Today we are going to focus on how the concepts of Friends and Family are intertwined. The first key to building these relationships with the eternal Family, as we have discussed, is the need to spend time with, hang out with, or in our words, “halak (or walk) with each Family Member.” We will now call this first step “Accessibility” to indicate the need to make yourself accessible to The God Family. That is difficult in today’s hectic world. However, to achieve success, you must become intentional about spending time with each Individual. Do not fall into the trap opting for “quality” over “quantity” to justify “less is more” practices. During those regular times, you purposefully make yourself available to Deity so you will eventually experience meaningful and faith-building interchanges. Thinking back on your life, I believe you will recognize that some of the most memorable events occurred as a sidebar to an otherwise ordinary experience rather than on cue as part of a momentous occasion. Your passion for others (including the Persons of The God Family) will originate and grow as you make conscious, repeated decisions to spend time with them.

Let’s talk about passion for a minute. If you know how to play an instrument, it is because you have passion for the music. If you are married, it is because you have passion for your spouse. If you like to play golf, baseball, football, or any other sport, it is because you have developed a passion for that type competition. Finding your passion is as easy as identifying the desires of your heart. Once you know what you love, passion will follow—a divinely inspired passion, not lustful passion. Now, consider this: if your passion is divinely inspired, the Father must have inspired it, and thus He has a passion for it too! After all, “He is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.” (Exodus 34:14) So why would you not love to be with someone who loves you, and loves what you love?

The more you halak with each Person of The God Family, the more you will have in common with Them. As you open yourself to being more accessible to each Family Member, you will find that the resulting spiritual food will become more crucial to your attitude than meat and potatoes is to your diet. This spiritual food will sustain your walk and increase your power in the Kingdom. Spiritual food can be obtained only through what I have termed “accountimacy” relationships.

Developing accountimacy is the second step to building relationships with each Member of The God Family. This process involves being open and transparent in your relationships, which is especially difficult for most Americans, who prefer their privacy. Yet, this process is the only way to bring about the joy of Kingdom living. Hopefully, through our discussion you will see that the process of building accountimacy does not need to be a drudgery, involve an invasion of privacy, or equate to any other negative concept you might associate with vulnerably “bearing your soul” to another. The process will accelerate your spiritual development faster than just “hanging out” with The God Family.

Tomorrow we are going to take a two-day break from this concept and then resume. Tomorrow is an anniversary for me of my first military experience, so be prepared – it is in stark contrast to what we are learning here. Then the 19th is my lovely wife’s birthday and I must pause to reflect on her. Then we will resume the concept of accountimacy, Family and Friends!

Love Dad