Forums on i.UCC are devoted to introductions, prayer, Bible study, spiritual conversation and questions about the United Church of Christ. To participate, please register or log in as a user. Your registration information will be confidential, and we'll send you no unsolicited emails.  Register
Log in
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply.
|
|
| Author |
Messages |
|
BCakes
Posts:42
 |
| 10/11/2007 9:09 PM |
|
Thank You --
I seem to grow a little younger each day. Life is good. Mahalo.
L&B, A -- BC |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
Jack
Posts:96
|
| 10/13/2007 6:47 PM |
|
Now mature, in my book does not mean the "churchly," those who have mastered the vocabulary and the litany of church life, who come alive only when the church doors open. Rather, I have in mind those who walk through all the corridors of the larger life—the market-place, the home and community, the playing fields—and do it in such a way that, sooner or later, it is concluded that Jesus' fingerprints are all over them.
Gordon MacDonald |
|
Jack |
|
|
Jack
Posts:96
|
| 10/17/2007 11:41 AM |
|
| The marks of maturity? Self-sustaining in spiritual devotions. Wise in human relationships. Humble and serving. Comfortable and functional in the everyday world where people of faith can be in short supply. Substantial in conversation; prudent in acquisition; respectful in conflict; faithful in commitments. -- Gordon MacDonald |
|
Jack |
|
|
Jack
Posts:96
|
| 10/20/2007 8:02 PM |
|
Gordan MacDonald concludes on growing mature Christians;
I suspect you can do evangelism programmatically. And you can do infant-level discipleship in programs. Just put the information in little booklets and get groups going. It can be done.
But mature Christians do not grow through programs or through the mesmerizing delivery of a talented speaker (woe is me) or worship band. Would-be saints are mentored: one-on-one or, better yet, one-on-small group (three to twelve was Jesus' best guess). The mentoring takes place in the streets and living-places of life, not church classrooms or food courts. And it's not necessarily done in Bible studies or the like. Mature Christians are made one by one through the influence of other Christians already mature.
Additionally, mature Christians become mature by suffering, facing challenges that can arouse fear and a sense of inadequacy. Mature Christians learn to wrestle with questions that defy simple answers. They learn to say strategic and tactical "no's" when others are indulging themselves by saying "yes." Oh, and mature Christians wrestle against the devil, you could say, and sometimes even lose. But they learn to get up again. Could I add, while I'm on a roll, that mature Christians are experts at repenting and humility.
Again, they learn this stuff under the tutelage of one who has gone before them and is willing to open his/her life so that it becomes a textbook on Christ's work in us. -- Gordon MacDonald |
|
Jack |
|
|
Shelby
Posts:3
|
| 10/27/2007 3:48 AM |
|
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~Marianne Williamson
|
|
"To say I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love." ~Thomas Kemps |
|
|
Jack
Posts:96
|
| 11/12/2007 3:49 PM |
|
| “Having spent time around "sinners" and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested Jesus.” -- Philip Yancey, What's So Amazing about Grace? |
|
Jack |
|
|
BCakes
Posts:42
|
| 12/21/2007 5:51 AM |
|
“Good silence is called holiness.” – A Proverb from Panama
I wish you a blest and joy-filled Christmas, where ever you may be. And remember that in the Silence, you are loved beyond words. |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
Changling
Posts:8
|
| 12/21/2007 6:51 PM |
|
| Maya Angelou said this:
'I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'
'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'
'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'
'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'
'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'
'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.'
'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'
'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'
'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.'
'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.'
'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'
|
|
Alice - The Changling |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 12/27/2007 12:55 PM |
|
Hi Changling,
I love the Maya Angelou selection.
Here's one that just came to me (via e-mail).
"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
~Susannah |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
Changling
Posts:8
|
| 12/27/2007 10:41 PM |
|
| Thanks! I shared the Hawthorne quote immediately with a friend. :-) |
|
Alice - The Changling |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 12/31/2007 8:02 PM |
|
"There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew" ~ Marshall McLuhan
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Shall I not call God, the Beautiful, who daily showeth himself so to me in his gifts." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
|
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
BCakes
Posts:42
|
| 12/31/2007 11:25 PM |
|
"Sometimes being listened to is so much like being loved, it is impossible to tell the difference." Barbara Pine
"It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive. There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them." George Elliot |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/03/2008 10:50 AM |
|
Listening could be the most powerful act of Love.
and (about that second quote):
boy, isn't that true!
~sb |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/03/2008 11:06 AM |
|
my Buddhist quote of the day just came:
"Friends, I know nothing which brings suffering as does an untamed, uncontrolled, unattended and unrestrained heart. Such a heart brings suffering."
-Anguttara Nikaya
|
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
BCakes
Posts:42
|
| 01/03/2008 12:52 PM |
|
| It seems to me that George Elliott and Anguttara Nikaya may both hold Truth in what they are saying, but they are describing different dimensions of the human heart and soul. The kind of love that has a foundation built primarily on emotions and feelings can be untamed, uncontrolled, and unrestrained, and the most likely result of that kind of love is suffering -- you might call it needless suffering. But the truest kind of love is deliberate and intentional. That doesn't mean that there is an absence of passion, and it certainly doesn't mean that there is an absence of pain. And if we take the cross seriously, true loving, even when it is absolutely deliberate and intentional, does not necessarily mean the absence of suffering. But regardless of whatever the costs may be, the truest kind of love remains steady and deliberate. This is one of the highest kinds of Truth I know, grounded not only in faith, but also in experience. Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Blessings and love -- BCakes |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/03/2008 1:37 PM |
|
B,
Words of discernment, well spoken.
(smile).
~sb |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
BCakes
Posts:42
|
| 01/04/2008 1:22 AM |
|
| If there is Truth in what I say, it is largely because I am blessed to have a gifted Mentor who has helped open my soul and mind to new dimensions of those things which have become for me precious and holy. I am indebted to her beyond words, and always will be. Always. |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
Blue
Posts:67
|
| 01/04/2008 4:52 PM |
|
"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching."
Can't remember the author, but love the quote
Cheers
Blue |
|
|
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/04/2008 5:28 PM |
|
| ". . . Sing like nobody is listening. . . And live like it's heaven on earth." it was William Purkey (whoever that is). :-) |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/04/2008 5:33 PM |
|
Okay, I found out:
"William Watson Purkey is Professor Emeritus of Counselor Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Co-Founder of the International Alliance for Invitational Education. The Alliance is a non-profit educational group dedicated to creating and maintaining truly welcoming schools.
William was born in Shenandoah, Virginia and went on to become a soda jerk, theatre usher, life guard, book store clerk, fish store manager, railroad yard clerk, gandy dancer, U.S. National Park Ranger, junior high school teacher, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist in the United States Air Force, and tenured full professor at two major universities.
In addition to receiving the Board of Governors' Award for Excellence inTeaching, the highest award for teaching given by the University of North Carolina System, he also received the 2005 Excellence in Education Award presented by the Royal Conservatory of Music for his work in encouraging learning through the arts.
William's mission in life is to invite others to laugh, learn, and live fully. He now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with Imogene, his bride of 54 years.
Affiliations:
- North Carolina Center for Invitational Education, Greensboro, NC"
|
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/06/2008 6:44 PM |
|
"Joy is the realization of the truth of one-ness, the oneness of our soul with the supreme Love."
~Rabindranath Tagore |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/07/2008 10:22 AM |
|
| "Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind, and spirit which give the frail human reed its unshakable strength." ~Alexis Carrel |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
Jack
Posts:96
|
| 01/17/2008 7:48 PM |
|
“… because it is one thing to understand, in ideological terms, that a social institution is unjust. It is another thing entirely to hear that injustice graphically described by one of its victims. The first causes abstract anger; the second, nausea and helpless fury.”
Eric Flint “From the Highlands”
In this quote the character is reacting to the description of another
character’s life as a genetic slave and the training and treatment she
received. I believe it can be expanded to include the reaction of any
feeling human to ANY unjust social institution.
|
|
Jack |
|
|
subear
Posts:770
|
| 01/21/2008 11:42 AM |
|
"Everything comes to pass, nothing comes to stay."
-Matthew Flickstein, "Journey To The Center" |
|
"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin |
|
|
BCakes
Posts:42
|
| 01/21/2008 1:18 PM |
|
Yes, within the framework of our lives, what you say captures a reality that we need to accept and embrace. There is the essence of Truth in what you say. Are there not some things, however, that stand outside the boundaries of time that do endure? Things like Love, Truth, and Beauty? Maybe that resonates with Paul (and I don't always like to resonate with him!) when he wrote something like, "Now Faith, Hope, and Love abide, these three. But the greatest of these is Love."
L&B -- BC |
|
"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude...Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." Love is. |
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.6
|
|
 UCC 101
Learn more about the UCC's past and present, and the future of our "united and uniting church" which we hope will include you! We've got blogs, videos and a discussion space where you can ask questions about the church—and about this online community. UCC members are also welcome! Opening the Bible
We believe that when you explore the Bible, you don't have to check your mind at the door—or your curiosity. Scripture can do great harm when used as a weapon, but it also opens a door to the story of God's loving relationship with humanity. Spirit Café
We invite you to an interactive space for spiritual inquiry and exploration. Learn about new and ancient spiritual practices, and share your spiritual journey with others on a quest like yours. Prayer Chapel
End your day with a simple, quiet, meditative experience of evening prayer. We gather in our virtual Prayer Chapel every night at 9 p.m. (Eastern). At all other times, you're welcome to post your prayer requests in our Prayer Chapel Forum.
|
|