"Spiritual problems demand spiritual answers."

"Spiritual problems demand spiritual answers."

Now you want to talk about a topic that is hard to get thru my thick head. And that would be it. I am so the type of person who wants to still fix all the problems that are in front of me. And the interesting thing is this past week it wasn't even about things wrong in my life that I wanted to fix. And yet all I could do is pray. Pray for healing... Pray for understanding... Pray for clarity... And then before I even actually have acted on all the information that I want to... I have sought counsel and gone back to the quote.

We live in a fallen world. And yet we seem to think that the world should not invade our "perfect" Christian lives. Despite this thought the world is knocking on our lives, and even our churches. The world effects the way we think, and sometimes even how we act. We all so much want to fit in and belong. And yet we don't want to see that the world is not only hurting us, but those around us. And we react out of emotions and the fact that we are all so far from perfect... And people do get hurt.

So what are we to do...
First off the advice I have been given is to seek God. Pray, Bask in His word, and do not abandon the Body of Christ...
Second... Ask ourselves what lessons we might need to learn about ourselves given the events. And then head to step one and seek God to seek His assistance in overcoming these issues and taking another step towards becoming Christ-like.
Third off... Ask ourselves if we can see how with grace and compassion we can help others learn the lessons they might need to learn from the given events. And I am finding that is hard. It is easy to see the problems and the events that have lead to the problems and point the finger. And to be reminded to look at God first helps to change the view point that you are seeing it thru.
Finally... I am going to add to this... Might it also be a teachable moment in the church and world to help others understand how mistakes can happen. How communication can fall apart... And better yet how we can unite as the Body of Christ to help heal the wounds that the world is adding to our lives.

At this point... What have I done?
I have ranted to a few close friends... And been very frustrated with many events over the past week. And yet it took a phone conversation today with my own pastor to bring me back to something he said to me just before I left...
"Spiritual problems demand spiritual answers."

Which brings me to the question I now have for you to ponder....

How are you addressing the fact that 'Spiritual problems demand spiritual answers.'? How are you working to belong to the Body of Christ? Or are you reacting like I have been and running away from an imperfect church seeking perfection? And yet doing so while knowing that perfection in the church will never be seen on this side of heaven... And we need to seek Spiritual guidance for how we are to work together as the Body of Christ and stop taking for granted that the focus should be on how we were wronged. And to take the step forward to question how our belonging might help others to grow in faith... And that we might need to learn so hard lessons that we should have learned in Kindergarten...

Play together nice and work together to make all things possible in Christ... Stop worrying about how our pride is damaged and things didn't go the way we wanted them to... And to focus on what God accomplished in the lives of those around us. And that the growth might have never happened without the testing. Yet understand that without our willingness to step out in faith... No growth is possible!!! We need to be in fellowship with others to learn and grow... And yes it is going to never be the way we picture it being... But each small step is a victory towards our perfection that we will see in heaven at the feet of God. And I will take my small victory of this past week and wear it will a badge of honor!!! I have managed to get rid of a habit that was instilled in me by my husband. I have managed to take a step away from his hold on my life thru abuse and stop smoking. And at the same time I have taken another step closer to God... And that process started with another quote that was shared with me... "When we dwell on our fears they grow bigger and bigger, but when we dwell on God we discover He's bigger than any fears we have." And with that quote in my mind and heart... I stepped out and worked on focusing on God and not my own fears. I walked out the door and took my child to a Christian Musical Festival for the week. And trusted in faith that my steps were what God wanted me to do.

In the end... A part of me was sad and a bigger part was glad. I learned so much. Not just about music, but about myself and others. And have come home to the peace and quiet of the nights to begin to process the information and as I like to say download it all so that it isn't just all in my mind, but it becomes something that will take root in my soul and help me grow and help me learn more to not focus on myself and to learn to focus on the whole Body of Christ....

AND GOD IS REALLY AMAZING!!!

Father's Day...

Yesterday was Father's Day. And for me it is painful because my father has been in heaven for some time. The pain of his being gone still stings in my heart and mind. And yet this year I found it to be even more painful... How do you keep your own child from feeling the same stinging in her heart and mind? And sadly in our world it isn't because of a season of life coming to an end. It is from poor choices that her father is not involved in her life. Being in jail certainly puts a dent in a world where Father's Day has become such an important day for families. And while I understand about a Heavenly Father who transcends all the grief of this world... I found it easier yet again to just shield her from the fact that yesterday was a day to celebrate Fathers...

And in many ways it means spending a day alone. Churches fill the day with messages of Fathers. And while it is a good thing for most people... Children who are the victims of Domestic Violence might not have a father who is active in their life. They can't even say like I can that their father has gone to heaven.... If they are to be truthful they are telling the world that their father hurt either them or their mother, or even both of them. They feel abandoned by their father thru no fault of their own actions. And yet also feel scared of them. It creates a challenge in teaching a child faith in a God who is our Father. It is not impossible, but it takes patience. And most years just avoiding a day at church where you see the appreciation of those who can share the day with their own fathers.

Which brings me to my question... Why isn't the church using this day to transform the lives of the children who are left with a single mother? Why are we so focused on what we can see and touch and a mass market system that floods the day with cute items to purchase for our fathers. And yet we choose to leave the children caught in this bind in the dark and feeling like they are missing out on an important day in our culture. So stop and think... What can you do for a child who is facing Father's Day next year without one? How can you make them feel like they still belong and have the best father than anyone could wish for? How can you help them learn and understand that while the world wants this to be a day about earthly fathers... That the church is a place where we should be focusing on not our earthly fathers... but our Heavenly Father... Which is there for us all and doesn't make poor choices which removes Himself from the lives of His children? And how can we make these children understand what the love of a father is truly like... So that they learn not to judge God based on the example of their own father, but that they can see that God is the PERFECT FATHER!!!?

Camp...

Wow... Has this week really flown by... My days were filled with camp and what should have been sun... Alas the rain came and stayed. I know it could be worse, but wet feet all the time is rough. I made it to church today to hear about greed... and a unique definition of wanting more of what you already have enough of. And it really started to make me think... What do I have more than enough of. I guess in this process of having my whole life lifted up and turned around things have not been as important as people. I would rather spend a day sitting around having fun with my daughter than to be shopping and finding more things in life to fill our house. Things I have come to realize do not move very easily. And what is the point of having so much stuff when you constantly feel like you are going to need to pick up and leave at a moments notice. I guess the fact that we have done without so much of what we own for the past year and a half has changed my view point of life. And yet in some ways going to camp gave me a small wish list of things to own by next year... My own pair of rain boots and a rain coat... And two rolling totes that are big enough to fit a pillow, sleeping bag, and everything a person needs for camp in one of them... Two because there are two of us.

But one of the things I cherish about these last few days has been the time I got to spend with my daughter. Trying new things with her and watching her try new things on her own. Getting to see her face light up as she realized that riding a pony isn't so bad... Teaching her how to put rubber bands onto fabric to make our own tie dyed pillowcases to take back to camp each year... And the list goes on... I have also learned an important lesson in spending time at camp... It is okay that we accepted financial help to attend camp... and it is okay to laugh again. In being given the chance to listen to others talk about funny things and even in watching the staff's face after cleaning up the bathroom... It showed me that laughter still exists inside of me and in many ways helped to lighten my heart. And while I can't live at camp forever... I do hope that these lessons stay with me, because learning them again might not be so enjoyable.

And then I got back to reality... and to learn that the one thing I hate more than anything else has come to find my little world... Gossip... I know we are all mortal and make mistakes, but gossip in front of a small child with big ears tends to find its way back to that person. And in the end it just hurts that the gossip was said at all.