Month: November 2010

Sign My Name Sign My Name

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My name is Susan Young. I write a blog for women. I write about real-life things that interest me and may be helpful to other women. I don’t shy away from issues, I tell the truth and as I grow and process through my own life, I let all of you know because it may be helpful. My picture is posted on the page. I talk about my kids, my marriage, and my life, my struggles and my victories.

I love God with my whole heart. I believe in a heaven and a hell and I believe in the word of God, also known as the bible to lead me there. I don’t think there are many paths and you won’t really find me listening to a whole lot of voices.

I don’t get into the doomsday prophesy stuff. I believe the bible is pretty clear on when the end will come and I believe that if you live ready it doesn’t even matter when it is. If you have to live scared to stay saved shame on you.

I believe that my primary responsibility is to talk to people about Christ. To try and reach as many as possible. I believe this blog helps me and I believe that people see a real person, imperfect and flawed, just trying to do the best she knows how.

I copyright my blog so when you copy it, you are plagiarizing my work. I have let it go since maybe you have nothing original of your own to say. You live in the dark and write things in secret so I know you aren’t of God. If you were, you would have done so in the light of the God you profess to know. You are filled with hatred and secret loathing of women and their issues. You blame them for your issues although all of us are accountable for our actions.

Funny, since you keep track of my blog, you would know that I don’t give anonymous responses the time of day. I didn’t read past the first two lines of your anonymous letter where I saw my work plagiarized. I looked at the last page and saw there was no signature nor email address nor phone number and knew it was garbage sent to me directly from hell.

Get thee behind me Satan, I really don’t have the time for your games. You see, I sign my name on my work.

Everyday I fight for all my future somethings
A thousand little wars I have to choose between
I could spend a lifetime earning things I don’t need
That’s like chasing rainbows and coming home empty

And if you strip me, strip it all away
If you strip me, what would you find
If you strip me, strip it all away
Ill be alright

Take what you want steal my pride
Build me up or cut me down to size
Shut me out but I’ll just scream
I’m only one voice in a million
But you aint taking that from me
Oh oh no you aint taking that from me

I dont need a microphone to say what I been thinking
My heart is like a loudspeaker thats always on eleven

Cause when it all boils down at the end of the day
Its what you do and say that makes you who you are
Makes you think about, think about it
Doesn’t it
Sometimes all it takes is one voice

For His Pleasure

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cadillac nav system

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

We were created for God’s pleasure. The word pleasure in the Greek is Thelema and its definition is:
what one wishes or has determined shall be done
of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ
of what God wishes to be done by us
commands, precepts will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure

It was God’s choice to create us and His desire. In these days of tough economic times and with all the things going on in the world, it’s sometimes hard for someone to understand what God really had in mind. It would seem as if we were created for his pleasure that he would take no pleasure in our suffering. He doesn’t take any pleasure in it at all.

When I was growing up, I thought God was just sitting on a throne of judgment with a scowl on his face ready to render judgment and cast my soul to hell. This is why I have such a problem with parents who tell their kids that, “God’s gonna get you”! Not that my parents did that, but my religion did. They meant well, it kept us on a specific track but it wasn’t biblical. 

So while we find ourselves in uncertain times and we look to heaven and wonder why God allowed this, the answer is He didn’t. There is a little thing called Free Will that gives us the ability to change the track of where we are supposed to go. When God is in control of our lives, he directs where we are going. Often we ignore his direction.

My husband has a love/hate relationship with Navigation System in our car. He takes the time to punch in the address and then argues with directions. Halfway through the trip he is changing course and direction and is in a battle with the Navigation System as to the best way to get there.

We were created for his pleasure. He takes delight in our well doing but just as any parent, he isn’t so pleased with our errors. I have two adult children and I want everything to be perfect for them but sometimes they make decisions without wise counsel and that sends them on a path that I would have never chosen for them. Yet, they are adults who live in their own homes and I must abide by their decisions whether I agree with them or not.

It is the same with God. In order to establish a kingdom on earth. He then put a king on earth, Adam, and eventually you and I. He had to then allow us to make decisions that shaped and influenced our kingdom. God’s hope and his pleasure was that we’d counsel up. Imagine the feeling that God must have when our prayers come up not for the messes we find ourselves in but for counsel for the things we are thinking about doing?

Just like the Navigation System where we punch in the address, then we change course and question routes, we find ourselves driving in wrong directions or taking a long scenic tour instead of the course originally set. When people say things like, “If God is so good why are there people suffering on the planet?” We need only to point the finger at the masters of that planet, you and I. If we could learn to live for His pleasure we’d find a lot of answers to the world’s problems and eradicate much of the suffering. Maybe this year, we’ll get a little closer to what’s important.

What Happened?

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This year our church participated in a Harvest Festival with 11 other churches in our city. We met in the town square and set up booths of games and food on Halloween Night. As is usually the case, the questions arose.

Should we celebrate Halloween?

Aren’t we supposed to stay home on that night?

Why are glorifying the devil?

Naturally we answered all the questions. Who created the day? God! So if He created the day then why would we dedicate the day to the devil? We accept the word,

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This post really isn’t about all of this per se. This post is about something that’s really been stirring in my soul. I am wondering how we call ourselves the army of God and then we go and hide on a day that someone deemed the devil’s day.

In any war there are two generals. They count the cost of the battle and determine whether they can win or not. I guess in this case we failed to listen to the general’s orders and we went home in defeat. I wonder if we understand our dominion mandate and what that really means? By stepping out on a night that is supposed to be evil and participate in a town square event in the middle of our city, I believe we took back the night. When we played a game where the children who attended, were given a marshmallow and a sling shot and told that they had to slay Goliath, many asked us the story. We told about great King David and a lot of kids didn’t know the bible story at all. By loving some kids enough to plant a seed into their souls, giving them a snack and teaching them a bible story, we took Sunday School to the streets. We were taking dominion.

Even that, isn’t the point of this post. The point is, knowing the bible the way we do, what made some turn and run in fear? We became like Elijah after a big victory, turning and running from Jezebel. Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe it’s a self-esteem issue, maybe it’s because we don’t understand our power and our Father’s power, or because we thought were alone. Whatever it is, there are many who haven’t bowed to Halloween and are ready and waiting to gather together and take back the night.

When Sin Becomes Normal

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My husband was dropping off some paperwork at a believer’s house. The woman invited him in and this being her new home she proceeded to show him around the new place. She even showed him the bedroom she sleeps in with the man she is not married to. I guess when sin becomes normal there is no need for pretending even with the man you call Pastor.  

What is it that shuts down our reactions to right and wrong? When a person who doesn’t have a personal relationship with Christ does the same thing we excuse it as ignorance but is this the same answer for a believer? 

Could it be that a believer may have walked away from their relationship with Christ so that the still small voice has gotten quiet and since we no longer hear it we take it as approval? Could it be that the world’s call to do what everyone else is doing has just become too enticing to not take advantage? These are the questions stirring around in my heart as I write. I want to learn from this. For you see, I was many things in my youth, many worldly things, but now that I have come before the throne of grace and love and surrendered my life, my desire is to learn. My desire is to want what is best for me and to never stop hearing the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 

Recently, my friend came over my house. I heard myself spilling out about two dreams I’ve had about someone and how I was worried about them. Only afterward, did I think it was gossip. This conversation was not about my friend nor about me. At first, I excused it for the reality it was. I wanted to talk about my feelings with someone that I knew I could trust. Then, I had to come clean and repent. It doesn’t matter what I want, it doesn’t matter that the Lord has put this person on my heart, it doesn’t matter that I don’t have someone in the physical realm to talk to about it, it matters that I do the right thing. I never want to become so dulled that I don’t recognize when I blow it. 

In order to keep that up though it must become routine and habit that I go to the Lord for sustenance and examination. In the same way that I go to the kitchen to get something to eat when I am hungry, and then choose what is good for food, I must go to the Lord to feed my soul. I’ve got to exercise my faith that when I am feeling alone with too many responsibilities and no one to share them with that God will be my confidant and He will direct my path. I’ve got to remind myself of the scripture that comes to mind and not give in to what people say is normal. I must choose a different path. 

Therein lies the answer of when sin becomes normal. It becomes normal when I reject the teaching I’ve had, and the teacher Himself, and I succumb to what I want rather than what is best for me.