No One Blames the Devil

How do you make sense of the tragedy that happened in CT this last Friday? I may never understand how evil can entrap a person so fiercely that it would cause them to steal the innocence of other human beings, let alone children. To fight so desperately for free will and use that very free will as a weapon to abolish the will of others just sickens me. And you know what else is terrible?

People are blaming God.

How can we expect positive results from pushing God out of our nation? We are so far from where we started, so far from when this country was protected and blessed. We have taken the Ten Commandments out of schools, prayer out of schools, there is even an organization called the "God-Out" organization. Yet, these SAME people turn around and ask, "Where was your God during the shooting??"

Are you serious?

If God wanted to control everyone's thoughts and actions, then we would be complaining that God was a controlling entity that doesn't give us any freedom, in which submits us to nothing but an amusing puppetry of his own.

My answer: it is not God's fault that He gives us free will and we choose to abuse it.

But on top of that, you know what's even scarier? No one blames the devil.

He has the world so fooled, so blinded to his schemes he's convinced it to completely ignore his existence and turn to blaming God. 

"The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out." John 12:32

"Come close to God, and God will come close to you." James 4:8a

So even if you don't believe in God, how can you acknowledge his existence and yet refuse to acknowledge Satan's? The above verses alone give us our answer:

Satan rules the earth. And if we want God to intervene, we must ask him to.

But sadly, we've been doing the opposite. Pushing him out and refusing him entry. 

Even if I wasn't a believer, I think the rules that lie in the Ten Commandments are generally positive to be applied. Do not lie. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not kill. The very things that are demolishing our world from the inside out. But they aren't allowed in schools anymore. 

I think that having prayer every morning before classes start are generally good, because they allow us to take focus off ourselves and apply it to the goodwill of our classmates, teachers, districts, and communities. But we abolished prayer, too. 

I even think that having readers with bible verses are a great way of learning to read, because the bible actually consists of almost every grammatically sound rule you could imagine, but seeing a bible in a school is pretty much inappropriate now.

So where was God? ...exactly where we put him: out.

Which allowed entry for the very one who delights in these things and has fooled us to ignore his existence to step in.

Satan.

Yet, no one blames the Devil.

Whose puppetry are we under?

Spiritualized Selfishness

AMAZING sermon by Eric Ludy. You can also download the sermon notes HERE.

Eric Ludy - Spiritualized Selfishness from Ellerslie Mission Society on Vimeo.

Relax

I found this picture I took and edited from my church's women's conference a few years ago (before my camera was stolen :( ). You can check out their site HERE. If you ever get the chance to go to one of these, you should. It's an incredible experience every year with amazing people and amazing love.

One year I volunteered in the "spa" where I gave hand and shoulder massages. Even God cares about rest and relaxation for our bodies, that's why he gave us Sunday, the Sabbath:

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Exodus 33:14
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Psalm 62:1-2
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

Psalm 127: 1-2

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.”

Take some time out for yourself and God today. If your hearts, minds, and bodies feel weary, be sure to spend some time in peace and prayer. Read a book. Watch a movie with a loved one. Enjoy the outdoors (even if you have snow..watching the snowfall from the toasty indoors can be really relaxing, too!). Sing a song. Dance a dance. Play your favorite instrument. Create something new.

Just relax.

Glad Marriage Tidings To You!

What do you say to someone who's getting married soon? "Happy Wedding! or "Glad Marriage Tidings to You!" "Congratulations" is more like something you'd say early on in the engagement. I've had a couple customers come in this week who are getting married this weekend, and I wanted to leave them with something...but I had nothing. And for a moment, I was entirely perplexed that I had no idea what to say.


I may never understand the ways of God. I wish I could tell the difference between God's voice and my own hopefulness. It's so difficult to comprehend the possibility that his will for me is something that I can't imagine experiencing. I feel so far from it, I'm unaware of what it is that I'm missing. It hardly seems likely to become a reality.

On another note, I'm beginning to feel my inspiration, excitement, passion, and love for knowledge again. I don't think the full-time classroom setting is for me. To be honest, I never paid much attention in class during high school. I'd simply take as many notes as I mindlessly could, then teach myself the material when I got home. Then I'd never have to study for a test and eventually graduated with a 3.8/4.0 GPA.

I think that if I could teach myself I could do perfectly fine and retain more information. Perhaps I will still graduate from Evangel. But with what? I know God is leading me into Women's Ministry, but I also have this desire and motivation deep within me to own a business (Archiver's, anyone? ;) ). And do I want to be confined to the AG forever? No.

I just want truth.

One thing I love about online journaling is that you can go back and fix your mistakes without scratching out your old mistakes and causing blobs and smears of ink all over the pages. Sometimes I go through what I call my actual journal (the one not seen by the public eye, because it is written down on paper and hidden away in my bedroom), and I find mistakes, misspellings, and grammatical errors that I wish to fix, but at the same time I don't want to make the entire work sloppy. It's an ongoing war that I choose to endure. I suppose all I can do is attempt at practicing things correctly the first time.

Next set of business...2 things I'm praying for God's provision:

First - Mercy Ministries. They friended me on myspace a while ago. They posted a bulletin the other day and it reminded me that they exist! It interested me, so I began looking into it.

What it is, is an organization that has facilities around the globe where young women (between ages 13-28) can go to seek help and guidance. A lot of them go there because of abuse, addiction, depression, etc. Mercy Ministries helps them through a program that allows them to recognize their self-worth and prepare them to reach their full potential. Eventually they graduate from the program with a new outlook and view of the world and themselves through God's eyes.

Their mission is for young women to experience God's unconditional love, forgiveness, and life-transforming power. They have an internship program I'm interested in. Their closest facility to me is in St. Louis. I don't know if I'd do it any time soon. Only if God leads me to.

They recently had a women's conference to celebrate their 25th anniversary and some of the women that spoke have spoken at James River, including Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill (whom I heard speak right before I left for tour) and Christine Caine (who will be speaking at our Women's Conference this fall). One of their mottos struck me:

Your past doesn't have to define your FUTURE.

Amen!

Second - Authentic Girl Fellowship. Eric and Leslie Ludy's books are THE books that really impacted and changed my life. There are usually those sources, people, and events that played a huge role in who you are today and have yet to become. Namely, When Dreams Come True and Authentic Beauty are some indicators of that turning point in my life.

Basically with the fellowship, I apply to begin my own Authentic Girl Fellowship group in my area. At the moment, I really feel this one set on my heart. I've chatted with some of my girl friends about their participation and their response contained such inspiring enthusiasm. I think it would be a great opportunity not only through campus, but also for young girls throughout the city of Springfield.

Well, it's late. Or early. And I must wake up early enough so that I may spend some long overdue time with some familiar faces. :)