Blog 4: Choosing the Purpose of Your Home

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Prov. 14:1

You live in a house, apartment or duplex. It might be huge. It might be small. You may live alone or you share it with many. But to each and every one of us that place is our home.

So what is the purpose of a home?
Think about it for a minute and write down your answers somewhere.

Now I want to know what purpose is your house serving.

Try to be honest when answering that question.

There are a couple of purposes that are obvious: a place to eat and a place to sleep. But I think there are other purposes of the home that we have forgotten or have such a mess in our homes we cannot let the home serve its purpose.

1. A place of worship

2. A place of refuge for ourselves and for others

3. A place of teaching

4. A place to serve

You might be thinking that sounds like a church. I would have to agree it does, but I think it still is the purpose of the home. Please open your mind for a minute and listen.

1. A place of worship: Whether you live alone or have a family, we should be coming before the Lord in prayer and in song. We should praise him when we sit to eat, when we rise, when we lay down, when we feel the breeze or raindrop in the backyard, and even when we hear our noisy healthy kids run through the house.

"I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips." Psalm 34:1

2. A place of refuge: After a long day, our home should be a place we can take a break from the world. It should be a place others know they can come when they are hurting.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

3. A place of teaching: If you are a parent listen carefully, your home is the most important place in your child's learning. I am not talking academically or athletically. I am talking about the spiritual training. It is to start in the home. If you are not a parent, it may be learning with your spouse, roommate or even a neighbor that is watching.

"Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:7

4. A place to serve: We should be serving one another in our homes. We should be helping one another not waiting on someone else. We may not physically wash each other's feet, but we should be willing to serve our family members or roommate in the way needed.

We will get into each one of these in days to come, but for now ask, are the purposes of my home a choice? Have I chosen the right purposes for my home? Can my home even have a purpose because I have chosen to let it be such a mess? Are my choices building my house up or tearing it down? Have my choices put more of the world than of God in my home?

I am so ready to dive into all of the discussions, but I will have to wait. I want you to reflect on the choices you have been making for your home. I want you to go before God and ask Him to show you the choices you have made that negatively and positively impact your home. Most importantly, I want you to praise Him for your home. We are so blessed to live in places that have four walls, a floor, and a roof over our heads. So many do not even have that privilege.

I look forward to the days ahead and the journey we will take together. Please choose to join me on this journey as I learn with you and you with me.

Blog #3: Choice: Physically Prepared or Physically Drained

*This study is about physical health. But it is not a focus on your weight.

If you live in Texas, you know that it is hot in August and high school boys are starting long football practices in this heat. We have seen many have heat strokes and sadly too many result in death. Guidelines are starting to be in place to hopefully prevent this from happening, but experts are worried that it will still happen. The problem is not just the heat. It is the fact that these high school kids take the summer off and then come back to long and difficult practices in 100 degree weather. Their bodies are not physically ready to handle both the heat and practice. They need to be better physically prepared.

Your five year old has a specific bed time of 8 p.m. Company comes in town for a few days and your child does not get to bed until after 9 p.m. Sometimes it is almost 10. After a couple of days of less sleep, your sweet child has become Godzilla destroying anything and everything in his/her path. And you can forget about taking your child to church on Sunday mornings because they are so tired.

Have you been choosing not to be physically ready for day to day life and any challenges that come your way? Have you been choosing not to get the enough rest and can be very irritable?

Physical Health Choice: Will I choose to exercise regularly so I will have the endurance for today and the next challenge? Will I choose to get the rest I need so I do not go Godzilla on my family and friends?

Are you thinking about telling me that you have tried? Admit it, you just did. Are you thinking of all your excuses why you haven't? I am a mother of four and the wife of a quadriplegic. Yes, I know there are times when you have to take care of a sick kid or a newborn. I have slept on a hospital cot for days at a time when my husband is in the hospital. I have been up all night with a friend who is facing a crisis. There are times when sleep in not an option. But because there will be times of illness and emergencies, you have to choose to take care of your physical health. It is something else we cannot "try" to do. We must and have to choose to exercise and get the rest we need so we will be ready to serve God and alert to trials and temptations.

So, how do you stop trying and choose to exercise and get the rest you need? It is a change of mind. Our only reason for exercise cannot be because we want to look better. Think about the show "The Biggest Loser." Every contestant is tired of the way they look, but most of them have another motivation. It is usually health and sometimes that they want to be healthier so they can be a better parent. As believers in Christ we also have another reason.

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

1 Corinthians 6:20

Whether you are 100lbs or 200lbs, you need exercise to be healthy, and you need to be healthy so you will have endurance for the race God has chosen for you. It may be endurance to raise your children. It may be endurance to travel to a nation in poverty. It may be endurance to teach and love a classroom of children. It may be endurance to care for a terminally ill family member. It may be endurance to work a demanding job and be a loving spouse. If we are not taking care of our physical health by exercising on a consistent basis, we are going to be like a high school football player on the first day of practice in 105 degree weather. We are going to have severe exhaustion because the pressure and heat wear us down too quickly.

Getting enough rest is another area we need to have a change of mind. We usually get too little sleep until we cannot go any longer and then we crash. But just like that three year old child's exhaustion affects you, your sleep deprivation affects others, too. You know that the more tired you are the less patient you become, the less productive you become, the less kindness you may show, the less likely you are to spend time with God. Your choice not to get enough rest leads into many more bad choices. And will those choices reflect...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." Galatians 5:22-23

In the last blog, we admitted that we must choose God; it is not option. We must choose to come before Him every day so we can face what comes our way and answer God when He calls. But if we choose to survive on little sleep, we lose focus and that could mean we lose focus of God. If we let our bodies become weak and fragile, our health could hinder us.

We must choose God. We must choose to exercise and get rest. Those couple of choices will start affecting so many more. You get a full night's sleep, you wake up refreshed and able to focus on God first thing. You go for a walk or run and use that time to focus on God, worship God or enjoy time with a loved one. And then you are refueled and re- energized both spiritually and physically. You are getting strength and endurance from God and your body will gain strength and endurance. Can you imagine how that will impact other choices and those around us? Do you realize the burden and stress that will be gone because you have given it to God and worked it out in your exercise. Are you getting the difference these choices can make? I know you want it. But don't say you will try, say I WILL CHOOSE.

Please spend the weekend really looking at the choices you have been making and how they have affected your walk God and your physical health. Ask yourself how a change in choice will change your day? Next week we will look at our homes and get into the details and the how to of spiritual, physical and home choices.

Blog 2: Reality #1: You will make a choice, what will be your first choice?

"Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:15-17

Reality #1 is that we are making choices everyday whether we acknowledge that fact or not.


This is not breaking news but it is the most important choice in your day: You must choose to start your day with God. Now stop griping about the kids wanting breakfast and you don't have time for a bible study in the morning. I am not talking about whether your in depth study time is first thing, I am talking about putting your focus on God, praising Him for a new day, lifting your burdens to Him, preparing yourself for the trials and temptations that lay ahead.

Yes, I hear you saying that you have tried, but .... You cannot say you will try. Remember, it is "what will I choose?" Today you choose to go to work even if you wanted to stay home. You choose to feed your kids even though you know they will gripe about what you feed them. You choose to brush your teeth so you will not offend anyone with your breath. You choose those things because you know they are not an option. If you keep choosing not to go to work, you lose your job. If you keep choosing not to feed your kids, they might attack you or your kitchen. If you keep choosing not to brush your teeth, well let's say your friends will only talk to you on facebook. If you keep choosing not to put God first, you will...I think you can finish that statement.

Your first choice of the day is to talk to God. It is a choice, but is it an option? Will you be tempted today? Will there be opportunity to stumble or stay on path? Will there be a trial?

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Is it an option? No. We have to choose to start our day with God. We need to humble ourselves before Him so we remember we need Him. We need to shout out His names and remember who He is. We need to praise God for who He is and what He has done so we will remember what He can and will do. We need to clothe ourselves with the Armor of God so we will be prepared for the battles. We need to pray for our eyes to see others the way Christ sees them so we may see their needs. We need to pray for our ears to listen not only to God but to others calling out for help. We need to pray for our mouths to speak only in truth and in love. We need to pray for our hands so that they may serve. We need to pray for our feet so they are ready to go when called.

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when (notice it is when not if) the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." Ephesians 6:13-18a

"It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I will sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts."

Psalm 92:1-6

Choose to call out to God first. Choose to sing His praises first thing in the morning. Instead of the news or cartoons, play worship music or worship dvd for kids. (Hillsong Kids DVDs are only $15 and are great for the kids but also has the music you will enjoy and know.) Read a Psalm to start your day and see how that choice affects your other choices throughout the day. Notice how you hold your tongue better. Have more patience in the grocery line because a worship song is stuck in your head. Not yell at the car that cuts you off, but you thank God for His protection instead. Your first choice will affect many, so what will you choose? And remember it is as much of an option as it is to brush your teeth.

Now, what if you make the choice to start your day with God, but you still see no difference? You might want to look at your heart. If you make this something you just check off your list then you will not reap the benefits. You can't rush through it. You can't put a time frame on it. You may have to continue talking to and praising God while you get ready, fix breakfast, drive to work. And time with God is not just giving Him a list of our needs. We must humble ourselves, praise Him for who He is and give ourselves to Him each day.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Matthew 16:24

Now stop trying and choose to call on God. Put a note that says "What will I choose?" on your bed, on your bathroom mirror, on the TV or remote that you usually turn on, or on the toilet paper roll. Put it anywhere that will remind you of your first choice.

Blog 1:Tired of Trying To Stop The Mess N' Stress

As kids we loved to spin around in office chairs. We would see how fast we could spin and for how long. It was free entertainment. But as an adult have you tried to do the same thing? If you have, you either did not last very long or fell over in your chair. You realized it was not a good idea to spin in circles anymore and probably have not tried it again. So why as adults do we let our lives keep spinning out of control when we know it is going to make us sick and eventually fall over? I am tired of my life spinning in circles and my home looking like someone was spinning it in circles. It is time for a change and that change is a change of mind.
Please join me for a journey that will take us from "I will try" to "I will choose." We can no longer say I will try to spend time with God, I will try to exercise, I will try to lose weight, I will try to take better care of my home. Those words have become a crutch, a false sense of accomplishment. As long as we say, "I am trying," we don't feel as bad for not picking up the Bible or not exercising. We fool ourselves into feeling okay because we wanted to do the right thing.

Reality #1 is that we are making choices everyday whether we acknowledge that fact or not. We choose what we will do first thing in the morning: spend time in prayer or check on the latest headlines or maybe just go straight into the day. But that is just one choice, right? So if we choose anything but starting our day with God, it is okay because I tried or I will try to get to it later. But how many other choices will be affected that day because I chose not to pray. For the whole month, you have chosen not to exercise. You always feel tired and maybe depressed. Would choosing to exercise help? You choose not to put up the laundry again. The next day, you cannot find the matching top and your day begins stressed. Our choices are crucial and if we can change our mind set from "I will try" to "I will choose" or "What will I choose" then we become much more aware of our choices.

Reality #2 is the place you are in your life is a result of the choices you have made. Now I know you are already arguing with me on this one. Yes there are some things that happen to us that we do not choose. You did not choose to lose a loved one, to have cancer, for a loved one to have lifetime illness, to be physically abused, to be raped, to lose your job suddenly, to lose your savings in the stock market, for your child to rebel. None of us choose any of those things in our lives, but we did choose our response and some of our choices before a tragedy or event influence how we get through them. And I hope you have made the choice to have Christ as the Lord of your life. There is no other choice more important. If you haven't please email me and let me share with you or talk to a friend or find a local church. If you have, I am rejoicing with you in that choice. But now you are dealing maybe with choices prior to that decision or choices after that did not honor that decision. Over the next several blogs, we will be looking at those choices.

Reality #3 is that our choices affect others around us. It may be friends, a spouse, children, parents, coworkers or sometimes even a stranger. Our choices in our spiritual life, in our physical health and in our home influence many. It may be someone seeing you choose something ungodly. It may be you losing your temper because of other choices that day. It may be that your health is so poor because of your choices, you cannot help anyone else. It may be influencing a child or a friend to make the same choice as you. We are called to be like Christ, to be a light in this world. Are our choices reflecting it?

Are you ready to admit your little choices and your big choices impact everything you do and others around you? Are ready to stop saying "I will try" and saying "What will I choose?" Are you tired of your life being a little or big mess and all the stress? I hope you say yes and join me on this journey as we become aware of our choices and start making better ones? Let's not choose more mess in our lives. Let's not choose to add to the stress in our lives. Let's choose Christ. Let's choose our health. Let's choose to make our home a place of shelter and rest.

My prayer for you Colossians 1:9-14