Sometimes, the day doesn’t feel so whimsical
And you wonder what to form beneath your pen
In that moment of indecision and doubt
Just turn to your old faithful friend, Winnie the Pooh
And He can always help you out 💗
… think I might need some tea and honey now, too…🍯
Sometimes, I think we get so consumed with the agendas we keep and the responsibilities placed upon us that we forget who we are. We step into the whirlwind of calendars, appointments, wishes and desires, and we forget our purpose, our progress and our potential. We simply lay down who we were meant to be and pick up all the expectations of someone else.
STOP IT! LET IT GO! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think so. In this modern culture, Christians are relegated to being these hyper, over-the-top, radical, nonsense-speaking idiots simply because we do not want to conform to the liberal mindset of the world. Just because the louder voices among us hate who we are doesn’t mean we should listen to them. Just because those voices threaten to disagree or spew ridicule doesn’t mean we should lay down every bit of goodness and righteousness simply because they can’t see.
Who gave them that kind of authority? Who released their judgement as right and true? Unfortunately, WE DID. We’ve got to STOP!
We were never called to be like this world. We were never destined to yield our beliefs and our standards to the crowd who disagrees. They oppose our very being, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t exist.
We need to stop listening to the lies of hatred and start reading again. We need to shut off the news and the media and get back to our prayer closets and our houses of worship. We’ve stayed in the mainstream so long, we’ve forgotten who we’re called to be. We’ve sought after man’s approval for far too long, and we’ve neglected Whose affirmation matters most: His. We need to return to our first live and forsake our worldly adorations.
Does that mean we become hermits, shut off from the world, never listening, never speaking, never approaching the differences around us? NO. Does that mean we become relics, hovering over our Bibles, never engaging in intellectual conversations, never debating our faith, never communicating the gospel to those who dispute our every move? NO. Does that mean we become hate-filled and ridiculously unapproachable, “preachy,” and “religious minded.” NO.
It simply means, we return to Him, and allow His light to shine once more. It means we remember our purpose, our calling, our destiny. It is not to settle into this world nor the things of it. It means we recollect our history, our heritage and our home, and we seek to live in Him and not of them! It means we go out, take this story He has given us and all we’ve learned of Him and share it, sprinkle it, “seed” it into the ground He places before us. It means we recollect those promises He’s given, we reminisce those moments of victory He has delivered, we relive those miracles He’s brought to our everyday life, and we share them with this world around us.
Stop trying to fit in and follow, and start standing out and LEAD!
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” 1 John 4:4-6
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
Sometimes, you just need a bath…
Wash away the muck and mire of life’s journey. Purify. Purge. Expunge.
Blot out the ugly and the waste of living experiences. Scour. Sanitize. Refine.
Wipe off and polish up for a new beginning.
Fridays are a good day to accomplish a good cleansing. It’s the end of the work week, right before the free weekend.
Great time to make anew.
How ’bout it? Are you ready to let it all go?
Where does the trail of life lead you?
Do you run down it, trees and grass, asphalt and people, just a blurt around you?
Do you saunter down it, the environment just there for your parade?
Do you drag your feet behind, dreading every step as you draw closer to your destination?
Or could you possibly walk, pausing along the way to take in the sights, breathe in the air, let it consume you in the moment?
Could you possibly stop to smell the roses and count them, one by one?
Don’t miss out on what’s right in front of you because you’re looking too far behind or searching too far ahead… ❤️
Penned – MG – 10/9/19
I love this little conversation between Pooh and Piglet. It speaks volumes on so many levels. It speaks to both the depressed and the friends of those who may be struggling.
It truly breaks my heart when I hear of a person who remains in depression, or due to that depression, a person who has committed suicide, and in the current cultural push of awareness, we hear so many blogs, posts and notices that we should check on our friends, we should reach out, and we should be there for those suffering. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, and I believe the awareness should be alive and well. However, what I see happening in this push, and what I wish would also be pushed at the same heightened state, is those who are struggling desperately need to speak up just as much as friends need to be aware!
I love what Pooh says to Piglet, he had a difficult day, but he didn’t really want to talk about it. Too often, it seems the focus of awareness is so pivoted on those left behind, but if we say anything directed toward the one who remained silent, then, we are relegated as being insensitive, cold and even cruel in our approach.
Yet, if I could intervene with this blame (and justification) game, I wish I could. Speaking truth into someone’s life, especially, someone who is in trouble and may even become dangerous to themselves or someone else, is not being cruel and heartless. Sometimes, it can be a lifesaver!
If I am standing in the street, and a Mack truck is flying down the road, and I am just too sad, too depressed or even too blind to see it, please, someone scream, yell, or run over to me and yank me out of that street!! Because sometimes, the best thing for a person is not a coddling and pampering but a spoken word of truth that helps to bring them back to reality.
Be like the butterfly
Float on the air
Search out the beauty
Light gently and with ease
Fly away from drama or danger
Penned – 9/24/19 – MG
(UPDATE: For those who tried to read this early today…it sure does help when the picture is readable, huh? *insert eye roll! Sorry about that!!)
I saw this quote the other day, and I just loved it! It says so much!
In life, there are always going to be trials, challenges, and hurdles that we must overcome. If we come to the obstacle in the road, and never go over it, around it, or through it, then, we simply will never grow. If we constantly back away because of fear, intimidation or even laziness, we will never become who we were meant to be.
It doesn’t mean it will be an easy journey. Growing is hard. Changing is difficult. Sometimes, breaking an old habit or making a new one might feel as if it’s going to break us before we “break” it!
However, if you can persevere, if you can push through the hard, the victory will be unbelievable! The success will feel far better than the defeat! So, whatever you are facing today, press through.
Don’t give up! Don’t back down! Don’t turn around! Keep going, and I promise you, when that goal is achieved, you will breathe a sigh of relief, and the victory dance will be so sweet!
The flower is ever changing, growing, pushing through to be more, and when it has broken through the ground, and the bloom has burst forth, it’s beauty is there for all to see. What is more, the fragrance will fill the space and even change the atmosphere.
Press on.
Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Listened to this song for the first time today. Don’t know why I haven’t ever heard it before, but it speaks a message today. On this 18th anniversary of a horrific day in our history, I will remember. I will cherish, and I will never forget.
It’s not about a political party. It’s not about a race, a religion, or a heritage. It’s not even about a personal opinion or thought.
This was a day that radicalism thought it could rule. This was a day when hatred filled hearts surmised they could win. This was a day when evil consumed souls believed they had the upper hand and could bring down a powerful, mighty nation.
9/11 will forever be a day of remembered terrror, heartbreak and death. Yet, 9/12 will forever be a day remembered of a nation uniting to bring rescue, support, encouragement and comfort. The two days shall ever be etched in the memory blanks of my legacy.
This is a realization of what purpose can expose. This is a revelation of what a common bond can bring. This is a testament of what unity can do.
For evil and for good.
Never forget these days in your retelling of truth and of history. Share the brokenness, revel in the heroics and cherish the patriotism. Never forget, a people bound together in one cause, one focus, one goal can accomplish the unthinkable.
America, never forget.
Is God good, because of His own goodness, or is He good, because He does good things for us?
Many who are believers would automatically reply, “God is good simply because of His own goodness.” However, I’d question if you truly believe this truth. If this is your stance, let me challenge you with a question. “The last time a tragedy hit your family, did you say, ‘Praise God! He is so good!’ or did you rant and rage, wondering where God was in your hour of need? Did you rejoice and celebrate Him as the afflictions came into your life, or did you curse His name for ever tempting you with His promises of love and mercy?
Yet, for many nonbelievers, you might reply “God is good only when He proves He is good by bestowing blessings and goodness.” You might demand His eternal goodness for you to ever be obedient to His Word and submissive to His authority in your life. If this is your stance, let me challenge you with a question or two, “Why do you trust in all kinds of entities in this life that are proven to be untrustworthy; yet, to the one Deity that has been proven time and again (by scripture and by personal testimonies) to be trustworthy and faithful, you don’t hold the same standards?” You might wonder what I mean. Let me expound a bit…
So many, who question the integrity of God (because they feel “He has let them down” in one way or another) completely depend upon, and keep faithful, in entities of life which have proven to be faulty at one time or another. One example would be money. You hold onto that money, buying, selling, giving and receiving, as if it will last forever. You never question it’s worth. You never question it’s reliability. You never question if it will remain stable tomorrow, next week or even years from now, because you simply trust you will receive that paycheck, cash/deposit it, and withdraw it and use it at anytime you need. Yet, time has brilliantly proven the stock market can crash in a moment’s notice, and poverty can beset us all!
Another example would be government. (*Now, don’t get hostile on either side of the “party lines.” I’m not choosing sides here; I’ll hit you both. Lol.😂) You support that system; you trust that system; you invest in that system; you defend that system, and you live by whatever rules and regulations that system hands down to you or demands of you. Yet, time and again, through political scandals, bailouts, voter frauds, twisted officials and structural brokenness and gaps, that system had proven to be faulty and less than trustworthy.
There are so many examples to give, but I will give one final example here, and that would be simply the human condition. We all have people we have loved, people we have trusted, people we have leaned on, and people in whom we’ve confided our greatest fears and failures, our hopes and dreams. Yet, there have been people in each of our lives who have wounded us, damaged us or simply failed us in a multitude of ways (And if that’s not you, well, keep on livin’, my young friend). People have proven to just be people, with ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, and so much more. Yet, we keep repeating this cycle of trust time and time again.
So, with all of this on both ends of the spectrum, let me repeat the question, just so we are still on the same page…
Is God good, because of His own goodness, or is He good, because He does good things for us?
God is good, because He, in and of Himself, is full of goodness. Nothing He does can have bearing on His deity or on His character as God, because He is consumed of goodness and everything good comes from Him. He cannot lie. He cannot be untrustworthy, and He cannot fail.
Our believing the sun isn’t hot simply because we can’t touch it or feel it on a rainy day doesn’t change the gastric heat it contains. Our believing the ocean is no longer wet, because we are in a desert land and can’t presently be immersed in that sea doesn’t change a bit of the moisture it holds. Just as our believing God is no longer good because of a tragedy or because He didn’t grant our every wish never changes the goodness He is nor the goodness He can give.
God is God, nothing more and nothing less. His promises are true, and His goodness flows like a river for all to receive. All we must do is have the right perspective. We have to see Him clearly, and we have to believe.
Yeah, I’ll probably just leave that right there…
When you take care of you, and you remove toxic, dangerous or destructive people from your life, it’s okay to burn a few bridges. It’s not mean. It’s not hateful. It’s not even a spiteful act on your part (granted, you don’t add a lot of hatefulness in words or actions😉). Just burn that bridge and move beyond.
That girlfriend who chased you down, and then, went a bit psycho when you needed some space… yeah, burn that number.
That boyfriend who beat you to a pulp, and then, said he was sorry, wouldn’t do it again… yep, need to light a little fuse.
That childhood friendship whose crises-to-crises living is sucking the life from your veins… yes, close that door, burn that rope.
That old flame who wanted you to cheat on your spouse just so he/she could “make you feel alive” one more time… yeah, you better take that lighter fluid and pour the whole can out.
Walk away.
Light that match.
Burn that bridge.
You’re better than that. You deserve more.
And those who truly love you deserve more.
Do it now before you second guess yourself.
Just do it … and breathe.
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