Pulled Into Letting Go

The resurrection
is an empty tomb
that holds every hope we have ever known 🙌🏽

Because the stone turned back & a dead,
divine Man walked out…

then the whole of the world turns differently now,
and who can possibly now ever walk the same, breathe the same, love the same,
live the same?

🙌🏽He is risen.
*The Love revolution has begun & the whole universe turns different now … our hearts and lives turn different now… us all the rising people now 🙌🏽

- from “Loved to Life: a 40-Day Pilgrimage with Love Himself that Changes Your Life”
LovedtoLifePilgrimage.com

Graphic 🤍: 🙏🏽

Well this is shocking. He had just met with VP Vance and participated in an Easter parade yesterday....

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff who ministered with a charming, humble style, dies at 88 Pope Francis was history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change.

If you're worried about people who are "too damaged" attending your church today, you're using your 💖 wrong. Go clean it out.

I am a front pew Christian. Over the years, this has irritated a few people, and I've even been outright told to sit in the back of the church a few times. I've been chastised for it, and had several people tell me to be more humble about it, because I am "a filthy sinner" and "need to act like it".

Except that's exactly why I sit in the front pew ...

Are you familiar with the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42? They are sisters. Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and listen intently to His teaching, while Martha chose to busy herself with housework and hospitality. Martha became annoyed with Mary for not helping, and implored Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her. Jesus' response is posted below, in the image.

I have a strong tendency to be like Martha, even after God worked so hard to save me from the slavery to sin, and strongholds over my life that deeply affected my health and well-being. So on Sundays, I force myself to shut up and focus solely on His teaching because I know how desperately I need it. And I know how deeply grateful I am to Him for all He has done for me. It's the same reason I Worship Him all throughout the week while I work as a stay at home Mom, and volunteer in different capacities throughout my community.

I desperately need Him, and I am deeply grateful for Him.

The next time you see someone in the front pew at your church, please don't assume they think they're better than anyone else. Maybe they're trying to fight unseen battles to love you and serve God better.

Aging is a funny thing for those of us who have experienced significant trauma. Sometimes our mind is 10, 20, 30, or even 40-50 years in the past. We don't will it there - it just happens due to flashbacks. And then we "ground" ourselves and return mentally to the present, but when we look in the mirror, the image presented there can often be jarring.

Who is this person?

Where did those grey hairs come from?

Why am I all wrinkly?

Why does my body feel so tired/sluggish all of a sudden?

Who am I? How old am I?

These are all really common, valid questions that shouldn't be ignored. I talked them out with my own counselor this week, and it was really helpful. I'm sharing because I want you to know you're not alone if you also are experiencing these questions and concerns.

You are loved. You are a child of God. You are attractive and you are important.

Society puts strange ideas into our heads about what aging "should" look like, but they're totally unrealistic, unhealthy ideas.

God cares more about our hearts and our obedience to Him, than He cares about our looks. God created us, and He knows how He means for us to age. Society doesn't.

You are who you're meant to be.

Proverbs 16:31 HCSB
Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the way of righteousness.

I have read this scripture many, many times but only today did I start to fully grasp the "eat or drink" portion of it, and it blew me away. God truly cares about every aspect of our lives, and wants our obedience and our heart to be aligned with His in *all* things - even meal and snack times.

We can take eating and drinking for granted. We can idolize food. We can become gluttons, or we can turn the other way and develop eating disorders, starving ourselves. None of that honors God.

I'm going to be meditating on this a lot today. I'd love to hear/read any thoughts y'all have on this. 💖

https://youtu.be/oc4W72jR_Mk?si=JTO-YJsYT_upo80i

Pretty cool how God works. The less of us there is to go around, the more of Him there is IN us!

Less of Me Means More Confidence in Ministry? Over and over again, God shows up in the beginning of the story before we even know it's begun, in the center of the story when we're sure it has begun but w...

Many, many, many people will only quote Matthew 7:1 (judge not), and 1 John 4:16 (God is love) and base the entirety of their religion on those two statements. But that is sinful because it is not the entirety of Who God is, or why He came to earth.

Jesus came also to judge. And He will come again. Do not be caught unaware on that day.

It is not unloving to tell the Truth. Jesus doesn't like sin. He hates it. He wants us to turn AWAY from sin, and turn towards Him. Just as the love of money is the root of all evil ( 1 Timothy 6:10) so is an unrepentant heart that loves sin more than Jesus.

The older I get, the more I realize that it's okay to embrace being the person God created me to be.

Reminder: You Are Your Own Person Now. A transparent walk through one woman's trauma into healing. Find freedom in identifying and walking away from your abuser today! You're worth it!