Thank You Notes, from Croley's Corner of Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thank You Notes

 …rooted and build up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:7
 Good Power Friday Morning,
I’m confident that your Thanksgiving was wonderful. I know mine was extra special as we spent it with my parents here in Oregon. Lots of food, as always, a fire, games to play and a time of great reflection…it was perfect. I had a time of quietness and was thinking of the many families that were together yesterday and the countless hours spent in the kitchen preparing that perfect “Thanks” giving dinner and I wondered of those that did cook, had anyone ever gotten a “Thank You Note” afterwards?
 I love to receive "Thank you” notes and the best part of the note in itself is that it was written with a thankful heart of the writer. A “Thank You” note exclaims you were appreciated and you were noticed for, maybe, something that you did out of a heart of love or perhaps…. just because!  I am positive, too, that the receiver was thankful you took the time to write and express your heart.
With the means today of Internet, FB, Tweeter – oops, I mean Twitter, or cell phones, sending a “Thank you” note is almost extinct. So by sending such a note, I guarantee it will bring a smile to the recipient’s face. Their hearts will be moved by the simple fact that you took the time to express your heart of thoughtfulness towards them. There are so many different varieties of "Thank You Notes.”  Many are simple and sweet... colorful and full of zest... stripes and polka dots... flowers and scenic landscapes... and they always seem to express either the giver or receiver.
I love to write “Thank You” notes. In fact, I write a “Thank You Note” every day to my Heavenly Father! I have a lot of journals filled with “Thank you Notes”
Some time ago, I suggested to a Women’s Ministry to begin their own “Thank You Notes” to the Lord, either write it in their journals or on a piece of paper that they could keep and tuck it away and in six months they could look back and see the “Thank”fulness of their hearts expressed towards their Heavenly Father.
It was liberating to hear what they shared and to see what God actually did for them during that time!
Inspiring? Yes!!!! When was the last time you received a “Thank You” note from someone or for that matter, when was the last time you sent one to someone? Don’t put off tomorrow what you could be doing today! See the abundance of His great love and thankfulness pour out of your very own heart as you surprise someone.
Thank Him... praise Him.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead it will make your day!
Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
 From my thankful heart to yours

Debbie

Thanksgiving Praise from Alex Trevino and Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanksgiving Praise-Thinking our Loud with Alex Trevino @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you so much for stopping by for Coffee Hour, especially on such a special day! This is another “Thinking Out Loud” piece that I found while on my newsfeed from a new friend all the way from Texas, one who has been healed in the fire of cancer and has a heart full of thanksgiving, so grab your coffee and come share this victory with Alex Trevino.

I feel I need to share this with family and friends. Two years ago I started feeling a big change in by body. There was so much hurt and pain and I was worn out with no energy. It’s true what they say; that pain is exhausting. I had no desire of any kind to go on … anywhere for anything.
Finally, and only because I couldn’t take the pain any longer, I went to see the doctor. That first doctor told me I was fine but my body was telling me no, I wasn’t fine. I got a second opinion. I’m so grateful to Dr. Brian Kansas who took his time with me, checked me and quickly found something was not right. He gave his radiologist an order to scan only my pelvis area.

On the day of the scan, the technician said to me, “You know, Mr. Trevino, I’m not sure why I feel this but I feel like I need to scan your whole body, against the doctor’s order. Well, she did just that. I’m ever so thankful that GOD used her as the start of what would be the most devastating news… Cancer! I’ll never forget the words: “You have kidney cancer.”

I can’t begin to tell you how I felt. I walked out to my car and just sat there. It took me an hour before I could even start the car and drive off because of the tears, the shock. I do remember that the first thing I did was ask GOD why? I was so angry, but one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, I began to plan for their course of treatment.

I scheduled my surgery to have part of my left kidney removed. I won’t lie; it was the most scared I’ve ever been. I didn’t know if this was the end, the beginning of the end or a new beginning.
On the day of surgery, while in surgery, they discovered other issues that caused the surgery to go even longer, but they corrected the unexpected. But one thing that they were not prepared for, and that they couldn’t fix when they had me on the table that first surgery was the tumor, and not a tiny tumor; a tumor the size of a grapefruit!

They closed me up and planned for another surgery, giving me some time to recover from all they had just completed. Two days after my first surgery was the worst pain I have ever experienced, next to the death of my father-in-law. It was the second time in my life in which I experienced the darkest place in my life. But God didn’t leave me in that dark and desolate place alone; He had many praying for me, family and friends and I know in my heart if it weren’t for my wife, my kids and seeing my little grand kids, I don’t think I could have survived it all.

The second surgery was scheduled for October 7th. Much to their surprise, the tumor wasn’t a grapefruit; it was a tumor the size of a small watermelon! We were all in shock, and I was in sooooo much pain, so much so that I even called my cousins David C Edwards & Pamela Kay Edwards on the worst night of pain. I asked them for prayer over the phone and I prayed for me, too. I asked the Lord for peace. David and Pam prayed a powerful heartfelt prayer. I remember closing my eyes while they were praying, and I saw a vision of a bearded man holding a lamb. I knew that lamb was me and right after we hung up, I quickly fell fast asleep, something I hadn’t been able to do much of because of the pain.

I know that I know that that was GOD and the power of prayer. My wife never left my side and took care of me so faithfully. I know GOD had my back and took care of me. Yes, cancer, you are not bigger than GOD. The C in CHRIST is so much bigger, more powerful than the c in cancer!
Thank you all so much for the love and care you showed me. I love you all so much. I now pray blessings on your lives. May GOD bless you with good health, and the love of family!
GOD, I don’t think I’ve said this enough but I thank you for your saving grace, your love for me and for carrying me through this as a wounded lamb. I give you all the glory. Through it all, you have increased my territory of friends. I am thankful, so, so thankful.
Sincerely

Alex Trevino

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Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving ... from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving … from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Thanks for stopping by for our Coffee Hour! I know you may be extra busy today, getting ready for Thanksgiving and all, so I won’t keep you long. I just got to thinking about this holiday, my favorite one, and got a little sad as I won’t have my kids to share it with this year so I dug within my soul for past memories and reminders of what really matters, Thanksgiving Day and every day! I hope you enjoy my Thanksgiving rendition of Twas the Night Before Christmas … grab your coffee and come on in.

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house

Every creature was stirring, including the mouse

Everyone was working on all of the fixings

The noise and smells were coming from the kitchen

The children were busy with their tablets and toys
Captured in their games, they made not a noise
While the adults laughed and worked all collectively
What a beautiful sight it was for any heart to see

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter
Mom ran to the kitchen to see what was the matter
She looked to the left and she looked to the right
She couldn’t believe what was in plain sight

There was broken glass from a favorite platter
And at first glance, she knew it didn’t matter
Everyone was frozen, waiting for her reaction
But she didn’t give the devil that satisfaction

The counters were a mess, preparations everywhere;
It looked as though a tornado had just gone thru there
The turkey had flown from the platter to the floor
The poor thing looked like it just couldn’t take no more

The stove was a disaster waiting to happen,
full of pots and pans, handles overlapping
The old mom would have immediately gotten on her broom
And painted the atmosphere with a bit of doom and gloom

But the new and improved mom was no longer that way
For she had learned the true meaning of Thanksgiving Day
She stared at each of them and the mess they surrounded
Knowing her response would leave each one of them astounded

Now sons, now daughters, in-laws, friends like family
This is ever a sight for the eyes of my heart to see
More than the chaos, the mess on the floor
The memories we’re making are worth so much more

So grab a rag, and a dishtowel too
Here’s one for each and every one of you
Let’s work together in cleaning up this mess
It will only take a few minutes or less
Pick up the turkey, and we’ll wash him off
We’ll stuff him but good and put him in a trough
We’ll baste him all over, and get him ready to eat
No one will ever know we stepped on his feet

And when the morrow comes and we gather for the meal
We’ll be able to discern what matters and what’s real
Faith, family, friends, love and laughter
Help to bring us all that happily ever after

I looked to each of them with tears in my eyes
And said something I had just realized
Oh, why can’t it be Thanksgiving every day?
Loving each other in a Christ-like way
Patience, self-control, love and joy too
Are there for the asking for each of you
We don’t have to wait for a holiday to see
That Christ’s greatest gift is that of family

Praying you enjoy your Thanksgiving, no matter what circumstances you are in, no matter who you are with … or not with!
Thankfully,

Evinda

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Tuesday's Thinking Out Loud from Diane Huntsman @ Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power

Tuesday’s Thinking Out Loud

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Welcome to Tuesday’s “Thinking out Loud”! This is a fun series that I post periodically as I look through my Facebook newsfeed. I found this post a few weeks back and thought its timing would be great today as the holidays are zooming in all around us! Grab your coffee and join us for some thinking out loud by Diane Huntsman!

I am all about the family picture life. I have faithfully gathered my brood together once a year for the annual family pic’… for YEARS! There is only one request I make of each person in my family: that they make every effort to be available for this event.
There have been some photo shoots that my son literally pulls up from a long drive from Santa Barbara with surfer bed head, arriving moments before the scheduled photo shoot…but I never care what he looks like, as long as he makes it!

As I’m making my plans for this year’s Huntsman photo extravaganza, I begin to plan for the backdrop; it’s every bit as important as the subjects in the pic’, don’t you think? I want beauty behind us, something unique.

As I’m thinking about backdrops for family photos, I can’t help but think about the backdrops of our lives. I don’t want an ordinary family photo, and I certainly don’t want an ordinary life, boring and full of predictable play-outs. But I certainly don’t want pain and affliction either! But wait, aren’t those the very things that can turn ordinary into extraordinary? It’s the pain, the days met head-on with suffering that drop us to our knees and cause us to cry out: “GOD, I NEED YOU!!! Rescue me! Meet me! Deliver me! Teach me what it is I am to learn through this dark hour. And in the crashing waves and gasping for breath moments, He shows up. He meets us, rescues us by granting us strength to swim. He doesn’t take away the pounding waves, but He gives us the grace to swim and stay afloat.

In time, He sends a life boat and we are taken to shore and get to experience reprieve from those crashing waves that cause us to cry out, question with things like: “Why do some people get to have tons of kids while others are left barren?” Or, “Why does one person get healed from Cancer and the other one dies?” Oh, and “Why do parents lose kids to death or to this world of lies and sin and others swim through life with ease and blessings?”

I DO NOT KNOW!!! I scream at the same injustices while in the midst of them but then I have to look to heaven and know that the God who made me also makes the backdrop of my life, and yours. And in that backdrop of beauty there is tons of painful threads woven through to make it beautiful, because if I don’t have pain, if I don’t have loss, if I don’t have lack in my life, I don’t need nor do I want Jesus. And then, ultimately, I will look to my own efficiencies, my own successes, my own agendas and ignore the One who breathed life into me 47 years ago.

It is in my weaknesses that I am made strong in His strength [2^nd Corinthians 12:8-10] and when I understand that, the painful threads in the backdrop of life become beautiful, vivid with grace and love, unconditional love.

This fallen world will always have suffering, my friend. Just because we suffer doesn’t mean He doesn’t care or hasn’t seen our afflictions for our sufferings are opportunities to trust Jesus to make something beautiful out of the ashes of pain…to be able to walk through that same suffering with someone else, to hold their hand, to share in their tears, to understand like no other person what they feel. God intended that we would comfort others with the comfort we’ve been given [2^nd Corinthians 1:3-5], pointing them to heaven with these words…our suffering is for a time, but paradise awaits us, and for all eternity we will be pain free and we will know joy unspeakable.

Our temporary sufferings will not compare to the glory which shall be revealed in us!! Pain and suffering lead us to the Rock that is our stability, to the One who is our comfort in the dreadful pain we run from. I hate pain! I want things my way, but I can’t have that beautiful backdrop in my life without it.

So with arms stretched high, I surrender all and say, make my life something beautiful to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ. Let’s clasp hands and walk through the pain together, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith as He paints the beautiful backdrop of our lives.
From my heart to yours,

Diane

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Jenn's Journey-Thankful even when ... From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Jenn's Journey @Coffee Hour w/Chicklit Power…

Once again, welcome Monday! Here we are, at the start of another week and one that brings us a holiday at that. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, it trumps Christmas for me. Maybe it’s the food, the time off or maybe it’s the company of family and friends. Whatever it is, I am most grateful for this time of year. Pour a cup of coffee, or tea, and join me as I share some of what God put on my heart this week about thankfulness.

The other day I was driving to work after dropping my daughter off at school. I was already running late but had to stop by one office to pick up tools for work at another office. That in itself was causing me anxiety, but at the same time I had a dozen other things flitting through my mind. I had experienced a rather tense time the evening before with one of those ‘difficult’ people in my life. I had let off steam a bit more than I wanted to. I began rehearsing all the little, and big, annoyances in my life. I could feel the tension rise, could feel it even in my breathing. Suddenly, I remembered a song we used to sing at my old church. ‘When praises go up, blessings come down’ is how it begins … so I started singing … loud! I repeated it. You know what? I could feel that ball of anxiety begin to dissolve.

This led me to remember the Bible verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:16: …give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you.”  Really, God? I am supposed to thank you in ALL circumstances? I don’t know about you, but I start to think about some of the circumstances where I’d do anything BUT say thank you. How about going through an ugly divorce? Are we supposed to say thanks then? Or what about the difficult relationship with a co-worker? How can we be thankful if our child turns away from all we have taught him or her? How about when there is more month than money; am I really expected to say thank you?

According to what God says, yes. Why? Because this is His will for us.

This same day, I heard a blurb on the radio by a pastor, who said that the trials in our lives are opportunities for us to grow in strength in our relationship with God, and that is something to be thankful for. I had an ‘aha’ moment right then…that perhaps it’s not the trial itself that I am thankful for, but for the chance to run to God in that trying time and in so doing, allow Him to use that situation to grow me into what He has planned for me.

There are all kinds of studies that show a thankful heart is a happier heart. This week is all about Thanksgiving. Dig deep; give thanks for something you are struggling with. It could be the very thing God is using to bring you closer to Him. I give you the same challenge I have given myself…to make thankfulness a year- round habit.
Be blessed. Until next week …

Jenn

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Power Friday from Croley's Corner of Chicklit Power

Jesus has a Table Spread

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning… Super glad that today’s Friday, and the weekend will soon be upon us…. Oh yes, Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for many they’re virtually into full swing. Like most, we‘ll be busy scurrying around purchasing all our Thanksgiving dinners and no doubt with excitement as we’re visualizing the end results of all our preparations and the satisfying looks on each face when they finally push away from the table with the guise of gratefulness and full belly’s….whew…. that was a mouth full!!

I had a hard time writing this particular blog. I sat for a few days writing, deleting, writing and praying that the Lord would give me a clear vision of what needed to be written. Oh I had a great depiction of my own family Thanksgiving but I believe the Lord wanted something else from me. I squabbled a bit with Him but as you will soon read, it wasn’t me who won. I pray you read with an open heart and please know it’s not to bring scolding or to make you change your plans as a family; it’s just another perspective on Thanksgiving.
So here goes…..

In my mental thoughts of my preparedness of cooking Thanksgiving dinner, it occurred to me how many dinners I have prepared over the years. And for the most part it’s been 43 years of which I have prepared, not that I’m complaining; I’m thankful that I’ve been able to do so…. Besides, it’s not always about preparing everything myself, even though I am a person of order and…. okay…control…but not in a bad way. I do however have in my mind how it’s supposed to look and the way it should flow. I really don’t want it to be...”I gotta have it my way” kinda feeling....however,

I’m learning in my older years that I really need to release and let go of what I think is important to me and in doing so, it has given freedom for my girls to step into their own potential. And if that means stepping back, then I’m okay with it! It’s called “passing the baton.”

The query is… when we all pitch in doesn’t it always turn out fine anyway?

Talking about pitching in, there have been a few Thanksgivings that we’ve been involved in serving others and what an amazing opportunity to do so. Certainly for the most part my home is busy preparing dads favorite dish and grandma’s favorite recipe, yet on this day our expectations turned from setting a table of splendor to a table of necessity. As we experienced serving others the eager faces that were lined up ready to embrace blankets and food were expressions filled with gratefulness. No there weren’t tables set in splendor, nevertheless there definitely were tables set in love. We talked and listened to many stories yet the one thing you walked away with was they were truly thankful for the genuine love they felt, the unpretentious love that some had never experienced before. It left us with a joy unspeakable and with grateful hearts.

Giving up one day really wasn’t a sacrifice; it was an act of obedience, honor and blessing. We have taught our family, although they are grown now and have their own families, the practice of… “Give unto others.” Yes, we have had many wonderful Thanksgivings together and how sweet it has been. We have prepared delicious dishes and set a beautiful table. Yet the question was, “Are we giving our best to those in need?”

Thanksgiving is only six days away. May our days be marked with humbleness and love. Let us be thankful not only for the things we have but also for the things we no longer have to have. And as each member of your family, whether young or old, gathers together to reflect of your thankfulness this past year, may you be knitted together as you purpose in your hearts…. in thinking of others.

Jesus speaking said in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
There’s an old hymn that we used to sing called “Come and Dine’ and I’d like to leave a portion of this song with you today…

“Jesus has a table spread where the saints of God are fed. He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine;” With His manna He doth feed and supplies our every need: ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time! Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine. You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time; He Who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now, ‘Come and dine.
Reservations have been made and the table has been set! Let us invite those who are hungry for His great love. The experience of someone being saved…. well, should make us very Thankful!
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 NKJV

Make it a glorious weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving, until we meet again.
Being ever so thankful

Debbie

Secret Faults & Presumptuous Sins-from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Psalms 19:12-14

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. ¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless,
and I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Wow, can you believe Thanksgiving is around the corner? Whew, grab your coffee and come on in before it gets here! We are going to move on to the joyful reward of our WOW!

Oh, how thankful I am that God is a God of great mercy, forgiveness and recognizes Godly sorrow, a contrite heart empty of pride. For so many years, because of the way I was loved as a child, the example I had of an earthly dad, I projected those ways onto my Heavenly Father, and those projections worked like clogs in my pipe leading to my heart. It was definitely a process that unclogged the pipe and has given me a healthier perspective of just how unconditional, unchanging His love for you and for me is!

That’s what this last part of our WOW talks about, being accounted as blameless and free from transgressing, in other words going back to those secret faults and presumptuous sins. Sounds easy, huh? But do you see David’s words before he talks of what the victory looks like?
Let them not have dominion over me … then …. But what does “dominion” mean? It means domain and supreme authority. In other words, let these secret faults and presumptuous sins not take up all this space in my head for then they travel to the heart and pick up speed and power to rule our life!

In David’s case, his presumptuous sin led to another and another, so they were leading his life so how does one break free? It didn’t just happen with a snap of his fingers, and poof, his tendencies were gone! He sought the Lord over and over again and we read in Psalm 51 one of the most beautiful writings of Godly sorrow and repentance. It took him over nine months to push back the soil of his heart that had covered up his secret faults and presumptuous sins, but then, when the un-rooting took place, he was free … blameless.

I must say, though that up to this major detour that he took, and after his repenting, he was and continues to be known as a man after God’s heart! Could that be why his process to freedom was only nine to ten months?

Life has revealed and proven, and not just in my case, that the more unhealthy and dysfunctional things heaped upon us as children, the longer we keep God at a distance; therefore, the more confused and blind we become to the reality of the necessity of God. It stands to reason, therefore, that the process can take longer because the lies we buy into for all those years have blinded us to truths that He sends our way through others, through circumstances, through the Bride of Christ … His hands and feet. In other words, for many, it is a process because that which we’ve learned needs to be burned in the Refiner’s Fire!

Godly sorrow releases us from blaming others for our secret faults and presumptuous sins and casts light on the why, freeing us to move on to the how to not allow them to have dominion … to be blameless!

Cheering you on in the journey toward freedom in Christ …trusting and knowing with my whole heart that He who begun that work in you, and in me, is gonna be faithful to complete it … until we see Him face to face!

That’s a wrap for this month’s WOW!
Love,

Evinda

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Secret Faults & Presumptuous Sins from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Psalms 19:12-14

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. ¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless,
and I shall be innocent of great transgression.

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Thank you so much for stopping by for our Coffee Hour and what I hope to be the wrap up of our WOW – well maybe not the wrap-up, but certainly the conclusion to the whole presumptuous sins context! Grab your coffee and come on in.

Now that we’ve summed up what the Hebrew translations are for presumptuous, let me share an emphatic truth about presumptuous sins: They more often than not lead to disastrous consequences!
Have you ever done something you knew you shouldn’t and in the end the one that was left stunned was you?

Okay, so let me share an example with you and tell on myself; then it will be your turn to search your heart and who knows, the search may help prevent a disastrous consequence!
So when I was just eleven years old, I remember being so ticked off at my mom; funny thing is I don’t remember what I was mad about. I just remember being really mad, going to her pack of cigarettes and stealing a few and then going into the bathroom to smoke them while taking my nightly bath. I had this arrogant attitude that was just oozing out of my 11-year-old bones and spewing out of my heart. “I’ll fix her,” I thought as I lit up, the smoke blending with the steam of the hot water, or at least I thought it did!

There I was sitting in the tub like I was all that, puffing on a cigarette as if I’d done it my whole life -- and inhaling too just like I watched her do!!!! -- when all of a sudden the door burst open, and there in the doorway stood my angry mother. “Kimberly Evinda, what in the ^&* are you doing?”
I slammed the cigarette into my bath water, cringing at the loss of my new friend!
“I’m taking a bath,” I replied.
“Are you smoking?” Her veins were nearly popping out of her neck!
“What?” I asked, pretending complete stupidity!
Bam! The door slammed shut and I was left with a drenched cigarette and tobacco floaties in my water! Were there any other consequences? Absodarnlutely! I stayed stuck in that addiction for 38 years under the delusion that it was my companion, my go-to, my coping mechanism for just about every emotion, but especially anger!

Who wound up hurting the most; me or her? Of course it was me!

That’s what a presumptuous sin does: it entices, bates, then captures but often doesn’t release … unless we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cry out to the one Who is able to set us free and lift us up and out of our presumptuous sins. [1^st Peter 5:6]

Now let’s get back to David and his secret faults and presumptuous sins. See, King David knew that what he was tempted to do with Bathsheba was a sin against God, but he did it anyway, after bating himself over and over again by going out on the balcony where he could view her in secret!
How often have we, like David, gone ahead and listened to our fleshly desires and sought after something we know we shouldn’t have?

In this case, his presumptuous sin brought a series of painful and tragic consequences; here are just a few with some scripture references: (by the way, if you click on the scripture, it will take you to the actual reference via Bible Gateway!)

• In order to cover up the first sin, David went further and plotted the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. (2 Sam. 11:14-15)
• He suffered a very, very long period of painful conviction, which means he was not at peace, which many of the Psalms reflect. (Ps. 32:9-10; 38:1-8; 51:3, 8, 12)
• He received a stinging rebuke from the prophet Nathan – but I truly believe God used that in the process to repentance. (2 Sam. 12:1-14)
• He lost his son from that adulterous union. You talk about a life-long reminder! (2 Sam. 12:14-18)
• It caused others to stumble! Ouch! (2 Sam. 12:14)

There were other consequences, but I’m sure you get the hint! It’s your turn: think of a hurt which developed a habit which is now either a physical, emotional or spiritual hang-up – with the understanding that an unhealthy habit, hurt and/or hang-up can actually harm all three parts of us, physical, emotional/mind and spiritual/soul.

He loves you right where you are, in it or out of it … and longs to turn your hurt, habit and hang-up into healing, to free you from secret faults and presumptuous sins. He’s such a gentleman about it, too. He doesn’t come in with a Shop-Vac and clean it all out at once, at least not for most of us; instead, He who began this good/new work of uprooting those hurts, habits and hang-ups by gently pushing back the soil in the heart to reveal them, will be faithful to complete the process until the time of Christ … [Philippians 1:6] so don’t leave the process!

Join us tomorrow for the promise: to be blameless and innocent of secret faults and presumptuous sins!
In the grip of His grace,

Evinda

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