Your Identity...has it been stolen?

Modern day thieves have become masters at impersonating others by using their personal information to their own dishonest gain.  We have had our identity stolen twice in the past 15 years.  The first time it happened we were living on a military base in England and our new credit card never arrived to us.  Someone snatched it out of the mail in NY and made over $1600 in charges.  Our credit card company caught it on the first statement and alerted us of the problem.  They cancelled the card before more damage could be done and reissued us a new one.  The second time was about 2 months ago.  Some how a person was able to obtain my debit card number (which never left my wallet) and tried to order several gift cards online, but my bank caught it immediately, no charges went though and they sent me a new card.    Identity theft is a HUGE problem and one of the fastest growing segments of crime today.

Has your identity been stolen?  I am asking in a spiritual sense, now.  Once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given a new identity.  Our identity is now in Christ.  One of the biggest lies the enemy tries to feed us is that we are NOT different, we haven't changed or are not in process of change.  This is one lie he tries repeatedly on all of us.  The way to combat lies is with the truth.


Before Christ we were:

DAMNED- Isaiah 13:9, "See, the day of the Lord is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger —to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it."

SICK- Mark 2:17, 'On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  (In the Greek sick means miserable, ill, wrong)

LOST- Luke 19:10, " For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

SINNERS needing JESUS- Acts 22:16, 'And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’  Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

When we repent, ask and receive Jesus as our Savior we are:

FORGIVEN- Acts 10:43, "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

COVERED- Romans 4:7, "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered."

REDEEMED- Ephesians 1:7, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace"  Colossians 1:13-14, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

MADE ALIVE- Ephesians 2:4-5, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved."

OUT of DARKNESS and INTO LIGHT- Ephesians 5:8, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."

WIPED CLEAN- Hebrews 10:17-19, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus...."

MADE WELL- HEALED- James 5:15-16, "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  (Cure means to be free from errors, make whole)

Do you believe that is your Identity?  If you have made Jesus Lord of your life, then you are 100% forgiven, covered, redeemed, alive, out of darkness, a clean slate, made whole and healed of your past.  Don't believe the enemy when he tries to convince you the lie that you are too dirty, too sinful, no different, not worthy, not valued, loved or chosen by God. 

Romans 5:8
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

When you come out of the darkness and into the light you are justified by the blood of Christ.  To be justified means your are declared, pronounced to be just, righteous, or made the way you ought to be. 

Before we asked for forgiveness and turned from our sinful ways we were dead men walking.  We were sick, miserable, improper, wrong...and that is putting it mildly.  Jesus died on the cross to set us free from our pasts, our sins, failures, mistakes, and overall selfishness.  Romans 8:1-2, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Are you living like a free person with peace of mind or are you living like the condemned being constantly tormented by your past?  Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. "

If you have received this grace you are free to live your life in freedom.  It is like asking to be released from death row, Jesus paids your penalty, opens the door, but you stay put in your cell! 


You have been released!  Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

You have been made new.  2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Your life has now been sealed with God's brand!  2 Corinthians 1:22 "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

You are now a guarenteed citizen of heaven!!!  Philippians 3:18-20 "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.    Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.   But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

I just love the example of Saul renamed Paul (Acts 9).  He persecuted and murdered the first new testament believers and was a destroyer of the early church.  He was changed by a personal meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  He repented and turned from his evil ways and was sure of his salvation and forgiveness. 

(From http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/a/Conversion-Of-Paul.htm)
Paul's life-changing experience on the Damascus Road led to his baptism and instruction in the Christian faith. He became the most determined of the apostles, suffering brutal physical pain, persecution, and finally martyrdom. He revealed his secret of enduring a lifetime of hardship for the gospel:  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

????? The same Jesus Christ who rose from the dead and did such a mighty work in Paul wants to work in my life too. What could Jesus do if I surrendered as Paul did and gave him complete control of my life?

????? If Saul, an enemy of God, can be forgiven and called a child of God couldn't I be given the same opportunity and grace?

Listen to Paul's own words on the topic: 

1 Timothy 1:12-17, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.   The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners —of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.   Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

My prayer for you is that once you have turned to Jesus that you will recieve the grace of God and walk in the assurance of your freedom!!!

Determining your Worth....

Value...what do you value?  What are your valuables?  Do you have certain 'values' you live by. Maybe you value a sense of community, your children, home, or relationships.  Value as defined by dictionary.com is this:

VALUE (noun)-
1.relative worth, merit, or importance.

2. monetary or material worth, as in commerce or trade.

3. the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things it can be exchanged for.

4. estimated or assigned worth.

I was meditating on this concept yesterday.  Thoughts of times I have tried to assign my own value or worth as well of times I have allowed others to define my sense of value came springing to my mind.  How easily we can go from being confident and feeling valuable to a feeling of worthlessness by hearing a harsh or critical word.  Everyone has some desire to feel valuable.  No one wants to be alone or unimportant.  On some level we all desire to feel needed, smart, or like our lives have made some difference in the world around us.  This deep rooted drive to have value assigned to us can make us needy people-pleasers as we seek our value from human relationships.  We can also be on the other side of the spectrum in a flash assigning a value or worth on another person, fetus, drug addict......you see where this is going. 

I have heard countless times the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  Value is the same way.  Just look on an EBAY auction and watch people try to assign worth to something.  The seller wants to get all they can, the buyer wants to get it for the least possible.  They are at odds with each other, both sides looking at it from their vantage point.  I do not think people can be unbiased judges of worth.  We need an outside perspective and who better than the One who created you in the first place?

Worth or value of a soul is not determined by a person, unless that person is Christ.  Defining value with our definition above and through the eyes of God gives you the relative worth of your life, merit or importance, assigned worth of your soul in terms of an amount exchanged for you....you were so valuable to God that He sent His only Son to die for you and pay the ultimate price, the maximum amount- all of it -to restore you to Him.  That makes you very valuable, a person created with much worth and importance to the Creator of the Universe.  

The world tries to devalue life, get you to devalue yourself, or take what is valuable in God's sight and make it depreciate.  We cannot not afford to believe the lies. 

A person's value is not determined on another person's appraisal. 

A person's value is determined by the price Jesus was willing to pay....

and He paid it ALL for YOU!!!! 

John 3:16,  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Deuteronomy 6:7, "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."

Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

1 Peter 3:3-4, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."

 Amos 4:13, "He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth— the LORD God Almighty is his name."

Psalm 139:13-18a, "For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.
 My frame was not hidden from youwhen I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

 How precious to O God!  How vast is the sum of them!

 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."

Just another ordinary day.....

After my last post I received several comments of appreciation for my honesty in what an ordinary day looks like for us.  I was also asked to blog it again, so today felt pretty normal....why not!  Here goes:

7:10 am- Mike is away on a business trip so I woke up with Shelby's sweet hand on my neck.  I slipped out of bed at the sound of Mariah jumping in her crib yelling Mama.

7:15 am- I was sitting on the couch drinking a cup of coffee, checking my emails, changing Mariah's diaper and enjoying some one on one cuddle time with the youngest girl in the house.

7:30 am- baby #1 is fed and playing as I begin to clean up the living room and kitchen of the night before's mess.  I pray, more like a conversation than anything which helps me begin thinking about my day, what I want to accomplish vs. what I need to accomplish.

7:35 am- I decide I need a second cup of coffee with my beet, carrot, chocolate doughnut.  (See other blog for recipe) 

7:59 am- Shelby realizes I am gone and is now standing in the kitchen wrapped up in her blankie demanding her breakfast.  I smile and take a swig of coffee before I remind her that she knows where the pantry is.  (Something I learned after child #3 was to  teach them to make instant oatmeal from the hot water tap on the water cooler.  It is a survival skill all 4 year olds should learn.)

8:03 am- I am cleaning up the instant oatmeal and water from the floor.

8:15 am- Gabe comes up the stairs.  He hugs me, grabs a bowl, spoon and packet of instant oatmeal.  No words expressed, no demands made, with all the maturity of a 6 year old he makes his own breakfast....I think there is hope, yet.

8:45 am- David emerges from the basement dressed in full winter apparel.  I remind him that today will be 83 degrees, he takes off one layer.  I shrug my shoulders and eat another veggie doughnut.

9 am- Micah is heard in the background, "ba-na-na-na-na-na".  I ask David to go get him for me as I wipe off the dinner from the highchairs.  I check my fb, post a pithy status, ask Gabe to feed the dog, throw some scattered clothing down the stairs, start the dishwasher, check my pocket calendar, clean up oatmeal from the table and take out the trash...all before David returns with his youngest brother.

9:12 am- Lindsey comes up the stairs.  I announce to everyone that the van will be leaving in 18 minutes to take Shelby to her skating lesson and ask her to get dressed as I walk to my room gathering shoes as I go.  I toss them all in pile by the front door and wake up Briana to babysit the rest while I am gone. 

9:35 am- Shelby and I are in the car headed to the rink when I remember I haven't charged my phone in days.  I am low on battery and my fb status is texting me....taunting me with frivolous energy it is wasting.

10:03 am- we arrive at the rink.  Shelby goes out on the ice and I go to the office to complete the details of a hockey fundraising idea I have volunteered myself for.  I don't know why I volunteered myself and as I walk away I start to feel slightly crazy, but shake it off and carry on, happily.

10:45 am- after a short chit chat with Shelby's coach we are headed home to pick up kids for National Day of Prayer.  Shelby finishes her 2nd sausage burrito (see other blog) and tries to convince me she is still hungry.

11:15 am- I tell all the kids that are going to get in the car.  The babies start to fuss, Briana volunteers to stay home so they can nap, Shelby slams the door and calls me a meanie for not giving her more food, Lindsey quietly gets into the car, Gabe fills his pockets with 34 matchbox cars to play with during prayer, David says he is staying home to help Briana because he is too hot (remember he is in winter clothes) and I grab a water bottle and Greek yogurt remembering I haven't eaten breakfast yet.  I finally plug in my phone (that is now completely dead) and leave the pouting Shelby at home.

11:30-12:15 - we joined others in our community for National Day of Prayer.  It was so wonderful.  It was so relaxing.   It was beautiful weather and I was able to catch up with old friends.  I was sitting in the sunlight wishing I had brought them all, but after and hour I was thankful I just had Gabe and Lindsey to keep up with.

12:30-1:30 I decided, since I only had two kids with me, I would run into the grocery store and use up some great coupons before they expire.  Gabe talks me into a "real" doughnut from the bakery.  We ate them in the car so no one else would know.

2 pm- I am home unpacking groceries when the kids inform me that Shelby was a terror while I was gone.  She is sweetly sitting at the table acting innocent, studying my face and I am sure planning an exit strategy.  Come to find out she was furious that I had left her and she kept running outside on the driveway.  Briana put on the house alarm to keep up with her, but eventually ADT called to make sure everything was okay after several alarm triggers.  David answered the call and he unfortunately didn't know the secret password, therefore alerting 911 and the police were soon knocking at our front door.  They inspected the house, saw the kids were okay and left. 

2:04 pm- I picked my jaw up off the kitchen floor and thought I was so glad I didn't have my cell phone on me during prayer.  Briana agreed.  She deserves a raise.

2:05-3pm- I was on the phone with a friend sharing our crazy lives with one another. 

3-3:30 I watched babies play in the splash pool on the deck.  I decided it was not productive enough, so I gave the option to the teenagers to babysit or finish mowing the lawn.  They decided to sit on the deck by the splash pool...I got to mow the rest of the lawn.  It's okay, it is quiet on the lawn tractor (a different kind of quiet.)

5:00- 5:07 -I jumped in the shower and got redressed for the rink.  I told Shelby to get out of her swimsuit, because I wasn't leaving her at home this time.

5:30 Briana drove us to Gabe's hockey practice after a slight detour to buy movie tickets for the midnight premier of Avengers.

6pm-  At the rink I was able to sit still for an hour and just watch my boy skate.  I made Shelby sit right next to me the whole time.  She kept telling me she loved me, my little firecracker.

7:40 pm- we were on our way home when Briana stopped the car to take a picture of the coolest clouds with her IPOD.

8:02 pm- we pulled into Papa Murphy's for pizza....they closed at 8, seriously.  We turned around and ran through Taco Bell and grabbed a 12 pack of tacos.  Gabe was not impressed.  He wanted pizza.

8:35 pm- we are home and put on the movie (We bought a Zoo) rented from the Red Box at the grocery store.  I didn't even cry until the end of it, I thought I would make it without crying, oh well. 

10:36 pm- Gabe and Shelby asked several questions about mommies dying.  They both laid their heads on my lap and we talked about appreciating everyday we have to breathe here on this earth.  We also talked about the importance of telling those you love that you love them.

11pm- everyone is in bed (except for Briana who facebooked that she was at the theater with friends for the midnight show)  I decided to write a blog to help me stay up until she gets home.

12 midnight- I am feeling like today was pretty ordinary.  My mom visited a few months ago and said that she is exhausted just watching me.  I understand after looking at this list, but I prefer to think that I am just a 'high capacity' person. 

The truth is that we are all busy in our own way.  We place value on what we love and we invest our time accordingly.  I adore my family.  I have a lot of people to invest in.  It takes up most of my time and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

When I look back at my childhood I don't see piles of laundry or dishes I see Candyland and Chutes and Ladders in the basement, sledding down the hill with my brothers, singing with my daddy and shopping for the perfect dress for a dance with my mother.  Relationships are what we carry in our memories, the good, the bad and the ugly.   Sometimes it is good to stop and think about where our time is being invested.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Matthew 6:21