In the vast expanse of the Grand Canyon, one small tree branch can seem minuscule.
Just as my life can seem futile in the sense populate of the human race.
What can my life accomplish among so many?
How can my life make an impact within he density of the crowd?
And it would be so easy to stay tucked away in a hole, never reaching, never moving.
Yet, how is it with that little one by your side?
How is it with the coworker across the room?
How is it with the roommate on your hall
How is it with the ones surrounding you day to day?
If you quit, who will lead them?
If you let go, who will breathe life to them?
If you walk away, who will speak hope and truth?
That small branch on the side of the canyon might be the resting place for the weary, fluttering butterfly.
That small branch might be just the finishing touch for the next of a feathered friend.
The insignificance we feel might be just the highlighted reel of the one who can’t see tomorrow.
Don’t look out over the sphere and lose your way.
Look right in front of you, beside you and behind and reach.
Be hope. Be light. Be truth. Be life.
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
Proverbs 4:18-19
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice would actually be two statements given by different people, but the statements work together:
It takes 1,000 tiny miracles to make a marriage work.
Marriage will only last best when Christ is at the center.
These might sound a bit cliche, and if you don’t have a relationship with Christ; then, it might not even make sense to you. Or if you’ve “been a Christian but everything went wrong in my marriage/in life,” then, it might be a difficult concept for you to accept.
Let me say this loud and clear and long:
Just because the statement did not/does not ring true in your own life, does not make the statement untrue.
That’s why these two statements work so well together. It truly takes a 1,000 tiny miracles to get the right two people together, at the right time, in the right location, under the right circumstances, and in the right context, in the right season for each.
Much more is it tiny miracles that keep those two love birds together over time. After all, he is marrying a woman. And she is marrying a man. Imagine that. Lol. They think differently, act differently, speak differently, react differently, even feel differently. How in the world can that work?
And that’s where God comes in. He is the Creator of our very lives. He designed every part of us and breathed breath into our lungs. How could He not be the miracles working within our lives? But there’s one caveat. He allows us to have the freewill of choice.
You heard me right. He’s the Almighty, great Creator of heaven and earth and all that we see. He is the Master Designer of all creation and of the intricate, complex beings called humans. He is the Alpha Omega, the Beginning and the End, meaning He can create and finish life and everything in it and around it.
Yet, He in His ultimate design, He gives us the ability to choose. We can choose Him or not. We can choose love or hate. We can choose life or death. We get the beautiful freedom of choice.
And what we do with that choice will determine the beautiful finality of those 1,000 tiny miracles that it takes to make a marriage work. What we do in choosing determines where we end up in life and who we end up with. What we do with the choices determines how we think, how we speak, how we act, interact and react, and it determines how we live our lives.
Every. Single. Day.
Every. Single. Minute of that Day.
Every. Single. Second of that Minute of that Day.
These choices don’t automatically make us somehow perfect. They don’t make us sinless. But if we’re daily choosing Christ and the things of Him, it will make us seek perfection, and it will make us sin less. And if two people are seeking, choosing, sacrificing and loving in these ways, it surely helps to support and strengthen a healthy union.
So, what will you choose?
Or better yet, WHO will you choose?
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Sometimes, it’s the small, insignificant things that end up mattering the most. We can be so focused on the big picture that the portrait diminishes because we failed to notice the details.
Be aware of the little nuances whether in people, situations or surroundings.
Being able to notice can be a game changer.
Sometimes, it’s the small, seemingly insignificant things that will unravel the larger, more glamorous moments because it’s truly the little things that being together the big.
This is true in paintings.
This is true in circumstances.
This is true in relationships.
This is true in life.
If we ignore the minuscule things that make up the whole, we can miss a vital key that can unlock future and further withholding.
Don’t ignore the small things.
They can truly turn out to be the big things.
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Dealing with trauma can be excruciating. And just as a wounded animal wants to lash out and wound anyone who would try to help, we as humans will also have a tendency to lash out and bring harm when we are hurting.
We will rear back and punch an honest bystander simply because she leans in to take a second look. We will react with violent anger because he offers a gentle hand. We will claw and bite when they surround and hover, only hoping to give a comforting word or a compassionate nod.
The pain we feel can be so deep and seem so lasting that it actually feels unfair to see a world who is unaffected by it.
The agony can be so debilitating that we feel justified in our knee-jerk reactions and spiteful words because after all, they can’t possibly understand all that we’ve endured.
But what does wounding another accomplish? It doesn’t remove the gash. It certainly never heals the scar. It only leaves those in our wake with their own needed recovery.
And the enemy of our soul celebrates the victory of our further demise. The demons that watched our first injury shout with glee as they observe our continual upheaval and destruction of another.
This is his goal. This is his ultimate objective.
Bring annihilation to all, not just one.
And bring it through the hands of the tortured who should rather be seeking to pour the healing balm.
So, recognize his tactics.
Become keenly aware of his ploys.
And vehemently reject his satisfaction.
Through the bleeding, learn to praise the One who gave you breath.
Through the brokenness, seek to pour the oil of mending on those who are the weakest.
Through the injustice, desire to be the wounded healer embracing instead of victimizing.
Work through the muck and mire to find His calm.
Extend your heart with all it’s shattered dreams to find His love.
And as you do, stretch yourself to find someone deeper in the pit than you have fallen and struggle to lift them up and pull them out.
When you do, you’ll find yourself conquering the enemy with your peace.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
In that alternate universe, I will not grow old. And in this current life, hitting half a century this year has been one of both joy and a slight irritation.
In that alternate reality, I will not feel pain, sorrow, or grief. I will not deal with disappointment, aggravation or even the threat of disenchantment.
In that new world, there will be no anger, no hatred, no violence, no death.
Can you imagine?
The tears will be wiped from our eyes, and we will never experience agony again. We will never feel heartbreak, regret or brokenness.
Everything will be made new.
Everything will be healed.
Everything will be refreshed, revitalized, restored to it’s beginning.
I will have no failures, no blemish, no flaw.
I will be made perfect, and you will, too.
Can you even imagine?
Oh, won’t it be grand?
And it will all last for eternity.
And to top it off, it won’t be an alternative.
It will be true reality.
You want to come?
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
Revelation 21:1-5
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
They claim we simply must be more kind, more loving, and more peaceful.
Yet, when love is proclaimed so elementary by pointing fingers at others and declaring what you must do,
I believe we are neglecting to look in the mirror at our own souls to see what we must do.
When kindness is demanded from others so readily, and it is said to be performed so smoothly,
I believe we are avoiding the reality that our flesh never truly desires to be gracious and kind.
No one is born good. We are not birthed in righteousness.
Our natural tendencies do not lend themselves to be like Christ without first dying to self.
If we long to truly be like Christ, we must remember He had a wilderness where He was hungry, tempted and had to be bold in faithfulness.
If we truly long to be like Christ, we must remember He had a Gethsemane where He was alone, discouraged and had to be brave in love.
If we long to truly be like Christ, we must remember He had a cross by which He was broken, disgraced and had to be truthful in kindness.
If we truly long to be like Christ, we must remember He had a Judas by whom He was betrayed, ambushed and had to be confrontation in peace.
When we profess others should be Christlike, we need to actually know who Christ is and what He did.
When we confess a desire to be Christlike, we need to actually recognize who our Savior is and what He did.
When we assert there is a common ground with a mighty King, we must acknowledge and embrace what must be crucified within us to become someone we are never capable of becoming
Without first, surrendering all to Him.
This is to be Christlike.
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet 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 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:9-11
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
In our modern age, it seems there are becoming more and more polarizations to right and wrong.
Yet there also seems to be more twisting to truth than I believe I’ve ever seen before.
Too often, good is being called evil and evil is being called good.
Too often, those fighting for justice will de over and connive to achieve their purposed goal rather than seeking for truth no matter the cost.
And for certain circles, if you disagree with the relative truth they’ve created, you are relegated as hateful, rude, and even wicked.
Where is the logic in any of this?
Where is the sanity to this altered reality?
There is none.
And my statement of fact will send many into a tumultuous and relentless battle of words.
What happened to the days when truth was sought above all?
What happened to the lives who sought truth at all cost?
There has to be an absolute truth on which to hold firm.
And even if you disagree with that truth, it doesn’t make you a demon of the abyss.
And it doesn’t make you freakish, deformed, or necessarily of a nonredemptive evil.
It just simply makes you wrong.
An absolute truth does not move for modernity.
And absolute truth doesn’t change with new winds of doctrine, opinions or even popularity.
An absolute truth stands firm in it’s truth.
An absolute truth stands true through the tests of time.
And an absolute truth is a rock upon which you can fall and it will sustain you.
I have found this absolute truth.
I will hold on to it.
I will bind myself to it.
And I will run to it in torrential times.
It is a truth that with change you forever.
And unless you’ve found it as well, please know that when my absolute truth disagrees with you, it is not hatred I bring.
It is a love, a peace and a hope that will transform you, heart, mind, body and soul.
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Too often, people blame their circumstances for their behavior.
They blame someone else for their poor choice.
They blame their upbringing for their bad response.
They blame this one or that one for their own failure.
Tragedy comes to all us in one way, shape, form or another.
Trauma befalls every individual on the planet.
(If it hasn’t hit you yet, just keep on living.)
It’s not the events that matter.
As much as, it’s what you do with it.
It’s what choices you make to get out of it, to keep fighting, to win.
A champion never wins by staying on the mat when he’s knocked down.
A hurdle jumper never sees success by remaining on the asphalt on top of the broken hurdle.
A rower never receives the medal by flailing in the water once knocked out of the boat.
We’re not promised good fortune simply because of what family line, nation, or skin color we have.
Our modern society claims if you’re born into the right circumstances, you will always win.
And those same people claim if your birth brings you into the wrong heritage, wrong race, or wrong town, you’ll never achieve more.
Lies. All lies. Never embrace those fallacies.
Show me a person who cannot succeed when effort is made.
Show me a person who cannot achieve when sacrifices are made.
Show me a person who cannot triumph when the passion is deep within.
Does it mean some have it easier than others?
Sure. That’s the life we live.
But never hate someone for the blessings she has been given.
You never know the cost that has been paid.
Never curse someone for the accolades he is presented.
You never know the hell he had to live before you saw the crown.
Stay focused on your purpose.
Stay tuned in to your faults.
Grasp the convictions needed.
Stay fixed on your goals.
Your success never depends on them.
It depends on the determination within.
And sometimes, you’re no longer winning because you’ve lost the two vital ingredients to score:
Coaching and support.
Everyone needs someone better in their corner. Let them refine you.
Everyone needs someone to cheer them in the darkness. Let them soothe you.
But never let them coddle, pacify, or justify your resignation.
Fight to win.
Win to testify it can be done.
Extend a hand to someone else.
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
2 Timothy 1:12
The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.
My journey didn’t stop with mere time travel or writing; it led me to become one of the most sought-after empaths, a soulful psychic who reads the hidden depths of the human spirit. I’ve been blessed—or perhaps burdened—with an ability that allows me to feel the emotions of people from every corner of time.
I am a licensed psychologist based in Greece. My love for housekeeping has inspired me to create this blog about home management and family relationships. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!
Dedicated to movie nerdom, nostalgia, and escape. In the late 90s, I worked at Blockbuster Video where they let me take home two free movies a day. I caught up on the classics and reviewed theatrical releases for Denver 'burbs newspapers and magazines. Today, while raising two young, beautiful daughters with my amazing wife, I look forward to anything rated R and not Bluey. Comments and dialogue encouraged!
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