What are you made of?

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Here is the story of Peter, from my memory and interpretation (I've heard several sermons over the many years on these particular passages including Gary Wiens, Joe Steinke, and my dad Kerry Dunn):

Scene 1: Last Supper

Jesus: "I am going to die. Everyone of you will fall away."

Peter: "Everyone will fall away, but I will never leave you. I will die for you."

Jesus: "Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. Tonight before the rooster crows you will deny me three times."

Scene 2: Trial

Peter is warming himself by the fire. He denies Christ 3 times. The rooster crows and he looks up. Some people say his eyes meet Jesus eyes. He runs away broken-hearted.

Sometimes, we think all the Bible stories end with "happy endings" and we think the people in the stories were fine, strong in their faith all along because we know what happens in the end. But stop here. Stop in this moment. Peter thought he knew who he was. He didn't. At this moment, Peter had stepped into the darkest moment of his life. I'm sure he felt like he was in a dark pit. We run away when we see our darkness, but guess who is interceding on our behalf, who sees the end? Jesus knew who he was, loved him as he was, and prayed for him to survive the test. Peter didn't know the end but Jesus saw the end ~ and when you turn back strengthen your brothers.

Scene 3: Peter fishing

Peter returned to his former life. Peter had failed.

Jesus calls him from the boat, and Peter jumps in and swims to shore (the desire and zeal of his heart never left; it was still there). Jesus said, "Do you "love me with abandon"?" Peter, "You know I "friend love" you." Jesus, "Feed my sheep."

Jesus a second time, "Do you "love me with abandon?" Peter, "I "friend love" you. Jesus, "Feed my sheep."

Jesus a third time, "Peter, do you just "friend love me?" Peter, "You know all things. You know what kind of love I have for you."

Jesus, "Yes, I know all things. And you do love me with abandon and there will be a day where you do give up your life on my behalf."

Sometimes we get broken. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we are in a dark pit and we don't know who we are. Through it all, Jesus is watching and sees what it is in our hearts. It doesn't get lost in the darkness. Jesus will call us out of the brokenness of our hearts and lift our eyes up to see Him and say, "I know you love me; that you love me with abandon. And I can and will use you. I know what you are made of better than you know yourself."

Smorgasbord Tuesday: The Fruit of the Spirit: LOVE

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So I've decided we will study the Fruit of the Spirit for the next 9 Smorgasbord Tuesdays. Summer is approaching (it's dragging it's feet in WI) and the thought of wearing a swimsuit is upon us. If you are like me, you may have to shed a little of that winter coat you collected over the last 6 months. My sister Wendy and I are doing Jillian's 30 Day Shred together; for us it is more like Jillian's 45-50 day shred, with a few treats in between (it's the thought that counts right?).

Anyway, as I am trying to clean up my diet and exercise it always turns me to applying God's Word into my life(way more enjoyable to me than exercise); hence the idea to study the fruit of the Spirit, to make our spiritual lives more healthy. How do you get fruit in your physical part of life? You either go to the grocery store, or you go directly to the source the fruit tree. You can't just pick it though, you need to eat it in order to get the benefits. The same it true in our Christianity. Do you want the fruit of the Spirit in your life? All you need to do is go to the source and ask for it. Other ways you can "taste" it is by hearing it at church or by reading the Word on your own. But very simply, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, tapping His toes waiting for you to give Him permission to move. Start asking Him for His help and you will see the difference that it makes.

So this week's fruit is LOVE. What is love? Love is patient, it is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it keeps no record of wrong, it always trusts, always hopes, always preservers. Love comes first, in the list of the fruit because it is the foundation of our lives; nothing is of value if it doesn't contain love. We love because He first loved us. The greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and then to love others. We can't successfully live this life without love. The way to be most successful at living this life is to go to the source who lives inside of you, who wants to help you and teach you how to love!

So here is what I'm asking you to do. If you don't have a journal you should have one! (Don't worry, I only write in mine at least once a month...) Anyway, write down the fruit of the week in your journal and put the rank you would give yourself currently in applying this to your life (from 1 ~ I stink to 10 ~ I've got this down pat!). Now this week take the fruit of the week and apply it to your life ~ not on your own strength though but by asking the Holy Spirit! I'm not about us gritting our teeth and pushing through, because that only lasts for so long. I'm about us experiencing the real freedom that comes only through the working of the Holy Spirit. Next week I will remind you to look back at your journal and write your new number and see if there has been any difference. Get the idea?

Be excited! I am.

Resources: Money-Saving Tips

Hello All,

This months Resources contain ways that you can save $$$!

First, I added a new feature to my website: a coupon bar from Coupons.com. By clicking on this coupon bar you can print coupons directly from my website. So now you can save money while reading my blog! There are some good coupons there for stuff you really do use: like Kraft mayo, cheese, Oscar Mayer deli meat and more.

I am also passing along two blogs that I follow that give tips on how to save money. I have found both blogs to be very helpful and I am learning how to save real money.

Mom for Him is an amazing site! She has a family of 6 and feeds them all on a budget of $275 a MONTH! She is kind enough to share her secrets. I'm learning a lot and saving money but my budget is still not that low! She is also great at updating on any coupon deals; like BOGO free ice cream from Wendy's, free chocolate every Friday until September, and more. She is definitely worth stopping by and following.

Another money-saving blog I follow is called Latina on a Mission. She is a single mom from New York City and she shares a lot of money saving ideas too. Some of them duplicate Mom for Him, some of them are only valid in New York but some are good for anywhere. Tonight for instance, she blogged about a Restaurant.com discount. Restaurant.com allows you to buy coupons at a discounted price (for instance spend $10 but get a $25 dollar gift certificate). This weekend however you can save 80% with the code SPECIAL. I got $50 of gift certificates for only $4.00 (note when I go to eat I have to spend $35 so my out of pocket will be $24 for $70 worth of food). Restaurant.com contains restaurants nationwide; so you don't have to live in this area to get a discount. Latina on a Mission also runs contests. This month's contest is for a free pair of new Payless Shoes value of $25.

So if you are like me and always looking for a way to save a buck or get something for free, you will want to check out these websites.

Why do I throw out the good?

Here is something I've been thinking about the last 3 months or more... It's just something I've been talking to God about. I am trying to learn how to react differently when I am faced with negative situations. Maybe you won't relate, but thanks for reading anyway.


This is what I have found about myself: when "bad" stuff happens I end up throwing out all the good things and jump feet first into a negative hole.


For instance, my daughter is 3 years old and at times can be very challenging. I love her to pieces and she has really helped me grow, but I've really had to grow. We might be having a terrific day, she is obeying, cooperating, not whining, etc. We are having a really good day. Then she throws a tantrum and out goes all the "good" she has done. I immediately start thinking, "she will never change, why does she have to be so difficult" and it is like the whole "good part of the day" didn't even happen. Then even if she gets her act together, I'm still stuck in crabbyville and if nothing "bad" happens over the next hour then maybe I will be fine and start to breathe again (you can hold your breath for a really long time when you have toddlers).

I do this in my marriage, too. I know you thought I had a perfect marriage; we are close but not quite there yet! You know how the argument goes, "You always do that!" I suddenly forget the whole week beforehand and all the times he didn't do that and all I can think is "this is how you always are; you are never going to change."

And guess where else, I do this; I do this in my relationship with God. Things are good, I'm praising Him, trusting Him then something bad happens and suddenly I find myself saying, "Where are you God; you must not care about me" and panic sets in.

I'm glad I'm not alone in this; this is how the Israelites acted. I always read Exodus and say, "How can you be like that!" God did amazing miracle after miracle and now you are getting a little thirsty and you are ready to throw God out the door and return to Egypt? I used to think "I was above this" but now I'm realizing I'm pretty much the same way.

One of the ways I have begun to counteract this problem was with the creation of the Rock Bowl. It has really helped me to not "freak out" when a new problem arises. I am reminded that the God who is faithful in the Bible, is still faithful today in the everyday realities of my life. I think that God wanted the Israelites to stop freaking out and just trust Him! But they chose to whine and complain instead. I think the same applies to me today, God wants me to stop and look to Him instead of whining and complaining.

Back to my kids and husband: this "problem" is now on my radar screen. When I get involved in a negative situation with them I am trying to pause, pray and ask God to help me not make negative agreements about what is taking place; help me to see that this is just a bump in the road and not turn it into a pothole!

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always hopes, always trusts, always perseveres. (I Corinthians 13:6-7)

Above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (I Peter 4:8).

After blogging about this, it sounds like I need to start pulling out love during these situations. Love pushes through the bad times and hopes, believes and perseveres until the good times.

Be blessed.

Smorgasbord Tuesday: Distinguishing through taste

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”

James 3:17-18

One of my favorite sayings by John Eldredge is, "You will know them by their fruit." If you are unsure whether the things happening in your life are from God or from the enemy you can figure it out by looking at the fruit of what is happening.

James 3:17-18 provides a glance at the some of the "evidence" that would show us things are coming from heaven. God provides us a "check-off" list to see if things came from Him or from the enemy. Is it pure, is it peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy, impartial and sincere? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you know it is from Him.

The verses prior to this section state some of the evidence we can look for to see if it comes from the enemy:

James 3:13-16

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility

that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and

selfish ambition in your hearts,

do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven

but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have

envy and selfish ambition, there

you find disorder and every evil practice.

I think as Christians we sometimes hurt ourselves by assuming that since we are children of God everything that happens in our life comes from God. We get involved in a situation where we are being hammered and we are surrounded by disorder and evil and we embrace it. The Bible says in Romans 12:9 "Hate was is evil, cling to what is good." I think it is time we start calling things by their face value: evil is evil, we can and should hate it and we can cling to the things that are good and from the Lord.

If you are having trouble defining which category something falls into then run it through the checklist: You will know them by their fruit. I firmly believe we are in a spiritual battle. If we keep running around with our eyes closed thinking the enemy who hate us and is making war against us can't touch us because we are God's children then we will keep getting blown out of the water.

Revelation 12:17

"Then the dragon was enraged at the woman

and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—

those who obey God's commandments

and hold to the testimony of Jesus."

The sooner we open our eyes and realize that God says we are in a battle and that He has equipped us and has given us the ability to say some things are right and some things are wrong, the sooner we can start fighting effectively.

James 1:2-5

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

1:13-17

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."

For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire,

he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has

conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,

when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

who does not change like shifting shadows.

If you find yourself caught in a situation where the evidence is from the enemy, don't give in to him. Instead of embracing it and trying to put God's name on it, call it what it is: evil. Then invite Him in to do what only He can do: redeem it and bring good from it. Put Your Clothes On and fight the battle.