All That Is

Music. Life. Love. Art.

[heymelisa]

You don’t look like what happened to you because you are not your trauma. He always keeps His promises and God, your God, will restore everything you lost (Deuteronomy 30:3, MSG). The Lord says, I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts (Joel 2:25, NLT). Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree. “Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings upon blessings. (Amos 9:13) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgdkQyBO97d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[heymelisa]

We cannot simultaneously set boundaries while taking care of another persons feelings. I learned this lesson the hard way, by enabling codependency and carrying people in ways I never should have been. When I hit the bottom, it was taken for granted or unrecognized for what it was, and there was still expectation that I would be able to keep carrying. So I would push myself to try to cater to their feelings over my own and over my boundaries - out of my own anxiety and guilt for not being strong enough to sustain old behaviors. BUT the real question is, why am I being put into the position to take the hit for them and doing more for them than they’re willing to take responsibility for or do for themselves? How could I help myself heal and climb out when I was continuously trying to pull others up with me? Why was the expectation there that I would give them more and treat them with more love, care, and respect than I was able to offer myself? Lesson learned. Love yourself enough to create an environment in your life that is conducive to the nourishment of your personal growth. Allow yourself to let go of people, thoughts and situations that poison your wellbeing. Cultivate a vibrant surrounding and commit yourself to making choices that will help you release the greatest expression of your unique beauty and purpose. https://www.instagram.com/p/BqrXFBghAIW/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gh6sz1w09yik

[heymelisa]

Humble yourself, therefore, under the might hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. We cannot cast our anxieties on God while holding onto our pride because pride and anxiety come in the same package. At the centre of anxiety is pride, both figuratively and literally - “i”. Anxiety is the fruit and the pride is the root.” The reason that we are so anxious is because we cannot sustain carrying/bearing weight that we weren’t meant to carry/bear and we put ourselves on a throne that is not our rightful throne, because we are unwilling to surrender those dysfunctional behaviours. The spirit of God is to confront our dysfunction - He convicts. He does not condemn. So when we are going through trials and trouble, maybe they are the means for our transformation. Maybe it’s through the discomfort of being forced out of our comfort zones that one thing dies so that something else can come alive. Being able to speak out our freedom in faith, instead of holding onto our dysfunctions will change our atmosphere, attitude and perspective towards gratitude, praise & worship. Some things in our lives will not change unless confronted and surrendered because we can become so comfortable in our dysfunction that we will indulge our dysfunctions of pride, insecurities and anxieties. Catering to these are often more comfortable than stepping outside of your comfort zone to challenge oneself. This false sense of humility is really just giving ourselves an excuse not to walk into our purpose and calling for that which is comfortable. Humble yourself, therefore, under the might hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. • • • • • • • • • • • #insomnia #ptsd #bible #truth #growth #peace #love #mindfulness #soulfood #potd #qotd #hope #anxiety #pride #health #wisdom #recovery #faith #quotes #pic #life #recoveryhouse #healthy #heart #mindset #endurance #lesson #journey #realtalk #wellness (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

Don't just go through life, grow through life. God what are you trying to teach me? Through the good times, hard times and the bad there are always lessons to be learned. Wisdom is understanding how to practically apply that knowledge. God’s word & wisdom sown in your life bring those aha moments of blessing and are the very skills that are built onto our foundation to keep us going through the trials and set-backs of life. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:12-14• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #selfcare #love #instagood #qotd #wisdom #ptsd #recovery #live #quotes #strength #life #peace #pic #good #insomnia #vancity #soulfood #quote #bible #self #mindfulness #growth #grow #story #health #journey #faith #truth #wellness #grace (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

“Your opportunities in life will be the byproduct of adversities that you go through.” “It had to happen. I had to go through something. I had to prove perseverance. That’s the only way my faith could grow, to enable the opportunity.“ “It had to happen.””I’m not saying he did it, but if god allowed it, you can accept it. And if you can accept it, the very place you where you were injured will be the very place that your purpose comes forth from. It had to happen. It had to happen! Even the mistakes! It had to happen because God needed me here,” “right now.” • • • • • • • #mindfulness #stevenfurtick #bible #truth #it #had #to #recovery #happen #qotd #purpose #quotes #potd #wisdom #love #stuck #ptsd #realtalk #pain #church #insomnia #life #journey #grow #growth

[heymelisa]

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:1-5 • • • • • • #bible #truth #hope #wisdom #quotes #pic #qotd #ptsd #recovery #healthy #mindset #mindfulness #love #endurance #peace (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

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Christ in me, Christ in me, Christ in me the hope of glory. You are everything. Be my everything. Jesus everything. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #everything #instamoment #easter #christian #hope #glory #worship #mood #healing #faith #jesus #is #first #music #church #love #song #survivor #yvr #girl #vancity #blessed #god #trust #potd #wisdom #my #truth #perfect #sacrifice (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

“Hope is not a substitute for pain. Hope is inspite of pain.” Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. -Romans 5:3-5. I have made you. I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. -Isaiah 46:4 (at Commercial)

[heymelisa]

When words and actions do not align - behavior speaks. There is wisdom in letting go of relationships that do not serve you. That means negative people, dishonest people, people who don’t respect you or your boundaries, and relationships that prevent you from growing. Ideally we would all grow together, but that often is not the case as the process of growth can be exhausting and painful. It is easier and perhaps more comfortable to deflect/avoid/stifle or stuff down our emotion and to wear masks, hiding who we really are deceiving ourselves & others, than to truly take the time in self assessment & reflection - to pull back the layers to unpack what’s going on deep beneath the surface of our lives and to recognize, process and acknowledge or appreciate the journey. Walking away is not for lack of love, but recognizing the reality of the relationship. Healthy boundaries are not walls, but a practice of self care towards emotional health. Boundaries are the gates and fences that allow you to enjoy the good parts of who you are, the beauty of your own garden. • • • • • • • • #tbt #mindfulness #selfcare #truth #life #journey #selflove #mentalhealth #friends #relationships #grow #healthy #love #choices #live #authentic #thoughtoftheday #potd #qotd #pictureoftheday #quotes (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

“You only are free when you realize you belong no place — you belong every place — no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.” - Maya Angelou For years I have contended with being minimized & misunderstood. In the last few years I had agonized over the conscious decisions of others to do nothing, an inaction to injustice. As well as been on the receiving end of active rejection & labels from establishments that are meant for connection and preach family, yet overlooked me and mine as though we were not. Amends placated, but actions spoke so much louder than words after I was injured last year. Where was this family when I was in the depths of trauma? As disappointing as it is and as devastating as it was at the time, I learnt the hard way who my real friends/family were. I learnt how readily I gave all of me, bending over backwards, and how readily people could take and then desert you when you have nothing left to give. I saw that I allowed people to hold positions of value in my life, when I held little to no value in theirs. That people are often so uncomfortable with vulnerability, often viewing it as shameful or weakness because of their own aversion to be present and sit in the discomfort of empathy. I learnt that in the absence of love and belonging, there is real suffering and that loneliness is palpable. I am so blessed for the lessons on this journey. • • • • • • • • • • • • • #maya#wisdom#faith#qotd#quotes#potd#quoteoftheday#sunday#insomnia#bravingthewilderness#alone#family#friends#here#love#by#God#ptsd#brenebrown#heart#practice#you#preach#survivor#story#my#truth#journey#blessed#me (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

"Authenticity requires a certain measure of vulnerability, transparency, and integrity." “The greatest challenge in life is to be our own person and accept that being different is a blessing and not a curse. A person who knows who they are, lives a simple life by eliminating from their orbit anything that does not align with his or her overriding purpose and values. A person must be selective with their time and energy because both elements of life are limited.” ― Janet Louise Stepenson & Kilroy J. Oldster • • • • • • • #growth#potd#qotd#Circle#of#trust#faith#family#friends#Blessed#knowledge#Practice#what#you#preach#mindfulness#ptsd#realtalk#survivor#authentic#truth#different#wisdom#letitgo#life#time#energy#quotes (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

It’s the lessons learned, not the journey itself. God what are you trying to teach me here & how are you going to use this story? (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

It’s the lessons gleaned on the journey. • • • • • • • • • • #atticus #quotes #qotd #lessons #learning #growth #journey #she #is #insomnia #self #discovery #recovery #healthy #changes #emotions #poetry (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

Me too.

I hesitated in writing those two words, but the magnitude of the problem should not be diminished by my shame.

”Shame needs three things to grow exponentially in our lives. Secrecy, silence, and judgement.” “If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.”

#metoo #awareness #mystory #truth #qotd #survivor #quotes #brenebrown #shameless (at Vancouver, British Columbia)

[heymelisa]

Selfie Game Strong • • • • • • • #selfie #friends #love #pictureoftheday #picture #vancouver #girl #wcw #yvr #instagood #pictureinpicture #frame #chantrelles #instamood #blackwhite (at Tap & Barrel • Shipyards)

[heymelisa]

My father always taught me the importance of humility, family and depending on God through faith & prayer. "The family that prays together, stays together!" 📷: @jasphotographyllc • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • #simonismedads#faith#thatsdarling#godisgood#family#pray#siblings#peace#wisdom#love#qotd#humility#practice#walk#blessed#father#christian#church#instagram#wedding#word#potd#quote#brother#sister#words#fbf#instagood#flashbackfriday#dad (at West Side Presbyterian Church Ridgewood, NJ)

[heymelisa]

Good reminder. Life lessons. #wisdom #faith #godisgood #riseabove #QOTD (at Vancouver, British Columbia)