Fri, Jun 22nd - 2:50PM

A Quote about Peace

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."

Martin Luther King

(and Yes, Jon, he was a rabble rouser and a trouble maker...)

Comment (3)

Thu, Jun 21st - 2:31PM

Rejection and Reconciliation

I deal with rejection on a level few of you could begin to comprehend.  I go to sleep every night with this rejection in front of me, and awaken in the morning to only very briefly be unaware of it.  It is brutal.  But I can thank God for that at times.  I do not mean that facetiously.  I can truly find happiness at times in the very face of this.

You would think that in the face of this, rejection from my brothers and sisters in Christ on this site would pale in comparison.  Maybe it does, but in truth, it still hurts.  This is incredible for me to feel and even begin to be able to describe, by the way.  I am Alexithymic which is more of a symtomatic diagnosis than a disease in and of itself. Mine may very well stem from emotional repression, but is most evident to me in my difficulty in connecting with my emotions on a level that allows me me to sufficiently describe them. The emotions are there and very real. My pain and suffering is not a figment of my imagination, but is further frustrating in that I have a hard time grasping it to deal with it.

Try to imagine a blind person dealing with the pain caused by a very bright light, and you might get a glimmer of an understanding.  The pain is there and very real and others can describe to you what is causing the pain, but you can not begin to grasp it to deal with it.

If I suffered from Tourette syndrome, and you met me on the street, what would your reaction be if I spewed obscene things in the middle of the conversation.  Would it be different because you knew I was damaged or if you did not know this would you just walk away in blind judgement?  Ask yourself that.  I cannot say I am any better than any of you except that I have not ceased to struggle with my weaknesses.  You may be doing so great in comparison that you have lost the pressing need to ask for Gods Grace to be poured upon you.

Part of the pain I feel is the normal fleshly variety.  Part of it is more than that.

Tue, Jun 19th - 2:52PM

Happier by what I do...

I'll keep this short.  The job was messy, stinky and no-one likes it.  I am a trainer and beyond that a trainer who trains trainers.  So I don't get a chance to get my hands dirty too often.  This was a chance for me to do that, and I was much happier with that than with being a trainer for a while.  I think it truely is that I prefer to do than to show and/or be.  Yes, it could just be the change of pace, but I don't think so...

I could say more, but have no time...

Mel

Tue, Jun 12th - 11:29AM

In Work

James 1:2-8 (NIV)

 ²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty ... I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led diffcult lives and led them well." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

"Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom." - General George Patton

1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV)

³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

A lot of trials are going on around the neighborhood, it seems.  This is our chance to shine!  Doing well when everything is peachy keen, ah, I don't think we gain much from that, here or in the hereafter.  Remember Job?  Yeah, that guy who got what wasn't coming to him.  Why is it that God allowed this?  There can be more than one answer to that, but I will say this:  He was tested and approved by the passing thorough this fierce trial!  God improved him and left him in a better state than he was before, in more ways than one.

Now then, what are we to do when trials come our way?  It is hard to be joyful, but here is what you do:

1)     Pray to do the right thing for 5 minutes (5 minutes of prayer or to be good for 5 minutes -- your choice!)

2)     When that is passed, and the next wave comes, do it again.

3)     Ask for just a little bit more.  Maybe 6 minutes or half an hour or overnight.

Eventually, one of two things will happen:

1)     The problem, even if it does not go away, becomes something easy to bear.

2)     The problem does not seem to get better, nor does your ability to deal with it.

If the second case happens, I'll suggest that one of two things is true:

1)     God's answer was not what you expected.

2)     Your request was not earnest and sincere.  ( you really didn't want to do what you were trying to say you did desire to do...)

Don't judge yourself too harshly if this happens.  Get up and continue on with trying to do what is right.  If you cannot bear it and do what either you or I or anyone else thinks is less than best, who am I to judge you?  Then again, who are you to judge yourself?  God sees the motives of your own heart even better than you can see it yourself.  Let it be.  Move on, and try to let God help you to do better.  Ask for forgiveness (contrite and sincere) saying: 'Forgive me Daddy, I just couldn't do it right!  I am sorry!'  You have your way of saying it.  I speak to him in my way.  He understands even if we stammer and mumble and wander off track.  Words don't even matter!

I am trying to keep this short.  I hope I am complete in what I said.  If not, ask for wisdom of God.  He fills in the blanks all the time...

In truth,

Mel

P.S.  Even though I should not Judge you, I should exhort you and prod you on to better things, and You should do the same for me...

Tue, Jun 5th - 3:05PM

Update -- Update!!!

My father is still in the Hospital.  However, they expect to release him on Thursday.  My mother is not faring as well.  She is stubbornly independant and my father's help has been 'transparent' up until now and the full extent of the situtaion is weighing heavy on her.

Help is just across the road.  My brother, his wife, their (6 or is it 7 now -- LOL!) children and another of my brothers that they take care of are a stone's throw away.  This is not a burden she should carry when others can carry it much more easily.  This is what we are supposed to do!

So pray for her to allow others to help and maybe understand this in the way it should be understood.  Or maybe my understanding is dim.  In whatever case, pray for what you can ask for in faith.  I can ask nothing of you I would not allow you to ask of me.

Oh.  The Hospital lost my Dad's Dentures.  But that is another comedy!  (sounds like a TV sitcom to me...)

In Truth,

Mel