abandoned to Christ.

Being "out there" in social media and writing online brings a lot of people into my life. More than I can fit into my home and more than I can usually respond to in a timely manner...if at all. This makes life a bit more interesting and often fills my days and heart with praise to God, prayers for friends (some I've never met in person) and also some heartaches along the way. I never set out to be a writer. I never set out to have readers or have people who would "follow" me. I wasn't raised in a Christian home, so I set out to be a diligent student of God's Word. I wanted to learn how to be an excellent Proverbs 31 wife and mother, a loving sister/friend to fellow Christians and an exemplary witness of Christ to the lost world. I set out to know what my spiritual gifts are and use them as God has ordained in His Word (Rom 1:11-12, 15:2; 1 Cor 12:7) to edify the Body and cause many to give thanks to the Father—while bringing glory and honor to Hi...

Read Psalm 145 click the photo to enlarge and read the Scripture It's been four weeks since I was diagnosed as being clinically and severely depressed  and was prescribed Lexapro, an SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) which is a type of anti-depressant. I experienced some mild side-effects the first five days, but nothing since then, which I'm very grateful to the Lord for. My doctor said that it'll be about six weeks until I really notice a major difference, but I'm already noticing a little now. Getting out of bed isn't nearly as difficult as it used to be and neither is running some of my errands. I'm not as scared to got out in public by myself anymore and I've found ways to make dinner without overwhelming myself. I still don't make the bed often and sometimes get behind on laundry. But everyone is still well-fed, wearing clean clothes and I'm not biting everyone's head off anymore. It's a small improvement, an...

One of the most reassuring things in this world is knowing Christ and being known by Him—to be called by God Almighty as one of His children; to be saved by His grace through the sacrifice of His one and only Son and to live in His constant faithful love. There is nothing better than this. "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed ; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. " ~2 Corinthians 4:7-11 Though the LORD has allowed me to suffer a time of depression, knowing He is sovereign, good and loves me, brings me comfort and peace in the m...

It can be, but not always. There's self-pity (which is a sin) that brings some to become depressed. There are times when we're wounded due to self-inflicted trauma (meaning, you've behaved in ungodly and immature ways and now you have to lie in the messy bed you've made [1 Peter 2:20, 3:9, 4:14-15]). And there are traumatic situations that occur in a person’s life that are totally out of their control which brings them to depression. In order to find out whether or not it's a faith issue or a medical issue, you should visit with your Pastor and/or a wiser and older Christian as well as your physician to determine the cause (if possible) and the degree of your depression. I've been depressed before in my life, mostly due to self-inflicted stress and trauma, mixed in with a large dose of self-pity. And this depression was a faith issue. How do I know? Well, because my eyes were focused on me and my life and how I thought everything should be. It’s c...

As Christians, most of us know the well-rehearsed verse "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,..." (James 1:2).  But most of us don't really understand what it means to consider our trials a joy—especially when the reality of it finally sets in and takes us down a road we never meant to travel...if we let it. I'm nearly seven weeks out from my latest surgery; the worst and most painful experience I can remember. And now, at last, the reality of it all is finally beginning to set in: nights with interrupted sleep, the confinement of a brace, the weakness I notice when I don't have it on, the fatigue...oh, the fatigue. Yes, it's all starting to become very old and very real, making the "joy" in this trial appear as if it's impossible to grasp. But God promises everything is not as they appear (2 Cor 4:16-18). So I look to Him and not to that which I can only see. "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From...

If my faith is fully in Christ, and I see Him -- that is, truly recognize Him for who He is, I will neither falter, waver or wane when another saint does, nor will I crumble if a saint who discipled and loved me is taken from me somehow, or be crushed by my circumstances that seem to envelope me. Rather, if I am fully abandoned to Christ, like Isaiah, I will shout, “Here am I! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) and I will relentlessly follow the Lord wherever He leads. I may follow in tears and with great heartache, but I will still follow (Psalm 126:5-6). Why is it that some of us are caught up in depression and do not go on spiritually as God leads us by His Spirit (Galatians 5:25)? I know, because I’ve done it. When I was fifteen, I attempted suicide three times because I was deeply depressed about my life: the abuse, the high school drama, the enormity of life and just plain tired of going on. Because I was not abiding in Christ, but had trained myself to find inspiration from, by and through...