Sinning with Stretchy Pants

Our youth pastor once talked about how avoiding sin required some prep work. You need safe guards in place. He compared it to going over to a certain family's house, who is known for serving yummy meals, while he is on a diet. He said that it required doing some prep work which meant that he would take along his own food, to ensure he stayed on his diet.

Sitting in my pew, I felt a little ashamed. When he mentioned doing prep work before going over to that family's house for the meal, my first thought was to skip all other meals that day and wear stretchy pants so I could pig out.

So instead of sticking with what is right, I immediately went to planning a way to not do what was right.

Definitely not a Hall of Faith moment there.

I have done that in my past. I knew I wasn't doing what God wanted me to do, but I went ahead and wore the proverbial stretchy pants so I wouldn't feel confined by my convictions.

We can come up with some great justifications while doing our sin planning. Just like I thought of skipping meals so that when I indulged later, it wouldn't be as bad, we convince ourselves the sin we are planning on doing isn't as bad as another sin. The problem with that is the fact that sin is sin.

There are no big sins or little sins. We like to categorize them as such because it makes us feel better. We don't feel we are as bad as we could be if we were doing such and such. Or we aren't as bad as that other sinner over there. But Jesus only died on one cross. He didn't die on a big cross to pay for the big sins and then go die on a small cross for the little sins.

One size cross fits ALL our sins.

Back to the stretchy pants.

Instead of thinking of ways to plan how we can sin and get away with it (yeah, there's no getting away with sinning), we should spend our energy and time thinking of ways to plan how to avoid sin.

So no more stretchy pants for me!

Allergies Dr. Seuss Style

I was wondering about a title for this post. I knew I wanted to blog about the misery of my allergies this season. As different ideas for a title rattled through my histamine-filled brain, it dawned on me it kind of sounded like Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.

Would you like your allergies here or there, or anywhere?

Would you like them in a box, with a fox?

Would you like them in a house, with a mouse?

However, there is no part where I am pleasantly surprised with the discovery that I do like my allergies after all, Sam-I-Am! Well, let's just say, I don't like them for what they do to my life.

I do not know about anyone else out there, but the allergies have been just downright horrible for me this year! If you know my allergy story, then you also know corn is the hidden satan in many pills, tablets, and medicines on which allergy-suffers depend. Guess who is allergic to corn? Yes, it is I, so it definitely feels like a no-win situation for me.

Thanks to my pollen allergies being escalated, my food allergies are much more sensitive than usual. I am truly thankful I can still drink coffee or my family would suffer from my grouchiness so much the more.

But like all things about this life here on earth, this too shall pass! I will one day be sneeze-free! Hubby will love that as my sneezes blow out his hearing aids. I will no longer have numerous wads of tissues hanging out of pockets and my purse. I wonder if I should invest in Kleenex stock? I will be able to look more intelligent as I will no longer have to rely on a gaping, open mouth for my oxygen intake. I will be able to awake in the morning and be energized for the day. Today I took a nap at 8:00 am.  I will be able to return to wearing make up and no longer scare young children in the store with my swollen, puffy, blood-shot eyes and raw nose. I truly felt bad I scared that little boy but did his parents really feel the need to stare and point at me?  I will no longer cause concern for my dear church family members who think I have been crying due to some intense conviction.  I imagine they must be thinking, "Whatever is she being convicted of by the Holy Spirit??? It must be pretty bad. She looks horrible....Bless her heart."

The added "bless her heart" is in case a female church member from the South is thinking that because if you tack that on at the end, it totally negates any negative thing you just said. 

Paul asked for relief from his affliction but he was told to rely on His sufficient grace.  Allergies are my affliction. I make light of them because they are a horrible nuisance to me, but truly, they are nothing compared to the afflictions others have.  I will rely on His sufficient grace to get me through the season.

I would like God's grace here or there or anywhere.

I would like God's grace in a box, with a fox.

I would like God's grace in a house, with a mouse. 

The older I get, (which feels much older during allergy season) the more I realize I do like God's grace, Sam-I-Am, I do.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

You know—I may just like my allergies after all. They definitely make me weak. The state of my house clearly attests to that. However, when I am weak, I will have strength made perfect.

I do like my allergies, Sam-I-Am!