"I'm very disappointed in you... just wanted to let you know." click.
=) have you ever had those words spoken to you before? hehe...it ranks rite up there with "what's the becoming of you?" (blog post sometime in summer of 2004 i believe)...
altho that time, the things said were very valid and i would completely agree =P this time... it's like playing with fire... i don't wanna say anything to further ignite the fire... guess it's gonna be another one of those "suck it up" times =) all is well... hehe bring it!!!!!!
i think back to what pastor fred said at winter retreat a couple of months ago... you are able to most effectively minister to others who are dealing with the same things you have dealt with before.... tis very true =P it's a very humbling experience..
---- random thoughts:
what do you say to people when they ask you how you are doing? sometimes... honestly i don't know how to answer... it's such a vague question..
how are you doing today? how is work? how is school? how are things in life treating you? how was "such and such" event? how are things back home? how is your sister doing? how is your spiritual life? how are your ministries goin? how are your devos and prayer life doing? how is your communication with God? how has God answered your prayers recently? how has/hasn't your Christian support network been caring for you? how has God been molding you recently? how has God been breaking you recently? how firm is your trust and faith in God on a daily basis?
^_^ see what i mean? the list of quesitons start off vague and then end off pretty personal... i think it's fine to start off with some normal ones near the top of the list.. but hopefully as you get to know ppl better you get more comfortable with asking quesitons closer towards the end of the list..
so sometimes when ppl ask me how i'm doing... i just give them a half @ss answer... i'm doing fine...i'm doing alrite... work is work... =) stuff like that..
it's a challenge to develop more meaningful friendships with everyone you encounter... but it is my hope and prayer that ppl become more transparent with each other, myself included... i hope that people will truly be able to share God's love with each other... and truly express their care for one another in meaningful ways..
in how many of your friendships are you able to ask all the questions listed above? or even a majority of the ones near the bottom?
i understand that some ppl may feel quite uncomfortable in asking these questions... excuses pop up (ie. i'm not close enough w/ ppl to ask them such personal questions... i'm kinda shy... i dont' wanna feel like i'm barging in on ppl's personal space....) and while these are all quite valid reasons...i believe that at times, we are meant to break free from this rigidity and love ppl like Jesus did... i was at fellowship last weekend and one of the guys was saying that... we don't bring/lead people to Christ/God.... that is purely God's role... however, it IS within our role to bring Jesus to others..... hehe good thing God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us... cuz there is absolutely no way that our thoughts, words, and actions could reflect God's love with others without the presence of the Holy Spirit.
i've been learning a lot about the person of the Holy Spirit at church recently... it's been really cool ^_^ hehe... i think it's so true what my pastor said last week... the Holy Spirit is like the forgotten one... as Christians, we talk a lot about God and Jesus... but how often do we rejoice, thank, and praise the Holy Spirit? how many of us even know what the Holy Spirit's role is (on earth and in our lives) and can describe it in concrete words... it made me think a lot these past couple of weeks... i think i've been kinda grieving Holy Spirit by not acknowledging him enough...