![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Morning shopping WITH DAD!!! 💙🤍💙🤍💙
Three hours and it flew by. It was a genuine joy.
Also we got THREE PAIRS OF ACTUAL SHOES SON!!!
In any case I was so happy just to be with dad.
He's suffering SO MUCH PAIN, though, from medication-induced inflammation. Pray for him. Sacrifice too, remember you CAN do that!!
REFLECTION DIDN'T MATCH but it IS RECOGNIZABLE??? It's the EARRINGS!!! Somebody is ANCHORED TO THOSE, someone Core-adjacent, but FEMALE and DISTURBINGLY VAIN.
...
Social mode fallout destroying our ability to be conscious at ALL. Fasting is exacerbating it. Gotta eat sonny boy!!
Listening to Beegie Adair's Christmas music because IT'S TIME.
Honestly in heartaching tears though. The year we discovered this music, and looped it all season, was RIGHT AFTER we escaped CNC, and that was grandma's year. It was before she got sick and before we went dormant. This music sounds like her, like those last dying embers of hope we had for a healed future, before everything hit the bricks and the next 4 years disappeared.
Nevertheless, we feel actual emotion from this. That's so important. Thank You God, even for the hurt, even especially so. It means a great deal, in so many ways.
But only the System can feel the truth of it. Only the System can feel the depths of love. Not we typist foni, especially not we on phones and media. But we know you can. So please do, soon.
Knife being distracted by blood during prayer, because its IN the prayer. He has this uniquely numinous understanding of it. But it still feels wrong? Too intimate, too consumptive? He was in tears, distressed. He doesn't want to be a "vampire" anymore in any case-- there's too much difference between him and the cultural myth. He doesn't want to be corrupted or to scandalize anyone.
He may end up with ALL sharp teeth like his sister, and Sugar & Spice for the record. Albuskinned foni tend to have sharkmouths, haha.
2PM BK, to be expected.
Mild allergic reaction to the CARROTS???? We feared this actually, because we do get random hives & dyspnea & sharp stomach pain when we eat AND that one kitchen foni is TERRIFIED of green carrot ends... and apparently, as we ONLY learned YESTERDAY, carrots are cross-reactive with CELERY AND PARSLEY. We have allergies to BOTH. So it may all indeed be related.
So... just like with our past dietary staples, God may be telling us, "it's time to change." We don't know what to change TO-- there aren't many options left-- but God does. Surrender to Him, pray for guidance & patience & courage & trust. He isn't trying to starve you or malnourish you. You can rest in that. Whatever you truly need, He will provide you, and lead you to obtain. Don't be afraid to let go and move forwards. We've been through massive dietary upheavals before; if this one means we'll be finally free of even just the hives & breathing trouble, then bring it on, Lord.
------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------
System relevance in our inbox =
"Violet is the liturgical color that symbolizes penance, sacrifice, and prayer, and as such, it characterizes both Advent and Lent. Moreover, during Advent, we meditate particularly on the coming of our King at Christmas. In this way, the color violet—traditionally associated with royalty—takes on a dual meaning, representing both the penitential nature of the season and the kingship of the coming Christ, [who we prepare for by our prayerful penance]."
THAT IS WHY LAURIE NEEDS TO STAY VIOLET. THIS IS HER HEART.
Yes, Purple is great too, but its NOT THE SAME AT ALL. The two hues are NOT "interchangeable"; they have VASTLY different roles! This applies to ALL hues, for the record-- Green and Spring and Spruce are not the same, Blue and Sky and Sapphire are not the same, etc. Of course they're related, but they're nevertheless distinct and clearly so. The separation is necessary for proper function & order. It's why blurring & sliding can kill you.
...
"The Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete (“Rejoice”) Sunday. On this day, we celebrate that our wait is almost over and we witness the sudden introduction of a lovely shade of rose in our churches and our Advent wreath. As the liturgical color used to signify joy, rose is used in the third week of Advent in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah."
This is extremely important to us because, notably, Pink is NOT ROSE. The two are VERY different, ESPECIALLY liturgically!
System-wise, though, PINK leans VIOLET, and ROSE leans RED. Heck, Rose IS "Red," just a pastel tint of it! But PINK is ITS OWN THING. So their vibes and functions are VERY DIFFERENT.
...
------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------
YouTube notification as soon as we got home=
HEY APATEFONI. GET SLAMMED
https://youtube.com/shorts/yUGHdG8e7A0?si=He0hmea96gJvZKnv
------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ttywpf=
"But what kind of a King is Jesus? ...He is not accompanied by a court, He is not surrounded by an army as a symbol of power. He is received by humble people, simple folk who have the sense to see something more in Jesus.
What is the relationship between your simplicity and your ability TO accept Jesus? What is Jesus asking you to put aside to receive Him? Where is Jesus asking you to be humble so that you are more like Him?"
There is SO MUCH to seriously ponder here.
1) I know nothing about royalty, but Jesus's Kingship has no attendees and no army, and that by itself in concept deserves reflection. He had no one serving Him. He had no one defending Him. He showed no military power, no physical force. He did not seek to conquer land or enslave people. He had no nobles attesting to His lineage or glory or character. He just showed up, as Himself, unarmed and unannounced by all but the Prophets. But despite all this poverty He still showed up AS KING. He arrived as one returning home. Which is why--
2) He is RECEIVED. His Kingship is REAL but hidden, and can only be recognized by hearts like His Own: simple & humble & devoted to God, and thus ABLE to be ruled by Him? Proud & clever hearts are too wrapped up in themselves to recognize any "kingship" but their own, however usurped & impotent it truly is.
3) SIMPLE FOLK HAVE THE SENSE. I love that. Pride think simplicity is stupid, but only the simple minds are clear & direct, able to discern the essence of things, unsullied & untroubled by egotistic ambition.
4) If I'm not simple, I will be unable to accept a simple King. It's that blunt. His Kingdom IS so stripped-down, pinpoint focused on God, that there is no room for complex drama & libraries of distraction.
5) The phrasing "put aside to receive" suggests that my hands & arms are involved, symbolically. I need to embrace Christ. I need an open posture, I need clean hands. What am I afraid to put down?
6) The phrasing "where can you be humble" suggests location. It's not a "how" or "when". It's bluntly practical. It's place.
...
abbodfer = "Love has room for everybody. True friends love each other like God loves us. He loves us the same, no matter how many new people become part of His family."
...I've never experienced this in bodylife and that aches.
Still. GOD loves me, and everyone, like this, and THAT gives me such comfort I could weep from sheer gratitude. I no longer have to fear being replaced. I no longer have to fear becoming obsolete. I no longer have to fear being expendable.
...
The written VOTD reflection =
"When the Church was new, it didn’t have a complete, written Bible, and access to Hebrew Scripture was limited... We now have an incredible gift in the Bible. We have the full counsel of God from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Through God's Word, we can know God's plan and purposes, the story and Truth of Jesus-- Who Jesus is, what He has done, and how we should respond-- and how we are to live a life worthy of our calling in Him... being full of love for one another, as followers of Christ. And, we can encourage one another to keep our eyes on Jesus, as we study and learn Scripture together, praising God together and being thankful for all He has done-- including giving us access to His wisdom, guidance, and teachings through Scripture in the first place, and for giving us the opportunity to worship and praise Him together as believers.
So, take time in your day, every day, to read God's Word. Study its content and context. Discover God's character, plans, purposes, and love as you allow His Word to dwell in you richly. Then, whenever possible, spend time with other believers and discuss what you've read."
1) The Bible IS an amazing gift, a privilege, an indescribable grace. But we take it for granted, just like our religious freedom. It's humbling. Sit and think about the real gravity of this.
...
2)That community focus here is actually so important, because I typically think of Scripture study as a personal thing. But it needs BOTH personal AND public aspects, because I'm not living my faith alone, AND because Scripture is NOT UP TO PERSONAL INTERPRETATION. This is why we go to Mass, and have Bible studies based on Saintly and/or Papal writings.
...
3) It never ceases to amaze me that we can "get to KNOW GOD" through Scripture, Because it IS His Word, His Self-revelation in Christ. We CAN "discover" God's character, His purposes, His plans, His wisdom, His teachings, AND His Love. It's ALL in there, written out in human language, for us to understand what was previously pure mystery, obscure and inaccessible to man.
BUT WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT!!!
...still. What an ineffable work of God's infinite Love, just TO give us this ability and opportunity TO know Himself, in the Bible.
...
------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------
KVOTD = 1 Thessalonians 5:18, a timeless classic honestly.
"Big stuff tiny book," haha! Man we used to LOVE making those, we SERIOUSLY SHOULD AGAIN.
"When you feel empty of joy, gratitude can fill you with joy. Gratitude reminds us of how much God cares for us. It brings us back to what matters, even on our worst days."
Just like hope, true joy is NOT contingent on circumstances, but anchored securely in GOD'S CHARACTER.
We must actively remember and assert that God is merciful, righteous, just, loving, wise, attentive, compassionate, understanding, trustworthy, and faithful-- and we must declare this DURING our most frightening trials, because they are CONSTANT EVEN THEN. This Truth of God is the bedrock foundation of ALL gratitude, and therefore of all joy. We CAN Rejoice IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES through Christ Jesus, Who reveals and manifests ALL those divine characteristics to us in His Person, and Who is PRESENT WITH US THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Trinity is always together and the Spirit is WITHIN YOU, even when you're on your cross-- even especially then! God cares for you THAT MUCH. Your suffering is even a blessing, conforming you more closely to The Son. THAT is what matters most-- our salvation, our Savior, our hope of heaven, our Christian walk. We have an unshakable Source of grateful joy, a Good Shepherd even in the valley of the shadow of death.
"There are joyful blessings all around you-- even right now, in this moment-- and practicing gratitude enables us to offer God our full appreciation of them."
It's a very good habit to recognize blessings in everyday life, in common situations and routine, in otherwise uneventful moments. There are no unblessed times. Everything is overflowing with grace. We just need gratitude to see it, to recognize and name it, and therefore to thank God for it. We owe it to Him, not just as His children, but also simply because He gives everything to us at all times. That sort of limitlessly loving largesse deserves all the thanks we can ever possibly give, by virtue of justice alone!
"Ungratefulness causes cynicism, entitlement, and jealousy."
THAT'S SCARY. We forget that both virtues and vices are terrifically proliferant. They naturally emanate from one another. Of course, some are more powerful than others, for good or ill, and ungratefulness is actually quite high on that list. Why? Because it is a disposition of denying the goodness of God. That's LETHAL. It will absolutely kill your soul if you persist in it.
Its "offspring" are further proof of its malignity. It causes cynicism by rejecting hope, refusing to see the goodness of God in all things. It causes jealousy because it cannot see the abundant blessings in its own life, and suspects that others are hoarding all the joy. And it causes entitlement, which is effectively luciferean, by insisting that "God owes ME," and has failed to provide. Every one of these vices is based on a total lie.
"Even on a bad day, you can always think of three things to be grateful for! They can be big or small things. Name them, and write them down. Be sure to keep a record of the things you appreciate so you can revisit it later."
The immediate thought: THAT'S THE ARCHIVES!! And God knows they DO perform this function too.
This is also obviously why the nightly entries MUST begin again soon. Without them, we forget everything. The days blur together into a colorless haze, and we lose all memory of tiny precious blessings.
"Don't be in a rush. Enjoy good things in the moment they happen. And when you appreciate someone, tell them."
This is Christian mindfulness!
I immediately think of people at concerts, forsaking the actual experience in order to film it on their phones, but life doesn't even give you such an opportunity for a rewatch. Either you experience it RIGHT NOW, or you don't. It's that stark. Either you are present in this moment, or you are not. Believe me, we struggle with dissociation and depersonalization, you know this, we are warning you from experience. Nothing is scarier than "waking up" in your own head and not knowing where the past year has gone. Altered states, addictive cycles, media binges, timesink phone apps, et cetera... they all pull you out of the moment, out of the NOW of God, and therefore out of gratitude. And of course, so does simply rushing, the result of trying to survive the rat race of a career, or of trying to outrun the shadows dogging your steps, or of trying to reach some horizon that keeps shifting red... rushing has its sights set on some "better tomorrow" and so it is unable and unwilling to see or admit that today-- this very moment-- could actually contain all the joy they've been chasing blindly after.
We have to listen to Jesus. "Do not worry about tomorrow." God WILL provide. He is providing right now. Just open your heart and look.
Next point =
Telling people that you appreciate them, even "at random," is such a good and holy habit. You never need a "right moment" to express gratitude because EVERY moment is a right one! Send a text, send an email, leave a comment, make a phone call, pay a visit, mail a card, whatever-- but ACT ON IT IMMEDIATELY. Do not quench the Spirit! And if you genuinely have no way to contact that person at the time, PRAY IN THANKS FOR THEM. Really, do that all the time. Make that a habit. Give thanks to God for their very existence, every day. Watch how that changes your heart.
"Find gratitude in your challenges. What can you appreciate, even when things are tough?"
This takes faith and practice but it is a HUGE GRACE and it HAS SAVED OUR LIFE, so to speak.
Honestly, reading the Archives is SUCH a powerful practice of this very thing. If anything is going to flood our heart with gratitude, it's seeing how even the darkest days were still woven into our System's ultimate Good, BY GOD.
...
The questions genuinely surprised me with their insight=
"How can you choose to notice good things today?
1) I can list three things that I'm grateful for in a gratitude journal
2) I can be vocal when I see something I'm grateful for.
3) I can serve people who need something to be grateful for."
1= We've mentioned lately how we need to start a gratitude journal again, to have that running log, and really it SHOULD be on paper. That makes it more immediate, more sincere, more intimate, more warm, more childlike.
2= We've been actively making effort on saying we're grateful in the moment we feel it! We may never get the chance again, after all. The Holy Spirit is absolutely enabling, nudging, & helping us to do this.
3= This HITS HARD. Think about the weightiness of it. Right now, in my immediate community, there are people who "need something to be grateful for." That's heartwrenching, and it's TRUE.
...
...
The prayer seems commonplace but that means we must take it more seriously; if we are tempted to skim over or skip something because it's "obvious," we're actually blinding ourselves to deeper truth. All such judgment & resistance is proud & of the devil.
Most importantly = the devil never wants us to take our faith seriously. So if you EVER make an excuse to "lighten up", "brush off", or even "laugh/ scoff/ roll your eyes at" something Christian, then you're denying Christ in a very real sense. You're treating His Calling as a joke. It's just as bad as outright avoidance, flinching & wincing, keeping your mouth shut, hesitating & neglecting to admit or own your faith.
We must ALWAYS take our faith seriously, no exceptions. It is nota hobby or game. It DOESN'T lose its gravity when taught to children, even when the language is gentler. It still speaks the same immortal truths of power.
On that note, here's the simple prayer.
"God, thank You for every blessing You have placed in our lives. Thank You for our home, our family, and the life we get to live for You."
How easily would we say this without thinking, or truly feeling? We should be ashamed.
First, SAY THANK YOU AND MEAN IT.
Second, there are no exceptions. When we realize that "God IS blessing", and only sin is a curse,
Third, God has PLACED each blessing. This is DELIBERATE, purposeful, perfectly timed.
Fourth, do you ever really sit and think of WHY these "typical responses" ARE typical? It's because they're ALWAYS BLESSINGS. Faith, family, and home are really basic needs, on a spiritual level, and can ONLY be given by God because they are pure gift, meant for good, purposed for Himself.
...
Fifth, we "GET TO" live. A Christian heart rejects the devilish lie of entitlement, as it recognizes that all is grace, all is gift, and all is also God-directed.
...
"God, please keep our eyes open to just how good You are to us so we can reflect that goodness to others."
We cannot reflect a light we cannot see. The mirrors of our hearts must be facing the Son in order to catch His Goodness, but also turned to face the "room", the world we live in, as well, in order to "shine" that Light into dark corners even across the expanse.
------‐--------------------------------------------------------------------------
