tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post8672138966854184465..comments2009-02-01T00:09:08.594-06:00Comments on Stained Glass Masquerade: Practice What Thouest PreachSeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692965880057876413noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-89312651529520865592009-02-01T00:09:00.000-06:002009-02-01T00:09:00.000-06:00I dont know you but I found your blog and I'm very...I dont know you but I found your blog and I'm very impressed. I am encouraged by your honesty and willingness to change. Keep it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-85906953652464277752008-09-11T18:20:00.000-05:002008-09-11T18:20:00.000-05:00Sean,How are you? Praying for you.Sean,<BR/><BR/>How are you? Praying for you.Hillary Hippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269380191248643686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-62324905238625756602008-08-05T19:02:00.000-05:002008-08-05T19:02:00.000-05:00I think we hide our struggles because of our pride...I think we hide our struggles because of our pride. We want people to think that we are 'good Christians' and we have this false idea that 'good Christians' don't have struggles so we hide them so people will think good things about us, or so we think.<BR/><BR/>Thank is what I think...Hillary Hippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269380191248643686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-59612481997462008192008-07-31T23:57:00.000-05:002008-07-31T23:57:00.000-05:00I don't know. Maybe it's because we think of Chris...I don't know. Maybe it's because we think of Christianity as something that has to be perfect, and showing our weaknesses completely blows that idea away. I guess we forget that it's in our weaknesses that God can be glorified most. We think that maybe sharing and being open about who we are, bashes Christians and the Christian way of living. All of a sudden, we start hurting the Christian faith more than we realize. Pride and legalism can set in and we eventually start to see that we've pushed people away from Christ instead of drawing them. But we've also pushed ourselves away from other believers. And instead of exhorting and helping each other to live for Christ, we're torn apart. <BR/><BR/>Funny how that is-you'd think that if we were to be divided, it'd be because someone from the outside has come in and stirred things up. But a lot of times it's the exact opposite; we're divided from the inside out...Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17253129135619754817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-70621880074182862282008-07-31T21:53:00.000-05:002008-07-31T21:53:00.000-05:00Aye. Which is why good Christian fellowship is so ...Aye. Which is why good Christian fellowship is so important, so we may "spur one another towards love and good deeds." Unfortunately more often we seem to be spurred towards greater levels of complacency, foolishness, sin, or immaturity. <BR/><BR/>And openness is one of our core needs if we are to be developing fellowship. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to make it easier. :(<BR/><BR/>Why is it that we have this idea that hiding our struggles somehow means we're a better Christian?Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06692965880057876413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-20018973232035654252008-07-31T00:16:00.000-05:002008-07-31T00:16:00.000-05:00A hard thing to do -walking the walk and not just ...A hard thing to do -walking the walk and not just talking the talk- I've come to slowly realize. I know exactly what you mean when you say "emotional high." It's almost like God's there one minute and gone the next, yet you know that He's still there even when you can't "feel" Him. I think those are times when He's saying to us (or at least to me), "Will you still follow Me even though it feels like I'm not there? Will you trust Me enough to work through you in your everyday life?" I get a whole new meaning of the word "Faith". It's not just a one-time thing for my salvation, but an integral part of my everyday life. <BR/><BR/>When I start to think about how others will think of me, or how I will be accepted if I do this or not do this, I have to remember of what Christ went through for me. And when I do, I wonder at how I could ever think of such silliness as to what others thought of me when the One Who gave His life for me are the only thoughts I should be concerned about! But...*sighs*...it's a fear that I have to overcome time and again, and I'm sure I'll have to face more of it. (One of those constant battles of the flesh things...) <BR/><BR/>I struggle with openness too. Sometimes I feel that in doing so, it would mean I'm selfish. But I wonder if it's just another excuse to clam up and lock the key to my heart...Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17253129135619754817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242811764688216750.post-88670795052608032472008-07-25T16:27:00.000-05:002008-07-25T16:27:00.000-05:00I see what you are saying and commend you for bein...I see what you are saying and commend you for being honest. I often find my self, especially at church with people my own age, hiding the fact that I am struggling with this divorce. I often want so badly to fit in that I will hide behind a mask so to say and pretend everything is just fine.Hillary Hippshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269380191248643686noreply@blogger.com