God Knows Better

I listened to the Lord’s still small voice in my heart pull me away from coaching PE. I loved coaching but obeyed. Now, I see why He did this. My husband is having surgery and I need to be there for him. God knew this. He knows better than I do. Every time, this is true. Sometimes I think I might know more, at least I used to. No more of that nonsense.

The more life experience I get, the more I realize three vitally important truths:

1. how little I truly know,

2. how much God does know and

3. how to humbly trust Him who knows better.

Master these, commit them to memory and practice and life will be much better and sweeter for your efforts. 😄❤

Honoring God

The goal of every person, every church, every city or town, every community, every state, every country should be to honor God.

Pretty bold statement, isn’t is? Maybe, but that is a reflection of where we are now in our worldly deviant state, but that does not mean it is not true. Not only is it true, it is how we were all made.

Even one’s own personal decisional concerning this design not change this truth. Truth is truth and design is design, regardless of what anyone thinks about it.

We need to get back to honoring God. Personally and communally. When we do this, God blesses and rewards, protects and answers. Guaranteed. If not in this life then in the next. 😄❤

Reminder That God Answers Humble, Faith-Filled Prayers

Just wanted to remind you, in this extraordinarily distracting and busy world, that God is still in control and always answers humble, faith-filled prayers. That has not ever changed because He does not change, His faithful, loving character dictates this. God hears you. He knows you by name and how many hairs are on your head (or legs if hair on the head is sparse lol) in a given moment. We must remember through the distractions and cares and worries and busy-ness that fact, that truth. Pray and believe it. Pray that God will send the cold front faster so Dorian turns sooner to do less damage. Then believe He will do it. And pray believing and with humbleness and a right, purified-by-Jesus mind and He will answer that prayer. This is how He works and it is an excellent example. Works in any circumstance. He wants us to remember, have faith and be humble. The God who has upheld and protected the great, beautiful state of Israel, still upholds us also. He is so very good and His grace, love and mercy are very generous to us who pray. Remember that always and get praying for this Dorian situation and any needs you have. Be saved, humble and have faith and God will answer. Every time this is true. He loves us so much!❤

Fighting for Control is Stupid

Ok, here me out, control freaks. I was one of y’all. I was probably amazingly good at it, compared to most. I could bend and manipulate things in my desired direction, always with the best of intentions for the common good (my basis for justification). I wanted things to work out best for those I loved. I made it happen. Boy, was I stupid. Why stupid? Because it always bombed later because (and here is the crux of the matter) I AM NOT GOD. I never will be. It is stupid to play God and stupid to believe we ever have a handle on control of anything except ourselves, and we even need His help for that.

Now, good thing for us God is loving and gives us this free will thing so we can choose for ourselves whether to be stupid or smart and come to Him for help with this life thing He gave us.

The perception of control is a construct of lies based on an enlarged ego/pride problem. So being humble and contrite is the way to break it and be smart. And being smart is always better than being stupid, even always. So stop fighting for control except of yourself and meet up with God. This is where wisdom begins. 😄❤

Uglier than you Think

Sin is uglier than you think. Sin lies. The basis of every sin is a lie. Every single sin is based on a lie. You will get what you want of you do this. You will get more attention if you do this. You will be loved if you do this. You will be more popular, more satisfied, more beautiful, more powerful, more free whatever. Sin uses “more” a lot. And they are all lies. And all lies disappoint and bond you to them, putting you in bondage. So the opposite is true. Not doing that sin actually brings life and freedom and peace and joy and fulfillment. In fact, humbly obeying God is beautifully freeing and wonderful. Sin lies to bind you and harm you, evil’s goal. God loves to free us and uplift us, Love’s goal. We get to decide! Choose right and live free in truth!❤

Benefits of Being Married Long Term to an Addict

Many people believe there is only negative in being married to an addict (it does not matter the addiction of choice- they all look the same ugly in a spouse and are all rooted in false beliefs, lies, sin and pride). There are many advantages and blessings. Some are the following:

1. Being humbled every day allows a contrite heart to flourish. It is next to impossible to feel like the center of anyone’s life or attention who already has their addiction as the center. Yes, the downside is that often even God and obedience comes after the addiction, but I am showing the positive and it is true that you cannot help but be humble when married to an addict. This helps a lot when working on contrition with the Lord. And that is a hurdle to faith most people really struggle with.

2. You depend on and trust in God only and that is very healthy spiritually. You cannot depend on the addict often but you realize quickly (because of the contrition mentioned earlier) that you can always depend on and trust in God.

3. You love truth. You realize that the addict, although in denial with lies and false beliefs, is riddled with guilt and fear all the time and lies like they breathe. This is so obvious and lies upon lies gets old. So you love truth. I read my Bible all the time, loving every word, every truth it is. You truly appreciate truth more than most do.

4. You accept and learn to be content in God. You appreciate everything good in life, really appreciate every blessing, every kind word, every word of encouragement, every friend who sticks around, every prayer where you feel God there with you. You appreciate more. You are thankful for a home with air conditioning, transportation, food, all those blessings people take for granted. You are content with unimportance. You are happy with every blessing and know full well that God is enough every day, every time, every moment.

5. You develop a thick chin. You realize that what God says about you is the truth and are thankful for it. You realize the truth is not in the accusations and put downs and anger/rages that always accompany the adddictions because of their nature and guilt and fear. You realize that God lovingly made you and sleep alone for years or not, you are beautiful inside, God lovingly made and gifted you. You are incredibly beautiful because God’s glory shines through you. So beautiful!

6. Forgiveness comes easily. You have to forgive so much and are humbled and contrite that forgiveness comes super easily. You have to forgive to survive. You forgive because you love. And you forgive because God forgave you and you want to be forgiven and have your prayers answered.

7. Greater faith in God. You rely on God for every encouragement, every good thing, every solution to every abuse, every emotional anything, healing when stress is getting to you, every comfort when lonely, everything. This is invaluable in a walk with the Lord and makes us closer. And heaven will be so much more beautiful!

8. You show them God’s true love. When you stay with an addict, you have the chance to show them love. In fact, the act of staying married to the addict is the strongest show of love along with the forgiveness. Love is patient, kind, self-sacrificing, humble, real, truthful, joyful, peaceful, faithful (even if they are not), etc. We are responsible for how we love. And love is purely beautiful.

9. You are in obedience to God. God hates divorce and if it can possibly be avoided, it should be. There are many blessings and rewards for obedience to God.

I hope you understand better the blessings involved in being and staying married long term to an addict. No one is perfect except Jesus. Staying married is your choice I would say largely because of these blessings and love. And God’s love is the greatest force I know.❤

Just a Reminder About Grass

Just a friendly reminder: Grass is never greener on the other side/someone else’s yard unless it’s the weeds you are noticing. Weeds can look pretty green, even have pretty little flowers on them, and there may be playground equipment on it that looks mighty fun. But alas, upon closer inspection, weeds, only rotten weeds, and the playground is broken down, only looks fun, no substance. Nope, take care of your own grass, tend it, fertilize it, own it. When it finally dies, pave it and paint it green. Memorize this: “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” ❤