Posttraumatic Culture and Ownership

We are in a Posttraumatic Culture, for some reason everyone is looking to the past to blame the place where they are at now. Instead of seeing that they are where they are at now, because of the past. If that makes sense. See our past shapes us, it makes us who we are today, if we didn't have our past we would not be here in the present, the present is a gift, but without that gift, we would have nothing to open today. That is a lot to think about I know. I know that our past may have traumatic events in it, but our brains have a way to shape what happened into either a mountain or a mole hill, sometimes the mole hills or ant hills become the worst events in our lives, they are seen as things that damaged us, but in fact we would not be who we are without those events.

I was spanked as a child, however I would not say that damaged me in the least, in fact I think that it helped shape me. My mother did it in love and care for my well being. I disrespected her or the law and I paid the price, well my butt did, but I paid the price. These days, the punishment is not worth the wrong that was committed. 

We blame what we do not remember, we see the past as the wrong, instead of seeing how we are reacting as the wrong. The wrong is our perception of the past, it is our thought process that is in the wrong. Change our perspective we change the outcome, we change our present. Without changing our perspective we don't change what we see. A story told by one person can be a horror story, however the same story told by someone else can be a love story, depending on the perspective. We have to be willing to look through a difference lens.

Stop blaming others for the perspective that we see, we own it, we see through it, these are our choices. These are what we see, these are what we do. To many people are blaming everyone else, time to own your own world if that makes sense. Stop saying it is because... Stop putting your choices on someone else. Stop putting their choices on yourself. They did it because I did this, is not a valid argument, they did it because they made a choice to do it, it was not my choice that made them do it. We take too much blame for other people.

It is like trying to sue a car manufacturer for a drunk driver who killed a person. The car manufacturer had nothing to do with the drunk driver, they did nothing they only made a car. The same holds true, we can't put the blame on ourselves for what people do, that is their choice. We own our own, stop blaming others. 

Selfishness

It is truly sad to think that the very thing that the Bible talks about being the corruptor of man is the very thing that has infiltrator the church, is affecting the very people that we stand next to and call our brothers and sisters of God. It may be even affecting us (gasp!!). What did he just say, is he talking about me, how dare he, say that about me, he doesn't know me. The very essence of our existence is not based on "me" or even you. It is based on God. Wow, isn't that profound, it isn't based on what I do, not what I eat, not what I wear or even how I look. It isn't based on what car I drive or even were I work, it is based on the God that created me. Can I look in the mirror and realize that the world does not revolve around me? Can I realize that I am not the most important thing that was ever created, that I am not the most important thing today to get out of bed? Oh yes I got out of bed, to deliver this startling truth, that God created each of us for a purpose and that purpose is to bring Him glory, not ourselves. It is to Glorify Him. We have lost our way if we think that we need to bring ourselves glory, that we need to shine brighter than the Son of God. We are there like the moon in the heavens, to reflect the sun's light, not to be the light. Jesus is the light of the world, we are just to be a reflection of Him, not to be Him. 

I think there is a stark contrast to what people of forgotten. God is supposed to be glorified by our actions, not be who we are or by what we look like, because guess what He can make the most unexpecting person shine, because He is God. If you think you have to be a certain way to shine, you are wrong. He is the God of the universe, He is God. If you have put God in a box, look around you see who has shined for Him, are they all the perfectly put together people? Do they all have a great house and drive a great car? No, they all have realized that they are insignificant and He is the only way, truth and life and they are His moon, they will just reflect His light. They are nothing without Him. 

When we realize that life without Him is nothing, we realize that life with Him is everything. We have to realize that the world does not revolve around us, that we are not the center of it all, that we are here for the glory of God. In our work places, in our relationships, in our marriages, as children to our parents, to our friends, we are to do it to bring glory to God, NOT to ourselves. The relationships that we have DO NOT revolve around us. Do NOT revolve around me if I get up in  the morning or not, they revolve around if God gives us another day to bring Him glory. 

Isn't it time to get our priorities in order? Isn't it time to stop looking at the world as our home, because it is not our home, it is only a stopping ground, we are only travelers here for a short period of time. Are we making it all about ourselves?

Key Phrases of Life

• Life is a Choice
• Yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn't here yet, live today for it is a gift
• Goats But, sheep follow, don't be a goat
• But God
• If you want to find happiness, stop searching and start to put others first in all you do. Because the key to Joy is Jesus, others and than you. People have lost the meaning, because they are so selfish in everything.
• Love is a choice, not a feeling
• Feelings come and go like our car runs out of gas, we don't buy a new car every time our car runs out of gas, why do we get a new relationship if our loving feelings fades?
• They found Jesus... I didn't know Jesus was lost... 

These are some key phrases, I am sure there are more, but phrases that I like, that I have picked up along the way and that I would share with you today. I am sure I will add more as I think of them, but for now I will post this. ;) 

Words of Advice (Things I have learned in my Life)

• Everything you experience is a lesson, learn from it, don't let the lesson pass you by, learn what you can from it, because you will go through it again.
•  Enjoy who you are, because there is only one of you.
• You are what you say you are, just like you are what you eat, so talk nicely about yourself, because the more you put yourself down, the more of it you believe. Believe the best of yourself, you will be the best you can be.
• Believe you can do it, it is amazing what belief does, it changes the outcome.
• If you say you can't do something, you will never know, because you already gave up, you never tried, because you failed in your mind first, that is the biggest problem, believe that you can and watch what happens. 
• Avoid using negative phrasing, such as words like "Never" "Always" "Forever", those kinds of words are bread with challenge and for some reason they create something in our brains that cause us to do the very thing that we say we will not do. Avoid these words at all cost.
• Negative thoughts and negative phrases can destroy you, it brings down the whole room, it takes one negative person to destroy a mood, even if there are 4 positive people in the room. The power of negativity is huge, be careful not to be negative, run from negativity, if you see it around you, don't try to change the person, you can pray for them, but run from them. You can't change who they are, only God can change them.
• No one else can define who you are, no one else can change you, it is up to you to change who you are and it is possible, it takes work, but work at it and you will do it, it take moment by moment commitment to change you. 
• Change you perspective changes your view, try to change your view, you will miss everything. Change the way you look at things, changes how you see the world and all that is in it. 
• Things are here today gone tomorrow, enjoy the things that last, like people say what you mean and mean what you say. 
• Words can't be taken back, they hurt more than a knife, they leave scars that can't be seen, the cut deeper and leave lasting impressions on people, watch carefully what you say. Words hurt! Be careful what you say, the words that come from your mouth, originate in your heart.
• Love is a choice, not a feeling, make the choice every day to love the one you are with, feelings come and go like the wind. If we base our love on a feeling we will fall in and out of love like our car runs out of gas. We don't buy a new car every time our car runs out of gas, we fill up the tank, just like with love, we need to make sure we keep our love tank full. Make sure you are filling the tank of the one you are with love tank.
• Be who you are meant to be, that is yourself. Don't try to be someone else, you are designed to be you, you are the best person to be you. To many people try to be someone else, that person is that person for a reason. You are you, you were designed and made to be the only you.
• We all have different paths in life, although different journeys, different stories, we all can learn from each other. Don't ignore someone because they have a different story, learn from them. 
• Wake up each day, don't curse the day, give thanks for waking, be thankful for life, for what you have. For some people don't have a roof over their head, don't have a pillow under their head or even a bed, be thankful for everything. Stop complaining, change every complaint into a praise, it will change your life.
• Change how you phrase things and it will be amazing how people will change how they receive what you say, the only way to change a persons way they see you, is to change yourself. You can't change them, you can only change you. 
• When we say we believe, do you truly believe, our actions define our belief, if you are worried about everything in life, that defines how much you truly believe, because Jesus said "Do not worry." How many people are lost in the worries of the world, we can't change it, we can pray for them, but we must trust the God who made us, He has gone before us and He has a plan for our lives, it takes us getting up and living.
• God didn't say it was going to be easy to live and walk in His ways, in fact He told us narrow is the gate, that defines our life path, it is easy to stray off a narrow path, we need to walk the path. We need to move, life isn't accomplished just by praying that we have the will to move, it is by getting up and moving, by doing, but by doing God gives us the strength to do it, He gives us the words to speak, He gives us the wisdom to accomplish His work, we will not accomplish the work He has set out for us by sitting and praying that we have desire to do it, like reading His word. Sometimes we may have a period of dark days of the soul, but we must still run after the truth, search for it, for it will not just happen, we must go after it, for the longer we are in the dry period, we will stray from the path and narrow is that path and easy to get lost along the way. Stay true to His word, hide His words in your heart, keep them close to you, hunger and thirst for righteousness, seek Him and you will find Him, do you believe that He is really real? 
• My Mom would always ask the very question, do you truly believe that He is really real? That question is a deeper question than I realized, because for many He is not as real as they believe. Seek ye the kingdom of God and All His righteousness, how can you do that, if you do not believe He is who He says He is? How can you abide in His word, if you do not truly believe His word is the truth? How can you follow His commandments? The first and most important commandment of all, is Love the Lord your God with all Your heart, soul and Mind, how can you do this, if you truly do not believe? Because the longest road traveled is the road between the mind and the heart, if He hasn't traveled between head knowledge and heart knowledge, what is He to you? I implore you to seek Him, who is Jesus Christ to you? 
• People are too worried about how they feel, what is right for them, what is wrong for them and maybe they should stop thinking about that and turn it around and say "Lord, what is right for you, how does this make you feel, what grieves you, because what grieves you, should grieve me." We have forgotten God's heart of the matter and that is what is more important than our own hearts. We have forgotten that He is our teacher, He is the one that taught us what Love is, He is the one that taught us what Marriage is, He is the one that taught us how to raise our kids, He is the one that guides us and teaches us. Isn't it time that we seek Him first? Not ourselves, for we are seeking the wrong person. 
• In all our ways we need to acknowledge Him and He will direct our path. Give thanksgiving to Him in all things, come to His presents with Praise and His courts with thanksgiving. Need I say more? How many of us are doing this, are we full of negativity, full of everything that is wrong, that we don't like, instead of thanking Him for everything? Like Covid, can you imagine thanking God for Covid... Oh, but wait, it has shown us so much, don't trust horses and chariots, we must trust the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, because some where putting there trust in the wrong thing. We must trust Jesus only, not the news, not the government, not man, but Jesus. 

I could go on and on, but I will post this and I am sure I will add another one after this, because I have so many more to go on, these are things I have learned in my life, who knows they may not apply to you, maybe they will. But these are things I have picked up along the way. I enjoy writing, thank you for reading them. Have a blessed day.