My eyes were damp with tears as I finished reading an email and listening to a song sent to me by Beth at Proverbs 31 Ministries today. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have a rare autoimmune disease that leaves me in pain most days. A few weeks ago, I sent a prayer request through the website of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I was having a tough day and my meds were not working. I wanted to know that someone was praying for me. I had forgotten about the prayer request until today. I heard the ding on my computer alert me that “You’ve Got Mail” and there sat the email from Beth.
I don’t know Beth personally, but I felt bonded to her through the words in her message. She let me know that she prayed for me by name. She lifted up my pain and struggles to the Lord. And she prayed on my behalf for God’s comfort and “holy confidence that all things are possible in the mighty name of Jesus!” Her words were a salve to my soul. A reminder that we are not alone. Not only is God with us always, but our brothers and sisters in Christ and the Holy Spirit are also with us to lift us up to God’s throne when we are too tired or in too much pain to do it ourselves. (Romans 8:26 ESV) Sometimes we only need to ask for help…for prayer…and others will rally to our aid.
Beth showed me compassion, care, and the love of Christ by being willing and obedient to care for God’s people by praying for me specifically as well as many others, I am sure. I am so grateful for her note to me and her prayers for me. I am also grateful for the song that she sent me to relay the message that my sisters in Christ at Proverbs 31 Ministries are praying for my spirit In Jesus Name!
Dear Friends, I too want to pray these words over you. I want you to feel loved and worthy of the hope and power we have in Jesus. I want you to feel safe to ask for help and prayer. I want you to close your eyes and listen to the words of the song In Jesus Name by Katy Nichole or follow along with the words below. Know that I am praying these words for you. I am praying for healing, for peace in your sorrow, for a breakthrough in your circumstances. I am praying for miracles, blessings, and God’s promises to wash over you too.
IN JESUS NAME BY KATY NICHOLE
I speak the name of Jesus over you
In your hurting, in your sorrow
I will ask my God to move
I speak the name cause it’s all that I can do
In desperation, I’ll seek heaven
And pray this for you
I pray for your healing
That circumstances would change
I pray that the fear inside would flee
In Jesus name
I pray that a breakthrough would happen today
I pray miracles over your life in
Jesus name
In Jesus name
I speak the name of all authority
Declaring blessings
And every promise
He is faithful to keep
I speak the name no grave could ever hold
He is greater, He is stronger
he’s the God of possible
I pray for your healing
That circumstances would change
I pray that the fear inside would flee
In Jesus name
I pray that a breakthrough would happen today
I pray miracles over your life in
Jesus name
In Jesus name
Come believe it
Come receive it
Oh the power of His Spirit is now forever yours
Come believe it
Come receive it
In the mighty name of Jesus, all things are possible
I pray for your healing
That circumstances will change
I pray that the fear inside will flee in Jesus name
I pray that a breakthrough
Would happen today
I pray miracles over your life
In Jesus name
I pray for revival
For restoration of faith
I pray that the dead will come alive
In Jesus name
In Jesus name
My Friends…if you feel drawn to respond, please email me if you would like for me to pray for you personally and specifically. Or share your prayer requests in the Comments below so we may all lift you up In Jesus Name. I hope you feel the love of Christ today in whatever you are going through and may you feel the love of Christ with you always.
About 20 years ago, I had a major issue with idol-worship. I worshiped numbers of all kinds. The numbers included how much I weighed; how much I lost; how much I gained; my clothing size; my calorie intake; how many times I ate eat day; etc. My idol was body image. I placed my value and worth on how I looked and how thin I was. But the sad truth…I was never satisfied.
So what is idolatry?
According to Webster’s Dictionary, idolatry is “the worship of a physical object as a god”.
According to Lexham Bible Dictionary, the definition is a bit more specific. Idolatry is “the worship of images made to represent Yahweh (God) or other deity.”
The Old Testament is filled with stories of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, worshiping many “little g” gods and objects. They worshiped these objects over the “big G” God who saved them and rescued them multiple times from oppression due to their sins. God knew we would struggle with idolatry. Not only did God know this would be a problem, but He warned the people of Israel of this obstacle by placing laws against it in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Clearly stating idolatry as a sin, and they needed to guard against it.
The first two Commandments focus on idolatry…
Commandment #1: You shall have no other gods before me.
Commandment #2: (a bit longer) You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
So what does this mean for us today?
Most of us don’t see Asherah poles or golden calves nearby. Asherah poles were wooden poles or trees used to worship the fertility god in the Old Testament. (1 Kings 14:15) Coincidentally, the golden calf was made by the Israelites during the time that Moses was on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God. (Exodus 32) What are our gods or our idols today? They are anything or anyone we put before God in our trust and worship. This may include money, title, shopping, body image, status, pornography, technology, sex, beauty, etc.
Our idols enslave us because they never really fulfill what we desire such as security, comfort, peace, joy, contentment, love, etc. We seek and seek and seek needing more and more and more of these false gods. They may help us for a moment, but then the “high” is gone. And we are after more to get the feeling back. But God does not just offer us feelings. He offers us a state of being in our souls that is a “spring of water welling up to eternal life”. (John 4:13-14)
How does God offer us true life and peace as our one and only God?
The simple answer: through His Son Jesus.
God had to judge us for our sin, not only in creating idols above Him but also for all of our sin. There had to be a consequence. And in His judgement rather than putting the consequences on us …the ones who deserved them…God placed his judgement on His own perfect Son through death on the cross in order to offer us grace and forgiveness. We only need to confess our sin and turn to Jesus as our Savior. God will be faithful and offer us forgiveness and complete fulfillment of our needs…”a spring of water welling up to eternal life” . (1 John 1:9, John 3:16, John 4:13-14)
No words are able to express the gratitude I have for the forgiveness and healing I received from Jesus after repenting from my sin of idol worship in body image. Jesus met me in the depths of the pit of my own making. He filled me in a way that was not possible by any other means. Thank you, Jesus, for your promises and your faithfulness when I come to you as my Lord.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER: (Please share in the Comments below.)
What are your idols?
How are these idols falling short of the fulfillment that you are seeking?
Take a moment to have a conversation with God about your deepest desires and ask God to meet you where you are to find true contentment, fulfillment and hope. I, too, am praying for you to find your peace and contentment through the love and forgiveness of Jesus.
PRAYER:
Abba, Father. You are our Creator, our Maker. There is nothing we have done or will do that is a surprise to You. You know us completely and You know our struggles. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace and forgiveness. Thank You for the ultimate sacrifice You made for us out of Your love for us. Lord, give us the wisdom to identify our idols and give us the strength to repent for them. Help us to remember and to place our worship in You alone knowing that only You are able to fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts and souls. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.
On three occasions at different times in my life I have been asked to create a timeline of all the major memories and events that I can recall…good or bad…from my past. This is quite a task as I have a lot of years under my belt! Each time I complete a task like this I seem to recall negative or traumatic memories more easily and more often than positive memories. Why is that?
According to WebMD, “Researchers say negative emotions like fear and sadness trigger increased activity in a part of the brain linked to memories. These emotionally charged memories are preserved in greater detail than happy or more neutral memories, but they may also be subject to distortion.”
I can relate to this statement. And it is likely many of us out there do too. It may be one of the reasons why there has been a trend for years to write down the good memories we are experiencing in a Gratitude Journal to improve our mental health. This week I did exactly that as I saw God moving in my life in several areas within a few days. Not only did I want to remember this in the future, but I also wanted to give thanks and praise to God for hearing my cries and responding to my needs.
One of the areas where God met me this week was in regards to Social Anxiety. The summary of events over three days are below:
On 7/12/2022, I told my counselor that I have been struggling with a bit of social anxiety. In all honesty, I purposefully left it to the last 5 minutes of our session because I really did not want to talk about it. (Sorry, Kim!)
On 7/13/2022, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs and she was interviewing Carlos Whittaker. They had mentioned that he too had a podcast on the That Sounds Fun Network. I was intrigued by their conversation, and I truly enjoyed listening to Carlos. So… I added him to my Podcast list.
On 7/14/2022 while walking my dog, I switched on the latest podcast show on Human Hope with Carlos Whittaker. It was Episode 66 with John Eldridge. The title was “A guide for restoring your soul after a soul crushing 2 years.” It was about John’s book Resilient. And guess what…it was about social anxiety.
Each day God gave me one nugget in order to walk closer to hope and healing as He gently guided me to multiple conversations and resources to address the stress that I was feeling and praying about.
THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR HEARING ME AND ALSO YOUR PERFECT TIMING!!
I am so grateful for God’s nuggets. For the moments when I see Him moving in my life through a conversation, an event, or a podcast! I have written about this particular event in my journal and I know it will bring encouragement to me in the future when I read it again.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER: Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section!
Do you keep a gratitude journal? If so, do you an electronic version or paper journal? Tell us about it in the Comments!
How has recording what you are thankful for been an encouragement to you?
What are you thankful for today?
“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”
PRAYER: Abba, Father. Thank you for hearing me this week. And thank you for hearing the prayers of all of us. Thank you for meeting us in our weakness so you may show your strength and glory. You promise to never leave us…that we will never be alone. Please allow us to continue to feel you in our joy and in our sorrow. You are our mighty Father and we love you. In Jesus’ name…Amen!
I have been on a journey to develop and deepen my friendships with other women. (See Life’s Journey #3 for more on this.) I have felt that I have a lot of general friendships, but not many deep friendships where I feel that it is safe to talk to them about anything, at anytime, and without judgement. Other women with whom I may go on girls’ trips or a girls’ night out or simply stop by their house to catch up unannounced. So being the Type A / planner / overachiever / list-maker / Enneagram 1 person that I am, I felt like I needed to come up with a strategy to “make” this happen and do it “right” as well as some questions on how to execute this strategy well. Here are some of the bullets I wrote down: (Please hold your laughter.)
FRIENDSHIP STRATEGY & QUESTIONS:
I need to find three other friends who are interested in developing deeper friendships together.
I need to get us all to read the same book on friendship to discuss and work through ideas.
I need to schedule weekly get-togethers face-to-face with all of us because studies show that people develop closer relationships when they spend time together.
Do I need to invite the three other people?
Or do I ask my friend(s) to also bring a friend?
If we don’t all know each other, will this still work?
Do we add outings/activities along with the meetings or is this in place of meetings?
Seriously…I actually took this list with me to one of my recent counseling sessions to discuss since I was having difficulty figuring out how I was going to get this to work. Oh, boy! Even as I read this now I am embarrassed that I wrote it, let alone, discussed it with my counselor. I can only imagine the notes she took on that session! To say I am an overthinker may be an understatement. As all good Enneagram 1’s, I have a constant inner voice that is evaluating every scenario and judging myself on how I responded or behaved. I am constantly thinking in terms of black or white & right or wrong. I seem to find few gray areas when I am in an unhealthy state of thinking.
WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR IN ALL OF THIS?
My counselor’s wise advice. She gently told me that maybe “a more organic approach” would be better in my desire to deepen some of my relationships. Rather than the rigid structure and rules that I was trying to define.
Yep!! Good idea!! I think I would have scared friends away with my strategy rather than draw them near for a deeper, more authentic friendships.
Scripture about friendships and relationships to help guide me while keeping God at the center.
See below for some verses to encourage and support all of us in our relationships.
A FEW FAVORITE VERSES ON FRIENDSHIP:
Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
John 15:13-15 – Jesus stated, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.”
If you Join the Circle, then you will receive my FREE Scripture Journaling Worksheet on Friendship and Relationships in the Circle of Friends Chat-Mail Newsletter coming out in July 2022.
Our attitude towards ourselves, others, and our Lord will define our relationships. The Truth of God’s Word will help us understand not only what makes us a good friend to each other, but also the tremendous value we will experience within these deep relationships. We are not perfect. We will make mistakes along the way and need to seek forgiveness for our actions from our friends. But with a solid foundation of time, trust and experiences together as well as the example we have in Christ to offer forgiveness, we have hope that our closest friends will be with us to walk through this life together even through the tough times.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER: Please share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who are your closest friends?
What qualities or characteristics in the relationships have facilitated the deep connection you experience with these friends?
How do you handle conflicts, disagreements, and painful circumstances with your friends?
PRAYER:
Abba, Father. Your Word is filled with wise advice on how we are to treat others and be in healthy relationships with each other. Your Truth about healthy relationships is not as the world defines it, but it is based on love, trust, and forgiveness as displayed in your Son, Jesus. Thank you for the gifts of your Son who walked with us on earth and died for our sins; the Holy Spirit who is in us to guide and counsel us; and your unconditional love which sets an example of how we may love others the way you love us. Lord, this is not an easy task. Please give us the strength and patience to forgive and love well; to have a servant’s heart; and to be a good friend. Amen
Hi, Friends. I love sharing the Behind The Scenes descriptions of the website elements as part of my journey with you. I know why I picked the elements and pages that I did, but you do not. I can’t speak for other websites, but every single decision from font choices to color schemes to pictures, had specific meanings for me. Let me explain so you can see the God-things in the visual elements and content of the website. I hope you feel more connected to me after reading the posts about the website creation. I hope you look at the site differently now when you go to stacyturley.com.
MY FAVORITE THINGS Page
So at the expense of sounding too redundant, one of My Favorite Things is to read about other people’s favorite things. This is true for gift giving ideas, home decor ideas, books, podcasts, crochet hooks / knitting needles, pens, websites, Bible studies, recipes, and so much more!!! I LOVE getting the BEST selections based on passionate referrals of other people’s BEST ideas. It may be an illusion that I am finding the best tools, books, and buys, but I have found some wonderful gems and ideas that I use all the time now.
So when designing the website, I really, really, really wanted to share with all of YOU, My Favorite Things in the hopes that you would be inspired and encourage to step out of your comfort zone and experience something new. And also, part of the fun of this page is the hope and desire that each of you would share with me some of your favorite things by emailing me at stacy@stacyturley.com. I would love to try out your ideas and then highlight them on this page of the website too!
I normally find recommendations from conversations with friends and family, podcasts, YouTube videos, Pinterest, books and magazines. I am inspired by so many types of stimuli and so many people. Trying out a new idea, whether it is a new gadget or new craft or new anything, is definitely one of MY FAVORITE THINGS!!
What are your favorite things? Please share with me some of your ideas! I can’t wait to hear form you at stacy@stacyturley.com!
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