A couple of years ago God put it on my heart to stop watching Grey's Anatomy. I really liked this show and had no intention of taking it off my list of shows to watch. So what do you think I did? I said, OK God I will stop watching at the end of the season. At the time this happened it was not close to the end of the season. I was trying to reason with God, trying to get my way just a little bit longer. Our minds justify things we do and we think them to be OK since we are going to listen to God, eventually. Well guess what happened. The next week on Thursday morning my DIRECTV went out, the show was going to be on that night. I still had everything on the DVR, but I could not watch any new shows. This was a loud hint that I should have not tried to make a compromise with God, if I would have obeyed and said yes, I am confident that my TV viewing would not have been relegated to just what was on the DVR. This was when my husband was out of town working in another state, so I just hung out and watched things that were already recorded (this show was not on the DVR). Several weeks later we ended up switching companies to a new satellite carrier. The installer mentioned that the old satellite dish cable had been loose. You may think things like that just happen, but when we refuse to listen to God, He is more than capable of using anything that He sees fit to teach us a valuable lesson in His perfect timing. I'm not a fan of thinking that things just happen in a chaotic randomness.
At first it didn't seem like such a big deal what I did in response to God, but it started to sink in that I was outright disobedient to something God called me to do. Several times He has asked me to do something and I have listened, but not in this instance. Sometimes in the small things we do not see the larger danger of disobedience. This show did not have biblical values and I believe God wanted to weed out some of my entertainment choices. You may think there is nothing wrong with this show, but for me it was time to quit watching. We can't look around at other Christians and wonder why they get to do things that God has asked us not to do. There are many Christians who watch shows and movies that are not considered Bible approved. I still have work to do in this area and God is working on me. I know He may not call you to cut out certain TV shows, movies or music, but I believe He is calling to many of us to make changes in what we see and hear. God tends to work on us slowly over time starting with the big things and then moving on to the little things that we think to be insignificant that can come between us from getting to know Him better. I cut out horror movies a long time ago, ideas of evil can influence your mind and if you tend to be paranoid like me it's not a good thing. I am not a person who only watches and listens to Christian movies and music. I like many things that are not considered "Christian", but are not bad influences either. God can use most things in the entertainment industry to hint at His kingdom, but not all will see the message. Many would never watch a "Christian" movie, but would gladly see an entertaining movie starring their favorite actor or actress.
Now when I see a commercial for this show I used to like so much, I don't feel even the tiniest bit interested to tune in. I know that if I satisfied my flesh, my soul would suffer. I am not trying to guilt anyone about their entertainment choices, I hope you all, along with myself, will make smarter choices. Hollywood listens to money, so if we all would put our hard earned cash into good entertainment then they would start making more of it. Unfortunately they get a lot of money from horror and R rated movies so they continue down that road until persuaded to a bigger cash cow. There is a trend for romantic comedies to be R rated now, I guess that is to make the men want to go see them with their girlfriend or wife. All it does is ruin a really good movie for a lot of us girls. When we get desensitized, the movies continue to decline. When will it be enough? How low is the industry going to sink?
Our voice my be small against the world, but it is still a voice.
Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Story. Show all posts
Monday, February 3, 2014
Saturday, September 28, 2013
28th
One date, two stories.
1st story:
Back in 94/95 I was in the ARMY. I saw in my head the number 28. I was engaged and thought that maybe that was going to be the day I got married. This is one of only two times God has shown me a number, yet at the time I didn't know what it was. At this point in my life I said I was a Christian, but I had no idea what that really meant and my lifestyle did not support that claim.
Fast forward a few years later I had dated a guy by the name of Mike Hastings. It was a short lived relationship, but we remained friends. My best friend Sabrina called me one night and I knew right away that something was wrong. She said she was on her way over to my house. I remember the details of this night vividly, as if it was a neon sign seared into my mind. She told me that Mike was dead and I was in shock. The next night we went to see the group of friends we hung out with, then all the funeral stuff happened. Only later did I realize that he was buried on the 28th. I had no idea why that number would be important to me, at the time it was just a number, just a faint idea of what could come.
Mike committed suicide. A friend of mine knew someone on the police force so I heard the details of what happened. Still not sure if I needed to know those details. The only reason I am glad to know them is because there was time. I believe in that moment maybe for the first time he did not feel alone nor was he. There was time to accept God before the end and I have to believe that he chose God because in grief and desperation to see pure love would be overwhelming, I would think that many would turn to Him. That he believed and felt unconditional love for the first time.
You see he had a plan. He wrote letters to his family. Took a gun from a friend. He was intent on killing himself. When someone decides to commit suicide, they will follow through. Unless there is a cry for help that is noticeable they will end their pain themselves, yet many miss the signs along the way. They have no idea what devastation awaits everyone else that is around them, they are only thinking of themselves. Many intelligent and kind people commit suicide, they are under the impression that their demons will never go away and they have come to this final step to ease their soul.
In John 10:28 it says this "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." So even in that moment Mike could still accept Jesus and be saved. I believe all sins will be forgiven even in the process of ending ones life. Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I have heard so many that say that those committing suicide are going to hell, but if we are not in those last moments we can't say that to be true. We are precious to the Father and even when we make bad decisions I am assured that He is near. When we are at our most desperate there is comfort that can't been seen with our eyes or heard with our ears.
2nd story:
I thought that was the end of the 28th. In 2007 I had my daughter and my mom came down for a visit. She was visiting in October and when she got back to Ohio on a bus my grandparents had a rose for her. They didn't say anything, they just took her to the hospital. My dad was there very sick, his body was shutting down. My dad made sure to tell his dad to get my mom a rose, which was very sweet. By the time mom got to the room he couldn't communicate, but he could still hear. He was in a bad situation and was unlikely to fully recover if he lived. I spoke with mom on Friday and she said that he was doing better, but Saturday I knew he wasn't going to make it. How I knew I didn't know, I just knew. My mom had a dream Saturday night and she knew that he wasn't going to make it either. So I started packing so that we could drive up from TN to OH. I called on Sunday and mom told me he was gone, that I already knew, she just confirmed it. He died on the 28th.
He put off going to the doctor for tests and said he would do it while my mom was visiting us, he never did. He came back to God a few years before he died, even doing bible study and going to church. As far as I can remember he never did that while we were growing up, I never heard him even speak about God, ever. His health was declining, but he never change his lifestyle. He kept drinking and eating foods he was suppose to avoid. It is sad to lose someone early when it could have been delayed for many years or decades.
You may think this is a bit crazy, but when I sense something is from God I try to pay attention. This date I thought was good ended up being sad and I don't know if this is the end of the 28th, only time will tell. You may say that this was a coincidence, but that word is not in my vocabulary. I do not believe in mere chance or coincidence. That would take away any glory from God and give it to fate instead of faith.
1st story:
Back in 94/95 I was in the ARMY. I saw in my head the number 28. I was engaged and thought that maybe that was going to be the day I got married. This is one of only two times God has shown me a number, yet at the time I didn't know what it was. At this point in my life I said I was a Christian, but I had no idea what that really meant and my lifestyle did not support that claim.
Fast forward a few years later I had dated a guy by the name of Mike Hastings. It was a short lived relationship, but we remained friends. My best friend Sabrina called me one night and I knew right away that something was wrong. She said she was on her way over to my house. I remember the details of this night vividly, as if it was a neon sign seared into my mind. She told me that Mike was dead and I was in shock. The next night we went to see the group of friends we hung out with, then all the funeral stuff happened. Only later did I realize that he was buried on the 28th. I had no idea why that number would be important to me, at the time it was just a number, just a faint idea of what could come.
Mike committed suicide. A friend of mine knew someone on the police force so I heard the details of what happened. Still not sure if I needed to know those details. The only reason I am glad to know them is because there was time. I believe in that moment maybe for the first time he did not feel alone nor was he. There was time to accept God before the end and I have to believe that he chose God because in grief and desperation to see pure love would be overwhelming, I would think that many would turn to Him. That he believed and felt unconditional love for the first time.
You see he had a plan. He wrote letters to his family. Took a gun from a friend. He was intent on killing himself. When someone decides to commit suicide, they will follow through. Unless there is a cry for help that is noticeable they will end their pain themselves, yet many miss the signs along the way. They have no idea what devastation awaits everyone else that is around them, they are only thinking of themselves. Many intelligent and kind people commit suicide, they are under the impression that their demons will never go away and they have come to this final step to ease their soul.
In John 10:28 it says this "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand." So even in that moment Mike could still accept Jesus and be saved. I believe all sins will be forgiven even in the process of ending ones life. Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I have heard so many that say that those committing suicide are going to hell, but if we are not in those last moments we can't say that to be true. We are precious to the Father and even when we make bad decisions I am assured that He is near. When we are at our most desperate there is comfort that can't been seen with our eyes or heard with our ears.
2nd story:
I thought that was the end of the 28th. In 2007 I had my daughter and my mom came down for a visit. She was visiting in October and when she got back to Ohio on a bus my grandparents had a rose for her. They didn't say anything, they just took her to the hospital. My dad was there very sick, his body was shutting down. My dad made sure to tell his dad to get my mom a rose, which was very sweet. By the time mom got to the room he couldn't communicate, but he could still hear. He was in a bad situation and was unlikely to fully recover if he lived. I spoke with mom on Friday and she said that he was doing better, but Saturday I knew he wasn't going to make it. How I knew I didn't know, I just knew. My mom had a dream Saturday night and she knew that he wasn't going to make it either. So I started packing so that we could drive up from TN to OH. I called on Sunday and mom told me he was gone, that I already knew, she just confirmed it. He died on the 28th.
He put off going to the doctor for tests and said he would do it while my mom was visiting us, he never did. He came back to God a few years before he died, even doing bible study and going to church. As far as I can remember he never did that while we were growing up, I never heard him even speak about God, ever. His health was declining, but he never change his lifestyle. He kept drinking and eating foods he was suppose to avoid. It is sad to lose someone early when it could have been delayed for many years or decades.
You may think this is a bit crazy, but when I sense something is from God I try to pay attention. This date I thought was good ended up being sad and I don't know if this is the end of the 28th, only time will tell. You may say that this was a coincidence, but that word is not in my vocabulary. I do not believe in mere chance or coincidence. That would take away any glory from God and give it to fate instead of faith.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Introduction to My Story
The posts under My Story are my history. The small and large things God has done for me or shown me over my life so far. I have not written down all the stories and I thought that it was about time. I am not a journal person, but I wish that I had been so that I could have details from the time they happened instead of trying to recall them later, but some details I will never forget. Some of these stories might seem insignificant or small, but to me they are part of who I am and others might seem completely unbelievable. There are things going on all around us that we can't see with our natural eyes, but if we can truly see then we get a glimpse of the Kingdom if only for a moment. I think God talks to us in different ways, I am a visual person so many times that is what He uses to get my attention when I am not focusing on what is important or I'm being extremely stubborn and not doing what He has asked me to do. My plan is to start with the stories from my younger days and work toward current stories, although God sometimes has other plans (by now I am very aware of this).
The Israelites would stack stones in certain places as a memorial. They were there so that they could remember the great things God had done for them. You see they forgot often and had to be reminded, we are the same today. In our busy world, it is even harder to see the memorials around us and in our hearts. I was in a bible study several years ago at Kelley's house and she had a bowl of stones on the coffee table. On these stones she had written things to remind her of what God had done in her life or gotten her through. She knew exactly what each one meant, even if no one else knew. I thought that was a great idea, a visual reminder so that we can stop and remember. If we are having a hard day then we can go to our reminders and stop the chaos that is all around us and have a moment with the King. Seeing the goodness of God throughout the span of our life can really make you feel blessed.
The Israelites would stack stones in certain places as a memorial. They were there so that they could remember the great things God had done for them. You see they forgot often and had to be reminded, we are the same today. In our busy world, it is even harder to see the memorials around us and in our hearts. I was in a bible study several years ago at Kelley's house and she had a bowl of stones on the coffee table. On these stones she had written things to remind her of what God had done in her life or gotten her through. She knew exactly what each one meant, even if no one else knew. I thought that was a great idea, a visual reminder so that we can stop and remember. If we are having a hard day then we can go to our reminders and stop the chaos that is all around us and have a moment with the King. Seeing the goodness of God throughout the span of our life can really make you feel blessed.
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