Recent Topics
- I cannot blame others for me being lonely at parties.
-Fear prevents an introspective perspective and causes a negative perspective. This blocks us from God on two fronts.
-The love that I offer is not a love that protects a person from their fear. It is a love that gives the courage and guidance to face and conquer those fears.
-In the christian circles I grew up in, shame was almost taught as a virture - a confusion between shame and humility. But Love ellevates as it does in the children's story, Cinderella. 'Come boldly unto the throne of grace...'. Hebrews 4:16 If we can go boldly there, we can go boldly pretty much anywhere else God leads us.
- As a man, I want to make an impact. I want to impact a woman in a marriage relationship. I want to impact the culture at my job from hierarchy to respectful team interaction. Most of all, I want to impact God's kingdom. But this requires self esteem. I do not get self esteem from doing these things. There is no room for ambition in God's kingdom. Self esteem comes from who I am, not what I do. What I am comes from allowing God to expose the weak parts of my character formed by fear so that I can live without a need to prove myself.
- Fear is rampant because everyone uses it to control others. The devil almost always uses it in conjunction with his other tool, tempatation. Parentsm, bosses, and heads of state use it. Even christian so-called leaders use it by protraying god as someone to fear. But God is the only one Who does not use it. He does not fear. Romans 8:15,16
- Independance is best done with the support of others. A true independant path is one that is intertwined with other independent paths.
- Why should we submit to fear? What allegiance do we owe fear? What right does fear have to rule over us? There is no reason to give it heed. If we do, we are already dead. I will serve Love. 'Perfect love casts out fear." I John 4:18
- We are shaped, for the most part, out of fear. But God wants to shape us with His love.
- Is it a good thing to be totally dependant on God? Dependancy and submission are not the same thing. In other words, does weakness have to be a prerequesite for submission? Let me take it further. 'When I am weak, then am I strong.' II Corinthians 12:10. Submission is not about weakness but about strength. The cross is the perfect example.
- I know that my boundaries are becoming weak when they become black and white (for me or against me).
- The problem with spirituality is that it cannot be handed down to the next generation. We 'cannot survive on a secondhand faith in a secondhand God'. Alan Jones Journey into Christ p.91-92
- When confronted with a problem, I have a tendency to see the worst possible scenarios. This blinds me from seeing possible easy solutions.
-Help me Lord to see the individualities of other people and to celebrate these differences rather than trying to live solely within the commonalities.
- True sacrifice and good boundaries in helpng others is difficult for me. Everyone needs help to some degree. When I do reach out to someone, God shows me some of His dreams for them. It blows my mind to see a person's full potential and how it could affect all those around them. Anything I have seems of small value compared to the enormous possibilities. But my resources to love are limited. One limiting criteria to use is how willing people are to change in order to realize their potential. Even Jesus only talked to one person at the pool of Soloam and after the person agreed to be healed, Jesus did not spend His last few years discipling him. I will trust God to guide me to the right people and to set my boundaries to know how much to help and to sacrifice. Only within these boundaries can we all grow.
- We are receiving love only when that love encourages our development. Otherwise, it is only manipulation.
- My purpose will happen through me being and developing myself, not in me sacrificing who I am. True sacrifice would happen as a result of me being who I am. It would develop who I am.
- Could it be that God has an infinite number of plans for our lives and could it not also be that He knows which one we will choose? Life is not about destiny nor about choices. It is about purpose.
- There is a part of me that does not want to pursue God's adventure. Life attacks my manhood in a thousand little ways, such as not being able to find my keys, and I become weak and fear much bigger possibilities. That part of me desparately wants to run to a mama and jump in her arms for protection and reassurance. This may be a lot of what I am craving when I desire to have a wife that can hold me. I pray to God to fill that void, but instead He offers to make me stronger. But for Him to do that, I must be open to see my false preceptions. 'When I am weak, I am strong.'
- Clear guidance from God is more about perspective than whether to go left or right.
- People that have a difficult time seeing Jesus as the manna (John 6), rather than what He can do for us, have the same trouble with the people in their lives.
- We give to enlarge the heart, not the other way around.
The amount of humility we have is the amount of room we have for love (with God and others).
- Shame and humility are not the same thing. Shame is more like injured pride caused by the difference in who we are compared to who we think we should be. Humility courageously faces our shortcomings and gratefully allows God to make up the difference. Shame causes sadness. Humility allows us to laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously. Shame stifles action and causes a self-centered perception. Humility takes the load off of our shoulders and puts in on God's and allows us to help others without being judgemental.
- Bitterness is an enemy of humility
- To confront properly is to confront in defense of love,not in defense of self.
- If order and control are your main objectives, then you will live a life of strife. If love is your main objective, then you will live a life of sorrow because most people chose the first objective. It has been the never ending choice ever since the tree of forbidden fruit was placed in the garden of Eden. For those that chose to submit to the second objective, care must be taken to inspire but not to strive with those who chose the first objective in order to avoid unwittingly finding yourself back under the first objective.
- I have an issue -stress. I am fully aware of how ugly an issue it is, but I am still amazed at the anger that it stirs up among the people 'closest' to me. 'You need to get help!' My response is. 'I know I need help. Are you offering to help me?' My need is not the vague insatiable need of a codependent - usually. Why the anger? I believe my need is like a blind man that decides to camp out on the front porch. His consistent presence and overwhelming need shows us how inadequate our heart is. Sometimes people put coins in my cup but the issue persists. The problem is that the solution to my issue is obvious. I need one of your eyes.
- It appears to me that as I look back over 50+ years, that I have not seen genuine love at all. Every instance that I recall of where people were kind to me would more easily be classified as gratitude. Even the affection of my dogs would have to fall in this category. People appreciate me doing nice things for them and, occasionally, they will do something nice for me in return. No harm done. Where the problem comes in is that I deeply desire to love others in spite of their damaged state as the love heals the wounds and diminishes the ugly ways they act out to protect those wounds. In return, I ask the same. To receive this kind of love requires humility as we face our intense neediness for this kind of love. No one appreciates my offer. They attack me in my vulnerability in hopes that I wll turn the light (love) off that exposes their heart. However, this is the love that God offers. Everything else is gratitude.
- Perfect people cannot receive love, only adoration. Love is only for damaged people who need it's healing powers.
- Oppressive rules within an organization leads to division and strife. Those that resist the rules or even don't follow them as strictly are attacked by those who do not resist for whatever reason. Being somewhat of a rebel, it amazes me that more of the anger is not directed toward the authority that imposes the rules. However, I was once one of those backbiters. This patten holds true for all types of organizations whether they be family, church or business.
- We all hurt - unless we are numb. Most see the source of the pain to be the issues of the people around us. The few that are open see the source to be primarily our own issues. We are helpless to deal with our own issues alone. We need the help of those people around us. We were designed that way. Can we help each other without losing sight of our own issues? Can we receive help from those that hurt us with their own issues? Can we help them lovingly for their sake and not to protect ourselves? This can only work with humble people willing to fully see their own issues so they can be patient with other's issues.
- Are We capable of loving outside of our perspective? Do we have to agree or even understand in order to have compassion?
- People either change themselves or their situation
-Fear prevents an introspective perspective and causes a negative perspective. This blocks us from God on two fronts.
-The love that I offer is not a love that protects a person from their fear. It is a love that gives the courage and guidance to face and conquer those fears.
-In the christian circles I grew up in, shame was almost taught as a virture - a confusion between shame and humility. But Love ellevates as it does in the children's story, Cinderella. 'Come boldly unto the throne of grace...'. Hebrews 4:16 If we can go boldly there, we can go boldly pretty much anywhere else God leads us.
- As a man, I want to make an impact. I want to impact a woman in a marriage relationship. I want to impact the culture at my job from hierarchy to respectful team interaction. Most of all, I want to impact God's kingdom. But this requires self esteem. I do not get self esteem from doing these things. There is no room for ambition in God's kingdom. Self esteem comes from who I am, not what I do. What I am comes from allowing God to expose the weak parts of my character formed by fear so that I can live without a need to prove myself.
- Fear is rampant because everyone uses it to control others. The devil almost always uses it in conjunction with his other tool, tempatation. Parentsm, bosses, and heads of state use it. Even christian so-called leaders use it by protraying god as someone to fear. But God is the only one Who does not use it. He does not fear. Romans 8:15,16
- Independance is best done with the support of others. A true independant path is one that is intertwined with other independent paths.
- Why should we submit to fear? What allegiance do we owe fear? What right does fear have to rule over us? There is no reason to give it heed. If we do, we are already dead. I will serve Love. 'Perfect love casts out fear." I John 4:18
- We are shaped, for the most part, out of fear. But God wants to shape us with His love.
- Is it a good thing to be totally dependant on God? Dependancy and submission are not the same thing. In other words, does weakness have to be a prerequesite for submission? Let me take it further. 'When I am weak, then am I strong.' II Corinthians 12:10. Submission is not about weakness but about strength. The cross is the perfect example.
- I know that my boundaries are becoming weak when they become black and white (for me or against me).
- The problem with spirituality is that it cannot be handed down to the next generation. We 'cannot survive on a secondhand faith in a secondhand God'. Alan Jones Journey into Christ p.91-92
- When confronted with a problem, I have a tendency to see the worst possible scenarios. This blinds me from seeing possible easy solutions.
-Help me Lord to see the individualities of other people and to celebrate these differences rather than trying to live solely within the commonalities.
- True sacrifice and good boundaries in helpng others is difficult for me. Everyone needs help to some degree. When I do reach out to someone, God shows me some of His dreams for them. It blows my mind to see a person's full potential and how it could affect all those around them. Anything I have seems of small value compared to the enormous possibilities. But my resources to love are limited. One limiting criteria to use is how willing people are to change in order to realize their potential. Even Jesus only talked to one person at the pool of Soloam and after the person agreed to be healed, Jesus did not spend His last few years discipling him. I will trust God to guide me to the right people and to set my boundaries to know how much to help and to sacrifice. Only within these boundaries can we all grow.
- We are receiving love only when that love encourages our development. Otherwise, it is only manipulation.
- My purpose will happen through me being and developing myself, not in me sacrificing who I am. True sacrifice would happen as a result of me being who I am. It would develop who I am.
- Could it be that God has an infinite number of plans for our lives and could it not also be that He knows which one we will choose? Life is not about destiny nor about choices. It is about purpose.
- There is a part of me that does not want to pursue God's adventure. Life attacks my manhood in a thousand little ways, such as not being able to find my keys, and I become weak and fear much bigger possibilities. That part of me desparately wants to run to a mama and jump in her arms for protection and reassurance. This may be a lot of what I am craving when I desire to have a wife that can hold me. I pray to God to fill that void, but instead He offers to make me stronger. But for Him to do that, I must be open to see my false preceptions. 'When I am weak, I am strong.'
- Clear guidance from God is more about perspective than whether to go left or right.
- People that have a difficult time seeing Jesus as the manna (John 6), rather than what He can do for us, have the same trouble with the people in their lives.
- We give to enlarge the heart, not the other way around.
The amount of humility we have is the amount of room we have for love (with God and others).
- Shame and humility are not the same thing. Shame is more like injured pride caused by the difference in who we are compared to who we think we should be. Humility courageously faces our shortcomings and gratefully allows God to make up the difference. Shame causes sadness. Humility allows us to laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously. Shame stifles action and causes a self-centered perception. Humility takes the load off of our shoulders and puts in on God's and allows us to help others without being judgemental.
- Bitterness is an enemy of humility
- To confront properly is to confront in defense of love,not in defense of self.
- If order and control are your main objectives, then you will live a life of strife. If love is your main objective, then you will live a life of sorrow because most people chose the first objective. It has been the never ending choice ever since the tree of forbidden fruit was placed in the garden of Eden. For those that chose to submit to the second objective, care must be taken to inspire but not to strive with those who chose the first objective in order to avoid unwittingly finding yourself back under the first objective.
- I have an issue -stress. I am fully aware of how ugly an issue it is, but I am still amazed at the anger that it stirs up among the people 'closest' to me. 'You need to get help!' My response is. 'I know I need help. Are you offering to help me?' My need is not the vague insatiable need of a codependent - usually. Why the anger? I believe my need is like a blind man that decides to camp out on the front porch. His consistent presence and overwhelming need shows us how inadequate our heart is. Sometimes people put coins in my cup but the issue persists. The problem is that the solution to my issue is obvious. I need one of your eyes.
- It appears to me that as I look back over 50+ years, that I have not seen genuine love at all. Every instance that I recall of where people were kind to me would more easily be classified as gratitude. Even the affection of my dogs would have to fall in this category. People appreciate me doing nice things for them and, occasionally, they will do something nice for me in return. No harm done. Where the problem comes in is that I deeply desire to love others in spite of their damaged state as the love heals the wounds and diminishes the ugly ways they act out to protect those wounds. In return, I ask the same. To receive this kind of love requires humility as we face our intense neediness for this kind of love. No one appreciates my offer. They attack me in my vulnerability in hopes that I wll turn the light (love) off that exposes their heart. However, this is the love that God offers. Everything else is gratitude.
- Perfect people cannot receive love, only adoration. Love is only for damaged people who need it's healing powers.
- Oppressive rules within an organization leads to division and strife. Those that resist the rules or even don't follow them as strictly are attacked by those who do not resist for whatever reason. Being somewhat of a rebel, it amazes me that more of the anger is not directed toward the authority that imposes the rules. However, I was once one of those backbiters. This patten holds true for all types of organizations whether they be family, church or business.
- We all hurt - unless we are numb. Most see the source of the pain to be the issues of the people around us. The few that are open see the source to be primarily our own issues. We are helpless to deal with our own issues alone. We need the help of those people around us. We were designed that way. Can we help each other without losing sight of our own issues? Can we receive help from those that hurt us with their own issues? Can we help them lovingly for their sake and not to protect ourselves? This can only work with humble people willing to fully see their own issues so they can be patient with other's issues.
- Are We capable of loving outside of our perspective? Do we have to agree or even understand in order to have compassion?
- People either change themselves or their situation
Topics