The Eye of a Needle ~

I have been doing some thinking lately and researching for one of my books I am writing and I came across a passage of scripture I had somehow forgotten about. It is Matthew 19:24. In this scripture Jesus says,"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Wow! This really stood out to me. For anyone not familiar with what Jesus was referring to, the "eye of a needle" is a very small door in a larger gate popular in biblical times. When the gates of the city were closed for the night as was the custom, a person could still enter through this small door or or opening in the city wall.This "eye of a needle" entry way was often so small that even a man would have to stoop to go through it. The picture below is a typical example of one of these entrances. Note that Jesus never said it was "impossible" for a rich man to enter heaven, (Before anyone gets their feelings hurt) but from the picture you can see it would not be easy. I think what Jesus meant was not to make riches your greatest life goal. There is a big difference in taking care of your family comfortably and letting greed for money consume you. I think Jesus wanted to let us know to always keep the balance.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt. 6:19-21~

"Would you take the nails from his hands?"

Would you take the nails from his hands?

It seems that everytime I turn on the radio in my car (which I leave on K-love, our local Christian station) a song comes on that is somehow just what I need at that moment. It never fails to amaze me. This week the song that has really been speaking to me is "Would you take the place of this man?" by Jeremy Camp. I had heard this song before but had never truly envisioned the scene and asked myself what I would do if given the choice to take the place of Jesus. We all want to be quick to say, "Oh yes, I would take his place anyday!" But, have we ever really though about what this would entail? The beating that he recieved before he even got to the cross was enough to take the lives of many. Over and over the merciless Roman whip, made from shards of glass and twisted metal fell upon this innocent man's back. He had done nothing wrong yet was punished for healing the sick, raising the dead and preaching peace. The very son of God was reviled, spat on, beaten by Roman and Jewish soldiers. Then, he was shoved to the cross, naked and bloody, to have spikes driven through his hands and feet. He who was merciful, was shown no mercy. This man of peace was not even even left to die in peace, but was mocked and taunted as he hang there in agony. The pain he bore is something most of us cannot even began to imagine. Roman crucifixion remains to this day one of the most torturous of all deaths. Every breath was agonizing as he hung there for hours in the Judean sun, wounded, bleeding, and rejected. But worst of all was the pain of of his thoughts that his father had abandoned him and he didn't know why. Now, after that mental picture, ask yourself again,"Would you take the place of this man?""Would you take the nails from his hands?"~

You Don't Have To Be Perfect to Be Beautiful!

I could not count the number of girl's and women  I have known in my life (especially in my teens) who are absolutely beautiful and yet still cut themselves down and use words like "fat" when describing themselves. I can't deny that words like this have come from my mouth as well through the years. When I really stop and think about it, many of these friend's of mine have been size 4's or 6's at most and were still putting themselves down and saying things about themselves that had absolutely no truth to them. Looking back now, I remember a few years back when I was a size 6 and was always worrying about my weight and dieting. In hindsight, I can see how ridiculous I was being at the time. After all, when I got married I was so slim that you could see my ribs! I was fairly tall at 5' 8 and had a larger bone structure than most of the girls I knew at the time and yet I still ignored those facts and couldn't get the fact that I weighed more than most my friends out of my mind. Looking back, I can now see clearly that my misconceptions about myself were largely attributed to what I saw in the media. We ladies walk in a store today and see the covers of magazines plastered with images of super skinny, flawless looking models and celebrities and whether we realize it or not it has an effect on how we see ourselves. It's all over the internet, television, everywhere women look. When I got married, my insecurities somewhat abated and I was able to have a mostly positive view of myself and how I looked. Then, I got pregnant with my darling little girl and as I packed on the pounds, these feeling slowly began coming back. Once I had given birth to her and didn't instantly return to my pre-pregnancy size and weight I was devastated. Once again the feelings of low self esteem and self worth came rushing back into my brain. Only, this time in a little different way. Now, I saw the models and celebrities claiming to have perfect bodies again almost overnight after their pregnancies. What I failed to see was what I had been missing since my insecurities first started as pre-teen and teen girl. If these magazines, photos and Internet ads were honest we would see the words "photoshopped", "airbrushed" and "plastic surgery" written all over them. As I am slowly realizing, no woman is perfect out there. Plastic surgery and photoshopping (both so popular in our culture today) work wonders. Everyone woman has flaws, some just spend thousands or even millions of dollars having these flaws corrected. So, to all my friends out there and any woman reading this, know that you do NOT have to be perfect to be beautiful. Whatever size you are, whether your tall or short, you are all beautiful..every one of you! Beauty is so much more than the outside appearance, so much more than false advertising and photoshopping. Beauty is within you. Realize this beauty, embrace it and stop believing the lies that are presented all around us on the covers of magazines and Internet and Tv ads.
In closing, here is a picture of Marilyn Monroe at a size 14 and a half-starved supermodel today. In her time people could appreciate REAL women, not women with fake bodies or computer imaged advertisements. I find it disturbing the way our social culture and media has affected the way women look at themselves and how the majority of men judge women today. They seem to expect perfection, when in truth, it doesn't exist. Don't be one of these people; your'e only lying to yourself.

A Higher Love

So, I watched a movie on Mary Magdalene the other day and it made me start thinking. A resounding theme throughout the movie was how she was always searching for something more. How, even the love of a man was not enough to fill that void in her life. She was a broken woman, inhabited by seven devils. It is easy for us to judge when we hear this about her, but we will never know exactly how she had gotten to such a low point in her life, we will never know all that she had no doubt gone through in her life, things some of us have possibly gone through in our lives. How truly amazing it must have been for her to meet Jesus, such a pure and holy man. Then, she did the only thing she felt worthy to do; fell at his feet and washed them with her tears. She lowered herself to do a task meant for slaves. He could have turned away from her in disgust as so many others doubtless had. He could have mocked her and condemned her sins in front of his friends. The things he could have said would have been true. He could have gossiped to everyone he knew about her past, but he didn’t. He didn’t voice her sins aloud for everyone to hear. Yet, I’m sure he could see every one of them. He did what many of us have a problem doing; he looked beyond the sinner and her sins, however great they may have been, and saw a hurting soul. Mary Magdalene had come to one the greatest realizations one can have-she realized her unworthiness and her need for a higher form of love; the love that can only come from God. I am blessed to know this love. J

My first blog :)

Hi everyone! I have wanted to start a blog for a long time. Writing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. This is a way for me to share some of my inspirations with the world :)

To tell you a little bit about me; I am the proud mommy of a 6 month old girl, Maria. She is the highlight of my life :) Every time I look at her, it brings a smile to my face. I am currently a stay-at-home mom with a little online boutique business. I enjoy making tutus and other sweet things for little girls. My husband, Ben, and I have been happily married for 3 years now. Ben just graduated and I am still attending school for a degree in English with a concentration on creative writing. I can honestly say I am enjoying life :)