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Consider Yourself Hugged

Feb12

Funny – this photo is of a curly haired little girl – why is my hair as straight as a string?

Phone Photos 2.12.2015 083
Here I am with my baby doll. I sure loved my baby dolls. Now, as I look back, I can tell you that all those baby doll hugs were a sad replacement for the hugs I needed and did not receive.

At this age, I enjoyed twirling and twirling in my bedroom until I was dizzy. I thought that room was so BIG. I’ve been back there since, and it is in reality, not very large at all.

The back yard was BIG as well, a great place to play in the snow. As an adult I can walk across that yard in ten giant steps, or twenty baby steps.

Hmm, perspective.

This photo is before the abuse began.

Well really, it began before this, but my four year old mind did not understand the concept of emotional abandonment.

Reconnecting with this little one was not an easy task, but we have reconciled, and now journey into the future together. No longer are we estranged from each other, but we gain strength and understanding of all that has taken place.

I thank my Jesus for leading me to Bonnie’s writings and for allowing me to retrieve that which was lost.

Today, along with being able to help people understand who they are in Christ, I also seem to have a “Ministry of Hugs”. I’m told my hugs give strength – I will tell you here and now that the strength that is received comes from Christ alone.

He is my fortress and my strength, and I love to share what He has restored to me.

Consider yourself hugged.


http://www.faithbarista.com/2015/02/maybe-the-story-that-breaks-us-makes-us-beloved/

Is Receiving Ever Easy?

Feb5

                                                                                Beloved Brews Linkup

 

Is Receiving Ever Easy?

With a giver motivated husband, it is easy to see how that motivation can make it difficult to receive.

My motivations for giving are at times somewhat less pure, wanting to be noticed maybe, or doing the right thing.

Motivations not rising out of a place of love can cause guilt and condemnation when on the receiving end of a pure gift from someone else.

I have learned, and am learning still, as I watch him giving of himself over and over and over, that when the tables are turned it is a bit difficult to for him to receive offerings from others.

Over the years I have encouraged him to just “Smile and say thank you.” He is becoming much better at it, and can even do it sometimes without being prodded. I then find myself repeating these same instructions in my head quietly to myself.

It is a joy to behold, this learning and growing process, the one where Holy Spirit speaks and we listen.

What a great example for our grandchildren, who need clear role models in a generation of caring for all the wrong things.

The biggest issue I suppose is that when we are gifted something, feelings of unworthiness rise up on the inside of us.

The truth of the matter is that we ARE worthy, not in our own strength, but in Gods strength.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27. It is Christ in us that makes us worthy.

By ourselves we are not qualified in any way to claim that we can do anything. Rather, God makes us qualified. 2 Corinthians 3:5

What great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:3a

He gives lavishly, we receive His gift.

Is it easy?

No.

Is it necessary?

Yes.

It helps us to recognize Him for who He is, the Giver of all good gifts.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

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Taking Time for Yourself

Jan29

Beloved Brews Linkup

 

Taking time for me is something that keeps changing over the years. In my earlier years, taking time for me was not even on my radar.

While growing up, I was really busy trying to find someone who would stay by my side and be my friend. I ran hither and yon to find them. I did not know that Jesus wanted to be that for me.

As a young mom, I was of course immersed in the goings on of my small children, and trying to build a household. It was popular thought at the time that as a woman, you could “Have it all.” I was living to find ways to get it all done. I did not know that Jesus had already provided a way for that to happen.

My children grew up and began their own families, and I was frantic trying to find ways to fill the time. The way I did that was to fill my mind (and my house) with projects to keep my hands busy. That turned into many unfinished projects and guilt for not finishing. I finished some, and got rid of the rest. I did not know that it was Jesus who had already made it possible for me to fill up that creative space in my heart.

All the frantic, caused my physical body to break down. That began a time when all I did was take care of myself, i.e. nap, nap and more nap. I did not realize that Jesus had just the right prescription for what ailed me.

I was a believer. I knew God existed, but maybe for someone else, but not me since I was so lazy. Desperation led me to question His love for me and if He really meant all that He said in His word. The thought then crossed my mind to actually sit, in a chair, by the window, and just think of Him. Just think about what His word says. Decide if I really believed it all or not.

I spent much of that time dozing off, feeling guilty for dozing off, waking up, trying again, and dozing off some more. Time passed, and I began to call it “Resting in the Lord”. Jesus began to make me realize that if I did not take care of myself, then there would be nothing left for anyone else.

Over the weeks and months that followed, I found myself actually being more awake, more alert, and fuller of God’s words. They began to seep into my spirit and give me strength. Strength enough that I actually joined an exercise class that began to strengthen my body. That was five or so years ago, and that class is still a part of my life. God had revealed to me that if I wanted to do His plan for me, I would need to be as strong in my body as I was in my spirit.

2014 was a year of great introspection for me. I knew by Holy Spirit’s prompting, that I would need to spend a mass amount of time with Him, and myself, excavating some hurtful things in the past. Normally, spending that much time just with myself would have seemed selfish, but I found myself sure that if I did, then I could stop being tripped up by the things in my past. There was no guilt for this time, and it paid huge dividends. There were two resources provide for this time, and Bonnie Gray’s book “Finding Spiritual Whitespace” was the first. It opened the door for the second. 2014 brought my dark spaces out into His glorious light.

Now in 2015, He is allowing me to share my experience with others.

All this to say, there will always be some thought, someone, some thing that will try to keep you from taking care of yourself, spending time on yourself, being with yourself. Make it a priority. Make it an appointment for your calendar. It is important for your mind, spirit and body.

In the end, it will be important for the people that are in your sphere of influence. Only God knows how big your sphere will become if you only take the first step!