Hurting People Hurt People

1. Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

2. Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

3. Psalm 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

4. Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

 I just found out the person who caused me a lot of pain is returning in my life.  I thought he was gone but I had this gut feeling even though his position changed he would still be in my life.  And even though it is difficult I was somehow prepared for it.  I know why he acts the way he does.  I see the pain of a former life that was difficult.  I want to reach out to him and say you don't have to be the big bad wolf.  Show a little compassion and you can succeed.  Be nice to me.  I will be one of your supporters whether you are nice to me or not.  But it would be nice to be kind to me.   I feel like you are Saul and out of nowhere you throw your mental spear of hate and anger.  I choose to  stay in the background and pray for you.  But you have to be the one to change and I pray that through my consistent witness you will transform.  Until then I will pray for you and that the Lord will heal your heart.  

Last in the meantime I choose to be my own cheerleader.  I can't control others but in the midst of the trials and tribulations the Lord can give me wisdom on how to handle the test. 

Counting my Blessings, giving up control to the Lord

This is the week before the insanity of starting school starts again.  At least I hope so.  It is also a week of teaching a little extra for my second job and also getting the last parts of jobs I promised myself I would start or finish done.  It is always stressful.  Mostly of the unknown.  But I am so thankful for the little blessings like completing a task, seeing something pretty amazing outside or just knowing that the Lord has my back like He has in so many other things.  I have seen Him do it before and I know He will be faithful again.

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Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Psalm 46:1

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The Secret Life of Hard Work

Hezekiah Purifies the Temple

29 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. ² He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.

³ In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side ⁵ and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. ⁶ Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. ⁷ They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. ⁹ This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. ¹⁰ Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. ¹¹ My sons, do not be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense.”

 

 

Today I read about Hezekiah.  It was very insightful because he was human and not perfect.  He made mistakes but he sought God and the Lord blessed him.  I think about a leader who has recently made a decision to take something very precious to me away.  It hurt for a month but now I am getting over it.  I feel that the Lord allowed the situation so I can not only use the gift temporally away to use all my latent talents of teaching, guiding and acting.  It does not change how I feel about the decision but I make a choice to forgive that person and pray for them.  I can't change how others respond to a situation but I can change how I react.  I am now part of the youth and children's ministries.  Instead of getting mad that I am no longer part of the Sunday morning worship due to my age I am making more of an impact on the future generation by using my talents and abilities and showing them the value of seasoned adults.   I feel like the Lord allowed the door to be closed so I can truly be used where I am needed.  Instead of getting mad and bitter because the same thing would probably happen somewhere else I choose to use my trial and triumph under the leading of the Holy Spirit.   I will sing again but next time it might be to a different audience but greater than before.

Stop, Look and Listen

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◄ 1 Corinthians 2 ►

New International Version

1And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.a 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit 6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”b — the things God has prepared for those who love him— 10these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.12What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.c 14The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”d But we have the mind of Christ. Today was the first day I woke up and just let go of the pain of loss in my life.  I felt finally free of the garbage thrown to me and I just let go.  I went swimming and then I went to the whirlpool to relax a bit.  Instantly I was irritated by the person talking on her phone.  I thought it must be pretty rude to talk and disturb and ignore me when I greeted her.  I thought about how I was able to unplug but was sad for her who could not.  I went to change afterwards and that same lady was talking to someone in the shower.  I thought to myself how ridiculous that was until I heard her share about her late husband.  Then I realized this woman did not want to be alone even when she was in a public place with others.  I went from irritation to prayer and silently prayed for her.  My swimming laps were not an accident but an opportunity that only the Lord and I would know that I got to pray for this lady because He taught me to stop, look, and listen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox4X4ymXd5s

God's Eyes

1 Corinthians 2:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,
    what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[a]—
    the things God has prepared for those who love him—

You think you are over something and then out of the blue something hits you.  I got up this morning and then I reminded about because I made the honest decision about something I have had something precious taken away from me. I also realize others have taken things from me because of their foolish decisions.   Then I think of my friend who has a ex-husband who has decided to leave her for another woman.  Just like my friend who has beauty inside and out, two different colored eyes which as beautiful, I know God sees everything.  I know God has prepared for me something and things pretty amazing.  I have had these situations like this happen before and my job is to just wait.  

Target Shooting and Soybean Fields

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Isaiah 43:19 King James Version (KJV)

19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Today I had a few new experiences.  One was that I saw some interesting soybean fields as I traveled to meet my parents in the country.  There were some fields that had nice soybean fields with no cornstalks in them, some with obvious stalks and others with brown cornstalks.  Different seeds were planted in each field and I read the signs that were in each field.  Very different variety of seed brands.  I wondered who was the best and which ones were different year to year.

Then I went shooting.  I was not planning on hitting targets but I guess the inside of me really wanted to.  This made me think of some new opportunities that have opened up at church to work with the children's ministry.  I wonder if it is part of God's plan or I am biting off more than I can chew.  I think of the youth I will get to help along side of them and how I can impact children that might of been written off by others or not understood.  I have to get over my feelings in anger toward the person who took me off another ministry because my chronological age was not a good image for their ministry.  Maybe this is another one of those situations where I shoot a lot of bad bullets like I did this morning but maybe by taking the step of faith just like I did this morning with the 22 I can hit a new target.  Lord help me know the right decision.  

I know right now sitting around angry about what is happening to me will do no good.  I like to be busy.  Since I was nervous about shooting I found I really liked putting in the bullets for the 22 for my dad and me.  He even got a kick out of it.  Too bad he only has three reserves.  I could do a serious filling in front of the TV if he would be willing to stop by. This Sunday I will try something new.  It may work and it may not.  Second I might have to try something else if it does not just like the farmer tries various seeds of soybeans as he rotates corn and soybeans every year.  Eventually something will fit. 

Bitter or Better Battle

I think I am through my situation and then something gets tossed in and I am bitter again.  I believe this situation has happened to show me how to act in a challenging situation and how to treat others when I am the boss and I have to make difficult decisions.  But it does not get any easier.  I choose in this moment to do the right thing even if it means I have to relive my decision many times today.

Romans 7:15-20 New International Version (NIV)

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.