Being Connected

Unfortunately, many people are taught to ignore their negative emotions. As John T. Raffa wrote in Psychology for Living magazine: "They believe you should hide such feelings—deny, deny, deny—and become nothing but a robot instead of what God made us, beings with feelings."

Repressed people are closed people and are unable to fully love and fully live. Neither can they have any kind of emotional intimacy in marriage and close relationships.

Only as we walk in the light, that is, in honesty and openness, are we able to have true fellowship and connection with both God and others. Furthermore, only then are we able to be open channels through which God's love can flow to others, and in so doing will we be able to fully live and fully love.

Dear God,
please reveal to me
any and every barrier
in my life
that blocks my feeling
close to you and to others
so that I can know true intimacy
with you and the ones I love the most—
and be a vibrant channel
through which your love to others can flow.

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz

On Guard

Roger Perkins wrote how he "once encountered a ruffled grouse in the woods of Montana. She was close and feigned having a broken wing and unable to fly. She would run ahead of me and look back to make sure I followed. Her purpose was to lead me away from her chicks who were somewhere nearby, although I couldn't see them. This is a common ploy among mother wild game birds. I am capable of the same thing in my life and have done it on occasion. I have to keep on constant guard."  

What Roger is saying is that it is very easy to be led astray by rationalizing tempting thoughts and allowing them to lead us astray, and then justifying our actions when we chose to do something that we know in our heart is wrong.

We need to be constantly on guard against our own deceptive thoughts, rationalizations, and actions because Satan will never give up on seeking to lead us away from God. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

F.R.I.E.N.D.Z