"I love the writing of Canadian farmer's wife Ann Voskamp. One night, while her husband unexpectedly massaged her feet, she wondered, 'Why is it easier to pour out than to let yourself be loved?...Letting yourself receive love means trusting you will be loved in your vulnerable need; it means believing you are worthy of being loved. Why can that be so heartbreakingly hard?'
I know why: because I know what's inside me. The pride. The selfishness. What I did yesterday. The things I thought - just an hour ago.
Stop it now. God is love. And our vulnerable God opens himself to cover my love-fears with himself. Love is not about my worthiness, my enough-ness. It's about God's unendingness."
by Elisa Morgan, The Prayer Coin
Reminder: Take This Cup. Not My Will.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Suspicion
This is a profound thought...
The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good.
-Oswald Chambers
The root of all sin is the suspicion that God is not good.
-Oswald Chambers
Your adversary
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Living sacrifices
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Romans 12:1
Living Sacrifices to God
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
Living Sacrifices to God
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Two-edged sword
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Choose her
The woman you are becoming will cost you people, relationships, spaces and material things.
Choose her over everything.
Choose her over everything.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Theological identity
from Flying Free
by Connie A. Baker
Perhaps the most difficult identity crisis for spiritual abuse survivors is the loss of theological identity. The survivor has to question his/her identity in relation to God. It can feel very much like God no longer has any regard for the survivor.
by Connie A. Baker
Perhaps the most difficult identity crisis for spiritual abuse survivors is the loss of theological identity. The survivor has to question his/her identity in relation to God. It can feel very much like God no longer has any regard for the survivor.
All of a sudden
Everything will happen for you all of a sudden and you will be thankful you didn't give up.
Blessings are coming. Believe that.
Blessings are coming. Believe that.
Don't tell anyone
Don't tell anyone what you're doing until it's done-outside energy can throw off goals.
Favorite place
"What's your favorite place?"
"I don't have a favorite place. I have my favorite people. And, whenever I'm with my favorite people, it becomes my favorite place."
"I don't have a favorite place. I have my favorite people. And, whenever I'm with my favorite people, it becomes my favorite place."
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Meant to do
by Doris Lessing
Whatever you're meant to do, do it now.
The conditions are always impossible.
Whatever you're meant to do, do it now.
The conditions are always impossible.
Your power
Sometimes people try to destroy you, precisely because they recognize your power - not because they don't see it, but because they see it and they don't want it to exist.
Yours to carry
from Toby Mac
A gentle reminder:
Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.
A gentle reminder:
Not everything that weighs you down is yours to carry.
Broken little girl
Beneath every
strong, independent woman lies a
broken little girl who had to learn
how to get back up and to never
depend on anyone.
It happens
And then it happens...
One day you wake up and
you're in this place.
You're in this place where
everything feels right.
Your heart is calm.
Your soul is lit.
Your thoughts are positive.
Your vision is clear.
You're at peace, at peace with
where you've been, at peace
with what you've been through
and at peace where
you're headed.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
We never die
Renowned Scientist Says We Never Die - So Does It Mean "Death Is Just an Illusion"?
by EMG Inspired Staff, The Epoch Times
It seems real when we lose a loved one, but what if they are not really dead? One famous scientist believes that the death of the body is far from the end. Meanwhile, a renowned neurosurgeon who has gone through a near-death experience confirms there is "life after death." Eastern civilization has believed since antiquity that death is an illusion - and now it seems the rest of the world, especially the scientific community, is catching on. So is death just an illusion?
(Side note for me: the Bible says that physical death is real)
Dr. Robert Lanza - who was listed in TIME magazine's 2014 list of of the top 100 most influential people on the planet - believes death is an illusion and not real. Dr. Lanza is the head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine. He is also an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University Medical School.
According to him, even when the body disintegrates upon death, we still exist as a form of 20-watt energy. "Although individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the alive feeling - the "Who am I?"- is just a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain," says Dr. Lanza.
Some might argue that this energy just disappears after death. But Dr. Lanza highlights the universal principle of conversation of energy to back his claims. He says, "But this energy doesn't go away at death. One of the surest axioms of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created or destroyed. But does this energy transcend from one world to the other?" he adds.
A new scientific theory known as "Biocentrism" expounds on the ideas of "multiverse" and "many worlds" - the idea is similar to the one of parallel universes. "There are an infinite number of universes, and everything that could possibly happen occurs in some universe. Death does not exist in any real sense in these scenarios," says Dr. Lanza, who has written over 30 books and published hundreds of scientific articles.
So, does this mean the near-death experiences that many people have gone through could be real, and possibly explain that "Who am I" part of our consciousness or our "souls"? Read below the near-death experience (NDE) of a famous American neurosurgeon. Dr. Eben Alexander is a well-known American neurosurgeon who has been into this profession for the last 25 years, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. On one night of 2008, he woke up with severe spasms and pain in his head, and then he collapsed. In a matter of hours, this healthy neurosurgeon, who's a son of a neurosurgeon, was on a death stroller.
When his family got him to the hospital, he was already in a coma. The diagnosis report said that it was caused by severe bacterial meningitis. The doctors told his wife that his body showed no recognizable brain activity and the he might not survive. But Dr. Alexander says he was already into some "other world" that he always thought never existed as a man of science, and he experienced firsthand what he himself once labeled as "hallucinations" and "illusions" like any other medical professional would name it. He says he traveled through some dark formless place. "I was rescued from that by this spinning melody of light. It came closer and opened up, and was a rip in the fabric of reality, that just opened up around me," says Dr. Alexander in an interview with ABC.
Dr. Alexander says that a gorgeous girl with deep-blue eyes, whom he had never seen before, guided him in the "vivid new world" as the both "flew by." He says she never spoke to him, but her thoughts were conveyed the moment she would look at him. "She said, 'You're loved. You're cherished. There is nothing you can do wrong,'" he says.
He says, "I remember being told that 'we will teach you many things, but you will be going back." He recalls that she told him,"all is well, don't worry," before he was back into his body. Then he came out of the coma after seven days.
Within a few weeks, he made an astonishingly full recovery. Dr. Alexander, who was raised by an adoptive family, then met his biological parents and came to know that he had a biological sister whom he'd never met and that she died at the age of 36. When he saw her picture, it was the same fairy he saw in the "other world" - same features, same person whom he had never seen in his life before.
"It was so stunning," he says. "I cannot tell you how powerful that was, there was no mistaking it, that's exactly who it was."
Skeptics say it is "normal" to experience all such illusions or hallucinations while in a coma and under medication. But Dr. Alexander says in his case, bacterial meningitis had infected all of his brain, including the areas that control vision, thoughts, imagination, and that areas that control our ability to dream. He has recorded his account in the book, Proof of Heaven (read it).
by EMG Inspired Staff, The Epoch Times
It seems real when we lose a loved one, but what if they are not really dead? One famous scientist believes that the death of the body is far from the end. Meanwhile, a renowned neurosurgeon who has gone through a near-death experience confirms there is "life after death." Eastern civilization has believed since antiquity that death is an illusion - and now it seems the rest of the world, especially the scientific community, is catching on. So is death just an illusion?
(Side note for me: the Bible says that physical death is real)
Dr. Robert Lanza - who was listed in TIME magazine's 2014 list of of the top 100 most influential people on the planet - believes death is an illusion and not real. Dr. Lanza is the head of Astellas Global Regenerative Medicine. He is also an adjunct professor at Wake Forest University Medical School.
According to him, even when the body disintegrates upon death, we still exist as a form of 20-watt energy. "Although individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, the alive feeling - the "Who am I?"- is just a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain," says Dr. Lanza.
Some might argue that this energy just disappears after death. But Dr. Lanza highlights the universal principle of conversation of energy to back his claims. He says, "But this energy doesn't go away at death. One of the surest axioms of science is that energy never dies; it can neither be created or destroyed. But does this energy transcend from one world to the other?" he adds.
A new scientific theory known as "Biocentrism" expounds on the ideas of "multiverse" and "many worlds" - the idea is similar to the one of parallel universes. "There are an infinite number of universes, and everything that could possibly happen occurs in some universe. Death does not exist in any real sense in these scenarios," says Dr. Lanza, who has written over 30 books and published hundreds of scientific articles.
So, does this mean the near-death experiences that many people have gone through could be real, and possibly explain that "Who am I" part of our consciousness or our "souls"? Read below the near-death experience (NDE) of a famous American neurosurgeon. Dr. Eben Alexander is a well-known American neurosurgeon who has been into this profession for the last 25 years, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. On one night of 2008, he woke up with severe spasms and pain in his head, and then he collapsed. In a matter of hours, this healthy neurosurgeon, who's a son of a neurosurgeon, was on a death stroller.
When his family got him to the hospital, he was already in a coma. The diagnosis report said that it was caused by severe bacterial meningitis. The doctors told his wife that his body showed no recognizable brain activity and the he might not survive. But Dr. Alexander says he was already into some "other world" that he always thought never existed as a man of science, and he experienced firsthand what he himself once labeled as "hallucinations" and "illusions" like any other medical professional would name it. He says he traveled through some dark formless place. "I was rescued from that by this spinning melody of light. It came closer and opened up, and was a rip in the fabric of reality, that just opened up around me," says Dr. Alexander in an interview with ABC.
Dr. Alexander says that a gorgeous girl with deep-blue eyes, whom he had never seen before, guided him in the "vivid new world" as the both "flew by." He says she never spoke to him, but her thoughts were conveyed the moment she would look at him. "She said, 'You're loved. You're cherished. There is nothing you can do wrong,'" he says.
He says, "I remember being told that 'we will teach you many things, but you will be going back." He recalls that she told him,"all is well, don't worry," before he was back into his body. Then he came out of the coma after seven days.
Within a few weeks, he made an astonishingly full recovery. Dr. Alexander, who was raised by an adoptive family, then met his biological parents and came to know that he had a biological sister whom he'd never met and that she died at the age of 36. When he saw her picture, it was the same fairy he saw in the "other world" - same features, same person whom he had never seen in his life before.
"It was so stunning," he says. "I cannot tell you how powerful that was, there was no mistaking it, that's exactly who it was."
Skeptics say it is "normal" to experience all such illusions or hallucinations while in a coma and under medication. But Dr. Alexander says in his case, bacterial meningitis had infected all of his brain, including the areas that control vision, thoughts, imagination, and that areas that control our ability to dream. He has recorded his account in the book, Proof of Heaven (read it).
Wait for the Lord
4 Ways to Wait for the Lord When Life Feels Like Garbage
by Stephen Altrogge on FaithIt
Life has felt pretty crappy lately.
Nevertheless, it still feels...hard.
For the last three months, we've had at least one child sick and home from school almost every day. On top of that, my old nemesis depression has been dogging my footsteps, making me feel like I wake up under a dark cloud.
It's been hard to wait for the Lord to bring relief. Rest. Peace. Joy.
And I know I'm not alone. All of us have something we're waiting for the Lord to do.
To bring a spouse.
To give life to a barren womb.
To save a wandering child.
To repair a once-treasured, now shattered relationship.
We know God is faithful. We know that He's good and He loves us. But it's so excruciatingly hard to wait for the Lord to act. To move. To deliver. To rescue.
Thankfully, Scripture itself is a story of waiting. Abraham waited for a son, Joseph waited for deliverance, David waited to be made king, Israel waited for a Messiah, and we all wait for the return of the serpent crusher.
God's word has much to say about how we wait. Biblical waiting isn't passive, like waiting for a train to arrive. It's an active, aggressive sort of waiting.
So how do we wait for the Lord in a way that honors Him, fills us with hope, and gives us strength to carry on even when we feel like we're in the dark?
Waiting for the Lord: 4 Ways
1. We Wait For The Lord In Faith
There are two types of waiting.
The first type is unsure, fearful waiting. We're not sure if God is going to come through, as if He's some sort of unreliable parent who forgets to pick up His kids at soccer practice/
We hope God delivers us...
...but what if He doesn't?
This kind of waiting is displeasing and dishonoring to God.
The second type is waiting in strong faith. We've run all the numbers, calculated the odds, and can't figure out how God is going to come through for us.
Nevertheless, we trust Him because we know His character. We know that He's infinitely good and loving and that He will deliver us, even if that deliverance isn't the kind we expected.
Proverbs 3:5-6 spells it out clearly:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
When life is in shambles, one of our greatest temptations is to lean on our own understanding. To try to figure everything out. To play out every scenario in our heads and determine which one is most likely.
We become like divine weathermen, trying to map out which way God's providence will blow.
But when we wait for the Lord in faith, we make a conscious effort to reject our own understanding. Our understanding is extraordinarily limited.
I mean, seriously, think about it...
We're aware of about 1/1,000,000,000th of what is happening in every circumstance.
God knows everything that's happening in our lives and HE knows exactly what He will do.
Waiting that honors God is characterized by faith in His character.
2. We Wait For The Lord Loudly
Have you ever noticed when David was waiting for the Lord to deliver, he was very loud about it?
For example, in Psalm 35:17, he says:
How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
David waited in faith, but he certainly wasn't quiet, meek and mild while he was waiting. He was constantly crying out to the Lord for deliverance. At times, you could even mistake the intensity of his requests for irreverence.
But David knew that God was good, faithful, and kind. He knew that God loved to give good gifts, including deliverance, to His children. And so, like any child, he asked for that deliverance repeatedly and loudly.
Jesus reinforced this truth with the parable of the persistent widow. She pestered and harassed the unrighteous judge until he couldn't take it any longer. If even a corrupt judge will respond to persistent requests, how much more will our loving God?
Waiting that honors God is characterized by persistent pleas for deliverance.
3. We Wait For The Lord Patiently
When it comes to waiting, I am the world's least patient person. They could make a reality show about my impatience. When traffic gets congested, I transform into Jeff Gordon, cutting left, zagging right, anything to make forward progress.
If a YouTube video buffers for more than 3.2 seconds, I'm gone. Heck, I even watch some YouTube videos on 2x speed (IT'S A SICKNESS, OKAY?)
When it comes to waiting for God to deliver me...
...again, not so patient.
To quote Queen, "I want it all and I want it now."
And, of course, God always gives me what I want, when I want it, because I know what's best for me.
Except that I don't, and if God did give me everything I wanted right when I asked for it, I would probably be dead or living in a van down by the river (See: Matt Foley, motivational speaker).
Psalm 84:11 is a sharp reminder of how God operates:
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
If something is good for me, God will give it to me at the appropriate time. He's not going to hold back a single blessing from me, and He's going to give them to me when I'll get the most goodness from them and He'll get the most glory.
It was good for David to be king of Israel, but first, he had to hide in the desert caves.
It was good for Abraham to have a son, but first there needed to be no doubt that both (he) and Sarah were completely barren.
It will be glorious when Christ returns, but first, the full number of people must be saved.
God doesn't serve up undercooked blessings. When the time is right, He delivers the full course meal.
Until then, we're called to wait for the Lord patiently.
4. We Wait For The Lord Dependently
The apostle Paul knew a thing or two about waiting. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, he wrote about the thorn in the flesh:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
This thorn in the flesh was no joke. Paul was no pansy. He had been tossed in prison, almost stoned to death, beaten with rods, pursued by people who wanted to kill him, and shipwrecked, all for the sake of the (G)ospel.
And yet, this thorn was so bad that Paul pleaded with God three times to take it away. Whatever the thorn was - blindness, persecution, demonic attack - it made Paul feel desperate for deliverance.
There's no indication in (S)cripture that God ever removed the thorn, but what we do know is that while Paul was waiting for deliverance he depended mightily on the sustaining grace of God.
Paul's thorn forced him to throw his entire weight on God's sustaining grace and power. That was the only way he could survive.
The same is true for us. The only way we can survive in our waiting is to throw ourselves fully on God. We are completely and totally dependent on Him.
If we don't wait dependently on the Lord, we end up bitter, dried up, and hopeless. The only way to survive the long dark is to cling to Christ, the true light.
We wait for the Lord dependently, relying on His power and not our own.
Don't Just Stand There, Get Waiting!
There are few things harder than waiting for God to deliver us. But it's crucial to remember that even when it feels absolutely nothing is happening, God is working.
I'm reminded of the scene in C.S. Lewis book, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" when the ship sails into an inky black cloud. They encounter a man who tells them that they're in a place where their nightmares come true.
Just when things seem to be at their worst, Lucy calls out to Aslan, asking him to deliver them. Suddenly, a brilliant, shining albatross flies over the ship and around Lucy, who is standing in the (crow's) nest. It leads them out of the darkness and back into the light.
Lewis then writes:
But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's, and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face.
You may be in the dark, and it may seem as though it's never going to end.
But take courage, dear heart.
by Stephen Altrogge on FaithIt
Life has felt pretty crappy lately.
Nevertheless, it still feels...hard.
For the last three months, we've had at least one child sick and home from school almost every day. On top of that, my old nemesis depression has been dogging my footsteps, making me feel like I wake up under a dark cloud.
It's been hard to wait for the Lord to bring relief. Rest. Peace. Joy.
And I know I'm not alone. All of us have something we're waiting for the Lord to do.
To bring a spouse.
To give life to a barren womb.
To save a wandering child.
To repair a once-treasured, now shattered relationship.
We know God is faithful. We know that He's good and He loves us. But it's so excruciatingly hard to wait for the Lord to act. To move. To deliver. To rescue.
Thankfully, Scripture itself is a story of waiting. Abraham waited for a son, Joseph waited for deliverance, David waited to be made king, Israel waited for a Messiah, and we all wait for the return of the serpent crusher.
God's word has much to say about how we wait. Biblical waiting isn't passive, like waiting for a train to arrive. It's an active, aggressive sort of waiting.
So how do we wait for the Lord in a way that honors Him, fills us with hope, and gives us strength to carry on even when we feel like we're in the dark?
Waiting for the Lord: 4 Ways
1. We Wait For The Lord In Faith
There are two types of waiting.
The first type is unsure, fearful waiting. We're not sure if God is going to come through, as if He's some sort of unreliable parent who forgets to pick up His kids at soccer practice/
We hope God delivers us...
...but what if He doesn't?
This kind of waiting is displeasing and dishonoring to God.
The second type is waiting in strong faith. We've run all the numbers, calculated the odds, and can't figure out how God is going to come through for us.
Nevertheless, we trust Him because we know His character. We know that He's infinitely good and loving and that He will deliver us, even if that deliverance isn't the kind we expected.
Proverbs 3:5-6 spells it out clearly:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
When life is in shambles, one of our greatest temptations is to lean on our own understanding. To try to figure everything out. To play out every scenario in our heads and determine which one is most likely.
We become like divine weathermen, trying to map out which way God's providence will blow.
But when we wait for the Lord in faith, we make a conscious effort to reject our own understanding. Our understanding is extraordinarily limited.
I mean, seriously, think about it...
We're aware of about 1/1,000,000,000th of what is happening in every circumstance.
God knows everything that's happening in our lives and HE knows exactly what He will do.
Waiting that honors God is characterized by faith in His character.
2. We Wait For The Lord Loudly
Have you ever noticed when David was waiting for the Lord to deliver, he was very loud about it?
For example, in Psalm 35:17, he says:
How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
David waited in faith, but he certainly wasn't quiet, meek and mild while he was waiting. He was constantly crying out to the Lord for deliverance. At times, you could even mistake the intensity of his requests for irreverence.
But David knew that God was good, faithful, and kind. He knew that God loved to give good gifts, including deliverance, to His children. And so, like any child, he asked for that deliverance repeatedly and loudly.
Jesus reinforced this truth with the parable of the persistent widow. She pestered and harassed the unrighteous judge until he couldn't take it any longer. If even a corrupt judge will respond to persistent requests, how much more will our loving God?
Waiting that honors God is characterized by persistent pleas for deliverance.
3. We Wait For The Lord Patiently
When it comes to waiting, I am the world's least patient person. They could make a reality show about my impatience. When traffic gets congested, I transform into Jeff Gordon, cutting left, zagging right, anything to make forward progress.
If a YouTube video buffers for more than 3.2 seconds, I'm gone. Heck, I even watch some YouTube videos on 2x speed (IT'S A SICKNESS, OKAY?)
When it comes to waiting for God to deliver me...
...again, not so patient.
To quote Queen, "I want it all and I want it now."
And, of course, God always gives me what I want, when I want it, because I know what's best for me.
Except that I don't, and if God did give me everything I wanted right when I asked for it, I would probably be dead or living in a van down by the river (See: Matt Foley, motivational speaker).
Psalm 84:11 is a sharp reminder of how God operates:
For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
If something is good for me, God will give it to me at the appropriate time. He's not going to hold back a single blessing from me, and He's going to give them to me when I'll get the most goodness from them and He'll get the most glory.
It was good for David to be king of Israel, but first, he had to hide in the desert caves.
It was good for Abraham to have a son, but first there needed to be no doubt that both (he) and Sarah were completely barren.
It will be glorious when Christ returns, but first, the full number of people must be saved.
God doesn't serve up undercooked blessings. When the time is right, He delivers the full course meal.
Until then, we're called to wait for the Lord patiently.
4. We Wait For The Lord Dependently
The apostle Paul knew a thing or two about waiting. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, he wrote about the thorn in the flesh:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
This thorn in the flesh was no joke. Paul was no pansy. He had been tossed in prison, almost stoned to death, beaten with rods, pursued by people who wanted to kill him, and shipwrecked, all for the sake of the (G)ospel.
And yet, this thorn was so bad that Paul pleaded with God three times to take it away. Whatever the thorn was - blindness, persecution, demonic attack - it made Paul feel desperate for deliverance.
There's no indication in (S)cripture that God ever removed the thorn, but what we do know is that while Paul was waiting for deliverance he depended mightily on the sustaining grace of God.
Paul's thorn forced him to throw his entire weight on God's sustaining grace and power. That was the only way he could survive.
The same is true for us. The only way we can survive in our waiting is to throw ourselves fully on God. We are completely and totally dependent on Him.
If we don't wait dependently on the Lord, we end up bitter, dried up, and hopeless. The only way to survive the long dark is to cling to Christ, the true light.
We wait for the Lord dependently, relying on His power and not our own.
Don't Just Stand There, Get Waiting!
There are few things harder than waiting for God to deliver us. But it's crucial to remember that even when it feels absolutely nothing is happening, God is working.
I'm reminded of the scene in C.S. Lewis book, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" when the ship sails into an inky black cloud. They encounter a man who tells them that they're in a place where their nightmares come true.
Just when things seem to be at their worst, Lucy calls out to Aslan, asking him to deliver them. Suddenly, a brilliant, shining albatross flies over the ship and around Lucy, who is standing in the (crow's) nest. It leads them out of the darkness and back into the light.
Lewis then writes:
But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's, and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face.
You may be in the dark, and it may seem as though it's never going to end.
But take courage, dear heart.
His truth
The devil wants you to pay attention to your feelings.
Jesus wants you to pay attention to His truth.
Jesus wants you to pay attention to His truth.
Small things
by Zoe Clark Coates
Small things can trigger a fresh wave of grief. A smell, a look, or perhaps a song. Within seconds you are flung into a time machine and transported back to that "moment" where time stood still and the world had crashed at your feet.
Small things can trigger a fresh wave of grief. A smell, a look, or perhaps a song. Within seconds you are flung into a time machine and transported back to that "moment" where time stood still and the world had crashed at your feet.
Bear burdens
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
End of life
This was an article in the Detroit Free Press by John Wisely. It was posted on the Gift of Life Facebook page. I've always wondered a little about this...
Why parents don't get a say about end of life when a child is brain dead
The parents of 14-year-old Bobby Reyes of Ash Township were outraged Tuesday when officials at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital withdrew life support from their son, whose heart and lung functions stopped moments later.
But hospital officials said to continue the ventilator after a confirmation of brain death would be unethical, arguing in essence that the boy was dead already and had been for almost three weeks.
The drama surrounding the death of the Monroe County teen raises two questions: When is someone really dead? And who gets to say so?
Medical ethicists acknowledge that the clinical definition of death doesn't always align neatly with the layperson's understanding of it, especially that of grieving parents.
"It's always been very difficult because the technology allows the brain-dead body to be warm and perfused and to have a beating heart," said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, acting director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. "It's always very difficult for anybody to sort of say, 'Well, how is my child dead?'"
Sulmasy said parents are accustomed to making medical decisions for their children, but brain death is different.
"If the child were comatose, but not brain dead, then yes, the parents would be the people who would make a decision whether surgery was going to be done, whether the child was going to be put on a ventilator, or a feeding tube was going to be put in," he said.
"But you don't need someone's consent or a family's consent to declare them dead. It's a medical judgment. It's not a moral sort of judgment or quality of life judgment."
Parents' plea on Facebook
Bobby's case drew wide attention after his parents, Sarah Jones and Jose Reyes, posted a plea on Facebook to keep their son alive.
Bobby suffered a severe asthma attack Sept. 22nd which left him unresponsive. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Trenton and then airlifted to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Doctors there conducted a brain death examination Sept. 24th and found no signs of electrical impulses in his brain stem and no blood flow to his brain. They declared him brain dead and sought a second test to confirm their findings.
Bobby's parents waged a court fight to prevent that second test. They lost that fight Tuesday. Hospital officials then conducted the second test, which they said confirmed the findings of the first.
Hospital staffers disconnected the teen from life support that afternoon. His heart and lung functions stopped moments later.
"The family is heartbroken and do not feel that anything was done with any compassion," said William Amadeo, a lawyer for Bobby's parents.
Amadeo was trying to get the Michigan Court of Claims to issue a stay in the case on Tuesday afternoon as hospital staffers were disconnecting Bobby's life support.
The family had spoken with other doctors who had given them reason to hope that Bobby could recover, including Richard P. Bonfiglio, who practices in Murrysville, Pennsylvania,, and attended the Tuesday court hearing in the case.
"The problem is the whole determination of brain death is not a precise science at this point, so when you're dealing with this kind of situation, I would rather err on the side of giving him a chance than on terminating things," Bonfiglio told the Free Press Tuesday.
Electrical activity and blood flow
The hospital explained its decision in a statement.
"The brain death examination showed Bobby had no detectable brain or brain stem function. Further testing - including an electrical encephalogram (EEG) and a cerebral blood flow study - detected no electrical activity and no blood flow to Bobby's brain," the statement said. "By law in Michigan, an individual is dead who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all function of the entire brain, including the brain stem."
Trevor Bibler, an assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said continuing life support temporarily might be considered for family purposes, such as giving an out-of-town relative time to travel to see the patient.
(Side note: I am feeling physically ill as I copy this article)
But that's not necessarily the right answer in all cases.
"Part of the reason why people are willing to give family time to gather, time to get more comfortable with the decision itself," he said. "Sometimes that ends up being exactly what's needed and sometimes they might end up regretting not taking a very strict approach right at the beginning and saying, look, this patient is dead. And so now I have an obligation to stop support because it's no longer life support right? There's no life to be supported at this point."
In 2016, the Society of Critical Care Medicine Ethics Committee published a statement on potentially inappropriate interventions in such a case.
"ICU interventions should generally be considered inappropriate when there is no reasonable expectation that the patient will improve sufficiently outside the acute care setting," the statement reads, adding that it could also be considered inappropriate "when there is no reasonable expectation that the patient's neurologic function will improve sufficiently to allow the patient to perceive the benefits of treatment."
Why parents don't get a say about end of life when a child is brain dead
The parents of 14-year-old Bobby Reyes of Ash Township were outraged Tuesday when officials at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital withdrew life support from their son, whose heart and lung functions stopped moments later.
But hospital officials said to continue the ventilator after a confirmation of brain death would be unethical, arguing in essence that the boy was dead already and had been for almost three weeks.
The drama surrounding the death of the Monroe County teen raises two questions: When is someone really dead? And who gets to say so?
Medical ethicists acknowledge that the clinical definition of death doesn't always align neatly with the layperson's understanding of it, especially that of grieving parents.
"It's always been very difficult because the technology allows the brain-dead body to be warm and perfused and to have a beating heart," said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, acting director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. "It's always very difficult for anybody to sort of say, 'Well, how is my child dead?'"
Sulmasy said parents are accustomed to making medical decisions for their children, but brain death is different.
"If the child were comatose, but not brain dead, then yes, the parents would be the people who would make a decision whether surgery was going to be done, whether the child was going to be put on a ventilator, or a feeding tube was going to be put in," he said.
"But you don't need someone's consent or a family's consent to declare them dead. It's a medical judgment. It's not a moral sort of judgment or quality of life judgment."
Parents' plea on Facebook
Bobby's case drew wide attention after his parents, Sarah Jones and Jose Reyes, posted a plea on Facebook to keep their son alive.
Bobby suffered a severe asthma attack Sept. 22nd which left him unresponsive. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Trenton and then airlifted to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Doctors there conducted a brain death examination Sept. 24th and found no signs of electrical impulses in his brain stem and no blood flow to his brain. They declared him brain dead and sought a second test to confirm their findings.
Bobby's parents waged a court fight to prevent that second test. They lost that fight Tuesday. Hospital officials then conducted the second test, which they said confirmed the findings of the first.
Hospital staffers disconnected the teen from life support that afternoon. His heart and lung functions stopped moments later.
"The family is heartbroken and do not feel that anything was done with any compassion," said William Amadeo, a lawyer for Bobby's parents.
Amadeo was trying to get the Michigan Court of Claims to issue a stay in the case on Tuesday afternoon as hospital staffers were disconnecting Bobby's life support.
The family had spoken with other doctors who had given them reason to hope that Bobby could recover, including Richard P. Bonfiglio, who practices in Murrysville, Pennsylvania,, and attended the Tuesday court hearing in the case.
"The problem is the whole determination of brain death is not a precise science at this point, so when you're dealing with this kind of situation, I would rather err on the side of giving him a chance than on terminating things," Bonfiglio told the Free Press Tuesday.
Electrical activity and blood flow
The hospital explained its decision in a statement.
"The brain death examination showed Bobby had no detectable brain or brain stem function. Further testing - including an electrical encephalogram (EEG) and a cerebral blood flow study - detected no electrical activity and no blood flow to Bobby's brain," the statement said. "By law in Michigan, an individual is dead who has sustained either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or irreversible cessation of all function of the entire brain, including the brain stem."
Trevor Bibler, an assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said continuing life support temporarily might be considered for family purposes, such as giving an out-of-town relative time to travel to see the patient.
(Side note: I am feeling physically ill as I copy this article)
But that's not necessarily the right answer in all cases.
"Part of the reason why people are willing to give family time to gather, time to get more comfortable with the decision itself," he said. "Sometimes that ends up being exactly what's needed and sometimes they might end up regretting not taking a very strict approach right at the beginning and saying, look, this patient is dead. And so now I have an obligation to stop support because it's no longer life support right? There's no life to be supported at this point."
In 2016, the Society of Critical Care Medicine Ethics Committee published a statement on potentially inappropriate interventions in such a case.
"ICU interventions should generally be considered inappropriate when there is no reasonable expectation that the patient will improve sufficiently outside the acute care setting," the statement reads, adding that it could also be considered inappropriate "when there is no reasonable expectation that the patient's neurologic function will improve sufficiently to allow the patient to perceive the benefits of treatment."
Three stages
by Hudson Taylor
I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God:
first, it is impossible,
then it is difficult,
then it is done.
I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God:
first, it is impossible,
then it is difficult,
then it is done.
Communicate
Communicate. Even when it's uncomfortable or uneasy.
One of the best ways to heal,
is simply getting everything out.
One of the best ways to heal,
is simply getting everything out.
It's still
IT'S STILL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
They don't have to hit you, choke you,
or slam your head into a wall
in order for it to be domestic violence.
They can degrade you, humiliate you,
blame you, scream at you, lie to you,
cheat on you, and withhold finances,
or even just try to control you and
IT IS STILL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
-Morgan McKean
Situation
It's funny how we ask God to change our situation.
Not knowing He put us in the situation to change us.
Not knowing He put us in the situation to change us.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Desires of your heart
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Restore to me
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
I delight
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.
Psalm 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Wait!
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!
All the world
Posted by Jenny Rhine Williams
written by Maya Angelou
In all the world there is
no heart for me like yours.
In all the world there is
no love for you like mine.
written by Maya Angelou
In all the world there is
no heart for me like yours.
In all the world there is
no love for you like mine.
Mistakes
I've made a lot of mistakes in my life,
but if
every single one
had to happen to make sure I was
right here,
right now,
to meet you,
then I forgive myself
for them all.
Posted by Jenny Rhine Williams
Written by K. Towne Jr.
but if
every single one
had to happen to make sure I was
right here,
right now,
to meet you,
then I forgive myself
for them all.
Posted by Jenny Rhine Williams
Written by K. Towne Jr.
Truly loves you
If he truly loves you
he will love you
when you are an ocean breeze
but also
when you are a summer storm.
You were not made
to be loved in parts,
You were meant
to be loved as a whole.
Posted by Jenny Rhine Williams
he will love you
when you are an ocean breeze
but also
when you are a summer storm.
You were not made
to be loved in parts,
You were meant
to be loved as a whole.
Posted by Jenny Rhine Williams
One day
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
One day,
when I wake up at 3 am,
unable to sleep,
I will look next to me
and you will be there.
Sleeping peacefully beside me
and suddenly,
the world won't seem so lonely.
One day,
when I wake up at 3 am,
unable to sleep,
I will look next to me
and you will be there.
Sleeping peacefully beside me
and suddenly,
the world won't seem so lonely.
Never not
by Virginia Woolf, Selected Diaries
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
In case you ever foolishly forget:
I am never not thinking of you.
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
In case you ever foolishly forget:
I am never not thinking of you.
Relentless
I was so undeserving,
And yet, you were
so relentless.
I pushed - you pulled.
I wept - you embraced.
I bled - you repaired.
I faltered - you shushed.
I stopped - you smiled.
I was a disaster -
the worst of its kind.
And yet, you still
had the audacity
to let me know
that I was beautiful.
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
And yet, you were
so relentless.
I pushed - you pulled.
I wept - you embraced.
I bled - you repaired.
I faltered - you shushed.
I stopped - you smiled.
I was a disaster -
the worst of its kind.
And yet, you still
had the audacity
to let me know
that I was beautiful.
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
Him
When your eyes met mine,
my soul pointed at you and whispered to my heart,
"Him"...
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
my soul pointed at you and whispered to my heart,
"Him"...
Posted by Jenny Rhine-Williams
Secret of the Lord
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 25:14-15
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are forever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Psalm 25:14-15
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are forever toward the Lord,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
How much strength
by Horacio Jones
I don't think people realize how much strength it takes to pull your own self out of a dark place mentally. So if you've done that today or any day, I'm proud of you.
I don't think people realize how much strength it takes to pull your own self out of a dark place mentally. So if you've done that today or any day, I'm proud of you.
A shovel
by Andrew J. Bauman
Stumbling Toward Wholeness
Grief serves as a shovel for the soul: it digs, mines, and excavates painfully, at times violently. But deep love enters those very same spaces. If we never allow ourselves to feel the pain of loss and betrayal, we will not feel the fullness of love.
Stumbling Toward Wholeness
Grief serves as a shovel for the soul: it digs, mines, and excavates painfully, at times violently. But deep love enters those very same spaces. If we never allow ourselves to feel the pain of loss and betrayal, we will not feel the fullness of love.
Praying
by Corrie Ten Boom
The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.
The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God's realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Words of my mouth
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 19:4
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart,
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:4
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart,
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
Be patient
from Flying Free
Someone who's mentally abused will...
Someone who's mentally abused will...
- Constantly apologize...because they're used to being criticized excessively.
- Hide their feelings...because they're used to being blamed for them/having them discredited.
- Breakdown during small disagreements...because it'll trigger a flashback to a time when their abuser exploded out of nowhere.
- Need a lot of reassurance...because they're used to being constantly told they're "not enough"
Please be patient, they're trying.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Train your mind
You have to train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you'll lose yourself everytime.
Powerful place
Grapes must be crushed to make wine. Diamonds form under pressure. Olives are pressed to release oil. Seeds grow in darkness. Whenever you feel crushed, under pressure, pressed, or in darkness, you're in a powerful place of transformation and transmutation. Trust the process. Trust God.
Own the day
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
He said, "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays."
He said, "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays."
Called weird
Being called weird is like being called limited edition.
It means you're something people don't see that often.
Remember that.
It means you're something people don't see that often.
Remember that.
Phenomenal woman
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder
where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to
suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell
them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my
arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips,
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Your own understanding
When the Bible says "do not lean on your own understanding," the Bible is being serious. Your heart is deceitful, your emotions fluctuate, your understanding does not see the overall, big picture. God never lies, God never changes, God knows all. Trust Him.
Took my hand
I know I've recorded this before, but it's so beautiful...
Mom, He Only Took My Hand
Last night while I was trying to sleep, my son's voice I did hear.
I opened my eyes and looked around but he did not appear.
He said, Mom you've got to listen, you've got to understand
God didn't take me from you Mom, He only took my hand.
When I called out in pain that morning, the instant that I died,
He reached down and took my hand, and pulled me to his side.
He pulled me up and saved me from the misery and pain
My body was hurt so badly inside, I could never be the same.
My search is really over now, I've found happiness within.
All the answers to my empty dreams and all that might have been.
I love you so and miss you so, but I'll always be nearby
My body's gone forever, but my spirit will never die
And so you must go on now, live one day at a time
Just understand, God did not take me from you...
He only took my hand.
A seed
For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.
Responsible
If you ran out of money after paying all your bills and taking care of your home, you are not broke, you are responsible.
Know your worth
by Al Leaston
A father, before he died, said to his son, "This is a watch your grandfather gave me, and is more than 200 years old. But before I give it to you, go to the watch shop on the first street, and tell him I want to sell it, and see how much he offers you."
He went, and then came back to his father, and said, "The watchmaker offered 5 dollars because it's old."
He said to him, "Go to the coffee shop."
He went, and then came back, and said, "He offered $5, Father."
"Go to the museum and show that watch."
He went to them, came back, and said to his father, "They offered me a million dollars for this piece."
The father said, "I wanted to let you know that the right place values you in the right way."
Don't find yourself in the wrong place and get angry if you are not valued.
Those that know your value are those who appreciate you. Don't stay in a place where nobody sees your value."
Know your worth.
A father, before he died, said to his son, "This is a watch your grandfather gave me, and is more than 200 years old. But before I give it to you, go to the watch shop on the first street, and tell him I want to sell it, and see how much he offers you."
He went, and then came back to his father, and said, "The watchmaker offered 5 dollars because it's old."
He said to him, "Go to the coffee shop."
He went, and then came back, and said, "He offered $5, Father."
"Go to the museum and show that watch."
He went to them, came back, and said to his father, "They offered me a million dollars for this piece."
The father said, "I wanted to let you know that the right place values you in the right way."
Don't find yourself in the wrong place and get angry if you are not valued.
Those that know your value are those who appreciate you. Don't stay in a place where nobody sees your value."
Know your worth.
Butterflies
Butterflies can't see their wings. They can't see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can. People are like that as well.
Treat others
from Toby Mac
Every person you see is someone Jesus thought enough of to die for.
Remember that in how you treat others.
Every person you see is someone Jesus thought enough of to die for.
Remember that in how you treat others.
None like you
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
2 Samuel 7:22
Therefore You are great, O Lord God.
For there is none like You,
nor is there any God besides You,
according to all that we have heard with our ears.
2 Samuel 7:22
Therefore You are great, O Lord God.
For there is none like You,
nor is there any God besides You,
according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Monday, October 14, 2019
A future and a hope
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Be transformed
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Day by day
Anxiety happens
when you think
you have to figure out
everything at once.
Breathe.
You're strong.
You've got this.
Take it day by day.
Waits for God
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God.
To the Chief Musician.
To Jeduthun.
A Psalm of David.
Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
A Calm Resolve to Wait for the Salvation of God.
To the Chief Musician.
To Jeduthun.
A Psalm of David.
Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
Counsel
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.
There are many plans in a man's heart,
Nevertheless the Lord's counsel - that will stand.
Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.
There are many plans in a man's heart,
Nevertheless the Lord's counsel - that will stand.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Don't care
When you truly don't care what anyone else thinks of you,
you have reached a dangerously awesome level of freedom.
you have reached a dangerously awesome level of freedom.
Be both
from Toby Mac
You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.
-Sophia Bush
You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously.
-Sophia Bush
Monday, October 7, 2019
One day
Because one day you're going to meet someone who teaches you, you're enough. One day you're going to meet someone and everything you've done for others is going to come back to you. One day you're going to cross paths with someone who makes you realize how great you are and you'll start to see yourself through his eyes. And you won't look at your flaws or the things you wish you could change. Because to him you're going to be perfect.
Nothing to prove
Learn to be okay with people not knowing your side of the story.
You have nothing to prove to anyone.
You have nothing to prove to anyone.
Overwhelmed
Whenever you feel overwhelmed...remember Whose daughter you are and straighten our crown.
Losers
from Flying Free
Narcissists do not pick losers. They target the best of the best. The strongest. The smartest. The most capable. The ones who surpass their own level. So if you happen to have a narc in your life, take a moment to think about the reality of that. You're stronger than them. You're smarter than them. You're a survivor. And they know it. They need you. Not the other way around.
Narcissists do not pick losers. They target the best of the best. The strongest. The smartest. The most capable. The ones who surpass their own level. So if you happen to have a narc in your life, take a moment to think about the reality of that. You're stronger than them. You're smarter than them. You're a survivor. And they know it. They need you. Not the other way around.
Everlasting strength
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in YAH, the Lord,
is everlasting strength.
Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever,
For in YAH, the Lord,
is everlasting strength.
He is near
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Isaiah 55:6
Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:6
Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Fellowship of God
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Psalm 63:1
Joy in the Fellowship of God, A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
Joy in the Fellowship of God, A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
Friday, October 4, 2019
Do not boast
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow,
For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
A living hope
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
1 Peter 1:3
A Heavenly Inheritance
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3
A Heavenly Inheritance
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Safe
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare,
But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
You will know
John 13:7
Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."
Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."
When are apologies appropriate
from Flying Free
Say Sorry When...
Say Sorry When...
- You've crossed a boundary
- You become aware that someone felt hurt by an action of yours
- You were mistaken about something
Don't Apologize For...
- Taking up space
- Consuming resources
- Existing
- Expressing yourself
- Asking for something
- Asserting yourself
- Putting yourself first
- Being different
- Disappointing others
- Choosing what works for you
- For saying no
- For saying yes
- For being happy
- For being sad
- For being upset
- For having needs
- For having feelings
- For having wants
- For being
Give thanks
From Days of Praise
In Everything Give Thanks
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no more herds in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
It is easy to be happy and cheerful in times of prosperity, when one has all the comforts of an affluent lifestyle and everything seems to be going well. The testing times come, however, when these material comforts are somehow taken away, and one feels defeated and all alone.
Except for God! Whatever else may fail, God "will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). Since we still have the Lord (assuming we have trusted Him for forgiveness and salvation through Christ), we can always "rejoice in the Lord,...in the God of my salvation."
Job, for example, lost all his possessions, then his children, finally his health, and even his wife turned against him. Yet he could say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21)
God has commanded the Christian: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not for everything, but in everything!
This has always been one of the greatest testimonies a Christian can give to an unbeliever - the testimony of a life rejoicing in God's salvation even in the midst of trouble. This was the example of Christ Himself, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
In Everything Give Thanks
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no more herds in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
(Habakkuk 3:17-18)
It is easy to be happy and cheerful in times of prosperity, when one has all the comforts of an affluent lifestyle and everything seems to be going well. The testing times come, however, when these material comforts are somehow taken away, and one feels defeated and all alone.
Except for God! Whatever else may fail, God "will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). Since we still have the Lord (assuming we have trusted Him for forgiveness and salvation through Christ), we can always "rejoice in the Lord,...in the God of my salvation."
Job, for example, lost all his possessions, then his children, finally his health, and even his wife turned against him. Yet he could say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21)
God has commanded the Christian: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not for everything, but in everything!
This has always been one of the greatest testimonies a Christian can give to an unbeliever - the testimony of a life rejoicing in God's salvation even in the midst of trouble. This was the example of Christ Himself, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Don't see anything
by Toby Mac
Just because you don't see anything happening
doesn't mean God is not working.
Just because you don't see anything happening
doesn't mean God is not working.
Complain
When you complain,
you make yourself a victim.
Leave the situation,
change the situation
or accept it.
All else is madness.
-Eckhart Tolle
you make yourself a victim.
Leave the situation,
change the situation
or accept it.
All else is madness.
-Eckhart Tolle
Your side of the story
Learn to be ok with people not knowing your side of the story.
You don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.
You don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.
The spiral
The Spiral
One of our most ancient and enduring symbols,
it represents the winding journeys
we must take inward if we're to
truly know & love ourselves.
From these never-ending journeys
we return with infinitely more
power and wisdom.
One of our most ancient and enduring symbols,
it represents the winding journeys
we must take inward if we're to
truly know & love ourselves.
From these never-ending journeys
we return with infinitely more
power and wisdom.
Read your Bible
Girl, read your Bible.
you can eat all the kale,
buy all the things,
lift all the weights,
take all the trips,
trash all that doesn't spark joy,
wash your face and hustle like mad,
but if you don't rest your soul in Jesus,
you'll never find your peace and purpose.
you can eat all the kale,
buy all the things,
lift all the weights,
take all the trips,
trash all that doesn't spark joy,
wash your face and hustle like mad,
but if you don't rest your soul in Jesus,
you'll never find your peace and purpose.
My perspective
from Toby Mac
Lord, when I can't change my valley, help me to change my perspective.
-Jennifer Rothschild
Lord, when I can't change my valley, help me to change my perspective.
-Jennifer Rothschild
Second chance
Sometimes all you need is a second chance, because time wasn't ready for the first one.
If you're lucky enough to get a second chance at something, don't waste it.
If you're lucky enough to get a second chance at something, don't waste it.
Persecute you
Bible Gateway Verse of the Day
Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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