BeyondBlessed

I sat there in my car, with the engine running, for quite some time.  Staring at the phone screen.  There were so many things I wanted to say in response to the mean and underhanded text I had received.  True things.  Things that I had a right  to respond with.  Things that would have made the reader on the other end pause perhaps, and realize the stupidity or hypocrisy of what they had sent. There have been times I have responded that way-and there have been times those stinging, criticizing texts have elicited the response I was looking for.  An apology.  A put-them-in-their-place success.  There have been many more times it just made things worse.  But does it matter if it makes it worse?  I should stick up for myself, right?  I should fight for the justice in every situation, right?  I mean, I'll turn the left cheek eventually but I have some things to say while I rotate my face from one side to the other. For a ...

First off, you've gotta do what works for your family as far as rules and expectations.  Having said that there are a few things that we just all need to start doing for our kids regardless of how we  feel  about the matter.  Technology is super powerful, and we are our children's buffer between them and the world of tech.  For the same reason we don't give our kids bottomless access to Mountain Dew, we limit their consumption of tech, and fully prevent their access to certain things on the internet. Rule Number One-NO ELECTRONICS IN BEDROOMS  (or the bathroom for that matter).  No exceptions.  No tvs, no cellphones, no reading tablets, nothing.  I always tell the kids that it's not that I don't trust them, its that I don't trust satan.  It's far easier to have a blanket rule of "no" for this one than to mess around with bylaws.  We have a family computer in our living room and a laptop for whatever it is they want to do online-th...

One of my son's favorite things to do when I tell him to take out the trash is to take the bag out of the can, tie it shut, and walk it all the way to just outside the front door where he sets it on the ground, leaning up against the house, to await some magical future time when someone (else) will happen to be walking by and take it the rest of the way to the bins.  I don't know why he does this.  He knows that as soon as I see it I'm going to yell, errr "encourage", him to bring it the rest of the way, and he'll have to come back down from his room and do it right.  This has been going on for years.  He's too big and fast to spank, I just end up chasing him around until I pull a muscle.  I walked by the front door this morning after yelling, err "sternly requesting" that the kids do their chores without me telling them to (paradoxical, I know) and there were the two bags of trash from the kitchen leaning up against the house just outside the ...

The summer before 5th grade started I was sick to my stomach about going back to school.  I was sick to my stomach because I knew that in the afternoons when my classmate who had been designated as "milk fetcher" for snack time would leave to go get the little cartons of milk I would worry about them being abducted until they got back.  Like, I would be physically ill with worry until they returned. Suffice it to say I have had a fear problem for a long time. Since fear made me sick I tried lots of, often unhealthy, ways to ease the pain. Unfortunately this gave fear a tremendous amount of authority over my life. I will say, I had (pre-four children) pretty killer abs from keeping my stomach muscles tense all the time...so I had that going for me. What we fear takes a place of authority over our lives and, unfortunately, it totally ruled over my life for a long time. Seriously, really monumental decisions were made out of fear instead of faith-and it has cost me. ...

I am a very prideful person, and that is a bad thing.  In the season of life I am going through right now the Lord has been revealing to me the many ways pridefullness sneaks in to my thoughts and motivations.  It's been uncomfortable to say the least, because pride is actually super gross. It's not one of those faults we, deep down, like to admit to.  I always think it's fairly predictable when I'm with a group of people who are in confession mode, but it's not a very honest space for whatever reason, and the sins people "confess" in those situations are typically busyness, stubbornness (which of course is pride, but totally glorified in the Midwestern Scandinavian culture), being a workaholic (weird how people generally don't throw out "I'm super lazy" in group confession times), and my favorite "being a perfectionist ."  Every once in a while someone will throw out that they are OCD instead of saying perfectionist-but OCD...

Addiction is a conniving brat. Keep in mind I'm keeping this PG for the kids; the words I would love to use to talk about addiction are much filthier, and angrier.  Addiction is mean, demanding, manipulative, judgmental and malicious.  It is quick to anger and slow to forgive.  Addiction steals, condemns, shames, and then quickly forgets all of its wrongs.  It is selfish. It is greedy. Until recently addiction had convinced me that I was one in a million; that I just had to figure out how to moderate like everyone else. Look at your friends, your family-they can all take it or leave it and so can you!  You just have to learn how to cut back, DON'T LEAVE ME! Until recently addiction had convinced me that I should keep this a secret because people will judge me, think less of me (gasp), or paint pictures in their imaginations of a once-upon-a-time-me passed out in a gutter with my pants around my ankles and surrounded in my own vomit.  Ok, you didn't ...

Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well , 19  holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.--1 Timothy 1: 8-19 Timothy had received a word, a promise, spoken over him about the nature of his calling.  Paul is encouraging him here to keep that word at the forefront of his thinking so he can fight the battles he faces daily with purpose. Many of us have, at some point, received a word like that.  It may have been a prophetic word with the laying on of hands, it may have been a word of encouragement from a teacher.  Chances are, though, you've had a word sealed on your insides about what you've wanted to do or become that didn't come from anywhere else.  I'm not talking about words specific to ministry, either, just life.  Maybe you have always wanted to have ba...

I want to start this out with a disclaimer about how absolutely mortified I am to be openly talking about being divorced, as well as laying some ground rules. Except with those very close to me (like three people) I do not talk about it.  I realize divorce is a reality for like half of the American population, but it was never something that I, as a younger person, thought that I personally would deal with as a reality in my own life.  But then it was.  I'd love to never talk about it again, and, quite honestly, am writing this begrudgingly, in obedience to the Holy Spirit and out of love for the many people who I've been lucky enough to cross paths with who deal with the debilitating sting of the shame of divorce. GROUND RULES: *I do not and will not speak badly of my ex-husband. I love and care about him very much, and he is the father of our two beautiful kids.  This story is about being divorced, not getting divorced. *I am not mad at the Church, or ...

It happened again last night.   I was laying in bed, 1:30 in the morning, awake.  My hubs wasn't snoring so I couldn't even be mad at him.  Side note-has your partner ever done something so idiotic in your dream that you have a hard time not being mad at them the whole next day?  Is that just me? Luckily (?) I have quite a bit of practice with trying to woo myself back to sleep in the middle of the night, so I started in at the top of my list of strategies.  Halfway through that, it occurred to me that perhaps this is something my peeps struggle with too?  These are things besides the obvious ones like reading, warm milk (gross), or drinking until you blackout (which I don't recommend). Obviously, drinking the Elixir of the Gods at 7 p.m. needs to go... So I have put into words five of the forces I employ When Sleep Won't Come : The "Chillax Briana, Your Sphincter is Puckering" Yes, I gave them all names.  Lots of times, especially when I am ...

DANIEL  Welcome everyone, thank you for overcoming the acute social anxiety that comes from living the life of a prophet to join us for this evening's Prophet's Support Group.  My name is Daniel, best known of course for the stint in the lion's den, although I personally don't think I get enough credit for the whole vegan thing.  Last week we heard from Hosea and his experience after the Boss's orders to intentionally marry a prostitute-which I have to say made all that kale seem small in comparison.  So thank you for sharing, and blessings to you and the Mrs. as you begin couple's therapy this week.  We have a newcomer tonight, everyone give a warm welcome to Jonah! JONAH  Thank you, thank you everyone.  Wow it's weird to be here finally, you know?  Well I guess it all started when the Boss told me to go to Nineveh... ____________________________________________________________________________ GOD  Jonah, listen, set down the milk and h...