Category: peace

Trials

 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 NKJV 

For the past several days I have been in a brain fog, and physically feeling as though I was mired in a vat of molasses. Have you ever felt that way? It is depression, pure and simple…. but not so simple to deal with. For some people, depression is something they deal with on a daily basis; for some, it is seasonal or situational  (or both); and for a few, I suppose never experience it. There’s medication for that. Yes, I’m well aware of the pills available, and the counseling that is available, and I have integrated both into my life. However, sometimes all you can do is muddle forward as best you can. 

I just finished a book by Jennie Goutet called “Stars Upside Down, A Memoir of Travel, Grief, and an Incandescent God.” In her journey, Jennie struggled with depression and addictions, and finally, her return to God. There was a lot there I could relate to, and a lot I couldn’t. What I came away with was the message I have shared many times, yet I still need to hear. God never leaves us. We can turn our back on him: we can run from him, even to foreign countries, but He is always there beside us.

We can get discouraged, and feel frustration. Look at Job, and Abraham and Moses; even Paul was frustrated at times. Fall on this verse that he wrote and hold tight to it.

  “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38‭-‬39 NLT

We will have many trials in life. I fight the discouragement and helplessness of not having an income. You may also be struggling financially, or you or a family member could be dealing with illness or death. We can’t know what trials anyone else is facing. Our God is not only capable, but completely willing, to move our mountains. As Jesus said about the mustard seed:

  “It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches…. “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” ” – Matthew 13:32; 17:20 NLT

Jesus loves me, this I know. Oh, for the faith of a mustard seed!

(http://bible.com)

Duty 

​  “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” – Galatians 6:10 NLT

How well do you think we are doing in God’s eyes? Do you know a believer who is hurting spiritually? Physically, from accident or abuse or illness? One who is hungry; hurting financially? 

  “Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” – Isaiah 30:20‭-‬21 NLT

Too often, we are too focused on our own issues to see the pain of a fellow believer. It isn’t that we mean to ignore them or hurt them, we just don’t see them. I see a broken down person begging on the street corner, but can I see them if I don’t know their story? The tweaky person you pass on the sidewalk. Do you see them?

Had to share this from Billy Graham:

  “Courage to Stand – A great problem in America is that we have an anemic and watered-down Christianity that has produced an anemic, watered-down, and spineless Christian who is not willing to stand up and be counted on every issue. We must have a virile, dynamic, aggressive Christian who lives Christ seven days a week, who is ready to die, if necessary, for his faith. We need Christians who are ethical, honest, gracious, bold, strong, and devoted followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. I realize how spineless and pampered my Christian walk is. Give me Your courage, Lord Jesus, to follow You more devotedly. But suppose you suffer for being a Christian. Then don’t be ashamed. Instead, PRAISE GOD because you are known by that name!

  “Yet if anyone  suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” – I Peter 4:16 NKJV

If the life and example of the Rev. Billy Graham is, as he states, “spineless and pampered,” where does mine fit? I can choose to let the monsters of the world keep me cowering in fear, or I can face them and destroy them with the armor of God.

  “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:10‭-‬12 NLT

http://bible.com

  

Just As I Am

Just as I am – words by Charlotte Elliott 1789-1871

 Just as I am, without one plea, 

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 Just as I am, and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot;

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 Just as I am, though tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt;

Fightings within, and fears without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind;

Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

 Just as I am, Thy love unknown

Has broken every barrier down;

Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

God doesn’t want us to live in pain and suffering and sorrow. He wants us just as we are, with all of our baggage. Old and soaked in sin or as an innocent child. Just as I am, without one plea. We are guilty. We have nothing to plead our case, until we bring our burdens to the cross and surrender them to Jesus, The Advocate. There at His feet, He will welcome us and pardon us and cleanse us. He willing takes on all that weighs us down, leaving us free to worship our LORD! 

 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” – Matthew 6:34 NLT


(http://bible.com/116/mat.6.34.NLT)

Wounded – And YOU Can’t Fix It

Yesterday, disciplined; today, wounded. Ugh.

  “An open rebuke is better than hidden love! Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” – Proverbs 27:5‭-‬6 NLT

When you are running as hard and as fast from God as you can, being disciplined and having friends and family confront you are the last things you want! Any kind of confrontation by family is, to an addict, like sandpaper and salt to an open wound. Until the addict chooses to hear, no one can reach them except the Holy Spirit. I know because I have been there, and because I have witnessed it with countless others. It isn’t just drugs or alcohol that a person can be addicted to. Add in the easy ones – cigarettes, prescription drugs, shopping, hoarding, lying. Then the “bad” things: stealing, burglary; sexual addiction, whether looking at pictures in a magazine or online; even as far as the violent, despicable crimes of rape, mutilation, murder…. did you know that God doesn’t distinguish sin? Any action can become an addiction; an escape from the real world.

Why? Why does God allow this? What causes people to do the things we know aren’t right, and what on earth could allow us to harm others?

There’s only one answer, and it isn’t one many people want to hear. Free will. God gave it to the first humans to pass down through the generations because He wants us to CHOOSE Him. Even the angels have the choice of loving God or leaving Him. 

  “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble? Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’ ” – Isaiah 14:12‭-‬17 NLT

Lucifer, the Shining Star of heaven, wanted to be greater than the Almighty, the Creator. When Lucifer chose his desires over God’s desires, he was kicked out of heaven and along with him were the angels who followed him. 

  “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” – Revelation 12:7‭-‬9 NLT

Satan has spent all of his time since being thrown out of heaven scheming to beat God. The only way he wins is by turning us away from our Creator LORD, and He is very vigilant about it. Michael threw Satan out of heaven, and it will be Michael at the side of Jesus when He returns for us. I want to live to see that day! There was a time when I dreaded the return of Jesus. I was always aware of the things I was doing that were sin in my life, and for years, I was powerless to change it. That answer to the “Why” questions, that free will, when given to Satan is impossible for us to get back on our own. The next question becomes “Why would anyone give SATAN control over their life???” 

Again, the simple answer is that he makes it look beautiful. Whatever the sin, whatever the addiction, he makes it looks pretty and easy… much easier than the “straight and narrow path” of Jesus. Even though I’ve done it, and left the path of Jesus, I still can’t explain it. It may be narrow, but His path is well lit. Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34 NLT

“Turn from your selfish ways….” And there’s the answer.

We turn away from Jesus because we are selfish and want things OUR way. There are only 2 ways to turn. Toward God, or toward the enemy, Satan. We are FOR Jesus, or we are AGAINST Jesus, and if we are against Him, we have chosen the enemy. Free will. That’s where our friends come in. When we become aware of a friend or family member slipping, getting into something we know is a bad thing, it is our duty as Christians to help them. Carefully, prayerfully, lovingly help. Being careful not to fall ourselves, or to wound unnecessarily. Remember:

  “How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” – Luke 6:42 NLT

Discipline with care. Rebuke with more care, and only after much prayer. We don’t want it to hurt the person, just to get their attention turned to God. He is the ONLY cure; our only Salvation. Amen.


(All scriptures quoted from http://bible.com)

No Matter What

​  “I love You, LORD; You are my Strength. The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Savior; my God is my Rock, in whom I find protection. He is my Shield, the Power that saves me, and my Place of Safety. I called on the LORD, Who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies. God’s Way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a Shield for all who look to Him for protection. The LORD Lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted! He is the God who pays back those who harm me; He subdues the nations under me…” – Psalms 18:1‭-‬3‭, ‬30‭, ‬46‭-‬47 NLT

God loves me. Through feast and famine, divorce, abuse, homelessness or riches; GOD has LOVED me. No matter what – or who, or where, or when – God has always loved me. These verses from Psalm 18 are David’s song to his LORD on the day he was delivered from almost certain death from Saul and all of David’s enemies, and we should probably be singing these praises daily, ourselves. 

The artist Who created the earth and all that is within it chooses to love me; to love US, no matter what. 

I don’t know about you, but I have to confess that it kinda blows my mind. Focus on verse 2: “The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Savior; my God is my Rock, in whom I find protection. He is my Shield, the Power that saves me, and my Place of Safety.”

He is: Rock, Fortress, Saviour; Protection, Shield, Power, and Safe Place. ALL of God’s Ways are perfect. His desire is to be all of these things for me and for you. I NEED Him to be these things for me. I can’t live without Him. For years, I tried to live without Him, and I kept myself so busy in my sins so that I could ignore just how miserable I really was. Me, self-centered, selfish, stubborn, proud…. and angry, jealous, mean. It all goes together, and it thrills the enemy when we cling to those attitudes and feelings.

Even though I spent my 40 years getting through the “wilderness” of my making, my God never left my side. No matter how hard I fought to ignore His Presence, no matter how loud I screamed to drown out His quiet voice, He was always with me. Did I say “always?” Because I meant ALL ways, ALWAYS, no matter what, with me. He lives and He will give you Life if you will accept it. LIFE. 

  “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” – James 3:17 NLT

Do you want to be more like God? Can you imagine living life unafraid and joyful, full of peace, with a gentle and giving spirit? From my own experience, I can say without reservation that I know the way. Because I am an imperfect being, the reflection of God’s Holy Spirit is often distorted when His perfection as it comes off me. Still, there are times when He uses me to shine His Light on others, and it humbles me to know it. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in my power as a person to show His Mercy to others; it all comes from the Holy Spirit. 

  “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. For ‘Everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved.’ ” – Romans 10:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NLT (Joel 2:32)

NO MATTER WHAT….

(All scriptures quoted from  http://bible.com/116/psa.18.1-47.NLT )

Go

​  “Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.” …. “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.”  

  “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” …. “Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before My Father in heaven.” 

  “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:1‭, ‬16‭‭, ‬28‭, ‬32‭-‬34 NLT)

Go! Go out into the world and tell people about Jesus. Let’s start with verse 16. We are being sent to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News, to the world, as “sheep among wolves.” Not a pretty picture. Then, to top it off, Jesus says to be “shrewd as snakes” – eeeeewww, gross; and “harmless as doves.” If nothing else, dove can be persistent! In spite of the picture I get from these verses, I find great comfort in verse 28a. 

  “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul.”  

I’ve made the statement (a number of times) that bad guys – thugs, gangsters, etc. – can’t hurt me, to friends who then try to correct me and tell me that I can be hurt. We are both correct. Someone might hurt this physical body, even kill me, but that isn’t what drives me. This body is temporary (thank GOD!) but my soul is eternal, and it belongs to God. I don’t want to be hurt, and I don’t like to hurt. I know that when I have been physically hurt in the past, I’ve done my share of crying and complaining. Maybe more than my share! The difference then and now is that I am no longer living in fear of hurt. I don’t consciously put myself in harms way, but I don’t cower in fear, either. 

I am confident that whatever happens, I will live on with Jesus, forever and a day. 

Going back to the scriptures, the last verse here is one of my favorite quotes from Jesus. He was humble and didn’t brag, and He allowed Himself to be arrested and tried, flogged and ridiculed, and hung on a cross. He also cleared the temple in Jerusalem, His Father’s house, in righteous anger, of all of the scammers who were selling goods there. He was humble, but He was not weak! Verse 34:

  “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.”

I don’t carry a sword; I carry the protection of my LORD. (A little target practice never hurts, either….)

The command stands. Jesus doesn’t tell us all to leave home and go to faraway places. Some of us need to stay home to reach neighbors and friends and family. Don’t be afraid of what man can do to you. When GOD sits on the great white throne and passes justice, everyone who has done evil to His children will face His wrath. If you have ever seen a human father or mother protecting their kids, just imagine how much greater is God’s protection and judgment! I can hardly wait!

  “Everyone who acknowledges Me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven….  And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded.” (Matthew 10:32‭, ‬42 NLT)

(http://bible.com/NLT)

Guilt

 “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” – James 3:16 NLT

As I sit here reading my Bible, I am listening to a woman on the radio talk about meeting her birth mother for the first time, and finding out it was someone she had known through her church all of her life. She described it as being awkward, and feeling obligated to maintain communication even though she didn’t want to. Then she talked about how grateful she was that her birth mother had given her the best parents she could imagine having. It’s possible to be angry and grateful at the same time.

The birth mother did an amazing thing. As the birth mother of a child who was given up, I see this from the other side from the child. It is incredibly difficult, letting your child go, even when you know they are going to a couple who will be excellent parents, able to provide emotionally and financially for the child. 

Watching from the sidelines, it would be easy to let jealousy and selfishness grow. It was something I dealt with. When I made the decision to let her go, I had to promise I would not come back in a year or 10 years and say “Okay, I have it together now, I want my child back.” While I was trying to survive the horrible decisions and situations I was in, I watched my child thrive and be happy. She had a mom and dad who loved God, each other, and her. After a couple of years, they had a baby and she became a sister. They presented a stable, well taken care of family picture. 

Yes, I was jealous. They had, and were, everything I wanted for myself and wasn’t able to achieve. Just as James points out, the jealousy I felt was accompanied by much disorder and evil. My life was ugly…. why should they have what I wanted, when I couldn’t? 

The answer lay in Jesus Christ. 

  “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.” – James 3:13‭-‬18 NLT

While I was being earthly and unspiritual, and being attacked on a demonic level, the adoptive parents were putting God first and “reaping a harvest of righteousness.” If they had known how deeply in trouble I was, I know they would have done whatever possible to help me. Instead, I hid in the darkness of my life, lost in denial, until I almost died from the consequences of my sin. Oh, I repented for a time, but the lure of Satan is strong . Where God is a gentleman, the enemy is a liar, crafty, underhanded, cheating and lying to snag us. He wants us away from our Lord, and he wants us to seek revenge against God.

Remember that! God created us with free will. He knew, even while He was fashioning the clay in His hands, that there were many millions and billions of humans whom Satan would deceive into following him, rather than God. Why would He give us free will so that we could throw it back in His face? Why, indeed. The Creator wants us to CHOOSE Him on our own. He will not coerce or force us. When we make the conscious decision to follow Christ, and we look to heaven instead of ourselves for wisdom, He rewards us with peace. Glorious Peace!

  “But the Wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” – James 3:17 NLT

Words to live by.

(http://bible.com/116/jas.3.13-18.NLT )

Joyful, Patient, Faithful

​  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” NIV, or as the NLT translates, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” – Romans 12:12 NIV, NLT

Hope, Patience, and Faithfulness. Not exactly what we want to hear when we are going through trials, and it’s a daily struggle for me to do these things. I like the way the NLT phrases it: “Rejoice in our confident hope…” Hope is what gets us through the hard times, but not just any hope. Without the Hope of Redemption by Jesus Christ, anything else fades away. 

  “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” – Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 NLT

Have you given much thought to this scripture? Jesus asks us to take His yoke – but why would I exchange one burden for another? We talk about a yoke as if it is a commonplace item,but I’m certain there are people who don’t have any idea what it is. 

A yoke can be used on oxen or on people, as illustrated above. It is a tool to allow more weight to be carried, and done properly, we can carry much more with a yoke than in our hands and on our backs. An oxen can pull many times his weight with a yoke. Most of my adult life I spent dragging a tremendous amount of baggage with an ill-fitting yoke, and it weighed me down, exhausted me, and kept me in pain. I’m not talking about physical baggage. This is emotional, physical baggage, and it is what Jesus wants to take away to replace with His yoke. Having that tremendous weight taken away allowed me to breathe, really breathe, for the first time in years. I didn’t understand that all that time, the reason I was in so much pain was because I wouldn’t – couldn’t – let go of the baggage. It was mine, and it was all I had. If I let go of it, what would be left?

There is beauty in letting go! I still hold on to some baggage. It’s a process, a journey. Jesus takes the majority of my burden – as much as I can let go off – and in return, all I have left to carry is His Love, His concern for others, His Light, and His Word to share with others. His burden is LIGHT!! (Yes, it’s a pun, AND it is pure truth!) Let it go, let it go, let it go… whether you are singing Elsa’s song from the movie Frozen, or you are repeating the words from a 12-step group (Let go and let God), what counts is that you are letting go of the baggage and looking to Jesus for His help.

When we let go and let God have our burdens, even the scary, dramatic, drastic ones, then no matter what the enemy throws at us, we can and will overcome because we have God with us; GOD with ME. Amen!

(All scriptures from http://bible.com)

RUNAWAY…

I couldn’t sleep for the concern on my mind tonight.

I spent some time today on the phone and messaging with the family of a young friend (whom I will call Bea – to protect her). Her family knows basically what the problem is and they are beginning to understand addiction, but they can’t fix it and they don’t know how how to act with her. Why do some of us end up acting out with addictive behaviors? It’s because the wiring of our brains got crossed and we don’t know how to fix it. We know that hurt people hurt people, and reacting to hurtful comments with more hurtful comments just keeps the wheel spinning. I suggested unfriending Bea on social media. When a loved one is in their addiction, we only hurt ourselves by trying to see what’s going on. Snooping is a destructive action for everyone involved. If Bea wants or needs her family, she knows how to reach them without relying on social media.

Offering our love and our prayers is the the very best thing we can do for the addict. We talked about money and bank accounts and personal belongings. I believe that by withholding those things, at least any funds, is important to prevent them being used to support the addiction. As for disposing of clothes or personal items, I wouldn’t. At some point, she may be able to return and the presence of those things could be important for her to know she wasn’t unimportant or cast away. 

Accusations, demands, and ultimatums against the addict, more often than not, backfire on us. Think about the definition of the word ultimatum: “a final, uncompromising demand or set of terms issued by a party to a dispute, the rejection of which may lead to a severance of relations or to the use of force; or, a final proposal or statement of conditions.” From my own experience, anytime I have been offered an ultimatum, it goes directly to the severing of that relationship. Addicts, especially, don’t like having demands or accusations or ultimatums. 

I’m so thankful for having parents who never gave up on me. As my mom told me after I wrote my amends letter to her, they never stopped loving me or praying for me – but they didn’t like me. Thank you, Mom and Dad.

Bea’s mom asked what it took for me to stop my addiction. The answer is something of an oxymoron. It took 40 years of ups and downs, being in and out of church (but never really surrendering), and tremendous amounts of spiritual and physical pain. Being told by others, even counselors, didn’t make it real. My saying it didn’t make it real. Admitting it to God first, then to myself, and finally to others…. that’s when the reality of it hit me. I had to acknowledge that I did not have control of my addiction (or my life), and then I had to hand over control to God. How do you hand something over if you don’t have it in the first place??? 

Ah, therein lies the rub! Reality. The catalyst for my behavior was hidden in my subconscious for years. When the buried memories would try to surface, I denied them. I had to accept the truth of what happened to me, and then I had to forgive ME (it really wasn’t my fault!) so that I could forgive the perpetrators. By denying the realities, I lived in a fantasy. I KNEW I was worthless and no good because of what was done to me. That was the enemy, Satan, telling me that and selling me a bunch of garbage. I bought into it when I was young, so my sham of control was just that. In addiction, the enemy is in control. We have to deny him, and give God permission to take it.

Pray, pray, pray, and pray some more. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18 NIV

My prayers will be for the protection of the whole family. I can visualize God’s angel army standing guard over each of them! When a member of the family is under attack, everyone is vulnerable. When people ask if they can pray or how they can pray, or if you ask someone to pray, give no details. It’s private. It’s not for discussion. Even, it’s none of their business. We have to be willing to PRAY and not gossip. God loves us. We need to love His children.

  “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” – 2 Thessalonians 1:11 NIV 


(All scriptures: http://bible.com/111/NIV)