Ruminations from the Temple

I'm grateful for a new website I found that really was uplifting - I think you will like it, too. I'm grateful that my husband fixed the broken light in the library.  Now I don't have to sit in a cave while I'm on the computer! I'm grateful that my daughter has good friends. I'm grateful for the little bit of cash I have in my purse. I'm grateful that my daughter is a trusted babysitter, and for the sweet, little 3 year old voice that rang through the house for a bit this week. I'm grateful that my hubby is supportive and can always tell when I'm hurting. I'm grateful for the escape of sleep...and dreams. I'm grateful for good friends that I've made online - they are invaluable to me. I'm grateful that everything passes in time.  (It really does, right?) This morning I'm grateful for the ability to get my thoughts out in words, either written or spoken. I'm grateful that Rob has the week off and that he i...

Could we see when and where we are to meet again,  we would be more tender when we bid our friends goodbye. ~Marie Louise De La Ramee It is my experience that too often life takes a strange turn and we end up in a strange place, a place we never expected or planned.  Whether good or bad, changes are wrought and people come and go out of our lives. I hate goodbyes.  You, too? In the midst of inter-personal upheavals, I always consider the fact that we only have today to live, as we are certainly not guaranteed tomorrow.  I guess I have to admit that I arrogantly don't want to fear anything, but I definitely do fear this; that something unalterable might happen to those around me and I won't be afforded the opportunity to make things right.  Harsh words are spoken, things ignored, feelings disregarded...and then the unthinkable happens.  The diagnosis.  The accident.  The last day. The lost opportunities. Selfish, I suppose, to fear that I...

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet.  I Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13 - Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails. Now abide faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped.  Luke 6:36-38 - Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ...

With my ever-expanding do-list today, I almost forgot to post Grateful Friday!  Oops!  I'm grateful it's not snowing. We are grateful that we got to hear a good friend play with his band this week - they were awesome.  I wasn't so grateful for the residual headache the next morning, however. I'm grateful that I have gotten to spend so much time with my friend Cherrie this month - what a treat! I'm grateful that life goes on. I'm grateful that I have been able to keep my commitments and still minister to others despite my feeling rather numb. I'm grateful that my kids were excited about the lunar eclipse even though the moon clouded over right before the main event.  Oh well! I'm grateful for a lovely lunch with a dear friend - she is one of the gems the LORD has given me though this time of difficulty. I'm grateful that we are got to try Zumba for the first time - it was an absolute hoot!  My cheeks (facial cheeks, that is) were hurt...

[Author's note:  Padawan has also written an interesting article on this very topic, as it has been heavy on our hearts as of late.  Find her article HERE .] For my own edification and to get things straight in my own head, I would like to ruminate a bit on lashon hara , which is gossip for all us non-Hebrew speakers. A good friend noted the wiki definition and I believe it is worthy of pondering.  "Lashon hara (Hebrew לשון הרע; "evil language/tongue") is the prohibition in Jewish Law (Torah) of telling gossip. Lashon hara differs from defamation in that its focus is on the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose , rather than falsehood and harm arising. By contrast, motzi shem ra (spreading a bad name) consists of untrue remarks, and is akin to slander or defamation. Speech is considered to be lashon hara if it says something negative about a person or party , is not previously known to the public , is not seriously intended to correct or improve a nega...

Sometimes things just don't turn out the way we would like.  Circumstances are created, decisions are made and hearts break before anyone even has time to make it stop. It is through these oh-so-difficult times that we learn the most.  I wish that weren't so.  But, even with knowing it is true, I'm hoping that I don't need to learn anything more for a while so I can recover from this, um...learning experience. I know that my character has been, and continues to be, called into question because of my hobbies.  I know of no way to resolve these things.  I also know that I can choose to listen to the LORD above all else, and He proves His care for me daily despite the opinions of men. I know it didn't have to be this way. I know that I enjoy yoga stretches.  Let me clarify; I do not believe that a position of your body determines what deity you are, or are not, worshiping.  I know it is the position of the heart, not the body, that is crucial in m...

“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit.  You are what you repeatedly do.” These words spoken by the basketball great Shaquille O'Neal , is a paraphrase of a much older quote by the Greek philosopher Aristotle himself, “ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  In reading this, I had to stop and think about what kind of statement I send by my habits, the things that I repeatedly do in my everyday life...and whether or not it accomplishes the excellence I desire to exhibit. I could start with the rather mundane repetitions of my life.  I shower every day which could say that I am considerate of others by keeping myself clean, or that I'm somewhat vain because I don't want to appear dirty or smelly.  I eat the same old things everyday, which could shout that I don't really care about food except for sustenance (no, I'm most definitely not a foodie!), or it could say that I'm just not very imaginative about my foo...