SAPP'S INVADE MIAMI

I had the awesome blessing last week of traveling to Miami with Brett and my in-law family.  It was a great week, lots of sunshine, ocean water, sand, palm trees and great company.

Sorry all you Floridians I couldn't get enough of the palm trees. 

Let me start by saying this has always been my second family.  Even before Brett and I started dating this was my second family.  They moved in next door when I was in 6th grade and I have loved them every since.  So, it is not your typical in-law family.  To even type the word in-laws seems strange.  They are my family. 

For me it was a great relaxing few days.  I love this family, love being a part of it, and love being included as one of them.  This trip was a Christmas gift for Mom.  Brett's family used to live in Miami years ago.  They decided to travel back and see if they could find the places they used to live, go to school and work. A virtual trip down memory lane.  We think some of those places were found, but a lot of things change in 40 years.  They found the street they used to live on.  It was fun driving down this street and listening to memories of my husband and his siblings as children.  The grumpy neighbor next door, the neighbors dog.  Neighborhood kids.  I don't know if they ever really settled on which house was theirs, but we do have a picture of a house.  It was fun to hear, that could be it, maybe that one.  Like I said a lot of things change over 40 years.  

We never were able to locate the bakery Dalyne used to work at petty sure it no longer exists.  They were able to locate the old Mutual of Omaha building in downtown Miami.  It is now the CVS home office.  The apartment building across from it, they used to live in, was no longer there but they were able to locate the area.   

For me a fun part of the trip was to just sit back and watch this family.  Brett, his Mom, his older brother, his younger sister, and his younger brother.  The fact that they were all able to take this trip together was a great blessing.  We are all over the age of 50 now, some families wouldn't have that opportunity.   It was fun to listen to different versions of a story, to see their different personalities, to see their role in the family. To learn about family members no one ever heard of , dear cousin Harry.  Sometimes when you travel with your own family it can stressful.  For me even though I feel like part of the family, technically AMI(ain't my family).  So, I didn't have to worry about making decisions, or worrying about my role, or being stressed in general.  I LOVED IT.

This family all love the Lord, they love each other dearly, get along great and genuinely enjoy each others company.  I laughed till my sides hurt and my eyes watered.  I love my Mother-in-laws laugh.  It is contagious.    So, thanks Sapp's for taking me along, and thank You God for making this family apart of your plan for my life.   

I think this verse sums up this family.

Ephesians 5:21 - "Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."

Attitude Adjustment

Ever find yourself needing an attitude adjustment?  Ever get something stuck in your craw and you just can't let it go?  Well that has been me the last couple of weeks.  I would determine every morning I was not going to let this issue get to me, but by the end of the day I would be so angry I could spit venom.  The stress of it was getting to me and spreading to others..

This morning I sat down with a notecard to do my quiet time.  A lot of times I sit down with a card so if a verse really speaks to me I can jot it down and take it with me.  That way I have it at work with me and I can ponder it though out the day.  The memory is going (darn old menopause), and writing it down helps.  Added bonus I am getting a cool collection of verses to use if I know someone neeeds a quick pick me up.

So, this morning before I even opened my bible I wrote out this prayer on the card.
God help me to be:
Part of the solution - Not the problem
An encourgaer - Not a destroyer
Humble - Not proud
Gracious - Not greeedy
Grateful - Not envious
Helpful - Not hurtful
Spirit filled - Not Janet filled
God centered- Not me centered

Then I opened my bible and asked God to give me a verse to help me with that prayer.  I am reading in Galations so there were lots of verses that could apply.  But then I came to Galations 5:16, "But I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

I went back and looked at my list and it appplies to everything on it.  If I walk in the spirit I will be those things.  I will be an encourger, humble, gracious, grateful, spirit filled, etc.

As I read the verse over and over God began to say Janet there is more here than what you are taking away.  God said your desire of the flesh is that you want to make yourself be all those things on the good side.  But, you can't on your own power.  The key to this verse for me is to walk by the spirit.  If I keep my thoughts on God, and stay in the spirit then those other things will fall away.

If I walk in the spirit I will be an encourager instead of trying not to be a destroyer.  I will be humble instead of trying not to be proud.  I will be gracious instead of trying not to be greedy.  I will be grateful instead of trying not to be envious.  I will be helpful instead of trying not to be hurtful.  God is all of those things.  If I abide in him and he abides in me I will be those things instead of  me TRYING so hard not to be the others.

Thanks for reading!

Do You Pray Like You Mean It?

When you pray are you really expecting God to answer?  When you ask for a miracle do you really think one could possible happen?

This past week I have been praying with a friend for a certain prayer request.  A pretty specific request. This friend text this morning and said my prayer may have been answered. She also said and if it is answered this way, it would be a miracle.

After reading that text I began to think about whether or not I had really expected God to answer that prayer.  I wanted him to answer this request and I wanted him to answer it in a way that my friend would know it was truly God.  That's what I wanted, that was what I was praying, but was I really believing it would happen?  Or did I just assume my friend would figure a way to work this out? (She is quite resourceful, hence the reason I was praying let her know it could only be God.)  Hmmmmm!!

What about your prayers?  What prevents us from praying this way?

For me it is the same thing as putting  my heart out there and really being open and loving someone.  If you open your heart to love someone you take the chance that they won't love you back, or they will let you down and disappoint you.  Which is probably going to happen at some point, we are all human beings full of self and sin.  

Believing in prayer is the same way.  If you pray and really believe God is going to answer then what if he doesn't?  Then where are you?  Then you have been disappointed, and FEEL like you have been let down by God.  It is much easier to put the request out there and say here's my request God if you want to answer it that would be nice.  Kind of like putting it out there and if God answers it, it is a bonus.

But what if we prayed, and truly believed our prayers made a difference, changed out comes (not that we change God's mind, but what if He is just waiting on us to ask?).  Now, don't misunderstand me.  I do not believe God is some Genie in a bottle waiting to give us what we want.  I am not a believer in the "name it and claim it" philosophy.  But maybe my prayers need some work in the believing, and trusting area.

After contemplating this this morning I picked up my bible and read John 1:43-51.  Jesus calls the disciples Philip and Nathanael.  Verse 50 says "Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."

I think God is saying look at Nathanael.  He had enough faith and trust to believe who I was just because I said I knew who he was standing under the fig tree before I met him.  Because of the faith he showed believing in this small area Nathanael got to see many great things.

How are your prayers?  Are you saying God here is my request if you want to answer it that would be great. Or are you praying God here are the burdens of my heart and I trust them with you?        
      

        

WHAT IF?

I haven't blogged in awhile.  I have a list of things to blog about just haven't taken the time.  This post is going to be a little different from what I normally do.  We will see how well it goes over.

When Chris was growing up I used to call him my "what if child".  Because he was constantly full of questions.  And many times they would start with, "I know this could never happen in a million years, but just WHAT IF?"  As a young Mom it was exhausting, but when I see him analyze things now I see how God was molding and shaping him. As I read the bible, I see where maybe he got some of that from me.  When I read I am constantly thinking, how did that happen, what were they thinking, what was in their thoughts, what if I had been in that situation?

Sometimes I feel sacrilegious because I know in the grand scheme of God's plan my simple questions and observations really have nothing to do with salvation, or the big picture God has in store.  So, I usually keep my thoughts to myself.  I think I must be the only one who has these weird questions pop up when I am reading.  But maybe I am not the only one and you have them too just everyone is afraid to ask them.

For example, tonight I was reading in John 1 (the testimony of John the Baptist) and in verse 31 and 33 it says, "I myself did not know him".  I don't think he is meaning here that he didn't know Jesus.  They were some how related.  Luke 1:36 the angel says to Mary, "behold your relative Elizabeth (John the Baptist Mom), in her old age has also conceived a son (John).  So, Jesus and John were somehow related, maybe  second cousins.  Wouldn't it seem logically that at some point they had played together as little boys?

So, I think he knew who Jesus the man was, but he didn't know He was the Savior, the one he was waiting for.  But I believe that Elizabeth knew who he was so why didn't John?  Luke 1:42 tells us that John leaped in Elizabeth's womb when Mary greeted her right after finding out she was pregnant.  And Elizabeth said "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  Verse 43 says, "and why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"

So, Elizabeth knew but John didn't.  So, it must not have been talked about in the family circles.  Did they go up to the Feast of the Passover together when Jesus stayed behind to teach in the temple?  Were they all helping look for him in the caravan?  Did they not talk about his responds.  Luke 2:49, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

Yet, it clearly tells us that John didn't know Jesus was Lord until he baptized him and the dove descended.  Was John waiting in anticipation every time he baptized someone?  Was he wondering is this the one, the messiah?  Was he shocked to find out it was Jesus?  This one he maybe grew up playing together with?  Did he chuckle and say really Lord?  I should have known he was always good, and never got into trouble.  Luke 1:34 John says, "and I have seen and have borne witness that this (Jesus) is the Son of God."

Why didn't he know, WHAT IF he had?  I think the answer to that, was that it was all in God's timing. Jesus' response to Mary his mother, at the wedding of Cana might give us some insight. When she asked him to turn water into wine his response in  John 2:4, "woman what does this have to do with me?, My hour has not yet come".  God knew the hour that Jesus ministry was to begin.  Maybe that's why it doesn't seem to appear to have been talked about at family gatherings or why John didn't know.  Maybe the answer to most of our WHAT IF questions, is simple God's Timing.

Discipline - Hope this doesn't offend anyone!

Discipline.  What do you think of when you hear that word?  Depending upon your childhood it might bring back memories of a good swat to the behind.  I am sure it might be one of the things that pops into the head of my children.  

I recently watched a Chip Ingram video about discipline, and in the video he describes an incident with one of his sons.  An incident that involved a car backing out and the words stop, STOP NOW!  I would venture to say most of us have probably had one of those close calls with our kids.  But, something he said in that video has had me thinking for the last week.  He said in evaluating that situation, "I came to realize, if my son doesn't learn how to listen to my voice how will he ever know how to hear God's voice?"

The more I thought about that statement I went one step further with it.  If our kids don't learn what discipline is from us or how to respond to it, how will they ever learn how to respond to discipline from God?

I love the English Standard version of proverbs 23:13.  It reads, "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die." Now, I am not advocating child abuse, but I am a firm believer in a good hard hand swat on the behind.  In fact such a believer that I am not even going to apologize if I offended your views on child rearing.  I think this verse is pretty clear.

Think about it.  We are suppose to lead by God's example right?  God doesn't remove things in my life that are harmful.  He doesn't pick stuff up out of my reach just to keep me out of trouble.  He disciplines me, in the same way we are to discipline our children.  If I am headed down a dangerous choice or path in life God may smack my hand.  The same way you might smack a small child's hand that is reaching out to touch a hot stove.

That smack on  the hand may sting for a little bit, but the alternative could be a scar that would last a lifetime.  God's discipline is the same way.  Telling me no or smacking my hand may hurt for a little bit, but only God in his wisdom knows the scar he could be sparing me from.

 Hebrews 12:11 says, "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."   Did you get it?  Discipline is PAINFUL, it isn't pleasant, but what follows the pain is PEACEFUL fruit.  First comes the pain then the peace.

God tells us NO sometimes.  A lot of times he tells us no.  When did we become a society that feels like we cannot tell our kids no?  If we are following God's example there will be some NO's coming out of our mouth.  In fact probably quite a few of them; because it's a kids job to push the envelope to find out where the boundaries are.  It's our job as parents to set those safe boundaries.  The same way God sets boundaries in our lives.  

Yes, my kids are grown now so it's easy for me to say these are the things we SHOULD do.  I wasn't a perfect parent, I didn't get it right most of the time. Looking back there were lots of things I wish I had done differently.   But, I am very proud of the adults my kids have grown into, and part of that is because I wasn't afraid to discipline ( just ask them - apparently they are more than willing to share about all the spankings I gave them).

Proverbs 12:1 says, "Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."  Let's not be raising a society of stupid children.  Teach them discipline!!!!