Staying Quietly In Your Room...
"The soul cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room."
This is not MY answer...it is Pascal's (Pensees #136 i believe). As I thought about my answer, I came up with the word "separation". I felt that separation or being alone was the deepest cause of our unhappiness but as soon as I read Pascal's answer, I was intrigued and it struck a chord.
What does Pascal mean?
fr'nklin
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Happy Birthday Mama
How does it feel to be a God Woman? You are surely the closest thing to Jesus many of us have ever seen. I don't think it's any accident that I read this TODAY:
"Every woman is in some way searching for or running from her beauty and every man is looking for or avoiding his strength. Why? In some deep place within, we remember what we were made to be, we carry with us the memory of gods, image-bearers walking in the Garden. So why do we flee our essence? As hard as it may be for us to see our sin, it is far harder still for us to remember our glory. The pain of the memory of our former glory is so excruciating, we would rather stay in the pigsty than return to our true home. We are like Gomer, wife of the prophet Hosea, who preferred to live in an adulterous affair rather than be restored to her true love.
We are the ones to be Fought Over, Captured and Rescued, Pursued. It seems remarkable, incredible, too good to be true. There really is something desirable within me, something the King of the universe has moved heaven and earth to get. George Herbert reached for words to express his wonder:
My God, what is a heart That thou shouldst it so eye and woo Powering upon it with all thy art As if thou hadst nothing else to do? (Mattens)
King David used a similar refrain:
What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. (Ps. 8:4–5)"
Mom...you have done Eve proud. You are certainly crowned with Glory, Honor, Beauty, Power, Majesty, and much LOVE.
You wear divinity well.
I know your two Papa's (heavenly and earthly) are proud of you. I imagine the heavenly one must look at you and say, "I'm especially fond of THAT (gap-toothed) One" and your earthly father must laugh and reply, "Yep, she was one that never could be fenced in...she is my beAutiful little girl, can't wait to see her". Of course, Pat won't be left out...she comes in and, oh, she is never more in her glory than when she takes over and so the Papas hush as she begins to tell stories of your childhood together and, although there are no tears in heaven, Papa allows her one as she tells him that she wishes she could have stayed longer with you and her boys...and then even the big Papa steps aside to allow Big Mama Mimi step to the edge of heaven and look down at her little girl. He remembers with her the day you were born and they share some sacred thoughts that are meant just for them...and then, together they whisper "Happy Birthday, Judy, my baby girl, I love you, and with you, I am so well pleased".
Mama, you are a goddess...divinity in humanity. Don't ever let anyone tell you different. It's the only explanation I have that comes close to explaining YOU. You are wonderful. You are my mama, and I love you...I adore you...I believe in you...I am glad I am your son, and I am glad you are still with me.
Happy Birthday Mama...and oh, Papa really is very fond of you, and so am I.
Bubba
more on Mosaic...
“On our own we are little more than bits off stone and glass. Together we are the body of Christ.”
I remember my first seminary class on Church History. I walked in as a rugged evangelical individualist who had only heard the word “tradition” in sentences like, “we will not be bound by tradition!” I thought “tradition”, especially tradition spelled with a capital “T”, was something Jesus came to destroy! Michael W. Smith expressed my view of Tradition quite well in his song “Secret Ambition”. My sense of Church History was that Jesus and the Apostles started things out and then things went terribly wrong for 1500 years until the reformers came and finally got things back on track. Needless to say, I was in for quite the revelation. I’ll always be indebted to Dr. Ted Campbell for opening my eyes to the BEAUTY & WEALTH of our shared Christian Tradition.
Since my seminary days I’ve had many opportunities to discuss our Christian heritage with people who, like me, have a very limited exposure to our shared Christian Tradition. I’m always saddened at how little is known about it and even more, how little it’s appreciated. I guess it’s not odd that we don’t stop and ask the question “where did all of ‘this’ come from?” since really, we don’t even ask that question of our own families (pity that). It’s always with great delight that I share the story of “the church” with the uninitiated, and, without fail, the response is no different than when a child hears a fairy tale for the first time. The imagination begins to fire as connections are made and the heart comes alive to a much, much bigger story. Too many Christians are caught up in a very small story. I was. My view of Christianity and Christ’s Kingdom / Body was no larger than my local church. Seeing the BIGGER STORY has deepened and broadened my faith, and I’ve seen it do the same for many others.
How does one begin to be introduced to the Christian Tradition?
This is a question I think anyone who appreciates the Tradition contemplates and most of us have attempted, in some form, to address. It’s for this reason that I’m so pleased to see the release of the MOSAIC bible by Tyndale House. The purpose of this bible is “to provide a way to encounter Christ on every continent and in every century of Christian History.” Wow. In fact, I must say that I’m even more excited about it because my friend (ANTHONY SMITH) is a contributor!!!!
mosaic...
Check out the new Bible ("Mosaic") released by Tyndale House today. I was pretty impressed by the product description: "...to provide a way to encounter Christ on every continent and in every century of Christian history." Anything that reminds us that Christianity has a history (!) and seeks to connect us to those upon whose shoulders we stand is a good thing.