Basic blind-hog stuff; my observations about any and everything
Speech is free. Says so in the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, remember?
But reckless, vicious, soulless words are not without cost. We all pay for them in valuable coin, spending our self-respect, our compassion, our souls — even, at times, our lives — for three minutes and 19 seconds worth of self-expression.
Today, while waiting and praying for inspiration, the blind hog uncovered two acorns in the blogosphere:
The first was in a daily devotional taken from Oswald Chambers’ work My Utmost for His Highest. (I’m paraphrasing it here to emphasize the personal nature of the observation):
When I really see myself as the Lord sees me, it is [...]
Chip and Dan Heath are making interview/talk show rounds, being quoted in major print media, and swirling through great clouds of blogosphere talking about their book: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.
Ideas, business concepts, philosophies that make an impression, that grab hold and hang on are said to be “sticky.” (I [...]
If working at it is not the way to become the “living expression of God’s kindness,” then what is? Check out this parable of the Vine (by Bill McCracken and Toni Proudfoot), where we are branches grafted into Christ — the Vine:
Only one thing is necessary,” said the Vine, “abide in Me. Let Me be your [...]
Last year — 2006 — was my self-designated Year of Kindness: the 12 months during which I would make a sho’nuff, all-out effort to be kind. Not just to “be nice” to my family and friends (although God knows that can be hard sometimes), but to everybody I met. So how did I do? Well, [...]
A friend of mine has been helping her six-year-old daughter (let’s call her Alicia) memorize the Ten Commandments. After a few minutes of Thou-shalt-nots, the little girl asked in frustration, “Mommy, is there anything we can do?”
Lately I’ve been reading lots of Old Testament history. If you don’t get bogged down in the genealogies, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell a fascinating story of how God worked through events and people to make things happen. I’m still a little foggy about some stuff. I have questions like: Exactly who did [...]
Today’s Google quote is “Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty. (Leo Rosten)”
I disagree. Happiness is a state of well-being based on good fortune and circumstance. And many (certainly not all) circumstances can be purchased. Good food, pleasant surroundings, luxurious comfort, even interesting companionship and in some cases, good health–all can be bought.
What money [...]
Sometimes we don’t recognize God’s goodness because He doesn’t work the way we think He should. Check out this offering of praise (posted with the author’s permission):
I’ve spent the last few evenings in my front yard. Not enjoying the finally-spring weather, not relaxing after a day at work, not sipping a mint julep (what do those taste like anyway?). No, I’ve been weeding, digging, moving stones, clearing last fall’s leaves, adding topsoil, setting out flowers (that most probably will *not* thrive, [...]
