Time spent waiting doesn't have to be time wasted - even times of stillness have something to teach me.
And challenging times are not times where God has deserted me. We experience challenges because Adam and Eve chose for us to have our own free will. But God is there with us through it all, helping us find the good in the bad if we are willing to look for it.
Gandhi: "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind." Learning to live and let live is key for me. I need to let go and trust that God will take care of others' wrongdoings...I am not here on Earth to police everyone and ensure fairness! I just need to "keep my side of the fence clean" so to speak.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thoughts on Marriage
In a spiritual marriage neither husband nor wife has any right to demand anything of the other; they only have the privelege of giving.
If we could all keep the focus on ourselves and on giving to our partner rather than criticizing and tearing down our partners, we would not have a society with a 50% divorce rate. Most people are so focused on telling their spouse how they do not live up to their expectations, that they completely forgot all the great things about their spouse that made them fall in love in the first place!
If we could all keep the focus on ourselves and on giving to our partner rather than criticizing and tearing down our partners, we would not have a society with a 50% divorce rate. Most people are so focused on telling their spouse how they do not live up to their expectations, that they completely forgot all the great things about their spouse that made them fall in love in the first place!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Christ In My Life
My view of integrating Christianity in my work is simple. I believe that I first need to set a great example. I learned this through my husband. Back when we first met, he used to tell me that he didn’t believe in God. I would beg him to come to church and tell him why a relationship with Christ is necessary. But it was useless. When I stopped trying to convince him, is when the real miracle began. He observed my way of life, including my peace, serenity and rock-solid faith. He saw me go to church, bible study and fellowship meetings with dedication and excitement. And most importantly, he saw that my high ethics and unwavering kindness in all of my business dealings. He really wanted what I had—the inner peace and faith in all aspects of life. He started seeing God in his life too. I heard him using one my favorite phrases, “That was a God thing”, to describe events in his life. I prayed that God would lead him to church and to a relationship with Christ and he did!
Similarly, as a teacher it is important for me to set good Christian examples. Kindness and love must come through in my teaching. And with topics like health, disease and medications, it is necessary to have answers to students’ questions on how this fits in with God’s will for us. I believe that God does not cause us to be ill but he can definitely use these bad situations that arise from independence for good use—whether it is a spiritual awakening or change of destructive habits.
When teaching on disease prevention, I like to stress that God provided us with all that we need to be healthy if we would just live as He has shown us. Eating a diet of God-given fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and herbs is both healing and preventative. But what most pharmacy students often do not know is the plant origins of many pharmaceutical compounds. I think it is important for them to know that not all drugs are man-made. There are many pharmaceuticals based off of plant compounds.
Most importantly for me is that I involve Christ in all I do. My life is not compartmentalized, with Christ called on only when I need help. I use prayer throughout the day to guide to me to the right words and actions and I see Christ in many little events that create my daily miracles.
Similarly, as a teacher it is important for me to set good Christian examples. Kindness and love must come through in my teaching. And with topics like health, disease and medications, it is necessary to have answers to students’ questions on how this fits in with God’s will for us. I believe that God does not cause us to be ill but he can definitely use these bad situations that arise from independence for good use—whether it is a spiritual awakening or change of destructive habits.
When teaching on disease prevention, I like to stress that God provided us with all that we need to be healthy if we would just live as He has shown us. Eating a diet of God-given fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and herbs is both healing and preventative. But what most pharmacy students often do not know is the plant origins of many pharmaceutical compounds. I think it is important for them to know that not all drugs are man-made. There are many pharmaceuticals based off of plant compounds.
Most importantly for me is that I involve Christ in all I do. My life is not compartmentalized, with Christ called on only when I need help. I use prayer throughout the day to guide to me to the right words and actions and I see Christ in many little events that create my daily miracles.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Understanding God
God doesn't want to just be 1st in our list of priorities; He wants to be at the center of everything, living in us throughout every moment of every day.
When Adam and Eve chose free will in the Garden of Eden, God allowed us to be independent, just as we have to do as parents to our children. And just like we don't "allow" evil to happen to our kids - it just happens because are independent - similarly, God doesn't "allow" bad things to happen...us humans cause it without any help from Him. But God does often use the evil we create for good.
Just like we cannot possibly as parents judge our kids based on their performance and chose the good ones to be rewarded and the bad ones to die...similarly God doesn't judge us, His children, either. He so wants us to all be rewarded that He let His son die so that we could ALL live. But as independent beings, we have to chose to accept the grace that Christ has provided for us in order to get that reward of eternal life.
God, Christ and the Holy Spirit aren't complicated things that need rules, laws and other man-made religious parameters. They are simple and want us to just love and embrace them, giving them our full faith. That's it...but we try to over-complicate it.
When Adam and Eve chose free will in the Garden of Eden, God allowed us to be independent, just as we have to do as parents to our children. And just like we don't "allow" evil to happen to our kids - it just happens because are independent - similarly, God doesn't "allow" bad things to happen...us humans cause it without any help from Him. But God does often use the evil we create for good.
Just like we cannot possibly as parents judge our kids based on their performance and chose the good ones to be rewarded and the bad ones to die...similarly God doesn't judge us, His children, either. He so wants us to all be rewarded that He let His son die so that we could ALL live. But as independent beings, we have to chose to accept the grace that Christ has provided for us in order to get that reward of eternal life.
God, Christ and the Holy Spirit aren't complicated things that need rules, laws and other man-made religious parameters. They are simple and want us to just love and embrace them, giving them our full faith. That's it...but we try to over-complicate it.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Dreams
I seldom have nightmares. But when I do it is one of a few reoccurring themes:
1) Someone is trying to kill me.
2) I am in an elevator and it is broken, so it is free-falling.
3) Or just the plain falling into black space one that most people have.
Trying to figure out the meaning behind these dreams and how to stop having them altogether if possible.
Ideas?
1) Someone is trying to kill me.
2) I am in an elevator and it is broken, so it is free-falling.
3) Or just the plain falling into black space one that most people have.
Trying to figure out the meaning behind these dreams and how to stop having them altogether if possible.
Ideas?
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