Conversation - Jesus came to set us free, show us how to be in the connection and live like we were meant to live.

guess what

you know that Jesus lived here as a human

not in his Deity

you know that, right?

he lived as we are capable of living

and I’ve often wondered how he did that

no bad thoughts or actions

no jealousy, fear, etc

and it hit me this morning on the way to work

because he lived from his connection to the Father

he left his Deity behind in heaven and came as a human, lived as a normal human but he had the connection already

and all of his life was lived there

from that connection

and

it shows us that we can too!

not that we do it from the outside in

but from the inside out

from that connection to God

and Jesus said, greater things we will do

all of what he did was what is possible for us to do

because he was just like us

and we, now that we are connected, are just like he was when he was here!

!!!!!

Cheryl

wonderful revelation!

Jeanne

yes!

Cheryl

yes, I knew he left his Deity there ...

Jeanne

you got me thinking of that when you were talking about him being God

Cheryl

these things I do, you can do also

Jeanne

Yes and he is God

Cheryl

yes

Jeanne

but he laid it aside and humbled himself

Cheryl

because he loves us

Jeanne

became just like us so that we could see the Father

so that we could know His true heart

Cheryl

but I truly believe he meant .. I can't remember which verse it is ..

Jeanne

and so that we could see that it is possible to live from the connection

Cheryl

but when he said if we had the faith of a mustard seed we could tell a mountain to move, and it would

Jeanne

Yes and that's what is true

knowing that we have this power

it's for God's glory

it's to demonstrate His love

and to show others that it is possible to live from the connection

Cheryl

yes, and until we are fully connected, there is no way I would extend that kind of power to a human being

Jeanne

quite a lot of trust on His part eh?

Cheryl

smart beyond my comprehension

Jeanne

ha

yes

Cheryl

I’ll show you

you'll spend your life trying to understand

think about it ... why did folks live to be 900 ?

Jeanne

ha!

well that's because we were never meant to die

Cheryl

I think it would take that long to gain that kind of wisdom to not use his power for harm ...

Jeanne

he did not make us to die

no, I don't

I think living from the connection we know it's a heart matter

it's because of love that we have all of this

Cheryl

can you imagine what that is going to feel like?

when I get there.

you know?

Jeanne

so the ones who know that love are not going to misuse it

hahaha we're there Cheryl - we have to learn how to flex these muscles

Cheryl

I’m still a work in progress. I know that. I’m trying trying trying to walk

Jeanne

Jesus shakes his head, saying oh you of little faith

Cheryl

yep

hahahaha

Jeanne

hahaha

and I can see him

Cheryl

my faith is HUGE

Jeanne

that scene where they came back and said we could not cast out this particular demon

Cheryl

it is my everything because it is my Lord

Jeanne

and Jesus shook his head and said that

then he said it's because this kind requires prayer and fasting

meaning, connection, and the removal of distractions

Cheryl

all of those scenes where demons recognized him ...

Jeanne

strong connection and no distractions

Cheryl

they didn't recognize Jesus the Man, they knew he was God

Jeanne

and I was thinking Jesus had no distractions

no family to take care of

no house to maintain

no possessions

he simply lived

and we have that disadvantage now

Cheryl

connection

plug in

Jeanne

because we have to spend our time maintaining our lifestyle

which I do not believe was God's intention

we were meant to live in community supporting each other

Cheryl

yes, me too

Jeanne

being connected to God and to each other

Cheryl

I think he meant, if you have something, give it away

Jeanne

the two "Love's"

Cheryl

rely on him completely

Jeanne

yes

exactly

Cheryl

Love is the Lesson

Jeanne

I think they recognized Jesus the man

Cheryl

I have always known that

Jeanne

I think that we have the same as Jesus had

the connection to God

to the love

to the power of that love

we are rulers

we are not the servants

and demons recognize that

which is why they try to torment us

God made us in His image

Cheryl

It's just casting away all the layers of ... crap ... for lack of a better word

Jeanne

yes

Cheryl

that we heap on ourselves when our hearts get broken so early on

Jeanne

and the more connection we live from the less crap we have to handle

Cheryl

yes

rise, shine

Jeanne

I recognize that the first step is to have hearts healed

and that's the key

Cheryl

it MEANS something

Jeanne

Yes, you know - all the fixing we want to do

that needs to be the focus

Cheryl

goes back to the arrows

Jeanne

the hearts

Cheryl

thank you John E

Jeanne

not the body

not the finances

or comfort

it's the heart

that's what got us, right?

Cheryl

I pray that now all the time. Please heal our hearts, Lord

Jeanne

when we realized our hearts are the key

Cheryl

yes

Jeanne

oh Cheryl

that's our mission

Cheryl

and I KNOW when he's tugging on an arrow

Jeanne

presenting Him that way

you can have your heart healed

you can be whole

Cheryl

it's not falling into that hole and hiding

oh yes!

Jeanne

yes

so excited about that

to always remember that is the key

because we could get all caught up in 'fixing' the other things

which is not what we are meant to do

and you know Jesus was almost reluctant to heal sometimes, and that is why

it's because he knew

Cheryl

I have a test coming up

and it's bizarre, cuz I feel the Holy Spirit right here with me, assuring me

comforting me

tomorrow is the day Brandy died

Jeanne

ohhhhh

yes He is here with you

Cheryl

and I am not going to relive that horrible morning

Jeanne

no

Cheryl

I am going to celebrate that day as the day she got to go home

Jeanne

you can celebrate the day she was set free of her torment and went to be with the Love

ha

Cheryl

hahahah

Jeanne

thank you Jesus

we should have a party

Cheryl

this is a big one.

Jeanne

love love love to see all the growth in you my friend!

Cheryl

and I have to live it

if I believe

Jeanne

it's either true or it's not

Cheryl

I have to live in that

exactly

Jeanne

and we both know it's true

so we have to live there

Cheryl

there are no gray areas

that’s the lies of demons

Jeanne

and please please please stop saying you are not there yet

that's a lie

Cheryl

Grandma, Good always wins

Jeanne

you are exactly where you are supposed to be

yes

Cheryl

yes, Aislyn, you are right

Jeanne

God always wins

and He is Love!

the greatest power

Cheryl

that song that I love so much right now ...

then you say to me Son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won ....

that battle IS won

Jeanne

yes

indeed

and we are on the right side

love always wins

Jeanne

As William Gurnall said, "It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons."

hmmmm

something I just said I believe?

Cheryl

yes!

Fear

Fear is prevalent in the lives of most everyone on this planet.
It is an insidious malevolent evil that seeps in masquerading under the disguise of prudence or wisdom or something else that is seemingly right.
It is paralysis.
It stops faith and saps the power of love.
In the Bible it talks about fear, Fearing God - which is not what I am talking about.  That kind of fear is a reverent awe of our Almighty Father.
The fear I'm talking about is the fear that does not allow us to function as we were intended to function, in freedom knowing that we are loved, that God is in control, that He is working in our best interest, and that we can trust Him.
I have lived in an atmosphere where fear was the driving force in my mom's life.  It is living in constant turmoil and confusion and it defeats everything about life.
One cannot be a Christian and live like that after finding out what is possible with knowing Jesus truly.
After being set free from that slavery it seems impossible to conceive of going back.
This is what I say to Fear (the demon enemy of Love)

fear has no power over us

not any more

be gone

I belong to trust

to truth

to love

there is no room for fear here

it is dismissed

my heart is surrounded by that love which gives me the faith to have hope and to believe in the truth

it's like the circle of life

love truth faith hope

all one and the same

no room for anything that the enemy wants to feed me

and it makes me angry when it has hold of those I love

but it is not my choice

it's theirs to either hold on to or let go of

you see, it is not really that difficult

just dismiss it

say to him, you are not welcome here

bye bye

I am free

I seldom quote other writers here because this is my own blog.  But this one was a special Devotional by Leigh McLeroy who's site is: http://www.leighmcleroy.com/

Missing Owen      

July 17, 2013

 

There are two things I've said "never again" to more than once. Every time I've moved, packing up hundreds upon hundreds of books, I say "Never again," vowing to die in whatever four walls currently surround me. And every time I bury a dog I swear, tears streaming, to never love (and so risk losing) another.  

I kissed Owen goodbye on Monday. He came to live with me six years and a few months ago, when I wasn't certain I was done grieving another four-legged friend named Chester. Owen was a beautiful boy: well behaved, affectionate, a great companion and an-ever ready traveler.  He was a fixture on the back of the sofa, a space he claimed early and never released. I didn't mind.  

I wrote two books (The Sacred Ordinary and Treasured) with him curled up under my desk, and he appeared once with me on video, too, at the producer's invitation. Off-duty, Owen slept--and snored--on the foot of the bed each night--eventually migrating up to the pillow next to my head and settling there. His big, brown eyes were the first thing I saw each morning.

For the last three months, Owen suffered hurt after hurt, indignity after indignity. He retreated in pain, becoming less and less himself. Saturday we reached the point of no return. Resigned to the fact that I could no longer help him, I promised not to hurt him anymore.   

As we sat waiting for the end in the veterinary exam room, he crawled up in my lap and licked the tears off my face as they fell. It was the most engaged he'd been in weeks. Minutes later he stopped breathing with my face right next to his. "Good boy," I whispered to him. "You're such a good boy."

I loved Owen every day he was mine...whether he was sick or well, playful or played-out, scruffy or sleek, convenient or inconvenient. I loved him because he was mine...and when he became less and less himself, I did not love him less. Maybe more. Maybe, just maybe, I loved him with the faintest resemblance to the determined, no-matter-what way that God loves me. 

I pray that Monday I loved him rightly and well, even doing what it broke my heart to do. But tonight, I'm missing Owen...and I don't think that will change anytime soon. 

C.S. Lewis wrote,  "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love at all is to be vulnerable."

 Never again? I'll never say it again. And I mean it this time.  

We love, because He first loved us. (I John 4:19) 

   

   

© Leigh McLeroy, 2013

    

www.leighmcleroy.com 

"Speak what you feel, not what you ought to say."

The mystery of the heart: I love this even through the tears of remembering the loss of my ever faithful companions throughout my life. 

It is indeed better to have loved and lost than to never have loved before.  Be it human or animal, giving one’s heart away only makes it grow in depth and richness where it would have never grown.

Jeanne

Moving

I let it go
I'm moving on
The weight is off of my shoulders
and now I cannot express the amount of relief that I feel.

Carrying the load of someone else's stuff is way too stressful.
It is an illusion that being in control works.
Too much of me invested in what - in the end - is not going to give a return.
Not that everything needs to be invested in based on the return.
But somewhere along the way one needs to evaluate things.
If I give and give and I do not receive then something is wrong.
And as painful as it is to let go, or even consider letting go, it is in the end, necessary.

My life must move forward.
I cannot change if I remain where I am.
I don't think that I can even help others if I do not change for the better.

Jesus said that he came to divide.
Because of His love setting me free, I am able to see clearly what I must let go of, and who I must let go of, in order to walk in that freedom.
Yes it is painful, and sad.
Knowing how much he loves me gives me the strength to walk towards him rather than staying in the muck and mire of a life of stagnation.

And so
I let go
I'm moving on
figuratively
emotionally
physically
and I am grasping onto Jesus
more and more.

Joshua 1:9 

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”