Tag Archives: Chidlren

Apr26

DAY 116 (2014)

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lsgrlr

Faith is believing the unbelievable.

Just saw the movie, Heaven Is For Real. Just for the record this will not be a movie review. I will not be grading for biblical content, or acting ability. I just wanted to relay what the movie taught me about, me. Warning for those of you who have not seen the movie, but plan to SPOILERS ahead. Proceed with caution 😉 . The story revolves around Colton an adorable four year old who is struck with a serve case of appendicitis that lands him in surgery (at no point does his heart or his brain function stop). He didn’t die. However, after surgery he stops being afraid of the things that use to frighten him, and starts telling his family about heaven. His dad, who is a Pastor, is at first amused, but when Colton starts talking about things he shouldn’t know, it starts his father on a journey of faith discovery. There is a line in the movie that stuck in my mind, in a sermon to the congregation (who were split as to what to believe), Pastor Burp says these words, “…On earth as it is in heaven, I have said those words ten thousand times, but do I really mean them?” That question resounded with me. Do I believe it, like a child? You know that belief, that faith has kept Spider-man, Batman, and Santa Clause alive and well for decades. Do we who believe in God, Jesus and the bible exhibit that kind of faith? Due to recent events in my personal life my faith has been tested, during this time I have had to truly examine my belief system, just like Colton’s dad had to. It is easy to believe when what we believe is logical. But it is harder to when it defies logic, when it goes to a place that is so far beyond our realm of understanding. The irony however is this, that’s exactly where FAITH lives. If it is logical to us it takes no faith to trust, it’s those moments when a 4 year old says, “Heaven is be-uuuutiful” or when God says, “Move, and I will provide the rest” it’s those moments where true faith is exercised. FAITH requires that we believe the unbelievable.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

So what’s the plan? Child like faith.

Jun30

DAY 181

Posted on June 30, 2013 by lsgrlr

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Even if you fall, even if you lose your balance…PRESS ON.
(no this is NOT the little girl in my neighborhood).

I fail. I fall short. I make mistakes. I am human. However, my humanity should not be used as an excuse to not improve. My pet peeve is the phrase, “I’m only human.” My retort to that is usually, “So what?!” So what if you’re human? So am I. Does your “human-ness” make it okay to not true harder, not push further? Does being human mean we just give up and give in? I think not! The beauty of our humanity is that we have the ability to grow. We have the free will to change. The saddest thing in the world to see is a person who has given up. Someone who has lost hope in themselves and the people around them. Whether you believe in God or not (I hope you do), He did not create you to quit. Fight! Today I watched a child in my neighborhood, she couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7. It seems as though she had graduated to the “big” girl bike. Her dad is holding the back, he lets go and she rides on little and then falls down. If I were her, I would have been crying and whining, and there would be a no bike clause in my life contract. But she gets up, giggles, and tries again. ON HER OWN! (no dad). I am so impressed with her I start clapping (yeah…’cause that’s not creepy at all). She failed. She fell. She got up again. If a six year old can do it. I (and You) have no excuse. This journey can be hard, but don’t just give up…PRESS ON.

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NLT).

So what am I thankful for today? That although we fall, we can get back up again.

May5

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought# 49

Posted on May 5, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Matthew 27. “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.’ And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me'” (Verses 3-10). This is an unpopular submission, but every time I read this portion of scripture I have this belief that Judas envisioned this all going down differently. Maybe in his mind he thought he was forcing Jesus to act, but instead He died. What I find sad about Judas is that he spent all this time with Jesus and yet didn’t understand Him. He didn’t understand that He came to be a sacrifice. Even more disturbing he didn’t understand that if he asked for forgiveness, he probably would have received it. We do the same walk with God, profess to be Christians yet we don’t understand Him.

Apr27

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought# 41

Posted on April 27, 2013 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

Matthew 18-19. In Matthew 18, the disciples get into a discussion about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. I have a vivid imagination, I picture each of them giving reasons as to why they are the one. They take their argument to Jesus, so He can settle it (oh disciples…will you never learn? This is for us today too). “He called a little child and had him stand among them. And He said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me'” (Verses 2-5). Childlike humility and faith, that what Jesus is looking for. Children believe without proof. They can see bad clearly, they can see good clearly. They are not impressed with possessions or power, but spend time with them…and you are forever loved. Jesus tells His disciples to enter the kingdom of heaven they must have the purity of a child. It is clear to me that we on our own could never have accomplished this, that’s why Jesus had to come. Matthew 19, once again I wonder at how the disciples never get things the first time (then I remember I am the same). “Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them [????…REALLY!]. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed His hand on them, He went on from there'” (Verses 13-15). Were the disciples not present just one Chapter before when Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name, welcomes ME”…did they miss this? I would rant more, but upon self evaluation I realize that I do this action every single day, I learn it today and tomorrow forget. Thank goodness my Savior is gracious. I am taking an opposite leaf out of the disciples’ book when it come to this lesson, I will endeavor to learn the lesson just once ( Lord please help Your lessons to stick the first time).

*Side note: I always wonder who these children grew up to be? The Son of GOD laid His hands on them and PRAYED for them! I find that so amazing, so beautiful, and so like GOD.

Feb27

DAY 58: Innocence Lost

Posted on February 27, 2013 by lsgrlr

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So I am not sure I have said this before, but I am learning Korean. Why? The answer to that question would take waaay more than one post. I divulged this bit of information about myself because I wanted to talk about Asian dramas. You are thinking at this very moment…”What?!” But as always I promise there is a point…I think. There are staples to Asian dramas. Staple number one: The plucky, cheerful, hard working, life’s rough but I get through with a smile character (usually female). She works fifty jobs (this is not an exaggeration), with the goal of paying off her dad’s gambling debt and taking care of her family. She does all this while smiling and saying things like,”with a positive attitude you can do ANYTHING!” or “If you work hard all your dreams will come true.” In Korea these are called “candy girls”. Staple number two: The rich, elitist, arrogant, “I am too good to walk this planet with the likes of you” character (usually male). He is usually a Chaebol, the heir of a major conglomerate. Staple 3: These two characters will first dislike each other and fight like cats and dogs. Staple 4: Then for reasons that NEVER make sense they will need to become participants in some form of fake contract marriage or pretend dating arrangement, where the only rule is they can’t fall in love. Staple 5: The contract of course will be broken, because they fall madly in love. Okay, now you’re like, “Huh?”

Here’s my point.

These stories are fluffy and unrealistic, but nevertheless we are drawn to the innocence of it all. Why? Because the world we inhabit has lost its innocence. Children today are basically little adults. They walk around with smart phones. They have Facebook accounts and can Google information at the drop of a hat. They don’t go out and play. No tree houses, storming the castle or imaginary treasure hunt. Instead they stay in and watch TV, play video games and surf the web. I am not saying any of this is bad, but I am saying that we have taken away their childlike spirit of adventure. That drive to chase a butterfly just to see where it lives. Or follow the rainbow till the end just to see if there really is a pot of gold at the end, or even better a leprechaun. Why am I so passionate about this point today? Lately, I have seen many news stories about kids hurting kids. Children committing crimes that their minds should not even be able to conceive. They are no longer innocence. So I am setting forth a challenge to parents, to anyone who knows a child. Let’s earnestly try to help them regain what society has taken away from them. Let’s give them back that childlike faith that God intended them to have. Let’s help them see wonder and not dread when they look at this world.