The Atlanta Examiner

Just recently, at the end of 2008, I was laid off from the non-profit I worked for. I was a bit sad because I had been with the organization for 5 years. I also had a baby during that time, so I was really okay with leaving and being at home for awhile with my little one.

As the new year came and went, I realized that it was time for me to pursue my dream of being a writer. I wasn't sure how to do that at first, so I launched this blog with the plan to work on ideas and articles and post them here. I would then see if I could get them published elsewhere so I could start working as a freelance writer. 

I knew that if I didn't start actually writing, I would never be a writer. 

So, I am really excited to share that I have landed my first writing job! I will be working with The Atlanta Examiner as their Christian Living Examiner. I will be writing at least three articles a week about christian living. My first article is already up, so I hope you will check it out as well as my other work in the future as I write for them week in and week out. 

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to stop by this blog and read my work. And thank you in advance for reading my work with The Atlanta Examiner. I appreciate your support, feedback, and comments so much.

Walking In The Ways Of God

As iron cast into fire loses its rust and becomes glowing white, so he who turns completely to God is stripped of his sluggishness and changed into a new man. When a man begins to grow lax, he fears a little toil and welcomes external comfort, but when he begins perfectly to conquer himself and to walk bravely in the ways of God, then he thinks those things less difficult which he thought so hard before.

The Imitation Of Christ, Thomas A Kempis

Sorry Again!

I have been laid out by strep throat. My head might explode too. Posts will resume next week. Have a great holiday weekend!

Sorry!

I apologize for the lack of posts this week. We had a bit of a medical scare, which you can read about here. Posting will resume and be more regular.

Love Through Discipline

I should look within and remember how wonderfully He has dealt with me. The knowledge that God has loved me beyond all limits will compel me to go into the world to love others in the same way. I may get irritated because I have to live with an unusually difficult person. But just think how disagreeable I have been with God! Am I prepared to be identified so closely with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness will be continually poured out though me? Neither natural love nor God's divine love will remain and grow in me unless it is nurtured. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained through discipline.

My Utmost For His Highest, May 11

Affection For God

As Mother's Day was coming to a close last Sunday, we went to our church's evening worship service. It is a service I have really grown to love, because the crowd is smaller, the nursery is practically empty, the band is not quite so loud, and I feel like I can get myself to a place where I can worship the Lord.

The band leader prayed at the end of the set, and one thing he said really caught my attention. He said, "God, we give you our love, our faith, and our affection. Amen."

His use of the word affection has really made me think this week about how I feel toward God.

There are the standard ways we, as Christians, feel about God or at least are supposed to feel toward God. We most likely feel love and gratitude and thankfulness toward God and all He has done for us through Jesus Christ. We probably also feel some type of reverence for our Creator as the Sovereign God of the universe who controls all the details of our lives.

But affection? Are we supposed to feel affection for God? The Great Judge who will one day separate the wheat from the chaff? If we love God isn't that enough?

Maybe it is. But affection is different than love. Affection is a fondness and a sincere liking of someone or something for who they are.

I have lots of affection in my heart for my dog, who is always happy to see me. I have affection for my child's schoolmates who are all so little and chubby and huggable.

Often affection and love go hand in hand. In addition to feeling affection for my faithful dog, I also love her. The same is true for my family and most of the people I consider my friends. I love them and have a great deal of affection for them. I like who they are and enjoy spending time with them.

But sometimes there is affection without love. Truthfully, I don't really feel great love for all my daughters friends because I simply do not know them very well. They are all so cute and sweet, but overpowering love is not a feeling I have towards them.

Other times, we feel love but no affection for some of the people. Maybe it is certain family members or friends where the relationships have soured and are no longer working. We love these people, and would never want anything bad or tragic to happen to them, but we do not feel much if any affection.

As it relates to my relationship with God, there is no doubt that I love Him. I am grateful for all He has done for me, and have given my life over to serve Him because I love Him.

But do I have affection for God? Do I like Him for who He is as He is describes in the Bible. Am I fond of Him, His character, and therefore want to spend more time with Him and build a better relationship, like I do with other humans that I am fond of?

I can look back and see periods in my life when I had no affection for God at all. For many months following my mother's sudden death, I was not fond of God and did not like Him. I was mad at Him and unable to talk, listen or pray to Him. My anger sometimes morphed into bitterness so that I could not even open my mouth to sing at church.

That was many years ago, and God healed my heart of the pain left by the loss of my mother. I love Him still, but do I have affection for Him?

I do not have the answers yet. But as I search my heart, I realize now that having affection for God in my heart is something I need to pray for. I hope and pray that as I grow in my relationship with God that He would increase not only my love but also my affection for Him. And out of that affection grows a desire to spend more time with Him, listen to Him, and obey Him so that one day my life would be hidden with Christ in God.

Deny Thyself

To many the saying, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow Me," (Matt 16:24) seems hard, but it will be much harder to hear that final word: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." (Matt 25:41) Those who hear the word of the cross and follow it willingly now, need not fear that they will hear of eternal damnation on the day of judgement. This sign of the cross will be in the heavens when the Lord comes to judge. Then all the servants of the cross, who during life made themselves one with the Crucified, will draw near with great trust to Christ, the judge.

The Imitation Of Christ, Thomas A Kempis

The Five Silent Years of Corrie Ten Boom

The quotes from Friday and Monday made me think of a good book I read a long time ago, The Five Silent Years Of Corrie Ten Boom. I am a little surprised that it is still in print, because it is a fairly old book. 

It chronicles the end of Corrie's life when she had been disabled by a stroke and yet how she still had a powerful ministry even though she was limited physically and was unable to communicate verbally. If you are ever feeling discouraged or down about your circumstances and not sure where God is leading you, just know that God knows you inside and out and knows what is best for you. It may not make sense, but He is still there, leading you and loving you, working behind the scenes in ways you cannot even imagine. He has a plan for each of our lives, and "though He slay me, I will trust in Him."

*If you have never read The Hiding Place which is Corrie Ten Boom's autobiography about her family hiding Jews in their home from the Nazis and then her imprisonment in several concentration camps, you are missing out. It is an awesome book.

Perseverance

Perseverance means more than endurance - more than simply holding on until the end. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain; and every once in awhile the saint says, "I can't take it any more." Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God's hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." (Job 13:15)

My Utmost For His Highest, May 8

Shining and Burning

Shining is always costly. Light comes only at the cost of that which it produces. An unlit candle does no shining. Burning must come before shining. We cannot be of great use to others without cost to ourselves. Burning suggests suffering. We shrink from pain.

We are apt to feel that we are doing the greatest good in the world when we are strong, and able for active duty, and when the heart and hands are full of kindly service.

When we are consumed with pain; when our activities have been dropped, we feel that we are no longer of use, that we are not doing anything.

But, if we are patient and submissive, it is almost certain that we are a greater blessing to the world in our time of suffering and pain than we were in the days when we through we were doing the most of our work. We are burning now, and shining because we are burning.

Steams In The Desert, March 26

Poverty Of Spirit

To practice poverty of spirit calls us not to take offense or be supersensitive to criticism. The majority of hurts in our lives, the endless massaging of the latest bruise to our wounded ego, feelings of anger, grudges, resentment and bitterness come from our refusal to embrace our abject poverty, our obsession with our rights, our need for esteem in the eyes of others. If I follow the counsel of Jesus and take the last place, I won't be shocked when others put me there too.

The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, Brennan Manning

In God's Underground

I just finished reading In God's Underground, by Richard Wurmbrand. My friend Mary Wills recommended it to me, and it was a good read. The book is about a pastor in Romania around the 1940's-1960's who is imprisoned under the new Communist regime for not pledging allegiance to the state and for preaching about Christ. He was imprisoned for 15 of the 20 years the book covers. 

Mr. Wurmbrand suffered a great deal of torture, and describes what a mess the Communist system is. But he persevered and used his time in prison to witness to other inmates, particularly the communists who were atheists. There is a good bit of practical advice, common sense, and helpful apologetics in the book, and it is a great story. I recommend reading it.

Growth In Grace

Growth in grace is something that is required of us all... Growth in grace cannot be measured in the way that physical growth can, but it can be and often will be tested. Whether we have been growing or not will be revealed by our response to times of crisis and unexpected pressure. The more we have grown, the steadier we shall stand, and the more resolutely we shall obey.

Growth in grace does not take place at the same speed in every life, nor produce the same experiences, because each of us is different. However, the goal is the same for us all - that we shall bear the full fruit of the Spirit in our lives and become fully like our Master.

In God's Presence, April 11

More Compassionate Consumerism

To continue the discussion about compassionate consumerism, my dear friend Laurie turned me on to a fair trade website, Trade As One, that is all about compassionate comsumerism. Check it out because they have some cool stuff.

Compassionate Consumerism

I have been thinking lately about compassionate consumerism. Don't confuse that with compassionate conservatism. Two totally separate things there.

Compassionate consumerism is the idea that it is possible to consume and purchase items in a way that is sensitive and compassionate towards the people who actually make the products.

Honestly, this is not a topic that I have dwelt upon much before. I live in America and in a culture that encourages consumerism. Why is that? Because if we continually buy a product then more of it will need to be produced which will require more workers and therefore more jobs will be created, etc. We are encouraged to earn earn earn so we can buy buy buy because that leads to more jobs. When the economy is down, the government sends "stimulus" checks so we can go out and purchase more stuff. Our whole economic system is built around people having purchasing power.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a consumer just like most everyone else. I enjoy shopping and spending money on things I like and enjoy. I believe capitalism is the best possibly economic system because it has lifted more people out of poverty and provided more prosperity than any other system in the history of the world. It is not a perfect system, but it is in my opinion the best choice around.

But maybe instead of purchasing items just for the sake of keeping the system going we could take a step back and really think about how we are using our money. Our money is valuable. It represents our hard work and our time away from our families. Money provides the things we need to survive and live and enjoy life. And money is something billions of people in this world do not have much of. Many of us enjoy having an adequate amount of money or even an excess amount of money, while others have so little money they cannot afford to eat.

So with that in mind, what if we were a little more thoughtful about our spending? What if we looked for small ways in which we could make the money we spend every day go farther so it benefits more people than just ourselves?

One small attempt I have made this year is to try and purchase all of my gifts for other people at charity events. I attended a school charity event last night and looked for items to give to others for birthdays and Christmas. The check I wrote was partly tax-deductible, part of the proceeds benefited the school, and the seller of the item still made money. It was a win/win situation for everyone involved. Instead of just going to a store and buying jewelry, the money I spent went a little further and also helping the school.

What are things that we need on a regular basis, like coffee or other food items, that we could buy from a company that puts part of their revenues back into the development of the community where their product is harvested?

What if we skipped one lunch a week, which would normally cost us $5-10, or gave up one Starbucks coffee a week, and used that money to support a child ($35/month) which would provide them food, water, education, and community through an organization like Compassion International or World Vision?

These are just some initial ideas to help get you thinking and jump started. It is easy to make small changes in our budgets and in our purchasing habits so that our money goes a little bit father. Together we really can make a difference in the lives of people who need help through compassionate consumerism.


Below will be a list in progress of companies and products that benefit those in need. Please let me know of any you have discovered that should be on this list...

Trade As One Trade As One allows you to give unique, high-quality gifts to family and friends— while giving hope and income to the poor. Through gifts and everyday purchases, you can use your spending power to make the world more fair. That's what it means to trade as one.

Toms Shoes One For One. Buy one pair of shoes and Toms gives a pair away to a child in need. Their goal for 2009 is to give away 300,000 pairs of shoes. These would make great baby gifts, or children's birthday gifts.

Gap Product Red A division of The Gap in which half of the proceeds go to fight the AIDS Crisis in Africa. The clothes are really comfortable and durable (I have two shirts) and great for working out or casual wear.

Gobena Coffee Great gourmet coffee, delivered to your door, and all of the profits are reinvested into the lives of orphans as the company builds group homes for Ethiopian children. We all drink coffee, why not buy it from a company that will help children in need?

Saint's Coffee A small batch, micro-roaster offering fresh, fragrant, and organic coffees. One third of net profits from every sale are invested into organizations helping children.