Who Is a Straight Spouse:
You are a straight spouse if you are heterosexual, and is in a relationship with a LGBT person. (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender). You may not know it yet, or you are aware of it, and is seeking answers to the many questions that you may have. Even if you are already out of the relationship, or separated or divorced, you are a straight spouse. Straight spouses come from every socio economic background, race, religion, cultural identity, ethnicity, educational background, sex, and age.
Welcome to our Encouragement Blog...We are glad you are here. We want to educate you while we encourage you, and help you keep on, keeping on. Everything is possible with God. YOU are not alone!
ENCOURAGEMENT
Things may be reallly bad for you right now, but all is not lost. There is still hope that you will climb out of this, and soar higher than you ever imagined. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Let Go of Doubt So God Can Use You
"Anyone who doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown up and down by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." (James 1:6-7 NCV/NIV)
There are two things that cause self-doubt in your life:
1. Comparing your abilities causes you to doubt your abilities. Instead of looking to God, you start looking around at everybody else. They have more talent, more abilities, more education, or more experience. The moment you start comparing yourself to other people, you're going to be filled with self-doubt.
The Bible says that it's dumb to compare yourself to other people (2 Corinthians 10:12). God doesn't want you comparing yourself to anybody else. He wants you to be unique. He wants you to be you.
2. Remembering your past failures causes you to doubt your abilities. Remembering your past failures is kind of like putting a movie in your mind of all your mistakes and playing it over and over. It tortures you to death, and you hate doing it.
God does not want you focusing on your past. If you stay focused on your past mistakes, you can't get on with your present, and God can't use you in the future. God says to forget the past.
Don't let your past doubts or guilt keep you from being used by God. God says, "I don't care what your past is. I want to use you!"
Talk About It
How many times a day do you compare what you own, have or have not accomplished, or look like to another person?
What do you want God to accomplish with that wasted time instead?
Resolving Impaired Relationships"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV).
Psychologists tell us that half the adult population is still harboring unresolved negative feelings towards their parents. They also warn us that until these relationships with our family of origin are resolved (and with any other significant person), we can never fully cultivate any other loving and healthy relationship. Unresolved conflicts from the past contaminate every relationship we have in the present. They can and do also seriously affect our physical and spiritual well-being. Sometimes reconciliation isn't possible because that is dependent on both parties. However, it is imperative that we take care of our side of any conflict and resolve any feelings of hurt and anger we might have so we can genuinely forgive any and all who have hurt us. To fail to forgive keeps us bound by the past. And as noted before, "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." It's not without good reason that Jesus taught us the need to forgive even our enemies even to seventy-times-seven (meaning endlessly). He also said that if you come to God and there remember you have an impaired relationship with a brother or sister, leave your gift for God for the time being and do everything in your power to resolve that relationship. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please confront me with the reality of any significant impaired relationship that I have—and give me the courage to do what I need to do to resolve my part in this conflict. And help me to forgive any and all who have ever hurt me so that I am freed to fully live and fully love—and to experience the depth of your forgiveness. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
God's Call to the Person with Same-Sex Attraction
Although God's dealings differ from person to person, God calls His children to righteous behavior. Persons with homosexual desires are called by God to the following:
1. To grow into the likeness of Christ through spiritual disciplines, the development of loving relationships with brothers and sisters in the church, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2. To acknowledge that although sexuality is a gift from God, homosexual or heterosexual temptation is not a gift from God, for "God cannot be tempted by evil" (James 1:13). However, no sin need separate a person from God's grace.
3. To seek deliverance from sexual preoccupation. Upon accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, a person with same-sex attraction does not usually experience immediate deliverance from homosexual temptation. As the
person submits to the lordship of Christ, however, the temptations will lose their control over his or her life.
Some experience their continued homosexual desireas a "thorn in the flesh." They discover that as they turn to Christ they find grace and experience personal and spiritual growth through their struggle to manage their sexual desire in a God-honoring way.
4. To be open to the possibility of developing heterosexual interest through Christian caring, therapy, and/or self-help groups. This transformation may or may not occur. If the change does not occur, it does not place the person in a spiritually inferior position.
Disclaimer: This may not necessarily reflect the views of all Christians,but this page was prepared to assist people who are interested in at least learning what the churches have said about homosexuality. As a Christian educator who strongly believes in the importance of a continuing loving dialogue on critical issues -- a dialogue marked by serious consideration of marginalized voices, by prayer, by patience, by listening, by respect, and ultimately by a commitment to follow in the way of Jesus -- I offer this page as a resource for study and consideration of these issues. If you have any questions or comments about this page, please address them via email.
Approval Versus Affirmation"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV). I recall exactly where I was standing many years ago when an extremely simple, yet profound truth suddenly dawned on me as I said to myself, "The reason I felt empty inside is because I am." Like thousands of other kids I grew up suffering from love-deprivation and for a big part of my life worked tirelessly to gain approval, not realizing that I was substituting this for the love I yearned for deep inside. Approval can look very much like love. It can be given in love but it isn't love, and when substituted for love it never satisfies. Approval is based on what we do, but we need to feel loved and affirmed for who we are. Approval is a good thing when given and received for the right reasons, but when substituted for love it can become another addiction to anesthetize the pain of not feeling loved. It can be like a drug. The more we get, the less it satisfies, so the more we seek after it. Affirmation is based on who we are apart from what we do. And only when we feel affirmed, can we get off the merry-go-round of doing all sorts of things to get approval. More than anything else we need to know God the Heavenly Father's love and affirmation at the very core of our being. This, I believe, is one of the greatest needs of every human heart, without which we may believe in God with our head but still feel disconnected from him in our heart. And how can I know God the Father's love and affirmation at the core of my being? First, by believing that God loves me because his Word says so and taking this by faith. Second, by sharing my total self over time (especially my dark side) with one or two safe, trusted friends who—knowing the real me—will love and accept me just as I am—warts and all. As they do this for me, little by little I come to love and accept myself in a healthy way and, in so doing, I feel affirmed and am able to open myself to accepting God the Father's love, acceptance and affirmation through them. Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a friend or two with whom I can be totally open and honest, friends who know me and will love me still, and through whom I can feel and know your love and affirmation at the very core of my being. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
Encouragement For Parents With Gay Children
My Daughter Is a Lesbian "Because of this [changing the truth about God for a lie], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." Romans 1:26-27 (NIV). A reader writes, "Please help me to understand why my adult daughter has become a lesbian over the past couple of years. She was brought up in a Christian home, was married for several years but is now separated. She has two sons who ask questions that I don't know how to answer. All I know is that God is against homosexual activities. Also, her father is a homosexual…." Dear Friend, regarding your daughter "becoming" a lesbian, my guess is that she has probably had these
God Opens Your Eyes to Barriers“Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.” (Numbers 22:31 NIV)You have some things you’ve wanted to do your whole life. You have goals and dreams you’ve been waiting to get started on. You want to start a business, start a family, or pursue a particular career. You’re trying the best you can, but you can’t seem to get started. You don’t know why. You need the Holy Spirit to open your eyes — or illuminate — the barrier in your way. You need God to do with you what he did with Balaam in Numbers 22. You may remember the story. Balaam was a prophet of God who agreed to help the bad guys. As Balaam started his journey to help the wrong people, God put an angel in his way to block his path. But Balaam couldn’t see the angel; his barrier was invisible. Yet Balaam’s donkey did see the angel and wouldn’t go anywhere near it. So Balaam angrily beat the donkey. In fact, Balaam beat the donkey three times. Balaam was so hard-headed that his donkey spoke up to try and talk some sense into him! Finally, the Bible says, “Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown” (Numbers 22:31 NIV).Something was blocking Balaam’s progress, but he couldn’t see what it was. Then God opened his eyes. The biblical word for that is “illumination.” God wants to open up your eyes, too. You have plans in your life that aren’t working out. You’re blocked at every turn. And you’re getting mad at everyone else in the process — your husband, your wife, your kids — everyone. You’re mad at everyone else because you can’t see what the real problem is. When your progress is being blocked, you have two choices. You can either beat the donkey or let God open your eyes. Either get mad at everyone around you, or turn to God for help. Your problem is, you can’t see the problem! But God does. Ask him to open your eyes as he opened up Balaam’s. Talk About It- What problem have you been facing that needs God’s clarification?
- Are you prepared to accept whatever clarification and solution God gives you once you ask for illumination?
Embracing Change
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19, NIV)
TODAY’S WORD
Change is one of the most difficult things for people to face; however, change is inevitable. In fact, Mark Twain once said, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” One reason people don’t like change is because they get comfortable with where they are in life. They get used to their friends, job or the place they live. And even if it’s not perfect, they accept it simply because it’s familiar.
However, when we are not willing to change, we get stuck in life holding on to what God did in the past instead of growing and moving forward into what God wants to do in the future.
Today, I encourage you to be open to the new things God has in store for you. Always remember that just because God has blessed you where you are doesn’t mean you can just sit back and settle there. God wants to do something new in you and through you. He wants to see you grow, prosper and flourish. Get ready and keep your heart focused on Him. Embrace change and see the blessing God has in store for you!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, I humbly come before You and thank You for all You’ve done in my life and all You will do in my future. I submit myself to You and choose to embrace change knowing that You always have good things in store in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Speak Favor to Your Mountains
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“And Jesus answered them, Truly I say to you, if you have faith (a firm relying trust) and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will be done” (Matthew 21:21, AMP)
TODAY’S WORD
Everyone goes through seasons when the challenges of life feel overwhelming. During these times, it’s easy to be tempted to talk about how bad things are. Maybe you are facing a situation right now that looks impossible. Don’t get discouraged and give up because God wants to do something awesome in your life. Instead of talking to God about how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your God is.
Be bold and start speaking favor to that situation. Every day say, “Father, thank You that Your favor is turning this around. Thank You that Your favor is making a way even though I don’t see a way. Lord, thank You that Your favor is doing remarkable, astounding, overwhelming things.” When you release your faith like that, you’ll see God show up and do amazing things that you’ve never seen happen before!
Remember, even if you don’t see how things could ever work out, God does. Just do your part and keep speaking to those mountains in your life. Declare favor over those situations and get ready to move forward in the victory and blessing God has prepared for you!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which is life to my spirit. I receive Your strength today and choose to speak favor to the mountains. Thank You for preparing a path of victory as I keep my heart and mind stayed on You in Jesus’ name. Amen!
YOU MUST HOLD ON
A WORD FROM THE LORD TO BUILD UP, ENCOURAGE, AND COMFORT YOU
This problem seems to never end, in fact it appears to be getting worse. You see no way out. You have had thoughts it would be better if you were not on the scene. Don't entertain any further the thoughts that have come to you. They are from the devil, and will not benefit anyone.
You didn't get to this place overnight and you won't get out overnight. But you are not at the place of absolute disaster. It will take some time but you will get out. It is not impossible.
I am here for you. I will never leave you. Trust Me step by step. We will make it through.
Jeremiah 15:11 "The LORD said, 'Surely I will set you free for purposes of good; Surely I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you In a time of disaster and a time of distress.'"
Remember this: There is nothing that you will face today that the Lord can't bring you through.
Thank God for what you have, Trust God for what you need
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