Encouragement, like everything, is a multi-layered concept.
There is one layer in which the Spanish word for encouragement is apt. Animar. This word has connections to the Spanish word for cheerleader and the English word for animate. This layer of encouragement is the one you give to someone who is trying to do something that is difficult. The goal of this type of encouragement is to motivate them to continue in the difficult thing. You might hear phrases like, "Keep going" or "You can do it" or "It'll be so good when you accomplish this!" This layer of encouragement is useful in many ways. It motivates someone who has already chosen to do something difficult and begun the task to keep going through the process, which is often long and difficult. It also helps someone to feel like others believe in them, which can be helpful when they stop believing in themselves as the process becomes more onerous.
There is another layer of encouragement in which you tell someone that where they are is okay. In this, a person might be going through a difficult time and having a hard time getting through it. They might be struggling and want to pull themselves out of the valley and onto the mountaintop, but they need to rest and regain their strength before they continue their journey. Because society and religion often use guilt, shame, and fear to try to push someone out of the valleys and onto the mountaintops as quickly as possible, this kind of encouragement is invaluable because it lets people know that it's okay to be sad, it's okay to grieve, and it's okay to have negative experiences or emotions. "This is normal," "You're doing great," "It's okay to take a break" and other such phrases accompany this layer of encouragement.
I think my favorite layer of encouragement is the one where you are actively supporting someone long-term in the process of walking through something that is difficult. This person has already been through many mountains and valleys, and you have chosen to walk along with them in this journey, weaving these first two layers of encouragement together with the beautiful blessings of presence and support. Not only are you adept at switching between the "you can do it" type of encouragement and the "take a break for now" type of encouragement as the situation warrants, but you're there with them while they cry in the valleys and exult in the mountains. There are not words to describe how valuable simple presence can be. Additionally, sometimes instead of just standing on the sidelines and shouting ideas and valuable truths, you get into the walk and help them. Whether this is removing an obstacle from someone's path or helping them lift the obstacle themselves, you have invested so much of yourself in this journey that you are willing to give of your emotional energy, time, space, and possibly even finances or other resources.
I love to see the deeper layers of things, and I so value the encouragement of those who are willing to go with me into the depths, who see and value the things that are beyond the surface level, and who are willing to weave together a Tapestry that includes both mountains and valleys, all of which are glorious.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Challenges, Tragedies, and Traumas
Under the umbrella of "difficult times of life" there exist challenges, tragedies, and traumas, vastly different experiences that help shape who we are. Those who haven't endured all three cannot understand this difference, and they often mix them up with one another when dealing with people who are experiencing hard times. Each requires a different response, each touches a different place in a person, and each will help us grow if we let it.
Challenges are probably the most common difficulty I can think of, and I cannot think of anyone who hasn't faced challenges in their lives. The first grader faces challenges when learning to read or do math for the first time. Adults face challenges like everyday work issues such as dealing with difficult coworkers and deadlines, family issues such as raising children or relating to partners, and specific event-based issues that require extra effort to overcome.
Tragedies are horrible things that happen to you. They are (hopefully) not common, but everyone experiences them at some point. Tragedies include great loss and a fundamental shift from before to after. There is a destruction involved and something that will never quite be the same. Losing a loved one is a tragedy. Natural disasters are tragedies. Certain diagnoses are tragedies.
Traumas are horrible things that happen to you--either in a single moment or over time--that cause a fundamental shift in your mental and physical makeup as well as the world around you. Your mind shatters, and every cell in your physical body internalizes the event (or series of events) that happened. Your being takes this trauma into the center of itself and wraps itself around it because it is so big that you cannot deal with it all at once. Then, it slowly releases the trauma over time in the form of nightmares, panic attacks, or other symptoms that you process as you can. Tragedies can be traumas when you lose something so great that your being cannot process everything you've lost at once, but they are not always traumatic or traumatic to the same degree.
The complications of combining these difficult times are so vast that I could not encompass them here. There is a term called "complicated bereavement" which describes what happens when trauma compounds tragedy. And of course, every challenge is made that much more difficult when you're also carrying a trauma around. Trauma makes everything harder.
The response to these hard times must be as different as the hard times themselves. Challenges help you grow; they stretch you. The word "overcoming" is good here because challenges give you that feeling of triumph and victory at the end once you've gotten to the other side of them. The sense of pride and accomplishment are so worth the challenge that often people create challenges for themselves in the form of resolutions or goals so that they can feel that sense of accomplishment.
Tragedies and traumas are not to be overcome, however. There is no getting to the other side of them. They will forever be a part of the Tapestry of your Life now, but this is not fatalistic or sad. There is a new dimension and depth to your life as you integrate the tragedies and traumas. There is a new relationship with Yahweh that cannot be known without them. There are new ways of seeing, and the ability to recognize beauty in ashes. Those who have experienced tragedies and traumas recognize each other because there is just something MORE about that person, about their perspective, about what they have to offer. That greater vision, that greater expression, that greater knowledge of Yahweh is what makes the tragedies and traumas of life worth it. No, there may not be a sense of accomplishment or pride at climbing to the top of the mountain here, but there is a richer joy and sense of value that can be found in the valley.
It is in the tragedies and traumas that the highways of our God are made. Every mountain is brought low as every valley is exalted, for we learn to love and rejoice and weep and lament equally in valley as on mountaintop. It is in this that we become secure because now, forever after these experiences, we realize Yahweh--who we are--cannot be taken from us because of where we are, the things that happen to us, or even what we do.
Grief is the Golden Thread in the Tapestry, and I would no more want to overcome and move beyond it than I would want to overcome and move beyond the people I loved and lost. It cost me everything and it is part of me now, so I don't want to get rid of my tragedies and traumas; I want to put them in their places.
Tragedies can be woven into the Tapestry of Life more quickly than traumas simply because they can be processed more quickly. Your mind is not hiding part of a tragedy from you in order to process some of it later, so you can process it as a whole. (Again, many tragedies are traumas, so I am not talking about those.) Traumas often take years to uncover. Sometimes they happened over years of time, but even if they didn't, your mind and body are working together for you in order to help you process something so big and so deep without it overwhelming and killing you. Just as your physical body stores toxins in fat and will not release those toxins until it senses that your body is ready to process and deal with them, so your mind and body store traumatic experiences that express themselves in your life a little at a time as you are ready to deal with them. This is not to say processing trauma will always happen at convenient times. Sometimes you may not think it's an opportune time to deal with them, like in the middle of a workday or when you REALLY need to focus on a major project. However, dealing with the traumas when they're exposed by your mind and body is healthier than suppressing them.
It is in dealing with them--in processing the traumas in healthy ways and allowing ourselves to go through the pain-- that we grow. Suppressing the trauma and burying it when your mind and body are telling you you're ready to deal with it can cause long-term negative health effects such as ulcers. Still, enduring the processing can almost feel like dying. It takes discernment to know how to navigate the healing process, and there is no one right way to do it.
So how can you help someone dealing with challenges, tragedies, and traumas?
*We all experience challenges regularly. Challenges can be helped with encouragement, by reminding someone of the vision of the "other side," and sometimes by helping with details of the challenge such as lightening the workload or offering to take up the slack elsewhere while someone focuses intently on the challenge.
*Tragedies often require a longer commitment than a challenge. In a tragedy, empathy is helpful. Listening to the person as they lament their loss or remember the good old days is helpful. Remembering that they've been through a tragedy and that it's not going to go away months or years later is helpful. People who have lost someone will always find holidays hard, for example, so acknowledging that and remembering that in the midst of your merry-making is kind.
*Traumas require the longest commitment of all, and I have found that few are able to truly be helpful here. Empathy is essential, and without it the traumatized person's experience is often made worse. Many of the same helps for tragedies apply to traumas, but additional help such as reassurance of insecurities and reminders of the entirety of the Tapestry instead of the single Thread are also needed. Many people who experience traumas need professional help such as therapy or counseling.
Growth is life, and all of these things help us grow. As long as we are still growing, we are okay, even in the midst of our challenges, tragedies, and traumas. Each of us has a unique path in life, and it is never helpful to harangue someone about their path. Helping others who are growing in these times requires you to let that person take the lead, get in their boat, and let them steer. If you're brave enough, you can experience some of the beauty of new vision that the person who has endured the tragedies and traumas of life will gain from this experience, though ultimately they are the ones who will grow to a new dimension beyond anything ever known.
We all have our challenges, tragedies, and traumas from which we grow. As long as we are growing, we are okay. The Tapestry of Life is greater than a single Thread, and I know that ultimately we will see how beautiful it all is.
Challenges are probably the most common difficulty I can think of, and I cannot think of anyone who hasn't faced challenges in their lives. The first grader faces challenges when learning to read or do math for the first time. Adults face challenges like everyday work issues such as dealing with difficult coworkers and deadlines, family issues such as raising children or relating to partners, and specific event-based issues that require extra effort to overcome.
Tragedies are horrible things that happen to you. They are (hopefully) not common, but everyone experiences them at some point. Tragedies include great loss and a fundamental shift from before to after. There is a destruction involved and something that will never quite be the same. Losing a loved one is a tragedy. Natural disasters are tragedies. Certain diagnoses are tragedies.
Traumas are horrible things that happen to you--either in a single moment or over time--that cause a fundamental shift in your mental and physical makeup as well as the world around you. Your mind shatters, and every cell in your physical body internalizes the event (or series of events) that happened. Your being takes this trauma into the center of itself and wraps itself around it because it is so big that you cannot deal with it all at once. Then, it slowly releases the trauma over time in the form of nightmares, panic attacks, or other symptoms that you process as you can. Tragedies can be traumas when you lose something so great that your being cannot process everything you've lost at once, but they are not always traumatic or traumatic to the same degree.
The complications of combining these difficult times are so vast that I could not encompass them here. There is a term called "complicated bereavement" which describes what happens when trauma compounds tragedy. And of course, every challenge is made that much more difficult when you're also carrying a trauma around. Trauma makes everything harder.
The response to these hard times must be as different as the hard times themselves. Challenges help you grow; they stretch you. The word "overcoming" is good here because challenges give you that feeling of triumph and victory at the end once you've gotten to the other side of them. The sense of pride and accomplishment are so worth the challenge that often people create challenges for themselves in the form of resolutions or goals so that they can feel that sense of accomplishment.
Tragedies and traumas are not to be overcome, however. There is no getting to the other side of them. They will forever be a part of the Tapestry of your Life now, but this is not fatalistic or sad. There is a new dimension and depth to your life as you integrate the tragedies and traumas. There is a new relationship with Yahweh that cannot be known without them. There are new ways of seeing, and the ability to recognize beauty in ashes. Those who have experienced tragedies and traumas recognize each other because there is just something MORE about that person, about their perspective, about what they have to offer. That greater vision, that greater expression, that greater knowledge of Yahweh is what makes the tragedies and traumas of life worth it. No, there may not be a sense of accomplishment or pride at climbing to the top of the mountain here, but there is a richer joy and sense of value that can be found in the valley.
It is in the tragedies and traumas that the highways of our God are made. Every mountain is brought low as every valley is exalted, for we learn to love and rejoice and weep and lament equally in valley as on mountaintop. It is in this that we become secure because now, forever after these experiences, we realize Yahweh--who we are--cannot be taken from us because of where we are, the things that happen to us, or even what we do.
Grief is the Golden Thread in the Tapestry, and I would no more want to overcome and move beyond it than I would want to overcome and move beyond the people I loved and lost. It cost me everything and it is part of me now, so I don't want to get rid of my tragedies and traumas; I want to put them in their places.
Tragedies can be woven into the Tapestry of Life more quickly than traumas simply because they can be processed more quickly. Your mind is not hiding part of a tragedy from you in order to process some of it later, so you can process it as a whole. (Again, many tragedies are traumas, so I am not talking about those.) Traumas often take years to uncover. Sometimes they happened over years of time, but even if they didn't, your mind and body are working together for you in order to help you process something so big and so deep without it overwhelming and killing you. Just as your physical body stores toxins in fat and will not release those toxins until it senses that your body is ready to process and deal with them, so your mind and body store traumatic experiences that express themselves in your life a little at a time as you are ready to deal with them. This is not to say processing trauma will always happen at convenient times. Sometimes you may not think it's an opportune time to deal with them, like in the middle of a workday or when you REALLY need to focus on a major project. However, dealing with the traumas when they're exposed by your mind and body is healthier than suppressing them.
It is in dealing with them--in processing the traumas in healthy ways and allowing ourselves to go through the pain-- that we grow. Suppressing the trauma and burying it when your mind and body are telling you you're ready to deal with it can cause long-term negative health effects such as ulcers. Still, enduring the processing can almost feel like dying. It takes discernment to know how to navigate the healing process, and there is no one right way to do it.
So how can you help someone dealing with challenges, tragedies, and traumas?
*We all experience challenges regularly. Challenges can be helped with encouragement, by reminding someone of the vision of the "other side," and sometimes by helping with details of the challenge such as lightening the workload or offering to take up the slack elsewhere while someone focuses intently on the challenge.
*Tragedies often require a longer commitment than a challenge. In a tragedy, empathy is helpful. Listening to the person as they lament their loss or remember the good old days is helpful. Remembering that they've been through a tragedy and that it's not going to go away months or years later is helpful. People who have lost someone will always find holidays hard, for example, so acknowledging that and remembering that in the midst of your merry-making is kind.
*Traumas require the longest commitment of all, and I have found that few are able to truly be helpful here. Empathy is essential, and without it the traumatized person's experience is often made worse. Many of the same helps for tragedies apply to traumas, but additional help such as reassurance of insecurities and reminders of the entirety of the Tapestry instead of the single Thread are also needed. Many people who experience traumas need professional help such as therapy or counseling.
Growth is life, and all of these things help us grow. As long as we are still growing, we are okay, even in the midst of our challenges, tragedies, and traumas. Each of us has a unique path in life, and it is never helpful to harangue someone about their path. Helping others who are growing in these times requires you to let that person take the lead, get in their boat, and let them steer. If you're brave enough, you can experience some of the beauty of new vision that the person who has endured the tragedies and traumas of life will gain from this experience, though ultimately they are the ones who will grow to a new dimension beyond anything ever known.
We all have our challenges, tragedies, and traumas from which we grow. As long as we are growing, we are okay. The Tapestry of Life is greater than a single Thread, and I know that ultimately we will see how beautiful it all is.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Setting Boundaries
This season of First Fruits, Yahweh has been teaching me about loving myself. Part of loving yourself is trusting yourself and your relationship with Yahweh in all things. Over the last sixteen months of grieving, I have often reached out to people only to have them respond in ways that felt like slapping me in the face. I am talking about multiple people whom I trusted to help me carry this heaviest of loads when the time came. I know that all of the people to whom I reached out were genuinely and sincerely trying to be supportive. They have good hearts and are kind people. Thus in receiving their hurtful responses, I thought there was something wrong with me when they were hurtful instead of helpful. I added the burden of their feelings and expectations to my grief as I sifted through my own mind and emotions to find out why their responses hurt me when they had such loving hearts.
I did not trust myself then to know what I needed in this grief. I did not trust myself to articulate what I needed because I was afraid of losing what little support I had. Now, however, I realize that support that feels like a slap in the face is actually not support, and so I am setting boundaries. I realize that some of the people I attempted to reach out to may not have known how to help me in my grief, and so I am telling you how to help me now. If you truly want to support and love me through my grief, please let me know. Reach out to me via text or direct message and let me know you're safe for me to talk to. I need you. I am trying to build a support network by this post. If you cannot follow these boundaries, that's fine. I understand this is a heavy things I carry, and I love and respect you anyway. We will simply talk of other things and I will reach out to those who can truly help me in this time when I am having a rough night, a hard week, or a holiday/anniversary experience.
The Boundaries:
1) I am the expert.
I know me and what I need in my grief. If I tell you to stop doing something, please do not continue to do that thing and then justify it. It is hurting me. I don't care if you don't understand why it hurts me, if you think it shouldn't hurt me, if it wouldn't hurt you if you were in my situation, or even if it was the magic key to helping you progress in your own grieving experiences. We are different people. Each grief is as unique as the relationship between the person grieving and the person who has been lost. I know what I need. If I don't, I will ask. If you make suggestions, they are not commands, and I may or may not follow your advice.
2) You do not need to motivate me to get out of pain.
I don't need any statements like "You need to____. You should______. Choose to be______. If you would______." Yahweh and I are growing and I am doing what I know is healthy and helpful for me in my grief. You are free to make suggestions as to things that might help me, but if I tell you that it won't be helpful, do not continue to make suggestions. Trust me that I know what I need. Also, suggestions are not commands. If I do not do what you say and you withdraw your support from me, then you did not have unconditional love and support for me. I am growing with Yahweh. I am not stagnating or going backwards. If you cannot see that, then trust me on it. I do not need a kick in the pants to move forward because I AM moving forward.
3) Grief is a long-term process.
I have been grieving for sixteen months/2.5 months and it's only just begun. Really, I have to work through things that have been happening all my life and for generations beyond that. If you think I can just pray in tongues and make some declarations for a few days and fix all of this, you are mistaken. I will not circumvent the grieving process by pushing the pain down and pretending it is all okay in order to make other people comfortable. That is how future mental and physical illnesses happen. It may be a long-term process, but I will complete the process as Yahweh leads and in His and my timing, not two weeks after the funeral as most people seem to want.
4) Pain is not the enemy.
Helping others grieve does not entail trying to fix the pain or telling them to move on. It is helping them carry and integrate the pain into their lives like a thread in a Tapestry. Grieving does not make someone less faithful, less joyful, or less spiritual. It actually makes us more. Support the grieving in this. Stop telling us to move on, be joyful, or DO anything to get out of pain. Sit with us in the pain. Hold our hands and recognize that we know Yahweh here as much as we do in joy and laughter. Help us bear the burden instead of adding more burden to us by trying to get us to meet your expectation of “being okay.” Yahweh is in the pain as much as the joy, and I will know Him here.
5) I do not need to be screamed at.
Ever. Period. Yes, there may be times when it doesn't trigger me, but there are times when it does and neither of us know when that will happen. Screaming never did anything to motivate me anyway, even if I needed to be motivated (see #2).
6) You do not get to come between me and Yahweh.
A good, healthy relationship allows people to feel loved and appreciated and helps us know Yahweh more. If you try to tell me what's right and wrong, if you try to establish the vision for my life and future, if you try to tell me what I am supposed to be doing, you are coming between me and Yahweh. This is not a healthy relationship, then. Yahweh and I have an excellent relationship which has always blessed me and allowed healing and growth. Theology, principles, and laws--whether Christian or Kingdom or otherwise-- have never healed me. Yahweh has healed me. If theology, principle, and law helps me know Yahweh better, then it has led to healing, but it has never been the source. I do not need your theology, nor do I need you to believe mine. My relationship with Yahweh is unique to me. Sometimes, we will have some things in common, other times we will not. That's okay, but if you try to shove your theology on me, that's like shoving a false garment on me that I will only have to remove later. I trust Yahweh. I trust myself. I trust what I have learned in my relationship with Yahweh. It is ridiculous to believe that Yahweh would tell someone else something about my life instead of me. I have only recently come to the awareness of this.
7) What worked last time won't work this time.
I have already been healed of and overcome so many things, but the path I took last time is not the same path I will take this time. I am different now, I am grown. It would make no sense for the principles that led to my knowing Yahweh more last time to help me know Him more this time. That would be like having a 12th grade Calculus student with foundational mathematical knowledge learn single-digit multiplication over and over again. Sure, it helped them pass the third grade, but it won't help them now!
8) Helpful vs. Hurtful Statements
Use empathetic phrases like “I’m sorry. That sucks. You’re right. It will be okay.” Do not use phrases like “You should” “If you would” “Choose joy” or try to tell me things about Yahweh I already know. The goodness of Yahweh doesn’t negate the pain. The pain does not negate the goodness. The pain is real, and He is with me in it. Do you be with me in it, too. Any indication that I could heal faster, be better, etc. if I only did _____ is harmful. It slows down the healing process. (See #2 for words that indicate this.)
9) Meet me where I'm at.
I have been told to meet people where they're at so many times I've lost count. I have no problem doing that most of the time, but in this where I am the one who needs support, I expect you to come to me.
10) I am valuable and this is not my fault.
Pain, living with PTSD, grief, and other issues does not make a person any less valuable (or any less productive). I am not enduring these problems because I don't know Yahweh, I don't have enough faith, or I haven't followed your prescribed set of principles. This is a natural part of life, and what I am doing in working through this will alter creation in a way that is more valuable than if I went out and converted millions of people, if I fed all of the hungry in the world, or if I made boatloads of money (to give to charity). If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not love... I am important. I matter. I am worth the long-term investment that walking through this grieving process will entail. This post on my more spiritual blog talks about how to walk through a healing process with someone. Look at number 5.
Now, I'm being strong worded here, and I'm going to say one more strongly worded thing: If this post offends you, remember that my grief is not about you. This is my rodeo. I'd love some help getting through this, but I cannot continue to carry the burdens of others' feelings and expectations as I continue to get through this. I am not being disrespectful or unloving because I love and respect all of you, but I am setting boundaries and sticking to them. In fact, this post is one step forward in my healing process. Rejoice with me in this. And remember, text me and let me know if you're willing to truly support me.
I am, of course, willing to talk with you when there are misunderstandings. I am not cutting you off automatically if you step wrong and hurt me. Grieving people are vulnerable and often unexpectedly triggered. However, if I have told you multiple times that something you do hurts me and you do not stop doing it, I will probably stop reaching out to you in times of trouble. I am hoping that you will be gracious and love me enough to help me as I need.
I did not trust myself then to know what I needed in this grief. I did not trust myself to articulate what I needed because I was afraid of losing what little support I had. Now, however, I realize that support that feels like a slap in the face is actually not support, and so I am setting boundaries. I realize that some of the people I attempted to reach out to may not have known how to help me in my grief, and so I am telling you how to help me now. If you truly want to support and love me through my grief, please let me know. Reach out to me via text or direct message and let me know you're safe for me to talk to. I need you. I am trying to build a support network by this post. If you cannot follow these boundaries, that's fine. I understand this is a heavy things I carry, and I love and respect you anyway. We will simply talk of other things and I will reach out to those who can truly help me in this time when I am having a rough night, a hard week, or a holiday/anniversary experience.
The Boundaries:
1) I am the expert.
I know me and what I need in my grief. If I tell you to stop doing something, please do not continue to do that thing and then justify it. It is hurting me. I don't care if you don't understand why it hurts me, if you think it shouldn't hurt me, if it wouldn't hurt you if you were in my situation, or even if it was the magic key to helping you progress in your own grieving experiences. We are different people. Each grief is as unique as the relationship between the person grieving and the person who has been lost. I know what I need. If I don't, I will ask. If you make suggestions, they are not commands, and I may or may not follow your advice.
2) You do not need to motivate me to get out of pain.
I don't need any statements like "You need to____. You should______. Choose to be______. If you would______." Yahweh and I are growing and I am doing what I know is healthy and helpful for me in my grief. You are free to make suggestions as to things that might help me, but if I tell you that it won't be helpful, do not continue to make suggestions. Trust me that I know what I need. Also, suggestions are not commands. If I do not do what you say and you withdraw your support from me, then you did not have unconditional love and support for me. I am growing with Yahweh. I am not stagnating or going backwards. If you cannot see that, then trust me on it. I do not need a kick in the pants to move forward because I AM moving forward.
3) Grief is a long-term process.
I have been grieving for sixteen months/2.5 months and it's only just begun. Really, I have to work through things that have been happening all my life and for generations beyond that. If you think I can just pray in tongues and make some declarations for a few days and fix all of this, you are mistaken. I will not circumvent the grieving process by pushing the pain down and pretending it is all okay in order to make other people comfortable. That is how future mental and physical illnesses happen. It may be a long-term process, but I will complete the process as Yahweh leads and in His and my timing, not two weeks after the funeral as most people seem to want.
4) Pain is not the enemy.
Helping others grieve does not entail trying to fix the pain or telling them to move on. It is helping them carry and integrate the pain into their lives like a thread in a Tapestry. Grieving does not make someone less faithful, less joyful, or less spiritual. It actually makes us more. Support the grieving in this. Stop telling us to move on, be joyful, or DO anything to get out of pain. Sit with us in the pain. Hold our hands and recognize that we know Yahweh here as much as we do in joy and laughter. Help us bear the burden instead of adding more burden to us by trying to get us to meet your expectation of “being okay.” Yahweh is in the pain as much as the joy, and I will know Him here.
5) I do not need to be screamed at.
Ever. Period. Yes, there may be times when it doesn't trigger me, but there are times when it does and neither of us know when that will happen. Screaming never did anything to motivate me anyway, even if I needed to be motivated (see #2).
6) You do not get to come between me and Yahweh.
A good, healthy relationship allows people to feel loved and appreciated and helps us know Yahweh more. If you try to tell me what's right and wrong, if you try to establish the vision for my life and future, if you try to tell me what I am supposed to be doing, you are coming between me and Yahweh. This is not a healthy relationship, then. Yahweh and I have an excellent relationship which has always blessed me and allowed healing and growth. Theology, principles, and laws--whether Christian or Kingdom or otherwise-- have never healed me. Yahweh has healed me. If theology, principle, and law helps me know Yahweh better, then it has led to healing, but it has never been the source. I do not need your theology, nor do I need you to believe mine. My relationship with Yahweh is unique to me. Sometimes, we will have some things in common, other times we will not. That's okay, but if you try to shove your theology on me, that's like shoving a false garment on me that I will only have to remove later. I trust Yahweh. I trust myself. I trust what I have learned in my relationship with Yahweh. It is ridiculous to believe that Yahweh would tell someone else something about my life instead of me. I have only recently come to the awareness of this.
7) What worked last time won't work this time.
I have already been healed of and overcome so many things, but the path I took last time is not the same path I will take this time. I am different now, I am grown. It would make no sense for the principles that led to my knowing Yahweh more last time to help me know Him more this time. That would be like having a 12th grade Calculus student with foundational mathematical knowledge learn single-digit multiplication over and over again. Sure, it helped them pass the third grade, but it won't help them now!
8) Helpful vs. Hurtful Statements
Use empathetic phrases like “I’m sorry. That sucks. You’re right. It will be okay.” Do not use phrases like “You should” “If you would” “Choose joy” or try to tell me things about Yahweh I already know. The goodness of Yahweh doesn’t negate the pain. The pain does not negate the goodness. The pain is real, and He is with me in it. Do you be with me in it, too. Any indication that I could heal faster, be better, etc. if I only did _____ is harmful. It slows down the healing process. (See #2 for words that indicate this.)
9) Meet me where I'm at.
I have been told to meet people where they're at so many times I've lost count. I have no problem doing that most of the time, but in this where I am the one who needs support, I expect you to come to me.
10) I am valuable and this is not my fault.
Pain, living with PTSD, grief, and other issues does not make a person any less valuable (or any less productive). I am not enduring these problems because I don't know Yahweh, I don't have enough faith, or I haven't followed your prescribed set of principles. This is a natural part of life, and what I am doing in working through this will alter creation in a way that is more valuable than if I went out and converted millions of people, if I fed all of the hungry in the world, or if I made boatloads of money (to give to charity). If I speak in the tongues of men and angels but have not love... I am important. I matter. I am worth the long-term investment that walking through this grieving process will entail. This post on my more spiritual blog talks about how to walk through a healing process with someone. Look at number 5.
Now, I'm being strong worded here, and I'm going to say one more strongly worded thing: If this post offends you, remember that my grief is not about you. This is my rodeo. I'd love some help getting through this, but I cannot continue to carry the burdens of others' feelings and expectations as I continue to get through this. I am not being disrespectful or unloving because I love and respect all of you, but I am setting boundaries and sticking to them. In fact, this post is one step forward in my healing process. Rejoice with me in this. And remember, text me and let me know if you're willing to truly support me.
I am, of course, willing to talk with you when there are misunderstandings. I am not cutting you off automatically if you step wrong and hurt me. Grieving people are vulnerable and often unexpectedly triggered. However, if I have told you multiple times that something you do hurts me and you do not stop doing it, I will probably stop reaching out to you in times of trouble. I am hoping that you will be gracious and love me enough to help me as I need.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Generational Cognitive Dissonance
As a teacher, I think a lot about the future generations. On the nature vs. nurture debate, I fall right in the middle. But one thing I wish people would think more about is the effect of a child's--really any person's--experiences on his/her worldview.
Cognitive dissonance is defined as having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. I think a lot of cognitive dissonance happens when that which you know to be true is contrary to the experiences you have around you or that which you have experienced that is true is contrary to what everyone is telling you. For example, the news media tells me that my society is going nowhere fast, is full of racists, and is run by corrupt people who don't care about anyone but themselves. My experience tells me that humans are, as a whole, wonderful people who would move Heaven and Earth to help the disadvantaged and who love people regardless of their race, religion, or background. Most people I know are genuinely trying to "do the right thing," though they may not always agree on what that looks like.
I wish that people would understand that the generation in front of us has not had the same experiences we had. MY generation (I'm 30) has not had the same experience as those who grew up in the 1960s-1970s. When we teach them worldviews based on the problems that happened in previous generations, we are creating cognitive dissonance.
I will pause here to say that I am not advocating ignoring history. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We seem to take historical events in isolation and teach them out of context, not allowing our students and children to see the real progress that has been made in a lot of areas. The experiences of history are supposed to be different than the experiences that children see around them. This is how history should be taught, as a different experience and time that has affected and birthed this time, but is not at all the same. Historic problems should not be the focus as we teach children how to see the modern world. This generation has enough of their own issues to deal with without bringing problems from the past forward to show children who have never actually seen them in their own lives. Some people are fighting dragons that have already been slain. They are trying to teach children to fight these dragons as well, and when the children become confused because they don't see the dragon there, they invent the dragons to go with the swords they have been given.
Perhaps instead of teaching children how to solve problems that we have faced, we should take the time to get to know what the problems of THIS generation are--both those which we share across the generations and things we never imagined facing. Cyberbullying was a problem that began with my generation and continues to this day, but the next generation is facing a whole new slew of technological problems that my generation never had to think of. I didn't have Facebook when I was thirteen, so I didn't have to consider what it might to do me in 10-15 years when I was applying for jobs if I posted the silly little things that ran through my 13-year-old mind. Kids today need more foresight than ever before because everything they are doing is memorialized online.
Kids today need to know how to deal with and navigate a world that exists both online and in person. As digital natives, there is no separation for them between what they do online and what they do in real life. This idea that my generation was taught of online anonymity is largely a thing of the past.
In an increasingly polarizing society, kids today need to learn how to validate their own experiences while also validating those of others. I have never seen racism in real life. I've read about historic racism, but that's not what racism looks like today. I've seen the media's portrayal and definition of racism, but I don't trust the media to form my worldview as they play politics and grasp at the most controversial headlines in order to make more money. I've listened to people of other races tell me of their own experiences of racism, and that's where I find truth. My own experiences of having never seen racism are true. My friends' experiences of having seen racism are also true. They don't have to conflict because they are different. I, as an adult, am aware of how this is possible, but many people still see in such black and white that they cannot accept that both of these experiences can be true. They will say either that I am "white-privileged" and am ignoring what's happening all around me or that my friends are crying wolf and saying things are racist when they're really not. Yet, both are real experiences.
This is not to say that there aren't universal lessons or truths to be taught. I absolutely believe that we can gain wisdom from previous generations. History is one of my favorite subjects and I will be the first to admit that I have a lot to learn from the people who have lived longer than I. However, we cannot take the experience of one generation and assume that it is the same or even similar to the experience of another. In order to bridge the "generation gap," we need to spend a lot more time listening and thinking. The world today is completely different than it was when I was 15 or 10, let alone 30-50 years ago. This means that the worldviews are completely different as well. Instead of dismissing the worldviews of the past, or judging them based on modern worldviews, we need to acknowledge where those views were formed and what good we can take from them now. Sorry, guys, not every historical figure needs to have their name removed from monuments because they did something that, by today's standards, would be considered colonialist, racist, imperialist, or whatever other -ist there could be, but which in context was patriotic, adventurous, and pioneering. Neither should we dismiss the views of the upcoming generations because they haven't had the experiences we've had.
We don't need to impose our own experiences on our children because we assume that they are more valid than what our children are experiencing. Neither do we need to hide our experiences from them in order to shelter them from the harsher sides of our own lives. Instead we must understand that "different" doesn't mean "right" or "wrong," and that every generation's experience of the world is going to be different. We can share the worlds together if we would learn that more than one worldview, more than one experience, more than one "world," can exist simultaneously.
As a nation, we make policy decisions based on things of the past without asking if that is going to serve us in the future. Foresight is key! I say all of this because we continually make these choices based on past or present needs without thinking of what that's going to look like in 30-50 years when the people grappling with these policies are not aware of the world or worldview--even the needs-- in which the policy was written. There is a huge difference between telling someone what needs that policy was written to address and having experienced those needs yourself. No matter how many times you explain those needs to the future generations, if your policy is successful, they will not be able to truly understand them. Those needs will be history, and should be taught as such. It is then that the policy must be done away with without fear of returning to the problems of the past.
Reactionary policies and reactionary decision making will only lead to a perpetuation of that which you are reacting to. The ability to work together across the generations to prepare for a world that doesn't even exist yet--because we are still building it together--is a key to our success as a society. This requires an open-mindedness founded on truth, a willingness to listen and consider other points of view, and the time to communicate. This requires flexibility within a set of fundamental guidelines--what's called "universal truth," such as the value of human life.
If we want the future to be brighter, we need to start seeing things differently than the way we've always seen them.
Cognitive dissonance is defined as having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. I think a lot of cognitive dissonance happens when that which you know to be true is contrary to the experiences you have around you or that which you have experienced that is true is contrary to what everyone is telling you. For example, the news media tells me that my society is going nowhere fast, is full of racists, and is run by corrupt people who don't care about anyone but themselves. My experience tells me that humans are, as a whole, wonderful people who would move Heaven and Earth to help the disadvantaged and who love people regardless of their race, religion, or background. Most people I know are genuinely trying to "do the right thing," though they may not always agree on what that looks like.
I wish that people would understand that the generation in front of us has not had the same experiences we had. MY generation (I'm 30) has not had the same experience as those who grew up in the 1960s-1970s. When we teach them worldviews based on the problems that happened in previous generations, we are creating cognitive dissonance.
I will pause here to say that I am not advocating ignoring history. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We seem to take historical events in isolation and teach them out of context, not allowing our students and children to see the real progress that has been made in a lot of areas. The experiences of history are supposed to be different than the experiences that children see around them. This is how history should be taught, as a different experience and time that has affected and birthed this time, but is not at all the same. Historic problems should not be the focus as we teach children how to see the modern world. This generation has enough of their own issues to deal with without bringing problems from the past forward to show children who have never actually seen them in their own lives. Some people are fighting dragons that have already been slain. They are trying to teach children to fight these dragons as well, and when the children become confused because they don't see the dragon there, they invent the dragons to go with the swords they have been given.
Perhaps instead of teaching children how to solve problems that we have faced, we should take the time to get to know what the problems of THIS generation are--both those which we share across the generations and things we never imagined facing. Cyberbullying was a problem that began with my generation and continues to this day, but the next generation is facing a whole new slew of technological problems that my generation never had to think of. I didn't have Facebook when I was thirteen, so I didn't have to consider what it might to do me in 10-15 years when I was applying for jobs if I posted the silly little things that ran through my 13-year-old mind. Kids today need more foresight than ever before because everything they are doing is memorialized online.
Kids today need to know how to deal with and navigate a world that exists both online and in person. As digital natives, there is no separation for them between what they do online and what they do in real life. This idea that my generation was taught of online anonymity is largely a thing of the past.
In an increasingly polarizing society, kids today need to learn how to validate their own experiences while also validating those of others. I have never seen racism in real life. I've read about historic racism, but that's not what racism looks like today. I've seen the media's portrayal and definition of racism, but I don't trust the media to form my worldview as they play politics and grasp at the most controversial headlines in order to make more money. I've listened to people of other races tell me of their own experiences of racism, and that's where I find truth. My own experiences of having never seen racism are true. My friends' experiences of having seen racism are also true. They don't have to conflict because they are different. I, as an adult, am aware of how this is possible, but many people still see in such black and white that they cannot accept that both of these experiences can be true. They will say either that I am "white-privileged" and am ignoring what's happening all around me or that my friends are crying wolf and saying things are racist when they're really not. Yet, both are real experiences.
This is not to say that there aren't universal lessons or truths to be taught. I absolutely believe that we can gain wisdom from previous generations. History is one of my favorite subjects and I will be the first to admit that I have a lot to learn from the people who have lived longer than I. However, we cannot take the experience of one generation and assume that it is the same or even similar to the experience of another. In order to bridge the "generation gap," we need to spend a lot more time listening and thinking. The world today is completely different than it was when I was 15 or 10, let alone 30-50 years ago. This means that the worldviews are completely different as well. Instead of dismissing the worldviews of the past, or judging them based on modern worldviews, we need to acknowledge where those views were formed and what good we can take from them now. Sorry, guys, not every historical figure needs to have their name removed from monuments because they did something that, by today's standards, would be considered colonialist, racist, imperialist, or whatever other -ist there could be, but which in context was patriotic, adventurous, and pioneering. Neither should we dismiss the views of the upcoming generations because they haven't had the experiences we've had.
We don't need to impose our own experiences on our children because we assume that they are more valid than what our children are experiencing. Neither do we need to hide our experiences from them in order to shelter them from the harsher sides of our own lives. Instead we must understand that "different" doesn't mean "right" or "wrong," and that every generation's experience of the world is going to be different. We can share the worlds together if we would learn that more than one worldview, more than one experience, more than one "world," can exist simultaneously.
As a nation, we make policy decisions based on things of the past without asking if that is going to serve us in the future. Foresight is key! I say all of this because we continually make these choices based on past or present needs without thinking of what that's going to look like in 30-50 years when the people grappling with these policies are not aware of the world or worldview--even the needs-- in which the policy was written. There is a huge difference between telling someone what needs that policy was written to address and having experienced those needs yourself. No matter how many times you explain those needs to the future generations, if your policy is successful, they will not be able to truly understand them. Those needs will be history, and should be taught as such. It is then that the policy must be done away with without fear of returning to the problems of the past.
Reactionary policies and reactionary decision making will only lead to a perpetuation of that which you are reacting to. The ability to work together across the generations to prepare for a world that doesn't even exist yet--because we are still building it together--is a key to our success as a society. This requires an open-mindedness founded on truth, a willingness to listen and consider other points of view, and the time to communicate. This requires flexibility within a set of fundamental guidelines--what's called "universal truth," such as the value of human life.
If we want the future to be brighter, we need to start seeing things differently than the way we've always seen them.
Monday, July 31, 2017
Last Day of July
Well, it's that time of year again... my annual "end of summer" post.
Few people get to experience the joy of the lifestyle that a teacher has. During the school year, we work so hard and are must adhere so closely to a routine and structure. (Seriously, who else knows exactly where they will be at 10:47 every Thursday? Who else mus schedule bathroom breaks for between 9:34-10:25?) In the summer, we are suddenly freed from our routine and workloads. Though most of us take classes at some point during the summer, it is not the strict routine or heavy workload of the school year.
The more I grow in Yahweh, the more the difference between summer and the school year lessens. It's funny to say that because my hours and free time will drastically change, and yet the stress of starting school that I had in previous years is gone. I no longer worry about things that used to bother me incessantly. I'm actually excited to return to school, meet new people, and teach new lessons. (I learned how to teach PHONICS this summer!)
Still, I am ever introspective and I must consider what it means that summer is ending. Yahweh has been talking to me lately about frequency, and the frequency of our dance will change. I'm beginning to enjoy change, and as the dance goes on, I don't really mind the change so long as I have my Dance Partner.
This summer has been different than others, but I say that every summer. Time went by so quickly, I feel like summer just began yesterday. This summer I went on my first missions trip to Belize and met a group of wonderful people. It was an amazing, purposed time for which I will forever be grateful.
My second book was largely completed this summer. I won't get final copies back until September, but the editing and cover design are done.
I have grown so much in Yahweh this summer. I've learned about things that I never even dreamed before, and I started a new blog to talk about some of these things. You can read them about them here. And while some people may not think that this is as big as the other, obvious changes from this summer, I would say that the way you see the world will impact the way you live your life, and so changing the way you see the world will change your life. It certainly has mine.
All in all, it's been a wonderful summer full of adventures, fun with friends, and growing up. I am twenty-nine years old, and most people would consider that grown up, but we never stop growing. And I am more myself today than I have ever been, more aware of Reality and the beauties of the Father.
I shall be sure to enjoy this last week of summer as I have all of the others. Then I will dive into the new school year with equal, if different, enjoyment.
Few people get to experience the joy of the lifestyle that a teacher has. During the school year, we work so hard and are must adhere so closely to a routine and structure. (Seriously, who else knows exactly where they will be at 10:47 every Thursday? Who else mus schedule bathroom breaks for between 9:34-10:25?) In the summer, we are suddenly freed from our routine and workloads. Though most of us take classes at some point during the summer, it is not the strict routine or heavy workload of the school year.
The more I grow in Yahweh, the more the difference between summer and the school year lessens. It's funny to say that because my hours and free time will drastically change, and yet the stress of starting school that I had in previous years is gone. I no longer worry about things that used to bother me incessantly. I'm actually excited to return to school, meet new people, and teach new lessons. (I learned how to teach PHONICS this summer!)
Still, I am ever introspective and I must consider what it means that summer is ending. Yahweh has been talking to me lately about frequency, and the frequency of our dance will change. I'm beginning to enjoy change, and as the dance goes on, I don't really mind the change so long as I have my Dance Partner.
This summer has been different than others, but I say that every summer. Time went by so quickly, I feel like summer just began yesterday. This summer I went on my first missions trip to Belize and met a group of wonderful people. It was an amazing, purposed time for which I will forever be grateful.
My second book was largely completed this summer. I won't get final copies back until September, but the editing and cover design are done.
I have grown so much in Yahweh this summer. I've learned about things that I never even dreamed before, and I started a new blog to talk about some of these things. You can read them about them here. And while some people may not think that this is as big as the other, obvious changes from this summer, I would say that the way you see the world will impact the way you live your life, and so changing the way you see the world will change your life. It certainly has mine.
All in all, it's been a wonderful summer full of adventures, fun with friends, and growing up. I am twenty-nine years old, and most people would consider that grown up, but we never stop growing. And I am more myself today than I have ever been, more aware of Reality and the beauties of the Father.
I shall be sure to enjoy this last week of summer as I have all of the others. Then I will dive into the new school year with equal, if different, enjoyment.
Monday, June 12, 2017
My First Missions Trip: Belize
First I'd like to say that I am part of the most amazing Kingdom family. We are a people of strength and maturity who have cultivated the gifts of Yahweh inside of each of us and found our Promise and who we are. The Spirit has total access to our lives and flows freely through us so that we can express Yahweh anywhere we are in the world. This is even more amazing because I have an extended Kingdom family in other ecclesiae (churches) around the US, and we got to do this trip with some of them also. The same Spirit runs in all of us, and we give Him all glory and honor.
We spent eleven days in Belize, but it felt like a lifetime. This is probably because the impact that we had there will last a lifetime... an eternal lifetime. We found the same Spirit that we brought with us there in a group of faithful people. Partnering with them, we ministered to the entire nation. Yes, the nation. We infiltrated systems that impact the whole country including the schools, national TV and radio shows, and even the Belizean Coast Guard. There was no door closed to us, and I know that is because the people who have been there and taken their place as kings and priests of their land have opened the door for us. We just came alongside of them and input our own anointings and expressions of Yahweh.
My favorite part, of course, was ministering to the schools. Getting to go and do what I do every day in another country opened my eyes to where my students have come from, and it also opened my eyes to me. I am able to take the Infinite and bring it to a level where people can understand and apply it. I do it every day, and I did not realize that before this trip. In fact, much of what I did on this trip is exactly what I do in Arkansas. On Tuesday I was teaching for our last day of school. Thursday I flew to Belize, and Friday I was teaching school again. I think one of the things I learned the most was that Yahweh is the same wherever you are, and that you in Him are the same wherever you are. It is like one of my poems:
"Wherever I go the Kingdom is
Wherever I am Yahweh's Promise
Shines brightly forth in the emptiness
The hope that creation will harness"
It doesn't matter if you are in Belize on a missions trip, working at your everyday job, in a service at your local ecclesia, or laying in bed all day sleeping. You are still Yahweh's Promise, and when you are faithful to go where He sends you, that Promise is able to be expressed everywhere.
I went to Belize largely to see what Yahweh looked like in Belize. What does He look like on a missions trip? What does He look like in another country? This is only the second time I've left the country, and I know Him so much better now than I did the last time; I wanted to see. Lo and behold He looks the same. It really drove home the point that Yahweh--in complete and utter totality--is in everything and everyone. Hear, oh nations, Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is One! And we are One in Him.
He even talked to me about the Infinite just like He does here in Arkansas, and at the advice of my Apostle, I will be starting a blog about that soon. More details to come on that one.
Everything Yahweh told me about Belize during intercession before we left was confirmed when we got there. It was a land of Promise, purity, and unity. They have the same surface problems I see in America, but nothing can touch or alter the Promise of Yahweh. It is still there waiting for the kings and priests to discover it and take their places. Some of them already have, but more are coming.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and I loved getting to minister there. The tropical climate is not one that I enjoy, so I would never have taken a vacation there, but they do have some beautiful scenery that we also got to explore. I loved seeing the Mayan ruins because history is the BEST, and climbing to the top was just another way to prove that there is no such thing as death. I also loved seeing the beaches and the original way to make chocolate. Sampling the chocolate was definitely a highlight of the trip also. Let's just say that people should make chocolate with ginger and chocolate with cardamom more easily available in the USA.
The eleven-day lifetime we spent in Belize was amazing and eternal. I will forever cherish the memories and love the relationships we built there. I doubt it will be the last time we go, and I can't wait to see all that Yahweh brings of what we have just seen begin.
We spent eleven days in Belize, but it felt like a lifetime. This is probably because the impact that we had there will last a lifetime... an eternal lifetime. We found the same Spirit that we brought with us there in a group of faithful people. Partnering with them, we ministered to the entire nation. Yes, the nation. We infiltrated systems that impact the whole country including the schools, national TV and radio shows, and even the Belizean Coast Guard. There was no door closed to us, and I know that is because the people who have been there and taken their place as kings and priests of their land have opened the door for us. We just came alongside of them and input our own anointings and expressions of Yahweh.
My favorite part, of course, was ministering to the schools. Getting to go and do what I do every day in another country opened my eyes to where my students have come from, and it also opened my eyes to me. I am able to take the Infinite and bring it to a level where people can understand and apply it. I do it every day, and I did not realize that before this trip. In fact, much of what I did on this trip is exactly what I do in Arkansas. On Tuesday I was teaching for our last day of school. Thursday I flew to Belize, and Friday I was teaching school again. I think one of the things I learned the most was that Yahweh is the same wherever you are, and that you in Him are the same wherever you are. It is like one of my poems:
"Wherever I go the Kingdom is
Wherever I am Yahweh's Promise
Shines brightly forth in the emptiness
The hope that creation will harness"
It doesn't matter if you are in Belize on a missions trip, working at your everyday job, in a service at your local ecclesia, or laying in bed all day sleeping. You are still Yahweh's Promise, and when you are faithful to go where He sends you, that Promise is able to be expressed everywhere.
I went to Belize largely to see what Yahweh looked like in Belize. What does He look like on a missions trip? What does He look like in another country? This is only the second time I've left the country, and I know Him so much better now than I did the last time; I wanted to see. Lo and behold He looks the same. It really drove home the point that Yahweh--in complete and utter totality--is in everything and everyone. Hear, oh nations, Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is One! And we are One in Him.
He even talked to me about the Infinite just like He does here in Arkansas, and at the advice of my Apostle, I will be starting a blog about that soon. More details to come on that one.
Everything Yahweh told me about Belize during intercession before we left was confirmed when we got there. It was a land of Promise, purity, and unity. They have the same surface problems I see in America, but nothing can touch or alter the Promise of Yahweh. It is still there waiting for the kings and priests to discover it and take their places. Some of them already have, but more are coming.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and I loved getting to minister there. The tropical climate is not one that I enjoy, so I would never have taken a vacation there, but they do have some beautiful scenery that we also got to explore. I loved seeing the Mayan ruins because history is the BEST, and climbing to the top was just another way to prove that there is no such thing as death. I also loved seeing the beaches and the original way to make chocolate. Sampling the chocolate was definitely a highlight of the trip also. Let's just say that people should make chocolate with ginger and chocolate with cardamom more easily available in the USA.
The eleven-day lifetime we spent in Belize was amazing and eternal. I will forever cherish the memories and love the relationships we built there. I doubt it will be the last time we go, and I can't wait to see all that Yahweh brings of what we have just seen begin.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Heaven and Hell
I have never read Paradise Lost, nor do I know anything about John Milton or his beliefs. I cannot endorse either, nor can I speak against them.
All I can say is that this quote speaks to me.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost
Yahweh has been showing me recently that the way you see the world is the key to what you experience, how you live, and how much you are able to grow and make a difference. Everybody sees the world differently. That is good and that is right, for we all have different purposes and metrons in Yahweh to steward. We are not all kings of the same region, but we are all kings in Him.
Problems don't arise from seeing from different perspectives. Problems arise when we look at anything but Yahweh. When we look at Yahweh, we can see all other things through Him. When we look away from Him, we see shadows and illusions--things that should never be.
When we look at Yahweh, we see and abide in Heaven.
When we look away from Him, we see and abide in Hell.
Let us look to Yahweh and let us allow Him to show us Himself in ever expanding and increasing measures. Let's explore Heaven together.
All I can say is that this quote speaks to me.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost
Yahweh has been showing me recently that the way you see the world is the key to what you experience, how you live, and how much you are able to grow and make a difference. Everybody sees the world differently. That is good and that is right, for we all have different purposes and metrons in Yahweh to steward. We are not all kings of the same region, but we are all kings in Him.
Problems don't arise from seeing from different perspectives. Problems arise when we look at anything but Yahweh. When we look at Yahweh, we can see all other things through Him. When we look away from Him, we see shadows and illusions--things that should never be.
When we look at Yahweh, we see and abide in Heaven.
When we look away from Him, we see and abide in Hell.
Let us look to Yahweh and let us allow Him to show us Himself in ever expanding and increasing measures. Let's explore Heaven together.
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