Thorns

Lukewarm.

It's a word many if not most of us have heard at one point or another.

It's an adjective that describes the character of a person.

It has negative connotation.

And it has gotten to the point in which the adjective has so overtaken the noun (its subject) that it is literally chocking all faith from that individual.

The sad thing is that many are lukewarm, but don't know it.

Perhaps deep down they do.

Or perhaps they don't know what that word really even means?

A person can go to church, read the bible, pray occasionally, do good works and be Lukewarm.

Strange right?



In the Parable of the Sower that Jesus taught, he mentioned four kinds of soil. In this case I am addressing two: the thorny ground and the good soil.

But the difference between soil with weeds and soil that has no weeds is the heart of that soil, the heart of that individual.

If you had to lay everything down and walk away from it forever, would you?

What matters most to you? Who or what do you love most and can't live without? Where do you find your happiness, value, security, joy, hope?

The simple answer that every Christian (well, every person who calls themselves that) knows is Jesus.

But is Jesus your answer? Really and truly?

If your bank account was depleted and you didn't have a job anymore, would you still have peace? Joy? Faith? Hope?

Is your phone everything to you? Coffee? Friends? Family? Facebook? The internet? Sports? Movies? Celebrities? Politics? Career? School? Dreams of the future? That past hurt you can't let go of? Are any of those everything to you? What about your boyfriend? Girlfriend? Spouse? Child?

Are you everything to you? Looks? Food? Lust? Music? Your reputation? What you consider is your right to control?

If Jesus came to you and said you have to make a choice between all of that, your bubble, the world you've made around you, or HIM, who would you choose?

Who is your everything? Who is your smile? Who is your hope?

A Christian by definition is a Follower of Jesus Christ.

It is someone who has a personal relationship with Christ Jesus.

Jesus said,  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another." (John 15:12-17 ESV)



Indeed, faith is more than believing. It has life in it. At least it should if it is genuine.

But a plant being chocked by weeds struggles to live.

It can't do what it was meant to do.

It needs to be free to grow and bear fruit, produce, become more.



Lukewarm. A term that is heard of, but not always understood.

I was Lukewarm once. Then Jesus came with Authority, Love, Gentleness, Truth.

Who do you love? Who do you choose? Who do you love more, Jesus or everything else?

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeits his soul?" -Lord Jesus    Mark 8:36 ESV

Has the World gone mad? What's in my food?

Doughnuts, Potato Chips, French Fries, Fried anything, Fish, Organic, Non Organic, Reese's Peanut butter Cups, etc.

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!

Is it safe? What are we putting into our bodies? And what's the deal America?

Chemicals are everywhere, and not just under our bathroom sinks next to the toilet paper. How can we escape them?

Hydrogenated Oils

Food Coloring

Antifreeze in Bread?

Fake Sugar (I'm talking to you Stevia, Sucralose, Asparteme, etc.)

And a bunch of stuff we read on labels (if we read labels): TBHQ (antioxidant? preservative? poison?), (GMO) corn syrup, BPA, Calcium Sodium EDTA?

What are we eating? And why?

I only recently came across how huge this all really is in investigating a fast food chain that is super popular and super questionable.

Suffice it to say I will leave them anonymous for now. Do your research on fast food though and you'll quickly see there are many culprits out there.

Who doesn't like a burger and fries? Or some chicken all nicely prepared and fried?

But is there more to this than just food?

Dimethylpolysiloxane 

(ps-Formaldehyde is in that!)

What is that crazy huge, hard to pronounce word? Dimethylpolysiloxane.

It's an anti-foaming agent put in lot of products including, make up, food, silly putty, some sealants, etc. 

Sure the percentage of it allowed in food by the FDA is very limited.

But what happens when we slowly put something that doesn't belong in our bodies over a stretch of years? 

I'll tell you one thing: It cannot be good!

Before you grab that snack off the shelf, do some research on those hard to pronounce ingredients, or really long ones that were condensed into smaller letters like TBHQ. You'll be shocked!

But don't do what I did. Don't panic!

In this day and age and where we live, its hard not to eat something that wasn't sprayed with a chemical at one point or another. But take heart. Healthy choices are still out there. Portion control and knowing what to completely avoid (soda has no benefits at all and are reeking with GMO corn syrup), that's what counts.

So, enjoy that doughnut on Sunday. Just don't go home and eat a whole box of them. 

You'll do fine.

From one mom to another, this is Food for Thought.