Deformed Cinnamon Rolls

Deformed Cinnamon Rolls

The other day, the most amazing thing happened. An Amish bakery opened up in the little town close to where I live! If you have no idea why this is amazing, then go Google Amish and see what it says about their cooking! I just can't describe it! So you can guess my excitement when I saw several shelves full of homemade cinnamon rolls (with icing!!!!). You would have thought it was Christmas! I have gone in there 4 more times since then…they are like nothing you have ever tasted.

Many of you may be rolling your eyes and wondering what the big deal is. Wal-mart sells cinnamon rolls with icing too! Honestly, if you were going for looks alone, Wal-mart would win every time. Every one of their rolls are perfectly shaped and evenly frosted. You would have a hard time picking out which was the bigger or better roll if you had to choose just one. But let me tell you, the Amish make theirs all different shapes. Some are a little bigger, some more oval, some pop more out the top and some have frosting dripping down all sides and around the bottom. They all look completely different. But without a doubt, when compared to perfection, the deformed ones are the best!

I had to laugh, as I was stuffing my face. It would figure that God would give me a comparison to us and our body image right as I am packing in a couple hundred calories! HA!

In reality it is probably the best comparison He has ever given me! If you haven't already listened to my testimony you may not know this, but I have a huge issue with the way that I view myself. It started years ago, and it is one of those stupid little pits that just won't go away! Right now at this exact moment, I am doing really great with not focusing on it, but that doesn't mean that I won't get slammed next week and feel like I need to lose a million pounds.

Why is it that we have such a hard time accepting who God made us? There were times when I tried endlessly to lose 20 more pounds so that I could wear a size 4 again. Guess what…I am not a size 4 body! I never will be! But yet there have been times when I desperately wanted to look like someone else.

Isn't it funny that we all will see someone that looks "just like" what we want to be and we will do almost anything to get their image. But when it comes down to it, we realize that after working 10 weeks on it, we still haven't accomplished it.

Do you believe that God does not make mistakes? If you believed it yesterday, then believe it today too, because you are not a mistake! You are beautiful to the God of the universe! Nothing satan says to you can take away the fact that God made you just the way you are!

We have got to realize that perfect little Barbie dolls or muscle men are never going to compare to the amazing things people can do who just happened to be different shapes and different sizes. When God looks down on you, He does not see you against the backdrop of what America's standards are; He sees you against the backdrop of a cross. He sees someone that He wants to use to bring others to Him! He sees someone that He loves enough to sacrifice His Son for! He sees the REAL you!

Let's stop running after something that will just die with these bodies. The real you is what draws people to Christ! Not the perfect little, everyone looks the same, everything is in place you! It's time to find a new store and pick out the rolls that are slightly imperfect. It's time for a head and heart change! Stop believing the lies that satan wants you to believe and start claiming with authority the truth that you are God's child and He did NOT make a mistake on you! You are You for a purpose and NOTHING is going to change that! The quicker we accept it…the quicker we claim freedom over yet one more area that satan is trying to distract us with! Fight it, fight Him and love Jesus!

P.S. …. God's crazy about YOU! (Just so you know! J )

Imitators

Imitators    

 

If we took a poll of all the little boys in our church, I would venture to guess that most if not all have some sort of super hero underwear or p.j.'s at home. The same for little girls, they have dress up clothes and princess shoes. They run around the house dancing and twirling or jumping off couches. Their dreams of being superman are constantly on their little minds….one day prince charming will rescue me is the dream of every little girl. We use to dream pretty big didn't we? We use to think that our dads were the strongest and our moms the prettiest. We would put our dads' boots on and play with our moms' jewelry or makeup. All the while dreaming of who we wanted to be when we grew up. Who did you use to imitate? There has to be someone. Everyone had someone that they used to look up to and strive to be more like.

More importantly though, who do you choose to imitate now?

What I have begun to realize is that the older we get, the more warped our "hero's" are. Let me explain. Most little kids will automatically say their mom or dad. Where does it change so drastically that when we hit oh say 13ish, our parents are now complete idiots and know absolutely nothing? Superman and our favorite princess are no longer cool and revered, rather, we look at the pretty cheerleader or popular quarterback and wish that we could be like them (o.k. so I never wanted to be a cheerleader….but you get my drift) we want to stand out. We want to be popular. We want everyone to notice us and think we are cool. So we strive to impress. We go to great measures to look "good", and go into meltdown if we have any sort of blemish on our faces. We think we will be forever remembered as the zit faced kid or the girl who didn't have Guess jeans or Nike shoes. Disaster is spelled out like this: "I don't have a date".

That same warped mine, shifts a bit, but never entirely goes away. We begin to want to impress different people as we grow. The situation may change, but our motives hardly ever do. We need approval. We seek to be like the popular people.

At what length have you gone to get the approval you desired? Have you compromised your moral standards? Decided to look cool and go out drinking with your buddies? Starved yourself to lose a few pounds, to look skinnier than the next girl? Ignored someone beside you because she just didn't fit your idea of what a friend would look like? How can we as adults really fall into the "I want to be cool" category…..aren't we suppose to be passed that?

Let me throw a verse at you and have you think on it a bit….

 

Galatians 1:10

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please, men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Pretty convicting huh???

Take a quick look at your life. Can you say that you are spending your life trying to win the approval of God? Think about the lengths we go to fit in. Think about the lengths we go to so that people will like us more. Think of the lengths we go to so that people will be impressed with us. Now think about how amazing it would be if we tried that hard to impress God. If we did all things for His Glory. How amazing would that be? From experience I can testify that God's approval fills you in a way that makes others approval unnecessary. God would not only fill you, but would keep you filled to a point that nothing else mattered.

Paul, Silas & Timothy wrote to the church of the Thessalonians and said this:

1 Thessalonians 1:5-8

"You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere."

The Thessalonians chose to imitate men of God. The men of God chose to live among them and be models to imitate. The result? The Thessalonians became models to other Christians and their faith was known everywhere! There is one part of the verse though that I don't want you to overlook…..they imitated men of God in spite of SEVERE suffering! Can we do that? We imitate people so that we are more popular and have more "fun". Can we model people of God even if we know that there may be suffering involved? Can we step out of our comfortable living to say to God, "even if it means suffering, I will follow you completely"? Is it worth to you?

He wants our praise. He wants our devotion. He wants to be #1 in our lives. Are we going to let Him? Are we going to love Him so much that we want to only impress Him? Living like the models He desires us to be? The result will be a ripple effect. You will affect others, who will affect others, etc……

One final thought: it may be surprising to see how many people want to be like you. If you are imitating God, then you are a person worth imitating. Whether you want it or not, there will be someone somewhere that is a follower.

Are you living a life worth imitating?     

The Pretender

The Pretender

 

Have you ever stood in front of the apple display at the store and searched for the perfect ones? I brought home a bag of the shiniest, reddest, biggest apples the other day. I am pretty picky when I am choosing. If there is even a slight cut or bruise I won't get it. They have to be near perfection!

 

One of my kids wanted one of the apples that I had brought home, so I started peeling it and got such a surprise that my perfect apple had brown streaks all throughout the middle! I thought that I could just trim it off and it would be o.k., but the further that I cut, the more brown that I saw. It went all the way through to the core! There was nothing that I could do but throw it away. I was super annoyed!

 

It was like that amazing little apple was just pretending to be amazing…the reality was that as soon as you peeled back the layers, the meat was no good at all.

 

Isn't it just crazy how we can compare ourselves to so many different things? Many of you know the exact comparison that is coming…

are you like that apple?

 

It is sooo easy to claim that you are a Christian in this day and age! But did you catch that 6^th word in that sentence: claim! So many people (I mean soooo many) say that they are Christians, yet refuse to walk in the light of Christ!

It says clearly in 1 John 1:6

"If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth."

 

What exactly would you define darkness to be? My definition is that it is the absence of light. Who is Light? Jesus! So anything that we do that is not what Jesus would do, would it be safe to say that He is not going to be shining His light on it? And if He isn't shining His light on it…then we are in darkness.

 

I want to challenge you with this question:

Do you claim that you love Jesus but live like you don't need Him around?

Here is a really easy test if you are questioning yourself at all!

John 14:15

"If you love ME, you will obey My commands."

 

What would we find if we started looking into your life? I mean really digging into the heart of who you are and what you think, feel and do! I would never guess what some of you are really like by just looking. I see people go to church, sing, pray, and give. Is there anyone out there right now that does all of those things, but goes home at night and feels like a fake? Are you pretending because you want others to accept you? Do you put on a front because people's expectations of you are something that you aren't even close to? If you can say yes to these…then aren't you exhausted with playing this game? I will tell you plain and simple without hesitation…you CAN NOT pretend with God! Nothing that you did while trying to look good on this earth is going to amount to anything when you are standing before the Lord if you don't have Jesus!!! He is going to look you in the eye and either say "welcome my child", or "I never knew you, away from me you evildoers"…Matthew 7:23

 

Please take these words to heart! Don't get caught up trying to be someone that you aren't! If you need to find Jesus…go find Him! But don't sit on that shelf rotting, hoping that because you look good, you will get picked! I promise you that you will one day have the peeling ripped back, and your heart will be the only thing exposed!

 

What is God gonna find?

Just Jump

Just Jump

Remember the feeling of standing on the edge of a dock, contemplating whether or not you wanted to jump into the water? How many times did you hear from the others that were already swimming: "just jump, it'll feels like bathwater!" Countless times I hesitated, but was finally convinced to take the plunge. I don't know what kind of bath those kids were taking, but the water was always about 20 degrees off of my kind of bath water! The shock of sun kissed skin meeting cold water, at times, took my breath away! But I soon realized as I joined the fun, that indeed, the longer I swam, the warmer it got. We would end up trying to convince the next person to jump and then swimming until our fingers were little raisins.

Are any of you faced right now with a situation that has you standing on the dock hesitating to jump in? Why is it that in one breathe we breath how great God is and how much we trust Him, then in the very next one, hesitate to do what He asks us to do?

We are commanded in Psalm 34:8 to

"Taste and see that the LORD is good."

If you truly believe God is good…

If you truly believe that God is good…

If you truly! Believe that God is good!....

Then take it from someone who has been swimming for a while…

Just Jump!...He will catch you every time!

Back to the Grindstone

I apologize to everyone who reads these regularly!  I have been missing writing the last couple of weeks!  But now the chaos is over and I have lots of time to finish all the devo's that God has given me!  look for several more to be posted soon!  hope you enjoy Cops!  As always comments are welcome and needed!  It keeps me encouraged to know your thoughts!!

COPS

Cops

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving along in usual Tina fashion…a little too fast! I came up over a hill and saw the red and blues come on instantly. You all know the feeling that happens in that moment of time. My stomach dropped and I pretty much slam on my brakes. You can imagine my relief when I realized that it was one of those signs that just tracks your speed. I got lucky…this time.

I don't know how many times I have had that stomach dropping instant of fear. I came face to face with a real cop not long after my sign incident. I thankfully wasn't speeding, and realized just how good it felt to know that I was safe.

With all of my cop experience, I look back and realize that every time it is completely unexpected! There is never a time when I intentionally set out to get a ticket. I may know that I am speeding, but I don't try to go find a cop and ask him to please pull me over. But without fail, they always seem to find me. It will always catch up with me! Not every time I speed (or I may be without a license). But eventually, it all comes slapping me in the face!

Does that sound anything like what you are living right now? Are you involved with sin in a way that you are constantly trying to dodge the radar? Let me be perfectly clear about something…you will one day get stopped!

Every one of us has at least one thing that will happen no matter what: we will all stand before the Lord when we die. Some may anticipate the end nearing, some may get a countdown because of sickness, but many of our lives will be snuffed out before we even realize that it is over. In that moment where we will be standing before the Lord…what will your reality be? Will it be the fact that you just got busted? Will everything you ever did and never repented for coming rushing forward in a great big wave of regret? Or will you hear without hesitation "well done good and faithful servant!"

When are you going to die? What??? You don't know? Well know this: God knows! God loves us and wants us with Him! He will be there just waiting for us to stop "speeding" and decide to do things His Way. He will wait until the day we die. Then….it's too late to change your actions!

Don't get caught doing something you know is wrong! Sin does nothing but separate us from the only ONE who can save us. When you face Jesus on that unexpected day…I pray that you won't have that sinking stomach feeling, but rather will walk with confidence into His Arms as He welcomes you Home!

The unexpected will happen one day! Don't get caught daydreaming! Live with purpose and intention! Wake up each day determined to following His Ways! When you mess up, admit it and tell Him you're sorry! Don't be stubborn and prideful, because I will guarantee you won't want the ticket God hands out…the price to pay will be too much to handle!

Fill it Up

Fill it up

Have you ever had to fill your boat up on the lake? It is one of the most maddening things to have to do. It is always way higher than the gas stations in town. Several years ago we started taking 5 gallon containers and filling them up with the cheaper gas, hauling it to the lake and filling the boat that way. It saved us a ton of money.

This year we started having trouble with our boat. At the marina, they told us that they have had so many problems come through because of the gas that people are using. There was something added to it that was literally destroying the engines. So when everyone thinks they are saving money by filling it with the cheap stuff, in the end, it costs more than they could imagine.

What are you using to fill yourself up? What exactly do you allow your mind to absorb?

So many people tell me that the music they listen to doesn't affect them at all. They listen to it mainly because they just like the beat. Or movies they choose to watch are for entertainment only. It just is fun to watch, it won't hurt them at all.

This past week I proved both of those theories wrong in the form of one 6 year old kid. My son is a perfect example of how wrong those people are that claim those things to be true!

The first example is when we were walking through the movie store. I was looking at some old movies, and Kolt comes running up with his choices. As I continued searching for something good, I look down to see Kolt with his hands over his face. I asked him what was wrong and he just said that he needed to get out of there fast because the cases were too scary on some. WoW! He hadn't even watched the movie…just one little picture and he knew that he needed to flee!

The second example came after we had been listening to the radio while in the boat. I think the channel of choice that day was country. We all enjoy it, so we were having a great time blaring it and singing along. A new song that I had never heard before came on and I loved it, until it came to a part about beer. I really didn't think anything about it until that evening. Right before bed, Kolt told me that there was this one part of a song that he just couldn't get out of his head. You can just about guess what it was; yep, the part about beer. It just shocked me!

If a little boy caught on that quickly, do not even stand there and tell me that it just doesn't affect you! You see, when we listen to crap music or watch ridiculous shows, it is like we are filling ourselves with the cheap gas. Yes we will go away in a good mood or relaxed or whatever, but in a short while, the cost of the damage that is done will be more than most of us are willing to pay.

When are we going to become a people that stand up and stand strong against this world? In Romans 12:2 it states "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…". When this world's standards say that scary movies are o.k., or that sex scenes aren't that bad, or that vulgar music won't affect you, we need to take a stand and prove it wrong! Why would any of us want to be in a situation where the "fillers" in our lives are really slowly destroying us? In the end, you will pay a heavy price for filling your head and heart with the cheap stuff!

Don't let satan lead you to believe that all the stuff the world offers will keep you going! He will seem so right at times, and you will slip farther and farther away from the truth. You may slip so far that the truth looks too hard to accept. You may get to a point where Bible study is for the "Jesus Freaks" and you will be fine without it. There will come a day, though, when your engine will start having problems, and you may just have no clue where to go or how you will ever get out of the mess you got yourself in! Start now…catch it before it destroys you!

Don't let satan win…I am so extremely sick of that! Who out there is going to stand up and stand strong for God and the sacrifice He made? Who is going to stand for Jesus instead of for someone who so clearly hates Him and everything that He stands for?

It just comes down to a choice once again doesn't it? Your choice! What's it gonna be? Why don't we just fix it before it breaks and maintain it by putting the right kinds of "fuel" in it? No more cutting corners…when it comes to this kind of stuff, only the real gas will do!

Gone Fishin’

Gone Fishin'

When we were little I remember the thrill of fishing, especially when we would find the spot! There were times that my dad got no fishing of his own done; as soon as one of us kids' catch was released, another one of us would have a fish hooked. We would be that way for hours!

Something happened to change the excitement that was felt over fishing. It was called growing up. For some reason, we got to a point where we realized that the fish that were being caught weren't really that big at all and the thrill over catching the little ones was gone. I guess we just got so used to it, that we were no longer satisfied with what we had…we wanted the bigger fish!

Some have continued to chase the bigger fish. My husband and son have never lost the thrill over fishing all night in search of the "big one". But for me, I pretty much just quit fishing all together. Sure I will head out once in a while, but it is a rare occasion.

I wonder how often this same scenario applies to the gifts and talents God gives us to use.

I was thinking the other day about how often we want to be able to do what someone else does. We want to have the spot light, or the recognition, or the "Big Fish". We try to be someone that we aren't, because we have gotten bored with whom we really are. It is like a domino effect. We may be content doing what we do for a while, but then we see someone else (who in our minds) has a better job, or skill, or talent. So we set out in search of something else. When we don't find it, we just give up and never return to diligently working where we were supposed to be working in the first place.

You know, there is only going to be so many Billy Graham's, Beth Moore's, or James Dobson's. If we are constantly chasing after someone else's calling, what will happen to ours?

Do you believe that God does not make mistakes? If the answer is yes, then you have to trust that He made you just the way you are for a reason. He has put you in the right place at the right time for such a time as this!

Who around you needs to see Jesus?

There is someone! I will guarantee that people are watching you. You may think at times that you aren't important, or really don't have an influence over anyone. You may even feel as if your life really has no meaning at all! If you stay in that mindset, I assure you, that satan is winning! You have a God that loves and pursues you! He laid the foundation of the earth and created everything that you see here! Do not let satan get an edge on what God can accomplish through you!

We all need to stop chasing and instead realize that we are sitting right over the biggest fishing hole ever! It is filled with a ton of fish that need to be caught! Your fishing hole may hold 50; someone else's might hold 5000. But if you try to sneak into theirs, then your 50 won't ever be caught!

Let's be content to be where we are. Let's work diligently to catch as many "fish" as we can. God can always move us, but if He says to stay, then let's keep our anchors securely in place. We have to remember that we all have a place in the body of Christ. If the feet try to be the hands, though, things get all messed up! Each and every one of us is just as important as the next! Don't ever feel like what you have been given to do isn't worth doing! That couldn't be further from the truth!

So whether it's little fish or big fish, 10 fish or 1000 fish, don't give up!

Luke 10:2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

 

The workers are needed…let's get back to fishing!

Boat Driver

Boat Driver

I was driving the boat the other day while my 13 year old son and 8 year old daughter were tubing. She claims that tubing is "her thing" and jumps at the chance to do it any time she can. Her type of tubing is about 2 paces slower than his so I have to really change my mind set when I am driving them together. It is really hard to make both happy, it is either boring for him or horrifyingly scary for her.

This particular morning I apparently was favoring him a bit more because all I heard from her were screams and gestures to slow down. It was funny too because all it would take was for her to go outside of the wake or the rev of the boat motor. She was anticipating falling out by just those 2 things, without even hitting any waves or anything. Her comfort zone was a specific speed riding right behind the boat.

I realized that she did not trust me at all. I love her so much and would never do anything to hurt her. But every time I would change things a little bit by going just a bit faster or curvier, she would immediately freak out and want to have things back the way that they were. She was scared to death of falling out; but you know what…she was wearing a life jacket! Even if she fell out, she would just bob there in place until I came back to get her (which I would). She had absolutely nothing to worry about, but she still tried to control the ride.

You know what I'm gonna say next don't you? J

Doesn't this sound just like us with God?

We find ourselves telling Him that we can't do this or that because it would be too uncomfortable. We are constantly afraid of failing because we feel unqualified so we don't even want to take one step away from our safety zone. You know…the zone where nothing ever changes and everything is completely the way we like it. We try to control every inch of this "ride" we are on and in the end; it turns out to be a slow and uneventful journey.

We have a God that qualifies the called even if they aren't humanly qualified for the job. He empowers the weak to lead in a way that breaks through any kind of box that hinders the Spirit from working. God is mighty and strong and is in control of everything. You have a choice in which way you want your "tube ride" to go. You have opportunities to be used every day! You can sit there and tell God over and over that you can't do this or don't want to go there. You can deny Him access to use you if you want. Or…you can trust Him to know which direction is best, which speed is right, and to know without a doubt that He will pick you up every time you fall.

You have an opportunity right now to surrender your whole life to be used in any way possible to bring glory and honor to HIM. It will not be a smooth ride, but man, it will be a fulfilling ride! At the end you will look back and stand in awe that you were used in such a mighty way. You will find yourself jumping waves and crashing head first into situations you would have, at all costs, avoided before! But what you will find is that people have stopped and watched, noticing that there is something different about you!

We all will be done with our little boat ride some day. Many will never really do anything for Him at all. Some will follow, but will follow only a certain path. But there will be the few…the ones that jump on the tube, hold on tight, and take whatever the driver wants to hit them with! They are the ones that, without doubt, will be battered and bruised. But take notice because they will also be the ones experiencing a level of power that can be explained no other way except GOD!
Scared or not, I want to be that kind of person!

So tell me…are you going to be one of them too? The choice is yours! Hang on tight or tell Him to go slower. But remember, you only get one chance at this ride…don't end it with regrets!

Knock Knock

Knock Knock

Imagine yourself for a second, 9:00 at night, at the end of a very stressful day. You actually had time to stop and grab a movie before you got home. Kids in bed (if you have kids), dishes done. You just settle on the couch with your favorite blanket around you and just as you get comfortable, someone knocks on your door. I can just hear the groans now! Who out there would actually ignore the knocks and act like you didn't hear them? Not many…although all of you may complain and not want to get up, you would push pause, unwrap yourself from your blankie, and go see who was there.

As I was thinking about this, I realized that the only way that many of us wouldn't go answer that door was if we knew that the person on the other side was going to harm us, or if it was someone we really didn't want to see. But other than that, it wouldn't matter what we were doing, we would stop and change our plans to see what that one person wanted from us.

Why in the world then do we ignore Jesus when He is at our door knocking?

Re 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

 

Jesus stands at our doors and knocks!!! He wants you to listen to Him calling. He wants you to invite Him into your hearts and wants to lead and guide you! Why do we treat Him like a stranger that we are scared of or someone that we just don't want to see!

 

I know personally that left alone; I can make a pretty big mess out of my life. If you are anything like me, you need help!

 

Jesus wants to be in control…He will never forsake us, or leave us, or dump us, or lead us astray. He doesn't make mistakes either. So what about that person makes us want to keep the door locked up tight? We are crazy sometimes, don't you think!

 

Today I want to challenge you to listen for that knock on the door. He is knocking…because that is what He does! Don't just sit there not wanting to see what the GOD of the universe has for you! Don't be scared of the change that He may want to see happen, or the things that He wants to do with you! Instead, embrace the fact that Jesus really does love you, know you and pursues you. He really does call people like you and me, and He really is waiting for you to let Him in!

 

Don't disappoint Him…Don't strand Him outside!

OPEN THE DOOR!!!