Cooperate vs Personal

I realize I focus a lot on the individual. What about the cooperate? Doesn't that exist too?

Yes. We are the Body of the church. The bride is, in its entirety, a conglomerate group of people who love God whole-heartedly and therefore, out of love, follow His commandments. It is a group of people who individually know who they are before God, and thus in that spirit, under the Holy Spirit to be very specific, love each other and work together in love.

It's a definition. But it isn't a working definition.

See, here's where the problem lies. People do not like to do things alone. People do not truly like to stand out.

Sandra dyes her hair pink and wears heavy make up to make a statement. To be an individual... By which she isn't standing alone, she's standing above with everyone's attention on her. Peter is sitting in the corner writing songs because he doesn't like the group, feels rejected, and knows he doesn't fit in. He never did. He always was, and therefor thinks he always will be, a loner. He's told himself it will always be that way and has resigned himself to that. When he gets a girlfriend, or a close friend, and learns to trust them, they will be his life. It will practically kill him if that person betrays or leave him, and will further cement the opinion that he deserves to be a loner.

It is out of this that a "mob mentality" arrives. One or two key people do something and, all of a sudden, everyone has to do that. Key figures want to burn witches? So now everyone's wielding pitchforks and torches and running around branding the loners as witches.

A lot of people are getting hit with the Holy Spirit and are falling over drunk? It's infectious. Suddenly everyone is.

LET ME BE EXTREMELY CLEAR HERE!!!!

I am NOT SAYING THAT everyone's simply faking it. I AM NOT SAYING that a majority is faking it. I AM NOT SAYING the joy of the spirit is a lie or anything.

What I am saying is that there are people who saw what was going on and decided they wanted it too, so they therefore produced it in their own lives themselves.

... I am NOT pointing fingers. I don't have names behind this.

Yes, I did totally just compare HS drunk to witch burning. Yes, that is a terrible comparison. But I'm trying to get a point across.

(You: OMG you're a doubting Thomas!1!! I bet you never got drunk in the spirit and NOW you're Jealous. Spirit of envyyyyyyy !!!!1!1!!)

You're right. During the awakenings, I didn't spend any time on the floor. I did, however, spend lots of time praying for people and knocking them over. And I did get drunk in the spirit separately.

What bothers me isn't that people were getting drunk. It isn't that people were laughing hysterically and falling over. What bothers me is the people who I could pray for without them knowing it was me, and nothing would happen, but as soon as they knew who was praying for them there was a reaction...

And what bothers me is the people who, after the awakneings were over left to go chase the next high.

I believe that the joy of the spirit should be unto something. There are many people who were seriously changed by their encounter with joy. Depression was broken off. And then there were the people who fell right back into depression once the awakenings ended and, ever since then, have been praying furiously for a new awakening. Who have been chasing the high.

It's been two whole years since the awakening. Should we stop praying for it? No. Does that mean it should be a main focus on our hearts? Absolutely not.

This is the problem with cooperate bodies. We went somewhere, as a group. And now, as a group, we refuse to leave that place, when there is more even for us.

We need to be tending to the next thing... We need to be living under the banner God has put us under now.

The times I have gotten drunk in the spirit, it was always unto a spirit of prophecy. It would go from uncontainable laughter straight to a proclamation of truth.

I believe this is what a move of the spirit is unto.

But under mob mentality, the "new wine" became simply another cooperate Thing.

And therein lies the problem with a group.

And therein lies my focus on the individual.

Once who you are is set right before God, and once God is no longer a means to any sort of an end Other Than God... (Yes, God is a means to God. God isn't just the means, He is the End too. It's in revelation... sort of.)

Anyways.

Once the individual stuff is set straight, all else will follow. Why do you think Mike Bickle is where he is? Is it because he has his heart set on the group? No. He has his heart set on doing what is right before God. Was David;s focus on Israel? No. It was on his own heart before God. Is Lou's thing just the Call? No. It is what is right before God.

(Not that I'm saying every leader is like that. I do believe some leaders in some positions are there because God designed them for that position. But it is not our place to judge who God has put into leadership... It is our place to set our own hearts before God.)

So yeah.

And that's why this tends to be a blog about personal walks with God...
Please don't kill me?
(But do comment if you disagree...)

~Silver

Since THAT clearly did Not work...

I'll simply touch on that subject later. Today let's talk about people. And seeing them. And thinking about them. And judging them.

You know, since we all do it in some way or another. I know I do, anyways. My guess is that you do too...

Because, you see, not everyone is perfect. And only God, in His perfect judgement, can tell what is or isn't perfect. But then Eve had to go listen to the serpent, and Adam stood by, watched, and partook... And now we all think we can judge good from evil. Go figure.

We've heard "judge not, lest ye be judged," right? Well, if you haven't now you have. It's a verse in Matthew 7, I do believe. And we get the basics of it. If you judge someone, so God will judge you.. But have you ever really thought about it? What's that supposed to even mean? After all, God is going to judge everybody anyways. What difference does it make whether you judge or not?

The origin of Judge isn't actually to condemn someone. It's really, simply, to form an opinion of someone.
Meaning, when you look at someone and decide they are annoying and talk too much, you're judging them. (You: right, that's sort of obvious.)

Yeah but see, it's Your Opinion. About someone you barely know. But I'm not going to rant about that. I'm sure you've heard it all before. Omg how could you you don't know them or what they've been through etc...  Actually, what I'm about to do could, I suppose, be considered me judging You. Except in doing so I'm totally judging me too... Eh. Moving on

What you see in others is what you will likely ignore in yourself.

You know the phrase "Takes one to know one."? Yeah it's totally true. If you think you talk too much, for instance (Which, I think I talk too much. So this is a personal example) it makes you very, very conscious of others who talk. Therefore, people who talk as much as you do, or more than you do, are automatically deemed to talk too much.

But see, there's nothing wrong with talking... I find it annoying because, when I was younger, I talked a lot, and I knew a lot of things (Like... All of the answers.) and was accordingly told I talked too much, and asked (Not usually very politely) to shut up, which in turn trained me to notice when people are talking "too much." "Too much" is merely a concept defined by my past experiences, but because of that hurt, and that definition, I have struggled with people who talk "too much," and amd still struggling to not hate myself for talking "too much."

That all sounded like a really long sob story, but it wasn't. It is merely an example. A lot of people I know that are, for instance, homophobes, tend to be straight people who were teased about being gay. People who have trust issues are usually people who have problems being straightforward and honest themselves.

You see what you know. If you don't know a trait so personally, you're way less likely to see it, and since there are so many things you do know personally you are almost guaranteed not to notice the issues you do not yourself have.

The people who hate the ones who simply get everything are usually the people who believe themselves to be more deserving.

So now that we are aware of, well, awareness I suppose.... Now what?
The most obvious, and simu,taneously the most wrong answer, is to focus on yourself and fixing yourself.

You can spend HOURS and HOURS and DAYS and MONTHS and ENTIRE SEASONS focusing on fixing yourself, and what's wrong with you, and in the end you'll be just as bad, if not worse, and in a heck of a lot of pain.

Rememebr how often I bring it back to who you are, and how God loves you, and how God is in You, etc?
Now is a really good time to put that into action.

Instead of focusing on other people's faults and thereby simultaneously ignoring and furthering our own, the clear opposite is to focus on who God calls us, and who God calls others. On the earth, it is soooo easyyyy to see all the problems. People get hurt, and therefore retaliate and get mad. Nothing is perfect, so people complain. People want to get away with things, so they lie. People want to feel safe, so they control. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You can see that anywhere. But as a human, we are not of this world. Even more specifically, as someone accepted into the beloved of God, we are not of this kingdom.

This isn't forever. Focusing on the problems here is like focusing on an M'n M. You can know everything about it, down to exactly what shade of red it is, and what the milk-coco ratio is, but once it's been eaten that's it. You cannot do anything with it. You can have a candle, but once it's burnt out it's gone. You're stuck in the dark and empty handed (And possibly burnt, if you were holding the candle.)

... I like that scenario, actually.

The world is like a dark room. If you have a candle (Or are following someone else who has one) you can see arrows on the ground telling you where to go. But if you have no candle, you can see the exit. You can see the world outside the cave. And it's opposite of where the directions in the candle-light tell you to go.

And there is a time, for everyone, where you will die. And when you die, you want to be living in the light and the world to come as if it has already come, instead of focusing on your candle and where its light says to go. Make sense?

(You: How the heck is this related to judging?) Because by judging others, you are making them a candle. By focusing on yourself, you are making yourself a candle. You are your own light. The Only Truth is to focus on God... God, who is Love, Love, with is patient, kind, and Does Not Judge (Or fail or give up, etc.) See my point?

If you don't get it, tell me what was fuzzy, and if this strikes a wrong (Or a right..) chord in you, tell me about it. I really want to know.

Till next time!

~Silver

I have spoken of truth..

And I have spoken of lies.

And I've written definitive stuff about how awesome everyone is. And I've written similarly definitive stuff about how everyone sucks....

Who people are matters a lot. I think I've made that abundantly clear. I hope I have, anyways. If I haven't, that's what I'm doing here. (You: Oh good. I've gotten that point already, so I can leave.)
No, stay.

Just because you know something doesn't mean you don't need to hear it again.
(Repetition is your friend!)

Lies are things that will follow you forever. The less you do about it, the more attached they get to you.

So, I leave the question to you. I'm not going to make this a long update. Just something to get you thinking, and hopefully something you'll respond to. Mostly because I need responses for my next update, which will be directly from this...

What are lies you know are over your life?
What are you doing about it?
Who are you? (For once, I am sincerely asking your perspective. Who you say you are, not who God says you are.)
How much do you know in your head that you don't believe in your heart?

(Please respond. Even if it's just for the kittens >.>)

~Silver

Co-dependancy

So... This so happens to be a topic that's really close to me. For a lot of reasons. We won't get into that, however. But there is some literature that gets spread around, a lot, and everyone I know that's run into it has had their life unduly shattered because, while the information in the booklet is true, it is extreme by no means gentle.

So let's talk about co-dependancy. What does that even mean? Is it bad? Yes. But it isn't something that should sit on your head like a hat that's trying to kill you.

Co-Dependency, to put it simply, is when you are dependent on a relationship to define who you are.

Like, for instance, when you have a close friend and what she says or does changes what you say and do. She says she hates rap, so you accordingly delete all rap from your music library and pretend to hate it too. He says he hates skinny jeans, so you agree and quietly get rid of all your favorite pants.

She cancels plans to hang out, and all of a sudden your world has shattered. You don't know what to do any more. Your entire night has been ruined. You hang out with other friends, but it's just not the same. Even if she reschedules for later, you still feel rejected and alone.

This. Is not. Healthy.

Your life was never made to totally depend on someone else's.

Now, here's where we run into problems.

Listen to me very carefully right now.

You are not a terrible broken person. You are a human being. Human beings were created to depend on people. Thats why God made two of us.
The issue isn't that you are depending on something.
The issue is that you need to be depending on something uncreated, that is perfect and will not fail. The issue is that, while you do need friends and other relationships, you don't need to run around built into how you relate to them.

Your friendships should be defined by who you are, not the other way around.

The question being, how to undo this? How do you fix a relationship without tearing it to pieces?

For starters, you need to smack yourself in the face (Well, not really.) look yourself in a mirror, and tell yourself it's ok to be yourself. You are a person. You are allowed to have your own thoughts and opinions. You are allowed to be.

Then you need to spend some alone time. Just you and God. Just you, being you... With God.

Even if all you end up doing is going on an extendedly long drive, exploring everything in your city, radio blaring whatever you like to listen to. Scream the lyrics. Be happy. Enjoy yourself.


Did you know God enjoys himself? Cause He does. And you should too. Enjoy yourself, that is. I mean yeah, enjoy Him. But. Whatever. You get my point. 


If you can stop being whoever anyone else wants you to be, you'll be fine. Eventually it'll stop hurting to be you.
(if it keeps hurting to be you, you need help. I'm not just saying that. I mean it. Go find someone whom you respect and have them pray for you.)

Always keep in mind... Nothing can change you unless you let it. Unless you want it to. You can't even change you unless you let yourself. Unless you want to. You can't blame God for something that's totally on your head. He made you you, and He won't help you without your consent.

This is all slightly different if you find yourself depending on someone you're dating. what really doesn't help is if you and your person are always together, and if you kiss (A lot.....) and cuddle (A lot...). Things like that tie people to people. Which yeah, you want to be tied to the person you plan on marrying. That's the entire point of marrying them. But if you're tied in the sense that who you are depends on them.... If you're tied in the sense that you need them... That is the entirely wrong sort of bond.

What's even worse is if they've forced this on you. If they tied themselves to you first, or if they tied you to them, run. Break all ties, so to speak. There's not much saving that can happen with this. This is a dangerously bad relationship. This is the sort of thing that will kill you. Maybe no physically kill you... But it will kill you. (I should know... Trust me.)

Be safe.
Be YOU. Yourself. Entirely.
It's ok to be who you are.
Who you are is perfect and amazing.....
*Cheesy, kiddish voice* because God made you special! And He loves you very much!






~Silver

More rules :P (V-day 2)

More rules for life. And. Dating. And stuff like that.

1. DO NOT date someone because you're lonely. This will not end well. You'll live by who they are. And if they leave, you'll crash into a sudden desire for non existence, until you find another person to "fill" that emptiness in your heart.
2. DO NOT date someone just cuz they're cute. This is self explanatory.
3. DO NOT date someone because they think you are amazing. If this is why you like them.. Then you're just using them. And you suck.
4. Similarly, don't date someone who likes you because you like them.
5. DO date someone because you think they are amazing, And they think you are amazing, AND (This one is important) you want to spend the rest of your life with them.
6. Treat any relationship as though it is the most serious one you've ever been in.
7. Keep your relationships sacred.
8. Keep God sacred.
9. Don't try to fix the person you're with. If they require you to fix them, then you shouldn't be dating them.
10. Let God take care of things.
11. Look to God to fix your life.
12. Getting mad solves nothing. NOTHING.
13. Getting even doesn't solve anything either.
14. If you take a second to figure out what hurt you and made you mad, you can fix it.
15. If you take a second to figure out what hurt your person and made them mad (Friend or significant other), you can fix it.
16. Stay calm.
17. Kissing doesn't actually make everything better. That's like putting frosting over a moldy cake. You can't eat it, it's still bad and getting worse, but it looks pretty so you'll keep it for longer while it gets destroyed from the inside out.
19. Needing someone is not loving them.
20. God coming first doesn't mean you ask Him to fix your relationship. God coming first means stopping what you're doing, letting go, and saying "Your kingdom come, your will be done." even if it means losing everything. (Especially if it means losing everything)
21. God is not a fixit man, he is a builder. And He built you. And He calls you sacred and beautiful. Don't defile that.


So, there's another 21 rules/guidelines. Thank you if you commented on the last post, I really appreciate people's input. It helps me to fix anything that needs fixing and it also gives me an idea of what to write later on. (That and it's nice to see that someone actually reads and thinks about the stuff here.)

Here's another post from.. Forever ago about relationships, in case you're interested.

I may or may not have another post before V-day hits.... If I don't.. Remember to buy discount candy the day after!!!

(The plus of being single...)

 ~Silver

Security in Who you Are (V-day 1)

(You: Kittens? Seriously?)

Yeah. Told you I would. 

The post actually had a point to it... We'll see over the next few posts if anyone got it. (This is a test of your observations skills. And your listening skills. Etc.)

But now onto more serious topics. (Well, ok, to me the last post was a very serious topic, all wrapped up in a silly little story...)

Valentine's day is coming up, and you're probably one of three people. You're either excited, because your person is awesome and you just know something awesome is gonna happen, Worried, because you don't know what's going on and you don't know if your person will be happy or not... Or you're like me and you're alone and you feel alone and this day is gonna suck.

(There are two other kinds of people, the kind who's others have died and the kind who are single but are ok with that. My condolences tot he first of those types. My congratulations to the second.)

If you are the first of the five people I just mentioned, awesome. This post isn't necessarily for you.

 If you are the second... Stay Here. We need to have a short talk.

If you are the last... I'm sorry. I feel you're pain. It is going to be ok, I promise. Someday, you and I won't have to go through this torture every year. Nobody ends up alone forever, unless they choose to be. I propose we spend the 14th finding all the other single people and giving them chocolate. Sound good? Great. Also, you can stay here too if you wish. This is off-handedly directed at you too.


So over the next few days leading up to V-Day, I'll be posting stuff about relationships. (This is my first ever post here. It's my favorite... Well, ok so a lot of them are my favorite. But anyways. If you haven't read it, you should. You should also pick through and read other things from that year, k? K.)

Today our post will be about insecurity in relationships. (You: Well now That doesn't sound judgmental at all...) You use your discretion. If to you, this post is entirely pointless, don't take offense. Just leave. Or send this to all of your friends. Or whatever.

Anyways. Moving on.

Sooo it's almost Valentine's day. You've done everything you can think of. You got him/her a card, and chocolate, and a teddy bear... You've made plans to go out and eat and see a movie. You know exactly what you're wearing. You know what your hair will do, what your make up will look like... Maybe you've even planned conversation.

Whatever.

You have this entire thing planned out perfectly, nothing is going to go wrong this year, it's going to be awesome and perfect and... And... What if... No.. Well... What if he/she hates it? What if something goes wrong? What if they're not happy?

What if you're not good enough?

(Or maybe you're single, and this is the only thing running through your head, as to why you're single.)

Let me start by saying that if you're afraid of not being good enough, you haven't been reading this blog at all. God made you, remember?

But all that aside...

Why wouldn't you be good enough? He/she is dating you, right? He/she clearly thinks you are the most amazing You there will every be. You've been told you're pretty. Stop worrying.

(Again, or you're single. Thought... Maybe you're last relationship died because you spent too much time convinced you weren't good enough that he/she couldn't love you? If that wasn't it, then clearly he/she wasn't good enough for you and is an idiot who was probably dropped as a child and is insecure therefore cannot keep you or anyone around because they are insecure and, well, stupid.)

Insecurities have no place in this day. Valentine's day should Never be a test of how much you and whoever love each other. The minute it becomes that you need to do one of two things. You need to either have a long talk with your person, Or. You need to take a step back, pray, and get some inner healing for rejection.

Who you are is not based on what your person thinks of you. It is not based on how well this day goes. There is some grace, I suppose, for if this is you and person's first Valentine's day together. If you've only been dating a month then ok, I can understand some insecurities. And I'm not saying you should be totally and completely unconcerned about what he/she thinks at all.

But spending a week worrying about it? Questioning whether he/she will break up with you? You are dooming your relationship to a short life of worry and pain. If you're doubting whether he/she is being honest when they say "I love you," then you really shouldn't even Be Dating.

Don't you know who you are?

Let's play compare for a second.

Once upon a time God wanted a bride for His Son, so He made you.

You.

Not some amazing angelic Thing.

He made YOU.

YOU, who YOU are, is more than good enough for God. It is so much more than good enough for God that His Son Died For You.
He stepped out of heaven, stepped out of glory, out of a place where if he wanted it, He could be eating a cloud sunday while choirs of sheep and dinosaurs sang to him... And then became this itty bitty dust-thing sleeping where farm animals eat. He was the poorest of the poor. A carpenter. Not anything wealthy or important.

You're afraid someone will never truly love you?
You're afraid you're not good enough?

God died for you, in a roundabout way. Jesus left the love of his father so he could take up all Your sins.

So if you're afraid you're not good enough for someone, please first throw it into this perspective.

Of course then we have the evil people who make everyone else feel like they're not good enough.

You've heard this before but please listen to me.

If. Your boyfriend or girlfriend. On a regular basis. Spends time making you feel inferior. Treats you like the dust of the earth. Compares you to people they think are better than you. Compares you to their ex all the time, who they clearly think are better than you. Manipulates you into doing things because that would make you more awesome...

Leave them.

They are insecure, and have made you feel the same so that they can keep you. They are afraid of losing you. They are using who you are and what you do as a basis for who they are and what they do. You are going to be miserable for a very long time if you don't fix it now.

No one has any right at all to define you unless they are defining you as God's. Anything else is a lie.

That's why your relationship with God is supposed to come first. Unless you really have what God says about you at your core, you're going to spend a lot of time being miserable and insecure and unhappy.

if valentine's day is a day of terror for you, you really need to question what's going on in your heart, and go to God with it and settle it.

Also, if you know a single person, make it a point on the 14th to give them a hug and a box of candy, k? :)

~Silver

Told you I'd post about kittens....

One upon a time, Lenni and Gary adopted a kitten.

They played with it. They pet it. And... They fed it dog food. And vegetables. Mostly vegetables.

The kitten, who was not meant to eat vegetables, was sickly all of the time. But, Lenni and Gary just kept on with the train wreck of a carnivore diet. They told anyone who would listen about how healthy their cat really was.

And then the cat died.

Why did the poor kitten die?

Because no one commented on the failtastic diet that Lenni and Gary had put together.

The moral of the story?

Comment on Everything! EVERYTHING!!!
Do it for the kittens!

~Silver