Just For Fun

I thought this was pretty cute...I mean, did these guys plan to all come to Celebration Sunday dressed the same? Okay, so Tom's shirt is a bit lighter in color, and Mike's pants are a shade lighter, but hey, it's still orange and khaki, isn't it? I love it! You guys rock!

Hey Mike...do you think next week you and your compadres could all wear Royal Blue shirts? I'll do a side by side comparison...just kidding.

A Sad Day For The World

Michael Jackson has died. It's really shocking news for the music industry. He's a legend. The king of pop. He has influenced millions of people with his music. Not just people in this country, but around the world. My daughter was crying over his death. I think for her generation, he was like Elvis. He was on the cutting edge, the leader in the industry. He put out things that had never been done before. Jamie was just getting into music when he came out with Thriller and some of his other hits. And she would dance, dance, dance to his music. I can still remember making videos of her and some of her friends dancing around to Michael and Salt -N- Pepa. He will be missed, but his music lives on.

Another prominent death was Farrah Fawcett. Okay, so with her, we kind of knew it was coming. She had been ill for quite some time. Still, her family and friends and fans across the globe are grieving the loss. She was also legendary. A star. An angel (Charlie's Angel, that is). Her last year on earth was a struggle.

These deaths are a reminder to me that no matter who we are, everyone of us will come to that point in time where we die. The Bible says that everyone of us is appointed a time to die. And I have to wonder how many of us are truly ready. I'm not just talking about having your graves picked out, your casket paid for, etc. I am talking about having a relationship with the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you died today, do you know with certainty that you would spend eternity in heaven? If not, why not? As you can see, death comes when we least expect it. You may not have that chance to make it right on your death bed. Preparation needs to be made now. You don't wait for a hurricane to hit before you go out and buy supplies. You don't wait until you're drowning to go out and buy a life vest. There are things that must be done in advance, and accepting Jesus as your savior is one of those things. In fact, it's the most important thing.

The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The wages of that sin is death. But God has provided a sacrifice. He sent His son, Jesus to die on a cross for us. And when Jesus died, He didn't just remain dead; He was raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Some believe there are many ways to heaven, to the Father. But the Bible clearly states that no man comes to the Father except through the Son. And as narrow minded as some believe that is, it doesn't change the truth. We can't work our way to heaven. We are saved by grace, through faith, and that doesn't come from ourselves, but is a gift from God. We cannot earn our salvation by anything we do. No door to door witnessing. No giving to the church. No helping the poor. No singing in the choir. Being an usher. A Sunday School teacher. It's not what we do, it's who we know. And it's His sacrifice that paid the price for us. Each and every day I thank God that it's not based on what I do or don't do...I'd be sorely lacking, that's for sure. If you want to know more about this Jesus that I serve, feel free to ask. I may not have all the answers, but that which I know, I share. And if I don't know, I'll seek to find the answer...

Set Up For Failure

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. Romans 7:15

Every day of my life I look into the mirror and think, "I have got to lose this weight." I am so totally disgusted by how much weight I've put on over the last few years. Not only does it look bad, it is bad for my health. I now have high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes. But I have come to realize that even though I know in my head I want and need to lose weight, it's not enough to bring it to fruition. Don't get me wrong, desire to lose is very important, but it won't just zap the weight off of you. If it would, we'd have a lot more people losing weight.

Anyway, I get up with the intention of changing my lifestyle. I plan to drink more water, eat less junk, add in some healthy food, exercise, etc. By day's end, I've usually veered from that course and pretty much blew it. And then comes the depression. And depression makes me want to give up. And it also makes me want to eat. Imagine that. It's a real battle. As I was pondering my dilemma I realized there are some things that are a setup for failure:


Keeping temptation right there in sight....the thing is, I don't really have a struggle to refuse a jelly doughnut or a pecan pie or most pastries. They could be staring me in the face and I wouldn't care to ear them. But you put a box of Oreos anywhere near me and I am doomed to failure. I could sit and eat the whole box. Same goes for chocolate candy. I love a good KitKat, Mounds, Dove, some Whoppers, just to name a few. So why do I buy them? I know that my willpower is lacking. I need to just avoid having them in my house.


Waiting until the end of the day to try to cram in some exercise. If I don't get up and exercise early, chances are I will be too tired by the end of the day, and I'll put it off. And this will cause me to feel bad about myself...and yeah, I'll end up being depressed once again. And remember what I said depression did? Makes me want to eat.


Waiting on someone else to motivate me. I am a person who hates to do stuff alone. But I've come to realize that if I wait for someone else, they will always let me down. I've had exercise partners in the past, and as soon as they have to miss, I miss with them. And if they miss again, well I miss again. You get the picture? So I've discovered that I can't wait for someone else. I have to want this for me. I have to be disciplined without anyone to encourage me. Yeah, encouragement is good, but I have to be able to continue on even if it's not there.


Trying to lose weight for someone else. I can't do it for anyone else or I will end up dissatisfied the minute they don't show me their approval. I need to keep reminding myself that this is for me...for my benefit.

Now...let me say that, as I glanced over my list I was reminded of how these things can also apply in a spiritual sense. If I am struggling with a particular sin, then I need to learn to avoid those scenarios where the temptation will be greater. It's kind of like, if I'm an alcoholic I don't need to be hanging out in a bar. If porn/lust was my issue I'd need to stay away from websites, books, magazines, and such that have those images. And maybe even stay away from places like the beach.

Another thing, I can't wait until the end of the day to spend some time with God. I'm not saying that I can't spend time with Him then, but I need to wake up thinking on Him, reading my Bible, praying, etc. This way the day will start off much better. By night time I am so exhausted and it's a real struggle for me to read or concentrate.

Over the years I've had people who motivated me to study God's word. But what happened when they were gone? My study time dwindled. So I've learned that I can't be dependent on others. I have to discipline myself to do it.

A big problem that I've noticed with people in ministry...sometimes the only studying they do or so called quiet time they have is really trying to prepare a message for someone else. Take youth pastors for example. All week they dig into the Bible trying to come up with a message for their teens. But what they need to remember is, there has to be time spent seeking God about their own lives. Search His Word for their own nourishment, their own spiritual growth. It can't always be about someone else. And I'm not picking on youth ministers here. It can go for pastors, teachers, evangelists, praise leaders, and even people like me...I love to write a good devotional, but it can't always be something for others to read. Sometimes it's got to be a more intimate thing. Something just between me and God.

When You Love Someone

Thursday night my husband's country band was here at the house rehearsing out in the music room. Jacob and I could hear the music playing, as they had left one of the doors open. I wasn't really paying much attention (I'm used to bands playing in the background), other than to know the song was Louisiana Saturday Night. I was busy doing other stuff. Jacob walks up to me and grabs both hands and says, "You wanna dance in the kitchen, Nene?" At first I didn't really understand why he was asking me to dance in the kitchen, but then I got to thinking about the lyrics in the song they were playing. For those who don't know, it says:

Well you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow Kick off your shoes and you throw them on the floor Dance in the kitchen 'till the morning light Louisiana Saturday Night

I found it quite amusing that Jacob picked up on that particular line. He's really into music and figures out lyrics to songs frequently. He's also into dancing. He is definitely the musical child...wonder where he gets that from. His granddaddy (the drummer) perhaps? His mama (she played guitar)? His Nene (singer)? Or most likely, a combination of all three.

Okay, so now that I've told another Jacob story, let me tell you about Jeremiah, my oldest grandson. He came to my house the other day and wanted to paint. So I pull out the paint markers and gather some paper and let him sit at the table and paint till his little heart's content. While he's painting he starts squealing with delight.."Jani! Jani! I made brown!" I'm thinking, "What?" I go over to look at what he was doing and saw that he had been experimenting with mixing colors. Obviously, he's picked up on the whole process of mixing colors to make other colors...I'm fairly sure his mommy taught him that. Anyway, after he finished the painting he asks me if I have a dryer. I asked, "What do you need a dryer for, Jeremiah?" He looks at me with the most serious look and says, "to dry my painting, of course." I wondered if his mommy had done that before or if he came up with it all on his own. He is a pretty smart boy, after all. And quite the little artist too.

So now I am anxiously awaiting a time when I will be able to tell you some Bryce stories. Right now, his story is mostly eat, sleep, colic, cry...But he's a cute little man, that's for sure. I really do need to spend more time with him though. I want to have the same kind of relationship with him as I do with my other two grandsons.

I know some of you are wishing I wouldn't tell you all my tales of grandparenting. But for those other grandparents out there, you understand my need to brag. They are simply the greatest joys in life...and when you love someone so much you can't help but tell others about them. With that thought in mind, let me say that we, as believers, need to be shouting our love for Jesus from the rooftop. As awesome as my little grandsons are, Jesus is even more incredible. In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He shed His precious blood on that cross for you and me. He didn't have to do it. He chose to do it. I often wonder where I would be had I not accepted Jesus into my life. There were some who considered me a goody two shoes. Mostly because I wasn't into the drug/alcohol scene. But they didn't know my heart. They didn't see all those other sins that lurked within. I was a liar. I was a thief. I coveted my neighbor. I was gratifying the cravings of my sinful nature. But you know, Jesus showed me mercy before I even thought I wanted it. He was the spotless sacrifice necessary to appease the wrath of God. He has set me free from the bondage of sin! Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!

So until next time....have a blessed day!

~jan~

Hidden Costs

My grandson is fascinated with commercials. He'll see things and look at me and say, "We need that Nene." The most recent item was the Ab Circle. I thought, "Yeah, I could handle some exercise, and it actually looks like fun." $14.95 plus shipping and handling...not too bad. So I look it up online and guess what...the shipping cost is $34.95. So what I thought was an okay price turned into a not so great price. That's how these things go. Hidden costs. Had I not investigated the cost first, I would have been quite surprised to find that the hidden cost was more than I wanted to pay.

As I thought about this, I was reminded of how the devil sets things up to make sin look so enticing and fun. But what isn't revealed are those hidden costs. And there comes a time when we must pay up. Some might think that being a Christian eliminates them from having to pay. I mean, let's face it, Jesus' blood covered it all, right? While His blood did cover those sins we might commit even after salvation, this doesn't always mean we will avoid the consequences of our actions. Some things we do will set things in motion, and we may end up being surprised at the cost we later have to pay. It's kind of like smoking. You can go years without any effects and then suddenly you're hit with lung cancer. Or drinking. You drink one or two here and there, which eventually leads you to becoming an alcoholic. The addiction has taken control and you are now in bondage to it. The Bible tells us that a man is slave to whatever has mastered him. I don't know about you, but I don't like being a slave to sin. That is why it is so vitally important to nip it in the bud before it happens. It's much easier to stop it while it is small and has no strong hold on us. Continual compromise causes blindness to the seriousness of the sin. When temptation comes, we need to immediately look for that way out that the Bible speaks of in 1 Corinthians 10:13. It says: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I recently read an essay that I found quite interesting. You can check it out here: http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/escape.htm

Another scripture that I think would fit well here, even though the verses around it speak more about not being anxious, is Philippians 4:8, which says: "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." You see, the battle starts in our minds. In order to avoid acting on the temtpation, we need to replace the thought with something else. That something else needs to be centered on God. Meditating on scripture helps. Listening to praise music is also helpful.

In our lives there will be times when we mess up. In those times, we need to be quick to repent. Don't believe the lies Satan tries to tell you...you know the ones..."well, you already did it once, so what's one more time?" Or maybe he tells you, "It's not that bad...everybody does it." But as my mama always says, "If somebody jumped off a bridge would you do it?" Maybe that's not quite a good example in this day and age of adrenaline junkies searching for the next scary rush. But I think you get the picture. Just because someone else does it, doesn't mean we have to do it too.

A Day At The Beach

Spent the day at the Jetty's having fun with my grandson, Jacob. He loves to dig.

How Long?

How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to You, "Violence!" but You do not save? Why do You make me look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. Habakkuk 1:2-4



Have you ever wondered why people who are doing wrong seem to just get off scott free? At times it may even seem that they are prospering. All the while, their victims suffer the consequences of their actions, sometimes for years. I don't know about you, but my heart cries out for God to give those evil people what they deserve. But...then I remember that God didn't give me what I deserved. And I recall His patience toward me. I may have had this misconstrued notion that my sins weren't nearly as bad as the other evil people I see, but I have to see my sin as God does. Man measures sin. With God, I don't think he measures it as we do. Hatred is equal to murder. Lust is equal to adultery. You see what I'm saying? If God gave everyone exactly what they deserved when they deserved it, we'd all be in big trouble, wouldn't we? Still, it's hard to see all the injustice around us. So what do we do?



Let's take a look at God's response to Habakkuk in verses 5-11:



"Look among the nations and watch--
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their chargers charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat."They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
Ascribing this power to his god."

Okay, so this wasn't the response Habakkuk was hoping to hear. The Baylonians were a wicked people. So how could the Lord possibly use them to bring about punishment to those who were more righteous than they were? It just didn't seem fair to Habakkuk. And isn't that how we sometimes feel? That God's way of dealing with things just isn't fair. But I think God knows a lot better than we do what needs to happen. And, as Christians we can read the Word and see the outcome. So no matter how bleak things may seem, no matter how unjust, we can trust that there is coming a day of judgement for those who have done evil and who have not repented and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And even though it may not feel like that day will ever come, we can believe that it will. In the meantime, we can pray. Prayer is a powerful tool. We need to pray for the situations we see happening around us, but also pray that God would direct us as to what action we personally need to take. We need to speak out against injustice whenever and wherever we see it. Don't sit around waiting for someone else to say or do something. Don't pretend you don't notice. The other day I spoke with a young woman I knew many years ago who had been physically and emotionally abused as a child. I saw this abuse happening, and even though I spoke out against it to the person abusing her, I didn't take it further than that. The abuser needed help. But more importantly, the children in her care needed rescue from this abuse. And I regret not having raised such a stink that someone would take notice and remove them from the situation. I regret those years they had to suffer because no one was willing to step up to the plate and take action. Oh, don't get me wrong, many tried to speak into the abusers life. Many pointed out the sin she was committing. But that's usually where it stopped. The abuser was a professed believer who refused the correction of the church. She rejected what God's Word had to say on the subject. At this point, it should have been the church's place to get outside help. To just run her off from the church (by speaking against it) did nothing to remedy the situation. I have repented for not doing more than I did, but the children are pretty emotionally messed up as a result of this abuse and I can't change that. My heart breaks when I think of the years of torment those children suffered. My heart breaks when I see the adults they have become. And you know, my heart even breaks when I think about the abuser. How could someone who knew God's Word commit such horrible acts? I question her salvation. And that's where part two comes in. We can reach out to the ones doing wrong. A friend of mine has this saying, "Rules without relationship lead to rebellion." It is so much easier to speak into a person's life when you have an established relationship with them. If you just come up to a person and start belting out all their sin, how likely do you think it is that they will listen? Most times they would lash out at you. And what would be accomplished? We need to find ways to build up trust. The person needs to know that our intention isn't merely to pass judgement, but rather, a genuine concern for their soul. When they see true concern for them, they are more willing to hear. In some cases, this may be extremely difficult, as was the case with the abuser I was referring to. But we at least need to make the effort.

There's so much more I can say, but time has gotten away from me and I need to close out for now. Perhaps I will post more on this subject later...we'll see.

Celebration Baptist Church

After years of meeting in a school, the time has finally come to relocate. On May 31, 2009 we met for the first time in our new facility. It was a glorious service and the building was packed. Pastor Mike preached about being a Gospel-Centered Church and how we shouldn't forget that our primary purpose is to spread the gospel in a clear and precise manner.

Many churches today are more focused on having fun activities that will attract people to come. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fun as much as the next guy. But I have to ask, "Are these fun activities pointing people to Jesus? Are they exposing their sin and showing their need for a Savior? Or are they creating shallow Christians (or possibly people who think they're Christians) who seek to be entertained more than they seek to know Christ intimately?" Before you go getting all mad at me, let me say that I am not saying a church cannot have fun activities. But our focus has to be more than that. People are lost. Without Christ they will spend eternity in hell. If your loved one was drowning would you rather someone throw them a life preserver or a party hat and some refreshments? I know that sounds silly, but let's face it, if we believe what the Bible says, then we know the consequences of sin. And they are dire. So let's get busy sharing the gospel.