sincere thoughts
Like most Americans I want a quick fix when I have an issue. I want the drive-thru, microwaveable, green light version of fixing problems. Is it too dark? Make it lighter. Is it too long? Cut it shorter. Makes sense to this brain.
I recently lived through a difficult time in my life. I know I’m not alone here. We all go through difficulties. Thankfully, I've learned that if I can manage life’s difficulties well, it will create a happier, more peace-filled life. Do I want to be happy and live with peace? YES. Then I need to practice effectively dealing with all that life brings…and for me this starts with a reboot. At work, if we encounter a computer glitch, we are encouraged to first reboot the machine before calling the IT help line. Through a simple reboot, many issues can be resolved. It hit me today, what if we could reboot ourselves before life’s difficulties tear us down or ruin our days/weeks/months, or even years? What is a reboot? By definition reboot is a verb meaning to restart or revive. For the sake of this blog, to reboot is to go to God so He can hit the restart button in our attitudes. Not sure about you, but when life comes to take a bite out of me, my attitude can plunge pretty quickly. Going to God for a reboot gives me new perspective. Reboots change our attitudes. When we go to God for our reboot, we can be honest with Him. Take a minute to tell Him exactly how you feel about whatever is stressing you out! Get it off your chest. It’s okay. God likes it when we go to Him without pretense. Reboots allow us to be totally honest with God. We don’t have to hide anything from Him; we can tell God how we feel - even if we feel selfish, nasty, angry, lustful or bitter. God is never surprised with our honesty. During this reboot, reading the Bible and seeking to hear from the Holy Spirit is vital. Reboots give us a firm foundation. I know God uses His Word and the Holy Spirit to bring truth to our conscious brains. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. We need that comfort from the Holy Spirit because our raw emotions can resist the truth of God’s Word. These two things work together to calm our intense emotions and give us a firm foundation of truth to stand on during the difficulty. Reboot as often as necessary. Daily reboots are necessary for me to live without relentless stress and anxiety. I heard once: Choose the path that offers the greatest return. I believe the greatest return in my life is what I get from my relationship with God; reboots nurture that relationship. Want a happier, more peace-filled life? REBOOT.
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I asked Jesus Christ to come live in my heart when I was twelve years old. I'm thirty-six now. It hasn't always been smooth sailing. In fact, I would say that most of my life I've been fighting back and forth. First it was with HOW I'm supposed to "act" as God's kid. Then it was the sinning-repenting-sinning-repenting yo-yo. Then when I finally felt the true love and acceptance of God, it was learning to balance my free will with His forgiveness. Then I had to learn that free will + being filled and led by the Spirit meant freedom, not an opportunity to sin. Then it was walking in freedom. Then it all went stale. Whew. It's been a long journey. One that I have begged to change through the tough times, but one I'm thankful to have emerged from... No, I'm not saying I have arrived. (God forbid...I feel like I would have to hide from the lightning bolts if I said that, haha) No, it's more of having a revelation...and it came to me through an awareness of HIS LOVE.
Tonight it hit me. I am GOD'S KID. Me. Plain ole' me. God's precious child. The Maker of Heaven and Earth. Ya, so He's MY DAD. You know Him. He speaks and things happen! And not only am I God's pride and joy, but as His kid - through Jesus' sacrifice, I have so much more! I have power and authority to overcome all evil here on earth. I have eternal inheritance. I have the most powerful Being in MY corner. God, who gives me strength to do ALL THINGS through Christ. I have forgiveness. I have mercy. I have LOVE. I have a best friend. I have a confidant. I have all the provision I will ever need and more. I have abilities to do more than what only I can accomplish. And through HIM, I am an overcomer. The chains of depression, anger, bitterness and greed do not hold me down. Through the name of Jesus I am FREE from all such things. Being God's kid has its benefits... Be encouraged. We all can be God's precious ones. Everyone is welcome. If you are still breathing...there is hope. The bible (Romans 10:13) tells us that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord (JESUS), will be saved. Want to have hope, to KNOW that you are loved, live confidently that God is in your corner, and be free from sin and death? Call on Jesus. Jesus, I admit I've lived my life the way I wanted to live it with no regard to you. You call that sin. I've lived as a sinner. Forgive me. I believe you came to this earth. You lived a sinless life; you were killed in my place. You laid down your life for me. You took the punishment for my sin/shame. I confess that you are God's one and only son; the Lord. I ask for healing for my mind, and my body. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, and renew my mind with Your Word, the Bible. Speak truth to me, teach me, train me, mentor me. Teach me who I am in You... My life is Yours. I give it to You. In Jesus name. Amen. Tiny human in the night
Gazing at the sky Feeling insignificant Lost among my kind Still You see my longing face Staring back at You Your heart bursts forth with songs of grace Towards me, Your child true Cover me with Jesus' blood Fill me with your Ghost Hear me God, I need you now Of it all, I need You most I do not come to ask for things I come to seek your face This world has left me tired, drained From things I can't erase I stand in wonder as I look High up, Among the stars Still Your Kingdom's will remains On earth, replacing ours The stars, they echo as to say Come forth, and make it known The glory of the Father's Ways On earth, shine from His Throne So let Your glory fill the earth I need You now, this day Darkness flees upon Your Word Far from Perfection's Say Joyfully my heart sings out Praise amidst the night Lifted now, my Spirit soars Hope fills my empty plight Stinkin' Thinking. Ever hear that little phrase? It refers to thinking negative thoughts. Oh, those pesky negative thoughts. No one is immune. Some people are rather good at brushing them off, letting them simply glide off like water over duck feathers. But the rest of us have sticky tape for brains and those negative thoughts stay. In most cases, overstay their welcome.
The matter is usually worsened if the sticky tape person lives through a lot of painful things. Like abandonment of parents, sexual abuse as a child, teasing in school, loss, and rejection from people. Lucky for me, I've experienced them all. I heard somewhere that God makes some of us extra sensitive to the world around us; it has to do with our brain makeup. If those kids grow up nurtured and surrounded with love and encouragement, they will usually make really good leaders because they are very aware of their surroundings, and have a layer of deep compassion to want to do something about it to make it better. Those same kids, if put into a broken home with issues, usually end up pretty depressed and can become very angry and broken people. Ah, yes, I picked the short stick. But as life would have it, I can't change my past. I can't change that my dad decided to cheat over and over, and finally leave us to raise other children. I can't change that my mom had to go to work full time (with three jobs) to pay for us four kids. I can't change that I was molested. I can't change that I was a chubby kid who was teased K-12. I can't change the rejection I have felt from people over the years. But what I CAN change is my perspective. If I CHOOSE to believe something, for me that something becomes very REAL. If I choose to be a victim and live out my days angry, and blaming others, that is who I will be and that will be the life I will lead. But I CAN choose something else. The best piece of advice I've ever received from my stepdad was, "Kate, you have a choice." It was like someone gave me the key to the prison I was in, and said, "If you want to, come out!" I HAVE A CHOICE. I can choose. Which means I can not only choose what I'm eating for dinner, I can choose which shoes to wear, I can choose to believe I'm a victim and no good will come from my life because I didn't have a good start, OR I can choose to rise above it and live in the freedom Christ died for me to have! It is literally, MY CHOICE. I heard a story once about a donkey stuck in a hole. Some people came by and saw the donkey. It was a deep hole and there was no getting him out. So they decided instead of listening to him make noise of torment, they would fill the hole in and bury the donkey alive to end his suffering. With each bucket full of dirt that fell onto the donkey's back, he shook it off and stepped on top of it. Eventually that donkey had stepped on enough dirt to be level with the ground, and that donkey walked out of that hole. It is a good lesson. All of us have dirt thrown on top of us in life. We all have a choice. Will I shake off the dirt, and keep standing or will I just lay down and die? Let me encourage you: keep standing. I understand that for us sticky tape people it is much more of a struggle to rid our brains of the victim mentality, but the things we believe as a victim are lies. Hear me. Negative thoughts of a victim are LIES. So even though change can be difficult, don't you want to be free of the lies? I did... GOD, who is a LOVING Daddy, wants to FREE us from the prison of self-defeating lies, and negative thoughts. Why? Because He wants to fill us with His Truth. In order for Him to fill us with truth, our heart must have space to receive His Truth. If it is full of lies, there is no room for truth. Picture a shoe rack that fits 20 pairs of shoes. If it is full and you buy a new pair, one of the old pair need to go. The same with truth and lies. Out with the lie, in with the truth. Out with the lie, in with the truth. It can happen over and over until we are only filled with His Truth. The truths I have learned have set my mind free. It took years. It took falling back into that hole a few times. It took His persistent love and pursuit towards me, and His Spirit to open my eyes. But I have learned. I now know God loves me. God is good. God desires to fill me with His Presence. I can trust God in the midst of my suffering. God wants to use my suffering, and the lessons I've learned, to help others. I learned that what people meant for evil against me, God has used it for my good. I am now filled with truth. I can now believe outside of my victim mentality, my stinkin' thinkin. Because God has filled me with His Truth, I can truly LIVE. |
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