which way to go?

Love this song by Third Day. Sometimes we all feel like we need some help, guidance, understanding and this song is like opening up to God and having your heart wide open to have Him 'show me what to do'.

bad experience = bad behavior?

One thing I've learned about life is that it is full of experiences, both good and bad. And although we would all desire to have good experiences throughout life- it just doesn't happen that way. Just as good things happen to good people, bad things happen to good people. But why is it that when people have bad experiences in their lives they sometimes resort to bad behavior or use that experience as an excuse for their bad behavior [more often than using a good experience for good behavior]?

Let's say for example something bad happened to a friend of yours (or even you) in a church setting. That bad experience causes your friend to reevaluate their lives and you and that friend distanced yourselves from the church and begin to act in a way that is contrary to your beliefs and values.

But just because something bad happened in the church, doesn't mean that God is no longer God and living your life for Him becomes irrelevant. The church is a great place to go to so that we can learn the ways, thinking and lifestyle of a godly person. Yet we forget that the church is filled with people, and people aren't perfect. As a matter of fact the church contains imperfect people who need Jesus just as much as you do.

I've heard people tell of experiences when they've been hurt by people in church or life in general. But don't let being hurt by certain people be the reason you turn away from God or stay out of church. God didn't hurt you those particular people did. Separate yourself from those particular people to avoid the same situation but not God. God still has what you need and what you're looking for so pull Him close and allow Him to help you heal.

Your bad experience could be anything. Some people never knew who their mom or dad was but that's not a reason to not be a mom or dad to your child. Make the choice to be the complete opposite of the bad situation you experienced and make a notable difference in your life and others around you. God is a God to the fatherless so if that's your experience let Him be the example that you need.

Let's not sell ourselves short. We have the power to choose and the power to choose gives us the ability to choose to do better.

Put a ring on it

Zoe (my daughter) loves this song. I'm not sure if she really loves the song or just the beat and the choreography (she will break into dance if she hears the song, thank you Aunties). I like the song because Beyonce is telling the guy if you like it (her) then marry her. More so than that, I think I love to see young men who are married...I know this is random but I have to say it.

More than anything it gives me hope that there are some young men who can discipline themselves to be with one woman, the "wife of their youth". Self control is probably the most consistent reason given as to why most guys aren't married (consistent but not necessarily legitimate). The myth that you have to sow your wild oats first is just that a myth. Its an excuse to be wild and run around without having to be accountable to anyone.

In essence I say kudos to the men who can bypass societal standards to be the man God has called him to be and find his God given wife and be married.

And kudos to the men who aren't married yet but are in search of their wife and also the men who are being the best father that they can be to their kids.

KUDOS TO YOU.

Thought of the Day

I was watching the Bille Jean video by Michael Jackson and of course as I watch anything that concerns Michael I always have to reminisce of the days of old when my sisters and I used to perform his choreography in our living room.

And now that I'm older I'm actually processing much more of his lyrics. "And be careful what you do/ cause a lie becomes the truth" is one of the lyrics within Billie Jean and it had me thinking of a lot of different things that are going on within our society. People take pictures a lot more than before and social networking sites are notorious for documenting someones life with those pictures. The only problem is what if the pictures/comments/ statuses depict a different type of person that who you really are? Although we shouldn't thrive on the thoughts of others or live our lives to please others; peoples perception of us is important and can either hinder us or help us along our path.

Those lyrics stick out to me because I know many of my friends on facebook, myspace, etc and just based on what I see on there, I wouldn't want to know who that person is. Their online persona is completely different from their real life persona. Not being jugdemental just stating the truth. And that saddens me.

The thought of the day is this be careful what you put out on the net, what comes out of your mouth, how you carry yourself because you don't want a lie to be the truth others know about you.