Take a Deep Breath!

Sometimes people do things that hurt us.  Sometimes they do it intentionally and sometimes they don't even know they have done it.  I am sure that I have done things to hurt people and I didn't realize it.  I also know that I have hurt people intentionally, sometimes because I have been hurt and am lashing out and other times it is just the flesh in me coming out and I don't keep things in check. 

It is hard to forget the times that someone has hurt you.  Even though you might forgive them, when something comes up and that button is pushed, it is like going through the pain of being hurt all over again.  Ever experience this?  I don't think that I am the only one who has.  It is no fun to go through the pain of "old stuff". 

I am trying to be more conscious of how I treat people, even when I am having a hard time.  I am going to double check the words of my email and think how it might come across to someone that I have hurt in the past...could it possibly trigger one of their buttons?  Could it cause unnecessary pain for them to relive?  I can't be responsible for how someone deals with their "stuff", but I can be sensitive and loving. 

I encourage you and challenge you all to think twice before you say something, before you type and send off that email in frustration.  Take a deep breath and pray that God will bring you to the point where no matter what this person might have done or said, you can still treat them with love and kindness.

ALIVE!

Being alone is not something that I enjoy.  Sure, I like my quiet times  in the morning and I even enjoy the short spurts of being home alone when the house is all quiet and I can do whatever I want (this doesn't happen very often). I also enjoy going shopping or to the bookstore alone at times, but all in all, I do not desire to spend my days by myself.  This is because God designed us to be bonded to others.  It is what keeps us "alive".  If we are alone and not in relationship with others, we will become stagnant, not growing, essentially dead.  When we are in loving relationships with others, we are alive and growing.  When we are not, we are slowly dying inside.  On my desk, I have a small picture frame that says, " Above all else guard your heart for it is the well spring of life"  Proverbs 4:23 .

Hmmm....if our heart is the well spring of life and  we are designed to be in relationship with others then our heart is essential to living.  I am not talking about being physically alive, we all do that everyday, I am talking about being ALIVE!!!  There is no other word for it other than ALIVE!!!

It is impossible to be ALONE and be ALIVE!  It can't be done.  God made us to be in community and relationship together.  But our natural tendency when we feel tension or friction in any situation is to pull away.  When we have tension in our jobs or at home, we pull away, when we have tension with others, we pull away from them.  That is the last thing we ought do.  God wants us to go to one another and express our needs and desires. He wants us to draw close to one another and bond.  This is very important for us to grow.  He also desires us to reach out to others.  Show others that we care by being there for them, especially when they are just doing everyday life.  Usually we tend to be in our own little worlds until something drastic happens. Someone gets sick or has a family emergency. Someone loses their job or has an accident and we go running to their aid. This is wonderful and I am not saying that we shouldn't do this, but why only when there is an emergency?  

There are many things in life that set us back and we all usually go running to one another to help out.  But when the "shock" of what has happened wears off and we get back to our normal lives, the person that needed us seems to be holding up okay or we see so many others helping, we think that we aren't needed.  This is so not true.  We need to be in fellowship daily whether there is a "storm in our life" or not. Especially when there is not a storm in our lives, because that is when we become stagnant, that is when we become dead and not growing.

I Needed to Listen

2 Timothy 1:3-7

Verse 7: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.

Gods words are important, they change our hearts.  When our hearts are changed our lives are changed. 

God is in control of everything that happens to me.  Do not be fearful, even of satan, he cannot touch me because I belong to God.

God has not given me a spirit of fear, He has given me a spirit of Love.  It is God's love that motivates us to do the work of the church.  Not because we want to, it is Gods love that makes us do it. 

We need to remember that not only do we have God's love, but we have God's power too.  When we try to do things in our own power, we mess up. Along with His power, He gives us a sound mind; that is the result of Gods power and love.  He helps us to do His work.

God has promised He will never leave me nor forsake me.

God is my leader and guides me with His Word.  God's Word is important for me to grow.

I have no fear today because God has given to me His love, power and as a result I have a sound mind

If I am afraid, then I do not have Gods love in my heart.

Thank you Joan......I needed to listen.