Can you believe that 2007 is almost over? It seems unreal to me that we are standing on
the brink of a new year! That also means
an opportunity for a fresh start, a new beginning. Now I may have mentioned before that I am not
a big fan of “New Year’s Resolutions” but I do believe in having life
goals. It is different from resolutions
because I write down where I want to be by the end of 2008 and then I set a
plan up, to break down these goals into manageable pieces. For example, rather than saying “I want to
have more time with my kids, one on one.”
“I will have a one-on-one outing with each child one time each
month.” That way I have a specific goal
that is measurable. Make sense? I would be happy to share a copy of my life
goals to help you get started if you are interested. Just let me know by emailing me at shinewomensministry@yahoo.com
~Marla
SHINE 2008
Legacy
Well we are well on our way to planning the next SHINE
conference coming, October 4 2008. It
sounds like it is so far off but it will be here before you know it. We
already have some exciting things in the works including our keynote speaker,
Lynn Austin. She is a popular Christian fiction author and if you want to
find out more about her you can check out her web page www.lynnaustin.org.
Remember to check out our
blog and leave comments or feedback! www.marla-shineministry.blogspot.com
We would love the opportunity to
pray for you. If you have anything you
would like us to pray specifically about please feel free to email us at shinewomensministry@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Words of
Wisdom?!
Its that time of year when the great debate begins
again….you know what I am talking about.
Which is the best tree, real or artificial???
Now
a real tree screams of tradition, the whole family bundling up in all their
snow gear to trudge out in the snow in the middle of some frozen wonderland to
find the perfect tree. Once the perfect
tree has been found then it must be cut down and taken back to the family
vehicle and then on to the homestead.
Once there it will be trimmed and prepped before being taken inside and
placed in the tree stand. It must be
watered often in order to keep it green through the Christmas season. The real tree must have more care than an artificial
tree, for certain, and the cost can be pretty high. Daily you must clean up the fallen needles
and decorating it will certainly result in a few needle pokes, but the end
result is wonderful. The house is filled
with the scent of fresh pine and the memories made are precious.
An
artificial tree has benefits of its own.
No need to wait out bad weather, when you want to put the tree up you
just pull it out of the attic or up from the basement and you are good to go. Now the tree takes a little assembly and
color coordination but once you get that all figured out the hard part is
over. No watering, or sweeping up dead
pine needles gone astray. Decorating is
also a bit gentler on the arms and fingers.
Also, this is a buy once option, not a yearly expense so in the long run
much money is saved. Okay so there is no
fresh pine scent, but can’t you buy a can of that? This is certainly the most time efficient,
cost effective option, but is it the best option?
Well,
truth be told the jury is still out on this great debate. I imagine it may depend on each family’s
circumstances and resources. Maybe, just
maybe, there is no right or wrong here, but there is a place where real or
artificial does matter…in the area of faith.
You
see, an artificial faith looks good to outsiders, even real from a
distance. It doesn’t require much care
or come at any great price. When it is
not needed it can be stored in the basement of our hearts or the attic of our
attitudes. This is not a very fragrant
option either, but when the circumstances call for it you can muster up some
artificial Christianity, put a few extra bucks in the offering plate or do a
good deed. The biggest downside to an
artificial faith is that when you get to Heaven’s gate you may hear the words from
Matthew Chapter 7:
21"Not everyone who
says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will
say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your
name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then
I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Yikes!
Now that scares me. The truth is we need
to have a genuine faith, the real deal.
Now that means a lot more work.
You see a genuine faith requires great care. You must water it daily by reading God’s word
in order to keep it growing. You must
stay connected to the Giver of Life (God) in prayer to guard against the needle
pokes of satan. Now there is a difference
between the cost of a real tree and the cost of real faith. Salvation comes free and with great freedom!
Check out these verses from Romans chapter 6:
22But now that you have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is
eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in[a]
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Even though salvation is free and comes as a gift
to all who will believe, if we want to have a genuine faith then we will need
to give great attention to maintain a real, fragrant faith! A faith like that cannot be bought in a
can! ~Marla
Merry CHRISTmas from all of us here at SHINE
Ministries!