The Church of Three

I write emails to friends in great length about issues in their lives that they are facing, like all friends I seek to guide them the best that I can. I seek to help them along the path, to do what friends do, love and support one another. Sometimes it can be hard because the person doesn't necessarily want to hear, or see what you are showing them, but good friends do anyways because they do so out of love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, is a biblical verse which I have hanging above my desk which reminds how to behave and act as a man into today's society, and has guided me quite well so far. Often I find myself rewriting the same emails over and over again, so I thought I would try blogging about them instead. Here I wanted to show two emails that I had written to two friends of mine who I dearly love with all my heart. I will not mention their names and only they will be able to tell who they are from the emails below, as I have edited them. First deals with an email I written and attached to the second because the issues were similar in nature.

Email #1 – Was written to a friend who was questioning the morals of the people she was hanging out with, but didn't want to be perceived as judging them, below is what I had written to her:

I wrote the same email to someone else who was struggling has I was in thinking that if I hang out with my fellow Catholics that I would find people of similar valves. Truth be told I have written many emails on this subject in the last couple of years, too many if you ask me. I came across something in my Quest Study Bible, that I will hope give you some insight, has it did for me.

Hosea 14:9 (New International Version)

 ⁹ Who is wise? He will realize these things.
       Who is discerning? He will understand them.
       The ways of the LORD are right;
       the righteous walk in them,
       but the rebellious stumble in them.

But what I thought was even more important was the footnote:

How can rebellion make people stumble? (14:9)

For those who walk in sin, the right way of the Lord looks too harsh and demanding that it becomes an excuse for further sin. People who rebel against God tend to make the right way appear too difficult to follow.

To me it reminds me of Step 6 from the 12 Step programs that I would setup and sometimes run for various support groups.

That was the first part of the email I was trying to convey that we not seek self improvement all at once, but a little day by day. The reference to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the original 12 step program, was the alcoholic even after gaining some sobriety still has a long ways to go to outgrow negative behavior patterns, that the program is ongoing process, not a simple one stop solution to the problem. I would also say that I am reminded of this from the acronym, CANI, which stands for Continuous and Never-ending Improvement, I learn about this from reading Anthony Robbins book "Awaken the Giant within" but one must be cautious not to fall into the trap of perfectionism. I was also trying to convey that there are many naysayers along the way who will try to lead you off the path, this applies not only to your spiritual life, but also to other areas of your life as well. How many times have you heard , read, or be told , " Why would you want to that?" when in fact you realize later, that what you thought you should have done was the right course of action all a long, but you didn't do because you didn't believe or trust in yourself to do it. Growth and success have always come with some measure of pain.

This Second part of the email dealt with judging others, and more importantly the misunderstanding of this widely popular verse from Matthew 7:1-6, much too large a topic to be cover here at this time, but widely used against Christians the world over for their judgmental attitude, and rightfully so at times, but also widely used by those who sin knowingly, which I am not go to get into in this particular blog entry, but to give a minor example the alcoholic who knows that her drinking is her problem, but will not take the steps to solve it, but rather use it as an excuse for her behavior, and when confront yells at the person trying to help them, " who are you to judge me?" Think about it there are a lot more examples I could use here, and you don't have to be a Christian to figure that one out, or to have encounter it, so here is the second part: (Sorry, I didn't include the footnotes, but then again, I didn't include them in the original email either.)

As for judging others, there is not enough room in this email, but short end of the story is the God doesn't call us not to judge, but to judge as he would judge, hint read the full verse and footnotes. I am also including a link to Criticizing: Judging; down at the bottom you will find this, as you will probably in the footnotes of your Study Bible, "This does not mean tolerating sin. But if we should ever have to pronounce judgment, we will do it quite clearly but with a humble and loving heart". ; Also look at the Acts of Mercy for further study; I have included some links below:

http://www.angelfire.com/hi3/catholichomeschool/acts.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10198d.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Mercy

Remember that I love and care for you,

Divine Mercy Sunday was just yesterday when I was working on this post, and reminds me that as Catholics we are call to live the faith, and just not go through the motions. They will know we are follower of Jesus by our actions, and as St. Francis said, … when that fails preach', but we should first be know by our conduct and our actions that we are followers of the Way. The early Christians were not called Christians, but followers of the Way.

Email # 2 – This email was written to a different friend then the first email, she knew that in which I was or had been struggling with, and I knew to also that which she was struggling with, but as I had mentioned earlier that good friends love and support each other. The difficult here lied has with the first one, a group of people that this person called friends, was causing her to struggling with their actions, and her own internal compass.

As you know in the last couple of years, I have struggled with finding trust in my personal relationships, but I had realized my misperceptions, my own faults, and the faults of others, and with the help of friends, family, and trained professionals (some who are close friends of mine), and most importantly God, I have been able to overcome this moment of time in my life, but I am still working on it. I am not perfect, but neither did GOD intent me to be, and to him, I am to put first in my life.  I mention this to you because I feel you are struggling too, and I am concerned as a friend, and as a Christian who believes we should always reach out to one another, and provide comfort and support. I know I maybe appear overly concern, but we all need a hug from time to time, even me.  I think I may have mentioned this book to you before called Safe People by Henry Cloud and John Townsend, it has helped me a lot, especially being able to discuss it with someone. Angelica Santacruz, and I had talked about a year or so ago, along with another series of books by them called Boundaries. If you would like to read either of them, I would be happy to loan them to you? If not I have provided some links below if you would like to read about Safe People, I highly suggested the first one as I could relate to it every well with what going on in my life at the time.

http://www.cloudtownsend.com/Articles/SP_2_Where_are_Safe_People.htm (Has Angelica keeps telling me; keep heading towards the light, John)

http://kimstaudenraus.com/identifing-safe-people-for-success-of-self/ (Me reaching out, and being guided by the Spirit and connecting with others)

http://www.cloudtownsend.com/library/articles/printarticles/7articles5.htm (Written mainly for College Students, but I have noticed this in a lot of people???)

Well, I hope this didn't overwhelm you? My intent is not to be negative, even if some people might take it that way, but more of a loving confrontation of a concern friend who loves and appreciates your friendship. You're a grown person, but as I've learned sometimes faith in God alone is not enough, or what he wants us to do doesn't make sense, and trusting others when we least feel like it is because that he knows we would never have to learn to love one another. Has I was writing another email to someone in Our Church, St. Elizabeth's about the deep political divisions and how to heal them, I came across this in reference to Genesis 25-26, about Rebekah scheme to have Jacob receive Isaac's blessing instead of Esau, which ends up tearing the family apart. Christian writer, Warren Wiersbe, has an awesome insight on all this. He says, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Our Faith is relational, and any type of scheming runs counter to what God wanted for us, because it undermines our ability to love one another.

Here's the equation you can't afford to forget: a good thing + a bad way of getting it = a price too high to pay. I have always believed honesty is the best policy regardless of the pain.

Well, I hope that wasn't too long, and I am working on this, but that is O.K. because God forgives always, and loves always, and he made me this way for a purpose just as he did you.  If you would care to talk sometime you know how to reach me and I am always here for you, so I part with this saying;

It is in the shelter of each other that people live. – Irish Proverb

Kind of reminds me of the Prayer of St. Francis, love that prayer.  We receive the Spirit when we serve each other.

May God bless you, and enjoy your weekend,

John

Where there is Faith there is Hope, and Where there is Hope there is Everything.

So why do I walk the WAY? I walk it because I feel life to be much less problematic, as odd as that may sound to some people. I find life to be much simpler, and less burdensome, or as Jesus said it in Matthew 11:28-30;  ²⁸"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I feel a freedom like none I have ever known or will know that tell me inside there is nothing you can do to my body, my mind, that my soul cannot overcome. I closing I would like to mention Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend web site which you might find useful and informative, it is located here : http://www.cloudtownsend.com. I have found it useful not only to myself, but also to others. I walk the Way because I feel my relationships with others are important, and that knowing God is in essence knowing people, and deep inside me I feel it is the right thing to do, and it has never failed me.

  Quote

 Surviving the Singularity
  

What am I looking for? What are we all looking for? We ask ourselves those timeless questions; Why am I here? What do I exist? Is there so higher reasoning for my existence? These  are the questions people have pondered for centuries. As For me, I am a really simple person. I have always just wanted a nice job, a house, a wife, and that is all I really wanted. I wanted a family I could love, and that would love me, but I guess God has other plans for me right now anyway's. Following God's Purpose is why I am writing this blog, and will continue to do so , at least once a week, until I feel that there is such a time as when God wants me to stop.  I feel God wants me to write, because I have so much to give, and people have so much to give back.

Merry Christmas

Enya - Hope has a Place.

YouTube - Enya - Hope Has a Place
  

Very Enteraining, made me Laugh & Cry

The Slow Dancer Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLD) Steady, reliable, and cradling her tenderly. Take a deep breath, and let it out real easy...you are The Slow Dancer Your focus is love, not sex, and for your age, you have average experience. But you're a great, thoughtful guy, and your love life improves every year. There's also a powerful elimination process working in your favor: most Playboy types get stuck raising unwanted kids before you even begin settling down. The women left over will be hot and yours. Your ideal woman is someone intimate, intelligent, and very supportive. While you're not exactly the life of the party, you do thrive in small groups of smart people. Your circle of friends is extra tight and it's HIGHLY likely they're just like you. You appreciate symmetry in relationships. Your exact male opposite:

All Of Us have a little something inside, that we want to share from time to time.

YouTube - Jonathan Rhys Meyers-August Rush Something Inside (+lyrics)
   

As is my custom when I change my Meez that I posted her, well here she is! I wanted to do something simple and kind of flirtatous, so I went with what I thought would be nice, and skipped the bikini.