FEELINGS … FAMILY
EXODUS 34:6-7
“EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY IS ABOUT REALITY, NOT DENIAL OR ILLUSION. IT IS GOD’S CHOICE TO BIRTH US INTO A PARTICULAR FAMILY, AT A PARTICULAR PLACE, AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT IN HISTORY.”
EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY
FAMILY IS THE MOST POWERFUL GROUP TO WHICH WE WILL EVER BELONG …
THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAMILY OF ORIGIN CAN BE SUMMED UP IN TWO BIBLICAL TRUTHS:
THE BLESSINGS AND SINS OF OUR FAMILIES.
ABRAHAM’S FAMILY: BLESSINGS AND SINS …
GENERATIONAL CURSES, EXODUS 34:6-7
NOT SAYING: GOD WILL PUNISH YOU FOR SOMETHING YOUR PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS DID …
DEUT 24:16;
EZK 19:20
IS SAYING: WHAT HAPPENS IN ONE GENERATION OFTEN REPEATS ITSELF IN THE NEXT OR THE CONSEQUENCES OF ACTIONS AND DECISIONS TAKEN IN ONE GENERATION AFFECT THOSE WHO FOLLOW …
“EACH GENERATIONS FAILURES MAKE THE NEXT GENERATIONS ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY GREW UP EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO BE FAITHFUL TO YAHWEH AND BECAUSE OF THAT IT’S LIKE THE COMPOUNDING INTEREST OF SIN AND DESTRUCTIVE FAMILY HABITS KEEP ACCUMULATING OVER THE GENERATIONS.”
TIM MACKEY
“UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ERASE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF HISTORY. THE FAMILY HISTORY LIVES INSIDE OF ALL OF US, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ATTEMPT TO BURY IT. THE PRICE WE PAY FOR THIS FLIGHT IS HIGH. ONLY THE TRUTH SETS US FREE
EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY
“WHAT IS PASSED IS NOT THE TRAUMA ITSELF, BUT ITS IMPACT … SILENCE IS THE KEY MECHANISM BY WHICH TRAUMA IN ONE GENERATION IS COMMUNICATED TO THE NEXT. WE ARE ACCUSTOMED TO THINK OF SILENCE AS THE ABSENCE OF SOUND, BUT IT FUNCTIONS IN FAMILIES IN MUCH MORE COMPLEX AND CONFUSING WAYS. SILENCE CAN COMMUNICATE A WEALTH OF MEANINGS. IT IS ITS OWN MAP: DON’T GO THERE; DON’T SAY THAT; DON’T TOUCH; TOO MUCH; TOO LITTLE; THIS HURTS; THIS DOESN’T … SILENCE … CO-OCCURS WITH THE NUMBERS OF OTHER PHENOMENA. SHAME, A PAINFUL AFFECT IN WHICH ONE FEELS EXPOSED AS ‘FUNDAMENTALLY DEFICIENT IN SOME VITAL WAS AS A HUMAN BEING’ IS ONE OF THEM.”
KAETHE WEINGARTEN
GOOD NEWS – THE GOSPEL AND GOD’S FAMILY
PRINCIPLE: BECOMING A CHRISTIAN IS TO BE BIRTHED INTO A NEW FAMILY OF JESUS –
MARK 3:31-35
PRINCIPLE: WE CAN ONLY CHANGE WHAT WE ARE AWARE OF;
HOW DID YOUR FAMILY PROCESS ANGER?
HOW DID YOUR FAMILY PROCESS SADNESS/GRIEF
HOW DID YOUR FAMILY HANDLE FINANCES?
POINT: A TRUE WALK WITH GOD IS PUTTING OFF THE SINFUL PATTERNS AND HABITS OF OUR BIOLOGICAL FAMILIES AND BEING TRANSFORMED TO LIVE AS MEMBERS OF CHRIST FAMILY
“OUR STORY IS COMPOSED OF THREE THINGS – EVENTS, EMOTIONS (SURROUNDING THE EVENTS WE EXPERIENCED)
AND INTERPRETATIONS (WHAT WE THINK WE LEARN FROM THE EVENTS AND EMOTIONS OF OUR LIVES). EVENTS AND EMOTIONS DON’T BECOME A STORY WITHOUT AN INTERPRETATION. OUR INTERPRETATION IS THE SCRIPT OF OUR LIVES.”
THE RELATIONAL SOUL
THE JOSEPH RULE, GEN 50:19-21
JOSEPH WENT BACK TO GO FORWARD
JOSEPH HAD A PROFOUND SENSE OF THE BIGNESS OF GOD
GEN 45:8
JOSEPH ADMITTED HONESTLY THE SADNESS AND LOSS OF HIS FAMILY.
GEN 45:1-5
JOSEPH GAVE HIS SONS NAMES THAT REFLECTED HIS PAST PAIN:
MANASSEH, THE HEBREW WORD MEANS, “FORGET”
EPHRAIM, THE HEBREW NAMES MEANS, “FRUITFUL”
APPLICATION: JOSEPH MADE A CHOICE IT IS THE SAME CHOICE WE MAKE EVERYDAY: IS GOD GOOD, CAN GOD BE TRUSTED?
