"My Precious"

OK so I'll admit it, I'm a total geek. Today as I was reading the Bible (Matthew) I started thinking about the Lord of the Rings, and not just because it was a kick-ass movie. I was reading in Matthew 6:19-21:

¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I know most of us have heard this verse in some interpretation many times. As I read it today I kept thinking of Gollum. More specifically how much I can be like him at times. Yeah, I am more attractive on my exterior, and I can speak in coherent sentences, but there are days when I become just as rank and nasty on the inside. Don't we all?

Jesus knew this. He knew that we would want to follow Him and do well, but at the same time the forces of evil are constantly pressuring us and luring us into a prison of our own selfishness. It doesn't matter whether you're a Christian or not, we are all subject to this torment at times.

We begin to think that our lives depend on superficial things. By doing this we misplace our faith. We stop placing our faith in God and instead we place it in something else like money, appearance, sex, status, jobs, etc. Then our mind, energy, and heart goes into securing and replicating whatever that is. Are you starting to see the danger here?

There is nothing wrong with having money, looking nice, or even sex (within God's standards), but none of them should rule our lives or dictate our day. Our thoughts should not be monopolized with getting 'more' like a crack addict looking for his next hit.

I live on the beach, so I am in sand all the time, and let me tell you it's not stable. If you scoop up some sand and try to squeeze it, you will quickly find it slipping between your fingers- the tighter you grip; the more you lose. That's what happens when we try to hold tight to our treasures. The things that may seem important are really just powdery sand- it's fun, smooth, and feels good between your toes, but it's not good for much more. God is a rock or better yet a mountain. You can hold him as tight as you need- He will never crumble, never move, and never fail.

What is your "Precious"?

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner AND a GIVEAWAY!

Hear no evil is a great book. I have to say as someone who has traveled through the colorful and sometimes disturbing world of the Christian subculture, this book brought back memories. Matthew Paul Turner talks about his life as it relates to music and his faith.

It begins with some funny history of growing up in a fundamental Baptist church where hymns are the standard and George Michael was forbidden. Then he talks about his adulthood, working for CCM and exploring the darkest parts of the Christian music industry.

This book will make you think and make you cringe at the same time. It's an honest look at the Church's sometimes failing relationship with music and how it affects us all. It paints a candid picture of how dangerous it can be to live exclusively in the Christian music subculture.

I love the journey that he portrays. It's honest and full of hope. If you were raised by parents who didn't let you listen to Nirvana or watch Mtv, read this book. If you don't watch anything but TBN or listen to anyone but Gloria Gaither, read this book. If you're just an in between Christian (I fall here)- read this book. It's really a great and quick read.

AND on that note I'd like to announce a GIVEAWAY! Just tweet a link to this article before monday to enter or if you're lazy you can copy and paste: RT @happyemjo Hear No Evil by @JesusNeedsNewPR review and FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY! www.upwardcreativity.blogspot.com

For My Valentine......

10 Reasons I Love My Husband(there's way more than ten, but if I listed everything we'd be here all day):

1. He's a great husband in every way
2. He's shy and geeky (yeah, I'm into that)
3. He loves me on days when I'm bitchy
4. He thinks I'm prettiest with no makeup
5. He encourages and supports me even when it's inconvenient
6. He never says, "I told you so."
7. He let's me snuggle when I need it but understands when I want to be left alone
8. He still kisses me passionately
9. He loves the Lord
10. He is a loving and involved father

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Forever and a Day

I know, I know, I haven't posted anything in quite a while. My life has been crazy busy. God is doing some great things, but those things are definitely tiring me out! This month things will be getting back in gear, my friends! This week I'll be posting the next edition of "How Not to Fail at Church Marketing" and next week there will be a giveaway!!

Stay Tuned!

Prayer for Haiti and How You Can Help!

Prayer for Haiti:
"God I speak healing over this broken nation. I pray that your Holy Spirit would be there in the rubble of this tragedy, Father God. I pray that you would heal those who are injured, comfort those who mourn, and pour your love and mercy over your children who so desperately need you in this dark hour. I pray that Your Church would become a mobilized task force to reach out and help this nation, not just with our pocketbooks but with our hands. I pray that out of this your love would become even greater in Haiti. I pray that you Father would turn this mourning into dancing as only you can. Bring restoration to your children in Haiti and to all your children. God, we are desperate for you. Please guide us and all our brothers and sisters in your perfect Will, and show us how we can glorify You today in Haiti and here at home. Once again I ask for your healing over Haiti Father. I love you. Amen"

I haven't posted any Fails since Monday, because with everything going on in Haiti, I just didn't feel like making a funny. Not to worry humor will grace this page again soon, but for today I would like to donate this space to helping the people of Haiti.

I hope that everyone who reads this will donate something to help the people of Haiti recover. Even if it's just $5- it helps!

Click Here to donate to Compassion International's Haiti Disaster Relief. Give joyfully in Jesus name!

Marketing Fail of the Day

This is what happens when you teach Grandma how to use publisher....... not a good idea!
I'll say it once more: If you have to use clip art, you should NOT be making it.

Marketing Fail of the Day

Yes He does, but I don't think He planned on having one of the Knights who say Ni tell me about it. What's next? Peng? Neee-Wom? Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing Zow Zing?
(if you don't know British comedy this fail makes no sense to you, sorry)

Marketing Fail of the Day

Jesus will make your boo-boo's all better..... seriously though, what is our obsession with putting Jesus's face on everything from band-aids to frying pans?

Just call me Jonah........

So here I am on a Sunday afternoon. My girls are napping, husband is working, and it's just me and God. Do you ever feel like you're avoiding God, and you can't quite figure out why? Kinda like Jonah, where you don't really want to or think you can do what God wants you to, and easiest thing to do is simply avoid God. Like Jonah, we learn the hard way that there is no avoiding God. Fortunately, I've not yet been thrown overboard and swallowed by a giant fish. Instead, a constant drawing, this feeling of being pressed and squeezed.

All my life I have struggled with confidence on the deepest level, and up until now, my Father has pretty much let me get away with it, but now I feel it changing.

I'm not going to get deep into anything, but after years of working at it, I still feel inadequate to do the things that God has called me to do. Have you been there? I just keep telling God, well, let me get better at this, let me practice longer, I'm not ready to lead anyone or I can't do [fill in blank]. Usually God extends grace and lets me walk down the road at a glacial pace that makes me comfortable, but not now, not in this season. God is pushing and like an idiot I like to dig my heels into the ground.

I think many of us go through things like this at some point, but I have to say, I've never felt so fearful or overwhelmed. So I wonder, why? Why do we feel this way when God is pushing us to that next level?

Well, here are my why's. For you they may be different:

1. The unknown- when God has to push us, it's usually because we won't go on our own and that is usually because it's something new. We fear what we don't know and what we can't predict.

2. Control- as much as I think I don't mind God having control over my life, in times like these, I find that my humanity creeps in and I do mind. Even as I grow up in my faith, I still have so many "well, just let me drive" moments with God. I mean don't we all?

3. The enemy- Our ever present foe who loves to undermine whatever God is trying to do. He wants to convince us that we can't, shouldn't, or that we will fail.

4. Doubt- I don't doubt God, but sometimes I struggle with being sure of what God is telling me. I will hear God and then doubt creeps in and I think, "well, was that really God or was that what I wanted to hear?" Deep down, I know God when I hear Him, but I still struggle with doubt. Being that I don't have a lot of close friends to weigh things out with, it can be hard to get the confirmation that my mind sometimes needs, even when my spirit already knows it's true.

I know this post is a bit self-indulgent and not widely helpful, sorry 'bout that. The truth is that I don't really have any answers about it. I just keep praying and trying to be obedient even when it makes me uncomfortable. I really don't think I can do these things that I feel led to do, but I do know that God won't set me up to fail, so if I trust Him, then I have to try and trust that He will make up for what I am lacking.

I know that when I get to where ever the heck it is God wants to take me, I will look back and say, "This is awesome, what was I whining about?"

Beautiful, Beautiful

I was listening to a song today called "Beautiful, Beautiful" and it really made me reflect on God's grace. The opening words in the chorus are: "Like sunlight burning at midnight, making my life something so beautiful, beautiful" And it just made me think about how endless my failures are and how endless God's grace is. I know we all have failures, but I always feel like my past is so much more shady than that of my peers.

10 years ago, I was just some 17 girl. I was hurting and lost. I was addicted to drugs such as meth, cocaine, ecstasy, whatever I could find really. I wasn't so much addicted to the drugs chemically as emotionally. I used them to deal with my social and romantic pains and the shame of my sex life and emotionally abusive boyfriend. I knew about God, but never felt like I could be into that type of stuff. About 9 years ago, God went to work. I was set free from problems I didn't even know I had and God began to show me what I am worth to Him. I grew slowly over the next several years. Then I went through a really difficult divorce. I won't retell that story here. If you want, you can read my posts: Yeah I'm Divorced- Part 1 & Part 2.

I felt like that lost 17 yr old again. I felt so unworthy to even go to church, let alone approach God. It wasn't long before God went to work again, showing me how He sees me. Showing me that I could never make Him not want me. Sometimes, I think we are harder on ourselves than God will ever be. I know this is true for me. I can sit for hours and self evaluate my actions. What I've learned is that God approaches things so very differently.

God is fully aware of our condition. He knows we will mess up many things, big and small. Yet, He chooses to stick by us anyhow.

There are times in my life when I feel like I've just messed up too much. Like God is gonna say, "Well, that was the last straw! You're on your own kid!" - I actually think that sometimes. However, I'm beginning to notice a pattern......

I constantly screw things up, like everyday, and yet, God has never so much as shaken His head in disappointment at me. I've been broken in some of the most deep and painful ways a person can be broken in and yet I always seem to come out with out so much as a scratch. As a matter of fact, I always seem to come out looking better than before.

That my friends, is Grace.

No matter what we do, no matter how far we go off the path, God is right there with open arms ready to accept us and change us with His grace, mercy and love. Where we see mistakes, God sees opportunity. Where we see failure, God sees potential. If I had a perfect or even normal life, I would not be who I am. It's the friction of my life that has shaped me into who I need to be in God's Kingdom, so I can do what He has for me to do.

There are still days when I feel regret and get overwhelmed but the inevitable backlash of my failures. However, I am always reminded of Romans 5:3-5:

³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope."

I have suffered, some caused by my own hand and some not, but I know that God doesn't want us to dwell in it. He wants us to look at our sufferings as opportunities and see the hope we have in Him. He will use our brokenness, both past and present, to recreate us into something better.

We have all failed, but God doesn't see that when He looks at us. God doesn't see what we are, He sees who we will be. We can try to mess things up a hundred times and He will never stop believing in us. I think we too often forget that God is love and love never fails. Don't ever feel ashamed to run to God. He is for us. Even when we walk away He never stops believing in us. He never stops wanting the best for his children.

I look at my life today and the direction God is taking me. It overwhelms me with joy and humility. He really has made my life beautiful before Him and it's not because I'm "super special", it's only because He loves me. It's a humbling thought.

How about you? Do you struggle with this? How do you work it out?

Marketing Fail of the Day

Is it me or does Jesus look a bit like a pedophile?

Marketing Fail of the Day

(Can I picket Westboro Baptist instead?)
P.S.- this is an actual press release from them. I found it on a secular new site.
Dear Westboro: thanks for completely misrepresenting Christ and all His peeps to an already critical world. You suck!

Marketing Fail of the Day

You see, I always say that Walmart is the devil. This just proves my point :)

Marketing Fail of the Day

What!? A bowl of loaves and fish? Personally I would like to see the a Revelation Jesus with fire in his eyes and a sword in his hand, a white horse, ya know the all that. Now that says Jesus is here to kick butt and take names!

Best Blog Posts of 2009!

Being that this is a new(ish) blog, I didn't have a vast array of content to choose from. So, I chose some of my own and some from my favorite bloggers. (Although theirs should really rank higher than mine, cause their all freakin' awesome!)

So, anyways.....

Here are my Fav 3 from the professional (AKA-cooler than me) bloggers:

1. Ladies: Stuff About Your Husband from Matthew Paul Turner's Jesus Needs New PR. So funny but so right on. I love that Christians are getting to a place where we can openly discuss sex and how to make it better. A MUST READ and trust me it all works!
2. The Stigma of Bipolar Disorder from Anne Jackson's Flowerdust.net. This was just the most honest and real thing I'd read this year. It's something many Christians deal with but no one wants to talk about. I just loved this post and it really challenged me personally.
3. Surviving the Church as a Single- I am not single, but if I were this post would be the best thing I've read all year. Even though I've not single, it is still funny and very witty. I cannot wait for his book to come out. I'm sure it will be equally brilliant!

Here are my fav 3 on Upward Creativity:

1. I'm Sorry, Did I Offend You?- This post was my most popular to date. I really felt compelled by God to write it how I felt it and He really used it.
2. Bubble People- This was one of my very first blog, but it has really set the tone for all my posts. If you read my blog regularly you will constantly here me refer to 'bubble people'
3. Love Can Be the Hardest Thing- I like this, because it's one of the most honest things I've written. I hope to get even deeper into this in 2010.

2009- A Year in Fail

Here are some of my favorite fails in 2009. They're not all marketing but they are all freakin' funny!

5. Star Wars is the Devil- Website Fail. Here we seem many misguided people who have waaaaaay too much time on their hands










4. Kanye West- I don't really like I need to explain this one. He was already douchy, but this year he edged out Jon Gosselin and Tiger Woods for the title of Douche King.




3. Adam Lambert- He went from American Idol to a gay burlesque show in a matter of months. So much potential but he's chosen to let his sexuality overshadow his natural talent- fail!









2. Penis-Shaped VeggieTales Cookies (via JesusNeedsNewPR) uh- it speaks for itself.







1. The Jesus Tree- this nearly ruined my Christmas by making it into Easter.