Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

  I am so excited to share my new book with you!  It is available on Amazon now.  Read it and be blessed!  Here's the link:   Holy Habits Love, Elizabeth

You will eventually despise and resent religion.  Why?  Because no one can keep the ten commandments fully. No one can keep manmade laws perfectly.  Religion places an impossibly heavy burden on you that you cannot carry, so of course you give up!   That is why you need to discern between religion and having a relationship with Christ.  Never the twain shall meet. It's kind of hard to wrap your brain around because Christ is intertwined with Christianity, a religion. But Christ came to set the captives free.  Now mind you, He still would have us obey the law but He knows that we cannot in and of ourselves; not the way that we need to. He knows that we could never earn our salvation.  He is our Redeemer. If your pride dictates that you still try to be a "good" person, and do the "best" you can, good luck.  You may pull it off to a degree, even win the compliments of people, but it just won't cut it on Judgment Day! We. All. Need.  A.  Savior.  Jesus is the on

Rules and regulations leave me cold.  They are there for our good, as boundaries to protect us.  But they are lifeless.  Jesus is alive.  God walked this earth.  Jesus conquered death once and for all by rising from the dead.  He never died and neither will we.  We will live forever in either heaven or hell.  This is God's design. We can know God here and now!  We don't have to wait until heaven! He has given us His Word, the Scriptures, wherein He reveals Himself to us.  He has blessed us with His Holy Spirit so that we may understand the Scriptures.   God wants us!   God wants an intimate, personal relationship with each and every one of us. We were born to be in relationship with Him.  This is our highest and truest purpose. We were born for relationships with people, yes.  But our ultimate relationship is with the Lord Jesus Christ. Why would anyone deify rules and regulations - get their identity or satisfaction in them - when we can have a living, vital relationship with

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay,  My, oh, my, what a wonderful day, Plenty of sunshine headin' my way." If you've lived any length of time, you have figured out by now that all the aphorisms in the world are powerless to really help or change you from the inside out.  It's like putting on a brand new outfit.  It may make you "feel" better for a while because you look better on the outside.  But on the inside, you're still you.   Perhaps past hurts still haunt you.  Perhaps you are addicted to worrying.  Perhaps you've read all the "self-help" books and still, you come up empty. Why can't we just muster ourselves into a better self?  Because that is not how any of us are designed. We are designed for a personal, intimate relationship with our Creator.  And, alleluia, this is possible through Jesus Christ.  We can now come close to God because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross