JustWrite

When Sis Jayne first messaged me to speak at my church for our women's service I thought she meant to get someone else. But I know that I was meant to speak. She told me our topic was the Marriage Supper. The tile we are giving is “You Are Invited” my subtitle is “ Be His Guest ” get it like Beauty and the Beast. Don’t let that one reference fool you I know nothing about Disney!   But something about that title is so warm and inviting to me. To be included, isn’t that what we all want? In Matthew 22 Jesus is telling a parable about a wedding banquet. He compares the kingdom of heaven to a king preparing a wedding banquet for his son. He had specific people that were invited as you would any wedding right? He had prepared this marvelous feast for them.   The ironic part is no one on the list accepted his invite. Anyone see a problem with this? Like I’m sorry I’m a big girl and if you tell me food is going to be there I AM THERE. No questions asked… ANYWAYS, ...

I was reading the Bible chapter, Matthew, and came across a story that intrigued me. I spoke with my dad about it over the phone and feel compelled to write on it. Before telling you the story I hope that we can all agree that our comfort zone is our failure zone. It's a strong statement to make but I believe it to be true. The only time we fail is when we do nothing to move forward and this tends to happen when we are comfortable.  In Matthew 8:28-34 there's a story of Jesus walking through a city called Gadarenes. The city was known to have an area that was violent due to the demon possessed people that attacked anyone that came through. Of course, Jesus felt the need to walk through that specific area. The two men who were possessed approached Him and asked why He was there. There were pig herders in the area and the Bible speaks about the demons begging for Christ to drive them into the pigs. All Jesus said was GO. Now that could preach on its own. He didn't entertain t...

What makes something valuable? Objects are often given value based on who the creator is. For example, the Mona Lisa is valuable because the artist is Leonardo Da Vinci. The value has already been determined . After all, it is arguably the most famous painting in the entire world. But, the amount of care given to the Mona Lisa in the museum is what I am interested in.  As you may know the Mona Lisa sits in a glass box and is displayed behind a velvet rope. This speaks volumes to me in many aspects about the boundaries we must place to emphasize our worth. When I think of the precautions that the museum takes to keep the integrity of the painting in pristine condition, I can't help but parallel it with how we should treat ourselves. So let's talk about our worth.  Our value is based on a man coming to earth specifically to die on a cross and save us from our sins. He paid the ultimate price and placed our value over His life. If that is not the highest level of value I am not s...

     This is one of those topics that is so deep and involved that I have been hesitant to even approach it. Just know from jump, this won't be the only blog addressing this. It is always a timely topic because it is a daily struggle for many. What I have realized, for me and many others, is we limit our own worth with our toxic thinking. This can be seen as we compare ourselves to every thing and every one. Worth is a measure of value based on the gravity of a sacrifice.  We will talk more about the ultimate sacrifice committed just for you in a later blog.  Early last year I got tired of feeling worthless. I was allowing the happenings of life to define my worth. I want to let you in on a secret - life will always devalue you when you give it power . For example, in your job you are replaceable; let that sink in. Is that not a light jab to the heart? I mean the first time I heard that I was taken back, succumbed to the fact and placed value in it. I know you'r...

Hey Ya'll! I missed you; I know I missed posting last week. Hard stop-there's no excuse but I am here this week to provide another key to creating a healthy heart. Yes, it's a heavy topic and I know you're wondering what this has to do with emotional stability. Once you realize that forgiveness is more for you than it is for the other person; you will see the correlation. Forgiveness is another crucial process in creating an emotionally stable life. I must admit; this for most people is not easy or simple.  First and foremost, if you've never heard it before your feelings and hurts are valid.  Period. So many times we are invalidated when we express ourselves to others that instead of the situation becoming better we become bitter. We begin to close ourselves (our heart) off to others because we don't want to feel the compiled pain anymore. I get it; trust me, I do. Let loving yourself be enough reason to forgive . Learn to acknowledge your own pain and the vali...

Well, it's fitting I am starting this week with gratitude as the first step in my heart health recovery (you know, because it's thanksgiving). It might seem like an unlikely step in a healthy emotionally stable heart but it's quite essential. Gratitude puts life in a positive perspective and it does it quickly . It has the capability of shifting moods and mindsets. That's a big deal! Our mindset and perspective on circumstances are crucial for an emotionally stable life. For me, a grateful heart was taught at an early age. My parents knew we didn't have much and instead of ignoring that fact they would lend a different perspective through gratefulness and service.  When me and my siblings were younger, my parents would take us to feed the homeless. We did not have much but what we had we used to serve others. "No, we don't have a lot but we do have able bodies and food on the table. Others don't have food and so with our able bodies we are going to pro...

Do you like science? I don't know why I asked...of course you don't. Well, if you're anything like me you LOVE science- specifically Biology. Now let's be clear; I do not have a love for physics or chemistry or even ecology (still have nightmares about that college course). While in my beloved biology courses the heart was always the most fascinating to me. Ugh, just the thought of it makes me all warm inside- is that weird? Anyways, I learned that one way we can measure cardiovascular (heart-lung) health is to look at heart recovery time. Let me explain.  During our sports and exercise lab we would run on a treadmill for a set amount of time...let's say two minutes. After, we would hop off and immediately begin to time how long it took for our heartbeat to get to the baseline beat... let's say 55bpm for me. Some people it took less than 30 seconds (the athletes), others a minute (the in-shape folk), for people totally out of shape, 2+ minutes (me...and only me)...