Mismatched Friends

The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) John 4:9

“Hi, I’m Sonya.”  The words were simple enough.  But my life changed because of them.

At first glance, my friend Sonya and I don’t have much in common.  It wasn’t always that way.  When we first met that day when she took the time to talk to me, we both worked for the same Fortune 500 company.  Neither of us had children.  We became fast friends and had lunch together every day.  We volunteered together through a local women’s club, and socialized weekends with our husbands.  We were inseparable.

Before too long, Sonya had her first child.  Then she had her second.  By the time I had my first, she quickly followed with numbers three, four and five!  Finally I had my second, and a year later she had her sixth. 

Our parenting styles are very different.  She has six children, and I am content with two.  She homeschools, while I send my children to school.  She cooks organic, and bakes her own bread.  I cook occasionally, and frequent the McDonald’s drive thru. 

Would we have dismissed each other as “too different” to be friends if we had met as moms instead of co-workers? What would I have missed out on if we had? 

Sonya is the person who introduced me to Jesus, not just as a Savior, but as someone I could have a relationship with.  She was there for me to help me get through difficult times with my alcoholic mother, and encourage me through years of infertility.  I was there to support her through tough days of mothering six kids, and when her dad died unexpectedly.

I’m glad that we met before we were mothers, because I’m not sure I was confident enough in my own season of mothering a small child to be friends with someone who parented so differently. 

What boundaries do we set up in life that exclude people who are different than us? Jesus showed us an example of inclusion when he spoke to the woman at the well.  She was a Samaritan woman.  Jews, like Jesus, didn’t associate with Samaritans.  But Jesus not only spoke to her, but offered her eternal life, and revealed himself as the Savior of the world.

Because Jesus spoke to her, many of the Samaritans from her town came to believe, simply because of her testimony.  Her life was changed forever because he took time to talk to her. 

I’ve grown so much by experiencing life from Sonya’s point of view, and she has grown through mine.  We are different, but our love and respect for each other is the same.   Our friendship has lasted 18 years, and through many different seasons, and continues to grow.

Simply because Sonya took the time to talk to me my life was changed, for the better.  Simply because Jesus took the time to talk to the Samaritan woman her life was changed for the better.  Whose life can you change, simply by talking to and encouraging her today?  

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

The "Bad" People in Heaven

"Would you miss me if I die?" my eight year old asked me. I hated to consider the thought, but I encouraged her, "I would miss you forever. But I will probably die first. And we know we will see each other again, and be together forever in Heaven, so we don't have to miss each other anymore."

My daughter thought about that a bit, and then said, "But what if I'm bad? Then I won't go to heaven and we won't be together."  How do we all seem to default to that thinking? Bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. Is it true?

While I don't want my daughter to do "bad" things, I explained to her what I believe is the truth. God loves her. Jesus died for her, and as long as she confesses with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes in her heart that God raised him from the dead, she will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Yes, her faith needs to be a live changing faith. But she will sin! And that sin will not separate her from God or keep her from heaven. Praise God! 

I am sinner, and I have done lots of "bad" things. I am repentant, so to God those things are gone. But I still did them, and the world could say I am "bad." Therefore, I am so thankful that God allows bad people like me into heaven.

There is a flip side to this story, however. And that is that plenty of "good" people go to hell.  There is great sadness in this. Unless God shows them mercy, there are plenty of people in the world that do good things, are kind, giving and loving, but do not believe in Jesus, and according to the Bible no one can come to God, except through Jesus. 

There will be "bad" people who go to heaven, and "good" people who go to hell. We can't judge who is bad or good by the standards of the world or even the standards of the Bible. The measuring stick is Jesus: Who loves him, and want to change their life to obey his commands. 

Keep living a life changing faith, so that you can show people the way to Heaven. 

It isn't their behavior...it's their Savior.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Clean House or Clean Heart

My husband's cell phone rang on the way home from church. It was his son, calling to ask if he could come over...and oh, by the way, he was bringing his girlfriend whom we hadn't met.  Immediately my mind went to the breakfast dishes piled in the kitchen sink. The family room was likely a mess too. We'd had a busy weekend, and I hadn't cleaned up the house.

As we got home from church, I rushed around wildly cleaning. As I went from room to room, picking up things and putting them away, loading the dishwasher, dusting, vacuuming, I became more and more annoyed. Everyone could see how hard I was working but no one was offering to help. Finally I finished, exhausted and irritated.

I went upstairs to change out of my church clothes. The irritation still raging, I decided I needed to pray. My house was clean, but my heart was dirty.  I sat down and began praying. Quickly God showed me the heart issue going on inside me. The reason I was the only one cleaning wildly is because I was the one who cared if the house was clean.  I was the one worried about being judged for a messy home.

Measuring my worth by the wrong standard...again! When will I learn? God gently whispered to my soul that I am His dearly beloved. That my worth came from Him alone, not from how clean my house is. I felt the anxiety leave my body. I was still God's beloved. I belong to Him. Why do I continue to need to be reminded?

"Tell me once again, who I am in you...who I am in you. Tell me, lest I forget, who I am in you, I belong to you."  - Jason Gray, Remind Me Who I Am

I am thankful for a God who continues to remind me of my worth in Him.

What do you do to keep reminding yourself that you belong to God?

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday! I am not one of those folks who ignores their birthday or are shy about their age. I love my birthday! But I can finally say it isn't as important to me as it used to be.

Growing up feeling worthless, I struggled to find worth. Often times I based my worth on other people's opinions and statements about me. A "good job" meant I had worth. However, a rejection - no matter how small, confirmed my worthlessness.  My birthday was just another day to measure my worth.  If people remembered my birthday and wished me well - I had worth.  If my birthday was forgotten - I was worthless.

I praise God that he has helped me find my worth in him alone! I am a daughter of the king. I will make mistakes. I will not be liked by everyone. I don't have to the best at anything. I can just be me, and be made complete by the Holy Spirit in me. 

So today is my birthday. But I don't need you to wish me a Happy Birthday to make my day complete. It is already complete by the one who knit me in my mother's womb, who sent his Son to die for me, and who loves me because of who HE is, not because of who I am.

Do you realize your worth as a child of God? Embrace your worth in him, regardless of your achievements or failures.  And wish me a "happy birthday" if you want to.  But if you don't, I 'm okay with that. 

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

When God Tells You Something Different Than Her

I put down the book, disappointed. One of my favorite Christian inspirational writers, the woman who was the reason I became inspired to write myself, had a new book out, and I didn't like the book. I couldn't believe what she was saying that God told her, because it was so opposite of what he was telling me.  Was I wrong?  Was she?

I thought back to past things she'd written and said.  In the past God had told her to give up television, now she was giving up sugar. How could he be telling her to give up things, when he was telling me of my freedom in him. How could he tell her to give up certain food, when he was reminding me that what I put into my body doesn't matter, it's what comes out of my heart and mouth that could be sinful. 

As I continued to search the Bible, and prayed, I realized something wonderful. We could both be right. The Word of God is living and active, and it speaks to us exactly what we need to hear. It would seem that her struggle must be self-control, and so God is training her to be self controlled by having her give up things for him. 

Me? My struggle is legalism and accepting grace. So God was training me to be free, not in bondage to "do" things for him, but to just accept his love and forgiveness.  God wanted me to stop living a life of man-made schedules and man-made rules, and accept the grace he gave me, the grace that I don't have to earn.

I love that God speaks to each of us individually, giving us exactly what we need. When you read a teacher's writings, it is your job to weigh their words prayerfully to decide if what they are saying is for you or just for them. Just because God calls one person to something, he may not be calling all to it. This is also seen in the fact that he gives each of us different gifts.

Yes, there are universal commands for all of us. And if anyone believes that God is telling them something that is opposite of Bible teaching, they are wrong. However, God works on each of us in different areas at different times. He may be telling one person to "Go" at the same time he tells someone else to "Be still." Both are Biblical commands. Which is God saying to you?

It is important to listen to good teachers, but it is more important to listen to God. What is He calling you to do? 

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Keeping Focus

This past weekend we celebrated my daughter's birthday with an American Girl party. As one of the favors, I crafted flip flops for all the dolls. Because I am "craft challenged" I was proud of my hard work, and I tweeted and Facebooked a photo of the craft.

Soon enough I had several people asking me how to make the flip flops. Because I needed more than 120 characters (the tweet limit) for the description, I decided to write a blog post outlining the steps, and then tweet the link.  You can read that post here, http://www.chattykelly.com/2012/03/american-girl-flip-flops.html

Imagine my surprise, when I reviewed my blog statistics, to find that the Flip Flop post was the 2nd highest read post in the past 30 days.  Truthfully, I was frustrated. Maybe I should just write a craft blog?!?!

There are 2 problems with that thought.  The first, of course, is that I don't like crafting, so it would be a pretty short lived blog. The second problem, is that writing a craft blog isn't my calling.  Writing a devotional blog is.

The temptation is to follow the crowd, to be popular, to want the big numbers.  Jesus warned us of this philosophy when he said, "Enter through the narrow gate." (Matt 7:13).  He continued, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

Don't leave me comments telling me that crafting blogs are okay, because I know.  Whatever God is calling you to do, whatever your God given gift is, that is what you should be doing. And if crafting is it for you, keep focused!

But for me, I have to remain focused on writing for Him.  Jesus concluded his comments above by saying, "Small is the gate, and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Only a few may read my blog. But I pray that here, they find life. 

Have you ever been tempted to go through the wide gate to gain popularity or status?

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Living a Life Changing Faith

Are you living a life changing faith? I remember nearly 20 years ago when I began working at a new job.  Another employee came and greeted me, welcoming me to the company, and offering her help if I needed anything.  Looking back in this company of thousands, I don't know why she offered her help that day. 

But she continued to come around and befriend me. Soon we were having lunch together regularly, and she shared with me her faith. Her faith was so different than mine.  I wanted to be like her.  I soon learned that while I knew of God, I didn't know God.  And that was the difference.

I continued to want to be like my frined, until one day I discovered it wasn't her I was seeing. It was Jesus in her! And that is who I wanted to be like. Not her, but Jesus. Her faith was life changing, not only in her life, but in mine because it helped me to come to know Jesus.

Are you living a life changing faith? I pray that I am! I want people to see Jesus in me, and to want what I have in that relationship. I want my life to look different from those who don't know Jesus. I want my life to be changed, but I want other's lives to be changed because of my faith.

Are you living a life changing faith, for yourself and for others?

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com