|
|
The Fight For Life Virtual Class Forum
| |
Leslie
|
08/12/2011 07:09 |
Thanks Tom for starting this weeks discussion. I wouldn't have shared...
|
| |
Tom B
|
08/12/2011 09:16 |
Thanks Leslie.
|
| |
Servant-Ken
|
08/14/2011 12:28 |
Leslie,
At week one you said something like "Fight Ken, I know you have it in you". Since then I have tried to figure out what you meant by that, and I think you were lead by the spirit to say it.I am still learning what it means.
I think you and I fight with similar things, yet they seem very different. Like you, my wife didn't leave my kids emotionally, she left me. I wonder how much I have harmed my family for not pushing the point or moving out. I have been told by many people how I have probably undermined the view of husbands to my daughters.
Leslie, I have studied men and women who do this to their family. I hope you don't make agreements that you are less because of what he did. I am not sure it would have mattered who his wife was, he would have done the same thing and made excuses and justifications for his actions.
I think John Eldredge is right by suggesting the letter is a good starting point when we have made so many mistakes and our children are older. But I think this is good also in your case when a spouse has abandoned the household and sluffed off responsibilities. You are wonderful, and I admire your strength. But, as John also pointed out, our fight is a continuous one and it will not be easy.
My youngest leaves for college next week. I intend to write that latter and ask for forgiveness for everything I messed up.
|
| |
natjlee
|
08/14/2011 13:13 |
I really was moved by the whole series but week 5 really brought it home for me. Since the conversation was between men would the approach be different for women? Currently, I am in a blended family so I know there is some hurt and I am glad to have some guidance on how to move forward for restoration and healing. Is there any suggestions for women who are currently the spiritual lead in their home and married?
|
| |
Servant-Ken
|
08/14/2011 21:23 |
Natjlee,
I hope someone who took part in a Captivating Retreat can add something.
|
| |
Christine Luketic
|
08/15/2011 08:37 |
I am listening to week 5 now. It is very frustrating to me. Everything is based on what the dad gives the children. Gender Identity is given by the Dad. My husband and my children's father died almost ten years ago. My father died the year before that. There is no dad in their life. My daughter was 8 my son was 4. The male influences in their life I have tried to pull in from our community at church, but with a pre-teen age to now teen age daughter that has been almost impossible, while with my son that has been easier. The fight for life has lots of good things here but it is now breaking my heart because it is basically focused on what men do each week and what marriage does and there is only left for me to once again extract my place my peace and my learning which is what I have to do in each formal church instruction I partake in.
|
| |
Ray
|
08/15/2011 11:59 |
Christine,
I can't speak with authority on your situation, but I do think I get the picture in general, you feel like your family does not fit into the mold presented in TFFL and other Christian teachings. Most of us don't have white picked fences, but this does seem like a failing of the way we communicate. Can you be specific or give an example of what is frustrating?
I would encourage you to look at the series from a "fifty-thousand feet" view rather than a set of rules about behavior and what constitutes a normal family. Essentially, we are all ducks out of water. We are in a war and don't live like we are. We all bring our own messes to the table. I'm not saying you are a mess, but rather as the teaching says, we have an enemy and that explains a good bit of how we got where we are. Remember what John said, if it's just God and you in the world, then God has to take the blame for our messy situation. The enemy is real happy if that's our view of things.
The point of the series is to get our attention off what was and on what is.
Remember I made a pass at a summary a few days back. Nobody here responded, but your post here brings me back to it:
John 10:10 - we live in a world at war (sessions 1&2)
the minor theme - we are not the center of the universe (session 3)
the major theme - we can stand with Jesus (session 4)
To this I'd add that week 5 is a specific application, an important application to many, of the previous lessons. It might seem like week 5 does not to people without children, but ideally (50K feet), it does. Even if we don't have children living in our home, we could have children in our lives if we reached out to children. There are tons of ways to do this aside from giving birth, and believe me, there are kids in need all over the world. Also, we are all children of somebody and looking at our own parents might be an important task for our own good. John gets at that a little with regard to his own father. But again, the week 5 content is just an example of how we can walk with God daily. I think it was a very powerful example. The content could just have easily been set in a foster home or big-brother/sister relationship.
The major theme of our lives, the fifty-thousand feet view, is we get to walk, moment by moment, with the one who provides freedom from our past injury. He also promises to be with us always in future conflicts, BUT, BUT, BUT, for some reason, we have to fight for that. I suppose that might be because there is benefit to us if we will stand up and fight to walk with Him. The process has something in itself. He won't do that part because that's not how the world works.
John 5:8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
Jesus didn't say, "Here, let me pick up your mat for you."
|
| |
Ray
|
08/15/2011 12:38 |
Resist, rise up: James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8-9, not by striving, but walking in the authority of Christ. I love the way John speaks about the woman as savior, using the same word as the description of God, `ezer the masculine noun (Week 1 at 32:05):
Gen 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Deu 33:29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places."
The life saver fights back.
|
| |
Jennifer Dodge
|
10/19/2011 10:08 |
This session brought up issues from my childhood as well as a HUGE ah ha moment for how I relate and treat my girls. Amazing!!
|
| |
Ray
|
10/19/2011 14:11 |
Cool! Isn't freedom just the best. Gal 5:1.
|
(page
1
2)
|
