Tuesday’s Trench Lessons 4 Life

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome back to our Tuesday’s Trench Lessons with Lea! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s go see what she has for us today!

What would the movie of your life look like? What would it be rated? Would it be a romance, comedy, or horror flick? Who would be your “target audience”?

I wonder how we would feel, what we would do, how we would live, if others could actually see how we live and behave in our own homes; in other words, could I even sit thru the movie of my life? As I was thinking this I thought about every time I lost my temper, ate the wrong thing, or made the wrong choice. I was embarrassed to think about that “movie.” That led me to this thought: Why doesn't this same behavior embarrass me in front of my own family? The answer that I have come to realize is this: Unconditional Love. If my husband tells a lie, or my kids break my favorite collectible, I still love them without hesitation. I believe the same applies to me. My husband and children love me, in spite of my weaknesses.

During this whole thought process, I began to think about those movies that show the people passing away, and a big movie projector showing them their life. I know I’ve been to memorial services where there was a sort of movie made of their life…of course only the good times.

We know that the scriptures tell us we will all be judged at the last day. So will my projector be showing all the times I yelled at the kids, or had anger toward my husband? Will it show all the bad words that fly out of my mouth when I am at the end of my rope with all the inconsiderate drivers? Will it show the hundreds of thousands of times in my life when I have committed a sin? If it did, I don't think there would be much hope for me!

Before we all just throw our hands up in the air with despair, let us turn to the scriptures. Isaiah 43:25 which states: I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Isn't that such a beautiful thing? Not only did Jesus die to forgive us, but He goes a step farther by forgetting them as well. It is truly like they never happened! Isn't that thought so freeing?

Don’t get me wrong; this does not give us a free pass to just do whatever we want, and then ask for forgiveness. He knows what is in our hearts. But because He loves us unconditionally, we are freed!

When the reel of my life plays, it will just be my greatest hits! It will show all the people I loved, and all the times I decided to choose the right! My movie will be beautiful, because my life is beautiful. I hold on to that knowledge, and have hope for the future. Please join me in this knowledge and hope!

Until next week...I love you

Lea

WHO'S YOUR DADDY - Part II

Who's Your Daddy?

 Ohhhhh my goodness!!! I am at a laundromat in a new state with an old problem on my hands: I am a selfish and self-centered person who needs the saving grace of a Being so dang big that my sins cannot only be forgiven but overcome. Let me let you in on a little secret… I am a wreck! I feel like I can barely see ten feet in front of me and need to see a hundred. I think that if I could see that far in front of me, then I would think that I knew where I was going, and let me be clear; I do not know where I am going. Every time that I think that I do, and take the wheel, I end up stranded on the side of a desert road with a blown engine, dehydrated, with buzzards circling above me head.
I just don’t know, you guys; I really, really, really don’t. I have no idea what tomorrow holds. I know I have a final interview for a job, but I have no idea what will happen. I just don’t know. Sometimes I wish I did know what was going to happen, but like the Bible says, it is His pleasure to hide certain things and for us to find them when we seek Him. [Matthew 7:11] I am definitely learning that He is a good father, wanting to surprise His children with good gifts when they look for their Dad. This is a hard concept for me to grasp; all I’ve ever known is an absent father. Could He be trying to teach me something different?
So I am in the great state of Texas with nothing familiar around me except His big blue sky, which is a little bigger out here, by the way, and I am so scared but at the same time I have a great peace because I know who packed my parachute. I don’t know what is going to happen from one day to the next so I just keep praying for strength, wisdom, and favor because I need it. I have eyes to see, but it’s like I am blind. I want to be completely in His care and living in complete abandon to His spirit. Pray for me, please… We need it.
Jesus, help me. There are so many questions spinning around in my head: Where am I even at? Why do you even love me? You’ve seen all that I’ve done but still you insist on blessing me! Please teach me what it means to know a father, to know unconditional love and to know what it means to trust You. Please, never let me go, God. Please don’t let me ever get away from you. Amen.

Jeff