Psalm 37:1  A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3  Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4  Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5  Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7  Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9  For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
10  For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11  But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12  The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13  The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
14  The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
15  Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
16  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
17  For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
21  The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.
22  For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
25  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26  He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
27  Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
28  For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
29  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
30  The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
31  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32  The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
33  The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
34  Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
35  I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36  Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37  Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
38  But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
39  But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40  And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

It’s your choice now too..

Started this post a while ago and just now getting back to it. Better late than never I suppose:

So I am impulsive. This we know.  About 2 weeks ago, one of my coworkers was talking about how she wanted to run a 5K . I thought that sounded interesting but not at all something I thought I could do because I had not run in quite a while.  And I definitely hadn’t run 3 miles without stopping.  And I don’t even like running all that much. But sometimes it is okay. So after work that day, I decided to see how far I could run without training,  just to see how much work I would have to do to prepare for such an event. So I ran about a mile and I hated every minute of it, as did my lungs.

The next day another friend (who from this point on, I will refer to as MBTA  [My Beast Trainer, Angela])…

told me she was going to run a 5K that coming weekend. I said, “Okay. I’ll do it with you”.

MBTA told me that running will give me a new perspective about my faith and she was right. Of the many things I am learning  from running, I will share a few here.

First, a little story. About a day after I said I would run a 5K, I decided I would also give up a huge addiction in my life, caffeine. I can’t count how many cups of coffee I was drinking a day. It is DELICIOUS. Although I didn’t want to give up coffee completely, I decided all that caffeine was not good for my body and I would have to switch to decaf, equivalent to a four letter word to such a devout coffee connoisseur.

As you might imagine, half way through the week I thought I was insane. I hurt so bad (my muscles from training hard; my head from caffeine withdrawal) that  I crawled into my bed and just wanted to cry. Then I thought about how all this pain was really benefiting my body and how backwards that seemed.  It was a physical manifestation of a spiritual principle.  I had to give up something I really craved because I knew it wasn’t good for me and discipline myself to start a training regimen, although I really just wanted to take a nap instead.

The same is true in the spiritual realm.  Although it felt good to drink excess amounts of coffee and be lazy,  it isn’t actually good for me. It’s so deceptive. And sin is so deceptive.  I have to walk away from sinful desires that my flesh may crave, simply because I know it is not good for me. And all the while my sinful self will crave the very thing I know will kill me.  I also have to implement things like reading the Bible, prayer, living out the things I learn, accountability, etc., because I know it is a necessity to live the life that Jesus calls us to live…although I really just wanted to take a nap instead. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).  Simple truths which became a deeper meaning in the middle of my training.

After the race, I told my friends running the race was easier than running at the gym.. because I didn’t know the course, and so I didn’t have to deal with the mind games (oh, I should be tired now, I’ve been running this many miles, I want to stop). The spiritual implications of that didn’t hit me until the next day. I often get caught up in the ” I just want to know” game with God.  In all of  the uncertainties in my life, I am constantly begging God to tell me all the details. He tells me to trust Him; I say TELL ME EVERYTHING – I want to know the course.

So that is a big lesson for me.  During the race, I knew where I would end up, but I didn’t know the path I would take to get there. I had to just start running and watch for roadsigns and/or people strategically positioned to help direct me.  I saw MBTA off in the distance, at a different spot on the path but running the same race. I knew there was a finish line, that I wasn’t going to run indefinitely, but I didn’t have all the details. And surprisingly, I liked it better that way.

God knows what He is doing and He is teaching me to trust Him. Why do I find it so easy to trust (for the 5K) that there is a preplanned course, with guideposts to direct me to the finish line, yet find it so hard to trust the God who promises me the same thing and is infinitely more reliable?  Maybe the fact that I don’t have all the details and don’t know where exactly where I am is a good thing. Maybe it is actually easier that way.

Lastly, the race showed me that with God, I am able to do more than I think I can. It proved true physically, and by the grace of God, it will be proven true spiritually. It wasn’t easy, but I had to discipline myself to do it nonetheless. Some days, running is easy. Some days, running is hard and I hate every minute of it.  But it is much easier now than it was when I first started … and it helps to run with friends who advise and encourage along the way. And we can be ” … confident of this, that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

tonight my mom told me i’m looking “slim and trim” :D

Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline… too much work. Instead try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with…something about yourself, your career, your spouse. – Dale Dauten

It’s not the work that’s hard, it’s the discipline. – Anonymous

You don’t have to change that much for it to make a great deal of difference. A few simple disciplines can have a major impact on how your life works out in the next 90 days, let alone in the next 12 months or the next 3 years. – Jim Rohn

Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a “must” and “want. – Jim Rohn

If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. – Napoleon Hill

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. – Thomas Jefferson

In the power to change yourself is the power to change the world around you. – Anwar Sadat

It is always your next move. – Napoleon Hill

It is good to act as if. It is even better to grow to the point where it is no longer an act. – Charles Caleb Colton

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

It’s the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class. – J. Willard Marriot

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. – Zig Ziglar

Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want. – Jim Rohn

Many things which cannot be overcome when they are together yield themselves up when taken little by little. – Plutarch

This week was a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, so I worked out with Alan 3 times this week instead of the usual four. Enjoyed two fabulous turkey dinners, one for lunch and one for dinner with different sets of friends; and both were really fun and muy delicioso. I abstained from any pie but nibbled on the olives. I’ve still only lost 14.5 pounds, so I ordered some goodies off Amazon to give me some extra help… more on that later.

It seems everyone assumes that I must be eating like a horse since I’m being completely faithful to my workouts yet not losing weight, but in fact, I’m eating healthier than ever and in very reasonable portions. For instance, a yogurt for breakfast; a salad with hard-boiled egg for protein for lunch and no dressing; a bowl of homemade chili for dinner; yogurt for a before-bed snack; and water, water, water, water. That can’t be more than 1200 calories, surely. All I know is to stick with it, and my contrary metabolism has got to cave sooner or later. I did splurge and have one beer on Wednesday evening at the school festivities, but all I got for that was a horrible headache. Me + beer = Le Miserable!

Alan is planning to mix up my workouts since he says my core is very strong now; so we will be doing an assortment of upper and lower body weight training in addition to cardio intervals and core exercises. I just keep doing whatever he recommends, because I always feel better after my workouts than I did when I walked in; and I’m so energized and strong, I don’t want to lose all the progress I’ve gained. I just want to keep making significant gains in my confidence, endurance, energy, and strength. The amazing thing is that when I first started I was so far behind everyone else, but now I’m one of the strong ones. I’m one of the people who’s always hanging out in the weight room after school, dressed and ready to work. I’m realizing that one reward I’m receiving that was totally unexpected is the confidence that other people are expressing in my determination, and the respect in their voices when they comment on how I’m so consistent and faithful to my regimen.

Another thing that never seemed real to me before is that once I started to change my story, I could also help other people to change theirs too. I mean, if I can become disciplined in this, ANYONE can. And it’s not by strength of will except for the first two or three weeks; after that, my motivation has been totally based on the benefits I’m reaping in how I feel every day, and how I sleep, and how much more content I am with my life. It also helped me a lot to have people I didn’t want to let down. Alan is a terrific friend, and I didn’t want to let him down. My friends Gretchen, Kim, Beth, and Rhonda were cheering me on. That has been so helpful! So even though I’m kind of bummed about not magically dropping 25 or 30 pounds over the last 13 weeks, I know I’m on the right track, and since this is a life change, I’m not stopping for anything.

Things I never imagined before have now become a possibility to me. Firstly, trekking all over Egypt and climbing pyramids was my short-term goal. And that is only two weeks away!!! But I’m also looking forward to coaching soccer next year. I was already planning to do it this year, and all excited about it, but then there was a scheduling conflict with the classes I’m teaching to my colleagues every Tuesday and Thursday after school, so now that is postponed till next year. I’m thinking of my future vacations as opportunities to hike and bike and climb and swim and challenge myself in all sorts of ways. Isn’t that crazy?

More importantly, as I take more risks in the physical realm, I believe it will empower me to meaningfully demonstrate more faith in other areas of my life… being courageous and positive in my actions where before I was fearful and negative.

This week, I watched the movie Pay It Forward, and the words of the main character, a middle school student who believed in the power of change, really stuck in my mind.   It was less about helping yourself than being available to help others.  He said that it’s not enough to plan something out that you want to do for someone; you need to keep your eyes open and see where the need really is; and the thing that you give has to be a huge sacrifice, something you really don’t want to give.

No Guts, No Glory

After reading the book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller this week, I became inspired to “rewrite” my own life story, to throw away the boredom and routine in order to live a life more stressful, more painful, more sacrificial, and more REAL than I could have dreamed possible. Because things that are worth achieving are worth earning the hard way.

Open to Change

I no longer desire a life of comfort and ease, of TV and movies and pseudo-happy endings; of selfishness, vanity, safety and security. I want my life to BE more, to MEAN more, to MATTER more. I don’t know exactly what that entails, but I’m open to change. And at my age, I don’t have a lot of time to waste!!!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving day today. We had food… enough for many more people than were around the table, and special time with family. I have plenty more than that to be thankful for, and I can only give glory to our Lord and Savior for his bountiful blessings.

I have been “away” from the blog for a while, but I am grateful for the readings these last few days. II Timothy has so many rich verses that I took much to heart, and Ezekiel continues to enlighten me to the history of God and Old Testament Israel, and makes me ponder how similar we can be (or are) to the people of God back then. What idols to we hold dear? How often do we forget to acknowledge God in our lives? Where do we turn in time of need?

Ezekiel 23 is a vivid, shocking, and near disturbing allegory of the sins of Jerusalem and her “sister”, Samaria. Both nations are likened to prostitutes, giving their bodies lustfully and shamelessly to their lovers in Egypt and Assyria, symbolizing the unsanctioned political alliances and idolatry practiced by Samaria and Israel. As punishment for turning away from him, God gives Samaria over to the Assyrians.

Jerusalem, like Samaria, sought alliances with pagan nations, and accepted and practiced the idolatry that came with them. But, Jerusalem’s sin is said to be graver than that of Samaria, because she became more and more “promiscuous” over time, further defiling herself in idolatry and breaking her covenant with the Lord.

Because of this, God pronounces stern judgment:

“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten me and thrust me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.” Eze 23:35

“So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you. You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” Eze 23:48

In Chapter 24, the heat of a cooking fire is used to symbolize God’s efforts to bring his people to repentance from their sins, but they refuse him over and over. So, God brings judgment upon them through the Babylonian empire, but this is not simply to punish Israel, it is meant to bring them to a place of repentance, so they will turn fully away from their sin and acknowledge him as the one true God.

Also, in Chapter 24, Ezekiel’s wife dies and God tells him he is not to mourn or show grief. This is meant to symbolize Jerusalem’s lack of remorse when their city is taken and the temple is desecrated in the Babylonian attack. God tells the people:

“Ezekiel will be a sign to you: you will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am Sovereign Lord.” Eze 24:24

God remained faithful in giving fair warning when something is coming down the pipeline. Israel and Judah continued to ignore God’s warnings through his prophets, and therefore they rightfully reaped the suffering that was prophesied.

In Chapters 25-30 God judges, also, the surrounding nations of Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre (primarily this nation, as a full three chapters are dedicated to it), Sidon, and Egypt. These nations have sinned against the Lord through their idolatry, boastfulness, and pride, and must be brought to the same righteous justice exercised upon Israel and Judah. God does this to show that he is still the faithful God and defender of his people, and will not allow his name to be defiled among the nations.

II Timothy is an amazing book, filled with gems that should be applied to our lives every single day:

KNOW THAT GOD IS ALIVE, WORKING IN YOU, AND CALLS YOU TO SPEAK UP:

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” II Tim 1:7-10

“…the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” II Tim 2:24-26

KNOW THAT THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL IS NOT EASY, AND MANY WILL NOT LISTEN, BUT YOU MUST PRESS ON:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of goo, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God — having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” II Tim 31-5

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” II Tim 3:16

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. The will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” II Tim 4:2-4

DESPITE THE STRUGGLES YOU MAY EXPERIENCE IN BELIEVING, SERVING AND MINISTERING, THE REWARD OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD FAR EXCEEDS WHAT YOU CAN COMPREHEND:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” II Tim 4:6-8

Amen and amen.

I will post thoughts on Titus 1-2 tomorrow, along with chapter 3. The readings for November 27 are Ezekiel 31-32 and Titus 3.

Reading God’s Word will change your life. I encourage you to be faithful in this, even when you don’t think you have the strength or time. His Word will give you the strength you need, and you will find the time well spent.

From E. Stanley Jones

” These men and women did not start out with adequacy for the task before them. They were comissioned to undertake the most impossible of tasks, namely to change the present world order into the Kingdom of God … Yet three things account for the absence of fear in that society – they were to true to God, to themselves, to others. But there is another secret of their complete release of fear, they were adequate. Their level of life within was adequate to meet the problems and possibilities before them.”

I do not want to lead a double-life.

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) – Victoria Police have warned the parents of a primary school child that they can no longer discipline their child with a wooden spoon.

Teachers at Yea Primary School notified authorities after the student told a teacher she was smacked with a wooden spoon.

The Acting Inspector of the Child Abuse unit, Lauren Callaway, says there is a fine line between discipline and assault and it is the job of police to find out when that line has been crossed.

“In a 12-month period police will investigate nearly 4000 cases of child physical assault,” she said.

“Each case has to be dealt with on its individual merits.”

“When we look at an assault, we look at what the defences might be and one of them includes where a parents is lawfully chastising a child,” she said.

Acting Inspector Callaway says there is no definitive rule on what can be used to discipline a child, but the amount of force that is used is of concern and needs to be assessed by police.

“We do not have a checklist as such… we look at the level of injury inflicted… we also look at if there is any history of a family violence,” she said.

She says many parents are not charged.

“Parents should be confident that the police are able to make a sound judgement on each and every individual case.”

Police say parents need to make a judgement on what is reasonable force and what is not.

Source: Parents warned over wooden spoon smacking

On Saturday night there was a Manhattan Spanking Association party at a brand new location.  I had been looking forward to this party for over a week and by the time it rolled around, it’d been 2 weeks since my last spanking.  Ok, technically, it had been 24 hours as I’d been spanked briefly the evening before, but I digress…After arriving thirty minutes early and standing around with Rad until the setup crew and guests started to arrive, it got a bit more serious.  Why? Because I’d had a punishment coming for 3 weeks and another for a week that got added on and it was looming closer and closer.  I’ve blogged before about this relationship I have with discipline, and what it means to me, and the one specific rule I have for myself is to get to bed at a reasonable hour (midnight-ish, not 12:30, not 1, and heaven forbid later) so I can wake up rested and at a decent time for class.

Granted it’s my rule, there are some slight stipulations placed by not me, but my mentor *cough* Rad *cough* and one of them is that I am supposed to be in bed at midnight-ish and trying to sleep.  “Trying to sleep” does not equal reading or playing solitaire on my phone, or even doing homework.  I can ask, and am often granted permission, to stay up late for any and all schoolwork.  Well, the instance I was to be punished for, was being up and reading instead of making an effort to fall asleep. The previous weekend he had warned me rather harshly (although not unfairly) that I’d be punished if I made it a point to challenge this rule, and that he didn’t think it was a game and didn’t like that I was acting as though it was.

I wasn’t purposely acting as though it was a game, but with the mood I’d been in, which was one of challenging, yes, I was playing a game.  But once the punishment had been issued and I knew it was coming as soon as the privacy and opportunity were available, suddenly I didn’t want to be in trouble anymore and I wanted to go back to thinking about good girl spankings and being caned into submission. No, I was going to get the punishment strap (really just a London Tanners strap, but it’s only ever used for real life discipline) and it was going to be 25 and hard.

Then, just two weeks later something else happened.  I was sick and unable to do a practice session for a report for class until the day before it was due.  Realizing I needed to hand in a Giving report and had only gotten in a Receiving, I decided not to write one at all and just do a giving at a later date and hand in the report late.  We were permitted one late report for the semester and I had handed the 4 previous ones in on time.

I was informed  in a to-the-point text message, that I would be punished for late assignments.  How? Six of the best of course. I was not looking forward to six cane strokes on top of a hard strapping.  I did end up doing the session report on my break and my teacher accepted it as on time, but my intention was otherwise and thus I was still to be punished.

Seeing as how I was already in quite a bit of trouble, and didn’t want to be in more, I didn’t ‘confess’ other bedtime mistakes as per our agreement.  I am to inform him when I’ve done something, and he decides if I am to be punished or not.  Not me.

When it came time for my strapping at the party, I was sent downstairs (the new location has two floors and 3 of the private playrooms are on the bottom floor) and we went directly into the unoccupied room.  Standing in front of me, Rad lifted my chin as he often does (I have a bit of a problem with eye contact *whistles*) and asked me to tell him honestly, how I had been recently with getting to bed on time.  Completely unable to lie to his face, I said “Not good.”

It got serious.  I was lectured on how keeping information from him was lying and how unacceptable that was.  I won’t get into the specifics of it but he took me across his knee right then and started spanking me for not telling him about other times, reminding me that it was he who decided when or if I got punished, and not me. The lecture and telling of future consequences had me crying, and he was only using his hand.  It wasn’t very long despite it’s strength, but he stood me and moved me to the couch and had me lay down.  I immediately grabbed a small throw pillow and clung to it.

He told me there would be no leniency, no break between strokes, that I had basically given up any small comfort by lying.  I felt horrible.  Well, horrible is an understatement, but I felt awful for not only disappointing him in the first place, but then keeping other things from him, simply because I was afraid of being in more trouble.  I knew the worst he’d do had he known about the other instances was punish me, but lying is quite different.

At this point, I completely accepted my punishment but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.  Again, I am not sure it was the hardest strapping he’s ever given me, but it was certainly the worst.  The strokes were hard, fast, and unsympathetic.  I didn’t turn my head, I didn’t want to see his face.  I knew he’d look angry and disappointed, and I just didn’t want to see it.  I held onto that pillow, cried, and held still.  I wasn’t trying to be stoic, but rather, accepting. Submissive.  I wanted to submit to the punishment, take it, and accept it as loving correction.

I wanted to show him that I knew I had made a huge mistake, and that I did trust him to punish me when, and how he saw fit.  I didn’t kick or beg, or even say anything.  I knew he knew I was sorry, there was no need to say it anymore.  When the 25 strokes were finished, he put the strap down and knelt down right beside me and rubbed my bottom a bit.  He sat down next to me and asked if I was ok, and I nodded yes.  He stroked my hair a bit and spoke to me, but I don’t recall all of what he said.  I just remember it was comforting, that I felt special, important, loved & cared for, and most of all – forgiven.  I felt like, even though I mess up sometimes, and sometimes I mess up a lot, and as long as I am honest and upfront about it, we can deal with it.

After a bit I sat up and pulled my panties up, and we sat on the couch for a few minutes and he held me and we talked some more.  Eventually we got up and made our way back to the rest of the party.  Glad that my punishment was over, I went about challenging him with looks, eye rolls, and other similar things until he finally just sent me into the room off the main socializing room, and spanked me until I stopped giggling…unfortunately for my bottom and thighs, it took a trip or two across his lap.

It also earned me two extra cane strokes.  The caning came later and was straightforward and uneventful.  Thankfully, he used a less severe cane than the thick one from Paddles a few weeks ago, but it still stung like crazy.

On a side note: life is looking a bit up, I’ve found an apartment, and Thanksgiving is tomorrow (er….today).  I will make a post later in the day or tomorrow with a bit more about the last week or so.

- Marie

When we stop to think of Thanksgiving, certain things come to mind. Eating turkey, watching football, and a short work week are just a few. Thanksgiving is a time set aside to reflect on what we are thankful for. I believe thankfulness is a choice we make. We can choose to take everything for granted and believe it is our right to have, or we can be truly thankful for what we have been given, realizing many don’t have what we enjoy. Thankfulness is something we learn. God’s Word gives us a story that shows this principle in action. Jesus told us of ten lepers who cried out to Him for relief of their condition. He heard them and told them to go and show themselves to the priest.  The Bible tells us that while they were on their way to the priest, they were healed. Of the ten, only one came back to show his gratitude. Jesus then asked if there were not ten and why did only one come back.  I want to share with you here what I shared with our people this past Sunday night. I believe that we will learn to be thankful when we have a good understanding of certain things.

1. We learn to be thankful when we think about how desperate  our   situation was before we met Jesus.

2. We learn to be thankful when we think about what we have gained in Christ.

3. We learn to be thankful when we think about what was done for us could not have been done by us.

4. We learn to be thankful when we think about how much our ingratitude grieves the heart of God.

As you enjoy the Thanksgiving holidays this year, take time to remember and reflect on the impact that Jesus has had in your life. When we do, it makes the choice to be thankful that much easier.

Clearly, strategic planning is no panacea. Strategic planning is simply a set of concepts, procedures, and tools designed to help leaders, managers, and planners think and act strategically. Used in wise and skillful ways by a “coalition of the willing,” strategic planning can help organizations focus on producing effective decisions and actions that further the organization’s mission, meet in mandates, and satisfy key stakeholders. But strategic planning is not a substitute for strategic thinking and acting. Only caring and committed people can do that. And when used thoughtlessly, strategic planning can actually drive out precisely the kind of strategic thought and action it is supposed to promote.

Furthermore, strategic planning is not a substitute for leadership. There is simply no substitute for leadership when it comes to using strategic planning to enhance organizational performance. At least some key decision makers and process champions must be committed to the strategic planning process, or any attempts to use it are bound to fail.

In addition, strategic planning is not synonymous with creating an organizational strategy. Organizational strategies have numerous sources, both planned and unplanned. Strategic planning is likely to result in statement of organizational intentions, but what is realized in practice will be some combination of what is intended and what emerges along the way. Strategic planning can help organizations develop and implement effective strategies, but they should also remain open to unforeseen opportunities. Too much attention to strategic planning and excessive reverence for strategic plans can build organizations to other unplanned and unexpected—yet incredibly useful—sources of information, insight, and action.

The discipline necessary for strategic planning can be of two sorts. The first harkens back to Latin root of the word “discipline,” emphasizing instruction, training, education, and learning. The second embodies later interpretations of the word, emphasizing order, control, and punishment. Emphasis should be placed on education and learning, although there clearly are occasions when imposing order, taking control, and enforcing appropriate sanctions are appropriate. Certainly, key leaders, managers, and planners can best use strategic planning as an educational and learning tool, to help them figure out what is really important and what should be done about it. Sometimes this means following a particular sequence of steps and preparing formal strategic plans, but not necessarily. The ultimate goal of strategic planning should not be a rigid adherence to a particular process or an instance on the production of plans. Instead, strategic planning should promote wise strategic thought and action on behalf of an organization and its key stakeholders. What steps to follow, in what sequence, and whether or not to prepare formal plans are subsidiary concerns.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

John Wesley in his journal discusses how he goes about reviewing the Methodist classes to cull out those who do not follow the the rule of the society.

I examined the classes. I had been often told, it was impossible for me to distinguish the precious from the vile, without the miraculous discernment of spirits. But I now saw, more clearly than ever, that this might be done without much difficulty, supposing only two things: First, Courage and steadiness in the examiner. Secondly, Common sense and common honesty in the Leader of each class. I visit, for instance, the class in the Close, of which Robert Peacock is Leader. I ask, “Does this and this person in your class live in drunkenness or any outward sin? Does he go to church, and use the other means of grace? Does he meet you as often as he has opportunity?” Now, if Robert Peacock has common sense, he can answer these questions truly; and if he has common honesty, he will. And if not, some other in the class has both, and can and will answer for him. Where is the difficulty then of finding out if there be any disorderly walker in this class, and consequently, in any other? The question is not concerning the heart, but the life. And the general tenor of this, I do not say cannot be known, but cannot be hid without a miracle.

I added the emphasis because that sentence struck me as important. We sometimes get tangled up over what we can and cannot know about the heart of others. Wesley was well aware of the problem but not troubled by it. It is by the life of the person that he judged and on the basis on things that could be easily seen by any that took care to look.

A person could say that such a system leaves a lot of room for false fronts. A man might attend church without a heart for it. A woman might be scrupulous in hiding her sins from the eyes of others.

This is all true, but it did not seem to greatly bother Wesley that some might evade detection so long as the classes had clear expectations and clear means of acting upon them. He was happy to cull the membership of his societies. A small but disciplined society was vastly preferred to a large but loose one.

Steve Manskar has pointed out to me more than once that we need to be careful about confounding our churches with Wesley’s societies, but I do wonder if the basic impulse he operated under would be a good one for us. Christians are under vows to God and our fellow Christians:

• Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
• Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
• Do you confess Jesus Christ as you Savior, put you whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the chruch which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races?

It is easy to see by our lives that many of us fail to observe these baptismal promises.

Would our churches be smaller but healthier if we found ways to help each other keep those vows in our minds all the time, support each other in observing them, and hold each other accountable to those vows?

How do we create a congregational culture that buys into doing this even if it means saying goodbye to some members from time to time?

It seems some of the posters over at Websleuths have decided to do a little search for my blog. I had made a few posts regarding the Alyssa Bustamante case, then was asked not to post, which is no problem whatsoever. But apparently a few of the posters there proclaim that I’m a “nut” or a “friend” of Alyssa’s, neither of which are true. Not only have these people been to MY blog, they have also made comments on one post of a fellow blog as well. Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind things being said about me, but why not post the crap on MY blog…it was obviously worth your time to search me out, at least have the balls to post your crap and your accusations HERE, rather than trying to muddy my name with a fellow blogger. I’ve already emailed the other blogger to set things straight. Say what you will, but I DO know what I’m talking about.

Recently one of our northwest Seventh-day Adventist pastors went through a very difficult experience. He was encouraged by several friends to attend a weekend in Portland called “Foundations.” He paid the fee and attended but had such serious reservations about some of the process that he left early. He wrote down his experience and perspectives . Afterwards he started doing more research into “Foundations” and other related activities. He came across an article titled “White Collar Cults” and stated that even though the article was written over 15 years ago it described numerous parallels with what he had just experienced.

What becomes abundantly clear from these experiences is that many people are searching for answers to deep relationship and emotional challenges. The ultimate solution can only be found in a deeper relationship with Jesus and healthier relationships within the body of Christ, in spite of all its flaws. As Seventh-day Adventists we have the tremendous advantage of have inpired counsel to help us filter out false therapies and embrace those in harmony with the principles of the Bible. For those who have never read them I highly recommend the two-volume set of Mind, Character and Personality (read some chapters online at Google Books and see free online study guides here) which has inspired counsel and Chapters such as Heredity and Environment (Chap 17), Security in the Home (18), Christ deals with Minds (21), Selfishness and Self-centeredness (30), Infatuation and Blind Love (32), Guilt (48), Worry and Anxiety (50), Depression (52), Pain (55), Anger (56), Hatred and Revenge (57), Communication (62), Imagination (63), Emotional Needs (66), Rejection (69), Thought Habits (72), Mind Controlling Mind (78), Hypnotism and Its Dangers (79), Safe Mind Therapy (80), Dealing With Emotions (84) and Safe Mind Therapy (81). There is no need to be led astray in these last days.

*Every week I send a goofy email out to an e-list for my Christian fellowship. Since some of the stuff in them is somewhat funny, I thought it would be worth posting them on here. Note that names have been changed to preserve privacy.

Table of Contents

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III. Senior Advice

Senior Advice #7: Spiritual Disciplines

Discipline – Obedience – Faithfulness – Strength – Growth

The Bible promises that the man who makes a discipline of meditation on scripture will be like a tree planted by streams of water. I think the concept can be pushed further. We are called away from a life of sinful deeds into a new life of good works and growth in character. Growth in character comes only from disciplines like prayer, fasting, meditation, fellowship, confession, celebration, etc.

I would encourage you to ask your bible study leader, mentor, and pastor about how you can start practicing these disciplines – either alone or corporately. It is only when you are toughened by practicing restraint that you will learn to mix gentility with intensity.

IV. Target X

Can my army of friends help me bring my De-Naved classmates out of the woods? Let’s find out. This week’s target should be approached with caution since she is training to be a soldier!

Target 2

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