Oh the Pain

Guess what I found out yesterday. 2.25mm knitting needles, when sitting on the floor at a slight angle because of a work-in-progress can go 2 inches into a human foot without hardly any pressure at all.

Yup, I managed to impale myself on a knitting needle. 2ish inches went into my foot (not out the top, in along the bottom) and I had to pull it out. It didn't really hurt when it happened, kinda felt like when you get something stuck in your sock. Only I wasn't wearing any socks.

I don't recommend it. Not so much fun.

Why do people hurt?

My heart aches

There is so much hurt and pain and lonliness and lostness in the world, I just want to hug everyone, or si in a corner and cry, or something along those lines.

My heart aches for these people because I was one of them. I was depressed, I was suicidal, I was abused, I was mistreated and misunderstood. I was lost and felt unloved and unlovable, hopless, damaged and discarded, I didn't even believe God truly wanted me.

Then my life got turned around, I not only survived, I was healed and changed from the inside out.

Why can't everyone feel that transformation?

Most of the time the people who hurt so badly didn't even do anything wrong, they are paying for the sins of others. I hate it. The world should not work like that...why do we sit back and watch that happen.

People out there truly believe that there is no hope, that they are stuck, abandoned, usless. What are we doing about it?

Jesus can take their hurt away, but befre that can happen they need to know that they can be loved, that someone here on earth cares about them regardless of what they do or have done.

Do we have a place for the broken, for the downtrodden? Do we have a palce where they can feel their pain in safety? Where they can find purpose and be used? Do we have a place where they can laugh and cry and heal? Do people feel safe sharing their pain with us?

If we do not offer them love and hope and peace, where will they find it?

Holiness

I believe in holiness.

I believe it is possible to live a day to day life without intentional sin.

I believe that when/if we unintentionally sin and are made aware of it we need to confess and repent.

I believe it is possible to gain victory over habitual sins.

I believe when we sin we are responsible, it is not "because we're human" but because we are choosing to live in disobedience to God.

I believe that when we are forgiven we are clean and righteous in the eyes of God.

I believe God wants to work in each individual life and lead people into a lifestyle of obedience and holiness.

I belive sin interrupts our relationship with God, making it harder for us to be used by Him.

I believe no sin is unforgivable except for denying Christ through whom we gain forgiveness.

I believe that you can't stop a bird from landing on your head but you can stop it from building a nest.

I believe that in true Christian community we are responsible for holding each other accountable, to confessing to one another as needed and upholding each other in prayer and support.

I believe that the world is seeking something true, genuine, life changing and does not accept Christianity because they do not see these key characteristics.

I believe that Christians are not only held accountable for the wrong they do but also the right they do not do.

I believe there is a life free from struggle and characterized with victory.

I believe that as a whole we have sold out and settle for a life that is less than what God intended, for a life free from condemnation but not free from bondage. I beleive that we allow ourselves to indulge in sin because we have accapted the lie that we will never be free. I believe that Christians who allow their brothers and sisters to intentionally sin are supporting disunity in the Body. I believe that pride and arogance are as harmful and damaging as adultery and murder. I believe that a relationship with God should be evident in the day to day and not only in church attendance. I beleive that we have diluted the powerful healing transforming work of God into a message of "try your best and see how it goes". I believe that the reason people don't experience victory over habitual sin is because they are not taught that it is possible. I believe that on our own we will continue to sin, and agree with Paul that it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us, and through Him all things are possible.

I believe that the body has been wounded by false teaching, false expectations and false pride.

I believe that there are those who have experienced freedom and victory, and that their stories should be told and heard.

I beleive that there is healing and hope and peace available to us as we turn our hearts towards Christ.

I beleive there are those seeking a fuller life and finding it.

I beleive that those who are living victorious will be beacons of light for the rest of the body.

I believe the Spirit is moving and calling us to a standard that we cannot attain on our own.

I believe in a closer walk with God, a deeper experience with Him and a more effective life as a result.

I believe holiness is a decision, but cannot be accomplished by our will, is an act of God, and that we have our part, is personal and is corperate.

I believe that coming to God is a process and that each day new areas may be revealed to be surrended, and that through the whole process we can be called holy.

I believe that when the world sees the change that happens in a life as a result of an encounter with God they will be drawn to Him.