My thoughts...

Hey Everyone,

I just recently spent 9 days in the hospital psych ward. I've been diagnosed as bipolar and had a very high episode. I am now on Lithium to stabilize my moods. I haven't really suffered the low, so today when I felt down and depressed, it was really tough for me. It is much nicer being high and happy all the time. The trouble with high and happy is that you can't relate to those who are depressed. I thank the Lord for giving me a better understanding of those who suffer depression and mental illness. My heart has grown three sizes bigger through this experience. All I want is to have the heart of Christ for all those around me. I just didn't expect it to happen through these means. God knows what he is doing and I rejoice even in the bad times. May His Kingdom come and His Will be done in my life and in the lives of all those who seek His face.

Love,
Selena

THE GIFT OF HOLY HATRED
by Chip Brogden

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/hate.html

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"I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is
right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate"
(Romans 7:15).

There comes a day when we are so sick of our own way that we beg God
to show us another way. Paul says the thing he wants to do he does
not do, and the thing he hates is what he finds himself doing. We may
think the solution is to focus on the problem, to stop doing the
thing we hate, to clean up our act. But we eventually discover, like
Paul, that the real problem is not what we DO, but what we ARE. We
can confess the same sins over and over again, or we can take up the
Cross and die to them all. The first approach deals with sins
committed, while the second approach deals with the sinner.

Which do you think is more effective? Well, if the one who sins is
dead then the issue of continued sinning becomes irrelevant. Hating
sin is good; hating Self is better, and far more effective. For the
strength of Sin is Self. If you take the ax to the root of a bad
tree, then it will stop producing bad fruit, and the issue is settled
once and for all. If Self is denied then Sin becomes superfluous, and
the problem of Evil is solved.

Our Daily Bread


We leave fingerprints on doorknobs, on books, on walls, on keyboards. Each person’s fingerprints are unique, so we leave our identity on everything we touch. Some supermarkets are even testing a technology that allows customers to pay by fingerprint. Each customer’s unique print and bank account number are kept on file so that the only thing needed to pay a bill is a scan of their finger.

A woman in the early church left another kind of print—a “heartprint.” Dorcas touched many people’s lives through her unique gift of sewing and giving away garments. She’s described as “full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36). We too are to be “zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). We each have a unique heartprint that can touch another.

An unknown author wrote this prayer about encouraging others: “O God, wherever I go today, help me leave heartprints! Heartprints of compassion, understanding, and love. Heartprints of kindness and genuine concern. May my heart touch a lonely neighbor or runaway daughter or anxious mother or even an aged grandfather. Send me out today to leave heartprints. And if someone should say, ‘I felt your touch,’ may that one sense Your love touching through me.”

Will you make this your prayer today? —Anne Cetas

Just what do Christians look like?
What sets their lives apart?
They’re ordinary people
Who love God from the heart. —D. De Haan

People with a heart for God have a heart for people.

November 3, 2006
Getting Even


LISTEN TO ODB RADIO: MP3
READ: Ephesians 4:25–5:1
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32


About this cover
When we or someone we love has been hurt, thoughts of revenge may dominate our minds. But we won’t ever be able to “get even.” Dr. Lewis Smedes, a professor of theology, wrote extensively about forgiveness in Forgive and Forget, saying: “Revenge never evens the score, for alienated people never keep score of wrongs by the same mathematics. Forgiveness is the only way to stop the cycle of unfair pain turning in your memory.”

These insights help us understand why Paul wrote with urgency: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger . . . be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, . . . forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31-32). Paul knew that a spirit of forgiveness was essential for the Ephesians’ spiritual survival. His appeal was based on God’s forgiveness of them.

Smedes said that forgiveness is not forgetting, excusing, or smoothing things over. Instead, forgiving breaks the cycle of revenge and “creates a new possibility of fairness by releasing us from the unfair past. Forgiving is love’s toughest work, and love’s biggest risk. To forgive is to dance to the beat of God’s forgiving heart. It is to ride the crest of love’s strongest wave. To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” —David C. McCasland

Jesus came our debt to pay,
Saved our soul in grace one day,
So in love we all should live,
Ready always to forgive. —Bosch

Revenge imprisons us; forgiveness sets us free.

The boys went to two parties last night. Logan was Luke Skywalker and Liam was Anakin Skywalker. The boys had a great time and so did Mom and Pop. Here are a few pictures.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04935.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04961.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04958.jpg

Saturday was full of fun. We played in the leaves, carved pumpkins, pressed cider, and had dinner at our friend's house. Here are a few pictures from the day.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04872.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04900.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/slnobbs/DSC04902.jpg

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

We had a fun time at the corn maze/pumpkin patch on Friday. Enjoy the pictures!

The Value of Wisdom

Proverbs 2:1-5

1 My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her(wisdom) as silver,
And search for her(wisdom) as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.