Verse of the Day

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5 NIV

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: wishing success to those who have taken advantage of you is hard. It takes time to turn hate into love. But when you are able to change the feelings you have towards them, it is extremely gratifying.
Keep asking God/the Universe to help you get there.

Reflections on Remembrance Day

(C) Lynne Kirton

I attended a Remembrance Day service on Sunday.

As they read the name of fallen soldiers from the community, I was surprised and sad. There were so many names! It felt like the list would never end.

I kept thinking of those young soldiers. Did they know what they were getting themselves into? How brave they were! But also probably conflicted (from the movies I've seen it seems there was a conflict between going to war and preserving one's life - a natural human instinct). How hard it must have been for them to make the choice to serve.

What horrors they must have seen. I remembered scenes from shows like Downtown Abbey and Land Girls: bullets hissing, bombs exploding on the ground, dead bodies all around.  How scary that must have been. I also wondered how they dealt with the conflict between defending your country and not taking someone else's life. I know that God forgave them, but how did they forgive themselves? It must be hard.

Then I thought of the mothers and wives. How powerless they must have felt. There was nothing they could do to save the lives of those men. I understood their urge to become nurses, work in bomb factories, and so on.

I felt their grief. The pain and the anger. The anger I've felt so many times when I lost someone close to me. The "why, God, why" feeling. I thought of my own life's purpose and what I've been focusing on in the last 2 years: spirituality, religion, helping churches so that they in turn can help people be happier. What's the point of all this? If in the end we couldn't save those poor men's lives?

I kept trying to think of a theological explanation for that. Why did those men die? Why didn't God save them? I know that "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3 KJV) I've been able to overcome a lot of problems in my life by searching for Inner Peace. I've been able to heal a lot of things in my own body by trusting in Him (more on that on another post). But it must be hard to stay focused on peace while you are trying to kill someone else, while bombs are exploding all around you, while dealing with all those conflicting feelings, while trying to forgive oneself. Is that why they died?

I know the devil led us to war (or in secular terms, fear and negativity led us to war). Did those men unknowingly attract the devil (or in new age terms, did they attract negative energy) which increased their chances of death by choosing to go to war?

My current mode of living is to avoid dwelling on negativity (or in Christian terms, avoid thinking about the devil) as much as possible. I imagined God whispering in those soldier's ears, to dock down as a bullet was about to hit them, to take a wider step as they were about to set foot on a mine.  Or an even better thought: God was screaming at them, as loud as He could. Some could hear His voice (as an Intuition) and others couldn't. Is that why some of them died? That is the only theological explanation I can find that fits with my "God is 100% good" philosophy.

As I muddled through these feelings, of grief, fear, conflict, I thought of the comfort that focusing on God's love has given me throughout the past 2 years. I realised that I might not be sure as to why so many men died, but I do know that He was always there to comfort us. I imagined God comforting a soldier as he tried to forgive himself for killing another human being. I imagined God comforting a mother as she dealt with the loss of her son.

As we stood up and sang "O' Canada", I felt a strong sense of community and belonging. And then, the verse "we stand en garde for thee" finally came alive in me. Those soldiers stood en garde for Canada, for our Sovereign, for our freedoms. That verse is in the anthem because of them. From now on I will think of them when I sing it.

After the service, I had the pleasure of hearing the stories of Major Alan Haywood. I intentionally went up to him and asked him to share his stories with me. I'm a good listener and I love being there for people. So I thought that was the best way for me to honour a veteran and truly be a part of Remembrance Day. He made history come to life for me and I helped him keep the memory alive.

Lesson of the day

Lesson if the day: the more you live out of love, peace and trust, the easier it gets to continue doing it.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: you should always fight anger with love.

Verse of the day

Verse of the day: (Proverbs 15:1) A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Lesson of the Day

Lesson of the Day: when you have Inner Peace, Love flows easily through you to others, and back.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day: If you think about how angry you are with somebody, you'll never be able to treat them lovingly. - Joyce Meyer

Lesson of the Day

Lesson of the Day: focus on God's Love and He will help you get through anything.

Lesson of the Day

Lesson of the day: love makes everything worth it.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: it's much easier to be encouraging when you are just focused on loving someone rather than changing them.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day: Pain has a way to keep us from being able to feel loved. And if it's left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to love in the first place.
Paul Young in The Shack

Quote of the day

Quote of the day:
Humans were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved, is a limitation [that you put on yourself].
Paul Young in The Shack

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: the best way to cope with other people's challenges is to be thankful for their progress.

Quote of the day

Quote of the day: If you haven't accepted God's grace and love and mercy, you can't give it to other people. - Andrew Wommack

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: give love because you love the person, and not because of how much they love you back.

Verse of the day

Verse if the day:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: When you have a heart full of love and forgiveness, it is much easier to focus on the positive and live in joy and peace.

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: the ability to "turn the other cheek" has to come from God, and not from yourself. 

He will plant it in you when you are ready. 

It comes from a place of forgiveness and unconditional, Godly love, for the person who is treating us wrongly. 

If you have to ask "how can I turn the other cheek if this person keeps hurting me?" then you are not ready to do it. 

Keep seeking the Lord and asking Him for guidance. 

He will eventually give you the ability to forgive and "turn the other cheek".

Lesson of the day

Lesson of the day: fight anger with love.