What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I was given was from an old native American. I was still suffering mentally from the effects of what my mother had done to me. That day was particularly difficult. Because of everything I was doing, I could hear her negative voice in my head repeating things she had told me as a child.
As I was speaking to about the severe pain on the side of my head. Thinking she would have an old type of treatment for me. She told me, “You know, you don’t have to carry the sins of your mother.”
Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. Because it was something I was doing and didn’t even realize it. Every time I heard my mother’s words, I would go into to shut down mode or have physical pain.
It wasn’t until later I read this in Deuteronomy 24:16,
“Parents are not to be put to death for their children, not children put to death for their parents each will die for their own sin.”
I was destroying myself because I thought I had to suffer because of what my mother, did and said to me, because she thought I was a failure then I thought I was
“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:11
Left unchecked your flesh will try to run you over, take charge of your emotions, and promote laziness in your life. It will tell you that you’ve done too much, that you’ve already done more than anyone else, that you don’t need to do more than you’ve already done, and that you’re not as appreciated as you ought to be. Your flesh will advise you to kick back take it easy, and cut yourself some slack. It will scream that if anyone deserves to do nothing, it’s you.
Our flesh always tries to take everything to an extreme. If we allow it to control us, it will take us into a state of laziness that estates our entire outlook and destroys our productivity. We can lose joy, hope, victory, and even our reason for living. In the end, we will become weak, powerless, and void of the desire or energy to pursue anything, let alone the things God had for your life.
When our flesh rises and tempts us to be slothful about our dreams, our goals in life, or our relationship with God.
What should we do, when our flesh coaxes in into believing we are too poor, to stupid, too ugly, or too uninteresting, or too ‘run of the mill” to be used by God, how should we respond.
Do we cry and complain that we’re just not as talented as others? Should we grieve because we’re not as skinny as someone else? Should we whimper that we weren’t born into a more prestigious family? Of that, we were able to finish our education.
It’s time to tell our flesh to shut its loud mouth! Then grab hold of the power of God to change the way we think. As long as we allow that rank, stinking flesh to produce a “poor pitiful me” mentality, we will not make any significant contributions to the world. And that’s a pity because God wants to use you.
Instead of letting your flesh rule you, it time for you to do what Paul said in Romans 6:11,
“Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The one factor that does impact God’s ability to use us is our own disobedience to Him. Our hearts must be willing. We must take authority over the flesh that would take us down a lazy path. And we must yield our bodies to God’s Spirit as an instrument of righteousness.
That’s when we find ourselves on the path that leads us to being used by God.
We live in a world where people are lacking in moral values. I don’t know where we have lost our way. But it is destroying us as a nation.
Individualism is important, but morals help us interact properly and can keep families and societies together.
Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern a person’s behavior and choices. They help us decide what is right and wrong, and motivate us to do the right thing.
Most people believe that moral values are learned. It’s something that we acquire through our experiences and interactions with others. We also learn about moral values through the media. If you’ve turned on the television you will see some pretty awful morals being displayed.
Moral Values All People Should Learn
Honesty
Honesty is one of the most important moral values. It means being truthful and fair in all your dealings with other people. Honesty includes being willing to admit when you have made a mistake. Failure to own up to a mistake may end up costing someone else.
Sadly I find people on a regular basis that lie and then have no conviction of how wrong it is. We can see this on a daily basis, yet nothing is done about it.
If I had lied to my parents I would have had my mouth washed out with soap.
2. Respect
Treating other people with courtesy and consideration. Including respecting their property, their privacy, and their views and beliefs. When you respect someone, you treat them with dignity and consideration. You also avoid doing anything that might hurt or offend them.
We have lost this trait, I think mainly because of social media, things people say are attacked because they are not standing face to face. They dare to disrespect someone. Attacking a person’s views and beliefs.
Sadly now it is seeping through our society. People don’t think twice about stealing or trying to scam you. It is true that “the root of all evil is money.”
We see this at government levels are well as in regular society.
3. Responsibility
Being responsible me and being reliable and dependable including being accountable for our actions and taking responsibility for our mistakes.
When we are responsible, we can be counted on to do what we say we will do. Being careful in our dealings with other people not to cause them any harm.
I run into people every day who say they are going to do something and then fail to do it. So much so that I lose confidence in them. I take their words as just words and no action.
4. Caring
Caring means showing kindness and concern for others. Including being helpful and considerate. When you care for someone, you want what’s best for them.
Caring also means being empathetic, and being able to understand and share the feelings of another person. Putting yourself in their shoes.
Opening the door or holding the door open for someone who is struggling or has their hands full. Or simply just listening to someone who is going through a tough time.
5. Cooperation
Cooperation means working together to achieve a common goal. Including willingness to compromise and put aside your differences to help others.
When you cooperate with someone you are willing to work with them instead of against them. You are also willing to make sacrifices for the greater good. Cooperation means solving problems without resorting to violence or tearing anothers reputation.
There’s a quote I like that Patrick Henry gave in March of 1799 that still stands true today. “Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall.”
6. Fairness
Fairness means treating people equally and justly. It includes being impartial and not showing favoritism. When we are fair, we give everyone a chance to succeed.
Sadly we do not see this even among government officials, judges, lawyers, and even police officers. There is a saying that goes “Follow the money,” The truth is that some will set aside their morals for the right amount of money.
7. Courage
Courage is the ability to do something even though you are afraid. It includes standing up for what you believe in and not backing down even when the odds are against you.
Being brave does not mean you are fearless. It means you can face your fears and do what is right, even when you’re afraid.
8. Work Ethic
A strong work ethic is something we’ve lost. It’s a willingness to work hard and do our best. It includes being punctual, responsible, and reliable.
Today no one wants to work, it comes from a feeling of entitlement. Thinking society owe people something. A sense of entitlement. A belief that one person deserves privileges or recognition from things they didn’t earn.
The truth is the country, world, life doesn’t owe them anything unless you work for it.
All hard work brings profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. I think we need to relearn this in society.
9. Integrity
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having moral principles. It’s doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
Integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge.
Autumn’s beauty carries more gold in its pocket than all other seasons.
I draw energy from knowing I can make choices that please God. I always strive to please God. There is an old phrase that sums up my energy-getter. It was “What would Jesus do?” When I am feeling drained I ask myself this question.
If you cannot tell from the photos I share here, I am a huge nature lover. There is no better energy booster than praising and worshipping God in the middle of nowhere, when no one is around for miles. It is a huge energy booster for me. These things renew me each day and give me the energy to face another day.
My favorite song writer of all time is Tanya Tucker. I don’t think she ever put out a country song I didn’t like. So naturally I love all her albums. But my favorite is her album called “self-titled.”
There is a lot power in understanding the difference between conviction and guilt, and knowing the difference will save a lot of heartache.
Wouldn’t life be far more peaceful if we weren’t living in the shame of past mistakes and bad choices?
Guilt and conviction feel very similar, it’s tough sometimes to know which one we are feeling. And until we understand the difference, we’re doomed to live in a pit of hopelessness and despair.
While, the lies and guilt will still get into our heads, understanding the difference will prevent the lies from finding their ways into our hearts.
Guilt equals shame and condemnation that comes from satan and brings a feeling of hopelessness that doesn’t offer correction or a way out.
Conviction comes through the Holy Spirit which points to an action or mindset and brings hope that offers correction and a way out.
Guilt involves our feelings and the truth is the feelings aren’t facts. But it can sure feel like it at times.
Because conviction and guilt feel so similar, Satan uses that knowledge to sabotage us to create self-doubt, self-loathing, and uncertainty.
With very little effort, Satan makes us believe that we have to sit in the shame of what we’ve done, often making us feel as if we owe it to God to never move on,
Satan and his minions get into the cracks we’ve left open and tell us there’s no way God could ever love us after the choices we’ve made.
Since Satan is so crafty at planting these lies in our heads, we need godly wisdom to understand where these thoughts are coming from.
Understanding this completely takes away the power satan has over us.
Conviction is defined as the feeling of being convinced of a wrongdoing or a sin.
Because Satan is so good at what he does, we’ve been led to believe that conviction isn’t good, thankfully that couldn’t been farther from the truth.
Conviction is the first step to forgiving ourselves.
When we intentions choose to walk closer to God, He will give us the direction and correction we need. He will convict us, and He will never use guilt to do it.
How Satan Uses Guilt
The number one goal of satan is to make us feel alone, hopeless and worthless.
Satan knows how powerful God is and how powerful we are with God on our side, so he will use every possible tactic to bring us down and separate us from God.
Satan generates a blanketing, choking sense of general guilt as if everything is wrong and there is no action we can really take to overcome. Often a sense of complete hopelessness and weakness prevails. We cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel. Which causes us to feel helpless and depressed.
Guilt and condemnation are tactics used to make us feel that it’s too late for us to make things right with God.
How The Holy Spirit Uses Conviction
The Holy Spirit uses conviction to get our attention.
He uses conviction to help us draw closer to God, to lean into Him and ask for forgiveness so that we are free to carry out our ultimate calling. We are then free to enjoy the life He created us for.
He uses conviction to shape and mold us into living righteously and to be a blessing to others.
Living in guilt and shame can send us down a slippery slope, and it isn’t long before we can become consumed by our pain.
If you find yourself turning away from God and putting up walks to hide your shame, then what you’re feeling is guilt.
Which topics would you like to be more informed about?
I would love to know about how to understand human behavior. I would love to understand how the brain affects our behaviors. I have always been interested in Psychology.
Knowing why we behave in certain ways, and how do our experiences affect our brains to make us act in certain ways.
Have you ever prayed for something and God is slow to answer.
While I know God is in control and has His reasons for delays, it is challenging to face those delays. I have come to learn the delays do not mean denial.
Psalm 46:10 says,
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
If we allow Him to work His will in our lives, He will. While the delay may be frustrating or confusing, it’s important to know that God is at work behind the scenes to accomplish His will. We may not see His hand at work, but we can trust He is.
We may not be ready for the answer just yet but God is working to make sure we are ready when it comes.
I was never so aware of this when I had my knee replacement. I prayed and prayed about which surgeon to go to. And the closer it came I more uneasy I felt, but I just ignored the feeling and went to a surgeon that I had trusted in the past. Little did I know it wasn’t about the surgeon it was about the surgery.
Had I listened to my uneasy feeling, instead of rushing with the surgery. I would have never got it done. God was telling me to wait. I didn’t and today I am facing the consequences of my choice. The rehab has been awful and the pain and nerve damage I endure is brutal.
If God isn’t answering you fast enough to your liking, he might be protecting you from something harmful. He knows everything about everything. People, places, things at all times. We just have to “be still and know He is God.”
God’s timing is always perfect. He is fully in control of all things at all times.
God might delay the answer to grow our faith. I can almost hear Him saying “Just trust me.” Out faith, our character and our understanding of God can grow dramatically when we learn to trust Him in the delays.
I was praying and meditating on God’s Word the other day, and I heard “It’s not your believing that’s the problem, it’s your trusting in me that’s the problem.”
Perhaps God’s delay is His way of redirecting us. We may be praying in one direction and He wants you to pray in a different direction. H might be saying “No” this is not My will, or timing.
God has reasons for His delays. We just need to trust Him because He loves us and wants what best for us.
When we steamboat ahead to do what we want, we may have to pay the consequences for our actions.
“You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice.”
What would my life be without music? I have relied on music to get me through some tough situations in life.
Without music, it would be harder to deal with stress, anxiety, or when I’m feeling a little sad. The simple joy of singing would be gone. But I’m sure people would not like me to sing, I cannot hold a tune for anything.
I would feel totally empty. Music can bring on a whole range of emotions. When I’m missing my father, I can listen to the music he enjoyed and I feel a little closer to him. Music has the ability to fix my mood.
It starts in Genesis 8:22. God says to Noah just after promising to never send another flood.
“While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
Every time the weather changes, it’s a reminder that the Lord is faithfully keeping His word. Every season, every cloud, every temperature change -they all point us back to the Lord who sustains world.
The weather helps us look back to God’s promise that seasons will continue to turn, and to look up, to see God’s awesome creativity. It also allows us to look back.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
He replied,
When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather for the sky is red.’ In the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can’t discern the sign of the times! An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. He left them, and departed – Matthew 16:1-4
We learn at a young age to read the signs of the weather. Heavy dark clouds mean it will probably rain, while a clear sky and midday sun have us reaching for sun screen.
Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees that they’re good at reading weather signs but completely miss the signs that point to Him.
I often think about the people today that are concerned with “climate change” God controls the weather -not people.
The sign of Jonah in verse 4 goes back to Jonah spending three days and nights in the belly of a big fish before it spits him out onto dry land. While inside the fish, Jonah learned a valuable lesson:
“Salvation comes from the Lord” -Jonah 2:9
The ultimate “sign of Jonah” was when the Lord Jesus himself spent three days in the tomb before God the Father powerfully brought His Son back to life in 1 Corinthians 6:14. The death and resurrection of Jesus is how “salvation comes from the Lord,” and is a sign that we too, if we are trusting in Jesus can look forward to living with Him forever.
God has placed many signs in the sky that point us to Him. Perhaps the most poignant is the rainbow, which takes us back to where we started in Genesis (before it was stolen by the gay pride people). The rainbow us a sign of God’s covenant never again to bring flood in judgment on the earth (Genesis 9:12-17. Instead, His rainbow points upwards. That’s where His judgment was focused 2000 years ago – on God the Son.
What a wonderful truth to remember every time we see God’s rainbow in the sky.
“For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own all cattle on a thousand hills. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it” – Psalm 50:10,12
While giving is a valid part of God’s training program for mankind. God’s plan is not going to fail if you don’t give Him your money.
God does not need money. People need money. God is after your heart, not your money.
I shudder to think of the rich who think their money can get them out of their troubles. The rich building their underground bunkers to think when the end comes they will be saved. The world is God’s and everything in it. 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”
It is ridiculous to think of God being in need, when He created it. He spoke and created planets. Just by speaking He could create anything He needs or wants.
God uses money so we can pursue His kingdom, His practices are to help and be less us on earth. God does not need what we offer Him, but we need what God was to offer us through it.
Giving is an expression of worship and gratitude.
Jesus said in Matthew 25:40,
“Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.”
How many times have you seen a person hurting for something you have an abundance of? I’m not saying give to everyone, we should pray and ask God, “should I help this person? And then wait to hear what He says.
My rule of thumb is that if someone asks me for help and I am able to do it I usually do. I may not be able to give money, but I can cook a meal, give a ride, or listen to someone’s worries.
God uses people to spread His Word, but people need money to do it. I love the account of the Widow’s offering
“ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, truly I tell you, this poor wisdom has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she gave out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on” (Mark 12:41-44).
Don’t think that a small amount won’t help, God looks at our hearts, not the amount we can add to a collection bowl.
God does not need our money, but we sure need what God has to offer us.
There are many holidays throughout the year. It depends on the holiday to how I celebrate.
Thanksgiving is usually spent with extended family. A nice meal and some chit-chat.
Christmas holidays are spent reflecting on the greatest gift ever given to mankind -Jesus. Celebrated with immediate family, and church family get-togethers, with small gifts to show love.
The New Year, I don’t really celebrate. New Year’s, I am usually taking down my Christmas decorations and maybe a glass of wine.
Resurrection Sunday or easter. I celebrate this by spending more time with God.
Independence day, is about barbeques and fireworks.
All the others, I don’t tend to celebrate much.
It seems like America has commercialized our holidays. It’s all about greed. Instead of relaxing and family time, it turns into holidays for profit.
From Pity to Praise 