The words of Henri Nouwen, a Jesuit Priest remind me today of words that I have spoken often to my fellow parents that our kids are strangers in our house. We have been given these children to help them find God’s purpose for their lives. What I want to call your attention to is the wounds we give our children that we might not realize we inflict upon them. My own experience is that the greatest wound we can give to our kids is to treat them as our property. When we treat them as if we own them, it brings out own insecurity and lack of faith that God will work out their lives without our control and manipulation. The foundation/covenant of God’s love and therefore ours too is to love. Foundational to love is freedom; a freedom to make decisions as to what is right(towards God’s will) or wrong(away from God’s will). Controlling our kids breeds great anxiety in them by fostering a fear if they do make their own decision and it results in a failure that we might not love them or judge them; judgment is a withdrawal of love.
I have seen and experienced firsthand the lifelong damage that controlling parents have had on their grown children. The results of this judgment and control breed insecure adults who are unable to deal with how hard life is, so they turn to coping mechanisms like alcohol, drugs, materialism, and sex. These coping mechanisms let them feel good temporarily and in the end due to the guilt of the cover up sins, it compounds the original defeating issue resulting in furthering to decrease their self esteem(worth less to God or anyone feeling). Insecurity is really a lack of feeling loved and when we are not loved the burn of loneliness creeps in. A wise psychologist said that these life forces rule our every decision in life; fear of abandonment, need for autonomy, and the need to be connected. Funny thing is this sounds like the basis of love and it came from a non-Christian therapist.
I know and have been guilty of trying to control my kid’s by telling them what do and think in hopes they will not make a mistake. We as parents need to realize our mistakes made us who we are today. Most of you I know well enough to somewhat understand your wounds. It is the healing of those wounds that has made each of us into beautiful works of God and why I enjoy and learn from each of you. God literally broke/killed His only Son in order to give us life. So, I plead with each one of you today to let your kids make mistakes and not control them, so they too can know Jesus and understand that we like Him, love them no matter what they do. My job is to share my experiences with my kids and to create a safe loving environment by which if they do fail/fall that they can come to me and God for comfort and further guidance. If we take the vantage point of controlling them, they will seek someone other than us or God to bear their mistake which is usually not a good thing.
Don’t take my word look at your friends who had controlling judgmental parents. I will bet most of them have issues that are apparent. Take a minute to read the excerpt below. I know you will and especially your kids be blessed by Henri’s wisdom.
The Great Gift of Parenthood
Children are their parents' guests. They come into the space that has been created for them, stay for a while - fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years - and leave again to create their own space. Although parents speak about "our son" and "our daughter," their children are not their property. In many ways children are strangers. Parents have to come to know them, discover their strengths and their weaknesses, and guide them to maturity, allowing them to make their own decisions.The greatest gift parents can give their children is their love for each other. Through that love they create an anxiety-free place for their children to grow, encouraging them to develop confidence in themselves and find the freedom to choose their own ways in life.
These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.
Showing posts with label broken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broken. Show all posts
Monday, March 08, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
There’s got to be more to life than this!
Angst: strong worry and unhappiness, especially about personal problems (Cambridge Dictionary)
I have noticed a common sense of “angst” that cuts across almost all of us. There is a sense that life is not what we thought it would be like. There seems to be an undercurrent, especially in those rare times when we truly quiet our minds and assess the status of our hearts. We check in on our hearts and it whispers to us that familiar notion, “I was made for more than I am living; Am I not a king or princess?” We wonder where our life went astray. This sense we are not living out our true purpose. Ask anyone this question and I will bet a “yes” or a blank look as their mind quickly assess if honesty is the best response to keep their facade of “life is good” going.
This noticing of ourselves I believe is a nudge from God who made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). God’s image is not shown in our failures or shortcomings. For He created each one of us that we might live a life that glorifies Him (1 Corinthians 10:31)(Isaiah 43:6-7). If God is love (1 John 4:18) and we are His image bearers then our true selves must reflect His love. Love is patience, kind, doesn’t envy, never boastful or conceited, nor rude and never selfish (1 Corinthians 13:4). These are expressed in our compassion, friendship, truthfulness, intimacy, and giving up ourselves for the benefit of others which in turn glorifies God. These actions reflect His nature and our natural self before the Fall of our parents; Adam and Eve.
However, our image is marred by evil. Evil is the thoughts and actions which take us away from glorifying God. The evil has taken hold in each of our hearts because we, like our original parents chose to rely on our own abilities and not of our creator who made us for His purpose. This going away from God’s purpose is the definition of being a sinner. We are totally depraved in the presence of God (Romans 3:9-18) and not worthy of His grace, which He gives to us freely out of no act on our behalf (Genesis 6:5). Yes, I said trying to be good is not what our salvation and our predestined royalty is about. All sin has its roots, very simply, in lying to ourselves, others, and God. This, my friends, is what is keeping us individually and collectively in “angst”. We are constantly fed a stream of lies by evil, the ruler of earth and our culture (Matthew 4:7-10). Evil whispers in our ears that we are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough or worthy of anything that is good. This pervasive doubt is why we don’t believe in heaven, for evil has convinced us that there is no such place. So out of this lie and doubt/unbelief, we try to be our own god (little “g”) and create heaven on earth.
We do a pretty good job at creating this false heaven; the heaven on earth I call the “American Dream”. We wall ourselves off to anything that is not comfortable or easy. We worship earthly success over Godliness, for we have become creators and controllers of our own destiny. Any of us who have lived long enough or have been broken realize that we have no control over our existence, life just happens to us. We are so mired in the busyness and mess of our lives we cannot step back and understand the larger story of our lives. It takes being broken to understand, we control nothing. It is the greatest lie the enemy to life tell us; that we can control our lives. We erect these walls out of fear of losing control, for if someone else is truly driving, where will He take us? He may just take us out of our comfort zone.
Most of daily existence is lived in this fear that is outside our walls. These are specially built walls which we think protects us. These visible and invisible walls are constructed in our minds by our beliefs in materialism and consumerism, and is re-enforced by bad behavior modification/suppression (religion) and painted by a pretty coat of numbness. In order to keep our walls up, we must oppress the rest of the planet by hording its resources. Once in a while we peak over the walls and see a broken world that we know needs our help! We look at the wall and tell ourselves “it’s too high, I can’t go over there it’s not safe, and/or I really can’t make a difference in what’s going on over there.” This “looking over the wall” adds to our angst and fear.
I have learned that behavior modification or better put using our own will to try to suppress our evil sinful ways, will only last for short stints, and then our wickedness returns shortly, followed by the guilt of having regressed and failed. This guilty knowing reveals itself in our angst. This behavior modification/suppression is what Religion teaches us and is why most of us at some point left the church and God to get away from the burden of guilt. Jesus spoke of this burden that the religion lays upon their congregations (Matthew 23:1-4) describes why so many don’t want to go to church.
The root of the problem is that culture/evil tells us to love ourselves MORE at the cost of others. This is not the commandment Jesus tells us to live by. He commands us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves equally (Luke 10:26–28). Jesus commands us to love. Commandments are calls to action, something we do. Therefore, it is not a warm fuzzy feeling He asks us to find in ourselves, but a call to action. Maybe the way out of the guilt and the way to truly live is to look at the root of the problem and that is, who and how should we be loving? We all know the prevailing wisdom set forth by almost all the self help authors. They tell us to love ourselves and to strive for improving ourselves over the call to improve/help others. The message is “get what you want in life by taking it.” Looking at any magazine stand will give anyone a great snap shot on what dozens of so called experts want to tell you and I how to improve ourselves, thus resulting in a more joyful life. If this knowledge of self improvement is so easy, so accessible, and widely read/heard, shouldn’t it be self-evident that our culture is continuing to grow happier and happier, thus each generation is more joyful than the last? I don’t think the state of the world and the American family point to any such reasoning or that the success of these messages is having on us.
In my late teens and twenties, I too fell victim to these self-help shamans, who peddled these false ways. They spoke of prosperity and those things that come with it; fame, fortune, contentment, and safety. I drank the Kool Aide and became drunk on its promises. At some point in my thirties, I had attained everything they spoke of. I had won, or at least I thought. But deep inside there was this gaping hole of discontentment and angst. I tried to ignore it. I did a really good job of keeping my life busy and numb mostly by buying man toys and searching for the next river or outdoor adventure or business to conquer. The walls were doing a good job of keeping me from being able to see myself for what I was made to be. Then God made His will for me evident. He began to break those walls down around me. He took away my prosperity and what He revealed was a man who wanted to love and be loved (John 1:12-13). I began to feel and to have emotions. I now see people not for what they can do for me, but how can I know them and love them with my gifts (John 3:3). My heart and eyes opened to a whole new reality, like going from black/white TV to HDTV. This new way of seeing/feeling life is now filled with a whole range of experiences, from seeing pure evil, pain, suffering, brokenness to joy in finding love and seeing my son smile when he senses my approval, seeing brokenness restored, and all the while watching how God works out His will in others. It is a wild ride my friends. Nothing like I thought life would be like, but at times a sense of content rolls over me. Not often enough but the angst is still there!
I now know the angst feeling is God telling me that He has much more for me beyond this earthly life. He wants me to take my talents and my prosperity and give to those who have been disadvantage by geography, society, government, and economics. I will use this angst, not spur myself onto acquiring more things or in the pursuit if self actualization, but as God’s prodding me to take the gifts and wealth He has entrusted me with and spread it to those that are in need. It also pushes me to tell my story so that others can identify their angst and the hole in their hearts, in hopes they may too find a life worth living in high definition.
We are not alone in this angst and we are not without a guide, a Sheppard (John 10:10-11). Angst connects us all to God’s promise and His will. We just have to love Him and others by taking up our cross (Mark 8:34) and following Jesus for He came to show us the way. By loving others, our action(commandment) of love changes other’s lives for the better and not by sheer coincidence it give us Life and stores rewards for us in Heaven for eternity. Jesus said "for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:36-36)
May your angst nudge you back towards becoming the man/woman God designed you to be. My hope is you realize, that you are not in control, and that you were made for more. When angst arises it is the holy spirit, your intuition; a helper that Jesus put in the hearts of us all, which guides us to reclaim our true image (John 14:16-18). The answer is contained in our hearts, and by having faith, you and I will work out our way to God by following Jesus and not the ways of culture. Your heart is good. Let others see it. It contains your true image. This journey of the heart will hurt for their will be much suffering in giving up ourselves. Life/Salvation does not come cheaply. Live in angst, but do not ignore it.
I love you all more than you know.
I have noticed a common sense of “angst” that cuts across almost all of us. There is a sense that life is not what we thought it would be like. There seems to be an undercurrent, especially in those rare times when we truly quiet our minds and assess the status of our hearts. We check in on our hearts and it whispers to us that familiar notion, “I was made for more than I am living; Am I not a king or princess?” We wonder where our life went astray. This sense we are not living out our true purpose. Ask anyone this question and I will bet a “yes” or a blank look as their mind quickly assess if honesty is the best response to keep their facade of “life is good” going.
This noticing of ourselves I believe is a nudge from God who made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). God’s image is not shown in our failures or shortcomings. For He created each one of us that we might live a life that glorifies Him (1 Corinthians 10:31)(Isaiah 43:6-7). If God is love (1 John 4:18) and we are His image bearers then our true selves must reflect His love. Love is patience, kind, doesn’t envy, never boastful or conceited, nor rude and never selfish (1 Corinthians 13:4). These are expressed in our compassion, friendship, truthfulness, intimacy, and giving up ourselves for the benefit of others which in turn glorifies God. These actions reflect His nature and our natural self before the Fall of our parents; Adam and Eve.
However, our image is marred by evil. Evil is the thoughts and actions which take us away from glorifying God. The evil has taken hold in each of our hearts because we, like our original parents chose to rely on our own abilities and not of our creator who made us for His purpose. This going away from God’s purpose is the definition of being a sinner. We are totally depraved in the presence of God (Romans 3:9-18) and not worthy of His grace, which He gives to us freely out of no act on our behalf (Genesis 6:5). Yes, I said trying to be good is not what our salvation and our predestined royalty is about. All sin has its roots, very simply, in lying to ourselves, others, and God. This, my friends, is what is keeping us individually and collectively in “angst”. We are constantly fed a stream of lies by evil, the ruler of earth and our culture (Matthew 4:7-10). Evil whispers in our ears that we are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough or worthy of anything that is good. This pervasive doubt is why we don’t believe in heaven, for evil has convinced us that there is no such place. So out of this lie and doubt/unbelief, we try to be our own god (little “g”) and create heaven on earth.
We do a pretty good job at creating this false heaven; the heaven on earth I call the “American Dream”. We wall ourselves off to anything that is not comfortable or easy. We worship earthly success over Godliness, for we have become creators and controllers of our own destiny. Any of us who have lived long enough or have been broken realize that we have no control over our existence, life just happens to us. We are so mired in the busyness and mess of our lives we cannot step back and understand the larger story of our lives. It takes being broken to understand, we control nothing. It is the greatest lie the enemy to life tell us; that we can control our lives. We erect these walls out of fear of losing control, for if someone else is truly driving, where will He take us? He may just take us out of our comfort zone.
Most of daily existence is lived in this fear that is outside our walls. These are specially built walls which we think protects us. These visible and invisible walls are constructed in our minds by our beliefs in materialism and consumerism, and is re-enforced by bad behavior modification/suppression (religion) and painted by a pretty coat of numbness. In order to keep our walls up, we must oppress the rest of the planet by hording its resources. Once in a while we peak over the walls and see a broken world that we know needs our help! We look at the wall and tell ourselves “it’s too high, I can’t go over there it’s not safe, and/or I really can’t make a difference in what’s going on over there.” This “looking over the wall” adds to our angst and fear.
I have learned that behavior modification or better put using our own will to try to suppress our evil sinful ways, will only last for short stints, and then our wickedness returns shortly, followed by the guilt of having regressed and failed. This guilty knowing reveals itself in our angst. This behavior modification/suppression is what Religion teaches us and is why most of us at some point left the church and God to get away from the burden of guilt. Jesus spoke of this burden that the religion lays upon their congregations (Matthew 23:1-4) describes why so many don’t want to go to church.
The root of the problem is that culture/evil tells us to love ourselves MORE at the cost of others. This is not the commandment Jesus tells us to live by. He commands us to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves equally (Luke 10:26–28). Jesus commands us to love. Commandments are calls to action, something we do. Therefore, it is not a warm fuzzy feeling He asks us to find in ourselves, but a call to action. Maybe the way out of the guilt and the way to truly live is to look at the root of the problem and that is, who and how should we be loving? We all know the prevailing wisdom set forth by almost all the self help authors. They tell us to love ourselves and to strive for improving ourselves over the call to improve/help others. The message is “get what you want in life by taking it.” Looking at any magazine stand will give anyone a great snap shot on what dozens of so called experts want to tell you and I how to improve ourselves, thus resulting in a more joyful life. If this knowledge of self improvement is so easy, so accessible, and widely read/heard, shouldn’t it be self-evident that our culture is continuing to grow happier and happier, thus each generation is more joyful than the last? I don’t think the state of the world and the American family point to any such reasoning or that the success of these messages is having on us.
In my late teens and twenties, I too fell victim to these self-help shamans, who peddled these false ways. They spoke of prosperity and those things that come with it; fame, fortune, contentment, and safety. I drank the Kool Aide and became drunk on its promises. At some point in my thirties, I had attained everything they spoke of. I had won, or at least I thought. But deep inside there was this gaping hole of discontentment and angst. I tried to ignore it. I did a really good job of keeping my life busy and numb mostly by buying man toys and searching for the next river or outdoor adventure or business to conquer. The walls were doing a good job of keeping me from being able to see myself for what I was made to be. Then God made His will for me evident. He began to break those walls down around me. He took away my prosperity and what He revealed was a man who wanted to love and be loved (John 1:12-13). I began to feel and to have emotions. I now see people not for what they can do for me, but how can I know them and love them with my gifts (John 3:3). My heart and eyes opened to a whole new reality, like going from black/white TV to HDTV. This new way of seeing/feeling life is now filled with a whole range of experiences, from seeing pure evil, pain, suffering, brokenness to joy in finding love and seeing my son smile when he senses my approval, seeing brokenness restored, and all the while watching how God works out His will in others. It is a wild ride my friends. Nothing like I thought life would be like, but at times a sense of content rolls over me. Not often enough but the angst is still there!
I now know the angst feeling is God telling me that He has much more for me beyond this earthly life. He wants me to take my talents and my prosperity and give to those who have been disadvantage by geography, society, government, and economics. I will use this angst, not spur myself onto acquiring more things or in the pursuit if self actualization, but as God’s prodding me to take the gifts and wealth He has entrusted me with and spread it to those that are in need. It also pushes me to tell my story so that others can identify their angst and the hole in their hearts, in hopes they may too find a life worth living in high definition.
We are not alone in this angst and we are not without a guide, a Sheppard (John 10:10-11). Angst connects us all to God’s promise and His will. We just have to love Him and others by taking up our cross (Mark 8:34) and following Jesus for He came to show us the way. By loving others, our action(commandment) of love changes other’s lives for the better and not by sheer coincidence it give us Life and stores rewards for us in Heaven for eternity. Jesus said "for whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:36-36)
May your angst nudge you back towards becoming the man/woman God designed you to be. My hope is you realize, that you are not in control, and that you were made for more. When angst arises it is the holy spirit, your intuition; a helper that Jesus put in the hearts of us all, which guides us to reclaim our true image (John 14:16-18). The answer is contained in our hearts, and by having faith, you and I will work out our way to God by following Jesus and not the ways of culture. Your heart is good. Let others see it. It contains your true image. This journey of the heart will hurt for their will be much suffering in giving up ourselves. Life/Salvation does not come cheaply. Live in angst, but do not ignore it.
I love you all more than you know.
Monday, August 31, 2009
I Don't Trust
I don’t trust a man who hasn’t suffered; I don’t let a man get close to me who hasn’t faced his wound. Think of the posers you know—are they the kind of man you would call at 2:00 A.M., when life is collapsing around you? Not me. I don’t want clichés...; I want deep, soulful truth, and that only comes when a man has walked the road. By John Eldredge "Wild at Heart"
AS, TA and 2 others like this.
TV
agreed
Mon at 2:48pm
TA
Not only suffered, but a) are unafraid to admit it, and b) are living from a place of seeing the value in it and has grown from it. Thanks for sharing this Mike. Let's get together sometime soon.
Mon at 4:01pm
LS
When u state a man who hasn't faced his wound - what do u mean here? Is that to own up to his doings?? Confessing of wrongs to yourself or others? I do know Sherry and Mindy are two I would and could call at 2 am. Good people like u!
Tue at 11:46am
Me
Our wounds are from the past inflicted upon us by others. A divorce, cheating spouse, addictions, real failures, and those wounds are parents gave are the deepest. These are the wounds we all have and it these wounds God uses to help others. Jesus us healed us through His wounds. Our wounds we bring to our marriages and in most cases they are what causes most of the difficulties. Acknowledge we are broken wounded children of God lets the healing begin.
Tue at 12:49pm
JG
Mike I read the book brother and I could not disagree with you "Wild at Heart" is an awesome book that I recommend all men to read. Wounds come in many different styles and flavors I find it to be very inspiring when one can confess the truth of his wounds. The problem I see is that most people are bias and uses those wounds against you once confessed. So where do you find such good people that are excepting and willing to over look the short comings of a man?
Tue at 11:10pm
LS
Sherry did a very bold and brave thing the other day and I was sooo proud of her openness about her past and not all of it is was roses.. but she sent me this and learning from my past and realizing we are not perfect and all have past faults but we must love the person for who they are not who we want them to be..... Who we are tells us alot about our walk with God- past and present- Here is an email quote she sent me. the beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them...thomas merton
Yesterday at 9:35am
Me
Those who face their wounds find that God has given them their purpose in it. Look at John Walsh who hosts/found Americas Most Wanted. His passion and purpose came out of the wound of his son being murdered. Lara and Sherry show us in there message above what great women know and show us how to love that is why we need a woman. There are many friends here on my facebook that sneer and criticize me for my openness and the subjects i wrestle with. It is disheartening that my friends drop me from facebook because of my openness. In history any great man or woman has found their God given purpose through a wound. I know God is doing something spectacular with the wounds of my failed marriage. He has given me ministry to work with young men to share with them the mistakes I have made in dating and choosing a woman to marry. It is so amazing to see these young men wrestle with me and God. What is beautiful Joe is there are men out here wanting to heal and share their stuff.
Yesterday at 9:51am
AS, TA and 2 others like this.
TV
agreed
Mon at 2:48pm
TA
Not only suffered, but a) are unafraid to admit it, and b) are living from a place of seeing the value in it and has grown from it. Thanks for sharing this Mike. Let's get together sometime soon.
Mon at 4:01pm
LS
When u state a man who hasn't faced his wound - what do u mean here? Is that to own up to his doings?? Confessing of wrongs to yourself or others? I do know Sherry and Mindy are two I would and could call at 2 am. Good people like u!
Tue at 11:46am
Me
Our wounds are from the past inflicted upon us by others. A divorce, cheating spouse, addictions, real failures, and those wounds are parents gave are the deepest. These are the wounds we all have and it these wounds God uses to help others. Jesus us healed us through His wounds. Our wounds we bring to our marriages and in most cases they are what causes most of the difficulties. Acknowledge we are broken wounded children of God lets the healing begin.
Tue at 12:49pm
JG
Mike I read the book brother and I could not disagree with you "Wild at Heart" is an awesome book that I recommend all men to read. Wounds come in many different styles and flavors I find it to be very inspiring when one can confess the truth of his wounds. The problem I see is that most people are bias and uses those wounds against you once confessed. So where do you find such good people that are excepting and willing to over look the short comings of a man?
Tue at 11:10pm
LS
Sherry did a very bold and brave thing the other day and I was sooo proud of her openness about her past and not all of it is was roses.. but she sent me this and learning from my past and realizing we are not perfect and all have past faults but we must love the person for who they are not who we want them to be..... Who we are tells us alot about our walk with God- past and present- Here is an email quote she sent me. the beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them...thomas merton
Yesterday at 9:35am
Me
Those who face their wounds find that God has given them their purpose in it. Look at John Walsh who hosts/found Americas Most Wanted. His passion and purpose came out of the wound of his son being murdered. Lara and Sherry show us in there message above what great women know and show us how to love that is why we need a woman. There are many friends here on my facebook that sneer and criticize me for my openness and the subjects i wrestle with. It is disheartening that my friends drop me from facebook because of my openness. In history any great man or woman has found their God given purpose through a wound. I know God is doing something spectacular with the wounds of my failed marriage. He has given me ministry to work with young men to share with them the mistakes I have made in dating and choosing a woman to marry. It is so amazing to see these young men wrestle with me and God. What is beautiful Joe is there are men out here wanting to heal and share their stuff.
Yesterday at 9:51am
Friday, August 14, 2009
Arranging My Life
I am finally done (maybe) trying to Arrange my life. Anyone else gotten to this point Yet?
By AS on August 15 at 11:54a
No amount of arranging seems to make a difference. I just point myself in a direction and try to follow wherever it is I'm supposed to go!
By AS on August 15 at 11:54a
No amount of arranging seems to make a difference. I just point myself in a direction and try to follow wherever it is I'm supposed to go!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
To Feel Life
Lord thank you for letting me FEEL life for removing the numbness that this culture imparted on me for so long. For I know pain all to well but do I ever now know joy! Lord make sure I continue to have pain in my life. Please make my life hard, serve up loss, disappointment, and brokenness often.
BP on July 15 at 5:29pm
Amen :) !!!
AS on July 15 at 10:12pm
This makes me happy for you.
SM on July 16 at 12:26pm
leather, whips and chains involved here? sounds like the ultimate masoch prayer while getting spanked... naughty boy, you!! lol !! Cheer up Mike !! Come visit...
GW on July 16 at 12:35pm
Great meeting under the stars and all GOD's glory talking with you my friend. Know as your friend and brother from another mother, always there for you!
ME on July 16 at 12:39pm ·
Its been a good week much to be happy about. Healing is always sweet. Can ya taste it!
AS on July 16 at 1:59pm
I know exactly what you mean. I've done a lot of healing, just in the past month!
BP on July 15 at 5:29pm
Amen :) !!!
AS on July 15 at 10:12pm
This makes me happy for you.
SM on July 16 at 12:26pm
leather, whips and chains involved here? sounds like the ultimate masoch prayer while getting spanked... naughty boy, you!! lol !! Cheer up Mike !! Come visit...
GW on July 16 at 12:35pm
Great meeting under the stars and all GOD's glory talking with you my friend. Know as your friend and brother from another mother, always there for you!
ME on July 16 at 12:39pm ·
Its been a good week much to be happy about. Healing is always sweet. Can ya taste it!
AS on July 16 at 1:59pm
I know exactly what you mean. I've done a lot of healing, just in the past month!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Giving Myself Up
Man its tough to give up myself!
BH at 10:09am May 18
that carpal tunnel syndrome will not heal otherwise.
TR at 11:52am May 18
Hmmm....How so, MP?
ME at 12:51pm May 18
have you ever examined your day/thoughts and tallied up just how big a pigs we can be?? Yea maybe do something nice for someone but ultimately some sort of instinctual survival and self gratification shoulder sitting voice tortures our attention back to us solely!
TR at 1:10pm May 18
Oh -- have I!! I so know what you're saying! It's disturbing! Even LOVE! Why do human beings "fall in love"? Because of how it makes us feel! We feel happy and giddy. At the core level, it's all about "ME". Or, like you said -- we do something nice for someone...is it coincidence that doing so makes us feel good about ourSELVES? We get to believe "I'm such a good person". I was going to say maybe my kids are an exception, but I don't think so, because I feel good (happy) when they're happy. So I'm motivated to keep trying to "make them happy". (Very simply put). I've struggled too, but see no way around it....again not in this life. .....Didn't mean that to sound quite so harshbelieve "I'm such a good person". I was going to say maybe my kids are an exception, but I don't think so, because I feel good (happy) when they're happy. So I'm motivated to keep trying to "make them happy". (Very simply put). I've struggled too, but see no way around it....again not in this life. .....Didn't mean that to sound quite so harsh.
ME at 1:27pm May 18
harsh NO! the truth absolutely!
FF at 10:20pm May 18
The awareness of our self-centeredness is a blessing and a curse....but denial is no longer a pleasant possibility!
AS at 10:22pm May 18
There are selfless people in the world but I'm not sure I know any of them, and I know I'm surely not one of them, try as I might. I find the most disappointment in the work environment -- toxic levels of self involvement.
ME at 10:30pm May 18
like(no love) this! Thanks for sharing I needed it. Just a great example of helping each other wrestle with life. Oh btw, I did fast from lunch today so I could read to my son's 2nd grade class!!How unselfish of me!LOL But they did make me laugh and feel good! HMMM maybe I did it for me not them!! Their you go again thinking about me!! :)
FF at 2:48pm May 19
If I am in denial about something, please leave the cozy blanket in place and don't go ripping it off:-)
BH at 10:09am May 18
that carpal tunnel syndrome will not heal otherwise.
TR at 11:52am May 18
Hmmm....How so, MP?
ME at 12:51pm May 18
have you ever examined your day/thoughts and tallied up just how big a pigs we can be?? Yea maybe do something nice for someone but ultimately some sort of instinctual survival and self gratification shoulder sitting voice tortures our attention back to us solely!
TR at 1:10pm May 18
Oh -- have I!! I so know what you're saying! It's disturbing! Even LOVE! Why do human beings "fall in love"? Because of how it makes us feel! We feel happy and giddy. At the core level, it's all about "ME". Or, like you said -- we do something nice for someone...is it coincidence that doing so makes us feel good about ourSELVES? We get to believe "I'm such a good person". I was going to say maybe my kids are an exception, but I don't think so, because I feel good (happy) when they're happy. So I'm motivated to keep trying to "make them happy". (Very simply put). I've struggled too, but see no way around it....again not in this life. .....Didn't mean that to sound quite so harshbelieve "I'm such a good person". I was going to say maybe my kids are an exception, but I don't think so, because I feel good (happy) when they're happy. So I'm motivated to keep trying to "make them happy". (Very simply put). I've struggled too, but see no way around it....again not in this life. .....Didn't mean that to sound quite so harsh.
ME at 1:27pm May 18
harsh NO! the truth absolutely!
FF at 10:20pm May 18
The awareness of our self-centeredness is a blessing and a curse....but denial is no longer a pleasant possibility!
AS at 10:22pm May 18
There are selfless people in the world but I'm not sure I know any of them, and I know I'm surely not one of them, try as I might. I find the most disappointment in the work environment -- toxic levels of self involvement.
ME at 10:30pm May 18
like(no love) this! Thanks for sharing I needed it. Just a great example of helping each other wrestle with life. Oh btw, I did fast from lunch today so I could read to my son's 2nd grade class!!How unselfish of me!LOL But they did make me laugh and feel good! HMMM maybe I did it for me not them!! Their you go again thinking about me!! :)
FF at 2:48pm May 19
If I am in denial about something, please leave the cozy blanket in place and don't go ripping it off:-)
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