Posts by "Lori Beard"
Contentment
Phil. 4:12 I have learned the secret of being content in everything.
Come on Paul. Tell me the secret. Yell that secret to working mommas who yearn to be home. Tell it to stay at home moms who yearn to get away from their kid. What is the secret? What did you learn? How about wives who are married to Christian fellas and are loved but not loved quite like the lady married to so and so. Their man does not do date night, he does not say sweet things. Can you teach contentment, Paul, to the ones who are living life so fast that there is no time to breathe? Bible time? Ha! Prayer time? Ha! Fellowship? Ha! Always gotta go and be doing. More sports, more shows, more stuff. More this and that, but no contentment. Paul, were you really content in money and stuff? Did you really learn to be okay with little and with less? Can you teach that to me? Because I often think I have to have more. I am like the more monster. Some is never enough. Cliff works overtime and we miss him BUT the overtime is good because regular pay is never enough. Well, what is the secret? I clearly need to know. We clearly need to know, because we are drowning in discontentment. So how do we "learn" contentment? Well, I go to the same source I have gone to for years - my Bible. The sweetest source of truth ever. So, what does the Bible say?
Lessons Learned in 2015
Well, there have been so many. And then, I fear, there is so much I have not learned yet. And I say fear because the older I get, the harder the lessons get to learn. Thank God for grace.
Sowing & Reaping
There have been times in my life when I have been in the position of seeing sad, hard consequential life circumstances that were a result of ungodly choices. This has happened in my life and in the lives of others around me. Galatians 6: 7-8 says one reaps what one sows. A dear friend of mine paraphrased that scripture like this...why would you plant corn and be upset when a green bean doesn't grow?
Come on... you don't expect it to be clean do you. I AM A NANA.
Well...i have not blogged in a while. Okay okay, i have not blogged in forever. There are some valid reasons. My pastor (his name is Keith McWhorter...in case anybody wants to send complaints to him) told me I had to use this new forum and start editing my own blog. Can u believe it? He got tired of fixing my mistakes. What is that about?? Well...my system was just recovering from that when I BECAME A NANA TO TWO TINY BABIES. i now have four sweet grandbabies. My life is overrun with grandkids and new mommas needing help and support. And so...this blog. Well.. you know.
Instructions...would have been better
So....I just recently downloaded a lingo game on my kindle. I flipped through all the screens that gave instructions. I mean i have watched it on tv. So...who needs instructions. Well, four games later, all in the loser column, I read the instructions. Glory. .I have won a few.
Lessons from Last Year
As a new year begins I am mindful that I learned many things in 2014... some of them were painful and some of them were joyful and some of them were embarrassing and some of them were helpful. I learned a bunch of stuff last year. I am glad for most of it and some of it I wish I never knew. But I guess everything in my life comes from a sovereign God and is for my good so I must have needed it all. So here are some of my lessons...
Gossip . . . The Church Killer
Gossip... Definition...1. Casual unrestrained conversation about another person who is not there..conversation that is demeaning or slandering. 2. Idle talk. Well, boy, am I guilty of this. So many times in my life. And my idle talk has caused so much hurt. Gossip is a weapon of destruction. We don't see it that way because we don't see the souls of those we are destroying. We cannot see the deep wounds that our talk causes and many times we cannot see the horrid scars left behind. I am so thankful for grace that has forgiven me time and time again while it also works to change me. Why in the world do I ever gossip? I think the only reason that makes sense is that I love it. Have you ever gotten an adrenaline rush when you heard something that made you go "oh my?" Well, that is pretty much why we gossip because it fuels us. It makes us feel better about ourselves. But really holy people (like me and I suspect many of you) have learned to clothe gossip in robes of righteousness. We say things like this:
Unity . . . A Two-Sided Coin
So, it is late...my typing stinks at all hours of the day...and I am blurry visioned. So, why you writing this then Lori...( I heard you ask me that.) Well, I have has this on my mind since Pastor Keith preached today. So, you can blame your pastor for this late night blog. (Great big hehe there).
Now, here is my thinkin. Luke 23:12 talks of a very unholy alliance..a unity that went beyond jealousy, envy, power struggles, race differences, common hatred. It talks about a unity of two, based solely on their mutual cowardice..their mutual small characters. .their mutual disregard for Jesus.
Luke 23:12 says these men, (Pilate and Herod) who had been enemies before this day, were now fast, united friends. Really...really...are you kiddin me? Two men who hated each other...jealous, envious, and after their own glory, united as one...how did that happen? Well, it is simple really. Misery loves company. These two men were called upon to do the right thing..be men of honor. ..men who could have and should have saved an innocent man's life on that ordained day. They could have taken the hard road and chosen Jesus...but they were cowards and gave him over to die. This immediately bound them together. This stand against Jesus...this stand against right..this stand against holiness bound them together like stink on a dog (ummm..cliff says something like that but he is asleep so...that is the best I got). Anyway, that led me to thinking. Do we do that? Why, yes we do. How many times in our sin do we turn from the people in community who are loving us enough to warn us about our sin..loving us enough to hold us accountable for our sin...and who do we turn to? Well, usually to someone who believes the way we do. We turn to those who "get us." We turn to those who "know what it is like." We turn to those who don't make us feel bad like, well, those holier than thou people. I have seen this in people who have left the church under discipline. They group up like minions in the "I hate CBC army" and talk about their woes and all that is wrong with that place. Boy, I would love to camp out at Herod...Pilate... and All the people under discipline's doorstep ..but the hard truth is I am guilty if this too. I hate the truth about my sin. I want other women to affirm me in it, so often, when I am confronted, I just go find new best friends. Friends who know how to walk on eggshells without cracking them...friends who understand that if you say anything I do not agree with (who cares if its in the Bible) well, I won't play with you anymore. God forgive me for that. Today, I was sick because I could identify so well with these two scoundrels. Oh my word Lori...grow up in Jesus. Just because the natural is that misery loves company of like minds does not mean I have to go along. I can beg God to transform me and help me not conform to flesh. How about you? Are you united to another for the purpose of the glory of God? Are you united to those consumed by him and aching for his holiness? Or...are you uniting yourself with those whose sin makes your sin ok? Are you united with those who have chosen something over Jesus, just like you? Are you seeking out relationships that point you to Jesus or relationships that point out how right and good you are?
Faithful Until the End
Every time I turn the news on or pick up a paper or get on facebook (cause we all know everything posted on facebook is true for sure) I see accounts of Christians around the world who are being mocked, jeered at, tortured, beaten and killed for their faith. My heart is heavy for them and their families. I do not and cannot imagine their great sorrow or sacrifice.
Who's in Charge Here Anyway?
I am seeing a trend that is surprising to me from God's view but not at all from the world's view. The surprising thing about this trend is that it is as prevalent in the church as out. But wait, wait, we are to be in the world not of it. Ummm...epic fail in this area.