Friday, July 27, 2012

Day 415 ~ #8 of My 30 Days of Truth

My 30 Days of Truth challenge   I will admit that I changed one question and changed a few curse words... other than that the challenge is intact. 

Day 8: Someone who made your life hell or treated you horribly.


Well... well... well... where to start?


Oh sure, it would be so easy to use this moment to publicly hang the person(s) who made my life hell... boy, oh boy does one person come out to the forefront on this one... or the one(s) who treated me horribly... ennie... minnie... miney... moe... 


It's done... it's over with... they may have clearly deserved the "title" of major bullies...

However I will not give them the satisfaction or their "15 minutes of fame" (haha)...as if.  ;)

Besides, as mentioned in Day 5 of this challenge... I am practicing the art of forgiving.

I know all too well the difficulties of forgiving... after all you are talking to the queen of holding grudges here... wink, wink...  All this has accomplished, is the sparkle of my eyes fading and the hardening of my heart... never mind the loneliness it harbors within your soul.  Oh and the scowl wrinkles come in quicker too.  A "Perma-scowl" develops on your face.  wink, wink.

So... although it is harder to forget than it is to forgive, I am giving it a go of it. 

Again... as mentioned before... I am not doing this for them.  I am doing this for me.  For "the" happier me.  For "a" happier me.

{and} Every time a bad memory comes to mind... I have to stop it and shake it off.  I have to.  Otherwise... I am letting the "bullies" in my life win.  I am allowing the past to affect my present and my future.

Let's look at it another way.... One one hand... let it all bring me down ... weigh me down... wear a "perma-scowl"...  OR ... The other hand... shake it off... don't give the "enemy" importance in my life... not allow it to suck up any more of my happy time ... and more importantly practice happiness!

I choose the latter.


This is not an easy feet to perform.  I am in no way saying it is... however the unhappiness it has brought overflows to other areas of life.  


Believe me I am constantly asking God for help on this one.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."  ~Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”  ~Luke 17:3-4 (ESV)
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”  ~Mark 11:25 (ESV)
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;  ~Luke 6:37 (ESV) 
what's next? ..
Day 01 : Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 : Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 : Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 : Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 : Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 : Something you hope you never have to do. 
Day 07 : Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 : Someone who made your life hell, or treated you horribly.
Day 09 : Someone you didn't want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 : Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 : Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 : Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 : A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 : A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 : Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you've tried living without it.
Day 16 : Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 : A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 : Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 : What do you think of religion?  Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 : Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 : (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 : Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 : Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 : Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 : The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 : Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 : What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 : Name a decision you made that caused a chain of events that would not have happened if it wasn't for that decision.
Day 29 : Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 : A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself
Hey if you want to join along... well let me know in a comment and I'll visit your challenge each day.  We could even link up our blogs.  wink, wink.  No.. seriously we could.

Here's to 30 Days of Truth!

I am second.

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...


... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.

5 comments:

Kenya G. Johnson said...

It's amazing how you can be familiar with a scripture but then someone uses in the context of their own forgive and forget wars and it just makes you say, "Wow." There it is. Forgetting is very hard and I feel like I haven't forgiven if the memory of the "forgotten" brings on the "perma-scowl". I'm always a work in progress. ;-)

mail4rosey said...

Ah yes, the perma scowl...I have had it in the past...not for a long time though...knock on wood. :)


I like your positive sentiments. This challenge/share is neat.

Anonymous said...

Ok Carla this is a good one TRUTH! I need to do this one myself! Love this post! You are so gifted in your writing!

Detodounlolo said...

Love how you describe and put your feelings into words!
Sounds like a good challenge. Guess I´ll give it a try and let you know if I do.
See you around, your friend from VoiceBoks
Lolo
http://www.detodounlolo.blogspot.com

Leigh @ OneandOneEqualsTwinFun said...

I am so proud that you are not giving that person more fame by talking about them - forgiveness is a gift to yourself :)
Leigh