The redundant invitation.

When will Christians stop with the redundant invitation?
When will there be an awareness of how arrogant it is?
Would you consider going to your neighbors house, greeting them as you enter and then proceed to invite them to join you?
Well, that would be rude, wouldn't it?

Why is the same invitation made at church every Sunday?

"Father, we invite you to join us here today."  ....in Your house....that You gave us....on the planet You created.....and told us many times over how You are always with us.....Omnipresent God that You are....yeah, never mind....um.....ahem...can I join You?

God has no need for our arrogant invitations.  He's been waiting for our RSVP.

Christianise is a messed up language.  Its full of misdirecting phrases and stuff man made up.  What bothers me the most is that these phrases plant seeds in the minds of people....seeds of a false image of God.  I don't believe they are intended.....I think they are little phrases spoken ages ago that just somehow became accepted without being questioned.

Like the woman who cut off the ends of her pot roast.  (Tell me you haven't heard this story somewhere before....) Her daughter asks her mom why she cuts the ends off her pot roast....it seems a waste of meat.  The mom says "My mother always did it....so I do too."  The daughter asks why grandma did it.  The mom can't come up with an answer so she calls to ask and the answer is surprising.   "Well, my oven and my pan were small so I cut the ends off so it would fit."  

How often do we just accept things as truth, as necessary, without examination?

Where on earth did this theory come from that says we should invite God into our presence?  Why do people not see the arrogance of that?

I'll add another phrase "Give us more of you God....Send more of your Holy Spirit."

That one makes me bite my lip to keep from uttering "Do you really think God phones it in?  Is He really just kinda half-assing His presence right now?"

"God showed up."  Another face palm moment.  

God is all knowing, all powerful and fully present....everywhere, every time and at the same time.  God does not give of Himself in partiality.  He doesn't say "Well you folks don't raise your hands enough so I'm not going to bother hanging out too long."   No.  He only gives with the fullness of Himself.

WE, the ignorant, arrogant people of this planet are the ones who need to give of ourselves.  WE need to accept HIS invitation.  WE need to SHOW UP.  He is already there....has been since before time began.  This is His creation and we cannot, do not have the ability to stop Him from being right there with us...we are breathing His very breath.

When I hear people use these phrases I hear a message being taught....seeds being planted....that God has limitations.  That God is a God who can be blocked, that He is small enough that He needs our meager invitation.  That He is a God who chooses where to be present and how present to be....a God that is contrary to the God of grace.

It is we who show up in body but not in mind or heart.  Which is exactly what He asks for.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Matthew 22:37 

When will we stop asking Him to do all the work and take responsibility for our part? He showed up before we did and He's waiting for us to show up.  God is fully present here in every molecule in and around us, waiting for us to be fully present and aware of Him.  God has no need for our invitation, He wants our RSVP.

Say yes.

Blessings for new awareness of the fullness of His presence, the expanse of His power and love and grace and for the courage to jump in with both feet.....because you know that He will catch you.  He never misses.

the Mrs.

Unlocked

There is something funny about silence.  You don't just listen, you hear more.
In a room you hear the rhythmic ticking of a clock passing time.....electronics running through cycles of reving up and cooling down....the sigh of a dog as it fully relaxes into sleep....the gurgling of my stomach.  Not necessarily the beautiful song of birds but hey...it's winter here in the tundra and we've been stuck in sub-zero temps for several days.  

In conversations you start to hear tones differently.  The emotions behind them come through more clearly. Often....maybe more often than people like....I notice that people are not aware that their tone speaks an entirely different language than their words.  A pleasant exchange about coffee or some trivial thing, for instance can reveal a tone that is speaking about being exhausted, frustrated and needing a break.  But in the context of the words....just sounds angry.

Then, there is phrasing.  The one that currently jumps out at me with flashing lights and fireworks "I am".  People have locked themselves into being stuck.  "I am not a good listener." "I am not good at asking questions."  "I am not organized." "I am not a runner." "I am afraid..."  "I am a jerk, prideful, arrogant, weak, easily manipulated, a failure, a doormat, hard to love, selfish, shy, insecure, damaged...."     In there, the message is "I can't and I won't try to change."  Perhaps it's more of a being scared to try to change, or being too lazy to put the effort forth or maybe just maybe.....it's a lie that got in there somehow, someway and it was believed.  Claimed as their own and there it sits in the illusion of truth.

The real truth is that the only thing you can't change is the past.  So when I catch myself saying things like "I am not good at asking questions."  I change my phrasing..."I haven't been good at asking questions, I'd like to change that."  I am what I choose to be.  I choose to grow and change and improve.  I choose to listen to my own language and when I catch myself claiming something as if it cannot be changed...I change that "I am" to reflect "In the past I haven't been known to be ________."   Because it's in the past.  It doesn't have to be who I am right now or in the future.

Every second is a new opportunity to choose differently.

Blessings for broken locks, wise choices and freedom to move forward into a new perspective.
the Mrs.