Identity

When we identify ourselves with our shortcomings, we give them a foothold over us that becomes so entrenched that we don't even recognize that this identification is a lie. In his videos for the Unbound: Freedom in Christ seminar, Neal Lozano talks about a prayer experience in which he was being prayed for, well before his ministry developed, and the prayer leader asked him if he "felt that?" Until that moment, he'd always assumed that the "that" which he felt was just a natural part of him, but it was not really a part of his own identity.

Sometimes our self-identification can be an excuse to not be the son or daughter that we know we're being called to be. That can take many forms.

Conclusion

God is pursuing you. In His outstretched hands are all the good things a Father wants to share with His children: our adoption as sons and daughters. The Father's broken, yet joyful, heart. The Father's embrace. The ring, the robe, and the sandals. The invitation to worship in the Spirit and in truth. Above all, Jesus' promise to restore us to the Father . . . . I pray that you have begun to discover a loving Father who is pursuing you and drawing you to Himself. The Father desires intimacy with you. Now is the time for you to take hold of your inheritance as a child of God; now is the time for you to take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of you. - Neal Lozano, Abba's Heart

I should have known that Neal would wrap this up powerfully. He finishes with some practical tools for entering into the Father's joyful, loving heart. To summarize them would be an injustice.

Buy this book, read it, and know how pleased your loving Father is with you, beloved daughter, beloved son. Be drawn into His abundant love.

The end of perfectionism?

It appears that this job may make me more humble by disabusing me of the notion that mistakes from inattentiveness to detail are things that other people make.

Sometimes I don't understand some people

So I know this grandmother who has had a bunch of stuff from her daughter (and her daughter's family) sort of laying around the house for quite some time now. Some of this stuff is no longer of any use to her daughter or to anyone else in the family. So the grandmom, sensibly enough, decides to sell it and at least get a few dollars out of it. She's selling some other items, too, that are her own.

I asked this grandmother how she was keeping track of the money she gets for her daughter's things, so that she could pass the money along to her. The daughter is a single mom now, and can use the money, even if she does appear to spend some of her own money in ways that the grandmother probably considers frivolous. 

I was kind of surprised and disappointed when the grandmother looked at me as if I had two heads. The concept seemed completely alien to her.

Today's word

noetic /noh-ET-ik/ - of, relating to, or based on the intellect

I might find this adjective handy someday. I can think of a few times that I might have used it in the past, had it been in my vocabulary . . . 

A general principle greater than any quotation

I keep scouring this chapter from Abba's Heart on forgiveness for that one quotation that leaps off the page and says, "Yes, this thought is the fresh insight that encapsulates this truth." And I just can't find any combination of Neal's sentences that accomplishes that.

But the one concept that he expresses that I love is the idea that unforgiveness is such a blocker for us spiritually because it is a rejection of the very nature of Jesus Himself. It isn't that "The vindictive Father will refuse to forgive you if you refuse to forgive others." It is that it is impossible to enter the Father's forgiving, merciful heart - on display in Jesus' tortured, lifeless body hanging on the cross - and to simultaneously keep our own hearts closed off by invoking on others the judgment which we ourselves deserve. I cannot receive God's mercy while I withhold it from others, and if I receive God's mercy I won't knowingly withhold it from others.

Now, there may be a number of reasons why I do so unknowingly. For instance, events from years or decades ago may have influenced our lives in ways that feel like part of ourselves, so we don't recognize anymore that we need to forgive the classmate who shunned us, the girl- or boyfriend who broke our heart, the parent who taught us to be so self-judgmental, or the sibling who belittled us. Or, I may have sincerely tried on my own to forgive an offense that hurt me more deeply, for which I need to enter into God's protective heart to sufficiently feel safe and be healed to be able to sincerely wish blessings for the person who hurt me. But unforgiveness for any reason is an impediment to God's liberating power. Fortunately, it need not be. God is eager to help us welcome our prodigal brother home.

For the life of me, I can't seem to remember the name of the young man with whom our daughter was living six months ago, who responded to their breakup by stealing household goods she needed to care for her children. I can picture him with his motorcycle, bandanna around his head, and clearly see his face in my mind's eye, yet his name escapes me even though I thought I'd never forget it. My heart wants to rage against him, on behalf of my daughter and her children, "Whatever the two of you went through, why would you take this out on my grandchildren!" Instead, I find I must lift up this clearly wounded young man, whose name the Father has etched on His own heart, and ask Him to bring him home.

As much progress as I sometimes think that I have made in the area of forgiveness, other people come to mind for whom I know I must also pray.

Today's word

canaille /kuh-NYE/ - 1 : rabble, riffraff  2 : proletarian

One of the examples uses the term beau monde. I knew both pieces, but didn't have a sense what "beautiful world" might refer to, so:

beau monde /boh MAHND/ - the world of high society and fashion