8 Ways to Avoid Ministry Burnout
Why Fellowship is Crucial to Your Faith
God Will Fight for You!
17 Ways to Empower Yourself
20 Ways to Bless Others
10 Negative Labels You Need to Remove
Going Coo-Coo for Coconut Oil
5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Summer
6 Steps to Healing Yourself
Christian Artists Who Offer Hope
7 Inspiring Lessons You Can Learn from Tom Hanks
10 Ways to Bring Summer Inside
10 Steps to Discipline
The 7 Habits of Stress-Free People
7 Secrets to Finding Fulfilling Work
10 Steps to Calmer Parenting
10 Questions to Ask Before Getting into a New Relationship
My warm thanks go to CM reader Daria for writing this in response to the revelations regarding minister Ted Haggard’s secret life:
“I read Ted Haggard’s letter to his congregation and was surprised to find him taking responsibility, apologizing, asking for forgiveness, and blaming no one. I thought of how Martha Stewart, Ken Lay, and Mel Gibson all failed at this. So while I may deplore Haggard’s actions, I don’t condemn the man. (If anything, I empathize with his brokenness.)
I’d encourage anyone who is quick to judge (or condemn) to read this letter as well as the one written by Gayle, his wife…What happens next in the Haggard’s lives may be the purest example of how they live their faith. Isn’t our response also a demonstration of our own?”
And gracious thanks to CM regular Myrna Weinreich for posted this on the same subject: “Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness!! Or is it compassion as well? Let’s start trees of forgiveness and plant them all over the universe!”
posted November 11, 2006 at 4:15 am
A good friend sent this to me from Dailyom.com just in time to remind me of my own words of forgiveness and compassion. I SO need reminders to walk my talk especially when I’m not feeling forgiving to myself. As Carolyn Myss said often, “it doesn’t count when it’s easy to give, only when it’s not”. She’s not the only one who speaks these words I know so well. “People Who Don’t Get ItYou may be someone who understands the true nature of reality, perceiving deeply that we all emanate from the same source, that we are all essentially one, and that we are here on earth to love one another. To understand this is to be awakened to the true nature of the self, and it is a blessing. Nevertheless, people who just don’t get it are seemingly everywhere and, often, in positions of power. It can be frustrating and painful to watch them behave unconsciously. We all encounter individuals of this bent in our families, at work, and in all areas of public life. It is easy to find ourselves feeling intolerant of these people, wishing we could be free of them even though we know that separation from them is an illusion.It helps sometimes to think of us all as different parts of one psyche. Just as within our own hearts and minds we have dark places that need healing, the heart and mind of the world has its dark places. The health of the whole organism depends upon the relative health of the individuals within it. We increase harmony when we hold onto the light, not allowing it to be darkened by judgment, anger, and fear about those who behave unconsciously. It’s easier to accomplish this if we don’t focus on the negative qualities of individuals and instead focus on how increasing our own light will increase the light of the overall picture.When dealing with people who seem very unconscious, it helps to remember that every one must find their own way to awakening and that the experiences they are having are an essential part of their process. Holding them in the light of our own energy may be the best way to awaken theirs. At the same time, we are inspired by their example to look within and shed light on our own unconscious places, sacrificing the urge to judge and surrendering instead to humble self-inquiry.”
posted November 21, 2006 at 1:01 am
Myrna…Thx for the link to DailyOm which has become one of my favorite daily reads.