Edition #38

Welcome to "Write Your Life Forward"!

Are you here for the first time? Come on in, my Friend! We are a community of friends who aspire to see change, get unstuck, and write our lives forward. We do that by helping you study your life's story in the light of God's love story! Welcome to our cyber corner! Here's a note just for you --- wherever you are, whatever you're facing today...

How to Keep Building Community & Trust --- Even After You've Been Burnt

Of all the leadership podcasts the Husband and I have listened to, Carey Nieuwhof’s interview with Rusty George is a sure game-changer!

When you feel like your heart has been mangled by the people you love, then take courage, the perspectives of these two honest men will surely empower you to lead and love better.

I’ve listened to this podcast more than twice, and every time, without fail, a new sense of hope, healing, and peace would burgeon.

It's true --- if we want to love, we must be prepared for let-downs, but it's right here that we can learn how to trust people with our hands but entrust God with our hearts.

As you courageously step out to connect with others today, no matter how hard and impossible some of these relationships may be, remember, Friend:

Every little act to connect speaks volumes of unity.

Even a little nod, a warm smile or a friendly wave builds bridges and weaves peace.

And at the end of the day, relationships still matter.

So may I just whisper these words straight into your heart ---

Gain your validation from God alone. Look for your worth in Christ alone.

And it's true --- He has given His survivors strength to walk out of splits so they can become completely whole.

On Relationships & Forgiveness, Marriages & Make-Overs

...so, he said he's had enough.

The screaming and the slamming of doors, the accusing and then the avoiding, her fear and her rage — he’s about done with her.

She whispered back: “…not an ounce of love left in my bones to make this work.”

Said too she’s had had enough.

She hoped he’d lead and be her tower of security, not caught on in a whole web of inferiority.

Two broken hearts never make one whole marriage.

When they hammered hard with voices that hollered into the night like that, you can really feel a piercing.

A piercing of worlds that are breaking apart, dreams that are shattering into many great pieces.

And when you’ve convinced yourselves that it’s really time to walk away is when you walk away from the grace that is able to reconcile two desperate halves back together again.

When you decide to carry hurts unexplainable is when you compromise the gift of His love so unsurmountable to break impossible barriers and remake deeply broken lives.

Because we’re learning it: the burden of bridge building always falls on the one who is strong.

Max Lucado wrote this and he’s right:

“Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful.

The way to let others rise and be what you’d hope them to be is to give them space and your forgiveness, so that they can truly be what they hope to be and promise you they’ll be.

Relationships matter.

But for relationships to be at their best, we need to each day learn the mathematics of forgiveness.

That in dying to ourselves to be right, we can gain the strength to forgive a little bit more of others’ weaknesses and cover a little bit more of others’ mistakes.

That in doing so our heart may learn to stop keeping scores, and start paying attention to how we can really live.

Prayer For Our Day

This is my prayer for you, Friend, this very day:

So thank you for having me, for being a part of this community where we learn of the grace of God together. I pray that it might kindle something deep within you and encourage you to step out large and free in your own beautiful story.

x Liza