Crushing The Idol, Once and For All
Our family has had a situation play out within the past few months that have been extremely painful for us all to process. There seemed to be an elephant in the room, although no one wanted to ever acknowledge it. We knew something wasn’t quite right, and yet every time we tried to address it, it was brushed aside once more. Nothing ever gets resolved when this happens.
The days of tiptoeing around this elephant in the room turned into weeks, then months, and ultimately years of denying there was an elephant at all. Yet, in the back of our minds, we knew. We saw, we felt, and we lived side by side with this elephant.
By now you may be wondering exactly where I am going with this and what, exactly, am I talking about here. You may even be scratching your head right now while asking, “What is the elephant in the room that she’s referring to?” It is my husband’s addiction to pornography. Before you gasp and shy away from this post, please hear me out and see how this has affected us all. It has been extremely painful, and yet, I feel the story needs to be told.
Click here to continue reading over on Jennifer Dukes Lee’s site, author of Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need For Approval And Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes, where Shirley is the PreApproved Writer of The Week. There you will find the rest of my story and how we are crushing the idol, once and for all, as well as a book at the end that Jennifer recommends to help those who have suffered through a spouse’s pornography addiction.
Grateful
This is the most wonderful time of the year, in my opinion. There is a crisp coolness in the air that lets you know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are on their way.
Several of my Facebook friends started at the beginning of November with their, “I am thankful for …” posts. They intend to write what they are thankful for each day on their Facebook status until November 30th. This is wonderful and definitely sets your day off in the right direction when you take time to appreciate the things that you do have in this life. I applaud everyone that is sharing with a grateful heart during the month of November, but why stop there? Why meditate on the things that you are grateful for only in the month of November? Wouldn’t it be better if we all got into the mindset of being grateful and thankful each and every day? Imagine the difference this would make and the change of perspective you would have in your daily life if you would intentionally put on the attitude of gratitude!
We are so blessed in this life. We have far more than we ever truly need, and yet we seem restless at times. We seek to gain more, which doesn’t enhance our character or make us people of integrity. It only makes us people with more material possessions! You could have all of the money in the world, a mansion on a hill with a garage full of every kind of “toy” ever made, and yet you would not feel complete. Money does not buy happiness. Money cannot fill your heart, but love can. And who better to fill your heart with love than our Heavenly Father. We love because He first loved us!
If you surround yourself with people that support you, uplift you, and encourage you that’s half the battle right there! With your own personal team of cheerleaders in your corner, ie: your family, you know that they believe in you and have faith in your abilities no matter what comes your way in life. If you ever had anything to be grateful for – that’s it right there! That should be on the very top of your list! So often we take those closest to us for granted. Don’t. They deserve to be treated as the jewels that they are! Value, treasure, appreciate, and be grateful for them!
As we go into this holiday season, consider all of the things that you have to be grateful for that money cannot buy.
They are there looking at you with those bright beautiful deep blue eyes each morning as you gently wake them from their slumber to get ready for school.
They are there each evening as you kiss them gently on their forehead as you stroke their long blond hair and give “just one more” mini facial as their eyes get heavy and they drift off to sleep.
They are there each morning as the sun rises in brilliant colors as God, The Greatest Artist of All Time, paints a masterpiece. And they are there as the sun sets in the evening as all grows quiet, and we stand in awe of all of God’s creations.
From the simplest things such as the air we breathe to the food we eat; the shelter over our heads and the clothes on our backs; for the gift of another day to share with our loved ones and hear their laughter once more. We have so much to be grateful for.
We are blessed in this life!
This post was inspired by the prompt word of “Grateful” given by Karen as part of Tuesday At Ten. Join her for this link up to build community! Karen visits everyone that links up and comments on their page to show her appreciation for your participation.
Veteran’s Day
Today is November 11, 2014: Veteran’s Day!
The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs states quite nicely what the focus of Veteran’s Day is truly about:
” A celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.”
They have written a very nice article on their website regarding the history of Veteran’s Day. Please click here to be taken to their very informative website.
Today, we honor all of the men and women who have served in the armed forces. My dad, Granddad, and father-in-law are among the list of veteran’s that should receive special recognition today especially! Please, we strongly urge you to recognize a veteran today. Thank them for their service to our great country!
In our town, we have A Veteran’s Memorial Park which pays tribute to all those that served. Very early on in this project, my husband and I purchased bricks in honor of our family members that served in the military to be placed in this park. Their names and the capacity in which they served will be displayed for generations to come to recognize and honor them.
We salute you all!
Happy Veteran’s Day!
