November 3rd - Enjoying "we"

The story...

I've written before of how much I liked my Amber-Vision glasses.  When sporting my Amber-Visions, my environment looked: clearer, more vibrant, exciting, pleasant, with a touch of expectancy for the "good life."  Sure, I wasn't always wearing them.  They weren't always there when I needed them.  They didn't fit quite as good as they aged.  The effect was less noticeable as time passed.  And, they were eventually lost or replaced.

What if we had glasses that filtered our random thoughts, pre-judgements, biases, rules, fears, and worries?  I wonder what we might sense, better understand, imagine, and experience.  How would the group look - might we feel more like "we" instead of "me" and "them?"

Scripture says that the Holy Spirit actually inhabits those who place their faith and trust in the great work of their Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  That means that God is present within many of those imperfect, odd, clunky, and slowing maturing people within the only church in town.  Maybe we wouldn't have to "put up" with people if we tuned into the reality of the Spirit of God in both us and others.  Whoa!  I wanna look through those lenses.

Just for today...

"Detach from the problem, but not from the person . . . Detachment motivated by love can shield us from needles pain and set the stage for a truly rewarding relationship." One Day at a Time (p. 308)

"...when any member regularly dominates the sharing and meetings, the group suffers."  Courage to Change (p. 308)

April 8th - Rule of Thumb - Go Left

The story...

When guessing the path that another person took, Jack Reacher always chose to turn left - counter clockwise.  Why?  Most people are right handed.  Yet most left-handed and right-handed are right-footed.  With no other information available, the average person will kick out their right leg and begin to turn counter clockwise.  This is a "Reacher" rule-of-thumb, heuristic, for decision making.

If you're following me, you'd soon find that I'm a predictable person who likes to follow comfortable patterns.  Thankfully, I'm also a curious sort who's willing to try on new ideas and ways of looking at things.  Yes, I'm what some would call a "life long learner." 

Some things are "too good" to be true so we may either accept it blindly or reject the dish without a taste.  Like the following situation from the Seinfeld series:

When Newman finds out that the no-fat yogurt store is shut down because the delectable yogurt truly has fat - he blames the people who exposed the façade.  He directs anger towards those who knocked down his "house of cards."

The only church in town's standard would be truths that God's revealed.  These truths often run contrary with our desire to satisfy ourselves by eating as much no-fat yogurt as we want.  We may choose to surround ourselves with those who also "buy in" to the no-fat yogurt ruse - everybody's okay as long as the ruse remains unexposed.  God's Word shines the light of truth on our thinking and behavior to expose and condemn the self-absorbed life condition for what it truly is.   It seems we can only find real satisfaction by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with our God in Christ (Micah 6:8).

Is today a good day to see what condition your condition is in? 

Just for today...

"There can be great value in examining the past. It can offer information about the present, as well as clues that might help us make changes for a better future. . . Still, it is important to remember that the past is over.  We are powerless over what has gone before."  Courage to Change (p. 99)

"Sometimes I would rather deny that a decision needs to be made than to tolerate the discomfort that comes with participating in the decision-making processes. . . I grew up seeing the extremes of decision-making - dominance and lack of participation."  Hope for Today (p. 99)