Friday, August 17, 2018

Water and Dust by Cory Asbury

One part water and one part dust
Yet You're still making trophies out of us
Making something out of nothing, it's what You do
Yet Your work is never finished and it's never past due
Gently Your voice like a calming embrace
Calls me from out of the noise
You whisper to me, "Child, forget not your dreams"
As we lie awake in the dark
Just don't lose heart
From the dirt to a throne with a brand new name
And the blood of the King running through our veins
There's hidden gold in these jars of clay
All these hidden crowns will be revealed one day
Yeah we'll lay them down at Your feet one day
Don't lose heart
He's got your hand
Don't lose heart
He knows your name
When everything is falling apart
Don't lose heart.

Get It Right

Today as I was returning from a walk, I changed the music to bring down my heart rate.
The song "Get It Right" from Glee came up next on my playlist:

What have I done?
I wish I could run
Away from this ship going under
Just trying to help
Hurt everyone else
Now I feel the weight of the world is on my shoulders

What can you do when your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right?

I recently started dating. Yes, you heard that right..."recently started dating." No, I didn't forget to mention "again." This is an entirely new thing for me.
I recently went on my 3rd date...EVER. He couldn't believe it. I rarely believe it myself. We went on 2 dates, but he still asked me to confirm that I had only my 3rd and 4th date with him. On this fourth date of mine (our 2nd), he made an assumption and went on to state that I haven't been hurt then. Before I could answer, he went on to talk about other things. If he had taken the time to listen (not that I was entirely sure I was ready to dig deep into this topic and share with him my past), he would have come to know that I have been hurt deeply. If he had taken the time to find out what I really meant when I stated earlier that I didn't date because I was focusing on God...he would know I meant that my focus on God was to learn to trust Him after I had lost all trust for the people around me. Not condemning the guy. He couldn't have known.
In the span of a few short years, I lost 3 dear friends that I thought God put them in my path for marriage. I spent the last 5 years trying to find my faith, hope, and trust back in Jesus. Learning that only my trust in Him and His love for me will carry me in any relationships that I form. That includes my relationship with my siblings, parents, friends, etc.
When this song came on, I was thinking about those times and how I would question myself over and over again. What have I done? Why was I not enough? Why did they not want me? How can I fix this? Can I fix this? I never got my answers, so the pain lingered.
I asked God what would it take for me to be enough? What am I doing wrong? What can I do to keep the world from crumbling around me? How many times will it take? How many times will it take for me to get it right?
People are good, though. "If he turned away from you, then he wasn't right." "You will find someone better." I hated when people would say this, especially when I was in my teen years, because of course I was naive back then. I admit it. A little bit later, I made it my mantra. I would move forward and say (with a "praise you, Jesus" tone), "If this isn't the guy, thank you, Lord for having someone better out there for me." It made the blows land just a little bit lighter. The last few blows though had me running for 5 years.
When 2018 rolled around, I knew God was telling me to start making some changes of preparation. I began to take care of myself: physically, mentally, spiritually. I knew He was telling me that I am ready and I need to trust Him.
Trusting Him, I entered the dating world. With this step, I began to be bombarded from every side about what to say, not say. Do, not do. Wear, not wear. My brain wanted to explode. I did want the input because I had no idea what I was doing. The hard part was when the world began to sound louder than His voice. The world drowned Him out. With this guy ending things, I got lost in the noise and I was trying to blindly find God again.
You've heard the stories. Seen the movies. Parents walk into a mall or fair (crowded area) holding their child's hand one minute, the next minute....No one can find the child. That's how I felt.
This song reminded me of a time where in the midst of doing everything I thought was right: being a woman of God, living by His Word, waiting until marriage...everything was still falling apart. I couldn't come up for air long enough to take a breath before I was pulled back under. It also made me realize how this time I am still those things, and things may not be going the way I would like for them to go, but God is right there. I am trusting Him. The crowds have cleared and through an opening I see my Father. Standing there smiling at me. Letting me know that even though I lost sight of Him for a minute. He never took His eyes off me.
The rest of the song goes like this:

Can I start again, with my faith shaken?
Cause I can't go back and undo this
I just have to stay and face my mistakes
But if I get stronger and wiser, I'll get through this.

So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair
Yeah, I'll send out a wish, yeah, I'll send up a prayer
And finally someone will see how much I care.

So how many times will it take for me?......until I get it right.
Thank you, God, for loving me always and forever.
Jeremiah 29:11

As always, if you are going through some struggles of your own with trusting God's plan for your life and you need someone to talk to, you can always just shoot me an email: lisavikprik@gmail.com
I will do my best to get back to you A.S.A.P.

Monday, February 5, 2018

18 and counting...

Fun story: I've lost 18 pounds.
More fun: In 1 month.
Crazy fun: I eat more...and I still eat ice-cream and donuts. "Shut up!" It's true.
Am I about to pitch a once in a life-time quick diet trick for you to join in on with me too?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!
Now that you know that the following information isn't going to be a waste of your time, I can get to the really good stuff. I haven't just shed pounds. Inches have melted away. I have muscles without flexing...shhh....it's top secret info. My enemies cannot know.
Then comes the fun part!
"What diet are you on?" "What have you changed?" "What's working?" "How can I do what you do?"
I remember asking all the same questions, and I have come to some very interesting answers this time around. Simply put...NO MORE GUILT! None. I eat a donut. So what? It's just a donut. I eat an apple. So what? It's just an apple.
One of the hardest things for me in life has always been to find balance. There were moments that I had found it, but I couldn't break through because the GUILT would pull me back so fast that I'd be putting out fires on my clothing and the smoke would linger for days. I'd sit in a dark cloud and stew. Putting myself down. Over and over again. Finding balance requires discipline. Discipline is something that can be taught and learned over time. Guilt is something that you either choose to carry with you or throw it out. I chose to carry it with me like an armor.
Guilt has a knack for keeping you immobile. If you don't move, everything can stay the same. God didn't create this world without an innate plan to have it constantly changing. Not only do things move and change on the earth, the earth itself moves and changes. The universe around it moves and changes. Guilt keeps you grounded in fear and keeps you from moving and changing.
My guilt led to fear and fear wouldn't let me move. I finally said to myself take some baby steps. Don't dive in and find excuses to stop again. Just take one baby step. Make one small change. OK. Now, take one more baby step. You GOT this! One more. YES! ...that's it. I haven't taken anymore yet. I've just taken a few small steps. I have many more to go. MANY...but just ONE at a time.

Truth time: I started doing this all by MYself.*
More truth: It wasn't until the 3rd baby step I mentioned above that I asked God to help me trust Him.
Crazy truth: It's easier for me to trust myself. I grew up that way. "I got this."
My truth: Without God. I will choose guilt again. I will slip into fear again.
Scary truth: With God. I will choose guilt again. I will slip into fear again.
I get discouraged by people who say things like, "We are His temple so we must take care of our bodies." "With Christ all things are possible." "He will never leave you nor forsake you." These are all from the Bible. Be honest. Did that just ring as guilt in your heart?? "Are you telling me that I'm defiling God's temple because I'm fat." "If all things are possible..." "...has God forsaken me." "Why can't I do this one thing and succeed?" See.
I love my church family in every part of the world...but...*sigh*...sometimes our "good intentions" rip people to shreds. What you wanted to say to encourage someone, to give them hope, only gave them GUILT. Guilt in their eyes and guilt before God. Your nuggets of love...were hidden words of judgement.
So...today I came across this, "Dig deeper to find out how to love yourself enough to cherish health. Plan better. Forgive faster. Get the healthy life you deserve." Want to know how I read it? "DIG DEEPER. LOVE YOURSELF. FORGIVE. YOU DESERVE." No matter what shape or size or color or age or height. Please know that you are WORTHY to live a guilt-free life. Once you take just one teeny tiny step...your world will be changed forever. Also, this is very important! That small step better not be something someone TOLD you to do. Let it come from within, when you dig deep down. Don't be a follower of others. I have found that people I tried to follow were in worse health than I was. Don't make that mistake. Listen to the inner most being of yourself. I'll be waiting to see what life has in store for you.

You can always email me with any questions, thoughts, comments: lisavikprik@gmail.com

To close, I am taking it one step at a time. It feels so good to not be carrying guilt. I am praying that the guilt stays far away. I hope to keep moving forward and forever changing.

*all by myself - Celine Dion's song sung by Bridget Jones in a movie about her personal diary.
*sigh* - was just a sigh.

I'm back!!

2 years!! Normally the excuse is that I've been busy...well...if you knew what happened to me in the past 2 years...I can get away with that excuse. Let's travel back in time really quick.
2 years ago...I was living in Ukraine. That's right! LIVING in UKRAINE!
18 months ago...I was traveling through England and Ireland.
17 months ago...I was living in Illinois.
16 months ago...I moved in with my best friend in Georgia.
1 year ago...I moved into a AirBnB home, still in Georgia.
8 months ago...I moved in with my folks in Maryland.
Where I am now. Phew! Now, does my excuse stand? Honestly it doesn't matter.
I AM BACK!