just keep swimming...

our pastor was speaking this morning on how everyone falls down...the important thing being that we continue to get back up.

he also said that we are tested during the times that we receive praise from men, and also during the times people are throwing rocks at our heads. the Lord revealed to him that if he succumbed to the praises of men on his way up in the world, he would be sucked into criticism from those very same people on his way back down. i'm paraphrasing of course, but the concept is the same. the key is not to be moved by either praise or criticism.

(please let me know if you've figured out how to effectively do this...)

i think we should kick all the pedestals down and realize that we all struggle with the same issues. different flavors maybe, but the same temptations. and we can either let them overcome us, or allow God to turn them into places of elevation into His presence.

we've got to get up and keep going. we were created for greatness...created to bring Him glory.

"just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...what do we do? we swim!" ~ dory, "finding nemo"

falling down

when i came downstairs this morning i noticed that one of the tulips in the vase in the kitchen was completely bent over, it's flower touching the table. the water level had dropped overnight, and this one tulip was completely out of the water so it was droopy. i immediately rushed to the sink to refill the vase and returned the flowers back to the table. i carefully picked the poor flower up and gently tucked it in with all its other companions for support.

that's when it hit me.

there's this scripture in the bible that says, "If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!...Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." ecclesiastes 4:10,12

i realized that this is how the body of Christ should be functioning. when one falls down, we're to pick them back up, make sure they're connected to the "water" of the Word, and embrace them until they're strong enough to stand up again. and that's what my beautiful tulip began to do...

stand tall.

productive

so after taking the kids to co-op classes today i went home, piddled around on the computer for a bit, then set my timer for one hour.

yep, i cleaned the bottom floor of the house. it was a righteous pit if i do say so...

then, i PAINTED! i've been wanting to paint for the past three weeks, but i've allowed other things to interrupt my creative flow. stupid life - always getting in the way.

becca says it looks like an angel. maddie says it looks like a crayfish. it's supposed to be a dove. hahah...truly beauty is in the eye of the beholder. oh well, i enjoyed doing it. not sure if i'm done yet, but just in case i went ahead and signed it.

it took me four tries!

my friend beth said i was channeling my inner-child today when i told her i used my fingers to paint. and yet, i keep buying paintbrushes for some reason. i guess i've always been told to be a "real" artist you need to use a brush.

whatever.