A botherly love story

I see  many parents and  many ways to raise a child, it seems like everyone has their own method ,but is that right?  Is there no right or wrong way just different ways?   I dont know if one way is better or if it really matters, but I do know one thing we could all use more of in raising our children and we could all benifit for generations to come from. We should raise our children to love with brotherly love.
Romans 12:10 be devoted to one onther with brotherly love :in honor perferring one another.
I love my brother, even though we were raised by the same two parents ,we could not be raising our children more different. My kids go to a public school and are every active in extra curriculare activities. Bobby children are homeschooled and do not practice organized sports .Neither of us are raising our children the exact way my our parents raised us. So which way way is right?
What would be the most pleasing to God in raising our children is....... to raise them not to judge or claim they re right but respect ,protect and love others like a brother.
How do we do that?
I dont provoke Bobby to sin. I protect him from it. I do not dress sexy for him, I do not invite him to do drugs or go out drinking . I do not create gossip.I am simply a good friend.
Yes ,we argue and at times dissagree but, I forgive, forget and have no regret.
When we raise our daughters to dress with descression, we teach them to be pure ladies in every way ,body, mind and soul. We teach them to protect boys and men from sinning by looking at her in a wrong way. When we raise our sons to be gentle  men not just a gentlemen we raise them to love first and then react. We teach them to not be provoked by sin easily.
By loving each other as bothers and sisters we teach our children its not what you say that matters its what you do. We need to raise our children to be active in their faith through love.
It does not matter if you are vegan or living off the land raising your children, do what feels right, but with out love its all for nothing . I dont force my lifestyle on Bobby, to each is own benifit but , my love for Bobby and my neices out way my method of parenting. I do invite him into my life and my childrens lives to see my lifestlye ,but what he does for his family at the end of the day is his very own right.
We must above all, love each other and protect each other from sinning against each other. This is the best way to leave a lasting footprint on the earth to help us all in generations to come.

What is PERFECT?

As long as I can remember I have always been a perfectionist.  When I was twenty four I became a mom for the first time. My desire to become the perfect wife and mother became my soul focus.  My passion lead me to becoming relentless . At that time I stopped living in the moment and started living for the next. How could my family fail if I was always one step ahead paving the perfect road?
I have been a wife for seventeen years today and a mother for fourteen.  Looking back I remember each spelling bee, test, tryout , game and new job . I have seen many accomplishments but what is perfect? When will I feel I reached it? And more important what really is perfect?
I live in a small town and I see many moms and dads, wives and husbands seeking the same thing. The perfect IMAGE. We all want our husband to be the happiest and most respected, we all want our children to be the most loved ,accepted, and of corse the best at everything. I see others just as relentless as I was to get others to see there family as perfect.  WHY?
A few years ago I realized this desire will never feel full .I was paving a road for my family  around a town that just went in circles and never straight ahead.
What does perfection mean???
Perfection  - A person who refuses to accept any standard short. Synonyms are purist and idealist.
Now I see .....God truely makes His people perfect. I am a servent of the Most High . I refuse to accept for myself or my family anything short . Its time for me to take my family off road now. Paul told the Romans, 12-2 Do not comform to the patters of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That would be like me standing in the middle of town screaming you dont have to be perfect. Love yourself ,accept and forgive others.
 I wanted my families image to be perfect to others but there is nothing pure about WANT. There is nothing ideal or satisfying in a false image to the world.
God says Thou shall not want and thou shall not make false images.
So for the past few years my desire for perfection has changed to say the least. God has renewed my mind by forgiving me of my imperfections and paved a new road for myself and my family. Now I truely desire to show the world love ,acceptance  and forgivness that all make up Our Perfect God.
Seek first the kingdom of God  and allllllllll esle shall be added unto you.
What  does that mean? And how do I seek the kingdom of God? Back to what Paul said to the Romans in 12:2 ...be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by TESTING you may discern what is the will of God, What is good acceptable and PERFECT>.
Dont be afraid to be yourself ,dont be afraid to accept others it may be the road less chosen full of test, but it is the road that leads to the kingdom of God and Perfect.

My New Position

I'm new to retail management. I've went straight from an associate to management and for a few months found it hard to find my own way of managing.  At first I felt like I was replacing the previous manager so I tried to be like the her. It did not  take long before I found myself saying," Im not Andrea!"  I am not happy , my numbers are down , and I am not helping the associates or the store . The old mananger was more of a friend to the associate than a mananger and I have a daughter close to their age so I cant be a friend. So I went to work and tried another method. I was a mom not a manager. I was patient, encouraging and understanding. This was a big mistake. First I am not THEIR mom. So associates saw me as a push over. My numbers are still down and Im not helping the store or the associates at all. I am about four months in and I work for a very amazing company that invest in developing and training managment into becoming the leaders they saw we could be in hiring.
I went to a training seminar the other day. I sat in the room with about 30 other new managers in the same boat as myself. As I sat there and listened to our DM patiently and thoughoughly couch us all, I remembered the companies moto. Customers First! This does not mean customers always right, it means people come first. The company truely leads by example , They put us first by training and coaching us to put people first.
Customers First! I know this was first Gods moto. John 3:16 For God so loved the world He gave His only Son. God loved us so much He put us before anything else.
Up till a few years ago I was an associate for God. I worked for Him . It wasnt until as an adult I was born again and was promoted to management for God. He raised and trained me all over again to become the leader for His people He saw I could be.
I know God placed me in this position at work for a reason and I can see a little bit ahead of how I "ANGIE " can manage for this company but why am I struggling to find my personal management style?
Psalms 139 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I dont know what is to come of me in this company but for now I will be thankful for my manager who is a great mentor and my company for the training. I am thankful to God because I am fearfully and wonderfully made for any position I hold here on this earth He loves so much.

What does God look like to you?

What does God look like to you? Is He a giant in a golden throne? Is He brighter than the sun?

We all see  God every day.  God is everywhere and is everything . He is the hope ,trust, faith, patients, compassion,and joy that is in all of us everyday. God is the purest form of love that all of these would not be without .
Can you see Him in everyone . Have you ever heard a child sing and was moved to tears or awe? What about an angry coworker or neighbor ? Can you see Him in them? Of corse you can , He is in them and you. And you can do all things through Christ.
John 11:25
Jesus said noone is dead. He is the life, He is the one that brings back to life. Because you believe you can plant a seed of faith in others. That means noone is without God. God  created the heaven and the earth and all things . So God is in everything. He is in the things unseen and unheard and the things seen and heard. He is the awe in the stars, He is the beauty in a friendship, He is the passion in a soldier fighting for freedom, He is the compassion in forgivness. He is the spirit in missionaries free to spread the WORD. He is the love of a mother for her child, He is the joy in helping another. He is the peace that calms the soul, He is the faith in our prayers, He is the strength in us to keep going. He is the fire in us to speak truth. He is the rain that waters the earth, He is the rock of which we all stand on, He is the movement in the wind, He is the light in the sun , He is the nurishment in the food we eat. He is the oxygen for our lungs.He is the beat in our heart.He is the Free in freewill.  God Is everywhere and everything. God is love for us .
Psalms 37:4
God said He will grant our every desire. That is because He is our every desire. We do not desire cars, mansions, and money the flesh does. We desire faith ,hope and love  and these are God.
As I write this artical I can see what He looks like more and more, but one question comes to my mind.
What do I look like to Him?
 Do I look worth God's only son? . Do I look like the prince of peace that passed the tourch to me from the cross? Do I look like the child facing her giants with Gods aim? Do I look like the girl Esther was ,out of love for her people? Do I look like  the men willing to go in the firey furnace for Gods purpose? Do I look like the person that could part the sea for others freedom?
I humbly with tears in my eyes and confidence in my heart say yes. WE all look like these to God. God created us in His image , the same image He created His son .That image is love. God knows  the power that love is, the power that He is and what He  is capable of through us.
Do we?  . Jesus mission was to show us the power of God ( love) . Jesus knew what God (LOVE) was capable and planted that seed in others heart. Was it Esther that help free the Jews? Was it David that killed the giant? Was it Moses that parted the sea?
No, it was LOVE. The pure power of Gods love that is freedom.  .Jesus passed that tourch to us to finish planting the seeds of LOVE and bring life to others. Jesus was capable of performing miracles for others to know God , so are you. Love  is a cure for all things. We can love others because He first loved us. We can help others because He first helped us. We can teach, motivate, encourage, inspire hope for others. Are these things not a miracle to another?  You have to see Him and know the power of love through HIM. You can see Him in an angery coworker or neighbor because the power of love is the power of God. And like God love has no limit.
To me God looks like LOVE!!!!!
God is love
Love is patient .Love is kind. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,always perserveres. Love never fails.

Completly Free

God created us in His image .We are the only thing He created with a soul to love Him back. Unlike animal who live on instinct, God created us like Him with ability of choice.
We all have free will. The situation will happen, its Gods plan, but we have a choice to go through it with Him or without Him. Without God you will HIT road blocks, traffic jams, detours, and react out of fear and short term pleasure ,like an animal on earth. With Him you will SEE road blocks, detours,and traffic jams  clearly and see a reason why .
Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you ,the plans to prospere and of hope.
God has a completly free will ,free of fear  .God is free to love and help others with no fear of concequences. Can you imagine living that free ?What could you do different if you could be free?More like what could  you  not do?Would you be able to face your giants? Would you be able to part the see for others to have freedom as well? Would you be able to give your life for another ? He created us with the same freedom as Himself.
I hear people use the words free will in a negative way. "Free will  sucks  -" It only sucks when you do not use it, when you choose to live in the world as an amimal living on instics for yourself to profit and survive. A Free will is freedom to thrive in this world and a heart to help others do the same.
God is good and fair and free will is the greatest gift He gave us . He gave us the freedom to choose so we could know  the freedom of Jesus Christ . If we did not have the freedom to accept and choose a life in Jesus we would be not different than animals .
When you activate your free will by making a choice to see
 your life in scripure you see free will is one will.
After 13 years of being a stay at home mom I decided to re-enter the work force, to help make ends meat at home. I started working for a well known retail company sweeping floors a few hours a week for 8 dollars an hour. I knew I could be part of helping the comany and my family profit if I gave  100 percent of me to them.. When you help others you help yourself..The better I was at my job the more hours my boss gave me. The more obedient I was the more responsiblity she gave me. In four short months I found myself interviewing for a managers job. With no business knowledge or reseme' I got the job. My boss later told me I got the job because I have something that you do not  get with a  business degree, I understand the bottom line. PROFIT. When you help others , everyone profits.
When Jesus met Peter he said "Follow me . I will make you a fisher of men. "He didnt want Peter to spend his life trying to catch fish to survive .  He wanted Peter to teach others to fish to thrive. Jesus choose Gods will  and choose to live His life for the profit of others. He knew where He was going and said follow me. He wanted peter to choose the same.
God said I know the plans I have for you .The plans to prosper and hope.
If you want to enjoy life , follow Him . The more obedient you are to God the more responsiblity He gives you.
Excepting  free will is the  understanding  of ONE will, Gods will.
When the decibles ask Jesus how do we pray? Jesus said," Our father who art in heaven hallow be thy name. Thy kingdom come Thy WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Dear god , I praise you , I serve you now and forever.Amen.
One heart , one will, one purpose. What would you  give to have that kind of freedom on earth? Jesus already gave His life for you too. Except HIM and you will see .

Thrive or Survive? The choice is yours!

I recently accepted a managment position at work.  There is a young lady that is clearly not excited about the change in management. Today I fasted in prayer for God to take notice of this situation, and show me a clear perspective from His point of view. Seeing things from His view is seeing others from the inside out. You see why they are behaving a certain way. We believers need to love others enough to set our hurt aside and know when you help another you are helping yourself.
It did not take long for God to show me that  this young lady did not like change of any kind. Through memory God reminds us of things others have said in conversation.  I pieced the puzzle together today. I remember her telling me her parents went through a terrible divorse when she was 13. The change in her family dynamic was a negative one. This undelt with hurt turned her afraid of change.  She has been working for this company for years. The people she works with are her family. Although change in management is business to her its personal.
So what do I do? Well this is when you allow God to drive, I ask God to help ease this transition for her and from this let her see positive in change. Then you let HIM work. I go to work focus on  my job and be the servant HE has raised me to be. And here is the tuff part ,TRUST and WAIT .
My point of telling my story is this...Who are you right now? Are you the new person in the family? Are you the one who doesnt like change? Are you the boss that has to keep peace and put out fires? No matter who you are right now everyone has the best intentions , they want to hold the family together. You are all on the same team now and seeing the "family" profit is everyones goal. No matter which one you are God put you there, and HE wants you to learn and grow from this so that in the future you can help another . We must LIVE and LEARN in order to help. But first of all we must accept the position God put us in.
We all have a choice to thrive in life or survive in life. Thriving is when your needs are second to anothers. Surviving is trying to meet your own needs.
Make your request known to GOD and let HIM drive and all will thrive.

Who Peed in Their Cheerios?

Hello all, My 13 year old Olivia wrote here first blog. I have wrote about Olivia in many of my blogs and posts and thought it might be cool if my friends got a chance to hear from her. She will be starting her own teen christian blog and writing to hopefully comfort other teens with issues of today. Hope you all enjoy and encourage her she is spirit led and God approved.
If you've ever been in highschool, you've probably heard the phrase "Who peed in their cheerios?'

Not many people know this, but there's a lot of truth behind it. 

Have you ever been bullied? I know I have. In fact, I've been bullied by the same girl for roughly 5 years. I'm not sure when it all started, but I know it was bullying, & I know that it wasn't right. This girl would isolate other classmates & myself from our groups of friends. She wanted just ONE friend, never more, never less. She would only use them when she needed them, then just drop them when she was done with them. Does this sound familiar? Satan has done the exact same thing. 

Most of the time, it isn't YOU that has done anything wrong. Usually, it has to do with the bullies home or family environment, not yours. Someone peed in their cheerios.

It wasn't until my mother signed me up for self defense classes, that I realized I didn't have to put up with this. That I could defend myself. Not with violence, but with the way I carry myself. With confidence, kindness, honesty, &  just the right amount of integrity. God doesn't want you to be inconsiderate & judgemental, but he doesn't want you to be a bump on a log, either. There are times when you have to stand up for yourself. Not with violence or ruefulness, but with truth & understanding.

It took me 5 years to stand up to my bully, but when I did, it was healing, so I know it was the truth. 

You may not know this either, but Jesus himself was bullied. Throughout his whole life, he was constantly being bullied. & every single time, he told the truth. He stood up to the bully in the most perfect way possible. He wasn't rude or judgemental when he talked to his bullies. He was honest & truthful when he dealt with them. He asked them to prove Him wrong. Even when he was nailed to the cross, even when he was publically humiliated & harasses & tortured, he didn't resort to rudeness or vulger. He asked God to forgive them. 

Jesus knew that the bullies didn't know any better. In the 21st century, when people do something wrong, like bullying, they usually don't know any better. Maybe they were raised being bullied, so they think thats how they have to treat everyone. Or maybe they just want something you have, & have no way to get it, so they're ruled by jealousy. 

Everything we have or are going to go through, Jesus has already gone through, as well as many others. If you ever find yourself being a target of bulying, think of this scripture:

Ephesians 4:29

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such a is good for building up, as it fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."