Standing Up

So I was addressed the other day that my blogs have hurt some people's feelings. My intent is not to hurt people but to encourage them, to give them words that have been laid on my heart from God. If there has been a problem with a post, there is a comment section where you can simply leave a comment about that post.

Now that that is out of the way, the title of my post this time is relatively simple: Standing Up. Have you heard of the country song that says: "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything....Never compromise whats right and uphold your family name."? Aaron Tippin sung the song, as far as who composed it--I'm not sure.

There is a lot of truth to this song. I have learned that I have got to stand for something or else I will get walked all over by family, friends, and those who I simply meet for a small portion in life. If I hold value in life about faith and knowing the difference in what is right or wrong, then I need to stand up for those values. There have been times that this has happened. I have defended my family (all of them--some individuals may feel different about this) and friends to outsiders or those who simply want to cause an argument. Yet lately, I have not defended myself until recently.

Within the last month, certain emotions have been eating at me. I try to bury them deep within so that they hopefully won't surface. Being a therapist---I DO NOT encourage to avoid your emotions or feelings. Through burying my feelings and emotions God has shown me that being the doormat in life that everyone dumps their problems on is not always healthy. Because what happens when doormats get dusty and dirty, you have to shake them out. Unfortunately, I have fallen into this trap for most of my life.

I have talked with individuals about what has been laying heavy on my heart. And through this process God has opened my eyes. Sometimes as believers in Christianity we want God to fix our problems right here and now. That is not the case. We can be very impatience individuals. However, God does have a plan for us. His plan might be to go through difficult times so that we come out closer to Him. He might want us to lay our burdens down and give them over to Him. There are times though that we need to take actions of our burdens after laying them down. We cannot avoid dealing with them, God might show us how to though!

I feel like God is saying, enough is enough Hannah. You have to stand up for yourself and hold tight to your values. I can't let individuals push me around emotionally, letting them blame me for decisions that they have made or continue to bury my thoughts. My 5th grade picture looks horrible because I went to the hospital to see if I had ulcers. Thankfully I did not have an ulcer.

If you take anything away from this blog it should be: First, turn your worries and troubles to God, ask Him to help you sort out your emotions, Secondly, don't bury your feelings and emotions so deep that you avoid them---you have got to work through them. This might mean going to a close family/friend or a therapist to help sort things out. Lastly, God loves us all. He has sent HIS son to die for us....we need to love ourselves enough to STAND UP for what we believe in!!!! Sometimes we need an accountability partner to help us remain standing: mine are my husband and my best friend!

Being Stuck in the Middle

So it has been a while since I have made a blog. My apologizes to those who follow. I think that this topic, "Being Stuck in the Middle", has been a topic that I am now forced to deal with. So lets dive right into it:

Have you ever felt like you are stuck in the middle? Stuck between a hard place and a rock? Maybe you are struggling with right and wrong, deciding between the two. Or maybe you have been put in the middle of some type of drama, yet you don't know what to do. I have been in some of these situations. So what does God call us, as Christians, to do?

First and foremost, we are to give our troubles over to God. He is bigger than any problem that we are facing and He can handle the problem. For me, this is one of my biggest struggles. I have handed over my struggles/problems to God, but because I am not seeing immediate results, I feel that He is not taking care of them. Psalms 37:34 says, "Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it." . The Bible says in Isaiah 49:8 "This is what the LORD says: 'In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people...'".

Secondly, if your struggle/problem stems from a family decision. Remember that one of the Ten Commandments calls us to "Honor our father and mother". This too can be difficult, however, this is pleasing to God. As humans, we seek to please people and seek the reward from pleasing.

Thirdly, we need to pray. We are to be in constant prayer with God, our life should be a daily to God. David said in Psalms 18:6, "In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears." God hears and listens to our prayers. Pray for understanding, insight, or maybe you need patients. Pray for the people who are stuck in the middle with you. And pray for those who maybe have stuck you in the middle. They too might be facing some type of struggle and need your prayer as well. He is constantly right there beside us.

At times there are only 1 set of footprints in the sand. But as the poem goes, that is when he was carrying us. He lifts us up out of our trials and relieves us from temptations. So when you feel like the best thing to do is to lash out, remember, God has a bigger plan. When we don't understand the plan, like me right now, we need to patiently wait on God's timing. God's timing has and always will be the best.

This is my prayer and devotion for the day. This is my Letter to God. For those who are reading and need the prayer, let me know. Maybe you are stuck in the middle of something. That something can be family struggles, a decision, health problems, or simply confusion. But whatever you are facing and where ever you are, God is bigger than the problem. Please be in prayer for those you might know who are stuck in the middle. And I ask that you pray for me as well. Post a comment if you would like me to pray for you.

With lots of love in Christ!