Would you hire a tutor for God?

Easter Sunday was great. My mom came up and went with me to Church, and I was very proud that my Pastor (Marty Grubbs) chose to do an 'un-safe' sermon..meaning it was a sermon who might have irritated a few people. I thought it was great, and I thought it was a sermon that needed to be preached!

He was talking about what it means to "Follow Jesus".. We all know those people who claim to believe in God, but want to put no effort into the following OF God. They claim they are smarter than most pastors, or that they don't have to go to church to serve the Lord, they say the don't believe in "Organized Religion" so they choose to not attend a church..etc.. the list goes on and on, and I'm sure you know some of them. I'm sure some of those statements above are true, but when you get right down to it. If you want to have a relationship with God, you have to put a little effort into it..Its like they are saying "I want the Good parts of God..the blessings, the praying, the heaven part of it..but I also want to do whatever I want, whenever I want without any repercussions, or without putting any effort into my relationship with God". Well we all know that doesn't work..That sounds like a pretty ONE-sided relationship to me.

Marty also mentioned the fact that there are so many people out there when asked "What are you teaching your kids about God" that say "Oh, I'm just going to let them figure it out on their own" or "Once they are older they can form their own opinions".. What if we said that about School, or about sports? Most parents would never do that..If their kid was failing math, they would get a math tutor, or make them study harder.. If you want your kids to be good at athletics, you start them off in a program early, teach them how to play, get them coaches, cheer them on..etc.. But what about what you teach them about Church? Or about a God that loves them unconditionally, even when they are failing math, or losing a soccer game? Wouldn't it be nice for them to know that they always have someone to talk to about things they are upset about before they go to bed each night? Would it be nice for them to know that as much as their parents get mad at them, or they get into trouble, that there is God that made them special just as they are, and that will love them no matter what? Yet I never hear of anyone hiring a Tutor for God's word.. Makes me sad too.

I'm so blessed to have had a family that brought me up in a church. Is it the same church I attend now? No, as I got older I was able to form my own opinions..but I'll tell you this, there were many times when my parents got divorced that I told all my troubles to God, because I KNEW he was there. I had read about him in my Sunday school class, and I knew his stories. And I knew he was my friend, and a father I could turn to when I didn't feel like I could talk to my parents. I knew that he had the power to make me feel better when I was sad, and I knew he could mend my heart when it was broken. I can't imagine not having that kind of power in my life. So now that Easter has passed, I hope that more folks will continue to try to find the Lord for themselves, and also for their friends and families, and kiddos. Sometimes, as a kid, we need someone to talk to ABOUT our parents, lol, and God is always a good choice. He may not always talk back, and he may not always give us the answers we like, but he's always there..Always providing, always loving, and always proud to call us his. Just like a great parent.. Hope you all had a great Easter..

"Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me,
and do not forbid them;
for of such is the kingdom of heaven.""
Matthew 19:13-14 New King James Version

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Do things get on God's Nerves?

"For I know the plans for you," Declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."~Hebrews 10:24

Do you have certain Pet Peeves, or things that just irriate you? I have a couple. I hate it when people tell me they are going to do something, and then they don't. It irriates me beyond belief..I also hate it when people only call me when they need something from me. That used to happen quite a bit when I was on the radio.."Can you get me tickets to so & so?" or "Can you take me backstage?"..even when I had not talked to those people in 10 years.

So when I got to thinking about this, I thought, "Does God ever get irritated with us?".. If I were him I would.. Now My God is a loving God, and I know he always loves us, and forgives us, but how irritating would it be if the only time people actually prayed to God was when they needed something..Or when they were hurt.. or When something bad happened? I'm sure he's always happy when we talk to him, period..but you know he's gotta be like "Gee, I wish you would have told me about this earlier..or why haven't you been talking about this with me before now?" So many times we wait to go to the Lord with things that we WANT or things that we think we Need "Lord Bless me with This." or "Lord I need this" or "Lord, I know I haven't talked to you in a long time, can you please now help me with this"..etc.. Wouldn't it just be easier to keep a relationship with the Lord all the time instead of only going to him when we need something? How many times have you heard your parents say "You only call home when you need money"..lol..And yes, even when we do that, our parents still love us, just as God still loves us..But you know thats got to be how God feels sometimes when the only times we turn to him are when we want something or have a prayer request!

I think a relationship with God is like any other relationship you have. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The stronger it gets, the more value it has. If you only saw your spouse at Christmas and Easter would you consider that a strong relationship? No. If you only spoke to your spouse when you needed something, would you consider that a good relationship? No. If the only time you talked to your friends was when you needed something from them, would that make them feel wanted for valued? No it wouldn't. So as I continue my walk with the Lord I encourage you to not just be 'half-way' in your relationship with God. Talk to him everyday, not just when you need something. Don't just visit him on Christmas and Easter, visit him each Sunday and grow spiritually. Can you have a relationship with God without Church or Worship? I'm sure you can, but why not enhance your relationship with classes about God, friends who love God like you love God, pastors who inspire you with sermons, choirs that inspire you with music? Would'nt that make your walk with God much more fulfilling and spiritual? Well, it has for me..And I hope it does the same for you.

Its nice to WANT to go to church..

Well we just finished an awesome class in Sunday School..Let me start off by saying that I have been anti-Sunday School for the past 30 years.. I haven't went in forever. When I was growing up we just never really went to Sunday School, and I never really continued it as I got older either.. It took me forever to find my Church home when I moved to OKC..I tried unsuccessfully for 2 years before I finally found Crossings. I went to Crossings 3 years ago on Easter and fell in love with the Orchestra.. Then when Marty started to preach I thought "Yeah..thats what I was thinking".. Then I saw that there was a Wednesday night class by a teaching Pastor named Terry Feix about "The Last Days"...so I thought I'd go.. and man, once you go to Terry's class, you are just hooked on him as a teacher! Its like a good teacher you have in College when you want to just keep taking their classes because they are so good at what they do! He is so unbelievable smart that you can't help but learn stuff when you go.. He's also funny, which makes him entertaining and he 'dumbs it down' for me so I can actually understand it in normal people terms as opposed to bible speak.

When I walked into church last Sunday I thought "How nice it is to actually WANT to go to church".. As a child I went because my parents went and it was what we were supposed to do. I always enjoyed singing in church, but I never really connected with any of the classes. When I got to college I wanted to sleep in on  Sundays, so that stopped me from going all the time..even though I do feel like I've always had a good relationship with God. As I got more settled into my life I realized that relationship with God is just like a relationship with anyone else..The more you see them, the more time you spend, the more you put into it..the more you get out of it.. So when People say "I can have a relationship with God without going to church"..yes, I agree.. but just like with anything else..You get what you give, and the more you put in, the more you get back..So its really nice to like getting up on Sunday to go spend time in fellowship with the Lord.

My last 3 years at Crossings have been such a blessing. Every time I walk into that Church its like God tapping me on the shoulder saying "Remember when I tried to tell you about this?" Or "Hey KC, sound familiar:..etc..I've taken almost every class Terry has taught, and when I saw one Sunday that he was going to be teaching a Sunday school class at 10:45..I knew it was a God thing that I was supposed to be in it.. Up until that point I had avoided Sunday school because the classes started at 9:30 and that's when I went to regular church. Well when I saw that Terry's started AFTER church let out I was on board. Its a class called "Perspective" and its just been so eye-opening. At first we were studying the book of John and his relationship with Jesus..It was so fascinating to see the Lord through John's eyes..As a friend..as a prophet.. as a miracle..and as a father.. Awesome Study. Then we moved onto the book of Job..

I should say that at the time I joined the class I had just lost my job.. I felt like crap. I felt like a failure, I was confused, I was sad..and I was looking for some kind of direction..when in walks John..and then Job. Job was dealt a bad hand. For those of you who don't know the story basically Satan talks with the Lord and says "The only reason people even like you is for what you can do for them, or because they fear you".. and God says "No way..look at Job, take all his stuff away, watch him suffer, and I'll bet you he will still be loyal to me".. sure enough Job's life starts to really suck. He loses everything he owns..all his family die off, he has every sort of awful disease you can imagine..his friends abandon him..I mean really sucks to be Job at this point..You get the picture.. And even through all this..Even though he was a bit perturbed with God, He never quit trusting him, and he never quit believing in him. And for his loyalty he was blessed 7 times more with amazingness from the Lord..

This was a great lesson for me to hear because after losing my job I realized that for the last 13 years I've been asking God to bless MY plan, and grant MY Wishes.. Not one time did I ask him to put HIS plan for me into action. I've been down..I've felt awful..I've felt worthless.. I've lost friends..all the same crummy stuff, but I have learned to turn my eyes upon God and wait and see what He's got planned for me. I loved it when Oprah said that she prays each night for God to "Use her till he uses her up".. and now that's what I pray. I'm so grateful for all the amazing things in my life..the people..the dogs.. the places. I'm blessed, and I know that God has amazing things planned for me if I will just wait and see what they are..If I will wait for HIS plan.. because as cool as I thought my plan would be..I can't imagine how awesome the plan that God has for me will be.. Thanks Job & John for putting into into perspective.. Onward & Upward

God & Dogs first Blog

So I started this blog to write about two things that I'm very passionate..God, and Dogs. I chose to write a different blog apart from my regular blog (http://www.kcsheperd.blogspot.com/) because a lot of my friends get sick of hearing about my passion for church, and my passions for dogs..So they can continue to read the other blog, and for those who choose to follow this one, you can hear my go on and on about God and Dogs..

For those of you who don't know, I have 3 dogs. Payslee, my 2 year old Red/White Shih-tzu girl, Sawyer my 2 year old Brindle Shih-tzu boy, and Rally my 12 year old Lhasa-Apso. I haven't always been a 'good' dog owner. Pandora was my first shih-tzu and when I got her I knew nothing about food, exercise, training, etc.. I was an idiot. Pandora died in 2009, and I vowed that when I got my next shih-tzu that I would do everything in my power to be the best dog owner ever.. and yes, I am now..lol.. My dogs eat good food. Is it more expensive? Yes..but does it stay with them longer? YES, so it all comes out in the end.. I do not allow my dogs to eat anything with Wheat, Corn, wheat gluten, by products, beet pulp, or meal in it..Pandora was soo allergic to so many things, and me being oblivious, I just kept giving her allergy pills, and I think that my poor food choices for her aided in her poor health and allergy problems..And if you think about it, when do you really see dogs out in a wheat field munching away? You don't. Dogs are Carnivores..they eat meat..not beet pulp, and not Wheat gluten..So I firmly believe that feeding a good, filling food to your dog is very important. If you don't want to believe me, read this, and rate your own dogs food.. I believe that if you can't afford to feed your dog a good food, then nope, you don't need to have a dog.

I also never realized how important it was to EXERCISE your dog. Have you ever watched The Dog Whisperer? Whether or not you agree with his training methods, the one thing you have to agree with is that Dogs need exercise. Wanna piss me off? Tell me you have a big yard and leave your dog out there to exercise! Think about how you would feel if you had to look at the SAME BACK YARD every single day.. SO boring. Would it cause you to tear up stuff, maybe dig, shred, or scratch holes? Um yes.. So just because you have a big back yard, that doesn't mean you still shouldn't exercise your dogs..I also love people who have little dogs who will say "Well since I have a small dog, I just let her run around the house, and thats how she gets exercise".. What BS. I've got a 6 pound shih-tzu that after a FULL MILE of me on rollerblades and her running will look at me like "Is that all your bringing?".. Just because a dog is small, does NOT mean the dog doesn't need exercise. Just like tall people, and short people.. we all need exercise.

So this is just the first of my rants.. I'm sure there will be many more pertaining to dogs, and religion.. Feel free to rant with me..More to follow..