Tag: freedom
Painting The Roses Red
“As much as we thirst for approval we dread condemnation.” -Hans Selye
God has really put it on my heart to write on the subject of honesty.
While witnessing to several people over this past month, I noticed that the majority of them seemed to share the same feelings of unworthiness and regret.
Worse however, they all seem to be in the same season of denial in regards to their situations.
In one way or another, each person had expressed to me that they were feeling lost. That they could not seem to find one glimmer of hope. Absent of faith and out of patience.
Immediately a familiar song, “Painting The Roses Red” , from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Wonderland popped into my head.
(Click the link above to view lyrics)
Many people claim to be living a happy life, but in actuality they are only hiding behind the walls of what they believe happiness should look like to others.
If we are living only on the outside, but dying on the inside, that kind of suffering can only remain undetected for so long.
When we try to paint our hearts red (full of love, God, goodness and purpose) but can’t even feel them beating in our chests, we set ourselves up for inevitable damage.
When our lives become more like lies then we need to be aware that God eventually will expect us to reveal our true colors.
If we do not get honest with ourselves and others willingly, God will most definitely allow circumstances in our lives to do it for us.
“The white rose is the symbol of purity and innocence. However, if everyone were to be a white rose, none would truly be white. We grow, we make mistakes, and who doesn’t bleed nor have a scar? Painting the roses red is our cycle of life in all it’s mystery.
Everyday of life is another day towards deaths arms…Are you living or dying?
Reality: Life is the ONLY most contradicting phenomena ever.
How good of a painter are you?”- Philosophy by MKR
James 4:6 – God shows favor to the humble and oppressed
The reason our faith grows grey and our hearts lose their beat is not because God has forgotten about us or because we are not useful to Him any longer.
Faith fades when we suffocate our spirit and live to serve our flesh.
If we lose hope in God then that means we have put too much of it in the world.
We cannot be two shades of ourselves in this life. If we are on fire for God and trust in His plans for us, the embers of that fire should burn brightly for the world to see!
If we refuse to be the color God needs us to be in a black and white world, we cannot be surprised when we are left feeling dull, inadequate, or bored while others beautifully color the pages.
“The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.” -Havelock Ellis
God knows your heart, your desires, and your priorities.
He created us all with beautiful flaws, each of us a unique shade of who He is, and collectively we are breathtaking by His design.
“Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns.” -Tehyi Hsieh
If your heart is hurting, don’t paint a coat of denial over it thinking nobody will notice.
God knows what is underneath.
Be sure you remain true to what’s right; remain true to the truth.
Short cuts to happiness will only leave you with short term happiness.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” -Maryanne Williamson
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
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The River
Sometimes it’s nice to just share with you what inspires me.
This is one of those times.
All I want to do is pass along a favorite track of mine by a favorite artist of mine in hopes you enjoy it as much as I do!
The lyrics are posted below and say all fhere is to say about why I love writing to Civil Twilight, especially around fall.
God bless. Enjoy
Civil Twilight – River Lyrics
On the warm banks of the river of life
Men and women gather with all of their rights
You see those statues, they’re men of frozen will
And we’re not like them, baby
We will never be still
Take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind, I don’t mind
Just take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind if we never get out
If heaven seems far away, just let your spirit sway
Just let your spirit sway
Just let your spirit
Take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind, I don’t mind
Just take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind if we never get out
And do we really love God all this time?
It flows through the hearts of stone
It flows in between the bone
It has flowed since the divine exchange
And flows forever, unchanged
Take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind, I don’t mind
Just take a little dive into the river, baby
I don’t mind if we never get out
Never get out
I will never get out
Never get out
Never get out
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The Art of Letting Go & Letting God
My latest post is up! God has written your story, don’t get stuck on a page! Be blessed
The Art of Letting Go & Letting God.
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Stranded: Survival of the Fittest
“God is waiting eagerly to respond with new strength to each little act of self-control, small disciplines of prayer, feeble searching after him. And his children shall be filled if they will only hunger and thirst after what he offers.” –Richard Holloway
The Lord has taught me a few different things this week, but I have noticed that fear has been the common denominator of each lesson. This post is what I took away from the subject and hope it reaches some of your hearts who may be going through a season of fear or insecurity.
I have talked a lot about fear both here at My Message and on my on line radio show Turning Your Mess Into Your Message, but when the opportunity of addressing the issue presents itself I take it.
We are very much loved by a powerful and protective God. He asks very little of us yet paid a very big price for us and our salvation. We should acknowledge Him first in all things, be obedient when hearing His instruction and constant in our application of the wisdom He provides so that we may share it with those who need and deserve to know the power of His love is for them and everyone. The Lord showed me of course, the desert to illustrate the point. We get caught up in and with things that seduce us and cause us to start seeing things which do not really exist. Such mirages are used by the enemy to take us deeper into the desert of our lives only to leave us lost there stranded and scared to death we can’t get back. You all remember 40 days and 40 nights as well as the enemy trying to run the same game on Jesus in the wilderness!
It is so important to know that no one is perfect and God knows when you’re going to get a bit lost sometimes. God does not expect us to be perfect, but He has given us the tools needed to better our lives. He teaches us daily through His Word, has blessed us with the ability to pray and communicate with Him and has promised that no matter how deep the waters or big the desert, we are with Him. Do not get stuck on stupid when the enemy baits you with false fear.
“Any existence deprived of freedom is a kind of death.” -Gen Michel Aoun
A particular song has really resonated with my spirit this week and while I was writing this post. Oceans, by Hillsong United, is featured below for you to hear. The lyrics are also provided because they beautifully express to you the main idea behind this message and the concept of living boldly in your faith. We need to put serious thought into the roles each of us play during our time here and be confident that God is with us at ALL times. He is preparing us for any and every thing the enemy may try to use to keep us from peace and keep us in pieces.
Oceans
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine
Related articles
- Why Give? (pastordanboatman.wordpress.com)
- You Called Me Out Upon the Waters… (karleybrannon.wordpress.com)
- No Fear … God is always with you (zephyrseas.me)
- Prayer That Works (James 5:13-16) (drtimwhite.com)
- What Earnest Prayer Is To God (kswpgoodfriends.wordpress.com)
- The Armor of God (stopcommoncoregeorgia.wordpress.com)
- Don’t Quit! Stand in God’s Power! (todaysfreshmanna.wordpress.com)
- Armor Of God (chuxsunshineblog.wordpress.com)
- God’s Right There (runningforchrist.wordpress.com)
- Calling all warriors (thecarpentersministry.wordpress.com)
- God’s Battle Plan For Us (What We Can Do) (planet.infowars.com)
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Relapse: The Familiar Fall
A man should never put on his best trousers when he goes out to battle for freedom and truth. – Henrik Ibsen
A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.” -Meister Eckhart
Faces covered in mud, knees scraped and covered in blood.
Minds spinning like a DJ, while our focus fades away.
The way we are left when we run before we should,
The way we refuse to listen even though we could.
Groove slam work it back, one slip up and our world’s off track.
Where was our reverence when the hunger returned?
Why did we choose to repeat the lessons already learned?
Oh that’s right, we are but fools,
Dangle disaster in front of us and our mouths drool.
So much grace God, so much time,
Yet here we go playing ourselves one more time.
Help us to stop this track on repeat,
The melody of our old selves and our defeat.
With eyes full of tears, our ears are closed,
To your wisdom and to you telling us how not to end up below.
Tricky is the trap and we waltz right in,
Only to have You come and untangle us once again.
Help us to fall, but into Your peace,
To free us from the enemy’s grip only You can release.
Groove slam work it back, seek You first so we don’t relapse.
-Erica D 
But You, Oh Lord, are a shield for me, My Glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.
Psalm 3:3-4
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8
Song Lyrics to the featured video of Freedom by Josh Garrels
Professional or beginner doesn’t matter
Every sinner is a prisoner in a body that is subject to time
Now my entwined mind tries to form a straight line
Not like twisted scoliosis of the spinal chord
Construct
Cross eyed carpenters are cuttin’ crooked lines
Can’t construct
Man-made shrines when the winds and the water move sands of time
Many minds on a deadline yet live life like a live wire
I’m not tired!
Of blood and fire
Spirit’s moving higher than the green grass ever lifted me
Spirit’s moving higher…
Than anything else ever lifted you
Mm see
We got spirituality
It’s living in us like one in three
Injustice is concerning me
In the non-linear eternity
I’m speaking paradoxically
But you can nod your head now when you understand me-e-e-ee…
This is for my free men
Whose backs wont bend in the lions den
Now with their eyes on the ending
This is for my free women!
They fight with their love
The bearers of our children
Free men whose backs wont bend in the lions den
Now with their eyes on the ending
This is for my free women
They fight with their love
The bearers of our children
We shine like lights exposing
What lies underneath decomposing
Unearth those chains that are rusted
My sweet Lord is that what I trusted in?
That sin? that tomfoolery? ugh!
What it is, is mental jewelry that I adorned myself with
The enemy’s gifts the man-made myths the ignorant bliss
Of marijuana spliffs and alcoholic fifths
I got so sick and tired of it
Delivered and redeemed
By Christ I mean
It’s time to start livin’
And get a reason for the rhyme
I don’t wanna be dead-wrong on the deadline
Standing on the dark side and all out of time…
Like a blind pantomime’s fantasize
Climb up his own ladder to the sunshine
Nothin’s mine
That hasn’t been given
No ones alive here
That hasn’t been risen
For 19 years i was trapped in a prison
Feeding my escape by means of derision
But every man-made attempt just failed
When trapped in a jail
Of my own guilt shame and iniquity
I was looking for freedom
How’d I find freedom?
Oh! oh freedom…
From all of this
He said believe
He said believe
Who are you telling me to belei-e-eve… yea
‘said I’m the Christ
Oh!
…He said I’m the Christ
So i believed.
Freedom!
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The Road To Redemption
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.- Margaret Mead
Faith and fact are usually enemies, however when it comes to Jesus Christ, the two are not only close, they are inseparable. Jesus bridges the gap between hope and what we hope for, the gap between an idea and a truth. On the road to redemption Jesus is the element which delivers us from our past as well as any possible chance of remaining separate from our home in Heaven. He is our redeemer, our relief.
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities (Psalm 130:7 – 130:8 ESV)
I used to search for this kind of relief everywhere. In a drug, in a person, through an experience, but I was unsuccessful in my attempts every time!
Each time I gave my hope away, the end of my troubles became another beginning. One more problem, one more road leading to nowhere.
How many times does a bird have to fly into a glass window to realize it is closed? In my personal experience I would say about a million! My happiness was in clear view yet when I flew fiercely toward it…BAM! I hit the glass every time. I could see my destiny just beyond the window, but could not get to it on my own.
That is when I met Jesus. I had flown into that glass so many times my wings were broken and I didn’t even feel much like flying anymore period. As I laid there defeated on the floor, I heard the latch to the window open and something lift my chin up to look above me. It was The Lord and it was immediate. The weight I had carried for so long instantly lifted. He smiled and for the first time in a long time so did I. There were no words, no conditions, simply an open window. The Lord is the one to open it. The Lord is the one who will NEVER CLOSE IT ON YOU AGAIN.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1 – 5:2 ESV)
The Road To Redemption begins with being on the right road in the first place. If you are constantly going nowhere and left feeling like you are a nobody, perhaps you are lost? Perhaps all you need is the humility to ask for directions in order to get where you are trying to go? I lived that life a long, lonely time. My hope is to prevent others from making the same prideful mistakes I once made. One person at a time for a lifetime.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 ESV)
My Message is about hope, the truth of the gospel and the power of our mighty God. He is our strong deliverer, our light in the dark, and He loves every single one of us on this planet. Contrary to the message of this world, His love is eternal, unyielding, and unconditional. With God first in your life, you will never be lost again. The broken become beautiful, the weak become His army and the faithful become free for eternity. The world is rough, but God is enough!
Where are you going? If the road you are on is not leading you to your best, perhaps it is best to change your course. Only God can lead you to peace. The question is will you allow Him to lead? God in turn will prove it to you. The road to redemption is a universal one. We are all able to walk together towards forever. God bless you!
Erica Elayne DiCarlo
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Related articles
- Redeemed! Rejoice! (godssceneryandpromises.wordpress.com)
- You can be redeemed by God! (kswptim.wordpress.com)
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No Worries
“Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.” -Mary C. Crowley
My Message. My heart. My thoughts exactly. The words of this song are as close as I could get in explaining the rest a relationship with God brings! He is not to be fought against. He is to be embraced and the only reason you sigh out of true relief. Be blessed. Be better. Be REVIVED EVERY SINGLE DAY
YOU REVIVE ME LYRICS-NEW RELEASE TUESDAYS
