1/17-18/2015
Tithing Passion
I spent some quality alone time with just me, the van, the forest, God and my project this weekend. Some big downloads came out of that chapel. I went up there to get footage and pray and came down with new considerations and things that have flown under my conscious radar. Confession time? I suppose the following can be said about most everyone on planet earth, but it’s not until I came in contact with it for myself that it stuck and became actionable. I spent some time on my knees begging for help and forgiveness for these things. I know it’s on its way.
1. My fears and insecurities create the situations that feed them. Not only do they hurt me, they hurt others. It binds people, now matter how well meaning they are or I am, into the way I think they are, not who they really are. This is a distortion. I pray God will forgive this, and those who have been at the other end of this distortion and that I will continuously approach life from love and trust in God, not in my own selfish navigation. It’s true that one can be good 95% of the time, but it’s the 5% that gets us in trouble. When this has caused arguments and misunderstandings I ask you to forgive me Lord and restore a gentle humble nature to me today and always. I’m more and more in the public eye and need a foundation of strict honesty, humbleness, love an to be Kingdom minded.
2. When I think I’m being humble, I’m not. Thinking I’m humble is not humble. True humility isn’t thinking of myself at all. I have tread roughly on this one in times of hurt. It’s a practice for me to balance out being so passionate about things with being humble as well. When I find something I love, it starts to become part of my life. “Truly passionate people find ways to incorporate their work into every aspect of their life.” says the website.
True, for me, someone or something I love becomes woven into the creative process, and that process becomes and edifying part of my life. This can be a good thing! It can also also turn on me if I’m not humble. I start to get too involved with the process and can forget God as the one I’m doing it for, and the one who gave me this life TO DO IT. Give me a family to care for, and I’ll do so passionately and with so much depth I’ll be reading books on it, asking counselors their opinion, and learning new things to teach, give me a project to tend to and I’ll do so 100%, and then some; send me on a hike, and I’ll bath in a waterfall, study leaves and hoot and holler. I don’t fail in the doing and enjoying.. that’s for sure.
Where I fail is when I take the credit and not give it ALL to God and when I assume others are along for the ride. All the work that comes out of such a passionate frenzy can easily trick a person into a non-humble posture. Even if the intention, and well meaning of it all is not to be arrogant. Without humility, it’s easy for the focus to narrow to my life, my projects and my world. All that my, me, I, causes me to not see what’s really happening, and to focus on God first.
It all needs to be laid at Gods feet. The benefit is that those things will be more easily completed because i don’t interrupt my own process when things get heavy or tense. What do I mean by that? My failures and successes are looked at with equanimity, so that the resulting emotions are on a more even grade all the time.E Easier said then done, but I do consider the lilies. God’s got it all anyway. There is nothing that will happen that I wont’ be able to handle with God at the center of my life. Also the project will be blessed because it’s for God and not me. So my practice for the week is tithing passion! I need to give it all to God, consciously and be in the mode of humility before writing, making or doing anything. I won’t be gifted the positions I seek, until I willingly yield to the preparation – to the sand going into the furnace to be purified. It’s time for another round of this I think. So how, constantly remind myself that what I am doing is for God, and only God, and to let him do the work through me? One thing that came to mind is to open and close every task with a pray. Start to write a post, pray first. Finish the post, say and ending prayer. Start a hike? Pray first. Done with the hike? Thank God in prayer for what I’ve experienced. Want to talk to someone on the phone? Pray first. Make the call. Close the call with a prayer. It seems extreme perhaps, but I’m going to try it.
So, Lord, I pray for a loving heart that trusts you in all things, especially in the painful moments. I need to trust your monkey wrenches and open doors without mental and emotional distortion. I pray though I don’t see the future, you have my best interest in mind, and you are guiding people, places and things that also want to glorify you onto my path to teach me and create with me. I pray to do good works for you and inspire others. Forgive me for when I put myself before you, and run on pride. Draw me closer to you, to the Cross and to the purpose you have put me here on earth to glorify you. Help me identify idols and thinking that keep me bound, and purge them from my life. Forgive my many sins, and I pray those I’ve sinned against forgive me.Help me to live for your sake and to reach more and more people with your plan of salvation through my project. Forgive me and lead me gently, I’m still learning to love, I’m just starting to crawl. I love this gift of life. I love you. And I look forward to the prize for which God has called me heavenward I asked myself in the chapel this weekend, do I want xyz, more than I want eternity?
No.
So Father align both things so that I am in your grace, have a place in heaven and have earthly relationships and projects that get me there. Help me to see beyond my life into eternity. Thank you for this post today, may the words manifest good things in my life for you and for others who read it. May the words encourage mindfulness and introspection, contemplation on you Father God, and help encourage others to find their own methods of tithing their life to you. Amen.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/15-things-truly-passionate-people-differently.html
