Set Your Sights On Things Above
We so quickly get our eyes off God. Let's get back into
perspective.
perspective.
4/12/2019
Bridal thoughtsOur daughter will be getting married in just a few weeks. At her bridal shower tonight, I was asked to speak a few words, so this is what I shared with my daughter as she's starting this journey with her new husband. 1) Don't base your relationship on feelings. Sometimes we get complacent in a relationship, or we think that we've got this, we're not going to consider a divorce ever... so then we get complacent. But in a committed, Christian marriage you still need to not base your behavior on feelings. There are going to be times you don't want to do what you need to do, but you need to anyway. Because your feelings aren't the basis for your behavior. God's Word is. 2) It's okay to lean on him, and it's okay to stand on your own. But when you lean on him, don't overwhelm him, and when you stand on your own, don't stand against him. Leaning on him means you trust him, but it does not mean you never question him. Being his helpmeet means he needs to hear your point of view when it's different than his. He needs your perspective, especially when you disagree. It might be something he's never thought of, a fresh viewpoint that he needs in order to make the best choices. It's absolutely fine to disagree, and sometimes it's necessary. Standing on your own means being self-sufficient, not needing him to be right there to make every little choice for you. But in that, don't treat him like he's useless. Don't act as if he's incompetent. He's got things he's good at, just like you do, and everyone's strengths should be celebrated. And while you might disagree with him on something, in your self-sufficiency, don't stand against him in public - and "public" can mean in front of your children, in front of your extended families (including your own mother and father), in front of co-workers, and in front of your church. Be a unified team. 3) Don't wish your relationship looked like anyone else's. Your marriage won't look like any other marriage, because neither of you are any of those other people. Your marriage is like a blank canvas right now. Soon the two of you will pick up brushes and begin to create a beautiful landscape on that canvas, something that no other two people will be able to create. It will be your own unique picture, something precious and valuable. Bring to it the beautiful things that only the two of you can bring. It's yours. Love the fact that your marriage is going to be as unique as you are. Lastly, the verse I picked for this day is: Ephesians 4:1-3 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4/8/2019
Family GossipWe know not to gossip, right?
We can be so strict with ourselves about not gossiping...when it comes to other church members, or coworkers. But what about family members? Does it occur to us that we might be gossiping about family members? Does it count as gossip when it's family? What about when talking to our husband? I was thinking about this, and seeing that gossip can turn an entire group against a person. Gossip in a family does the same thing, turning an entire extended family against one person in the family. I've seen it happen. Gossip reinterprets motives, ascribes thoughts and feelings to the persons actions that may or may not be true. Gossip can turn someone already partly isolated into a permanent family outcast. Tragically, often the one being gossiped about doesn't even know what's happening until it's too late, and doesn't know what to do about it anyway. Suddenly they get the cold shoulder, they're the one not invited to the family visits, or they get harsh reactions over what they thought were little things. They didn't know it was something that needed solving until it had grown out of control. And how is it solved? Gossip takes Jesus' model of resolving conflict (Matthew 18), and throws it all out of whack. The gossipers are all offended...only it's over something they heard, rather than something done to them. Plus, if they try to approach the person, they've immediately outed themselves as having indulged in gossip in the first place. The one being gossiped about usually doesn't know who to approach...or if they do, it's only resolving one relationship. How does she or he heal the many relationships that were damaged? How does she even know who they all are? What do we do about this? How can a family be healed from the effects of gossip? I don't know. Do you? It's time we got back to taking care of each other, don't you think?
If you think socialism is better, it's because you think the government is the one responsible for taking care of everyone in the community. This is what happens when PEOPLE choose to stop caring for each other, and would rather have an anonymous, distant government do that care for them. It's really people abdicating their responsibility to care for others themselves. It's relying on an invisible, anonymous organization to pick who gets help, and trusting that they'll pick the right ones who really need it. It lets you off the hook of having to choose who gets helped. God says we each are individually responsible for helping the individuals around us when they need it. We're supposed to actively see a need and then meet that need. That's real Christianity. That's loving our neighbor as ourselves. That's following Christ.
4/1/2019
Stories are everywhere!Right now I can't concentrate well enough to write anything new, at least not this week. But the story ideas keep coming. I've got a lineup of Bible-times fiction that keep coming to me - no Biblical characters, but stories from the time after the Exodus and through the dispersion. They just keep coming to me. Nothing hammered out enough to share yet though.
Then there's all these stories I want to get going: 1) (A Walk in a Park) Danica has lived with her husband's family for years. Now with both herself and her mother-in-law living together as widows, they embark on the greatest adventure of their lifetimes - running an RV park and campground. Can they make it work? Or will they be run off before they even get the chance to try? 2) (Moving Lainy) A young wife moves with her preacher-husband from rural mid-west to big city southern California to start a church in Hollywood's back door. Her struggles to fit in, to find her true role in this new world, and to forge her own path take her down a path that could change both their worlds forever. 3) (supernatural "Flaire") A strange girl found wandering in the woods as a child grows up without knowing who or what she is, just that she's different. When her friend is in danger though, the things she's suddenly able to do frighten her, and everyone around her. Now she's being targeted by people who would use her powers for their own agenda. Does she want that agenda too? Or is she bound to find her own divine pathway? 4) Cozy mystery podcaster - it's funny how the same ideas come to groups of people independently of each other, but at the same time. You know? 5) Ranch lady who continually is thrown into solving mysteries - but this one isn't a cozy. This is traditional mystery or suspense. Her first case? People are being killed - by animals. In barns, in fields, even along a parade route. Every one is chalked up by the police as a tragic accident, but there's too much of a pattern. Something isn't right. Someone's doing this on purpose. |
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!
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December 2019
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