Reflections

DRAW THE LINE on… FEAR con’t

Victory App 4

Dear ‘LB’ friends,

I hope the previous four Victory Apps have helped you or someone you know. I will continue to talk about fear from another perspective. As I mentioned in my last message with today’s new words such as Covid 19 and Corona Virus being household words with the attending emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness. anger and confusion, we all need to find hope in Jesus.

Moses answered the people. “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14: 13,14 (NIV)

The Israelites were admonished to fear not, stand still and see the Lord’s salvation. What were they up against? In the preceding verses in Exodus, the scriptures describe Israel’s exodus (departure) from Egypt and the armies of Pharaoh’s pursuit of them. Verses ten through twelve shows God’s chosen people to be extremely fearful for their lives, even wanting to return to their captors, Moses proclaims to the frightened Israelis to stop fearing, stand and see God’s salvation for them. No easy task.

Let’s consider their situation. The Jewish people saw the massive armies of Pharaoh arrayed in their shiny, indestructible armor . They could hear the chariots being pulled by the swift, sleek and powerful Egyptian horses. Probably seeing and smelling the dust for miles, their fear must have been paralyzing, the noise and confusion deafening.

The purpose of the pursuit was either to take them back to Egypt as slaves or kill them. In the midst of this calamity, Moses boldly proclaims God would deliver them. It was a lot for the Israelites to believe. They had to in effect ‘draw the line’on their fears in the middle of heart-stopping panic! Why were they to stand still and not fear? Verse fourteen tells us. “The Lord shall fight for you…”

The same verses apply to us today. We are to fear not, stand and see the salvation of the Lord in our lives. Salvation includes redemption, deliverance, healing  and prosperity. The words in Exodus might seem easy but application takes effort, courage and His enabling. In effect, we also have to ‘draw the line’ on our fears, anxiousness and doubts in the midst of our battles. 

We have many illustrations of drawing the line. Remember, as children, when two boys would fight? The bully, after shoving the other boy around for a whilewould draw a line. He would defiantly yell to his opponent, “Step across the line if you really mean what you say! If you have the guts!” At that time, the challenged boy would have to decide if he really meant everything he said he would or could do. He also knew once he stepped across the line, he had to make the decision to win. Isn’t it interesting how everyone looking on would wait to see if the challenged boy would step across the line? Most likely there would be silence as he made his decision.

Although we are older, life still demands the stepping across ‘the line’. There are times when the ‘bullies’ of fear, anxiety and doubt scream out the potential for failure, sickness and defeat. When we listen to them, we waver between God’s Word and their taunts. Just as the Israelites, we look at the enemies and then to the word of the Lord, while they yell at us with fear-filled taunts. 

If we heed them, rather than the ‘still small voice’ of the Lord, we can fall into faithlessness. It is also interesting to note the silence as the forces of Heaven and Hell watch as we make our decision. The book of Hebrews tells us we are ‘… surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…’ Hebrews 12:1.

We have to ‘draw the line’, not as the bully in the illustration, but as a victorious Christian. How do we do it? We say, “enough is enough! I’ll have no more! My God will fight for me!”

This line can be a literal line impression on carpeting, a chalk mark on the floor or even a mental assessment. However, one side of the line encompasses the fears and doubts of the enemy and the other side represents faith and victory in God.

Just as the challenged boy had to summon up courage, we need to remember God’s Word to be strong and very courageous. We must believe the salvation of the Lord is with us as we step across the line – to victory!  The best way to equip ourselves for this battle is to memorize those verses in the scriptures that remind us of God’s promises and His absolute power to fulfill them. Mose’s admonition to the Israelites applies to us, “The Lord will fight for you!”

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1 883 644 3600. She is a compassionate professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information, click CONTACT option at top of page.

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

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DRAW THE LINE on… FEAR

Victory App 4

Dear ‘LB’ friends,

In my previous writings from the Victory Apps series, I spoke of different applications we can do to give our concerns to the Lord, Burnt Offerings Victory App 1, Boxes, Bows, Brown Grocery Bags and Wheel Barrels Victory App 2 and ‘Dustings’ Bumps and Bruises, Victory App 3.

As I mentioned in my last message with today’s new words such as Covid 19 and Corona Virus being household words with the attending emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness, anger and confusion, we all need to find hope in Jesus.

How are you doing? Have you applied any of them? If you haven’t needed additional help with release of life’s bumps, that’s great because all is well with you and we can rejoice with you! But, if a need comes for you or someone you know, you have some resources. There is another application so important to help us on our journeys entitled DRAW THE LINE on…FEAR Victory App 4.

This application is for the times when we have to make a stand against the mental enslavement that keeps us bound.

We might ask, draw the line on what? Many things come to my mind but, one of the biggest is FEAR. It is one of the most prevailing and disabling malady we can experience. It keeps us from excelling and living our lives to the fullest. It can follow us all of our lives showing up in places we don’t realize. 

Some examples of fear manifesting can be when we don’t stand up for ourselves. We don’t say, “No, I don’t want to do that.” “No, I don’t want to go there.” “No, I don’t want to be here.”

Many times we compromise when we shouldn’t because we want love or approval. Fear tells us we won’t be accepted unless we go along with the others. It’s a malady that trails behind us from childhood to adults. The young school age child is under pressure to ‘fit in’. The middle school years are filled with decisions to ‘do as they do’ or not be popular and accepted. The senior years form our characters of wanting independence while we are still trying to fit in, be accepted and popular. The college years brings with it a freedom from the parent’s rules and take the character formed from the earlier years and live out our choices of wanting independence, fitting in, being popular and accepted.

With each phase of the decisions, it all started with another fear… fear of rejection; from the child to the teenager to the young adult. Let’s don’t forget the older adults. We don’t get off any easier than the younger ones. We are just older to do more compromised things.

So what do we do? This is another application we can learn from the Victory Apps series. We can Draw the Line on… FEAR.

Really, drawing the line can be for most anything that makes us captive to do things we shouldn’t. Fear, of course, is the culprit in most cases but, captivity comes in many forms. Taking drugs, excessive drinking, pornography, stealing, violent behavior, having affairs down to ‘smaller’ sins like gossip, lying and back biting. If we could see the beginning of the trail, we would probably see where fear started the road to our destructions. In some situations, it takes a counselor to unravel the maze of the deep things of the soul, to how it all started. 

So, what do we do? As I mentioned in the three other Victory Apps, we start with prayer. Nothing can be successful without Jesus. We ask Him to help us. If we have done something wrong, we ask Him to forgive us, then forgive ourselves and others and say,”no more!” Once again, all of our prayers and petitions will be different but, in many ways, the same. Take your time to talk to Him. After all, it took time to be where you are now so, it may take some time to release your fears.

You might pray something like this. “Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before you to release my fears about__________________.  I have tried to overcome it on my own but haven’t been  successful. I need your help and enablement, Please show me how this all started so I can give it to you as well. I want to be free from this yoke. You came so I can be free. I receive your enablement to overcome this. Thank You for loving me and I want to love You more.”

The next part is the action phase after the prayer. You draw a line. It can be a line formed from using your toe across a carpet, a chalk mark on the sidewalk, a line on the ground or even a mental line that you see. I’ve normally drawn a line in the carpet. Over the years, my  husband has seen lines drawn in the carpet different places in the living room. Upon seeing them in the morning, he has asked, “What did you pray about last night?”

With any of the line drawing, be it on carpet, sidewalk, ground or mentally seeing the line, the point is to see yourself on one side which represents your need or captivity and stepping over it to victory from whatever has bound you. Take as long as you need to mentally put them on one side, and see yourself releasing them before you take your step across the line. This is another way to get free. 

I have used these four different applications over the years and have shared them with others. In each case when I applied them, I ended up loving Jesus more. He always was there to hear me and answered my prayers or showed me what to do. He will also be there for you. Remember, He loves you, understands and waits to hear from you,

I hope these have helped you. We are all in this journey of life together and will all make it through in victory. You’ve got four more ways to do it. They all start out with prayer and end in praise!

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1 883 644 3600. She is a compassionate professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information, click CONTACT option at top of page.

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

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BOXES, BOWS, BROWN GROCERY BAGS and WHEEL BARRELS

Victory App 2

Dear ‘LB’ friends,

Hi! This the day the Lord has made, We will rejoice and be glad in it. 

So glad we are together. As I mentioned in my last message with today’s new words such as Covid 19 and Corona Virus being household words with the attending emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness. anger and confusion, we all need to find hope in Jesus. I hope the illustration I wrote entitled BURNT OFFERINGS, from the series Victory Apps, is helping you on your life path. I mentioned I would tell you about another application of releasing our burdens to the Lord. It’s called BOXES, BOWS, BROWN GROCERY BAGS and WHEEL BARRELS. 

This application can be for those things that happen on a day to day experience that bother us and deplete our emotional energy.

After doing my burnt offerings for a while, another illustration came to me that I was able to apply and share with others about troubling situations that occur in our lives. This one involved ‘boxes, bows and grew to include brown grocery bags and wheel barrels’. I have shared this one with my children, grandchildren, young mothers, men and women, basically anyone carrying burdens within them. It’s interesting that life’s burdens do not have a age limit, or nationality, effecting men and women, the young, middle age and the aging.

My first step I had to do was ask Lord Jesus to reveal my feelings and let me understand why I felt so troubled. Sometimes we don’t know why we feel sad, angry and anxious or we are too busy to slow ourselves down enough to find out. We are also very adept at burying our emotions, but, He does. He knows all about us, from our conception to throughout our lives.

When I eventually uncovered the source of my troubles, I saw myself mentally place my cares in an imaginary box. l Peter 5:7 tells us Casting the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all of your worries, all your concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. My concerns, at that time, would be varied from how to raise the children with their many concerns. Tormenting thoughts, am I a good parent? Am I a good wife? I sure blew it and didn’t act very understanding today … again went in the box. Anxious feelings of bills needing to be paid, employment situations, health problems and prayers for our marriage, along with my negative feelings about myselfall were mentally placed in the box. To describe ‘mentally placed in the box’, I would literally see myself hold the nagging, energy depleting feelings  and then see myself lower them into the box. Then, I closed it.

Through the years my needs and concerns grew along with the children’s transition from childhood to adults and then the new generation of grandchildren. With todays Corona Virus with its many restrictions and trials, our emotions are taxed daily. 

The next step is important and needs to be thought with care to details

After visualizing myself placing the concerns in the box and closing it, I carefully wrapped the box with my favorite colored wrapping paper. I felt I was presenting an offering to the Lord that had my feelings that basically had ‘me’ in the box so, I wanted to present something beautiful to Him. Then the next part of the offering was to place my favorite bow on the box. It’s important to see the box completed. You will understand why later.

After I had my box wrapped and a bow on it, the next step is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. This is where you give your concerns to the Lord. See yourself walking and carrying your box of ‘burden offerings’ to the cross of Jesus. Once you are at the base of the cross, you pray about whatever is on your heart and what’s in your box. Take your time. This is your special time with Him. No one else can give Him what you can because there is only one you. He loves you and waits patiently for you to share your concerns, disappointments, hurts, fears and tears. After praying and releasing, you then put your wrapped box down at the cross.

I can give you an illustration of a prayer  but, you will have your own in-depth details about your life. Share your heart feelings with Him. He already knows all that has happened and your pain. He is your loving Father that heals the broken hearted. “Our Father, who art in heaven… Luke 11:2-4. He heals the broken in  heart… Psalms 147:3, Isaiah 61:1.

You might say, ”Father, I give these cares, hurts, fears and pains to You. You know what I felt when ___________ happened. You know what I still feel and can’t seem to get over it. I can’t carry them any more. It affects my whole life. Please accept them and work them out for me as You have said in 1 Peter 5:7. I forgive ________, please forgive me for my holding on to any offense.. Thank You for loving me as You do. I want to know and love You more. In Jesus name Amen.”

After placing your treasured box on the ground, see yourself turn around and walk away. You have given your cares to Him. When plaguing thoughts try to return, you can say, “Be gone, they are at the cross, Jesus will take care of them. My box is there. It has ______ color paper on it and a _______ bow.” 

When you take your brightly colored box, you’ll probably see my assortment of shiny boxes and bows. I can’t tell you exactly what I put in the boxes but, each represents different situations and emotions that I needed to take to the Lord and get relief from the negative thoughts. He, of course, was there to receive them. This is a way to ‘nip things in the bud’, to release the plaguing concerns before they get entrenched in our souls.

We all have our ‘day to day’ situations. One young man, after hearing this message, saw himself put his troubling issues into a brown paper grocery bag. He then saw himself walk to the Cross with his ‘burdens’ grocery bag and prayed, releasing them. An older man exclaimed, “I have so many, I need a wheel barrel to cary all my concerns!” He saw himself push his barrel to the Cross, prayed over his load of anxiety involving his family, the economy, health and relationships giving them to the only One who could relieve his burdens. A creative woman saw herself place her petitions in a box wrapped in impressive purple paper, a large purple bow with beautiful gems on each corner of the box. 

Also, children can take their child burdens to the Lord in the same manner we do. They have their little, but huge to them, concerns as they grow and develop. 

You and your children or grandchildren can also take a sheet of paper and draw an illustration of your and their special boxes and put their drawings on the refrigerator attaching it with a magnet. Then, they will be able to see their box everyday, touch it, pray and thank the Lord for answering their prayers. You become a family that prays and believes for answers together. The children love to see their lives are important enough to put on the refrigerator and pray over everyday.

These are additional illustrations to release life’s day-to-day experiences. We will have a beautiful garden of gaily wrapped boxed prayers as well as brown grocery bags with heart felt petitions enclosed… even well used wheel barrels, loaded with the concerns of life. There’s plenty of room for all of us. Each box, bag or wheel barrel just makes God’s garden look more beautiful. He treasures the time we spend with Him and our offerings.

By the way, this message is for me as well as for you. I will be giving our Lord a new wrapped box with a new concern tonight. I’m so thankful He receives and welcomes us and our petitions with open arms.

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1 883 644 3600. She is a compassionate professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children.

For more information, clink CONTACT option at top of page.

BURNT OFFERINGS

Victory App 1

Dear ‘LifeBeats’ friends,

I want to share something I have done over the years and have shared with others that has helped them… burnt offerings, boxes and bows, ‘dusting’ bumps and bruises, and draw the line.

You might think, burnt offerings, boxes and bows, ‘dustings’ bumps and bruises and draw the line? What does that have to do with anything? With today’s new words such as Covid 19 and Corona Virus being household words with the attending emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness. anger and confusion, we all need to find hope in Jesus. These will be tools we can apply to release the despairing thoughts and emotions that rise up with the anxious occurrences.  

Today I will share about burnt offerings. In the future weeks, I will share  about boxes and bows, ‘dusting’ bumps and bruises, and draw the line.

This will be a series of writings entitled Victory Apps. These applications deal with the places we are in on our journeys of life’s events. Today it seems there is an app for everything. Now we can have a series of four different apps that can contribute to victory in our lives. It’s not something you go on line to download. The Apps stand for applications. We must apply them to release our burdens and receive God’s peace. The only thing we ‘download’ is God’s enablement to overcome. They are not hard to understand, otherwise I couldn’t have done them.

Each Victory App will deal with a specific area of emotional disablement that besieges us. We will have our choice to use one of them, all of them or a combination. Our goal is to get set free from the ‘stuff’ that holds us back from living our lives with purpose, joy, peace and love. I’ve applied each of them over the years for different purposes not knowing that one day I would share them with you. Let’s all receive His delivering love and know our glorious Lord more!

Burnt Offerings Victory App 1

Burnt Offerings deal with an area in our lives that holds on to us for an EXTENDED period of time.

It can be held within us for months or years. We all go through things, some little, some bad and then some really bad. We, many times, don’t know what to do with them. We try to think of some way to anesthetize ourselves, to numb out. In severe times, we are tempted to drink, take drugs, have affairs, run away, or worse of all, commit suicide. Even though I know some emotional issues are much more complex than a simple solution, and need in depth counseling, the Lord showed me something I could do during my stresses.

After an extended time of prayer asking what I could do about troubling situations, I felt like the Lord instructed me to write all my concerns on a sheet of paper describing them. It took a long while to actually give words to my intense emotions. I remember so clearly my distraught state of mind. Everything looked so impossible. After I was finished, He then instructed me to give the situations and their impossibilities to Him. I then raised the sheet as though I was handing it to Him and prayed.

The prayers were varied and some had more detail than others depending on the complexity and severity. I will give you examples you might use for your lives. We are all ‘in this together’ and our lives and concerns are alike in many ways. 

We all want good for our families and hope for our futures. You, of course, will have your own words and examples.

An example might be, “Lord I give to you_____________ .  Please help me with my feelings of _____________. I need Your help in order to release them since I’ve carried this for so long. I don’t want them because they are weighing me down and they certainly don’t give You glory. All I know to do is release them to You the best I can and give this whole mess to You. I long to be free but, I haven’t known how. I didn’t even know I could give these things over to you. Thank You for loving me and taking this burden I’ve carried for so long. I want to know and love you more. In Jesus’ name Amen.” (You can add to the prayer with your heart concerns and insert what your particular feelings are be it fear, anxiety, anger, hurt, abandonment, failure, victimization, loneliness, sorrow, despair or unworthiness to name a few).

After my extended prayer of releasing the care and burdens, I was then to roll my sheet up (a sheet of computer paper) and light a match to it, signifying they were His now and I was not to carry them any longer. Of course, the place I burned them was a safe place where nothing else could burn.

After I did as He instructed, I decided to retrieve the ashes of my concerns and place them in small containers. I identified what I had released to the Lord on a small piece of masking tape attaching it on the lid describing the harassing emotions; such as “Past Memories, Worth/Value, Fear of Man, Addiction to/for Approval, Children and their Spouses to name a few. Some were so private, I didn’t even put a tab on them. But, I knew He knew. 

I tell you of these memories because we all are subject to harassment. You will have your own burnt offerings because our lives are different but the same in so many ways.

I did as the Lord instructed me whenever I felt my emotions were assaulted using the small containers and attaching the tape to them. Then when the plaguing thoughts would return, I would look at my container and say, “No, the burdens are in there. I’ve given them to the Lord! He is taking care of them.” The scripture tells us ‘casting the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully’. 1 Peter 5:7(AMP)

I did my burnt offerings to the Lord over the years, assembling a small box of them. When my husband and I shared with others, it became a visual for them to understand. One woman decided to write her sorrow on a small sheet of paper recounting the death of her brother many years earlier, tearing it up in small pieces and throwing them into the ocean. I related to her pain because of my grief of many years ago, when I was younger, of my brother (best friend) being killed in a car traveling on a highway in Illinois. There were others who decided to bury their burnt offerings in the ground. Others kept their ashes in a small container, like I did.

Really, where we release the burdens can be our own choosing. The whole idea is we do as l Peter 5:7 exhorts. This is a way to let go of our negative ‘stuff’ releasing it to the Lord. He waits and receives all we give to Him. He loves us beyond our understanding and died for us to be free. By the way, after reading what I am relaying to you, my husband and I did another burnt offering about a troubling concern needing answers… LifeBeats continue!

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1-833-644-3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

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STORMS

Dear ‘LifeBeat’ friends,

God bless you today! Everything is going to be ok. God will answer your prayers. Hold on, He loves you and hears your petitions. Keep seeking and drawing near to Him. He hears you. 

I just had a strong feeling to say that. I was in the midst of writing something else when I started receiving the above  words.  Maybe it was for certain ones of you. The great God of the universe wanted you to know. Wow, isn’t it wonderful He cares! 

We go through things that we don’t understand and wonder does God really care? Does He understand? We are not alone. His disciples, while on a boat crossing the lake of Galilee, asked the same question. The scriptures state a furious storm (hurricane proportions), arose while they were crossing to the other side. It was severe enough for the disciples, experienced fishermen, to panic. Their question,“Lord do you not care we are perishing?”* have rung true for centuries. Many, if not all of us have, when under pressure for a prayer to be answered, felt our own panic or desperation. I have. With Corona Virus or Covid 19 being household words with the restrictions, masks, fears, loss of employment, social distancing and even deaths, our lives have been dramatically changed. 

Even before Covid 19 my anxiety for prayers to be answered ranged from not having enough money for the bills to be paid (utilities, house payment, groceries, clothes) to sickness and disease in the family and myself… and death of family members. In each desperate time of clinging to Him, an amazing thing happened, I learned to love Him more. He always came through on the bills. Our needs were met, we did not miss a meal or end up on the street, even though those were the images that came to me. The sicknesses were healed or the reason for their occurrences were found out and the deaths had their own miracles of which I will share in later writings.

So, why do I tell you this? As I said at the beginning of this message, God hears you and will answer. However, sometimes it appears that He didn’t hear since the answer didn’t happen as we hoped. This is one of the most difficult times for us. We feel crushed, off balance and our world reels but, if we continue to hold on to Him, He will turn our ashes to beauty. For those who have experienced such hardships, let me say I am so sorry for your trials. If you could hear the many others, they would say the same. We all feel for one another and want the best for us all. You are not alone even though, many times in the dark of night, you may feel it.

Our tears are the same, from a hardened or wounded police officer, a combat weary soldier, a frazzled, exhausted, single parent mother or father, an emotionally or physically abused, abandoned wife, or child to a lonely, aging person in a nursing home remembering the years that went by s-o quickly.

If we heard their stories, our hearts would go out to them. We are all linked together because of Jesus; the One that died for us and knows everything we have experienced. Let’s all enjoy eternity with Him. He loves us beyond our understanding… He really does.

Continue to cling to Him and receive His beauty. A lot of us go into such disappointment, we abort the beauty and stay in ashes the rest of our lives. It’s hard, but just reach out to Him if only a little bit at a time. Your tender spirit wants to reach out but fear, disappointment and maybe even anger might try to prevent you. It’s ok to feel your emotions. It’s ok to scream, or just cry. We have to process our grief or disappointments but, always remember to return to Him. We have an eternity to live and we want to make it there to be with Him and our loved ones. He truly is our loving God.

I did not plan this writing. As I said, I had something else to share but, perhaps, this was needed for this day if not for you, maybe someone you know. Remember, we are all in this together. We are all on our journey of this life and can relate to each other’s experiences, if not in total, we can feel each other’s feelings.

I pray this helps. This one is for you.

* Mark 4:37 (AMP)

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1-833-644 3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Acceptance #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency#SelfHelp #Goodlife #Prayer #Spiritual#Sadness #Depression #Abandonment#Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

FOR THOSE…

Dear ‘LifeBeats’ friends,

I wrote the following reflection over two years ago for such a time as this. The words Covid 19 or CoronaVirus were not even heard of much less be household words over the entire world with it’s loss of employment, emotional trauma of fear, depression, divorces, violence, alcoholism, drugs and the ultimate distress of suicide and death from the disease. The definition of trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. We all have experenced our own distressing or disturbing experiences during this time in 2020, some worse than others. Please read these words with my love and care for what you have experienced over these stormy, emotional months.

****

How have you been since the last time I wrote? Let me say how I hope you’ve been. If I was talking to you face to face, I would ask you, “How are you doing? Is anything going on that is upsetting you? Is the family ok? Do you feel well?” You would then tell me, “I’m good,” or tell me of specific problems occurring. We would then talk about them but our conversation would always end the same way. We would pray. Jesus is always the bottom line. Only He can make the changes we need for our lives. We have to take our concerns and burdens to Him.

So, since I’m not talking face to face with you, I’ll rejoice if you say, “I’m good, everything is fine.” But, if all is not well, I want to pray a prayer for you because, remember, we are ‘all in this together’.  

“Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for those who are suffering losses in their lives, that You will comfort them. For those who have endured hardships and fears, You will give them strength, peace and Your gentle love. For those who are needing instructions on what to do next, You will give them direction. For those who are in travail due to tragedy in their lives, You will sooth their aching souls. 

For those who are in need of a friend, You will send them friendships that would build them up and help them to excel. For those who want someone to love, You will send them Your choice so it will be only good and they will flower like a vibrant rose. For those in need of finances, please send them Your supernatural provision and show them how to provide for themselves so, one day, they can help others in need. For those who are in need of employment, please give them favor to be shown by the future employers. For those who want to start a new business, give them Your endowment of wisdom and courage. For those who need to draw closer to You, put a hunger in their hearts to seek You and turn their lives over to You. You always answer a seeking heart.

For those who are in constant fear, please give Your supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding and let them know why they are fearing so they can release their anxiety to You. For those who are feeling discouraged and depressed, give them the hope that only You can give to bring them out of their despair. For those who are experiencing sickness or disease, help them know why this malady has come upon them revealing to them how they can release all their cares upon You, forgive anyone that has offended them and let Your healing power come upon them.

Precious Lord, for those needs I haven’t mentioned, please help them all. You know their hearts, thoughts, desires, hopes and needs. Please accept their prayers and be their answer in their time of trouble, Amen”

Also, if this applies to you or someone you may know, I want to encourage those who are disappointed in God! Because of unanswered prayer, you must not leave Him because of your anger, disappointment or hurt. You MUST hold on to Him. It’s hard to trust again, but remember, He gave His life on a painful cross for you. Just try with any amount of strength within you to pray and stay close to Him. 

You WILL love Him again.

 I, at one time or another, have walked these paths and have prayed just about every one of these prayers, so, I know He answers our petitions. What I’d like to do is to exhort you to get to know Him and His faithfulness. He loves you beyond anything I can write. He will reveal Himself to you. He waits to hear from you.

I hope this helps you today.

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at 1-833-644 3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Acceptance #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency#SelfHelp #Goodlife #Prayer #Spiritual#Sadness #Depression #Abandonment#Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

ROSES…Fragrance of God

Dear ‘Life Beats’ friends,

Hi! I pray you have peace, hope, and love today.

After wondering what to share with you, a memory came back to me. This will be an earlier life beat. I had only been a Christian for a short time… weeks, and was invited to a ladies bible study. I didn’t know anyone in attendance other than the woman who invited and drove me to the study.

It was a wonderful time of sharing the scriptures. Even though I didn’t understand most all of the verses, I was eager to learn. After a while, it came time for prayer. There were different prayer requests; some for family issues, children and husbands away from God, healing for family members and friends, but most of the time, we just worshiped the Lord. The way the women prayed, I knew they knew Him intimately.

I was enjoying myself during the time of worship and started to smell a faint aroma of roses. I didn’t raise my head, (even though I wanted to), because I didn’t want to appear disrespectful. However, as the time continued, the smell of roses became stronger. With my head still down, I began to think, There is such a strong fragrance of roses, is someone putting on perfume while we are praying? Surely they wouldn’t put their perfume on now! Are they needing to go somewhere and are hurrying to leave and opened their purse? Does it have a broken cologne bottle inside? It smelled like it was right next to me!  

The aroma got stronger and stronger. It was the most deeply intense, but so enjoyable aroma of roses I had ever smelled. I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to sneak a peak at the woman beside me. She was still praying with her head bowed down. I looked at her purse and it was in the same place; it wasn’t opened. I then knew it wasn’t her so I thought, If it’s not her, then who is it? I continued to look around the room. No one was moving and all had their heads down. I was perplexed. I lowered my head wondering, What is all this about? I smell roses but don’t know where it is?

At the same time, one of the women prayed, “Oh, thank You Lord for revealing Yourself to us today! You truly are the Rose of Sharon.* Thank You for honoring us with Your presence and Your essence!” Everyone in the room joined in her chorus of praise. I joined in with the thought, Is it possible I truly smell our Lord God? He’s really here; in this room? Wow! I didn’t know this is possible! Thank You Lord so very much for allowing me to smell Your fragrance even though I didn’t understand it to be You! We continued to praise and after a while the fragrance left and we stopped our time of prayer and departed to our homes. I excitedly told my husband all about it that evening.

I have not smelled that wonderful fragrance since that day at the ladies bible study years ago. But, I still remember His treasure clearly and hope, one day, I can breath in the Roses again. It will be awesome when you do too! You will never forget your moment with Him.  I hope you enjoyed knowing more about our Lord.

*Song of Solomon 2:1 (AMPC)I

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, the can contact Dawne at 1-833-644 3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Acceptance #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency#SelfHelp #Goodlife #Prayer#Spiritual #Depression #Abandonment#Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

Happy…seeing the glow of love of a bride and groom, a little girl’s abandoned joy with her new puppy, the excitement of graduation day of a Senior in school…day to you

Wow, such happy beats!

FIRST LOVE

Dear LifeBeats friends,

Another year is ours. Even though a new word has appeared in 2020; Corona Virus with it’s uncertainty and fear, we have an opportunity to make it the best year ever. Let’s decide together to purposely recognize it as a new beginning. 

To start our turbulent year, the subject of love is one we all need to feel.                                        

We all hear about and maybe have experienced ‘first love’. I remember when I saw my first love. It was my first day in college having enrolled as a freshman at a large university in Southern Illinois. The day was one mass of confusion since I was lost most of the time.

After sitting in a classroom for over twenty minutes listening to a subject that didn’t sound like my business major, I left it and discovered I was on the wrong campus. My class was twenty minutes away. By the time I arrived by bus with the guidance of another student, my nerves were frazzled.

I waited in line with other frazzled students when I noticed a tall, dark-haired young man smiling broadly at me across the room. I was in no mood to be flirted with and ignored him not knowing he would one day be my husband. We dated and I fell totally in love and we married after college. It was the happiest time I had ever been in my life. 

We had two children, a hazel eyed little boy and a tender, blue eyed little girl and upon cradling each of them in my arms after their births, I experienced another type of first love… the consuming love for a child. When I held them close to my heart and smelled their innocence, I felt another erupting emotion of abandoned love and protection. It was a feeling I never had before. I knew I would protect them above all else. They were, are and always will be part of me forever.

We can experience these thrilling emotions for those we love, but there is even a greater FIRST LOVE I want to share. It is the love we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. His is the ultimate love we can feel because He is LOVE. He loves us more than we can imagine.

I remember when I accepted Him many years ago at a meeting of a well known evangelist. He spoke how Jesus can give us a new heart. I was desperate that night with trials of so many in my family dying, a horrendous childhood and desperately needed longed for peace in my soul. Having had thoughts of suicide before I went to the meeting, I unabashedly cried and practically ran to the front of the auditorium when the invitation was given to accept Jesus as my Savior.

Crying so hard with tears streaming down my face and nose, I could hardly speak. The words I did manage to express came out so jumbled, the people around me thought I was from another country and couldn’t speak English. I remember knelling down on the hard, cool floor and praying out loud “Lord, I accept You as my Savior and Lord, please save me and give me a new heart. I am so desperate and need You so much.” I also said to myself, if you don’t do this, I guess I will have to do what I’ve been thinking of doing. He did and I didn’t. A feeling of relief and peace came to me that night and I never thought of suicide again. He was and is with me forever.

That began my journey to experience my longed for peace and a love I had never experienced before. This love reached into my aching soul with comfort, peace and hope.

I devoured a small bible and wrote scriptures all over the pages until the black cover fell off. I told others how they also could accept Jesus in their heart and experience His love.

Over the years the journey with my first loves of my husband and my now grown children has continued with the ups and downs of strained relationships at times but returning to the core of love for each other. The journey with my Lord has also had strained times of my not understanding why a prayer took so long to be answered or not answered as I had hoped. But, other prayers turned out in wonderful surprising ways beyond what I prayed. The core of His love within me always remained. 

The spiritual growth to receive and understand my relationship with Him has been rich and fulfilling. But, also, there have been times I felt I ‘blew it’ having a hard time forgiving myself and didn’t know why He could love me. I felt humbled when I experienced His ‘amazing grace’ of love and forgiveness at those times. He has been so patient with my attempt to trust Him and showed me how to forgive myself and others. I never felt scolded, or rejected… just the opposite. I have and still do feel His acceptance and Love. 

When we accept Jesus, He becomes our Shepherd.* He leads us to peace, provision and restores our souls. Repeatedly exhorting us to fear not and be comforted giving us the assurance we will be with Him forever, we trust Him.

Even though there may be some of us who have not experienced the first love of a spouse or first love of a child, we all can experience the best of all FIRST LOVE. We all can accept JESUS CHRIST as our LORD AND SAVIOR. He died to be our Lord, Savior and Shepherd to give us peace, provision, restoration and waits for all to come to Him. Knowing where we all are and what we have done, He willingly gave His life dying a cruel death on a cross to enable all of us who will accept Him to be with Him forever.  .

What LOVE, what FIRST LOVE.  It’s yours! It’s mine! It’s ours!

*Psalms 23

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, the can contact Dawne at 1-833-644 3600. She is a compassionate and effective professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #SelfHelp #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency #Help #Relationships #Repair #Goodlife #Pray #Spiritual #Depression #Abandonment #Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

Happy…seeing the glow of love of a bride and groom, a little girl’s abandoned joy with her new puppy, the excitement of graduation day of a Senior in school… day to you

Wow, such happy beats!

COMFORT IN THE SPIRIT

Dear ‘LifeBeat’ friends,

I wrote to you last time in my blog entitled Hunder Don’t Be So Loud ll about my little three year old grand daughter’s fear of storms. Well, she is a beautiful teenager now with her long brown hair and dancing brown eyes. She, and her younger brother, Ethan, still are our lightbulbs that light up our lives. I don’t play her child games or crawl under tables anymore (no more bumps on my head, yea!);  but, we still have a wonderful relationship of which I am so thankful. 

One evening, while at her house when she was fourteen, I noticed her sitting on the floor leaning against the wall doing something on her tablet. I asked, “What are you doing, Sweetie?” She replied with her head lowered over the tablet, “Oh, just doing something for my Religion class at school.” (silence) Of course, that got me curious, “Really, like what?” She kind of mumbled, still intent on her composing, “Oh, just a poem.” (silence) Patiently waiting, my curiosity building, I replied, still not wanting to interrupt her, but had to know, “That sounds interesting!” (silence) After a while, with her head still lowered, she asked, “Would you like to read it when I’m through?” I instantly responded, “Yes, I sure do!” (Yea!)

After a time, she showed me a copy of her poem which I am going to share with you. It brought tears to both my husband and myself. When she saw my tears, she said, “Grandmama, I didn’t want you to cry!” I replied, wiping my eyes, “No, sweetheart, these are tears of love to my Lord. Thank you for letting me read it!” I later asked if I can share her poem with my ‘LifeBeats’ friends. My precious fourteen year old graciously gave me permission. It is just right for Easter our blessed time of the year. I hope it touches you as it does me and we all can learn to love Him more.

COMFORT IN THE SPIRIT

The rough scrape of torn flesh on wood

Iron’s sharp tooth biting through bone

The mocking voices of ignorance

a breath

a cry

the drip of blood

the fading breath of a soul leaving it’s body

the turning tides of time

dulling the presence of faith

then the sun embraces the earth in warmth

the stone falls away from the tomb

with a flash of light

life is restored once again

and with soft spoken words and vicious scars revealed

belief is coaxed back in to the tainted hearts of men

the Spirit then dwells in the unseen place of the soul

forever remaining

a constant presence

the waves of time then engulf the earth

belief and faith becomes a memory of the heart

corruption and pain reclaim the souls of men

the screams of angry parents

the tears of a little girl in her closet

the cries of a child for it to end

the feeling of being alone

the loss of hope

the need for peace

then, a soft warmth

the spirit appears in the midst of darkness

wiping away the little girl’s tears

chasing away the child’s fears

piecing together the shattered shards of hearts,

their precious souls

their innocence

restoring their tainted memories

seeing His children engulfed in pure light

He resides in the souls of mankind

He is there to comfort His children

forever present,

forever there,

the Spirit of comfort,

the Savior. 

©️Amber …18 years old 

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at (833) 644-3600 She is a compassionate professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children

.©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Acceptance #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency#SelfHelp #Goodlife #Prayer#Spiritual #Depression #Abandonment#Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

Happy… the snow stops just in time for the game, seeing the flowers respond to an afternoon shower, hearing the birds welcoming the new morning with their songs of praise…day to you.

Oh, the happy beats!

“HUNDER DON’T BE SO LOUD! ll”

Dear ‘LB’ friends,

How are you today? I pray your days have love, purpose, and blessing. I mentioned before I would recount my life beats of earlier as well as present. This beat is when my granddaughter was a little girl. We can learn so much from these precious little people.

I, of course, loved her with all my heart. How could I not with her pretty, dark brown hair and dancing brown eyes? Her delightful presence just seemed to light up the room she was in with her contagious laughter. She was, and still is, our lightbulb and lights up all of our lives. But, to continue, as a child, it was hard to put her down for a much needed nap because she felt her little world had so much excitement, there wasn’t time to ‘waste’ on being still. She might miss something! I’m sure many of you have similar precious little ones.

One weekend, while her parents attended a meeting, my husband and I babysat our little, three year old whirlwind. All went well, she didn’t cry when they left (whew). I played her favorite games, laughed when she found me during hide and seek, crawled on the floor under the dining room table (she giggled when I hit my head), read books and made sure I made spaghetti with lots of parmesan cheese, her favorite meal.

All went well until it started to lightening, rain and thunder. While we were at the kitchen table eating dinner, a particularly loud clap of thunder occurred. She jerked her head, looked up with wide, frightened, brown eyes at the window, jumped out of her booster seat, ran to me landing on my lap with her back to the window pressing her little body as close to me as she possibly could burying her head into my neck. I put my arms around her, holding her close. She clung to me with her adorable arms around my neck in a vice-like grip looking over her shoulder at the window every time the thunder roared.

While she clutched me, I wondered as to what I could do to eliminate her fear knowing, due to her young age, I couldn’t explain the physical dynamics of thunder so she could understand (or care) why it occurred. I knew I had to do something. She couldn’t be tormented by thunder during her young life.

I found myself saying, while I looked toward the window, “Thunder, don’t be so loud!” I spoke a little louder,“Thunder don’t be so loud!” With even more volume, “Thunder don’t be so loud!” She looked at me and began to calm down. I then said to her, “Now, you say it!” Still holding on to me, she uttered in her little  child-like voice, while looking at the window, “Hunder, don’t be so loud!” I said, “Good, now say it a little louder.” She then said a little louder “Hunder, don’t be so loud!” Still feeling fear in her clutched arms around my neck, I said, “louder!” Then, with a new found confidence and more volume, “Hunder, don’t be so loud!” I said, “Good… again.” She relaxed her grip, faced the window but, still staying close to my body, once again, this time even louder, yelled with her new found strength, ”Hunder don’t be so loud!”

I joined her, “Hunder, don’t be so loud!” While the storm blew its fury, we talked to it. She began to laugh her contagious joy. We laughed together telling the thunder claps to not be so loud and before long the twinkle was back in her eyes. Since that day, she hasn’t been tormented by natures’ changing weather.

You may be thinking, that’s a cute story, but what does it have to do with me? We all have storms in our lives that thunder out its fear for us to accept and be tormented. They may be as large as a pending divorce or, unfortunately, the divorce may have already occurred, a lengthly illness, a child or spouse away from God, a financial problem, being downsized or fired from a job, a pandemic virus or the ultimate storm, the death of a loved one.

There can be so many different disruptions (storms) in our lives. We don’t jump into someone’s lap (even though we want to) but, we still feel the anxiety. Even as I write this, you may be thinking of the thing or things that have controlled you. If it is not you, you may know someone that has these concerns. Fear and pain from the past and worry about the future are the underlying cause for most of our actions and reactions.

The good news is Jesus has already calmed the storms in our lives. He says. “Fear nothing for I am with you, be not afraid, for I am your God. I strengthen you. I help you, I support you with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 AMPC 

You may be thinking, How do I do this? Remember my precious three year old? She didn’t hesitate to run to protection. She leaped into my lap knowing she would be safe. Jesus has a big lap that can support all of us. We can bury our face into His neck as His loving arms wrap around us. We can be safe. He has already given us His word on it.

I have jumped into His spiritual lap many times. This is what you do. When the storms howl, you pray and even envision holding on to Him seeing His arms around you, “Father, in the name of Jesus, I’m frightened and I don’t know what to do. But, You know everything and I need Your wisdom. I give this fear, this apprehension, this pain, this loss over to you. You have said in Your Word I am not to fear. You will strengthen me. You will help me. You will support me because You are my God and You love me. I give ____________ over to You and I will trust You with it. It is too big for me to carry and I thank You for being my loving Father that I can take all my cares and put them into Your victorious right hand. Thank You for loving me. I want to love You more.”

This is our beginning. Then when the fear thoughts clap their thunder, we reaffirm our position of trust in Him “I thank You Lord for working this out for me. I won’t look at the storm but I will keep trusting in you.” You might have to say it a few times, sometimes more than just a few; but, don’t stop! He will help you. He is our Shepherd and He will take care of us, His sheep. PSALMS 23

Remember the words of a precious child. “Hunder, don’t be so loud!  My Jesus is with me.” 

If you or someone you know, has had similar experiences and need to talk to someone, they can contact Dawne at (833) 644-3600 She is a compassionate professional with years of experience helping families, individuals and children. For more information click CONTACT option at top of page.

©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS 

#LifeBeatsCorner #CreativeWriting #Inspiration #DrummerGirl #Hope #Acceptance #Happy #Joy #Peace #HealthyFamily #Overcoming #Emotions #Marriage #Acceptance #Recovery #Whole #Past #Truth #Real #Transparency#SelfHelp #Goodlife #Prayer#Spiritual #Depression #Abandonment#Dysfunctional #Sadness #Resentment #Living #Freedom

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