I still always found time to volunteer..... but yeah, since I  don't get paid to volunteer or home school- those aren't considered jobs by many.... even if I put every bit as much effort into them as I would something I did get paid for.....

I am not asking for a pat on the back!! Merely not to be judged incorrectly by those who have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what my life is like. If you have never done it- how could you know???

 I have, on the other hand, had full time jobs outside the home before having kids. I have even been a student in college and held a full time job or a full time and part time job on the side at one time. I could make a judgement on which I felt was easier for me to handle out of the three..... but I won't judge what would be easier for you, as we are all different.

Please, if you don't know what you are talking about- and you don't if you haven't done it--- SHUT UP! ;)

That is all.

Thank you!