Jan 2, 2017 |
Frankly, On Faith
by Molly Jo Realy @RealMojo68
Frankly, On Faith.
What does it mean, to “take it on faith”?
Faith is stronger than a hope, or an “I think so.” Faith isn’t wringing your hands while mumbling, “Yeah, I guess that might work.”
Faith is an innate belief. Faith is deeper than trust.
Faith says, “God’s got this.” No matter what.
Faith is the umbrella encouraging you to move forward when all you want to do is stay under the blankets until the storm passes.
Faith says, “This moment sucks, but this life is okay.”
Faith isn’t easy. It’s not handed out like lollipops at a party.
Faith is developed, often through struggles.
Faith starts with a deep breath and a slow exhale.
Faith begins with saying, “I don’t know, but I’m willing to learn.”
Faith is choosing to believe the good over the bad. Faith is choosing to let go without always having something new to hold on to. Faith is choosing to free fall, knowing Someone Else has your parachute.
Faith is dramatic, and scary, and quiet, and bold.
Faith is that part of you pushing doubts aside and giving you room to smile.
Frankly, On Faith: Hebrews 11:1 NLT
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
Oct 1, 2016 |
Psalm 96
Psalm 96.
This is a “verb” passage. It implores us to sing. Not just sing, but sing a new song. To open up, to not be a follower, pre-molded; but to lift our own heart-voice to Him with words from deep within us.
To share our personal story, our personal LORD, with all the earth. We are asked to see and know Him. To set Him above the other objects striving for our worship.
This is a fair and just LORD. He is not temporary or temperamental.
All His earth is called to not just praise Him, but to praise Him with our own personal melody. He is asking us to sing to Him with JOY.
Because He is glorious, and wonderful, and precious . . . and personal.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
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Jul 8, 2016 |
Faith Is . . . Inspire: Creative Journaling Bible
So there’s a lot going on in the world today that I’d like to, but can’t (and really shouldn’t) ignore. I don’t even want to start the laundry list of upset, because I’ll inevitably forget or neglect something or go sideways with it.
As things of late have been happening, I’m understanding more and more there’s a before, during, and after. For everything. Except God. He’s just an all-inclusive is.
My faith has been challenged recently. It’s been uplifted, spun around, trampled on, revived, amplified, and abused. And I’m the prime culprit.
Yet it holds. In the dark thoughts, in the silent screams, in the moments of “I don’t know what comes next!”, it says, “Hold on.” It says, “Things are gonna get better.”
It says, “Trust me.”
It proves itself to me time and again, when it shifts from thought to reality.
It is strong. It is the dynamic of what is and what will be. Did you catch that? What is and what will be. Imperatives. Not suggestions. Not ideas. But absolute, positive, imperative.
Faith is not a question.
Faith says, “I will do this.” “I will be that.” And then it hangs around and waits until it happens.
Faith isn’t a wish with fairy dust.
I purchased my new Bible two weeks ago tonight. It was a bonus purchase when Faith brought my community together in such an immediate response that I was enabled to purchase Raven, my new laptop and needed accessories. That was a journey of faith, let me tell you.
Faith Is . . . My Writing Desk
And I was blessed with far more than just the essentials. A new desk, swivel chair, better lighting. And yes, an adult coloring book. All things a creative person needs to exceed.
Naomi told me of a friend of hers who teaches creative Bible journaling; that is, using scrapbooking/artistry to delve deeper. I told her I wasn’t sure I could do that to a Bible. But then I thought, I’m a creative. I’m not sure I couldn’t do that to a Bible. Especially a Bible designed with a creative reader in mind. If it causes me to connect with God and my world in a better way, how could I not explore the option?
But of course, it’s a new Bible. It’s pretty. It smells like a book should smell. The pages are smooth and the words are crisp.
And I’m human.
I’m gonna mess this up.
So, for the last two weeks, I kept the Bible where it doesn’t belong. In its box. On the desk. Untouched. Unopened. Like a precious gem.
But here’s the thing about Bibles. The more they’re used, the more they’re worn, and marked and highlighted and underlined and notated . . . That’s when they’re priceless.
I have several Bible verses that I hold to consistently. Lately, another has been creeping into the forefront of my spirit, begging me to grasp it, to understand it.
And as God will often do, He confirmed this understanding by having it presented to me in several different ways. Through conversations. A Facebook meme. Dreams. Song lyrics.
So tonight, I opened my gem to find the Gem.
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for;
it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” [Hebrews 11:1, NLT].
God’s been impressing upon me lately the value and the promise of Faith. How, without Faith, nothing would be accomplished.
You bake because you have Faith the cookies won’t burn down the house.
You drive with Faith that the brakes will work when they need to, and that you will reach your destination.
You love in Faith that it will be returned to you.
Now, these are human examples and at times, subject to fail. But overall, you see it, don’t you?
Faith is the tangible realization of what we keep in our hearts.
But wait ~ there’s more!
Faith is the driving force behind our success and excess. Faith is what moves mountains out of our way, and moves us over the muddy pits.
Faith is what gets us from Point A to Point B. We can’t be swayed from it. We know deep in our gut that this is who we are, what we are destined to be. The path may [will] turn, in parts be grown over and hard to follow, but it is still the path we’re meant to be on.
Faith says so. Faith says, “Don’t give up, honey.” It says, “We got this.”
Faith says, “Lean on me.”
When things seem dark and chaotic and noisy and unclear, Faith is the flashlight. It is what motivates all heroes to fight against the dark, to stand and run when others fall.
It’s what’s calling you.
Faith, like God, Is.
Faith Is . . . What Superheroes Are Made Of
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
CLICK TO TWEET: Tweet: Frankly, My Dear . . . Faith isn’t a question. It’s a flashlight. @realmojo68
CLICK TO TWEET: Tweet: When things seem dark and chaotic and noisy and unclear, Faith is the flashlight. @realmojo68
Nov 18, 2015 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
Let’s be real clear about something: Medical depression is a chemical imbalance, it’s a body malfunction that makes it hard to function. The same way a broken thumb makes it hard to hold a mug without a handle. You learn other ways of managing, and you know that some day the thumb will heal. It may not always work perfectly, but it will work. And if it doesn’t, you learn other ways of managing, of holding your mug.
People who suffer from depression are not weak in faith. It’s not a spiritual deficiency. Sometimes holding on to that mug takes all the strength a person has, but at least they’re holding on.
So stop telling them they’re doing it wrong.
If your thumbs are working, if every atom in your body and brain are working at full capacity, congratulations. Your name is Jesus.
Guess what. My name’s not that.
My thumb may be broken, but the rest of me works just fine.
I see a lot of memes about “share this if you know someone who suffers . . .” but we don’t, do we? We don’t “share” because we don’t want to be associated with “that”. We glance, nod, think of someone else, think “there but for the grace of God go I.”
We think, “If only they did this, tried that, went here, skipped there . . .”
We make our own judgment calls of how their life could be, should be, better.
We hide, we’re embarrassed. We think we’re less than perfect because it comes down to “us” and “them”, where “us” are the “normal” people and “them” are the ones who suffer.
We/Us avoid getting too deep with we/them. We/us are uncomfortable, can’t comprehend how this thumb doesn’t work, we/us don’t really want to know how the thumb broke to begin with, we/us offer solutions. The problem is, we/them can’t always pick up your solution. Sometimes, we/them are so used to the broken thumb, that we/them sometimes don’t remember it will heal. We know how to compensate and make do. We don’t always know how we broke it. We sometimes feel it’s always been broken, or we forget it’s broken. We think this is the way it’s always been. But it isn’t. We just don’t always remember “normal”.
We/us can’t understand why we/them just can’t “get it together”. We think they aren’t strong enough, they must want this, or not want God. We think there’s a disconnect between their body and their soul and they don’t want to mend it.
We/them can’t express ourselves. We/them know we ask too much, and we/them put we/us in ridiculous positions where we/us have to say no which perpetuates our/their sense of alienation.
We/them feel combative, defensive . . . and always alone.
We just want to be invited back to the normal table.
Sometimes the problem isn’t we/them. Sometimes a thumb break is the kindest thing that can happen to us/them because it’s at that point that there’s a conscious realization that something’s not right.
Sometimes the best help we/us can give us/them is to not to splint the thumb, but just ask, “Can I hold that mug for you, for a little while? Can I stay here and watch you try, and learn how you cope so I can see more of how you are? Can I be with you, in case you start to drop your mug and I can help? Can I be normal around you and not make you feel less normal? Can I do that for you? Will you let me?”
And we/them will say, “No. It’s awkward. I’m embarrassed. I’m supposed to be strong. I’m supposed to have my own thumb back right away. It shouldn’t take this long to heal. I should know how to do this by now. It’s my thumb that’s broken, not yours. You shouldn’t be here for this. Go away. Go away. Go away!”
That’s when we/them need we/us to say, “Yeah. I’m gonna be your thumb for a while. I’m gonna be your normal.”
That’s when we/them need we/us to stay. No matter what.
That’s when we/them will drop the mug, push we/us away, say things we/them don’t mean, do things we/them shouldn’t do.
That’s when we/them need we/us to stay. NO MATTER WHAT.
And sometimes say nothing.
But just stay.
And when we have our thumbs back, we/them still don’t want you/us to leave. Because it can be really scary to admit we were broken, but that’s when you were there. So it’s also hard to admit while we want our thumbs back, we’re afraid you’re going to leave. Because some people like us when we’re broken. It’s the only time they hear us. So sometimes, we stay a little more broken, a little longer, so we don’t have to be alone.
And then we know. We don’t like being broken. Not really.
We just want to be back at the normal table with our normal people and forget there was a time we weren’t normal.
You don’t understand. And that’s okay.
Our normal isn’t your normal and it may never be.
We don’t want to be unique. We can’t help it.
We’re different. We’re not always broken.
It’s our faith that things will get better that keeps us holding that mug.
Depression isn’t a spiritual deficiency. It’s just a struggle.
Without faith, I wouldn’t be here to tell you these things.
Without faith, I wouldn’t believe it will get better.
Depression isn’t a spiritual deficiency. And it doesn’t define me.
Like a thumb, it’s just a small part of my body.
Some days it’s more useful than others.
It won’t always be broken.
I won’t always be broken.
You won’t always be broken.
Have faith in that.
Depression is not a spiritual deficiency.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote!
Aug 19, 2015 |
I’ve been praying all wrong.
Last night God whispered through my shouts.
Last night I was holding on so tight, begging for resolution that didn’t come.
I asked Him, “Why?”
He pried my hands lose so He could hold them.
He said, “Stop limiting me.”
I said, “Why aren’t you fixing this? I mean, I’m trying to trust you and all, but why aren’t you fixing this?”
He said, “Who says I’m not?”
I stomped. I pointed. I whined.
I said, “Because it’s not fixed! I can see it’s not fixed. How am I supposed to trust you when you’re not fixing what you said you’d fix?”
He said, again, “Who said I’m not?”
I turned my back and hummphed at Him.
I said, “Because it’s not fixed.”
He said, “What does ‘fixed’ look like to you?”
So I told Him.
Then He said, “That’s different than what it looks like to Me.”
I said, “Yeah. Your ‘fix’ isn’t the same. So it’s not fixed!”
He said, “So you have a problem.”
I said, “Yes, I do.”
Then He asked, “And you also have the solution?”
I said, “Of course not. That’s why I’m coming to you.”
He said, “So you have a problem. And you don’t have a solution. but you ‘know’ my solution isn’t working because you can’t see the ‘fix’. Is that it?”
I got angry. “Yes! That’s it!”
He said, “So you know what ‘fixed’ looks like. And you’ve been asking me to ‘fix’ this problem according to your vision.”
I said, “Yup. That’s right. So here’s my problem. Fix it. Fix it this way.”
And He said, “I’ve been trying to fix it. But you’re asking for the wrong solution.”
I said, “I’m confused.”
And I’m pretty sure He laughed. Gently, but He laughed.
“I know,” He said. “You have a problem, and you think you also have the solution. But you can’t have both. One precludes the other.”
Of course, I wanted to be snippy and say, “Oh, God. You just think you know everything don’t you?”
But of course, He does.
And I don’t.
So I stepped back.
And He was right.
My prayers aren’t answered because they’re the wrong prayers. They’re not answered, because I’m not giving Him the chance.
If I have the solution, I no longer have the problem. If I have the problem, obviously my solution doesn’t work.
I have to take myself out of the Solution Box.
And a funny thing happens when I do.
It gives God room to fill it.
HIS way.
And let’s face it.
Dad’s way is best.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5)
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
The Bending Tree
And Frankly, My Dear . . . that’s all she wrote.
