IJP4U

IJP4U - I just prayed for you. My mom texts me this often and I cannot tell you how good it makes me feel! It is better than an "I love you" or an "I miss you." It is the ultimate expression of love in my eyes. Think about it. My mom just stopped her day to enter the throne room of the living God and instead of asking for something for herself or for world peace, she asked God to think of me. The very same God that knows the names of all the stars and the number of grains of sand lining the ocean.

I think we as Christians tend to say we will pray for people rather flippantly. How many times have I told someone I would pray for them and never did? How many times have I thought, "I really don't want to get myself involved in that situation so I will just tell them I am praying instead of actually helping." The truth is, truly praying for a situation is the ultimate act of service, IF you actually do the praying. On the flip side of that, saying we will pray for someone and not actually doing it is the ultimate act of betrayal. It's like telling someone who just lost their job that you will hand deliver their resume to the owner of a company that you have an intimate relationship with and then never actually doing it, but saying you did. What kind of friend does that? And yet, I have to admit I am guilty. I have told people I would pray and never done it. I have asked people to pray for me knowing full well they would not do it either.

I found that the answer goes back to that text from my mom. My mom once told me to never tell someone that you are going to pray for them, only tell them after you have done it. This way, you aren't setting yourself up for failure before it even happens and when you do deliver the news, that you have prayed, they don't have to wonder, "Are you really going to pray for me?"

Prayer is the single most important tool we have as Christians. Only God changes hearts, only God controls the consequences of life that is around us and only God is in charge of the universe. Going to Him for help, comfort, provision and support is the most effective thing we can do to help those around us. Thanking Him for caring about us is vital to our own well being.

Don't lie about praying. REALLY PRAY! IJP4U

Christianity should not be safe

There is a local Christian radio station who's tag line is "safe for the whole family." I totally understand what they mean and I love the station, but when I hear that, I automatically think, "my brother wouldn't think so." My brother is not a Christian and so all things Christian or even things about God get him fired up. When my nephew was young, my brother would not let my mom take him to bible study with her because my nephew would then come home and start asking his dad questions that my brother was not ready to answer.

This got me to thinking. Christianity is not safe and quite frankly, it shouldn't be! Jesus was crucified on a cross! Peter was crucified upside down for being a Christian. Stephen was stoned to death, Paul spent most of his life in jails. Ask the Christian in China how safe it is. Jesus himself said that they persecuted me, they will persecute you.

So why is it that we tell people to come to Jesus and your life will be great! That is a lie! What we should be saying is come to Jesus, life will be harder, you will experience pain, hardship, persecution and probably die because of it, but it's so worth it! Because your life will have purpose, meaning and your soul will be filled. You will realize that this life is just a game and the real deal is coming after death.

I feel sorry for people who wear Jesus like a suit. They just put Him on when they need to look good or get out of a particular situation and then put Him back in the closet when they want to do things their own way. I know, I used to be that person. What an empty, sad life! How alone they feel. I pray that every person who lives this way will have something major rock their world so they can come face to face with the true power of Christ and they can learn to live authentically through Him.

I pray that we as Christians will stop lying to people to try and get them "on the side of God" and start telling them the truth so they too can have a real relationship with the one true living God. It is a dangerous life to live, but I for one like danger! Especially when I know we already won.

Immigration

I am not very political but I feel strongly about immigration. It seems that the liberals are up in arms about the new Arizona immigration law and the conservatives are somehow offended that the liberals don't like the law. First, I want to point out that on a scale, I lean more liberal than I do conservative on many things, I am a tree-hugging recycler who thinks we should care about people, all people, so I am not about to bash anyone, liberal or conservative, but I want to say my opinion.

The truth is, it has nothing to do with this law. It is the fact that this law got passed and real reform is at a stand still. As it has been pointed out by many, there is no real need for this law. It is already a Federal crime to be in this country illegally. I mean really, what part of Illegal don't we understand? If Arizona, and all states would simply enforce the laws we have on the books, they would be able to detain and deport who ever they wanted. The problem is, no one wants to pass or enforce a law that punishes the companies that actually employ illegals. We get very self righteous about this topic and say that if someone wants to be in this country they should go through the proper channels, and fundamentally, I agree with that, but our ridiculously screwed up immigration system makes that nearly impossible for the average person. If you are face to face with an actual person who is here illegally and they tell you their story, it will most likely be that they are here to work, to provide food, clothing and shelter for their family and an education for their children. Most people are not here to become drug dealers or to blow anything up, yet we are making them the enemy, when in fact the enemy is already a US citizen. It is the person who employs the people who are here illegally. They employ them for less than minimum wage, don't provide them benefits and don't pay taxes for them. They do it because if the company gets caught, they might get fined, but the fine is far less than what they would have to pay if they had to pay each person what they were worth. How is it that we can say we care about people, and also say it is OK for employers to treat them like, well, slaves?

I have heard the argument that we need these laborers, who else would spend all day picking strawberries, avocados, onions, etc., but if we need then, then lets make the process of getting into this country legally accessible to all people and then let's pay them as if they are a real person, not just a "laborer." Instead, we want them to come here and pick our strawberries for $2 an hour but don't want to provide them with health care, education or basic human rights? How is that respecting human life? How is that treating everyone with dignity? I have heard that if we don't use this cheap labor force then our economy will collapse. All I have to say about this is that is the EXACT same argument that the south used to try and keep slavery alive.

If every person who is here illegally and is working had to go through a process to get documented, and then paid taxes and then every company had to provide at least minimum wage, pay taxes and pay for basic benefits, we would probably solve most our economic woes.

I think the problem is we are trying to correct this problem by punishing the people on the bottom of the problem instead of the top. I understand why, the people on the bottom don't contribute to political campaigns and they don't vote. That, however, doesn't make it right, and it certainly doesn't make the problem go away.

Bake him a cake!

I strive to be a good wife to my husband and a good mother to my children. I have found that for most women, those are our two top goals! So I have decided to start writing the things I have learn about marriage and family in my blog. I hope this can be a blessing to you!

Two of my friends, Naomi and Tina, went to the pool together and were talking. Tina said she had to go home to bake a cake, Naomi asked what was the special occasion. Tina said, "There is no occasion, but my husband has been out of town and comes home today, so I want him to come home to the house smelling good so I am going to bake a cake."

When Naomi was telling me the story, she said she felt bad because she had never baked a cake for her husband when he came home from being out of town. But I told her that I beg to differ! She has "baked a cake" for him plenty of times! When he is out of town, she weeds his garden, keeps his tomato plants in their cages and ensures he comes home to a clean house. For Naomi's husband, that is what speaks love to him. For my hubby, when he comes home to a house that smells like bleach, that speaks love to him. I have another friend who's husband smiles from ear to ear when he comes home to a house that smells like dinner and the kids are playing together because they have all finished their homework.

I think the lesson is, it's not about trying to become someone else and mimicking their actions, but about seeing someones biblical character traits and reflecting that.

So I ask you, how do you bake your husband a cake?

(Thanks for being an inspiration, Tina!)