the copious online edifice of dj sallySALL

This was from a question in one of my online groups, btw.

(I can already sense that my two cents are going to end up being two dollars again, lol. ➡️ Ain’t no way to say this in under ten words. ⬅️ If you haven’t had your coffee yet just screenshot this for now and read it when you can lol. (Yes it’s that important, especially if you’re in the USA now; if you know, you know. (Alas 🥹😭)
Anyway!
Please know that I’m speaking from perhaps a different perspective than many of the dear bros and sisses that I’ve already read comments from here—BUt I’m speaking with much love. ♥️♥️♥️ Not just coz Jesus Is Love and I feel so Loved By Him (and want to keep His Commandments) but because I have been on both sides of a counselor’s bench. 🥷 (SCROLL TO NEXT EMOJI FOR THE ACTUAL BEGINNING OF THIS SPIEL, lol. :))

I have counseled or taught over 10k in 15 years. Taught way more than counseled, but a large percentage came back to me for counsel. The “dear friends,” as they call them (some I can’t call client or patient coz there were some I didn’t charge at all, others I only met with them once or thrice, and client makes it sound like it was all biz and I did not care about them. For the rec, I stopped full-time a while back (2012ish?) and completely “retired” after Covid, so I’m not up on the current regulations but I still volunteer in ministries and stuff. So I’m current on the people but not the latest policies (not that I’m happy with health care at ALL today—it’s called sick care now—and education is so horrible that I can’t even see straight. My bp shoots through the roof. Because I’ve seen SO MUCH damage in sweet children who are misdiagnosed, ignored, yada yada. But that’s another story for another day.)
Finally, am only adding this mega-spiel about my experience coz I trust that peeps who are in earnest about what a person (Aka moi) be saying would be advised to always check their sources and also triangulate their info or intel.)
Ok! Now we can start! (This will save on follow-up questions methinks 🙂 ♥️✝️🙏

Ok! Main points:
💪the last one is the reason I felt compelled to write here btw so if you in a hurry scroll on down 🙂

1) the best therapy FOR SOMEONE WHO LOVES JESUS is not just therapist and not just pastor; it’s a THERAPIST WITH THE HEART OF A PASTOR. Very few people (relatively) from those who “need or want therapy” actually have a biological thing going on that REQUIRES medication to take care of what ails them. I’ve had (over the last 20 years) HUNDREDS of “dear friends” (aka “patients” if you scrolled down:)) with diagnoses of anxiety and or depression (amongst other things, and of late, identifying as “socially awkward” or “social anxiety” or “communication apprehension”). These beautiful babies were taking all sorts of pills… none of which fit the bill. They were getting worse. Often because the issue wasn’t being addressed… or because they were misdiagnosed in the first place. (AND because the current (well, “then-current”) definitions and diagnostic criteria thingie in DSM way back then were frankly… flawed. (I’m not gonna say “publish or perish” or salami publishing today lol!)
Anyway, after working with me for like an hour or two, they were able to drop all medicine and do GREAT! A year later, no pills! Why. Because now we finally addressed “what ACTUALLY ails them.”

2) NO there was no hypnosis involved! (See the next one for more on that!)
In some cases we just got a handle on what their worldview is. We discussed the MANY ways people today are being lied-to (ie “if you have friends and a babe, you’re awesome, if you have no friends and no dates, you a loser.” On what planet is this remotely true??? I take my self-worth from my relationship status? NO! It’s from “Who Be Thy Papa?” YAHWEH. You Are Made IN HIS IMAGE and ROCK… for no other reason. You will never be “good enough” because what IS good enough, you know? And before God, there IS no good enough. Once you understand
Wethat, LOTS of probs start to fall away.
But while we on the subject, you know how there’s this phrase that popped up a few years ago, “you are enough” ? “I am enough” ? I’m not quite sure that every person who says this means it in the same way, but if I am enough to be happy, then if I’m not happy… I guess
I ain’t enough. (But we already agreed that NO ONE is enough, can BE enough, or even NEEDS to be enough. Your value be In Your “Maker’s Mark,” yeah? (Who would buy ugly diarrhea-looking Louis Vuitton except for the name of that old dude that isn’t even around to change it back to something more attractive, lol. Black and white! Jewel tones! 👜 😭😭😤 lol.
S O ! “I am enough” we don’t care about and “I am enough to make someone else happy” is other big fat lie. Why?? BECAUSE

A) happy is a BIGGER lie (if only coz it’s transient.
Happy is more situational let’s say, and JOYOUS means “unshakably and permanently ‘happy,’ kinda.” Some call this semantics and it may even be incorrect by the denotative definition BUt it’s a useful way of thinking about it. And for the record, following “happiness” will only result in a person becoming very SAD (and like a fair-weather friend. To others and To God. Even to self. 😭

b) (sorry it kept switching to emoji if I made it capital letter lol) JUST as our identity and non-loserness is not dependent on other HUMANs, but on our relationship as Image-Bearer Made By God for a specific purpose, so, too, is our “permanent happiness” aka JOY, dependent ONLY upon Him. He Is our Source. ERGO, as “no human will ever be my source (of anything),” so, TOO, can you NEVER make anyone happy! (Actually you can make someone happy for the short term—BUT it ain’t your job! And it’s a treadmill! You know how one day polka dots are the trend and lots of peeps get that… and then before you know it, they’re so nerdy and dated dweeb look and they done called Fashion Police coz OOOH IT BE PAISLEY NOW. Like seriously. Chasing a trend means you’ll always be shopping (if only for a bigger closet so you can keep stuff and bring it back out lol).
SO! You aren’t “enough” to make anyone joyful—BUT YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE!
Realising that is like putting on the oxygen mask thing in the plane; you’re taken care of and you can turn around and help others. (Note that I’m not saying we should not help others or get them water or sandwich or drive them places; we’re to serve others “as To The LORD.” Of course! But don’t do something for a Pat on the back from anyone But HIM ✝️✝️✝️♥️♥️♥️ :)) (and don’t stop doing so just coz they ungrateful… or just don’t articulate their thanks. We’re doing everything as To The LORD, praise Be To HIM! What A SWEET FRIEND And PAPA Is He!!! :)))
Ok now we have a related issue that ties together both 1 and 2 (or was it a and b?)
C) THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!
You know, LOTS of people suffer emotional pain SIMPLY because they ARE or just even FEEL disconnected From God. He Our SOURCE, right? So if we
Ain’t plugged In, then, like… we’re missing power. Maybe a cell phone operated the same on low battery, but have you ever been like
Cooking or buildingfurniture with a cordless mixer (and?!) or drill/driver?
And the battery is LOW, so the power of the rotation becomes weaker.
Well, we become weaker, too, once our connection To And With Him runs down.
I talk About Jesus ALL DAY but am often so busy blabbing ABOUT Him—even praying with others—that I often feel ragged, spiritually depleted several times a day. Why? (Hint: it’s NOt coz I’m an empath vampire who takes the pain of others onto myself (the way He Took our sins Upon Himself (Thank You JESUS! King Of LOVE! Glory and Honour and Blessings and Power Are YOURS, O Precious SAVIOUR! ♥️✝️🙏✝️♥️
Did you guess why I got depleted so much? :)) it’s coz, while I blabbed up a great storm and exhorted the trash out of loads of beloved souls, I didn’t have a chance to be alone With The PRECIOUS Holy Spirit Of God! I been running in the desert and need me some (Living!) Water, son! (I need to remember that people with my accent can’t speak Floridian very well. Sigh.)

Ok! So now that we took 1000 years to get to this point, let’s look at the MAIN THING I wanted to say.

3) there are actually SUPERNATURAL FORCES at work or at play at ALL TIMES.
I am NOt saying it’s always a demon, or always organic, or always chemical imbalance or hormonal or whatever
Biological. It’s not even always a beastly worldview (Aka lies you were told).
I’ve seen cases of each mentioned above, and some that I even forgot about in this “hurried” message (lol if you made it this far I want to send you a Rolls Royce or something lol).
Keeping these options in mind is MOST helpful, Indeed.

Remember how I mentioned that I’d been on both sides of the counselor’s bench? Well, it’s all true. Following some traumatic events at school, I had to see someone. This happened several times. (For example, I got gravely ill with autoimmune stuff and had to take almost a year away from grad school and went ballistic. Those shrinks were not Christian, but I wasn’t really much of one back then, myself. And I did see the wisdom in their words, as culturally-insensitive and ill-informed as they were. (They weren’t being mean, they just assumed that because I live in USA, I had been “liberated” from the strict and traditional Egyptian culture, and that my concerns about letting down the family by being too sick to finish my PhD were “silly, they will love you anyway!” Which was true (I think they worried about my death more than “she died without defending dissertation.” Because my communication with the fam was stilted. I was only doing the degree to please them. I was working to GET love and acceptance, not FROM a place of love(d) and accepted. It turned out that I was wrong, btw, and I did finally finish PhD thank God.
I’ve been to over 20 “shrinks” (using this in a friendly way, not a diss, and only coz I don’t wanna type “counselor, therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, etc.” every single time lol). Half of them claimed to be “Christian counselors.” Or to provide “Christian counseling,” which is a cheeky way of saying that they knew the tricks, but did not know The Most-High. It was just another modality to many of them.
Should this matter? Well! I’m so glad you asked. (Oops you didn’t hehe. Well it’s a good story so Buckle up, friend.:))
Long story short (HEH, too late for that, lol.) 😎
I was in group counseling with a chum. During our time with one counselor (the only one I’m still in touch with, and one I love as a sister), he starts doing this weird stuff with his face. I don’t believe for a moment it was epilepsy or a tic or Tourette’s. I feel like a cheeseball even typing this, but the human face can’t do what his face was doing. It was like rippling and his mouth opened so wide I thought it would become dislocated. She saw this and said “what the heck is going on??”
I had no idea. A second time this happened. I had never even THOUGHT that demons were a thing, up till then. Sure In The Bible, but not post-pan dem and not when I had a mobile phone that worked on both a battery and invisible WiFi (I was like 20 when they came out. I even remember Car Phones lol.)
It took me a while to find out what it was, and it turned out to be an actual demon. (Some of you will be like “ok go smoke lsd, chick!” But it was.)
I later found out he was pursuing satanic activities. I’m ashamed to say that in my pride, I thought no demon could stand to be around someone who is InDwelt By Holy Spirit. Which I AM. (Thank You Jesus!)
I mean, we watched sermons together twice or thrice a week! I sang to him and even wrote before his eyes a dozen worship songs! How could the demon stand it? (Like vampire and holy water in Hollywood:))
Well, it was a strong one. A big one. Our friendship of six years ended very badly. That therapy thing was our last attempt to work things out.
I later (later again) found out that the day he decided to end things (I had been trying to leave for a year, for God Had Told me that the boy was keeping me from my purpose and calling. And he was. The day I broke free, a cloud lifted and I went further in my calling than I had in the past five years. His demon had tormented me constantly. But that’s another tale.)
The point is that the day he said farewell, he was staying in the place of a relative of his (whom I love and still love now more than I ever—no, that’s not true. He was like a brother and father to me, and I miss him every day of my life even though it’s been a long while. But as much as I loved him, I loved his sweet Auntie even more. She was truly a kindred spirit. Even down to the fascination with magic and witchcraft. (Did I forget to mention that I was once into satanism and “dark” magic? This was in like the early 90s btw. And yes I’ve renounced it but YuP I’ve surely seen some very odd things in my time. But even then it never occurred to me that “demons are a thing” !! Heh. ://
Anyway the point is that (I’ve said the point is like 80 times… at this point. Lol. Sorry. Need some coffee. Hehe 🙂
But like he was in her house. I believe strongly that she’s into spirit guides and white magic and healing hypnosis stuff, and if a big demon be in him, I would not be surprised if it began in her and just went nepotism or whatever.
I say all this to tell you that this is not a case of “oh, he growled in displeasure, ergo he’s a demon.” There were LOtS of things
I didn’t see or understand till later. Even the Christian counselor had no idea what was going on. So that’s the first thing about a Christian counselor: he needs to actually know The Word very well if you want to take care of problems that may be spiritual (a non-believer might not get that we need to interact With Holy Spirit literally several times
A day just to function as He Wants us to! It’s HARD to love those who diss you. It’s HARD to forgive someone who broke into your flat and put their hands around your throat because you refused to sleep with them. It’s VERY VERY SUPER-HARD to clean up after babies who will say “not the mama!” After a few short years (and give up the last pizza slice coz they’re growing and hungry! Lol props to all the care-takers and parents out there, and blessings over you and your lovely families♥️✝️🙏
So CC (Christian Counselor) 1 didn’t know what was going on. Then Sally finds out about pastor Vlad and is like um NO, this is a demon! And me and bro/pop watch “you might have a demon IF!” Together.
Scheduling issues happen and we go to another CC. This dude “was once” a pastor before he became a counselor. (His bio said this, I believe. I may be wrong tho). Anywhoodle, he asks us why we’re here, and why we here together, since we’re neither dating nor married nor related or anything. “We’re a family.” Both gamers, both misfits in a way, but I’m antisocial and lose lots of energy talking to people and being with them (tho I do love them. I also can’t deal with wuss mentalities, and always fall into Busybody Battle-Axe Mode if I saw someone before me is suffering. (Good for a therapist but exhausting for me and likely vexing to my chums and cronies. But If Holy Spirit Tells me “oh, this dude tried to go bye-bye forever this week, ask him about _,” I don’t have a choice in the matter, and will not stop trying to obey Him until the day He Takes me To His Side, praise To Him!).
My friend wasn’t antisocial, tho. He longed to belong and to be accepted. He just didn’t know how to do it. And frankly, he didn’t know what he had. Others would make fun of him and he’d take it “because they noticed him.” Oooh how that would gall me. He was to intelligent and clever and great sense of humour. He didn’t value himself, though. He was plagued by constant severe anxiety and imposter syndrome after years as a fabulous pro in his field. I should have known that his self-doubt was the whispers of the LoSER devil. Sigh.
Anyway. This is the point (no for real this time lol): this alleged CC says why you here girl and I’m “um, he is into some demonic stuff and I want him to stop. He doesn’t want to stop.”
This mans looks me in the face and says “why do you want him to stop?”

“Um… he’s inviting the demonic. I’m not even Pentecostal and even I think he’s going to get a demon; I’ve been super-depressed for months and now I’m starting to wonder if it’s a demon! This is NOt cool, yo! And I refuse to allow my BRO to be demonised too!”

And again the cc asks “why don’t you want him to have a demon?”

Not “is that really possible?” But “why not?”
For someone claiming Christian counseling to ask why I would like to avoid demons in both of us is… I don’t know what to say.
Well, yes I do. Most shrinks would question my sanity for blaming stuff on something they think is fairy tale at best and “locus-deflecting” or “agency-not-takingness” at less-best.
This guy went along with it and asks WHY. “Why can’t you accept him and be his friend anyway even if he has a demon?”
Demons are like herpes: you don’t even have to kiss them to get infected. Sharing a drink is all you need to share the love.
Playing Tetris or Stardew or Final Fantasy together for 45 minutes a day was all I needed to be tormented and blocked from my calling.
“Why don’t you want him to have a demon?”
Why WOULD I want ANYONE to have demon? They’re the ENEMY! Their entire job (or “the whole POINT of demons,” heh) is 1) to prevent unbelievers from giving their lives To Jesus, and 2) to cause believers to doubt themselves, their skills, their identities, their “enoughness,” their identity In JESUS, their faith, their salvation, their purpose.
They seek only to kill, steal, destroy. Whether they’re stealing your purpose or killing your confidence or destroying your relationships. Stealing your joy.
Even if they don’t kill a person, it’s a win to prevent that dear, sweet person from fulfilling God’s Assignment for them. “If he can’t TAKE you out, he’ll try to WEAR you out.” (I heard two diff pastors say that in their sermons yesterday.)

I share this painful story to let you know how very important it is for a person that you’ve trusted your mental health and possibly relationships and possibly spiritual health with
To be on the same page as
Are you. I’m not saying to hop around. I’m not saying counseling is always good or always bad. I’m not saying that
Pharmaceuticals never have their place (tho if you’re on antidepressants, read the latest research on them).
Sometimes the root cause really IS spiritual. Other times it’s worldview. A substance. Another illness. (ie people with dementia can get really upset or angry or sad or lots of things… and it’s not something that Prozac or abilify or whatever can touch, because it’s not actually a psychiatric condition, but rather a natural reaction to the feeling of “I have no idea what’s going on!” Or “WHO are these peeps with my hair type and my eye colour and WHY are they hugging me??” (The Notebook:(((
And if it’s a demon, all the Prozac or lithium bicarbonate or anti-schizophrenic, anti-psychotic, whatever can touch that. Only Jesus Can!
So therapy doesn’t always work, but not coz counselors or counseling or pills never work or are intrinsically bad. “Let the punishment fit the crime.”

Or let the medicine/solution fit the disorder/problem.

Sometimes we need to get a pastor in there. Sometimes an MD. Sometimes a deliverance minister.

Speaking of which, THIS NEXT PART IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!
Well, all of it has been important, perhaps not to the casual reader, but I know that some people are going to be set FREE after reading this whole thing (In The MIGHTY NAME Of LORD JESUS!!! ♥️✝️🙏✝️♥️👑👑👑🥰🥰🥰).
If anything, you get an award for reading this much in one day, heh :))

The following “modalities” will 100 per cent get you a satanic stowaway. Why? Because in taking part, you are requesting their presence. In Final Fantasy Jargon, you are summoning them. Remember, I was into the dark arts for a few years. I’ve owned dozens of spellbooks and grimoires. I crafted my own athame and ritual tools (Forgive me ya RAB!). I wasn’t casual about it at all. I WANTED to connect with the spiritual world. I just didn’t realise that Holy Spirit Wanted To Connect With me, too 🙂

Ok, so here are some
OPEN DOORS TO DEMONS
(If you want more info on any, you can write it in google but also I’ve already written abt this, just scroll down like six months here on fb or send me a message. No I’m not selling anything :)) ♥️✝️🙏
BTW as we get to the bottom of the list, I’ll be putting things that aren’t official doors BUt they don’t Glorify God and why do you want to fill your mind with that? If you need it to feel or aren’t grieved by it, I think you need to schedule an appointment With Dr. Great Physician, love. ♥️✝️🙏

Again these are
OPEN DOORS TO DEMONS

Hypnotherapy (EVEN “self”)

Yoga

TRAUMA

Meditation on anything not Bible

EDMR (the eye thing)

Family member or close friend into demonic stuff or magic (or even “just” demonised)

Anything about “MANIFESTING” stuff (you will soon be manifesting something else, tragically. GOD FORBID♥️✝️🙏)

(Anything from Mynd Valli, ahem)

Anything like vision board, The Secret, law of attraction, magnetism

Breath work, energy work, shadow work

“The shadow self”

Stuff called “Christianish” (new age witchcraft with a side dish Of Jesus :((

Spirit guide

“Light worker”

“Beings of light”

Anything to do with angels (we don’t pray to them, they are not allowed to contact us, we are not their Boss and cannot deploy them! They serve GOD, not us! The ones who don’t serve God now are “fallen” aka work for loser satan; the ones that slept with human girls are chained up in hell now, it’s In The Bible)

Reiki, energy healing

Acupuncture

Channeling, ouija board, automatic writing

ENNEAGRAM (automatic writing aka ouija pen)

Word of faith, prosperity gospel, name it and claim it, blab it and grab it. Yes, By His Stripes we are healed… spiritually! Nowhere does it say that God Will Keep us on this earth indefinitely! Don’t you want to See Him Face-to-face one day? Sure it’s painful and a bit scary to think of and very very painful when you’re the one left behind but if this verse were true, wouldn’t God Have Removed the thorn in the flesh of Paul? I’m speaking as someone with over 45 medical conditions/injuries, lol. (Do you know how many people I get to share The Gospel With every time I get something new?? :)) when they see me loving and preaching Him until the end—and the various near-death experiences I’ve had, they often ask for more info. Even though it’s like being in a prison, this broken body, I am so beyond honoured when even one of them (or my students or fellow gamers or someone about to end it all) asks me to pray with them. So don’t see a lack of healing as a lack of Love On His Part. See it as a chance to be His Special Ambassador 🙂 (don’t go and hurt yourself for the chance, tho, if you’re physically fine. God Has a ministry for you to do with and in the circumstances you’re in! And He Will DEF Help you to get there :)) ♥️✝️🙏

Churchified “speaking things into existence,” “God Is A Speaking Spirit, and we are In His Image, so!” (Ok, then, create a galaxy right now. Or make that hottie at Starbucks come over to me this instant!)

➡️ FASTING AND PRAYING FOR A SPECIFIC OUTCOME ⬅️

(These past few are WITCHCRAFT btw; God Is SOVEREIGN, NOT santa!!! 🎅🏼

Video games, music, and FILM aka movies or videos, with themes of satan, killing, death, zombies, demons. Games that have “kneeling to this idol” as a bloody GAME MECHANIC! (One time this game asked me to collect and deliver souls, pray at 12 altars (one for each false god), yada yada.

Games/film/music with sexual themes of any sort. (“Oh, but I’m married, it’s ok!” It most certainly is NOt ok! Bringing anyone but Jesus into the marriage Covenant DEFILES it. Further, if it’s not something you WOULD do irl, do NOt give the loser demons further fuel to, like, fan the flames of fervent… fervency. Contrary to popular belief, you CAN feel lust for someone that you love. This may “just” be semantics but objectifying ANY person—including your spouse—and turning it into “what pleases ME” over what pleases THEM is DEF about self and flesh. I’m not saying to become flowery and go for aromatherapy or Home Depot shopping spree just to make them happy (if they know how much you hate it you can work on a compromise that pleases both. I mean maybe she would be just as happy to build furniture with him in the room, ready to help lift heavier items, as she would be with him walking around the store for three hours.)

Using unGodly language, filthy language, coarse language. Using His PRECIOUS, HOLY NAME in vain! Don’t say it’s a prayer when you’re not actually praying. Don’t use His Name as a cuss word. Don’t Use The BLESSED Word as a baseball bat. Don’t use a marital gift as an exclamation or a threat (or a command, heh. Oh, Gordon Ramsay… I wish it were not so cute when you let strings of foul speech fly! Lol 🥹). One of my new campaigns to to cause peeps to understand what they are saying and just STOP SAYING HOLY MOLY! Or holy cow! Only GOD Is Holy!!

“But at least I’m not saying GD or anything! This is a 50s word and is very mild, Sally! Stop being such a killjoy BRAT, already!”

I get it. I heard older people in USA as they said this and thought (up till last month actually), “aww, they’re being non-potty-mouth, that’s great!” And then I saw people more my age saying it to be ironic or winsome or cute or even non-cussingness.
But then God Put it on my heart to look up what the word actually meant. “Set Apart.” And then I realised that HOLY Is The Word we will be saying in heaven To Him!!!

So if that is His FAVE word (or top three) then that means that “holy mother Of God” or “holy $—-“ are
literally the MOST-OFFENSIVE thing To God!!!

For the record, saying “oh, I’m a pastor who keeps it real!” Or “don’t be looking all churchy at me! You said that word too, this very morning, when you stubbed your toe whilst getting ready to get here on time!”
This is not keeping it real. This is saying “I know I’m offending God but as long as I know I’m doing it, it’s fine. He Knows my heart!”
Yes, friend, and He Knows that you’re looking in the mirror, seeing the spinach in your teeth, and walking away before fishing it out.
He Knows that you apparently don’t mind leading your congregation astray and making them think that living FOUL, living in the WORLD, LOOKING like the world, SMELLING like you’re in the world… will only “normalize” to the parishioners that it’s ok to be identical TO the world. (Ezekiel, where art thou, bro?) 🥰
One last thing; there is a TON of historical stuff about how people who are possessed can’t seem to stop cussing or speaking with filth or talking dirty. This is because they seek to defile the Image-Bearer. I’m not dissing you for something you’ve never heard. I am, however, submitting it to you as food for thought and prayer ♥️✝️🙏

One of our last open doors to demons is a spirit of offense. Sometimes a tormenting spirit or demon might cause it. (I of course don’t know everything (I’ve seen a lot, and it’s all food for thought, but there are things no human can see or understand without His Assistance, Intervention, Revelation.))
I have lots more
To say on this (particularly the psychiatric side of this, but also how to deal with prickly peeps—including yourself if you notice yourself always being irritated or fault-finding in situations where you, in a calmer moment, might not otherwise have cause to “put your oar in,” as it were. (For example, certain accents used to vex me greatly lol. And shiny black leggings just made me soooo unreasonably mad! But someone asked me “is it any skin off your nose if they want to look bad?” And at first, I argued. “But I want them to look good!” (I used to be a pro photographer of models.). But then the person was like “what if THEY think they look good?” And as unlikely as that sounded to me (I mean SHINY black leggings hello? They make even nice legs look lumpy!) and the final nail was “Sally, is it a sin to look bad?” And I had to say “NO,” (and in my head I was this close to saying “but it SHOULD be!”)…
There are LOTS of things worse than looking hideous and ghastly when you don’t have to. And there are lots of things that I’ve done that could be considered (before God) as “hideous and ghastly.” But He Died To Pay for those things, didn’t He. And I gave Him my WHOLE life, not just certain parts of it.
After LOTS of work (ironically it
Was with just my Bro/Pop, who claims to be agnostic, and not a single therapist) I realised I judged
Others harshly because I judged myself harshly. Part of it was
Cultural, and never accepting second-best. But what that said (albeit silently and without my knowledge, volition, or permission, even) was that I thought my opinion was correct.
And opinions aren’t facts. Taste isn’t based on fact but on preference; tastes can be acquired. And lost. And regained.)
So what I’d discovered was that even in FASHION I’d become legalistic. (Pharisee over the lumpiness and fit of shiny leggings… 🥳)
I’d begun to lose sympathy for my clients and got exceedingly frustrated when they would ask for my guidance about something, fail to do what I had said to do (or not do as the case may be, i.e. do not call them back until you cool down!) and then the thing they had feared, and the thing I had tried to prevent ended up happening. And then they’d set themselves and their progress WAY back, losing months or even in one case two years. Of heretofore-forward-moving progress.
I DID have sympathy for them and I DID feel their anguish. It nearly killed me (literally; my immune system went
On the warpath against my own body for months and my health began to fail in earnest.
Until my gaming bro and I went on separate holidays and didn’t speak for a month or so.
My overactive “sense” of offense and outrage disappeared. (I’d initially thought it to be peer pressure—he can be pretty snarky, while I have never been a fan of sarcasm (it signals weakness and fear and passive aggression, of course but also… I never get it until like three days later lol. I was just never exposed to sarcasm that I remember, people were pretty direct and aggressive lol.). But once I knew about the demon thing, I realized that of COURSE it hadn’t been me. Opinionated though I am, I’m also far too busy (and “big picture”) to focus on wardrobe choices of like Lindsay Lohan or whatnot. (And I haven’t watched tv or film since 2001, boycotting it for several reasons! So like where would I even see it?)

The point is that sometimes we can fall into things due to peer pressure or proximity or prevalence (ie if I watched Gordon Ramsay I might be less-vexed at cussing).
But sometimes it’s none of those things, it’s an unclean spirit. Which means that the only Medicine To Oust that Is The PRECIOUS Name Of JESUS.

I did have a few other open doors to demons that I wanted to share but I’ll save that for next time 🙂

In sum, a HUGE proportion of our problems—and mental states—today can be traced back to the answers to these questions:

How is my relationship With Jesus? Is it getting deeper or is it disappearing?

Am I putting more emphasis on the things of this world, ie money, power, approval, fame, likesharesubscribe, “status quo,” keeping up with the joneses or whatever that word was from 80s THAN I am on the things Of God?

Am I looking to others to establish or cement WHO I am, WHY I’m here, and WHAT makes ME the happiest?

Is my metric of awesomeness “how happy I am,” “how many people I have in my life,” or do you have the UNSTEALABLE Gifts Found ONLY In Him: The JOY OF THE LORD, The PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING!

Is my faith In Jesus UNSHAKABLE? (If not, ask Him To Help in that! 🙂

And finally, DO I KNOW WHAT GOD PUT ME ON EARTH TO ACCOMPLISH??? (And how am I doing on the path thereto?)

Who are you and Why are you here.
That’s literally it 🙂 the root of SO much stuff. Sort that out and see how you feel. Truly.

If you have a therapist (of any faith) or a pastor or a relative or chum you can chat with about these last two things. Pray for guidance From Holy Spirit before your chat.
And if you don’t have anyone (human!) who can listen, help, or provide feedback, pray for guidance of course but perhaps write (or record) whatever is on your mind. Sometimes the very choice you make in what you want to write or talk about 1ST is a clue into what you’re subconsciously grappling with.
I would definitely recommend answering to yourself my several questions for a minute ago—again, on paper or in a voice note but WITH NO AUDIENCE MEMBERS, so you can feel free to say anything without fearing naughty eavesdroppers or well-intentioned busybodies).

If you scrolled down for the “last word” or TLDR thingie then the most important bit of this whole novella is the “Open Doors to Demons” bit.

The therapist may say “oh, but it works!” And “don’t worry, it’s evidence-based!”

No one cares if it “works.”
If someone said “I can help you lose 59 kilos in 24 hours!” And I DO… from liposuction overload, and I died from it… like, you know?

Don’t gain the world of “healing” at the cost of losing your soul.

Greater Is HE That Is In us than the BEAST LOSER who is IN the world (and who wants ALL Image-Bearers to despair! 😤😤😤

Blessings and love and prayers over all of you dear friends and family!!! :))
♥️✝️🙏
sb