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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

God or TV?

First let me start this by saying I do not think TV is evil (that can be a debate for another time.) I have my list of shows that I watch every week. However I do think it can be a distraction from things that are truly important. I was challenged this weekend by a Sermon I heard, and the application for my life came down to this: God first TV (music, books, etc) second. I tend to wake up grab my laptop and turn on a TV show or music. Well starting next week Tuesday (I will be traveling until then and everything will be crazy) I'm going to change that. I don't get to do anything 'secular' until I've done something with God (Pray, Praise, time in the Word, etc.)

The basis for this decision is actually quite simple, like I said above it is from a sermon I heard this weekend. The pastor did a pretty common subject 'Are we focused on God or the world.' However the way he presented it just seemed to impact me more. One of the things he said really hit me and to be honest I feel silly admitting it. He said " People have and influence over you-the more time you spend with Christ the more you will be like Him." Well duh, that is something we have all heard since elementary school ' pick your friends carefully' As an adult I thought I was above all of that. I could submit myself to anything and since I was grown up it wouldn't influence me. Read Matt 15:1-20 and focus in on these verses:

17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' "

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We get so caught up sometimes in the traditions of our faith, that we ignore our faith.

So will anyone join me? I'm not asking for you all to commit to devotions in the morning or a specific amount of time. I just want to take time for God first and then make sure I'm watching my influences.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Help!

Ok so if you have read my past posts or have been following this blog for a little while you may remember a post about fast food/take-out. Well I'm going to have to change that goal a little...I think.

Since I'm driving up to Minnesota 2 or 3 times a month I've been stopping at Mc Donald's a lot more, I must admit I like their food. However this isn't a good thing health wise or ecologically. So what to do? I've taken a few steps, I have a stash of healthy snacks in the car that I eat instead of french fries, and I go in and order so I can only get the burger and a napkin or two (not a bag, and a whole wad of napkins.) Also if I happen to order a drink I can fill my Sigg bottle instead of their paper cups. But I can't help to think there is more I could do for my health and the environment.

One idea would be to pack a sandwich but I'm not a fan of lunch meat. Any Ideas?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Romans 6

Humm this could be hard to explain because in my notes I have arrows drawn everywhere, but we will see.

The first part of the chapter talks mostly about the meaning of baptism.

Vs. 3-4 we were baptized into the same death as Jesus and then like him were raised from the dead by Gods glory, so we could walk in a new way.

Vs. 1 should we continue in sin because of grace?

No! Why? Because of what verse 4 says we need to "walk in a new way" we can't continue with our old ways if we have been raised from the dead (meaning the death that we deserve but have been spared from by Gods grace.) If God has saved us from this death they why do we continue to live as if we are going to die? Sin no longer has control over us (vs. 6-7) This is repeated over and over in this chapter. So not only do we see the meaning of baptism but also the application of it to our lives today.

What sin controls me that I'm not able to give up on my own?

God help me to see the areas in my life where sin controls me and help me to stop.

Vs. 15-18 tells us that we cannot be slaves to both sin and God we must choose. Obedience of Gods word brings us to righteousness.

Vs. 19-22 by your fruit you will know your master

This one is interesting to me we have all heard it a thousand times, they will know we are Christians by our love. By their fruit you will know them, and so on. But have you really taken time to think about this? What do people see when they look at you? Do they know you are different, do they know why?

Vs. 23 we deserve death but God saved us.

Romans is a very repetitive book, but that is because it is filled the foundations of our faith. If we don't understand these basics then we can't understand anything else. It may be repeated many times in different ways but it all comes down to the same thing, we are sinners saved by grace, amazing!

All of the verses are my own paraphrases from the CSB

What to do???

If you have read through my old post or have been following me for a little while you may remember my post about fast food/take-out well I need to modify that goal but I'm not sure how so HELP!

I'm driving up to Minnesota a few times a month, and I do enjoy McDonald's. I've already taken some steps toward healthier choices but I need more. For example I have granola, fruit leathers and other healthy snacks in my car so that when I go to fast food places I only need the burger, at least it has some nutritional value. I also go into the restaurant and order so I don't get the bag and a huge wad of napkins just the burger and a napkin or two. Plus if I get a drink I can fill my sigg bottle instead of a paper cup, straw, and lid.

I know one idea would be to pack a sandwich but to tell you the truth I'm not a big lunch meat fan. So help, any ideas for eating healthy on the road while not stacking up too much waste?

Interesting Morning

I learned two interesting things yesterday morning:


1) My TMJ appilance is a wonderful thing! I forgot it one night and I was more restless, irratable, and of course more sore and sick feeling. That is after just one night! How have I made it through the last 4 months?!?


2) Green smoothies are a wonderful thing. Again I didn't have one yesterday morning and I was craving sugar all day and I gave in a lot easier. Interesting...for more information about my green smoothie adventure go here http://happyfoody.com/2008/02/13/the-happy-foody-green-smoothie-challenge/ This is my friend Sara's web site and really she is the one who convinced me to try to better my life by being greener (not only for the environment but more or myself and my health.)

So what have I learned? Sleep with my TMJ appliance in and drink a green smoothie in the morning!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

I can't believe it!

A few days ago callers started telling me "happy thanksgiving" before they hung up. It seemed so early but now that I look at the calendar I realize its not that far away...I can't believe it!





So that got me thinking about the many things I have to be thankful for this year. When it gets closer to Thanksgiving I'll name a few but for now I just want to mention one:





I am sooo very thankful for my faith. I've said it a thousand times over the past few years but it remains true. I know many of you have heard this explanation before but for those who haven't here is my most recent (although now its almost a year old) epiphany. I realized the past few years that the reason my Faith remained strong through the hard times was because my faith was not based on what God could do for me. My faith is this pure and simple "I'm a sinner and there is nothing I can do to change that. There is nothing I can do to get to heaven. Only Jesus can save me from the punishment I deserve. " Since that is the basis of my faith that means when the storms come nothing changes, I'm still a sinner and Jesus is still the only one that can save me.



I'm so thankful for my salvation and I hope and pray that you all have the same reason to be thankful.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Accountability

So I joined a Bible Study while I'm down in Iowa and I'm really excited about it. The topic is Romans which is great, and the girls are nice too. I thought since it was on a Thursday night it would bring some consistency to my spiritual life (since I bounce between Iowa and Minn on Sundays) and I was just excited to go through Romans!

So here is where I need some help, I'm not always the best at preparing for Bible study. I'm better than I used to be but still not great. So from now on I'm going to post my revelations and summery of the chapter (or verse section) we are going through that week. So that means this Wednesday, Nov 19th, I will be reporting on Romans chapter 6.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Long time no Type

Well I kinda stopped blogging when I got my new job but we go again.

I know a lot of people think I fell off the planet after I stopped updating Marks health blog so I'm going to change the point of this blog from solely green things to just my life in general (which happens to be somewhat green.)

So here is the last few months in a nut shell:
I'm currently in Iowa living near the family. I work for a really cool company that does interpreting via video phone. They are amazingly flexible with my schedule so that really helps since I keep driving back up to Minnesota. Why you may ask, well to visit my boyfriend. I realize this may be a shocker for some of you but God has blessed me with a truly amazing man who, loves me, looks out for me, and somehow understands what I went though with Mark.

While I'm down in Iowa I get a very interesting experience. My mom jokes that we are just trying to be the next evening sitcom. I live next door to my parents (literally) and my brothers fiance lives with me and my brother lives with my parents (until their wedding next June.) It has been a lot of fun, and pretty crazy, but that's just how we are.

Well that's it in a nutshell.

Still in HIS Grip,
Amber