My fire is the smallest flame

Do you believe that the smallest flame can start a fire that can burn thousands of acres? We had a recent 5 alarm fire in church in regards to the spirituality of some of our members. While I was truly happy and excited for the burning folk, I sat and watched my own flame flicker and twirl until it was almost out. My flame for Christ grows and then gets smaller....grows and then gets smaller yet. It always seems like we are all "on fire" at different times. It saddens me to see this as I sit and wonder what miraculous things would happen if we were all "on fire" at the same time. Perhaps though....that is God's beautiful plan. We can not all be so spirit filled all the time. Some hold the church up while others are hanging on for dear life. Then those that were in the pit of despair turn around and lift up those who are so very tired of supporting others. What a wonder...God is.

Smiling while you are being attacked...

Isn't that what Jesus told us to do. Smile while you are being attacked...turn the other cheek. As someone with a great sense of justice and "right and wrong", this particular concept is extremely difficult for me. I have a neighbor that has been literally harassing and almost stalking us for about the last 1 1/2 years. We and many other neighbors have repeatedly called law enforcement and each time they have said that they asked her to leave us alone, but there is "no law against bad behavior." WHAT!!!??? I thought laws were made to protect us from people and their bad behavior.

So yesterday in my feeble attempt to push forth my Christian way of life, I smiled at this woman as she drove by my home as the children and I were getting in our car. Now this next part is hilarious and pitiful, yet very hard for me to accept. Not only did she NOT accept my precious smile that I decided to allow her to have....she called my husband's PLACE OF BUSINESS and left a message with one of the employees that my husband needed to put a bag "over his ugly wife's face!" Now I know that I am not ugly and that this woman is mentally unbalanced, but still....come on.

Point of all of this...just because you decide that you are suddenly going to shine the full force of Jesus upon a situation does NOT mean that it will be fixed or get easier. Do you think Satan likes this???? It may get harder and more difficult to walk the Christian path. What would you? revert back to fighting with this lunatic or continue to smile as you are being attacked. I choose to smile........

Why is it our nature to judge others so severely...some more than others? I believe that it is part of our "human nature" whatever that really entails. We are told that we will be judged by the ultimate judge one day and that we are to leave the judging to Him and to those in authority positions. Some call this part of racism. Is it really? For thousands of years each culture has tended to group together naturally. In Human Resources, I taught classes that encouraged people NOT to follow their natural feelings of wanting to be surrounded by others like themselves and to reach outside the box to hire someone as much UNlike them as possible so that we would have a "diverse" environment. Why are there black, white, Chinese, and Hispanic areas and neighborhoods? No one forced all of these people to live close together. It happens naturally. I look down upon my neighbors who told me that in Mexico they do not feed their animals dog/cat food, but instead feed them table scraps or if none are available they expect them to do what wild animals would do and find food outside. (Mice, lizards, birds etc...) I watch their cat trying to find food each day. I think this is horrific...but is it really? That is what they do in their culture. I pray that God will open my heart and mind to accept others for what they are and NOT try to make them fit into MY mold of what and how I believe things should be done.

Falling on my face and making headway...

How can one fall on their face (daily) and still make headway towards receiving the most precious gift ever available to humans? The blood of Jesus Christ is how. As a human being I have failed and continue to fail daily... to live up to the fundamentals of being a Christian. However, the best part is that Christ died for me....me....Keri Marie Grace Novak Harty!!!! A broken down, fat, crazy, bitter, judgemental, and plain failure of a human being. Imagine....that even I have gifts and a reason for being here. How miraculous and wonderful. Accountability is key for me and with this blog I hope to hold myself accountable each day and share with others how it is not required to be perfect and that it is possible to stumble your way to heaven.