Grief is like the boulder hopping moments of life.
To succeed in getting to the sunset, you’ve got to keep moving.
To achieve the goal of the setting horizon, you’ve got to keep taking the jump.
To get past the hardest points, one foot must stay in front of the other.
Even if you slip. Even if you stumble.
Keep going forward. Keep going beyond.
You’ll get there.
Eventually.
And you’ll be so glad you did.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.
It will wash away the sorrow. It will wash away the pain.
For music is a healing song that will woe the flesh to bend.
Music is a song of peace, an anthem to the derelict.
And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
1 Samuel 16:23
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
When you’re in the middle of those toxins that are choking you, walk.
When you find yourself surrounded by the dunes of hostility and anger, walk.
When all you can see is the fiery darts of bitterness and hatred, walk.
Sometimes, it’s just better to remove yourself than to expect the other to change.
When you realize you’ve landed in the center of their pain, and they refuse to care, walk.
When you recognize you’re not helping, and those receiving refuse to give, walk.
When all you hear is the negative, the criticism, the accusations, walk.
You don’t have to stay to prove you’re right.
You don’t have to remain in the mud to express your love.
You don’t have to maintain the relationship when the abuse and jealousy are the weights.
This is not your punishment nor reward.
This is not your purpose or calling.
This is not your destiny.
Walk on, my friend.
Walk on.
But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:48-50
Do not rob the poor because he is poor, Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.
The holidays always bring with them interesting family dynamics and semantics.
For some, it’s just simply dealing with the edges of uncomfortable scenarios and conversations, but nothing real out of the way.
No harm. No foul.
For others, it’s complete removal from the dysfunction and toxic environment which accompanies family, celebrations and traditions.
Survival of the Fittest or Crabs in a Barrel.
For most, it can just be learning to navigate between the two extremes.
The Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Wherever you find yourself during your yearly festivities, strive to do better.
Better yet, don’t just strive to survive.
Learn to thrive!
Your thriving isn’t going to look like another’s.
So, do what you can do to succeed.
Their crazies aren’t yours, and yours aren’t theirs.
They don’t have to understand.
Happy Crazy Holidays.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Psalm 92:12-15
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider thatthe longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they doalso the rest of the Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you know thisbeforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
*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.
Sometimes, we stay so long, receiving abuse, pain and turmoil until we are beat to a pulp.
But we stay because we need love.
Sometimes, we remain in a tornado of split personalities, control and narcissism until we feel insane instead of calm.
But we stay because we need comfort.
Sometimes, we maintain the friendship, believing one day it will change, or worse, we’ve become blinded by the toxic norm.
But we stay because we need acceptance.
Yet, once our eyes behold truth…
There’s no backing up from reality.
There’s no returning to what was.
There’s no retreat from the withdrawal.
Sometimes, to be truly free, you must walk.
And never look back.
Seeing truth is discernment.
Knowing truth is wisdom.
Doing truth is courage.
Enduring truth is faith.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
It always amazes me when I see competition among believers.
I’m not talking about healthy competitions that compares with the disciples desire to be valued in the eyes of Christ.
Some of that can spur us to greatness as we leave our laziness, apathy and fears and hunger to succeed in the Kingdom of God.
I’m talking about the raw, unheeded ambition of the carnal mind.
That desire to be great that is embraced with the hands of greed that will strangle anyone who dares to challenge.
I’m talking about that ugly, adulterated, sinful lust for power, position and prestige that is bred in the bed of jealousy, envy and pride.
When this epitome of nasty nature raises its eyes to take hold of a prize, never realizing the price paid for what is coveted…
The disasters that follow are both heart wrenching and horrifying.
No one knows the anguish filled steps that led to the other man’s mountaintop.
No one knows the sorrow that held that woman’s hand on her journey to success.
No one knows the torment of her nightmares that she finally turned into the dream.
Never suspire another man’s gain before you realize the price he paid.
You shall notcovet your neighbor’s house; you shall notcovet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Exodus 20:17
Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus…
the grizzle grist mill 