A Little Fun for Friday--Please Enjoy

Happy Friday and may each of you have a blessed weekend. I thought you might find this to be a blessing, let me know what you think about it? We can only grow together if we talk back and forth (smile).

MY CREDIT REPORT


If my life was a credit report and I was trying to obtain salvation, based on my score I wouldn't get it.

My history shows that I've been delinquent in praise, past due in prayer, my worship has been in collections and I've missed a few payments (tithes) or only paid half (you know how we put $20 in the basket and feel like we've done God a favor).

Not to mention that my debt (sin) to income (blessings) ratio is too high.

BUT I thank God that I was able to file bankruptcy (repentance) and it cleared me of all of my debt (sin). Now I have a co-signer (Jesus) whose score is FLAWLESS... Not one blemish (sin) on his report.

So now.... I QUALIFY for EVERYTHING! Most importantly I've inherited eternal life and I didn't have to put one penny down.

All of my closing costs were covered when Jesus laid down His life for me!!!! I hear that my future home has all of the upgrades too.

Hardwood floors? Please!! I'll be walking on gold! : - )

Thank You Lord for Your unmerited mercy, grace & favor!!

Love Conquers All

I had a good conversation with my grandmother today about Love. She says, "honey you know love conquers all!" Which is true, because love is the theme of the entire bible. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son! God loves you and me and he wants us to succeed in everything we put our hands to, including our lives. His will isn't for us to be oppressed and depressed, but to remember that he first loved us! He loved us before we even asked Christ into our lives. Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is. Ask God to help us love ourselves! We have to learn to accept ourselves as God's creation and he can work out those things in our lives. He never meant for you to go through your struggles alone. The Holy Spirit is your comforter, God gave you access to the Holy Spirit to comfort you in time of need and to minister to you---that is a gift from God. AND do you want to know another gift God gave? He gave his grace...for it is by GRACE that you and me are saved and that is a gift from God, not of works! Never forget that....

Good night!

Lay Them ALL Down

So..I said this would be a place where we could roll up our sleeves and dive into some hard core issues. Are you aware (which I'm sure you are), that many Christians are dealing with sex, drugs, pornography, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and the list goes on and on. The problem that I see so often is that many Christians don't feel as if they have a place they can go to truly be honest and admit they are struggling in the above areas. Yes, they may sit in the aisles of church on Sunday and Wednesday, but they may never truly feel comfortable enough to lay their burdens down. WHY is that? Why don't we provide an environment where people can truly get delivered and set free and not feel the shame associated with their issues? I encourage you today, not to let anyone stop you from getting what you need from God. You have to be that woman with the issue of blood, she was an outcast, everyone in town knew she had "issues", but she said the heck with what everyone else thinks, I gotta get to my Jesus and get healed. We have to want deliverance from our issues so bad that we won't let anyone stop us from the blood that was slain for us! Jesus came so that you and me COULD have life and have it more abundantly. We can't live life in abundance if we are worn down and broken. Come as you are and experience his touch and don't let people stop you from where you want to be and that is in his presence. But, it starts with a new attitude and a new outlook.

http://christianswithissuesbutweworkinonem.blogspot.com/

Have a blessed night!

Let

Perfect People

I hope and pray that you are blessed as you read my blog....I found this song and I wanted to share the lyrics with each of you. Sometimes we beat ourselves up because we try to live up to a perfect poster board Christian cut out, but God knows we have struggles and he wants to help us overcome each one of them. Take time to really read the lyrics and I hope it blesses you. And please let me know what you think about it and if you can relate to it:

Perfect People by Natalie Grant

Never let 'em see you when you're breaking
Never let 'em see you when you fall
That's how we live and that's how we try
Tell the world you've got it all together
Never let them see what's underneath
Cover it up with a crooked smile
But it only lasts for a little while

[CHORUS:]
There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scared
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God

Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are and where you've been
And you never have to go there again

[CHORUS]

Who lived and died to give new life
To heal our imperfections
So look up and see out let grace be enough

[CHORUS]

By a perfect God [5x]

Be changed by a perfect God
Be changed

A REAL talk session with God

No matter what our issues are, how do we really find out how to overcome them? In the old testament, God spoke to folks all the time....it didn't matter if they were living right or wrong. God spoke clearly to Moses, he spoke clearly to David, he spoke clearly to Ahab (which was the most wickest of Kings); my point being, God spoke and showed reciprocity with folks. We have to get to a point where we can go to our Father and he talks back to us. Yes, we can get answers from his word, and yes, sometimes we even feel his presence at church, but wouldn't it be nice to ask your daddy, "Aye Dad, I am really struggling with x,y, and z and I need you on this one, how would you handle this?" AND wouldn't it be nice if you heard him speak back to you? Or sent an Angel with the answer? How awesome would that be? Pretty awesome if you ask me! We have to get to the place in our life where we want a real relationship with God, just as we want one with our mom, dad, or that cute guy or girl the you see riding the bus in the mornings. We have real issues and we need to hear real answers, and if we don't follow his commandments for our lives, we might encounter a real hell! Literally and figuratively speaking! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! If he spoke and gave answers back then, he will do it today. But we gotta seek him like no other. If your issues are as real as mine are, I want to hear from my father on how to handle it and not only hearing from him with his word, the bible (which is very important), but I want to truly hear his voice for every aspect of my life. Let's get to a point where we ask God, what do you want from me, instead of what we want from him. But in this case, I believe God is searching for a crew that really want to know him, and as we really get to know him, he will lead us and guide us out of these issues and into his presence. What do you think about that?

No Judgement Here

Hello and Happy Sunday to all of you! If you are reading this, I appreciate your time to stop by and read, and I hope one day you feel inspired enough to post a comment and let me know what you're thinking. This is a place for you to open up in a safe environment, without any judgement. As Christians, one thing we should work on is being so judgmental. I think hypocrisy is one of the top things that cause the world to think we are hypocrites. We want to be HELPERS vs. HYPOCRITES! There is enough hypocrisy in the world, without us having to add to it! Jesus spoke very clearly about hypocrisy...he said, cast the first stone you without any issues or problems. It's easy for us to look at other's and think, wow I cannot believe they do that...but if we open up our closet, someone might say the same thing about us. We have to learn to work out those things in our own lives, instead of always trying to judge and evaluate what other people are doing. God said, I come to seek and save the lost. Not to seek and save the perfect. We all have issues, and there isn't one issue that is bigger than another. Each one, no matter what it might be, causes us to stumble. How do we take a step towards perfection? First we have to admit what those issues are to God. Confess!!!!!!!!!!!! If we CONFESS our sins, he is faithful and just to FORGIVE us! Let's learn to focus on our own issues, so that later in life we can be a testimony for someone else. But, the world must see us as helpers and not hypocrites. So if smoking is your addiction, and cussing is someone else's...Don't think you are better than the other... we all fall short of the glory of God!

God Loves You Despite of What You Might Think

Happy Saturday! I just wanted to encourage each and every one of you, including myself to always remember God's love for you. He made you, therefore he knows all your inner most thoughts and secrets. He knows your strong points, he knows what makes you weak. But, if we humble ourselves in his sight....he is faithful and just to forgive us! Last Sunday I was at church and a woman was talking about getting to know God, because he already knows us. Sounds simple right? But, as I thought more about it, she made a profound statement... God knows our issues, and still loves us, and still wants US to draw closer to him. How many people in your life, would you be able to tell all your issues to and they would look at you and say...come closer to me, I love you, I want to help you? Oh and do all of that without any judgement? God loves you and as I said yesterday, we have to be willing to let go of the things that bind us and allow his love to overtake us. There's a song I would love to share with you:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV4P7TI522o

Let's start with a healing for our soul and let God do the rest. We have issues, but there isn't an issue to big for the God we serve.

Life and Death in the Power of the Tongue

From time to time I find myself getting caught up in office banter. Does that ever happen to you? I tend to do really well with staying outta folks' business and not gossiping with the rest of them! But, catch me on the day that I feel passionately about a topic and I might just join in for a talk or two. Then after I "ran my mouth" a little bit, I feel so convicted, its not even funny. Am I alone? LOL. This is definitely another issue, and another opportunity we can take to let our light shine. I failed today and I beat myself up about it all the way home. I didn't say anything that wasn't true, but I stayed and listened and agreed a lot longer than I should have. We might not know all the scriptures in the bible, we may not even make it to church every Sunday, but these are ways that we can let our light shine. When everyone else is gossiping, you don't have to be part of the conversation, or you can be the one to help everyone refocus their energy on more positive things. But as we work through our issues, we need to become more and more self aware! The Jesus inside of us, should convict us...I believe that is a normal feeling, but where we tend to get into trouble is beating ourselves up. After you confess your sins to God, let it go! Let it go and let it flow. God forgave you, he's just waiting for you to forgive yourself. We are just Christians with issues, but we are working 'em out! Be blessed.

Also follow me on twitter at Wearetrying2010

I look forward to reading your tweets and having conversation with you. Thank you for taking time to read this blog. I pray that it's just another tool to encourage your walk with Christ.

When it rains it pours

Living in Southern California I realize that it doesn't rain much, but this week, its been raining literally all week long. It's an annoyance to say the least, especially when your having car issues, and you have to take the bus. A little rain is never a problem, but when it's raining cats and dogs, and we can't forget to add some strong winds in there--you start to get a little bummed out as you wait shivering for the next bus to pass. Sometimes we feel this way with our internal issues.....just when we think there's a glimmer of hope.....something, someone, or ourselves cannot seem to get past the "rain". How can we deal with the rain storms of our lives? Your storm might be sex, drugs, lying, pornography, lust, etc...what ever the case is----there is a way out..and your glimmer of hope can be found in Christ. Sometimes we forget that we serve a God who is capable of anything and everything....why do we forget that? The same God that raised Jesus from the dead, the same God that created the earth in 7 days, the same God that loved David (who if you didn't know had many issues), is the SAME God---the SAME GOD, that will deliver you, if you allow him. That is where your and my faith must kick it! Because as the bible says, "Faith without works is dead." So we have to do our part and show him that we want deliverance. Sometimes it happens overnight and sometimes it takes time... but let's start today, with this simple prayer:

Heavenly Father, I come to you humbly, asking forgiveness of my sins. You know my heart and you know my desire to grow closer to you. I realize there are things in my life that have caused me to stumble, but I look to you for help. Father, please help me! I put my trust in you--your word says, that you will never leave me, nor forsake me, and I need someone in my life like that...I'm so glad it's you. Thank you for your mercy and grace. In Jesus' Name I pray....AMEN.

Why I Decided to Write this Blog

Please forgive me..I am by no means a literary genius, but I love God. In 2010, I embark on a journey to 1. Recognize my issues, 2. Confess them, 3. Pray to God for deliverance, and 4. Walk this walk he's called me to walk. Now... I mentioned I love God, but I also, like some of the things of this world, and as a "young adult", sometimes living the straight and narrow can be harder on some days, and easier on others. I thought, how could I witness to a world that has their own issues, and probably doesn't want to read about mine.. But this is my witnessing tool. I want to help others, as God helps me. I want us to be able to discuss real issues and find real solutions to keep us accountable, by using common sense and God's word! I grew up in church and never really heard too many preachers mention my issue..but issues are talked about so ambiguously.. so I figured, it's time.. my time to help those with real issues, living in the real world.. So let's talk... what are your issues? And do you find that you struggle with it, while trying to live a holy life? This is what I call a real talk blog... roll up your sleeves, kick off your shoes, and let's get down to business..so we can actually overcome those issues.. one step at a time. You with me?

We are all dealing with our issues..one way or another--How about God's way

Welcome! This is a place for you and me..to grow in God. This isn't for those who don't think they have issues, this is for those who really want help and want to work through those things that hold us back, from the life God has for us. In this blog I will talk about my walk with Christ, things that trip me up....but I will continue to press towards the mark of the high calling. I hope we can both share experiences, testimonies, and feel comfortable to be who we are and let God change us from the inside out. Stay tuned.