A great post from my friend, Jeff Bickley…

Spaces of Beauty, Grace, Prayer, and Mercy

Good morning. Today is Saturday, February 16, 2013.

Today is Do A Grouch A Favor Day. Is there a “Mr. Wilson” in your life? (For all you young people, he was Dennis the Menace’s neighbor.) Do something nice for him. See what happens. “What if I’m the grouch??” Well…stop being grouchy, K?

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Well. It has been a rather strange few days around here. Over the last few days, there has been a frantic manhunt in the DFW area after a couple of Miami cops were blithering idiots made a small mistake and let a convicted killer get away, while sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot in a rental car. I don’t have time to talk about how many things were wrong with this entire scenario. This guy was being transported from Miami to Las Vegas, and it was wrong from the beginning. He was on the loose for several days…

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I don’t know but Queen of Nunner Road looks more like she’s saying, “You look yummy; I think we’ll eat you this time around.” Her tongue wagging out of her mouth makes her look hungry… just saying.

sethsnap

Around these parts, deer seem to be lurking around every corner, waiting to jump out and play a game of chicken.  They rarely stay long in one place, often jutting off after they’ve caused you a fright.  But a couple of days ago, one deer decided to stop and pose for me.  She calls herself Josephine, queen of Nunner Road.  Surrounded by bodyguards, she felt comfortable enough to give a speech.  I wasn’t quite sure what she was saying as she spoke in broken English.  I did catch a few words like “peace” and “love”.

I hope to see Josephine again and have more time to discuss world politics with her.  It seems we might share many things in common.

Visit my store.

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DooRFrame Books

In Annie Dreaming, how is Carley Eason Evans able to create a complicated plot involving many characters from across several generations and still manage to keep all those balls in the air at the same time?  Hard to say, but she manages it like a true word charlatan.

The character who most engaged me was Rick–in all three of his time segments–as Charlie’s big brother, as the Viet Nam prisoner of war and as the returning warrior struggling to find peace and a future after the terror of torture.  All those sequences were especially gripping.  As soon as Rick had been captured I dreaded the possibility of scenes in which he would be tortured, but when those scenes inevitably came I found they were told in a manner that made the horror of the events bearable.  Thanks for that.

Evans floats new characters in and out of her tale…

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FORK IN THE ROAD

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.  ~Abraham Lincoln

Don’t worry, Be Happy. I remember when Bobby McFerrin released that chart topping hit in 1988. I remember it mostly because Heidi’s son, who was 7, loved it! I thought it was kind of catchy but trite. And I thought he only loved it because he was 7.

I’ve come to think he loved it because he was smarter about some things back then than I was – things like how worry will rob you of happiness. If you don’t remember the song or if you do, this is a mini-version (all my limited internet can handle):

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I tried to address the Don’t Worry part with Tip 1.Be Flexible but I’m adding Be Happy. I’ll be honest here, I used to roll my eyes when I heard people say…

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Conviction versus guilt

Orestes Pursued by the Furies, by John Singer Sargent. 1921. The erinyes represent the guilt for murdering his mother. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is there a difference between conviction and guilt?

I heard that guilt is a good thing. But, I maintain that guilt is never a good thing. Instead, conviction is the good thing that leads us to change our behavior – either via apology and often through restitution. On the other hand, guilt leads to self-loathing and inaction. Guilt comes through demonic forces aligned against the Christian. The demon whispers, “Look what you’ve done! You worthless creature. How can anyone love you? Why would God forgive that?!”

Conviction comes from God, the Holy Spirit. He whispers also. But His whisper is gentle, a reminder that your guilt is taken care already through the shed blood of Jesus Christ but that apology and restitution are your tasks. God says, “Go and tell your neighbor you are sorry, and if you took from him, give it back and give something more for good measure.”

Therefore, I say, guilt is not of God. Conviction is.