Entering the Next Chapter

In the past I thought being a good Christian meant wearing a mask. Projecting an image of happiness and wholeness to all those around me. I thought the mask would help others to see Jesus through me. It would keep my brokenness from becoming a distraction to others. I would wear this mask that I created and when the mask would slip, I would become overcome with guilt for failing as a Christian. Through the last several years, I have found that sometimes people can see God most shining through the cracks of my brokenness. I was doing God no favors by being artificial. God wanted to use my brokenness. He wanted to heal my brokenness. He wanted to love me in my brokenness. As a society we have things that are stigmatized. Things that go unspoken for fear of rejection and judgement. Sadly, this is not much more different in our Christian walk.There are some subjects that are uncomfortable and can make us feel vulnerable. Top Three Things Christians Hide: (Some of these overlap) 1.

Finding the meaning of Christmas can be difficult when society views the meaning of Christmas as a very materialistic day. Christmas has become about fairy tales, music, baking, family, and presents. I am not saying that any of those things are terrible but when the purpose for celebrating is forgotten what is the rest really worth? So many people have become like those acquaintances who send you birthday wishes on Facebook not because they remembered your birthday but because they saw it posted and saw that everyone else was writing on your wall. They were being kind and were jumping on the band wagon out of convenience not out of true care. I don't want to be an acquaintance of God, I want to be a friend of God or even better yet a child of God. I want to celebrate the birth of Jesus because I have a relationship with Him and am thankful for Him.  As I have been reading through the scriptures that tell of the birth of Jesus I have been a little convicted, sad, and than

Oh how often I find myself in conversation with my daughter and she tries to soften the blow by lying. I am not sure if she is trying to deceive me or trying to deceive herself. The way she does this is not by completely disregarding the claims made against her. No, she instead will change her wording to make it sound less terrible.  I have so many examples but a few are as follows. Stating she "borrowed" something, instead of stole it.  Stating that she was "joking" about something, instead of lying about it.  Stating that she didn't push the person "too hard" or claim things as accidents. Why does she do this?  I think there are two main reason that she does this. Firstly, she does it because she is afraid of the reaction and the punishment she will receive. Secondly, I think she does it because of her pride. She doesn't want to classify herself with her friends negative actions.  What do I do in response? I state things as

So many people ask, " If prayer is supposed to be so good then why are there people who have been raped, why are there kids who have been molested, why do people die, why does "God" allow children to get terminally ill and die, etc? "  I remember wondering the same thing many years ago. It is a very tough thing to watch a child in pain from an illness or from another persons actions.  I wanted to respond from my personal beliefs as a Christian. I am not expecting anyone else to agree with what I say but I am just giving my stand point and my beliefs.  To the first part of the question, the part about rape and molestation, God gives us free will. The same free will that allows one person to choose whether or not to even believe in God is the same free will that allows a person to choose whether or not to sin. We can't expect God to give free will for things we want and not for others. There are still laws in place to correct things and God will lash