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Get ready...we're comin back in August. :) #Godishuge

Where is Your Faith?

2 Corinthians 5:7
"We live by faith, not by sight."

I think far too often we miss out on God's goodness and blessings simply because we don't believe he can.  I myself have doubted some of the biggest movements of God in my life, and if I wouldn't have eventually taken the faith jump, I doubt I would be as close to God as I am.

People hate change, we hate our fears, and we hate stuff we can't understand.  

Ironically, that is everything God is.  He is constantly moving and active, ready to do the next big work in our lives (if we will let him.)  His name cancels out fear and so he lovingly desires to walk us through our fears to bring us closer to him and help us overcome fear with love.  And finally, his mysterious majesty is what makes him so beautiful, so powerful, and so wonderful to gaze upon.  Deuteronomy 29:29 says there are some things about God that we simply will never understand, and I think that's beautiful!  Wouldn't you be easily bored with a God you fully understand all the time?

The great thing about God is you will never figure him out, and you will eventually learn he has no set way of doing things.  Fallen humans and society give us rules, guidelines, and orderly social structures, not God.  God never said we have to do things exactly as our older siblings or best friends.  He never said life was going to be easy and without challenge.  Our God is not a boring God!

He begs us to close our eyes and blindly jump with him wherever he calls us.  He desperately longs to take us on the adventure of a lifetime!  In fact, that's what we agree to when we sign over our life to him through salvation.  Sadly, most of us quickly die out on all that crazy adventure stuff and settle for the much easier, less-risky, day-to-day routine that society and Satan are promoting.

Safe and predictable is fine, but that requires no risk, no heart, no vulnerability...No Faith.

If you are a Christian this should make you sick to your stomach.  Why?  Because you are missing the entire point of your salvation.  Salvation was never meant to be fire insurance.  It was always meant to be a commitment of laying down "me" and picking up the unknown adventure of faith, hope and love.

In America I think we have mastered the art of half-doing all of those, and faking that effort itself.  

"If the good Lord is willin' I'll get that new job I applied for!"  These words are often spoken, but is there any real risk in applying for that job, or was it something that person did for his own desires?  Did God boldly call this person to move from one job to the next, or are they tired of the people they are working with?  Has this person stopped to fall on their knees and seek God's will for them in the work place?  Or are they half-heartedly taking God into consideration.  Perhaps we shouldn't claim such things if our heart isn't 100% behind the statement.

I'm with C.B. Matthews on this one, American Christians have mastered the art of being fake, and it makes me sick to my stomach.  Not only am I sick for God, because he deserves much more than one tenth of our devotion, but I am sick for the fakers, because they think they are living a full life and they aren't.  They're safe and happy attending church once or twice a week, smiling and shaking hands with their neighbors and fellow citizens, but where's the Faith??

They don't even realize what kind of adventures they are missing out on by clinging to the idol of comfort and security.  God doesn't call us to that!  He calls us to "GO" and "WALK" and "DO" and "TRUST."  In fact, Bob Goff just wrote a book called "Love Does."  I love his tweets because they cut right to the point.  Faith without works is dead.

But wait, works without faith is dead too.

  

Fake Christianity: Book Review

Do you ever look at the American churches and want to vomit?  I do.  I get sick of seeing people live, breathe and die in a church without ever really dancing with God.  It hurts me to think that they are missing the entire point of our faith.  They do all the rituals, but they have missed the life-changing passion of a relationship with Christ.

In the book "Fake Christianity" author C.B. Matthews discusses this very topic and gives practical advice on how each individual can make a difference.  Matthews uses a direct, punch-ya-in-the-face approach which gives the book a raw passion that breaks through to reality.  Although very convicting, this book is full of truth and spiritual correction.

I was given the book by a close friend who personally knows the author.  The book was so enticing I finished it in one day and discussed the book with my friend shortly after.

Towards the beginning of the book he makes the point that most Christians care more about serving others than serving Christ. I love this quote from the book: "Are you more concerned with watching your nightly television shows instead of spending time with God or doing work for Him?  Are you so wrapped up in life and everything that has to be done that you never have a family devotional with your family?  Do you ever spend time in God's word or in prayer to Him for more than just superficial reasons?"

If  you are looking for a pleasant read that will make you feel good about your walk with Christ, you need to look elsewhere.  This book is challenging and perpetrating to the heart, however this is exactly what American Christians need.  Matthews says nothing that is out of line with scripture, nor does he come across as judgmental or prideful.  He is simply sharing the truth of the Bible with a generation of believers who have overlooked the tougher parts of the faith.

In seven chapters Matthews covers topics such as lies, emotions, actions, and spiritual warfare.  He discusses the fundamentals of walking with Christ and challenges the reader to implement these practices in every day life.  One of my favorite chapters included specific advice for youth, parents, and grandparents.  I had never seen that done in a book before and I thought it was quite powerful, despite the fact that I fit none of these categories really.

C.B. Matthews is director of a small campus ministry in Colorado where he lives with his wife and three children.  Matthews holds a Bachelor's in Psychology and a Master's in Family and Marriage Counseling.  He also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

For a convicting read that will sprout humility and growth, I recommend this book.  I feel that it is appropriate for believers of all ages and I will say that it is a fairly quick read.  You can order "Fake Christianity" online at WestBow Press or Amazon.com (links embedded.)

Article first published as Book Review: Fake Christianity C.B. Matthews on Blogcritics.

The Vow: Book Review

In February of this year I posted an article called "Sacred Secrets Behind the Vow," in which I posted my review of the movie and my anticipation to read the book afterwards.  In that post I mentioned a Fox News article that interviewed the real life couple from The Vow.  In that interview the couple mentioned that their story had been nothing short of an act of God, and they gave all due credit to him, despite the layout of the Hollywood film.

Lucky for me, I have a dear friend who bought me the book for my birthday, and in three days I finished the entire thing and fell much further in love with the couple's story.  As I had suspected, the couple was much more grounded in faith than the movie mentions.  In fact, the book is categorized as Religion/ Christian Life/ Inspirational.  It's a Christian book.

Praise God that this story has made its way into the mainstream literature and film industries.  Spread the word that Jesus is King! 


The story in the book is told from the husband's point of view, Kim Carpenter, which I think makes it all the more powerful.  First, he starts out by explaining how Kim and his wife, Krickitt met each other.  (You have to read this because it will definitely surprise you.)  Their meet-cute displays nothing less than God's sovereignty.  God knows who you will marry, when you will meet them and how.  You don't have to go looking for a mate, because God already picked them out.  Even in the oddest of places and the farthest of cities, if God wants you to be together, it will happen.  Remember that.


After walking through the dating process, engagement, and wedding, Carpenter goes on to explain what happened in the first three months of their married life, and how those events changed their lives forever.  A devastating car wreck left Kim and Krickitt in critical conditions soon after their big wedding day.  While Kim was injured badly, he healed much easier than Krickitt, who had to spend many months in therapy and rehabilitation.  Kim describes his struggles, faith, persistence, and endurance as he fights for his wife, juggles medical bills, and helps coach Krickitt back to normal.

Finally the book shares the story of Kim and Krickitt's second courtship, engagement, and wedding, and how the media quickly became another huge entity in their lives.  The book ends with the present day story; filming the movie with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, raising kids, and growing closer to God and one another every day.

Throughout the story Kim continuously gives praise and thanks to God, the real author of the story.  I was surprised to find out that the story took place almost 14 years ago, and yet God is still using it for his glory. In fact, the couple published their first book of this story in the year 2000.  It is twelve years later and they just published an updated version--how beautiful!  

Kim and Krickitt's story is one of God-honoring perseverance and commitment.  It shows us the true depths of promising to love someone forever and hold on to that love as long as both shall live.  It models the metaphor of Christ and his love for the church, and the beautiful shower of grace and forgiveness that comes with that.  The Vow is not just a love story, it's a God-story.

For a quick read, a heart-warming story and a faith-filled adventure, I highly recommend this book.  I also suggest watching the movie too and making your own comparison between the two.  Both are fantastic and both are God-inspired.  If you've read the book or plan on doing so, comment your thoughts below!

Article first published as <a href='http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-the-vow-the-true/'>Book Review: The Vow: The True Events that Inspired the Movie</i> by Kim Carpenter, Krickitt Carpenter, with Dana Wilkerson (</a> on Blogcritics.

More Than Happily Ever After

Here's another post inspired by Gary Thomas' book Sacred Influence.  In the ninth chapter you will find this paragraph:

"For some women, marriage is the ultimate life goal--once attained, what's to try for?  When you stop trying to please your man, eventually, by degrees, you lose him; or at the least, you lose the intimacy that leads to influence.  You become someone other than the person he married, and the two of you begin to drift apart."

I agree, and I'd take the first like a step farther.  I would say most women think marriage is the ultimate goal, especially single women.  For proof of this, look at what our brains feast on--

happily ever after...

You see the three dots at the end of that statement?  That line always follows the wedding of the princess, and the three dots give us a signal that the rest doesn't matter.  The important thing is that she won the guy and got a ring on her finger, after that who cares right?

Wrong.  Just like our marriage to Christ through salvation is not the end but the beginning, so is your marriage to your husband.  Don't go too far to think that your life won't begin until marriage, just think realistically.  In married life, life still happens.  You still have crazy roller-coaster days.  You still have nights that you can't sleep.  You still get stressed out with work, and you still want to be alone at times.  Part of marriage is learning to take these challenges head on and love another person through the difficulties anyway.  

As single women, we have got to get our heads out of the sky when it comes to fantasizing about marriage.  It will be fun don't get me wrong, but it will be hard too.  We have to prepare ourselves for a life-long journey of patience, trust, and forgiveness.  This journey starts at salvation, and is taken to a new level with marriage.  

How many people have you seen get saved at a camp or rededication service who get extremely emotional and excited about what God is doing, they make big promises and buy fancy Bibles, all in celebration of this new lifestyle they are choosing, only to fall off the face of the earth a few months later?  Why did this happen?  Because they were caught up in the fluff and not prepared for the real stuff.  Life is tough sometimes.  

King Solomon says we all go through different seasons of life.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.." (Ecclesiastes 3)  Godly wisdom tells us to expect all things, and Jesus was very straightforward when he told us the life of a Christian was full of persecution, trials, and tribulations.  So why wouldn't you expect that?  Why wouldn't you definitely expect that in a union of two sinful souls, namely a marriage?

So what can you start doing now to prepare for life?  Maybe it's time to realize it's not all about you, it never was, and it never will be.  Life is about God, plain and simple.  This is the hardest thing a human can accept, but the most rewarding when he does.  Don't let pride and fantasy get in your way, count the costs before you build your house (Luke 14:28.)

Marriage, much like salvation, is something we will always have to work towards.  We are constantly trying to improve our relationships both with God and men, that is what our calling is (Matthew 22:37-40)!  Philippians 2:12-13 tells us we must do this with our salvation: "Therefore, my dear friends, as yu ohave always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

Work out your salvation.

You have to work at it.  That's why without a daily quiet time Christians perish.  That's why life without a community causes us to wilt.  Those kind of actions are active, they are passive, and it's just like telling the devil he can roll over on us while we raise our white flags.  That's cowardly and childish.  Anything worth having is worth fighting for--daily.  It's like Noah says in the movie The Notebook:

"So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, for ever, you and me, every day."

The same guy that uttered those words spent the last part of his life trying to win the heart of his wife--every single day.  Despite her memory loss, Noah spent each day reminding Allie of the love they once shared and how much he wanted to take care of her and be with her forever and ever.  That's what marriage is about, and that's the stubborn intensity we must approach it with.  

2 Corinthians 2:11 

"...in order that Satan might not outwit us.  For we are not unaware of his schemes."

Forsaking God: Like a Postcard from Paris

Last November I did a short series on my "Holiday Theory," which goes to say that Satan seems to tempt us more when we are off-schedule, on-break, and relaxed.  Although I forgot to mention it in the previous post, the theory applies for Summer break as well.  We all seem to stumble a bit at the beginning of a break, and since it is June, I thought I would offer some encouragement on getting back up and "finishing the race." (2 Tim 4:7)

My inspiration?  A country song of course, The Band Perry's hit song, Postcard From Paris.  The song describes the story of a girl who meets a guy while hanging out with her boyfriend.  Because this guy happens to be "the real deal," she realizes that she is "ruined" from dating any other guy.  This "ruining" is caused by the true love she tasted, therefore everything else is just artificial--like a postcard from Paris when you've seen the real thing. 

As I have murmured the lyrics to myself over and over again, I have seemed to catch a greater glimpse of God's grace and the unfailing love he deserves from me.  As a human, I stumble and fall constantly.  Just when I think I have a firm grip on my spiritual life, I mess up--even though I have been warned of this pitfall (1 Cor 10:12.)  The interesting thing about falling is that the closer I walk with God, the more quickly my heart aches when I bring him dishonor.  I think this is because I realize that the sin-causing idols in my life are absolutely garbage compared to the loving relationship I have with my Father.

Before I walked with God I was miserable and I didn't know it.  Now that I walk with God I feel more misery from messing up than ever.  Why? Because I've tasted and I've seen fresh, pure love from the faucet of all love--therefore no idol, no man, no drink, no drug, no object, can ever begin to come close to the real thing.  It's all artificial sweetener.  

John talks about this type of relationship in his letter to the church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation:

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."

It is interesting that John says this, because the beginning of the letter is full of gratitude and encouragement for how well the church has done.  "Yet," John says, "I hold this against you."  Why is forsaking your first love of Christ such a big deal?  Because the Bible says that God is love (1 John 4:8), and that the first and greatest commandment we are given is to love him with all of our hearts, minds, and strength (Matthew 22:37.)

When we stumble we turn our backs on God for some quick taste of artificial love; an unfulfilled gratification of our fleshly lust.  Fortunately, if you walk closely with God at all, you know that this taste of ignorance is disgusting compared to what you have been raised with.  This leaves your idols quickly looking like:

"... a postcard from Paris
when you've seen the real thing.
Like finding out your diamond
is from her old promise ring,
a call back from the fortune teller
she read your cards upside down...

The meanest thing you ever did was come around.
Now I am ruined."

How delightful it is to know that God has utterly and completely ruined us from enjoying any kind of fake love after having tasted and seen his goodness.  1 John 4:19 reminds us that "we love him because he first loved us."  That, in essence, is the most powerful love drug there is.  Don't forsake God for an idol...it will let you down every time and it's not worth it. 

Sacred Influence: Book Review

Do you feel like you have no idea how to relate with your husband, despite 30 years of marriage?  Is there a communication gap missing between you and your spouse?  Do you sometimes feel up in arms about how to encourage your man spiritually?  Sacred Influence: How God Uses Wives to Shape the Souls of Their Husbands by Gary Thomas is a book filled with wisdom in these areas.  I'd call the book a mix between Love and Respect and Preparing to Be His Help-Meet (I still can't decide if I like that one or not) with a dash more biblical research and doctrine.

In Sacred Influence, Thomas gives advice to Christian women on everything from sex to exhortation in dealing with their husbands.  Sixteen chapters are split up into three main parts of the book.  The first part focuses on the reality that in order for a wife to influence her husband she must first influence herself, and that comes from focusing on God constantly.

The second part instructs wives on how to create a "climate for change."  In this section Thomas instructs women on the deepest parts of a man's heart and all of his insecurities.  Through these lenses, wives can better understand and relate to their husbands.  Finally, in the third section, Thomas focuses each chapter on specific marital issues that Christian wives come across and what the best biblical option is for these women.

Gary Thomas is most well-known for his best-selling book, Sacred Marriage, and the seminars he travels around and teaches based off of that book.  The subtitle and focus of Sacred  Marriage is "What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us More Holy Than to Make us Happy."  This was Thomas' first major book and many other books, including Sacred Influence, were written as a supplement to Sacred Marriage.  

Husband to one and father to three, Thomas lives in Houston where he runs marathons and writes for Second Baptist Church.  He has been wildly successful in authoring many books, and still finds time to love his family even more.  In fact, his wife, Lisa wrote the forward to Sacred Influence.  

As you have seen the last few posts from this week, I have been inspired by this book.  Full of wisdom and biblical truth, Sacred Influence is a good read for any wife or wife to be if they desire to love and support their husband as best as they can.  Although I recommend it for both single and married women, I would at least limit the age to women out of high school with a more mature mind frame in this area.  

I look forward to soon reading the ever-popular, Sacred Marriage and Thomas's latest piece, Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul.  Gary Thomas is a wise and inspiring author.  Stay tuned for more book reviews!