tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75750912896422724202024-03-27T02:36:55.790-04:00paravanes:meditationsTrust the God who is worthy of your love.Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.comBlogger550125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-15435252785619063052023-11-18T09:14:00.001-05:002023-11-18T09:14:38.233-05:00Trusting God vs Trusting In God<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoc7yc2Te_l5-DSI-_H3GZ1M98gimlJlqb36ldnAxjHp57-5595NMT_zy282D1iAWz9k3yCoY9rxkWHi6WuEiCmfBcb6smP3HPfwy1gphIIGzxHpT91BjMswZ9s76disvrnktzR9XK71A7qKBN2U6gPQpl_XgqHaf-Tuj79ijzuzD5S4JbleV0XN_t_iQ/s3072/IMG_20230504_211132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2728" data-original-width="3072" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoc7yc2Te_l5-DSI-_H3GZ1M98gimlJlqb36ldnAxjHp57-5595NMT_zy282D1iAWz9k3yCoY9rxkWHi6WuEiCmfBcb6smP3HPfwy1gphIIGzxHpT91BjMswZ9s76disvrnktzR9XK71A7qKBN2U6gPQpl_XgqHaf-Tuj79ijzuzD5S4JbleV0XN_t_iQ/w383-h284/IMG_20230504_211132.jpg" width="383" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(c) Deborah Evans</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Trust in God.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In John 14:1, Jesus said "Trust in God, trust also in me." This has also been translated as "Keep trusting in God, keep trusting in me." Jesus, knowing what was about to happen, did not want his followers to become discouraged or turn away when things seemed to take a bad turn.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you "trust" someone, your confidence must be limited by what that person is capable of. No matter how much that person loves you, their ability to act is limited because humans are limited. Or, as some say, "we're only human." Even those who love us deeply and have proven their love may become ill, die, or be removed from our lives by circumstances beyond their control.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you "trust in" (rely completely upon) God, you are always secure because God's ability to act is unlimited. The power of unlimited ability combined with the grace of unlimited love create a force that cannot be denied or overcome. In God, you find the one in whom you can completely rely at all times and in all circumstances. You have found the only one you can truly "trust in." Let that comfort give you peace.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Trust in God</i>.</span></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-71903062782665234182023-11-11T19:47:00.001-05:002023-11-11T19:47:55.447-05:00Freedom in Christ: What Does It Mean?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrOTTDm63lUvhKfIPulcLagi5az9Wr30RyfEIxNHNh7hhzR5HolaJ-9KOuttzzk1Qk4R_dH1MQP_ety98Re79XtmZsZEubf_EcaSuDuu9P1UnChRQyKaaaiCusF6K4qRkEdgBCjnluOn90tjitc5NpvHpPWwN6UBtivjlMdBvGayOReIhwaHXiFXWLayJ/s3138/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3138" data-original-width="2995" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrOTTDm63lUvhKfIPulcLagi5az9Wr30RyfEIxNHNh7hhzR5HolaJ-9KOuttzzk1Qk4R_dH1MQP_ety98Re79XtmZsZEubf_EcaSuDuu9P1UnChRQyKaaaiCusF6K4qRkEdgBCjnluOn90tjitc5NpvHpPWwN6UBtivjlMdBvGayOReIhwaHXiFXWLayJ/s320/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On this Veteran's Day weekend in the U.S., many of us are remembering those who "fought for freedom." Most of us would say veterans fought for those at home and elsewhere to have the option of making and carrying out choices, choosing new and better paths, naming and acting upon their own priorities, etc. These options are a big part of what most of us call freedom.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What does it mean to "be free in Christ"?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Freedom in Christ is made of at least two things: preferences and power</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The person who is free in Christ choses and prefers what Christ wants for them: purpose. joy, humility, true and godly love, compassion, disciplined power, peace, and honest relationships..</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Freedom in Christ includes the power to create, experience, and maintain these things in our lives.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As we become more free in Christ, we may experience fewer dire emergencies and life extremes on a daily basis. This is true because we create the foundations that allow us to experience ups and downs without feeling overwhelmed on a daily or regular basis.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Freedom in Christ means we are more committed to what Jesus wants for us than we are committed to getting what we want, or think we want, for ourselves. In fact, as our freedom in Christ grows, there are fewer and fewer differences between what he wants for us and what we want for ourselves.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Freedom in Christ tints and focuses the lenses of our lives. We become more and more aware we can't have a good life apart from him. Because we know he goes with us everywhere and in every way, we are less fearful of trying new paths, less fearful of learning new lessons, and more comfortable committing to his guidance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Freedom in Christ means we aren't managed by fear. We aren't overwhelmed by peer pressure. We aren't intimidated by the unknown. We aren't trapped by the past mistakes and current regrets.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our freedom in Christ doesn't offer us the option of doing whatever we want. Freedom in Christ offers the ability to be our highest and best selves, the persons we were created and redeemed (bought back from from being ruled by failure and sin) to be. It's the freedom and power to see God, to know God, to obey God, to love God, to be protected by God, and to live always aware of God's presence with us and in us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Are you experiencing the freedom of Christ?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery."</span></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-29811684504266136452023-11-05T15:56:00.000-05:002023-11-05T15:56:37.840-05:00Why an All Saints Sunday?<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS88ykKimpPhrQBWI6GrgpLz4gw3rj3IHQmacaSAjktdMkgGwev4vkzEX6ZsbuWgMeUOd56tFOlI446jPML873vr-fMZCZdQvC0g2kJyOOv0OAtF8iGOz1vwdvSX-hoUFe-fBQ00SC9Fbp4Ej2Gh0WwSPaiQOsD_UaccknHVzWNKYKQRgdkrZBO2DqQhkA/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS88ykKimpPhrQBWI6GrgpLz4gw3rj3IHQmacaSAjktdMkgGwev4vkzEX6ZsbuWgMeUOd56tFOlI446jPML873vr-fMZCZdQvC0g2kJyOOv0OAtF8iGOz1vwdvSX-hoUFe-fBQ00SC9Fbp4Ej2Gh0WwSPaiQOsD_UaccknHVzWNKYKQRgdkrZBO2DqQhkA/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS88ykKimpPhrQBWI6GrgpLz4gw3rj3IHQmacaSAjktdMkgGwev4vkzEX6ZsbuWgMeUOd56tFOlI446jPML873vr-fMZCZdQvC0g2kJyOOv0OAtF8iGOz1vwdvSX-hoUFe-fBQ00SC9Fbp4Ej2Gh0WwSPaiQOsD_UaccknHVzWNKYKQRgdkrZBO2DqQhkA/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS88ykKimpPhrQBWI6GrgpLz4gw3rj3IHQmacaSAjktdMkgGwev4vkzEX6ZsbuWgMeUOd56tFOlI446jPML873vr-fMZCZdQvC0g2kJyOOv0OAtF8iGOz1vwdvSX-hoUFe-fBQ00SC9Fbp4Ej2Gh0WwSPaiQOsD_UaccknHVzWNKYKQRgdkrZBO2DqQhkA/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS88ykKimpPhrQBWI6GrgpLz4gw3rj3IHQmacaSAjktdMkgGwev4vkzEX6ZsbuWgMeUOd56tFOlI446jPML873vr-fMZCZdQvC0g2kJyOOv0OAtF8iGOz1vwdvSX-hoUFe-fBQ00SC9Fbp4Ej2Gh0WwSPaiQOsD_UaccknHVzWNKYKQRgdkrZBO2DqQhkA/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3TkuMNV2WFSN2gp1QUkljjqCzuEhuk4RSY1y1vb7-4qfq88pEzOTQn63eQR_xPN9Iq_ZnfSW-obtHLfWOYWgmN6UNYoVe46JpkGcH884SkYKHdo9ThX5E2AwA_zgErIu9jrbneIKRTEhBD_qBAWnK-4aTBRsnV14RTk2Lj3aOPqX0-fTSNcIEq_-FbDF/s1920/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj3TkuMNV2WFSN2gp1QUkljjqCzuEhuk4RSY1y1vb7-4qfq88pEzOTQn63eQR_xPN9Iq_ZnfSW-obtHLfWOYWgmN6UNYoVe46JpkGcH884SkYKHdo9ThX5E2AwA_zgErIu9jrbneIKRTEhBD_qBAWnK-4aTBRsnV14RTk2Lj3aOPqX0-fTSNcIEq_-FbDF/w401-h356/IMG_20231030_203905_599.jpg" width="401" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: x-small;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><i><br /></i></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">When you think of church, or the church, do you think of a building? A multi-location campus with many buildings seating hundreds of people? A Gothic type historical structure in a central business district? A school gym? A small or large neighborhood building that hosts food distribution, back-to-school rallies for the neighborhood children, and Vacation Bible School during the summer?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All Saints Day, or All Saints Sunday, is a time to remember the true church can't be defined by a building's location or a physical address. What do we remember on All Saints Day?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout all time and in all places, God has called people into fellowship and discipleship. No single church organization or denomination can truthfully say they are "the only church" :because no human person completely knows the full mind, full heart, and total actions of God. God has always called people, and has done this independent of human action. Remember the story of Abram's call to leave his home in the Old Testament or the calling of Paul the Apostle in the New Testament? God spoke directly to these people, and they followed.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Choose any place you can imagine: ancient North America, medieval Africa, modern Asia, prehistoric Europe or Australia, islands in all parts of the world. In all of these places God called people into discipleship and to worship. God continues to call people into discipleship and to worship.. It doesn't matter if we know the names of these people. It doesn't matter if these people were not affiliated with the traditional church organizations many of us know. Those who were called, who answered and followed are a part of the church, a part of the communion of saints (true believers).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Remember the true and original meaning of the word "church": ekklesia, or assembly. <i>The assembly of God's followers is intact and unlimited by time or place..</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although we are called to live authentic lives of faith and share our beliefs and hopes. God's ability to call followers is not limited by what we do. We are called to share the option of holy, happy, redeemed, and secure living through Jesus Christ. When we do this in honor of God, God is pleased. Because God is all powerful, a failure to act on our part will not stop God from calling humanity into a loving relationship of discipleship. Our failure to act will not render the Gospel useless. Our failure to act does not diminish God's power. The power of God is greater than human disobedience.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You are not alone. If you are following Jesus Christ, you can never be alone. God is always with you. You are always a part of a large eternal family of believers from all of history. In this knowledge and in this spirit, be grateful, obedient, and secure. On All Saints Sunday, remind yourself of who you are, how you are connected to God's eternal purpose, and how you are a permanent member of a large, eternal family called and brought into a loving relationship with God.</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-47153164370436363192023-10-28T11:04:00.000-04:002023-10-28T11:04:31.506-04:00Think (or Know) You'll Spend the Holidays Alone? Plan Ahead. Do It Now.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwg3d6LwVevFW2oO4iAJVj8MoxNM4IkXdya3I2oeerzRbD2BDeU4Tue0vpp9SUpjXDDqRt26ElRQOmWJTw1JGFD6DPvT9LRDeBqd3yE72YVlFU3SePiBN1QNBxqJhLISdeta-g8EGQsXBHQj5WRNQWoFJqGn1XeRUauq2i6mUaPyvbxJO6k4zvRVlqzzV/s3120/IMG_20211207_173449__01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2974" data-original-width="3120" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwg3d6LwVevFW2oO4iAJVj8MoxNM4IkXdya3I2oeerzRbD2BDeU4Tue0vpp9SUpjXDDqRt26ElRQOmWJTw1JGFD6DPvT9LRDeBqd3yE72YVlFU3SePiBN1QNBxqJhLISdeta-g8EGQsXBHQj5WRNQWoFJqGn1XeRUauq2i6mUaPyvbxJO6k4zvRVlqzzV/w390-h305/IMG_20211207_173449__01.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've spent some holidays alone. I don't always spend holidays alone, but I've spent a few alone and I will share what helped me enjoy and remember those holidays as positive landmarks in my life. I hope these ideas are helpful to you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>You need a plan</i>. You need a plan because so much of the advertising, marketing, and messaging of the culture is based on happy "family and friends" gatherings during the holidays (Thanksgiving through the New Year). Of course, all of these gatherings are not happy, joyful, or peaceful. No matter. Given all of this messaging, you need to create a space to enjoy the holiday based on your life, your priorities, and your circumstances.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Your plan begins now</i>. Allow yourself to quietly consider why you are alone during the holidays. I am not referring to psychoanalysis or deep self-therapy. Just sit quietly for a time and review the circumstances or events or your life. Perhaps you have chosen to be alone during the holidays because family gatherings are too stressful to endure. Perhaps you are alienated from family. Perhaps your close family members are far away or you've outlived close relations. Maybe you are an only child whose parents were both orphans and you have no close relatives. Perhaps you do not want to invite yourself into a gathering of friends who didn't invite you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Accept your </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>situation if you cannot (or choose not to) change it</i>. Give yourself credit for choosing peaceful solitude over stressful dinner table conflicts. Perhaps you can accept you have a unique path to follow because of the decisions made by others. Maybe this year you don't have enough money to travel home and see family and friends, but next year you might have travel funds. Whatever your circumstance, don't see it as a punishment. See it as a factual reflection of your life events or your personal choice. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Next, think about ways to use this time for relaxation, rest, or rejuvenation</i>. This is a good time to choose a media fast. This is a good time to disconnect from the messaging that says everyone should have the same type of holiday experience. Is that even reasonable? All of our lives are so different. It doesn't make sense to believe we should all have the same type of experience at any time of year, including the holidays. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>If you feel a sense of unresolved pain, don't crush or deny your feelings</i>. Also, don't let your feelings define your entire holiday season. Find two or three small pleasures you can pursue in a solo style, or find an organized activity you can share with others. Sadness or grief are real, but they don't have to completely dominate your holiday season.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Be willing to look forward</i>. Perhaps you never want to spend another holiday season alone. That's ok. As 2023 wraps up, take twenty or thirty minutes to journal what you want to experience during the 2024 holiday time. What's your plan for getting to that point? What habits or actions must you change to create a different holiday experience next year? Those habits may involve meeting or getting to know new people. Those habits may involve changing how you think about what the holidays are and how you want to celebrate them. Maybe you don't want to celebrate them in any way. Maybe your goal is to be able to see Thanksgiving or Christmas as just another day you're happy to be alive. That's a major accomplishment because you've freed yourself from societal programming.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On my first Christmas alone, many years ago, I spent the day practicing crochet stitches and eating pancakes and fresh fruit for lunch and dinner. I had very low standards for what the day "should be." I purchased some of my favorite takeout food two days before, and had all of my favorite music playing throughout the day. I didn't focus on past Christmases, I didn't look at old photos, and I didn't read old journals. I tried to stay "in the moment", without points of comparison to the past.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The holidays are coming. They're unavoidable. You can control only what you can control. What you can control is how you think about what these days mean. You can control how you will plan for future holidays. You can control how much of popular messaging about "the holiday season" you will accept and live by. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You have many choices, and you can choose how you use them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-11946347043334683442023-10-21T08:52:00.000-04:002023-10-21T08:52:05.418-04:00Salvation: The Invitation to the Ultimate Change<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAVAKp8Sj0SAZZ2JJUG2zPARmC5a2EtDKEChzexMnP78OgzRXhjHrlTicajynr3I9YUbtRfUj5pw655NJsvk5gohHufj6U2wrT28LN_IXyEMS69AS2uFDxEWFUkgegfK_lAe19L8SRgs0i0nrvlgQMhqkQKJFqh9PyojXi17qZbRynL8-6oAjFeC5aMcC/s4160/IMG20230507134158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAVAKp8Sj0SAZZ2JJUG2zPARmC5a2EtDKEChzexMnP78OgzRXhjHrlTicajynr3I9YUbtRfUj5pw655NJsvk5gohHufj6U2wrT28LN_IXyEMS69AS2uFDxEWFUkgegfK_lAe19L8SRgs0i0nrvlgQMhqkQKJFqh9PyojXi17qZbRynL8-6oAjFeC5aMcC/w393-h240/IMG20230507134158.jpg" width="393" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Photo (c) Deborah Evans </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><span style="font-family: arial;">How open are you to change? How open are you to new ways of seeing the world? How open are you to leaving something (or someone) behind and taking on something (or someone) new? How open are you to learning and practicing new habits, new priorities, and new perspectives?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Salvation in Jesus Christ is about transformation. When you examine Jesus' relationship with his disciples, you see him leading and guiding and protecting them through a series of challenging, authentic, transformational experiences. You see Jesus working miracles, reaching out to the marginalized and rejected and showing God's care and concern, conflicts with the traditional religious leaders, political arrest and execution, resurrection, and ascension (moving beyond physical limitations). Almost none of this happens when Jesus is alone. What he does, he does with his disciples.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Why didn't Jesus just speak to and lecture his disciples instead of leading them through these events?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Transformation doesn't come through simply hearing a speaker, reading, or thinking about a change. <i>Transformation comes through experience</i>. Without action, there is no transformation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">God invites you to be transformed by following Jesus Christ in you daily life experience.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> Salvation is an invitation to transformation and to change .How open are you to change?</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-70746001184857228412023-10-13T15:23:00.000-04:002023-10-13T15:23:00.687-04:00Want To Be Guided By God? Rest Before You Do Anything Else<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24eK1ZzLSUibz5m6TR8bDkkGGNP8RwcbjMByZkL4clyKQRchVyBD40xAAcWsvh-PS3q2JhZERHfwEk23n4l_uiR6Rt7gaVUUKZWBgmI5cNVtjRv_GdA6MK1PtdnCyAQrOrYdQE_BPKKQZGYO1P8HpFx4HjKbet3e32NUl2of_UUUNRWQFtvyw6XwZHzei/s3900/IMG_20230810_165124_537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3900" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh24eK1ZzLSUibz5m6TR8bDkkGGNP8RwcbjMByZkL4clyKQRchVyBD40xAAcWsvh-PS3q2JhZERHfwEk23n4l_uiR6Rt7gaVUUKZWBgmI5cNVtjRv_GdA6MK1PtdnCyAQrOrYdQE_BPKKQZGYO1P8HpFx4HjKbet3e32NUl2of_UUUNRWQFtvyw6XwZHzei/w384-h320/IMG_20230810_165124_537.jpg" width="384" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Window in the kitchen of the Daggett Farm House at </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Photo by Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are seeking to hear from God, you must rest. What does this mean?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This means you must intentionally move yourself out of emergency panic mode. This means you must determine to align your emotions with the serenity and power of God. This means you cannot live on a wavelength of stress, uncertainty, and frustration.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This means you must know beforehand God will answer your prayer for guidance. This means you will align yourself with the purpose, power, and peace of God. You will rest your mind, body, and emotions in preparation for hearing, understanding, and believing in the guidance of God.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you want to be guided by God, <i>first</i> <i>you must rest</i>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-40025736013388613012023-10-07T12:04:00.000-04:002023-10-07T12:04:33.798-04:00Declaring and Decreeing: Faith or Boasting?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwgMSKIUAHwRcTn_9DwyHXl2FNMPQhoQdHLb4SU7rjeJezbiRsp77Cy7lawR7PffKLKfF7j_D0wRyTE7CqaySBTvYAn7AN9ttq53cfbKcMD6Ji1hVtKEr89ej-ChMU4ZuSWhppzjZ3q0uRIauhvcSrIoG09yzsTEmJN9OLSA73Hyy7Ll_hfie647GV4YN/s4160/IMG20220716103320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwgMSKIUAHwRcTn_9DwyHXl2FNMPQhoQdHLb4SU7rjeJezbiRsp77Cy7lawR7PffKLKfF7j_D0wRyTE7CqaySBTvYAn7AN9ttq53cfbKcMD6Ji1hVtKEr89ej-ChMU4ZuSWhppzjZ3q0uRIauhvcSrIoG09yzsTEmJN9OLSA73Hyy7Ll_hfie647GV4YN/w459-h320/IMG20220716103320.jpg" width="459" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."--Proverbs 27:1.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Seek God's will, but insist upon nothing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Leave the details to God. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">Trust opportunities God creates for you as you walk in faith and minute by minute obedience.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As a Christ follower, your purpose is to obey God and love God's will and God's way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Few people declare and decree a painful challenge or an unwanted life change. Usually, the decree or declaration--<i>-when it's specific</i>--involves getting what we think we want. God uses all types of circumstances and events to conform us to the image of Christ.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus said "the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 15:16) What does it mean to ask in Jesus's name? In the ancient language Jesus spoke and the gospel writer used to record Jesus's words, "in my name" meant "in my way", "in my manner", and "as representing my identity, purpose, and character." In his deepest moment of challenge, Jesus said to the Father "Not my will, but your will." Jesus did not say "I decree and declare an escape from the pain and humiliation of crucifixion because I am your beloved son."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">God already has good things planned for you, and doesn't need to be reminded of them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Are you open to receiving what God has for you, or are you committed to having only what you want for yourself?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having what God wants for you is always better then having what you can imagine, decree, or declare for yourself. God's intention for you is always good. God's good intention for you was permanently established in eternity. Stay close to God and let God guide you to the life he has for you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-83761477966062924692023-09-29T08:41:00.000-04:002023-09-29T08:41:18.473-04:00The Joy of the Lord is your Strength<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwxIMTiByBFS5MId7Zy8w95T8Nx1BeVyW_Ib61Wb19RxzMg7alHBKw_IeyKlmJX0nkF3u6Qx5l16xQrEyHqihODgGLPb0L21eo4I6JQAwTwwR4AUQ4yzggYQnoMDsFc53xbmxQ4IilTCo1wtHjhQ9uBZ7G0mvbMbOCfurCHi8fYYYKPor3RrtQzQuhYwD/s3072/IMG_20230318_192522_624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwxIMTiByBFS5MId7Zy8w95T8Nx1BeVyW_Ib61Wb19RxzMg7alHBKw_IeyKlmJX0nkF3u6Qx5l16xQrEyHqihODgGLPb0L21eo4I6JQAwTwwR4AUQ4yzggYQnoMDsFc53xbmxQ4IilTCo1wtHjhQ9uBZ7G0mvbMbOCfurCHi8fYYYKPor3RrtQzQuhYwD/w418-h320/IMG_20230318_192522_624.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve...the joy of the Lord is your strength."</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What does this mean?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Read the book of Nehemiah, not a long book, if you want to understand the historical context of this statement. What can it mean for us in 2023?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We were created for joy and happiness. The joy and happiness experienced in our creation was based on our close, uninterrupted connection to God. We cut that connection in the early days of humanity (see Genesis, the book of beginnings) and God restored to us the option of that connection through Jesus Christ. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As Christ followers, we can now honestly say "the joy of the Lord is my strength." What does this joy look like in our life experiences?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have the security of knowing in this life we walk a road prepared for us and will have a safe, final arrival in God's kingdom in a place made specifically for us. See John 14:2.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have the certainty of knowing we don't exist through a random process of chance, but were created by God and placed in our time, place, and circumstances to complete tasks granted (gifted) to us by God. See Jeremiah 1:5. We don't all have the same mission, or Jeremiah's calling, but we have a meaningful purpose. Knowing that purpose and expressing it fully is another way we experience the joy of the Lord as our strength.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The joy of the Lord becomes our strength and continues as our strength when we remind ourselves we are never alone. If you are following Jesus Christ, he promises to never leave or forsake you. He says he is with us always. See Matthew 28:20.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The fact that Jesus Christ is not visibly present is irrelevant</i>. You are following him because he is leading you, even if you cannot see him with your eyes. If you are following him, it's because he has spoken to you, you have heard and understood his voice, and you have sensed and experienced his love. He has provided insight, warnings, guidance, and protection--all without being physically present.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is no greater joy than knowing the one who does so much for you will never leave (go away from) or forsake (completely abandon) you. This is where you find the joy of the Lord.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-33866497212228135132023-09-23T09:58:00.001-04:002023-09-23T09:58:25.055-04:00Black Femicide: It's Spiritual<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecOnsjx6cfgjXlSFgCOdyZXjuDw75xBSi-xFKs36_QvzivOGEj8gx5wu25LwleG4su-kSuo4G_IdC5cfM0jHsqVFNZnvaoKgU2JdYhBtEIhe04KXluE5Czqh8sfbPc7cqZTt2dny_IrTA-xPmVH6Xvz2xxQ-BoiY_KlEr_LFkuJgsjHvF9D96HL48IEaV/s3120/IMG_20230728_210538_722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecOnsjx6cfgjXlSFgCOdyZXjuDw75xBSi-xFKs36_QvzivOGEj8gx5wu25LwleG4su-kSuo4G_IdC5cfM0jHsqVFNZnvaoKgU2JdYhBtEIhe04KXluE5Czqh8sfbPc7cqZTt2dny_IrTA-xPmVH6Xvz2xxQ-BoiY_KlEr_LFkuJgsjHvF9D96HL48IEaV/w405-h320/IMG_20230728_210538_722.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are unfamiliar with the term "Black femicide", read the article referenced below to understand what it is and why it is a public health crisis:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://advancingkids.org/2023/03/14/black-femicide-a-silent-public-health-crisis/" target="_blank">Black Femicide: A Silent Public Health Crisis</a> -- from advancingkids.org</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Femicide is defined as an intentional killing with a gender related motivation.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Why is this a crisis in the Black community?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 2022, <i>The Guardian (UK)</i> reported <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/01/black-women-girls-march-dc/" target="_blank">the rate of death by homicide for Black women</a> increased by 33% in 2020 over the previous year..</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 2020, an average of five Black women <i>per day</i> were murdered in the United States.(FBI statistics)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Recent reports do not show a reversal of this trend. Read this <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/01/black-women-girls-march-dc/" target="_blank">Washington Post </a>article about the lack of traction this issue has received.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most of these murders were connected to domestic, family related violence. Victims included spouses, partners, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, co-parents, ex-wives, former girlfriends, women who rejected unwanted suitors. The vast majority of these murders were committed by persons known to the victim.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The majority of these murders were not committed by persons outside of the victim's community.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The church has remained largely silent on this issue. When was the last time you heard a pastor, Sunday school teacher, elder, or other church leader describe or discuss this issue? When was the last time you heard a church leader say domestic violence is never ok? Does this silence explain why the church has lost credibility in many parts of the culture?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ultimately, Black femicide is a spiritual issue because domestic violence is always wrong and counter to God's guidelines for life and relationships. Assaulting or murdering someone is not a path to "enforcing" or "teaching" what some refer to as "submission." Physical abuse (which often leads to murder) is not the pattern of love Jesus Christ demonstrates for us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>Femicide is a spiritual issue because no culture has a future apart from its women and children</b></i>.<i><u><b> Women are the source of the future and children are the face of the future</b></u></i>. Any other thinking leads to cultural suicide, and eventually, cultural genocide.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus Christ warns us (see John 10:10) "The thief comes <u><i>only</i></u> to kill and steal and destroy." Note this progression: first the killing, then the irreversible loss related to the death (the theft of a future), and finally destruction. Jesus is describing a spiritual attack, an attack that begins with hatred and killing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When women and children (anyone under the age of 18 in the U.S.) are not safe, honored, and protected the beginning of the end has arrived. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Have you considered what the violence means? Have you decided it matters to you?</span></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-88855493054959118952023-09-16T12:09:00.000-04:002023-09-16T12:09:20.512-04:00"What punishments of God are not gifts?" -- J.R.R. Tolkien<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KFKrz3KktSpa0Bs2d8Yl0s1rdvJWmXPrtguNjtpLsJ97YCZ_oFOQ5w3NaXu9J712_a-W0yKZbCHdMQ-TVGiB-bfPFH94qufmgKvM4Vvvmf4-ske-0mbh-DdvaUJJf2wU8AOquLnWy2UZ2PPNNuYQYhDnC3lBjhwHltzQ0YjVFrqe3GAhgmaIuLXc2afU/s3353/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3353" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8KFKrz3KktSpa0Bs2d8Yl0s1rdvJWmXPrtguNjtpLsJ97YCZ_oFOQ5w3NaXu9J712_a-W0yKZbCHdMQ-TVGiB-bfPFH94qufmgKvM4Vvvmf4-ske-0mbh-DdvaUJJf2wU8AOquLnWy2UZ2PPNNuYQYhDnC3lBjhwHltzQ0YjVFrqe3GAhgmaIuLXc2afU/w420-h320/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This quote, "what punishments of God are not gifts?" from author J.R.R. Tolkien, gives us insight into how to understand God's connection with us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The nature of God's relationship is a progressive interaction. </span><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">Even punishments that bring us closer to God's heart and closer to the image (character, submission, and obedience) of Christ are gifts of God. See Romans 8:29, I Corinthians 15:49.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">When we are punished by humans (parents, teachers, etc.), that punishment cannot be separated from the frustrations, irritations, unchecked anger, and shortcomings of those parents, teachers, or others.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">None of those appear in any punishment (corrective or directive action) taken by God because none of those shortcomings or emotional imbalances are part of God's character. They cannot be displayed or imposed by God.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">When we understand God's entire purpose in redemption and salvation is to make us like Jesus, to conform us to Jesus' image (personality and character---not supernatural power), we will understand why God corrects us in ways that sometimes feel like punishments. God's purpose is to remake us into creatures who can enjoy and celebrate our relationship with him. When God sees us going the wrong way, choosing the wrong priorities, and adopting wrong habits, God will use everything at his disposal---<i> which means anything and</i> <i>everything</i>---to turn us back to the right path. That's what love does. Despite emotions and appearances, love only seeks elevation and redirection, not painful, purposeless torture.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">If you are a Christ follower and are in a time of correction, seek the lesson, learn the lesson, relax into God's goodness, and move forward.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #040c28;"><span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: arial;">Walk through it all in faith, knowing you have not been abandoned or rejected. You have been given a gift, a gift that's only given to those who are loved. Learn the lesson and allow yourself to become more completely conformed to the image of Christ.</span></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="background-color: rgba(80, 151, 255, 0.18); color: #040c28; font-family: arial;">. </span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-21682337192511716052023-09-09T09:54:00.000-04:002023-09-09T09:54:16.447-04:00Regret or Repentance: Your Choice<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MmBpBB1dNy-qJhXTKvxCIxOG1r9okVYK_kGHDh8MWminidnUh4XBcuSTna_Ahcn9IP8f-CC7FN-fw8Ruol1BZaOqbUtkHKouf0GpCcDrYpK5xNKTTz9gQ_sm0GtOge064U__ePF0hjc6Qs5Iy5XyQGmQY6dobEwMlVqXvIGmzclxV6NSpqxCon7u04_e/s4160/IMG20230507134424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MmBpBB1dNy-qJhXTKvxCIxOG1r9okVYK_kGHDh8MWminidnUh4XBcuSTna_Ahcn9IP8f-CC7FN-fw8Ruol1BZaOqbUtkHKouf0GpCcDrYpK5xNKTTz9gQ_sm0GtOge064U__ePF0hjc6Qs5Iy5XyQGmQY6dobEwMlVqXvIGmzclxV6NSpqxCon7u04_e/w469-h320/IMG20230507134424.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes, the past must be put aside before you can look upward and look forward. The past cannot be erased. The past is part of your history and your identity. Just as the histories of nations and organizations cannot be erased, your personal history cannot be erased. Our histories and past decisions have created our current life experiences. If we don't like where we are, we can choose regret or repentance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That decision is yours to make. That decision determines if your past becomes a curse or a blessed lesson.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Regret is a useless pursuit, one that blocks you from seeing present or future options and opportunities. Regret is a backward looking action, one that doesn't give you room to learn from mistakes or help and guide others on a forward path.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Repentance, on the other hand, allows you to see what is true, what actually happened, find or give or accept forgiveness, and examine why things are the way they are. Repentance is the acceptance of mistakes made, priorities misplaced, and wrong actions taken. With the choice of repentance, you are can realistically choose and act in a new and better way.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout the Bible, God calls individuals and nations to repent (change their minds and walk with God) in order to follow a new and better way. The Bible also tells us the histories of people and nations refusing repentance and rushing down the paths of injustice, unholiness, greed, and self-imposed and self-celebrated ignorance.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's a choice anyone can make. It can be made at any time or in any place. Regret or repentance. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What's your choice?</span></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-27918458080946367382023-09-02T11:30:00.001-04:002023-09-02T11:33:03.245-04:00Summer Break Encore: Higher Ground; Heaven's Tableland<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScLDzARx0gnVaMkxws8v1tZKTbeFamRgNYPY7Dij3J7oUOlhkPiVqkOAMDa1ldt11ZFf7B9CfqzXPC2rZK9Rc84mIixIaadIS_TXb9sQstCB9f61v4WByO2HSGnlk2Z-sLyjljZCXO3ILkuEKgsaGZ95w5_90sDHQWZcU9-J1X4SL2Wkl0BrAQb_VsUsr/s3264/Tableland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScLDzARx0gnVaMkxws8v1tZKTbeFamRgNYPY7Dij3J7oUOlhkPiVqkOAMDa1ldt11ZFf7B9CfqzXPC2rZK9Rc84mIixIaadIS_TXb9sQstCB9f61v4WByO2HSGnlk2Z-sLyjljZCXO3ILkuEKgsaGZ95w5_90sDHQWZcU9-J1X4SL2Wkl0BrAQb_VsUsr/s320/Tableland.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Image from wikipedia.com article on "Tableland"</i></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the final <i>Summer Break Encore</i> post of 2023. The lyrics to the hymn "Higher Ground" were composed by Johnson Oatman, Jr. You can read all verses of this hymn at<a href="https://hymnary.org/text/im_pressing_on_the_upward_way" target="_blank"> https://hymnary.org/text/im_pressing_on_the_upward_way</a> There are no connections to the well known Stevie Wonder song of the same name. --d.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p>********************************************</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A hymn I grew up with--one I seldom hear anymore--was titled "Higher Ground."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the chorus of the hymn, we sang these words:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on heaven's tableland,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A higher plane than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is a tableland? A tableland is a plateau, a mesa, or an elevated flat ground. Often sheep would graze on tableland.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is heaven's tableland? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many commentators have said it is the afterlife, when we all live in the heavenly kingdom of God's goodness. Not so fast. Heaven's tableland is not for the future; it is for now. It is for us to live on now.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We won't need faith in heaven. It is only in this world that we need faith. Note carefully what the hymn writer wrote:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Lord, lift me up and let me stand, <b><i>by faith</i></b>, on heaven's tableland."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In this world, we need faith. We need heaven's tableland. What is this tableland, and how do we get there? How do we stay there?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We can't get there on our own. We need God to lift us to the place and purpose He has for us. That lifting event is called salvation. We're reborn and made ready to live a life worth living when we accept God's direction for our lives and His assessment of who we are. His judgments are always correct.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">His purpose and place are always higher and better than what we could or would choose for ourselves. Our knowledge is limited, we are influenced by those around us, and we are sometimes disoriented and confused when things happen that are beyond our comprehension. Only God can lift us above all of the limitations, the influences that don't help us, and the confusion that disrupts us.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where will He lift us? He will lift us to heaven's tableland. Heaven's tableland is special, because not only are we living on an elevated plane, but also because we are living in a place uniquely prepared for us, created to answer our needs and develop and expand our gifts to serve God and to serve others. Heaven's tableland is a place where we will find joy in being just who are are--dearly loved and carefully crafted creatures of a good God who wants to communicate with us and connect with us in meaningful ways--now and forever. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Heaven's tableland is not a physical place. It is an emotional-mental-spiritual place. You may never leave the town or city where you were born. Or, you may travel the world while you are young. You may acquire every thing you have wanted, or you may never own a bigger house or move to the city or move to the country. You can still live on heaven's tableland.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The traditional shepherd would walk through the tableland before he brought the sheep to that location. He would clear the noxious weeds and dig ponds for drinking. He made sure the soil would support grasses and clover the sheep could eat. He made the space ready for the sheep to enjoy and to be fed from before he would allow them to graze in that area.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> That is heaven's tableland.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Allow God to clear away all of the things and people keeping you from living a real life. Be willing to live in the place God has prepared for you--here and now. God has already gone ahead of you, and has prepared a life and a place for you. If you allow God to lift you to that place--a place you could never find on your own--you will find everything you need for joy and for purpose. If you allow God to "plant" you there--secure you, protect you, and direct you--the goodness doesn't have to end.</span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />From the hymn, Higher Ground (words by Johnson Oatman, Jr., music by Charles H. Gabriel)<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Though some may dwell where these abound, my prayer, my aim, is higher ground.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I want to scale the utmost height, and catch a gleam of glory bright.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But still I'll pray 'till heaven I've found, Lord lead me on to higher ground."</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-87599534697531626162023-08-19T10:27:00.001-04:002023-08-19T10:27:25.254-04:00Summer Break Encore: "Blessed and Highly Favored"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HcB13rb-hm18IfTk42xZ2j7LFgJP0LCe1-UGWCE3pqKPidbNvBBebsdchbJTnC5ac8OB9wSA-kam4or3GnxFrLHlKdzzzyvmvJstBwP0F_fGt2ylZ9sAXesuvulk4TzhrG0EOdgW9RzJ1JJrgyC5TZMNND10nUT8ChB7MrMQx3kf34F-UOuQ7ktiZgk9/s3138/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3138" data-original-width="2995" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3HcB13rb-hm18IfTk42xZ2j7LFgJP0LCe1-UGWCE3pqKPidbNvBBebsdchbJTnC5ac8OB9wSA-kam4or3GnxFrLHlKdzzzyvmvJstBwP0F_fGt2ylZ9sAXesuvulk4TzhrG0EOdgW9RzJ1JJrgyC5TZMNND10nUT8ChB7MrMQx3kf34F-UOuQ7ktiZgk9/w448-h320/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>While I take a short summer break from the blog, I'm re-posting some of the most popular (based on views) posts. I hope you'll enjoy this one. I'll be back in early September. --DE</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Originally published in November of 2012.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>*******</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I used to speak regularly with someone who often declared herself to be "blessed and highly favored." When I telephoned her and would ask "how are you doing"? or "how is it going with you"?, the instant answer was always "I am blessed and highly favored!" Her answer came too quickly, almost as if no thought went into the response.<br /><br />I understand what many people teach about speaking only those words that reflect the reality you wish to experience. I think I have a least a little bit of understanding regarding why this type of thinking is so popular. I am not sure it's a good idea, or even biblical, but it is popular.<br /><br />I suppose we all like to think we are blessed of the Lord, but what does it mean to be highly favored?<br /><br />I reflect upon two persons from Scripture (Mary, Jesus' mother and the Apostle Paul) I would consider to be "blessed and highly favored" of the Lord, but their lives were challenging, often difficult, no doubt spiritually powerful, and filled with joyful heights and incredible lows. These are not lives I would choose for myself. Would you?<br /><br />Many people (including myself) consider Mary, the mother of Jesus, to be a woman blessed and highly favored. In her beautiful song in the first chapter of the Book of Luke, Mary states that all generations will call her blessed:<br /><br />( starting at verse 46) And Mary said:<br /><br /><br />“My soul glorifies the Lord<br />47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,<br />48 for he has been mindful<br />of the humble state of his servant.<br />From now on all generations will call me blessed,<br />49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—<br />holy is his name.<br />50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,<br />from generation to generation.<br />51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;<br />he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.<br />52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones<br />but has lifted up the humble.<br />53 He has filled the hungry with good things<br />but has sent the rich away empty.<br />54 He has helped his servant Israel,<br />remembering to be merciful<br />55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,<br />just as he promised our ancestors.”<br /><br />This song is a beautiful affirmation of God's goodness and love, despite the circumstances of daily life and the pressures of history.<br /><br />All generations of many Christian traditions have called Mary blessed. Some have elevated her to near-Godhood (not a good thing), but she remains a key figure in Scripture. You cannot understand salvation or the Incarnation without respecting Mary's role in God's work in the Earth.<br /><br />Still, let's look at the facts of Mary's life: a single mother, who risked losing her engagement to an honest, honorable man because she accepted God's will in her life; the parent of a difficult---note the youthful Jesus' decision to remain in Jerusalem when his Earthly parents returned to their home -- and "different" child; watching this adult child experience extreme success and extreme political failure and then suffer an excruciating, execution style death; being handed over (by that son) to the care of one of His friends (John, the beloved apostle); worshiping with her son's disciples (see <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%201&version=NIV" target="_blank">Acts Chapter 1</a>) after His ascension, knowing she would never see Him again on earth; in a sense losing Him a second time.<br /><br />Yes, it was a great life. But it was a roller coaster ride I doubt many of us would sign up for.<br /><br />To be "blessed and highly favored" suggests the willingness and openness to live whatever life God choses to offer us. This does not always mean success, popularity, prosperity, or wellness. It can and often does mean those things, but it could as easily mean the opposite. I have no doubt that some of the most highly "blessed and favored" people live in obscurity, and struggle with deep spiritual challenges. Their lives are powerful witnesses of God's glory and power in the "ugly places" of life.<br /><br />Yes, I would like to consider myself as blessed of the Lord. But in the end, I think that's someone else's call, and not mine. I will be content to hear these words at the end: <span class="text Matt-25-34" id="en-NIV-24043"><sup class="versenum"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></sup>“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom<sup class="crossreference" value="(<a href="#cen-NIV-24043A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup> prepared for you since the creation of the world." --<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2025:31-46&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew25:34</a>.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-62932679378355210422023-08-12T11:34:00.000-04:002023-08-12T11:34:18.622-04:00Do You Feel Your Prayers For Someone Aren't "Working"? Consider This.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbNyBhlfNEF28pwMBNiC0VNRPqb1erP7YsfC7zKMUJGiTn5iPj3NzZzfBny2Oe0QVfp2T83uVSFDfRRE-SsbzUQggTx6iTHSZQ1ttNjLas4kiEyLpo63y5I8ryjqPIAKu3K5TACX5KKAOewqDLlJn1RUK60f8fjtq_g-IYsWkKMWWXGGwGHzp3tfZjfN5/s3353/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3353" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbNyBhlfNEF28pwMBNiC0VNRPqb1erP7YsfC7zKMUJGiTn5iPj3NzZzfBny2Oe0QVfp2T83uVSFDfRRE-SsbzUQggTx6iTHSZQ1ttNjLas4kiEyLpo63y5I8ryjqPIAKu3K5TACX5KKAOewqDLlJn1RUK60f8fjtq_g-IYsWkKMWWXGGwGHzp3tfZjfN5/s320/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(c) Deborah Evans</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you feel your prayers for someone are not effective because you're not seeing the results you want, consider this: <i>the deepest purpose of prayer is to align your will to the will of God. Prayer cannot be used to align someone else's will to your will.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Prayer cannot be used as a tool to control, direct, manipulate, or redirect another person's life or personality. <i>If you see a clear need for change in someone's life, pray they will be open to following God. Trust God for the timing of this change. This is different from praying that person will be open to doing what you want them to do when you want them to do it..</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Praying "harder" and more often will not move God to do something out of God's plan, will, or timing. <i>Prayer is a privilege, not a hammer.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">God is perfectly capable of speaking clearly to everyone, including those who don't currently know or follow him. <i>Pray in peace, act as directed by God, and trust God for the outcome.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-887404726765529622023-08-05T10:18:00.001-04:002023-08-05T10:18:27.111-04:00The Rules of Lying<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bFt0JCYSTlvod0IG5F3XoaDKL0Skq-96Y1OY7nS2lbWQctuWvcyOEpCVYsT23nu2zdKwR4tF9SRu-ESS6wZOeBIwCD3qPdq_XAaHY68L98RXWEfPKJSbhYkVrjA9NSqMLhwPwi6QGyykm4lXkJlJY6Ifvf8Ncxi8oN4dYkIahJoj4n0s2mbdcGlhBrrp/s2811/IMG_20230729_093302_588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2811" data-original-width="2811" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_bFt0JCYSTlvod0IG5F3XoaDKL0Skq-96Y1OY7nS2lbWQctuWvcyOEpCVYsT23nu2zdKwR4tF9SRu-ESS6wZOeBIwCD3qPdq_XAaHY68L98RXWEfPKJSbhYkVrjA9NSqMLhwPwi6QGyykm4lXkJlJY6Ifvf8Ncxi8oN4dYkIahJoj4n0s2mbdcGlhBrrp/s320/IMG_20230729_093302_588.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">According to a 2022 CBS News report, the average person tells <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/average-american-tells-4-lies-per-day-survey-says/" target="_blank">four lies each day</a>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This survey report suggests lying has become a natural and habitual way of life for many people. Rather than simply condemning this habit -- a habit most people acknowledge as "wrong", or "less than best"--I thought it would be more useful to list the rules of lying.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rule 1: Deny actions and experiences that <i>may require</i> <i>the telling of a lie at a later point in time.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rule 2: Remind yourself of Rule 1 each day.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rule 3: Remember the average person tells four lies each day and take this into account during your conversations and contacts. It is likely you are being lied to regularly.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rule 4: Self-examine on why lies often appear an easier "out" than telling the truth.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rule 5: Self-examine on what type of relationship you have with a person you regularly lies to or tell lies about.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Habits are hard to break, but the breaking begins when you refuse to lie to yourself. Ask yourself: 1. Why am I choosing actions that require lies as a follow up? 2. Why am I interacting with people who accept lies as a part of the relationship? 3. What part of myself am I dishonoring, denying, and diminishing by lying?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Begin with truth-telling. You can build on that.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-53533099561633807482023-07-29T10:33:00.001-04:002023-07-29T10:34:37.406-04:00Hagar, at the end of herself, obeyed God<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvQFNlJRku-FBAIJ9DUDL2ixoQZ_0VGEPuntWPE24X9DyWy5PHTUFM_STw6KnSomTDUIfXxSFfk9A4haUeYzURQ8MtqgMgfD1IhT4cf4DoVnJBvz5MfjnX6vgZKBnghEqhTRbJswmUhy4Df3NaBIlQZlBMOOjQ8_0PZ7sSeJcvDRRsjb3Su_waG8gxP8z/s4160/IMG20230728210210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvQFNlJRku-FBAIJ9DUDL2ixoQZ_0VGEPuntWPE24X9DyWy5PHTUFM_STw6KnSomTDUIfXxSFfk9A4haUeYzURQ8MtqgMgfD1IhT4cf4DoVnJBvz5MfjnX6vgZKBnghEqhTRbJswmUhy4Df3NaBIlQZlBMOOjQ8_0PZ7sSeJcvDRRsjb3Su_waG8gxP8z/s320/IMG20230728210210.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(c) Deborah Evans</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>If you haven't reviewed it, read the July 22 post for the first part of this story.</i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are two summary lessons from Hagar's story. Let's take a look at them. As you read, consider how these lessons may apply to you.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lesson 1:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Although none of the "power players" in Hagar's environment cared about her, God cared and God acted. </i>This caring and this acting made all of the difference. If you read the previous post, you know the power players in Hagar's life were Abraham and Sarah, her owners. Both Abraham and Sarah used Hagar without concern for her well-being or safety. When Sarah felt Hagar was no longer useful, Sarah ordered her husband to throw Hagar and Hagar's son out of the house. Sarah's husband obeyed. In fact, God directed Abraham to obey his wife Sarah regarding throwing Hagar out of the house.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If God cared about Hagar, why did he allow Hagar and Ishmael (her son) to be put out of the house and into the wilderness? God wanted Hagar and Ishmael to be removed from the place of abuse and enslavement. God had a higher and better plan for these two. That plan could not be accomplished in a place of abuse, enslavement, and dependence. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lesson 2:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Away from the enslavers and the abusers, Hagar was free to receive God's provision and act upon God's guidance. </i>Because God cared for Hagar, God wanted Hagar placed and positioned to hear from God and to obey God. This placement and position began in desperation, but it ended in delight. When Hagar was too desperate to think clearly, plan, or even want to live, God called to Hagar and showed her the way forward. When she heard from God, Hagar obeyed God. Her obedience assured her safety, her son's safety, and their futures. Hagar and Ishmael never turned back to the place of enslavement and dependence. God had promised to make a "nation" out of Ismael's descendants (Genesis 21:12 and 13). God kept this promise.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">How will these lessons from Hagar's story help you?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-48171963962411821492023-07-22T13:12:00.000-04:002023-07-22T13:12:25.110-04:00Hagar, at the end of herself, saw God<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKYidKimAAZ6B4GjMJhuqXfjLWBQA24Iye-Dnu1-vrz_6pFU9Vg8EktHxSLeSVyruuTZaYlXeUCJtcZuiICReigjuv845A8J2d9zdF0ma8OyNujxsuvzvpyFMfyqpCg6DKjc4ojR-UGdurjmACbpbCmqSxIHf-QDB2iZRua4kmAcDNGadsRFw6dk8FE_d/s3072/IMG_20230504_211132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2728" data-original-width="3072" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKYidKimAAZ6B4GjMJhuqXfjLWBQA24Iye-Dnu1-vrz_6pFU9Vg8EktHxSLeSVyruuTZaYlXeUCJtcZuiICReigjuv845A8J2d9zdF0ma8OyNujxsuvzvpyFMfyqpCg6DKjc4ojR-UGdurjmACbpbCmqSxIHf-QDB2iZRua4kmAcDNGadsRFw6dk8FE_d/s320/IMG_20230504_211132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hagar's story (beginning in Genesis 16 and ending in Genesis 21) is a story about injustice to and enslavement of women in the ancient world. Hagar's story also tells us how God loves those considered disposable and unimportant. Hagar's story is complex..</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Read Genesis 16 through 21.</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As you read the story, you will learn how Sarah, Hagar's owner and mistress, manipulated and misused Hagar. Early in the story, Hagar runs away and God tells Hagar to go back. Was God endorsing slavery? In this case, God had a plan, a timed plan, that delayed (but not denied) Hagar's departure. Sarah urges her husband Abraham to have intercourse with Hagar. Sarah is hoping to "take and own" any male child resulting from this interaction. Abraham follows Sarah's urging and a child, Ishmael, is born by Hagar. Eventually, in light of God's promise, Sarah and Abraham have a son of their own named Isaac.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As time passes, Sarah is offended by the actions and mannerisms of Hagar and Ishmael. Sarah urges Abraham to throw Hagar and Ishmael out of the house and send them away. There is no social safety net in the ancient world. The Bible tells us Abrah</span><span style="font-family: arial;">am was "disturbed" about this because Ishmael was his son and what Sarah was urging might lead to the death or re-enslavement of Hagar and Ishmael. There is no mention of anyone's concern for Hagar's well-being.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">God tells Abraham to do as Sarah wishes, and Abraham does. God loves all people equally and God has a plan for Hagar and Ishmael that doesn't involve slavery and abuse. Even when the two are sent away with only minimal supplies and no back up support or aid, God hasn't forgotten them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, after running out of water in the desert, Hagar is so distraught she puts her young son under some bushes and observes him from a distance. She can't tolerate watching Ishmael die. It looks like the end of everything. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is how Hagar's story ends in Genesis:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Genesis 21:17-21:</i> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>"God heard the boy crying, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.' Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. When he was living in the Desert of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from Egypt."</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>When she was at the end of herself and at the end of all she had, God called to Hagar.</b></i> God spoke to Hagar. God gave Hagar instructions, and Hagar followed God's instructions. Even more, Ishmael had God's promise of greatness. Ishmael returned to his mother's people. Both of them were made truly free by God, and were removed from their second class status. God's timing set the stage for their success. Hagar's obedience (listening to God, rejecting fear, following God's directions) made the path forward possible.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the words of the angel, we learn a technique for success: 1. Identify and state what bothers you, 2. Reject fear, and 3. Obey God.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>When she was at the end of herself, Hagar saw God.</i></b></span></div> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-74499114895685770932023-07-16T16:27:00.000-04:002023-07-16T16:27:25.234-04:00Summer Reading: The Great Divorce, by C.S.Lewis<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUE3PDER9ZNCeobdSyDoYr-3MLHqhjR_LGh2ZgPPtlNbj1fjeTNcSydONnO2V-GO8JGIylSz2JgI0CbIKY40aaje9SFJ9eksZ0Z_RNX-1bSg2g1sfrP46bTb17REF2ZgNJn_ZBUSNK2xQBPfrsieyNME8XfmWaSvLNhftm8BNHR23MyihGRCSTTHfpWuI/s4160/IMG20230716112844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUE3PDER9ZNCeobdSyDoYr-3MLHqhjR_LGh2ZgPPtlNbj1fjeTNcSydONnO2V-GO8JGIylSz2JgI0CbIKY40aaje9SFJ9eksZ0Z_RNX-1bSg2g1sfrP46bTb17REF2ZgNJn_ZBUSNK2xQBPfrsieyNME8XfmWaSvLNhftm8BNHR23MyihGRCSTTHfpWuI/s320/IMG20230716112844.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Great Divorce</i>, by C.S. Lewis. Harper One, 2000. 146 pages. (Originally published in 1946.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>From the preface</u>: "Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit, 'with backward mutters of disserving power'--or else not. If we insist on keeping Hell, (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This book is not about the legal process of ending a marriage contract, Nor is it theology. Instead, Lewis' fable is about an imaginary trip from between Hell and Heaven. The book features imaginary characters who engage in a pursuit and a discussion of the deepest, most important realities: how do my choices bring me close to God, or away from God? What is the nature of Heaven? What is the nature of Hell? Lewis, an Episcopalian, draws a deeper meaning of these places than will be found in popular fiction or media. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hell is a place marked by unlimited suffering, incredible selfishness, and a lack of escape. It is a place filled with failure of every type. Heaven, in contrast, is a unified community of God empowered beings who live joyfully without limitation or distraction. These souls live exclusively to express God's love, holiness, and perfection.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The core of the story, presented in first person by an unnamed narrator, revolves around who may find a permanent and eternal in the hellish or heavenly spaces, and <i>why</i>. One's final destiny is a personal choice, based on the large and small decisions about who and what matter most. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If read with an open mind, this small book (less than 200 pages in short chapters) will challenge your insight and understanding of what it means to love God, to follow God, and to accept and celebrate God's judgments and priorities. Note Jesus' teaching on accepting God's priorities when he says, in Matthew 10:37- 40, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life <i>for my sake</i> will find it."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Simple words. Deep thoughts. Ideas and perspectives you will want to explore. <i>The Great Divorce </i>is a good and necessary read at any time of the year, including this summer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><u>From chapter 11</u>: "There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him. And the higher and mightier it is in the natural order, the more demoniac it will be if it rebels. It's not out of bad mice or bed fleas you make demons, but out of bad archangels."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-61801263706229644512023-07-08T09:59:00.001-04:002023-07-08T10:01:51.493-04:00Lessons from Daniel: Living in Babylon<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTElC3Wq3YYpaaZb-V61Pn2CUV7Bh2ZFYvkgJGNINL-1ZIl0GIdvA95uK-ojWKgLMaCAeynOW3vPV2KEMwiS0yMnhTUI-6nWvnEpA0ZiPisPJ5N8w4Wo7NeLfsUWPdXh8fNaotgc2vWlIKZ5KeGBQVZTLyoQEexgzrkzRHqXKQtFW4D8uePjbcnzahVEP/s1920/AncientBabylonLionsLiveScience.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTElC3Wq3YYpaaZb-V61Pn2CUV7Bh2ZFYvkgJGNINL-1ZIl0GIdvA95uK-ojWKgLMaCAeynOW3vPV2KEMwiS0yMnhTUI-6nWvnEpA0ZiPisPJ5N8w4Wo7NeLfsUWPdXh8fNaotgc2vWlIKZ5KeGBQVZTLyoQEexgzrkzRHqXKQtFW4D8uePjbcnzahVEP/s320/AncientBabylonLionsLiveScience.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image from <a href="https://www.livescience.com/ancient-babylon-mesopotamia-civilization" target="_blank">livescience.com</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are not familiar with Daniel, read the first three chapters of the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the first three books of Daniel, we learn (from an ancient historical account) how to function as Christ followers in a modern world--a world that does not see or acknowledge Jesus Christ as lord and king. We also see how Daniel's commitment to authentic discipleship built a foundation that kept him stable and secure when facing unjust persecution, mistreatment, and possible execution.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lesson 1: If you live in Babylon (the place of godlessness, the place that worships and elevates power, privilege, and the love of money), <i>acknowledge the truth of where you are. </i></b></span><span style="font-family: arial;">If you can leave, go. If you must stay, brace yourself. What does bracing yourself look like? Live where you must, but do not become what you see or what surrounds you. How did Daniel accomplish this? </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Daniel did not forget where he was. He did not call good "evil". He did not call evil "good." He did not consume the food and drink (the substance and entertainment) of Babylon. He did not adopt the thinking, perspective, or cultural norms of Babylon. Daniel did not lose his spiritual identity while living in a foreign land. Daniel remembered Babylon was not his true home. Daniel remembered he had no true or permanent connection to Babylon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lesson 2: Crisis and conflict are inescapable in Babylon</b>. When the king of Babylon threatened to kill all of his seers and diviners, those seers and diviners dragged Daniel into the crisis, attempting to use him as a diversion to save their lives. In response, Daniel turned to the "God of Heaven" for insight and direction. While living in Babylon, Daniel did not believe God had abandoned him. Daniel understood the gods of another world could not save him.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Lesson 3: In Babylon's centers of power, envy and hatred are real, are dangerous, and are where you may least expect</b>. If you want to be kept and preserved by God, you must do things God's way. When Daniel was unjustly condemned to execution, he always had the choice of denying God and making a temporary escape. The king told Daniel to bow down to a golden image, or face death in the pit of lions. Because of his experience and personal history with God, Daniel chose to face execution rather than step away from God. <i>Daniel trusted God's character more than he feared the power of the haters.</i> Read chapter three of Daniel, sometimes referred to as the story of "Daniel in the Lion's Den." This den is more accurately described as a pit. Ancient Near Eastern rulers kept lions because hunting lions was considered a "sport of kings." Consider the modern high-priced "trophy hunting" excursions that were popular not very long ago.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, it was a miracle Daniel wasn't eaten by the (very likely) somewhat hungry lions. The even greater miracle was Daniel's integrity: maintained through displacement, loss of his homeland and loss of his true name. Preserved by God through crisis, conflict, through the envy of others, through a failed execution, and much more, Daniel's life leaves us some very real and practical lessons.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which lessons from Daniel's life will you learn and apply?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is your personal history with God?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-24172182243531964702023-07-01T10:42:00.000-04:002023-07-01T10:42:18.252-04:00Summer Reading -- Transforming Scriptures: African American Women Writers and the BIble, by Katherine Clay Bassard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkp91eEc6Axp78mATdzJ8-XffNVN2KfgBRIyOc1f7tYcQeyGypRFF7pQJCva4XdK6BZNjRx7SISMCR99jHMl3GIX9dN4x9vIxzh-ptm6H3h5Wflnoq_abm0y_4mQplhYR98RH3D3kv6Ga9QlW9x4c0q-H4iRiLKqZW4S55DMAw0mCM2tXKXiirJ7lzi3l4/s4160/IMG20230626141713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkp91eEc6Axp78mATdzJ8-XffNVN2KfgBRIyOc1f7tYcQeyGypRFF7pQJCva4XdK6BZNjRx7SISMCR99jHMl3GIX9dN4x9vIxzh-ptm6H3h5Wflnoq_abm0y_4mQplhYR98RH3D3kv6Ga9QlW9x4c0q-H4iRiLKqZW4S55DMAw0mCM2tXKXiirJ7lzi3l4/s320/IMG20230626141713.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">If you want to understand how the power of scripture and belief in the God of scripture can transform, empower, and elevate the believer, you must read <i>Transforming Scriptures: African American Women Writers and the Bible </i>by Katherine Clay Bassard (University of Georgia Press, 2010). </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If unknown to you, allow Clay Bassard's book to introduce you to the work of Maria W. Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Harriet Jacobs, Hannah Crafts, Harriet E. Wilson (19th century African American women writers/public speakers) and to the work of more recent and perhaps familiar names Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Shirley Anne Williams. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">What you will find, particularly in some of the 19th century authors, is a tradition of extreme discipleship. Stewart and Harper, in particular, demonstrate in their lives and writings the power of God working in women who trusted God's purpose for them more than they listened to a hostile world's assessment of them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">In this book, you will find insight into how African American Christians embraced God and the Bible while rejecting the racist and worldly church traditions focused on assigning people of color to permanently inferior statuses--in this world, and in eternity. God's love and care reach beyond the limitations any organizational structure can establish.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Were these believers bamboozled and brainwashed into a faith that made them complacent participants in an economic and cultural system that condemned them to servitude and struggle?</i> <i><b>No</b></i>. Why not? Because these women, and others like them, could see beyond "the world" to connect with and follow an unlimited God who loved them more than society hated or suppressed them. Read and learn what these women knew and how their faith transformed them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://archive.org/details/meditationsfromp00stew" target="_blank">Read the meditations of Maria W. Stewart at Internet Archive.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://archive.org/details/poem00harp" target="_blank">Read the poetry of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper at Internet Archive.</a></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-20679046503205387512023-06-17T09:50:00.000-04:002023-06-17T09:50:21.478-04:00Listening to God<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95R9gGrWpN6yPq5FuQREgmCHOBHRgpQ5bxjJB42mRpy165MqxWMHsRrZ9N30y2L2twbiRnSIky-35IhSSWC5YfNFCHZtBQ_ZqFD1HSXHAQwH0INubhvGu8kIGGi2iM43iIn4a3ddnLHT_ZSMrl8703Vf7Tr3pljBeaGiPE4kL7xSS2fFFeTwfovk8vA/s3353/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3353" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95R9gGrWpN6yPq5FuQREgmCHOBHRgpQ5bxjJB42mRpy165MqxWMHsRrZ9N30y2L2twbiRnSIky-35IhSSWC5YfNFCHZtBQ_ZqFD1HSXHAQwH0INubhvGu8kIGGi2iM43iIn4a3ddnLHT_ZSMrl8703Vf7Tr3pljBeaGiPE4kL7xSS2fFFeTwfovk8vA/s320/IMG_20230426_202214.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is listening to God as difficult or mysterious as some have suggested? Why is there so much mystery around listening to God? Books have been written about this. Seminars and conferences have been presented on this. Aren't Christians the "children of God"? Why so much mystery or difficulty? Is it because so many oppressive, murderous, and evil actions have occurred because someone said they heard the voice of God?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jesus clearly explained this in John's gospel (chapter 8, verses 39-47). In verse 47, Jesus said "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><b>Actions speak</b></i>. When someone says they have heard from God, but engage in abuse, assault, murder, or hold hateful thoughts toward any group, you can be certain that person did not hear from the God of the Bible. Jesus clearly taught to love your neighbor as yourself. "Who is my neighbor?" the questioners asked Jesus. In reply, Jesus told a story often referred to as the "Parable of the Good Samaritan." In this parable, Jesus clarifies his teaching by explaining the neighbor is one who crosses our path, the one you encounter in daily life, the one who shares this entire world with us. "Do unto others as you would have then to do unto you." When you have truly heard from God, this "do unto others" rule will be your guide and your purpose.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>Listen so you can follow. Follow so you can listen</i></b>. If you want to know what someone is thinking, you stay close to them. If you want to hear from someone, you make yourself available to them and you maintain open communication. Disciples and followers want to hear the voice of God in order to obey the will of God. There is no desire or drive to impress others by saying "God spoke to me" or "I received a vision" or "I have a word for you." God will clearly speak to anyone who wants to know and obey God's will and purpose. It has been said "to hear from God is to obey God."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>Examine your motivations</i></b> for wanting to "hear from God." If your true desire is to know the will of God in order to obey God, you will indeed hear clearly from God. It is not the character of God to deny, confuse, or mislead those who want to know what God has to say. If you have some other motivation, prepare to be deceived, lost, or confused. God knows your motivation, and honors only those who come to him with an honest and open heart, and a willingness to obey what they hear.</span></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-50538860682148363912023-06-10T08:26:00.003-04:002023-06-10T08:26:49.258-04:00The Power of God on Display in Your Life: A Meditation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ8jdlPzlSbENmSb22Ru4T1d8I2ZDFPcUTH98R9xWuR64w6NLF2mywxqnNIe81JXSFZidKf61WJyhuyZf-fZnCL-8tUqeMK9haAtYAx4ou4X2cAszcUq-SvjaWLBUOn1SWA4xdQ7Arfwe1w09M05zU9odzj4O9U9rvakAqPpjlVVvIkK6E9T546r2SA/s3072/IMG_20230311_102245_701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJ8jdlPzlSbENmSb22Ru4T1d8I2ZDFPcUTH98R9xWuR64w6NLF2mywxqnNIe81JXSFZidKf61WJyhuyZf-fZnCL-8tUqeMK9haAtYAx4ou4X2cAszcUq-SvjaWLBUOn1SWA4xdQ7Arfwe1w09M05zU9odzj4O9U9rvakAqPpjlVVvIkK6E9T546r2SA/s320/IMG_20230311_102245_701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many Christians speak of and pray for "the power of God" to be sent to them, and often a prayer is sent for the "power of God" to move in and through someone. What does this mean?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Scripture teaches us the power of God, often expressed as the power of the Holy Spirit, is sent to 1. give us the ability to consistently display the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and 2. reveal in new and unique ways the person and work of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We know the gifts of the Spirit are talents and abilities used to uplift and strengthen the church, show the character of God in human experience, and to show seekers what it means to be in communion with God.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Never expect to have the power of God made available to you in order to control, manipulate, or dominate a situation or person. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The power of God on display means your life and experiences will more and more closely mirror the character and purposes of God.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">God gives us gifts and power so we can worship, witness, and build a community that reflects God's will for humanity. Seeking power for any other reason will lead you into deception, failure, and frustration. As the apostle Paul reminds the church (Galatians 6:7-8), "God <i><u>cannot </u></i>be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Don't be deceived into thinking you can call the power of God into your life for any reason other than displaying the gifts of the Spirit to glorify God. Paul's words were directed to those who were in the church, not to nonbelievers. If you're seeking power and gifts, ask yourself why. Whose glory and promotion are you seeking?</span></div> <p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-13404351586792936172023-06-03T11:30:00.001-04:002023-06-03T11:30:48.602-04:00Why does Jesus say "Pray for those who despitefully use you?"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Jx2YoXSStsbIpQZZkN9BF86NcfRxJ790cD-OJ3gpaj7IBLJXloNI6TAkzF1t3AnLRaIAvXQ0Y5nLgEhWsZjdBXlFhd_wJ5xctxUKVPgRAca08YpacNsQSQRbobhyD6JnkdD4FvKZgiGI0aaq4G0ULPIoSlzMuBQGr-L-lJMFhvIdjfskXRcalp2m_Q/s3072/IMG_20230325_095739_098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="3072" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Jx2YoXSStsbIpQZZkN9BF86NcfRxJ790cD-OJ3gpaj7IBLJXloNI6TAkzF1t3AnLRaIAvXQ0Y5nLgEhWsZjdBXlFhd_wJ5xctxUKVPgRAca08YpacNsQSQRbobhyD6JnkdD4FvKZgiGI0aaq4G0ULPIoSlzMuBQGr-L-lJMFhvIdjfskXRcalp2m_Q/s320/IMG_20230325_095739_098.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">(c) Deborah Evans</span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;">In Matthew 5:44-48, Jesus tells his followers to "Pray for those who despitefully use you." Why would anyone does this? What possible benefit could come to the person who prays for someone who despitefully (with malice, cruelty, and harmful intent) used them?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When Jesus tells us to do something, there is a benefit in following his directions. Sometimes insight comes after obeying in faith.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Beyond this, consider what Jesus <i>did not say</i>. He did not say "try to win them over." Nor did he say "prove they're wrong and you're right"; nor did he say "get even", nor did he say "live in fear of them", nor did he say "endure constant mistreatment and abuse."</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">He tells disciples to pray for despiteful users because there are some benefits coming to us when we follow Jesus' instructions on this.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. You free yourself from the negative energy someone tried to leave at your doorstep, in your heart and mind, or in your life experience. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Your prayer demonstrates you trust God to control the elements of your life that are beyond your personal ability to control. In essence, you turn the user and the effects of what they've done over to God. Your prayer demonstrates you recognize God as sovereign and all-powerful. He is the one who will heal any injury.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. When you release something or someone, you are free to move into God's will for your life. Jesus came so that we can have the abundant life. You can never have the abundant life if you're constantly caught up in and reacting to offenses. Show common sense, plan ahead, and release the harm by praying as Jesus taught. No harmful, hateful person deserves space in your brain. When we obey Jesus, we're saying to him: "I trust you to make things work out as they should. Your will for me is only good, so I don't hesitate to obey you."</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Remember, you are saved to do the will and work of God. When you are harmed, commit that injury to God by doing as Jesus said we are to do. Learn from mistakes and don't repeat them. Pray for the one who used you, release the pain, and move toward getting back on track.</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-43020799584804904602023-05-26T15:05:00.000-04:002023-05-26T15:05:44.561-04:00Living With And Moving Beyond Parental Alienation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79MwlSop-qAcuYqYHN1-blbXX8nOF0vfxzxepWSj8AJgXjfYnd0MwXFpyZUupqCNjel-cOrZIiuqlGb6E-9I2DOLv5MXFUCStoD0RWemZGC2jObung1tAh3Z3mZqS86W3Pm9Cb2f5J05NLv4JkluYjwgD6IdHPDf4rNZjIaiWzQ1kCZo2k2TiWeA6Ng/s4160/IMG20220716103441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79MwlSop-qAcuYqYHN1-blbXX8nOF0vfxzxepWSj8AJgXjfYnd0MwXFpyZUupqCNjel-cOrZIiuqlGb6E-9I2DOLv5MXFUCStoD0RWemZGC2jObung1tAh3Z3mZqS86W3Pm9Cb2f5J05NLv4JkluYjwgD6IdHPDf4rNZjIaiWzQ1kCZo2k2TiWeA6Ng/w299-h320/IMG20220716103441.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">It is during the summer, during times of family gatherings or special events, and during holidays that many of us who live or have lived with parental alienation become aware of how difficult and life changing this experience can be. I am sharing this post for the third time because this continues to be one of the most read and commented posts on the blog. I hope you will find a clear vision of life beyond parental alienation. My prayer is that if parental alienation is part of your story, it will be only a chapter and not the defining theme of your life.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">**********************</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">This is an encore post. This post was originally published in 2013, but continues to be one of the most popular posts on the site. In this post, I am writing from my personal experiences and observations. I am not an attorney, counselor, court employee, social worker, or therapist. I am writing as a woman of faith who has witnessed this phenomenon.</span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">When this post was originally published, there was much less general knowledge and understanding of parental alienation. In fact, some doubted if parental alienation was possible, or if it was something the courts should attempt to address.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Fortunately, things have changed in recent years. You may be a targeted or non-custodial mom or non-custodial dad. You may have a family member or friend dealing with parental alienation. You may be an unknowing participant in parental alienation. You may be an adult child of a victim of parental alienation. Whatever your situation, I hope this perspective will be useful to you if you have found yourself entangled in the painful and life-changing experience that is parental alienation. Grace and peace to you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">******************************************</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Making my way through a parental alienation forum recently, I came across a very intelligent and well thought out discussion of when a targeted parent should end their legal battles in response to the alienating tactics of the “other parent.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I have some experience with parental alienation and thought about what the author of the post said. In a few words, her comments can be summed up this way: the “good guys” don’t always win.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It’s unnatural and deeply wounding for an ex, or someone else, to disrupt or destroy a once loving relationship between a parent and a child. If you have been the victim of this, your first thought may have been “it’s impossible, and what I think is happening isn’t really happening.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The recognition of reality leads to lengthy and sometimes expensive legal battles, emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion, and a cycle of recrimination and anger that can go on for years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">In the meantime, your child is caught in the middle of something they are not equipped to understand. All they know is that someone has told them something, and they have to try to figure out what to believe. They have to try to figure out <i>who</i> to believe. They have to figure out how to understand the confusion and conflict expressed between their parents. They have to figure out how to feel safe in the midst of all of this confusion. Children are not equipped to handle and process these types of emotional complexities. If you, as an adult, are having a hard time handling this situation, imagine how overwhelmed your child must feel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I believe there comes a time when someone has to decide to stop engaging the fight in the courts. Someone has to concede defeat. It sounds wrong and feels horrible. But it may be the only honest and effective way forward. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Acceptance is often the final stage in the grieving process.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">“Someone did a terrible thing to me, and to my child. What will my response be?”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">One writer in this forum stated she became financially bankrupt, emotionally drained and isolated, and physically disabled/unable to work from the stress related disease brought about by years of court fights. She fought for years with an outwardly charming, narcissistic sociopath whose dysfunction enabled him to go to endless lengths to keep her children from knowing who she really was. The key word here is “was”, because after years of legal battles, <b>she had in fact become the very person she was once falsely accused of being</b>: unable to support herself or anyone else, physically weak, mentally drained, and socially isolated. Now, in fact, the alienating parent could say to their children: “See, you are better off not seeing your Mom. She can’t take care of herself, and she certainly isn’t able to do much for you. It’s better for you to stay here with me.” Even if the children had been able to see their Mom with unclouded eyes, they would now see a broken and weak woman who struggled to get up each morning and make it through the day. In her own words, she was “destroyed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I often hear battling parties state they will “fight to the bitter end.” That sounds really brave, courageous, determined, and loving. After all, who won’t “fight” for their children?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">If a “bitter end” takes away your ability to continue your life and await the return of your children, then a bitter end is not worth visiting.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I do not doubt some alienated children go to their graves believing the lies programmed into them. Destroying your own life, health, and mental balance will not change that programming. The destruction of your own life only creates more victims of the alienator.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Current literature on the subject of parental alienation says child victims of PAS (Parental Alienation Syndrome) often abandon the lies and programming as they mature into early adulthood, get away from the alienator, or the alienator dies or disappears from the child’s life for other reasons. When a child is able to independently consider or reconsider facts, they sometimes come to a fresh understanding of who told the truth and who did not. Then, they may seek you out.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Wouldn’t you like to be a whole, happy, productive person if your child decides to re-enter your life? Don’t you want to be able to model your own goodness for your child, regardless of the child’s age? Don’t you want to demonstrate that evil does not overcome goodness in every corner of the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Of course, if your child is being abused or harmed, you have to find legal support and get law enforcement involved. Real crimes usually leave some type of traceable clue. If your child has been taken to another country, you may have to pursue help through the State Department and other federal government agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">But if your child is happy and secure where they are, give some thought to how long you will continue to let the battle dominate your life. You will be heartbroken, filled with anguish, and no doubt some others will judge you negatively for not spending your last dime (and all you can borrow!) in court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It is possible to recover from parental alienation. You will not be unchanged, but you can be alive, reasonably healthy, and intact. You can have a life worth living.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">A horrible evil is done when a vengeful ex steals your relationship with your child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Another horrible evil will be done if you destroy yourself fighting a fight you cannot win.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">You can maintain scrapbooks, write letters, create art, music, or crafts, and do other things to honor your relationship with your child. You can create a website or blog where your child may find you and see who you truly are and that you love them, despite what has happened and what they may have been told. These things may give you comfort and help you feel connected to your child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #151237; font-family: "Helvetica Neue Light", HelveticaNeue-Light, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Only you know when to say “enough.” It may be next week, or next year. Or five years from now. If or when that day comes and you know you have done all you can while keeping yourself intact, don’t be afraid to say: “I will fight no more.”</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7575091289642272420.post-58375727360532267552023-05-20T12:48:00.000-04:002023-05-20T12:48:23.068-04:00Meditation: Honor the Body<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IvKU-poQkFSjZRL5c6n1hWLc2yjCbT0Xu-GfNHpuMe39VwonulrRVLKnE5mgwFOhS0OE6cVvff34BKcAYqO0OODbfzvXZgLKUCcSuQ0BF7CPnDhK4f0AH_O_g6tUyqJSgj4QLacJc-KoacBi58iF6gf-d6S0etq2EPKjc3iUnF6GvW-C7aCp4uvGsw/s3138/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3138" data-original-width="2995" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IvKU-poQkFSjZRL5c6n1hWLc2yjCbT0Xu-GfNHpuMe39VwonulrRVLKnE5mgwFOhS0OE6cVvff34BKcAYqO0OODbfzvXZgLKUCcSuQ0BF7CPnDhK4f0AH_O_g6tUyqJSgj4QLacJc-KoacBi58iF6gf-d6S0etq2EPKjc3iUnF6GvW-C7aCp4uvGsw/s320/IMG_20230430_201519.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>(c) Deborah Evans</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Do you honor your spirit, your will, your imagination, your mind, your dreams?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Honor the body in which all of these reside.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Bible doesn't teach of a resurrection experience that involves humans becoming angels or disembodied spirits flying through the air. Certain artists have crafted these images, but you can't find this concept in the Bible.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Genesis teaches us God literally breathed the "breath of life" into the human body. Genesis also teaches us God shaped the human body intentionally. <a href="https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.2.4-7.NIV" target="_blank">Read Genesis 2:4-7.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Regarding the resurrection, Paul the apostle writes this in the New Testament: "So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown (buried) is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." <a href="https://www.bible.com/bible/111/1CO.15.42-44.NIV" target="_blank">(Read 1 Corinthians 15:42-44).</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here, Paul describes the truth that many of us will be buried with weak, sick, and broken bodies. Some of us will die in totally destructive accidents. Some of us will be cremated because our bodies will be too damaged for a traditional funeral service. Some of us may be victims of violent crimes and our bodies may never be located or identified.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No matter how we leave this world, you and I will be raised not just as spirits, but we will be <i><b>raised with a spiritual</b></i> <i><b>body</b></i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you honor your body as a creation of God, it will become easier to reject the messages of the world that constantly tell us there's always something wrong with our bodies: too fat, too thin, too old, too young, too pretty, too ugly, too dark, too light, too short, too tall. On and on it goes. By the standard of the world, no one's appearance is ever good enough. If you happen to be "good enough" today, you have no guarantees for tomorrow. Reject this damaging, dishonest perspective.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you honor your body as a creation of God, you will think and act differently about how you feed your body: what you eat, what you drink, how much rest you choose, how deeply you breathe, how much you exercise, etc. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You are not a random arrival. You are a unique creation of God.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This week, meditate on how you will honor your body as a gift of God. We were all created to inhabit physical bodies that reflect the image and glory of God. This is true for time and for eternity. Don't think of your body as something to escape, deny, destroy, despise, or reject.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When you honor your body as a unique creation of God, you connect with and affirm what is true.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This week, tell yourself "I will honor my body as a unique creation of God."</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">paravanes:meditations (c) deborah evans</div>Deborah Evanshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08356558964613496230noreply@blogger.com0