Are you McHappy?

I was the speaker at a Women's breakfast in Novemeber. This is what I shared..........              

  I’d  like to pose a question. Are You Mc-Happy?

           In 1940  McDonalds brothers  opened their  very first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

71 Years later there are more than 33,000 McDonalds restaurants in 123 different countries

When you think of McDonalds what pops into your head?

                                     Burgers, fries, nuggets shakes, Fast, Easy convenient ?

            I think that it is safe to say that we are living in a Mc society that is in search of Mc Happiness. I  want what I want, I want if fast, and I want it to be convenient.

            I’m over weight….why? Well the obvious reason is that I eat too much? The next question why do eat I to much. Well early in life I made a connection between food and happiness. I feel sad, I eat ice cream and for a little while I don’t feel so sad. I feel stressed, I eat chips. And for a little while I don’t feel so stressed.

          I have been using food to supply instant happiness. It is this instant gratification to which I am referring when I ask, “Are you Mc-Happy” the ‘happy’ that fades away as fast as it came.

         Over the past few months I’ve been working hard to watch what I eat and I’ve been trying to get to the gym and I’ve dropped about 30 lbs. wow that s great you say?  You’re not using food to deal with stress and sadness. Well it sounds good. I have been doing better with the stress eating, but guess what? My Christmas shopping is almost done….every time I felt stressed, sad, or lonely. I found myself shopping. The internet has made it so very easy. You can shop from your home, at any time of the day!  Now right now it is kind of working out, but what happens in January  when there are no  more gifts that need to be purchased. Where am I going to find my instant happy?

          Where do go in search of instant gratification?

     Are you like me. Does food give you the instant gratification that you’re looking for. Do you feel  a little less stressed with each fry?

   May be your vice is clothes. Do you love to have a new pair of jeans? Does a new shirt make you smile?

Maybe your clothes closet is empty, but what about your basement,  your attic and garage? Are they filled with things that you had to have. Were you able to chase away the blues when you were at the yard sale buying things that you didn’t really need?

 Some of you may escape into computer games,  face book, or TV to hide from the sadness and stress that are lurking.

 None of these things are bad in moderation. But every now and then stop and ask yourself why….why am I eating this piece of cake when I’m not hungry? Why did I just buy this second hand bowl when my kitchen cabinets are already filled with bowls? Why did I buy a pair of Jeans that I don’t need? Why did I just spend an hour on the computer playing a game when my house is a mess  and there are things that need to be done?

 I’ll tell you why.

Ladies,   we have been lied to. We women have been lied to since the very beginning! And every where we turn we hear more lies.

 In the book Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we read that God created the heavens, the earth, the animals, and Adam, and then we read that God wanted Adam to have suitable helper. So He, God, put Adam into a deep sleep and using one of Adam’s ribs created Eve.

READ Genesis 3: 1- 6

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”     Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”     So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate

Eve believed the lies. She listened she looked, she touched, and she ate…..Do you think Joy and happiness filled her heart when she was hiding from God? How about when she and Adam were taking the last few steps out of the garden, the paradise where they had walked with God, do you think that she was joyful then?

If you turn on the TV you are bombarded with adds promising that smooth, wrinkle, free skin will make us happy, we are told  that being skinny will solve all of our woes, and that every girl needs  a big fat diamond to make her truly joyful!   Those are all pretty wonderful, but they will only provide us with Fleeting Mc-Happiness. And before we know it the joy will be gone and we will be left with the ... Sadness ... suffering and ... emptiness.

 Ladies our minds are constantly being pulled away from the one place where true happiness and eternal joy can be found.

 In the book of Galatians we read the fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long suffering, gentleness, and self control god wants us to be happy, but really happy not the fleeting Mc-Happy stuff that the world wants to give us.

 In  Psalm 21

King David says, “The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!”

 King David has just returned from a battle.  He was rejoicing because the Lord saved Israel from their enemies.

Have you received the Salvation of the Lord?

The Bible tells us in  Romans 6:23  that the wages of sin is death

We all think, and say, and do things that are wrong, we are sinners everyone of us
We deserve to be punished for those sins

 But the verse continues to say that ....but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God the Father knowing sent His only Son to this earth to take our punishment. He was crucified for us…….

 I can’t think of anything else that could possible give me more joy than having a personal relationship with someone who loves me so much that He gave his life for me.

In the book of Isaiah I read that when life is rough I don’t have to stand alone. I can lean on the Lord and be strong through Him

Isaiah 40:31 New King James Version (NKJV)
³¹ But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Ladies this information is the opposite of the fleeting mc-happy. Those jeans you bought. They are going to go out of style. Those delicious milk chocolate candies will be gone in a swallow. Houses burn, money gets spent, but our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ is eternal and He tells us

Isaiah 41:10 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁰ Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

This information makes me feel pretty happy. I don’t have to stand against the world alone.

This, the BIBLE is where we should be looking for our happiness

 God’s word is filled with reasons to be happy. Happiness that will not fade away like the taste of fries on your tongue.

I challenge you to take time out of your day and spend it in the word of God. I promise that you will find joy. When you are feeling stressed the book of psalms is filled with songs giving us reason to rejoice in our Savior. If you are suffering from sadness read Mark chapters 14 – 16. We have a Savior who loves, who died, for us, who is so powerful that He could not be conquered by death but rose again on the third day and rules now and will forever more into eternity…..If you have accepted Him as your savior you can rest in the joy that will too will spend eternity in glory!

When I see my kids hurting my heart breaks, but I am still filled with joy.

When I receive a hurtful email that maked me cry, I am still filled with joy.

When a  friend died in the prime of her life I hurt more than I thought possible, but I was still filled with joy because I have a savior who didn’t expect  me to handle any of those situation on my own. I have a savior who loves me, who stands by my side, and even carries me when all strength has left and I can’t stand on my own.  Through all of my hardships, I cling to the joy that comes only from Jesus Christ

 Are you Mc-happy or are you filled with the joy of the LORD?

Mary or Martha

Oh to be a Mary who can sit contentedly at Jesus feet while all about her cooking and cleaning need to be done.
I remember hearing that story when I was very young and even then I just didn't get it. why was Mary so special? Wasn't she lazy? Martha, I thought was really the one to emulate. She was such a hard worker, getting all of the cooking and cleaning done; making sure that her guests were well fed and comfortable. I must admit that although I believed my teachers and pastors when they told me that I supposed to be like Mary and NOT like Martha, I really didn't get it. And as little as I would like to admit it, it is really in the last few months that the Lord made the true distinction between the two make sense to me.
I am a mover and a shaker I love to be busy and when I stop moving I have a terrible time staying focused. Those who sit near me on Sunday evenings at church know that I crochet during service. I am actually more attentive if my fingers are busy. To my families dismay I rarely make it through a movie without falling asleep and if I do I don't remember what it was about a few days later.  I really HATE to be idle! I Love to look back on my day and see a long list of accomplishments.
Sitting at someones feet and listening to them speak when there was so much around me needing to get done would kill me. Doing my morning devotions when there are dishes in the sink makes me crazy! How sad is it that?!?!?
I have a Lord and Savior who created the entire universe. He is so amazing and He is wants to spend time with me...little old me. Mary really had it right. In the grand skeam of things she got so much more accomplished that day than her sister Martha.

Kindles, 1 Samuel, Fruit, and Back packing...Yep, I have a case of the rambles!!!!

I LOVE my Kindle! My good friend told me that she listens to the text to voice option while she does dishes. I am working on a gift for a friend so I decided to try it out the voice option. Now, I can't say that I love the way it sounds, but this morning I was able to listen to the first 6 books in I Samuel while I was working my craft! I have a terrible time just sitting. I need to multi task every waking minute of my day. To be able to work on a gift for a friend and listen to the word of God was the perfect; I am so happy that I tried it out.

The thing that really stuck in my head after 'listening' to I Samuel was Samuel saying, "I'm here...you called?" Sometimes I think that instead of saying I'm here, I put my fingers in my ears and pretend like I didn't hear a thing!  Hmmm, something else that I need to give to God. So often I let my fears guide my response to His calling.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I think it is odd that self control is at the very end of the list. If I were to use self control in all the areas of my life that I should then most of the others on list wouldn't be so difficult!

 I have a very vivid picture in my head of my quest to know God and to be the Christian woman that I should be. Above is a pic of my kids and me while on a backpacking trip with the WBC youth group. This trip is so similar to my life. I carried a heavy pack (I carry my worries, my sin, my lack of faith), I should have trained harder before going so that my muscles would have been ready (Need to be doing daily devos and listening to the word of God under good leadership whenever possible), I sprained my ankle and chipped a bone in my foot within the first few hours of the trip and continued to walk on it for two more days.( I fall into sin and doubt and instead of admitting I need help and turning to God I try to handle it on my own and just like my foot end up making things much worse!)
by the end of the trip I was bruised and battered, but I had seen some of the most beautiful views I could ever have imagined AND I was able to say I finished, I did it. Someday when I stand at the end of my life I hope that I will be able to look back and be able to proudly say that I trusted in God and I was a light that shined in the darkness. To know that all of the bumps and bruises were for God's glory would be the best thing ever!

Flowers and Fruit

A friend was coming to my home. As she drove down my street looking for the correct house number she noticed a yard with tons of flowers; although it did not match the house number that she had written down she knew it must be my home. She told me this when she came in, and it made me happy to know that my love of flowers is so evident in my yard.

Later I started to wonder if my love of Jesus is as evident in my life as my love of flowers is in my yard. If a stranger walks down my street they know that someone who lives here loves flowers. No signs are needed, no one needs to tell them it is just obvious. Do I have fruit in my life that makes my love obvious, do I need to tell people, and wear clothing that states, "I am a Christian"? I think it is time to take a very close look at my life. I need to watch very closely to make sure that the love of Christ shines through my every word and action!

Be Sober, Be vigilant

Several years ago I read a book featuring a group of woman who prayed together. Since then it has been my hearts desire to be part of a prayer group. The Lord laid the opportunity at my feet and I grabbed on with both hands.
We met in my home this morning at 9AM and plan to continue meeting here every Friday. We started this morning with introductions because several of the women had never met. It was such a blessing to have 4 churches represented. Although the structure of our Sunday services may differ, we are women who love the Lord and have a desire for Him to take our children into His hands and make them His own. The best way to describe the way I still feel almost seven hours later.....WOW! To hear other moms, some with little ones and some with adult children, cry out to the Lord for their children with the same passion that I feel was just amazing.
God has made so many wonderful promises in his word about prayer In Matthew 21: 22 Jesus said to his disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. ²² And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Our God is so good.
In I Peter 5: 6- 8 We Read  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
I grew up hearing this verse and I understood it without too much difficulty, but it wasn't until I had school aged children that I really got it. It seems like kids are attacked from every side. Looking back I know I was and sadly I fell right into a sinful life because I wanted so badly to be accepted. Part of me would like to keep my kids in a little Christian bubble with the shades drawn. That would please me, but how would that bring glory to God?  Remember what Jesus said about putting a light under a bushel? Wanting a good life for our kids is great, but wanting them to serve the Lord, be a light in the darkness, and bring glory to His name should be our hearts desire.
My husband and I have made sure that our kids know about God and the plan of salvation. We have taken them to church regularly, read the Bible with them, prayed with and for them. Both of my kids spent time in Christian schools. We have instilled the knowledge into their minds; what they do with that knowledge is up to them. I pray that they will go out into the world and when our adversary raises his ugly head and roars at them they will be steadfast and be a light to the world.

I praise God that as I Peter 5: 6 - 8 states , "He cares for you" GOD CARES FOR MY KIDS
OK, I know this and you probably know this, but sometimes I just can;t wrap my brain around the fact that the creator, the One who made the entire universe cares for me and my family. What a wonderful promise!

So until the times come for me to meet my blessed Redeemer I will try to be sober and vigilant; because my  adversary the devil is walking about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Sherri

But Lord, I don't want to want that!

A window into  my sinful heart.
Lord, I prayed I like that sin. I'm not going to ask you to help me avoid that sin yet, because it would just be words and I wont mean it. Like I said I really enjoy that sin; it makes me happy. Lord, I will pray instead that you will make my desire to please you greater than my liking of that sin. After that we can deal with the actual sin.
Have you ever been in a place where you enjoy whatever sin it is that you constantly find yourself?  I have always been a people pleaser, so through the years I have done pretty well at keeping the outward sins at bay, but oh boy the sins of my heart and mind are doozies. I have been ashamed to find as I Quest to know my Savior better that I like taking part in many of my sinful thoughts. My pride loves to look at others and make mental lists of how they are sinning. Boy do I feel good about myself when I put myself on an outward sin scale and find that they are way heavier.
I want so badly to know my savior better. For the first time in my life I think that I want this for the right reason. In the past I think I always wanted a great relationship with God so that I could reap the benefits. The miracles are great, but now just to know Him is fabulous! As I get to know Him better areas of sin in my heart and mind seem to blink like a neon sign. As I said above I like too much many of the things that I do so that sometimes I find I can't pray for help in those areas. I need to take it back a step and ask the Lord to make my desire to please and love Him greater than my liking of that sin. After that we can deal with the actual sin.

Pity Parties

While I was doing my devotions the other day. A conversation that I had the previous week with a friend popped into my head. My friend had confronted me to find out why I had made some comments to another friend. I was shocked by the situation, as I had not made any of the comments that I had been accused of. As I sat reading my Bible, my mind kept going back to the situation. How could this woman tells lies about me, I asked myself. Why would she do it? How is she going to benefit from people thinking I said these things? I was wallowing pretty deeply in my self righteous pity party when I realized that I had just read an entire passage in Matthew without really paying any attention to the words on the Page. I gave me head a shake and started over. As I began to read again I felt such shame. While I was having my pity party I had read all about Jesus and the struggle that he had in the garden. I read about Judas and the kiss that gave him away. Wow, I thought, here I am putting my own feelings ahead of getting to know my savior better. My situation was so very petty compared to what Christ was suffering. I know that it is OK to be annoyed and even get angry when someone tells lies about us, is rude, or unkind. In the gospels in mentions several times that Jesus was angered by the the behavior of the pharisees. Sometimes Jesus called the pharisees out about their rotten behavior, and sometimes He shook his head and headed out of town before they could cause Him anymore trouble. I never once read though that Jesus dwelt on the wrong doing. I don't remember the Gospels saying that He let the indignation of the wrongs done against Him to fill his mind and consume Him.
So in my quest for self control I now know that I need to use self control not to eat to much and to make good choices when I need to eat. I need to stay off of the scale because I know that I will get wrapped up in weight loss rather than dealing with the real issue of 'getting fruity', and I need to control my pity party time. when I find myself in a situation that makes me angry or hurt I need to give it to God. Sometimes I will need to deal with the situation, but Most of the time it is best to forgive, forget, and move on. The forgetting and moving on part will take a lot of prayer! I am so glad that God has promised to always be with me.

Ramblings about Scales and Stress

There is this ugly thing on my bathroom floor that causes me much stress and anxiety! You probably have one too. The bathroom scale can be a very beneficial tool, but in my life it causes me to stumble. The Bible tells us to get rid of such things, but the rest of my family won't let me. In my Quest for self control I find that the scale or rather weighing myself is an area where self control goes right out of the window. As I have shared previously I have given my stress eating sin to God. He has been so good in helping me to be strong these past weeks. But to my dismay as soon as I go a few days using self control in one area I find myself sinning in another. Losing weight is nice, but this time eating right is not about that. (It certainly is a nice side affect though) How can I possibly serve God to my fullest potential if I am always worn out, sore, tired, and grumpy from sugar highs and lows? Anyway, in the past when I have decided that it is time to lose weight I weigh myself constantly, and then I allow the numbers on the scale to decide how my day will be. If the numbers are lower I feel great about myself....cause it's all about me you know. If those numbers are the same or even worse, higher, I sulk and get angry and complain to God that he gave me a body with a low metabolism, and that it is not fair that I eat so  much less than my skinny friends and can't lose the weight. I rely so heavily on the scale that I rarely stop to think about the fact that my body has so much more energy, that my brain sees things more clearly, and that I can face stress without losing it because my sugar levels are where they should be. When I am in this very selfish state I have tunnel vision on me and my wants. I think that I have lost weight over the past weeks, but I don't know for sure. I haven't stepped on that scale and with the Lord's help I will keep eating right to please Him.
Stress. Stupid things cause me stress. It amazes me how my body reacts when something comes up. Example. Someone who causes me stress calls; I take a deep breath and answer the phone, but a second later I find myself with my hand on the refrigerator door. I feel startled about being there because I didn't consciously decide that I wanted to eat or decide to even enter the kitchen. It is like a magic trick, now I'm in the living room and poof I magically appear in the kitchen. I have read my Bible and prayed more in the past weeks than I have in the past year put together. My life is not that stressful, but by making the decision to go to God and not the kitchen when stress does occur I have had to ask for help and search His word for answers. The cool thing is that the more time I spend in His word and praying the more time I want to spend. Chips and Ice cream bring instant gratification, but it lasts only as long as the flavor is still on my tongue. Once the flavor leaves the stress is still there. But if I go to God, He gives me answers. Whatever caused the stress may still be there, but He gives me the strength to deal with it. I love that He loves me. I love that He wants me to feel good. I love that He always picks me up when I fall. and I really love that no matter what stupid mistakes I make He will always open his arms to me and accept my apology.his love for us is amazing!!!!!

A woman should be so lost in God, that a man has to seek Him to find her.

Hm, where does Tim need to look to find me? Too often I can be found wrapped up in what the world thinks is important. Lately though with the Lord's help I can be found in his word and striving to have self control. When I asked God to make obvious to me the areas in which I need to exhibit more self control I knew that the list would be long. I, however did not realize just how long that list would be! The first and most obvious area is with food. I eat for so many reasons, but rarely due to hunger. I am what 'people' call a stress eater. but you know what, no matter how hard I look no where in the Bible does it tell me that when I am stressed I should eat a bag of chips, and I am sure there is no  mention of having a big bowl of ice cream when in the midst of a crisis. I have looked really hard, hoping I would find some mention of chips or ice cream, and to my dismay it just isn't there :( In fact what I found was quite the opposite.

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.
- Chips and ice cream don't care for me. If they did they would be packed full of vitamins and they wouldn't make me fat. Really though, we live in a sinful world and people, all people, even the people who love you most will sometimes let you down, but what a blessing to know that we have God who cares for each one of us personally!

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 
- Sadly, alcoholics and stress eaters have a lot in common. When stress surrounds them the urges become almost unbearable to the body. Do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Maybe food is not a self control issue for you. Maybe right now you're thinking, "just don't eat". I wish it were that simple! My flesh is very weak. I am so thankful that in my hour of weakness (which is very often) I can cry out to my Lord and He will give me the strength that I need. He wants me to succeed. He wants me to be healthy. and "We were made for More! More that Failure.....more than this cycle....more than being ruled by our taste buds, body image, rationalizations, and guilt. we were made for victory!"~Lysa Terkeurst
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength,  A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed,  And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah 
- I love the 'Selah' at the end. The information in these verses is so awesome that the reader is encouraged to sit quietly and contemplate it. If God can keep me safe in the storm, I know that when stress abound He can keep me from the fridge!............self control-doing the right thing even when I don't feel like it......Next time... sleep? ...shopping?...work?...housework?....prayer time?

Time to Get Fruity

Several weeks ago I began feeling ill at ease every time I made a decision. I am not talking about decisions like, do I buy that car or not. I'm talking about deciding what to eat for lunch, how to spend my afternoon, and should I buy that new pair of shoes or not. (If you know me at all you know that I do NOT need a new pair of shoes). A few weeks after my niggling feelings began my pastor preached a sermon from Ephesians. I sat and listened to him talk about how God needs to be in the forefront of our minds at all times and how our decisions need to made based on his will for us. Now this is certainly not new information to me. Before any large decision is made IE buying a new car, choosing whether or not to take a job, I always go to the Lord in prayer. The pastor did not stop there. He began to talk about how the things in our lives that we put before God are our idols (another bit of info that is not new to me) then he did it, he said, are you putting food before God, how about things, maybe you put your children before God. The list went on, and I felt myself trying to sink into the pew.

God had been preparing my heart for this sermon!

I went home that afternoon feeling very unsettled. I had just sat through a sermon full of information that I already knew, but I felt like the Holy Spirit had picked me up and had given me a good shake and said, "This is for you. Apply this to your life. Don't just go home and forget this!"

After making lunch I pulled out my Kindle (one of my very favorite things in the whole wide world) and started through the list. Hm, what did I feel like reading? Still feeling unsettled my eyes fell on to the title of a devotional book that I downloaded weeks before. I'm not sure why I never looked at it, but I think God may have allowed it because I needed to be at just the right spot before I began to read it. The devotional is called Craving God. when I downloaded it I had no idea of the content and had never heard of the author. The title just sounded good. It turns out the book is about Craving God instead of food specifically. As I began to read I kept coming across the phrase, self control. I remember telling my kids when they were small that self control is doing the right thing even when you don't feel like it. Now as I continued reading that annoying niggling feeling got worse and worse. Yea, I use self control in all the big events, but the little things are getting by. And self control isn't just some nice little thing that we should try; it is one of the fruits of the spirit. So I told God, "God, I need to get fruity, and I'd like to start with self control. Please give me the strength to follow this through and to see areas where I need to use self control." Wow, what have I gotten myself into........to be continued