So, I'm sitting here with a finished bowl of delicious peanut butter oatmeal and a cup of coffee, getting ready to get ready for work, but wanting to blog just a little bit.
I turned to my Bible this morning for a boost of encouragement, to get myself headed in the right direction. It came down to this, I keep seeing the same ideas when I read and all that means is now I'd like to share them. Where to begin? Not much time this morning so I'll be precise and hopefully come back at a later point...
1 Corinthians 12. The verse is titled, "Spiritual Unity of Believers."
I am so happy I found this section. Here's why:
12:5, "There are differences of ministry, but the same Lord." And 12:13-15, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether Jews of Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have all been made to drink into the Spirit. (14) For in fact the body is not one member but many. (15) If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore of the body?
Finally, 12:18-19, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (19) "And if they were all one member, where would the body be?"
Basically, my take is, we are all on this Earth for a purpose, we have our roles and we fulfill them just by existing. Not one piece is better or less than the other and no piece has the right to contradict this knowledge. Simple, but pure.
I love this because I see it as unifying any people who come together to praise the Lord, to preach love... it shows me that we should all be working together and not fighting one another. When the Catholic church stumbles it is not for the Christian to feel exhorted, but for us to raise up and pray together for healing. I want this message to stir around the world that in unity there is strength and only then can one true message be sent. God loves us and with that Love, peace is possible.
That's it for now, I'm off to work. God bless and keep you, Amen.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Riding in the Rain.
The feeling was incredible. I rode home in an absolute downpour, could have used window wipers, it was that legitimate of a dowsing. Well, I loved it. The smells were incredible. You know how candles come in "Fresh Rain" scent? Well, truthfully I could have packaged the smell today with that exact label. It was delicious. It was a liberating ride.
I'm still on a journey and it requires a lot of changes to my thinking. God, please grant me patience for the changes to become permanent and the kindness to allow myself the time it takes and the forgiveness when I stumble, especially if I don't want to admit it right away. God, please also let me feel your presence and allow you to work through me. Thank you. Amen.
I'm still on a journey and it requires a lot of changes to my thinking. God, please grant me patience for the changes to become permanent and the kindness to allow myself the time it takes and the forgiveness when I stumble, especially if I don't want to admit it right away. God, please also let me feel your presence and allow you to work through me. Thank you. Amen.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Distracting myself from myself... by myself.
Here's my review on 1984,
The first part was great. It was mysterious and poignant, but disgusting enough to be relatable. I felt some affinity to the main character for his separateness, the conspiracy, his desire to write. I was even enticed by Orwell's disturbing bedroom scene with the ancient prole, slut woman. "The worst part was, I did it anyways." Whoa, caught me off guard and I liked it. So, I kept reading. Then came Part 2. The love affair, which besides being completely unbelievable, is also boring. Not so much their antics, but the fact that at this juncture in the book, Orwell takes the liberty of becoming abundantly verbose, thereby inducing a chronic boredom in me that almost overwhelmed my desire to finish the novel, until, thankfully, Part 3! I loved the meeting with O'Brien. It was so Batman, initially. Then it turned weird with the betrayals and burn outs. I get what Orwell was doing, but for all the hype, I'd say I was let down. What make-believe brotherhood would go through so much time of creating that painfully long handbook/guide thing only to reveal that it was all a hoax at the end? Did reading the book prove his commitment to the brotherhood even more than answering "Yes" to pouring acid on children's faces if required to do so (disturbing!)?
What did the ending mean though? So, he and his lover split because they sold each other out eventually and couldn't face it. They were devoid of feeling, so what did it matter being together anymore? It would only cause more pain and confusion, had they been capable of those emotions anymore. But he fell in love with Big Brother after all? Why? How? After all of the resistance his hopes had been crushed and utterly destroyed, the once small voice in his head turned out to be a lie, just like everything else he had ever known. I guess I would give up hope too at that point. But which side am I on? Are we on?
There are numerous topics we could assign Orwell's logic to; love, for one, country, obviously. Politics and relationships, of course those are the two I get stuck on. I suppose if I can overlook all of the blatant usages of rhetorical devices, the ideas behind 1984 make it a "great" book. It gets ten points for originality anyway.
I started reading another book. It is called Point Clear. I can't put it down, I even brought it to work and read it on my lunch break. Suffering writer weathers a hurricane, all good until... the romance is as dry and boring as the most insufferable date. I'm already 170 pages in and they have slept with each other twice, exchanged at maximum 15 or so words and now he has left with an "I'll call you." Slightly on the depressing side and I'm hoping this book has a redeeming quality, approaching quickly.
Goodnight world. I can't say this was the best ending to the day, but my day certainly wasn't bad ;) Thank you God for everything you've given me, including the capability of seeing as clearly as one can during the eye of a storm. Grant me that vision Lord and the strength to stop looking back. The strength to look forward and to see what it is that will lead me closest to you. Amen.
The first part was great. It was mysterious and poignant, but disgusting enough to be relatable. I felt some affinity to the main character for his separateness, the conspiracy, his desire to write. I was even enticed by Orwell's disturbing bedroom scene with the ancient prole, slut woman. "The worst part was, I did it anyways." Whoa, caught me off guard and I liked it. So, I kept reading. Then came Part 2. The love affair, which besides being completely unbelievable, is also boring. Not so much their antics, but the fact that at this juncture in the book, Orwell takes the liberty of becoming abundantly verbose, thereby inducing a chronic boredom in me that almost overwhelmed my desire to finish the novel, until, thankfully, Part 3! I loved the meeting with O'Brien. It was so Batman, initially. Then it turned weird with the betrayals and burn outs. I get what Orwell was doing, but for all the hype, I'd say I was let down. What make-believe brotherhood would go through so much time of creating that painfully long handbook/guide thing only to reveal that it was all a hoax at the end? Did reading the book prove his commitment to the brotherhood even more than answering "Yes" to pouring acid on children's faces if required to do so (disturbing!)?
What did the ending mean though? So, he and his lover split because they sold each other out eventually and couldn't face it. They were devoid of feeling, so what did it matter being together anymore? It would only cause more pain and confusion, had they been capable of those emotions anymore. But he fell in love with Big Brother after all? Why? How? After all of the resistance his hopes had been crushed and utterly destroyed, the once small voice in his head turned out to be a lie, just like everything else he had ever known. I guess I would give up hope too at that point. But which side am I on? Are we on?
There are numerous topics we could assign Orwell's logic to; love, for one, country, obviously. Politics and relationships, of course those are the two I get stuck on. I suppose if I can overlook all of the blatant usages of rhetorical devices, the ideas behind 1984 make it a "great" book. It gets ten points for originality anyway.
I started reading another book. It is called Point Clear. I can't put it down, I even brought it to work and read it on my lunch break. Suffering writer weathers a hurricane, all good until... the romance is as dry and boring as the most insufferable date. I'm already 170 pages in and they have slept with each other twice, exchanged at maximum 15 or so words and now he has left with an "I'll call you." Slightly on the depressing side and I'm hoping this book has a redeeming quality, approaching quickly.
Goodnight world. I can't say this was the best ending to the day, but my day certainly wasn't bad ;) Thank you God for everything you've given me, including the capability of seeing as clearly as one can during the eye of a storm. Grant me that vision Lord and the strength to stop looking back. The strength to look forward and to see what it is that will lead me closest to you. Amen.
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