Stepping Out Of the Box

I have been especially touched by Kristin's posts on reaching out and ministering to the homeless in her city.

Take a minute to meet some of the homeless that she has ministered to with God's grace and love:

A Homeless Family

Bruce

Greg

If you're feeling called by God to do something, to help someone, to minister - do it no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Marriage and Divorce

Apparently there is a fine line between marriage and divorce. Click on the link to check out the article.

But to me it's not that fine - it's actually a barrier.
Many things in marriage make you think of the alternative, however just because you think of it does not mean you have to follow through with it. I've never seriously considered divorce, because I never really wanted to raise children, or do anything else by myself. I've realized that I like the comforts and companionship of marriage. My husband is a good man - my running joke is "I had a good eye!" I didn't know what I was getting when I said yes to him. Because we come from different backgrounds, and we both think we're smart, we've been known to disagree heatedly about a number of things. Some disagreements simmer and some are quick to be resolved. But we try to get to the place of resolution so that we can move on. We're always learning about each other. The person I married is not the same person today - the essence of him remains the same, but his interests, hobbies, and opinions change and grow on a daily basis, and so we both try our best to deal with our evolving selves. The commitment we have to each other is clear.

This line may be the crux of the article,"Who stays married and who doesn't is a question not always about commitment or deep abiding love -- it's about endurance." My view is, if you don't have commitment which leads to deep abiding love and loving, then it becomes an endurance race.

According to the author these are the traits of longterm happy marriages:

• "Couples who allow each other to grow separately are the ones with the best chance of growing together and staying together." I have found this to be true.
• "Finally, the wives with the highest marital satisfaction have a tight circle of wild women friends with whom to drink, travel and vent about their husbands." For me, it's great to have girlfriends.
• "Most women told her they stay married simply because they like their marriages more than they dislike them, even if much of the time it's 51 percent "like" to 49 percent "dislike." For me, the like percentage is higher.

The older couple in this comic represents where I am right now and I'm fine with it.

What about you? How long have you been married? Did that article make you look forward to having a long marriage or was it disappointing?

Sale

I love a sale. I found this great dress today on sale at Ann Taylor Loft for $3.41. It was originally $79.50. The picture does not do it justice, but it looks beautiful on. I wanted to tell the world, or at least tell all my friends.

I became a Christian at the age of 8; I made the decision to follow Christ and got baptized at the beach in Nassau, Bahamas soon after I made that decision. The Monday I went to school, I knew something had happened because I was giddy with excitement. I remember a classmate asking what's wrong with me; I don't remember what I said or if I said anything.

As I went on through school and migrated to the States, the people I came in contact with knew there was something different about me; they just didnt know Who was making the difference in my life. Sometimes I shared, but most times I didn't.

There was a young lady that I went to middle and high school with, and she had somewhat of a reputation. During HS she became a Christian. I was happy to hear she was a Christian, so we were talking. Do you know what she said to me during that conversation, that stays with me these many years? She said, "You knew about this life and Jesus all along, and you never told me?" I smiled, but I was deeply convicted.

From that moment on, in addition to living my life a certain way, when given an opportunity I'm no longer afraid to share Who is making a difference in my life.

If you can tell someone about a great sale, you can tell them about the Person who has made all the difference in your life. Just think, salvation and a new way of living is bigger than the best sale on any day.

It's like finding a great sale - you've got to tell somebody because it's something worth telling.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

Do people know why you're different? Tell someone.

Abortion...sigh

I really wished that Dr. Yang on Grey's Anatomy did not go through with her abortion last night.

My first introduction to abortion was while working at a summer job in the late 80s as a File Clerk. This job was one of the worst jobs in creation - so bad that I never listed it on my resume. The requirements of the job were to file pertinent papers pertaining to a client’s file all day. For 8 hours this was all we did. The pay was horrid - minimum wage. The room where all of this filing took place was grey, full of files and about the size of a standard basement. My co workers were all women from different walks of life; I remember that some of the girls smoked marijuana religiously on their lunch hour and seemed to have been beaten down by life even though they were relatively young. Then there was an older lady probably in her late 30s; she was married and was doing this job as a means to support her family. One day she told me that she wouldn't be coming in for the next three days because she was pregnant, but she couldn't afford to have another child so her and her husband were going to take care of it. She didn't seem comfortable telling me this as a matter fact she seemed quite pained, but it seemed that they had decided this was the best they could do at the time. This was my first introduction to abortion and I thought to myself this is surely not how it's portrayed in the media.

Fast forward a couple of years - I'm now married, have a couple of children and am working. I worked with a young lady who was very “giving” of herself, and if she got pregnant, she aborted. When I met her, she had already had three abortions, but was still living the same way. I tried to influence the best I could, but I don't know if I made difference. I hope I did.

Every election year, abortion comes up. I don't see how abortion becomes a litmus test for who is a great politician or who will run the country well. In my mind, both parties are guilty since neither is acting on the greatest commandment, which is to love. Any how, within my circle of friends I randomly decided to ask if anyone ever had an abortion. To my surprise more than half of the group had.

So what has all of this taught me?

• For the most part a woman does not come to this decision lightly.
• Last night on TV - they said it’s better to have no child than an unwanted child; I can't agree with this. In the long run a career does not equate to a human life.
• Having children forces you to think outside of yourself; I know all of us aren't always ready for it when it happens, but you learn to put yourself aside.
• If you're here - someone did it for you. They might not have done it perfectly, but you're here and you now have an opportunity for hope; an opportunity to do things differently.
• Once you've gone through a pregnancy and delivery you recognize the miracle of creating another life - even if the circumstances around the pregnancy aren't ideal.
• When you abort they're lingering feelings/emotions that may show up at the oddest times for both you and the dad.

I am pro-life but not judgmental. I recognize that life is complicated and sometimes things happen that we wouldn’t have planned for ourselves. Bad things happen to good people all the time. But I know I’m not always in control of my circumstances. When difficult situations arise, I turn to God to provide wisdom and direction. Turning to God will not lead you in the wrong direction.

So if you’re wrestling with this, forget the politicians. Be still. Stop – do nothing. Talk to God and let Him lead you in the right direction.

I will leave you with Psalms 139 which has helped me many times, particularly verses 13-18. God made you (and your unborn children) and knows you.