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The Ragman
- Thread starter FineLinen
- Start date
The Cocoon
One day a small opening appeared on a cocoon, a man sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force it's body through that little opening. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of it's life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the opening, were God's way of forcing the fluid from the body of the butterfly into it's wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved it's freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We could never fly.
[move]"These are they who made their way through great distress"[/move]
One day a small opening appeared on a cocoon, a man sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force it's body through that little opening. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of it's life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the opening, were God's way of forcing the fluid from the body of the butterfly into it's wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved it's freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We could never fly.
[move]"These are they who made their way through great distress"[/move]
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Hi there Spiderrr....we are glad you have dropped in for a wee visit. The stories have meant much to me, and I still enjoy re-reading them. I am pleased you have been blessed by them as well!Spiderrr said:
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JPPT1974
September To Remember!
- Mar 18, 2004
- 290,890
- 11,557
- 50
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Baptist
- Marital Status
- Single
- Politics
- CA-Conservatives
Oh!! Beautiful! Beautiful! Stories and the one about the butterfly and the Pledge of Alliegance were so moving and touching. Beautiful they take your breath away. 
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JPPT1974...we are glad you have stopped by for a wee visit.
The Blessing Of Thorns
http://www.promiseofgod.com/thorns/
Jesus Is The Only
http://www.dayspring.com/movies/webmovies/names.html
"A LOVING PERSONALITY DOMINATES THE BIBLE, walking among the trees of the garden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a Living Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting Himself wherever His people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation." -A. W. Tozer-
Father's Love Letter
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html
The Blessing Of Thorns
http://www.promiseofgod.com/thorns/
Jesus Is The Only
http://www.dayspring.com/movies/webmovies/names.html
"A LOVING PERSONALITY DOMINATES THE BIBLE, walking among the trees of the garden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a Living Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting Himself wherever His people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation." -A. W. Tozer-
Father's Love Letter
http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html
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Because His Eye Is On The Sparrow
In the summer of 1999, our friends Rita and Dennis McMahon lost their 23-year-old son Devin to a 15-month long battle with brain cancer. They were comforted in the fact that Devin was a committed Christian, but they still grieved.
Three weeks after the funeral, I called Rita to see how she was doing. She had just returned from volunteering at the local mission.
"But it's what happened before I went to the mission that I wanted to tell you," she said excitedly.
"This morning, a little bird flew through the open kitchen window, sat on the sill next to a photograph of Devin, and sang off and on for two hours while I did my housework. In the 13 years we've lived in the house, that has never happened. When I looked again, the bird was gone.
"I mentioned the incident to one of the women at the mission, who smiled and said, 'It's a little sign from God.' Then I remembered. The day before I had prayed for a little sign from God to assure me of Devin's happiness because I felt so sad." Through a little bird, God had delivered the message.
-Freidel Votava-
[move]"The very hairs on your head are all numbered. Away then with fear; you are more precious than a multitude of sparrows."[/move]
In the summer of 1999, our friends Rita and Dennis McMahon lost their 23-year-old son Devin to a 15-month long battle with brain cancer. They were comforted in the fact that Devin was a committed Christian, but they still grieved.
Three weeks after the funeral, I called Rita to see how she was doing. She had just returned from volunteering at the local mission.
"But it's what happened before I went to the mission that I wanted to tell you," she said excitedly.
"This morning, a little bird flew through the open kitchen window, sat on the sill next to a photograph of Devin, and sang off and on for two hours while I did my housework. In the 13 years we've lived in the house, that has never happened. When I looked again, the bird was gone.
"I mentioned the incident to one of the women at the mission, who smiled and said, 'It's a little sign from God.' Then I remembered. The day before I had prayed for a little sign from God to assure me of Devin's happiness because I felt so sad." Through a little bird, God had delivered the message.
-Freidel Votava-
[move]"The very hairs on your head are all numbered. Away then with fear; you are more precious than a multitude of sparrows."[/move]
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A Better Pilot
Many years ago as a boy, an acquaintance of mine dreamed of being a fighter pilot... the very best! Some years later he had joined the U S Air Force and got his chance to go to flight school. He related that when he first got there, he was told in clear and certain terms that he was - as of that very moment - a pilot.
He was then quickly informed that he just needed to improve greatly in one area - that of experience - to be a better one. This was a concept and an attitude that was to serve him well in the challenging times. He was to draw from this not only as a pilot, but also in his daily living!
When the monotony of repeated practice drills got overwhelming, he only had to remember, "You are a fighter pilot - you only need to improve in experience to be a better one" - it somehow became a little easier.
Sometimes frustration, lack of sleep (because of long hours needed for study), and a constant nagging fear of failure were almost too much for him. He felt like quitting! It was then he needed to remember what he'd been told: "You are a fighter pilot - you need only to improve your experience to be a better one"!
Daily he remembered... and renewed his commitment to his dream. When his schooling was completed and he graduated at the top of his class - he was just a little taller - as he saluted, then accepted his diploma. He really was a pilot! Of course... he had been one from day one!
Now... he was a better one! So much better in fact, that he was asked to stay and teach at this very same school. He had something of great value, some-thing others wanted, his experience! He was a flight instructor for a number of years before he retired as certainly one of the best!
Through all this, the rewards given him by senior officers and peers were nothing compared to the reward he had given himself! He realized his dream.... he was the best pilot he could be!
Something needs to be said here for experience. You see, you can study and learn - all there is to "know" about a particular thing. My friend knew all about the aircraft - the hydraulic systems, the gages, lights and controls, and all of it's aerodynamics and capabilities. But until he strapped on the parachute and logged some flight-time... he did not reach his full potential... and he did not realize his dream to be the best! If you think about it, this makes all the sense in the world! We are - at least on the inside - whatever we truly want to be! We owe it to ourselves to go after the experience... to be a better "pilot"! It makes it all a little easier - with a daily commitment to our dreams...and not giving up... but remembering what we've been told!
Many years ago as a boy, an acquaintance of mine dreamed of being a fighter pilot... the very best! Some years later he had joined the U S Air Force and got his chance to go to flight school. He related that when he first got there, he was told in clear and certain terms that he was - as of that very moment - a pilot.
He was then quickly informed that he just needed to improve greatly in one area - that of experience - to be a better one. This was a concept and an attitude that was to serve him well in the challenging times. He was to draw from this not only as a pilot, but also in his daily living!
When the monotony of repeated practice drills got overwhelming, he only had to remember, "You are a fighter pilot - you only need to improve in experience to be a better one" - it somehow became a little easier.
Sometimes frustration, lack of sleep (because of long hours needed for study), and a constant nagging fear of failure were almost too much for him. He felt like quitting! It was then he needed to remember what he'd been told: "You are a fighter pilot - you need only to improve your experience to be a better one"!
Daily he remembered... and renewed his commitment to his dream. When his schooling was completed and he graduated at the top of his class - he was just a little taller - as he saluted, then accepted his diploma. He really was a pilot! Of course... he had been one from day one!
Now... he was a better one! So much better in fact, that he was asked to stay and teach at this very same school. He had something of great value, some-thing others wanted, his experience! He was a flight instructor for a number of years before he retired as certainly one of the best!
Through all this, the rewards given him by senior officers and peers were nothing compared to the reward he had given himself! He realized his dream.... he was the best pilot he could be!
Something needs to be said here for experience. You see, you can study and learn - all there is to "know" about a particular thing. My friend knew all about the aircraft - the hydraulic systems, the gages, lights and controls, and all of it's aerodynamics and capabilities. But until he strapped on the parachute and logged some flight-time... he did not reach his full potential... and he did not realize his dream to be the best! If you think about it, this makes all the sense in the world! We are - at least on the inside - whatever we truly want to be! We owe it to ourselves to go after the experience... to be a better "pilot"! It makes it all a little easier - with a daily commitment to our dreams...and not giving up... but remembering what we've been told!
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A True Miracle
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season that would bankrupt seven farmers before it was through.
Every day, my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn`t see some rain soon we would lose everything.
It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my own eyes.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn`t walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great effort...trying to be as still as possible.
Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches; thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour: walk carefully to the woods, run back to the house.
Finally I couldn`t take it any longer and I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen...as he was obviously doing important work and didn`t need his Mommy checking up on him).
He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them...maybe two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose.
As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him...he didn`t even move as Billy knelt down. And I saw a tiny fawn laying on the ground, obviously suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy`s hand.
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid behind a tree. I followed him back to the house; to a spigot that we had shut off the water to. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip drip slowly fill up his makeshift `cup`, as the sun beat down on his little back. And it came clear to me. The trouble he had gotten into for playing with the hose the week before. The lecture he had received about the importance of not wasting water. The reason he didn`t ask me to help him. It took almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands.
When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him. His little eyes just filled with tears. "I`m not wasting", was all he said. As he began his walk, I joined him... with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known working so hard to save another life.
As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops...and more drops...and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence. That miracles don`t really exist. That it was bound to rain sometime. And I can`t argue with that...I`m not going to try. All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm...just like the actions of one little boy saved another.
I don`t know if anyone will read this...but I had to send it out. To honor the memory of my beautiful Billy, who was taken from me much too soon.... But not before showing me the true face of Love, in a little sunburned body.
It was one of the hottest days of the dry season. We had not seen rain in almost a month. The crops were dying. Cows had stopped giving milk. The creeks and streams were long gone back into the earth. It was a dry season that would bankrupt seven farmers before it was through.
Every day, my husband and his brothers would go about the arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately this process had involved taking a truck to the local water rendering plant and filling it up with water. But severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn`t see some rain soon we would lose everything.
It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed the only miracle I have seen with my own eyes.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six-year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn`t walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth but with a serious purpose. I could only see his back. He was obviously walking with a great effort...trying to be as still as possible.
Minutes after he disappeared into the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches; thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, however, he was once again walking in that slow purposeful stride toward the woods. This activity went on for an hour: walk carefully to the woods, run back to the house.
Finally I couldn`t take it any longer and I crept out of the house and followed him on his journey (being very careful not to be seen...as he was obviously doing important work and didn`t need his Mommy checking up on him).
He was cupping both hands in front of him as he walked; being very careful not to spill the water he held in them...maybe two or three tablespoons were held in his tiny hands. I sneaked close as he went into the woods. Branches and thorns slapped his little face but he did not try to avoid them. He had a much higher purpose.
As I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing site. Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with elaborate antlers was dangerously close. But the buck did not threaten him...he didn`t even move as Billy knelt down. And I saw a tiny fawn laying on the ground, obviously suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, lift its head with great effort to lap up the water cupped in my beautiful boy`s hand.
When the water was gone, Billy jumped up to run back to the house and I hid behind a tree. I followed him back to the house; to a spigot that we had shut off the water to. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle began to creep out. He knelt there, letting the drip drip slowly fill up his makeshift `cup`, as the sun beat down on his little back. And it came clear to me. The trouble he had gotten into for playing with the hose the week before. The lecture he had received about the importance of not wasting water. The reason he didn`t ask me to help him. It took almost twenty minutes for the drops to fill his hands.
When he stood up and began the trek back, I was there in front of him. His little eyes just filled with tears. "I`m not wasting", was all he said. As he began his walk, I joined him... with a small pot of water from the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn. I stayed away. It was his job. I stood on the edge of the woods watching the most beautiful heart I have ever known working so hard to save another life.
As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops...and more drops...and more. I looked up at the sky. It was as if God, himself, was weeping with pride. Some will probably say that this was all just a huge coincidence. That miracles don`t really exist. That it was bound to rain sometime. And I can`t argue with that...I`m not going to try. All I can say is that the rain that came that day saved our farm...just like the actions of one little boy saved another.
I don`t know if anyone will read this...but I had to send it out. To honor the memory of my beautiful Billy, who was taken from me much too soon.... But not before showing me the true face of Love, in a little sunburned body.
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My Brick Wall
Being unemployed use to be the worst nightmare I could imagine. In fact, twenty-five years ago I wrote it down at a self-development workshop as the one thing that worried me most in life. This is a brief story about a two-year long nightmare that I finally made it through. At 55, armed with a Ph.D. in psychology, exposure to top-class business and professional training and 30 years of management experience in three different career fields, I couldn't even get an entry level job at a temporary employment agency. To say this was demeaning was just the beginning to a horror story that wouldn't seem to go away.
This nightmare went on for nearly two years.
It was a state of frustration and desperation that was pushing me past any limits I thought I had. Every empty day spent waiting for a phone call or a letter that never came stretched my patience so thin that I could see through it. I felt like I was being ordered to idle my engine when all I wanted to do was screech my tires. I did a count of all the letters, resumes and applications I sent off. I was supporting Wal-Mart and the U.S. Post office in supplies and postage with money I didn't have. I had a six-inch thick file of rejection letters, and they only constituted one third of all that I sent out. Yet I continued and had to wonder why?
There is not much I didn't try and that made things seem even worse.
I networked, surfed the Internet daily, read all the want ads and called friends. I visited job fairs, scanned professional magazines, and sent impressive letters to target companies. I sought employment counseling services, made the rounds with all the veteran's organizations and pestered private employment agencies. I even hired a headhunter. Zero results. I got angry and wondered why I was being singled out with punishment that gouged my soul.
It is not that I was being too selective or that I kept trying the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I changed my resume a couple of hundred times, I customized it and my letters each time I sent them out and I was totally flexible about what I could do, where I could go and how much money I needed to make. I asked for feedback and looked for skeletons in my closet to remove. If I was any more flexible and adaptable I would be a pool of blubbering jelly.
I guess we all have our invincible brick walls that keep getting higher and higher in response to our increased effort to tear them down. This situation I was in was maddening. The more I tried, the worse it got. I know I did this all to myself but that self-revelation didn't make things better at all, only worse. And sitting back and accepting this sorry state of affairs was not something that was part of my nature. This vicious circle was making me dizzy.
Let's be honest here about how all this started.
Not long ago I had what most people would be pleased to have an all-American family, a great job, nice house in a scenic part of the country, plenty of friends and even money in the bank. But I was missing the one thing I thought I wanted and needed most- to be with my true love. Thus began my journey to hell, which left me homeless, jobless and broke. But that is a story in itself.
I have at least made it back to the surface.
I finally found my true love and I finally figured out how to eat a little of my cake and still have some left over to enjoy. The key was in closing the gap in my expectations as to what I deserved and what I could live with. The irony is that, after two years of getting nowhere, I finally got three great job offers all in one week, in three different occupations. I couldn't have asked for a better closing scenario.
In looking back, at least there has been a silver lining in my dark cloud.
These last few years in darkness have lit some candles for me. I have always known that we usually learn more from mistakes. I made plenty of mistakes to help get myself to the state of joblessness I was in. And, the frustration of getting nowhere despite my perseverance has actually begun to teach me some important lessons. These lessons haven't come easy and although I have never given birth, I sort of have an idea of what that process feels like.
The first lesson I am still trying to learn is the importance of humility.
No matter how much education, training, experience or skills I have, I am never too good to work as a security guard. That is if they would have hired me! Being over-educated and over-qualified was an excuse I quickly got tired of hearing. I felt that was my loss and their gain, but that rationalization didn't help either. Becoming humble is requiring me to shed my expectations and preferences- almost completely, and this isn't coming easy. Pride is a difficult thing to swallow.
The second lesson I am learning is becoming aware of the connection of things I did in the past that helped shape this miserable present state of unemployment in which I was stuck. These were the bad choices and irresponsible behavior I willfully participated in earlier without regard for the possible consequences. I had a good life. I just wanted more. I also had plenty of good jobs in my life but didn't respect employers well enough to give my full attention and effort to them. I took those jobs for granted. Now I will "worship" the job I was lucky enough to get. Karma is a hard thing to avoid or accept.
The third lesson I am trying to learn is to want what I have fully without gazing enviously over at greener pastures.
I have good health, true love, a meaningful job and a nice home. I even have an older daughter whom I walked out on when she was only six, to visit now. I secretly knew I wouldn't ever get a job so long as I couldn't be content without one. That was a tough paradox to figure out, but well worth the effort in the end.
The final lesson I am learning is more of a reality.
We are all alone with our brick walls. This is a very private test that no one else can understand or help with. On the other hand, we all have our own brick walls. My unemployment frustration was just someone else's physical handicap and that handicap is someone else's loss of a loved one and so on. Maybe this critical life experience is a way we can all connect on common ground. At least we should start talking about our own brick walls and asking others about theirs. My two year tribulation had some other important lessons:
1. To defeat your brick wall, you must adopt a competitive strategy to win or die and never give up. The worse it gets, the more you try.
2. You have to be brutally honest with yourself as to the reasons behind your brick wall. You have done something wrong and it needs to be changed. You can't lie or rationalize your way out of this type of conflict.
3. You have to be completely open to what the solution can be, without putting any qualifications on it. You have to learn to take what you get, willfully and happily.
-William S. Cottringer, Ph.D. -
Being unemployed use to be the worst nightmare I could imagine. In fact, twenty-five years ago I wrote it down at a self-development workshop as the one thing that worried me most in life. This is a brief story about a two-year long nightmare that I finally made it through. At 55, armed with a Ph.D. in psychology, exposure to top-class business and professional training and 30 years of management experience in three different career fields, I couldn't even get an entry level job at a temporary employment agency. To say this was demeaning was just the beginning to a horror story that wouldn't seem to go away.
This nightmare went on for nearly two years.
It was a state of frustration and desperation that was pushing me past any limits I thought I had. Every empty day spent waiting for a phone call or a letter that never came stretched my patience so thin that I could see through it. I felt like I was being ordered to idle my engine when all I wanted to do was screech my tires. I did a count of all the letters, resumes and applications I sent off. I was supporting Wal-Mart and the U.S. Post office in supplies and postage with money I didn't have. I had a six-inch thick file of rejection letters, and they only constituted one third of all that I sent out. Yet I continued and had to wonder why?
There is not much I didn't try and that made things seem even worse.
I networked, surfed the Internet daily, read all the want ads and called friends. I visited job fairs, scanned professional magazines, and sent impressive letters to target companies. I sought employment counseling services, made the rounds with all the veteran's organizations and pestered private employment agencies. I even hired a headhunter. Zero results. I got angry and wondered why I was being singled out with punishment that gouged my soul.
It is not that I was being too selective or that I kept trying the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I changed my resume a couple of hundred times, I customized it and my letters each time I sent them out and I was totally flexible about what I could do, where I could go and how much money I needed to make. I asked for feedback and looked for skeletons in my closet to remove. If I was any more flexible and adaptable I would be a pool of blubbering jelly.
I guess we all have our invincible brick walls that keep getting higher and higher in response to our increased effort to tear them down. This situation I was in was maddening. The more I tried, the worse it got. I know I did this all to myself but that self-revelation didn't make things better at all, only worse. And sitting back and accepting this sorry state of affairs was not something that was part of my nature. This vicious circle was making me dizzy.
Let's be honest here about how all this started.
Not long ago I had what most people would be pleased to have an all-American family, a great job, nice house in a scenic part of the country, plenty of friends and even money in the bank. But I was missing the one thing I thought I wanted and needed most- to be with my true love. Thus began my journey to hell, which left me homeless, jobless and broke. But that is a story in itself.
I have at least made it back to the surface.
I finally found my true love and I finally figured out how to eat a little of my cake and still have some left over to enjoy. The key was in closing the gap in my expectations as to what I deserved and what I could live with. The irony is that, after two years of getting nowhere, I finally got three great job offers all in one week, in three different occupations. I couldn't have asked for a better closing scenario.
In looking back, at least there has been a silver lining in my dark cloud.
These last few years in darkness have lit some candles for me. I have always known that we usually learn more from mistakes. I made plenty of mistakes to help get myself to the state of joblessness I was in. And, the frustration of getting nowhere despite my perseverance has actually begun to teach me some important lessons. These lessons haven't come easy and although I have never given birth, I sort of have an idea of what that process feels like.
The first lesson I am still trying to learn is the importance of humility.
No matter how much education, training, experience or skills I have, I am never too good to work as a security guard. That is if they would have hired me! Being over-educated and over-qualified was an excuse I quickly got tired of hearing. I felt that was my loss and their gain, but that rationalization didn't help either. Becoming humble is requiring me to shed my expectations and preferences- almost completely, and this isn't coming easy. Pride is a difficult thing to swallow.
The second lesson I am learning is becoming aware of the connection of things I did in the past that helped shape this miserable present state of unemployment in which I was stuck. These were the bad choices and irresponsible behavior I willfully participated in earlier without regard for the possible consequences. I had a good life. I just wanted more. I also had plenty of good jobs in my life but didn't respect employers well enough to give my full attention and effort to them. I took those jobs for granted. Now I will "worship" the job I was lucky enough to get. Karma is a hard thing to avoid or accept.
The third lesson I am trying to learn is to want what I have fully without gazing enviously over at greener pastures.
I have good health, true love, a meaningful job and a nice home. I even have an older daughter whom I walked out on when she was only six, to visit now. I secretly knew I wouldn't ever get a job so long as I couldn't be content without one. That was a tough paradox to figure out, but well worth the effort in the end.
The final lesson I am learning is more of a reality.
We are all alone with our brick walls. This is a very private test that no one else can understand or help with. On the other hand, we all have our own brick walls. My unemployment frustration was just someone else's physical handicap and that handicap is someone else's loss of a loved one and so on. Maybe this critical life experience is a way we can all connect on common ground. At least we should start talking about our own brick walls and asking others about theirs. My two year tribulation had some other important lessons:
1. To defeat your brick wall, you must adopt a competitive strategy to win or die and never give up. The worse it gets, the more you try.
2. You have to be brutally honest with yourself as to the reasons behind your brick wall. You have done something wrong and it needs to be changed. You can't lie or rationalize your way out of this type of conflict.
3. You have to be completely open to what the solution can be, without putting any qualifications on it. You have to learn to take what you get, willfully and happily.
-William S. Cottringer, Ph.D. -
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Do You Feel There Is No Hope?
In your times of deep despair,
Do you feel there is no hope?
As the darkness closes in on you,
Do you feel you cannot cope?
As you struggle on through every trial,
Do you say "When will it end"?
As you cry yourself to sleep at night,
Do you wish you had a friend?
When your body's racked with aches and pains,
Do you feel you are alone?
When you think about the future,
Do you fear the great unknown?
There is someone who really cares,
And He hears your every cry.
His arms are reaching out to you,
And on Him you can rely.
When things close in around you,
He sees your fear and doubt -
He wants to hold you in His arms,
And He will never cast you out.
As you stumble through the darkness,
He will be your guiding light.
He wants to wipe away your tears,
For you are precious in His sight.
Reach out right now to Father,
And let Him take complete control -
He'll take that heavy burden,
And He'll touch and make you whole.
He's reaching out His arms to you,
And He wants to be your friend.
Let Him take you in His loving arms,
For His love will never end.
[move]"And the hope is that in the end, the whole of created life shall be delivered/rescued from the bondage of slavery into the glorious liberty of the children of God."[/move]
In your times of deep despair,
Do you feel there is no hope?
As the darkness closes in on you,
Do you feel you cannot cope?
As you struggle on through every trial,
Do you say "When will it end"?
As you cry yourself to sleep at night,
Do you wish you had a friend?
When your body's racked with aches and pains,
Do you feel you are alone?
When you think about the future,
Do you fear the great unknown?
There is someone who really cares,
And He hears your every cry.
His arms are reaching out to you,
And on Him you can rely.
When things close in around you,
He sees your fear and doubt -
He wants to hold you in His arms,
And He will never cast you out.
As you stumble through the darkness,
He will be your guiding light.
He wants to wipe away your tears,
For you are precious in His sight.
Reach out right now to Father,
And let Him take complete control -
He'll take that heavy burden,
And He'll touch and make you whole.
He's reaching out His arms to you,
And He wants to be your friend.
Let Him take you in His loving arms,
For His love will never end.
[move]"And the hope is that in the end, the whole of created life shall be delivered/rescued from the bondage of slavery into the glorious liberty of the children of God."[/move]
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New Hope Music
http://newhopemusic.com/bringing.htm
Bringing the presence of Jesus to the world
Bringing the presence of Jesus in this place
Bringing the presence of Jesus to a
lost and longing people
Bringing His love, bringing His truth and grace
Jesus, King of the Nations
Mighty Lord of Creation
Holy Light of Salvation
Precious Lamb of God
We are the presence of Jesus to the world
We are the presence of Jesus in this place
We are the presence of Jesus to a
lost and longing people
We are His love, we are His truth and grace
Jesus, King of the Nations
Mighty Lord of Creation
Holy Light of Salvation
Precious Lamb of God
Precious Lamb of God.
http://newhopemusic.com/bringing.htm
http://newhopemusic.com/bringing.htm
Bringing the presence of Jesus to the world
Bringing the presence of Jesus in this place
Bringing the presence of Jesus to a
lost and longing people
Bringing His love, bringing His truth and grace
Jesus, King of the Nations
Mighty Lord of Creation
Holy Light of Salvation
Precious Lamb of God
We are the presence of Jesus to the world
We are the presence of Jesus in this place
We are the presence of Jesus to a
lost and longing people
We are His love, we are His truth and grace
Jesus, King of the Nations
Mighty Lord of Creation
Holy Light of Salvation
Precious Lamb of God
Precious Lamb of God.
http://newhopemusic.com/bringing.htm
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The Mansions Of The Lord
Please wait a few moments: the music will start playing automatically.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/ItisPeke/VDay.html
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days took His throne. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure white wool. His throne was a blaze of flames and His wheels were burning fire. A river of fire streamed and issued forth from His presence. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him."
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/ItisPeke/VDay.html
[move]"....to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ....."[/move]
Please wait a few moments: the music will start playing automatically.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/ItisPeke/VDay.html
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days took His throne. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure white wool. His throne was a blaze of flames and His wheels were burning fire. A river of fire streamed and issued forth from His presence. Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him."
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/ItisPeke/VDay.html
[move]"....to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ....."[/move]
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..only read the first two but wow!
A Friend Is Someone Who Knows Your Song
When God "Sings"
Jesus Christ came into this world with angels singing His Song, which speaks volumes to me that we each have been sung into existence by God too. We each are a beautiful vibration, or song; and when added together with all the other celestial sounds, makes a grand musical telling the story of Life and Love.
SONG OF LIFE
They're singing your song.
When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose.
When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else. When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finallly, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.
In this African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them.
Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for the antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly, your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty, and your purpose when you are confused.
You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warble at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you'll find your way home.
*************************************************************
Hold your note!
The Firstfruits sing a A New Song that no "man" can learn. Ego doesn't know this tune, only those redeemed from among it's clutches can sing this song. Together we are that vibration that breaks the dark glass and together we are the sound of many waters flooding the earth with life.
David, the Beloved is among us today, the great Psalmist, the only one the kings of Israel who instituted singing and dancing for he was tasting of the world to come. Can you hear his admonitions and encouragement to get on your feet and sing and dance with all your might. The Ark is coming home. We are the final resting place for the Ark or the Presence of the Lord. We were born to be the Presence of the Lord.
When God "Sings"
Jesus Christ came into this world with angels singing His Song, which speaks volumes to me that we each have been sung into existence by God too. We each are a beautiful vibration, or song; and when added together with all the other celestial sounds, makes a grand musical telling the story of Life and Love.
SONG OF LIFE
They're singing your song.
When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has its own vibration that expresses its unique flavor and purpose.
When the women attune to the song, they sing it out loud. Then they return to the tribe and teach it to everyone else. When the child is born, the community gathers and sings the child's song to him or her. Later, when the child enters education, the village gathers and chants the child's song. When the child passes through the initiation to adulthood, the people again come together and sing. At the time of marriage, the person hears his or her song. Finallly, when the soul is about to pass from this world, the family and friends gather at the person's bed, just as they did at their birth, and they sing the person to the next life.
In this African tribe there is one other occasion upon which the villagers sing to the child. If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the people in the community form a circle around them.
Then they sing their song to them. The tribe recognizes that the correction for the antisocial behavior is not punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt another. A friend is someone who knows your song and sings it to you when you have forgotten it. Those who love you are not fooled by mistakes you have made or dark images you hold about yourself. They remember your beauty when you feel ugly, your wholeness when you are broken; your innocence when you feel guilty, and your purpose when you are confused.
You may not have grown up in an African tribe that sings your song to you at crucial life transitions, but life is always reminding you when you are in tune with yourself and when you are not. When you feel good, what you are doing matches your song, and when you feel awful, it doesn't. In the end, we shall all recognize our song and sing it well. You may feel a little warble at the moment, but so have all the great singers. Just keep singing and you'll find your way home.
*************************************************************
Hold your note!
The Firstfruits sing a A New Song that no "man" can learn. Ego doesn't know this tune, only those redeemed from among it's clutches can sing this song. Together we are that vibration that breaks the dark glass and together we are the sound of many waters flooding the earth with life.
David, the Beloved is among us today, the great Psalmist, the only one the kings of Israel who instituted singing and dancing for he was tasting of the world to come. Can you hear his admonitions and encouragement to get on your feet and sing and dance with all your might. The Ark is coming home. We are the final resting place for the Ark or the Presence of the Lord. We were born to be the Presence of the Lord.
[move]"Throughout history, the seal and hallmark of every authentic interaction of man with the Lord Most High has been profound, life-altering humility."[/move]
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William Cowper
Many people may not know how William Cowper was brought to write that hymn. His life was in shambles. He was not a Christian. He was filled with despair and discouragement. In fact, so overcome with despair was he that he determined to take his life by taking poison. Instead of dying, he became deathly ill. He bought a gun and tried to shoot himself, but the gun would not go off. In great anger, he threw the gun away, got a rope and tried to hang himself. The rope broke. So then, in utter desperation, he hired a carriage in London and instructed the driver to take him to the Thames River. The driver could not find the Thames River! The fog had settled in so thickly on the town that even a London cabdriver got lost! After several hours he brought Cowper back to his apartment.
William Cowper went up to his room, totally dismayed, and his eyes fell upon a Bible. He opened the Sacred Words and began to read. He read of the love of the heavenly Father who loved even he. Astonished by the events that had just taken place in his life, he read of the sovereign providence of God working all things after the counsel of His own will & embraced Him as his Saviour, writing the wonderful words of that great hymn.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/c/o/w/cowper_w.htm
[move]Thanks be unto God who through our union with Christ leads us in one continual triumph; our life a constant pageant of His triumph.[/move]
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One Single Rose
On July 13, 2002 a piece of our life was suddenly snatched away. Our youngest son, Philip, entered the next stage of life, into the loving Presence of the One who has made us. It was so sudden; our hearts called out to our Heavenly Father in our grief and great distress with a strange, but wonderful, prayer.
Father: Will you give us one rose?
That was the simple request my husband made that day; one rose to cut and place upon our table in memory of our twenty-year-old son.
As we pondered the shock and sorrow of our loss my husband asked the Lord for just one single rose in memory of our dear son. The year 2002 in this area had been one of the finest years for roses, but it was now the middle of July and the sun and heat had brought the roses to the last stages of disintegration..... except for one beautiful, perfectly-formed rose.
Later in the day....
Our attention was focused on the rear of our home. The situation was identical. Every rose in the last stages of life, except for one perfectly-formed, variegated rose of pink with touches of yellow. Our Father, in our hour of grief, answered our simple prayer with twice what we had asked for. At the front and the rear of our dwelling, one perfectly-formed rose.
2004
We still marvel as we look at those bushes today. The bush at the front continues to provide many lovely roses, but none as exquisite as the one our Father made for us that day. And in the rear....in the rear, the variegated rose bush failed to blossom this spring. The winter had been especially windy and cold and a couple of our rose bushes did not survive. I was so saddened in the spring to note that our special rose bush had not one sign of life - no little shoots sprouting out - just dead, dried branches.
After waiting a few weeks, hoping for life to appear, I decided to plant a new rose bush in its place. Near the end of June I dug up our lovely bush, examining the lifeless root and pondered whether it should be thrown away or replanted in another spot. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out and so I planted the "lifeless" root in a new location in the flower bed under our kitchen window.
What a shock!
One day in the middle of August, I was outside on our patio and looked down at our flowerbed under the kitchen window - I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought - I am seeing things - it can't be so! I stepped closer. There was a single green stem with a rosebud sprouting up as beautifully as you please. Immediately I thought of our Philip - this is our beautiful Philip - out of the agony of his death he is enjoying resurrection life. He is in a different place and basking in the love of His Heavenly Father.
Each day we watched the progress of this fresh, young rosebud as it developed and grew blossoming into a beautiful, variegated rose - pink with tinges of yellow.
Receiving this rose has been such a blessing to us - a confirmation of the glorious resurrection life that awaits us and assurance that our Father is watching over us and continuing to comfort us in the loss of our son.
[move]"I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it."[/move]
http://www.promiseofgod.com/rosepetals/
On July 13, 2002 a piece of our life was suddenly snatched away. Our youngest son, Philip, entered the next stage of life, into the loving Presence of the One who has made us. It was so sudden; our hearts called out to our Heavenly Father in our grief and great distress with a strange, but wonderful, prayer.
Father: Will you give us one rose?
That was the simple request my husband made that day; one rose to cut and place upon our table in memory of our twenty-year-old son.
As we pondered the shock and sorrow of our loss my husband asked the Lord for just one single rose in memory of our dear son. The year 2002 in this area had been one of the finest years for roses, but it was now the middle of July and the sun and heat had brought the roses to the last stages of disintegration..... except for one beautiful, perfectly-formed rose.
Later in the day....
Our attention was focused on the rear of our home. The situation was identical. Every rose in the last stages of life, except for one perfectly-formed, variegated rose of pink with touches of yellow. Our Father, in our hour of grief, answered our simple prayer with twice what we had asked for. At the front and the rear of our dwelling, one perfectly-formed rose.
2004
We still marvel as we look at those bushes today. The bush at the front continues to provide many lovely roses, but none as exquisite as the one our Father made for us that day. And in the rear....in the rear, the variegated rose bush failed to blossom this spring. The winter had been especially windy and cold and a couple of our rose bushes did not survive. I was so saddened in the spring to note that our special rose bush had not one sign of life - no little shoots sprouting out - just dead, dried branches.
After waiting a few weeks, hoping for life to appear, I decided to plant a new rose bush in its place. Near the end of June I dug up our lovely bush, examining the lifeless root and pondered whether it should be thrown away or replanted in another spot. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out and so I planted the "lifeless" root in a new location in the flower bed under our kitchen window.
What a shock!
One day in the middle of August, I was outside on our patio and looked down at our flowerbed under the kitchen window - I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought - I am seeing things - it can't be so! I stepped closer. There was a single green stem with a rosebud sprouting up as beautifully as you please. Immediately I thought of our Philip - this is our beautiful Philip - out of the agony of his death he is enjoying resurrection life. He is in a different place and basking in the love of His Heavenly Father.
Each day we watched the progress of this fresh, young rosebud as it developed and grew blossoming into a beautiful, variegated rose - pink with tinges of yellow.
Receiving this rose has been such a blessing to us - a confirmation of the glorious resurrection life that awaits us and assurance that our Father is watching over us and continuing to comfort us in the loss of our son.
[move]"I the Lord build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it."[/move]
http://www.promiseofgod.com/rosepetals/
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http://hometown.aol.com/albis4real/onlylove.html
[move]"...to those who are in God the Father, enfolded in His love, and kept for Jesus Christ...."[/move]
[move]"...to those who are in God the Father, enfolded in His love, and kept for Jesus Christ...."[/move]
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