Category Archives: Thoughts to ponder

LSOF: Different Places, Similar Progress

Posted on by

0

My heart has really been given some wisdom lately when it comes to people.
We are truly all in different places in our walks.
It also occurred to me that different places in our walk didn’t mean necessarily further.

I tried to wear my Sketcher Shape-ups the other morning, and let me just say they live up to their name, ouch would be a total understatement. I only made it around the block before I just couldn’t take the pain in my calves anymore. I made it to the front door, only to be sure to throw them across the room, and off of my pitiful, and might I add, Out of shape, feet.

It made me upset with myself just a bit, because I have allowed myself to get to this state.

I have a job that has me sit down for 8 hrs a day, and I’ve been doing it now almost a year. It is an amazing job, but muscles wear down when they are not used for a long period of time.

It isn’t my job’s fault that I haven’t used my muscles forever.

I think it is similar when it comes to life situations. When things happen to us, we can’t always deal with it like any other time. Sometimes things are so heavy on our shoulders that we are just too worn out to take a moment to just see the purpose of where we are. There is alway a bigger picture.

When we first get back on our feet after being in a pit for a long period of time, it is hard.
This is why you see Pastor’s and other people in position take a break for awhile, its not that they did something wrong, and its not that they no longer want the position, its just that God has asked for some time to reflect and re-evaluate somethings. Sometimes personal, sometimes the view from our side of everything on the outside.

The pit makes you take a look at your life and see that you are in a place and you are to find the purpose from the place you stand now.

I think people have a tendency to look at those who have had rough times, and had the perception that the person just doesn’t have as much faith as they used to, but please if you are one of those people; know that it is in the rough time God makes us stronger.

I learned this walk really is about gaining wisdom, and within the places we feel we are too weak, God has made another area that is unexpected, stronger.

We are not meant to handle everything on our shoulders at once, We cannot be like Atlas, and I believe that is why there is always something weak God is working to make stronger.

We forget that in the situations we go through that we are indeed learning something essential, but it isn’t in anything anyone tells us, but what God shows us.

I am one who has had the opportunity to allow God to do some crazy things in my life, meet people, and visit some places that seem unbelievable to some, to which I actually sat down and asked someone,
” Am I the one doing this?” and the reply I got was,
” It’s too weird to be you, it has to be God.”

I’ve felt pretty inadequate on several occassions when it comes to people. I guess I always let my insecurities bully me into a corner, and many times I let them hold me there.
I’ve compared myself to those who seem better than me, or know better than me.

It was as if God held my face one day and said, ” LOOK CLOSER.”

I got to see for myself that those who appeared to have it all, they were missing more than I knew.
I got to see their insecurities, and sadly, I watched them fall apart.
It took them off the pedastal I had them on.

I’ve shared a lot about different places we find ourselves in, but something else to know is even though you find yourself where you are, we are all working with similar progress.

We are all working one step at a time, one day at a time, to accomplish our personal and professional goals.

We stop our progress when we let the insecurities in our lives get in the way. We have to just keep walking, fall a little, but learn from the bruises we receive.

We need to encourage one another more, and keep ourselves all in check with how far we’ve come.

Just because progress seems small in your eyes, it might mean the world to someone else.

The dynamic of who God created us to be is found in the moments we struggle in.

He knows we are going to question Him, He knows we are going to fall flat on our face at times…

He also knows that we will come out of everything victorious.

Pain truly is gain, whether you believe it or not.

I’ll leave you with a verse that smacked me clear in the face this week:

2 John 1:8 (NIV, 1984)
“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.”

LSOF: The Perception of Self Worth

Posted on by

2

My dear friend, Cally. She left this world
on May 19, 2010.

I am dedicating this post to my friend Cally Walrath. She passed away, May 19th 2010.
These are words I wish I could sit down and tell her this moment. I know that I can’t,
but I do know that there are many other people out there who have a perception of themselves
that is such a distortion from actual reality.

You are special.

I think we have become a society that is so obsessed with appearances, and ” the name” out in the world, that we have lost sight of realizing the value of US.

What I would love to sit and tell you out there is that there is more to you right this moment then you will ever know. There is such a beautiful plan for your life. It’s a solid plan. You have oceans of hope and grace then you could ever know what to do with. You will take journeys of finding true paradise in life. You will meet the blue sky to the stars. You will have more knowledge from all you’ve been through then you realized you might ever attain.

What someone says you are. What someone says you should dress like. What someone believes about you.
None of it matters. Unless you let it matter to you.

I could definitely tell you that your self-worth is found in Jesus. And that is very true.
But at the end of the day, when all is said and done. Do you really believe that?
Do any of us really truly believe that and can stand by that belief?

The distortions of who we are start to happen when we let the outside affect who we are on the inside.

With religion its legalism. With success its perfectionism. With control its manipulation.

I could add to that forever.

I’m not saying religion will always lead to legalism. I’m saying that we often will try to ” fit the mold” so to speak, and believe in how we are “told” to about ourselves, our faith, rather than have that chance to find out for ourselves.

Success is wonderful, everyone wants it. But just like any addiction we can get caught up it being to critical of ourselves, to the point that who we truly are, and what truly motivates us doesn’t come from the heart but from what useless knowledge. We become drones to our professions. Losing ourselves, forgetting the success that is already apart of us.

Being in control of anything, or feeling out of control is also very dangerous in how we perceive ourselves.
We can easily manipulate our own way of thinking and processing through a situation, because we learned a way that ” seems” to work.

I had a friend say to me a few weeks ago that when she looks in the mirror she doesn’t recognize who she is, that so much in her life has changed that she is not sure she can recognize herself in her life.
This girl is amazing too. She is a ” dreamer” of life, so passionate about doing so much. But her life
is tiring her out. She knows that she needed to step back and get to know herself again.

Truth is, we all need to do that. We all need to get back to looking in the mirror and make sure the reflection is the one that is meant to be out in the world.

Self-worth doesn’t come from being just like everyonelse, it comes from surely knowing there are things about you that are different. And that different is good.

I just want to add I’m not asking you to follow this advice, the last thing I’d want to be is a self-help book,
but I do want you to think about your own self-worth.
I do want you to think about if you really know yourself well enough that if someone came up to you
who you don’t know that well…how would they know you?
By your name…or by your heart.

Think of the value of YOU.

A thought

Posted on by

1

just a thought for today. My computer has a virus so bare with me y’all.
I’ll be back soon. Until then please read below, take it in.
Think about it.

What others do or say to hurt you shouldn’t matter more or outweigh those who encourage you. Love outweighs hurt, it’s all that matters.

LSOF: Darkness to Light

Posted on by

0

From darkness to light…

What has been, or is the “darkness,” in your life right now? What is a common theme
that just torments you where you stand?
Do you feel like, because of it, that you feel like your goals and dreams seem too far out of reach?

I’ve been there too.

I could best describe it as the ending scene in, ” Alice in Wonderland,” when Alice is going through the corridor
and all of the characters are chasing after her. At one point she starts to run in slow motion, and then finally reaches the door to the outside, only to find it locked.
And if I can recall she says, ” Please open the door, I need to get out of here.”
and the door speaks to her, ” But you are already out.”

I think how this story relates to us in regarding to the stuff that is swallowing us up in our lives,
I think it says that our reality is NOT the true reality.
I think it says that when we choose to believe what is found in the darkness,
instead of believing the Hope found in the light…
We create our own prisons. We mask ourselves and everything we are,
inside of our minds. We allow ourselves to be, ” chased,” by the common theme of thoughts,
and situations that plague us daily.

Why do we do this?

I think a lot of the time, its easier to believe lies.
Because the truth is something that has been more far fetched for us.

Put it this way, if you are used to feeling like a failure,
and then you succeed at something…
you probably won’t even realize that you have indeed, succeeded.

Why do we continue to believe these negative thoughts?

I think that we let one thing or a few things that have happened in our lives,
decide what the future will look like, because they have been so common.
Because the ending keeps looking the same.

Matthew 6:22-23
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

It’s basically like deciding tomorrow will rain, because today is.
We don’t really know for sure.
But we set ourselves up to the degree, that the worst will just continue to happen.

And honestly, can I tell you something…
We were not born with a storm cloud over our heads.

We have to remember that God has full control over everything that happens to us,
and all we have been through, its never out of His sight.

Which I have to just add something here that seems to be a common thing in this day and age:
When something amazing happens in another’s life, something unbelievable…
It is often chalked up as coincidence,
BUT…
When something bad happens, the FIRST thing others do is BLAME God!

It tells me that our culture doesn’t really believe in God, they believe that they believe themselves, and God just gets in the way.

How much of our darkness in our life is attributed to our own doing?

How much of our lives our wasted, because we are slaves to ourselves?

 

How much of our lives to we set ourselves up ON OUR OWN, with defeat?

I think so much of the time that even though there is a real enemy out there,
that he doesn’t even have to do anything to test us…we test ourselves and he just
sits back, laughs and takes some notes…

Do we really want to live lives that show we rather walk through our own mess everyday,
our own past, and keep it with us like some security blanket?

Because let me ask you something,
Do you feel secure?
Does it make life easier, because you live life the way you always have?
You might think so, but you would be very wrong.
We are meant to progress, we are meant to face ourselves…
Because we have to understand that God has set up our character, and who we are…
It’s set up for a purpose, nothing is in vain…
I am sure I’ve said that many times on this blog, but its the truth,
because once you start to believe that life is horrible,
and your web of torment will never let you go…
you are telling yourself…
It all was meant for nothing.

Healing from the darkness….

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Healing from everything in our lives that has been the tier of negativity and destruction,
is not something that is simple. You can’t just read a “self-help,” book…you can’t listen to Oprah,
or Tyra, you can’t hear the right lyrics in a song, you can’t buy something at the store, you
can’t eat something, you can’t get it from sex, drugs, whatever…

True healing starts with realizing there is true darkness.

True healing comes from admitting that its a problem to your future.

It means admitting you are not God.
It’s admitting you have lost control.

Psalm 61:2
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

I’m not saying that we need to start going to like ” Anonymous” meetings and saying,
” Hello my name is…and I have been dealing with this since I was 5…”

I’m saying that we need to put that darkness in its rightful place,
back to hell where it came from.

It starts with one day at a time living your life a little differently than you have.
It may mean you need to surround yourself with different people.
It may mean you might have to take on a different hobby.
It may mean you might even have to find another job at times…

But progress comes from changing what has been consistent,
to inconsistent.
It’s deactivating our thought process into a new form of perspective.

I also have a warning for you…
If you continue on, and don’t seek to start healing…

You are going to hurt people in your life,
you are going to hurt those who have reached out, and want to be there for you.
You are going to jump at something said or done that was completely
miscommunicated.

And you will go into a circle of consistent chaos…and that will become your future.

I want to leave you with this thought:

In a fire drill, we learn to STOP, DROP, and ROLL…

What if we looked at the darkness as flames….
and could speak to it…
” STOP tormenting me in my life, I am now going to DROP the control this has on me,
and It will ROLL away from my life by the hands of God.

We do not have to let our darkness overcome the light of who we need to be.

There are many out there who have no clue that darkness even exists in their lives,
because they’ve never known light…

Now that you know that there is a problem, now that you know that you need to stand up
and take care of your own, ‘stuff’…

Will you?

Because there is a world out there that God needs your help to heal…

Think about it.


Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint

LSOF: Forgiveness

Posted on by

2

As I closed my eyes to sleep last night, I had a thought go through my heart.
It was as if I was laying on the ocean shore, and a gentle wave washed over me.
My heart was being told in God’s sweet, still small voice…
” You must forgive..”

I’m not one to be all to excited when God pushes me to write on things that go beyond
what I really am feeling at the present moment.
But I can tell you this…

I woke up with the same thought on my heart.
And it was as if the thought lived with me all through the night,
God was making it clear…YOU NEED TO DO THIS.
He wouldn’t let it go.
So I knew I couldn’t.

Now to you, maybe forgiving is an easy thing to do. I’m going to guess though, like me,
it doesn’t come so easy.

It might be easier to “forget” the situation, the “forgive” the circumstances within it all.

Forgetting is not the same as Forgiving.

How many times have you heard someone say to you, ” Oh just forget about it.”
That’s basically just saying to you, ” It’s not that important, get over it.”

But let me tell you something that strongly has been brought to my heart when it comes to forgiving and forgetting…
True forgiveness does not come from just letting that person, ” off the hook”…we may feel it for a certain amount of time, but I can almost promise you somewhere down the line…you are going to remember the situation, and feel that unforgiveness rage inside of you…so much so…
that you not only don’t forgive the situation that happened with that person, but it becomes a domino effect and you end up burning so many bridges…without intention.

So this would be what happens when someone says to you, ” Forgive and forget.”
More than likely, most times, we forget, before we forgive.
Not the way to go.

I don’t think any of us really can get the concept of what it is to forgive.
And I’m writing this, because I didn’t know….until now.
And this knowledge did not come from books.
I searched my own heart.

Forgiveness in my own words is to look beyond the faults of another person,
and beauty beyond it all. Beyond the anger they might have shown you, beyond the pain
they might have caused you, beyond the control they might have put on you, beyond the manipulation,
beyond the inferiority they caused you to feel, beyond anything and anything…
Whatever it was…

You see the person instead. You see them for who they ARE.
You know in their mind they might believe they are right, that they have just caused
to treat you, or say things to you that they do…
but I think I remember very well what Jesus said when He was on the cross
and people thought they had just cause to put Him there…

” Forgive them Father, they know not of what they do.”

Forgive and forgetting is something recommended actually from a health website.

This is straight from the website:
” Many people view forgiveness as an offshoot of love — a gift given freely to those who have hurt you.

Forgiveness, however, may bring enormous benefits to the person who gives that gift, according to recent research. If you can bring yourself to forgive and forget, you are likely to enjoy lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system, and a drop in the stress hormones circulating in your blood, studies suggest. Back pain, stomach problems, and headaches may disappear. And you’ll reduce the anger, bitterness, resentment, depression, and other negative emotions that accompany the failure to forgive. ” – Tom Valeo, via Webmd.com

Time heals pain, this is true. However, at some point (sooner then later), in that time…
we all need to look back on the situation with someone, and tell ourselves that we have to forgive.

I know there are some out there that feel like its too late, that the person has either passed or is no longer apart of your life…but its NOT too late.

It will be HARD, but I believe that our all powerful God can see it bubbling inside of you even now…
He can see your heart saying, ” If only…”
and He is going to tell you to stop regretting the past, stop wondering of how you wished things were different, and just think of that person in that situation you have been in life…
And say, ” I forgive you for…” and maybe you can’t get yourself to say, the ” Forgive you for” part,
if you can’t, its okay to just say, ” _____ , I forgive you.
Leave it at that. God knows your heart, He knows there are words you can’t get yourself to speak.

When we are hurting…we don’t want to forgive.
Plain and simple.
Believe me, I get this—
We need to get out of that frame of mind,
and work on it each day…

And like in my case, because I know that my heart is at stake and everything that I am, and what I truly believe in my character…I choose forgiveness.
I am created to be an example of Jesus, and He forgave.

And maybe like you, those who I want to say, ” I forgive you,” to…I can’t.
They are not apart of my life now…but God knows that I did.
And that’s what matters.

We need to focus on praying for good for others too…and forgiveness
helps us to pray for blessings for their lives.

We need to again realize, forgetting and not forgiving…it leaves an unintentional thorn in your side.
You will REMEMBER, and when you do…you won’t think lovingly of that person.
And its not fair to them or to you.

And all that is planned for all of you.

Forgive and don’t forget; instead- remember by how it’s shaped your life, and who God will raise u up to be through it!

I’ve probably gone on and on about this.

But I want to tell you something.

I have peace since I forgave those in my life who hurt me. They will never know it.
But it doesn’t matter.
My heart is right with God, because it is HE who needs me to forgive.
The others in my life, it wouldn’t matter….and that’s okay.

Forgiveness matters to God.
Because He doesn’t want us to have any stumbling block in the path
ahead.

And “the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…”
and it starts by knowing we have no place with God,
if we have no place to forgive.

If you choose life.
Then choose forgiveness too!

(Colossians 3:12-14)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

LSOF: What if God wrote a foreword for our lives?

Posted on by

4

- What would it look like if we had a chance to read it?

- Would it change the way we lived our lives, would we live more intentionally?

- Do we understand that it is through HIS WORD alone that we will ever begin to follow the plan
for our lives?

- Will we be expectant enough, and seek Him enough for direction and meaning in His Word,
and in our lives?

- Would we really want to know what God’s foreword would say?

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Deuteronomy 29:29

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

LSOF: ” So Long Insecurity,” notes…

Posted on by

6

I am not even to the point of processing this weekend, but I do want to make sure someonelse gets a good Word like I did,
so for now here are the notes, and when I can I will write about it all:)

Ephesians 4:1- ” I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
(Eph 4:17-24)
” No longer live as gentiles do..”
(Futility of their thinking…)

Eph 4:22-24- “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Put off old self)

” Grace isn’t an excuse to be living in old bondage..Grace is an excuse to be completely made new.”

2 Sam, Isaiah 43:18-19

A woman who is secure:

S- Saved from herself

” Human mind is twisted by idolitrist-self interest.”

(Homo Incurratus en se- A human being curved upon oneself.)

” Insecurity makes us curve back on ourselves, like a curling back of a piece of plywood”

Can humility and security exist? Will it lead to pride?

” Security can make us feel enough of ourselves, to not be obsessed with ourselves.”

E- Entitled to truth

The world teaches us to be valuable we have to be sensable, (vs. 22)

C- Clothed with Intention
” A woman dresses on purpose.”

Prov. 31:25

” We cannot wait to get secure before we feel secure.”

U- Upended by Grace

” Grace takes up space in a secure woman.”

Eph 4:32

“Charis”- Grace

Forgive in Greek, means ” To grace” (Charitizomi…(sp.)

2 Cor 5:17

” Grace turns everything upside down.”
” Grace is the only thing you can give away, that you can also keep.”

” Remember what you were taught…”

R- Rebounded by Love(eph 4:1- 5:2)

E- Exceptional in life

” We have a need for significance.”

Romans 8:28

LSOF: Responding to God’s Will

Posted on by

0

When I moved to Savannah, I had everything in the bag. I had a place to live, a job, and a new great church.
Everything was going so well for me.

Fast-forward a few months: I am living in a completely different part of Savannah, I don’t have a job right now, but
I still have an amazing church.

The interesting part being that although I was thrown out of my comfort zone not just once moving to Georgia,
but again once I was here a few months; I still have a really good church. I still have a good group of people
that are here for me.

I like the Celine Dion song, ” Love can move mountains”, and just that particular lyric alone, because that is what it has felt
like for me being here in this new place.

Somedays I am SO worried that I’m going to run out of money before I find a job, but my group of people here, they are always the first to encourage me to just continue to trust God.

I also want to share that the group of people that I say are here, some of them don’t even live in my state!

I received an email from a friend that simply said this,
” He had allowed you to be surrounded by many to hold up your arms during this time.”

This is where I can receive people within social networking….in 5 days I actually will meet the dearest of them:)

We have to have people in our lives that will encourage us to follow God’s will…to remind us to just believe, and trust Him.

I do have an awesome church, and the people there they have definitely been so great about praying for me, and just standing at my side during a lot of rough times here.

But the thing I learned today in the message really hit me, because it also provides a word of “warning” to those who do encourage us in our lives.

It was really a word for me.

We have to stop trying to let other encourage us to do what they ” think” is God’s will for our lives. We have to stop being so impulsive, and not give God a chance to respond if we really are doing as He asks of us.

It’s easy to be swayed when you start to know people who are at different ” positions”, I have a professor, event director, An actress, a writer, a counselor, a radio dj, and two women in the church ministry who I look at their lives and think,
” Wow God, it would be awesome to be in their position.”

And for them, it is cool to be in their position. For me, or for you..it may not be what God has called you to do.

So I go back to my gifts that come most natural to me…and I find ways to use them now…and I pray to God and ask Him to reveal to me what my calling really is. I have an idea, but I think I need more confirmation from Him.

I have a heart that really cares deeply for people, I care about their situations and everything they go through on a daily basis. It breaks my heart to watch people struggle, I can’t stand to see anyone in pain.
I am able to talk to anyone pretty easily, but I am sensitive in talking to them. I love to see what makes people tick, I love to look in their eyes and see who they really are in their heart. I love to listen to people tell me stories about thier lives, every little detail is such a treasure to me. I take when someone is ill very seriously. It may be due to my mom having an illness, but regardless, you will find me on my knees praying for someone as soon as I know their is something going on with them.
I love to teach others about God’s mercy, and share with them how He made me into the person I am today.
I also sometimes feel things in my heart deeply that I have to share with someone, and I DO make sure I share it.

All these things do show my spiritual gifts, and I can recognize what they are in myself. So I know its a start, do I know where it will take me…not sure. But I do know, I have to be on the right track if I am seeking after
seeing my spiritual gifts instead of my talents.

We are here to impact the world in someway…its WHY we are here, maybe you are like me and haven’t yet found your “place”, but I want to tell you something….we are exactly where we need to be, until God’s reveals what to do next.

Again, it’s little steps of faith, its’ what its all about:)

30 days of faith…and not 30 in a row!

Posted on by

1

I just thought I’d let everyone know that I never realized how much of a process this project would be,
its amazing how much crazy stuff can happen to the writers and the writing!
Just today someone mentioned to me that the post they had planned for friday.. completely eaten by the computer
somehow..no idea. And I know this person worked hard too!
So with that said, I want to ask that everyone who is following the project to know that getting to the 30 day mark might
be awhile…I’ll do my best to keep up with the themes, but sadly the guest posting may not happen all that often from this point.
I have 2 people set for the next two days, and then, we’ll see if anyone else is able to post:)

Hope you are experiencing your own ” 30 Days Of Faith” – I most certainly have!

LSOF: 30 Days Of Faith: Day 9- Faith…and what we think

Posted on by

0

My dearest mentor in the world once said to me, ” It’s not what people think about you that bothers you,
it’s what you THINK they are thinking that bothers you.” Wise lady.

What we think can really destroy us if we are not careful. We can think up a whole scenario that never had truth in the beginning, but BECAUSE of our constant thinking, it can come true.

I had someone tell me recently that I my heart wasn’t in ” something”, and I preceded to tell this person that it was their
perception, and that if they weren’t careful that perception could come reality.

I loved the movie ” Blindside”, because it really was about the topic of ” thinking”. Sandra Bullocks character saw past whatever that the boy was going through, and saw his strength; saw who he was beyond the emotionless stare.
She saw that he could ” protect” his family, and saw that he could be a great defensive player on a football team if he could use the same view for his team. She used what he knew.
It comes down to meeting people where they already are, and using that to make them better.

It’s wrong to decide for ourselves how people are, and its wrong to decide for ourselves who we are.

What’s with the defining anyway? Who says we ever know better?

I am going to take this verse from Phillipians 4:8(ESV) right now, because it is ringing in my ear,

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Don’t we want to be people that think on the positive and think of things that are healthy to our lives, and others around us?

” If the devil can’t get us with destruction, he will settle for distraction.”- Beth Moore

This above quote is all about our ” thoughts” don’t let something negative have a foothold, because we lose focus on what’s really important to be thinking about.

Now I would like to introduce my next blog poster to you. Her name is Karen Barrows, and she is someone I have never met face to face, but I have known of her for years. This post below brought to tears to my eyes. Its amazing, I promise if you just read it. You will see her heart is pure and real. Please read:)

Faith is Believing
Karen Barrows

So often circumstances come along and life gets really hard. It could be an illness, our marriages, our children, jobs, finances, friendships; it could be any number of things. We may be tempted to stay in bed, pull the covers over our head and just check out for a while. Or, maybe we are at that fork in the road where the wide gate, the world’s way, looks to be simpler, easier and so much more fun. We stand there and as we turn and look to the other direction, through the narrow gate, the road seems very difficult.

13 Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life and few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
Holman

For many years I ran down that wide road and it did in fact lead to destruction, and there was certainly no peace. When I turned my life over to Jesus Christ I began to choose the narrow gate. It is true that the narrow road was sometimes filled with uncertainty, struggle and pain. But, through faith I was able to live my life believing that whatever He had entrusted to me, was done knowing He would work all things together for good, for those who are called to His purpose and love Him.

“Faith is acting like it is so, even when it ain’t so, in order that it might be so, just because God said so.” Dr. Tony Evans

Faith has meant living my life believing…He would heal me from lies and memories of childhood abuse. He did not disappoint.

Faith has meant living my life believing…He would rescue a teenage daughter who was addicted to cocaine and cutting. He did not disappoint.

Faith has meant living my life believing…He would take this life that had so much sin and change it completely to be used for His honor and His glory. He did not disappoint.

In August 2008 my brother went home to be with the Lord. He was followed by my mother in June 2009. Could God have healed my brother’s cancer? Yes, He most certainly could have. Could God have healed my mother’s lung disease? Yes, He most certainly could have. Instead, He chose to call them home. I miss them and there are times I long to talk with them. But, even in this God has shown me his faithfulness and His grace, which is sufficient. Even with the loss of my mother and brother, He did not disappoint.

As I think back over the years and how God has shown himself faithful to me, I am completely overwhelmed by His love, mercy and grace. As I ventured down that narrow path I was never alone. Jesus Christ held me in His arms, dried my tears and encouraged me along. Today, He continues to do the same. It is when I drift from the arms of Jesus that I struggle in my faith. This usually happens when I allow the enemy to make me busy and before I know it my time in the Word and prayer life have slipped. Jesus hasn’t left me I just got too busy for Him. I can’t afford to be too busy for Jesus. He is my very life and He is what strengthens my faith.