Tag: truth

The Cost of Avoidance

by neeserisms

Friends, it’s been a theme of my life. I wonder if you’ve found it in yours as well? I avoid things.

Not all things. I embrace laughter and watching the sunset never gets old to me. Coffee? Yes, please, A day at the spa, sign me up! Time with a good friend, the best!

I avoid hard things. Things that cause discomfort, pain, heartache, unpleasant feelings of all kinds, forms and variations. I will walk away, I might even run. I will shut down and crawl inside myself so tightly that the very jaws of life don’t stand a chance. I work very hard to avoid things. I am adamant about avoiding things. I will fight tooth and nail to avoid things. I will stand my ground and stiffen my neck to avoid things. I take avoiding hard things very seriously!

Continue reading “The Cost of Avoidance” →

Beyond Me

by neeserisms

1 John 2:15-17New Living Translation (NLT). Do Not Love This World

15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Is this passage relevant to our daily lives or what?  Wow!  After reading it, my first thought is that this passage needs to be in regular rotation for me.  I don’t know about you, but living in this world, it seems we are bombarded relentlessly by all kinds of messages that attempt to influence how we spend our time and attention and the majority of those things have no eternal value.  Continue reading “Beyond Me” →

What is Your Pain Telling You?

by neeserisms

Pain is always telling us something if we’re listening.  Lately, the blister I developed on my left pinky toe was telling me I needed to invest in a new pair of shoes.

The problem with pain is you have to feel it in order to hear what it’s telling you.  Ignoring it won’t work, numbing it only lasts momentarily and running from it is awfully tiring. Continue reading “What is Your Pain Telling You?” →

The Power of Confession

by neeserisms

ConfessionSo I have something to confess and that’s this……umm…I don’t like to confess.  It’s true.  I find it tough to tell the truth sometimes.

I think of all the reasons why I shouldn’t.  I run all possible scenarios of how my truth-telling could go wrong.  I imagine what awful things others may think of me and then I stay quiet.

I don’t just save this struggle with confession to those around me, I also struggle with telling the truth in my relationship with God.  He knows you and I completely and loves us still and yet I struggle with confessing the truth of where I’m at, of how I’m feeling.  Anyone else? Continue reading “The Power of Confession” →

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

by neeserisms

Love

I can hear Tina Turner in my head now, “What’s love got to do, got to do with it, what’s love but a second-hand emotion, what’s love got to do, got to do with it, who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”  Good question and she’s got a point!

I have thought often over the years that people are the best and worst part of life!  I know that may sound harsh, but let me explain.  Family and friendship can be so beautiful and sweet.  It is truly one of life’s greatest gifts to have someone who knows you in all your imperfectness and loves you still.  There is also the fact that if we love, we will get hurt and that part isn’t my favorite!  Relationships of all kinds at their best take time, work, attention, compromise and you will walk through times that are just plain hard.  I have just recently walked through this where I felt like I had poured into someone, let them in, only to have them betray me.  It was shocking, it was unexpected, it hurt deeply, it still stings and my immediate reaction is to want to shut down, put walls around my heart and not let anyone else in. Continue reading “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” →

YOU Are Valued

by neeserisms

Image 12-10-17 at 2.03 PM

I was driving out-of-town this past week a couple of hours from home and pulled up to a stop light when I saw a sign posted that read, “You Are Valued”.  How awesome is that?!  Cause sometimes we need a reminder, don’t we?  I know I’ve been needing a little reminding lately and I was immediately thankful for whoever pounded that sign in the ground to remind me in the midst of a cold, foggy, quiet commute.

I want to remind you today.  In case you are doubting it or maybe it’s been a while since you’ve heard it and even longer since you’ve felt it.  YOU are valued! Continue reading “YOU Are Valued” →

All I Ever Have To Be

by neeserisms

On what should have been an hour and a half drive on a weekday afternoon, there was an accident on I-5 that made drive time turn into a 5 hour forced bonding time between myself and a work peer.  To pass the time while sitting there, we talked and after a couple of hours, started trying to entertain one another by playing various games we recalled from childhood family road trips.  My co-worker decided to play a game of “What’s your favorite?”, which led to her knowing much more about me than I would normally divulge to a colleague.  What’s your favorite color?  What’s your favorite movie?  What’s your favorite food?  What’s your favorite song?  I can’t answer that one!  I mean, there are so many, and it depends on what type of music, what mood I’m in, what memory its associated with, how do you pick one child over the other?!  The question actually stressed me out! Continue reading “All I Ever Have To Be” →

Top 10 Golden Nuggets From My Pastor

by neeserisms

Today marks my pastor and friend’s last day as lead pastor at our church after 18 years of faithful leadership.  I have been blessed in my life to have some wonderful, godly pastors, who have taught me so much by both word and example, who have encouraged and challenged me, who have invited me into their homes and hearts, but today I want to share with all of you the Top 10 (cause there’s a whole lot more) golden nuggets I think of when I reflect on the gift of Pastor Leif Holmes to the Church and to me personally.

1. The fruit of the spirit evident in my life is more important than the gifts demonstrated through me.  Am I loving, joyful, peaceful, patient (uh oh), kind, good, faithful, gentle & self-controlled?  God always cares about my character more than my performance. Continue reading “Top 10 Golden Nuggets From My Pastor” →

The Joy of Obedience

by neeserisms

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I like the word joy.  It brings a smile to my face just saying it…go ahead and try …”JOY”…aahhh, sweetness.  Wouldn’t you know it though, obedience doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so smoothly.  I don’t feel like partying when I hear that one!  Who wants more joy in their life?  We all raise our hands.  Who’s interested in becoming more obedient?  Cue the crickets.

When I say obedience, it conjures up the same feelings I tend to get when I hear words like, selflessness, humility, sacrifice or surrender.  No smile appears on my face, rather I often feel a sense of dread, like I need to brace myself, or even fear, wondering what’s this going to cost me?  My self centeredness is showing again.  Anyone out there know what I’m saying? Continue reading “The Joy of Obedience” →

I Am Reminded

by neeserisms

I have been a Whitney Houston fan for many years. I remember in Jr. High, participating in my school’s lyp sync contest & Whitney’s “How Will I Know” was my groups song choice, it beat the boy’s group hands down, their choice, Duran Duran, “Hungry Like a Wolf” 🙂 So much talent, that the nick name given to her was aptly, “The Voice”.  I will never forget her performance of the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl and on and on I could go about the Whitney songs I love and the amazing vocal gift that was the background for many of my life’s memories. Continue reading “I Am Reminded” →