JC Ryle

Found this on twitter, “Disciple like Jesus” posted these two, and I wanted to share!

 

“A true Christian must not be a slave to what’s currently ‘in-fashion,’ if he wants to train his child for heaven. He must not be content to teach them and instruct them in certain ways, merely because it is customary, or to allow them to read books of a questionable sort, merely because everybody else reads them, or to let them form bad habits, merely because they are the habits of the day. ~ JC Ryle”

 

I 100% agree with this! 

 

“(A parent) must train with an eye to his children’s souls. He must not be ashamed to hear his training called odd and strange. What if it is? The time is short—the customs of this world are passing away. He that has trained his children for heaven, rather than for the earth—for God, rather than for man—he is the parent that will be called wise in the end. ~ JC Ryle”

 

And that post as well!  I think as christians, we have to be able and ready to accept that people may call us wacky or strange.  It’s hard to deal with sometimes, especially if you’re a lonely stay at home mom, but so worth it.  After all, the big picture is that this earth is only a “blink of an eye”….

 

God bless and enjoy your day!!!!!!!

A Contrite Heart

I strongly urge you to read this to the end.  It sparked my heart.  Stirred up something God has been stirring for a while now….

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/09/one-question-youve-got-to-look-in.html

Is it about Jesus?  I’ve found myself filled with the world and it breaks my heart.  It saddens me, how did I get this way? I see little bits and pieces of how it did.  Sometimes hurt, a painful heart scared to trust and let God lead for fear of the pain and rejection it may lead me to.  Sometimes bitterness.  Sometimes laziness, a saddened depression, with not enough energy to do anything.  Whatever it was and is, God is bigger.  I want to change, I want God to make a difference in my life.  For me it started with deleting facebook, I’m not dissing it or anything, in fact I think there’s some good that’s done in it, but for me, a stay at home mom with no car all day, that’s a distraction that leads me down a nosey path of who’s who and what’s what.  I felt in my heart to delete it.  I in fact tonight went on my Mom’s to ‘check out some people’ and feel convicted by it.  I think God judges us by our hearts and what’s in them, and I was being plain nosey and judgemental.  Facebook’s a weakness I have, maybe for you it’s no big deal at all, but for me, it’s a no-no. 

We’re so ahead in technology and material things, I think we think we have it made, if we could only get this material thing, or that much money, or that big of a house, car, ect…..but God’s giving me bit by bit of my heart’s desire and you know what.  Simply, nothing compares.  No matter how depressed you can get, no matter how many friends you have, how many minutes you have with your husband doing your favourite things, eating your favourite foods, owning your own house, car, toys and gadgets, nothing compares.  It’s not suppose to.  Those are blessings, yes and they satisfy for a moment, but your heart will still be empty without a relationship with Christ.  Not a religion, I believe in going to church, having accountability partner, but I also believe that 2 people can sit together in the same church and one can have a relationship with God and the other has religion, set rules and regulations.  For a while you feel safe by that….but then you begin  to feel the emptiness in your heart.  Nothing compares to Him.  His beauty, His everlasting love that is so real.  I love Christ.  But the last few years He’s been on my back burner.  Let me tell you I’ve thought of Him everyday, I still do, I even think I talk about and to Him everyday, but , not like a real relationship, it’s hard to explain.  I think a lot of your relationship also goes along with all the relationships you had from a child up, your beliefs, even hidden unknown ones that you sometimes don’t recognize until the Lord reveals that whether through a person or book, show…..whatever. 

So, I’m on a journey, I don’t understand all of my past, or my future, but I just want God to direct my heart and take the lead.  I’m in pain, but I think it’s a good pain, like pain that needs to be shed.  I need to let go and let God, let Him heal me of all the pain I’ve ever experienced, pain that I felt/feel that I can’t share with so many, pain that I’ve been hiding because I don’t want to hurt anyone else or myself.  Pain that makes me not love my kids or my husband the way I want to, the way God has called me to.  I believe He’s going to deliver me from fear and insecurities.  I’m so scared and don’t know how He’s going to do it, but I feel freedom blooming and freedom coming!

My family and I are moving from our place called home, been here for 6 1/2 years and owned this, our first house for almost 4 1/2, raised our 2 kids here and dog, we have so many wonderful memories here and it’s soooo hard to leave.  But I feel God calling us to a new chapter in our lives.  I feel to take a year off and concentrate on our own family, grown in God and learn to have an intimate relationship with Him.  Sometimes that’s hard with almost 3 children.  So we’ll be taking a year off.  My husband was/still is on the board of our church and was on the band, pretty much their only drummer, so that took up once a week practise and going early in the mornings on sundays too.  Church is feeling like a chore to me.  Stuck in the nursery with a loud (but cute) 2 year old because there’s no one to take that age in our church until age 4 is hard, lonliness was becoming an unwanted best friend.  I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. 

I believe God is, was, and will be directing my steps, I know I’ve failed in many ways to hear because of my crippling fears and attitudes, but He’s such a merciful God.  I just pray that He takes away my guilt and shame and helps me.  I believe He will.  I pray that I’m brave enough to let Him.  Because I am scared. 

I want it to be all about Jesus.  That’s how I want it, that’s how I use to be…I think….I really do love Him.  I don’t deserve Him, none of us do, but oh how He loves us so.  Praise be to God.