The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit In Plain English

As a young  christian, it was really hard for me to understand the holy trinity.  It was just hard for me to get my arms around the understanding that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all one and the same.  I recently read a book called "The Shack" that made this  relationship as clear as day to me.  It is one of the most thought provoking books that I have read in sometime. Actually, I have read this book three times, have referred it to several people and have bought several copies as  presents. Here are some reasons why:
The book is filled with many memorable quotes like, "Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets." by Paul  Tournier.  Now, this quote is worth a blog all by its self. Another that caught my attention is, " No matter what God's power may be, the first aspect of God is never that of absolute Master, the Almighty. It is that of God who puts himself on our human level and limits himself.  __Jacques Ellul, "Anarchy and Christianity.  How better can one simply explain Jesus? In this book God appears as a rather large happy black woman and to me  this was magically delicious for many many reasons.  I hope this fact provokes  your  curiosity to find out  why. I did not understand the importance of God being portrayed as a black woman in the beginning, but as I read and began to understand who God is, I understood why God was characterized in this manner. This book also explained the complete spiritual circle and life cycle connection  among  God, Adam and Eve.  This book even helped me to better understand God's love and mercy for all of his children even the most wicked among men.  I would love to talk more with you about  this  book afters you have read it.  Please leave your  comments and let's discuss the wonderful book

The Shack

The Shack Google Review

Thanksgiving

I spent Thanksgiving with my older sister, her grandchildren, my daughter Chandler and two close long time family frends.  While I miss not having my eldest daughter at home, we really had a great time.  With finances being as they are, we really had to spend wisely and stretch the mighty dollar far. But even with the bad economy there was such joy this year.  God has a way of really making us focus on what is important in our lives.  For the first time in a long time, I did not have the money to shadow the holiday with unnecessary things.  It was the attitude of "make do" with and appreciating the little we had. It was understanding the abundance in a day spent with the people who mean the most.  I think that maybe the financial hardships that many of us experienced was a way for us to refocus on what is really important.  It was also a way for us to get rid of the clutter that we accumulated in our lives during the times of prosperity. I now have greater appreciation for the simple things that bring joy.  This Thanksgiving was great!  I felt closer to my family and friends.  I know that we are far better people for the things that we had to endure this past year.  I know who are my true friends and especially who are those will be there through thick and thin.  I KNOW what it means to have faith in God and the direction that He has for my life. I truly know what it mean to be thankful for every blessing that God  has bestowed upon my family, children, friends and me.  Thank you God for teaching me to be greatful and humble for all things big and small.

The Greatest Love Affair

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to meet the person of your dreams? I mean, the perfect match. Not only meet this person but find that you also are the person of his or her dreams.  Yes, we are truly talking about a match made in heaven. Before I die, I want to experience "The Greatest Love Affair".  Is this just a female thing or is this something that men desire too? For me, I want this affair to be all encompassing. Great sex, passionate and spine tingling kisses, intellectual compatibility, common likes and interests.  Yes, the whole shebang!  Am I being unrealistic?  I know that I am a dreamer. I know that every day can't be like heaven. However, I would like to think that I can coexist with a special someone and feel the magic of true love. Are there others like myself who desire this experience? What more, are there couples out there living my dream? I was married before and divorced so I don't have my head in the clouds but I would like to think that I have learned from my past mistakes and can strive to have a Great Love Affair.  Where are you on this one?

Do You Understand Grace, Mercy and Faith?

Three words that everyone should put on their "Bucket List".......Grace, Mercy and Faith... I pray that we experience ALL of the wonders of these three words.  These were the words that I placed on my Facebook status today.  After typing these words, I truly wondered if many people got my message.  This year has been a very educational year for me.  I have become wiser, stronger, more patient and overall a nicer person.  I attribute my changes to my fufilling my desires to undestand the words of God for myself.  Yes, I  began to read and study the bible with more deliberation.  However, what I found profounding were three simple words that I have heard all of my life....Grace.....Mercy......and Faith.  Here is why.  Let's start with Grace and Mercy.   Grace is defined as unmerited divine assistance given to a human for their regeneration or santification.  Mercy is defined as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender.  So now you may be going where's the big bang out of those two definitions...  Well with that being the case, let me bring in an authority a little better than my Meriam Webster definitions. Pastor N. Jerome McClain, Sr. summed it up as follows: Justice, Mercy and Grace......Getting, Not Getting, and Getting Not Getting.  God is Just, Merciful and Gracious.  In the Justice of God, He took our place.  In the Mercy of God, we are not punished.  In the Grace of God, He gives us eternal life.  This brings us to the words Grace and Mercy; both are directly related to unmerited favor.  It is from this power of the Savior that we have life, justification and ability.  Justice is getting what we deserve.  Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve.  Grace is GETTING WHAT we DO NOT deserve.  WOW!  I hope you got it now! If not, Pastor McClain has an anology for you.  Let us suppose you have a bicycle and I want it.  One night I sneak over to your house and steal it.  You catch me and I go to jail. Jail would be where I PAY for my crime of breaking the law.  The penalty is met and that is justice.  I get what I deserve.   Change the scenario a little, I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me. You do not send me to jail.  Instead, you tell me to forget about it.  The penalty is not met. This is Mercy! I did not get what I deserved.  Now one more change.  I sneak over to your house and steal your bike.  You catch me.  You do not send me to jail.  In fact, you give me the bike plus one hundred dollars.  This is Grace!  The penalty is met by you paying the damages and I was given what I did not deserve (the bike and money).  So now how about the words GRACE AND MERCY?  We have not even discussed FAITH.  I'll leave the word Faith for my next blog.  You have enough for now. Remember to give grace and mercy during your life.  You certainly have gotten them.