But I’m the one who was hurt!Dear Suzie,
While I semi agree with your blog post yesterday, I don’t think you understand fully. What if you are the one who was hurt? Do you still have to step back to see the whole picture? What about the person who created the conflict in the first place? Don’t they have responsibility in this too?
An injured party
conflict gone wildContinual conflict is like a vacuum. Pretty soon all that is swirling in your brain and life is drama. You become closed off from what matters to you and what you’d like to pursue. And the people you care about, they are sucked into that conflict (or at least the aftermath) with you.
Is there an off button? (more…)
To live free: Slipsliding away
I hiked this past week with family. As I climbed over rocks and up steep trails to view the beautiful scenery ahead, my foot hit a slick spot and suddenly I was airborne. It wasn’t pretty, but somehow I landed on my feet.
“Wow, that was close,” someone said.
Have you ever felt that way spiritually? You’re focused on what is ahead and suddenly you start slipsliding backwards. Your feet are no longer on solid ground.
Peter reminds us that in order to live free we can’t slip back into our old ways of living (1 Peter 1:14) We may not have known better back then, but we do now and he adds this caveat: ”God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. (1 Peter 1:18)”.
Are you slipsliding backwards in your thoughts — anger, bitterness, gossip, slander, unforgiveness — or your actions? Are you going back to what once held you captive, what held you back, and exchanging what God so freely forgave and offered freedom for something of so little value?
Maybe it won’t look pretty, but adjust your course. Put your feet back on solid ground. The beauty that God promised is still ahead.
To live free: Don’t slip back into your old ways.
Scripture: So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. (1 Peter 1:14 NLT)
Today: Take an honest look at your life. Are you slipsliding into an old way of living? Ask God to forgive (which He freely offers) and start fresh. Don’t look back, not even for a second. Keep walking toward God’s best for you.
When you feel pressureIf you came over from Encouragement for Today, welcome!
It’s the day after Christmas. My house looks like a bomb exploded . . . and I love it, because that means my home has been filled with my children, their spouses, and my three grandbabies (all under the age of 17 months).
I couldn’t help but think about that moment I shared in the devo. The moment I had no strength as my young children ran up the steep path without me. I had no idea what the future held, or if I’d ever be myself again.
But that leads to my promise I made to you today in the devo: to share three principles that can help you when you feel under pressure. (more…)
Live free: Don’t forget the secrets found in the “secret place”
I opened my journal today. The last date was marked November 16th.
Was that possible?
Had I really not taken the time to sit alone with my Heavenly Father for over a month?
The “good girl” in me wanted to not share this. After all, how could I talk about the joy and freedom of knowing God and not be alone with Him? Would you think less of me?
But the reality is in the busyness I placed God last.
I didn’t stop loving Him. I didn’t stop reading about Him. I didn’t stop calling myself His.
But I want so much more than that. (more…)
Listen. . .I’ve been accused of being an optimist. I believe it. I don’t see the cup half empty. I don’t see it half full. I see it running over.
Isn’t that a great thing, you might ask? Yes, but sometimes I need to step back. Because my cup half running over just might get in the way. (more…)
