The Obama Administration is at it again.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I've had about as much as I can take.  Now, they are calling the Tea Partiers... racists?  Good grief.  There is no proof, just accusations but of course the media is all over it.  It seems we've switched from a trial by jury to trial by administration/media.  If someone can get the media to report it then it becomes "true" (although not actually so).  Wouldn't it seem that there are far more important issues to address than an unsubstantiated rumor?  This is being thrown around to anger and distract people from what is really going on with this administration.  They want us to waste investigative reporting on side stories that, although will likely exhonorate the group, will taint their reputation because the media will never truly exhonorate them (think about what they did to Palen and others like her).  The tea partiers don't opose the administration because of Obama's skin color.  That is absurd!

The truth is, we are being force fed this bologna to keep the attention off what this grassroots movement is really saying.  They are trying to bully the people who are standing up for their beliefs into shutting their mouths for fear of being branded with the stigma of being a racist (which is highly insulting to a group of people who, for the most part, have zero tolerance for racism).  Shame on those in our Oval office supporting this.  Shame on those in our Media spreading the insanity. Of course, this isn't anything new for the Obama administration.  The distraction dance was key to getting him into office in the first place (thanks to the liberal, mainstream media).  Don't even get me started on Obama's personal "race, social, economic, patriotic views".  Seems to me like the latest sacrifice of Shirley Sharrod is a ploy to somehow "cover the sins" of a corrupt administration.  Why can't we all just admit that, yes, every race has racists among them.  No race is exempt from this.  We need to stop playing the race card and take the attention off of race altogether.  We're Americans for crying out loud.  We are a beautiful blend of colors and cultures.  We should be banding together not allowing the political tactics of a corrupt administration to keep everyone up in arms over our God given differences.  None of us had any control over the color of our skin so it is absolutely pointless to judge someone by it.

This is not a race thing.  It has everything to do with "We the People" exercising their rights, as citizens of this country, to have their voice heard.  Don't focus on the distractions, get down to the truth of the matter.

Here's a great article on the topic worth reading: Race Roils Tea Party Movement

Yesterday I overheard a myriad of complaints about the forecast of snow.  So many commenting that it might ruin their Easter plans...  Egg hunts, potlucks, church services and the like.  After a long night of dealing with sick children, you can imagine what my reaction might have been when I looked out the window to find my yard completely covered in snow this morning.  We had plans today too but when I opened the blinds in my sick daughter's room I just stared at everything covered in a blanket of white.  Instead of dismay or disappointment I smiled, God was sending me a reminder.

Thoughts of Christ's mourners and the long night they had before that dawn came to me.  Then God reminded me of the joy in their hearts as His followers realized what that empty tomb meant.  Gazing upon the beautiful snow God provided in the wee hours of the morning, my smile broadened even more.  In that moment He spoke powerful words to my spirit, "Today, My child, I washed you white as snow."    All I could whisper back was a pitiful, voice-cracking, “thank you.”

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”  Psalm 51:7

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;” Isaiah 1:18b

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5

Ok, we’re coming down to the wire but there is still time to sign up to join us in “Believing God” by Beth Moore.  We are moving forward with our plans to begin the study on January 14th.  At a minimum, all participants need the member workbook which can be picked up at any Bible bookstore.

If you would like to also view the video segments (highly recommend this) or listen to the audio version, you will need to purchase that access at http://www.lifeway.com/bg - the cost is about $24 and includes all the video segments and the member workbook in pdf format.  You will also gain access to other study materials used during the study.

We will be completing each week in 10 days rather than 7 to give everyone ample time to complete the homework, watch the video and then post in our discussion forum.  The discussion forum will be located at GAINchange, which is totally separate from Lifeway.  There are no fees to join our forum.  All we ask is a commitment to the study and the ladies moving through it with you.

In order to join the study, please email me at j.blair.lane@gmail.com .  Include your name and the username you would like to use on our forum.  I will need confirmation from you no later than Tuesday, January 13th so that I may build your login and get it back to you before Wednesday.

They say insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results.  I suppose that makes me crazy then because I am guilty of this very thing.  Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not sure I expected different results so much as I hoped I wouldn’t have to work that hard to change the behaviors giving me poor results.  Thinking “I need to change” doesn’t get me very far – at least not as far as it used to.  Long ago I would think about changing something and just do it.  Now, I’m ensconced in pitiful habits that leave me feeling icky on so many levels.  Things that started out harmlessly and morphed into auto responses that will take much work to undo.

Today I read an article in Today’s Christian Woman magazine (Jan/Feb 2009) about stopping naughty habits.  Obviously common sense tells us that you must practice the opposite of what you are wanting to eliminate.  I didn’t need anyone to tell me that.  The author says, “Breaking old habits and embracing new ones isn’t easy.  But it is learnable.”  Hmmm, learnable.  I had to agree that God gave me a brain capable of learning new things.  So this forced me to ask myself, “am I teachable?”  I looked up Webster’s definition of the word and part of it struck me with deep conviction.  In order to be “teachable” I must be “willing to learn”.

If my brain and body can learn poor habits then it stands to reason that I can learn to replace them with good habits.  I don’t have to think about driving anymore, I just drive.  I don’t have to think about washing my hair or where it comes in my shower routine, I just do it like my body is on autopilot.  The more we practice something the easier and more automatic it becomes… like typing.  Which I’ve been doing during this entire post thus far without even thinking about it.

I like how the author states that habits “aren’t just about willpower.”  I needed to read that today.  When I pried myself out of bed at 5 o’clock this morning I kept telling myself, “this will get easier.”  The truth is though, it won’t get easier unless I make waking at five a true habit which means I have to practice waking at that time every morning.  I must be “willing” to practice it too.  Currently my brain is programmed to be a night owl and if left alone I can autopilot that behavior quite well.

There are several bad habits I am hoping to break this year.  Right now it is helping me to see it as  “learnable” rather than browbeating myself into submission.   I’m not sure it will make the process easier but hopefully it will improve my attitude about it and thus make me more “willing to learn” new responses.

This is a really beautiful song with a wonderful message.  It seems appropriate after last night's election.  A sweet sister in Christ sent out a message this morning calling us to turn to God.  I got the same exact message from Him last night while I watched the events unfold.  A peace washed over me that defies any human understanding. My hope is not in the next President of this country, it is in the Christ who has already saved us.

"Beautiful Letdown"

It was a beautiful let down
When I crashed and burned
When I found myself alone unknown and hurt
It was a beautiful let down
The day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me
Would never do

In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt
I was trying so hard to fit in, fit in,
Until I found out
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
I will carry a cross and a song where I don't belong
But I don't belong

It was a beautiful let down
When you found me here
Yeah for once in a rare blue moon I see everything clear
I'll be a beautiful let down
That's what I'll forever be
And though it may cost my soul
I'll sing for free
We're still chasin our tails and the rising sun
And our dark water planet's
Still spinning in a race
Where no one wins and no one's one

I don't belong here
I don't belong here
I'm gonna set sight and set sail for the kingdom come
I will carry a cross and a song where I don't belong
But i don't belong
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
Kingdom come
Your kingdom come

Won't you let me down yeah
Let my foolish pride
Forever let me down

Easy living, not much like your name
Easy dying, you look just about the same
Won't you please take me off your list
Easy living please come on and let me down

We are a beautiful let down,
Painfully uncool,
The church of the dropouts
The losers, the sinners, the failures and the fools
Oh what a beautiful let down
Are we salt in the wound
Let us sing one true tune

I don't belong here
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
Feels like I don't belong here
Let me down
Let me down
Feels like I'm let down
Let me down.
Cuz I don't belong here
Please
Won't you let me down?

On the eve of what many believe to be the most important election in our nation’s history, I am writing to every soul out there who longs for something more.  There must be a great many because “change” seems to be the only common thread between the parties.

You can believe “change is coming” because change is an inevitable part of life.  Change is all around us, especially now with leaves littering our lawns and the resetting of our clocks.  Change can be physical, fiscal, moral, emotional, psychological…  The only thing consistent about change is that it is always happening.  Even still, as much as we can appreciate positive change, we usually don’t have a love for change in general.  The words “I wish things didn’t have to change” have been muttered (or thought) by almost everyone on the planet at one time or another… A failed relationship, the death of a child, a diagnosis, stock market crash, war…

Since change is inevitable anyway, wouldn’t it be monumental for a candidate to promote consistency rather than change?  Can you even imagine a politician who was consistent in speech, action and beliefs?  Since most of our politicians claim to believe in God and the Bible, I thought that it might be fitting to point out His consistent record on two moral issues that are receiving plenty of press lately. 

God values life, even the unborn:

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” Jeremiah 1:5a (NLT)

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!   Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out  before a single day had passed.”  Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT)

“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life,  an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,  a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.”  Exodus 21:22-25 (NLT)

“If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.”  Genesis 9:6 (NLT)

I am not listing these passages to condemn those who have had an abortion or who perform them.  That is not my place.  I am posting them in the hopes of clearing up the false words spoken by some that the unborn should not have the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".  God is quite clear on how He values human life, and He values the unborn no differently than the full grown man.  To say otherwise of God is not consistent with who He is.  To say you believe Him but to accept abortion as a choice is not consistent either.

God is clear on Homosexuality:

Besides being all over the media around here, I am including this because I heard a priest on the news the other day say that God was not clear in His Word about homosexuality.

“Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.”  Leviticus 18:22

If this isn’t clear enough for you, please feel free to check out these other verses: 

Lev. 20:13;  1 Cor. 6:9-10;  Rom. 1:26-28

God is pro-marriage and He clearly had a particular plan in mind:

“God said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion." So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn't find a suitable companion. God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man. The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame. Genesis 2:20-25 (The Message)

You will find plenty of websites out there justifying sin with a twisting of God’s Words.  It is the nature of mankind to justify sin.  We all do it, yes, I’m talking about myself too.  If you are shaking your head, believing you never have – consider for a moment where God stands on other issues such as: pre-marital sex, lying, stealing, cheating, overeating, self-righteousness, jealousy, greed, pride, hatefulness, unforgiveness, selfishness, anger… and the list could go on.  Most of this list isn’t even about what goes on in our thoughts or the shows we watch or the books we read.  God has weighed in on all of that as well.  You cannot know God and find Him inconsistent.  He is consistent on all of these topics.  He calls them sin, every time.

Fortunately, God isn’t just consistent about His judgment between right and wrong – He’s consistent with His love for you.  Those verses above about the unborn, those are about you too.  You are important to Him.  His Word tells us that “while we were still sinners” He sent His Son to die for our sin.  He is truly able to love the sinner and still hate the sin.  We are valuable in His eyes.  Isn’t that Someone you can believe in.  Someone who loves you no matter how badly you mess up.  Someone who loves us enough to tell us when we’re doing something we shouldn’t be.  He’s not about making us feel good in our sin because He wants something better for all of us.  If we rely on His consistency, we will see consistent change in our lives that would make the “change” offered by this world look like cheap thrills and temporary highs.

If you really just want some politician’s view of change, it’s coming no matter how you vote.  But, if you want some consistency you can believe in, rely on, and trust, you can’t find that anywhere but with God and His Word.

Beads that Lead

GAINchange is looking for women who would like to join an online weightloss team.  If you would like more information, contact me at j.blair.lane@gmail.com

Also, we will be hosting the online Bible study, "Believing God" by Beth Moore in January.  Participants will be asked to purchase the online version of the study from Lifeway at http://www.lifeway.com/bg - we will host weekly discussions at GAINchange for participants only.  The study group is open to women age 18 and over.  To be placed on the sign up list, email me your name, email address and the username you'd like to use.  I will send out login information at the end of December.

Hello all you internet savvy gals out there!  GAINchange will be hosting the online study “Believing God” by Beth Moore!  GAINchange has never officially openned to the public but we feel the Lord calling us to open our doors for this wonderful fellowship opportunity.  We are a small group of friends who love to encourage each other toward gaining change in Christ.  A few restrictions will apply but we would like to extend an invitation to join us in the study of God's Word.

The study will be open to women age 18 and up (sorry guys).  You will need to purchase online access to the study through LifeWay.  Participants will get access to the Bible Study forums at GAINchange for a weekly time of discussion and fellowship online.  Other terms will be agreed to prior to granting of membership.

If you are interested in the Bible Study, watch for coming announcements on how to sign up.  If you are interested in joining the GAINchange group, you may email me at j.blair.lane@gmail.com - if you don't hear from me within a couple of days that means I didn't get your message so please resend it.

God Bless!

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14

With the hubbub around here about the upcoming political convention (we’re not far from Denver), I couldn’t help but reflect on how I might cast my vote in the upcoming election.  This, of course, is not the first time I’ve pondered it.  I’m not registered under either party.  However, if you had access to the personal voting records, and I suspect that is probably more people than we’d like to believe, you would see that I vote on the conservative side of things. 

I don’t vote that way because my “momma does” or because my “husband does” or because a long time ago somebody told me “the liberals were evil”.  I vote conservatively because my beliefs, my convictions and my mindset are that of a conservative nature.  It irritates me when people just vote a particular party or moral line and don’t really know why.  Equally frustrating is when people vote (conservative or liberal) simply because “so and so” (usually a parent) does/did or “that’s just how I was raised”.  These people don’t know why they vote the way they do.  Or maybe, they think they know why but it’s all based on something someone told them and not their own personal research into the matter. 

Unfortunately, some people just vote based on hate for the other party.  If they were honest, they don’t know that the party they vote with is better, they just hate the other side for whatever reason.  We can’t forget the group who will vote for whichever party is not currently in office.  Why?  Oh because they want a change.  Huh?  Yeah, it sounds rather flippant to me too.  Who cares if the candidate can do the job, they’re “different” so that’s good enough…right?  Hmm, I’m not convinced either.

Even though I don’t agree with people who vote in any of these ways, I do respect them a tad more than those who vote based on things the candidate has no control over… like skin color or gender for instance.  I mean, I’m a woman but I certainly wouldn’t sacrifice my belief system just to get a woman into the oval office any more than I would to get a fellow “brunette” into office.  I see skin color the same way. I think it’s ignorant to vote for someone because they are or aren’t a particular color.  Color and gender are things that the candidate doesn’t have any control over.  So, why on earth would I cast my vote for or against them based on those things?  If you are thinking only one race or gender is guilty of this!  There are individuals who vote like this in all categories!

Shouldn’t it be about the issues?  Shouldn’t it be about which candidate has the right experience, is most in line with my personal beliefs and who has an agenda that I can support morally and ethically?  Of course it should, but that would mean that we can’t take “Aunt Gertrude’s” or our “BFF’s” word on it.  We have to do our homework.  We have to find out what the candidates really do stand for – not just what the media wants (or doesn’t want) us to see, and certainly not based on appearances.  We also can’t go solely on what the candidates say they believe – do their actions match up?  And what about their friends – those people do matter in the equation.  They influence them more than anyone else.  I mean, maybe you can’t choose your family but you can certainly choose your friends and mentors.  Who you choose speaks volumes about you so why wouldn’t it speak volumes about your candidate?

You may be wondering how I will cast my vote.  To be quite honest, I don’t know yet.  I don’t take this lightly and I still have some homework yet to do.  So why did I write this post?  To get you to think a bit more about how you’ll use your voice in the next election.  Why are you voting?  Who or what is influencing your vote?  Are you educated enough about the candidates to make a solid personal choice or are you just following the crowds around you?  If you were put on trial for your vote, could you clearly, articulately and morally defend your choice?

Some of you may be scoffing, “seriously, you’re out there lady, it doesn’t matter that much”..

…but what if it does?