The Voice! The Voice is back on! & matters of the heart

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

I want to thank everyone who told me to get well soon last week. I think it must have really helped. Because I am feeling so much better this week! You all are the best!

I have been very delighted, to say the least, that The Voice has started up a new season. I have already made some picks on the ones to watch. I must say I get a tad emotionally attached to these singers every season. Last season’s winner Sawyer Frederick was so cute. I just wanted to put him in my pocket & carry him around. I put him on one of my Pandora stations. REALLY liked him. He reminded me of my own rockstar son. Also, a few seasons back there was Cole Vosbury & Nicolas David. We really rooted for them. When the season was over, I was sad & I missed seeing them every week. I added them to my Pandora station, too. So, it’s kinda like they aren’t really gone. BUT I LOVE that Gwen is back this season. I just really like that girl. She seems like a genuinely nice person.

So, I have had something on my mind this week, that I want to talk to you about. I know there are a lot of people that are doing their best to live a life for the Lord. I know we may not do some of what the world classifies the “BIG” sins. We don’t kill, steal, or commit adultery. We give of our means on Sunday & don’t miss church services, so we are good, right? Let me ask you this, when’s the last time you have taken inventory of your heart?

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. (NKJV)

We can’t really talk about what is in a person’s heart without talking about what comes out of their mouth. Do we look down on others, that they aren’t as “good” as we are? Do we love to “tote the tale” as my Mamaw used to say? Does it seem to please you to hear something maybe not so flattering about someone else, because it makes you not feel so bad about what you have going on?

Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. (NKJV)

Do we think, “I would never do that.”? Or I may do this, but she does that & that’s worse. Do we put others down instead of lifting them up? I really believe the devil comes at us in a different direction. He knows we try to keep a certain standard of living, so he comes subtly, in the form of jealousy or envy. He enters in our hearts with hatred for each other. Or the feeling of pride & I’m better than others. If you go to church every time the doors are open, but are quick to judge & make a biting comment, that’s a heart problem.

Instead of pointing your finger at someone & beating them over their head with their sin, why not show you care? Let’s have a gentle & caring spirit, like the Lord commanded.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (NKJV)

You never know what kind of situation someone else is in & why they are doing what they are doing. Shame on us, as Christians, if we can’t stretch out our hand to help, instead of pointing our finger to criticize. How many times have YOU changed because someone was trying to shame you into seeing the error in your way? I’ve never seen those tactics work that well on adults. That’s why it is so important to do our best not to be judgmental. Because you never know when you will be on the receiving end of a bad situation.

Things happen to all of us in life. I have a son, that was raised in church, however, is not faithful at this time. I have had people make comments to me about his appearance & how they cannot believe that’s my son. Well, you know what, y’all? That’s rude & hurtful. I pray for him every day the Lord gives me breath. This has been a real game changer for me & I don’t specifically need others pointing his bad choices out to me. I know what they are. I pray for these people making these comments to me because, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, we are all in this together. Let’s act like it & help one another. Even when it pushes us out of our comfort zone. You never know how much an encouraging word means to someone who is going through a difficult time. We are to have a spirit of kindness & meekness. Not a spirit of judgment & critical opinions. Because y’all, that’s just what a person who is looking down their nose is doing. Giving their opinion. AND everybody has one. A person, who is truly caring & concerned for others, will react in love & humbleness to a troubled soul. That’s what Jesus commanded. This other stuff does not come from the Lord. Let’s make sure our words are seasoned with goodness & kindness for others.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (NKJV)

Let’s not take things so seriously that we mouth off & hurt other people’s feelings in the process. Let’s not let the devil get in our hearts & give us a critical spirit. Let me also add, I am looking at myself, as I write all of this. I am guilty of these things myself. I do pray to be a better person & a faithful servant to the Lord. If I am busy doing the Lord’s work, I won’t have time to be on point to criticize others. I don’t want to lose sight of my purpose of serving the Lord, by letting the devil convince me it’s ok to be hateful when something doesn’t go my way.

Ephesians 3:17-18 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; (NKJV)

I know I am kinda all over the place with this. I just know how important it is to do our best to live a life without a critical spirit. You can have so many more blessings if you will keep an understanding & loving heart. We should pray for the Lord to direct our hearts. (Because Lord KNOWS I can’t do all this by myself.)

II Thessalonians 3:5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. (NKJV)

I hope everyone is having a blessed week. The weather has just showed out this week. It has been so pleasant outside. I want y’all to know since I felt bad last week, I have the ultimate Mount St. Laundry that has made an appearance in my bedroom floor. Yes, we are dressing out of the pile. So, until next time I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credits: pinterest,duoparadigms

What to do if someone is drowning & how I am getting ready for a wedding

July 21, 2015July 21, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

It has been said when rescuing someone from drowning, to approach them from the back. Because of their panic, if you come at them from the front, they could grab you & pull you down with them. Fear & panic can cause you to think & act unwisely.

As Christians, I think this is the same thing that happens to us sometimes. We get news that times are a changin’ & we panic. Bless our hearts. We start saying things that are not uplifting. We start acting like we know it all & are sooo much better than what is going on that we forget. We forget that we are those same sinners that need forgiveness. Still. Ya’ll, just because someone is different, than we are, does not give us the right to judge. We should not spew hate. Are we not still the same group of people that are supposed to be leading people to Jesus? Not sending them running the other way. We, as Christians, have such a terrific opportunity to tell others the truth about what the Bible says about sin. Let’s not mess it up. We need to be sure we season our words with grace. We need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. I was reading in Romans 1 about what the God inspired apostle Paul said about sin. He laid it down pretty simple about the wicked & Godless people:

Romans 1: 26-27

²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.(NKJV)

But he didn’t stop there. He also called out some other sins.

²⁸Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³²Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.(NKJV)

This covers about every sin there is. He went from one end of the spectrum of envy & murder all the way to being unloving. Did you notice he mentioned, disobeying parents & gossiping?

Do you know anyone that’s guilty of that? Do you know anyone who gossips or stands by & listens to another person gossiping? Ouch! That hits close to home. It’s sin, just like being a homosexual or murderer, according to the passage above.

The scripture goes on to say in Romans 2:

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ²But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? (NKJV)

The apostle Paul was talking to the church at Rome. Christians that were passing judgment on those around them for their sins. He was telling them they should not be judging others, because they too, were sinners. We are taught the ONLY judgment we can speak of is a righteous judgment.

John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

I read an article the other day written by a person who was an active member of a church. However, is not now. He said a secret about a lot of people professing Christianity is that they don’t read their Bibles. Oh they attend every service, warm their pew, give of their means, & sing loud. But when they are faced with sin, they start going along with the crowd. They agree to whatever the Christians are saying. However, never opening their Bibles to see what God is really saying.

Listen folks, don’t take someone else’s word for what God’s commandments are. Make sure you know. You are the only one responsible for you.

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;(NKJV)

II Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.(KJV)

I hope everybody has been having a good week. It has been hot here & you know what? That’s what it’s supposed to be for July in Mississippi. But we are still just complaining away. Now don’t that beat all? At least it will hopefully not be SO hot when my daughter gets married this fall. I wonder if there is a way to look at the weather, that far in advance?We want some good weather so that everybody will be comfortable for an outside wedding & what have you. Until next time, I pray you will stay out of the heat. I will perhaps be sitting under the air conditioner, staying cool, while watching way too many episodes of “Say Yes To The Dress”. HEY, we have got to do our research here. And of course I will do all of this while I should be washing clothes.

Credits: Our Daily Bread, patheos, a happy lass, pinterest

Do you have FOMO? I know I do!

October 2, 2012 / kstrick7 / 1 Comment

I saw a commercial the other night on t.v. that got me to thinking. It was talking about FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). We have so many things that are a part of our daily life- due to FOMO. I know I have FOMO. I check my Facebook page to see if anyone has commented on anything noteworthy or has tagged me in a post. I look at my phone, from time to time throughout the day, just to see if someone texting me or has called me. I have to hop on Pinterest to see what is new in the world of crafts, funny sayings, fashion, recipes, home décor, & the like, because I don’t want to be the last one to know what’s happening. I have to check my email, read the articles on Yahoo & scan the blogs I love- just to make sure I am up to date.

Then, there are cell phones….need I say more?? Why is that I cannot go anywhere without my phone? I mean I take it room to room with me, at home. I have it while I am driving, at the store, at work, at church (on silent of course), wherever I am I have my phone. Texting is a whole other entity in itself. There is a campaign going on with AT & T telling people – “It can wait.” Why? Because people have a fear of missing out, more now, than ever before.

There’s one appointment, that we do not have to worry about missing out on. The Hebrew writer tells of it in

Hebrews 9:27-And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.

If we miss death, then we will meet the Lord in judgment.

I Thessalonians 4:15 For we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.What a wonderful thing to look forward to. I admit, I seriously have a bad case of FOMO. But am so happy I won’t have to miss out on seeing Jesus one day!
I am so glad you stopped by my blog today. I hope you are having a great week. Fall weather is in the air & it’s making the days much more bearable. Welcome October! I am so glad to see you! I have to be going now, because I should be washing clothes…..