Tag: christianity

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Sharing is Caring

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This passage was meant for Christians to help each other keep the faith of God. One way we do this is by sharing our stories. Giving our testimonies, good, bad, and ugly. Tell people about where you have been and what God has done in your life. Share your story. Let others know they are not alone. 

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Scars or Badges

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ~Romans 8:37

I was a bit of a tomboy when I was a child. When I would get a scrape and mom would clean it, I would get excited when she said, “Well, that is going to leave a scar.” Then one day some idiot created Neosporin. I mean seriously ever child in the world morned that day. We wore are scars like badges of courage!

I look at my body today and it is still covered with scars of courage, bravery, and survival. If you look deeper you will see internal scars as well. Some run very deep. Few are fresh and raw, while others are tough and old, but can open right back up with the right word.

Like the external scars, I have learned to look at these as badges of courage, bravery, and survival. They make me who I am and have built strength. I am thankful for these scars much like a man who wore scars many years ago.

Jesus bore many scars and yes, even some internal. Betrayal form both Judas and Peter had to hurt. It was these scars that saved the world. These scars give us hope for our scars. 

Pain in life is just part of life. We can choose to cry over our scars or wear them as badges of courage, bravery, and strength like Jesus. He is the one who bore his scars so he could empower you to survive yours.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Timing is Everything

Psalm 31:15
My Times are in your hands.


Andrew Murray was a South African pastor who visited England in 1895. While there, an old back injury flared up causing him to go on bed rest. The lady of the house he was staying at came to him one day because of a friend of hers was in bad shape. She asked Murray if he had any words of encouragement for her friend. He quickly handed her a piece of paper he had been writing on with words of encouragement for himself. It said,
 
“In times of trouble say:
First- God brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place. In that, I will rest.
Next-He will keep me in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as his child.
Then-He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means to bestow.
Last-In his good time He can bring me out again-how and when he knows.
I am here-By God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time.”
 
In this age of microwaves, drive-thrus, and instant pots, we want everything NOW! We would do good to remember that everything is in God’s hands and God’s timing. He knows where we are at and what we are going through. He knew we would be there long before we did. He will be there through it all and with us all the time. His love and grace will see us through, even in our darkest pit.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Is the Sun Really the Center of our Universe?

Numbers 14:9 The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.

You know the commercials that say, “9 out of 10 dentists prefer this toothbrush over this one”? Have you ever wondered if that one dentist that disagreed was right? Maybe, just maybe he knew something the other nine dentists didn’t. Should you still trust the other nine dentists more because they agreed on the other toothbrush? Is the majority, always right? If you believe that then you must also believe the Earth is the center of the universe because Galileo was about the only astronomer to say otherwise…lol!
 
In the bible, there were twelve men who left out on an adventure to explore a new place for the Israelites to inhabit (Numbers 14). Ten of these men came back with very frightening details about how the people were much stronger than the Israelites. They even spread scary rumors among the people of how they would all be devoured by these people (Numbers 13:32 & 33). 
 
On the other hand, there were two men, Caleb, and Joshua, who came back talking about the milk and honey that flowed everywhere, and large amounts of fruits! Yes, the city is well fortified, and the people are powerful, but we can take them. Who would you trust, the ten, or the two? 
 
Well, let me tell you, there was one guy in charge at the time, Mosses, and he knew something the others didn’t. He knew God had said he would give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. He declared, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30). However, the majority won out. The people chose to believe the majority. They were too afraid and refused to go in and take over Canaan. So, God basically cursed them for not following his directions and said none of them would ever see the promise land. They lost out on a wonderful gift all because they chose to follow the majority.
 
Sometimes, in our lives, we need to stand up and not follow the majority. We need to let our voices be heard. When we follow God’s direction, we can be sure we are doing the right thing no matter how wrong it looks to the majority. Sometimes we need to be that one dentist and say, “Nope, I recommend this one over here because it is best for my patients!”

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Home, Safe!

Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God

Mom and I use to ride, walk and run long distances in the county surrounding our little town. No matter how far we went, on our way back we would eventually look up at the horizon and there would stand this group of trees we called Nessie. They looked just like the Loch Ness Monster rising up above the fields. We still had 2.5 miles to get home when we reached them, but every time we
did, we felt like we were already home. We were safe. Everything was going to be ok.

When we are going through something in life, we have something or rather someone we can look up and see on the horizon as well. God is just waiting for you to look up and know you are safe. Quit struggling, be still and know he has got you. You are home. You are safe. Everything is going to be alright.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.
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Not Alone, Even in the Pit

Romans 8:38-39 
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
When I was a little kid, I would sometimes walk in my sleep. Most of the time it was OK. I would just end up somewhere in my house, wake up and then go back to bed. However, this time I wasn’t so lucky. I was not at home. I wasn’t even in a house.
 
I was about eight and my parents took me camping. We were at a campground and our spot was on the other side of the park from the bathrooms. I guess I needed to use the bathroom and so I got up, left the camper and started walking in the middle of the night. When I woke up, I realized where I was and started to panic. I was all alone and now I had to walk all the way back in the dark with lots of scary noises all around me.
 
There are times in my life now when PTSD, depression or anxiety sets in and I feel alone. The darkness all around me is deafening. The silence is solid. I retreat to my hole away from everyone. I build my walls all around. I find myself in the pit once again.
 
Much like my night at the campground, I am not alone. As I stepped out into the darkness, I began to pray and talk to God. He was with me in that bathroom and he walked with all the way back to the camper. Deep in the pit he is also waiting for me to call out his name. All I need to do is turn my head towards him and he will swoop in and hold my hand. WE will wait together. WE will walk out together. I will never be alone.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Holding Things Together

Colossians 1:17 
He is before all things and in him all things hold together
 
I wonder around from thing to thing
Place to place
Person to person.
Nothing makes sense
My mind is disjointed
Scattered
Twisted

I feel overwhelmed
My surroundings are blurred
People are talking to me
My brain rejects all stimuli
It can’t compute
Not one more thing
I am going to explode

I am melting down
My breathing quickens
I want to scream
I can’t convey the message
Between my voice and my brain
All is lost
I fall apart

Too Much! Too Much
TOO MUCH!
I shake my head
I clamp my hands over my ears
I close my eyes
NO MORE!
My voice finally cries out.

I AM DONE!
TIME OUT!
GO AWAY!
LEAVE ME BE!
TOO MUCH!
NO MORE!
IT IS OVER!

Deep breath
Sit down
Let the world go on
Without me
Like a commuter train
Whizzing by
Destinations yet to be seen

Jesus is before 
All things
And
In Him
All things
Are held together
Even Me

Jesus will hold
This pile of shattered pieces
Nothing will be lost
I can let go for a moment
And let the world go past
It is OK
He is holding on

I don’t have to anymore
I will be fine
The sun will 
Shine again
And my brain will
Let it in.
I will survive.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

The Scream by Edward Munch
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Apathy Gets You Nowhere

Matthew 28:18-20 English Standard Version (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Apathy has never gotten anyone, anywhere! Just sitting there feeling all alone and doing nothing about your current situation only keeps you stuck right where you are right now. It doesn’t bring peace. It doesn’t solve problems. It doesn’t find help. Apathy is the enemy. 

Apathy is different than rest. Rest is meant. Rest is planned. Rest is needed. Rest brings peace, clarity, refreshment. Rest is needed. Apathy is not. 

When apathy sneaks up on you, and it always sneaks, reach out. Let your voice be heard. Cry out for help. There is always someone somewhere to help. You are always a phone call away from someone. You are always a few keystrokes away from someone. 

Don’t let apathy tell you that you are all alone in your journey. You are not. I am here and so are lots of other people. We are a team and we are here to help. Most importantly, God is with us all, all of the time. He is leading us.

There is a bible story of a demon named Legion who tries to be all big bad and scary because he has an army of demons with him. Let’s fight back right now. Join with me. We stand and say No! WE are Legion. Together we will stand against apathy. We will fight! 

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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I Get Knocked Down

John 16:20. Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

There is an old song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. It repeats the phrase:

I get knocked down, but I get up again
You are never gonna keep me down

These words are often floating around in my head. Contrary to what some people may believe when they read my writings or meet me, I don’t have it all figured it out. SPOILER ALERT Life is not all about rainbows and unicorns! I know my life isn’t.

Yes, I have gone through some rough things that I pray and hope no one else ever has to go through. However, I also know there are many people that have gone through it and I must share so they know they are not alone.

I don’t care what it is you are going through, I want you to know YOU are not alone. Someone somewhere has walked that path before. Let your voice be heard. Ask for help. Tell your story. Someone will walk with you. By shouting it out loud and clear, you just may be that one person someone else is looking for.

Even as a Christian, I don’t get to claim life is easy and smooth because I have a God that loves me. Nope! Jesus himself told us in John 16:20 “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” I want you to take note of the BUT in that sentence. That BUT is our hope! It is what we hang on to. It is our “You are never going to keep me down.”

What I am trying to say is, it is not that I don’t get knocked down. It is not that I don’t stumble and fall. Heck, it is not that I don’t just lay down and give up from time to time. It is not how many times I go down that matters. It is how many times I get back up that counts.

So, if you are stumbling today, grab my hand. We will get back up together!

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Battles Begin in the Mind

Galatians 5

Galatians 5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Every battle begins in the mind, at least that is what I have been told every time a New Year comes around and the infamous resolutions come out. Actually, I don’t care if it is a new year, new month, new job, new relationship or new whatever! I tend to have the same idea. This is a fresh start and I won’t let blah blah blah happen again!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for fresh starts and beginning again. I mean that is what grace is all about. What I need to remember is to not let my new goals enslave me. I must find a way to keep balance in my life without chaining myself down. The minute I chain myself down I will break my “rule” and then I will hate myself and get frustrated and just walk away from it completely. That will get me nowhere!

Religion can sometimes get that way also. We get caught up in all the “rules” of the church and forget God set us free from the pomp and circumstance when He sent Jesus to die for us. We don’t practice all the old rituals. They are not what the new covenant is all about. The new covenant is about two simple things, love God and love others. Do those two things and everything else will fall into place.

If WE, as what my pastor husband likes to refer to as the Big C- Church, remember those two simple things, we will find it much easier to commune with the lost. If WE can concentrate on love and not let things like the way a person dresses, speaks, what he eats or drinks, smokes, the way acts, or who he is involved with, get in the way WE can show them what Christ was really about.

If WE can just love our neighbors, we will win the battle in our minds and truly be set free.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.