My Confession (The Spring Cleaning of my Soul)

Have you ever had a friend take the fall for you? That happened to me. You see, I did some stupid stuff...but I had a friend of mine step up and pay the price...take my punishment. It wasn't just for one thing I did it was for all the wrong things I ever did, it was for all the wrong things I ever would do. 

The crazy part is that he was happy to do it... And the really crazy part is he said I didn't owe him anything. He said the whole point of him taking my punishment is so I wouldn't owe anybody anything and I could be free. 

Because I was so thankful, so moved by this grand gesture, I guess you could say I fell in love with him. After I started getting to know him I realized how incredible he really was. Not only had he done this for me but he had taken the punishment for many many others too...In fact he had done it for everybody. 

My heart really started to break when I realized how many of these people didn't care about what he had done for them... So many extremely intelligent, exceedingly kind people simply weren't taking the time to find out if what he did is true or not. Some people even kind of understand it but deny that it ever happened or deny that it applies to them. It hurts me for him but it scares me for them. 

Turns out even though he paid the price for every body, if you don't accept his sacrifice, if you don't allow his payment to count for you...you still have to pay your own debt again. 

I thank God every day that I somehow figured it out and was able to allow him to pay my debt for me. I just wanted to confess that this happened and let everybody know that I'm a sinner and since "The wages of sin is death" I was suppose to be punished for eternity because of my defiance, but my friend Jesus allowed himself to be wrongly accused for all MY SINS (and yours) and was beaten, and  pierced, and mocked, and killed by crucifixion...all for me (AND YOU!) but you will not believe what happened next! 

It turns out that my friend Jesus is actually the son of God and not only did he die for me but he was able to conquer that death and rise again because, well he is a part of God who created the whole idea of life and death so of course he is master of it.

Today, on Good Friday we think about the sacrifice he made, and the fact that he was perfect but took on everyone else's punishment. On Easter Day, we celebrate that he's bigger than life and death... That he conquered the grave…he is bigger than crime and punishment...he is bigger than sin and pain and guilt and really anything this life on earth has to offer. 

If you want his punishment to count for you, all you have to do is ask him. Just close your eyes and tell him you know you're a sinner and that you know he's the son of God...that you know he paid your debt for you and that you accept...and that you want him to come into your heart. 

It really is that simple. Happy Easter. -Katrina Harman Roper 

Intentional Relationships

There should never be any action committed or word spoken that you cannot justify Biblically.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the stregnth of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

As our pastor encourages me from the pulpit and his wife via text daily, I have decided to live intentionally. Although most do not speak with their pastor’s wife daily, I have been very blessed that she has offered to keep me accountable during this time of intentional living. Much like my police husband has done for many years with many individuals seeking to better their lives, I speak with her briefly on a daily basis to focus myself on doing things daily that are worth doing. I suppose step one for living intentionally is to become accountable.

This concept is really less about efficiency in the beginning and more about being beneficial to the Kingdom and to those with whom God has entrusted you. When I learned to play softball as a tween, there was a lot to take in. Learning to swing a bat taught me a great deal about how seemingly simple tasks can be tremendously intricate when you begin to break them down. Everything seemed to matter when it came to my swing. My initial stance, hand eye coordination, how much I had practiced that week, who was there to see my play, my timing, the “breaking” of my wrist just as the ball hit the bat, even the state in which my legs were tangled after the swing factored in. There were seemingly thousands of movements in perfect order to be executed at the blink of an eye in order to ensure success. What is the secret? You guessed it… Practice!

Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. Clossians 3:23

The reason we are willing to put in the effort to get good at something is because we love and want it. Why else would we sacrifice time and comfort for it? The question today is… Are we sacrificing our time and comfort for the people we love and want?

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another. 1 Peter 4:8

I don’t have to remind you of the intense LOVE and WANT God has for you, nor do you need to be reminded of the gut wrenching scene in which Jesus stepped forward and was brutally crucified, in his innocence for the sins that YOU and I committed.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

With His impeccable sacrifice fresh in our minds, I offer these ideas to help you refocus on those with whom God has entrusted you.  As followers of Christ, we have relinquished the right to determine whom we will love, but this will help you focus in on deliberate relationships within your
home.
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who LOVE Him. 1 Cor. 2:9

I lack experience in the area of sibling relationships as I was an only child until I was 14. By that time, I was so tired of being alone that I saw my brothers as beautiful blessings, team members, allies, and we fought very little because of that. In an effort to be sure my son and daughter feel the same way about each other, we spent the day executing these activities…

1.       The following link will offer you the opportunity to take a test that explains each of Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages. As an intense supporter of this concept, I can tell you, it will change your life!!!

I had each of my children take the quiz of 20 questions and the results were displayed immediately.

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

2.       My children then took turns listing examples of actions, phrases, activities, experiences etc. that make them feel loved, while the other child took notes on a “Cheat sheet for how to treat my Sibling.”

3.       Once each child had looked over the “cheat sheet” for themselves and had given the “OK” on the items listed, we then took a moment to plan a surprise. For example, my daughter ended up having a very strong “Words of Affirmation” response so, I helped my son pick out a cute blank notecard from my collection and he wrote her a note thanking her and letting her know that he loved her. My son had a huge draw to “Quality Time” so my daughter planned a time where she would just play cars with him in his room, and show a cheerful spirit. 

This activity was a tremendous success!!! 

The concept of loving someone and having them miss out on feeling that love is just heartbreaking. The 5 Love Languages theory has taught our family how to “translate.” Because of this activity, I realized the intense value my son places on individual time with those he loves, and I can better understand how he can be negatively affected if a relationship with him is not valued in this fashion. Also, I would have never realized that doing the dishes and mowing the lawn meant that my husband was madly in love with me had I not read this book with him. I will now know that when my daughter is hurting a kind word and a Bible verse will do her more good than a hug. This is valuable information since when I am hurting, I just want to be held.  

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. Jeremiah 17:7

It will take time to learn how to translate the actions of the people who love you into a reminder that you are loved, and ultimately the FEELING of being loved. There are a great deal of intricacies associated with this idea, but knowing that you are heading toward a deeper understanding of how to meet the needs of those you love and feel them loving you on a much deeper level is exciting. I LOVE that idea, and I WANT to experience this! You won’t be tremendously efficient at first but the benefits are totally worth it and as I said before, practice makes perfect.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillippians 4:13 

Since we tend to love people the way we want to be loved, taking time to LEARN what THEY need, instead of giving whatever comes naturally is certainly a way to create a DELIBERATE RELATIONSHIP within your home.

Prayer: Dear Lord, Draw us into a closer relationship with you, that we may find favor with you. Let us grow daily into the men, women, and families of God that you would have us to be. We love You so dearly and own our every breath to You. Guide our hearts, words, actions, and decisions that they may bring honor and glory to You. Give us the hearts of servants as we seek to make diciples. Cleanse our spirits and our minds, in the holy and precious name of our savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Gonorrhea? Do you mean Glaucoma?

My dear friend, whom I met in college, sent me a message yesterday. As I read It, I began to realize how close we had remained in the 14 years since we met, and how our relationship had evolved. I suppose our first conversations included photography, copy writing, and event scheduling, as she was the editor of the publications for which I worked. As we became friends, we spoke of our families, goals, and ultimately began to seek council from each other as the need would arise. I remember getting a call from my dad’s mother, my “MamMa” and learning that she had developed glaucoma and would need treatment and a life-long prescription to combat this eye condition. I ran down the hall to my friend’s dorm room and asked for prayer, recanting the phone call in tears. I was so distraught that I miss-spoke and told my friend that my MamMa had just been diagnosed with “Gonorrhea. “ (A sexually transmitted disease that my widowed grandmother definitely did not have!) My blunder has been the source of much laughter since that time, not only for us, but for the hundreds of people my MamMa has told as she howled with laughter.

Our conversations have changed a great deal in fourteen years. I consulted her and asked for prayer as I began my now highly successful occupational safety consulting business, I was with her as she struggled with the specific needs of a dear  family member of hers, and we stood beside each other as we each took vows to honor  and cherish the men God called to be our husbands. She has even accompanied me on long trips for my company, making it a “Girls week” of fun and work. We worked hard that week to be sure that in fourteen more years, we would have the resources to bring our families along and not work at all, just enjoy the vacation. (Or maybe even skip town and the two of us get away from our families) Because she is a successful writer, she was able to work from her computer during our trip.

My friend is a complete genius and researches the latest information concerning all types of difficult to understand topics such as medical breakthroughs, environmental factors, and even lasers. Her job is to present these ideas in such a way that normal people like me have a prayer of understanding them. Although her research is mostly out of my field and much of it I can’t relate to, I tend to read her published work as much as I can. I figure, the more I read of it, the better I will understand her purpose, and that can only forge a stronger relationship.

Although the messages we exchanged yesterday were fairly dull and covered such topics as the status of her internet, this week’s deadline, and the fancy new coffee maker I had purchased for my husband’s birthday, I realized that my relationship with Jesus is much the same.

When I first met Him, I had to get to know Him. I trusted Him with my concerns and shared the many blessings of knowing His support and even His humor. Our relationship evolved until every day I could just simply begin a random conversation with Him or respond to something He was talking to me about… And just like with my friend, although much of His word has to be deciphered, it’s worth the read to enjoy a closer, more intimate picture of His purpose. He is the ultimate friend and councilor, and is available anytime, anywhere, and forever.  He is all knowing and all seeing yet he loves me as a daughter. I have the opportunity to speak with Him every day about ANYTHING my heart has to say even if it seems dull and unimportant…He will even listen about the coffee maker.

Today, God gives us peace as we pray for her journey into motherhood and direction as my children accept Christ and begin their own relationships with Him. I thank God for the blessing of communing with Him daily and for the blessing of my dear friend.

There are friends who are friends, and there is a friend that is closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Being Hated

I have never met Tim Tebow, but the media drama surrounding his behavior has prompted me to think about my own…

Recently I viewed a speech given by a Saline abortion survivor, Gianna Jessen, who miraculously was not burned, blinded, or killed during her own abortion. This woman, just seven and a half months after conception, was issued a certificate of live birth by an abortionist and was sent to a foster home. She was even returned by her first foster family, because they didn’t want her either. She is a bold Christian, giving God the glory for her life, and supplicating for the lives of others.  She spoke so candidly about how it felt to know you were hated from pre-birth. This concept has me riveted.

In our society, we are terrified to be he hated. We have an intense focus on how others view us. In fact, public speaking is the #1 fear of Americans. We are more afraid of peer judgment than death. What if, like Gianna Jessen, we welcomed the opportunity to be hated for what we believe in? What would that look like in your daily life? I think we can safely say that Martin Luther King was hated for what he believed in. How would our society be different if he had looked into his wife’s eyes and said, “I just want people to like me?”

I had the opportunity to catch up with a dear old friend last week. Being about 20 years older, she has known me since I was a child in her church family. She just beamed as she listened to my account of the academic success of my children and the marriage relationship my husband and I have built together. As I finished with the update she commented, “I am so proud of you, giving God all the glory for your successes.”

I wonder if a camera crew had been following me that day, and fellow Christians had seen and heard my account of how God had a hand in every good thing we experienced…Well, I wonder if they would have been praising God with me or would they have been embarrassed? Carlos Whittaker confessed in his blog that he had been embarrassed of Tim Tebow’s behavior, not because he thought it was displeasing to God, but because it might make himself look silly as a fellow believer. Wow, what a confession. What a revelation.

Do you know what would embarrass me? Having rocks cry out on my behalf, after all my Lord has done for me!

I should hope that I live my life in such a way that fellow believers are inspired, and that all non-believers would either come to know my Lord, or hate me for my boldness for my savior.

Whether a member of the body of Christ has the opportunity to envelop themselves in their prayer closet or display a bold love for You on American television, I pray that no opportunity for praise be missed. Dear God, Let NO rock cry out on our behalf!

If Mr. Tebow is insincere, he will be judged, but the fact that you aren’t the judge is a luxury, let it go.

Let go of your fear of what others think of you.  You cannot grow in conformity.  “Powerful people harass me without cause, but my heart trembles only at your word.” Psalms 119:161

Let go of your inhibitions. "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3. I’m thinking that doesn’t mean with our own agendas and parameters for praise.

Let go of your disbelief. God loves you so much, and no matter whom you are, where you have been, or what you have done, His sacrifice is more than enough to cover your sins and make you whole. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

May we see the praise and success of other Christians as inspiration, and not cause for embarrassment. "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 10:33

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 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

 “I tell you,” he replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:38-40

Merry Christmas 2011

There were many days when I had no idea how we would acquire our needs, but the Lord provided each and every time. He reminded me as I prayed, "Remember the flowers, how I provide nutrients, sunshine and love, remember the birds, how they scurry around collecting twigs that I lovingly placed for them to find. How much more do you think I love you?"

The truth is I never went hungry, while my cousin adopted a child who was blinded as a toddler due to lack of nutrition in her homeland. It has broken my heart many times to think of a mother giving up a child to save her life.

... I confess, I did worry for the needs of my family, but I also took all things to God in prayer and I was blessed with the opportunity to see what God will do, if you trust Him and seek His will. The more I sought to TRUST, the more JOY I found.

This Christmas I will purchase gifts with money I "earned" traveling and teaching, but the truth is, all good things come from God and are HIS provisions, whether they showed up as a check with your name on it for services rendered, or were delivered by a friend in your time of need. ALL good things come from God.

All God's blessings for this season of CHRIST. Merry Christmas, Katrina