Forgiveness –How much and how far .

Each of us as Christians at some point in our lives will inevitably have to deal with being hurt by other people . And that hurt will vary in degrees according to our closeness to the person .

Family member ,close friend ,co-worker ,Church family . Each one can affect us differently due to the types of interactions we have .

Ant the hurts can range from minor irritations ,to devastation . And our reaction can range from rage ,to depression ,to an attitude of “I will get even.”

I have been hurt by all of the above in my 63 years and will be hurt again and again throughout the rest of my life .

Being human ,I have also hurt others during my life .

If we work to further our Father’s Kingdom , hurt is a given : We only need to look at Jesus to know this truth .

But our reaction to hurt is the subject today .

We can handle hurt in one of two ways .

#1 is man’s way .

I have looked at our way and done much prayer about the way we handle these hurts that so naturally come our way .

Most of our ways will center around protecting ourselves from future turmoil . The only thing that can become of of this is a hardening of our hearts toward other people and their motives . A sad way to lead a life . Forgiveness ? Is it in mans nature ? Do we even understand the true meaning of the word and the power it releases  ?

Very doubtful .

But one thing we do know is how to hold on to hurts and daily slights until they  become toxic to our soul .

Let’s jump forward to the 2nd way of dealing with hurts : and that is God’s way — the RIGHT way .

We are talking true forgiveness here , and our example is our Lord and Savior Jesus .

Did Jesus know hurt in his life ?  More than we will ever know !

Who hurt him ? –Friends ,  family ,Disciples , all mankind —you and ME !

God placed all our sin on his Son .

And he ultimately felt the hurt of his Father turning his back on him as he hung on the cross .

And yet with all this weight on him ,He freely forgave .

Unconditionally ,totally ,to be remembered no more .

Separated our sins as far as the East is from the West .

And in a final act of forgiveness ,He raise his head on the cross  and asked his Father to forgive them –“for they know not what they do”.

All of a sudden we look kind of petty ,don’t we ?

Do we try to understand the ones that hurt us ?

Do we turn the other cheek ?

Do we try to minister to their needs ?

Do we offer them that cup of cool water ?

And above all ,do we offer them the gift of eternal life ?

We are commanded to do ALL these things .

And if we write these commandments on our hearts and do them ,then we will find true peace with our fellow sojourners .

                                                                         God Bless

                                                                                  Roger .

Forget About How…Just Do It

I was reading an email that I got from Lily Jensen a few minutes ago, which prompted this Blog post.  You know how you get up one morning after a good rain the night before and its Really Foggy?  You are trying to drive and you can only see 3 feet in front of you.  Now, you know where your going, but not quite sure if it’s really safe in these conditions but you know you have to go anyway.  I don’t think there is a person who hasn’t run into these conditions while driving at some point in their life.

Well let me flip this on you for just a moment.  Lets say, that you have this Big Dream or Goal that is just burning inside you.  You know that some how some way this is what you were meant to do.  Someone tells you that your crazy, or they ask you “How in the Hell, do You think you are gonna make that happen?” Now, let’s go back to driving in the fog for a second.  Let’s just say your Dream is on the other side of that fog.  You can only see 3 feet in front of you but you KNOW without a Doubt that you Have to Go For It! You drive in the fog all the time and you make it safely to your destination, right? You may drive a little slower to be safe, But You Don’t Quit Driving do you?  Fear only gets loud when you’re doing something that Matters!

Every single day that we are alive, we avoid 1 disaster after another, 1 step (or 3 feet) at a time.  Its called Life Experiences, that we learn from every minute of every day.  Why would you let a little “FOG” get in the way of you making your Dream Become a Reality?  How you get there will work itself out when you take that next step!  It’s the Law of Action.  You start attracting the things you need, ideas, money, time, people, whatever is needed to get you through the Fog, to your Destination (Dream).  Just Do It! Take that Next Step!

Sooooooo, Here’s the big Question?  Are you gonna play it safe and sit on the side lines of life and let Fear put blinders on your face, keep you in a choke hold tied to the porch?  Or are you gonna Kick Fear in the Teeth and Say “I Got This! Your No Longer Welcome Here!”  No matter what Dream or goal it is that you are chasing, I encourage you…No…I take that back… I Dare You to take that Next Big Scary Step, and the one after that and the next and next! I Promise you with ALL that is within me, that if you do that right there, You will Reach Your Dream Destination, Safe,  Sound and Successful!

So, tell me, where is your dream taking you today?

Quit Being a Victim

Do Not Let Your Past Determine Your Destiny!

This post is a combination from several things I have read in the last few months and my own personal past that I am gonna reveal to you tonight.  This has really been on my heart of late and I think the time is right.  See we ALL have a “Past”.  I don’t care who you are.  If you have made a success out of your life then this post may not be for you because you did not let your Past Determine your Destiny and choose to Succeed in spite of or, better yet, because of your past.

See, there are a lot of people that “Choose” to play the victim.  Choose to say well this happen to me or that happen to me.  Or my favorite, this person did that to me back when, or this person said that…you get the idea.  I am living proof of it doesn’t matter what happen to you, what you went thru, who said what or who tried to keep you from succeeding.  It is all in how you CHOOSE to react to what happen.

Not many people know what I am about to share, but I know from my personal experiences, testimony, trials, Abundant Failures and successes that I am meant to help somebody or a Lot of Somebody’s with this story.  See, my first childhood memory is of me being sexually abused by my mother’s boyfriend while they were having sex on the couch. I could not have been more than 3yrs old.  And pretty much Every childhood memory up until about the age of 8yrs old was the same kind of abuse from different men in her life.  My last one was at the age of 13.  After that I was big enough and strong enough to fight back and win.  There was lots of physical, mental and emotional abuse to go along with it until I finally graduated high school and moved out of the house.

My whole sense of what a so called “Loving Relationship” has been jacked up for years.  My biological father was never a part of my life and I do not even know who he is to this day.  I have been through one jacked up relationship after another.  Honestly, I am only alive today because God used a friend to call me on a very dark day in my life when I wanted to take a whole bottle of sleeping pills and just go to sleep to Never Wake UP.

Why did he do that? Why even care about ME? I am just a girl that had nothing to offer anybody.  I had been used, abused, beaten down emotionally, little to no self-esteem, what Purpose could I possibly serve anyone, let alone God on this planet? But you know what, I have 2 Beautiful Children and 3 Awesome Grandchildren who Love me & I Love Them More than Life.  They give me a reason to get out of bed everyday.  That is my #1 reason for living!

But, the main reason that I revealing this to the world, is because I Made It! I Beat My Past! Did I do it alone? Hell No! Was it easy? Extra Hell No!! It was hard as Hell! Did i want to quit or give up? Yes! More times than I care to admit to myself much less the world.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the things that happen to me as a child, Were Not My Fault! They Do NOT make me any less of a person today.  What they did do was make me Stronger! They taught me how to forgive! They taught me how to Fight! Most of ALL….They taught me that GOD Loves ME! That He can Heal ALL things! That He, the creator of this Beautiful Universe, Did Not Give Up On Me when I gave up on myself! He Loved Me when I Hated Me! I hated who I was, who I had become and couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror!  HE Still Loved Me! He Forgave Me! He Saved Me! He Heals Me Every Single Day!  He has Blessed Me beyond my wildest dreams because He Loves Me!  Not because I deserve it, although by some people’s opinion’s, I am sure they would say that I do deserve it after going through what NO Child should Ever have to endure.

Could play the victim? Sure I could, even today after this story gets out,  there would Not be a single person on this earth that would blame me for one second if I hated the world and everyone in it!  But I know that I have a Purpose! I know that as HARD as this story is to type now, that there is someone, somewhere, that will read it and I Pray beyond ALL Prayers, that it will Save a Life!  I have Lost Everything in my life 2x, the house, the car, the job and it almost cost me my life.  But today, I stand before you, as a Proud  46-year-old Beautiful Mother of 2, GG of 3, a Certified Personal Trainer (a life long goal accomplished at the age of 44) and I hope, an Inspiration to many.   I pray that I give Hope to Someone who needs to know You Are Worthy! Your Past Does Not Determine Your Destiny! You are Not a Victim you are a Victor! You are Beautiful! You are Strong! And if you are reading this now, God Lead you here to help you heal! To find him so that He can Love you Like a Father is Suppose to!  ALL you have to do is ask!

Please share this with as many people as you can.  I know that I am meant to help people, even though I am not sure how, I just know that This, My personal Story, of Faith in a God I didn’t Know, did not want to know, Saved me and Lead Me here!  I would love to hear your feed back and if this has helped you or someone you know in some way!

Thank you for taking time to read part of my life story tonight! Be Blessed

Try Every Spirit

 

I am reading C. S. Lewis book :   Surprised By The Joy .

My morning reading while eating breakfast .

The book tells the story of his journey to Atheism and later accepting Christianity .

An interesting read giving deep insight to this great Christian writer .

This morning ,I reached a section that applied to our generation so well ,that I had to share it today .

We live in the age of the self help book , and the self help TV show .

The Dr. Phil show , Oprah , Dr Oz and on ,and on —–

And they have their own books .

They all have a way that they say will uplift you beyond your wildest dreams .

I would think that the largest book store in the country ,would not have the shelf space for all this knowledge.

Lewis made a statement that we all should take to heart :– — ” I had no conception of the amount of nonsense written and printed in the world .”

“New ” , “Expanded” ,”Updated” .”Revolutionary”.

All words to show that the author is “up” with the new generation on thought .

” Hey –This man has the answers to ALL my problems “

“I am going to lead my life by this man’s book “.

I remember a bunch following Jim Jones ,because he “had” all the answers .

Didn’t work too well for them did it ?

At this point in Lewis life ,he was on his way to seeing the light of the Cross .

He was a learned man . Highly educated .He read all the classics .

But his next statement stunned me because it exposed how easily we can be influenced by “education” .

Let’s remember Jim Jones here :   Lewis stated —  ” I regarded Yeats as  a learned ,responsible writer : WHAT HE SAID MUST BE WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION .

And here is the rub for us as Christians  : there are more book about the Bible than there are Bibles in most homes and book stores .

I am not throwing stones ,since I have several shelves of books about the Bible myself .

The problem comes when we give more credence to these books that we do our God’s Holy Word .

Let’s think about exactly who we are letting influence our lives .

The Bible has stood the test of time .

It has never had to be “expanded” “updated” ,or “new” .

It will never fail us —-100% trustworthy .

We don’t have to get a recommendation from Oprah’s book of the month club .

Our Bible blesses our lives daily as Dr  Phil  will never be able to do .

Bottom line — Try every spirit .

Some will bless you .

Others will curse you and set you on a path to destruction .

                   Blessings your way !!

                                 Roger

What ifs

10 years ago , I had a friend of mine saved while we were sitting in my den .

God rejoiced ,the Angels in Heaven rejoiced ,Tom rejoiced, I rejoiced .

5 weeks later Tom was killed in a car wreck .

Rough funeral to attend : I had lost a friend , children had lost a father ,and we all were searching for answers . There were many “what ifs” while sitting on that pew . Mine were different from the families .

Why did Tom come to my house that night ? Why did he pick me ?

But the main question was –why did God pick me ?

I had to know the answers to these questions .

Thankfully God’s Word is full of answers at the turn of a page .

The verses that best answered my questions are found in the Book of Esther .

As Christians ,we are all familiar with the Book of Esther .

The only book in the Bible where God’s name is never mentioned .

But it is a book that teaches patience and responsibility .

A Jewish girl who through God’s guiding hand has become  the wife to the King .

We know of the plot by the wicked Haman to exterminate the Jewish race ( another story).

We know of his ego ,wickedness ,and hatred .

He is a dark look at the worst of humanity .

But he is not my answer : that is supplied by Esther and her Uncle Mordecai .

I will start with Mordecai learning of the plot and getting a message to Esther ,about the coming troubles .

My question of “why me ” was answered in Est 4  :13 ,14 .

Mordecai is reminding Esther of her position as Queen and her responsibility to her kinsman .

Est 4:13 ——-Think not with thyself that thou shall escape in the King’s house ,more than all the Jews .

Est 4:14—-For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time ,then shall their enlargement and deliverance come from another place : but thou and thy Father’s house shall be destroyed :and WHO KNOWETH WHETHER THOU ARE COME TO THE KINGDOM FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS .

I could write on these two verses for several paragraphs .

But there is no need because they are pretty much self explanatory .

My question about “why me ” was answered in the last 15 words .

God had put me at a particular time and place to share My testimony with His Child !!

For such a time as this ,

This was my “Esther moment “,and as with Esther ,there are dire warnings of shirking our duty .

Every day we all have these  “Esther Moments “.

The only question we can ask at that time is ———- What If ?

                                                   God Bless

                                                            Roger

 

HOW TO GET READY FOR OBAMACARE

HOW TO GET READY FOR OBAMACARE.

Despair and timing

Probably my favorite Christian author ,besides C. S. Lewis , is Joni Tada . Her 40 years in a wheelchair has inspired millions .
And when I feel life is not treating me fair and that my Lord is nowhere to be found ,
I
pick up my Bible and her book  WHEN GOD WEEPS and start reading .
At times each of us will face various turmoils in our lives that will cause us to question God’s reasoning .
 Where are you ? Why is this taking so long to resolve ? ,Why can’t I Have what I want ? And on ,and on ,and on ———.

Lets be truthful here : each of us has had these questions —no finger pointing here .Despair hurts ,and like an earache ,we want it over with NOW !!!!! But antibiotics take time to work . And the pain causes me to get impatient , PLEASE HURRY !! I can’t take this much longer ! And we call the Doctor and ask if he has something stronger and faster he can prescribe .Impatience is our way in the face of pain ; physical ,mental ,financial ,and many more .

And we turn and ask our God the same question as the Doctor : Why is it taking your Grace so long to work ?

Joni Tada had the same questions after becoming paralyzed in a diving accident in 1967.

And then she ask this question of our Lord : ” God ,if I can’t die ,please show me how to live . A direct question ,asked with boldness ,that opened the door for Him to act .

Honesty ! What a concept !! Being truthful and blunt in our prayers !!

She had just cast ALL her cares on our Lord ,and cleared all obstructions out of the way to her heart and soul .

Psalms 77: 7-9

Will the Lord reject forever ?

Will he never show his favor again ?

Has his promise failed for all time ?

Has God forgotten to be merciful ?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion ?

The Psalmist asked these questions ,as we all have .

And if we know the love of our God ,we honestly know the answer to each question .

Let’s search our hearts and souls for the true answers to these simple questions that fill our lives.

A wonderful friend of mine once told me “We serve an awesome God “.

And you know something —I agree with her !!

                          God Bless

                                 Roger

What Are You Allowing

Take a Chance if You Want Anything to Change

 

This post is about our “Relationships“.  On my Facebook page the other day I had a gentleman post on one of my pictures that I deserved to be treated like a Queen.  Of course I am Very Appreciative of such a compliment and stated so.  What led to this post was his next comment which said, “Well it’s not rocket science on how you should treat a lady.”  I am upset that I can not find the post at the moment to quote exactly what was said from that point, so, please forgive me for “Winging It” now and going off my Best Recollection of what was said lol.

My reply to him was, “To a lot of men, it is rocket science unfortunately.  And I am not putting ALL of the blame on the Men here. We as Women Allow Men to Treat us the way that they do and until we Demand a Better way to be Treated then we shouldn’t complain about what we ALLOW to take place in our Relationships”.  Now this brought a myriad of banter back and forth about the subject and we ALL agreed on 1 single Fact, “You Get What You Allow to Exist”.

We as women typically get the short end of the stick when it comes to love and relationships.  (Fella’s I’m not saying that you are exempt from this at all lol, but I am primarily talking to the Ladies here.)  Most women, and I am speaking from my own personal experiences, have had no male role model to show us exactly How a Lady should be treated when we were younger.  We have abandonment issues, we have baggage from other relationships, we have been abused, either mentally, physically, emotionally and/or sexually at some point in our life.  So, for me anyway, we want NOTHING more desperately than to Be Loved by a Man and Have Absolutely No Idea what that means.  We let men treat us any kind of way because we “THINK” any attention is Good attention and a show of some form of “Love”.  And that is the farthest thing from the truth! It has taken me 46 years to realize this and I hope that I can reach somebody today!

You Are Beautiful! You are Special! You are NOT to Blame for the things in your past! You Deserve to have the door opened for you, to get phone calls to hear him say “I was thinking about you and just wanted to hear your voice”, flowers, text messages, dinner dates and anything else that Honor’s You!  You Do NOT and Should NOT Accept Anything Less!  With that being said, If you Allow a man to mistreat you and talk to you any kind of way, then I am sorry, but you have no right to complain about how “Bad” your relationship is because “YOU” are Making the Conscious Choice/Decision to ALLOW Him to Treat you in that manner.  I Promise You this, if you will Look Up to Your Heavenly Father and Trust Him, Demand the respect and love that you deserve, God will heal your brokenness and Send you the man he made Especially for You!  How do I know this?  Because I am Living Proof that God Healed Me, Forgave Me, Saved Me and Blessed Me with the Love of My Life and My Soul Mate.

I hope this has touched someone tonight.  I would love to hear your comments and feedback.  If you think this would help somebody else, Please forward to them and let the healing begin.  Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to hear my heart.  Have a Blessed Night!

 

Starting Points

I had a birthday Saturday !!

Turned 63 !!

Now I am entering the middle of the week and want to say a few things about my mission for this new year of my life and beyond .

I knew for a few days that I would be preparing for my first post and have been in prayer seeking God’s guidance as to mission and future topics .

Of course there can only be one mission: to glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ !

As to topics : guess what ! –same thing  : except with the added joy of talking about the ABUNDANCE of joy He adds to our lives .

So ,as a starting point ,let’s look at the life our LORD wants for us and the steps to get there .

Understand first that at 63 years old , I am still a mere Babe in Christ —as you also !!

So we start at the beginning : as a CHILD .

Our God says that THREE things are essential that we must attain for a truly joyful life . And they are in sequence .

  #1 —KNOWLEDGE   #2—UNDERSTANDING    #3––-WISDOM

We are told time and time again that we MUST attain all three ,that we may serve our Lord and have a bountiful life .

Knowledge is the first ,and also easiest of the three to acquire .

As parents ,we take great pride in our 2 year old being able to count to 100 or reciting his ABC’s .

We start soaking up knowledge at a very early age ; but is this “knowledge ” useful at that young age ?

Does the 2 year old understand the use of letters and numbers and the power they hold ?  Of course not !!

Years of growth have to come for us to start to understand their uses ,and many more to get the wisdom to use them properly .

I have to give an example here ,and I will use my daughter Laura .

Around the 5th grade she came into the den and proudly told Debbie and I that she had learned all that she needed to know from school and that it was time to quit .

She had a child’s view of life ,without any understanding of the harsh realities of this type of decision.

Could she muddle through life with a 5th grade education ? Of course she could .

My maternal Grandfather had only a 1st grade education ,and raised a family and always managed to make a living .

But could she ever be able to reach her true potential ?—–NEVER!!

And so it is with the Christian that does not put on the Yoke of our Lord .

Saved ,but never being able to fully partake of the bounty Jesus has sat before us .

So ,here is our beginning ; a new child of God , a new heart ,a new Lord ,a new purpose for our lives .

And VERY LITTLE knowledge of what our Lord has demanded of us and the rewards of obedience .

My Grandfather may have been uneducated ,but he wanted the best for his 3 children and he delivered on that dream by making sure that all 3 had a proper education .

How much more does our Heavenly Father want us to succeed and prosper ?

He paved the way for us through the CROSS .

A bloody cross with HIS SON nailed to it to pay the penalty of our sins .

Our salvation sealed .

His Holy Word containing his commands and blessings for his children .

And so ,here we are :children –empty vessels with an emptiness that must be filled .

Now our mission with this  blog starts : to fill ourselves with God’s Son .

Christ in us ,the hope of Glory .

                                        Roger Speed

Attitude Reflects Leadership

Attitude Reflects Leadership.