Author Archives

Norma L. Brumbaugh

Inspirational Writer, Author, and Speaker

PO Box 6432, Chico, CA 95927
nlbrumbaugh@gmail.com

Keep a smile in your heart.

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Walking The Way of Jesus

I am walking the way of Jesus the best I can. He leads and I follow. He is brightness and light, full love, peace and joy. He illumines my steps. I see my steps more clearly after I’ve taken them. My trust in Him is ever growing. It is a hard journey, but He’s never failed me.

I said that it’s a hard journey. It is that, in many respects. But it is also a good journey, in many respects. Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are great companions to have on a journey. The Spirit teaches as I go. I benefit from listening and taking to heart the strength He imparts.

God provides love, direction, and context for the journey. His book has wisdom and truth that fills me with goodness. I am enlightened as I read His Word, and I am encouraged as I embrace His way. He has answers, and I am grateful for them. God is the mastermind behind it all.

Jesus, however, speaks differently though the same. He is the God-human companion that never fails to assist me. When I say “Help me,” He does. Jesus dries my tears when I am hurt. He gives me courage when I am afraid. He lifts me up when I am down. He speaks when I need comfort.

I like the way all three persons of the Godhead show up when I’m going astray. My problem areas aren’t the big bad ones, but I get off the track, nevertheless. Once I see my area of drifting, then I will try to get out of that rut. The Holy Spirit lets me know that something’s not right. Then God’s Word confirms it, more often than not.

God has been showing me some things that need fine tuning. I’m up for that. It’s weird, but I have let a few things get me down and get the better of me. Covid hasn’t helped matters. That’s no way to live.

A question in a lesson book asked, “How might it change your day today if you were to cease looking for human approval and begin seeking only the approval of God?” My answer, I’d be more productive and less defeated. That was a defining moment in my reality. I’m chasing a new reality now, one that’s love-based, which is God-based because God is love.

I’ve decided to look at obstacles differently. Love changes the way I look at things. It makes me braver, I can love people wherever I go. It pushes my shyness aside and opens the doors to a productive life even if it’s just loving people. How? I ask God to fill me with His love, and I go from there.

God loves you. Jesus loves you. The Holy Spirit loves you. It is good to be loved so adequately, profoundly, and tenderly. Some days we feel separated from that love because troubles enter our lives, and we fail to see their purpose. Yet the love is there, sustaining you. You’re abundantly loved.

God loves you. Jesus loves you. The Holy Spirit you. It is good to be loved so adequately, profoundly, and tenderly. Some day

It’s always worth looking for answers as long as we’re looking in the right places where the answers are found. I remember last year I found an answer in the book Codependent No More. I saw aspects of myself in that book. I hadn’t realized that I had codependency traits that controlled part of me. I also realized that part of my happiness was bound in an unhealthy way to others’ happiness or their happiness with me. This was huge.

Keep looking and you’ll keep finding. I can’t wait to tell you about what I’m learning now. I realized another sizeable gap in me, and I couldn’t believe that I had been so dense to never think of it in my spiritual makeover. That story will be in another post.

It’s a great day when your head comes out of the fog to live fully, faithfully, and cheerfully.

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

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  • The family picture is of my children and me the first Christmas without their dad. We were sad, and I think it shows. We are at my folks’ house. I had a hard time, but I was well on my way to a new reality of ‘God with me.’
  • God is gracious.
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When Your Needs Are Unmet

God Comes In. . .

It breaks my heart when a person unloads a bushel of injustices and pain-filled experiences on me, and then sobs as she says, “I just want to be loved.” I remember feeling that way. I was the one thinking I just want to be loved. In my case it wasn’t really true. It just felt that way.

Don’t we all just want to be loved?

He was only a boy but all he knew from his parents was pain and rejection. Even worse, they were cruel to him. Their participation in Satanic ritual colored their treatment of him. He was packing heat at an early age to protect himself from his parents. He knew little kindness as a child.

How do you make sense of something like that?

I became his friend in a roundabout way. We both participated in a writing community. I came to admire and respect him in a phenomenal way. His breadth of knowledge was unsurpassed by any in the group. He has a quick mind. He has risen above the circumstances of his life. He is rough around the edges and tough in many respects. Yet he has learned to love. He makes it his mission to encourage people. God has helped him overcome.

One day he shared with me the horribleness of his childhood. He had not the benefit of nurture or love. It is not surprising that he loves dogs that have been abandoned and provides a home for many of them. The dogs are left in the high desert sands to die. He rescues them and gives them safe haven. Some have been wounded and abused. He loves them all.

No one should be or feel unwanted.

But they do. We do too, at times. Unfortunately, some have known such a life. Their needs went unmet. Their persona has been partially shaped by put-downs and sarcasm. Their self-worth as a human is shaky.

As you read this your heart may be beating fast. You may have a headache that won’t go away, and your thoughts are taking you down a rabbit trail to an event(s) in your past. Maybe you were embarrassed, humiliated or were mistreated. You know you have unmet needs and unhealed hurts. You push their memory into your secret archive of past injustices.

Invasion of a soul is not a pretty thing.

You know, it takes courage to overcome devastation. It takes bravery to face the pain of your past. You have to persevere, and it’s a hard thing to do. You know there is love in this world. You are given the task of finding it. But it’s so hard and possibly you don’t know how to love purely, without self-centeredness causing problems.

All of us have unmet needs. Some needs are more severe than other ones. If you tend to be negative in your thoughts, this indicates that there is something that needs addressing (I know about this!). Unmet needs signify that there’s a lack within you, like a hole that needs filling.

That hole is in your soul. You’re going to need some help to heal.

Your past is impacted by the present. God is a gracious God. He is willing and able to show you your need and then give you the tools to mend and repair your soul. Let God in. Let the bad stuff go. Allow God to heal what needs healing. It can happen. You can become healthy and whole. It’s a process of many steps (and you may need some help).

Never lose sight of God’s willingness to help you. You may come to your darkest hour but “God is on the bathroom floor” (Nightbirde). He meets you there.

      • God loves you.
      • He promises to help you.
      • Call out to Him.

Come to Jesus.

Write down your needs that weren’t and aren’t being met. Ask God to repair your emotional injuries. Ask Him to show you what you need to become a whole and an emotionally healthy individual. Seek answers, spiritual answers to your person-specific problems.

Overcoming takes time. This journey takes a sifting through your past with an eye to the future. Imagine Jesus walking with you as you face whatever that holds you back.

I have found that the more that I heal, the more free I become. It’s like the monkey is off my back. It allows space to free up what was walled off by my damaged emotions.

This is a continuous journey. Persevere through. Keep learning, listening, and waiting. God is not finished with you yet.

We are in this together.

I have learned that you don’t have to live life with a dead spot in your soul. Have you noticed how hurting people often hurt others. What’s deep inside comes out in our closest relationships. Do it for others if not for yourself. Holding onto grievances is in this camp, too. Harbored resentment and bitterness deadens us inside. Let them go. They aren’t healthy for your soul.

The good news is that we don’t have to battle it alone. You can’t do it in your own strength anyway. God is only a prayer away. He sees the intentions of our hearts. He picks us up when we stumble. He applauds our effort. He surrounds us with His love, even when we don’t feel it.

I’m so glad there’s hope. I’m so glad God saves and redeems. I’m so thankful I don’t have to do it in my own strength. I’m grateful Jesus is walking with me. I praise Him for His abundant mercies that are never exhausted.

Embrace your spiritual journey.