Sin

Sin. 

No one can escape it. There was only, and will only ever be, one man that managed to live a life completely free of it. (Ecclesiastes 7:20, 1 John 1:8, Romans 3:10, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22)

No matter what it is. The very first sin you commit separates you from God. (James 2:10, Romans 3:23)

The way back to God can't be earned.  

Take that in. 

There is NOTHING YOU CAN DO. 

Devastating? 

No! Just the opposite. God is so loving that he sent the way to us freely. 

Freely. 

Now take that in!

The way back to God is completely free. 

His name is Jesus. (John 3:16, John 14:6, Romans 10: 9-10, Romans 1:16, Romans 6:23)

Now if all of our sin separates us from God and the only way back for all of us is Jesus why do we judge, label and condemn? 

Have you ever been in a situation where you desperately needed someone to hold their tongue? You knew what they had every right to say but hoped that they would choose to speak love and life instead? 

I have. I'm sure I'm not alone. 

Grace. Mercy. 

They are precious things. 

If Christ can extend it to us shouldn't we extend it to others? 

The God of the universe finds it in himself to forgive our sins with amazing grace and mercy. 

Who are we to not do the same?! (Matt. 6:14-15, Mark 11:25, Eph. 4:32, Col. 3:12-14)

I have found myself and the people around me in situations in desperate need of grace and mercy lately. I've had moments where I needed someone to speak life and love instead of what we were all thinking, and what I surely deserved. 

I've seen the effects of careless words and harsh reactions about the mere prospect that someone had sinned. 

Are we so great that we can't humble ourselves the way that Jesus did to forgive and speak life to someone in need? 

Lord let me never forget how disgusting of a sinner I am. Let me never forget that it is only by the blood of Jesus that I will be able to stand clean in front of you at the end of my days. 

Friends, can we make an effort to remember that we have all sinned and are in need of forgiveness? Surely some sin will be more apparent than others and the effects of sin may show differently in all of us. But let us never forget that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  

Not only the drunk. 

Not only the unwed mother. 

Not only the prostitute. 

Not only the thief.

Not only the murderer. 

Not only the abusive. 

But all. 

Me. 

You. 

All have sinned and fall short. 

Thank you Jesus for the cross. Thank you for your blood that covers sin. Thank you for the amazing gift of grace that I could never earn or deserve. 

Thank you Lord!

Note** Please do not hear this as an excuse for sin. The worst thing I could do is make you feel like you have an excuse or free pass to sin. Sin is horrible. It separates us from God. The bible is clear that without true repentance we will not inherit the kingdom of God. If you are struggling with sin the bible is clear that confession and repentance are required of us. Confess your sin to God and to a brother or sister in Christ that can hold you accountable. Then repent of that sin. Turn completely away from it and with the power of Christ leave it behind. No you will not be perfect in this but the bible is clear that to continue to sin in the same way can lead to being handed over to that sin which can lead to serious consequences. Through prayer, accountability, and the power of the Holy Spirit you can turn from sin and we should all strive to flee from it daily. Let's lift each other up and encourage each other to turn from our sin. Not condemn each other. 

Comments are always welcome. Discussion is great, division is not. Let's encourage one another here please!

A new experience

Today we had quite the experience. An ichooseyou child had a skin tag on the back of her neck and it was hurting her so we took her to the doctor to get it checked out. 

They examined it and determined it was fine except that it was hurting, and told her they could remove it. They gave her options for how to remove it and she chose to get it numbed and then cut off. She was so strong and sure until they came to shave the hair surrounding the skin tag. I'm not sure if the realization of what was about to happen hit her, or if she just couldn't hold it in anymore but she cried. Big crocodile tears. Thankfully she let me hold her and talk her through what was happening. 

Once the area was cleared and she was calm the doctor showed her the needle and explained what he was going to do. Then came the part that I almost didn't make it through. He had to numb the area which meant multiple little injections to make it numb all around. Apparently the skin on the back of the neck is tough. The doctor looked like he was having the hardest time getting the needle into her skin! Emily said his hand was shaking and, (when I could stomach looking) I could tell he was struggling. The sweet girl took it like a champ and didn't make a sound. 

After he was done and it was numb he was about to cut it off when a nurse stopped him and said something to the effect of "Isn't that going to shoot out blood all over the mzungu?!" So everything stopped. The nurses went on a hunt for something to shield me from the shooting blood, and we waited. The doctor seemed particularly annoyed about this. Finally he said something similar to "If we don't do this now it won't be numb anymore. I'm doing it." So with only one other nurse there he cut it off. It was so fast! And no, blood did not go shooting anywhere. After all the hype I was expecting something a bit more exciting. Boring!

This sweet ichooseyou girl was so brave and calm and handled everything so well! Hopefully it doesn't grow back and it heals nicely. I'm sure she would appreciate prayers for that! Also pray that she feels no pain during the healing process and that she is able to keep it clean and dry. Infection is very common around here. Let's pray against it! 

This was definitely a first for me. What a day. This whole process from start to finish took 4 hours. Rest assured the majority of that time was spent waiting. The removal probably took 10 minutes total. TIA! 

Have a story like this you want to share or encouragement for this young girl? Feel free to leave a comment!

Too much fun!

I have had way too much fun this week! Of course there has been work but there has also been play. I'll tell you all about the work later but for now I think you need pictures! 

We moved into our new house and we have these really cool birds in our front yard all the time! 

This is the new house in case you haven't seen it already. 

This beautiful baby girl made her entrance into the world right as we arrived! I got to hold her and kiss her face off this week :-) congratulations Rose! (Mama Goret)

We went to the pool!!!

Have you ever seen anything so cute?! Or sassy?! I have nothing to do with that ;-)

Clearly they had a blast taking pictures in their new swim suits...

Clearly I had just as much fun taking the pictures!

We can't control the excitement anymore!

It's too much to handle! 

Thank you Emily for coming and having fun with us! Chede and Ana LOVE Emily. I do too! She's pretty sweet. ;-)

Look who I got to see IN UGANDA! I had a great time seeing my aunt Kim in my country Friday. It was really neat to get to see her here if only for a while. My aunt is amazing and such an example of a godly woman! Love you Aunt Kim! 

Well there you have it! Too much fun for one week. I am one happy girl. Thank you Jesus! God is good. All the time.