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Stages of Grief and Loss

These are the stages of grief and loss which may not necessarily manifest in this order:

1. Denial

2. Guilt

3. Anger

4. Sadness

5. Acceptance

Once acceptance has been achieved, there are certain trigger points which may cause the cycle to loop back around to a stage that has already been experienced, i.e. birthday of a loved one, Christmas, family gatherings.

The best advice I can give in ministering to a friend like this is first of all to make sure that this sister is attempting to "put on the joy of the Lord" even through the valley. Give her a little humor litmus test. Can she laugh at her mistakes or her plight in life? Laughter through tears is a sign that she is still singing within the storm. Secondly, put an arm around her. "Nothing you can tell me will shock me out of being your friend. I've put this information in my secret vault, only to be discussed with you and no other." Say these words to her, "I'll stand with you." Finally, help to keep her grounded in the word by sharing daily what God is doing in your own spiritual walk. Remember, God has not called us to be the convictor or judge of sin. Our job is to be His light in the places where their is darkness.

We walk a very fine line when it comes to helping others deal with loss. Ask God for guidance and the capacity for love toward others. He will not abandon you in this endeavor.

Ready for the Masks to Fall

Revival is a time when the masks come off and everyone gets totally honest about sin and who they are in Christ. Let me ask you, is your ministry equipped to handle true Holy Spirit revival? How can you ever know? Are you already responding to divorce, drug addiction, sexual addiction, grief recovery, etc. prior to the scheduled "revival" event? Are you ready for an outpouring of honesty from the congregants?

When a sinner notices that a church is already meeting those needs of the downtrodden, they will most likely feel much more apt to trust Christ. We know that Jesus cares about this, for his words from Isaiah 61 are the very passage in which he revealed his identity to the teachers of the law in declaring, "I who speak to you am He --" meaning the one who has come to heal the brokenhearted, set the captive free, etc.

Furthermore, it was Jesus who looked straight into the eyes of the prostitute Mary Magdalene and had mercy on her very soul. "Go and sin no more." He was future-focused rather than past-focused. Once Jesus came into Mary Magdalene's life, she stood forgiven in the midst of a culture pregnant with judgement.

So may we be ever-mindful of any sole demand that the broken man find revival without finding ourselves fully ready to provide rescue and recovery to the sickness from which he may be suffering. Moreover, if every mask was to fall, we don't want to stand there dumbfounded if true Holy Spirit revival were to take place. Let's have the feet of readiness.

To the broken man I would say, "Arise, beloved. You're God is a God who sees. His church is alive and well. It is a church emerging. A community of true, new-testament believers who believe in the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let not your heart be troubled."

About Me Continued

To finish reading my bio....go to The Soapbox in Link Love. You'll find the rest of the story. Left 'ya hanging. Sorry. Brandi

How to Pray for Your Husband

A friend of mine gave me this great little prayer card index that she created using her home printer. I love it. It is an index that helps me to pray for my husband from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. The prayer could use scripture and sound something like this:

May the God of peace Himself make ________ (husband's name here) entirely pure and devoted to God; and may _________'s spirit, soul, and body be kept strong and blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes back again."

1 Thessalonians 5:23