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(Reposting FaithGateway June 30, 2022, Daily Devotional) Being Unoffendable: The Ridiculous Idea by Brant Hansen - FaithGateway   Okay. So this may sound like the dumbest thing you’ve ever read, but here goes: You can choose to be “unoffendable.” I actually heard a guy say this at a business meeting. That is striking to me for a few reasons: (1) I’d never, ever thought about that before; (2) I remember something from a...  *** Drawing from personal experience, I can confirm that choosing to be "unoffendable" is a game changer. Where I used to get up-in-arms when something remotely offensive or negative was said about or to me, now it's more difficult to get a rise out of me. This didn't happen overnight. Nor was it an easy adjustment. I won't deny that anger or action in response to being offended used to be so satisfying. There's something gratifying in believing that my anger/action is justified, that I'm within my rights to respond because I'm hurt

Grief is a funny thing. It hits each person differently. One person's normal reaction to loss can be seen as odd to someone else and vice versa. The pep talk we may give ourselves in preparation for what's to come is sometimes enough to do the day-to-day and sometimes it isn't. I don't know where I am right now. I know I'm not ready to go back to work. I know I'm not prepared to be idle though. That's the path to a rabbit hole I'm much too familiar with. But I don't know where I am or what I'm to do today. My brain is jumping from one thing to another and it's been a nonstop train of fractured thought I can't make sense of or connect one to the other. I know I grieve unconventionally. Tomorrow I'm going back to work because that rabbit hole will only look more welcoming if I don't push myself toward normalcy. But today? I don't know.

Do you war in your prayers? To be honest, this isn't a form of prayer I've seen lately in the churches I have been or am a part of. It's a form of prayer I'm familiar with, yes. The church I grew up in had men and women who warred in their prayers, not just in a corporate setting but in their homes as well. The church I'm a part of has two group meetings before service begins. The first is for the production team, anyone taking part in the service (technology, worship, call to worship, etc.). The second is for them plus all the other teams, anyone working a ministry within the church (kids, meet and greet, hospitality, set up, etc.). My pastor will ask someone to open in prayer and another to close. Others within the circle will/can pray as they feel led. I was good with closing us in prayer when he asked me to. Even as members prayed in succession, I still felt good. But then I didn't. The closing prayer started off good, a final offering of gratitude for being

We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed. We are confused, but we aren’t depressed. We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out. 1 Corinthians 4:8-9 CEB Regardless of your past, no matter how impossible your future might seem, remember that God is with you. He walks with you, carries your burdens, and fights for you. Life is hard but that doesn't mean you have to face it alone. As His child, you not only have His love and forgiveness but you have His amazing power to battle away the enemies that come at you, and you have His incomparable strength to lean on when you feel beaten down by life. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. He's always there, sometimes as an undeniable force, sometimes as a still small voice. And He'll fight for you so you don't have to.

Songwriters: John Cooper / Jen Ledger / Korey Cooper / Seth Morrison Anchor lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, BMG Rights Management Hebrews 6 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Regardless of where you are in life right now, regardless of what you are experiencing or feeling or thinking, the hope God offers is strong and steady, a guiding light as we move through life. Whatever it is you're facing, don't lose sight or hold of the unwavering hope that only comes from God.

I've heard and read through various mediums that one of the reasons so many couples divorce because one, maybe both, feel unappreciated. Merriam-Webster.com defines appreciate as: verb 1 a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of b: to value or admire highly c: to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of d: to recognize with gratitude It defines unappreciated as: adjective not given deserved recognition or thanks : not properly appreciated I didn't realize the weight appreciation carries until I discovered how much lack of it can weigh on a person. Example after example is given in social media, television, movies, stories, of the damage lack of appreciation has on a relationship. What begins as feeling used festers into contempt and ultimately a desire to separate from what caused it all. The hurt brought on by leaving a partner, a friend, a coworker, etc., feeling unappreciated is devastating. They distance th

"I look upon life as a gift from God. I did nothing to earn it. Now that the time is coming to give it back, I have no right to complain." - Joyce Cary December 2016 was the beginning of the worst six months for me so far. In that short time, I lost eleven people. Every person I lost was older than me. Some I hadn't seen in years. But the age difference and the time between visits didn't matter. Each loss hit me hard. I don't know how others deal with death and grieving. I don't believe there's a right or wrong way to deal with either. I believe that death is natural, the loss I felt/feel is normal. I believe that grieving is a process, that there is no time frame for it. There shouldn't be. How do you put an expiration date on something like that? There are days, hours, minutes, seconds, when I'm reminded of someone I've lost and I can't help but cry. It doesn't make sense. Truthfully, I'm not sure it should or is exp