THIS IS FOR ANYONE WHO CAN'T LET GO OF THEIR PAST...

"When we wallow in guilt, remorse, and shame over real or imagined sins of the past, we are disdaining God's gift of grace.  Preoccupation with self is always a major component of unhealthy guilt and recrimination.  It stirs our emotions, churning in self-destructive ways, closes us in upon the mighty citadel of self, leads to depression and despair, and preempts (does away with) the presence of a compassionate God.  The language of unhealthy guilt is harsh.  It is demanding, abusing, criticizing, rejecting, accusing, blaming, condemning, reproaching, and scolding.  It is one of impatience and chastisement.  Christians are shocked and horrified because they have failed.  Unhealthy guilt becomes bigger than life.  Guilt becomes the experience in which people feel the sky is falling.  Yes, we feel guilt over our sins, but healthy guilt is one which acknowledges the wrong done and feels remorse, but then is free to embrace the forgiveness that has been offered.  Healthy guilt focuses on the realization that all has been forgiven, the wrong has been redeemed.  We all have shadows and skeletons in our backgrounds.  But listen, there is something bigger in this world than we are and that something bigger is full of grace and mercy, patience and ingenuity.  The moment the focus in your life shifts from your badness to his goodness and the question becomes not "What have I done?" but "What can he do?" release from the remorse can happen; miracle of miracles, you can forgive yourself because you are forgiven, accept yourself because you are accepted, and begin to start building up the very places you once tore down.  There is grace to help in every time of trouble.  That grace is the secret to being able to forgive ourselves.  TRUST IT." --Brennan Manning

"A SAD CHRISTIAN IS A PHONY CHRISTIAN, BUT A GUILTY CHRISTIAN IS NO CHRISTIAN AT ALL."

Currently Reading The Ragamuffin Gospel : Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out see related

Coldplay in 2 days!!!  

  i  you hunter...  

Currently Listening A Rush of Blood to the Head By Coldplay see related

ok so... my nephew is only 8 weeks old, and i think i have already successfully traumatized him for life. 

but he got over it...

what can i say???  HE'S MY VALENTINE!!!!!   

and here he is chillin' with all his friends... drew, lytton, and mase

have a great v-day everyone!

*emily*

"Everybody has to change, or they expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons. I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning."  --A Random MySpacer

SO... as predicted by those nearest and dearest to me, the feet are getting a little cold.  but, it's too late to turn back now, not to mention that i DON'T want to...  i'm starting to feel like seth cohen on the OC... pretty much acting like him, too.

Currently Listening Pretend You're Alive By Lovedrug see related

okay so nashville= AMAZING!!!  ohmygoodness i love it there!  it has completely made me rethink the whole moving to memphis thing... i mean, what's a few more hours???  i DO want to work at st. jude, but i'm also going to apply at vanderbilt children's hospital in nashville just to see what happens!  one of the reasons i loooove nursing is because it's so flexible... i literally can work wherever i want... and change my mind as many times as i want!  i know i'm so all-about nashville right now because i met so many awesome people this weekend, but give me one weekend in memphis with the right people and i could probably do the same thing.  i love making new friends... 

oh, and my new obsession: rock climbing... i am so bad@$$ at it!!!  even though my hands are SO busted up now...

Currently Listening All The Stars And Boulevards By Augustana see related