The bible has much to say about minding our own business. You know, worry about the weeds in your own yard and such. But what does this mean to those of us who are fixers? You know, those if us,(me), who think that they must help every person with their problems.
I am the oldest child in my family, and therefore have always felt responsible for others. If I see someone in need, I think I must fix it, take care of them, help them settle arguments, make peace. I must tell you, its exhausting, and it usually ends up with the person or people being mad at me. Not what I intended, but an awful side affect of helping at times.
In the bible it tells us in Proverbs 26:17-interfering in someone else's argument is as foolish as yanking a dog's ear. In 1 Thess. 4:10-12-Make your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands. This way people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. 2 Thess 3:11-13 We hear that some of you are living in idleness. You are busy not working but interfering in other people's lives. We encourage such people as by the Lord, to do their work quietly and earn their own living. Brothers, do not get tired of doing what is right. There are many more, 1 Peter 4:15-16, Exodus 23:1-2, Phil. 4:8, Prov 25:20-21, Prov. 20:3 and the list goes on.
We, (I), need to learn to draw the line. To know where my business ends, and someone else's begins, and than stay in my lane. This means that it is not my business if someone is having issues ie. negativity, gossip, denial, unforgiveness, lying, deception, addiction, inappropriate behavior, etc. Unless it directly affects me, I don't need to, "Interfere."
You see I have for years tried to take on others problems and fix them. In doing so, I have created so many more problems for myself. I have been drawn into arguments that were not my business, battles that were not mine to fight, ugly gossip that has hurt someone else, and the list goes on. I am not proud of these things, I just thought I was helping, lending a hand, showing someone what was right. Well this backfired on me more than once.
I have been learning, and a hard lesson it has been, that what other people choose to say and do is their business. Its not mine. Their problems are just that, their problems. That the choices they make they have to own. What is mine? My decisions, my behaviors, my problems, my feelings, my happiness, my sadness, my choices and my inner messages. I have the ability to love, care, nurture, dream, hope, deny, and forgive. I do not owe it to anyone to allow them to have any control over these things, just like no one owes it to me.
I am working on developing a clear sense of what is mine, and what is not. If a problem is not mine, I don't have to deal with it. I don't have to cross a line and try to make it mine. I can deal with my own issues, and be responsible for my own choices. I can ask for forgiveness where it is needed, give forgiveness, and live MY life. Whew!
Its funny how some people will react to you start drawing a line. Some will become angry, confused, and sad because they are used to coming to you and having you take on their issues, but you see, you do not owe them that. You only need to take care of you. This doesn't mean that I will not listen if someone comes to me with problems, It just means that I have the right and the ability to say, sorry, not my circus, not my monkeys. And its okay to say no.
I have been a people pleaser my entire life. This has made life feel overwhelming, and unmanageable at times. It's not a good feeling, and it drains me. I am slowly learning that I cannot fix the problems of my past because they are already done and gone, but I can change the way I deal with the future. That choice is to take care of me first. Its not selfish, its not mean, and its not uncaring when we do this. Its necessary. If we don't care for us first, we can't help anyone else.
They tell you that when you are flying, you must first put on your oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs, so that's what I am doing. I am learning it is okay for me to put on my oxygen first, than and only than should I even think about helping someone else. One day at a time, I am learning to draw the line.
God bless each and every one of you as you learn to draw the line!!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Finding Treasures in the Trials
No one likes trials, yet no one can escape them. We can make a choice when trials come though. We can choose to look at the trial and feel down, defeated, just plain tired. We can let that trial cause us to become bitter, angry, or even resentful that we have to go through it.
On the other hand, we could look for the treasure in the trial. We can choose to look at what good is coming from the trial we are going through. Maybe how we can learn and grow from it. What lessons are we getting, and maybe what blessings. Of course, it truly is up to us.
Right now we are all living day to day not knowing what's coming. We are ordered to stay at home, only go out for necessities, and to stay away from others. This is really hard as we are social beings by nature. We are not designed to always be locked away and alone. This causes depression.
One thing I have noticed since this whole thing started, (hint: here is a treasure), is more families are spending time together, getting outdoors, working on projects, and some even just having fun making videos. That is amazing. They, we, have all slowed down and begun to connect as families again.
The other thing I have noticed is that the skies are clearer, the pollution is minimal, and nature continues to do what it always does. That's reclaim, heal, and participate in its normal activity of spring. Wow. What mankind could not do while watching our world become more clogged and congested, mother-nature (God), has done with this virus.
We see people really caring about others in different ways. Neighbors helping elderly neighbors out by shopping, checking on them, making sure older family members are cared for. It is like it was when I was growing up. People caring more about others than themselves. The way it should be.
Now that isn't happening everywhere, but in most places. We are finding one thing that is bringing us all together. We are all fighting one enemy. We are not being selfish, and we are reaching out to others. This is truly a treasure beyond measure.
Now my question is, Can We Keep This Going? When all of this is over, and yes it will be quickly over, can we continue to care for one another, our neighbors, and our world? Can we care about nature, the wildlife, and the beauty we take for granted all the time?
I'm praying that we can, and in the coming weeks, I hope to see it be true. I know in my family, I will never take for granted the freedoms we all seem to have. Let us come back together as fellow Americans. Let us love one another, care about others again, and care about our freedoms. Most of all, lets give THANKS, to our all mighty God and the healing He alone can bring.
God bless you all. I pray for peace during this time. I pray that you have a blessed week.
On the other hand, we could look for the treasure in the trial. We can choose to look at what good is coming from the trial we are going through. Maybe how we can learn and grow from it. What lessons are we getting, and maybe what blessings. Of course, it truly is up to us.
Right now we are all living day to day not knowing what's coming. We are ordered to stay at home, only go out for necessities, and to stay away from others. This is really hard as we are social beings by nature. We are not designed to always be locked away and alone. This causes depression.
One thing I have noticed since this whole thing started, (hint: here is a treasure), is more families are spending time together, getting outdoors, working on projects, and some even just having fun making videos. That is amazing. They, we, have all slowed down and begun to connect as families again.
The other thing I have noticed is that the skies are clearer, the pollution is minimal, and nature continues to do what it always does. That's reclaim, heal, and participate in its normal activity of spring. Wow. What mankind could not do while watching our world become more clogged and congested, mother-nature (God), has done with this virus.
We see people really caring about others in different ways. Neighbors helping elderly neighbors out by shopping, checking on them, making sure older family members are cared for. It is like it was when I was growing up. People caring more about others than themselves. The way it should be.
Now that isn't happening everywhere, but in most places. We are finding one thing that is bringing us all together. We are all fighting one enemy. We are not being selfish, and we are reaching out to others. This is truly a treasure beyond measure.
Now my question is, Can We Keep This Going? When all of this is over, and yes it will be quickly over, can we continue to care for one another, our neighbors, and our world? Can we care about nature, the wildlife, and the beauty we take for granted all the time?
I'm praying that we can, and in the coming weeks, I hope to see it be true. I know in my family, I will never take for granted the freedoms we all seem to have. Let us come back together as fellow Americans. Let us love one another, care about others again, and care about our freedoms. Most of all, lets give THANKS, to our all mighty God and the healing He alone can bring.
God bless you all. I pray for peace during this time. I pray that you have a blessed week.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Keeper of My Heart: High Places
Keeper of My Heart: High Places: You may ask what is a high place. A high place in the bible was a place that persons went to worship, sacrifice, or pray and petition G...
High Places
You may ask what is a high place. A high place in the bible was a place that persons went to worship, sacrifice, or pray and petition God. This was the only way in which people would communicate with God. They would come to these places as Holy places. Places where they could petition God for there every need.
I began a bible study with Lysa Terkerust called Trustworthy. In the final day of last weeks study she asked a question that really hit me hard. I didn't realize it as I was studying, but afterwards as I was praying that God would reveal to me where my high places were. He revealed that I had been looking to people and not to God. That I was trusting people to answer my questions and help me make decisions and not Him as I should be.
Wow!!! That hurt. I was questioning this distant feeling I had in regards to my relationship with God thinking I had done something that was separating me from Him, when in reality, I had stepped away. For whatever reason, I had distanced myself from the Lord and had begun to rely on myself and others, where I should be leaning into Him for guidance.
I began to cry soft tears of regret as the reality of my decision weighed down on me. Also I believe tears of relief in a way. I realized God is still there and was doing as I had asked in revealing my high places. I had built a wall between and I just need to tear down the wall I had erected to protect myself. It wasn't really protection, but separation and a painful one at that.
I began to look at who I had put in those places and why. The one reason was that I was going to this person and not going to God. I was not spending time in His word daily. I was allowing the stress of the outside world to push me away from the One who could bring me peace. I leaned into the one not intended to be my all in all and heaped all the responsibility on his shoulders. That was not fair to him, not that he wouldn't do anything for me, but more that it is not his Job.
I was relying on my husband to be everything, have his own relationship with God, be responsible for hearing my complaints, making my decisions, and answering to me when the choices I made, (despite what he may have suggested), that ended in a bad way. That meant he was burdened not only with his troubles, but mine as well.
This morning I realized that I was treating him as my high place and not turning to God, but than I was upset with God for not answering my prayers when I was not taking them to Him. I put my husband and my aunt Mary in high places. Now this does not mean that I shouldn't go to them and ask them to pray with me, but that I needed to keep God as my high place. He and only He should hold that place in my life.
I needed to repent from this and turn fully to God and lean into Him alone. This does not mean I cannot share my burdens with my husband ever, or that at times that God may not answer me through shared prayer with my husband or my aunt. It just means that I need to look to God first. To spend time in His word and seek my answers through my prayer life with Him. Than and only than can I know that the answers, rather they are yes or no, are the path God would have me take.
Lysa wrote something so profound that I just must share. She said to repent and humble ourselves before the Lord and in doing so, that humility ties a beautiful knot between our heart and God's. A knot that can never come untied. I love this, because it gives us a blessed assurance that He will always be there for us in our times of need.
This also frees my husband and I up to have the loving relationship that God intended and not burden the other with our needs that only God can fulfill. I must work hard at keeping my high place God alone and not running to where I think I might get the answer I want. I need to rest in the fact that God wants only good for me, and that means at times, the answer will be no, not now, wait, or yes. It matters not what the answer is as long as I trust the One who is answering.
So today, I feel lighter than I have in a long time. Relief that is soul deep. I have a friend, a confidant, a helper in times of trouble. I have a HIGH PLACE IN GOD!!!!
I began a bible study with Lysa Terkerust called Trustworthy. In the final day of last weeks study she asked a question that really hit me hard. I didn't realize it as I was studying, but afterwards as I was praying that God would reveal to me where my high places were. He revealed that I had been looking to people and not to God. That I was trusting people to answer my questions and help me make decisions and not Him as I should be.
Wow!!! That hurt. I was questioning this distant feeling I had in regards to my relationship with God thinking I had done something that was separating me from Him, when in reality, I had stepped away. For whatever reason, I had distanced myself from the Lord and had begun to rely on myself and others, where I should be leaning into Him for guidance.
I began to cry soft tears of regret as the reality of my decision weighed down on me. Also I believe tears of relief in a way. I realized God is still there and was doing as I had asked in revealing my high places. I had built a wall between and I just need to tear down the wall I had erected to protect myself. It wasn't really protection, but separation and a painful one at that.
I began to look at who I had put in those places and why. The one reason was that I was going to this person and not going to God. I was not spending time in His word daily. I was allowing the stress of the outside world to push me away from the One who could bring me peace. I leaned into the one not intended to be my all in all and heaped all the responsibility on his shoulders. That was not fair to him, not that he wouldn't do anything for me, but more that it is not his Job.
I was relying on my husband to be everything, have his own relationship with God, be responsible for hearing my complaints, making my decisions, and answering to me when the choices I made, (despite what he may have suggested), that ended in a bad way. That meant he was burdened not only with his troubles, but mine as well.
This morning I realized that I was treating him as my high place and not turning to God, but than I was upset with God for not answering my prayers when I was not taking them to Him. I put my husband and my aunt Mary in high places. Now this does not mean that I shouldn't go to them and ask them to pray with me, but that I needed to keep God as my high place. He and only He should hold that place in my life.
I needed to repent from this and turn fully to God and lean into Him alone. This does not mean I cannot share my burdens with my husband ever, or that at times that God may not answer me through shared prayer with my husband or my aunt. It just means that I need to look to God first. To spend time in His word and seek my answers through my prayer life with Him. Than and only than can I know that the answers, rather they are yes or no, are the path God would have me take.
Lysa wrote something so profound that I just must share. She said to repent and humble ourselves before the Lord and in doing so, that humility ties a beautiful knot between our heart and God's. A knot that can never come untied. I love this, because it gives us a blessed assurance that He will always be there for us in our times of need.
This also frees my husband and I up to have the loving relationship that God intended and not burden the other with our needs that only God can fulfill. I must work hard at keeping my high place God alone and not running to where I think I might get the answer I want. I need to rest in the fact that God wants only good for me, and that means at times, the answer will be no, not now, wait, or yes. It matters not what the answer is as long as I trust the One who is answering.
So today, I feel lighter than I have in a long time. Relief that is soul deep. I have a friend, a confidant, a helper in times of trouble. I have a HIGH PLACE IN GOD!!!!
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Tis the season.
It is Christmas eve. The day before the big day. The day when people are running around for those last minute gifts, starting on preparations for the holiday meal with family and friends, anticipating the joyful gatherings, and than there are those who aren't.
Each holiday season, there are people who are not in the spirit. They dread this time of year for numerous reasons. Maybe from a childhood memory of something not so great. Maybe because they have lost someone who meant so much to them, and maybe, just maybe, they don't like Christmas because its a holiday they have to work year in and year out.
Whatever the reason, there are those who wait with anticipation for this holiday to just be done. No more music, lights, trees, and merry Christmas. They just want to go back to the way life was before the holidays. They dread and maybe even hate this time of year. There are just as many reasons they dread it, as there are reasons people love it. No matter the reason, its their truth.
The first year after my daddy died, I dreaded the holidays, and with Christmas being the worst. My dad loved Christmas. He loved being together with family, enjoying the meal, but his favorite part was seeing all the kids open their gifts. It was what made him smile from ear to ear.
My dad was always a very generous man. He would help anyone in need. Even while he was going through chemo, he would spend those hours hooked up to the medicine, sharing Jesus with people. He would talk to them like nothing was even wrong. He would tell jokes, and help them to smile.
My dad hated to see people sad, and didn't like when family would fight with each other. Some of his last words to me were, "please don't let this family fall apart. Do what you can to hold all of you together." Poor daddy would be so saddened by what our family has become. He would just be heart broken to know that we no longer speak to each other and the thought of doing Christmas together, well that's an impossible one. Dad of course would disagree. He would say that God could make it happen. Just trust in Him.
He loved the Lord and knew that Christ's birth was the true reason for the season and he wanted others to know that kind of joy. He loved sharing Christ with others so that they to could have the joy and hope he had. My dad even shared his faith with others at the treatment center while he was going through chemo that last year of his life. He would ask, "Do you know where your going? Do you know Jesus." He never let go of his faith, and even at the end, he was so excited to see Jesus.
On the first Christmas after he passed, I knew that life was forever changed. Because of the conflict when daddy passed, I would not be with my side of the family this first year. There would be no one I could talk to about the deep loss we were all feeling. You know, only someone who has known a person as you have, could truly understand the loss you are feeling. Now I'm not saying my hubby didn't understand or wasn't there, it is just different than what you share as siblings when it comes to memories.
So with dread, and what felt like a dead heart, I trudged through the first Christmas with a, "fake it until you make it," smile plastered to my face. I said all the right things, and participated in all the Christmas merry making, all the while feeling dead inside and so false. I was happy my children and grandchildren where there and that they were enjoying the season, and I loved being around my other family, it was just difficult and unless you have been through this, you wouldn't understand what I am saying.
So the first one passed and I kept telling myself, next year will be better. It was a little better, but there was still that sadness. It crept in when I wasn't looking, and I would find myself sad again, crying in the shower, or while I was wrapping gifts. This has repeated itself each year, but with each year there is a little less pain. Don't get me wrong, it still has a sting and the longing you feel for the way things used to be, I don't think every really goes away, but like a long worn favorite pair of jeans, it fades slightly with each passing year.
This year I face the holiday once again. It is not as bad this year, but still there. I miss my dad and my family so very much, but you see, some families never recover from the loss of a loved one. Some split up and never talk again. They all go their separate ways. Its like as if when the patriarch or matriarch passes, there isn't that same glue to hold the family together. The once giant, joyous gatherings are a thing of the past.
Life from that point on is changed. People loose touch, family doesn't talk, and life grows farther apart. The sadness from the loss begins to grow until the chasm between family seems unbridgeable. But it isn't. That distance is not the be all end all. Its just distance. Just like the distance you have when traveling for vacation. Its long, and it will take time to get there, but you do it because you know you will enjoy it.
Its that same with family. You are traveling a distance, bridging the gap, making amends, and finding the joy of the season again. That chasm can be bridged, that broken can be mended, that family tie can be retied. This year, why not reach out again? Make a leap and try to mend the differences that split you up. Say your sorry if that's what it takes. Extend the olive branch. Reach out to that long lost family member.
Think about what that loved one would want, or what they would say about how things are now. What would they want you to do? Would they want the anger, the hurt, the grudges, or would they want the peace, the love and the closeness. Go ahead, what do you have to loose? Try to mend that relationship. Its a season of miracles, a season of giving, and a season of receiving. After all, "Tis the Season."
Each holiday season, there are people who are not in the spirit. They dread this time of year for numerous reasons. Maybe from a childhood memory of something not so great. Maybe because they have lost someone who meant so much to them, and maybe, just maybe, they don't like Christmas because its a holiday they have to work year in and year out.
Whatever the reason, there are those who wait with anticipation for this holiday to just be done. No more music, lights, trees, and merry Christmas. They just want to go back to the way life was before the holidays. They dread and maybe even hate this time of year. There are just as many reasons they dread it, as there are reasons people love it. No matter the reason, its their truth.
The first year after my daddy died, I dreaded the holidays, and with Christmas being the worst. My dad loved Christmas. He loved being together with family, enjoying the meal, but his favorite part was seeing all the kids open their gifts. It was what made him smile from ear to ear.
My dad was always a very generous man. He would help anyone in need. Even while he was going through chemo, he would spend those hours hooked up to the medicine, sharing Jesus with people. He would talk to them like nothing was even wrong. He would tell jokes, and help them to smile.
My dad hated to see people sad, and didn't like when family would fight with each other. Some of his last words to me were, "please don't let this family fall apart. Do what you can to hold all of you together." Poor daddy would be so saddened by what our family has become. He would just be heart broken to know that we no longer speak to each other and the thought of doing Christmas together, well that's an impossible one. Dad of course would disagree. He would say that God could make it happen. Just trust in Him.
He loved the Lord and knew that Christ's birth was the true reason for the season and he wanted others to know that kind of joy. He loved sharing Christ with others so that they to could have the joy and hope he had. My dad even shared his faith with others at the treatment center while he was going through chemo that last year of his life. He would ask, "Do you know where your going? Do you know Jesus." He never let go of his faith, and even at the end, he was so excited to see Jesus.
On the first Christmas after he passed, I knew that life was forever changed. Because of the conflict when daddy passed, I would not be with my side of the family this first year. There would be no one I could talk to about the deep loss we were all feeling. You know, only someone who has known a person as you have, could truly understand the loss you are feeling. Now I'm not saying my hubby didn't understand or wasn't there, it is just different than what you share as siblings when it comes to memories.
So with dread, and what felt like a dead heart, I trudged through the first Christmas with a, "fake it until you make it," smile plastered to my face. I said all the right things, and participated in all the Christmas merry making, all the while feeling dead inside and so false. I was happy my children and grandchildren where there and that they were enjoying the season, and I loved being around my other family, it was just difficult and unless you have been through this, you wouldn't understand what I am saying.
So the first one passed and I kept telling myself, next year will be better. It was a little better, but there was still that sadness. It crept in when I wasn't looking, and I would find myself sad again, crying in the shower, or while I was wrapping gifts. This has repeated itself each year, but with each year there is a little less pain. Don't get me wrong, it still has a sting and the longing you feel for the way things used to be, I don't think every really goes away, but like a long worn favorite pair of jeans, it fades slightly with each passing year.
This year I face the holiday once again. It is not as bad this year, but still there. I miss my dad and my family so very much, but you see, some families never recover from the loss of a loved one. Some split up and never talk again. They all go their separate ways. Its like as if when the patriarch or matriarch passes, there isn't that same glue to hold the family together. The once giant, joyous gatherings are a thing of the past.
Life from that point on is changed. People loose touch, family doesn't talk, and life grows farther apart. The sadness from the loss begins to grow until the chasm between family seems unbridgeable. But it isn't. That distance is not the be all end all. Its just distance. Just like the distance you have when traveling for vacation. Its long, and it will take time to get there, but you do it because you know you will enjoy it.
Its that same with family. You are traveling a distance, bridging the gap, making amends, and finding the joy of the season again. That chasm can be bridged, that broken can be mended, that family tie can be retied. This year, why not reach out again? Make a leap and try to mend the differences that split you up. Say your sorry if that's what it takes. Extend the olive branch. Reach out to that long lost family member.
Think about what that loved one would want, or what they would say about how things are now. What would they want you to do? Would they want the anger, the hurt, the grudges, or would they want the peace, the love and the closeness. Go ahead, what do you have to loose? Try to mend that relationship. Its a season of miracles, a season of giving, and a season of receiving. After all, "Tis the Season."
Sunday, December 22, 2019
A strong woman!!!
I always write about inspirational things. Things to help lift others up. To inspire them to hold onto hope. To know that there are better days coming. But what happens when you don't feel that? When no matter what others tell you, you tell yourself, you feel hopeless, worn out, and just plain tired?
I know I have a choice. I decide how I want my actions or feelings to be. I can give in, give up, or keep going. I can stay where I am at in that feeling, or I can choose to move past it. It really is up to me.
Well I'm going to tell you today that whatever you are feeling, its okay to feel that. We have been told to suppress certain feelings, emotions, or thoughts. Told that its all going to be okay, and things will get better, but guess what? Sometimes they don't. Sometimes we have to go through something for a long while. It lasts much longer than we expected, wanted, or needed. Or so we think.
Mine right now is struggling with loss this year. I lost my dear, sweet Aunt Sharon in the beginning of this year. Lost a part of myself in April when I had to have surgery. Lost my mobility when my knee decided to go bad this summer. Lost a dear friend in October. Loss of what I thought would be my, Rest of my life job." The deepest loss came in November. The loss of our beautiful, faithful, lovable fur baby Zuni.
Now don't you think that I deserve to cry? To sit down and say I can't do this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore. Well I did let me tell you. I cried, I ranted, I was angry, sad, confused and darn right rebellious. I was mad at everything and everyone. My poor husband took the brunt of all of this, but what's new? He usually does.
I called my mom up last week and cried all the way home from work with her. I was super upset about a lot of things. I told her I do not think I can continue doing what I am doing. You know what she told me???? She said, " listen here sister. We come from a long line of strong women. Women who went through hardships you and I will never experience. Hardships like the great depression, the loss of parents, dropping out of school to work to help support their siblings, and raising children, grandchildren, and helping others all on their own."
She went on to say, " I never saw my mom cry about what she had to do, or the things she lost, or the things she never got to do. She just got up everyday and did what needed to be done." She said, "grandma had to help raise her siblings which meant she didn't get to be a child. My sisters helped raise me so they had to grow up fast. You helped me with raising your sister and brother so that I could work three jobs to support you guys and give you the things you wanted and needed."
She told me how she knows that there were tears. They just weren't done publicly and no one really knew about it. She reminded me of the divorces, single parenting, health issues, and the list goes on, that these women in my life had endured. My tears began to slow, and I realized that she was right.
My grandmother, my mom's mom, put herself through nursing school while raising her children alone. She had to quit school when she was younger in order to work and help her father to raise her siblings because her mother had died of dust pneumonia when she was little. She worked 2 jobs and went to school to become a nurse. Once a nurse, she worked nights because she made more. She also took care of my sister and I and my cousins at different times.
My aunt Sandy raised her son, moved away to California, battled cancer and survived, moved across country to marry the man she loved, and works with hospice as a volunteer, as well as being an amazing Sentsy consultant.
My aunt Sharon married my uncle Bob, moved wherever his military career took him, including some countries we would never think of living in now, and raised all of her children and adopted another to raise, as well as all of the other wonderful things she did.
My aunt Phyllis was a strong women who raised her children, worked hard, and was a very strong and independent woman.
My mom raised us when she could, worked hard, gave us more than most kids had because we had horses, we were in 4H, rodeo, and had a nice home. She taught me how to keep a clean house, be compassionate towards those less fortunate than us, and to always be kind.
My aunt Jeannie taught me how to be a good mother, wife, and daughter. She helped build and run a business with my uncle Doug, started her own business in daycare, raised 5 beautiful, strong, amazing, independent, accomplished women as well as taking me on as a 6th daughter.
My aunt Mary who poured into my life the love of God. My faith and strength are due to her loving guidance. She showed me how to be a lady, have respect, and to love myself.
My Grandma Harper, who was also a nurse. She taught me that love is for a lifetime, how to be a good mother, wife, and grandmother. How to love, be compassionate, be caring, and most importantly, how to forgive.
So to wrap this up, my mom in that conversation reminded me that these women all faced their own trials. Things that no one else will ever know. They faced adversity, cruelty, grief, hardship, and things that most people would have thrown the towel in for. They did it and did not complain. Their tears were hidden, most likely in their pillows, or in the shower, or like me, in the car as they drove.
Tears do not mean we are weak, they mean we are strong, compassionate, passionate, faithful, caring, loving, and very capable women. So today I want to encourage you if only a little bit. Those little things, big things, seemingly insurmountable things, are just that. Things. They will pass, we will endure, come out stronger on the other side and realize, we are a STRONG WOMAN!!! Be strong, be fierce, love, laugh, and be happy, sad, mad, or whatever you need to do you!
Monday, September 23, 2019
Overwhelmed to Overcomer
John 16:33. "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
Romans 8:37. " But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."
1 John 4:4. "You are from God, Child, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world."
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Like everything that could go wrong, is going wrong? Like you can't do one thing right, and life is just to much?
Well I have. Just this past weekend I felt that way. I guess the entire week felt that way. This was because I had thought that what I was told was true, only to find out I was wrong. This was such a disappointment to me, like being slapped in the face.
I was expecting something to happen to me that would be a culmination of all I have worked so hard for in the last 2 months. When I was told that what I did was not enough, was not what they wanted or expected, I felt like such a failure. I let the devil sneak in and whisper all the lies I have heard all my life.
He, the devil, likes to lie to us and drag us backwards. He likes to remind us of all our failures, shortcomings, or just to make us feel un-worthy and overwhelmed. He does not want us to believe what God has promised us in the verse's above.
Our minds can confuse us and make us think that we are not good enough, that we are somehow deserving of suffering, punishment, or just wrongdoing. We must lean into God, pray, turn these thoughts over to Him. God is always willing to listen to our prayers and to intercede if needed.
When we change our stinking thinking, God can work in our lives and change or tears to joy, our sorrow to gladness, and our failures to triumph. We have a choice. We can let the battle field of the mind become the victory of the Lord. We can put on the armor of God, and we can march against the negative thoughts that invade and overwhelm.
The armor of God will keep us safe. It keeps us from the flaming arrows that are launched at us daily. We must stand in the righteousness that protects us against anything the devil may throw our way. We are warriors and we are protected by the army of the Lord. We do not stand alone, but with an army surrounding us and protecting us from the evil of the devil if we will only call out to God and leave it all to God.
We will find that we will go from being totally overwhelmed by the things of this world, to being overcomers of the lies, the past, the disappointments that may come from whatever life brings. We are more than our minds might want us to believe, we are the greatness the Lord designed us to be. We are His daughters and sons and we are here for a reason. Be open to whatever God calls you to and walk boldly into it.
Romans 8:37. " But in all things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us."
1 John 4:4. "You are from God, Child, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world."
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Like everything that could go wrong, is going wrong? Like you can't do one thing right, and life is just to much?
Well I have. Just this past weekend I felt that way. I guess the entire week felt that way. This was because I had thought that what I was told was true, only to find out I was wrong. This was such a disappointment to me, like being slapped in the face.
I was expecting something to happen to me that would be a culmination of all I have worked so hard for in the last 2 months. When I was told that what I did was not enough, was not what they wanted or expected, I felt like such a failure. I let the devil sneak in and whisper all the lies I have heard all my life.
He, the devil, likes to lie to us and drag us backwards. He likes to remind us of all our failures, shortcomings, or just to make us feel un-worthy and overwhelmed. He does not want us to believe what God has promised us in the verse's above.
Our minds can confuse us and make us think that we are not good enough, that we are somehow deserving of suffering, punishment, or just wrongdoing. We must lean into God, pray, turn these thoughts over to Him. God is always willing to listen to our prayers and to intercede if needed.
When we change our stinking thinking, God can work in our lives and change or tears to joy, our sorrow to gladness, and our failures to triumph. We have a choice. We can let the battle field of the mind become the victory of the Lord. We can put on the armor of God, and we can march against the negative thoughts that invade and overwhelm.
The armor of God will keep us safe. It keeps us from the flaming arrows that are launched at us daily. We must stand in the righteousness that protects us against anything the devil may throw our way. We are warriors and we are protected by the army of the Lord. We do not stand alone, but with an army surrounding us and protecting us from the evil of the devil if we will only call out to God and leave it all to God.
We will find that we will go from being totally overwhelmed by the things of this world, to being overcomers of the lies, the past, the disappointments that may come from whatever life brings. We are more than our minds might want us to believe, we are the greatness the Lord designed us to be. We are His daughters and sons and we are here for a reason. Be open to whatever God calls you to and walk boldly into it.
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