So many live out their lives in fear. Reacting to failure. Reacting to pain. Reacting to violence. Reacting to disastrous times.
No precept. No plans. No purpose.
Only reaction upon reaction to circumstance, feelings and desire.
Not enough live their lives by sheer courage. Having courage is choosing to be equipped. Choosing to be intentional. Choosing to be in the moment. Choosing to make the right choices regardless of common ground.
Know preparation. Know purpose. Know peace.
Choosing to respond or not to respond. Speak or not to speak. But always thinking. Always alert. Always deliberate of the choice.
That’s courage.
It’s not having all confidence or even all knowledge. It’s never about being the strongest or having the most.
Courage is the choice to do right and to be right no matter who stands against you. No matter who discourages. No matter who disagrees.
Have courage today. Be different. Make a difference.
And you can change the world.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
John 1:9
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
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.
Desires can thrust you into success or throw you down in shame.
And what you do with hidden desires will be the difference in honor or humiliation.
Desires have to be pulled out into the sunlight and exposed to verity and axiom.
Desires have to have the magnifying glass of honesty peered over them in full.
Desires have to be broken down with integrity and authenticity all wrapped in accountability.
Otherwise when concealed, neglected, and cloaked with insignificance, those same desires will become a dragon thirsty for flesh.
Those veiled desires throw off their disguises and unleash a furious reckoning that cannot be hinged.
So no matter how wise of a sage you have grown to be,
Those ignored desires will grow to be a beast not easily reconciled or silenced.
No matter the might you believe you posses,
No matter the expertise you trust you’ve acquired,
If those desires are held in secret, they will become your evil demise.
Reveal them to absolute truth and faithfulness, and those demons who seek your soul may be impeded and chained.
…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battlewithin you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:1-3
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, yousinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
It’s so true that there are many things of which we have no control of our choices.
Decade in which we are born.
Parents. Birth location. Upbringing.
Physical attributes. Talents. IQ.
These things are given to us, and we have no say.
Yet, we do have a say in how we respond, in how we handle, and in how we carry on once we have them.
And this choosing results in our character.
Which is also a choice.
And it also will become our voice.
How we respond to the things we cannot control will determine our promotions, our successes, and our influences.
We are never a victim.
Being a victim is a choice. And that choice brings about our character.
When we choose to hate these things out of our control, or maybe just fight against them in a rage that wounds all those around us, it shows our character as rude, spiteful and selfish.
When we choose to embrace these things out of our control as chains, and we are just a martyr for the cause, or maybe we just can’t do any better because of all that has befallen us, it shows our character as weak, whiny and self centered.
Yet, when we choose to accept these things out of our control, fight against the things that would try to inhibit us, and become overcomers inspite of the pain, the turmoil and the difficulties, it shows our character as bold, courageous and focused.
And when we take this tenacious attitude a step further and begin to show others how to overcome their own obstacles, it shows our character as loving, giving, and outward seeking.
We can be a hero or a zero.
The choice is ours.
What will you choose today?
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
And bonus: when you’ve walked through the fire, and you’ve slain your dragon, there are those following.
And they need your victory.
So, be like Joan. Be not afraid.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Every one of us will have a battle in life, one that should be terrifying, paralyzing.
There will be a Goliath in your life who seeks to devour you.
Maybe you’ve found you have more than one.
If you’ve not seen one yet, just keep on living.
Whether you choose to fight that Goliath or not, he will be there.
He will taunt you.
He will insult.
He will rage.
But the difference in a response filled with confidence and a response of fear or shame is in the source.
The source of your weapon.
The source of your armor.
The source of your hope for victory.
If your reliance is in your stones, you may fail.
If your dependence is in your sling, you may falter.
If your security is in yourself, your abilities and your position, or even your heritage, you may not succeed.
But if your confidence lies in your Creator,
If your faith is secure in the very One who has given you life, you need not worry.
You need not fear or tremble.
For He desires you to win even more than you could want for yourself.
And He longs for triumph and glory for His name.
So, choose your stones and set your sling.
Confide in Him and set your mark.
You will defeat that giant, because Christ will be standing behind you to fling that rock to bring about total domination!
And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
*I do not own or have rights to this pic. Google search/Fb repost*
You weren’t made to stay in the valley.
You weren’t made to remain stuck in the mire.
We all feel pain.
We all have heartache.
We all experience tragedy.
The brokenness of life was never meant to be a trophy we wear nor a badge we frame for the wall.
The hardship didn’t come for you to create a fortress around and hail the crisis as king.
We all feel the rain.
We all have tornadic seasons.
We all experience death, sorrow and grief.
You weren’t made to linger in the basin of despair.
You weren’t made to hover in canyon of defeat.
Look up. Cry for help. Claw your way out.
Write your survival guide and pass it along to the next to-be survivor.
Your destiny is waiting, and your little ones are watching.
Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: ‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.
Isaiah 45:1-4
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
I felt like I had a bit of posting overload today, on Veterans Day, but maybe it’s simply because it means more to me today than it ever has.
See, I’ve always been thankful for our veterans, but when you learn a new story, receive a new testimony, and it’s all wrapped up in a life you never knew even living so close to you, your heart grasps a whole new level of gratefulness.
So many never share their stories.
Too many are haunted by their demons.
Even more just ask the question, “Why?”
To unravel these mysteries, it would take too many lifetimes to start, but I have one plea to those who served,
“Please, tell your stories. Share your pain and your victory. Maybe you can’t relive, but if you remain silent, it’s easier for us to forget.”
To reinstall the honor and respect from the young may take decades to come, but I have one plea to those coming behind,
“Please, listen to the ages. Read. Research. Ask. Be curious and be hungry for knowledge. For if we never grasp the value, it’s easier to forget.”
Lives have been lost. Scars have been branded, and tears have been shed to bring you freedom.
Let us not take it for granted.
Let us never forget their valiant sacrifices. ❤️🇺🇸❤️
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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