food = way way way too much of it ... we are truly blessed
fun = reclaimed my blackjack throne from my brother .... however, i lost (most humiliatingly) my spades, rummy, gin, dr. pepper, texas hold 'em, hearts, and speed pride ... my dad and brother can count cards and i cannot ... therefore i lose ... such memories :D
family = they come, they eat, they leave ... and they are loud ... very loud ... in four different languages too (english, german, spanish, and backwoods louisianan) ... but i wouldn't trade them for anything ... b/c they also happen to be hilarious and political ... brilliance
also watched some historical documentaries ... such as the emperor's new groove ... which is an entire movie about a llama ... thus one of the family favorites ;)
10 days until i get to see them again and i can't wait :D
for christmas this year i am getting my daddy a frame with a little girl on it that says "i will always be your little girl" and an open spot for a picture
since my most recent pictures are of me during my senior year of high school (i'm now a senior in college) i figured it was time to overcome my fear of the camera for my daddy
i got a lot of pictures taken today and really really need your help picking the one to give him
please pick out your favorite(s) so that i can narrow down my decision ... i'm going to frame one and possibly give a few of the prints to him so that he can switch out some of my senior pictures
thank you SO much! it really means a lot to me :)
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"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8
It's so easy to speed through the Beattitudes. I would like to take a short amount of time to slow down and focus on the one that I struggle with the most.
I wish to offer two interpretations of this particular scripture. Both are important in understanding and application. I would like to mainly focus on the word SEE.
1. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
When I think of this word see, in this particular context, I take it as meaning "understand".
"1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:1-4
The Lord, Himself, commands that we become like little children, who exemplify purity in every aspect of their life. If we wish to understand what it really means to become more like Christ we must purify our hearts to emulate those of the little children. If your conscience is seared, soften it. Remember what it is like to blush and become embarrassed. Obtain and Maintain tenderness of heart and mind.
2. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God
The second, and most meaningful to me, personally, is to take the word see literally.
Allow me to change the wording of the verse to demonstrate my point.
Cursed are the impure in heart, for they shall never see God.
"21 Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?"
23 And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." Matthew 7:21-23
If we do not dedicate every day and every action to maintaining a pure heart, we will never attain the goal of heaven. That means getting rid of anything and everything that might cause our minds to become distracted. Even if it's something that is not necessarily sinful, in it of itself, if it is taking your mind off of serving the Lord, it becomes sinful. Everyone's weaknesses in this particular area will be different. Please, I implore you, learn your weaknesses, and even if it makes sense to no one else, abstain from it. Purity in heart is a command, not a suggestion. I guarantee, heaven will be worth it.
Like I said, this is one of my weaknesses, so I could probably go on all day typing to myself, however, I want to stop there and get your opinion. I hope this helps you as much as it did me.
Ps 101:3 "I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me." God speaks about purity all throughout Scripture!!
i have to sit on the front row in class and very close to the front in church ... not because i am a particularly dedicated student or because i am an incredibly pious christian ... i have a focus issue ... my mind is constantly moving
i have learned the hard way, if i don't sit on the front row, i will never be able to focus on what is happening at the front of the room/building ... more importantly, i won't put anything into it, or get anything out of it
"Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2
"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5
so how can someone like me set my mind or bring every thought into captivity?
if you continue to use "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak", you will never grow ... meaning you will go backwards
here are three things that i've done that have made it easier for me to maintain focus:
1. i completely surround myself with focused thoughts. since my mind has a habit of bouncing, i make sure that everything in my realm of vision has a scripture or helpful thought on it ... sticky notes are my best friend ... i have them everywhere
2. i learn my weaknesses and stay away from them. even if that means sitting at the front, turning off everything else when i need to focus (mainly tv), isolating myself when i read or pray, reading smaller portions etc.
3. i force myself to focus. the spirit is willing. period. ... is that hard? yup ... is it necessary? absolutely ... no matter how bad your mind bounces you MUST learn how to take control ... there's too much at stake to live your life by "the flesh is weak" ... if i can do it, so can you
i hope this helps ... if you do anything other than this that helps you, please, let me know :)
I feel ya, sister. For me, I listen to Christain radio- We don't even have the TV plugged in, let alone cable- and make it a point to read and discuss every night. What comes in goes out... and I sure as heaven don't want the trash of the media coming out of me!
Personally, my flesh is very weak. But you're right- the flesh IS weak, but the SPIRIT, which is what we LIVE by, is strong, and needs to grow stronger. If your spirit is willing, then take time do pray more about your spirit taking control over your flesh. Take more time to do spiritual things rather than fleshly things.
Sacrifice is one of the single greatest things you can do to set your mind straight. Unless, of course, you boast in your own sacrifice in a negative way. Try doing something for someone else.
it makes me think of the rich man and lazarus... we have an example of a man's regret after not living his life the way he knew he should. he thought his brothers would respond to someone from the dead but Abraham tells us that just like he hadn't believed, neither would his brothers. we can't allow ourselves to make such a mistake of having our priorities out of order especially when we have such a good example of what we definantly don't want to become of us in eternal life.
