Making a real change with the new year

This is the end of a year where many of us have wishes of things to accomplish with the new year. If you are living in a rut it's time to change. This is it people you have a chance to change your way of living. This new year could be the same, be worse or be better it'll all matter on you and how you look at things. You can't change everything around you but you can change your future out look on life. No one can take the steps for you that you need to take to make the changes you want to see in yourself and there is no one but you who can decide what to do.  In order to change you must DO something.  If you don't do anything different you are never going to accomplish the dreams and goals you have for the upcoming year.
If you want to loose weight, you have to take a real step and change your eating and way of life. If you want to be happier you have to change the circumstances or the way you think. If you want to be a better person than you were in 2012 you are the only person who can make that happen. Only you have the power to make the choice to change who you are. It's a year to be serious about changing you, only then can we take the first steps to changing the world.
Time to stop blaming the world for the problems and start with the man/woman in the mirror. Change can only come by the choices we make on our own.  Yes, God will help you change, don't under estimate him, but also remember that He expects us to sometimes take the steps necessary to help change ourselves. He gives us those choices and we have to chose the right ones in order to sometimes help make our lives different. He gives us choices, and the strength to make the right ones, we just have to pick the right choice.
Let your 2013 make a difference in your life. Make this the year to look back on and say, "I really can see the difference and I like what I see."

O.K. to spoil kids at Christmas, God spoils you!

This Christmas has been way off for me this year. Between being pregnant and feeling overwhelmed with worlds events I just feel very, un-Christmas spirit like. Not the bahumbug I don't like Christmas, but just honestly not in the joy filled mood I normally am with the Christmas season. A lot of the stress I think has come from my own self doing though. I am a huge pusher of, "keeping Christ in Christmas." We all know that we want to keep Christ in Christmas that Christmas to Christians is about celebrating Jesus birth and it's all about him.  But trying to convince a 4 year old and 1 year old of this concept is something extremely hard to do at least without completely ruining their excitement.
I have thought about this for weeks and have finally come to realize that there is nothing wrong with how my children view Christmas. Why do we push 'Christ in Christmas" so much anyways? Yes it's about his birth but shouldn't we also be celebrating about His life? I mean Christ came to save the world. He was a gift He was all about bringing love, joy and peace to the world and personal sacrifice.
What if we stopped trying so hard to bring in extra "Jesus mode" and start bringing him in for real, bringing real peace, happiness, joy and love to our children. Our every day lives should be just as full of these things all year round. If we are sincere about having Jesus in Christmas then we should be sincere in showing our children Jesus all year around so when Christmas comes they don't question if when we celebrate it has something to do with Jesus.
I don't feel that Jesus is looking down and proud of me when I try so hard to push 'Christ in Christmas,' the way I see many other Christians do. I believe He gave us these little children to see things differently. There really is nothing wrong with sharing Jesus at Christmas but there is also nothing wrong with your kids being excited because they know they are going to get gifts soon, lots of yummy food, and lots of family time. If we are showing Jesus at Christmas than all these things are things that Jesus would be happy to see. He gave us these precious gifts called children, to make them happy, to show them love and yes, once in a while I think Jesus is totally on board with us spoiling them to pieces. He spoiled and still spoils us as His children on a daily basis why wouldn't He want us to show the same kind of giving and caring to our own children? I think keeping peace, love, and lots of joy in this time of year is the best way to keep Christ in Christmas.
So this year, to get out of my little funk I was in regarding the season of Christmas I stopped trying so hard to make sure my 4 year old understood that it was ALL about Jesus, not the presents. I started trying to just remind him once in a while that we get gifts and celebrate this time of year for Jesus birthday, just like when we get ready to celebrate his birthday and with celebrating birthdays there is nothing wrong with the excitement over the expectation of the gifts and fun he'll have this time of year.  I have given up the crazy notion that my 4 year old should only be excited because Jesus was born after all he is 4, and presents to him really are the fun of it all.
For now, as a parent I pray that eventually his little mind and heart will comprehend and enjoy the gift of Christmas given a long time ago. Until then the point Christ has is that we keep Christ in everything we do and say, not just in certain times of the year like Christmas.

Does God know you? Matthew 7:21-23

Does God know you? This may seem like a funny question because most people in churches do not focus on such things, they focus on the  "Do you know Jesus?" Question. And though I agree I hope you know Jesus I think many times the point is fully missed in the church. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus speaks very clearly about Jesus needing to know you. "'Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

Jesus must know you in order for him to not send you away from Him at heaven's gates. Lot's of people will admit to knowing Jesus, but in order to get into heave Jesus must know you! Saying you know Jesus and even acting the part does not mean Jesus knows you and that my friends is the key to entering heaven.

Acting religious and following all the rules does not mean that Jesus knows you. Preaching and teaching and even as far as casting out demons in the his name does not mean he knows you. 

How do you know if Jesus know's you? Verse 21 explains it well that you will be doing the 'will of My Father in heaven.' Saying a washed up prayer to Jesus is not what get's you saved.  Only true repentance and surrender to Jesus asking him to come into your life and let him be the LORD of your life is the first step. This step allows God to truly enter your life only then can the Father in heaven reveal His will to you and only then can you truly follow the will of the Father in Heaven.

Too many times we focus on the if we know Jesus part, and yes I believe it is important to know Jesus, but we also need to make sure we focus on the does Jesus know us part. Our heavenly destination is given to us through our relationship with Jesus Christ and relationships are not suppose to be one sided Jesus needs to know you too. 

Doing the will of the Father does not always mean you have to be doing something spiritual or even be in a high position in the church or be noticed by men for your 'religiousness.' Actually in Jesus times most of these types of people were criticized by Jesus for their fakeness and he called them hypocrites  Doing the will of the Father will mean that you are doing what He wants for your life, not what you want for your life. It may not mean you are recognized for anything or it may mean you need to step out of your comfort zone and be putting yourself out there way more than you are. Only God can tell you what his will is for your life. Knowing His will allows you to know that Jesus know's you because if He knows you and has given you the will of the Father it also means you are surrendering yourself to the use of His glorious plan! And there is no better position in the world to be in than to be in the knowledge that you are living in the will of the Father in Heaven.