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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 KNOWING: The First Stage of Spiritual Life

SPIRITUAL LIFE STAGE 1

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

CHRISTIAN LIFE could be summed up in three groups: The Knowing, The Loving, The Living. These three groups cover three stages of development, a metamorphosis of sorts. We will consider here the three developmental stages of a butterfly for our examples. Like a butterfly, you can’t have full maturity without going through all three stages, the same goes for spiritual living, although with spiritual living you can stay locked in a stage and never advance to the next level.

THE KNOWING:

THE BEGINNING STAGE –  THE CATERPILLAR

Your spiritual life begins at salvation, when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection, and you are repentant of your sins. With your heart, and in your own way, ask Jesus to be your Savior. At this point you have gone from death to spiritual life and have a new life in Christ, what Christians call being born again or being saved. You now are in a relationship with Christ–God the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

Like that egg that became a caterpillar and now has an appetite, in this beginning stage you feed and feed, take in and take in, you consume the nourishment you crave and need in your spiritual life. One area builds on another:

  1. You Believe in Christ
  2. You Feed on Scripture and Spiritual material
  3. You Grow Spiritually

What happens in the knowing of Christ is an apprehending of a body of new knowledge and spiritual experiences as in acquiring, receiving, impressions, becoming and so forth. You have a new identity in Christ; it’s not something you take on but simply are. Christ lives in you. He is your hope.

To the unbeliever, the belief of a believer doesn’t make any sense. They don’t understand the inner transformation the believer has undergone. The way of faith is a deep, penetrating, life-changing, redemptive journey.

  • God loves-those who follow him KNOW his love.
  • God forgives-those who follow him KNOW his forgiveness.
  • God enlivens the soul-those who follow him KNOW his quickening as beloved new creatures.

Real spiritual life has its beginnings in faith intermixed with belief that says, I believe, truly believe in God and his Son, the crucified, risen, Jesus Christ, and have placed my trust in him. This belief travels from the mind to the heart where one’s belief connects with soul and being. This knowledge becomes part of their spiritual understanding and also spiritual being.

THE KNOWING goes two ways: Human and Divine: The believer is “knowing” more and more in his or her spiritual life. The believer is being “known” by his or her spiritual Father, Son, and Spirit in increasing ways. The relationship is forming into a “living” relationship. Knowing and being known are essentials being developed in this stage. Prayer is a vital part of this.

In conclusion, this is the “In Christ” stage. The individual is redeemed and changed. I would call this a time of “head knowledge,” where they are learning and constructing their biblically sound spiritual roots. (It involves the heart too) He or she is learning to pray, learning to study God’s Word, learning how to live a righteous life, and developing their spiritual walk to become a healthy, well-versed, spiritual Christian.

There are additional markers of faith within this stage but they will not be addressed here.

. . .

Stage 2– THE LOVING: The Second Stage of Spiritual Life

Photo Credit: Maggie Wernet, Unsplash

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Nothing Speaks LOVE Like CHOCOLATE

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Everything is Better with Chocolate

Life is like a box of chocolates …

Do you gravitate to Chocolate?

I was asked which kind of chocolate I prefer; white, dark, or bitter-sweet? I answered, “All of the above.” Having a down day? Buy some chocolate. Better yet, share some chocolate with a friend.

I think chocolate products are one of those foods people hide from others to save for themselves. I’ve known a few people who hide the chocolate and portion it out according to when they want to eat it. There’s something about biting into a luscious chocolate, letting it melt in the mouth, savoring its flavor, oh baby, yeah.

Chocolate helps elevate your mood; at least, in theory it does. For many years at Christmastime I’d get a box of chocolates in the mail, See’s Candies: Nuts & Chews, from a business associate. My family looked forward to its arrival, and its chocolatey contents didn’t last long.

A cup of hot chocolate is welcome on a cold winter’s night. Sometimes I make it from scratch by combining cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and a touch of water (mixed together), add milk and a dash of salt, all warmed in a saucepan or microwave.*

Hot cocoa is yummy to the tummy.

My Grandma Weigold made us hot chocolate to go with our breakfasts. First, Grandma put Nestle Quick chocolate instant mix in our coffee cups. She warmed the milk in a saucepan; then poured the steaming milk in our mugs, a little at first to stir with the cocoa; she’d add a large marshmallow; and then poured in the warm milk to the brim. So good. We loved it!

Need some love, you be the initiator: take some chocolates to someone, or bake some chocolate chip cookies, or buy some flowers, or light a candle; or watch a romantic movie; you get the idea. When we give, we receive. I haven’t particularly liked Valentine’s Day as a single, something about being alone stings (stinks, is more like it). But I can make it better by being more engaged with others or doing something I enjoy.

And that I will do. I’m going out for dessert with a friend, and later I’m going to a musical venue with my Dad. All good.

Share the love.

Have a GREAT day! It is what you make it.

Hey, give someone a box of chocolates.

*recipe is on the Hershey’s cocoa can (100% cacao, natural unsweetened)