Easter Week: Cleansing of the Temple

Happy Easter week, friends! I am so excited for this year's weekly texts from ComeUntoChrist.org! I will be trying to share a few thoughts for each day after my husband and I have our scripture study for the evening. Today's thoughts will be about Jesus cleansing the temple.

If you would like to read about Christ cleansing the temple, please click the picture above to be taken to a site where there is a video and Bible reference for you to utilize.

What stood out to me today as we read was the words cleanse and temple. I wanted to relate this literal cleansing that Christ performed to a symbolic cleansing that we should do daily. What I am referring to is this: Christ's cleansing the temple of robbers, thieves, and all manner of commotion is a great symbol of how we should do this daily as we repent.

When we choose to cast out things that rob us of our time, steal our joy, or cause commotion, such as sin, we are partaking in a cleansing that is only made possible through the Atonement of Christ. Because of Him, we are able to see through the trouble and evil of our world towards a brighter, more hopeful future. Repentance is part of my goal to Overcome to Become this year. My overcoming is

Won't you join me this week as I continue to learn about Easter Week? You are able to go to ComeUntoChrist.org and sign up for texts that will give you a daily challenge and purpose as you prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of our beloved Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Just click the picture below to join us!

Thank you so much for stopping by to read my thoughts today! I hope to be back tomorrow with what I learn from reading about Christ teaching in the temple. Until next time, may you find peace in Christ!

2020 Personal Theme

Hello, friends! I know I don't always write here on this blog, but I am keeping it and hoping to use it more in the coming year. I won't be setting a goal as to how often to blog, because I am a teacher and my life is not in a place where I can commit to regular posts. But I do like to set yearly goals, and this year I decided to go one step further--a personal theme.

My personal theme will be "Overcome to Become". After going through the Come Follow Me: New Testament curriculum this past year, the book of Revelation very much taught me the importance of overcoming the world. My eternal goal is to become like my Savior, so this year I will be focusing on the overcoming that I need to do in my personal life.

What will this look like? I am not sure yet! I just feel inspired to use this as my theme, with 1 John 5:4-5 as more inspiration:

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world:

and this is the victory that overcometh the world,

even our faith.

Who is he that overcometh the world,

but he that believeth that

Jesus is the Son of God?"

Some thoughts I have had are overcoming unkind feelings I have towards others, overcoming other faults I know I have, or even overcoming my inability to regularly blog. ;) I know that "overcoming" is the direction the Lord is leading me, and He has never led me astray yet. Nor will he ever. 

He has helped me overcome the issues my anxiety brought to my life, I know that He can help me overcome everything else this life has in store for me. So, with that, I will attempt to keep you all updated in the coming year of my "Overcome to Become" journey!

Thank you for stopping by to read my blog! Do you have a personal theme for next year? Has this post inspired you to have one? If so, I would love to hear about it and how you will share it in 2020! Please comment below to let me know how I can support you on your endeavors, and I am wishing you and yours a blessed, peaceful, and faith-filled New Year!

Why Don't You Get Help?

Well, I am back again, friends! Today I want to share with you why it took me SO LONG to get the help that I needed. I want to preface it with this: I am not going to judge myself or anyone else on their journey to find the help they need. Each of us struggles and each of us has to listen to God in order to find our path to help and recovery. I wouldn't change my journey because of all that I have learned, even if I do wish that I had sought professional help sooner. I don't know that I would have learned some of the things I did learn if I had gotten help sooner!

With that said, I will tell you why I didn't get help sooner. It's because for a very long time, I didn't realize that how I felt was not normal. I lived through all of childhood and adolescence with huge amounts of anxiety being told I would probably grow out of it by many people. So, I decided that once I got to college (the first time around), I had grown out of it! But I hadn't.

I also believed that if I relied on the Lord, He would take my issues away. I didn't have a clear understanding of what my mental health issues really were or what help I could truly receive. I felt that I should be able to overcome everything through prayer, etc. But, while prayer helps, I will still have trials and troubles that need attention from professionals.

So, what should you say to someone who is struggling to realize they need help? That you are there for them. Ask them what THEY think would help them. Only give suggestions about therapy and medication if you are asked. If the person mentions suicidal thoughts, talk to them about it. Talk to them about how they are feeling. Ask if they have a plan. If they do, explain to them that you feel that a professional should be contacted. Do all of this with LOVE, not as a way to control them. Many people dealing with mental health issues already feel controlled by their thoughts and issues. They need to feel loved.

Although I read the KJV of the Bible, I feel this translation of
1 Corinthians 16:14 is a better fit for this post.
This is a FREE printable for you to use FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
Right click and save, then print as an 8" x 10" print.

There were so many times I wish someone would have just been willing to talk to me and really hear how I was feeling. Mental health does not have to be a taboo, friends. We can help others realize that mental health issues effect each of us at one time or another and allow them to talk! This brings me to the end of this post because it's the perfect jumping off post for the topic I want to write about next--HOW I was helped by others into therapy and medication. Until then, I pray that peace and the love of Christ will guide your path!

Anxiety

Photo credit

Welcome to "A Higher Rock". The name of this blog is inspired by Psalm 61:2, which reads, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to a rock that is higher than I." Recently, I was formally diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder. The path to get to this diagnosis was long, exhausting, embarrassing at times, and also a huge blessing.

This blog has been created for me to share how this journey has shown me how the Lord has blessed me by putting people and situations in my way to enable me to get the help that I need. I hope that what I write will benefit those who also suffer from anxiety and other mental health disorders and help create a safe place where we can discuss the trials that come from them. Thank you for joining me on this journey!