Lately I have looked at my life and seen that I am incredibly busy. I am working full time as well as trying to get a job that working full time pays me what my experieince and education say I should at minimum make. (Don't worry this is not a tangent about the fact that I don't make enough, I have a job and I am blessed). I am taking 12 credits at a time in 10 week online courses in an effort to finish my bachelor's degree that I have been trying to get for 9 (yes, you read that correctly) years by the end of this year. I am a full time wife and a full time mom, I am a part time yoga instructor and I am in a serious effort to make time for all of my friends so no one is offended or upset. On top of all of this I have my health issues which I need to make sure quite honestly I pay attention to first.
I am so busy that I go to bed exhausted, wake up tired, and am finding life to be, well, not fun.
My life has been not fun for a long time now, I've been sick, I've been working, I've kept taking on more and more and more responsibility and not expecting anyone else to o anything. Or even to help.
Now and again I get off of my high horse (that would be a sin called pride) and put away my insecurities about not being good enough (I know, I fool a lot of people including myself with my bravado confidence) to see that I need to slow down, that if I slow down I won't miss something, I may actually see something really important in this blur that I call my life.
I will appreciate that my husband and son and I are a beautiful family. As imperfect as we are separately that together we make an amazing team.
That I have a talented and sensitive and loving son that wants to love so badly, who doesn't judge on accomplishments or really about anything but is happy as long as he's loved and hugged and kissed, even at almost 15.
That my husband has grown immensely in the last 5 years in his love, in his willingness to help, in his communication and in his devotion to me and our family.
I am finding that I am growing ever closer to God, that I make my quiet times of reading the bible and praying really count because the days just don't go well without it and let's face it everything is easier to deal with when you know that God's got your back.
I am also learning that being busy doesn't mean that I am accomplishing anything of any real importance.
Do the dishes need done, of course they do, but not right this second and not even tomorrow as long as they aren't causing a literal stink in the kitchen.
Does my kiddo need to clean his room? Of course he does, but it's more important to give him a hug and help him have his quiet time with God and with me or his dad.
Do I have to work? Yes, but not so much that it is something that I lose time from other things that I love to be there.
Do I have to go to school? At this point that is a yes, only because I'm almost done, but I don't have to have straight As, I need to finish so that I can take that time and put it towards other things.
Booking myself so solidly with things to do and things that I want to do and having a plan for everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is not just unrealistic but silly.
Do I need to cook dinner every night or is better if I save some money and have a date night with my wonderful husband instead.
No one person can accomplish everything that I want to accomplish in one lifetime and actually enjoy it. So here is a prayer for myself and for those that are like me to maybe help us out.
Father God
Thank you. Without your love and your gifts I would have nothing and I would not be able to book a solid schedule.
Help me to see that if you are first always that everything will fall into the places where you deem them necessary to be and help me to not question why but to know that you do everything for my good, whether I see that or not.
Let me see that there is an order to things that is biblical and that if I follow it that things are much smoother regardless of circumstance: God, health, husband, family, church family, and everything after that is a choice to be busy or not to be.
Let me be full of your love so that I can spread to others without resentment and with a pure and loving heart that wants to serve them. Let me put my own needs and wants on the back burner. Knowing that you will ensure my growth and that in turn will ensure my eternal happiness even if not my momentary happiness.
Allow me time to rest, even if I cannot be peaceful, let me be content in your arms.
Show your mercy on me when I let you down but not putting you first and let me be grateful for that mercy.
Thank you for being my Lord and savior and for gifting me a life so full of blessings that I get to pick which to keep. How amazing you are God.
Your forever daughter,
Kris
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
An example of humility and how hard it can be.
Let me start by reiterating that this post (other than the first paragraph and the last line) was written by Rebekah Moan. All of it. Somehow reading it helped me to understand how stubborn and prideful I can be and brought back moments after my transplant of crying while I let Missy do my laundry and Jeanne clean my bathroom because I was too weak and too sick to do it myself. End story, ask for help.
“Pain is not a sign of weakness, but bearing it alone is a choice to grow weak.” ~Lori Deschene
When given the chance, I would much rather bear pain on my own, thank-you-very-much. It’s incredibly difficult for me to be vulnerable and ask for help. To share my pain with someone else.
I think partly it’s from my upbringing—living in the U.S. self-sufficiency is valued. We so often praise the individual who has done extraordinary things and see it as a sign of strength that they accomplished all of it on their own.
I can understand that; it’s led to a lot of independence and innovation. However, I’m also noticing a shift in understanding, of how no one is an island, we are all interconnected, and everything we do affects others.
It’s easy to want to hole up and hunker down when the going gets tough, to “grin and bear it” and keep others in the dark. Being human means I’ve had my share of pain, but I’m also coming to value sharing my pain with others.
I’ve come to believe we are not meant to bear pain on our own.
A few years ago while adjusting the volume on my cellphone, I tripped down the stairs. (Note to self, pay more attention when walking down the stairs.)
My ankle swelled up to the size of a grapefruit, and I had ugly purple and black bruises to boot. I tore some ligaments and had a suspected fracture. Needless to say I would not be running any marathons in the immediate future.
It was painful not only on a physical level, but also an emotional one. In my experience, being basically bed-ridden brought up all the issues I normally didn’t have to face—one of those being humility.
I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do laundry because that required going down stairs, I couldn’t grocery shop, I couldn’t do anything but lie in my bed with my ankle propped on what seemed to be a thousand pillows.
As someone who prides herself on being independent, this was excruciating. The very last thing I ever wanted to do was ask for help, and there I was, needing it in a very big way.
I’m not an expert on this topic (if such an expert exists!) so the only thing I can do is share with you my own experience.
Humility is not thinking I am inferior or superior to anyone else; it means understanding who I am and what I am capable of.
When I sprained my ankle I wasn’t capable of very much, which leads me into three tips for asking for help, because ultimately, bearing pain alone is a choice to grow weak. We need help.
I think quite often in U.S. society there’s an emphasis on doing. It’s often advised that we get out there and help others, that we be of service, that we put aside our own troubles. But not much is talked about being the receiver.
A friend of mine reminded me there are two parts to service: giving and receiving. That means somebody has to be on the receiving end. Somebody has to ask for help. Somebody has to say, “I can’t do this alone.”
I know this post focused on physical pain, but it applies to mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as well.
I dream of a world where we all ask for help when we need it.
A world where we understand it’s weakness not strength that binds us. A world where we see true strength and humility is about knowing when to ask for help. A world where we understand we were never meant to suffer through pain on our own.
Because of my own change and transformation, I know another world is possible.
It's me again, so the story is the same as always, in our weaknesses, God can show his strength, we just need to ask for His help.
Kris
“Pain is not a sign of weakness, but bearing it alone is a choice to grow weak.” ~Lori Deschene
When given the chance, I would much rather bear pain on my own, thank-you-very-much. It’s incredibly difficult for me to be vulnerable and ask for help. To share my pain with someone else.
I think partly it’s from my upbringing—living in the U.S. self-sufficiency is valued. We so often praise the individual who has done extraordinary things and see it as a sign of strength that they accomplished all of it on their own.
I can understand that; it’s led to a lot of independence and innovation. However, I’m also noticing a shift in understanding, of how no one is an island, we are all interconnected, and everything we do affects others.
It’s easy to want to hole up and hunker down when the going gets tough, to “grin and bear it” and keep others in the dark. Being human means I’ve had my share of pain, but I’m also coming to value sharing my pain with others.
I’ve come to believe we are not meant to bear pain on our own.
A few years ago while adjusting the volume on my cellphone, I tripped down the stairs. (Note to self, pay more attention when walking down the stairs.)
My ankle swelled up to the size of a grapefruit, and I had ugly purple and black bruises to boot. I tore some ligaments and had a suspected fracture. Needless to say I would not be running any marathons in the immediate future.
It was painful not only on a physical level, but also an emotional one. In my experience, being basically bed-ridden brought up all the issues I normally didn’t have to face—one of those being humility.
I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t do laundry because that required going down stairs, I couldn’t grocery shop, I couldn’t do anything but lie in my bed with my ankle propped on what seemed to be a thousand pillows.
As someone who prides herself on being independent, this was excruciating. The very last thing I ever wanted to do was ask for help, and there I was, needing it in a very big way.
I’m not an expert on this topic (if such an expert exists!) so the only thing I can do is share with you my own experience.
Humility is not thinking I am inferior or superior to anyone else; it means understanding who I am and what I am capable of.
When I sprained my ankle I wasn’t capable of very much, which leads me into three tips for asking for help, because ultimately, bearing pain alone is a choice to grow weak. We need help.
1. Admit what you’re incapable of.
While immobilized, I realized I was literally incapable of doing things I used to take for granted. That humility took me off the “should” train (i.e. I “should” be able to wash my dishes) and put me on the track of asking for help.2. Swallow your pride.
This is closely aligned with step one but it’s not exactly the same. It’s fine and dandy to admit I couldn’t wash my own dishes, but I was still tempted to try anyway. Swallowing my pride meant not only was I unable to wash my dishes, but also admitting someone else could.3. Ask for help.
The previous two steps finally culminated in asking for help. I called my dear friend, crying, because I had a sink full of dishes and couldn’t stand long enough to clean them. She was happy to come over and wash them for me.I think quite often in U.S. society there’s an emphasis on doing. It’s often advised that we get out there and help others, that we be of service, that we put aside our own troubles. But not much is talked about being the receiver.
A friend of mine reminded me there are two parts to service: giving and receiving. That means somebody has to be on the receiving end. Somebody has to ask for help. Somebody has to say, “I can’t do this alone.”
I know this post focused on physical pain, but it applies to mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as well.
I dream of a world where we all ask for help when we need it.
A world where we understand it’s weakness not strength that binds us. A world where we see true strength and humility is about knowing when to ask for help. A world where we understand we were never meant to suffer through pain on our own.
Because of my own change and transformation, I know another world is possible.
It's me again, so the story is the same as always, in our weaknesses, God can show his strength, we just need to ask for His help.
Kris
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Contentment
Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
So who here is content? I mean really, completely, I've got nothing to complain about content? Your relationships are thriving, your job is exactly what you hoped for, you have that degree that you worked so hard for, you are exactly where you want to be in your life. You've got the house, the cars, the health, the wealth and you lack nothing, except maybe a new computer and an 80 inch TV.
In the world we live in contentment is defined by the stuff you own, which really to be quite honest, usually owns you. Contentment is having the right things, knowing the right people, having the right style, saying the right thing.
What happened?
When did all of us start looking to instant gratification for contentment, when did being happy mean contentment? For me, happiness and contentment are not always mutually exclusive, but they aren't the same thing either. The NIV bible uses the word content 16 times and the word happiness 6 times and they are never used in the same scripture...it makes you think.
According to Webster's dictionary content means "a state of satisfaction". The same book says that happy is defined as "feeling or showing pleasure or contentment".
I may be splitting hairs here, but the dictionary just told me that have to be content before I can be happy? Biblically that makes all the sense in the world.
How happy can we be when we are chasing after things that God may not have intended us to have? How happy can we be when we rely on material things, people who aren't perfect and never will be, and feelings that change faster than we can keep up for our contentment?
I think that as a country, as a world, we have lost sight of what God intended. Simplicity. I'm as guility of it as the next person. I'm writing on a blog on a computer, if my computer died right now, yeah, 1st world problem.Truth.
I really want to make the concerned effort to look at my life and peel away the things that impede my contentment, the insecurities that rock me to the core, the selfishness that I allow to yell "me first!", the pride that I permit in my life that makes me irrational in my expectations and demanding of the people that I love the most.
God has got this. If I would just stop pushing for what I don't have and focus on all of what he has given me, AMEN, my life would be so much easier. Contentment would reside in my heart and peace would be granted. It's not my nature, but God is revealing that it can be if I so choose.
That right there is the rub, you have to choose it, you have to choose to be content with what you have, to live where you are, in the body that you are in, in your circumstances and then gratefully hand them over to God to allow him to give you the gift of contentment.
However, don't just sit there and wait for God to do all the work. Get on your knees and ask.
Kris
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
So who here is content? I mean really, completely, I've got nothing to complain about content? Your relationships are thriving, your job is exactly what you hoped for, you have that degree that you worked so hard for, you are exactly where you want to be in your life. You've got the house, the cars, the health, the wealth and you lack nothing, except maybe a new computer and an 80 inch TV.
In the world we live in contentment is defined by the stuff you own, which really to be quite honest, usually owns you. Contentment is having the right things, knowing the right people, having the right style, saying the right thing.
What happened?
When did all of us start looking to instant gratification for contentment, when did being happy mean contentment? For me, happiness and contentment are not always mutually exclusive, but they aren't the same thing either. The NIV bible uses the word content 16 times and the word happiness 6 times and they are never used in the same scripture...it makes you think.
According to Webster's dictionary content means "a state of satisfaction". The same book says that happy is defined as "feeling or showing pleasure or contentment".
I may be splitting hairs here, but the dictionary just told me that have to be content before I can be happy? Biblically that makes all the sense in the world.
How happy can we be when we are chasing after things that God may not have intended us to have? How happy can we be when we rely on material things, people who aren't perfect and never will be, and feelings that change faster than we can keep up for our contentment?
I think that as a country, as a world, we have lost sight of what God intended. Simplicity. I'm as guility of it as the next person. I'm writing on a blog on a computer, if my computer died right now, yeah, 1st world problem.Truth.
I really want to make the concerned effort to look at my life and peel away the things that impede my contentment, the insecurities that rock me to the core, the selfishness that I allow to yell "me first!", the pride that I permit in my life that makes me irrational in my expectations and demanding of the people that I love the most.
God has got this. If I would just stop pushing for what I don't have and focus on all of what he has given me, AMEN, my life would be so much easier. Contentment would reside in my heart and peace would be granted. It's not my nature, but God is revealing that it can be if I so choose.
That right there is the rub, you have to choose it, you have to choose to be content with what you have, to live where you are, in the body that you are in, in your circumstances and then gratefully hand them over to God to allow him to give you the gift of contentment.
However, don't just sit there and wait for God to do all the work. Get on your knees and ask.
Kris
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
For my friends that are sick and wounded
Isn't that just the way. As I sat in my room thinkng of all of my own struggles and issues and problems I see a post on my FB page from a beautful woman that I love very much about some health issues.
I wanted to be there to support and love her. I wanted to pray with her. I wanted to talk to her and let her know that God would help her and loved her so very much. I wanted to help her pretend that her life was ok.
You see she and I have that same problem. When things go bad, very bad, it is common for us to put that happy face on and believe with all of our hearts (and say with our mouth to everyone else). It's not really that big of a deal. God's got this.
The truth is, that God does have it. That we are all incredibly and wonderfully made and that even those of us who have illnesses that have somewhat taken over our lives, still have to consider ourselves lucky that we were given a life chosen by God.
Really, who has a life that doesn't have issues? Who has a life that turned out exactly the way that they wanted it to? And if they have that life, how much energy and effort goes into trying to keep it at all costs?
I have so many amazing, Godly, wonderful people in my life that are sick. People that were sick before I was born and people that are sick and 20 years younger than I am. Men and women who have strong faith, strong people that love them, and a God that will only give them what they can take.
We say we can't take much more, we say that if one more awful thing happens in this life or in the world that we just won't be able to manage.
We are right. If we try to do it alone.
I have watched women and men that I love struggle to breathe, to talk, to sit up, to care for themselves and their families. I have watched them in pain, I have watched the emotions of their illnesses stretch across their faces and reveal more about their faith than they even realize.
I have prayed for each of them knowing that God gave this to them to bare, because they could. He built them strong enough to do it. And I am astounded by the strength that He gave them, the humility that they have in their struggles, and the lack of complaints or anger.
Each of us has our cross to bare, literally, and of course I identify with my friends that are chronically ill because it's something that we have in common. I see myself in them, but it also humbles me to watch them handle horrible prognosis' with grace, compassion, and faith.
It's messy being a human being. Those feelings of anger and pain and desperation that we fight so hard eventually come out and take us by surprise if we aren't expressing them. If we don't ask for help. That isn't just directed at my sick friends. :)
Life is a short thing, my advice is simple, get right with God, love as much as you can, be true and open with your feelings and let people help you.
I wrote this to myself as much as to anyone else.
This life is a battle, to some a more obvious one than others. Time to take sides and fight for what's right. The war is already won and God awaits the wounded in heaven. That is where real life resides.
K
I wanted to be there to support and love her. I wanted to pray with her. I wanted to talk to her and let her know that God would help her and loved her so very much. I wanted to help her pretend that her life was ok.
You see she and I have that same problem. When things go bad, very bad, it is common for us to put that happy face on and believe with all of our hearts (and say with our mouth to everyone else). It's not really that big of a deal. God's got this.
The truth is, that God does have it. That we are all incredibly and wonderfully made and that even those of us who have illnesses that have somewhat taken over our lives, still have to consider ourselves lucky that we were given a life chosen by God.
Really, who has a life that doesn't have issues? Who has a life that turned out exactly the way that they wanted it to? And if they have that life, how much energy and effort goes into trying to keep it at all costs?
I have so many amazing, Godly, wonderful people in my life that are sick. People that were sick before I was born and people that are sick and 20 years younger than I am. Men and women who have strong faith, strong people that love them, and a God that will only give them what they can take.
We say we can't take much more, we say that if one more awful thing happens in this life or in the world that we just won't be able to manage.
We are right. If we try to do it alone.
I have watched women and men that I love struggle to breathe, to talk, to sit up, to care for themselves and their families. I have watched them in pain, I have watched the emotions of their illnesses stretch across their faces and reveal more about their faith than they even realize.
I have prayed for each of them knowing that God gave this to them to bare, because they could. He built them strong enough to do it. And I am astounded by the strength that He gave them, the humility that they have in their struggles, and the lack of complaints or anger.
Each of us has our cross to bare, literally, and of course I identify with my friends that are chronically ill because it's something that we have in common. I see myself in them, but it also humbles me to watch them handle horrible prognosis' with grace, compassion, and faith.
It's messy being a human being. Those feelings of anger and pain and desperation that we fight so hard eventually come out and take us by surprise if we aren't expressing them. If we don't ask for help. That isn't just directed at my sick friends. :)
Life is a short thing, my advice is simple, get right with God, love as much as you can, be true and open with your feelings and let people help you.
I wrote this to myself as much as to anyone else.
This life is a battle, to some a more obvious one than others. Time to take sides and fight for what's right. The war is already won and God awaits the wounded in heaven. That is where real life resides.
K
Sunday, August 5, 2012
I am the temple
I believe that when I was baptized into Christ that my soul became a place where the Holy Spirit resides. I believe that anyone that truly loves Christ is willing to sacrifice their own needs and put the needs of God's Kingdom first.(Mark 16:16) The Bible says so, and the truth is that the Bible is the word of God and God is never wrong. (2 Timothy 3:16) Studying the Bible has given me the opportunity to see truth, God's and not my own. But wow, it's hard to look at life sometimes and see that God has a much bigger plan than the plans I have in this world for myself. I've been reading a book called 66 Love Letters recently in my quiet time with God and the scriptures that correlate with it (the 66 books of the Bible) and found a quote from the book that touched my heart so deeply this morning that I had to share it. It hit to the heart of how I try to balance what my life once was and what it is now, the two cannot share the same place because the Holy Spirit resides where my own wants and desires once were, and now God is changing them, slowly but surely to want what he wants. Because he loves me, because he knows what's best for me. For the control freak in me, I have a hard time letting go of what I want for myself sometimes. Let's be honest, it's an ongoing battle until heaven.
"You cannot now enjoy what you once did. The satisfaction of earlier days are no longer available. Life feels empty. Not much fun. I invite you to delight in your distress. Nothing else provides the same opportunity to move strongly and joyfully into life on the basis of My promises alone, the promises of My Presence now and My satisfaction forever. Seizing that opportunity will free you to passionately engage life for My purposes with no demands."
The Holy Spirit can hurt in it's knowledge sometimes, I can now see things that I have done to hurt people in my Sin so much more clearly now and yet I still resist change. I mistakenly think that I am enough on my own, but I'm not. God created me for a purpose of his chosing and not mine. Now I just need to be humble enough to trust that and let him lead me towards what He has planned for me. Starting with putting to death my pride and my need to be special, will allow me to see that I have always been special to God and that is really all that matters in the end.
K
"You cannot now enjoy what you once did. The satisfaction of earlier days are no longer available. Life feels empty. Not much fun. I invite you to delight in your distress. Nothing else provides the same opportunity to move strongly and joyfully into life on the basis of My promises alone, the promises of My Presence now and My satisfaction forever. Seizing that opportunity will free you to passionately engage life for My purposes with no demands."
The Holy Spirit can hurt in it's knowledge sometimes, I can now see things that I have done to hurt people in my Sin so much more clearly now and yet I still resist change. I mistakenly think that I am enough on my own, but I'm not. God created me for a purpose of his chosing and not mine. Now I just need to be humble enough to trust that and let him lead me towards what He has planned for me. Starting with putting to death my pride and my need to be special, will allow me to see that I have always been special to God and that is really all that matters in the end.
K
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Yup. It's one of those days. And for anyone who doesn't know yet, those days happen often for me physically. This body of mine has been through a lot. One of the reasons that I use social media and a blog is for that very reason, sometimes I'm just in too much physical pain to go anywhere. Or I have to save up my energy to do something really important.
Today, two of my good friends Johnny and Rochelle are getting married. Praise God I am so incredibly happy for them! So I am not doing homework, I am missing a women's devo that I really want to go to, and I am going to lie in bed for a couple of hours praying and meditating on this scripture so that I can celebrate the beginning of an amazing thing with my friends.
I don't really know why this is my lot in life, to have this body, but I don't question it. I get mad about the things I can't do sometimes, I get frustrated, and I cry a lot. But maybe this is not something that you just get through, any person with a chronic illness will tell you that. You don't just get through the days most times, you push through them, or you humble out and allow God to help.
My advantage is God. I tried doing it myself, but honestly no one person has the strength to survive life all by themselves to begin with let alone when something major is happening. Christ fortifies me and reminds me through his word(the scripture previously mentioned) that I don't have to do this alone. He is there and he has suffered more than I could even fathom. Taking on every sin past, present, future? I can't imagine it.
We all suffer. This world has amazing incredible things we've been blessed with, but none of us have to do this alone. It takes faith, and commitment, and most importantly love for a God that you've never seen but you know exists. It's finding God's truth and not living in your own, when I live in my own truth it will take me down, and fast. But that's not to complain about my life, that is just recognizing that without God's love, without his sacrifice, without his word, and the people that's he's blessed me with, this life would be a very empty place.
I thank him for the lack of emptiness in my life and praise him for all that has happened, is happening and has yet to come.
K
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Yup. It's one of those days. And for anyone who doesn't know yet, those days happen often for me physically. This body of mine has been through a lot. One of the reasons that I use social media and a blog is for that very reason, sometimes I'm just in too much physical pain to go anywhere. Or I have to save up my energy to do something really important.
Today, two of my good friends Johnny and Rochelle are getting married. Praise God I am so incredibly happy for them! So I am not doing homework, I am missing a women's devo that I really want to go to, and I am going to lie in bed for a couple of hours praying and meditating on this scripture so that I can celebrate the beginning of an amazing thing with my friends.
I don't really know why this is my lot in life, to have this body, but I don't question it. I get mad about the things I can't do sometimes, I get frustrated, and I cry a lot. But maybe this is not something that you just get through, any person with a chronic illness will tell you that. You don't just get through the days most times, you push through them, or you humble out and allow God to help.
My advantage is God. I tried doing it myself, but honestly no one person has the strength to survive life all by themselves to begin with let alone when something major is happening. Christ fortifies me and reminds me through his word(the scripture previously mentioned) that I don't have to do this alone. He is there and he has suffered more than I could even fathom. Taking on every sin past, present, future? I can't imagine it.
We all suffer. This world has amazing incredible things we've been blessed with, but none of us have to do this alone. It takes faith, and commitment, and most importantly love for a God that you've never seen but you know exists. It's finding God's truth and not living in your own, when I live in my own truth it will take me down, and fast. But that's not to complain about my life, that is just recognizing that without God's love, without his sacrifice, without his word, and the people that's he's blessed me with, this life would be a very empty place.
I thank him for the lack of emptiness in my life and praise him for all that has happened, is happening and has yet to come.
K
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Hello, Welcome, and all that......
Some people may find the title of my blog and what it's about to be incredibly confusing. How are you a fiery redhead and then focused on God, family, love and compassion? Easily. It's how God decided to make me.
You see I've always wanted to share my thoughts on the above mentioned things. God specifically, since I wouldn't have anything else without him, but somehow the thought of keeping a blog on top of everything else seemed overwhelming.
But not really. Since this will not be a place where I want to talk about the world. Gracious, there are already enough people talking about the world and all the things that go on in it. I wanted a place where the focus, at least for me, even if no one else read it was about God's love, the amazing life and family I've been blessed with, and most importantly compassion and honesty. Sometimes we all just need a place to go where the pressures of this world won't come.
God is that place for me, be it in prayer, in church, at work, at school, with my husband, with my child, even when the dog and the cats seem to be too much, he is my refuge.
I never feel better than when I'm talking about how I love God, how to grow spiritually (ok maybe that's not always a comfortable conversation) how my life is, how it makes me feel, and being completely honest about how that's going.
So there it is in a nutshell (how nutty my shell is you will eventually find out if you continue to read posts). Welcome to the fiery redhead life. :)
You see I've always wanted to share my thoughts on the above mentioned things. God specifically, since I wouldn't have anything else without him, but somehow the thought of keeping a blog on top of everything else seemed overwhelming.
But not really. Since this will not be a place where I want to talk about the world. Gracious, there are already enough people talking about the world and all the things that go on in it. I wanted a place where the focus, at least for me, even if no one else read it was about God's love, the amazing life and family I've been blessed with, and most importantly compassion and honesty. Sometimes we all just need a place to go where the pressures of this world won't come.
God is that place for me, be it in prayer, in church, at work, at school, with my husband, with my child, even when the dog and the cats seem to be too much, he is my refuge.
I never feel better than when I'm talking about how I love God, how to grow spiritually (ok maybe that's not always a comfortable conversation) how my life is, how it makes me feel, and being completely honest about how that's going.
So there it is in a nutshell (how nutty my shell is you will eventually find out if you continue to read posts). Welcome to the fiery redhead life. :)
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