Don’t take yourself too seriously

March 18, 2014March 18, 2014 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

This morning my sweet Miss Neenee said,

“I wish we were writing this week.” (at school)

I got all excited, just thinking, my Miss Neenee might actually love to write her thoughts down, as I do. I said,

“You have notebooks in your room. If you have something in your head, write it down.

I always have & look how great my life has turned out.”

Of course I was being factious. However, I think she takes the opportunity to cash in on my craziness any chance she gets. So, she busted out laughing. Hmmmm…someone that was thin skinned, might have taken her laughter the wrong way. Someone with any ounce of feelings at all might have had them hurt. Someone who had any confidence in their life leading up to that time, might have been a bit miffed at this laughter. However, I knew what she meant. She lives around me all the time & knows what a grandiose lifestyle I live. Along with all the awesomeness in the world oozing out of me at all times. A spectacular life any & everyone would love to have. (You may also bust out in hysterical laughing right now, too.) Yeah, it’s not like that at’all. Her reaction reminds me, I can’t & should not ever take myself too seriously.

When we start to take ourselves too seriously, there are all kinds of things that can happen.

For one, you may start to thinking you can do things on your own. Without the Lord. It’s easy to get so caught up in the world that you forget to pray or neglect studying your Bible.

James 5:16 (NKJV) Confess your trespasses^[a] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

However, once a person puts simple things like that to the side, it does not take long to reach the point you are out in the world trying to do everything on your own. Common sense is not a flower that grows in everybody’s garden, but we know better than to let the world creep in on us. We have to make sure we are daily keeping in contact with the Lord, through prayer & Bible study. If not, just know it won’t be long until we start thinking we don’t need God. And heavens knows that’s a dead end road.

Another thing to remember life is just a vapor. Meaning life is short.

James 4 :14 (NKJV) whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Who has time or the want to to run around being a pain to everybody constantly? Wait, before you answer that, I realize those people are out there. But, you don’t want to be one. If I take myself too seriously, I might just spit & spat at others all the time. Because, hey, it’s ok just to be rude & act on every feeling I have. If I feel bad everybody needs to know. If somebody makes me mad, well, I need to let them have it right then & there. My feelings, ugly or pretty, needs to be on my shoulders at all times. You know, I am keeping it real & this is who I really am. Not a fake.

“Lawdy chile, you know better than that!”

That ain’t no way to act. People like that can drain the life right out of you. They can take the friendly out of you right quick. Don’t hang around folks like that. Better yet, don’t be one of them. Be kind. At the end of your time, you want to be proud of the person you were. Don’t get so caught up in yourself that you forget, there is a whole world of people living around you. A world putting up with you, whether good or bad.

When my oldest & middle daughters were little, the younger one would tell my oldest daughter,

“You think you are so popular!”

This was in a hissy fit of being bossed around by her older sister. This was her way of saying, “what makes you so special that you can tell me what to do?” We laugh about these little arguments they had, which sometimes were quite frequently. However, people get to being too “popular” when they don’t consider the feelings of others. If you take yourself too seriously, you can begin to think you have the right to tell others what to do & to treat them without consideration. Thankfully, I have a daughter, that without trying, reminds me not to get too ahead of myself. And I pray that if I ever get to thinking I am too important, she or someone will love me enough to set me straight.

Thank you for coming by to visit with me today. I hope you make it a habit to laugh at yourself. If not, you might want to give it try. It will help you more than you realize. You take care of yourself. Because I would miss you if you didn’t stop by! As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: lifeisaprayer.com, mission venture ministries

What kind of Christian are you?

October 28, 2013 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Sometimes it’s necessary to step back & see what we have going on in our lives. We get so caught up in the hustle & bustle of life, that sometimes, we might lose sight of what our real purpose is. Sometimes we may just need to stop & ask,

“What kind of Christian am I?”

Do we try to follow God by doing our own thing? Do we go to church just whenever we get ready? (Hebrews 10: 25) Are we kind, whenever it strikes us, which is not very often? (I Cor. 13:4) Do we open our Bibles, anytime between Sunday & Wednesday night or Wednesday night & Sunday?(II Tim. 2:15) Are we praying….at all? (I Thess. 5:17) Are we judgmental of others?(Matt. 7:1) Listen to what Jesus has to say about doing things our own way-

John 10:1 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2. Do we do the bare minimum? Do we say, I show up for church on Sunday, that’s good enough, right? Well, what are you doing the other 6 days of the week? Do you look around & see what’s the very least you can get by with doing for the Lord & leave the rest for someone else to do? Let me ask you, did God send just anybody to die on the cross for our sins? No, He sent the very best He had. His own Son. God doesn’t hold back for us. He puts everything He has into all He gives us. He’s just awesome like that.

My Daddy has always said, “If you never learn to ~~like~~ LOVE the things of God, you will always be in a struggle. God does not hold anything from man that is not good for them. You have to learn to love what God gives us, only.”

Do we give back to God, the least we can get by with? When we learn to love the things of God, we won’t have any problem giving back to God with all our hearts. We will never be able to out give God. So, buckle down & give God your all!

3 . Do we do everything we can with excitement & knowing it is for the greater good? Or do we throw a hissy fit when somebody says something wrong or does something that just don’t sit quite right with us? Are we on fire for the Lord? Or are we just on fire with anger & resentment? You can’t express love if you are angry. When you help someone to the top of the hill, you can’t help but get closer yourself. That’s love, that’s putting others before yourself, that’s doing what God wants. The apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Rome in

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Get excited by loving God’s will & doing what His word says, just because it’s the right thing to do.

So, I want you to not only ask yourself, “What kind of Christian am I?” but also, “What kind of Christian do I want to be?” Then, launch out in faith & be everything God wants you to be. I promise you, if you will make prayer a fierce warrior in your life & not a last resort, God will work in your life. Make sure you are praying for our leaders of this great country of ours, too. My Mama always said,

“If you can’t say anything nice about somebody, don’t say nothing.”

Don’t complain about our government leaders, be in prayer for them! Let God work in their lives, so that we can live, with God as the center of our country.

Thank you so much for coming by to visit with me today. I am so thankful and feel blessed that you want to come spend some time with me! As for me, I have to be going, because I should be washing clothes.

**Parts of this was from a lesson I listened to taught by Bro. Brad. Thank you Bro. Brad for always being a straight shooter.

A Lesson in Prayer

May 31, 2013May 29, 2013 / kstrick7 / 1 Comment

Do you ever have times when you talk to God all day long? Or maybe all night long? I know I have done both. It is always a good idea to talk to God. Then, give Him a chance to talk to you by opening up His Word. Whatever you have going on, like my Miss Neenee, you will find life is more bearable with the comfort of the Lord with you.
With it being the end of school, there was some testing done a week ago. It is the first year my daughter has taken achievement tests. Her teacher prepared them, basically all year long, for these tests. Then, the week before the actual tests, they did practice tests. That was just so they could get used to what the tests looked like, how to answer, etc.,. They were, however, graded on these.
The weekend before the tests were to take place, we had an action plan. We bought her favorite Special K cereal with Red Berries , at the grocery store. This way, we could get up & not be rustling around in the pantry wondering what was for breakfast every morning. Next, I washed her clothes & put some outfits together. I made her lunch before I went to bed. This would take some stress out of our morning routine. Last, I promised her I would wake her up at least 15 minutes earlier each morning. That would give her extra time to get ready & hopefully not be so stressed out by the time we left the house.
On the 1st morning of the tests, we ate breakfast & got ready in record time. We were in the car ready to go. As we started driving to school- it all started. The wringing of hands, the worried look, the silence. I asked her what was wrong. She said, “I’m not going to do good on these tests.”
I said, “Why do you think that?”
She starts wailing, “They are going to be hard. Like stuff I don’t know ,hard. I just know it’s going to be bad.”

If any of my children are like my grandmother, this one is it. We called my grandmother Mama Boyce. She was somewhat of a worrier. When I say somewhat, I mean Lord have mercy, the biggest worry wart ever to live on the face of the Earth. She had passed away before my daughter was born. However, her genes did not miss my girl.
I told her, “ You made advanced on the practice tests. You are going to be fine.”
“Yeah, but what if I’m not?” she returned.
“What you do is pray about it before you take the test. Then, pray during & even after the test. Because you know you can pray anytime, anywhere.” I explained.
“Humph.” she said, shrugging her shoulders. Then more silence followed. We got to the spot where I drop her off. We said our goodbyes & I reminded her to pray.
That evening when I got home she said, “You know, that test today was not that bad.”
I hugged her up & asked her, “Did you pray?”
“Yep” ,she said, “all day long.”

I am so thankful you came by to visit with me today. I hope you have a wonderful long weekend. We will be grilling & spending time with family. But for now, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes!

Stumbling block inventory

May 9, 2012 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Finding faults in others is a popular pastime. Unfortunately, a lot of us find it’s easy to join the fun. Concentrating on the flaws of others can be a great way to feel better about ourselves. That’s typically, the problem! Avoiding the faults that need to be fixed in our own lives, not only dampers our spiritual growth, it too gets in the way of God’s work through us. God’s effectiveness through our lives is made better or is hindered by the way we live.

In Romans 14:13 the apostle Paul tells of the character we should have.

Therefore, let us not judge one another, anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Back up in verse 10 he states:

But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

We are all in this together. Why be so petty about things?

If we want to be authentic & useful for the Lord, we must continually take a stumbling block inventory. At times stumbling blocks are things that in and of themselves may be real. Yet in certain contexts, may be inappropriate. But sin is clearly a stumbling block to others. Gossip, slander, boasting, bitterness, greed, abuse, anger, selfishness, and revenge all close the hearts of those around us to the message God sends through us. Just to think, our lives, may be the only Bible some people ever see. Now, that’s a big responsibility that we have. To keep ourselves clean & unspotted from the world. (James 1: 27) You may say, “but you just don’t know how mean this person is or how hurtful they have been to me.” I do know this, there is no problem too big that you & God can’t work out. Let God have His way with people. In life people will be mean, rude, unfair, gossipy, hurtful, and greedy. Pray for those people. Don’t let their hatred consume your heart & make you the same things they are. We must be the bigger person.

In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus preaching his sermon from the mountain said this:

“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. v.44 But I say to you, love our enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Now, that’s a tough pill to swallow! Pray for someone who has said bad things about me? Pray for someone who has embarrassed me? Pray for someone whose selfishness has caused me to hurt? You may ask,”Why does that person deserve my prayers?” If you look at it from God’s perspective- these prayers are for your benefit. For you to keep a heart that’s willing to mention a person who does not deserve God’s graciousness. Those people are the ones who need it the most. And it’s hard to keep bitterness locked up in a heart full of prayer. God does not want us to be angry. He wants us to love. And what better way to keep that love in your heart, than to lift up someone in prayer? It’s hard to be selfish or mad when you are asking a blessing over someone who’s wronged you. Get the picture? God loves us & does not want us to be someone who lets a situation eat at them. He wants us praying for each other & not being someone with so much emotional baggage that His work can’t be seen in us.

I Cor 13: 4-5 says thatprov love is kind, does not envy, does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.

We should strive to condition ourselves to be kind, no matter what. God says in order to love, we must be kind. In the end, our kindness is what matters the most. We have to be responsible for what we have done in our lives, how we have acted & treated people, not how they have treated us. God will have His day with those folks! He even says so –

Romans 12:19…”Vengence is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Now, don’t you think God can handle these hard to deal with people better than you? Of course He can. A dear friend of mine has said her mother used to say, “Kill them with kindness.” I think that is a very good lesson. When someone hurts your feelings, just be kind. When someone says mean things about you, be kind. When someone is rude to you, be kind. That way, they can see God living in you. That will either turn them toward God, or just make them mad. Either way, you have done your part by being what God wants you to be- kind.

So, let’s replace our faults with the wonderful ways of Jesus. This will help others to see our Savior more clearly.

Some of this message was taken from an Our Daily Bread article written by Joe Stowell. I have so many thoughts about this subject. Maybe I will write more about it later. But for now, I have to go because I should be washing clothes………..