Freedom in Christ

How to make a difference

while we are all scratching our heads looking for our purpose in life...I came across a harrowing list of shelters in our state. Each shelter had a list of those housed... My heart grew heavy as I looked at the long list of shelters for children, abused women, men with substance abuse problems, people suffering from AIDS illness and physical impairments... There were a bevy of homeless shelters and places set aside for abused children..aged 3-16...
The list goes on....

So often, we wonder where God wants us to be..but in His word He clearly tells us to care for the orphan and to love on the lost. He tells us to care for the widow and the sick. One thing I have found, is that small things matter. Small things are huge to some people. Even one act of kindness can impact someone in great and immeasurable ways. IF you do nothing else this year..at least dare to step out in faith and offer your kindness to one of these places.

I'm going to post a link of places all over the state. I long to see people find the healing hand of Christ in their lives. We are called to be that hand.
God tells us that the harvest is ripe, but the workers are few.
We are called to be those workers.

I'm not going to preach to you...I just simply want you to know you can make a difference in somone's life..

http://www.dss.state.la.us/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=207

a random act of kindness post..

I am one who is deeply inspired and moved by the kindness of others. I find that kindness and love is the language that we all want to hear and see in the world. I follow a blog called, Terribly Interesting. I remember reading Stephanie's 40 Days of kindess posts and thought about how wonderful it would be to be on the receiving end of such kindness...

Do you ever have days when you just crave kindness? I do. There have been days when I have truly needed to see the light of God. I recogize Him in the goodness of others. Everyday I find myself crying out for humility. Humility brings me to a place where I no longer crave to be one pleased..but humility opens something up in me that longs to do the pleasing.

I think of humility of being the exact opposite of pride. Often, our pride keeps us from experiencing God's love for others. Perhaps, that is why pride is considered a deadly sin. It hinders our vision in such a way that it causes us to focus on self rather than the command to love others and consider others as greater than ourself.

I once read a statement on the same blog that really spoke to me... "What are we willing to lay aside so that others can see God?" Are we willing to let go of our pride so that someone else can see the vastness of grace?

There is one more thing that I would like to share before I proceed with this random act of kindness post......Lately, I have truly felt Stephanie's blog speaking to me. Her words resonate with me and there is something that i read that I would like to share. Please note..I didn't write this next section....I just simply thought that everyone needed to be reminded of this simple truth..

The following excerpt is from Terribly Interesting

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson
Source: A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles", Page: Ok, all that being said...Let's get back to this random act of kindness post....first, of all...I thought that I would be doing this for 40 days...like on the blog I read...but then I thought about it .and realized that I don't want to do that. I feel as if I would be steailing an idea from someone else.... So I'm going to publish Stephanie's 40 day adventure...one a day for the next 40 days and hope that you were inspired like I was... Yes, I'm going to do my own thing, and I encourage you to do your own thing too..I've just decided that I don't want to publish what I do...Instead, be inspired by my friend and so some inspiring on your own.. First of all, I think the best part of my random act of kindness day was something that my son Cade said to me.. There have been days when we have randomly left flowers on random cars in parking lots. We haven't done it in quite a while. We were parked at an Alberstons the other day and Cade, who had no idea that I was doing a random acts of kindness post, said to me, "Momma, why don't we leave some flowers on cars like we used to do?" First of all, I loved how those memories stayed with him. It made me realize how much he really watches what I do. I had some little notes in my car that have been sitting there for quite a while. Have you ever read the book, "The Help?" I think my favorite part of the book was the part where the babysitter spoke words of life into the life of the child she babysat. She came to love her. She saw that the mother didn't really speak love so everyday she told the child.."you are smart. You are kind. You are important." Well, I had some of those notecards laying in the backseat....They said the same thing...You are smart, you are kind, you are important...except they were signed with the name , Jesus.. Because isn't that how He feels about us? Doesn't He love us with that kind of love..the kind that longs to build us up? The kind long longs to affirm? So, I watched as Cade put these notecards on random cards.... I have to say, I was a proud mama...To me, there is nothing greater or more wonderful than kindness. It is the language of love and it is something that we forsake all too often... On our random act of kindness day, we paid for someone's groceries..randomly and privately. We were at a supermarket and there was no one in line behind us....The cashier was someone that I know and trust and I handed her some money and told her that we wanted to buy some groceries for whoever needs them. Hopefully, someone ate good that day. All I can do is pray that someone saw Jesus is that act. I didn't leave behind any religious materials..I just wanted someone to see God in a random act of kindness. I've come to a place where I don't want any accolades for anything that I do. I simply want God to be glorified. I do want to inspire others toward kindness in the way that Stephanie, the writer of Terribly Interesting, has inspired me in her 40 day of kindness posts..

On open windows

One night I had this dream. I was in a place that was strangely familiar. I dreamt I was in a room. When, I think about this, I have the strange feeling of deja vu' ..It's almost like a place that I've been before, but a place, notheless, that seems warm and inviting.

In the dream, I am sitting in this room. It seems to be dark and dank..dusty...There are cobwebs all around. The room seems to be a bedroom of a second floor apartment. Everything around me looks vintage and like it is from another place and time. There is nothing earth shattering about this dream... But, in the room, there is a window...It is daylight.

I walk toward the window, and when i open it...everything changes.. The light illumates the beauty of the room. Things around me begin to take shape and I am able to see the beauty and the details of the place where i am standing. Suddenly, I begin to smell flowers. It's as if..opening the window and allowing the light to shine into that room, changed the perception and the reality of the room itself.

I love open widows. I love how open windows allow daylight to filter in...Light changes things. Light can change a mood or create a differnt feel to a space. I love mood lighting. I love how the light of stars gives character to the nighttime...otherwise, there would be pure and utter darkness..

Light changes things... Is it any wonder that the Bible tells us that God is a Light..

I see the parallel in my own life. I look at the days when I walked in darkness. The light was there all along. I simply had to invite it in... I simply had to open the window of my heart to allow God's light and His love to shine through it...

and then, the perspective and the reality changed.

Today, I pray that you will ask God to shine His light into your life..because you will never be the same.

Revelation 3:20

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Yesterday, I captured a few pics that I want to share... I fell in love with how the sunlight illuminated the house. Light gives character to things and places. It fills the empty shadows and leaves a mark on everything it touches.

There are several places in the world that have no sunlight for months on end. I read that many of these places have the highest rates of suicide. People get weary of fumbling around in darkness. The darkness is gloomy and depressing..

Of course, I once again think about how God calls us to shine our lights, as a city on Hill, so that our good works may glorify our Father in Heaven. God tells us that shining our lights gives others hope. The lights, our love, that we share, as Christians, is powerful enough to eradicate the darkness and breathe something into the shadows of people's lives.

Here are my pics..