Unbreakable Spirit

 I was sitting outside with my son watching him and playing along as he "planted trees" and crashed his monster trucks and I started thinking about how the Spirit is in us. The same Spirit that battled against sin and won, is in us. "Our Helper". (John 14)

I know my writing focuses a lot on getting through hard times, and this post is no different. Times are hard right now, I want nothing more than to offer practical tools of encouragement to anyone who may be reading today. 

How do I encourage? Through sharing truth. It's hard sometimes to weed through the lies and what's true. Especially if you are listening to the news and all of the perceptions of what people think is happening on any given day.

What if you settle the noise outside and start settling on the Helper that is in you? 

I've read Scripture about what it's like to live "worldly" and it doesn't often end up very well. Yet, we all fall into it. Some times more frequently than other times, but no matter how Holy you think you are, there will be times (or certainly have been times in your past) when you have fallen "victim". You feel down and out, truly overwhelmed. What then? It's hard to climb out of those times isn't it? It can even feel hopeless.

Let's shift our mind to the Helper that is already inside of us, waiting to battle for us. Let me reword, He's already battling for us, yet we don't often notice. I tend to notice all of the work the Lord has done after the circumstance has passed. 

If we want to live in the victory of an unbreakable spirit, we need to realize how victorious we already are in Christ. This takes a lot of thought pattern habit breaking to do, but reading truth will help tremendously.

"What if....?" 

"Even then".

No matter what the end of your "What if" question is, Jesus, your Holy Spirit and Helper has got it. 

"Even then" 

If God is for us, who can be against us?

And then it hit me!

 I wrote this post in 2014; one of my favorite things to do is look back and recognize "full circle". This lightbulb moment I had then, it's still true today. God's Promises are unchanging, though our emotions do change, He is stable and faithful. 

July 25, 2014

Friends, it's been a while since I have been feeling led to write. Today, I have a message. I've been suffering inside. I've been feeling, discontent, sadness, loneliness, anxiety, stress overall, just miserable. I kept moving forward, day by day, keeping that smile on my face and my optimistic perspective, but deep down, it's been less than desirable. 

Things in life are getting in my way of happiness, or so that is the mask that I've been allowing myself to believe. Until today. I have some clarity. The enemy wants to pull people away from God. The closer you get to God, the harder the enemy tries to get between you and the TRUTH. Until this moment, I was allowing that to happen, through confusion and chaos, I was leaving a door wide open to allow darkness to come in and steal the relationship I have with the Lord. My guard is up again and I am holding on to my faith. It's a daily choice, lightness or darkness. I have found I can't let my guard down for even a second, because Jesus is the only way for me to see TRUTH in each day. A walk with the Lord is a faith filled walk, but it's a walk that must be committed to with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

"The enemy is like the weeds in a garden, if you don't tend to the flowers faithfully, the weeds sneak in and overtake the beauty of the garden. The weeds are always lurking and creeping, if they aren't uprooted they flourish and they overtake what's been planted. But, it's never too late! You can clear the weeds and the beauty of the garden comes back looking better than ever! Just like with God, every day is new." -Karrie Viscogliosi

You see, I wasn't always so close to God. I didn't work to build a relationship with God until well into my adult years. And, that's when my life changed. I was so enamored with a life that was filled with the Holy Spirit, which has been and continues to be such a blessing! As with everything else though, I go all in and my reality and logic gets cluttered when I am excited about something new and now, the realities of day to day living have once again snuck in. 

God is so good about holding my hand through this life and I am so thankful that no matter what I am feeling, I always have Him to lean on. He's been gently urging me to read my Bible and I humbly admit, I have ignored the gentle urges. The Bible has been the missing link. It has all of the answers I need, the answers I have been seeking from places outside of the Word, the Scripture, the Life Book. 

No wonder I've been missing a key piece of my happiness, I've been allowing life and all if it's hectic busyness to keep me away from The Word of God. His whispers have turned much more audible and honestly, I finally picked up that Holy Book. One night I wasn't able to sleep, I was filled with anxiety and I just needed some peace. I picked up my book. 

Once, a few years back, I was told, if you don't know where to start, when you read the Bible, start with getting to know Jesus. The books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are a great place to start. So I have. 

God is always there for me, he always knows just what to say, and He always knows how to get that loud and clear message to me. I will hold on to that, and trust in the Lord with all of my heart, and with all of my soul and with all of my mind. (Proverbs 3:5)

Change

 I was a child who loved change; to the point where I was described as "fickle" by my best friend. 

The best example of my love for change was the state of my bedroom as a girl. As soon as I was strong enough, I would regularly move my furniture to different locations in my room. My parents didn't love the fact that I would move the wall hangings around too! There were holes all over the walls. I am laughing at the fact that I never used a hammer, but a pair of heels to hammer the nails in. I did things quite creatively or perhaps we can call it innovative! :)

The first night of my bed facing a different direction was always a challenge to fall asleep, but overall, it was thrilling to shift my "world" and I did it frequently! 

Looking back, I don't know who that was because I'm not a super fan of change right now at almost 40.

Some change is good, of course, but the way life has been, it seems no matter what you choose to go forward, there is more weight to that decision. 

We are currently facing a new school year. A new school year as a conclusion to the summer some of us may have thought would never end! Yet, here we are. Facing a new, yet familiar time of the calendar year. 

I've been reflective about how much has changed since early March, when life was different. 

"Pre-Covid Times". 

I look upon "Pre-Covid Times" fondly; even though our world was quite broken then, it felt "normal".

Now, we are looking at "normal" events, such as #backtoschool yet, there is a different feel. 

Some of the change over the months has been met with downright grief and disappointment. Some of the change over the months has turned out OK, even better than the old way. We hopefully can agree some good things have come out of the changes we are seeing in this world. 

So, this is my check in. 

How are you?

Are you having good days and bad days?

Maybe today is a bad day? I'm here for you. 

Maybe today is a good day? What gratitude comes from the good days!

Maybe today is a new endeavor? Always a little exciting, yet nervewracking!

Maybe you are going back to work; the work that you haven't been to since early March? Or maybe starting a new job? 

Maybe your kids are going to remote learning every day?

Maybe you are struggling to balance work and helping your kids with homework from various grade levels?

Maybe your kids are returning to school in person, while wearing a mask all day as staying distant from their friends? 

Maybe you are feeling the weight of all of the division going on?

Maybe you have lost a loved one and are working through the grief of that heartbreaking reality? 

Whatever the case is for today, I pray you see God. I pray you see His love and dedication to inviting us to lean into Him. I pray your heart is OK, that it's not hurting, and if it is, that you feel true mercy very soon. 

Peace be with you,
Karrie