Beauty from Ashes - A Continual Process

The thing about life is that you keep learning.  You keep taking the things you've already learned to a deeper level...it never stops.  In order for deep learning, God will take you deep.  His truths will grow deeper roots in your soul.  There is a theme of "deepness" that is the beautiful coming out of the ashes.  Isaiah 61:3  I often write about learning through the hard things.   But I need to clarify that I don't camp in those hard places.  But I've tasted of them and of HIM.  If that brings hope to just one person to God be the glory!  If you can't relate to the struggles common with anxiety, maybe you will be able to understand someone in your life who has those struggles.  We are all different parts of the body working together. The monumental shift in my life came in my mid 30's.  God did soul surgery at the deepest level.  I came out of that season on a mountain top!  I had clung to so much Scripture for ...

Psalm 51 has four precious sections to my soul.  God blessed me with this chapter many years ago.  I've been refreshed by it this morning.  One, our sins are always before us as David said, but they do not have to hold us captive.  Two, our sins are against God alone.  Three, we can pray for a clean heart and for His Spirit to revive us.  And four, we can praise even in the hard times.  Grace alone makes all this possible. I struggled with self-condemnation for many years.  I've shared in the past how I could not really believe I was forgiven.  I knew it in my head but my heart was restless.  I knew the passage, "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  This did not bring relief to my spirit.  I prayed over this for a long time as God began to do a healing work in me.  I often pray "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."  But I pray out loud, "I receive your forgivene...

Not all can identify with me on this.  I'm just throwing it out there for anyone who can.  I write about everything big and small because God refreshes me as I write.  My hope is that He will refresh you with truth as well.  I also hope that you can laugh a little at this, because I can!  This is not about a major illness.   But I share it for the ones who feel alone in their big fears about small stuff.   This is about a default response to ANY visit to ANY doctor for ANY reason.  It could just be a sore throat!  I have "old tapes" that God is still re-defining in my mind .  But first, here is what I'm talking about. Today I sat in the chair in the doctor's office waiting for my turn.  The nurse had already come in and chit chatted and knocked my nerves down from a #10 to a #5.  (Here's a plug for nurses - I love you!  You walk into the room first and assess the situation, the ME!  You speak gentle words, you smil...