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Genius

Sep28

Back in the day~

   You couldn’t climb the rope – You could hear them laugh

   You couldn’t hit the ball – You could get picked last

   You couldn’t read out load – You could turn red in the face and feel like throwing up

   You couldn’t sit still – You could stay in from recess all by yourself

   You couldn’t not talk – You could write “ I will not talk in class” 500 times on                                                                                                                            the chalk board

   You couldn’t run fast – You could day-dream and pass on the whole deal

*Each one of those fiery darts pierced your heart.

*Each one told you something about your worth.

*Each one deepened your sense of shame.

*Each one helped you to add another layer of self-defense around your already broken heart.

*Each one re-declared your sense of failure.

*Each one made you more determined to not be hurt again.

*Each one sent to you by the enemy of your soul.

Please allow me to tell you the truth.

      YOU … are worth it

      YOU … have a special gift to share with the world around you

      YOU … don’t need to guard your heart

      YOU … can trust Jesus to do that for you

      YOU … are not a mistake

      YOU … can begin to think better of yourself

Following are some scriptures to help you in your endeavors.

Please consider printing them on a card and carrying them with you.

you can check them periodically throughout the day that way.

1 John 3:1-3 (NIV1984) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NIV1984) For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

Colossians 3:2 (NIV1984) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Psalm 139:23 (NIV1984) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  (He knows you inside and out)

Proverbs 2:7-8 (NIV1984) He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Repitition

Sep26

One of my favorite songs is “Jesus You’re Beautiful” by Jon Thurlow from Kansas City House of Prayer.

Near the end of the song there is one phrase that he keeps repeating and repeating.

Sometimes repeating is good.  (Just not at two a.m. when you’re trying to sleep, as this song has a pretty ambitious tempo)

Repetition helps us to remember.

“I know the end of the story; I come up from the wilderness, leaning on my Beloved.”

“I know the end of the story; I come up from the wilderness, leaning on my Beloved.”

“I know the end of the story; I come up from the wilderness, leaning on my Beloved.”

The other day a girlfriend and I had this same song going through our heads at the same time.  We neither one believe things like this are coincidence, so of course we had to discuss this.  What was it that God wanted us to hear at that time?  What did He want us to glen from this “Coincidence”?

The best way to describe our findings would be to answer the who, what, where, when and why questions.

Who?  It is obvious he is singing about us.

What?  Leaning on our Beloved.

Where?  Coming up from the wilderness

When?  After a distressing time.

Why?  We will have confidence at the end of the story.

It has been my experience, that distressing times WILL come.  It’s not a matter of “If”.  It’s more a matter of “when”.

During these times, I believe that if we don’t “lean on our Beloved”, then the weight of these distressing things will level us.

Our Beloved, Jesus, the Lover of our souls, waits for us to lean on Him.

His desire is for us.

His desire is to bear our burdens for us.

His desire is to be our support, and our safeguard.

If Jesus is not yet your “Beloved”,

Then won’t you visit the “Rescue” page of this blog?

You can begin “Leaning” today.

The Hardest Topic

Sep23
This may be the most difficult topic I’ve ever had to face.
It’s the topic I’ve hidden from.
It’s the topic I’ve hidden from God.
It’s the topic I’ve not wanted to discuss.
It’s the topic that I would guess you don’t want to ponder either.
It’s the topic with symptoms I can’t even always recognize.
 
The topic - is Shame




One definition from the Encarta Dictionary: English (North America) says that shame 


is a painful emotion resulting from awareness of having done something dishonorable, 


unworthy, degrading, etc.


Shame is a deep sense of humiliation and embarrassment.


  Believing one’s name may fall into disrepute, or be discredited, only serves to 


bring on more shame.


  This shame that comes could be real, or it could be imagined.


It really does not matter. The effects are the same.


Shame may even turn into something pathological, which is defined 


 as “extreme or unreasonable”.
 


 Shame is the antonym of innocence.  


It changes who you were meant to be.  


Know this about Shame;


It is an attack from the enemy of your soul!


To keep you away from God’s design for you!


You didn’t do anything wrong!


Someone else did!


It was not your fault!
 
Shame is different from guilt, in that to be guilty one has to have done an action on their 


own of their own volition.  


Guilt generally comes from a sense of responsibility for knowingly doing wrong. 


Often there is remorse for some offense, crime, wrong, etc., whether real or Imagined.




Guilt is synonymous with criminality.


The wrong-doer is the perpetrator!


They were in control of the situation!


There was nothing you could do!


Someone else is the criminal here!


 


 
                       You can cry out to God for Justice and Restoration! 








  Citing the article, “SHAME STEPS OUT OF HIDING AND INTO SHARPER FOCUS” By Daniel Goleman 


The New York Times, September 15, 1987, Psychologists have determined the following;


·Shame is emerging, in the view of some, as a “master emotion” that influences all the others. 


Its development is being traced back through childhood and its role in a wide range of human 


experience, from spurring the greatest of accomplishments to the bitterest of marital fights, 


is newly appreciated.   


·“Shame is a master emotion, regulating the expression of other feelings,” said Thomas Scheff, 


 a sociologist at the University of California at Santa Barbara,


·“Whenever shame enters the picture, we inhibit the free expression of emotion, with the 


 exception of anger,” said Dr. Scheff, who studies the sociology of emotions. 


·Unlike other emotions, which tend to pass with time or with a catharsis like weeping, “shame 


 is the emotion most difficult to admit and to discharge,” Dr. Scheff said. 


·Further, shame is the most private of emotions. “Shame may be one of the only emotions for 


 which no facial expression has evolved,” said Dr. Paul Ekman a psychologist at the University of 


 California at San Francisco who is an expert on facial expression. “Of course, in shame you do 


  not want to signal your state. Turning away or hiding the face in some way are the only objective 


 signs of shame.”


You get the idea.


Shame hides.  


It is simply too painful to admit.  


It stays hidden inside and continues to decay our souls.


If shame is something you suffer from, 


I would like to give you a couple of suggestions.


Simply a place to begin, a starting point;   


*Ask God to help you, by His Spirit, to search your heart.


*Tell Him all about what you are hiding inside.


*Is there just one person you can confide in? 


 -Maybe not the entire story, but just a sliver?


 -Exposing this shame will absolutely RUIN its power over you.


*Maybe you just can’t tell anyone, however, can you write it down?


 -Then give the offense to God?


 -Getting this sense of shame out of your head will help to make 


 shame leave your heart.

Oh boy!

           I know what I’m suggesting is extremely difficult, 


However, I also know that God has so much for in store for you.


Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV1984)  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, 


“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."


You can trust Him with your heart.


The whole story or just a sliver.


                Wherever you are able to start.


                                Whatever you can give Him.


                                                                Justice for you, restoration for your soul.




Be courageous!  I know you can do this, 


             Your peace of mind depends on it.