Are you in a slump? Thought of the day - 3/11/15

Thought of the day - Ever get in a slump?     Sometimes it's exciting to look through Facebook friend's photo albums  or on instagram, and other social media sites. It's neat to see how their families have grown, and blossomed into something that we use to imagine when we were young and dreamed of having a family of our own. We can take a step back and sigh.... yes, sigh. -sigh- Inhale a deep breathe and thank God for all of the blessings we have and then when I smile I know that my happiness, my joy is shining outward. But, have you ever seen the person (sometimes myself included) where no matter what good happens they seem to find something negative? Sometimes to even see these people smile takes forever and a day.(sometimes we have to watch how we react, we never know what they're going through)  I just saw that. A photo album of a friend. Almost every photo is of them, many of them. But they're not happy. Someone might say "How do you know that?  I would answer them and say, "I just know....I can feel something isn't right, I don't see it" Ever felt the twinkle in your eye when you're feeling loved, or the energy that bursts through your veins when you feel everything is going right for you? I didn't see that in the photos. I didn't see it in the first, the second, or the 3oth photo. There was no twinkle of excitement, no glimmer of joy in their eyes. They might've been on vacation, or with family at a birthday party, caught the biggest trophy fish of their lives and still no smile. I've been there. I've been there to where no matter how much I wanted to smile, no matter how much I knew that I was alive and SHOULD be happy, I felt drained. I 'd pray and ask for peace, or energy, for whatever is was I was lacking but I'd still feel drained. I'd still feel like ..."why?" ...And then it happened. I listened and I heard my answer, I saw my answer. I heard the laughter of my kids running down the hall, the scampering of feet, I heard the sound of my wife's voice in the other room as she told one of our kids to put down the glass vase, or to stop pulling out the couch cushions and then to just start laughing because one of the kids said something that she couldn't help but to laugh at. I heard the running of the water in the pipes and realized I was alive. I was breathing, and thinking, and my family was all around me. Everything I had ever wanted was all around me and somehow  a brief sadness or depression ( we never seem to want to admit that) had settled in. I 'd allowed it. Every moment from then I realized sometimes we had to only look around to see the greatness around us, in us and to see how blessed we are. No matter how un great I felt, and no matter how much I may have seen my own faults the people around me especially my kids saw something wonderful. And, on a sadder note there may be someone out there going through worse than you. Hard to think of that but just the other day our Pastor spoke on how he knew a man that said his past year had been from Hell. He began to describe how several people in his family had suffered from cancer, several divorces were in progress and a family member had passed away all in the same year. Wow - If you're reading this you may be having a rough moment, maybe one where you feel exhausted or beat down.  You may even be having a hard time smiling or trying to cover it up with a much bigger smile than normal so you walk around looking like you've just had a Botox injection in your face or you have a piece of cantaloupe stuck in your mouth in a large smile shape. I've done that, put on an act hoping no one saw that there was something else less smiley going on inside me. But guess what? You're alive, and there are wonderful things that you are blessed with. In these times talk to God.I don't know you're situation or if life is perfect or you are miserable but I do know there is a lot to look forward to. The sun will rise, the storm will pass and joy comes in the morning.

Jeremiah 29:11  ESV
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

James 1:2-4  ESV
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Psalm 30:1-5English Standard Version (ESV)
30 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.[a]
4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.[b]
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.[c]
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

Encourage Others and LET IT GO - Thought of the day - 3/10/15

Thought of the day - I've struggled with the concept of giving time, emotion, energy, effort, a part of my life, food, money, and so much more to people when they need it and then feeling like it doesn't come back in some way. But then I realize that we don't give to receive, we give because we want to, we give because we want to see others blessed in whichever manner it is you do it. Now I see how regardless of the struggles, I can think of the moment where someone out of the blue said something perfect or did something kind just when I needed it. It's easy sometimes to think of what we don't have or to wonder when something is going to be ok . Just when something seems bleak things happen. I've started to realize that a relationship with god is more than just words, or a custom, but it's a moment by moment relationship. It's difficult to know someone when you don't speak to them and this had been part of my struggle of not understanding so much until I started to understand god's love. (to think he can start to clean the rusty ,weathered barnacles off even my heart). This morning I had a moment where I had started to feel a bitter thought towards a person because I remembered a situation where they cried on the phone with me listening, and talking only when the moment was right. I was patient, understanding, and with every answer, I strived to be the best possible friend I could be, to give them hope. The phone call ended.I haven't heard from that person in over 2 years.. I'm not going to let myself feel frustrated or bitter anymore over these things I cannot control. Instead I prayed for this person and I let the situation go knowing that after seeing an update profile picture of them that they are happier than they were, and have a smile on their face now when before, they had not smiled for a very long time. I was not the miracle worker in their lives but believe that for that one moment. I was there for them as others have been for me. All I wanted was to know they were ok.. I know that there is so much more than getting back in the way we expect it or hope for it. Sometimes it's little things, sometimes it's big things but God does not forget us and he uses the people we know and sometimes those we don't know to show us everything is ok. Don't be discouraged, don't be frustrated or let yourself get bitter. When you have a moment where you feel lonely, call a friend you haven't seen or spoken to in 2 years or the person you keep telling you are going to call but never do. Take a step and see what happens. God is never late, he is always on time, and he has not forgotten you.

1 Thessalonians 5:11-14 ESV
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.