Today 

I want you to think about 

all that you are 

instead of all that you are not.

Word Waterfalls

I like to do this exercise where I write or say words that flow uninhibited in the moment. It is kind of like brainstorming except that there is no real goal, just words. Of course if you pay attention, you may find a theme.

Sometimes my heart speaks of the moment in ways I didn't expect. 

I find this exercise relaxing. It can make me look at the world more deliberately, or hear sounds around me more intently, among other things. For example, last night I did this exercise during my walk and I realized that despite being in the outskirts of a small town, there was a plethora of noise in what I originally thought was a quiet night!
Mechanical noise...
So. Much. Noise.

I have documented some of these exercises in my blog. Poetic words, feelings, insight, peace, direction, revelation, flow, release...

It is a good exercise, and (generally speaking) you don't even break a sweat!

These days, I need release. There is so much tension, darkness, absurdities, lack of common sense, lack of courtesy...just so many things that I seem to be observing that draw all good energy and give only bad vibes. Letting my light shine is becoming more difficult.

Laughter, fun, calm, joy, song, bright light, love, peace, joy...obscured.

As I look to scripture, I find myself craving the presence of Jesus, not just words. Letting the Holy Spirit fill the gap between the Word written and the Word alive is essential, but some days I do not feel it. Like when you read "the joy of the Lord is your strength" and try as you might to bring forth that joy, it just does not manifest...
Perseverance, don't give up doing good, wait upon the Lord, no weapon formed against you shall prevail, run the race, rest in the Lord, when I am weak you are strong, sing to the Lord, exult His Holy name, the joy of the Lord is your strength...perseverance.

Word waterfalls. 

Let the words flow, let the words flow.................. 

let 

the 

Spirit 

of 

the 

Lord 

wash 

over 

you,

 and 

let 

Jesus 

speak 

to 

your 

heart 

and 

mind. 

                                      Let His Word flow...

  

Come, Lord Jesus, come...You are welcome here.

Encouraged in Heart and United in Love

 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ~Col.2:2

Who have you encouraged and shown love to today?

True Confression

When I can't sleep at night, I think of you.
When I lose all perspective, I run to you.
When I want to be accepted, I turn to you.
When I am in awe and grateful, I sing to you.
There are many distractions, many road blocks to my Heart, but You...You wait, You urge me on, You guide me, You call me forth. You Are. You surround me with songs of deliverance.
When I have no one to talk with, You are there. You hear me, You speak with me. 
I have an ache of pity for those who do not know you. If they only knew...
If they  only    knew.

Jesus: Saviour, Lord, King...My hope is in You. My faith is in You. My life is in You.

Jesus: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.~Acts 4:12

~

Please consider getting to know The One True God, if you don't know Him already...His name is Jesus, His story is all around you, but you can read about Him in The Bible.

 check it out here or here or here

Failure

It is always frustrating when you want to be a better person, but you fail.
I tend to be very hard on myself when I don't live up to my own standards. I withdraw, pull away, and internalize my failures. If left there too long, I will spiral downwards into a state of self pity - which is never good.

Climbing out of that pit of darkness is difficult. Admitting that I am in a pit is sometimes very difficult.

I would like to think that I am strong. 'I can overcome all that is thrown at me!' 
{feet solidly planted, hands on hips, shoulders thrown back, chin up, standing on top of a mountain, wind blowing back my long hair, despite raging storm all around}

...Yeah.  ...Not so true...nice image though.

I think of Christ. I think of scripture:  ...when I am weak, then I am strong...my Grace is sufficient...

I really don't feel like praying when I am stewing in my pit of darkness. Of course, the enemy of my soul, I am sure, is loving every moment of my agony in this state.

I think of the enemy of my soul.

I picture creatures of darkness attacking, mocking, terrorizing me from all sides.

But the picture becomes broader, I also see soldiers, angels of God battling some of these dark creatures.

All of a sudden, I am in a movie. A battle, intense and fierce. I am lying, seemingly defeated, on the ground with this war going on all around me...And I am the one they are battling for...one side seeking to destroy me, the other side defending me!

Then, the realization hits me...By lying in the mud of this movie, I am actually helping the enemy! 

I need to get up! Where's my sword?! Get up! Get in the battle! 

I rise up. 
Declare my battle cry. 

JESUS!
.
.
.
There is power in the name of Jesus. Power that I really don't understand. What I do understand is that there is power. I also understand that when I chose to believe Jesus is who He said He is, and asked forgiveness for my sins, when I asked Jesus to come into my heart and fill me with His Holy Spirit, I received this power. 

I think of scripture again...
 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Take every thought captive.

I am not perfect. I fail - often. I constantly need to remind myself that though I fail, God still loves me and does not write me off...and I shouldn't write myself off. Some days it is harder than others to remember who I am in Christ, but those days, my God, finds a way to draw me out, to remind me of who I am. He reminds me of how much He loves me and how His plans for me are plans to prosper me, not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future...


...Perhaps I should review my standards for myself. 

Our Journey Doesn't End Here...

Yesterday, we had a moment of silence for two colleagues that died at work this past week.
Now, I see death almost daily and yet, I am still quite emotionally impacted by the passing of others, even if I do not know them well. Even if I have assurance that a person knows the Lord Jesus, my heart still swells in mourning. This is a good thing, I suppose. It speaks to our humanity and our desire to live and see life thrive. But, we can't avoid death...and yet we try...boy, do some of us try!

As Christians, we are not to fear death. We have hope beyond the grave.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ~John 11:25

For me, life does not end with that last breath, or that last heart beat. As someone once said, "You do not have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body." Our journey doesn't end here...

How Do You See Yourself

The King -

You, His Child,

A regal existence,

A foreign reality,

Learn The Way,

Embrace the Life,

Royalty

Love, Peace, Patience, Joy, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Self-Control, Faithfulness

 

See yourself as the King sees you.

One

 

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

~2 Cor. 13:11

Be Encouraged

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:18

 

 

Scripture source - Bible Gateway

Keep the Faith

It has been a while. I have started many posts and not finished them or finished them but decided not to post them. I have many stories of how God has been working in my life, in my realm...but many of those stories I cannot publish as of yet.
 
I am currently an RN by trade. Five years in and learning lots. God does some amazing things in the oddest of situations, and when very few people are paying attention.
...I have caught glimpses.
I have a growing understanding of how God works and His capacity to love us.
God is truly amazing, patient,...loving...
 
Like I have mentioned in the past, I have no church family right now. My walk with God lately has been very personal, very raw...very real. No prayer partners, no feel-good corporate worship, no spiritual advisor to mentor me or to turn to for direction...Just the Holy Spirit and my Bible.
 
It is an odd season in retrospect. I have a love/hate relationship with the Church. I have seen and experienced the damage the leaders and members of our churches can inflict on others, but I have also seen and experienced the true love of Jesus Christ manifest itself through the Church. But like many others, I approach the Church warily and I am not very eager to jump into a new "family" of believers at this time.
 
Our focus is to be on Jesus, not on man...
 
It is that mandate that I am learning to prioritize as I attempt to share the Love and Truth with others in my daily walk and as I attempt to know Him better.

It is an ongoing mandate.
 
Working in health care, in my particular role, I have frontline experience with new life just entering into our world, with old life passing on, and everything in between as they struggle to change their health status. I pray for them-for them and for my colleagues daily. In my current position, (as it seems in my life thus far), I am a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. I literally work in every department...It has been very rewarding...and frustrating...and revealing.
 
Controlling my temper, loving the unloving, blessing and honouring the undeserving, just trying to reflect the character of Christ in all I do and say is tremendously difficult at times. And I fail miserably at times. Thankfully, God's mercy and grace is abundant.
 
That being said, I don't know where you are in your walk, but if you are having a difficult time - you are not alone. Unfortunately, the Christ-follower path is not guaranteed a smooth one.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Our focus is to be on Christ Jesus. He is our strength, our provider, our counselor, our joy, our protector, our peace...our life.


 Keep the faith friends!

Never Doubt It

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ~Romans 10:9

The Truth cannot be altered because of ignorance, denial, or malicious intent.

A Little Heart

Generally, when we encounter another, we first judge the outward appearance. It is a subconscious response (usually) that helps us determine how we will engage with the other person.

It takes a while before we are able to understand the other person and know the intent behind their words and actions. And sometimes we never understand their heart.

 

God looks at us knowing immediately our heart, our intent...our true intent.

 

When we help one of our co-workers with their workload, when we pay a compliment to the friend of a friend, when we ignore the invitation to go to a family gathering...God knows why.

 

We cannot hide our true feelings from God. We can fool others, we can fool ourselves, but we cannot fool God.

 

This is a good thing.

 

Luke 16:15

He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

 

1 Corinthians 4:5

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

 

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

God is the source of love in its truest form. He looks upon us with understanding and love...and mercy and grace. In all our ill-intent, the hurt we cause, the hurt we suffer, God is aware and He does not reject us, but invites us to draw closer to Him. When we choose to draw closer to Him, He brings the healing and restoration we need...This is a very individual need.

God knows our hearts - He knows what we need.

 

~

 

Turn to God, turn to Jesus Christ. Choose to draw closer to Him and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:7

 

 

A Message...

It is okay.
Everything will work out.
Trust Me.

Cancer Has Changed

At my work, I have a unique opportunity to sometimes spend a little more time with patients, especially those who are dying, let alone those who are feeling alone and scared. 

Not to long ago, I had an encounter with someone who found out they had terminal cancer and was given a few weeks to live. Unfortunately, the person died in less than two weeks, leaving behind a fairly young family. The person was in their 40's, far too young. 

The thing that troubles me the most is that this scenario is one I am seeing frequently these days. 

A few years ago, some friends, who are funeral directors, and I were discussing how the general population was dying and my friend said to me that there was a trend of those 85+yrs dying of old age, but there was another trend of baby boomers dying of heart attacks and cancer in their 50's and 60's. The conversation went on and we agreed that the current theory that hospitals will be overrun with baby boomers was bunk and carried on with our visit. Four years later, I am sitting here thinking that this is still a fairly consistent trend, except that it is not just the baby boomers being hit with cancer. And, cancer has changed. No longer can we diagnose a cancer and predict where it came from and were it will hit next in the body. There seems to be a much more disturbing trend of cancer randomly showing up and then metastasizing in unexpected places. It hits hard and it hits fast and age and family history are no predictors. 

Why do I  mention this?

Two reasons:

 1. I want you to embrace the fact that life is short. God has given us this time on earth to live as we choose. And we have made choices - some we don't regret and some we do regret. Some of us have chosen to learn more about Jesus and have chosen to believe He is who He says He is and some of us haven't.

 2. God is with us. Our world may be crumbling all around us. War, disease, and disasters may be growing daily, but He is still with us, and He is in control.

~~~~~

This trend has changed the way I see life.

I spend more time reflecting, more time praying for and working on relationships, and trying to mirror more of the character of Christ, among other things.

At work, every patient I encounter goes to a place of deep reflection; some find comfort in doing so, others engage in an internal battle that consumes them - they are unable to be present with those around them. The outcome of these internal battles only God knows. All I - or anyone- can do is just be with them and support them, let them battle it out and let them know that we do not judge them, just love them. And pray.

Please hear me when I say: Life is short...

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.~James 4:14

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.~Psalm 90:12

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.~Revelation 21:4

Death - The Usher

I watched as the man writhed in agony. He called out for help, "Help me! Helllp meee!" When asked how I could help him, he yelled out, "Don't help me...No, doon't help me!" As I turned to leave, the man gritting his teeth, moaning, and groaning, called out in desperation, "Don't leave me! Don't leave meee!"
I took his hand. It was cold, bruised, and had a slightly mottled look not unlike his legs which were less bruised and more mottled. Death was near. Quietly I prayed as I firmly held his hand. He looked at me, pupils pinpoint, desperate. His hand grip matched mine, welcoming the security of knowing that he was not alone. He continued to writhe in pain, and though instinctively he wanted to pull his hand away to soothe the area that was in pain, he would not let go, his eyes always watching me, searching for something. "I am ready. You can take me now," he stated.  He groaned in anguish as if he was being tortured. "Take me now!" he yelled.

What people see in the spiritual in the final moments of life seem to be similar, their response to what they see is very individual.

When death is before you and you are at the brink, I can promise you, you will not be thinking of life, family, friends, money, regrets, hopes...you are wholly present in that moment facing something you have never known before. You have heard about it, seen others experience it, maybe come close to it in the past, but at the brink, it comes down to you and Death. For some it is a terrifying moment, some welcome Death as a friend, for some it is a swift surprise.

We tend to visualize Death as a negative concept. I am not talking about the afterlife, but the moment of death. I tend to picture Death in the form of the Grimm Reaper, but my experience with Death is not this otherworldly creature that, without conscience, steals lives; rather, Death is like an usher holding the "door" from this existence to the next. He holds the "door" at just the right time, for just the right amount of time. What a person sees, whether is be the "usher" or beyond this "usher", may be what terrifies or peacefully soothes as the journey of life transforms.

Death comes for all of us, but until that moment, please, don't live in negativity and despair: Live Life.

If You Don't Believe Me...

Generally speaking:

Religion: An institution where people believe they have God figured out.

Spirituality: An open mind to some of the facets of God.

Most of us mix religion and spirituality.

No one has all the answers. 

No one can say what, when, where, or how God will work. 

Just when you think you have got God kinda figured out, He goes and blows your mind.

Our God is an Awesome God!

Search after God. 

Don't hold back. 

He wants to be found. 

He wants you to know Him.

...And if you don't believe me, ask Him yourself.

~

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’~Acts 17:26-28 New International Version (NIV)

Keep Focused

There is nothing that you cannot accomplish when you are determined enough. 

There is a way to rise above (go around, travel through, navigate under...) all obstacles.

You have in your world all that you need to move forward.

A positive attitude will enable you to see beyond the walls of negativity.

When your eyes are upon God, He will guide you.

Psalm 107

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
    those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
³ those he gathered from the lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.^[a]

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,
    finding no way to a city where they could settle.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,
    and their lives ebbed away.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a straight way
    to a city where they could settle.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
    prisoners suffering in iron chains,
¹¹ because they rebelled against God’s commands
    and despised the plans of the Most High.
¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;
    they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
    and broke away their chains.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze
    and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways
    and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
¹⁸ They loathed all food
    and drew near the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
    he rescued them from the grave.
²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
    and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
    they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the Lord,
    his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
    that lifted high the waves.
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
    in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
    they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
    the waves of the sea^[b] were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
    and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
    and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turned rivers into a desert,
    flowing springs into thirsty ground,
³⁴ and fruitful land into a salt waste,
    because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water
    and the parched ground into flowing springs;
³⁶ there he brought the hungry to live,
    and they founded a city where they could settle.
³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards
    that yielded a fruitful harvest;
³⁸ he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
    and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹ Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
    by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
⁴⁰ he who pours contempt on nobles
    made them wander in a trackless waste.
⁴¹ But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
    and increased their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see and rejoice,
    but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³ Let the one who is wise heed these things
    and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.