Some of my Favorite Books

The Ultimate Race

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and rescue you." Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

Hebrews 12:1-3

Sports are a major part of American culture. It dominates many people's thinking, influences their schedules, draws their money, and fuels their pleasure. In fact, sports have been valued by societies since ancient times. New Testament writers integrated sport metaphors into their letters to make a spiritual point, as the author of Hebrews did in today's passage.

The key to running the race of life well is found in the first verse: endurance. You may be one of those people who started well - you had lots of dreams and ideas about what you wanted to accomplish. Yet perhaps somewhere along the way, you faced tragedy, setback, or failure. As a result, you took your eyes off the running path and away from those dreams. Now you've strayed from the path and concluded you will not be able to find your way back. You have chosen not to end well.

God has a path for each of us. And along that trail are weaknesses, pain, and disappointments. But these things must not defeat us. The difference between people who finish their life race well and others who do not is endurance. Those who end well refuse to give up, in spite of any adversity threatening to blow them off their God-given course.

Endurance does not mean sitting back and look for the easy way out of hardship. Instead, it means deciding to put our faces to the wind and use the energy granted by the Holy Spirit to persevere through the rough patch. To endure is the only way to finish our race successfully.

What lies behind you and lies ahead of you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you.

Good running!

Lady G

The Stages of Love

...Who, newly in love, preoccupied from morning till night with thoughts of love, can believe they will ever be out of step with their partner, that the feelings they are experiencing so strongly will ever fade? Certainly no bride or groom wants to hear that their flame will burn lower in time. But, in a sense, it will. The passionate love that begins a marriage cannot sustain a marriage. Newlyweds who equate true love only with passion are doomed to disappointment.

Marriage is a journey through predictable passages, or stages, of love. These stages -romance, power struggle, cooperation, mutuality and co-creativity - are sequential seasons of love in marriage. Each stage has its own challenges and opportunities, and each builds on each other, eventually bringing your love life to its full potential.

Stage One: Romance

The initial stage of love in marriage is romance, a time when couples nearly forget that they are unique individuals with separate identities. In this stage of enchantment, the couple takes complete delight in each other. Reaching out to fulfill their deepest needs for intimacy, they experience a kind of mystical union, and they celebrate the ecstasy of bliss and belonging.

Stage Two: Power Struggle

This stage, rife with tension, begins when idiosyncrasies emerge and differences become glaring. Two independent persons forming a way of life together eventually run into power struggles and must learn to adjust to each other's ways. The intensity and turmoil of this stage varies among couples, but almost every couple engages in this struggle.

Stage Three: Cooperation

This stage is like a breath of fresh air for couples who have stayed the course and successfully navigated the perilous passage of power struggles. Now a sense of acceptance and a willingness to change enter the relationship. A new depth develops as more healthy ways of being together begin. Couples in this stage realize that love is not so much about looking outward at each other as it is about looking inward at themselves and taking responsibility for their own personal problems. In this stage, couples relinquish the illusion that their partner needs to make them happy and they redefine love by coming to grips with their fears, defenses, projections, and hurts.

Stage Four: Mutuality

While a monumental change began in Stage Three, it was still a time when old problems and fears reemerged, especially in stressful times. But as love grows, couples eventually enter a new stage, almost unexpectedly, where mutuality becomes the fundamental way of being together. It is a stage of feeling at one with each other, where each feels a secure sense of belonging. Just when couples are wondering if they will ever escape old, unhealthy patterns, they discover a new reality - and are surprise by the joy of mutual intimacy.

Stage Five: Co-Creativity

In stage Four, the intimacy each couple yearns for and struggles to achieve is an experienced reality. But as partners become older, retire, and face the end of life together, they develop a more pronounced energy of co-creativity. The rhythm of intimacy comes to a new and final flourish. Love overflows. Secure in themselves and in their love, couples have an abundant flow of energy for action in the world at large.

This profound and peaceful period of love transcends all previous stages and results in a stronger and deeper love than any other. In co-creativity, couples realize that they are not just made for each other; they are also called to a ministry of love to everyone and everything. Thus, the co-creative couple develops a web of meaningful interrelationships that support the marriage and deepen its joys.

Love changes over a lifespan, but it becomes no less intimate, no less meaningful, no less important. For in the measure that young passion recedes, the vacancy is replaced with a deeper, more abiding sense of intimacy, care, and co-creativity. As the flame fades, deep-burning coals emerge.
 
Mrs. P

The Meaning of Goodness

Of all the Christmases that Mary Campbell remembers, her seventh stands out from all the rest. Mary was the fifth of five Campbell children (with an identical twin brother). As with any child, December brought into mind the dream of new toys, cookies and cakes, holiday cheer, and time off from school. But one week before Christmas, Mary's parents called the kids into the living room.

"Kids, I've have some bad news for you," Mrs. Campbell said, barely able to look her children in the eye. "As you know, things have been pretty tight this year. As a matter of fact, we are going to have to file bankruptcy, so we won't have Christmas this year. I'm so sorry. Perhaps we can make it up to you next year." Then she quietly walked out of the room to conceal her tears.

The kids just sat there for a while completely silent. Mary thought to herself, "What does she mean 'we won't have Christmas'? Does that mean I've been bad and Santa isn't going to come? And what is bankruptcy?"

It was a confusing time in Mary's life, but one thing became abundantly clear on Christmas morning - Christmas had not come to the Campbell house that year. No presents were piled under the tree, and mom and dad were not cooking our turkey in the kitchen. The family did, however, go to church that cold Christmas morning. When they arrived at church, all the other children were sporting new clothes and boasting about the Christmas presents they received.

"Hey, Mary, what'd you get?" one kid asked.
"Nothin'. We didn't have Christmas at our house this year.
We're having a bankruptcy."
"What's wrong?
Have you guys been so bad that you got nothing?
Didn't you even get a few little things?"

Feeling rather down and out, the family of seven went home for a lunch of hot dogs and generic macaroni and cheese. About an hour later, the door bell rang. "Maybe it is Santa after all," Mary thought as she ran to the door. Standing in the doorway wasn't Santa, but it was the Holland family, all eight of them. Each of the six children had smiles on their faces and two gifts in their hands. Mr.and Mrs. Holland held a turkey dinner with all the fixings.

As it turned out, the six Holland children went home from church and told their parents about how the Campbell's weren't having Christmas this year. Seeing how they had been so richly blessed, the children decided to pick two of their toys and wrap them up for the Campbells. Mom and Dad joined in and brought gifts for the parents. Even though Mrs. Holland had Christmas dinner all planned out for her own dining room, she gathered up the food in boxes and baskets to share with a family who needed it more.

Mary is now over forty years old, but her eyes still well up with tears when she shares this story with others. "It was truly the best Christmas I have ever had," she told me. "The Spirit of God showed me that Christmas wasn't about getting presents but about giving and caring for others. It is about showing goodness toward other people. Every year, I share this story with someone new, because it demonstrates how God gave so freely of Himself for us."

That is how we show goodness. I had always thought that the word "goodness" in Galatians 5:23 meant, being good or good behavior. Then I looked up the Greek word, "agathosune" and found that it means a goodness that does good toward other people. It's not so much about being good as it is about doing good.

What is the meaning of goodness to you?....Please share your story.

Intelligence and Faith...Seeing the world's multidimensional glory

Some people see the world only in terms of obvious physical realities. Others view the world through the lens of blind faith that doesn't fully engage their minds.

However, both types of people have a vision that is limited to what they can see with only one eye.

They're missing out on the world's multidimensional glory.

The only way to see the world as God meant you to see it is to look at it with both "eyes" He has given you - your intelligence and your faith.

If you develop both your IQ (intelligence quotient) and FQ (faith quotient), you'll be able to see the full depth and beauty of who you are, who others are, and the universe that surrounds you.

Here's how you can let your intelligence and particular faith work together:

Realize that everyone believes in something.

Some people believe in God, some in a higher Being, while others believe in the god Randomness, who they think has the power to transform complete chaos into the order that is our vast universe.

Understand that it takes just as much faith - if not more - to believe that the universe has no divine creator or director than it does to believe that God exists.

Understand that God gave you a mind so you could use it.

Remember that it is said that we were made in God's image, and that includes our brains. Know that He wants you to make good use of your intelligence and not be afraid to explore the world so you can discover more about it.

In order to recognize the incredible accomplishments of smart, faith filled people throughout history,you have only to read through the journals of past events to discover legions of educated men and women whose faith in God was immensely important to them.

As you learn about what they accomplished in their lifetimes, you'll know that smart people can believe in God and use their God-given gifts to make a significant, positive difference in the world.

Don't let yourself be deceived by myths.

Know that IQ isn't somehow superior to FQ; both are equally important for being able to accurately perceive the world. Seeing is a form of believing, but believing is also a form of seeing.

Know that science can never prove that God does or does not exist.

In fact, Science, by its very nature, will always be completely unbiased on the subject. If you do believe in God, don't ever be ashamed of your faith.

Don't think that God frowns on your doubts and questions. Instead, know that He wants you to use them as tools to develop a deeper faith.

If you don't believe in God, realize that whatever the reasons are, they have nothing to do with your intelligence because many people with very high IQs have chosen to believe or not to believe in God.

Don't look down your nose at people who believe differently than you do. Ask yourself what emotional reasons they might have for their skepticism, and consider studying those issues so you'll be free to go on a genuine spiritual quest for answers.

If you think faith is a crutch, consider how often the biblical God makes the lives of His people harder - not easier - so they can grow.

Understand how science and faith can cooperate

Science asks "how" questions, while faith asks "why" questions - but both types of questions are valuable.

Science looks outward, while faith looks inward. Know that space, time, meaning, and purpose all can shed new light on each other when you study them together.

Remember that both science and faith encourage people to explore, observe, make judgments, and discern wisdom.

Understand that a healthy and credible science will always need faith, and a healthy and credible faith will always need reason.

Consider that scientific theories are imperfect by nature and open to revision in the future as people learn more. But also remember that faith in the scientific process can lead to important new discoveries.

Know that as you accept and respect both science and faith, you can discover more about truth than you would if you accepted just one of them. Understand that science and faith aren't two competing worldviews.

Instead, they're two different takes on one logical reality - our intelligence calls what it sees "truth," and our faith calls what it sees "God."

Recognize that proof and belief are both powerful ways of obtaining real certainty. We can prove things we find hard to believe, and we can believe in things we find hard to prove.

Realize you can become smarter when you become more faithful, and you can become more faithful when you become smarter.

Wisdom, love, and humility also result from this synergy.

You may be wondering why I say "faith" as opposed to "religion", and the answer to that question is simple in that it is my belief that "faith" says, "thou shall" while "religion" says, "thou shall not". Furthermore, it is my feeling that "religion" says, "come only if" while "faith" says, "come as you are...just come". I have always considered myself to be faithful, and not religious.

Please share with me your thoughts on Intelligence and Faith....my next post will be on the topic of The Meaning of Goodness.

"The fruit of the Spirit is .goodness." Galatians 5:22

Mrs. P