Would you say that you have transparent relationships?
Transparent – easy to see through, understand, or recognize; without concealment; open; frank; candid
Transparency is letting your guard completely down, humbling yourself and getting honest with others, yourself and most importantly, God.
Worship is more than music but music has the ability to inspire your mood, attitude and shift your focus. Worship is turning your undivided attention to the subject of your desire.
Whatever has our hearts, has our worship. And we become what we worship. Someone with an alcohol problem worships alcohol and then becomes an alcoholic. Someone that commits adultery, worships his infidelity, then becomes an adulterer. When we worship God and make Him the subject of our desire, we become more like Him.
With new seasons coming and going, depending on where you live, summer represents a time of celebration and praise; autumn or fall represents harvest season as well as letting go of old things; winter represents stillness and purification, washing away the old and spring represents a new beginning. Spring is a great time to purge, clean and organize. After a time of short daylight, the sun rises and shines on all that is dark and needs to be dusted, organized and prioritized.
Springtime is a great time to prepare for Resurrection Sunday, preparing our environment and heart for the Lord. The physical is just a manifestation of the spiritual as what is going on in the inside, will always make its way to the outside.
Here are a few ways that you can create an environment and heart of worship.
There was a study done by a scientist named Masaru Emoto called “The Rice Experiment.” He placed rice in three separate jars and labeled one with “praise,” one with “criticism” and one with neglect. Each day he would praise the jar labeled “praise,” criticize the jar labeled “criticism” and ignore the one labeled “neglect.” He found after about 21 days that the “praise” jar thrived and became white and fluffy. The second jar labeled “criticism” became green and moldy and the last jar became black. This was evidence that our words have power. But it also showed that the opposite of love
If our words have that much power over rice, imagine how it impacts our children, loved ones and our own hearts. Praise is the first jar. Speak life.
When we create an environment of worship, our attention is focused on God and we begin to think, believe and feel like Him. What used to make no sense, will begin to make sense and what was important becomes no longer important. We will then be prepared to be used by Him and for Him.
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One of the most beautiful trees of God’s creation that I have ever seen is The Weeping Willow. It looks so serene, peaceful and wise but it also has a haunting glow of sorrow. It reminds me of many elderly women that I cared for when I worked in nursing homes years ago.
They have been through The Great Depression, The Civil Rights Movement and sent their husbands, brothers
They have witnessed and survived tragedy but through their journey, they have grown solid roots that sprout trunks and branches that sprout beautiful and
Today, many women use the term “strong” so loosely. But we women of today are just apple trees compared to these weeping willows. Yes, we have all had our share of trials and tribulations but we are still growing in wisdom, knowledge
These willows have been through the worst of times, yet survived and through their trials, they maintained eloquence, class and an attitude of gratitude, never whining and never complaining. They taught us that in the midst of their storm, fall to your
When they spoke, their words poured out wise instruction, encouragement and fair warning.
They despised lies, gossip, back-biting and foul language because they understood that life and death were in the power of the tongue and if you didn’t tame it, you got a switch to your back-side and a bar of soap in your mouth. You sat down at the dinner table saying your grace, and asking to be excused before you got up. School was a privilege not a burden and work came before fun.
They are the anchors in our lives, a glimpse of the flickering star of hope that we still have a chance to get it right by modeling them in their fight for faith, hope and the restoration of the family unit. They are the true definition of strength.
Let us not forget
“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” Ecclesiastes 1:18
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I remember when I made the decision to end a toxic relationship. It was just weeks before the wedding. I was also in the midst of a new and growing relationship with God. I was an emotional wreck, riding on a rollercoaster of emotions. One minute I felt liberated, like I was set free from bondage. The next, I felt afraid and vulnerable, like I just jumped out of a boat into the ocean with no life-jacket. I decided that I would try new ways to channel my energy. I started a fitness bootcamp, took tennis lessons, bought books on faith and healing and my friend and I decided we would start taking classes on salsa dancing.
We started classes every Monday after work. The dance studio was downtown Indianapolis and sat right above a Mexican restaurant. We would go to dance class and then after, would head downstairs to have dinner. When other people were dreading Mondays, we would look forward to them. What I didn’t expect is the breakthrough that I would experience in my spiritual walk during my classes.
In partner dancing, we began learning twists, turns
“Latin dancing is like a beautiful painting. The woman is the picture and the man is the frame. His support highlights and enhances her beauty.”
I realized at that point that my dancing style was a physical manifestation of my core issues in relationships. I was always trying to lead and as a result, I attracted men who were followers.
As the classes progressed, I learned more and more about trust, submission and letting go of the need to be in control. I was also recognizing when others had trouble with their role. We switched dance partners several times each class and I often had a partner that had an issue with leading as much as I had an issue with following. They would wait on me to lead instead of taking the lead. When I would switch my partner to a man that was strong in leading, I would let out a sigh with relief because my role was much easier when I had a stronger partner. What a concept.
Marriage and relationships are much like a dance. Dancing without assuming your role makes the entire performance sloppy and fall apart. It interrupts the harmony, balance and cohesion of the pair. But when you dance in unison, it is like the melody of a bird’s song after being released from a cage.
As a result of these classes, the lessons that I learned poured over to other areas in my life. I started recognizing when I was attempting to revert back to the “control freak” and also recognized a lack of leadership in others. God is always speaking to us and through us. Understanding that we were made in His image, it makes sense that we become more like Him when we receive and absorb His wisdom through beautiful gifts such as art, dance, music and writing.
Please take a listen to this beautiful song about following the leadership of Christ and letting go of the need to fight against it by Steffany Gretzinger, called “We Dance”
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
“Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” 1 Corinthians 11:11
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