Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Series

Yesterday I started a new sermon series at Denair Friends Church. We will be taking the next couple of months to explore Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. This is not original to me. Pastor Pete Scazzero implemented the ideas at New Life Fellowship Church in Elmhurst (Queens), New York and he wrote two books on the subject, The Emotionally Healthy Church and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

Emtionally Healthy Spirituality explore the areas of Emotional Health and Contemplative Spirituality. We cannot be spiritually mature unless we are emotionally healthy. Once we are emotionally healthy we can look at spiritual practices that will help us both relate to God and to others in a more meaningful way.

Emotional Health is concerned with:

• naming, recognizing, and managing our own feelings
• identifying with and having active compassion for others
• initiating and maintaining close and meaningful relationships
• breaking free from self-destructive patterns
• being aware of how our past impacts our present
• developing the capacity to express our thoughts and feelings clearly, both verbally and nonverbally
• respecting and loving others without having to change them
• asking for what we need, want, or prefer clearly, directly, and respectfully
• accurately self-assessing our strengths, limits, and weaknesses and freely sharing them with others
• learning the capacity to resolve conflict maturely and negoti­ate solutions that consider the perspectives of others
• distinguishing and appropriately expressing our sexuality and sensuality
• grieving well

Contemplative Spirituality (or simply being with God) focuses on classic Christian practices and concerns such as:

• awakening and surrendering to God's love in any and every situation
• positioning ourselves to hear God and remember his pres­ence in all we do
• communing with God, allowing him to fully indwell the depth of our being
• practicing silence, solitude, and a life of unceasing prayer
• resting attentively in the presence of God
• understanding our earthly life as a journey of transformation toward ever-increasing union with God
• finding the true essence of who we are in God
• loving others out of a life of love for God
• developing a balanced, harmonious rhythm of life that enables us to be aware of the sacred in all of life
• adapting historic practices of spirituality that are applicable today
• living in committed community that passionately loves Jesus above all else

Yesterday we looked at The Problem of Emotionally Unhealthy Spirituality.

Here is a video explanation of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality:



Great articles and resources can be seen here.

Kasey's Blogging Again

Kasey Fisher is blogging again. She re-named her blog "Genuine". I hope she continues her blog when she starts college. It will be interesting and inspiring.


Read it here.

Are You A Geek?

I thought I was somewhat of a Geek, but may not be according to Wired.com. They list 100 Essential Skills for Geeks. Here are the first 20:

1. Properly secure a wireless router.
2. Crack the WEP key on a wireless router.
3. Leech Wifi from your neighbor.
4. Screw with Wifi leeches.
5. Setup and use a VPN.
6. Work from home or a coffee shop as effectively as you do at the office.
7. Wire your own home with Ethernet cable.
8. Turn a web camera into security camera.
9. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point.
10. Understand what “There’s no Place Like 127.0.0.1″ means.
11. Identify key-loggers.
12. Properly connect a TV, Tivo, XBox, Wii, and Apple TV so they all work together with the one remote.
13. Program a universal remote.
14. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone.
15. Benchmark Your Computer
16. Identify all computer components on sight.
17. Know which parts to order from NewEgg.com, and how to assemble them into a working PC.
18. Troubleshoot any computer/gadget problem, over the phone.
19. Use any piece of technology intuitively, without instruction or prior knowledge.
20. How to irrecoverably protect data.

See them all here.

President Obama Found a Church

In case you hadn't heard, the Obama family have made a decision on which church they will attend in the DC area. They will be attending Evergreen Chapel, a non denominational church which meets at Camp David in Maryland. The Pastor is a Navy Chaplain, Lt. Carey Cash, the great-nephew of Johnny Cash who is a Southern Baptist. George Bush and his family also attended this church while in office. Good choice - his worship will stay out of the limelight.

Read more about it.

Iraq

Just got an email this morning from my son, Senior Airman Bryant Friend. He is on his way to Iraq for a 6 month tour. Our prayers are with you Bry and with Ying waiting your safe return.

Mission Seminar This Saturday

This Saturday we are sponsoring this Seminar at Denair Friends Church. Everyone is welcome. If you have any questions, you can call the church (209) 632-2000.

A group of 7 people from Northern CA Friends churches are going to Cambodia from August 3-17. This will serve as one of our pre-trip training meetings. Her is a picture of the group.












Tim (me), Clint, Andy, Adam, Alison, Nick and Kacey.

Brad Boydston

Brad Boydston, former Pastor of Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock has finished his 3-year assignment at the Pacific Islands Bible College (PBIC). He will be living in the Phoenix area for a time until he moves on to his next ministry venue. Brad produces one of the few blogs I read every day.

First Swine Flu Death in CA

The first Swine Flu death in California occurred in Contra Costa County. A 9-year-old girl from Concord died on May 29. Since she also had developed a secondary bacterial infection tests were not conclusive that she died solely due to Swine Flu.

My wife, Pat retired from Contra Costa Public Health Department. If she were still there she would have been helping coordinate the Press and answering the many phone calls from the media and the public.

Read about it here.

Read updated information from the Health Department about Swine Flu.

Cambodian "Day of Anger"

On May 20 over 1,000 Cambodians gathered at one of the Khmer Rouge's notorious killing fields to observe an annual "Day of Anger" and remember the almost 2 million people killed during the regime's 1975-79 rule. A crowd of government officials, Buddhist monks, survivors of the regime and victims' families watched high school students re-enact scenes of torture and execution at the Choeng Ek killing fields, where up to 15,000 men, women and children were murdered and buried in mass graves.

Watch a video here.

Cohabitation

If you are thinking about living together before marriage, you might want to read a new book, LIVING TOGETHER: MYTHS, RISKS & ANSWERS.

I like to try everything out before I buy or make a decision about it. According to this book and other studies this is not a good idea in regard to marriage. It is counter intuitive - living together before marriage actually increases your chances of divorce!

FACTS ABOUT COHABITATION

• Nearly 6 million couples are currently cohabiting.
• Cohabitation has increased 10 fold since 1970 when only 500,000 couples cohabited.
• 60-75% of couples in their first marriages are cohabiting and 80-85% in remarriages cohabit before their wedding.
• Most studies clearly find that cohabitation before marriages decreases marital satisfaction and increases divorce rate.
• There is a 50% increase in the divorce rate if a couple cohabits before marriage.
• About half (55%) of cohabiting couples get married within 5 years of living together, 40% breakup and 10% stay together without getting married.
• About 40% of cohabiting women have children with their partner, many of which are unplanned pregnancies.
• It is predicted that 40% of all children will at some point live in a cohabiting household.
• Almost two-thirds of teenagers believe (66% boys; 60% girls) that it is a good idea to live together before marriage.

Read more here.