Unselfish love-Can it be real?

It's Valentine's Day. Love in its various forms comes to mind especially this day. Most of us when we think about love, we think about the kind of love that happens between a man and a woman. That can be good if it's not perverted to its lowest form. Selfless love between a man and a woman takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You have to get out of the mindset that you are the ultimate decision maker. This is hard. All of us want to be our own decision makers. We struggle when we feel that our needs are not being satisfied.

I thought a lot about the example that Jesus gave us when he sacrificed himself for us. His love was and still is an unselfish love. It boggles the mind to think about all he has done for us. Sometimes you question its realness. Could it possibly be real that he could love us so much to die? What can we do that will reflect our gratitude for everything he's provided and been?

We can love each other by listening and not judging the people around us. We can reach out and touch someone. When we do this, then we reflect God's love.

Desperate times

Some tell us that we're living in desperate times. Signs all around reflect that mentality. Can we pick ourselves up? Yes. We can move on. Right now it may seem that everything is dark and gloomy. We hear the despair in the voices around us. Yet we can't give in to them. There is a light. We can't see it now, but it's there.

Some tell us that we are nothing, and that we should take whatever rope is hanging in front of us to take. They don't know us. Only God does. Yes, it is okay to be nervous about the direction life is taking us. We can't, however, act out of desperation anymore.

Some tell us that we are fools for bucking the changes. Their desperation shows on their faces. Yes, it is scary...but it would be even more scary not to do this now.

We are not fools. Our lives will not be dictated by any government or corporate entity that decides to use its people like slaves or serfs without any recourse for redress of grievances. We follow a higher authority....an authority that respects everyone.

Looking for a safe harbor from life's storms

This past week has been rough for me. I see the cracks on the walls and wonder if I will still have a house when everything settles down. I can't seem to settle down. So many wallow in despair. I am one of them. I am wallowing in my own pit of despair. Light seems so far away. Scriptures say "stop complaining." I try. It seems insurmountable and unattainable...this mountain I must climb. My soul has been rubbed raw by the words that hit my ears like driving rain.

I reach out and feel the support of my family. They know my struggles and my desire for a safe harbor. They have been there, being tossed and thrown from one place to another. I fear for those that threaten to take away my identity. They will realize that identity can't be stolen. I am God's child. He is my safe harbor from life's storms.

Times that try a person's soul

Often you have to step back and wonder what is going on inside a person's head to do what they do. They cite things that they think will make you say "yes", little realizing all you want to do is strangle them (not literally) for even thinking that way. You don't, of course, even though they can hear your sighs of frustration and anger. "Let it go." It's easy enough to say, but not so easy to do.

These are times that try a person's soul. Everyone is up in arms about something. You can't turn around without hearing about some poor soul murdered for food. You wonder what this world is coming to, but then realize that Satan has this world in his grip.

Yes, I can see the hurt. I feel overwhelmed by the pain I see in the faces all around me. Fear paralyzes them. I know that fear. I thank God for his protection every day. Will the time come when the Lord takes us home? Yes. He expects us to be prepared to meet him. How do I meet the needs of the people around me? I don't know. I can only trust God to help me and lead me in the way I should go. I'll leave the time to him.

Monotony dulls the senses

Funny when you think about your day to day experiences, you often think of the monotony of doing the same things over and over again. You tell yourself that tomorrow will be better. You tell others that you don't mind waiting around for a while. You don't. Yet eventually the monotony of it all dulls the senses. You don't think the way you thought before. There is no excitement, only dread.

You war against the feeling that seeps inside. You can't help feeling that you need some excitement, some spark of life. January, it seems, is a month that tends to start with excitement for the new year which quickly dies. Is there anything to do about it? No. You just have to hold on...think about the future....dream like you used to do before the information overload buried you.

Sadly, most of us let our dreams overtake us. We long for something we can't have.

Time passages

It seems like only yesterday when I started this blog, but it's been two years. My basic premise when I started was to focus in on time. I've always had a intense fascination with time. I think it comes from an experience I had when I was seven years old back in 1970. That year seemed special to me, even though nothing really special happened. Some will recall that year as the year that Apollo 13 almost had that horrible accident in space. Others will recall the Kent State shooting and all that entailed, but since I was only seven...nothing really special happened....except I relived that year twice.

Yes, I know what you are thinking right about now. How can you go through a year twice? I did. I remember certain things that happened during that first 1970 that didn't happen during the second 1970. One of the biggest is Apollo 13. When I first read the history book that year (I was a precocious child) I noticed that the book clearly said that the Apollo program skipped over the number 13 due to superstitions. When I read it again (second 1970) Apollo 13 was mentioned along with its near disastrous results. I remember feeling a chill go up and down my spine. This, of course, wasn't the only clue I had but it was the biggest. It was like going through a time passage....

A New Year's resolution

Every year around this time you make these New Year resolutions. You know the ones. You decide to take the "bull by the horns" and do what you always wanted to do. Then it all falls apart, and you weep for what might have been. How much easier it would be not to make any resolutions. Instead you work towards meaningful and measurable goals.

What are those goals, you may ask? You wonder if you will be able to accomplish them. You can't dwell on the negative because that will drag you down. Instead you concentrate on the positive. This is hard. Our natural tendency is to dwell on the negative, not the positive.

We need to fight that natural tendency, and decide for ourselves to focus in on the positive aspects of a story instead of the ugly ones. Maybe by doing this we can create a meadow of sunshine and flowers.