Fear

What is fear but the absence of comfort and confidence? Why does it mean so much to us and why can this feeling paralize our bodies and weaken our minds? Perhaps it's because fear is something that is felt by everything no matter if it has a heart or not.  It is a universal emotion that unites everyone and everything. No matter how tough and hardened the criminal is, fear will always be felt. People like to act all tough and fearless but that is only their insecurity speaking. You can't deny fear. It will always be there. The best that we humans can do is decide to ignore it and push on anyway. Forget our own feelings and keep going because in the end, it will be worth it.

Interesting

“The black sheep, a sore thumb, the ugly duckling – all things which notoriously stick out and don’t quite fit in, and to such a list one may add the name of Richard Hartman, a Baptist Pastor in Rexburg, Idaho.” (pg 94, I Think)

What an interesting way to open anything, whether a book, speech or paper. The title of this paper is “A Baptist in Zion: Life Through the Eyes of Religious Minorities.” You can only assume that they will be talking about this Baptist, Hartman, and how he “doesn’t quite fit in” as the opening line states. But the part that snags me is everything before the dash; the first nine words. Each of us know what those things have in common and the different stories behind each of them, especially if that sore thumb is ours or we believe to ourselves to be the ugly duckling or black sheep in the family. There is always someone out of place and more often than not, we believe that to be ourselves no matter how “in place” we are. This first sentence, especially the first part, appeals to our human nature and therefore draws us in with curiosity and a need to identify with others like us in some way.

What are "Idle" Words?

*In this post, I stated my thoughts, someone replied, and I replied back.*

Me: Idle words are those that we choose to share for no reason at all. They fill space just because they can. Some people talk just to hear themselves talk or to fill the empty space around them. To be idle is a narrower way of saying lazy. Idle people are never moving forward, rather backwards as they sift through space and time never making an effect on the world around them.

Response: Comparing writing and talking really helped me understand the effect of “idle,” and I fully agree to your last statement about idle things never making a difference in the things around them. This thought also came to me as I thought about the question. What do you think can help fix this problem of idleness?

Me: One simple way to fix this problem can be summed up in one word: education. There is a concept in humanities called The Abundant Life vs. Cultural Poverty. The more we know the more power we have. The more power, the more you are compelled to act and to reach beyond your limit of space and make a difference in the world around you. With education comes the power to do differently than you would otherwise.

The Essence of Captain Jack Sparrow

First, let's say that he is a captain and therefore has authority. He is an awesomely fearless character. His boat is in ruins so he probably traveled far. He doesn’t have very good logic. He is respectful to the dead and thankful for warnings although not wary of them, nor does he listen very often. He attracts attention and doesn’t matter what others think of him. He knows how to bribe people and he walks like a drunken buffoon. He is actually pretty smart. He has no sense of values and does what he pleases whenever he pleases. He’s comical and optimistic. Not really worried about things. Dramatic, fearless, endlessly lucky.

An object that represents me.

An object that represents me… well one thing that I find represents my personality is a rainbow. It’s colorful and happy and comes with the sun. I am generally a happy person and, at least in my view, rainbows are happy things. It means that the rain is leaving and the sun is coming out from behind its covers to warm the earth below. A rainbow represents all things on Earth. Each color can be seen as a different “mood” as on a mood ring. To put it simply, a rainbow is the earth’s mood ring as it is a description of my personality. The vibrancy can represent my outgoingness and my willingness to try new things. I generally find joy in life with the exception of those days gone without sleep. My moods can range from any side of the color spectrum at any moment (which is not to say I am bipolar) however I try to keep it on the light and sunny side of life. As one song in O Brother Where Art Thou states, “Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side; keep on the sunny side of life!” Another example is as my personal “theme song” states, “Don’t worry, be happy!”
(And don't worry, I'm not a homo. I'm just a happy person.)

Tears

There is a song that states "tears are born from fragments of pain, not sorrow or regret." That is true. You are sad because of the pain you feel due to something that happened to you. Regret is the pain of you doing something. And pain is something that happens as a result of actions that you were not in control of. But when things happen to people that it doesn't need to happen to, that's when the pain comes to you the most especially when you're supposed to protect them. What are you supposed to do when you are miles and hours away and someone needs to and you can't be there for them? Even when it's not in any way your fault, you still feel responsible when it's your little sister. What are you supposed to do when you can't do anything? The only thing that I can think of is to pray to God for help, comfort and love. That is the best thing that I have found to do. And that's the best thing that you can tell someone in need of help that you can't offer to do. So no matter how desperate, lost, alone and utterly forgotten you feel, never forget to pray because within praying is your best solace because Christ will always be there for you no matter what you have done and how bad you feel. He always loves you and will always comfort you when you feel like sinking any lower would be nearly impossible.

$20 Lemonade Stand

This is a true story.

One day, Mrs. Jacobs was driving home after grocery shopping. She passed a lemonade stand run by a bunch of kids, waving signs with '25 cent lemonade' written on them. She decided to buy one, only didn't pay 25 cents or even $1. She gave the kids $20 for one cup of lemonade, got back in the car and drove home.

The moral of this story isn't to buy lemonade from kids, but rather to be generous and kind.

The challenge of this story is that one day, when you have kids, give a random group of kids **$20** for a cup of lemonade. Pass the story on and give others the challenge.

**It doesn't have to be $20. Just whatever you can afford and still be generous.*