#spirituallyaware

[eric-sadahire]

I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or not,

but the universe is kind of bullying you into enlightenment.

[chrismkundaliniquotes]

LINKTREE:

https://linktr.ee/kundaliniawakening1

[walkonwater1]

Spiritual abuse can involve being targeted by authority figures and humiliated by a community of people based on the influence of its leaders.

The following is a written story of an incident that caused this Christian to be traumatized at a time when love and understanding was needed most.

I grew up at a Pentecostal Church of God in Christ where my mom was saved since I was a baby. I found out about the Church of God because I used to date someone who was a backslider.

I moved in with him and his family. He would always talk about the Church of God, the scriptures, and some of the standards every day for years. After we broke up and hearing about the truth, I did not want to go back to the Pentecostal church. I saw my mom yelling at the children in the home while speaking in tongues.  I attended a Baptist megachurch for a while. I didn’t feel comfortable there at all. I decided to give Church of God a try. The 1st Sunday I visited I wanted to get saved, but during altar call, it seemed as though my feet was glued to the floor. I returned the following Sunday and got saved.

At the time, I lived with my mom who was raising 4 of my nieces and nephews. Through the process of time and different events, I ended up taking in the children of my relatives.

One time we were living in a hotel. I went to a Women’s retreat and left the younger children in the older ones care. I received a call telling me that the youngest boy was screaming. He had medical problems. He would often do things to get his way. I was crying because I thought we were going to be put out of the hotel. The Pastor’s wife was there, and she told me to get rid of the children. I thought that was strange advice. It was hard for me to enjoy the service. That was my family. I love my family.  I would not have been able to live with myself if I would not have stepped in and been there for those children who had no one else to care for them. I was all they had.

  After this, I noticed that another sister was trying to say that I kept going through periods of homelessness and moving around a lot because I disobeyed the ministry by taking care of the children. Then, another sister said the same thing. I was told  that some saints felt like I should not have taken care of the children.

What would they have done if it was their family?

Before the incident at the retreat, no minister was telling me not to take the children. One minister told me to consider and to pray about it. Another gave me tips and even helped my family and me through the years.

After seeing how I was treated about taking care of the children, I started to become uncomfortable.

After an injury, my church attendance really slowed down because of transportation issues and illness. I then decided to transition from a relaxer to my natural hair. During the transition period, my hair was tough to manage. I wore a wig for a while. Then I wore a weave and braids. Though I did not feel convicted about any hairstyle, I didn’t want to come to church with the extensions after being saved over 10 years there. It was not allowed.

I heard about an incident with one of the Elders, and that broke my heart. One sister told me not to contact them because they can make me backslide because of the knowledge they had. Then two other sisters called and told me there were issues amongst the leadership, and they left. One of them knew what was going on and one didn’t. She advised that I call Elder X to ask. I didn’t feel impressed to do that. I somehow thought I would be disobeying the ministry. Another sister told my family and me that her personal business that she only shared with the ministry was being spread around. That was enough for me to step back for a while. I decided to stay at home.

Looking back, like others, I still have the mindset that there is no other place in the Chicagoland area that teaches the truth. Like you, I was proud to part of that organization, but I found myself looking down on other churches and making comments about backsliders.

I saw first hand the treatment of those that chose not to attend. I would get dirty looks and nasty comments whenever I visited, attended funerals or a fellowship meeting. They were friendlier the last time I visited and had my niece with me. One sister said in a nasty way that she was not talking to me. I told her I love her too.

I do appreciate everything I have learned there and the teachings on the bible. I met wonderful people of God there that I miss. They showed me much love and support through everything I been through.

A person can agree with the doctrines of a church and still realize it’s not the right place to be.  It doesn’t take much to turn a good experience into a bad one.

No one criticized this individual for taking care of their relatives until after the Pastor’s wife expressed her opinion about their troubles. Then her opinion became the law in that community, and later, others started to share that view because it came from an authority figure.   How so many came up with the same assessment about her situation is a mystery (well maybe not so much).

Thank God someone did step up and help them for a few months but to have your leadership start a chain of thinking about you as being disobedient in such a small community (i.e.your children are your problem, God is punishing you for disobedience to the ministry in not giving them away) is devastating.

Let’s get this straight. No one has to be “obedient” to someone else’s opinion about their situation no matter what their title.

The problem in these systems is that leaders tend to think they have such a special connection with God that their personal views are put on the same level as the Bible. I know of countless instances of Pastor’s and their wives making huge issues out of things for which there was no biblical directive at all.

This person was down but their lack of attendance began to seal their reputation as an unfaithful member of church.  Any practice that isolates and labels people while protecting the leaders falls under the heading of religious abuse. Using the community to isolate is a common practice in toxic systems.   In this Church of God group, anything that hinders your regular participation in their church services is considered a problem: children, jobs, school, health issues and other things that are vital to your life and part of life’s responsibilities.

Having lived in this group for over 30 years I know that it was common for people to turn down job offers or change careers that interfered with church service attendance or drag themselves to church sick or not participate in family events because those events fell on the night of a church service. If you had to miss a service a phone call to the Pastor or the ministers was necessary, or you must “give account” of yourself to the church.  Somebody had to know where you were!

 I’ll deal with the biblical issues surrounding this in another post.

Next time: I’ll share an audio interview I did a few years ago with a survivor of a horrible situation in our denomination.

  Story 1 – Get Rid of The Children Spiritual abuse can involve being targeted by authority figures and humiliated by a community of people based on the influence of its leaders.

[gypsygalaxy]

[sacredscorps]

Thought of the day! 🧠

It all depends on whether the person is on the same vibration as you! ❤

#thoughtprocess

#thoughtoftheday💭 #vibration #frequency #awareness #spirituallyaware #subconscious #conscious #trueself #selfawareness #trueself #vibrationalenergy #higherconsciousness #lowvibration #intuition #highvibration #beyourself #truetoself #beopen #internalwork #externalinfluences

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_tpPuFRiO/?igshid=1k5l9zgzi1qig

[ironeaglemike]

Repost from @soulmatestwinflames using @RepostRegramApp - An empowered woman claims her physical body as her own and regards herself as a temple, a vessel of divine light. ~Shikoba . #empoweredwoman #empoweringwomen #sprituality #spiritualawakening #spiritualquotes #spiritualityquotes #spiritualityquote #sarahandsophia #soulmatestwinflames #womenempowerment #womanempowerment #womanquotes #womanquote #womensempowerment #empoweringquotes #empoweringwomennow #empowermentforwoman #spirituality #spiritualawareness #spiritualjourney #spiritually #spirituallyaware #spirituallyfit #spirituallyawake #empowerment #empowermentforwomen #womanempoweringwoman #mondaymood . . www.relationshipsreality.com https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnto5X1FYtJ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14m187ttgfw5d

[halifaxnoise]

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[capice2003]

Just some food for thought! I don't have time for any drama about others and their affairs. Im too focused on competing with myself. You should too! #Levels #LifeIsMagical #TheGreatBuilders #Inspired #SelfActualization #PRoducerLife #MusicExecutiveMotives #Ambition #PositiveVibesOnly #1111 #SonicBoominOnEm #IdeasToReality #Mastermind #Focused #WorldClassLifestyle #SpirituallyAware #Lightworkers

[walkonwater1]

Hello everyone! Happy Independence day.  I’ve been super busy with new things going on in my life.  I’ve got a new speaking engagement coming up, and me and my husband have started a relationship coaching business.  I’ll also do spiritual/life coaching.  I’m working on an online bible study based on my book too.  Man, I’ve got lots of work to do, not to mention a new grandbaby, helping my daughter and my two sons. One gone off to college and the other starting his junior year in high school and on two sports teams.   Only one is out of the house but the others are starting their independent lives and mom’s got to be there.

Hubby and I  did a photo shoot and things are looking up for us

  But half of the time I look like this…

But it’s ok.  God is doing new and wonderful things in our lives.

But the subject today is man-made religion.   Here’s my thought.

I venture to say that most people if given a choice between church traditions and the Bible will choose church customs every time. This is because I believe people are more comfortable doing what the next man does over belief in something they cannot see.  People prefer stability, and if someone telling what to do in all areas of their life, this often represents security for them.  Often people come to God ready to love Him fully and obey whatever He tells them.  This can be by scripture or just in their intuitive relationship with the Spirit of God.  However, when they join a church (it doesn’t matter the belief persuasion) they run into the wall of church tradition.  Very rarely do we find a church that allows people to just obey God as he speaks to them.  In some way, they will they have to conform to a set of rules that some person has created.

This is why I often speak spiritual awareness.  Each of us came from God Almighty.  All of us were born bent toward sin and sinful ways.  Christ provided the way back to God by paying the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, forgiving us and removing any barriers to God through His Atonement.  So why do we feel that unless we are tethered to a church building, we are missing out on a relationship with God?

Don’t get me wrong, I believe, strongly that church community is important.  It offers us an opportunity to gather with other like-minded people who follow Christ.  It gives a sense of belonging to those that follow the bible and it’s a time we can assemble with other Christians and worship and tell what God has done in our lives and share about his goodness.  This is all very fulfilling and necessary for spiritual growth.  We edify one another and certainly how can we do this at home or alone.

And yet, when God’s people come together, Satan often joins in as well.   More often than not, Christian gatherings can become a place where good followers of Christ can get sidetracked from God’s goals for their lives.  Good people will fall into the trap of “you must do it THIS way” to be a good Christian.  And the end result is that we begin to follow man more than God.  We find ourselves being more concerned with what people think of us more than God’s view of us.  More concerned with being called a good brother or sister according to the dictates of a dogma, than being called God’s dear child.

So this Independence Day.  Let’s declare of our freedom from man-dominated worship and vow to get in REAL connection with God himself.

As a minister, I’ve seen a repeated decline in spirituality from people that live their spiritual lives dependent on other people’s approval.  Spirituality requires independence.  Jesus plainly told the disciples, that they would have individual responsibilities to Him in their walk with God.   Responsibilities others around them in their Christian community would not understand.  But how many of us have the courage and confidence to move forward?   We see this in the last chapter of John, when Peter after receiving instruction that he should simply “Follow me”, turned and ask Jesus what would another disciple (John) do?

22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

This is where we have our struggles!  And sure enough, shortly after that, the disciples started a rumor that John would not die.  This was not what Jesus said, but people start rumors in church all the time don’t they?  They know half of a story and fill in the rest with speculation—that’s just how folks are. Our walk with God is as individual as our fingerprints, so make a commitment to follow JUST JESUS and live as JUST A CHILD OF GOD without –isms and –tarians and –ologies and simply Follow Him!

Enjoy the fireworks!

    Independence From Man-Made Religion Hello everyone! Happy Independence day.  I've been super busy with new things going on in my life. 

[gypsygalaxy]

[biailiao]

#todaywasagoodday 🙃💖 #normal #whatisnormal #ichoosehappiness #postivevibes #abetterlife 💯🤘🏾❤️💫 #blackgirlmagic #lawofattraction #iiwii #melaninpoppin #spirituallyawake #spirituallyaware #💫 (at Planet Earth)

[walkonwater1]

The Lightbulb

  “Insight is not a lightbulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out.”

― Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

When it comes to true religion, the right concept is always in the back our brains, yet the principle can quickly be snuffed out by our surroundings. The Bible defines true religion as being free from the world…

[gypsygalaxy]

Having a reflective Sunday morning.

[walkonwater1]

Our Actions Reveal Our Character

Our Actions Reveal Our Character

“The real me isn’t the person I describe, no the real me is me revealed by my actions.”

― Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Assessing the Problem

How many times in relationships and life have we ignored people’s actions and tried to ascribe to them a better attribute than they deserve? Maybe they’re busy, perhaps they didn’t really mean what they said, or I know…