Depravity (Part 2): What is the Point?

So what is the point? I bet you're wondering if I had a big epiphany while I was gone. Haha! And well, I think it's coming - slowly but surely. ... but I do have to say that I still don't know why God created us when He knew we were gonna be a bunch of sin bags. He knows His purposes. Obviously, there is more glory to come out of our lives than we will ever know - thank GOD for that!

But ... there is a big ... HUGE ... really IMPORTANT point to be taken away from these ramblings (and from Galatians 6:16-26 and Romans 6 - go read these passages if you haven't already). The answer is found all over these two passages, but I think it is best summed up in two little verses ...

Romans 6:1-2
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

The point is really as simple as that ... in a phrase you might hear my dad use, "Knock it off, ya bozos!" Hahaha! ... That's right - STOP SINNING, YOU DEPRAVED PEOPLE!!!!

I know what you're thinking ... well, at least, I'M thinking it ... "That's NOT simple!!!" I just told you in the last post that I fall into so many sinful attitudes so easily - pride, ungratefulness, impatience, down-right meanness, and the list goes on - and all in 5 minutes too! ... But seriously ... why would Paul (or whoever the heck wrote this book) - who got it from God in the first place - give us this sixth chapter of Romans if he didn't intend for us to LIVE it??? God expects us to read this passage and then DO it!!! Man, that's a heavy order, huh? But it's turning my cringing and my cowering into thoughtfulness, which makes me fix my eyes on Jesus for direction and clarity, which will eventually help me LIVE out this passage - or at least attempt to - a little at a time, day by day. And that brings glory to God! Ha! And there we have it ... the point is bringing glory to God

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 6:16

... THAT is the point, my dear friends - to turn away from our sin, to stop it in its tracks, and not just walk, but run, after Jesus, which will, in turn, bring glory to God.

Depravity (Part 1)

I've been thinking about my own depravity lately. Ugh. It makes me cringe. Literally. I am scrunching up my face and my body is cowering a little bit even now as I'm typing. And I want you to think about depravity too. If you can't think about your own 'cause, like me, it makes you sick, then just think about mine. Yes, think about Mical Masterson's depravity.

Have you read the definition of depravity lately? Yuck. I just did, and it makes me cower even more.

Depravity: "corrupt, wicked, or perverted."

*Big sigh and a sad face*

Man. This makes me really upset ... heartbroken, even. Heartbroken because my depravity ... my corrupt, wicked, and perverted nature hurts my Savior, my God, my Spirit - yes, the Three in One.

I don't know how you feel about this issue of TOTAL depravity or if you even have the slightest clue what I'm talking about. Some people do ... most people don't. It's worth looking into if you haven't. It can lead into crazy controversies involving the names John Calvin and John Wesley and all that they believed about God and His relationship with/to us. I'm not gonna get into all of that ... although, I am fascinated by these ideas. I'm not gonna go labeling myself a Calvinist or an Arminianist ... I don't much care about names. But! One thing I will not budge on is this idea of total depravity. Total depravity is this ... that we are totally and completely sinful (remember those ugly words from before? - corrupt, wicked, perverted? Yep, we're ALL of those), that we can do NOTHING good in our own strength - ONLY through God's working in our lives can we do, say, or think anything good at all (also known as giving us His GRACE - what we DON'T deserve).

And THAT is what I've been thinking about lately. People may argue this point, but for me, it's as easy as looking at my OWN life. Every SINGLE day ... and usually, several times a day ... I fall into sin after sin. A LOT of things qualify as sin. Sin, in itself, is "missing the mark." The "mark" is perfection (also known, and only known, as JESUS) ... and so if our hearts and minds are exuding anything but perfection, we are sinning. Whoa! Now, there's another blog post. Whew! Thank you, Jesus, for your grace! So when I think about sin that way, I KNOW I'm totally depraved! Man, oh man.

... Okay. Back to the point. Today, I was in a funk about something meaningless ... I was claiming my "rights" about something - ha, like I have any of those. And it made feel frustrated and irritable. It made me prideful and ungrateful and just mean in my heart. Otherwise known as ... I was wallowing in sin. And I got to thinking, and I voiced this to my mom ... I screw up all the time. I am totally corrupt and wicked and perverted, and I'm always going to be. Sure, God enables me to be pure and sanctified and holy, but in my depravity, 9 times out of 10, I chose to walk in the flesh instead of in the Spirit. I asked my mom, "So if God made us for His glory, and we screw up all the time, what's the point?" This question came from conviction. I was convicted because I was not only making excuses about my rights, being prideful, and ungrateful ... I was also being impatient and unkind about some demanding customers. And God was convicting me about all of these MANY sinful attitudes. So I was discouraged with myself. I told mom, "I'm so glad God is gracious 'cause if I were God, I woulda zapped all of us by at least the 3rd time ... heck, I wouldn't have created us at all!"
And when you think about this ... when you think about my question to my mom "If God made us for His GLORY, and we constantly SIN, then what's the point?", we get into some pretty convicting stuff.

So what is the point?
Galatians 5:16-26 and Romans 6 come to mind. Hold on. I'll be back in a bit. I need to go read these again ... hey, why don't you join me, and we'll meet back here for some more deep thoughts in, let's say, a half an hour? Just let me know if you need more time. ;)

BRB ...

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 8

Day 8 - A picture that makes you laugh

This picture is my profile picture - I know, I know. But I can't help but laugh hysterically every time I see it. That's WHY it's my profile picture! :D ... You had to be there when this picture was taken ... or rather, you had to be there when Emily and I were looking through our pictures of the day we had just spent together. We had gone to Gabby's (a yummy burger place) for lunch (where this picture was taken), walked at the park, done a little shopping ... fun day. And we finished our day with one of the weirdest movies ever, Jane Eyre. It really is an odd and almost creepy movie. (I was a bit weirded out then, but now, I love it!) We were so confused for most of it, making fun of it, and having a great time cracking each other up. And then we started looking at these pictures, once the movie was over. ... So we're already beyond gitty, and I see this picture of myself. And I just lose it, which makes Emily lose it. So now, I probably laugh more at that moment (ha! Try 10 minutes!) of my gitty laughter than the picture itself. But anyways ... long story short - you had to be there. But it's a funny picture either way. :D

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 7

Day 7: A picture of your most cherished item

Yep. It's definitely my blanket. You may not be able to see this blanket well in the picture, but my closest friends can attest to the fact that this blanket is the most pathetic looking blanket ... maybe ever. I still remember taking this blanket to our Bogalusa mission trip 2 summers ago, and Pastor Mike asked me ... "So you're still carryin' around that blanket, huh?" Hahahaha! Hilarious! It's true. I can't go on any trip, sleep in any hotel, sleep AT ALL without this raddy old thing. It may be old and ugly to anyone else, but to me, it's my security blanket - I will never throw it away. It is most assuredly my most treasured material possession. :D

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 6

Day 6: A picture of a person you'd like to trade places with for a day

My brother is one of the most inspiring people I know and one of my heroes. Wes is one of "those" people. Ya know who I'm talkin' about? The kind of person you wanna be like 'cause he's so positive and upbeat and outgoing. I would love to trade places with him for a day just to see what it's like to be THAT optimistic. I think I'm a pretty optimistic person a lot of the time, but over the past few years, I haven't been able to STAY an optimist because I don't know how to keep an eternal perspective. But Wes knows how. He's so good at seeing the big picture - even when he's going through a rough time. It takes a lot for him to get down. He's just good at staying determined to win ... to live his life to the fullest ... to get what he wants. And he's so outgoing. He's worked hard to get where he is, but he's always been a social guy, never really worrying about what other people think. How does he do that? Gosh. I want all of these qualities! Man, do I? So if I could trade places with anyone in the world, it'd be Wes. If I could walk around this planet for just 5 minutes with Wes' outlook, I know I would be a changed woman. Needless to say, I think a lot of my little brother ... he inspires me.

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 5

Wow. I am really bad at blogging consistently. Oh, well. Here I go again ... continuing the 30-day photo challenge.

Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory

I love this one! It's making me smile. I don't know if I can really narrow my thoughts down to just one favorite memory ... gosh, that's tough. But I'm not surprised that the only memories that come to mind for "favorite" memories involve Adam Cook. *Big grin* I love that guy! Adam and Uncle Mike and Jen were a huge part of my childhood. If we weren't at their house every Sunday and Wednesday night after church, then they were at our house ... along with a bunch of other families from church. Man, those were the days ... lots of fellowship, lots of laughter, lots of frozen pizza and movies and me and Adam and Wes playing video games in Adam's room. Adam has always been one of my favorite guys ... we grew up together, hung out a lot, and well, he just kind of became my big brother.

Some of my best memories growing up ... and really, in my whole life ... have had him in 'em. This picture was taken at Adam's apartment in Cincinnati. I went with him and his family to help him move to Cincinnati 'cause he was going to radio broadcasting school for a year and a half or so. It was such a great day. I rode between Uncle Mike and Jen in the big, moving truck, and we talked and laughed and probably sang the whole way there. Once we got there, we moved all of Adam's stuff in ... he was so excited. And I remember sitting on Adam's bed bummin' out 'cause he wasn't gonna be around for a long time. When this picture was taken, he had walked into his room to talk to me ... "So whatta ya think, Mike?" ... And I remember I had written him a long, sappy letter telling him how much I was gonna miss him ... and I probably gave him a million Bible verses to read. I was a nut. I tried to slip it under his mouse pad by his computer, so he could find it later and read it once we were gone. But he found it while we were still there, and I was embarrassed. ... After we got him all moved in and helped him set up his place, we all went out to dinner ... at Ponderosa, maybe? Some buffet, I remember. And then Adam headed to his apartment, and we all headed home.

I remember feeling so privileged and special to go with them that day. I simply adored Adam. I still do - can you tell? :) Here I was ... not even apart of his family ... everyone else was ... and I got to go too. And ya know, it's been amazing ever since. I've been close with all those guys - Adam and Jon and Jason and Jarrod, Uncle Mike and Jen ... a lot of their family for a lot of years. I couldn't be more thankful to know the Cooks and the Adamsons. They are such a great family, and I'm, in some ways, apart of their family ... well, at least ... a girl can dream, can't she? :) I love those guys!

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 4

Well, it's been quite a while since I started my 30-day photo challenge. Got a bit sidetracked - as usual. But here I go again.
So ... I think I'm on day 4 ...

Day 4: A picture of your favorite day

My favorite day is any time I hang out with my teenagers. They are, without a doubt, the joy of my life ... closely followed by dance. But my teens definitely win! :)

In this picture, we had just finished putting on an entire evening of skits, music, and serving spaghetti and salads and garlic bread for our big-time fundraiser. We were headed to Cottage Cove (our summer mission trip in 2010), and this "dinner and a show" fundraiser was one of the most involved SoZo events in years. We practiced and planned for weeks and weeks, and it was a huge success.

It was so amazing spending this kind of time with the teens. I really got to see more into their personalities, saw more of their talents, and just became even more proud than I already was. ... It is such a gift working in youth ministry. I am totally in love with my kids, so my best days are spent loving them and being loved on by them.

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 3

Day 3: A picture of the cast of your favorite show

Yay Chuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really like the tv show Chuck. The best tv show ever, in my opinion. :) Comedy. Romance. Action. Really cute lead guy. It doesn't get any better. :D

I heart this show :)

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 2

Day 2: A picture of the person you've been friends with the longest

Maggie Elizabeth Monahan Wade :)

Yep. Mags has been my best friend since the 1st grade. And I can honestly say that we've been not just friends, but close friends, all of those years. Isn't that awesome?? :) Not many people have close friends for 18+ years. Gosh, I am blessed!

Maggie is simply wonderful. She's kind and tons of fun ... loves watching cheesy love-triangle movies and tv shows (something we've grown to appreciate together too!) ... has a love for ice cream and swimming - we've had lots of good memories with these two treats. And she's been such a great friend to me over the years. I even got to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! But I think my favorite thing about Mags is her quiet and gentle spirit. I've always wanted to be more like her when it comes to being ... well, quiet and gentle. She's so together. She makes good decisions. And all in her "Maggie way": quietly and gently. She doesn't get too bent out of shape about much of anything. She doesn't lash out at people or have many soap boxes. She's pretty laid back and even-keel ... such great qualities ... qualities I've always desired, especially when I see them in her.

Maggie Wade ... my longest, loveliest friend :)

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 1

My next blog project is the 30-day photo challenge :)

30-Day Photo Challenge Day 1: A picture of yourself and 10 facts

#1: I'm one of the biggest goofballs I know
#2: I am the dancin' queen ... especially ballroom - woot, woot! :D
#3: I am a youth pastor, and I LOVE my teenagers!!!
#4: I am addicted to sweet tea :)
#5: Texas Roadhouse is my favorite restaurant ... closely followed by The Porch
#6: I am one of the biggest saps you'll ever meet - a hopeless romantic, indeed.
#7: I love crocs!
#8: I'm a huge Southern Gospel fan ... especially, The Gaither Vocal Band :D
#9: I wear all of my emotions on my sleeve
#10: I really wanna travel to New Zealand someday!

"Kind words; Kind actions"

1 Peter 3:8-17

Wow. This is some good stuff right here. Go get your Bible, and read this passage.

God's been convicting me lately ... concerning a cheesy, little motto I use in SoZo all the time: "Kind words; Kind actions." Haha! I love this! I don't know what happened that made me think this up ... but I started saying it a couple years back, and it stuck. And I say it to the SoZo-ers all the time when they are being somewhat less than kind. It's a youth group motto of ours. And I've claimed it for myself too - at least in words. I found out recently that I only claimed it in words. ... Did you know that "Kind words; Kind actions" is not only a rule when you're with people, talking with them, interacting with them, and so on, but it's also a rule when you're not with them?

That's what God's been convicting me about. And 1 Peter 3:8-17 is more conviction. I've been struggling at The Porch lately. I've had some pretty demanding customers to wait on in the past few weeks. They cop a "tude" and ask for a million different things - most of them ridiculous. They are impatient and inconsiderate. Man, it's been driving me crazy. And I've been unkind, to say the least. I walk back into the kitchen to give my mom the order, and I'm complaining and saying mean things about them. Unkind. I cop a "tude" about them. Unkind. I talk about their shinanigans to my co-workers, Rene and Saya. Unkind. I've also been unkind in my heart about one of the instructors at Arthur Murray. I don't think he should be instructing ... much less trying to teach me to dance ... because he doesn't have much dance experience, can't keep a beat, and doesn't lead the steps right. So I've complained to my mom and to myself and to God about him many times. I need to be more patient ... more kind to him, even when he's not listening.

I've bought a few "signs" recently - at the Christian bookstore and Hobby Lobby - about kindness. "Kindness Matters" ... "Do the kindest things in the kindest ways" ... etc. And I'm reminded that I haven't been kind. ... It sounds like such a simple thing ... and to many people, maybe it doesn't sound very important, but kindness IS important. SO important. Not only 'cause it helps people like you and gives you a better reputation but because God wants us to be kind. Kindness is a fruit of the spirit. And 1 Peter 3:8-17 talks about it too. Well, it talks about "doing good" ... which means being kind.

"Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it."
1 Peter 3:10-11

And verse 14 is incredible ...
"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?"

Doesn't that just hit you up side the head??
Mical, if you are passionate about being kind, then how can any one person's antics get to you?

We are called to be kind. Period.
So that's what I'm going to do.

Dear Emily #3

Dear Emily,

Thanks for your text earlier today! Looovveee those! :D The timing was interesting. I was just pulling into the hospital for the second time. No worries. Nothing too serious. But I haven't told you that I have an enlarged thyroid. Not sure what that means yet, but it's the reason for a lot of junk that's popped up in my life over the past 6-8 months. I just haven't been me. I've been depressed and moody ... grouchy ... negative ... insecure and lonely. So many crazy emotions that I haven't been able to handle. My hormones have been out of whack, and I've just been a big mess. I knew something was wrong because it was so out of character for me ... but I didn't know why or how to look for the reasons why. I went to the doctor for a physical last Monday, and I told him about my symptoms - depression, shaking, stomach aches, headaches, PMS symptoms 24/7, and so on. He told me my thyroid was too big, and so I was in Indy for most of the day today being tested. Haven't found out anything much yet. I'll keep you posted. ... But gosh, I am just so thankful to know that there is a root to my struggles over the past several months. I was about to go insane - really. I just wanna be ME again. Mical Masterson - she's a keeper ... when she's herself. :)

So thank you for your text ... and your prayers today. I'll update you when I have more news.
I miss you.
Love you,
Mical :)