Temptations are those little voices that come to us in the form of fulfillment towards something we may be weak against, or that is missing in our lives;  Addictions, are usually the results from fulfilling these weaknesses and voids, and once started, can start controlling our very lives.  (side note: this post doesn't include something that has been forced on you without your will..this includes those things from which we have choices to partake in or not).


Addictions don't start in and of themselves, but rather through a searching for a fulfillment of some sort, in our lives.  Take smoking for example, you didn't just wake up one day and say, "hey, I think I will start smoking"; but more likely it was presented to you in the form of, "here, try this, it makes you cool", or some other equally tempting scenario addressing a void in your life.  These voids are what the temptations speak to.  


We are tempted by things that seem more exciting, more inviting and more fulfilling to us than our everyday living provides.  Rather it's some one or some thing, we all have a weakness or void that seeks attention, and satan is all too happy to provide that thing and make it look absolutely perfect; or seem like just what we need at the time.


We have a choice of whether we will act on that temptation, or use what God provides for us in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 
He WILL NOT let any temptation be so great that He will not provide you an out from it!  We just have to CHOOSE to take that out; rather it's walking away, keeping quiet, calling a friend, praying, hanging with different friends, etc., there is an out!  Sometimes, we just don't want to follow that out.
And likewise, know that temptation does not come from God; James 1:13
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.  So temptation comes from the devil knowing our weaknesses and preying on them to try to get us to succumb to his will.

I have personally not (by the Grace of God) been addicted to anything that I know of, but I have seen it's devastation first hand.  It does not mean you any good, it does not care who you are, and it does not care what your circumstances are.  We are all created by God to be loving people, giving love, getting love and living in love.  When we allow those controllable temptations to enter our lives, we are substituting that love for lustful desires.  Again, lust is not just sexual, it is pride, ego, attention, belonging, etc.; anything that you long for or have a strong desire for is lusting.

There is a way out of addiction and that is through Jesus' saving Grace and Mercy.  We are all sinners of something, everyday of our lives, and all need the covering of God's Mercy over our sin sick souls; but happy is he who has their joy in the Lord, because Jesus can, and will, wash away all of those sins if we continue to keep coming to HIM for forgiveness and asking for His cleansing Grace.  He will not turn His children away if we come to Him in true repentance.  He will give us the strength we need to continue on ONE MORE DAY, and each day that we remain under His salvation.  Thank you Jesus for allowing us to come to you when we need you and those times when we THINK we don't!  

Duct tape friends...

There is nothing like a good friend to ease your mind.  Nothing like having someone you can confide in, visit with, shoot the breeze with and just hang with and not do anything in particular, except be you.
Too often, many people never have that type of friend in their life, or they don't fully trust some friends enough to be honest with them and not feel that they will run and tell everything they talk about.

Today, reflect on friendships you may have had, that have gone by the wayside for whatever reason, those that you neglect to give satisfactory time to, and those that are so awesome, you just want to thank God for sending them your way!  Whether it was a long time ago that they entered your life, or just a few short months; it only matters that they are in your life NOW!

Proverbs 18:24; a man that has friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  We know that Jesus sticks closer than any brother, mother, sister, father, etc., but oh what joy to have that earthly friend (s), that will walk through the trials of life with you, gently tell you when you are wrong, listen to you vent, cry with you, laugh with you and just genuinely love you!  You should be so blessed to have one!

Movement...

What good does it do to be on the path to your goals, but all you do is stand in place? You have figured out what you want to do, and are sure about the first steps to take to get you going, however; instead of progressing toward the goal, you are standing still. You can't get to the finish line by standing still.

There are different things that cause this immobilization; fear of failure, fear of success, too much effort, too little effort, no self confidence and simply waiting for it to just happen. Well, any and all of these reasons can also serve as a catalyst to continuing your journey.

Take that fear of failure, and use it as your learning guide plan; take that fear of success and plan out ways of sharing your success strategies. As for too much effort, in doing more than is required, you are demonstrating your self confidence in your dream; and in giving too little effort and just waiting for success to happen, think about what you are missing out on while those who put forth the effort are moving on ahead towards their goals.

The only person really holding you back is YOU.

Take the steps today to get moving on your personal path of success. The effort you put into it achieving your goals will ensure that you have constant movement on your path to fulfilling your dreams!

Well...THEY think...

When do you start becoming the person you were meant to be? When is the appropriate time to stop being who everyone else "thinks" you should be; and to stop doing what everyone else "thinks" you should do? When do you get to be you?

Too often we live in a mold that was made from someone else's cast. It doesn't fit who we are, but we seem to like it so much better because it's coming from another person. A person we admire, or want to be like or who has lots of money and we want to be in their crowd. Why is that?

When did everyone else's thoughts and ambitions, become so much more important than our own thoughts and ambitions? When did we stop being who God created us to be, and start being who others think we should be? Somewhere between loosing our carefully created purpose, and searching for that ever elusive model of perfection in others eyes, we have become robots to other's models of who they think we should be, and how we should act and live.

Stop the endless chasing of others dreams, goals and thoughts for your life, and start living your OWN life. There is never satisfaction in trying to live up to someone else's expectations, it only leads to resentment and confusion and ends up hurting you.

KNOW that YOU are ENOUGH in Gods eyes!

randomness of sadness and hope..

We are all but a breath away from death...

The silence of life is sometimes very deafening and hurts us to our souls

We try to run but seem to be traveling to a destination unknown

the escape that we seek is ever elusive and throws us into a pit of darkness

The thrashing around helpless feeling overwhelms our desire to keep looking for that Light

Asking why, what for, how come, how long

Begging for answers that will cease us from the torments of life and the desire to succeed at all costs, no matter what the price may be

We fall haltingly into a spiral that cascades us into the arms of the comfort we seek

only to find those arms have no strength

To hold us, comfort us, lift us, steady us, embrace us and love us

Nothing new has become our daily mantra and same ole' same ole has become our friend

The darkness begs us for release into the abyss of infinity only to have our souls shattered by

the stark realization that once travel begins down that particular road, heading to that uncertain destination, we have started the descent......

We are all leaning on the Everlasting Arms of Jesus to keep us comforted, protected and secure in this harsh world of our making.