Pain

Pain, that’s a word that no one likes.  I think it falls in the class with the 4-letter words.  Some of us self inflict, others inflict it on others.  And often we enjoy inflicting pain on others.  That in itself is just messed up.  The Bible teaches us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Matthew 7:12 (NIV)

¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets

For the most part I think that is how we, the human race, operate.  You occasionally get the bad seed.  But yeah, we try to treat others good.  But sometimes, and we are all guilty, we mess us.  We hurt our friends, the ones we love, without meaning to.  And it isn’t always the pain you can see; Most of the time it is our words. We should always be an encourager.  Try to lift others up with our words.

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Sow good seeds with your words.  After we say that hurtful word the damage is done.  We back track and try to take it back.  Say I’m sorry, but the best we can hope for is to mend the fence, ask for forgiveness and hope they have it in their heart to do just that.  Me and my no filtered mouth often finds myself in that predicament.  I am always asking somebody to forgive me.  I know it comes out, I hear it, and then it’s like I can’t believe I just said that our loud.  Sometimes I actually just think I am thinking it buts it’s out there!  In the air.  Damage done.  I have learned  a valuable lesson this week.  When I give my opinion I am going to wait a few seconds, listen to God, and wait for scripture and speak that!  If what you say is scripture, that can’t hurt!  It might sting sometimes, because we don’t always receive what is true and best for us.  We always think we know best and we can fix it.  But we have to give everything to God so he can shape and mold and work things out for our good.  And He needs every little piece!  Every little sliver!.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose

Why would we want to hold on to our pain?  Sometimes I think in our little minds we think we deserve it.  We have done something to deserve our pain so we keep that little piece to punish ourselves right when we start to feel joy within us.  When we feel Jesus in there, the devil comes along and says but you know you don’t deserve to feel joy, you don’t deserve to have a happy life.  You certainly don’t deserve to move past this pain and move on without it.  Well that’s the devils job.  He lurks around “seeking whom he can destroy” Don’t let him destroy you by holding onto your pain.  Jesus took care of your pain by dying on the cross.  His pain!  I was thinking on my way to work yesterday how sometimes God asks us to do things and we hem haw around before we do them, or even IF we do them.  What would we be, where would we be if Jesus had said, “Nah, God!  Not feeling like hanging on the cross today?”  “Un Uh, not gonna do it”.  But He didn’t, we know how the story ends.  He prayed in the garden, He died on the cross, arose 3 days later!  He did ALL that so we could have eternal “Life”!  Se we could let go our pain!  I can’t begin to imagine what it felt like to hang there!  Tormented feeling like his Father had all but forsaken him.  Here I am nursing a little seatbelt burn on my neck and I am thinking, “What a WUS” and I am!  I will be the first to admit it.  I don’t like pain!  I hurt, I take a pill, I rub something on it, get the heating pad, you name it I have tried it!  But we are human and that’s what we do for the flesh.  But the pain that comes when someone cuts us deep with actions or words will not so easily be fixed.

1 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

⁹ Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing

We retaliate with hurtful words of our own and think that somehow helps.  We distance ourselves from the ones we love and that loves us so we protect ourselves and don’t feel pain.  We all have our own coping mechanisms, but how many have tried Jesus?  Most times when we hurt we cry out to Jesus.  And He wants us to!  But He wants us there in the good times too.  And honestly after the last couple of years I can say I know He was there in the bad ties!  I felt his arms around me!  I could feel his peace, his protection.  I could feel his nudging me along, ever so gently.  But what I felt after I started to live again, the good times, is so great!  I hear him telling me what he wants me to do, I hear him whisper to me that things are going to be ok.  He shows me the plans he has for me!

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ 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.

So then when the bad times, hard times, come I know what He has told me in the good times!  But you have to let him in during the good times.  That’s how the pain all makes sense!

James 5:7 (NIV)

Patience in Suffering

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.

Be  patient!  That is a word that I have come to hate!  A friend told me this week that patience is like an old mean childhood friend that used to beat you up and pick on you.  Now it is like picking at a really bad sore that won’t heal.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

If you are in pain, let the Bible, Gods word, heal you.  Whether its physical pain, or the emotional kind.  There is a word in there for all of it. He is the Great Physician after all!   He doesn’t care if you have insurance, Obama care, Medicaid, Medicare!  He takes it all.  He will make it good and return so many blessings on you!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus!

 

From Daniel

All went well feeling much better, thanks so much for the prayers
Love and prayers from my

From Daniel

I got sick last night and was brought to the ER about 4:00 this morning.  I am having an appendectomy in the neighborhood of 3:00.  Please pray for me we will update you when we have more information. 

Mark said it was -20 with -22 wind chill this morning at 6:30.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but it still wasn't pretty :)  Trish, God certainly works in mysterious ways!!  I'm going to email your tattoo testimony so we can get others praying for him as well :) 

Ink

As I sat in the chair I couldn’t help but wonder what Danny would say. Part of me thinks he would say, “Are you crazy?” Another part of me says, “It’s your finger, do what you want! But don’t come crying to me when it hurts!” That’s the Danny I love! The one that tells me there is consequences for my actions! But he loved me anyway! I tossed the idea of a tattoo around for several months. 6 to be exact. When my anniversary rolled around I wanted something permanent to show me that yes he was here! I know that makes absolutely no sense to some of you! Most of you! Because all I have to do is look at my kids to know where he was. I look at the kids who he coached- I see him there. I look at the people he touched every day in some form or fashion. I find out daily how he touched people’s lives. It warms my heart to hear stories of him. My new coworkers have many stories to tell. Stories before I even knew him. Childhood stories. They feel like a part of my family that I am just beginning to know.

Isn’t that how it is in God’s family? Everyone we meet is just another member of the family of God. Of course as I sat there I was still trying to decide if I had made the right choice. Was I in the right place? The right time? You know me I have prayed about this! For six months I prayed! So me and my big mouth (yeah I know you are all laughing) I tell him right off the bat that I am a Jesus freak! He has heard the song, knows the band. So far so good! After all he is the one that is going to be inflicting pain on me! So we begin to share our stories. After all that’s what we are called to do! Oh boy, that’s when it got interesting. He told me he was an atheist! So I let him know right off that I would be talking about Jesus the whole time I was in his chair! After all the customer is always right! Right?! I was curious because I have never met anyone who professed to be an atheist. So I had lots of questions! At that moment I wished I had chosen a more complex tattoo because I knew he was going to be finished way too soon. But I gave it my best shot. He told me that IF there was a here after he thought he would go there because he did good deeds, tried to live and do good for people. So I told him yes there was a hereafter it was called heaven and you couldn’t get there by doing good. You had to have Jesus in your heart. He then surprised me by telling me I reminded him of his mother! She was a praying Christian too! So after I heard that I knew! I told him he didn’t have a chance because if he had a praying mother she had already prayed for him and God was still working on those prayers! See his mother died last September, a month after Danny died! Hello! It was not coincidence that I was there right at that moment. And my tattoo? He was the only one that could do fingers! So yeah, my tattoo was a God thing! He uses everything, even my tattoo. I found out from my new friend that he didn’t believe in Jesus’ unconditional love because He made the path too hard to find Him! He said the Bible for salvation was like taking a toddler into the wilderness and giving them a road map. They would never find their way out! But I told him all he had to do was ask Jesus in his heart and He would do the rest. He would show him the way. No matter where he was! He was extremely knowledgeable of the bible. I am sure he knew more than I did. He has taken several theology classes. So he knew his Bible and the history. But what he didn’t know was that when I pray God listens! And I have faith that God answers my prayers. I told him he was pretty much done for because he was on my list! My prayer list! I would be praying for him every day! And I was sure he would be going to heaven with me whether he wanted to or not. After all, between the prayers his mom prayed and now with me praying he just didn’t stand a chance!

He told me to come back in 2 weeks for a touch up. I assured him I would be back because I wasn’t going to miss a chance to tell him more about Jesus. One of the saddest things I heard him say was that there was nothing in this world that he could chalk up to a miracle. So I asked him if he had children, that’s the obvious miracle. He has a two year old. When I asked him how could he not see THAT miracle when she was born he simply laid it off to science. But I told him it was so much more. So much more! So this morning I was thinking of our conversation and just the fact that YES I have a tattoo, I realized that in order for me to fulfill my purpose, I am going to have to go to places I would normally not go! Let’s face it, when I witness at church, they have already heard it! I have to get out there where people don’t know about Christ! They want to know or my tattoo artist wouldn’t have taken a class! What I am sure of is this; since he won’t go to church and he professes atheism Jesus is going to have to go to him. So I have an appt in 2 weeks! Just for a touch up. But I am thinking, another tattoo? I don’t know, that’s gonna have to be a God thing. I know God sent me to minister and witness to him on that day at that time. He was such a nice young man. I believe he has good values, high standards and I don’t doubt he is a good father. But you have to go past his appearance. I have a feeling just from our conversation he has been persecuted for his tattoos, his piercings, his general appearance; and he has been persecuted by Christians. So he just chooses not to be one of those! He is going to try to get to the hereafter on his own, by works and good deeds.

We, you and I-fellow believers, know this is not how to get to heaven. You ask for forgiveness and ask Him to live in your heart. Not a hard thing to do, but it is very humbling! So I told him I was going to pray that God sends him a miracle. A miracle that he would have no other explanation for except to say, WHOA that was God! So I am asking my face book believers to pray with me for this young man that has no belief in God! And not just him but for all those that say Christ and his unconditional love does not exist. Because I am here to tell you I have experienced it. I have felt the warmth of His embrace. The comfort in the knowledge that yes, I will see those I love again. It brought tears to my eyes as he told me he didn’t believe in Christ and his love. How devastating that would be. So even if I have to get tattooed from head to toe, I will be visiting him and his tattoo parlor. If sitting in his chair is the only way for me to tell him Jesus loves him, then all I can say is get the ink ready!
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I think we had about the same, or so they say.  I put my car in the garage last night because I was afraid it would not start this morning and Dan is in Connecticut.  It went from 52 degrees to -8 by the time I got to work.  Colin's work was cancelled yesterday and today.  I think we are supposed to get to 4 above and drop back to -1 tonight before climbing upwards.  It is supposed to be the coldest we have been for two decades.  I remember the winter of '83 - '84 when Dan was working in Cincinnati and the kids and I still were in Virginia.  He left one Sunday morning to go back to Cincinnati and it was -22.  It did not get above freezing for 30 days in Ohio at that time.

How cold can we go?

Ok folks how cold is it in your neck of the woods?!  -11 with a windchill of -30. Way to cold for me!!

Purpose

There are days that I wonder what my purpose on earth is. Most of you are like me; we set the alarm, we get up, we wake up kids for school, we go to work, we interact throughout the day, we come home, we have a little family time, go to bed then do it all over again. There has to be more to life than that! And the sad thing is that we sometimes do this for years before we wake up and say, “What have I been doing with my life?” For those of you lucky enough to not have to lose a loved one in the process, I encourage you to take advantage of the situation! Whether you lose them to death, addiction, divorce…whatever the reason? God is giving you a second chance by waking you up! He is telling you to seize the moment! Let Him come into your broken life and mend it. He wants you to experience the fullness of a beautiful life. He wants you to have that special someone that you can tell anything to, someone to share life and faith with. He wants you to love that little child when no one will. To sit and rock in the wee hours of the morning when they are crying for no reason. When God created the family it was His finest hour! In my opinion it far out shines the hour He hung the moon and the stars! It outweighs the creation of the heavens and earth! Family is so complex yet so simple. All it requires is love! So easy to give and always ready to receive. Yet we toss it around like it is nothing.

Micah 6:8

What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God!

If we could do that how much more would our life mean? So much more! Easy answer. We would work less, love more, we would nurture our family more. We would treat it like it was the most precious gem. When it hurt we would cry. When it felt joy we would laugh. When it felt love…well that’s what it is all about. That’s when we feel everything. All the walls come crumbling down when there is love because that is your safe haven, Your refuge. That is where you can say anything, do anything and still come home. Still be able to know that love will carry you through. It will forgive and continue to love without judgement. After all, who is without sin? Who is to say that it may be us the next time. We may be in that situation that is requiring forgiveness. A family without love is, well, a group of people that may be related by blood that may or may not live in a house together. How sad that is.

Jeremiah 31:16-17

This is what the Lord says; “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,: declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your descendants,”declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.”

I was created for 2 things. To serve God and raise my family! That’s my purpose. My family is almost done! Wow, Jacob will be 15 next month. That is hard to believe. I can remember when my little family was me, Danny and my little dog Prissy! But things change.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

¹⁷ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new

Do you know your purpose? Whatever your purpose, make sure it honors God. Look to Him for guidance.

1 Corinthians 16:14

Do everything in love.

As you start the New Year remember to seek His guidance but then slow down long enough to hear what He has to tell you!

Psalm 46:10

Be still and know that I am God

Even if that means taking a time out from your family that you love so much. Do it! Go sit by yourself. Or walk! Whatever you have to do to get some alone time! Lock yourself in the bathroom! But go meditate on God’s word. Listen to His voice then put it into action and DO!

Romans 12:2(NIV)

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

very nice Trish, I like it