That seems to sum up some of the “religious people” I know.
And yes, I just used the word “religious” on purpose.

It seems like a trend has developed amongst us Christians. Where anytime someone does something good or noble or vocal for the cause of Christ – we criticize, we judge and we look to dethrone them from whatever lofty pedestal some people have placed them on. Lately the person under the microscope has been Tim Tebow. But just recently another example of this is the, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” guy – Jefferson Bethke.

 
Tim Tebow, well known for his bold and steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, has had many criticisms against him. And no, I don’t mean the ones about his football skills. I’m talking about the statements I hear from other Christians saying things like, “He shouldn’t be praying in public!” and “He’s not the only Christian to ever play football!” Statements like these are meant to “dethrone” Tebow from the inspiring platform God has given him as a pro-athlete. Instead of criticizing, we should be celebrating that many are taking note of his godly character and desiring to emulate it. What is so wrong about this? Especially, when in 1 Corinthians 4:16 we read that Paul is asking other believers to imitate him as he imitates Christ! Imitation is not wrong, as long as that person is imitating Christ-likeness. And from what I read, hear and see about Tim Tebow – I believe he is doing just that.
 
Jefferson Bethke just posted a very inspiring spoken word on “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus” that has almost 7 million views in three days!! He breaks down the difference between saying one thing and doing another and what REAL Christianity is all about. I found it encouraging and a breath of fresh air to hear. But as usual, anytime a Christian has some kind of success in being vocal for Christ – there is criticism. Claims that he was misusing the word ‘religion’ were brought up today. It was expected, but not at the extent that I began hearing. It almost seemed like the ones doing the critiquing were trying to prove that they were more  ”theologically sound” than the average viewer. But why go to such extremes to do it? Claims that Jefferson was “off-base” led me to check out more of his videos, in which I found him to be very ON-base! This guy is for real. I read his Twitter and he is already thanking his “critics” and humbly, acknowledging that he “has a lot to learn” and “appreciates the rebuke/encouragement.” Great response from him. But a poor response from so many other Christians trying to squash his platform.
 
All of it has me thinking, why do we do this? Is it because we have seen so many other Christians fall under the pressure of their platforms? Are we afraid that these men will not live up to what they claim to preach?
 
Well, here are my thoughts… GOOD! Be afraid. They WILL fail! None of us are perfect and never will be. I think it is incredible that God has given Tim Tebow and Jefferson Bethke these platforms and His word is being proclaimed through them! Amen! We should never credit man for something that God is doing. But instead of criticizing, we should join in promoting the name of Jesus Christ through these vessels that are being used by Him.
 

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth… Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
- Romans 9:17,21

Children are a gift from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
- Proverbs 127:3

 
As some of you know, after a year of trying to conceive… I had a successful surgery in November to remove endometriosis. It was a scary experience going in, as I had never been put “under the knife” as they call it. But the surgery was not bad at all and the recovery only took a couple weeks. It also gave us so much hope going forward when the doctor told us he found the problem and “fixed” it. Praise the Lord for that!
 
In December, we were able to relax and enjoy a couple weeks of Christmas vacation with both of our families and even a ski trip to Snowshoe Mountain, which was quite the adventure! The excitement only continued post-New Years when we were welcomed home with…

A POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST!!!

(Okay, actually three.)

Thank you ALL for your prayers for us. God has answered!! What a blessing! I was so nervous/anxious/excited all at once after finding out, I didn’t even call Josh first! I called my sister… to ask her what to do! Ha! I thought about waiting until Josh got home to surprise him… but after 30 seconds, I realized that wasn’t gonna happen! I sent him a text with the positive test and said, “Can you tell me what this means?!” Ten seconds later, my phone rings. We’ve been waiting to burst with the news ever since!

After confirming with the doctor earlier today and finding out that I am 5 weeks along, we decided that we wanted to share this news early. No matter what happens, God has given us this most precious gift of life and we want to celebrate! We also want to ask for your prayers as this stage of development is the most critical. We know our Creator already has a plan and purpose for this child and we are excited to be IT’s caretakers for even a little while! Our due date is currently scheduled for September 4th.

For this child, we pray.

Visit my husband’s blog to read his announcement of the big news! 

Don’t be concerned about the fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
1 Peter 3:5-6

Which leads me to say…

I have an issue with Pinterest.

Yes, the site that just a few months ago I blogged about being maybe the first “all female, social network.” And for the most part, it’s absolutely true. It is a great resource, don’t get me wrong, but many women are becoming more and more addicted to it every day (I know, I get email notifications blowing up my phone with new followers). Spending just a couple minutes (turned hours) on there myself, I can see why. It does have some neat crafts and creative ways to make things on a great budget. I have no problem with that. What I find disturbing is the overload of photos featuring models with fancy hair, expensive jewelry and beautiful clothes… exactly the type of thing that Scripture encourages women, like me, to not be concerned about. But this site goes past concern and actually encourages us to “pin” the things we want to emulate. I had fun with it for a couple days… until I started looking in my home, closet and mirror and feeling a tinge of unsatisfaction.

Source: wholesaleclothing4u.com

Believe it or not, God does not desire for us, as women, to struggle with insecurity. But yet how many of us will admit to feeling this way? The Proverbs 31 woman is strong, energetic and busy working hard to take care of her home and family… that she has little time to worry about what other people think.

She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.
Proverbs 31:17

 
Believe it or not, God desires for us, as women, to be fun and spirited! Taking care of others, not worrying about how we look and that our hair is just right. We should be able to look forward to the future with laughter! Not be the worrisome creatures that society has seemed to make us out to be.
 

She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.
Proverbs 31:20,25

 
Believe it or not, our wonderful God does not desire for us women to be considered beautiful by the world’s standards. It is not even close to His priority for us. His desire is that we are filled with a devotion, reverence and love for Him.
 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
Proverbs 31:30

 
Believe it or not… God wants us to be the loving, caring, nurturing, protecting, strong and spirited women that He had in mind when He created Eve. And yet, we are living our lives distracted by the things of this world and becoming cold, gossiping, insecure, judgmental, weak and needy women. No thanks to this society and… no thanks to Pinterest.
 

Lean not on your own understanding.
Oh Lord, how I have struggled to do this lately.

When I don’t understand something, I get really frustrated. For example, this past week I went snow skiing for the first time. Let’s just say it was quite an experience! After 20-something falls, including one while getting off the lift, I may have whispered to Josh that “this was not my thing” and “I don’t know how anyone enjoys this.” Ha! Of course Josh and our friends skiing with us assured me that everyone struggles to learn, and that I was actually doing quite well for my first time. But since I hadn’t grasped the concept of skiing yet, I was frustrated.

Me on my butt... while everyone else ski's off into the distance.

Same goes with my relationship with the Lord. There are times in my life when it is easy to see and understand God’s will. For example, marrying my husband, Josh, was a no brainer! Godly, hot and funny. Package deal right there. :) But much of the time I am confused, doubtful and… yes, frustrated, with the way life is going. If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you may have sensed that in a few of my posts.
 
But looking back on all the frustrating times, I can see God’s hand at work even in my doubt. When I get frustrated, it is because I lack understanding. I don’t see the big picture, only the pain in the moment.

“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”
Proverbs 30:5

 
Back to skiing. I walked away from the experience feeling like a failure. From my understanding, falling meant failure. But my understanding was flawed. Everyone falls. And if I had known this, I may have realized that I was actually doing pretty good!
 
This is a simple analogy. But I find comfort in knowing that my simplistic mind will never be as great as my Father. And in the areas where I feel like I am failing… I trust in the LORD with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding.

(Read my husband’s latest post on this same topic!)
 

 
Well, I’ve already celebrated my first Christmas! :) We spent this past weekend in Panama City Beach with my dad’s side of the family. It is pretty funny how it worked out actually. We were supposed to cruise our way to the Bahamas, but two days before departure we got news that the AC broke on the ship. What?! I know. When do these things ever happen?
 
It was a blessing in the end. My aunt had a friend who owned this gorgeous beach home and offered to let us have it for a few days. It definitely didn’t feel like Christmas this weekend… it felt more like spring break. A cool breeze and sunset that was just breath-taking, every night.

But a family vacation would not be a family vacation with out some dysfunction. As my sister likes to say… we put the FUN in “dysfunctional.” Ha! As I get older, I learn that some of the weaknesses that I have are similar to those of my parents. And if I don’t make the choice to be different, I will pass on generational sins to my children as well. But thanks to JESUS and the grace of God, I can live every day with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Or at least try. These are the traits that I desire to emulate and these are the traits I want to pass on to generations to come.

Of course, I am grateful for where I come from. In fact, I know that it was all part of God’s plan for me to grow up in the family I did. I love them so much and I pray I can have the compassion of my mom, Becky, and the generosity of my dad, Stan. Or as we like to call him… “STANta.” :)

The first explains why I haven’t been posting lately.
The latter explains why I feel the need to explain this.

You see, it’s a horrible cycle with me – I become addicted to something, eat/breathe/live it every day or as often as I can and then burn out/quit it for a period of time and ultimately… lose interest altogether.
I know, it’s ridiculous.
But I refuse to let this blog sink into forgotten territory (although, it has been tempting the past few days!) so here I am confessing my problem to all of you.

That said, taking a step back from blogging was actually a great thing for me.
I love reality so much more! :)

Hugs, laughter, eye contact… none of it can be replicated online.
And the more time I spend indoors on my computer, the more I miss out on these fleeting moments…

and laughter with friends.

and time with my Savior.

My habit of “falling out of the habit” of things, could be due to my love for spontaneity, creativity and freedom.
I work best under pressure, on the fly, last minute.
And blogging is no different. 
I don’t want to write every day out of habit.
I would rather write once a month, from my heart, out of creativity.

]]> http://cassidyrobinson.com/2011/12/07/habit-vs-creativity/feed/ 0 http://cassidyrobinson.com/2011/12/01/happy-december/ http://cassidyrobinson.com/2011/12/01/happy-december/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:59:11 +0000 Cassidy Robinson http://cassidyrobinson.com/?p=2900 Well, it’s December again. I feel like we were just here a year ago. :) This month usually goes by so fast for me, so I am going to try and soak it all in as much as possible. The lights, the smell, the music… ahh, the music. You see, Christmas music is unlike any other type.... Read More →]]> Well, it’s December again. I feel like we were just here a year ago. :) This month usually goes by so fast for me, so I am going to try and soak it all in as much as possible. The lights, the smell, the music… ahh, the music. You see, Christmas music is unlike any other type. It allows us for one month (or more, if you start early) to openly sing about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ without glaring eyes or snide remarks. It is a wonderful time, bringing good tidings of great joy.

I figured there was no better way to celebrate the beginning of this great month than to post the Christmas music I’ve been working on this week. I hope you enjoy listening to some of my favorite Christmas “carols” that so beautifully give a picture of what this winter season is all about. :)

Forewarning, this is not a professional recording in the least bit. If you read my previous post, all of these songs were recorded on my little iPhone 4. I hope to record again (professionally) soon! We are actually working on a worship album at Watermark that will be released this summer. But for all the little songs I’ve written since New Day, I am saving up to record. You can donate towards the cause by leaving a tip when you download my Christmas songs on NoiseTrade. Or you can just download them for free. I just want you to have them!

Happy December and Merry Christmas!

Despite this setback, we still managed to enjoy our time in South Carolina with family. Josh was even willing to take a few photos with me for our Christmas card this year (which just arrived in the mail today! Snapfish is speedy). Bless his heart, he could hardly smile without hurting! I love this guy.

thanks to justin robinson for taking the lovely photos

Speaking of Christmas… I am excited about sharing a little acoustic Christmas EP I’ve been working on this week! Someone asked me if I would record a Christmas album for them a few weeks ago. I immediately got excited, because I love Christmas music! But, I had no idea how I could even possibly record anything in such a short time (anything, well good, I mean). So instead of stressing over it – I decided I would just do mp3′s of what I usually do for my youtube videos. Live acoustic covers. I’ll be putting it up on Noisetrade for free at the end of the week (hopefully!) so be looking for it then! But for now… I will leave you with the track listing. I tried to cover more obscure Christmas songs that not a lot of people know. And then of course, some of my traditional favorites. The best part about this? It was completely recorded on my handy, dandy… iPhone! Ha! I downloaded garageband on my phone and just played around with it. Surprisingly, it worked! I titled this EP “iCHRISTmas” for two reasons: 1) It was recorded on the “iPhone” so I wanted the trademark “i” in there and 2) CHRIST is bigger than i. This season is all about Him.

Beach bums. #nature #ocean #beautiful

I mentioned in my previous posts that we’d be doing a little traveling this week – and WHEW! have we ever. It’s been fun, though. We spent the weekend in Melbourne, FL where my husband Josh spoke to a group of students and adults on “being awakened’ in Christ. God really moved and it was a fantastic time altogether! I was able to sing a few of my songs as well – None Like You, Little One and I Need You. It was great to see some old friends and make some new ones along the way!

Then, we stopped by my hometown in central Florida to visit with my mom and then visit with dad. Splitting time between two families when you’re married is no easy task, but how about when you have to split your time on one side between split parents? Even more difficult.  But we made the best of it. :)

Hanging out with mi padre watching the AMA's. Heidi loves her grandpa! Haha.

The best waitress I know! (my momma) :

After leaving Monday morning to head up to Greenville, Josh’s throat became unbearably sore. He suffered through the sore throat over the weekend – but shrugged it off as just strain from speaking so much. By the time Monday hit, he knew it was more serious. We made the 8 1/2 hour trek to Greenville (with me driving half of the way… not sure it helped Josh relax as much as I was hoping, hah!) and stopped by a CVS minute clinic as soon as we arrived. His sweet momma took us there. Come to find out… Josh has STREP. Ouch. We got his diagnosis, antibiotics and were out of there in an hour (not a minute, mind you, but pretty fast nonetheless). If there is any place to recover – the Robinson house is as good as it gets. Hot tea, therapeutic neck warmers and vitamins. Josh should be feeling better in no time! :)

I have been convicted lately about being present wherever I am. In this world of distractions – especially with the advancements in technology and numerous ways to stay connected – I can miss being connected with those I am present with. So that said, this week I am going to take a leave of absence from the blog to spend precious time with family. I hope to share all the great happenings as soon as we return home! I know there will be many. :)

HAPPY

(early)

THANKSGIVING!!!