Author: Phil Rehberg

When it comes to pursuing God’s will it is important to ask ourselves if we are truly open to knowing God’s will. Once we decide to consider God’s will we may still close our minds to knowing his will because of what we suspect it will be. Are we really open to whatever he may desire? Are we really open to changing our thoughts or plans? We may convince ourselves that we are pursuing his will when in fact we are only rationalizing our own attitudes or actions. For major decisions it may take weeks to discern whether we are truly open to God’s will. For example, someone who falls in love with another and wants to marry them may be closed to God’s will unless they spend a lot of time gradually opening up to God. The more investment and momentum we have in a particular direction the more Continue Reading →

For the last three weeks we have been looking at overcoming shame and self-rejection. Two weeks ago we began a practical process for doing this. We continued that last week. This week we continue with that process as we work through the final steps of confession of sin and reconciliation. Step 6. Now that you have accepted your younger self you need to confess any negative thoughts and feelings you have harbored against your younger self . Those are sins against yourself. Therefore, confess to your younger self your sins of rejection, and negative thoughts and beliefs toward your younger self . Repeat all the negative thoughts you expressed earlier and confess those as sins. When done, wait silently for a few moments to see if your younger self responds, if your younger self responds then you can further respond. It is okay if your younger self does not respond Continue Reading →

For the last two weeks we have been looking at overcoming shame and self-rejection. The first week is here. Last week we began a practical process for doing this. This week we continue with that process as we work through the key step of forgiving and accepting your younger self, which is step 5. Step 5: Forgive and accept your younger self. If one of the issues is that you believe your younger self committed a sin then go through the process of forgiving them outlined below. Remind yourself that everyone is sinful and needs forgiveness. Speak directly and out loud to your younger self. Common sins include: becoming involved in sexual matters (for example, “playing doctor,” or disrobing in front of friends); the child did not stop the abuse against themselves (even though this might have been impossible, the adult still holds this as a grudge against the child); Continue Reading →