Getting on my nerves!
Are there people in your life who get on your nerves? I imagine there are!
God made us each different and sometimes personalities clash. As Christians, what are we to do when other people get on our nerves? Have you ever thought about it? Well, I’ve been thinking about it and God has led me to John 13:35:
Loving one another is the way the world knows we are Christians. Sometimes I get caught up in worldly things and it is good for me to be reminded that God has standards. He has given me His guidelines to live by. He has told me how I should act.
We are NOT TO BE LIKE THE WORLD! We are called to take the higher road…..and that includes in how we deal with people.
When people get on your nerves, it is hard to know what to do. I would like to share with you some things I have found helpful when other people get on my nerves. Here are a few tips:
1. PRAY! Pray for the person who is driving you crazy. Ask God to bless that person. Confess to God how you feel. Tell Him what your issues are with that person and ask Him to help you!
2. GET TO KNOW THAT PERSON! Take a step towards getting to know the person who is getting on your nerves. Ask them to go to lunch or find a few minutes to inquire about their life. The more you learn about this person, the more opportunity you have to find common ground with them. We all have a life story and you may be shocked about what you learn about their life. You probably have more in common with them than you think!
3. TAKE YOUR THOUGHTS CAPTIVE TO CHRIST! When a negative thought crosses your mind about that person, confess it immediately and ask Christ to replace those ugly thoughts with more positive ones. Quote scripture and keep your thoughts pleasing to God. Don’t allow your mind to entertain negative thoughts about this person….guard your mind!
4. DON’T GOSSIP! Whew! This can be hard. When someone drives us nuts, we want to go “vent” to someone else. We want someone else to help validate the way we feel. Plain and simple—-DON’T DO IT! If you have to, lock yourself in a room until the urge to gossip passes you by. Trust me, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. Gossiping and spreading ugly information about someone else only makes things worse AND it displeases God. He hates this type of behavior (Proverbs 6:16-19). Although it may feel “fun” at the time, it is wrong and we should not do it.
When it comes to dealing with people, we all know that sometimes, personalities clash. Sometimes, we do not enjoy another person’s company. Sometimes, people in our life get on our nerves.
As followers of Christ, let’s remember that we are called to love others and God’s Word tells us that love is patient and kind!
Let’s practice patience and kindness as we strive to love those people who drive us crazy.
Thanks for reading, my friends! I hope you have a great weekend!
~ Joy
Read MoreI am going to run over your iPad with my car….
Sunday mornings can be tough for families. Many times, Saturday has been filled with fun activities which can include staying up late. When Sunday morning gets here, it can be hard to get out of bed.
So it was for the Greene family this morning.
As the rest of us were up, getting ready for church, Sam was still in the bed. He was dead to the world. Time was ticking and I was growing impatient because the Lord knows how much I hate to be late.
After I had called him FIVE times, Sam was still not downstairs. He had let out an occasional grunt to let me know he heard me, but he was still dreaming away in his comfy bed.
When you’re trying to motivate a 12 year old boy to obey, you use whatever arsenal you can find in your brain at that moment. Sometimes things come out of your mouth that you did not plan for. It is also quite possible that sometimes as a Mom, I may overreact from time to time.
Have you ever seen those videos of parents who get so frustrated with their kids and their electronics that they destroy them (the electronics, not the kid)? I saw a video several months ago of a Dad who was at the end of his rope with his son. The Dad was so outdone by the amount of time his son spent on his gaming system, that he took the gaming system out into the yard and ran over it with his lawnmower.
I guess this video stuck in my mind as a possible new parenting technique.
When Sam did not respond to me for the fifth time this morning, I had reached my “nice Mom” limit!
I walked upstairs and with a very calm, cool and collected voice, I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “I have called you five times this morning. If you do not get up, eat your breakfast, put your clothes on, brush your teeth, fix your hair and have your Bible in hand ready to go in 10 minutes, I am going to run over your iPad with my car…….good morning, sweetheart.”
Ok, let’s wait just a minute here. In hindsight, I probably overreacted and could have thought of a more loving (and less destructive) way to get Sam out of bed, but it was effective. Sam got out of bed….and fast! Plus, he accomplished everything I asked him to, with his Bible in hand ready to go to church, on time.
Now, I’m not advocating that we take our kids’ belongings and run over them with our cars, but I am advocating that we take seriously the role we have as parents to teach our kids to obey. I think this is one of the most difficult things we deal with as parents, because as human beings, our nature is to disobey.
We see this from the beginning of time with Adam and Eve. They disobeyed God.
The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. ~Genesis 3:6
When we continue to look into the Bible, we see this same theme of disobedience with the Israelites. I am reading through the Bible this year and I just get flat worn out with these Israelites. Over and over, they did not listen to God. In so many instances their hearts were not set on following Him. In fact, they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years because they had not obeyed God, and they missed out on a BIG blessing because of it.
Might we take notice that there are consequences to disobeying God?
The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ~Joshua 5:6
God is always faithful and loyal to His people, but His people are not always faithful and loyal to Him.
Isn’t this still true of us, today? We love God. We believe in His son Jesus and we follow Him. Yet, we struggle with doing what God tells us to do. Too many times we do what we “feel” like doing instead of doing what God commands us to do.
As far as parenting goes, my encouragement to you today, my friend, is to not give up. Whether it’s getting your child out of bed in the morning or dealing with things much more serious, parenting can wear you down.
As Moms, we make mistakes, but when you and I fall down, we must not stay down. You and I will battle with our kids over their disobedience. It is a battle we must fight, with love, as we obey God in our calling as Moms.
Remember, if a child will not obey a parent they CAN see, how will they ever obey a God they CANNOT see?
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’-which is the first commandment with a promise-‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’” ~Ephesians 6:1-3
Just like God loves us and He promises to never leave us, our kids need to know how much we love them and how we will never leave them. We may run over their iPads with our car, but we will always be there for them.
Thankful for you,
~Joy
Read MoreYou are not called to trust everyone…
This has been weighing on my heart all day and I have felt God urging me to write to you. I just know someone needs this word of encouragement tonight.
I want to remind you my friend, that there are people in your life who want you to fail.
There are people who want you to quit chasing after God. They want you to stop pursuing the calling God has placed into your heart.
There are people in your life who do not want the best for you. In fact, they want the opposite.
How you respond to these people, matters.
God requires His children to do things outside of their comfort zones. Living for Jesus is not the easy road. It is the narrow road. It is also the best road.
When you examine God’s Word, you see God using the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary things for His Kingdom. They did not do these amazing things because they were unusually gifted or talented, but because they trusted, and obeyed God.
They walked by faith, not by what they saw in front of them. They believed God and they, too, had opposition facing them each step of the way.
My friend, you have a decision to make each day. Who’s voice are you going to listen to?
Are you going to listen to those people who tell you that you cannot do what God is calling you to do? Are you going to listen to the people who question your motives and call you a fool?
People may tell you, “it’s not possible,” or “you can never do that.”
Do not listen to them.
Instead, make the daily decision to stay focused on Jesus. Stay connected to Him through prayer and reading your Bible. Cling to Him and keep running your race with courage and perseverance.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
~Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart as you take each step of faith and BELIEVE that God will do what He says He will do!
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
~1 Thessalonians 5:24
YOU have a important race to run! YOU have an incredible life to live! Do not miss out on what God has planned for you. Listen to the voice of God and go full steam ahead!
Remember, we are called to love everyone. We are not called to trust everyone. May God give us the wisdom to know the difference.
Grateful for you,
~ Joy