Despite the ups and the downs, and lately its been a lot of down(s) it's great to be alive. I celebrated my 41st Birthday on Saturday and it was awesome. I am thankful for every year of life. Can't say there are not some moments I can do without, but all and all I am grateful for the gift of life.
Hope you don't mind me sharing some pretty impactful moments over the weekend:
My daughter made an awesome breakfast and it is amazing seeing her grow into being a lovely young lady. The food was actually edible and tasty!
My wife made a delicious lunch and it was amazing. I'm not just saying that either.
My Pastor said something super profound. He asked the question what is the purpose of prayer: Then he quoted this text in Chronicles:
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face"
Then he asked what does it mean to seek God's face. He then explained with our constant prayer requests we are often seeking God's hands. We want Him to do stuff for us. He said that to seek God's face really means to seek His Heart. That's an interesting idea to think that God would have a heart filled with desires for us. Imagine us taking the time to ask God what His desires are for us. Maybe even what are His desires period. Imagine if instead of focusing on our own agenda we started focusing on His agenda.
Now the thing I really started thinking about was when the Bible talks about our heart, as in when David ask God to "Create in me a clean heart..."
He really was not appealing to have God clean his coronary arteries or strengthen his ventricles. David was asking God to attend to the heart of his mind. In the world of Neuroscience we would call the heart of one's mind the Limbic System. This is the place where our Unconscious thoughts and drives live.
So as we seek the heart or mind of God we are seeking His thoughts for us.
Imagine if your child rather than coming to you to ask for something actually said (Mom, Dad I'm not here to ask for anything, I know you are already going to give me the things I need. I want to know what is in your heart. I just want to learn and understand what your thoughts are. What are your concerns?)
How inspired would you be to give that compassionate child anything they needed, or even wanted that you had the power to give and were convinced would actually help them.
Imagine trying to explore what is in the Heart of God. Maybe that's why He gave us His Holy Word (to give us some clues) to provide some insights into what is in His heart. My challenge is to seek His face/heart. Search His word for insights into what is in His Heart. Let me take my focus of His hands (and what He can do for my agenda) and let me start to focus on His heart and what is on His agenda.
I am brand spanking new to this forum so please reach out and let me know how to make the most of it. I am a Christian Psychiatrist who specializes in Addictions. All the best to you all.
Hope you don't mind me sharing some pretty impactful moments over the weekend:
My daughter made an awesome breakfast and it is amazing seeing her grow into being a lovely young lady. The food was actually edible and tasty!
My wife made a delicious lunch and it was amazing. I'm not just saying that either.
My Pastor said something super profound. He asked the question what is the purpose of prayer: Then he quoted this text in Chronicles:
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face"
Then he asked what does it mean to seek God's face. He then explained with our constant prayer requests we are often seeking God's hands. We want Him to do stuff for us. He said that to seek God's face really means to seek His Heart. That's an interesting idea to think that God would have a heart filled with desires for us. Imagine us taking the time to ask God what His desires are for us. Maybe even what are His desires period. Imagine if instead of focusing on our own agenda we started focusing on His agenda.
Now the thing I really started thinking about was when the Bible talks about our heart, as in when David ask God to "Create in me a clean heart..."
He really was not appealing to have God clean his coronary arteries or strengthen his ventricles. David was asking God to attend to the heart of his mind. In the world of Neuroscience we would call the heart of one's mind the Limbic System. This is the place where our Unconscious thoughts and drives live.
So as we seek the heart or mind of God we are seeking His thoughts for us.
Imagine if your child rather than coming to you to ask for something actually said (Mom, Dad I'm not here to ask for anything, I know you are already going to give me the things I need. I want to know what is in your heart. I just want to learn and understand what your thoughts are. What are your concerns?)
How inspired would you be to give that compassionate child anything they needed, or even wanted that you had the power to give and were convinced would actually help them.
Imagine trying to explore what is in the Heart of God. Maybe that's why He gave us His Holy Word (to give us some clues) to provide some insights into what is in His heart. My challenge is to seek His face/heart. Search His word for insights into what is in His Heart. Let me take my focus of His hands (and what He can do for my agenda) and let me start to focus on His heart and what is on His agenda.
I am brand spanking new to this forum so please reach out and let me know how to make the most of it. I am a Christian Psychiatrist who specializes in Addictions. All the best to you all.
Welcome to CF, doc!
