So, I’ve been reading about becoming a successful and influential online figure that others look up to and admire.
Did I mention that yet?
Click HERE to continue reading.
To Longtime Subscribers: I love you! And see the bottom of this Newsletter for A Note About Reposting This Month’s Demonic-Themed Newsletters
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
I proved to you that I am mature HERE. However, I prefer whining, usually. It’s less risky.
To Longtime Subscribers: I love you! And see the bottom of this Newsletter for A Note About Reposting This Month’s Demonic-Themed Newsletters
Click HERE to continue reading.
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
Last time, I gave you TWO AMAZING, UNUSUAL tips to curb sugar. Here are two more.
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Click HERE to continue reading.
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
So other times, I briefly referenced when I went to another country and how I accidentally (I didn’t mean to!) humiliated some people in a poverty-stricken town by winning some arm wrestling matches against the regional men because I was stronger than I appeared.1
I should explain, and give MY point of view so you can empathize with me.
Or maybe I should ask God for forgiveness for being a cultural horror, but it’s easier to convince you to feel sorry for me so that I can feel justified. Let’s go with the latter option today because I don’t have much time, and getting to a place of feeling bad about stuff I did wrong takes some time and effort.
First of all, we need some context.
It all started many years earlier when I also won (Do you notice a theme here – of me being a WINNER?) a push-up contest against someone much stronger and fitter than me, my older brother.
The following is what happened:
My brother was the kind of guy who ate chips and hot dogs at every meal and was usually found on the couch, vegging out and watching TV. Then he moved out, and the next time I saw him -Wow! – He got fit!
The problem was that my self-esteem couldn’t easily handle this transition.
I have ALWAYS been the SUPER FIT one in the family (Proof HERE). “I MUST still be fitter than my couch potato brother!” I assumed.
“Yeah, you’re a little bit more fit than you were before you moved out,” I humbly admitted to my older brother. “But OF COURSE I’m STILL a LOT fitter than YOU!” My reality began to keel off-center when he challenged me to a push-up contest.
“HA!” I said with fake confidence, “OF COURSE!”
We settled on a tasty treat for a prize the OTHER sibling would pay for.
He bought me the prize because I WON (!) the push-up contest.
I want to end this Newsletter here, but my Editor (meanie) says I HAVE to finish this story for “Context” – whatever that means. So the next day, my brother shoveled sand and helped with other demanding physical labor around the house. (I couldn’t get out of bed for three days. My editor says I HAVE to put that part in there. But I don’t see how that statement is even relevant to the story!)
Anyway, how do we BECOME physically stronger than we ACTUALLY ARE? That’s easy! We fake it!
To soar through life, like I do, look down your nose at other people, and assume that you MUST BE better than them!
Then you’ll become a WINNER like me!
We may have to pay a bit in the next few days because we cannot get out of bed, but THINK OF THE GLORY that you will overshadow your brother and other rivals with!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Wait – The Point of this Newsletter doesn’t sit PERFECTLY with me today. Those who are more spiritually mature than I (and there AREN’T many of those!) mention something about sitting down and finding our TRUE identity as a child of God so that we are not hurting ourselves emotionally, physically or spiritually by trying to appear superior to who we are.
I keep forgetting stuff like that.
And once we really GET that stuff, then it’s okay EVEN to admit to being a loser! And the good news is that, thankfully, being a loser does not define us, either!
All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! . . .He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do . . .
And once we figure that stuff out, then we can tell the truth, EVEN about ourselves, and EVEN on the internet!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Photo Credit – I Feel This Strong Too! by Jakob Owens on Unsplash and Lorenzo Hamers on Unsplash
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
1I can’t do everything right, ok?!
The question that keeps me up at night is:
How can God like me BEST, BETTER than other people?
My “Therapist” (What does SHE know?) says that these thoughts of comparison and drivenness are rooted in some sort of neurosis deep down, but I doubt that! Anyway, practically speaking, don’t we ALL want the teacher to like US best? Or the boss? Or even our friends?
Of course!
So, those are the types of questions that keep me up at night. And then God seemed to help me understand how to be his favorite! (I DO know that sentence is “Officially” a “Heresy” or whatever, but stay with me, because what God showed me is -Surprise! – theologically accurate, once you understand my point!)
Anyway, this is what happened.
It seemed God was highlighting the word “Beautiful” to a few of us.
How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!
There was something God wanted to reveal to us about this word.
As shown in this quote below, God isn’t quite as hung up about physical beauty as we are.
“Looks aren’t everything . . . God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”
So He couldn’t be talking about that.
And in my prayer time, God seemed to show me a picture of two golden cups, one tarnished1, one polished.
Does one of these cups have less value? He seemed to ask my soul.
No! Of course not. Bought by a gold buyer, they would pay equally for both cups as they have EQUAL value.
So it is with my children, He seemed to whisper.
I think God was saying that ALL of his children have EQUAL VALUE in His eyes.
But some are a little more polished or beautiful.
I wondered how to polish oneself. I suddenly realized that a cup can’t polish itself! “How do we get polished a bit more?” I wondered
Let Me polish you, He seemed to whisper. As you draw near to me and seek me, I am polishing you.
And so I thought I would share what I learned here today with you so that maybe God will EVEN like you as much as He likes me!
Or maybe The Point is that:
If we knew how much God valued and loved us, we wouldn’t care how much He loved anyone else.
And I felt calmed, somehow, loved, and like I could finally take my unbearable list of “To-Do” items, the ones that I unconsciously think will help God to “like me” a bit more, and put it over there, far away, in the pile of stuff that God longs to burn. And I felt a bit more free. Maybe I don’t need to be better than others.
My therapist must be wrong!
(At least, I think that’s what she was getting at. See Paragraph One, above, but I am a bit confused whenever she speaks if I’m honest).
God LIKES me, as I already proved definitely HERE. And He LIKES you, too, and finds you more and more beautiful as you allow Him to purify your golden cup in the fire of His Presence. And there is our freedom.
If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, read this ancient story and let the metaphor sit inside your heart for a bit as you ponder, reflect and thank God for this truth.
(And God will be polishing your gold cup a bit more, even as you do this, friend.)
Photo Credit – Good News! by Jade Destiny on Unsplash
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
1 (*I DO know that only silver tarnishes in real life, not gold, but this is a metaphor, remember? And I believe God considers each of His children to be of the highest value, of gold, so that’s why gold is in the picture. Can we return to the point now?)
Last time, I told you everything I know about Psychotherapy. Here are five steps to summarize the previous post on fighting overwhelm based on my experience with Psychotherapy. (With any luck, these steps will also help us to become a little less nuts – The point of this post).
1. We slow down.
2. We quiet ourselves.
3. We come as we are, bringing our scattered emotions and lifting our situations to God.
4. We wait.
5. We listen.
Click HERE to continue reading.
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!|
So, I was on a long swim because I am so athletic and fit, and while I saw a few fish, I sensed God speaking to my heart.
“Who cares?” you ask.
Well, Holy Spirit was speaking about you.
I know you have been waiting in suspense, clicking “refresh screen” every few minutes since you read THIS POST, and I promised to share one of my fish stories with you, so let’s get down to business.
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
That day, as I swam, I came across a brownish green slimy patch of regular-looking water weeds that I swam over.
I sensed from God that the slimy patch of brownish green weeds was my writing.
“Wow!” I thought. I felt so encouraged by that! There were many, many, much more than usual, minnows1 swimming around in this little unremarkable patch of weeds, which encouraged my heart so much.
The minnows are you!
And this is where it gets personal, and I stick my finger through this Substack and poke you in the chest a little.
I have been astonished at how God has brought so many readers (people from 33 countries so far have read this writing online2), or how there are so many minnows around this brownish colored, slimy patch of weeds!
I kept swimming, because as you know, I swim VERY far, and after I turned around and began swimming back home, I suddenly stopped at the location of that little patch of weeds because THERE WERE SO MANY MINNOWS I couldn’t find a way to swim through them.
God is feeding you, friend, and bringing us together to share our food with each other in this little patch of weeds.
There is purpose, there is something God is doing, as He is drawing us together. I no longer feel like I am writing to the wind with the sole purpose of building up my shallow self-esteem, begging for “likes,” and trying to inflate my ego.3
I believe that God is waking people up, teaching them to soar, and placing them in communities to grow roots more deeply so that more of the seeds He has planted in each of our hearts can blossom into the flowers He has called each one of us to share with the world.
So, would any of you be interested in attending a weekly prayer and connection gathering, starting in the fall? 5:00pm Pacific time Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday are potential times that work. Please let me know in the comments, by email, or through the contact forms, which day would be preferable.
The time would be to discuss together and pray together. No talking experience or prayer experience is necessary! It would be great to share prayer and tea regularly, friend.
Yes, of course it would be free!4
Everyone needs to bring their own tea. That’s it! I look forward to connecting with some of you!
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!
1 Also, minnows are small fish, and small fish will, by definition, get bigger (I think?), and so I hope that you hang out with me in my little brown weed patch long enough so that I can get all the credit for your growth! (Editor’s note – Try to think of others, not just yourself. Lori’s note: Whatever!)
2 Yes, the stats of which country you are from are posted for free! Yes, the web is super weird. I’m sorry, but I didn’t even ask to know! “Not all visitors who visit your site will have their location enabled in their browsers. Some visitors might access your site through an incognito browser or a Virtual Private Network (VPN).” So, get an incognito browser or a VPN! The web is weird! You’re welcome! Good luck!
3 Though of course I am doing that, too!
4 Did you think I would pay you to attend?
I was swimming that day when God seemed to whisper in my ear, touching a deeper place in my heart with the words that called me to correct the direction of my life by only a degree.
This is what happened.
I was mindlessly living my life, as we all do, being blown by the wind of the general opinions and attitudes of others, as the hidden currents of our culture pull us. (And by the way, if you think you are immune to the pushes and pulls of your current culture, that is the very air you breathe, then HAHAHAHAHAH! We laugh at you!) The only thing more ridiculous than being blown by the wind of the general opinions and attitudes of the culture you live in is NOT KNOWING you are being blown by the wind and of your culture!
THE POINT is that we are all shaped by the voices of others that enter our minds unobserved, and that God’s voice serves as a salve, as medicine, correcting our lives by a degree or two, if our ears are open to hearing Him convicting us.
This is what happened to me recently.
I had been swimming that day, as I do in that lake in the summer.
Usually, I see one fish, maybe two, as I swim along before I tire.
But that day I saw a school of fish, something rare in this lake. “Wow!” I thought. When I saw another school of fish, a large fish, and another large fish, and then two more huge schools of fish, I began to think, “This is VERY, VERY unusual.”
Literally hundreds more fish passed me that day, until I finally asked, “God, do you want to speak to me?” through this very unusual situation.
And He did speak. And His voice healed my heart. But that is for next time because my time is up again, and as mentioned HERE, your attention span is much too short (No! It’s NOT that I get distracted and forget what I’m even writing about – of COURSE NOT!)
God uses anything, everything, to grab our attention – poke and startle us a little- if our eyes, ears, and hearts are open to this possibility.
How is God trying to wake you lately, friend?
And so, the best way to course correct to avoid walking off the cliff by the invisible wind of culture? Clean out your ears to the voice of God, friend. He’s already speaking. We simply need to find our ears on the ground and reattach them to hear what He is saying—more on this next time.
Photo Credit – Will He Fall Off The Cliff Or Receive Help? by Felipe Souza on Unsplash
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! (Proven HERE, HERE and HERE!) Let’s journey together!
Photo Credit – Loser and Winner by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash – Notice that the “Winner” here has less money than the “Loser,” so it’s not about more money, but you already know that! For additional proof, however, consider this quote from one of the wisest people I know:
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.
While training for a triathlon, I was pretty fit.
I swam to my friend’s home two bays down at the lake where we were staying as a regular training exercise.
Then I suddenly got a bit older, and I wasn’t QUITE as fit anymore, at least as I thought I was. “Could I swim to her home again?” I asked myself. A few quick years had passed, of sitting on the couch and eating donuts at every meal, but otherwise, I still felt pretty fit. That summer day, I swam and swam. I did it! Wow!
I sat on her wharf in my solo victory party, my pride rising around me like a great cloud, buoying up my low self-esteem until the cloud tried to suffocate me with the sudden unwelcome thought, “But CAN I swim back home?
No walking trails existed along the shore of these “boat access only” cottages, and of course, cell phone reception was an impossibility in that remote area, even if I did have a phone with me (I didn’t, of course).
My stomach quavered.
How would I get home?
And The Point of this Newsletter is that sometimes, as graciously illustrated HERE and HERE, we aren’t QUITE as amazing as we imagine ourselves to be.
What if that’s true spiritually, too?
Now, before you hold up your hands and caution me against speaking further, responding with the most common objection, like: “Well, at LEAST I’m not Ted Bundy or someone super bad like that! Therefore, I’m sure God will open the Great Golden gates to me!”
Again, I ask, what if being a bit “nicer” than a serial killer like Ted Bundy is STILL not an “A” on your spiritual report card according to Jesus?
(Just asking the question).
And so, how did I get home that day that I swam WAY too far and exhausted myself with my pride? A person I knew saved me. As I swam, when I saw someone I knew, I would crawl up their ladder onto their wharf to sit awhile, resting (and pretending to visit while I caught my breath), until I had enough strength to continue my journey.
And luckily for you, that’s how you can find the way to your true home, too – Just drag your tired butt out of wherever you are struggling just to get by, and rest awhile with Jesus.
He’ll give you some food for your journey, a blanket to warm your soul with increasingly authentic relationships, and a map to guide your unique life adventure to begin soaring like a bird in the sky with Him.
He energizes those who get tired . . . but those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar . . .
And the best part? God will swing open those Golden Gates to anyone who is friends with His son. What have you got to lose except a bit of suffocating pride that you don’t REALLY want anyway?
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
Last time, I told you the story of me getting connected with an online group aiming to dig deep spiritually, past the muck and hard earth and to help each other shovel as deep as the soft parts of our hearts, where God feels most welcome.
So, to connect with this online group in person, I’ll be boarding an airplane this week, waving goodbye to you all and STARTING – Wait, I mean CONTINUING of course! – my new identity as a travel blogger!
But there’s a bit more to the story, a part reflecting how God is already there working in all of our lives, and to see this, we need only open our eyes.
This is what happened.
I mentioned last time that I sensed God asking me to join this online group, and I was surprised that God actually knows what He is doing and even knows more than I do! The surprise was that I fit right into a group of people with similar backgrounds, that God was wooing, it appeared, in a similar direction. I had no idea where to begin looking for a group like that, and wouldn’t have thought to try. And over the months, I felt more connected in this group and felt called to continue walking and digging deep with these people.
There’s a story and a surprise kiss from God at this part of the story, too.
Last summer, I thought I sensed God asking us to eliminate clutter in our home. As I sold stuff, I felt Him nudge me, saying He wanted me to buy something for myself with the money I earned. But what? I couldn’t think of anything, which may sound funny, but is true. Do we always need more stuff from Walmart or different clothes when duct tape makes stuff last sooo much longer? (Did I mention I’m Canadian?)
But then, when I realized a few months later that I wanted to take more courses with these people, I counted the cost, and the amount for me to study the courses for the year was within about $10 of what I earned from selling stuff last summer.
As the icing on the cake, I received an email from the group administrator last week saying that I miscalculated the PayPal fees and owe them another $10.
So what?
A coincidence?
Maybe.
Or maybe God is opening my eyes and vicariously opening your eyes, that He DOES offer us little jewels along our path if our eyes are open.
And so what is the forgotten step to removing spiritual blinders?
ask
you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it
As the song below plays, ask God what He has been whispering, but your ears lie on the floor. Where is He standing next to you with a key to solve a problem that disturbs your soul, but you are too busy to stop and notice Him standing next to you?
Help us, God, to remove the blinders from our eyes and the cotton balls from our ears so that we can soar into who we are meant to become, we pray.
Photo Credits: Horse With Blinders by rhoda alex on Unsplash, Large Bird Soaring by Alfonso Betancourt on Unsplash
Thank you for liking me! I like you too! Let’s journey together!
Restoring Life 