#TRIBULATIONS

[cleolinda]

@ the spinal clinic

Have spent 45 minutes filling out paperwork (they said come an hour early and that was fair). Air conditioning is negligible. Waiting room is full, everyone is twice my age, and someone smells like cigarettes. I look like I’ve run a marathon. We’re not at Threat Level: Muscle Relaxers yet, but I brought them.

Paperwork asked me if I have tried psychotherapy or prayer for pain. Never been asked that before.

Interesting: two older ladies talking about the assassination attempt in very Concerned Grandma tones. “I wonder if Trump’ll reconsider gun control now that someone’s come at HIM.” Did not expect a pro-gun control take in this Chili’s tonight.

[gregor-the-man-man]

Day 24: Tribulations

[wiirocku]

Romans 5:3-4 (NKJV) - And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

[quotelr]

Far more important than the tribulations and heartaches, the thrills, merriment, and pleasures of life is what you learn from it all. It isn't the tunnel we pass through that matters, it's what emerges on the other side.

Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes

[gnosticinitiation]

Outward repentance is the return from blameworthy actions to praiseworthy ones and from foul words to righteous ones. Inner repentance, with which the Sufi folk are concerned, is to turn away from all things and toward God, mighty and glorious. Repentance is not valid without three things: remorse for sin, abstention from it, and the resolution not to return to it. When one of these conditions is not met, repentance is not valid. This is the rule for repentance for sin between the servant and his Lord.

-Ā’ishah al-Bā’uniyya, Principles of Sufism From Chicago Gnosis Arcanum 9: The Hermit "One must have remorse for sin. One must know how to suffer, to be patient, to recognize our errors and to realize that if we are going to change, it is going to be gradual. It doesn't happen overnight. When we see our sufferings and our egos and our defects, we learn to bear them patiently until we fully purify ourselves.   One also must abstain and resolve not to go back to the defect, the habit in question. When we resolve not to go back, it means that we are dying to the egos daily, moment by moment."

[j2rkt]

Been going through alot lately, slowly getting back on my feet.

[christianotome]

When to be happy?

We often think ‘I will finally be happy when I get married/get a job/have children’, however solving a problem only brings a new set of problems. Jesus warned us about the problems we would face in the world, but He assured us there is no need to be afraid. (John 16:33).

In the midst of several prosecutions and tribulations Apostle Paul said “[…] I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11), while Habakkuk stated that everything might be going wrong in his life “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18).

Peace and joy are part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and that comes from the knowledge of God’s goodness and sovereignty. For a Christian the time to be happy is always as Philippians 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”.

[bills-bible-basics]

Trials and Tribulations Graphic 18 #Trials #Tribulations #PersonalProblems Article: "Peter: Faith Tried in the Fire": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/petfaith.html "Faith Tried in the Fire" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse019.html "Patiently Endure Persecution and Tribulation" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse324.html "Rejoice in Trials and Tribulations" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse358.html Article: "The Lord Will Lift You Up!": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/liftup-1.html We Shall Overcome" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse073.html "Common Trials and Temptations" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse010.html "Be Steadfast in the Faith" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse158.html "Be Strong in the Lord" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse330.html "Stand Fast in the Faith" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse120.html "Persecuted for Our Faith" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse136.html "Persecution of the First Century Church" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse317.html Article: "Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/persecu1.html Article: "Love, Mercy, Forgiveness and Chastisement": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/forgiv-1.html Article: "Beholding the Evil and the Good": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/evilgd-1.html Article: "Do You Want Love and Light, or Rod and Wrath?": https://www.billkochman.com/Articles/lovelit1.html "God's Loving Chastisements" KJV Bible Verse List: https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/verse134.html https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/trials-and-tribulations-graphic-18/?Trials%20and%20Tribulations%20Graphic%2018

[nauticalparamour]

Chapter Three | Samhain

Hermione laughed despite herself. That did sound rather like the wizard. She could just imagine him in his decrepit old house carving each and every one of these. "It's impressive. Very spooky," she said, looking over her shoulder when she heard a branch snap.

Just as she had almost convinced herself that she was overreacting, something darted out of the trees at her. Hermione screamed as she saw the tall, black figure with a jack-o-lantern head stalk towards her, grabbing her around the waist. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, but she reacted without thinking. She had her wand out in the blink of an eye, jinxing the creature far away from her.

Her blood was surging in her ears, but slowly the sounds of the forest filtered back in. And...laughter?

The creature sat up, pulling the pumpkin off of its neck to reveal a laughing Alfie. "Salazar, Hermione, where did you learn to duel?" he asked, standing up, obviously quite pleased with his prank. "I didn't even see you draw your wand."

"Alfie, you thrice-damned son of a bogart!" she growled, pressing a hand to her chest to slow her heart. A grin grew on her face when he took a step closer to her and threw an arm around her waist again. "You're lucky that it was only a Flipendo!"

[AO3]

[cleolinda]

Every time I get super positive about how the new herniated disc is gonna be fine and not as bad as last time, I get a phone call that’s like, no, it’s worse than you thought. So I am having to retrench now and actually get hold of the surgeon I was recommended—I was going to anyway—but do it ASAP, and accept that he might say, “You do need surgery. Again. In fact, let’s do a spinal fusion. I feel cute today, let’s send you back to the worst pain of your life.” So I am having a totally normal morning feeling sad and anxious about that and I don’t think anyone around me wants to hear it. Literally anyone, not even my therapist yesterday. I think people want to support me with 100% positivity but I also think the situation scares them. But I’d rather fight off tears deal with the idea now than get slapped in the face with crushing reality again. And I can at least say that here, I guess, because I know you guys (gender neutral) are caring people, but you have enough distance from me that there’s space to talk about it.

Maybe it’s just my perception that people won’t let me be afraid, honestly—maybe we just have a cultural insistence on being positive, being A Fighter when you get the diagnosis, and I’m performing that on my own steam. Even online I keep being like, “listen, it fucking sucks but it’s fine, I don’t want to make this sound like it’s life or death.” I don’t know. I want to give an accurate impression of how serious it is or isn’t separate from my feelings, but also write about physical and emotional experiences other people do go through and might want to hear about. At excruciating length. Welcome to hell, it’s my medical ordeals! I baked cookies, grab one in your way in.

[ruth-t]

Pride

I see you. And I see you for who you are and what you have become, but I still like to imagine you as the little boy with hopes and dreams, the boy that smiled because he wanted to shine brightly upon the world, and not the man who now smiles to hide his intentions and seeks attention because he lives in fear. I loved you. I would have loved you. Tears stream down my eyes, along sniffles and sighs, so maybe I still do. And I wonder, if you still love me too.

If you still love me now that she’s gone, if you would love me more if I wrote you a song, or I gave you my time, but frankly it doesn’t feel like you would even notice if I took my own life, but you wanted me to give you my life, you wanted to make me your wife, we were never engaged, but the separation is still stark, and I’m still in the dark because you’re never clear with me, yes we still talk, but I can never read the in-betweens. Could you ever be direct? Or maybe my intuition is incorrect, maybe I’m just crazy and deluded, maybe we were never friends and maybe everything else you alluded to was just another manipulation, you playing the game. I tried to be supportive when you were down, but you never really cared for my tribulations or wanted to know me, you were the person I related to the most in this world, but you still couldn’t show me decency or compassion, you utilized me as if I were another key in your master plan, if it didn’t work out, you could always just forge a new one, through a blockchain command, and now my heart’s a blockade, barricaded with walls, but whenever I still see your name it still rumbles resoundingly, quite astounding how it reverberates in spite of so much silence because you were my loneliest companion. You told me to only send you things I was proud of, so I sent you my heart and you crushed it in shards without any regard of its contents, sometimes it feels like all I ever was to you was just another business transaction, thought we had a chemical attraction, but I could never get a reaction from you and it breaks me because the person whom I admired the most, slowly became a villain, way before I knew you, maybe I never even knew you, but I still think I know you better than most because of how much was untold.

[thedansome]

POV: You're in a classical-inspired D&D Fantasy World. There's wizards, dragons and the coal-train engine was just invented. You decide to visit the local tiefling blacksmith to ask about her wares.

[wiirocku]

2 Thessalonians 1:4 (KJV) - So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

[lirillith]

We are safely back at home. 2024 has continued to act like 2024.

[albertfinch]

Exhortation - December 24, 2024

2 Corinthians 4:8,9 - "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Many Believers have endured major battles the past few years, and you may have felt like things have taken a turn for the worst. Although your life may seem to be a battleground, you have actually been on a training ground, equipping you for the next chapter of your life. While it may have seemed like its been a constant struggle, the Lord has actually been building strength, resilience, and perseverance in you.

Believe that every stone that's been hurled against you will be used as a stepping stone to take you to the next level. Every fiery dart and lie that came against you will boomerang back to the sender. Every challenge that you faced will be used as a testimony for others to be set free. Every battle that you went through taught you how to endure trials. God is about to restore everything that was stolen. He is the God of restoration, and He is about to step in and turn your situation around for His glory.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY

[wordsoftheheartandsoul]

Mistakes, struggles, and tribulations are inevitable but how you react, repent, and redirect from them are reflections of your intentions, direction, and maturity.

Morgan Richard Olivier - the strength that stays