Tag Archives: 1 Corinthians 13

Forgiveness or Eat Your Anger

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Forgiveness or eat your anger, which will it be? Since you get to choose, which will it be?

Last week, I found this “Tips on Forgiving”  stuck in my notebooks. Don’t know where it came from, but it’s wonderful advice. Since a lot of us, me included eat our anger, I thought this paper on forgiving would be good for us to chew on.

In order to make it easier for you to read, I retyped it. After you read each each line, stop and think, “How does this apply to me?” Then ask God to show you. After all, getting free from unforgiveness also can free us from compulsive overeating, especially due to unresolved anger.

-TIPS ON FORGIVING-

  1. Know that forgiveness is not forgetting.
  2. Know that forgiveness is a choice.
  3. Know that you have to acknowledge the pain.
  4. Know that forgiveness is incomplete unless you feel it; you must forgive them from your heart.
  5. Know that you cannot wait until you “feel like it”; you never will.
  6. Know that it is not about feelings; it is about freedom.
  7. Know that God will bring out what needs to be forgiven- if we let Him.
  8. Know that sometimes we are not MAD; we are sad and we need to process that.
  9. Know that it is natural to seek revenge; yet as believers, forgiveness is required.
  10. Know that He has already helped you to forgive- you do not need to ask again.
  11. Know that it is a hard choice to forgive- a choice of the will.
  12. Know that once you forgive- you can never again use it against them.
  13. Know that no one forgives without bearing the burden of the sin of the offender.
  14. Know that forgiveness is not for their sake; it is for your sake.
  15. Know that their response to your forgiveness is not the issue.
  16. Know that sometimes it is better to keep this forgiveness to yourself- they might not understand it.
  17. Know that you can forgive, because you have been forgiven.
  18. Know how to forgive much and ask forgiveness more.
  19. Know that to forgive yourself is to final realize that He really does love you.

           This little card with the butterfly and angel pinned to it was a gift form two of my grandaughters. I love it. Enjoy the message.

          Also below is a picture of a cross stitch piece of 1st Corinthians 13 bought from an estate sale.

The overwhelming message of I Corinthians 13 is all about love. After all, couldn’t we all use more love? Couldn’t we all give more love? In fact, it states that the greatest gift of all is love. Once you forgive others you are free to love, including to love yourself.

Isn’t it wonderful how God loves us? Certainly He never gives up on us , either. He forgives us, even though we don’t deserve it. I know I don’t. How about you? Have you ever asked for His forgiveness?  If not, why not now?

Just talk to Him for yourself, “Lord, I’ve messed up. I know You died for my sins, and I believe You rose from the dead, so I could live too. Would You forgive me and help me clean up all the mess-ups of my life? Come live in my heart. Help me to live for You.”

His forgiveness will lift the weight off your shoulders. Your body size may stay the same, but your heart will be fuller and your step will be lighter. Let me know how it went.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NKJV 

Category: Christian weight loss support, Desiring God, Emotional Eating, God's Amazing Love, Seeking God, Spirituality, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Our Hardest Day- Holy 30 Devotional -Day 7 & Day 8

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When I consider what was our hardest day, one day particularly stands out. It’s the day we signed a warrant of arrest for our son back in June of 2011.

Yes, that was the hardest day of our parenthood. There have been many days since that seemed hard at the time, but overall that was the hardest day ever. What a dark day that was, the darkest in our marriage, in my motherhood, and in my life. My husband will agree.

But then this is not so much a story of how horrible it was or even why we felt we had to do this. It’s not even a story about our hardest day. Instead, this is a story of how God loved on us in such a special way we knew we had been personally hugged by God.

The event that caused us to make this decision happened on a Saturday night, so early Sunday morning my husband and I drove to the city police department. I sat in the car, prayed and cried while my husband went inside to sign the papers.

We felt numb and overwhelmed with grief. Since we didn’t want to see anyone or make a public scene in our grief, going to church seemed out of question. Therefore we just rode and rode in the car in complete numbness and dead silence with no sense of direction.

After driving most of the day, we ended up in another county across the bay. Driving in silence we had passed several small fishing piers, so we decided just to get out and walk on one just  to look at the water. Water has a calming effect on the emotions.

We walked to the end of the pier, stood there looking at the sunset, and then hugged each other in consolation and grief. Suddenly a man took our picture. He asked permission to keep our picture because photography was his hobby. He said he was going to title the picture, “Lovers at Sunset.”

We were stunned, being lovers was the last thing on our minds. Before we could respond, his cell phone rang. Instead of a regular sounding ring, it played Christian music for the phone ring. We felt a sense of bond with this man for he was a Christian too. So we explained to him we weren’t hugging in a moment of passion, instead our hug was one of consolation and grief. We shared with him about our son and what we had done, the hardest thing any parent could do. Talk about “tough love”, this was killing us.

The man listened as we poured our hearts out, then he reached out for our hands and prayed both for us and with us for our son. We both cried, but felt reassured that God was listening. We felt assured that God would take care of our son and eventually restoration would come.

When my husband and I got back in the car, I said, “Do you know what just happened? God hugged on us, that’s what just happened.” My husband nodded his head in agreement. We left that place knowing God loved us, God loved our son, and God is in control even when we mess up.

I know of many who are going through darkness now with cancer, facing the loss of death of a loved one , or dealing with the heartache of wayward children. Our story may seem minor to others, but at the time it was the hardest day of our life.

And just to let you know,  both we and our son are in the process of restoration and healing in our relationships with one  another. We still have bumps in the road and moments of confusion. All of us have had tears since, but we can now express love one for another. My heart feels  joy each time he tells me, “I love you too, Mom.”

God is in the healing business.

Addendum: When we visited the Garden of Gethsemane last February, the Lord spoke to my heart saying, “No longer call him your wayward son, from now on call him your youngest son.”

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And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:6

 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 1 Corinthians  13:4-10

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**This short devotional, “Holy 30” (See picture of Day 7 & Day 8.) is based on I Peter 1:16. It was published by First Baptist of Tillman’s Corner.  I didn’t write any of this devotional, but I do have permission to share it with you.

If you would like some additional information about our church check out this website:    http://www.fbtc.org/ . You can also listen to some sermons from our pastors. Enjoy them, I do.

Also if you click on the underlined scripture tab, you’ll be connected to Bible Gateway. This is a great source for locating Bible scriptures through the computer.

#Holy30

Category: Christian weight loss support, Desiring God, Seeking God, Spirituality, weight loss | Tags: , , , , , ,