"When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future. " -St. Therese of Lisieux, Peacemaking, 1989 ed.
Monday, July 09, 2018
Tuesday, July 03, 2018
Glued to Our Faults
Glued to Our Faults
James S. Hewett once gave an apt example of people not getting the respect they deserve. Especially young people.
He tells about his son, who was using one of those super-adhesive glues on a model airplane he was building. "In less than three minutes," says James Hewett, "his right index finger was bonded to a shiny blue wing of his DC-10. He tried to free it. He tugged it, pulled it, waved it frantically, but he couldn't budge his finger free."
Soon, they located a solvent that did the job and ended their moment of crisis.
Then James Hewitt writes this: "Last night I remembered that scene when I visited a new family in our neighborhood. The father of the family introduced his children: 'This is Pete. He's the clumsy one of the lot.' 'That's Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She's the sloppy one.' 'As always, Mike is last. He'll be late for his own funeral, I promise you.'"
James Hewett goes on to say, "The dad did a thorough job of gluing his children to their faults and mistakes. People do it to us all the time. They remind us of our failures, our errors, our sins, and they won't let us live them down.
Like my son trying frantically to free his finger from the plane, there are people who try, sometimes desperately, to free themselves from their past. They would love a chance to begin again. When we don't let people forget their past, when we don't forgive, we glue them to their mistakes and refuse to see them as more than something they have done.
However, when we forgive, we gently pry the doer of the hurtful deed from the deed itself, and we say that the past is just that--the past--over and done with . . ."
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
James S. Hewett once gave an apt example of people not getting the respect they deserve. Especially young people.
He tells about his son, who was using one of those super-adhesive glues on a model airplane he was building. "In less than three minutes," says James Hewett, "his right index finger was bonded to a shiny blue wing of his DC-10. He tried to free it. He tugged it, pulled it, waved it frantically, but he couldn't budge his finger free."
Soon, they located a solvent that did the job and ended their moment of crisis.
Then James Hewitt writes this: "Last night I remembered that scene when I visited a new family in our neighborhood. The father of the family introduced his children: 'This is Pete. He's the clumsy one of the lot.' 'That's Kathy coming in with mud on her shoes. She's the sloppy one.' 'As always, Mike is last. He'll be late for his own funeral, I promise you.'"
James Hewett goes on to say, "The dad did a thorough job of gluing his children to their faults and mistakes. People do it to us all the time. They remind us of our failures, our errors, our sins, and they won't let us live them down.
Like my son trying frantically to free his finger from the plane, there are people who try, sometimes desperately, to free themselves from their past. They would love a chance to begin again. When we don't let people forget their past, when we don't forgive, we glue them to their mistakes and refuse to see them as more than something they have done.
However, when we forgive, we gently pry the doer of the hurtful deed from the deed itself, and we say that the past is just that--the past--over and done with . . ."
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
Monday, June 25, 2018
"Church would be easy if it weren't for people."
"Church would be easy if it weren't for people."
Allister Begg, Truth for Life radio program,
heard on radio 6-25-2018
Allister Begg, Truth for Life radio program,
heard on radio 6-25-2018
Friday, June 22, 2018
"Know how to use the power that you have."
"Know how to use the power that you have."
~ Truthful Grace
~ Truthful Grace
"Preaching should break a hard heart, and heal a broken heart."
"Preaching should break a hard heart, and heal a broken heart."
~ Pastor John Newton, ex drunken slave trader, author of the hymn "Amazing Grace"
~ Pastor John Newton, ex drunken slave trader, author of the hymn "Amazing Grace"
Sunday, June 17, 2018
the intuitive mind
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
~ Albert Einstein
We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
~ Albert Einstein
strength, courage and confidence
"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Mindfulness
"Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness."
~ James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
~ James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Native American Proverbs and Wisdom
Native American Proverbs and Wisdom
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. – Cherokee
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. – Lakota
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. – Mohawk
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. – Tribe Unknown
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. – Kiowa
Everything the power does, it does in a circle. – Lakota
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. – Lumbee
The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. – Omaha
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself. – Pima
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. – Shenandoah
The one who tells the stories rules the world. – Hopi
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. – Hopi
Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
Native American Ten Commandments
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs/
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. – Cherokee
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. – Lakota
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. – Mohawk
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. – Tribe Unknown
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. – Kiowa
Everything the power does, it does in a circle. – Lakota
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. – Lumbee
The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. – Omaha
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself. – Pima
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. – Shenandoah
The one who tells the stories rules the world. – Hopi
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. – Hopi
Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
Native American Ten Commandments
- Treat the Earth and all that dwell therein with respect
- Remain close to the Great Spirit
- Show great respect for your fellow beings
- Work together for the benefit of all Mankind
- Give assistance and kindness wherever needed
- Do what you know to be right
- Look after the well-being of Mind and Body
- Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater Good
- Be truthful and honest at all times
- Take full responsibility for your actions
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs/
The Surgeon's Prayer
"May we be helped to do here whatever is most right."
~ Traditional Native American Prayer
~ Traditional Native American Prayer
Thursday, May 24, 2018
every mentally ill person you’ve ever worked with is basically lonely
Richard Rohr quote:
I once met a psychiatrist who said something to me that initially I thought was an overstatement: “Richard, at the end of your life, you’ll realize that every mentally ill person you’ve ever worked with is basically lonely.”
“Oh, come on, that’s a little glib, isn’t it?” I replied.
“Oh, I admit, there are surely physiological reasons for much mental illness, but loneliness might just be what activates it. Every case of nonphysiologically-based mental illness stems from a person who has been separated, cut off, living alone, and has forgotten how to relate in one way or another.” I still wonder if that might be true.
Richard Rohr, with Mike Morrell, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (Whitaker House: 2016), 45.
I once met a psychiatrist who said something to me that initially I thought was an overstatement: “Richard, at the end of your life, you’ll realize that every mentally ill person you’ve ever worked with is basically lonely.”
“Oh, come on, that’s a little glib, isn’t it?” I replied.
“Oh, I admit, there are surely physiological reasons for much mental illness, but loneliness might just be what activates it. Every case of nonphysiologically-based mental illness stems from a person who has been separated, cut off, living alone, and has forgotten how to relate in one way or another.” I still wonder if that might be true.
Richard Rohr, with Mike Morrell, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (Whitaker House: 2016), 45.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Remember to FROG every relationship.
GIFTED FOR LEADERSHIP
APRIL 28, 2016
www.christianitytoday.com/gifted-for-leadership/2016/april/how-to-lead-dominating-male-leaders.html as of 4/29/2016
LINDA A. WURZBACHER
How to Lead Dominating Male Leaders
Three things I’ve learned as I’ve led dominant men
quote:
APRIL 28, 2016
www.christianitytoday.com/gifted-for-leadership/2016/april/how-to-lead-dominating-male-leaders.html as of 4/29/2016
LINDA A. WURZBACHER
How to Lead Dominating Male Leaders
Three things I’ve learned as I’ve led dominant men
quote:
I like to say: Remember to FROG every relationship. FROG stands for “Fully Rely on God.” And that means keeping a teachable spirit before the Lord. Second John 2:27 says, “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”Linda A. Wurzbacher is Lead Pastor of Blessed Hope Community Church in Rochester, New York.
It has taken me way too many years to realize that God will help, teach, and direct me in every relationship I have. But one requirement is that I remain open, teachable, and accountable to him.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Jesus put his body where his mouth was
Jesus put his body where his mouth was.
That's one reason why I trust him.
~ Truthful Grace
That's one reason why I trust him.
~ Truthful Grace
Thursday, May 10, 2018
when the people of God are presented with the facts . . .
“I have most often seen that, when the people of God are presented with the facts, they do the right thing.”
~ Pastor John Bisagno,
currently the retired pastor of the 22,000-member First Baptist Church of Houston, Texas
~ Pastor John Bisagno,
currently the retired pastor of the 22,000-member First Baptist Church of Houston, Texas
Saturday, May 05, 2018
no longer in the fight
“I pray that when I die, all of hell will rejoice that I am no longer in the fight.”
~ C.T. Studd
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2017/01/07/ccslq-31-hell-rejoices/
~ C.T. Studd
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2017/01/07/ccslq-31-hell-rejoices/
What C.S. Lewis said about Humility
“It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step.
The first step is to realise that one is proud.”
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will…not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“May God’s grace give you the necessary humility. Try not to think—much less, speak—of their sins. One’s own are a much more profitable theme!
And if on consideration, one can find no faults on one’s own side, then cry for mercy: for this must be a most dangerous delusion.”
from The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3 (to Mary Willis Shelbrune on 1/9/1961)
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2015/10/03/humility-is-not/
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step.
The first step is to realise that one is proud.”
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will…not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
from Mere Christianity, book 3, chapter 8 (The Great Sin)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“May God’s grace give you the necessary humility. Try not to think—much less, speak—of their sins. One’s own are a much more profitable theme!
And if on consideration, one can find no faults on one’s own side, then cry for mercy: for this must be a most dangerous delusion.”
from The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3 (to Mary Willis Shelbrune on 1/9/1961)
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2015/10/03/humility-is-not/
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself,
it’s thinking of yourself less.”
The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, 2002 (original) edition, Day 19, “Cultivating Community”
it’s thinking of yourself less.”
The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, 2002 (original) edition, Day 19, “Cultivating Community”
The Privilege, or the Burden, which Christianity lays upon Men
“It is painful, being a man, to have to assert the privilege, or the burden, which Christianity lays upon my own sex. I am crushingly aware how inadequate most of us are, in our actual and historical individualities, to fill the place prepared for us.”
from "Priestesses in the Church?" (in God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis)
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2015/11/14/ccslq-12-monkey-bars/
from "Priestesses in the Church?" (in God in the Dock, C.S. Lewis)
http://www.essentialcslewis.com/2015/11/14/ccslq-12-monkey-bars/
Friday, May 04, 2018
Love people before they deserve it
If you want to be miserable,
go through life thinking of yourself as the "innocent victim."
If you want the joy of the Lord,
love people before they deserve it.
~ Truthful Grace
Jesus: But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
~ Luke 6:35-36 ESV
"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."
~ C.S. Lewis
go through life thinking of yourself as the "innocent victim."
If you want the joy of the Lord,
love people before they deserve it.
~ Truthful Grace
Jesus: But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
~ Luke 6:35-36 ESV
"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."
~ C.S. Lewis
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