Anchors Along My Journey

[relationaltherapist]

You are a Living Gem

By Robin Spencer

Every heart that God has made

Is a living gem,

That He has forged, designed and cut

To reflect a part of Him.

To capture and disperse His light

Exactly in His will,

Each heart bears a brilliant fire,

His image to fulfill.

God takes great care to craft each gem,

Polished one by one,

Carefully and perfectly,

Especially for His Son.

He waits for each to come to Him,

His light to break apart,

A single ray from infinity,

His nature in a heart.

[relationaltherapist]

Am I narrating into my life things that I have actually prayed against?

[relationaltherapist]

My proud mom moment when I read this about my daughter on her friend’s Facebook page!

Two years ago I said yes to an accountability partnership, and I had no idea I was also saying yes to being disrupted.

She challenged my “should haves” and taught me the difference between a thought and a feeling. She showed me what it actually looks like to hold space for someone instead of immediately reaching for a solution, and that last one she is still teaching me.

In my work, providing answers is literally the job. Someone needs to know the market, navigate an offer, and understand their options. I show up with information, strategy, and a path forward. That skillset serves my clients well. What my best friend helped me see is that I was bringing that same energy into every relationship in my life, including the ones that didn’t need solutions. They needed me to just be there.

This week she flew from Hawaii to New York. We drank coffee on the deck, talked until our cheeks hurt from laughing, and sat in silence that didn’t need to be filled. I said goodbye this morning with tears I didn’t try to explain away.

Two years ago I needed an accountability partner. What I got was someone who is still changing how I show up for the people I love, for the clients I serve, and for myself. That’s not a small thing!!!

[relationaltherapist]

The test of being a Christian isn’t loving Jesus.

The test of being a Christian is loving Judas.

[relationaltherapist]

Every lie you believe is a blade at your throat, soon to strike.

Be cautious; be vigilant; be wise; the enemy’s greatest weapon is his lies.

Our enemy has a sole purpose: to steal what’s ours, kill us, and destroy those we love, but I have conquered all.

Guard your heart, for it steers your life.

A single book waited on a table. Its intricately decorated cover read The Book of Arden.

[relationaltherapist]

We have been co-crucified with Christ, co-risen with Him, and co-seated with Him in Heaven.

Co - Mission

Through

Come -Unity

To

Co-Labor

And

Co- Laborate

And

Co -Operate

And

Con-sumate

To

Co-Create.

[relationaltherapist]

Don’t go through life; grow through life.

[relationaltherapist]

Julian Adam’s really clear description of Jesus’s message and purpose to usher in the kingdom rule of heaven on earth:

Jesus modeled a life of living from heaven to earth. He came from heaven to earth and brought with Him heaven’s culture and the rule and reign of God. If we are to see the full outworking of what He started, we have to do it the way Jesus did it.

We read that at His baptism, the heavens were torn open and the Father’s affirmation was poured out on Him. “[U]p until this point, Jesus had performed no miracles or done any works which might have impressed anyone or earned the Father’s affirmation. There had been no significant display of Jesus’ abilities as the Son of God. Yet, the Father is pleased to shower Jesus with His favor. No performance on Jesus’ part—just complete pleasure on the Father’s part.”

If we were to ask many Christians today what they think about Heaven, the answer would likely be “I can’t wait to get there one day.”

However, Jesus was saying, “Change the way you think about heaven.

God’s Kingdom in the preaching of Jesus refers not to post-mortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but it is God’s sovereign rule coming ‘on earth as it is in heaven’.

Heaven, in the Bible, is regularly not a future destiny, but the other, hidden dimension of our ordinary life – God’s dimension if you like.

The people Jesus was talking to would have remembered Isaiah’s vision of the throne of heaven. They would have remembered the pleas of the prophet (Isaiah 64:1) crying out for a radical change in their nation, saying, “Lord, that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” They would have known the scriptures which promised that the window of heaven would open up if they brought the tithe into the store house.

Heaven is the dwelling place of God, Yahweh, the Great I AM. But Jesus came and declared, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” and everything changed.

Because the very flesh of Jesus was torn open, we now have free access into the most holy place in heaven! Access is now never based on what we have done, but on the sprinkled blood of the eternal Lamb who has gone ahead, tearing in His own flesh every hindrance to entering into and living under an open Heaven.

The heavens are open! Later on we see Stephen saying in Acts 7, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man sitting on his throne! Notice Stephen did not say, “I see the heavens opening.” He said they are open! That word “open” is an eternal state. The heavens will never close.

Peter, in his encounter in Acts 10, had the same experience where he saw the heavens opened – they were not simply opening, they were opened and he had access. John, in his encounter, saw a door open in the heavens. He simply engaged in a realm that was as real as this earthly realm. He was entering into heaven’s open door. Malachi got only a window, but we have a door that is wide open!

In fact, the curtain of His flesh was torn in two and we now have free access into the very heaven of heavens (Hebrews 10:19-23). The glorious truth is that we have access. There is a person in heaven called Jesus who has made a way for us to come now, so that where He is we may be also!

That old way of approaching God only served to reinforce the separation between man and God (Hebrews 10:1-10). Under the new covenant we get to enter into the realms of heaven and live from there.

Many people can recognize a demonic presence and have learned to discern when darkness has come near; how much more we need to learn how to discern when God’s kingdom comes near!

Thank God for Jesus! His blood has made a new and living way for us to engage in the realm of God’s domain. Heaven is open now. It will never close. I no longer need to pray for an open heaven, it is continually open to me. Never again will I know a day of no access into the presence of God. Not only that, but I am seated with Him and in Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). My whole perspective is now changed. I live from Heaven to Earth! Just like Jesus, I will never have a day when heaven is closed to me.

How do we get into these rooms of heaven where Jesus said He has prepared rooms for us ? Through Jesus, the one who has gone ahead of us and lives to make intercession for us. The realm of the supernatural is open to us because of Jesus. We get to enter through Him, right into the presence of God.

Being in Christ is the access point to the realm of heaven. He is the way we engage in the supernatural.

[relationaltherapist]

Good self worth

Being able to say to yourself, “I am a competent, lovable person” is really shorthand for: I have a bunch of situations stored in my memory systems with many contextual experiences of having illicited positive emotions in others and where people treated me in a loving way and as if I am capable. I’m competent bc I’m appreciated and lovable bc I am loved.

[relationaltherapist]

State your negative feeling and then the need that is not met when you see/hear notice someone doing/saying the following. Next level: You can also think about the need the person has that they are trying to meet without actually articulating it.

From an online forum, “What small thing makes you automatically distrust someone?” People revealed how they root out the shady characters from their lives.

1. When they flat out ignore what you say to talk about themselves. I don’t trust you, i know you’re only there for your own benefit and f@#% anyone else around you.

2. If someone happily tells you they've cheated on someone before. One of the biggest red flags ever.

3. When they give non-apologies after doing something wrong, like 'I'm sorry to see you feel that way' instead of 'I'm sorry for what I did.' Or, 'That's just the way I am,' or 'Why do you care so much?' or 'It's not a big deal.'

4. When someone borrows something and never attempts to return or mention it until you bring it up.

5. When they put a lot of energy into manipulating people instead of just living their lives.

6. 'They told me not to tell anyone but...' Never will trust someone like that. If they tell me other people's secrets, they'll no doubt tell other people mine.

7. Repeatedly not following through...small things too. 'Hey, I’ll talk to you later this afternoon.' Nothing. 'I listened to this great song, I’ll send it to you.' Nothing. I just feel like those little moments are foreshadowing bigger disappointments to come.

8. When I see/hear people mistreating service people, children, less intelligent people and animals.

9. When their opinions on the same topics change depending on who they are with.

10. When I catch them lying about something very small with no consequences if they were to tell the truth.

11. "When they are SUPER nice to me, compliment the heck out of me and want to be best friends right away. Immediately makes me suspicious and I put my guard up. I assume they have ulterior motives and are trying to establish a false rapport with me in order to throw me off their scent."

[relationaltherapist]

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.

This highlights the human tendency to embrace comforting illusions while reluctantly accepting uncomfortable realities.

This concept encourages fostering courage, humility, and critical thinking to embrace difficult truths for the benefit of personal growth.

[relationaltherapist]

[relationaltherapist]

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

[relationaltherapist]

A cool story is shared by Pastor Erwin McManus in a TED Talk about his first TED conference in Tanzania. Erwin is an extreme introvert, so his daughter gave him a few sociability tips: don’t hide in a corner, and try not to look too scary.

Erwin took her advice and tried to identify the kindest-looking person to have lunch with. He ended up having a very lengthy and interesting conversation with a woman named Jane, but there was something quirky about the conversation.

Erwin says, “Have you ever met people who are so passionate about something that no matter what you talk about, they’re going to talk about whatever they want to talk about?” No matter what subject they discussed—from human relationships to geopolitical systems in China—Jane always related it back to chimpanzees. After an hour of this, something dawned on Erwin.

He said, “Jane, can I ask you a question? Is your last name Goodall?” Sure enough, Erwin was having lunch with the foremost primatologist in the world, Jane Goodall. And he had no idea for the first hour!

[relationaltherapist]

Heaven is the hidden dimension of our ordinary life, and we have been invited to live from it.

God wants to develop a relationship with you that opens up the very depths of His heart to you. He wants to speak to you and develop your own love language with Him.

John 6:65 says "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." The word "draws" is the same word used to describe the drawing of a net full of fish from the sea. Can you imagine the "pull" on that net? God places a pull on our hearts and that pull often comes in the form of an impression or a knowing.

The invitation from Holy Spirit is to become attentive to the experiences Holy Spirit is actively drawing you into as they are happening.

Am I waking from dreams without pausing to ask if God was in them?

Holy Spirit, open my spiritual senses, just like using a crow bar to open a stuck door or a pop tab on a can of sardines! Teach me to recognize when You are speaking through the quiet knowing, the passing image, the dream I wake from in the night. I don't want to live on the surface of my relationship with You, holding You at a distance or worse, hiding from You! I want to go deeper. Help me become a good listener, not just for church or during devotions or class, but in the ordinary rhythm of my everyday experiences and interactions.

[relationaltherapist]

My blood is the fire of purity that washes every sin away. My mercy is never-ending, and there is nothing my mercy does not cover.

Guilt is a trap of the enemy—a ploy to keep you so focused on yourself and your mistakes that you lose sight of My grace and separate yourself from My presence.

If the Son sets you free from sin, then become a true son and be unquestionably free! Jn 8:36 TPT

[relationaltherapist]

"The Story of the Chinese Farmer" (or "The Maybe Story"). It illustrates the concept that it is impossible to judge whether events are truly good or bad because life is an unfolding narrative.

In the parable, a farmer experiences a series of events that his neighbors label as "good luck" or "bad luck," but the farmer consistently responds with, "Maybe. We’ll see" (or simply "Maybe").

The farmer’s horse runs away. Neighbors say, "What bad luck!" The farmer replies, "Maybe".

The horse returns with a herd of wild horses. Neighbors say, "What good luck!" The farmer replies, "Maybe".

The farmer’s son breaks his leg trying to tame one of the wild horses. Neighbors say, "What bad luck!" The farmer replies, "Maybe".

The army arrives to conscript all young men for war, but the son is spared because of his broken leg. Neighbors say, "What good luck!" The farmer replies, "Maybe".

The famous Taoist parable is often associated with the philosopher Alan Watts and teaches the importance of equanimity—not getting too attached to the highs or lows of life, as we rarely know the full consequences of any single event.