Posted in Christian Service

The Toll Life Takes

I didn’t realize the toll it would take on my life to get out of step with Christ. By out of step I mean to lose stride and rhythm with Christ. Where I lost focus on the work of the Lord and my Conversations and requests for direction were less and less. I might take a few steps, and then I’d grow weary and sit down for a while. When I’d try to serve Him, I’d fail miserably, serving half hearted most of the time. It didn’t happen over night, it was a process of years, which, if we know anything about life at all, that’s how one falls out of things. You just gradually stop participating until you don’t realize it, but what was once an important piece of your life, isn’t even on the radar anymore. 

That’s where I’ve been spiritually. I cannot cast blame on anyone, because I should have known better. I’ve walked this same path for 26 years. And perhaps that’s the problem, the path got too familiar and there was no longer any surprises along the way. 

So this Sunday, I attended a different church, not a new church, it’s been around for a hundred years or so, but new to me. I sat in a new Sunday School Class, a new worship service, a new parking lot. I won’t say that it was uncomfortable, because I knew the people, but their methods of Sunday Schools class and worship were not what I was accustomed to. I was excited for the new adventure, but like a child on their first day at a new school, I had trepidations that I wouldn’t fit in. There’d be no room at the cool kids table. They’d think I was weird, or talk about me. Those two things probably happened, because it’s a small town, and I am pretty weird, and there would be questions as to why I wasn’t in my same spot that I’ve been in for 26 years. And that’s okay, because people are curious. And I figured if anyone cared enough to listen to today’s pod cast, they’d have the opportunity to find out. And then they can share with the others. 

But that’s not the point of this podcast, the point is to talk about understanding the toll your spiritual life takes on your secular life. Unless you’re full time ministry you generally have two walks. They should coincide, but in this world they often don’t. For many of the years since my salvation, I considered my secular jobs as a sideline to the ministry. God had placed me in those positions to show others the light of Christ. When I began the Ridgeview News, I struggled with how that would connect with the ministry. I by no means would deny my faith, but I also wanted to report the news from the truth perspective (which is certainly biblical) but I  wanted to keep my spiritual opinions out of it. When I just couldn’t manage that, I’d call it an editorial or opinion piece and let them know from the onset that I was speaking from a Christian perspective. 

But then I started struggling spiritually. I wasn’t happy with myself, I wasn’t happy with the people I ministered with, and that was also reflective in how I conducted myself in the world. Where I once had great joy discussing my walk with Christ, I now had nothing to say. At home I would spin into a pit of depression, when I was out with people I would cover it up with pleasantries and idle conversation. I no longer had a desire to do anything creative and anytime I did, I would critique until it usually ended up in the trash. I began going through the steps of being a publisher and failing miserably at the only opportunity I had to make money. I did what was necessary, but nothing more. 

And then it happened. I left my ministry of 26 years, (which hadn’t really been a ministry of mine for a few years). For a few months prior to leaving, I was in and out of services for various reasons, mostly just not wanting to deal with the pain. It’s painful to leave a ministry you’ve been in for as long as I was. I was comfortable there for years. I was at the cool kids table and people cared what I had to say. And then they didn’t. And over time I realized that I was unproductive in that place and needed to go. And so I did. 

Now, this is where I realized the toll my spiritual walk had taken on my life. It wasn’t that there was a great revelation discovered at the new church I was attending. What there was, was an old revelation rediscovered inside me. I walked into a different ministry that did things differently and I wasn’t responsible for any of it. I was going to have to find a place I could serve and the Lord and a new Pastor, who first made sure I was making a prayerful decision in coming to his church. And he said the magic words that stirred my heart and soul. He said, “come and heal, and come and serve.” 

The reason I had gotten out of step with Christ was because I was wounded in the battle and I was walking around with pain. All of us likely know how difficult it is when a part of your body is physically broken. It makes the function of day to day activities terrible. It’s no different when your spiritual body is broken. Because of the pain I was in, I was unable to focus. 

A bible character I relate to often is Peter. Peter lost focus so many times. Such as the time that Jesus bid him to come and walk on the water, and he did it! And then he didn’t and he began to sink and cried out in fear. 

That Sinking Feeling

Matthew 14:25-31 KJV

And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. [26] And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. [27] But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. [28] And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. [29] And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. [30] But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. [31] And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

That sinking feeling. Do you remember the times you felt it in your heart that even though you knew you were doing your best, you still felt overwhelmed like you were about to drown. That feeling generally happens when you thought you could do something, but it just didn’t work out the way you intended.  

That’s what happens with so many of us in our spiritual walk and in our daily lives. We start out walking good, but if we get our focus off Jesus, and we begin to walk alone, we start to sink. Losing focus happens when outside sources attack us. For Peter it was the waves. He noticed them after he got out of the boat. What if he had been prepared for the waves. What if he knew that his feet were going to feel a little wobbly and the waves might actually throw him off balance. But he didn’t think of that, he just thought He and Jesus were going to walk on the water. Peter was also alone on the water… that’s kind of where I was at in the ministry. I wasn’t working with people in the ministry, everyone I had worked with were gone, I was just out there flailing by myself. Being alone is not where you wan to be in life, and especially in the ministry. You’ve got to have a support around you so that when you feel like you’re sinking someone will grab your hand and pull you out of the water. 

That Feeling of Denial

Peter and I have a second thing in common, Not appreciating reality. 

Matthew 16:21-23 KJV

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. [22] Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. [23] But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

I’d have been as stupid as Peter was. I too would have told the Lord, don’t be ridiculous, You’re not going to die. You’re Jesus! I would not have liked that plan. But it was God’s plan and Jesus did have to die. 

I want everything in life to be roses and sunshine. But deed, that’s just not how life is. So when life in the ministry began to get difficult, my solution was to ignore it. Let’s just pretend that everything is fine. By the time I realized it wasn’t fine, I was falling apart. I had not only lost focus, I had lost purpose. When Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin, He had a few years of enjoying much of life. He had a family, friends, and a wonderful work in the ministry. But the purpose of His life on earth was to prepare for the cross. My purpose is to take that truth and tell others. To lead them to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, or, if they’re saved, to encourage them in their walk. It’s hard to be the encourager when you’re discouraged. 

By not facing the reality that I was not in a good place in my ministry, and that God was maybe giving me some news I didn’t want to hear, my purpose was lost. If not lost, for certain it was off track or out of step. 

That Feeling of Failure 

I’ve said it before, (stealing it from someone else) I’m not going to cuss, but if someone would write them down, I’d point to them. Well, if truth be told, I might of well have said them because they’ve ran through my mind lately. I would get so frustrated with both my spiritual life and that of the world that I didn’t say any bad words out loud, but I assure you they went through my mind. Can you imagine how Peter felt, when cursed having denied Christ for the third time, and hearing the rooster crow, how much of a failure he felt he was. That’s how we all feel when we mess up, or life doesn’t go as planned.

Matthew 26:69-75 KJV

Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. [70] But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. [71] And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. [72] And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. [73] And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. [74] Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. [75] And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

I hate not being productive. Whether it’s my fault or just the way life happens, I need to see some proof in the pudding for encouragement to go on. It’s like when a team is losing the game and you’re on the sideline. Even if you’re not the best player, you need to do something to help. That’s how I had been feeling in the ministry. I felt as if the game was going on around me and I was sidelined. 

I’m also one of those people that needs to be in the thick of it. 

Peter had been side by side with Jesus in the ministry. But now, to be by His side would have meant being killed. His other friends in the ministry were no where to be found either. Except John, you know, Jesus’ favorite one. So he’s sidelined. He’s frustrated and panicked and he’s not thinking clearly. Jesus told him that he’d deny him but he never believed it was true. 

If you would have asked me a few years ago, if I could foresee myself falling away from the ministry I would have told you no, not ever! But there I was. 

That feeling of Excitement

It’s my first week in a different ministry. I’m coming out of the ministry slump that I was in. My mind is going places it hasn’t been in a while. Reading and studying the word of God with direction, thinking about ways to grow my ministry in and out of the church. Finding a place to serve and wondering what doors God might open. This happened when I stepped out of a place where I had grown stagnant from lack of use. This is a warning to every Pastor out there. If you’ve got good people, willing to work, don’t let them set idle. One of two things will happen, they’ll either become like every other dead weight Christian in the church that sits in the pew on Sunday and listens without reaction, or God will react by moving them out of your congregation and into one where they’ll be used. If they’re a Christian worth a grain of salt, they’ll not just drop out of church, that’s a warning to those who feel uncompelled to do anything in their church. Don’t use that as an excuse to fall out on God. Because He deserves way more. And so do you. 

God bless you, and get excited for Jesus!  

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Posted in Christian Service, Church attendance, Eternity, Faith, Fear, Health, Leadership, Life Inspiration

Fighting back against depression

Psalm 77 reads like the worst possible day, ending with the best possible circumstances. It was a song sent to the music composers by Asaph. Oh that brings joy to my heart to think how very much God loves music and what an important role it plays in my own recovery from depression. I’m sure it doesn’t work that way for everyone, but… it’s a worthy try is it not? Depression is such a wicked tool of Satan and his minions and such an easy snare to fall into. 

This Psalm was written by Asaph, David’s worship leader. Imagine being in such a terrible state of mind and being in charge of worship? I’ve been there! I’ve written some pretty sad songs in that frame of mind, so I get where he’s coming from, even though I don’t know the circumstances that lead to it. From the sounds of it, it sounded a lot like 2020 and 2021. But what Asaph and many other song writers and composers find out, is that God works through the valley of those lyrics to bring us back to the mountain top of genuine worship. Glory! Keep reading and see if I’m not saying what’s so!

Cries In the Dark

Psalm 77:1-20 KJVS

[1] I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. [2] In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. [3] I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 

Depression and heartache almost always seems multiplied by darkness. It’s during those wee hours of the night that Satan has free reign to our minds because they’re not occupied by anything other than rehearsing the troubles of the day. I speak from experience. For years (a decade or two)  in my unsaved state, I literally went on three to four hours sleep a night, because you can do that when you’re young and because I wouldn’t lie down in the dark. I knew when I did it would only lead to terrible thoughts. And so I stayed awake, drank coffee and smoked cigarettes. That was my happy place pre-salvation.

Unlike Asaph, I didn’t always remember God, but He always remembered me. Getting saved didn’t stop the night terrors, (it did stop the smoking) but I was no longer in it alone. When I felt overwhelmed it was as if God would remove the cloak of darkness that weighed heavy on my shoulders and replace it with His tender arms of mercy. 

Castaway in the Deep

[4] Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. [5] I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. [6] I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. [7] Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? [8] Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? [9] Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.

Who hasn’t felt like they’ve gone too far? “God is surely done with me…” I know it’s at that point that I’m usually done with me! I’ve given up, why would God not give up? Asaph is there where we’ve been. David’s worship leader has gone to the dark side and cannot seem to find his way back. He thinks God’s mercy is over and His graciousness is done, and the only thing left to do is throw his hands up in the air and give way to the dark. At this point he doesn’t even know what to say…

I’m not so sure that’s not what the church is doing in America. They’re assuming God is done with us because we’ve gone too far and there’s no coming back from this. Well, I’m not ready for that Asaph! Sing me a song of praise and worship because I believe God’s got some more work for us to do before His return. Yes, there will be a day when God says, “Son, call Your children home, they’re work is finished.” But until then we need to fight our way out of this dark hole we’re in, back into the light and show the lost that there is a way out. 

Church in the Deliverance

 [10] And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. [11] I will remember the works of the Lord : surely I will remember thy wonders of old. [12] I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. [13] Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? [14] Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. [15] Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

I love it when Asaph says “This is my infirmity.” He realizes that the problem does not lie with God but it lies with him and his stinkin’ thinkin.’ Have you been there? Have you forgotten how many times before you’ve been in a dire straight and God has brought you out? Why is this time different? I cannot tell you the joy in my soul right now as I write the words, “Get to church!” that’s what Asaph finally figures out. It’s in the sanctuary of the Lord, that place of worship and surrender that he finds the light to lead him out of the darkness he’s in. And it’s the place everyone of us can find the solution to America’s problem now. I only have to miss one service for Satan to be on me like white on rice, but I only have to go back to realize that through Christ, anything is possible. I’m not making that up…. that’s Bible! 

Mark 10:27 KJVS

And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

The first station of any battle should be the house of God. It’s there that you’ll receive direction for the battle you are in.

Clarity in the Direction

 [16] The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled. [17] The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad. [18] The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. [19] Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. [20] Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Now more than ever leadership matters for us. As Asaph worked his way through those hard times by writing (boy oh boy can I identify), he looked back at the leadership God had provided Israel in the past. Not the typical leadership. Aaron was the mouthpiece but Moses was the Motivation. God never fails to send the right people for the job. But are you listening? I can’t help but think of that murmuring tribe he lead who constantly gave him grief about his leadership and picked the worse case scenario of what might happen. 

Yes, I’m a little Susie Sunshine in a world of doom and gloom. There are plenty of Negative Nancies that will tell you to get ready for the end. God keeps telling me “Keep working until we start the new beginning.” 

Posted in Bible Journaling, Church attendance, Church Unity, Faith, Family, Life Inspiration

We Need to Take Care of Our Land

The Land of Less

It’s so easy to forget that we need to glorify God when things are going well. But let the well run dry for a while; and then be refilled, and suddenly praising God comes easy! When heartaches come it feels like we’re walking through a desert land. Creating a thirst for what once was and what we hope will be again. The land of less is relative to the life you live; for some it’s the land of nothing. A fact I often forget. What I deem as less would be a life of luxury for some in other parts of the world. True story…

We live in the land of the Blessed

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh because my soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lustest after. ~ Deuteronomy 12:20

Our great and Almighty God enlarges our territory, he expands not only our physical places but our reach. He makes promises that we can hang onto believing it to already be true. But we have to be in a position and a mindset to receive them.

For me I struggle between frustration and guilt so often that I miss the places I’m already blessed. I fully believe that I’m not further along in my life’s work because I’ve failed to appreciate the place I’m in. God expects more from His people than I give Him. I know I’m chosen. I know I should be living like it, but I don’t always do it.

The Land of the Stressed, Depressed and sometimes Oppressed

Sound like America? It does to me. Are we not a Nation that appears to be one step from needing hospitalization? And I’m not speaking of physically. The behavior of our people is crazy. Even the blessed are stressed and depressed, and the oppressed are likely in better condition than the blessed; because they at least know on Whom they can depend.

Even those of us who are spiritually grounded can relate.

Times of separation from what we desire in our life leaves a thirst that only God can fill.

Satan however uses stress to separate us from peace. God is peace.

Satan uses depression to separate us from joy. God is joy.

Satan uses oppression to separate us from the feeling of belonging. God is ours and we are His. Glorrrraaaay!!!!

Psalm 63 1 ~ O God, thou art my God; early will I see thee: my soul thristeth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.

That is why

I know the Land of Refreshed

There is a built in desire of the people of God to be in fellowship with likeminded souls.

Psalm 84:2 ~ My soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the Living God.

It refreshes my soul to be in the right congregation with the right people. That place is for you to decide, but this is a criteria you should consider.

  • First and foremost the Word of God must be your primary focus. A church that fails to stand on the word of God is nothing more than an organization of members. It is not the body of Christ. He has to be center.
  • The people should be encouragers, not discouragers. You should feel loved!
  • The people (especially leadership) should exhort, not distort. The truth of the Word refresh your soul and you should feel filled!
  • There should be affirmation not condemnation from the people.  You should feel as though you are a part of that body in Christ and that they too desire to be with you. You should feel accepted, not judged.

I’ve been in enough congregations to know that this is not always the case. It doesn’t mean they don’t have good people or they’re not doctrinally sound. It means that perhaps they need to examine their church the way we have to examine our lives. If we are not what God desires us to be, we know it and it causes us to thirst for what we need. We need to take care of our land. Personally, Physically. Spiritually.

Posted in Life Inspiration

Perfectly Picked

chick picked 2

Yesterday was one of those days that I allowed myself to seep into depression. No reason really… it was just a handy place to be. I could have a woe is me pity party with all the feasts and trimming and there was no one to call my hand on it because I didn’t invite anyone else to join me. Oh, Izidora the Chihuahua occasionally tried to cheer me up, but her attention span is about as long as mine…. Is that a squirrel?

One  small advantage of having that “oooo something shiny” attention span is that it doesn’t allow me to hang out in a pity party too long; that would take focus. So this morning was a new day and my focus was a little more to the brighter side of life as I got out my guitar and began strumming  through the pages of a new song book titled “Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook.” If you’re not a bluegrasser you’re likely reading that title with bewilderment, or you think it’s a flea market guide. What it is is a book filled with old time bluegrass and gospel songs that “pickers” pick in parking lots at festivals and such. It’s probably the best collection of tunes I’ve seen compiled to date. Yes, that was an oooo something shiny moment. But it did have purpose. In that book is an old standard hymn “Have Thine Own Way.” As I played and sang it this morning “Methodist Style” (meaning I sang all four verses) Baptist usually only sing first and last, it blessed my soul!

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.

It’s a standard hymn, but it’s not a standard of living today is it? We want it our own way, and yesterday. But reading through those words, written by obvious divine inspiration, my heart that had been so “me” focused yesterday, softened like butter on a hot biscuit! God has so richly blessed me with time. Time to sing, pray, study, serve… and yes… whine. That story is not new either.

Isaiah 58:12-14 reads ~ And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Israel was a chosen nation that continually tried to have it their own way, when all God wanted was for them to choose Him and His way and He would have given it all…

He hasn’t changed.

  • I am chosen by Christ.
  • I am challenged by His Spirit
  • I am charged by His Word.

I’m not perfect, but I was perfectly picked! Have Thine own way Lord…

Posted in Uncategorized

The Overcomer’s Club

Let me premise this blog by stating that I’m not a psychologist, or expert in mental health. I did however stay at the Stonewall Jackson Resort this week, which may qualify me in some manner as much as some of those “experts” that I’ve heard speak. I understand depression from the victim’s point of view, being one who has struggled with it for years and since salvation in 1996 have not mastered, but managed my own through relying on God’s grace to pull me through. That sounds all pious and religious, but in truth just means that I quit trying to fix it on my own and began asking God to help me through it. Each time was different, sometimes were darker than others. It varied from a nightlight of hope to a dimly lit room, it was never utter darkness for me, because in Christ I truly did have light, even though it was sometime shrouded by the trouble of the day.

If you struggle with depression this blog will not fix you, its 710 word after all. How far can that take you? What I hope it does is to “turn up the light” a little in your life today. J

.B. Phillips, author of Your God is Too Small, dealt with depression all of this life. In one of his many letters he offered this comment to someone struggling with depression. “As far as you can, and God knows how difficult this is, try to relax in and upon Him. As far as my experience goes, to get to even a breath of God’s peace in the midst of pain is infinitely worth having.”

For me that “breath of God’s peace” was my nightlight in dark times. In my heart I knew that “God had this.”, my head however would sometimes join the liars club and berate me with thoughts of defeat and discouragement. That’s Satan at his finest isn’t it? If you’re a Christian he can’t get into your heart, because Christ dwells there. So in the very core of you there is always a light. But in your mind, where the world can seep in, Satan has free reign to beat his drum and loud and long he will until you’re spiraling into the direction of depression.

So how do you spiral out?

Again… I’m not an expert. This is what works for me. I place myself in the winner’s circle with those who God’s shown me battled depression.

  1. The woman of Samaria in John 4 who came to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the judgmental eyes of society and met the one true Judge, who didn’t condemn her but loved her out of the lifestyle she as in.
  2. Moses wanted to die in Exodus 32:32, asking God to blot his name out of the book because of what the children of Israel had done with the golden calf – yet, he was the greatest leader ever known.
  3. 3.      Elijah sat down under a juniper tree in I Kings 19:4 and told God “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life.”  The same Elijah who had brought fire down from Heaven.
  4. 4.      King David, my hero in the faith in Psalm 6:6 said I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
  5. 5.      The widow in I Kings 17:12 who had come to the end of her finances and was prepared to die a death of starvation with her child, when God sent an endless supply of provision.

The overcomers club! There were times that they had self-inflicted depression and other times it came from the outside, just like mine. But God brought them through! None of them were perfect, their sins rivaled the worst, and yet God’s mercy and grace is shown all over them. It is in those stories that I come to the “Why not me?” phase of healing. If God did it for them, why not me? They were just ordinary, messed up people, just like me.

I’m not an expert at much, but I may be nearing the benchmark of an expert in failures. But… God’s got me covered. Amen!