The Good Life

"What must you have in order for your life to be good?"

Stop for just a minute and think about that...

I've put a lot of thought into this recently.
Except for my husband and children, there is really no tangible thing that I can honestly say I would suffer to live without. Granted, there are other people (such as my parents and dear friends and other relatives) who I depend on and who bring me great joy. The loss of any of these would be tragic and I would certainly mourn their passing, but I would recover. The rest of my life would not be "bad" because of that loss. Obviously, the loss of a job, house, car, etc. would put stress and pressure on me, but again, would not cause the rest of my life to be "bad".

I never much thought about it until 2 weeks ago when the question was presented in our Sunday School lesson.

Ahhhh....that changes everything.

I will be honest and say that my FIRST thought upon reading the question in my Sunday School book was "Well I must have Christ of course! (DUH!!!)"...but then I had to question my answer. Is that true? Do I really believe that I only need Christ?

The first commandment says "have no other gods before me."  Few would claim to put something before God, yet to limit this command to putting others BEFORE God is to misunderstand the commandment.

God is not to be the most important of many.

God is to be the ONLY god.


I had to pick apart my  thoughts and feelings about those I love in order to feel certain that I had this right before I dare write about it.

I had to sort through the people and things that I hold dear and determine how losing them would affect me. In the end, only losing my husband or my children would cause me to question my reason for living.

BUT, should they be taken from me, I know that my Savior would give me my next breath and every breath thereafter until He takes me home.

There are things that I don't want to lose. There are people who I cannot bear the thought of losing. Even so, I know that with Christ, I can face any amount of loss.

Would it be easy? Of course not.

Without Christ and the promise of heaven, it would be impossible.

So, back to the question, "What must you have in order for life to be good?"

After much soul searching, I can honestly say that I must have Christ in order for life to be good. Knowing Christ makes "the good life" better, the hard times bearable, and gives me the courage to face the truly bad times.

While I cannot imagine facing one day without my husband or my children, I know that, with God, I could.

Often times people view the Commandments of God to be restricting. While we may think that God is being unfair in commanding us to have no other gods, when we really stop and sort through the people (and things) in our lives, there is not one of them who can TRULY make life good after the loss of what we treasure most. Only God has the power to give hope to the hopeless, to give peace and comfort to those who mourn, and to heal the broken.

Only God deserves to be God.

Silly little prayer requests

 

 

As a pastor's wife, I find myself in lots of situations where the question is asked, "Does anyone have any prayer requests?"  and it breaks my heart for someone to say "I know it's silly, but....." or "I know it's not a big deal, but.....". It breaks my heart that so many people believe that only the "big" things are worthy of prayer.

Scripture tells us not to worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God (Philippians 4:6) Everything. Not just the big stuff.

 

Don't get me wrong, The big stuff sends us reeling and we definitely need to cling to God when our world turns upside down. BUT Big things USUALLY last a finite amount of time, and, let's face it, as Christians, we know to run to God when our world starts to fall apart.

 

In all honesty, it has never been the big things that suck the life out of us, steal our joy, and damage our witness...it's the "silly" things, the "little" things. Laundry, fussy toddlers, cooking something for dinner that everyone likes,  smart mouth teenagers, children who want to grow up too fast, housework that never ends,  parents who are growing old too fast, money that doesn't stretch far enough, endless to-do lists, bosses that don't understand family, family that don't understand bosses, babies that don't sleep, misunderstandings between friends, hurt feelings, jealousy, lust, short tempered spouses, picky eaters, kids that struggle in school, gosh...the list goes on and on and on. THESE are the things what wear us out day after day after day. These things make hearts heavy and tempers short. They make us weary.

 

wea·ry adjective \ˈwir-ē\

• : lacking strength, energy, or freshness because of a need for rest or sleep
• : bored or annoyed by something because you have seen it, heard it, done it, etc., many times or for a long time
• : causing you to feel tired

 

I used to think that I was wasting God's time if I prayed for anything "little". I treated God like I treated everyone else....I didn't want to "bother" Him with my "little" problems. I talked to God about everyone else's big problems, and made sure that He "understood" that I was doing just fine....I had everything under control. He didn't need to spend His time worrying with me when there are so many "big" things that need His attention.

 

I could not have been more wrong.

 

It is such a blessing to be able to go before the throne of Grace with all my faults and failures and know that I have nothing to hide. My Father knows my heart and knows why I am there before a word is spoken. At the feet of my Father, I am not "the pastor's wife", "the assistant to the President and CEO", "the responsible sibling", "Mom", "Bible Study Leader", or "Ladies' Ministry Leader"...I'm just Kris. His child. His servant. His creation. I'm just Kris...and I'm just His.

 

And so are you.

 

Don't miss out on the blessing of intimacy with your Creator. Go to Him with all your "little" requests and burdens. Let Him into all the hidden places of your heart and mind. Let Him wash over you with His love and healing. Let Him envelope you with the comfort and peace only He can give. Let Him fill you with the courage to face tomorrow. Let Him fill you with the grace, mercy, and forgiveness needed to deal with the people in your life.

 

Here's what He promises:

 

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

 

New Creation

 

There are days when, just like anyone else,  I go through the motions. Truth be told, there have been weeks...even months...when I have just gone through the motions of life. During these times, I don't notice what God is doing in my life or in the lives of those around me. It is much the same as driving a long stretch of interstate with the cruise control on.

 

Then, there are times when God grabs hold of me and shakes me awake and suddenly I see all these amazing things that He has done while I was just cruising through life.

 

This week God grabbed hold of me.

 

A friend from high school has been given the opportunity to serve as editor for an online Christian magazine. (He is praying about the decision.) We talked about the possibility of me contributing to the magazine  and I promised to pray that he have a clear direction from God as to whether not this is something he should get involved in. Talking to him about this opportunity made me realize the tremendous work God has done in my life, in his life and in the lives of many of the people I've known through the years. We are not the same people we were back then, and while some of the change can be attributed to "growing up", much of the change is a direct result of the impact Christ has had on our lives.

 

I am so thankful that Christ pursued me. I am so thankful that He drew me to himself.  When I stop and think about who I WAS compared to who I AM, I am left breathless. I am an example of the promise in 2Corinthians 5:17 For if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation.  I am far from good. I have LOTS of room for improvement. I fail every single day at one thing or another....sometimes it feels like I fail at everything. But I know this: I am not the same person I was before I knew Christ. I don't just follow a stricter set of rules, or live a more moral life... I am a different person. Christ changed everything about me, all the way down to what I desire in the deep recesses of my heart. Christ took the mess that I'd made of me and is gradually restoring me to more and more of the woman He created me to be.

 

I Love that God reveals Himself to me over and over again. I love that HE can take my fears, my failures, my weakness, and my brokenness and use them for HIS glory. I love that He continually surprises me with the enormity of Himself. I love that He is more powerful than my sin, my shame and my past. I love that He is completely trustworthy. I love that He continues to challenge me and grow me. I love that He still draws me to Himself.

 

And I love that he takes hell-bent teenagers and grows them into God serving, Christ-following adults who want nothing more than to share His love with others.