Captain's Blog

Life is very busy and sometimes chaotic. Responsiblities and self inflicted business keeps us hopping. When we feel unhappy or feel that God is not with us, well we don't even know where to begin to find out what it could possibly be.

How I came to thinking about this began last night. I took my oldest son Levi to an Improv Night at our church. We both had a blast. We were out later than his bed time though and I knew that today would be a little rough. Forgetting that Levi did not get enough sleep I responded to his impatience as I normally would.

So how does this tie together? Well Levi had another factor to consider when he faced the day. He was tired. Children that have a schedule don't have a lot of extra factors to figure out why they are having the type of day they are.

How many factors do we have to sift through to realize why our day is going the way it is? How many things do we blame God or satan for when we are not disciplined about our time and sleep?

I am guilty of this myself. I am selfish and want to stay up late to have "me" time cause I think I deserve it. "I" don't deserve anything. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. I deserve death. Wow that's harsh. But looking at it that way wow I am blessed to be alive. I am blessed to have my amazing family. I am blessed to have an amazing extended family. I am blessed to have great friends and I am blessed to do the work God has planned for my life.

Get back to the basics. The world will try to tell you that basic is boring. Living a "basic" Christian life will be anything but boring.

Life is short. Be diligent with your time. Be disciplined in what you do and say. Say no sometimes. The Bible says let your yes be yes and your no no. That means it's ok to say no! I had to grow in this area. I can't please everyone and I shouldn't try. I am to please the Lord that's it.

Be blessed as you look at your day and your life and think about setting a schedule. Don't just let your life happen by chance or do what you feel like doing. I'm sure Christ didn't "feel like" dying. We are to die to self everyday. I'm thinking that would be easier than dying on a cross. Die to self and live for Him.

Alanne.

Marriage is much like owing your own business. Let me explain.

I have been a consultant with BeautiControl for over a year now and every month they have what's called a Unit Meeting. Consultants get together and several selected people share what they find works for their business and all the consultants are free to ask questions.

Sometime I don't feel like going but when I do I get renewed energy and new ideas on how to propel my business forward.

How often do we think our marriage will just work on it's own? I know I often do. We need to work at it and getting new ideas by talking to friends and seeing what works for them is so helpful.

I am truly thankful for the friends that God has placed in my life. I am thankful for my extended family. I am thankful for who I am in Christ.

I did this illustration with my boys today. I put a sealed full can of coke and an empty can of coke in front of each of them. I told them that they are things in the world like bully's, sickness, bad things. And that the coke cans are them. I explained that when we ask Christ to be the Lord of our lives, He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us. Everyday when we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us we are like a sealed coke can. So I asked them to crush it. They couldn't. Then I asked them to crush the empty can. They did easily. Then Gabe said well we didn't crush the full one hard enough. So I said go ahead crush it harder. Didn't happen. They got it.

I hope you get it too. We need the Holy Spirit to fill us and we need to surround ourselves with Godly people who will tell us what we need to hear not just what is not going to hurt us.

Life with God is amazing. Your highs are amazing. Your lows are raw and real but good. You know that you are living to the fullest when you can experience every emotion and say it's good.

I think of Ben Johnson a speaker from CLA Vancouver who was speaking at a teen sports camp. He started his message and he was completely awkward. He even said that it was awkward. I was thinking come on here you are talking to teenagers, get it together! Then he went on to share that if we embraced awkward moments how many of them could be used for God. When describing an awkward moment he let out an emotional, adrenaline rush roar and said "That's good."

What is good? Easy is what I used to think. Fun is what I used to think. Not anymore.

Over this last week I have really given thought to what Christ went through on the cross. I know that He went through so much pain that perhaps no human has experienced before or since. I know He said Father let this cup pass from me. I myself have said this week. I don't think I can do this. My friend reminded me that I can and that it's good. Perhaps God said that to Jesus. You can do this and it's good. Perhaps you need to hear that you can do this and it's good.

Raw, real emotions are amazing. Embrace them. Feel them.

Be blessed as you live out today.

Alanne.

Sometimes we see glimpes of God's plan but not the whole picture. When you get glimpes take my advice and ask God what the next step is. Sometimes the glimpes we see are His plan but not yet. So what does that have to do with Life, God and Sex. Well hang in there and lets see if I can explain.

This might be 2 posts worth of information but I'm sure they will tie together, here we go.....

Just in case you didn't know submission has nothing to do with equality. We are all made in the image of God and we all heirs. All equal. Different roles.

Now to speak directly to submission,

Dr. Wayne Grudem says "The idea of headship and submission never began! It has always existed in the eternal nature of God himself. And in this most basic of all authority relationships, authority is not based on gifts or ability; it is just there...[The relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit] is one of leadership and authority on the one hand and voluntary, willing, joyful submission to that authority on the other hand. We can learn from this that submission to a rightful authority is a noble virtue. It is a privilege. It is something good and desirable. It is the virtue that has been demonstrated by the eternal Son of God forever. It is His glory, the glory of the Son as He relates to the Father.

I guess I've always thought of "submission" (in a negative conetation) as thought up in the early days when women started to try to work outside the home and men didn't want them to. This is more like when the problems began. And why might the problems have begun then? Hmmm. Women outside the home?

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

Mark Twain "I have far more trouble with the things I do understand in the Bible than the things I don't understand." :)

Now here me out. I have resisted this my whole life. I'm no femanist but I have rights! Yeah only to submit.

Carolyn Mahaney in Femaine Appeal "...the submissive wife - far from being the weak willed woman our culture portrays - is actually a model of inner strength. By God's grace, she has conquered this oppostion within her own heart. It is actually weakness on display when a wife is not submissive; she is only caving in to her natural inclination to usurp authority and demand her own way. That doesn't take any effort at all!

After I read this I thought wow. She is bang on. This just sat right. Not easy to hear but it is true and something inside me agrees with every word and wants to fight with all I have to possess inner strength.

The other day I was at Toys R Us, we were buying a present for Orin for his birthday, and I saw the ugliest scene. A women was arguing with her husband in a not so quiet way, not yelling but definately disrespectful and demeaning. I would have thought nothing of that before. In fact I have done that and felt like my point was being made if not heard. Selfish! Now that I am aware of how ugly that is well I want to be far from that in my life. I felt awful for the husband cause he was very meek, definately not trying to make a scene and reason with his wife.

Ladies, I'm not fully there but I'm encouraged to grow in this area.

Now for the kicker. I was thinking about my sons and who they are going to marry one day. How do I want my daughter-in-laws to treat my sons? People say we marry our opposite sex parent. Would I want my sons to marry someone like me? Would I want my daughter-in-laws to treat my sons like I treat Kevin sometimes? Ouch. Am I the only one feeling that?

The saying goes I can yell at my kids but don't you dare. I can demand that my kids submit but I won't. Messed up!

God is clear and satan is trying to make everything fuzzy. God is not a God of confusion. He is clear. It is simple to grasp. We just need to choose to do it. Easier said than done, however that's why we have each other.

Hebrews 10:24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Be encouraged as we fight our natural inclinations.

God said, "I am with you" Jeremiah 30:11

Go warrior princess.

Alanne.

Lately for many Christians the focus has not been on the Ten Commandment and the Law. We have moved to focusing on Christ. The problem is

that we forget that God gave us those laws and they were not just for the people in the "Bible Times".

"a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true" Merriam-Webster

This to me really describes Christianity and the life of a Christian.

How can submission be freeing? How can less be more? How can giving be better than receiving? How can death be living?

Do you struggle with any of these questions? Ask God to show you the truth.

John 14:6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Blessings,

Alanne

Zephaniah 3:17 says "The Lord... will quiet you with his love,.."

I thought about that verse for a while in comparison to my life and these other verses came to my mind.

Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God;.."

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians4:6-8

So these verses really challenged me with my time. Many things in my life are "loud" and busy. The world may think these are ok for a person following Christ as their personal savior but it's not. At times sure but not the norm. Let me explain.

Being still and peace and quiet are necessities in the core of our lives at all times. We can be loud and very expressive but when we are doing the will of God and thinking on him in all we do we "are" experiencing inner peace and quiet and stillness. If you are not I challenge you to throw off inner noise or that chaiotic feeling and business. Give God your all and ask him to sort it out and reveal what your priorities should be.

I love the quote I read on my friend Rebecca's profile on Facebook. "The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face to rule it." HL Mencken

How many times does something in our lives have a false-face? Eek I'm speaking to myself here. Like Pastor Dave would say "oh now I'm medaling".

So all this to say have discipline with your time and be accountable to someone. Make a plan. I've done it. It doesn't make the temptation less but it helps keep you on track.

Blessings as we walk together.

Alanne.

Well that's not exactly what I was going to talk about but it is something that has been consuming much of any free time that I might have and then some. So nothing real "spiritual" to say... (I know what you are thinking...)

As many of you know I have been doing BeautiControl for over a year now and have been doing well with it on the Island. Edmonton so far is another story. It has been very challenging. All this to say that I'm realizing something about myself. When things go well for me I sort of see it as normal and when things don't I look for someone to do something about it. How selfish is that? Well I don't intend on being selfish but wow Suck it up sista! (that is note to self)

I have been encouraged at my Unit meeting though. Now to find the time. Well I guess if I was putting some effort into BeautiControl and spending less time on Facebook..... :)

I am going to put in some work this weekend and see how it goes.

Bless you this Easter as you reflect on what Christ did for you and as you learn more about yourself in relation to Him.

Alanne.

As a friend of mine, Sandi Meyerhoff said "If my feet hit the ground at the same time as my kids, I'm already behind." How true is that!

I am struggling in my life to balance everything I "need" to get done and everything that gets done. So this blog is pretty much about me to encourage me. Come along for the ride! If I treated my life like a business I think it would look very different. I am a very professional person. I do struggle with organizing but have definately improved in that area by finding systems that works. So how can I be professional as a Home Manager?

I believe all successful businesses start with a plan. So I need to make a plan. To begin my plan I need to spend some time with the Lord. I often want to make a plan and then ask God to approve it. Backwards!

So I will be doing that right after this as long as the kids allow me a few minutes.

I do want to leave you with one last thought that was running through my head this morning. On the thought of running my home like a business, Why don't I look good for my job? I spoke resently and one of the headings was "Looking Good and Being Attractive." If I was going to a job outside the home I would look good (or at least presentable) If I was heading out with friends, same thing. Why am I not treating my Home Manager job like that?

I am challenged. I still feel overwhelmed, inadequate and scattered but I will work on a plan.

Thanks for coming along.

Alanne.