As I can't sleep tonight (yay insomnia!), my mind turned to all the wonderful prayers and support of this terrific J-Land community.
Thank you. If you feel undervalued, know that I love and return the prayers you send to me. You are a valued person, truly appreciated and you make a difference in my life every day.
I am in your debt!
With love and peace,
Charley
We're going to spice up this entry a bit today - no reflection, but instead some information:
1. I am now posting in syndicate to a blogger.com journal for those of you who have moved off site. The link is to the right.
2. Courage has a map! Sign it! The link is in my 'About Me' section. Do it! :) Please?
3. You can see in my about me section that I have affiliated my blog with blogexplosion, blogstreet and others. If you want more traffic, click those banners and sign up. It'll take a bit, but you'll start to see more folks at your site.
4. I am thankful for you all. You are wonderful people.
5. My blogging over the next five or six days is might be sporadic. I am traveling tomorrow to Delaware for work, then Friday to New York and Philadelphia, Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia and/or Washington, D.C., and then Monday in Washington, D.C.. I will return home late Monday night. If I don't see you until then, be well, and I hope all is well!
Charley
I wonder if I am a mule.
I yearn to live justly and I hope to live rightly, but I am stunned by just how many times I do exactly the opposite.
I think I really am a mule.
Hee-Haw. This weekend, a good friend and I talked about choices and I said, "The road less traveled is so because it's likely the harder path." You know what I am referring to - the Frost poem and the bit about two roads diverging in the wood.
I believe in taking the harder path, when I know it to be right, but the mule in me has a senseless attraction to the well-worn grooves of the bright and 'easy' path.
What good mule would choose the hard path anyway? I know that taking the harder road means a potential lack of carrots, let alone a good time walking, so the comfort of familiar territory is a welcome relief. That's what the easy path is, after all; a way to avoid the difficulties of complicated choices.
I was reading 2 Kings, 17 today and found this (13-15a):
And though the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, "Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statues, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants and prophets," they did not listen, but were as stiff necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the Lord, their God. The rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them. The vanity they pursued, they themselves became.
Not so much has changed, I think - for me at least. Is it the same for you?
Christian or not, believer or not, do we know right and choose to hee-haw instead of living up to our own expectations? Sometimes, to that questions, maybe the answer is yes.
However, I think if we look hard enough, we will find all the courage needed to make the right choice and walk the road less traveled, doing what we know to be right and true.
The past months have been ones of confusion, fear, distress and sometimes panic. This weekend, insight and clarity unveiled my persistent sadness and my continued weakness. I am not capable of quiet content.
While I may have to work for contentment now and perhaps forever in the future I found a little comfort in a passage this weekend regarding the fear that paralyzes our hearts and turns our blood to ice. The passage is from Luke, 12: 6-9:
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows. I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
Do not be afraid. There is inspiring confidence in those four words. While the theme of Christ's teaching, regardless of what we believe that simple phrase can lead us all to hope and strength. If we are true to ourselves and true to what we know to be right, we have no need to be afraid. We will be vindicated. We will be justified. We will start our hearts beating again in the warmth of love and wisdom. And, we will not be afraid.
Hi gang! We did this a month ago, if you can believe it (October 26, 2005), and at that point this ole blog of mine was worth $34,436.94. Thankfully, she's shown a little appreciation since then, though I'm not sure how much is due to the lovely ad traffic above in my banners. How is your worth? Going up, or coming down? For me, the net gain was $12,984.42
My blog is worth $47,421.36.
How much is your blog worth?
Renee, from AcrylicStains gifted me this fabulous image. I think it's going to become my background very soon :):
Got this from over at BlahBlahBlah:
You have the eyes of a hawk. You're very much aware
about your surroundings and the situations that
you're in. People can't touch your things
because you would immediately notice what's
been touched or what's missing. You can analyze
people's thoughts and actions quite well.
That's good for you. Don't lose that sharp
vision of yours.
What Animal Eyes Do You Have?
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