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Jack Nicolson put it brilliantly in the road-trip scene from the 1999 movie As Good As It Gets: Not everyone has a terrible story to get over. Some people have great stories; beautiful stories that take place in parks with friends and noodle salad. Good times, noodle salad. Just no one in this car.
If you're overwhelmed by your circumstances or need help facing a painful past, you're in the right place. I'm here to say, "You matter to God. It (whatever it is), matters to God." But no one can make that discovery for you. No matter what, don't give up. You are worth fighting for, and so is your family.
I realize now that the lessons I've learned through my toughest years of healing were never just for me. God had you in mind as well. You are why The Medicine Place exist.
Healing is a journey. And if I could go back in time and choose instant healing over what I went through, I would choose the long way. Because it was on that road that I discovered how beautifully my hand fits in my Savior's.
Welcome to The Medicine Place...proof that there is beauty to be gained from a breakdown.
--Wendy J. Saxton, Ordinary Woman
have you read it?
Love Un-hurts the Ones We've Hurt
Several years ago, when my husband was thick in the battle of addiction, he would often say to me, "I wasn't trying to hurt you." (because let's face it ladies, it feels so personal, though in reality it's not about us at all.)
My usual retort was, "Well, you weren't trying not to!" Ouch, right? I didn't read my Bible in those days and the truth is, neither one of us had a clue as to what love is and isn't, does and doesn't do.
Years later, I discovered that God maps it out very clearly for us in His word.
Published on Monday, December 28, 2009 @ 10:54 AM CDT
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Before I post Part 3...
'...And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment.
"And second, like it, is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31 NKJV)
I'm taking a few days to meditate on this Scripture? Will you join me?
Published on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 @ 9:02 AM CDT
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The Narrow, Less Traveled Roads of the Heart: Part 2
In Part 1, I left off asking you to consider who puts a smile on your face and who makes you grateful for caller I.D.
But the motive behind my request was not to encourage you to find fault with another, but rather to help you identify the areas in your own life that lack boundaries, and therefore steal the joy of fellowship.
Beth Moore once said that God didn't give her Bible studies to share because she was exceptionally knowledgeable and mature--that surely she needed them most. She then teased that before a Bible study "hits" us in the book store, she has been beaten half to death with it.
I'm feeling a little banged up myself these days. I can't tell you that I'm on the other side of this lesson. This is the first time I've ever felt led by God to share something I don't feel like I have a strong handle on, but the good news is that my personal insecurity keeps me fully dependant on Him.
Jesus has some very specific words for how we are to treat one another. Will you journey with me?
""And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5 NKJV)
Published on Sunday, November 8, 2009 @ 12:19 PM CDT
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The Narrow, Less Traveled Roads of the Heart: Part 1
A year ago several people told me that this ministry would not look like I thought it would. Up until now I wasn't sure what they meant. I launched The Medicine Place hoping to encourage and validate women who have been sexually abused. But it's gravitating toward something more than that. It's quickly becoming a ministry for women seeking encouragement through a variety of circumstances.
That certainly includes sexual abuse, but if you've spent any time reading my previous blogs then you know that I am a woman who has suffered much, but that I live my life cradled in the redemptive arms of a Love so powerful that human limitation prevents me from fully grasping it.
In layman's terms: The good Lord has delivered me and my family from layers of crazy! :)
As long as there is breath in my body, I will continue to experience a deeper measure of His redeeming love. And I will continue to humbly share those miracles of redemption so you will know that you are not alone.
God is all up in my business again, only this time it's not in the earth-shattering stuff like abuse or addiction. It's in the little things. For example, some of the long-term relationships I have that leave me feeling drained, but I haven't said anything because I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings or (and this is selfish), suffer the ill opinion of another.
Jesus is always on the move. Once again He has invited me to walk with Him on the narrow, less traveled roads of my heart. It's dark; I don't know the way, and the only light at the end of the tunnel is the assurance that He will never leave me or forsake me.
Just me, Jesus, and a sign that reads "Authentic Friend or Acquaintance"?
He wants me to understand that there is a difference. As women, we need to know the fundamental differences between the two. Our lack of understanding in this area often spreads us too thin and our husbands and children feel neglected.
In a few days, we will touch on those differences. Until then, think of your "friends". Which ones make you smile and which ones make you grateful for caller I.D. ?
Published on Thursday, November 5, 2009 @ 4:26 PM CDT
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Lessons in Humility
Today I hope to shed some light on a side to gossip most of us don't recognize as gossip. And like most things, I learned this one the hard way. God has been bustin' on me!
Published on Monday, October 26, 2009 @ 6:22 PM CDT
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