{"id":492,"date":"2017-08-16T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/?p=492"},"modified":"2017-08-16T22:34:01","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T02:34:01","slug":"we-are-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/we-are-more\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there,<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that I have had a moment to really sit and digest what happened this past weekend, I wanted to reach out and share a few thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are more than a person holding a sign, more than the tears we shed, than the hateful words spewed, the complacent bystander and definitely more than the terror that runs wild in our nightmares. <\/span><\/p>\n

We are more than the deep rooted brokenness and despair we find ourselves face to face with, once again. Yes, once again. For there is nothing new under the sun and the blatant hatred, violence, racism, and bigotry…is no surprise to our Father. Neither is His hurt that people would CHOOSE to hurt others…to kill others…to annihilate others, based on the way that He created the \u201cothers\u201d to be. We were each created by Him and yet some so willingly throw it back at Him and operate from a place of unhappiness, hurt and hate. It can be disheartening to think about all of the missed opportunities to love one another. To care for someone besides ourselves. How beautiful would it be for each of us to see each other in His image and likeness and worthy of LIFE. Of living. Free.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, we\u2019re not there. Yet. That doesn\u2019t mean that we can\u2019t be. But that requires putting aside ignorance, selfishness and pride and acknowledging the crippling grip it has on some. What I love though, is that He has always given \u00a0us the heads up that sin will only create more chaos and death. Now is the time that we address it and address ourselves. What do I mean by that? He willingly gave His son, on our behalf, to pay the debt of our sin and sins to come and to establish our eternity. So let’s not allow this horror to pollute our thoughts. Before, you huff at me, hear me out. By giving their hatred and violence residence in our hearts (and minds) we give them more power. We give them more life, while simultaneously taking away from our own. They win more than our fear. They win our attention. It\u2019s time that we not only sign petitions, march, post up and stand up but turn our attention back to the One who already promised more than could ever be taken. God. He has promised to create a new heaven and a new earth. To revive us from the innate hopelessness we feel and face. I know that seems like just a nice idea because today, right now, we are faced with far less than streets of gold and choirs singing \u201chosanna\u201d and restoration is nowhere in sight. Take heart, loves. He has never broken a promise and Romans 16:20 is just that. A promise.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is happening around us and to us, as a nation, as believers…as people…is a part of Satan\u2019s plan to distract us from the truth of God\u2019s goodness and the gravity of every man\u2019s right to choice. And not everyone chooses wisely. But they will not win, in the end. Every broken place shall be healed and every lost moment restored. I know that we may be quick to question God and why He allowed something so awful to occur…I encourage you not to tarry there. In that place of uncertainty and confusion. Instead move within the thought process of faith. Col 2:8 \u00a0We may NEVER understand people\u2019s actions but we can rest in the knowledge that we are not forgotten. We walk in the authority of a victory already won through the shed blood of our Savior. No one can take that away. John 10:10<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, we cannot be complacent in our responses, our prayers or our vigilant teachings of love. Love WILL drive out hate. It\u2019s just that simple. We are called to love because it is the most powerful weapon and can change the hearts of not only those people who are plastered over our screens, but their children, their siblings, their friends and their entire families. No matter how enticing it may be, I encourage you to not retaliate, or allow bitterness to harden your heart. Mark 7:13 You are a living representation of our Father and the heaven He designed. Make Him proud. <\/span><\/p>\n

We are more. Don\u2019t ever forget that, dear one. We. Are. More.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

xoxo<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey there, Now that I have had a moment to really sit and digest what happened this past weekend, I wanted to reach out and share a few thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","pmpro_default_level":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":495,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions\/495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrapindar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}