God in the grief: Recent Episodes
Katherine Grasser
my experience with grief after the loss of my boys, age 17 and 11, and a year later the loss of my son in law.
just because your heart is broken,don't give up on other life functions. moving forward has it's benefits. w have so many reminders to continue on in God's word.
scriptures used: Acts 2:42 Acts 14: 19-28 Acts 26: 22 Col 1: 23 1Tim. 4:16 2 Tim. 3: 14-17 James 1: 25
poem read called, Don't Quit by John Greenleaf Whittier
good things come to those who believe, better things come to those who are patient, the best things come to those who don't give up.
prayer is our key to heaven, use it often.it will change you, it will show you how to be a part of the solution you are looking for.
verse used: Psalms 18: 21- 32
song by Josh Groban Check out The Prayer (with Charlotte Church) by Josh Groban on Amazon Music https://music.amazon.com/albums/B002FN1HE8?trackAsin=B002FNAYW4&ref=dm_sh_8H0aXQNl0uDP6tmadZE0Bgaq7
link to my other "God in the grief" on the new cast box, https://castbox.fm/va/2917583 click and subscribeto get future episodes.
to see the show notes go here,to an updated version of this podcast.
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if you have difficulties email Kathy at godinthegrief@gmail.com
proverbs 3:27 withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
being able to see beyond your own need is a blessing.
when we put effort to give,God notices with compassion.
When you give your heart to God then you have no need to spare what you give because it is all God's. Don't spare you're grief or understanding, give it all to God.
Don't forget it is more blessed to give than receive.
Don't let sadness demand to be in your life because of your circumstances.
5 things to do to dispel sadness: 1. read psalms 2. pray 3. allow yourself to be comforted 4. choose Hope 5. love
verses used: psalms 42:11, 6:9, 66:20 Luke 8:48 John 14: 26-27
book mentioned: Driven by Emotions by Elise Allen from the pixar Disney movie, Inside Out.
Kathy can be reached at, godinthegrief@gmail.com
Having anxiety will give you God- heimers, or it will cause you to forget God. Remembering God will be your cure for anxiety.
The rainbow is Gods sign to remember him. the colors meanings;
red-- means passion ( suffering and death of Christ), vitality (state of being strong and active), and enthusiasm ( keenness of spirit), and security ( free from danger).
orange-- creativity, practicality.
yellow-- clarity of thought, wisdom, orderliness, energy.
green-- fertility, growth, balence
blue-- spirituality, divinity
indigo-- sedating, mystical, self awareness, intuition.
violet-- imagination, sorrow.
God took all these colors and made something beautiful. note, sorrow included.
best simple advice included in podcast.
if you have had the opportunity to love someone, what an honor.
The honor is in what love brings to us. The mercy, kindness, joy and pleasure, it brings. The willingness to suffer, and the selflessness it brings is an honor. it's in the actions and the way we think toward each other, its in the way love bears up and unites.it's in the hope that endures.
scriptures used; psalms 119:130 proverbs 8:17 proverbs 17:17 Ecclesiastes 3:8 1 Corinthians 13 all of it. it's the love chapter.
bible love stories
Jesus and Lazarus Jacob and Rachel Isaac and Rebecca Ruth and Naomi Ruth and Boaz Jonathon and David Mary and Joseph Moses and his mom Hannah and Elkanah Hosea and Gomer
You've been assigned this mountain to show others it can be climbed.
Our trials are not always just for ourselves, God uses them to help others as well.
scriptures used; genesis 22 numbers 13:17-20 psalms 60:4
Take heart if you're assigned a mountain, you've been given an opportunity to view God intimately,and worship him. Do some introspection along the way, and don't forget to place your banners so others can be encouraged.
Watch and wait with expectancy and be prepared for unexpected answers.
included are five things that waiting will do for you.
scriptures used:
psalms 25:5 , 27:14, 37:7, 37:34, 52:9, 62:5, 130:6, Isaiah 25:9, 40:30 John 5:2 proverbs 8:34 1John 5:20
It's a faithful God, that let's you feel pain intimately.
scriptures mentioned; Hebrews 4:14-16 Matthew 8:17 Ephesians 3:17-19
out of pain can come; love, affection,warmth, tenderness, care, concern, sympathy, kindness, compassion, understanding, thoughtfulness, appreciation.
OR
suspicion, loneliness, neglect, disbelief, doubts, fears, disappointments.
we want our pain to cultivate the good emotions in us.
challenges are what makes life interesting,and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
four things challenges can teach us. 1. it puts us in a place to learn more than when we are at ease. 2. it builds character. 3.gives us strength for the future. 4. makes victory sweet.
a review of the challenge of David and goliath, a look at what job gained in his challenge.
realizing we are better because of our challenges.
Kathy can be reached at, godinthegrief@gmail.com
lifes circumstances can leave us feeling fearful,discouraged,and alone, but God had given us some powerful tools to use to combat these difficulties. we can be fearless,and at peace in our personal grief. these tools are; 1.the name of Jesus. 2.singing and praise 3. the light (of God's word) 4. peace that comes from trust.
the poems read are; " keep up the song of faith" by M.E. Barber
" against a thorn" selected
Kathy can be reached at godinthegrief@gmail.com
how and why did encourage yourself through songs, some good old hymns listed, and a reading pour of Kathy's grief journal. ends with the song by crossroads, "God wants to hear you sing"
Kathy can be reached at, godinthegrief@gmail.com
we can make a difference by how our grief effects us and others in our own ordinary, broken life by being that one willing person God can use. You will learn in this episode that defending God, being willing to speak up, just being faithful, and showing up with our basket, bringing what we can to God, and recognizing God has a purpose for each life will help thou make a difference in your grief. Keeping God in our grief makes the biggest difference.
Kathy can be contacted at godinthegrief@gmail.com
As I was praying today I found myself praising God and thanking Him. Thanking Him for creating two amazing boys and giving them to me to enjoy for a while. Thanking Him for making a place in heaven for them and receiving them with open arms. Thanking Him that he made a way to live a life here worthy of heaven so I can see my boys again. Thanking him for being with us always even when our hearts don't understand and because he deserves all honor and praise and who am I? I will still love him and I will forever Praise Him! When life is sweet say thank you and celebrate, when life is bitter say thank you and grow!
Kathy can be reached at ; godinthegrief@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you.
perspective is one of the keys to finding joy in our grief. it will allow us to be thankful despite our hard times. It will help us go from strength to strength, not battle to battle.
There are two sides to dying. The earth side that is often lonely and sad. And the heaven side that is amazing.Don't forget to think about the heaven side. There was a huge happy welcome there.
song in the back ground is by Chuck Wagon Gang, " traveling on"
memories are precious or sometimes they can be painful,but either way,we need to be thankful we have them.
song, precious memories,by Alan Jackson.
We want our life to be an encouragement to others. When we go thru hard times it strengthens our testimony of who we say God is. let's establish a beautiful testimony for our children and others around us to take courage from. Names mentioned changed for privacy.
let your smile change the world, but don't let the world change your smile.
Romans 8:28 tells us that, "all things work together for good.." do we still believe that when we are broken? do good things come from broken things. the answer is,yes. God has always deemed it so. He was broken for us, let us be willing to be broken for him to use.
God does all things well,all the time. Sometimes that takes going through difficult times to allow God to work with the soul,the most precious part of man.
included are short stories of God's goodness.
music is , life is hard by Pam Thum
Praising God in the midst of grief is the highest form of gratitude we can give God for who he is.
Think of simple ways to be thankful; joy dare, (mistakenly called truth dare in this episode) by Ann Voskamp, easily found on Pinterest.
Be thankful for the hard things in life, it will change your perspective.
music in background, " angels watching" by praise piano.
using my journal to sort grief out and see what God has done.
Peace is a healing balm, and if we don't give our grief to God and let him exchange it for peace, we will be fighting our selves. But God has a peace that passes understanding. We don't have to figure it out. We just have to trust.
Find out how God gave his peace to us when Mandy's phone spoke peace.
song from the album, scripture lullabies. called, " the peace of God".
In times of grief we feel weak, but with God in the grief, he has given us all the tools we need to gain strength. We are strong, We are brave.
song by the Carr family, "He will carry you"
learning to place our time in God's hand is not easy but if we do it we will find peace comes with it, and finding a way out when we feel stuck between yesterday and tomorrow.
we took a trip to the coast after the funeral and stopped at Mt St Helens. This quote, " out of catastrophe comes opportunities" was on their IMAX film. I'll never forget it. it's so true. Ephesians 5:19-20 says Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. we encourage ourselves that out of this chaos God will work a good work.
I learned I had to forgive myself if I didn't want anything to hinder my worship of God. a look at Paul as an example.
I learned that we need people in our grief to allow then to be a comfort to us and appreciate them.
"people who realize they need people and appreciate those people are the most blessed people."
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
The heros in my time of grief were the people that saw a need and just showed up to fill it. People in grief will not ask for help, and are not even aware of what they need, so if you know someone in grief, find a need and take care of it. pay it forward, encourage one another and build each other up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11