The Howell Blessings

Today's word : Broken Go! We've all experienced being broken. For some of us we've had years of pain,  disappointment, fighting and giving in. We've had high hopes only to be let down. We've been so angry it causes tears to stream. We've had losses of those close to us whether it was a death of loved one, the death of a friendship or the death of a marriage. They say when one breaks a bone, the break heals stronger than it was before. It has been reinforced by the scar tissue that is only there because of the break. The Psalmist says * When the righteous cry for help, the  Lord  hears and delivers them out of all their troubles The  Lord  is near to  the brokenhearted   and saves  the crushed in spirit. To heal we must first cry. Cry tears of pain,  cry in sadness, cry in anger, cry in mourning. But above all, we must  cry out for help. Until we cry, we don't release what has broken us and begin the healing. Broken...

I am linking up with Lisa Jo Baker for her 5 Minute Friday writing flash mob.  Today's word - Belong. Go! I wanted to be just like my brothers growing up, except I didn’t belong to “the boys club”. Instead I was the one chased by my brothers on bicycles holding bugs out over their handlebars, taunting me with the horrid creatures they knew I was afraid of.   In high school I wanted to be one of the popular girls. Instead my parents moved 1800 miles away as I was nearing the end of my freshman year. The girls I came to like at my new school had different colored skin than I did and because of the state we lived in and the times of the decade I was told we couldn’t be friends. I couldn’t belong in their group.   As a young adult, I socialized with co-workers and neighbors. Most of them smoked and drank and played dangerously close to cheating on their spouses or significant others. I never really felt I belonged in that crowd, always begging out earl...

My sister just had open heart surgery. For a week I drove in between OSU and my Dad's house. That was a 50 minute ride each way...every day.  Then once she was released I took her home back to Cleveland to recover. I had to change hats daily running in between being a wife and being a caretaker, trying desperately to balance the needs of my husband and my sister.  I'm not sure I did well in either department. I've been traveling in between Cleveland and Columbus for over a month now.   From my house near Cleveland to the OSU hospital is 1 hour and 55 minutes.  From my house to my Dad's house is a solid 3 hours. He lives about 50 miles south of Columbus. Family is wanting Dad and sister to move up near Cleveland so we can all help take care of each other. So I've been trying to clean, pack and stage their house.  I am trying to be very careful as I go in between being a daughter and an organizer and between being a caretaker and a home stager all the...

Five Minute  Friday . One word. Five Minutes.  Today’s Word, “VIEW”... Go! Once it was large, now it has narrowed down to a small endless tunnel. Once it was funded, now it must increase it's faith to be fulfilled. Once it was dictated to, now the possibilities are endless. Once it was sure, now, not so sure. Once it was supported, now no one knows what to support. This view, once so certain in it's picture now teeters between "what ifs" and "only ifs". Funny how just when we think we have things figured out, God changes our view. But my view is His face. When I look into it, the views of this world grow strangely dim. I'll trust Him with my future views and enjoy where I have to go to see them. Stop.

What EVER!  How many of us have said or even thought this modern phrase?  This  passive-aggressive  phrase is used so often these days and is used in place of "I really don't care" to "I'm not going to admit I'm wrong, so stop talking now." and worse still, an expletive I won't even try to explain. I know I've been guilty of it more times than I care to admit.  It is at best, disrespectful and at worst, vulgar. When we are in Christ, we should strive to constantly renew our minds to line up with the will of God.   A couple of weeks ago on our online bible study (OBS) our reflection verse was Romans 12:2. It says " Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." When we live in this world, it is so hard to separate ourselves from the daily barrage of vulga...

Week 6 of the OBS Stressed-Less Living by Tracie Miles  gets us into the chapter "I Can Do It Myself....Or Can I?". Tracie describes her young son trying to tie his own shoes when he was at a stage where he was not yet able to. Then when he was offered help he would get frustrated and proclaim "I can do it myself!" Not that long ago I found myself frustrated with just about everything that was happening around me. I thought after quitting working for someone else since I was 14 would be liberating, so why was I so irritated all the time? I was irritated so frequently that I was becoming frustrated with myself for being so irritated! I felt like I was in a downward spiral and wasn't sure how to climb back up.   Frustration is defined as: The feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something. Well that fit me to a "T". It's been a little over a year since I quit my corporate job and I am just begin...

Week five of the online bible study with Melissa Taylor  brought us to Chapter 5 in the book Stressed-Less Living, Finding God’s Peace in Your Chaotic World by Tracie Miles  This chapter titled “Take Back Your Life” was filled with so much insight it’s hard to unwrap it all.  One of the sentences in this chapter that really hit me was: ·       “True faith is not passive, but active…” The Dictionary defines faith as “ complete trust or confidence in someone or something” and “ belief that is not based on proof”. The biblical definition of faith can be found In Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1. Here the Greek translation is telling us that faith is both the substance of things hoped for and the evidence that things exist that are not yet perceived with the senses. We all have faith in something. We can’t see love, but we have faith that our parents and/or spouses hold it for us.  We can’t see air, but we have faith that whe...