Give It Up

Give It Up



I have walked in that dark cloud where it seems all your life is just heaviness. Strife, struggle, confusion and unrest crams the mind of so many, in this world.

I know what it is to worry and fear from sun up to sun down and then all through the night. I know what it is to suffer in pain and not have the means to see a doctor, not have the time to rest. I know what it is to feel like nobody cares, that you are all alone in this world. I know what it is that causes you to feel unworthy to look the cashier, at the grocery store, squarely in the eyes.

I was on the run from an abusive ex-husband, having been robbed of everything valuable, stripped of all possibility to grasp my own world in order to survive. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to be grateful for the $11 in your pocket, so that you too can go to the grocery store. I know what it is to fear the unknown.

I know what would drive a young mother to thoughts of suicide just for relief from the fatigue due to the struggle. I know how it feels to know you don't have money for Christmas presents for your little one.

I know the implosion one feels in their brain, when the gas has run out, the old car might not start again and fancy suits drive past you while you push the old car up a hill, with your baby inside.

It doesn't feel good. It's tiring and wearing on the body. It makes an old woman out of you. I know what it is to forget how to have fun.

I've been there. Are you hurting? Are you down? Are you crying every night? Do you pray and pray and pray and it seems your words hit the ceiling and go no farther?

Do you want a friend? Do you want help? Would you accept it? Are you ready for it? Do you want to see green in the trees again? Do you want to sleep again? Do you want to be able to appreciate the crisp morning air again? Do you want peaceful thoughts in your head, again? You want the rope? You want off the merry-go-round?

I know the answer sounds so very simple but the fact is, it is the answer. It will put you on your feet again, make you feel human again, make you feel possibility again, make you dream of tomorrow again. You ready?

Speak His name. You know His name, just speak it. Give up. Give up. He's waiting for you to give up.

There's something very important you need to know. Just because you know about Jesus, doesn't mean you've stepped into His light. You see, it's a two way street. Accept Jesus into your heart but also remember to give yourself to Him. Sell out. It sure doesn't hurt.

Once you've given up and spilled it all out before Him, the Holy Spirit comes immediately to cleanse, cloak and to comfort. This is a real thing. I mean real as in, you will feel it, you will know it. It happens immediately. You will sleep again, like a baby in mothers arms.

Then the next morning, after you've had some rest, here's what you do. You take those concerns, those bills, those needs and you lay them out on the floor. Seriously, lay that gas bill on the floor. Lay out notes, listing your immediate needs, right there on the floor. Then point to them and tell the Father, "There is it. I can't fix this. You can. Fix it, Father. I need Your help". And then you walk away from those pieces of paper, laying out there before the Lord where He can acknowledge them.

From this point on, you do what you can and don't ask another thing from yourself. You are not the God, He is.

Five years from now, you won't be able to remember how those needs were met, you will just remember that somehow they were tended to. That's the point, it wasn't any of your business and so you don't remember.

Break before the Lord. Don't go whining to Him about your situation, look to Him for a solution. Recognize that you may not know the perfect answer. Rely on Him for that.

You will begin a whole new chapter in your life and some day, you will be sharing that experience with others, just like me.

Judy Sims

Jesus - Our precious hope.

We know we are approaching a time of persecution and we know we are running out of time.

Regardless of what the future holds, remember to hold on to the one true thing in this existence-Jesus.

We may stumble and fall, but we continue to come to Him. We are frail but He is mighty. We get lost but He finds us. He will not forsake you.

We have come into the time, I waited so many years to see. It's not only exciting, it keeps me on the constant watch - waiting for the next shoe to drop.

I keep a watch on my own family, to make sure they don't stray too far. I remind them and pray for them.

This is the time for the church. It will soon be over. If I were 13, I'd be worried about being cheated out of life but I'm not, I'm almost 64 and tired of this world. I'm ready and waiting. I'm anxious to see it all play out and I know I will.

Blessed is this last generation. They will see those things spoken of, so many thousands of years ago.

The Holy Spirit Indwells

The Holy Spirit Indwells

God's love for His creation runs so deep and is so engrained in our very existence, that to deny His existence is foolish. Our very drives and yearnings all stem from our reflection of the Creator Himself.

Love and marriage is a screaming testimony, as it was designed to reflect our relationship with the Lord. Spiritually speaking, Him being the husband and His church lifting Him up and the union producing fruit.

Through the Holy Spirit, we beget yet another generation of the church. By the human union, called marriage, we beget yet another generation of mortals.

Ever consider where emotions come from? Does it come from a mass of flesh we call a brain? How could that be? Does it come from our heart? Impossible. The heart just pumps blood.

Do you realize that when you feel emotion, it centers in a place within our body that has no nerve center nor any organ? It's called the solar plexis, just behind your breast bone. What is there, that could possibly produce emotion? This is where we have the sensation of fear, of anger, of love, of heart break.

When refering to yourself, you point right at the solar plexis. Why is that? Why not your face?

The answer is because not only does your own spirit reside there, but also when the Holy Spirit comes to abide in you, He joins you there. He's not in your intestine, not in your stomach, not in your leg or ear and certainly not in your head. There's only one place on the human body that can ache, the way it does, simply from hearing the words, "I don't love you any more".

This is also the very place where you receive what we call, the unction to pray. This is where you sense it all.

So does this mean the Holy Spirit actually does enter your being and joins your own spirit to abide in union? Yes. Why would you doubt that? Jesus Himself said it was to happen. Isn't that what a groom does, gives you the best of Himself?

Truly you are a part of the bride of Christ and truly He adores you and truly His Spirit is already with you. Always. We call Him King of Kings and we are all headed for the Marriage of Marriages.

Judy Sims

Death

Death

Do you fear it? Have you lost a loved one? Find yourself blaming God and then feeling ashamed? Dealing with such intense feelings, you think you will never get over? Wishing for just one more day? Sorry for things you never said?

Would you like someone to throw you a rope? I'd like to share something with you.

I am 60 now but I will never quite get over a sickness, I suffered in my late 20's. The fact is, the devil tried once again, to kill me only this time very slowly and with great agony.

Without boring you with all the reasons why, I will try to explain this weird thing that overcame me. Five doctors could not find the reasons.

When I first became ill, it was sudden and violent. I was sicker than I had ever experienced. The odd thing was that after vomiting, I only felt worse and worse.

It's truly hard to explain the sensations, as it was something akin to nothing I can relate to. It was as if every cell in my body was nauseated, constantly, day in and day out for 8 weeks straight with no let up.

When it could no longer be diagnosed as the flu, I had already begun treating the symptoms, out of desperation.

Phenagrin is a suppository drug given to children as part of prep for surgery. On top of taking a stomach tranquilizer by day, in order to eat and have it stay down, I was also taking valium just to help me to tolerate the constant sensations. At night, there was no possible way to fall asleep without drugging myself with phenagrin, in order to overcome the constant waves of nausea.

The worst part was that I was a young mother with a 10 month old baby and no help. My mornings turned into a routine of crawling on my hands and knees to the nursery, to get my baby, change her diaper and get her breakfast. I crawled so as not to disturb my body any more than necessary because as soon as I stood, there was a countdown. I had 30 minutes to get what I needed done, before the shocking wave of overwhelming nausea hit me and brought me to my face on the floor.

At night, I prepared for the nightmare of trying to get to sleep, by drugging myself. Then I would lie in the bed with the radio blarring to blot out the siren in my head, as the drug intensified the sensations for about 40 minutes before finally subsiding and I slipped into a drugged sleep. As the sensations intensified, I would bite on the blanket with lock jaw tension and whine away the minutes, as tears poured down the side of my face.

Night after night, this went on until I wanted to die. I had thoughts like, "if my mother truly loved me, she would bring me a loaded gun". But then I would remember my baby. Who would care for her? Who would protect her? I was alone, as I had had to divorce her future molester. I had to live to protect her.

It was during these times, while I had no strength to voice even a prayer, my mind would reach out to the Lord and beg because I knew that I knew that I was 1/4" away from total relief. I had thoughts like, "Father! Why do You leave me here in this feeble rotting flesh?"

It was at that time, I became acutely aware of my spirit, as it was my spirit that wanted out. Nothing seemed more proper than for me to leave and save myself this agony. It wasn't the mortal mind thinking these things, it was my spirit.

From that experience I know my spirit and, at that time, my spirit knew where to find freedom.

I'm telling you this because I want you to know that when a loved one goes home to be with the Lord, it is very real. It is a joyous time, for that loved one.

I can tell you that I would prefer to go through a shocking accident than through a horrible sickness. That's for sure. I should know, the devil has been trying to kill me most of my life and sometimes came really close to it. That's a whole other story, as each time the result was a magnificent miracle or I wouldn't be here to tell you these things.

You see, at that point of no return, when one faces their own death in an accident, something very special happens. It's like you are taken into a dream world, where nothing seems real and at the same time, you are very much aware that the end has come.
Silly thoughts go through your mind like, "Is this really happening?" or "How far is this going to go?" or even, "Well.....so this is how it's going to happen."

Maybe it's true that some people's lives pass before their eyes but I sure never have had those thoughts. At the moment of the impending fatal blow, I've always been right there in the moment, focused on something my mind just couldn't wrap around.

I imagine those who actually pass on, thinking momentarily, "Uh...."

God so perfectly designed our bodies, that at the instant of mortal wound, the body goes directly into shock. Ask any doctor or nurse. They will tell you they lose more accident patients, from shock than from wounds. It's as though the body immediately prepares and puts a person into a dream state. While in shock, you don't feel the pain. You are aware there is pain but it's nothing like what you expected. As a matter of fact, about half the time, the person feels like superman.

Does this help you to face a horrible death in the family?  It should. The answer is no. They didn't suffer. God takes care of us, even during that time.

It's hard to imagine life when a loved one is suddenly taken but I asure you, it does go on. Be at peace. I promise you that loved one hasn't looked back, not even for a second. Things are too exciting where they are.

Remember, we can't see the big picture. If we could, we might spend a whole lot less time crying.

Why would the Lord take a close loved one and leave a mate or other family members behind? Have you ever thought that it might have something to do with your own growth?

It's just like when a toddler is left in the nursery. The child has no idea the mother is coming back. It is pure insecurity and the unknown that drives the child into a frenzy.

We go through the same reactions when our loved one is taken and we are left. It's the unknown. The fact is you really will be together again but until you are there with them, you are left with the unknown. Once there, you will understand how very small this lifetime was, how very brief in comparison to what the big picture is.

It's time now to look inside yourself and rediscover. The wound will heal and along with it, you will find your inner strength. It's at this time, you will also discover a stronger relationship with the Lord, more one on one.

During this period of your own life, between the time of those you relied on and the time you yourself discover the wonders the Lord has waiting for you, there is much to discover about yourself and about your faith. Like the toddler stepping out on his own and experiencing all he can do.

Grow. Learn. Discover. Your loved one will wait. This is a blessed time for you. Painful, yes but also blessed.

Smile. It's ok.

Judy Sims

What is Salvation? What does it mean?

I recently read a comment on another blog, asking 'What exactly is salvation?'

I was taken aback, realizing there are those who don't understand what that's all about.

I decided to try to explain, using terms an unbeliever could understand. What is salvation, why do we need it, what's it all about?

While it may be true, you are a good person and do your best to do what is right and not hurt others, it's also true you were born in sin.

Born in sin? Yes. Not that you are a sinful person, the second you're born. You see, the fact is, once sin was introduced into this world, the world itself became a sinful nature. For that reason, you are born into sin (world).

You didn't do anything wrong. That's not what it's all about. But just living in this world, which happens to BE sin, you take on a sinful nature. It shows up in way, you'd never imagine was a symptom but we don't know any different.

As you grew, you were taught 'right from wrong'. What is right from wrong? In who's opinion? And why are we drilled with it, from diaper age on up? Who says?

The fact is, if your parents were non-believers, what they were teaching you were the rules of getting along with society. Even they don't know, that the birth of those rules comes straight out of the Bible. They would deny that. They would say it's social graces. Either way, you were taught right from wrong.

Just as you were taught how to do things in a right way, you also hear about Jesus. Just knowing Jesus, is yet another lesson in right from wrong.

Until you've learned the 'right from wrong' of Jesus, you are what is called 'lost'.

Jesus is the way and the light. Through Him, we reach God. Without God, we are lost. So how do we become found? By accepting Jesus. That is our salvation from a lost state.

If Jesus is the Way (to God) and the Only Way, then we can only come to God through Him and God is the only path to heaven.

Put simply,you won't go to heaven in a lost state. You must be saved from that lost state. This does not mean you will suddenly be perfect. You never will. None of us will. That's why we need Jesus.