But I Just Can't Change!

Enjoy this guest post from Katherine Swarts and visit her website to let her know you saw her on the Christian Daily Blog!

Do you believe that the Bible is truthful?

Does that include the passages that say you “can do everything” through Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13, NIV) and that “no temptation has seized you except what is common” to humanity (1 Corinthians 10:13)?

You don't fully believe it if you say, “I can't get rid of my temper/worrying/unclean thoughts—what works for others never works for me!”

I know—the temptation to do so can be practically irresistible. I’ve spent much of my own life whining aout how unfair it is that I have to live with this temperament combined with these circumstances. Implying that my bad attitudes are God’s fault for having made me—and arranged my life—the way He did.

Even once we accept that God knows better than we do, we still complain about the difficulty of changing for the better. Like six-year-olds screaming, “I’ll never learn to ride this bike!!!,” we howl at every fall. We demand instant and easy perfection. We threaten to quit trying if God doesn't change us faster.

And He, ever the understanding Parent, keeps a supporting hand on us and bears with us patiently until we finally learn.

Assuming we don't actually give up. Perhaps when Jesus advised us to “become like little children,” one thing He had in mind was that with children, persistence ultimately wins over frustration. No toddler gives up on learning to walk, however frequent the falls along the way. Few six-year-olds really abandon their bikes permanently. But give children ten years to “grow up,” and a surprising number drop each new venture with the first failure: “I tried, and I can't do it.”

In Christian growth, perhaps the ugliest four-letter word is “can't.” It implies God is too weak to lead us to victory.

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Katherine Swarts is founder and owner of Spread the Word Commercial Writing, a copywriting service based in Houston, Texas. Visit her devotional/poetry blog at http://newsongsfromtheheart.blogspot.com.

Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman with Ken Abraham

I didn't know much about George Foreman before I read this book, other than that he is a retired boxer, the person behind the George Foreman Grill, and has several sons all named George. After reading the Knockout Entrepreneur, I've decided he's someone I'd like to meet.

The book gives insight into Foreman the man by sharing details of his boxing career (he was the only boxer to become the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion for the second time at 45) as well as his experiences in business (not only did he create the George Foreman Grill, but he has a line of Casual Male clothing, a line of green cleaners, and he's been involved in many other business ventures) and that aspect of the book alone is worth the read. But there's much more!

Knockout Entrepreneur is filled with practical advice, encouragement, business insights and more to help entrepreneurs develop a winning mindset while maintaining integrity in all their business dealings.

The style is quick and easy to read. Ken Abraham who collaborated on the book, is a professional in his own right, having worked on ten New York Times best sellers.

Personally, I'd give Knockout Entrepreneur five stars and definitely recommend it.

Preview this book.
Purchase the Knockout Entrepreneur.

Strong Relationships

Enjoy this guest post from Corrie Howe!

“He had no majesty to attract us to him; there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2

Since the birth of my youngest, nearly eight years ago, I’ve watched with interest the proliferation of reality TV shows dealing with various types of relationships. There are shows about matchmaking, parenting, swapping spouses, roommate wars, strangers on islands and friends redecorating one another’s homes.

When I nursed my infant daughter, I watched a show called Joe Millionaire. The entire show centered on a construction worker’s dilemma over picking a mate from 20 women who believed he was worth $80 million. He constantly asked himself, “Is she attracted to me or my imaginary money?”

A year later a show premiered called “Average Joe.” I didn’t watch it, but the commercials led me to believe the conflict in the show was “Can a physically attractive woman desire a physically unattractive man?”

I don't know about you, but as I reflected upon forty years of relationships, most of my important and long lasting relationships didn’t start from attraction. As I’m thinking about the people I hold near and dear to my heart, I think most of my important relationships stemmed out of common bonds.

My relationships with my parents, brothers, grandmothers, aunt, uncles and cousins started because we shared the same blood, but the fact that I still relate to them is because I grew to understand and love them.

My relationships with my in-laws (on my side and my husband’s side) started out because we share one person in common, but as I started spending time with them, I grew to value and trust them.

I have several relationships from my previous employment. Initially we shared an employer or vocation in common. The fact that I’m still in relationship with them after leaving the company a decade ago means we built something past the original common bond.

From what I can pick up from these TV shows about relationships, there doesn't seem much to keep the relationship together after the cameras stop rolling.

Pretty much all my own relationships which started out with a strong attraction of some sort usually ended with disappointment. There were dozens of men and women with whom I seemed to “hit it off” right away but now I can't tell you where any of them are. Despite the original attraction, we didn’t share common interests or values. Our personalities conflicted. We couldn’t unconditionally accept one another. There wasn’t mutual trust and loyalty....

One year I had Isaiah 53:2 stuck in my head. The Message translation is “There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.” The NIV says, “He had no majesty to attract us to him, there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”

This verse is in the Old Testament in a series of prophecies foretelling the arrival of Israel’s Messiah (savior). The Prophet Isaiah said there was nothing to attract his peers to Jesus, nothing to cause them to desire to know him better. You see, the Jewish people were looking for a King from the royal line of kings to rise up and lead a rebellion reestablishing Israel as a sovereign nation. They weren’t looking for a baby to be born in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.

I think Isaiah’s words are just as true today. How many times did people introduce me to Jesus and I didn’t desire him. He doesn't have the glamour of Hollywood riches or the excitement of sports fame. When I originally looked at him, I thought a relationship with him meant a lot of “don’ts”...which wasn’t really attractive. It was only after I began spending time with Him and understanding him better that I count him as the most important relationship in my life.

Now, I’m attracted to him because he loves me even though I am not perfect. In fact, he already knows I’m not perfect which is why he died on the cross for my sins. I find him attractive because his death on the cross and my belief in him guarantees me eternal life with God. I find comfort in being able to come to him daily for the things we all look for in relationships – unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Thank you, Lord, for your ways are not our ways. In fact, your ways are much higher than our ways. We confess that we are often beguiled by the outward appearances. You are interested in the heart. Thank you for your precious gift of Jesus, who had no earthly majesty about him, but he gave up his heavenly throne to assume the punishment for our sins. Now when you look on our hearts, you only seen the righteousness of Jesus and we can stand before you unconditionally loved and forgiven. Amen.

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Corrie Howe is thrilled to be able to write about her walk with the Lord today. Typically she writes about her middle son over at Just Because My Pickle Talks Doesn't Make Me an Idiot. While she does weave in how her faith helps her in "the joy in the challenge of Asperger's Syndrome," her primary purpose of the blog is to bring hope and humor into an often hopeless and dark community of special needs.