Overcoming Injustice

I’m on to part 5 in my Values that Last series and am looking at moving past injustice in our world. Seems like once I get hung up on the “life’s not fair” attitude, I stop progressing, and rather appear depressing. Here are some statistics that I’ve learned in this series: Jesus talks more in the Bible about wealth and poverty than heaven and hell, violence, and sexual immorality. Between the four gospels, 1 in 10 verses contain teaching on economic issues in relation to wealth and/or concern for the poor. Thirty-three percent of children under age five in developing … Continue reading

Feeling Inadequate

Do you ever feel this way? I sure do. I find myself analyzing various aspects of my life and looking at how my abilities measure up to those of others. I know it’s not a healthy thing to do because I will never measure up in every area. There are some who have been given talents that others haven’t. There are those who were born “beautiful”, and those who weren’t. It seems some people receive unfair advantages while others struggle to make it. No one said life was fair. There are times when I wish I was a better wife … Continue reading

Who’s Really Happy?

A study was conducted early in 2006 by Pew Research Center to determine which people were happiest. Though the study finds that most people seem to be happy (84 percent total), 34 percent in the study were said to be very happy which is what the following percentages will reflect within. No surprise to me, the happiest people seem to be those who are married, have children, attend church regularly, are Conservative, and have a middle class or higher income. The study was conducted by over 3,000 telephone interviews across the Untied States in both English and Spanish. The margin … Continue reading

Are Christians called to be Tolerant?

What do you think? When I read about Jesus I see a man that accepted those who wanted Him. Though He did accept them where they were, He did not condone their sin. Take for example John 8:1-11. The scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who was engaging in adultery. Jesus told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Of course the accusers left. None of us are without sin. Jesus followed up saying to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Jesus acknowledged … Continue reading

Values that Last: Conclusion

I found this series not only to be encouraging to me in my own Christian walk, but has kept me accountable as well. Each week I’ve made great effort to attend church and take notes as our pastor elaborated on each session. Developing values that will last is critical in our faith. It’s important to know which convictions we are to stand by and why. Values that Last: Intro: My hope here was to get others involved in discussion through Families.com’s forum. Thank you to those of you who participated and shared your thoughts. My hope was to connect with … Continue reading

How In the World Will We Live?

This is the final chapter in the Values that Last series, though I will be doing a final blog which will be a conclusion of this blog series. First addressed was choosing our standard, following was why our beliefs matter, deciding right from wrong, living with integrity, and some scriptural support in overcoming injustice. Our pastor started out this session with a scripture from 1 John 2:16 that sets the pace for what I have to share here: “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not … Continue reading

Values That Last: Intro

I’m going to begin a series of blogs taken from a small group study course our church is promoting. The title of this course is called “Values That Last” and was presented to those who wished to participate, as a “small-group-in-a-bag”. Within this bag everything that is needed to lead and maintain a group is there: Study books, group leader guide, DVD (for leader instruction and group lessons), pens, name tags, invite cards, and contact information for further support by our church. All of this was provided completely free of charge. My husband and I will be working together on … Continue reading