A Bowl Full of Cherries Christian

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20-21

There was a recent tornado in our general area. Friends and relatives will ask how we fared after the tornado. I tell them that my family and I weren't harmed and we're truly blessed and we are. The thing I was wondering, does having a tornado hit you mean that you weren't blessed?

I guess this speaks more of our perception of God only taking care of us when everything goes perfectly in our lives with no mishaps, illness, death, loss of jobs, etc. Now, is this even realistic? Not really! Mishaps, illness, death, and loss of jobs happen to Christians. So, does that mean that Christ has turned His back on us when these things happen? No, heaven forbid! He is always there despite all the things positive and negative that happen in our lives.

I think that part of my problem lies in my perception of being blessed. I thought that when I was finally thin, I would be blessed and the sun will shine every day, so-to-speak. What I found out was that Christ was with me even when I was heavy, didn't have a job, and didn't have the possessions. He loves us through thick and thin. I guess I had become a Bowl Full of Cherries Christian, thinking Christ was only with me when things were good. I have to focus on the true treasures in heaven and not worldly ones. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:20-21

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Forgetful Christian

Luke 17: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 

I don't know about you, but this has always been a difficult thing for me to do. I still remember the person who said that I didn't look pregnant when I was near my delivery date. For some, that might have felt like a compliment. For me, it felt like she was saying that I just looked heavy like usual (I hate using the F_ _ word). It hurt my self-esteem so much!

I remember being left off of teams, was the last one to be selected, and left out of groups.  I used to feel there was something wrong with me, like I had done something wrong to have people ignore me or neglect my feelings and opinions. It wasn't until much later, I realized it was because I was heavy all that time. It probably wasn't until I had lost all the weight and started finding that people included me in things, asked my opinions, and acted like they mattered. I had to do a lot of prayerful soul searching to figure it out, but realized the weight loss made a difference in peoples interactions with me. Once I realized this, I was angry with those people who now paid attention to me and treated me nicely when they ignored me before.

This Bible Passage reminds me that I need to be a Forgetful Christian, forgetting and letting go of past experiences and forgiving others regardless of what they did or didn't do, the same way that Christ forgives me. Luke 17: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.  

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Better Late Than Never Christians

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25

I think there are some who look down their nose at those who are living their lives as Christians. I think there are some who feel those people aren't worth the effort to share their faith with them. The thing is, Christ didn't turn His back on us and wouldn't want us to turn our backs on anyone else.

Christ didn't give up on me when I was turning to food instead of turning to Him. He didn't give up one me when I was letting food interfere in my relationships with with family friends and my self-esteem, not to mention my relationship with Him. He was there with me through thick and thin and He wouldn't want any less of us.

So, if God wants these who appear to be lost souls to turn to Him as their Savior, how is that going to happen if we all turn our backs on those who are not focused on Christ? He have to make the effort to share our faith with others, even when we feel it may not be productive. Christ wants Better Late Than Never Christians, because is the Shepherd of us all. We need to give up on being judgmental and be open to giving freely of our faith. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25


Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

Tally Chart Christian

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Proverbs 18: 13

There was a time before I started reading the Bible daily where I thought I had to have all the answers. When I started reading the Bible from the beginning over 30 years ago, many major changes happened in my life. One was that I found out what really was in the Bible and many things that weren't, that I had heard quoted from the Bible for many years.


Another thing was that I had this sense of calm that has made a MAJOR difference in my life!!! It's to the point that I try not to allow anything to interfere with my "Quiet Time With God" each morning, when I say my prayers and read chapters in the Bible. There have been some times where I had been unable to read the Bible and would later end up questioning myself about why I was so edgy or intense about situations. My reading the Bible allows me to have inner peace that sets the tone for my day. I don't need Yoga or any Middle Eastern forms of meditation to calm me. My daily prayers and reading the Bible do that and then some.


Reading the Bible on a daily basis affects almost every aspect of my life. Not only am I calmer, but I don't worry as much, because I have read how the Good Lord has taken care of His followers over the years, despite those who wanted to harm them. When I read the Bible daily, I no longer want to be a Tally Chart Christian, keeping a mental count of all of the things people have done to upset me, over the years, because the Good Lord forgives me on a daily basis. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. Proverbs 18: 13


Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.

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