Setting Yourself Free Through Releasing Other People

This exercise is aimed mostly at Christian people, of whatever sect, who have been wounded in or by the Christian community. It is hard sometimes, but it works. I must say,some of the injury I have had to let God help me to pardon are huge. It is not an insensitive thing for God to require this of us.it is love for us that drives this requirement.

Write down a list of everybody who has offended you,who has attacked you in the name of God for any reason, or any that can you can recall. People who, right to or wrong in their intent, they handled things the wrong way, anyway.

When done, begin at the top of the list and pray for each one of them, one by one. Don't say, "Oh God, change this person," say,"Lord, I thank you that at the cross, you paid for the mistakes they made against me and against any others they ever hurt. I thank you for the nails you took to pay the penalty for that sin against me, and to heal the rift between me and this person/this group of individuals. I thank you Lord for the good you have placed in them when you made them and called them from the foundation of the world. I ask you to heal any and all hurts in their life, that may or may not make them act ugly. I ask you to bless them, to touch their family, to grant them their dreams, and keep them safe from all harm. Let them know how deeply and truly you love them Lord,every day." If you find that you cannot do that, or that all you can do is say "God change this person, show them how bad/wrong they are/were" then you probably have unforgiveness against that person or group. In which case, then pray "Lord I choose to forgive ____, I release them to you. I accept your sacrifice on their behalf as enough to let them and all they ever did to me go. Forgive ME also Lord, for holding this grudge for so long when you have already taken care of this at such a great cost to yourself. If there are any other things I am holding onto Lord, or doing that are not Your plan for me,please convict me and show me, Amen." Then proceed with the blessing prayers. If you still can't do them, keep working with the other prayers, and worshiping, just focusing on /God's goodness and glory and what Jesus did for you and such like. Keep at it until you find deliverance. Corrie ten Boom,when faced with a worker from the concentration camp she'd been in, had to say, "God, I cannot forgive him. give me your forgiveness." Then she shook his hand, feeling nothing but coldness until their hands actually touched. THEN she truly felt warmth for the person. Sometimes it is not wise for us to have any contact with those who have hurt us,because they will do it again. It might even endanger some folks' lives! So just ask the Lord to help you say the prayer, and it will be like shaking that former Nazi's hand.
I strongly advise against  going out and telling people all the things you forgave them, for or telling others all the things you forgave them for. and other such like (unless perhaps you know for a fact they are sorry and have repented and are really hoping you would forgive them), Let it go.


You do not have to get back in relationship with a person to forgive them, especially if they don't want that and/or you would be likely to suffer again if you did so.
Forgiveness is one person's choice, relationship is a two-way street with responsibilities and expectations on both sides; it takes trust and give-and-take for it to work. Things don't have to be set for a relationship to work in order for you to practice forgiveness and set yourself free. 
This exercise, and forgiveness is between you and yourself and God, not so much you and them.
You need to let them go, not fix them. Fixing them is between them and themselves and God, not you.

Also some relationships will just have to change. You may not trust someone with your money again, you may not want to marry them, or to date them, or to let them babysit your kids or drive your car or whatever. You may become like friendly acquaintances, or be friends, but not be BFFs anymore. Or, you might be fully restored someday, but not right now and not even be planning on it. 

Unforgiveness is bad for ones health, physically and emotionally, and leaves open door for Satan to wreak havoc in ones' life in numerous of ways.
Remember who the real enemy is, you have only one. None of us are called to fight any people, ANY people; we have only one enemy, who is the enemy of all. 

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

NEVER! GIVE! UP! - A Slap in the Face with Some Good Progress

Messaged my investment-class mentor about my prospective first move. Put my car on craigslist. Saw a truck on craigslist for same price that is ten years older but still runs.

My meeting this morning could have gone better, but could also have gone worse.
My friend basically let me know he thought I was a bum.
He's in his 60's and drove a truck for over 30 years. He has a CDL and a handful of endorsements on his license with 30 years at same company and spotless record. Employers are begging for people like him, not the other way around. He has a unique situation. As a retiree, he does not realize what "2nd most declining economy in nation" means. It has to do with job scarcity, layoffs, a glut of desirable employees in job market and a vast shortage of jobs for them to fill. That means hard-working, responsible people with good work ethics can end up jobless for extended periods of time. Lots of them. Droves of them apply for same jobs, along with all the people who really don't want to work very hard. Employers don't even try to be nice to people applying for jobs and are curt, sometimes even downright rude.
At the non-profit where he works, they need people with his qualifications who will work for minimum wage. People who will do that are retired, and are often not willing to do just anything the company needs. So the company hires people who treat it as badly as some companies - like for instance the meat packing business - treat their employees, yet they continue to have a position there. Therefore, he gets a very inaccurate picture of what's going on!

He eventually changed his tune, and he did tentatively agree to be my partner. that means do the driving and the negotiating, since he's good at those things, in exchange for 50%  of the profits. We are to meet again on Tuesday. Hopefully, that meeting will begin and end better than this one began.

My poor, dear little car. It is on craigslist now, if anyone wants it. You can find the ad here.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Depression - On Getting Through It

I said I was going to post abut the issue of homosexuality,and I am.
Today however, I feel I need to address depression instead.


The holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas,and New Year's Day - are generally either highlights of people's year or the hardest time of all. For those of us without families, or with very dysfunctional families, this season tends to bring extreme pain. The sun shines a lot less for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and this leads to depression for many people as well.

It is a bad time of year, in a lot of ways, for a lot of people. This time of year is called "The winter slump." Many factories have layoffs annually at this time of year. Hours, and sometimes whole jobs/positions, are reduced this time of year and people's bills are higher. People's heating bills are higher, cars cost more to run, Everything takes more time as people often have to drive slower. Some industries will pick up again as early as late January, others will bottom out for the season right about that time. For many people. income will not likely pick back up until the same time that their bills go back down.

If someone is facing economic challenges as well as familial dysfunction, grief over a loved one, or a recent/in-progress divorce, this time of year is an absolute nightmare. Add a physical aspect such as the need for sunlight, and you have a great recipe for misery.

So, how to get through it? I am not currently on any medication, so I have to "just deal with it," right now. Avoiding a lot of sugar, especially chocolate in some cases, can help. Believe it or not, eating certain kinds of foods, like eating a lot of vegetables, can help support the body through this battle. Vitamin D helps as well, since we are inside so much this time of year and our levels of that are probably lower. Give your body the very best fuel you can because depression is not just mental, it is also physical. Helping your body as best as you can will at least reduce the depressing effects of being unhealthy.

Do not sit and watch TV, or play games for the bulk of the day. At first it may help but later you will probably feel lower than you did before. Also, those two things are emotionally addictive, like porn, gambling and other such.

I find that having a "to-do"list helps. I think of it as steps to get out of or change the situation I have. If I make the list too long though, it will backfire and I will not be able to do anything.
Keep up your hygiene as best as you can and try to keep you house/room clean - or at least cleaner. Sometimes depression makes it harder to do any of those things. Pick one aspect to work on, like piling dirty clothes into one place, or washing dishes, or putting dirty dishes in the sink or near it. Pick only one thing. If your place is a mess, what s the main type of thing scattered around? Gather that main thing(s) into piles or stacks, anywhere is better than all over the place. PIck a spot arbitrarily if you must. When it is done you may feel better and be able to pick one or even two more things.
DO NOT think about all the stuff you did not do, or did not yet do. Just think about what you did. In my case, it helps to ask myself what I would do if the mess were made by someone else in my situation and I was there to help them? Then I tackle it the same way. This probably means I do not care about myself enough...

I am embarrassed to post this but I am going to show you my room after several days of increasingly crippling depression. Then what it looks like after I have taken the steps above.

The rest of place is in varying states between the two, and I will probably make a little more progress tonight, but the whole house will not look organized tomorrow. No way.
Now you know, if you are facing crippling depression, that you are not alone and that this monster can be overcome. in increments of nothing else.

 If you get overwhelmed, try to pick a place to start with the things that are overwhelming you. If you are out of work, set a goal to apply for something. Anything. Look up the bus schedules, if you'll be using the bus, and get an idea what time you'd need to be where in order to make it a certain job that is posted. Maybe plan how you would dress for the interview in case you got one. Sometimes this thinking can make things worse, but it might make it better. Try it and see, if you haven't yet.
A saying I heard,though I don't know who said it, "If you think you can't go on,take one more step, and then, if you still think you can't go on, take just one more step..." Really,that is true, and the only way I know how to get through depression like this.

I hope that helps someone else through the winter slump" in whatever way it is affecting you.
God bless.
~M.S.