I Get Knocked Down

John 16:20. Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

There is an old song Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. It repeats the phrase:

I get knocked down, but I get up again
You are never gonna keep me down


These words are often floating around in my head. Contrary to what some people may believe when they read my writings or meet me, I don’t have it all figured it out. SPOILER ALERT Life is not all about rainbows and unicorns! I know my life isn’t.

Yes, I have gone through some rough things that I pray and hope no one else ever has to go through. However, I also know there are many people that have gone through it and I must share so they know they are not alone.

I don’t care what it is you are going through, I want you to know YOU are not alone. Someone somewhere has walked that path before. Let your voice be heard. Ask for help. Tell your story. Someone will walk with you. By shouting it out loud and clear, you just may be that one person someone else is looking for.

Even as a Christian, I don’t get to claim life is easy and smooth because I have a God that loves me. Nope! Jesus himself told us in John 16:20 “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” I want you to take note of the BUT in that sentence. That BUT is our hope! It is what we hang on to. It is our “You are never going to keep me down.”

What I am trying to say is, it is not that I don’t get knocked down. It is not that I don’t stumble and fall. Heck, it is not that I don’t just lay down and give up from time to time. It is not how many times I go down that matters. It is how many times I get back up that counts.

So, if you are stumbling today, grab my hand. We will get back up together!

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Saved in Torment

Psalms 18:4-6 & 16

The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.

When I put these verses together, I read my life. I read my struggle with mental illness. I read my salvation from suicide.

Today I am thankful there is no pit deep enough, that his love can not reach down and resue me.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

I Bear the Light! What is Your Superpower?

Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG): 1Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

I read the above verses from Matthew this week and jumped for joy! I found a way I can serve God, by serving others. He has created me to be a light in this world filled with darkness. Created to bear light with the power to dispel the darkness wherever I go.

Do you realize what this means? You, my friend, are a superhero! However, this is much more powerful any superhero power! My light is the word of my testimony. It is my past and all of its good and ugly experiences. My voice is my light. It will show the pathway to survive anxiety, depression, and PTSD by leading people to the one true Light of this World.

God did not create us to sit in pews on Sunday morning and the occasional holiday. He did not create us to read and pray, then do nothing about it. He created us to be a light to this world. We come to bear the light of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to open our mouths and share with people, love people, hold people and take them to the one who can heal them and prepare them to be more light in this world.

Whatever experiences you have dealt with in your life, these are your passions. These are the stepping stones to lay out for others who travel the same road. Let your voice be heard. Let your light shine. Tell people they are not alone. You have been there and done that. Wear your superhero cape with pride! You are no longer Clark Kent. You are SUPERMAN!

Superman, DC Comics

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Battles Begin in the Mind

Galatians 5

Galatians 5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Every battle begins in the mind, at least that is what I have been told every time a New Year comes around and the infamous resolutions come out. Actually, I don’t care if it is a new year, new month, new job, new relationship or new whatever! I tend to have the same idea. This is a fresh start and I won’t let blah blah blah happen again!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for fresh starts and beginning again. I mean that is what grace is all about. What I need to remember is to not let my new goals enslave me. I must find a way to keep balance in my life without chaining myself down. The minute I chain myself down I will break my “rule” and then I will hate myself and get frustrated and just walk away from it completely. That will get me nowhere!

Religion can sometimes get that way also. We get caught up in all the “rules” of the church and forget God set us free from the pomp and circumstance when He sent Jesus to die for us. We don’t practice all the old rituals. They are not what the new covenant is all about. The new covenant is about two simple things, love God and love others. Do those two things and everything else will fall into place.

If WE, as what my pastor husband likes to refer to as the Big C- Church, remember those two simple things, we will find it much easier to commune with the lost. If WE can concentrate on love and not let things like the way a person dresses, speaks, what he eats or drinks, smokes, the way acts, or who he is involved with, get in the way WE can show them what Christ was really about.

If WE can just love our neighbors, we will win the battle in our minds and truly be set free.

Copyright © 2019 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.