Tag Archive | sin

Unwashed Faces

Aug7

A friend shared a story about arriving home one day to his small daughter’s exuberant welcome. Problem was, she was covered in spaghetti sauce, having just been fed by her mom. Being still in his work clothes, my friend held off his daughter’s embrace so as not to soil his nice clothes. In his sharing of this story, as I remember it, my friend felt regret that he hadn’t just as joyfully embraced his dirty daughter as God so joyfully embraces us, His dirty children.

James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Joyce Meyer points out the order in which those things happen: draw near to God, then cleanse your hands and purify your hearts.

We can’t become clean on our own. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can accomplish that. If we wait until we’re clean to draw near to God, instead of trusting in Him to do the cleansing, we will never come to Him.

I think about my friend’s story whenever I try to keep my kids’ dirty hands away from my clean clothes. Oh, that I would accept them, dirt and all, the way God accepts me.

Thankful today for:

519. puzzles

520. creative smoothies

521. partnership

522. laughter

523. praise music

524. cleanliness

525. acceptance

526. weekly trash pick up

527. thunderstorms

528. my kids still liking to be with me

529. my Macbook Pro

530. experts

A 9-Year-Old’s Analogy

Jun11

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The other night while Morgan and I were out on a date in the pouring rain, she gave me this analogy:

Life is like being in the rain; sin and bad things fall on us, but Jesus is the umbrella. He protects us from the bad things and the sin. Without Him, we would get soaked by those things.

Pretty profound for a 9-year-old, right?

Anyone who has been in a Florida thunderstorm knows that when the wind blows, the rain comes in sideways. You still get a bit wet, but not nearly so much as you would without that umbrella.

We who have Christ are not immune from bad things happening to us. We still are touched by sin. But God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Thanks, Morgan

Thankful today for:
357. The smell of candles
358. Fresh melon for breakfast
359. Lake parties my kids love
360. People who have great ideas
361. Nathan’s crazy sense of humor that makes not-so-fun tasks go by more quickly
362. New clothes
363. New mercies every morning
364. Sunshine
365. Shadows

What Yard Work Taught Me About Sin

Jun4

If you don’t have borders, even good things can turn bad.

Sin is attractive sometimes. Knowing the roots and fruit are essential to telling the difference between the real beauty and the junk.

If you try to root out all the sin in one day, you’ll get discouraged and never want to tackle it again.

Sometimes you find sin in unexpected places, even in the middle of something that’s good.

Work with another person to control the sin in your life–it’s so much more fun.

It doesn’t work to just cover up sin, the roots are still there and eventually, the truth will come out.

Some roots go a lot deeper than you think, and sometimes you just need professional help.

Sin never, ever totally goes away. We are never free from it and it’s a constant battle to keep it at bay.

Life is messy and hard and it hurts, but it’s worth it for the beauty in the end.

 

 

 

Thankful today for:

345. Flowers

346. the first full day of summer break

347. photographs