New Day!

Before I get started - I have put in pictures from a couple of the schools.  The picture of the scale is mine from a school called Lirios de los Valles.  We took measurment here.  The other pictures are from a school in a city called El Sauce.  They were taken by Joel, who works for Convoy of Hope in Nicaragua. 

It rained all day yesterday.  Well, most of the day from morning to evening the sky was gray and overcast. The rain came down hard.  Creating rivers in roads, and ponds in parking lots. Rain covered the city.  It was the first time that during the day I actually felt a little cold and last night I used two sheets instead of one.  I kept pushing my fan farther and farther from my bed and then decided to just pull out my extra sheet.  It did the trick.

Then this morning the sun was out and the sky was blue.  The birds were chirping and the dirt parking lot where I live was drying out.  Traffic was bustling as a new day began.  The rain came down hard, but the next day was new day.  The air was fresh and cooler after the rain.  The same thing goes for our lives.  Sometimes we need a good rain or a good sweep of our heart and mind.  1 Peter 2:1 says " So, clean house!  Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk.  You've had a taste of God.  Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness.  Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God." Maturity is a characteristic to be sought after. 

I truly believe that if more adults allowed themselves to mature and grow we would have less social issues in society.  Imagine if more adults actually practiced getting rid of malice, pretense, envy and hurtful talk.  Imagine what that would do for marriages.  If people actually practiced 1 Corinthians 13, especially verses 4-7 : "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. "  What if these attributes of love where not only practiced at home, but practied in the workplace, in government, and in the streets? 

We are all human and we all fall short.  However,  I also believe that humans have the ability to grow, change and adapt (it may be a long road with lots of obstacles at times).  When that person has Jesus Christ in their life I believe people have even a greater ability to grow and change and when rough patches happen they have a friend in Christ and the support of their church family.    I encourage you today to clean house, to start a fresh new day, to turn over a new leaf and keep it turned over!  Strive to become mature in faith and to be a person who practices 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in all areas of your life. Don't let your own insecurity guide your behavior - don't let your insecurity make you into someone who feels the need to cut others down. Find confidence in Christ who made you, build others up, encourage others, don't be self-seeking, but be selfless, and lastly, take personal responsibilty in all that you do.  Go out and live in love =).