April 28, 2023 DDF Breathes New Life Post/ "The Corpse" and Comments

I usually don’t respond to comments on twitter. I am great at retweeting as others are much better at short spurts of information. I am a bit long winded. But, I just stated I respected a person and her efforts. Then some stranger didn’t just respond once, but multiple responses. Well, more like mini lectures. I tried to process how a compliment could, shall I say “trigger” a person to take that much time and energy to write out sooooo many words. I stopped reading and just closed the comments out. I remember reading a comment by Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs, guy who wrote something like how arrogant of a perfect stranger to think their opinion had any value on the content of his character or on his decisions or his life. It was an epic response! I know the lecture was more for the person I had complimented, but I felt for her. No wonder no one wants to actually try to make a difference in anything. Is all the bull-

crap that comes with it worth it? And it seems like a fad to throw out ‘1st amendment’ like a #hashtag that my words override yours.

***Okay, funny side note, just looked out of curiosity and this crazed person has 7 followers. Not sure what I want to do with that information but it just makes more sense and puts it in crystal perspective and now I just want to laugh at my own rant. LOL

Still this is prevalent as it is not just this person, but I see it often:
Point: I don’t want my tax dollars to pay for Christian or religious school. You know there is that 1st amendment thing.

Response Anger: the 1st amendment is not a thing, empty words, or just some fad words you throw around to shut down the difference of opinions. Either it is the 1st amendment for all or no one. There is no in-between, when you feel like it, or when you are losing the argument.

Response Irritated: So you don’t want your tax dollars to pay for those religious schools, but you are very okay to accept those religious peoples’ tax dollars to pay for public schools. Maybe those religious people would like to keep their tax dollars and put their money into religious schools. It is amazing that it only works one way when throwing around those separation of church and state rules.
Public Schools: tax dollars approved

Religious Schools: no tax dollars, 1st amendment separation of church and state, so no tax dollars for you

Response dumbfounded: So, 1st amendment separation of church and state is a lie. The Constitution was born from an hierarchy: God > We the People > Government. The separation of church and state is based on a letter between Jefferson and the Danbury Baptist convention reassuring them that the government will not overstep their power over the church. Not the other way around. It is so interesting how this is the go to for all secular arguments that is an utter straw man fallacy!

When your voice seems low key or non-existent just know you can have the courage to stand firm in your faith.

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1).

If you want a funnier story then check out my story of the week called “the corpse” on dreamsdontface.com

Prayers for you all today and everyday. Your voice matters and you are valued no matter the criticism that comes your way. Do not compromise on your beliefs or character as they stand the test of time. May you know you are not alone in any battle you are going through.

Let’s get motivated with this song. Great workout song! Stop caring about what others say!

“I Believe” by Planetboom

I don't really care bout what they say
Everything I am now walks by faith
Yes I'm holding on to promises
In You I believe
Nothing gonna change my mind
I'm set on who You are
You are
In You I believe
Not gonna waste my time
Ain't gonna pay no mind
No mind
Thinking bout
Thinking bout anything other than You

Blessings,
dreamsdontfade.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRM5hVMr_Ts

Open Your Eyes They Are Coming For Your Kids

Jesus

-went in and engaged with people outside of the church

-He modeled Romans 13: to submit to those in charge as they are ministers of God, so we elect people, we pray for them, and we also minister to them as they are ministers of God- holding them accountable as God has all authority over all people

-politics is about decisions of a nation, so that is why Christians should be involved with the decision made over our nation

-government is necessary as we need to be represented in the law

-voting defines what we believe and how we want the government to represent our values

“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”-proper authority: God, we the people, government.

Today’s example: we are told if we do not accept gender ideology then we are on the wrong side of history-this thought process assumes it will be so bold that it will affect all future.

-we can’t assume creation of man and woman reaches into the future if we are not involved in the politics of it being erased today which will affect all future generations

Paul

-used his citizenship to hold the government accountable

“As they stretched out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, ‘is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” (Acts 22:25)

***Do not be lazy or cowardly-get involved- the 1st amendment is worth fighting for

***Political involvement is a sacred opportunity to give hope to souls in the marketplace

Importance of the 1^st 11 books of Genesis are the most political in all the Bible:

-why you exist

-what is our existence and purpose of it

-what is a human being

-is man naturally good or naturally bad

-culminates in genesis 11-what happens if you try to build a political project and you ignore God and dishonor God = City of Babel

-metropolis-city-centralized government -both Thomas Jefferson and the Tora hated centralized authority cosmopolitan government with no checks and balances

 Today:

-blurred lines can be undone if you look at Genesis

-distinction between man and God-God made man-man did not make God

-blurred lines between man and woman-distinctly and uniquely made separately with two different creation narratives

-distinction between man and nature-nature is there for our purposes- we are no nature-we are not here to worship nature-we did not come from nature

-Biblical creation story only ancient creation story where man is spoken into existence by the creator

-we are made in the image of God

-rational speech is our ability to make sense to a confused and broken world

-logos: apologetics-rational thought

-God gives us distinction and gives us order & how to make connection with transcend and divine and eternal is daily/hourly trying to be obliterated by the culture in the secular left

-restore western civilization, save our country, we must start at the foundational building blocks

-our distinctions are derived where we get our liberties from

This is at the heart of the trans movement, LGBTIQ movement, CRT movement:

-they believe that the distinctions are tyrannical, false constructs, and want to get rid of all distinctions

-what is immoral of believers is to stay silent and just watch God’s creation distinctions get blurred and/or removed

-distinction between good vs. evil

-how do you know what good is good?

-can’t talk about true reality without having the law come down on you to repress and suppress (gender ideology where men can have periods and women become just birthing persons)

-remove that we all are recipients of a Christian inheritance

-no common-sense values of the world

Children should not be taken advantage of-that is not common sense-that is a Christian value

Power should not be centralized in one person but separate with checks and balances

We should look out for the poor

These are Christian inheritances that the rest of the world doesn’t honor

If we do not honor our inheritance as Christians and believers and keep on the sidelines and stay to the “I only preach the gospel” and I don’t get into the controversial stuff, then you are wasting time-

-left’s desire to be God-

Why we believe in the Biblical God? The God of creation:

-Hebrew the word create is only ever used with God not with humans- so not in the human realm

-to change nature is new secular German historicist scientist belief

-science should be about understanding, exploring the natural world-Not try changing the natural world

-we believe nature is worthy of appreciation and understanding because there is a melody and harmony because of Genesis 1:1 god created the heavens and the earth

-not that natural world is an accident or just a roll of the dice-but it has purpose

-original scientific investigation of the west is it was created so we better understand it

-Sir Isaac Newton-founder of modern physics-he wrote more about biblical prophecy in Isaiah than he did about physics

-Devote Christians are responsible for all major scientific breakthroughs until mid-1800’s

-German historicists adopted a different belief that we can now like Gods

-Ideology responsible for Naziism, communism, -if there is a science to the natural world then there must be a politics in the science- lie that we can learn how to perfectly govern human beings- throw out old documents-bible is outdated-advances in technology we don’t need old schools of knowledge

-technology does not remove the soul of man-without Jesus, man is just as broken as man was 2,000-3,000 years ago

-we believe there is a God, and you are not Him

-transgender movement: if there was a God, I want to be God

-change biological reality through intrusive interventions and force

-queer theory boils down to rejecting the true God of creation to being their own Gods to rid the creation of man and woman. It erases women altogether

Genesis 3-The fall of the 1^st man and woman:

-1^st manipulation of language-remember Eve-did you know you can be like God? There is no distinction between you, and God-you become your own God

-Plato reasoned that Technocracy:  the goal is very clearly to replace democratic self-rule with a form of rule by experts. 

EX. remember when we couldn’t be with our loved ones who were dying-You could face time and watch your loved one on a screen. The person died alone, and it was forced social acceptance

Cultural Revolutions:

-cultural revolution led to social science: human social behaviors impact relationships, economics, and politics. EX. Climate mandates to removes all natural resources so socially we must embrace electric cars, remove gas stoves, and new one is if you have a mortgage your payment will go up so we can pay for other’s rent so spread the wealth-impacts the working class

-cultural revolution-demands you agree with socialist ideology, so you have freedom of speech-but if you speak against socialism then your freedom of speech is removed (remember when Covid lockdowns had re-education camps if you chose not to take the vaccine?)

Paradigms:

-Woke: (to be enlightened and a good citizen) take over the arts and sciences-can’t counter socialism-only one stand to view the world and it will be imposed on everybody

Ex. new world order wants to mandate the removal of rice from the world as it causes global warming=Rice

-Maoism: It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances. The Maoists also use propaganda and disinformation against State institutions as other components of their insurgency doctrine.

-Marcuse: German American philosopher (The father of the new left)

-Frankfurt School of critical theory: capitalism demands a level of surplus repression that supports the development of the death instinct and social domination.

-remove capitalism and reshape the mass culture to shape personal desires

-Mass culture result in domination of human subjects with removal of moral understanding and replace with what is so called critical thinking

-creates a rupture in the existing reality so we enter a liberation from existing reality to become fully autonomous (acting in accordance with one’s moral duty)-the question is what is your moral duty? Where is your moral compass?

***Creepy sex book=eros in civilization-the way back into the garden is to take a second bite from the fruit of tree of knowledge

Communism: oppression is bad because we are on the outside so move to middle to be the oppressors

Ex. we see this that black and brown people have been oppressed so it seems right to destroy white people, remove law and order, stealing is reparations for invisible wrongs

Nazis: oppression is good because people at the top do more for society so being an oppressor is seen as clean

Gnosticism: doctrine taught that the world was created and ruled by a lesser divinity called the demiurge

-the demiurge is the real creator of the world and is subordinate to a supreme being

-that Christ was an emissary (person sent on a special mission like a diplomatic representative) of the remote supreme divine being of whom enabled the redemption of the human spirit.

-proposed in heretical gospel of Thomas (not in the Biblical canon)

Cult:

-We are up against a cult-inner circle pulling the strings and are purposeful in what they are doing

-obsessed with power with assumption that man is incomplete who is capable of completing himself and at the end of that he “becomes God”

American church:

-needs to understand this is the greatest manifestation of spiritual war in front of us and the lack of moral, biblical, or theoretical, logical clarity on this topic

-even agnostic academics are warning the American church

***We are not the only ones as Christians that are now promising eternal life***

Transforming Warnings: Open your eyes they are coming for your kids:

***Satan doesn’t come up with his own ideas-He steals God’s words and promises and builds a side path

-For years Christianity was popular because we promised eternity BUT TODAY

-Satan provides his own eternity through transhumanism

“Belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond it current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology.”

-Trans-humanism-you will be a spiritual being in an astral realm and live forever (truth is that is hell)

-promising a falsified, synthetic, obviously heretical version-appropriated the promise and beauty of Christianity, but put through a scientific secular lens

-anti-racism is the new religion providing sacraments passing out divine grace to the oppressed and Hell to the oppressors

-Satan wouldn’t go and create a totally fake and false opposite of Christianity

-he would take the proven elements of Christianity and launder it through a lens that would get people to think that they are doing something righteous and virtuous but really on their way to hell

-Satan picks up where he began with Eve

-Genesis 3-sin and trouble entered when a human being didn’t obey God’s command to not eat from the tree of good and evil

-women’s sex bodies being medically attacked

-revolution of sex doesn’t matter

-Biology doesn’t matter-replaced with I am the God so what I feel matters and trumps God’s design

-women are being erased

-young women are being deconstructed (ex. getting the double mastectomies, their ovaries removed, having their wombs removed

*** Follow the money=take over of human production with technology

-you can’t talk about reality with out bringing the law down upon you

-women are being arrested for saying that men can’t be women

-overlaying a virtual reality over the natural world and subjugating the natural world

***when no one has a conscience then the voice of God dies and so does humanity**

-the United Nations has opened the floodgates to normalize sex with minors

“Sexual conduct involving persons below the domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex, may be consensual in fact, if not law.”

-decriminalizing statutory rape

-Making pedophilia legal with the belief that young children make intellectual decisions to have sex with an adult

“But it states that children have both the capacity and the legal right to make sexual decisions.”

-So why not make it legal for children to decide on their own to remove body parts as well

**hope and salvation came into the world by obeying God’s commandments**

God is the true God because in creation He wanted a relationship with His creation while all other Gods dominate and demand that you obey. There is no personal relationship, so by faith we believe in the God whose moral compass is written in the pages of scripture.

April 22, 2023 DDF Breathes New Life Post/Advice

 

What is your graduation story? It is that time of year for tears of celebration or tears of disappointment. I look back and remember the day but then I blinked and here I am 36 years later. Remember when your parents told you that life passes in a flash? Not a lie like I walked to school both ways uphill and didn’t even have soles in my shoes. LOL. I shared one of the most outlandish stories of a student who couldn’t bring herself to tell her family she was not going to be able to walk across that stage. Listen to the story on my dreamsdontfade.com site.

Good Lord, maybe I am stressing for the students on the bubble. Hives, how does one just break out in hives? All around my torso. Confused the doctor as I never fit into the easy diagnosis. It just itches and the welts sting when I scratch. So, sitting there trying not to scratch the doctors says, “don’t scratch as it breaks blood vessels and bacteria under your fingernails can cause an infection.” Okay, Gross! Then of course the follow up statement is “I know that is easier said than done.” As I squirm in my seat. I do have to say that hives are not as bad as the itch from shingles, but still just as uncomfortable. Here is another suggestion: hey just don’t wear anything around your waist until it clears up. Okay, that is not helpful at all. So, antihistamine and small dose of steroids I go to hopefully end this itching torture zone.

Both scenarios got me thinking about all the advice we get over our lifetime. Some good and some bad. Some wise and some spoken by a fool.  A few I wished I would have chosen to use which would have kept me from making decisions that ended in painful consequences. Sometimes you just need reassurance that the mistakes you make aren’t the end of the world. But some of the worst decisions deepen understanding and we do learn from them. Procrastination will not get these seniors graduated. That one F can be haunting as you miss your moment. That is the time when a wise person comes in and helps the young person move on. Rebound and take this other path so the goal looks different but is possible.

James in the Bible is a good example of mistakes made, but what a comeback. James, the half-brother, of Jesus who rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah; the “Christ” foretold in the Old Testament. Then when Jesus was crucified, James looked at his doubt and tossed it aside to become a very strong believer and follower of Christ. In his wisdom he advised:

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check” (James 3:2).

Yep, then he talks about the whole animal is controlled like a horse with a bit in its mouth. Or a ship in strong winds cannot be steered by a small rudder. His whole point was that none of us is perfect, and we all make mistakes. It is what we do with those mistakes that make the difference in our life and the lives of others. Advice is important when you know which wisdom you are listening to as there is two kinds:

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness” (James 3: 13-18).

Prayers for this next generation of graduates. May life be kind to them. Lead them in making wise decisions as they are the hope of the future of this country. May they feel your spirit in the direction of good choices and listening to wise advice so their lives are enriched and that they know their true value.

Okay, now just Wow, oh, Wow, Powerhouse. Metal singer, Dan Vasc, performs “Amazing Grace.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89g9yMGFGlM

 

April 16, 2023 DDF Breathes New Life Post/YMCA song

 I went to a baseball game over the weekend. It still amazes me when the song YMCA plays age just doesn’t matter. Young and old come together to loudly sing and make the letters with their hands and arms. You can’t help getting swept away the beat and just the lifting of spirits the song requires. Hard to stay in a bad mood when that song is played.

Here is a bit of trivia.
1.Do you know what YMCA stands for?
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)

2. Do you know who the audience the Village People were trying to reach?
Down and out city dwellers. The band’s front man, Victor Willis, based the lyrics on his own experiences and wanted to reach out to young urban Black youth. The band’s costumes also say all youth are welcome at the YMCA as it provides more than just a place to stay to get off the streets.

3. Do you know the meaning behind the lyrics?
First verse: if you are homeless and broke you have a place that will take you in to take care of your basic needs.
Second verse: the YMCA can help you get your life back on track so swallow your pride and come in to get help so you can fulfill your dreams.
Third verse: the people at YMCA have common lives who faced dire straits, depression, and just a feeling no one cared, but it is here you will find people who see you favorably and want to help you succeed.

4. Do you know how the YMCA dance came to be?
In 1979, the song was played on “American Bandstand”, and it was the audience that created the hand and arm letter moves to spell out YMCA. It stuck and has been one of the most iconic songs charted on billboard charts.

5. Do you know where the music video to YMCA was filmed?
It features a real YMCA branch in Manhattan, New York. It is the one that Village People’s Randy Jones (AKA Cowboy) frequented when he first came to Manhattan in the mid 70’s.

I thought about the YMCA song’s intention by uplifting young men and to empower them to take the control back so they can be successful in all areas of life. It was a great moment to sing out the lyrics and know it is a fun song with a powerful message. Discouragement can be overwhelming for young people. My podcast is about my week of listening to heart-broken displaced families. So many stressors and nowhere to take them. Resolution seems so far away or even impossible.

Like this song speaking to youth and their potential, I read the Apostle Paul’s advice to the young Timothy.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Enjoy the song and just listen to the lyrics to find so many nuggets of hope and value of our youth. Prayers for our children and how culture has warped so many aspects of their lives. May they find the love and communication they crave as I present some examples from my week on my pod cast.

 Prayers we become missionaries in the halls of government.

Politics matter “saying no to mastectomy or hormone therapy or questioning gender identity decisions is not neglect. Parents should have no say in their kids’ health.”

Washington Democrats passed a bill SB 5599 that states if a minor runs away form home, they can receive “gender affirming care” including surgeries without parental consent and without the state being compelled to tell the parents where their child is.

The compelling reasoning for the bill is to protect trans kids from abusive households. But there is NO requirement that abuse is even alleged.

They define another reason to keep this from parent is the youth is “seeking or receiving protected health care services.”

“Protected health care services” means gender affirming treatment as defined in RCW 74.09.675. This included facial feminization surgeries, breast reductions, or breast implants.

It is to the point that a parent even questioning your kid’s newly claimed identity is abusive.

Who is using kids to show how evolved they are on gender identity? Where will they be when a broken child is finally returned to the family? Where will they be if the child regrets the decisions that are now irreversible.

Virtue signaling = the earning of social currency  

Blessings to you all,

dreamsdontfade.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k

Be an informed citizen: Public Comment on Nevada Legislation Bills and Resolutions

 

“This is undeniably a nation settled by Christians and founded upon Judeo-Christian principles. But it’s undeniable that the culture has become hostile toward many of those principles. There was once a time when it was normal to profess Christianity and adhere to Christian morality. But like Daniel, we now live in a culture that demands us to compromise our principles.” Robert J. Pacienza

Politics needs Christianity and the Bible. Because without it, it is a godless pursuit.

NELIS

Here is the site to help you monitor and submit your public opinion on Assembly, Committee, and Senate Bills:

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/9889/Opinions

OR

Go to   https://www.leg.state.nv.us/

Click on NELIS. This will give you the NELIS Home Page.

The first thing you must do if you want to interact with NELIS is register/sign in. (See upper right corner of page.) You only register once and then sign in with your username and password.

Click on Legislation (upper left of page) and then click on All Bills and Resolutions.

In the box under the word Filters, type the bill number.  In this case SB131. Click on the box Apply Filters and bill number will appear below. Click on the bill number.This will take you to the Overview page for the bill.

Scroll to the bottom of the Overview page and click on Submit Opinion or View Opinion Stats. Select a position (Support, Opposition, or Neutral), enter your personal information requested and click on Submit.

****You can also track a bill-you get notices so you can monitor bills you are most interested in. The majority of people sign up for the free version.

You can now track Bill Draft Requests (BDRs), Bills (when available), and Budgets (when available) using your PLT account.

    https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Subscriber/Home/NewSubscriber

 

 

 

April 7, 2023 DDF Breathes New Life Post/Easter and Resurrection Day

 I can’t take credit for this explanation as I have taken it from a very wise and valuable gem who is a retired teacher and wife of a pastor. I asked her if I could use it and she graciously said yes.

Why do we Christian’s hunt for Easter eggs? Many churches today offer the Easter egg hunt following their services that just honored the resurrection of Christ. I’ve been bothered by this, so I had to check it out…

The Orthodox Christian church in Mesopotamia in the early centuries would paint the eggs red for the blood of Christ and give them out on Easter, as the people had given up eggs for Lenten and it was a treat to be able to resume eating them.

Early Christian missionaries hid Easter eggs painted with biblical scenes for children to find. The children would find the Easter eggs and tell the story associated with the paintings. Therefore, early Easter egg hunts helped children learn about the significance of Easter.

One of the earliest Easter egg hunts that most resembles the modern Easter egg hunt can be traced to Martin Luther. Martin Luther was a key leader in the Protestant Reformation. During this time, men would hide eggs for women and children to find. The joy the women and children experienced as they found eggs mirrored the joy the women felt when they found Jesus’ tomb empty and realized He had risen.

Eggs represented rebirth and new life, just as knowing Christ is for the Believer. So… if the imagery presented by the egg is explained to children, then I am all for the Easter egg hunt. If the hunt is used as a drawing card to bring people to a social event, then I am not. Let’s teach our children what the egg hunt means— it can tell the story of Jesus and new birth and joy! It’s all about Jesus, people!

What does this weekend mean to you as it is resurrection Sunday? In my final testimony that is in my manuscript is one of healing. After all that was done, the courts completed their job. I found myself moving from one church to another. My mom was searching, and I was along on the journey. We went to a church where the women/girls couldn’t wear make-up and always in a dress even while swimming. They were very good to us. One of the days we were there my mom decided to get baptized and I am not sure if I was fully present for the decision to be baptized, but I was baptized the same day as my mother.

Here is the miracle part. I stood in the water physically injured. When he dunked me under, I know it was just a second, but time stood still under that water. The warmth surrounding me and not really hearing anything audible but just a feeling like there was someone under the water with me. Then as I came up from the water there were two hands reaching for me. Not behind me but in front of me. All I could see behind those hands was white and looking up not recognizable face. I am sure there were sounds all around me, but it was so silent, and I could make out was a gentle voice saying, “you are going to be alright.” Then I am back in real time with people praising and singing. When I did go back for a checkup I was healed.

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, on faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4: 4-6).

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).

“I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33).

The song I listened to over and over this week reached down deep into my inner soul. He laid down His life for me. No other can love me like Jesus. And “He knows my name.” Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Jimi Cravity bring these words to a crescendo of worship. Pour your heart out to Him as He walks with you and talks with you. Dear Jesus, You know my name and I thank you as I am your own.

Blessings to all,

Dreamsdontfade.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7owFiihXgg

March 31, 2023 DDF Breathes New Life Post/The past, trauma, strength in today

My thoughts today are just as frazzled as my overcommitted week. I must reign in my perspective of what others expect of me and my own expectations of myself. Being pulled in so many directions I am not fully completing what I want to do by the end of the week. Anxiousness and discouragement are not a good combination. I am sure you can empathize with me. I read this scripture this morning which just seems to have perfect timing. I probably need to read this each morning until I memorize it and then put it into practice. It is great advice.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4: 6-7).

In this scripture is also advice to guard my heart and mind. Ever get dragged into the spiral of manipulation? It is more that the person hasn’t dealt with his/her own demons, so it is easier to pull others down or back to the moments of shame, guilt, or fault. If you have past regrets and mistakes, do you deserve to be permanently placed in the penalty box? No, we learn from those dark moments. We learn to forgive ourselves. We act by forgiving others.
Perspective is defined as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.” It is the way individuals see the world. It comes from their personal point of view and is shaped by life experiences, values, current state of mind, assumptions brought into the situation, and whole lot of other things.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior, and my God” (Psalm 43:5).

Writing this book isn’t about pulling down others but seeing all the amazing miracles God put into place to bring me too today. After I finished my podcast this week, I remembered a very vital moment. There was a gun. From where I don’t remember. I was standing next to my mom. She pulled the trigger that was aimed at his chest. But it didn’t go off. Three clicks and just as my mom pointed the gun down to see why it didn’t go off it did. Right into his foot. If that gun had gone off killing him our lives would have been very different. We would have had a parent in prison probably for life. Would my sisters ever have existed? My perspective in this memory is it is an unbelievable story but very much true. I know in the back of my mind how the events in my life have affected everything I am today.

Trauma is engrained into a child’s soul. It injures how boundaries are developed. It is an intensely painful emotional experience. It can be emotional, physical, and sexual.

***Trauma lies that the world is unsafe with nowhere to find protection.

It’s hard to have trauma in your past that continually causes you pain. My own journey of experiencing trauma has brought about me finding blessings. One thing I do know is that God draws close to the brokenhearted. God has kept track of my sorrow. God continually renews us every day with His Spirit. I am thankful every day brings a new morning to try again at loving God and serving others. Here is some great advice:

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8).

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flied by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday” (Psalm 91: 4-6).

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

This song by Mosaic MSC “Tremble” is a soothing call to the peace with just one name, Jesus, who makes the darkness tremble.
Prayers that no matter your circumstances or past demons that seem to still haunt your mind that you let the words in the song bring you comfort. Prayers for healing in our country and may the division fade. Restore and Renewal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPtT7UrEq6g