Tag: Silence

God, Grief, Healing, Hope, Spirituality

The Sound of Silence – Walking Through Grief

Grief, it comes in waves. One moment I am fine, and the next I am crying like a little baby. There is no way to get through this valley of Grief without it changing you.  I have been silent for a while now. The sound of silence is deafening. How can silence be so loud?

We all grieve differently. Some have been through it so many times and they go through the 5 stages of grief quickly. Others, like me, linger here for what seems forever. Memory after memory floods my mind and takes me away to a different time and place – a time when we were together. My heart hurts. I can never go back to the way things were, you are not here. I know you are in a better place with no more sorrow and no more pain, no more tears,  but I am stuck here. Help me Lord get through this because I am falling apart.

The 5 stages of grief and loss are:

1. Denial and isolation

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

I admit it. I don’t like feelings. They come and go and change and I have absolutely no control over any of it! That’s really hard for a control freak like me!

So what is a person supposed to do when they lose someone they love? I would love it if I could turn back time and we could be together again. But I don’t have control over that either. My only choice is to Embrace it all. Don’t run from the valley. I have to feel every thing and make a choice to trust God to walk beside me and lead me THROUGH the valley of despair. Trust God. Yeah, from a girl with trust issues. No wonder this is so hard.

I know God is Faithful. I know God is True and God is with me and for me. But now, I have to let Him lead me out of this valley. I get to let Him drive. Ok, I surrender. I have no other choice. I don’t want to stay here in the despair and sorrow forever. Show me Your Glory Lord. Show me Your Comfort Lord. I need You!

God’s Word for You:

  • “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 
  • “Blessed are those who mourn,
    For they shall be comforted. ” Matthew 5:4 
  • “He heals the brokenhearted
    And binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
  • “My flesh and my heart fail;
    But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
  • “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”” Revelation 21:4
  • “If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:15-18
  • “ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.” 2 Corinthian 1:3-7

My Prayer for You:

Dear Lord,

You have told us that you would never leave us nor forsake us. I know you are here with me now in the middle of my grief. I pray that you would hold me and comfort me during this season. No matter how long it takes to get to the other side, I pray that you would open up my eyes and my understanding to see You right here next to me, holding me, and walking with me. Help me to just be still, and KNOW that You are God, in Jesus Name!

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Hope, Spirituality

Your Story Matters

We are here, right now in this moment. You inhale then exhale and I hear it. I as well inhale and exhale and you hear it. And just for this moment in time we hear and understand each other without saying a word. 

Silence, 

stillness,

peacefulness, 

simply being 

and resting

In this moment 

Changes everything

  

Your story matters

You matter to me

 I am grateful for you

Thank you
-Diana

Healing, Spirituality

Finding Peace in the Silence

There is a peace in silence. Have you been there? To the place where there is no noise. Not that easy these days is it? I took a web free vacation this past weekend and didn’t post a thing. Yep, time for some R & R with no internet.   I have to say, I miss those days.  I mean, I love you all, and I love reading your posts as you pour out your hearts – that I missed. But do you remember the days before Google, before Smartphones, and before the Internet?

I don’t think our kids get to experience that.  They talk on the phone, message, snap-chat, instagram, FB, etc – everything is online whether you want it there or not.  And I have heard so many horror stories about how people are finding out about personal family issues online. I know, it happened to me too.

How can we value privacy when we don’t have any?

How can we hear God if we don’t listen?

Here is an excerpt from Beliefnet along with my interpretation…

 

Six Benefits of Silence

1. Soul Refreshing

We cannot pour water into a cup that won’t sit still.

 

2. Soul Restoration

We  cannot strip away the old and put on the new if you won’t stop to get dressed.

 

3.Soul Healing

We cannot expect a wound to heal if you won’t bring it to the surface and let the Holy Spirit take it away.

 

4. Soul Listening

We cannot hear if we don’t stop talking.

 

5.  Soul Quieting

We cannot receive from God if we are too busy with our hands doing what we want.

 

6. Soul Ravishing

We cannot enter that intimate place with God and let him pour His love on us if we won’t sit still.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Activism, Spirituality, Uncategorized

How Do You Feel about Gay Marriage?

Last night in Wisconsin a Supreme Court Justice decided to overturn the ban on gay marriage. I started a Facebook post and I have to say, I was amazed by something. You see supporters had no problems sharing how they feel. I like that. My sister in law and daughter both had freedom to express how they feel. I had a great conversation with both of them. And they could tell me why they feel the way they do. Whether I agreed with them or not, at least we were talking.

What surprised me the most however was the absolute silence of my fellow Christians. Not one said a word – absolute silence. Zilch – nada – nothing. (Wait…Ms. Cindy shared the Word too while I was typing this!)

This post is for the Christians. For those who say they believe in Jesus Christ and His teachings. I know that as a Nation we are as divided on this issue as we are on Abortion.  My question is:

What are you going to do with what you believe?

Stay in Church on Sunday and point fingers?

Gay or straight – we all need a Savior.

Gay or straight – we all sin.

Gay or straight – we all need to be born again, of the water and the Spirit.

Gay or straight – we all want fair treatment.

Gay or straight – we all want to be loved.

But who defines what love is?

Who defines what marriage is?

Do you see homosexuality as a sin?

Is it bigger than your sin?

Are you praying, helping, or just watching?

What do you base your definition of marriage upon – the Bible, the State, or the Feds?

 

Here are my thoughts…

As a Christian I am not going to measure sins. We all have sin. We are all guilty. That’s why Jesus died. God took out His anger and His wrath for our disobedience. Yes, God is love. But Jesus did not die for nothing. Either abortion is a sin or it is not. Either homosexuality is a sin or it is not. I have sinned. I have fallen short – many, many times. I am guilty. But I don’t get to pick and choose what sin is  – God does. And homosexuality is not greater than any sin I have done. Sin isn’t in degrees. It’s not a sin contest. There are no winners in the sin game…And that’s why I need a Savior – Jesus Christ.

Here is the basis of my belief:

Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral

But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

So God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best! (Romans 1:18-32 MSG)

or perhaps you like this version…

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32 NKJV)

I challenge my fellow Christians…

Why are you silent?

What are you going to do when a gay couple comes to your church and asks you to marry them?

What about a family member?

WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?

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Poetry, Spirituality

Silence and Solitude- NaPoWriMo Day 8

 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved. (Psalm 62:1-2 AMP)

 

SILENCE AND SOLITUDE

©2014 Diana Rasmussen

The most powerful prayers

are not heard out loud

with familiar platitudes

The cries of our hearts

are poured out to  God

in silence and solitude

(Image Sources: Pinterest)

 

 

 

 

Spirituality, Uncategorized

Silence

(all images from google.com)

Psalm 62

To the Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun [Ethan, the noted musician, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of David.

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

2 He only is my Rock and my Salvation, my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be greatly moved.

3 How long will you set upon a man that you may slay him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

4 They only consult to cast him down from his height [to dishonor him]; they delight in lies. They bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

5 My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.

6 He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved.

7 With God rests my salvation and my glory; He is my Rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness, and my refuge is in God!

8 Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

9 Men of low degree [in the social scale] are emptiness (futility, a breath) and men of high degree [in the same scale] are a lie and a delusion. In the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.

10 Trust not in and rely confidently not on extortion and oppression, and do not vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 God has spoken once, twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.

12 Also to You, O Lord, belong mercy and loving-kindness, for You render to every man according to his work.