Pushing Through
Posted by thelokey in encouragement, life, spirituality on January 12th, 2009
I’ve been going through a spiritual dry spell lately. There’s a few things I’ve been working on and learning how to do, but nothing that’s really getting me excited. I’m still in love with God, but sometimes we don’t “feel” in love; but that’s when we must make the choice to love, even when our emotions run low.
So here’s a few things I’ve learned about pushing through a dry spell:
- Admit it – Until I reached the point of admitting I was in a dry spell, it really didn’t hit me. And it wasn’t just about admitting it to myself, it took me verbally saying it out loud to another person.
- See the patterns – Over the last few years I’ve noticed a pattern with my spiritual low points. When I’m paying attention, I can sometimes anticipate them and be ready. (Honestly, this most recent one blind-sided me and that’s made it worse because I’ve been beating myself about it.)
- Push through – The Christian life is hard, if it was easy, everyone would do it. I’ve been reading through the book of Job. Whenever I think I’ve been given a “bad deal”, it’s a GREAT reminder of how truly blessed I am!
What are some ways you’ve gotten through a spiritual “dip” or “low point”? Hope some of this helps if you find yourself in one down the road.
A Fallen Sister
Posted by thelokey in hot topic, spiritual warfare on October 20th, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/20/afghanistan.violence/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Here’s an excerpt of the story…
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the death, saying on its Web site that it killed the “foreign woman” for preaching Christianity in the country and adding that it had been following the woman for some time. – Source: CNN.com
Two things:
First, my prayers go out to this young women’s friends and family for their tragic loss. Gayle Williams is a modern day martyr and will receive her heavenly reward. She is a testimony to the rest of the Christian faith of what it means to follow Christ at all costs.
Secondly, I’m also proud that CNN ran the story and even put the “Christian” details in it. I’m not naive enough to think that Gayle Williams was the only person killed for her faith in Christ this week or even today. But I applaud them for reporting this in a tasteful fashion.
For more information on SERVE Afghanistan and Gayle, go here.
Timeline
Posted by thelokey in church, encouragement, new job, spiritual warfare, work on October 6th, 2008
Here’s the last 24 hours of my life…
10:30PM – Got home from helping Crissy’s sister move a washer and dryer into her apartment and took a Tylenol PM so I could get to sleep because I had to be up early to start MY FIRST DAY at a new church.
11:30PM – Noticed a small, but sharp pain underneath my left shoulder blade. I thought, “That’s weird, I took a pain killer earlier when I wasn’t even in pain.” Went to sleep.
4:30AM – Woke up with EXCRUCIATING pain in my left shoulder. It hurt so bad I was trying not to scream and I couldn’t take a deep breath. Not being able to breathe made me panic, making it harder for me to breathe (you get the routine). Took 2 Aleve to see if the pain would go away. Didn’t even take the edge off!
5:15AM – 7:00AM – Show up to Kennestone ER to find out what’s going on. After getting some IV fluids, they decide to take a chest X-Ray to rule out any lung problems due to the shortness of breath. After the chest X-Ray I was given a muscle relaxer and Vicodin for the pain. Slept for a couple of hours off and on while they waited for blood work to come back. The doctor concluded that I have a muscle spasm in my back in one of the muscles of the chest wall. Which explains why I can’t breathe deeply.
8:00AM – 9:45AM – Came home, showered, got dressed and drove to Rockmart (about 35 minutes away) to make it to the church (where I was supposed to be at 7:30AM). We got there right at 10:30 while the pastor was still preaching. About 10 minutes after arriving he calls me on stage to indroduce myself and share my vision for the student ministry.
11:00AM – Second service, same speech.
1:00PM – Went to lunch with Crissy’s parents (they were in town).
2:30PM – Took her parents to see the house we’re trying to buy.
4:00PM – Went to Wal-mart to get my prescription filled and kill some time before the Youth Service.
6:00PM – Got to the youth space and waited for the students to show up.
6:30PM-8:30PM – Hung out with some of the students, shared more of my background, and answered questions from them.
9:00PM – Finally took some pain meds, and decided to write this blog post.
Bottom line…Satan’s attacking, God is good, and pain meds are WONDERFUL. Good night.
Before the Blog
Posted by thelokey in commentary, encouragement, personal on November 7th, 2008
So today I went through a TON of old email, sorting out the junk and organizing what was left. I tend to be a bit of a digital packrat.
One good thing that came out of this was an old email I haven’t read in years from “In the Den“.
Here it is, years before the blog started:
It’s a timeless piece of exhortation that still pricks me and my fear. I hope the original author didn’t mind me posting this. I didn’t bother asking. OOPS!
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