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Another Way

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Another Way –

This morning the pastor spoke from a selection of scripture regarding the story of how David, from the Bible, became King and conquered Jerusalem. It is an interesting story from the book of Second Samuel. When David, newly anointed, marched with his armies to the city of Jerusalem to reclaim it from the Jebusites, the foreigners were unimpressed. A ragtag, wannabe, King with his little army? How could they defeat the Jebusite army who far outnumbered them and were held up in the city of Jerusalem which had a great wall around it to repel invasion forces? They mocked David and told him they could put blind and lame men at the main gate and David still wouldn’t get in. However, David knew there was an access to the city through its water supply and his men came up through a well in the city and mounted a surprise attack to conquer the Jebusites.

“The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.[a]” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”

David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces[b] inward. And he became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him.”
-Book of Second Samuel, Chapter 5

As I listened to the story I thought of challenges, difficulties, illnesses and other “enemies” had strongholds in my life. It seemed no matter what I tried I couldn’t defeat them. It was only after I stopped trying to take them “head on” that wisdom made known to me another way. There are battles for our spirits, emotions, our innermost being that requires us to be not frantic but still, not exhausting ourselves but saving our strength, not egotistical but willing to ask for and accept help, not stubborn but soft and bending, not stronger but wiser.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

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Remains

Mar 6

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Image result for burn blister thumb

Remains –

On Saturday, while burning some debris in the yard, I went to grab a stick which was near the fire but not burning. My intention was to put it in a more advantageous position. However, as I grabbed the still cool end of the stick a single burning piece of ash fell right where I placed my thumb. I quickly dropped the stick and began shaking my whole hand the way someone does when they burn themselves. For the past several days I have had a reminder of the encounter, a blister on my right thumb.

The blister is a reminder of the randomness of life. A second earlier or later and I probably wouldn’t have burned myself. In the same way, we often see the haphazard events of our lives. A moment before or after and there’s no car accident or more or fewer injuries in it. A doctor’s appointment a month or two earlier or later and a disease is detected or too far advanced to undergo treatments. A moment premature or delayed and we miss a relationship we cherish or disdain.

Whatever life brings our way there are remains that stay with us. Whether positive or negative who can tell? The most we can do is be aware, open to new experiences and cautiously protecting our souls.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #accident, #advanced, #advantageous, #after, #appointment, #ash, #aware, #before, #blessings, #blister, #brings, #burned, #burning, #car, #cautious, #cherish, #cool, #debris, #delayed, #detected, #disdain, #disease, #dropped, #earlier, #encounter, #enough, #experiences, #fewer, #fire, #grab, #grabbed, #haphazard, #injuries, #intention, #later, #life, #lives, #miss, #month, #more, #near, #new, #open, #piece, #position, #positive, #premature, #Probably, #quickly, #randomness, #Remains, #reminder, #scarred, #second, #Shaking, #Single, #stay, #thewannabesaint.com, #treatments, #undergo, #way, @BrianLoging, Events, Negative, Relationship

Big Ol’ Pile

Mar 4

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Big Ol’ Pile –

In our second bedroom/exercise room, we have a queen size bed. At least we think we do. Most of the time it is covered in clean clothes. We call the ever-growing pile; “Mount Clothesmore.” Eventually, we decide to scale the mountain and fold the clothes. This was my chore today. I don’t like folding clothes. I think it’s because it never ends. You fold, put them up, wear them, wash and dry them, and then back on the bed. The cyclic nature of it all can make you feel as if it doesn’t matter whether the chore gets done or not. To prove my point, when I finished today Beth said; “There are more clothes in the dryer!” See? Never ending. Most of life is this way. You get up and do the same things over and over. Eating, working, exercise (maybe), chores, bed. Repeat. It can begin to feel as if nothing matters.

How do we keep going? How do we find meaning in this Big Ol’ Pile of cyclic activities we call; “life“? Being mindful helps. Trying to be aware of the differences each unique day and moment brings. There are new things to see, to experience. Things which give us a one of a kind, never done before, never to be repeated, life.

Perhaps, the question to ask ourselves is; “Am I ready? Am I looking? Am I expecting to see, to find, that new thing which makes all the other mundane stuff worth doing?”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life, Mindfulness

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Tags: #activities, #ask, #aware, #back, #bed, #bedroom, #before, #begin, #BigOlPile, #blessings, #brings. #new, #chore, #chores, #clean, #clothes, #covered, #cyclic, #decide, #differences, #doing, #done, #eating, #ends, #eventually, #ever-growing, #exercise, #expecting, #experience, #feel, #find, #finished, #fold, #folding, #going, #helps, #keep, #keepgoing, #life, #looking, #matter, #matters, #meaning, #mindful, #mountain, #MountClothesmore, #mundane, #never, #nevertoberepeated, #nothing, #oneofakind, #point, #prove, #queen, #question, #ready, #Repeat, #scale, #second, #size, #stuff, #thewannabesaint.com, #think, #today, #trying, #unique, #wash, #way, #wear, #working, #worth, @BrianLoging, moment, Nature

Idols and Illusions

Jan 9

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Idols and Illusions –

I would add to the quote attached to this post anything that’s fleeting, temporal, transitory, this that tell us lies about ourselves or others. Things like politics, money, jobs, reputations. Idols are all of these and more which fix our focus on the illusion that we are in control, we are powerful and by our wills, the world can be recreated in our image. It is this illusion that destroys our world and ourselves.

This morning part of my contemplation and meditation time included a portion of the Second Book of Kings, chapter seventeen, verse 15; “They worshipped false idols and became false.” I have read that several times today, talked about it with a friend and wrote it down in a journal. It says we become what we worship. Where our heart is, our mind, emotions, spirits, where our energies are applied is what we are and what we become.

Idols and illusions are hard to see sometimes. Breaking free from them isn’t easy. #AlbertEinstien said; “All of reality is an illusion, a persistent one, but still an illusion.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Contemplative, scripture reflection

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Second Gaze

Jan 7

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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“The world today tends to be cynical about most things. We have a hard time believing in an enchanted world, a sacred or benevolent universe. Why would we if we see only at the surface level? Everywhere we turn, every time we watch the news, we see suffering. We have become skeptical about God’s goodness, humanity’s possibilities, and our planet’s future. We can’t help seeing what is not and are often unable to recognize or appreciate what is. I see this temptation in myself almost every day. I have to pray and wait for a second gaze, a deeper seeing. This is my daily bread.” (https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/) #RichardRohr

The quote above, from Richard Rohr, was part of my devotional reading this morning. I quickly took the phrase; “Second Gaze” to heart. I hadn’t heard it before but it is a primary wisdom discipline. It is the understanding that if we only see with our physical sight we will miss the goodness, the light, the continuing blossoming of creation all around us. We will also miss the ways in which we can be a part of creation by loving, acts of kindness, a gentleness of spirit and humility to each person and everything we include in the circle of our lives.

Let us look around us today without the cynicism and negativity which often plagues our sight. May we behold and become a part of the ongoing miracle that is life in all its universal glory.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Contemplative, Contemplative Quotes

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Tags: # understanding, #actsofkindness, #appreciate, #become, #behold, #believing, #benevolent, #blessings, #blossoming, #bread, #circle, #continuing, #creation, #cynical, #cynicism, #daily, #deeper, #devotional, #discipline, #enchanted, #Future, #gaze, #gentleness, #glory, #God’s, #goodness, #hardtime, #heard, #heart, #help, #humanity’s, #humility, #level, #light, #lives, #loving, #miracle, #miss, #ongoing, #person, #phrase, #physical, #plagues, #planet’s, #possibilities, #pray, #primary, #quote, #reading, #recognize, #Richard, #richardrohr, #Rohr, #sacred, #second, #secondgaze, #seeing, #sight, #skeptical, #spirit, #suffering, #surface, #temptation, #today, #unable, #universal, #universe, #wait, #watch, #wisdom, Negativity, World

On Demand

Jan 5

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

On Demand –

This afternoon I had a follow-up appointment at the doctor’s office. They needed to do a routine check-up and wanted a deposit. I had figured as much so I made sure not to leave my deposit at home before I left. I went to the restroom, readied the bottle and…nothing. No matter how much I concentrated there just wasn’t anything that was going to happen. After several minutes I meekly came out of the lavatory and explained the situation to the nurse. She then sent me to the staff vampire who had no such trouble sticking me with a big needle and taking my second deposit by force. I now have a cotton ball and medical tape covering a hole in my arm.

We live in an; “On Demand” world. We get and expect things instantaneously. The problem is sometimes life doesn’t work that way. We may demand expediency but delay and obstruction is what we’re given. If we decide to take what we need to wait on by force pain is often the what we receive instead of what we desire.

It does us good to wait, to not get what we want, to be told; “No!” It reminds us we aren’t all-powerful, possess full control, aren’t as able as we’d like to believe. Wisdom, and the lessons it uses in everyday life remind us who we are, who we aren’t and how to be at peace with both.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #able, #allpowerful, #appointment, #believe, #blessings, #bottle, #check-up, #concentrated, #control, #decide, #delay, #demand, #deposit, #desire, #expect, #expediency, #explained, #follow-up, #force, #fullcontrol, #going, #good, #happen, #instantaneously, #instead, #lessons, #life, #meekly, #minutes, #needed, #nothing, #obstruction, #OnDemand, #pain, #possess, #powerful, #problem, #readied, #receive, #remind, #restroom, #routine, #second, #several, #situation, #staff, #sticking, #taking, #trouble, #vampire, #wait, #whatwewant, #wisdom, Peace, to be told; "No!" It #reminds, World

Flying Off

Dec 11

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Flying Off –

I spent most of the day traveling. Driving can be dangerous at all times but today especially as I went through Atlanta, Georgia. Over the weekend Mother Nature dumped several inches of snow in the area and though the skies were a crystal blue today and the sun shone brightly the melting snow was flying off the back of some semi-trucks. Huge pieces would be loosened by the sun and the drafts of air as they made their way along the interstate. One second you’re minding your own business the next you’re in a one-sided snowball fight!

Life has a way of giving and taking. I think we’d enjoy the good more if we knew how much the taking would hurt. Life also has a way of covering us with joy and sadness. We bask in the joy but when the sadness envelops us it can seem one-sided, unfair and unwanted.

Accepting life and all it sends us can be as easy as letting the sun shine on our face and as difficult as trying to dodge an unexpected avalanche from a semi but both are required if we are to experience life fully.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Life

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Tags: #accepting, #air, #Atlanta, #avalanche, #bask, #blessings, #blue, #both, #brightly, #covering, #crystal, #dangerous, #day, #difficult, #dodge, #drafts, #enjoy, #envelops, #experience, #face, #fight, #Flying, #fully, #Georgia, #giving, #Huge, #hurt, #joy, #letting, #life, #loosened, #melting, #minding, #MotherNature, #Off, #one-sided, #own, #pieces, #required, #sadness, #second, #sends, #shine, #snow, #snowball, #sun, #taking, #times, #today, #traveling, #trying, #unexpected, #unfair, #unwanted, #way, Business

TheWannabeSaint.com

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate

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Another Way

Remains

Big Ol’ Pile

Idols and Illusions

Second Gaze

On Demand

Flying Off

Brian Loging, OSBO

@BrianLoging

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TheWannabeSaint.com

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate

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Another Way

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Remains

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Big Ol’ Pile

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Idols and Illusions

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Second Gaze

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On Demand

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Brian Loging, OSBO

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