Smile, It Confuses People!

Smile, It Confuses People!

Hi family and friends! I pray your week has been full of God’s Great Love and awe as you adore the changing of seasons. Fall is in the air!

My schedule has been rather overwhelming lately so I missed last week’s post. Sorry about that! As much as I wanted to carve out time, time is not something that is on my side these days. God is shaking and changing things dramatically in my life, which is super exciting!

Stay tuned!

But…

The ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, as of late, is a human being without compassion…

After comforting one of my girlfriends due to false accusations against her character, we were praying together and Psalm 120 popped into my mind immediately so I knew the Lord wanted us to focus on it and not the offenders.

That’s easier said than done at times…

One thing I am passionate about, I believe people who assault through gossip and back-biting need Jesus and a job. And those that profess to be Christians and dishonor my Lord through their deception and lies, they need more than prayer and grace. It may be called forgiveness, but sometimes that becomes really hard to activate!

I get so frustrated and sad when watching those that profess to know Jesus help the enemy out through their lies and the deception flowing from their burning tongues, but…

Right before we started praying, we both started laughing like little girls because these “offenders” were focused and spending so much time trying to take that perfect “selfie,” that they didn’t even realize we were 20 feet from them.

And if I’m going to be honest here, it took everything to not get up and confront them, but this was my girlfriend’s battle who is still working on confrontation, so I released hold.

But…

My girlfriend gave me full reign to pray as I wished and my unfiltered mouth rebuked them and their actions.

It’s called pushing back darkness while being a GOOD FRIEND, so…

But the beauty beholds from the words penned in Psalm 120:1-4:

I was desperate for you to help me in my struggles, and you did!
So come and deliver me now from this treachery and false accusation.
O lying deceivers, don’t you know what is your fate?
You will be pierced through with condemnation and consumed with burning coals of fire!

Always believe something beautiful is going to happen!

Deceivers destroy. I wanted deliverance and vindication for my girlfriend, but being the better and not bitter person (so hard, too!), communication with love instead of hate would be what Jesus would do.

I have to remember (self-control) that sometimes we don’t understand how our actions offend and hurt others, so…

I wanted peace and healing to overwhelm my girlfriend’s bleeding heart.

And this battlefield was filled with flaming arrows of deception from lying lips. I can’t allow my precious friends to drown in a sea full of slanderous sharks, so I choose to stand up for justice and truth with a moral compass that opposes and refuses to be compromised!

Whatever happened to affirmations of love and acceptance sprinkled with encouragement?

We all want the security of belonging; otherwise, we will find vices and relationships that offer nothing but bad behaviors and unhealthy sources that fill nothing but moral turpitude.

And I admit, “moral turpitude” may be a rather profound legal word, but these Christian leaders were violating souls while being catty in their cliques. And I love the church, just not all the actions delivered.

But remembering the world is changed by our examples, not by our opinions.

And honestly, there is a grave difference between religion and relationship.

My only competitor is who I was yesterday!

I love when prayer removes all the toxicity of life and the remnants from the trials. My girlfriend and I decided to CHOOSE to celebrate each other and not compare ourselves with others; that our ONLY competitor is who we were yesterday.

Having special friends, sometimes I’m like a roaring lion when those that I love get hurt. After all, I am strong because I’ve been weak. I am courageous only because Jesus transformed the cowardly. I’m fearless because I’ve been afraid and paralyzed by fear. I am wise because I have been quite foolish at times…

And sweet friend, regarding the being “quite foolish at times,” it doesn’t always involve that tall drink of water, if you know what I mean! I’m smiling…

Forgiveness delivers peace within our broken pieces!

Forgiveness doesn’t tell us or mean that the hurt goes away. Sometimes ugly words cause emotional wounds and scars that stay with us. Even Jesus still had His scars when He presented Himself to His disciples, you know, the holes in His hands; meaning He still had battle scars. But He was filled with resurrecting power. Forgiveness just means we release its control over us.

God is faithful as He was with my girlfriend. Before we left, she was vindicated. Our smiles spoke of love and life while their “selfie” smiles confused people.

Until next time…

Thank You For Being Beautiful You!