10 Ways to Create a Strong, Intimate Relationship (Remixed)

The Hott List from the October 2, 2016 Prymer Session: Religionship

1. Allow your relationship with God to teach you how to be whole within.

Relationships aren’t about having another person complete you, but coming to the relationship whole and sharing your life interdependently. By letting go of what you want for you, you might come to realize that what God wants for you is so much greater than you could have ever planned for yourself.

2. Open yourself to who Jesus really is.

The tragedy occurs when you view Jesus as a symbol of what he has come to represent, the just an idea. When you realize that more often than not you don’t really know Jesus in your life, you begin to discover who you are and how he guides you to change and evolve. Letting God make himself known to you or seeing yourself how God sees you is key to building that relationship with Christ.

3. Be willing to learn from Jesus.

The key is to see yourself in the mirror and learn from the reflection how you can be a better person. When you feel upset, rather than blame God and point fingers, remain awake to what has yet to be healed in yourself.

4. Get comfortable being alone with God.

In order to accept that other people can’t rescue you from being alone, learn to spend time being with yourself, listening for His guidance and love. By feeling safe and secure to be on your own, you will feel more complete, happy, and whole realizing that God is always there to carry you.

5. Look closely at why you struggle with this relationship/religion.

Sometimes we have a fear of letting go and letting God. If you become aware of what you fear, you’ll have a better sense of why you’re fighting—and likely will fight far less to open up far more.

6. Own who you are. You were made in the image of God.

We generally grasp at an identity made in society’s image. We forget that God loves us no matter what and calls us to greater things, to look in the mirror and strive to see Jesus. Have the courage to be who you are, alive in Christ. You can only get from a relationship with Jesus what you’re willing to give yourself.

7. Embrace extraordinariness.

After the fairy-dust start of a relationship ends, we discover ordinariness, and we often do everything we can to avoid it. The trick is to see that faith/Jesus takes the ordinary and make extraordinary. The day-to-day loveliness of sharing life in Christ can, and does, become extraordinary.

8. Expand your heart.

One thing that unites us is that we all long to be happy. This happiness usually includes the desire to be close to someone in a loving way. God is love, always. Open your heart and bring awareness to what is good within you. It’s easier to recognize and do the good in the world when you’re connected to the good in yourself.

9. Focus on giving love (doing God’s work).

Genuine happiness is not about feeling good about ourselves because other people love us; it’s more about how well we have loved ourselves and others. The unintentional outcome of loving others more deeply is that we understand that we are loved more deeply.

10. Let go of all expectations.

You may look to things such as peer approval/acceptance to fill a void in yourself. This will immediately cause suffering. If we constantly seek approval from others and society, we give them power over who we are and who we become. You cannot dictate your relationship with Jesus and how God works in your life. A real relationship with God requires surrender of your own plans and expectations to open your heart to His. What God has in store for each and every one of us is greater than anything we could fathom to ask for or expect.

These are only a few ways to explore real intimacy. How do you create a loving connection in your relationship with God?

Illustration: 10 Ways to Create a Strong, Intimate Relationship (REMIXED)

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-ways-to-create-a-strong-intimate-relationships/