Just That Easy: Your New Year's Resolution

"I'm sorry.  You're saying God can do what?!"

So it's New Year's Eve, and I know there are a lot of resolutions being made right now.  Do one of your resolutions include not letting people keep you down, to push through to do whatever it is that you wanna do no matter what people say?  Well, you're in luck!  ;)  Listen to this great story:

"Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus' hometown.  They were hardly out of the boat when some men carried a paraplegic  on a stretcher and set him down in front of them.  Jesus, impressed by their bold belief, said to the paraplegic, 'Cheer up, son.  I forgive your sins.' Some religion scholars whispered, 'Why, that's blasphemy!'

"Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, 'Why this gossipy whispering?  Which do you think is simpler: to say, 'I forgive your sins,' or 'Get up and walk'?  Well, just so it's clear that I'm the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both....'  At this He turned to the paraplegic and said, 'Get up.  Take your bed and go home.'  And the man did it.  The crowd was awestruck, amazed and pleased that God had authorized Jesus to work among them this way."  Matthew 9:1-8

There are quite a few things I like about this passage.  For one, it's so cool how simple He makes it: "'Get up...' And the man did it."  Um, the end.  All it takes is His  simple words, no magic way of saying it.  Also, I like the word, "authorized," used here.  "God authorized Jesus."  So strong, so bold.  So sure.  Another thing I like here is how Jesus calls out those who think they're being righteous.  Without them, there would be no story.  Sure, Jesus would've healed, but the story goes much deeper than that, don't you think?  You follow Jesus.  Don't follow anyone else.  Not even those who have a title like, "religious scholar."  With a title like that, I'm sure they know everything there is to know about all-things God, right?  Wrong.  We are all people.  Just people.  No matter what we do, or the training we have, we are all human people who fail to meet perfection.  So we're not always gonna be right... even if we think we are.

You just listen to God.  You seek out Jesus' face, no other.  He's the only one who is authorized in power to make word come to life, no matter how far out of reach.

Bless you, and I'll talk with ya next year!  (And yes, I agree I'm a dork for saying that.)

-Tara K

Flippidy Flopping Gums #2

I'm pretty sure we've all been in a place where we're pleased with ourselves spiritually.  Maybe not in the complete satisfaction of the sense, but with, at least, the effort we're putting forth to reach new levels in our relationship with God.  And that's usually when we stumble, am I right?

Yesterday's message was out of Matthew 6:5-13.  Today we are looking at Matthew 6:14-18.

"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do.  You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.  If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part."  So in other words, we have no business even going to God if we aren't doing what He's asked of us- truly forgiving those who've wronged us, hurt us, even.  So we must first give everything up to Him and forgive before we can even get forgiveness for our own wrongdoings, otherwise we will be cut off, not heard.

"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it.  It might turn you into a small-time celebrity, but it won't make you a saint.  If you go into training inwardly, act normal outwardly.  Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face.  God doesn't need attention-getting devices.  He won't overlook what you're doing; He'll reward you well."

So there's a lot here in this little passage.  I'd like to believe, mainly because I see some of the rewards that people get, that those who are training inwardly reap huge rewards.  You may ask, "well how the heck do you know who's training inwardly if they aren't letting you know they are?"  Well.  Good question, my friend.  Let me tell ya something.  You know.  That's it.  You just know.  Look at those folks who aren't attention-getters.  Those folks who, out of nowhere, do something to make you say, "wow.  I want to have that attitude."  They may even be those people who make you feel kinda guilty for worrying about the stupid things that cross your mind because they seem to just quietly trust; they let be.

I worked with this guy recently who is one of the greatest singers I've ever met.  He is crazy, ridiculously talented.  And you wouldn't ever even know that he's in the entertainment business until he is actually onstage, singing His praises to our Lord.  So incredibly modest, so incredibly humble, so incredibly patient, kind, happy...  I could go on and on.  And on top of all that, he's extremely successful, and you would never even know it.  Literally.  I never even know what he's up to until I read about it on the internet, inviting me to his next performance.

I wanna be like him.  You know why?  Because when I look at him, I see Jesus.  I see Jesus more than I see an actual sinful human being.  And I want people to see that when they look at me.  Don't you?

So I write to you today, not to make you feel guilty, even though I feel I am doing that to myself;)  I just want to encourage you to know that God abundantly gives to those people, like what's-his-name I've been talking about.  I won't tell ya who he is because I can almost guarantee he would be extremely embarrassed or feel unworthy of the words.  That's just how he is.

He's a reflection of who I wanna be.  And to those of you who are like him, thank you, and know that God sees your heart.

Amen!

-Tara K

Flippidy Flopping Gums

This is my new dog, who came home with us from the pound a couple of days ago.  His name is Peanut, and he has flippidy floppin' gums, which fits right in with this story today...

Wow.  Ok.  So do you ever hear people praying aloud and wonder, "where the heck did that come from?" Or, "who talks like that?"  Now I believe that some people were given a gift to pray beautifully, to lay things out into poetic form.  But it shouldn't sound repetitious, should it?

Today I just want to lay out a little chunk of The Message Remix for ya.  So cool.  It's about praying with simplicity:

"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production... All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom!  Do you think God sits in a box seat?

"Here's what I want you to do:  Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God.  Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.  The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.  They're full of formulas an programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.  Don't fall for that nonsense  This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.  With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.  Like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what's best-

as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You're in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You ablaze in beauty!

Yes.  Yes.  Yes."

Isn't that perfect?  I love this, and the way The Message lays this out.  So cool.  So for those of you who feel inadequate in prayer, don't.  You can see how simple it is.  And for those of you who feel you have to put on a show in front of others, to perhaps, prove how tight with God you may be, don't.  God doesn't need to be impressed.  What's the saying?  Oh yeah:  God sees the heart.  Not the mumbo-jumbo, flapping of the gums.  (Well, maybe I made that last part up...)

Shalom, Tara K

P.S. I'll be doing a small series on this subject this week, so stay tuned for the rest.  It's such a great subject, isn't it?

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Change of Plans

You guys all know the story of how Jesus was born.  Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit, yada yada yada.  You've all heard it more than a zillion times.  But there is one part of the story we don't hear that often.  After the wise men had departed from Joseph and his new family, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to quickly leave for Egypt with Jesus and Mary.  He told him to stay there until God tells him to return because Herod is setting out a search-and-so-called-rescue for the child to kill him.  And the bible says that once Joseph did as he was told, this fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, "I called my son out of Egypt."

All of this angered Herod, being fooled by the wise men, etc.  So he sent out for all the boys around and in Bethlehem, 2 years old and under, to be put to death.  And THIS fulfilled what God has spoken through Jeremiah:  "A cry was heard in Ramah- weeping and great mourning.  Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead."

It seems as though there are a lot of things that need to occur in order for prophecies to be fulfilled.  And they will.  It makes me wonder if my daily choices, seeming to have nothing to do with anything of human-kind changing importance, might actually matter in the end.  It's scary to think of such thoughts.  What if I actually am hindering my life, others lives?  What if I am the cause of a horrible effect?  This prophecy, of course, was for the good of mankind, and God had everyone's best intentions, even for Jesus, and even though it ended badly for Him, it was to save us all, just as He intended.  But on the flip-side of things, I wonder if things that I do during my everyday life, could actually be hindering my own personal plans that God has for me.  He knows what we will do in the end, so He knows what adjustments will eventually be made in our lives, but I just wonder.  I wonder if what I'm doing now is what He originally planned out for me, or if I messed things up, and am finally back on the right track.  Of course I know He knew the path I would take, so "adjustments" may not be the best word, but it somehow seems to fit.

I begin to think about these people with absolutely mind-blowing talents and abilities, especially in the arts.  These people that are not using their talents for God, and sometimes are using those talents to pervert our society.  Surely that is not the plan He had for them.  But perhaps because of their change of course, He will still be providing them opportunities in the future to use what they've been given for Him, and not against Him.   I'd like to believe that.  I'd like to believe that there are still as many chances as their lives will give them, that they will be offered it.  They just have to stumble upon Him somehow, I don't know.

What do you guys think?

-Tara K

Wear Love

Vaca!

What's up guys?  I'm chillin' with my hubby's vocal ensemble from church at a cabin not too far from town, but I just wanted to stop by and chat with ya.  It is a weekday after all, even if it is Friday. ;)

I absolutely love the feel of a cabin.  Even though I would never decorate my house the way a cabin is fixed up (because it's just not my style, and there's not a thing wrong with that), I can't help but feel so cozy and excited to be in such an outdoorsy environment.  The quilts, the wood walls, ceilings AND floors, and even the random deer pictures all over the walls... I find myself really enjoying it.  Maybe because it's kind of cool to let yourself feel like someone else for a while.  I love who I am, and I love everything about my life, but it is kinda cool to go off somewhere and enjoy things that I normally don't get to enjoy.

You know how everyone just needs a vacation once or so a year?  Perhaps that's for more than just the reason of leaving your normal everyday stresses.  Perhaps it is because we desire to enjoy this earth in ways that we don't always get to, and to also discover new things about who we are, who we want to become.  I love love learning new things about myself when I go on trips, even if they're small ones.

When I've gone to NYC by myself, I've learned that I can do it.  I can make it.  All by myself.  Of course I know that God is with me, but actually getting up the courage to venture off into all parts of New York by myself, even at night into non-touristy parts of the city, knowing that I can actually do it makes me so proud of myself.  It makes me feel so strong.  And with this trip to the cabin with quite a few people, I learn different things of my personality that I perhaps knew were there, but didn't know how dominant they were until this trip actually happened.  I'm such a dude sometimes.  Not big on girl-talk; I can just sit and watch the game, read a book, or be off by myself blogging my 29:11 reading buddies;)  That's what I like, and that's ok.  Like I've said before, if we were all alike, how boring would this world be?

Anyhoo, all this to say, I know the economy is getting "bad reviews."  But even if you get take just take a little day off when you feel that vaca itch, do it.  Just do something new, even if you take a day to be by yourself.  Just experience something new, talk to God while you're there, and enjoy this cool earth He gave to us.  Learn something new about yourself, you'll become even more confident in who you are and who God created you to really be.

Much love, Tara K