"True Inspiration"

“A lot of people are waiting for Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi to come back -- but they are gone. We are it. It is up to us. It is up to you.” ~Marian Wright Edelman

There is an utterly inspirational movie called "Freedom Writers", which is a true story about a young, white, female teacher who is assigned to a diverse group of freshman students. Her students, and most of those at the school, were members of various racial gangs—gangs where they often killed each other in order to protect "their own". Many of the other teachers at the school more or less gave up on these kids, knowing that most would probably not even reach their graduation before either just dropping out or being killed themselves. But not new teacher Erin Gruwell; she felt she could help them somehow. 

             This movie is a powerfully gripping story of how a group of individuals, though different looking on the outside, found they were not so different on the inside. Most had known the same situations—lost a friend (or more than one), been shot at or beaten, abandoned by their parents, or dealt with drugs, alcohol, and a whole lot more. Most of us may never be able to relate to their particular situations, but know this—we have all been broken, abused, hurt, or felt shame for things we have done, no matter how small.

As a young girl, I used to think that only certain people had testimonies—people who had been once hooked on drugs, alcohol, porn, or other "sinful" things, and which eventually come to know God as their Savior. I didn't think I had anything to share regarding things I had overcome like so many I listened to, because mine wasn't "extreme" enough. But our "sinful" things don't have to be headliners; there isn't a person who could look me in the eyes and swear they have never done anything that they are ashamed of. No one is perfect, which unfortunately means we are ALL guilty of something, however small we think it. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:9-12

In watching "Freedom Writers", I realized something about myself. Here I was, writing Daily Breads and feeling untouched by all the "bad" things of this world, when deep down inside, I had plenty of problems of my own. What right do we have to evaluate others, when we are just as much at fault if not more so? "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7: 3-5

But what is more hypocritical is actually living the lie—you see, admitting our problems isn't enough. Though it takes a lot of effort (trust me, I know) to even admit we have them in the first place, what is even harder, is actually doing something about them. So I was living a lie, and I hated myself for it. I was lost, and I didn't even know it.

Watching what the kids in Mrs. Gruwell's class were overcoming just to be well, free, made me realize I too was fighting a war for my own freedom. And I would have to die to myself in order to be free from it. I was going to have to give my problems up to God in order to be free. I cried over that movie, not only because it was beautiful to see those kids lay down all their secrets and fears and differences, but because I identified with them on a deep and emotional level. I had a wakeup call.

I heard a speaker once who told a story about a time when he thought he might die, and the things he began to think about. For example, he thought about his wife, his kids, his family, God, faith, etc. He didn't, he said, think about the man who cut him off on his way to the hospital earlier, or the woman who shouted at him for no reason the week before. No, he was thinking about the more important things in his life; the things that really mattered to him.

Lastly he said this: "Why don't we live EVERY moment as though we could die the next second? Why do we not think constantly about the things that REALLY matter?" ~ Corey Ciocchetti

The kids in Mrs. Gruwell's class were shown love by someone they hated just because she was a different color than they. They had preconceived notions about her because they figured all who looked like her must be the same (information based on cultural stereotypes and paradigms). Instead however, they were shown they meant something and that they could BE someone. Sound familiar? Cause I know a God who does that. And keeps doing it, even though many of us hate Him just because we think He's not us. When actually, just like we are all connected, so is He in all of us. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25 But we have to let Him in first. We have to act. Not just speak, but do.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. James 2: 14-17

We don't have to go out and make grand testimonies like Mrs. G to show we are "good Christians". By simply changing your own heart you make a difference in this world. By letting go of all you fear and giving it to God—you change a life. Because when God truly changes you, you feel it deep inside. You feel a burden lifted from your shoulders. You feel free. And the new you affects the world in ways you probably never even imagined. To be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:23-24

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Romans 6:6-8

Most of us wouldn't know about the world the kids of the "Freedom Writers" knew. Watching that movie made me realize how much I took for granted. I have a great life. And yet I live the poorest of them all, by not letting Him in; by not living a life of Love. We never seem to know what we've lost till it's gone. And that's when God and everything we love suddenly matters to us—when it's too late. "It is at the end of a man’s life when he realizes how important his decisions were at the beginning.” ~Unknown

Maybe we should live as Kris Allen sings, "Gotta live like we're dying".

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:16-17

For me, true inspiration is what you do with that inspiration.*

Tears are falling,

Whitney

To learn more about the real Freedom Writers visit:

http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/site/c.kqIXL2PFJtH/b.5183373/k.DD8B/FWF_Home.htm

To learn more about Corey Ciocchetti, visit: http://www.coreyspeaks.com/

"From Fathers to Daddys"

As we honored our Mothers during the month of May, so we honor our Fathers during the month of June.

The bond most of us hold with our mothers is usually different than that with our fathers; but they are still equally strong. Mothers usually hold the more affectionate and emotional role in our lives, while fathers usually hold the stronger more foundational role. Nothing can replace the roles of a mother and a father, and a good strong family cannot be without them. For even though mothers and fathers hold different roles in our lives, we need what they both have to give. They balance out the family atmosphere to build healthy relationships.

Not that our parents are perfect. No family is perfect for that matter. Don't look to "Leave It To Beaver" for a good role model family, for indeed today there are probably more "broken" families (parents who have split up, abusive parents, or abusive kids, etc.) than families with both parents still together.

The bond I have with my mother is a close one. I can talk to her about just anything, and she shows more love to me than I most likely deserve. My mother and I do many things together like shopping, cooking, and many other "feminine" activities.

Even though I am a young lady, the things I do with my father are much different than those of my mother, like bonding over fishing, hunting, and even watching TV. Being a girl who has grown up out in the sticks, running around acting the tomboy is not at all out of the ordinary.

People say when they see me with my dad how I look like him. When I hear that, it makes me feel so proud inside. I feel that because I look like "daddy's little girl" this is just one more thing to make bond between father and his only daughter that much stronger.

I love my father, and even though to outsiders it may seem I have a closer relationship with my mother, I still have a close one with my father. We just show it in different ways, which makes sense, when after all, mothers are females, and fathers are males.

For someone like me, being born into the family that I have has been such a blessing. My parents were both believers who brought up my brother and I in the faith, giving us a good foundation to live upon both spiritually and morally. While my family is not at all perfect, (indeed we act just as weird as the next family), I love them better this way, for their faults make them real and relate-able, unlike Beaver Cleaver's family.

There is the saying, "Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy". Today, like Mother's Day, we set aside time nationally to celebrate our dads, pops, and fathers. We take them out to dinner, to the show, get them a "manly" gift, call them up, etc., showing them some sort of way of how much we love them. For most of us, our dads were not just the father who provides us food to eat. No, our fathers are the all-around dads who took the time to play catch with us as kids, work on cars with, go camping with, (in my case a few tea parties), and so on and on. Our dads took the time to get to know us, to nurture the love bond between father and child. They were no longer just a father. They became our dads.

But dads aren't perfect, just like mothers aren't either (no matter what they tell us). But there is one who is. God our Father. In the moments when it feels we have no father, or for many of us who have never known what it was like to have that father figure in our lives, we can know that we will ALWAYS have God. It might seem different because, well, God isn't here physically, to play ball with and eat s'mores with. But that is exactly why God gave us mothers AND fathers, so that we could grow and be nurtured physically. God shows His love for us through our parents. Through everything that surrounds us. Through every way we can think of, and in every other way we can't. God our Heavenly Father is that amazing and complex. And yet He simply loves us for us.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

God is for sure always there mentally and spiritually. He is there in the moments when we are kissed by our mother. He is there when we are hugged by our father. He is everywhere. He is both our mother and father.

Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 1 Corinthians 8:6

We can look at our dads as reflections of God our Father. We are disciplined by our dads, and loved by them. God does the same thing, just in a different way. Dads will do anything to protect their children. They don't want to see us get hurt, but they know that no matter what they do, many times we will be. So is the same with God. If there is anything at all that I could for sure definitely say without a doubt, it would be how much God LOVES US.

But the man who loves God is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:3

Have you talked to your father today? And told him you loved him? Because even though we know they love us, and vice versa, it is nice to hear it aloud. There is such power in the words, I LOVE YOU. Father's Day may only be recognized for today, but really, it should be every day. We don't often realize how HUGE a role our parents play in our lives. So the least we can do is show them our love. For in everything they do, it too is done in love.

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:9-10

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Ephesians 6:1-2

If you are in the position where your father isn't really in your life, my only advice to you is this. If God our Heavenly Father loves us even if we hate Him, shouldn't we also love those who can't seem to love us? Even if it seems unfair to do so. For let me tell you my friends, love really can change people.

In closing, I would just like to say, thank you to all the dads out there—thank you for being everything to your children; we love you so much.

I would like to dedicate this daily bread to all the fathers, especially my own dad. Most of us could never have made it without you there for us.

To Timothy, my wonderful father and crazy dad, who took me on so many adventures to so many places, who took me hunting where we could spend quiet moments together, for your encouragement, protection, and love whenever I needed it, and even when I didn't. Your jokes always bring a quick smile and a laugh from me, and indeed life is never a dull moment with you around. I've certainly been blessed having someone as special as you as not just a father, but as my Daddy.*

And last but definitely not least, have you shown your love and appreciation to your Heavenly Father? How is your personal relationship with Him?

…always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ: Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:1-2

Honoring ALL our Fathers,

Whitney

"Who Will You Be?"

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Romans 7:15-24

Have you ever looked in the mirror and saw somebody you didn't know?

Coming across the above passage made me think about days I've had like that. Where yesterday I was somebody I didn't know. Where yesterday I did things that were not like me…

We do many things we are ashamed of. But why do we do them? It might feel thrilling when considering doing something wrong, and it often feels good while you do it. But afterwards you might feel tainted and dirty. You might feel terrible and ask yourself, why did I just do that? Even though you probably knew that it was wrong, you still did it. And over and over we keep doing them….

I know that none of us are perfect, and that no matter how "good" we try to be, we will still fall. (But don't use that as an excuse for when you do sin!) There shouldn't be any excuse for us to do the same thing over and over when we know it's wrong.

Let's branch off for a second, and look at things that are considered "wrong". Most of us know about the Ten Commandments, so we know those are important to keep. We know that there are certain things in the Bible that God detests. For example,

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

Of course there are other things that are considered wrong. Humans have moral compasses, and while we don't always heed by them, we usually can tell when something we are about to do or say is wrong. If we don't feel right about it either before, during, or after at any time, then it was probably the wrong thing for us to do or say.

But don't despair, for there is always hope.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Psalm 5:11

Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Psalm 6:4

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:25

God loves us. No matter how many times we fall.

"How am I supposed to show love to somebody over and over and over who constantly rejects me?" ~Caleb Holt, Fireproof

It's amazing that God doesn't ask this question of us. For when we fall, we are in a way rejecting God, even if we don't mean to be. When we fall, it could mean we aren't as tuned into God as we should be. It could mean our passion to follow him is not as strong as we'd like it to be. Now, don't get me wrong; I know that reality says otherwise. Temptations are everywhere after all... But, in the end, just remember, it is YOU who makes the final decision.

"God wants true brokenness, not just a formulized ritual of confession when we're caught in sin." Jerry White, The Joseph Road. If we truly want to live a Godly life, we have to want it; we have to mean it. It must be real, otherwise you will always see someone else staring back at you from the mirror…

Just like Caleb Holt from the movie Fireproof. In the attempt to get his marriage back on track, he used a 40 day dare called The Love Dare. But for the first half of the dare, it seemed he and his wife's future wasn't going to get any better. But the reason for that was simple. Caleb first had to have his heart in the right place. He was simply going through the motions at first, relying solely on the dare to fix his marriage. There was no substance behind his actions. No passion. But once he realized that, he became changed. And in the end we see his changed nature rubs off on his wife, and the relationship is saved.

We're not going to change overnight. Caleb and his wife sure took a lot longer than one night. So don't pray to God and then expect things to be fine and dandy from then on out. It's a tough journey when we choose to follow God. How can we live holy for him when we are constantly tempted by so many worldly things around us? It's a difficult question to be sure. All we can do is simply try our best. God loves us no matter what don't forget. We just have to remember that it won't always be wonderful. But in those moments when we fall, look to find what is beautiful. God will guide you back to your feet if you let him.

Alright, let's recap now. We know about things that are wrong. We know that we do things we don't want to do, and we don't do enough of the things we want to do. We know that God has given us hope no matter what we do—he can set us free. We know that he loves us no matter what as well. And if we want to truly love him in return for all that he has done for us, then we have to make it real. I can't tell you why we do the things we do (or don't do). But in the end, when we stand before God, what will matter is if you can say to him, "Yes Lord, I've screwed up plenty over my lifetime, but ultimately I gave it my absolute best to try to stay on track. I learned from my mistakes and grew much because of them. I love you and thank you for choosing to love and stick by me no matter how many times I didn't love you in return. While I am ashamed of many things I have done, I am proud of the realness inside of me."

But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. Galatians 5:5-18

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25

Who will you be when you look in the mirror?*

Striving,

Whitney