Lovin and Living
This is a place for me to just be me… (All content Copyrighted Yeve Eeffoc 2008-2015)Archive for Church
Involvement
I have been thinking about this for a while. I have yet to really come up with a good conversation starter to be able to address it with my husband.
I am a Christian. I am a person who has a relationship with the Lord (sometimes it is stronger than others but I have one). I believe that in order to have a good grasp and to really be a part of the community you need to be involved with others who have like beliefs (this does not mean I am against those who do not believe the same as I do or that I do not spend time with those who do not have the same beliefs that I do).
I understand that Monkey’s need to be involved in activities and sports and building relationships and getting exercise and finding what they are good at in life. So why is it that sports are more important than going to church with the family and being able to participate in the youth groups that take place during the week or the weekend?
We belong to a church that believes in infant baptism and our Monkey’s are 6 and 3 and we still have not had them baptized (no criticism over what I am about to say please). We could get them baptized at any time. I just need to call up the church and set a date and time. Jack in the Box always asks me when we are going to do it and I just shrug my shoulders. It isn’t that I don’t believe in it. It isn’t that I want to wait until they can make their own choices. I have finally come to the conclusion that I have put it off because of Jack in the Box’s heart and that is wrong because baptism is about the relationship between Father and child. The problem though is that so many of us as adults base our relationship with the Father on our own relationship with our father and their involvement in our lives and the church. Jack in the Box isn’t really involved in church. He goes on Sundays maybe, if we are lucky 6 times a year. Now there are times when he is working and he can’t go but there are also those times when he chooses not to go and there are times he chooses to go to other activities on a Sunday morning instead (organized sport thing). This really bothers me. You want us to baptize the Monkey’s but you really don’t want to be involved with church. (and let me say I am praying over this because they need to be baptized)
So getting back to being involved I am struggling with the fact that Jack in the Box and 90% of the people out there put more importance on sports than church and church family and having that relationship with other believers. Are we not supposed to set ourselves apart from non-believers? Wouldn’t choosing youth group over sports be a way to do that?
I do believe that we are losing a lot our children to other things because we say it is okay. We allow them to participate in activities that take away from church relationships, a relationship with God and youth groups. This does not mean I believe they should not be involved in sports but I think we need to find sports who are willing to work with us on days they practice and play games.
For the community that I reside in I am really shocked that most programs do not take into consideration Wednesday night programs and Sunday programs. Our community is very religious (not that I agree with that term) but in this area it is. And I am especially disappointed in one group whose states, “Our mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.”. How is it possible to be putting Christian principles into practice if you are making it impossible for children to participate with their Christian communities?
What do you convey as important to your Monkey’s? Do you require them to put God and the relationship with Him before anything else? Or do you allow them to put other things before Him and their relationship with other Christians?
This really has been a huge struggle for me. I want my Monkey’s to be involved in sports if they want to but I think they need to build their relationship with God and others Christians. God should always come first in your life and I want my Monkey’s to start making that choice at a young age because I truly believe it makes all the difference in their lives. And the only way this is going to happen is if we are showing them that God needs to come first, that we pursue God and our relationship with Him, that we attend church and we attend Bible study and we are involved as volunteers and whatever else God is calling us to do (If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15).
I want to follow the Lord and what He has planned for us. Maybe that means that I stand up to my husband and make a statement that our children will not participate in sports on Wednesdays and Sundays. It may cause a huge rift in our marriage but I believe that God is more important that sports. I really believe that allowing my children to fall into the mentality that it is okay to be missing church and missing youth groups and missing that opportunity to create a good relationship with God is the wrong thing to do. I want my children to be set apart, I want others to see their Christian values and I want them to be Jesus with skin on and in order to do that there will be sacrifices that need to be made.
I wonder if there is a Christian sports group out there that doesn’t have practice on Wednesdays or games on Sundays? Hmmmm
New School Year
Where has this summer gone? We had a roller coaster of a ride with ups and downs.
We did manage to accomplish some of the things on the “list” though so that was a nice reward.
This summer we:
Lost our sweet bocker puppy
Finally got all of the baby and small-clothes out of the basement
Went to the zoo as a family
Had a garage sale
Welcomed a new puppy; a morkie to the family
Got out of the city and camped for a week
Made some serious decisions about our financial state
Got closer to having the Baby Monkey fully potty trained
Almost made it a full summer with getting along with The Ex
Ran our first 5k as a FAMILY
Got the Youngest Monkey and Baby Monkey to eat better food
Working through a Bible Study with friends; and it is life changing!
Only missed church two times
Watched the Oldest Monkey move to another state
Found out our niece is expecting
Did some reveal photographs for my niece and her fiance
Let our flower gardens (three) turn into weed gardens
Made a homemade carrot cake (it was so moist and yummy)
Learned more about Young Living Oils and how they can help our family
Discovered a new coffee flavor (that I love)
Went on walks together
Played soccer together
Accepted that I am a sinner, I will never be perfect and God loves me anyway
Figured out what my tattoo is going to be (have had an idea for 3 years but never firm on words)
Never took pain meds or allergy meds (thank you Young Living Oils)
Got amazing deals at Goodwill for school clothing (Thank you Lord)
Made some decisions about our health
We had a really busy summer and that list is only part of what we did. We have been blessed this year. Well the truth is we are always blessed because we believe in the Trinity, it is just that sometimes we forget and don’t always see it.
We have had a busy summer. Jack in the Box had been working at the same place for a year now (even though it began it was through a temp service).
We are starting the school year and we have:
Baby Monkey who is going two half days a week for speech
Youngest Monkey who is going into first grade
Middle Monkey who is going to be a sophomore
Oldest Monkey who is working in another state
I can’t believe that all my Monkey’s are growing up and in school or working. Where has time gone? Cherish your moments and times because they fly by faster than you could ever imagine (I remember when I was a child time took forever to pass by and now I can’t get it to go slow enough).
Do You Feel Forgiven?
Do you really believe that Jesus was sent to this earth so that He could take your place on the cross? Do you believe that you are forgiven because Jesus took your place on the cross? Do you feel you are sinning without forgiveness if you don’t truly believe this?
To be forgiven means that all things in your past, present and future are not there. It doesn’t give you a free reign to do whatever you like, you still have to repent your sins to the Lord but you are forgiven.
Because I believe in Jesus, because I believe in the Father, because I believe in the Holy Spirit; I have to believe by Their grace I am saved, I am forgiven by Jesus taking my place on the cross and going through Hell for me.
If I were to stand in front of the Father tonight because I have left this earth and He was to ask me why I should be let in would I have an answer? Do I really believe I would go to heaven if something happened tonight?
Logically I can say that I know Jesus came here for me, was born, raised, taught sinners, outcasts and those who were shunned, had 12 disciples who left their lives and followed Him to carry on His teachings, He was put on trial, flogged, beaten, crowned with thrones, made to carry a cross after all of this happened to him, nailed to a cross with both his hands and feet, pierced in His side to make sure He was dead, laid to rest in a tomb, had a stone rolled in front of the opening with a guard standing watch and then He rose from the dead and it was all done for me.
I know this. I can read it in the Bible; which was left for me. I go to church and hear His message.
But deep down in my heart if I were to ask myself if I felt I would go to heaven, my answer would be about 50% certainty. I can tell others I am forgiven and I know there is nothing more I can do to make God love me and there is nothing I can’t do to make Him love me less. It doesn’t matter if I go to church or don’t go to church, it doesn’t matter if I tithe or don’t tithe, it doesn’t matter if I read the Bible or don’t read the Bible; I believe in Jesus and I am forgiven and if I were to stand in front of the Lord and He was to ask me why the answer would be, “Because You sent Your Son to the world to die on the cross for me and when I accepted Him into my life, I was forgiven and forever embraced by You.”
Now you have to realize that when you actually accept Jesus you want to be like Him, you want to be Jesus with skin on, you want to go to church and be with others who believe, you want to tithe, you want to sing His praise, you want to read the Bible, you want to grow and you want to be full of the fruits of the spirit.
So do you really feel forgiven? Do you really believe that accepting Jesus saves you?
I have a lot of work ahead of me but I know I am forgiven. Logically I know it, I just have to work on my heart and my head really believing it.
Dreams and Aspirations
For a long time (lets say for my whole life) I haven’t been sure of who I am.
Yes I am Yeve.
Yes I am a daughter.
Yes I am a mother.
Yes I am a pet owner.
Yes I am a home owner.
Yes I have a church and I love going.
Yes I have curly hair.
Yes I have brown hair.
Yes I am a wife.
But when it comes to things like dreams or aspirations or what I enjoy doing; I am clueless!
I used to read all the time and loved it, but not so much anymore (I still love it, I just don’t do it).
I have tried many things to see if I like them but I am so hypercritical of myself that I typically give up before I have given myself a chance.
When people ask me what I like doing or what my dreams or aspirations are I typically give them goals. You know those goals you make that I work towards and hope to reach someday (like being debt free)?! But those types of things are not things I can actually go out and do for enjoyment.
I guess these days most people would call their dreams and aspirations a bucket list. The things you hope you get to do before you die. The sad thing is I really don’t even have one of those. Yes there are a few things I would like to do but nothing that really makes up a list like I have seen from other people! Before I started the Bible study I am doing with The Girls, this whole bucket list thing bothered me. I felt bad that I knew so little about myself and wanted so little out of life. Now I am okay with this part because that was me comparing myself to others and to the world view and not God’s view.
I would still like to figure out what I enjoy, what God placed me here for, what my gifts are that were a gift from Him and I would love to grow in Him for me. Not to make my parents happy. Not to make my husband happy. Not to make my children happy. I want to grow in Him so that I am who He intended me to be. I want to find and fulfill the dreams and aspirations that I have been suppressing inside of me so long that they are buried!
I am Yeve.
I am a daughter to my parents and to God.
I am a mother and those monkeys are precious gifts from God.
I am blessed with fur babies from God.
I am blessed with a home from God.
I am blessed that I found a church, I love going and I have The Girls to do the Bible study with and that was a HUGE gift from God.
I have curly brown hair and that is a gift from God.
I am a wife to an amazingly funny man, we may butt heads but he makes me laugh and smile and I was missing that. He wants me to find myself and what I enjoy and He was an AMAZING gift from God.
I have a long way to go before I really know my dreams and aspirations but with the help of God, with having a relationship with Him, listening to Him, with working through the Bible study with The Girls, and discovering and digging dip within I will be who He intended me to be.
Christian Living
We have been having a series at church that really has had me thinking a lot. The main point of the whole series has been about asking if what you are about to do fits into the your Christian Life.
Do you actually live a Christian Life? Do you make time to read the Bible? Do you make time for Church? Do you make time to have a relationship with Him? Do you Tithe? Are you making choices that put you in Debt? Do you Gift others? Are you someone who knows they have issues to work on but Never does?
It can apply to anything in your life. Do you swear to much? Do you eat to much? Do you exercise to little? Are you moving in with someone and are not married? Are you having premarital sex? Are you having an affair? Are you using the gifts God has gifted you with? Are you really in need of the new car, shoes, boat, house? Are you living above your means? Are you saving money for later in life? Are you gossiping about others? Are you involved in activities at church? Are you pushing aside church for sports, sleep, fun?
How important is the Lord in your life? He sent His only Son to this world to save us!
John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.God sacrificed His only Son for us! Do you make any sacrifices for Him?
God did not send Him to condemn us He sent Him to save us! Which then brings me to another verse that really has opened my eyes with how I view some things.
For a very long time I have read Matthew 18: 15-17 and seen it in a different way than the way I do currently.
Matthew 18:15-17 15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.In the past when I read that verse my mind instantly goes back to the Old Testament. It is the only way I could explain it to myself. How was a pagan treated? You avoided them, you didn’t want them in your life, you didn’t want to be influenced by them and so you “killed” them. Of course now you would not literally kill them but you could remove them from you life and kill them and the relationship that way.
But now read that verse and see it from the eyes of the one who is speaking those words, Jesus. How did Jesus treat a pagan or a tax collector? He ate with them, He sought them out, He spoke to them, He was kind to them, He LOVED them; sins and all! He won them over with His actions and His grace and then told them they were forgiven and to go and sin no more. Did He really expect they would never sin again? I don’t think so because we do live in a fallen world, but to have the Savior say go and sin no more to you, to touch you, to care about you and what YOU did when no one else did?
We are not supposed to push these people away from us (there are situations when I do think it is important to remove them from our lives, like if they are influencing us to follow in their footsteps instead of you influencing them), we are supposed to love them and after a while confront them again.
There isn’t a single Christian around who does not sin. So are you open to others confronting you and you confronting others? That is also part of Christian Living! Are you defensive if someone points something out to you that goes against the Bible and God’s way for us?
I am not perfect and I certainly don’t claim to be. There are days I really am not the Christian I should be or could be. There are days I struggle more than others, just like anyone. But for me the really big thing is am I really trying to make it to church, tithe, have a relationship with Him, showing others I am a Christian by my actions, and not using excuses for not doing all of it?!
How is your Christian Life going? Are you loving everyone, no matter what their sin is? Are you judging instead of loving?
1 Kings 8:39 Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for You alone know every human heart),You are allowed to bring to the forefront a sin, but we are not allowed to judge because God is the only one who know what is truly in our hearts!
Christian Living
Do you know how to live the life of a Christian? Not do you know how to be a religious person. Not anything like that. Do you know what the Lord expects from you as someone who is a follower of Christ?
At church we have been talking about what it means. There are things that God does ask of us and if you have no clue where to start to find out a really good spot is here:
“Wake up, sleeper.
Rise from the dead.
Then Christ will shine on you.”
I am not perfect, I sin. I really need to work on me and being able to live a Christian life. I want a relationship with Christ but as long as I am knowingly sinning I can’t have the relationship I want with Him.
This isn’t the only thing that needs to be looked at when I am trying to live this life. There is also looking at the ten commandments, but that is for another day.
If you have ever wondered where to start to know and understand what it means to be a Christian and living for Christ; this is the perfect place to start!
Sunday is Wonderful
I love Sunday’s. I really do love this day. It brings so much comfort to me.
I get up. I get ready for church. I get the monkey’s ready for church. We go to church. I get the monkey’s into their area, stop and get a cup of coffee and I go to the sanctuary. I go to where I normally sit, get my Bible out, get my notepad out, get my pen out, I walk back and get a bulletin and then I go and sit down.
And then the best thing happens, the songs come out, I get to stand up, sing and praise God. I get lost in the words, in the beat, in the sound and most of all in the meaning. It is almost as though His Spirit comes inside of me and I lose myself.
Today wasn’t a normal Sunday but I got to go to church still. My monkey’s stayed home with Jack in the Box and for whatever reason, today I was okay with that.
I have a lot that I need to work on. I am not perfect. I sin a lot.
You would think that when I opened my heart to the Lord my life would have changed. When it first happened I had this passion for Him. I would read my Bible, I would feel convicted over things and I wanted to be the best I could be for Him so that I was a reflection of Him.
Now I seem to be ho-hum about my life with the Lord. I don’t read my Bible the way I used to. I don’t have the passion for Him, except on Sunday’s. And then I have guilt.
But my Sunday’s are wonderful. Now if I can just bring that feeling I have, the motivation, the passion and the joy into the rest of my week.
I think I need to create myself a schedule. I am not a person who likes schedules. I enjoy doing whatever, whenever. I have a list of things I know I need to do but most of the time that is it. I have a list of things I know I need to do and they sit. I do piddle things but I don’t do what needs to really be done.
I think I need to become more of scheduled person. I need to schedule time for me to be who God wants me to be. I need to schedule time for me to read the Bible. I need to schedule time to improve my life.
I have had a lot of issues lately. I know they are saying I have fibromyalgia and maybe something else (but we are waiting on test results) but I can’t live like this anymore.
I need to have a plan because the way things are going are not enjoyable anymore and I want my life to be enjoyable and part of that comes from living the way God wants me to live and the person He wants me to be.
So bring it on….. I want every day to be wonderful!
Past Life
Now I am probably going to repeat myself often when I talk about these things but it is okay. Talking about it helps me to remember that I wasn’t crazy and what went on in my past life was real.
I am currently trying to wrap my head around a few things. If my Ex is really a Christian, if he has accepted Jesus as his Savior, if he is trying to be a better person ~ he is forgiven. His sins are forgotten and he will never make an account to the Lord for what wrongs he has done. Just like I will never have to give an account for all of the sins and things I have done wrong.
My life now is nothing like my past life. I did live a good life I guess most would say. If you were on the outside looking in you would see a family who went to church. A family who went out to eat at moderately expensive restaurants one to two times a week. A family who went out to a movie at least once a week. A family who helped others, especially the husband. An affectionate husband when we were out in public. A family who took some small and some large day or two-day trips.
If you lived in the house though it was something totally different. Yes we went to church but it was one of the few places my Ex ever touched me. We would go out to eat because that was what he liked to do. We would go to movies because it was what he liked to do. My husband could get a call from a friend in the middle of a major project and would drop everything he was doing and run to their aid, no matter if it was because they needed money or because they needed time but if I asked him for anything the typical response was, “I don’t even have time to breathe let alone (fill in the blank).” We did go on mini vacations but only if it was something he wanted to do. More often than not he went on vacations by himself with his friends, without the family. He was very controlling and manipulating of the family and our marriage.
Don’t get me wrong, I was far from perfect in this relationship. When I tried to talk to him and he wasn’t interested I would blow. I put a hole in the wall once because he was in my face yelling at me. I would confront him about things as they became clear.
Life was not easy to live in that house and over the next few weeks I am going to tell you stories about things while we lived there. I have not really taken the time to tell people what actually went on. Some knew because they were my friends and knew the actual truth (there was one person). Some knew what they thought was going on from what they saw or what they heard. But I have never really opened up completely and told anyone my side of what went on and why I left. I used to have a blog and I used to write about it but my Ex was a computer whiz and knew about it and when I left, he got into my account, changed my password and deleted all posts that had anything to do with him. So it is time to tell my story and my side of things because I need to move forward but I need to remember why I left and that it was okay to leave. But I am also telling my story and my side of things because like I said, no matter what went on, no matter what he did, no matter how he treated me then or how he treats me now, IF he is a Christian, IF he has accept Jesus as his Savior, IF he has changed his life and who he is ~ he is forgiven, he will not have to account for his sins, he will stand in front of the Lord and they will review his good deeds and his works in his life.
That is what I am trying to wrap my head around ~ That he will be in heaven and that he will be forgiven and that he won’t have to account for what he has done or what he has said or what he continues to do. Just as I won’t have to.
Wow – what a sobering thought!
Hope
It is the Christmas season and our church is doing a series on Finding Christmas. We talked about Hope this past Sunday. So much was said and so many verses were given but one thing really stood out to me and it was this:
“Hope is trusting not because the BELIEVER knows what is ahead but because GOD is trustworthy”
Just think about those words and what this means…
Healing and soothing to the soul!
Prayers for Chris and Family
For the past twenty-six days I have posted about Cards for Chris. Today I have spent the day praying. I went to church and cried at the songs because Chris is now with the Lord. His cancer brought him back to the Lord.
Please pray for this family. There is joy because he is pain-free, with his brother and welcomed with open arms by Jesus. But they are missing their child. He has left this earth. They will never be able to touch him, hold him, smell him, hug him, hold his hand or tell him it will all be okay because God is with you again.
My heart is breaking for this family. I can’t even begin to imagine the physical and emotional pain they are going through. But the one thing I can do for them is pray. Pray for peace and understanding. It is all I can do for them.
This young man had 17 short years here on this earth. But in those 17 years he was able to love, be loved, make people laugh, and have an understand above and beyond most people twice his age do. He also found the Lord, which is what a lot of parents hope for their children. It is my hope for my Monkeys. So he is going to be physically missed but thankfully they will all be reunited with each other and the Lord!
Lovin and Living 