Harvest Life Gracefully: Setting Boundaries

Some of us had the misfortune not to be cared for and nurtured as children, often resulting in being taken advantage of as adults.. Because we have been abandoned, neglected, or violated by people who were supposed to care for us, we have problems with being clear-sighted when its' safe to trust others. Therefore, we often allow others to walk over us, we respond by being a people pleaser so we will be liked. To harvest life gracefully we need help learning to set boundaries to protect us from people who might take advantage of our vulnerability. We need to look for spiritual minded people who will help us to draw healthy boundaries in our life.

Harvest Life Gracefully-Survivors can be proud and feel like they have accomplished wonderful things.

Harvest Life Gracefully because survivors can be proud of themselves. There are many reasons why survivors can feel proud of themselves and feel that they have accomplished a lot, just read this article and believe!

Abuse Survivors: Remembering Your Strengths

by Kali Munro, M.Ed., Psychotherapist, 2002.

Being a survivor of abuse means feeling all kinds of painful feelings. It gets overwhelming at times, and many survivors forget how much they've accomplished and how far they've come. It's easy to get discouraged and feel like nothing is ever going to get better or that you have not accomplished anything. But the truth is you have accomplished a lot. Here are some of the accomplishments that you can be proud of:

Focusing on your healing when it felt like there'd be no end or point to feeling so much pain;

Hanging in there and keeping yourself alive when living felt unbearable;

Holding on to hope when you felt lost and hopeless;

Reaching out for support when there was no support for you as a child;

Calling someone for help when you were scared;

Speaking your truth when only a few people or no one would listen;

Protecting yourself from abusers and getting yourself safe;

Never giving up on yourself, even when others did;

Reaching out a hand to a friend in need when you were in a lot of pain yourself;

Accepting an extended hand when you felt like no one could ever care about you;

Daring to trust when no one in your life was trustworthy;

Loving your friends and partner when your childhood taught you betrayal and hatred;

Being yourself when you were trained to deny yourself;

Believing in a better world when you know full well the suffering human beings are capable of inflicting on others.

It takes great courage and determination to face abuse, to keep yourself safe, and to heal.

Harvest Life Gracefully a healing tip from abuse

Harvest Life Gracefully a healing tip from abuse

Survivors typically experience feelings of terror and being overwhelmed. Many experience flashbacks. I find that guided meditation and having a breath prayer helps to reduce anxiety and to center individuals suffering from trauma.

Breath Prayer And Guided Meditation Help Abuse Survivors

Author: Judy Brutz

Survivors typically experience feelings of terror and being overwhelmed. Many experience flashbacks. I find that guided meditation and having a breath prayer helps to reduce anxiety and to center individuals suffering from trauma.
Find a safe place where you are able to pray and experience a guided meditation. Prompts for the guided meditation are included below.
1. Imagine that Jesus or a Holy Presence, who conveys love, acceptance, comfort, and welcome, is by your side. Breathe in the sacredness. It's all right if you do not sense the presence of the sacred. Breathe in and out slowly, noticing how you breath feels. Rest. Allow yourself to relax.
2. Quietly, softly, you are asked, "What is it you want?" You know this is a spiritual question and you consider what your greatest need is. What do you say?
3. You are asked, "What name for God do you prefer to use?" You answer. What name do you say?
4. Take the name and the phrase and play with them, trying different sequencing of words until there is an easy rhythm and your Breath Prayer resonates with you. Notice how the prayer flows with your breathing.
5. Write down your prayer. Place reminders, post-its, in many places, bathroom mirror, a dot on your watch. Make it a practice to say your prayer as you go through doorways, or when you look at the time, or when you go to your computer, or when you pick up your keys. What makes sense for you?
6. Here are examples of Breath Prayers that my hospice patients formed. "God be with me always." "Bless me, Lord." "Jesus, heal me."
To heal and be transformed, seek the help you need from spirituality, social workers, and other sources. You do not need to be alone, or trapped by the trauma you experienced.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/breath-prayer-and-guided-meditation-help-abuse-survivors-2191593.html

Harvest Life Gracefully- Exclusive Videos - Former Child Star Todd Bridges - Oprah.com

Harvest Life Gracefully- Watch these clips about Todd Bridges, interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, about his struggles, after being sexual abused as a child and then not being believed by his father.


Exclusive Videos - Former Child Star Todd Bridges - Oprah.com

Harvest Life Gracefully- Child Abuse Prevention Month time to advocate for our children | The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN

Harvest Life Gracefully by keep in mind that April is child abuse prevention month. We need to be a voice for our children. Usually out of fear our children cannot speak for themselves. We need to do everything possible to end child abuse. Click on the link below and read about some of the behaviors and physical signs of abuse. If you see this in any child, it is your responsibility to take action to protect the child. Call law-enforcement or your child protection agency in your area if you suspect abuse. Harvest life gracefully by doing your part to end child abuse.

Child Abuse Prevention Month time to advocate for our children

| The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN

Harvest Life Gracefully by being informAPA Position on Child Abuse – Part 1 - We Are Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect -

Harvest Life Gracefully by being inform about what the
American Psychiatric Association’s Position Statement on Child Abuse and Neglect that was approved in May 1991. I found this information on "We are adult survivors of child abuse and neglect" blog. This is only Part 1 and when the other parts are posted, I will also post it on my blog.


APA Position on Child Abuse – Part 1 - We Are Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect -

Harvest Life Gracefully- by protecting our children from abuse-Child Abuse: Parental Abuse on Children

Harvest life gracefully by being aware of child abuse. April is child abuse month. We need to protect our children from abuse. Abuse needs to end. We all need to help to end abuse. Our children is our future. We are responsible to report abuse if we suspect abuse. Click on link below to learn about parental abuse on children.


Child Abuse: Parental Abuse on Children

Harvest Life Gracefully "Be a Voice"

Harvest Life Gracefully by following the first step of examining your life

My first step to Harvest Life Gracefully is to examine your life. To examine your life happenings, events, relationships, careers, body, attitude and personality and your spirituality.

With examining your life you are getting to know who you are and admitting what you like and what you don't like about yourself. With this information you can use what you like to perk yourself up when you are feeling down, such as lacking in confidence, and self-worth. This information will help you to decide what you dislike about yourself and then when you are willing and ready you can begin to make necessary changes.

When you examine yourself it is important for you to be completely honest and to remember to be factual and not to judge good or bad to what you see. A helpful tip that I used when I look at myself, is to look at myself as if I was someone else. Reason for this is because we often hold intense emotions about ourselves, this would be a way to detach from those emotions, that could get in our way of being honest, judgmental and factual.

Here are some other tips that I used when I examined my life. Hopefully these tips may be helpful and useful to you.

A journal is a wonderful way to enhance your life. It is a tool that can help you to admit and accept who you are and what your life is all about. When keeping a journal you can write about events, activities, your relationships, your goals, your careers, how you feel about god and or any life happenings that seem important to you, starting from childhood until the present day, once you reach the present day, it would be a good idea to continue to journal whenever something seems to be of great importance. A journal is a positive way to understand and know yourself, it can help clarify your thoughts and feelings as well as gain knowledge about yourself and your life. A journal can help a person process any traumatic experience and move on peacefully; it is a good way to relieve stress and can benefit your health and well-being.

Find a mentor, a mentor could be a trusted friend, a counselor, a life coach, or a minister. I discover when I communicated to a trusted person about my struggles, problems, likes or dislikes was a excellent way for me to learn to accept and love myself. When I see that people can love and accept me in spite of my character defects allowed me to see the truth about myself. A mentor can help you to move on from a traumatic experience, encourage you to make amends where needed, help with problem solving, offer encouragement when changes are needed and offer praise when things are going fine.

Look in the mirror with your eyes wide open, look at yourself from head to toe, taking note of every aspect of your body. Practice this on a consistence basis, daily if possible. Take notice to what you like about your body and what you don't. Look into your eyes and praise yourself, tell yourself how you love yourself and what a good person you are.

All of these tips may seem difficult, time consuming, or embarrassing to do. At first, I wanted to make those same excuses and once I realize that it was shame that prevented me from completing these tips, I began to focus on the shame realizing this is what I want to get rid of, therefore it was important for me to learn how to harvest life gracefully and find my purpose in life. This is why I look at myself as if I was looking at somebody else this way I could be more factual and less detached from the intense emotions. It also help to tell yourself when you see something you don't like to say to yourself, “I don't like this, but it is O.K.” You may need to repeat this mantra several times before you feel peace. This mantra is a excellent way to learn how to accept yourself.

When you are ready to make changes that you don't like about yourself. I found reading self-improvement books in the expert areas that I am struggling with is a helpful tool. Reading will help educate you on how to make the necessary changes. They will give you good ideas and can show you how to make the necessary changes.

I am a survivor of childhood abuse and I learn how to harvest life gracefully by following five steps, this article is only on the first step. To harvest life gracefully is not a overnight accomplishment, it takes time but when you start with the first step you will begin to feel better and better at each passing day The first step is a very important part in learning how to harvest life gracefully.

Harvest Life Gracefully by understanding child abuse

Another good article I found about child abuse. This article describe me to a tee.

The Girl, The Box, and The Effects of Child Abuse
By Evinda Lepins


She was one of the fortunate ones in this vicious cycle of child abuse, for shame keeps most victims silent while the perpetrator goes unpunished, thus leaving the abused entangled within the circle of long-term effects. With the cause of her child abuse removed, she was free to go, leaving with an imaginary box that contained hundreds of pieces representative of the effects that accompany child abuse and child sexual abuse (CSA). She couldn't put the past behind her until the effects no longer lived so deep within her. The voice of truth had beckoned her some time ago, giving her the tools to unlock the closed box and sort through the pieces. Because the effects were buried so deep within her, the process was a long and arduous one, complicated by the fact that there are many residual pieces attached to the larger ones. As the pieces were put together, the color came, adding depth and contrast, ridding her of the shame she carried within that had clothed her, which had hidden from her, her sense of self-worth because of surviving instead of relating This in turn closed her eyes to the non-development of her observing ego that inhibited her ability to see herself accurately, and what was exposed was the almost innate desire to control her surroundings due to a lack of ability to trust.

"Shame is a major companion to most victims who were sexually abused as children," caught the girl's eye as she was reading the article. Memories of dealing with her own shame surfaced as she read on, and the Girl remembered one of the first things that her counselor had taught her about, which was duality in thought. She remembered years of blaming and judging herself as a child, believing that she actually held enough power to go back and change what had happened to her, as though she could have stopped him, the one who had molested her. She was beginning to understand that this was definitely a cognitive distortion. For years she denied her feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and most of all her anger. The Girl had learned that shame and its residual effects are actually a continuum; on one side were the societal boundaries that are there to protect the abused; and on the other was shame, the extreme negative end point of the continuum.

In addition to the suppressed feelings of helplessness, powerlessness and an almost combustible amount of anger just waiting to be released, another of the residual effects of shame is the way that it had crippled her, preventing her from establishing personal boundaries, both physical and emotional. For years, the Girl had existed with the sense that her needs were unimportant compared to the needs of others, which cycled to an unawareness of what her needs actually were, and so she existed without her own personal boundaries.

This taught the Girl to survive, not relate, and because of her survival instincts, she had no sense of self. The Girl survived by avoiding pain, criticism at all costs, constantly striving to please and win others over, which created a false sense of purpose. The Girl's purpose was to love and be loved, and to belong, but this actually led to a false sense of connecting with others, and that in turn affected her sense of her own value for she found her value in doing and not being, all of which are at the core of everyone's need. She had a sense of everyone else's self, their needs, thereby becoming a people-pleaser, whatever the cost, and taking away from the time necessary to nurture her own needs, her own self.

Now the Girl could see how this had set her up for failure, because unconsciously she expected others to be aware of her needs, and when they couldn't fulfill her needs, she moved on to the next person, the next relationship, trying desperately to fill the hole within her. Little did she realize that continuing to form these relationships was setting her up for the cross-generational cycle.

There are the residual effects from child abuse and CSA. If only she would have picked up this piece sooner to avoid the perpetuation of the residual pieces, effects such as depression, sexual promiscuity and thoughts of suicide, anxiety, further damaging her self-image and increasing her shame, decreasing the ability to climb out of the box of effects.

The next piece that filled in a large gap was the effect the abuse had on her development of her observing ego -- observing ego is the part of us that watches what we do and say in some objective manner -whereby her sense of reality differed from actuality. The Girl was not capable of realizing how she came across to others, nor was she aware of her defensive attitudes and how her actions pushed people away. She continued to perpetuate the cycle by trying to prove herself invaluable in the lives of those she entwined, the motive being self-gratification under the guise of nurturing, and projecting her unfulfilled needs until she moved on in her mode of survival with her undeveloped observing ego, running further and further from her true self and her ability to see herself accurately or the emotional effect her behavior - words, attitudes, and actions - had on others. Her sense of self-awareness was comprised of emotions and sensitivities but was blocked because of the amount of pain endured by others' behaviors; therefore, she could not see others' pain that she herself caused. Hence, the residual effect of the victim-perpetrator cycle comes into the puzzle.

All notion of not being like the perpetrator is almost an oxymoron for a victim of child abuse, for the abuse itself is an emotional paradigm, i.e., the abuse is an emotionally infused effect, and creates an emotionally-prompted reaction because any perception of harm or risk, or loss of control prompts the action.

Finally, the last piece, the last effect entwined with many other pieces that gave clarity as they came together in the puzzle, was the almost innate tendency to control her surroundings, including the people in her life, due to a lack of trusting. Some behaviors of control are actually residual effects such as self-medicating, which more often than not leads to addiction, obsessive-compulsive behaviors in one, some, or all areas of functioning in life, and eating disorders, be it anorexia or bulimia, also a form of control. The Girl remembered many instances of her world being out of control and feeling the need to have control of something, and how that had led her to purging after eating. That had gone on for years until another type of behavior took its place.

The Girl sat there, reminiscing about all the men in and out of her life and how her urgency to control had been the genesis and the end of each of those relationships. Her eyes welled over as she was reminded of the way she tried to manipulate not only the men in her life, but her son as well by trying to manipulate his choices under the guise of parenting him as best she could, unbeknownst to her, creating a similar experience for the person she was caring for, becoming like the one she had come from.

This cycle has perpetuated since the beginning of time. Goodrick and Kohlenberger, commentators for the NIV Bible, concur that sin, as defined in the Bible, denotes not just a wrong, an iniquity or an offense one commits, but an infliction put upon by another. In other words, child abuse, the wrong, reaps effects caused by the wrongdoing of another, which in turn, causes more effects.

Child abuse is a process rather than a linear cause-and-effect phenomenon. It goes without saying that there follows a longer process in becoming whole; that is, the longer the abuse, the more pieces there are to the puzzle.

The Girl sat there with the almost-empty box, feeling a sense of peace that comes with understanding, for the picture that the puzzle had created was her life, coming together one effect at a time, and it was only by understanding that she could dare to break the cycle of the effect of the effects. The pieces, as they had come together, had rid her of the shame and her mode of just surviving, had helped to develop her observing ego, freeing her from her need to control. All of the pieces brought with them color that gave contrast, enabling her to understand, in more depth, how the effects of child abuse had affected her life.

Yes, there were still pieces to take from the box that would complete the puzzle of her life, but only the passage of time would reveal how and where those pieces fit in.

Evinda Lepins has firsthand knowledge and experience in unpacking the junk in her own trunk. Her heart is to help others unpack their junk and arrive at their "Destination Joyful." She uses her writing and public speaking as ways to help others accomplish this. To find out more about Evinda and "The Men In & Out of Her Life," the first of the "Destination? Joyful!" trilogy, please visit her at http://www.chicklitpower.com/.



Now lets go out and harvest life gracefully and put a stop to child abuse.

Harvest Life Gracefully- update on my story

Just updated my story on "My Story Page" check it out! It is about grade school years and school bullying that I experienced.

Harvest Life Gracefully- Don't let anybody take away your identity

When you had been abused the one thing that we need to remember to harvest life gracefully is that the abuser cannot take away who we are. We need to hang onto our beliefs, and values and continue to respond to what our belief system tells us to do.

The abuser assaulted our body or even assaulted us mentally through verbal and emotional abuse. The abuser probably told us we are nothing and will always be nothing. Our souls know better we do have the power to not believe what our abusers said or done to us.

It is so important to listen to your soul.

The abuser had power over our body and had power by throwing degrading words at us. But the abuser does not have the power to take away who we are as a person. Believe this and act as if you do believe this. When you act as if you believe, this is a way to empower yourself.

Remember, we are here to learn how to harvest life gracefully!!!!

Harvest Life Gracefully- Sexual abuse strikes four generations

It occur to me today that sexual abuse had strike four generations in my family. Meaning my grandmother, my mother, myself, and my daughter.

I wonder how common that is???

I wonder if there was something about each of us that was similar, that attracted us to being sexual abused???

I wonder if this means that the chances that my granddaughters will be sexual abuse is great?

The cycle of abuse needs to be broken in my family.

Now on a much brighter side, it is time to go and harvest life gracefully!!!!!

Harvest Life Gracefully- Update

Being new to this blogging stuff, I just discovered a wonderful thing! It is probaby a small thing for most, but for me, it is a biggie! I was excited to see that I can make pages on this blog. Since I began blogging, I was confuse on how to, post my story, only in one area on this blog. I am so happy to have found how to do this. So those who may want to follow my story can go to it directly on the My Story Page. Check back from time to time to see if I posted another part to my story, on the "My Story" page.

I will continue to post child abuse awareness information in this section. I will also post more detail information about my steps in how to harvest life gracefully. Other postings will be about healing from abuse, self-esteem, and self-worth.

I hope you will find my blog to be helpful and informative.

Ideas, constructive critcism and comments are more than welcome!

Now lets go and Harvest Life Gracefully

Harvest Life Gracefully- Received this Love Letter from God

Harvest Life Gracefully - Article by Michael Tummillo, for anyone that feels unworthy of God's love

Fig Leaves For The Catholic Faithful


By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Michael_Tummillo]Michael Tummillo

I can recall sitting in Catholic Church as a boy. I had always wondered why it was that, at Communion time, some people remained seated or kneeling in a very prayerful, pious position while others shuffled forward to receive the bread and wine. As time went on, and the length of time between my confessions grew too long (in my own opinion) and the types of sins I was capable of committing grew "worse" (again, in my own opinion), I found that, I, too, would refrain from taking communion because, in my own opinion, I was simply unworthy.

Unworthy? As time went by, the Lord has allowed me my share of ministry opportunities to Catholics. Here are a few examples:

CASE #1: I met a pretty Catholic woman in her 40s who told me she hadn't taken communion in 10 years. Why? Because she had been divorced and felt unworthy.

CASE #2: Another Catholic woman, a single mom, confessed to me that she was not only not skipping communion, but was feeling unworthy of even entering the doors of the church. Why? She, too, had been divorced.

CASE #3: At a Coffee Shop Bible Study, a young Baptist college student introduced me to a friend, a lovely Catholic girl he'd met at school. She was very vocal during the Bible Study, anxious to read the verses and had much to add to the discussion. Afterward, she asked me to pray for her. She wanted to become a nun, she said, but she had this strong desire to raise children, too.

CASE #4: A Catholic woman had become pregnant as a teen girl and gave the baby up for adoption. She later married another man and was unable to bear children. She wondered if she wasn't being punished for her past sin.

CASE #5: A devout Catholic man had an affair many years ago. In repentance, he poured himself into his religious practices becoming downright professional; a dedicated model of the perfect Catholic man. By outward appearances a pillar of faith; inwardly, like Samson, he was in bondage to those pillars.

WHO SAID YOU WERE NAKED?

Across denominational lines, the Church has declared to all people that they are separated from God, that they are guilty and that He's angry at them. We go so far as to preach that, unless they attend church on our prescribed day, at the prescribed time in our particular denomination, that they remain separated from Him. Heaven forbid that anyone in attendance should sin - at least sin in such a way that others might notice (pregnancy out of wedlock, divorce, you know...one of the "biggies). Those types will be brow-beaten and "scarlet lettered" from now till Doomsday, as they say.

Do you recall what God said to Adam after he and the wife ate off the tree? God saw that they had covered themselves with fig leaves and, when Adam said they covered themselves because they were naked, God responded, "Who told you that you were naked?"

We must answer that same basic question: "Who told you that you sinned?"

Our answers might include:

"My pastor."

"The Church."

"My parents."

How about "The devil"? You see there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ (Rom 8:1). There are two voices in Heaven, we read; Jesus who makes intercession for the Saints (that's you and me actually, not dead Christians - LIVE ones), and Satan, who accuses "the brethren" (and sisteren) incessantly.

Just as Noah's sons walked in backward and covered his nude body when he collapsed from drunkenness, after having attention called to him by the other son, Jesus, too, covers our nakedness.

Do you recall reading where He told the sinful prostitute, "You tramp! you're going to Hell!" No, because He never did that. How about where He told that obese man that there was obviously sin in his life or he would be thinner and subsequently happier and have a higher paying job and date more often? No, not hardly. His usual response was along the lines of "go and sin no more." If anything, He repeatedly told those to whom He ministered, "Don't tell anyone," and they ran off and told EVERYONE.

To the woman "caught" in adultery (wasn't the MAN caught, too?), Jesus said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more." (John 8:10-12)

To the paralytic in Mark 2:5, He said simply, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

When some guys lowered their friend through a hole they made in the roof so that Jesus might see fit to heal him, Jesus was impressed. Luke 5:20 tells us, "When Jesus saw their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

While dining at Simon's with a group of Pharisees, Luke 7:36-49 reveals how a "sinful" woman came in with a jar of perfume. She stood behind Jesus at his feet weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Verse 44 says, "Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

Hebrew 10:18-19 reminds us, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. "And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." Did you notice: no hoops to jump through; no performances necessary; no obligations. Just faith.

Unworthy? Not on your life! Don't believe the lie of the enemy that anything you ever did has re-qualified you as unworthy. I am convinced that NOTHING is able to separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39). Friends, there are NO V.I.P. Sinners! To wallow in guilt and cling to thoughts and feelings of unworthiness is to tearfully declare, "Thanks for the crucifixion, Jesus, but it JUST WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH for me!"

THE RESULTS?

Regarding those five cases mentioned above, in every instance, I shared what you have just read.

In Case #1, the woman rejoiced, smiled tearfully and assured me that she understood. I believe with all my heart that she resumed the practices of her faith.

In Case #2, I had actually driven 4 hours to teach a Bible Study that never happened once I arrived. This woman had asked me to come to her office so that we could speak. After sharing with her something similar to what you've just read, she exclaimed, "I know you drove a long way to get here, but if the only thing you accomplished was telling me what you just said, IT WAS WORTH IT!" She has since become engaged, I've been told, to a Baptist boyfriend from her youth.

In Case #3, after the young lady told me she wanted to be a nun but also loved children, I assured her that, if that was indeed her calling, a nun can love children, too. As a Catholic boy, several nuns had quite an impact on my life; they loved children and it showed. I remember them fondly. She's married now.

In Case #4, that woman now understands that God doesn't punish His family. He loves her and has a plan for her life. She is serving the Lord with gladness and has been re-acquainted with her child.

In Case #5, we can only believe that God will minister the truth to this individual and that he will receive God's grace (Eph 2:8,9), step out of his performance mode and experience the liberty that has been bought for him by the blood of the cross. Does that sound like YOU, or anyone you know?

Though you may not be a Catholic, trust me, the devil has no problem condemning non-Catholics of their past mistakes and current bondages as well.

How many sins had you committed 2,000 years ago, after the crucifixion? None.

So, if your sins were forgiven, for how long did that "offer" stand? For 150 years? For 1,233 years? How about 3,000 years? You see, everything you've ever done - or will ever do - was either forgiven 100% by the shed Blood of the Lamb of God, who TOOK AWAY the sins of the world...or it wasn't. That doesn't give us a license to be evil. We will reap as we sow, after all. But we can rest in the hope that God's mercy REALLY is new every morning.

We REALLY have been justified.

God REALLY does see Jesus when He looks at us for we are the righteousness of God in Christ.

Our debt REALLY has been paid.

Now, is there anyone YOU need to forgive?

Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
rel=nofollow http://www.yourtown4jesus.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
His mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Since '99, he has broadcast nearly 700 inspirational articles to his online subscribers and a dozen booklets on subjects sure to interest the thinking Christian and accelerate the process of spiritual development.

He is the founder of t.e.a.m. ministries. An Author, Pastoral Counselor and Teacher, his eMail broadcasts, known as "Your Town for Jesus" are read around the globe. Subscribe at [mailto:team1min@our-town.com]team1min@our-town.com



Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Fig-Leaves-For-The-Catholic-Faithful&id=524644] Fig Leaves For The Catholic Faithful

Harvest Life Gracefully- Examination of my life- part 3 - elementry school age

Down the road, a mile away from where I lived, up on the hill, stood a white catholic church, one house where the pastor of the church lived and another house where the nuns lived. The nuns job was to teach the students that went to school at the small brick schoolhouse, which was located on the same property near the houses. The nuns, were a site to see, they wore a long black gown called a habit, It went all the way to their ankles and all the way to their wrist, with a big rounded stiff, starchy collar. A white rope was tied around the waist with a rosary attached. A long black veil with a white stiff cap that cover the head, ears and side of head, no hair was allowed to be seen and the only skin allowed was the skin on their hands and face. I often held imaginary images in my mind of how they would actually look like, such as their hair and body without their habit on and with normal clothing on. Vanity was a big issue for the nuns in the Catholic faith at that time.

The school housed 8 grades, first though eighth. There were four classrooms, two grades per room and one nun teacher per room. Including myself there was 10 kids in my class, three boys and seven girls. The school 's main focus was teaching music and religion. It was mandatory for everyone to attend mass at church, every day upon arrival to school and just before any classes took place. Then on every Friday we were march off to the church to confess our sins to the priest. Once a week the priest would come to your class room and delivered a message about God and love that was long, and drawn out, which left me confuse with no understanding of the message. Religion class was of utmost importance, we were graded on memorizing all of the prayers and the catechism word from word.. Teaching what the prayers and the catechism meant was not in the teacher's teaching plans. We were taught how to read music, recognize musical instruments and their sounds, to know the names of the composers of classical music, like Mozart and Bach, and how to sing. The students of the school were the choir for the church. I went to so many funerals, that my family doesn't have enough toes and fingers to count how many. These funerals made me feel curious about life and death but also very fearful. Perhaps it's because of how confusing mortal sin was to me, and not understanding God's love and if I was worth his love. . For a preteen youngster, seeing a funeral procession with a casket and crying people was a overwhelming experience. A memory that stay etched in a mind, forever.

During recess, the girls was not allowed to play with the boys. Each class had their own designated area on the school grounds to play. There were no intermixing with other grades or with boys. A playground of swings, slides and merry-go-round was available for the really little kids. Softball was the game of choice for the older kids. Sliding on the snow was the preferred activity during the winter months. Cardboard boxes was a popular item to use to slide down the hill. It was not unusual to form a chain with your classmates by locking elbows' before pushing off. The trick was to see if you can get to the bottom of the hill without breaking the chain.

A checkered red/green jumper with a white blouse was the uniform worn to school by the girls. The boys wore dress shirts and brown or black dress pants. On a regular basis the nuns would check to see if the jumper worn by the girl was not too short, by checking if the skirt hem of the jumper touched the floor when the girl knelt on the floor. If it did then it was long enough and if it didn't then a note was sent home to have the hem lowered. The mini style was in at this time so most of the girls in my class decided to get clever, by practicing in the privacy of their own bedroom, learning how to slouch while kneeling to make the skirt hem touch the floor, without the nuns noticing the slouching. Some girls got pretty good at it because the skirt hem of the jumper was above the knee and she was able to convince the nun that the hem actually did touched the floor while kneeling.

One day when I was probably in the 6th grade, one of my classmates decided to draw a picture of a naked women. One of the nuns found the drawing and demanded to know who drew it. No body would tell, therefore the nun decided to give us a long lecture about impure thoughts. We were told how to take a bath so not to provoke impure thoughts. A quick wash and a quick dry without taking a look at your body. Keeping your eyes close maybe? There were to be no looking in the mirror at yourself either. From that day forward, whenever I took a bath, I would hear those words spoken by this nun, and wonder if I was going to go to hell for the way I was washing myself and if I was provoking impure thoughts.

I thought that the ideal of a religious school was to teach you how to have a personal relationship with God. To know God's love and forgiveness. To learn how to have faith, hope and love. The eight years I spent going to this school, taught me how to be afraid of mortal sin and intimidated by God. I was taught in a black and white viewpoint. Instead of learning how to listen for God's voice in my heart. I was taught how to listen to the you should not do this or that and you should do this in my head. I was afraid that I would go to hell if I did not follow God's rules exactly and perfectly. I did not hear anything about being saved though faith. I did not understand what faith meant until, way into my adult years and then only, after seeking counsel with a catholic priest because of the effect of what I learned though the teachings of my teachers about sin and hell

Harvest Life Gracefully- Awareness of Emotional Abuse

Harvest Life Gracefully- Recognizing Emotional Abuse

Signs of emotional abuse in children
Overly unsocial, fearful about doing something wrong.
Shows extremes in behaviors such as:  extreme obedience or extreme neediness; extremely inactive or extremely aggressive
Emotional detached from parent or caregiver.
Behaves in an adult manner, for example by taking care of other children or behaves in infantile manner, for example by, rocking, thumb-sucking, and having tantrums.

Harvest Life Gracefully- Breaking the Cycle of Abuse Part 5 - ABC News

Breaking the Cycle of Abuse Part 5 - ABC News Click Now