Cred: The Stay at Home Chef Rachel Farnsforth

Cred: Dustin & Genevieve

This morning, I sat down to my computer and felt moved to watch a sermon message. I watch a variety of sermons online being unable to currently attend my local church in person due to my disease. So I went to Living Stones Church in Kona, Hawaii. It's funny, when I saw the sermon title and as I listened, I thought "well, this doesn't apply to me as much anymore...I know I'm not in control of my life...this sermon applies more to other people..."

But as I listened further, I realized that the sermon message indeed applies and it served as a humbling reminder that I can't control everything, I can't play tug o' war for control with God. I can't win God's favor doing all the right things (that includes blending Christianity into some of my artwork) and what I want in life isn't necessarily what God wants for me. Surrender is difficult. For everyone. Period. 

So I'm sharing Pastor Ryan's most recent sermon because I feel it's useful and crucial in our true relationship with the One True God. God is good and He loves us all.

This morning I woke feeling exhausted and a bit sad. This is all too common in life with Lyme.

​Instead of staying buried in those feelings, I decided I needed to hear a message on Hope.

I went back to Living Stones Church, to their 2014 archive, and found an awesome message of encouragement.

It's worth devoting time to listen to what God wants for each of us.

Video Cred: Living Stones Church
​Message Cred: God

​It's Holy Week. One of the most important times of the year (next to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus). I found this GodTube video earlier...or rather, the Spirit guided me there. It's brilliant because it depicts true accounts in a creative way. It's a bit more than 5 minutes long, but it's worth watching every second. Hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.

So...this is what happens when you mix the "young" and the "old"! Love it! Whomever said young people are immature and old people aren't any fun...well...they really had it wrong. It doesn't matter what generation one is born into. It's about the condition of one's heart and soul. I love this video. And yes, I realize this video has been featured on my website before...I love it that much.

Enjoy!

PS: Perhaps take a few minutes Monday afternoon (when your caffeine buzz has worn off and you're in need of a pick me up) to watch this video...you won't regret it.

We’re all human.

Therefore, we all (or at least the vast majority) have a good case of the feels resulting from the 2016 Presidential Election. Happiness. Anger. Sadness. Rage. Hope. Fear. Love. Hate. Apathy.

Do we have a right to feel whatever we want to feel?

Technically yes as we all have free will.

However, how we act on those feelings is key. We live in a time where love, forgiveness, peace, grace and heart changes are needed more now than ever and are are crucial to unifying our community, our world. United we stand, divided we fall. And right now, there seems to be more dividing than uniting...

We are all family and friends. When we hate, judge, stereotype, terrorize, destroy, bully, etc., we create divisiveness among each other. This rift in unity is what satan wants as it spreads chaos, rips us apart and causes absolute misery. It warps the ability to grow in Christian faith. And these negative actions/reactions serve as a terrible faith recruitment tool. If I was a non-believer or on the fence about faith, watching how people of faith react might just turn me off to wanting to pursue a relationship with Christ and I wouldn't want to join a church community altogether. Think about it. How can we help people develop a lasting, loving relationship with Christ when some of us are acting like Jack Nicholson in The Shining?

God is not chaos. And whether we believe in Him or not, He loves us and we are His children.

I'm a Christian independent who voted for Hillary and am in need of these reminders just as much as anyone else. I'm hurt by the commentary and actions of some of my loved ones (both liberal and conservative), and am concerned about the possible fallout, division, and chaos both now and in the future if we don't get our acts together. For me, waking up at 4am the morning after the election and hearing the results was a lot like being a kid who'd hoped to have a snow day but had to go to school anyway because all it did was rain. And sure, I wonder if all the predicted chaos will eventually divide our Nation into 12 districts to become The Real Hunger Games of the USA. Should we all start taking archery and kung fu lessons now so we have a fighting chance at survival during the games?? :-)

Our cares and worries should be given to God. Because God always has a plan. And even though for some of us it seems like He is being quiet, we should all remember that "the teacher is always quiet during a test..."

This morning I listened to/watched a great sermon from Pastor Ryan of Living Stones Church (Kona, Hawaii). It is the final Sunday of the church's sermon series "Morphology" (the next sermon series will discuss Eternity). I found this particular message helpful. For those concerned about what the message might contain, it isn't on politics. Instead he discusses some awesome Biblical food for thought, among them being the importance of strength in community and heart changes.

I love you all.