God's Faithfulness

For the past couple of months, I have been going through the Bible study on Becoming a Woman of Faith. It has been such a HUGE blessing to me as I read, study and answer questions about faith found throughout the Bible. In the first chapter, the author quotes from another book. Its been such a good reminder to me that I just wanted to share it with you!

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

He has called us into fellowship with Himself; He has owned us as His possession and has assumed the responsibility for our control and He will not lay it aside. What He has begun in us He will continue. His work in us does not depend upon our love for Him but on His love for us; not faith in our faith but faith in His faithfulness is what He wants from us.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The part I highlighted in bold is what really stood out to me in this quote. I think that so often in the Christian life we get focused on ourselves - wondering if we have enough faith; wondering if we are doing all that God wants us to do. We say that we are trusting in God and having faith in Him, but in reality we are having faith in OUR faith in God. We can't trust in our weak faith to see us through life's challenges - we need to put our trust in God's faithfulness!! God is not dependent on us - we are forever dependent on Him. And the good news is that He will NEVER fail us!!

A "Free Sample"?

Last night my Aunt Cheryl and I went out to dinner and then to the mall to shop. Now, you must understand this about me. I wouldn't necessarily put shopping on my "Top 10 Favorite-Things-To-Do" list. Sometimes I am in the mood...sometimes I am not. Last night I was in the mood because, first of all, I was having a fun time with my aunt, and secondly, I had gift cards which ALWAYS help! :) We were walking through the mall, and I had a particular store in mind where I wanted to just quickly browse through to see if they had any good deals. As we were heading to the store, a girl came alongside me with a basket of hand lotion samples. She asked me, "Would you like a free sample?" Well, of course, hearing the word FREE always makes my ears perk up, so like the gullible person I am, I innocently reached for one. As soon as I reached out my hand to get a sample, I knew that I had walked right into a trap. The girl gasped, "Oh my! Are those your real nails?!!!" I was like...ummm....yeah... She then said, "You have such nice nails! Could you hold out your hand so I could see them again?"

*Sigh*

15 minutes later...

Why am I so gullible??? I guess these sales people catch my eye, and being the polite individual that I am (smile), I don't have the guts to ignore them and walk away.

Would you believe this is the THIRD time these people have caught me?!

The first time, the guy literally grabbed my hand as I was walking by, and by the time I had recovered from my initial shock, it was too late.

Last year, I must admit, when the girl caught my eye and lured me into her "sales pitch trap", I didn't give much resistance, because - to be truthful - it really is a cool product, and it does amazing things to your nails. So yes, I was guilty of giving in to the sales pitch.

However, last night, I was seriously perturbed at myself and was determined NOT to give in no matter what she said. I told the girl that I already had the product, but she even had an answer for that - Oh, this is new and improved since last year!

*Sigh*

She kept lowering the price, and telling me to "zip it" - to not tell a single soul about the amazing deal she was giving me. I just gritted my teeth, and tried to be my sweet self, all the while getting more and more red in the face. You see, I had a destination in mind, and she was keeping me from it!!!

Thankfully, I finally said (for the umpteenth time), "No, I'm sorry, I can't buy it." (or something like that, in more mumbled tones) and walked away, ignoring her sad puppy dog eyes.

I realize she was just doing her job, and she had to find sneaky ways to lure people over to her booth, or she would never make a sale! I just hated to be her "victim" last night!

*Insert Spiritual Application*

Isn't that exactly how the devil works though in our lives? He lures us over with empty promises and vain things, hoping to get us caught in his trap. All the while, as he is whispering sweet nothings in our ear, we are being kept from our destination - serving the Lord and bringing Him glory with our lives! So here's a piece of advice...

Don't give in to the devil's sale's pitch the next time you hear him enticingly say, "Would you like a free sample?!" or whatever else he may say that he knows will lure you into his trap!

(Please realize I do not mean to compare that sales girl to the devil!! She was a really sweet girl, but I was just not in the mood to be dealing with her sales pitch last night. I thought of the spiritual application this morning and thought I'd blog about it!)

Science Fair

Last night there was a Science fair at EBA.

Alayna's project was on which stain remover removes tough stains the best. In case you are wondering...Shout did the best. :) Oh, and it was concluded that you should NEVER get mustard stains on your clothing!! That stuff is basically impossible to remove!! (unless any of you have any secret solution remedy????)

Yesterday morning at opening, Mr. Anger showed the students the following clip from Brian Regan. They all found it rather hysterical!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4XSgLMEFoc

Thankfully, every one got their project done on time, and there weren't any projects consisting of just a cup of dirt! :)

Going to the Science fair last night brought back memories of my senior year of high school when I was involved in a Science fair. It was a lot of work, but lots of fun!! Both Andy and I got to be a part of that Science fair that year. Could that really have been almost 6 years ago?!

Yankee Fans

So in case you haven't heard, the Yankees won the World Series last night. :) Needless to say, there was some excitement in our household!! My Dad and brother have been Yankee fans since, well, FOREVER!

And in case there is any doubt...

Even as a lil' baby, my brother was proud to be a Yankees fan!! Look at that toothless grin! Its very similar to the smile I saw this morning when I congratulated Andy on his team's win (just less toothless!). ;-)

(in case you are wondering - yes - I got Andy's permission to post that picture!!)

It's great to know my brother has been so consistent over the years!!

So I'd like to offer my congrats to all you Yankees fans!!! It was definitely exciting to watch them win last night. :)

The Ultimate Gift

The other week a friend mentioned that she had just watched the movie "The Ultimate Gift." I had seen previews for it when it first came out a couple of years ago, but had never watched it. Tonight I discovered it on good ole' You Tube, and decided to watch it. It was a really great movie!! There are so many lessons interwoven throughout the movie to remind you about what things really matter in life. After the movie was over, I soon found myself on Amazon.com. :) I had gotten a gift card for my birthday from my lil' bro and sis, and thought this would be a great way to spend some of it!! I also got the book that the movie was based on, so I am excited to read that in the near future - although I am sure the book will be different than the movie. It always is!!

As always, our family runs a "free library" (what a concept!), so if you ever want to borrow it (after it arrives, of course, and the rest of my family has a chance to watch it), feel free to ask!!

Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book "The Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: "What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?" Jason had a very simple relationship with his impossibly wealthy Grandfather, Howard "Red" Stevens. He hated him. No heart-to-heart talks, no warm fuzzies, just cold hard cash. So of course he figured that when Red died, the whole "reading of the will" thing would be another simple cash transaction, that his Grandfather's money would allow him to continue living in the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. But what Red left him was anything but simple. Red instead devised a plan for Jason to experience a crash course on life. Twelve tasks, which Red calls "gifts," each challenging Jason in an improbable way, the accumulation of which would change him forever.