Community...?

Why is it usually so easy to love the lover of my soul; when I see His artwork in my kids, or His artwork in painting skies and clouds, or the outcome of His gift in my life, the things He gives me the opportunities for, and the gifts, and the support, when I think of what He has done for me, or what He is at this very moment doing for me, the things He gives in the hearts and minds of my family and my friends, the gifts and opportunities He gives them, to be used together with eachother and together with my gifts and talents to give Him the honor He should get from His bride.

And why is it sometimes so difficult to be openminded, just standing with your arms and hands open, with nothing than myself to give, loving some other children of Him? loving the church?
Why am I not always able to see them as His beloved children, so that I love them too?

Living together as brothers???? kicking eachother around the house

Newsflash...

Isn't it funny, the things we call 'news'?

I was thinking about saying s'th in my blog about the one thing I thought whole the world was watching yesterday, and in the meantime I visited some of my friends blogs.

Great was my surprise that virtually all the blogs talked about the newest scandal in one of the churches that are world famous on the US-side of the ocean. Sexual immorality was of course the sad content of the problem. And the secular world licked their lips: 'Yeah, sure, their God is love they say.'

On the European side of the big barrier full of waves, most of us were glued to the screen, to see again and again Saddam Husein playing his play on the stage of the world. How could he know that the part of the world he was yelling to the most, was concerned with something that really hurts (?) He kept on yelling Allahu akhbar and death to virtually the rest of the world. Maybe he doesn't take this death sentence serious, just as the one before was never acted out.

What is on our minds? What are the things we think are important?
Messages from all over the world came in the news, with almost one thought: happiness that finally the big bad man is going to be hanged. As the newsreaders stated, isn't it strange that even countries that disgust the death penalty, said this time that it is the only righteous penalty for a dictator like Saddam? Some even said this isn't penalty enough.

No, I like the approach I heard sometimes in penalties to do right (to often Jewish cases); "Why should we want to react in the same way those terrible criminals treated us? That will make us one of them."

I wish all of us lots of wisdom (applied knowledge) in reacting on the things we hear or see for the first time. Things we call news.

Isn't all the news old? Isn't it all done before? Don't we all know from history the things we should look out for, the things my mom always warned me for?

A very interesting history book talks about throwing the first stone, and nobody did.
Not even the One who was the only one fitting the profile to throw....

Warship?

It's still very strange to read (and hear about) all the odd ways in letting eachother free (NOT) in how to praise our Lord and Saviour. For some nice thoughts about this subject, read some of one of my soulmates www.robbymac.org. (you are so right, Robby, thanx for your sharing of experiences)
An artist has a free mind, (a very nice present from our Creator) why is it apparantly so difficult for some of them, to see the same need of freedom for others? Aren't we all artists, of life? Are we not made to reflect Gods pluriformity, to show all the sides of our Almighty God? Just by having some gifts and working together?
Why is it that some of us just want to press s'b else in a frame? Is it concern about the salvation of the other? Or is it because 'our way is the only right way'?
The only thing to prevent this attitude is, living very close to God, I think: Praying and especially listening. Sometimes I think: if Jesus would be in our church, would He apply for worshipleader? And IF He did, would He fit our worshipleader-profile? Or would He thunder a 'message from God' from the stage, or try to convince all of us by sitting next to us and tell a story, as He did so often when He was still among us, to let us discover the truth ourselves? Would He apply for an elder? I sometimes get the creeps when I think of Jesus walking into our nowaday life: what would He cry about, that we have a hard time to understand?
What would He say to us?: 'well done, my dear bride!'

I pray for us, to grow in relationship with our Lover!

There's no time to think about time

I need to learn this: write down my thoughts as they appear
BUT! there's a problem, and it's NOT lack of thoughts...

ah-well-whatever

Lots of things appear to be timeless. Like the way people communicate with each other, or with God, or with themselves. Again I was stunned by the power of power. Leading to destruction of characters.
Isn't it amazing that manipulation still exists in the world? Couldn't we expect that all those generations between paradise and now, should learn the surviving fittest ones that trying to stomp other living souls into frames-made-by-ME-MYSELF-I, is killing the own souls slowly but surely? Not even speaking of the stomped souls. Yeah, well, rhetorical question: the king of lies still succeeds in fogging the way we receive messages.
Friday I learned that some 50% of audible communication isn't even understood in the way it was send, and just some 10% will be remembered. The messages sent by victims of manipulation (done by or to them) will be blocked by 100%, probably. I found some fog machines, and the big one is unbelief. Especially in our christian inner circle.
Even though we are not of this world, we sometimes awfully look like we are. Misuse of power and use of manipulation is inside churches and christian organisations just as common as outside. Why is this still happening? Why can't we talk to our brothers and sisters in an open and trust full way about anything? Why is the way-of-the-Kingdom (as is a standing phrase in the Reformed liberated churches these days) in communication so often not even in sight? Why do brothers and sisters still not believe the existence of manipulation close by (and not only in the way women treat their men...)? And why is almost everybody running away from the ones who address these problems in christian circles?

Ah, well. Our first big encounter of the manipulation-kind isn't even cold yet, and one of the subjects of my study appears to be: 'how-to-run-church', with a guest speaker (Ton Wintels, yeah, Dutch :-D) who wrote a book: "Power and manipulation ... of course nonexistent among christian leaders!??". During his lecture we received a handout with some lists of characteristics of manipulative leaders, beloved things said by those leaders, how to recognize manipulative leaders or organisations, and so on. Suddenly it struck me again that the things he told us, were the same things we encountered during half a year (recently), in a christian organisation (the ones who could do something about that situation, did it, so it won't happen again! Praise God!) But even worse, those were the same things I had very very bad feelings about last week, because I saw christian-manipulation's ugly face again.
We agreed that it looks like God prepared us (my husband and me) to be the ones who are able to recognize this coming up, and have the experience to address it. I don't like it. Whoever is reading this: please pray for this situation to be solved, and for us, because it is put right in front of us (we can't even run away :-S)

to be continued...

a very little one

Hi !!
BIG news:
My little brother just got his first child!!
Pictures will follow as soon as I have the chance to take one or two (we will try to visit them this afternoon, and I'll have my picturetaker with me...)