Zones of Peace

I want to create in my life and my environment zones of peace that relieve the stress brought on my the normal activities of my days. Mostly I do this by the kind of things I read and meditate on. I have favorite Bible verses that help me slow down or calm down when I feel the problems of life beginning to overwhelm me. Sometimes I read poetry that helps me find my calm center. I think it helps me to keep up with the house-cleaning and not allow my surroundings to become messy. Pictures of peaceful scenes are comforting and pleasant. I also like to look at pictures of people I love and have them around my house.

Before I begin trying to really get into the serious business of achieving peace, I return to the problem that disturbs me. This seems a little counter-productive, but when I'm trying to claim and maintain peace, first I have to understand what is causing anxiety.

Writing about peace using scripture and quotes from other writers is the most useful thing I do to create and sustain peace in my spirit. I like to read a verse or a line over two or three times to begin my meditation. Then I may rephrase it in different words. Sometimes I realize my own attitude or mindset is the cause of my distress. If my unrest is caused by jealously or bitterness, I may need to confess before I seek peace. Confession alone may be the answer to my need of peace.

I recommend this method to my readers. It is not a quick fix, but it lasts for a while when you are through. Of course, you are the judge of whether it works for you. Let me know what you think.

Winter in the RGV

I'm not particularly thrilled with living in the RGV. The Winter Texans seem to love it. They flood in here sometime about October and stay till about March. It really helps the Valley economy and Church attendance, but they are here for the same reason I not so happy about it. The Winter Texans want to avoid winter and I value it greatly. Of course I'm not talking about winter in the far northern states where hard winters are common. East Texas is just 4 or 5 hundred miles north. We'd have a little ice, some very cold nights, and I'd need a good coat, but Texas is still a Southern State.

The real thing I miss here is the change in seasons. There is not a change here. I can't even tell winter from spring. Summer does make an announcement with heat! And it starts early, but that doesn't grace the environment with the kind of joy spring brings. Autumn is the same. There is no drawing of the curtain with the leaves changing and the smell of harvest in October. A few degrees on the thermometer is the only witness that the rest of the world is seeing these changes in vibrant technicolor, but the RGV just picks up the sun screen. 

Enough of the complaining! The weather man on the 10:00 O'clock News keeps whining about how dreary it is when it rains. He is yearning for the sun to come out; he and Annie know the "sun'll come up tomorrow" and my wonderful rain will be gone. The thermometer will hit 100 and I'll never noticed there was a spring.

Good Quality TV at Christmas

I think I have an in-bred fear of cheap and shoddy merchandise. My mother was very focused on maintaining good quality in her clothes, her home furnishing, and in my appreciation of what good quality meant. Lately I've become aware of cheap quality in groceries and ordinary items used every day. Tissues, for example, don't have to cost a lot to be useful, but I prefer that they not exhibit a high wood fiber content. At least I don't want to be able to count the tree rings in them. I don't really care to buy the most expensive item on the shelf, but I do want to avoid the out-of-date milk and the brown, mushy bananas. I assume all shoppers will agree with me on this.

This expectation of a quality product extends to TV programming. In late-night shows, quality performance has always been some what suspect. When Johnny Carson was the King of late nights, he was often criticized for the abundant use of guests hosts because he was taking a few days off. Every holiday was an excuse for Johnny to go on a cruise, or to the seashore, or spend a few days in Europe. Finding a substitute host  was an acceptable way to shift his responsibilities. Fans who missed him pointed out that he  was often gone more days than he worked. In his defense I will point out that guests on the show were the same quality entertainment that was present when he was there.  

Today late-night TV and daytime talk shows don't spend the same time and effort on programming around a hosts absence. Now they just run a repeat. I find this a cheap substitute for the real thing. I know re-runs are a staple of TV entertainment, but I expect a little more than I've seen lately from "live entertainment." Christmas TV programming has been a "cheap and shoddy" disappointment in this area.  Maybe it wouldn't be so insulting if there was more time delay, but when the same show is repeated with hardly a week time lapse, I can't get excited about it.  

It's New Year Again!

I guess I need to review my resolutions from last year to see if I accomplished them before I make new ones for 2015. Oh, what's the use? I know I didn't do much better than I had before so a new set of resolutions won't make a lot of difference. On the other hand, I do believe in setting goals and pressing on. So here goes: In 2015 I will focus on writing better and more consistently. I will make less demands on my daughter and granddaughter who provide my transportation. I will be more respectful of their time and gas money. I will pursue my goal of becoming more reclusive and practice the hermit discipline. Maybe I'll read more of Thomas Merton. I will pray with greater focus and be more intentional in my prayer life.

I think one of the aids to a more successful resolution outcome may be keeping a calendar and a record of faithful practice. Maybe I can even report my experiences in this blog. I hope I don't completely chase off my readers. I get quite giddy when I have readers, so it can be very exhilarating. And oh, the joy of a comment! I do think this kind of self examination is profitable and meaningful. I'm afraid as a hermit, I have a lot to learn. I must learn not to seek affirmation and response to my writing. It still needs to be helpful or inspiring for others. Here is my dilemma: I must write well, intelligently, reasonably, and coherently, but without pride or arrogance. I must praise people and ideas that have value and substance without being overbearing or foolish. I want the writing to stand and carry weight because it is sound and convincing without the reader having to like me or be influenced by me as a person.

I've got a day to consider this before January 1, but tonight this is the way I'm going to leave it. I may alter it later. We'll see.

Hopeless

Sometimes there are barriers in my way that I can't find a way around. Sometimes the obstacles are more than I can surmount. Sometimes there is no avenue that promises relief. Sometimes I just bow and weep before God and seek his mercy. This is one of those times.

My daughter is ill and I can't help her. I moved away when my health began to crumble. I had my gall bladder removed when I moved here. I was suffering with it quite a bit. Now I have had a small stroke and deal with some difficulties in walking and some other problems with balance. These things are annoying, but  I still feel guilty that I am leaving Carol without my help. I do provide some financial support, but it's not enough to supply her with everything she needs.

Sometimes I want to move back home with her and take care of her again. I know I'm not able to do what she needs, but I could do what I could. Sarah does what she can, but if I was there I could do something. Here, I'm not doing anything. I feel guilty and useless. And I love her so much. I can only bow and weep and seek God.

It'sTime to Rant

It has been 53 years since Newton N. Minow's famous speech labeled TV as a "vast wasteland" and not much has changed. I guess I made a mistake. Things have gone downhill. The morality of TV shows has slid significantly and the grade is getting steeper.

TV is not the watch dog of morality, but it's reflection, so my rant is against the people who take the limelight and lower our standards of decency. TV has the power to do that by the portrayal of character's of high moral tone as ridiculous or stiff-necked, and the use of gangsters as nice guys. 

By teaching us to witness scenes of mayhem and destruction as humorous we lose sensitivity to the horror of the story we watch. It's not a big leap for us to justify killing the murderer. I believe in defending yourself, but it is still a drastic thing to kill another person.

     

Who Believes in Fairness?

Fairness is a principle I hear touted a lot. Referees and Umpires are challenged about the fairness of their decisions on the field and later in the clubhouse or the locker room, but these choices are not based on whether the decision was fair to all parties, but whether they followed the rules of the game. 

Fairness in the courtroom is measured by whether all parties are represented by a lawyer who is an expert in the law. When one person is wealthy and the other poor, the law may seem weighted by factors that extend beyond the domain of the rulings the court can make, and suddenly it's not fair. No, the world is not fair.

Bosses and teachers are expected to treat everyone under their direction fairly, but some have an advantage of intelligence, talent, or humility. Some people are bolder, quicker, or more receptive, and these characteristics are often viewed as an unfair advantage by others.

So what makes life fair? Are we guaranteed fairness? I don't think we are. In God's system we are guaranteed mercy. That's several levels better than fairness. We are accepted with all our faults, and even our sins, just by our faith in the efficacy of the sacrifice of Jesus to satisfy God's judgment on the world. If we want to play the fairness game with God, there is only one avenue: righteousness. God does not dabble in fairness. 

His requirement is always righteousness, but he knows we are incapable of righteousness and uses a new standard: mercy. Our only responsibility in mercy is reception. We are obligated to accept God's mercy and respond in its light. We don't have to correct our stupidity, but we must always remember that we stand before God in mercy. We are not righteous, but mercy gives us the opportunity to stand before him just because he wants it that way. We are not righteous, but he allows us to approach him because of his goodness, not ours, because of his mercy.

Don't try to please God on the basis of your goodness. Don't appeal to him because you have done good things and been kind. Only call on him in the name of his mercy. Seek only mercy, not justice.