Posts by lriddle80

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

I doubt it!

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

There was a fence!

The therapist helped me, but also my mom and another friend helped me not be a doormat.

I believe prayer/belief/ God helped my husband to listen and he changed his heart and gave me extra courage to know that I wasn't alone in the fight!

14

Finding our true identity after spiritual abuse in the Watchtower

by Faith after Deception in

i personally find that when you’ve been around toxic people long enough, either in a family environment or as part of a cult or a highly controlling church, (or worse, both!

), you tend to get a very twisted view of your own identity and also human nature in general.. in a religious context, you may end up feeling that you are a “lowly worm” and that in general, people can’t be trusted.

since all you’ve known of relationships has been painful, complex and tiresome, it can give you the impression that this is the norm and that’s all you can expect .

lriddle80

I'm not a son of Adam anymore either! I've been born again ;)

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

Ok, my cow story. It's very silly, but so am I!

I had been learning about the role that faith plays in prayer.

I was taking a walk and there was a field of cows (I am in Florida) and I decided to put this to the test (to pray with faith/belief). The cows were far away.

I looked intently at the cows and prayed in my head "see Christ in me and come to me"

Well, they seemed to move closer, but maybe I was seeing things.

I prayed with more belief. Come to me, cows. Come to Christ, your maker.

Then! A cow suddenly runs toward me, back and forth and jumped all around!! What??

I start laughing and really enjoying the moment, not even believing what I was seeing!!

I suddenly remember a recurring dream I have had where animals are jumping all around me and I laugh in my sleep when I have it. (Also, I had a small story about when I was a kid and I would get very excited when seeing cows, so it's just so appropriate!)

Now, later as I start thinking about it, I think maybe the cow was mad or something and I mentioned it to my friend. She says that cows only jump around when they are happy!

It's a silly story, but when I prayed with faith, something happened.

A short time later, I went through tremendous suffering concerning my son. Did my faith hold up? The first few months, it did. Then I suddenly took up watercolors and other art and immersed myself in it and tried to abandon God. But it was really, I was testing God to see if he would lead me back. Then the second wave of suffering came.

I was angry. At God, at my lot in life, everything and I knew all the platitudes. I saw a therapist. And I prayed for my husband and my marriage, I fasted.

And then, one day I prayed and bravely voiced my feelings to my husband and something happened - he listened. What??

For the past 4 or more months, our marriage is stronger than ever! He prays with me, he has conversations about God with me, he is different with our son, we are new. I am new.

I have been praying for God to change my husband's heart and he did it! Through me? I don't deserve it.

The Bible is true. God rewards faith. I proved it over and over. It's not because I am good or particularly more obedient than anyone else. My motives are as selfish as anyone elses. But I believe him. Things happen. And he lets me see.

And I feel like John who says in 21:25

" Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written"

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

I have posted frequently.

Sure, I believe in coincidence.

But...

It's so weird because let's say I pray for something. Then I will almost immediately forget about that prayer because I can really ramble during a prayer session!

Then, something will happen or a string of events will happen (maybe even years later!) and suddenly out of nowhere I remember the prayer (or prayers) that I prayed and I am just so amazed, really.

It just always amazes me that God loves me enough to not only answer my prayers, but that he reminds me of them so that I will see it!

Answers to prayer almost never go how I want or expect, but I always see the beauty in it! It usually comes with suffering. Heartbreak. Tears.

And as I look back, he protected me, he comforts me, carries me, prepares me for things I didn't see coming, he knows just how I am wired so as to lead me away from things or to things. It's spooky!

And it's not just with me. I have seen him work in other people's lives in the same faithful ways. In my husband's life, too!

It's beyond coincidence. I could probably write a book with my stories and stories I have witnessed from other people. If anyone wants to hear some...I have a really silly one that is special to me involving a cow, but I have better ones, too!

14

Finding our true identity after spiritual abuse in the Watchtower

by Faith after Deception in

i personally find that when you’ve been around toxic people long enough, either in a family environment or as part of a cult or a highly controlling church, (or worse, both!

), you tend to get a very twisted view of your own identity and also human nature in general.. in a religious context, you may end up feeling that you are a “lowly worm” and that in general, people can’t be trusted.

since all you’ve known of relationships has been painful, complex and tiresome, it can give you the impression that this is the norm and that’s all you can expect .

lriddle80

I read the flood story again recently. What I got from the story is this:

God is capable of destroying the world. One man found favor with him. That man was obedient to his God and made the ark for anyone who wanted to be saved. Noah's family was saved, but they didn't necessarily find favor with God, only Noah.

It's the same today.

People thought the ark was ridiculous. People think believing in Jesus is ridiculous.

But I see that, like Noah's family, they got in because of Noah. Anyone can get in because of Jesus. We don't have to be good enough or do enough. Jesus was enough.

I read the flood story and the crushing of Jesus and it fills me with hope!

I have dealt with narcissism, as we all have, and when we start putting God in the same category as people, that's when it gets clouded. People who think they are God do a lot of harm because they distort his image.

But God has the right to be God and he is totally just and has total mercy and the more I read about him, see his dealings in my life and compare his love to how humans love, there is no comparison.

With people, it's all about performance, pleasing them, proving yourself over and over... it's so exhausting!! Also, people are so "what have you done for me lately" forgetting all of what you've done and will abandon you at the drop of a hat! People are the absolute worst compared to God!!

And, as far as natural disasters. Jesus talked about a terrorist attack and a time when a building fell on a bunch of people. His response in Like 13 was that these things didn't happen to them because they were more sinful than others, but he said that if people didn't repent, that they would likewise perish.

So, in conclusion, God is God and he is good (which means a perfect balance of Justice and mercy) People are the ones who need to repent.

It's not a popular message.

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

But, when someone takes the stories of the Bible out of context and uses them to control, condemn, or abuse others, it's wrong.

The whole story of the Bible and what we are meant to do with it is to believe in Jesus, and to take the love that he gave us and love others.

Love is not control or abuse and unfortunately there is a lot of this going on. But, this is not the spirit of Christ.

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

Michael Heiser has a book, The Unseen Realm and other talks I have seen that agree that a lot of what that culture and writings and belief are based on astrology. Like the vision that Ezekiel saw with the cherubim and the wheels, the story in Revelation about the woman and the dragon...all about stars. It is very interesting, for sure!

Ancient ideas were that the sun, moon and the stars were a representation of realities beyond...kind of like a metaphor. As I learn more about the natural world, it is easy to see that they are metaphors for greater realities of God. Some religions just worshipped the actual creation instead of seeing the beyond.

There is awe and wonder in creation and seeing the beyond. But, I just happened to be wired in such a way that metaphors, similes, connections, callbacks, parallels fascinate me. So, the Bible happens to satisfy my particular brain, which I am really grateful for.

A relationship with my creator is very personal. I may tell you a story about a time that I prayed and then God showed himself to me through what happened after I prayed. You see no connection because you don't see how poetic and beautiful the answer truly was.

I have a handful of stories that just blow my mind to recount of God's faithfulness! But they wouldn't mean much to you. They mean everything to me.

So, it's tough to talk about belief, faith, the Bible with people who don't have that inner eye that sees beyond.

We all have our strengths, though, and it's fun to wrestle with these things!

35

The biggest mistake.

by Half banana in

a long time ago, before television radio and films, before printing, before the invention of writing, people listened only to the spoken word—and the cry of birds, the wind whistling through the trees and the sea crashing on the sea shore.

before written text they knew about the gods because high up there in the night sky was where they lived; gods, goddesses and immortal heroes.

the constellations told of their exploits.

lriddle80

I love the Bible. I always have, even as a child reading my book of Bible stories. I love the one story aspect, I love all of the parallels and callbacks, the symbolism, the lessons we can learn and how when I read and learn from it, it literally helps me to love others more. Here is a quote that I love from G.D. Watson in his book "Our Own God" about God

"He makes each of our lives to seem the center of a vast system, and makes us see a significance in his dealings with us which no one else can see, so that reading our lives in the light of the Holy ghost is like the biography of some of the patriarchs, and our individual history is so pervaded with it interferences of our heavenly father and it seems like adding another page to the old testament."

16

Who else provides all this spiritual food?

by StephaneLaliberte in

two days ago, i experienced a spiritual epiphany while visiting the library of a catholic university: i was shocked to find thousands of religious literatures produced by the catholics and protestants in the last few hundred years.

someone could easily spend a secluded lifetime trying to read them all.

for years, i was told by my religious leaders (jws) that the catholics and other religions did not provide spiritual food to their members.

lriddle80

For me, "food at the proper time" is when I am praying through a trial or struggling to understand something or seeking answers and I am reading the Bible and it speaks to these things. Or I go to church and the song sung or the message is just what I needed in that moment, or something my husband says that gives me that extra piece I was missing. The source is God, the food can come from anyone he is using to provide it.