If it looks good on the outside...

{aah, the "big lie"} - it must be good on the inside! 

This sentence alone has so many implications.  We have all seen it: the seemingly happy couple with the marriage falling apart, the "Sunday Morning Smile" when the person's world is upside down, the beautiful home and cars with a debt ocean so deep there is no hope of getting above water.

Yet, many of us still walk this way.  Of course no one likes to be the "Debbie Downer", but when we put on our happy face and never share what's troubling us, it leads to isolation, depression, and ultimately destruction! 

Now, hear me say this, "I love the motto - Fake It 'til You Make It!"  But, what I am saying is we DO need to practice the chords of contentment rather than the chords of bitterness, envy and discontentment!  Practice makes perfect...perfect habits that is!  When we focus on negative, we are negative.  When we focus on positive, we begin to form the habit of looking for the positive!

But, should we hide our deepest troubles?  I say, "absolutely not!"  Someone out there has been through what you are going through!  Everyone needs encouragement now and again.  When we allow our lives to only be viewed as perfect, we perpetuate the cycle of devastation not only in our lives, but in those who are watching and thinking they wish the artificial turf on our side of the fence was the grass on theirs.

Ultimately only Christ can heal those hidden areas in our lives where we find ourselves longing.  His word says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me." Revelation 3:20 

It's a promise!  He is there, waiting for us to open the door! If He says it, He will do it!

WOW!  So, I started this post in reference to a muffin recipe that I tried that turned out horrible!  But, as I started typing it took on a life of it's own!  That's my intention, to be led by the Spirit, and hopefully many of you will be blessed along the way!

So here they are:

You can practically taste these ~ moist fall-spiced pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling and crunchy crumble topping! 

  

Only, in reality, they were HORRIBLE...seriously - my kiddos wouldn't even eat a second one!  They were actually too moist and the cream cheese tasted like cream cheese you would put on a bagel {not the sweet gooey filling I was imagining}! I have to admit, the crumble topping was actually pretty good though.

Maybe someone would be willing to take a look at the recipe and see if they can figure out where I went wrong?

Thanks for stopping by!  Be Refreshed!