Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Judgement Disorder

When I confuse my identity and role with God's regarding judgment, I suffer from judgement disorder.  The primary symptoms I've noticed from this pervasive and insidious disorder are shame and/or pride, along with fear of doing life without operating from this familiar disorder.  Most of my life as I've known it, has been lived in submission to this disorder.  Living with its symptoms is all too normal.

The root of this disorder is based in believing a seemingly insignificant and harmless lie.  Why else would I not want to run like hell away from the root cause of this disorder?

The lie:  I am no different than God as far as knowing what I need to know to judge like God.

When the resulting symptoms of shame/pride (two sides of the same coin) along with fear are since accepted because they are so damn familiar, I settle myself short, without ever knowing it.  Any hope of healing from this judgment disorder and its nasty symptoms of shame/pride and fear will remain out of reach.

To believe that I am like God when it comes to judgment, is how all sin is perpetuated, which usually gives way to more judgment of myself and from/towards others, which gives way to more sin.....the crafty serpent's little lie was that we could be like God, knowing good and evil (judgment) if only....I eat from the proverbial fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil  (judgment).

"God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!"  - Genesis 3:5


The truth:  I am in God's likeness because I am human.  Period.  When I feel tempted to judge (others or myself) because I believe I am defective as is, I am believing a lie.

"So God created human beings in his image.  In the image of God he created them.  He created them male and female."  - Genesis 1:27


Judging as if I am God isn't needed to make me feel better about myself.  In fact, it is poisonous and strictly prohibited by God.

The remedy for judgment disorder:  Showing mercy to the one(s) I judged, including myself.


"Those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy when they are judged.  To show mercy is better than to judge."   - James 2:13


"God is the only Lawmaker and Judge.  He is the only One who can save and destroy.  So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor."  - James 4:12


"Don't judge others, or you will be judged.  You will be judged in the same way that you judge others, and the amount you give to others will be given you."  - Matthew 7:1-2



The vision of my own spiritual life's direction involves recovery from judging myself and others as if I am God, one day at a time.







Friday, November 22, 2013

Affirming What Is...


  • I can trust myself and others when I acknowledge and do not deny what I know, see, feel and hear.
  • I acknowledge that I may never be totally without pain and suffering AND I can learn to protect and nurture myself.  The two are not mutually exclusive
  • I can take care of myself and it won't kill others.  
  • My self-care is my business and my business will go bankrupt if I rob myself of self-care.
  • My feelings have equal value as other people's; not more and not less. 
  • Other people's willingness and capacity to accept and love me for who I am is not my business to own.  I am not responsible for running other people's businesses.
  • I can function even when I'm scared.  I can be scared and uncertain, and still be OK.
  • I can pause while feeling strong emotions, I do not always need to act immediately.  
  • I can know when it's better to just sit in my emotions and ride them out, before acting on them.
  • I know how my insides work best; what I need, what I perceive, what I intuit....when I listen and honor myself.
  • I need to admit how much I needed them, before I can let go of needing them now.
  • I can tell my shaming inner-parent, "Your message has been received, now shut-up!"
  • In recovery, I can separate and individuate while still showing up for myself.  All else will follow.
  • First things first.
  • My trust in God, myself and other safe people will grow.
  • I no longer need to live in denial, because God has my back when it comes to acknowledging hard things.
  • The more awake and present I am in the moment, the better I can take care of myself and others when I consciously choose to do so.
  • My emotions cannot kill or harm anyone else, ever.  My actions, however; may or may not.
  • I can take ownership of my choices and feel empowered with the self-awareness I gain from doing so.
  • I can hear criticism from others and perhaps extract beneficial information for my own recovery, without absorbing shame and unwarranted guilt.
  • Most decisions I make are not life or death (even if they feel like it).
  • If I'm having self-destructive thoughts, I can ask how my heart has been missed.
  • My inner child has wounded/injured parts as well as healthy/strong parts.  I can respect both.
  • My pain is all I need as proof that I am hurting.
  • I can learn to trust myself and ask for what I need.
  • I can choose whom I will and will not let into my inner life.
  • I can stop giving away my power to others out of fear, and take steps towards reclaiming my personal power.
  • I can be present and sincerely listen to another share their raw pain and anger, without having to take responsibility for fixing or rescuing them from feeling their pain.
  • I can always listen to my inner-child.
  • Feeling deep abandonment pain is not self-hate or self-pity, it helps heal my inner-child.
  • I can see that I have many options and choices.
  • Getting well and becoming whole is the sweetest revenge!

for more, click here





Thursday, November 21, 2013

X-Rated Manual for Mature Men

If you cannot take things in gist at the moment, please come back later.  This is shared in all seriousness with some sarcasm, because sometimes I find that life is easier to talk about when sarcasm is used.  Right or wrong, tis what it is.

If you are a man and are feeling gypped when it comes to the quality and quantity of sex within your marriage, and you're open to getting advice from a woman who will tell you like it is, read on.  Perhaps you'll find this helpful.

Nobody is making me do this (or not do this) other than myself.  I do this feeling compelled to do what I can for happiness to be realized within marriages, be it ever so unorthodox.  It's a battle, for both genders.

Perhaps many Christian men are already getting this information from their Christian brothers from another mother.  I have a little hunch that this isn't always the case, as much as I had assumed.  Just as men don't typically seek out mental health or physical health screenings as often as women, consider this posting a free and private service.  This is gonna come from a "sister" from another mother's perspective.  An unorthodox one, but take it or leave it.  I ask that you please receive it as coming from a sister in Christ.

If you want to enjoy your wife while she enjoys having sex with you, then the first body part you need to become well acquainted with is her brain, not her vagina or her breasts.  You see, the key to activating her sexual desire isn't by pushing some secret button in her genital area.  That knowledge can come in useful, but first things first.  Understand her brain and how her heart (emotional sanctuary) operates first.  Do not forget, as much as our sexually "liberated" culture propagates, she is as much a sexual being as you, but is hardwired differently.  God has created her to enjoy ecstasy and pleasure just as much, and if not more, than you.  She has been hard-wired to have the ability to have multiple full-body orgasms.  As for you -just one, then you're done.

Her sexual arousal which she's also been gifted to have and enjoy within her marriage, is something that isn't activated the same way yours is.  Generally speaking, she is not as primarily visual as you.  All women vary, just like men do, but generally speaking, she will not become sexually aroused by what her eyesight lets in alone.  Her major sexual control panel is not the incoming signals that register mainly through her eyesight, but what incoming signals get registered through her insight and her no bullshit intuition, which can be hugely understood by studying under her hood - her heart, her emotional sanctuary - the CEO of her body chemistry.

Without getting scientific, because I am not a scientist, sex-therapist, marriage therapist or anything of the sort.  My credentials are in being married for nearly 10 bumpy years and somehow managing to get through the school of hard-knocks that my marriage experience has been.

Your wife is not as complex as you, or she, may have come to believe.  Let's not call her "complex" if it's really your resistance to go the extra mile to activate her sexual arousal.  Perhaps that isn't your case, so then just skip over that..it doesn't apply to you.

First things first:
Pursue her.
A woman is attracted by a man whom she can respect.  She will not find herself sexually desiring a man she doesn't truly respect.  A man she can respect is a man who is confident in himself.  I'm not talking about pseudo-confidence that acts like he doesn't "give a rip" about what she thinks and won't be a "yes ma'am" man.  That isn't confidence, that is denial.  Remember, she has an uncanny intuition that detects bullshit.  If you struggle with confidence, it is much better to come clean with her and then do something about it, then to deny it.  A woman finds it nearly impossible to respect a man who lives in denial and is a master of his own deception.  Sorry, but it's a passion-killer; a man in denial.  No matter how well he can articulate, analyze, intellectualize or spiritualize his denial; it will likely register on her intuition control panel if she's practicing walking in tune with it.

Pursuit doesn't mean a few safe-tries with little risk to the ego, then calling it quits.  A man who respectfully pursues, yet persistently does so from a place of authentic confidence is VERY hard for a woman to resist.

If you find it hard to pursue out of an authentic confidence, admit it to yourself, God and another brother.  There is some needed repair, recovery and healing needing to take place.  Nothing can substitute that.  There is no shame to be had in this.  Women need to confront this just as much as men do.  The more you acknowledge and take ownership of this recovery process, the more confidence you will gain - and that will register on her radar.  This is where authentic brotherhood is so vital.  She cannot repair this for you.  She can support you in this process, but this is where you need men to walk with and guide you down this journey, because they know what it's like as a man.  It takes humility to accept this, and humility is much more attractive than foolish pride.


To be continued......



The woman answers,
"Among the young men, my lover
is like an apple tree in the woods!
I enjoy sitting in his shadow;
his fruit is sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banquet room,
and his banner over me is love.
Strengthen me with raisins, 
and refresh me with apples, 
because I am weak with love.
My lover's hand is under my head, 
and his right arm holds me tight."
- Song of Solomon 2:3-6







Tuesday, November 19, 2013

reLationaL interventions

When a relationship has sustained an injury, which acknowledgment by the injured party alone is insufficient for keeping the relationship well intact, a loving intervention is often the next best step in trying to restore the fractured relationship.  I am starting to see a new principle and application brought to light in Matthew 18:15-17 that I have not always seen before.

"If your brother sins against you, go to him.  Tell him what he did wrong.  Keep it between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won him back.
"But what if he won't listen to you?  Then take one or two others with you.  Scripture says, 'Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.' (Deuteronomy 19:15)  But what if he also refuses to listen to the witnesses?  Then tell it to the church.  And what if he refuses to listen even to the church?  Then don't treat him as your brother.  Treat him as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector."
- Matthew 18:15-17 (NIRV)

Matthew 18:15-17 gives me a clear and practical blueprint by Jesus in how to approach relational interventions.  The goal is to restore the fractured relationship.  If I am the wounded party, this involves me having the willingness to be humble and vulnerable with the person who hurt me and that I'm in relationship with.  As far as whether or not this blueprint should be applied to all people I feel significantly hurt by, or only the relationships where I want to risk being vulnerable in because they matter enough to me - that is up for each person and each unique situation to be discerned.  I don't see it as a one-size-fits all outfit for all conflictual interactions.  Conflict between humans is too complicated to be given a one-size-fits-all formula.

Once it has been decided that doing a relational intervention is the next best thing, I can apply this blueprint.  I do this by me being the one to show my wound to the person who has caused it, just between the two of us.  It is a linear line from me to them, not a triangle of me going to a 3rd party and that 3rd party going to the offender instead of me.  Triangulation easily proves to be malignant.  If I feel the need to discharge lightening bolts of emotional energy before going to the offender that I am trying to win over, I do not see any danger in me going to one of my friends whom I trust and who won't be placed in a conflict of interest by providing me with their empathy and a shoulder to cry on.  Many times these friends will help me get clear so that I can go directly to the person I am in conflict with.

This is the L-shape concept.

But when that 3rd party person does what I myself am to do first, it draws a third line which can easily detonate the triangulation bomb.

If I go directly to the offending party and show them my wound, just between the two of us, and they will not listen to me, I am to kick it up a notch.  Not 10 notches, just one.  By the way, there is a difference between hearing and listening, one is a passive function which is involuntary (hearing) unless you're hearing-impaired, while the other is a proactive skill that requires voluntary action (listening).  For a good article on the difference between hearing and listening, click here, or for a much shorter explanation, click here.

I can seek out others for support in trying to win over this person, and preserve or restore a relationship.  The point is to win this person over, not coerce them.  Who are the best people to seek out when I'm trying to kick it up a notch?  I think they will be people whose voice matters to the person I am trying to get through to because of their authentic relationship with the offending person.  They will have a trusting relationship with the offending party where emotional safety and integrity are valued.  - BTW - we all take our turns in playing the role of the "offender", the "offended" and "the witnesses", we are all fair game.  This is not a court-hearing or a litigation.  This is a relational intervention that seeks to bring restoration or reconciliation, not "justice".  Nobody needs to play the role of "Judge" or we would all be hypocrites judging one another.

Now, if I have no access to people who will go with me, and will be a substantial voice to the offending party, I am short-handed which places the relational intervention in jeopardy.  I guess I am to do the best with whatever I have to work with.  This is why doing life within a shared-community is so vital, I am just now realizing this.  In American culture where we normalize idolize "independence" to our own downfall specifically within our closest relationships, this is presenting as a subtle but harmful ripple effect of over-appraising independence; the loss of a shared-community to support us in relational interventions which have real potential for bringing forth reconciliation.  I guess that is why our mental health field is burgeoning, as well as our addictions, inside and outside of the church.  We have a shortage of loving shared-communities, they are an endangered asset, while our independence is proving to be more of a liability than an asset.

If I do have the rare benefit of a shared-community to support me in doing relational interventions, and I take one or two with me (whether it's done literally or figuratively) as long as the message is congruent, not all the physical bodies need to be there I suppose, I am well equipped.  I am setting myself and the offending person up, as best as possible, to result in reconciliation.  I am after a win/win result.  Being well supported or well-equipped though, doesn't take away another person's free will to choose to listen or not.  If they still do not listen to me, or the witnesses, this blueprint given by Jesus instructs me to kick it up yet another notch.  Go tell more people within this shared-community, and go to the offender with the same message, yet with the presence of more people.  If this still doesn't result in the offender listening to this message, I am to surrender the wound in this relationship from being repaired by the offending party, which redefines the whole relationship by changing the context it is viewed and operated from.

Why?  - Because I'm giving up on this person and don't care about them because they won't listen to me?

No.  Because I am adjusting my treatment and expectations of this person to fit the context which is to match how I am being treated by the other person.  I am to acquiesce in a sense, after doing all I can including reaching out for outside help from my community.

"Then don't treat him as your brother.  Treat him as you would treat an ungodly person or a tax collector."  

The context is now changed to acquiesce to the offender's will which is demonstrated through their behavior in response to you following the blueprint in Matthew 18.  This is not a reciprocal relationship.  The other person is not reciprocating my efforts or mirroring back my will/desire for the relationship to be mended, so I am to respond by respecting their will, not trying to win it over anymore.  I am to surrender my will for the relationship by stop trying to get them to agree with my will, when they will not.  This person still has value and worth, but the relationship is now redefined with their actions leading the way, not my will.  I am to love them and respect their own choices, without confining myself to relying on trusting someone to reciprocate what they will not reciprocate in order to repair a wounded relationship that isn't needed to be repaired in order to follow legal obligations only (i.e. paying taxes).

Where does marriage fit into this?  Ya got me, kid.








Monday, November 18, 2013

Ballsy or Bullshit Etiquette

Like many in my generation, I grew up believing that it was "rude" to ask directly for what I wanted, especially if it would cause another to feel uncomfortable if they were to say "no" to my request.

For example:  I learned it was "rude" to "invite yourself over" to another person's home.  Simply asking directly if I could come over to a friend's house or eat something while I was there, was an abomination. Therefore, if I wanted to hang out or eat over at a friend's house, but I wasn't first invited to, the "polite" thing to do was drop hints, subtle at first, then gradually becoming more passive-aggressive if others weren't being good mind-readers.  As long as I was following the rule of "Thou shalt not ask directly for what you really want." - because that would be rude!

I also learned it was "rude" to eat in front of others, without offering to share what I was eating with those around me.  Therefore, if I was hungry, but didn't have enough to share with those around me, I should not eat because it would be "rude" if I didn't offer to share what I was eating.  It mattered very little if I was hungry or not, or if I wanted to share or not.  What mattered most was how others would feel if I took care of myself, this is the unspoken rule behind this etiquette.  This rule remains unspoken because it's easier to rationalize bullshit when everyone complicitly agrees to keep it unspoken.  Shhhhh.....

It's bullshit etiquette that I am still trying to recover from.  It's what breeds passive-aggressive communication styles, that derails healthy and reciprocal relationships.

To ask directly for what I want?  (Huge gasp for air)  How ballsy!!!

It is healthy and respectful, towards myself as well as others, to ask directly for what I want.  Ask, not demand.  Ask, not hint at.  Just because I ask for it doesn't mean I will necessarily get what I asked for.  But if I don't ask for what I want, but expect to get it nonetheless, I am successfully setting you and me up for disappointment, with me feeling like the victim.

I am learning to say what I mean, and mean what I say.  And to ask for what I want, and accept your answer without being silently resentful and feeling victimized by the fact that you cannot clearly read my mind when I'm not clearly speaking it.

Ask + Accept = Respect (ballsy etiquette)
Insinuate + Demand = Disrespect (bullshit etiquette)


"Just let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes.'  Let your 'No' mean 'No.'  Anything more than this comes from the evil one."  - Matthew 5:37






Thursday, November 14, 2013

Control Patrol

When I am looking to other people, places or things to be my primary source of peace and contentment, the cards are stacked against me.  There is no way I can control the outcomes of other people, places and things to be in my favor.  Influence; variably yes, control; no.

As I become more aware that I no longer need to depend on my ability to control other people, places and things to work out in my favor, I become more empowered to ease up on my efforts to control other people, places and things.  As I do this, I observe that I have more peace and contentment that is independent of other people, places and things.  This takes lots of practice.

Am I impacted by the cards that I'm dealt?  Oh, absolutely.  I can acknowledge this reality, while also acknowledging that there is another energy force at work.  This energy force does not operate on needing to win by controlling the cards being played, and this energy force has desires much like I do, but doesn't go about fulfilling them using the same rules.  I have the audacious and blasphemous spiritual belief that this energy force is alive and well within me.  Does this mean all I do and say is co-signed by this energy force?  - No, because this energy force doesn't use coercion, and my ability to freely choose isn't revoked by its presence.  It's a partnership, not a dictatorship.

The energy force has specific names it uses to identify itself: the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth, and the only human example I'm given who fully embodied this operating system and explicitly claimed to do so was and is; Jesus Christ.  He doesn't hide his identity in order to placate our offenses or demands.  That would be him denying who he is and being untrue to himself in order to be approved of by others.  Jesus is an authentic person, who lived his authenticity out even when it threatened or offended others.  He simply is who he said he was; the way, the truth and the life.

The ultimate demonstration of him playing by the rules he plays by isn't done in wielding power and control over others.  Rather, it's depicted in his death, the cross.  The resurrection definitely plays a key role, but let's not put the cart before the horse.  A resurrection cannot occur without there first being a death.  The same energy force that was able to resurrect Jesus from the dead is at work in me and is offered to be at work in you, if you allow it.  This union doesn't come about by control, but by a cooperation or coalition between two willing beings.  One human, one Divine.  The Divine has already demonstrated his willingness to coalesce, but will not coerce us to do the same.

This is an inverted model of intimately relating to others, which I either forget about or resist when operating in my own relationships.  I have both the unconscious and conscious propensity to rely on coercion within my relationships, though it is often undetectable because of how subtle and familiar it feels.  This is where inviting others into my inner world whom I can trust to mirror back to me, out of love and truth becomes so valuable.  Inverting my familiar relationships model by first applying it within my closest relationships isn't something that is esteemed or that comes natural for me.  That's why a community of others to support me in this is so vital.

Love needs the freedom to choose, and the space required for freedom to choose can be provided by me when my survival doesn't depend on controlling others to choose to love me.  I am in constant need to be reminded and encouraged in this.  I highly value my "control-patrol community" of people.


Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear.  It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.  - 1 John 4:18


And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.  -Hebrews 10:24-25








Tuesday, November 12, 2013

What If...

What if I was to ask God to grant me the courage and support needed from others to face my struggles instead of walking away from them?

What if I was to ask God to help me release the resentments I have, along with their logical and valid reasons for dominating the development of my character, over and above my conscious values?

What if I was to ask God to use me to support others in their own journey with how I conduct myself in my relationships, instead of only telling others what they should do in theirs?

What if I was to ask God to empower me to feel my feelings instead of needing to:

d e n y  them...
e x p l a i n  them instead of feel them...
n u m b  out...
let them  c o n t r o l  me...
s h a m e  myself for their existence...


What if...
I were to  t r u s t  Him to grant me my what ifs...