Angela Parlin

{Days 3-5}: Desire

October 3, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Welcome back to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters. To start back at Day 1 of this series, click here.

In John chapter 1, Jesus walked along the road, while Andrew and John followed. The day before, they heard John the Baptist call him Jesus the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. They wanted to know more.

They followed behind him, and Jesus noticed. He initiated a conversation. Jesus spoke up first, asking them what it was they wished for, what they wanted from Him.

Maybe we should all ask ourselves the same question. What do I desire? Do I want Christ, but also glory for myself? People’s praise? Things this world offers? Or do I want God’s favor alone and the life He offers me?

Jesus notices when a person takes interest in Him. I love the beautiful way Matthew Henry says this: “Christ takes early cognizance of the first motions of a soul towards him.”

And then? He invites them in for more.

Jesus said, Come and see where I’m staying. He invited them over. He opened His life up to them. Right away, no need to wait, and they went.

After they spent the day with Him, Andrew ran home to find his brother Simon and tell him about the Messiah. He wanted Simon to see Jesus for himself.

And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). John 1:42, NIV

When Jesus looked at Simon, He saw beyond who Simon was. When we read the gospels, it’s easy for us to understand what kind of guy Simon was at that time. He was impulsive and unstable, the kind of rough-around-the-edges guy who makes us feel a little better about our own issues.

But Jesus saw Simon for who he would become, by the grace of God—a pillar of the early church. Jesus gave him a new name right then and there–Peter, which means Rock.

Next week, we’ll read about another invitation Jesus extended Peter.

For this weekend, think about this: What are you looking for? What do you desire?

The invitation to come and see stands. If you want to read more of His love wrapped up in red letters, read John chapter 1.

And with that, I’m checking out until Monday…have a great weekend!

~Angela

{Day 2}: Repent

October 2, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Welcome back to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters. Before we jump in, click here to find the first day of this series, as well as a list of all the posts together.

Okay, now we jump!

John the Baptist had been preaching a message to prepare people to meet the coming Messiah. Jesus came on the scene and repeated the command.

It’s not a cuddly message. It’s not a word people are itching to hear. It’s the kind of command that makes some people angry. But no matter how anyone responds, it comes from God’s love for mankind. Not only that, but it’s the first command Jesus gave, so we’d better listen up.

The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! Mark 1:15, NIV

Notice the first phrase–the time has come. This tells us something new was going down. The time had come for Jesus to preach the good news, to heal the sick and feed the hungry, and to invite the masses into a new way.

Then Jesus said the kingdom of God has come near. God’s reign on earth had begun, through Jesus’ coming, through God coming down to us. What god comes down to their people? Our God. He came to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Luke 17:21 says, The kingdom of God is in your midst. The kingdom of God was present on earth in the person of King Jesus.

That right there? Is reason to repent and believe.

So what does it mean to repent?

To repent is more than saying you’re sorry. It’s more than a change of mind. It’s a complete turn away from the sin you held dear. It’s a turn to–or return to—God. Repentance is the idea that we’re all running away from God, going our own way. When we repent, we make a complete turnaround, and then we’re running to God.

After this, we always run to Him. {Except when we don’t. Because sometimes we won’t.} Hence, the need to repent and return.

In order to receive Jesus Christ, we must believe. And part of believing is agreeing with God that our sin is not okay. It’s seeing that our sin leads us away from God and agreeing we don’t want that. So we forsake whatever sins we struggle with, and follow Christ.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.

The beauty of repentance is GRACE–manifested through God’s faithful forgiveness. Even the message of repentance is His love in red letters.

Have a beautiful day…and hold on, it’s almost Friday!

~Angela

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31 Days of Love in Red Letters

October 1, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

Don’t you just love October? The colors, crisp air, warm drinks, fall festivals, PUMPKINS, and the long-awaited reunion with cozy long-sleeves? I love it all. October leaves much to fall for. 🙂

This October, I’m taking the 31 Days challenge on my blog. I will link up with hundreds of bloggers at the Nester’s place–to write for 31 days.

But because I like making my own rules sometimes, I plan to write on weekdays only. That’s actually based on other bloggers’ suggestions. This way, I’ll live my weekend moments more fully, and who wants to spend a second of a perfect fall weekend indoors, at their computer?

This challenge will be a stretch for me, but that’s kind of the point. It’s all about diving deep into a topic of your choice and pushing yourself to write (and publish) every day (or in my case, every weekday).

So let’s jump right on in, shall we? Welcome to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters!

Last year, my husband was reading through the book of Matthew, when he came to the very last verse. “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” He realized he didn’t have a thorough understanding of all Jesus’ commands, so how would he teach them well?

He studied the four gospels, compiling a list of Jesus’ commands, along with who He was talking to and notes about the meaning. Many mornings, he sits at the breakfast table with our kids before work, teaching them the words of Jesus. This inspired me to write my 31 Days series about the words of Jesus, which in many Bibles are set apart in red letters.

In John 14:21, Jesus says, Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (NIV)

So if we claim to love Jesus Christ, we will keep His commands. Love and obedience go hand in hand. The Bible is clear that we do not love Him if we do not obey Him. That does not mean we never disobey or that we never sin. In our hearts, we often prefer following ourselves more than we prefer following Jesus. It’s a definite struggle.

But we do not continue in sin if we love Jesus. When we see our sin, we confess and forsake it because we love Him.

Before we can obey Jesus, we need to “have” those commands stored up inside. We should know His words, who they were meant for, and what they mean. It takes time to study His Word, but the reward is great.

Luke 12:21 (NLT) says, A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.

Our reward through this study will be knowing Jesus better. Having a rich relationship with Him. At this point in my life, I can think of nothing better. I want to know Jesus, and know Him more. You too?

Join me as we visit a selection of Jesus’ words over the month of October. This will only be a start, but I hope it will inspire further study.

I treasure your comments on these scriptures and study notes, so please feel welcome to add your thoughts at the end of each post. If you want to receive these posts in your email inbox, enter your email address in the box to the right.

Now go out and ENJOY this beautiful October day!

~Angela

For your convenience, here are all my #31Days of Love in Red Letters posts:

{Day 8}: Take the Stairs

{Day 9}: Beauty of Blessedness

{Days 10-12}: Waves of Grace

{Day 13}: Before Wheat Bellies & Grain Brains

{Day 14}: Of Light

{Day 15}: Love Your Enemies

{Day 16}: The Door

{Day 17}: World Poverty Day

{Day 20}: The Lord is My Shepherd

{Day 21}: Walking Dead

{Day 22}: When Everything Is Awful

{Day 23}: True Vine & Real Good Fruit

{Day 24}: When Opportunity Knocks

{Day 27}: What We Really Need When We’re Weary

{Day 28}: On Dwelling In Christ & Fast and Swirly Surprises

{Day 30}: It’s All In Who You Ask

{Day 31}: 7 Jesus Quotes: It’s a Wrap!

When Homeschool Beats You

September 25, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

I’m going to say a few things about homeschool. But I want to make sure you know something first.

Before we decided to homeschool, it was the last thing I was ever going to do. I don’t think it’s a biblical mandate or the only right way to educate children. There are other excellent choices, and any choice carries with it both pros and cons.

Homeschool sounded a bit like torture, for the teacher I mean. To be honest, it sounded kinda terrible to do to my kids as well—like I would be keeping them from life rather than presenting them with opportunities. That’s how I used to see it.

But when I realized I couldn’t screw up kindergarten for a child who already devoured words like candy, we set out to homeschool. Only for that year. Except that now we’re in year 6.

Most days, I love homeschool, and our kids love it too. Our first 3 years, when friends asked me about our days, I gushed about books and plans and freedom.

But then came year 4. When we had the special opportunity to homeschool with a toddler in the house. And 3 others in separate grades.

To put it simply, homeschool beat me. I was ready to throw in the towel. We toured schools, and I prepared my heart to give it up after all I’d poured into it.

While we didn’t feel peace about scrapping the whole program, God changed my perspective in necessary ways through that process. Sometimes changing course is the right choice for a family, but it wasn’t for us, not then. We changed co-op groups and took our littlest to preschool last year, but we stuck with homeschooling.

Those 2 years felt like a neverending season. But now we’ve turned this corner where we’re able to complete our studies with time to spare, and we can get through a lesson without 18 interruptions and mounting frustration. Things are fun again. Some days are still hard–but that would be true with any educational choice.

Homeschooling is like a rollercoaster. It’s the same with parenting. And life. Sometimes things are running along smoothly and you’re clicking up to the top of the hill. You’re excited, you know where you’re headed, and you’re going the right direction. Other times, you’re on that rickety, curvy part where you never know what’s coming next, you’re not having any fun, and you’re pretty sure you’re going to puke. The only way through is through, but you see no end in sight.

If you’re in a beat-down season, remember it really is only a season. It may be an exceptionally long season, but you will look back one day and see God at work between the curves and spins and upside-down loop-de-loops.

I wish I could say having the right formula makes it magically easy to get through. But there’s no simple fix for hard seasons. We need to live through them and let life teach us. Yes, seek God. Acquire outside help. Change things up whenever necessary. But you’ll probably still need to puke.

Then the ride will end, and you’ll step back on, buckle up, and head toward those ups and downs all over again. It’s worth the ride. Turns out, there’s so much beauty in all this chaos.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4, MSG

Fill My Cup, Lord

September 12, 2014 By: Angela Parlin

I used to hide away in books.

Some were really smart books, I promise. But others were the romance, adventure, and sunny skies of Sweet Valley High.

Right alongside The Babysitter’s Club, this series stole my heart. What’s a 12-year-old girl not to love about California, twin sisterhood, high school, and “true” love??? A 12-year-old living frozen far north, nonetheless.

I wanted to get lost in those books. I wanted to be a Wakefield sister, living the kind of sunshiny perfection that existed in Sweet Valley, California. In my dreams.

But I was never meant to be a California girl–with a twin sister and a cute red convertible. I wouldn’t find happiness there, for more reasons than Sweet-Valley-Cali doesn’t exist outside of tween novels.

The thing is, you may never have dreamed of something as silly as life in Sweet Valley. But you dreamed of something. Or more likely, you still do. You dream of reaching some level, attaining some goal, arriving at some place, or becoming someone that finally does it for you–leaves you satisfied.

You’re thirsty for more. Or you can remember a time in your life when you were thirsty for so much more.

But look around. When people do this thing we call arrive, they’re never satisfied for long. Listen to interviews of athletes who accomplish great things. They’re focused on the next thing. They’re striving for a bigger goal. They won’t be satisfied until they get there.

Listen to celebrities. Being known, having the world at their fingertips–these haven’t filled them up enough. Listen to the rich. They’ve made it, supposedly. But it’s never enough. Or it’s too much to handle.

This morning, my kids and I read John 4, where Jesus sits with an outcast at a well and asks her for a drink of water. She objects, because Jesus was a Jew, and Jews weren’t even supposed to associate with people like her. But that didn’t deter Him.

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (NIV)

So I was sitting on Laguna Beach a few weeks back, long after the death of my California tween-dream. I hadn’t heard this song for at least a decade, but at the sight of palm trees and turquoise and perfect Pacific sands, I couldn’t stop singing it all the sudden.

“Like the woman at the well, I was seeking for things that could not satisfy.

And then I heard my Savior speaking, ‘Draw from my well that never shall run dry.’

Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord. Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.

Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole. (lyricsmode.com)

May it be what He’s done in you and me, and what He’s doing still. May we thirst for no other water ~ and look only to Him to be filled.

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{Days 3-5}: Desire

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{Day 2}: Repent

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31 Days of Love in Red Letters

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When Homeschool Beats You

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Fill My Cup, Lord

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