My brother and his daughter and our nephew, had never been to Bodega Bay, and for my nephew, it was his first trip to the ocean. So, it was a day of real enjoyment, watching the kids play in the water, and having so much fun. I never saw such play between cousins before, and how much fun they had, letting the waves come up to their waists, and running out, so they didn't get any more wet than they had to. We laughed, even though the wind was strong that day, and it was crowded. It was so crowded, that the coast guards let us park in their area. That was so nice, because the beach was just across the street. It was a day that seemed so blessed in every way.
Then we came back to the van to head for home, and what a time we had, trying to get our feet cleaned off. The sand just would not come off. As you can see here, even wet wipes didn't help much. That is what happens when we get caught up in the world. The stuff just sticks to you. It is very hard to get off. I am going to give you an example from my own life. I am sorry to tell you, but yes, I caved to the "world's" ways with my kids. I never liked them using the word "butt". I would tell my kids over and over again, "Don't say that word, you know I don't like it." And over and over again, they would say to me, "But there is nothing wrong with that word, it isn't a cuss word." I would say, "No, it isn't a cuss word, but it is a rude word." Well, it was a losing battle. I was outnumbered, and out stubborned (I told you in a different blog, that they got a double dose of stubbornness, sigh). Guess what? I began using that word, even though I had always hated them using it. I just heard them all using it so much, that it became part of the vocabulary around our house.
I had a different problem when I was younger. I heard cussing at school so much, that I gained a sailors mouth. Well, maybe not so bad as that, but it was pretty bad. I knew it was wrong, but for some reason it made me feel better, so I didn't care, because I was angry and needed to "let it out" somehow. God convicted my heart at a youth retreat about the way I used my mouth. How it did not reflect His Light within me. What a poor witness it made me, for Him. You know, it took lots of prayer, lots of self-control, and lots of years, before I conquered that bit of "sand" in my life. I began to find better ways to deal with the anger inside of me, and I began to be conscious of what I spoke from my mouth. You see, God's Word tells us "We have what we speak". So, if you are speaking garbage, you are going to get garbage. It is the same with where we go. If we go to where there is trash, we are going to reap that trash.
I don't know about you, but I would rather have good things in my life. I would rather have treasures, than trash. So, that little song most of us sang when we were little, "O Be Careful Little Eyes What You See", does have real strong Truth to it. What we see, what we hear, what we do, where we go, what we think about, what we believe. They all have power in our lives to help us to our destinies, or keep us from them. Sometimes I would tell my kids, "I rebuke that curse, in Jesus Name." when they would say something that went against the destiny that God calls His children to. You see, these things can be blessings or curses to us. If we choose to find God's way, then we will be blessed, but if we choose the worlds way, then we open ourselves up to curses.
We are so unaware of this aspect of the kingdom of God, that most of us live without even recognizing the signs of the "world" in us. We speak negatively, gossip, whine, brag, or any number of things that cause the "grime of the road" to stick to our feet. You see, Jesus told His disciples that the path to God was a narrow road, and that few would be upon it, but wide was the way to destruction. I know that I struggle with many of these same issues, as everyone else. My desire, though, is to work hard at breaking the holds these things have in my life, and reaping the godly reward, that goes with living a holy life. Remember, living holy doesn't mean you are perfect, it just means you are consciously living for Christ. You are trusting and obeying Him in your life.
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