Because I was abused... by Carmen Elgen- Hurt people in turn hurt people... Part 1

Because I was abused, I abused myself and others.
Because I was mistreated, I mistreated myself and others.
Because I wasn't loved, I didn't know how to love myself and others.
Because I had such a low self-esteem, no one could have convinced me of my worth.

Because I held everything inside, confiding in someone was not an option.
Because I experienced loss, it didn't matter whether you walked away or stayed.
Because my heart broke daily, I needed something to make the pain go away.
Because I felt violated, raped, and abandoned, I became numb.

Because I told you how I felt, doesn't give you the right to judge me.
Because you don't know how I feel, empathy is greatly needed on your part.
Because I open up to you, gives you a little insight.
Because I trust you not to use this against me and hurt me, then maybe this cycle can stop.


This poem was written by one of our contributors, Carmen Elgen. We can each identify with something said in this poem as none of us are immune to hurt. Stay tuned for more on our series on Hurt.

God bless you! Please share this with someone.

Walking in the Spirit / The fruits of the spirit Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

      As followers of Christ, believers or Christians, there is a continual battle between our flesh and our spirit and Paul in his writings speaks of this candidly. In Galatians 5:17, Paul writes, "For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." As followers of Christ, we cannot do what we want to do according to our flesh but we must now walk in the spirit.
      Why walk in the spirit? Well, walking in the flesh is walking in our sinful nature or being of this world. As believers, we know that we are in the world but not of the world. Furthermore, we cannot please God, our Heavenly Father, by walking in the flesh. In John 4:24 it states, "God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." We are called to leave our fleshly desires behind and strive towards a road that leads to God.
       Therefore, to walk this road that leads us to God, there are fruits that we must bear as believers. Fruits that will identify us not only as his followers but as walking in the spirit and not our flesh. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
       Each one of these fruits will be elaborated on here, on our blog and we have already started with kindness and not growing weary in well doing. Look out for more on this series.

God bless you! If this has been a blessing to you, share it with someone.

And let us not grow weary while doing good...Galatians 6:9

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9

Good morning brothers in sisters in Christ! I just want to encourage you to continue to do well, continue to plant seeds of kindness in people's lives and to continue to do good. 

The scripture says to not get weary in well doing. God knows sometimes we will get tired and may not see the point in doing well that's why the scripture continues by saying that "for in due season we shall reap IF we do not lose heart." There is a condition under which we will reap our due rewards and that is if we do not lose heart. Therefore, we can not give up, get tired or feel

Make the homeless smile (video)

I want to share this video with you guys. It ties in with our previous post on kindness. 

There are so many negative things out there going viral, let's send this positive message out there to share the message on kindness.

Our time here is truly limited and only what we do for God will last. These acts of kindness are truly Christ-like. It should encourage us to help those out there who are truly less fortunate.

Be encouraged!

Kindness goes a long way....Ephesians 4:32

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Its been a while....Thank you for all the encouragement and all the love. We here truly appreciate it.

Today I feel compelled to share with you a life lesson I learned a long time ago. It's fairly simple. Be kind to others. Kindness goes a long way.

Sometimes we may not know how much our acts of kindness might affect the other person or even ourselves. Have you ever thought about how it may even affect your grandchildren or your great grandchildren or future generations to come? We honestly don't know the great impact our simple acts of kindness truly has.

So I implore you today to be kind to others no matter how small the act may be. It will make you feel better and it doesn't take anything from you, in fact you are storing up blessings in heaven. It doesn't cost much if anything to be kind. While being kind also remember to do it with a good, clean heart and with all sincerity. Be true in being kind.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph 4:32

God bless you. If this was a blessing to you, please share.