If I was in Sheridan right now I would be preparing to attend the events of the weekend, namely the rodeo parade which includes a pancake breakfast, bed races and grilled lunch. Then there is the rodeo and the street dancing! Rodeo week in Sheridan is a fun time, there are tourists galore and so much to do. People are generally in a more party frame of mind. Rodeo week marks the middle of summer for me. Even if I don't always attend all the events, I love the atmosphere of the week, and seeing friends from out of town.
This year however I am at home in Lynchburg. Right now I am praying about a job interview to work at a bookstore-right up my alley for the next year! Hopefully I will do well in the interview and be offered the job. I need it and I want this job, so it is in the Lord's hands.
The Real Paige Turner is in the editing process right now, and I am sufficiently satisfied with it I will send it off to a slew of literary agents to hopefully find one that will represent it to publishers and begin the publication process. This is when things can get discouraging. Finding an agent that will represent your book can take years and you can receive a box full of rejection letters. I am of course praying that it doesn't take years, merely months for me- so that I can get this book on shelves and let the Lord use it to minister to others and hopefully lead people to Him.
I'm not trying to publish this book to gain fame or millions (though I would love to be able to pay my parents back and maybe as a thank you send them to Australia for a vacation- I would pay for round trip tickets...I think...! No, no I would!). My desire for this book is to help other women see that life doesn't end when we are abused. Dealing with abuse is not easy or comfortable. A guy who takes out his anger, frustration, or just wants to exert power by physically or emotionally harming a woman is a monster. That said, we can overcome it and go on to have joyful and fulfilling lives. We don't ask to be abused, but we do have to take what happens and deal with it. Surviving is our choice. I want this book to show women that the hard road is the best road ultimately. Choosing to depend on the Lord is the best choice a person could ever make, regardless of their background.
I was have a chat a couple of days ago with another woman and we talked about how unworthy we feel to pray for ourselves. It is easy to pray for the people I love: my family, friends, church family, neighbors and former co-workers. It is harder for me to feel worthy to pray for myself. I know me, I know how sinful I am, how much I fail to live Biblically. Because I know me so well I know I am not worthy to talk to holy God and ask Him for anything.
For the first I think I finally understand that of course I'm not worthy. I'm a sinful human, but the story does not end there. I've been a Christian for most of my life, and since junior year of college I've been trying to follow Him and be the best Christian I can be. But even that struggle to be "all I can be" doesn't make me worthy. The only thing that makes it possible and ok for me to call on holy God is His Son, Jesus. I can approach the throne and ask for help on my behalf because Jesus died for me.
Here is the Christian story: God created the universe some time in the past. On the earth He created this paradise that makes Hawaii look blah. This paradise of a garden was called Eden. God placed the first 2 humans in Eden. Adam and Eve, one male and one female. These 2 people lived without sin and were thus worthy to walk and commune with God in Eden. God did not want robots, God is loving and doesn't need love but wants love in return. So in Eden God placed a single tree that grew good fruit. The garden was already full of a plethora of wonderful foods to eat. That is not what the special tree represented. The tree represented choice.
Everyday Adam and Eve had the choice: would they keep on eating the myraid of wonderful things that were always within reach, or would they go to the one tree that God had said "don't eat this"? Well for a long time (how long is irrelevent) Adam and Eve chose to obey God. It wasn't a hard choice at all.
Well in comes Satan. Satan was originally a high angel in Heaven, till He got the bright idea that he was better than God and could replace God. Well they only way a person can do that, is if they are God, and Satan was not God. Satan is a politician and he convinced numerous fellow angels to side with him and mount an attack to dethrone God. Suffice it to say the attack failed miserably. Not only did Satan and his minions fail, but they were cast out of Heaven and into Hell for eternity. Hell was to be their new home. But as non earth beings they have the ability to roam earth for now. In the future that will not be the case. Well, misery loves company and Hell is the ultimate in miserable, having his fellow fallen angels is not enough for Satan, he wants to take as many humans as possible.
So Satan sees a chance in the Garden to do just that. He comes to Eve one day and starts a conversation. He plays on Eve's nature and her curiosity. He makes the choice tree sound so good that it is irresistable. Adam is there (what warm blooded male would be far from his gorgeous and naked bride?) and does nothing to remind Eve what God has said. Eve makes the choice to give in and grabs a piece of choice tree fruit. She eats and it is good, she shares with her husband and he too enjoys it. Of course it was good, for all that God creates is good.
Well now God sees (He knew it would happen) that Adam and Eve chose to disobey Him. They gave into the master politician. Things had to change. God must be obeyed, He is holy and the people that created in His image must also be holy and obedient. Many consequences came from giving in to choice.
Does this make God mean or somehow evil? No I think that it shows His love even more. Read on.
First of all the people were cast out of Eden. No longer would the earth be full services for humans, we now have to work to get what we want from her. Second came pain and sorrow. As Newton discovered "everything has an equal and opposite reaction". It always did, even in Eden, but before the fruit from the choice tree, the actions produced good reactions.
Then of course came death. Not right away, but it entered the picture. Death was the verdict for all people, because now that we had choices to make, we all make bad ones and the wages of the bad choices or sin is death. No ifs ands or buts. Across the board. If you sin you are condemned to death.
Then, worse of all came a sever in the relationship with God. No longer are we perfect creatures that can walk and talk with God and look upon Him. We are sinful creatures. For thousands of years blood sacrifices of animals were used to partially restore our relationship with the Creator. But God saw that it wasn't good. Something had to be done that would once and for all be a sacrifice. Well, the only thing perfect enough to mend the broken relationship was a perfect human sacrificing Himself. Well, humans aren't perfect. Only God is perfect, so He came down in the form of a human (called kenosis) and lived perfectly and when He was about 33 years old Jesus was turned over to the government: he was tortured, abandoned and crucified.
Jesus was fully God and fully man. Because He was God in human form, His willing death was the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus died so that all of us have choice again. No longer are we slaves to sin and bound for Hell. Adam and Eve chose to go against God. But because Jesus willing died and rose from death and defeated the death, we now can chose Heaven. Our path from birth is Hell, but God does not want any one to go to Hell, so we now have the choice of Heaven. All we have to do is believe in Jesus' sacrifice and chose to love and serve Him.
Jesus is a kind person to serve. He is loving. He wants us. He is a wonderful God to serve. He wants to make our lives easier. He was here, He experienced life and now He is offering not only Heaven but to help us through this life.
Chosing Him does not automatically take away our bent to sin. We still have to go through this life and all the ups and down. And we still die, but it is what happens at death that matters. If we chose Christ than we KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that no matter what we are going to Heaven. Our spot is reserved. If we chose to not accept Christ's gift than we know that no matter what we are going to Hell. Our spot is reserved.
Our lives here need to reflect our choice. If we chose Christ than we should live as ambassadors of Him and do everything we can to show others how wonderful the choice is. Life is not going to be easy, but it is wonderful if we let it, and if we let Him guide us. God delights in giving His children the desires of our hearts. God is a doting Father and He will be there along the way. He may not calm the storm, but He will calm us during the storm.
History bears the evidence that Christians are not perfect people. We screw up just as much as others do. We get our facts wrong, and sometimes terribly wrong. The crusades, the witch trials, slavery all those events show that Christians are not perfect people. Christians may not be perfect, but they are forgiven. As Christians we should strive to live Biblical lives and be good ambassadors so that others will look at us and want what we have, and then we share it. The more we share Christ and His love with others the more we have to share!
Christianity is not a religion, it is a way of life, it is the one true account of what life is like from before the world began to a time in the future when there will be a new earth. Christianity is not a bunch of "do this" or "don't do that" and earn your way to paradise. Christianity is about a relationship with God. We live a certain to bear out our faith and love. We are not saved by works, but we do works to show our salvation. The works are the evidence.
How comforting to know that I'm saved no matter what! That is what Christianity is all about. None of us are worthy on own to approach God, but because of Christ we get to anyway. Because of Christ I can pray about anything and everything for others as well as myself. How marvelous!
Sorry that this is so long today, but I just had to get all my thoughts out there! I love y'all. Happy Thursday!
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