Be Courageously Brave to "LET GO"

In reference to the picture quote:

I write today not about being courageously brave in living life, but to  be courageously brave enough to “let go” of life (either yours, or someone you love) when the time comes for God to take you or them home.  God calls us to celebrate life and to be thankful of the short time we have here on Earth. 

Life is like a breath, you will look for me and I will be gone.  We are like the morning fog, it floats around thick in the air but by noon the fog has disappeared.  I believe God wants us to know our time here is short.  You NEVER know when life will be taken from you, so treasure things (people) in your life that money cannot buy. 

I read stories on Facebook, mostly friends and family posts, and many have went through trials and sorrows … some are fighting everyday PRAYING for their life or the lives of loved ones.  Some of my friends have lost parents … I sometimes forget that I am not young anymore, our parents are getting older, I forget that they are not as youthful as they were at my age …I do not want to believe they are growing old because I could not imagine my life without them even though I live thousands of miles away. Some of my family and friends have lost a child, and that chokes me up just thinking about it.  Some of my friends right now are fighting for their lives, just to have another day. 

I see friends whom have received tragic or fatal news (medical diagnoses) either for themselves or from family members who confidently and fearlessly face their foes with triumph – Psalm 112:7.  They confidently trust the Lord to care for them, to give them rest, peace … They do NOT give up, they fight. Oh what an inspirational example from the people who are hurting the most, who are suffering the most … to still have a joyful heart in the midst of their circumstances.  You’re light of fight does NOT go un-noticed by people. 

My fear is not about getting old, or getting diagnosed with a traumatic disease, it is about not knowing what Day God will call me home.  I may not get to kiss my husband and kids goodnight, or tell my parents and best friend that I love them again.  As I get older, the importance of “family” grows, the importance of “true friendship” grows. We are only here for a little while and then we are called home. 

Lord, may you protect and guard my friends and family who stumble to find strength to get through today, lord please hold their hand.  I pray for you to give them the right words to speak in times of sorrow. God let them live in your strength so they do not grow weary, let them walk and not faint. May you brighten the darkness that is nearing towards them.  Lord comfort them, heal their hearts, and most of all give them your everlasting peace. ~Amen.

To my friends and family whom are going through a battle to stay alive or are praying relentlessly to keep a loved one alive:  YOU motivate me and inspire me to be a better person … to PRAY harder and to LOVE harder. 

 

Brave Knights & Heroic Courage

In reference to the message: 

Children’s delicate minds are very sponge-like; they absorb information by sight and sound from birth.  Parents eagerly await for their child’s first words, hoping for “Mommy or Daddy,” and those words might be so at first … They do not know what the real world is like, and we, as parents, were given these precious gifts to protect and guide.  We have to protect their eyes and ears, yet teach them to not be naïve in certain adult situations they may find themselves in at an early age (drugs/sex/violence.)

I never quite understood my mother’s words when she would say “Alissa, you will understand why I do the things I do when you have children of your own … I guard your eyes and ears to protect your innocence, and I do not allow you to do things other parents allow their children to do because I love you.”  Now that I have children, I completely understand her, and what I was put on this earth to do.  I also find myself saying the same exact words to my children.  I would lay my life down in a heartbeat to protect them.  I will do anything to keep them innocent for as long as possible.  THIS is a difficult task, our parents had it easier because we did not have cell phones, or a google search engine on the internet … they have a world of information at the push of a key (get one letter off on a google search ) and our kids could be seeing pornographic material.  Rated R in the 1980-1990s is probably considered PG now.  The G rated movies cuss and have adult humor, PG13 should be rated R, and the R rated movies should be rated XXX. 

This is not the only way innocence is stripped from our children … My kids ask if there are such things as monsters, and from an early age, my reply has always been “Yes. Not in the way you view monsters that hide in the closet or underneath your bed.  Not big scary monsters with fangs, but real life monsters that look just like you and me.” These monsters are covered with human skin, have sick and twisted minds, these monsters will do vile and degrading things.  I tell my kids the truth when it means saving their lives.  I tell my kids not to listen to any inner or outer voices that tell them lies that will crush their self-esteem, or any talk that belittles them … I tell them those words are from the devil and the devil is a LIAR!!!  We have schools taking God out of everything and teaching our children things that are not RIGHT, so we as parents, need to be a GOOD example in the way we live our lives … so our children can imitate what is right, contrary to what the world shows or tells them. 

Teach our children that it does not matter if a peer group accepts them, or that they do not fit in, that people tease them because they are smart, are overweight … teach them that NO MATTER WHAT, they are beautiful, funny, kind, and are ALWAYS accepted in God’s eyes.  They are ALWAYS loved by God. 

Teach them and prepare them for life’s trials and sorrows, as we know they will have many.  Teach them to turn away from anything that stimulates youthful lusts, and encourage them to pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace.  Let the Lord be their companion, until the time comes, and their actions are pleasing to God (Marriage). 

Let us help them stay on their guard, teach them the importance of true faith, and how God’s strength can help them in any situation.  We can help save their innocence by shielding their eyes and ears from filth and lies … we can help them see and avoid real life monsters.  All we have to do is, give our children our time, isn’t that what we are called to do? … Guide and Lead them on the right path, protect them, love them …

Lord, let us show our children how to pray at night, and in the morning.  Show them how to give their worries and cares to you, so they can get rest during the night, and feel protected during the day.  Let them understand they are safe with you.  Let our children view themselves as brave knights with heroic courage, let them stand tall on your words.  ~ Amen.

Full Metal Jacket. Beware of the Lion.

In reference to the photo quote:   I am sure that many of you when you read this RUMI passage below will laugh, thinking “Where was this quote when I needed it.”  Is RUMI not spot on?  Have any of you put beauty above your moral compass?  You are drawn in by his or her beautiful physical appearance, his voice, her scent … they possess everything to lure you in … they present charm, class, compassion, enchantment (The LION & LIONESS) … but underneath are lies, deceit, and betrayal. 

Beware, this Lion is NOT a Lion at all, the Lion is a Loathed Snake.  They are ugly under the surface … you see … their voice is like small doses of poison that will kill your spirit slowly.  This snake is no regular snake, it is a beast like python … they will utilize every ounce of their physical attributes and charm to lure you away from safety, physical & mental safety.  They seek power and control through misleading and deceiving innocence.  They are selfish, arrogant, greedy, merciless, and heartless.  They will redefine or use a thesaurus of educated words to mislead you from the truth, ohhh the way their words roll off of their lips, will captivate you, and trust me they will be believable … but the words are furthest from the truth.  They will corrupt your character by persuasion. Beware!!!

Have you met anyone with these features?  If so, a lesson was surely learned, the hard way.  Once bitten by the snake, it is difficult, almost impossible, without help from God to break away.  The venom from the snake (lion in this instance), first attacks your mind, then will cause physical pain (sickness/weakness), and will make your heart hollow.  What once was of YOU, will no longer be there … only an empty hollow shell.  If anyone is reading this … if you come in contact with someone like this RUN, I mean SPRINT away as fast as you can!!!!  This advice will save you YEARS of mental anguish and physical pain.

In this beautiful world filled with chaos and corruption you will need the FULL METAL JACKET prior to walking out your door every day, these 3 things will protect you from devilish schemes:

1.       BELT OF TRUTH
2.       BREASTPLATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS
3.       SHEILD OF FAITH

Remember the Lion and Snake are stealth like, they watch you, plotting against you.  Watch out for their invisible net and hidden snares.  They are masters of deception, they believe their own lies … guard your morals, your values, and your life.

Lord, let no one deceive us with empty words and rescue us from evil schemes. Protect us from people with impure hearts that gain power by immoral persuasion.  Protect us from the poison that flows from the mouths of the narcissist.  Protect us from any corruption and violence that may be upon us or plotted against us.  Let us be strong-willed in God’s word, Let us use the trifecta Full Metal Jacket to stand up for ourselves, our family, our friends, and what we believe to know is Just, Pure … lovely. ~Amen.

 

 

One Negative Comment can KILL a DREAM

In reference to the message:    Ahhh … dreaded negativity, the legal arsenic of life.   How many times have YOU wanted to chase a dream and “negativity” drained your courage, excitement, and willingness to step forward?  How many times has a “negative” word rained on your happiness parade and dampened your faith?  Have you been so excited about that one thing in life you want to do, get there, and someone tell you that they would not be proud of you?  Have you tried gaining someone’s approval and nothing you do can never seem good enough?  How many times have you participated in a conversation with people who never have anything positive to say and it completely drains your energy? 

Let me tell you something, YOU are NOT the problem, they are.  If you find yourself in a situation of negativity, leave.  Happiness and peace are priceless blessings that are precious and sometimes hard to obtain and more difficult to maintain.  The negativity disease is easy to catch, and hard to recover from.  You have to build a positive life, a life based on thankfulness … Life is a Battlefield of the Mind, positive kills negative.  Do NOT let someone’s cruel and dull words ruin and take away your faith, motivation, or excitement for life.  If you have a dream, this is YOUR life, not anyone else’s.  They do NOT live your life, they most definitely have their own life to live.  Make your OWN decisions.  Chase YOUR dreams.  Please encourage people, inspire people … help people find ways to reach his or her dream.  Fight the negativity, keep strong in the faith. 

~ Alissa

 

 

Transformation Happens on the Other Side of Surrender

In reference to the message:  As I struggle to find the words to attach to the message … this reminds me of the struggle to Trust God, to Keep God completely centered in the midst of every aspect of your life.  When Jesus is the last person who gets attention, your life will show it.  You tire easy, your temper is amplified, nothing goes right, your happiness fades away, and you can barely find the strength to smile.  Everything is negative, and we are left thinking “Something has GOT to give!!”  The solution … remains the same … keep your eyes on the sun (SON – thanks Betsy!).

 

I am writing this because I felt deep conviction about the way I let Jesus fall away, I mean, he is always with me … but I was not trusting in his direction for my life.  For example … have you ever have one little thing go wrong, and that small stressor which seemed enormous at the time, was in fact, very insignificant … And I said, after I made the tiny situation Mt. Everest, “Alissa … where did you go?  You were sooo full of the spirit, nothing phased you, nothing could touch you.”  It’s pretty amazing when you can feel God speaking to your heart, he wants you to have a relationship with him … No matter how busy you are … If you only allow a few minutes on the drive to and from work, do that …

I am writing this because the message below stands out … Transformation DOES happen on the other side of surrender.  Not by works, but by how you chose to live your life.  I was attending a church in Texas years ago and I was never closer to living the life I wanted to show for my children, when I left nothing was the same, my faith ebbs and flows … Transformation is ever changing, and is a process … Beware of false prophets claiming beliefs that make you spiritually lazy and spiritually arrogant.  How can I claim to be a Christian when my actions say otherwise?  I choose transformation … I choose to change not only for me, for everyone that I love.  I can be a better daughter/son in Christ, a godly wife/husband (because she/he deserves it), and a better mother/father because I want to lead them by a great and loving example.  Be transformed not conformed by this world.  Guard your mind, your heart, your husband, your wife, your children, your family … because they are your heart and there is NOTHING more precious and important in life than love.

 ~ Alissa

 

 

Mothers ... YOU are ENOUGH!!!

I am not perfect, I have never claimed to be perfect... I make mistakes, but I AM ENOUGH for my Sweet Marshall, for my four amazing children, for my parents, for my brother & sister, for my family, and for my best friends!! I make mistakes but I LOVE them like there is no tomorrow.

So if anyone is making you prove yourself worthy of love...worthy to fit in...worthy of forgiveness...Remember God says "YOU are enough, YOU are loved, YOU are forgiven."
I know tons of amazing and loving mothers, and YOU are Enough...Sometimes you may feel like a failure or feel like you could do better... That is the enemy getting into your precious mind...GOD says "You are more precious than rubies, You are virtuous, You are strong (Proverbs 31).

YOU are ENOUGH!!!

 

They Tried to BURY US but They Didn't Know We Were Seeds

In reference to the message:  How powerful is this … This is a message of Hope & Triumph, a message of Defeat & Recovery.  I am pretty sure many of us have figuratively speaking been buried, and have treaded through hellish waters, YET … are still alive, rebuilding what was lost.   Life is a rollercoaster, a journey, a joy, a nightmare, and most of all a GIFT.  If we are lucky and blessed, we wake up breathing and alive to change everything that we didn’t like about yesterday, or make yesterday a better today. 

This message is about the courage to fight from the depths of your lowest low, fighting the people who said “You won’t make it, You can’t do this, You will never amount to anything,” YOU know better than that!!!!  So what if you made (make) mistakes, you fix them!!!  So what if life has not always been fair to you, YOU keep going!!!  Being sad is OKAY, Being down is OKAY, just don’t stay there … You are worth so much more.   Sometimes you will be angry at what life has thrown at you, USE that ANGER to fuel your motivation to recover and be a better person, USE the ANGER in positive ways.  Just because we have been knocked down (buried), does NOT mean we are dead, we ARE seeds of regrowth.  Yes physical death will happen, but in our time. 

This message is to all of the people who have lived and conquered their definition of hell and came out wiser, better, stronger … you can be vessels of encouragement.  This is our purpose in life, this, I believe, is the reason we are allowed to hurt, endure pain … is to come out on the other side, to help people who are fighting the same battle you won.   

~ Alissa

 

 

No-One has EVER become POOR by GIVING

In reference to Anne Frank’s Quote:  This quote originates from “freely” giving, the kind of giving that could make a person smile for one moment … a type of giving that could momentarily change a person’s life by supplying them with hope.  How great does it feel to make a person smile?  It takes a small amount of effort to open your heart to someone in need … I find it spiritually rewarding to make someone smile, not being kind because it is the right thing to do, but being kind because you want to.   I find happiness and I find myself by making people smile … Does it not warm your heart to see the gratitude and thankfulness on someone’s face when you give?  Everyone has a different style of giving, the most precious gift is giving your time, no money needed J  In all honesty, seems to me like every time I give, God always returns it back to me in more ways than one … When we give freely with love in our hearts, we receive JOY and our spirit shines bright.  In giving to others, we forget about the troubles in our lives for a period of time because we are focused on something other than ourselves. 

It is funny … now that I am typing this … that I have found the solution to my “stuck point – something that I have had difficulty getting through the past few months,” I have been so caught up with (my feelings, my adjustment, me me me, my my my) that I have allowed myself to change, and not for the good.  As I read the quote below, this is the solution to break free from selfishness, I become me again by becoming a servant … I know that is a strong word but, in context, I mean a servant of God … to show love, kindness, to freely give my heart and soul to serving people again, to make them smile.  Today I make a promise to give my time to my children before they leave home (they are growing up too fast), I promise to serve my husband like he serves me … I want to make a positive influence in people’s lives again.  I start today… Giving enriches and comforts the lives of both the giver and receiver.  We will all find peace, joy, and happiness there (the givers heart).

Today we drop selfishness, we drop greed, we drop hate … We turn our focus towards having a servant’s heart, we encourage, we give, we inspire, we WILL make a difference in someone’s life.  Amen.

 

~ Alissa

Save Face, Save A Friend

In reference to the message:  In a moment of anger, In a moment of disgust, In a moment of doubt … It is said that the ones that you hold dearest to your heart will be the ones who will break our heart, who will break our trust, who will break our faith, and break our hope.  However, those same people who you hold dear to your heart will also helped heal our broken hearts, helped us to trust again, help strengthen our faith, and help restore our hope. 

A friend, a human being with a beating heart, will … more than likely, unintentionally or intentionally do something that you believe is wrong.  Perhaps, they lied to you to save you from enduring the harsh truth of reality, or maybe they told you the truth so you could hurt and heal.  Either way, I am sure those dear friends have your best interest at heart.  Perhaps your friend has chosen a different life path and you do not agree nor support it … Remember to love them because they are your friend, they are a part of your heart.  Remember this is THEIR life, all you can do is love them.  What if your friend has done something that is definitely wrong and they know it is wrong?  Do not judge them, that is God’s job, not yours.  You cannot assume your sin is worse than theirs (kinda like the pot calling the kettle black), Jesus doesn’t like hypocrites!!!  We are called to this Earth to love …

 
My best friend and I have been unbreakable since we were 4 years old.  We have gone through some things that probably should have torn us apart, but our love for one another is stronger than any heated moment of anger.  We have both done a lifetime of things we consider wrong, but we do not judge each other on the severity of our wrong doing.  We are quick to forgive … and we have done tons of that in the past 32 years.  There have been times I haven’t spoken to her over high school boyfriends, and there was a period of time she went on a separate path than I did, but I can tell you one thing … I have traveled all over the world and will never find another person like her, or could even come CLOSE to her.  She is unconditional to me … Who cares if she does something wrong, either I will tell her how I feel about it, or I won’t and love her anyways.  The things Dana did right in my life, will ALWAYS outnumber things I believed she did wrong.   

I see and hear stories of how friends let one moment of anger form a grudge of unforgiveness that completely destroys their once unbreakable relationship.  Do not let anger win, Do not let greed win, Do not let unforgiveness win … Do not let the sun go down in anger, losing a lifetime friend is NOT worth it!!! 

Lord … Maybe some of us are struggling with issues of wrong doing, help us to drop our hypocritical and judgemental ways.  Help us give advice to friends, in love, and help us to forgive like you do.  We all know we make mistakes.  Help us to remember we are not perfect and we do things wrong, so let us be slow to anger, and slow to judge.  Let us treat others as we would like to be treated. ~ Amen.