I have been on a bunch of retreats for various reasons. On many teambuilding retreats, there is an exercise called the Trust Fall. In this exercise, one person volunteers to blindly fall into the arms of another person or group of people. The person must face forward, without looking back and just fall. The idea is that you must trust the other person or the group of people to catch you when you fall. It is out natural human instinct that if we don’t trust someone during this exercise, that we will physically prevent ourselves from falling. In those instances, it shows the other person or persons involved that there is not enough trust available to surrender.
For years and years, I have had the dream to pursue a career in writing and songwriting. Last year, I started this blog just so that I would have a forum to share, in writing, the wisdom that God speaks to me. For so long, I thought that the only way to be a writer was to have a publishing deal and that nothing I wrote meant anything if I didn’t have that type of deal. When I started the blog, I didn’t know how much I would write or how often, I just started. I closed my eyes, spread my arms out wide, and fell backwards. I trusted that God would do whatever He wants to do with this. There have been times when I have been discouraged and have considered putting an end to this blog. There have been times when I have thought that maybe I am sharing too much of my life with complete strangers. And, every time I have those feelings, I get some sort of encouragement that I am doing the right thing. This is the easy part. The harder dream is the songwriting one. I think I am just more sensitive about the music that I have been inspired to write. Now, feels like the best time to move forward because, before now, I never knew the steps to start my music career, but suddenly, I am finding out information and seeing paths that seemed to be hidden before. It is somewhat scary, though. It seems like there is so much more to lose. This is one of those big Trust Falls; not the kind where you lean back into the arms of a friend, but the kind where you stand on a really high platform and fall into the arms of some co-workers that you barely know. The good news is that I am not falling into the arms of strangers; I am falling into the arms of Jesus. And no matter how vulnerable I feel, no matter how big a risk I take in pursuit of the dream, as long as I know I am following God’s lead, I can close my eyes, spread out my arms, and fall. I am at a stage where it feels like I won’t stop falling, but I know that no matter how far I fall, I can trust Jesus to catch me. I will land safely, and so will you. So, take all of your dreams and trust God with them. Take a leap of faith; He will catch you. Ms. EV
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When I moved into my condo, I was the first person in my building. It was wonderful and quiet; a perfect place for me. Eventually, more people moved in around me. My neighbors were the party hosts for the entire neighborhood. They would have cookouts in their driveway, even though it violated the condo association bylaws. They would stay up until all hours of the night playing loud music and talking loudly.
I have mentioned several times that I am an introvert. By nature, I am pretty anti-social, so although the neighbors would invite me to join their little soirees, I always politely declined and prepared to wear my earplugs through the night, so that I would try to sleep. One night, I arrived home rather late and they were outside. I pointed out to them that my window was right above where they were sitting and even quoted back to them some of the conversations that they had with one another to prove how loudly they were talking. We agreed that if they were too loud, I would call one of them before I called the police. Well, that agreement didn’t last very long. I called, but they didn’t get any quieter. I would call the police, but they did nothing to stop it. I prayed and prayed that they would just move, but they stayed there and the issue got worse and worse. At one point, I asked anybody who would listen if when Jesus said love your neighbor, He meant your literal neighbor because surely, I could not be expected to be kind to these people who had no respect for me. After about three years, the main culprits of the noise broke up and moved out. The other neighbors had a baby and settled down quite a bit. One day, I noticed that the environment had changed. Now, though I still don’t attend their parties, my neighbors and I speak and are cordial with one another. I believe we have grown to respect one another. And, although I used to call the police on them, I never lost my cool with them. We never got into an argument or a shouting match. I never lost my religion in front of them. I just continued to pray for them (and for my sanity). Loving people who are nice to you is easy. Loving people who hate you, have little to no respect for you, and love to inconvenience you seems impossible. But, it is not with God’s help. I did not like my neighbors’ actions, but I knew that I could never let them pull me out of my godly character. So, that stopped being an area where the evil one could pick at me. In order to be more like Christ, we have to learn to love some people that seem pretty unlovable. The easiest way to do that is to consider how unlovable we are at times, yet God still loves us and blesses us. Love God. Love people. The struggle will never be in vain; you will grow another level of character that you never knew existed within you. Ms. EV One of our favorite things to listen to on long van rides when I was younger was the “Bill Cosby: Himself” comedy tape. We listened to that thing so much we had the whole thing memorized. From “Dad is great…give us the chocolate cake” to Cosby’s impression of his wife, Camille, dealing with fighting children where she screams, “I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIIIIIIISSSSS!!!” That comedy tape is still hilarious to this today.
And, on one particular Monday, I felt a little like Camille except it wasn’t about my children (because I have none), it was about my current situation. I woke up this morning and almost immediately wanted to pull the covers back over my head and hide at home. I knew that I had so much work to do, most of which would not ever be appreciated by anyone. I also knew that I had to have an unpleasant, confrontational chat with my students, and I awakened to a text message that seemed to add something else to an already full plate. I think we all get a case of the Mondays, but this case had me wanting to tap out of the fight. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate and love my job. Well, I love the intent of my job because I have a passion for teaching people. It’s all of the other tasks that go along with my job that can make it overwhelming and unpleasant. I finally convinced myself to get up and prayed my way through my morning routine, so I could get out of the house. I usually listen to sports radio on the way to work, but my radio was still on the gospel station from Sunday, and I heard a song I liked so I stayed on that station all the way in to work. Just before I got out of the car, there was a mini-message from a local pastor. He talked about how we want to move forward, but many of us are not sure of when to move. He went on to say that when you’ve had enough of your current situation, it is time to move into what God has for you. This was a Word from God that I had been waiting on to confirm what I believed to be true about some projects I have in progress. I did not march up to my boss and quit my job. My to-do list did not disappear. However, I was able to thank God that my job is no longer comfortable. I was grateful for feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated because if I did not feel that way, I would not be motivated to pursue my dream of a music ministry or to continue writing as God speaks to my heart. If I was still comfortable where I am, I would never move. So, I am thankful that I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!! It challenges me to start building and start working on the next phase of the life God wants me to have and the dreams God wants me to pursue. And, if it is His will, my passions for writing and music ministry will also become my sources of income. But, even if I have to teach until I qualify for retirement, I am confident that God will still open doors and help me to use the gifts He has given me for His glory. Thank You, God, for confirming that now is the time to move, to press into You as I pursue the dreams You have given me. I am going to move forward and trust God because I have had enough! Have you? Ms. EV There must be something about this time of year, but I found myself needing to reread this post I wrote about this same time last year. I pray it's helpful to you as well...
It's been quite a week. Don't get me wrong, nothing major has happened, and I am very much grateful and blessed; yet, I find myself at times feeling overwhelmed. I wake up trying to focus on God and His goodness and how I can be a light throughout the day, and then I leave my house and the world attacks. It's not big things, just little jabs hour by hour and day by day. I don't know if this means that God wants me to change my environment or to do something different. So, I have prayed and tried to seek new opportunities, but nothing has materialized. I just don't know what to do. In times like these, all we can do is heed the words of Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." Or, as The MessageBible reads, "Stop striving..." and know. We can tire ourselves out struggling and striving to figure God out or we can sit back and watch Him work things out. I know it's easier said than done, but I am praying that I can make it a reality in my life, and if you are struggling, that you can do the same in yours. What do you do when you don't know what to do? Nothing...be still. Ms. EV For the foreseeable future, Ms. EV's Blog will feature music from Toni LaShaun Music. Today's song is Don't You Worry. This song was written in 2004, just after I had graduated from law school. The dream career that I thought I would have for the rest of my life was not what I wanted, I was VERY single for the first time in a long time, and I was living with my parents. I have always been known as a worry wart, but I needed reassurance that everything would be okay. I found that reassurance in Philippians 4:4-9. It has been a long journey, but as I rejoice and think on praiseworthy things, God continues to work my circumstances out for my good. Ms. EV Don’t You Worry (Philippians 4:4-9) © Copyright 2004 Toni L. Wortherly Worry sneaks up in your mind Like a thief in the night Robbing you of your Godly peace You can’t see everything will be alright But if you kneel down and pray Thanking God everyday He will lead to the light He’ll help you to the other side Don’t fret or worry You don’t have to The Lord will never fail you Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing He is able to take care of you Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing For I know the Lord will see you through Doesn’t matter what’s going on with you He fixed it for me, He’ll help you too He’ll always step in on time Whether health is failing or bills are due So think of things that are pure and just And in sweet Jesus put all your trust Cast cares on Him for He cares for you With Him, there’s nothing you can’t do Don’t fret or worry You don’t have to The Lord will never fail you Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing He is able to take care of you Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing For I know the Lord will see you through Rejoice rejoice In every trial you go through Rejoice rejoice The peace of God will be with you Rejoice rejoice Even when things are getting hard Rejoice rejoice Make your requests known to God Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing He is able to take care of you Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing For I know the Lord will see you through If you enjoy the music you listen to here, you can purchase and download the song in the Toni LaShaun Music STORE.
If you are an artist interested in recording any of these songs, collaborating or having a song written for you, please contact [email protected]. I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, not dwelling, but taking glimpses in the past to see what worked and what did not. Not only and I trying to avoid my past mistakes, but I am also looking for how the lessons I have learned can be a blessing to someone else. When I see someone headed down a familiar path, I cannot just stand by and watch them step in front of an oncoming train of heartache and disappointment. I feel I have to say or do something to get his or her attention. Now, I have learned that the person will not always listen to me, which is fine, hurtful, but fine. Sometimes in life we have to learn lessons for ourselves in order for them to stick. I mean, honestly, I don’t always listen to my warnings, so I can be mad when someone else ignores me. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will continue to help me and will help someone else who is trying to stay on the path to his or her dreams because I have discovered how to get everything you want in life.
Step One: Offer honor and respect where it’s due Step Two: Believe in God’s Word Step Three: Esteem others higher than yourself Step Four: Yield to God’s Will You call out to God for help and He helps—He’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, He’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. …It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. 1 Peter 1:17-21 MSG I am what some have called, “bossy.” Others have different, less appropriate names for it. But, ever since I was a small child, I have had a knack for commanding people’s attention and getting them to do things my way. As a youngster, I skipped the third grade, so I was always younger than most of my friends. To compensate for being younger, I learned very quickly how to manipulate people into following my lead. Of course, as a child/teenager/young adult, I didn’t look at it as manipulation. I simply thought that everyone recognized that I did things the right way, so why wouldn’t they want to follow me. It is only now, upon reflection, that I realize that I was just plain bossy. So, imagine my surprise when, as an adult, people started pushing back and my way didn’t always get the results I wanted. “But God,” I would whine, “You said, you would give me the desires of my heart! What’s up?” I seriously don’t know why God even pays attention to me when I am being ridiculous, but He does. I imagine He gets a little bit of a chuckle out of it. He calmly reminds me during my child-like fits from not getting my way, that I forget the first part of that verse, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” Of course, I am sure I am the only one who ever takes Bible verses out of context to make them say what I want them to say (read with sarcasm). In any case, I have learned, many times the hard way, that I must put God first. When God is truly at the center of it all, life is so much easier. Not easier in the sense that troubles cease, but easier in the sense that no matter what happens, I am confident that God knows what He is doing. When we get to that place of no longer having the desire to be in control of everything and acknowledging that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, it is much more feasible to abide by His will rather than our own. I love the way The Message Bible interprets Peter’s description of God, the Father: “You call out to God for help and He helps—He’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, He’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living.” God wants to help us, but He is not going to stand for sloppy living. We need to stop asking God to bless our mess. We need to start asking for Him to help up get out of and avoid the mess in the first place. How do we end up with sloppy living? We yield to temptation instead of yielding to God’s will. But, Ms. EV, I don’t know God’s will for my life? Well, it’s not a secret. It’s published in the most popular book in the history of the world, the Bible. And, if you don’t know specifically what applies to you, the answer is ALL OF IT, in one way or another. You say you don’t know how to apply it, ASK GOD. Notice I didn’t say ask your pastor or your best friend. Now, God might use those people to answer the question after you ask Him directly, but we have to stop taking the word of ourselves or others more seriously than the Word of God. And, once you know better, then do better. As God reveals His plan, His will for your life, yield to His will. It won’t always make sense, but it will always work out for your good. So, how do you get everything you want in life? Offer honor and respect where it’s due Believe in God’s Word Esteem others higher than yourself Yield to God’s Will OBEY! Obedience is better than sacrifice. All the blood, sweat, and tears in the world won’t matter if you are living contrary to God’s Word and His Will. You may get accolades and possessions, but you won’t enjoy them with any joy or peace. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I wouldn’t want prosperity that I cannot enjoy. To obey God, not for things, but because of who He is and the sacrifice He gave is the key to having everything you want (and need) in life. Ms. EV I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, not dwelling, but taking glimpses in the past to see what worked and what did not. Not only and I trying to avoid my past mistakes, but I am also looking for how the lessons I have learned can be a blessing to someone else. When I see someone headed down a familiar path, I cannot just stand by and watch them step in front of an oncoming train of heartache and disappointment. I feel I have to say or do something to get his or her attention. Now, I have learned that the person will not always listen to me, which is fine, hurtful, but fine. Sometimes in life we have to learn lessons for ourselves in order for them to stick. I mean, honestly, I don’t always listen to my warnings, so I can be mad when someone else ignores me. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will continue to help me and will help someone else who is trying to stay on the path to his or her dreams because I have discovered how to get everything you want in life.
Step One: Offer honor and respect where it’s due Step Two: Believe in God’s Word Step Three: Esteem others higher than yourself Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Philippians 2:3-4 MSG Nearly everything in this world tells us to look out for number one, ourselves, before anyone else. We are constantly bombarded with messages that if you don’t look out for you no one else will. Sure, these are not the only messages out there. There are messages of love, hope and helping hands, but are these the messages that are getting the most attention? I would submit that they are not. Just scroll through your Twitter timeline or Facebook newsfeed on any given day and you will see one, if not many tweets and posts about how you should trust no one. Or, everyone is out to get you. Or, you better do whatever you have to do to get ahead because no one has your back. While I agree that there are very untrustworthy people in the world, our trust should not be in man anyway. Our hope and trust should be in God. And, when we hope and trust in God, we cannot subscribe to the theory that we must scratch and claw our way to the top with total disregard for anyone who gets stepped on along the way. Rather God wants us to stop thinking about ourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. As a writer and songwriter, I have tried to ask many people for help. I have sought out people who have walked the path that I am trying to take to ask for advice, or to listen to my music, or to point me in the right direction in the pursuit of my dreams. It was my thought process that any Christian writer or artist would be more than willing to take a few moments to help someone with the desire to uplift the Kingdom. In reality, I rarely receive a response. And, that is fine because my confidence is not in mankind; just because someone is a Christian, it does not mean that they are not looking at you as competition. Eventually, God will lead me to someone who believes in the principle of forgetting yourself long enough to lend a helping hand. Furthermore, knowing what it feels like to be ignored or rejected by people for whose craft I have a great deal of respect, teaches me to never treat anyone else that way; to put others ahead of myself. This is the reason I write what is on my heart to share and I offer it to the world for free. It is not mine to begin with; it all belongs to God, and, as such, if I can share what He gives me in an effort to help others succeed, then I am reaching my goal. Would it be nice to be a New York Times best-selling author or a Grammy-winning, platinum-selling songwriter? Absolutely! Do I desire those things? You bet I do, but not at the expense of forgetting my fellow brothers and sisters because I am too wrapped up in myself. It is more important to me to share God’s gifts than to attain a title (I am sure I will be tested on this later). When it comes to the things you desire, are you willing to spare any cost to get them? Does it matter if you lose friends? Does it matter if you lose respect? Does it matter if you make those who respect you feel that they are not worth your time? God doesn’t give us dreams, gifts and talents, so we can hoard worldly riches and close the doors behind us. He blesses us to be a blessing to others, even if it means we help them get everything we want before we get it. Who’s timing is best? Yours or God’s? Tomorrow, I will finish this discussion of how to get everything you want in life, so stay tuned…Ms. EV I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, not dwelling, but taking glimpses in the past to see what worked and what did not. Not only and I trying to avoid my past mistakes, but I am also looking for how the lessons I have learned can be a blessing to someone else. When I see someone headed down a familiar path, I cannot just stand by and watch them step in front of an oncoming train of heartache and disappointment. I feel I have to say or do something to get his or her attention. Now, I have learned that the person will not always listen to me, which is fine, hurtful, but fine. Sometimes in life we have to learn lessons for ourselves in order for them to stick. I mean, honestly, I don’t always listen to my warnings, so I can be mad when someone else ignores me. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will continue to help me and will help someone else who is trying to stay on the path to his or her dreams because I have discovered how to get everything you want in life.
Step One: Offer honor and respect where it’s due Step Two: Believe in God’s Word [O]ur God’s Word stands firm and forever. …Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of My mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. Isaiah 40:8; Isaiah 55:10-11 MSG Many people are used to empty promises. We have either made them or gotten them from others. The beauty of being a child of the Most High King is that everything God says, He does. His Word is bond. God cannot lie and He cannot fail. So, why is it so hard to believe what He says and take Him at His Word? We seem to have no problem in believing the claims of promotional products or prominent public figures. Yet, we question the God who has kept every promise He has ever made. If we want to get everything we desire in life, we must believe God’s Word is true. This is not just about the promises written in the Bible, this is also about believing the promises that God has written on your heart. If you have a dream that you have walked away from because you felt that you could not accomplish it, yet it seems the dream will not die, there is a good chance that God placed that desire within you. He does not want you to give up on that which He has promised you, God wants you to believe in His promises and lean on Him. You do the possible and He will do the impossible. I shudder to think about how many times I was on the brink of achieving a goal and I gave up a moment too soon because I did not trust that God had my best interests in mind. When God breathes a dream, a promise into us, it is not meant to wither and die. It will not leave you empty-handed, or worse yet, empty-hearted. Let God’s Word work in and through your life. If you are not sure if your dream is a self-made dream or a God-breathed promise, compare it to His Word. God’s will for your life and His Word will never contradict one another. If your dream allows you to honor and respect God, first and foremost, and build up His Kingdom, don’t put it down because you can’t accomplish it on your own. That is exactly where God wants you to be. He needs us to get to the end of ourselves, so that we must trust and believe in His Word. After my book, Pray While You’re Prey, did not meet the goals I felt it should meet, I not only gave up on the book. I gave up on writing altogether. The desire to write persisted, but I thought that if no publisher would publish my and if people didn’t buy my books, then my writing was worthless and pointless. I gave up. But, I felt even more empty after I quit writing. I also felt overwhelmed because God was pouring wisdom into my spirit. Some was just for me, but some was meant to be shared. And, I, because things weren’t going my way, chose to believe Satan’s lies rather than God’s Word, so I had given up on writing, which was the very outlet that God had given me. It was one way in which He would use me. Once I started believing that writing was a dream God had placed on my heart again. He showed me how I could use the gift. Now, I feel full, closer to Him, and I am not burdened with too much information or with feeling like a failure. I believe that every word God gives to me has a purpose. I do not need to know that purpose; I just need to believe in God’s Word enough to allow Him to use me. What have you given up on because you don’t believe God can make it happen? Whose words do you believe over Gods? Family? Friends? Strangers? Satan? There is no one who will be 100% real with you the way God can. So, if you want to get everything you want in life, you have to believe in God’s Word. Tomorrow, I will continue with this discussion of how to get everything you want in life, so stay tuned…Ms. EV I spend a lot of time reflecting on my life, not dwelling, but taking glimpses in the past to see what worked and what did not. Not only and I trying to avoid my past mistakes, but I am also looking for how the lessons I have learned can be a blessing to someone else. When I see someone headed down a familiar path, I cannot just stand by and watch them step in front of an oncoming train of heartache and disappointment. I feel I have to say or do something to get his or her attention. Now, I have learned that the person will not always listen to me, which is fine, hurtful, but fine. Sometimes in life we have to learn lessons for ourselves in order for them to stick. I mean, honestly, I don’t always listen to my warnings, so I can be mad when someone else ignores me. Nevertheless, I hope this blog will continue to help me and will help someone else who is trying to stay on the path to his or her dreams because I have discovered how to get everything you want in life.
Step One: Offer honor and respect where it’s due No other gods, only me. …Don’t bow down to them and don’t serve them because I am God, your God, and I’m a most jealous God… Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you. Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right. “Honor your father and mother” is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, “so you will live well and have a long life.” Deuteronomy 20:3-5, 12 MSG; Ephesians 6:1-2 MSG In this world, we offer honor, respect and admiration to a lot of people, but it’s usually people who have never and will never do anything for us. We respect athletes, musicians, actors, and even pastors, more than we honor those whom God has commanded us to honor. When I look at my life, the times I was successful versus the times of frustration and failure, I can clearly see that in the prosperous times, I was honoring God above anyone else. And, as a consequence of that, I was respecting my parents and their wishes. I did not always agree with what they asked me to do. In fact, there were times I resented both God and my parents for their “rules,” which were clearly designed to suck all of the fun out of my life (read that last line with the sarcasm that it was intended to have). I think that what many of us fail to realize is that God is not kidding when He says He is a jealous God. God is not going to stand by and allow His children to place false gods before Him. If you are not getting what you want out of life, step back and consider whether or not you are putting anything or anyone before God, including and especially yourself. Are you honoring God with every aspect of your life? Are you giving Him praise for achievements and accomplishments or are you taking all of the credit? Are you considering how your goals and actions affect the Kingdom of God? Because the Word of God says to seek His Kingdom first, and yet, many times, we seek adoration rather than offering it to the One who makes our very existence possible. In addition to God’s command to love Him more than anything. He also said to honor our parents. You have no idea how many times I have heard a child say (of their parents or teachers), “If they want respect; they need to give respect!” And, bless their hearts, they think that they are standing on good footing when they say it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have met some horrible parents and we all probably know parents that either should not be parents or whose children should not follow in their footsteps. Nonetheless, children must still honor or respect their parents, as instructed by God, and it does not stop when you turn eighteen and think you are grown. I was awesome at respecting my parents while I was in their house. That is not to say that I was perfect, but I tried to be as obedient as I could. Oh, but when I left home and became an adult, I started to think that my parents knew nothing! They didn’t know what was best for me. This was my life! And, when I look back at the brightest times of my life, they were the times when I lived my life in a way that showed respect for my parents. Likewise, when I think of the darkest times of my life, they were the times when I treated my parents as if they were out to get me rather than trying to guide me. I understand that I have a unique situation with saved, Godly, married parents. Parents are not always easy to get along with, even in my Huxtable-esque family, but they are always to be respected. Not to the point where you place them on a higher pedestal than God (because I have caught myself doing than a time or two), but we should respect and honor God and our parents if we wish to get everything we want in life. Tomorrow, I will continue with this discussion of how to get everything you want in life, so stay tuned…Ms. EV So one morning, I was accused (in a backhanded way) of being too nice, which is funny because usually people are telling me I am too hard on others. But apparently, it's not fair to those want want to be mean just for the heck of it when other people are nice because it makes them look bad. In any case, the whole situation boiled down to grace and mercy. Just how many chances should we give people? When are they going to learn their lesson and do what's right?
Then, I read one devotional that spoke about Hosea and Gomer. It spoke of how Hosea had to forgive his wife, the prostitute who had been unfaithful to him and even buy her back. Talk about grace and mercy. That piece of history in the Bible illustrates God's love for the Israelites and foreshadows Jesus' sacrifice for us. Then, my verse of the day was Matthew 7:12 [The Golden Rule] "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." Two unrelated Biblical truths that gave answers to my questions. And, as if, God didn't drive home the point already, He showed me another illustration of how grace and mercy works in my own life. There are five children on this earth that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt would do anything for because I love them unconditionally. I want the best for them. I know I cannot make decisions for them, but I try to be sure that they know all of their options, so they can make good choices. They don't always choose the best, and most certainly don't always pick what I would have chosen; nevertheless, my love for them never decreases and if I have to, I will help them pick up the pieces and start over or move on. This is and everyday example in my life of the type of love God has for us. I praise Him that His love is unconditional. He gives us free will and the opportunity to make sound decisions and He wants the best for us. When we make mistakes, He is loving enough to let us fall, so that we can learn, and then pick us up and help us keep moving. Grace and mercy. It doesn't mean that you're a doormat for Jesus being taken advantage of by hapless ne'er-do-wells. Sometimes you have to let people fall, but then, don't stand there and laugh, when they reach for your hand, help them get up and keep moving. Grace and mercy. His never ends. Should ours? Ms. EV |
About Ms. EVWhen you have elevated values, it is not about being snobby; it is about living victoriously! Archives
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