Archive Page 2

Getting eyes checked

Published May 4, 2012 family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 2 Comments
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I’m presently at the eye doctor’s with my son for his first eye exam. We are in a dark room & they have him focusing, concentrating & answering lots of questions. Of course I’m sitting I the room with him & I’m pretty tuned into what they’re doing & asking him.
Sometimes I think that we are like my son right now – doing life, concentrating & trying to give the best answers that we can. In the meantime, it’s important for each of us to know that God is always present, no matter how dark it is around us, no matter how much we’re concentrating on our immediate environs & no matter how hard we are trying to do the right thing. God is always present & that means that we are never detached from Genuine Love :)

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When trust is difficult

Published May 3, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 2 Comments
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Trust can be a tricky tightrope, particularly when you feel like your trust has been betrayed or when the circumstances all seem contrary to what you believe. So here are a couple of thoughts about trusting in ourselves, other people & God.
In short, I’m not too keen to put lots of trust in people or even in myself, since we are humans with flaws, weaknesses, failures, etc. On the flip side, trusting in God has lots better results, even when it seems difficult. But in all honesty, I’ve also been disappointed in God sometimes when I have a short term mindset. However, when I think about God’s intense & immense love for me, along w Rom 8:28-29 (all things work together for good . . . .), my trust & confidence in God increase. And best of all, the more & better that I trust God then the deeper our relationship grows. Indeed, trust is an essential ingredient for intimacy :)

did I get a ticket???

Published May 2, 2012 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer 3 Comments
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So today, I got pulled over by the police near a stop sign that I’ve struggled with in the past – translation:  I’ve rolled through this stop sign before & gotten a ticket.  But I came to a complete stop, looked both ways & noticed the nice policeman waiting for stop sign violators, of which I was not one.  Anyways, he flipped his lights on & started following me.  I stopped & was curious to know what this attention was about.  When he came to my window, he wanted to know if my son was wearing his seatbelt, to which I politely replied, “Yes, sir.  He was most certainly wearing his seatbelt.”  End of the story, I didn’t get a ticket :)

I wanted to be lippy & talk back to the officer, but I didn’t do that, thanks to the help of the Holy Spirit.  It always pays to “think twice & be nice.”  With the Holy Spirit’s help & intervention, we can do this & save ourselves a boat load of trouble :)

getting the right match

Published May 1, 2012 enemies to intimacy , family , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 4 Comments
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 Before I met my husband, I had a few boyfriends who were nice guys.  Some of them were really smart, some of them were very funny, some of them were very philosophical and some had some great business skills.  They were all unique and great in their own ways.  When I met Reece, it was really obvious that we were both very different people, but in a really good way.  Of course we had some very essential commonalities, but to this day after more than 18 years of marriage, we are still very distinct and unique individuals.  One of the beauties of our relationship is how well we complement each other. 

So I’ve been thinking about this idea of complementary natures as it relates to God and us as individuals.  It seems to me that we are God’s complement – broken, weak, frail, dysfunctional, insecure, etc and God is our complement.  Sometimes I’ve tried to find my complement in various human relationships only to be disappointed and hurt.  The only true complement to our true self is the Truine God.  They have designed us to be Their complement :)

Solving Problems

Published April 30, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 Comment
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We all have problems of different sizes, challenges, seasons & shapes. It seems to me that sometimes problems come in herds – either they’re few & far between or they seem to spill out from every corner & area of life.
Some problems we can solve on our own & some problems require help because they’re beyond our ability & resources. It seems to me that when I get in these problem intense seasons that I can get myopic & only see 1 solution or answer. The problem with myopia is that there’s limited focus & for me it’s usually on the wrong thing (the problem & not God).
So here’s the short answer: God has solutions, ideas, resources & methods for resolution of which we’ve never dreamed. I’m reminded that God has more answers than I had questions & God has more solutions than I have problems :)

something to encourage you :)

Published April 27, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 4 Comments
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Here are a few thoughts that I really hope will be helpful & encouraging:

If you’re going through:

  • a season of lack – be sure to be open to the variety of ways that Jesus provides in our lives (time, wisdom, creative ideas, unexpected supply, etc)
  • loneliness – don’t underestimate the continually abiding presence of Jesus with you in every moment & situation
  • a time of confusion – listen for the Holy Spirit to lead you into truth & consider reading the verses about Who the Holy Spirit is in John 14
  • some heightened insecurity – you are nothing less than wholly & genuinely loved by your Creator, Who finds you to be nothing less than tantalizing & delightful
  • failure – celebrate because you’ve crossed off an option that doesn’t lead to success!
  • frustration – sometimes the best reward to frustration is the strength that only comes through endurance

I hope you’re well encouraged today!! :D

managing isn’t the same as growing

Published April 25, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 3 Comments
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I have some weak spots in my life that can be really frustrating to me:  I don’t like it when I fumble meeting a new person, I don’t like it when I want to get back at someone for a petty insult, I don’t like it when one of my insecurities makes me look stupid & there’s lots more.  But I’ve been thinking about some of these things lately & I’ve decided that I have a choice:  I can manage these weak spots & work around them OR I can change & grow bigger than these weak areas.  I’ve certainly done much in the management realm, but I am feeling challenged to let the Holy Spirit work on me with the change & grow realm.

Ultimately, I’m very happy that the Holy Spirit continues to work with me, knowing that with His help, I can only get better & better!  How about you???  Are you managing or growing? :)

I get by with a little help from my friends ,)

Published April 24, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , saving moses , spiritual 1 Comment
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In yonder years gone by, the Beatles sang this song & when I read the lyrics, I think it had something to do with getting high.  I still like the idea, however, of getting & giving help to others.  What’s made me think about this today is watching a guy sit & do nothing to help a crippled lady who was totally struggling to open a door.  I looked into his eyes after she finally got the door open & he was completely indifferent.  To this apathy, I found myself becoming outraged!!

Then I started thinking about this lady’s observable disability – I was extremely motivated to help her when I saw her need.  But I felt the Holy Spirit ask me if I was equally as motivated to help those who do not have an observable disability.  Just because someone looks put together & functional on the outside doesn’t mean that they’re not falling apart or disabled on the inside.  I can’t count the number of times that the Holy Spirit has helped me through various people when I’ve been falling apart on the inside & trying to look put together on the outside.  Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to freely express His help and character through us as we help others regardless of how they look on the outside.

love, love and more love :D

Published April 23, 2012 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , saving moses , spiritual 3 Comments
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I was talking with a friend yesterday & we were talking about our husbands & kids with their different love languages.  I found it helpful to remember to express love to others based on what is meaningful love to them and not just the kind of love that I like.  With this in mind, I decided to do a brief summary of Gary Chapman’s love languages here that you might find helpful.  We all have different ways in which we easily receive or feel that we are loved (we tend to give the kind of love that we want to receive).  With this in mind, here are the love languages that Gary presents:

  • gifts:  the person with this love language likes to receive gifts & when someone gives them something, it is super powerful & meaningful to them
  • quality time:  the person with this love language likes to be with a person they love be that in quality conversation, activities (sports, hiking, shopping), etc
  • acts of service:  the person with this love language likes to do nice things for the people they love (run errands, clean, help with their kids, get fuel, etc)
  • touch:  the person with this love language likes to touch, snuggle, hold hands, . . .
  • words of affirmation:  the person with this love language likes to give / receive encouragement, affirmation, atta boy, etc

Clearly, this is nothing more than a brief summary, but hopefully it helps us to love with greater authenticity & with less manipulation :)

On making change

Published April 20, 2012 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 2 Comments
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Have you ever been short changed, only to make this discovery when it was too late? This used to really big me, so I would do my best to remember to stay & count my change the moment I received it. The important part was to STAY & count the change.
I’ve been thinking lately about making some important changes in my life & I’ve come to the conclusion that commitment precedes change. A person who doesn’t commit often never changes but they will frequently change their surroundings to avoid commitments that would require them to change. I know that sounds convoluted, but simply put: change is often a consequence of commitment & a lack of growth & maturity is often a reflection of non-commitment.
If you want to avoid being short changed, be sure to hang around & count your change ,)

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