Physical change boundaries, plastic surgery, and beauty

Saucy

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Good thing I don't have unrealistic expectations. Everything will go exactly as I want it to with no complications. :holy:

Jk. A lot of that comes with offering grace and being understanding. Marriage won't come out of the box that way, perfect and flawless. I'm a patient person, so I look forward to the journey of working it all out together. It will be fun. Even the rough times. Because God will be in the center of it.
 
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bèlla

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I remember the roundtable when the results were shared from happily married women around the globe. A lot of the feedback was similar. Irrespective of the culture. I was one of two singles on the panel. The rest were married 15 years or more. We were invited to participate.

That was the life changing event that made me seek the same. I was gleaning so much from them. Things I couldn’t get elsewhere. Our perspectives were very similar. They esteemed biblical principles. They didn’t push against or try to circumvent them. The Lord brought others over time.

I need to be in the company of God fearing women who want to honor the Lord in their person, relationships and marriage. I can’t listen to that progressive stuff. It doesn’t nourish my spirit. What’s needed most for both is a willingness to love, honor and serve. I’d rather have it affirmed than hear the alternative.
 
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Saucy

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I remember the roundtable when the results were shared from happily married women around the globe. A lot of the feedback was similar. Irrespective of the culture. I was one of two singles on the panel. The rest were married 15 years or more. We were invited to participate.

That was the life changing event that made me seek the same. I was gleaning so much from them. Things I couldn’t get elsewhere. Our perspectives were very similar. They esteemed biblical principles. They didn’t push against or try to circumvent them. The Lord brought others over time.

I need to be in the company of God fearing women who want to honor the Lord in their person, relationships and marriage. I can’t listen to that progressive stuff. It doesn’t nourish my spirit. What’s needed most for both is a willingness to love, honor and serve. I’d rather have it affirmed than hear the alternative.
This is refreshing to hear. I know of several married Christian women who are anti-feminist and they are bold about their beliefs and talk about the importance of submitting to their husband.
 
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MehGuy

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If a man or a woman feels entitled or heavily pressures you to modify your body despite your own feelings about it, they're just abusive.

Besides things like your partner wanting, you to be healthy weight. Everyone ages... A healthy relationship should make some peace with that.
 
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bèlla

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This is refreshing to hear. I know of several married Christian women who are anti-feminist and they are bold about their beliefs and talk about the importance of submitting to their husband.

Thank you for the compliment Saucy. :)

I'm very passionate about submission and service and believe it begins with a surrendered heart. You have to be willing to forsake your agenda for God's. When your ideals conflict with His you don't create a new theology or contort the word to your benefit. You meet it head on. It may make you uncomfortable or scared but sometimes the truth does.

I value sufferance and I'm not afraid of scourging. I understand what lies beyond it. I think Gibran explained it well.

And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain.
And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.


And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.


Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.


When I read the poem I was gladdened. He was speaking my language and I understood what he meant. We try to avoid the hurt but some times you have to press in and take it. A harvest awaits if we endure.
 
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linux.poet

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I also need to love the Lord and put Him first, which she might not always understand.
I admit to getting this. Maybe a little too easily. People's demands pull at you trying to get you off your ministry course.

Given that my parents opposed my ministry course and the ministry God called me to, dragged in counselors to try to shove me off of it by misinterpreting the Scriptures, and sent me to college where my calling was picked apart into a bunch of tiny pieces, I've had a bellyful of being misunderstood. I've also had a bellyful of not understanding what in the blue streak God was doing, so this is old news. God first, people second.

I will state it now and for the record and endure the tomatoes: I feel that God is calling me to a ministry or ministries in the online space. I have the web design and the writing. I write posts on forums, understand how they work, and have actually conducted ministry out here. It has required enduring a lot of suffering. The problem is, most people who claim to have a calling for ministry online (especially on social media) seem to do it wrong, just Bible-bashing their way along. I respect the context of spaces and actually learned the medium instead of being a jerk.

The suffering that my calling has wrought is less the nasty comments from others online, but the doubt and confusion it has wrought offline. It's basically turned into a productivity and economic black hole as God has guided me through this wild maze of different skills I have to learn which never seems to end. It's also not a ministry that I can ask for monetary support from people to help me with, which makes my life even more confusing. Is this ministry a "nights and weekends" thing? Should I get a job? Which one? *is baffled*

I joined this space not so much to minister to people as to get knowledge support for myself. I have been working on a kids' forum and the kids are growing up. I know that I will need to learn more theology and more Scripture and more stuff about marriage as time goes on. Otherwise I won't be doing them any favors.

My apologies for the digression, but it's the context of the last point.

Not everyone will lead bible studies or prayer or pray with you either. That doesn’t diminish his relationship with God, her or spiritual authority. I wish someone would say that. Add in work and familial responsibilities, church, volunteering and time with friends you’re pretty stretched.
I agree. I grew up in a family with two engineers and a computer programmer. Right now I'm ministering to a young scientific computer programmer a little bit, and you can't hound for discipline. They have a relationship to God's creation and they don't see the people aspects as clearly. I do encourage him to see them, but I know that for him it will be difficult. It's not how he sees the world - it's like asking me to understand advanced calculus and how that relates to the design of the universe. He sees it easily, I do not. But I know I have to expand my thoughts and meet him on his own playing field, even if that is uncomfortable for me.

The thing is, frequently with people like that, you don't see the evidence. No hugs, no prayers for you, no frequent Bible reading. But if you put them under trial, their faith comes out eventually. They know what to do and where to look for guidance. You see them gush over God's creation on camping trips and spend hours talking about physics and how it relates to the Scriptures. It's there. But it's not classical.

But many books makes similar suggestions for laymen too. It can lead to unrealistic expectations and what I term pseudo pastors. I’ve witnessed it firsthand as well.
To this, I must say idk. My parents made it a regular practice of reading a passage from the Our Daily Bread devotional every night and made the 4 of us take turns praying out loud. My brother and I repeated the same prayer every night because we didn't want our parents to know what we were praying. The devotional kinda worked, but my dad was just such a bad spiritual teacher that we ended up correcting him on his mistakes instead of really learning anything.

When my parents left, me and my brother immediately dropped the practice.

My mother did a much better job of spiritually teaching us when my father wasn't around with the Bible stories and the scriptural memorization using the Awana program. If I were to get married I would follow her model instead. I don't think I would ever force my kids to pray or read devotionals in front of me. That wasn't why I accepted the Gospel. (All the devotional reading did was make me actually good at public speaking. No audience will ever be as bad as reading devotionals for abusers.)

I certainly wouldn't be a strict husband except for where spiritual matters are concerned. Regular Bible studies together, praying together, raising our children in the Lord together, and ensuring our marriage is where it needs to be.

When your ideals conflict with His you don't create a new theology or contort the word to your benefit. You meet it head on. It may make you uncomfortable or scared but sometimes the truth does.

I value sufferance and I'm not afraid of scourging. I understand what lies beyond it. I think Gibran explained it well.
I value a Scriptural focus in marriage simply because it's placing Christ and the Church on display, and also because it's a safety net. If he follows the Scriptures, he will not hurt me, and if I follow them, I will not damage him and an abuser I will not become. Indeed, you don't twist the Scripture to fit your circumstances or your inner self, you change your inner self and the circumstances so you follow the Scriptures. You're proactive.

Beliefs create emotions. When you find an emotion that is making it hard to obey a Scripture passage, you dig out the wrong belief behind the emotion and you change it. Suffering makes it hard to obey - your emotions are in the wrong place. You take them out and you climb the mountain. You share in Christ's sufferings, knowing that as you follow the truth in a dying world they will come and you will be victorious.

But as long as this post already is, I do have a story to tell. When I was younger, I started the practice of reading a chapter of the Bible every single day. As an abuse victim, I was constantly facing spiritual warfare, and near the end of the fight where I confronted my abuser to end the abuse, I was pretty much facing it 24/7. Scripture and prayer and writing it out from morning until night, forgiveness, gentle answers, on and on, forcing myself to emotionally heal on the fly. I ended the abuse and emerged straight into dealing with a situation at my community college where a professor was being mistreated and he passed that on to his students, including me, and there was an anti-Christian element to it. So I wrote poems to fight off his abusers and defend the faith, getting myself out of community college and back into university. Meanwhile, I was working the earlier-mentioned children's forum and working on my own abuse recovery at the same time.

Around the year 2020 I started to realize my daily Bible readings weren't doing anything anymore. I wasn't getting anything out of them. Sure I would read it, but I felt like what I had read, I had read it all before and I already knew what was there, which was because I probably had read it before and I did know what was there. :p I started skipping days. And then I realized that I had spiritually wiped myself out. I needed a rest - emotionally, spiritually. God wasn't going to slaughter me if I didn't read my Bible every morning. So I quit.

Okay, not really. I started copying the Bible by hand as a prelude to memorizing the whole thing. :p But I go about that project much more slowly than my former soldier-like Bible-reading program. Why? Because I'm not under the same pressure that I once faced. I'm not in the middle of a battle. The war rages on, but I have been largely resting and healing before charging back into the fray. The Scripture I have memorized hasn't vanished from my skull, and I find myself using it regularly anyway.

From this experience, I have learned that spiritual discipline is about caring for people, and spiritual needs evolve because the person changes. For someone with a gift for memorizing Scripture, I needed to change to better use that gift and accommodate that path. I also needed to learn to trust God not to hurt me as my father did, and that I didn't have to appease God by spiritual discipline to stop Him from hurting me.

But yeah, I burn out under extreme ministry pressure, and I think my own ministry calling is enough of a strain to bear. At one point I dearly wanted a husband who could understand my ministry and help me with it lol, but that's not how it works - it's the other way around! I wish Saucy well on finding a woman who can actually help him with his calling and has enough patience to support him in his ministry work. But do keep in mind that any of us ladies may burn out lol, so it may pay to let her go on a women's retreat every blue moon or so. Just some thoughts.
 
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.Mikha'el.

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Is it okay for woman to have physical change boundaries? For example, I enjoy my natural hair color and it gets complements from others, so I would object strongly to marrying someone who wanted me to dye it.

Likewise, what if I married someone and he wanted me to get breast implants in 5 years when I’m done having children, would it be an Ephesians 5:22 violation to say no? Is this anxiety and skittishness just something I need to get over? I can understand normal things like dressing up to go to a party with him, improving muscle mass to carry the babies, and taking a shower, but where does it end? It’s my body, I have to live in here too. Help?

I see the epistles as instructions to specific communities to address their particular spiritual and moral shortcomings, not as a general or all-encompassing instruction that believers everywhere must follow to the letter at all times. I wouldn't be concerned about the passage in question in regards to the scenario you presented.
 
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Saucy

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Online ministry is great. I believe it is where more hurt people are these days. The drive to be perfect in real life is stronger than ever. We can't let the cracks show, but online we feel safe being vulnerable. I've done my share of online ministry and will continue. It's a great way to reach people.
 
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bèlla

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People's demands pull at you trying to get you off your ministry course.

Exactly. That's why my calling played a big part in my scrutiny. They'll be an asset or liability. If the devil can't stop us he uses others to minimize our impact. We have to be very discriminating when know what He wants from us.

The problem is, most people who claim to have a calling for ministry online (especially on social media) seem to do it wrong, just Bible-bashing their way along. I respect the context of spaces and actually learned the medium instead of being a jerk.

People respond to different approaches. What offends one may not be bothersome to the next. Every shepherd has a flock. Your message won't resonate with everyone and that's okay. The ones its meant to reach will get it.

I know a lot doing the same and they go about it differently. Rather than focusing on right or wrong I'd broach it from a different angle. The spiritual types matrix is a useful tool.

spiritual_types_matrix.jpg


It's basically turned into a productivity and economic black hole as God has guided me through this wild maze of different skills I have to learn which never seems to end.

It increases your dependency on Him. Your success is His glory because you're clueless. You didn't start at the mountaintop. You had to climb to that point relying on Him all the way. It fosters humility and gratitude.

It's also not a ministry that I can ask for monetary support from people to help me with, which makes my life even more confusing. Is this ministry a "nights and weekends" thing? Should I get a job? Which one? *is baffled*

If you're offering a product or service you should sell it. You're meeting a need and should be compensated unless you're volunteering.

The thing is, frequently with people like that, you don't see the evidence. No hugs, no prayers for you, no frequent Bible reading. But if you put them under trial, their faith comes out eventually. They know what to do and where to look for guidance. You see them gush over God's creation on camping trips and spend hours talking about physics and how it relates to the Scriptures. It's there. But it's not classical.

There's nothing wrong with his expression. It's unique to him. What's wrong is the expectation he'll respond the way she does or what she read. But she didn't marry a book and its probable he was the same before they wed. If you want mister bible study you have no business choosing the other. You're not going change him. The sooner people realize that the less misery they'll have.

To this, I must say idk. My parents made it a regular practice of reading a passage from the Our Daily Bread devotional every night and made the 4 of us take turns praying out loud.

We didn't do that and I wouldn't put my children in youth ministry either or vbs and the like. I'll mold them. I use different methods to convey spiritual principles on their level without the necessity of rote learning. And example is a must. They need to see it in me, themselves, and their environment.

But yeah, I burn out under extreme ministry pressure, and I think my own ministry calling is enough of a strain to bear. At one point I dearly wanted a husband who could understand my ministry and help me with it lol, but that's not how it works - it's the other way around!

That isn't off the table. You have a role to play and so does he. You can find someone willing to support your mission and you offer the same for his. The caveat is compatibility mission wise. If you're working towards the same aim its possible.

I wish Saucy well on finding a woman who can actually help him with his calling and has enough patience to support him in his ministry work.

It's a hard job being a pastor's wife. That's the one thing I told the Lord I didn't want. I know what it involves. But for those called and equipped for the role its worth it.
 
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bèlla

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This correlates to the matrix I shared above and may be insightful.

@Vinter examine both and see where you land on the scale. And by the way, it isn't fixed. I shared it with another a little while ago and discovered the change. I don't know how I missed it. I've noticed the shift in my writing when I talk about God. Let me know what you discover. :)

Spiritual_types.jpg
 
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linux.poet

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People respond to different approaches. What offends one may not be bothersome to the next. Every shepherd has a flock. Your message won't resonate with everyone and that's okay. The ones its meant to reach will get it.
I do like to change my approach and adapt my message to my audience in writer style. However, I have found there is a limit to how much I can change my voice without it being an emotional drain. There are things that are just important for me to convey, regardless of person. I take a people-oriented focus and focus on the relationships between people.

Each person is a new challenge, and I've found it useful to adapt to them, rather than the other way around. Hence all of the chaos. I like learning new things.

Rather than focusing on right or wrong I'd broach it from a different angle. The spiritual types matrix is a useful tool.
Intellectual with a taste of aesthetics. My intuition wants 100% accuracy in information giving as opposed to failing. But I also see myself in relationship to God and others. It's a picture inside my head. The struggle changes, and the picture changes. It's a lot of symbols.

More service-oriented ministry feels like I'm not there, that my talents are being unused. It's a struggle to keep going in that environment, like I'm pushing a rock uphill. Sitting here, the knowledge flows through the relationships. I could imagine a service-oriented person (like my dad) hating what I do and wanting to quit in twenty minutes.

If the devil can't stop us he uses others to minimize our impact. We have to be very discriminating when know what He wants from us.
You're telling me. *scans the horizon for ministry threats*

If you're offering a product or service you should sell it. You're meeting a need and should be compensated unless you're volunteering.
I don't think I'm really offering either of those things. I'm just posting on online forums and similar spaces where I have an audience that will listen. I would like to expand what I do into the product or service realm and am completely lost as to how to do it. Or how best to do it. I have ideas, but they seem all over the place.

We didn't do that and I wouldn't put my children in youth ministry either or vbs and the like.
That seems a bit extreme. Each child needs a different approach. Youth ministry or vbs might be the ticket for some children. For me, I needed the memorization, pastoral teaching, and the testimony of Strobel. I needed to know that God loved me and cared for me. My mom and the pastors and teachers were able to give that to me, and so I accepted the Gospel.

I use different methods to convey spiritual principles on their level without the necessity of rote learning.
My English major dislikes this sentence intensely. :p How can one go without a necessity?
 
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bèlla

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More service-oriented ministry feels like I'm not there, that my talents are being unused.

Ministry wise I enjoy teaching or leading. I've done other things including street ministry and working with the homeless. But teaching, leading and mentoring are a good fit.

I don't think I'm really offering either of those things. I'm just posting on online forums and similar spaces where I have an audience that will listen. I would like to expand what I do into the product or service realm and am completely lost as to how to do it. Or how best to do it. I have ideas, but they seem all over the place.

If kids are the audience you have to pitch the parents and give them resources to use at home.

That seems a bit extreme. Each child needs a different approach. Youth ministry or vbs might be the ticket for some children. For me, I needed the memorization, pastoral teaching, and the testimony of Strobel. I needed to know that God loved me and cared for me. My mom and the pastors and teachers were able to give that to me, and so I accepted the Gospel.

You have to use the approach best suited for you, the individual, and your capabilities. My daughter went to the teen group and bolted. It wasn't enough. She was hungry for more and needed deeper instruction. She was permitted to attend adult classes and bible study's too. That's where she was spiritually.

There's nothing wrong with youth groups and the like. But I don't use them nor will she. We're hands on. That's our way.

My English major dislikes this sentence intensely. :p How can one go without a necessity?

If I told you that you'd have a product. ;) I don't sell my parental knowledge yet. But I probably will in the future. It's a goldmine.
 
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linux.poet

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My daughter went to the teen group and bolted. It wasn't enough. She was hungry for more and needed deeper instruction. She was permitted to attend adult classes and bible study's too. That's where she was spiritually.
I went through a similar experience with the "college and career" group. I badly needed deeper instruction on spiritual things, so I went to the adult group. So much better!

But my brother thrived in that group - he enjoyed the friends and the trips to the beach. Two different people, two different approaches needed. (Maybe I'm more of a bible study type, who knows. I do like pizza and trips to the beach, but I have little patience for boring socialization.)
 
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Saucy

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I've been figuring out that those groups do very little for kids and teens. I've been involved in children's and teen's ministries for well over a decade and have seen literally a thousand kids come and go. Very, very few entered adulthood with a biblical worldview. Many got pregnant before they graduated high school. This will be a part of my book. Churches put so many resources into these groups, but they only get kids one or two hours a week. Schools get them 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Most parents use these groups as a daycare and do not get involved in their children's religious education. Mom and dad don't read the bible, so why would we expect kids will? If churches want to be more successful at helping to raise Godly kids, they need to get parents more involved.
 
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linux.poet

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Churches put so many resources into these groups, but they only get kids one or two hours a week. Schools get them 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. Most parents use these groups as a daycare and do not get involved in their children's religious education.
Yep. If you don't practice at home, you fail Awana. It won't be of any use to you. Very few children are self-motivated enough to complete that memorization program without parental encouragement.

I know that my mom was very helpful in helping me get through it at younger ages. She took it on and encouraged me. When I graduated from high school and they tried to credit my parents with my Citation, I scowled though. I knew that I had gone after it myself and that I wanted it ever since I was in 2nd grade, looking at that citation trophy.

But then I went back to try and become a leader, trying to help young memorizers and encourage them, and I found what you said - parents using the program as daycare. No matter how much I stressed the importance of memorization and practicing at home, they wouldn't listen. I kept getting pidgeonholed into a secretary assistant role, so I switched to online. I needed a deeper focus on a small group and more time with the kids. That's not the catch all solution, but perhaps it's a path.

I frequently contemplate the horror of a child getting saved through one of their friends inviting them to church and having to fight the spiritual battle against their parents all of the way to adulthood. I really think there has got to be a better way to offer that child more support. *headscratch* I was fortunate to have good spiritual mentors, at least. Without them, I would have floundered severely, worse than I did.
 
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bèlla

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I've been figuring out that those groups do very little for kids and teens. I've been involved in children's and teen's ministries for well over a decade and have seen literally a thousand kids come and go. Very, very few entered adulthood with a biblical worldview.

You're right. I went to a conservative church and was around the teens. They often came to a certain space that wasn't crowded. Because I was young and look younger than my age they didn't know I was a parent. I could be a fly on the wall and they weren't concerned.

They were worldly as all get out! As I listened to them I understood why my daughter bolted. She could hear the same at school. The girls were boy crazy too. I wasn't eager to build connections with them and her. She had her mind elsewhere and I planned to keep it that way.

Most parents use these groups as a daycare and do not get involved in their children's religious education. Mom and dad don't read the bible, so why would we expect kids will? If churches want to be more successful at helping to raise Godly kids, they need to get parents more involved.

I agree with everything you said. I remember a woman told me her sons were growing marijuana out of a closet. She opened it looking for something and it sprang out. And she admitted when they were younger she wasn't around. She was busy partying and going to clubs. I knew something was amiss when you've got weed in your closet!

Just because a kid's in church doesn't mean they're squeaky clean. A lot of them are undercover. They say the words and go through the motions but there's no root.
 
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bèlla

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I myself want to get rid of all distractions wich is often worldly. I don't indulge myself in alcohol, drugs or even dance as I am rather rigid in personality and deep down a control freak.

That's a common occurrence when you rekindle your relationship with God. There's a Paul-like zeal in your approach to faith. Your personality makes its easier to adapt. You may find comfort in practices that require self-control or foster discipline. Not to enhance rigidity but as a refining fire for your spiritual growth.

Our convictions differ. I have no interest in drugs. But I'm not opposed to alcohol in moderation or dancing either. Respectably of course. Not twerking in a club. Although I'm adept at self-restraint there's a lot latitude. I couldn't work in fashion without it. If everything offended my sensibilities I couldn't reach anyone.

I can read something from the Bible and relate to it as a personal message. although I can't relate to loving others, that is not something that comes easy or is natural for me. On the contrary I would say there is a great deal of people I have disdain for.

Why is it difficult? I'm not surprised. I seem to draw people with heart conundrums. And I'm all about the love. But they like talking to me. I'm not easily shocked. Maybe that helps. Who knows.

There's a lot of things I don't like or agree with. But that's the extent of it. I'm not living their life or story. The difference isn't offensive. I don't have the consequences they do. Whether they listen to me or not is on them. It doesn't bother me.

Everybody's got a graveyard. Where we differ is the value we place on other people's opinions. Some reinvent themselves as if it never happened. Others are more open about their mistakes depending on the environment and audience. Some are more transparent. They use their experiences as lessons for others. And the rest spill their guts indiscriminately.

Disdain is a control mechanism. It displays the power of disapproval and rejection. But it only works if the recipient desires your acceptance. If they don't its immaterial. You won't affect them. You see it often in groups and certain environments. It relies on shame, embarrassment, disappointment, guilt, regret, longing, insecurity and loyalty. That's what influences the change and compliance.

We have to question our buy-ins. Why am I bothered? Why do feel this way? What am I getting out of it? When you've lived long enough you realize we're different and accept it. You're not expecting everyone to live and think like you. It's impossible. They don't have your beginning or experiences. They'll never be a carbon copy and that's okay.

I don't want mini bella's. You can learn from me and apply my suggestions but you'll never be me. And I'm not going to tell you how. The quest is to become a better you not a doppelganger. We have to give people the freedom to be themselves imperfectly so. They don't have to do our way.
 
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bèlla

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In Relationship
But my brother thrived in that group - he enjoyed the friends and the trips to the beach. Two different people, two different approaches needed. (Maybe I'm more of a bible study type, who knows. I do like pizza and trips to the beach, but I have little patience for boring socialization.)

You never know what you're missing if you've never had it. We didn't have Awana, vbs and the like. That didn't stop me from reading the bible as a child by flashlight while my parents slept. I wanted to know more and He met where I was.

I believe in setting the tone for my children. I may engage other's services to augment what I'm doing or provide specialized instructions. But they'll never be in the drivers seat or undertake a course I'm unable to influence. They're too impressionable.

I'm very selective about companions too. We have to be on the same page as well. There are many Christians whose beliefs and lifestyles are the antithesis of things I'm teaching or impressing upon my children. I wouldn't encourage the connection or befriend them.

I believe in vigilant and attentive compassionate parenting. They're my responsibility. God entrusted them to me and I have to answer for it. I don't like a lot hands on my clay. But that's my bend. Michelangelo said it best.

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."


I'm taking the word and vision He bestowed and bringing it to life. I have an end in mind. Accomplishing my mission is foremost. It prepares them for what follows. The church has their way of doing things but I'm after something different. I'm laying a foundation and preparing the groundwork for the next and then some.

When you're legacy minded you pursue life differently. It impacts your choices, connections, and world outlook. You're not reactionary or figuring things out. Your plans have a domino affect and you build relationships with others after the same. That's how you minimize bad influences, distractions and stay on track.

No, I wouldn't send them to youth group. I'd establish our own with like-minded parents and children whose presence reinforces the principles we've established and the goals we're pursuing. I'm seeking iron not the other.

That's my approach but others take a different route. As long as you can live with the results that's fine.
 
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