Independent

Do we realize how lazy we are? I do sometimes. Yes, I think I am a hard worker, but I am also very lazy. I was sitting at work doing the crossword puzzle the other day (very badly, might I add) and one of the clues was a fill in the blank bible verse that I wasn't familiar with. Did I stand up and walk the 2 feet to the computer to look it up? Did I reach out my arm to my bag to grab my iPod to connect to the wifi to look it up? No. I was too lazy. I was going to post about this yesterday at work, but I was too lazy. Granted, this isn't an extreme circumstance, but it makes me think about the people in third world countries who literally break their backs working to put enough food on their table to sustain them.
Speaking of our "daily bread" the sermon on Sunday went along with my thoughts. You know the Lord's Prayer right? "... Give us this day our daily bread..." Do we pray for that? Do we pray every day to to receive that? I don't. In our society we feel we don't have to rely on anyone for our daily bread. We are independent. (Hear us roar!) I think sometimes, we don't think that we have to rely on God. We are so self-sustaining, so selfish, that we forget who gave us all our blessings. Who gave you the skills for your $100, 000/yr job? Maybe your winning personality? Well, who gave you that personality?

We have been given SO much, yet we fail to be thankful at all. We expect it. Maybe this post should hit a little closer to Thanksgiving, haha. We are so blessed. Let's praise God for that. I read something once that said, " If you can afford to go to the store, buy a book, and have the education to read it, you are one of the wealthiest people."

So, what are we complaining about? What little things do we say each day? My favorite boots are missing. Mom, why can't you stop asking me questions. My windshield wipers are bad, I'll have to buy new ones. Well, congratulations. You have shoes. You have a family. You have a car. And most of all. We have God. We are blessed beyond belief.

Selfish

I had to go to the AM session of Bible Study today and boy, am I glad I did. Her main point was selfishness vs. sacrifice. It really hit home for me. I took a look at my life, my job, my daily interactions, and was I surprised. What do I do to take up my cross daily and follow God? How do I offer myself as a living sacrifice? Sure, I do tithe, but honestly, that's not hurting me right now. What costs me to give? And am I giving it to God? Like Beth read, if it doesn't cost us, we don't think of it as expensive. And we value things that cost us and guard them. I want my life to be like that. I want to jealously guard my relationship with God against that world. We are not going to live unselfishly with out meaning too. From the minute we wake up til bed we think me, me, me, me. Maybe I'm worse since I'm an only child and don't have any kids of my own to think of and take care of. I live with my parents, essentially, they are still taking care of me.

And we all know that thru giving we receive *Christmas message anyone?* But I don't want to give in order to receive. That shouldn't be the motivator. I want to try seeing what God wants, not what I want.

I'm sure some people would think it's crazy to want to have something cost you, but it makes sense to me. Give it up to Jesus. Because when we do, we find what our true life. And that's something selfish me wants.

I really hope that I can take my own advice on this.

You

Today’s blog is brought to you by YOU. :)

So, something that I've been thinking of recently- What is something that you are ashamed in your life? Ok, great. We are now all thinking about something(s). Now, what have you done to change that. Uh Oh. Yeah. Probably a lot of nothing if you are like me. I think I live in a constant state of life that I don't work very hard to change.

Another thing, since I restarted the Beth Moore Daniel bible study it's been very interesting. The second half is all about the prophecies in Daniel, mostly relating to the "end times." I thought I wouldn't like it, but I find it really neat. It is teaching me a different way to think about things. You mainly think about the "rapture" as a negative event, but in the Christian circle it should be thought of as a joyous occasion. Christ coming back like He said He would to jumpstart eternity!

Now speaking as a single lady trying to live the right way, this one may not apply to all of you. I ( and all you other guys and gals in my boat) need to make the conscious decision every single day to live a life of purity. It isn't a passive situation. It needs to be an aggressive situation. There are a thousand different little things every day that I do that should stem from my decision to be pure. It shouldn't just be something I say I live like. It should be something I DO everyday.

Why is it that we think of God as a last resort? We think, " oh, I've done everything I can think of, ok now I will turn to God." I can't do anything else so, I guess I'll call up God now. No, He can be a player in the game. He isn't the last battle. He is the one you can turn to all the time. It isn't about what we can do, it's about what He can do even before you've used up all your ideas.

Sunday thoughts

I think I like this blogging thing more than I thought. I like being able to put my thoughts out there and sort through them to write them down. I don't really care if anyone reads them as long as I have written them. My pastor had some great "pearls" of thought today. He explained defining wisdom as God's way of thinking. What a great definition. Because, how do you explain wisdom? Especially to a younger child. It isn't being smart. I guess I like to think of wisdom as a gift. (That maybe everyone isn't blessed with, haha)

We were in the book of James this morning and James talks about being double minded and doubting. Now, for someone like me who thinks ALL THE TIME I can read into that pretty harshly. But Pastor Jim talked about sometimes when he prays he isn't doubting God's ability to do whatever He wants, he is doubting if he should be praying for A,B,C... and so on. That is EXACTLY what I think. One of those agreeing moments. I don't doubt God's ability to do whatever the heck He wants. I doubt myself and the situation. It's like you always kind of put a clause at the end of your prayer, "But if this isn't supposed to happen, let it be to Your will..." it's like our escape route. So when God says, "Hey, Krystle, remember when you prayed for a,b,c and d... well yeah, that wasn't cool." And I'm like, "oh, hey yeah, God, remember I said at the end that if it wasn't meant to be to not do it." Maybe I should pray for wisdom for myself :)

Cool thought. Discipline not as a punishment, but training. So the next time my little dog does something I won't "discipline" him, I will discipline him!

Last but not least, this is something that keeps coming up in my head, so I feel like I need to really focus on it in my life.

Ask yourself. What are YOU doing for the kingdom of God?

......Yeah. I have no idea what I am actively doing right now. Yes, I pray. I go to church. I read my bible. But right now I wish I can say, Oh well I'm doing this, this, and this. But, I'm not. Hm. Or maybe we can think about it this way. How are we being changed by God? Are we? I don't want to ever be content where I'm at.

Any ideas?