Say What?!

Words only function as a means of calling up ideas and concepts gained through previous experience.

Consider what you say and to whom you say it. You may need to tailor your words and the way that you use them in order to communicate your intentions/thoughts/feelings/beliefs in such a way that will conjure up a previous experience of your hearer's which can be correctly associated with what you are trying to say. Or, you may need to create a whole new experience for your hearer(s) if they are unable to correctly apprehend your message.

• The omission of words and the inclusion of physical touch can sometimes be the best channel through which to convey a message.
• Be open to using different communication styles to ensure that your intended information is well received and correctly understood by your audience.
• Listen, watch, and learn before you speak. 
• Honest, open hearts and minds that hold the well-being of others in the highest regard are not often hurtful.
• Most miscommunications can be corrected with an honest apology and another attempt at communication.



Chakras

My boyfriend has been joking around about chakra points recently and so I started looking into it; I was surprised at what I found.  I'm not into the Hindu religion nor do I believe that these exit portals actually exist on our bodies but I love the way that these Hindu ideas help a person in becoming aware of their senses, needs, desires, and feelings which are addressed when learning about what supposed "open" or "closed" chakras allow or disallow.  Consider what is supposedly released from these chakra points...are you satisfied with the quality of these emissions in your life?  Find your healthy balance.  : )

I pulled the following brief descriptions of the chakra energy exit points from a website (http://under-the-bodhi-tree.com/the-chakra-system/).  These descriptions of the energy emitted from these points are VERY vague and you really can't appreciate the idea of chakras unless you do a little bit more research.  This is another really good chakra chart:  http://www.chakraenergy.com/chart.html

1. Sahasrara/The Crown Chakra: Located at the top of the head. The crown chakra is linked to understanding, cosmic consciousness, and ability to eventually achieve enlightenment.
2. Ajna/The Third Eye Chakra: Located at the middle of the forehead.  The third eye chakra is directly linked to an individual’s clairvoyance or psychic abilities and intuition.
3. Vishuddha/The Throat Chakra: Located at the throat. A person with a strong and balanced throat chakra will have good communication skills and creativity.
4. Anahata/The Heart Chakra: Located at the center of the chest, a person with a healthy heart chakra will have a strong ability to love his or herself as well as others.  It is also the center of hope and compassion.
5. Manipura/The Solar Plexus Chakra: Located at the solar plexus. This chakra is the center of  energy, vitality, desire, and power.
6. Svadisthana/The Sacral Chakra: Located just below the belly button. This chakra is the source of emotions,sexuality, and intimacy.
7. Muladhara/The Root Chakra: Located at the base of the spine. This is where your survival instinct comes from. It is also a source of security and grounding.

2010

Twenty-Ten =

• weddings galore!
• 21
• music concerts: something I never enjoyed until this year so I went ahead and enjoyed Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, DMB, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, and a few more
• cousins' reunion (in the charming town of Charleston, SC)
• MLB games
• blind dates, bad dates
• good dates :)
• Girls in Orlando
• volunteering (Habitat for Humanity)
• a real relationship (cha-check!)
• missions: I directed my first Youth Missions Encounter 2010 in Miami, Fl
• Finished nursing school: The END to my first step towards obtaining my doctorate of nursing practice (DNP)
• graduated with 2 degrees
• became a licensed RN :)
• Haiti
• continue to be an unemployed RN :(

I had resolved at the turn of 2010 to meet one and only one goal: try a real relationship.  Misson accomplished.  It was unfortunately short but I really liked it :)

In 2011, I resolve to:

1. Run a marathon
2. GET A JOB
3. Paddleboard

Haiti: Hope and Despair

I was asked a few weeks ago to travel to Haiti to provide childcare for full-time missionaries who were attending a conference/retreat.  It wasn't the ideal trip that I would like to take (as much as I enjoy hanging out with kids, I would much rather be getting dirty picking up trash, swinging a hammer, or playing with big power tools), but it at least got me into Haiti and allowed for me to see what some of the local Christian organizations are doing to with both short and long-term rebuilding, evangelical outreach, education, provision of healthcare, and economic development.

Before leaving for Haiti, I was absolutely shocked by the negative feedback I received from a few friends, family, and acquaintances in regards to my interest in being a part of persistent movement to help the nation of Haiti and its inhabitants. 
"Haiti is and has been a hopeless nation for as long as I can remember.  Nothing good has ever come out of Haiti and nothing ever will." 
"I think we should nuke the whole place and everyone in it.  Kill the people of Haiti and start all over again.  Every one of them.  They do nothing to contribute to the rest of humanity; the are a burden to this world."

You get the idea...I got the idea.  There is no hope for Haiti.  "Survival of the fittest...let AIDs kill them off."  In what I presume is your line of thought, it makes sense to pull any and all relief efforts out of Haiti based on their history of a seemingly never ending impoverished state of being. 

Please understand that I am not the same as you are.  My natural thoughts, ideas, and beliefs may differ from yours and, when I try to think the way that you do, I have to push aside all moral, emotional, and spiritual aspects of who I am.  But I do my best to understand your way of thinking.  I understand that perhaps your empathy is not directed towards the same situations as mine and you are able to turn a blind eye to a nation of starving peopl to set your focus on other things which you deem to be more worthwhile.

You may not see any substantial hope for the nation of Haiti; only the dirty physical disparities that lie between our comfortable, convenient lives and the lives of those of Haiti. 
I see the hope of Haiti in the eyes of every individual who pours themselves into being a part of seemingly insignificant advancements.  I have seen the hope of Haiti in bright eyes of some young orphans and I have also seen great despair in the dull and lifeless eyes of other orphans.  I have seen the hope of Haiti in young men and women who learn by verbal repetition in bare, filthy classrooms if they are fortunate enough to attend a school.  I see the hope of Haiti in these young men and women who fight against all odds to bring education, health, and tangible hope to their country.

I understand that I am not getting across to you my desired point of this blog.  I can't find words fitting enough to describe my frustration.  It seems so impossible to communicate what I have seen: great despair and even greater hope.

I love lamp...

"To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest." Gandhi

I came across this quote the other day and felt challenged to seriously consider what I absolutely believe in and whether or not I am living by these beliefs.  I believe that my beliefs are incomplete and imperfect...and that's okay  :)

I believe in God.  I believe in one God who is the Creator of Heaven and earth, everything included.  I believe in the perfect love of God and that we were created to reflect this perfect love throughout His creation.  I believe that we, as imperfect images of God, lack the ability to adequately reflect this perfect love but that our love for others should come as close to His example as humanly possible.

I believe in love.  I believe that love is a relative term that can be based on a number of thoughts/feelings/beliefs regarding both explainable and unexplainable affinities for a great number of things or persons. I believe that my love may very well not be the same as your love. I believe that the greatest feeling in our lifetime is the feeling of being loved in the way(s) that we want to be loved. I believe that the greatest piece of knowledge is in knowing that we both give and receive love in ways that make positive impressions in the lives of all involved.

I believe in honesty.  I believe in telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I believe in actions and words that will not need to be covered up by lies.

I believe in loyalty.  I believe in making a commitment based on solid facts and benevolence to humanity.  I believe in maintaining my commitments so that no one commitment will have a negative impact upon or take away from the others.  I believe in remaining faithful to my commitment(s) unless it comes to light and can be proven that said commitment(s) is/are not in alignment with my other beliefs.

I believe in passion.  I believe that passion is what drives the human race to continue in perseverance towards excellence.  I believe that without passion we have no reason to continue living.  I believe in finding those things that make me burn with passion and pursuing them to the end.

Know what you believe in.

Wanton House of Hope

False confidence -- the face of bravery and the stride of absolute surety in one's self despite an underlying knowledge of inadequacy.  It's a great defense mechanism used in an attempt to maintain the security of an acceptable value of face and it comes into play when we find ourselves in close propinquity to failure.  Some say "fake it 'till you make it" and in some instances this phrase rings true as it brings about success, even when least expected.  But sometimes, I think it is best to stand down and acknowledge that success is improbable and any attempts to succeed would be temerarious and futile.  Sometimes people lie down on the tracks as the train is rounding the bend; I just don't understand that.

It's one thing to know that loss is probable and to walk away before it happens and quite another to willingly put oneself into a submissive position, accepting that loss is likely to ensue.  It's one thing to see that a positive outcome is unlikely and to cash out while you're ahead and another to place your life savings on the table despite seeing the great potential to lose.

I suppose people act on the fact that there is always the small chance at a positive outcome but it just seems so...so impractical to risk so much for such diminutive odds.  Whatever.  You do your thing and I'll do mine.

Absolutely Not

Absolute - not dependent upon external conditions for existence or for specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to the term "relative")

There are relatively few things that truly excite me. Very few promises that really appeal to me. It would be foolish of me to have absolute faith in anything, unquestionably. I know that I cannot have absolute faith in any human promise; choosing to do so would be amusingly naive. I know that your word is contingent on both internal and external circumstances and I cannot hold it against you when your well-meaning promises fail to deliver.

I know that the majority of the promises that we make or that are made to us are based on present or foreseen circumstances; we are not capable of ensuring that our promises will prevail despite change in circumstance.

This does not mean that I would assume that you will not do everything in your power to bring your promises to truth just as I know that I will do everything within my abilities to make my promises ring true to the end. I suppose what I'm trying to communicate is that it really is quite silly to put one's absolute faith into people.

Like spandex

Resiliency. Merriam-Webster defines resiliency as "the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress; an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change."

I have always been so very intrigued by the resiliency of humans. Our ability to adapt and conform to new environments is incredible. When confronted with abnormal and even devastating situations an innate behavior kicks in that causes us to slow down, take a look around, and change, if even just slightly, to incorporate this situation into our stride as we move on.

However, I cannot say that all humans demonstrate an equal quality of flexibility; varying degrees are seen in the many different ways and also in the extent to which we accomodate such changes. There are some who crack emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually when faced with stressors that, for these individuals, is truly devastating. The level of their ability to function within society becomes severely diminished.

My biggest question is whether the issue of the varying degrees of the outcomes of the use of coping skills is a result of actual differences in the capability that we have to be resilient or a result of personal choice.  Do we choose our degree of resiliency?  Or is it predetermined?

Jennifer Knapp

I would like to know why we think of ourselves as "mini-gods" who have the ability to pass judgement on others. What makes us so righteous that we believe we are above sin?
I would like to know how many of Ms. Knapp's (former) followers encouraged her in her daily walk with the Lord. How many of us prayed for her as she was surely attacked on a daily basis for standing out and ministering to us for so many years? I know I never did. I never really considered the temptations and struggles that Christian leaders and role models face day in and day out.
Shame on me. Shame on us for sitting on thrones carved from stones of false righteousness as we point our sticky, judgemental fingers at those who do not meet our standards.
She is a woman of God and she is struggling in her sin just as every one of us struggle in our sin every day.
May we see that we are all created equal; no one man above another.
May we never fail to lend a hand when we see a tempted man struggling.
May we never turn blind eyes to the misfortunes of others.
May we speak only words based on love and encouragement.
May we make earnest our prayers that she come back to the complete love of God where she belongs.
May we all remember the wholeness of God's love and stand firm against our sins.


HOLD ME NOW
Jennifer Knapp

"From glass alabaster she poured out the depths of her soul
Oh, foot of Christ would You wait if her harlotry's known?
Falls a tear to darken the dirt of humblest offerings to forgive the hurt
She is strong enough to stand in Your love
I can hear her say...

I am weak, I am poor
I'm broken, Lord, but I'm Yours
Hold me now, hold me now

Let he without sin cast the first stone if you will
To say that my bride isn't worth half the blood that I've spilled
Point your finger and laugh if you choose to say my beloved is borrowed and used
She is strong enough to stand in my love
I can hear her say...

I am weak, I am poor
I'm broken, Lord, but I'm Yours
Hold me now, hold me now"

Something more...

I would like to know from where it is that we derive our personal worth. Is it from the clothes we wear? The cars we drive? The houses in which we reside? Hairstyles? Makeup? Shoes? Who are we and what are we doing?

Why is it that we pour so much time, money, and effort into accumulating petty items? I'm not condemning the ownership of any of materials; I don't believe it is wrong or shameful to be in posession of these, I would just like to know why we base so much of our own personal worth and time on such trivial items. Why are these items so important to us? Why do they become the center focus of our lives? I can't help but wonder, are so very captivated by this stuff that we are totally missing our potential to do truly great things?

I'm tired of playing stupid, meaningless roles in society. I want to mean something to somebody. I want to make changes that mean something. I want to share that feeling of love, the feeling of being the recipient of actions that originate from the goodness of one's heart, to those who have never experienced it.

I want my personal worth, my raison d'être, to come from helping others achieve a life that is filled with experiences based on helping them to pass on joy and goodwill to the rest of the world.

I just want to be a little bit more than I am.