Believing caregivers, how do I reconcile that scripture says to put others before me whereas the secular world says put me first?

Smeshque: Oh, that scripture verse is so lovely this evening. Thank you for your sweet compliment. You are ever so kind. I do love the Lord.💞💞

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” 
Isaiah 26:3

Shell-Thank you for your kind words. All glory to Jesus, for He is my foundation, I try and build on.
It is normal to go through the feelings you have. This is a hard journey, I know. There is struggles within it that is for certain, and mostly within us. I know, truly I do. And I understand that at times when we should be drawing nigh to God, we pull away. We are only human, that is a fact. And the only answer that I keep giving is the only answer that I know works, my life is proof. Prayer. Prayer is an amazing gift that God gives HIS children. I have spent countless times in the woods behind our house, just crying out to the Lord in prayer, and sometimes all I could say, is please help me. I don't know what to do, I don't know how to be, I don't know how to live this life, please help me, please show me. And Shell, HE did. it wasn't an immediate thing. But slowly HE began showing me and leading me and changing me and healing me. God is amazing. And He will do that for all HIS children. Jesus is the only answer I know that is a permanent fix in people lives, in my life. You are in my prayers, Sweet heart.

LL- You are too sweet. You are the one that has set the bar. Your love for the Lord is a blessing to us all.

Tiger- I am sorry it has been a swing and a miss. But never stop swinging, that hit will come.

Yes Smeshque, I went there Sunday, but they had changed the service time for a special occasion...so I just went back home.
It's ok tho, heard great sermons, on my phone that I enjoyed.
Lately everything's
'a swing & a miss'.
Oh well.

Smeshque: Thank you. I try but I surely can't live up to you, dear lady.

NHWM: You're surely welcome. We all need help and prayer from time to time.

Shell: You're welcome.

Thank you Send💞🙏⭐

NHWM,
I have been in a funk or something...it some times feels like it is to much!!! I don't get paralyze by it...I do the opposite...I will work my butt off around the house...run all over the city doing errands until I either end up in the hospital or bedridden! Its like I just can't stay still and when I need the Lord the most, I have been turning away from Him, which isn't like me at all! I haven't even been on here that much...I guess, I am tried of this chapter of my life and just want to start a new one!

I am sorry that you too are going through a hard time. You are not the only one who feels alone, I do too! Just know I still have you in my prayers and thoughts. We have to remind ourselves that God will never abandoned us and He is always with us even when we don't feel it!🙌🙏💞


Smeshque and LL you both are like rocks of faith and I just can't seem to find the words...how wonderful you both are!🙏💗

Tiger thank you for sharing. You are so sweet and thoughtful! I pray God heals you...🌈💓

Dare I just love that poem. The timing to prefect!💞👣

Shell,
All good things and poems are meant for you!

You are not alone.

Thank you everybody for your prayers...for you thoughts...for sharing God's sweet words and for that lovely poem.

I don't know what I would do without all for you! You all have brought tears to my eyes just knowing someone cares...and I am lucky to have you...Smeshque, LL, NHWM, Tiger, Dare even though the poem wasn't meant for me, but how I loved it so!!!

Hugs to all of you💓💞🙏

Tiger- Did you go? Thank you for all your encouraging scriptures

Dare- Thank you for your sweet reminder, with the poem of footprints.

Send- Sing it loudly :)

LL- Thank you for your kind words. You are such a sweet hearted lady.

NHWM- I have felt alone and distant from God. But if we draw nigh to Him He will draw nigh to us. Keep drawing, girl. You will get there. You are NOT alone, even though at times it feels like it.

Shell- You are also having a tough time and you are aware and need also to draw night to God. Do not lose hope, help is underway. Hang in there.

Cmag- I agree that complaints like the children of Israel are different than agonies of the heart. I was only saying what keeps me in check. Also I believe we need to cry out to God with our agony, desperately asking Him for HIs help. However I do not believe that we ourselves need to itemize our agonies because we do not have the words that could express the pains we feel. But, the Holy Spirit cries out for us on our behalf.

Romans 8:26
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

It is wonderful to see the love and concern for all those having a difficult time right now. You all are showing such love.





Even if the drum stops beating
My soul will keep on singing
Even louder, even louder
Even when my eyes can't see it
I will sing till I believe it
Even louder, even louder

Thanks, Llama

please keep praying for me. I appreciate it.

Shell: I do hope and pray that you're feeling better. Big Hugs ((( ))).

NeedHelpWithMom: A few days ago I had noticed that you were having an extremely rough day on another thread and so therefore, I had asked for prayer for YOU on this thread. I knew that you had to be on your last ounce of strength as I, too, had been there and knew it's not easy. But with prayers and the LORD by our side, we can get through. Hope you're doing better, NHWM. Big Hugs ((( ))).

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."
He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

Smeshque: Oh, what joy that you brought to your dear mother! Her party was a stellar success because of her wonderful daughter - YOU! Along with the help of DH, AB and the wonderful friend, who sent her a package. You did an outstanding job!

Shell,

I hope you feel better soon. It’s so hard being in a funk. It effects everything in our lives. Almost paralyzing for me. Maybe you cope better than I do. I hate feeling crippled and need someone to kick me in the butt to get moving in the right direction.

Sing a little louder,
In the presence of my enemies.

Sing a little louder,
Louder than the unbelief.

Tiger,

Those are beautiful scriptures. I do need to reflect on these. You chose passages that I need to study and hopefully I can allow these words to help me in my struggles. Thank you so much.

(I feel better after preaching comfort to my brethren:)
hi to Smeshque, NHWM, feel better soon💝. Peace 2 all.

NHWM: The Word describes itself as an 'incorrupible seed', that liveth & abideth forever'.1 Peter 1:23
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Luke 8:11 tells us:
"...Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God".18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside". Math 13:18
We must ponder the Word (sometimes for hours), before understanding comes from the. H.G.😳🌈

NHWM, Smeshque, hope u feel better. Read & ponder the Word, (more than we ponder our troubles.)💟 I wasted so much time pondering my troubles lately. It really took me down, but your prayers brought me up!
"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? 
and why art thou disquieted within me? 
hope thou in God: 
for I shall yet praise him, 
who is the health of my countenance, and my God." Ps 42:11. "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: 
he shall preserve thy soul. 
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in 
from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Psalm 121:7-8  KJV). "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13 | KJV

For comfort:
Isaiah 40:29-31 King James Version (KJV)
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.
2cor 12:10 YLT. ...'wherefore I am well pleased in infirmities, in damages, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses -- for Christ; for whenever I am infirm, then I am powerful;
2cor 1. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
[4] Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
[5] For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
Hebrews 10:36 (KJV)
 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Tiger,

Thanks for understanding how I feel. It helps knowing that others have been through this.

I hope that we both find peace. Of course we go through transformations in our lives. Yes, we get stuck at times. I am stuck right now spiritually. So much so that I am confused. I know God exists. I just am not sure what my relationship with Him is right now. I kind of feel unworthy at the moment. I feel doubt about certain issues and that feels like I have a lack of faith and I have shame about that. Make sense? What am I missing here?

If we lose faith, it’s kind of scary. I know and understand why God gave us free will. I just feel like I haven’t used my free will correctly. I mess up. I don’t like that I lose patience with mom or show my frustration about the situation at hand. It’s been going on too long though. Something temporary is different. A person can see the end in sight if it is short lived.

I need more direction in my life. I know God won’t force us to do better but I pray to the Holy Spirit for direction and I still feel lost. I try to listen for God’s voice. I just feel sort of separated from Him at the moment.

I can’t think clearly. It’s the stress. It’s causing a lot of anxiety. Also, being bored. Not enough stimulation. There is a senior group at church for ages 55 and over and I would love to participate. They have pot luck dinners. They go on field trips to interesting places. They have speakers come and talk about interesting topics. I am missing out on all of that.

It’s a wonderful group. I read about the activities in our church bulletin. We have to participate to get the most out of life. I am not putting down the mass. The mass is a beautiful service. The church offers more though and I don’t get to be involved because of mom. I get depressed when the priest or our lector announces the upcoming events and I can’t be a part of them.

Yes, I participate in donations to the food pantry, toys for children at Christmas, items for the homeless and so forth. I’m happy to do those things but I want my soul to be nourished too. I need socialization with others.

Even cloistered nuns have people who reach out to them that they help. They are a cloistered community but still involved. They aren’t involved the way nuns are that aren’t cloistered but it isn’t total isolation.

I know of nuns that aren’t cloistered who minister to people that most people would never help. They reach out to those who need the most compassion and mercy, drug addicts and alcoholics and women who were trapped in prostitution. They truly make a difference in their lives. They give them a purpose to live. They help them but they ask them to work in the soup kitchen or deliver meals. It has worked out well.

An order of nuns visited our church. They were from the Philippines. They rescue women caught up in sex trafficking. They opened a daycare for children born out of that horrible situation. They raise money for the young women to go to college and start their lives over. I bought some of the jewelry that the nuns made to help fund caring for these young women. These are beautiful acts of sharing God’s love.

I know a retired priest who cooks for the homeless daily. It’s beautiful to be involved like that. It gives our lives meaning. I would love to help him cook or serve the poor. He is an incredible priest. I haven’t seen him in awhile. I used to see him quite a bit. He was very good friends with a friend of mine and he was invited to dinner at their home often. I was invited for dinner as well and spent a good bit of time with him and got to know him personally as a humanitarian. I am truly impressed with his spirit of service to the poor.

I used to be active and volunteer in my community. Plain and simple, I am bored to tears, no mental or spiritual stimulation at all. What should I do about this? Anyone is welcome to answer this question. Any ideas?

Smeshque,

Thanks for prayers for me. I am grateful for your prayers because it is beautiful when others pray for those who feel so lost that they don’t know how to pray anymore.

I do love the Psalms. I remember the lovely Billy Graham saying that he and his wife read the psalms together every night.

My husband is a believer but more privately. He prays silently and alone. I suppose everyone prays in their own way.

I tend to pray from my heart. Even my priest told me to forget formal prayers when struggling and pray to God in a conversation with him from our hearts. He said to simply talk to God, out loud if I chose to. That’s what he said that he did. He said he spoke to God out loud as his Heavenly Father or his closest friend.

I will try. I hate feeling as if I am alone. Have you ever felt distant from God and alone? I feel that at times.

Cmagnum,

That’s what I believe is happening to me. I learned to bury pain and then triggers come and the scabs are ripped off of wounds and the pain becomes worse. Make sense? I don’t know how to effectively deal with my emotions.

It has been a bad few days...okay, its been a bad week! I try not to complain but that seems all I do--lately. I know Lord you have moved in my life when I don't murmur or whine. So this is me trying to get back to that place I was a few weeks ago. I need Your hand to move a few things around because I can't do it myself. In truth, I can do nothing without You. I need Your wisdom, Your strength, Your courage and Your Word. I am always grateful for all you do and how You remind me that You are always in control even when it comes to our enemies.

I may be wrong but to me complaining out of pain is different than the murmuring of the Israelite's which was out of unbelief. Suppressed pain has a way of showing up somewhere else.

NHWM- Psalms 143 is my go to when I feel lost. Sometimes I even pray the words to God as they were my own.
Jesus has a way to make us new and give us a clean slate.

NHWM- Pray to God and tell Him all that is in your heart, on your knees, no complaints, just what you feel (ie.lost,sad, helpless,hopeless, confused) and ask Him to show you truth and light and mold you into what HE wants you to be. Not what you think you should be, but what He wants you to be. And keep praying it and keep praying it everyday, in Jesus name, and see what He does with you.
Give yourself to Him and allow Him to transform you and lead you and guide you and what you feel right now, will disappear and one day you will look back and see how He led you out of this.
Truth is there, healing is there, a newness is there, JOY is there, seek and ye shall find.