Romance

"I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God,
For he has clothed me with garments of
salvation and has arrayed me
in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridgegroom adorns his head
like a priest, and as a bridge adorns
herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make
righteousness and praise spring
up before all nations." Isaiah 61: 10-11

This chapter reminds me of worship, marriage, and travel. I guess the romance of life.

I know it's really about a sacred romance. I find the romance in worship as I call out to my beloved to delight in me, and he calls back that he delights in me and more than that! I commune deeply during worship as the Lord dances over me with words and spirit drawing me nearer to him...

I think of the romance of my wedding: secretly waiting for my betrothed, washing, dressing, and preparing to meet him. Being brought to him and given to him. Pronouncing love and vows that the promise of death will only separate. The intensity of the eyes meeting with just the two of us, but in a room full of captive people...waiting to celebrate our union!

I think of the romance of travel. The beauty, color and lushness of culture. The wonder of new language and new people. The mystery and greatness of God hovering over each country and expressing his attributes, his uniqueness, his diversity in such subtle and at times dramatic ways!

Yes, I'm reminded of the romance of God today. I am in Worship. I am in Marriage. I am in Culture, and I am dancing in wonder in these places. Thank you God for inviting me to dance, to worship and to express what your heart is speaking to mine. I am in love with you and I desire you above all else! Spring Up Oh Lord! The Bride, and The Nations are captivated by you!

To Be Human

I've been asking myself what does it mean to be fully human, but also realizing we have the Spirit of God living in us.

I did a word search in the Bible on the word Human and this is what I came up with:

to have being
living
body
sickness
power
kindness
sacrifice
decisions
testimony
standards
origin
form
nature
man/woman
argument
terms
ancestry
wisdom
court
point of view
reasons
heart
effort
covenant
likeness
traditions
commands
death/birth
Father/Mother

These are all aspects of being human...

Lord, make us more fully human, as Jesus was fully human and filled with all the wisdom, stature and favor of God.

Amen

Transference

"Transference occurs when a person takes the perceptions and expectations of one person and projects them onto another person. They interact with the other person as if the other person is that transferred pattern.

In the way we tend to become the person that others assume we are, the person who has patterns transferred onto them may collaborate and play the game, especially if the transference gives them power or makes them feel good in some way.

Typically, the pattern projected onto the other person comes from a childhood relationship. This may be from an actual person, such as parent, or idealized figure or prototype. This transfers both power and also expectation. If you treat me as a parent, I can tell you what to do, but you will also expect me to love and care for you. This can have both positive and negative outcomes" (ChangingMinds.org).

"Extreme forms of transference can turn into full-blown obsession if not dealt with. Transference meltdowns can result in accidents, dangerous choices, nightmares, fantasies, stalking someone, psychotic reaction, and sometimes violence" (Transference: Are you a biological time machine? Michael G. Conner Psy.D.)

This is an incredibly challenging area of relationships. We need the grace to take back the transference and to submit it to Christ and possibly to others depending on the nature and intensity of the feelings and expectations. This is very bold indeed, but very wise and useful for building up the body of Christ instead of tearing it down...This is indeed a labor of love and will be rewarded!