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    There is salvation in no other, for there is not another name under heaven having been given among men, by which it behooves us to be saved."

[__ Praise __] Gratitude, at long last...

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OK. so...

for a while now, I've been praying for The Lord to bless me with more genuine gratitude. My life is...good, now, 9 years into truly knowing Jesus. long, long story I've rehashed far too many times already, but...

yeah. I even have a modest, but nice place, I can live in. Oh, and I've been made surprisingly healthy. and smart, somehow. and...here's a big one...--normal-- . I don't mean like all American male normal, just...not a flamer, not sickly and/or truly sick, not homely or prematurely aged or outrageously effeminate or...on and on. basically...

9 years into knowing Jesus, I'm...wow, "...a new creation, in Christ Jesus...," and my transformation does seem to have followed "...the renewal of your (well...my...) mind...," which...lines up with Scripture, of course. :)

but, yeah...gratitude. it gets...hard, sometimes, to be grateful and not consumed in the past and consumed in labels and blah blah blah...

the taunts are real. i mean, its nothing compared to what hospitals were like (keep in mind, because of my parents' good insurance, I was only put in private places...I shudder to think what the state-funded places do to people...) and pales in comparison to what jail was like...

but yeah. a lot of it seems to be my own need to get truly focused on -Jesus- and not on...anyone and everyone else, the world, etc. and then...

rambling. so, the southland had a snowstorm recently. my section of the south was...basically brought to a grinding halt. my parents kept their power, my power stayed on, too...

but lots and lots of closings, no way to really -go- anywhere. i kept calling my dad. not incessantly, just...more often than usual. first thing: my dad actually -takes my calls- and he's friendly and warm and such. big, big, big blessing, in and of itself. and...

so, i was getting a -little bit- whiney about being stuck inside, cuz...yeah. and dad says "hey, you could be at (old address, when I first moved home 10 years ago)...count your blessings!," and...

yeah. yeah. back then, my parents were understandably keeping their distance, but they were willing and able to buffer my poverty. so...yeah. -not fun- and...

that old address is where The Lord moved on my heart...or I came to my senses...and I got truly, genuinely saved. true Bible Belt come to Jesus story-style, I cried and all that as I said my very own, DIY sinner's prayer. true story. thankfully...Jesus -is- real, and He is -no respecter of persons- and I ended up being forgiven, "...washed and made clean...," and gradually...

less me, more Jesus. and...yeah. yeah. :)

so, the rather gentle admonishment got to me...in a good way, not a hyper-sensitive angry way...and I'm becoming...wait for it, wait for it...more genuinely grateful. even though the upstairs neighbors stomp and taunt and all of a sudden people seem to have a problem with "that mental patient got a couple years of probation for that! who's idea is this? he should be in the state hospital!!," etc. etc. etc.

As with all Christians' lives and testimonies...its His work in a forgiven, but still fallen and very much human, believer's life...in the context of a fallen world that is desperately crying out for redemption.

:) thanks for reading, as always.
 
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