I love the focus on Jesus! I am focussing on the gospels this summer myself. Jesus walked in signs, wonders and miracles, so did His apostles, so did His disciples and in Mark 16:17-18 we are told those will follow believers, and I need that in the hospital where I volunteer as chaplain. I see healing miracles every conference I go to and got healed myself in Denmark a few weeks ago. The educational pursuits and Christian conferences God is directing me to go in that direction. But it needs brought into daily life for everybody. In the ER yesterday (I’m not a normal staff chaplain, I participated in a school for Biblical supernatural ministry…) my partner and I were prayer walking and I felt like I walked into a wall of disorienting heaviness. I could actually feel the weight and disorientation. So we prayed even more intently over that area, those patients, and staff but it would have been SUPER handy to get a word of wisdom chaser to know what we were dealing with. I hear God and get visions but did not get intel. So I have a long way to go but know that God is the God of acceleration. Focussing on the gospels is my current plan. (My prayer partner gets visions and words of knowledge but she did not get the intel either.) I’m so glad you’re a spiritual director, that seems like a great fit!!! Be blessed in that!!!
I’ve come back to these words a few times this morning… “To share vulnerably is to invite people to see you as you are. The threat of sharing your true self and actual struggles is rejection. The opposite is connection.” I’ve also been thinking about what you shared around your therapist asking why you’re choosing to feel anxious. I feel like I had this funny reaction that was first “we don’t choose to be anxious” and then “wait a second…maybe I do choose to be anxious…” So now I need to think on this! It’s actually a really good phrase for me to mull over right now. Thank you for sharing!
Your reaction was like mine when she said it! I was like - what a minute, I am anxious, I didn't choose it. But her point was that anxiety has been an emotion that has protected me, and therefore, I choose to live in it. Anxiety is really fear, right? But we usually think of fear as something bigger than anxiety. Fear happens when a threat exists, so anxiety keeps us safe when there is a threat. If we dig deeper, we can identify the threat and why anxiety feels safe. Then we can evaluate whether anxiety is truly helping or not, which it usually isn't. The goal is to move out of those old patterns we've always chosen - even emotional ones.
The funny thing is Jesus's humanity has always attracted me as well. Intellectually, I knew that his divinity was not at odds with his humanity, but kinda the way I was experiencing it made it seem more like a tug of war. Now, not so much. He is the true mediary and path to God. Glad to see you, Chisom!
I love the focus on Jesus! I am focussing on the gospels this summer myself. Jesus walked in signs, wonders and miracles, so did His apostles, so did His disciples and in Mark 16:17-18 we are told those will follow believers, and I need that in the hospital where I volunteer as chaplain. I see healing miracles every conference I go to and got healed myself in Denmark a few weeks ago. The educational pursuits and Christian conferences God is directing me to go in that direction. But it needs brought into daily life for everybody. In the ER yesterday (I’m not a normal staff chaplain, I participated in a school for Biblical supernatural ministry…) my partner and I were prayer walking and I felt like I walked into a wall of disorienting heaviness. I could actually feel the weight and disorientation. So we prayed even more intently over that area, those patients, and staff but it would have been SUPER handy to get a word of wisdom chaser to know what we were dealing with. I hear God and get visions but did not get intel. So I have a long way to go but know that God is the God of acceleration. Focussing on the gospels is my current plan. (My prayer partner gets visions and words of knowledge but she did not get the intel either.) I’m so glad you’re a spiritual director, that seems like a great fit!!! Be blessed in that!!!
I’ve come back to these words a few times this morning… “To share vulnerably is to invite people to see you as you are. The threat of sharing your true self and actual struggles is rejection. The opposite is connection.” I’ve also been thinking about what you shared around your therapist asking why you’re choosing to feel anxious. I feel like I had this funny reaction that was first “we don’t choose to be anxious” and then “wait a second…maybe I do choose to be anxious…” So now I need to think on this! It’s actually a really good phrase for me to mull over right now. Thank you for sharing!
Your reaction was like mine when she said it! I was like - what a minute, I am anxious, I didn't choose it. But her point was that anxiety has been an emotion that has protected me, and therefore, I choose to live in it. Anxiety is really fear, right? But we usually think of fear as something bigger than anxiety. Fear happens when a threat exists, so anxiety keeps us safe when there is a threat. If we dig deeper, we can identify the threat and why anxiety feels safe. Then we can evaluate whether anxiety is truly helping or not, which it usually isn't. The goal is to move out of those old patterns we've always chosen - even emotional ones.
I hope this explanation is helpful.
The funny thing is Jesus's humanity has always attracted me as well. Intellectually, I knew that his divinity was not at odds with his humanity, but kinda the way I was experiencing it made it seem more like a tug of war. Now, not so much. He is the true mediary and path to God. Glad to see you, Chisom!