How are YOU doing? It's easy to judge other's, but what about us.

REMINDER: My blogging is meant to be a tool of remembrance, for me personally and for the reader...the public venue of blogging allows me to share these testimonies with you in hopes somone else will also be encouraged. I refer back at times in my online journaling in a call to remember what God has and is doing in my life.
If you were led here, then there must be something for you. There are no coincidences. Here is part 2 of my study today...going to print this and use as a further study at another time.
Blessings, Michele


From The Ministry of Encouragement:

How does God want us to relate to one another in the Body of Christ?

Romans 12:10—Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:16—Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to asso­ciate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Romans 13:8—Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one an­other, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
Romans 14:13—Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Romans 15:7—Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:14—I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of good­ness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
Romans 16:16—Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greet­ings.
1 Corinthians 1:10—I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.
Galatians 5:13—You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2—Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32—Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 5:19—Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
Ephesians 5:21—Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Colossians 3:13—Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:16—Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:11—Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

In short we are exhorted to: honor, live in harmony with, stop passing judgment on, love, accept, greet, instruct, speak to, submit, forebear, forgive, teach, admonish and encourage one another.

OUCH!

OUCH is right!! Boy did that one hurt! And yes, that IS a black eye, not make-up! (I actually received a lot of compliments on how great I looked with my "new make-up!" lol) This was my very first black eye. As soon as I fell, I felt the pain swelling up in me...literally!! It hurt. It was obvious. My eye and cheek began to swell immediately eventhough upon the initial impact it was flesh colored. As days went by, the swelling and pain diffused and it began to look more normal and eventually did heal. The array of colors lasted longer than the pain, praise GOD!!!!

That was back in 2009. The picture below was taken just last week and guess what....injury to the face, again. Adjusting some handlebars on my daughter's bike popped me good. Nope, no black eye...it wasn't hard enough to even cause an uproar or change colors but it sure hurt! I am the only one that feels the pain and noticed the tiny bit of swelling it caused. As recent as yesterday, it was tender to apply my foundation over it. 

That's how it is with hurts. Some are obvious and while others go unnoticed to those around us. Everyone can see obvious injuries but many little injuries go unseen. There was just no way for me to hide that peacock of an eye I had. I could only attempt to camouflage it with make-up and hair. Today, no problem, just a little extra powder, hair parted off to the side and sunglasses...good to go!

This was a good reminder for me today:

People are hurting (including this smiling face sometimes) all around us. 
Be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to interceed on their behalf through encouragement, prayer, help. Last week was a really tough week for me and a friend of mine walked up to me at church handing me a Panera Gift Card and said, "God put you on my heart this week and wanted me to encourage you." I cannot tell you what that meant to me. That my friend was being sensitive to the whispers of God. That she cared enough about me to follow thru. And that God cared enough and was saying "Yes Michele, I am here." 

Hurts come in all shapes and colors.
No hurt, betrayal, grief, pain, stress looks the same for one person, much less everyone. If God allows our pains as a testing of our faith, or a refining and pruning or maybe even a discipline, then in wisdom and faith, we can confidently cling to the hope that He is with us as we walk through the fire. There is a greater glory coming than this temporary suffering.

It takes time to heal.
I know, me too. We are hurt and we want to make the hurt stop asap!! However, if everything has purpose, then we cannot assume we are going to have a life of no pain. Our Lord who is perfect and blameless even endured suffering and pain. Not everything can be solved with a bandaid and a little oil. One time prayer may not be enough. We may have to uncover/reveal our hurt in order to process in a healthy way. We may have to get on our knees before the Lord day after day, week after week and maybe even year after year. Healing is a process as diverse as the colors in the spectrum. Until we finish that process till completion (whatever God has planned), it's going to be tender. But again, we can rest assured that He sees us, He is with us, healing is coming. Our ultimate healing and restoration will come in the throne-room of Heaven.

Action steps:
Give Grace. To yourself as you walk through the process of healing. To others who may have hidden hurts as they walk through their healing process.

Give. Just give whatever it is God tells you to give, to whomever God tells you to give, including to yourself. We can be our own worst sabotager. When you're not sure what to give, you can never go wrong with the gift of prayer!!


"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5: 2-5

"Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door." James 5:7-9

Thank You Lord God, my Healer, Redeemer, my Refuge, my Savior and Friend. Your touch quenches these dry bones. Restore us to Your glory. Forgive us Lord when we doubt Your plan and question Your promises. Deepen our faith and trust in You. We praise Your Name and we believe that we have healing and joy through the Blood that covers us and fills us. In Your Perfect and Faithful Name, amen.