HEAL - Stop Picking at It!

Preface: I haven't been writing much at all this year!! My life is in the middle of a fast-moving current of change. But, today I saw the #fmf topic of "heal" and, I was hooked. Ready, set, go...

For 3 years now we have had our young adult daughter and her daughter living with us. It has been wonderful. It has been crazy. It wasn't what we had imagined. But, the blessings from having them in our home have been more than we could count. 

Grandchildren are a reminder of so many things...

Painful Twists and Turns

This week has been a doozie (my dad used that word often). My body's weary and my head is spinning and...

I am so very grateful for my family members!

Thursday, the Little & her Mommy

Wounds Into Wisdom

Yesterday was a GLORY DAY for me & a dear loved one. And this morning I've been bathed in so many incredible thoughts & emotions... joy, thanksgiving, wonder & awe of God's timing & faithfulness. Oh, the mysteries of embracing God's timing to find peace!

I could say that I stumbled across a great quote this morning. But, I choose to say, "God lovingly placed this quote in front of me in His perfect timing with His loving faithfulness." When I saw the quote, I heard the following thought in my heart:

We can't do anything to change the past. The value of mistakes, hardships, poor choices, loss, pain, suffering and so much more is... to learn... to share... and to grow from them!

Today I'm reminded to allow God to work in & through everything that I face in life. He alone can...

Our Father God...

• is at working in ALL things. 
• gives us beauty for ashes.
• makes all things new.
• keeps His promises.
• completes what He's started.
• is the ultimate healer.
• and so much more!

Thank you God for your plan which wants our wounds to turn into wisdom! 

How has God turned your wounds into wisdom? Feel free to comment here or message me privately.

the stuckinindiana crazy footnote: I seem to be on a HUGE kick lately... being a bit over-the-edge at matching photos I've taken with quotes and/or scriptures. I can't get enough of it. I keep asking God... why am I so compelled to do this?? For someone who was certain she was going to die before she was of 35 and has declared over & over that she's just not quite right, I always seem to wonder... "Am I doing this because I'm going to die soon & God needs me to get it done before going home to be with Him??"

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today... 

And I sat... and wept...

Today, I wept as I read words that "I" had written in an older post -- when I had opened my heart for all to see. That blog post exposes so much raw emotion within me. Will it touch someone else's soul?  Will the words I wrote open and begin to clean wounds in preparation for healing in another?  I don't know. I can only write from the heart. 

The intensity of emotion shook me... and, through the tears, I posted the following: 

"For those of you who write... or blog... are there things you've written that bring tears to your eyes? What joy to feel so deeply."  

Within moments one of my followers responded with:

"The blog I wrote last night brought tears to my eyes, but it wasn't joy."

My immediate response:

"I'll say this before i read your post... the fact that we can FEEL deeply... isn't that, in a way, JOY?"

With rain comes the rainbow.With tears come the promises.

It's said that one of the hardest things in life is "not knowing".  Well, I'd like to submit "not feeling" to the list.  There've been times in my life when I have not "felt" - insulating myself in a cocoon to protect me from the "real" of life. And, in those times, I've felt anything but alive. Feeling the pain allows me to know that I am alive - a living being, dealing with whatever life throws in my path. And, choosing JOY in those times makes all the difference.  Nothing will come my way that I cannot handle. But, I don't handle it on my own.  The only way that I'm able to handle anything is through my relationship with God, the Father; Jesus, His Son; and the Holy Spirit. I believe promises... and claim them... even when I don't feel it...

"The young women will dance for joy, and the men—old and young—will join in the celebration. I will turn their mourning into joy.

I will comfort them and exchange their sorrow for rejoicing." 

Jeremiah 31:3

There's so much pain in the story of the untimely death of Trayvon Martin.  There are so many unanswered questions.

How do we deal with it? 

We feel!

Please read the blog which was shared with me by Beyond Normal Limits - Raising Boys In A Dangerous World  She felt the pain & she responded.

Dear God,

Thank you for feeling -- both the good & the bad.

Let me continue to look for Your promises with expectation.

Awake my feelings.

Bring reassurance & joy in the midst of pain. 

"I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth." Genesis 9:13 NLT