Through God’s Eyes

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Happy Tuesday

How are you all doing on the amazing Tuesday evening? Everything is going good here with me. Still trying to get my time management under control, but, I’m a work in progress.

I’ve been listening to so many devotional books lately. I’ve been immersing myself in more Christian music and while on my nature walks, I’ve been talking to God more. Something about being out in nature really draws me close to him. I can’t help but be so grateful to Him and express that gratitude as I am always in awe of his marvelous creations.

Have you ever stood at the base of a tree and just looked up? I did that yesterday and though I know the tree has it’s height and doesn’t really touch the sky, as I stood at the base of this huge tree and looked up, I couldn’t see the top. The branches were as big as tress themselves and the leaves made the tree so full. The wind was wisping through and you could hear the rustling of the leaves. It was almost like God was talking to me, reminding me of his magnificence.

I needed that reminder yesterday. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I forget how awe inspiring He is along with his many creations, it’s just sometimes, I believe I fall short of expressing my gratitude. I get caught up in other things and neglect to express being thankful for all He’s done for me.

While on my walk yesterday, I was listening to my Audible book, “A confident heart,” by Renee Swope. As I looked up at this tree and it’s enormous trunk, Renee was talking about how God doesn’t have to forgive us, we aren’t worthy of his forgiveness, we are worth it.

God created us to be his children and though we are imperfect due to the sins of Adam and Eve, that is, if you believe the Adam and Eve account, we were created by God. He sees in us our full potential, even when we don’t see it ourselves. He has unconditional love for us.

I think the closest we ever come to seeing what God sees is when we hold our newborn babies. When a mother gives birth and the doctor places that new life on her belly, she sees everything perfect in that baby. As time goes on, the mother, while in most cases still loves that baby or child unconditionally, we do begin to see their faults.

God on the other hand, he may see our faults, but he still looks at us through the eyes of perfection. Sure, he knows we mess up and all, but he sees beyond that. He sees us to the depths of our soul.

When a baby is born, they’re beautiful. They’re innocent and they are the most precious gift. We are forever, that precious gift in His eyes, even when we sin. God forgave King David who not only committed adultery and impregnated Bathsheba, but he had her husband killed to cover up his sin.

There’s nothing we can do that God won’t forgive. What a lesson in forgiveness, compassion and unconditional love. How quick we are at times to not forgive someone over even the slightest of transgressions, but God forgave an adulterer and murderer.

I suppose it would do us well if we took on the quality of forgiveness and perhaps tried to see things through a broader lens much like our creator.

If we take a moment to try and see things through the eyes of God, maybe it would soften our hearts a little. Maybe we would be more patient. Maybe we would show more kindness and maybe, more peace would avail in our world that seems to be so unkind right now.

I know there are good people despite the things we see and hear on the news. I know there’s love and peace amongst family, friends and neighbors, but we all live in a world full of uncertainty. I wonder what it would be like if we stopped from time to time, took a deep breath and just let things go. Let go, Let God.

Standing beneath that tree yesterday helped me feel His presence. It reminded me of His power and love and it reminded me of just how small I am in comparison to His other creations, yet, he still sees me. He sees my worth.

My dear readers, I hope we can all experience and enjoy God’s magnificent creations. I hope we can all take a moment to see through His eyes. All we have to do is look around. Creation is everywhere.

Just my thought. What do you think? I would love to hear from you. Drop me a comment or give me a like if you enjoyed the blog. It always makes my day hearing from my readers.

Well guys, I need to take another walk now. The pups are a bit anxious. Until next time, don’t forget, open your hearts, listen and evolve today++

He has risen, happy Easter

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Hello and happy Easter everyone.

How are you all enjoying this wonderful Easter Sunday? Easter here in our home was quiet. We slept in a bit. Got up and checked out what the Easter Bunny brought us. My basket was filled with wonderful gifts from Bath and Body works. John’s basket was overflowing with lots of healthy snacks and of course, the kiddos basket was filled with lots of yummy candies and a few chocolates scattered throughout.

As promised, I said I’d come back today to wrap up our discussion regarding the different aspects of Easter. Today, we’ll talk about how candy, the parades, the lamb and of course, the lilies came about.

Before we talk about those fun Easter traditions, I forgot to tell you about the Easter eggs and how they came into play with Easter and of course, the infamous, Easter Bunny.

According to History.com, the Easter eggs are more than likely linked back to the pagan traditions as the egg is an ancient symbol of new life. New life is often thought about in pagan festivals that celebrate spring.

So you maybe wondering, how did the pagan traditions creep their way into Christianity? Easy, you see, from the perspective of Christians, Easter eggs represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and resurrection.

The whole decorating of the eggs dates back to at least the 13th century. Some figure the tradition began with the thought that at one time, eggs were a forbidden food during lent, therefore, people would decorate them to mark the end of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration.

Decorating was a fun way to end a fast and make celebrating a little more fun with colorful eggs.

The candy. Easter Candy is the second best selling holiday candy next to Halloween candy of course. Chocolate eggs are still one of the most popular dating back to the 19-century in Europe. Another popular candy is the egg-shaped jelly bean which came onto the Easter scene in the 1930’s and it’s thought that jelly beans origins date all the way back to a Biblical-era creation called the Turkish Delight.

Onto the history of the Easter Parade and how it came about. The Easter Parade began back in the mid-1800’s in New York City. The upper crust, or class of society attended Easter services at many of the Fifth Avenue churches and afterward, they’d venture outside to show off their new spring outfits and hats.

With so many new and extravagant outfits and hats, the common folk began taking notice, thus showing up along Fifth Avenue to check out all the bling. This was becoming so popular, to the point where it was becoming a tradition and by the mid-20th century, the popular movie was released, “Easter Parade.” This famous film starred Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, with music by Irving Berlin. “In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it. You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.”

The Easter Parade has no religious significance, however, sources state that the Easter processions have been a huge part of Christianity since early on.

Regarding the Lamb and other traditional foods related to Easter, how did they come about and why lamb? Christians refer to Jesus as the “Lamb of God.” Lamb does have it’s root in early Passover celebrations. The lamb was sacrificed and it’s blood used to paint the doors of the Israelites, thus, it is believed, God would pass over their homes. Doing this would spare the first born son from being killed. So, the lamb makes sense since Easter is essentially the Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the wiping away of sin.

Easter lilies and flowers, oh how I love Easter Lilies and flowers. Maybe it’s because in a way, they signify spring for me and I do love spring when all the flowers bloom, I know for some of you, spring is a difficult season with all the pollen in the air. Allergies!

According to History.com, the Easter Lily symbolize the purity of Christ to Christians and they are most definitely, a common decoration in churches and homes around the Easter Holiday season. Lilies are bulbs that are dormant in winter months and grow into beautiful flowers in spring, which symbolizes the rebirth and hope of Christ’s resurrection. After WWI, the Lily became the unofficial flower of Easter celebrations across the United States.

And there you have it folks, a little bit of history regarding this very special day, Easter.

I do hope you enjoyed the blog and I can’t wait to see what your thoughts are regarding this blog or any others I’ve written.

If you have a moment, I’d very much appreciate you subscribing to my blog and of course, all comments are always welcome.

Until next time, don’t forget, open your hearts, listen and evolve today++

The Easter Bunny:

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Happy Friday,

How are you all doing on this amazing Friday evening? What a beautiful day it’s been. Can you believe how amazing the weather has been this week? Hard to believe we are expecting tons of rain and in some areas folks will be getting a little bit of snow over the next couple of days.

As promised, today we’ll be chatting about the Easter Bunny and how he found his place within the entire holiday.

According to History.com, the Easter Bunny or Hare, “originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide, similar to the “naughty or nice” list made by Santa Claus.”

Yesterday I shared with you that Easter was mentioned in the Bible in the book of Acts, chapter 12 verse 4, however, there is nowhere in the Bible that mentions the Easter Bunny, yet, the Easter Bunny has become a huge part of Easter.

The Easter Bunny is a huge part or prominent symbol of Christianity and is very important to the entire holiday. While the origins of the mythical bunny are unclear, we do know that rabbits are known to be “prolific procreators, which are ancient symbols of fertility and a new life.”

So, when did the Easter Bunny hop on the holiday’s scene? He first arrived in American in the 1700’s when the German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania. They brought their traditions of an egg-laying bunny who they called, Osterhase or Oschter Haws.

The tradition of the egg-laying bunny included children making nests so the bunny could lay it’s colored eggs. This tradition spread across the US and once that happened, the Easter Bunny not only delivered colored eggs, but he began to deliver chocolate and other types of candy and gifts.

Now that kids were getting more than just a few colored eggs, the nests they made began to fade and baskets in which they decorated took their place.

One thing that seems to be lost in the original Easter Bunny tradition is children leaving out carrots, just in case the bunny got hungry from hippity hopping around to al the children dropping off their Easter delights.

As far as traditions are concerned regarding Easter, there are no known links between the Easter Bunny and Jesus, other than, and this is a stretch, they are both tied to the holiday which is a celebration of a resurrection, and they both are symbols of new life.

When Jesus died and was resurrected, his death signified the washing away of our sins and the resurrection represented a new life. Not sure how the bunny fits into a resurrection, but we all know, bunnies seem to bring about new life and lots of it, quite often. This makes sense since the bunny is a symbol of fertility.

The Easter Bunny is a fun part of Easter and he brings so much joy to little ones. While he doesn’t really have any biblical ties to Jesus or the holiday’s meaning, it has become a tradition or symbol of Easter and one that brings so much joy to young ones.

Kids get up on Easter Sunday and can’t wait to find their baskets full of yummies and little ones certainly enjoy the tradition of hunting for the colored eggs their favorite bunny has hidden and left for them to find.

The Easter Bunny certainly has become an iconic part of the entire Easter holiday celebration, but wait, what about the candy, the Easter parades, the lamb and Easter Lilies?

Well, you’ll have to come back this weekend for those answers. I’ll make sure to look up some information to share with you.

I want to thank you for reading today’s blog and until next time, don’t forget, open your hearts, listen and evolve today++

What is Easter?

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Happy Thursday evening from my home to yours. I do hope this blog finds you well and safe.

I thought tonight I’d talk about Easter. In fact, I was thinking it would be nice to talk a little bit about Easter over the course of the next few days, after all, Easter will be here in 3 more days.

If your a religious person, or Christian, you probably celebrate Easter and you probably have an understanding of what the origin of Easter is, and that’s awesome. Seeing that we are so close to Easter though, I thought it might be good to refresh our minds behind the meaning of Easter and exactly what it is. Who knows, maybe we’ll learn something new about this much celebrated holiday.

I was scrolling google today to get a little more insight on Easter and this is what I found. On christmascentral.com it says, “like Christmas, Easter has roots in both Christianity and ancient pagan culture. Though it is mostly considered a religious holiday, many of our modern traditions are rooted in pre-Christian practices.”

Most religions do celebrate Easter. Some religions began the prelude to Easter Sunday back on Ash Wednesday, which happened to fall on Valentines Day this year. What is Ash Wednesday? Well, it’s the day when priests and pastors rub ashes from the prior year’s Palm Sunday palms on the foreheads of those in attendance at their churches.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent in which people are encouraged to find their own method of confronting their sins. They are encouraged to remember their own mortality, along with giving thanks for the salvation by means of Jesus Christ who gave his life and died upon the cross. People are reminded that Jesus died for our sins, then was resurrected back into the heavenly realm to sit beside his father.

During Lent, many people choose to give something up for 40 days. I knew someone in school back in the day who gave up soda, another gave up meat and I’ve heard of people giving up sex. Generally folks give up something they really love. This helps hopefully helps them by switching focus off self and onto the reason for Lent and the sacrifice made by Christ for all of our sins.

Lent ends during Holly Week, which begins with Palm Sunday. This signifies when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and was greeted by palm branches. Just a couple of days later, is Holy Wednesday. Holy Wednesday recognizes Judas Iscariot with his plot of betrayal of our savior, but that’s not all, the next day is Holy Thursday, which represents the anniversary of the Last Supper to be followed by Good Friday, the day set aside to observe the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

All of these days or events that are observed, they are days to reflect on the days and weeks leading up to Jesus not only dying for us, but being resurrected. Easter is the day we celebrate Jesus being raised from the tomb. Easter also ends Lent for those who practice that custom.

I was told, Easter is mentioned in the Bible, however, I never saw it until tonight. In the King James Bible, in the book of Acts, chapter 12, verse 4 it reads: And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring.

Other versions use Passover instead of Easter, but I did find it interesting to see the word Easter actually mentioned in scripture.

So as far as Easter is concerned, where did it come from? Well, according to the same article in christmascentral.com, it says, “Easter actually originated as an ancient pagan celebration of the spring equinox. In Christianity, the day was dedicated to observing the resurrection of Jesus, which was celebrated around the time of the Jewish Passover. Eventually, early Christians merged their ceremonies with Jewish customs, thereby, recognizing Easter as “resurrection day.”

I suppose some of us look to Easter as a very important holiday, especially those of us who believe in the story of Jesus and the days leading up to his death and resurrection. For others, perhaps Easter is celebrated because of the joy of having family gather and enjoying the traditions that come along with Easter.

I’m not a religious person, not anymore, but I have found a new way of being close to God and that’s by becoming spiritual. I celebrate Easter and I do think about Christ and what he did for me. I know he died a horrific death and he died, not only for me, but for all of mankind. When I reflect on the gift Jesus gave to us by sacrificing his life, I want to reflect on it and how it’s benefited me and my loved ones.

I think we all sometimes get so wrapped up in the traditons, we forget the meaning behind certain things. In this case, it’s possible that we could get so caught up in the tradition, we fail to remember the reason.

“The very first Easter taught us this: that life never ends and love never dies.”-Kate Mc Gahan.

On that note, I’ll be saying goodbye for tonight, but be on the look out tomorrow. I can hardly wait to find out the origin of the Easter Bunny and the hiding and decorating of the Easter Eggs.

Are you curious too, well come on back and we’ll learn together, better yet, subscribe to my blog so you never miss an upload.

Hope you’ll come back and join me as I share what I learn about those two fun Easter traditions.

Until next time, open your hearts, listen and evolve today++

Who would I be….

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Happy Thursday,

How is everyone doing on this amazing Thursday afternoon? I do hope today is finding you well, safe and happy. I wanted to thank you for taking time to read today’s blog and I wanted to encourage you to follow this blog so you don’t miss new content, which will be coming on a more regular basis moving forward. Please feel free to drop me a comment and if there’s a certain topic you’d like to have me talk about, leave that in the comments.

Today I wanted to talk about something that is close to my heart. You see, not long ago, I was involved heavily in a cult and in that cult, I feared God. I feared doing anything wrong, not because I have ever been afraid to die, but I feared being destroyed.

I was taught that the God I worshiped at that time was one that expected me to be perfect, or as perfect as I could be. I was taught, or made to feel like everything I did in His name wasn’t good enough. I remember one minister giving a sermon saying, “are you sure your giving your all to Jehovah?” Is your all, good enough?”

With statements like that, from an early age, I felt I had to be perfect. I lived my entire life with the mindset, everything had to be just so. I think I developed OCD from being raised feeling like everything I did, wasn’t good enough. To top that off, I was born a girl. Women in the cult were taught to be in complete submission to men and with that came the underlying belief system, we were to be quiet and not voice our opinions, and if we did voice them, then our fathers, brothers, husbands, they were the final decision maker.

When I finally left the cult at the age of 45 years young, I left believing 100% that I was going to be destroyed by God. I believed that no matter how good of a person I was or tried to be, it didn’t matter, because I wasn’t living the life of a cult member, a member of the religion in which I learned to be terrified of our God and creator.

I’ve made some stupid mistakes along the way to finding grace in God. It took my mess ups to realize, God still was there for me and he had been all along.

With this blog, I want to help people realize that we have a loving creator and if you aren’t a believer, that’s okay too, I’m not here to change your belief system. I’m only hear to share my experiences and by doing so, I hope you find comfort in your own core belief.

On my journey to finding comfort in God, I have found that I can freely talk about Him and to Him. I can thank Him and not feel like I’m being fanatical. I enjoy waking up each morning and thanking God for a new day. I thank Him for all the provisions in my life and I thank Him for showing me the way. I always ask Him to keep guiding me. I thank Him for His forgiveness when I know I’ve fallen short.

I am beyond grateful for my new found relationship with God.

This brings to mind a beautiful song sung by Lauren Daigle. “Thank God I do.”

When I was at my lowest point, the point in my life where I didn’t feel loved by anyone, I had given up on life, my life. I simply didn’t care anymore. Then, John came along and he helped me find the relationship I so desperately needed and wanted from God and from a man. John became the man who showed me love and on that path, I began to see that I was capable of being loved, not only by a man, but by God.

“I’ve seen love come and I’ve seen love walk away. So many questions, will anybody stay? It’s been a hard year, so many nights in tears. All of the darkness, trying to fight my fears, alone, so long alone.”

What I didn’t realize, when John came into my life, was, he was sent by God to love me and in that love, I learned God loved me first and h=He made sure to give me a man that could help me past my fears. God gave me someone who was patient, kind, loving and compassionate, but most of all, He gave me someone to hold me tight, so tight that I could feel his heart beat and His love.

“I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You. I’d probably fall off the edge. I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go, so keep me held in Your hands.” I think God holds me in His hands. He knows me better than anyone, so He sent me John. When John sees me spinning, he reminds me of his love, but more importantly of my creators love.

“I’ve started breathing. The weight is lifted here. With You, it’s easy. My head is finally clear. There’s nothing missing. when you are by my side. I took the long road, but now I realize I’m home with You. I’m home. I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You.”

Though I doubt my worth from time to time, God is right there reminding me He’s there for me and when I can’t even begin to wrap my head around God actually loving me, He gives me the reminders that I so lovingly and desperately need. Who would I be if I didn’t know Him? Thank God, I do.

It is because God sent someone into my life, that I have learned not to fear Him. I’ve learned an entirely new way to talk to God. I’ve learned how to really build upon my belief in Him and though I fall short, He still loves me.

“You’re my safe place. My hideaway. You’re my anchor. My saving grace. You’re my constant. You’re my steadiness. You’re my shelter. My oxygen.”

I pray every day that I can continue to build on my relationship with Him and I pray He will open doors for me to share His word with others, but more importantly, I pray He uses me to share my experiences of overcoming religious trauma, so that others will come to see what a loving god He truly is. If it be His will.

As I conclude here today, I hope you found something positive to take away in reading this blog.

Until next time, I pray God will keep me and you held in His hands .

I do hope you are having the greatest of days and until next time, open your hearts, listen and evolve today++

Religion and a relationship with God,

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Happy Thursday,

How is everyone doing on this amazing Thursday evening? I can’t believe how long it’s been since I blogged on this this page. I’m so embarrassed that I’ve allowed so much time to get in the way of chatting with all you wonderful folks. I’ve missed this page and it is my goal to write again at least 3 days a week. I hope if you are a returning reader, that you will continue to read moving forward. If you are a new reader, I hope if you are new to Haveyouevolvedtoday, that you enjoy the writings here. Please feel free to comment and give me any feedback, I love hearing from you all.

On a side note, I’ve been writing tons on my lovelifewithdawna@wordpress.com page. I hope you can check it out sometime. I take a different spin on things over there. On this blog page my goal is to talk more about being spiritual versus religious. I’ve heard it said, it’s not about the religion, it’s about the relationship.

I strongly believe this statement. You see, I believe more and more each and every day that it is our relationship with God, the Universe, or whatever entity you believe in, rather than than the religion you belong to. Now before you get upset, let me say this. I believe religion is good. I believe having that community and having a belief system is important, however, I think at times we get so caught up in the customs of a religion we forget the importance of the relationship with our creator.

“Religion is the rules, regulations, ceremonies and rituals developed by man to create conformity and uniformity in the approach to God. Spirituality is God’s call in your soul.”-Iyanla Vanzant.

This isn’t to say that religion is all bad, it’s simply, or I’m simply trying to point out that sometimes we get so caught up in religion, we fail to remember the reason we are supposed to be a part of a religion and that reason is to have a relationship with our creator, God, the Universe or whatever deity you believe in.

“Religion is a candle in the darkness, spirituality is the sun that illuminates it all.”-Paulo Coelho. Religion most certainly can lead us to a relationship with God, especially with like minded people being in our circle to encourage us to keep on the path to knowing God, but being spiritual is where we really want to be.

I know for me, being raised in a cult/religion, I feared God and not in a healthy way. I feared God to the point I never felt good enough. What I failed to learn or what was failed to be taught to me was that God is love and that he’s forgiven me long before I ask him for forgiveness. Once I left the religion of Jehovah’s Witness, I found comfort in having a relationship with God. Knowing I could talk to him and truly pour out my heart in prayer to him, I began to forgive myself of my mistakes. I began to talk with God as often as I could or can. I talk with him on my walks, when I’m home alone, even when I’m driving. I’m excited to wake up each morning and thank him for the home he’s provided for me and for the people who have stayed in my life, despite leaving the religion.

I’ve been shunned and it still hurts, I won’t lie, however, when someone from my past religion chooses to walk the other way or not acknowledge me, I pray and I express to God that I’m thankful he’s shown me that shunning is not something loving, in fact, it’s something so harmful, then I ask God, if it be his will, to open the hearts of those that I miss and still care very much about in the religion.

My relationship with God is more than I ever expected. I am comforted by him and the relationship I have with him. He is truly my refuge when times are difficult and he continues to bless my home, my family and my love with the man he brought into my life.

While religion has many good points, it’s not ever meant to replace or dictate how we build our relationship with our creator. Religion is generally organized and involves rituals and practices focusing on a higher power or God.-nih.gov. Whereas spirituality involves a personal quest or meaning in life.-nih.gov.

If you belong to a religion, I hope it’s one that brings you closer to God or whatever deity you worship. It’s wonderful to have the community that religions offer, yet it’s equally, if not more important to focus on our relationship with the one we worship.

I hope wherever you are, whatever you believe in, I pray you have the comfort in your relationship with the one you worship. It sure does make life so much more amazing and I am beyond proud of being able to give God credit in front of others, whereas, in my past life, I feared it.

I feel I’m evolving every day into a more spiritual person, less religious and more open to receive God’s message in my life. I do love visiting church with the family from time to time, as I love the community of being in a congregation, however, my relationship with God does mean so much more.

My dear readers, I am beyond excited to be back here on haveyouevolvedtoday@wordpress.com and I look forward to writing more in the coming days. Until next time, have a blessed day/evening. Hugs…

Breaking Free:

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Happy Thursday,

How are you all doing this evening? I would love to hear from you, let me know how things are in your neck of the woods. I’m doing good. Gosh, I’ve missed writing my blog. Life got away from me and I couldn’t catch up for the longest time. I’m still playing catch up, but things are more manageable, so that’s a good thing.

I wanted to reach out to everyone and ask for your thoughts on a subject that I’ve been ruffling around with. You see, I was raised in a very toxic home and religion/cult. I was in a very mentally abusive marriage, and I finally built up the courage to leave. Now that I’m free I want to make sure that I am on the path the Universe has always had planned for me. I broke free and almost didn’t survive. If you have broken free from something abusive, how did you do it and are you okay?

When you are raised in a narcissistic abusive religion, home, then you marry someone who takes advantage of your low self-esteem, much of the time those relationships do one of two things in my opinion. They break you to the point you simply exist and wish you were dead, or by the grace of God or whatever higher power you believe in, you wake up one day and decide, no matter what, you are breaking free. Some of us break free but fail to have a game plan in place. I thought I had it figured out, but I was so clueless to life and the world in more ways than I realized.

My story is typical of being raised as a JW. I got married at seventeen. I married a man that was twenty-six years old and from the moment we got in the car to drive to Vegas to get married, I knew it was a mistake. I knew too, I couldn’t go home. I also knew I couldn’t call of getting married. You see, back in the 80’s when I got engaged, it was a serious sin to break off an engagement simply because you changed your mind. You could be disfellowshipped if you didn’t have a scriptural reason. I always wondered how you couldn’t break off an engagement because you changed your mind, yet being engaged was likened to marriage, except you still needed a chaperone and you couldn’t have sex or engage in anything other than maybe holding hands or a kiss, but not a passionate kiss, oh no, that could lead to serious sin.

My ex-husband was nearly ten years older than I was. The narcissistic religion didn’t care though, neither did my mother, as long as he was in good standing in the congregation, he was a catch. We knew each other less than three months before we were married. From the time I said I-do, he owned me. I went from a controlling mother to a controlling husband. My husband was so controlling that he bought our sons cellphones before he allowed me to have one. He called every shot in my life, down to what I wore, even when I was allowed to have sex with him.

Now that I’m out and free and I listen to JW broadcasts and convention talks, my ex was doing exactly what he was entitled to do as head of the house and what he was encouraged to do. Now I know not all JW husbands take their headship to unhealthy levels, but some do and for those of us who either have found the courage to leave or have what I call courage to stay, the choice is the hardest one in the world, because there is consequence to either decision.

When I left the JW religion and my ex-husband, I had no game plan. I was so stupid; I didn’t realize leaving him would cost me my job my family and friends. I went from having a good job, money, a car, a vacation home, rental properties to losing my job, having no home and no money. I had no stability, but you know who came to my rescue and helped me? It was my “worldly” friends. I still have little money, but through the help of those “worldly” people who came into my life, I’ve been able to rent a nice little condo and I found a nice little part time job as a reporter for a local newspaper. I also fell in love, with a “worldly” man.

The God of Watchtower never came to my aid, but the God I found when I broke free, he’s given me some amazing people in my life. I have an amazing man who loves me in ways I never thought possible. I’ve learned to pray and ask for strength and understanding instead of wanting answers as to why. I know some of you reading aren’t believers in God, and that’s okay, we all have our own belief systems and whatever differences we have in a higher being, that’s okay, because any of you, like me, who have left a high controlling religion, we were taught to judge, and I hope now that we are out, we can learn to be more compassionate, without judgment.

Breaking free was the hardest thing I ever did. I lost my relationship with my sons, yet over time, I got my sons back in my life. I’ve met a man that treats me like his queen and this man has not only encouraged me but has helped me find the tools I need to follow my dreams. He’s my partner, not my head. We meet challenges in life together and we make choices as a team. We each have our own strengths, and we have our weaknesses, but we complement each other, and he has never treated me as lesser than. He is always there for me, and he takes care of me.

I recently finished my first book, I have two blogs, and a podcast and for the first time in my life, I live for the day and the moment. I’m not fixated on a false hope, or at least what I feel is a false hope. I never want to speak for anyone else or assume you feel the same way. I have made new friends and I want to live. I no longer pray to God to not let me wake up tomorrow, instead, I wake up and thank him for another day, another opportunity to live.

If it be God’s will, he will use me to share his message. I’ll never again say I wish I had a different life growing up, because the life I had taught me what I don’t want to be. It taught me how to have gratitude and the bottom line is, if I didn’t have that life, I wouldn’t have my sons and I would have never found Martin, so I’m grateful.

I was again asked, why did you decide to write this blog and start up a podcast, and my answer is simple, to help people.

I was recently listening to a YouTube interview that Wendi Renay had done, can’t remember with who, but in the interview the person said, “I’m not looking to take people out of the JW religion, or any other religion/cult, I’m just here to help if you decide to leave.” (Not sure if these are the exact words, but it was the message I took from the comment). Wendi then said in agreement, something along the lines of, “hey, if you’re happy being a JW, then great.” I take from her channel that she isn’t about bashing a religion, she’s about telling her story and having others share their stories, because she simply wants to help those who are thinking of leaving, or breaking free from Watchtower, and she wants her listeners to know, they aren’t alone, and I admire that.

Breaking free, it comes with a cost, so if you are thinking of leaving a high controlling religion, cult or relationship, have a game plan and know, while it isn’t easy, it may in fact be the hardest thing you’ll ever do, but you can find happiness on the other side, at least I hope you do. You’re not alone. There’s an entire community out there to listen and offer advice. Where my journey might not relate to you, someone else’s may.

I do beg of you though, if you are thinking of harming yourself, or someone else, please seek immediate medical attention. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

I do hope that my blog reaches someone who is searching for understanding from someone whose been in your shoes or similar shoes. I pray through my blog; I can build a community where people feel free to express themselves with no judgement. I hope through the comment section, to see people connecting. I also hope that all of us can open our hearts, listen and evolve today.

Until next time, I do hope you have a wonderful evening. Hugs++

My podcast link:

anchor.fm/hyet

Honesty:

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Happy Monday,

How is everyone doing this evening? How was your weekend? Mine was a good one. Spent the weekend with Martin. Went car shopping but didn’t buy anything, then yesterday, we just hung out at home. Today was a workday and tonight we’ll be grilling some steaks. It’s nice to have time with Martin with our schedules being so super busy. Trying to never take for granted our precious moments together.

Martin and I will be releasing our podcast on lying, hopefully by tomorrow. We are super excited to launch, yet another podcast. We do hope everyone is enjoying them. Moving forward, I’ll be doing the editing of our podcast and launching them. Martin has so much on his plate right now, so weighing out our time, we’ve come to the conclusion I should be doing the launching. While the podcast is our joint venture, it’s something I’m so passionate about and I get overly anxious that we aren’t launching often enough. I want to be able to take some of the pressure off of Martin so he can concentrate on his job and our family life all while continuing to enjoy doing the podcast.

With that being said, let’s talk about honesty. What exactly does it mean to be honest? Well, according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com, it means, “the quality or condition of being honest, integrity. Truthfulness; sincerity. My question is, if honesty includes sincerity, what if you leave out details to something that you know would really hurt someone, is that a lie? Is everything so black and white?

I’m not promoting lying by any means, I’m just wondering if things have to be so clear cut and absolute? Is there ever a time to not be 100% forth coming? For my entire life, I’ve lived with trying to always be honest in all aspects of my life, then when I was going through my divorce, I again was completely honest about everything with my ex. He used my honesty against me and thus far, he’s been able to steal money from me. Was I wrong for being so honest? I’m not sure, but I do know this, I can lay my head on my pillow each night feeling good that I was honest with him at the same time, I’m frustrated by the things he’s gotten away with. Makes me think though, vengeance isn’t mine to get, it’s up to the Universe or God to make things right.

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”-Thomas Jefferson. Then what is wisdom? According to dictionary.com, it says wisdom is the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.

Hmmm, I have to say this about honesty, things being black and white, telling the truth and lying, I believe when we acquire the quality of being able to discern situations, then we will always be led to the path of truthfulness. We need insight into situations and from there, our words will be truthful for that very situation. Not everything is as it appears. We don’t always know all the details, so things aren’t always, black and white. Honesty is the truth in the situation as we know it.

Gathering all the facts before we speak our truth, may save us so much heartache as well as others. “The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do.”-James 3:5 (TLB). I chose this translation, because I felt it fitting for the subject matter. The words that come out of our mouth can do either enormous damage or bring a harvest of healing and that’s why I feel it so important to always, choose our words wisely, think before we speak, listen before answering and always, always, remember there’s a bigger picture than what is in front of us.

Honesty is always the best policy, at the same time, I’m not sure we always have to give everyone every detail of every situation in our lives. We just have to be wise with our words. Lying never results in anything good but being careful of what we say and how we say it, can bring a situation peace. I guess what I’m trying to say is, think before we speak. If we can’t tell the truth, then maybe we need to rethink our role in the situation and kindly dismiss ourselves from further conversation on a particular matter. Being wise to what we say comes with life lessons and what we’ve learned on our path that God, or the Universe has laid out for us. I think when we struggle with honesty, maybe it’s time to rethink our path. I believe during our difficult times, when we struggle most, it’s life’s way of telling us we need to redirect our step. What do you think? I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a comment or shoot me a text because I would truly appreciate your insight into honesty. I’d love to learn something new.

Well guys, that’s all I have for tonight. I do hope you had a wonderful day and may your week be blessed. Until next time, I hope we can all open our hearts, listen and evolve, each and every day. Hugs++

Check out my podcast:

anchor.fm/hyet

Prayer:

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Happy Thursday,

How are you all doing today? What a beautiful day we are having. I love the sun shining and the breeze of the wind. I loved waking up to the cool air this morning. I took Molly for a walk t and we were loving just being outside. We met a couple of nice people along our way and Molly enjoyed getting to meet some other fur babies.

As I was getting ready this morning, I looked up and read this nice little poem that I have hanging on my wall. Funny, it’s been a while since I’ve really paid attention to what it says, but I’m glad it caught my attention today. You see, I’ve been so busy with busy work that I sometimes forget the more important things, and I will admit, I forget to say thank you to God. I needed this little reminder this morning, because I realize when I am thankful and express my thanks to God, my overall well-being is so much calmer.

“The Difference…I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day, I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray. Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task. ‘Why doesn’t God help me?’ I wondered. He answered. ‘You didn’t ask.’ I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak; I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, ‘but you didn’t seek.’ I tried to come into God’s presence, I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly chided, ‘My child, you didn’t knock.’ I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day: I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.”-unknown.

Have you ever noticed, when you walk on the path the Universe has laid out for you, life seems to go more smoothly? I know for me, if I ask God for his guidance and I look for the signs, things tend to be so much better in my life. When I feel anger, I pray for understanding. I pray to understand what is causing me to react and feel anger. More times than not, feeling angry is usually because things didn’t go the way I wanted them to go. It’s my reaction to a situation.

Martin is always telling me, pray that his will be done. When you pray for God’s will to be done instead of praying for what you want, sometimes you end up surprised at the outcome of certain situations. Sometimes, things are so much better than what you even asked for.

When I take the time to pray, give thanks and express my desire to do God’s will, I feel calm and at peace. Have you noticed, when you pray, your mind is usually in a state of calm and reception. Prayer is a state of being. It’s a connection to our greater power, the power of God or the Universe or whomever you believe in. Prayer should be without effort. It’s talking to our father, our friend, our creator. “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”-Soren Keiakegaard.

For me, praying draws me closer to God and in turn, I am more aware of how I treat others. When I pray and when apologize for falling short in certain situations, I feel less of a burden on my shoulders. Like the poem says, “I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day: I had so much to accomplish, that I had to take time to pray.”

When it comes to prayer, for me anyway, I find that it’s not that I don’t want to talk to God, it’s just sometimes I fall into getting too busy, so if I make it a point, before I get up in the morning and start my day, to pray, I feel better. My day is better. Things tend to be clearer. I believe I can hear God better when I open my heart and mind and listen to the direction God lays out for me. I hear God’s direction sometimes in the form of a YouTube video and someone says something that gives me a lightbulb moment. Sometimes I hear God’s direction in something I read, even things I see while walking, guides me. Sometimes when I take my morning walk and open my mind, the thoughts that come to me are the answers to prayers I’ve prayed.

I hope as I continue writing this blog on Have You Evolved Today, you and I both can continue to lay a more spiritual foundation for our lives and draw closer to our higher beings and to God, the Universe or whatever higher entity you believe in. I want to learn all I can in life. I want to be open to other people’s thoughts on God and spirituality and I want to help people who are struggling to find their way and their purpose. I believe there is power in numbers, so with my blog, I hope to have more and more people feeling comfortable enough to engage in conversations that give us peace and answers to questions we may be struggling with.

I pray that this blog benefits someone who is reading it. I hope to evolve and listen along with everyone who is searching, and I want to open my heart towards everyone. I feel prayer is my best advice to anyone who needs a friend and needs a place to start on their spiritual journey.

Please leave me a comment, a like if you enjoyed reading and I would love to have you subscribe to my blog, it encourages me more than words can express to keep going.

Well guys, I have to head now, but I do hope you enjoyed reading and until next time, open your hearts, minds and evolve today. Have a great rest of your day and until next time, take care. Hugs++

check out my podcast if you have time. I’d love your feedback on that too.

anchor.fm/hyet

Judging:

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Happy Monday,

How is everyone doing today? How was your weekend? What an amazing weekend to reflect on how precious life is. Twenty-one years ago, the world was forever changed by the events of 9-11. I do hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and maybe you got the chance to tell that someone special in your life just how much you love them.

This weekend I was honored to be a part of the 9-11 events in my community. Yesterday morning I attended a more solemn event where speeches were given from our city fire chief, along with a member of the community who was a flight attendant for American Airlines and it just happened to be her day off yet sadly, some of her co-workers and friends were killed by the terrorist attack. She said this was the first time she was able to talk about the events of that day. At the end of her speech, she said to the audience, don’t ever take for granted telling someone you love them, don’t ever think you’ll get around to doing that something tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come. She gave a beautiful speech and one, I’ll never forget.

Yesterday was a day of reflecting for me. There are no words to express how I felt being able to talk to those who were affected personally by the 9-11 attacks and by those who have served or are serving in our military, to those who are on our front lines, like our firefighters, our police, medical personal, all those that are our everyday hero’s, who are serving on my behalf and the behalf of everyone in my community and communities around the world.

A friend of mine gave a speech last night asking God for a little extra oversight for those who serve our country, she said, “please watch over them a little bit more, and keep them safe because they are willing to give up their life, so I don’t have to.”

Yesterday really gave me perspective into life and how judging others takes so much away from life itself. I try not to judge, I know we all try not to be judgmental, however, I think sadly, it’s part of our human nature and I believe when we realize it our human imperfection, we work hard to rise above judging.

Martin and I plan to release a podcast soon on judging, so I hope you will all chime in for a listen on that subject matter.

I saw this quote this morning, and how funny it’s on the very topic Martin and I were talking about. The Universe truly does guide us towards the path we need to be on, if only we listen. The quote said this, “Don’t judge my choices when you don’t understand my reasons”-Ravenwolf.

When my sons were growing up, I had this mindset that I would never say my kid didn’t do something without first hearing the facts. I never wanted my sons to feel as though their mistake was so grand that they couldn’t come to me. You see, I felt if I put an expectation on them saying they weren’t capable of something, then if they slipped and did that something, it would be worse for them to recover from the consequences. Instead, what I told my sons was, “your gonna screw up from time to time, and that’s okay, just learn from those screw ups” or mistakes, I suppose sounds nicer. Anyway, I pray I instilled in them that no matter what they do, I’ll always love them. I might not be happy with a choice they make, but my love for them will never, ever change.

I grew up in a cult/religion that put so much emphasis on the choices we made. Actually, making my own choices was never allowed. I had to follow a very strict order of things that were set out by eight men in suites, the high Archy of the church. Sure, they claimed it was what the Bible taught, but they took things to a level of indoctrinating its followers, especially women, to believe we had to be perfect.

“I was always told who and what I should be, how I should act and the choices I should make.”- Ravenwolf. When I read this this morning, it hit me so hard. This was my entire life, but guess what, I’m done with that. I’m so grateful that I woke up, even though some of the unrealistic consequences placed on the churches members who knew me, who professed to be my friend no matter what, continue to hurt me. I sometimes miss the “community” of the church life I was once a part of. There’s this amazing YouTuber that I follow, Wendi Renay, and she is so inspirational to so many. She always says, if we listen to other’s stories, we will see a part of us in those stories. (Not sure if this is her exact words, but close). She shows, in my opinion, we all walk in each other’s shoes to a point, but unless we walk in each other’s exact shoes, we have no right to judge, and I’m sure she would absolutely say, we have no right to judge not matter what. I believe what she’s trying to convey to her audience is, we all have a story, so be compassionate and accepting of one another. Stop the judgment that so many of us were taught in the cult/religion in which we escaped. See yourself in what others do, or have done and by doing that, we can embrace each other and overlook flaws. Hear the stories of others and catch a glimpse of yourself in what others have gone through. You might just be surprised at how similar we all are.

Yes, I say I escaped from the cult/religion, especially being a woman, I feel that’s what we all did. Leaving a religion in which woman are controlled, many of us didn’t have more than a high school education and so many of us relied on our husbands or dads for support, leaving was actually escaping, knowing, most likely, we would be facing life alone if we didn’t have someone on the outside to help us. It’s a scary move to make, to leave everything you knew. But once we went down the “rabbit hole” of finding out we were lied to our entire life, it’s a mind “F” to continue in the cult/religion. Escaping or leaving, maybe is all we could do at that point. I know some don’t believe anymore, but they continue with the facade of being still in. They have to, because the alternative of being judged for not believing the same anymore is harder than staying.

I know this much; I’m so done living my life by what other people tell me should be my life. I’m not saying the opinions of my loved ones aren’t taken into consideration, but in order to be a healthy, thriving induvial, I believe it’s important for us all to be “critical thinkers.” The JW religion/cult was run by eight men in New York. They run the religion based upon what’s good for them. I’m not saying some of the rules weren’t beneficial, and I did learn public speaking, however, in my opinion, most of their rules are man-made based upon unfounded interpretations of the scriptures.

“I’m done living my life by the opinions of the people who don’t know me and frankly, don’t care and don’t matter. If they had their way, they’d have me just another copy in a world full of unoriginal pretenders. I can’t live that way, because I’ll never be happy trying to be whatever it is they think I should be. They didn’t walk my road, endure my struggles and nearly drown in the storms of my life. So, when they try to whisper in my ear their opinion of me and my life, I’m going to smile and walk away. I’d rather die in the flames of a passionate life than to slowly wither away in the life devoid of love and passion. Sure, they’ll judge me, they’ll mock me and probably shun me (which they did), but I really don’t care anymore. I’m not going to try to make anyone but myself happy, because that’s all I can really control. I’m going to chase my dreams, enjoy my life and soak in the beautiful moments that surround me every day. The rest of them will never understand that about me and they don’t have to. I’m not asking for permission or approval to live my life the way that I choose. Life is hard enough without trying to please people that don’t care in ways that don’t matter about things that are irrelevant. Forget what the world thinks I should be. This is my life, my journey and my choices. Whether I’m different, unique or one of a kind doesn’t really matter, because I’m not being who I am to make a statement. I’m choosing my path for the best reason of all. To be happy. And no one can ever take that away from me, now or ever, Ravenwolf.”

I’m so grateful for those in my life now that have helped me think for myself. My new family and friends have given me the permission I needed at the time to take leaps of faith and believe in myself. Cheering me on as I made strides to become my true authentic self. It’s pretty cool, and I couldn’t have learned to walk my path without the help and guidance of those who love me, unconditionally. Martin saw in me a talent for writing, and now, I have two blogs and a column in my local paper. I can’t wait to feel the keyboard on the tips of my fingers as I pour my heart and soul out every day, be it in my blogs, my column or simply in my journal.

I have a friend Leslie who knew me in my previous, indoctrinated life and who, despite it all, has stuck by me. She told me recently, I think it was on my birthday, that she has seen me grow as a person. She even told me she’s proud of me. She’s helped me through some pretty dark places, and I don’t think I can ever repay her. I can only continue to become the best me possible. I can listen to the Universe and to those that are put on my path, like Leslie, and follow the signs. The Universe, God, or whoever you refer to as our higher power, knows where we need to be, when we need to be there and he uses others, like Leslie, to help us see more clearly the signs we may be missing.

The one thing I’ve learned is, when I was in the cult/religion, I was actually being taught to judge others. They were so clever in the way they indoctrinated me and others with judging. It makes me sick and sad to think I used to believe it was okay to think someone who wasn’t a part of the religion would die at this Armageddon, brought on by God. What right do any of us have to sit and say because of the way someone believes, they aren’t worthy of God’s so called promises the religion says are in the Bible. To say their followers are sheep and those who don’t believe are goats, that’s judging and the God I’ve come to know since my escape, he’s a loving, forgiving and compassionate God and guess what, I feel so much closer to him now than I ever did being one of his witnesses, at least that’s what I used to be called.

I think I’m a better witness of his word now. I try to write about a loving God, rather than one of judgement. It is my goal through my blog and podcast to open the hearts of my readers to see that God is our friend, we can worship or serve him or whatever you want to call it, and we can see him as our friend, not something or someone to fear. My God is a loving God, not one who judges people and picks and chooses only a certain group.

One thing I’ve learned through my waking up process is, to judge is hurtful and to be judged, can destroy someone. Matthew 7:3 says this, “why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” There we have it, most, if not all of the time, when we pick on or judge someone else, we should stop and think, what plank do we need to fix in our own life.

My dear readers, if you take just one point away from today’s blog, let it be this. Don’t judge others, because like us, they made choices based upon what information they were given, and that information isn’t always the best or most reliable. Unless we walk in each other’s shoes, it’s not for us to become judges. We all have our own backyards to clean up. Just my opinion and thought. We never know truly the total story of why people do what they do. It’s hard not to judge, yet, how much healthier and happier we will be if we try and train ourselves to stop casting judgement on others, including ourselves. One small step at a time. It’s work to not form negative opinions regarding others at times, but whoever said life wasn’t filled with challenges and lessons to be learned. I think that’s part of our purpose in life, to learn to get along, so see life through someone else’s perspective from time to time. When you think about it, it’s pretty cool. We can learn so much from each other if we only open our hearts and minds to them, without judgment.

I’m going to wrap this up now, and I do hope you have a wonderful week and one that is filled with love. I hope we can all get along a little better, who knows, maybe we can be the puzzle piece to changing the world, one act of kindness and understanding at a time.

Please remember to open your hearts and minds and evolve today. Until next time, have the best day ever++

cool podcast to chime into, link below:

anchor.fm/hyet