Passionate Contentment

September 2, 2009

In many recent discussions with those whom I meet, there exists in them a confusion with contentment and passion. When one is content, he is at peace. That peace brings a rest where the potential for confidence develops. This developing confidence brings with it a restlessness that has great passion. However, if this passion is isolated from compassion and patience, watch out!! Without patience and compassion, passion becomes fear and/or lust driven and steals from us and others the very freedom that contentment's growing confidence brought, especially in conflict.

Paul wrote in Phillipians 4 how he learned to be content based on the riches that he had in hearing his Father's voice. David also wrote about this passionate confidence heard in Psalm 85:7-13. In contentment, he was free not only to live in passionate confidence, but was able to usher others into this freedom where heart, behavior, and speech were in harmony. I call this a Godly sincerity .

To be passionately content is to never be satisfied(Godly discontent) with any point in life's continuum while fully satisfied in Him along the way. We tend to make idols of certain points reached along the way that prevent further growth.

One can't help but celebrate whether in joy or sorrow on this road to discovery in recovery.

Plumb and Dumber

August 30, 2009

Righteousness and perfectionism. Which will be chosen in order to draw a line in the sand? Enjoy or destroy. Zechariah 4:10

Attitude

August 29, 2009

Depth finder.

The Language of Emotional Denial

August 22, 2009

I find that in business and life most are often more emotionally driven than they realize. Yet their language of emotion rarely matches their behavior or heart. There is a detachment based on a lack of emotional intelligence of themselves. Poor decisions emerge and people are hurt in real time from this confusing use of language. To heal of this is a simple process of removing one to three words that are used repeatedly in conversation and replacing them. You must listen carefully to hear the repeated words and listen(discern) for those words that will be their replacement.

Replacing those one to three words with another word or so deepens the experience and personal knowledge of who they are in the present moment. From habit, conclusion-driven thinking based on past experiences that don't fit the need of the moment are forced into the conversation without these new words.

The removal of what was repeated allows a deeper thought process that gets closer to the heart of the matter. A confidence and an understanding then emerges from this process of what to do next in the small things with more clarity, calmness, and gentleness.

The words most often used are "I feel...", "probably...", "All I did or All I said was...", "Maybe...". What follows these words in conversation is remembered without remembering what was said before them. What was said before these particular words is usually the issue at hand about the passing need of the moment. What is said after these words is conviction that is passed by unoticed. The unnoticed is often the inner whisper of the Spirit through our own mouth that when mirrored by another listening brings power and often laughter as a sign to confirm.

Things seem quite clear until emotions kick in and then confusion and conflict enters the conversation without awareness of the source.

The above examples are the most commom yet least recognized due to poor listening skills of the person or persons with that person. Psalm 73:21-22