Do You Need to Clean the Tub?

Deep cleaning has become a very popular pastime lately with the necessity of staying home and needing something to do. Several weeks ago (before all of this started) I decided to scrub the tub on a whim (that is how most of my deep cleaning happens). Half way through cleaning I noticed how very dirty the tub had been. Before I started cleaning I hadn’t really noticed all the grime. It wasn’t until I compared the clean half of the tub to the dirty half that I realized just how dirty it had been. I was so used to the build-up of grime that I didn’t notice it.

Love With All Your Heart

We are told to love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength. As humans, we have 4 areas that make us up: emotional, spiritual, mental and physical. So when we are told to love God with all of our hearts that means we are to love Him with our emotions, but how do we do that?

The Breastplate Of Righteousness

We have access to many forms of protection. Various companies offer insurance for just about everything. We have locks on our doors, security systems, law enforcement, fences and barriers. Our bodies have antibodies to help protect us against sickness. Laws and rules are even a form of protection, but what about spiritual protection? Is that even necessary?

Though My Heart May Fail

I don’t often share personal stories here, focusing more on general life lessons. But the past few weeks warrant the telling, and celebration. It is often hard for healthy, young adults to understand the need to rely on God physically. We are so capable that it passes our notice. But no matter the circumstances, God is there, and we need Him whether we realize it or not.

The Fruit of Goodness

Being good is a fairly simple concept. There are a lot of people who “do good”, quite a few whom we would even call “good”. Goodness seems pretty common, even among other religions and those of no religion. In fact, it unfortunately seems more common among non-Christians. Is goodness really a fruit of the Spirit? Is it really something that requires God? Isn’t it something that just happens fairly naturally to most people? Aren’t all people basically good?

The Fruit of Kindness

Kindness is something that I think we would all agree is important, but we mostly encourage it in children and don’t often think of addressing it to adults. “Random acts of kindness” refresh our hope in humanity, but it is not something we actively pursue ourselves. Often, kindness is merely thought of as little more than being polite, but as with all virtues it goes much deeper. Kindness should come from the heart which can only be changed by God.

The Heart of the Matter

So much emphasis is placed on our actions, in Christianity and in the world. I just finished a series on virtues and it dealt mostly with appropriate actions. Most other religions are based almost solely on actions, a works-based faith. Even the Old Testament seems to point that direction. But what is the most important to God?

Do You Need To Be Undragonned?

In C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace is turned into a dragon for having greedy

dragonish thoughts. After he has a change of heart, he meets Aslan who will change him back into a human. But first he asks Eustace to “undress”, or take his dragon skin off. Three times, Eustace claws and scratches a layer of skin off, but he is still a dragon. Finally, Aslan undresses him. It hurt terribly, but it was the only way to be cured.

As fantasy as this is, it is something we all need spiritually.

What I've Learned in Marriage-7

Guard your heart; purity is for life, not just singleness—Growing up, purity rings and the idea of “remaining pure/waiting for marriage” was very popular. Unfortunately, that is where the emphasis ended. It wasn’t until after I was married that I learned that purity is about more than just virginity. It is a lifestyle, not something only for single people.