Category Archives: Inner Sruggles and Heartache

January 4, 2014 · 12:26 am

Sometimes, We Just Need a Real Perspective

My friend Vern Westgate sent this email out just before Christmas.  I found the pictures to be a fabulous glimpse of America’s not too distant past during the hardship of The Depression Era.  Really worth seeing.  It will open your eyes to how blessed we really are.

I thought Vern had a great idea in sharing this, and with his permission (thanks Vern), I am passing it on hoping you will get as much out of Vern’s perspective and the amazing pictures as I did.

America really does have an immense amount to be greatful for.

Thank You God!

——————————————————————-

Hi, Here’s my perspective for you having a Merry Christmas in spite of the current state of our country…and the attacks against my Christian faith…(and your Christian faith too, I hope…)

These stark pictures are from the Depression. They were taken 72 years ago, when I was a 7 year old kid in a great Christian family…We moved from Minnesota to California a few months ahead of Pearl Harbor. So we went from the tough Depression life to rationing…(5 gallons of gas per week, sugar and meat were rationed as were other things), no new cars were built for 4, 5 years…millions of men went to war and most stayed until it was over. My dad built B-25s and P-51s… Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Christmas, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life and Relationships, Life Lessons

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 28, 2013 · 12:00 am

Trust God No-matter What

God loves you and has your best interest at heart.

Often, the world makes no sense at all,

that is why it is so important to trust God completely, especially then.

imageBelieve it.

We don’t always see it at the time,

but as time passes and we look back, we can usually say,

“Oh yeah, now I see why that happened!

Thank you God for looking out for me!” Continue reading →

5 Comments

Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life and Relationships, Life Lessons

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

December 4, 2013 · 1:27 pm

Surviving the Loss of a Child During the Holidays

Thanksgiving Day was not even over this year when Black Friday rushed in like a runaway train.  I hope as people abruptly switched mode from thankfulness to Christmas shopping and all the festivities of the season such as: office parties, school plays, the hustle and the bustle, planning holiday meals, stressing over prickly relatives; they don’t forget what it truly means to be grateful for what one has.  As the old saying goes,

“We don’t appreciate what we have until it is gone.”

Those of us who have lost a loved one, especially a child, know this too well.

I barely survived  my son Jonathan’s funeral.   It would be the last time I would see his earthly body.

For one, I had a splitting headache from the grief, the stress, and sleep deprivation.  It felt as if the same icepick that had been driven through my heart had also been driven through my skull when I numbly sat a few feet from the coffin that held my son’s body. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Filed under Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Loss of a Child

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

November 26, 2013 · 3:16 pm

It Hurts Us More Than it Hurts Them

imageThere once was a man named Joe who was filled with a great deal of bitterness.

Whenever Joe thought of Dan, he became enraged.  Dan greatly cost Joe when he robbed him in a business partnership.

Whenever Joe thought of his neighbor Lucy, he resented the way she raked most of her fall leaves into his yard, year after year.  He had seen her do that himself, yet when he pointed it out she denied it.   Heat rose up his shirt collar when she worked in her yard.

He wanted to beat the daylights out of his neighbor Sam, across the street.  Sam borrowed a perfectly working snow blower and returned it broken, after he cleared his rocky driveway more than once.  Sam then told Joe the blower never worked. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Child Abuse and Neglect, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life and Relationships, The Miraculous

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 22, 2013 · 8:59 pm

How Precious Are You to God?

image

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The worth of something is based on what someone is willing to pay for it.

Jesus thought you and I were worth the very living blood in His body.  He paid a great price for us because of His love for us.  Just as most parents would go to any length to pay a great ransom price if their child is kidnapped.

EXCEPT that we willingly walk away from God.  BUT—He still is willing to redeem us. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life and Relationships, Life Lessons, Seeds of Inspirations, The Impossible

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 21, 2013 · 12:32 am

Wiping the Slate Clean

Lets not let an unwholesome thought keep us imprisoned in a place of pain.

Lets not let an unwholesome thought keep us imprisoned in a place of pain.

I sprained my ankle Memorial Day Weekend, and because I was foolish and did not nurse it properly, I found myself practically housebound most of this year.  UGHHHH!!!!!

Eager for connection with humanity, I asked my sweet friend about the woman’s Bible study at her church.  It was based on the book by Lysa Terkeurst, Made to Crave.  Lysa writes that some of us tend to satisfy deep desires and emotional emptiness or stress with food, instead of God.  We were created to crave God, but in our fallen state we curb that craving with anything else, including food.

This curbing only offers temporary satisfaction.  Because when the food craving is over, all we are left with is guilt and a tighter pair of jeans. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Child Abuse and Neglect, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life and Relationships

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 12, 2013 · 1:49 pm

God Also Uses The Phone

imageThe article below was posted on BookLovers1 blog. It is a phenomenal article.  When I read it, it immediately brought to mind my own similar story.

A Call From God

One Saturday night, a pastor was working late and decided to call his wife before he left for home.  It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn’t answer the phone.  The pastor let it ring many times.  He thought it was odd that she didn’t answer but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes.  When he tried again, she answered right away. He asked her why she hadn’t answered before, and she said that it hadn’t rung at their house.  They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.

The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he’d used that Saturday night.  The man that he spoke with  wanted to know why he’d called on Saturday night.  The pastor couldn’t figure out what the man was talking about. Continue reading →

21 Comments

Filed under A Broken Childhood, Awed by His Love and Grace, Child Abuse and Neglect, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Marriage and Relationships, Single Parent Struggles

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 5, 2013 · 12:33 am

They Are Only Words!

We define who we are and create our own reality by the words we use and the choices we make… So speak and choose wisely… Truth Sayer

I recently innocently uttered careless words to someone I barely knew.

I was at the grocery store very preoccupied with a heavy issue that weighed on me. I took my groceries out of the cart and placed them on the conveyor belt then realized my cashier was a nice woman I had done banking business with before. We got to talking about her new job at the grocery store.

“It’s a lot to get used to after so many years of sitting at a desk. I’m worn out at the end of the evening. I’m very out of shape,” she said referring to her weight.

“Yeah, I bet you are,” I said, digging through my purse looking for my debit card–then was horrified at my own comment. What I meant to say was that I understood how tired she was at the end of the evening, but I know that is not what she heard. I know because of the look on her face. I felt terrible.

Of course, I tried to backpedal telling her I had a similar experience years ago when I went from a desk job to standing on my feet nearly eight hours a day; which was the truth. I knew the more I tried to correct my mistake the worse it would sound so I changed the subject. I should have said something like this instead.

Continue reading →

10 Comments

Filed under Everydayliving, Humor, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Life Lessons, Marriage and Relationships

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 2, 2013 · 12:09 am

Be A Mentor

Do you know a young or new believer in need of a mentor?  When I was a new believer I was in desperate need of one.  What I really needed was a life coach to make up for all the life guidance I never received growing up, but would have greatly benefited from perching under the wings of a woman with a strong faith.  Sometimes, I terribly needed someone to cry with.

I needed a persistent someone who would have sought me out.  I probably didn’t believe I needed her then—but trust me— I was desperate for her. With perseverance, I believe I would have welcomed her.  I didn’t need a critical and judgmental someone, or someone to point out all my “sins;” for there were many.

I needed a loving, dedicated, graceful, patient someone.  I have read countless stories of people who had a mentor just like that.

When I read these stories I wonder where the mentor I urgently needed had been? Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under A Broken Childhood, Child Abuse and Neglect, Everydayliving, Following Christ Has Changed My Life, Hope, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Single Parent Struggles

Tagged as , , ,

October 25, 2013 · 3:38 pm

An Unlikely Dream

Joseph wasn’t unlike some teenagers of today.  His father’s overt favoritism left him with that strong sense of entitlement—

“I really am all that.”  “It really is all about me.”

Jacob, Joseph’s father, AKA Israel, made Joseph an expensive and fancy coat to–well–die for.  Almost.

God had plans to use Joseph to save the nation of Israel, but first Joseph needed a humbling period.

Joseph needed to mature.  The enrollment into the University of Hard Knocks began. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Filed under Awed by His Love and Grace, Everythingelse, Inner Sruggles and Heartache, Just for Fun, Seeds of Inspirations, The Impossible, The Miraculous

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,