Author Archives

Norma L. Brumbaugh

Inspirational Writer, Author, and Speaker

PO Box 6432, Chico, CA 95927
nlbrumbaugh@gmail.com

Keep a smile in your heart.

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THE LIVING: The Third Stage of Spiritual Life

SPIRITUAL LIVING

1. THE KNOWING

TIER 1 GROWTH IS FOUNDATIONAL  ↓↑

Knowing is the caterpillar stage. This is where you start your spiritual life and is foundational for the rest of your life. Knowing is about knowing Christ, believing in Christ as your Lord and Savior, developing your spiritual life with prayer, bible study, interaction with other Christian believers, and becoming grounded in your faith. You are knowing in your faith and you are being known by God.

The key words for Stage 1 are belief and knowledge.   KNOWING review Link

2. THE LOVING

TIER 2 GROWTH IS TRANSFORMATIONAL  ( )

Loving is the cocoon stage. Loving is when we start growing beyond what we know and believe. This is a silent area of seeking God to know Him, of praying prayers that worship God. This is when one begins to listen for the Shepherd’s voice. Loving is when healing and change influences transformation. You love God for Who He Is, not for what you know about God but because you literally love Him, His Presence, and you are getting to intimately know Him. You are being loved by God in ways you feel and you are loving God in the heart. To know God is to love God. You are letting God help Himself to your life as He shows you what needs cleansing and healing. This is both painful and freeing.

The key words in Stage 2 are trust and surrender.   LOVING review link

3. THE LIVING

TIER 3 GROWTH IS ALIVE, FLUID  ∞

Living is the butterfly stage. Knowing then loving, now we come to living. Living is a wellspring of aliveness that originates in the Spirit of the living God. It can’t be faked, though many fakers imitate the routine.

You will know those living in intimate relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit by their humble love, spiritual wisdom, and human reactions. They act differently because they are intimately tied to the source.

Their lives are spiritually centered. God is on the throne; He comes first. So what does it look like? The believer centered in their faith is kind, loving, helpful and generous.

The key words in Stage 3 are freedom and grace.

Knowing and loving provide the foundation for living that is then nurtured and continually growing. When Christ came into their life at their request, a holy transaction took place.

They became new, forgiven, released from bondage. Peace became their experience. One can live the spiritual life naturally when they know what it is in their understanding and in their experience.

Because God is love, they quite naturally take on love in their soul and being. This love lives in and out.

YOU CAN FLY FREE

The living is a natural by-product that just happens as a result of what God has put into their lives. A heart, mind, and soul intimately living under God’s divine influence is more easily led by the Spirit rather than the flesh.

This also means, when troubles come or major depressive hurts, losses, and disappointments are experienced, they recognize when their spiritual relationship is suffering. Because God is their best friend they won’t want to stay in misery, sad, bitter, or resentful.

They miss the closeness of intimate relationship with their Father God and want to restore that relationship even if it takes a few months to get over whatever happened. God helps us.

Lastly, how do you get there?

  • You seek God with your heart, mind, and soul.
  • You don’t hold anything back.
  • You spend time alone with God.
  • You let God be on the throne of your life.
  • You listen to His quiet voice (you will discern it in time).
  • And you trust God for the journey.

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HOME PAGE: SPIRITUAL STAGES

Let me know how it’s going. I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment here or email me at nlbrumbaugh@gmail.com. God bless you, Norma

WHEN A MAN YOU LOVE WAS ABUSED: A Woman’s Guide to Helping Him Overcome Childhood Sexual Molestation by Cecil Murphey (Kregel Publications, 2010)

Every chapter in When a Man You Loved was Abused offers useful insights into the character and destructive nature of sexual abuse. The author himself was an abuse victim. He later became a minister, missionary, writer, and advocate for abuse victims. I read this book for my own information but not as a support person for a victim of abuse. However, it indirectly spoke to some of my issues that injured me, which caused grateful emotion in me because of its helpfulness. One of the gifts Cec Murphey gives through this gently written book are tools for ‘being there’ for a support person of an abuse victim. I am in just such a situation with a person who has other troubling issues and have said to myself “I don’t know what to do” for I felt out of my league. I sensed ‘advice giving’ to be the wrong approach. From my reading I now know it would have been. I do know others affected by past abuse or living with someone who has its imprint in their past. I am glad for a resource I can recommend without reservation should the opportunity present itself. What I learned from this book is quite helpful. It gives guidance that will directly influence conversations to come. I highly recommend it for anyone who lay counsels. It contains proven insights applicable to sensitive situations. School teachers would benefit as well. As I was reading I thought of former students who had been molested, who didn’t feel loved or wanted. They struggled so. A second grader told me that no one loved him after he made a Valentine’s Day card–he drew a cracked heart, his words–with a little boy crying in it. I knew he believed it was true. From Murphey’s personal first-hand account along with the inclusion of other men’s stories, the wisdom presented in its content opens the door to greater understanding of damaged emotions and how they can be healed. Well written.