Are you "...acceptable unto God..."???

Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is you reasonable service."
    So i looked up the word beseech to see what it really means. Here is the definition: "Ask someone urgently or fervently to do something; implore; entreat.." So here is Paul begging people to live a holy life that is acceptable unto God. I started thinking... What is acceptable unto God? I thought of Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there e any praise, think on these things." In the Bible the Lord gives us a list of things that we should think on, and I think that these are some guidelines for what is acceptable to God. I have to stop and think, what in my life doesn't measure up to these standards???? Hmmm.... Good thought. I think we all have things in our life which do not measure up to these guidelines the Lord has given us. Might be time to take a moment and step back to see our life, and what needs to be cleaned out... 
Now, I'm not talking about, "Ooooo, Time to clean out my Facebook Friend's list." *EyeRoll* I am so sick of hearing "Christians" proudly post, "Well if you are reading this then you have made it through my Facebook "purge"." It makes me SICK every time I read this. What kind of testimony are you being when you go and delete someone on FB that doesn't measure up to your "standards"??? After reading Romans 12:1 and Philippians 4:8 do you think YOU measure up??? I highly doubt it! I have only deleted 1 person on my Facebook.... Not because they didn't measure up to my standards, but because they were verbally attacking me, my family, my beliefs, and my God. I will NOT deal with that. But... When I see a Christian deleting others for cursing, pictures, or the "drama" the other person created (which is laughable if you think about it) I literally CRINGE! You are telling that person, "You are NOTHING to me." Is that what Jesus would do? No, instead of "defriending" people, He actually sought out the sinners to go and have lunch with them. GO FIGURE! Jesus had enough compassion on others that he was kind and caring, and He drew people closer to Him. By going on your deleting frenzy you are not being kind or compassionate, and you are NOT furthering the Kingdom of God. Instead you are emotionally AND spiritually wounding people. What if these people one day need someone, a christian, or someone to friend them and pray with them. They may remember, "Ohhh! Jane Doe was always posting about going to church, I'm going to look her up..." But sadly, they can't find you because, well, you DELETED them. Now they are left alone, floundering, and may turn to the wrong kind of counsel. You just harmed the furthering of the Lord's work. You single handily pushed this person further away from God. I know that everyone has their own free will and if they TRULY needed God they would continue to look, but you have harmed that person's views of Christianity and an all loving God. So, next time you decide to clean out your Facebook because you are tired of some one's posts, then do me a favor. STOP. Hover over the corner of their post or name... Click on the arrow down, and instead of deleting them, hide them or unsubscribe from their feeds. You are still Facebook friends, but now, they can still see your posts about what the Lord is doing in your life, and one day may feel compelled to call upon you. Now isn't that what Jesus would do???? 
Paul goes on to say in Romans, "which is your reasonable service." Meaning, God's not asking too much of us. This a reasonable request to live a holy and pure life that is acceptable unto God. I don't like to hear excuses, though we ALL have them, but God is saying here, "Hey! It's not too hard, I'm not asking too much of you." It is a reasonable request to live for Him. So why do we struggle so much with just doing it? Like Nike's slogan, we Christians should live by their motto, "Just Do It." So why don't we stop, reevaluate our lives and "just do" what the Lord has asked, "...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Love... You don't know a THING about it...

Do you REALLY know how to Love??? I don't think you do! I had a revelation this week... I reckon you could call it a "Jesus Slap" moment. You know, when the Lord takes His Word and just SMACKS you upside the head saying, "NOW do you get it?" Yep. Totally. Totally got it this time...
I, Tiffany Gail Cash, do not know how to love... Yes yes. I know the "feeling" of love, but I realized that I've not been TRULY loving anyone.... Not even God. Not like I should anyways. Love is more than singing someone's praises continuously, or wanting to spend time with them non-stop... Love is seeking out that person, not to spend time with, but to truly get to know. Now... Before you roll your eyes and say, "Yep. Typical Tiffany... The  Dreamer... The Hopeless Romantic..." Stop. Take a deep breath... Seriously... BREATHE. Now clear your mind of any preconceived ideas you have about love... Even if you are married. YES... I'm talking to you spouse who thinks I'm to inexperienced in love to write this blog.... And you too, teenager, who "thinks" they are in love... Now.... With an open mind go to 1 Corinthians 13. Read the chapter and then come back to me.....
....
....
.....
......
......
I said to READ IT! ;)
........
........
.........
...........
Did you read EVERY verse? Go back and read it...
............
.............
Okay, since you probably aren't really going to stop scrolling down to read it, then here...

1 Corinthians 13

¹Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

 ²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

 ³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

 ⁴Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

 ⁵Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

 ⁶Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

 ⁷Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

 ⁸Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

 ⁹For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

 ¹⁰But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

 ¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

 ¹²For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

 ¹³And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Okay... Now that you've read it... Think about it. What does it really mean to you? Everyone refers to this as the "Love" chapter and we use it in weddings a ton. But this time I received something a little different. It wasn't about a romantic love... Nope. Just Love... Plain, old, unexciting love... 

What do I mean? Well we use the quote, "Love the sinner... Hate the sin." an awful lot in our circles these days. But you don't do it do you? Nope. Me neither. Because we don't know how to love. To love someone is to "suffereth long", to be "kind", "envieth not", "vaunteth not" (means to boast), and "is not puffed up." Yet when we use the phrase above to love a sinner, and hate the sin, we are saying, I am a better person, so I'm going to love them. But we are boasting, are we not? Boasting and puffing up our ego, because well, you don't have that sin problem or you walk with God every-- errr--- almost every day... You are boasting and making yourself look better. So do you know what you sound like? Verse 1- "Though I speak withthe tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." Remember in the kitchen? Or in band, when someone drops a TON of metal??? That annoying clash that grates your nerves? Yep... That is SO what we sound like... Annoying... Yuck!

So here is my take. This is my situation that I'm about to share with you. I realized I wasn't loving the sinner like I should. I was "tolerating" them. Isn't that what we as Christians were doing? Toleration is probably one of the biggest pitfalls in our Christian life. We smile at them and say, "I'm praying for you." But are we really? Do you REALLY pray for that person? Pray that God would truly speak to them? I don't. I just tolerate them... And everytime I open my mouth all they hear is *CRASH*SCREECH*BANG*

 The Lord started showing me a few things after this realization... He spoke to MY HEART. ( I love when he does that.... It makes me feel all warmWelll... Ummm... Isn't that what Jesus did? He seemed to prefer speaking to the sinner more so than His own disciples. Why? So he could draw them closer to him. His disciples were there. They followed him, He knew that. So why spend more time with them? He need to spend time with the ones He need to see the light and to draw them closer to Him. He does that with us, as Christians, because let's face it... According to this we are pretty sorry Christians aren't we? We judge.... We make fun... We actually POINT out other people's sins and downfalls... I know. I'm guilty of it myself. But then I came to this verse... 1 Cor. 13: 6, "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." When we take time to say, "Love the sinner, hate the sin.", I feel that we are rejoicing in their iniquity... Instead we should rejoice in truth with them, "Hey! Let me tell you what God showed me today in HIS WORD!" NOW THAT is REAL TRUTH y'all! :) Love them in a way that draws them closer to God... 

My next point is this... It's not just about loving sinners to bring them to Jesus... But it's about loving each other in a way that we each inspire and encourage each other to draw nearer to our Lord. I want to be that person! I want to be the person who someone can look at and say, "She makes me want to be more like Jesus."

 Now I know that we will never REALLY be like Him, but we can strive to become more of His likeness. Why can't we be like him? Well in our "Love" chapter it talks about in verse 12 that we are looking through a dark glass and we only see in part, or only see half of the story, and the verse ends like this, "...now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." To me it's like God is saying to me... "I KNOW YOU... You only think you know me, but you just wait..." Then in 1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is." We ARE children of God, but we are still in the "working" phase, we will never be truly like him, because we have never truly seen him. I think of great people I know and love who have gone on to be with the Lord. I really thought of them as a "Christ-like", but now I realize, they never were truly like Christ, only a dim dark glass image of Him... But now... Wow! Now they ARE like Christ for they "see him as he is." What an amazing truth.... 

I know I probably rambled too much, but this is what was on my heart, and my heart is overflowing... So I hope it "overflowed" onto this blog just a tiny bit. :) 

My First Christmas in Heaven

My Ethan Man's family read this for Christmas. Tears stream down my face as I
tell you that I feel like its a message from him to us.... He sends the memories down to me at the most perfect of times. 

I miss you my sweet Ethan!

 

My First Christmas in Heaven

I see the countless
Christmas trees
around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,
reflecting on the snow
 
The sight is so spectacular,
please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.
 
I hear the many Christmas songs
that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare
with the Christmas choir up here. 
 
I have no words to tell you,
the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
to hear the angels sing. 
 
I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.
 
So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.
 
I sent you each a special gift,
from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory
of my undying love.
 
After all, love is a gift more precious
than pure gold.
was always most important
the stories Jesus told.
 
Please love and keep each other,
my Father said to do.
I can't count the blessing or love
has for each of you.
 
So have a Merry Christmas and
Wipe away that tear
Remember, I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year

*find time*

This is what I am having put on an 11x13 canvas after I graduate in May. I have neglected so much through this journey of Nursing School and I am SO READY to put it behind me and starting focusing on the things that matter the most... My God... My family... My friends...

Life.....

Hey y'all! I'm experiencing an odd time in my life. A time of nothingness. I am out of school for the summer. This is COMPLETELY weird. 1st break longer than 2 weeks in almost 2 years. I enjoyed the first few days. Now I just feel USELESS. But I'm slowly making plans and adjusting.

After school let out I headed a little further south to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to see my Mama's family. It was a bittersweet time. I enjoyed seeing them and spending time with them.... but without Ethan it sometimes feels surreal. Not a good surreal either. I'm not angry. I'm sad. I'm hurt... I want him back. Though I do not blame God for what happened. My word, How could I blame God? He was the only thing keeping me afloat during my grief. But I still sometimes find moments of confusion... anger... frustration. And I have to cry out and ask WHY? And I sometimes scream and cry that it isn't fair. Because it isn't. It is not fair that Ethan was taken from us so young. But then... after my moment of pure grief. It is silent. Like God is saying, "I know. I know it is hard to understand right now. But I'm here." And God wraps His loving arms around me and just holds me for a while. I'm not going to pretend I understand. Or that I'm okay. I'm not. I don't understand. But I have a God that gives this certain kind of peace. A peace that passes ALL understanding. A Perfect Peace. Sometimes I forget about it and He has to remind me. But it is always there. Peace...

On a lighter note... During our time down south I was able to spend more time with the baby of the family, Ethan's little sister Celeste. She is 2. There are 23 years between the Oldest grandchild (ME!) and the youngest (Celeste). And boy oh boy is she a mess. I have now adopted the phrases, "Tittle Tittle" (Tickle tickle), "Whatehber" (Whatever with arms out stretched and a head and booty shake), "Don't WEEEVE Me!" (3 of the SADDEST words you will EVER encounter!)and this little wake up call, "DET UP! Wight! NOW!" (GET UP! RIGHT! NOW!). She seriously MELTED my heart then ENTIRE time I was there. Her understanding of Ethan's death is BEYOND my early comprehension. She has her moments that she misses him. She will cry and she will tell you that she misses "Bubba", but the most precious moments is when she comforts us all with this "story" of sorts... "Annn trumpet (insert trumpet sound by a 2 yr old). Den horsey! And see Bubba and Jesus!" And her glorious not of this world smile during this story is enough to put a lift in your heart and a bounce in your step, because we WILL see Ethan again! :)

I was also able to spend time with my other cousins. Caleb, Josiah, Rachel, Clarissa..... They are all growing up SO FAST. My heart hurts to see them so... adultish. I can't handle all of this growing up and leaving stuff! KILLS ME! Caleb is talking to the Coast Guard, Josiah is having COLLEGE FOOTBALL scouts coming to meet him at school (UT Knoxville better be NEXT!). Rachel and Clarissa are two of the pretties young ladies. Enjoying school and are SO excited about their summer. I miss them all so much already. When did we let life get so busy? I feel like my life, school especially, has consumed me the past couple of years. I've missed SO MUCH during this time in my life. I don't EVER want that to happen again.

Well... I think that is enough of my heart right now.