"Now may the God of peace ... equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ..." ---Hebrews 13:20, 21
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Often Joyce Meyer says, "You cannot make anyone love God."
That's so true, but yeah, sometimes I forget and give it the 'ol' college try' anyway. ツ
What I've also realized? I cannot make anyone--
... stock their shelves with food before emergencies, shortages or hyper inflation.
... view Facebook, MeWe, Gab, etc. as the huge mission fields they are.
... research how to create a powerful immune system.
... grow some of their own food.
... sow money into small businesses, charities, food banks, etc.
... use their God-given gifts/callings to change this world.
But what I can do? I can simply, quietly, do those things, myself. I can write about my adventures as God directs here in my blog, keeping everything as uncomplicated as possible.
Whew. What a relief. There's barely any stress in doing what God's equipped me to do. Only when I reach past His arm, do I experience angst.
Basically, He expects me to just do it. He'll hold me accountable for only doing what He designed me to--nothing extra. Rather than inquiring, "How many folks heeded your words?" He'll probably ask, "How many times did you simply obey me?"
It's that wearing of a false sense of responsibility that ruins everything. That clutching burdens myself, rather than handing them to God. Those feelings of failure if others keep suffering because of lessons they refuse to learn.
Oh, some folks do change! Grow in joy, wisdom and freedom. But others choose not to.
And that's the risk we take, a risk God has accepted since He created man in the Garden.
And yet after thousands of turbulent years and zillions of stubborn people? Still God loves, with all His heart, and requires us to love each other in like manner. Anyway.
My snow-in-summer plant. It's almost as though it relies wholly upon God, for I do nothing to it, yet it blooms beautifully. (There's a lesson in there, I think.)
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]." ---Matthew 11:28
"So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." ---Romans 14:12
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Wow. Tom and I have watched other movies re: alzheimer's, but never like The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins. Throughout the film we were never certain about what was real or imagined and I felt just as confused as Anthony--which, yes--must've been the writer's intention. At the end, I gathered up Daniel The Cat and cried into his fur, feeling shaken, coming away with a greater compassion for both victims and caretakers of those with this disease.
So memorable and highly recommended. PG-13 with just a small smattering of language.
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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
5 comments:
Good morning Debra. Good advice again today. We can only suggest and guide people, then it's up to them.
I feel so much better that now that we're back in a house I am getting the pantry stocked again. We have lots of canned goods and cleaning, personal care items. Our prescriptions are the one thing that concerns me. We can't buy ahead on those.
I was going to say that I would look for that movie, but after thinking a few minutes about it, I decided not to. We're living it day to day with Mom, although she's pretty good right now. We do know that will be the path we go down with her if God grants her much more time.
Wishing you a lovely Thursday. The sun is shining here and it's going to be a hot one again.
Blessings,
Betsy
Yes to everything you said!
Obedience/faithfulness/perseverance/simplicity...
It's true that we can't make others do much of anything. When I read this post, I thought about parenting and how most of us try so hard to teach life lessons to our kids--warning them of what to avoid. But the truth is, they usually learn through experiences, both good and bad. The best thing we can do is love God, love others, and try to enjoy life (can you tell I've been in Ecclesiastes lately?). BTW, love your snow-in-summer plant. The fact that it requires little care makes it all the lovelier!
Debra, your blog is such a burst of sunshine in my day! I don't comment much, but I've been reading for probably ten years, and I always feel encouraged and uplifted by your posts. I'm a few years behind you (41, still raising little ones), and I've decided that I want to be you when I grow up! :)
Betsy--I'm so glad you're able to keep stocked up again! (I really did enjoy seeing your pantry photos on your blog.) And I totally understand about not watching that movie, in fact, while watching I thought that caretakers would probably find it too exhausting. In some ways, watching it exhausted me!
Rebecca--thanks so much! And your list was even broader than what I'd spoken about so I appreciate that, also.
Pam--so true! I think most of us have to learn by experience, especially when we're younger. Now that I'm at this age, I'm finding that I crave learning by others' experiences through reading or watching tv. So much easier that way! :)
Leah--your comment made my whole week! Thanks so much for being so sweet and for letting me know you'd read here all those years. You're now living what was my favorite decade--may you enjoy your 40's even more than I did mine!
Thanks so much, Everyone! Blessings, Debra
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