Where you can share your struggles, learn about mental health issues and study the Bible
My pastor at St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Waukesha shared this prayer with us.
Lord God, I am facing a difficult decision in my life and I do not know the road to take. You have given me the awesome power to choose freely as well as the intelligence to choose wisely. Inspire me to make the right decision no matter what it may be.
What does freedom mean to you?
I believe that everyone has certain rights due to being humans. Our government doesn’t give us these rights, they recognize and protect these rights.
Freedom of speech is part of the first amendment to the US constitution. This recognizes my ability to say what I think without fear of my government. There can be limits to this right but only in very specifically defined ways. This assures that we can debate the issues of running a democracy. I know someone out there is thinking,”No. We are a republic.” Since we vote on people to represent us rather than directly vote to pass laws, this can be argued. However, we can encourage our leaders to make decisions that match the popular position. So, I believe that we are a democracy and a republic.
The first amendment is full of these freedoms that we as Americans hold dear. The right to protest and assemble. I had a roommate in college from Hong Kong who called protests riots. I never could get her to see the difference. I walked in my city’s Black Lives Matter protest. The organizer failed or deliberately didn’t get a permit. So, the police had to come over to the organizer in order to know our route. The city got mad at him for this because we interfered with traffic. I kept walking on the sidewalk because it felt wrong to interfere with traffic. The second protest was on the sidewalk where the first one should have been. Like freedom of speech, I am okay with limiting my rights in order not to interfere with the rights of others. Freedom of the press helps us to be informed on what our government is doing. I still remember when the US government lied to us about the weapons of mass destruction in order to justify a war.
There are other rights that are not listed but are still very important such as property rights, privacy rights and abortion. I know some of my friends think that I support murdering unborn babies because of this position. I believe that many pregnant people who consider abortion are faced with a very hard decision. I have attempted to listen to some books describing the experience of facing this decision but one book had too much political commentary by the abortion doctor who gathered the stories.
As if this post isn’t too long now, I started thinking about religious freedom. The first amendment protects the church from interference from the government. However, we have built a separation between government and religion through tradition and the Supreme Court. This is important to me because I want people to come to Christ through a voluntary act in response to God’s love not through societal pressure. So, I want most laws to protect rights rather than force ethical behavior. Murder is wrong because people have a right to be safe as they live and work rather than the fact that it is wrong. Lying is wrong but not illegal. We need some other laws to keep things orderly such as traffic laws.
I am out planting my rocks. I found a rather boxy one and painted it to look like a Waukesha Metro bus and left it at the bus depot. I remember when this building was new. I loved having an actual building with a restroom.
I put the other ones in Frame Park. I am praying that they make someone smile and renew their hope for the future.
My city, Waukesha, is doing a city trail challenge if you are interested in visiting a variety of trails.
I had trouble getting the name of the person after the quote to be legible due to the rough rocks. I left one at Walmart and the other one in downtown Waukesha.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams
I painted a rock and put this quote on it. The rock is now sitting at my work station.
What is your favorite leadership quote?
Max Lucado was born in Texas on January 11, 1955. His roots lay in the dusty, hardworking world of oil fields, where his father toiled and his mother served as a nurse.
At Abilene Christian University, Lucado embraced both faith and communication, graduating with a Mass Communication degree. While selling books door-to-door, he discovered a knack for storytelling that resonated with hearts beyond sales pitches.
In 1978, a small-town pastorate ignited Lucado’s ministry. Soon, his sermons, laced with homespun humor and poetic storytelling, were finding their way onto the page.
Over the next four decades, Lucado penned nearly 100 books, weaving tales of grace, hope, and faith that have sold over 145 million copies. His words, translated into over 50 languages, have comforted the anxious, empowered the discouraged, and reminded millions of God’s unwavering love.
Beyond the page, Lucado’s ministry extends to Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves as teaching pastor. He travels the world, speaking to audiences eager for his warm humor and insightful messages. And, through UpWords, his non-profit ministry, he encourages others to take “one step closer to Jesus.”
Google’s Bard (AI) wrote this biography that I have above this sentence. Then, I edited some of it. It appears to be a summary of his biography on his own website. I didn’t count how many books that the site listed but it is a lot. So, he might have written “nearly 100 books.”
God sees with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But, he also sees our value. In the Eyes of the Storm
While I saw God as a father searching for all my faults with the intention of punishing me for every last one, I can understand that some see a father figure in a much more loving way. I love that God sees all my faults and blemishes but loves me anyway. I believe that this is how God wants us to see ourselves. If we see only our good traits, our view of ourselves is wrong. Good self-esteem is having a clear understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses but loving oneself anyway. There is a Bible verse
Paul is clear. The supreme Force is God’s grace. Not our works. Not our talents. Not our feelings. Not our strength. In the Eye of the Storm
“How does God deal with your bitter heart? He reminds you that what you have is more important than what you don’t have. You still have your relationship with God. No one can take that. No one can touch it. Your health can be taken and your money stolen-but your place at God’s table is permanent.” He Still Moves Stones
“We can’t control the way our family responds to us. When it comes to the behavior of others toward us, our hands are tied. We have to move beyond the naive expectation that if we do good, people will treat us right. The fact is they may and they may not-we cannot control how people respond to us.” He Still Moves Stones
I used to blame myself for my step-father getting mad at me. I believed that I had to be a good child in order to prevent him from yelling at me or something else. I think it was an Al-Anon book that got this message into my brain.
“Wouldn’t you love to look back on your life and know you had done what you were called to do?” In the Footsteps of the Savior
I have wanted this all my life. I think this blog is part of that call on my life.
“As long as you think you can control people’s behavior toward you, you are held in bondage by their opinions. If you think you can control their opinion and their opinion isn’t positive, then guess whom you have to blame? Yourself.” In the Footsteps of the Savior.
I have a huge collection of Max Lucado books. So, I will be adding more quotes here.
I have been busy painting rocks for Easter. I videoed myself next to my church and left them for people to find tomorrow on Easter.
I posted the video to my re-named YouTube channel. Since I am new to posting on YouTube, my video editing skills are rough. So, I hope you will be forgiving as I learn.
I have been wanting to make a Mandela design on a rock.There is a lady in my city who creates the most beautiful rocks. She calls herself the Dotting Chick. So, I decided to try to create one.
As you can see, my rock has none of the eye popping color or the perfect dot size and spacing. When I Googled in order to share a link, I discovered on her Facebook page that she does classes at a local store. I went to her class yesterday and enjoyed it. I will practice and try making some more Mandela rocks.
My second experiment was to see how a rock would look without a white base coat.
The heart on the back is not as bright as I think it was when I did a white base coat.I will return to using a white under coat.
One of the YouTube channels that I follow posted a video on how to use a dollar sign to draw two hugging bunnies. Here is a picture of my sixth drawing.
I have picked out three rocks that I will try to paint this on. I will be looking for some more Easter ideas.
Here are the three rocks with the hugging bunnies. I like them but hope to get better.
Now, if I can get the guts to set up an e-mail subscription and YouTube channel.
What have you done that is new or different recently?
What are you working on getting the guts to do?
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?
I have experienced a lot of negative feelings including sadness (major depressive disorder), social anxiety, anger and grief. So, this post will probably be long.
When I was angry, I went on a brisk walk. I can’t even remember why I was mad. I just remember wanting to kick or throw the stuff in my apartment. So, I deliberately wore myself out. I remember having an inner argument as I walked on the sidewalk. I wondered if anyone saw me walking and gesturing with my hands.
Other times, I have cried or talked it out. I have also scribbled or torn up a paper with a word that represents what I am mad at.
When I was in a depression episode, I reached out to a therapist and psychiatrist for help. The therapist helped me to work through some unresolved issues concerning the death of my great aunt while the anti-depressants helped me by reducing social anxiety and improved the sleeping pattern.
I also wrote “Dear God” letters, pretend therapy and created some of my own art therapy as a way to express and work through my emotions.
What has worked for you? What have you seen work for others?
I thought of this idea while at work. I have a job that uses low level brain power and a lot of hands on work. I think a good therapist would suspect that fear is a large factor in our nation’s disagreement. So, the therapist would work to reassure the parties that neither outcome will destroy the US. Perhaps, he/she would say,”We have survived world wars and a Civil war. We will survive this election too.”
Then, both parties would start sharing their worst case scenarios. The therapist stops them and says,”I can only hear one at a time.”
“Thanks to President Biden, we have open borders. Immigrants are flooding in from all over the world. Border patrol stops them, processes them and releases them into the country to await a hearing. They may be terrorists or criminals.” The Republican sighed in frustration. “Having a secure border is essential to our ability to be safe.”
“But, the Biden administration needs Congress to work with him in order to secure the border ”
“I am hearing that you are concerned about the safety of our nation due to the struggle to secure our border. Is that correct?” The therapist made eye contact with the Republican.
“Yes. I know that some people use this argument in relation to racism. But, I am not saying that one race is more violent than others.” The Republican looked nervously at the Democrat.
“I am not going to call you a racist. I believe most of us work hard to not be racist. It is just that our culture has racism deeply embedded in it. So, we have instinct like racism that hides under our more obvious beliefs.”
“If we are a racist society, how will minorities be willing to work hard to get ahead. Many black people have left poverty and worked their way into high government positions, started companies and many other achievements.”
The Democrat replied, “True. It is possible to achieve the American dream no matter what your race,sex or income. It is more challenging for some groups than others. There is a school activity that teaches about ‘white privilege.'”
“Interesting. What is this activity?”asked the therapist.
“It is a race. The teacher instructs the students to take a step forward if they had access to tutors. The teacher continues to list these early life advantages that some students had while the others did.n’t have them” Explained the Democrat.
“Many of us whites didn’t have tutors or decent clothes, yet we became successful. Anyone can do that.”
“Most successful people had a time when someone encouraged them or gave them a chance. Perhaps, their first job, a teacher or coach guided them. I want everyone to have access to these moments of encouragement and nourishment.”
“That sounds great. But, I am concerned that it would take too much money and resources to mentor all students. This needs to be done through charitable organizations and churches rather than our government.” Added the Republican.
“I can see some schools choosing to set up a mentor program. I doubt that it could be done for all students.”
I suspect the debate would continue like this. I believe that we need to make our voting decision based on who will be best for the job. I suspect that many of us are unhappy to see that it will be Trump vs Biden AGAIN.
I believe that we all love this country and want what is best for this country. I ask that we all cease insulting the other side and remember to treat our neighbors as ourselves.
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
If I was the world dictator for a day and could ban phrases, I’d ban “I can’t”, “I should” and “I am a bad…”.
I can’t in our thinking and words tend to decrease our willingness to try with all of our abilities. Yet, there are some things that we must accept as limits to our abilities. So, I suppose I wouldn’t ban these words, I would choose to reduce their usage though.
I used to think “I should dump my trash, clean my dishes, clean the microwave, mop the floor…” Until I overwhelmed myself. I have managed to reduce the frequency of this phrase. Using the phrase “I should” will make you feel guilty or overwhelm you.
The last phrase that I listed is insulting yourself. I seem to love to do this especially in response to compliments.
As you can tell, I have a lot to learn. What phrases are you attempting to decrease in your thinking and words?