Vincent van Gogh ~ Almond Blossoms in Spring

I said to the almond tree,
“Sister, speak to me of God,”
And the almond tree blossomed.
~ Haiku given to St. Francis

 

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Voting
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Voting

ByMark Gilmore

On February 5, 2008 at 12:19:07 at Hickory Valley City Hall I was assigned access code 1723 to vote in the Tennessee primary. I elected to vote in the Republican primary and voted for Ron Paul and 12 …

7 Comments

  1. I am thankful that this dialogue is taking place and that we are prayerfully able to ask for wisdom and understanding and receive the promise of answers from an altogether lovely God. Sin is simply an opportunity for the love and grace of God to be contrasted. The word says sin came through man’s choice to break covenant with God. Satan was given authority on earth and his pride led him to believe he was as God. God forbid! Satan is against God and man is God’s most precious creation made in God’s own image. Satan hates God because he has been rebuked by Him. Now the serpent of old, through beguiling subtleties which deceived Adam and Eves is determined to exact vengeance on God for he wants to hurt Him. He knows how much God loves all of us and leading us into temptation and into eternal damnation is his only way of trying to get even with God. That is why Jesus died on the cross. To break the curse of death from sin on man. Man has power over sin only because of the blood of Christ and we as believers must put our complete trust in Jesus Christ, whom without there is no hope of salvation. The powers and principalities of darkness(Rev.13:8)whose objectives are realized through force,greed,selfishness,ambition,and decadence or self pleasure,are the work of satan and were offered to Christ when He was tempted on this earth(Mt.4:8+9). Satan is going to hell with his followers. Eternal torment was created for satan and his angels, not mankind! This is the punishment for their rebellion against God. Our final home is in heaven with God and when we die in the flesh we are reborn in the spirit which is eternal and cannot be threatened by evil unless we allow it by our free will. “Daniel, your fight is with satan not sick people on earth. Love them as God loves them and then they will see His face. God Bless you! These are my some of my sources: Rev. 13:8,20:10;Isa. 14:13; Lk. 10:18; Eph. 2:2;1Peter 5:8;Gen. 3:1,15

  2. I just want to say Thank You for that gorgeous image of the almond trees, and the profound haiku that goes with it.

    I found them moving, enlightening, educating and motivating in ways that no book can.

  3. Daniel,

    I’ve found the following books to be helping in explaining evil & self-deception and how to address it.

    Vital Lies, Simple Truths
    The Psychology of Self-Deception
    Daniel Goleman
    http://www.amazon.com/Vital-Lies-Simple-Truths-Self-Deception/dp/0684831074

    People of the Lie
    The Hope for Healing Human Evil
    M. Scott Peck
    http://www.amazon.com/People-Lie-Hope-Healing-Human/dp/0684848597

    From an Amazon commenter…
    If you have ever experienced or been frustrated by people who seem to have a hidden agenda then you will enjoy and benefit from this book. The author states (some are paraphrased) and explains the following:
    1. The evil hide their motives with lies.
    2. Evil people want to appear to be good.
    3. When confronted by evil, the wisest and most secure adult will usually experience confusion.
    4. Evil seeks to discourage others to think for themselves (fosters dependency).
    5. To oppose evil we must have an ongoing dedication to reality at all cost.

    I agree that to be mentally healthy we must believe what is true and only what is true. After reading this book you will be better equipped to deal with people who cause strife and confusion. It will also help you identify thought patterns where you are lying to yourself.

  4. Thank you Catherine, I’ll give it a read.

    I’ve typically perceived that the psychopaths are empowered by cowardly and selfish people who seek advantage via association with them, and the lack of action taken by the healthy who tend to be able to avoid or cope with them. This has frustrated me to no end. I’ve also wondered about what effect multiple generations of rewarding psychopaths has had. IE, that their percentage could be on the rise in a sort of genetic feedback loop. That failure to combat their behavior today, results in their further entrenchment tomorrow. Anyways, thanks for the suggestion.

  6. The question of “where evil comes from” keeps haunting me as I keep failing in confrontations
    with denialists of, and apologists for, the very acts that brought us into this world on fire.
    I’d like to take another crack at it if anyone cares to suffer more of my writing.

    The current crisis is that too many people are allowing themselves to be bribed and brow-beaten
    into living evil and mentally ill lives.

    I propose that evil is the refusal to accept responsibility, and mental illness is the refusal
    to accept reality.

    Together they involve denying;
    the total interconnectedness in our world,
    the authenticity of personal choice,
    the validity of the suffering we cause others,
    and the need for we ourselves to suffer when legitimate reasons present themselves.

    Consider how shopping at Wal*Mart relates to the above list.
    The shopper prefers not to think about where the money goes, or how the items were made, from both an environmental and labor perspective. They prefer to say “I’m too poor to shop anywhere else.” They prefer not to think of the 16 year old girl working in a sweat-shop or the people who are poisoned by pollution. If they do feel guilt and want to choose differently, they want the alternative to involve no sacrifice whether in, time spent learning, recognizing the suffering they’ve caused others, organizing, paying more, or enjoying fewer luxuries.

    To live as responsible, sane adults, we need to willingly suffer through learning and the emotional distress involved in working through unhealthy thoughts to transition to healthier ones. We have to be willing to say “I don’t know”, which our indoctrination has convinced us is a declaration of weakness and invitation for attack and lost status. We have to be willing to see beyond our own immediate personal interests to the totality of effects our actions have. This requires developing a habit of intentional thought and near-to-us sacrifice. The Dutch who William Black mentioned, weren’t foolish for fighting their impossible war. In saying “It is not necessary to hope in order to persevere.” they understood that living authentically is victory in itself.

    I do not know how to break through the barriers mentally ill people put up in defense against perceiving reality. Somehow they have to be lead to understand that thinking and choosing in terms of reality (as best as any of us can perceive it), provides for a different quality of suffering that is easier to endure because it is tempered with increased hope and confidence.

    Responsibility is the only seed of genuinely positive creation and contribution. Convincing people to be responsible involves navigating a minefield of blame that threatens to instantly close their mind. To say we are not responsible is to say that we are powerless. Perhaps one way to encourage responsibility is to explain that it means we as individuals have all the power. Sure there are events we cannot control. But of all the different possible paths our lives can take, we as individuals make all the choices. Responsibility empowers us to take charge of those choices and the outcomes that follow.

  7. Yes I pray and I will pray for this country. However, we who understand the biblical prophecy of the “End Times”, and are discerning and watching and praying are being profiled by our new administration as being terrorists!
    an amazing read……..never thought I’d see this!

    Hunter Condemns DHS Report PDF Print
    For Immediate Release: April 16, 2009
    Washington DC – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA) today condemned statements written as part of an assessment by the Department of Homeland Security classifying “disgruntled veterans” as threat to U.S. security and potential recruits for right-wing extremist groups. This report was distributed among law enforcement agencies throughout the country earlier this week.
    “I find this report insulting, both as a Member of Congress and a military veteran,” said Congressman Hunter. “It is unconscionable that our men and women in the military, who defend and protect this nation with their lives, should then come home to be called a security threat by some bureaucrat. This report should not be taken seriously and those individuals responsible should be fired and replaced with people who better understand that those who pose a threat to our nation usually don’t risk their lives to defend it.”

    for the full U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assessment called (U//FUOU) Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic
    and Political Climate Fueling resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.

    http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf

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