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Smehque: So sorry to learn of the loss of your dear friend. Sending many condolences.
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NeedHelpWithMom: God bless you! You're an angel.
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Isthisrealyreal: Oh, what a beautiful discourse of words!
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Llama,

Thanks. A tired angel, hahaha. Every caregiver is tired, right?
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Dear Smeshque, this is a good thread for people who want to think a bit more deeply about their experiences in caring. I really admire your dedication in posting so frequently that it always comes up on the daily feed. However the way it comes up each morning is quite frustrating. The Bible does NOT say to ‘put others before me’, and the secular world does NOT say to ‘put me first’. To celebrate your thousandth comment, could you start a new thread that encourages all of us to think more deeply?
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Smeshque,
Your christian worldview matters.
 Why does a biblical worldview matter?
If we don't really believe the truth of God and live it, then our witness will be confusing and misleading. Most of us go through life not recognizing that our personal worldviews have been deeply affected by the world. Through the media and other influences, the secularized American view of history, law, politics, science, God and man affects our thinking more than we realize. We then are taken "captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ" (Colossians 2:8).
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Thank you Send.
It is true what you say.
That makes the fight harder each day as to not be a hypocrite. Not to do or say anything ungodly, but to try and truly be an Ambassador for Christ.
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On the other hand, those of us Christians who act pious and judgmental scare others off. I'm not referring to anyone on here but to those who take their walk with God and turn it into a crusade which excludes anybody who is only human and doing the best they can. Case in point: My experience with grief counselling. The Pastor leading the group made me feel like I had done something wrong. Not with anything he said but just this air of superiority that he gave off. I was wearing my snug jeans and my partially purple hair. I think he saw that and alarm bells went off in his narrow minded head. The first session he and I were standing by the coffee area. I had just poured my own coffee and leaned in to pour his. You'd think I'd tried to seduce him. Then there were other things he said and did.

I think as Christians if we want to witness to others and not scare them away we have to lower ourselves a bit. Jesus walked among the sinners. He didn't cross to the other side of the road to avoid them. This doesn't mean hanging out and sinning along side of them but it means not acting superior. We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We need to remember this.

When I witness to others I try really hard to speak in laymen's terms if you will.

Just my thoughts.
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Gershun- you are absolutely right. And I do hope to never come across judgemental or self righteous, if I have or do I am deeply sorry. That is not my intent nor feelings at all. I love everyone. We are all sinners and it is not our place to judge anyone.
I started this thread out of desperation and seeking thoughts from fellow believers on certain things. I did not start it to exclude anyone, for all is welcome here.
It was not right how you were treated by that Pastor. Whatever his deal was, was his own flaw and weakness. But he should not have made you feel that way and I am sorry that he did.
You are one of the people I love on here and for someone to make you feel bad makes me sad.
Hug
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I also struggle with the feeling that I am not living up to biblical ideals. The one that gets me recently is the verse, “ do not grow weary in well doing.” I often feel weary! Then I remember the words of Jesus when he said, “cone to me, you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Nothing is hidden from God. God knows when we are tired, when we try really hard to take good care of our LO, but also need to take care of ourselves. And loves us through it all.
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Smeshque, I prefaced my remarks by saying I'm not referring to anyone on here. I meant that.

You come across as only sweet and kind. If anything I think that maybe you are too hard on yourself at times.

I've been wanting to find a Church in my area that is welcoming but since I would be going by myself I worry about being judged.
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MaryBee,
I understand this struggle. I tell myself that verse throughout the day, "Don't grow weary in well doing"
You are right God knows we are human(imperfect) and get tired.
And he will never forget our labor of love.
All we can do is do our best for our Loved ones, and try and take care of ourselves to be our optimum to help others.Easier said than done, I know.
Prayer and Faith is the only way I can get through my struggles.
Keep pressing on, don't lose hope and don't lose faith, don't stop praying.
God is our strength and refuge, a very present help in times of trouble.
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Gershun- If you go to a new church and are judged for being alone, you know that is not the church for you.

I thank you for your kind words. HUG
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Smeshque,
You are known as sweet and kind, and always giving of yourself.
I hope this thread continues to 3000 or more.

And I do not mind at all if anyone gets offended into the kingdom of God along the way. You have done very well to not be exclusionary or judgmental.

As for me, I cannot live up to biblical ideals, that is why I needed a Saviour.
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Smeshque, I found the song name. Finally. Slight variation on some of the words, but definitely the song. Probably my hearing is the challenge.

The Strength of The Lord
By Larnell Harris
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Here are the lyrics that are such a prayer and blessing in my life. Hope you all enjoy the same blessing.

Sometimes life seems like words and music That can't quite become a song
So we cry and sigh then we try again
And wonder what could be wrong
But when we turn to the Lord at the end of ourselves
Like we've done a time or two before
We find His truth is the same as it's always been
We never will need more

It's not in trying but in trusting
It's not in running but in resting
Not in wondering but in praying
That we find the strength of the Lord
It's not in trying but in trusting
It's not in running but in resting
Not in wondering but in praying
That we find the strength of the Lord

He's all we need for our every need
We never need be alone
Still He'll let us go if we choose to
To live life on our own
Then the only good that will ever be said
Of the pains we find ourselves in
They are places to gain the wisdom to say
I'll never leave Him again

It's not in trying but in trusting
It's not in running but in resting
Not in wondering but in praying
That we find the strength of the Lord

It's not in trying but in trusting
It's not in running but in resting
Not in wondering but in praying
That we find the strength of the Lord

It's not in wondering but in praying
That we find the strength of the Lord
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Need: You're welcome. I'm on my last ounce of strength, too.
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Gershun: I am sorry that happened to you in your house of worship. That must have made you feel badly and that is just unacceptable. I, too, have had first hand witness of similar actions. It made me rethink the actions of own church's pastor and possibly finding a new church. Prayers to you.
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Gershun,

Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s an important one and you aren’t alone. There’s good and bad in all professions, including clergy. It happens and it is truly unfortunate when it does.

I wish it hadn’t happened to you or anyone else, but the flip side, people will learn from the wisdom that you have gained from this experience.

You took a negative, turned it into a positive and I admire and respect you greatly for that. So many times hurting people hurt others. We all have to work through things. You are an inspiration to all of us.
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Philippians 2:2-4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
2 make my joy complete [a]by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing [b]from [c]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
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II Corinthians 4:3

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
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Isaiah 40:31
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
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Needhelpwithmom, although I truly appreciate the compliment I don't feel I deserve the accolades.

Also, this incident that happened wasn't at a Church that I attended regularly. It was a referral of sorts. I had thought I might join this particular Church if this had not happened but as it turned out...........well.

But thx for the nice comments.
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Trust me, you do deserve the accolades. I have learned a lot from you. I know others have too.
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MargaretMcKen, you can go into your profile settings and unfollow any thread you want to.

I think that you should start the thread you would like to see. Since you have the idea of what that would look like. I am looking forward to seeing it.
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Gershun,
I would have to agree! I concerned myself as a Christian for a long time because I was treated so bad by them when I was a teenage server that I thought to be a Christian means that your holy than thy and I just couldn't understand why they were like that when Jesus himself taught and walked and loved the people who not only sinned but was concerned low class. But I have always loved Him--just didn't like the people to much!

But because of my experience I try to never look down on anyone...not saying I'm prefect...because I'm not!
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Margaret, I think I understand what you are saying, regarding the idea of putting others first vs. putting yourself first. I know the Bible speaks of loving others as you love yourself, and serving one another, as in Christ's example. I've sometimes been conflicted about where to draw the line between loving and serving others and establishing good boundaries for my own self-care.

I don't believe scripture means for us to neglect our own self-care in the process of caring for and about others. I can't love my neighbor as myself if I don't love myself in the first place. But on the other hand, I don't think it means to be selfish and not consider others' needs at all. Know what I mean? It's just a balance, one I as a Christian strive for, and one I often fail at. God understands that we're going to fail at times, which is why He gives us His grace.

I don't think secular viewpoints always conflict with Biblical ones either. What I take the thread title to mean is that so often the examples we see in the media and in society are negative ones that exemplify selfishness, greed, entitlement, etc. The question is just how do we find the balance? For me, it's often trial and error, and a LOT of prayer. :)
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Shell,
Your comment about people loving others, and the Lord...

Jesus was invited to dinner at the home of a pharisee. In came a woman who loved Jesus....

"Luke 7:44
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head."

The pharisees criticized Jesus, accusing that if He was truly a prophet, He would know what kind of a woman she was...{and reject her}.

Church is often like that today, people are like that still today. They reject anyone who is not just like them. And a person does not need to be a "harlot" to be rejected. A person can be rejected for doing good, believing in Jesus.

As a christian, many believe it is better to love the sinner, (like Jesus did), but hate the sin.
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Thank you Smeshque, for starting a "Believer's" thread.

Here is my contribution today, comment #991....

Suffering as Christians
11 If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.…
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While I try to love everyone, in all honesty there are people I in my life who I truly don't like let alone love. In fact, I feel real hatred towards a few people in particular. And yet, I consider myself a Christian, a God loving person.

I think we do the best we can, we ask God for his help and we carry on. Those people I dislike I treat kindly when I'm around them and the rest of the time I try not to be around them. I pray that God helps me to change my feelings towards these people and carry on.

What I truly dislike are people who profess their love for God but can't seem to speak in their own words when it comes to professing that love. It's all fine and well to quote the Bible. That's admirable. But if you can't express your faith and love for God in your own words then how do you expect the average non Christian person to relate to you at all. My Hubs is a non-Christian and if I came at him with a bunch of scripture I know it would turn him off entirely. Instead, I try to use examples of how God has helped us when explaining the love of God to him. For instance: We recently were home shopping. Ideally we wanted certain things. A larger balcony, easy assess to public transit, something bigger than a postage stamp. We wanted a new place. So we looked at a lot of places that were new but tiny balconies, no access to transit, totally unaffordable for our budget. We decided to forget new and look for older places. We saw a few that we convinced ourselves would be great and suitable for us. We prayed a lot on this. I even got Hubs to pray with me. Then we had one more place on our list. We went to see it. It was perfect, huge balcony, 5 min. from transit, a great view and brand new. Because the original purchaser had changed his mind we got it for a cheaper price cause even though it had been bought already it was new cause it had never been lived in.

So, we trusted God, lowered our expectations and still got what we had originally wanted. I truly see God's hand in this. I use this example to remind hubs that even though we sometimes don't get what we want, God has something even better in mind for us if we just trust him.

Quoting scripture is wonderful. I know God speaks to us through his word but I also believe that we need to speak in our own words sometimes too to really get through to non Christians.
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