Our Daily Time With The Lord

It's good then that we've identified that, as a long time ago you may have mistaken that for depression and just kind of lumped it all together as depression, not realizing it was perfectly normal to wake up that way and had nothing at all to do with depression. Instead it's simply how your body (and mine too) deals with waking up. We can't just open our eyes, jump out of bed and go running off to get things done any longer. Instead we have to take things slowly, and like you perfectly described it: clear away the cobwebs of sleep first.

Because of our illnesses, our bodies don't feel well at any time really, including when we first wake up. Most people wake up feeling fairly good physically, but that's not for us any longer. One thing that can help is to make a commitment about how you're going to deal with your physical illnesses and pain. I know we've discussed this in other ways before, but I'm not sure if you've ever actually consciously made a commitment about it yourself. It's not something most people have to do and not something most would even consider. But we have to because this is something that's not going to go away.
We have to decide how we're going to deal with our illness and pain on a daily basis. What do we want our life to be like? Obviously, we won't be able to do the things we used to do, or at least we won't be able to do them the same way or in the same amount. We can't change that, so we must decide how we're going to react to it. Are we going to be angry? Are we going to just give up and be needy - making others do for us and refusing to help ourselves? Are we going to feel sorry for ourselves and make sure everyone else around us knows just how miserable we are? Of course if we do that, no one will want to be around us at all after awhile, so that's kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face, yet people do it all the time.

Or, are we going to talk to the Lord about it and tell Him that we know He loves us and would never cause us pain, but that we also know that when we are caused pain by others or by our bodies breaking down due to sin in the world, that He will use it for His glory and our good. And that we can know we are among the very few privileged ones that He allows this to happen to, so He can make known the riches of His glory through us.

We know that the Lord has placed us exactly where He wants us to be, in the safest and best condition for us to be in. If some other condition or situation would have been better for us, then the Lord would have placed us there. We can know though that we are in the situation we're in because this is what we need and where we need to be right now in order for our loving Father to transform us to be more like Christ. Therefore we can be content with our lot in life for we know the Lord has ordained it for our good. Knowing all this, and confirming it all with Him, we can then commit to facing the illness and pain each day with a smile and determine to do our best in everything we do each day, because we're doing it for the Lord who loves us. We can therefore even do our best to rest when rest is what our bodies need, because it is the Lord we are resting for. We can commit to daily showing others the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus in all our actions and words every day regardless of the pain or illness. Just by smiling every day instead of crying, and doing the best we can at whatever we're doing, we can show others that there is joy to be had in this life when we walk with the Lord every day, even if we're in pain.

Good! I have a feeling that Satan has snuck in there when you weren't looking and just added those thoughts, so we'll take care of them together if you'll share them with me.

You said: "Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed because there are sooooooooooooo many things I should do, and I just feel defeated because I know I am not going to do them all and they all need to get down, and that is a downer.
I have to choose which things I can do, but that means the other things will once not get done!!!!!!
So tho I do sometimes feel happy that this or that 'FINALLY' got done....another day has gone by without doing this and that and that and this." I know what you mean. This too is normal for all of us who live with pain and illness, regardless of our age. There are 70 and 80 year olds that are in perfect health and look like they're in their 40's or 50's and are more active then many who are in their 20's!  (I saw one on the news just the other night)  I honestly think that you're allowing yourself to think that your age - the number of years you have lived so far - is the cause of your problems.  But we have to remember that God is in control.  Not our bodies, not doctors, not the government, not anyone but God.  Some folks live to be over a hundred and are in complete control of their minds and bodies and take care of themselves, not needing any outside help.  Other people die anytime after birth, and people get sick and live with pain at every single age from birth on. It's kind of sad, because some of these healthy people who live to ripe old ages doing things that many people much younger can't do, are unsaved.  They don't even realize that the good life they've had has been given them by a God who loves them because He knows they won't accept His Son and His offer of Salvation and will spend eternity in Hell.  So He gives them a good life now because that's the only good they'll ever know. 

Yes, eventually this body will break down and die because of sin in the world - unless Jesus comes first anyway. But much of what you are experiencing is also experienced by people who are in their 20's, and on up, and they're no where near "old age".  Age is really nothing more than a number in your head.  If you think a certain age is "old", then that's old age for you. But another person may think that a person isn't "old" until they're 90 and so for that person, that's what old age is.  It's really kind of silly for us to worry about though since we're never going to die anyway.  Yes, our body will die, but we won't.  I think that's what you really need to reflect on a lot until you can truly know that you are not your body.  You have to be aware that if your arm got cut off, it wouldn't alter who you are. You would still be you. The same is true if your legs got cut off, of various organs were removed.  Nor does your body represent you in this life. Your hair isn't "you". None of the parts of your body are "you".  Your body is simply the clothes you're currently wearing.  The good news is that when this body wears out, we will be given a new one to wear forever, that will never wear out.  That alone tells us that everything about this life is temporary.  Our body is temporary, the pain and illness we have now is temporary, and this part of our lives are temporary.  It's like the Lord has given us play clothes to wear that we can get dirty while we grow up and learn how to be adults in His Kingdom.  Then, when He decides we're ready, He gives us our new Sunday best clothes to wear - a new body, with no spot or blemish, that will last us for all eternity as we live a life of joy purpose with the Lord who loves us. 

For here and now though, it's ok if we don't get everything done like we used to be able to.  I know how it frustrating it is because I feel the same way. I have to remind myself that God is well aware of what I'm capable of what I'm not.  And that He doesn't expect me to do all those things.  I'm the one that expects or wants it, not Him.  So I have to stop myself and remember to be content with what I can do now and know that what I can do now is what God wants me to do and nothing more.  Same is true for you.  All He asks firsts is that we spend time with Him in His Word, and then after that, do whatever He gives us to do that day, and do it for Him and His glory.   One other thing to remember is that every single day that we wake up means we have one more day that we can serve Him - our serving Him may simply be resting and talking to Him as we do, or whatever we're able to do that day, but we need to know that the reason we woke up is because God has something else He wants us to do.  That "something" may be no more than smiling at someone we see that day.  We may never know what it is, but as long as we wake up, it means that God has a reason for us to be here. When our job is done, that will be the day that we won't wake up here, we'll wake up in Heaven with a new body instead.  (And it's perfectly ok to let the Lord know that you can't wait to be with Him for real and get your new body, but not to put down what He has us here to do now or the body he's given us to do it in.  We can tell Him we hurt and ask for relief etc, but we shouldn't tell Him we hate our body - you know what I mean though.)

You said: "Then if I am hurting too, and feeling old....a part of me sometimes ( instead of looking up at the blessings God has provided) I wake up with a dread feeling of: Oh.....I am still here, I am still hurting, I am older and uglier....all 'I, me, my' words, I won't get the things done I so wanted to do, I am useless, etc. and I wonder why am I still here Lord? What do you want me to do today? Then I make an effort to corral those bummer thoughts and replace them, and finally manage to drag myself up and slowly begin to have a changed attitude....but I don't know how to stop the beginning of it......the first few seconds....of Oh no, I am still here and things are not good because I can't........whatever."

That's great that you do take those thoughts captive and replace them! But now that you've learned to do that - and you should continue to do so, we can also go beyond that.  First though I wanted to remember to tell you something I discovered about taking thoughts captive and replacing them.  I found out that Martin Luther who lived from November 10, 1483 to February 18, 1546 also wrote a great deal about taking our thoughts captive and replacing them! 

First, this is where it helps when you know that every day you're going to spend time with the Lord you love and who loves you.  It's another reason why it's good to have your time with the Lord when you first get up, because when you can know that when you wake up, the Lord who loves you is there waiting for you and can't wait to spend time with you, that helps make your day bright and happy right off the bat.  It's wonderful to wake up and say, "Good morning Lord! This is the day that You have made and I will be glad and rejoice in it! "  I quite literally wrote that out and put it on my nightstand, and reminded myself until I fell asleep at night that that was the first thing I wanted to think when I woke up.  It took quite awhile to happen, but eventually I was able to make that the way I woke up.  It became a habit.  Of course Satan didn't like that at all, which is why it took awhile before I was able to do it consistently, but it can be done if you persevere and keep at it.  It won't help though unless you really mean what you're saying.  We can't tell the lord that we will be glad and rejoice in the day He has given us, and then turn around and start grumbling about something.  (well, we can start grumbling and often do, but then we have to repent and remember that we said we'd be glad and rejoice in this day lol)

As far as the thoughts about you being ugly, you really need to fight those poisonous thoughts constantly during the day.  We don't need the so called beauty of this world.  When God created Adam and Eve, they were truly beautiful.  I imagine that if we could see what they looked like before they sinned, we would probably think they looked like gods.  But sin killed that beauty and turned it into something that isn't real.  The world's idea of beauty is a mockery of real beauty.  But one day, when we get our new bodies, we will be truly beautiful, just like Adam and Eve were at first.  Until then, we can remember what was said about our Lord:  “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2)
Here's other translations of the last part of that verse:
KJV 1873 | He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
NASB95 | ‎ He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
NET | ‎he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
NLT | There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him

So if it pleased the Father to not give Jesus anything about his body that we would think of as especially attractive of handsome, or beautiful, then why would we want to have those things for our body now?  If an unbeautiful body (for lack of a better word) was good enough for Jesus, shouldn't it be good enough for us?  And if we are to be content with what we have, doesn't that include our bodies as well?  God created each of our bodies specifically for us to use in this part of our lives, and created our bodies the way they are for a good reason.  Who are we to dislike what He created us to look like?  Who are we to argue with Him that we would look better or be better if this or that was different?  Again, He created us the way He did for a good reason.  Just because we don't know the reason doesn't make it not true or not good.  We also know that created us the way He did out of His love for us, and knowing exactly what we need and what we could and couldn't handle.  So when we put ourselves down or dislike the looks of our current body, it's a slap in His face.  We are also told to rejoice and give thanks in all things, and that too includes the body He created for us.  So to disapprove of our body, to think it's not right or not good enough in whatever way, is again the opposite of what our reaction should be to the God who loves us.  The thoughts about our body not being beautiful or of being ugly are from Satan and are quite literally poisonous thoughts.  They get into our minds and corrupt everything they touch.  We especially need to take them captive and replace them with words of praise and thanksgiving for the body the Lord has lovingly given us to use.  I would strongly suggest that you spend time every day working on this too. 

About listening to hymns or worship music.  I didn't mean you couldn't do other things at the same time.  You could be playing that music while you wash dishes or clean the house or babysit or play your card games or whatever.  Sure, it's good as well to really get into it and sing along and praise the Lord and worship Him regularly too, but I was speaking of having praise and worship music or hymns being a part of your daily life.  I used to listen to music that was composed around God's Word.  They literally sang the bible!  It's a great way to memorize verses for one thing and hide them in your heart.  But it's also very uplifting.  so I listen to that as well as praise and worship and hymns.  There honestly isn't any better way to fight off Satan, the world or our flesh!  So the more you can do that, the better it will be.

All these things will work together to help you overcome that feeling down in the morning - or any other time for that matter.  This too is something I'd strongly suggest that you do regularly.  God doesn't ask us to praise Him because He's got an ego problem, or because He needs the praise.  He tells us to praise Him because it's something we need in order to be whole and healthy spiritually, emotionally, and even physically.
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The Good Lord knows what He's doing.  Remember I was also surrounded by people who weren't saved, and not only that but my mother spoke like she hated God.  And yet, here I am lol. It's not just me though. This happens with many people. Every person that's saved is miraculous.  That's why I love reading testimonies.  The Lord is in control and we can count on Him! 


Amen!  Very good!



Here's some notes about the psalm for you, but keep in mind that David wrote this psalm after Nathan confronted him about his sins.  I'm including some notes about counseling as I know you counsel others, as well as notes about parenting since you have grandchildren too.

‎In Psalm 51 David summarized the biblical view of sin. ‎1st, sin deserves judgment. ‎True confession must begin with an admission of guilt. ‎Second, sin demands cleansing. ‎verse 2. ‎True confession acknowledges the defilement sin causes, and it pleads for God’s cleansing (1 John 1:7, 9). ‎Third, sin is our responsibility. ‎verses 1 and 3. ‎True confession does not blame others for sin. ‎Fourth, all sin is ultimately against God. ‎(v. 4). ‎ True confession recognizes God as the supreme Lawgiver. ‎Fifth, sin is part of human nature. ‎verse 5. ‎True confession looks inward for the cause of sin, not to external factors. Strength for today.

True confession requires not only a proper view of sin, but also a proper view of God. David gives us an understanding of four essential truths about God. 1st, God is holy. Affirming God’s omniscience, David declared, “Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom” (v. 6). David knew that because God is holy, He is never satisfied with mere external behavior. 2nd, God is powerful. ‎(vv. 7–8). David believed God had the power to change him—unlike some who think their sinful habits are too strong for Him to overcome. Third, God will chastise believers for their sins. David pleaded with God, “Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice” (v. 8). ‎He alluded to the way shepherds sometimes dealt with wayward sheep. They'd take such troublesome sheep & break one of their legs. Then they'd set the leg & carry the sheep while the leg healed. Afterwards the sheep would remain close to the shepherd. Through this picturesque metaphor, David described God’s chastisement of him for his sin. Fourth, God is a forgiving God. ‎ (vv. 9, 14). David obviously believed God would forgive his sin or he would never have asked Him for forgiveness.

True confession involves a proper understanding of oneself. ‎The supreme goal pursued by many in our narcissistic culture is a “healthy” self–esteem. Even Christians have jumped on the self–esteem bandwagon, misconstruing Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19:19) as a mandate for self–love. But the Bible nowhere commands us to pursue self–esteem; instead, it commands us to be holy (1 Peter 1:16). David gives three reasons why holiness is imperative in the life of every Christian. ‎First, because of unbelievers. David knew he could be a witness for God only if his life was holy. ‎Second, because of God. In verse 14 David acknowledged that only when his life was pure could he praise God. ‎David attested that God desires holiness of life, not conformity to external ritual, in His children. When believers lead holy lives, God is pleased; when they sin, He is dishonored (2 Sam. 12:14). Third, because of other Christians. ‎Believers’ sin always affects, directly or indirectly, other Christians.   Strength for today.

Confession involves a rejection of the pattern that was first established in the Garden of Eden. There, Adam and Eve refused to acknowledge their sin, but instead shifted the responsibility to someone else. ‎Confession is saying the same thing that God says about one’s sin. It is to plead guilty to the charges made by conscience. This concept of confession is crucial to biblical counseling. By confession of sin alone may Christians stand right before God. Confession and forgiveness through Christ relieve the pressures which bring about psychosomatic effects of sin. Competent to counsel:

‎If you want to have a decreasing frequency of sin in your life and an increasing amount of spiritual growth, you must acknowledge your responsibility. Don’t blame your circumstances, your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your boss, your employees, or your pastor. Don’t even blame the devil. Your sin is your fault. Certainly the world’s system can contribute to the problem, but sin ultimately occurs as an act of the will—and you are responsible for it. Perhaps one of the best examples of someone who learned how to take responsibility was the prodigal son. When he returned home to his loving father, he said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). He was even willing to be treated as a humble laborer because he knew he didn’t deserve anything (v. 19). That is the right attitude of one who confesses sin. Truth for today

David didn't mean to imply that his wrongs against Uriah & Bathsheba could be confessed to God only. ‎His words don't contradict James 5:16. David recognized that he'd done a terrible evil against both. What he was saying was "Lord, I recognize & acknowledge that I've violated your law, not simply man’s law. Against thee—that is, by your standards alone, God—do I judge myself; for against your standards have I sinned. I've violated your holy law. I confess that I'm truly a vile sinner, for my sin is a direct affront to you. What I've done is heinous, for I've violated divine, not human, law. When you pronounced a verdict against me through Nathan, I acknowledged that your verdict was true & I agree with it. Competent to counsel

‎God’s truth, woven richly into your innermost being, is the foundation for freedom. God wants His truth to sink deep to establish His perfect wisdom in your mind and heart. ‎When you understand the truth of your position in Christ, you understand that you are sealed by the Holy Spirit—that you are secure in the family of God. No act or thought can ever alienate you from the love of God. You no longer have to depend on others or other things for your identity. You belong to Christ; You are His and He is yours. ‎When you understand the truth of your personhood in Christ, your feelings of inferiority can dissolve. You are of infinite worth to God who died on your behalf. It is not your income level or social status that determines your value; it is God’s estimation of your life. You are so valuable to Him that He desires your company for all eternity. When you understand the truth of your possessions in Christ, any incompetency or inadequacy you may feel is overcome. You have everything you need in the indwelling Christ. He makes you adequate for every demand. Enter His gates:

‎One piece of evidence of kingdom life is that you will see more sin, not less. Outside the kingdom of heaven, there is no concern about sin. Unbelievers are indifferent to the fact that their sin is against God. When you are brought into the kingdom of light, you both see sin and get in a battle with it. The battle means you are alive. The rules of engagement are simple. When you see sin, confess it as ultimately being against God. Respond in gratitude for the forgiveness he already gave you because of Jesus’ death, which was the payment for sins. Knowing that you have been given the Spirit so you can do battle with sin, you attack. Ask for the power to love. Ask others to pray for you and counsel you. Adopt a zero-tolerance policy with sin. When you fall in defeat, learn from it and get right back into the battle. You will see more and more sin, but you will also notice that the Spirit is changing you. There have been times when you responded in humility rather than arrogance, love rather than indifference or even hatred. The change will be gradual but noticeable. Keep your eyes open. How are you different because of what Jesus has done? When you see it, the apostle John says that you can allow that evidence to assure you that you truly belong to God. Heart of the matter

The natural response of forgiveness is to help others by sharing one’s own experience and specifically by counseling others in trouble. Competent to counsel:

‎One reason why parents fail in their attempts to counsel their children is because parents seldom share their failures with them. The sinning child needs to learn the consequences of failure in concrete ways, the problems failure brings, what to do to avoid failure, & how to deal with failure when it does occur. Mythical legends of parental success don't teach these principles. David strikes an entirely different note, a genuine counseling note. Out of his own sinful failure, David exhorts others to successful obedience. This is painful, as one can readily see in David’s poetic narrative, yet nouthetic concern will move a counselor to share even painful personal experiences whenever such sharing will help another. ‎Notice also the directive nature of David’s counseling. 1st, the verbs “instruct” & “teach” are themselves directive words. They mean “instruct” & “train” or “drill” one in the way in which he is to go. The idea of restructuring another’s life is plainly evident. ‎David went beyond this, saying, “Not only will I teach & drill you, but I'll guide you as well.” The training & instruction will be under David’s supervision. He'll follow the results & make sure that his instructions are being carried out: “I'll keep my eye on you.” Such counseling methods are appropriate only to nouthetic presuppositions. Competent to counsel:


“Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood, O God” that is, from the consequences of the murder of Uriah. He cried, forgive me, relieve my soul of the burden of this guilt, And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. When forgiveness came, David was so happy that he sang aloud. Such joy—joy that makes one sing—is precisely what people who come for counseling seek. David pointed the way. ‎Many cases can be cited which show exactly the same pattern. Clients who through nouthetic counseling have confessed hidden sin, have entered into happiness such as they had not known for a long time. The reversal of feeling from depression and despair to joy and singing can be sudden and rapid. In one instance a woman who had been trying to escape her responsibility during a difficult problem, when faced with these facts snapped back dramatically after the 2nd session. 2 weeks before, a psychiatrist had prescribed shock therapy.‎ Competent to counsel

It's amazing when you realize how often the bible speaks about people singing to praise or thank the Lord.  I think it's mentioned so often because it's so important for us to do in order to have and maintain emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

4/19/17
Psalm 63

Because I have already blabbed on and on
and
I have an early doc appointment tomorrow I may keep this a bit short

Still I love verse 3..... I know it is the absolute truth.....God's love IS better than life!!

and so another reason for giving Him glory....and in v. 4 for praising Him!!

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,

And v. 5 mentions singing...it was funny the other night a for maybe the first time sang to Leonard a refrain of a hymn and he said: "what a nice voice you have"

I was really stunned...I did not think so....I thought, I had the right tempo, timing and correct words.....but nice voice?????

v. 7...there I go....I can sing to Him in the shadow of His wings LOL
In fact, I was thinking ( and later even said to Leonard) well, I think maybe Jesus appreciated my child-like effort at singing a psalm to Him ( and to Leonard)
( it was the "wash me and I will be whiter than snow one)
Maybe in Heaven He will give me a truly lovely voice to sing to Him?

I also am pretty tired because today I had to clean the B& B apt ...a lot of it on my own.....usually Leonard and I do it together.....he did help but he had a ton of things he had to do today
Anyway.....I am tired and achy and have to get up early to go to doc. sooooo