One dictionary defines trust as the:

"Assured reliance on the

character, ability,

strength, or truth of

someone or something"

...sounds like a decent definition to me,

although there are many ways we can define it in our own terms

We all know what the bible says- to trust God and lean not on our own understanding, but what do we do when it comes to trusting others? In order for any type of relationship with the people around you to work, there has to be trust. Now trust is not an easy thing by any means. When we choose to trust, we are allowing ourselves to be open to anything- most the time giving up our protection and being vulnerable to hurt or wrong doing. So what do you do? You have to be aware of the fact that in order to continue to build a relationship with someone or re-fix one who’s done wrong, that you have to give a little- you have to give them some trust otherwise you’re at a standstill. To allow ourselves the option of more opportunities and possibilities we have to be a little vulnerable and trust others. It’s hard, sometimes it hurts like hell, sometimes we put ourselves out there so much just to be shattered to pieces. The thing is, you don’t have to fully trust right away, but in order to build it and get to that point I think that you have to start out with some amount of trust. Something else I’ve been thinking about lately is how you take what you’ve learned from these specific experiences. How you apply things to life and continue standing strong is the most important thing. If it was all easy-if things went exactly how you wanted-if things were perfect-if you didn’t have to try- then what would be the point in life?? Think about it.

In conflict situations, lines of communication between people and groups often break down. People stop talking to each other, they withdraw. The result of this is often frequent misunderstandings, distrust and fear. Opening lines of communication is one very important step to take. Just by re-establishing communication, misunderstandings can be corrected and avoided and trust can be built over time. You cannot build this trust if you do not listen however. A conversation is a relationship. Both speaker and listener play a part, each influencing the other. Second important thing is portraying the characteristic of empathy, which helps to create the bond of trust. Empathy gives us insights into what others may be feeling or thinking; it helps us understand how or why others are reacting to situations. Trusting someone is also about acceptance. We must accept people for who they are as a possible basis for any kind of positive change that may present itself eventually- all on the foundation of trust.

Amy Grant | Better Than A Hallelujah

Came across this song today, and for some reason just fell in love with it. Makes you sit back and really think about the meaning of it. Great song, so take a listen :)

Better things come when you're willing to step out of the self-centered box of time we place on things....

Ever took a moment to sit back and just relax- let things happen on their own time, without forcing a block of time around things? Really think about it- when was the last time you let life take its own course in its own time? The problem with this world at this point, is that we all want what we want NOW at the specific time. We aren’t the kind of people who like to wait at all whether it’s in line at the grocery store, a detour on a road, waiting for our computers to boot up, something in a relationship etc. We are a generation of people who only care about instant gratification. It’s quite sad and pathetic if we really stop for a moment to look at how true this really is.

                                    Galatians 5:22-23

“But    the    fruit     of     the   Spirit    is

love,                    joy,                     peace,

patience,          kindness,          goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness  and self- control

It is even mentioned in the Bible how important patience is. We as Christians need to make this a part of who we are in order to stand out- be different. We’re so busy trying to blend in with the rest of the world when God wants the opposite. He wants us to portray these traits, and live our lives in representation of Jesus.

One of the ways God has been teaching me patience lately is through the building of a relationship with someone in my life. We all know how it goes- we want things to happen and work out in the blink of an eye or if say a response by someone isn’t received by a particular time according to us- we get frustrated, we lose hope, we lose faith, we assume the incorrect things. All of those are wrong.  One reason is because at that point we have let the devil win-we’ve let doubt hover in our minds-most of all we’ve given up faith in God in the situation. Too many times we forget He has control, and that we also need to give everything up to Him. He knows exactly what He is doing, so why can’t we just accept that? I’ve let these things entrap my mind, get myself slightly down but then I pray about it. & let it be known how true it is that prayer is one of THE most POWERFUL things!! God has been so patient with me, and He sees that I need re-assurance at times. Not once has he let me down. Time and time again lately, he has answered my prayers by showing me to have patience, and in HIS time things will unfold according to His plan.

I challenge you to look at yourself and depict at least one aspect/situation where you’re impatient then work towards changing that. Being patient in one area of our lives helps us to be patient in all other areas.