Session Notes

Q&A: The Damned Oldness of the Letter:

“ mostly hear bondage in the so-called ”defense“ of the ”inspired word of God“.  That damned oldness of the letter!!!  I can hear so clearly the words of the religious as they stood upon the inspired words of Moses!!  Hypocrites we were, huh?  Written words, written standards, written modes of comparison, written traps of logic, written formulas, written principles - all supposedly brought to completion in one leather-bound volume that is said to be the only source by which we can know God and/or truth.  Yuck, puke, vomitous lies all intended to bring us back under a ”written in stone“ kind of relationship with God that never worked before and can never work in any circumstances!!! 
 
Law came through Moses, Grace came through Christ!!!”

The is a excellent, bold, and brief article explains the difference between law and Christ. I pray the lies of only knowing God and His truth from the Bible would be replaced in believing Him/His Finished Work in us. Believers are new/soft/willing at every moment in our heart and not sinners. Although we do have the choice to live under the law which seems to create hardness/disobedience of the heart. This tends to leads to sin.

Q&A: Relating with a mom whose son is on drugs and stealing from :

“You know, when your child fails so badly it goes right to the core of you. It is right THERE that you are tempted to view yourself according to the measuring stick of performance. ”Where did I fail?“ will become the REAL question behind a million others. Do you try to ”fix“ things in the hopes of making up for your failure? Do you take a ”stand“ against the ”evil influences“ and the ”evil doers“ in our society? Do you begin to wonder why your child doesn’t measure up to your own standards? Or do you beat yourself up because you are sure that he/she has become the thing you might have been? ”

This article poses good questions to get to the heart of the matter of parenting issues. There is a touching grieving poem with hope.

Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy:

“n a therapy session, a husband’s numb withdrawal expands into a sense
of intimidation and helplessness. He can now assert his need for respect
and become more accessible to his wife.

He
moves from ”There is no point in talking to you. I don’t want to
fight.“ to ”I do want to be close. I want you to give me a chance.
Stop poking me and let me learn to dance with you.“
His
wife’s critical anger then expands into fear and sadness. She can now
ask for and elicit comfort.

She moves from ”You just don’t care. You don’t get it.“ to ”It
is so difficult to say – but I need you to hold me – reassure
me – can you?“”

I good overview of the process that grieving to the Lord can lead to in marital therapy.

Q&A: How do you raise children by grace?:

“ It is how they will try to keep you from knowing what they have done as they sense shame and inadequacy from it no matter how much you try to convince them Jesus took care of it. They will think like this no matter how hard you try to teach them grace. Don’t get depressed by this … it is the backdrop by which they will realize true grace in time. ”

This is a good article stressing the importance of not pretending the flesh can ever be righteous.

calgary.ctv.ca - Calgary news from CTV:

“At the end of the observation time, doctors found no impact on the rate of allergies or asthma.

But this did find breastfeeding babies, until they turned one, did have some obvious benefits.

”This study really quite definitively shows that, in infancy, breastfeeding did have an impact on eczema and bowel infections,“ says Dr. Reg Sauve from the University of Calgary.”

Q&A: Do you have any insight on raising kids?:

“I don’t have anything written about raising children … not sure I want to get into that. I will say this much, though … most of the stuff that has been said about, ”training them in the way they should go“ is detrimental to the identity of your child. It’s not ”in the way YOU want them to go“, or ”in the way YOU think GOD wants them to go“, but ”in the way THEY should go“.”

This is good article discussing the importance of not turning grace into a nicety. I pray all children would see Jesus came to save sinners. When children see/hear of our hurt and unconditionallove/grace, they will turn to Jesus and not be discouraged. God live give them His faith/way to do His good will.

Q&A: How do I tell my kids about different religions and beliefs?:

“every group has its problems because every group is made up of other people who are just as confused as you and I are, and that the reason you favor one group over another is that, at least in what you can determine, there is a stronger general leaning toward the miraculous reality of Christ, and that this is the only reality that will cut through our confusion.* Don’t be afraid to tell them that many groups are simply built around the name and concept of Christianity and have become social clubs … and may be pretty good social clubs if you were to ignore the religious factors.* religions will often shift and sometimes do things simply to protect itself.* are you prepared to go elsewhere if the group is causing more harm than good in your family?

Back to Top”

This is a good article on questions to consider about church/regligion and Life being found in Christ alone. It is not solely in a group.

Q&A: How to relate to my kids without sounding dogmatic?:

“ avoid the game. Tell your children about the real you. You know, the one that is alive in Christ because of what HE has done, but one who also struggles every day with the same kind of things they struggle with. Your children want to know if they are worthwhile, if they are important, if they are loved, and how they can be right. If you level with them about your own futile attempts to justify yourself through your day then they may be able to see that others, even religious others, are trying to do the same thing. They will really see truth when they realize that that is exactly what they are desperately searching for in the world around them. When it ceases to be a mystery then they won’t be enticed to go chasing after any system of man for their worth. Show them CHRIST vs. EVERYTHING ELSE!! :)”

The is an excellent/concise article on parenting with a real risen Christ focus. One needs to keep in mind that we are saved through FAITH not belief.

Q&A: My daughter just told me she is a lesbian:

“also realize that grace does not teach us that we are supposed to be accepting of perverse behavior, but that this is what we have been delivered out of. In Christ, ALL OF IT has been condemned EQUALLY. Christ’s death and resurrection did not make it OK, He put it to death and has raised US to new life.”

This is a really clear brief article that encourages us to say when we feel hurt/fear, the impact, over others choices, as this is our heart, and that we do love that individual. As well we can ask for limits so their free will has less of an affect on us. This is the treasure of grace and honesty in the freedom of Christ’s work on the cross. I pray we can all do it.

Q&A: How to discipline daughter in rebellion?:

“”Grades“ have become like gods to us. What is your real concern in knowing that her grades have slipped? The fact that her grades have fallen simply points to the fact that she has become distracted. Not unusual for a 15 year old girl - especially considering her situation with a mom and a dad who don’t live together anymore. I’m not rebuking you in any way, just adding it all together to give a fuller picture of her world. Once again, consider this: grades vs. relationship. The picture will always become clear when you can see what you’re dealing with. :)I personally think it is wise on your part to not buy her a car - for what would be the real purpose of it? Don’t let the temporary sense that ”Daddy loves me because he bought me a car!“ fool you into thinking it will do anything in the long run as far as showing your daughter that you love her.I appreciate your concern for your daughter, and thank you for taking the chance to ask me what you did. I look forward to continuing our discussion. :)”

I love that the author believes children can be believers of Jesus. It makes a good point that depending on your microculture something may be considered better or worse. It still is a narrow-minded perspective. I am not saying anything goes. As parents we need to realize that what we model, ourselves is most important. Loving her for who she is, not who you would like her to be. I pray so for all us parents.

Q&A: Christ and my job:

“Just remember that we are not bound by the rules of the world,
including the (company) world. Their rules are THEIR rules, they are not OUR
rules. I have found I can submit to THEIR rules simply because I know
who I am because of who is my life. They want me to take out the trash,
I can take out the trash. They want me to fill out a form, no problem.
My freedom is not found in resisting their sometimes silly or
superfluous rules, my freedom is found in the reality that I am truly
free in Christ.  I have discovered time and time again that the life of
Christ has blown away the idea that I need their rules in order to
truly accomplish the real stuff.”

This is a good article on the difference between living under the law vs Christ. Unrealistic demands and definitions will not produce love for God, others or ourselves.

Q&A: Learning grace:

“ I wrote to him quite a few times after that but never heard back from him till this day.It was a very hurtful, but VERY strengthening time of my life. As much as I had learned from it, I saw how systematic theology was easily maneuvered to establish a measuring stick to judge another’s spirituality to determine if someone ”gets it“ or not. I have come to see that ALL spiritual knowledge is exactly that: spiritual. No one achieves a higher level because they understand more. You know what I have learned from all my understanding from Him? That in Him there are no differences because His Spirit has truly made us one!! True understanding comes as my ”measuring sticks“ keep getting snapped and I once again have my eyes opened to the measureless life of Christ who is MY life. Wow!! < << God has worked on my heart (he is so patient!) for many years, teaching me his precious grace. I am a slow learner :-) >>>It sounds like you and I have MUCH in common. It has taken a LONG time for me to learn of this grace … but I think that this is the only way we really learn it. Oh, some may learn an awful lot of ”information“ about the grace of Christ (I’ve had that happen from time to time), but since grace is NOT a ”doctrine“ but LIFE itself it is slowly being worked through us. It truly is so much better than just getting some kind of ”degree of achievement“, isn’t it? :)”

This is a great article on only judging all truth by God. May it be so.

Party Game Central- Party games and birthday games for kids and adults:

“Four or more people stand in a circle facing in and holding hands. Two people go around the outside and when ready, tap someone’s clasped hands, breaking the chain. The Dutchmen run around the circle racing against the two whose hand-clasp was broken (who run in the opposite direction). The slowest team gets to be the Dutchmen for the next round. Variations on this game are many including hopping or skipping, or perhaps in piggy-back.

 ”

Also Duck Duck Goose

Q&A: Food fears | Food and drink | Life and Health:

“Stay away from certain foods. Sodium benzoate is widely used in soft drinks and artificial colourings are used in confectionery, drinks, ice creams and cakes, although some manufacturers and retailers have been trying to switch to natural ones. Additives should appear on the label by name or E number, but since many of these foods are sold loose, they are not always labelled”

Q&A: Where did you learn all this about grace and the Bible?:

“That something that keeps drawing you back to the truth that seems frightening is the very life of God within you. You have already made it obvious to me that something seems wrong to you about the fear-based teachings you have learned. Who do you think really makes you know that? Yeah, the Spirit of God within you. The reason that the freedom of Christ makes a connection with you is that it speaks to the real you … the one who has been set free. His Spirit witnesses with your spirit. Book knowledge will always be something that you try to apply, but the knowledge of God actually works within you.”

This is a solid article on encouraging us not be satisfied with finding an answer to have one or sticking to basic teachings of the “Christian” religious faith. This security/safety may not be of God.

Q&A: Fearful of the stigma for believing a certain truth:

“When it all comes down to the bottom line our
”beliefs“ and ”issues“ (even a belief labeled ”the completeness of the
cross“) are usually shown up to be little more than our intellectual
leanings at a given time … and real faith is revealed as being the
miraculous reality of Christ that it really is.”

This is a good brief encouragement. I pray we wouldn’t be afraid of stigmas for believing certain truths. Lord give us the freedom to share for connection, knowing that you are constantly renewing our minds.

Q&A: Trying to find that magical place of filling:

“Like you, I have seen that cold, clean and empty ”doctrinal“ stance taken by many who talk as if receiving the Spirit is merely technical, or ”positional“, and not really real … when you get down to it. I have also seen the desperation that comes from trying to reach that magical place that might be called ”filled“, etc. Neither ”side“ has exclusive rights to that desperation, either, for I come from a non-charismatic background and we tried over and over again to ”get IT back“ … whatever ”it“ may mean … devotional, filled, sold-out, mature, vibrant, ”a man after God’s own heart“, etc. You know much of the terminology.”

This is an excellent description of what it means to “try” rather than “resting” in believing in the Finished Work of Christ.