Jealousy: Guest Blogger: Alison

Jonah 4:9-10
But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the
vine?"
"I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though
you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died
overnight."

To put the above scripture in context, Jonah was angry first at God's
compassion towards the Gentilles and second Jonah was made even more
upset when his own circumstances worsened because the vine that had
provided him protection from the elements died.

How many times have we been so consumed by jealousy of what other
people have and what we don't have, only to overlook the things God
has provided us with? And then we have the audacity to get angry at
God when things in our own life start to crumble? Oh the nerve! We
have been so focused on what was missing that we fail to take care of
what we have.

I could go on about how God teaches us to be good custodians of the
things he provides to us, which is definitely a part of the scripture
here. But what speaks to me loudest here is the line where Jonah
says, "I am angry enough to die." Now that is jealousy to the
extreme!

This reminds me of my circumstances at work a couple years ago. A guy
was hired into a parallel position to my own; we have pretty much the
same responsibilities we just cover different lines of business.
Shortly after he was hired I found out he made about 25% more than I
did and I was extremely upset. This was just not fair! Not only did
I have more experience than he did, but on top of our same
responsibilities, I was also managing several projects and was
responsible for our company website. I tried to talk to the marketing
director about it but he deferred my salary negotiations until my new
direct boss was hired. My new boss was hired 6 months later, and he
deferred my salary negotiations for several more months.

This whole time I was just seething with repressed anger towards the
marketing director. You could see it in my work ethic. I no longer
put forth 110% effort, I did just enough to get my work done and keep
my boss satisfied. I was so consumed with jealousy towards my
coworker that I stopped caring about moving my own career ahead. I
started to let my "vine" whither away.

God has blessed me abundantly, and I recognize this now. I have let
go of my jealousy, not just towards my coworker but towards everyone
and everything I had envied. No, I still haven't received my big
raise, and you know what? I'm okay with it. I'm going to give 110%
in everything I do because I am confident that my efforts will be
rewarded one day, and it may not be in a way that I am expecting.

God, I just want to thank you for all that you have provided me in my
life. Please help me to become a better custodian of your provisions
and help me to see when jealousy begins to cloud my judgment.

Can we imagine??? Guest Blogger: SuperPurple Alison

2 Corinthians 5:5-6 (The Message)
We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead.

I LOVE this translation of this passage! God has given us the Holy
Spirit as a promise to us of what we have to look forward to, and to
show us why we should want to live by His standards, not the world's,
by giving us a small sample of heaven.

As I was reading this passage, I was reminded of the song by Mercy Me,
"I Can Only Imagine." Now I'm going to have it stuck in my head all
afternoon! :)

This passage is incredibly inspiring to me, especially the part about
not being willing to settle for less. This applies to not only my
longing for eternal life in heaven, but also to all of my hopes and
dreams while on earth. I am my Father's daughter and He wants only the best for me. Why should I settle for less than what I want? The world may try to discourage me but the world is not my authority. I
have the Holy Spirit to help guide me on my journey, and though I may
face disappointments and failures, I have faith that better days lie ahead because this is what He has promised me and God always fulfills what He promises.

Entitlement at Christmas... YUK! Guest Blogger: Alison

My favorite thing about Christmas is the spirit of giving that is in
the air. People's generosity never ceases to amaze me every year, and
especially this year when I know most people have a tighter budget
than usual yet they still donate their time and money to those less
fortunate. It truly is a beautiful thing.

I love to help people in need, so I'm a sucker for pretty much every
charity fundraiser that a coworker or friend asks me to donate to.
Giving is so much more rewarding than receiving, and nothing makes me
happier than to see the look of gratitude on someone's face when
you're able to help them out in their time of need.

My least favorite thing about Christmas is when those less fortunate
EXPECT to be taken care of. It's definitely a struggle for me because
I really want to help everyone, and I can clearly see that this person
could use some help. But when someone approaches me asking when I'm
going to get around to helping them, I start to resent being
generous. Yes, this person might be in a tough situation, but their
expectation of receiving a generous donation is not right.

This event reminded me of the passage in Daniel where Nebuchadnezzar
was going to throw three men into a blazing furnace for refusing to
worship his gods.

Daniel 3:17-18
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able
to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But
even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not
serve your gods."

God is capable of rescuing us from any tough situation we are in, but
He doesn't have to and we shouldn't expect Him to. When we start
having expectations of what we think we deserve and what God should be
providing for us, it's like we are undermining God's work. God is a
generous father and He wants to give us everything our hearts desire.
But the moment we start expecting his generosity is the moment He
turns his back to our plight.

God, I am so thankful for all of the blessings you have provided to
me. There are times when I feel like I'm not being recognized for my
achievements, that I'm not getting what I deserve, and I thank you for
helping me discern when my expectations of you begin to undermine your
plan for me.

Beware of Persimone: (no, not a root vegetable that grows from the ground): GUEST BLOGGER: Allison

Haggai 1:9-11
"You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands."


Freedom’s teaching last night about the different spirits of Mammon
(money) really struck a chord with me, especially the spirit of
stinginess (parsimony). I’d never considered myself to be stingy, but I am extremely sentimental about pretty much everything. Combine that with the phase I went through in my early to mid twenties where I bought everything I wanted when I wanted it regardless of need (spirit of greed), and you will find that I have a LOT of stuff. And most of the stuff I now own I rarely or never use or even look at!

I started my purging a couple months ago because I wanted to get more
organized. When you have too much stuff that you rarely or never use
and you really don't need, you kind of get lost in the clutter. For
example, I have a huge walk-in closet and it is completely packed with
clothes. If it weren't for needing clean underwear, I would probably
only do laundry once every two months. Sounds like a good thing
having so many clothes, right? Wrong. It takes me longer to get
ready in the morning because I can't decide what to wear; I have too
many choices.

God revealed to me last night the underlying reason why I need to “clean house.” Yes, being more organized will be a side effect of
ridding myself of the excess. But the real reason he is telling me to
purge so many of my possessions is to flush out the spirit of
stinginess that has lived in me for so long. God wants me to have abundance, but abundance does not mean having more possessions than I need. He is teaching me how to trust him, that he will provide for my
needs as they arise. I don’t need hang on to clothes that don’t fit
just in case one day they do fit again. He is also teaching me that
none of my material possessions have any real value in his kingdom.
There may come a day when God’s abundance for me means nicer, newer,
more material things, but I first need to become a better owner of the
things he has granted me custody of now.
Wow! I have definitely been humbled.

Thanksgiving Family FIGHTS: encouragement! Guest Blogger: Allison

"Don't be discouraged"

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Early this morning I was sitting in my parents' kitchen with my
parents and sister. I was talking about giving thanks to all of
blessings that we have in our lives, and my sister went on her
negativity kick.

This is so frustrating to me for many reasons. Her and I used to be
very close up until a couple years ago; we have mended the broken ties
but I find myself not wanting to spend time with her. Her constant
negativity and worldly nature are the complete opposite of how I view
life, so it's a constant battle during conversations we are both
involved in. It's not like we are having screaming matches but rather
I find myself walking away to avoid saying something I might regret
later. I miss the close friendship her and I shared for so many years
but I just don't see it coming back anytime soon.

After the conversation about giving thanks for all our blessings, I
began to feel really discouraged about this whole day and was
definitely under attack. I excused myself from the room and I asked
God for a word; he told me to read Galatians. I hadn't yet read the
Book of Galatians, but it was exactly what I needed to hear. I read
all six chapters, which really uplifted my spirit about my walk as a
Christian. And at the end of Galatians was my rhema. I won't be
discouraged by my sister's negative attitude and I will continue to
speak blessing over her because I know that one day I will bear
witness to the harvest.

Thank you God for all of the blessings you have bestowed upon my life
and my family's lives. Thank you Jesus for bearing my sins so that I
could be set free and for the freedom I have by living through you.
Amen!