It has been said that you are the average of your five closest friends…
So, whose mission are you on?
And what’s your average?
Not everyone you meet is going to stay with you on the journey.
And not everyone you want to stay will do so.
Some may not be able to handle your load.
Others may not be able to carry their own.
And still others just aren’t going the same way you are.
Don’t grow angry with them and don’t hold it against them.
And by no means, beg them to stay.
Just gently, say goodbye and let them go their way.
They weren’t meant to travel along.
For if you demand they come along or stay too long,
They will hurt you, or you will wound them,
Or others will become damaged in the process.
Just let go.
Release them to be free.
You will be amazed at the freedom you will find.
Even if you have to shed tears as you move forward.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
I cannot escape or refuse. I cannot run away or hide.
I shift in the uncomfortable silence,
Hoping you’ll say something to ease the pain.
You look me eye to eye, I glance away, not knowing what to say.
You begin to speak, and I cringe, terrified you’ll find me lacking and left wanting.
And suddenly, I hear Your voice gently call my name.
All fear is forgotten.
All doubt is erased.
As I lean into Your grace.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:40
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
Your journey may not look like someone else’s, and it may feel you’re all alone.
Just keep walking.
Your path may seem hard and unachievable, with a rocky, uneven, treacherous terrain.
But just keep walking.
Your heart may be racing; your legs may be failing, and you may be breathless.
But just keep walking.
Keep walking toward your goal.
Keep walking toward your joy, your peace.
Keep walking toward your brighter tomorrow.
Never return to the abuse, the turmoil, the destruction.
Run away from the toxic attempts to reclaim your soul.
Run away from the confusion and dysfunction.
Run away from the vicious lies and conceit that thirst for your demise.
Never look back to the broken shards of those shattered dreams.
The you who was there is no more.
The you who was then can never be again.
Those expectations, desires and demands can’t fit you anymore.
You’d be as a butterfly crumbling her wings to fit back in the cocoon .
Your heart would be as the bird clipping her flight to crawl back inside the shell.
Your mind would become as the prisoner who once tasted freedom then slammed the prison door and became insane.
Just keep walking toward your hope that has become today.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord…
When you’re lonely and feel no one cares, where does your heart go?
When you’re afraid and search every corner for harm, where does your heart hide?
When you’re broken and believe not one could mend a shattered piece, where does your heart reach?
Run to the Only One who can love unconditionally.
Hide in the Shadow of the One who can defend.
Take comfort in the Only One who can heal a ravaged soul.
He is looking, and He sees the child He created.
He is lingering, and He adores you.
He is waiting, and He loves you.
One touch, one word, one moment in His presence…
Your heart will never be the same.
He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:10-11
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
No matter where you are on the trail, keep walking.
No matter how you feel, keep walking.
No matter who’s around, keep walking.
Just keep moving, keep going forward.
You can do this. You can make it.
Don’t worry about finishing first or finishing best.
Those things come in time.
Sometimes, you just need to focus on finishing.
Do it. And you’ll be glad you did.
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:7-8
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
All of us go through the struggle of feeling less than.
Less that perfect.
Less than amazing.
Less than good.
Less than we should be.
Never let those moments of low convince you to quit.
Never let those minutes of doubt persuade you to quit.
It’s natural. We’ve all been there.
But the great heroes in this world never let the failure consume them.
The courageous leaders we see never let the darkness overtake without lighting a match.
So, strike that wood. Let it spark.
And even if you have to blow in the embers,
Let the flame burn.
And keep standing taller.
You’ll eventually get there.
You can do this!
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Somebody who is reading this right now needs to read that quote again:
Your worth is not determined by someone’s ability to appreciate it.
Too many of us live in a place of less than because we’re looking for someone’s approval, someone’s appreciation, even when we deny that reality.
We walk around every day stating we don’t need someone else’s admiration; yet, one slight deviation in their behavior, and we’re a wreck.
We puff our chests out like a peacock with the confidence to scale the highest height; yet, one small disagreement, and we melt under the weight of feeling we will never measure up.
So, if this is you today, scroll back up and read that quote one more time:
Your worth is not determined by someone’s ability to appreciate it.
I know. I’m still rereading it, too.
We will grow together. We will stretch together. And we will read this together until we get it.
Words often bounce around in the brain, and although, you’ve read them and comprehend the language, it might take longer to understand it within your heart.
You are enough.
You’re not too much or too little.
You’re not over the top or under the bar level.
You’re not pressing too deep or living too shallow.
You are enough.
And how do I know this?
Because He tells me so.
And that is enough.
Now, to just read that quote one more time.
I might truly get it this time around…
Your worth is not determined by someone’s ability to appreciate it!
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully andwonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Psalm 139:13-14
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Being in the church culture these days, I hear much said about what a Christian should or shouldn’t say, how a Christian should or shouldn’t respond.
There’s always a new vantage point, a new opinion they needs to be heard, and typically, there will be two or three in oration at various times, even if these are in opposition to one another.
So, who is right and who is wrong?
Who are we to listen to?
Who are we to follow?
Well, for Jesus followers, the answer is abundantly clear, or at least, it would be argued that it “should be.”
Yet, even in the Church Body, there are varying opinions, beliefs and denominations that cause us all to land at various points of standards concerning any one given “biblical rule.”
So again, who is right and who is wrong?
Who are we to listen to?
Who are we to follow?
We definitely need to start in the Word of God. If you claim to be a Jesus follower, that truly should be your book of preference for daily living and lifestyle.
And then, we definitely should start with the life of Christ. If He’s your main guy, then mirroring His examples will definitely be helpful.
And finally, starting with the specific things God loves (there are seven actually listed in specificity), and maybe the greatest commandments of which Jesus Himself spoke might be great beginning.
By the time I do these three suggestions to their fullness, it’s usually bedtime, and I don’t have a lot more time to add more opinions or fingers to point toward all the things everyone might be getting wrong.
Maybe we should all take a step back and begin again.
Maybe we should all take a moment in front of the mirror and take a really long, hard look inside.
Maybe we should grab His love letter to us and begin reading for what it has for US and to convince US instead of all it doesn’t have for THEM and has to condemn THEM.
And maybe, just maybe, by the time we do these three things, we will have given enough time for Him to begin to change us from the inside out.
And then, maybe there will begin to be a whole lot less wrong AMONG US, and we can become a whole lot more effective FOR HIM…
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:34-40
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
the grizzle grist mill 