Are we only SKIN DEEP?

 Yesterday Tina posted "Stuck in your circumstances" by Beth Moore on the Facebook page ....that was so good!!
Beth said to PRAISE...make your mouth do it whether you feel like it or not....I thought WOW!! ...your heart has to go where you mouth tells it ...PROFOUND isn't it!!? The Bible tells us out of the mouth the heart speaks...and yet we can AFFECT our hearts with our mouth...it is not those things that go in that defile you it is what comes out....SPEAK LIFE and get moving...get unstuck!!!
STUCK!!! That has been a big word around here at F of L. Like God is just opening our eyes to the ways that we are stuck.
Stuck in negativity...
Stuck in habituality...
Stuck in anger...
Stuck in silence....
STUCK!!!!!!!!!!
You been there?
 We can UNSTUCK ourselves using our MOUTHS and ACT!!!  Start talking ...the truth to yourself and to others.
 The other night I was pondering some things I have been reading and a thought went through my head :
 Are you willing to go another skin layer deeper??
 Ever been around someone who is thin skinned....easily offended...
 Ever skinned your knee or shaved off a layer of skin in the shower.....it HURTS, its not COMFORTABLE, and it is sometimes a SCARY thing!
You know that you have gotten to a place where taking it a layer deeper has come in a relationship when PAIN, UNCOMFORTABLE, AND FEAR become factors. You will either stay STUCK and never move into a more intimate place or you will RISK it and take the skinning.
I have one particular relationship where I want something deeper. I come up against that SKIN LAYER (its when you fear to speak the truth, your afraid to be yourself ) That is when you have gone as deep as you can go with someone unless YOU RISK IT! (fear of rejection: what if they don't hear me, what if they don't care, what if.....)
Christ was whipped, had his flesh torn off, was beaten and crucified for us to have a DEEP and REAL MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP with GOD!
and we wont even risk a scrapped knee to get into a deeper place with people.....
or what we do is instead of taking the scrap on our skin we pull out the shaver and scalp them in anger cause they are FINALLY gonna hear it...We are tired of being silent! am I right?? I know I have been here!!!
I know it is scary ...I am right there with you....I silence myself out of fear more than I care to admit....but I LONG FOR THE REAL....I LONG FOR THE MEANINGFUL...the open ...the honest....the intimacy....for the real me to be HERE and NOW. It is ME who chooses not to speak by giving into the fear and thinking that the consequences of being disagreed with or rejected is too hard to handle.
One step at a time is all GOD is asking for....one day at a time...one moment to moment...
I have made this vow to myself at least a hundred times : I am going to be real, I am going to be who I am, I am not hiding who God made me to be anymore. I will be honest at all times. 
 And I still fall off the bandwagon ....GET UP I tell myself. KEEP MOVING...TRY AGAIN!! ...and I get up again...today I am getting up AGAIN...I fell off again yesterday. I stayed silent when I should have spoken up. IT IS NOT EASY...what is easy is to quit ..and I REFUSE to quit!!
You don't quit either!! GET UP! PRAISE GOD and Keep MOVIN!!!
Tell that heart what you are GOING TO DO...be of good courage. STAND!
Let us not be ONLY SKIN DEEP!
F & L'er
Starla

Rejection

 

If someone avoids rejection, they can never achieve anything in life. In fact, it's just the opposite. The more you get rejected, the more you will succeed and achieve! Being bold, asking, doing, seeking, and taking action invites rejection--but also leads to getting what you want.

A very successful man, when asked what one could do to achieve their goals, said, "Double your failure rate'!" In other words, "do more". Take more risks. Work hand-in-hand with rejection. I wish someone told me this when I was 20 years old and afraid of failure. Never be concerned with rejection and "failure".

The only failure in life is not trying enough. To reach your goals, you must go head first into short-term failures and rejection. I read a book about successful business people which stated the average successful business person "failed" in seven businesses before his/her great success. Don't worry what others think and say--just "Do it".

Ray Lammie's "Thought for Today." To subscribe

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Words of Wisdom

 

"When you give someone a book, you don't give him just paper, ink, and glue. You give him the possibility of a whole new life." -- Christopher Morley, 1890-1957, Novelist, Journalist and Poet

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Index

1. Words of Wisdom

2. On the Lighter Side

3. Your "To Do" List for Tomorrow

4. Heart of Gratitude

5. Rejection

6. How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Money?

7. Is Hate Ever Acceptable?

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1. Words of Wisdom

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." -- George Washington Carver

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." -- Bill Cosby

"For bravery none compares with our Lord. He never turned His head from danger, not even when hell's hatred and heaven's justice appeared against Him." -- William Gurnall

"Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion--it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ." -- Billy Graham

"Never let life's hardships disturb you; no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages." -- Nichiren Daishonen

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." -- Leo Tolstoy

"He whom you would change, you must first love." -- Martin Luther King

MONDAY MOTTO: Do NOT take revenge...

I have had this in my Bible for a long time.  I was going through a very rough time in my life, typed this & printed it off so that I would just give the problems to God, keep my mouth shut & stand on the Truth until God says now is the time to talk, Tina.  It helped me so much and brought such great blessing to my life and relationships. My hope is that this will help somebody as much as it helped me.

God Bless!

 

Do not take revenge my friends.  Romans 12:19

 

There are times when doing nothing demands much greater strength than taking action.

Maintaining composure is often the best evidence of power.

There are times when the only response is a voiceless, confident calmness.

Those who are unjustly accused, and mistreated with out cause, know the tremendous strength that is necessary to keep silent and to leave revenge to God.

 

Men may misjudge your aim,

Think they have cause to blame,

Say, you are wrong'

Keep on your quiet way,

Christ is the Judge, not they

Fear not, be strong.

Streams In The Desert

 

Be determined not to move from what you believe is right.  Do not look for the easy way out.

 

The Apostle Paul said, " None of these things move me."  Acts 20:24

Even when it hurt deeply he stood his ground.

 

 

Daily Prayer

#1031   Daily Prayer

Daily prayer is an ongoing exercise in serenity. When we pray, we have a greater awareness that we are addressing our Father, our King, Creator and Sustainer of the universe. We connect with the consciousness that 'ain ode milvado', that is, nothing else exists besides Him. Our very lives and welfare are totally a gift from the Almighty.

(From Rabbi Pliskin's book, Serenity, p.95)

See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Life Is Now"