Monday Motto - Be Present

1 Thessalonians 5:6



So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

Hello Starla here :0) Monday Motto for me today is BE PRESENT!!!

I am the type of person who is a bit dreamy, emotional, imaginative, self-aware and very bothered by upsetting emotional situations. In this past week or so I have endured some of those upsetting emotional situations. My problem is that I tend to CHECK OUT when these things happen. So much to the point that days go by and I have fully ordered my world, gone into full introvert mode, buckled down any emotional stray in my mind and imagine myself right into I AM FINE AND LIFE IS GOOD!!!  can anyone say : DENIAL!!!!

Does anyone else do this???

In this verse it says to BE ALERT ----to me that is STAY PRESENT ..stay with whats going on...deal with it until it is over...until it is no longer affecting me. Whether that means speak the truth, forgive offenders or confront the wrongness face to face. What ever IT is --BE PRESENT!!

but it also says : and.............SELF-CONTROLLED.

What I did is NOT self control!!! It is subconscious auto pilot take over...I ..ME...Mrs. suppose to be ALERT to what is going on because I read my bible and go to church ....is not in control of herself...FEAR is what is in control. I lose myself. I stop talking to people. I go into hiding. I don't want to feel all those negative emotions swirling around me. I don't want to have to be the big girl and say HEY!! that is not nice to act that way MR/MRS so and so....

So what I do instead is TURN ON MYSELF. I shut down and internalize it all. RESULT: ANXIETY!!

I am getting better and dealing with upsetting emo-roller coaster stuff. I hope to get to the point where I can SEE what I am doing as I begin to TURN OFF and instead TURN ON and work TRUTH. Truth makes a way for itself....and sometimes the one who speaks it isn't the most liked person. One thing I have learned (even though I am here again) is that if I stick with it - it is over way faster than if I ignore it.

So today's MOTTO : BE PRESENT --we may not always like the situations we are in but we can always learn from them if we are ALERT!! :0)

Thanks for listening ...

F & L'er
Starla

Subterfuge or 100% ME...?

I got this in my email and it really got me thinking....how many times lately have I been haunted emotionally and decided to act as though it did not affect me at all...?

The king of Egypt died, and the Israelites sighed in their enslavement, and they wailed (Exodus 2:23).

One commentary explains that the enslaved Israelites had feared to sigh or cry, because their ruthless taskmasters would punish them for "complaining." When the king of Egypt died, the entire country was in mourning, and the Israelites exploited this opportunity to cry, since at that point, crying was socially acceptable as a sign of mourning the death of the king.

There is a Yiddish idiom: "to look for a badekens." A badekens is that part of the marriage ceremony where the parents cover the bride's face with a veil and give her their blessing. A highly emotional moment, it generally brings all present to cry. Therefore, if people are reluctant to cry for fear of revealing their emotional pain, they will "look for a badekens"; i.e. find an opportunity where crying is the norm, so that their crying will not indicate any personal pain.

Why should we need any subterfuge? What is wrong with showing our emotions? Why is crying equated with character weakness? Why should brave people not cry when they feel hurt? Where is the benefit in being an unemotional stone? We may read an account of a person who "cried unashamedly." Why should there be any shame in crying?

Our ancestors in Egypt suppressed their emotions because they feared their oppressors' retaliation. Whom do we fear when we suppress our emotions? Perhaps only our friends and peers, who are also suppressing their emotions because they fear what we will think of them. How foolish!

Subterfuges-

something designed to deceive: a plan, action, or device designed to hide a real objective, or the process of hiding a real objective

Today I shall ...
... feel free to express my emotions and not restrain myself for invalid reasons.

Very interesting thoughts that really got me thinking so I just had to share.  = )

Have a great day!

Tina Smith

Someone once said, "Success is when those who know you the best are those who love you the most."

Four Things You Can't Recover

The stone ... after the throw.
The word ... after it's said.
The occasion ... after it's missed.
The time ... after it's gone.

Have a great weekend!

Tina Smith

Thinking OUT LOUD

"A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."



- Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
For me in order to set my thoughts straight I tend to speak them out loud. Over the years I had learned to keep my thinking to myself (being the more introverted type as it is) I often had anxiety over what others may think if I said what I thought out loud.
 
Something wonderful happens when you have a friend. When trust builds between you. When the walls come down. When the fear subsides. When you begin to feel safe in the mind and heart of another. When you can THINK OUT LOUD in front of someone else.
 
I think at those times is when we may be a little more vulnerable than at any other times...when we haven't fully formulated what we really think about something. It is a time when you may find you have a faulty thought pattern. You may look silly or unlearned. You may be raw and unkind in your judgements.
 
BUT to your FRIEND - you are just THINKING :0)
 
Be thankful today for someone who you call friend. Send out a prayer of thanks and give them a call today and just say thank you for being MY FRIEND!!
 
F & L'er 
 - Starla

Read Between The Lines

Ever feel like you may be missing something?  The same thing happening over and over again?  I have been dealing with just that over and over again and keep wondering why does it have to be like this?  Coming back to the same conclusion time and time again.  Ding Dong!  Mountain experience, again!  You know just like the Israelites round and round the mountain they went...   I have to make myself stop and focus on purpose.  One thought at a time and allow it to process.  Ask myself questions and refuse to react but make sure I act.  One thing I have told myself over and over again when dealing with people is that you teach people how to treat you.  I am a firm believer in that.  I am responsible for me and I can not control nobody but myself.

Being mistreated is hard to take especially when it come in pairs or seems to be everywhere you turn that day or week.  Even more painful when it is coming from those people you love and want to be close with.  Like the old saying goes when it rains it pours.  I had just that over the holiday weekend to an unbelievable degree that just had me feeling like I was in a funk and totally drained.  Pulling myself back up again and doing my self check in order to do what needs to be done physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially and respectfully.  Do what is right despite what I feel...it is a challenging choice that has to be made.

A refreshing mental oasis with (The Truth) Christ!  What I mean is not as religious as it sounds.  I find that when I read God's Word it brings me back where I belong by balancing out my thinking.  Clears away the junk.  NO longer entangled by the disorder and confusion but relieved by the clarity of mind and truth that sets us free. Two words have stuck in my mind for some time now, so I thought I would just look it up and see what I find.  Then decided I  wanted to share it because it was so informing to me and hope it is to you too. 

oasis-  

1.  fertile land in desert: fertile ground in a desert where the level of underground water rises to or near ground level, and where plants grow and travelers can replenish water supplies 
2.  place or time of relief: a place or period that gives relief from a troubling or chaotic situation 

Fruit for thought: When we are level or balanced we are able to grow and be replenish. 

desert-

1. Lifeless place

2. A deprived place.

a place or situation that is devoid of some desirable thing or overwhelmed by an undesirable thing

Fruit for thought: When we ignore and choose not deal with issues/feelings we become out of balance, overwhelmed and end up with undesirable results.

Either one we choose, they are both contagious.  Reminds me of another saying I used to hear often, "What comes around goes around."   Or like God would say, "You reap what you sow."  Everything we do or say is spreading something to others.  We instill and spread what we think, say, feel and act towards all  those around us.   Introduce people to life not death by using the right kind of Wisdom...

Next I want to share my favorite scriptures that help me so much when I feel tormented by peoples words and my thoughts that entertain those words spoken.   A reality check that sets me free instead of being dominated by emotion.

James 3:10-20 (New International Version)

¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt^[a] water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

 ¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
 ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

I find it interesting how God asks us a question in verse 13.  Who?  And adds be aware of what is around you.   Then He is telling us to THINK and to pay attention to peoples deeds.  The next thing he gives us is keys to discernment along with a goal to be peacemakers and sow in peace in order to raise a harvest of righteousness.  All that we do is like the tide in the ocean, we see where it begins but do not know where it ends.  It blows me away when I think about how long the Bible has been here and who knows but God how many people it has affected.  Amazing thought that will last on into eternity.
Here are 5 P's that help me.  I actually have them posted in my kitchen to remind myself of the truth whenever I need it right now. = )
1. Permission- Jesus has sent us.
2. Power- The name of Jesus is our covering.  Expect opposition.
3. Provision- He is our provider.  Keep a positive attitude.
4. Protection- "Pray it home". Fight the battle with prayer.  God will supply.
5. Perspective- Stay close to others.  "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up"  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Tina Smith