Shattered

"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." Luke 12:2-3 KJV

Short Story:

One of my daughters tried to grab something off the top of the bookshelf which she was not suppose to do causing the picture on top to sway and fall to the ground. Shattering into a million pieces, my husband and I did our very best to clean, vacuum, and carefully get rid of all the pieces we could find. Then, I started to imagine of this fake scenario; what if, a few months from now, my daughter walks around and steps on a piece of small (never noticed or found) glass. What if, she gets infected from it and... ends up having more problems.

Sin Revealed:

We like hiding our sin and problems. We don't like it when we have to face our faults and shortcomings. Reproof is uncomfortable and challenging. It's easier to make it seem like they don't exist, yet eventually like the glass that was hiding, it will be revealed and cause even more problems. (Joshua 7, James 1:15)

So what is the correct response to our sin and faults?

The Biblical Response:

#1 Do not lie. Be honest with God and others. (Lev. 19:11, Psalm 119:163, Pro. 6:17-19) Dishonesty will not help you or give you inner peace. (Jer. 7:8)

#2 Confess your faults. Admit what you did wrong. Seek forgiveness from God and man. (James 5:16, Matt. 6:14-15, Psalm 86:5)

#3 Seek/Heed godly counsel, continue to meet weekly, obey the requests. Have a submissive spirit. (1 Peter 5:5, 2 Chro. 10:8, Prov. 11:14, Hebrews 13:17)

#4 Get rid of the problem areas (stop going places you shouldn't, stop being around those who influence you do to wrong, etc). (Prov. 1:10, Psalm 1) Set up boundaries to protect yourself. Avoid the appearance of evil. (1 Thes. 5:22) Get the bad and the ugly out of your life.

#4 Continue to do what's right. Read your Bible every day and take notes/study it! (2 Tim. 2:15) Pray and have a prayer journal. (1 Thes. 5:17) Meditate on scripture and hid it in your heart. (Psalm 119) Have friends who draw you closer to Christ and encourage you to do what's right. (Gal. 5:13, 1 John 4:7) Put what's good in! :D (Pro. 4:23, Phil. 4:7-8)

The Result:

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. (Deuteronomy 30:15 KJV)

Today, you can either do what's right and have inner peace and prosperity or you can do what's evil and have plans fail or turmoil within. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

How will you choose to deal with your sin?

Give

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Happy Valentine's Day:

It's hard to believe that today is Joy-givers FIRST anniversary. (link here) The journey here has been an interesting one. God has continue to grow and use us through our blogs. I'm so glad that Sara has continue to blog. They have made a difference in my life and can't wait to read the next one! Here is her blog link: http://www.aboutthecross.com/.

So, back to blog, I've been thinking about this day and what it means as a Christian, wife, and mother. What does Valentine's day, "the day of love", mean?

On Sunday in church, what will your friends typically ask you? 

• "What did your husband do for you?"
• "What did your kids do for you?"
• "What did your friends do for you?"

As I scroll through Facebook, many wives have posted pictures of the gifts they received from their husbands with the quote "My husband is the best ever".

What is marriage about?

"Well, I know my husband loves me, because he helps around the house." 
"My husband shows me his love by buying me awesome gifts."

My husband did gave me a great gift for Valentine's Day. He got me an Ipad Mini! I love it. :D I'm so thankful for a thoughtful and wonderful husband. Isn't it the best Valentine day ever?

The Wrong Perspective:

Let me be honest though, I failed Valentine's Day. I didn't buy my husband any gift nor did I do anything special for him. 

What is Love? It's not the things we receive....... rather it's what we give.

~What did you do for your husband today?
~What do you do for him every day?
~What do you do for your children?
~What do you do for others?... Today? Everyday?

" It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts. 20:35

God Gave First:

For God so loved the world, that He gave. God loved us so much that He gave His Son to die for us so that we could have eternal life. He has given us the greatest gift we could receive... well, actually two gifts. 

LIFE and ETERNAL LIFE.

"Freely you have received, freely give." Matt. 10:8

~Love gives.~