Thank You Lord 'For-giving' me this Experience!

"Walk with Me in the freedom of forgiveness...If you carry a burden of guilt on your back, you are more likely to stumble and fall. At your request, I will remove the heavy load from you and bury it at the foot of the cross. (Then) you are undeniably free! Unconditional Love...frees you from both fears and sins. As you come to know Me more and more intimately, you grow increasingly free." Jesus Calling!

I love this truth! I love the freedom and release that comes with forgiveness. There is incredible deliverance that comes to those who are willing to honestly confess and humbly request forgiveness or grant it.

It can be the difference between being victorious over our sin and being victimized by our sin. A way that I continually remind myself whether good, bad or hurtful situations arise in my life is that it is all God-filtered. Instead of becoming a victim in the situation and holding blame to someone I look to God and become the victor in the situation through His sovereign hand and amazing grace over my life. My favorite phrase I have walked away with is...."Thank you Lord 'For-giving' me this Experience!" And when I do that, I understand that it is easier to forgive, because I know nothing can happen to me under the sun unless the Lord allows it. Many times our hurtful situations with other people is simply a test that God allows to produce a testimony when we can truly freely release others in those difficult situations! Even Jesus who was truly blameless before men while being persecuted before the cross stated, "..forgive them Father for they know not what they doing." Luke 23:24


I implore you to live a live worthy of His high calling and to daily walk with an
abundant mercy account - operating in a continual spirit of forgiveness. Matthew 18:23-25 tells us that "If we do not forgive people, we get turned over to the torturers." NOT only does forgiveness provide us a mind of peace, but a personal release to be free of being tied to someone else's sins.

It has been so eloquently stated that walking in unforgiveness is like 'drinking poison- and expecting the other person to die from it.'  Forgiveness is designed to actually save your own life! Be FREE - FORGIVE! And see God move in a mighty way in your life!

Enjoy the JOURNEY!

Have you ever said, I can’t wait until this spiritual test is over, or I can’t wait until summer,  or I can’t wait until I find that next job, or I can’t wait for my kids to be out can’t wait until kids are out of school, or out of their diapers/pull-ups, or even more so out of my house! Or (you fill in the blanks…)________ --- so that I can be at some next point in my life?  

Well Jesus always prepares us for what is on the road ahead... He says that we should take time to be still in HIS Presence so that He can strengthen us. It is no wonder that the busier we become, without spending that valuable time, the more we end up opening ourselves up to weakness and temptation because we literally need this time to be revived (renewed back to a spiritual life) in Him...

I vividly remember one weekend afternoon, feeling like I had to keep the mouse wheel going rushing in from being out, making a phone call to my husband to give him additional things to shop for while he was at the store, while I also made another phone call to my mom while opening a big can of tuna for a tuna salad until dinner was done. Not really focusing on what I was doing, I told the person to hold while I put the phone between my ear and shoulder and then proceeded to finish opening the can of tuna. Voila! All was well until I set the tuna can down and proceeded to stir in the relish and mayonnaise and noodles, and knocked my bowl into a now empty flying can of which I proceeded to catch with my left hand. VOIL- OUCH! What had just happened?

I was staring down into two of my fingers, my middle finger you could almost see clear to the bone. The can I just caught by its jagged top, also just caught me! OUCH!  I proceeded not realizing how bad the cut was to rinse my hand until all I could see was white flesh in my finger and a big gaping hole of skin. I had my son call his dad as he was doing the dishes meanwhile I asked my son what he thought. As he looked over my shoulder in a matter of fact way as he so often does, he said, “Yep, you are going to need a good amount of stitches.” 

I then replied, “Thanks Howie!” as I proceeded to cry. Eventually I called over a sister from our church who happened to be a registered nurse, who proceeded to confirm I would need to seek urgent care. Of which I spent the next four hours of my evening in the waiting room…WAITING…on the nurse, then the doctor and finally back home. All this time of which I had plenty of time to reflect how I needed to slow D-O-W-N!

Now I am sharing this story to not gross you out, but I do share this story to say that it is so easy to get into a RAT(Rapidly –Accelerated- w/Things) race of doing so many things at one time, rushing through the day from one thing to the next - not really seeking the rest or mind of God in a matter. I was painfully reminded this day and I now have a beauty mark in my fingers, though totally healed - it is much more sensitive than my other hand and is a steady clear reminder through pain, personally, to help me to slow down…..And also to realize that if it does not all get done…..that LESS can often really be MORE!  What is your Journey today? I challenge you to enjoy it more and rush through it less! See WHAT God is doing THROUGH your circumstances versus asking WHY while trying to ESCAPE every problem and challenge in life! God bless you today....