for KING & COUNTRY - God Only Knows where to find you, God only knows the real you

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Psalm 139:15

Suicide is a really big problem in our country. First some statistics:

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in this country.
In 2017, 47, 173 American's committed suicide.
In 2017, there were 1,400,000 suicide attempts.
In 2015, suicide and self-injury cost the government 69 billion dollars.



In an article found in the Washington Post, Joshua Gordon, National Institute of Mental health had this to say about this subject: "The problems most frequently associated with suicide, according to the study, are strained relationships; life stressors, often involving work or finances; substance use problems; physical health conditions; and recent or impending crises. The most important takeaway, mental health professionals say, is that suicide is an issue not only for the mentally ill but for anyone struggling with serious lifestyle problems.     https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/06/07/u-s-suicide-rates-rise-sharply-across-the-country-new-report-shows/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6371af32269c

A couple of months after my daughter died suddenly following her surgery I knew I needed to get help when my depression, stomach problems and my fear I had failed as a father to bring her to adulthood and I made the appointment to see my primary doctor and later on a good psychologist to help me cope.

Life is going to be hard at times for everyone. Situational problems such as job loss,  financial problems, threatening health diagnosis, relationship problems, problems with addiction are reasons why people need to enlarge their circle of friends.

It was at one appointment with my primary doctor that he shared with me that he too struggled after his brother died years ago. He was the person who shared with me that when we experience a death it is something akin to a journey that we're going to be on for a while until we feel somewhat normal again- and at best it will be a new normal since we will always miss the one who died.

Our faith communities are there to help you when you have a crisis in your life. In 1974, I made a decision to accept Jesus Christ into my life. Christ leads me to some very good faith communities through the years, but it wasn't until I entered a period of grief following the loss of family members that I saw how important those faith communities were to me as a means to help me cope with those personal crisis's. 

It is the professionals that are available to help you navigate those untold crises and those threatening health problems. They are there to help you simply by calling 1-800-273-8255 (Suicide prevention hotline).

Finally, if you are experiencing the loss of a loved one that you find it hard to cope, I urge you to consider getting involved in GriefShare where they will teach you how to go through the pain, not around it. Https://griefshare.org

Life is far more precious than the crisis's you're experiencing in life. The words from this song remind us that God knows what you are experiencing in this life, and desires to help you on this journey.

Despite the pain and suffering in our lives, our risen Christ can heal us of our suffering.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” Matthew 28

Levi Gabrielson was the grandpa I never got to meet.  He fought in the Great War which I never knew much about other than the stories I read in the American history classes. I remember the Bi-planes fighting each other in some of the war movies, but those pictures more or less simply glamourize that war- you never saw the final outcome with broken and bloodied bodies. It wasn't long after Levi returned home from the great war he met the gal he would call his wife, only to lose her through a sudden tragic death after their two sons were born, he was diagnosed with battle fatigue and went to live in the veterans home while his wife's surviving family took care of their boys in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.  

This film for the first time helped me see how bloody and brutal the Great War really was. as it helped me to understand the suffering these boys went through in this war. Many of these enlisted men were young as 15 when they entered this war.  You can imagine the horror they went through watching their fellow soldiers being torn apart by German land mines or crushed by the German tanks.

When these men returned home, I'm sure they didn't know how to talk about their experiences. Experiences that no doubt caused nightmares and flashbacks to occur each night.

Today, we know more about how to treat those afflicted by PTSD We know the importance of talking about the pain that lurks from within. We know the more someone with PTSD talks about their pain with trusted listeners the sooner they will be healed. We also know that one doesn't have to have direct combat experience to carry this diagnosis, but that PTSD can happen to anyone who has suffered a traumatic loss.

If you or someone you know is experiencing nightmares and flashbacks after the sudden death of a loved one, I encourage you to tell them about griefshare at this link.https:www.griefshare.org

HE IS ALIVE, HE HAS RISEN, HE IS ALIVE

Matthew 28:6 [Full Chapter]
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

There were just 3 days that separated the worse day from the happiest day.  Good Friday was a day when Jesus was hung from the cross until the Roman guards punctured his vital organs which caused him to bleed out.  There were many eyewitnesses to this horrific event. These same witnesses watch as Jesus was dragged through the streets while being spat at and hit with stones and other epithets. The woman cried while some men ran away hoping to distance themselves from this scene while trying to forget all of the miracles they had seen this Jesus do before their eyes.

"Why God? are you just sitting by as this man we thought was our deliverer and messiah die?"

Many people in this crowd were now filled with trauma as they watched Jesus die.  Those moments watching Jesus giving the sermon on the mount, or watching him turn water into wine seen so distant now.  

There were a few who waited to watch the now limp body of their savior being lifted down from that splintered cross before even they went home.

THEN 3 DAYS LATER.

Mary went to the burial site of Jesus, saw that the stone had been rolled away. Jesus spoke to Mary just like nothing happened to him. Mary told some of his disciples that he was alive and some of them ran ahead and found the empty tomb just as Mary said.

There was an absolute joy when Jesus spoke to people on the road, and again joy when he walked through a wall into a room filled with his believers.

JESUS IS ALIVE! HE HAS RISEN!

No longer are we to live in darkness performing rituals hoping that our penance would please God.
No longer must we be distant from God because the moment Jesus was resurrected was the moment that our debt had been paid! 

He is now standing at the door of your heart knocking in hopes you will let him in. A door that promises eternal life.

BECAUSE HE IS ALIVE!

Won't you mark the occasion of his resurrection by inviting Jesus into your life with promises of a better tomorrow while knowing when you take your final breath that you will go to heaven where loved ones you missed are there?

JESUS IS ALIVE!

The holiday season is a especially difficult time for those who experienced the loss of a child of any age.

For many of us who experienced the loss of a child the holidays can be a troubling time.  Our minds go back to the day when our child was alive doing Easter traditions such as the Easter egg hunt, dressing up for Church, or going out to buffet brunch while grandparents, aunts, and uncles dote on them. When a loss occurs they no longer have any new memories of their child like those whose children are still living. When the holidays arrive many are hit with emotional triggers wishing their own child was still with them. Life is lonely and the home will seem eerily silent as surviving children learn how to do life without their sibling. Life for them will seem unfair as they rewind the tapes wondering if they had done something different might their child still be alive.

The greatest gift you can give to a family mourning a loss is the gift of memories. Dig into the inner vault of your mind those memories of a special time you had with their deceased child.  Families cherished those memories more than you might know.

In many ways, God's precious word was written by many who were divinely inspired by God to preserve the message of God's love for them.  God wanted you to know that He loved you so much that He sacrifice his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross so that you may experience everlasting forgiveness and eternal life.  Through the death and resurrection of His son, he taught you that we are to grieve with hope with the full assurance that you will see your loved ones again.

Jesus isn't in the grave where he cannot help us. Jesus has risen!

You were fearfully and wonderfully made for a purpose

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

Shortly after graduating from college I made a commitment to a 2-year discipleship group called Navigators 2:7 where I had a chance to be encouraged in my faith as I memorized scripture and held myself accountable to 6 other men and to God. One session we studied the topic of spiritual gifts.


Everyone completed a spiritual gifts inventory- out of all the guys in the group I was the only one who's gift was the gift of mercy. Others had more prestigious gifts like administration. When I shared my gift of mercy I could feel the patronizing comments from the others as though some felt sorry I had this gift.


I remember having a conversation with a work colleague and graduate school friend when I said to him that I wished I didn't wear my emotions on my sleeves. His words of encouragement were, "you were given those gifts for a reason and never wish you were anything different." That was life changing for me and made me realize that just as the verse from Psalms says, " I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;"


As I engage people in conversation I'm struck by so many who wished they were not made the way God made them. They look in the mirror and wondered, "Is this the best you can do God?" The reality is that when God made you, he made a unique set of genetic footprints and gave you unique DNA unlike anyone else. Just as there are no two snowflakes the same, there is not another person like you-you are uniquely and wonderfully made!


No matter what pain you have encountered in life, God has a plan for you. No matter what trauma you've experienced in life, God wants to use you to help others just now going through their own trauma.


This Easter season, we celebrate the risen Christ- He is not dead, but very much alive and living in those who invite Christ into their heart. I encourage you to watch the above clip because I believe you will be astonished by the evidence that Jesus Christ exists.


He is alive!

These Virginia basket ball players gain far more than a simple win over Texas Tech

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Isaiah 53:3

As I was watching Virginia coach, Tony Bennet, I couldn't help but notice how peaceful he was on the sideline as he coached his players to the win over Texas Tech.  

I have to admit that the game between these two teams was perhaps the most exciting game I've ever watched. The next morning I heard my favorite Christian radio station say something about Coach Bennett- that he played Tauren Wells song, Hills and Valleys before the game as a reminder that life is often filled with disappointments.


As I listened to the lyrics I was reflecting the teachable moment coach Bennett had with his team- to remind each of them that life is filled with grief and loss, and as the words reflect that we can always turn to God for solace and comfort.


Such timely words of wisdom in a week filled with downed passenger jets, a fame Minnesota millionaire found shot to death along with his wife in the bedroom of their home, and the collateral damage that this tragedy has on those who knew them. So often we forget that God is truly in control of our lives simply by taking His rightful seat leaving God on the sidelines of life.


I've learned the way we recover from the losses of life is by looking to the cross of Jesus Christ, the son of God who suffered and died for each one of us and who knows suffer ing and can relate to those who suffer.


The Virginia University players gained far more than just the victory that night- they discovered that when a loss occurs the greatest source of healing comes from turning their pain over to their savior Jesus and placing one foot in front of the other, trusting Him that He knows what to do with their pain. Those words will remain embedded in their mind long after their playing days are completed.