Bruises

I often remind myself to act the way Jesus has taught me and not to react to the world. We head out into our day with the best intentions but then something happens and it triggers a reaction from us that we're not very proud of. I call those bruises. If we have unhealed emotional, mental or spiritual bruises then we are vulnerable to being more sensitive. When I was younger, I was a professional with a master's degree in hypersensitivity. My emotions ran my life and as I look back I sadly regret many things.

I learned a lesson many years ago that you can live your life with your emotions controlling you or God's Spirit controlling you. This topic can be very complicated and I could go in depth but I'm going to make this very simple. Today you can choose to get a journal and write down the things that trigger you (your bruises). Then, start reading your Bible and highlight the things that God says to you. Find scriptures that fight those triggers and write them down. They will be the balm that will heal those bruises. They will be the Sword of the Spirit that is part of the armor of God you should be putting on every day (Ephesians 6:13-17). People or Satan will not be able to send you into an emotional frenzy anymore as you grow in this practice.

Allow God's Word to heal those sensitive and wounded parts inside of you, and unsheath God's Word rather than verbalizing your emotions. Day by day you will see yourself maturing in your faith and standing with a posture of a warrior of God rather than a victim. Anger and pity are characteristics that children have. That's why they have tantrums. Our goal should be to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). In 1st Corinthians 13:11 it says, "When I was a child I spoke like a child, I thought like a child and I reasoned like a child. When I became a grown up I put away childish ways." The more we avoid maturing the longer we and those around us suffer. It's best to jump in with both feet and just start. 

I know that is easy to say but hard to do. It took me years to mature but I will tell you what finally gave me the courage. We need to know two things for sure before we can trust God. The first is how unconditional, magnificent and precious his love is toward us. And second, we have to get rid of our distorted images of God. Find books on these topics. Google scriptures about God's love and write them down in your journal. Do whatever you have to do to keep growing because there is nothing worse than becoming stagnant and apathetic. Whining, having pity parties, lashing out at people, being hypersensitive, angry, combative.. Oh, how I could go on and on and rally behind you regarding this topic! But let's just start with you getting some paper or journal, a pen and some highlighters, post-it notes, your Bible (any Bible will do but I really like the, Life Application Study Bible.) You can find a special place in your house where you can set up or you can put it in a tote bag and take it with you to the park or to a coffee shop, do it by yourself or find a friend to do it with.. I personally like sitting in my bed. I also like to set a timer because you will realize that whether you set it for 5, 15 or 30 minutes it will never end up being enough time. The timer will go off and you will feel like you don't want to stop yet. Once you begin to see how God speaks back to you during your times of study you will want to return to it with enthusiasm. 

So let's get these bruises healed so that we can go out there in the world and instead of being hypersensitive and reactive we can do what we were created to do which is to share the good news and reflect the love of God!

Let's be actors for Christ and not reactors to this world. 

The Stretching

    There's a difference between reading your bible and when God reads it to you. Often it's a chore that we check off our list to get on with our day. Sometimes it serves as a ritual that we do before collapsing in bed because we're so tired. We develop this inner belief that it's good for us to have his Word in us, and it is. However, we know deep down when it is living water and when it is still waters. We know when we are simply reading and when we are being spoken to by the Holy Spirit. There are times when God seems so far away and we feel so alone. It's like the Living Word isn't quenching us. We feel parched, paralysed and in a desolate place. Lonely, shattered, vulnerable and panicking in the darkness. Has God left?

    NO, he has not left. His Word says, "I will never leave you or forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5). I have learned through my "desert experiences" that is when he is the closest. I don't FEEL him but because he has taken me there so many times, by the grace of God, I've learned that my TRUTH IS IN CHRIST. My feelings cannot be trusted but The Living Word, who is Christ, can ALWAYS be trusted. When you are in a desert period of your life you must change the dialogue of your inner voice. Change your why? to what?. What do you want to accomplish in me Lord? Rather than crying out, "WHYYYYY? Why me Lord???? "Ask him, "WHERE do you want to take me?" We are never in a situation that he will not use to mature us for the betterment of our lives. A fantastic book to help with this is "Telling Yourself the Truth" by Marie Chapian and Jim Backus. I started saying, "Praise you Lord." instead of complaining. I also acknowledge his great love for me as opposed to blaming him for my pain. I try to laugh when things seem out of control because I know through his Word that He is faithful and present with me and already knows the outcome. (Scriptures, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 46, Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11, Proverbs 19:21, Colossians 1:17, Jeremiah 10:23...) I fail sometimes but not like I used to. He has grown me and I am so much happier. 

    What I mean by maturing us is that God wants us to be warriors not wimps. His desire is that we will not be shaken to despair but to be awakened to his strength in us. He doesn't want us living lives that are so fragile that at the first sign of trouble we buckle. His will is that we would know who we are IN HIM and go boldly into the tasks he calls us to. Do you put The Armor of God on in the morning? (Ephesians 6:10-18) Before your feet hit the floor in the morning say, "Today I put on the full Armor of God, I gird my waist with the belt of TRUTH, I place the breastplate of God's righteousness on, I shod my feet with the gospel of peace and above all I take up the shield of faith which will extinguish ALL of the fiery missiles from the evil one; I place upon my head the helmet of Salvation and I take up the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) ..." We must remember that our battles in life are not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 12). We do not serve a God who sends out immature, unwise, unprepared children out into a savage world. We serve a God who trains, equips, provides and goes into battle ahead of us. That is the assurance we have so we can confidently take on any calling. 

    God is the best parent. God knows exactly how long we need to be in the fire to be refined. He is waiting on us to trust him no matter how dark it may get. When he can see his image in our metal, that is when he pulls us out. He doesn't do this work all at once but like a silversmith he will keep purifying us in stages. That kind of faith takes maturity and wisdom from a human. Placing ourselves or our children completely in God's hands is an act of obedience. I recently went through a devastating situation with my sister. I wanted so badly to pull her from the furnace of her troubles but God made it very clear to me that I needed to leave her alone with only God to lean on. So many people run as fast as they can from times of being in the wilderness or long stretches of dark roads. But, that is where God teaches us our greatest lessons. For years I was angry at God for all the hard times but he refused to leave me stagnant in my weaknesses. Each lesson changed me from a quivering, angry, fearful child to a woman now who is clothed in strength and dignity, who laughs without fear of the future. (Proverbs 31:25).

    Life without trusting God is a life of fear. A mature life which has surrendered to God and trusts him is a life of hope. Walk boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) and request that he take you on a journey of spiritual growth. A wonderful book to read about this topic is an allegorical novel titled, "Hind's Feet in High Places" by Hannah Hurnard. We're only human and to not want to go on an unknown journey where we know we're going to have to leave our comfort zone is not something we all want to step forward to take on. I fought God for years and what I learned was that the more we complain, kick and holler the slower the trip to the land of milk and honey is. No one ever promised us a comfortable, carefree and trial-free life. I always say, "The trip from Egypt (slavery) to the Promised Land(freedom) was only about eleven days but it took forty years because of their disobedient, stubborn, complaining attitudes. God's work is not to get us from point A to B as soon as possible. He walks with us, talks to us, challenges us, teaches us... It's all about the time he wants to spend with us and our willingness to follow him. 

    We all have places in our hearts and lives where we don't want Jesus to come into. However, he will not leave a closet uncleaned. The work of the Holy Spirit is continuous in us but getting into our dark closets needs a welcome mat from us. God only changes us as fast as we allow him. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is powerful in our lives but with some places in our lives we smother that still, small voice. Choices like busyness, shopping/spending, achieving, indulging... we prioritize the noise of this world over stillness. Busyness turns our backs to the goodness of change in our lives. Whereas, slowing down and being more aware faces us towards positive changes. The questions are, will we trust God with the life he gave us or will we hop on the pride train of distractions? Will we face him or avoid him? Will we live as if this earthly life is the only life we'll ever have? Or, will we let him train us to be his Ambassadors here to prepare others for the eternal life to come? Will we learn to love him or will we never get to truly know him and fear him with an unhealthy fear? The final question though, will we desire to hear those words from God, "Job well done my good and faithful servant." or "Depart from me for I do not know you." God does not throw people into hell. His desire is for ALL to be saved. Will you trust him, believe in him, invite him  into your heart and life? Will you walk with him? Will you let him teach you and grow you? Will you go and tell the good news to others? It's by his blood that we are saved. The only way to the Father is through the son. Our lives are given to us by a loving Creator and all he asks for is that we desire to get to know him and live in relationship with him as we tell others about this free gift of love and life. Will you?

Living with Pain

My life has been a psalm. Pouring out my distress, my pain, crying out to God for relief and mercy. You see, most days I'm lying in my deathbed. I have memories of good days but most of them I had to dull the pain. I didn't want people to see my anguish, my anger my shame. Only God and my sweet husband have seen my darkest struggles. Hours, days, months and years as I sunk deeper and deeper into my troubles. Self-hatred unworthiness and broken, not just by others but by my own misbeliefs. However, it was my life on my deathbed that led me into the precious arms of God. It held me there as God loved me, changed me and grew me! He changed me from the inside out. I used to blame him but now I praise him! What people call their deathbed, when their lives come to an end; I will call my life bed for finally I'll see around that bend.

                ~~~~~~

*Living with fibromyalgia and a myriad of scary and unexplained symptoms and illnesses is like dying a slow death. You are blessed if you have a handful of people that can understand. But God used every evil plan that the enemy had for my life and worked it out for my good! I went from a fearful and confused young lady and he has made me into a Psalm 31 woman who is clothed in strength and dignity and who laughs without fear of the future. I was never alone in all of my lonely pain. God never left me, never turned his back on me and did nothing but love me through it all. Many, many times I did not feel his presence but he promised me in his Word things that I held dear to my heart. I went from a woman who screamed "why? why? why?"  to God, to a woman who says, " I love you Lord and I trust you. You are worthy of my praise"  I don't understand what he's doing a lot of the time but I trust him. He told me to trust him in his Word and I trust him. Even in my days of severe pain my blessings far outweigh my problems. There's always more to be thankful for than there is to complain about if you just look intently for it. 

Resources: 

Telling yourself the truth. Book by Jim Backus and Marie Chapian

Having a Mary heart in a Martha world. Book by Joanna Weaver 

The Peace of heaven. Book by Dana Howard 

Christian cognitive behavioral therapy. Book

by Samaria M. Colbert

Seeing God when you can't see God

As I share the Lord, people often say to me that it’s hard to believe in a God that lets so many bad things happen. My answer to this is biblical and it is that if you live your life separated from life‘s handbook which is the Bible you will not see God in everything. He’s not some big God up in the sky and you’re some little peon down here on earth. He is a triune God which is made up of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. By his nature he is a God that is relational. He created human beings so that he could have a relationship with us. Each and everyone of us. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and did the one thing that God asked them not to do (Genesis 3), that changed the beautiful plan that God had for his creation. He used to walk in the garden and spend time with Adam and Eve, but, after they rebelled against his will a new plan was put into place. It was a new story that had to be told of a lost people who needed a Savior. We are made up of body, mind, emotions and spirit, not to mention family, community, local, state, national and world affairs… so to think that you can run the show of life on your own and save yourself and the world is a delusion. There is a God, he created us, and to be with him forever we cannot earn it on our own merits. God does not let sin into heaven and he cannot be in the presence of it. The sweet story is, that if we ask Christ into our heart as our savior and ask him to be the Lord of our life we can then stand before our Father in heaven when we die! He will not see our sin but he will see us through the filter and the blood of Jesus Christ his son (John 3:16). It’s a very simple story with a rough road getting to the end but he promises never to leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).

The one thing you’ll notice in life is if you look at the big story you will not see God. However, if you look into the personal lives of the people going through trials and tribulations, you will hear stories that are so magnificent and miraculous because that’s where God works. Yes, the world is a mess and It’s because of greed, pride, unforgiveness … Which are sins! Our sins! God sent his son because we cannot save ourselves. Christ died at Calvary for you. Christ took the beatings, the slaps in the face, the spitting and cursing and ultimately the horrible death on the cross for you. He was separated from his Father because he bore our sins upon himself! He did what we can’t and that’s why we need a Savior. The only way to the Father is through the son (John 14:6) Christ is the way, the truth and the life. He never promised an easy life! Don’t expect life to be smooth. Who ever promised you that???? He promised to be with us through the fires, floods, traumas, losses…. (Isaiah 43:2), to comfort us, teach us, prepare us, strengthen us… so that we can take that message of his unfailing love to the lost. James 4:8 and Jeremiah 29:12 each tell us that if we draw near to God that he will draw near to us. If you have the courage to seek him, you WILL find him. This life is not about us being comfortable. It simply is about getting all that you need from God and then going and serving others. I pray you seek him and your life becomes one of gratitude rather than one of complaining. God is real so get real with him.

Faith and Orange Juice

Have you ever made fresh squeezed orange juice? You'll know that you have to squeeze a lot of oranges to get a very small amount of juice. That's how Faith also works in your life. Each time that you are in a situation where God in his loving ways begins to squeeze you to build your faith, you will see your faith grow and fill you, if you allow yourself to see him in those hard-pressed times. He starts us out in the same way as an infant does. Small steps, small trials and small squeezing to get us used to growing up in him. If you allow yourself to see him as you take this step and ask him to build your faith you will begin to see yourself filling up. A few of these trials may bring you to where you are filled up past your feet and you will see that you will start to walk in different directions, making better choices and stopping yourself when you know the way that you're going isn't pleasing God. If you continue to see him as he fills you with faith through precarious times you will be filled past your waist and you will notice that you will know when to sit and rest and wait for him to work or to rise and put on the armor of God and take up your sword and go fight a battle. As we continue allowing God to build our faith and fill us with it soon you will see your heart being overtaken by it and saturated in it. Your desires begin to align with Gods. As it continues to fill us it will go past our mouth and change the way that we speak and make it more pleasant to our Lord. It'll rise up above our eyes and we will begin to see him rather than our tough times and we will begin to see that nothing is impossible with his help. And as we mature some of the trials may become darker and harder but if we allow him to press us with less evidence of him being present soon our mind will be soaked with faith through the Holy Spirit and we will see ourselves standing tall and strong in his righteousness rather than our own failable strength! Yes, faith is like orange juice and if you want it bad enough you'll go through the squeezing. 

Just Sing

I will sing in the task I am to hold

I will sing in the dark and the cold

I will sing on the rough rugged road

I am safe when I sing where I am told

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Be happy (in your faith) and rejoice and be glad hearted always; Be unceasing in prayer; thank God in everything (no matter what your circumstances may be) for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again - Rejoice!

1 Peter 4:12,13. Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you are participating in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

I urge you brothers and sisters to look for God's grace, mercy and love in your suffering, weakness or anger. HE IS THERE.

James 4:8. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

God Doesn't Blink

God is not a genie, he's a trainer. Do you ask your trainer at the gym to just make you strong, healthy and fit without the work out? Would a warrior just run into battle without learning the skills of the sword? Do people become professionals such as doctors or nurses by just winging it? No, they commit themselves to years of training. So, why do you ask God to just blink and deliver you when you're sick or weak? He is a spiritual trainer not a genie in a bottle that gets you over your problems. The process is where the lessons and growth are learned and exercised. God wants to get you through your trials not over them. Athletes do not wish for strength, they train and sweat for hours upon hours, years upon years.

Maybe your health problems are a result of stress, where you can make lifestyle changes in your management of emotions and time. Possibly, they are from an accident which left you disabled, maybe your mind needs a work out plan where you train your inner voice to speak more positive with hopeful thoughts rather than thoughts of defeat. Many people suffer physical maladies and the way to healing is in a diet change or exercise plan. It will always be THROUGH our issue that we find freedom and build character, strength and courage. God never delivers us from a lesson but he walks with us through it. He is right there to encourage us as he trains us for our purpose.

Pulling ourselves up by the boot-straps sometimes proves to be unsurmountable and we fall into depression which only exacerbates our helplessness. How do we rise up when we FEEL so overwhelmed? When it seems like God is not there. When we can't hear his voice. Well, there is actually a story in the bible that tells us exactly where God is when we are feeling afraid and alone. It's in the book of Song of Songs in the old testament. In chapter 2, verse 14, the Shulamite maiden and her lover are calling out to each other with cries of deep love. In verse 14 her lover calls to her, "My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places of the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice  is sweet and your face is lovely." In this allegory it is said that we are the maiden and Christ is our lover. Similar to the new testament where we are the bride and he is our groom. Notice that he is calling out to her and asking her to trust in his voice and to follow it. He longs to see her face and hear her voice.

The cleft in the rock can represent many things but as I see it (and this is only my interpretation) the maiden is calling for her lover to come to her. She has found a comfortable and safe spot in the cleft of the rock from which to coo. However, her lover calls to her and encourages her to leave her spot of safety. He's not coming to get her, he is calling her to come to him. Now, if you can imagine a cleft in the side of a rock mountain similar to the ones you see goats balancing on! It would be terrifying to step out of there and try to scale the ledges. I would compare it to us having to leave our comfort zones to follow the voice of Christ. Our comfort zones could be our sick beds, our complaining, excuses, blaming, distractions... But our Lord is calling us out. He wants us to trust and follow his voice, to scale our mountains of fear and go to a higher place. Each victory though, leads us to the next challenge and then, to even higher places.

So, my friends, I encourage you to ask God to call for you, seek his face and he will be with you every step of the way. In my personal experience I have displayed stubbornness, pity parties, whining... anything to keep me in my comfort spot. God however, loves me too much to leave me there so he keeps calling and calling till I reluctantly rise up and finally ask him what he wants. Everytime, he tells me that he wants me to come to him. He wants to see my lovely face and hear my sweet voice. He reminds me of how long it's been since we sat together while talking, laughing or crying. I can't help but rise and follow his voice. You ask exactly how I do that? I get up, wash my face and open my bible and devotional. I draw near to him in any way that I can and most times he energizes me to do even more. Each effort on my part is matched with his power. I have to admit that there are some days (because of my health issues) that I can barely rise but it is at those times that he sits with me while I rest in him. I've given up on continuity in my life-style. The depression of set-backs because of my limitations proved to be too discouraging. So, I rise each day never knowing what I will be able to do but one thing I know for sure is that my God will be there. 

Habakkuk 3:19, "The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."

Reading source: Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

Rescued

I shared a lot of personal things and at the end God spoke through his Spirit and it is powerful! I'm not going to spell check or edit this because the writing of it has left me exhausted. God be with you. 

As I sat weeping uncontrollably while watching a show on tv, my heart was angrily speaking to my mind. "Where was God when I was being assaulted!" Of course this girl on tv was going to be rescued but that's not real life! In real life horrible things happen. While I was basically screaming at God and wallowing in my stronghold of worthlessness I felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit begin to consume and cover me. His voice which was strong yet warm and loving began to speak to me. But first, let me catch you up on how I ended up with the scars that held me in bondage.

Years ago when I was younger there were five events that happened to me that ensured me that I was of no worth. These happened after the loss of my mother which devastated me and started that voice within me that told me I wasn't worth living for. I've been a child of God ever since my young twenties but in my youth I always straddled the fence of worldliness and righteousness through Christ. My disobedience led me to places I should not have been but on the other hand wickedness also comes to find you. Below are the defining events. I'm going to skip a lot of detail because this is a blog post not a book.

I remember the first event when a group of boys chased me down and pinned me to the ground. They began to take my pants off and I recall feeling so helpless. My friend was screaming at them and I don't know what happened but they released me and dispersed. The second event took place at an outdoor mall. A gang of boys picked me up by my legs and arms and carried me the entire length of the mall while I screamed and struggled for help. There were people and couples with children that just watched but no one helped me. My friend kept yelling at them to let me go but they took me in the ally behind the store and pinned me against the wall. They were a motley crew that we called "The gutter gang" and as they began to take my pants off someone in their group but standing back further  said, "That's enough, stop." They released me and my friend and I ran. The third time took place when I was leaving my job as a bar waitress. It was about 3 am in the morning and as I got into my car a man entered the passenger door. He instructed me to drive and soon arrived at a big mansion in the city. He took my keys and entered the house. I could see that he put the keys in his coat pocket and through the big front window he put the coat in a trunk behind the couch and then went into a door and closed it. I ran into the house and retrieved the keys and ran back out. He came out of the door moments later, naked and confident and saw that I was in my car. He motioned to me that he had my keys but I held them up and I drove away quickly. The fourth episode happened when I went on a trip with a new boyfriend to a cabin up in the mountains. He turned out to be a sociopath and needless to say he tormented me, hurt me badly and threatened my life over and over. It went on for three days until he threw me out of the car at a bus station in a very dangerous place in the middle of nowhere and hundreds of miles from home. The fifth time happened when I was in my 30's. I was gardening in my yard one morning before I had to go to an appointment. I noticed a man lurking in the ally and he was still there over an hour later. I had to leave the house so I pre-planned to open the garage door and get into my car fast and lock the door just in case he was dangerous. I'm so glad that I did that because as I opened the garage door he came bolting into my garage and as I locked the door he was putting his hand on the door handle. We caught eyes and he exited the garage. I pulled out and called the police but he was gone when they arrived.

    It was only a year later that I was hit by a tidal wave of emotions that took me down. They say that's how it happens. You survive a trauma and at some unexpected time, years later it hits! All the memories and emotions flood your brain which sends a signal to your body that you are overwhelmed and consumed with fear. You start to shake, sweat, cry and your world spins out of control. I started therapy and over the years I learned ways to protect myself and still be able to function in life. It took a long time but slowly I healed in many areas and was able to recover to a point. No one really understood the fear, abandonment and torment that I lived with everyday. I looked normal on the outside but I was a terrified child inside. I covered those emotions with alcohol and anxiety for many years which of course resulted in a myriad of health problems. Each year I would heal a little more as I lived a healthier life-style and continued in counseling. I also immersed myself in Jesus and I began to become a woman who was strong in her faith. God and I have been through a lot together. My pain was his way into my heart.

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post I was watching a show and it was stirring up an anger deep with me. My old inner voice showed up and was telling me that I wasn't worth saving and that God had abandoned me. We all know that voice right? That self-deprecating voice that rears its ugly head when we are feeling weak. That is the voice of the enemy and as the bible says, he seeks to devour and destroy. But, Gods voice is greater and more powerful! As I sat there weeping and blaming God for not rescuing me during those terrifying times I began to hear a voice within me rising up. If you're not familiar with the book of Job in the bible when God says to Job, "Now listen to me." then you HAVE TO read it (Job chapter 38-42) WOWZER! This voice is the Spirit of the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD and it's speaking to me while I'm in one of my darkest places. It was a Psalm 42:7 moment for me when Deep called unto deep and His waves and billows rushed over me. God spoke and this is what he said, "Why did those boys let you go? Because I rescued you. Why did that gang release you? Because I rescued you. Why did you escape that mansion? Because I rescued you. Why did you survive at that cabin, in the dark desert where you were thrown out and at the dangerous bus station where evil was all around? Because I rescued you. Why did the man looking for prey not get you? Because I rescued you. I have rescued you even when you didn't know that danger was near. I have rescued you even when you went against my will and direction. I have never left you or forsaken you. I have been and always will be with you. There is no place that you can go that is beyond my love for you, even unto death. Do you think I am not there when my precious children are ravaged by the evils of this world? Do you think that even when they are killed that I am not there to rescue their souls and usher them home? I enter the most dangerous places and I rescue every soul. I meet with them as they are perishing and when they gaze into my eyes of love they give themselves to me and I take them in my arms. I rescue the lost, the broken, the overwhelmed and the tired. My love transcends any love that you know. I rescued you, I will continue to rescue you until we break bread together in heaven. You were not alone, you will never be alone. I am in the hottest fire, the deepest sea and the most sinful places. My Father sent me to walk into the crack houses, the homes of rage and abuse... I can see each soul, not as they are but for who they can be in me. You may not be able to see how my love works but I'm asking you to trust and believe that it is boundless. Read My Word, Know My Word and Live My Word. Now go, and tell someone about this free gift of love.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world (YOU) that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 8:31-39, Jeremiah 29:11-14, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6