Just want you all to know that I am having a bad day. My fibromyalgia has been flairing for several days, I woke up fatigued, and I am very depressed. With that said, I am still thankful and can see God's blessings in spite of everything. He loves me. He abides with me. He shall bring me through this trial as He has every single other time that I have gone through.
Having depression is awful, but it does not have to overwhelm. I make myself remember God's Word. It is the only Truth that I have. If I was to base my faith on my feelings, I would have become an agnostic decades ago. Instead, I force myself to place my faith in facts. And those facts are only found in the Bible. I choose to believe His Word, instead of the lies my brain tells me when I am in the slough of depression.
I know that this too shall pass and that God will never leave me nor forsake me.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
New Year Resolution
I know that at this time of the year many of us look back and reflect on last year and or try to look forward to the new year by setting resolutions. I usually do the same thing every year. But this year I haven't really made any resolutions. I am trying to make my life easier and by not having a list of goals that I am trying to accomplish it does make life seem simplier. However, it also leaves me feeling like I am drifting along just floating to no where in particular. As a very organized person, I need to have some direction. So, this morning during my special time with the Lord the thought came go my mind, "What goal or command would Jesus give to me if He was speaking to me directly in person?" Instantly, the Holy Spirit brought to mind the greatest command of all. It is the command that Jesus did speak personally two thousand years ago. You can find it in the Gospels and it still applies to all christians today. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength."
I truly believe that if we were to let that command guide all that we do, it would radically change the way we live. It would change the way we think. It would change the world. If we love the Lord our God with all of our being, then we will seek to please Him in every single thing that we do. We wouldn't have to worry about whether we were doing the right thing. We wouldn't have to make any other resolutions because all that we do would be based on our love for the Lord.
So, my resolution this year is one that anyone and everyone who claims Christ as Saviour should also have as their resolution for this year. To love the Lord our God will all our heart, to love the Lord our God will all our soul, to love the Lord our God with all our mind, and to love the Lord our God will all our strength.
I truly believe that if we were to let that command guide all that we do, it would radically change the way we live. It would change the way we think. It would change the world. If we love the Lord our God with all of our being, then we will seek to please Him in every single thing that we do. We wouldn't have to worry about whether we were doing the right thing. We wouldn't have to make any other resolutions because all that we do would be based on our love for the Lord.
So, my resolution this year is one that anyone and everyone who claims Christ as Saviour should also have as their resolution for this year. To love the Lord our God will all our heart, to love the Lord our God will all our soul, to love the Lord our God with all our mind, and to love the Lord our God will all our strength.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Contentment
Paul writes that he had to learn contentment. Paul, the greatest christian had to learn contentment. Contentment is learned and can be learned by anyone who truly knows the Lord. There is no real contentment apart from God. So, how do we learn contentment? First by confessing your sin of discontent. Yes, discontent is a sin because God says that we are to be thankful for everything. That is the second step...be thankful. Start making a list and keep adding to it every day. I love to drive alone and just thank God for everything as He and I drive along. There have been a couple of times when I started out the trip in a bad mood, but when I start giving thanks, before I realize that it has happeded, I feel so much happier.
I learned a big lesson in contentment a month ago. It is hard to have fibromyalgia. It is even harder to be truly thankful for it. And even harder for me to be content in the fact that this is God's will. Last August, I was feeling much better and thought that I would be able to go back to work as a para-educator, so long as I didn't have to do anything too physical. I was hired as a substitute for the local school district and hoped that it would help me get a full hire. I applied for so many positions and couldn't figure out why I wasn't being called to interview for the positions I really wanted. However, I got interviewed for every job that I did not desire.
Early in October I started in a position that became a long-term sub job. I loved it there and thought that I had finally found the job for me. But they never interviewed for the job once they had posted it. Then, my fibromyalgia began to flare up really bad. I definately was not content even though I was doing a job that I loved. Doing this subbing also made it hard for me to do anything except for the job. I could no longer mentor. I couldn't help with the Christmas program. I was too sore to stay at church. I was tired all the time and so sore. Then, I had a super bad flare up at work and had to go home sick and sleep the rest of the day. It was then that I knew beyond a doubt that God did not want me to work outside of my home.
As I read through my 2011 journal last week, I discovered how discontent I had been concerning fibromyalgia and the inability for me to work at an outside job. I could see the Lord at work. He was the one who had kept me from getting interviewed for the jobs that I had wanted. He knew that if I had gotten hired for any of those positions, I would have had to resign because of the fibro. I did resign from even doing subbing and I am so content. I have absolute peace and joy from the Lord that this is His will for me. I am able to mentor once again. I am able to support my family and take good care of them. I am able to work with my husband in starting our new Lifegroup. And this morning I was asked to write a script for our churches Easter program. (That was a blessing because I felt that God was encouraging me to do script writing once again.)
Contentment can be learned and is something that we must learn and practice every single moment of every day. Thanks be to God for all things.
I learned a big lesson in contentment a month ago. It is hard to have fibromyalgia. It is even harder to be truly thankful for it. And even harder for me to be content in the fact that this is God's will. Last August, I was feeling much better and thought that I would be able to go back to work as a para-educator, so long as I didn't have to do anything too physical. I was hired as a substitute for the local school district and hoped that it would help me get a full hire. I applied for so many positions and couldn't figure out why I wasn't being called to interview for the positions I really wanted. However, I got interviewed for every job that I did not desire.
Early in October I started in a position that became a long-term sub job. I loved it there and thought that I had finally found the job for me. But they never interviewed for the job once they had posted it. Then, my fibromyalgia began to flare up really bad. I definately was not content even though I was doing a job that I loved. Doing this subbing also made it hard for me to do anything except for the job. I could no longer mentor. I couldn't help with the Christmas program. I was too sore to stay at church. I was tired all the time and so sore. Then, I had a super bad flare up at work and had to go home sick and sleep the rest of the day. It was then that I knew beyond a doubt that God did not want me to work outside of my home.
As I read through my 2011 journal last week, I discovered how discontent I had been concerning fibromyalgia and the inability for me to work at an outside job. I could see the Lord at work. He was the one who had kept me from getting interviewed for the jobs that I had wanted. He knew that if I had gotten hired for any of those positions, I would have had to resign because of the fibro. I did resign from even doing subbing and I am so content. I have absolute peace and joy from the Lord that this is His will for me. I am able to mentor once again. I am able to support my family and take good care of them. I am able to work with my husband in starting our new Lifegroup. And this morning I was asked to write a script for our churches Easter program. (That was a blessing because I felt that God was encouraging me to do script writing once again.)
Contentment can be learned and is something that we must learn and practice every single moment of every day. Thanks be to God for all things.
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