Christina Speaks

The other day I was with a dear friend, sitting in a quiet sterile room. The wall was green, the floor tiles were ugly. There were various chairs, like medical chaise lounge chairs all over the room. Some along walls and windows, some across the interior of the room. Most of them had a person sitting in them. Some were old, some were young, some were in between. Some of them were alone and some were with companions.  They were all hooked up to lines pumping some form of medication into a port in their chest or arm. As we talked, she revealed the depth of sadness she felt each time she entered that room. Everyone there was sick and scared. She didn’t want to belong there. Yet, she is fighting cancer just like they are.  I looked around at the various men and women and smiled.  At that moment I believed God revealed a different view to me. I reminded her that there are things going on in that room that we couldn’t see (Ephesians 6:12). Not one of those people was alone. Each one was su

But even if it does, remember the Lord will be with you.     “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:3) Have you ever heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Bible? They refused to follow the decree to worship a golden statue King Nebuchadnezzar built. The punishment was death by fiery furnace. Because the men remained strong in their conviction, the king instructed his servants to heat it to seven times its usual temperature.   Guess what their response was?  “ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18)  When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tied up, and cast into the furnace, they began praisin

I don’t usually pay much attention to stories having to do with celebrities, much less find a spiritual application for them, but this one jumped out at me as I logged onto Facebook yesterday. This man, Michael Costello said that he is not okay and may never be okay, but he’s choosing to speak his truth.  When I read that, I said out loud, “No! You will be okay. You will not let her do that to you!”    Let me first say that bullies exist in the world. They should be called out and corrected. Whatever Chrissy Teigen did or said to hurt him is not okay, and it is necessary and important for Michael to speak his “truth” about it. The problem I have with this situation is that he’s given her such power over his life (to the point he would end it) and needs to take that back!    What we’ve got to understand about mean people (or people who act mean sometimes) is that they are broken. They’ve got wounds they are trying to heal by inflicting the pain they feel upon others. See them for who th

I’d like to share some thoughts again that I shared one year ago. As we continue living through a time of uncertainty, pain, confusion, and fear, we are all responding differently.   Most of us carry some kind of pain, or experience some kind of suffering in our lives.  It may be that one of the reasons it may be difficult to deal with some of what’s happening in this country. Observing the pain and anger of others, (maybe unconsciously) may remind each of us of our own unexpressed or even expressed pain. Last year, an old friend cried out in anger, publicly expressing her pain. It was the first time many of us were made aware of the depth of that pain due to abuse, loss, and betrayal. She could see the pain of black people, yet struggled with seeing so many act on that pain in destructive ways. She doesn’t do that. There were a few things she expressed that I didn’t agree with, but I made the choice to look past her opinions, and focus on what really mattered. She was angry. She was i

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭23:19‬  We are emotional people. We often make decisions completely based on how we feel. And If we don’t know what the truth is, then all we will ever do is make decisions based on our feelings, and feelings lie. One thing we need to remember is that everything we think is not true.  There have been times when I wholeheartedly believed that someone had done something to me, or thought something about me, then reacted emotionally to that belief, just to find out that I was completely wrong. I ended up doing or saying the wrong thing or wasting precious time because I acted on my feelings instead of the truth. God did give us feelings for a reason, but we can’t always count on them.  Have you ever felt that things would never get better- that you were going to remain in a difficult situation forever? Y

Last week we talked about matters of mental health and what God has to say.  If you are a Christ-follower and struggle with mental health, please understand that doesn’t mean you are not strong in your faith. That doesn’t mean you are not strong. This world isn’t as God intended it to be. When sin entered the world, everything changed. The evil one declared war on the hearts and minds of God’s people. We still fight that battle each day. One of the weapons we use to fight is self-care. Caring for our mental, emotional, and physical health is not selfish. It’s necessary.  Jesus gave us examples of self care. ‭‭Luke‬ ‭5:16 says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  True self-care brings us back to God. He is the one who fulfills us and brings us to a place of peace. In order to get to that place, there are sometimes things we need to do first. Self-care means different things for different people. It means to rest. It means to go away somewhere. Spend time at a spa. I

Listen… I want to tell you something. Pay close attention.  God knows who you are. He knows all the ways you struggle. He knows how mad you are or were at Him. He knows that thing you did, that thing you thought, and that other thing you thought no one knew. He knows everything about you and still… STILL He loves you. He’s not mad at you. He’s not punishing you. I know sometimes it feels like it, because things can get tough. The hard part about being human and living with free will, is that our sin comes with natural consequences. Sometimes we even suffer the consequences of the choices others make. That makes Him sad. God has never expected perfection, so the pressure is off. He does ask that we give every part of our best, and when that gets hard, we can count on Him to help. He will.  Now, read (out loud if you can)  and meditate on the following Scripture. Take it with you wherever you go, and pull it out whenever you need reminding. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separ

God knew we would struggle with anxiety. He knew all we would be facing. None of it is a surprise to Him. Maybe you are a Christ-follower, and you are feeling anxious about your anxiety. Maybe you thought it was wrong to feel that way, and you feel guilty, which brings even more anxiety. Well, you should know that God tells us around 365 not to fear (be anxious), and He was giving us a weapon to use against it. He knew we would need it, and He’s not mad at us for it. Satan is battling for our hearts and minds. Do not allow him steal your peace. Our weapon is God’s word. If we read it and believe what it’s saying, it can help relieve some of that anxiety. We can’t just read it once in a while. We’ve got to meditate on it. Allow it to saturate every part of our minds. “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your

All week I have felt that each of us has been one in spirit, loving, encouraging, and accepting each other wherever we are. So let’s continue today. Today I am stressed out beyond belief, but asking and trusting God to work it all out for my good and His glory. Again, I know I am not alone and that many of you are struggling with stress and anxiety, wondering how in the world God can work it out.  Well, the way He works it out may not look like we want it to, but we can hold on to Romans 8:28 that says, “ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I’m holding on to that today. You can too. Here’s is something I often do when I am struggling to trust the Lord. Will you try it too? Say, “I trust you Lord,” out loud, and over and over again until you really do.  Heavenly Father, there is so much going on in the world and in our individual lives. It’s difficult to get past the noise and focus on your still sm

  Someone needs to know this today. You are not the sum of your mistakes. Yeah, you messed up. So has every single one of us.  “...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-34) We often continue to deal with the natural consequences, but they don’t define who we are. Stop wasting time lamenting over your mistakes. God has already forgotten them. I know what you're thinking. How can God who knows everything before and after it’s done, forget our sins?  He chooses to. Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Do you know who holds us captive by bringing up our past? The evil one.  And that other person we keep reminding of how they messed up—He blotted out their sins too.  When we live inside of guilt and shame, we cannot be all that God has called us to be. When we continue to live wit

  “𝙸𝙵 𝙹𝙴𝚂𝚄𝚂 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙳𝙸𝙿 𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙼 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝙱𝙾𝚆𝙻 𝙰𝚂 𝙹𝚄𝙳𝙰𝚂, 𝚆𝙴 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝚂𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴, 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙰𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙴, 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝚈𝙾𝙽𝙴, 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙴.” -𝒜𝓃𝓃 𝒱ℴ𝓈𝓀𝒶𝓂𝓅 It looks like this may be a week of conviction and confession.  I saw this quote and immediately sat down to write about how so many of us look down on others whose sin or whose lifestyle looks different from ours-- How we won’t entertain this orientation or that--The dingy, the dirty, the down and out.  I have had no problem sitting at the table with the “undesirables.” The ones society often overlooks or looks down upon.  I was going to talk about this issue 𝐈 don’t have a problem with, until the Holy Spirit once again convicted my heart. But, I’ve always been kind to, or friends with every kind of person 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 . But there are others. I can easily love them from afar, but as far as inviting them to my table. . . That’s been more difficult.