Tag Archives: Jesus

I Really Don’t Care

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apathy

Sometimes I just don’t care. I don’t care about the latest Bachelor episode, hipster trends, or political hot button. I don’t care who won a Grammy or Oscar or the latest steroid scandal in sports. I don’t care if the dress is blue and black or white and gold. Really.

Does that make me apathetic? Maybe. But I guess I don’t have time to fixate on issues which have no eternal consequence. The question I need to ask myself is more along the lines of: Do I care about the things which God cares about?

Do I love the lost? Do I help the impoverished? Do I give a cup of water to someone’s who is thirsty? Do I clothe the naked? Do I feed the hungry? Do I rescue the trafficked? Do I even care?

I’m asking myself those important questions today.

Jesus said, “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.” Matthew 10:40-42 (The Message)

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

Just do it.

Giving Up Guilt

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My siblings may not know this but I have three secret stepsisters…really, really ugly stepsisters. I don’t often acknowledge them but I keep them pretty close at hand. Once in a while I get brave or inspired and kick them out but then in a weak moment, one or all will creep back in to live with me again. Maybe you know them. Their names are Guilt, Shame and Condemnation.

Day 9 – The Guilt Has to Go!

I’m not perfect. I never have been. I have a few things in my past that I regret. Maybe you do too. I don’t have any problem allowing the guilt from those mistakes to live with me. I know God loves me. I trust God’s Word. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and my acceptance of Him as my Lord and Savior, I have been forgiven of all my past mistakes (Eph. 1:7). Because of God’s love, grace and mercy I can live my life free of guilt. But that doesn’t mean I do. And it is my own choices which bring old ugly Guilt back to live within my head over and over again.

Have you ever done something you thought was so bad or so hurtful, that no one could forgive you? You know God has, right? Just ask Him and He will. That’s the really easy part. But this sin, this error in judgment, this stupid mistake, occupies your mind and soul. Maybe even to the point of making you physically ill. That’s your ugly stepsister Guilt at work once again.

Guilt

What does it take to remove the old gal?
Forgiveness. You and I forgiving ourselves.
You see, until I decide to let the past live in the past, that shadow of guilt will hover and drown out whatever good God could bring from that old mistake.

Today I’m booting my ugly Guilt to the curb and replacing her with the sweet aroma of forgiveness – basking in God’s forgiveness of me and sprinkling it with a lot of forgiveness of myself (Heb. 10:22).

Be Gone Guilt! I’m giving your living space a new name – Forgiveness.

People Pleaser, Be Gone!

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applause

Day 6 – Giving up Pleasing People

It’s hard to live successfully in this world without needing to please people. If we worked at our jobs but our bosses weren’t pleased with us, we wouldn’t have our jobs for long. But there is a difference between pleasing people in order to live and living in this world to please people.  That latter one is a never-ending, never-fulfilling cycle of frustration and disappointment.

You can’t please everyone…you probably can’t please any one person, all the time. I love my husband and kids but I’m not always able to please them. I try to make decisions to show my family my love for them but I’m pretty sure all my choices do not please them. If I lived just to please them, we would eat pizza, drink pop, play video games all day, sleep until noon, stay up past midnight…wait. That sounds like college. Seriously, I need to make decisions based on what is good for them and for me – not always what they like or what I like but what will help us grow and mature into the people God desires us to be. So sometimes, they aren’t pleased with my decision to serve leafy green vegetables instead of French fries or to insist on apologizing to each other when they’ve been fighting or keeping a commitment even when I don’t feel like it.

When it comes to people outside of my family, I’m not going to allow someone else’s opinion of me to set the tone for my life. If I know I’m living according to the desires of God’s heart, then I’m going to be happy with that, and not work to receive the applause and accolades of others. That’s the goal anyway. Today I’m giving up the notion that I have to make everyone happy with me and embrace the One who I live to please.

Because really, why am I concerned about acceptance from people when I am…

  • The salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
  • The light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
  • In Christ and Christ is in me (John 14:20).
  • Loved by Jesus (John 15:9).
  • Protected from the evil one (John 17:15).
  • Among the called of Jesus (Rom. 1:6)
  • No longer a slave to sin (Rom 6:6b)
  • Not under law, but under grace (Rom 6:14).
  • A child of God (Rom 8:16 and 1 John 3:2).
  • An heir of God and fellow heir with Christ (Rom 8:17)
  • Not lacking in any spiritual gift (1 Cor. 1:7).
  • A temple of God in which the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor. 3:16).
  • Comforted by God (2 Cor. 1:4).
  • Sealed in Christ (2 Cor. 1:22a)
  • A sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).
  • A new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
  • An ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).
  • Crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20a)
  • A son of God (Gal. 4:6).
  • Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
  • Holy and blameless in His sight (Eph. 1:4b).
  • Rooted and grounded in Christ’s love (Eph. 3:17).
  • Filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:11).
  • Taught by God to love others (1 Thess. 4:9).
  • Made holy through Jesus’ own blood (Heb. 13:12).
  • A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a person for God’s own possession (1 Pet. 2:9).
  • Healed by Jesus’ wounds (1 Pet. 2:24).
  • Forgiven (1 John 1:9).

So if this isn’t good enough for some people, it’s okay. Because I know this is way good with God…the only One who really matters.

“Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that’s what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.” (2 Cor. 5:9 – the Message)

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal. 1:10 – NIV)

Who Am I?

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YouGoGirl

I was recently asked to be the speaker at an upcoming homeschooling moms’ getaway. Truly humbled and honored, I’ve been attempting to come up with a bio the organizers could use for their brochure. Something short and pithy – humorous but elaborate. Something that would make someone want to come hear me. I got nothing.

Then I decided to try some free writing – not worrying about length or breadth or scope or humor or grammar and punctuation. It’s way too long for their purposes but hey – that’s what blogging is for, right? To give anybody an opportunity to write, knowing it probably won’t be read anyway.

Kris McGarvey – Who Am I?

I’m a former homeschooling mom and currently helping my husband as the president of WFM Missions Base in Robins.

I love trying new restaurants, reading stuff, experimenting with new tastes & recipes, learning how to run, walking for great coffee, setting new goals and then pushing past my self-imposed limitations, endeavoring to avoid saying “I can’t” until I’ve at least tried, travelling outside my comfortability (and making up words that my spell-checker doesn’t appreciate…like comfortability).

I’m loving the journey, embracing my own adventures, not particularly a lover of danger but thrilled with discovering the hidden treasures of life like small consignment stores, coffee shops and people’s stories.

I’m an amateur writer but a professional list-maker. I love shoes and the color purple (not the book, never read it). I say I’m silver-haired (because grey-haired sounds too old). I’m a novice runner but an elite chocolate and coffee consumer. I love lots of genres of music (and I really like the word “genre”) – hymns, worship, jazz, folk, singer-songwriter stuff and catchy pop tunes like “Happy.” I’ve never seen the movie “Frozen” and don’t know any of the lyrics to “Let It Go” and I’m okay with that. I enjoy a good guitar or piano solo but I’m learning the nuances of a really great drummer. I love the band NEEDTOBREATHE and don’t mind it when people call me a “groupie.” My kids don’t because I take them to concerts with me. They are not dumb.

I’ve embraced social media for the platform it gives me to stay connected to family and friends around the world and to encourage those who need someone on their side, someone who can say with confidence – “Trust Him – this too shall pass.”

I’m a sports junkie. If it gets played with a ball, I probably like it. Even curling and it’s played with a rock. I watch golf tournaments on TV with my family like others do the Super Bowl (snacks and everything). Though my 3 guys and I split up our loyalties to cheer for different teams (Hawks, Illini, Cubs, Cardinals, Rams, Falcons, Bears, Lakers, Nets, Bulls) – we do agree on one thing – we think Zach Johnson is awesome. I do live to see the Cubs in the World Series, so I may be immortal, not sure.

I love superheroes…they really exist and I’m pretty sure I’m married to one. I try to be a good sidekick to my phenomenally intelligent husband and I appreciate that he keeps me around to take care of those mundane things like computers, phones, taxes, and cleaning the bathroom (though I’m not very good with that last one).

I’m privileged to have birthed two sons – both of which are so much like their parents that they scare me, and yet so different from each other. They each amaze me with their maturity, wisdom, sense of humor and discernment, despite their upbringing. They are gifted with creativity, although it usually plays out in different areas. They both love fiercely and I’m proud to be on the receiving end of it.

I’m not perfect and I’m not trying to be. I’ve decided that life is too much fun and there’s just so much to do, that I can’t allow others’ expectations to rob me of my joy in discovery.

Most of all, I’m a lover of Jesus. He gives me life and breath and joy and unconditional love and grace and mercy. He picks me up when circumstances pull me under. He laughs with me and listens to me and holds me. He dries my tears and grins at my attempts at humor. He whispers to me in the night and shows me great and mighty things. He says he’ll be with me through anything, so I know I can be brave and try, because I won’t be alone. He tells me to “dream big” and then takes me outside my comfortability and shows me the stars in an endless sky. Most of the time He just blows me away.

Legacy of Hate – Power of Love

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love_sand_ocean

Two well-known evangelists died within the last two weeks.

Both evangelized the world with their beliefs. One was known for loving and sacrificing everything to tell all about the love of Jesus. The other was known for spewing hate and rhetoric about the judgment and wrath of his god. Steve Hill taught us to love all people, regardless of background or lifestyle. Fred Phelps taught us to hate everyone who doesn’t look or act like him.

It’s sad that the hater is going to get more press than the lover but the squeaky wheel always gets the attention. Rev. Phelps and his family comprise the Westboro Baptist Church. They are well known for picketing funerals of war veterans, and a variety of other venues – anywhere they can scream and spew and spit (on camera, of course). They hold up nasty signs and shake their fists at the world. I’m not going to get into details because the internet is full of articles in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years.

My last blog post was about the effect Steve Hill’s “yes” to God had upon my family and the world. What about Fred Phelps? Did he truly believe he was saying “yes” to a mandate from God? Probably. But that is not the God I know and love, the God who loves me and everyone else in the world. Rev. Phelps gave the words Christian, Baptist and church a really bad name. The media will make much of his legacy of hate but now he’s gone and we’re still here. We can choose to truly be God’s hands, and feet, and voice of love.  My God sent His only Son because He loves all of us. That’s a message too long stomped upon by the Fred Phelps’ of this world. It’s time I stepped up – time I was brave in the face of adversity and showed the authentic love of Christ…even to those who don’t look like me, act like me, or even like me. We’ve got a lot of lies about God to overcome – not by words, or signs, or social media – but by demonstrating the sacrificial love of Jesus. Steve Hill gave us an amazing example. Here’s to another “yes, God.”

Why Fast for Lent?

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I like sweets. I don’t think I’m addicted to them but I really, really like them. I have a candy dish on my desk at work which contains a variety of hard candies. I find myself sucking on a butterscotch or cinnamon candy disk a couple of times a day…probably more from habit than need. I also like my friend Ellie’s desserts. Recently she made this awesome Snickers peanut butter brownie cake that was amazing…and I’m pretty sure I ate most of it. So for Lent I’m choosing to give up white sugar (and products) and candy.  I’m not Catholic and I don’t have any affiliation with a denomination which observes fasting as part of their Lenten practices. But I am fasting for the next 40 days. But one day into my fast, I’m feeling a little bit guilty. No – I didn’t cheat. No midnight candy binges. No intense cravings for chocolate. But how much of a sacrifice am I really making? And what is the point?

Fasting for Lent

Traditionally the purpose of Lent is a time of preparation.  Through prayer, penance, repentance, alms giving, atonement and self-denial, a believer prepares himself for the observance of Holy Week and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday.

There is really nothing theologically that I disagree with in regards to preparing myself for the greatest day on any Christian’s calendar. Instead of the over-indulgence of the Christmas season, the pre-Easter season of Lent concentrates on self-denial, giving up for 40 days what I may feel is important or essential to my life.

I’ve never really spent much time pondering all the ramifications but this year I felt led to “give up” something. The more I think about this, the more silly I find it. I seriously believe that white sugar and candy are essential?

Honestly, I probably chose as I did because it was very doable and not very tough.  I could have chosen coffee but egads! That would have really hurt. I could have chosen meat (like my Catholic elementary school friends had to) but, you know, I really like meat. And though I enjoy fish and eggs, 40 days is a long time without a hamburger, or spaghetti, or chicken enchiladas.

I’m so thankful Jesus was willing to sacrifice the really tough stuff – HIS LIFE – for me. Makes my choices seem pretty silly in comparison. While I turn my nose up to cupcakes, fudge, cookies and Dove chocolates, Jesus turned himself over to crowds who jeer him, guards who beat him and soldiers/politicians who nail His hands and feet to a cross and kill him. Jesus chose death so that I could choose to fast candy. I’m pathetic.

So one day into my fast I’ve made a decision. I’m going to keep my commitment but I’m also going to spend more time with the other aspects of Lent – the prayer, alms giving, and repentance parts. It’s the very least I can do.