Crucified Hearts

Transforming lives by way of the cross

Recorded yesterday, this is a full message, 30 minutes, in the form of a personal testimony of my experience with the love of God in Christ. I briefly talk about my addictions and multiple marriages, the nature of my fall, briefly of my childhood to the present, and how the love of God heals my traumatized soul. How did I became who I am in my relationship with God, to others, and with you?

My thoughts come from and with a reading of 1 John 4:7–21:


“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.


In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
— 1 John 4:7-21

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janalanmckenzie's avatar

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janalanmckenzie

Hi…Thanks for checking in. I live in rural Kentucky, moving from Louisville in 2016. I have a small degree in pastoral theology, studying and pastoring in the U.K., from 2000 to 2009, then in the U.S. until 2012. I am now a part-time driver for the local Amish community. I’m making an honest effort to write more, to write out some thoughts on the spiritual life, occasional comment on current events (I’m apolitical, so not much there), and with some emphasis on my life in recovery from addiction. And then there are those marriages and divorces, not for the sake of raking dirt, but for support for others and perhaps a little for myself. In living, like gardening, I tend to follow the seasons of life.

4 responses to “”

  1. Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner Avatar
    Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner

    I found you. Thank you for your honesty. I am struggling with anger at those who should be in good standing in governments across the globe. And anger is another word for judgement. Fellow fighter here.
    I wrote my story 5 times over 5 years and then I wrote a sequel in less time. The white heart diaries. My story is too big to be told in one sitting. None are published. The first is lost and the second is out of date as a whole.
    Write in the present tense the editor told me after I had finished it. I wanted to spit, but I did notice I could not lie in the present tense, or gloss over truths to make them more palitable. I thought you may find this useful. I look forward to getting to hear you again. I like listening while I knit. It only took almost 68 years to find out that I liked knitting. We continue to fight the good fight. Best wishes.

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    1. janalanmckenzie Avatar
      janalanmckenzie

      Thank you for your comment and for subscribing. I suppose you saw I left a comment on your blog as well.

      As for the videos I’ve made, there are 173 if I count the sixty second “shorts”. But there are many much longer ones.

      I’m planning to do some Bible reading only, without comment, so you may enjoy that while you knit 😊.

      I used to draw and paint. The past few years I’ve turned to carving wooden spoons.

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      1. Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner Avatar
        Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner

        I also draw and paint. Ha Ha, but more knitting happens now. I am bad at moving and I share a house, not mine, so art isn’t getting up yet, but I did buy pencils… Just in case.

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      2. Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner Avatar
        Sasha/Sonya Sargeant Hitchner

        I will enjoy your Bible reading.

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About Me

A Christian, thinking, vlogging, and writing online. I live elsewhere as well. I follow the theology of the cross in the faith and practice of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Formerly a pastor in Europe and America, now living semi-retired in Kentucky (U.S.), driving for the Amish and in-home carer.

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