Member Writings

May 6, 2020 by hldude

Thank You For It All, Lord

”Thank You For It All, Lord”

Psalm 36:5-7 NLT

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

Lately, I have been finding myself thinking of more and more ways to be thankful each day for what God has provided for me. This passage is powerful starting with declaring praise to God for His unfailing love. I am thankful each day how God reminds me that I need to be constantly and more grateful for the unfailing love He pours out to me.

I’m so thankful that He continues to love me, even as I am often unlovable to those I love and care about the most. There are days when I’m just not fun to be around and I’m so grateful for the love my family continues to show in those times toward me. I’m grateful for His continued faithfulness that never ends and stretches beyond the clouds. He is faithful even when I am so often unfaithful to Him in little and big ways. Some days, I just don’t want to even try for various reasons. I get in my own world and I’m just selfish and want things my way. I’m thankful for not only His faithfulness, but the faithfulness of my family in those times.

I’m finding myself becoming more aware of all that He has done for me and continues to do through His faithfulness and unfailing love despite so often how self-absorbed I can get. I’m so thankful for it all! I don’t want to become ungrateful, but so often I do. I’m so grateful for how faithful He is to give to us so abundantly in so many different ways. I need to be reminded often how very grateful I should be.

Friends, these are just thoughts I want to share with you in hopes that you will be reminded of how grateful you need to be as well because of the amazing faithfulness, unfailing love and righteousness of God. We serve an amazing God and we all need to be daily reminded of how very Awesome He is! We need to be reminded to be so thankful for all things and all the people He has put into our lives to encourage and love on us. We should also be thankful for those who challenge us to be better servants in our lives.

With all the continued changes we are dealing with day in and day out, we need to be reminded of His blessings and say, “Thank You For It All, Lord!”

Father, help us to be in complete awe of You every single day from the moment we get up till we lay our head on the pillow to sleep. Help us to be strengthened each day by Your constant, unfailing love and faithfulness. You are faithful, even through all these challenging days. Amen!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

April 27, 2020 by hldude

I Am Blessed, We Are Blessed

“I Am Blessed, We Are Blessed”

Psalm 9:1-2 NIV

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

This past week, I have been reminded over and over again just how very much God has blessed my life. Even though I constantly feel various emotions with all that keeps happening and changing each day, I continue to remember that God is blessing me. I am waking up in the morning with a different perspective on giving God thanks most days. While it is easy some days to be flooded with all the thoughts of what I don’t have, I am reminded to be thankful for the abundance that I do have.

I have been thinking each day of so many ways God is providing and blessing me and it just overwhelms me how faithful He is. His faithfulness never ceases to amaze me!

I have a house to live in……I am blessed!

I have clothes to wear…..I am blessed!

I have my wife and kids that I love and who love me…..I am blessed!

I look in my pantry…..I am blessed!

I look in my fridge…..I am blessed!

I look in my bank account…..I am blessed because He is always providing!

I still have a job…..I am blessed!

I am healthy and so is my family…..I am blessed!

I will give thanks to the Lord Almighty because I am blessed beyond measure. I am thankful that He provides, even amidst the pandemic that doesn’t seem to end. I am not only grateful this week for all of His provisions, but I have been thinking more and more about all the people who are working constantly on the front lines keeping us safe as we stay home. They are doing so much to help and giving so much of their time and putting their lives on the line every day.

Friends, I am blessed and we are all blessed! We are blessed more than we realize. May we take time to give God thanks each day for His faithfulness as He provides.

Lord, You continue to provide for us all in many different ways. Help us to understand and realize that You will give us what we need, when we need it. Help us to be patient as we live each day, trusting that You will guide us and comfort us no matter what we are experiencing. Help us to see and remember that You are truly faithful and that will never end! We love You, Lord and we give You thanks for all the wonderful things You do. Lord, help us never forget that we are all truly blessed. May You open our eyes to that each day. Amen!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

April 22, 2020 by hldude

Thankful For The Hope

“Thankful For The Hope”

Psalm 33:20-22 NLT

We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

This past week, I have been thinking more and more about the hope that I have been given in my life with God. I find myself wanting to thank Him more and more each day for giving me the life that I have in Him because I have a hope that is real and strong, no matter what my emotions are like as I go through my days. As I daily fight different emotions with all the different changes in life from this pandemic, I am being reminded by Him that I have so much to be hopeful about and so much to be thankful for.

I am thankful that He is my help and my shield. I am thankful that I can fully trust in Him, no matter what is going on around me daily. His unfailing love surrounds me every day and I just love feeling His warm embrace as I rest in Him. I know that God is going to continue to provide for me and my family even though the coming days and weeks are filled with uncertainty.

Friends, I simply cannot imagine how life would be with the hope we have in Christ. I could not imagine waking up in the morning and living the whole day without any hope that God gives. It saddens me when I think about how many people live each day without being filled with this hope and now knowing God at all. Life with God is still hard enough so many times with not understanding things, I just can’t imagine not having my relationship with Him and being completely without hope.

I want to encourage all of us this week, and in the coming weeks, to focus on putting our hope in God, no matter what the future holds. We don’t need to worry, but just allow ourselves to be surrounded by His unfailing love in all the ways He shows that. He is taking care of us and always will somehow. Whatever you might be dealing with today and in the days to come, know that nothing is out of His control and He will fill us with hope. We can rejoice daily because we have a hope that the world can never take away and no world events can crush. Yes, we may have our days of despairing feelings, but His hope will fill us once again.

God, thank You for the hope that You will us with each day. There are some days, Lord, when we feel like we’re losing hope and feeling helpless. We are human and we need Your unfailing love to fill us and remind us that we are never alone. We have so much to be thankful for God and we need to trust that You will never abandon us and that You truly love us. Remind us each day God to give You thanks for all the wonderful things You continue to bless us with in our lives. We are truly blessed, even with a chaotic pandemic going on around us. You are bigger than anything we might fear. We love You and thank You for loving us and giving us hope. Amen!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

April 14, 2020 by hldude

Lord, Help Us Through These Storms

“Lord, Help Us Through These Storms”

Matthew 8:23-26 NIV

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

I don’t know how many of you are storm chasers and/or storm enthusiasts, but I have been a storm enthusiast most of my life. I’m sure that I have written before about my fascination with thunderstorms and the weather patterns it creates. During thunderstorm season, I get really excited when storms come through because I just like the adrenaline rush of watching them. I have never personally witnessed a tornado in person, but I have heard and watched videos of countless stories of people who record them and chase them. I also like to watch storm chasing shows on TV just to see the excitement and adrenaline rush of the storm enthusiasts.

Some storms have plenty of warning, but then there are some that suddenly come up and people respond with, “Where did that storm come from? I did not see that coming!” Sometimes we have no warning at all it seems and we are completely taken off guard by what comes our way. We often don’t know how to react and we want to keep ourselves and our family safe.

Friends, we continue to embark on the unknown ahead of us as we all deal with this new life experience none of us were prepared for or ever saw coming. I hope this passage can bring a little comfort to us knowing that we are never alone when we deal with storms that come up in life. Right now, we are all experiencing so many of the same storms. And just like this passage states, these have come without warning.

Even though we may be feeling a wide range of continued mixed emotions about the pandemic around us, know that Jesus is there to comfort us through these storms, whether we are experiencing job loss, the actual coronavirus itself in our life or within our family, financial difficulty or you are a first responder dealing with the front lines on all of this, know that Jesus is right there with us and will give us comfort through this as we trust in Him.

Father, we experience a lot of storms in our lives. These current storms often seem overwhelming and they have come upon us much without warning. Give us strength daily Father to trust You that You will carry us through this scary time. We love You and know that You will never forsake us or abandon us. Help us trust in You even though we don’t understand so much right now. Give us joy and peace even in the midst of this pandemic. We know You are still in control and help us never forget that, especially in the storms of life. Amen!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

Matthew 8:23-26 (LEB)

Calming of a StormAnd asHere “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“got”) which is understood as temporal he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.23Calming of a StormAnd asHere “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“got”) which is understood as temporal he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.24And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep.24And behold, a great storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being inundated by the waves, but he himself was asleep.25And they came andHere “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!*supplied from English context We are perishing!”25And they came andHere “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!*supplied from English context We are perishing!”26And he said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then he got up andHere “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“got up”) has been translated as a finite verb rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.26And he said to them, “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then he got up andHere “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“got up”) has been translated as a finite verb rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.

April 7, 2020 by hldude

Lord, Help Us To Keep Trusting

“Lord, Help Us To Keep Trusting”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

This past week, I have had the word “trusting” on my mind and heart frequently. As the days and weeks continue on, I still feel the need to share with you all how God is teaching me more and more how to keep my trust in Him in the midst of the pandemic that feels like a bad dream still. I find myself waking up everyday and just wondering what the next set of news I will hear will be about.

I find myself praying differently. I don’t really know how to describe it, but I’m just asking God for peace and that I will continue to have the strength in Him to trust even though there is so much I cannot understand.

I have read this passage more times in my life than I can count. It’s been a staple for many of us through the years and is a popular passage to quote in various times and circumstances. Lately, I’ve been thinking more about it and how God is asking me to trust Him even more these days as I strive to provide for my family as I keep hearing different news at work and in the community about changes.

He is reminding me to trust completely in Him, even though I don’t understand many things. He continues to provide for us and lead us. It is often easy some days to wake up and immediately feel anxious about many things. It seems I’m hearing daily changes at work about various changes and it’s easy for me to lose sight of hope and that He will always be with me no matter what.

Friends, I don’t have any great revelations about all that you and your friends and family are dealing with. However, I do know that we serve an Almighty God Who has never stopped providing and will never stop leading us, even when the path seems very unknown. He asks us to continue trusting in Him, especially when things seem chaotic.

Will you please join me in striving each day to wake up and put total trust in Him? We need to trust Him now more than ever and not depend on our own understanding. I would like to end with another prayer this week.

Lord, please help us to continue trusting in You, even though we find ourselves continually bombarded with temptations to lose hope. It’s easy for us to become fearful of the continues news of sickness, but may we focus on You and depend on Your understanding, not ours. Help us to trust and know that You will always provide. Give us strength, Lord to trust even when we feel weak. We know You are in control and will always be. Help me to know I am blessed in so many ways as You have provided. Amen!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

Proverbs 3:5-6 (LEB)

Trust Adonai“trust toward Adonai” with all your heart; do not lean toward your own understanding.5Trust Adonai“trust toward Adonai” with all your heart; do not lean toward your own understanding.6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths.6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths.

April 5, 2020 by Susannah

Christian Ideals and codependency

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:38

Codependency implies that someone is loving their partner in an unhealthy way. Christians in recovery for codependency, who believe strongly in Christian ideals, are confused at first. They want to know if recovery means disowning such Christian concepts as sacrifice, unselfishness, dying to self, loving thy neighbor, putting yourself last, laying down your life, and staying married “as long as you both shall live.”

They also find that some Christian ideals are hard to understand. At first glance, they seem contradictory, confusing, or inconsistent with the concepts of recovery from codependency. Because of this, some recovering codependents are tempted to abandon Christianity altogether. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Christian codependents just need to be willing to sort the wheat from the chaff; to look more deeply into the meaning of Christian ideals and to make personal decisions about how to integrate them into their intimate relationships.

One of the most common mistakes codependents make is to confuse Christian love [agape] with romantic love. Christian love, what Kierkegaard calls “eternal” love, is the love of God, ourselves, and our neighbor. This love operates under its own principles or laws. It is of God. It is unconditional. It is forever. It causes no pain, but can only fulfill us. When given away, it comes back to us, somewhere along the way.

Romantic love operates from a different set of laws or principles. It is object-oriented or based on “passionate preference” (attraction). It promises “forever” but rarely delivers. It can be euphoric, but it can also turn to hate; and for all the pleasure it brings, it also fosters suspicion, jealousy, despair and anxiety.

When codependents do not understand the difference between agape and romantic love, they often try to use spiritual love to promote romantic love. For instance, St. Francis of Assisi said that “it is in giving that we receive.” This implies that if we give love we will receive love in return. This is true. The Christian love we give away does come back to us, not necessarily from the people we give it to or at the exact time we want it to be returned, but eventually it does come back to us through other people we meet along the path of life and from God.

However, this spiritual principle of giving love to receive love does not work with romantic love. When codependents don’t understand this, they fall in love with someone who does not return their affection and suffer for a long period of time hoping that the spiritual principle of giving love to receive love will begin to work its magic and their faithfulness will be rewarded.

Also, codependents will take care of their partner only to find themselves receiving more contempt than love or gratitude in return. They see as much “biting the hand that feeds them” as they see love begetting love. This is because giving love to receive love does not work with romantic love. Romantic love requires attraction or passion, and spiritual love cannot make this happen. It just has to happen on its own.

Christianity also teaches us the concept of “dying to self” or being unselfish. To many people this sounds like an order to abandon themselves in order to focus on meeting the needs of others. Many Christians recovering from their codependency struggle with this concept of “dying to self.” They don’t want to ignore it, and yet it seems contradictory to their attempt to build up their self-esteem. I usually tell these recovering codependents that when asked by a scribe to proclaim God’s most important commandment, Christ replied “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:38-39).

Note that this commandment does not say to love yourself less than your neighbor, but to love others as much as you love yourself. This implies that love for others should be in balance with self-love. Kierkegaard puts it this way: “You shall love yourself in the right way…proper self-love . . . .” It is selfish, he says, not to be willing “to love oneself in the right way.”

Based on this important commandant, I believe that total self-abandonment is only for those who aspire to sainthood; and for the rest of us who are not destined for this, it is all right to understand the Christian tenet of “dying to self” as a guideline for people who are in the habit of putting themselves above others—people with inflated egos whose self-centeredness has shut out God as well as others. For such people, “dying to self” is a good idea, if it is taken to mean moving away from total self-absorption.

Christian codependents must understand that there is both a negative and positive aspect to selfishness. The positive part allows them to love, cherish and take care of themselves; to have self-esteem. The negative side of selfishness puts their needs ahead of others at all times. Christian codependents in recovery must learn to enhance the positive side of selfishness and put the negative side into perspective. They can be unselfish when it is appropriate to do so, and they take care of themselves when that is appropriate.

Codependents like to believe that when they make sacrifices they are being unselfish. Well, sometimes they are and sometimes they aren’t. To tell the difference, recovering codependents must learn to look at their motives for making sacrifices, because the act of being unselfish is not as important as the spiritual condition of the giver. Unhealthy motives include attempts to buy love, build up self-esteem, bolster insecurity, dissipate guilt, or abate fear. Healthy motives include love and kindness: feelings that originate from self-esteem and spill over into the lives of others.

How do you sort out healthy motivations from unhealthy ones? This process requires honesty and an insight into the codependent personality. Such perception is difficult, if not impossible, if codependents are still clinging to distorted values, thoughts and behavior. However, after recovery has begun, an honest look into one’s motivation can help put things into perspective.

Many codependents read passages in the Bible about suffering, and they apply this to their marriage or romantic relationship. “Love bears all things . . . endures all things.” (1 Cor 13:7) When they are abused they feel martyred, but they accept their punishment in the name of love.

These recovering codependents are confused. They are confusing accepting hardship with seeking it out. Jean-Pierre de Caussade makes this distinction in his book ” Abandonment to Divine Providence.” He says a good Christian ” . . . .accepts cheerfully all the troubles they meet and submit to God’s will in all that they have to do or suffer, without in any way seeking out trouble for themselves.”

It is true that if you are in a relationship you must sometimes endure hardship. For instance, if your partner gets ill you will have to endure hard times and make sacrifices. However, this sort of suffering is different from allowing yourself to be beaten up or trying to live with an alcoholic who is incapable of participating in a loving partnership. In recovery, Christian codependents need to understand this. They must avoid martyring themselves in a relationship and thinking that this is the Christian thing to do.

One of the most difficult Christian ideals to clarify for recovering codependents, is Christ’s suggestion that in a marriage “the two shall become one.” (Mark 10:8) The King James version uses the phrase “one flesh.” Does this mean that we are to have no personality boundaries? Does this mean we must give up our individuality in order to be in a relationship? I don’t think so. I believe that Christ is just making the point that a marriage should be a team effort. A team is made up of individuals working together for a common goal.

Being a team does not necessarily require the fusion of both partners. Nor does it require that one partner abandon herself to become an imitation of the other. It just means that both partners share their uniqueness with each other. They work, share, love, and grow together (perhaps they serve God together), but they retain their sense of self. They continue being the child of God they were created to be while joining forces with another individual.

In no way do I want to disparage or abandon Christian ideals. They are precious to me, but my life has taught me that sometimes they have to be put into perspective. I tried to be a good Christian for most of my life, and in the process I lost myself. Then in 1982 the Holy Spirit came to me and quoted Shakespeare: “To thy own self be true, and then it follows like night the day that you can be false to no man.” To this I add: God loves me and wants me to be happy. He did not create me to abandon myself. He created me to serve him. I can only do this if I love myself as much as I love others.

Matthew 22:38 (LEB)

This is the greatest and first commandment.38This is the greatest and first commandment.

Mark 10:8 (LEB)

and the two will become one flesh,’from Gen 2:24 so that they are no longer two but one flesh.8and the two will become one flesh,’from Gen 2:24 so that they are no longer two but one flesh.