Weekend at Burn-ies...
Ah...the weekend is here. Ah...the last weekend before our house in Birmingham goes on the market and I can stress, er...I mean, pray...that it sells quickly AND at a reasonable price.
Spent yesterday doing yard work in the morning, then Stacey jumped ship and helped Dana with some scrapbooking. Got bored enough to watch Deep Space Nine together last night, then put in "The Return of the King" and watched that.
I loved watching the images of the Tolkien book brought to life on the big screen. Strangely enough, the sets - particularly the 'staircase' and the tower of orcs inside Mordor looked almost exactly as I'd imagined it when reading the books. Creepy.
Up early right now because of relentless allergies. I'm about sick of these...
On another note... My 'issue' rant is not directed at any ONE person. It's just an open observation of the things that can and do plague relationships and communities, including ours. In fact, we're all guilty of being 'making issues' out of things from time to time. I've let things bother me so much about people that they're practically 'walking on eggshells' around me...nothing they do can make it right. I've done this in the past...I've done this recently. It's not fair to others, though.
A Scripture verse I read a couple of weeks ago sums up how I feel:
"Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3).
I sincerely hope that ALL of us - as a group - know how to be patient with one another, and that we make allowance for each others faults. We all have them. If we do not make allowance for each other's faults, then I believe it's our own selfish pride that governs our actions...almost as if - because of experience or some false sense of our own maturity - we're better than those who have not attained that maturity yet.
What is it about community that is so hard sometimes? What is it about forming a community of Christians - united in the Holy Spirit - that is so elusive? We know what we ought to do, but we let so many things interfere with the friendships Christ wants us to have. Annoyances at each others' quirks/habits. Annoyances with others' annoyances. Lashing out at friends when stressed instead of embracing their fellowship.
I've literally had to wake up one morning and realize that my not making this allowance for people cost me friendships. I was so overly critical of friends/roommates in college for stupid stuff, that the friendships ceased. That was never my intention, but...when I refused to make allowance for others' faults (and, in hindsight, the fault was more mine than theirs), I actually refused to make allowance for THEM as people. And it cost me...and I found myself alone, having to start over.
I plead to anyone who reads this trying to build a community of real friends: Be a peacemaker, not an issue-maker.
Peace.
Spent yesterday doing yard work in the morning, then Stacey jumped ship and helped Dana with some scrapbooking. Got bored enough to watch Deep Space Nine together last night, then put in "The Return of the King" and watched that.
I loved watching the images of the Tolkien book brought to life on the big screen. Strangely enough, the sets - particularly the 'staircase' and the tower of orcs inside Mordor looked almost exactly as I'd imagined it when reading the books. Creepy.
Up early right now because of relentless allergies. I'm about sick of these...
On another note... My 'issue' rant is not directed at any ONE person. It's just an open observation of the things that can and do plague relationships and communities, including ours. In fact, we're all guilty of being 'making issues' out of things from time to time. I've let things bother me so much about people that they're practically 'walking on eggshells' around me...nothing they do can make it right. I've done this in the past...I've done this recently. It's not fair to others, though.
A Scripture verse I read a couple of weeks ago sums up how I feel:
"Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace" (Ephesians 4:2-3).
I sincerely hope that ALL of us - as a group - know how to be patient with one another, and that we make allowance for each others faults. We all have them. If we do not make allowance for each other's faults, then I believe it's our own selfish pride that governs our actions...almost as if - because of experience or some false sense of our own maturity - we're better than those who have not attained that maturity yet.
What is it about community that is so hard sometimes? What is it about forming a community of Christians - united in the Holy Spirit - that is so elusive? We know what we ought to do, but we let so many things interfere with the friendships Christ wants us to have. Annoyances at each others' quirks/habits. Annoyances with others' annoyances. Lashing out at friends when stressed instead of embracing their fellowship.
I've literally had to wake up one morning and realize that my not making this allowance for people cost me friendships. I was so overly critical of friends/roommates in college for stupid stuff, that the friendships ceased. That was never my intention, but...when I refused to make allowance for others' faults (and, in hindsight, the fault was more mine than theirs), I actually refused to make allowance for THEM as people. And it cost me...and I found myself alone, having to start over.
I plead to anyone who reads this trying to build a community of real friends: Be a peacemaker, not an issue-maker.
Peace.
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