What's So Good About It????

Lately I've been thinking about love.  Well, to be honest, I think about it a lot of  the time.



 Love isn't easy to  think about either, because it's so, well, it's so good! There are so many negatives in the world that it's pretty elementary to turn into a negative person with a adversarial,( putting it mildy),



 or cataclysmic (putting it a little more extreme) view of life.







 Each time you turn on the tv, open yahoo, or read a newspaper,  one perceives that the world is a horrible place and  everyone should be suspect. The media, conservative or liberal, also encourages people to desperately engage in a "we vs they" mentality to where it becomes childish and seems like we're fighting on the playground in some school yard. 



As a person who believes she has a distinctive relationship with Jesus, I find it a daily process to ensue what I believe the Christian faith is all about; Love!



"Therefore, my brethren, those things that are true, those that are honorable, those that are righteous, those things that are pure, those things that are precious, those things that are praiseworthy, deeds of glory and of praise, meditate on these things." From the bible, the book of Ephesians 4:8

I look at that and see "true", "honorable", "righteous", "pure", "precious", "praiseworthy", "deeds of glory and of praise", "MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS."


 Hmmmmmmm, meditate!.......That's a job in itself if you're not in the practice of doing.  First, what does the word "meditate" even mean?  I used to visualize some very limber, flexible person; possibly a small, bald man in a white, sort of  toga, wrapped around him, sitting cross-legged, closed eyes, palms up while resting on his lithesome knees, and hearing a low, monotone "ommmmmmmmmmmm" coming from him. Fortunately, because of my perpetual relationship with discipline,  I now know better.  Here are some synonyms for meditate, " ponder, muse; ruminate; cogitate, study, think. 3.  contemplate, plan, devise, contrive. "  And here is the definition, "to engage in thought or contemplation, reflect"



To contemplate that all people are created in the image of God is a powerful, awesome thought.  Muse on that one if you will.  When you think of hardened criminals, or even worse yet, evil humans such as  Hitler, (wow) they were ALL created in the image of God. 




You may not be able to go beyond that thought  because this thought, perhaps, followed, "What the hell went wrong???" 





 At least that's how my mind works.  We all know something did go terribly wrong...we know that!  Most people, the majority of people really, aren't stupid.  Deep down inside "we all were meant for better than this" as C.S Lewis says.  I believe that too.  So, that being said, continue to ponder how wonderful humans really are.  Try it...go on!   Right now!

A lot of theologians would argue using plenty of scriptures about how horrible we are, how bad our hearts are, yada yada yada.....sort of like watching or reading the news.  I can see their point.  Buthose things, at least in the Christian faith, happned after something went horribly wrong.  The fact still remains is that scripture in the bible still says to meditate on the good.  I won't even get into pondering the beauty of animals, our enviornment, and  issues of human desire. 

A challenge for you today:  Do it!  Meditate on ALL that is good... What is in your thoughts will come out in your conversation too.  How fun is that to actually talk about things that are right and believe them.  If people started their days thinking intentially wonderful thoughts, how could that change things in the big picture, or in one individuals life?

Just a challenge....have a great, beautiful, peaceful, but most of all, loving day.  I believe in you!

  

Disgusted With Politics and Mind Manipulation

Firstly let me clarify one thing: I consider myself a Christian, a follower of Christ.  I have a personal relationship with him and have had for many, many years.  Now, let me go on to politics.  I'm sick of the manipultion of politics. 






The fact that my dear sister is so opposite me as far as her beliefs in politics is sometimes painful to me.  Her fundamental view from the rose tinted glasses of the religious right wing is understandable. But I am far from that.  I'll get to the point;  birth control and the recent election.  It angers me to no end to hear men, of all people, talk about birth control. Rick Santorum is against birth control.  Hmmmm, maybe because his body doesn't carry the child for 9 months and then have the main responsibility for caring for that child for the rest of his/her life. I am not for late term abortions.  I think that is inexcusable.  If a woman is pregnant, she knows right away.  Her first missed period should tell her something is not right.

 One of Santorum's main supporters said that a woman should just "keep her legs together'.  OMG...God help me on replying to THAT one. 

FRIESS:" On this contraceptive thing, my gosh, it’s so inexpensive. You know, back in my days, they used Bayer Aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees and it wasn’t that costly."



It's very disheartening when I read things like this.  I'm so sick of the right wing taking things into their hands and brain washing Christians to think that abortion is the ultimate sin.  I am so discouraged!  When I was 16 I thought I was pregnant.  The thought terrified me.  Not only would it have devastated me, what would it have done to my parents???  I would have been such an embarassment to them, a disapointment!  So I told my boyfriend to hit me, to hit me really hard in the stomach so that I could miscarry.  Was I really pregnant?  I'm not sure.  Probably not, but I thought I could have been. 

When has  man ever thought he was pregnant? 



I guess I'm venting, but his is so disturbing to me.  If I say I'm for choice, I'm considered a back slider, if I tell the truth and say that I don't believe life begins at conception, I'm also a backslider.   And if Catholics believe it's all up to God, then don't take medications.  If you do, you're interfering with God's will.  Geeeez. 

Okay, done....there ya have it......



 .

The Jesus Factor and Love...forget the duty for now...I dare you.

It's Sunday evening and I've been surfing comments and links on Facebook.  As a Christian I am frustrated and saddened by what seems to take precedence on the morality scale.




 I guess that morality is a broad term.  In my mind, I think Christ is more concerned with our hearts and affection towards him rather than what is morally good or bad.  Some may call my stand "greasey grace".  At least that's what they called so many years ago when I first became a Christian.

Since then, my relationship with Jesus has gone out of the doctrinal box. 



 Not out of the words in the bible, just out of dogma and upbringing.







  I get tired of going to church and hearing about how bad everyone and everything is....how bad WE are. Personally, I think most people know that they have this dark sids.  A particular scripture in the old testament says the heart is evil.  But there is also a scripture in the Old Testament that says God will give humans a new heart.  That is when they accept their Messiah and they and their Messiah will be, as it were, one.  That new heart is a heart of flesh, not stone.  A heart that continues to stay vulnerable to pain if it is in the name of love. A new heart that believes the best about all...that sees humankind the way God sees them.




A few years ago I was in SanFrancisco with my husband and I saw this homeless man.







  Immediately I sort of saw him as a mother's son.  There he was, a young boy full of life, hope, promise and a mother's love.







 And now, a homeless man, who seeminly has given up on himself, his dignity and all hope.  Yet I saw him as a child with a future.  I think that's the way God sees all humans.  To lose sight of God's view of humankind is to lose a hugely important aspect in Christianity.  The bible tells us God is love however it seems that over the past 30 years of my walk in Christianity, the word love has been redefined according to subjective culture.  That's why getting back to First Corinthians 13 in the bible is a must.  It is the true definition of love.









Frankly, people like Louise Hay and Wayne Dyer have been helping me see God's love more than my own tranditonal church.  I am not afraid to know that humans are made in the divine image of God.  How powerful is that.  I think rules and regulations are only there to keep us feeling like there is this security that will protect us from our own selves.  I think we are afraid of ourselves and our own power and desires.








  Desire is powerful and if we can supress it and make it go away, especially if it's soemthing that we think would drive us away from God, then we feel safer with laws.  But as far as I can see, Jesus gave us a new law; that of love.  The law of love. Love is the motivator now. At least that is God's hope for us.  When we as humans feel as if we can't operate out of love, then the next best thing is duty.  I certainly don't want my husband to love me out of duty.  Not at all.  I would rather not have a husband if he were staying with me because he felt it was his moral obligation.  I want it to go deeper, and if it doesn't...let him go.  Maybe that's what the scripture in Revelation means when it says something to the effect that God would rather have cold or hot, but not luke warm.  It goes on to say if we're luke warm, he would spit us out. 

My main desire is to love him more.  At least my main desire in my own journey of faith.  I have walked for years with this Jesus and he has proven himself over and over and over.  Sometimes, when I'm still, I feel him in the room.  Right there....sitting or standing or just being....being there for me.  At other times I don't feel him at all and if I'm in need, sometimes I could panic.  But I've been walking this way for too many years to totally panic. (knock on wood......holding my breath a bit.)

What do I want to hear at church?  I want to hear the truth that tells me I AM a child of God, just like ALL OTHER HUMANS.  I want to hear that Grace WILL prevail.  I want to hear that because for years and years I heard all the stuff that I "should" do if I am really a friend of Christ.  Trouble was, I never, ever felt like I measured up. Then bam, my life threw up in my face and I didn't care anymore.  I felt like I was dangling from a rope...I let go and there He was, hanging on to ME>  I wasn't hanging on to him.  I saw that and how could I help but to fall in love with him all over again. 





We were ALL created in his image.  NO escaping that.









 I don't want to hear a "we/they" mentality.  Because of this, a lot of my old christian friends have sort of distanced themselves from me...and  that's okay. I get it.  No real harm done. 

In the meantime, I see grace, I see God everywhere these days.  David said when he wrote a psalm.."if I go to hell I can't escape your presence".  I am grateful that whether it's dark or light, HE is there.  I'm just really trying to follow that love that is always there; trying to  brain wash myself in HIS love that is UNCONDITIONAL......It isn't too difficult with a friend like Jeus to hang with.

Peace to you and God's blessings.