There is a topic that I know we can all relate to. It is one that we all have experienced. Something that is unpleasant at times.

   I have written about it many times. In many different contexts. I don’t know that I have blogged about this aspect of it, though.

   Forgiveness…even without an apology.

   How in the world do you forgive someone if they haven’t apologized?

   How do you do that? Is it even possible?

   Do you have to?

   The answer to “Do you have to?” is …NO. You don’t HAVE to do anything. You can hold a grudge. Be bitter. Let unforgiveness take residence in your mind and soul. OR, you can do for others just as God does for you. YOU CAN FORGIVE. EVERYTHING. ANYTHING.

   HOW?

   Only through having a relationship with GOD. A real one. A consistent one. Praying. Listening to God.

   And then. It is still sometimes difficult. This I know, it can’t be done on your own. It takes the strength that comes from God.

   WHAT IF….?

   Face it. Life isn’t fair. Unfortunately, even Christians hold onto something called PRIDE. Even Christians don’t always do what God calls us to do. Forgive. Pray for those who persecute us. Love your “enemy”. Turn the other cheek. Admit our faults.

   So, how can we really and truly forgive and move on…when the one who hurt us, doesn’t see it? How can we get better when we are holding on to the hurt?

   I can tell you this. God IS the ONLY TRUE SOURCE of PEACE and COMFORT. He IS Forgiveness. He IS Love.

   I can’t tell you that you truly ever quit hurting completely. You may and you may not.  I suppose that is because we struggle with trusting God fully…unfortunately. We just do. We want things “our way”. Or atleast..I know that I do..

   There comes a time when we have to choose to move on. Move on whether or not there is mutual forgiveness. Move on even if the other person NEVER apologizes. Really. Leaving it all in the hands of God. Trusting Him fully. Even when we just don’t understand. Trusting that HIS timing is way different than ours. His ways are completely different than ours…THANK GOODNESS!!

 

   Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV) ~ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 

   As long as you have truly done what is right in God’s eyes…you can move on. Notice that I didn’t say “what is right in your own eyes”.

 

   Hosea 14:9 (NIV) ~ Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

 

   It really is possible to forgive even when the other person doesn’t. It really is possible to forgive and move forward even when the one who hurt you doesn’t seem to care. See, God does care. He does know the outcome. We simply have to trust Him and do what is right on our end. That is all we can really do.

   In God’s Word, He specifically calls us to forgive. Not just the ones WE want to forgive. (Colossians 3:13)

   There is no better feeling than forgiveness. Think about the times you have hurt others and hurt God…and how you were forgiven by others and God. It is a feeling of relief…right?  That feeling of being forgiven. That feeling of peace.

   It is possible to forgive when you are walking closely with God. It is possible to love others just like Jesus does.

 

   Colossians 3:12 – 14 (NIV) ~ Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

   I hope that as we end the year, that we all take a long, hard look within. Is there bitterness we are holding on to? Unforgiveness? Pride? Resentment? Hurt?

  We have to place all of our hope in God. He never lets us down.

   He always forgives. He always forgets.

   We should too.

   What a gift it is…Forgiveness.

   What a gift Jesus was and is…Redeemer..Savior..The Forgiver of our sins..

   What a gift to give someone as the year comes to an end….a wrong being made right. An apology. With no expectations, except to make things right. And, to show them JESUS.

   Life is so short …this life here on this earth. We aren’t promised tomorrow or even the next second. It’s never too late to make a fresh start.

   With others and with God. AND, if it is in HIS plans..reconciliation may be an extra bonus for your relationship with the one who hurt you or the one you hurt…

   Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Wishing peace and joy to you and your family…and a fresh start. Because…it IS possible.

 

   UNTIL NEXT TIME,

 

  

 

 

 

 

Peace in the midst of a storm.

Sounds impossible. A storm is anything but peaceful. Storms rage.

Yet, PEACE, gives feelings of calm. So, how in the world can you really be at peace in the midst of a storm? Maybe you are in a storm right now and you don’t feel the peace that I am referring to. Maybe you do feel it.

It IS possible. I am here to tell you. That PEACE comes from having a real relationship with Father God.

Storms are a fact of life. We ALL face hard times. We all go through difficult circumstances. Some are caused by poor choices. Some are a result of someone elses poor choices. Then there are those difficult things that we have NO idea why they happen…they JUST happen.

God is there. He is available in the storm. He is the life-preserver that we have to hold on to. He is the ONLY source of true PEACE.

I have been in the midst of many different storms. Some have been little. Some have been very large. Some lasted only for a minute. Others lasted a lot longer. None of them were pleasant. I won’t pretend that I like the difficult times. I won’t pretend that I have always understood the reasons behind them, either.

News flash! There will be more difficult times…

I do know this….God brought GOOD out of every single storm that He allowed in my life. ALL of the difficult times “grew me“..made me more mature in my spiritual walk. All of the tough times taught me something. Every single experience brought me closer to my Heavenly Father. If not for the storms, I wouldn’t be me. You wouldn’t be you.

We are each responsible for the way we react to the storms of life. We get to choose God. We get to choose to bridle our tongue and guard our actions or (reactions). We get to choose Peace.

When you are walking with God, not in front of Him..but, WITH HIM….that is when you feel that Peace that is referred to in Scripture.

Philippians 4:6,7 (ESV) ~ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 57 :1 (ESV) ~ Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

 

 

I hope you…whoever you are, reading this post…know Jesus. Really and truly Know Him. I hope you know that awesome feeling that is referred to in Philippians 4:6 & 7. It really is possible.

I have missed getting to sit down and share with you all. I hope you know that even when I am not actually writing…I am writing in my head. I believe that God allows me the time to write..when He wants me to share something with you all. Sure, I could easily just write something every single day..if this blog was for me. It’s not for me though..I hope each post brings God glory and each one of you a bit of comfort or even conviction. Blessings and of course..Peace is my wish for you..

Until Next Time,

 

   Tis the season for giving thanks, for remembering the birth of our Savior Jesus and for making memories. Traditions are a huge part of this time of the year for me and my family. I thought I would share with you a few of the things that my family and I love to do in the month of December.

 

   To begin with, we normally get the Christmas decorations out right after Thanksgiving. I love to have my girls help with the decorating. This year, my youngest really got into it..and I so enjoyed letting her decorate the tree the way “she” wanted to.

   Another yearly tradition that I love to do with my girls is putting together and decorating a gingerbread house. LOVE doing this together! We turn on the Christmas music and have a good old time together. I hope they never think that they are “too old” for this!

   Something else that my girls and I love to do is make homemade Christmas ornaments. Last year we got together with our friends and did this..it was so much fun! The homemade ornaments are my favorite! There is just something special and precious about them. It brings me joy to open up the container and take them out one by one each December…remembering the time we spent together making them.

   There are Christmas parties with Church groups. Christmas Eve and Christmas day get-togethers with family. Yummy meals. Delicious desserts. Presents exchanged and LOTS of pictures taken.

   Something that my family has done for several years is help at a local event on Christmas Eve. We get the opportunity to feed people food and feed them God’s Word. My children look forward to this every year and my husband and I do as well. We go in order to be a blessing and end up being the ones that are blessed.

   There are lots of other traditions that we tend to do each year…too many to list. Traditions are fine. They are even fun. I hope that  in all of the memory making, that Jesus..the reason for this entire season of the year, stands out as being the soul purpose for Christmas. I hope I never make the other “stuff” seem more important than Jesus… I hope that the “traditions”, the fun things, only point to Jesus. By the attitudes we have while doing the “Christmas stuff”. In the way we behave around others. In what proves to be our priority. Is it showing others “Jesus” or is it showing others “stuff”?

   I love the lights, presents, and music just as much as the next person. I have to be careful that those “things” are not my priority. I have to be intentional about keeping Jesus in 1st place. I have to be even more intentional about spending quality time with my Father God during this time of the year. The time of the year when the hustle and bustle of the season could get in the way of quiet time with God….and in the way of spending time just being with Him and studying His Word.

   The BEST tradition that any of us could hope to be carried on by our families, is one of honoring God this Christmas season and every single day of the year. Remembering the birth of our Savior..and teaching others about Him. Finding someone who might not have anyone to share Christmas with…inviting them to your family gathering. Asking God to show you someone who may need your help this year at Christmas. Jesus…Others…and then Yourself. That is what brings JOY.

   You like gifts??…Good…find someone to give one to. Someone who may not have a Christmas if you don’t. Then you’ll find JOY. Now that is a tradition that could change the world.

   Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you take time to make memories…spend with Jesus..and carry on some traditions. I hope you are able to slow down and enjoy the gift of “the moment”. I hope you find JOY this Christmas season. I hope that you tune out the negative that you may encounter this season..and focus on the good….focus on God…celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus.

 

   Until Next Time,