Monday, February 28, 2005

Being ambivalent is not strictly hypocritical, and being clear is not strictly helpful.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

Institution:

The best way to potentially entrench mediocrity.

Sacramental:

(a) Strong enough to annoy, but made to evoke

(b) Everything can be annoying, even unintentionally

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

[via Broomhildas Other Blog]

Shadows

Emotions flooding through the wall I’ve created.
I built it strong, It’s not even gated.
The shadows of shame, anger and hurt,
making me feel like a slug in the dirt.
The memories are there, some have leaked out.
I want to run, to scream, to shout.
There are cracks in the wall I thought so strong.
Shadows of guilt, telling me I am wrong.
It’s coming apart, this weakened wall.
I know that soon, the damn thing will fall.
When it falls, will I still exist?

imperfections :: (vii) :: thinking [via Finking Out Loud]

Imagine that you are not able to reason,
Think of not thinking just for a season,
Take time to ponder a week without thought,
Dare to suggest to forget what we’re taught.

Imagine no books and no talk and no telly,
Or wireless and ancient old libraries smelly.
Picture no Paxman or Dimbleby boys,
Or Rowan and Anglicans throwing their toys.

Simply believe what you’re told from the front
And the back and the book and evangelist’s stump;
Dream of a world where discussing’s a sin,
When every first word is the last ever in.

Who would decide what is in and what’s not?
Who would decide what is hot and what’s rot?
Think of the thinking that person would do!
Could it be me or should it be you?

The wages of sin may be death, but why do some have to invest?

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Panentheism:

God is greater than the sum of the world.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Power(less?)

You're such a comfortable liar

I just want something I can never have

I never thought I'd walk away from you.
I did.
But it's a false sense of accomplishment.
Everytime time I quit.


[via Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]

[posted at menopausal bi-polar witch babbling on February 15/2005]

Power

Accusations consistently spoken
Suffocated by your insecurity
I allowed you too much power

Incessant passive aggression
The ruination of my self esteem
I allowed you too much power

Constant attention demands
Exhausting my body and mind
I allowed you too much power

You are chaos
Causing me to lose myself
I allowed you too much power

From my coma awakened
Erecting bastions of reality
I take back my power

No longer fear choked black and hollow
My resolve strengthened
I take back my power

Beautiful and alive
Sensual and vibrant
I take back my power

Compassionate and intelligent
Sensitive and strong
I take back myself

Would never married people be better off if they treated any romantic interest like reconciling with their divorced spouse?

Marriage: A Parable

Is the meaning of marriage like unto

a person who lets their health and body deteriorate to relax? Over time, they become unhealthy, immobile, and unrepentant...until death does it stop.
Or is it like unto
a person who obsesses over plastic surgery and diet for improvement? Through effort, they become frustrated, trapped, and unsatisfied...until the burden is too much.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Wow, I'm getting popular...who knew I was interesting?

Add Quotidian Light to this list...

That adds to [also featured at the right]:

Been There...Still There
Bruce's World
The Invisible Sun
Jayson Besserer
Lake Neuron Bait Shop: of Wittenburg Door fame
menopausal bi-polar witch babbling
Reflective Musings
ScottyD
...seeking serenity
Unedited Ravings
Wendycooper.net
Worship Freehouse

[and grrrl meets world had it on the sidebar/blogroll...but now it's on her bloglines/rss reader.]

Monday, February 14, 2005

I haven't a clue as to how my story will end. But that's all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, you don't conclude that the road has vanished... And how else could we discover the stars?

Unknown


[quoted via Cynter]

Lamentations


Remember the victims of suicide, miscarriages (including justice) and genocide today...don't forget your enemies!


red: from Animosity by Klank

olive: from I Need Somebody by Chagall Guevara

orange: from Now & Then by Deliverance

grey: from Sad Face by The Choir

blue: from Goodbye by Plankeye

Why Must We Suffer In This Life We Live In?
Press Forward For Nothing
Destruction We Gain


Nothing to confess
but I've got scars deeper than your minds
nothing to declare
but my love for all of mankind


I hear myself say the words of how life's unfair
It comes to points where I don't care
Mine eyes have seen failure with no wins

Like a story told, by a child who does not know...


A sad face is good for the heart
It's alright you don't have to smile
A sad face is good for the heart of a child


It's difficult to say goodbye after all this time
The rain will fall down, replenishing all of our broken dreams
And this burning tree that's withering will bloom again,
would you believe?
Goodbye, Goodbye....

Goodbye, Goodbye.
Walk away. It's time to say goodbye.
I never took the time to stop and realize that death takes
many forms.
Even while alive.

Valentine's as Compassion

Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question is what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. People don't become inured to what they are shown...because of the quantity of images dumped on them. It is passivity that dulls feeling.

--Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others

[thanks to grrrl meets world for the quote!]

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Keep the Peace, Lose The War

Before you get attached this Valentine's (or any day):

Know when to give it up and move on to someone else. If it's not working, it's not working.

People who won't go away are like genital warts. It's embarrassing for both of you and has long lasting, frightening implications.
from How To Get It When You Want It: Your Guide To Love, With Apologies To Hallmark by Elizabeth Bromstein, in Planet S [emphasis mine]

Friday, February 11, 2005

I saw a man
He was holding the hand
That had fired a gun at his heart
Oh, will we live
To forgive?

I saw the eyes
And the look of surprise
As he left an indelible mark
Oh, will we live?
To forgive?

Come...find release
Go...make your peace

Follow his lead
Let the madness recede
When we shatter the cycle of pain
Oh, we will live
To forgive

[from the song To Forgive by Steve Taylor]

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Born again to a living hope—

That all of this will make sense

That up is down and wrong is right.

That politics is liturgy

And conservatism righteousness



[via the parish]

Valentine's as Peace

I think that treating violence as a deviation from the norm is considerably underestimating the opponent. Way back when I was blogging Exodus I described how the Old Testament laws had to be harsh because they were displacing a culture of personal vengeance. {full post}
[via The Musings and Teachings of Camassia]

Lent:

Making oneself available to ease distractions...

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

[via The Paris Project]

I am an abusive reader, using their words to prompt the thought, “I’m glad I’m not you,” reminding myself that my journey of limitations will end in the foreseeable future.

I recite each day what I can’t do. I can’t go for a walk. I can’t work out. I can’t go to work. I can’t do very much in the evenings. I can’t keep commitments I make to friends. I can’t control my emotions. Instead, I live like an animal, reproducing for some instinctive reason I can’t even articulate. I eat when I’m hungry, and can’t wait even twenty minutes for food. I sleep all the time, and can’t stay up late even for E.R. Instead of anticipating my brain to spark a clever thought or teaching idea, I lay in silence for minutes and minutes each day, hands on belly, tactile-listening for pains or contractions or morse code messages. My spiritual and mental life is very small, and my physical life is very large.

Proverbs

From Blog of the Lost Dog:

Do not hope that your body will be free from illness. If you don not experience illness, you will be fallen to temptation in arrogance and thus act immorally.

Therefore, the wise man says that you should think of your illnesses as good medicine to learn from (Psalms 35:13)....

Do not always try to vindicate your feelings of victimization. If you try to vindicate yourself, you will have to put the blame on someone or something else.

Therefore, the wise man says that through this experience, you can open the door of self-discipline (Romans 12:19-21, Deuteronomy 32:35).

{full post}


Monday, February 07, 2005

Preferences
babysit
my imagination,
and
Woody asked;
Is it the artist or the person?
And
I
sit lost in that lobby
coddeling
the unreal,
protecting
my hope and
truncating my
question.
no sight
no smell


[via MER]

Valentine's as...Priority?

Lent is coming up again. And again, I take a slightly perverse pleasure in the fact that Valentine's Day occurs during Lent. So much for giving your sweetie a box of chocolates!
[via Deluded Wine]

The Newest Entry to link to me is:

menopausal bi-polar witch babbling

That adds to this list [also featured at the right]:

Been There...Still There
Bruce's World
The Invisible Sun
Jayson Besserer
Lake Neuron Bait Shop: of Wittenburg Door fame
Reflective Musings
ScottyD
...seeking serenity
Unedited Ravings
Wendycooper.net
Worship Freehouse

[and grrrl meets world had it on the sidebar/blogroll...but now it's on her bloglines/rss reader.]

(a poem I wrote Saturday)

forsakened

we join with others here
to usher in a message
sanctioned in these trenches
by a theater of anonymity

we sit and lie in wait
as the story unfolds before us
like a crime scene with a weapon
and a victim in a crowd

the shock and awe shuts our eyes
to rail against this injustice
that flogs our waning character
to rise to the occasion

faint hope ends after all the rage
and some just weep for applause
because they are nothing without love,
an enduring vulnerability

the quiet only invites us out

Friday, February 04, 2005

Valentine's as Alliance

From the back cover:

Have you ever left a meeting grumbling 'Typical male!' or 'Typical female!'? Although we all know that men and women behave differently, we can still be surprised or confused sometimes by each other's behaviour. Most of us have worked with someone whose style was more like what we'd expect from their opposite sex. Has their attitude ever irritated you or brought you to boiling point? ...

Rather than succumbing to gender stereotyping and apportioning blame, The Gentle Revolution identifies the eight definitive values that influence our traditional ideas of masculine and feminine. By completing several entertaining quizzes, you can determine which values most describe you, and discover the stumbling blocks you'll encounter as a result -- as well as the stepping stones to solutions. With plenty of real-life examples and a realistic approach, Helena Cornelius has written a book that no manager, employee or trainer can afford to be without if they wish to take part in the gentle revolution.

Not Very Miraculous?

Why do evangelicals fail to impact?

...the very thing which makes evangelicalism strong in a pluralistic society also dooms it to failure in making any kind of positive change in that society. That is, evangelicalism will never achieve its goals for the redemption of society because the tools in its toolkit don't work on societies.

For example, evangelicals have an atomistic view of society. In other words, they see society as nothing more than the sum of the individuals who make it up. When asked about social problems, evangelicals overwhelmingly state the answer to these problems is personal relationship. Here's the theory: if a father is beating his kids, a Christian man should befriend that man, and lead him to Christ, then he'll stop beating his kids; and once we do that with every child abuser, then the problem of child abuse will vanish from our society. One of the obvious problems with this line of reasoning is that child abuse, alcoholism, divorce, etc. are just as prevalent (or more) among evangelicals as among any other group.

When confronted with the obvious lunacy of this logic, the evangelicals interviewed had a hard time seeing that it was a problem, and when they did, they were often left speechless as to any other response to a social problem (several interviews are printed in the book).

For another example, when polled, the very things that evangelicals are most proud of about evangelicalism are the things most hated by non-evangelicals -- not a ringing endorsement from those the evangelicals are trying to convince.


[via Theoblogy]