Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Earn the Best Days...


Signs of Healthy Boundaries


Emphasis on Mind Restored...


Castanets, Anyone?




As we bump along in life, we often misunderstand things, especially concerning our recovery. I recently caught a cartoon which captures that reality.

In it, we see Jesus and His disciples on a fishing boat. One disciple is in a festive mood, complete with some castanet shaking. This prompts another disciple’s response...

“You idiot. He said cast the nets.”


Does this spotlight, once again, our human cluelessness?

Perhaps, rather, it taps into the purposeful recovery-from-addiction meaning in our lives, should we choose to embrace it.

Let’s take a gander at the fishy verses...

“And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answered and said, ‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’”

Luke 5:3-5

Now, it’s good to be focused; it’s good to be recovery-minded. But sometimes we can get downright myopic about it. The emphasis is on survival, on not dying in some way. It’s all about self.

So, if our selfy selfish selves are running amok, it’s all the more challenging to look to past these self-interests, to consider anyone else’s issues.

And this pesky human nature often drives our whine to God’s request as we navigate our process...

“...‘Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing...’”

Luke 5:5

I mean, come on, be honest, how many of us utter that last bit of Luke 5:5, one which goes beyond the whine?

“...‘but I will do as You say and let down the nets.’”

(Crickets chirping)

Yeah, I thought so. I’m guilty of it too.

But it doesn’t change the greater work, one residing beyond self to others. It’s wrapped up in some questions, should we choose to answer them.

What if God is wanting us to see beyond our personal recovery to help someone else?

What if, on this spiritual fishing boat, Jesus is directing us to pursue the deep haul of reconciliation?

Before we nay say, right off the bat, let’s first look at the result of following His instructions...

 “He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”

John 21:6

This boat trip is often mentioned within the context of salvation. And yes, that is there. Yeah, we’re fishing for souls.

But what if these scriptures also challenge us to go still further, beyond “saving someone?”

What if we are challenged to continue the ongoing, “other-minded” work of helping someone else, via our own stories of life, struggle and victory?

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

John 3:17

After all, isn’t that what support groups and sponsors are all about?

The word “reconciliation” is defined as:

“the restoration of friendly relations; reunion; reuniting; bringing together (again)”

And we see God is heavily into this principle.

 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-9

So, you would think we’d be equally enthusiastic about it as well.

Eh...

Instead, like the castanets, we often only seem to be noisy- and miss the point entirely.

 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Why so noisy?

It has to do with our disconnection to a critical element in this reconciliation equation: love.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

John 15:12

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Yes, hippy dippy, warm fuzzy love.

But, in the recovery process, we often get caught up in the doing of things: attending meetings, gathering chips, staying on track. But do we love?

Actual applied, relevant, inconvenient, soul-stretching love which...

...honestly shares our ugly war stories with another, with no thought of how embarrassing it makes us look...

...mentors someone who’s in dire straits, perhaps, even someone who we would not consider as a friend...

...forgives our personal Judas, someone who has lied to, hurt and cheated us...

Is any of our recovery process covering that territory?

This is not to condemn anyone.

Rather, it’s the constant, encouraging challenge to go deeper in God and into our recovery, so much so, we discover the profound meaning to our brokenness: spiritual mending, a/k/a, reconciliation.

We have the invitation to be “about our Father’s business” (Luke 2:49).

When we hear this invitation, how, in fact, do we respond?

The castanets of noise? Or the “cast the nets” of God’s love?

Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse


Bifurcation: Addiction’s Jeckle and Hyde




“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:8

The word bifurcation means “the division of something into two branches or parts.” It may not be a widely known and used word within our vocabulary. Yet its prevalence abounds.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two figures which describe a person who is radically, even morally different, depending upon the circumstance.

Indeed, Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella appears to capture the chaotic struggle, as an individual wars in the battle between good and evil.

It’s an excellent portrait of addiction.

For, according to the literary classic, Dr. Jekyll, endeavoring to win that battle, creates a potion. Doing this spurs the persona of Mr. Hyde, who increasingly gains more power.

And, we see how the regular consumption of this potion becomes destructive. Eventually, the personality of Hyde becomes so strong, the person of Jekyll grows dependent upon the potion to simply function.

Again, this Jekyll and Hyde schism mirrors addiction. How many times have we heard, witnessed or behaved in a manner which is diametrically opposite of our “normal” selves? We encounter examples of “the angry drunk” or “the happy drunk.” We see the introvert who, because of various substances, becomes the life of the party.

Personality is altered. And, frequently, that alteration has adverse results.

Concerning our addiction experiences, it would, therefore, be beneficial to examine the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde within each of us.

Willingness

“…‘Do you want to get well?’"

John 5:6

First, we have to face our attitude about willingness. There is no neutrality here. We veer toward yes or no: to face our truth and to admit we need help.

Dr. Jekyll in us may, indeed, be cooperative. But, let’s be real, even if that is the case, at best, we are often clueless, even if we are agreeable.

“For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice: but what I hate, that I do.”

Romans 7:15

That’s where the recovery programs come in, touting “trust the process” and “surrender.”

“For now we see through a glass, darkly...”

1 Corinthians 13:12

We need to admit we are not capable of objectivity and of successfully running our own lives when it comes to our addictions, disorders and vices. Clearly, we cannot.

If we could effectively do that, we wouldn’t be where we are in our assorted messes.

We may be well intentioned, like Dr. Jekyll, not wanting to cause harm, believing we have things under control. Yet, we are unsupervised with our personal solution potions; and a door to someone-and something- else opens.

“...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41

So, most of the time, our “no response” to both matters of willingness and wellness, ushers in Mr. Hyde.

 “Where there is no vision, the people perish...”

Proverbs 29:18

There’s another translation to this powerful scripture:

“Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint.”

I believe that particular translation speaks more accurately of us. Here exists our dangerous addiction alter ego, Mr. Hyde. We are confronted by self-sabotage. Many of us are wrestling with various demons, compelling our passions. We possess psyches which, already broken and bruised, operate from negative assertions, things like...

I am worthless.

I am pointless.

I am joyless.

Indeed, what drove Dr. Jekyll to look for something outside of himself? Deep insecurity? Some form of “less than?”

We certainly don’t see this character as content with himself and with his life. He believed he needed something extra, something more, to enhance things.

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”

Proverbs 23:7

He, in essence, believed the hype of his Hyde; he believed that persona was his answer.

And that makes the next reality even more challenging.

The Tricky Heart:

“…‘Do you want to get well?’"

John 5:6

Before Mr. Hyde, exists Dr. Jekyll. Before behavior, comes the issue-laden heart.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34

Failure to know, to acknowledge and to deal with that truth leave us even more vulnerable to Matthew 26:41’s point.

“...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

But, if Dr. Jekyll is oblivious or hardened to that perspective, inevitably, Mr. Hyde surfaces. He is the attitude which refuses to accept and deal with individual, flawed humanity.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Jeremiah 17:9

He is that direct defiance of addiction as ugly truth.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

1 John 1:8

And, once we allow that to be our “normal,” we cross into another dangerous level. We are emboldened to believe our actions will never catch up with us.

 “He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.”

Psalms 10:6

Mr. Hyde, sooner or later, will kill and destroy. My Hyde rages against our lives.

And that affects the rubber meets the road truth of active recovery.

Doing the Life’s Work:

 “…‘Do you want to get well?’"

John 5:6

The recovery phrase, “doing the work” not only addresses the healthier action of sobriety, but to an improved life overall.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

And again, our baseline is Dr. Jekyll. He is our vulnerability and our potential for destruction.

“...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41

“One day at a time,” therefore, is the necessary, daily commitment we make. When we recognize both our need for willingness and our fragile humanity, we, in essence, say “yes” to John 5:6’s question. We engage in our work and welcome the Divine intervention which oversees the entire process.

“And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”

Jeremiah 24:7

However, if we say “no,” Mr. Hyde rears his destructive head again. He comes with toxic defiance.

 “He hath said in his heart, ‘I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.’”

Psalms 10:6

“...‘God hath forgotten... he will never see it.’”

 Psalms 10:11

Mr. Hyde’s lifeblood is denial. And this mocks our need to do the recovery work, to change, to heal.

Our Creator knows us: every thought, motivation, delusion and sickness. He knows. He knows if we are Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde right now, right this second.

“The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”

Proverbs 21:1-2

This is comprehensive knowledge of our entire health. And that health must extend beyond ourselves.

Being Mindful of Others:

“…‘Do you want to get well?’"

John 5:6

Dr. Jekyll has enough common sense and decency to realize he is not an island unto himself. There is a sphere of influence close to him. Impressionable souls are watching.

“Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”

Romans 14:13

This stumbling block factor amplifies where we stand on health and recovery. For, if we truly have embraced the tenets of sobriety, we take ownership of our influence on others. In our addictions, we have caused pain; in our addictions, we have caused others to stumble.

 “...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:41

But, again, refusal to face that invites Mr. Hyde to do what he does best: destroy.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish...”

Proverbs 29:18

Again, we’re back to casting off restraint.

Addiction, much like our dear Mr. Hyde has, at its core, rampant, potentially murderous, selfishness. All we chase is our high. How much was laid waste because we let it rip?

Recovery unflinchingly challenges the addict to face his/her personally executed desolation. And, part of that healing addresses our role as destructive influencer, luring others into disease.

Again, no person is an island unto himself/herself. The ripple effect, unfortunately, can drown anyone in its undercurrent.

Let’s face it: Mr. Hyde would rather have his potion than anything else. Nothing bothers him in the throes of his passion. A relationship or even a person could die and it would not matter. He has his beloved. Everything and everyone else is expendable, save his cherished addiction.

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:8

This Jekyll and Hyde factor, to a certain degree, affects all of us by its precarious duality.

But those of us prone to addiction have an even more intense vulnerability.

Bifurcation’s definition, indeed, is “the division of something into two branches or parts.”

If we refuse to acknowledge and deal with that, we convey we are agreeable to any misfortune which inevitably follows our self-destructive decision; it is synonymous with our potion/addiction and its madness for which we see no reason to quell.

Right now, we have a decision to make: we can choose the single or double minded path. We can confront our Dr. Jekyll, our Mr. Hyde and our disease.

We can choose to stop or continue the division. We can choose.

Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse














Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Addiction: The Dissolving Cotton Candy




I am a sucker for all things cute; therefore, I frequently find myself checking out various animal gifs online.

A recent one which captivated my attention was of a raccoon and some cotton candy. Has anyone else seen it?


A raccoon grabs a significant hunk of cotton candy and, like raccoons are prone to do, quickly rushes to a water source to “wash it” before eating it.

And then hard, cruel reality presents itself: the cotton candy dissolves in the water, instantly slipping through the little guy’s tiny hands, distressing and confusing our friend. You can almost hear him cry, “No! No! Come back!”

This gif made me think about addiction. We are, in essence, this little raccoon, aren’t we? We decide on and chase our cotton candy addiction, convinced it will satisfy us. And then, somehow, right before our eyes, its solution promise dissolves. It didn’t deliver; it didn’t last.

“Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”

Judges 10:14

And, here we are, left confused and lost. Now what do we do?

Well, cue God, right?

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Isaiah 41:10

But, do we?

That seems to be the dilemma.

Here’s where Eve, a raccoon and each of us all share something in common...

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes...”

Genesis 3:6

One can argue the phrase “eye candy” started here.

 (I know, bad pun, bad pun).

Still, we seem to be captivated with the beautiful, alluring object of our affection. It somehow sells us on the answer of eternal satisfaction, love, happiness and freedom from pain and fear.

And so, going with that hard sell, we soon find it in our hands, attempting to hold it forever, allowing it to make everything right in our lives.

But, no matter how hard we try to hang on, it dissolves in the midst of our beings. We try to grasp and chase, but it is gone. We torture ourselves by asking questions like “What could I have done to make it last?”

Answer: nothing.

That’s a difficult answer to hear, let alone, accept.

Yet, accept we must. It’s the bedrock of the Twelve Steps:

Step number one...

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction/compulsion - that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step number two...

We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Step number three...

We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Step number eleven...

We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Step number twelve...

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

So, yes, Psalm 118:8-9 is in full effect...

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the LORD  than to put confidence in princes."


No, God is not cotton candy. Or, more specifically...

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good.”

Numbers 23:19

We are not to trust anything manmade. And, let’s face it, our addictions are manmade: they are faulty, imperfect human interpretations of what God should be to us. We craft them for ourselves because we operate under the delusion that they work.

They don’t.

Again, what happened as the raccoon tried to wash his cotton candy?

“What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.”

Habakkuk 2:18-19

Repeatedly, through failure after failure, we see how our trusted answers did not come through. There were never meant to do so.

Only God...

"For the LORD will be your confidence,
And will keep your foot from being caught."
Proverbs 3:26

He is not a man that He should lie...

And He is not cotton candy, that He should disappear.

Let’s, therefore, learn from the raccoon- and face the reality of our own cotton candy, whatever it may be.



Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse


“Stay Out of It”




One of my favorite television series, “Mad Men” offers up a scene in which one ad mad conveys this message to another character:

“Stay out of it.”


Hmmm. Sometimes, that is sometimes spot-on spiritual advice, isn’t it?

Meddling or helping- which one is it each of us are doing at any given time?

This becomes an especially valid question concerning our own self-interest. And, c’mon, be honest, most of us are EXTREMELY self-interested.

The entertainer, RuPaul states it this way:

“Someone else’s opinion of me is none of my business.”

This quote can be an incredible lifeline in the context of people pleasing, versus effective recovery and a purposeful life.

Yes, in an ideal world, everyone would love us, think highly of us and have nothing but the best things to say about us. But, do we live in an ideal world?

So, there will be chatterboxes, gossips, critics and even enemies out there. And guess what they’ll all come armed with? Offenses.

“Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”


Yep, those critters often don’t feel great to our egos, our feelings and our outlook on life.

And we can get ourselves in an incredibly unproductive, self-flogging snit, obsessing about why “so and so” thought or said what about us.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. After all, reality check, Jesus had more than His share of naysayers, critics and enemies…

“Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.”

Matthew 26:4

“Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.”

Matthew 12:14

“And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him.”

Matthew 26:4

“Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.”

John 11:53

You get the point.

So, why should we expect to glide easily and unchallenged through life?

“The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.”

Matthew 10:24

Scripture, therefore, is an important filter, screening with accurate perspective, what is the true intent of a thought, word or deed…

“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

Deuteronomy 30:6

“But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.”

Jeremiah 11:20

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

Bottom line: our lives are far too important to worry about each and every opinion out there. We have too much to do.

So, concerning the next offense which breezes your way, ask yourself if God really wants you occupied with it? Test the spirits…

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

1 John 4:1-6

Perhaps, the Most High God would rather you “stay out of it.” Perhaps He has better ways for you to be blessed in how you spend your time.

In all of our “staying out of it” then, let’s remember there’s a quite helpful “do…”

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Less “busybody,” more productive child of the Most High. Let’s all choose well.

Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse






















Fear: To Be a Slave






“...‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.’”

Jeremiah 30:5



“Fear” is spoken of over 500 times in the Bible. So, to me, that signifies it’s a topic worth noting.

I believe the 1980’s science fiction film, “Bladerunner” makes a powerful statement on fear.




There are various discussions about the story and the complexity of the Roy Batty character in particular. He’s often viewed as the villain. But, if we dig deeper, perhaps there’s more to the story.



Batty is a kind of futuristic robot who has an expiration date of four years. This tactic is implemented to ensure that, in the event a robot develops troublesome feelings, emotions and agendas, humanity is safeguarded by the possible destruction the robot could cause.



However, Roy Batty has apparently experienced these turbulent human emotions firsthand; hence, he is viewed as that much-feared threat to human beings.



Therefore, the “bladerunner,” a robot killer for hire, is assigned the task of destroying him before it’s too late.



And, after Batty’s rampage and search for knowledge about his existence, he eventually shares his observation on fear.



“Quite an experience to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it’s like to be a slave.”



Scripture immediately sprung to my mind at this point in the film...



“... fear hath torment...”

1 John 4:18



I may be alone in my compassion for Roy. But I do not see him as the inherently malevolent villain. Rather, much like Frankenstein’s monster, I see the scared and sad creation of an ego-driven individual whose arrogance authored this destruction.



Fear is a painful and disorienting plague often testing every human being. No one escapes it; no one is left untouched by it.



“Men's hearts failing them for fear...”

Luke 21:26



Scripture, indeed, cautions us on its trap...



“The fear of man bringeth a snare...”

Proverbs 29:25



But Proverbs 29:25 goes on to offer us some hope, even in the midst of its warning...



“... but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”

Proverbs 29:25



“The Great I Am,” indeed, is our Source to everything we need, desire and yearn for. Freedom is essential to those Divine gifts.



“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.”

1 John 4:18-19



However, the challenge arises when many of our lives, in one way or another, have experienced some version of enslavement. Struggles with abuse, addiction, neglect and loss have taught us to be afraid. Yes, we learned how to fear. Life somehow broke our hearts and created our reached conclusions:



“I’m not lovable.”

I’m not wanted.”

“I’m not enough.”

“I’m not safe.”



These conclusions enslave us. They have us looking at our past, present and future with doubt and dread. If we’re not careful, we can come to the point where we believe life is not worth living. Suicidal mindsets flourish because, we may believe death is a welcomed alternative to our enslaved circumstances.



Even Divine Intervention can appear to be too oppressive, disappointing and pointless. We can reach a decision: it’s hopeless.



Yet, it is here where we need to discern the spirits (1 John 4:1). It’s important we recognize the spirit of enslavement comes not from the Most High God. It we experience hopelessness, dread and despair, it comes from a place of evil.



“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7



The Most High desires our freedom even more than we do.



 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15



We need to tap into that. And, even if we are in the middle of any kind of oppression or bondage, the Almighty has that covered as well.



“And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.”

Isaiah14:3



Roy Batty’s perspective is echoed in the many young people I encounter. They come from lives filled with disorder, abuse and addiction.



I hear their voices tell me “I’m trapped and I’m scared.”



Fear is something each of us faces in life. It does not signify weakness, failure, illegitimacy, un-lovability or disqualification.



Experiencing fear means we are human.



And, as those human beings, you and I are spoken to directly WHEN, NOT IF, we fear...



“Say to them that are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with reparations; he will come and save you.’”

Isaiah 35:4



There is hope; there is freedom!



Our Creator, indeed, created you to experience this freedom; you are, in no way, to be a slave.



Dare to believe that and experience the liberation the Divine wants you to live!



Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse