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The Joy Has Returned

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . .

I was feeling out of sorts. Exhausted, but worse. No sense of life. No desire to do anything. Just felt dead inside, like my life had come to a halt.

When thinking about something I might want to engage in, I kept saying things like, “I don’t know” and “I don’t care.” As someone who had always loved writing and teaching, I heard myself saying, “I have nothing more to say. There’s nothing I can or want to write or teach anyone. I’m done.”

I thought my recent vacation would help — and it did alleviate my exhaustion. But it didn’t change my lethargy, my lack of desire to do anything more with my life. When I returned home from my wonderful vacation time, I felt refreshed for sure. But inside, my pulse was still silent.

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A New Heart Life

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . . 

Friday night, I typed a medical transcription about heart health. I even looked at pictures of a heart to help me get the words right. If you don’t know the path I’ve been tiptoeing down, this might not seem like a big deal. Trust me, it is. A week ago, I could not have done any of that. This was a huge breakthrough beyond anything I could have expected. It came from the healing work God did in my own heart five days earlier.

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Abiding in the Hands of a Merciful God

A guest post by Bill McPherson . . .

CHAPTER ONE

I recently experienced a horrendous fall off a cliff. I live on the side of a mountain which has a pitch of about 45 degrees (no exaggeration). A construction project 2 years ago included construction of a concrete retaining wall 12 feet from the house capped with a concrete patio (with a deck 20’ above). The drop from the patio to the ground is roughly six feet. You see it coming, don’t you? Don’t get ahead. Listen.

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Cindy’s Story

A guest post by Cindy Caldwell . . .

I was the firstborn in my family of four children. My parents believed in God. My mother grew up going to a Baptist church. I am not sure if my dad went to church growing up. When I was a small child, they took us to a Baptist church where we heard about Jesus. God was not talked about in the home, and I don’t remember my parents praying with me or reading the Bible. The mindset in those days seemed to be that spiritual teaching came from the church. It was more of something you believed with your mind, rather than a personal relationship with God.

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God Is an Oasis

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . .

Bible Verse

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” — Psalm 42:1-2 NIV

Reflection

During a time of crisis, we are so aware of how much we need God. But we may feel it takes time and energy to build our relationship with God. And time and energy are hard to come by during a crisis.

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Choices

A guest post by Karen Castleberry . . .

Bible Verse

“When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence. He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse. His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you. You can run under his covering of majesty and hide. His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.” — Psalm 91:1-4 TPT

Photo by Tara Hamilton

Reflection

Spring of 2020 will be remembered as the season of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world was filled with fear. New to this generation, the definition of global quarantine and shelter in place became a reality. Continue reading “Choices”

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Panic over Toilet Paper

A guest post by Karen Castleberry . . .

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused some strange behavior. At first I couldn’t grasp the magnitude of what was coming and how our world changed seemingly overnight. On March 12, 2020, Georgia’s 83rd governor, Brian Kemp, made a request of all schools in Georgia to suspend all activities in an effort to stop the spreading of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. New words and phrases like social distancing came into existence, and schools like the one where I work ventured into distance learning. Teachers, students, and employees had to learn new technologies and techniques for practicing social distancing by working from home. Continue reading “Panic over Toilet Paper”

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Restoring Ground

A guest post by Janet Eriksson . . .

Years ago, because of fear, confusion, and lack of wisdom, I made decisions that still have a profound effect on my life. I allowed myself to be a doormat, and the enemy took advantage. I’m still living with the consequences.

I’ve been through a lot of healing, repentance, forgiveness. I started on a journey to walk free of fear, and while I’m still in progress, I’ve come a long way. I have less fear, more wisdom, and I’m discovering that I don’t need to be a doormat. That’s not my true identity. It’s not who God created me to be.

But what about those consequences. Would I ever get free of those? Do I get a year of jubilee?

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Fragrance Restored by God

Inner Healing Testimony

A guest post by Karen Castleberry . . .

The unhealed parts of our hearts do affect people around us. I didn’t really believe that statement fully until this past spring when a potential tragedy occurred at my workplace. I am an administrative assistant at a school with 400 students and 60 employees.

The bell rang to start the school day when a teacher rushed up to the front desk and said with alarm, “I smell gas, do you?” The receptionist called the Principals to the area who smelled gas too, so they immediately evacuated the building. A gas leak was discovered in the pipes in the ceiling of our building. Due to a teacher’s sense of smell, a tragedy was averted. That day helped me to realize the importance of being able to smell.

I had lost my sense of smell 24 years ago during the birth of my son. Or so I had thought.

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A Child’s Grief Story

A guest post by Susan McPherson . . .

Our eight-week grief support class has come to an end. I’m going to miss these ladies. It was such a privilege to be a small part of their grief journey.

Our grief group has been open and vulnerable about where they are in their grief journey. As we have learned (through the book Understanding Your Grief by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D.), you have to feel to heal. Grief is on the inside, and mourning is grief on the outside.

We also learned some healthy ways to mourn: crying, journaling, painting, and talking about your pain and grief, sharing your story.

Continue reading “A Child’s Grief Story”

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