{"id":389,"date":"2013-05-15T14:08:54","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T14:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onfire\/?p=389"},"modified":"2013-05-15T14:08:54","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T14:08:54","slug":"oprah-and-brene-brown-let-the-spirit-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onfire\/2013\/05\/15\/oprah-and-brene-brown-let-the-spirit-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"Oprah and Brene Brown: “Let the Spirit Flow”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"My<\/a>
My frozen heart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a funk, I picked up O Magazine.<\/a><\/p>\n

Inside Oprah interviewed Dr. Bren\u00e9 Brown<\/a>, Houston sociologist famous for her research on shame and vulnerability.<\/p>\n

I had viewed her TED talks. Even read Dr. Brown\u2019s latest book, Daring Greatly<\/a>. I knew the interview would be awesome: two bright women discussing threats to our relationships and well being. And what to do about it.<\/p>\n

But Dr. Brown\u2019s call to be daring and wholehearted bounced off my frozen heart. I was swimming in fear. My father might be dying. There were other family problems. My work felt\u2026stupid. Self-doubt dripped off me.<\/p>\n

I set the magazine aside.<\/p>\n

After two days of being stuck in a dark place, I address God with humble desperation: \u201cGod I so need to get back to trusting you. Back to being your child. Help me!\u201d<\/p>\n

I feel my heart soften, open up.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m drawn back to the interview and this time read Oprah\u2019s words:<\/p>\n

When people say,\u201cWhy does God allow bad things to happen?\u201d I always say, \u201cYou know, God is available to us. He\u2019s here all the time, waiting on you.\u201d People don\u2019t suffer because of God. People suffer because of people. Because we don\u2019t allow the spirit to flow through us.<\/i><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m God\u2019s creation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m don\u2019t have the burden of being in charge. I get to go out and play.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can have fun, create, be open, and love freely.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can delight in myself, people and the whole wide world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! I John 3:3 (NIV)
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

Something wonderful could happen today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

– – – – –<\/p>\n

My ebook, \u201cBlossom You,\u201d is here<\/a> (free).<\/p>\n

– – – – –<\/p>\n

photo credit: Letting Go of Control<\/a> (creative commons)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a funk, I picked up O Magazine. Inside Oprah interviewed Dr. Bren\u00e9 Brown, Houston sociologist famous for her research on shame and vulnerability. I had viewed her TED talks. Even read Dr. Brown\u2019s latest book, Daring Greatly. I knew the interview would be awesome: two bright women discussing threats to our relationships and well…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[265,133,266,271,270,55,264,235,263,111,272,268,269,267],"class_list":["post-389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conflict-obstacles","category-creativity","tag-brene-brown","tag-create","tag-daring-greatly","tag-delight","tag-fun","tag-love","tag-o-magazine","tag-open","tag-oprah","tag-shame","tag-something-wonderful-could-happen-today","tag-ted","tag-tedx","tag-vulnerability"],"yoast_head":"\nOprah and Brene Brown: "Let the Spirit Flow" - On Fire: Finding Your Gift And Using It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onfire\/2013\/05\/15\/oprah-and-brene-brown-let-the-spirit-flow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oprah and Brene Brown: "Let the Spirit Flow" - On Fire: Finding Your Gift And Using It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a funk, I picked up O Magazine. 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