When it comes to Christianity, it seems that one of the biggest common assumptions is that we will no longer face trials. I don’t think many would admit to believing this, but when you watch the reactions Christians show to adversity, it becomes fairly clear that many of us still believe this somewhere in the back of our minds. The thought lingers there, maybe even subconsciously. But the fact is, it’s simply not true.

Purpose – Trials Will Come

God allows trials to come. There’s no question about that. The truth of the matter is that we don’t always know why trials are allowed to come into our lives. Some believe trials are mostly punishment for sin while others believe trials to be much more random than that. I subscribe to the belief – shared by many other Christians I know – that our trials are meant as lessons. Reading about the trials in the lives of people such as Job and Jesus’ disciples, I think this idea is pretty well supported. I know in my life I’ve faced trials that I was later able to see taught me about patience, trust, and love.

Praise: How to Face or Fail Our Trials

I have a note jotted down in my Bible at the beginning of the book of James. I don’t know anymore who taught the lesson that caused me to jot the note down, but I see it frequently and am grateful for whoever it was. The note in the margins I wrote says that we fail our trials by trusting the world’s solutions over God’s solutions. What this refers to, though, is which of those trusts we act on.

Say, for instance, I’m worried about a test in school. I’ve studied, but I know I don’t know the material well enough to pass, and I’m scared that I may fail the class if I don’t do well enough on the test. I think God’s solution would be to study, pray, and try my best, but the world may say that it’s okay to cheat. Which belief do I place my trust in by acting upon it? Say, for instance, I’ve gotten pregnant when I know I’m not ready to raise a child. The world almost unanimously tells me I have many options: I can keep the child, give it away, or abort it and remove the problem. God, however, clearly disapproves of murder. Whose solution do I trust? Say, for instance, I’m getting pulled over for a problem with the inspection sticker on my car. Understanding the importance God places on truth, I know I would be going against Him to tell the officer I was unaware of the problem to try and avoid a ticket, but will I trust the world’s solution over His?

Our trials can also be more than tests that span a single moment of decision. Sometimes our trials are on-going, day-to-day things that seem never-ending. The challenge then is simply choosing: do we face another day by complaining about the difficulties or by praising God for who He is? A friend of mine posted a link to an article about this very issue recently. It reminds us that when facing trials, God doesn’t ask us to be perfect; He asks us to praise. Do I believe that God is big enough? Do I show it by praising him, or do I show that my true faith is placed in myself by becoming discouraged?

Prepare

I don’t think that we should dwell on the probability of trials to come, living each day with a question in the back of our minds: What’s going to happen next? But I do think that we should prepare ourselves for the trials that will eventually come by simply being aware . I think we should practice praising God in the good times, and thanking Him for those times, while being aware that one day we will be praising him in the bad times, thanking him for still being who He is. I think we should also put on the whole armor of God, as it says in Ephesians chapter six, so that we face every day, trial or no, with His mighty power.

What Are You Facing?

I’m going through some trials at the moment. Some are private, but I can share one of the bigger ones. My husband is gone a lot! Most of last month, half of this month, all of at least one month this summer, and after that? Well, after that, he’ll either deploy or go off for training for a very long time. Facing this now, and anticipating the future, gets me down sometimes!

What are you facing in your life? I’d give you what encouragement I can, and I’d offer my prayers, if you want to share. If not, do you have any other thoughts about how to face our trials, or any comments on what I’ve already said?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything… Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
- James 1:2-4, 12

(As a side note, I’ve been putting off this post for a long time, fearing my words wouldn’t do the subject justice. I’m glad to finally have written it, though.)

Are you celebrating Mother’s Day this year? Perhaps with your mother, your wife, or another special woman in your life? I want to point out that Avon has some lovely products that would be perfect gifts for the women you believe deserve something special, including several gift baskets! I don’t have enough predictable customers to order baskets in advance, so if you want one, be sure to let me know soon, so that I can get it in time for the big day! I only have one more order going in before Mother’s Day, so have your orders to me by April 25th to avoid late fees!

To find all the deals, visit my Avon store, click shop now, and on the left side underneath “more ways to shop,” click on Mother’s Day Boutique.

If you did not receive the email with the current coupon (Free shipping on orders over $5), leave me a comment or send an email, and I’ll be sure to get that to you!

Featured Products – Especially for Moms in Campaign 9!

• The Skin So Soft Signature Silk 5-Piece Gift Basket – This is my favorite scent in the SSS line. The bottles have pink designs rather than the blue you find on the Original SSS, and the gift basket includes a goldtone wire gift basket with tissue, cellophane bag, and self-forming ribbon. The products included are shower gel, 2 types of body lotion, and hand cream. This basket is also available in the Original SSS, and either one will save you over $20 for the bundle!
• The Far Away Fragrance Gift Basket – Buying this bundle saves you $40 over buying the products separately. The goldtone wire gift basket also comes with tissue, cellophane bag, and self-forming bow, and includes Far Away body lotion, shower gel, and body powder. If Far Away is not your favorite fragrance, you can choose from three other top scents for the same price!
• Single Items – Aside from the baskets, there are good deals on quite a few gifts that can be purchased individually. A few that caught my eye were the Glam ‘N’ Gorgeous Summer Scarf (comes in blue, orange, and goldtone), the Embellished Fantastic Thong (flip flops! they look very cute!), and the Key to My Heart Necklace. All of these products are under $10. If you want to make your own gift baskets, there are two types of baskets to choose from: the goldtone wire and the rose felt, which can both be purchased separately. You can also find more beautiful jewelry and makeup gift ideas at the store!

Tumbles: Please… can you just… bring my food dish over here? That’d be great. Kthx.

The Bible says that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God,” and that “you are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (I Corinthians 6:12-20) As a Christian, I believe the Bible is the Holy Word of God, and thus I believe these statements to be true. But what do these words mean in day to day life?

The (Usual) Application

At many churches, this is a very popular passage from which to pull sermons and lessons to encourage the congregation to abstain from sin. However, many churches also take it further than this.

The application we usually see, that’s not directly written in the text, is to take care of your body. Beyond abstaining from sin, you should also eat right, exercise, not cut your hair, cut your hair, not dye your hair, refrain from getting tattoos or piercings, wear certain clothes, etcetera. The list goes on and on, and it varies from person to person, from church to church.

Obviously, people have different ideas about how it should be applied to their lives, and for that reason I find it a little fishy that we pull this application from the passage in chapter 6. To give some credit, I do believe that people generally have their ideas, either from scripture or not, about what is unacceptable, and they simply use this “body is a temple” passage to drive home their points.

The Question

I believe my question is legitimate: What are the real restrictions regarding what we can do with our own bodies? Where is (are) the line(s) drawn? In the older generations of Christians especially, there is a long-standing belief that God wants us to treat our bodies in a certain way. I would have to agree that God certainly cares about the bodies he made for us, and that he cares about the way we treat them.

But what is the right way? What is the wrong way?

What I don’t find in the Bible is all of these strict regulations I was once made to believe existed. Maybe it’s because I’m young and more liberal. (Don’t laugh, hubby. I’m speaking relatively.) Maybe it’s because of the world in which I grew up. Maybe it’s because I like to think for myself rather than being told what to believe. I don’t know!

I don’t think there is anything to say it’s wrong to change your hair from its natural color or length. I don’t think there is anything to say it’s wrong to wear makeup or unusual clothing. I don’t think there is anything to say it’s wrong to draw on your skin or poke a pretty through a hole in your ear or lip.

Then again, I was taught by my old youth pastor that sometimes, rather than asking “what’s wrong,” one should ask, “what’s right?” This method of decision-making is tricky. If one had to find a useful, positive reason for everything one does, one might not do anything at all.

So the question stands: What are the real restrictions? What is the right way? What is the wrong way?

Not All Things Are Helpful

The very passage that started this whole thing says at the beginning:

“’All things are lawful for me,’
but not all things are helpful.
‘All things are lawful for me,’
but I will not be enslaved by anything.”

In the same book, but in chapter 10, we see a similar text, saying:

“’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things build up….So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God…”

One of my other favorite passages is 1 Corinthians 8, the whole chapter. Here’s how it goes: The Christians to which Paul writes understand that they have freedom through Christ, and that they are now no longer under, or held to, the Old Testament law, but rather they are under grace. Paul is constantly (in this book and others) reminding his brothers in Christ that being under grace does not give one license to sin, knowing they can be forgiven again. Paul is constantly trying to pound into their heads that they still must think about their actions, for there are still consequences.

In chapter 8, Paul addresses the issue of food that was once offered to idols. Paul understands that idols are not real, for there is only one God, and that the food offered to an idol is no different from other food. This food falls under the category of “all things are lawful for me…” But consider the non-believers, those who think the idols are real. One of two things happens to those people, when they see you eating the food.

1. They may also eat it, but since they believe that the food is defiled, they are sinning against their consciences.

2. They may simply watch you eat it, and since they don’t know what you know, their opinion of you and God is damaged, and you are sinning against them, wounding their consciences.

The conclusion is this: “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

This lesson can be applied to almost any area of our Christian walk, though we may not like it. Do your decisions make your brothers and sisters stumble? Do they wound your family’s consciences?

Our nature, my nature, is to simply do the questionable things behind the backs of those who might be offended. I don’t think this is right, but it’s a step in the right direction. I think this is how we determine whether it’s okay for us to fill in the blank. Who in your life would be offended, or who would stumble because of your decision?

I had to face this when I was 16 and decided to shave my head. I wore a hat to church for fear of offending those in the church who believed women must have long hair. I think, if I truly cared for those people, I should have chosen not to do it at all for their sakes, but I admit I was selfish in my decision.

Being a Christian is not always easy. I ponder these things as I wonder at what reactions I will get to my new hair color. I’m also reminded of the reason behind this lesson, the reason behind Christianity to begin with: Love.

“In this world where hatred seems to grow,
True love goes against the flow,
And becomes so hard to show.
In this world where push turns into shove,
We have strength to rise above
Through the power of His love.
Lord, we need to know the power of Your love”

- “Love” by Petra

For some reason, I thought all the blogs I read would have touched on Easter. I looked around, hoping to make sure I wasn’t being too redundant, and I found nothing! I can see why that is, now, and it makes sense. (There’s no reason to write about a Christian holiday on the blogs I read.) However, Ocipura.com being the blog that it is, I think it would be strange to skip over the holiday here.

The Super Bowl for the Church

My husband picked up this idea from our church: that Easter is the Super Bowl for Christians. I’m not one for metaphors, so I’ve had to put some thought into why this is so.

1. Easter brings in those who are fans and those who are only slightly interested in the church. Anyone with a bit of football interest will know that the one game they can’t miss is on the Big Day.

2. The traditions around Easter are fun enough to involve even those who don’t have much interest in the holiday, like the snacks, chili cook-off, games, and commercials that drew me to the Super Bowl party this year.

3. At the Super Bowl, two teams that have worked their way to the forefront throughout the season have a final battle against each other to determine a winner. On Easter, we remember the day that good and evil, which had been battling throughout history, finally determined a winner as well.

Meaning

Setting aside the hype around Easter, I do want to point out that it really is the most important day on the Christian calendar. It’s the day when our savior Jesus Christ conquered death. He submitted to crucifixion, a pure life, a perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world. He rose from the dead three days later, giving us all access to abundant and everlasting life. Without the resurrection of Christ, our whole belief system would crumble. Without the resurrection, Christ’s death meant nothing, and even his birth would have done little good despite the messages he taught.

Christ defeated Satan and Death, and while we still have conflicts with evil in everyday life, we know that ultimately the war’s outcome is already settled and determined. Death has already been conquered, the price for sins paid, and salvation already given to those who believe.

If you have a hard time wrapping your mind around the idea of a man rising from the dead, as I did, I would highly recommend reading The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. It was quite a help to me as a fairly new Christian.

Traditions

I grew up in a family that celebrated Easter every year. I can’t remember ever missing a year of dipping real, hard-boiled eggs into cups of colored water. I still remember several of the egg-hunts my mom personally set up just for her youngest girl, the only one still at home, and I remember the year she got me a huge chocolate bunny (heaven).

Now, my tradition for Easter is simply to go to church, but I hope to dye eggs with my kids in the future, and bring back all the fun things that a husband and wife alone might feel silly doing.

What are your Easter traditions? And I’m curious – if you participated in egg-hunts, were they done as a small family thing or as a big church thing? What are your thoughts on the meaning of Easter? Why do you celebrate, or why don’t you celebrate?

Tumbles: “What? I sit here all the time!”

And the Big Deal for C8 is… A Foot Works product bundle! Here’s a testimonial from my husband:

“Michelle asked me to write a review for one of her Avon products that I recently tried called Foot Works Restorative Milky Foot Soak.

I’m really not one for cosmetic products (I am a soldier after all), but I recently completed a field competition called Sapper Stakes. It was a four day event out in the back lands of central Texas, doing Army stuff and walking over 60 miles in full gear. By the end of it all of the competitors had blisters, bruises, and very sore feet. I know I was having trouble not limping when I came home.

So after my hot shower, while I was still whining and whimpering on the couch about my sore body and feet, Michelle offers me a foot soak. She figures out I can’t actually stop her, so she put my feet in a tub of hot water with the Foot Works and… just wow. I’ve used a lot of remedies for sore muscles, but this soak just felt amazing. Maybe it was the hot water, but I doubt it was just that. After the soak with Foot Works my feet felt ten times better, and it didn’t wear off. By that evening my feet felt better than they had even before the field.

Anyways it contains epsom salts, proteins, and oils… I’m not sure of all the details but it works. I’m going to make her keep this stuff around more often, because I really like it. I know I suck at reviews, but if your husband has sucky boots, or sore feet from a long PT run, I’d really suggest you make him try it. We can be stubborn about stuff like that.”

Want to Know More?

You can find the Big Deal for campaign 8 on pages 168-169 of your brochure. Remember, you can click the store link to shop online at your convenience, and in addition to traditional browsing methods (by brand and category), you can also click the link at the top of the page to view the current brochure.

If your interested in just a couple of the Foot Works products, but don’t want to get the whole bundle, check out pages 160-161 for another great deal: Mix and match any two of the featured Foot Works products at a great price!

The following Foot Works products are available for the mix and match deal: Vanilla & Brown Sugar Calming Foot Soak, Smoothing Scrub, and Moisturizing Foot Cream; Lavender Clay Mask; Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt; Antifungal Foot Spray; Intensive Callous Cream; Lace Foot File; and the new Dual-Action Pedi Peel.

The Big Deal bundle contains: Deluxe Touch Toenail Clipper; Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt; Therapeutic Cracked Heel Relief Cream; Overnight Renewing Foot Cream; and Deep Moisture Cream.