FUNNY PEACH FRAME
I hope you can find a use for today's 'goodie'... This peach has been a part of the Penticton beach for as many summers as I can ever remember. It has been vandalized countless times too, like so many places are, but somehow it continues to prevail – and I'm glad about this, for its something I'm sure is photographed a lot. How can you not smile at the thought of a fast food joint run out of a peach? Do you suppose the person who works within says that they work in a real 'pit'? My husband Miles suggested I make it into a whacky element for you! You might consider cutting the middle out bigger than the window there, into a square or circle for your own unique size frame hole - to fit photos a bit bigger!
typical cheesy tourist shot!
This week has been a spiritually troubling time for me and I've found myself having to 'dip into the word' to help me along. I won't be delving into any details, other than to tell you that I'm so grateful the Lord allows us to confess our shortcomings and His word provides us so much valuable advice on how to 'go forward'. I went through a bout of envy recently, and in a moment of impulse I expressed my 'green monster feelings' in a negative way in a public place. I think my incorrect thinking there was a cry for attention and it would be addressed. What I didn't do, was think any further on the impact of my words. I'm now aware that what I said may have an effect on someone I care about dearly as a friend. You know, when I wrote my words, I was actually congratulating myself on 'telling it like it is' and being open and all that positive thinking, psychology stuff... but then I was only thinking of the big M.E. - myself.
Mark 7:21-23
For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
greed, malice, deceit, lewdness,
envy,
slander, arrogance and folly.
All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'
Our Pastor spoke today on the impact of our words... the message was very good, and it shamed me down to my quick – for 'typing before I speak'. I'm grateful for the good words of the sermon, though they stung, they were what I NEEDED to hear, no sugar coating.
Wrong is wrong despite our efforts to excuse our actions.
“The eyes of the Lord
are in every place,
watching the evil and the good.”
Proverbs 15:3
You know, the funniest thing of all, is I have counselled so many people about this very thing... and its so easy to be on the councelling end, with easy platitudes slipping from my lips, like “just think of the GOOD things in your life” and “just think forward, not back” or “don't let this little thing get in your way – you're stronger than this!” Yep, SO much easier when you're telling someone else to 'buck up'...
Envy is so awful. Its so ugly. It's not a longing, its a bitter, evil, negative and addictive emotion which is dangerous. It can rob you of seeing the good in your life and cause you to busy yourself fixating on things which are destructive. It can cause you to do impulsive things and those things are usually all about yourself. Satan just loves jealousy. He can control you like a puppet if you allow the seed of envy to grow inside your heart and mind. If you realize you're at this point, you need help. Turn to God's word. Talk to a friend. Be open to hear honest opinions of those who you trust. Don't be defensive. Just listen. Pray. Ask forgiveness. THEN go on.
Proverbs 14:30
A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
Use your experience to be a little more compassionate to others when they're struggling with this issue. You cannot change the past – you definately can't go back and 'unsay' words. Pray those you've hurt with your words will find it in their hearts to forgive you. Hopefully, if you were mature enough in your walk to ask for forgiveness, they may be mature enough to forgive. But don't dwell on it. Move on and arm yourself with ways to protect yourself from this impulsive nature in the future. It's all there... in the Word.
I always want to be open with you as my readers, and share my very human nature – the good and the bad. So many of you leave me comments with praise and encouragement, and I never want to lead you astray. Thanks for keeping me accountable.
The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk.
“We try to live in such a way that no one
will ever be offended or kept back from
finding the Lord by the way we act.”
2 Corinthians 6:3
Have you had an experience with envy/jealousy you could share with me?
layout by blog reader Paula
element credits to:
natali-provance-paperdark
barbderksen_dovesolay2
dunia-grungeframes02
kclark-irregularstickeralpha
lisaWhitney-RealStampedAlpha-LowerCase
Thanks for sharing your sweet layout with us Paula! Please send me your layouts using any of my elements, for me to share. I love to see how you create your own take on them!
Well Barbara, I'm very proud that you have though carefully through your feelings and have allowed the LORD to speak to you! Also, I love you great graphics...keep it up my precious wife!
ReplyDeleteBarb ..this was awesome ...envy and jealousy do rob us of so much ..but you said it all ask or seek the Lord and He will help you thru it all ...thanks for sharing it means alot ..I know in that area ...I need to seek the Lord more ..again thanks sis
ReplyDeleteMorning Barb, WOW- you have such a way of getting to a persons 'soul' when they read your posts! Envy/jealousy is something ALL us humans struggle through, I think on a daily basis if we are really honest with ourselves. Thank you for the 'grounding'! I made the weekend- hahahahaha, and I have an internet connection now that seems to be flying full speed ahead! YIPPPEEEE- just wanted to pop in and leave love. Love the tourist pic- hee hee, We have a huge pineapple just outside out city- mmm, think I need to go dig in the old box of photo's again- LOL
ReplyDeleteChat later- need coffee now as this was my first stop and it's still early- well the sleep is still encrusted to the eyelashes- hahah
Sending hugs
Me
OOOH- Forgot- LOL-
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY- I hope you had the most amazing day and that your year ahead is filled with all you wish yourself and more-
hugs
Kim
Good Morning Barb:)
ReplyDeleteCheer up kiddo...we have all been there and done that.:)
I am in a real hurry and will have to come back but had to leave this for you..
Romans 7
Our Father is really good at cleaning up our messes.:)I have handed him a few in my lifetime.LOL
Hugs,
Valinda
p.s. Can't read that without following through with the first part of chapter 8 Hugs again:)
ReplyDeleteGood morning my friend! What a busy BUSY week it has been for me. I'm plum exhausted. Just wanted to pop in & say hi - saw I missed your call. Hugs & Love to you! I love the peach pictures.
ReplyDeleteI've struggled with a bit of this the past couple of weeks myself! My husband and I are both in the same professional field. We both applied for the job he got 4 years ago (they wouldn't even give me an interview, in spite of the fact that my resume is excellent). That was tough, since he waited until the very last minute to apply, and I had applied right away.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, a job we've each identified as a "dream" job has opened up. It's not something you can apply for, however -- it takes the right connections. And I've not only been home for the past few years, and am out of the loop, I know he will always have the edge on things like this. The men in my field always do, and, because he's 7 years older, he's always going to have more experience, too (especially after his most recent job experience).
I have counselled and comforted myself by reminding myself that I'm on a different life path than my husband, and have prayed that I be open to God's will, and not impose my own, and to have the strength to last through this trial. It has helped most of the time, and I don't think my husband even realizes how much I've struggled with this latest bout of career disappointment (though he hasn't discussed the issue at all since I first let him know the job was open, so perhaps he does know how deeply frustrated I am at this point).
The past few years have been very difficult for me on both a career level, and a health level. I was hopeful and convinced that my window would open after the door closed on my last job 4 years ago, but I've lost a lot of that hope now, bit by bit as time has passed. I realize that patience is part of submitting to God's will, and not my own, however, and that his time frames often differ from what we want for ourselves. Most of the time I do well with this, but the frustration occasionally bubbles up, usually when I see someone else I know making career advances.
I know this time has not been wasted, however, and I've helped many people, and learned as much as I can from my experiences. And someday, I believe, I will be able to put this experience to use. It just would help, even the slightest bit, if I could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and know with some certainty that the darkness would be over eventually. But I guess that is the trial of the soul I'm meant to struggle with for now, and grow from the experience. It's just not what I expected at this stage in my life. But then, life is what happens while you're making other plans, isn't it? (in the words of John Lennon).
Thanks for the thoughts! :-)
BIG HUGS BARB!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNo one is perfect no matter how hard they try and God does for give us for our sins!!!
Boy I had to take a second look at this I thought it was a pumpkin at first!!!
Its awesome!!!!
TY so very much!!!!!!!!!!!!
Barb.... You are such a AWESOME woman... I know I am older than you... but I want to be like you when I grow up. =)
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss your birthday? I'm I completely clueless or what. I'm sorry that you've been struggling with that green-eyed monster but am so happy that you have your faith to guide you thru. I've been there myself but don't have any "bad" stories to share, probably my selective memory at work. On a good note I used your John Cross and Dove overlay to make a flyer for inviting people in my neighborhood to church. We're having a big to-do and we're all supposed to invite our neighbors, then your elements popped into my mind when I was making it so thanks for that sweetie!
ReplyDeleteHugs and a happy belated b-day!
-Amy
Not sure what exactly happened, so really cannot say anything. But in my experience people that realise of something like that do tend to be harder on themselves than anyone else. So I hope you are not harder on yourself that you should. :) About envy like everything else, I believe that it's not per se a bad thing. It's more a matter of measure than being a bad thing on its own. Envying something and that being a feeling that encourages to do something positive, is not in my opinion bad as it's a positive attitude and so long as it's not destructive there is nothing bad with it. I'm not sure whether I have explained myself well, but I hope this might be of help. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you have a great time celebrating your birthday. :)
Many thanks for everything and best wishes. :O)
PS. I think you were looking for me and I had already sent you an email to the email address you put in the blog. I hope you had received it. Best wishes. :O)
This was nice to read! I am struggling with envy and jealousy today. My husband just found out he will be heading out to this awesome resort in Texas for a meeting next year! I wish so much I could be there. I hate the thought of him being there having so much fun without me. Isn't that awful!
ReplyDeleteGlad I looked at your blog today!
Good Evening Barb:)
ReplyDeleteSeems I always catch you on the run.LOL My Dh has told me three or four times now that he is going to bed.But he NEVER goes without me...so I am in a hurry again.:)
Just wanted to stop in and say hi:) Hope everything is okay.:)Will try to stop back in when I can stay a minute or two.:)
Hugs,
Valinda
me again! I have been pondering this for a couple of days now, and came to the realization that feelings of grief are inextricably intertwined with most episodes of jealousy (at least for me): Grief for dreams that have died (or have been indefinitely postponed) and expectations that have not been met, or for a path that has been left behind or delayed or denied in some way. I almost never experience any kind of envy for the good fortune of others that is outside my own life plans - if I didn't want it before their good fortune, I don't crave it enough to be envious of their experience.
ReplyDeleteIt also occurred to me that if you remember the five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, & Acceptance, according to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's work, Death & Dying), and that Kubler-Ross indicated that most people experience at least 2 of the stages (in no particular order), I think Anger (and acting or speaking out) is within the range of expected responses. I tend, on the other hand, to respond primarily with sadness. It can take me years to move through the stages, until I reach acceptance (even if I recognize that my other behavior isn't useful or appropriate [such as envy]). Perhaps I spend too long in denial.
One source I looked at this morning suggested that envy is rooted in self-esteem issues. Somehow, by someone else having what we want, and ourselves not having it, threatens how we feel about ourselves. I think there is a lot of truth to that concept, too, and plays into to the potential for grief in such a situation.
Anyway, I just thought this might be a different perspective on what we go through when we experience envy. It's not a justification, but possibly a partial explanation worth noodling a bit. (Analyzing something & understanding it better helps me deal with it better.)
Good Afternoon Barb:)
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to stop by again and say hi and see what you are up to.Thanks for coming to see me and letting me know what you are doing now.Sometimes I feel like I am too old to learn new tricks..I sure could envy you if I wanted to.LOL
I told you I would come back...so here I am.LOL
You are who you are..what God made you to be.Some of us are hands..some are feet..some of us are uncomely parts..but very necessary in the body.Try getting along without a rectum or intestines..something that is seldom seen but necessary for our daily lives...and for the rest of our body to function properly.The whole body goes into tilt when one of the parts doesn't funtion like they are suppose to.Right? Well..this is what he is saying about some of the uncomely parts having more honor.Without the legs..the body doesn't walk properly..with out the foot..the leg can't function properly..Every single part of the body is necessary for the WHOLE body.God is the potter and we are the clay...let him mold you into what he would have you to be and you will be used and given much honor.Afterall..we are to be humble and meek and servants to all...I am preaching to myself too..so don't feel like I am picking on you.LOL I have scrappers who wish they could do what I do...and I wish I could do what I see some others do.But I am who I am until God changes me into something different.:)
As far as beating yourself up about it..don't!! Just chalk it up to a lesson learned and go on from there.:)The Lord has been teaching us a lot the last few months..getting us ready for the ministry..and the closer we get to him..the more we realize...the less we know.:)God doesn't look at our "fleshly deeds" they are forgiven and cast into the sea...he sees our"Spitiual" growth and our love for him..that is what counts to him...he is the one who molds us and makes us into what he designed us to be before we were ever born.He sees the finished product..Our part???Submit..yield..and turn our free will over to him.:)He doesn't force us to do his will...he already knows what we are and who we will become.After all..he is resting from ALL his work.:)If Jesus is the Author and finisher of our faith...which I believe he is....then you have nothing to worry about.:) You are in excellent hands.So ..that is why I said..cheer up! You will turn out to be exactly who you are suppose to be.:)
Just in case you question this...how can God send prophets to tell the people what will happen and also tell Peter how he will die..if he doesn't already know the end of the book?:)God is more awesome than any mere man can fathom.:)
When we let guilt take over our lives..we hide from God..like Adam and Eve did.When we realize ..God's love for us and forgiveness..we can run into his arms and know..he understands and will give us a big hug.:)So..run honey!!LOL
If you don't want to post this..that is okay..it's for you ..and me anyway.:)
Hugs,
Valinda
Hi Barb- just to let you know that I used your "star swirly overlay" for a Book of Me challenge- ( EEK- I find those sooo hard to do- almost makes me feel vain- hahahaha)- anyway it's pasted on my blog today-
ReplyDeleteSending big hugs
Kim