Learning To Say ” No. “

I was at it again, another phone call, someone wanting me to do this or that. Could I check on something? Where can I buy one thing or another? What’s so and so’s number? What’s for dinner? Do we have any whatever and why not? Did you forget it at the store?

Until I came home from the hospital, I never realized how much I was doing or the many people that I was in contact with. I knew the Lord had been teaching me His peace and I learned a lot about the rest of faith that we are taught to enter in Hebrews 4, but I was still working too hard for gifts and blessings He had already purchased on the cross and feeling guilty if I didn’t help them, which was silly in a lot of cases, they could have done it themselves.

Needless, to stay I was still recovering. I had to relearn to walk. It was a long time before I could fix my own breakfast. I still had that unction to pray for others, to share God’s pure love. But I was not able to do what I had done before. And people close to me didn’t appear to notice. And that is good in a way, if they are seeing you for the lack of a better word, normal and a bad thing if it is just complacency.

Did it matter that I had to take a nap? Have someone drive me? That I had only a few visitors. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad others see me as a strong person, but it isn’t me, it’s Him. And it was especially when I walked in and out of a restaurant and in the grocery store, it was the Lord in me. And I was exhausted but I did it. I still felt like I was on call 24/7/365 and to an extent we are as believers and women of faith, but we have to slow down, take a breath, and be still before God.

So, I was saying ” No. ” And then, guess what? I was right back at letting guilt creep up on me. I started to do more to help my mother, who was really the only one taking care of me. And I didn’t mind, but I wasn’t used to holding onto countertops to walk through the kitchen. I was always standing over the laundry, not folding it in my lap. Have you ever attempted to sweep or mop a floor while moving a walker? It isn’t pretty.

I did not have to experience all this for me to understand pain or to have compassion on others. God did not put something on me, He did use it to get me back on track, slow down and to say no with no guilt, and not to worry what someone says if you didn’t go for a walk today or that you slept late. Or ate something you shouldn’t have.

You would think women would learn. I know we shouldn’t have to relearn what we know already, but sometimes we do and sometimes we just need to learn to say no again. I wrote about this in 2019, but I’m learning it again, too.

I felt guilty, that I could not walk, that my mother was having to do so much for me, that I gained weight. I felt bad that I may have said the wrong thing or prayed the wrong thing but I know He was right there and knew what I needed and when. And then I felt bad for not resting enough or receiving His peace enough. I really felt disabled and and disappointed but He was still loving me, and what I am no able to do, He certainly can and will in His time.

I don’t like the word disabled or enabler, even it is true that some are and other do help keep others in their situations or addictions. When we aren’t able, He is! And are we ever really able compare to Him? He can give us grace to rest and even to say no, if necessary.

I’m leaving a link to my old post, But if you don’t read it just look at how I closed it.

The God of peace will soon crush satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Roman 16:20, if you need to, write this on your shoes, or on a post it and put it in there.

Just Say No!/ Sunday Bonus

Canva Pro

A Legacy Of Love

I thought of what I should write for Mother’s Day this year. I have had to slack back on some blogging but I am never at a loss of words to describe the Lord’s love to me, and I just hope they reflect Him, I really could never describe Him in the full splendor of His majesty. And that is something I would not have without my mother.

We had lunch yesterday, and she still has a couple of surprises. She has talked me into giving her some early gifts, and her box of truffles arrived and well, it was a hot day, the ice bag inside had melted and it was National Truffle Day, who knew? So go ahead and eat them. She was married and eighteen when she had me, and is now eighty. Time has crept by, and yet, flown. She is the strongest person I know, though her strength has its limits, her Lord is limitless and that legacy of love knows no boundaries.

I thanked her for reading to me, and she actually helped me write my first poem for school when I was crying, or else I would not have happened upon that writing love of mine. For a long time, I thought I got my creativity from my father who left us and I was sure that is why she didn’t always listen to me about my stories and ideas, but that wasn’t true. Not at all. My creativity came from God, my Father…..and her, when I started blogging nothing would come up as a name for it until I hit on adaughtersgiftoflove. He named it, I think He even named me.

My aunt told them my name was Rebecca, meaning close to God. Mother had planned on calling me Angela, she was so out of it when I was born but the Lord was with us. Her blood pressure had been high, I was told that I was blue. She didn’t get to see me for four days, but God was watching. I know people prayed for us , but I am certain that the Lord did and still does, Romans 8:36. We have and endured and overcome, and I won’t go into details, everyone has their stories and trials. What I hope to convey is that overcoming and overwhelming love of His that has seen us through and that will walk us into eternity with Him.

Forever young, healthy, no one leaving you, mistreating you. Our Father has never abandoned us or forsaken us. He has taken the heartaches and heartbreaks and shattered them with His loves just as our had been shattered, He fills them over and over again with love. He has taken someone that was left unloved and made her loved.

I was watching a history program about the wealthy industrialists of the 19th century, there were fortunes made and lost, even doubled and dispersed among descendants. I like to say I have a trust fund because I have to trust God. People build skyscrapers and plant gardens and memorials. They leave behind many legacies and inheritances for relatives, and for the world to see.

Jesus left us His will and testament, and there are terms to us receiving its benefits just like someone may leave us something. But He had to die to leave it, to redeem our souls. It may be that we have been blessed to have someone leave us money or a home but what is even more of a blessing is to to know that because He died for us that we can inherit now, that eternal gift of salvation and its ongoing benefits.

I can’t remember being a chubby, bald baby who was walked into a Baptist church, by a now single mother. But I can remember the story she told me of being saved at a young age, and so was I. We drifted away from church, but never from Him and He has been there and now here we are, sixty two Mother’s Days later, celebrating and rejoicing in Him and that wonderful gift that is our legacy of love.

Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3-5

Baiajaku / Getty Images / Canva Pro

More Blessed To Give

I have always been a giver, and unfortunately, some takers have taken advantage of that. I thought it was part of being a good Christian, to forgive, try to forget. Forgetting isn’t always easy when they never change and it happens again and again. Did you know that Jesus says if people refuse to make peace with you, even with the church involved, to treat them like tax collectors? I think we have been listening to the seventy times seven and not realizing that there are some people who will just not receive what God offers.

I was one of these people who bought gifts all the time, all year, even before I learned about a gift closet. Maybe, it started back in the White House in WWII, but Mrs. Roosevelt wasn’t the only one so inclined. I had them ready at a moments notice and I miss that after all my recovery time., and limitations. But God is not limited, I still manage to give to others in other ways. Jesus gave more than anyone coming from heaven to earth and the dying and going to hell to recover the authority Adam lost. He is the most under appreciated giver of all, because not everyone appreciates Him. Could we ever appreciate Him enough?

Even believers can get caught up in their daily lives and their troubles and forget to be thankful and appreciative of the smallest things. Lately, I realized that sometimes, okay, a lot of times, I work too hard at being a good Christian, when God is already pleased. I catch myself writing more and praying more and not resting in His love, nor receiving from Him.

Are we denying Jesus the chance to be a giver by failing to be a receiver? We could be. If we are blessed by giving, isn’t He? Doesn’t He long to give us abundant life, for us to excel, and experience freedom from sin and even death, the bondages and even bandages that hold us down.

Salvation is a gift that keeps on giving as we grow. Some gifts we are not mature enough to receive or handle but as we grow in grace, He multiplies it, and keeps giving faithfully. Even if we are not always faithful He is, and He is not just hold out, but waiting to make life beautiful. So let’s keep giving, and receive from Jesus as well.

You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it. Matthew 21:22 ( from the parable of the fig tree )

But to all who believed Him and accepted him, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. John 1:16

No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. John 3:27

And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 ( all verses New Living )

It is also that Jesus who reminded us about toiling and spinning that we are worth many sparrows in Matthew 6, the same Jesus that knows we burdened and heaven laden and offers rest, Matthew 28…and whose rest we must enter in Hebrews 4, it is a place where we are not giving in to being tossed about, by people or doctrine, James says that person will not receive, if they ask a miss or are double minded. Let’s receive from the Lord! And we will be cheerful givers!

I have been seeing various arguments for a while among believers. I know that doesn’t please Him. Jesus died to give a generous Father, His very own. Let’s walk in ways that please Him. I know I don’t always, but I receive that love, choose joy and His peace that only He can give.

Pixleshot / Canva Pro

Oppressed Of The Devil

Just to be clear, it’s oppressed, not possessed. I don’t think that a true believer in Christ would ever be possessed. If you were, it is much more likely that you have never been saved. You can walk away and there is a point where He may not keep striving with you, but that is still a different topic.  As we continue talking about healing let’s remember Acts 10:38, how Jesus went around doing good and He healed those oppressed of the devil, because God was with Him.

And now, He is with us, by the Spirit. We can be helpful or hurtful to others and it is our choice. Personally, I have found it hard to walk away from situations when I cannot help someone, when they refuse to listen or just are determined to rely on worldly counsel or think that they can take care of themselves. I have had to, for my sake and in order to help others. How is that working out? Taking care of yourself? Probably, not very well. But sometimes, it is a necessity in order to keep our own minds, thoughts and souls clear and rested.

I remember a woman from daycare where my mother cooked at a church. Even with a good, warm breakfast waiting for her child, she brought in a cold one, explaining that she had to rely on herself. I was young then and didn’t have a clue at women can get themselves into. None of us can really rely on ourselves. Years of stress, mental strain, and abuse, can cause you to be oppressed of the devil and you may not even realize it. Believers have a way out.

Jesus said we could do nothing without Him, or apart from Him, John 15:16, it includes the phrase ” remain in Him “, which is what we often fail to do. We don’t pray through to the end of a problem or we are face with the same problem, the devil really has no new bag of tricks and he enjoys tormenting believers over past mistakes, forgiven sins and constant lies to the mind and heart. That is oppression!

It is important to remind ourselves that we remain repentant and in His Word, how much we are love and wash in the blood of the Lamb and the water of His Word. We don’t want to move away from the shadow of the Almighty, where we dwell in the safety of Psalm 91. Don’t get me wrong, I know people who were taking medication that disqualified them ministry back in the day. If you need help from a professional, by all means get it but don’t leave the Lord out of your loop.

I blog alongside many Christian therapists and counselors. I recently spoke to a new friend and follower about spiritual depression as opposed to clinical depression. As believers, we are not always wrestling flesh and blood, Ephesians 6:12. There are many categories of devils or demons, ranking from what would be a pesky little imp to a truly tormenting spirit. Most people would disagree with that entirely, and I suppose it would sound like you needed psychotherapy, and in extreme cases, or dabbling into what you should not, not being saved, you would.

It is not fiction, nor fantasy, there is real spiritual warfare going on. And the more you know and love Jesus, well, often it comes. I have been seeing so many of His people going through so many trial, long hospital stays, aging parents, ongoing illnesses, rebellious children. It is nothing new to Christians, but it has escalated in these latter days. I am not the bearer of bad news but the good news is His gospel, and His peace, all the benefits of salvation.

Whatever, you are going through today, you are not alone. You have prayer warriors at the ready, protective angels to enfold you in their wind and the Ancient of Days, the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah to go before you and who is beside you, roaring much louder that the voice of the enemy that taunts and accuses, mercilessly, I have been there and I pray for you, that He strengthens you as you remain in His love. We are righteous only through Him and that is why no weapon prospers, Isaiah 54:17.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38 ( all verses New Living )

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Jesus had the power to heal instantly, but some were healed from the hour or as they went. It is true of us. Some, no doubt, returned to sin and the healing left and others never returned to be thankful.

Whether it was physical, mental, or demonic, Jesus knew what everyone needed, just as He does us. Sometimes, we think we need healing, other times, it is deliverance, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to the right verses, doctors or medication, but be sure to remain in Him and hold fast to the faith in you, for He heals those oppressed of the devil.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

I don’t want anything to do with the devil and am certainly not suggesting that he has any power over us, the greater one lives in us, 1 John 4:4, it is so much more of a blessing to talk about the one who loved us, Jesus who walks with us, has angels charged over us and heals those oppressed of the devil.

Coffee and Milk / Getty Images Canva Pro.