Hello??? Is anybody out there????
It would be lover-ly if you would post something here. Something on your heart, something about what Love means to you, or how someone else has expressed Love. A poem or photo or something. Anything really.
I think all you have to do is register on Google blogger but I dont know. If you would like to post something and dont have a blogger account, or cant figure it out...please email me and I will post it for you. keren@kerensgallery.com.
Please consider writing something or sharing something someone else has written.
It would be great to have posts from others!
Thanks!
Peace
Keren
10.30.2008
10.28.2008
LOVE is in abundant supply because all people are created in the image of Perfect Love.
This is very comforting to me. It does not mean people will always make loving decisions and do the right thing, but Love is nonetheless present in each and every one of us and can be recognized and built upon.All people are created in the image of Perfect Love even the ones who let you down, even the ones who vote different than you. Love is a constant flow through with in and about each of us.
In Victor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" he talks about how very little our decision making process actually means anything when dealing with things beyond our control. 50-50 at best.
In most regards, I like going with the flow, but we do have to make decisions on our own sometimes.
Dear heavenly Love, please teach us to reach into our heart to open it some first to help our decisions, and reactions, flow from our very own center of Love.
Peace and Love
Keren
10.26.2008
Please, dear Heavenly Love....Let Love of Life, not Love of Money, Direct Us.
Responsibility and fortitude will get us through.
Re-distribute Life and Love, not money.
Elite wealthy politicians, white or black or whatever color, are not God. Jesus was not a politician. ALL political candidates are politicians - no matter the color of their skin.
Support Life, Fortitude, Compassion, Growth, Opportunity, Freedom and Entrepreneurship.
Encourage fiscal responsibility and accountability from, not dependency on, Government/Politicians.
Encourage personal responsibility and fortitude by dependency on God.
Peace
Love
Keren
10.24.2008
I gotta be me! Or do I?
God has given me some very clear instructions lately. I have interpreted these instructions primarily through my physical circumstances but also through mmy lovely ISDs (Indirect-Spiritual-Directors.)
First instruction....“practice anonymity”.
Due to physical (financial) circumstances I started taking public transportation to and from work most days. The Bus, not The Train. Somehow it seems The Train implies more glamour. The Bus implies lack of glamour for sure.
The first couple of days I surprised myself with feeling extremely self-conscious waiting for the bus to take me home…in broad daylight…at a major intersection in an affluent part of town. I thought everyone was looking at me and thinking I was one of the really poor miserable people I was standing with; probably shaking their heads in pitiful disgust at my very appearance.
I even moved down the street to another stop, only to find myself standing there waiting for the bus amid several fine outdoor-patio-establishments with fine people casually reclining, sipping cocktails, leisurely munching on their happy hour snacks.
Hopefully no one I know will see me.
This surprised me because I truly thought I was above caring what people think of me…apparently not.
But it gets worse…fast forward a few days and I realized…No one is looking at me at all.
No one even really sees “me”. It is like being dead. Gone. Your existence is not even noticed. I am simply one being in a mass of other beings waiting for something out of my control that I am totally dependent on to deliver me to where I need to be.
Don’t you love it?
Now, I love taking the bus, I like seeing and being with the people, I like just sitting there zoning out while somewhere else as somebody else drives....or reading or listening to my cd’s (yes I am a dinosaur)…I like getting the little walk in the morning and in the evening. It takes a little longer to get where I am going, but in reality it has given me a little more time of my very own.
Today I heard price of gas is going down significantly so my circumstances may not be forcing me to take the bus after all. So I will have to choose The way of the Bus or my old way of driving myself.
Cute work God, cute.
Peace
Keren
PS. Choices are made one day/one moment at a time. If you see me driving today it is only because I have a work assignment north of town most of the day today (thanks L!)
First instruction....“practice anonymity”.
Due to physical (financial) circumstances I started taking public transportation to and from work most days. The Bus, not The Train. Somehow it seems The Train implies more glamour. The Bus implies lack of glamour for sure.
The first couple of days I surprised myself with feeling extremely self-conscious waiting for the bus to take me home…in broad daylight…at a major intersection in an affluent part of town. I thought everyone was looking at me and thinking I was one of the really poor miserable people I was standing with; probably shaking their heads in pitiful disgust at my very appearance.
I even moved down the street to another stop, only to find myself standing there waiting for the bus amid several fine outdoor-patio-establishments with fine people casually reclining, sipping cocktails, leisurely munching on their happy hour snacks.
Hopefully no one I know will see me.
This surprised me because I truly thought I was above caring what people think of me…apparently not.
But it gets worse…fast forward a few days and I realized…No one is looking at me at all.
No one even really sees “me”. It is like being dead. Gone. Your existence is not even noticed. I am simply one being in a mass of other beings waiting for something out of my control that I am totally dependent on to deliver me to where I need to be.
Don’t you love it?
Now, I love taking the bus, I like seeing and being with the people, I like just sitting there zoning out while somewhere else as somebody else drives....or reading or listening to my cd’s (yes I am a dinosaur)…I like getting the little walk in the morning and in the evening. It takes a little longer to get where I am going, but in reality it has given me a little more time of my very own.
Today I heard price of gas is going down significantly so my circumstances may not be forcing me to take the bus after all. So I will have to choose The way of the Bus or my old way of driving myself.
Cute work God, cute.
Peace
Keren
PS. Choices are made one day/one moment at a time. If you see me driving today it is only because I have a work assignment north of town most of the day today (thanks L!)
10.22.2008
Understanding: A Gift of the Holy Spirit
In my desire for you to understand me, I am beginning to understand you.
Like me…You are very needy for love and attention.
We hold our neediness inside of our hearts – open or closed.
We bare our hearts, we release our neediness to the Spirit for tending and cure.
We close our hearts, we enclose the neediness.
We like to play but don’t want to be taken as a fool.
Inside you are a goof-ball just like me.
:o)
We like to give but don’t want to be taken for all we are worth.
Inside I am self-ish just like you.
:Oo
You and I are pretty much just alike.
We both are slaves of our circumstances.
Until we find peace inside of our own truth,
Neither of us will truly be free in the Spirit.
I love "us" nonetheless.
:o)
Peace
Keren
Like me…You are very needy for love and attention.
We hold our neediness inside of our hearts – open or closed.
We bare our hearts, we release our neediness to the Spirit for tending and cure.
We close our hearts, we enclose the neediness.
We like to play but don’t want to be taken as a fool.
Inside you are a goof-ball just like me.
:o)
We like to give but don’t want to be taken for all we are worth.
Inside I am self-ish just like you.
:Oo
You and I are pretty much just alike.
We both are slaves of our circumstances.
Until we find peace inside of our own truth,
Neither of us will truly be free in the Spirit.
I love "us" nonetheless.
:o)
Peace
Keren
10.20.2008
Love is a Rose
This is the tallest rose I have ever seen, Im guessing from the stem it is about 3 ft. From the ground probably 5.5 - 6 ft. It is a hybrid tea, John F. Kennedy. The rose bush is about 25 years old I suppose, it came with the house, and I have never seen it above maybe 3.5 ft. The rose part is pretty but the stem is tough and thorny - mean looking.
I dont know how it happened....other than neglect..we have had some good rain this growing season...probably though what caused the abnormal growth was it was put through too vigorous a pruning last year beginning around Lent...It may be unique, but, be certain, I'm not going to prune it very much at all this year, or let it suffer from neglect any more..enough is enough.
I understand "tough Love", but if you know Love at all, you know that Love of any kind is never tough just for the sake of being tough. :o)
Peace
Keren
10.19.2008
My Judgment: It is All About Love in All of Its Disguises
I am convinced that God is a loving God who loves me, and loves you, very much. I am also convinced this loving God does not make me or anybody else a perfect, peaceful, fearless, powerful being, who is always right and does everything with conviction...yet I still believe.
As humans, no matter how loving we may strive to be, or how loving we ultimately may be, it is difficult for us to not want to judge others, particularly those who somehow make us feel inferior.
However; We simply cannot raise ourselves high enough to see what we would need to see to be able to judge with accuracy. In this regard, I believe it was the divine in Jesus that harshly criticized the pharisees and selfrighteous, not the human in Him.
It seems to me to be very wrong for us humans to judge how the Holy Spirit works through another human.
For example. I have a friend who dresses up as a witch on Halloween, and instead of candy, she distributes those religious tracts with photos of burning buildings and words about judgement day on them to the little kids who visit her house to "trick or treat".
I thought this was just awful and I asked her why, and she said she was doing what Jesus wants her to do. Those kids may never hear of Jesus in any other way.
I said what about Love? Tell them about Love first.
She said it was all about Love. Jesus loves us so much he died for all of our sins. Belief in him gives us eternal life in the kingdom of God. When scary things happen, like Sept 11., and they see people jumping out of burning buildings..they may know Jesus is always with them, they may believe in Him"
I said ..uhmm, ok...
I dont know much, but I do know this friend of mine is a wonderfully kind person and absolutely convinced of her purpose and how the Holy Spirit works through her. She told me once she didnt like to be the one always bringing up the scary stuff, but it is a part of the bible too.
I am not convinced that she does not have a point. :o)
Peace
Keren
As humans, no matter how loving we may strive to be, or how loving we ultimately may be, it is difficult for us to not want to judge others, particularly those who somehow make us feel inferior.
However; We simply cannot raise ourselves high enough to see what we would need to see to be able to judge with accuracy. In this regard, I believe it was the divine in Jesus that harshly criticized the pharisees and selfrighteous, not the human in Him.
It seems to me to be very wrong for us humans to judge how the Holy Spirit works through another human.
For example. I have a friend who dresses up as a witch on Halloween, and instead of candy, she distributes those religious tracts with photos of burning buildings and words about judgement day on them to the little kids who visit her house to "trick or treat".
I thought this was just awful and I asked her why, and she said she was doing what Jesus wants her to do. Those kids may never hear of Jesus in any other way.
I said what about Love? Tell them about Love first.
She said it was all about Love. Jesus loves us so much he died for all of our sins. Belief in him gives us eternal life in the kingdom of God. When scary things happen, like Sept 11., and they see people jumping out of burning buildings..they may know Jesus is always with them, they may believe in Him"
I said ..uhmm, ok...
I dont know much, but I do know this friend of mine is a wonderfully kind person and absolutely convinced of her purpose and how the Holy Spirit works through her. She told me once she didnt like to be the one always bringing up the scary stuff, but it is a part of the bible too.
I am not convinced that she does not have a point. :o)
Peace
Keren
10.16.2008
A treasure that no one will ever be able to take from you.
From time to time, I go back to the late John O'Donohue's reflection.."The Question holds the Lantern" ...especially when things happen that shake up my world... it inspires me to live in "the now" without trying to "domesticate it"
The Question Holds the Lantern" (excerpts)
Humans have an uncanny ability to domesticate everything they touch. Eventually, even the strangest things become absorbed into the routine of the daily mind with its steady geographies of endurance, anxiety and contentment. Only seldom does the haze lift, and we glimpse for a second, the amazing plenitude of being here.
Sometimes, unfortunately, it is suffering or threat that awakens us. It could happen that one evening, you are busy with many things, netted into your role and the phone rings. Someone you love is suddenly in the grip of an illness that could end their life within hours. It only takes a few seconds to receive that news. Yet, when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world. All you know has just been rendered unsure and dangerous. You realise that the ground has turned into quicksand. Now it seems to you that even mountains are suspended on strings.
If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of being here. And the ironic thing is that story is not a story, it is true. It takes us so long to see where we are. It takes us even longer to see who we are. This is why the greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed. Plato said in The Symposium that one of the greatest privileges of a human life is to become midwife to the birth of the soul in another. When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become. The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it through our protective barriers of domestication and control. The normal way never leads home.
....
You develop from your own self-compassion a great compassion for others. You are no longer caught in the false game of judgement, comparison and assumption. More naked now than ever, you begin to feel truly alive. You begin to trust the music of your own soul; you have inherited treasure that no one will ever be able to take from you.
The Question Holds the Lantern" (excerpts)
Humans have an uncanny ability to domesticate everything they touch. Eventually, even the strangest things become absorbed into the routine of the daily mind with its steady geographies of endurance, anxiety and contentment. Only seldom does the haze lift, and we glimpse for a second, the amazing plenitude of being here.
Sometimes, unfortunately, it is suffering or threat that awakens us. It could happen that one evening, you are busy with many things, netted into your role and the phone rings. Someone you love is suddenly in the grip of an illness that could end their life within hours. It only takes a few seconds to receive that news. Yet, when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world. All you know has just been rendered unsure and dangerous. You realise that the ground has turned into quicksand. Now it seems to you that even mountains are suspended on strings.
If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of being here. And the ironic thing is that story is not a story, it is true. It takes us so long to see where we are. It takes us even longer to see who we are. This is why the greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed. Plato said in The Symposium that one of the greatest privileges of a human life is to become midwife to the birth of the soul in another. When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become. The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it through our protective barriers of domestication and control. The normal way never leads home.
....
You develop from your own self-compassion a great compassion for others. You are no longer caught in the false game of judgement, comparison and assumption. More naked now than ever, you begin to feel truly alive. You begin to trust the music of your own soul; you have inherited treasure that no one will ever be able to take from you.
10.14.2008
Love the one you're with
Sleepytime. I miss summer already. I like it when it is still light outside at 9:00 p.m. The moon is nice too though.
I recently was re-introduced to a great web site for reflection and meditation. www.sacredspace.ie. created/maintained by some Irish Jesuits.
Peace
Keren
10.11.2008
I may not win but let me be courageous in the attempt…(Special Olympics motto paraphrased)
Sub title….Tough Love: How many abortions have you actually experienced?
Please note: My post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of this Site's owners/originators, nor is my post necessarily a political endorsement. And…I may delete this.. because I am a chicken….:o) but I am wanting to be courageous like the children.
Phrases that seem to fit.
“Render to Cesar what is Cesar’s. Render to God what is God’s”
"Which came first? The chicken? or the egg?”
"The Dead and all of the Wounded"
I have two dogs in this hunt, to use a very Texan Phrase…and their names are Marta and Luis.
Right now, Luis and Marta exist in heaven and in my heart and my imagination. I am almost 50 years old, and since I was 18, up until very recently, Luis and Marta only meant painful shame and guilt to me. (and also probably to the men who helped create them... i recently heard a man about my age admit how much regret and guilt he was carrying for encouraging abortions in his girlfriend(s).
Why is it even on the ballot - political platforms?
If abortion had not been legal, my family would have never even considered it as an option for me, and more importantly after the first horrible legal experience, I would never had considered the second even more horrible legal experience on my own.
Give Peace a Chance, Give Love a Voice
How can a culture that supports death ever return to a culture of abundant life?
Mother Theresa once said (paraphrased)…How can we free the world of violence and the destruction of war, when these adversaries are made legal by governments who allow invasion and destruction of the life inside of a Mother’s body?
How can we expect peace/ non-violence to exist anywhere at all, when the very seminal existence of life is, by governmental law, simply allowed to be destroyed?
Which came first? Destruction of the "Streets" or destruction of the Family.
A financially poor, hard working female friend, myHim once worked with, told him that poor people in her community do not want women, no matter what age, to have abortions…no…every pregnancy is wanted, because so many of their children, particularly the young men, are being killed off by drugs or each other. Babies are wanted in poor families.
Who really wants an abortion?
It seems...the very rich people don’t have abortions, they have all the babies they want, and just call them cousins if they don’t fit the public image.:o) (joke - a little levity)
It seems Abortion is just another “tax” on the struggling "lower middle class" and an upper middle class convenience.
At what point in any child’s life is ok to pull the plug on its development?
The Catholic church, for one, (I suppose many churches might feel the same)…. does not accept or support the death penalty in any shape or form.
Jesus said it best ofcourse...give money issues to the government, give Love issues to God.
Peace and Love
Keren
Please note: My post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of this Site's owners/originators, nor is my post necessarily a political endorsement. And…I may delete this.. because I am a chicken….:o) but I am wanting to be courageous like the children.
Phrases that seem to fit.
“Render to Cesar what is Cesar’s. Render to God what is God’s”
"Which came first? The chicken? or the egg?”
"The Dead and all of the Wounded"
I have two dogs in this hunt, to use a very Texan Phrase…and their names are Marta and Luis.
Right now, Luis and Marta exist in heaven and in my heart and my imagination. I am almost 50 years old, and since I was 18, up until very recently, Luis and Marta only meant painful shame and guilt to me. (and also probably to the men who helped create them... i recently heard a man about my age admit how much regret and guilt he was carrying for encouraging abortions in his girlfriend(s).
Why is it even on the ballot - political platforms?
If abortion had not been legal, my family would have never even considered it as an option for me, and more importantly after the first horrible legal experience, I would never had considered the second even more horrible legal experience on my own.
Give Peace a Chance, Give Love a Voice
How can a culture that supports death ever return to a culture of abundant life?
Mother Theresa once said (paraphrased)…How can we free the world of violence and the destruction of war, when these adversaries are made legal by governments who allow invasion and destruction of the life inside of a Mother’s body?
How can we expect peace/ non-violence to exist anywhere at all, when the very seminal existence of life is, by governmental law, simply allowed to be destroyed?
Which came first? Destruction of the "Streets" or destruction of the Family.
A financially poor, hard working female friend, myHim once worked with, told him that poor people in her community do not want women, no matter what age, to have abortions…no…every pregnancy is wanted, because so many of their children, particularly the young men, are being killed off by drugs or each other. Babies are wanted in poor families.
Who really wants an abortion?
It seems...the very rich people don’t have abortions, they have all the babies they want, and just call them cousins if they don’t fit the public image.:o) (joke - a little levity)
It seems Abortion is just another “tax” on the struggling "lower middle class" and an upper middle class convenience.
At what point in any child’s life is ok to pull the plug on its development?
The Catholic church, for one, (I suppose many churches might feel the same)…. does not accept or support the death penalty in any shape or form.
Jesus said it best ofcourse...give money issues to the government, give Love issues to God.
Peace and Love
Keren
10.10.2008
L'Chaim
There is something inside you, (and me too, even though I am not always in touch with it).
It does not matter if you are male or female or “non-specified other”,…it does not matter where you were born,…it does not matter what color or size any part of you is….it does not matter how much money you have, or how much money you don’t have….it does not matter whether you vote Democrat or Republican (or whatever your country names people at election time)…. It is inside you. Yes you. All of you. All of us.
You (we) do not have to choose it. You (we) do not have to do anything with it ….except perhaps somehow try to grasp it and once you (we) have it, or come within breath of it, especially when it is only just within your grasp,…please do not let it go.
Oh yes, and it has a name. Its name is Love.
Let us not let Love go just for the sake of our individual, personal, me-and-mine only peace and comfort.
Let us not let go of Love, for the convenience and comfort of us being smarter or more right or calmer or better in any regard than someone else…
Please help us to not abort Love in any way shape or form – even Love in the tiniest possible form you can imagine.
Shalom
Keren
It does not matter if you are male or female or “non-specified other”,…it does not matter where you were born,…it does not matter what color or size any part of you is….it does not matter how much money you have, or how much money you don’t have….it does not matter whether you vote Democrat or Republican (or whatever your country names people at election time)…. It is inside you. Yes you. All of you. All of us.
You (we) do not have to choose it. You (we) do not have to do anything with it ….except perhaps somehow try to grasp it and once you (we) have it, or come within breath of it, especially when it is only just within your grasp,…please do not let it go.
Oh yes, and it has a name. Its name is Love.
Let us not let Love go just for the sake of our individual, personal, me-and-mine only peace and comfort.
Let us not let go of Love, for the convenience and comfort of us being smarter or more right or calmer or better in any regard than someone else…
Please help us to not abort Love in any way shape or form – even Love in the tiniest possible form you can imagine.
Shalom
Keren
Life is…
by Mother Theresa
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Peace
Keren
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
Peace
Keren
10.08.2008
Peace and Love
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Attributed to St. Francis
Peace
Keren
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Attributed to St. Francis
Peace
Keren
10.07.2008
The Clouds are the dust of His Feet
the LORD has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.I held your heart inside my heart last night and found it was still preoccupied with its shell. So I imagined your shell was made of cloud and made my way through its storm, and gently kissed all of its bruises with Love.
When people are cruel to our childlike hearts, and want to abuse or betray us, or judge us based on their own fears, Our Father tells us how to respond..."be magnanimous" and
"Rise above"
(măg-năńə-məs)
From Latin magnanimus, magnus, great, + animus, soul, mind.]
(adjective)
Courageously noble in mind and heart.
Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish.
Peace and Love
Keren
10.06.2008
Divine Mercy: The normal rapport wasn't adequate
I dont know the person who made this video, but I like it. For whatever reason I woke up with this song and Divine Mercy hour (3:00p.m.) on my heart. :o)
Peace
Love
Keren
"...The normal rapport wasn't adequate..."
(I took this from a wikipedia quote attributed to her mother)
Loving Outside of the Bubble
Help people to feel wanted.
I finally heard something Ive been wanting to hear from a church this past weekend. The deacon making the homily ended it by saying..."everybody is wanted" not just welcomed, but wanted.
There is a fine line between use and abuse.
Life can be really hard for people who do not live in a bubble
Illness, natural disaster, financial crisis caused by rampant greed, I don't need to make a list.
People are not needed to cause extra problems for others. People can be so cruel to others, even inside their own families. This needs to be let go.
People who are abused, tend to abuse others. People who are Loved tend to Love others. Babies who are smiled at a lot tend to smile back a lot.
It is a simple formula. Love. A person who Loves does not "use" someone in a negative way for his/her own purposes or designs. You may think you are doing a loving thing for the greater good, but you cant see the big picture, none of us can.
Be open to being used for a much greater purpose...to Love and Love only. Our purpose is to help spread God's Love. He takes care of any lessons that need to be learned, or any examples that need to be set.
Peace
Keren
I finally heard something Ive been wanting to hear from a church this past weekend. The deacon making the homily ended it by saying..."everybody is wanted" not just welcomed, but wanted.
There is a fine line between use and abuse.
Life can be really hard for people who do not live in a bubble
Illness, natural disaster, financial crisis caused by rampant greed, I don't need to make a list.
People are not needed to cause extra problems for others. People can be so cruel to others, even inside their own families. This needs to be let go.
People who are abused, tend to abuse others. People who are Loved tend to Love others. Babies who are smiled at a lot tend to smile back a lot.
It is a simple formula. Love. A person who Loves does not "use" someone in a negative way for his/her own purposes or designs. You may think you are doing a loving thing for the greater good, but you cant see the big picture, none of us can.
Be open to being used for a much greater purpose...to Love and Love only. Our purpose is to help spread God's Love. He takes care of any lessons that need to be learned, or any examples that need to be set.
Peace
Keren
10.05.2008
When Love Hurts: It is ok to say ouch
I understand about forgiving, forgiving and more forgiving, but how many times do we have to turn the other cheek before we know it is time to shake the dust off our feet?
Peace
Keren
Peace
Keren
10.02.2008
On Helping Others...Brother, can you spare some time?
It seems that whenever I have a problem I need help with, I dont really expect anyone to just fix my problem for me (however, that would certainly be nice) but what I really want is to be pointed in the right direction. sometimes I just need help getting started. Sometimes just knowing someone cares enough to spend a little time with me helps motivate me.
Also seems people are much more willing to help young people than older people. Anyway...
I started taking the bus from home to office yesterday. If I do that 3 times a week instead of driving my car by myself, I will save approximately $1,000 a year - gas, tolls, wear and tear on car.
Waiting for the bus yesterday evening I had conversations with two different women.
One was actually hitchhiking - I gave her the $1.50 for bus fare, she tried to give it back because she would rather walk. Then she told me she needed money for rent because she was about to be evicted and she had lost her job. I suggested she take keep the money and use it for a phone call to the Catholic Church in her area. Most churches have a St Vincent de Paul Society group that will help people in financial distress. THere are parameters, and limits of course, but you do not have to be Catholic, just live in the parish boundaries of the church. This is a wonderful ministry because they actually go to the person's home and meet with them there and pray with them and talk to them.
The other heard me talking to the first woman and I guess she assumed I knew about such things....she told me she had some problems several years ago and wanted to know about getting a driver's license again after 7 years of letting it lapse.
I told I didn't know but if it were me I would just call the Department of Motor Vehicles, and ask, or go to one of the offices.
I dont really have a point in this, but I decided that it would be nice if I could better familarize myself with social services in our area, that might be a way I could help the poor and needy, since I dont have money to give.
My Him suggests that if I just dont talk to anyone I wouldnt have to be concerned with it. :o)
Have a good day
Peace,
Keren
Also seems people are much more willing to help young people than older people. Anyway...
I started taking the bus from home to office yesterday. If I do that 3 times a week instead of driving my car by myself, I will save approximately $1,000 a year - gas, tolls, wear and tear on car.
Waiting for the bus yesterday evening I had conversations with two different women.
One was actually hitchhiking - I gave her the $1.50 for bus fare, she tried to give it back because she would rather walk. Then she told me she needed money for rent because she was about to be evicted and she had lost her job. I suggested she take keep the money and use it for a phone call to the Catholic Church in her area. Most churches have a St Vincent de Paul Society group that will help people in financial distress. THere are parameters, and limits of course, but you do not have to be Catholic, just live in the parish boundaries of the church. This is a wonderful ministry because they actually go to the person's home and meet with them there and pray with them and talk to them.
The other heard me talking to the first woman and I guess she assumed I knew about such things....she told me she had some problems several years ago and wanted to know about getting a driver's license again after 7 years of letting it lapse.
I told I didn't know but if it were me I would just call the Department of Motor Vehicles, and ask, or go to one of the offices.
I dont really have a point in this, but I decided that it would be nice if I could better familarize myself with social services in our area, that might be a way I could help the poor and needy, since I dont have money to give.
My Him suggests that if I just dont talk to anyone I wouldnt have to be concerned with it. :o)
Have a good day
Peace,
Keren
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