Monday, September 29, 2014

Trying To Understand The Inexplicable

Nothing can quite prepare you for life.

The ups and downs.

The sorrow and pain.

There is a lot that we don't understand, and maybe never will in this life.

And perhaps it's mainly in part because unlike God, we do not have access to see the "big picture."  What would we, mere mortals, think if we could see our life play out from start to finish, experiencing things that only make sense to us?  When something bad happens, is it possible that it happens because it is actually going to be better than what the alternative could have been?

We will never live a perfect life on this earth.

There will always be pain.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

There's More You Don't Know

It shouldn't surprise those who read this blog regularly that I believe there is a very real devil in this world and that he is in the business of convincing us to believe lies about ourselves.  I spent 33 years of my life listening to lie after lie, and just believing any negative thing that came into my mind, specifically about myself.  It has always been a struggle, and there are still days that I wrestle with this.  More days than I care to admit, honestly.  It will likely be something that I have to battle for the rest of my life.  And I do not think that I am alone in this.

I have written several posts about lies that women believe about themselves, and at the heart of each of these lies is a very shrewd, very evil entity, seeking to wreak havoc on our lives.  And as we allow the lies to play through our minds, very quickly they take root, and they grow until our minds are entwined with one lie after another.

This is something I spoke to yesterday, as I gave my testimony in front of 40 incarcerated women in southern Missouri.  It has been my struggle, and I God has been teaching me how to overcome this.  So it was only natural for that to be part of my story.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Broken And Beautiful, Even In Prison

Why am I always surprised that doing something to minister to someone else ALWAYS winds up being a tremendous blessing to my own heart?

This is my third Broken and Beautiful conference at a women's prison.  Two women from church spoke tonight.  One I had heard before, and was still blessed to hear again.  Another story I had never heard, and was from a girl I don't know well.  She's a little younger than I am, and always super friendly, but we just don't have the chance to really sit and talk much.  Tonight made me want to change that.