Sunday 28 February 2010

here's what you have been waiting for?? :)

Its not much but it is back in the saddle....

Chatting to a friend yesterday, who was questioning life, we discovered the following flow...

- What we do affects our lives - our health, our liberty/ freedom, our fulfillment, successes etc

- Our choices/decisions either strengthen or weaken us

-Our attitudes and values determine how we behave and what choices are open to us

- Ultimately our identity (who we believe we are) determines what we choose...

Identity is such a major factor in our lives yet a lot of the time it is subconscious.
We may identify with a brand or a particular band and some of these go hand in hand. We may identify with someone with particular hair, what they wear, what they care about, who they are with or where they hang out. This often gives value or meaning to us.

You may have heard the term 'identify with Christ'. Now i am not one for Jargon or religious language and at times i hear phrases like this or 'may the blood of the lamb be with you' and it means nothing. But for me this whole thing of 'identifying with Christ' has taken on huge meaning in the last 2 years.
I had dreadlocks up until about then and for years felt kinda trapped with this hairstyle, i liked it, but didn't feel i could change it. But as i started to asses my values, to look at who i really was i discovered some new stuff.
To identify with Christ (Jesus, the carpenter from Israel) is odd, but absolutely amazing. What it means is not only that i associate myself with him and what he did, but also take my identity from him. As i have stripped away some of the superficial and fearful things in my life i have begun to find freedom in who i really am. Believing i am created and Loved by a living God.
In practice this means i wear a badge of sorts, i am branded. This doesn't always show on the outside, but it means i am secure in what i am about, why i am here and what i am here for.

i don't suppose many of you will get this totally but... i was a 'Christian' who was supposed to believe this stuff for 14 years before i have really started to get this and i still have a journey to go on.
To identify means to be close to, kind of spend time with or at least have a connection that is pretty constant.
I guess for me also Trust is a huge thing. i have to understand those i identify with, trust their value.

Identity is important to me because it determines where i go next, what i do, if i chose to listen to the values that go with this.

Identifying with something or someone we cant see is scary at times. What if i have it wrong??... Fear is a powerful driver... but i am excited about the mystery, enchanted by the hugeness of the creator and the loving way He interacts with me.


i feel at peace...hope you can find peace in who you are ( i believe you are a loved creation)...

Thursday 11 February 2010

Freshness

Watch This Space.... Freshness coming soon.....