Category Archives: SPIRITUAL INTEREST

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Blessing Others Just Because

Make My Day

We rub shoulders with various people in a week’s time. We can make it a good experience when we engage with others in positive ways. We bless with our smiles and gracious ways. I used to dread grocery shopping. Now it is an opportunity to bring my light with me. Before masks were required, I wore my smile. Now I smile with my eyes. Yesterday I picked up a cane for an elderly woman who had dropped it and couldn’t bend down to get it. “I’ll get that for you.” It’s that kind of thing.

In the past three weeks I’ve had three encounters that were blessings. I would like to share them with you.

1st Story

The clerk at the grocery store was talking about her husband, his tumors and cancer treatments, with the lady ahead of me. She was young, upbeat and joyful. The customer responded by sharing her story. She said how she had lost 200 pounds, how she had lost her home in the Camp Fire and hasn’t had a house since, how she’s gained back 100 pounds, is working at moving forward, and is back to walking again.

The two, cashier and customer, talked about Jesus being with them, how He gives them the grace to bear up. The cashier was cheerful. I loved her spirit. At that point I chimed in about them being resilient overcomers. They smiled. I’m so proud of people who overcome adversity, even when I don’t know them. Giving Jesus credit for His part was like icing on the cake.

A simple verbal exchange made my day.

2nd Story

The week before, at the checkout at that same grocery store, a store where you bag your own groceries, a young man offered to help me bag my groceries. I brushed him off. I said that I have my way of doing things and thanks for the offer but I was okay. I did have a fair amount of items to sack. He left his friend to come over to help me. We worked side by side. He looked like he’d been working a manual job and was a bit scruffy around the edges.

He just stepped up and got busy. That surprised me. When we were done I thanked him and said I’d be bragging about him helping me. He said, “No problem. Anytime.” He did it so naturally. I hesitated at first, I’m ashamed to admit. We are nervous about people these days. I was blessed by his helpfulness.

You know, there’s some good out there.

3rd Story

Twitter is my writing outlet. I’ve made a few contacts and friends on Twitter. Every day I tweet snippets of spiritual content and some of my writing ventures. Here is my third encourager. This one is verbatim and from this week.

@nlbrumbaugh: “I just wrote a children’s book but I’m nervous about the cancel culture stuff. Dr. Seuss, anyone?* Can a traditional book still make it? My first book is a happy little story about a princess on a make-believe adventure to the seashore. It’s a story I made up for my Granddaughter.”

@noelle**: “I want to encourage you to move forward regardless of cancel culture. You are strong and brave and I love what you write. Cancel culture is a cancer. Please don’t let it dim your light.”

@nlbrumbaugh: “‘Cancel culture is a cancer.’ Such a succinct statement. Noelle, thank you for this word, ‘Please don’t let it dim your light.’ Beautiful encouragement to me. Bless you. I read this morning in John 5 where Jesus says John was a lamp that burned bright. That’s what I hope to do.”

@noelle: “You DO burn brightly!!! Shine your light in the darkness.

*Dr. Seuss books are now considered to have racial undertones and are being removed from certain venues. Some Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published.
**not full name

Noelle’s comments showed me her perceptions, which helped me gain a right perspective.

We never know what a day or week will bring. How we greet and live through them has a lot to do with how we see ourselves in the big picture. Attitude and outlook are two areas under our control. A stinkin’ attitude can be changed by an act of the will, with God’s help, and by being grateful.

More important than attitude is outlook. Why we do what we do is worth noting. It drives everything. We are “Christ” to the world. Yes, we get discouraged, frustrated, or whatever. That is why we must keep close to the Source. Christ should influence our outlook and being, to love others as Christ loved. A Christ centered outlook helps us appreciate the good things that come our way, which includes the clerk assisting us with our purchases.

People bless us with their kindnesses. We bless others with out kindnesses. Every day is a new opportunity, even if it is only to smile, or to commiserate, or to say an encouraging word, or to help, or to be truthful. We have an example in Jesus. Remember WWJD, What Would Jesus Do? Case in point.

Keep moving forward.

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Photo: Calle Macarone, Unsplash

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Dismantling the Clutch of Fear

Bashful was Grandad’s nickname for me.

I was a shy child, not the shyest ever but shy, nevertheless. Mother said she was a shy child and would hide when relatives came to visit. I guess I came by it naturally. I am still shy and still push myself to do things that are uncomfortable for me. There are many ways shyness enters the conversation, from making business phone calls to the people side of my writing projects.

Shyness, though, is related to something much bigger. Something called fear.

Fear is a terrible master. I remember when in my 40s I realized I had an fear of people. I traced it back to see how it had outworked in me. I saw how my fear of people–their attention or rejection–had impacted my thoughts, actions, and reactions, how my lack of confidence was related to this fear of not being ‘good enough’ or ‘smart enough’ or ‘interesting enough,’ how it kept me from approaching others and from moving forward. It saddened me to realize how fear had held me back.

I was a teacher by profession and a leader in my church. Every step had required that I walk past my fear and bypass my shyness.

But I had dreams and ambitions and desires that I had left behind, compromised by my lack of belief in my ability to accomplish them.

Fear messes with you.

Fear that manipulates your thinking, that hinders your belief about yourself, that keeps your spirit enclosed, is unhealthy. Its internal message hurts, hinders, and halts you–and causes wrong beliefs.

Facing your fear is essential.

Here’s how. Recognize your fears for what the are and how they control you. Admit your struggle to God. Allow God to minister to you in your spirit. Ask Him to reveal your hidden fears to you. Determine to move fear aside, to remove its clutches, and to replace it with healthier perceptions and new habits. It wouldn’t hurt to read a book about codependency, either. I recommend Codependent No More, by Melody Beattie.

Retrain your mind by removing the negative messaging, thoughts like ‘what’s wrong with me,’ ‘if only,’ and ‘I wish,’ and ‘things never go right for me,’ those well-worn thought patterns. You purpose to develop a new way of thinking and self-talk. You initiate a replacement narrative, with truth statements, such as, ‘you can do this’ and ‘just do your best,’ and ‘that’s okay.’ Push past the discomfort to do the best you can and stop worrying about what people think.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control” (2 Tim.1:7).

Draw close to God, closer than you were before. Embrace His love for you. Let His love define you, cleanse you, heal you, and free you. He will transform your inner self. Fears will lessen as hope and love grow in you. Fear, insecurity, and ‘less-than’ self-perceptions will no longer influence your inner messaging.

You may not have a problem with fear, self-doubt, or shyness, but I bet you have some area that needs some tweaking or improvement. You can implement a similar strategy to address and overcome the troubling area. Apply the suggestions in the paragraph above this one to align yourself with the purposes of God in your life. Then see what happens. God is not slack concerning His promises (2 Pet. 3:9).

I can’t promise you that you will conquer your fears, but you will become more balanced and healthier. You will recognize fear-based thoughts whenever they surface to defeat you. Best of all, your relationship with God will strengthen and become intimate, rich, and tender. This is blessedness.

Be all you should be sans the fear.

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Photo by Sharon McCutcheon, Unsplash