Yes, I know it is Monday night, but nevertheless:
The Monday Morning Question from Kristina:
What are three things you like about fall:
1. The smell of falling leaves and damp earth
2. The first brisk wind of winter
3. The sound of wind running through fallen leaves.
This week, our Friday Five's are shared with those done by folks over at LiveJournal. As always, please feel free to send in your own Friday Five questions, and we'll post them and promote your journal!
For first-time players, you can either leave your answers in the comments below, or post a link to your journal! All are welcome to play, and thank you to anonymous, who provided last week's theme and questions. Enjoy!
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1. How long have you had your Journal?
Well, that's a really good question....I actually had to fire up another window to look. It appears I created Courage on May 17, 2005, however you should know that Courage existed in a previous form at blogger. That version of Courage was formed in August of last year, before I closed down the site, trashed the contents and started fresh here. I truly value the sense of community brought by AOL.
2. What do you consider to be the main purpose of your Journal?
Well, its primary purpose is to provide daily reflections, ecumenical in nature, based on Scripture, that provide us with practical, usable, moral encouragement in our day to day lives. I'll toss in the odd quiz, photo, meme as the mood strikes me.
3. If you could change something about your personal blogging style, what would it be?
I wish that I lived out more of what I wrote, so that my reflections wouldn't be ideals, but actual practices. It makes me a hypocrite, sadly.
4. What are your criteria for adding someone to your friends journal roll?
Just ask. Seriously.
5. Name one thing that you've never before written about in your Journal.
I've tried to avoid writing about politics and the war. I've done my best to make my journal NON political.
~~~
Reflection for 10-6 (a day late, I know)
Jeremiah, 29: 13b - 14
Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you, says the Lord, and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.
Life can be unbearable. We all see our personal Hell at different points in our lives, and its vast sadness can drain us of our faith, courage, morality, and hope. We may give in to depression, sadness, tears, anger, agony, pain, or suffering. We may lament our difficulties.
It is hard to do, but this passage reminds us to ask, "What's the point of such miserable self-pity?" If we look to one another, if we hold onto our friends and family, if we seek out help and assitance, we will beable to endure whatever itis we suffer.
Nonone need suffer alone. If we reach out, we will find someone, and when we do reach out, when we grasp for that person whose light shines brighter than the darkness of our own Hell, we will find our crosses bearable, tolerable, and far lighter than we thought.
Putting down our pride to let others help carry our loads, trusting them to not let us fall is a true sign of courage. On days when your personal Hell surrounds your being, look for those that carry the light of friendship, peace, and love. They will help you!
From Rach's Daily Life:
You Are 60% Boyish and 40% Girlish
You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.
How Boyish or Girlish Are You?
First, a poem:
Silent Spaces
In silent spaces
of cavernous time
my mind explodes
like so many crashing cymbals.
Quick - I lie to my shattered soul
and pretend all is well.
Normal - lies
Quiet - lies
Well - lies
Truth - Screaming, my heart erupts,
emotions seizing in
frantic panic, fueled by
wild-eyed fear and
impending doom, beatings, bitings,
strangulation and humiliation.
Empty - There is nowhere to hide.
Everywhere are her demons,
sucking life from my soul.
Everywhere is nowhere and
nowhere is safe, sound, and quiet.
There is nowhere to rest my tired soul.
Instead - Muscles ache, clenched in
anticipation of inevitable
failure, and my fractured mind,
my rent soul, my tattered emotions
lay desolate in
the great silent spaces of life and mind.
~~~~
Today's reflection is from Job: 35: 2
Do you think it right to say, "I am just rather than God'?
I know that as readers of this journal we are not all Christians, but in this passage is the essence of selfishness. We look inside ourselves for answers, guidance, direction, justification, reason, rationale, and our desires.
Inward.
We are always looking inward for answers. Inward is where we go to hide from fear, our own lies, and the deceptions we create to make life tolerable. Inward is the deadly fortress constructed by ego and pride, with mistrust as its mortar.
True happiness, peace and fulfillment come when we trust others to be our guides, not when we only look inward.
Life's burdens are too great for us to carry them alone. We belong in community, where our diverse strengths combine for the benefit of all. We are imperfect people, and for us to presume that we can survive alone in a difficult world is to rely on the smoke and mirrors of ignorance and self-promotion. We are better than that and are called to look beyond ourselves to find life in those we meet, know, love, and even dislike.
In them are the tools, emotions, traits, and abilities we need to make it from one day to the next. What is life without community? A vacuum, empty of everything, nomatter what we try and fill it with from inside ourselves.
It is our choice to make - others, or ourselves. Which is the only way to carry a heavy load too much for your muscles?
Some are complaining about the awards.
Regardless of how you feel, reading this is worth it. It is from Patrick's Place and is his own editorial on the recent complaints.
Today's reflection is from Psalm 51: 7-8
True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me. Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
In our mistakes and failings, whatever our beliefs or faith, I feel we often fight the accountability that naturally comes with wronging others. It's true that we hide shame in our heart's darkness, avoiding reconciliation, but we forget that our need for love requires never shirking our search for forgiveness.
That search yeilds sincerity and wisdom of heart, soul, and mind. That is a grand reward for having the moral courage to admit our failures! We learn that truth always provides us the light and happiness we need to live fulfilled lives.
From Rach's Daily Life:
You Are A....Gothic Ballerina! -dark -beautiful -kind
What's Your Halloween Costume? .:with pics:.
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