tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38803919932263497432024-03-13T16:12:47.403-04:00GPS to a Joyful MarriageMatthew 19:6 "What God has joined together let man not separate."Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.comBlogger427125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-52571941915474041032022-05-28T17:37:00.000-04:002022-05-28T17:37:25.774-04:00<p> <b style="background-color: white; color: #787878; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;">Welcome to GPS to a Joyful Marriage! My late husband, Rick, and I shared a marriage ministry, Resurrection Power Marriage Ministry, for 25 years before he passed away in July of 2019. I have started a new ministry, Resurrection Power of the Mind. I will be writing weekly blogs at <a href="http://www.rpm-ministry.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #f38226; text-decoration-line: none;">www.RPM-ministry.com</a> on various subjects besides marriage.</b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #787878; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>This website, GPS to a Joyful Marriage, holds eight years of weekly articles I wrote for marriage. Please check the Label section for any particular articles you'd like to read. I have also published these articles in the form of a devotional that you can purchase on Amazon as an ebook.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Power-Marriage-Supplement-Healthy-ebook/dp/B0722DNQZ9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid" style="background: transparent; color: #f38226; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a></b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Power-Marriage-Supplement-Healthy-ebook/dp/B0722DNQZ9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid" style="background: transparent; color: #f38226; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Resurrection-Power-Marriage-Supplement-Healthy-ebook/dp/B0722DNQZ9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid</a></b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #787878; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">Please contact me at lesters@rpm-ministry.com with any questions. </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> Thank you and God bless! </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 20px;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #787878; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large;">Sandee Lester</b></p>Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-12554465197954690222017-12-18T08:15:00.000-05:002017-12-18T08:15:06.268-05:00More on Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-45904960904705204352017-12-05T13:22:00.000-05:002017-12-05T13:22:39.285-05:00Hope Begins in the MindSince technical difficulties continue to hinder my vlog posts, I have decided to post a previous article on our thoughts. I will continue with my vlogging as soon as possible! Thank you for your patience.<br />
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Hope Begins in the Mind<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So you would like to find some hope for your marriage, even when you see no possible solutions. Hang in there – there is always hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Do you know that our thoughts are the beginning of our destiny, the birth or death of our hope? That’s where it all starts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">“Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Author unknown<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The bible tells us to “<i>take your thoughts captive.</i>” </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Contrary to what the world would have us think, we can have control of our thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Divorce all starts in someone’s mind, in their thinking. It’s what you do with those thoughts that determine what will happen to your marriage. If you take the negative thoughts and refuse to act on them, refuse to allow them to dominate your thinking, you can change the destructive path your marriage might be heading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Philippians 4:8 says, <i>“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So you see, whenever those negative thoughts about your spouse, in particular, occur, you have the power to stop them. How? Determine not to dwell on those negative thoughts. Start focusing your thoughts on something else, preferably, something positive about your spouse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">When I was ready to call it quits with my marriage, I would look in the faces of my small children and realize that I didn’t want to put them through the pain of divorce as I had known as a teenager, and still suffered as an adult. I didn’t want to wind up like my father, who left my mother for the other woman and led a very difficult life after that, only to die early at the age of 61.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">God had also been reminding me that He wouldn’t be happy if I divorced my husband. At first, I didn’t want to hear anything He tried to tell me, but eventually, I wondered if He might be my only answer. Nothing had worked doing it my way up to that point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I asked God to show me how to love my husband again. What did He do? He started reminding me of the wonderful traits about my husband that first attracted me to him. I began to dwell on the positive attributes of my husband, and my feelings started to change towards him. The love gradually returned, and wound up stronger than it had been before we had our problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Begin to focus on the wonderful things about your spouse that first attracted you to them. You will see a change in your attitude AND theirs.</span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-11538129296751359712017-11-27T17:56:00.001-05:002017-11-27T17:56:37.341-05:00Joy Ride Nov 27 - More on Thinking<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aUz7H3iWFKU" width="459"></iframe>Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-57122016168163115562017-11-20T10:26:00.000-05:002017-11-20T10:27:02.933-05:00Joy Ride #2 - Renew Your Mind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-69164305469899620952017-11-13T09:19:00.003-05:002017-11-13T09:19:40.253-05:00Joy Ride # 1 - Watch Your Thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lOqjjejCqC4/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lOqjjejCqC4?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-85812673073574062552017-11-06T07:27:00.000-05:002017-11-06T07:29:04.422-05:00Welcome to my video blog!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aV1B2VIDmAI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aV1B2VIDmAI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-91734226317625769022017-03-27T08:40:00.000-04:002017-03-27T08:40:42.129-04:0010 Things Men Can Do to Make Their Wives Happy<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Mark Gungor (Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage) talks about
the difference in keeping score between men and women. Just for getting
out of bed in the morning to go to work, a man may believe he earns 100 brownie
points. Giving his wife a dozen roses should easily earn him 500 points
and hold him over for a few months without any other attempts to make points.
(So he thinks.) Points equal doing your job as a husband. The more points
accumulated account for a happier wife – and more sex.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From a woman’s perspective, though, a dozen roses will earn him
one point as would a single rose or even a new car. Men can make their wives the happiest by taking the
time to figure out exactly what makes her feel the most intimate towards
him. (Sorry guys. It’s probably not anything from Frederick’s of
Hollywood. That’s your idea of intimacy.) It’s usually the simple acts,
not the fancy cars or vacations, that will make us feel the closest to our
man. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Since numbered lists of “to dos” seem very popular these days,
I’ve come up with “10 Things Men Can Do to Make Their Wives Happy.” Look at them and discuss them with your
spouse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Speak
positively to her.</b> Only say words that will edify her and build her
up. Compliment her often. Never, never, speak obscenities to her or
call her names. That will cause scar tissue that remains for a long, long
time<b>. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>(She will stop
saying nasty things to you, too, once you master this.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Help
with the kids without her asking you to help.</b> Raising children is
exhausting whether you are a stay-at-home mom or work full-time outside of the
house. Even though the majority of women have jobs these days, they still
do most of the work around the house and with the kids. Nothing made me
feel closer to my husband than having him help me in the mundane chores of
dinner, baths and bedtime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Help
around the house without her asking you to help</b>. Pick up after
yourself. Offer to fold the laundry. Folding laundry does not require
a lot of brain cell usage so you should be able to do it while still watching
football. If not, wait until the commercials. With all the commercials,
you could probably empty the dishwasher, too.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">4.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Entertain the kids for an hour or
so and give her some time alone. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Kids
need time with their fathers. They thrive on it and so will you.
You don’t have to do anything mind shattering. Tell them a story or help
them with their homework. Play a game or go outside and catch a
ball. There is nothing more important that you could be doing with your
children than spending quality time with them. They will cherish every
undivided moment you give them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">5.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Spend
time alone with her. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>She
will cherish every undivided moment you give to her (and give you mega brownie
points!). Spend 15 – 30 minutes a day just talking to her. Make sure
neither of you have cell phones, Ipads, laptops or anything else that plugs
into a wall to distract you. The electronic age is ruining
relationships. Don’t allow it to ruin yours. Even better, take her
out on a date once a week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> 6. <b>Give
her a pleasurable sex life</b>. A large percentage of women do not have a
fulfilling sex life (they don’t have orgasms.) If your sex life is
one-sided most of the time, figure out what you need to do to change it.
Don’t be afraid to talk about it to each other. Doing so will only make
you feel intimately closer to each other (even MORE brownie points – which
equals MORE sex!).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Send
her flirty little text messages throughout the day. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Every time you think of her during
the day, send her a text message to let her know. “I love you” will warm
the cockles of her heart in the middle of a crazy, harried day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">8.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Find out what makes her feel the
most intimate with you and do that all the time. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>We all have certain intimacy needs
that bring us closer to our spouse when they are met. Many women just
want undivided attention and conversation. Again, helping around the
house and with the kids can be an enormous intimacy builder. Whenever my
husband would do the dishes I would tell him that was much sexier than having
him bring me roses or turning on Barry White music. Find out what makes
her feel intimate towards you. (Women usually don’t desire sex until they feel
intimate towards their partner.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b>Tell
her you love her every day – and show it.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b> Actions
still speak louder than words. If you are saying those words without
putting them to action, the message will be lost. Prove it to her.
Hold her in your arms and kiss her without expecting to jump in the sack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">10.</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>Pray with her every day. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Prayer between a husband and wife
can be very powerful! It is a deep form of intimacy. Make it a
habit. Keep God in the center of your marriage. The couple that
prays together stays together! (On an Oprah Winfrey show a number of
years ago, there was a study done that showed couples that pray together have a
better sex life.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It seems only fair that I also come up with a list for women to
earn brownie points. As I thought about it, though, I realized that we
really don’t need to do a whole lot to earn them. Men are pretty simple
to deal with as long as we give them these three things - the remote, food, and
sex. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I Peter 3:8, “All of you, live in harmony with one another; be
sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with
insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may
inherit a blessing.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-68257553887622991982017-02-20T08:53:00.001-05:002017-02-20T08:53:47.216-05:00Get Out of the Funk!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Okay, so
I haven’t posted an article in a while.
I have been busy, though, combining my seven years of blog writing into
a year-long devotional for married couples.
I am in the process of publishing it as an Ebook so please stay tuned
for further details!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I also
plan to take a different direction with my blog. Since I’ve written almost everything I know
about marriage, I want to start doing webinars/video blogs. I will have a live webinar once a week (on
marriage and women) which will be open to questions from you that we will
discuss. I will record those sessions
and use them as a video blog. Please
keep your eyes open for those details coming soon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I do
have one more article that has been on my heart. (There may be more down the road.) I know I promised to not get too preachy
about nutrition and what you eat, but I have to share this new revelation with
you. (A not so wonderful revelation at that.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I have
discussed, numerous times, the effect that sugar has on my mind. It depresses me, so much that I struggle with
functioning in life. I stopped eating
sugar a few years ago but would occasionally let it slip into my diet. One or two mistakes was no big deal, but that
once or twice often turned into more – and then depression. Truly an addiction, sugar is a poison to our
system and more difficult to overcome than a dependence on cocaine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And then
I discovered maple syrup - the ever glorious, gold from a tree that quickly
became my favorite flavor in the world.
Maple syrup offers numerous nutritional benefits without all the bad effects
of sugar. Yes, it has calories and can
increase blood sugar, but it seemed like the ultimate sugar replacement. Besides, I didn’t have blood sugar issues. I used it for everything that needed sugar –
and then some.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I rarely
touched refined sugar this past year, but found I still struggled with
depression. In fact, it seemed to
worsen. I had a list of possible causes, never
dreaming it could be maple syrup. I
thought it must have been the challenges we faced with Rick’s health or even
more obvious, the loss of another grandbaby we hadn’t gotten to meet. I thought I was in grief that I hadn’t been
dealing with very well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I would
wake in the morning with a weight on my heart.
I didn’t label it depression but a “funk”. I couldn’t hold a positive thought. I only dwelt on the negative. I couldn’t find my joy. I wanted to retreat to my room and talk to no
one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">When in
this funk I did nothing but whine and complain to God and my husband. I bombarded God with questions of “Why?” and constantly
told him “I don’t understand!” When in this funk, I begged God to free me from
this pit of despair. I <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I didn’t
want to go anywhere much less be around people.
I dwelt on the things God hasn’t done for me instead of what He may be
preparing for me. I dwelt on the things
other people have that I don’t. I had
great difficulty working on my ministry, feeling it may be a waste of
time. I didn’t know if God was listening
anyway. I couldn’t hear His voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I
struggled with this funk for a good part of my adult life. I blamed it on PMS. How many amazing opportunities did I miss out
on because of my pity party I wallowed in?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As I
read back on this pathetic state of mind, I don’t understand how I could get
that far into a pit and not be able to get out, even when I know the answers to
help me. Nothing seemed to work. I could read my Bible and pray, but my heart
was not in it. I became wrapped in this
vicious cycle of self-pity that only wanted to remind me why I felt so badly. The only thing I could look forward to was
waking up the next day with, hopefully, no funk over me. I would get through the day as painlessly as
possible until the fog lifted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Now I
don’t know about you, but I refuse to live my life like that anymore. I sought out the help of a natural doctor,
thinking it may be my crazy hormones.
Sure enough, it was, BUT she also told me I eat too much sugar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">WHAT! I EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR?? What in the world was she talking
about?? My self-righteous attitude about
eating had refused to look at the problem of over-indulging in something as
sanctimonious as maple syrup. Along with
the maple syrup, I ate too many bananas and berries, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">How did
I miss that? I suppose I added more and
more to my daily eating, as time passed, to the point that I was gluttonous
with it. Gluttony is eating or drinking
in excess of what you need. I certainly
had begun to push the limits with my all-so-glorious maple syrup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My heart
ached when I realized that I may have been missing some of God’s blessings
during my “funk” times. How could He
talk to me, or answer my prayers, or further my ministry when I chose to focus
on my fleshly desires of sweetness instead of the sweetness and mercy of
Him? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">How
often do we run to the altar in tears begging God to heal us of this illness or
that disease when we secretly indulge in fleshly desires that are nothing more
than sin to Him? Yes, we need to eat,
but we also need to treat our bodies as temples and not coddle our cravings and
desires to the point of excess. We block
our chances of God working in our lives when we do so. Sin is sin.
God will not work with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Needless
to say, I have stopped the maple syrup and have cut back on the fruits. I feel amazing! For two weeks I have been completely FUNK FREE! In the prior six months, I normally had four
or five days in the week that I remained in a funk. It turns out that my hormones don’t affect my
mood so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">If you
relate to any part of this article, I urge you to look at your sugar intake and
make some changes! Don’t request a drug
from your doctor when you can possibly fix it on your own without the chemicals
and added side effects of medication. Not
to mention how healthier you would be!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I feel
like God is finally opening the doors for us to step forward into our ministry
in just these past two weeks. How long
did I delay this because I didn’t want to give up maple syrup?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-74664475451534804182016-12-12T08:12:00.000-05:002016-12-12T08:12:34.330-05:00Christmas Thoughts<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">‘Tis the season to be
jolly’. Hmmm. The older I get, the less jolly I feel at
Christmas time. It seems the real reason for the season, the birth of
Jesus, is slowly being pushed aside to make room for all the commercialism that
now dominates this holiday. I don’t like it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">There has also been a
lot of skepticism over the past few years about the roots of the celebration of
Christmas, and so I decided to investigate it myself. It seems that
Christmas, initially called the Saturnalia Festival, started as a pagan
holiday. Romans adopted it with hopes of turning people to Christianity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">From “Christmas, the
Real Story”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> In
the 4<sup>th</sup> century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia
festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders
succeeded in converting to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising
them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> The
problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To
remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day,
December 25<sup>th</sup>, to be Jesus’ birthday.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> For the complete article, go to: </span><a href="http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I know there are
numerous Christians who have chosen to forego Christmas because of these
origins. I have thought long and hard about this scandalous past and have
decided that I don’t want to give up the celebration of the birth of our Savior
because of its shady beginnings almost 2000 years ago. If we give up on
Christmas, we will lose the most valuable opportunity of the year to reach out
to others to share the gospel story. As rapidly as Christian rights are
being removed, we must keep Jesus’ birthday alive for as long as we can.
It doesn’t matter when it happened; the story needs to be told.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Besides, I don’t think
Jesus would have overlooked an opportunity to tell the good news, especially to
a group of worldly people who didn’t follow Him. He would have been the
first to invite the pagan celebrators of Saturnalia to His house for a birthday
party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">There are many, now, in
our society, who live these holidays far from the truth, as the pagans did, but
we can’t allow that to blemish what we know to be the reason for the season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Sure, we can become
overwhelmed at the worldly celebration, but we have the right to decide how we
spend our time during this season. We can choose to not get caught up in
the excessive spending and busyness that easily engulfs us and distracts us
from the birth of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">What a wonderful time to
reach out to the needy or to share the good news with those who have discounted
it. We are all in a giving and receiving mood this time of year, so let’s
not discard these golden opportunities to share the story of Jesus.
Besides, it’s much easier to spot the naysayers, during the holidays, who want
to take away our rights to display a nativity scene or sing Christmas
carols. Those are the people we need to reach out to the most.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">What’s important is that
we continue to observe this momentous occasion. The world will always add
their own spin to what we do as Christians. We can’t allow that to
interfere with the truth of why we celebrate Christmas. If we do, then
the enemy has won. He doesn’t want the story of Jesus known. He
will always try to make us doubt what we know to be the truth. He will
keep us busy following the customs of the world and miss the importance of this
day. Choosing to give up Christmas because of its origins is succumbing
to the legalism of religion that Jesus detested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I visited my mother’s
church this week, and they showed a video of a flash-mob at a crowded mall
breaking out in Christmas carols. It was awesome! People stopped
everything they were doing and joined in. Two actors dressed as Mary and
Joseph walked out carrying an infant during Silent Night, and everyone in that
mall got down on their knees. It still brings tears to my eyes as I write
about it. The traditions and music we have passed down for generations
are a powerful force behind the importance of this holiday. We can’t ever
forget that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas is not about
celebrating on the exact date that Jesus was born; it’s
about telling the miraculous story about the birth of our Savior who was sent
to save the world.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Matthew 1:23, “The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel—which means, ‘God with us’.”</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-63478284817934482382016-11-10T10:18:00.000-05:002016-11-10T10:18:51.835-05:00Why Women Don't Say What They Mean<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Below is a brief interaction between two married men concerning
communication with their wives, taken from the book "Twelve Lies Women
Tell Their Husbands" by Tim and Sheila Riter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">_______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Hey man, you're late. Anything wrong?" Sweat
dripped off Alex after fifteen minutes on the treadmill.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Dude, you wouldn't believe it. But then,
you're married, so maybe you will." Don stepped onto the adjoining
treadmill and started running.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I got home from work today and grabbed
my gym clothes like I do every Tuesday. Shontell seemed distant, like
she'd had another bad day at work. Her boss has been putting a lot of pressure
on her to finish that condominium project, and I'm kinda concerned. The baby's
due date is still four months away, but I just don't want her to feel any
unnecessary stress.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"So I go up to her, give her a hug, and
ask if anything's wrong.' No, I'm fine, just fine.' So I told her she could
talk to me; I'm her husband. Know what I heard? 'Go. Just go. You're late for
your workout with Alex.'</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"So I went! But I know I'm going to hear
it when I get back. I don't have a clue if it's something wrong at work, or if
I did something, but I know it's not over yet."</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Man, why can't women just come out and
say what they mean? Danielle does the same thing. We had our tenth anniversary
a few weeks back, remember? So a few weeks ahead, I asked her what she'd like
to make it special. I'd saved up some extra money just to do it right. She
said, 'Just surprise me! The greatest gift is our marriage.'</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I remember I'd heard her talking to a
friend about this bed and breakfast inn down the coast. A little pricey, but
nice. So I made the reservations, let her know the kind of clothes to bring,
and surprised her. She said all the right things, how nice it was, how I
surprised her, but her heart didn't seem to be in it.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"I asked her what was wrong, and she kept
saying, 'Nothing.' Finally, the last day there, she told me she really had her
heart set on a new wedding ring. How was I supposed to know that? She's never said
anything about a new ring. Man, I can't figure out women. They just don't say
what they mean. They hint, and they want you to read their mind.
Then you try to, and you get crucified. Why can't they just tell us
straight?"</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">________________________________________</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Oh, I feel the frustration of these two
gentlemen, and I can sheepishly recall too many similar incidents in the past
between my husband and me. How in the world does this happen?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think a major problem for me, as probably
most other women, is that sometimes I really don’t KNOW what I want or KNOW
what is bothering me, ESPECIALLY when I’m emotionally out of sorts. It
could be a myriad of issues that, on their own, don’t cause discomfort.
But compound them with other factors that silently creep up, and I suddenly
feel overwhelmed. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rick may say to me, “Honey, is
there something wrong?” and I might blurt out one thing that’s bothering
me. As I walk away, I realize that may not be the core issue
that I’m struggling with; it’s something else - a second issue. Rick,
then, is focusing on that first issue to try to help. No wonder he gets
confused when he comes to me with a solution, and I give him that “You’re such
an idiot” look because I’ve moved on to thinking about the third issue that’s
affecting me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s as though we women carry a bag of garbage
around with us. When things are going well, we don’t need to open the
bag. But when our emotions are running high and someone
offends us with their words, or our husbands neglect to notice something that’s
important to us, or (fill in the blank with hundreds of other reasons), we open
up the whole bag and air it out. Not only do we dwell on the here and now
issue, but also on everything from the past that we haven’t resolved and still
carry with us. We don’t always know what’s at the core of our hurt
because our emotions are so intertwined with all our problems.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt;">
<span style="color: #525252; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As husband and wife, we often share in an
unhealthy communication “dance.” It is important to recognize what
doesn’t work and join together to figure out what does work.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-799340194926251132016-09-19T13:22:00.000-04:002016-09-19T13:22:23.546-04:00What Happened to Faith?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Faith seems to be a rare commodity in our country. Is it any wonder, though, that we have lost faith when we look at the state of our society?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in a government that once governed “for the people, by the people.” It has become greedy for power and control – unconcerned for the needs of the people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> We’ve lost faith in the values that once resonated strongly in the hearts of our country. Now, there is no right or wrong. It’s all about what works for “me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in a justice system that once ruled fairly and just but is now influenced by the power of money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in a healthcare system that has </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">over-inflated</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"> the cost of care while </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">under-inflating</span><span style="line-height: 18.4px;"> the quality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in a banking system that once looked out for its customers but now crushes their dreams for the almighty dollar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in the security of jobs because it’s become too expensive for employers to higher full-time employees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in our welfare system because too many people just don’t want to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in churches that sugar-coat the truth to bring in numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in the value of babies. Too many believe that if they can’t see it, it must not be real. They call it the right to choose. It explains why many can’t grasp the concept of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><b>Hebrews 11:1 – <i>“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”</i> </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We’ve lost faith in the institution of marriage because it’s easier to bail out then to put forth the effort required for a healthy marriage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It saddens me how our country has turned its back on God. He once made us the greatest nation in the world, but our lack of faith in Him has disintegrated us to a state of mediocrity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the enemy trying to pull me down in the faithless pit of fear, depression, disbelief and doubt. It’s a vicious cycle we get caught up in. The more dismal the world looks, the more difficult it becomes to keep the faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I refuse to ride that cycle anymore. I believe that God still desires for us to have healthy marriages, healthy lives, healthy careers and a healthy government.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><b>2 Chronicles 7:14 -<i>“If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Please join me in prayer for our marriages, our country, and our faith. We can heal this land and our marriages if we turn to God with faith only as small as a mustard seed, but mighty enough to move mountains.</span>Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-61960753955991088422016-09-05T10:06:00.001-04:002016-09-05T10:06:26.159-04:00They Just Don't Get It - Part 2<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I know I may come off pretty strongly with my thoughts about mothers staying at home with their children instead of working, but I speak as someone who’s struggled through it. Looking back, I’m more than grateful I spent that time at home with my children. They were very special years that I would never have recovered, especially once they started school. It was well worth giving up all the “things” and “career” I thought I would miss out on. The bottom line is that children develop faster and are emotionally healthier when they spend their first five years at home with their mother or father. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.4px;">We will have more years with our children as adults, so our job is to be there to prepare them for adulthood in the short time we have them as children. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">For more information, go to: </span><a href="http://www.babycenter.com/0_staying-at-home-pros-and-cons_6025.bc" style="color: #7c93a1; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;">http://www.babycenter.com/0_staying-at-home-pros-and-cons_6025.bc</a></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">If we weren’t such a material-hungry society, it would be much easier for mothers to stay at home. Besides, you’ll probably never hear anyone say, on their deathbed, “I should have spent more time in the office.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Back to the original article – staying at home with the children alleviates a lot of the problems brought on when both parents work. Most women prefer to be at home doing the mom thing. (As always, there are exceptions.) As I said in the last article and many times before, that’s what God made us to do. Our society misconceptions have caused us to doubt our inner desires because it now goes against the norm. That’s where a lot of the struggles with working women begin. Then add a husband who doesn’t know how to pull his weight around the house, and it’s an equation for all-out war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So what do you do when you are caught in the midst of a battle at home for “who’s gonna do what?” Here are a few ideas for you to try to begin the journey to peace in your home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">First of all, you need to learn to be patient with your husband. They (most men – except Bill and Tom Ammons and a few others) really don’t get why you want the house so clean or have to wash the dishes before you go to bed. They were made to toil the soil and bring home the bacon. When my husband lived alone as a bachelor, he would pile dishes in the sink and wash them once a week. He came to me with a completely different idea of what our home should look like. I’ve had to retrain him to see how important it is to me, while at the same time, I’ve also lowered my standards so I don’t get so frustrated when things are out of order. I have known a few men who are completely OCD about cleaning, but that’s a whole other set of issues, in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Sit down with your spouse at a time when neither of you are hungry, tired, angry, or not feeling well, and discuss who’s going to do what chores around the house and with the children. Tell your husband what you expect and leave him room to negotiate with you. Work out a schedule that works for you both. He may have difficulty sticking with it but don’t be afraid to remind him. And remind him again, and again (without nagging). If it continues to be an issue, plan another time to sit down and rationally discuss it once more. Pray together, first, and ask God to give you both the wisdom and the right words to solve this problem. Involving God can make all the difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Be sure to affirm your husband – often and all the time! He may not do it as well as you do, but who cares? (Other than you, who will truly notice? It really doesn’t matter what your mother or mother-in-law think about how your house looks.) Men love to hear those affirming words. I know, we as women do one hundred times what most men do at home without one word of encouragement, but you still need to praise him. If you want your husband to willingly be a part of the housework – AFFIRM HIS ACTIONS! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I always tell my husband how romantic and sexy it is when he does the dishes. He now washes dishes with a smile on his face, and I’m always sure to reward his work. Surprisingly, a little effort from men goes a long way for women. There’s nothing wrong with bargaining, either. For example, when he’s feeling romantic, say to him, “Honey, how about helping me clean up the kitchen first, or let’s just sit and talk for 10 or 15 minutes and then we’ll go do our calisthenics in the bedroom.” You’ll find him willing to scratch your back if you scratch his.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Slow down your family activities. If you feel like every moment of your day is filled with activity, give up something. You need to get back to quality family time, not busyness that fills a calendar and keeps you apart as a family. Have dinner at the table as often as possible. Get your children involved in cooking and cleaning up as soon as they are old enough. Take advantage of this time and make it an enjoyable intimacy for your family. Turn off the television, computers and smartphones for a few hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Take time for yourself. A frazzled, trying-to-do-it-all working mom is going to be of no benefit to anyone. Even more importantly, make sure you have enough quality time with your spouse since attention seems to be the main need of most women. When we lack it from our husband, the crazy side of us appears - you know, our alter egos who yell and scream about little issues that don’t deserve such fanfare and aren't the true culprit of our reactions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Turn it over to God. Look at the positive things your husband does for you and your children. Most importantly, be sure to start praying together every day with your spouse. You’ll be amazed at how God can melt away all the silly little issues before they can turn into insurmountable problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-3229829440155046752016-08-22T09:31:00.000-04:002016-08-22T09:31:30.240-04:00They Just Don't Get It!<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">One of the most common problems I hear with couples, especially the wife, is that the husband doesn’t help enough around the house and with the children. In these days where 90% of women work outside of the home, they still do most of the housework and the caring of the children. </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">A friend of mine, who is a hairdresser, once told me of an elderly woman who came into her shop one day.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">In a leisurely conversation, the woman told her that she thought women were stupid.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">They worked hard for “women’s liberation”, only to gain one more thing to do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">My friend took offense to this statement until she started thinking about what the elderly woman meant. What have we, as women, gained from being “liberated” besides a full-time job on top of taking care of children, a house and a husband? My friend began to realize the truth of the elderly woman’s statement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Although the world may tell women they are liberated by working at a job outside of the house, it has only served to imprison them deeper into debt and into problems in their marriages and with their children. And how many affairs start at the office between people who are struggling at home? Besides, very few women have fulfilling jobs that give them a sense of purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Because the wife also works, couples buy houses at the top of their budget, leaving no room for the loss of a job or the possibility of the mom staying at home with the children. They fill that house with furniture they can’t afford except by monthly payment on a maxed out credit card that they may never be able to pay off. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">One woman, who works as a church administrator, grimly confessed to me a sad fact when she looked at her family’s budget.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">She realized that if they had not bought “the bigger house”, she could have stayed home with their children.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It was too late, though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Because the wife also works, the children will have to be raised by a daycare system that pays minimum wages to its workers. Daycare workers don’t last very long because it’s a difficult job with low pay, and so the children will not find a lot of stability with those taking care of them. The wife will also need to pay for clothing for a job and gas to drive to and from work. Add that to the price of daycare and many mothers would be better off not working.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Because the wife also works, she comes home also exhausted, but carries on to make dinner, clean-up, bathe the children and get them to bed. There are some husbands who will help, but it doesn’t come naturally for most to offer to lend a hand. They have to be asked, and asked, and maybe asked again to help – something women have a hard time doing without appearing to nag. (Is it any wonder?) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Women get frustrated that they have to ask in the first place, and men get frustrated that their wives nag. When unresolved, these issues easily lead to divorce. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Women can become executives and pull a six figure income, but at what cost?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The family sacrifices a dad who works crazy hours to support them, but what about a mom too?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Most women I’ve talked to who work would prefer not to.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">They’d rather be home with their children, but once they get caught in the spending cycle that a working wife can offer a family, it’s too late.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">That cycle seems to grow larger as more income is added.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> Do we really need all that stuff?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Granted, there are situations where the wife has no choice – maybe the husband is out of work or has medical issues.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">I commend you women for your hard work, and I pray that your husband takes up the slack at home!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Single mothers definitely need a supportive family to help them get by.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So what do women do? First of all, I think we need to realize that men aren’t the enemy. Women’s lib brainwashed us with the idea that we need to somehow be "equal", even excel beyond them; we want to be treated the same if not better. In God’s eyes we are equal - with different roles, but it’s the world that has created this unattainable dream of happiness and wealth, opposite of what the Bible tells us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We must also understand that striving to obtain “equality” between men and women is like saying apples and oranges are equal, the same. Men are different beings than women and the sooner we acknowledge that, the easier life with them becomes. They just don’t get it (our craziness and our roles) and we have to acknowledge, to ourselves, that they don’t get it. We also have to accept their differences instead of trying to mold them into a clone of ourselves who’ll take care of the children and houses as well as we do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Please join me next week as I discuss some ideas of how to get men to "get it". If you have succeeded in overcoming this large hurdle in your marriage, please leave a comment or email me to share your thoughts. I’d love to hear how other women have successfully dealt with this. </span><a href="mailto:lesters@rpm-ministry.com" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">lesters@rpm-ministry.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">. Thank you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">*As usual, there are exceptions to these generalizations.</span></div>
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Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-16239776135684823032016-08-15T09:53:00.000-04:002016-08-15T09:53:41.038-04:00Are You Too Busy?<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
As summer vacation draws to an end and school begins, I'm reminded of the craziness that comes with a new school year. Traffic gets worse and lives get busier.</div>
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<br />I see lots of frazzled mothers who are trying to do everything. Their lives are so busy that they have no time for their spouse or for themselves (which ultimately leads to marriage problems). They can't see how desperate their children are for quality attention from their parents, and how they long for some time to just act like children. They're off every evening to some sports practice, or music lesson, or Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts or one of the countless activities available for kids to make them "well-rounded". When my kids were young and after many years of the craziness, I began to limit their activities and discovered they were much happier to have time at home to be a family. </div>
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<br />My friends from People To People Ministry (check out their website at <a href="http://www.peopletopeopleministry.org/" style="color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">www.peopletopeopleministry.org</a> ) made the quote <i>"Don't mistake activity for achievement. Busyness does not equal productiveness."</i> That is true in our children's lives, too. They often get burned out early from too much of an activity that they may have excelled in when the time was right later on. Or, they spend a lot of wasted time on something that really does them no good.</div>
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<br />I want to share with you a powerful article I discovered many years ago and have shared on my blog before. It's always worth a repeat. This was written even BEFORE cell phones and computers, so I would say that Satan is hitting us even harder with all our technical gadgets.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">Satan's Convention<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 10pt;">Unknown Author<br /><i>This story was created to demonstrate how Christians can be distracted<br />and kept from laying hold on Jesus and experiencing him in his fullness.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken".<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>"Keep them busy in the non- essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles".<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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ZW1lL3RoZW1lMS54bWxQSwECLQAUAAYACAAAACEAnGZGQbsAAAAkAQAAKgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB1
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" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" stroked="f" style="height: 0.65pt; visibility: visible; width: 22.25pt;"><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"><w:wrap type="none"><w:anchorlock></w:anchorlock></w:wrap></o:lock></v:rect><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions."<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">What do you think? Has the devil been successful?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Remember, busy = <b>B</b>eing <b>U</b>nder <b>S</b>atan's <b>Y</b>olk</span></div>
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Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-26806756649215751472016-06-20T12:13:00.000-04:002016-08-20T16:16:14.797-04:00The Frailty of Life<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.85pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This past week has been one of facing the
frailty of life. I have not been able to get it out of my mind. The massacre in Orlando left us all feeling alarmed
about how quickly life can be snuffed out. Orlando was hit hard by this
tragedy along with the deaths of Christina Grimmie, the young singer from the Voice, and Lane Graves, the toddler taken by the alligator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My daughter, Megan, turned 30 last week, and I’ve
had to watch her deal with too many deaths of friends in her young
life. The Pulse massacre hit too close
to home for her. She and her husband
lived a block away from Pulse at one time, and it was difficult for them to
watch the news in their old neighborhood. They were very familiar with Pulse and visited
occasionally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The day after Megan’s birthday, she and Ben
headed out on a road trip to New York.
On their way to their first stop in Savannah, they witnessed an accident
and stopped to help. Ben pulled a woman
out of her car that had flipped numerous times, but she was already dead. It was a traumatic experience for him. And then just yesterday, they learned of the
death of one of their co-workers who was killed in a car accident. I pray for peace and wisdom for them to handle all this death around them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Death causes us to look life in the face and
realize how precious it is. Because our
time is so valuable, death should make us see that it’s not worth spending our life stressing over the little things.
Death should cause us to see the good in our
spouse, our friends, our family, when we view the pain of grief in others and realize how lost we
would be without those we love. It may cause us to make some overdue changes or maybe slow down a bit to appreciate time and family much more than we do. No one has ever said, on their death bed, “I
should have spent more time in the office.”
Make family time a priority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s difficult for us to accept death when we lose those closest to us. We get so attached to one another,
especially our families. In God’s eyes, though, this life on Earth is
temporary. James 4:14 tells us, “<i><span style="background: #FDFEFF;">You are
just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”</span></i></span><span style="background: #fdfeff; color: #001320; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Our home is with God. We have
eternity to spend in Heaven with those who have gone before us and those who will
come after us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That promise doesn’t make death any easier for
us, though. There is some comfort in
knowing our loved ones have gone to a better place, but we still miss their
presence in our life. That grief is a horrendous
process to experience, but it is a reality of life. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I thank God for His promise of
heaven. It’s what gets me through this life, knowing what we have to
look forward to. We will have to deal with death, though, until we
face it ourselves. It is God’s way of reminding us that we need to
stay focused on Him. We need to keep our priorities in
order. We need to appreciate every day we have and live life
reaching out to others, not just feeding our selfish desires. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you know that promise of heaven? If you are not sure, I encourage you to
pursue it. Talk to someone or just go
to God and ask Him. He will show you the
way. Don’t wait. We are not promised tomorrow.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-15517107704872303472016-05-23T10:48:00.000-04:002016-08-20T16:17:00.548-04:00Disappointment<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have gotten away from my weekly posting, but plan
to get back into the routine. Life has
been crazy. Besides, I’ve had this blog
for over six years, so I believe I’ve covered almost everything there is to
cover about marriage. If you have any
suggestions for an article, please message me or leave a comment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I heard a sermon about disappointment, and it made
me think about disappointment in marriage.
It can become poison that will destroy a relationship if not handled
correctly. This preacher said “Disappointment
is not permanent – don’t make it that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We face disappointment every day. Maybe your spouse says something that hurts your
feelings. Maybe you’re tired of picking up their socks for the 10 millionth
time – they’ve ignored your pleas to keep the house tidy. Maybe they don’t live up to your expectations
of what marriage should look like. Maybe
life hasn’t worked out the way you planned, and you feel disappointed with God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is easy to dwell on the frustrations of life,
especially as the world gets more difficult to live in every passing day. Just turning on the television and
watching the news is enough to drag anyone down. There is disappointment at every turn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Disappointment is not permanent. Don’t make it that way.” You see, we have control over our thoughts
which will turn into words and action if not dealt with -- words and actions
that may damage your marriage. (<i>Watch your
thoughts, they become words. Watch your
words, they become actions. Watch your
actions, they become habits. Watch your
habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your
destiny.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">None of us is perfect even though we go into
marriage expecting perfection from our spouse.
You can jump from marriage to marriage but never find that perfect relationship. You have to take the imperfections into
consideration and then let go of them.
Focus on the positive qualities of your spouse. Rick always says, about our relationship, “We’re
two imperfect people determined to make it work.” That’s the key. No matter what, don’t give up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wish I could tell you that I handle disappointment
perfectly every time, but I don’t. It
sometimes takes me a few hours to get out of my pity-party. It’s not until I start talking to God and ask
Him to help me through these petty little distractions that I find peace. And He will – He will give you the peace and
perception you need to move on from disappointment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once I turn my disappointments over to God, he
always shows me the good in Rick and just how amazing he is. If Rick was amazing at everything, though, we wouldn’t
need God! Actually, I wish I had Rick’s
attitude. He completely overlooks my imperfections.
That is what we should do in
marriage! Overlook the
imperfection! Focus on why you married
your spouse in the first place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I get upset with myself for getting upset in the
first place. This human skin is hard to
live in when you strive to be perfect and expect perfection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “<i>My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.” </i>To which Paul replies, <i>“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly
about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God never promised us a life without trials, in fact
quite the contrary. He uses the trials
to draw us closer to Him and prepare us for the plans He has for us. In weakness, God’s power is made perfect. Think about that. When we are weak is when God gives us
power. Like Paul, I’m happy to be weak
if that means Christ’s power will rest on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-60456636138692455862016-03-21T09:31:00.000-04:002016-03-21T09:31:04.087-04:00Like the Disciples<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I always look forward to watching my favorite biblical movie during Easter, “Jesus of Nazareth”. In the movie, Peter is asked by Jesus to join Him after the miracle of catching all the fish. Peter hems and haws and says he has to take care of his family. Although it wasn’t recorded quite like this in the Bible, I’m sure that Peter, at some point, questioned leaving everything to follow Jesus. All the disciples must have thought, even for a brief moment, it was a lot to ask to leave their families and their work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We all face a point in our Christianity where we have to decide to put the worldly things behind us to follow Jesus. It’s a daunting task, one that keeps many from turning their lives over to Him. Before I truly became a Christian, I remember thinking it would be too much of a sacrifice. I wanted to go out and party with my friends and do whatever I wanted. Living a Christian life didn’t look like a lot of fun to me. Oh, how wrong I was!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Marriage can sometimes look like the same kind of sacrifice, scaring many away from it. In order to have a healthy, solid marriage, you need to put your old life and the world behind you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Back to Peter - some Bible scholars refer to Peter as being unstable and unpredictable. He was passionate and often ruled by his emotions, speaking before he clearly thought about his words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">During the Last Supper, Peter vehemently declared to Jesus that he would never deny knowing Him as Jesus foresees that he will. As we all know, after the arrest of Jesus, Peter claims he does not know Him not once, but three times. His fear overruled his faith. I don’t know about you, but three denials would have been enough for me to say, “Sorry Peter. I don’t need your kind as one of my disciples.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Seeing all the flaws in the disciples of Jesus gives me great comfort. None of us are perfect; we all struggle with flaws. Still, Jesus includes them in His elite group, and they all wind up leaving a great legacy in Biblical history. Peter turns out to be the “rock of the church.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Matthew 16:18-19, <i>“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Jesus forgave the disciples for their doubts, fears and imperfections as He forgives us. He allowed them to grow into the spiritual leaders He desired for them to be by letting them learn the hard way – by making mistakes - by being human. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So why do we have such a hard time allowing our spouses to be human, to make mistakes? </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We can be so quick to judge them and begrudge them.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Aren’t we called to be like Jesus who forgives and forgives and forgives?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Our world would have missed out on some amazing life examples from the disciples of Jesus had He decided to divorce them because of their imperfections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">You may miss out on an amazing marriage should you decide to divorce because of your spouses’ imperfections. I know I almost did. At one time, I thought my marriage was hopeless, but God saved it and made it amazing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Through most of Jesus' life the disciples seemed pretty hopeless and helpless. That was just the middle of the story, though. Jesus had so much more planned for them. They went on to live full, holy lives fulfilling the will of God. That is God’s desire for all of us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">You may be going through difficulties in your marriage, but realize, you are only in the middle of your life story.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">There is always hope.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Don’t allow your fear to overrule your faith.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">God has a plan for you, too.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">In order to fulfill those plans, you may have some life lessons to learn in order to prepare you for the latter part of the story.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Realize that these times are part of that plan to make you stronger – like the disciples.</span></div>
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Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-39456402008994834312016-02-29T08:07:00.000-05:002016-02-29T08:07:36.720-05:00Who's in Control?<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We as Christians are called to fulfill the plan that God has designed for our lives. To know that plan and dream that dream brings great joy and excitement yet also comes with its share of frustration and heartache.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may know the end result of God’s path for you, but the trails leading there sometimes seem non-existent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marriage often times feels the same way. We know the end result we want, but it feels like we’re fighting through a pathless jungle to get there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I sometimes wrestle with trying to take control of my destiny. I want to be in charge of everything, especially when God doesn’t move as fast as I’d like (and my husband). I find that my biggest struggles appear when I get ahead of what God desires for me, whether it is in my ministry or in my marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Although I see the goal line, the place God planned for me, I have had to learn (the hard way) to allow God to illuminate the paths for me. I have tried too many times to forge the way on my own - with great failure and, at one time, almost losing my marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Romans 8:5-9 <i>“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We like to think of sin as an unacceptable act like adultery or dishonesty or stealing - something tangible we can easily separate from because we are “Christians”. In the Bible, there are no “levels” of sin. It is all equal in God’s eyes. Sin is nothing more than choosing to live independently from God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">We can either do it God’s way or our own way. When we don’t follow His plan for our lives, or we try to lay those paths to our goal on our own, we are allowing our sinful nature to control us. You cannot please God by following your sinful nature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">One of the most difficult tasks of following God is patience. We live in a fast-paced, goal-oriented, instant-gratification world that has filtered into the church. When things aren’t happening fast enough, we want to find a way to hurry it along. We forget to sit back and wait for God. We do it on our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Joel Osteen had a great quote in one of his sermons. He said, “Don’t let a temporary feeling keep you from a permanent blessing.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">How many times has your impatience caused you to seek a path not initiated by God? (I hate to tell you how often that has happened to me.) Or maybe you blurted some hurtful words out to your spouse when your feelings were irrational (no room for a blessing there). If we react with our feelings we are certain to get out of God’s ideal plan for us. That includes the healthy marriage He desires for couples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Control can be a good thing when applying it to yourself (especially your tongue.) When you begin to exercise control on others and on the will of God, though, nothing good can happen. Learn to ‘let go and let God’. Stop trying to do it your way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are only two ways to go – your way or Yaweh! ;)</span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-35435329901831591272016-02-22T11:17:00.000-05:002016-02-22T11:17:50.122-05:00Truth<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">At one time, truth in our society consisted of integrity, honesty, and moral priorities. As a Christian nation, we understood the meaning of truth and accepted all it stood for.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Times have changed. There now seems to be a gray area people quickly turn to when they are uncomfortable with the real truth. Truth has become a matter of what works for you and what works for me, an individual choice. T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">he world tells us to deny biblical truths, yet encourages no restraints from voicing our own opinions of truth, especially to those we love. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Many people feel obligated to point out every flaw and every wrongdoing of their spouses, children, and family members, no matter how hurtful the words are. For some reason, society tells us we have the right to do this. “Speak out! Tell them what you are feeling! Tell them the truth!” I suppose this falls in that gray area where we determine what truth works for us.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Where lies the fine line between constructive truth and hurtful truth?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Luke 17:3 says, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">“If your brother sins, rebuke him.”</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> We are called to rebuke, or reprimand, or criticize, only when we see others commit a sin. (Check out all the Bible verses on ‘Rebuke’.) Nowhere does the Bible tell us to point out flaws or degrade someone, no matter how truthful your intentions are.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Repeatedly, the Bible DOES tell us to </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">“watch your tongues.”</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"> In other words, that means to watch carefully what you say so as not to offend another person. We should only speak positive words of edification to our spouses and our families, and everyone we know.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Yes, we should always speak truthfully to our spouses, but know when to hold the tongue. The truth is sometimes too difficult to hear. (I don’t need to hear my husband say, "Looks like you’ve put on a little weight," when I already know that truth.) Choose wisely when to share a difficult truth, if at all. Pray about it first.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">I John 3:18 says, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”</em><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Proverbs 10:19 says, </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.”</em><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Therefore, it is not your duty to tell your spouse or your children, or anyone for that matter, what is wrong with them. You are called to love them through actions and kind words.</span>Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-68573569688461965962016-02-08T09:14:00.000-05:002016-02-08T09:14:52.296-05:00Do Not Conform to the World - Part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Romans 12:2-3 <i>“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The second part of verse two says, “</span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Although I grew up going to church, I wasn’t concerned about God’s plan for my life.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">After my parent’s divorced, I stopped going to church and grounded my feet in the world.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Most of you know my story so let me cut to the chase.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I lived a life that catered to the desires of my flesh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I often look back at those days and still see God’s hand in my life, although I didn’t ask for His help.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">He certainly led me to my husband.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We met on the other side of the world in Korea – not a chance meeting in my opinion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Rick was not the type of person I thought I would marry.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">He was confident and from a different world than the one I knew. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">That was a big part of my attraction to him. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We both believed in God and thought that was all we needed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">So wrapped up in the world as a young married couple, Rick and I sought fun and adventure. When our children came along, reality turned our world upside down. We didn’t know how to thrive, together, with these additional responsibilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">At one point, I thought I married the wrong person; </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">I truly believed I had made a mistake.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">That’s how the old enemy gets us, though, by whispering lies into our minds.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">He wants to destroy marriages.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Had I listened to him, I would have ruined an amazing family.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">I sometimes shudder when I think of how I almost threw my marriage away. Thanks to </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">God, He wouldn’t allow me to easily walk away from it, though.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">He had a plan for Rick and me, but we needed to be together to see it unfold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The moment I turned my life to God, transformed myself by renewing my mind, my life changed.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I may never have done that had I not gone through the devastation of a failing marriage or the experience of being the child of a broken home.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">A big factor in keeping me from divorce was my own children.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I did not want them to experience the pain that I had known after my own parents divorced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It wasn’t until I turned my life over to God, and I began to renew my mind, that I could clearly see God’s plan unfolding for my life.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We can’t recognize that plan unless we are walking with Him every day, listening to what He has to say, and applying it to our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">We have to know God to be able to “</span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">test and approve</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">” His will for us - His “</span><i style="font-family: 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">good, pleasing and perfect will</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I have to tell you, I don’t EVER want to go back to the way things were when I “lived in the world.” I made such a mess of my life and almost destroyed my family.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">With God in front, I know I am walking the right path for my life.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I am fulfilling the reason that He put me on this planet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Now, there is no doubt in my mind that Rick and I were meant to be together.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">God gave me the desire to marry him regardless of the trials we would face.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The trials were a necessary part of the transformation.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">God knew that if we worked through those trials we would become stronger. We would become the people He desired us to be all along, a</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">nd then He could use us to fulfill His plan for our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">What an amazing journey it has been!</span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-87480539757303245252016-02-01T08:47:00.001-05:002016-02-01T08:47:59.921-05:00Do Not Conform<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Romans 12:2-3 <i>“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Romans 12 verse 2 was one of the first verses I memorized as a child. I had no idea what it truly meant. It wasn’t until after I went through my “desert experience” in my marriage that I understood the meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world.” </span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conform means to imitate, follow, adapt. There was a time in our society, not so long ago, where Christians stood out from the people “of the world”. That is not the case anymore. Many churches have relaxed their teachings, delivering a “feel good” message so as to expand their numbers. They turn a blind eye to the worldly behavior in the congregation. And so, the line between Christians and non-Christians has become blurry with too many believers acting like non-believers. Anyone can say they believe, but are they walking the walk to have a relationship with Jesus?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is extremely difficult to walk the straight and narrow path to the cross. We have to live in this world and our flesh wants to be a part of it. We face a spiritual battle every day to conform to the world. Even when we think we have figured it out, one little word or incident can send us reeling into our sinful flesh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">What’s even worse is that we look at many areas of the world that aren’t sinful, and we think that it’s okay to engage in them. That’s fine and dandy; we do have to “live”. But the problem lies with the panoply of choices vying for our time and attention, and our flesh wants to do it all. Everyone else does, right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Life becomes a silent competition with ourselves to keep up with everyone else. Suddenly, our waking hours are filled with continuous activities, and we no longer have enough time for God or our own families. It’s even worse when there are children involved because we want them to experience all they can. Running off to activities every night and driving through McDonalds for dinner is not quality living. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The world has us convinced that the more activities in the lives of our children, the more balanced they will be as adults. This is a lie from the devil. Oh, wait a second, doesn’t he rule the world? It’s his plan to keep us from God and to keep us from developing a healthy, functional family. Just like marriage, you can’t have a healthy family if you aren’t spending time together. Sitting in front of the television with computers and smartphones in hand does not make quality time either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was just as guilty of getting caught up in worldly activities when my children were younger. The closer I grew to God, though, the more I realized how unhealthy this lifestyle was for my family. I limited my children to two activities, and dinner time as a family at the table became a staple for us. My most precious memories as a family are those when we were all together just talking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conversation and quality time builds up the intimacy that too many families are missing these days. If you aren’t spending time with your children teaching them the values you want to pass on to them, someone else in the world is doing it for you. If you’re not tied tightly into a church where your children are active, what they are learning from the world is drawing them farther and farther from the truth of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be continued,,,</span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-22031051853326457912016-01-25T09:06:00.000-05:002016-01-25T18:42:48.784-05:00I Don't Understand<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know about you, but I’m glad that 2015 is
over. It was a difficult year for me. Looking back, it has made me question a lot of
my expectations of life. I’m one who likes to know what’s coming. I will keep on until I figure it out. Unfortunately, this past year seemed to be
full of too many unknowns which lead to ‘I don’t understands.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand why my list of friends I pray for,
with cancer, continues to grow rather than diminish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand why God would take a healthy baby girl from its mother in her fifth month of pregnancy and leave such a hole in our
hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand why one of my best friends from
high school died unexpectedly. I didn’t
think I was old enough to be losing classmates already, but it’s happening too
frequently. You start re-evaluating life when people your own age begin to die.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand why my closest friend, who is
more like a sister than a cousin to me, would lose her husband, also my same
age, when they had such a special relationship and so much to look forward to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand how the teenager of a friend
decided life wasn’t worth living and ended it.
It seems like yesterday we excitedly anticipated his arrival into the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I look at death, from a distance, I can
rationalize it by saying that we don’t understand it like God sees it. After all, this world is our temporary
stopping ground. Heaven is our real home,
and He’s just calling someone home when they die. But when it happens to someone close to me,
that truth is of little comfort. The
pain of the death of someone you love is hell to go through. I believe that’s what Hell is – a continuous feeling
of grief. What could be any worse?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let’s face it, God never promised us a wonderful
life here on Earth. In John 16:33, Jesus
says, “<i>In this world you will have
troubles</i>.” It will certainly be
filled with hardships. We won't understand everything that happens. We can't fully comprehend God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Isaiah 55:8,9 - <i>"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Living in the
world is like going to school - continual learning, continual tests. It’s how you get through the tests that
determines how your life will go. You can
either choose to stay stuck in the trials and pain or learn from them and move
on. Depending on God will lessen those burdens and make it easier to move on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know how anyone gets through the troubles of
life without God.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He gives us hope –
for tomorrow and for eternity.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If it
wasn’t for that, I think I would have given up a long time ago.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh wait, I almost did, many years ago.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But thank God, He was there to pick me up and
help me through.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He taught me how to
depend on Him.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He saved my life, my
marriage, the life of my daughter.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He
gave me purpose.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You see, we are all here for a reason. Believe it or not, that reason is not for our
families, our jobs, or fame and fortune. God has a plan or purpose for each and every one of us. When we forget that, we can get so bogged
down by the weight of the world that we lose sight of what is truly
important. People are what is important. Whatever your purpose is (and I highly
suggest you figure it out) it will be something to do with helping others and
leading them to God in the process.
Usually, our purpose develops from the greatest trials we’ve faced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Phillippians 2:3, <i>“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each
of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of
others.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can’t imagine thinking that this life is all there
is. You die…and then what? Surely this can’t be it. It makes so much sense to me to latch on to
the idea of heaven that God promises us.
That’s what keeps me going - the promise of eternity in the heavenly
realms where there are no tears or heartaches.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t understand why everyone wouldn’t want the
promise of Heaven. Besides, we get to
reunite with our friends and family who are already there and spend eternity
together. I will meet my first baby and
my grandbaby in heaven.
I wouldn’t miss that for the world!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So in spite of the hardships and grief, I choose to
keep on keeping on.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though I may
not understand why things happen the way they do, I do know that God is there
for me, to help me and give me His peace that surpasses all understanding.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The alternative is to believe in nothing.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Where is the hope in that?</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-69576600298380048922016-01-18T09:49:00.001-05:002016-01-18T09:49:28.603-05:00Stay Focused<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JESUS
CALLING – Jan. 18<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as
ascents. In the distance you see
snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight. Your longing to reach those peaks is good,
but you must not take shortcuts. Your
assignment is to follow Me, allowing Me to direct your path. Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay
close to Me.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Learn
to trust Me when things go “wrong.”
Disruptions to your routine highlight your dependence on me. Trusting acceptance of trials brings blessings
that far outweigh them all. Walk hand in
hand with Me through this day. I have
lovingly planned every inch of the way.
Trust does not falter when the path becomes rocky and steep. Breathe deep draughts of My Presence, and
hold tightly to My hand. Together we can
make it!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
John 21:19; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Habakkuk 3:19<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If we would follow the words in today’s “Jesus
Calling” consistently, we would live a far more peaceful and harmonious life. I particularly like the line, <i>“Trusting acceptance of trials brings
blessings that far outweigh them all.”</i>
If only I could keep that thought fresh in my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I don’t know about you, but I often lose my focus on
God’s plan for my life<i> when things go “wrong”. </i>I don’t always allow <i>disruptions to my routine highlight my dependence on God. </i></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I can get off track and lose my peace for a few
hours, even days, when my circumstances overwhelm me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So how do we stay on track? We just keep trying and keep praying. My most fervent prayer seems to be, “Lord,
help me stay focused on You.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are all here on Earth for a reason -- a reason
that God planned for us before we were even born. Don’t forget that. If you haven’t discovered God’s plan for your
life, let that be your focus: to discover why you are here. (Know that God’s plan for you will always be
about helping others and leading them to Him.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Acts
20:24 – “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish
the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of
testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That should be our most important goal – to fulfill
God’s plan for our life -- not to make a lot of money or have a successful
career or buy a bigger house. These are
all worldly “values” that easily sidetrack us from God. Yes, they are a big part of living in the
world, but they will be nothing when we go to our heavenly home. (Eternity is much longer than our short stay
on Earth.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We can’t be a light to the world or an example of
God’s love (which could lead a person to salvation and the promise of heaven)
when we allow ourselves to be weighed down by the world. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We WILL have struggles here, and the more mature you
become as a Christian, the more trials you will face.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is an enemy out there called the devil
who wants nothing more than to take your focus off God.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He will use your job, your health, your
children, your marriage, etc. to try to do so.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Realize this is a spiritual war we fight not just worldly problems that
are inevitable.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Learn how to fight these
wars by staying close to God.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep your
focus on Him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2
Peter 1:2 – “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the <u>knowledge</u>
of God and of Jesus our Lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3880391993226349743.post-84024303027948436432016-01-11T09:38:00.001-05:002016-01-11T09:38:07.146-05:00The Last Time <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here we are in 2016 already. I don’t know if you’ve realized it, but the
older you get, the faster time goes. I
found this ‘reading’ online last year (maybe on facebook) and am using it
tomorrow for a MOPS group I’m speaking to.
It is very touching for those of us who’ve been there. Please take it to heart – those of you who
are in the middle of this - you mother's of young children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">THE LAST
TIME<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the
moment you hold your baby in your arms, you will never be the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You might
long for the person you were before, when you had freedom and time,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">and nothing
in particular to worry about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You will
know tiredness like you never knew it before, and days will run into days that
are exactly the same, full of feedings and burping, nappy changes and crying,
whining and fighting, naps or a lack of naps,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It might
seem like a never-ending cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But don’t
forget…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a
last time for everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There will
come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They will
fall asleep on you after a long day and it will be the last time you ever hold
your sleeping child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One day you
will carry them on your hip, then set them down, and never pick them up that
way again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You will
scrub their hair in the bath one night and from that day on they will want to
bathe alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They will
hold your hand to cross the road, then never reach for it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They will
creep into your room at midnight for cuddles, and it will be the last night you
ever wake to this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
afternoon you will sing “the Wheels on the Bus” and do all the action,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">then never
sing them that song again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They will kiss
you goodbye at the school gate. The next day they will ask to walk to the gate
alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You will
read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They will
one day run to you with arms raised, for the very last time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The thing
is, you won’t even know it’s the last time until there are no more times, and
even then, it will take you a while to realize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So while you
are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them and when
they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For one last
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Author
unknown<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Sandee Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04338302050436386068noreply@blogger.com0