Judgement vs. Discernment

I have often times felt "weird" or "strange" about someone only to feel extremely guilty afterwards. Many times these feelings panned out to be true warning signs about someone's character, but there have also been those times when I figured out that I was judging someone by their appearances and/or first impressions of their personalities. So, how do we know the difference? I definitely want to be discerning, definitely DON'T want to be judgemental...

I think God has shown me the answer to this question through a book I'm reading "God's Will for Your Life" by Derek Prince...

"Jesus was never fooled. Nobody ever deceived Him. Jesus discerned the truth in everyone who came to Him. He saw into their inner motives and knew what they were really after....

...How can we avoid foolish judgement and wrong appraisals of people and situations? We find the key in John 5:30, where Jesus said, 'My judgement is just; My discernment is accurate. I see things the way they really are.' Why? 'Because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.'

Jesus' judgement was not clouded by His desire to get His own way. He was in neutral, so to speak, until the Father moved Him. Jesus waited for the Father's revelation of His will, and then Jesus made a just and accurate judgement."

I was intrigued by this whole idea and a light bulb came on for me. I don't know why I am surprised at the answer. Isnt' it always to lay ourselves down so He can be lifted up?

Prince goes on to say (refering to 2 Cor 4:10-12) "...Paul explained, 'So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.' The world needs channels of life, but there is a price to pay. If you want to be a channel of life to others, death has first to work in you. We cannot have it any other way or change the order. The pattern is clear: when death is at work in you, then life is at work in others. You are not here to do your own will, but to do the will of Him who sent you."

Wow, I have really got to let this sink in... if I am laying my selfish desires down and waiting for Him to show me when to move, what to say, etc... I will be discerning, not judgemental...

Discernment is spiritual, judgement is carnal... Ouch!

Lord, help me to put Your will first in everything. Help me to lay down my selfish motives in exchange for your selfless Love. I desire to do Your will and live my life with a spirit of discernment which comes from You, not a critical spirit which arises from my soul. Thank you for showing me the difference.

I've got a feelin, everything's gonna be alright....

I know it is waaay too easy for me to blog when things are troubling me... it's an outlet... HOWEVER, I don't want to be like CNN and only report the bad news.
I have had the best couple of weeks! God is sooo amazing. I wanted to move back home so bad a few weeks ago... I was at my wits end with just about everything, it seems. I prayed and told God that if He wants us here then pleeeease let me know it because it was hurting me soo much to go back home and visit. I know I shouldn't be amazed, but I am... God did it! All of a sudden we had friends that wanted to hang out... I am working a lot in children's ministry and was asked to teach the offering lesson every other week. Asked to teach! It has been a long time since I felt like I was valuable in children's ministry (not blaming anyone, it probably had a lot to do with the kinds of emotional battles I was dealing with in myself...) On top of that, Foster care seems to falling right into place, whereas before when I tried to get something going in that department (foster or adopt) everything always fell apart. It's simply amazing to me how sovereign God is, how He can just do things and we could almost miss it if we aren't looking...

Thank you, Lord for loving me and concerning yourself with every detail of my life. I could never express the kind of love I have for You. You continuously leave me in worshipful awe and gently guide me with Your peace and wisdom... I am beginning to see a glimpse of who You are and it only makes me desire to be closer to you...

Xmas -- Blasphemous?

My son, Trevor, asked me "Do you know why some people write 'Xmas' instead of Christmas? I mean do you know where it started?" I responded "Because they are in a hurry and don't want to write out Christ AND some people don't want to acknowledge that the holiday is about Christ." I thought it was a pretty good answer as I have "known" that for a long time...

WRONG! His teacher told them (thank God for teachers in PUBLIC schools that teach the kids what is right) that it is Greek symbol for the first "letter" of Christ's name... another site says that the symbol for chi (another Greek letter) and it means infinite...

I had to look it up because I was one that had jumped on the conspiracy theory band wagon that believed that it was yet another attempt for secularism to overtake Christianity...

Although I do believe that some may be doing it for that reason, probably most people are just abbreviating and we (Christians) are taking offense...

There is more on the subject, of course, so I included a couple of links to get you started if you want to read more...http://www.cresourcei.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html (this one is longer and more in depth)

http://www.answers.com/topic/xmas (this one is short and to the point)

Let me know what you think! and Merry Xmas!!!!

Go back, go back, go back --- Go back to where you were!

Go back, go back, go back -- go back to where you were! I don't remember which one (sorry) but one of the shows my kids used to watch sang that little song. It is almost prophetic for me... I feel like I have to learn some things over and over again...I remember when it was so easy for me to spend an hour or two a day reading my bible and praying. It seemed effortless and I couldn't wait to get back to that place everyday. Now... geez, it's like starting over. I let myself get dry spiritually and wasn't consistent with reading my bible and/or praying and the next thing I know, I am looking back on the relationship with God that I USED to have. It is gutt wrenchingly painful to realize you have let down the one person you love the most. I have been forgiven and have started being faithful to reading and praying again, but it seems sooo much harder to get back to that easy, relational place with the Lord. I will persevere through all this though, because I know how good it is to taste of the Lord's presence and I want it more than ever.
Mold me and prune me Lord into the daughter you always knew I could be....and thank you for your amazing faithfulness...