God is teaching me Isaiah 40:31 and so I Psalm 27:14.
I'll have to say more about that later, but, in the meantime, think on it!
Blessings,
Stephanie
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley All Rights Reserved
Song- "I Will Wait" by, Jason Upton
Song- "I Don't Mind Waiting" by, Juanita Bynum & Jonathan Butler
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Fall Is In The Air
Fall is in the air, Sunlight turns
And Shadows rest on my face
Birds coo the morning, welcomes the sun
And embraces the warmth of the day
Autumn is in the wind, whispering its message foretold
Tells of orange and red and Marigolds
Lights the sky with hues of peace and
Spreads its peace all around
Settles the earth from activities past and
Colors the green of the ground
Fall is in the air, Soul's full of grace
Sunlight turns and Shadows rest on my face.
Copyright 2005-2010 Stephanie Whitley All Rights Reserved
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Rock Bottom
...is not the end, it’s the beginning of new things if you allow it to be. On this journey towards healing we all hit rock bottom at some point, in varying ways and to varying degrees. I remember when I felt I’d hit “rock bottom” in my situation. For me it wasn’t necessarily a sense of hopelessness but rather the acknowledgment of the intense pain of that final blow. You know how during painful circumstances painful blows just seem to keep coming until it runs its course, 'till there can be no more blows. Well, in this circumstance I took my final blow to the gut and it laid me out on the floor. I called my position there on the floor “rock bottom.” I couldn’t have been anymore hurt by or devastated about my situation than I was at that point. I was at rock bottom.
But, God helped me see that it wasn’t a position of defeat, rather it was the position from which I’d rise. It’s like that old saying, when you’re all the way down, there’s no where to go but up. Please, don’t get it twisted, it hurts to be down at rock bottom. I’m weary from all the blows and all the times I’ve had to find the strength to keep going despite them. It’s dirty and grungy down here, cluttered from all the painful memories and raw emotions. But I know I can’t go any lower than this and I recognize that this is my launching pad. And so, because I want to live a newer, healthier, happier life, because I want a new beginning, I get up, slowly. Feeling all of the aches and bruises from all the blows, with heavy limbs and hands I brush myself off. By God’s grace I bring myself to my feet, then sit myself down to rest recuperate, and nurse my wounds. I take slow deep breaths, come to terms with what has happened in my life, and think about how to move on.
Rock Bottom...it’s not the end, it’s the beginning if you allow it to be. And if you have God, hope, and will, it can be a pleasant, well, relatively pleasant, place to be, because when you know you’re down as far as you can go, then you know it’s time to start going up. It’s all a part of healing. If you can look up, you can get up. By faith in God- “rise, take up thy bed and walk.” (John 5:8) You’re well on your way to a brand new life.
Blessings,
Stephanie
Text- Jeremiah 29:11
Song- Still I Rise- Yolanda Adams
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved
But, God helped me see that it wasn’t a position of defeat, rather it was the position from which I’d rise. It’s like that old saying, when you’re all the way down, there’s no where to go but up. Please, don’t get it twisted, it hurts to be down at rock bottom. I’m weary from all the blows and all the times I’ve had to find the strength to keep going despite them. It’s dirty and grungy down here, cluttered from all the painful memories and raw emotions. But I know I can’t go any lower than this and I recognize that this is my launching pad. And so, because I want to live a newer, healthier, happier life, because I want a new beginning, I get up, slowly. Feeling all of the aches and bruises from all the blows, with heavy limbs and hands I brush myself off. By God’s grace I bring myself to my feet, then sit myself down to rest recuperate, and nurse my wounds. I take slow deep breaths, come to terms with what has happened in my life, and think about how to move on.
Rock Bottom...it’s not the end, it’s the beginning if you allow it to be. And if you have God, hope, and will, it can be a pleasant, well, relatively pleasant, place to be, because when you know you’re down as far as you can go, then you know it’s time to start going up. It’s all a part of healing. If you can look up, you can get up. By faith in God- “rise, take up thy bed and walk.” (John 5:8) You’re well on your way to a brand new life.
Blessings,
Stephanie
Text- Jeremiah 29:11
Song- Still I Rise- Yolanda Adams
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved
Friday, August 27, 2010
And I Smiled
"I'm hurting today Jesus" was all I could say. Then He picked me up, cradled me in His arms and carried me through my day. And I smiled.
Song- I Come to The Garden Alone
~Stephanie
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley Unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved
Friday, August 20, 2010
"Sneaked," "Snook," "Snuck?"
“Sneaked,” “Snook,” “Snuck?” Okay, really? Somebody please help me with the past tense of “Sneak!” Oh, wait a minute, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary gave me some guidance. Looks like I actually have a couple options of the inflected forms of “Sneak.” According to them it can be “Sneaked,” or “Snuck.” I’ve always hated trying to say the past tense of “sneak.” Either way, it never sounds right to me. Anyhoo... a few days ago, something "sneaked" up on me and took me by surprise. It was that emotion called “hurt.” Isn’t it strange how it has a way of doing that? You can be having an otherwise really nice day, when BAM, out of nowhere it hits you like a ton of bricks and knocks you off your feet. Whether a thought, a painful memory, or just a momentary feeling of hopelessness, it can really wipe you out.
I was riding along in my car, on a peaceful day, running my errands, when a sad thought about my present circumstances invaded my brain before I had the chance to vet it. And before I knew it, my whole demeanor was changing, threatening to ruin my day. But, luckily I was participating in a Fast, the oddest kind of Fast I’ve ever been apart of. I’d heard about it on TV while flipping through the channels one evening. A tele-evangelist, whose name I cannot even remember now, was promoting a 40 Day Fast From Negative Thinking. What? I thought. My initial reaction was- “Oh, no, I can’t do that, my life is presently filled with too much pain for me to promise I wouldn’t entertain a negative thought.” I couldn’t promise that for the next few hours, let alone for the next 40 days.
But as I thought more about it, I recognized that this was something I needed to do, so I decided to give it a try. In fact, as the first few days went by I began to see how this exercise tied into a previous message God had given me. Loud and clear His message came to me- “in order for you to get beyond this place of pain to a life of joy and fulfillment, you will have to adopt a whole new way of thinking.” I was intimidated by it, but from that moment on I knew I would have to go from thoughts like “I’m defeated, my life is over,” to “I can live victoriously;” from “I’m unlovable,” to “I’m fully loved by God;” from “life will never be good again,” to “God has great plans for me,” from “I’m worthless” to “I’m valuable,” and they’d have to be more than just words. They’d have to be beliefs engrafted into my being.” Truly intimidated by the task, this Fast was the exercise I needed to help me change my thought patterns.
But wait, before I tell you how this fast helped me that day "hurt" sneaked up on me, let me tell you that when I started the Fast, I gave myself one specific rule. While I would choose to not entertain negative thoughts, I did not have to ignore reality. If my life was sad that day, it was sad. If it was painful, then it was painful, and I didn’t have to pretend that it wasn’t. But what I did have to do was determine to not let my reality bring me to a negative, defeated, state of mind. I could acknowledge the sadness, be with the sadness, feel the sadness, but then, make a decided effort to move on.
And so I did that day. When 'hurt" tapped me on the shoulder and darn near jumped in my lap to drive me anywhere he wanted to take me that day, I said “no!” Sure, I cried some and rode with him a little bit, acknowledging that this is my reality and that it hurts, but then, with what little strength I had, decided I would not stay there and let hurt lead me into negative, self-berating thoughts. I was taking the wheel back. I whispered a prayer, recognized a good thing about the day (primarily that I was still alive and in good health) and went on about my day.
Why do I tell you all of this? Because, life’s pain has a way of trying to bog us down and trap us in the mud, threatening to hold us in its grasp forever. But don’t let it. We all hurt at varying degrees and some of us hurt so badly that it seems like we’ll never be okay again. Trust me, I know the feeling. But what we’re going through doesn’t have to be the end of our story. We can move forward, and to do that, we have a role to play. We have to muster up whatever strength we have left and begin to think better thoughts. It’s not easy, I know, but we have to have a plan to deal with the waves of pain that come. It doesn’t have to be a 40 Day Fast From Negative thinking, but, do something. Acknowledge the pain, feel it, call it by name if you must, but don’t succumb to it, think a better thought. Try what Paul admonished the Phillipians- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” [Phillipians 4:8, NIV]
Your life is not over yet. God still has plans for you. And in order for you to reach His plans you have to make it through this present situation. And in order for you to make it through this situation, you have to take the reins of your thoughts and with what little strength you have left, sneak up on "'hurt" and turn the tables. Turn those negative thoughts into positive ones... one thought at a time.
Love and Peace Always,
Stephanie
Text Phillipians 4:8
Songs- Waging War- CeCe Winans
Encourage Yourself- Donald Lawrence
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
I was riding along in my car, on a peaceful day, running my errands, when a sad thought about my present circumstances invaded my brain before I had the chance to vet it. And before I knew it, my whole demeanor was changing, threatening to ruin my day. But, luckily I was participating in a Fast, the oddest kind of Fast I’ve ever been apart of. I’d heard about it on TV while flipping through the channels one evening. A tele-evangelist, whose name I cannot even remember now, was promoting a 40 Day Fast From Negative Thinking. What? I thought. My initial reaction was- “Oh, no, I can’t do that, my life is presently filled with too much pain for me to promise I wouldn’t entertain a negative thought.” I couldn’t promise that for the next few hours, let alone for the next 40 days.
But as I thought more about it, I recognized that this was something I needed to do, so I decided to give it a try. In fact, as the first few days went by I began to see how this exercise tied into a previous message God had given me. Loud and clear His message came to me- “in order for you to get beyond this place of pain to a life of joy and fulfillment, you will have to adopt a whole new way of thinking.” I was intimidated by it, but from that moment on I knew I would have to go from thoughts like “I’m defeated, my life is over,” to “I can live victoriously;” from “I’m unlovable,” to “I’m fully loved by God;” from “life will never be good again,” to “God has great plans for me,” from “I’m worthless” to “I’m valuable,” and they’d have to be more than just words. They’d have to be beliefs engrafted into my being.” Truly intimidated by the task, this Fast was the exercise I needed to help me change my thought patterns.
But wait, before I tell you how this fast helped me that day "hurt" sneaked up on me, let me tell you that when I started the Fast, I gave myself one specific rule. While I would choose to not entertain negative thoughts, I did not have to ignore reality. If my life was sad that day, it was sad. If it was painful, then it was painful, and I didn’t have to pretend that it wasn’t. But what I did have to do was determine to not let my reality bring me to a negative, defeated, state of mind. I could acknowledge the sadness, be with the sadness, feel the sadness, but then, make a decided effort to move on.
And so I did that day. When 'hurt" tapped me on the shoulder and darn near jumped in my lap to drive me anywhere he wanted to take me that day, I said “no!” Sure, I cried some and rode with him a little bit, acknowledging that this is my reality and that it hurts, but then, with what little strength I had, decided I would not stay there and let hurt lead me into negative, self-berating thoughts. I was taking the wheel back. I whispered a prayer, recognized a good thing about the day (primarily that I was still alive and in good health) and went on about my day.
Why do I tell you all of this? Because, life’s pain has a way of trying to bog us down and trap us in the mud, threatening to hold us in its grasp forever. But don’t let it. We all hurt at varying degrees and some of us hurt so badly that it seems like we’ll never be okay again. Trust me, I know the feeling. But what we’re going through doesn’t have to be the end of our story. We can move forward, and to do that, we have a role to play. We have to muster up whatever strength we have left and begin to think better thoughts. It’s not easy, I know, but we have to have a plan to deal with the waves of pain that come. It doesn’t have to be a 40 Day Fast From Negative thinking, but, do something. Acknowledge the pain, feel it, call it by name if you must, but don’t succumb to it, think a better thought. Try what Paul admonished the Phillipians- “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” [Phillipians 4:8, NIV]
Your life is not over yet. God still has plans for you. And in order for you to reach His plans you have to make it through this present situation. And in order for you to make it through this situation, you have to take the reins of your thoughts and with what little strength you have left, sneak up on "'hurt" and turn the tables. Turn those negative thoughts into positive ones... one thought at a time.
Love and Peace Always,
Stephanie
Text Phillipians 4:8
Songs- Waging War- CeCe Winans
Encourage Yourself- Donald Lawrence
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Acknowledging the Need
“Dear God, Heal me,” is sometimes the first thing I say when I wake up in the mornings. Though I’m doing much better than I was several months ago, it’s still a bit tough in the mornings. You see, in the course of a year I lost two of the closest people to me, one to death and the other to divorce. I lost my mother, suddenly, in January ’09 and my (ex) spouse by the end of that same year. Talk about wounds? I can’t begin to tell you how gaping the wounds are. But, I can tell you that during this time I have dealt with mounds of emotional upheaval and layers of issues and have experienced the full range of emotions of fear, deep sadness, anger, depression, loneliness, confusion, disappointment, denial, and exasperation, and these are just to name a few.
I remember, vaguely, but remember nonetheless, the day it dawned on me that I was wounded and needed healing. It came to me out of nowhere it seemed. I’d been so busy dealing with my problems, trying to solve them and maintain some sense of normalcy to life that I’d completely overlooked my inner self and my personal, internal need. I knew I was hurting, that was no secret, but, it was just par for the course, just came with the territory I figured, until that day I paused long enough to realize---I’m hurting...and need healing.
I could only wonder where that healing might come from. I knew I couldn’t do it for myself, and I knew of no one else in the world who could give to me the kind of healing I needed. That’s when I knew it, my healing was going to have to be a journey with the Divine One. Only my Creator could fix what was broken and wounded in me. That day I prayed to God- “Lord, I’m hurting and need healing, will you heal me please? And, since that time, though I’m far from being completely healed, He’s been faithful to the task. Step by step, day by day, a little bit at a time, He’s healing me.
Acknowledging your pain and your need of healing is the first step towards healing. After you’ve acknowledged where you are, ask God to bring about the healing you need and then trust Him from there. The Psalmist says- “Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord heal me; for my bones are vexed.” [Psalms 6:2, KJV] Even he understood the importance of recognizing his weakness and asking God for help. What kinds of pain have you endured? Are you hurting, suffering, feeling tired or hopeless? There’s help for that, I know because I'm experiencing it myself. Although you don’t have to answer these questions here on this blog (although I do invite you to share as you see fit), the one thing I will encourage you to do is- pause for a minute today, take inventory of your pain, acknowledge your need of healing, ask God to heal you, and then let Him take it from there. Trust Him, He’s faithful. Once you have, we’d love to hear your story here.
Until next time, blessings and peace to you,
Stephanie
Text: Psalm 6:2
Song: I Need You Now- Smokie Norful
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
I remember, vaguely, but remember nonetheless, the day it dawned on me that I was wounded and needed healing. It came to me out of nowhere it seemed. I’d been so busy dealing with my problems, trying to solve them and maintain some sense of normalcy to life that I’d completely overlooked my inner self and my personal, internal need. I knew I was hurting, that was no secret, but, it was just par for the course, just came with the territory I figured, until that day I paused long enough to realize---I’m hurting...and need healing.
I could only wonder where that healing might come from. I knew I couldn’t do it for myself, and I knew of no one else in the world who could give to me the kind of healing I needed. That’s when I knew it, my healing was going to have to be a journey with the Divine One. Only my Creator could fix what was broken and wounded in me. That day I prayed to God- “Lord, I’m hurting and need healing, will you heal me please? And, since that time, though I’m far from being completely healed, He’s been faithful to the task. Step by step, day by day, a little bit at a time, He’s healing me.
Acknowledging your pain and your need of healing is the first step towards healing. After you’ve acknowledged where you are, ask God to bring about the healing you need and then trust Him from there. The Psalmist says- “Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord heal me; for my bones are vexed.” [Psalms 6:2, KJV] Even he understood the importance of recognizing his weakness and asking God for help. What kinds of pain have you endured? Are you hurting, suffering, feeling tired or hopeless? There’s help for that, I know because I'm experiencing it myself. Although you don’t have to answer these questions here on this blog (although I do invite you to share as you see fit), the one thing I will encourage you to do is- pause for a minute today, take inventory of your pain, acknowledge your need of healing, ask God to heal you, and then let Him take it from there. Trust Him, He’s faithful. Once you have, we’d love to hear your story here.
Until next time, blessings and peace to you,
Stephanie
Text: Psalm 6:2
Song: I Need You Now- Smokie Norful
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Welcome !
Hi Everyone, welcome to the Journey 2 Healing blog where the idea is that we make the journey towards emotional healing together. My name is Stephanie. You can read more about me in the “About Me” column to the right. For now, let’s talk about healing and the journey we’re about to take together.
The very notion of needing “healing” suggests a wound of some kind. If a child falls and scrapes her knee, as parents we pick her up, clean the wound, maybe put some healing ointment on it, perhaps a band aid, and nurse it back to health. If a man on his job falls from a high ladder and sustains severe internal injuries his coworkers get him to the hospital emergency room as quickly as possible. There the doctors assess his injuries, perform surgery if necessary and instructs the nurses on how to nurse him back to health. But when your heart and soul is wounded, what do you do? To whom do you go? How do you get that fixed? I suggest to you that only the Creator of the heart can heal a broken one. And just like it takes a mother to help heal a child’s wound or coworkers to get their friend to the healer, each of us can help one another make that journey to God for healing. That’s what this blog is all about, helping each other towards emotional healing.
Whether you’ve been slandered on your job, felt the betrayal of a spouse, endured the abandonment of a parent, the death of a loved one, suffered the loss of a friendship or the consequences of bad choices, no matter how large or small your emotional wounds may be, healing is available for them. Throughout this blog I plan to share the experience of my journey with you, with hopes that you will share yours with us too, so that we can each learn from and support one other. In addition I’d like to share a daily text or quote, a song and maybe some pics for encouragement. Feel free to share your favorite texts, quotes, songs and pics as well!
Now, before I close out this entry today, let me just say- as we begin this journey together I ask that if you choose to become a part of this journey that you will be respectful of the others on this journey. Be mindful that we may not all believe or think the same yet we share the common bond of pain for which we all seek healing. Please, no derogatory, antagonistic, or lewd comments and no foul language. The subject matter we talk about on this blog may be sensitive in nature and such language or comments will be detrimental to our journey. Thank you for understanding.
Peace and Blessings to you all,
Stephanie
Text: II Cor. 1:3-5
Song: Healing, Richard Smallwood
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
The very notion of needing “healing” suggests a wound of some kind. If a child falls and scrapes her knee, as parents we pick her up, clean the wound, maybe put some healing ointment on it, perhaps a band aid, and nurse it back to health. If a man on his job falls from a high ladder and sustains severe internal injuries his coworkers get him to the hospital emergency room as quickly as possible. There the doctors assess his injuries, perform surgery if necessary and instructs the nurses on how to nurse him back to health. But when your heart and soul is wounded, what do you do? To whom do you go? How do you get that fixed? I suggest to you that only the Creator of the heart can heal a broken one. And just like it takes a mother to help heal a child’s wound or coworkers to get their friend to the healer, each of us can help one another make that journey to God for healing. That’s what this blog is all about, helping each other towards emotional healing.
Whether you’ve been slandered on your job, felt the betrayal of a spouse, endured the abandonment of a parent, the death of a loved one, suffered the loss of a friendship or the consequences of bad choices, no matter how large or small your emotional wounds may be, healing is available for them. Throughout this blog I plan to share the experience of my journey with you, with hopes that you will share yours with us too, so that we can each learn from and support one other. In addition I’d like to share a daily text or quote, a song and maybe some pics for encouragement. Feel free to share your favorite texts, quotes, songs and pics as well!
Now, before I close out this entry today, let me just say- as we begin this journey together I ask that if you choose to become a part of this journey that you will be respectful of the others on this journey. Be mindful that we may not all believe or think the same yet we share the common bond of pain for which we all seek healing. Please, no derogatory, antagonistic, or lewd comments and no foul language. The subject matter we talk about on this blog may be sensitive in nature and such language or comments will be detrimental to our journey. Thank you for understanding.
Peace and Blessings to you all,
Stephanie
Text: II Cor. 1:3-5
Song: Healing, Richard Smallwood
Copyright 2010 Stephanie Whitley unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved. Use allowed by express written permission only.
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