The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
This was the word I shared this past week in my e-zine devotional to my church women. It seemed to strike a chord with them. I got quite a few e-mails in response from ladies saying they have been there, done that, bought the t-shirt on this. Either they have lived in denial (and are now out) or someone they love is in denial. My heart breaks for them -- I understand and my prayers are with all of you who read this today and in some way are coming out of the darkness into His glorious light. - Deanna
A grown daughter was on the phone expressing her feelings to her father about hurts and even abuse that she went through as a child. Instead of facing up to the issues and answering to them directly - when the woman was done pouring out her heart, all the father had to say was, "So, you still got snow and rain?" It was if she had been saying nothing important. He didn't want to deal with it or acknowledge the reality of what this woman had gone through. Moments later the conversation ended.
Sometimes people have a habit of trying to move forward in their lives without taking care of the past. We can move forward, but only after we have faced reality and taken care of things properly. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24 (AMP): "[First] Strip yourselves of your former nature-put off and discard your old unrenewed self-which characterized your previous manner of life .... [Then] be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind-having afresh mental and spiritual attitude; and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image. . .
Until we get in reality and strip off the negative things of the past, it is almost impossible to move forward. We have to discard the old junk that was holding us back, and then put on our new self, regenerated in Christ. This grown daughter was very eager and willing to do that, but the father was still in denial. We can tell ourselves a million times, "I'm just going forward. I'm going to forget the past and go on". We can try to "reinvent ourselves", start a new life, we can "speak good things" all we want, we can name it, claim it and whatever else we want to do but if we have not dealt properly with the past, it will be difficult if not impossible to move into the future that God has for us.
Many people think if they just bury their hurts and their past, time will heal it on it's own. Keep in mind, time never heals anything - only Jesus can heal. I do believe Jesus plus time is very helpful. But time minus Jesus? No, that's not helpful at all. T.D. Jakes says, "covered things don't heal well." Have you ever had an injury and you cleaned it, medicated it and put a bandaid on it for a few days? If you took it off after that, chances are, the sore healed. If you never took the bandaid off to give it fresh air, it wouldn't heal properly.
As someone once said, "Da' Nile is more than a river in Egypt!" If we're going to move ahead, we have to come out of denial first.
Comments
wisdom ministered and touched me in an inner cord, right down to your final statement.
My dad did just like this woman, went into his bedroom, and brought out the worse possible thing, a horoscope...oooooohow I hate those.
But according to that stuff, we are under the same one...my dad and I...so I guess he was saying we are much alike. Years later, my dad passed away, and I love to keep everything,so we stumbled across a letter, my siblings didn't even want but I did, because in it, my dad, called me by name, and said I did some things that were wrong but he forgives me. And I finally thought, I had come to that place of healing! But now that's 10 years ago, and your words still broke a tender heart. I love you for having shared this and today I will ponder how best I can unbury that past for the proper healing!
I'm putting your Blog as one of my favorites, hope I remember to find you and thank you when the healing helps me go forward! Bless you and enjoy the day praising our Lord! He is my Jehovah-Ropheka and He is my Lord and Savior! PTL Peggy