booneidee's Xanga

Monday, January 28, 2008

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:20:20 GMT

It's a small world

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:14:45 GMT

"Pardon him, Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature." - G.B. Shaw in Caesar and Cleopatra

Wisest is she who knows what she does not know

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 23:39:59 GMT

from Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

"Are you sitting comfortably, Sophie? Because it is central to the rest of this course that you fully understand the difference between sophists and philosophers. The Sophists took money for their more or less hairsplitting expoundings, and sophists of this kind have come and gone from time immemorial. I am referring to all the schoolmasters and self-opinionated know-it-alls who are satisfied with what little they know, or who boast of knowing a whole lot about subjects they haven't the faintest notion of...A real philosopher, Sophie, is a completely different kettle of fish - the direct opposite, in fact. A philosopher knows that in reality he knows very little. That is why he constantly strives to achieve true insight. Socrates was one of these rare people. He knew that he knew nothing about life and about the world. And now comes the most important part: it troubled him that he knew so little...

To be precise: Mankind is faced with a number of difficult questions that we have no satisfactory answer to. So now two possibilities present themselves: We can either fool ourselves and the rest of the world by pretending that we know all there is to know, or we can shut our eyes to the central issues once and for all and abandon all progress. In this sense, humanity is divided. People are, generally speaking, either dead certain or totally indifferent...

Socrates was neither certain nor indifferent. All he knew was that he knew nothing...so he became someone who does not give up but tirelessly pursues his quest for truth."

***
Is it more exhuasting to know it all or wrestle for truth? Is it a more peaceful life to do nothing or to engage with truth?

Our Own Decisions 2

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:38:19 GMT

I will simply add this to yesterday's post...
As a Christian, intuition is further affirmed and expanded by the speaking of God in my heart. The direct, personal accountability to the "Voice" within must also be guarded and attended to lest others/groups/causes circumvent it and suddenly I find myself behaving differently or even contrary to the way I was made.

I can blame others/groups/causes for manipulating, undermining, or confusing me. But in the end, I make my own decisions. That is the only real power that I possess.

The most I can offer the world, my neighbor, and my family is to vigilantly attend to my own decisions. Have I checked with my Lord? Have I checked with my intuition? What does my gut tell me? Will my behavior support healthiness in me? I have found that if I do not do this, if I allow the voices outside (perceived or out-spoken) to reign, then my insecurities and issues make me the one who manipulates, undermines, and confuses those around me. My health contributes directly to their health.

Even now, as in my comment to alwaysseeking, I wonder if this post makes sense and if I need to add anything so that everyone will "get it." But I hear a still, quiet voice..."this is enough. it is you. it is your story. let it be."

And so I endeavor to "let it be" for my sake and yours.

Our Own Decisions

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 18:37:29 GMT

Another tune from Alison Krauss, from the Cold Mountain soundtrack. (Click at bottom of post)

Well, I recall his parting words.
Must I accept his fate?
Or take myself far from this place?
I thought I heard a black bell toll.
A little bird did sing.
Man has no choice when he wants everything.

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision
Gets caught up in the mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings
And brokers who break everything.
The dark of night was swiftly fading
Close to the dawn of day.
Why would I want him just to lose him again?

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride.

My favorite lines in this song are: Man goes beyond his own decision, gets caught up in the mechanism of swindlers who act like kings and brokers who break everything.

I have mulled upon this song for almost a year, and I've approached this post numerous times in the last few weeks. It evokes so much emotion for me because of my experiences in the last few years that I have been unable to find "the bottom line" regarding how this song speaks to me. Today, the thread of "truth" arose out of my inner turmoil.

Man has a tendency to disregard his intuition, his personal compass guiding him to health and wholeness, for the sake of the mentality of a group/cause/or other individuals. The ramifications of this are damaging and can be tragic.

I cannot elaborate yet.

A Living Prayer

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:13:16 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9upE_PGJVq8

Please go to the above site and watch the youtube video of Alison Kraus' new song A Living Prayer. (I can't get music to stick to my page...I have a mac, any suggestions). I stumbled upon it last night. The words poetically describe our life in Him and with Him in us; however, the music provokes more profoundly the anguish and joy that is the life we share with our Father.

In this world,
I walk alone
With no place to call my home
But there's One
Who holds my hand
The rugged road, through barren land

The way is dark
The road is steep
But He's become my eyes to see
The strength to climb
My griefs to bear
The Savior lives inside me there

In Your love, I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life
And let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee

In these trials
Of life I find
Another voice inside my mind
He comforts me
And bids me live
Inside the love the Father gives

In Your love, I find release
A haven from my unbelief
Take my life
And let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee
Take my life
And let me be
A living prayer, my God, to Thee

I am particularly moved by "in Your love, I find release; a haven from my unbelief" and "Another voice...bids me live inside the love the Father gives."

The idea of being "in" or "inside" the love of the Father is so profound. To me, this is more than knowing that I am in His hand...that He knows what He's doing...that He's watching out for me. When I have experienced being "in His love", I have felt deeply known by God...that my life is valuable to Him...that everything He did and is doing (dying, redeeming, reconciling, arranging, dispensing grace and peace) is for me be who I am in Him. As if He is saying, "My dearest one, you are okay just as your are. I made you this way. I love you this way. I am alive in you and in your life because I treasure you." I cannot not fully express what these words have meant to me as I have suffered and also as I have discovered Him opening doors that are enabling me to become who He intended me to be.

An Offering

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:56:45 GMT

from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers...November 14th

"As for me, being on my way, the Lord led me..." (Gen 24:27)

We should be so one with God that we don't need to ask continually for guidance. Sanctification means that we are made the children of God. A child's life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey an inherent, inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God's will (Rom. 12:2). If we are born again by the Spirit of God, our devotion to Him is hindered, even stopped, by our continually asking Him to guide us here and there. "...the Lord led me..." and on looking back we see the presence of an amazing design. If we are born of God, we will see His guiding hand and give Him the credit.

We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God's appointed order. Be ready to discover His divine designs everywhere and anywhere.

Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God. If you are a saint and say "I will never do this or that," in all probability this will be exactly what God will require of you. There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in saint is not to priniciple but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.