Fight! (“Hello, Gentlemen…”)
It’s not a surprise that fighting can result in incarceration.
A fight with the weapon of choice. Assault and battery. Violence.
“Fight” is more complicated, however, than these terms.
“Fight” is a trauma response; we have heard “Fight or flight” a lot in this culture.
What drives it though?
And how does it impact someone “in prison?”
There’s more to it than simply “fighting.”
“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.”
Hebrews 13:3
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
“Shame On You?” (“Hello, Gentlemen…” Book Excerpt)
Hello, Gentlemen.
It’s me. Sheryle.
“I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame.”
Psalm 44:15
Can you relate?
How ashamed are you right now?
Yeah, I’d like to talk to you about shame. Because guess what?
I have dealt with shame, from the start.
And I DO mean the start!
“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my Elohim, to lift up my face to You, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.”
Ezra 9:6
I don’t know how much you know about me, but, more than likely, I am a product of rape.
So, my mere existence, from the start, has had a lot of shame swirling around it.
And secrecy. So much secrecy. It can poison life, right?
A little bit about my backstory and shame.
I had no idea that I could EVER be the possible “product of rape.”
Yeah, there was abuse in my home. Yeah, there was silence in my home. No one talked about anything that was REALLY going on. Like the abuse.
There was just my dad’s terrifying and screaming rages. There was just my frightened mother and me, trying to deal with it.
No one dealt with anything.
And, I learned, from the start, that I was not wanted.
You can tell when you’re not wanted.
You maybe know what I’m talking about.
You are just “tolerated,” at the most. Maybe they punished you for existing.
You weren’t “bornright.”
Therefore, you deserved to get hit, kicked, beaten, molested, raped, ridiculed, or neglected.
Any bells ringing there for you, and how you “came up?”
But no one tells you that they were happy that you were there.
Instead, they tell you that you are a “mistake,” “a problem,” “a burden.”
Of course, all the cuss words. I don’t need to mention them. You know them very well.
Maybe, sometimes, they call you a “bastard.”
If they don’t say that word, they let you know in other ways.
You are not legitimate.
I found out that I was “a bastard” as a teenager. I discovered my parents’ marriage certificate, did the math, and boom.
No one told me directly.
Shame, however, did.
I was concealed, as my mother was “knocked up.”
A “shotgun wedding,” rushed, before she started to show.
It was decided, I guess, that it was a good thing if my mother “didn’t show.”
Because it was shameful. My existence was shameful…
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
New (Wine) Skin?
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. and if otherwise, the wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine is destroyed—and the wineskins. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”
Mark 2:22
Recently I burned the top of my foot. I believe it was a second-degree burn.
(This is why I don’t cook).
It bubbled up into a blister within thirty minutes.
The purpose of the blister, as I researched things online, was to serve as a “cushion,” filled with white blood cells within that liquid cushion. It’s in the process of repair, and the formation of new skin.
That’s why, repeatedly, it’s mentioned, “Don’t pop the blister!”
Don’t pop the protective cushion.
And over the weeks, I have seen the once-firm blister change into a deflated blister, gradually drying up.
It’s still discolored. I don’t know if it will leave a scar.
The newer “wine-colored” pinkish skin is quite prominent.
And that’s when the “Wineskin” thing occurred to me.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. and if otherwise, the wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine is destroyed—and the wineskins. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”
Mark 2:22
Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch: a second-degree burn and wineskins.
But the two have this in common: skin, specifically “new” skin.
This “new” thing takes time; most of the time we don’t like hearing about that.
And the “new” must be protected in the process of becoming more visible.
If the new is rushed, if it is forced, even to the point of “popping,” like that burn blister, damage can happen.
The “new” is worth taking care of; it’s worth protecting.
It’s worth waiting for.
Let’s pray.
Abba-
We come to You, in The Name of Our Savior, Yahshua.
You know the state of our burned skin, literally or figuratively speaking. Our spirits and our lives have been affected in many ways that cannot be ignore.
We have tried to ignore them.
But the burn- the blister- has formed.
Attempts at trying to heal? You know them all.
And You know how we are struggling.
Forgive us for struggling with our old skins, in our old sinful wounds.
It’s not working. We know, deep down, it’s not working.
Help us.
Do what only You can do for us.
We need Your Healing, Your Help, Your Love to make things “new.”
Thank You that You know what You’re doing.
Continue to work, move, and lead us.
Thank You.
We receive it, by faith,
In The Name of Yahshua,
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
Training the Elephant (“Just Violated?”)
Training The Elephant (“Just Violated?”)
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
How is a baby elephant trained for the circus?
Much like how intergenerational patterns of abuse/violation happen.
Perpetrator. Victim/Survivor.
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
(“Just Violated?” Book Excerpt…)
“Training the Elephant.”
Supposedly, when elephants were used for such enterprises as circuses, they needed to train them. They would start with a baby elephant. They would tie its foot to a secure structure like a post. Anything that was strong enough so that the animal could not break free and escape.
Initially, the baby elephant would try, with everything in its being, to get freed from the post. It would never succeed, however.
Eventually, it stopped trying to break free.
By now, the animal is probably an adult. But “well-trained.”
It is at that point the trainer or the handler unties the elephant from the confining structure.
This would be the creature’s opportunity to get free.
But it doesn’t move.
It stays “tied.”
It no longer believes it can go anywhere. It believes that it can no longer be free.
The animal is broken and well-trained for purposes other than its own well-being…
Tatted and Burned (“Hello, Gentlemen…”)
I have never been incarcerated.
But I do have something in common with these “unlikely gentleman” prisoners.
I’m “tatted and burned.”
Cancer made sure that happened.
Life made sure that happened.
As it has done for those “in jail.”
(“Hello, Gentlemen…” Book Excerpt)
Tatted and Burned
Hello, Gentlemen.
It’s me again, Sheryle.
I have received, I believe, another message. The Most High willing, I will pass this onto you.
You and I have something in common, as unlikely as that may be to believe.
So, before we get into it, this is a TMI-“Too Much Information”- warning about me.
Part of what led me to touch base with you again is the holiday season, and how it intersects with my breast cancer diagnosis.
Several Christmases ago, I was undergoing a course of radiation. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, had a double mastectomy that October, and then, six weeks later, went through a course of radiation.
Yes, double mastectomy, Gentlemen. My tatas are gone. I am officially an ironing board now.
Anyway, to prepare for radiation, I needed to get tattoos.
Not one of those exciting peacock tattoos, draped across my back. Not one of those full-on sleeves, like those the Yakuza gang gets.
Nope.
These tattoos looked like the black beauty mark on Marilyn Monroe’s face. I was tatted with three tiny black dots, in triangle form. This arrangement helped the radiation target my chest area, ensuring the best shot of eradicating any leftover cancer cells.
I had to be marked. I had to “get inked.”
Tatts were necessary. A matter of life and death.
Like your tattoo history has, perhaps, meant matters of life and death for you throughout your life.
Getting these tiny dot tatts summoned the next phase of my preparation/ healing: the burning from radiation.
Six weeks, day after day of getting increasingly burned, again, to wipe out cancer cells.
Because of the timing of my radiation, December, I was very much Rudolph, the Red-Chested Reindeer.
Christmas red. Festive.
Anyway, you may be eye rolling and asking, “What does any of this have to do with me?”
Tatted and burned. You are too.
And He, The Most High, is working in and through all of it.
Scripture puts it this way…
“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
Isaiah 49:16
Different translations of this scripture use words like, “engraved,”“etched,” and yeah, even, “tattooed.”
I know that there can be a stigma about tattoos from the Christian world. You have probably been made to feel less-than, disqualified, and maybe even like the scum of the earth, largely because of your appearance.
To that, I offer…
“‘…Elohim does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but Elohim looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
And…
“The traditions of man make the Word of The Most High to no effect.”
Mark 7:13
To me, that signifies that Our Savior and Our Father (for they both are “One,” according to John 10:30) have decided to override man’s silly, judgy, and pointless opinions, opting instead, to qualify you, my Tatted/Marked One, for His Power and Glory.
He uses whomever He chooses. He qualifies them without anyone else’s permission.
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless Elohim’s counsel—that will stand.”
Proverbs 19:21
His Plans will stand.
Not any uptight, hypocritical, judgy, or stupid person’s opinions or plans.
HIS Plans!
You are exactly who you are supposed to be. You look like you are supposed to look, tatts included.
“…‘You are My servant. I have chosen you and have not cast you away.”
Isaiah 41:9…
“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.”
Hebrews 13:3
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
Your “No” “Just Violated?”
“Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37
Your “no” is valid. Ancient, timeless, eternal Scripture says so.
“No” is a complete sentence.
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
Solitary (“Hello, Gentlemen…”)
Solitary (“Hello, Gentlemen…”)
“Elohim settles the solitary in a home; He leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”
Psalm 68:6
We are not alone.
Even The Prisoners. The Inmates. The “Criminals.”
He loves them and wants them to feel loved by others.
Maybe you, today?
“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.”
Hebrews 13:3
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
“Just” Just Violated?
“Just?” “Just Violated?”
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Matthew 18:6
What you experienced mattered. It was real.
It should never be minimized.
There is no “merely” or “only” to your violations, abuses, and traumas.
The Most High will bind up your wounds.
What was it that I was born into?
What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
Mae West Goals?
“If anyone is interested in curves.”
We are now entering the summer season.
Showing more skin.
Revealing clothing.
“Bikini Bodies.”
You know all about it. You have heard the campaigns. You have seen the commercials “getting ready for summer.”
You have felt the pressure. How much of it was self-imposed?
I recently came across this post about the famous sex symbol, Mae West.
“If anyone is interested in curves.”
Oh, where DO we start?
When I was a little girl, I became fascinated with a Mae West doll. I believe it was depicting her from her classic film role in “My Little Chickadee.”
She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress. Just decked out, like this…
I loved this doll. I didn’t know much about Mae West, especially about her controversial sexuality. And I didn’t know about “her diet.”
It was a strange thing, looking at this doll, having recently undergone my first attempts at dieting.
But it didn’t occur to me to view her as “fat.”
Now, decades later, there are several people who would view her as “just that.”
These people, therefore, would probably look at “her diet” as a complete failure for obtaining “the desirable curves.”
Curves.
What is the criteria for curves?
How small? How big? How curvy versus angular?
What’s it all code for, anyway?
Where are the judgments within that code?
“O my dove…let me see your form…for your form is lovely.”
Song of Solomon 2:14
I bring up this scripture a lot. It highlights how Beauty, Form, and Our Very Being, Through The Most High’s Eyes, don’t change. His Esteem of us is fixed.
It doesn’t fluctuate with trends. It’s not contingent on fad diet attempts, and their “successful execution.”
And I’m quite certain that Elohim, Our Loving Father, never look at any of us, using the adjective “fat.”
“If anyone is interested in curves.”
He looks beyond “curves.” He sees the deep, more meaningful nature of us: our forms.
Spirit, Soul, Mind, Body.
“If anyone is interested in THAT?”
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
Enmeshement and Differentiation (Thin Enough)
“Come out and be separate.”
“Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate,’…‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’”
2 Corinthians 6:17
“Leave father and mother…”
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24
The Plans I Have For You.
“‘For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
Not I know the plans “they” have for you.
Invisible? (“Hello, Gentlemen…”)
Invisible? “Hello, Gentlemen…”
“…‘Elohim has forsaken me;
my Elohim has forgotten me.”i
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you;
your walls are ever before me.”
Isaiah 49:14-16
Our Father and Our Savior see and love prisoners-inmates-criminals.
They are not forgotten; they are not invisible.
See them, through The Eyes of The Most High today.
“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.”
Hebrews 13:3
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
Predator (“Hello, Gentlemen…”
“Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.”
Hebrews 13:3
Amazon.com: "Hello Gentlemen...": 9798259016163: Cruse, Sheryle: Books
(The Twenty-Fourth Letter: Predator (“Hello, Gentlemen…” Book Excerpt)
…Hello, Gentlemen.
It’s me, Sheryle.
Are you a predator?
Is that why you are “in here?”
How cruel and violent are you?
Any of this ring a bell?
“There are six things Elohim hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”
Proverbs 6:16-19
Now, hang in there with me. I’m not about to lecture you. I do not judge you. I’m in no place to do that.
Let’s talk about what you and I are capable of.
Being a predator.
You and I have that within us.
Scripture lays it out there about how “wicked” we are…
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
Jeremiah 17:9
You don’t need to have committed violent, cruel acts to be considered wicked.
We ALL sin.
We all “fall short of the glory” (Romans 3:23).
How did you fall, especially to get you “in here?”
Because it is eating away at you, isn’t it?
Were you “a predator?”
Did you “cause harm?”
“Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.”
Proverbs 3:29
Were you a bully, an abuser, a rapist, a killer?
Yeah, your crimes, your actions, may have put you in this place.
But it is NOT who you are. Someone Else views you differently.
Let’s break this down a bit.
No one starts out as a Predator.
That includes you.
Every person has a beginning point, setting things up for the eventual decisions they may make in life.
Again, that includes you…
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
Proverbs 25 Verse 2 Applies To You!
“It is the Glory of The Most High to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”
Proverbs 25:2
There’s MORE!
The Most High is concealing it. It’s for you and I to search it out.
What IS That?
More Graduations Than We Realize
Pomp and Circumstance Message
Dear Gentlemen Graduates,
Congratulations!
You are graduating, and not just from “a class.”
Me again, Sheryle. Hiya!
I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, hopefully blessed by The Most High, to convey my pride and to celebrate each one of you.
You deserve honor.
I don’t know how many of you have walked through a high school or a college graduation.
Cap and gown. The famous music, “Pomp and Circumstance” playing.
This graduation is not as it seems.
Its “Pomp” is different; its “Circumstance” is also different.
Do you feel it?
I believe it will be a short matter of time before you do.
The definition of “Pomp” includes…
“a show of magnificence: splendor.”
That would be you today. You resemble your Heavenly Father. And He has a lot of magnificence and splendor to Him.
He made sure that you would know it today. Part of how He accomplishes that?
The cap of the “cap and gown.”
Now I know, you don’t see a cap; you aren’t wearing that square mortar board hat, with the swinging tassel hanging from it.
He dresses you better than that for your graduation today.
Try this on…
“You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of (Elohim) the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of (The Most High) your God.”
Isaiah 62:3
What in tarnation is a diadem? I had to look it up.
Answer?
“a jeweled crown or headband worn as a symbol of sovereignty.”
Well, now, there ya go. Better than wearing a square on your head, huh?
In keeping with this diadem theme…
“For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked for life from You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with the joy of Your presence.”
Psalm 21:3-6
That’s what you are getting from Him today, Gentlemen.
Therefore, enjoy the “Pomp.”
Now, what about “Circumstance?”
Its definition…
“a fact or condition connected with or relevant to an event or action. Situation. The ‘set-up.’”
Familiar with any of THAT in your life?
What have been the main circumstances discouraging you today, right now, even during this ceremony?
Maybe you are feeling a bit like the Prodigal today. Now, I know that you have probably heard a lot about The Prodigal Son.
Luke 15:11-32
It’s frequently mentioned, not only in Christendom, but also in pop culture.
You get the gist. A guy who royally blows it, squanders his inheritance, sinks to the worst of lows, and gets the brilliant idea to turn around and go back to his rich Daddy. But, because he knows the score “of his circumstances,” heavily “pork-and-rind-centric,” he is willing to reduce his standing as son/and heir and just be of lowly “barely- fit- to- live” status.
“‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’”
Luke 15:17-19
He probably even thought that he would be rejected, mocked, maybe beaten, and maybe even killed. He thought the worst “of his circumstance.”
And look what Daddy did…
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him...’”
Luke 15:22
You see, you aren’t wearing a gown for your graduation today.
That is not good enough in YOUR FATHER’S eyes.
A gown would clash with your crown.
Yep, to go with your Diadem, your crown… a ROBE.
A royal robe.
But we are not done yet…
“…and put a ring on his hand...’”
A ring signifies Authority.
“And (Yahshua) Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’”
Matthew 28:18
A new level of authority. You are resembling Him with that today.
He gives you HIS Authority.
And there’s something else…
Your feet.
“‘…and sandals on his feet.’”
You are going somewhere new, somewhere better, IN Him.
Fellow Gentlemen Graduates,
You are going “from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Your beginning steps that you have taken, including steps taken today, will pale in comparison to how you leave this honoring ceremony.
You have levelled up.
New Glory. Bask in it.
I am so proud of you. Look how far you have come! Look at EVERYTHING you have survived!
He is pleased with you. You could have made other choices that would not have brought you here.
But you decided to be here.
That is magnificent! That is splendor!
A chip off the old “Diademed, Glorious One” Block!
Congrats, Gentlemen Grads!
I love you all!
Your Sister, In Him.
Sheryle
(Who is snapping many photos in the spirit of you right now. They’ll go in His Scrapbook).
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
(“Just”) Violated?
(Just Published…)
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
“Duck-Bergs”
I am, yes, a big believer in the power of things being established by two or three witnesses.
“…‘Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’”
2 Corinthians 13:1
They don’t need to be people; they can be “occurrences.”
Things that “coincidentally” pop up two, three, four, or more times. Maybe, it can feel like we are being “followed” by them.
Years ago, in a standup- routine, the comedian, Dennis Miller mentioned how we, as people, are like ducks.
We all look calm on the surface of the water.
But underneath?
We are paddling like crazy.
That stand-up routine, I believe, was in the 1990s. Yet, it is evergreen.
Within the last two months, I came across this nugget online…
Icebergs.
“Duck Bergs?”
My first book, “Thin Enough,” was published twenty years ago.
And, since that time, I have written other books, articles, and blog posts, not just on the subject matter of eating disorders.
Life, as it does for each one of us, necessitates that we deal with more than one thing in life.
We must examine and commit to the deeper than surface level things that hit our lives.
Death and loss.
Changes to our health and bodies.
Addiction
Relationship changes.
Changes in our personal faith with The Most High.
“There is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 1:9
I have checked each of these boxes. It’s the rule, not the exception to do, within a twenty-year span of time.
Certainly, a lifetime.
Twenty years ago, I never believed that I would be writing these books on the subject matter I have covered.
But life twisted and turned.
Life demanded that I “paddle like crazy.”
I have no idea how much of a calm duck I looked like on the surface.
Life goes beyond surface. Surface doesn’t last long.
Our attention will be grabbed.
There has ben rewarding “Glory” in each writing endeavor.
Even when the issue has been painful and difficult.
“It is the Glory of The Most High to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”
Proverbs 25:2
It’s now poignant, as I may be dealing with still more health challenges, including those “cancer-related.”
I don’t think I am done writing; let’s put it that way.
What about you?
What is challenging you, right now, to present that you are calm on the surface, yet “paddlinglike crazy” underneath?
How do you appear“on the surface?”
What’s stopping you from dealing with your “paddling like crazy” issues?
How have you asked The Most High to help you WITH them?
There’s more going on, to and with, you.
And The Most High wants to help you with ALL of it!
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
Improperly Dressed? The Armor of The Most High…
Years ago, while in a prayer group, a woman approached me, with “A Word” for me.
This was big, powerful, attention-getting, within faith communities.
To hear from The Most High?
Yeah, a lot of us know that we should pay attention, right?
Right, supposedly…
So, what was “This Word?”
“He has been speaking to me, and He wants you to know that you are not dressed properly.”
What?
What did she mean?
I had my “church outfits.” Dresses. Blouses and skirts. Suits. “Conservative.”
It wasn’t like I was flashing anyone, wearing tight clothes, revealing attire that screamed, “Come hither.”
I knew enough to look “presentable.”
Marilyn Monroe, an unlikely female source, giving image advice to women in a church setting, is famously reported, as saying…
“Your clothes should be tight enough to show you’re a woman, but loose enough to show you’re a lady.”
A lot of wisdom there.
Like I said, I thought I had a handle on it. I thought that I knew how to dress.
So, my mind is racing with overthinking, anxiety, questions, and doubt.
And she then continues “this Word,” further clarifying things…
“You need to put on the Full Armor of God.”
O-Kaaaay. I get it now.
I politely listened to her, nodding with sincerity.
And then, I proceeded to blow it off for, oh, the next… twenty years?
Yeah. I know.
Now, keep in mind, that I held scriptures as powerful, relevant, and personally applied.
After all, Isaiah 55:10-11 declares…
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My Word that goes out from My Mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Yeah, so, “This Word” was powerful, timely, tailored to me.
So, why did I “blow it off?”
Well, here’s something embarrassing, filled with pride, arrogance, and stupidity- YAY!
Get ready, Everybody!
I believed that it wasn’t necessary for me to heed and employ. I believed that I was “okie dokie” without it being applied to my life.
(I NEVER SAID THIS WAS A GREAT CHOICE I MADE HERE!)
So, YEARS went by. I dressed and went to church. I looked appropriate. I “put myself together” with accessories, matching purses with shoes. I color coordinated outfits. I “dressed for life.”
Nope, did not. REALLY missed that dressing mark.
And year after year went by. I was familiar with that scripture, “The Full Armor of God,” on the surface. It was from the attitude of “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that’s in there. Good point. I don’t need to read it…”
(I NEVER SAID THIS WAS A GREAT CHOICE I MADE HERE!)
Years went by. I was bumping into things, life-wise. I was not setting so much of my life on fire.
I was muddling through.
And that ancient scripture still existed, just hanging out.
Still ignored. Dismissed. “Blown off.”
But this could not go on indefinitely like this.
Life had its way of happening.
The entire time, I kept my faith, as much as it may have lacked some powerful teeth.
Yeah, I read the Bible. I went to church. I prayed.
And I still did not connect the dots about “the Armor of God” for myself.
And then, MANY years later, I had a period of discomfort, “Divine Discontent.”
Something was missing; something was “off.”
And, as I’m having some assorted kind of crisis, it dawns on me…
“The Armor of God:” am I doing anything WITH that?
Answer?
NOPE!
So, I got a little curious about the scripture.
Maybe, more accurately?
I was “patronizing” it, condescending, as I still held some kind of “take it or leave it” attitude concerning it.
And, for you and me, that’s not an unheard-of concept.
We can treat powerful, reliable, relevant, wise advice, as “optional.”
Yeah, maybe “optional,” in the sense that we “opt out” of wisdom and positive life change.
No pressure, right?
So, before we completely flog ourselves for being human beings, flaky, clueless, and arrogant, let’s just check out what this passage has to say for itself.
Okay, here goes.
“Finally, be strong in Elohim and in His mighty power.”
Verse 10
A position we take: strong. There is strength to doing this.
“Put on the full armor of The Most High, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Verse 11
“Put on.”
“Dress.”
Like getting dressed, in any ordinary situation, we need to, intentionally, “put on clothes.”
They don’t put themselves on, by themselves. We choose what we wear.
Why do we wear clothes?
Well, for one thing, it keeps us from getting arrested for “indecent exposure.”
On a larger scale, there is protection from “what’s out there,” stuff we are vulnerable to experiencing if we are “naked,” literally or figuratively.
So, why, “the Armor of God?”
(Ephesians 6:10-18)
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the full armor of The Most High, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
Verses 12-13
Okay, we get it. We need to “be dressed for life,” and “the battle” that comes WITH that life.
So, what IS that “Outfit?”
The Belt…
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…”
Verse 14
Belt. Belt Buckle. Core. Center. Grounded. Truth.
“Tell the Truth.”
Groundbreaking. Who knew, right?
That’s the starting point. The foundation. Standing secure, “belted in.”
Spiritual seatbelt?
Yep, we start there.
The Breastplate…
“… with the breastplate of righteousness in place...”
Verse 14
Literal armor. Kevlar, a spiritual bulletproof vest, protecting our most vulnerable body part, our hearts.
Righteousness NEEDS to protect the heart.
The Shoes on Our Feet…
“and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.”
Verse 15
Please feel free to take some personal experience wisdom from me on the “shoe-sie” front.
As a kid, on the farm, I went barefoot a lot.
Nature can be wonderful… until it isn’t.
One spring day, barefoot, I unknowingly stepped on a bee.
And then, REALLY quickly,I “knew.”
Pain!
Uh-huh, wear some shoes already.
But not just any shoes.
Footwear of readiness. Being ready to go, protected from things that can sting us. Shoes are a barrier of “stepping in it,” however you want to define that “it.”
Scripture, again, relevant and powerful (Isaiah 55:11), has peace attached TO it…
“…the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace.”
What else? Because there’s more…
The Shield…
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Verse 16
Shield of Faith. Unseen confidence.
Again, life will be “life-ing.”
Arrows come. Warfare comes.
We need the boundary enforced that states, “this will not penetrate my being.”
We need a shield standing in between harmful arguments, meaning us destruction, and our lives being hit.
But we are still not done.
The Helmet…
“Take the helmet of Salvation…”
Verse 17
Our minds.
Yeah, we don’t want that up for grabs.
Just like, in winter, when we were kids, hearing our mothers say, “Put a hat on.”
We need to cover our noggins. Protect our thinking. There are many wacky, wrong, and again, destructive things that we can have come against us.
And finally, completing our “outfit…”
The Sword…
“… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of The Most High.”
Verse 17
The Word of YAHWEH.
Elohim.
The Most High. Our Heavenly Father.
The Creator of EVERYTHING!
Yeah,Him!
It might be helpful to learn, know, say, employ, and apply what He says.
Again,Isaiah 55:11…
“so is My Word that goes out from My Mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
So, with “putting on” the “Full Armor,” are we all set and ready?
Not quite.
There’s still something we need to do…
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all Elohim’s people.”
Verse 18
Pray.
Prayer. We must do something WITH our attire.
Prayer changes things. It changes our lives, and the lives of others.
“Dress For Success,” then?
How are you dressed right now?
What do you think of this Scripture, this Armor?
Are you dressed properly?
Don’t do what I did, ignoring this passage for years.
It works for you if you get dressed WITH it.
Be dressed.
And see what happens!
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
“IF?” (“IF You Know?”)
