Jacie: I hope your conversation with your mom went/will go OK. Keep us updated. Praying for you! Oh, and I hope you don't mind me making you "The Bible-Know-It-All". :D I just happen to know you have an amazing knowledge about the Bible. *hugs you tight*
aw...*blush* I don't mind, really. things with my mother went...pretty well, i suppose. could have been worse, could have been better. definitely could have been worse.
:is considering changing her custom user status to "keeper of lists" or "dispenser of knowledge" just for kicks: :P
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
Basicly I pray every night to keep my family safe, happy and healthy, I espeically worry about my dad because he smokes alot and in every prayer I have added something along the lines of keeping my family always safe, happy and healthy but I still really worry about my dad, I check him at night and I feel kind of bad like I sometimes feel im not trusting god to make sure he is fine, if you know where I am getting at?
Sorry if that doesn't make any sense lol, I will re-word it if no body knows what Im on about :)
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
Thomas Parke D’Invilliers
evievera: no, you aren't wrong to be concerned. God gave us all free will, and your father is using his. He's just using it in a way that is going to hurt him. If you're really concerned, talk to your father about it. Yes, God can perform miracles...but, hmm, how do I say this...if you play with fire, you're gonna get burned. it's like...praying that all your scars will disappear, yet continuing to hurt yourself. Or drinking poison and praying you won't get sick. Yes, God can do all those things...but when we use our common sense, he doesn't need to. And it isn't that he doesn't love all of us, but sometimes in order to learn from our mistakes we need the consequences. I don't know your father or the situation, but if you're really worried, talk to him.
as usual, James says it better than I do. I like the way the message puts this verse:
"Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" James 2:14-17
Smoking isn't illegal, but it still is harmful--not only to your father but to everyone else living in the same house. It's like self-harm or illegal drugs or an eating disorder...it doesn't stop for no reason. And it's hurting someone you care about. If this was a different problem, would you react the same way? Or would you do everything you can to get him to stop? We are called to speak the truth in love, and, as we all know,
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 cor 13:4-6)
and also, of course, "perfect love casts out all fear" (1 james 4:18).
please know, i'm not trying to *make* you do anything. all this is just my suggestion, and what i think the bible is saying. i don't know your situation, so let the voice of god be the litmus-test :) i'm just a human being answering your question as best as i can.
in love, Jacie (tongue-in-cheek dispenser of wisdom. meaning, if anything wise comes out of my mouth the words sure aren't mine. XD)
Basicly I pray every night to keep my family safe, happy and healthy, I espeically worry about my dad because he smokes alot and in every prayer I have added something along the lines of keeping my family always safe, happy and healthy but I still really worry about my dad, I check him at night and I feel kind of bad like I sometimes feel im not trusting god to make sure he is fine, if you know where I am getting at?
Sorry if that doesn't make any sense lol, I will re-word it if no body knows what Im on about :)
I'm trying to figure out what in particular is bothering you.
You said you worry about your dad's health, yeah? Has your dad been unwell?
But is that what's bothering you or is it your need to check him what bothers you?
I guess what I'm trying to work out is - are you worried about your dad or you worried about worrying about your dad?
It's hard to give stuff over to God and not try to hold onto it yourself, very hard.
As said above you could talk to your dad about his smoking, advise him - though he's probably well aware of any info you give him. It's a tricky one, it's hard to give up, despite knowing it's maybe not the best for you.
it actually went really well...everybody said i did great and that i didn't seem nervous at all...it was weird cuz what i had to say went along completely with what my youth pastor had already planned on saying..so i thought that was a really cool "coincidence" and apparently i gave some ppl chills...lol
i am glad its over now lol =)
evievera: no, you aren't wrong to be concerned. God gave us all free will, and your father is using his. He's just using it in a way that is going to hurt him. If you're really concerned, talk to your father about it. Yes, God can perform miracles...but, hmm, how do I say this...if you play with fire, you're gonna get burned. it's like...praying that all your scars will disappear, yet continuing to hurt yourself. Or drinking poison and praying you won't get sick. Yes, God can do all those things...but when we use our common sense, he doesn't need to. And it isn't that he doesn't love all of us, but sometimes in order to learn from our mistakes we need the consequences. I don't know your father or the situation, but if you're really worried, talk to him.
Thanks for the advice :) I will take it into account :)
Quote:
I'm trying to figure out what in particular is bothering you.
You said you worry about your dad's health, yeah? Has your dad been unwell?
But is that what's bothering you or is it your need to check him what bothers you?
I guess what I'm trying to work out is - are you worried about your dad or you worried about worrying about your dad?
It's hard to give stuff over to God and not try to hold onto it yourself, very hard.
As said above you could talk to your dad about his smoking, advise him - though he's probably well aware of any info you give him. It's a tricky one, it's hard to give up, despite knowing it's maybe not the best for you.
Hi Artychik, I really worry that he may have cancer or die of a heart attack, I dont think he has been ill but he is the type of person that would put off going to the docters if something was wrong. I just feel kind of guilty that I still go and check he is alrite when I pray to God ask that he is okay.
normally i'm pretty lacking in good-God-news but since i have some, i feel i ought to acknowledge it! tomorrow is my 18th birthday, and the Voice(s) swore they would kill me before then, and for the past 6 months pretty much all i've thought of is suicide. this week has been especially hard because it's as if i'm running out of time to do as the Voice says, but i have done my best to always ask God to save me from this because i haven't the strength myself.
not only am i still alive (though with 8ish hours to go of today i feel like i'm tempting fate a little!) but God has helped me not to SH all week, or to do anything else that would give the Voices a look in.
maybe i sound nuts but i have never been this grateful to be here!
eryn: that's really great, i'm glad everything went well :) i still remember the first time i ever gave my testimony...it was the day i was discharged from the hospital, and at that point i had such a bad fear of public speaking that i really almost passed out. but, god takes care of his kids...he still is taking care of me, even now. i met god for the first time on the psych ward of a hospital after trying to kill myself--he woke me up at about 4 am and somehow i could just...feel him there, in the room. my mom had brought me a bible from home, and when i opened it, it was to that psalm of david's that talks about forgiveness for shedding blood. i broke down and started crying like a little kid, and during free time that day i called my youth pastor's wife to tell her what happened. (god is amazing, because at that point our youth pastor's wife was a woman that had firsthand experience of al the things i struggle with. even though they've since stepped down and i rarely see her, she's like a second mother to me.) later, my "big brother" (read: male friend approx 5 years older than me who has been one of my heros for a long time) who was working with my youth pastor at the time (they're both contractors) told me that my youth pastor started crying tears of joy and jumping and dancing on his front lawn, because he never thought it would happen :) i was one of those cases that no one had any hope for--later, that same "big brother" told me that when he met me he was sure i wouldn't live out the year because i was so self-destructive. Well, it's 7 years now since I met him, and 6 years this march since that hospital experience...:)
waiting in the dark: happy almost 18th. i'm praying for you, for strength and courage and that God will snuggle you extra these next few days :) i hope this will help you see that God is in control, and not whatever voices you hear--and that, since you're God's child, you don't have to listen to what they say. they can't hurt you or control you unless you let them. God's got you and he'll keep you safe :)
Last night I had a long awkward phone conversation with one of my dear friends [actually, the person who sat up with me into the wee hours of the morning and helped me give up cutting] and I managed to tell her about what i've been struggling with.
I'm really glad she told me things I didn't want to hear... and now I know that I've got a long way to go.
This is a really huge thing, and I'm not comfortable sharing specifics yet, so please just pray.
*sigh* why does God always call me to do such tremendously difficult things? I'd much rather sit here in my hole and not grow at all... [jk]
I'm really nervous though. This could be the biggest thing to happen since I gave up cutting...
She challenged me to tell some other people, not the specifics, but just that I needed prayer...
she talked to me about the night I gave up cutting, there were so many praying for me, and God's power was so strong...
I'm rambling a bit, sorry.
so basically, I'm still pretty upset, but now a good godly woman who can help me is in the loop.
