Tag Archives: Jesu

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Friends..


Things to ponder, I received an email from a friend last night, (getting mentioned in the blog is a hazard of being my friend – my friend)  This friend was very encouraging and brought up some things I have not thought about, and reminded me of somethings I need to remember.

I will get to that in a minute, but here is the great things about friends especially christian friends.  I was saying in my last blog about how good and bad people treat you if you suffer from depression, and how I was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.  My dear friend brought up some good points to remember and I want to share them.   The other thing about friends is when your mind misfires, you don’t know what is right or wrong.  I can get very confused about things and I am unsure of what reality is or is not.  The voices and darkness can take you off in a direction you would never think of, and the good things about friends are they can gently remind you what is right, wrong, and redirect you from wrong thinking.  Its like being really sick with the flu and not knowing what to do, because you are too busy being sick with the flu.  You forget to drink water so you don’t become dehydrated and you go to work because you can’t decide if you are too sick to be there.   You need someone to take care of you, remind you. 

I have mentioned that I have rules to follow when I am not right.  Things I have to do to keep my husband in the loop.  I don’t shop some places by myself,  I call when I take my anxiety meds, and there are more, however my friend also reminded me that as I head in to the season of  summer parties and family get together it would be wise to make some additional rules and talk to some of my family members  and prepare them for when things are not good for me.   Someone who is suffering from any other illness would do this so why wouldn’t you do this for the unseen illness of depression.   My husband and I need to sit down and decide as we go through this season what I can do and not do.  Direction will come from me, but there may be times where I can not be all things to all people.  The more I thought about this last night it was like hey silly girl — everyone illness or not, should have a guide line for this.  This is where women and mom’s get into trouble because we forget about ourselves in looking after the world.

Another thing to keep in mind is to remember that other people do not have E.S.P.  When I was first married I thought if I was cleaning the house my husband would pick up on what I was doing and help.  When that didn’t happen I thought if I do this loudly he will get the hint, I mean can he not see what is going on- its his house too, get off the couch and do something.  My man isn’t gifted with E.S.P.- darn it! so he didn’t catch on, and because he didn’t I got angry – dumb I know.  Well as I go through the ups and downs and the pulling back from people and then being out there,  I need to communicate that to people because everyone is like my husband. 🙂 

The most important thing my friend said to me was to  “give grace to us clumsy people all around you”    Ka Boom!  Oh my!   Grace – I forgot totally about Grace.    That slip of the mind Here is the thing about Grace we hope all people and God will grant it to us.   We seldom think of granting it to others.   I have not been thinking much about God lately.  I have been trying more to just cope.  I have not felt the darkness but more a intolerance and anger towards people and a need for quiet and being alone.   Grace trumps intolerance.  Love trumps being alone.   God has me in his hand, never to be grasped away.   As I meditated on God’s Grace, Love, and being his child and trusting that He does have my back.  It changed my thoughts.  I felt so hard done by, that grace was not an option.  I was tormented that Love was not a consideration.  Being a child of God was forgotten because I was felt defensive to my Mothers words.

God is great and his Grace endless as is his Love and his faithfulness to his children is also endless patience and kindness.  When I pondered these things and prayed about them I soon released my intolerance, defensiveness, and my forgiveness and humbleness and love for those around me began to flow.   This unseen illness is a hard row to hoe, (don’t you love country references — sorry farmers daughter!!) but truly it is a hard thing.  It can turn you so inward that you forget there are those who love you and want the best for you. It can create a vacuum where you see nothing but the pain.  The pain can be overwhelming and sometimes you can’t get past it,  but it comes in waves,  always remember and never forget who has your back.  God, family, friends. Amen!

till next time……………

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He has Risen in Deed


Easter has come and gone– time is flying on, except that Spring didn’t get the memo and it is still really cold in Ontario.  How I long for spring and warmer days.  Soon, it will come I am sure, in the mean time the birds have returned and are singing every morning and it is wonderful to wake up to them.   Easter was great, I felt good and spent some time with my Mom and some time with my husband’s Mom and husband and had our friends over, Easter dinner was a blast.

I called my Doctor today still haven’t heard about my psyc. assessment, called the hospital and they will fax it this week.  Its been over 2 months if I was suicidal I would be dead by now.  I am curious as to what the Doctor has to say, and I am on hold till I hear from her to see what drug decisions I need to make.  So we wait.

I have been feeling good, as I said, I feel like Jesus has calmed the waters of this storm. It has been peaceful and empowering. Maybe some of this has to do with the acceptance of depression.  Maybe the peace is a result of the process of Lent, an affirmation of God‘s Holiness and giving it defilement. Maybe I’m just on an up swing.  What ever is happening I am feeling stronger – this week.

I was listening to a sermon over easter and one of the lines that came out of it that stuck with me was what the devil said to Adam and  Eve to create the fall of man and this ties in with the death of Jesus, to right, Eve and Adam’s wrong.  Adam and Eve created by God were told not to eat from the tree of Good and Evil or they would die. The serpant, who was the devil said to Eve ‘surly you will not die’ or in other words: Gods words are not truth. He planted the seed of doubt. Second lie ‘eat and you will be like God knowing good and evil.’ or you know better what is good for you, take control, power over yourself ‘ I was astonished.  These words were spoken apx 4000 years ago, and they are the same words that the devil has whispered to me.  In my most confused states the devil has whispered the bible is not truth, God would not allow you to hurt so much if he were true.  Or come and rest with me you will not get peace in the light, hide in the dark, who will see you, take control and do not rely on God to find your rest, he afflicted you.  It is the same words he implied in the temptation of Jesus.  Devil “make the rocks become bread” or take control of your situation why suffer.  Second temptation “I will give you the world….worship me” or come to me and get what God can’t give you- putting limits on God.  Third temptation was to prove who Jesus was and test God in to looking after him on the spot.  Or what the devil has said to me, God does not care for you – you are the lost sheep and he is not looking for you.  Mean while I was always in God’s pen I just needed to open my eyes and see it.

I have always  read Genesis and thought ‘I can’t believe that Adam and Eve fell for it’ how could they be so deceived, especially since they had walked with God in the garden of Eden? But I fell for it, and long before I suffered from depression.  Being in a depressed state, I have become more sensitive and  heard the voice louder, telling me in the same words.  ‘Surely you will not die, be in control, go to the darkness and be godlike and find peace.’  What I found was not peace, but torment.  What I found was not the love of God but hate of myself, my life, my being. The dark is torment hate, and everything God is not, but the devil wants to decive you but he can never snach you out of God’s hand if you believe

As I said in the previous blog. When Peter walked on water he quickly looked at the storm and the darkness below him instead of focusing on Jesus. When my mind gets confused and I can’t make sence of right and wrong you feel only the dark, the coldness of the water coming over the bow  of your boat. The emptyness as you feel you are the only person in the boat. Jesus doesn’t seem to be there, you are fightened of being sucked into the abiyss.  You are desperate, panicked in the darkness.  I have not felt that way over the last couple of weeks.  I feel as if I have a barrier up and the storm is far away, a distant memory.  I have put God in the right place of my mind, Divine and Holy. There has been a change over this Lent season, I am not sure of all the ramifications of it or can put a name or pin point a time or place of it,  I just know I am in a far different place than I have ever been before.  Praise God.

Till next time……………….

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Family


In my previous blog I wrote about: yes I get why Jesus told us to forgive so many times, cause we will need every one of them when dealing with family. I am sad tonight, my Mother is angry with me, because I am angry with my brother. I came clean with her and told her that I am on medication for depression and that I am maxed out on them and I have an apt next month with a Psychiatrist.  I told her the depths of the depression and how I have been suffering.  Actually tonight I feel ashamed about it.  Part of the reason I told her was I wanted her to realize that I have been suffering, part because my brother may be blind but I am tired of trying to hold things together and I can’t be responsible for the family any more.

When my Dad was killed 16 years ago I figured that I was the youngest I had a 4 month old baby and a 3-year-old, I would grieve for me.  I don’t mean that in a selfish way.  I had two older brothers they looked after things, I was never asked an opinion for most of my life I never gave one.  The day after my Dad was killed my Mother turned to me and leaned on me for everything.  I bought the shirt my Dad was buried in.  I helped her make the arrangements.  I slept with her for a week.  I handled the phone calls, the people bringing food to the door, I did it all.  I do not begrudge any of this.  I supported my Mother and will do so for the rest of her life.  I  am sorry for the fact that my brother became blind for a birth defect that slowly took his sight. It truly was a fluke. I just can’t take rudeness, and abuse anymore for his anger for being blind – but he could take some responsibility for himself and get a job instead of living off disability.  God did not put him on this earth to sit at home and be an arm chair critic.  I have tried to convince him to move on.  Found all kinds of places he could be useful in life, organizations he could be come involved with. Tried, begged,logically and pulled out the big card “Dad would be object to this” for him to become involved again with church.  He lives in Kitchener— the land of Lutheran church’s.  He has no excuse for not going.

I tell all this, not because I am bragging.  I am no hero.   It all makes me sad, ashamed, responsible.  This illness has effected my extended family. I have no patience for my brother.  My other brother that doesn’t speak to us, because of me, wants nothing to do with me or his daughter.  I felt ashamed to admit what I had been going through to Mom because I am her rock and now I am gravel.  I am sure she must think – Now what, who can I rely on.

I know God has a plan.  I know God gave us all free will, I know God has given me a family through my friends and their kids.  My best friends, my camping group.  That gives me 4 sisters 4 brothers and 10 kids. I am blessed, I know that .  I guess I have never gone through the grieving process for my brothers, for the loss of my family.  That sounds dramatic.  I don’t mean to sound that way.  It isn’t that way.  But here is how it goes in my family.  My brother who lives in my home town, who doesn’t speak to me, is friends with my cousins.  My cousins don’t do anything with us in the big city cause my brother lives in the town- if you know what I mean.  over 12 years of this stupidity.  I may work in a highschool – but my one brother lives it.

Anyways enough of the explanations.  Bottom line – I am the one who is supposed to hold the family together and tonight I spilled the beans and admitted all my short cumming to my Mom.  Maybe its all in my mind….that is what you could be saying– but you didn’t hear her voice.

 

till next time…………….

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Things I forget


Back to work after 2 weeks off for Christmas break.  Two weeks of parties, and bad food, lots of drinking, and no working out.  Praise God for stretchy pants, because I am sure I am not going to fit into my dress pants anytime soon.

Today I started back to work and my work out.  I am going to be sore tomorrow and I know it but I have to say that I loved it.  I dreaded going back to work but I got there and realized I love time off but I love my job too, I was glad to be back.

I had a low point yesterday – Sunday.  I don’t like low points but it was a dip, I feel better today.  My first thought this morning was don’t fret, trust God – don’t allow the devil to confuse you, just trust.  I then had the thought how?  I can give my problems to God, but how do you trust everyday.  During my last low point; when I realized that what I was confused about, I had to release and trust God.  I was trying to hard to be in control that I was trusting me, when I should have but my energy into trusting God.  When I realized how tight I was holding things and how crazy it was, when I realized that I needed to give it to God, relief flooded where confusion laid.  Sometimes when your back is against the wall, when you are confused and hurting it is easier; I think, to let go of the control and allow God to take over.  So I contemplate today how when feeling better do you trust.

Today I was reading about Elijah, waiting for the presence of God.  God was not in the power of the wind, the earthquake, the fire, but God made his presence known in a gentle whisper.  It dawned on me that in order to hear the whisper you need two things – quiet and to listen.

In my study of this I am becoming more convinced that the spiritual realm, the kingdom of God is closer than I am willing to admit or realize. The Kingdom of God is not just Jesus coming to earth and saving us from our sins–alone.  In the darkness that invades me, it has snuck up on me, but as it does it creates a fury around me.  It becomes loud in my head and confuses me and invites me into the darkness to hide.  I have hidden in the darkness before, I don’t want to fight, I hurt, I just want to hide, but in the darkness it swallows you and becomes a place of torment and is anything but peace.

The bible says that the Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want.  He makes me lay down by still waters he restores my soul. God gently whispers, and sometimes we forget to pause seek some quiet time and contemplate who, what, and the relationship we have with God. Society today allows no time for rest, quiet.  When was the last time you sat perfectly quiet, for a length of time. I don’t remember.

My Grandfather was a man of faith.  A man of few words, but besides being a farmer, he was also a writer.  My Grandfather was very outspoken about political issues, and farming restraints that the Government was putting on farmers at the time.  He wrote under a pen name that no one knew it was him, till the day he died.  The newspaper he wrote for, published a full-page article on him and all he spoke about and about his life. One thing about being a farmer – you have time to think.  You have 150 acres to plow, seed, combine, plow again, you sit on tractor for a long period of time and have quiet time with your thoughts. Being a Mom and working full-time I am lucky for time with my thoughts.  We should all strive to have more time like my Grandfather.

In my quiet time, I carved out today, my thoughts were about God and how the bible says don’t be afraid, don’t be anxious, don’t worry, do not fear.  These are the words of God.  He leads us by still waters he whispers, he is gentle and his yoke is easy.  I forget these things.  In the same way when my pastor said “just trust God” I was dumb founded by the simple answer that I forgot.  Is any of this New to me— no.  I know and have relied on all these things in the past.  I forgot. My untrustworthy mind forgot.  So to trust I have to take quiet time to refresh my heart and allow God to gently whisper the things I forget. When I have an anxiety attack or panic attack or become surrounded by the darkness, I can’t hear the gently whisper.  My mind is a rage of noise and its part of the devil trying to steal me away.  I am not saying this will keep me from having an episode, for the chemicals in my brain continue to swirl.  It will help me to cut through the noise, at some point.  I just need to remember.

I guess this is also where my support system comes in.  My husband has always said when I have an episode – “what is truth” for the devil and the conversations I have in my head can lead me away from this truth.  I start to distrust my mind, I begin to distrust my heart, I feel exposed, I hurt, I begin to hate myself.  It is as if I am caught in a torrent of water and rocks and dangers flooding me away to where I do not want to go.  God’s river is quiet, peaceful, deep. These are the things I forget.

till next time …………………

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70 X 7


Family can stress the heck out of you.  I am sorry but I just have to vent this.  I try to do so much for my family.  My brother is blind and I try to make up the difference.  If I can’t do i,t my Mom does, or my husband does.  Lately my brother has been a total ass, for lack of a better word.  My Mom has no one to help her — it’s all me.  One brother is blind, one doesn’t talk to her ( another long stupid story ) So it’s up to me. When she moved off the farm it was me, who lugged everything off the farm — spent most of the summer at either the Stratford or Mitchell dump.  I did it all.  I am not looking for pity or am I whining,  I would gladly do anything for my Mom.  I love her to pieces.  But I can not stand the treatment from my brother I have had lately.  One doesn’t talk to me, and today I wish the other one would not either.

What ever happened to common curtsey.  What ever happened to getting along, and mellowing out as you get older.  What ever happened to families helping each other out and being there for one another.  Brothers in my family the older they get the crankier they get and it just infuriates me.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant  Matthew 18 21-22

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seven times seventy.[a]

Today I feel like I am at 80 X 7 . I feel like all I do is forgive my family.  I guess my pride wants some recognition that I have been done wrong.  That I am hurt, and they did it and not that they will think they are wrong.

Family — it can drive you insane– which is funny when you think about it– as this is a blog about depression…. really it is kinda—-

I am just hurt, and angry and I know I will have to forgive– I am just not ready yet.

till next time………………

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Doctors/ pills/ waiting lists


Thursday and Friday felt like a week and a half.  I  was so busy at work and I brought work home to get caught up, but now its friday night, been home for an hour or so just starting to relax.  I was so anxious this morning, I had to take the anxiety meds to calm down so I could get some work done.  I am trying not to control things… I am trying not to distrust everything, but to trust God.  How does one do tha?  It sounds so simple doesn’t it.  It sounds fluffy too.  ” I just put all my trust in the Lord” say that with high-pitched whiny voice.  actually, it takes some work.  The weak animal in the herd is targeted by the predator, and wants to make it – it’s dinner.  The weak-minded or those who struggle, are the weak in the herd, and are targeted by the devil to devour.  A little dramatic, but in the spiritual realm, true. When you trust in God in the fluffy way, its like taking a spoon and trying to bent it with your mind—“I can do it- It will bend – I think I can, I think I can” Picture a guy- little fists- eyes crunched up and willing with all his might for this to happen.  Sometimes we do that with God too.  “I will trust in him, I will trust in him I will trust in him”  picture same guy same face.  The problem with that kind of thinking is one letter  “i” I will trust, we can’t do it. If you bungee jump, you say to yourself “I can do this thing, I can do this , I trust the cord, I trust the cord”  But you know untill you get to the end of the cord there is always a glimmer of doubt.  The bible says that through Jesus all things are possible.  You can also take that in a fluffy way.  picture previous reference.  But Think of it this way. Back to John 1 The word became flesh, he is the light of the world, he came to save us.  What are you putting flesh to?  I am trying not to be in control of things.  I want to control things because I am out of control.  But if I decide to trust God there is a handing over, and  a follow-up.  You simply can’t say “Lord I hand this to you”, cause you will follow-up with’ Ah wait a minute , almost done with it, Yes you can have it, no you can’t ” and back and forth it goes.

I am learning that following up a statement like “Lord I pray to you I am unable to handle this — I don’t understand it, but I give it to you, I am your humble servant, have mercy on me”  Now to leave it there, you must put flesh to your words.  Repeating what you believe in is a way to trust in God.  When my mind is raging with negativity and darkness and they are demanding, screaming at me to give their words flesh, I repeat what I believe in.

I believe in
God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead.* On the third day he rose again; he ascended
into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to
judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy
catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Stating what I believe helps me trust in God and gain the peace I need to carry on.

I know sounds simple, but you have to work at it, it doesn’t come naturally but it can save you.

So how do I explain a day like yesterday and today….. Well Yesterday was Doctor day.  I had lots going on at work, meetings, computer work, all kinds of stuff.  I ran out to the doctor and had to wait 10 minutes, as I was waiting my heart started to race, I knew I was heading into an anxiety attack.  I get called into the doctor I sit, she asks me whats going on, what can I do for you.  I start to shake — I think she thought I was having a stroke… The tears start, I am trying to catch my breath and basically fall apart.  My 10 minute apt last and hour and half.   So in the end I had a choice, switch meds, up meds or stay the same and make a psychiatrist apt. We did two out of them all.  She upped my meds, I am now at the max for all of them.  My psychiatrist apt will be in 2 months — Thank you waiting lists. 😦 but hopefully it will happen  sooner than later I will be reassessed, and I am sure I will be introduced to new drugs and as hell, as switching will be, maybe in the long run it will be better. Today I was on the verge of an anxiety attack this morning.  I could feel it coming on, I left the office headed to the staff room and took my anxiety pill in the bathroom, and sat there till things calmed down.  They did after a bit– the stronger drugs take less time to work. Good thing I guess.

So how does trusting God help me in these absolutely uncontrolled situations.  Instead of looking at what I can’t trust, I look at what I can trust.  God is with me- absolute never let me down trust.  I state what I believe, so I can be reminded that yes my mind does believe in something that is trust worthy. I say the words and give my words flesh, cause I would rather give God words with flesh, than negativity flesh and fall farther and faster than I can stop, cause I can’t trust me and I can’t stop it. But all things are possible through Jesus Christ.  I pray to him repeat the words he has given us and believe.

If you can’t stand up for what you believe in — Or you believe in nothing — then sit down and die.

exhausted tonight

that is all for now, till next time………………………..

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Week before Christmas


A week before Christmas.  I spent an hour or so with my Pastor last night. Today I can say that I am really glad that I went. I’m feeling some peace.  I made some decisions today and I think moving forward in a good way.

Last night however when I got home I was very anxious and upset.  It wasn’t anything he said, he said nothing but straight answers and in kindness and love.  I was anxious, and in a panic because the darkness felt threatened.  I had a huge urge to get rip roaring drunk.  I only had one glass of wine– not a small one but I eventually managed to get myself talked down — at 2 in the morning– but I got there and got some sleep.

Today.  I have some peace.  Every once in a while my heart will race and I feel the grip of anxiety.  I have to say that I admitted some things that have been hidden.  I haven’t been eating and last time I prayed with my husband and my Pastor and confessed it I did better.  I was starting to eat more and then fell off the wagon again.  I am working on getting back to it again.  If I don’t get to it today or tomorrow — Christmas is on its way — I will get back to it then.

I decided to go back to the doctor and I called and made the apt today, I go tomorrow and I will get a referral to where ever my family doctor thinks I should be going.   I told my husband today and he was a little freaked because I was so Not going before.  I discussed this last night and I think I need a second opinion on what I am taking and the right combination and if I have other options.  When my husband heard this he responded I totally agree, finally.  What? What do you mean finally.  He has wanted to suggest this for a while now but was afraid I would get upset.  It surprised me.

Over the past while I have been slowly becoming undone.  The more I became undone the more I tried to control things.  As I spent time in the bible and read the word of God and tried to practically crawl in the book the more I wanted to understand and the more I wanted to control.  The devil is cunning.  He took my scripture and twisted it in my mind to confuse me, he done well, the more I became confused the more I wanted to control things.  I can control the house and what happens here, I can control what I put or not put in my mouth, I dislike myself I can control the things I do, how much I push myself, how much I work out.  Then soon you are at a point that you distrust everything you think, and those around you. I have had some situations dealing with some difficult family members lately that just keep that ball rolling. I was distrusting Christmas, it spirit, its purpose.  I can take you to the point you distrust God.  You distrust your purpose here on earth and why you should even be here.  You try to control your surrounding, your urges, your body.  Your control flows into what you think or what you understand.  That is where I am or working through now.  I wanted to understand passages in the bible but as my Pastor asked me what specifically I want to know, where was I confused.  I have to admit I was stumped.  I could not articulate what it was I needed to know.  And that is the funny thing about it all.  I was so angry for not being in control, I was so desiring to be in control, and my distrust of all things, people, humanity, and yes the bible and even God. was so great.  The devil had done a fine job of confusing me.  I was so turned around I wasn’t even sure as to what I had to understand.

So what now…..its so simple but I– so missed its meaning.  Pastor plainly said instead of distrust just trust God.  God has allowed this illness in my life.  Trust that God knows what he is doing.  Trust that God will lead you to the right doctors to heal or help you. Trust that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is supreme.  Trust that Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for me.  Say this sentence, out loud–” Jesus the Lord of Lords, God’s son, My brother, The word that became flesh, the babe in the manger, died as an adult on the cross, so that I could come closer, He created me and loves me”.  Saying, Jesus sacrificed for us is so general, sometimes we need to make it personal and say it out loud, because when we say these things out loud, we can scare the devil into retreat.

I had said last night that I feel so lost- and I hate to say feel because depression is as much physical and biological as emotional.  Maybe even more so.  I have felt that I was the lost sheep and no one was searching for me.  It was pointed out to me that I was in the pen.  I was part of the flock, I wasn’t lost but found and was anxious cause I was in the pen and could not hear his voice, however I was in a safe place that my anxiety was making me blind to.

So today– this day. I feel some of the weight lifted off me.  I feel like I am in front of the fire place, just inside from a frosty night.  I am covered in layers that I put on me to protect me from the cold and I am starting to shed them one at a time.   Well I get to a point that I will feel like me? Not tonight, maybe not tomorrow. God knows and I need to trust him on that.  That is my project on the next few days, learn to trust God not distrust all that going wrong in my life. I will use God’s words to cloke me in his trust. – As soon as I spend some time in the bible to find the correct words to cloke myself in.

As for this evening. … Iam exhausted – I have had very little sleep over the past few days and not much in food either–I am too tired to eat…. tomorrow is a staff potluck. so I’ll catch up then.

till next time………………..

 

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The Blues


I am down this week.  I am fighting it best I can.  I am being very careful. Watching the right shows that don’t bring me down even more. Listening to the right music, cause the blues can really bring you down more, so I am trying to be up beat. I am reading a something about how God worked through Mary with her virgin birth. How God uses the weak to show the strong who God is and how wonderful and mighty he is.  I look at my nativity’s around my house a the baby Jesus and see true humility.  God’s son, just how we are to come to him.  Humble, helpless, needing a father to teach, guid,e and raise us into his grown children.  It is the example of the true approach to God.  And Jesus the word becoming flesh to be with in us, to be our Shepard and again help us to learn to spread the good news and teach others about our Father Lord God and his Son and his Holy Spirit.

All these words are truth.  All these words define God, Christmas, and all he has done for us. I believe all of it.  ………………………………

BUT

You were waiting for that weren’t you……….. but, in the pit of my heart beside the truth is the pain of depression that blackens my heart and soul.  It has made me very angry this week, I can not raise up this pit.  I am sinking more and more as the week passes.  I believe that God does care and works through me to show love to others.  I have a tatoo of a heart with a vine to representing John 15 on my forearm, I put my heart on my sleeve and I have the triune God symbol on my back to remind me that God always has my back.   But my heart hurts, I hide my forearm tatoo, I am tired of having my heart-broken and I am building a wall to keep it safe.

How do I reconcile what I truly believe; with the depression that clouds my heart.  This is the question that digs the deepest.

till next time…………….

by

Redefining the Christmas Story Dec 1/2012


So I have been in a redefine mood.  I was thinking about this last night.  I have rearranged the furniture in the house.  I have thrown out bags and bags of clothes, things, junk, and papers, that have been cluttering up my house.   We pulled up carpet (well we had a leak and it wrecked the carpet) we put in new hard wood, painted my bathroom.  Finished refinishing my dinning room table and the hutch.  As I think of all the stuff I have done over the past year– I have done alot of stuff! Jeepers!!!  I am not as latharjic as I thought! Great!

Since summer I have been stuck on the bible vs from John chapter One.  I think stuck on is a bad word for it, obsessed with it.  It has been obsessed with me t0o.  I have come across this word in so many books, sermons, converstaions, out of the blue, in the past 6 months there is something that I am supposed to glean from it.

See Below:

John 1

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

First incounter with this verse.  In the summer this verse started haunting me, to the point that during a camping trip I cornered my former pastor and we had a huge discussion on it.  The discussion then went from the word becoming flesh to the word being as he put it digested with in me as a fight against the depression that I suffer from.    He explained that the word- or God’s word became flesh with Jesus.  The word can also be thoughts of God, Spirit of God, Knowledge of God.  Jesus was there in the beginning when the world was made and God had spoken of this through the prophets.  So the word came earth, Jesus came to earth through his birth through Mary.

The word became flesh. A few months ago I was having a bad time and the devil was hammering at me hard.  I was close to walking away from the church.  How can I say that— and be a strong christian.  Well,  I am only strong with God.  My mind was lieing to me at a time when I was very depressed, that my faith was not going to make me better and I was in such heart pain in a dark hole, that I was unable to think straight.   I got through this by holding onto the vs the word became flesh.  I was not going to put flesh to the words that the darkness so desperatly wanted me to say. My mantra became ” I will not put flesh to those words” I repeated it over and over, untill the darkness left.

Hope:  the vs “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  The darkness has not overcome it.  Most of my days I hold this hope.  The light shines beyond the darkness and we have hope and protection in the light.  I have learned that the darkness is not peace but turmoil and screaming.  The light is the place we need to hide in from the darkness, and receive life.

My Nativity.   I have adopted these verses as my nativity story.  My Christmas story.  I am not saying the Nativity did not happen I believe that to be historical fact.   This is the nativity from the Holy Spirit point of view. Jesus is apart of God and the Holy Spirit makes know to us what God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are about and their love and their word. I think this is what is giving me the peace I have been feeling.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

For now I will stop here more to come later

Till next time……………..

by

Day after


Well it is the day after my prayer meeting with my husband and pastor.  My husband dragged me kicking and screaming.  I got there and couldn’t speak I was so afraid.  We talked for a bit we held hands and we prayed — well they prayed.  As they did God kept telling me to confess the sins of the body.  It is the verse of Jesus saying that the body is a temple for the holy spirit and we should treat it as a temple.  God clinched my heart and was not letting me leave my pastor’s office till I confessed.  I did. It was tough.  When my husband and I left we went to get something to eat– they know I haven’t been eating.  We went home and I did a couple of things and then I laid down on my bed and the tears started.  Actually more discriptive the sobs started I cried and cried what seems like a long time.  My husband held me for a long time and adventually I fell asleep.  Today I feel a little drained – not anxious- and not so down and all around better.  Its is amazing how being covered over with prayer is such a blessing

 

till next time……………….