What legacy are you leaving behind?

Are we living by example?

            Our children are crying for help, did you know they question themselves everyday and if you are no where to be found their lack of wisdom searches for knowledge that is best suited to them in convenience to their needs. In their eyes, they search for what looks good, basically what is being accepted in society. Their ears, they reach for things that sound familiar what is being played on the radio or television. Expose their bodies in ways that feel good, identifying with what gets a response. Trapped in their emotions, they search for knowledge that identifies with society's "ideals". Who is influencing your child? Did you know children learn the most from society and their peers? The outside world has the biggest impact on children. As parents how can we take hold of the negative impact. How bout taken hold of yourself, and living by example..?

            We so often think by telling our children, "I want you to be better than me, not follow in my foot steps" justifies our acts and will in turn motivate our children not to be like us. Well if they don't know no different how will they know any different. Unless you have a "perfect" child will you not face obstacles like so. We don't poses the ability to be perfect, therefore we must accept reality. Accept what you teach your child verbally, physically, and mentally is what your child will gain most of their knowledge. Not just by you, but the outside world. If they can't see a change in you and how you want to impact this world for the better, how could they learn any different. As parents we have to change the ideal in our own parenting to that, that is best suited for our children individually. For no child is alike. Also, lead our house hold as we would like our children to lead there's. Scratch out the ideals of society's needs and wants and teach the true meaning of growth. For we can have everything materially in this world but if we lack the true meaning of life's necessities we will be forever lost. Its impossible to satisfy the flesh, for the world's itinerary of acceptance is constantly changing.

            That "beautiful" black-off the shoulder dress is "in" this year, but out the next year. Not only is your pocket book effected, but now your left with a dress that will sit in your closet because its no longer accepted next year. Understand the analogy? You were literally accepted for a moment, but now in search to be accepted the next moment. How exhausting! Now your health is effected... Now stressed about what your going to wear tomorrow, the next day, the day after, and after. Your running your pocket book, forgetting about your bills, and now stressed about your outfit and your bills. Where's the sanity in that? We look "good" but inside we're completely lost. We can't identify with ourselves, with the people around us, and completely forget about the people looking up to us (our children). What are we teaching our children?

            "Mom, but everybody is wearing it", "I can't go to school looking like this", "I have to have that or my friends won't think I'm cool", now they are running late to school, spending hours in front of the mirror and won't wear a shirt without a logo. We spend so much time trying to be accepted by society and can't understand why are children want what everybody else is wearing. They are like sponges, or did we forget what that quote meant? Not only are we promoting our children to be followers but, depressing the children that can't afford the logos. Little do they know that they are in better shape then the children who "have it all". It's unfortunate what walking logos can do. Spike up prices, and deprive self-esteem, and all because of us. We time after time promote the wrong ideas off acceptance, forgetting who we are impacting and failing to do anything to change it. Be the change we want our children to be. Lead by example.

Women, lets get it RIGHT!

Ignorance, unsatisfied ways, and deceitfulness? Ignorance is the lack of wisdom, lack of wisdom is the fear of knowledge(pride), fear of knowledge promotes deceitfulness. If you haven't learned who you are, without God you will continue to fall short of your true meaning.

Proverbs 24:3-4 By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

God made Eve; life-giver, for Adam because he saw something was lacking. Now man and woman cannot survive without each other. Through a woman, a man is born and without a man a woman cannot bear a child. So we need each other! Therefore through each other we are to help each other, and not mislead each other. Although we don't, lets look back to the meeting in Eden. Eve, because of lack of deceit, which shows she has no wisdom, therefore no knowledge. She is now the victim of the enemy, easily convinced wanting something she has no knowledge of,  but assumes because something appears to look good its what she wants. But she doesn't go down alone, she brings her husband with her. Offering him the "goods". He too now falls victim to the deceit of the enemy.

¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

 ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

 ⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

As woman who are we trying to convince, are we knowledgeable enough to convince others, or are we just using the manipulational skills instilled in us back in Eden? Eve, was naive, what is our excuse? Using our flirtatious ways, assuming we will receive as we please, but don't because we are so vulnerable at the time of the act,  we loose focus on what is truly needed, later realizing that isn't what we want. Then we wonder off to the next victim to deceit some more. We don't realize what we are doing is not only affecting self, but other women, and men. A man falls victim to a woman's manipulation and no longer trust, therefore putting up a wall to protect themselves, becomes stuck behind the wall and now can't tell truth from a lie. We think make-up will make us perfect, because the people we look up to are airbrushed to "perfection". We use our beauty and words to get what we think we want, assuming its 'ok' because the world promotes with our body parts and "beauty". Then we feel empty and mistreated, disgusted with ourselves and what man has taken advantage of. We don't realize we did this to ourselves, to all of humanity. We alter our body or face to portray someone else, assuming who we truly are will not be accepted. Aware of the truth, we continue to compromise our looks and actions, submit to vanity, and continue the constant battle of failed satisfaction. We spend so much time trying to please the world's ideals, we forget who we really are.

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Jeremiah 4:30 And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.

Psalm 119:37

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

To continue in the ways of the world will hinder us from receiving our blessings. Being disobedient to God's will is a dangerous choice, the quest for knowledge should balance wisdom. If we continue to deceive we will never reap the harvest the Lord has promised, but continue in the ways confusing to ourselves and to others, and in turn will reap the misery we promote. Looking for love in all the wrong places, getting our simple and temporary fixes, but failing to realize what is really missing. We assume we are deserving of something we are not willing to give. We want men to be true to us, but are too busy fixing up schemes to get what we want out of them and then move on to the next one, because we were never sure in the first place. Or go into something half done. God is the only one that can fulfill us, not man. Think about why we are not satisfied reevaluate your motives and drive.

Proverbs 1:28-33 They will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat of the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

Ephesians 5:17 Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

We so often think we can manipulate our way through by deceiving ourselves and others and then wonder why things aren't happening in our favor. We constantly brush up our deceitful ways and fail to brush up the relationship most important to us. Then wonder why things are not happening for us. We attempt our worldly ways, planning our lives in the ways we want, forgetting who is in control. We want to fix our old habits then pick up new ones, and justify them with each other. Then we want to fix God's word in our favor, we didn't write it, he did. "He says in his word he would take care of me, why is all this bad stuff happening to me". We can't forget where we came from. We were once victims of the enemy, God is a justice God. We have to be fit to receive the blessings, its in God's time not our time.

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.... Do not be wise in your own eyes.

Instead submit to him, the father of peace, true love, and happiness and he will direct your paths. Lead you to the man or way you belong, whether it is married or single believe only he knows the best path for you. For he will never leave you or forsake you. But will bless you according to his word.

Philippians 4:7 Then, the peace of God, which is beyond our utmost understanding, will keep guard over your hearts and thoughts, in Christ Jesus.

"Are we meant to be bad?"

If we were meant to be 'bad', why do we feel bad doing it? Why does doing 'good' feel good? Let's put 'religion' and non religion aside for a moment... Ask yourself "why do I do bad?" I know some of you may say, "because its 'fun'", "because I like it", "because it gives me a rush!", "because doing good is boring", "its a habit", "because it helps me forget things"... So why do you feel bad afterwards? Whether it effects you mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually, it effects you negatively? I mean temporary fixes such as,  reaching unfulfilling heights, you find yourself never satisfied or satisfied for a moment and then asking yourself "was that worth it?", "how am I going to pay my bills now?!", "what's going on with me?", "this isn't me!", "I feel guilty now...", "back to reality"... Waking up the next morning with a headache, can't hardly move, everything taste bad, and just right down lazy, interesting how we refer that to a "good night". A bit of a contradiction don't you think considering how you really feel at that moment... These are just a few samples of what we consider 'fun', 'exciting', 'feel good' moments. So tell me how does one continue or voluntarily not think we were meant to be 'good'? Or better yet, how does one not recognize that perhaps there is a higher power who may have a strong hold on you, and has now compromised your way of thinking to continue to bring you down, destroy not just the people who love you, but yourself?! How does one not believe there is a higher power that encourages you to be who you really are, doing 'good'. Something that actually builds your self-esteem, your finances, your health, your families peace, your peace...

            It's so easy for people to believe in evil, science, saints, how bout the super natural, miracles, the unexplainable things like love, intuition, contentment, peace... We get so caught up on trying to figure everything out, depending on scientific explanations, praising people we don't even know, but we can't believe in a God who gave us a manual that explains all the things we question, better yet gives a couple rules to help us stay in line so we can feel good about ourselves. Is it really that difficult to believe someone loved you so much he died for you, so you could live a life of decision making. Interesting how he gave you the choice to believe even in him. Let's say he isn't the 'truth', he doesn't exist, he is all a fallacy. What do you have to loose? I mean he's giving you the manual to help you feel better about yourself... What do you have to loose if you don't believe? How bout you take a moment to find out... Look at yourself, are you happy, can you seriously say you have peace in your heart and soul? Are you content in your life and where it's going? Do you genuinely feel good about the decisions you are making in opposition of what he rather you do so you would feel good about yourself..? Compare and contrast and make your own assessment and you decide. It's all a choice, the choice to be happy or sad...