Are You A Christian?

What would you say if I told you I was a doctor, but my only credit to this title was a one hour Nursing class in college that I deem the only qualification needed to practice medicine?

Anyone lining up to get a check up?

Probably not.

One class in my undergraduate studies does not a doctor make!

What is funny is that 70.5% of the American population considers themselves a Christian and yet only 11% of that group has read the Bible in its entirety, and only 9% having read it more than once.

True, you don't have to read the Bible to be a Christian.  Christianity is not earned, its willingly received.  That trips people up though because becoming a Christian isn't an item on a checklist but a new beginning.

Christianity is an understanding that we can't do life on our own.  The standard of perfection is not attainable for us humans and we need Jesus' gift of life because of his perfect life on earth and death on the cross and resurrection to be forgiven of all the wrongs we have done.

Christianity is surrender - surrender to Jesus and his ways.  This surrender is often counter to our culture but honestly, it's also counter to our human nature.  The Bible is, simply put, a letter.  Yes, its more than that - its history, its poetry, its prophecy but at its heart its a letter, a story given to his children (that's us).  Its God way of speaking to us.  Yes, it can be intimidating but its not impossible.  It starts with a step, followed by another step.  How can you know who God is, what God wants with us and from us if you don't read the Bible?

The beauty of Christianity and the Bible is balance, and when someone goes too far one direction they lose the beauty of it all.  The teeter totter holds truth on one side and grace on the other.  When you stand in the middle of the two, you have found the sweet spot.  Sustaining that takes daily connection with God.

Religion is common place, but the relational focus of Christianity is unparalleled.  We must enter into a relationship with our Savior and daily walk with him to find the road and stay on it.

Unfortunately, this is not happening and I can't imagine what that discord must look like to God.  We are all his children and we are fighting and killing each other.  We have abandoned the hallmark of who he is - love.  We have walked away from truth in search of popularity or happiness and yet we haven't found what we thought we would.  The label of Christian is doing more harm than good in some corners of this country, because like my doctor analogy, people are claiming a faith they have no knowledge of.

When I moved to Germany my junior year, the two years that followed weren't marked with the poor choices I made that led to two decisions of regret.  No, the big problem when I arrived was one sentence that broke me.  You see when I headed to Germany, I was walking away from some bad years that left hurt inside my soul.  Not dealing with the pain I'd experienced, left me open to bitterness and bad choices.

 I uttered to God, "I don't like what you have done with my life, and I am taking over."

I abandoned God.

That was what led me to a breaking point my Freshman year of college.  Sure my wrecked virginity and subsequent abortion contributed to that pain, but when I FINALLY cried out to God, do you know what I found? It wasn't condemnation or judgement.  I heard God say, "Carrie, I have been waiting.  Waiting for you to give all of that to me, so I could fill you with my best."  That day in the basement of my dorm hall, I wept and I gave God back what was always his - control of my life.  He is a gentleman so he never forced me to follow him, but he let me see what my control led to - a mess.

At almost 39, my life is not perfect.  I am still a mess, but God is directing my path and in him I am finding all the joy, comfort, direction I need.  No one has ever loved me like God, and when I trust him with my life and seek him daily in Bible reading and prayer, I find what I need for today!  He has my life in his hands, and I can trust He knows what He is doing!!!  That is a Christian.  Are you a Christian?

Do You Have A Plan?

Let's pretend we are going on a trip.

What might be some of the first questions you ask before planning a trip and deciding what to pack?  

1.  What is your budget? 
Will you be counting each penny or do you have money to burn?  Will you need to find ways to save or can you splurge a little?

2. What type of trip will it be? 

Vacation or Business? Family, couple or friend? The purpose of the trip dictates what you take.  Clothes need to be professional for a work conference and you will want to have travel entertainment if you will have kids with you.

3. Where is it? 
What will the weather be? What is the terrain?  You wouldn't pack just shorts for a snowy, mountain ski trip or take a down jacket on an island beach getaway! Destination comes into account when planning your trip.  

4.  How will you be traveling? 

Car rides accommodate for more bags while airplanes means organizing those small ounce containers for security checks.  There is also bus when the budget is small and time isn't an issue or a train for the scenic route.  You may need small bills for tips or AAA for extra security, discounts and maps on a road trip.

5. Where are you staying? 
Do you have a friend close by with room to keep you?  Do you need to book a hotel or suite if the family is with you?  How many nights do you need?  What amenities are essential for your trek?

Those 5 questions are just the beginning of the planning process.

The irony of life is we don't often consider the equivalent of these questions when it comes to our spiritual life, something much more important than a trip.  

Navigating through life can be a challenge, especially when you understand we have an enemy.

Yes, Satan is real.

I am not sure he looks like many of the depicted caricatures circuiting, especially when you read scriptures that say he comes disguised as "an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  Satan doesn't like us.  He didn't just get kicked out of heaven because he wanted to be God, he was upset that God created us.  He was in essence the jealous older sibling after mommy has a new baby.  He wanted and still wants to take us out.

God came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  Jesus died and came back to life to conquer for us what we couldn't conquer ourselves, but we are still walking through the battlefield of life and we need to start engaging a little more so we come out alive.

Do you know the books of the Bible and their themes?
Are you memorizing scripture on a regular basis?
Do you have and are you following a reading plan of the Bible?
Have you read the Bible in its entirety?
Do you pray on a regular basis?
Have you examined cultural influences that help in understanding what God is communicating?
Do you know your weaknesses and are you protecting them with accountability through other believers and having scripture prepared to combat temptation?

I am not asking these questions to shame you if you can't positively answer these questions - instead, I want to bring home the point that we need a plan.

So why do the questions above matter? 

Knowing the books of the Bible and their themes helps you find what you need.

Memorizing scripture allows you to have it handy.

Reading the Bible isn't the same for everyone and in this digital age there are a million plans out there to read through the Bible so there is something for everyone, and reading the Bible consistently gives you that link to our Savior.

Reading the entire Bible takes about 80 hours but most plans do it over one to two years.  Reading the whole thing can be challenging, especially some passages, but it is a story and reading all of it is crucial to understanding the story and the purposes of Christ.

Prayer is our connection and communication with our God, and in war time soldiers need to have communication with their leader if they want to survive their enemy.  This is such a crucial tool in our belt.

The Bible wasn't written alongside the Declaration of Independence.  It is older than that and was written on soil on the other side of the world. The Bible wasn't written but often interpreted through Western culture and that is a mistake.  Many customs in the Middle East haven't changed much from the way they are today.  Context is also key in understanding what the Bible is all about.  Take the time to check it out.  Need some resources?  Let me know!  Happy to point you in the right direction.

Remember that enemy well he know humans really well, he's been roaming the earth for some time now.  We all have weaknesses and he knows how to prey on us, not to mention we are pretty good at self-sabotage.  Knowing ourselves, and our weaknesses, helps us to protect ourselves.  Having an accountability partner helps us to grow and keeps us honest about our journey.

Do you have a plan?  Where are you with each of these categories?  Can you up your game just a bit in each area?  If you don't have a plan, its time to get one!  

That One Thing That Could Help Your Day Go Way Better

If you don't know, I am a youth pastor.  I have been at the same church for almost 14 years and have worked with teenagers over 15 years.  (By the way, teenagers ROCK)!  Right now we are working through a book by Craig Groeschel called "#Struggles: Following Jesus In A Selfie-Centered World."  This book is truly insightful and relevant to some of our greatest needs in our current culture. 

This week we looked at a topic that I think all of us could use more of!  That is the topic of...

ENCOURAGEMENT!!!

I don't need to regurgitate back to you what Craig had to share, because if that is what you wanted, you could read the book.  As an activity to do in connection with this chapter, I took the 5x7 index cards and wrote each person's name in the group at the top.  Then we passed the cards around.  We were to write something encouraging to the person whose name was listed at the top, and by the end everyone would have a card with encouragements from each other. 

The funny thing was, it was like Christmas morning.  Everyone was eager to get their cards and then the gushing started as everyone ohh'ed and ahh'ed over the comments they had received.  I was actually surprised at my own reaction to my card.  It was amazing!  In that exercise, I realized, we all need more of that.   Instead of just using Facebook to take a million selfies and post your breakfast, take some time to write encouraging posts on your friends' walls. 

Let's be honest, this world beats us down!!! If we aren't hearing personal criticisms, we are seeing the depressing news feed filled with a constant stream of political slams, criminal happenings and overall human cruelty.  While the occasional animal video is fun and happy, its really not enough to overcome the constant crap that clutters up my feed! (Can I get an AMEN?!)  I need more!  So how can we be encouraged? Here are

3 Ways to Infuse Your Life With Encouragement:

1. Read the Bible - Spending time in God's word encourages me.  I am reminded of a God who created me and loves me.  The Psalms can be especially wonderful in this department, but it is not the only book.  If you aren't used to reading the Bible, I suggest you download the YouVersion Bible App, its free!  You can discover plans that fit you and each day there is a reading for you to follow.  Its easy and it works! 

2.  Look in the Mirror - This isn't to do your make-up, shave your beard or fix your hair, but to see yourself and while you are taking a gander, say 3 things that you love about who you are.  I don't just mean your best body parts either.  What do you like about your character or personality?  If you don't know yourself well enough to do so, then take a personality test and find out more about who you are. 

3. Be An Encourager - There is this amazing boomerang effect to our words.  What we put out there, comes back to us!  And let's face it, life is not all about us, but others.  When we put our focus on the gems of friends and family we have, we can begin to realize the beauty in our lives that we never knew was there.  We also make an impact in other's lives, which is amazing!!!  When we practice encouragement, we will be happier people and will probably hear encouragement back.  I did the card exercise for my teens, but I was also greatly impacted. 

Let me just close this by saying, I don't necessarily know you, but I'm sure if you are reading this, you are trying in life.  There is something to be said for effort.  You, no doubt, have many amazing qualities whether you see them or not. 

Go out today and BE ENCOURAGED!!!!

The Most Important Thing You Do Everyday

Do you spend time with God everyday? If so, what does that look like? If not, why not? Yes, life is busy and we have a lot on our “to-do” list, but how far in that list would you get if you gave up sleep and food because you were just too busy?


Being a Christian is more than a title, its a way of life. Its like paying for a gym membership, never going, yet expecting to be fit. Time with God is our oxygen for life. For me, I admit, I don’t always have that quiet time everyday. Some days its letting my phone read me by daily passages while I run around town, but that can’t sustain me on a daily basis! I need quiet, quality time with God.


Whether you are talking about God or people, you can’t trade quality time for quick sound bites here and there or on social media and expect the relationship to deepen or grow. Quality beats quantity every time.


This year, I am reading the Bible chronologically. There are definitely benefits to mixing up my Bible plan each year. Maybe you don’t read the Bible in a year, but its a great goal to work towards. Daily time with God is very crucial to our walk as a believers and if you aren’t used to it, starting small is beneficial. Eventually you need more. Brad Edgar hits the nail on the head when he says, “You can’t be a good egg your whole life. You either need to hatch or you will rot.” Simple daily devotionals are great, but they aren’t all we need. We need time in God’s word. Those devotionals stay pretty superficial.


We weren’t created for the superficial. We were made to grow in our relationships, with God, with others and with ourselves. It takes vulnerability to do that, and we are losing our ability to connect in this fast-paced, social media-driven society. A lot of us out there are rotting eggs. If this is you, its not too late to start over.  God says when its over (sorry fat opera lady), and as long as you are here on this earth, you have a chance at a new start with God. Knowing God means knowing his Word and allowing that word to permeate your life.


Monday, I took my daughters’ two hour nap time slot and just delved into God. I was about 3 days behind in my reading and I am at the beginning of the New Testament. Sometimes, reading chronologically can be monotonous when you reach a story told in several places and you have this major deja vu experience. Monday, I found it refreshing. Each gospel writer told a story slightly different and I felt the entirety of their shared experience gave me more understanding in what was happening and why. When Matthew’s account left me with questions about some of the reasons for why something happened, I found Luke or Mark would give more information to answer my question.


I had been struggling with some blog topics and how to even handle certain situations in my life and as I read, God just spoke to me. It was as if he said, "this is all you need to get the jobs in life done."  I now have pages of ideas and quotes and answers to questions. They aren’t all answered, but God gives us our daily bread. So my questions will get answered as I need them as long as I continue to spend quality time with God.