Mommy, I gotta tell you something...

My eight-year-old came to me this morning as I was just getting ready to get out of bed. He normally greets me with a hug, a kiss, and a "Good morning, Mommy!" So when he came and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I gotta tell you something," my heart skipped a bit, wondering what could it be that he didn't want his Daddy to hear. He continued to whisper...

"Last night, I prayed that God will keep me away from temptation," he said.

"Where did you get that idea to pray that?" I said.

"When I watched that Veggie Tales video about Larry Boy being tempted to keep on eating lots of chocolates."

"Wow, Jojo! That's really good, bud! But you don't have to keep it as a secret from your Daddy. Why don't you go and tell him that too. He needs to hear that." And yes, he told his Daddy. And then we asked him what temptation is. His answer, "You wanna do something you're not supposed to."

Don't we all need that reminder every so often! My Jojo is only eight. For now, tempatation is sneaking in the fridge, playing video games when it's not play time, lying, etc. For us adults, it's more complicated than those - bad thoughts, hatred, lack of trust, unbelief, lies, pornography, sexual addiction, indulgence on food, etc. etc. etc.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (emphasis added)

Joseph in Egypt is always the first one that comes to my mind. Jesus did not promise a problem-and-temptation-free life here on earth but He promised a life of VICTORY and FREEDOM! Praise be to Him!

You Are Beautiful

No one knows her inner struggles. Probably no one ever will. When others look at her, she seems to be happy and content. The hurts she experiences and the emotional and physical pains that come with them are sometimes too much to bear. Today was just another one of those sad days for her. All day long today, tears continually rolled down her cheeks. No one noticed, though. She was hurting... again. She felt betrayed... again. She felt alone... again. "Oh God, when is this going to end? How much longer do I have to bear this pain?" was her heart's cry.

At 5:00 o'clock in the afternoon, as she paused for a little break from mopping the floors, she decided to look out the back window. The sun was full and big, ready to set and hide beyond the horizon. The sky was the hues of purple and pink, mixed with the orange sun. She paused... Her heart was speechless... She was in awe of God's beauty!

You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words,

Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen or heard.

Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom?

Who can fathom the depth of Your love?

You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above.

And I stand, I stand, in awe of You. I stand, I stand in awe of You.

Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand In awe of You.

And if the beautiful sky wasn't enough to confirm God's love for her, God showed her another thing. She walked to the front side of the house, loooked at the sky and lo, and behold she saw a clear rainbow painted on a pink-orange sky. She dropped her mop, stretched out her hands, and fell down in full prostrate adoration before her Mighty God. "Lord, You are beautiful indeed. I don't need to know the why's in my life. I don't need to ask you to take away my hurts and pains. I just need to do what you created me to do - to worship and adore You. I love you, my Lord. Only you can bring beauty from the ashes. Help me be content in Your love and in your infinite wisdom. You are beautiful beyond description!"

With tears still rolling down her cheeks, she continued mopping. This time with a different resolve in her heart, knowing that God loves her - unconditionaly!

Who created mathematics, anyway?

I got this through email from a friend. The author is unknown. This is awesome, just shows we have an awesome God, His wisdom is unfathomable!!!

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint...
What equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?Did you ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants us to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
If A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26,

Then H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K would be 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E would be 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%.

But A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E would be 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%.

And look how far the love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D 12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%!

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!