Everyday Matters by Debbie Griffith

7/31/2020

Mental Illness

Friday Matters- July 31, 2020
Everyday Meds

“Lisa,” I wrote; “I know exactly where you’re at. You’re not a “bad Christian” because you went on medication for your depression. God doesn’t think that. He loves you where you’re at.”

I went on meds for anxiety. It was hard. I felt; “Maybe I wasn't reading the right scripture, praying right or maybe I didn't have enough faith. We live in a fallen world with sickness and disease. The enemy wants us to believe we’re a failure when our sickness is mental but it’s a lie. We’re sick. We need healing and stability and we limit God when we say He can only work on way. It was pride that kept me from wanting to take meds. I wanted to say; “God healed me without medication." Instead He provided a way through meds. It’s a mind battle. It helped me to hear National Speaker Chonda Pierce dealt with meds and depression. She taped a message to her prescription bottle which read; “God loves you Chonda. Take your medicine.” Don’t lose hope. You will get better…everyday.

7/30/2020

Forgive Others

Thursday Matters- July 30, 2020
Everyday Offense Taken

We can say we trust in God to avenge or defend us but when we take matters into our own hands we aren’t putting a lot of trust in God taking care of our hurt. A big challenge is not to pick up the offense of a friend or family member who’s been hurt. I’m guilty there. But when we take on someone else’s offense we’re sucking the poison of their sin and we become bitter along with them.

I’ve seen this happen when a parent’s anger towards someone passes on to their children. Remember if only one side of the story is presented you don’t have the whole truth and may have a cocktail of lies. It’s the enemy’s plan to ruin relationships. God’s plan is to restore. Follow Deuteronomy 30:19 which tells us to make the choices which bring life so that we and generations to come may live meaningful lives. More is caught than taught and the way your children trust God will have a lot to do with the way you trusted God in relationship conflicts…everyday.

7/29/2020

Marriage Advice

Wednesday Matters- July 29, 2020
Everyday Marriage Advice

The other day I read this article giving me the “Do’s and Don’ts” on how to get a grip on a marriage gone bad. Some points were good such as; “Do speak honestly of your unhappiness to your partner and don’t bad mouth your spouse to your friends” BUT the “DO” that really threw me was; “Put yourself at the center of your life, go deep within yourself to find your strength.” I said out loud, “Are you kidding me, I’d just get depressed?” But the writer continues, “Who can be the center of your life but you?”

I know the answer! JESUS! He should be the center of our lives! And when He’s not that’s when we have problems, not only in marriage but in everything. I just read some great “DO’S and DON’TS” in Philippians 2: 3 and 4; “DO regard others better than yourself and DO NOT be selfish, thinking only of yourself.” What great advice from the Counselor who has all the answers...everyday.

7/28/2020

Genuine Christians

Tuesday Matters- July 28, 2020
Everyday Bumper Stickers

A guy and his car are standing at the pearly gates. The car is covered with Christian bumper stickers. The guy is trying to talk his way into heaven but Peter won't budge. The guy says, "But look at my car!" Peter finally compromises and says, "OK, your car can come in..."

Much of the time people don't realize what forgiveness truly means in their lives. They really believe the sin that separates them from God in the first place, is worth it. And sometimes they look at forgiveness as a license to keep on living in the flesh while expecting God to jump through hoops they’ve set up. When we have a relationship with God we get the Holy Spirit living in us and THAT is what keeps us from staying comfortable in our sins. You look at Paul talking to the Romans and he says, “I sometimes fall and do what I don’t want but with Jesus I don’t have to stay down.” We can walk and drive in freedom when we let God’s forgiveness change us…everyday.

7/27/2020

Walking in Love

Monday Matters-July 27, 2020
Everyday Spirit of Love

There will always be people in our lives who are difficult. And I also fall into the category of being a difficult person too. Oh, but for the kindness, the grace of God, how could we live without Him? We must realize that the Holy Spirit according to 1 Peter 1:22 is the One Who purifies our hearts so we can allow the sincere love of God to flow through us to others.

Walking in the love of God is the ultimate goal of Christianity and should be the primary pursuit of our lives rather than trying to get even with others. Jesus came and pronounced that all other commandments are summed up by loving God and loving others. When I think of what I can do for myself or how I can get others to bless me I'm filled with ME! But when I think of other people and how I can bless THEM I find myself filled with the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of love…everyday.

7/24/2020

Find Your Identity in Christ

Friday Matters- July 24, 2020
Accepting who you are

Sometimes I get so disgusted with myself. It’s when I’m in this place of self-pity and I feel stuck. The way to peace begins with accepting the truth of myself—the whole truth. My struggle to cope with certain people has a simple explanation: they represent to me those things that I have refused to acknowledge and accept in myself.

To accept the truth of my brokenness is unbearable impossible without turning to Jesus. If my vision of myself is not purified by the mercy of Jesus, I have to get dishonest, camouflage my warts, and present to you a self that is mostly admirable, fault free, and superficially happy. When I accept the truth of me, shipwrecked and saved, and give it over to the person of Jesus, I am at peace even if I don’t feel it. The peace that comes from God and surpasses all understanding, (Philippians 4:7) was provided by Christ on the cross and doesn’t depend on my shifting feelings. Oh Lord, what a gift. Thank YOU…everyday.

7/23/2020

Jesus NEVER rejects us

Thursday Matters- July 23, 2020
Everyday Hurt

When we’ve been hurt AND the person who has hurt us isn’t even sorry our flesh wants nothing to do with this person but to reject them. But what does Jesus do?” Jesus never rejects us but He does reject our sinful behavior.

The two greatest commandments tell us to love God passionately and then to LOVE OTHERS as He does. So when someone has sinned against us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we must actively choose to forgive them and then choose NOT to remember their sins against us. Actively choosing not to remember is different than forgetting. In Jeremiah 31:34 God says He will “remember no more” the sins of His people. This is not memory failure. This is God’s choice to no longer hold our sins against us. God will vindicate us as He promises. I know it’s hard but do what you know is right rather than what you FEEL is fair…everyday.

7/22/2020

Shouts of Pain

Wednesday Matters- July 22, 2020
Everyday Pain in Life

Do you think emotional pain is harder than physical pain? You know I have to think it is. I mean I get physical pain from my recovery with scoliosis back surgery and having mono and flu where I never thought I’d leave the bathroom floor. However broken relationships, the loss of a loved one, and the failure of a plan or dream, well … that kind of pain is so much harder for me.

But it helps to remember God uses pain to get our attention. C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasure, but He shouts to us in our pain.” Pain is God’s megaphone. We rarely change when we see the light. We change when we feel the heat. But why does it get so hot? I hear ya. The answer is God’s love turns-up, it warms when it all seems so cold and hopeless. He’s always aware and He always cares. Proverbs 20:30, “Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.” Yes, God loves you, everyday.

I don’t always like my husband Dan but I love him. Love is a choice and commitment to make things work even when feelings say something else. Romans 12: 10’s view is good; Be devoted in love and honor one another above the other…everyday.

7/21/2020

God Loves You through Others

Tuesday Matters- July 21, 2020
Everyday Flowers from Husband

I still remember the “just because I care” flowers from my husband sent a few years ago. I had called my husband at his office to lament about some unresolved drama that I had so Dan told me to come to his office. I did. But… then out of nowhere a “stress arrow” hit my husband and he began speaking from his book of Lamentations. He began talking about our finances, his work load, and health stuff. It was unusual for me but I sat SILENTLY and prayed while tears ran down my cheeks.

I left the office with a hug and knew that this is life and it would be okay. An hour later a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived and a card from my husband saying; “I love you.” At the same moment a dear friend called and said, “I was praying for you and thought you might need to talk.” That’s JUST like God, supplying what we need when we need it…everyday.

7/20/2020

Choose what you THINK On

Monday Matters-July 20, 2020
Everyday Crazy Thoughts

Do you have crazy thoughts? And by that, I mean the kind of crazy negative thoughts that swirl in your mind which come from past hurts or present crazy circumstances. When I have them they seem to creep in when I’m traveling a long distance by myself. BUT I know we can choose what we think on. WE can release God’s plan for our lives by no longer thinking about the things of old and believing instead that God has a good plan for our future.

Since what we think about eventually comes out of our thoughts, we will never get our mouths straightened out unless we do something about our thoughts. We need to stop mentally living in the past and begin to think in agreement with God. Then once we do that we can begin to speak in agreement with Him. We can actually see our own future and think on truth from Isaiah 43:19; “God makes s a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. He can make a way for you and me…everyday.