Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do 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.
For the next 4 days I will be fasting from media.
Ephesians 3:…16 I pray that out of the riches of His glory, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love,…
Grieving Christmas is a list of juxtapositions. We are celebrating the birth of our savior, but we have lost a child. We are connecting with family members, but there is always one missing. We are opening gifts, but feel guilty for moving on without Jonathan.
God shaped the tangled vines of grief into beauty, by coming into our brokenness through Jesus, and he means for us to do the same. We display His identity, through joy, in the harshest of times. I’m not suggesting a forced, faked happiness, but a love that bubbles up in your pain, not in spite of it.
Christ didn’t come when everything was hunky dory in the world. He came in our desperate hour, when our losses outweighed our gains, and when the boot heel was on our throats.Israel was crying out for a savior, and as God in flesh took his first cry of humanity, our grief was changed to worship. Hope was born to the wise and the lowly, to shepherds and kings, to women and children, and to the poor, sick and needy. He was born in grief and raised us to new life in love.
That love enables me to shape grief into a new story. Not of what is lost, but what is gained. I fix my eyes ahead because Jonathan lived. His life is still changing mine. What I see as I grieve with hope:
Open the gift of grief and allow beauty to be formed from the ashes of those things we cherished most on this earth.Loosen your grip on what isn’t and open your hands to the gift of what is and will be. What hope do you see this Christmas?
2 Samuel 19: 4 The king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!â€
Are you favoring your wounds?
Today I began physical therapy and as the therapist began checking my range of motion she noted that my right leg was very stiff because I was favoring it. I didn’t want to feel the pain in my hip (excruciating), so I had been shying away from triggers. Muscle weakness was setting in, which only makes the problem worse. My muscles must be retrained and the goal is to reduce my pain. Strange, I thought that was my goal in babying it.
What are you avoiding because you have been deeply hurt? You feel the slightest pain reoccurring in your relationships, so you avoid them. You lost the job to a boss you trusted to promote you, but the promoted someone else, so you no longer give work your all. And maybe the deepest wound of all is from God. You trusted him to protect your child and now they are dead . . . So, I insulate myself from the pain and pull my little ones closer to do what God did not do. But, I testify that none of these things work. It is in putting ourselves out there, in doing the work, and stretching sore muscles that we grow stronger. It is likely I am feeling more pain in my hip because I have not pushed my muscles to improve. I am causing myself more pain by practicing avoidance!
King David was a man after God’s own heart, but he made some hugely poor choices with his children. David lost so much in his relationship with his children because of sinful choices. There’s and his. But when his son Absalom begged to see his father in an effort to reconcile, David refused to even see him.  Thus, Absalom turned on David and ultimately lost his life. And now, David mourns. He didn’t avoid the pain, he made it worse!
Joab warns David that he will lose his kingdom if he does not make his broken relationships right with his supporters. He can keep mourning Absalom, or the king can restore and be restored to his kingdom. Sigh, this is such a difficult lesson for any of us. It is much easier to keep spiraling downward, but Jesus came that we may have life to the fullest. Take a look at all the men and women he helped to change course. Peter, Matthew, Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, the outcasts of society, his own family, and the thief on the cross. This means at any point we can turn, stop mourning past sin, past loss, and past hurts and gain the glorious future God has for us.
I need to let go of operating in this life with a “perfect†body, and allow God to teach me to nurture care for and heal the one I have. I have spent forty years abusing my body. I can’t undo that. God is faithful in my weakness and he has promised healing.
What do you need to let go of today?
Philippians 2:…26For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious.…
Resilience does not come from some secret place only a select few can access. It comes from knowing that there is always a “but God”. . . in every hardship. –Karisa
Today, I admit to you that I am discouraged. My hip is painful and my knees are getting in on the act. A visit with the orthopedist did not result in any easy or long-term solutions. Â They cannot replace cartilage. Surgery to clean out the socket, at this point of deterioration, may be too late to be effective, and a hip replacement would wear out and have to be done again. So I sit here, sipping my anti-inflammatory concoction and remind myself to put on my skates.
A couple of weeks ago, I wanted so badly to get out on the floor with my kids and skate at my nephew’s party, that I finally laced up and went out. I was very cautious . . . at first. One fall and my cartilage might tear worse than it already is. But it was such a pleasure to be out there and I did not fall! So, do I withdraw from life because it could be painful? Do I stop seeking the great physician because the earthly ones can’t find a solution? No! I am convinced that nothing can separate me from God’s love. Pain included!
In this moment I take in a deep breath and lace up my shoes again. Enjoying the life God gives to me, and trusting him with my mind, body, and spirit. He wants good things for us. Put on your skates, and live life to the fullest. Turn this page, and find out what happens next!
How did I go from complete isolation, to this cloud of witnesses cheering me on to the mark God has set before me? Some of you were already there, but my depression became blinders to the help you offered. To my newer friends, or strangers who plant seeds in my life as we pass each other in our journeys, thank you for listening and acting on the Holy Spirit’s counsel. My life is changed because of you!
You all matter so much! Don’t think for a split second that I don’t see you. More importantly, God knows your kindnesses to me! Matthew 25:40 And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me. Do you think that I could withstand the onslaught of this storm alone? Do you think that the living room full of people the day my son died was just a tiny blip on the radar? The effect of their presence is still with me. There are many days, when the darkness draws tighter around me, but God brings your hug, your card, your touch to the forefront of my mind and reminds me that I am not alone!
Today I am thank you for YOU! For your love, support and journeying with me. I’m thankful for my friends encouraging me right now towards better health. I’m grateful, though all that I have may crumble to the ground, God you are faithful. I praise you that my kids are learning this in a mighty way. I’m thankful for Compassion’s pray list that is teaching my children to pray for others around the world. Thank you Lord for your word, that reminds me of who I am, your sovereignty and grace, and who my neighbors are.
Thank you for opening my spirit, mind and body to a new path towards health. Thank you Jesus for not fitting into my box!
So I was thinking Job today and God gave me Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving instead.
1 Samuel 2:1-10 Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; My horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation. 2“There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. 3“Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. 4“The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. 5“Those who were full, hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. 6“The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7“The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. 8“He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap. To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, And He set the world on them. 9“He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. 10“Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
This is a woman who knows God’s sovereignty and our freedom to walk humbly with our God. She is barren, despised by her community, but she prays and God gives her a son. She gives that son right back to Him! Her son Samuel will one day anoint David as King, and ultimately leading to the birth of Jesus! To know that what God will do in our lives is far greater than our suffering, our circumstances even our accumulated wealth, and our kingdom is a rare wisdom. Do you and have it? Are we willing to humble ourselves, submit to God’s authority and wait on his answer? Do we accept that he is limitless?
I raise my hands to the heavens and declare: You Lord know what you are doing! Wow! Oh Father I give you praise that my husband, kids, and I are drawing closer in the midst of our storm. I praise you that we can laugh! I praise you that the sun rose again. I praise you for keeping Brian and Natalie safe as they drove through the flooded streets last night. I praise you that my house is still standing. I praise you that we are still standing! You are a good God. I praise you for the friends who love and support us. Thank you for making our path straight.
Thank you Jesus for our salvation! Amen
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
This morning I was an explosion waiting to happen. Just light the fuse and shrapnel everywhere! Yet another night of pain and not sleeping. The cortisone shot doesn’t seem to be working. I had intended on recording my thankfulness yesterday, but felt it all stopped up by the struggle and pain of functioning. As I read my Unglued devotional this morning the thankfulness began washing over me!
So Lord, I praise you this morning!
What can you praise God for this morning?
In a previous post on perseverance I spoke about pain as a necessity so that we pay attention, change, and care for our bodies. Some of us, have pain that goes above and beyond the norm.
I just found out that my discs are deteriorating and my hip sockets were not formed right so my cartilage is wearing away. The orthopedist called me a “tween” I am in the teenage years of hip replacement. Right now the goal is pain management but I have surgery in my future. Daunting prospects, because I’ve cared for patients who have the level of pain I currently have and watched their spirits deteriorate along with their body. But, I’ve also watched spirits increase and abound in other patients who chose to open themselves up to Christ being enough in their pain. So how do we meet pain with the balm of spiritual discipline?
1. Acknowledge the pain and our needs
2. Put it in right context: believe
3. Repent of any sin contributing to our health
4. Surround ourselves with a cloud of witnesses
5. Act on the opportunities given for health and wholeness
6. Bless others who are suffering
I know I’m only scratching the surface today, but I’m working through this as I go. We’ll talk more as
I journey through.
Matthew Henry’s commentary on 2 Chronicles 21;12-20, a rather gruesome prophecy given to King Jehoram, but unheeded, is contrasted with very good news for those who believe even while they suffer.
Good men may be afflicted with diseases; but to them they are fatherly chastisements, and by the support of Divine consolations the soul may dwell at ease, even when the body lies in pain. To be sick and poor, sick and solitary, but especially to be sick and in sin, sick and under the curse of God, sick and without grace to bear it, is a most deplorable case. Wickedness and profaneness make men despicable, even in the eyes of those who have but little religion.
Mood Colors: I’m Yellow today–I feel open to the possibilities of the day.
After an indescribably severe headache last night, I feel strangely peaceful this morning. Today will be what it will be. What color is your week starting with?
E-motions are a part of our transportation system, meant to take you to new places, but not meant to carry you away. God in heaven feels, and Jesus in the flesh certainly felt emotions. God would not have placed emotions in us, if they were not as important and as vital as our physical functions. Don’t ignore them or elevate them to god status. Let emotions join wisdom and reason in decision making. Logic without emotion tends to become cruel, and emotion without logic becomes lazy.
John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
There is so much to learn here! How differently this miracle would look if Jesus had arrived, dismissed the emotions of the grievers and preformed the resurrection of Lazarus. That would have been to glorify himself. Jesus knew what he was about to do and yet his emotions matched the sisters and mourners grieving for Lazarus. Jesus’ emotions were just as logical as his knowledge that his heavenly father was about to do a great thing! His emotions made him relational to mankind and his logic puts our circumstances in the context of God’s perfect will.
We want to know: DOES GOD REALLY CARE ABOUT OUR PAIN, AND WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
God chose to become a baby, who smiled, giggled, and cried at the often painfully stimulating world. He had moods, and yet he chose to place those moods in a broader context of God’s will. You and I may struggle with our emotions, but as we place our experiences in the context of an all powerful God who is relational, our emotions and logic become a powerhouse of love.
Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Daniel asked for advice this morning . . . or at least that’s what I gave him. Every suggestion he shot down as incorrect, and our conversation concluded with him stomping off declaring that I wasn’t listening, and me frustrated that he is such a “know it all”.
The question: Why did he come for me for help, if he didn’t really want it?
About 5 minutes later, the Holy Spirit breathed into my mind. “He’s right, you weren’t really listening.”
My eyes were suddenly opened to the truth of my own heart, Daniel’s, and the heart of Christ. I did not seek God, I just dove into fixing mode. Daniel needed me to listen and understand. The only answer was to take him to Jesus, and allow Jesus to work with him on this matter, not me. My answers, right though they sounded to me, and most certainly biblically based were not what was needed. He needed Jesus. I was a Pharisee giving him a to do list, while God is more interested in helping his being.
I went to Daniel, apologized for not listening. Empathized with his tough situation and offered to pray. We held hands and prayed together. I trusted God more deeply to give Daniel the wisdom and insight to address the problem in a spectacular way I didn’t come up with.
If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call the National Suicide Lifeline at 988 or go to the website at https://988lifeline.org/