A Creed To Live By



The Texas Garden in Winter



Good Afternoon readers!  I pray that life is treating you well and that the stresses of the Christmas Season aren't burying you so deep that you aren't enjoying the REAL REASON FOR THE SEASON!!  It was so beautiful here today.  I tossed a couple logs of pinion wood in the chiminea and created my own little world where I could read, meditate and pray.  Sometimes, you have to do that for yourself!  I had spent an hour on the phone today with my health advocate and needed some time to think about our discussion.

I am thoroughly enjoying getting back into my Daily Walk Bible reading.  Today, I read the book of Philemon ... a very short book related to asking for and accepting forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a choice made by one ... reconciliation takes all involved parties.  There are way too many families that fight like the Hatfield's and the McCoy's, holding grudges and using passive aggressiveness to get back at one another.  What does that solve?  In the book of Philemon, Paul nowhere minimizes the wrong suffered ... forgiveness is not blind to facts ... it is an act of the will to move on.  Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation.  Reconciliation is restoration and it takes a lot of grace and love...  So many people are lonely at Christmas ... so many people are so low that they think about "ending it all" ... so many people who just need a hug and to know somebody out there cares....  I care, do you care?

What does God say about judgement and unforgiveness?

"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."~Matthew 7:5 (NLT)

Barnes Notes on the Bible

"Thou hypocrite, first cast out ... - Christ directs us to the proper way of forming an opinion of others, and of reproving and correcting them. By first amending our own faults, or casting the beam out of our eye, we can "consistently" advance to correct the faults of others. There will then be no hypocrisy in our conduct. We shall also "see clearly" to do it. The beam, the thing that obscured our sight, will be removed, and we shall more clearly discern the "small" object that obscures the sight of our brother. The sentiment is, that the readiest way to judge of the imperfections of others is to be free from greater ones ourselves. This qualifies us for judging, makes us candid and consistent, and enables us to see things as they are, and to make proper allowances for frailty and imperfection."

One thing the internet has provided me with is a highway to all kinds of information.  As I began to reconstruct my own life years ago, I started with scrutinizing my own life ... oh goodness, that was tough.  It was much easier to point fingers at others and avoid looking within.  There was a war going on inside of me ... a war between good and evil ... truth and lies.  I had to find truth before I could find me.  Subconsciously, I believed the lie of Satan because I was not clear on what God's truth was and is.  I had been rejected; therefore, I became hurt, anxious, and fearful; then lonely and isolated, and finally angry.  Looking back, that was my pattern for a long time.

When I began to read God's truth in His Word (Bible), the lies in my life were exposed.  Some people have tried to get me to question the Bible and have brought contradictions before me about the reliability of God's Word.  What do I believe?  "There is a way that seems right to a man; but its end is the way of death."~~Proverbs 14:12

To walk on the path of wellness, I had to take control of my mind.  I prayed over and over again for truth and that the power of lies in my life would be broken.  One of the things that a little old lady said in Alanon was that finding fault in others was a ploy to feel better about oneself.  The focus needed to "be the self".  I thought, "Well, if I am told I am so awful, what good will it do to focus on that?"  I missed the point.  I needed to take my eyes off my tormentor and fixate it on the Lord and getting well myself.  Took me a long time to get that ... really get it!  In order for my circumstances to change, I had to change.  Oh goodness....

I came across this poem called A Creed To Live By and thought I would share it with you.  It helped me so much once I cleaned house in my own mind, my perceptions, and grew towards wholeness:

A Creed To Live By

Don't undermine your worth by comparing

yourself with others.

It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people

deem important.

Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart.

Cling to them as you would your life, for without them

life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers

by living in the past or for the future.

By living your life one day at a time,

you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give.

Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.

It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks.

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love.

The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly;

and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don't dismiss your dreams.

To be without dreams is to be without hope;

to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Don't run through life so fast that you forget

not only where you've been, but also where you're going.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored

each step of the way.

~ Nancye Sims ~



Countdown to Christmas continues ... There is joy & hope all around us ... it is in giving that we receive ... enjoy!!
You are loved &  prayed for...YA YOU!!