Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Monday, May 16, 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Saturday, April 2, 2011

I Quit!


“I quit!” I told my husband. “I’m leaving our church. This no longer brings me life. It brings me death.” And my husband was the pastor!
Those words launched me into a journey of profound spirituality that I refused to continue living, pretending everything was “fine.”

It happened on January 2nd on year, and was actually much more than a New Year’s resolution (e.g. “I will go to the gym three times a week” or “I will take a class at a community college”). Something broke inside me when I finally said, “No more.”
It was a determination to quit those things that were damaging to my soul, freeing me up to choose ways of being that were authentic and rooted in love. Not only would I be changed, but my marriage, family and community also transformed in unimaginable ways.
That one decision has evolved over the years into eight “I Quit” resolutions, which I’m urging others to consider as a far more expansive and life-changing resolution for the 2011 New Year:

1. I will quit being afraid of what others think.
I will not say “yes” when I really want to say “no” because I’m afraid someone will be angry, sad or disappointed. I will speak up when I disagree or prefer something different, no longer ignoring my own values. Who I am “on stage” before others will be the same person I am “off stage” when I am by myself.

2. I will quit lying.
I will become brutally honest with myself, especially with my own thoughts and feelings. I will declare my truth to others, not fearing what they think. That truth can be as simple as “I don’t want to eat at that restaurant,” or as difficult as, “I was hurt by your comment.” Speaking the truth respectfully and clearly is one of the most significant ways I can respect myself and others.

3. I will quit dying to the wrong things.
I will not put things most important, like self-care, at the mercy of things least important, like always putting others before myself. I will actively pursue a day of rest and I will no longer set aside activities or relationships that cause my soul to feel fully alive (e.g. music, dance, art, the outdoors, travel).

4. I will quit denying sadness, anger and fear.
Many of us live inhuman lives because we believe inhuman rules like “Don’t be sad”, “It’s bad to be angry”, or “You’re weak if you’re afraid.” I will allow myself to feel all these feelings, treating them as “guests” sent to teach me something. I will neither put them in the driver’s seat and let them control me, nor will I ignore them by stuffing them in the trunk.

5. I will quit blaming.
As a human being made in God’s image, I recognize that no one is responsible for my life and happiness but me. I will take responsibility to choose my own life and help others do the same. I can’t change others, but I can change myself.

6. I will quit overfunctioning.
I will quit doing for others what they can and should do for themselves. I will stop perpetuating their immaturity or my false sense of indispensability, seeking courage and wisdom in doing so.

7. I will quit faulty thinking.
I will not assume I know what others are thinking without checking it out with them. I won’t jump to negative interpretations without having all the data. And I will not believe the falsehood that things will never change.

8. I will quit living someone else’s life.
I will embrace the unique life God has given me, paying attention to my very personal rhythms for waking, sleeping, playing and working. I will set appropriate boundaries around everything that breathes, letting go of other people’s agenda for my life. And I will follow what is important to me.

May you be courageous this new year to live divided no more, discovering the Spirit’s power that yearns to break into your life and birth that which is good, true and beautiful. Remember, if you don’t embrace your one, unrepeatable life, it won’t get lived.

Geri Scazzero is the author of the recently released I Quit: Stop Pretending Everything is Fine and Change Your Life (Zondervan, 2010). She lives in Queens, New York City.

THE WOODCARVER


Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand
Of precious wood. When it was finished,
All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be
The work of spirits.
The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:
"What is your secret?"

Khing replied: "I am only a workman:
I have no secret. There is only this:
When I began to think about the work you commanded
I guarded my spirit, did not expend it
On trifles, that were not to the point.
I fasted in order to set
My heart at rest.
After three days fasting,
I had forgotten gain and success.
After five days
I had forgotten praise or criticism.
After seven days
I had forgotten my body
With all its limbs.

"By this time all thought of your Highness
And of the court had faded away.
All that might distract me from the work
Had vanished.
I was collected in the single thought
Of the bell stand.

"Then I went to the forest
To see the trees in their own natural state.
When the right tree appeared before my eyes,
The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.
All I had to do was to put forth my hand
and begin.

"If I had not met this particular tree
There would have been
No bell stand at all.

"What happened?
My own collected thought
Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;
From this live encounter came the work
Which you ascribe to the spirits."

- Chuang Tzu
from The Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Emanual

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Wednesday, February 23, 2011


The most effective way to keep information from
someone is to put it in a book. ~SR

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pooh and Piglet


Piglet: "How do you spell love?"
Pooh: "You don't spell it, you feel it."

It's A Book - By Lane Smith

Spiritual Teacher/Spiritual Seeker


A man flying in a hot air balloon realizes that he is lost. He spots a person on the ground, reduces his altitude, and shouts, "Hey! Can you tell me where I am?"

The person below says, "Yes, you're in a hot air balloon hovering 30 feet above this field."

The balloonist says, "You must work as a spiritual teacher."

"I do," replies the person, "How did you know?"

"Well," says the balloonist, "what you told me is true enough, but it's of no use at all."

The person below said, "You must be a spiritual seeker."

"I am," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," says the person, "you don't know where you are, or where you're going, but you expect me to be able to help you. You're in the same position you were in before we met, but now it's my fault!"

~source unknown

Monday, January 31, 2011

Walk Away!


Don't look at it! Don't touch it! Don't taste it! Just Walk Away...

Longing!


Longing to get away from it all! Anyone want to join me?

Waiting!


Waiting on You Father! Waiting.

Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters

Changing our behaviour is difficult. If it were simply a matter of deciding to change, and following through on that change, there would be no need for psychotherapists.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Money Makers Paradise Become a Pastor



by Slashing Tongue's blog

Bishop Eddie Long, a pastor who is being accused of luring four young man into sexual relationships. Well he is still innocent till proven guilty which is very unlikely considering the support he has. This article isn’t about the allegations or this pastor but it is about the money made by such independent mega churches and its pastors. Over the years, there have been many independent pastors, internet pastors or street pastors arising. When video sites like youtube or dailymotion making it easy for people to upload almost any type of content it has also made it easy for people to make money the right or the wrong way. Depends on how an individual takes it though.

I am not saying that when one pastor does something wrong that he represents all pastors. It also does not mean that we should not doubt them and their actions. I have seen so many videos of pastors and evangelical preachers using various methods to scam and promote their products into getting people to buy them. What do the people do, they spend and donate. Where does the money go? To god? Does god need money? Maybe people might think the money goes to church for its maintenance and payouts. Every time you look at a pastor at an event, he wears expensive clothing,jewelries and has very nice vehicles. There were even documentaries where they showed pastors having personal chefs and having taking trip to places where the very people who donated the money can’t afford. Is this really what people want?

The country already has economical issues and many people are losing their jobs. Yet there are still people who choose to leech of others. At the same time, there are people who let themselves be leeched. Does religion make people blind? Is it so hard for people to do some research? What can we do teach people to be more aware of such pastors. Than comes the outstanding faith healers who claim they can cure you of any health problems. During the event they will walk up to anyone and start describing that person’s home and address. Then they start to heal them and their health problems are solved miraculously. These people literally conned the audience using creative methods such form filling before the event and using radio transmitters to lie to their victims. Of course with people like James Randi around such scam artists are bound to be exposed. What is surprising is that these scam artists are out of jail and are able to continue to do what they were doing before. Yes, they still make money.

Oh well living in the country of the free anything is possible….

Friday, January 28, 2011

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters



by Portia Nelson

I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost … I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place
but, it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in … it’s a habit.
my eyes are open
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V

I walk down another street.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Self Betrayal


The betrayal

that hurts the most is

betrayal of self

times that i am not the person that God intends

when pressures of life

twist my identity into that which i do not recognize

my identity is in my creator

Friday, January 21, 2011


The Searcher at the Stone Hut

A young man decided that he wanted to learn the ways of God. So he traveled to the edge of the great sea. With the help of local farmers and shepherds, he found his way to the simple stone hut of an ascetic monk, considered by the locals to be a holy man.

The old monk listened to his request and then told him, “First you must find God in the scriptures. Read through the Bible one hundred times. Then return and tell me what you have found.”

Three years passed, and the young man journeyed back to the stone hut. He and the old man walked along the shore.

“Tell me of your studies, young man.” said the monk.

“I found the story of a God who at times seemed harsh and even cruel, but I also found a God who loved with a generosity I can scarcely comprehend. The contrast confused me. And there were many verses which troubled me. I talked to various religious leaders and scholars in my town. But they had so many different interpretations of the scriptures, that they seemed to be talking about completely different deities. So I just continued my reading.”

“Yes, and in your reading, what did you find?”

“I found a holy God who created all that is because of Who He is, and Who loves that which He created because of Who He is.”

The old man smiled and nodded. He bent over and scooped up a handful of sand. Carefully emptying the sand into a leather pouch, he pulled the draw strings tight and tossed it to the young man. “Now, you must find God in His creation. Return when you find God between the grains of sand in your hand.”

Many years passed, and the man returned, no longer young. The old hermit of the stone hut had grown weak and seldom left his sleeping mat. But he smiled and gestured for his visitor to sit on the crude, wooden bench.

“I discovered that God holds together the invisible particles that make up each grain of sand, but He also fills the space between them. He forms all that is and fills all that is not. The air I breathe, the sunlight I see, God is in it all but contained by none of it. There is nowhere in the universe I can go that God did not create and does not sustain. Therefore I aware that God is ever present, that I am ever in Him. But I still feel that I do not truly know God yet.”

The aged monk motioned for him to kneel by his sleeping mat. The younger man leaned forward to hear.

“You have learned well. Now you must go and find God within yourself. When you find God there, return to me.”

Years passed, and the man returned to the familiar hut. The old hermit was now blind, but he recognized his disciple at once. “Tell me,” the old man whispered.

Stroking the brow of his master, the disciple replied, “I sometimes find that I still do not know myself all that well, but I believe that it is in seeking God that I come to better know myself, and in seeking within that I come to better know God. I can grieve at my weakness and failures because they do not reflect my creator’s intent for me. But I can rejoice in those same imperfections because they drive me to Him in humble dependence. And I do go to Him, because of how His Spirit works in me—revealing, forgiving, transforming, redeeming, releasing. Mystery beyond mystery, He loves me precisely as I am.

He has changed how I see everything. Now I taste times of peace beyond my ability to describe, when I am most fully aware of being in the hand of the infinite God. It is then that I live the prayer, ‘I in Him and He in me.’”

The elderly ascetic smiled, sighed, and in a weak voice, said, “You have learned well. Now this hut is yours. Your final task: find God as you.”

The old hermit closed his eyes with a smile on his face and breathed his last breath.
Add a caption
The Searcher at the Stone Hut

A young man decided that he wanted to learn the ways of God. So he traveled to the edge of the great sea. With the help of local farmers and shepherds, he found his way to the simple stone hut of an ascetic monk, considered by the locals to be a holy man.

The old monk listened to his request and then told him, “First you must find God in the scriptures. Read through the Bible one hundred times. Then return and tell me what you have found.”

Three years passed, and the young man journeyed back to the stone hut. He and the old man walked along the shore.

“Tell me of your studies, young man.” said the monk.

“I found the story of a God who at times seemed harsh and even cruel, but I also found a God who loved with a generosity I can scarcely comprehend. The contrast confused me. And there were many verses which troubled me. I talked to various religious leaders and scholars in my town. But they had so many different interpretations of the scriptures, that they seemed to be talking about completely different deities. So I just continued my reading.”

“Yes, and in your reading, what did you find?”

“I found a holy God who created all that is because of Who He is, and Who loves that which He created because of Who He is.”

The old man smiled and nodded. He bent over and scooped up a handful of sand. Carefully emptying the sand into a leather pouch, he pulled the draw strings tight and tossed it to the young man. “Now, you must find God in His creation. Return when you find God between the grains of sand in your hand.”

Many years passed, and the man returned, no longer young. The old hermit of the stone hut had grown weak and seldom left his sleeping mat. But he smiled and gestured for his visitor to sit on the crude, wooden bench.

“I discovered that God holds together the invisible particles that make up each grain of sand, but He also fills the space between them. He forms all that is and fills all that is not. The air I breathe, the sunlight I see, God is in it all but contained by none of it. There is nowhere in the universe I can go that God did not create and does not sustain. Therefore I aware that God is ever present, that I am ever in Him. But I still feel that I do not truly know God yet.”

The aged monk motioned for him to kneel by his sleeping mat. The younger man leaned forward to hear.

“You have learned well. Now you must go and find God within yourself. When you find God there, return to me.”

Years passed, and the man returned to the familiar hut. The old hermit was now blind, but he recognized his disciple at once. “Tell me,” the old man whispered.

Stroking the brow of his master, the disciple replied, “I sometimes find that I still do not know myself all that well, but I believe that it is in seeking God that I come to better know myself, and in seeking within that I come to better know God. I can grieve at my weakness and failures because they do not reflect my creator’s intent for me. But I can rejoice in those same imperfections because they drive me to Him in humble dependence. And I do go to Him, because of how His Spirit works in me—revealing, forgiving, transforming, redeeming, releasing. Mystery beyond mystery, He loves me precisely as I am.

He has changed how I see everything. Now I taste times of peace beyond my ability to describe, when I am most fully aware of being in the hand of the infinite God. It is then that I live the prayer, ‘I in Him and He in me.’”

The elderly ascetic smiled, sighed, and in a weak voice, said, “You have learned well. Now this hut is yours. Your final task: find God as you.”

The old hermit closed his eyes with a smile on his face and breathed his last breath...