tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83116772801783201732024-02-19T07:23:13.664-06:00Mercer MomentsLindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-5506075885652142042020-04-13T12:54:00.000-05:002020-04-13T12:57:12.464-05:00Animal Farm<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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Let's go back to your freshman year of high school. Let's go back to your English class. It's time to read George Orwell's Animal Farm. You remember the pigs and the socialism. You remember the animals revolted against the farmer, and then they set up their own government. You remember that in the end, there was no distinguishing the humans from the pigs who were now in control.<br />
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But let's go back and look a little deeper. I'm sure you remember that it was a fable where Manor Farm symbolically represented Russia and the Soviet Union. On a broader level, however, it can represent any government when there are not checks and balances, and when the people do not question or hold their government accountable for their actions.<br />
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After the animals overthrew Mr. Jones and took hold of the farm, the animals went on a victory march around the perimeter of the farm. Napoleon, the seemingly benevolent leader, stayed back from the parade. When the animals come back, they notice that the milk is gone, but no one questions it. They are just so excited to have overthrown the evil Mr. Jones.<br />
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Without going into a full-on summary of the book, Napoleon takes more and more power from the animals. It's for their own good, he tells them. He's smarter than they are, he says, so he needs to make the decisions. The other animals may make the wrong choices, he tells them. He is so good at gaslighting them, the animals don't question Napoleon; they question themselves. They question their fellow animals. The animals are so terrified of Mr. Jones coming back, or some other threat to their safety, they will do anything to make sure they are safe—even allow Napoleon to tyrannize them. He eliminates his opposition, and he has Squealer, the media, on his side to make sure the animals always feel sufficient fear. Without the fear, they may question Napoleon's power. He institutes various government programs that seem to better the animals and the farm, but he eventually takes absolute power, and he has been corrupted absolutely.<br />
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While Animal Farm was written more than 150 years after our Constitution, the framers of our Constitution were well aware of human nature. They knew we were ultimately selfish, and we desire power over others. Any elementary playground can prove this true. The founding fathers built our Constitution with this in mind, and they guaranteed our rights as humans in the Bill of Rights—and that the government should never be able to violate those rights, because they were given to us by our Creator.<br />
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What is going on right now in America with the Coronavirus is leading America down a slippery slope of rights violation. What happened in Animal Farm is so hard for our generation to comprehend ever happening in America. It seems ludicrous. We are a free country. Sure, we argue left vs. right, but we're far from tyranny or overthrowing our government. The restrictions are for our own good. Sound familiar yet?<br />
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But as an English teacher, I ask the question, "What was Napoleon's first abuse of power?" Many students will say it was when he appointed himself leader, or when he killed a certain animal, or when he took over the farmhouse. That wasn't it. His first abuse of power was when he drank the milk while everyone else was gone. From that moment on, the door was open for him to do whatever he wanted. No one questioned it, and he could take tiny bits of power whenever he wanted—unquestioned.<br />
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Our government—federal, state, municipal—drank the milk when they gave the executive orders to shut down private businesses, to prohibit church services, to close schools and parks, and on and on. So few people are questioning where the milk went, much less telling our elected officials they can't drink the milk.<br />
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I can hear it now. “But these restrictions are for the public safety!” “If everyone would just do it anyway, we wouldn’t have to have restrictions!” I get it. I do. In many cases, you’re right. People are stupid, and they aren’t taking this virus seriously enough. But governmental control is not the answer. And the last point that I’ve heard cried, “You must want people to die, then!” is so far from the truth. I don’t want people to die—that’s absurd. I am, however, looking past this “pandemic” to what our country could look like after unprecedented power is handed over to the government. If we allow this to happen, millions of people can die from oppression and tyranny.<br />
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Everyone is in fear of Mr. Jones coming back—or in this case, of catching the Coronavirus—that some people are shoving the milk in our officials' faces begging them to drink it. Begging for police officers to shut down gatherings of more than a couple people, begging for mayors to shut down city parks, and begging governors to shut down state parks. Begging for streets to be patrolled because people aren’t standing far enough apart.<br />
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In many cases, you’re right—these restrictions aren’t really *that* bad. But the problem is that we MUST question it. We *must* stand firm against taking away our freedoms. We must not hand over our rights blindly. Any loss of liberty, however small, is still a loss of liberty. It's a slippery slope, because once officials have drank the milk, they won't give up that power easily.<br />
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As Howard Zinn said, "Historically, the most terrible things--war, genocide, and slavery--have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience." And Zinn was a socialist. But he understood that if we don't question our authority, they will take ALL authority.Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-53556851770420698942020-03-26T14:26:00.000-05:002020-04-13T13:00:42.652-05:00Coronavirus Response by Ennegram<head><br />
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<span class="JsGRdQ">The Enneagram test is is a comprehensive personality test that has become wildly popular the past few years. It breaks people down into nine basic categories based on their fears, desires and motivations. If you don't know what type you are, <a href="https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test" target="_blank">click here</a> for a free test, or you want to read more about each type, <a href="https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-descriptions" target="_blank">click here</a>. I thought I would have a little fun with the Corona frenzy that has the world shut down right now, and I broke down the responses each personality type would have. Because, hey, what else is there to do at home? (this is for entertainment purposes only!)</span></div>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">1. The Moral Perfectionist</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Food is rationed</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Each family member is only allowed four squares of TP per wipe</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Home school desks are set up with color-coded assignment charts</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Already wrote her own lessons to teach her children</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Wonders why people are just now learning how to wash their hands properly</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">2. The Supportive Advisor</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Calling grandparents and other elderly to make sure they have enough food and supplies</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">The neighborhood kids are gathering in her yard (but at least 6 feet away from each other)</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Makes cookies for her neighbors</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Keeps sharing Facebook articles with friends and mom groups in case they didn't see them</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Wants to make sure no one feels alone</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">3. The Successful Achiever</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is taking the quarantine more seriously than anyone, and will let you know that you should be, too.</span><span class="JsGRdQ white-space-prewrap"> </span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">House is spotless and sprayed down with Lysol</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Knows what day it is</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has showered and fixed her hair every day</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Wakes up early to go shopping</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Freezer full of food</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Worried about how the PTA will survive without her for three weeks</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">4. The Romantic Individualist</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Needs to mediate daily to bring herself peace in these uncertain times</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is diffusing essential oils</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Sees this as an opportunity to grow as a better person</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is grateful for the time to herself</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Not concerned about home schooling her kids--but allows them ample time to create art and music.</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Realizes everything she's taken for granted before</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">5. The investigative Thinker</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Knows exactly where this virus came from and how to treat it</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has been researching protocol in other countries</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Scared she doesn't know how to cook enough different meals</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is secretly happy she gets to stay home.</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Doesn't have to worry about talking to people face to face anymore</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">6. The Loyal Guardian</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is afraid that she could come in contact with someone who hasn't washed their hands</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Gently reminds everyone that we must remain vigilant and safe to make it through together</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is terrified she won't be able to do this on her own</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has called her mom several times to check in</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has read way too many online articles about the virus</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">7. The Entertaining Optimist</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Thinks the virus is just like the flu</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is still hosting parties and get-togethers maybe in person, but definitely virtually</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Bought ultra-cheap airline tickets</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Picks up and heads out of state for "quarantine"</span><span class="JsGRdQ">Posts Corona-virus memes</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Realizes the the liquor store is definitely an "essential business"</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">8. The Protective Challenger</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is highly suspicious of this virus and its origins</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has already figured out the conspiracy behind it all</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Highly irritated by the inconvenience of it all</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Is planning on carrying on life as usual</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Isn't going to follow the CDC warnings or stay at home orders</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Has stocked up on ammo</span></li>
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<span class="JsGRdQ">9. The Peaceful Mediator</span></div>
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<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Hopes this can get over with quickly</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Knows that if everyone just stays at home and obeys, then it will get over quickly</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Thinks, "Why can't everyone just obey?"</span><span class="JsGRdQ">Wants everyone to be nice to each other and for once forget about politics</span></li>
<li><span class="JsGRdQ">Affirms everyone in their decisions in how they handle their response</span></li>
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-60482462924372227012019-05-12T19:31:00.003-05:002019-05-13T15:14:01.358-05:00My Body, My Choice?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Many arguments for abortion rights have been turned into taglines for the abortion movement, the most ridiculous of which is, "My body, my choice." The argument essentially is that when choosing to have an abortion or not, it is the woman's body, so therefore it should be her choice whether or not to carry the baby to term. They say it’s about choice, and that no one should be allowed to tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body.<br />
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Pro-life people argue that the baby is a separate individual--not simply a part of the mother. The fetus has its own unique DNA, and therefore should be protected from those who may wish to do it harm. Separate individual, therefore separate rights. However, the claim from pro-choice people is that the fetus growing inside of a pregnant woman is a part of her, therefore it's her right to do with it as she pleases. So let’s follow that logic. </div>
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For argument’s sake, let’s say that the fetus is a part of a woman. What other body part can a woman legally remove? Yes, cosmetic surgery is available if one should so choose. Breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, liposuction, etc. are popular types of body modification. Some would argue about the mental health of some women (and men) who undergo multiple body modification surgeries, but that's not my point. The point is that women are not electively choosing to remove *parts of their body.* If a woman—or anyone for that matter—wanted to electively remove a body part, every single ethical medical doctor would say no. I can't even electively remove my uterus. There has to be a medical reason for a woman to have a hysterectomy. Most doctors won't even perform a tubal ligation until after a woman has already had children. If I wanted to remove my appendix because it might burst one day and cause a financial burden on me, I will get told no. My left thumb is fairly useless, can you just take it of my hands? If I want to remove my pinky toe, that’s gonna be a no. Begging for an elective amputation could also land me straight in the looney bin, and it rightfully should. Because removing an otherwise healthy body part is cRaZy.<br />
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Some might argue that the fetus could be more likened to a parasite or a cancerous tumor that takes over your body, sucking the resources from it. To that, I would say, of course you remove a parasite or a tumor, but a fetus does not consume healthy cells, nor does it take over the organs and cause organ failure. To compare a fetus to a parasite or a tumor is really a little overreaching.<br />
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The bottom line is that the argument about it being a part of a woman's body, and therefore she should be able to remove it if she pleases should be moot. There's no other body part you can just legally choose to remove if you don't want it any more.<br />
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Now let's get to the issue of "No one should be able to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body." That's another non sequitur. The US government already tells you what you can and cannot do with your body. I cannot prostitute myself--even if I *really* need to money, it's still illegal. I cannot sell my organs. I can't use drugs--but it's my body, and if I want to destroy it with methamphetamine and heroin, why can't I? Assisted suicide? That a no. If I know I'm going to die, and I am in the most horrific pain of my life, I can't have someone help me end it--because it's illegal. All of these things are illegal because they are immoral and unsafe. If the pro-choice community were *really* about "my body, my choice," then they wouldn't just be pro-abortion. They would be pro-prostitute, pro-organ selling, pro-amputation, pro-drugs and pro-assisted suicide. But they aren't. Pro-choice people are exclusively pro-abortion. They recognize that prostitution, organ selling, amputation, drugs and assisted suicide are wrong, and therefore should be illegal.<br />
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I sincerely urge those of you reading this who are pro-choice to really think of the logic behind your "choice." It doesn't really make sense. You really just want to make sure women have an "out" if they get pregnant. It cannot possibly be about the government trying to control your body--because they already do in so many other areas. Be consistent then in your arguments.</div>
Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-51030312065315958992019-02-08T14:22:00.000-06:002019-04-09T13:22:43.520-05:00Pro-Love: Save the Teens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Forty years ago, a scared 16 year old girl was 4 months pregnant. She was a sophomore in high school and undoubtedly abjectly humiliated. Just imagine the shame she felt walking down those high school hallways every day--sitting in the classrooms. The taunts, the whispers, the rejection, the name-calling. Six years earlier, Roe v. Wade had given her a legal way to end her pregnancy—to end her shame. Not only was she pregnant at 16, she was also high-risk. She had gestational diabetes, which can threaten the life and health of the mother carrying the child. How easy it would have been to walk in to a clinic. Namelessly be shuffled to a stark white room, laid on a table. One small procedure to end her humiliation--to end the threat to her own life.<br />
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Despite all of this, she chose life. She chose adoption. It no doubt was the most difficult decision of her young life. Perhaps she's never had to make that difficult of a decision since. But she knew what all of us know deep down—that an unborn child is life. A heartbeat is formed at 3-4 weeks gestation, which is before most women even know they are pregnant. The central nervous system is formed between 3-6 weeks. Little ears, eyes and limbs are formed around 4 weeks.<br />
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Any woman who has felt her child move and kick and grow inside of her *knows* that child is alive. Even before modern science, the Psalmist knew the truth of this. Psalm 139:13-14, David cries out to God, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." This scared 16 year old knew that her body was no longer her own, as I was alive and living inside of her. You can twist the logic, and you can claim that a woman should "have a right to choose." You can attempt to justify abortion any way you wish, but ultimately, abortion is to end a life.<br />
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Science says that bacteria are alive, but some people refuse to say that a fetus is alive. It's true that a fetus cannot survive outside a mother's womb, so that leads to the "viability argument." The viability argument says that an abortion is OK as long as the fetus is not viable outside the mother's womb. But when does that occur? That's an argument with no answer, because there have been babies who lived when born at just 21 weeks old and survived. Even a baby outside the womb can't survive on its own--it needs someone to meet its basic needs. That then begs the question of potential life and the sanctity thereof. <br />
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I am so thankful that scared 16 year old girl chose life. She answered my parents' prayers the day she signed the papers giving me to them. It is a bittersweet reminder that sometimes, our darkest hour can be the answer to someone else's prayer. But all too often, young girls and women choose a different route.<br />
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For the past few years, abortion has been on America's main stage. States recently passed laws that allow abortion up to birth, while other, more conservative states are trying to pass laws make abortion more restrictive. Pro-life people are abhorred with some of the laws that have been passed, but we need to do more than just say we are pro-life. We need to actually do something to show how much we value life. And that begins way before conception. It begins with how we as a society--specifically a Christian society--view pregnancy and sex outside of marriage.<br />
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If you were raised in a Christian home, then you <i>know</i> that pre-marital sex is a sin. It was most likely drilled into your head at youth group that abstinence was the only way to go. You may have received a purity ring from your parents or boyfriend. You may have signed a pledge that you would remain a virgin until marriage. You even got a wallet-sized card with that one--you could carry it with you everywhere you went. You were a card-carrying virgin until marriage. Forget the thousands of kids hearing these messages who were no longer virgins--many of whom had their virginity stolen from them as young children in dark recesses, hidden from truth and light. When we teach that abstinence is the only way to go, many teens hear the message of shame when it comes to sex.<br />
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The intention of teaching abstinence is to prevent disease and pregnancy. It's meant to teach students to value themselves more than sex. Many times, this teaches kids that sex is scary, that there are huge consequences and that you'll be a sinner if you give in to your natural desires. Teaching teens to avoid sex at all costs comes with a heavy price tag. When teens fail in this edict of virginity, they keep it to themselves. They hide. Just as Adam and Eve hid from God when they sinned, teens will hide their sexual sins. Until they can't. Pre-martial sex, if it leads to pregnancy, is a sin where that teen girl literally have to carry her sin around with her for nine months. You want to avoid the shame? Easy. Abort the shame.<br />
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Before you decide to lynch me for saying abstinence only doesn't work, I want to be clear that I am not advocating just giving teens free reign to have sex. I'm also not advocating handing out condoms in gym class. What I'm saying is that the messages the church sends to kids about sex are flawed. The messages sent and the messages received are not the same messages. We have to change the messages we are sending to teens. God never designed sex to be shameful. He designed it for a husband and wife to delight themselves in each other. He designed it for the ultimate expression of love. Read Song of Solomon and see what I mean. God designed it to procreate and continue our lineage. God tells Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply" in Genesis. Instead of shame, He meant for sex to be a wonderful expression of a man and a woman truly becoming one flesh--literally.<br />
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This is the message teens need to receive--that sex is wonderful and beautiful. That it's meant for later in their lives, not now. They need to know God's plan not only for sex but for their lives. Plans to prosper them and give them hope and a future. For the sake of their hearts, their emotions, their very soul, we have to teach them to protect their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That's why we wait for sex until marriage. Because God loves us. He loves us enough to give us sex, and He loves us enough to give us a plan for it so we won't get hurt. We don't avoid sex because we want to just avoid disease. We don't avoid sex because we want to just avoid pregnancy. And it's not because every Christian just wants to be a wet blanket.<br />
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Just as with every single thing on our planet, God had a design for us, but in our sin and fallenness, His ultimate perfect plan was thwarted. This includes His plan for sex. We will fall; we will fail. So the question then becomes: "How are we going to respond to those who fail?" So far, our response as Christians has been pretty pitiful. When people fall into sexual sin, traditionally, Christians do not view sexual sin the same as other sins like stealing or lying, drinking or coveting. And that has to change. There has to be redemption for <i>all</i> sin--not just the non-embarrassing ones. There has to be a path back to God. There has to be less judgement and shame. We--the church--are the ones who have to make sure that the ones who sin know that they are still loved and worthy of the Lord's favor and blessing. We have to make sure that the little girls who get pregnant (or who have had sex already) will be loved and don't have to wear a scarlet letter on their belly. <br />
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If we are truly going to be pro-life, we have to change our stance from "save the babies" to "save the teens." When teenagers can understand God's plan for sex, they will start to see sex differently. When they stop looking for love from a boyfriend and look for it in God, then they will naturally abstain. And secondly, we have to stop judging those who sin. We have to bring them in, make them feel loved and help them strip away their shame. When the shame is gone, teens will be able to make a courageous decision--to either keep the baby or give it up for adoption. The only reason a girl would choose abortion over adoption is because she doesn't want to have to be pregnant. She doesn't want to carry her shame. They don't want to have to deal with the consequences of sex. If we take away the shame of pregnancy, then adoption is a much more viable option to answer the other reasons why a teen would choose abortion. Adoption gives life, and it can give the teen her life back, too. That teem mom can still go to college; she can still pursue her dreams. She can give the child a life he or she deserves. Strip away the shame, and you strip away any reason to get an abortion. Take away the shame of pregnancy, and there won't be a necessity or reason for her to walk in to that stark white room and be laid on a table in order to end her shame. <br />
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Obviously this is just one side of a multi-faceted issue. However, if we can save the teens and love them through their shame and pregnancy, then that can be a positive step toward ending abortion. If you are pro-life, then you have to be pro-pregnant teen, too. <br />
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This is one of the reasons I love groups like <a href="https://embracegrace.com/" target="_blank">Embrace Grace</a>. Embrace Grace is a Christian, non profit organization that helps women and teens with unplanned pregnancies find a place to belong and feel loved through their pregnancy and early motherhood. Instead of being Pro-Life, they are Pro-Love.<br />
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Sources: Mayo Clinic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterm_birthLindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-19422679688288446872018-12-19T09:35:00.000-06:002019-01-08T11:29:52.245-06:00Season's Greetings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's the Christmas season, and at the same time, it's a transition from my single season to married life. As I leave the single season, there are some things that I will miss--namely the groups of Christian singles I met while I was in my single season. Someone recently joked with me that I "graduated" from the singles group because I got married. It was a funny comment, but not unlike what it really is like to graduate--I liken it to college. While we are in college, we live and do life with others who are at the same stage in life. We cheer for our team. But we know it's temporary, and one day we will no longer be in college. Some breeze through college in no time, while others spend a significant portion of their lives there. When we graduate, we will look back fondly on those years, and we will still cheer for our team, but because we are no longer a student, it's not quite the same. We have moved into a different stage of life. Singleness and marriage really is so similar to college and graduation.<br />
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I am fully aware that just because I'm married, it doesn't mean I have all the answers or even that I know what I'm doing. This is definitely not the final destination of any of our lives. All I know is what God has shown me, and what I have experienced. There have been several dating blog posts that I have written over the years that delve deeper into certain issues like <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/05/cant-stop-pain.html">dealing with emotional pain</a>, <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/04/forgiveness.html">forgiveness</a>, <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/02/mashed-potatoes.html" target="_blank">trust</a>, as well as <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2013/10/marriage.html" target="_blank">marriage</a> itself. Through my single season, God spoke to me clearer than He ever had before. I also had the opportunity to share what God taught me and minister to others along my journey. As I no longer will have to deal with dating issues in particular, I want to write this blog post to address some of the most common things I would write about and deal with in my Christian singles group.<br />
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For me, many of the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> reasons for not wanting to get married were completely selfish. I didn't want to share; I didn't want to move; I didn't want to cook for him; I don't want to clean up after him. Marriage forces you to not be selfish and invest in someone else. Marriage can't be selfish, and unless I'm willing to allow the Lord to cull out that selfishness, I will always be held back. I also have to remember that m</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">arriage isn't the end-all-be-all. It isn't a destination at which we all arrive. Marriage is a journey, and it should be viewed as an extension of your relationship with the Lord--not separately. You only need to get married if you truly desire to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, because that’s the only way a marriage can work. </span><br />
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Prayer: It all starts with prayer. Get your heart right and repent from your sins, then go to God in prayer. Ask Him to show you your spouse. Ask him to bring that person to you. We have not, because we ask not. James 4:2-3 tells us that we don't have the things we desire because we ask with the wrong motives. The key, therefore, according to scripture, is to explore the motives in your heart--are you wanting to marry someone just because you feel lonely? That's not the right reason to get married--or even to ask for a spouse. That's why you have to repent before you ask.<br />
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Healing: You have to receive healing from your past failed relationships before you even think about entering a new one. Hurt people hurt people, and if you are not healed from your past wounds, you will only end up hurting those whom you love and try to love you. Find a Divorce Care class, go through <a href="http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/freedom/events/freedom-basics" target="_blank">freedom classes</a> like these at Gateway. Allow God to heal you from your <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/05/cant-stop-pain.html" target="_blank">emotional pain</a>. It's not easy, but it's necessary to living a whole and complete life.<br />
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Freedom: You have to deal with the pain not only from past relationships, but from the lies you have believed from the devil. Satan loves to lie to us, and he will do it the most when we are already down. If we are not walking in freedom, we won't be able to readily recognize Satan's lies. I lived most of my life believing lies of the enemy. We have to experience freedom in the Lord so we can see the Truth, so we can experience the Truth and walk in the Truth. And again, freedom is a process--not a destination at which we arrive.<br />
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Expectations: If you have expectations, you will be disappointed. Period. Every date, every potential date, you should go in to it with the expectation of making a friend. That's it. So many people get overexcited and put too many expectations on their date. Questions start swarming--will this be "the one"? Will he want to take me out again? Will he be my boyfriend? Will he call or text tomorrow? Stop with the expectations. Most importantly, be open to it not working out--because it probably won't. It's a numbers game. I have probably gone on 30 first dates in my life. I've married two of them, and one of those marriages ended horribly. So that's 1 for 30. Twenty nine of those first dates didn't work out. You have to be open to it not working out--because the numbers aren't on your side. Be pleasantly surprised when it does work out, and you won't be so disappointed.<br />
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Dating: Don't take everything so seriously. It's a date--it's not a proposal. You aren't pledging your undying love to someone. You are eating a meal or getting coffee with someone. Everyone has to eat, so talk to someone new while doing it. If you enjoy the person's company, do it again. So many people put too much pressure on a date--bringing gifts, dressing up, spending a ton of money. None of those things have to occur. Just get to know someone. So often, I would see friends and other singles say they wouldn't go on a date with someone unless they already knew the person. Then what's the point of a date, then?<br />
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Guard your Heart: Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart. This means to protect your heart from those around you. You don't give your heart to just anyone.<br />
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Our lives are a process. We so often want to arrive at a destination--especially when we are single. So many singles want to be married and think that's the destination. It isn't--heaven is our final destination. Remember to enjoy the process and enjoy getting to know people and making friends on this amazing journey called life.Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-54015558717609651652018-05-27T17:00:00.004-05:002018-06-28T17:34:53.822-05:00Can't Stop the Pain<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGsiNa1GiAuqu3pQ3zXKveHTgpdGRynzjLCR1zxWoj5aFaXawrMDVQJixipXn5kvkjPHTxpD4ppnPCz2IooYXjhMtxnEchRw9Dt-pGNQnrPI1TPzqLmztwKxAIXQXcFqCZYXzXnVncCCX/s1600/Jehovah+Rapha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="564" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGsiNa1GiAuqu3pQ3zXKveHTgpdGRynzjLCR1zxWoj5aFaXawrMDVQJixipXn5kvkjPHTxpD4ppnPCz2IooYXjhMtxnEchRw9Dt-pGNQnrPI1TPzqLmztwKxAIXQXcFqCZYXzXnVncCCX/s320/Jehovah+Rapha.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Several years ago, I broke my ankle at Hawaiian Falls. How I broke my ankle is horrifically embarrassing, and I will only tell close friends the actual story. Following the incident, I thought I was ok, even though I could hardly walk on it. The bottom line is that I'm cheap: I didn't want to pay money to go to the ER, and I didn't want to have to pay for a doctor's visit just for them to tell me everything is fine. Except it wasn't fine. Over the next few weeks, the pain increased, and I knew something was definitely wrong. By the time I finally went to the doctor, I was told that a piece of my ankle bone had chipped off, and it had already started to fuse back together incorrectly. The only way to fix it was to have surgery. That was a big "nope" from me. There was no way I was paying money for surgery to fix a tiny chip on my ankle, and even then, there was no guarantee I would ever be pain-free.<br />
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This physically painful incident taught me much more than to just go ahead and go to the ER when I hurt myself. The lingering pain and the aches I feel when the weather changes taught me about what happens to us when we ignore not just our physical pain, but our emotional pain as well. When we hurt ourselves physically, we understand that there will be pain. We know that we need to go see a doctor and get stitches, bones set, or we may even need surgery. We understand that there is a healing process we must undertake to make our bodies whole again.<br />
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In the summer of '99, I nearly cut my left index finger off at the first knuckle joint. I immediately went to the ER (this time!) to get stitches. The pain of the lidocaine needle was worse than the steak knife that sliced through my tissue and tendons. I remember writhing in pain when the doctor crammed that needle into my wound. However, I understood this additional pain as part of the healing process. I didn't want to have to get the stitches--or the eventual surgery--but I wanted to be healed and put back together <i>more</i> than the ensuing pain. I had to endure the needle, the surgery, the rehab, so that I would heal properly. If I refused to take any of these steps, I would never regain the proper use of my index finger.<br />
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We understand the pain and healing process with our physical bodies, but most of us will do anything and everything to avoid the pain of emotional healing. Why should it be any different? When we experience emotional pain, we want it to go away at all costs. We turn to the bottle. We turn to pills. We turn to sex. We turn to porn. We turn to food. We turn to our phones. All of those things give us instant gratification--it makes us feel better in the moment. Each one of these things helps us take our minds off the emotional pain we are experiencing. Why in the world do we not think to go to <i>the ER</i> and <i>the Doctor</i> when we experience emotional pain? Stripping our hurts down to the bone is gut-wrenching--just like setting a broken bone. But we would all be more than willing to get a broken bone set. How many people would actually say, "Nah, Doc. I think I'll just let my tibia stay outside my shin the rest of my life. I can just cover it up with my pants, and it will feel better eventually"? That would be ludicrous. <br />
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The bottom line is that when we get hurt, it hurts even more to be healed. We have to be willing to feel the secondary hurt in order to heal. If we face our emotional pain in the same way we face our physical pain, imagine the healing that could take place in our souls! Our thought process must change from, "I'm hurt, so I want to feel better," to, "This is going to hurt to dig out all the pain, but it will be worth it so I can heal and actually <i>be</i> better." When we go to the Lord as our emotional doctor, and the Bible as our emotional ER, then we are able to be fully healed. When Isaiah writes in Isaiah 53:5 that "by His wounds, we are healed," why do we think it's only our physical healing? God is our Jehovah Rapha--the God who heals--there isn't a caveat that says "Sorry, only physical healing." He can heal anything--physical or emotional. So let Him, because we can't stop the pain on our own.Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-22096805115056244402018-05-22T20:37:00.002-05:002018-05-23T22:33:36.274-05:00Believing isn't Enough<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7RCeSf-XAWIoKNYUpbpes-DxR1Ga-WiG9lpXUZDFi6fUXYYTd5p_fPZOT4WzBGvk2bppGYvaLxZpUJ9PPqstbT9mKtrCBBqR_P6A-TQ68pYAwNA3zS5tIGQ0UXbN3bR2TRsPKkbzLg4t/s1600/WRITING+101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="797" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju7RCeSf-XAWIoKNYUpbpes-DxR1Ga-WiG9lpXUZDFi6fUXYYTd5p_fPZOT4WzBGvk2bppGYvaLxZpUJ9PPqstbT9mKtrCBBqR_P6A-TQ68pYAwNA3zS5tIGQ0UXbN3bR2TRsPKkbzLg4t/s320/WRITING+101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you've been around children any amount of time, you know just how gullible and naïve they are. Kids will readily believe anything, simply because you tell them it's true. Eyes bulge in awe as they say, "Really?" wanting to know more. Prime examples are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. This child-like wonder fades the older we get, and we no longer take things at face value. We lose our innocence, and we start to question what we are told.<br />
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Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:3 that we need to become child-like in our faith in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. We need to believe in the Lord without all the complications life throws at us, which is hard to do. We go through hurt and rejection. We lose those we love; we experience life. We realize that head-knowledge is not heart-knowledge. It becomes less easy to just believe in the Lord's goodness. Through the rollercoaster of life, this verse reminds us to believe and be saved. Just believe.<br />
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In Acts 16, it seems it is just that simple--believe. The jailers asked Paul and Silas what they must do to be saved, and in verse 31, Paul responds, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." This verse makes it seem like the simple act of believing is all we need to do. <br />
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But it isn't quite so simple. It's not enough to simply believe. There are people who call themselves "Believers" instead of Christians. I get what they are trying to say--that they believe in Jesus; they believe in the gospel. They believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who died for our sins. What I take issue with is that Satan was a "believer" too. He believed in Who Jesus was. He talked with Jesus in the desert. He knew (not merely believed) that Jesus is the King, the Holy One. Satan knows that Jesus tore the veil and conquered sin and grave.<br />
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So again, it is not enough to just believe. Going back to Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." The key word there is "change," which in some versions, it is translated as "converted." Although in Acts 16, it doesn't specifically say the jailers were "converted" or "changed," their subsequent actions following their decision to believe make it clear there was a change of heart--they practically helped Paul and Silas get out of jail.<br />
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Romans 10:9 gives it to us a little more clearly: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This scripture is the crux of salvation, which is that in addition to believing, we must also declare that Jesus is Lord. This is where Satan's belief veers away from ours. He refuses to declare that Jesus is Lord, and he refuses to submit himself to the Lord. These are two things we must do in order to "convert" or "change." We have to declare that Jesus is Lord. We have to allow Him to rule and reign over our lives. When we do that, we will turn away from our sinful lives, and we will be able to fully believe in Jesus and all of the promises God has given us in His Word. Do more than believe.<br />
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-79920796175138857152018-05-02T17:05:00.001-05:002018-05-15T20:13:44.330-05:00Dating is a Struggle<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dating is a struggle. I know I'm not alone in that struggle, either. For many Christian singles, dating is just plain difficult--especially post-divorce. Dating in my teens and 20's was much more simple. We were young, wild and reckless. We didn't have mortgages and 401k's. There weren't the constraints of kids and carting them to and from practices, rehearsals, recitals and games. Nowadays, if he has kids too, that means trying to mesh both sets of kids' schedules. It means weaving 1st, 3rd and 5th weekends with 2nd and 4th weekend visitation schedules. It's just a logistical nightmare.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Logistics isn't the only thing that makes dating at this stage in life difficult. It's finding a person with whom we are compatible. Someone who enjoys the same things we do; someone whom we like being around, and someone who is emotionally healthy. We have all experienced hurt and rejection, and we are all on a different path to healing and forgiveness for those past pains. I've met many people who are perfectly happy wallowing in their own misery and have no intention of getting out. I had one man tell me that he could "never forgive his ex-wife" for what she had done, and another who said he could never forgive himself for what he had done. Some people are so bitter, angry and unwilling to forgive that it keeps them from fulfilling their God-given purpose. For others, a lack of identity could be keeping them single--or at least keeping them from finding a lasting, loving relationship. For others, it's just about waiting for God's timing.</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I know I have forgiven the people in my past for what they have done, and I know I'm not bitter or angry. I have also forgiven myself for my part in the demise of my marriage and other failed relationships. God actually spoke to me recently about complete <a href="http://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/04/forgiveness.html" target="_blank">forgiveness</a>, and I wrote about it. My struggles also have nothing to do with my identity. I know who I am in Christ. As I deny myself and take up my cross daily, I am growing ever closer to God in an intimate relationship with Him. I'm not saying I am perfect, and I'm definitely not saying that I don't have more work to do on myself. I know that there are still a lot of things in my life left to be culled out, and there are parts of me that God still needs to hone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With that being said, as I’ve been dating the last few years after my divorce, I've found it difficult to define what I actually want. I bounce between wanting to get married this summer to never wanting to get married again and everything in between. My ex-husband tore down my identity through emotional and verbal abuse, and I thought at many points in my marriage I was going crazy. I was so broken when we separated that the only place I had to turn was up. God has done a miraculous work in me, and the evidence of His hand on my life the past five years is clear. I most definitely am a new creation in Christ.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">But do I truly want to be re-married? A part of me emphatically says, "Yes!" I want my children to see a Godly example of who a man should be, as well as what a Godly marriage should be. I want my "person." I want a shoulder to cry on, and I want to be able to be that for him, as well. I want someone to love and respect. I want to grow a deep, ever-lasting love that is only possible through a Christ-centered marriage. On the other hand, a part of me wants to focus on my kids. I'm so busy right now, I can't imagine adding a boyfriend or husband to my list of responsibilities. And I don't want to share my house with anyone--especially the bathroom. I don't want to move; I don't want to share. I enjoy being by myself without having to answer to anyone. And I really like the fact that we can eat cereal for dinner whenever I want to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This dichotomy, however, hasn't kept me from dating or meeting people. Over the past few years, God has put some amazing Christian men in my life to show me what a real man is supposed to be. Each man I’ve dated has had a couple of the qualities I eventually want in a husband. God has used each of these men to teach me something about men, about life and about myself. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve was the smartest, funniest man I have ever met. He taught me how emotionally healthy adults are supposed to interact with one another. Ryan had the most gentle spirit, and was the most kind man I have ever met. He taught me that a man could be gentle as a lamb, yet strong as a lion at the same time. Fred had a relationship with the Lord unlike any man I have ever met. He knew the Lord's voice, and could impart to me the Lord's wisdom in the most loving way. Robert was secure yet vulnerable at the same time. He showed me his heart, and he saw me for who God created me to be. He spoke life into me when I needed it the most. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last guy I was talking to showed me that I deeply desire a Godly marriage. Going in to dating him, I was really questioning whether or not I even wanted to date anyone at all--much less get married any time in the near future. I just wasn't sure if I was up for the emotional investment it would take to create a relationship. I stepped into it with low expectations, but still hoping for the best. While we liked each other a lot, neither of us were truly invested in what we were doing, and it showed me what I truly desire. I really do want a man who is 100% all about me and is willing to put his heart on the line for me, or as the kids would say, that he's willing to risk it for the biscuit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The bottom line is you can’t discount dating or the struggles of dating. You have to look at every person you meet as a learning experience. Each one of the aforementioned men showed me something I desire--humor and intelligence, someone who is strong, yet gentle, someone who is secure, yet willing to be vulnerable. Someone who will not just show me his heart, but give it to me. Someone who can see me, know me and speak life into me. Every one of my dating "struggles," I choose to see as learning and growing opportunities. Because </span>every "no" takes me one step closer to the "yes."<br />
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*names have been changed to protect the innocent. lolLindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-24766272798461543402018-04-30T16:25:00.000-05:002018-05-01T09:45:02.652-05:00Learning Styles are God's Speaking Styles<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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As an educator for 15 years, I have learned a lot about learning styles--or more accurately, I have been forced into professional development sessions where the topic is learning styles. A learning style is the preferred method of absorbing, processing and retaining information. The first time I heard about learning styles, with an eye-roll and a sigh, I thought it was a bunch of hog-wash. The more I learned about it, however, the more merit I found in learning styles. It made me realize why I can't focus on a speaker's words unless I am taking notes or doodling. It made me realize why I hated listening to directions, and I just wanted someone to hand it to me so I could read it myself. It's because I'm a visual learner--processing auditory information has always been difficult for me.<br />
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Depending on which list you look at, there are several categories into which learning styles can be broken down. The easiest is to break it down into three categories: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.<br />
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<ul><li>Visual: using pictures, words, images and reading as a primary source of gathering information.</li>
<li>Auditory: learning through hearing, listening and music</li>
<li>Kinesthetic/Tactile: learning by doing, feeling and experiencing</li>
</ul><br />
These three primary learning styles were first brought into popular education models by Walter Burke Barbe in the late 1970's. It is said that a student's preferred learning style will have a significant influence on both his/her learning and behavior. Teachers, therefore, should match learning strategies with the student's preferred learning style in order to increase comprehension and motivation. The shift in education over the past few decades to accommodate students in their preferred learning styles has been profound. Most modern high school students would be able to readily tell you their preferred learning style. If you would like to figure out your learning style, you can take this <a href="https://www.how-to-study.com/learning-style-assessment/" target="_blank">Learning Style Assessment</a>.<br />
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Digging a little bit deeper, a more comprehensive list will divide out these three primary learning styles into more specific categories:<br />
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<ul><li>Visual/spatial: using pictures, images, and spatial understanding.</li>
<li>Verbal/linguistic: using words, both in speech and writing.</li>
<li>Auditory/musical: using sound and music.</li>
<li>Logical/mathematical: using logic, reasoning and systems.</li>
<li>Kinesthetic/Tactile: using your body, hands and sense of touch.</li>
<li>Interpersonal: preference is to learn in groups or with other people.</li>
<li>Intrapersonal: preference is to work alone and use self-study.</li>
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I'm sure that you can identify with at least one of these learning styles as you were reading them. Our learning style makes us even more unique individuals, especially when learning styles are combined with one another--no two people learn the exact same way. I am a visual learner, but I'm also verbal and logical. One afternoon as I was praying, and God revealed to me something amazing--He speaks to us in our learning styles!<br />
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I have never been one to "hear God's voice." I've never heard an audible voice from heaven come down and talk to me. For a large portion of my life, I thought this was how God spoke. Everyone always talked about "hearing God's voice," and I didn't hear Him in this manner, so I thought God just didn't speak to me.<br />
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When God showed me that He can speak in more ways than a voice, it was an absolute revelation. Most of the time, God shows me pictures. As I try to understand the picture, He reveals to me what He wants me to understand. This matches perfectly with my visual learning style and verbal strengths. For an example of how God shows me pictures and then unravels them, read <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/02/mashed-potatoes.html" target="_blank">Mashed Potatoes</a> or <a href="https://mikaylaandmacey.blogspot.com/2018/03/dancing-with-jesus_12.html" target="_blank">Dancing with Jesus</a>. He's shown me red carpets, boats on the lake, tile flooring, purple irises, horse on the beach, and many more pictures--all of which, once unraveled, the picture was exactly what God wanted to tell me. <br />
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So let's look at the learning styles and how God might speak to you using your specific learning style.<br />
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<ul><li>Visual/spatial: look for God to give you visions and pictures. Look for God in things you see, then ask God to show you meaning in what you see.</li>
<li>Verbal/linguistic: God will speak to you through the reading of His Word, through the words of other people, through blogs, sermons and other written media.</li>
<li>Auditory/musical: God speaks to you through worship and music. You will literally hear His voice--probably even audibly.</li>
<li>Logical/mathematical: God will speak to you through science, through the perfectness of His creation, through numbers and logic.</li>
<li>Kinesthetic: You will experience God through feeling and touching. This is the goose-bumps you feel when you're in His presence. You will get "impressions" and feelings that you need to say or do something. You probably have said, "I feel like God is saying..."</li>
<li>Interpersonal: As an extrovert, you will feel refreshed, both emotionally and spiritually by spending time with other like-minded Christians. You will enjoy talking and sharing your experiences with others.</li>
<li>Intrapersonal: As in introvert, you will get more from the Word of God by reading and studying on your own. Spending time with God alone will make you feel recharged and ready to face your battles with the Lord on your side.</li>
</ul><br />
Why would we ever want to limit our omniscient, omnipotent God by putting Him in a box when it comes to His voice? If He can breathe the world into existence, He can speak to anyone in any way He wants, whether it's a burning bush or a still, quiet voice. <br />
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-32702255300591622972018-04-27T13:05:00.001-05:002018-04-30T11:15:03.918-05:00At the Water's Edge<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The sun slowly drops into the water, and feeble rays of sunlight cast long shadows of masts and sails on the rickety dock. The breeze coming off the water gently cools my sun-burned face. I close my eyes, and I drink in the humid air. I should have gone in hours ago, but there’s something about being right next to the water that draws me in, that beckons me to stay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So many of life’s lessons can be learned at the edge of a dock. Watching the gentle waves reminds me of the Lord’s goodness. His lovingkindness never ends, and He will wash over me wave after wave. When I make a mistake, He doesn’t change—the waves don’t stop—I do. I have to make sure I don’t stop, because I have to trust that He won’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The tremendous power of the water reminds me how small and insignificant I really am. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The only way I can make a substantial change to that expanse of water is repeatedly making consistent movements. If I persevere, then it can take me across the expanse of water where I want to go. If I give up, or if I stop, the water will consume me. In the same way, I also can’t tread water forever. I have to move in one direction or another. If I don’t reach shore at some point, then I will tire out and drown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And drowning isn’t the only horrific thing that could happen on the water. There are unknown dangers lurking just beneath the surface. Will those dangers—or the possibility of failure—prevent me from jumping in—or trying something new? I have found that the answer must be no. I cannot let hidden dangers—or fear—prevent me from becoming all that God has created me to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The steadfastness of the Lord's love, the perseverance I must have, the faith regardless of circumstances are just the few lessons I've learned next to the water. But I don't want to stay next to the water. I want to be called out upon the water. The Hillsong United song, Oceans, speaks about how God "call[s] me out upon the waters/ The great unknown where feet may fail/ And there I find You in the mystery/ In oceans deep/ My faith will stand."</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">I want the Lord to call me out upon the water, just like He called Peter in Matthew 14. I want to keep my eyes on the Lord. I don't want to be "ye of little faith." I want to be of great faith. When fear surrounds me, I want my gaze affixed to the Lord. When the storm is upon me, I want Jesus to hold out His hand to me and keep me safe. I want to walk in that faith every day. </span><br />
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-50046954072090543572018-04-19T15:29:00.002-05:002018-05-14T07:42:07.252-05:00Power, Love and a Sound Mind<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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When confronted with fear, a commonly quoted scripture is 2 Timothy 1:7, "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." It's comforting to know that God has given us these things, and that the fear we feel is not from the Lord. What's even more comforting and cool is when you use a little logic and apply this scripture to other scriptures. Let's examine more closely the three things we are told that God has given us:<br />
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<u>Power</u><br />
Acts 1:8 says that "I shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon me." Then 2 Corinthians 12:9 says that "power is perfected in our weakness." So that means that when the Holy Spirit comes upon me, I am perfected in my weakness and the Holy Spirit is perfected in me as well. Not only am I perfected, but that power--the Holy Spirit--actually is the Kingdom of God on earth. I Corinthians 4:20-21 says that "the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power." This means that the kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit. This is further confirmed by Romans 14:17, which says that "the kingdom of God...is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." So therefore, kingdom of God = power = Holy Spirit.<br />
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<u>Love</u><br />
I John 4:8 tells us that "Love is from God," and that "God is love." This is speaking of God the Father. If it were Jesus or the Holy Spirit, then John would have delineated between the three. There are countless scriptures that speak of God's love for us, the most famous is John 3:16, when God the Father gave His Son: "For God so love the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." But it's so important to remember that it's not only an action the Father shows toward us, but it's who He is. He embodies love. The Father = love.<br />
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<u>A Sound Mind</u><br />
The Greek word used in 2 Timothy for sound mind is <i>sōphronismos</i>. This word means an admonishing or calling to soundness of mind, to moderation and self-control (Strong's). So some translations say "self-control" instead of a sound mind. But let's look at the word <i>sōphronismos</i> a little more deeply. It's a compound word--which is two words put together to make one word. The first part of the Greek word is from <i>sodzo</i>, which means to be delivered or saved. The second part of the word is from <i>phroneo</i>, which refers to a person’s mind, logical thinking, will and emotions. What is our soul comprised of, but our mind, will and emotions. So the word <i>sōphronismos</i> literally means "to save my soul!" Who is the One who came to save my soul? Jesus. A sound mind = Jesus.<br />
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<u>The Trinity</u><br />
So back to 2 Timothy 1:7. We are told that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." When we apply logic to this statement, it tells us that God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but He gave us the Holy Spirit, the Father and Jesus. When I think about this scripture and the deeper meaning of what God is telling us, it ignites a passion in me that can't be contained. God speaks to us so much more deeply than just the mere words on the page. I am continually in awe of how magnificent and glorious, imaginative and omniscient our God truly is!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt519DRX3WZXDilfddvrL1hD2g0jKYb-_5YVGmOQRi9C081GD7DIWz1CrWGrIiaZ0ur_48eEDC3QhTJoZ-ErdoIAQhXwkZKyxEf0L8BCrtC0OqET9f9fA2nzzHncO4BZxrDiczpn-DhPHU/s1600/2+Tim+1+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt519DRX3WZXDilfddvrL1hD2g0jKYb-_5YVGmOQRi9C081GD7DIWz1CrWGrIiaZ0ur_48eEDC3QhTJoZ-ErdoIAQhXwkZKyxEf0L8BCrtC0OqET9f9fA2nzzHncO4BZxrDiczpn-DhPHU/s320/2+Tim+1+7.jpg" width="320" height="320" data-original-width="640" data-original-height="640" /></a></div>Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-83079324384732750152018-04-17T16:46:00.001-05:002018-05-01T15:58:31.166-05:00Forgiveness<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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One of the hardest things Jesus ever asked us to do was to forgive those who have hurt us. In our minds, we say, "He hurt me, so he should feel the same pain I am feeling right now." In our human capacity of thinking and feeling, vengeance only seems natural. However, that's not what Jesus did, and that's not grace.<br />
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When our enemies hurt us, I feel it is slightly easier to forgive. We expect our enemies to hurt us--we don't like one another, so it stands to reason that we would hurt one another. The need for vengeance is still there, but we can allow ourselves to forgive them just a little bit easier. What's much more difficult is when those whom we love hurt us. We expect so much more from the ones we love. They have given us unspoken promises just by saying the words, "I love you." Inherent in those three little words are so much more: "I will protect you," "I will be faithful to you," "I will think about your needs above my own." When we truly love someone, their hurt is our hurt. <br />
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Sometimes when we are aggrieved by those we love, it's completely unintentional. When our loved ones hurt us unintentionally, it's much easier to forgive. In addition, their level of contrition has a direct correlation with our ability to forgive quickly. To take it even a step further, when our loved ones hurt us unintentionally, we sometimes need to examine ourselves--our expectations, our demands, our attitudes--to see if what they said or did should have even hurt us in the first place. <br />
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Mikayla made a flippant comment the other day about my weight--a sensitive topic for any woman. It cut to the quick, and emotion quickly rose to my eyes. I looked at her and asked how she could say something like that. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that her comment was not funny, but hurtful. She immediately apologized and asked for forgiveness. Her brokenness at hurting me endeared her to me even more. It took .087 seconds to forgive her as she climbed into my lap, and I honestly don't even remember the words she said.<br />
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Mikayla's immediate compunction made it so easy to forgive her, especially since I knew she didn't mean to hurt me in the first place. But when our loved ones hurt us intentionally, that's when the sting of betrayal, disloyalty and dishonesty hits us the hardest. Sometimes it's not that our loved ones are hurting us on purpose, but the hurt is the unintentional consequences of their intentional actions.<br />
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For example, my college boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend, who was also my roommate at the time. I don't believe he really intentionally sought out my best friend in order to just hurt me. He intentionally sought her out, but because of his selfishness and lack of love for me, the unintended consequences of his behavior crushed me. Conversely, my ex-husband hurt me many times intentionally. Because of his own brokenness, hurts and need to be loved, he would intentionally say things he knew would deeply wound me. At times, he took great pleasure in causing me emotional pain. <br />
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Both of these hurts--intentional hurt and the unintentional consequences of intentional actions are the most difficult to forgive. Forgiveness means that you no longer hold that person responsible for what they did to you. It means that you can release them from their actions, and can no longer be hurt by these actions. Many times, we think we have forgiven, only to be reminded of what that person did. We are then confronted with the anger, hurt and frustration all over again. "I thought I had forgiven him?" we ask ourselves. I know I did. I still do. I know that I have forgiven my ex-boyfriend, as I no longer must see him or deal with him. My ex-husband, however, we must still co-parent our children. I am constantly reminded of the things he did or said. He continues to do and say horrific things to me; he slings accusations; he falsely attacks my character. I have to forgive him not only of those new sins against me, but all of the old hurts and wounds that those new accusations bring back to my mind. <br />
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In Matthew 18:21, Peter asks Jesus how many times we are supposed to forgive. Verse 22 says, "Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.'" That's just ridiculous. Do the math on that one--does Jesus literally mean we are supposed to forgive someone 490 times? <br />
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What I've learned over the past five years since my divorce is that forgiveness is a process. It's not a one-time occurrence--sometimes it might take 490 times to forgive someone for one offense. The Bible tells us that enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. One of the easiest ways to destroy us is to keep us in bitterness and anger toward other people. Bitterness will eat away at our souls, and it will destroy us from the inside out. In Galatians 5:19-21, anger, discord and dissension are listed right beside sexual immorality, drunkenness and idolatry as sins that will cause lives to be destroyed and an inability to inherit the kingdom of God. Hebrews 12:14-15 tells us to "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many." This tells us that we have to be able to get rid of bitterness in order to see the Lord. That's some heavy stuff--I won't be able to be holy or see the Lord if I'm still bitter toward someone? That's a sure-fire way that the enemy can keep me from fulfilling my God-given purpose: keep me bitter.<br />
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I have forgiven my ex-husband, and I have to keep forgiving him every day. Every time that I am reminded of something he did or said to me, I have to forgive him all over again. Every time I forgive him for the same grievance, it gets easier and easier. I've probably maxed out that 490 Jesus commanded us to forgive. But I have to walk in forgiveness. I have to choose forgiveness. Every day.<br />
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<br />Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-14492564353003046052018-03-12T15:36:00.000-05:002018-04-26T15:20:00.919-05:00Dancing with Jesus<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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I wish I were a better dancer than I am, but I definitely got the short-end of the rhythm stick. If I dance with a man who can lead me, then I can do ok, but it still isn't going to look much better than a horse prancing backwards. Maybe my dancing ineptitude is why God chose to speak to me through a dance. <br />
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During communion at church the other day, God showed me a picture of me dancing with Jesus. "Stop looking at your feet," Jesus gently whispered in my ear. "But how will I know the steps?" was my incredulous reply. I don't know the steps to any dance, and I always look at my feet—or at least other people's feet—so I can copy them. I kept trying to back away from Jesus so I could look at my feet, watch His feet, and try to follow His steps. It wasn't working. Not once did Jesus get upset with me. His eyes were trained on mine, with a loving smile across his lips. He would nod to me assuringly, and He pressed His hand on the small of my back, bringing me ever closer to Him. <br />
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He never lost his patience, and He whispered in my ear, "The closer you are to Me, the less you have to know the steps." I gazed upon His countenance, and He said, "Press into me, and <i>feel</i> the steps." I gave up trying to know the steps and pressed into Him. The closer I got to Him, the less I needed to know the steps--I could literally feel when His muscles moved, so I could instinctively move in a mirrored manner. It made me realize that I don't have to have anything in life figured out if I'm dancing with Jesus and moving when He moves. I have to trust in Him that He will equip me and be my guide. I have to learn to two-step out in faith whether I feel adequate or not. <br />
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It’s been said that, “God doesn’t always call the equipped—He equips the called.” Basically, it is saying that God will call you to do something, and you won’t necessarily know what you’re doing. He's asking you to follow Him in faith. His grace will provide a way for you to accomplish His purpose. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." Inevitably, at some point, we will be unsure about ourselves and feeling inadequate in our own power. All He needs is someone who is willing to step out in faith--even when we don’t know what we’re doing. <br />
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I want this same availability and willingness in someone I marry. I don’t want (nor do I expect) perfection in a man. I am fully aware that no one is perfect, and we have all sinned and fallen short. I want someone who knows and accepts that he’s incapable of being a good husband, provider or spiritual leader <i>on His own</i>. And yet he’s still willing to do it anyway because he knows that God’s grace is sufficient. I want a man who doesn’t have to have it all figured out before he takes the first step. I want someone who is willing to take it step by step and learn and grow in the Lord with me. If he had it all figured out, then there's no need for God. <br />
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After God gave me the vision of me dancing with Jesus, I asked God where my husband is in this picture. I couldn't see how any man could fit in to that perfect picture of Jesus and me on the dance floor. Every time, I would see a man try to cut in, or I would try to stop dancing with Jesus. It just wasn't working. Then He showed me--my husband is dancing with Jesus, too. He's right beside me, dancing with Jesus. The four of us, on the dance floor. Then I saw the two figures of Jesus converge into one, and at the same time, my husband converged with me. We literally became one person--one flesh. And as that one flesh, we danced with Jesus together. Pressed in to Him, loving Him, being one with each other and at the same time, being one with the Lord. Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-90619332720202404962018-02-11T22:26:00.002-06:002018-04-26T15:55:12.518-05:00Mashed PotatoesI’ve heard a saying that says something to the effect of “the same boiling water that hardens the egg softens the potato.” It’s not the boiling water—the situation you are in—but rather what you’re made of that determines the outcome of that adversity. So when adversity comes, which will you be? An hardened egg or a softened potato?<br />
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Hopefully, we can all be potatoes. Imagine if you were that potato being boiled, though. You went through the pain of boiling water, and you’re now softened. But you’re still not ready to be eaten. So the Lord starts mashing you. It seems like it’s the worst pain in the world, and why would this happen after being redeemed from the boiling water? Getting mashed doesn’t sound like much fun at all. But He’s molding you into what He wants—a delectable culinary delight. He adds the milk and the butter, the salt and the pepper. He is creating something way better than what that potato was prior to the boiling—or even after the boiling. The key is to know that you’re being made into mashed potatoes and not sulk and cry, “Why?!?” when He’s mashing or adding a little texture and flavor to you. You just have to trust in Him that He knows what He’s cooking. <br />
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-7530193367409957212018-01-17T16:28:00.001-06:002019-04-24T13:08:38.549-05:00If I'm GoneMy dearest, sweetest Loves,<br />
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In the past two years, four parents of your friends have lost a parent. If I am gone too soon, please know it was not too soon. My time on this earth was up, and I am rejoicing in the heavens watching over you. I am patiently awaiting your arrival in heaven as well, when we will be reunited. Don't ever think of cutting your time on earth short. You have a destiny to fulfill, and that is to be completed whether I am on this earth or in it. Please know that God did not take me from you, nor did He do this to you. Each of us are given a purpose here on earth, and my purpose came to fruition. <br />
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The question you should be asking is not, "Why did this happen?" or even, "Why did God let this happen?" The question should be, "Why not?" Think about it. MY purpose was finished, and it was my time to ascend to the heavenly places to take my crown of jewels. So please do not be angry. Please do not become bitter. My ascension to heaven does not change who you are, who you were created to be, or your purpose here on earth. You must remember the things I have told you, the things that God has said about you. Read this blog over and over again every time that you feel sad. You can remember how much I love you. I love you so much, my heart aches. You are so precious and beautiful, my meager words here cannot do you or my love justice. As I write the words, tears are streaming down my face knowing that one day you will be reading these words, and I will not be there to cuddle you and comfort you. But rest assured that God will always comfort you. He is the Great Comforter. Lean not on your own understanding, but in ALL your ways acknowledge Him. He will give you peace. He will be your refuge in times of need. And you will need refuge. You will need comfort. <br />
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To quote Pooh Bear, "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know."Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-14550628276647635652018-01-15T21:19:00.000-06:002018-05-27T15:25:01.738-05:00Fleeting Feelings<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfOZ4ujlVrw5z0zHPRAVjePO9tSUDjyLMBrCfkAENVQ4jYZkIenx-Jo7D7iZRk5sdoTWYBpvJnTziVt3o1s74zx-KRpWABOKlSN9or1Oa-9fdDLei0A_g-FIB0Dk6b0G2AZ4y37aRcz7g/s1600/psalm-103_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfOZ4ujlVrw5z0zHPRAVjePO9tSUDjyLMBrCfkAENVQ4jYZkIenx-Jo7D7iZRk5sdoTWYBpvJnTziVt3o1s74zx-KRpWABOKlSN9or1Oa-9fdDLei0A_g-FIB0Dk6b0G2AZ4y37aRcz7g/s320/psalm-103_1.jpg" width="320" height="128" data-original-width="300" data-original-height="120" /></a></div>In our postmodernist society, we are inundated with media that tells us, "If it feels good, do it." We are told to indulge in whatever vices we desire--sex, drugs, alcohol, gluttony, whatever it may be. What's right for you may not be right for me. The only caveat we are given is to do no harm to others. Postmodernists believe that definite terms, boundaries, and absolute truth do not exist. They believe that truth is relative and truth is up to each individual to determine for him or herself. Therefore, postmodernists believe that no one has the authority to define truth or impose upon others his or her idea of moral right and wrong. Their self-rationalization of society and life then, becomes a moral relativism versus divine revelation. There can be no latter if there is only the former. This pervasive, persuasive, and perverse thinking can be seen in our movies, TV shows, news media, education system, government, and even our children.<br />
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This kind of relative morality directly contradicts the Bible. The Bible and God's truth is not relative—it is absolute, and it is never-changing. Malachi 3: 6 says, "I, the Lord, do not change." That puts it pretty plainly. But if that's not enough for you, Jesus also says in John 14:6 "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life." So if we use a little logic here, Jesus, the Lord, does not change, and neither does the Way, the Truth or the Life. None of it changes. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the steadfast rock that is unwavering.<br />
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Feelings and emotions waver--they wax and wane; they are red-hot with passion one day, and cold as ice the next. Juliet had it right when she told Romeo, "O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon/That monthly changes in her circle orb/Lest that thy love prove likewise variable." She knew that feelings and emotions can be fleeting. As Christians, we don't get to rely on our feelings for our truth, but rather we must fully rely on God's Word and God's truth. We don't get to pick and choose which scriptures we "feel like" following. <br />
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So are we to ignore our feelings? Of course not. But we are to submit those feelings to the Holy Spirit prior to acting on them. The Bible tells us that our soul (mind, will, and emotions) is to be submitted to the Holy Spirit. So if we are Christians who submit our souls (including our feelings) to the Lord, then we must always look at our emotions in light of the Lord, the Truth and the Bible, and it isn't easy. <br />
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Even David, a man after God's own heart, had trouble submitting his soul to the Spirit. Psalm 103:1 says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" This is the Psalmist speaking to his soul--to his mind, his will and his emotions--telling them to bless the Lord. He is submitting his soul to his spirit--His Spirit. <br />
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The bottom line is that it doesn't really matter how you feel. Feelings lie, and Satan can give you those feelings anyway. What matters is the Word of God, because in the Word of God is all Truth. When we use the Word of God as our yardstick to measure our lives, it is far more secure than using our ephemeral, ever-changing feelings. Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-89883860097560827062018-01-12T11:17:00.002-06:002018-04-26T15:23:05.472-05:00Put in the WorkSeveral years ago, after my divorce, God promised me a home (as in one I could purchase for myself and my girls). So I started working my butt off to save money; I drove the bus whenever I could, and I started coaching to earn extra cash. We scrimped and saved. I did massive amounts of credit repair. Then I had to go house hunting. I had to write a $1,000 earnest money check. I had to put in a mortgage application. I had to sign the documents. I had to go get a really big cashier's check with all the money I had in the entire world. And in August, I bought my first new home as a single mom. God was the only way it could happen. <br />
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With this being said, God made me a promise of a home. But I had to do the work on myself first, then I had to actually put myself out there and go through the process of purchasing the home. God was with me every step of the way, guiding me, teaching me and showing me what to do. But He did not just drop a house in my lap. I didn't just keep praying more or harder for a house. I had to do WORK. <br />
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The same principle applies to relationships. So many times, we think that God will just drop a man in our laps. We think that God will just bring that person to us without us having to *do* a thing. It doesn't work that way. We have to prepare ourselves (credit repair), we have to look for Godly people to befriend (house-hunting) and put ourselves out there (apply for that mortgage—we could get denied!), and actually go through the process (which is scary!) in order to have that Godly relationship (home) we desire. <br />
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So stop thinking that a house or a mate will just arrive one day just because God gave you a promise. WORK the promise!Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-87399856006932130882018-01-05T14:34:00.000-06:002018-04-26T15:57:19.275-05:00Satan's AttacksGrowing up, the adults in my life would tell me that I was a leader. Being young and naive, I would try to be a leader--I ran for class office, I tried to step up into other leadership roles at school, and I never won. Not once. My senior year, I was captain of the basketball team, but that was mainly because I was the best one on the team--not because of stellar leadership skills. I left high school thinking that the adults in my life were severely mislead about my abilities, and that I was most definitely not a leader. So that's how I led my life--that is until a couple years ago.<br />
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One of the singles pastors at church decided that I needed to lead a group. Obviously, I did not concur, but I bit the bullet and did it anyway. After that season, I was asked again to be a leader, then again. In May 2016, I got a call from my singles pastor. She asked me to lead the Single Parent Family Mission Trip to Mexico. I had not even really planned on going on that trip. I had been praying about whether to sign up or not, but I still wasn't sure that's what God wanted me to do. She told me that she wasn't able to go on the trip because of a scheduling conflict. She said that she was told to choose one man and one woman to lead the trip in her stead. My gut reaction was to say no. I am not anywhere near qualified to lead a group of people on a mission trip. I hesitated, then I heard myself say, "yes" to her. Over the next few months, I spent more time in prayer than I ever had in my life. I carefully sought the Lord in every plan that I made. My co-leader was the perfect person for me to lead with. He is a big-picture person, and I'm a details person. We worked perfectly together, and my confidence in my leadership abilities was feebly growing.<br />
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There were numerous setbacks and rough patches in the missions team as we prepared for the trip. I had to handle situations I had never had to handle before. I realized that dealing with people is messy business. I was in uncharted territory. My faith in my abilities was shaky at best, and I truly had to learn to lean on the Lord in every step I took. The mission trip itself was one of the most trying weeks of my life. Not only was is physically draining (hard work, heat and humidity, and I was suffering from altitude sickness), but it was spiritually draining. We were in an area of Mexico that was dark and Satan's handiwork was evident everywhere we turned. It was emotionally draining to be away from my children, and it took a toll on my emotions that I was the leader. In the midst of dealing with my own struggles, everyone turned to me with their issues as well. The last evening we were there, things were not going as planned. As is common with leading groups, some things were said about the trip and the activities that were quite hurtful to me. Those words shot through me like a dagger, and the meager confidence I had was shattered. I had to excuse myself, and I went to my room and cried. Not small tears streaming down my face crying, but boo-hooing ugly crying. I was hurt. I was mad. I was mad at God. I was mad at all the people who ever wanted to put me in a leadership role. I was mad that I was there. I was mad that I was supposed to be this leader that I was most decidedly not. I just knew that I knew it was another mistake, and that I was not supposed to be a leader. <br />
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That's when my roommate came in. She prayed with me and said these words to me, "Satan always attacks where your giftings are." It was a revelation to me, and it was God speaking through her. God showed me that Satan doesn't want me to be a leader. He came to kill, steal, and destroy. Why would Satan leave alone our gifts from God? It's a brilliant plan! If Satan can get us to believe that the gifts God gave us are indeed a curse, or that we (or God) is wrong about those gifts, then Satan wins. And he doesn't care how old we are. He starts in on those promises and gifts incredibly early.<br />
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When each of the girls were born, I asked the Lord for a word for each of them. For Mikayla, He told me that she has the mantle of leadership upon her, and for Macey, she is made to go beyond our borders and change the world with her hands. I don't know what that means exactly, but I know her hands are so important to her future. And I've always loved her hands--I've always admired them, and thought the way she moved them and her mannerisms were just so cute. However, Macey has always been a colossal klutz. She knocks over everything she touches; she spills every drink. The floor underneath where she eats is covered with little tidbits of food. She gets food all over herself: in her hair, on her clothes, in her shoes. She spills everything in the car. She will absent-mindedly tear up paper into little pieces and strew them across the floor. She breaks almost every toy she plays with, or at least ruins it beyond use. She's broken my iPad screen three times, and my iPhone screen twice. To put it succinctly: she's a destructive little tornado. As I was talking to my dad about it the other day, the Lord reminded me of my experience in Mexico and how Satan will always attack us where we are gifted. Then He plainly asked me, "Where are Macey's giftings?" And that was it--it's her hands. Satan has been attacking her to destroy her confidence in her hands. If she believes that she destroys everything she touches, she will never be able to fulfill her destiny and the promise God gave me for her.<br />
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So we lay in bed and talked about it. I told her that Satan will always attack us where we are gifted. I told her about God's promise to me about her. She cried, "But I'm so destructive!" I cried, too. She's already believing Satan's lie, and I have to make sure God's truth prevails. We kept talking about it for several more minutes, and I prayed over her. The tears dried, and we hugged and kissed. Macey goes in the kitchen, and Mikayla immediately gets on to her for something she had destroyed earlier in the day. Macey holds her hands out and responds with, "Why would you say that, Mikayla? I'm going to change the world with my hands, and I just found out!"<br />
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It will take a long time to undo just the seven years of damage Satan has done to Macey and her confidence in her abilities and her hands. I will have to change the way I talk to her, and I will have to speak life into her every day in regards to her gifts. But I have confidence and faith that God will prevail, and that Satan will never win. He will always attack us exactly where our giftings are, and he will make us feel as if our giftings are not real, or that God was wrong. We must always be alert to that, speak against it, and cover ourselves in the blood of Jesus Christ. Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-24362079125444112342017-12-11T19:59:00.002-06:002018-04-27T13:08:09.831-05:00God is Not in ControlA psycho unleashed terror in Las Vegas, Nevada the beginning of October. He murdered 58 people and injured 546 people who were all at a country music concert. Even several months later, there are many questions unanswered. When mass murders like this occur, or even when smaller tragedies hit us, we want so desperately to make the pain a little more bearable. The range of emotions from rage and anger to anguish and melancholy leave us crying out, "Dear God, Why?" We comfort those who are hurting with our words, especially our "Christian" words. The two most common phrases we hear when the incomprehensible happen are, "God is in control," or "Everything happens for a reason." People post memes with these phrases, inspirational quotes and send cards with these words. While these two phrases may give some momentary comfort in times of confusion and hurt, what they say about God is unbiblical and untrue.<br />
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We indeed need to "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." God does "'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.'" God knows everything that will happen, but that doesn't mean He is controlling us, the universe, or the earth. God is not a puppet master, and we are not his marionettes. We have been given free-will, and we can choose our own path. We get to make every choice every day. We get to choose whether or not we follow God. He tells us what He wishes for us-that to be His disciple, we must "take up their cross daily and follow me." But He never forces our hand, because He can't, and therein lies the paradox. How can an omnipotent God not do something, yet still be limited in what He can do? It doesn't make sense to our human (and very limited) brains. <br />
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When God created the universe, He created laws of physics and thermodynamics. He created gravity, friction, transference of energy, and all other scientific laws. We know that these rules cannot be broken--what goes up must come down; for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. We know through scientific observation that these are laws--they cannot be broken. If God wanted to, He could thump the moon to the Horsehead Nebula, but He won't. Because it violates the laws in which He set up the universe. In the same way He set up the laws of the physical world, He also set up the laws of humanity. God could intervene and stop every evil thing from happening, but he won't. It violates the laws of humanity.<br />
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When God set up the laws of humanity, first of all, He gave us free will. He gave us the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Precisely because He is a loving God, He had to give us a choice to love Him, honor Him, and be faithful to Him. If He didn't give us a choice, it wouldn't be true love. He also gave man dominion over the earth. Genesis 1 tells us that God made the animals, then He made man "so that they may rule over" the animals and all the earth. The Psalmist in Psalm 8:6 praises His name, saying "You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet." Just as the laws of physics cannot be altered, neither can the laws of His character. <br />
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God gave us control over the earth. That's why Satan was able to deceive Adam and Eve in the garden. That's why there is sin in this world. Because God is not in control. If He were in control, there would be no sin, therefore no earth. A sinless world can only happen once this earth passes away, and there is a new heaven and a new earth. That time has not yet come, but it will happen. God promises it in Revelation 21. <br />
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Even though God isn't in control, He can still perform miraculous wonders. He is still capable of signs and wonders. He is still omnipotent. He is still the author and finisher of our faith. While we are living here on this earth, God will not intervene unless we give him permission. God cannot do anything on this earth unless He has a body to work through. The same things goes for Satan. Satan and his legions must have a body to work their evil plans, because God gave mankind dominion over the earth. <br />
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I Peter 3:9-16 says:<br />
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.<br />
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It is so important for us to realize that when someone dies here on earth, they are receiving their inheritance in heaven. We are to rejoice that they are rejoicing on streets of gold. They are free from sin and every ugly thing here on earth. They are only separated from us but for a fleeting moment here on earth. So many times we question God asking, "Why?" when the actual question we should be asking is "Why not?" Why should God not take His children out of poverty, destruction, sin and tragedy and draw them next to Him? Why should He not seat them on His throne of glory? Why should God not use tragedy to teach those of us who remain more about Who He is and to show us His infinite love? But He never lets bad things happen just so He can be glorified. That's absurd. He doesn't work that way--but Satan does. Satan is sneaky, and he will get us to believe that bad things happen to us because of God. He is the ultimate blame-shifter. <br />
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I will never believe that God's "divine plan" was for me to be sexually assaulted, contemplate suicide, go through a divorce, or any of the other bad things that have happened to me. There was NO reason for it other than Satan trying to get me to end my life. And I refuse to believe God "let it happen because it's part of His plan." It happened because we live in a fallen world. God has indeed used those things in my life to His Glory. He has turned something tragic and horrific into something beautiful that only He is capable of doing. But to say that everything: tragedy, loss, hurt, pain, destruction, depression, etc. was a part of God's divine plan—-no. It wasn't. That is Satan's plan. He's the one who comes to kill, steal and destroy.<br />
<br />Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-34503368461323998202017-10-15T14:43:00.001-05:002018-04-27T13:12:33.974-05:00Summer 2017<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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I glimpse into our <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3gg3zIOVFywdmppQTRlS3FESDA">summer 2017</a>. Click the link to see the video! It took me a while to get it all put together, but I finally got it! We had a blast this summer--water parks, New Orleans, Destin, Vicksburg, Eustace and lots of time with the cousins! Summer culminated with us finally moving in to our new house! God has blessed our little family more than I could ever imagine. There's a song that says, "Where there is no way, You make a way!" And that's exactly how I feel about our house. God made a way for me to be a homeowner and for me to give my girls a home. <br />
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For my 38th birthday, we went to Keller Pointe, which is a local water park. They have an indoor section with a slide and play area, as well as a large outdoor park. It's intimate enough for us to be able to just play and not worry about our stuff.The girls were on the swim team for the Northwest YMCA. They practiced during the week and had meets on Saturdays. Macey went to Gym n' Swim camp at Sokol the first week of the summer. Another reason I love living out here--I used to go to Sokol when I was her age, as well as swim at the YMCA for swim team. Mikayla went back to Leta Andrews' basketball camp at Country Day. <br />
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Lauren, Sadie, Titus, Eli and Emmie returned with us to Miramar Beach this year as well. We took an extra day to drive down and stayed for an evening in New Orleans. We stayed at the Hilton, and Mikayla was in awe of the hotel. She mentioned several times that it was the nicest hotel we've ever been to. The next day, we went to Cafe DuMonde and ate beignets for breakfast. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but it was a donut with powered sugar. They were good, but I just thought there would be more to it. The cafe doesn't serve anything else, either. After breakfast, we went walking down the French Quarter. We went to St. Louis Cathedral, and it was overwhelming. It was so beautiful. We walked out on Jackson Square, and there were lots of palm readers and voodoo booths. The girls did not like it one bit. They could feel the presence about the place, and it wasn't one of the Holy Spirit. Before we left, I took a picture of myself reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" while standing on the banks of the Mississippi River. I'm sure I'm the only one who would think that's cute.<br />
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We stayed in the same condo complex in Miramar Beach that we stayed in last year. It wasn't the same condo, but it was the same floor plan. We were on the 4th floor, and it actually worked out really well. It rained on us a couple times, and a torrential downpour let loose the day we left. We went on a shelling and snorkeling tour this year as well. We saw several dolphins, then went to a shallow coastal area to look for shells. The captain found a blue crab for us to all hold. We found a ton of seashells. When La-La and I got back to the condo, we were cleaning the shells, and two hermit crabs had made it in the shell bags! We took them back to the ocean so they might be able to live. As we were washing the shells, we were talking about how clean they already were, and how it was odd that there were so many shells right where we docked the boat. It then dawned on us that the Destin Snorkel Company planted the shells! They had to go out prior to our boat trip and place all of those shells there. We felt pretty foolish and laughed about it. I guess it's more fun to at least pretend we are finding the shells than just to buy them in a store. Then we wondered where those shells actually came from. <br />
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On our way back to Texas, the girls and I stayed in Vicksburg, Mississippi. We stayed at a casino hotel on the Mississippi River. The view was breathtaking. There was a pool, so of course the girls jumped right in. We ate dinner in the hotel that night, and it was half price appetizers. We had shrimp and crab claws. The girls were still wet from the pool, and it was so cold in the dining room. We shivered all the way through dinner. <br />
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The next morning, I found a Chick-Fil-A, because we all wanted Chicken Minis. When we pulled up, there was a man cutting the grass. When we got out of the car, Macey said, "It smells like grasshole!" We all got a good laugh out of that one. We then went to the National Military Park Museum. I didn't know what it was, but I thought it looked interesting, and it delivered! It's a drive-through park with monuments all throughout it that honor the men who fought in the Civil War. We got out of the car several times and took pictures and read the monuments. There were cannons, and the girls pretended to shoot them. After having read a lot of men's names on the monuments and tombstones, Mikayla said, "Where are all of the women's names?" I explained to her how only men fought back then--not women. She was incredulous. "But why?" she demanded. "Women are just as capable as men to fight in a war." The USS Cairo is also on display in the park, so we got to walk through the warship. Macey was especially interested in the museum artifacts. We had a wonderful time at the beach and our stops along the way. <br />
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As soon as we got back to Fort Worth, we spent a couple days at home before heading to the farm. We spent the 4th of July there, and the kids loved it. We went fishing, and there was a giant waterslide for the kids. We shot fireworks, and even started a fire! The fireworks smoldered and caught fire in the middle of the night. Quick thinking Papa Rock saved the farm from going up in flames. Mama Rock had just gotten two barn kittens, and the girls were smitten. The girls caught their first fish, and Mikayla wouldn't even hold the line to take a picture with it. <br />
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The cousins came to Fort Worth later in July as well. We went to Burger's Lake with them, as well as Eagle Mountain Lake. Justin rented a boat, and the kids got to wakeboard and tube. The girls had never gotten to do that before, so they had a blast. I'm so thankful for a sister and brother in law who can give my kids these amazing experiences that I can't.<br />
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One night, I couldn't sleep, so at about 2:30 in the morning, I pulled Mikayla and Macey out of bed, and we went to Whataburger to eat breakfast. The only reason was just to make a memory. Because sometimes, it's just fun to do wild and crazy things to make memories. <br />
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<br />Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-55369319549836376842017-07-30T20:49:00.003-05:002018-04-27T13:11:36.685-05:00ProdigalIn the story of the Prodigal Son, the father represents God the father, while the prodigal son represents those of us who have strayed away from God and come back home. It teaches us that no matter how far away we stray, God will always be there waiting for us to return. It also teaches us the relationship with God is what He longs for. <br />
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We know that the prodigal son represents a person who is already a Christian. How do we know that he represents a Christian? Ephesians 1:5 tells us that God "predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ." (NIV) Romans 8:16 says that, "The Spirit himself testifies that we are God's children." (NIV) So when we are His children, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17 NIV) This lets us know that the Prodigal Son was indeed representative of a Christian--not someone who doesn't know God.<br />
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When the prodigal son went his own way, he broke off the relationship with his father. He did horrible and degrading things. He squandered his entire inheritance. At his lowest point, he ate the food of what was considered one of the most unclean animals. He realized that even the servants (not sons) of his father lived better than he was living. He was so ashamed and distant, he was willing to trade his son-status for that of a servant. He just wanted to be back in the presence of his father, even if that meant he didn't have a relationship with him anymore. He never thought he would be worthy to continue being his father's son or be in relationship with him. He had just done too many horrible things. <br />
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At what point did he stop being a son? He never did. He always remained a son. What he lost was relationship. Upon his return to his father, he was greeted with compassion, hugs, kisses, and a feast. He was immediately provided a robe (the father's protection), a ring (the father's authority), and sandals (the ability to go and do the father's work). He never stopped being a son, and he re-gained the relationship when he was able to humble himself and turn away from the pigsty. <br />
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So how does this look to us in the 21st Century?<br />
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It's the same picture. We fall away, we do degrading horrible things. We sin. We have sex outside of marriage. We drink. We do drugs. We're selfish. We're arrogant and narcissistic. But we never stop being sons or daughters. However, we are out of relationship with the Father. God deeply desires the relationship with his sons and daughters. James 5:8 says, "Come near to God, and he will come near to you." (NIV) We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ to the kingdom of heaven, yes, but God wants the relationship with us, too. We only have to humble ourselves and turn away from the pigsty. That's the key. The son decided to leave the pigsty. He had to leave the sin behind. He had to take action. He didn't know how it would turn out--but we do. When he returned to his father, he knew he couldn't live in both worlds. He had to leave the sin behind to be in his father's presence and to live as his son. Do we? Do we try to live in the pigsty of sin, sex, drugs, selfishness, lust, gluttony--but then turn around on a Sunday and all of a sudden be in His presence? We have to humble ourselves and leave the pigsty behind. <br />
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Special Thanks to Greg Jenks for co-writing this one with me. Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-46261291399193408252017-07-25T21:55:00.000-05:002018-06-08T22:55:16.934-05:00ChesterThis past week, the lead singer of the band Linkin Park, Chester Bennington, committed suicide. Unlike other recent celebrity suicides and overdoses, this one has affected me more than any other. Maybe it's because he's so close to my age. Maybe it's because I liked Linkin Park so much. Maybe it's more than any of that. <br />
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When I was in college, the band Linkin Park released their first studio album, <i>Hybrid Theory</i>. One of my best friends and I couldn't wait until the band came to Texas so we could see them in concert. We drove two and a half hours to see them, and couldn't stop talking about the concert. We weaseled our way down to as close to the stage as the security guards would let us go without proper tickets. I can still see the sweat dripping down from Chester's frosted-tips to his temple. With their grungy guitar-heavy rock sound combined with Chester's scraggly voice and Mike's near rapping, the band was a perfect combination of all that I loved about 90's music. Most importantly, for the first time, there was a band who played music with lyrics that spoke to my soul. They talked about real-life issues like suicide, depression and rejection. Not thinly veiled allusions and artistic interpretation of lyrics. This wasn't scar tissue that I wish you saw, the world wasn't a vampire, and who really wants to destroy my sweater anyway?<br />
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These lyrics were straight-forward. They cut like a knife. "Everything you say to me takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break." And I was at a time in my life that I was about to break. <br />
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I dealt with thoughts of suicide starting in my early teens. And I always thought I was alone. Thoughts of suicide only happened to people who are super screwed up. I wasn't super screwed up--I was only screwed up. I was a Christian, after all. I went to a Christian school. I had good parents. I had a good life. Why would I ever want to commit suicide? But those thoughts entered my mind frequently. Sometimes, I would be driving down the road, and I would think, "What if I just steered the car right over this bridge?" I was convinced I would die before I turned 21. I thought about shooting myself, hanging myself or cutting my wrists? Which would hurt the least? Which would make the least amount of mess? Pills. That's the ticket. <br />
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There was no one I could talk to; there was nowhere I could turn. I felt utterly alone, and I suffered in silence. Because no one else would ever understand why this middle class Christian girl would ever think about suicide. I was ugly. I was unloved. I felt like no one truly knew me. No one truly cared. No one would ever understand. It resulted in my drinking (a lot) and doing other things that are unbecoming of a young lady. Then came Linkin Park. All of a sudden, I realized I'm not alone. Chester and the band sang songs about suicide. They sang songs about real life. They sang about all the pressure there is to be perfect. "I kept everything inside, and even though I tried, it all fell apart. What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard." The pressure from society, the pressure from teachers, parents, relatives, everyone in your life. He talked about the walls closing in; he talked about real hurts--my hurts.<br />
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I felt like finally, there is someone else who feels the same way. And if the music is that popular, then maybe there are others out there who feel like me. It opened up conversations with friends, and it made me feel not quite so alone. It took much more than Linkin Park to pull me out of the drunken stupor of depression and into God's presence. But it was the first step. That's why Chester's suicide has affected me so greatly. He didn't have to die. There was a Way out of the pain. He believed the lies for one day too long. <br />
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No one can walk this journey for you. When you're in the midst of the lies, you can't hear the truth. Nothing anyone says really matters. It's you and your mind, your thoughts and Satan's lies versus God's Word. It's your choice which one you believe. And it is most definitely a choice. By not making a choice, you are choosing the former. To choose the latter, you must consciously say it out loud, "I reject the lies of Satan, I believe God's Word for my life."<br />
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In order to make the choice to believe God's Word, you have to know what God's Word says about you. That takes reading the Bible and choosing to take the time to read it. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to, "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." That means that EVERY thought that comes into our head must be taken to God's Word and be put to the litmus test of whether it is from God or not. <br />
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And this is where Satan is ever so tricky. Satan's lies to us always sound like they are coming from us--from our own mind. Satan's lies are always in first person. "I am ugly." "I am alone." "No one loves me." "I am worthless." Notice that his lies are not in second person saying "You". It would be much easier to identify Satan's lies if they were in second person as if Satan himself was talking to us. But he doesn't work that way. He gives us the lies as if they are coming from our own head (or heart), so they seem real.<br />
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God's Words to us are usually in second person. "You are loved." "You are worthy." "You are My child." Because they are coming from God our Father, Jesus our Bridegroom, and Holy Spirit, our Truth and Counselor. It's a lot harder to believe something when it seems to be coming from someone other than ourselves. But it is the Truth. Jesus is the Truth. And the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth (John 16:13 NIV). <br />
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Walking through this broken world will never be easy. But it's our choice if we are going to be broken in the broken world. You are not defective because you have suicidal thoughts. There is nothing wrong with you because you feel this way, but you don't have to feel this way. In the end, it DOES even matter. You matter.<br />
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*wikimedia commonsLindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-74530466590426384432017-06-30T23:57:00.000-05:002017-07-30T23:57:55.488-05:00Little ComediennesA couple funny moments from the girls over the past six months or so. <br />
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December 18, 2016<br />
Macey says, "I know how to spell Cowboys! C-O-W-M-E-N!"<br />
"Macey, that spells Cowmen!"<br />
"Yeah, because they grew up!"<br />
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December 10, 2016<br />
As an ACU guard turns over the ball, Mikayla says with complete disgust, "She just gave it to them. Like, here you go—an early Christmas present!" <br />
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Mikayla Quote of the Day #2— In the car, and "Mary Did You Know?" starts playing. After several lines, she says, "Um, it says in the Bible the angles told her, so, Yes. She knew." *throws hands up in exasperation and rolls eyes* <br />
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December 16, 2016<br />
I forgot to move the Elf on the Shelf last night, so I told Macey it was just too cold for Peppermint Angel to leave—she wanted to stay warm. Macey pops her hip out, cocks her head and says incredulously, "Mommy, Peppermint Angel lives at the North Pole. Nothing is too cold for her."<br />
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December 17. 2016<br />
As we are headed to dinner, Mikayla was just reading a chapter from the Bible aloud to me. She stopped for just a second, and I said, "I'm starving." Then she looked at me pointed to my phone with the Bible app open, and said, "But you're being fed the word of God."<br />
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December 23, 2016<br />
After the three of us opened all of our packages to one another on "Christmas Eve," Macey stops me and says, "Ok, so I know like, Santa is you—that you give the presents, but where do you get them?" Confused, I asked what she meant. She pointed under the tree and said, "There's nothing under there. Where do the presents come from?" I told her, "That's part of the magic of Christmas!" as I kissed her on the nose. Then she cocked her head and said, "But Mommy, I need to know, because I'll have kids one day!"<br />
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January, 2016<br />
At school, Mikayla was supposed to choose one of the characteristics of God to study. Mikayla chose Prince of Peace. When I asked her why, she said, "It's because God gave me peace when you and Daddy got a divorce."<br />
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March 5, 2016<br />
So the girls came home and told me that Adam and Joni were fighting a lot today. Macey said she thinks they are going to break up. She was crying and was asking a lot of questions...who'll she still be my stepmom, will I see her again, etc. Through tears, she said she didn't want them to break up because she would miss Joni. I said, "Oh, honey. Know that you are never alone, even when you feel like you are." Going in a different direction than what I was thinking, she sniffled, "I know, because I have the best mom in the whole wide world!" And she hugged my neck. Touched, I hugged her back tightly and said, "Oh my goodness! I don't know what I did to deserve such a sweet daughter like you, but I am so glad God gave you to me!" Macey pulled back and completely serious, as if she has thought about it a lot, she said, "I think it's because you praise God." 😍😂<br />
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May 2017<br />
Mikayla learned about idioms, and I was asking her about what they were and to give me an example. She says, "You're an idiom."<br />
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June 13, 2017<br />
Yesterday, we saw a LC student in his Jeep on the road. We waved at each other, and the girls started asking who it was. <br />
I told them, "That was Matthew, and he's going to be in 12th grade."<br />
Macey, gently shaking her head with raised eyebrows says, "They grow up so fast." <br />
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June 14, 2017 After sneezing 4 times in a row and then coughing for about a minute straight, I said, "Wow! Something got me today!" Macey said, "Maybe it's your face?"<br />
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June 26, 2017<br />
Listening to "The Sound of Music" soundtrack song, "I am 16 going on 17," Mikayla says, "Why is she letting her boyfriend tell her what to do?" 😂<br />
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June 30, 2017<br />
We went to the Vicksburg, Mississippi National Military Park today. She's looking at all the names of the soldiers. "Where are all the women fighters?" I had to explain to her that only men fought. "Well, that's not right. Women can fight just as good as men!"<br />
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Macey said, "It smells like grasshole out here"<br />
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Lindsey MercerLindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-21246811720971393742016-12-04T22:27:00.000-06:002017-07-30T23:19:42.958-05:00The Revolving Doctor DoorI have suffered with hypothyroid symptoms now for more than 10 years. It started with a multi-nodular goiter. My general practitioner wasn't even the one who found it. It was my OB/GYN when I was confirming I was pregnant with Mikayla. I had to wait until after I gave birth to her, but as soon as I stopped nursing, we started to work on my thyroid.<br />
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In addition to bloodwork, I had sonograms, a thyroid scan, a radioactive iodine thyroid uptake exam and a fine needle biopsy. The fine needle biopsy was one of the worst experiences of my life. In 2009, it was eventually determined that I should have a partial thyroidectomy to remove the goiter and affected tissue. I found no relief from my symptoms following the thyroidectomy. Doctors monitored my thyroid hormone levels, however, and they concluded that my half of a thyroid functioned normally, because the bloodwork said so. <br />
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I still felt awful, and eventually grew another goiter. My general practitioner refused to do anything about it—or even believe me. So I went on my own to get a sonogram to prove there was a goiter. When I brought him the results, he still wasn't alarmed. I asked if I could just try a low dose of Synthroid to see if I felt better, and he said he could lose his medical license if he did that. <br />
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I switched doctors. Repeatedly. I begged each one to listen to me and my symptoms—not the paperwork from lab results. So more bloodwork, thyroid scans, another radioactive iodine thyroid test. Each new doctor gave me a renewed sense of hope. Maybe this doctor will finally be the one to help me.<br />
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All "normal". So again and again, I was told that my headaches were from stress—so reduce my stress. My fatigue is stress, too, obviously. My weight gain was from overeating—so eat better and work out more. My muscle weakness is because I'm not working out enough and my muscles are atrophying—so hit the gym! Not being able to control my body temperature—well that's odd, but probably not related to your thyroid. My elevated LDL cholesterol—I need to eat better (remember, because I'm fat?). My hoarse voice—I talk all day as a teacher. My hair loss—that's stress, too. My plantar fasciitis—not related at all. Maybe it's my hormones—let's put you on birth control to regulate your hormones. Maybe it's my adrenals—so off I go to have an adrenal function tests and cortisol levels checked. Maybe it's my kidneys—so off I go to get those checked out, too. Maybe it's a gluten allergy—stay away from gluten. Eat more iodine; consume less iodine. Eat kelp. Eat this. Avoid this. You'll be fine. <br />
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I've also developed tinnitus. I've always had it, and I thought it was normal until someone told me it's not. And I was nearly in my 30's then. Lately, it's getting worse and worse. I'm starting to lose my hearing, and I can't separate sounds when there is background noise. I find myself turning my head and straining to hear. It takes all my mental faculties sometimes to hear someone speaking. The ringing is incessant, and the worst at night. I had no idea tinnitus could even be related. But one night, I was googling, and I found there is a direct correlation to tinnitus and hypothyroid. Again, another symptom I clearly have hypothyroidism. <br />
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I've asked a couple doctors to be referred to the Thyroid and Diabetes Center in Fort Worth. One doctor flat refused. Another said he would do it, but not to expect anything, since my labs were all normal. When I hadn't heard from the TDC in more than a month after the referral, I called them myself. They told me that they had received my referral and labs, but there was nothing they could do for me, since all my labs were within range. <br />
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I go through periods where I resign myself to always feeling like this. Always being overweight and feeling awful. Losing my hearing and my sanity. Then I'll get determined to find the answer with yet another new doctor. <br />
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In all, I had ten doctors —TEN—tell me that I have normal lab results, so I must be normal. <br />
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Last month, I went to see Dr. Number 11. As I told her my symptoms, a wave of despair washed over me as she dismissed everyone one of my symptoms as related to something else. Stress, hormones, adrenals. <br />
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So here we go with the bloodwork. "Please, God! Let it show *something*!"<br />
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I receive the results, and Hallelujah! I finally had abnormal test results! That means I haven't been imagining it! My hypothyroidism is finally bad enough to show up on a lab test! <br />
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Then I get the letter from Dr. Number 11 containing all of my results. She says that the thyroid numbers aren't significant enough, and she's not going to treat me. That my TSH level is normal, as is my T4, so my T3 Uptake and T3 Total don't really matter, because it all cancels each other out. I was dumbfounded. I have never felt such despair and hopelessness. Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8311677280178320173.post-44714413738492595842016-06-22T13:16:00.001-05:002018-06-27T12:36:20.594-05:00Our Response to the Broken<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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</div>I saw a post on Facebook today that went something like this, "My heart is broken in two for my three year old son. Why? Because a teen-aged bully hated his hair. My precious son won't stop asking me why people hate him for his hair color. He's left so confused and upset."<br />
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I completely feel for this mom. She had no idea how to answer her son, and she expressed her empathy toward her son. Unfortunately, the mom's broken heart is misplaced. I'm not saying she should not feel empathy for her son. When our children hurt, we hurt. But ultimately, her heart should be broken for the teenager who is so cruel that he would make fun of a three year old little boy's hair. That's what's happening to God's heart. His heart is broken for the teenager. Of course God's heart hurts for us when we are hurt, too. But should we even be hurt by these words? We know that we will hurt in this life, because we live in a sinful world. God never said that we won't feel pain or affliction. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." It's what we choose to do with the pain and affliction that comes our way that makes all the difference. In addition, we have to teach our children the appropriate response to darts that the enemy flings our way. <br />
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We have to stop being victims, and we have to stop teaching our children to be victims. By allowing our child to be hurt, frustrated and upset by a stranger's words is unwittingly teaching our children that we should allow other people's negative words to have profound effects on us. And that's not healthy or biblical. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." If someone's words don't encourage me or build me up, then I have the power to reject their words. I don't have to accept those words spoken to me to have power over me. I don't have to choose to be hurt or upset. The old schoolyard retort, "I'm rubber; you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you," is aptly appropriate. Words spoken to me that are unbiblical can bounce right off of me, and never enter my heart. <b>I am who I am because God says that's who I am.</b> If someone tells me I'm anything other than that, then I know it's not from God, and it's not the truth. We should I cry over lies?<br />
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When my children overhear others being mean, or others are mean directly to them, we talk about how that person might not have Jesus in his or her heart. We talk about how Jesus can teach him or her to love. We pray for that person instead of turning to ourselves, feeling sorry for ourselves and wondering why someone could be so cruel. We know the answer to why someone can be so cruel--they are missing Jesus. <b>Our response to the broken shouldn't be to be broken ourselves.</b> Our response should be to love and show the broken who Jesus is. <br />
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Sometimes, even when people have Jesus, they themselves are still hurting. In our ever-growing, narcissistic, "but first let me take a selfie" world, it is imperative that we teach our children that it's not about me, me, me. People's hurtful words toward us are rarely about us. It's usually more about the person speaking those words. <br />
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I'm not saying that parents shouldn't show empathy for their children when confronted with cruelty. What I am saying is that we must measure our response in light of the Truth of God. <br />
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Lindsey Sixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12338784489634336761noreply@blogger.com0