Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Persecution

As a Roman Catholic I am oftentimes the subject of scorn, ridicule, and insult. Over the last seven to eight years others have called me an idol worshipper, a follower of the anti-christ, a papist, and a fake Christian. I've been accused of worshipping goddesses and trying to deify ordinary men and women. I've been told that I am not saved, nor do I truly have faith in Christ in my heart. I've had Christians hand me pamphlets like this one, urging me to truly convert:

These statements make me smile, particularly when I turn to this excerpt from the Gospel according to Luke (21: 12-19)

Jesus said to the crowd: "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. you will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

Bring it on, I say. Above all other things, Christians are called to love their enemies and one another. It is Christ's greatest commandment to love one another. Call me what you want, persecute me all you want, mock me all you want; I'm going to love you anyway!

Charley

 

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Tuesday, Tuesday

Tuesday is my favorite day of the week. It's after Monday, which is just a tough day, it's before Wednesday which can be so depressing as it's 'hump day', and it's neither Thursday or Friday, during both of which you can be itching for the weekend. It's the only day of the week that is just a day, and I like that inherent simplicity.

I am tired today and I'm looking forward to the double espresso that is in my near future. I wanted to post and say thank you for all your prayers, comments, and well-wishes. Your support is invaluable. I have a ton of work to do so that I can catch up from the weekend's insanity, so I can't stay long.

Talk soon.

Charley

 

Tags: Courage, Prayer, Tuesday

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Passing

Everyone, I ask your prayers for my Nana, Genevieve. Suffering from a severe infection striking her on Wednesday, she passed away quickly and quietly this past Saturday. Thankfully, the family stood by her bed in the last hours of her life and made her happy by sharing a Thanksgiving meal together. I will post again soon, I hope.

Charley

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Give thanks!

Give thanks and praise where proper!

Psalm 65

For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.

To you we owe our hymn of praise, O God on Zion; To you our vows must be fulfilled,
you who hear our prayers. To you all flesh must come
with its burden of wicked deeds. We are overcome by our sins; only you can pardon them.
Happy the chosen ones you bring to dwell in your courts. May we be filled with the good things of your house, the blessings of your holy temple!
You answer us with awesome deeds of justice, O God our savior, The hope of all the ends of the earth and of far distant islands.
You are robed in power, you set up the mountains by your might.
You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples.
Distant peoples stand in awe of your marvels; east and west you make resound with joy.
You visit the earth and water it, make it abundantly fertile. God's stream is filled with water; with it you supply the world with grain. Thus do you prepare the earth:
you drench plowed furrows, and level their ridges. With showers you keep the ground soft, blessing its young sprouts.
You adorn the year with your bounty; your paths drip with fruitful rain.
The untilled meadows also drip; the hills are robed with joy.
The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys blanketed with grain; they cheer and sing for joy.

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Did YOU pay attention during high school?

This is a fun one :)

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

Charley

tags: Courage, quizzes

C List!

I picked this up over at Paul's. Turns out, I'm middle of the road - an average kind of guy!

C-List Blogger

Charley

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The quiet and shared night

I read an entry earlier tonight that talked about the pains and struggles of insomnia. Having been one for approaching two years, stumbling about even as my medication pushes me relentlessly toward bed, I have found a quiet sense of hope in the still darkness. There are others like me, if you look out your windows, watch the streets. People who, for whatever reason, live both day and night, struggling to find sleep between.

Maybe we are driven by loneliness, the search for something, anxiety, fear, but all of us in common have the chance of sweet succor with the Nightmistress, accepting our fate and living as if we are normal.

Charley

Journal Tournament

Check out Kellen's Journal Tournament. Awesome!

JOURNAL TOURNAMENT-A three task tournament between journalers, building community and friendly competition in J-Land.  The tournament is in an experimental phase...a one task 20 question Tournament Revolutionized.  If you sign up, you will be asked to complete those 20 questions by the appropriate deadline, and whoever has the most points, will be declared the winner!  It's a great way to get involved and see if you like the Journal Tournament without signing up for the full three tasks.  Everyone who has joined the past three tournaments has had a blast!  See what it's all about...http://journals.aol.com/love2sing2007/JournalTournament.  Now registering through November 30!

Getting Started With Quick Edit Mode, Part 1 (Adding Basic Info)

Getting Started With Quick Edit Mode, Part 1 (Adding Basic Info) :

A few of you emailed or left comments about how to get your own AIMpage, or how to set one up. The link above is straight from the AIMPages' journal which is authored by none other than Joe of ex-MagicSmoke fame. He's got a bunch of great tutorials about AIMPages to help you get started.

While I know some of you don't like them (or their UI), I find it fun and frankly far less irritating than MySpace. If you'd like to know how to get started, check out the link above.

Charley

Tags: AIMPages, Magic Smoke, Courage

Monday, November 20, 2006

It's been a while!

Greetings and salutations!

I'm glad to be back and posting on my journal. The simple truth is, I stink at balancing work, home, and recreational activities. Teaching again has been wonderful, but the changes in stress and work load are somewhat staggering, particularly now that the old noggin doesn't work quite the way it did in my prior life as a high-school teacher.One of the elements 'cut' out of my life has been writing in my journal (this one or anyone), personal email, and surfing all the various places in my feed reader.

When I am online, I've really only done three things: work on my AIM page (which is actually kind of cool - you should make one and be my buddy!), use my IM now and again, and play Guild Wars. That last bit has become my 'not-so-real-world' escape and its terribly fun and addicting. You should play.

I will try to catch up with all of you that have been so patient. Also, keep a sharp eye; Amanda and I will soon be playing another round of twenty questions! Oh, and if you want to watch something really funny, click the play icon below; particularly if you're white and nerdy!:)

 
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