Sunday, July 25, 2010

I'm a Christian

In an email that I received, it did a great job of describing a Christian-

When I say that ‘I am a Christian’ I am not shouting ‘I am clean living’. I am whispering ‘I was lost, but now I’m found and forgiven.’

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I don’t speak of this with pride. I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not trying to be strong. I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not bragging of success. I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say ‘I am a Christian’ I’m not holier than thou, I’m just a simple sinner who received God’s good grace.

I pray the scripture found in Colossians 1 for each of you reading this –

I ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And I pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Have a blessed week!

To contact Kristen, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com or send a letter to The Wellington Leader, Attn: Kristen’s Corner, Box 992, Wellington, TX 79095.
Happy Trails & God Bless!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Stress!

Life can be stressful – and I hate being stressed!

When I encounter stress (and problems in general) I want to not only fix the problem, but also figure out why it happened and what I can do to prevent it from happening again.

I was recently more stressed out that I had ever been. It got to the point where I wasn’t hungry; I didn’t sleep much and I just wanted to cry.

The cause of the stress: needing people to fill out forms and return them for a quickly approaching deadline. What could I do about it: send the forms with a letter explaining the need for the form to be returned. What did I do: the previously mentioned action. So why did I stress? I have no idea; it doesn’t make any sense!

A pretty amazing person kept reminding me to “do my best and God will take care of the rest”. I had to sit there and say that over and over again in my head so I would believe it in my heart.

Matthew 6:25-27, 34 says “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


I know these verses are mainly about worldly possessions, but I think stressing about paperwork can be included in them also. What good does it do to stress? None at all!

So I challenge you (and I’m also challenging myself) to do your absolute best and then let God take care of the rest!

To contact Kristen, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com or send a letter to The Wellington Leader, Attn: Kristen’s Corner, Box 992, Wellington, TX 79095.

Happy Trails & God Bless!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Power of Love

Love. Is there anything in this world more powerful than love? I personally don’t think so.

From the book Soul Cravings, Erwin Raphael McManus has challenged me to dig deep and really think about depth of love.

“The only people who can hurt you deeply are the ones you allow to get deep inside your soul. This is what makes love so dangerous. When you give your heart away to someone, you entrust it to that person’s care. Your beloved can pretty much do whatever he or she wants with it. You are left vulnerable and defenseless. Isn’t love grand? No wonder we’re all searching for it.”

This excerpt makes me laugh, but makes a great point! Guard your heart. Don’t be too quick give it away. And be selective about who you let in to the depths of your soul. Another thought that comes to mind is that God’s love is different than human love.

Hebrews 13:5 says, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

“We cannot live unaffected by love. We are most alive when we find it, most devastated when we lose it, most empty when we give up on it, most inhumane when we betray it, and most passionate when we pursue it.”

One of the most beautiful things in life is seeing that look of love between two people – between a parent and child, between friends or between a husband and wife – true love is beautiful.

“We all long to belong. We are created to know love and to give love. Our need to love, though rooted in God, is not limited to him. Love is not a limited commodity. Love expands as we give it away. Love dies when we do not.”

I get so caught up with my ‘to do’ list sometimes that I forget to spend time loving on the people that mean the most to me. And it just so happens that life gets more difficult when I neglect those relationships.

Take some time to reflect on the love that God has for you. Thank Him for the people He has blessed you with and pour out your love to those around you.

“You cannot take love; you have to give it. Love is a gift that cannot be stolen.”

Luke 10:27 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Happiness is an Attitude

It was once said, “Surrounded by people who love life, you love it too; surrounded by people who don’t, you don’t.”

There is so much truth in that statement. When someone has a bad day and they are complaining, it brings up the bad aspects of my day. However, the same is true when someone is positive about their day. Who is more enjoyable to be around?

A very wise person reminds me quite often to look for the good in every situation, and I’m so thankful for that. As a result, I have begun to change my thought process about people, work, school and life in general.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ~ Winston Churchill

“Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” ~Unknown

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” ~ Francesca Reigler

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” ~ Mary Engelbreit

“Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.” ~ Bill Meyer

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” ~ Scott Hamilton

“When you feel dog tired at night, it may be because you’ve growled all day long.” ~Unknown

“Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your life.” ~ Annette Goodheart

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” ~Hugh Downs

“We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails.” ~Unknown

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” ~Alphonse Karr

Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with your whole heart, as working for the Lord, not men.

To contact Kristen, email her at kristen_odom@hotmail.com or send a letter to The Wellington Leader, Attn: Kristen’s Corner, Box 992, Wellington, TX 79095.

Happy Trails & God Bless!