“Don’t allow foolish people to control you through their opinions. God’s opinion matters most.” – Robert Liardon-
Is it really that bad?
Matthew 7: 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
I have always heard it said that some people would rather float upstream than to do what they are told to do, is that really a bad idea? I know in this life all we have to do is look around at what is truly going on. Things may look great and fun but they come with a hefty price, are you willing to pay that price? Your family, your health, even your soul. The gate is wide and the road is broad, why? I think because of the masses running to that gate, running to destruction. The road is well worn down and less resistant. The road signs are pleasing to look at and with bright lights and good feelings even if only temporary. The other gate is small and the road is narrow. This road leads to life, and when you find it, it leads to a life that is full. It has an abundance of goodness, there is no sorrow attached to this. The reason most don’t want to take this road is because there is resistance, it takes effort to take this road. Through blood, sweat and tears you walk on this road. It comes with self denial, you know that there are things that you want and you must put your priorities in the right order. There are thorns and stickers, you must watch where you put your feet. The gate is small, the size of a small child because in order to get into the kingdom of heaven, you must have child like faith. I have had small children and they remind me of this very thing, small children are not afraid to take off down a path with stickers and rocks. They are not afraid of a lot of things that adults tend to run from. Adults tend to go the path of less resistance but small children they don’t care , they go for it. Then they go through small openings, and we find that we can’t go there, we can’t get in. So I must ask, is it really that bad?
Press On!!!
Have you really thought about what it means to press on? It means to move forward despite the fact that you feel like quitting. Through every obstacle that comes your way, through every word that has been spoken against you telling you that you are a failure, through all the not feeling like its. Come on people!!! Pull your selves together. I had a therapist that told me to do at least one thing a day, just one thing. While I was studying this morning, I heard that people who don’t have no sense of purpose, no ambition, no sense of the future are subject to depression, lethargy, discouragement, and they just can’t seem to get motivated. Wow! That seems so familiar. People just can’t seem to get out of bed. That was me in so many ways. So I began to have a million thoughts run through my brain as usual, then it occurred to me. The one thing that was really needed, I needed to find my sense of purpose. Why did God put me here? If I am breathing then I must have a purpose. We need to find out what our purpose is? Are you going to listen to that person in YOUR PAST tell you that you are just not any good at something? Are you going to just lay there like a lump on a log and let time slip right on by you? Pull yourself together. I remember when I use younger, it hurt me so bad to even move my legs, still does, ain’t going to lie. I would just go outside and sit in the shade of a tree and just dig in the dirt. I made little flower gardens, just to brighten up my day. I would read books and write, still do. The problem began when I decide I didn’t have a purpose and I was no use to anyone. I became so depressed and attempted to end things, but God saw fit that I didn’t. So one day, after gaining a lot of weight, I decided I wasn’t going to take this anymore and I got up, got dressed and got busy, at a slow rate of speed, but at least I was moving forward. Don’t just lay there, you have time to sleep later, right now, go outside and see what your purpose is? God is calling you, you have a purpose.
Let’s just scream!!!
I know I have days where I just don’t know what to do. I just feel like throwing my hands up in the air and just letting out the loudest scream I can muster up. I am sure y’all do to. Well, guess what I am at that point, but y’all know what? It will be alright. I could go down a long list of what has been happening, but I will narrow it down and just say, LIFE. That is what has been happening. Through the many years of therapy that I have been in due to physical and mental abuse, I have had to learn that feeling emotions are good and it is normal to be tired, and be ready to throw your hands up and scream. Those emotions can motivate you to do something about the situation you are going through. You don’t have to sit there and take it. Example: when something is out your control, like right now, I have a friend that is in the hospital, the prognosis not looking very good, I don’t have to accept that answer, PRAY. God is the one that is in control. Now for another example: when something is in your control like the house is a mess. First things first, pray about it, the scriptures say, commit your works (plans) to the Lord and He will establish your plans. That means it will happen. You got to get up and move, take a step. I know my legs hurt so bad, but I have noticed that it is worse when I just sit and not move. Do one thing, make the effort. You will find it does get a little bit easier. Don’t just sit there, move. Open the windows, let the sunshine in. Put on some happy music, smile a little bit. Kick stuff out of the way. Enjoy yourself.
Tidbits for life!
Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe. – Saint Augustine –
Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!
When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize:
There is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed. – Charles Spurgeon –
I want to take just a moment to say this. Yesterday morning, I woke up and was going about my day then I got a phone call. This phone call brought devastating news to me. Someone very special to me had died, passed away during the night. All I could do was cry, my heart was broken into a millions pieces. Everything that I had planned to do was ripped to shreds and I just could not function. I finally gave up and went to bed. When we get the news that someone we love very much dies and is no longer with us, we feel crushed, as if the very air we breath is being squeezed out of our lungs.
Can you imagine the way the ones that was with Jesus had felt when He was crucified? His disciples, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene. All the ones that loved Jesus very much. They did not know or understand the plan that God had for us. They didn’t understand the plan that Jesus was trying to convey to them. Do you know how it feels when you finally have someone that loves you very much and treats you with dignity? Do you know how it feels when you have been abused and then you have been set free? Do you know what it feels like to know perfect love and then all of a sudden it is gone?
Can you imagine the devastation that they were feeling? Their savior, their teacher, their friend, He was crucified and died and placed in a tomb. I know how I feel when my loved ones die. I know how I felt yesterday when I got that phone call. But can you imagine being there and watching this whole crucifixion take place? The agony of losing someone. But now….
Let me tell you about what happened next… no I didn’t get the phone call of my special someone being alive. But let me tell you about Jesus… Mary Magdalene went to that tomb before day light. When she got there the big stone that was rolled into place was moved. There was an angel of God standing there… waiting for her… with tears streaming down her face…this angel told her, ” He is not here, for He has risen, as He has said. Come, see the place where He lay.” (Matthew 28:6 ESV).
Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? (John 20:15)
In the very next verse… Jesus called her name.
Can you imagine… do you not know .. Jesus is calling your name and my name… He has Risen just like He said He would… Jesus is Lord and He is a person of His word… when He said He would be back… He meant every word of it…
No we don’t have to apologize for what we believe… there is nothing in the gospel to be ashamed of….
The Journey
I don’t know about everybody else, but I am my own worse enemy. I am always telling my Heavenly Father to show me where to put my feet on this path because I seem to run head long into chaos. I feel so scattered and just want to do everything and read everything and learn everything. The problem is nothing gets accomplished. Then I am reminded of the scripture, Proverbs 16:3,” Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established”.
You know if we do that every morning, start out each day with committing our plans, our works to the Lord, He will see them through. He has a much better way than us. We just need to give them to Him, commit them to Him, and watch Him do it. This life is a journey. Just because someone else is further along the path than you are, or you don’t feel like you are where you need to be, you have to remember that this life is a journey. It is not how fast you go to get where you think you need to be, it is how you walk on this journey.
Where do you keep your eyes?
In the movie The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies (2014) A man climbs the bell tower so he can shoot a flying dragon that is burning the village and killing men, women and children. And in this scene, his arrows are just bouncing off this dragon because he is not hitting the dragon in the right place. Then, his son climbs this bell tower while the dragon is setting fire to everything and trying to destroy everyone. The son has an arrow that is made of something that only it can destroy this dragon but only if it hits this dragon in a certain spot. The son gets to the top of the bell tower and gives this arrow to his father, then the father sees the spot where the dragon is vulnerable. However, only the father needs to balance this arrow in order to hit this spot, in the climatic moment, he has his son looking at him only and he is balancing this arrow on this boys shoulder. The young boy is very afraid and trembling and wanting to turn his eyes to see the dragon and the man keeps telling his son, “keep your eyes on me”. The man keeps telling his son that. Don’t look, but keep your eyes on me. And of course, the arrow shoots and hits the dragon on the exact spot that is needed in order to kill the dragon.
In that scene, it felt like the arrow hit me in my heart. How many times do we put our eyes on the enemy instead of on Jesus where they belong? We can always hear him saying, “keep your eyes on Me, don’t look at the enemy”? Keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the one that fights our battles. We have to put our trust in Him. Just as that young boy in that movie had to trust his father, and having to keep his eyes on him instead of the enemy. We are called to do the same.
In Matthew 14:22-32 , Jesus had sent His disciples ahead, across the Sea of Galilee in a boat, while He was sending the crowds away. The evening fell and Jesus was alone on a mountain, praying. However, the boat was being tossed around and being battered by the high waves and seas, so the disciples had only made it to the middle of the sea probably, they were still a long ways from the other side. Then the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water in the dark. Can you imagine the pure terror of seeing this sight? Of seeing a man, which they thought was a ghost. Immediately Jesus spoke to them, telling them to “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter is the one that responded and he said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to you on the water. And you know what? Jesus told Peter,” Come!” The next thing you know, Peter got out of that boat and took off walking on that water, and he went to Jesus. But you know what happened next? Peter took his eyes off of Jesus. Peter put his eyes on the wind. We can even put the word enemy right here. We all do it. But Peter became afraid and he began to sink. Peter cried out to Jesus, ” Lord, save me!” and immediately Jesus saved him from drowning. Jesus took hold of him and Peter was saved from going under. Jesus said to him, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” They got in the boat and the wind stopped.
Do you realize that we all have Jesus? He is the one that fights for us. He is the one that is standing right here with us and holding on to us. All we have to do is put our eyes on Jesus, don’t look at the enemy.
Tidbits for life
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. – Mark Twain-
The phone call
I woke up this morning to a missed phone call. I can’t name names or anything of that sort but the phone call was about domestic violence and loved ones having to run for their very lives. Can you imagine the horror that a child faces when they are living in that situation? I can, I grew up in that situation. The constant fear of being beat if you mess up one little thing or touch one thing that you are not suppose too. Or you say one thing that is wrong, that the abuser doesn’t like. Or if they are in just a bad mood that day. I wasn’t even suppose to have a favorite color or like anything that even resembled anything pretty. I didn’t have my arms broken but came very close though, they have been twisted. I suppose what hurt the most was not the physical pain, even though that did hurt, it was the emotional pain. Emotional pain just doesn’t stop hurting. Emotional pain leaves scars so deep that are not visible to outsiders. Domestic violence is deadly. I have heard so many people say that this person will change. They really didn’t mean to hurt me or say those mean things. Come on people, men and women, that person will not change on their own, only God will change that person, you can’t. Get out of that situation, you are not meant to be someone else’s garbage bag. When I was a kid, I use to imagine someone coming in a big car to save us. I would just imagine what it would be like not to have to wake up to blood shed everyday. Living at home was like living in a war zone. I remember standing at the end of a gun when I was only 7 or 8 years old to keep people from killing one another, the thought never crossed my mind that I was the one that could have been shot. They are people out there who love you and care about you. There is help. You may feel like there is not anyone that can save you but there really is. Get out. Your children need you too. The emotional scars last a life time. Call 911 if you have to. There are resources to help get on your feet. Your children need you, your family needs you.
For anonymous, confidential help, 24/7, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY).
All Through The House With Love 