Unfortunately, it can. Everything we try to do has the potential to hurt us in one way or another. The key is understanding how to navigate all of the obstacles and to get to the other side of the thing with the least amount of damage. Some people can do this without hurting others or themselves. Some people can’t do anything without hurting someone or everyone. Sadly, there are no big, flashing lights affixed to us that alert others to the level of toxicity that they might be exposed to should they engage. But there are signs that we can look for to help us protect ourselves from being hurt.
In my book, Wise Up to Rise Up, one of the big ideas that I write about is knowing how much of your heart is occupied by God and how much is occupied by other things. When we know more about our own hearts, we can better navigate the hearts of others…whether good or bad.
For example, there is the Fear over Faith model of living. This means we are ruled by fear and that our faith takes a lower priority than it should because we allow our fear to lead us. There is also a Pulled Apart model which means that we are allowing anything and everything to pull us in different directions and away from our faith. The Family/Faith priority shows us giving equal weight to our faith and family, but still not finding the balance we need. And the Yo-Yo based model occurs when we are not quite sure how to prioritize anything, and so, our focus shifts depending on what is urgent at the time.
The only way to keep ourselves focused on the right thing and move forward God intends for us to move is to follow the Crowning Glory mode. This means our faith is considered above all else and the rest falls in line as we strengthen that faith.
You can read more about all of these in Wise Up to Rise Up. Available in the HGBM Shop and on Amazon!
Rebecca Benston is the owner of Higher Ground Books & Media and the author of over twenty titles currently available through Amazon and other outlets. Her books include a mystery series (The Rona Shively Stories), empowerment resources such as Wise Up to Rise Up, Don’t Be Stupid (And I Mean That in the Nicest Way), and From Judgment to Jubilee, children’s books including Grumble D. Grumble Learns to Smile, All the Scary Things, and See How Strong You Are. Benston lives in Springfield, Ohio with her awesome daughter, Mya and enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and telling it like it is. She enjoys being able to help other authors get their stories out there through Higher Ground and has recently expanded her freelance services to offer more extensive guidance as a writing coach and social media manager. For more information, you can contact Benston at highergroundbooksandmedia@gmail.com.
One of many great resources available in the HGBM Shop! Wise Up to Rise Up by Rebecca Benston.
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Leading the Follower 