laminin. ever heard of it? it will blow you away.

Laminin. It will change your life. It changed mine. It basically rocked my world in the best way possible. God is so amazing, yall!! Click on the link to this video and watch Louie Giglio explain to you what it is. I promise that you will be changed :)










http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4












Love love love,

Em :)

possible impossibilities

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible'." -Matthew 19:26
Anna Graham Lotz said it best when she said that "When we face an impossible situation, all self-reliance and self-confidence must melt away; we must be totally dependent on Him for the resources."
Isn't that the truth. Most times, because we are imperfect human beings with such limited knowledge, understanding and faith, we place limitations on God. I feel like more times than not it is a subconscious limit that we give to Him. Yes, we know that He is God, He is omnipotent, omnipresent..He is everything. Yet do we act like He is? We forget all too often who He really is and the power that He really has. Have you ever seen a little kid in a toy store receive news from their parents that they cannot buy all the toys that they want? What do he do. His knees hit the floor and he start sobbing. I feel like that is what we do, whether it be when we receive terrible news that a loved one has cancer, when life does not hand us the cards that we think we need, when we feel as if we have tried so hard yet gotten so little...you name it. Like a little kid we fall to the floor and whine, whether that be metaphorically or literally, it's all the same. How quickly we forget the truth in Matthew 19:26. How quickly we forget that we have a God who delights in impossibilities. Yet we still limit God. But God is a God without limitations. If only we could grasp the amazing fact that God will work miracles in our lives if we TRUST him with everything. Not just some things, not just the things we want Him to, but with everything. Do you doubt the faith that God can work miracles in your life? If so, then stop doubting God. Why would you doubt someone who made you? Someone who spun the earth into orbit? Someone who created all there is and everything that will come. God is in the business of doing miraculous things, believe it or not. Never be afraid to ask Him for a miracle. "You are the God who works wonders.." Psalm 77:14

come awake, come awake.

Happy Easter!

Christ has risen! He has risen indeed! :)

take a moment to watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn2a73B0uB0

the Friday that is oh so good.

Hi lovelies! I hope you are well on this Good Friday! I am so excited that it is almost Easter. I think I get so excited for Easter that sometimes I forget to reflect on the days leading up to Easter and the significance of them.

Today we meditate on the death of Christ on the cross. Some people call it the day celebrating the passion of Christ. And I could not have said it any better myself. That is exactly what it is: Christ's love. His Passion. His Agape.

In the hours leading up to Christ's crucifixion, He spent a lot of hours in prayer and conversation with His Father. Many of the days and hours leading up to his death were spent in the garden of Gethsemane. This is a garden that Jesus frequented with His disciples. He would often go there to pray. Something that stands out most to me are the words that Jesus pleaded to God in the hours leading to His death. Twice Jesus asked His Father to remove the cup of wrath He was about to drink. Let's not forget that Jesus was fully human and fully God. 100% both. A miraculous mystery that we will never fully be able to understand. Jesus was facing a battle. He was about to suffer the most painful death that a person could ever experience. He would have to bear our guilt and the sins of the whole world. Wouldn't you be a little scared too? When Jesus faced His most difficult decision, he prayed earnestly and persisted in following God's will for his life. He knew that God had greater plans. He knew that He was going to redeem God's children. He trusted that God would be faithful to His promises. He was willing to do whatever God needed him to do, even to die on the cross for our sins.

I think we can learn so much from this. We can learn so much from every one of Jesus' teachings. But this one is essential: submitting to God and setting aside our will and allowing it to be replaced with His. When we are facing troubles it is so important to run to God. God is the author and the perfecter of our faith. He knows what is going to happen. He planned every second of our lives out. He is the Ultimate guide. When we are facing difficult decisions and trying circumstances, it is so important that we pray. That is exactly what Jesus did. When everyone around Him was out to get Him, when His death was only hours away, he ran to God. He even pleaded with God that the cup be taken away from Him... but even when He didn't get the easier answer, He still obeyed and submitted to the will of God. He trusted that God knew what was best in the long run. He trusted.

How many times do we actually trust God with things. Especially the hard stuff. When a parent gets cancer. When a teenage brother dies in a car accident, when a friend commits suicide. Do we trust in God's will for those situations? Do we acknowledge that God is even still there in those situations? Or do we turn our backs on God, letting our emotions rule us. God sent His son to this earth on a mission. His mission was to ultimately die on the cross as a way of forgiving us for all of our sins. God had a plan. He has a plan for each and everyone's lives. He knows whats going on in your heart. He knows what will happen to you tomorrow. He knows everything. Trust in that. Trust in the God who is so much bigger than this earth, than this universe, bigger than anything. He is bigger than your heartache. He is bigger than your loss. He is bigger than your fear. He is bigger than your abuse. He is bigger.

Run to Him. Plead with Him. Listen to Him. Trust Him.


Love you all!

-Em

Time is in His hands

Hey you lovely bloggers :) Just sending along this inspiration that I received in my inbox today. It's written by Wendy Pope... not me. Wish I could take the credit for this awesome, thought-provoking writing! Read and be inspired:

“So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.” Joshua 10:13a (NLT)

Has there ever been a time when you longed for just a little more light in your day to accomplish your tasks? When you need more time, do you ask God for it? After all, time is in His hands.

As we read in today’s key verse, God knew Joshua needed a little more time in his day, so He gave it to him.

Joshua and the Israelite armies were in battle against five combined Amorite armies to conquer the land allotted to them after crossing the Jordan. Joshua and his men were tired. The warring for the land had been intense. As the leader, Joshua decided to travel all night for a surprise attack. And then Joshua asked God to hold the sun and moon still so they could fight.

Over a decade ago God called me to radically trust Him with my time and get up each morning before the sun rose to spend time in prayer, and in His Word.

How can I do this? I remember asking the Lord.

I argued: I am a busy wife and mother. The baby is only a few months old. I need sleep.

It never occurred to me to ask God to help me by adjusting my time so that I could walk in obedience to Him as well as take care of all my other responsibilities.

Eventually I obeyed, but not wholeheartedly. My problem wasn’t that I did not want to know God better through prayer and His Word. My problem was that I believed I could manage the time in my day better than He could. I believed the lie that told me I was in control, arranged my day, and accomplished much. The lie told me I did not need God for the little details of my day-to-day living. The lie told me I did not need to tithe the first fruits of my day to God. The lie, lied.

Like the Amorite armies were defeated, eventually so was my lie.

Over the last decade I have learned like Joshua, to call on God and ask Him to “let the sun and moon stand still” so that I can accomplish what He has ordained for me to do. It is my desire to be at peace with His timing and not to complete my checklist.

Do I believe He has held time in His hands for me? Yes I do. How can that be? He is God, the great I AM, and the Creator of time. I am just a little “i am not” enjoying the story of God one day at a time.

When you need more time, will you ask God for it? Will you trust Him to hold your time in His nailed-scarred hands?

Dear Lord, help me know You are good and that I can trust You. Remind me today that my time is in Your hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Guest Post: Megan!

Y'all, you are getting such a TREAT today! Megan, over from her wonderful two blogs is gracing us with her presence today! Read and be inspired, bloggers :)

Hello! First and foremost, I must thank Miss Emily for having me! Of course you all know how amazing she is already from this wonderful blog she rights!

For those of you who don’t know who I am, here’s the down low.

My name is Megan and I’m a newlywed. It really is a blast. My hubby is my best friend.

I have two blogs: godislovedevos.blogspot.com and allmylovemeg.blogspot.com. Visit me when you can J

I’m 22 and live down here in the Sunshine state, and I hate the cold. I’m currently going to the University of Central Florida, but I’m a Buckeye at heart. My family is the most important thing to me, and my friends are out of this world.

I’m a sinner saved by a gracious God who loves me (and you!) more than we’ll ever know. I believe that Jesus was sent to this earth to die for my sins so that I can have life eternally with Him. I’m blessed beyond measure and each day God gives me more. I mess up though, and I’m not even close to perfect. I love life so much and try to make everyday worth writing a book about.

I don’t have an incredibly sad story to tell, just one about a girl saved by grace. High school was terrible to me. Mostly because I messed up so much. I by definition lead a double life. Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays I was the church girl, a leader in fact. But the rest of the week I smoked, drank, and found solitude in anything but God, mostly boys. I drove my poor mom and dad crazy, but they never gave up on me. I have to be honest and tell you that it wasn’t till I was about 20 years old that the light bulb finally clicked in my head: being a Christian isn’t just about believing in God. It’s about having a relationship with Jesus. Once I found that simple truth, my life changed completely. My mentality went from me to Him. God saved me from myself. He has raised me up. I’m baffled at how awesome my life is right now, but I know that it’s all because of Him.

Here’s what’s been on my brain lately:

Anyone out there ever feel like they aren’t good enough? I’m not talking about in general, I’m talking the little things. Like your creativeness isn’t good enough, or maybe you feel like you’re not the best at your job. Maybe you don’t feel like always have it together, and we all have that one friend that just seems to all the time…and have everything going for them.

Am I making any sense?

Here’s my deal: I’m so blessed it’s unbelievable.

But there are still days I wake up and wonder “why not me”?

Why didn’t I get that opportunity? Why didn’t I get picked? Why didn’t my name show up on that list?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Oh.

That’s right…my plans aren’t my own, they’re His.

I have a terrible memory, so I forget things easily.

But this is something that I need to stop forgetting.

God has the plans for my life. He has the opportunities waiting for me. He has the plans to prosper me and let me change the world. But I have to be confident in Him to do so, and trust Him.

It starts with my attitude. I’ve got to quit thinking that that girl has more than me, or is luckier to have received that gift from God.

Because while I’m trying to compare things, I’m missing the gifts God is handing me.

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Sometimes I have to laugh at myself…I try too often to take things in my own hands. As if I could do a better job than the Creator of the Universe.

Trust, I just have to trust in Him.

And be confident. Confident in the Lord.

I think the confidence we receive in the Lord can rub off into confidence in ourselves. Not the over bearing confidence, but the humble confidence that we can do any think because we have God with us. Paul said it too perfect : I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). Beloved, we may be humans, and we won’t ever be perfect, but be confident in the fact that the Lord is with you!

Megan: be confident that the Lord is with you!

I believe in reminders.

And often times I need them a lot.

The thing is, I want my name to be big one day. I want to be a writer and maybe even a Christian speaker, I envision taking Beth Moore’s job one day (;])…but I’ve come to realize lately that I won’t achieve anything unless I’m doing everything for God and giving Him back all the glory.

The blog I write isn’t about me, in fact I created a second one to record my adventures as a wife, but the blog I love and pour my heart and soul into…that’s for Jesus. I know His Holy Spirit is with me when I write, but sometimes it’s fun to think if God could jump on a computer up there in Heaven…would He read my blog and be proud?

I really think He would.

That’s the confidence God wants us to have: confidence in Him.

I need to quit worrying about the little things that don’t happen for me, that might happen to a friend. My opportunity will come. And it will be wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

My plans are my own. They aren’t of a friend or someone I just met. They are my own plans that God drew out far before my parents even got married. God created magnificent opportunities for me to shine, and they are my own plans. Beloved, know that you have your own opportunities too.

God created you to do thinks for His name. to bring glory to His name.

And He has equipped you with the resources to do so.

As I write this I feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because I’m reminded that God is going to do big things with me. Huge things to bring glory to His Kingdom.

And I’m praying that all you reading this know that too.

But I’m praying even harder for those of you who might not know this beautiful truth.

Because that’s what this is: a beautiful truth, and God is full of them.

He is the way the life and the truth. John 14:6

Lets stop worrying about what others are doing, and focus in on all the things God has given us to do. Lets focus more on all the blessings He gives us daily. No yearly or monthly, but daily. Each morning when we wake up God has in place more blessings than we can count for the day.

Heavenly Father we come to you humbled, and ask your forgivness for not being content with what we have and always wanting more. God we know that you are our Provider and with out you we have nothing. Give us wisdom and strength God to face this world, and equip us with your love. Jesus we love you and praise you for all your blessings that you shower onto us each day and pray we use them as your will wishes. Amen.

Thanks again to Emily for having me! She’s is such a blessing! It was so great to meet you! Come visit me soon.

David.

Hey bloggers! :) Today I will be writing on a topic that is something I feel every believer needs to reflect on and think about. It's not the greatest subject. It's not the cleanest subject. But it is a very beautiful subject. Okay here it is: conviction. con-vic-shon. ken-vic-shen. We have all been through it. And if we are where we need to be, we go through it every single day. But lately, I have been really reflecting on the beauty of the feeling of conviction. The feeling in itself means that I have the Holy Spirit living in me. I know that I have days when I question my salvation and question whether or not I am truly saved. Do you ever feel like that? It could be just me, but I doubt it! Anyways, it's days like these where I look back to the positional truths of God and I get the peace of knowing that my convictions are just one way that affirm my personal relationship with God!

But let's take the focus off of me. Let's take a look at one of the coolest guys in the Bible-- besides Jesus of course! ;) I happen to love [and completely relate to] David from the old testament. You may know him from the story of David and Goliath. Or you may know him from the story of David and Bathsheba. If not, I will sum it up for you really quickly! After slaying Goliath, David became the King of Israel. Naturally, this was a huge deal for him. It would be a huge deal for anyone! One night David was walking on the roof of a palace and caught sight of a beautiful woman bathing. Guys are creatures of sight. They lust like crazy. This is just how they are built, how their minds are: visual to the max. Upon being captivated by her beauty, David decided that he HAD to have her. He immediately had some guards go and bring her to him. When she came to him, he found out that she was married. Bummer, right? Well unfortunately that did NOT stop him. After having an affair with her, she became pregnant. When he heard this, David decided that he had to have Bathsheba's husband killed. In short, her husband (Uriah) was killed.

Shortly after all of this occurred, David began feeling mega conviction. In one of his Psalms, David cried out to the Lord, “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalms 51:11). This is something that should be the constant cry of every true born again believer. When we do not feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our life, we are in a hopeless and desperate situation. David knew that he had sinned. Usually, we know that we have sinned. But when we feel the conviction we can do one of two things. Either we can turn to God, who knew we would sin before we even did, and we can repent to Him and cry to Him for strength and guidance. OR, we can become ashamed of our sins and shy away from God, almost as if we are scared of bringing it to God. It is so funny how we are so quick to forget that God see's, know's and hear's everything. He is so acquainted and intimate with every single detail of our lives. But instead we try to ignore our sins, we try to go on with life like it never happened. Yall, let me interfere here with a personal testimony to this approach: IT NEVER WORKS. Getting caught up in a sin and trying to ignore it like it never happened, expecting nothing to happen from it, is silly and foolish. Of course something is going to happen! Read Hebrews 12, it's a chapter all about God's discipline on His children. But the cool thing is: He does this because He loves us so much and does not want us to be caught up in doing things that will only destroy our lives-- whether it be a slow destruction or a rapid one. God knows that experiencing the consequences of our sins will aid us in becoming more sensitive to His divine Will. Continuing with the story of David, he says in chapter 38, "“I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long … I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan because of the agitation of my heart” . David loved his Lord and tried to worship Him, but he found a barrier there; it was the barrier of his own sin. Does this every happen to you? Trying to talk to God and worship Him and yet feeling like you can't do it with a clean heart... because you just don't have one. I get caught up in this situation a lot. Repenting your sins to God is one of the most cleansing and peaceful things that you can ever experience. That is exactly why Jesus died on the cross, yall! He died to forgive us of our sins-- He promises us that if we acknowledge them, then He is faithful to forgive us. Mmmm, amen. Have a sin in your life that you just haven't really repented? Have a sin in your life that is keeping you from continuing in a healthy relationship with God? God stands ready to blot out. Acknowledge it to him, then accept his gracious forgiveness. And don't forget, He died for you. If you were the only one on this earth, He still would have died for you. He loves you!

to Him be the glory,

35,000. every day.

Who likes to garden?! For me, there is nothing like a fresh picked cucumber from my backyard garden. Or a fresh picked any fruit or veggie for that matter!

But here comes the cool part of this post: You are a full-time gardener. Actually, you're a professional farmer. That's right- it's true. No lie. And you are probably wondering whether to read the rest of this or not ... trust me, I am going somewhere with this! But hold your horses.

Have you ever heard the saying "You will reap what you sow"? Pretty self-explanatory, right? Hmm. In Galatians 6:7-9 Paul writes, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

--Even a small child knows that if he plants tomato seeds in a garden, tomatoes will grow in it. He doesn't expect to see carrots growing out of the tomato spot one day. There is an obvious deduction here between what we put into the ground and what grows out of it.

But have you ever thought this to be true in your spiritual life? You plant seeds every day in two different gardens. One garden is the garden of the Spirit-- the one that pleases and glorifies God. The second garden is the garden of the world-- the one where Satan is the king and our flesh gets the best of us. You put your seeds in one of the two gardens with every choice that you make each day. Want to know something staggering? According to USA Today, the average person makes about 35,000 choices each day. Crazy. On any given day, hour or minute we can walk from one garden to the other and bend down and sow seeds in either one. Our sinful thoughts, actions and deeds all are seeds that fall and land in the garden of our flesh. That reaps destruction! The things that you see in your spiritual life today are the direct results of what you have placed in the soil of your life in the past. And I find myself frequently wondering why my spiritual life seems dry... it only takes me looking at my past few days for me to realize why. John Stott writes, "Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness." I need to sow a whole lot more seeds in the garden of righteousness. Holiness is a harvest. It is not just something that we are born with. We need to keep the field of the Spirit ripe and rich with seeds and soil. 35,000 choices every day. How many of them are in God's garden?

What have you planted in the soil of your heart and soul lately? What garden are you tending to plant in? Just a few thoughts that I felt needed to be written down. I sure needed the reality check.

Bless you all!

campfires and Jesus

Campfires. There's just something about them that I have always loved. Maybe it's the way the smoke from the fire leaves its scent on my sweatshirt that I can still smell days after it happened. Maybe it's the way everyone can sit around the fire with a fire-y glare shining on their faces lighting up the conversations and laughter. Maybe its the warmth of standing close to the fire and stretching your hands as close as you can to the flame- just to get a bit warmer.

Or maybe it's the way that camp fires remind me of the relationship that I have with my Jesus. That's right- campfires remind me of Jesus. Have you ever seen people play with sticks in fire? You know, you always have a little kid at a campfire that searches in the woods until he finds a perfect stick and then brings it to the campfire, sticking it in until the tip catches on fire and then he waves it around and around making cool designs with the flame until it eventually flickers out and dies and the tip of the stick is black again. He then repeats the process of re-lighting the stick on fire. You see- our relationship with our Savior is sort of like that. Jesus Christ is the fire. When we engulf ourselves in Him and in His word, we take on a flame and begin to burn with passion for Him... by seeking His Kingdom, daily prayer time, daily meditation on scripture.... we have this burning passion for Him. It is when we begin to let the world defeat us and we take a step back from the "fire" and begin to do things our own way that our flame begins to flicker out and we lose our spark. We become dull and dirty. So what happens next? Either we remain in the cold and dark, or we relight our fire... we go back to the fire and "reach our stick into it to light it up again." When we turn our backs to Jesus and when we continually do not go to the fire to get warm and to renew that passion, we get lost in the darkness of the world. Where is our light that was once to easily seen in the darkest night? Just something to think about. This is what I began to think about as I watched the fire so beautifully last night. I hope you guys are enjoying these spring nights! It is finally starting to warm up here. Let's hope it stays this way!

Blessings to each and every one of you,

You Made Me Sin

You Made Me Sin

by Carolyn McCulley

When I opened my door to the persistent knocking, I encountered emotional turbulence that was nearly tangible. With an impatient scowl, "Siena" (all names have been changed to protect the guilty) announced, "I don't think this is going to work." Then she sailed past me and flopped on the sofa. Piling pillows protectively around her, Siena issued her next proclamation: "We have WAY too much conflict."

I studied her for a moment, then sat down and asked, "Tell me about the last one."

Siena rolled her eyes and said, "We drove around for half an hour looking for the restaurant where we were supposed to meet a bunch of his friends from work. As usual, Jake forgot the directions. He always leaves half of his possessions and various bits of important information scattered in his wake wherever we go. It makes me absolutely crazy! So I'm trying not to mommy him, but I'm thinking, 'Just call the restaurant already!' But he can't — because he doesn't remember the name of it. He says that when he sees it, he'll know it. So then I say, 'Why don't you just call one of the guys who went?' But guess what? He doesn't have any of their numbers in his cell phone. When we finally found the place, everyone was already eating. It was such a waste of time. And then get this — Jake tells me on the way home that he thought I over-reacted and that my anger ruined the evening! Ah-mazing!"

As I listened to Siena, I had the urge to extend an imaginary remote control and put her on pause to examine her story. Why? There are two large red flags waving here, but they aren't about Siena's boyfriend. They are attached to the plank emanating from Siena's eye. Both are extremely common.

So let's use that remote, rewind the conversation, and go to the heart of the matter.

What's in the Sponge?

Jake thought Siena over-reacted to his forgetfulness. Siena disagreed. With only two people's perspectives to consider, this conflict might never get resolved.

Fortunately, the Bible brings another perspective to bear that will sort this out. The solution is found in what Siena has been storing up in her heart. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus talks about this as roots and fruits:

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

In other words, our words (and thoughts and actions) are the evidence of what is stored up in our hearts, the fruit of what is rooted inside of us. The circumstances of our lives simply reveal what's taken root in our hearts. When pressed, we either ooze the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of sin.

Author and biblical counselor Dr. David Powlison uses the sponge analogy to help us understand this passage. If you hold a wet sponge in your hand and squeeze it, water will hit the floor. Most of us would come along and look at the puddle staining the carpet and wonder why someone squeezed the sponge. But Dr. Powlison says this passage in Luke shows us the squeeze only revealed what was already in the sponge. If the sponge were dry, the squeeze would not have elicited any water. The problem wasn't the squeeze; it was the contents of the sponge.

In the same way, when we get squeezed by the circumstances of life (an inevitability), we ooze the overflow of our hearts. We usually don't like what we see, so we blame the squeeze. We blame the circumstances. "I wouldn't have reacted that way if I hadn't been tired." Or, "I only said that because I was hot, thirsty, and uncomfortable." That's our default setting: blame the circumstances.

But Jesus tells us the overflow is what's already in our hearts. Being tired, hot, thirsty, or uncomfortable are only "revealers"; they aren't the reason we react in anger. We're angry because anger has taken root in our hearts.

Desire and Dominance

There's one sinful root that's very common for women. It's not exclusively a female problem, but it is nearly universal. It's called sinful judgment.

Sinful judgment is where we sin against someone else by assuming we accurately know their motivations and situations, and therefore we judge them negatively. We automatically assume the worst, rather than the best, about another. Sinful judgment usually bypasses the humble inquiry and goes straight for the conviction and punishment.

And when it comes to relationships with men, we women should be savvy about how sinful judgment is an ever-present dynamic that can be traced all the way back to Eve. Because of the consequences of the Fall, we women have a desire to master or control the men around us. Genesis 3:16 records the curse that brought a distortion of the previous roles Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden:

"To the woman he said, 'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."

As Dr. Wayne Grudem teaches, the word translated "desire" is an unusual Hebrew word, teshuqah. It is the same word used in Genesis 4:7 when God says to Cain, "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire — teshuqah — is for you, but you must rule over it." It means an aggressive desire, not a sexual desire. It is a desire to dominate and control.

While we're not literally crouching at the door, waiting for men to come out so that we can pounce, this is a good picture of what sinful judgment looks like in our lives. When we can't control the situation, we resort to the bloodless form of murder, which is sinful judgment.

Pulling the Plank

If we play back Siena's report, we can see the overflow of sinful judgment at work. Sinful judgment is not kind toward simple human weaknesses. It's highly unlikely that Jake decided to leave vital information behind on purpose just to provoke Siena or ruin their evening. But Siena's own report reveals she had been storing up sinful judgment against Jake because she had been keeping a history:

"As usual, Jake forgot the directions. He always leaves half of his possessions and various bits of important information scattered in his wake wherever we go."

When the squeeze of being late or lost tugged at Sienna's heart, it revealed sinful judgment.

The squeeze of circumstances also revealed Siena's self-righteousness:

"So I'm trying not to mommy him, but I'm thinking, 'Just call the restaurant already!' But he can't — because he doesn't remember the name of it. He says that when he sees it, he'll know it. So then I say, 'Why don't you just call one of the guys who went?' But guess what? He doesn't have any of their numbers in his cell phone."

She sees herself as the more mature, adult partner who has a much better solution for the problem at hand — a problem she would have circumvented by being organized from the start. She sees herself as unlike Jake, as opposed to the Bible's teaching that both are sinners equally in need of a Savior. When confronted by her attitude, Siena continues to judge Jake ("ah-mazing!"), rather than humbly receive his input and repent of the diva attitude that ruined an evening out.

I've counseled women like Siena and I've been just like her myself. The planks of blame-shifting to our circumstances and sinful judgment are hard to discern without the illumination of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit.

We look at the awkwardness of a ruined evening that lies staining the floor and we think about how others "pushed our buttons." We ooze sinful judgment and self-righteousness and think the ugliness erupted because we were lost and ill-equipped to reach our destination. Then, with this history of conflict, we progress to thinking the other person is not the right boyfriend, roommate, or co-worker. We are blind and need to be rescued from this vicious spiral.

Deposit the Good

This is the glorious promise of Calvary: Jesus offers us both the divine rescue from the one true judgment of our sin and the divine exchange to be credited with His righteousness. Because of this, we have the ability to be different and to bear good fruit as we grow in Christlikeness.

The Holy Spirit helps us to store in our hearts love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). We make those deposits by focusing our thoughts the way the apostle Paul directs us in Philippians 4:8. We do this by training ourselves to think about what is:

true (not speculation or assumption);
honorable (assume the best first);
just (we are objects of mercy ourselves);
pure (untainted by gossip or slander);
lovely (whatever reflects the glory of Christ);
commendable (an evidence of God's grace at work),
excellent (find what's right — and not just what's wrong — in this circumstance)
praiseworthy (there is always something for which to thank God)
Siena's evening with Jake could have been different if she had chosen to replace her self-centered perspective and sinful judgment of Jake with what earlier Christians called "charitable" judgments. Instead of reacting with anger and impatience toward Jake's forgetfulness, she could have exuded patience and gentleness. Such a gracious reaction is a hallmark of Christian maturity. As C.H. Spurgeon once wrote with disarming candor:

"He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it. When our virtues become more mature, we shall not be more tolerant of evil; but we shall be more tolerant of infirmity, more hopeful for the people of God, and certainly less arrogant in our criticisms."