Tough question.

Are there moments in life when you sit and ponder questions like...
What should I conclude with capital punishment?
What about Abortion?
Women in Ministry?
Does the Creator save all?

Tough questions that make you... cringe to have to face and think about.

I have a blog friend who is confronting these issues on their blog right now.  A series called  CHRISTIANITY THAT MAKES ME CRINGE (see following link for one of the posts): http://www.thescandal.org/2011/05/christianity-that-makes-me-cringe-women.html

I'm not say that their opinion is fact and is  agreeable or disagreeable... but these are questions that might pop up in your life and what do you conclude to?  Do you take the popular vote? Do you go with what the friend next to you says so you don't get flogged? 

Here are a few Survival Tips for Tough questions:
1.  Always ask questions and test all things (Acts 17:11-12; James 1: 2-3; 1Thess. 5:21-24)
2.  Ask for wisdom from the Lord (Proverbs 3: 5-6; James 1:5-6; Psalm 32:8)
3.  Pray for peace in the things you don't understand (Philippians 4: 6-7)
4.  Seek Scriptures (not out of context) (Colossians 3:16; Proverbs 2:1-7)
5.  Seek council, and give room for correction (Psalm 19:20; Proverbs 1:5)
6.  Grow forward: learn, apply wisdom and seek for more wisdom (Romans 12:2; James 1: 2-4)

Check out http://www.thescandal.org/ and comment on their blog your ideas, opinions, insights, help out all who are seeking these questions... I might even touch on these great questions in the near future on my blog.  DON'T FORGET YOUR SURVIVAL TIPS... you don't want to stumble or cause another to stumble.. stay strong my friends.

Pay to Pray

At work today I came across some friends I haven't seen since college and the guy was sharing with me his trip to Thailand.  Him and 5 other guys went there to teach basketball and about the Lord. I asked him what he thought was interesting or different:  He said that while he was there he noticed people would pay to visit a temple to pray to a rock.  "And here we are, and we get to pray for free" he said.  ....wow.

He had a point.  We have a freedom here!  which "we" am I talking about?  I am talking about those who have said YES to the Lord Jesus Christ and have trusted their lives over to HIM.  if you are that "we"  you are free to call upon the Lord.  You don't have to pay to go into a temple to pray.  You don't even have to go into a temple to PRAY!  your body is the temple! 

I tell kids all the time, its like calling God on a cell phone... He's only a speed dial number away..and He's already got His ear to the phone ready for your call.  No phone phone bills, no phone cards to buy.. its free.  How beautiful to think of this freedom we hold... to talk to the CREATOR..the one who SHAPED THE HEAVENS and breathed life into everything!! wow.!

So I share with you and hope you share with others especially those who "pay" to "pray"...that they can call TOLL FREE

You Whisper to Me with Thunder

You whisper to me with Thunder

You calm me with Your breeze

You remind me of your wonder

through lightening and its mysteries

You whispter to me with sunsets

You calm me with Your hues

You remind me of your beauty

through sliver linings with contrasts of blue

You whisper to me with seasons

You calm me with your flowers

You remind me of having hope

their changes display Your Power

You whisper to me with tradgeties

You calm me with a hug and tear

You remind me of Your Victory

Death where's your sting, no Fear!

“Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
(Psalm 46:10)

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
(Isaiah 30:18)

What do You think about?

Often I share on this blog what my motto says:  ...Barefoot in the grass... bringing to heart what the Big World is

My mission is just that, at least strive with the best of my abilities. Often I share things that strike my curiousity, concerns, and compassion..

BUT  for this post I want to see what the audience wants.  I want to know what you think about?...what things do you think about often, questions you ponder, things that touch your heart..

Any suggestions?  and I might blog on those topics.. please share, post on here or on the link to this site via my facebook page.

Listening to your thoughts with big ears and still barefeet in the grass :D

Wal-Mart Flowers

As I got off of work ( a busy day at work) I stopped by Wal-Mart to get a couple of things and was going to be on my way out.  ..

 

... But I found myself wandering over to the Garden section of Wal-Mart, and thought, "why, not.." so I meandered over to the greenhouse area and as soon as I entered, its like the world stood still... there was no time, no schedule, no deadlines, no traffic, no troubles... just me and the beautiful fountain in front of me surrounded by hundreds of flowers and a swinging bench.

I breath in the air...and yes... it smells like beauty.... it smells like peace

 As I walk through the greenhouse, my eyes are in awe of all the colors and shapes of the plants.  And I find myself being in awe of the ONE who created these things before me.

I continue my stroll through the greenhouse, I stop and smell a couple of different flowers... believe it or not they have their very own distinct aroma.. ..wow.

And then I come to the Hallelujah chorus of this walk.. I come to the cacti.  Who would imagine that there are SO MANY different cacti!!! when I think of a cactus I think of a tall green stem with arms and lots of pricklies! 

But NO, not these!  some were pokey, some were smooth, some had flowers, some look like they weren't even possibly a cactus!

But I'm getting to a point here... promise :-D

On my way home I was driving and thinking about my time with the Wal-Mart Flowers and I learned a few things..

1.  In the midst of busy lives, The LORD sends peaceful beautiful things our way, we just have to recognize them.

2.  God is a CREATIVE Creator

3.  God says that man is like the flower in the field, It flourishes, then fades away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever

4.  And I continued to be intrigued by the cacti that I saw.

I stopped to get my hair done on my way home and was talking to the hairstylist about all the cacti I saw and how beautiful they were..and she asked me if there were fruit on them yet, I was like "I didn't know that there could be fruit on a cactus!"  she said yes and that she has one at home that grows fruit.

So then that made me think, maybe we can be like the cactus, that may seem tough, sharp, strange looking, but  let our flowers blossom, let the beauty of the Lord shine through and most important, bear fruit to feed (or in a spiritual sense, produce a life that brings others to the TRUTH, to the Word of the Lord which lasts forever). 

In the end, you might say, "I think you have dug too deep into this thought", but like I said earlier, you have to be willing to let the Lord reveal His beauty to you, and believe me HE WILL... its ALL AROUND..and I mean not just in nature... I mean in a baby's eyes, in a father's hug, in a child's giggle, in a rebel's random act of kindness... seek it out...find your "WAL-MART FLOWERS"  if you have a story....share it: we would love to hear. :-D