TrustThoughts - Relationships are not about power or control. What good can stem out of a relationship based on control? Relationships are about trust- about the other person. If I want to be in control I am saying that I don't trust the person I am in relationship with. When I give them control, I am showing them that I trust them. Think of Jesus. He trusted his disciples, even though he didn't have to. He could have exerted power over them, but instead he chose to trust them. When we assume full control we are in a way saying that we feel that we could do things better than the other person. We are saying that we believe we are capable by ourselves. I find it difficult to give up control. I find it hard to give up control when I know that we are all human and that we will make mistakes. What if I trust someone else and then they let me down? Again, this is where I have to come back to enjoying the other.
Check out what my dear friend has to say about this:http://paradigmministries.ca/7_1/?p=14. My friend says, "We in our desire to do things right spend most of our energy building structure, outlining responsibilities then holding people accountable. We do not live for the expectancy found in relationship but rather we create expectations both from and within relationship. These can be spoken or not yet they still define key roles and functions. In so doing the most pleasurable part of relationship is lost.We have been created to experience one another. There is a real sense of freedom to be who we are rather than the conformity to the expectations of another. That freedom however is rarely expressed due to the reality that we may long for it but our relationships are not open enough to support it. Thus we constantly second guess the other to determine the level of freedom we can express."
What has God been speaking to me? EVERYTHING STEMS OUT OF INTIMACY WITH THE FATHER. Intimacy is about enjoy the other person. It is about putting them first. It is about bringing out the best in them. It is about calling forth the qualities in the other. It is love and sacrifice. It is not self-seeking. I've been thinking about how God pursues his children. He comes to us, he beckons us into relationship with him and we are invited into relationship with him. It is not a coercive relationship. Good things stem out of intimacy with the father. confidence. peace. security. trust. relationship.
How can I honour those that I am relationship with? Trusting them is key.
~ help me to trust~
In the last couple of months I have been thinking a great deal about fitness and healthy living, and I have been inspired to a reconsider how I approach them. Why do we exercise? Why do we pay attention to our bodies and why do we want to make healthy choices? I have been challenged to a new paradigm of thinking where our ultimate reason for doing these things is to honour God with what he has given us- our body! By taking care of what God has given to me, I am honoring him. This has totally revolutionized my thinking because what the media and the world say is so contrary to this way of thinking. We are told that we should exercise to look good for other people and that it will increase our self-image and self-worth if we are skinny and "good looking," but that is so opposite of the way that God views his children. We are made in his image. He takes pleasure in us. We are more than skin deep. We are so precious and valuable in his sight. It is so motivating for me to think of taking care of my body as a response to God- let me worship you with the way that I use my body and the decisions that I make. When the Scriptures talk about our bodies being the Temple of the Holy Spirit, I believe this means that we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us, so I want my response to be to "honour God in my Body" as it says in 1 Corinthians 6:20. Some people have accused me of taking that verse out of context because the preceeding verses relate to sexual immorality; however, I belive this phrase is true in every real of our lives and can be carried over to different sectors. I don't think God compartmentalizes things like we do. We tend to say that one thing only pertains to a certain context, but really, truth should carry over into every realm of our lives. So we can honour God with whatever we choose to do. I've realized that out of this attitude and comes much joy and a real fullness of life. I feel like I have been living life so fully in the last while, by simply embracing this truth that I can honour God with my body and that he views me as a wonderful creation and I don't have to earn that or be a certain way to receive that. I want to walk in light of this. I also want to affirm other poeple in who they are in Christ, as I discover these truths as well. I am alive! 