Dream

Breathtaking Reflection on the Wings of God

Dear Friends, this morning I read the following reflection on God's wings. I had never considered this before, but from now on, every time I lay my head on my feather pillow or pull up my warm and snuggly down blanket in the cold weather, I will remember the protective and glorious wings of our great Heavenly Father. I hope this moves you like it did me today. Be Blessed! Love, Juliet

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. -Psalm 91:4

 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. -Psalm 17:8

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. -Psalm 63:7

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. -Matthew 23:37

“How perfectly Christ portrays the nurturing wings of El Shaddai, the Caregiver. God’s wings covered His children with safety, security, joy and affection. In His perfect parenting, God is both paternal and maternal, both the loving disciplinarian and the nurturing protector who covers His children with His life.

“An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had singed her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust.”-Psalm 91:4. Learn to experience the warmth and protection of life beneath the wings of the almighty.”

--Beth Moore, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place

Great Op-Ed on the State of Women in the Republican Party

GOP: Real party of U.S. women By: 14 House GOP women May 15, 2012 10:16 PM EDT

There’s an old joke about a married couple that’s asked about their hobbies and interests. The husband says he’s focused on “important things” — like the federal budget, health care reform and peace in the Middle East. The wife says she’s focused on the “small things” — like their household budget, their children’s health care and keeping peace within their family. There’s an important truth here. The things that women focus on and the decisions they make are often unappreciated — but they’re the foundation of our society. A few facts should give you a better picture: Women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases; they make 85 percent of all health care decisions; they start two out of three new businesses, and for the first time in history, they’re a majority of the U.S. workforce. Despite all the challenges that our nation faces — from the economy to health care to the national debt — this is an exciting time for American women. When it comes to our quality of life and the opportunities before us, there has never been a better time and place to be a woman than today in the United States. That’s what makes the Democrats’ message to American women so strange and unsettling. For the past few months, the Democrats have been accusing Republicans of waging a “war on women” as if some honest disagreements between the parties — over matters like how an “Obamacare” mandate should affect religious institutions or the proper scope of federal law on tribal land — constitute a deliberate GOP campaign to take away women’s rights. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Republican women have been at the forefront exposing these myths. Let’s face it: Republican women — like us — would never be part of a party that didn’t believe in women’s rights, equal pay for equal work and strong laws against sexual violence. The Republican Party believes in all of those things. We also believe in something else: We believe that women want to be empowered. We believe that women want independence. We want opportunities. We want an equal chance to succeed — no special favors and no glass ceilings. We want our daughters to have those same opportunities, that same chance to live the American dream. We want our sons to have it, too. What policies promote freedom, opportunity and self-ownership? Certainly not the Democrats’ Big Government policies. The Democrats showed their hand recently with their “Life of Julia” infographic. The Obama campaign used this to illustrate how a typical woman is dependent on government programs from birth to death — and how the GOP is supposedly undermining those programs. Leaving aside that everything the “Julia” campaign said about Republicans is either mostly wrong or totally wrong, “Julia’s” life is not typical of American women. Nor is it something that we aspire to. We don’t see our lives as a product of government handouts. In fact, we resent the idea that we owe our success to bureaucrats, and not our own initiative. The real reason Democrats manufactured “Julia” and the “war on women” is because women don’t support their policies. In 2010, Republicans won the women’s vote for the first time since Ronald Reagan. We fired the first woman speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, because we didn’t like the direction Democrats were taking our country — on the economy, on health care and especially on the debt. We still don’t like it today. When Republicans talk about freedom, entrepreneurship, patient-centered health care and fiscal responsibility, most women respond positively. And when Republicans propose policies grounded in those principles — reducing taxes on small businesses, shrinking the deficit through the Ryan plan, and repealing “Obamacare” — women see that it’s the Republican Party that’s advancing their values, not the Democrats. The Republican Party is the real party of American women. And women have played a huge role in our party’s success. We have a dynamic group of 24 women in the House, including a record nine freshmen. Four of the six women governors today are Republicans. We’re also the only party in the past 25 years to nominate a woman for vice president. American women have a right to be self-confident, and we have a right to be suspicious of politicians who say we should be dependent on government programs. We, the House Republican women, will continue to advocate for the positive solutions that women want — and America needs. If the Democrats think we’ll be silent on women’s issues — or any issue — they should think again. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.), Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)

Instructions

I remember an idyllic time in my life several years ago now, where I really felt the power of the following verse:

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. (James 5:13)

I was really, really happy; there were no clouds on the horizon or in the past. We all have seasons of this. There was nothing troubling me to pray about. I needed to remember that it is in that period that I must sing songs of praise, and give thanks! That is the other side of the pendulum of asking for help or for your needs. Give thanks!!

Today I read the following, and it also provides a full range of instructions for any of life's stages..whether in a stage of hope, affliction, or prayer.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

Brilliantly True

"In learning you will teach; and in teaching you will learn!"

Pro Choice Obama Administration Requires Registration of Unborn Babies in Security Process

This afternoon, I started noticing a few people posting articles on Facebook about the pro-choice White House’s policy toward unborn children who will be visiting the White House with their parent(s). I gave it half a laugh, noting the irony. A few hours later, the staff assistant in my office forwarded me an email from the White House Visitor’s Center. I am pasting it below:

 

From: FN-WHO-Visitors Office
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 8:18 AM
To: FN-WHO-Visitors Office
Subject: Tuesday Tidbits!

Hi Hill!

A big Happy Birthday to San Francisco Giants legendary centerfielder Willie Mays who turned 81 on Sunday!

OK, now back to work.  We have received a number of calls regarding how to enter security information for a baby that has not yet been born. 

Crazy as it may sound, you MUST include the baby in the overall count of guests in the tour. It’s an easy process. 

The baby’s security information should be entered as follows:

·         LAST NAME: The family’s last name

·         FIRST NAME: “Baby” as a first name

·         MIDDLE NAME: NMN as in No Middle Name

·         DOB: Use the date you are submitting the request to us as their birthday

·         GENDER: if the parents know put that gender down if not, you can enter either M or F as we’ll ask you to update it at the time of birth

·         SOCIAL: As they will not have a SSN and are under 18, you will not need to enter this field.  Again if the spreadsheet asked for a social enter 9 zero’s (not the word nine zeros but 000000000 and yes it happens!)

·         CITIZEN/CITY/STATE: The citizen, city and state should be entered the same as the parents

Last_Name	First_Name	MI	DOB	SSN	Citizen	Country	Gender	City	State
Smith	Baby	NMN	5/9/2012		Y	US	F	Washington	DC

Once, the baby is born, you should send an email to the VO inbox with the tour request ID number, the baby’s given name, their actual birthday and gender. We can then update the newborn guest’s information within our system. Please note that any changes to security information for newborns must be made at least 48 hours in advance.

Keep being awesome!

E****

E*** S******

Director, Visitors Office

The White House

“This White House is yours!”  First Lady Michelle Obama

The Sleight of Perspective

We see things not as they are, but as we are. -- John Milton

Do you see the old woman or the young woman?

                 In 2011, I learned a difficult but essential life lesson in perspective. Someone shared with me the following quote, which I now try to keep at the forefront of my thought processes in interpersonal relationships: “We see things not as they are, but as we are.[i]” In this essay, I will draw from a literary strategy to convey the drastically disparate conclusions drawn from two or more perspectives, a biblical mandate to treat others as one desires to be treated, a social contract theory of authority and government, and also posit the dangers of judgment when operating in the schema of one’s own perspective. Ultimately, we must extend the benefit of the doubt to those who hurt us, offer grace, mercy, and forgiveness unconditionally where wrong has occurred, and most of all seek to understand before looking to be understood[ii]. This is the only loving and Christ-like response to offenses, great and small.

                Weaving a story through the lens of differing characters or images is a powerful means to communicate that the same event in the same space and time can be interpreted radically differently by different people. Where one may see a scene, conversation, or image and impute one meaning, someone else will see something differently. This is most simply portrayed by the dualistic images that simultaneously show both an old woman and a young woman, for example, and different individuals will naturally see different elements and design in the image. It can be difficult for the individual to find the alternate image after the first is already impressed in his or her mind.

                In Atonement,[iii] author Ian McEwen effectively spins a scene that occurs between an adult man and woman struggling insignificantly over a vase that then breaks and falls into a fountain. The woman sheds her outer garments and climbs into the fountain to fetch the broken glass pieces. The man stands in observation, shocked and taken aback by her unexpected and indecorous behavior. The reader receives the story first, “objectively,” receiving the scope and the facts of the situation.

                At the same time, a young, naïve and impressionable girl is watching, unbeknownst to the actors. She constructs a fantasy about the interaction involving her older sister (the woman) and the family’s gardener’s son (the man). While not inherently harmful at this time, the fantasy hardens into a reality for the young girl, who does not grasp the nature of romance and attraction between the sexes. This basis for her ongoing observation of the man and woman does spiral into dangerous and fallacious accusations that will later cause grave harm to the innocent man. The girl observes a later physical romantic encounter between her sister and the man, attributes violence and brutality to him, and when an unrelated murder or rape occurs, accuses him of committing the violent act, and he is found guilty based on her testimony.[iv] In this case, the girl’s erroneous misperception causes lasting and irreversible harm and injustice to an innocent person. Her following unachievable quest for “Atonement” is the namesake of the book; one can never atone for such an error, no matter how innocently made, in this life.

                While drawing conclusions based on one’s perceptions seldom have extreme consequences such as are found in this masterful story, the lesson to be learned is that, by no fault of one’s own, one’s perceptions are necessarily colored by age, experience, intuitiveness, culture, and innumerable other factors. One must be judicious in maintaining awareness that their sensory and experiential observations are filtered through self; the most effective way to overcome barriers of personal perception is to be self-critical of our subconscious and aware of our limitations.   

                We are given the following Biblical mandate in the Golden Rule: “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.[v]” This is the rule and the benchmark for our interpersonal relationships: how we speak to others, share sensitive information, praise or criticize, and how we treat other people’s property. Each person should behave in every possible situation toward others in a manner that would please and bless himself or herself: love your neighbor as yourself.

                Inevitably, though, this will lead to conflict, as every person will have particularities and differences in how they wish to be treated. One individual may want to be always “drawn out” into conversation, where another may desire to be left to his or her thoughts. Individuals may have different standards of reasonableness for household chores and duties. When each individual treats others and their objects as that individual would want his or herself and objects to be treated, one will encounter conflicts, bruised sensibilities, and problems. This is not a matter of disrespect, laziness, or acrimony, but is a true and honest result of someone trying merely to follow the sensitivities and standards one imposes on and desires for one’s own self.

                The Golden Rule as applied to human beings as social creatures also necessitates authority, hierarchy, and rule enforcement on a large scale. Man in its natural state of nature, absent hierarchy and authority and governance, will encounter incontrovertible conflict. John Locke has one of the most positive views of human nature, and his social contract theory is based on the notion that man, pursing his own good interests in a generous and benevolent manner will still encounter deep conflicts. One man pursuing his interests, respectful of others, will at some point conflict with another man pursuing his interests, respectful of his neighbors. This is why an arbiter is needed, and a centralized authority and system of rules arise to govern the conflict when two well-intentioned neighbors reach an intractable conflict. This is where government becomes necessary, and can be limited to instances in which cooperation must be brokered and enforced between two “good” interests that have reached a standoff.

                Even with the best intentions, and following the Golden Rule according to one’s best understanding of how others want to be treated (based on how one wants to be treated), conflicts still arise. Everyone will be on both ends of this dilemma at one point or another,  whether it is the person feels “picked on” by another’s well-intentioned attempt to “solve their problems,” or the person who is accused of a motive he or she is truly innocent of or oblivious to.  It is therefore harmful to relationships and limiting to oneself to draw judgments and conclusions as to another’s behavior without seeking to understand their perspective and motive. The truism goes: seek to understand rather than be understood. Sometimes people are motivated by selfish desires or the intention to hurt another, but often times they are not. It is the duty of one person to another to understand his or her perspective before casting judgment.

                There are few things more damaging to relationships between lovers and friends, parents and siblings, than the offended party projecting motives upon the other person(s) and being unwilling to entertain alternative perspectives, reasons, and motives behind the offense. Many times the offense may have been unintentional, or the motives were far removed from the intent to hurt the injured party. An unwillingness on the part of the offended to engage and extend the benefit of the doubt to the perpetrator of the offense is unloving and unkind, the gravest transgression in any relationship. Reserving judgment and maintaining openness to alternative explanations and the other person’s perspective is absolutely fundamental in a healthy interpersonal relationship of any kind.

                Most relational issues can be greatly resolved and reconciliation achieved when individuals approach a situation where an offense has occurred with a willingness to examine the perspective of another person. When an individual engaged in a conflict holds the mindset that “we see things not as they are, but as we are,” one maintains a comportment and orientation toward grace, mercy, and understanding—the building blocks of personal healing and wholeness.  These are the elements of the gift that Jesus Christ extended to us when we stood before him blackened by our sinful nature.

                Without Christ’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we don’t have the capacity to offer the same to our brothers and sisters. If we claim his grace, mercy, and forgiveness, however, we must without exception unconditionally offer the same to our brothers and sisters. As brothers and sisters, though we may tiff and squabble with one another, it is beholden on us to seek out the perspectives of others to enhance and fortify our own understanding and achieve reconciliation. Failure to do so violates the Golden Rule and keeps one trapped in the limits of one’s own perception and perspective. This is a barrier and cage of ignorance preventing personal growth and development in wisdom, insight, and understanding. Dear God, please explode the myopic little boxes of our minds and let us enter into communion, empathy, compassion, and understanding of the perspectives of others.

 

---

[i] (John Milton, Paradise Lost).

[ii] (Proverbs 18:13: He who answers before listening--that is his folly and his shame; Also, St. Francis of Assisi: Prayer)

[iii] Ian McEwen: NOTE- I have only begun reading this book, so any analysis is based on a small portion of the text and what I assume will come.

[iv] Again, I have not read this far into the book, but based on what I know of it, this is not too far from the plot. Regardless of how true it is to the book, it is a fascinating story and endpoint for the misperception.

[v] Matthew 7:12, NIV