Sing Over Me

"The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save,
he will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with His love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV


"Don't be afraid, don't despair,
Your God is present among you,
a strong warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back,
he'll calm you with his love
and delight in you with his songs."
Zephaniah 3:17 MSG


What balm to my soul to know that my Lord is singing over me...

Again...

Its happening again...I don't want it to, but it is.

I don't know if my heart can take it...too much pain and another loss. I don't want to go through this again.

I don't understand why, I just know that the problem has to be me. I wish I knew how to fix "me" so this wouldn't have to happen again.

The depression I deal with has robbed me of so much in my life and its on the verge of taking one more thing that's precious to me and I don't want it to, yet am powerless to stop it. Why does it have to win again?

The last time I faced a loss this big, it nearly did me in. I don't want to be here again.

I've talked to God about it, I've begged Him not to take it, I've even tried a little bargaining...only to realize I don't have anything to bargain with.

Why can't it be the loss of depression? Why can't that be the thing that is ripped from my life? I wouldn't miss that, wouldn't mourn over it, wouldn't have to try to find a way to put my heart back together again.

I tried not to let "me" get in the way, I tried not to care, to love, to trust, to want, to need or to cling to. I tried to keep it in its proper place, to know where it belonged, to keep it from getting between me and God...and yet here I am again.

I don't want "me" getting in the way. I don't want the depression and all that it does to me to win once more.

Why does it have to be this? Lord, I don't want it be this...again.

Truth and Lies

Have you ever been lied to? Did you believe the lie? How did it make you feel afterward? Horrible, I’m sure. No one likes being lied to. Lies can shake you to your very foundation. They can cause you to lose trust, to question your beliefs, to doubt. They can create havoc on your self-esteem. No one likes a liar, but everyone is lied to on a daily basis.


We have an enemy who is set on destroying us and what we believe to be true. That enemy is Satan. He makes it his life’s mission to destroy us with his lies. As Christians though, we have a weapon against those lies…God’s Word. We can dig in God’s Word and counteract every single lie he tells us.


I can say, that on a personal level, I am being bombarded with the enemy’s lies right now. I am very vulnerable and he is taking advantage of it big time. Over the past week, I have dug in the Word (still using my shovel), to discover God’s Truth for myself so that I can fight back.

Since I know that the enemy’s goal is to destroy all of us, I thought I would share what I found. I hope that it gives you a little defense against his lies.


LIE: God has left me.

TRUTH: Joshua 1:5, 9 “…I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 43:1-3 "But now, God's message, the God who made you in the first place, the one who got you started: Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you. I've called your name. You're mine. When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you. When you're in rough waters, you will not go down. When you're between a rock and a hard place, it won't be a dead end."

Hebrews 13:5 "...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Psalm 145:18 "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."

LIE: I'm ugly.

TRUTH: Psalm 45:10 "The King is enthralled with your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord."

LIE: I cant be forgiven.

TRUTH: 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."


LIE: My life has no purpose.

TRUTH: Jer. 29:11 " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

LIE: I'm too tired to fight.

TRUTH: Matt. 11: 28-30 "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Psalm 55:22 "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall."

LIE: My mind won't ever be whole.

TRUTH: 2 Tim. 1:7 " For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind."


LIE: I cant do this anymore.

TRUTH: Phil. 4:13 " I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

James 1: 2-4 " Consider it sheer joy, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do it's work so that you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

LIE: My pain doesn't have a reason.

TRUTH: James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

LIE: I can never escape my past.

TRUTH: Isaiah 43: 18-19 "Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands."

Phil 3: 13-14 "...but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward."

LIE: I will always be afraid.

TRUTH: Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

1 John 4:18 : There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..."

LIE: God doesn't love me.

TRUTH: Jer. 31:3 "The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with lovingkindness...."

1 John 4 :16 "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him."

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Psalm 13:5 "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."

Psalm 48: 9 "Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love."

Isaiah 43: 3-4 "Because I am God, your personal God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior, I paid a high price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in. That is how much you mean to me! That's how much I love you! I'd sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you."


Breathe in His Truth today,

Crystie

Will Somebody Throw Me A Shovel?????

This week in our Bible Study, we are learning about our ancient ruins...things in our past and our family line that are holding us in bondage. This is the point in our study where we start really "digging" into what made us who we are today. This is an important step because we need to dig up the old yuck so that God can plant His Word in our hearts and minds.

Well let me just say that I need a shovel...a BIG one! I've always known that I had junk to be dealt with, but I didn't realize just how far down it went. I may even need me a bulldozer by the time I'm finished (that was for you, Regina! ). To tell the truth, I don't care if it takes a shovel or a bulldozer to clear out my junk, I just want it gone. I want there to be a wide open, spacious place for God to plant His Word in me and heal my mind and heart from the lies that I have carried with me for so long.

Freedom is my goal...freedom for me, and for Christian.

I am willing to do the digging, even though I know it is going to be very hard and at times painful. BUT in order to have God's Word planted, I know must be prepared...getting out the yuck, the rocks, the weeds (the lies, the bondage)...

So...will someone throw me a shovel so I can get started???? My spacious place is calling my name!

Breathe in His Word today...

Crystie

Restoration

God is doing a mighty powerful thing my friends! He is restoring a family relationship lost many years ago.

I have a cousin who I have not been close to in years. In the last few, we have been completely estranged due to some family circumstances.

Well on Tuesday of this week (don't you just love you some Tuesdays!!!!), we connected through Facebook. I admit at first I was leery and being a bit stubborn about the whole thing. During the first few minutes of our conversation, we just exchanged a little small talk. It didn't take long, however, for us to get to the heart of the matter.

My whole life I have been an outcast in my own family. Through the years, things have been done and said that were very hurtful. When I tried to voice how I felt, I was often told it was all my imagination.

In the past year, both of my grandparents have passed away. Due to the way things were in my family, I was unable to spend time with them or see them before they died. I was devastated. The treatment I received during this time was extremely painful for me. It took many months before I would allow the Lord to deal with me about the forgiveness I needed to do. He reminded me how He had forgiven me and it broke me. I finally humbled myself before Him and forgave them and allowed Him to heal all the past and present hurt.

Fast forward again to Tuesday...During the conversation with my cousin, she revealed that since my grandparents have passed away, she and her mother are now shunned by some of the family. She said that there have been so many hurtful things done and said to her and her mom. This absolutely broke my heart because I know firsthand what that kind of pain feels like. She told me that through this experience, she has come to realize what I had felt all those years. She apologized to me...this is huge my friends!!! I was totally blown away. I told her that I had forgiven her a long time ago...it was now her turn to be blown away.

We talked a little longer after that and decided to get together today (Thursday). Please pray that as we talk all the hurt will just continue to fall away.

I praise Him that He is bigger than our pain. He is love is greater than ours. He is the restorer of all things lost!!!

Have you lost something??? Have you been hurt??? Look to Him...He makes all things new!!!

Breathe in His Word today!

Crystie

More Than Enough...

More than enough...can you say that God is more than enough for you? Sadly, many of us can't say that all the time. Many times we get blinded by the struggles we face, needs, and whatever else that causes us to get our minds off of Him.

The good news is that NO MATTER what we feel, God is still the same! He is still MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!

He is:

Jehovah Jireh, our Provider...more than enough...

Jehovah Rapha, our Healer....set FREE by His stripes...more than enough...

Jehovah Shamma...He is with us...He supplies all our needs...more than enough...



My desire for you and for myself is that we always remember He is more than enough for us...

Our Provider, our Healer, the ever-present provider of all our needs!

Breathe in His Word today!!!

Crystie

My heart hurts

This is where I am today...

My heart is breaking.

I have a friendship that is so close to my heart, and its in trouble. I don't know what to do or how to fix it.

I have tried multiple times to make things right, but it never ends well. I have prayed, I have pulled away to give this person some space, I have kept my hurts and problems with depression to myself so that she wouldn't have to "deal" with them, I have even tried to pretend everything is ok...nothing has helped.

Please pray...I feel like someone I love has died.

My heart is hurting...

Crystie