It could be one of my posts...

Jen Hatmaker

Yesterday at 3:42pm · 

Three different schools.
Five kids.
Online registrations.
Sports physicals.
Well checks.
Immunizations.
Insurance forms.
Insurance haggling.
PE uniforms.
Schedule pick-up (3 different days).
High school parking permit.
School supplies.
Eye exams.
Haircuts.
Closet clean out.
School IDs.
Online lunch accounts.
Orthodontist appointments.
Backpacks.
Tennis shoes.
Lunchboxes.
Middle School Round-Up Day.
Meet the Teacher.
Back to School Night.
Dermatologist appointments.
Football equipment pick up.
Schedule changes.
Parking fees.
Dual credit registration.

God: "Jen, now that you have died, what have you done to deserve entry into heaven?"
Jen: "Lord, I engineered back-to-school for five children from 2003-2023. Twenty years, Father. The forms alone deserve eternity."
God: "Enter into your rest."

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It's not that I want to belittle what we do...
but some of this stuff is more about us, It's not that we don't have to do this stuff...I mean. Some of it is important - not all of it - but still, should the glory be ours?

There should be a little something in our head that tells us, "Isn't the fact I am doing all of this and posting about it reflect on my own need for approval?"

God is not interested in all of our extra curricular activities unless we are serving those we meet at those places. And I will be the first to tell you that I have sought a pat on the back by the myriads of folk on my friends list...but that doesn't make it ok. That doesn't condemn me to hell either.

Sometimes I just think we should re-think our social media tendencies and why we post what we post. I sometimes think that we should avoid it like the plague...it is just one more thing that can make or break our day. It can cause us to think too highly of ourselves or fail in our confidence.

I wish that we had something that would allow us to review our day and show us where we stand with our Savior, give us confirmation of our standing with our Heavenly Father and give us rest from a job well done for the Glory of His name....

Wait a second...

We do.

The World is the Same

She wanted the baby. 

When murder is a double homicide because the mom was 

pregnant, the baby is considered another life because the 

mom wanted that baby. 

The baby's rights are done away with 

when it comes to the mother's desires. 

Our society is a selfish one. frown emoticon       We are no longer willing to take responsibility for our actions. We are either victims or we rationalize that which would release us from our bonds. The makeup of man is certainly the same as it has always been...but we have lost our moral compass that causes us to hitch up our britches and make our mistakes mean something. 

The World has always contained people that do bad things. It seems the problem with us today is we have decided that our problems are not our fault. And even if we acknowledge that the problems are our fault we do not think we should have to suffer the consequences. The results are we have become a characterless people. Lives have lost value and our own lives suffer because of it. 

For those of us who believe in a Savior, we have an understanding that our sin has consequences and that we will suffer for that sin. But the Gospel gives us freedom, not from the consequences here on Earth, but for the guilt that would continue to plague us here and in the life to come. 

Sin can have hard and serious consequences. It can seemingly ruin a life. But - in my opinion, when we deal with the consequences of our sin well, we become better. We add depth, and mercy, and a solidity to our character that makes us better. Better for ourselves and for others. Acknowledging our downfall and seeking forgiveness from others we have wronged and from God is not weakness. It is strength building...it is spiritual weightlifting. It will grow us and make us better. 

It seems to me that when we accept our situation and our part in it, we can then do something about it.

Of course I am making generalizations. There are many who accept and deal well with the things that happen to them...whether they were at fault or not. But what we are seeing in the media is a tendency to shirk our own responsibility for our circumstances. And we are becoming a selfish, spoiled people because of it. 

We can be so much more than we are aspiring to be. And it will be the end of society as we have known it. 

Be warned.