One of the reasosn I like to write here is that allows me to put my thoughts into some sort of coherent (or maybe not) order. Either way I get to think through what I have been reading or thinking about.

This time it was something that I read by Jon Acuff. I have mentioned him before on here but you should go straight away right now and check out his website.

What I really want to talk about is not what he said exactly but how he is able to open the Bible up and really allow what it is saying to us. Sometimes I read the Bible and it all seems so familiar, it doesn't really isnpire me. I kind of feel apathetic sometimes. But thankfully there are people out there like Jon who are able to help us see the depth of what the Bible says.

This might sound heretic as if I am saying that the Bible isn't enough for me. But sometimes I think..well the Bible isn't enough for me. I don't have an amazing or complete understanding of what it means so sometimes I need other people to clear away some of the cobwebs my mind creates. And that is what happened after I read Jons last post about Matthew 11:28-30

This is something I have read so many times but when I read Jons post something made me really feel it again. It gave me a renewed sense of God and that is always a good thing. Check it out.

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explanations

I often find myself reading something that really resonates with me or stirs something within me that gets me excited about who I am. I like that. Recently for me it was the latest posting by Shellie R Warren on her blog on the xxxchurch site.

I like her take on all things to do with sexuality and what she said really got me thinking about being Holy and who we are in Christ. I won't go into great detail, but I want to share what I got from it.

She basically talked about being uncommon, about not being like everyone else, about treating yourself like God treats you, basically loving yourself. This is something I have a hard time doing sometimes.

You see to be common means to go with the grain or to try and be like everyone else even if you know that its not good for you. To be uncommon means the opposite. Not just to not care what people think of you but to not treat yourself less than you should

1 Peter 2:9-10 says
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

I like this because when taken in the context of which Shellie is talking ie from someone who treated herself sexually well below the level that God had planned for her, it is a reminder that we are called to be uncommon in these issues.

xxxchurch is important to me for many reasons but they are helping to remind myself that I am uncommon. I don't have to be like other people who don't take their sexuality seriously. I have a higher standard when it comes to that and so does God.

And I believe that this starts with how we view ourselves and whether we love oursleves or not. If we do then we will find it easy to live to God's standard but if we don't we struggle and I believe this has been why I struggled so often with lust. When you love yourself, you don't feel bad and don't need other avenues such as sex to give us self esteem. It's all in who Jesus is and what he does.

We need to remember that whenever we feel tempted or vulnerable to give in to sin. We have a standard to reach but which we already have met, simply because we have the Holy Spirit in us. I think that whenever we decide that we are worth more, that we are special as a basic characteristic of who we are in Christ, then we can be standard setters for people. We don't have to treat ourselves like we are worthless because we aren't. We are special, meant for a special purpose, unique, exceptionally valued. We are uncommon

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To Be Or Not To Be....

Recently I have decided I want to be more wise. I have even attempted to grow a beard. But unfortunately that does not make you wise because if it did I would at least be heading in the right direction. Instead I think wisdom comes from good choices, from experience and from learning from others who have made the same mistakes you have but are learning from them.

I think I made a fairly good start at being wise when I started to get accountable. I struggled with lust and porn and getting a couple of my friends to ask me how I was doing, to challenge me on my habits was a good choice.

A bad choice is sitting on your computer at midnight when you know that you get tempted the most at these times. A good choice is planning your day so that you won't have times when you are vulnerable. A bad choice is not being totally honest with your accountability partner. A good choice is texting your accountability partner when you start to feel urges to sin. I have done all these and more.

Another good choice I made was to start reading Proverbs and trying to learn from this book and digesting it and putting its practical help into place.

And it is full of practical help. In Proverbs 1 it talks about people who do not make good choices. People who "set an ambush for themselves" who "booby trap their own lives".

I have done this. I have made it easy for temptation by walking right by it. I love the imagery in Proverbs because I realise when I sit on my own with the computer I am being as foolish as someone who walks blindfolded by a cliff. It's just stupid. I would never do that. But yet I have in the past.

Thankfully I started to make more good choices than bad. Thankfully I put real things in place to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes over and over. I want to be like the bird in Proverbs who sees a trap and avoids it. And I am doing that.

The longer I go without looking at porn the more I have realised that making the right decisions is so important. One small decision can have huge implications. It's like an iceberg. We only see a small proportion of everything that porn can produce. If we choose to click on a link we know will lead us to porn, what was just one small decision can lead to spending hours searching for more extreme images and feelings of shame and disgust at ourselves. It can lead to the break up of relationships, increased isolation from our friends and more and more dangerous viewing.

In the moment we probably didn't forsee everything it would eventually lead to.

Thankfully on the other hand, one small good decision can lead to amazing things.

One simple decision to turn off the computer when we are alone can lead to more concrete habits being formed to avoid porn. It can lead to better self esteem. It can lead to having more fulfilling relationships that give us the most amazing joy. It can lead us to knowing God better and having integrity in our lives. It can lead to spending your time better. It can lead us to feeling more alive than we have ever done before.

Decisions can change our lives. For the good and the bad.

Porn doesn't have to control you. It doesn't need to ruin you. You can take steps to beat it.

It just means starting with the right choice.

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Stuff Retailers Like Part 1

I have had an idea for a book for a while and I first proposed this idea to a friend I used to work with. To be honest I don't think there is much of a market for a book called "101 annoying comments customers make to me while I work in the shop". But for me and my friend it provided a few minutes lightheartedness. So in homage to http://www.stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com here is my own version.

1. "I only came in for one thing"

This is probably one of my favourites. The person who apparantly only needed a loaf of bread but then presents you with a trolley full of stuff you didn't even knew you sold is a mystery to me. At what point on their journey from the bread to the checkout did they realise they needed half the shop. Even more puzziling is when they return the next day and repeat the whole facade. Make a list next time!

2. "Isn't the weather shocking"

I live in Ireland. It rains in Ireland. A lot! Even in the summer when its warm it rains. It sucks. But I have had 25 years to get used to this fact. I'm at peace with myself regarding this. But for some people the sight of rain continues to astonish them. Thats why when it is sunny for a few days for a week in July everyone goes crazy for it. They can't handle it. It's too much for most. And then it rains the rest of the year. It was sunny for a week!!! It rains every day of your life. In short..no its not shocking...its water falling from the Sky

3. "Is the ice cream machine working"

OK. So this in itself is not annoying. I just hate making ice cream...sorry...

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Father Ted Part Deux

So time for part two of my all time favourite Father Ted moments. If you thought the last one was funny, well let's just say, well...this one is funnier....yeah....that's it. So enjoy and after you have finished wiping the tears of joy from your eyes head on over to www.stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com.
If you have been brought up in church with all its tradition and unspoken rules, then I reckon you will find this site highly ammusing. It continues to hit the mark....Enjoy!!

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