On the Tablet of My Heart

Leave it to a teenager to ask the hard questions.  It was Wednesday night this week.  I was speaking to our youth group about the movie Moana and the spiritual lessons I took away from this animated kid's movie (Yes, even Disney can be a source for understanding God's plan for my life!). But that's a topic for another blog. Somehow, and I honestly don't even remember how, the topic switched from Moana's courage and determination to follow what she knew was in her heart, despite all the odds being stacked against her, to the Biblical prophecies of the end times and the persecution that Christians will endure.  Oh yes, I'm seeing my train of thought now. Seems like it went something like this... "Moana didn't let anything keep her from doing what she knew in her heart was right." "Like how we shouldn't let things like peer pressure keep us from following our passion for Christ?" "Exactly! We need to be prepared because on

We all have those days, right?  Those days when all the thoughts in your head are negative.  Those days when you are your own worst enemy.  The ones when you beat yourself up because you can't seem to do anything right and you just aren't enough no matter how hard you try.  Or maybe that's just me...if so, thanks for looking, but you can stop reading this blog right now. It was one of those days.  I had tried to start the day out right.  I'd read a chapter in Romans.  I'd gotten my kids outside, away from the electronics.  Still, I felt that negativity fogging up my brain, so I started walking around our circle drive trying to pray. But even my prayers became focused on all the ways I felt I was failing.  There I was, crying out to God because - no matter how I tried or what I did - I didn't feel like I loved him well enough; I just wasn't the Christian I needed to be. About this time, my son Hunter got off of the trampoline and started walking away.  A

For years one of my pet peeves occurred when my husband would come into the kitchen while I was cooking dinner and try to rush or take over the process.  Notice, I didn't say help with the process! However, after fifteen years, its become more of a joke. He works so hard that he often puts off eating until he feels like he's starving and then even a ten minute wait before dinner is just too long.  But not even he would decide to pop a Hungry Man turkey dinner in the microwave if he knew a true feast was just a short wait away. No way! When it comes to spiritual matters, however, how many of us find ourselves invading the kitchen, sneaking snacks, rushing the process, or even taking over the job and trying to finish it up ourselves? We smell the tantalizing aroma of our promise, see the nearly-finished result through the oven door, and instead of sitting down to the table and offering our thanks while we patiently wait, we decide to take things into our own hands.  The result