Your prayer is full of grace at a time when it is hard to be gracious. It is hard for me to look at a failed ruler and remember that his despicable deeds and incitement of violence may be the result of mental illness as well as of evil. I am mindful of your mother's prayer on the video that you shared with us: "Help me not to judge those who sin differently than I do." or, as I paraphrase it, "Lord, help me not to judge those whose sins are different from mine."
I feel this. I too have been entrenched in my own smug self-righteousness. I’ve had five friends who all lost a loved one this week (all COVID) and that fueled my anger even more. I’m still angry bc I feel it didn’t have to be this way. I want to turn that anger into something far more useful.
Help us find the holy place on the judgment spectrum, so that we can honor our innate ability, and societal need, to judge right vs wrong without creating spiritual toxicity. Shatter our egos so that our judgments seem to others to originate in the holy place within us, full of light, the place where You reside. Ignite Your flame in the spiritually injured who should be judging right from wrong, but who are too afraid or dispirited, and in their pain and suffering choose apathy instead. Comfort and heal them until their apathy becomes empathy. ONLY You can do this. Amen. 🙏🏻
By the way, for anyone interested, this is an amazing sermon I just watched by senator elect Raphael Warnock today of Ebenezer Baptist Church (starting at 27:30 into the 11am service on this link). It blew me away...it starts a little slow but really builds in intensity and addresses the violence on Wednesday and hope in such a beautiful way:
Thank you. Needed to hear this. Struggling with how to continue to be friends with people who believe the events of this week were somehow "patriotic". UGH! How does one "love" those who espouse views they believe to be "freedom", but are really just thin veils for racism/white supremacy. I have been off FB for a while now, but have still caught wind of some things they have said or shared, and it's really disheartening. I have always maintained that I can be friends with those who disagree with me, but this goes beyond simple disagreement. Where does one draw the line between loving our neighbor and tolerating hatred and bigotry in people we personally know?
"You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." Country song that fits right now. "If you're not with me you're against me." Trite, but most trite is true. We can no longer tolerate people who believe things that are not true, who then act in accordance with their false beliefs. It's one thing to have differences of opinion, but what's driving almost half the country right now are "alternate facts". We cannot tolerate alternate facts. There's no such thing. An alternate fact is not a fact. Its a lie. That's where the line has to be drawn, but how do you do that? What's the solution? I don't know. We're two nations occupying the same real estate. The Constitution forbids us from sending our erring neighbors to re-education camps. When you don't know what to do, do no harm. Borrow from the words of Hippocrates, the guy who's behind the Hippocratic Oath. This isn't part of the Oath, but its something else he wrote: "[H]ave two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm.” Start there. Whatever we do, we mustn't do the wrong thing. We must not make it worse. I think a start would be to reinstate Civics as a required course of study from middle school through high school. Why was it abandoned in the first place? It was there when I was in school. 9th grade and beyond. That's where I learned how this country is supposed to work. I automatically revered the beauty of it. That's its nature. Its self-evident. At this time in history hardly anyone is raised to understand the machinery of American democracy. That's why they're getting it wrong. There's a void there, and that's how the lies get in. Accurate information about the government would be a barrier to wrong thinking about it.
And be patient. The solution is multi-generational. The Civil war was about 8 generations back, and it reflected attitudes much older. We'll have done well if we solve the problem in a hundred years, but that's not likely. It'll be a long journey, but like all journeys,, it starts with a single step.
Joy, FB and other social media apps bear responsibility for why we have Trump. The insane conspiracy theories and other lies have spiked the followers' koolaid. This blog is as close as I care to get to social media. As to your question, I believe the issue that divides us is our core values. It's one thing to disagree on matters of policy; however, my core values say who I am. Someone sent me an article which was certifiably untrue, and when I called him on it, his answer, incredibly, was: "Sorry. This was meant for my intelligent friends." Do I need to mention that this friend-ship has sailed? Truth has become irrelevant. The events of last week should have surprised no one. I voted for Biden, and I'm cautiously optimistic for the future. But I fear the evil, crazy, and deluded population of this nation. And I'm tired of hearing, "This is not America. This is not who we are." Well, sadly, yes, it is. About half the country meets the criteria. I am a disciple of Jesus, although I don't believe in "the rapture". If I did, I'd pray for it to come soon!
Joy, thanks for sharing this. I have trouble, also, with folks who seem to be so blind and stubborn about even opening up to another position. I just don't know what to do.
Dear Nadia. Thanks to God for your gift to express a faith and theology and language of prayer that is so helpful to so many of us. And thanks to you for using your talents this way. May God keep you and nurture and bless you. Greetings from Oslo, Norway - a corner of The Corners:)
Amen, Sunniva. So good to see you here. The most spiritually nurturing place online right now. I appreciate being part of the Norwegian corner of the Corners with you :-) Thank you for creating this community, Nadia. This is church. This keeps me sane. The blend of no BS prayers, shared honesty and love for our neighbors and people different from our selves. It just smells of the gospel. I drink it up like black coffee in the morning. And I have toddlers at home, so I love my java.
Lord, please heal this country. We are so wrapped up in our own beliefs and our own fears that we are unable to see the ones that are hurting, starving and/or desperate. Open our eyes. Save us from ourselves.
Nadia, I felt your prayer all the way to my bones. Thank you.
Amen. It is so hard, Lord. I need Your love in my heart for others. How do You see all this? What should I feel? How can I help? Give me love for others! Have mercy on me!
Hear me Lord as I echo Nadia's prayer, and ask you to guide us. You said we should love our enemies and I don't know how to do this when my enemies are destructive. Teach me to love each of your children, and teach me to speak with love when wrong is done. And Lord, they seem so blind, I have to also ask, "where am I blind?" Help me to see and admit when I do wrong, and when those on my team/political party/religious group do wrong. Most of all, Lord, help me to focus on you rather than on the imaginary arguments that swamp my head in anticipation of conversations with those who will defend their team no matter how badly they behave.
The -in our face fact -that hatred is openly supported!
We as a planet people have yet to show up n make the changes despite the erosion of earth n it’s animals
Fact or fiction news every day?
2021 has potential to be outstanding?!
Believe
Holy Spirit Blessed Mary Sweet n gentle Jesus -allow us the sense of community -of kindness- of simply being one you wish to see in others -mirror that and eyes open to each other’s heart n soul
I just can’t put into words just how much your words mean to my ravaged soul.... You are a vessel custom made for this recovered alcoholic/addict. I feel so much gratitude and love for you.
Lord, show me what is mine to do.
Thanks you for your words. It is indeed difficult to show grace to people whom do not understand.
Your prayer is full of grace at a time when it is hard to be gracious. It is hard for me to look at a failed ruler and remember that his despicable deeds and incitement of violence may be the result of mental illness as well as of evil. I am mindful of your mother's prayer on the video that you shared with us: "Help me not to judge those who sin differently than I do." or, as I paraphrase it, "Lord, help me not to judge those whose sins are different from mine."
"If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving"
MLK
I feel this. I too have been entrenched in my own smug self-righteousness. I’ve had five friends who all lost a loved one this week (all COVID) and that fueled my anger even more. I’m still angry bc I feel it didn’t have to be this way. I want to turn that anger into something far more useful.
Come Holy Spirit.
Help us find the holy place on the judgment spectrum, so that we can honor our innate ability, and societal need, to judge right vs wrong without creating spiritual toxicity. Shatter our egos so that our judgments seem to others to originate in the holy place within us, full of light, the place where You reside. Ignite Your flame in the spiritually injured who should be judging right from wrong, but who are too afraid or dispirited, and in their pain and suffering choose apathy instead. Comfort and heal them until their apathy becomes empathy. ONLY You can do this. Amen. 🙏🏻
By the way, for anyone interested, this is an amazing sermon I just watched by senator elect Raphael Warnock today of Ebenezer Baptist Church (starting at 27:30 into the 11am service on this link). It blew me away...it starts a little slow but really builds in intensity and addresses the violence on Wednesday and hope in such a beautiful way:
https://www.ebenezeratl.org/watch-us-live/
Thank you. Needed to hear this. Struggling with how to continue to be friends with people who believe the events of this week were somehow "patriotic". UGH! How does one "love" those who espouse views they believe to be "freedom", but are really just thin veils for racism/white supremacy. I have been off FB for a while now, but have still caught wind of some things they have said or shared, and it's really disheartening. I have always maintained that I can be friends with those who disagree with me, but this goes beyond simple disagreement. Where does one draw the line between loving our neighbor and tolerating hatred and bigotry in people we personally know?
"You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." Country song that fits right now. "If you're not with me you're against me." Trite, but most trite is true. We can no longer tolerate people who believe things that are not true, who then act in accordance with their false beliefs. It's one thing to have differences of opinion, but what's driving almost half the country right now are "alternate facts". We cannot tolerate alternate facts. There's no such thing. An alternate fact is not a fact. Its a lie. That's where the line has to be drawn, but how do you do that? What's the solution? I don't know. We're two nations occupying the same real estate. The Constitution forbids us from sending our erring neighbors to re-education camps. When you don't know what to do, do no harm. Borrow from the words of Hippocrates, the guy who's behind the Hippocratic Oath. This isn't part of the Oath, but its something else he wrote: "[H]ave two special objects in view with regard to disease, namely, to do good or to do no harm.” Start there. Whatever we do, we mustn't do the wrong thing. We must not make it worse. I think a start would be to reinstate Civics as a required course of study from middle school through high school. Why was it abandoned in the first place? It was there when I was in school. 9th grade and beyond. That's where I learned how this country is supposed to work. I automatically revered the beauty of it. That's its nature. Its self-evident. At this time in history hardly anyone is raised to understand the machinery of American democracy. That's why they're getting it wrong. There's a void there, and that's how the lies get in. Accurate information about the government would be a barrier to wrong thinking about it.
And be patient. The solution is multi-generational. The Civil war was about 8 generations back, and it reflected attitudes much older. We'll have done well if we solve the problem in a hundred years, but that's not likely. It'll be a long journey, but like all journeys,, it starts with a single step.
Joy, FB and other social media apps bear responsibility for why we have Trump. The insane conspiracy theories and other lies have spiked the followers' koolaid. This blog is as close as I care to get to social media. As to your question, I believe the issue that divides us is our core values. It's one thing to disagree on matters of policy; however, my core values say who I am. Someone sent me an article which was certifiably untrue, and when I called him on it, his answer, incredibly, was: "Sorry. This was meant for my intelligent friends." Do I need to mention that this friend-ship has sailed? Truth has become irrelevant. The events of last week should have surprised no one. I voted for Biden, and I'm cautiously optimistic for the future. But I fear the evil, crazy, and deluded population of this nation. And I'm tired of hearing, "This is not America. This is not who we are." Well, sadly, yes, it is. About half the country meets the criteria. I am a disciple of Jesus, although I don't believe in "the rapture". If I did, I'd pray for it to come soon!
hey take 1/2 hr or so and check this out, was just uploaded today. right nice. Thought of you guyz. Grant all of us peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k93Xi5FO8_w
“This blog is as close as I care to get to social media.”
Me too!
Joy, thanks for sharing this. I have trouble, also, with folks who seem to be so blind and stubborn about even opening up to another position. I just don't know what to do.
Not to go lite, but i do see a loophole that while God does say we need to love our neighbors, He doesn't say anything about having to like them.?.
This shit is hard.....and breath-taking
Amen. So mote it be. +1. All of that. The peace of the Lord be with us all.
A baptism to cleanse us all - sounds wonderful.
Dear Nadia. Thanks to God for your gift to express a faith and theology and language of prayer that is so helpful to so many of us. And thanks to you for using your talents this way. May God keep you and nurture and bless you. Greetings from Oslo, Norway - a corner of The Corners:)
Amen, Sunniva. So good to see you here. The most spiritually nurturing place online right now. I appreciate being part of the Norwegian corner of the Corners with you :-) Thank you for creating this community, Nadia. This is church. This keeps me sane. The blend of no BS prayers, shared honesty and love for our neighbors and people different from our selves. It just smells of the gospel. I drink it up like black coffee in the morning. And I have toddlers at home, so I love my java.
Blessings to all of you Cornerdwellers.
Lord, please heal this country. We are so wrapped up in our own beliefs and our own fears that we are unable to see the ones that are hurting, starving and/or desperate. Open our eyes. Save us from ourselves.
Nadia, I felt your prayer all the way to my bones. Thank you.
This prayer was fantastic! Thank you! It was a great way to start me morning and week.
Amen. It is so hard, Lord. I need Your love in my heart for others. How do You see all this? What should I feel? How can I help? Give me love for others! Have mercy on me!
Hear me Lord as I echo Nadia's prayer, and ask you to guide us. You said we should love our enemies and I don't know how to do this when my enemies are destructive. Teach me to love each of your children, and teach me to speak with love when wrong is done. And Lord, they seem so blind, I have to also ask, "where am I blind?" Help me to see and admit when I do wrong, and when those on my team/political party/religious group do wrong. Most of all, Lord, help me to focus on you rather than on the imaginary arguments that swamp my head in anticipation of conversations with those who will defend their team no matter how badly they behave.
Hey not sure how to address this past week?
The covid shot ? Ummmm ...... no.....?
The -in our face fact -that hatred is openly supported!
We as a planet people have yet to show up n make the changes despite the erosion of earth n it’s animals
Fact or fiction news every day?
2021 has potential to be outstanding?!
Believe
Holy Spirit Blessed Mary Sweet n gentle Jesus -allow us the sense of community -of kindness- of simply being one you wish to see in others -mirror that and eyes open to each other’s heart n soul
Amen
Yeah, help us to take better care of Your garden, I am sure this pisses you off more than we realize
I just can’t put into words just how much your words mean to my ravaged soul.... You are a vessel custom made for this recovered alcoholic/addict. I feel so much gratitude and love for you.