Saturday, January 4, 2014

"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" Isaiah 7:9


    The idea that the strength of our convictions is not a new one to me, it is one that I have thought about before. Years ago, I took a philosophy course that required I start the semester with a world view and end the semester with a world view. I have always been interested in the different religions of the world so I was taking this class not to fulfill a credit requirement but for fun. I had already completed the typical philosophy 101 course where I learned the difference between fallacies and how to determine which kind of argument was which. 
    This was the learn about different kinds of belief systems philosophy. My professor was a firm believer of eastern mysticism, therefore most of the class focused on that particular area. We went covered Christianity in a very obligatory fashion, it went by so fast. I did learn that at the time I was a Christian Existentialist. I was the only Christian who spoke out regularly in class.
     It was a small class made up of quite a range of students. I was an "nontraditional" student; I had kids and had been married for a while. I remember writing my world view as honestly as I could. I proclaimed my love of God, my belief in Jesus Christ as my savior. I explained quickly my background and how I came to believe.
     I wrote that I had been raised Catholic but never confirmed, how I doubted at a young age, how I rejected Jesus as a teenager. (I grew up in the bible belt and I can remember answering a lot of questions about that!) I never rejected God but I doubted Jesus was who He said He was. I was always open to debate on the subject. I explained how I came back to Jesus. How I could not believe that this is all there is, how the miracle of life couldn't be a fluke, how I couldn't bear the thought of nothingness after death.
    I enjoyed learning about other cultures and their beliefs. I enjoyed  debating theology (with the limited knowledge that Catechism classes had left me) with my instructor and classmates. I knew enough to get by and was articulate enough to sound like I knew what I was talking about. 
    At the end of the course after we had written our final world view and on the last day of class, we were handed back our papers. As he went around passing them out my professor would say something small to each person as they took their paper. When he finally got to me he stopped, looked me dead in the eye and said to me, "Normally, when a student's world view does not change, I fail them. But I can tell you have worked hard to get where you are and I am impressed."
    Friends, my final world view that I submitted went a little something like this:
"I am a Christian. I believe that God created the world, that Jesus died for my sins. I have learned in this course that I am a Christian Existentialist."
    Even as a what we call a "baby" Christian I stood firm in my faith. Since the day when I was pregnant with my first son and I realized that there is more to this crazy thing we call life, I have stood firm. As the years have passed and I have grown in my faith and understanding, I still stand firm on the foundation of the knowledge that God created the world and Jesus died for my sins. I wonder what I would have to offer the others in that class today. My faith has grown exponentially and I admit I have been sidetracked and I have committed my life to Him over and over again but I always know that God is faithful to me, that He gave His one and only son for me, that He has chosen me and called me by name! What an amazing and loving God I have! 





Thursday, January 2, 2014

Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most

 





  Earlier this week, I did a preliminary review of Brooke McGlothlin's newest book, Praying for Boys: Asking God for the Things They Need Most. At the time I had not finished the book but I was excited to read it and now that I have finished it I am excited to put what I have learned into practice!
    As I told you, this book is full "AHA!" moments and common sense. The author even gives you scriptures to pray over your son! I don't know how easier it can get. Before she goes into detail about the topics in which we should pray for, she reminds us that prayer is not something that has to be formal, as a matter of fact prayer should be personal. We should be speaking to God like he is sitting right next to us. He is our Father, He cares for us, He listens to us, He knows us intimately, He knows the desires of our hearts. This is something I struggle with, I have a habit of saying the same prayer over and over again, and I know it annoys me when someone repeats themselves to me! This is the first change I will make in my prayer life.
    The next change I will make, is I will begin to pray scripture. I know most of the time I do not have the words to adequately convey what I want to say to God, how many times should I say to Him, "see the desires of my heart"? (Come to think of it I must be pretty boring to listen too!) In God's love letter to me, He has beautifully said everything that I can not. At any point in my life someone in the Bible has gone through it! I am not alone! I know that Google is about to become my best friend. This is not to say I will only pray scripture, I will pray from my heart as well.
    There have been very few times that I have actually been on my knees praying. This has been only in times of great sadness or extreme distress. I was brought up Catholic so how I fell out of this habit, I do not know but I feel like I am ready to put this aspect of my old prayer life back into action. To me it symbolizes serious devotion. I will be assuming this position once a day, thereby I will be making a set time to spend with God first thing in the morning. I currently pray when the Spirit moves me and I have tried to set a schedule for myself so I am hoping that this will help me stick to it. Again, Ms. McGlothlin's references to wearing out the carpet has inspired this change.
    This book has really changed the way I look at my sons and their salvation and purpose in life. It reminds me that we are not alone raising these precious miracles. God has a vested interest in them as well. It gives me hope that I can do the most loving thing for them, to pray for them at any age. I have clear cut instructions on how to do this. She also reminds me that I can not accept Jesus into their hearts for them, God is the only one who can move them to do so, but I can pray on their behalf that he calls them. It reminds me that I have a great duty to fulfill. I must raise my sons to be men of substance, men of integrity, men of action. They must take the roles that they have been made for seriously and I know that I am blessed that they have a role model like their father. I hope and pray that they are also role models for their future children.
   That being said, later this week I will be giving away a copy of the book! You can pre-order it on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Boys-Asking-Things-They-ebook/dp/B00DWA69AK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388728353&sr=1-1&keywords=praying+for+boys