One Word At A Time: Church

By MAD21

The word for this week's One Word at a Time blog carnival is: Church. The first thing most of us probably think of when hearing this word is probably a location or a building. But in reality, at least in God's eye, the church is... get this... US. The people are the church. Not a building.

Back in April, I wrote a short post on The Commercial Church. I had read an amazing article by Aaron Van Voorhis from Relevant Magazine about how it seems that with the decline in church attendance, church leaders feel they have to draw people in using all the latest gadgets and technology. Unfortunately, in some ways it's like church has forgotten that we are not coming to be entertained. We come together to worship our God and learn about how we are to live and serve others.

Click to read more ...

One Word At A Time: Grief

The topic for our bi-weekly post on One Word At A Time is: Grief. It's amazing how a single word like this can bring on such strong emotions. Deep sadness, anger, denial, emptiness and loss, to name a few. Most people couple grieving with the loss of a loved one, and I have to admit, when I first found out this was our word to write about this week, it was the first thing I thought of. But as I began to ponder on this idea of grief, I realized that the loss of someone I've loved isn't the only time I've experienced these emotions.

Click to read more ...

One Word At A Time: Community

By MAD21

Community is defined as "a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists."

We are all parts of different communities: Work; school; the gym where we work out; play groups; hobbie groups; church. I think God created the concept because it is so vital to our growth as individuals.  There are probably countless studies that support the importance of being included in groups if you want to live happier lives. But I don't think it's only about us all finding our place, being accepted and loved and 'living happily ever after." Though the world would have us believe that. I believe community is more important than that. Community is living beyond ourselves. Looking outside of our own needs sometimes to see what others may need and putting them first. God created us to need each other. In his own words he says that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18).

Click to read more ...

One Word At A Time: Remember

By MAD21

For our bi-weekly post on One Word At A Time, the group decided on: Remember. I know, for me, this is actually something that's very important. I admit, sometimes to the point of obsession. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I am actually afraid of forgetting.

This is something that became very apparent to me when I became a mommy. I so thoroughly enjoyed being a mom with young little babies. Yes, there were some very hard times and lots of crying on my own part. But really, I loved celebrating all the firsts, no matter how small and unimportant the firsts were to others.

Click to read more ...

One Word At A Time: Trust

By MAD21

Peter's One Word at a Time blog carnival on Obedience was so successful a few weeks ago, we all decided we'd like to make it a regular thing. So, every other week, we will choose a word to write about and link back to Bridget's blog (since doing One Word at a Time is her "thing"). This week, we bring you:

I asked my family: "What does Trust mean to you?"

Youngest daughter (3.5): (Long pause... shoulder shrugg) "I don't know, Mommy. What is it?"

Oldest daughter (5.5): "Doing something God asks you to. And keeping your promises, too."

Hubby: "The ability to know someone will do something when they say they will."

Me: "That someone or something will do what they are supposed to do, or what was promised. That someone is telling the truth."

The dictionary defines trust as: "Reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence." So. To trust someone or something, one must have confidence in the one you are trusting. Is trust something that comes naturally, or is it something that is earned, or ...learned?

Click to read more ...