Put some Spunk in your Trunk.

Reading day one of week two in the Book of James or as Beth Moore says "The Book of Jimmy". That girl cracks me up. Anyway we studied James 1:1 last week and this week James 1:2-4. How the heck we are going to finish this study in 7 weeks is beyond me. But I am sure we will. Thank goodness there are only 5 chapters in that book.

2)Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. 3)because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4)Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Pretty powerful stuff when you disect it out where it makes since. I learned to do that when I worked in the Tax Office and was reading the new laws. It was like reading Greek but when I thought about each word and what that word means it made alot more sense to me.

Basically what James is saying is be thankful for all your trials and tribulations. Instead of using the word consider, replace that with "Feel". "Feel pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds." Consider is more of a thought, not an emotion like feel. I know with myself I relate to emotions better than I do words or thoughts. I like that transition in the phrase and it brings it home more so to me.

Our trials and tribulations can strip us, beat us up, abandon us and leave us half dead. Just exhausted and feeling bruised and bloody. At times we feel so exhausted and demoralized by a dark difficulty, whatever it is, that we can't imagine going on. Trials are robbers, takers, thieves if we allow them to be. They can steal your security, dignity, dreams and sometimes your spouse or friends. If you're with Christ though, trials don't get to steal unless we let them.

Then we get into perseverance. What is that??? I looked up on dictionary.com and clicked on thesaurus and some of the words were backbone, determination, drive, endurance, guts, persistence, spunk. Yep, that about sums it up to me. Put a little spunk in your trunk and you can get through this. LOL.

One part at the end of the study asked 3 things I could do to make my trials that I deal with better. This was my response. 1)Obey James 1:2. 2)Give it to God. 3)Rejoice in what I am going through and thank God for all my Trials and Tribulations with the same feeling and rejoice in my heart as when I have an answered prayer.

Just remember in Romans5:1-5. I'm not going to write it, you have to read it but basically what it says is no one is righteous and we all need help. God has provided that help in his son Jesus and with that makes peace with us. God does not condemn those who are in Christ. AMEN!!!

Good night everybody. I've kinda switched gears because my life is so boring. Get up, go to work, come home, sometimes fix supper, sometimes don't and then go to bed. Of course stay on this dang thing all night. TV is boring me BIG TIME. It's stupid so I decided to join this group and now I am going to talk about my readings. There ya go. Put that one in your pipe and smoke it. LOL.

Love you guys!!! Here's another of my favorite singers and I had an opportunity to hear her at the Women of Faith Conference last fall. Miss Mandisa!!!