Relationships are very hard. I realize this. In some way, part of me shies from the concept of the intimate relationship of marriage, which is why I am still single. Eternally single.
I look around, and I see many divorces and separations and that pessimistic voice says why bother…(My pastor suggested that I look at the positive examples. LOL.)
Then, there is the voice that wants to be free to travel and not have to worry about anyone other than me. This voice is okay with the idea of a marriage companion to travel with but no kids. On a side note, now that I am 35, I think I won’t have kids anyway. So it’s a mute point.
Then there is the part that sings that song by India Arie that says, “I am ready for love, why are you hiding from me…” with such earnest and conviction that the other two voices are silenced.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Man in the Mirror?
About a month ago, a scandal broke out concerning a personal situation that occurred in the life of one of the elected officials who has oversight over the organization I work for.
I was shocked about the allegations, certainly. At some point during the day, I realized that people were actually “happy” about it. It was so weird. It’s like there was a gleam in people’s eyes as they said, “Have you heard…”
I should say that I have/do gossip with my friends. I am not above that, for sure. But there was something different at play here. It was as if people took pleasure and had malicious enjoyment over a very trying time in a person’s personal life.
I wrote a while back about the governor of South Carolina and how we are able to watch people’s life fall apart. What is it about a car wreck that makes people stop and watch? What is it about a tragedy in someone else’s life that causes us to stop and watch?
I never want my life to get so bad that I take enjoyment in someone else’s misfortune. It’s not right, and it’s downright cruel…
It’s like we are constantly looking for something to distract us from our own unhappiness and the fact that we are not fulfilled as individuals.
The Bible talks about focusing on those things that are good. That is what I am trying to do. I also want to look at my own wreckage and make changes. I figure I can deal with the ugliness and pain now or in 15 years or 25 years…
I guess what I am trying to say is maybe we need to spend less time focused on the lives of other people and more time getting ourselves together.
I was shocked about the allegations, certainly. At some point during the day, I realized that people were actually “happy” about it. It was so weird. It’s like there was a gleam in people’s eyes as they said, “Have you heard…”
I should say that I have/do gossip with my friends. I am not above that, for sure. But there was something different at play here. It was as if people took pleasure and had malicious enjoyment over a very trying time in a person’s personal life.
I wrote a while back about the governor of South Carolina and how we are able to watch people’s life fall apart. What is it about a car wreck that makes people stop and watch? What is it about a tragedy in someone else’s life that causes us to stop and watch?
I never want my life to get so bad that I take enjoyment in someone else’s misfortune. It’s not right, and it’s downright cruel…
It’s like we are constantly looking for something to distract us from our own unhappiness and the fact that we are not fulfilled as individuals.
The Bible talks about focusing on those things that are good. That is what I am trying to do. I also want to look at my own wreckage and make changes. I figure I can deal with the ugliness and pain now or in 15 years or 25 years…
I guess what I am trying to say is maybe we need to spend less time focused on the lives of other people and more time getting ourselves together.
I'm Still Here!!!
I am supposed to blog once a week, but I’ve obviously done a poor job in October. The good news is that I still have a day and a half to make three posts. LOL. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to say, it’s just that I have been holding back. Sometimes, the words just don’t seem adequate. Or I just feel like what I wrote makes me sound pompous, which is not a good thing! Or finally, what I say really opens me up and I feel vulnerable so I pull back. So I wanted to check in and say, I’m still here!
The other reason is that I am addicted to a word game online. I play it during lunch and when I get home until late. I miss my bedtime, and then I am up half the night thinking of words. The game is called Fowl Words. There are seven letters that are scrambled, and you have two minutes to make as many words as you can during that time. At first, it’s easy and it gets harder and harder as you go to higher levels. You decide if you can make eight words in two minutes or 13 words. Then it goes to like 18 or 23. If you make all the words, you go on. If not, you lose. As I reach higher levels, I choose the smaller about. Words have to be three or more letters and scoring is based on how many letters the words are. There is one seven letter word and a miscellaneous number of three, four, five, and six letter words. So a seven letter word is worth more than a three letter word.
Here is a good example:
B e t y r e h
Thereby
Hereby
There
Herb
They
Here
Beer
Beet
Tee
Her
Ere
Bye
Rye….
…okay. You get the picture!
The other reason is that I am addicted to a word game online. I play it during lunch and when I get home until late. I miss my bedtime, and then I am up half the night thinking of words. The game is called Fowl Words. There are seven letters that are scrambled, and you have two minutes to make as many words as you can during that time. At first, it’s easy and it gets harder and harder as you go to higher levels. You decide if you can make eight words in two minutes or 13 words. Then it goes to like 18 or 23. If you make all the words, you go on. If not, you lose. As I reach higher levels, I choose the smaller about. Words have to be three or more letters and scoring is based on how many letters the words are. There is one seven letter word and a miscellaneous number of three, four, five, and six letter words. So a seven letter word is worth more than a three letter word.
Here is a good example:
B e t y r e h
Thereby
Hereby
There
Herb
They
Here
Beer
Beet
Tee
Her
Ere
Bye
Rye….
…okay. You get the picture!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Volume VIII Issue IV
This the Editor's Corner article I wrote for the latest PCC Scroll...
The editing team had a retreat at the beginning of August. I am extremely excited about the direction the PCC Scroll is heading in. With this issue, we have a new section that will be written by Sister Deidre Daymon. The section, “These are the Years,” will focus on the senior/retired members of our community. We also have a new layout, which we hope will make the publication more readable.
At the retreat, we developed the editorial calendar for the next four issues of the Scroll. In short, the next issues will focus on our natural seasons and the movements associated with the seasons. We will parallel the natural movements with spiritual matters.
In many ways, we are starting at the end. We are starting with the harvest, which is when we reap the fruit of our labor. There are steps that take place in winter, spring, and summer that impact what we harvest in the fall. The big question is what are we harvesting right now and how does that compare to what we wish to harvest. From the resting and rejuvenating of winter, to the planting and birthing of spring, to the nurturing and pruning of summer, in the fall, we reap what we have sown.
The reaping and sowing process impacts all areas of our lives. It impacts our financial fitness and our health. It impacts our relationships with God and man. It impacts our ability to do our jobs well. The bottom line is whatever we put in, we will get out.
We are faced with situations that reveal what is really inside of us daily. When given the chance, do we act out of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance? Now is the time to be honest.
It is time that we align our actions and reactions with the fruit of the spirit. I invite all of us to sow and reap love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
The editing team had a retreat at the beginning of August. I am extremely excited about the direction the PCC Scroll is heading in. With this issue, we have a new section that will be written by Sister Deidre Daymon. The section, “These are the Years,” will focus on the senior/retired members of our community. We also have a new layout, which we hope will make the publication more readable.
At the retreat, we developed the editorial calendar for the next four issues of the Scroll. In short, the next issues will focus on our natural seasons and the movements associated with the seasons. We will parallel the natural movements with spiritual matters.
In many ways, we are starting at the end. We are starting with the harvest, which is when we reap the fruit of our labor. There are steps that take place in winter, spring, and summer that impact what we harvest in the fall. The big question is what are we harvesting right now and how does that compare to what we wish to harvest. From the resting and rejuvenating of winter, to the planting and birthing of spring, to the nurturing and pruning of summer, in the fall, we reap what we have sown.
The reaping and sowing process impacts all areas of our lives. It impacts our financial fitness and our health. It impacts our relationships with God and man. It impacts our ability to do our jobs well. The bottom line is whatever we put in, we will get out.
We are faced with situations that reveal what is really inside of us daily. When given the chance, do we act out of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance? Now is the time to be honest.
It is time that we align our actions and reactions with the fruit of the spirit. I invite all of us to sow and reap love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
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