To Tweet or Not To Tweet By Michelle Rocker

Before the social media craze, I was a people watcher. Sitting in the mall was great fun watching the people go by and wondering what was going on in their life. Why were they happy? Why were they sad? Now, I have social media that is “people watching” at its best. I know what they are thinking now. I know. I sound creepy and stalker-ish. However, I know most of you do it too. How often do you scroll through Facebook or Twitter but never comment or “like” or retweet? You might comment to your spouse or friends with, “Did you see...?” I am curious about what people are willing to offer up, and if there is an especially spicy squabble, I have scrolled through and read the comments as well, after all they did offer it up. I have even at times commented, but primarily, I’m the creeper.

Recently, I have noticed that social media has become an outlet for bashing others. Some bash in the name of their religion, others their morals, and I have even seen family squabbles played out. It breaks my heart. Oh, I have been tempted to air things out when I feel I’ve been wronged, hoping my friends would sympathize or post a dig when someone has done something I don’t feel is right. The news (both the right and left sides) seem to enjoy picking “hot topics” and watch us bicker and fight about why it is right or wrong.

So, how do I bite my tongue when I want to respond?

John 13:34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I run what I want to say through this filter. Is what I am about to say going to show Jesus’ love to this individual? If my answer is no, then I cannot post it. I am far from perfect and anyone who knows me, knows I have a big mouth and I have stuck my foot in it more times than I care to count. However, this is something I have been “commanded” to do. I know why I believe what I believe. I have no problem sharing my faith. I stand by my convictions. But will getting in a social media battle and climbing on my soap box bring them any closer to the Savior? That is the question. And the answer is: “Love one another...as I have loved you.”

God’s Motivation By Michelle Rocker

Did you know that God is not motivated by fear? What motivates God? What moves the heart of God?

I was sitting in a service listening to a preacher and when he stated, “God is not motivated by fear.” I got distracted after that thinking about what motivates God. Verses from the Bible began to come to me.

1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Romans 8:38-39: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 3:1a: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

Ephesians 2:4-5: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

My conclusion? God is motivated by LOVE. John 3:16, is the ultimate proof of my conclusion. God was moved/motivated by love that he GAVE us his Son to die for our sins. The idea that my Creator, the God of the entire universe, loves me to this extent....wow! I am humbled, grateful, and overwhelmed.

Bloom By Liz Huggins-Thompson

Bloom
where
you
are
planted.

Another Shiny New Day By Liz Huggins-Thompson

We are greeted each morning with a shiny new day.

We proceed to tarnish it with our acts of sin.

The Lord polishes it up while we sleep

And presents us with a bright new hope.

Thank you, Lord, for your faith in me.

I pray that I am worthy of it.

A God Shaped Life by Michelle Rocker

I started small.

I grow every day.

The sun shines.

The rain falls.

The wind has blown.

Storms have come.

I’ve been shaken.

I’ve been swayed.

I am not broken.

I am rooted.

I am planted in the Garden of God.

New Year, New Challenges By Liz Huggins-Thompson

Now that the holidays are over and we send the kids back to classes, we approach our schedule with renewed vigor. At least, that’s what I do. I wonder about the children returning to school, though. Are they excited to share their news of the presents they received, the stories of traveling adventures, or show off that new outfit they got from grandma? Whatever their incentive for going back out into the world, we must, as parents, continue to prepare them. For me, my daughter won’t be going back to class as she graduated summa cum laude the week before Thanksgiving. She’s had the whole hectic, crazy, busy holiday from Thanksgiving to New Years to enjoy being with family and answer loads of questions about her future plans. I know one thing she is grateful for and that is the huge relief of being out from under the heavy and intense college workload. The one thing that I am grateful for is that I know I have lead her in the direction the Bible wants us to go; in the path Jesus Christ has set for us. I see evidence of this in the grace she approaches her life with, the compassion she shows others, and the involvement she enjoys with the church she attends in her college town.

Her New Year Challenges will be going after that great job her degree will afford her. I’m grateful to know that she has the tools she needs to accomplish anything she puts her time, energy, and mind to.

My New Year Challenges will be to continue spreading the Good Word to all the children who need to hear it. Through P22:6 Productions, Inc., I’m so excited to have this opportunity to share it in fun, new ways. The programs we have lined up for 2014 are fresh, original, and of course, full of the Good Word!!

"Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

Trust By Liz Huggins-Thompson

My lips were dry and I said as much. My 8 year old daughter said she had some Chapstick in her purse. I thought, #1- how cute she has a purse and #2 - she'll let me go in it. How trusting they are at this age. Thinking of the upcoming teenage years, I said, "You'll let me go into your purse?". She said, "Sure, whenever you want." I said, "Can I get that in writing?". She agreed, so I wrote it out, she signed it, and at the bottom she wrote, "And you can leave little surprises inside."