Christian Living

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Good friends are noticers

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6)

It’s hard to think of wounds being a sign of love.

But wouldn’t you rather a friend correct you, to notice and care about the decisions you are making?

This is a silly illustration, but it’s  a classic:

Having a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth all day, but no one tells you.

What’s the first thing you say?

Why didn’t you tell me?!?!?

Ouch moments are great tests of character.

Nothing says “there’s still room for growth” like your mistakes being noticed.

When facing an ouch moment, I have to battle three things: embarrassment, anger, and pride.

I have to filter all of these feelings–as well as who’s doing the noticing–before responding.

Please don’t read this and think I’m talking about rolling over and letting someone squash you like a bug.

Remember what the proverb said?

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Friends correct out of love. They are lovingly pointing out your mistakes–not rubbing it in your face or shaming  you in the process.

Friends are trying to help you.

If all of your friends are kissing your cheeks and telling you how awesome you are….well, read the rest of the proverb, okay?

In a healthy friendship, each person grows.

Here’s another proverb:

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

If I’m not careful, I can resent correction. My natural inclination is to believe that others are out to get me.

But that attitude is destructive, which is why I have to beat it down daily.

Meaningful friendships are worth more than gold.

We need to give our friends permission to notice things –even the not so great things.

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Rest when it rains

It rains a lot when I’m at the office. 

If there’s a chance of rain in Birmingham, it will hit my office. The storm clouds roll in and the downpour begins.

And then I start driving home….

Once I get about two miles from the office, there is no sign of rain. The sun is out and the roads are completely dry.

I’m constantly amazed at this phenomena.

The same thing happens in our life.

Sometimes we’re in a rain bubble. Things just aren’t going that great.

We look over at our friends and family. There’s not a storm cloud anywhere near them. The sun’s out and they’re dancing in a field of wild flowers.

While we’re huddled under our umbrellas and our rain boots fill up with water…

I’ve been there.

Maybe it’s a family situation.

Maybe it’s problems at work.

Maybe it’s fighting back the voices from your past.

Whatever the case may be, you’re tired of the rain.

As a Christian, when hard times come, I start walking–no running–to my refuge and my rock.

Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest.”

David, the psalmist, said, “The Lord is my rock and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?”

Rainy days won’t last forever, I promise.

I know that’s easy to forget.

Just yesterday I found myself in a state of pure exhaustion. Physically and emotionally, I didn’t know if it was possible to take another step.

That’s when you rest.

Rest in God’s love.

Rest in the finished work of the cross.

And…

Rest physically.

Seriously. Go take a nap right now!

Take care of your body. You’re not Superman or Superwoman.

Plus, when you realize who’s really in control–and it’s not you–the best time to sleep is when the rain comes. (I’m thinking of a house with a tin roof. Where’s my pillow and blanket?)

Jesus fell asleep in the bottom of a boat while His disciples freaked out on deck.

I want to be more like Him and learn to rest in the storms.

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A conversation with God

Prayer is a fancy word that means talking to God. It’s a divine conversation that is special and grows richer and deeper with time.

Think about your best friend. I bet you didn’t meet he or she in one day and the next day start bearing your soul.

Prayer, much like the other spiritual disciplines, takes time to grow.

Now, it’s also not complicated either. Just open your mouth and talk to God. He loves it when you talk to him!

Tell him about your day, thank him for the many blessings in your life, and go to him on behalf of others.

I talk to God a lot in the car. He’s my favorite road trip buddy. I tell him about my sadness and burdens. I tell him how excited I am. And, a lot of times, I just tell God how thankful I am. We just talk as I drive. It’s awesome!

My point in sharing all of this is simple.

A lot of people make prayer really hard. They think God’s too busy or not interested. None of those things are true.

He always has time to hang out and talk to you.

Spend some time this weekend talking to God. Don’t hold anything back.

And, don’t be too surprised when God starts talking to you too. He’ll speak words of comfort, encouragement, and direction.

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God’s love is for you

The monster I had to fight with every night was rejection.

I was the poster child for good kids everywhere, but something was still missing. The praise of my family and friends never satisfied me–though I wanted their praise to keep coming.

The two people I wanted acceptance from had ditched me a long time ago. That’s who I was trying please.

See, Mom and Dad, I’m worth something. I’m not a mistake. You were wrong about me.

Rejection would growl:

Stay on the ground, Audra. You can’t win this one. No one will ever accept you.

I believed him too.

For a long time, I even let this monster keep me from experiencing God’s love.

God's loveOh, I knew about God’s love, but it couldn’t be for me. This was my logic: If your parents–who are supposed to model the love of God–reject you, that must mean that God can’t love you.

It wasn’t until my 20s that I truly surrendered all of my heart to God. He came to me in the most tender way, whispering in my ear that His acceptance and love didn’t have anything to do with where I started from.

Today, during a time of prayer, I was overwhelmed with gratitude while remembering where God found me–in a man-made pit of despair–and how He lovingly pulled me out of it.

And God wants to do the same for you, friend.

Don’t listen to the monsters from your past. They are lying to you! I promise.

The love of God is not far from you. It’s as close as your next breath.

What’s holding you back from truly receiving it?

Shoot me an email if you want to talk about this some more.

audragkennedy@gmail.com

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Note to self: Don’t panic

don't forgetTimes are tough.

Four Marines are dead.

ISIS is killing Christians.

The definition of marriage is under attack.

Political correctness is ruining our society.

But, as Christians, we can’t allow these hardships to keep us from our mission: To share the gospel and make disciples. blog 2

Jesus said things like:

Turn the other cheek.

If someone makes you walk one mile, go two.

Love and pray for your enemies.

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

If I’m not careful, I spend too much time focusing on all the bad things. I shake my head at the depravity of man and forget that at one time I was depraved too.

But we still have time! The world hasn’t ended yet!

If we’re still here, that means our mission isn’t over.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. His name is Jesus.

My goal for the next bit is to simply shine the light of Christ into the dark places, showing those who are still wandering the way home.

It’s time to stop freaking out about the darkness when we have the light of the world–and all His power–at our disposal.

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The suspenseful side of grace

I have a love/hate relationship with suspense movies.

suspense 1

I’m ready to face the ideas in this post.

I love the plot twists, action scenes (cue bomb!) and creativity involved.

I hate the scenes where you are clutching the popcorn bowl, screaming at the TV.

Don’t do it! It’s a trick!!!!! (Big swig of coke) The bad guy’s right behind you!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then it goes into a wicked awesome fight scene and I fall in love all over again.

Watching a friend make a poor decision is a lot like watching a suspense movie.

You know it’s a bad idea, but your friend? He or she is totally clueless.

Or, worst case scenario, your friend willingly makes a bad decision.

But, let’s assume that your friend isn’t willingly making bad decisions because most of us don’t go into a situation thinking:

How can I really screw this up?

At least, I don’t anyway…

Your decisions are scaring me!

Your decisions are scaring me!

Somehow, though, we have the worst thoughts about our friends and family when they mess up.

My grace is always on vacation when this happens.

Until, of course, I mess up.

I can then give you a million and one reasons that I made a mistake:

I didn’t mean to say that, okay?

I had to make a snap decision.

I thought bangs would look good on me. (Let’s take a moment to mourn all the bad haircuts in our life. Okay, I feel better.)

Can’t you see that I need a little grace?!? Seriously.

Put yourself in your friend’s shoes. (Unless they don’t fit and then metaphorical shoe wearing will do.)

If you would want someone to extend you grace, then that means your friend wants grace too.

It’s a lot easier to be the one on the couch, clutching the bowl of popcorn, screaming your head off.

It’s a lot harder being the one walking around the corner in a poorly lit hallway.

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No spirtual hermits allowed!

That’s it! I’m disconnecting from social media and going off the grid! This world is ridiculous.

Being a hermit sounds like a great alternative to the craziness.

Why bother trying? Nothing will change.

blog 3Unless…..

I start seeing myself as a world changer, a warrior, a follower of Christ who is here to spread the gospel.

Notice that the early church didn’t run and hide when faced with adversity. They were bold. Not stupid, mind you, but bold. When they had to scatter because of persecution, the church grew.

Kind of ironic, isn’t it? That’s not what you’d expect.

Look at the church today in China and the Middle East. The body of Christ is growing exponentially! They are being persecuted and martyred every day.

Their persecutors can’t figure it out: Why can’t we defeat these Christians? Nothing we do can stop them….

And yet, in North America, Christians start crying like a bunch of babies when things don’t work out.

blog 2 Can you believe the government is being so mean? This used to be a Christian nation. Now all I can do is post mean things on Facebook about those wicked unbelievers.

And then we lay on the floor like a toddler and pitch a fit.

Wow. I bet all of those sinful wretches want to be Christians now. You really showed them how strong faith can be in the life of a believer.

blog 1Throwing a temper tantrum changes nothing. It never does.

Read the Bible.

Jesus was hated by the world and He told us we would be hated too.

The disciples told us things would get really hard before Jesus came back.

What are you expecting?

Is your faith only strong when things are going great? Is it really that wishy-washy?

If so, I wouldn’t call that faith at all.

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Why I Choose Hope

If you’ve been alive for more than 5 minutes, you’ve been disappointed.  That’s just reality.

I’ve always considered myself an optimist. Well, that was until a few years ago. Everything was going wrong (or at least I thought so) and I wasn’t at a good place emotionally.

It was the first time I was struck by how many times I practice calculated disappointment.

Let me define what I mean: Whenever I’m thinking something through, I automatically add in a measure of disappointment–sometimes more, sometimes less.

Like I said earlier, disappointment is a normal part of life. I don’t want to have a plastic, everything’s perfect life. Nobody–and I mean nobody–likes those kind of people.
But as Christians, we are called and encouraged to hope. The God kind of hope never disappoints. That’s a guarantee.

This guarantee is also why I am allowing my mindset to be changed.

When hard times come, when people fail, that’s a bummer. But guess what? Those times go away. A stinky attitude and a bad worldview doesn’t.

Here’s my advice: Don’t let past circumstances dictate your standard of living or your standard of thinking. Life is already messy enough. 
Find a way to hope for the best. I promise you won’t be sorry.

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Did God Just Call Me A Knucklehead?

Prophets had a tough gig in the Old Testament.

I mean the Lord came to them and said, “Listen up! The children of Israel are knuckleheads, and I intend to teach them a lesson—to put a dunce hat on their stupid, little heads. Go tell them my plans because of their stupidity.”

Can you imagine being a prophet in that situation? Can you imagine how scary it must have been? Especially because the prophets knew that this was a group punishment? Meaning that they were also a part of this group…

I’m reading in Ezekiel right now, and let me tell you what! God was seriously ticked off. In Ezekiel 16: 30 He says:

“How degenerate is your heart! says the Lord God, ‘seeing you do all these things, the deeds of a brazen harlot.’”

That’s a pretty heavy statement.

But it gets better! Well, I guess it just depends on your definition of better…the Lord seemed to breathe for a second before attempting to reason with the people.

Let me paraphrase Ezekiel 18:21-24 for you:

“When a wicked man repents and follows God, his iniquities are forgotten. When a righteous man turns away from God, his sins are remembered in full. Does God want anyone to die in unrighteousness? No! However, he’ll judge everyone according to their works.”

Ezekiel 18:25 deserves to be directly quoted. God was talking his way through the above scenarios before declaring:

“Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?”

Wow. God laid down the law. Notice a few key words here: way and ways.

There is only one way to follow God, and that is His way. Man’s ways are wrong.

Is it really that simple?

I love the fact that the Bible is so clear, that God is so clear. Christians are to follow God and God alone.

What is God’s way?

Believe in His son, Jesus Christ, as the ONLY way to receive salvation. Walk in grace, listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and encourage others to do the same.

If the Bible is the foundation of a Christian’s life, then it is imperative that we understand this fundamental truth.

It’s not okay to figure out other ways to follow God, ways, I might add, that are so rooted in the world that Christians are not even recognizable as followers of Christ anymore.

Fair is fair.

God has made the terms pretty clear:

“‘Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,’ says the Lord God. ‘Therefore turn and live!’”(Ezekiel 18:31-32)

I have been a knucklehead like the children of Israel. I have attempted to figure out ways to do as I please and follow God as well. And every time I have found myself in the same situation: Frustrated and stuck in a rut.

I am thankful that God left His children some instructions. The more I read the Bible, the less I look like a knucklehead, and the more I look like a child of God. 

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No U-Haul Required

 

This is a topic that I’ve been thinking about for a while: 

Materialism.

Another word for it is greed, selfishness, stinginess…all of these terms are synonymous with materialism with me.

What’s the deal with needing stuff?

Why do I need 57 pairs of shoes, every new gizmo and gadget that hits the market, and a new car?

I go through my stuff periodically. When I start purging this question runs through my mind: When was the last time I used this? If I cannot remember the last time I’ve used something I get rid of it. Here recently I have been selling things that I haven’t used in a while, and I am proud to say that I have made some nice money doing so.

Now here’s an obvious statement:

When you die, nothing goes with you.

This fact has really inspired me to become more introspective. Why am I hoarding?  If nothing can go with me anyway why do I want so much stuff? Someone tell me that I am not the only one who feels this way.

What if I put the same amount of energy into reaching out to others that I put into seeking wealth and possessions? 

Maybe this is an extreme viewpoint, but I am quite confident that the issue of materialism is really stunting the growth of Christians.  

My dad shared this verse with me:

Luke 12: 15:

“And [Jesus] said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,” for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

So Jesus says that your self-worth is not tangled up in what you own…that’s awesome! That’s freedom! That’s the gospel! And I love it!

I want my life to be filled with sharing the gospel, raising a family, you know? Things that actually matter.

The floor is now opened for discussion. What do you think about materialism? Share your thoughts, Bible verses, etc. I want to hear from you!