Staying inspired

[kite]

TweetJust wondering how some of you do it. How do you stay inspired with your spirituality? I ask cause here lately I feel nothing. I go to church and go throught the motions but "feel" absolutely nothing.

[Stackt]

TweetI need to get my ass to church ! I think if u make the right choices in life good things will happen when u make the wrong choices bad thing can happen .So many choices in life but choose the wiser ones and follow that path and life will flow ! Well sometimes u get punished in the sense if u dont go the right path ! I felt it ....I dont know keep doing what works and stick wit it !

[T-Man007]

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Just wondering how some of you do it. How do you stay inspired with your spirituality? I ask cause here lately I feel nothing. I go to church and go throught the motions but "feel" absolutely nothing.

You have to make it something intentional. Trust me, coming from a guy who's been through that over and over I found that when I made it intentional that it's better. For example, we changed churches about 3 1/2 yrs ago to a smaller church. But, there were dozens of young couples with small kids so we had a great group to get to know. We go to both sunday school and service most weeks. Not every week because sometimes things come up, but we go most of the time. Well, one day the Pastor asked me to give my testamony in front of the church (two services). It seems like after that, the relationships grew like crazy. I know for a fact there isn't one person in our church who went through the things I went through. That made it easy for people to open up to me which in turn made it easy for me to reach out to others. Two of the elders are two of my mentors and we meet here and there to discuss life and scripture. We (the young couples) also get together the first Sunday night of every month and bring food and discuss a topic. We eat, go over a life topic and what the Bible says about it and then we break off into gender groups. The men go talk men stuff (lol-there's always sports talk that get's worked in) and the women go talk women stuff. On top of that, me and some of the younger men get together for coffee or something a couple times a month on like a Thurs or Wed night to talk about topics. We talk about where we struggle and where we did good in a situation we normally would have done bad. Some people look at it like a time commitment, I look at it like spiritual growth. There's no way to grow in anything without a time commitment. So, for me, it's never an inconvenience, it's getting to know others with the common goal of getting closer to God. But, it's not all formal educational either, it's real life stuff with aplication. I've been in groups like these that felt more like school and I didn't like that. This, to me, is intentional and it's helped me to grow alot. I had a dozen people I could go to at any time and they would make time for me. You just can't put a price on something like that. When I tore my Achilles I really had an opportunity to see what this church was all about. People gave us over $1,000 to help with medical bills, they brought us food several nights and the nights my wife worked some of the women would watch my son and one or two of the guys would come over and sit with me to help me out. Try fixing dinner for yourself, or even getting your drink refilled when you are dependant on two crutches to move even one step. People we didn't even know gave us money and brought us food. It was awesome. Now, my wife and I work with the youth and help with the Sunday school class for them. I think just knowing that there are people who know where I stand and have their eyes on me makes me more intentional. Also, I think that the curve balls life likes to throw at me makes me more intentional too. I've noticed that when I'm in prayer or I read the Bible more often that I don't life life bother me as much. But when I get out of the routine then it seems life's burdens start to break me down.

Anyways, that's my input.

[daved150]

TweetHUH...NEVER THAUGHT ABOUT IT...WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRED AND NOT INSPIRED?? I DONT GET YOUR QUESTION

[T-Man007]

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HUH...NEVER THAUGHT ABOUT IT...WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRED AND NOT INSPIRED?? I DONT GET YOUR QUESTION

I think he's saying he doesn't feel spiritually motivated or moved right now. Atleast, that's what I got out of it.

[daved150]

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I think he's saying he doesn't feel spiritually motivated or moved right now. Atleast, that's what I got out of it.

MOTIVATED TO DO WHAT??..I DONT MEAN TO SOUND STUPID (TOO LATE, HUH?) BUT I DONT GET WHAT YOUR SAYING KITE...LIKE, AT THE MOMENT, YOUR THINKING IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO POP SOMEONE OFF? OR, LIKE YOU JUST DONT FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS AT THIS MOMENT?...YOU FEEL LIKE BEING A BAD GUY? MAYBE I'M NOT INSPIRED, BECOUSE I DONT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR FEELINGS...

[kite]

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MOTIVATED TO DO WHAT??..I DONT MEAN TO SOUND STUPID (TOO LATE, HUH?) BUT I DONT GET WHAT YOUR SAYING KITE...LIKE, AT THE MOMENT, YOUR THINKING IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING TO POP SOMEONE OFF? OR, LIKE YOU JUST DONT FEEL THAT YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS AT THIS MOMENT?...YOU FEEL LIKE BEING A BAD GUY? MAYBE I'M NOT INSPIRED, BECOUSE I DONT UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR FEELINGS...

lol, what I meant is when I pray or go to church or read the Bible, I just don't feel anything. There was a time in my life when during prayer I would feel incredibly moved. When I went to church, I could "feel" God's presence. When I talked to Him I had a good feeling that he was listening and for some time now, I just don't feel any of that.
There have been a couple of Catholic saints who wrote about similar things St. John of the Cross called it the dark night of the soul. It's not so much about doubting God as it is questioning His intrest in me presonally.

[daved150]

TweetOHHHHH, NOW I'M WITH YA. YOUR FEELING A LITTLE NEGLECTED...YOU THINK GOD HASNT SHOWN ENOUGH INTREST IN YOU PERSONALLY. YOU THINK THERE AINT ANYTHING POSSIBLY AS IMPORTANT AS YOU, FOR HIM TO BE WORKING ON....LOL..I'M SORRY BRO...I'M JUST JACKIN WITH YA.
I DONT KNOW HOW TO HELP YA KITE. I BELIEVE. I TALK TO GOD IN MY WAY. BUT, I DONT KNOW HOW NOR AM I QUALIFIED TO GIVE YA ADVISE

[T-Man007]

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lol, what I meant is when I pray or go to church or read the Bible, I just don't feel anything. There was a time in my life when during prayer I would feel incredibly moved. When I went to church, I could "feel" God's presence. When I talked to Him I had a good feeling that he was listening and for some time now, I just don't feel any of that.
There have been a couple of Catholic saints who wrote about similar things St. John of the Cross called it the dark night of the soul. It's not so much about doubting God as it is questioning His intrest in me presonally.

It could be the Devil playing tricks on you bro. God is always there, always. He's even there where the non believer is. I'm not sure I know why you don't feel anything but maybe this is an opportunity to seek him more. Go and do something that would glorify him and tell no one about it, I mean no one. Start doing things that represnt your faith to him. I don't know, go to an orphange and buy ice cream for all the kids. Go to an assisted living place and spend time with a widow. God has always had a special place for orphans and widows and maybe if you do something for them (just between you and God) that connection will become clear again. But trust me my brother, he's always there.

[daved150]

Tweet^ THAT SOUNDS PRETTY GOOD

[kite]

TweetCool, thanks for the advice. I guess it would also be a good idea to leave the hookers and crack alone for a little while.

[T-Man007]

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Cool, thanks for the advice. I guess it would also be a good idea to leave the hookers and crack alone for a little while.

That would be a good start.

[youngN]

Tweetits satan bro...he'll do anything to get u away from God...My best advice is to find someone to study with, or study differently...some times routines get old...SO id say keep goin to church and during ur own time study with someone and keep prayin about it. I know what ur talkin bout tho u had that fire and now its like whered it go...Everybody goes thru that..Pray and study..get tryin to get closer

[Klash]

TweetFor me inspiration of the spirit comes from learning, which comes from introspection and reading. When I have a moment of enlightenment and suddenly understand things (or myself) at a deeper level than before, it tweaks my perception on life and excites me to keep learning, which then leads to other knowledge that keeps my spirit inspired.

I think everyone falls into the routine of doing things the way they always have - a spiritual plateau. I think to rejuvenate your spirit, remind yourself why you do these things and learn something new on a topic you associate with your spirit and that you find interesting.