Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Out Of The Loop

This is becoming my new  phase "Once again out of the loop".
Seems the more we are involved in things in life,the less we know about whats going on around us.
Sigmund Freud suggested that "we can be successful in our jobs or we can be successful in our family life,but we can not be successful at both,because one has to give some where."
What does this mean?
You can not be involved in everything in life and be a success at it all,because something will always be lost in some fashion,some where.
Jesus put it this way "you can not serve two masters because you will love one and hate the other."
Our lives are like that,we can serve our family ,our jobs,our churches,or our  committees but we can not serve all of them equally,because at some point one or all of them, will seem like a burden and we will become dissatisfied  and feel like a slave, beginning to despise one or all our commitments.
We have to find balance in our lives,deciding what we will devote more time to and let the rest  come in second or third place,pulling our selves away to care less and do only the things we want to do when we choose to do them.
Not all of us are meant to do everything and be everything to everyone.
I decided along time ago that my family comes before my job,if my family needs me then my job comes after them,even if it means the possibility of losing my employment.
We all have commitments and business to deal with but our lives will never be totally fulfilled by all our wants and desires.
Being out of the loop to me means not being fully involved in everything around me,then making the conscience decision that its OK,even if it makes me feel let down or less important.
We all have gifts,some are meant to use their gifts in the houses of a church others in the world.
Though at times it may seem a let down if we are not gifted in a certain area,try as we might,we will never succeed in that area.
Jesus,himself was a traveling Rabbi,or teacher,he taught in temples but had no building of his own,he walked the earth and spoke truth to those in need,trying to gather together the lost sheep and bring them back into the fold.
Some of us may not be people of stone and mortar churches,some may be people of the earth,we all have gifts and talents and those may not mean a building.
The world should be our day to day church and maybe a brick and mortar building on Sunday, our charging station.
To get to locked into politics,of any kind distracts us from our day to day mission of family,friends and strangers in need.
Maybe the loop that encompasses committee things is to small a loop, for some people ,the whole world lays before them,lost and confused,bruised and damaged,maybe our callings are to the lost lonely little lambs who need that special one on one caring that we are gifted to give and do.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Chatter

Most of us spend more time talking then listening.
We do not understand when silence is a good thing,noise is everywhere in our lives and we just don't know how to tune out the static.
We hear to much,speak to much and filter nothing.
Everyone of us thinks our opinion or ideas are the most important ones.
Silence is not something we are accustomed to.
In many monasteries and convents,there are times in the day were no one is allowed to speak,silence is key word because it allows one to focus on what they are doing or praying,in a way that can not be done when our brains are running at a hundred miles an hour looking for thoughts and ideas to for our words and sentences.
Silence can be refreshing but it can also be frightening.
Today while at the grocery store,the cashier had a metal screened,surfaced voice box,she could not speak unless she put her fingers over her metal ring,I began to think how much a person must go through to answer a simple questionnaire unable to answer or speak a comment.
How every word is either something that needs to be said or just useless chatter.
Maybe if we all had to struggle to say the things that need to be said,we would be less inclined to speak gossip out of boredom.
Being a child,I was very shy,people thought it was odd to not want to speak with family or friends,they would encourage and try to get me to say more then just a single word answer,as if being shy was an undesirable  crime.
Now that I am an adult I wish I still had the ability to be a little more on the shy side.
Not everything in our brain needs to be out of our mouths and not every sentence we speak will go down in history as golden and pure,words of wisdom,even though we think so.

Rich Man Poor Man

When did it become such a bad thing to be rich?
We spend a great deal of our lives doing things like going to college,taking courses,trying for a good paying job and desiring to live the good life,but in the same breath we dislike those who have made it to be successful.
While growing up in the 70's,the whole idea was to be comfortable in life,my parents never drove us by rich peoples small mansions and said"those people are evil and we need to take all their money,so we can work less and live better."
My parents always impressed on us how lucky we were to live in a country were every generation can do better then  those who immigrated here.
My grandparents came from Canada,they were farmers ,my grandfather had a 3th grade education,my father made it to the 8th grade,he worked hard to built his own house and hoped for more for his children.
The torch,so to speak,gets passed from one generation to the next,none of us is guaranteed a better life,but every one  of us is a stepping stone for the next generation.
Yesterday,while at coffee hour after church,someone at the table I was sitting at,pointed to a table across the room ,filled with church members talking about the up coming golf tournament,this gentleman  said,"look  over there,that's where all the rich people are ,you don't see them sitting with us,the poor people."
The thought came to my mind,who cares if people are rich or poor, just because some one plays golf does not mean they are wealthy.
Envy can be a terrible thing,it causes division.
We can not all have money but we can all have wealth.
Personal happiness with your self is more important then what one has in their saving account.
In the end, when we are laid to rest,the only wealth we will attain,is being in the presence of God.
Someone once told me the error of having wealth is not how big your house is or fancy your car,it is what you do with that home or vehicle.
We are required to help those in need,if God has given us more then it is our job to do the best we can with the extra we have.
A poor person can be just as earthly,if not more so,with the little God as graced them with,by not sharing,in a loving way,what they have.
Mother Teresa once told a story about how one day one of her sisters brought some rice to a poor family,the lady of the household divided her gift in half then said,I will give this to my neighbor because she is poorer the me.
Now that is wealth.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Premonitions

Do you every have a sense about things,only to find out what your feeling comes true?
I have been blessed or cursed with just such issues.
Seems most of my adult life I get these feelings about things or people that I can not shake.
Most times when these waves come over me its usually a warning of what may be a bad person or situation.
I have had times at work where I will get this feeling of doom or dread only to have things go wrong on the floor,with patients or staff members.
Most people wish to have glimpse into the future,I,on the other hand,usually choose not to.
There have been times while quietly sitting at home, this absolute need to pray for someone comes across my whole being,making me feel if I do not do what is being asked of me, this person may not be comforted.
Most times I do not even know who needs my prayer,but several days later it will be made clear to me.
Some may call this a premonition or being psychic,I just call it a passing wave which in most instances,becomes true.
Many is the new person I have met,where upon saying hello to them,I have an overwhelming feeling to stay away from them.
Where I work the nurses aides have come to me and told me that when I have these feeling I am to tell them so they can prepare themselves for what is about to happen to them or their patients.
As a matter of fact Friday while standing at my med cart getting ready for the morning med pass this intense feeling of doom entered my body,I told the aides to prepare themselves I was getting "one of those feelings"and before I knew it within an hour I Had two staff people have to leave because they began to run fevers and vomit and one patient who started to take a turn for the worse.
It ended up being a very challenging morning,which did not settle down til lunch time.
What is a person to do with such an issue?
I have found deep heart felt prayer tends to help me ease and prepare myself for what is to befall those around me and myself.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Connecting The Dots

Several times this week I have done things that in the end connect with some ones life in ways I could not have even imagine.
It amazes me how my simple small acts can be joined together to make up a larger picture causing, what I now refer to as a " God connection".
Mother Teresa used to say that we are each like pieces in a watch,some small,some large,some cheap and some expensive,but together we make up the watch and God the energy,that makes the watch  run.
That one simple act we do,for reasons we think are the answers, end up being so much more,to another person life.
Send some one a gift or a card and the intent on your part may be something to lift a friends spirits,but in the receivers eyes or heart it may be just the words that have the right answer,to the receivers prayers or worries.
Spend some time speaking with a friend or making a suggestion and one word you have just said may have a different meaning then what you intended,just the right word to help them take action.
We do not understand the connections we make,on a day to day basis,but God does and sometimes He even allows us to glimpse into its hidden meaning.
The connections we make are like a ripple on a pond,caused by a stone,we see the ripples spread across the surface and hear the sound, but we miss the depth of its descent, as it lands on the bottom.
Choose to do and say good,be kind and encouraging and someday when your allowed a glimpse at the connection it will surprise you what the real meaning is and why your were allowed to play a part.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

To Thine Own Self Be True

To thine own self be true..W.Shakespeare.

Today while watching Joyce Myers, she mentioned how we should question our selves on everything we do.
The Bible says we should be humble and honest in order to bring God his glory.
So how can this be so, if our reasons for doing things are self centered and power grabbing,for our glory.
Why do we do the things we do?
This may seem very difficult to figure out,but really, is not.
Most of the time when we do something,just the simple question "why" will bring to our minds,the immediate and exact reason.
Today,I have decided,that from now on when ever I choose to do or agree to something,I will ask myself  "why" whats in it for me? and whats in it for God?
Questions like "why am I angry at this or that person?" " why do I want to be on this or that committee?" " why do I say yes or no to certain things when asked to do them?"..why,why,why.
Most of the times the answers we get will not be the ones we may want to face,We tend to think everything we do is for the good of others but most times its for self glorification .
Soon it will become evident to us,that the things we agree to are not so much for the glorification of God but for the praise of our selves.
If we took the time, to be honest, we would soon find ,we deceive ourselves on many levels.
Our days are filled with garbage,that we think is important,if we could rid ourselves from our lies we would see how much more manageable life would become and whats really important  to us.
My new watch word will now be "why" and with it I'm hoping to have a more quality filled and less junk accumulated, life
To my own life I now choose to be true,and so should you.