Posted in Bite Size Bible Truth, Inner Child, Return to your true created essence, Spiritual Warfare, Thoughtful Living

Does it seem as though God is too busy?

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, … Eccl. 3

Do you get angry or frustrated thinking that God has not answered your prayer?

In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything to conform to his will. Ephesians 1:11

When we have never known God, a tragedy arises or trauma. beyond what we can understand, it is natural to think in that desparate moment that God is too busy or does not care for us. But that is especially the time to cry out to God. Tell Him your hurt, anger, fear, and frustration. These are some of the greatest moments in which Creator and created meet on an intimate spirtual and emotional level.

Who moves away God or us?

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples. They were overjoyed to see Him. Jesus then breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ John 20:22

God Breathed and the world took form. God breathed into man and woman and they lived. When Jesus was leaving us, He breathed and we recieved His Holy Spirit that live in our spirits at this very moment. God is always near,we are His beloved creation. It is we humans who take in this breath and yet turn from God. All we need to do turn back and acknoledge the source of breath and life!

Were is evidence of A Creator-God?

Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10

Nature itself speaks of God. Feeling lonely, need hope, or to learn how to trust again? Put down your phone,go outside and sit with nature. Find a tree, observe a nest of birds, go to the top of hill or mountain and look out at the expanse of nature around you. Lie on a blanket and look at the night sky. You will experience God.

Is it rational or logical to try to connect with God?

The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

God’s is rational and logical and gifts us with both. But He is far bigger than the logic we possess. He is larger than life; creative, resourceful, trustworthy and He does not mind if we test Him. He wants us to put something in His hands and then wait patiently for a result or outcome. We err when we take it back too quickly. God also gifts us with grace that builds our faith, Faith has a spiritual and emotional component. The gift of faith can not be seen but can be acknowledged and will grow as our relationship with God grows.

Who is the source of faith?

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Our relationship with God starts with God. He inspires us to turn toward Him. He shows us things through people and nature that open our minds to consider believing. Then gives us more grace to begin understanding and believing. Grace is a gift. Faith is a gift. Grace is a gift. We need only to surrender our stubborn will and accept the gift.

Scripture cited from Biblegateway.com NIV version.

Posted in Bite Size Bible Truth, Intentional Parenting, Others' Views

Look to God, the Light of the World

Psalm 13:3-Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, (The Message Translation – Take a good look at me, God, my God; I want to look life in the eye)

The only way to know if someone is or is not looking at you, is if you are looking at them. Once you are looking to God and you know He is looking back on you, you can look take on life, looking it straight in the eye, and not looking away with intimidation.

Michelle Meredith contributed..

Posted in Affects of Sexual Abuse: LIES, Inner Child, Return to your true created essence, Spiritual Warfare, Thoughtful Living

Stop Resisting; Turn toward Possibilities 

We do not like to retreat. If we are pushed, we push back. If we hit a wall, we bang our head for a while thinking that our stubbornness and unwillingness to retreat will remove the obstacle and open the desired door.

As with many things in life, things are not always as they seem. When we feel trapped, what seems like asserting ourselves can actually be detrimental to our growth, contentment, and well-being. This push is to avoid being taken advantage of or looking weak.

Reversing these harmful responses and actions is not easy. But may I suggest as a new practice; to begin removing yourself from the harmful situation. Stop arguing with unreasonable people. Stop placing yourself in situations where you know you are not respected.

Other times, stressors keep our focus and the what ifs are the number one offender. What if I fail? What if he leaves me? What if I am not loved and end up alone? What if I don’t have enough money? Perhaps try to write down your what ifs of the day. Then, make a decision to lay these scary thoughts aside. Just for the day. Knowing that what ifs happen in the future if they happen at all.

In today you have another chance at life and emotional freedom. Changing your focus is a powerful tool that allows you to stay present in this day. The repeated practice of this opens to new insights, hope, and possibilities.

Posted in Affects of Sexual Abuse: LIES, Return to your true created essence, Spiritual Warfare, Thoughtful Living

Lost but now I can be found

Abused or neglected in our developmental years leaves us confused. Our God given compass does not function appropriately. We are loyal to the abuser and mistrust others that may come into our lives to show us a better way. We may believe everyone lives as we have and that this is as good as it gets. Curiosity for freedom does not exist or is held within. Sometimes we know something is wrong but believe we deserve the way we have been treated because we are somehow defective.

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Posted in Affects of Sexual Abuse: LIES, Bite Size Bible Truth, Inner Child, Return to your true created essence, Spiritual Warfare, Thoughtful Living

Redemption: Restoring back to the Original

Redemption is sought by many, but most of us would not recognize it if it looked us in the face. We can agree that there is a desire to be restored or saved after a significant loss; something was taken or had enslaved us. But where can we satisfy this desire?

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Posted in Return to your true created essence, Thoughtful Living

Is God Aware of our Struggles?

Coming into belief we bring with us bitterness, disappointment, and disillusionment. Things were not going our way and then someone presented another option. Faith. We consider that something different could transpiring if a connection with an unseen God can be achieved. Usually, what has happened to a new believer or those who have believed there is a God for years, is that something devastating happens and we have run out of resources and ideas to fix.

Questions emerge: If God wants what is best for me how come this happened? Where was God when my loved one died and I was praying for a miracle. Why did employment not come? Why did I have to lose my home? Why did my marriage fail? Why was I abused and no one rescued me? These are valid questions.

The answers come later after the connection to God has taken hold and been deepened. The process feels like a wrestling match. But when we go through it we find a surrender, the ability to let our small ideas go and to better see God’s bigger picture. We find that our Creator was in all of our moments. Our Creator was active in the unseen realm and is able to comfort and heal no matter the loss. We find our perspective changes and we find a piece that surpasses anything we have previously known.

https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/15841-9-common-lies-christians-believe-part-3-of-3/day/3

Posted in Thoughtful Living

IS TRUTH AMBIGUOUS?

 

Ambiguous: open to more than one interpretation or meaning.; 
Unclear or inexact because a choice between the alternatives has not been made. 

If you have been following along, you know that I, unknowingly, began life under the power of the shadow. Spiritual bondage formed by deception and secrets that I had witnessed and internalized. I did not know how much darkness surrounded me, as I saw no one in the light. I was taught to be dishonest by my parents and the whisperings of the shadow. I took what I learned, continued to listen to the destructive voice in my head and used to hurt myself and others. 

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Posted in Return to your true created essence, Spiritual Warfare, Thoughtful Living

Finding the Magic Key of Recovery

Step out of your circumstances for a while. Observe others who seem to know how to live. Perhaps observe people who are not living in anger or endless drama. There are people around us in recovery that have unlocked the door and found a way out.

People-watching can be a beginning, but offers little assistance to a struggling soul until the process of surrender occurs from within.  The AA principles lay out the process from self-reliance and unmanageability to surrender and freedom.  Hindering the process are swirling obsessive thoughts and knee jerk reactions. These traits may have not been of own making, but rather have been modeled to us by caretakers, parents, or an abuser. Although proven time and again to be harmful and faulty, as long as we believe them to be truthful, valid and appropriate we will stubbornly stay unchanged.

Stepping out of victimization or personal addictive behaviors requires a surrender so we can watch and listen for new information. Lack of faith and trust is our dilemma. We could not trust our ourselves while in active addiction. Taking the substances out of our system we can now listen and choose a different path. We have a Creator who is available and is continually trying to reach us. This Creator would like to reach us and change our thinking and behaviors. There is restoring power beyond our imagining. A new outlook awaits.

The key to this door, that opens to a path into the beautiful new unknown, is surrender. That key is found when we can sit quietly and dare to think outside of what we believe is our reality. The key begins to turn. There may be clutter in front of the door, or the door may slam shut again and again. Then one day it stays open. We awake to new information, new possibilities. Needed resources and strength present themselves.

 

Posted in Thoughtful Living

The Fisher King

story adapted from Richard Rohr, Quest for the Grail (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1994), 57, 19–20.

The most common version of the Grail myth takes place in a medieval kingdom. The King is tragically wounded, and the kingdom is in disrepair. Father Richard describes the situation:

Most versions of the Grail legend begin with a wasteland kingdom, ruled over by one called the Fisher King. Crops are dying, monasteries are empty, and the people have no hope. All the king can do, because his wound refuses to heal, is fish all day—that is why he is called the Fisher King. This name has Christ connotations, since Jesus too was the “fisher of people.”

Fishing is the appropriate symbol of dipping down into one’s own unconscious. The sea is the natural image of the vast unconscious. I think this is the reason we can sit by the ocean for hours and watch it with fascination—waiting for the gift from the sea, waiting for something to show itself.

For author and depth psychologist Carol Pearson, the Fisher King is an archetype connected to inner places of suffering and longing:

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