¡Hola! ¡Feliz año nuevo!
My sister is awesome! Can you believe she drove all the way to my house in Mississippi from Florida on Friday and helped me CLEAN all day on Saturday. I don't think my kitchen cabinets have EVER been so white. If you could find a way to keep the plates from falling, you could literally eat off of the cabinets. If you haven't ever used Greased Lightening to clean, get some! It cleans everything. We went from the kitchen to the bathroom. A little bleach on the tile and it is shining so bright it nearly blinded Joshua when he took a shower!!! I said nearly, it did not hurt the eyes he desperately needs for sending and receiving texts one little bit. (No children were harmed in the actual cleaning of my home!)
I really wanted to share something from my Sunday School lesson this week:
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24
The author of this particular lesson is Chip Ingram and I have really enjoyed these lessons. (The title is The Miracle of Life Change). He says that as believers, we are called to lead lives that are progressively characterized by moral purity and that this change in our lives happens because of who and whose we are. We have been changed and no longer belong to the world but to Christ. He goes on to say that a "good moral life is simply the natural by-product and reflection of a genuine, loving relationship with God." These verses deal with the past, present, and the future. (put off your old self - past; to be made new in the attitude of your minds - present; and to put on the new self - future). All three of these things work together to transform our lives, to make us more like Christ. Putting off your old self is getting rid of the past - we have to get rid of all that stuff. We can't move forward in our faith if we are holding on to the past. God desires to grow us, not keep us in the same place. As we grow, our relationship with the Father becomes so much more beautiful.
Just wanted to share.