Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton is famous for his three laws of motion. They’re discussed in schools across the world all the time. They are:

1) An object at rest stays at rest unless a force is applied, and an object in motion stays in motion until a force stops it.

2) The more force the more acceleration.

3) Whenever an object pushes another object it gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard.

 

Amazingly, these three laws can also pertain to our spiritual life. Take a look…

 

To have a quality Christian life which I think is everyone’s goal, we must apply force – reading our Bible and praying. Both are forces that can’t be reckoned with. Basically, no force no movement or continual force yields continual movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The more force you apply to something the faster it goes. The more we read and pray the further we will go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the enemy pushes you, PUSH back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to ME and YOU!”      ~James 4:8

…And Then There Were Flies

I despise flies. They are annoying and disgusting creatures that I forgot about until Sunday. Yes, they are back, and I’ve seen two in my house since then. I’ve been so focused on the return of Spring with its warmth and promise of rebirth that I completely forgot about the flies and ants that comes along with it. It’s not like I’ve never experienced Spring because I have every year. So why didn’t the aggravation of flies also enter my thought process as the approach of Spring excited me? I realize the good out weighs the bad. I would much rather wear flip flops and sandals than boots and socks just to avoid insects. I would rather have to roll my car window down occasionally this summer to let a fly out than to have be bundled up in a coat and scarf all year long.

As I looked at that aggravating fly that I didn’t even bother to stalk at that moment, I realized in every season of life there are some “unpleasantries” that will come along with it. The great news is it’s nothing I can’t handle. Who can’t handle a fly or an ant regardless of how aggravating they are? So why should I let simple aggravations get me down when I approach a new season?

Spring is beautiful as is the other three seasons in their entirety. Each season brings wonderful thoughts, memories, and traditions for me. Spring is when we celebrate the shedding of coats, and, more importantly, Jesus shedding the grave. Summer means vacations and time spent with friends and family without restraint. Fall brings the thrill of holidays, hot meals, and early bedtimes. Winter reminds us of the building excitement that Christmas, the birth of our Savior, is on the horizon. Then, we begin again! How exciting that God knew enough of humans that we would need constant change to forget our constant complaints. In my case, FLIES!

John 16:33
…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Hollow Bunny, Honey?

With Easter right around the corner, every store is filled to capacity with Easter paraphernalia. Which is sad because there is more Easter Bunny and Easter egg type items than resurrection stuff (the real reason for Easter).  Anyway, it got me thinking on a verse I stumbled across a few weeks ago.

Proverbs 15:7 (MSG)

⁷ Perceptive words spread knowledge; fools are hollow—there’s nothing to them.

I immediately thought of the cheap chocolate Easter bunny you can buy from almost any store for $1. It always looks so good on the outside with its white chocolate eyes and the orange white chocolate carrot it so delicately holds in his hand. Why buy a $7 bunny when there is a delicious $1 bunny calling your name every time you enter a store? But, then it happens – that first bite.  You bite the ear off that cheap bunny; you realize the outside was just for show because the inside is HOLLOW! There is nothing there. You can see clean through to the foot. How disappointing!

Well, that is exactly how God views a fool – HOLLOW! There is nothing to a fool – no substance whatsoever. How sad!

Stay away from the cheap hollow chocolate bunnies this Easter season. Once you crack it open, there is nothing to it!  Instead, commit to spending some time with God to fill up on His holy word.

Make the Most of What You Have

This is a quote from the pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC.  This quote discredits any and every excuse I’ve ever had or will have.  It is time to get rid of all excuses and make the most of the gifts God has given!

Isaiah 43:19

¹⁹ For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

A CROOKED HEART…

This picture of my classroom door says so much.  I’ve tried to get in the habit of hanging seasonal wreaths to be festive throughout the school year.  For Valentine’s, this is my sad attempt at a wreath.  I love the wreath, but it will not hang straight regardless what I try.  As soon as the door opens or shuts or a breeze blows by, it shifts yet again.  Last week, I decided to quit trying to keep that wreath straight, and accept the fact it is going to be crooked.  I came to terms with the fact the world will not end as a result of a crooked heart wreath hanging on my door. 

Surprisingly, this crooked wreath is pretty much a metaphor for my life.  I want to be the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect teacher, the perfect Christian, and the perfect woman.  Regardless what I try, I tend to be just a little bit crooked from everyone else.  I’ll hang straight for a while, but as soon as the atmosphere changes, I fall crooked again.  I realized being crooked isn’t the problem, but being willing to accept and grow in my “crookedness” is what causes the mental anguish.  I have to learn to embrace myself in my crookedness because I can’t be perfect and crooked at the same time.  I have two choices: continue to strive to be perfect in my own strength and stress myself out in the process OR  embrace my crookedness and let God perfect me.  I have no other choice but to choose the latter because I will go crazy otherwise.  If you walk down my hall at school, there are a couple of straight perfect hearts hanging on doors.  They’re really nice, but the crooked one ain’t so bad!

Hershey Kiss Kind of Girl!

What would you do if you walked out of your job one day and Hershey Kisses covered your dash?  Chocolate is a wonderful thing and when given by the right individual it speaks volumes.  This is the memory that played in my mind as I listened to my six year old talk about having a boyfriend.  The subject was brought up by one of her friends while riding in the car with me.  I wanted to scream, “Thanks a lot!”  (Side Note:  Be careful who you let your children spend time with.)  I decided not to say anything immediately.  I wanted to broach the topic carefully and with clarity.  AFTER we dropped “Friend” off, I explained to both of my girls that there are two types of females.  There is the female that has a bunch of boyfriends throughout her lifetime, but none ever really treat her special, and there is the other type that only has one, but they worship the ground she walks on.  To help them understand, I told them a personal story.  My oldest loves nothing more than to hear one of my personal stories.

One day when their father and I were dating, I walked out of the door of my job and noticed a silver glimmer in the dash area of my car.  The closer I got the more my curiosity grew.  Once I reached my car, I saw the words “I LOVE YOU” spelled out with Hershey Kisses!  I was shocked and pleasantly surprised all at the same time.  I actually stood there for a while in awe.  That loving moment is one I will never forget.  My husband (then boyfriend) took time out of his day to do something special and out of the ordinary for me.  This simple yet thoughtful act showed me he was thinking about me when he didn’t have to.  We hadn’t argued or had a disagreement.  He just decided to do it out of the kindness of his heart.  This is one of many kind gestures he has done over the years for me.

I concluded the story by asking my girls the following question, “Now, are you a treat-me-any-kind-of-way girl or a Hershey Kiss kind of girl?”  Are you a girl that is going to be treated mean and disrespectfully as you get older or one who is going to be treated special?  After further explanation of the prior statement, they both voted on being Hershey Kiss kinds of girls.  I often remind them of their choice because I want it to stay fresh in their minds.  I even considered getting t-shirts made for them that says, “I Am a Hershey Kiss Kind of Girl!” (I still might do that.)

I would encourage every parent out there to do something.  If you have a daughter, share this story with them and have them verbally make a choice on the type of girl they want to be regardless of their age.  If you have a son, also share this story with him and encourage him to be the type of guy who goes after one girl rather than many.  If we start showing our children examples of godly relationships, maybe in years to come there will be fewer and fewer broken homes.

Happy Valentine’s and in case you were wondering, I’m still a Hershey Kiss kind of girl!

Turn the Radio Up!

Although January is practically over, I’m still talking “resolutions.”  Most people shutter at the word and all associations, but that’s okay.  The list checker, goal setter, and everything else that goes along with being an analytical individual in me responds well to having a focal point.  So here goes…

 I resolve to be HAPPY in 2013!

 Yep, that’s all.  I have made a decision to not sweat the small stuff this year.  So far in 2013 examples of small stuff would be my cell phone locking up (I would’ve lost 1,000 pictures of my kids.), my car continuously making a squeaking noise that we can’t seem to get fixed, my husband getting a $200 ticket, and that is just what I can remember at this moment.  I had to make a decision to not worry and be happy.  I was tempted in all cases to become discouraged, but being mindful of my resolution helped me keep a level head.  Thankfully, my husband was able to fix my phone and save my pictures, but I decided regardless the outcome I was going to remain happy.  The car is still squeaking, but that’s okay.  I just turn the radio up.  I’m not sure what is going to be the outcome of the ticket, but again it will be okay.   The funny thing is – it’s just January!

Who knows what the rest of this year will bring, but I do know that I’ve been given permission to cast my cares on my Heavenly Father.  He created me, He loves me, and He even wants to give me the desires of my heart.  I’m going to continue to pray and give it to God.  No one really likes hanging around a frustrated, irritated, nervous wreck (including my husband, lol).  That is not the person I want to be anymore.  So, I invite you to join me on this journey to be happy this year.  What could it hurt?  Just turn the radio up!

 *1 Peter 5:7

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

*Psalms 139:17-18

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

She Will Not Win!

As I type this, my 6 year old daughter is in her bed crying her eyes out and has been for a while.  She is upset with me because I am requiring her to go to bed as soon as she is done with dinner.  All I wanted for her to do was to complete her homework with the least amount of drama as possible.  Instead, she opted to cry the entire time and be difficult.  I decided she would have an early bed time tonight.  She has jumped, rolled, and collapsed while screaming she doesn’t like going to bed early.  As any parent knows, this can be killer on the nerves.  What she didn’t know is just this past Saturday I decided I was going to be happy in 2013.  The devil isn’t getting any more of my time.  Well sure enough tonight I was tempted to be unhappy, mad, angry, and downright mean.  Guess what I decided to do instead?  I decided to worship.  I’ve always heard people say worship instead of worry and press your way on through.  All of which are true, but hard to do in the middle of a moment of frustration.  I decided today would be a good day to put it into action.  As she cried (screamed really), I began to sing “Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul.  Worship His holy name.  Sing like never before, oh my soul.  I’ll worship His holy name.  Oh, I will worship His holy name!”

I would love to say she calmed down, and we hugged.  We didn’t!  She actually got madder than ever, but I continued to softly sing my song.  I was amazed at how calming it was to my own nerves.  She will still be going to bed early, but now I don’t have to be stressed out.  That is one less gray hair I have to deal with right now!  Click below to enjoy the worship song in case you need one in the near future!

Bringing “Sexy” Back?

While getting ready to head out Saturday, there was an infomercial that came on following the cartoon my girls were watching.  It was advertising how to get whiter teeth.  I didn’t bother to turn it because we were about to leave, and it was about teeth.  One of the tag lines I heard two to three times was if you purchase and use their product you would have a sexy smile.  A sexy smile? Really?  Why in the world do I need a sexy smile?  This is the society we live in now.  If it can make you sexy, you must do it.  There isn’t any day of the week where I need to be sexy when I leave my house.  Sadly, that is the goal of many individuals. Some people believe the sexier they are the better – NOT GOOD!  The definition of sexy is arousing or intended to arouse sexual desire.  

On the other hand, I do think ladies should dress and carry themselves as ladies modestly.  When it crosses over to the “sexy” side, we’re giving Satan a hand in our lives that we may not be aware of.  Our girls are bombarded with being sexy everywhere they go from media in every form.  They definitely don’t need to see their moms, aunts, and even grandmas trying to be sexy.  In 2013, let’s teach our girls that it’s better to be classy than trashy!

Does It Take All That?

The other day as I scrolled through my Facebook news feed a picture caught my eye.  The picture showed a person wearing a soaking wet shirt after an intense work out.  First of all, that’s the kind of work out I need, but deep down really don’t want to do.  I applaud those that dedicate themselves to an intense exercise regimen.  It’s hard, painful, uncomfortable, and it takes commitment.  This particular individual exercises on a regular basis and has stuck with a particular routine for months.  What struck me as interesting was the fact that after exercising this long, they still poured sweat as if it was the first work out.  It just seems to me that after so many months of dedication to exercise and eating healthy that they should get a free pass.  It made me wonder why there isn’t ever a “max-out” point.  That point where you’ve shown such progress that you don’t have to sweat anymore or your workouts won’t be as painful.  It only seems fair, right?  I do realize this is unrealistic, but a girl can dream!

Looking at this picture didn’t inspire me to join a gym or to stop eating carbs, but it did teach me a nice little lesson.  If naturally we can’t “max-out” exercising and eating healthy, we certainly can’t spiritually.  I have to read my Bible, pray, and attend church like I did in the beginning.  I have to have an intense workout in the word of God on a regular basis.  Some days it will seem to be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and painful, but the end result will be a closer relationship with God.  I will have the wisdom to raise my kids the way God wants me to, be the wife God wants me to be, and to let my light shine wherever I go.  I want people to look at me and see a soaking wet shirt – the proof of an intense spiritual workout.

1 Timothy 4 MSG

8 Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.

Revelation 2 NIV

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.