“He Did It For Me”

But as for you, continue in what  you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus – 2 Timothy 3:14-15

I read an interesting quote today which led me to thinking and eventually to writing this post. It said “Are we given children to teach or to be taught?” In other words, there is so much we can learn from our children. Probably as much as they can learn from us. Their little minds are always open. Open to new possibilities, an open heart that can see beyond what we see. As adults we tend to look at everything with a bit of skepticism, doubt or worry. Children see things just as they are and with hope and excitement.

In a way, I saw a lot of what this quote meant when I listened to my own child this week. As I worked around the house last night, my heart smiled as I heard her in her room pretending to be the leader of a bible study. She was reading from her bible and explaining the verses out loud. And she was doing a very good job! I thought to myself how I hadn’t taken time from my own busy schedule for reading God’s word yesterday or the day before. So I sat down and made a little time last night after my freckle-faced inspiration had gone to bed.

She also made me stop and think earlier this week when she turned a Wii game into a thought about Jesus. She was playing a game that required a lot of balance on the Wii board and afterward she remarked how hard it was and it made her arms and legs hurt. Then she said “But that’s nothing compared to what Jesus went through! He had to hold himself up on the cross. That must have been hard. But he did it for me!!” She was so excited as she said it. Yes, he did do all that for her… and me… and all of us and yes it was hard. But where would we be today if he hadn’t? And how different would the world be if we were all on fire for Jesus like that??

Take time to listen to the children in your lives. Remember what it was like to think with a happy heart, a heart that is excited for what Jesus did and for what God can do in our lives. And take time to learn with them.

On the flip side of that, don’t forget about the children who aren’t fortunate enough to know God or have Him in their lives. How can you help them? Invite a child to your church or a youth group : )

 

“In Focus”

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” ~ Philippians 3:13-14

When I am shooting pictures, I have to have the subject in focus, obviously. Sometimes the camera wants to focus on what is in the forefront and not necessarily the subject I am trying to capture. I have to keep adjusting until what I want to photograph comes in to clear view, much like the picture above. There is FEAR in the forefront and FAITH in the background. It took some fine-tuning to get the camera to focus on FAITH. I had to look beyond the FEAR.

Imagine that God is your camera lens. He wants you to constantly look beyond the fear to bring your faith into full focus. This takes some adjusting on your part but it is attainable by being obedient. The stresses and worries become blurred and don’t seem important anymore. He becomes your focus as well and you can then move forward in the direction you are meant to go. Toward your full potential, abilities, desires and your future and putt the “blur” on limitations, anger, negativity and the past.

I heard a story of a lady whose husband had left her and she was patiently waiting for God to bring love back into her life. She bought a picture frame, left it empty and sat it by her bed. She prayed every day and imagined a picture in the frame of herself and a wonderful man that God would send her way. She was patient and eventually it happened. She met someone and they were married. Just by doing that simple task, she was saying to God that she believed – had faith and not fear about what was happening in her life. She brought that desire into focus.

Bring a picture into your mind of what you not only think, but KNOW that God will bring about in your life and then FOCUS on it.