Real Life by Peggi Tustan

Welcome to Real Life . Others sin. I make mistakes. Counting other people's sins does not make you a saint. –Anonymous What is sin? Our definition tends to change with perspective. If you wrong me. It's sin. Plain and simple. Yet, I excuse the same behavior in myself. I may have been a little rude. But I’m tired and he aggravated me. David sinned. Plain and simple. But he didn’t see it. He saw what he wanted and took it. It didn’t matter that what he took belonged to someone else. He was king of Israel, after all—the highest authority in the land. Except, David didn’t hold highest authority. God does. He is King of Kings . No one is above God’s law. David could deceive himself. After all I sacrificed for Israel, I deserve to get what I want. That is, until God sent his prophet Nathan. The prophet told David a story. Two men lived in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had many sheep and cattle. The poor man had one small lamb. He raised it in ...

Welcome to Real Life . For a long time, I had this verse taped to the wall by my kitchen sink. I needed the daily reminder. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Dad and Mom at "Boot Camp" My elderly parents were living in Florida when their health began to fail. After Mom lost her lower leg to poor circulation, she landed in a nursing facility for rehabilitation. These facilities do the best they can with the staff they have. But, I knew Mom needed more attention than they could provide. So, I devised a plan to move my parents into my home in Ohio for a 6-week boot camp and whip Mom back into shape. (I know...pretty naïve, right?) Those six weeks stretched into a year. [1] It felt like (and it was) a huge sacrifice. Our lives changed drastically. One morning as I read God’s Word, He spoke this verse to me… Go and learn what this means, Peggi : I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I had the wrong focus. God wasn’t impressed by my sacrific...