BRRR.... IT'S COLD IN HERE!  THERE MUST BE A CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE!

Woman rising from the ashes of her former self, like a phoenix

In case you haven't noticed by now, I use alot of visuals in my head to enable me to capture the essence of some thought, idea or "revelation" that I am getting.  As usual, I was lying in bed this morning allowing thoughts to meander here and yonder thru my head.  Suddenly one zipped through that I had to write about. 

As soon as I decided to write about it, the cheer (see below) from the movie "Bring It On" popped into my mind.  I can picture a group of us women chanting "BRRR.... It's cold in here!  There MUST be a change in the atmosphere!"  (the chant says "Clovers" but my point here is about "change".) We women must make a change in the atmosphere of our Christian walk if we want to walk in warmth, light, and freedom.

My thoughts this morning were drifting around a friend that seems to be strong in the knowledge of God but weak in the love of God.  I've been there myself, and as I am learning more about His love, I start to see the signs in someone that they may as yet be a toddler in that area.  My thoughts were about how this person seems caught in doing what they should and how these things appear to weigh him down with heavy burdens.  

To me that is an indication of one of two things. Either you are taking upon yourself what God hasn't asked you to do and He's not in it, which results in you struggling and straining to accomplish it yourself.  OR He is in it but you've grabbed onto it and are trying to make it happen yourself.  

When He's in it and I am relying on HIM to make it happen, not my own efforts, there is a feeling of peace and often, enjoyment. I can shrug and say "Oh well... it's up to you, God, to make it happen.  I've done my best, which isn't much, so it's up to you to breath life into it if you choose too."

For me, I notice when am able to just go with the flow and say "God, if this is of you, you'll have to make it happen", things don't seem heavy and unpleasant.  I say to God "I'm showing up.... I'll do my part.... but your grace will have to take what comes OUT of me and turn it into Your truth that flows INTO others."  

For the most part, I'm starting to relax and be comfortable with failing. I can't say that I LIKE failing but I know if I'm stepping out and doing what I feel He is gently prompting me to do, then He'll make it happen.  If I'm wrong and it's not of Him, then I ask Him to enable me to be OK with failing and to use my mistake to teach me.   I believe a huge part of how we come to be able to sense the difference between HIS leading and our own agenda is by risking failure and being OK with failing.   That is how I am learning.

My friend loves to study the old testament much more than the new. That's ok but could he be missing out on learning about what I believe is the paradigm shift that happened from the old to the new testament?  

Yes, we serve the same God as we did in the old testament.  However, instead of us trying in our own strength to live a life that God wants to bless us with, we now have the Holy Spirit to TEACH us and to do it in us. 

Also, instead of us making sacrifices for our sins, God made the ultimate sacrifice for us: Jesus.  This one sacrifice totally anihilated the need for us to make sacrifices for our sins.  Instead of the practice of sacrificing, we practice repenting.  

In other words, Instead of sacrificing an animal to pay for our sins, the Holy Spirit lovingly prompts our heart to recognize "Hey, I messed up here" and we feel the desire to apologize; we feel the desire to allow that bad behavior to be changed.  A paradigm shift has happened.

A paradigm is our perception of reality, our view. It is our interpretation of events based on previous 

teaching we have received.  A paradigm shift means to have a change in perception, a change in point of view, of how you see things.  

I feel that my friend has not had that shift from old to new testament thinking.  I believe they feels that they must be punished for wrong choices, that they must continue to live with those wrong choices because " they made they bed now they must lie in it".   

When we get into that kind of thinking, we take on burdens that are our perception, our view, of what God would have us do.   We don't know the freedom in living in a life guided by God's love.  We haven'tt had the shift from living under God as a dictator, to living life with our God who is yearning to have us share His life with Him.  

A life that is lived based on how well you look or behave as a Christian usually becomes dull, lifeless, cold.  We HAVE to have a change in how we view Christianity if we want to experience what He truly created life to be.  We must have a change in the atmosphere of Christianity.  Like the phoenix we must move from a cold dark way of going thru the motions to a fiery, passionate, abundant way of living!  

I believe that life with God is an adventure He wants to share with us.  Once we understand that... once we understand His love and His heart of boundless compassion toward us.... then even the most mundane, boring of tasks will take on a life of it's own.  

Once we can have a paradigm shift in the way we view or walk with God, moving from one where our focus is morality based to one that is steeped in the glory and freedom of God's love, THEN we really begin to live!

Let me explain what I mean when I say moving from morality focused to love focused.  When I first began to hear teaching about this concept my immediate thought was that my life would quickly erode into sin filled chaos if I did not judge everything I did with my moral compass.  

However, just like the teachings I began hearing assured me, my devotion to God did not allow this to happen.  My heart truly hungers to do the right thing.  Just because I have began to stop focusing on where I mess up does not lessen that hunger one bit.  As a matter of fact, it has increased that hunger.

It has also abundantly increased my peace, my joy, my enthusiasm for life and for God, and my desire to draw close and come to intimately know the heart of God...  Wow.... as I wrote this sentence what came to me was the verse John 10:10 "....I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it ^[a]overflows). Amplified Version  and in other words "....I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. Message Version"

Ladies, that is what life with God is all about.  Matthew 11:30 "For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. Amplified Version,       Comfortable... gracious..... pleasant.....  

 Yessss.... that is what it is becoming for me.....  

Very VERY often God uses the very circumstances we are in to change us.  Not because we are not good enough but because we have to change to be able to recognize what true freedom in Him feels like.  

In your marriage, or any circumstance,  it is not about being perfect but about being the best you, that you can be. God will know if that can be accomplished best inside of your marriage or outside of it.  No one else but Him can guide you here.  

Just quit thrashing in whatever circumstances you are in right now, whether they are a result of your choices or not, let yourself float calmly on your back and begin to quietly cheer and chant 'Brrrr.... it's cold in here.  There MUST be some change in the atmosphere..." 

 

“A Small handful among us have discovered what the rest of us would pay dearly to know: How can we bring real, living excitement into this life?”                    Pastor David Jeremiah

A Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. - See more at: http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-paradigm-shift-mean#sthash.xhIWAwh6.dpuf

A Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. - See more at: http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-paradigm-shift-mean#sthash.i1g7fVth.dpuf

A Paradigm Shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. - See more at: http://www.chacha.com/question/what-does-paradigm-shift-mean#sthash.i1g7fVth.dpuf

 

Through Their Eyes.....

This morning as I lay reflecting.... ok.... as I lay daydreaming, another layer came to me in "it's not about me..."

As I was thinking these thoughts suddenly, in my head, it was like I was looking through the eyes of others. I still have a lot of rules in my life and they can affect friendships. How do my "rules" affect others? 

Suddenly, it wasn't about me and my rules anymore.  It was about "how do others see me... my actions toward them?"  My focus then went to others and how I'm making them feel, instead of to myself and rules.

My thoughts then turned to the book I am currently reading: Cross Roads by William P. Young.  In the book the main character is in a coma.  In the course of this story his spirit ends up inside, first a mentally handicapped teenager, then inside a woman.  From his vantage point inside a person Tony is able to feel the emotions that person is feeling, and is able to see the world through THEIR eyes.  It changed everything for him.

This morning it was like I had this flash of what it must feel like to allow myself to see me, to see the way I come across to others.  It gave me yet an even deeper insight as to the meaning of "it's not about me." 

Again, when I say those words, it is not with that obnoxious, judgmental, matter of fact air that so many seem to have when they tell you that.  I say these words with the wide eyed wonder of a little girl who's breath is taken away by the wonder, the magnificence, the beauty, and yes, the freedom that brings. 

I am catching glimpses of what it must feel like to be totally unselfconscious about me.  I am catching the aroma of the scent of freedom to not be a slave to my feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy because my focus is no longer on me and my feelings. 

My focus is on the person(s) I am talking to and sensing their feelings.  No, it's not about MY self effort.... it's not about MY performance.....  (bear with me; things are coming to me as I write so I hope I make sense here.)  It's about me relaxing in my spirit so much that the Holy Spirit can flow through me and touch the heart of those I am focusing on.

When I feel the need to control, the need to focus on how I am feeling, on how I am being treated, on my performance, then I think the Holy Spirit can't flow properly.  It's all about me when I'm like this. 

As I'm writing what comes to me is maybe it isn't so much about focusing on the other person.  It's about being so trusting of the Holy Spirit that you know longer need to worry about how you are being treated or about making sure you feel comfortable.  It's about trusting the Holy Spirit so much that you are trusting Him to flow through you to touch the heart of the other person in whatever way He see's fit.

What also hit me this morning is that my relationships, whether it be with family, friends, guys, etc., are not about God doing something for me.  Yes, often I am left feeling very blessed and thankful by the depth of my relationships.  BUT, just as often I am in a relationshipwhere I am left confused and uncertain as to how to navigate.  We know "The truth will set you free" verse.  I'm starting to see that I have grown tremendously by facing these uncertain relationships head on instead of avoiding them or running away. 

Maybe it was because I am to find out what it is to BE a friend to someone who can't give much back.  Maybe it's because I am to learn what it means to be a real friend by experiencing all this crap and going to God with it to show me how He can use it to enable me to grow.

Girls, I am on this journey with you.  Maybe I am ahead of some of you and maybe I'm WAAAY behind some of you.  That's ok.  I'm learning not to compare myself with others because it brings so much frustration.  My journey is uniquely mine. 

Yes, I wish I was so much more in tune with the Holy Spirit and could immediately sense the correct directions to go in life, but you know what?  My journey is now becoming one of open mouthed awe.... of wide eyed wonder.... at what I am coming to recognize in God's personality and in what He is able to do in me.

I'm not feeling so frustrated and inadequate anymore, now that I'm not comparing myself to others.  But I will tell you, don't beat yourself up if you ARE feeling that way.  I think it's all a part of the journey for each one of us.  It's a developmental stage that we will go thru, just as a teenager goes thru puberty. 

They are frustrated and angry because they are no longer a little kid, yet they are not a mature adult yet either.  They are caught in the middle and it is not pleasant.  I wish I would have enjoyed my teenage years more, just like I wish I would have relaxed and enjoyed my whole growth process with God.  But maybe that is so much easier said than done just because we are human.

   I Will Love You for You....     

  

              I will love you for you.... Not for what you have done or what you'll become....

This morning I went to yesterday's blog entry, felt it was incomplete, so started adding to it.  However, this afternoon on Facebook a friend posted this video and I realized that it fit perfectly with what I had started to write this morning.  I hope it speaks to your heart like it has mine.

My heart aches for women, for everyone really, that just wants to be unconditionally loved just for who we are, right now, this moment, horrible past and all.  It gets so exhausting feeling like we never measure up.  We often feel drained by what life brings us.  

As women, our heart cries to be loved just the way we are.  Most of us feel not enough, too much, too fat, too skinny, to tall, too short, too loud, not loud enough, too friendly, too shy, too dumb, too smart.... you get the picture.  Lean close now.... there is something that I want to tell you.....

You are beautiful just the way you are....  God loves YOU just as much today as He ever will.  Your looks, your personality, your actions do not increase or lessen His love for you.   This is one of the hardest things to believe because God's love is not typically the focus in most churches.  The church tends to direct us to look at our faults, at our failings and how God commands us to change, to be this, to be that.  Sadly, often we don't find the real God in church.  We find human intepretations of God and of human expectations that we are to meet for God.

We MUST learn to be careful not to compare God's love to human love.  Human love comes and goes but God's love never changes.  He IS love. His word is full of what alot of christians see as commands.  However, as you start to know and abide in His love, I believe you will come to see these as tender promises, as wonderful gifts that HE will bring to life in us.  We can't do it no matter how hard we try.

Most of us, once we do start to believe that God loves us just the way we are, still cannot seem to find comfort in that.  I have told God, like many of us has told a parent who loves us unconditionally, "You HAVE to love me... You're my Father, my Creator, my God."  It has only been since beginning to get a revelation that HIS opinion is the only one that matters, that I start to take comfort and delight in that thought.  We humans are so fickle and judgmental in our opinions that we will drive each other crazy trying to meet all the expectations others have of us!

I used to rebel inwardly toward God because my understanding of Him, from religious teachings, was that His goal, His demand was, "CHANGE OR ELSE!!"  That translated to me as "you are not good enough as you are.  You are junk not worth my time until you change." 

That is SO not true!  He is fiercely in love with me just as I am, in all my imperfections.  He truly does want me to come "just as I am".  It is the church who says that, but immediately points out that NOW you need to change.  Right now!  No, not all churches do that.  Maybe they don't even notice that is what comes across.  I just wish they would welcome new Christians like they do a new baby.  Give them time to grow in God's love.

That being said,  I have come to believe the saying that "He loves you too much to leave you where you are."  That too can be taken as I'm not good enough.  Also not true.  I don't believe it is a commandment.  I believe it is a delightful, glee filled promise.  "Taste and see that the Lord is good..." Psalm 34:8  I picture God's face glowing here with excitement and encouragement!

I have started to "taste God and see that He is good".  When I started relaxing into his love, into believing that I didn't have to earn His love, then I started seeing Him as someone that I was excited to come along side and join in what adventures He wanted to take me one.  I began to see that it is not so much Him changing me but as Him "freeing me". 

As bad habits like anger, judgmentalness, expectations of how others should be or act, selfishness, gossip, gluttony (still have this one BIG time! LOL!), covetnous, etc. start to lessen in me, I experience a freedom that is exhilerating!

The biggest area of freedom I am experiencing is,  as I start to love myself, accept myself in all of my imperfections, then I begin to love others in a more real, God like way.  For some reason, loving myself connects with....enables me to.... love others more perfectly.

As I begin to focus on the person  God's word says He created me to be when He breathed His spirit into me - loving, kind, generous, forgiving, hopeful, joyful, etc.- and began to focus less on who I SEEM to be right at this moment, then change starts to happen. 

When I quit focusing on how I still have angry blow ups, how I still have nasty thoughts of others, how I still gossip, how I still hog that bag of chocolates to myself and don't share with others, I start to feel less guilt and shame.

Those two emotions are what holds us back from freedom.  They are a prison.  They cause us to focus so much on the muck and mess our humanness brings into our lives, that we are unable to focus on the true us that is our spirit.  When we change our focus and zero in on the person that God says we are in Him, then the guilt and shame loses it's grip and we start to grow.

When we do find ourselves messing up, whether it is by acting out in wrong behavior or by wallowing in guilt in shame, it's best to apologize if needed, and to move on.  Also, instead of trying to ignore things or beat ourselves up over them, it helps to just find a quiet place to let all of these thoughts flow thru. 

I am someone who would "chew" on the thoughts, wrestling to try to figure out things.  Now, after practicing this method, I allow myself to think the thoughts and then I ask "Why am I feeling this way?  Why am I thinking this way? Why did I react this way?

I try to not allow myself to wrestle and over analyze, but I allow one thought to follow another.  It's best if I can talk out loud to myself or to journal the thoughts as they come.  When I do this, often I will recognize some hidden bias or judgmental thought in me toward myself or others.  Often I will recognize something that triggers certain reactions or thoughts. 

I may even recognize a hidden hurt or insecurity that can trigger a reaction from me.  When hidden things are uncovered in me, it lets the light in and can often free me from the hold something has had on me.  You've heard the verse "the truth will set you free."  I'm here to tell you that it does!

Even if you do not uncover a reason as to why you are feeling the way you are, why you reacted the way you did, often just letting the thoughts flow out of you relieves a pressure and brings peace.  The key here is to let thoughts flow as you think them.  Don't grab onto the thoughts and try to squeeze an answer out.  If one comes, great....  If it doesn't, that's ok too. 

For me, when I start to feel tense in my brain (sound's funny doesn't it!) or anxious, the I physically force myself to relax and go on to something else if I have to.  I make it a habit to try to recognize when I have shifted from letting thoughts flow thru vs. grabbing on to them and letting them make me anxious.

In everything I talk about on this blog, I want you to remember that they are not to be used as  formulas... as rules or principles.  When you feel you MUST do something in order to achieve a result, you put a pressure on yourself that may hinder you.   If you can relax and recognize that I am sharing my experiences with you... that I am sharing teachings that worked for me with you..... then you can relax. 

Imagine us as friends, sitting over cups of coffee and sharing our lives together.  Yes, I would love to hear from you, too!  My hope is that this does not remain just a one sided conversation.  We can learn from each other.  That's what makes this journey so freeing and so exciting!  Not one of us has it all together.  Not one of us doesn't have something to share.  I am not a leader, I am a... a.... a share-er.  (Is that a word?  It is now!)

TaTa for now!  I am going to close with this quote that I just love, and so fits who I am:

 "I'm not about leading. But I AM about instigating. I'd rather we walk alongside each other in this life, than one in front of the other. But, if I see that you need a push, I'll get behind you... and I hope you'll do the same for me." Jamie Wright

We All Fall Down...

I feel the need to assure you that it is very normal for you to make mistakes.... to fail.   I use the word fail loosely because I believe it is US who see's things as failures.  God says He can use ALL things for the good of those who love Him.

 He see's your heart and He see's that strong desire to do what is right.  He KNOWS how early you are in your walk with Him.  Maybe you have even been a Christian for many years but still don't "hear" God.  Now is a good time to start!

How I started to feel more comfortable following up on what I believe is God's "voice" is by being willing to fail.  Believe me, that was NOT easy for me!  I was so afraid of making a mistake and ruining EVERYTHING that I always questioned and refused to take a chance that it was God prompting me.

I heard a few people say that you come to recognize God's leading by obeying "nudges" that you feel.  As you step out and follow these nudges, you will become more able to identify what is most likely from God.  You will make many mistakes so just accept that fact now and understand that He is up there cheering you on for your courage and determination to come to know Him better.  Now, courage does not mean lack of fear, it means doing something in spite of the fear.

In learning to "hear" from God, reading the bible is a big help here.  As you read, ask HIM to reveal to you what He wants you to learn.  20,000 people can explain one passage to you and each may have a different understanding.  If you are like I was, you don't want to make a mistake in your understanding of His word so you WANT other people to give you the definite answers. 

This was a big place where I had to step out and start responding to what I felt was nudges from God.  I had to learn to trust that He IS speaking directly to me thru His word, even if my understanding differed from all others around me.  That doesn't mean that I discounted their opinions but it did mean that I went to Him in prayer and asked Him to speak to my heart.  If I continued to feel strongly that my understanding was from Him, I went in that direction.

Also, starting to gain knowledge from the bible will help you to identify what nudges may or may not be from God.  If you have a nudge to slap someone up side the head, you should be able to know that this is NOT from God! Haha! If you have a nudge to steal something, again you'll know that this does not line up with God's character.

And now we've come full circle... back to what I've talked about in other posts.  Your relationship with Him is key.  It is only by having that as a foundation, by asking Him to reveal Himself to you, that you can have an understanding as to His nature.  You can read the bible all you want but unless you read it with a heart that is asking Him to reveal who He is, you will just end up with a head full of knowledge but a heart that is empty of His compassion, His joy, His truth.

My hope is that you feel encouraged by my telling you to relax.  This all takes alot of time.  Some may get it quicker than others but in my life "slow and steady wins the race."  I tried to rush to catch up with all the more mature christian sisters in ministry that I knew, and I crashed and burned.

I did a 21 day fast 4 (?) years ago where I ate only peanut butter and drank orange juice.  Now, I don't recommend this.  There are healthier ways to do this.  I ended up with horrendous pain from orange juice acid not properly digesting!  Yikes!  Anyway, I DID get what I truly believe was insight from God.

I remember praying once during this time and crying out "God, I feel like I'm missing something!"  It was like plain as day the thought came thru my head "You are... You are so busy trying to keep up with the big dogs that you are missing things I'm trying to show you..."  Now, I know the words "big dogs" don't sound like God but sometimes I believe He says things in a way that will make the biggest impact on our own unique understanding.

The understanding that rose up in me when I heard this thought was that I am trying so hard to be "mature" that I was missing the necessary growth process.  I will tell you that I did feel like a preschooler taking advanced college classes.  I was so out of my league!

I'm going to tell you something you may have heard before but didn't really heed.  Quit resisting where you are right now in your growth process.  Sometimes I think God deliberately slows us down for what ever reason He may think is necessary.  Don't beat yourself up for not "getting it."  It will come.  Maybe not as fast as you would like but just relax, enjoy it....

Quit looking for "right" or "wrong" answers from God.  Just ask Him to enable you to sense His leading.  It's not about right or wrong.  It's about following Him.  It's about relationship with Him.  Stop doing things just because you "should".  Now, we all have responsibilities that have to be done: our jobs, taking care of family, etc.  But tithing just because you "should", volunteering just because you "should", going to church just because you "should", etc.  are keeping you from walking in freedom.

What I am saying is not a ticket to a free ride.  I am not saying just stop and focus on you.  What I AM saying is, if you have a heart for God then when you stop all the "shoulding" and start to trust that God loves you right where you are, without you "earning" anything from Him, then you will start to relax.  You will start to be able to identify what God is prompting you to do over what is often empty activities that He has never asked you to do.

It took me a good two or three years of stopping most activities before I was relaxed enough to start to hear Him over my inner guilt to "do" , or over others expectations of what I should do.  I just spent that time focusing on learning about His love.  I hungrily devoured books that were focused on relationship with Him, on His love for me.  I listened to Wayne Jacobsen's Lifejourney Podcasts often.  I spent time singing praise songs and talking to Him about all the junk that was inside me.  I learned to quit pretending with myself and with Him.

As Christians we can become good at pushing down what is unpleasant truths about ourselves.  We expect ourselves to ACT and THINK like a Christian so what doesn't line up with that get's swept under a mask we hold carefully in place.  However, inside we become a mess.  We can start to feel like our life is a lie.  Or worse, we deceive ourselves so completely, convinced because we are living such a disciplined life, that we start to become VERY judgmental of others who are not. 

In a nutshell, when the inner most depths of us do not match up with the outside, we are not congruent.  In other words, we are not the same on the inside as we portray on the outside.

The outside of us should be a reflection of the inner us.  When it is not, we are not at peace.  I have found, for me, focusing on letting Him love me to wholeness has brought so much more growth, honesty, and unselfishness to my life than all the other religious activities I got into just because I should.

It's Not About You....

Ugh... how I used to hate those words.... "It's not about you."  So often shyness or my perception of how others see me has held me back.   It's held me back from friendships, from volunteering as a parent at school, from trying out for cheerleader, school plays,  from so many things.

 I did not like me so I was unable to see how others could.  I've heard more than once by well meaning friends "What makes you think you are so special that others are even noticing you?  It's not about you..."

Oh great.. Not only am I selfish and self focused but, as you just said, I'm not special either..."  sigh....  I'm begging you, think next time before you use those words.  They can crush a spirit.  They did mine.

 I was not at a place that was yet rooted in God's love.  I was not at a place of recognizing that He made me... my looks, my personality... He made it all and He was well pleased with it.   I did not yet understand that HE would be the one to gently mold, with such a tender love, His creation into completion.

Lord, I wanna yearn for you.... I wanna burn with passion over you and only you....

I'm listening to the song "Yearn" by Shane and Shane at the moment.  After years of trying to reach this place, HE is bringing it into a reality in my heart.  Nothing else matters but Him... not the changes, not the "stuff", and not even the vision He has for me.  I think His biggest delight is me being right in this moment, caught up in Him.... He is all that matters....

Ok, I got lost for a minute...  back to "it's not about you", except I believe it is.  It's about He and I... it's about our relationship.  That is the heart of all of this.  It HAS to be about me and Him.  Out of the relationship He builds with me flows true authentic love for others.  You've heard "You can't give what you don't know."  Thru my experience I have come to believe that.  It's not until I can learn about His unconditional love that I can give it away... give it to others.

When I come to see the mistakes, the outright failures that He continues to love me unconditionally thru, THEN I can see others thru the same nonjudgmental, unconditionally loving eyes.  It's kind of a catch 22.  I have to come to believe that He still loves me with fierce devotion even thru my badness to be able to give that to others.  Yet I have had the pleasure of Him bringing people into my life that loves me thru it all, to give me a... a... glimpse.... of His unfailing love.

What about those of you that have not had even one person show you unconditional love?  I'm not talking about showing you love by agreeing with all that you do, but by continuing to love you even if they have to withdraw from your life so God can work, or so that they themselves are not destroyed. 

Unconditional love is not putting up with all that you do, so don't go get that idea.  I feel that sometimes God has had to step back when I am bound and determined to go my own way.  He steps back because He loves me and will not force me to do what I don't want to do.  He won't force me to give up what I don't want to give up.  That's free will.  But thru it all, His heart is with me, never losing hope.

To get back to the subject... what about those of you have not had even one person show you unconditional love?  It's hard to grasp what you've never known so ask Him to show you.  Ask Him to give you a revelation in your heart of His love.  I did....

In my experience, it is only thru gaining insight as to who you are, and loving who you are, that true relaxing can come to your spirit.  It is then that you start to no longer need the approval of others so much.  It is then that you don't NEED them to accept you first.

 No, it's not easy to make this transition but I'm proof that it can be done.  You can then start to focus on others and on enabling THEM to feel accepted.  Sometimes it flows naturally and easily.  Sometimes you will have to make a choice to ignore your discomfort and step out, making it a point to focus on being there for others.

Often times you will find the door opening and people responding to you.  If they don't, use it as an opportunity to learn.  Use it as an opportunity to draw close to God for comfort.  Yes, your stomach may be in knots.  Yes, you may feel rejected.

I use it as an opportunity to ask God to enable me to not depend on the reaction from others, to not feel "less than" just because I have been rejected.For me, it is growing in this area that is giving me a sense of freedom; freedom from the actions and feelings of others controlling me.   
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Deceived by the deceiver.....

I went thru a time in my life where I was VERY deceived by the deceiver (satan).  I was deceived to the point where I almost lost my life.  As a new Christian I became involved with a woman's ministry that taught directly from the bible, yes, but in a way that was detrimental to a new christian. 

My life became a pit of despair and fear because I had not had the opportunity to get to know Christ as who He really is.... Love.... Light.... Hope.... Grace......   THAT is the foundation of who He is... the foundation that all else can then be built on.

I was in conversation yesterday with a guy friend from my church, who I assumed had a close walk with Christ.  During this conversation he mentioned that he no longer believed in God as his provider.... God was just there to give him a place in heaven.  How sad to not truly know the width, depth and breath of God's love....

I started opening up about that VERY dark time in my life.... a time where I got to what has been my lowest point.... a time where I no longer wanted to live.  The extreme fear I had developed thru teachings from that ministry had pushed me straight thru depression into a place where I no longer was healthy emotionally and mentally.

I truly was living in hell on earth at that time and could not tell reality from deception.  I was in a constant state of terror which I hid from everyone until it reached the point where it resulted in a hospital stay.  They diagnosed me as depressed with a severe psychosis.  Let me give you a little lesson on what that is.


As I sat here this morning praying and dwelling on the conversation yesterday what came to me is that so many ... probably all of us christians... are deceived by the deceiver in some way.  This poor guy is deceived into thinking that God is only there to get him to heaven.  He's missing a HUGE MONUMENTAL relationship that no other can compare too. 

Others are walking in out and out sin... deceived into thinking God is holding out on them and they need to grab for their own what He hasn't given them.  

I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone but what if we had a little more compassion and start praying for people instead of knocking them down... What if we started petitioning God on their behalf, asking Him to reveal the depth, the width and the breadth of His love to them. 

What if WE became His hands and feet, loving these people right where they are at and trusting God to do the changing in them.  We pay attention to the log in our own eye and ask God to enable us to live a life that He can shine thru... a life that will enable them to "taste and see that God is good..."  We aren't living a life like that when we play God and become judgmental toward others.

Yes, there may come a point in your relationship with someone that God asks you to gently and lovingly point out where they are being deceived.  But until HE has prepared their heart to hear it, I feel I am to keep my sticky dirty hands OUT of trying to play saviour.

When God brings people into our lives that are walking in obvious deception, could it be that He is wanting to teach US something?  Could it be that He is saying "Love them.... just love them.  Trust that I can change their hearts and that you are free to just love them." 

That is not to say that we don't have boundaries in our own lives where others are concerned.  We can't let their choices destroy us, so we do have to stick closely to God in prayer and ask Him to direct our steps. 

But during these times, more than ever, that is where we start to see the miracle of GOD working, not ourselves.  That is where our faith starts to stretch and grow because we realize that we can do nothing of real value.  It is HIM that has to do the work and we can only believe.... just believe.....

The Most Difficult Person to Trust...

I am taking a class that has focused alot on helping us to recognize our own personal values.  Yesterday was a small class and Dr. Dan wrote our names on the board then had us each list our values.  He then went over each person's values asking the class what they thought that might mean to that person.

I was one who lumped a lot of values together so I managed to have 20 up there when others had just five or ten... Hey!  Don't judge me!  So I over think!  Haha!

One of the value areas I lumped together was honesty/authenticity/integrity/respect.  Dr. Dan tried to figure out exactly what this meant for me.  I explained that I wanted that from others... If someone asked me to hang out with them, I have this deep need to know that they mean it.... that they enjoy my company... that they are not just "being nice."  It's a sign of respect for me if they are genuine and authentic.  We also talked about how I kind of freak if I say something then later realize I lied without thinking.

Dan said that this area would be a stumbling block for me in my progression toward the vision of what God wants me to do.  He thinks I will shy away from things that won't give me those values... that I won't be content with what is true "at the moment." 

As I think about it, me feeling like others will not see me as an asset or as someone they enjoy being with does make me shy away.  This year I decided to muster up the courage to go to the monthly parent Band Boosters meeting.  I felt so ignored and not needed.  In my mind I told myself that this was my own stinkin' thinkin' but it has made me skittish about going.  So I can see what Dr. Dan may be alluding to.

As I lay there this morning thinking about the class discussion yesterday, and my values, I realized that I wanted those things from others, yes, but the hugest thing I wanted was to be able to GIVE those things to others and I never feel that I am good enough at it.

A memory floated thru my mind of talking with a male friend about marriage.  He explained how hard it was to trust a woman because of what had been done to him before.  I thought about it because I had been thru that also.  But what came out of my mouth was "I have dealt with that fear.  My biggest fear is that I will not be able to love a husband in the way that he should be loved."

This morning I realized that, tho my trust of myself is growing, there is still a part of me that finds ME the most difficult person to trust.  And until I CAN trust myself, I do not feel that I will fully be able to trust others.  What it would it look like to trust myself.... to trust others.... Here is yet another avenue of life where my imagination needs to come into play.  What would it look like.....

I look at myself as the biggest stumbling block in relationships.  I look at myself as the one who will make or break a relationship.  I look at myself as the one who may not have it in her....  That is a scary thought.  What if I am not "good" enough...?

As I'm writing I am remembering a memory from my religious past.  The pastor of a legalistic marriage ministry that I was a part of said that she would never remarry another man because it would be adultery.  She also refused to remarry her husband because she was not a good wife.  Now, this woman EXCELLED at being a wife and mother by most standards. 

It hit me last week that this bit of narley info had it's talons gripped into my brain without my even realizing it.  If SHE could never be a good enough wife to remarry again, how would I ever be??!  It's all about learning to trust myself in every area.  Well, not necessarily myself but the Holy Spirit in me.... in trusting the grace that is available to me.

In my marriage, my ex husband says that he did not have any problems except that I kept myself emotionally and physically distant.  It now hits me that I have been focusing on the fact that I was a nagging wife that put a distance between us... Really, it was that he could not get that emotional and physical connection with me that a husband needs.  As Dr. Dan says, if men don't get that from their wives they get stupid... they don't think clearly....

If I can come to believe that I myself can give those values that are so important to me, then I think a whole new world is going to come open to me.  The possibilities truly WILL be limitless.  I was just talking yesterday about the fact that I wanted to work at home. In the past I felt that I would NOT be good at that because I would not be committed to getting the job done since I would not have a boss looking over my shoulder.  Yesterday I told my friend, I THINK I would commit myself, which IS a step in the right direction.  But I realize that I need to BELIEVE that I WILL be good at working from home.

Have you noticed that my blogs lately have been about BELIEVING?  I'm noticing that this is a major theme lately in my life.  I think it is the simple, most basic foundation of life and especially of our Christian walk.  Believing, trusting, having faith.  And all these things are more than just words.  We can feel we do believe but I feel that true belief is this deep, peaceful KNOWING something is true.  It's a part of us.... it flows out of us.  It is not something we strive to do, it just .... is.....

I think we need to tap into our imagination.... We need to allow ourselves to dream the most impossible dreams and allow ourselves to believe that they CAN come true, no matter what our circumstances look like today.... no matter what our past has been like....  We need to stop being afraid of being disappointed and just enjoy having those HUGE dreams, KNOWING that they can come true if they are part of God's plan for us.  Ask Him to show you the desires of His heart for you.  Ask Him to show you what true faith is really like.   Believe.... just believe.....

"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 27:20

"Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:23-24