Give it up~~~

 
 Good morning and happy Friday, awww the start of the weekend:) It is 45 here in Utah this morning, there is a different crispness in the breeze, the wind is coming from the north and a little uncomfortable to sit outside, so I sit, writing from behind the glass this morning, I cannot hear the birds sing their songs of joy, but I can see the brilliant blue sky, with not a cloud floating by, I can see the gentle sway of the branches on the stately trees in my yard, I can sit in awe at the beauty of the day that is waking up all around me, therefore I can see the love that God has put into the making for me to enjoy:)
   In fellowship with several people yesterday I stood amazed at how some people seem to delight in holding on to garbage, at how they cling to drama, the run back to misery time and time again. I sat and listened to the stories of their lives and what was troubling them, what they were desperately seeking prayer over and their stories were the same repeated prayers for mercy that they had said basically all of their adult lives. I know I must have looked like a confused goon several times in our chats as I could not believe that although they may have changed partners, the story was the same, the prayers for mercy were the same. It seems that we all tend to hang on to things that are "comfortable", it seems we leave one person and turn to another very much like the one who has caused us so much grief. I think in my life I did this because I felt that I could do not better, I continuously chose the same type of man to be in my life, just a different name. In looking at it now, it was all I knew and it was all I thought that I was worthy of . I chatted with a person who continued to let her grown child condemn her, abuse her, dishonor her , thus she continued to allow herself to be crushed by these actions even though she was the very one allowing the "crush"! We allow people to walk on us, use us as door mats, kick us, take advantage of us...etc...When I asked each person to look at the pattern they were living, they had no idea that they were even doing this! Defenses were thrown up like shields of protection, excuses oozed from their lips with failed attempts as to "why" they allowed the things they did. Never once in the conversations was there mention of our savior or our heavenly father, oh wait, yes there was..."I don't know what I have done to make God mad at me, but I cannot catch a break" Really, REALLY, do you think God does this to us??? I tend to lean in the direction that we do this to ourselves. If you were standing in front of a hot skillet on the stove and grabbed the handle without a potholder, it would burn right??? Well honestly can you tell me you would grab the handle again without first protecting your hand??? I am sure the answer from each of you is NO, why?? because you did not enjoy the burn that is left there in the palm of your hand, you do not want to endure that pain again and your eyes have been opened to the fact that you must protect your hand before you reach out and grab the handle again. Once burned you learned a lesson! If we can learn something that quickly, literally one time of hurt and we know what we must do to protect ourselves. Why then do we insist upon allowing people to burn us time after time, why do we keep reaching for that hot handle time after time? Why can't we just give it up? Fall down "on bended knees" and ask God to bless us with the knowledge if we continue to grab the hot handle we will hurt, we will burn, we will be scarred. If the life you are allowing right now is not a happy one, if you continue to allow people to abuse you, to disrespect you, to dishonor you, time and time again, where will you end up? I am seeing a scarred person who pretty soon cannot even feel the pain because the burns have left scars so thick that the inside is numb to the hurt on the outside! Today I pray that if you have fallen into this situation, if you have allowed your soul to be numbed by the ravages of the pain and hurt, if you have let your spirit wither and dry up because you think you are not worthy of better, I pray God blesses you with jolts of energy throughout your body, I pray that he plant a seed in you that will help you to open your eyes and see, I pray that he will help you pick yourself off, that he will dust you off and if need be that he push you in the right direction. We all are worthy of kind, gentle, honest, love. Each of us is worthy of happiness and joy in our lives, today I ask God to shine a light onto you heart, to light a fire in your soul, to help you find your voice and literally force the breath from your lungs forcing words of power and conviction from you....GIVE IT UP, make a decision today that you refuse to let anyone abuse you again, that you...with God's assistance are going to take a stand and with one foot in front of the other move forward...refuse to let anyone be rude to you, to let anyone make you cry, or to make you feel lesser of a person...stand in your beauty, yes it is there, God made each of us beautiful, we may be like an "old chunk of coal" but there is a diamond in there just begging to get out. Begin today the journey out of the hell you are living and see what beauty is waiting for you...GIVE IT UP, give your troubles over to God and let him come alive in you. Don't ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet. If you are miserable in your world today, I pray that you  figure out what you need to change, ask our heavenly father the best plan in moving forward, get on your knees and listen to his still quiet voice, feel his hand gently begin to nudge you forward. He will never lead you wrong, he will always hold your hand in the journey and soon you will be standing straight and tall, feeling better than you have in years and you will be living! I love you all, I know that change is difficult, I know that leaving our comfort zone, even if it is an uncomfortable one, is very scary... Today I choose to evaluate things in my life to ensure that I am not just grabbing yet another hot handle, but that I have learned valuable lessons and am walking the straight and narrow and living in the  world that the King of Kings has made for me:) Stand tall today, have faith that God is walking right there beside you, lift your heads to the "SON" and begin to see YOU in all of your beauty! The journey may be tough, but you've got the "Mighty, Mighty" in your corner, set your sites way up high and soar!!!