J. Philippe, author of Interior Freedom, tells us, "What often blocks the action of God’s grace in our lives is less our sins or failings, than it is our failure to accept our own weakness—all those rejections, conscious or not, of what we really are or of our real situation. To 'set grace free' in our lives, and paving the way for deep and spectacular changes, it sometimes would be enough to say simply 'yes'—a 'yes' inspired by trust in God to aspects of our lives we’ve been rejecting."
"We refuse to admit that we have this defect, that weak point, were marked by this event, fell into that sin. And so we block the Holy Spirit’s action, since he can only affect our reality to the extent we accept it ourselves. The Holy Spirit never acts unless we freely cooperate. We must accept ourselves just as we are, if the Holy Spirit is to change us for the better."
Why Does My New Life Look So Much Like My Old Life?
March 26, 2017
March 26, 2017 • David Hammerslag
Spinning Plates
June 11, 2017 • David Hammerslag
Our lives can become a frantic rushing from spinning plate to spinning plate. We give each enough attention to prevent a disastrous crash, then we rush off to the next plate that is in danger of falling. We make our lives more and more frantic, hoping that with this one last plate spinning in its place, we’ll be happy and satisfied. Do you ever feel like a plate spinner? We think if we can just manage to keep all the plates spinning -- make sure none of them come crashing down -- then we will be happy and contented. Yet, even when we do manage it, usually for only a very short while, we end up feeling exhausted and unfulfilled. Soon some of the plates will start to slow down and wobble, demanding our attention again. The plates become our masters. We become imprisoned by the need to keep the plates spinning. They command our attention. There's a better way. And Jesus shows it to us.
Hope and Dreams
May 7, 2017 • Graeme Sellers
What happens in a time of drought is that as hope declines, dreams contract. They get smaller and smaller and smaller until we only allow ourselves to dream things we believe are doable But when hope takes up residence in us, then hope is a dream factory. Hope is coming upon us, hope that fuels transformation and releases dreams. Even in a time of drought, Father is inviting us to dream again!
