Stop thinking

 By Shastin Stracener

I wasn't even listening to the lesson. I was six

paragraphs ahead, rehearsing the word

"particularly" like my entire future depended on it.

Then somebody would read two paragraphs 

instead of one and ruin the whole operation. Now

I'm recalculating like NASA, my heart is racing, and

suddenly I don't know how to pronounce "the."

So when somebody tells me to relax and stop

thinking so much, please understand: I have

YEARS of experience preparing for situations that

haven't happened yet.

I can turn a slightly different tone in a text 

message into a full investigation. You said "okay"

instead of "okayyy," and now apparently I need to

review our entire relationship.

It's funny until you realize how exhausting it is.

Rehearsing conversations. Replaying what you

said. Trying to anticipate every possible outcome

so nothing catches you off guard. Sometimes

you're sitting somewhere perfectly peaceful, but

your mind has already created three problems and

an emergency exit plan.

If you relate, I hope you get a little break from your

own thoughts today. You deserve to enjoy a good 

moment without having to figure out what could

go wrong with it.

But if we're reading out loud, please stick to your

assigned paragraph. Some of us have a system.

"Stop overthinking."

I used to count how many kids

were ahead of me so I could

figure out exactly which 

paragraph I'd have to read

out loud.

You think I developed this

personality last week?

Weight of it all

 By Steve De'lano Garcia (posted by Nona)

"When the world goes silent around you and the weight of it all presses so hard you can barely breathe, I will not look away; I will not flinch, and I will not leave you to carry it by yourself. I will stay beside you in that aching place where words fail, and pain speaks in a language too deep for most people to bear, not to fix you, not to preach at you, and not to force you into some neat little version of healing, but simply to let you know that your suffering does not make you unworthy of company. There is a kind of grief that strips everything back and leaves a person feeling unseen even in a crowded world, and that is exactly where I would choose to meet you, quietly, steadily, without judgment. You would not have to perform strength for me or pretend you are coping when you are barely holding together, because some forms of love do not rescue; they remain. So if you find yourself in that place where sorrow feels endless and the night inside you will not lift, know this much at least: I would still be there, sitting beside your pain, making sure you do not have to face it as if you were the only soul in the world carrying it."

Accept the help

Accept the help

when it comes.

Being capable 

doesn't mean

you were meant

to carry

everything by

yourself.

Your side

 God knows when to

send you exactly

what you need.

God is on your side.

Way you love

 The way you love might be the only

sermon someone ever listens to.

You may be the closest picture of

Jesus someone encounters today.

So let your life preach.

Let your character preach.

Let your kindness preach.

Let your forgiveness preach.

Let your love preach.

Because the way you love someone

today might be the sermon that leads

them one step closer to Jesus.

My weaknesses

 Telling people about Jesus while I

still struggle with my own faith and

sin feels so hypocritical. But then I

remember, it's not my perfection

that tells the story. It's His grace

and mercy working in me even in

my weaknesses. If He can love me

where I am, then maybe someone

else can know and be loved right

where they're at, too.

Good heart

 Don't regret having a

good heart.

All good things come back

and multiply.