Tag: Choosing Courage

History Repeats Itself: Romans 15:4-5

Posted on by Mary
History

If you have ever taken a history class you have heard the phrase “History Repeats Itself”. The premise behind this is that if we can’t learn from what has happened before us we will make the same mistakes OVER and OVER again.

It’s a Biblical principle too. We can see it in the book of Judges as well. It’s an ongoing cycle of Isreal doing what was right in their own eyes. They walked away from God-Consequences came- they cried out for help- God sent a judge to deal with it- and then Isreal did the whole cycle all over again. They didn’t learn and they just kept doing the same thing…..

And then I landed on these verses in Romans…

History

Applying this principle to another problem

Hmmmm. Then I got to thinking about some discussions I have had over the last few years. People who wanted to dismiss the Old Testament We think ‘oh that’s not for now”. Remember I mentioned Judges- well we live in a world where we are “doing what is right in our own eyes”. We are not following what God wants for us! And we need to be aware that consequences are heading our way.

Then I was talking with a group of people and I referenced a The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. and a great majority of the group had no idea who C.S. Lewis was…a short time later I was talking about Corrie ten Boom. Corrie and her family were Christians in Poland during World War II and they hid and smuggled Jews out of Poland to protect them from Nazi’s who wanted to wipe out the Jews. Corrie and her family were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Her sister and father die in the concentration camps but Corrie survived. Her influence changed many people. And she died a hero of the faith. As I conversed with more and more Christians I began to realize that many Christians today had no idea about their Christian forefathers. Those who lived and breathed their walk with Jesus and died faithful servants of Jesus.

Another problem

In the same breath I hear Christians become disillusioned by “popular Christians” of today who make poor choices, walk away from their faith and even renounce their faith. We get frustrated and angry that they are human… I mean REALLY? I must confess I felt completely let down by a popular Christian author from my college years when He made some horrible decisions a few years ago. Was everything I had chosen to do because of his books a lie? NO. because my heart was right before God. My life and decisions are not dictated by his decisions. He is responsible to God for them, not me. Despite his renouncing of his faith God still uses those books and articles.

My Big Question

Why can’t we take the lives of those who have gone before us and died faithful servants and study them and learn what helped them to remain faithful to God? We mistake them for being irrelevant because they lived in a different time- a different decade or a different century. And yet at we live in the 21st century and in the current state of the world what better time to dive into the stories of those who have been martyred for their faith!

So after I made these realizations I decided to do something about it.

3 Things I am going to do to change my perspective and the world around me.

#1- I am going to do everything in my power to share the lives of those who have gone before her with my kids and last week we started to read the Christian Heres Then and Now Series books we got the family for Christmas this past year. We are starting with Hudson Taylor -Missionary to China.

#2- I am going to learn as much as I can about those who have won victories for my faith. Yes because of them I have freedoms and I can have courage to move forward in my day to day walk with Jesus. If Corrie ten Boom can forgive the concentration camp soldier who mistreated her I can forgive the person who snapped at me for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

#3. I am going to take what I learn and not only impact my children with it but I am also going to let it bleed into my daily conversations just like I do about the Bible. I will let it impact my writing here too. I am going to share it as often as possible.

Your invitation to help stop history from repeating itself.

And if you want to join me on this journey I would love to have you! I suggest you start with the The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. It’s a 7 book series that is fictional but also allegorical for the Christian faith. It’s a fun read and the kids love it too. We have gone through it twice with our kids.

And don’t ignore the authors Of today- I have my favorites of those too. but let’s not neglect those heres who have gone fore us. And be super careful that whomever you are learning about not to elevate them to the status of God. Only God himself deserves that place. They are only human after all and will let us down.Let’s help History not to repeat itself on our watch.

And thank you for joining me for Day 19 on my Choosing Courage 100 day writing project. Feel free to check out the other days HERE

Let’s Talk: Struggles

Posted on by Mary
Struggles

Struggles, we all have them. I listed 7 common ones in the image above but let’s be honest we have a whole lot more struggles than those 7 listed. But these 7 we have all dealt with at some point or another or at least most of them.

Struggles- Why can’t we be gracious?

As a pastor’s wife I have seen what struggles can do to people AND what people can do to those who have struggles. It’s easy to sit back and pass judgement on people for the struggles they are facing. There can be any number of reason’s we face struggles And we aren’t going to delve into them. Maybe that’s a post for a later date or maybe not.

If we all have struggles then why do we feel the need to pass judgement for those who share their struggles with us? I think the first one is PRIDE- We think we are better because we can “handle it” better than someone else. We make it is spiritual gift to be able to handle struggles on our own. (AHEM- just an FYI IT isn’t one). I think the #2 reason is we are afraid of being judged for sharing our struggles and I think the third reason plays into the second- we are so insecure about our struggles that we have to pick on people with more visible struggles that our own.

Lat’s put and end to the Masquerade

Casting Crowns has a great song about this very subject it’s called Stained Glass Masquerade.

[Verse 1]
Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today
Feeling so small
Because when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong
So I tuck it all away, like every thing’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

[Chorus]
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

[Verse 2]
Is there anyone who’s been there?
Are there any hands to raise?
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage?
The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart
But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be?
Would your arms be open?
Or would you walk away?
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay?

[Chorus]
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

[Chorus]
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain?
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

[Outro]
Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today
Feeling so small

“With walls around our weakness, And smiles to hide our pain?”

It’s easy when people smile. It makes us feel good. But when people don’t smile we begin to feel uneasy…it makes us uncomfortable. I can’t tell you the number of times I have hugged people in tears on any given Sunday morning because of whatever was going on in their lives at the time. You name it it was cried over…and on those same Sunday’s I have heard or been told “You just need to smile. ”

I’m sorry but no. You can have the joy of Jesus and be broken all at the same time. We as Christians do not need to live a lie. We can AND should share our broken places and grieve them openly. BUT we should not stay there. It may take weeks or months because there are many stages of grief and pain we need to work through. And THAT takes some time.

Our Struggles are our Struggles but they are not our identity.

We are victors not victims. Yes we need to be open about our struggles. BUT they aren’t our identity. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my journey in learning all about my identity in Christ. This journey has taken my entire life and will continue until the day I die. I have in no way arrived in my full understanding of my identity in Christ. I am learning something new every single day.

Story time

A while back a friend was really struggling with something. This friend posted about it on facebook and I saw a mutual friend write back a snarky reply. It was inappropriate and hurtful or at least I hurt for my friend because I had been walking this journey with this friend for a long time.

Fast forward some months later I found myself dealing with a very similar (not the same just similar ) problem as my friend. I was having sleepless nights due to some pretty sever anxiety. I had only ever experienced anxiety one other time in my life as a young mom when I was given a medication and that is the side effect it had on me. Fast forward 10 years later and I had just gone through some major medical Trauma.

I lay in bed at night every night for weeks heart beating out of my chest…..Head spinning in dizziness, mind going full tilt in all directions and all I could hear echo in my ears- that’s friends rude question on facebook. Their influence, negative as it was , was wreaking havoc on my mental state. I could hear their accusing tone……that snide comment tore right through my heart and guilt set in. I wasn’t well.

The reality of my anxiety

The comment? ” What are you holding onto? ” Now I understand that you would have to know the person who made the statement but the truth its that person is very harsh….and even though I hadn’t heard the person say it I had heard that person a dozen times before ask similar questions in condescending tones.

The reality is I wasn’t holding onto to anything. The reality was I was sick and we didn’t even realize just how sick I was. Part of anxiety is that you basically convince yourself you are dying- my heart was racing super fast and I was short of breath…and the list goes on and on.

My reality was Anemia and Iron deficiency. Which causes high heart rates. It causes shortness of breath. It causes Anxiety. In December I had NO detectable iron levels in my blood. Yep you read that right ! N.O.N.E.

There wasn’t any amount of letting go- bible study or prayer that could chase the anxiety away. I know, I tried. I begged .I pleaded. I repented and forgave And yet the anxiety persisted and the guilt grew.

We need to stop being “happy plastic people Under shiny plastic steeples”

We need to stop trying to fix people to make them look the part. We aren’t God. God wants us to love people in the middle of their messes. He will take care of the rest. And we need to realize that the only way people are going to heal- not be fixed is through Jesus! Shiny plastic people don’t have scars- Christ followers do- Jesus does. Jesus in all of his perfectness still has scars in heaven. Jesus isn’t a shiny plastic person, why should we be. In His darkest hour he asked for his friends (the disciples) to keep watch and pray with Him- He was left alone- they slept!

Let’s stop trying to be something that we aren’t and be who we were created to be How about we take the masks off and share the real us with the rest of the world so they can see that even in the midst of our deepest grief and sorrow that we trust Jesus with the mess. It’s easy to trust Jesus when life is easy peasy. It gets real when we trust Him with the hard stuff.

Let’s Check our influence

Let’s be honest that friend never thought that their words would impact anyone else but our friend writing the post but the reality is this: That one person made a negative impact on every person who read their comment. Because Satan uses those negative people to harm others even though they didn’t know another soul in that comment thread. . It’s a ripple effect I. have been teaching for years! One little pebble can send a ripple through the whole pond. And one little question can ripple through the hearts of those nearby.

If you are struggling please know that you are NOT alone. And if someone has told you that they have never had a struggle they are being untruthful. They aren’t being real with you! No one’s perfect we shouldn’t pretend to be and we shouldn’t expect others to put on a smile to make us more comfortable

Share with me your thoughts in the comments below and know that you, my friends are being prayed for!

This is post #18 in my Choosing Courage 100 Day Writing Project. to catch up on the rest click here

Joy Dare – One Thousand Gifts

Posted on by Mary
Joy

Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to this week’s installment of the Joy Dare. I cannot believe it has been 8 months on this journey.

I have found this most helpful in my prayer time. In recent years as I have sought to grow in my prayer time but I always struggled with feeling and knowing I was forgetting important parts of prayer. So I went back to the very simple but effective Acrostic ACTS

ACTS

  • Adoration (Praise)
  • Confession (admitting and repenting of sin)
  • Thanksgiving (Gratitude)
  • Supplication ( prayer Requests)

I don’t strictly follow these in order though it REALLY helps my scatter brained nature in line. So I just added the Joy dare into the Thanksgiving section of my prayer time

8/27/2021-9/2/2021

Joy
Day 27- 3 Gifts New
  • New Beginnings
  • New School Year
  • New Journal to start next week
Day 28- 3 gifts long awaited
  • New church- still waiting- making closer steps
  • Soccer season has started
  • Wrapping up a study
Day 29- A gift one, two, three
  • One – God to worship and Praise
  • Two- more days left in August
  • Three-Planners- school, mobile (as in it goes with me)
Day 30- 3 Gifts small
  • little changes that change a church culture
  • words of encouragement- insignificant on their own- powerful when put together
  • a smile- full of love yet often taken for granted
Day 31- 3 miracles
  • every new day-to write a part of your Story Lord through it we get to share Jesus with the world
  • Jesus- everything about him!
  • flowers- They can withstand storms, poring rain and some can even withstand Cold and snow. They remain beautiful through the storm- what a testament to God’s care
joy
Day 1- 3 Gifts of summer
  • Adventures with Friends
  • warm sunny weather
  • longer days (aka more sunlight)
Day 2-3 gifts cut
  • Rosie’s haircut she is much cooler now
  • Family time Cut out of a very Busy Schedule
  • Paper Scraps cut to make cards

So how about you? What are some of the little things you are thankful this week and bring you great Joy. I know as I get older I am discovering that it’s the simple little things that bring me some of the greatest Joy!

Want more information about Joy Dare or One Thousand Gifts You can check them out on Ann Voskamp’s website.

And you Can check out my other Joy Dare posts

Also this is Day 18 of My Choosing Courage 100 day writing project. You can check out the rest of the series here

Dear Senior Me -Day 17

Posted on by Mary
Senior

Dear Senior Me landed on my blog post idea list back around 2013-2014. It came to me after I wrote a blog post called “A Letter to my Adolescent Self”

It was a brief letter I wanted to write to tell the past me to avoid certain pitfalls. What to focus on and not be afraid of. I was afraid of a lotto stuff back in my teenage years too. And then I had this fabulous idea. Write to myself about all the things I didn’t want to forget as I got older! At that point I was 33 years old. Today I am 41. 8 years- almost to the day that I hit publish on that letter to me. I read it for the first time in 8 years today and I nearly made myself cry.

Why Dear Senior Me wasn’t written until now

There’s only one answer FEAR. I only know that the things I want to say to myself could potentially sting others and so I chose to ignore it …There were other easier things to write.

There was a verse that started it all too. I posted it this morning on facebook as I was preparing for this post!

Deuteronomy 4:9

The reality is this isn’t about anybody else than the things I want to remember as a senior adult. If it stings I’m sorry. This isn’t about anyone but me and who I want to be at 60-70-80 years old. But if it stings I urge you to take those stings to God .

So without any more procrastination (8 years was long enough don’t you think)…..

Dear Senior Me

Dear Senior Mary,

Wow what a life you have had! It has been a rollercoaster for sure. There have been ups and downs and hairpin turns. AND so much laughter and joy even in the midst of the hardest days. Don’t forget the laughter and don’t forget the hard days.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that you aren’t perfect and that you don’t have all the answers. The Younger generation doesn’t need you to fix them and all their “wrong ideas”. They need to know that you genuinely care about what matters to them. They need to hear your war stories if you will but they also need you to listen- to really hear their hearts struggles. They need to know that you don’t just like to hear yourself talk.

Remember that there is world outside of Hetlerville and a world beyond your comfy home.

Listen to your grandkids music and dance with them. Take the time to learn about them the way that you did with your children. Teach them that it’s ok to play video games every once in awhile but that people are way more important.

Play games and have inside jokes. Keep their favorite movies and snacks on hand so they want to just come and hangout.

Embrace change that fits within the parameters of the gospel. Remember it’s ok to have fun in church.

Don’t focus on all your ailments. Don’t be rude to people about their looks. It’s not your job to commentate about weight or anything else that is different about a person. Mary’s really remember how much you taught your children to be kind…..You ALWAYS need to be living breathing example because you never know who is watching you.

Remember all the struggles you had at being a new parent, about finding out your sweet little boy had autism and all the negativity that came with it Remember those who came along side you and put their arms around you and said I will walk though this storm with you.

Remember to walk up to a teenager and ask them how their week went. Take them out for ice cream and invite them into your home and when you do that remember not to complain about how awful 2050’s are and how great the 1990’s and early 2000’s were.

Remember Titus 2 is about you seeking out the younger women and not that the younger women seeking you out.

Oh Dear Senior Mary remember to love full of grace and mercy. It is what has gotten you this far in life and it is what will get you through these next years. You have made it through so much and God has never left your side- He has even carried you when it was too difficult to make it on your own. You have had many trials and sad moments but remember that joy comes in the morning and you are nearing the greatest joy of all.

Share that joy with everyone. Be grateful for the amazing adventures you had and don’t harbor bitterness and jealousy. What someone else has is meant for them not you. YOU have your own journey that has been so full of blessings.

What? You don’t remember them? You have countless journals stowed away in boxes that are chock full of blessings that you took the time t name one by one. You did that for a reason- to remember! Dig them out! Read Them! Praises Jesus for the work he did in your life.

Oh and one last thing- You aren’t dead yet! No I’m not kidding so still go on adventures. AND take someone with you! One of your kids, grandkids, your HUBBY! or maybe a friend or two. Don’t forget to share your testimony and all that God has given you on your great adventure.

Love always,

Middle-aged Me

For more Choosing Courage posts click here.

Weekly Update- Week 2

Posted on by Mary
Update

Good evening friends- I cannot believe it is time for the week 2 update! And I most certainly CAN”T believe this is my 16th blog post in a row! This is supper exciting I am two weeks into building this habit! I know I can’t keep up this pace forever but I need to finish this journey and build this new habit.

Reading Update

If you haven’t seen a few of my earlier posts you know that we started school yesterday. I spent last week setting up computers and the like so reading was at a minimum last week and even the beginning of this week. So I don;’t have any updates from the book (don’t get me wrong I have still been reading, it has just been smaller chunks and there hasn’t been as many journaling spots so by next week I should have a bunch to share with you.

Blog Posts Update

I think I have settled into a routine with the posts. I have a schedule of arts-

  • Monday- Happy Homemaker Monday
  • Tuesday- Weekly Update
  • Wednesday- Blog post from my lengthy post list I have been making for sometime
  • Thursday- One Thousand Gifts JoyDare (Gratitude Post
  • Friday- Whatever suits my fancy
  • Saturday- From the blog post list
  • Sunday- A Time to play Post

I am excited to see where this all goes. I do have to go back and do some fixing on some blog posts I had some pictures that wouldn’t load properly and other technical issues.

The Struggles

There were some days this last week where I felt overwhelmed and tired. I could have talked myself into taking a night off but the reality go the matter is this habit and practicing my writing is super important to me. In the past I would have given up too easily. Through the last 9 months God has really convicted me of taking the easy way out. It’s hard watching people take the easy way out. And all I keep hearing roll around in my head is “anything worth having is worth fighting for”. I want to use this time fore growth- my growth both in courage and intentionality (intentional is my word for the year) is definitely worth fighting for.

So I fight

I fight through the struggles and the temptation to give up. I fight for the habit. I fight for having a purposeful blog. I fight for my growth. both in discipline, skill and diligence.I fight for perseverance. I fight for and choose Courage!

Will you Join me?

For more of my Choosing Courage Blog posts Click Here

Oh and one more thing….We are going to finish ESTER!!! I had put the liist of post ideas away for “SAFE KEEPING” (HA) and I found them yesterday so expect those to show up soon! I am SOOOOO excited!