Set Your Sights On Things Above
We so quickly get our eyes off God. Let's get back into
perspective.
perspective.
7/4/2014
Guest Post Time!My daughter, Colleen, wanted to write this post. She's very passionate about many things, and this is straight from her heart. After having a not-so-good day in my social life, seeing this image (above) in my newsfeed really got me thinking. I crave social interaction. Often times too much. I’ll find myself rearranging my priorities to just fit someone else's wants which isn't particularly healthy. I am a people pleaser to the max. If I can make someone happy or help them, I will try my best to do so. Whether it be dropping whatever I'm doing at the moment to give someone a ride, offering comfort over the phone to a long distance friend or spending many weekends planning a wedding. Honestly, I enjoy being there for my friends.
I am blessed to have more than one or two best friends. A couple of them are long distance but the rest are here in town. Having more than one best friend brings some complications into life. Sometimes I have to choose between them who I'm going to hang out with that night. The decision isn’t always easy. I love them all but I can’t be in two places at once. I cannot make each one of them first priority all the time. The one problem I have with this quote is making someone a priority in your life shouldn’t be so that they’ll make you one in theirs. If you really love someone you should do it because you love them not for what they’ll give you in return. A true friend will stick beside you even if you are the one pushing them away. They’ll be there for you no matter what. This doesn’t mean you should let someone walk all over you. You have boundaries that should be respected. If someone is treating you wrong, remove yourself from the situation. You do not have to let them treat you like a door mat. Putting a loved one's needs above yourself should be your main goal though. A friend is there for support. Be the best friend you can possibly be and eventually you will gain good friends. As Christians, we should be putting other people before ourselves anyways. We don’t treat other people with kindness and love just so we get the same in return. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. Jesus died on the cross for all of humanity knowing full well that thousands of millions of people would curse His name and reject Him. He made us first priority even though we often times make Him a mere option. You shouldn’t live your life as a door mat, letting whoever comes along treat you however they want. But you shouldn’t live your life making yourself your first and only priority. The biggest blessing anyone can receive is by being the greatest blessing to someone else.
1/9/2014
The Weeping WillowThe weeping willow has got to be one of my favorite trees of all time. They are so distinctive, so unusual that they stand out everywhere they grow. They are graceful, and attractive - you just want to stare at them for some reason. A friend of mine wrote this next piece awhile ago, and I thought I'd share it here. Her thoughts spoke to me - it's something that I think God wants us all to be like. I left it exactly as she wrote it, the links to her books and blog are below. When I couldn’t sleep at 3:30 this morning, I began to talk to God. I began praying for me to be better in some areas as the Spirit led me. He told me to study the Weeping Willow tree and find out all about it as He wanted me to be like it. I thought this was odd. I thought maybe He wanted me to be depressed? But that didn’t really seem right, so I just did my study, and here are some facts about the trees: They are fast growing, they have a distinctive shape, they aren’t fussy about their soil type, and they’re very adaptive. Taken straight from wiki, word for word, “While they prefer moist, cool conditions, they can tolerate some drought.” Thank you, Lord! What are we without right now at our house? That’s right, water! Another neat thing I learned about the tree is that the first aspirin was invented from its sap. Many people take one aspirin a day for heart health. The Weeping Willow has helped many hearts. Does this line up with me being a counselor? This is no coincidence. I am now considering myself to be a Weeping Willow. Most people would think that’s depressing, but I think it fits me perfectly. Look at the branches on the tree and see how they bend, but don’t break. They are so flexible that they look double jointed. Lord, make me this flexible. Allow me to enjoy my time of drought with no complaint. Help me help many hearts! Help me to grow quickly so I might provide shade for a person who feels like they are burning up inside! What a revelation. If you’ve read this, maybe you should try talking to God and asking what kind of tree He wants you to be. Thank you, Lord! ................ In the Bible the first mention I found of a willow tree was Psalms 2: "We hanged our harps on the willow tree in the midst thereof ..." this scripture is referring to the Babylonian captives who retired their instruments of praise when they were in a crisis situation. HOW IRONIC THAT THEY HUNG THEIR HARPS ON A WILLOW TREE!. Praising God in our storms is the key to victory and we must be like weeping willow trees and not only survive but thrive! Thank you Lord for your revelation to Cindee this morning! Cynthia P. Willow 's website
Isn't that a wonderful article? She is right - and I think in many ways the willow tree embodies how God wants us all to grow. It's almost always found right on the edge of a water source - a tree planted by the rivers of water. It's usually leaning over the water, too - as if it's roots can't quite get enough, and it has to bend over to see that river it stands next to. It's hardy, as well. It's able to handle drought situations better than some other trees. And as Christians, aren't we supposed to stand out from the rest? Aren't we supposed to be someone other people watch and want to watch? I think I've got some more thinking to do on this myself. How about you?
12/18/2013
Proverbs 31The Flawed Proverbs 31 Woman The above article is good for us ladies to remember. Sometimes we look at the Proverbs 31 woman, and we get discouraged that we aren't her. One thing that helped me tremendously as a young mom, was when someone pointed out that Proverbs 31 is a description of a lady after years of experience. God is giving us an end result example, not something that we have to be completely right from the start. It's a wonderful goal to strive for, and a sort of promise of what will come from the struggle we see every day. So when we have those days, where the kids are everywhere, dinner is burned, we've been difficult to live with, and we just don't feel 'Proverbs 31ish, remember, God's still working on you, and He knows where you're headed. Don't let the criticisms rule you.
9/17/2013
100 Years and Counting
8/23/2013
Being Under God's FeetAwww! Isn't she cute? Yes, true, she's adorable. This is Dixie, the Schnauzer/Poodle mix, or Schnoodle. She's also known as 'Ditzy' because she's a little...ditzy... sometimes. We're talking walk-into-walls, forget-where-you're-going, sometimes-caught-staring-into-space type of adorableness. And this is Buddy. He is also known as 'The Best Male Dog Ever' in our house, the wonderful Beagle/Jack Russell mix - Jackabee - that has found his forever home here. We once thought that if these two had puppies, the result would be called Schnackaboodles, but that's a different story. By the way, they aren't being bred, it was a funny story because of the puppy names, that's all...so put your torches and pitchforks down. *grin*
8/6/2013
I'm nine and I'm fine!So, this last weekend the boys in the family all went to a Men and Boy's Campout with our church. The boys in our family consist of my husband Rich, and our two sons, James and John. James is 15 years old, John is 9 years old - and a bundle of nearly unstoppable energy.
Well my husband was having to keep a close eye on John for those three days in the mountains. After all, there's bears in them there hills - seriously, real bears. Not the fluffy teddy bear kind, the big-clawed, don't-feed-the-bears kind. Mostly everyone stayed together, but at some point John was rarin' to take off, and my husband turned to him and said, "Where are you going, son?" John turned to his father, and said, "It's ok, Dad. I'm nine years old now. I'll be fine." It was funny, really, how my husband is so much bigger than him, and knows the dangers waiting in the woods far better than our son does, and can keep my son safe. Yet in John's nine year old brain, he was grown up and fully capable of taking care of himself. As I thought about this, I realized something. Don't we do that with God? We look at God and say, "It's ok, Father. I've been saved (however long). I've got this. I'm fine. I can take care of myself now." You know, in the Christian life we're supposed to mature, yes. But we never will get to the point where we're as grown up as God is. Sure, John is more mature than he was as a one year old, but he isn't grown fully, and he can't meet the challenges we know he'll face if he goes off on his own. God knows that about me too. I can't go off on my own, expecting to be able to meet and conquer the challenges I'll face, without having God's help. While someday, Lord willing, John will grow to be a 40 year old man, and be as mature as my husband is now. But as a Christian, I will never accomplish the feat of being as 'mature' as God - none of us will. We never grow to the point where we don't need God's help any longer. Today, let's let God be in charge. |
AuthorI'm Sherry Chamblee, aspiring author of Christian fiction, mom of six, wife to a cool dude, and caregiver to his granny. Besides that, I am just little old me - it's just a phrase, I'm not really old, honest. Check out my new release!
Teen and Young Adult Adventure SeriesRomantic Comedy seriesCategoriesAll ADHD #amreading Babel Baseball Bible Bloomberg Books Chicago Cubs Children's Books Christian Christmas #ChristmasCash Church Clean Reads Dementia Desperate Election2016 Electoral College Faith God Healthcare Hope Kids Life Love Trumps Hate Ministry Promotional Service Sherry Chamblee Trust World Series Worry Archives
December 2019
|