Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
Philemon 1:7

Love ❤

How sweet that is.

Joy.

That’s wonderful.

Peace.

We all need that–just because!

Today is 8/1/18 — “Eight One” and it is not as much as a significant day for me as it is for others.  But today I got surprised with a GIFT! That brought me joy! Literally. I am unwrapping a gift and my first thought is, “It is not even my birthday but someone else’s and I get a gift!” How sweet.

I got a text today from a dear sister saying –“hey will you be home, I want to drop something off.” I am like, “SURE!” Halleluyerrrr, something new, something different LOL.

I get ready for a night walk and I get a gift. Super nice, super sweet and super me! YAY! How nice that is to get one of those “Just Because” tokens of appreciation when you don’t feel as appreciated. Oh man–can I be super honest.  It has been a rough seven months and now we get to 8/1 and I get a gift.  I can say thank you to that generous person but most importantly thank you to My God because He just knew I needed a little something.

I am trying to hang on –tooth and nail but it feels like everything I try to do right is coming out so wrong.  At home. Career wise. Church wise.  Health wise. Can I do something right?!? Can I get something right going for me… just this time around. Because the roller coasters are making me beyond nauseous.  They are making me numb! Numb to life and numb to love.  Numb to joy and numb to peace.  I don’t wanna stay in this place. I am just praying for some nice days–literally! Nice people. Nice attitudes. Nice atmospheres. Nice actions. Nice words. Something nice when my days have been nothing nice.

Today was nice.  It ended very nice.  Humid night with a brisk walk with a human soul to share a moment with –and a gift to bring some joy. All of this was “just because”.

Thank you …. I needed that.

Sincerely,

Chrizzy

“But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.”

Luke 22:51 NKJV

Midday break. Took a long one.

I had visualized in my head some back rubbing support as I sat down for lunch to digest life!

I get to breathe again.

As I was sitting in the wooden seat waiting for my sushi I took the restaurant napkin and pinned it to my eyes tight.

My glasses were on the table.

Cell phone down and blacked out.

The sushi she brought me with my soup.

I was waiting for that imaginary hug.

That hand rubbing my back as the napkin was still pressed to my lids and the tears of frustration came uncontrollably down my face.

I pressed even more.

Breathed again.

But no hand.

And no one telling me, “it’s going to be ok!”

Never happened.

We all long for that touch.

The last thing I should have done was touch that blue F icon to see the notifications!

What was that for?!?

It’s an add to the bad.

Sometimes people have a strong tendency to remind you of what you do not have.

Yeah! That’s definitely another platform for that—can I be honest about that.

It’s everything your not!

Its this land of the best or worst of people.

Not so much of a strong motivation many times.

That’s what I wrote down coming back from lunch.

Everything that you are not!

So to be positive I have to write down and counterattack these negative words with good ones.

Everything that you are!

Beautiful

Brave

Bold

Blessed

Helpful

Loving

Caring

Giving

Smart

Yet sometimes silly

Funny

Fun

Strategic

Influential

Talented

Gifted

Great

Skillful

Victorious

A champion….

I am more than a conqueror!

That’s everything that I am!

That’s everything that He tells me!

That’s what I got to focus on!

To believe the best about myself!

Not the negatives that people want to push on me.

Try saying some life in the “correction”

But the focus for me cannot, will not and shall not be everything that I am not!!!!

My focus will be everything that I am through Christ who strengthens me!!!

That is what He always wants us to focus on.

That touch that brings life. That Word that speaks life! It’s the health and healing we need to know everything is going to be okay.

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
Romans 8:26-28

For some time now even picking up a book or hearing a sermon I get– PROPER PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING.

You have to understand the principle in perception.  I have to learn to keep a proper perspective.  Van Moody talks about it in his book, “iFactor” and I just heard it again through Bishop Tony Miller as he shared a word in Saddlebrook, NJ.

On Friday–I went to play some kickball with some colleagues after work.  Now I really didn’t know exactly or have ever played.  I just had an idea.  So I was placed in the Orange Team.  They were all excited, fired up and in good spirit! The energy was present and I enjoyed that a lot.  Basically this game is like baseball but with no bat.  You have to kick your way through.  Your bat is your foot!  And when they pitch you gotta kick the life out of that ball and hope it doesn’t go foul or that it isn’t caught in the air.

When it was my turn to kick I think I kept messing up. One of them I kicked a straight low ball. Eh! LOL! But I ran like crazy only to be hit with the ball out.  I came back to my team corner pouting and said, “What a bad kick!”

My team member said — “No it was good! You moved the guy from first to second base!”

He smiled–I smiled.

I wrote down the note quickly –yep! What a concept. My perception was way off thinking of my play.  I called it bad.  He called it good.  Because I didn’t see what was taking place on the outer field and only saw where I was on the field.  What I did wasn’t bad–for others.  To me it was an automatic out.  But to the other it actually helped them move a little further in the play! My “bad hit” was a good hit for someone else.

Isn’t life about team and not just self.  How much we are always seeing how far our setbacks appear to be not realizing how much it is helping someone else to get farther in the place that they are! Maybe the bad kick is a way to show how you are still trying.  Maybe it is a way that God is going to glorify Himself through your situation.

So many “bad kicks” of life are actually GOD’s kicks! To make not only us a winner but the entire team of His kingdom kids to walk as the champions that He has ordained us to be! So whatever kick you may find yourself in –just know that many of the bad ones are not designed to keep you down.  They are to help you and those around you rise above it triumphantly.  The kicks in life are to condition you to walk as living epistles and living champions despite the bad ones.

It’s never just about us.  It is never just about the kicks.  It is about purpose and having the proper perspective to see how God has everything aligned perfectly for us.

Helen Keller suffered an early bad kick that left her in life to continue with a disability. But that disability could not hold her back from her many other great abilities. See things as good. They are not all bad.  They may feel bad many times. BUT just know that as the Word of God declares…He is working ALL things together for His good! That is one thing we can be sure of! ❤

#Romans8

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” 
~Helen Keller