Live with Less to Enjoy More

I got this in an email from a friend. I think my Harper Joy is a great start on this journey!

Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Jill Savage and Mark Savage's book, Living with Less So Your Family Has More: Redefining Your Priorities to Put Your Family First, (Guideposts, 2010).

Our culture constantly says that you need more in your life: a bigger house, a newer car, better clothes, more activities. But none of that reflects what God says is most important: healthy relationships. Pursuing what truly matters requires living with less - not more - so you'll be free to grow closer to God and other people.

Here's how you can live with less of what our culture says you should want so you can live with more of what God says is important:
Pray. Ask God to give both you and your spouse a unified vision for how God would like your family's lifestyle to be. Open your minds to new, countercultural ways of thinking.
Define "less." You can focus on intentionally downsizing three parts of your life: money (choosing to earn and spend less money to free up more of your time), stress (refusing to give into the pressure to achieve what our culture deems success while aiming simply to be faithful to God), and activities (creating healthy boundaries to prevent your schedule from becoming overloaded with too much to do).
Define "more." List the specific benefits your family can gain if you all choose to live with less. Those benefits can include: more availability, more peace, more patience, more kindness, more joy, better health, more organization, more energy and intentionality for parenting and also for focusing on marriage, more attentiveness, more time, and more margin to allow for spontaneously interacting with your family members.
Check your speed. Ask yourself some key questions to determine whether or not the pace of your life is too fast right now. How often does your family eat dinner together? How much time do you spend with God in prayer, actively playing with your children, going on dates with your spouse, exercising, investing in friendships, pursuing hobbies, and doing volunteer work? Slow down enough to enjoy what matters most in life - relationships.
Live by convictions rather than responding to pressures. Seek God's guidance every day about the decisions you face, and ask Him to empower you to make the right choices instead of giving into cultural pressures to choose something that doesn't reflect God's values. Read the Bible often, listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to you, participate in a church community where you and others can encourage each other to live in counterculture ways, and invite God to convict you of sin in your life so you can confess it, repent from it, and receive God's forgiveness and strength to grow.
Find contentment. Overcome envy, jealousy, or covetousness by confessing these sinful attitudes to God and asking Him to forgive you and help you be content in whatever circumstances you encounter. When you're tempted by a desire for something you don't have, ask God to remind you of what you already do have, and thank Him for that.
Make constructive sacrifices, but avoid destructive ones. Making certain types of sacrifices can benefit your family by freeing up more time for them. These include: comfort, sleep, hobbies, entertainment or recreational activities, and career pursuits. However, be sure not to ever sacrifice your relationship with God, your marriage, or your identity, because doing so would harm your family.
Pursue simplicity. Realize that living simply isn't about deprivation; instead, it's about determining what's truly important and discarding the rest from your life. Pursue inward simplicity by examining your heart often and keeping it fully focused on God. Pursue outward simplicity by expressing your values through your lifestyle decisions, such as: buying items for their usefulness rather than for their status, rejecting anything that's addictive to you, making a habit of giving things away, refusing to believe that you need the newest and the best, learning to enjoy things without owning them, developing a deeper appreciation for creation, resisting "buy now, pay later" schemes, speaking plainly and honestly, rejecting anything that oppresses others, and turning away from anything that distracts you from seeking God's kingdom first in life.
Live frugally. Ask God to help you appreciate all you currently have. Make time to research your potential purchases before buying. Organize discount coupons and other information that can help you save money on goods and services. Swap services with other people, exchanging something you can do for them for something they can do for you so that none of you has to spend money. Ask yourself whether or not you really need something you're considering buying, and whether or not there is any other option. Manage your existing stuff well so you know what you have and where it is. Evaluate what you consider necessities to see if some might really be luxuries. Generate new ideas for family fun rather than just accepting the culture's idea that you have to engage in expensive activities to have fun.
Trust God. Instead of worrying about being able to live within your financial means, pray about each of your specific concerns and trust God to help you. Expect God to provide everything you need, sometimes in surprising ways.
Find support in community. Find other like-minded families at church, in your neighborhood, online, or elsewhere and encourage each other to live with less.
Set a budget and stick to it. Create a family spending plan, discuss money issues with your spouse weekly, and help each other establish and maintain wise spending habits. Work together to find strategies to keep your family's spending under control for groceries, clothing, housing, transportation, holidays (like Christmas gifts), vacations, and your kids' college educations. Reevaluate your budget at least once a year so it can change as your life changes.
Save and invest. Save money for large purchases (such as replacing a car), irregular expenses (such as home repairs), and emergencies (such as medical bills from an accidental injury). Make sure your family has health insurance, property insurance, life insurance, and disability insurance. Invest in places such as mutual funds and money-market funds.
Make money doing what you love. Don't waste your time doing jobs that aren't right for you. Instead of settling for work you don't enjoy or do well, ask God to help you find the right kind of work - and to do it in ways that won't pull you away from your family too much. Consider starting a home business to give yourself a flexible work schedule.

Tiny House Quotes

Dear House,

Your really very small,

just enough for love,

that's all!

Have nothing in your home that you don't know to be useful,

or believe to be beautiful! ~William Morris

And especially for my Harper Joy, true both literally and figuratively:

This home was built with faith, family, and friends!

Life Lessons

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer- Cleveland, OHTo celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we’d grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Middle Wife

By an anonymous Second Grade Teacher:
I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in t o school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.' She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement. 'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.) 'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.) 'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

For dog owners...

FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE OWNING A DOG

First of all, it's a big responsibility, especially in a city like New York.
So think long and hard before deciding on love.

On the other hand, love gives you a sense of security:
when you're walking down the street late at night
and you have a leash on love, ain't no one going to mess with you.
Because crooks and muggers think love is unpredictable.
Who knows what love could do in its own defense?

On cold winter nights, love is warm.
It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises.
Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs.
It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy.

Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.

Is love good all the time? No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love.
Love makes messes. Love leaves you little surprises here and there.
Love needs lots of cleaning up after. Sometimes you just want to get love fixed.
Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper and swat love on the nose,
not so much to cause pain, just to let love know 'Don't you ever do that again!'

Sometimes love just wants to go for a nice long walk.
Because love loves exercise. It runs you around the block and leaves you panting.
It pulls you in several different directions at once,
or winds around and around you until you're all wound up and can't move.

But love makes you meet people wherever you go.
People who have nothing in common but love, stop and talk to each other on the street.
Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again.
But most of all, love needs love, lots of it.

And in return, love loves you and never stops.
~Unknown

Oh, Puppy love! If you have ever had a dog, or fallen in love, this is so true. I can't seem to keep either, a dog or love...but I have experienced both! (Thinking of you Tray. Love ya)

Men and Women who Mocked God

Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death! It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7): “Be not deceived; God is not mocked for whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap.” Here are some men and women who mocked God:

John Lennon: Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was OK, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him" (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During a show in Rio de Janeiro, while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you.'" He died at the age of 32 ,of LUNG CANCER, in a horrible manner.

After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked the man who built the Titanic how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: 'Not even God can sink it'. The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.

Marilyn Monroe was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said 'I don't need your Jesus'. A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

Bon Scott (Singer), the ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: 'Don't stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell'. On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "My Daughter, Go with God and May He Protect You." She responded: 'Only If He (God) travels in the trunk, cause inside here.....it's already full". Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact. The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none was broken.

Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

~Unknown~

EVERY WOMAN by Maya Angelou

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
enough money within her control to move out and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a youth she’s content to leave behind
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to retelling it in her old age
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who always makes her laugh, and one who lets her cry
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
a feeling of control over her destiny
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder and when to walk away
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can’t change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect, but its over
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone, even if she doesn’t like it
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
whom she can trust, whom she can’t, and why she shouldn’t take it personally
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go, be it to her best friend’s kitchen table or a charming inn in the woods, when her soul needs soothing
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day, a month, and a year.

My Vow to Myself

I vow to honor and value myself for all that I have inside.
Be happy and comfortable and know I am valuable to the world.
Be true to my heart and soul.
Be humbled by God’s plan for my life.

Silence the voices around me and live to honor Him.

I vow to keep life in perspective.
Be grateful for the small miracles of each day and thank Him for them.
Be a positive person but know that life is not always perfect.
Accept that which cannot be changed with grace.
Smile a lot. Never be afraid to be "me".
Be silly and sweet, sexy and innocent, shy and outgoing - all at once.
Never lose sight of the most important things in life ~ faith, family and friendship.
Always possess those most important qualities of honesty and sincerity.
Be loving, giving, trusting, and open. Always appreciate my friends and family

and the love they have brought to my life.

I vow to be selfless, kind, forgiving, generous, and nurturing
But strong enough to not be taken advantage of.
Have the strength to make my own decisions.
Know that I have done the best that I could in the moment.
Not judge myself for the decisions I made in the past.

I vow to not lose sight of the strong woman I have become.
Remember how much I have grown and how far I have come.
Remember although I must accept what I cannot control,
I must seize that which I can.

Remember that although I have learned to live alone and be happy,
It does not make me weak to want to share a bond with someone else,

But only a person who has much to give and share.

I vow to live my life to the fullest. To cherish this life I have been given.

Continue to live with no regrets and be the kind of person that I am proud of.
Truly LIVE life and be content with what I have experienced,

what I have felt, and the love that I have shared.
To know that wherever I go,
I can and will leave behind a mark in the hearts of others.

This is my vow.

~Unknown, but edited by me~

Obituary for the late Mr. Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and Maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned, but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year -old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer first aid cream, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student. Common Sense lost the will to live as churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

"Why aren't you married?" and "How come you don't have kids?"

Matthew has asked me these questions repeatedly since I have been here. I'm not sure yet if he wishes I did so that I'd have some other kids to feed healthy food to, or if he really just wants me to be paired off. At first he offered his father up, but quickly did a take back because his dad is his and Aliya's father. Right, not to mention he already has a wife which takes him off the market, but I'm glad we got that settled! Then he called my niece and nephews my kids for a few days. "Do your kids have hot wheels cars? Do you take your kids apple picking?" I explained that I was only their aunt and that those children in the pictures have a mommy and daddy. So this week he asked me again, as if the answer is going to change right?!
So it came to me that I don't have a husband because there isn't a man with just the right combination of my father, my brother-in-laws, and some of my male friends, YET. My mother has always said that I see the world through rose colored glasses, so this ones for you Mom. My knight in shining armor is still a boy in aluminum foil. He is still learning the tricks of the trade, and when he grows into a man and earns his knighthood, I'm sure he'll be right along to join me and we'll compliment each other nicely :)

I do know one thing though...
"A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man must seek him in order to find her."

I'm not in a hurry, I don't have too high of expectations, and quite frankly, I am OK being single. I need a blanket statement for the children in my life though. They seem to be the only ones concerned!

It costs WHAT??

I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice. The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year
* $741.38 a month
* $171.08 a week
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite. So, what do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint
* carve pumpkins
* play hide-and-seek
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh
* watching Saturday morning cartoons
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
*retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of hair, and coaching a netball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream or pizza regardless.

You get a front row seat to history, to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits. So, one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!

What's the good of news if you haven't a sister to share it?

~My Sisters~
Our roots say we're Sisters, our hearts say we're friends!
~Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.
~She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child. ~Barbara Alpert
~It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on! ~Author Unknown
~When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us? ~Pam Brown
~A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life. ~Isadora James
~Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling. ~Pam Brown

These quotes don't even begin to scratch the surface. I can't find words to describe the thoughts and feelings I have about being blessed with four wonderful women I not only call my sisters, but my very best friends! I love you Tanya Lou, Tracy Lynn, Tricia Lee, and Trina Lise! We'll always be identified as one of the Downing five T's, and I couldn't be happier to belong to such a group of beautiful (inside and out) strong, smart, and simply the best sisters in the world!

Love Tarsha Leslie

Something to ponder...

I saw this quote as a memorial to a man who passed away to early and it was said he mirrored his life by it.

"I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it to future generations." ~George Benard Shaw

Christians by Maya Angelou

When I say... "I am a Christian" I’m not shouting "I’m clean livin’"
I’m whispering "I was lost, Now I’m found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian" I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I’m not claiming to be perfect.
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian" I’m not holier than thou.
I’m just a simple sinner Who received God’s good grace, somehow!