Spelling Believe

If you’re a recovering perfectionist like me, you may be frustrated with who- and where you are in your life right now. Questions like, “why aren’t I (fill in the blank)?” or “when will I ever get there?” may be frequently rolling around in your brain. Ah yes, negative self-talk. Years ago, the scripture Mark 9:24 helped me so much as I struggled and doubted not just myself, but my own faith in God. It was simple, real and to the point: “Lord, I believe. Help Thou my unbelief.” A zinger- and a sentence which changed my life! But, after the thrilling dust of that impact settled, tedious life came into the picture with not as much dramatic evidence of powerful transformation as I would have liked. Nope. I wanted “presto, change-o;” God wanted my trust, a slower, gradual, deep kind of thing, built up over time. A long time. A long, long time. Years. Uh huh. Can you hear the sound of me pulling out my hair? Enter the next little scripture ditty: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 Yeah, somehow, this one wasn’t quite as thrilling as Mark 9:24. And that was the mistake on my part. It wasn’t grabbing onto the scriptures that was the problem. The scriptures are Truth, relevant and powerful. The issue was affixing my impatient “quicker than a microwave popping out popcorn” expectations to them. Classic. And I fell for it. I wanted things done in my timing not God’s timing. Because my timing was great hot stuff, right? Yeah. And so, my little noggin ran away with the thought, “it’s not working.” Doing really great with that thinking, Sheryle. I just couldn’t seem to make the connection that God had a much better handle on me, on my life and the situations going on than I did. I was too busy… with what? With my study of God’s Word and will? Nope. With study of being more relatively patient with the process. Nope again. So, what was the deal? Me, me, me. That’s what I was so busy with. That was the deal; that was the problem. And that was part of what was blinding me to my ability to believe- or at least blinding me to a healthier perception of believing, anyway. Again, classic. I mentioned the microwave earlier. In popular culture today, the word “microwave” doesn’t just refer to the oven that’s in most homes; it refers to instantaneous results which require no time, no waiting and no patience. How many times have I impatiently tapped my foot, waiting for the two minutes to tick by on my food? It just wasn’t fast enough. Hurry up! Hurry up! I’m a grown adult. I should know better; I should respond more maturely than this foot tapping. Yet, I still keep finding myself complaining, fidgeting and twitching, doing everything in the realm of a temper tantrum, all because I want what I want right now. (I hear that Queen song of the same sentiment playing in my head). “I want it all. I want it all. I want it all. And I want it now!” Check out this image: The photograph is the way it is not because the person was bad at spelling the word, “believe.” The image is the way it is because it is actively in process. Believing is ongoing. It’s a living organism. It’s alive. We, as human beings, often have a way of creating what we believe, for good-or not so good. “…Because of your faith, it will happen." Matthew 9:29 Yikes! Are you in process or have you, instead, imposed an oppressive, perfectionistic and harmful deadline on yourself? There are even those of us in eating disorder and addiction recovery who just transfer the same perfectionistic tendencies which got us mired in our struggles into our actual recovery. There is no such thing as a perfect recovery; there is no such thing as a perfect life! All of us fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23)! We will blow it. It’s not a case of “if,” but “when.” But God knows this- and He still is calling us to believe, nevertheless. “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.” Mark 5:36 “… ‘Fear not: believe only...’” Luke 8:50 Just because we don’t see something we want instantly happening, doesn’t mean the entire thing is hopeless. What if it was all just simply “in process?” Maybe, right now, the word “believe” isn’t spelled out completely, satisfying our wishes. But believing is powerful. And what we put our attention to is powerful. What do you want to believe? The best or the worst? God has not- and will not- give up on you as you’re going through your life, trying to spell everything out. So don’t YOU give up on yourself! God is on your side! “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 Choose then to tweak your believing. Instead of believing that you have to be perfect, that you’re hopeless or that “it’s never going to happen,” believe that you are getting there, with God’s help every step- and breath- of the way! Believe that! You’re in process; faith is being spelled out for you and indeed, you are going “from glory to glory.” No microwave required. Only God. Copyright © 2012 by Sheryle Cruse

Morning Is...

All the Time!!!

Something Better...

I have a question

Do you have your own little paw raised, filled with questions about your life?

I’d say that accounts for most, if not all, of us. There are so many questions. Uncertainty abounds. Perhaps you’re at a crossroads. Perhaps you’re recently reeling from a major mistake. Or maybe you’re just simply confused. Are you asking questions? Are you asking God questions? When we’re children, we’re notorious for constantly asking why about the world around us. Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why do I have to eat my vegetables? As we mature, however, the why questions don’t go away. They just become more challenging. And so, often, we stop asking, discouraged. We can become cynical, broken adults, feeling shipwrecked about the state of our lives. Been there yet? Fortunately, God never berates us for our why questions. He encourages us repeatedly to “ask.” “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Matthew 7:7 Ask. A simple little word, but it contains so much power. For, when we turn our why questions to God, they have a way of turning into prayer, don’t they? “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” Matthew 21:22 That’s a double shot of power! No, it doesn’t mean that everything will be instantly fixed at that second. Often, we may not know the answer. But ask and keep on asking! “Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 Classic persistence! What are you asking? What’s your question? Have you turned it to God? Have you asked it in the Name of Jesus? “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24 Don’t be afraid of your questions; God knows about them long before you do. And, in all of your asking, don’t forget to ask for wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5 It may not be your desired, instantaneous answer to prayer you’re seeking, but wisdom will be there to bless and protect you in profound ways. Keep going, keep asking. Think of how far you’ve already come in your life. Think of all of the questions you’ve asked which have led you to this point. That, in itself, is such an incredible miracle! God has not forgotten you. He’s listening for your question. Will you ask it? Copyright © 2012 by Sheryle Cruse

Fear: 2 Meanings

Bagel Forehead

I don’t know if you’ve heard about this beauty trend lately: the bagel forehead. That’s right. I said the bagel forehead. Apparently, according to “National Geographic Taboo,” people in Japan are getting injected with 400 cc of saline to in their foreheads to create a bagel-like shape.

It looks a little alien to me, but really, what have we done to ourselves, all on the name of beauty, appearance and trends? How much of that has been freakish? For instance, let’s take a hobbled stroll down foot binding lane, shall we? I first learned about this custom in my high school world history class. In 19th century China, young girls believed the beauty standard to be the tiny feet, inspired by the female dancers of that era. It then, like most beauty standards, became a sign of social class structure. In the name of being a “lady,” a young girl’s feet were wrapped, early on, to reshape the appearance. The goal was to even have toes fall off, all to acquire this specific look. The tiny narrow feet of the "ladies" were considered beautiful and to make a woman's movements more feminine and dainty.

Hence, the hobbling. And that, of course, made it attractive to the men, taking on oppressive, sexist tones. The men could better control their wives if they could not literally run away, right? Ah, yes, beauty is pain, huh? And how about the corset? Yes, back in the 19th century, like the tiny feet of foot binding, the tiny waist, created by the corset, was also in demand; “Tight Lacers,” therefore, were born. “In my hourglass corset I’m laced every day, My little wasp waist is shrinking away. The stays squeeze me inwards so small and so nice, In a pattern of lacing that grips like a vice.” “Tight Lacers” Ever see that scene from “Gone with the Wind” when Scarlett O’Hara is gripping her bedpost, all while she’s getting pushed and pulled into her corset?

(A more modern day equivalent: lying on the bed with a coat hanger, trying to zip up our skin tight jeans). Anyway, because of the corset, the waist was pushed to its limits.

How tiny could we go? Never mind that women we passing out, not being able to breathe. Never mind that serious harm was being done to internal organs. Nah! Forget that! Look at that tiny waist, the epitome of well-bred beauty, class and femininity. Yikes! Not exactly empowering, is it? They say, “beauty is as beauty does.” So, manipulate our bodies and faces? That’s the ticket? Again, yikes! “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.” 1 Peter 3:3 Image. Image is king? We see the proliferation of not only eating disorders today, but also plastic surgery, tattooing and all manner of “body modification.” This is all, with the promise, of course, that once we achieve this look, our lives will fall into place. (I still don’t know how that donut appearance of the bagel forehead will do that, especially if the effect only lasts about 16 hours). But I digress. Indeed, we will try anything and everything, except… except, perhaps, God? Yes, God tells us not to worry and fuss so much about our appearance: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:25-33 God’s not opposed to us feeling good about ourselves. But there’s a difference between the self-acceptance approach and the manipulation, pushing, pulling and harming ourselves approach. God never wants us to self-injure just to attain a certain image. God already believes we’re beautiful, as is! “O my dove…let me see your form…for your form is lovely.” Song of Solomon 2:14 Simply put: we don’t need to do these extreme things to enhance or improve our beauty standard; we already have it!!! We’re already beautiful and wonderful! “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” Psalm 139:14 Do we embrace it or not? Let’s make that choice instead of choosing to look like a bagel or anything else we’re not created to be by an incredible God! Copyright © 2012 by Sheryle Cruse