Zip Pip

Intenssssssssssssssssse

2011-09-02T11:26:02.964-06:00

Intenssssssssssssssssse

I've enjoyed this site so much (as well as goo...

2011-06-08T16:27:58.549-06:00

I've enjoyed this site so much (as well as good coffee) that I am driving to Jack Mormans right away. Thanks xx

These are probably my favorite--outside of the pai...

2011-05-20T17:56:25.393-06:00

These are probably my favorite--outside of the painting you gave me, of course ;)

I love it! The triumphant little cricket.

2011-05-20T17:55:08.572-06:00

I love it! The triumphant little cricket.

It's kind of like admitting you have marital p...

2011-05-20T17:50:08.375-06:00

It's kind of like admitting you have marital problems. Everyone wants a perfect marriage and it feels like betrayal to say you don't, so you don't say it, and nobody else does either, so there must be something wrong with you since you're the only one with an imperfect marriage. Same thing for depression, like there's something inherently wrong with you for being depressed, when really, everyone gets depressed to some degree.

Hey, we should get coffee... :)

2011-05-08T20:49:36.145-06:00

Hey, we should get coffee... :)

That is one of the things I love about being your ...

2011-04-11T16:23:13.869-06:00

That is one of the things I love about being your friend. I can talk to you about anything. Thanks for always letting me call you and interrupt your schedule!

I totally agree. I love outings with the kids, but...

2011-04-09T12:46:45.415-06:00

I totally agree. I love outings with the kids, but they aren't our only family time. We are impulsive people who love to go places, but I find that if I do it too much, my children misbehave more. They need at home time, and I need it too.

I once overheard my mother and aunt talking about ...

2011-04-05T12:25:50.222-06:00

I once overheard my mother and aunt talking about being married for a long time, and the common misconception that love must always be exciting. My Aunt talked about how comfortable it is, and how she would never trade the early flutterings for the feeling of secure and total friendship and companionship. I now completely agree with her.

I love hearing about you and Adam because you have...

2011-03-31T07:11:13.071-06:00

I love hearing about you and Adam because you have a relationship that works and that's just so rare. It gives me hope. Adam's a good man, and you rock, so it's fair that you have each other.

The Bible refers to several books and several vers...

2011-03-04T21:31:27.048-07:00

The Bible refers to several books and several verses that are currently missing. If we know parts of the Bible are missing it stands to reason it is not yet in its perfect balanced format. But I certainly agree that God's revealed word is more likely to be balanced even in incomplete form than the musings of uninspired mankind.
Papacito

Just remember the day Skynet took over and attacke...

2011-03-04T06:08:16.637-07:00

Just remember the day Skynet took over and attacked the humans.
Papacito

Being aware of the tendency for commentaries to be...

2011-03-02T14:56:17.302-07:00

Being aware of the tendency for commentaries to be out of balance is all that is usually required for the negative issues to be taken care of. However, large and powerful social movements may be too strong to ignore, and so a fast from commentaries might be recommended if the social movement is causing issues. For example--the suffering for God movement was the midwife for a brand of Puritanism that lead to a type of life you won't find me volunteering for, and if it comes round again I won't read those books because they are likely to inflame my perfectionist tendencies.

Now if you don't believe that the Bible is a balanced account of what God wants us to know, I can't change your mind. However, to my perspective--if you buy the idea that it's a sacred book AT ALL, then it's going to be far more in balance than what we are likely to come up with on our own.

And judging from your reaction to my post it apparently sounds more extreme than I feel. I do read commentary books--just far, far fewer, and ones I hope won't be so . . . uh . . . problematic.

Also, it is a question of how one spends their time; comparing the books in question to candles: do they have SOME light? Uh, probably. Hopefully? But twisted truth can be harmful. Whereas (if you trust the Bible) reading it should provide a balanced perspective of what God wants you to know. If you are only going to be reading X amount of religious material a day--I would recommend the majority of it (if not all of it) come from the Bible itself, or from the informational books which enrich your knowledge of the Bible.

Your perspective and mine are in agreement--"possibly insightful, and possibly in error . . ." My personal concern is that too many Christians are reading far too many imbalanced-perspective books, and not enough of the Bible to counter-act the imbalance.

And YES, oh YES, there are preachers who teach nothing but imbalance, and their sermons are just as dangerous as the books. And they're often the author of those books. This is why it's important for Christians to do their best to find a church where the pastor is as balanced as he can be. My ideal would be a pastor who preached from a section of the Bible each week, and allowed the section to determine the content of his talk, and not decide what the talk will be on, and find a few verses to fit it.

There seems to be a presumption that all God's...

2011-03-01T18:37:37.917-07:00

There seems to be a presumption that all God's wisdom is balanced exactly the way He wants it in the Bible. But I am skeptical that God's will is perfectly, completely, and finally expressed in the current Bible. Ideally, we can properly balance our views of the Bible, but I figure being mortals we'll mess it up a little anyway, and hope by the grace of God to get set right again.

I accept the Bible as a set of books of great wisdom, divinely inspired, imperfectly understood and transmitted. I love the idea of going back to the source of the wisdom itself, either in the book form, or if possible, in the form of personal revelation.

But I also figure learning what others believe about the Bible might help me to consider points I had possibly under valued. It certainly helps me understand a little more about human nature. If a little religious commentary causes a problem, I figure exploring more is the most likely path to better enlightenment. The best cure is usually more light. On the contrary, rejecting or shutting out further light is almost always the way to damnation. Now you are absolutely right that light of the Bible itself is purer than almost any other person's commentary. But light from even the dimmest candle is better than cursing the dark. Yah, there bad stuff, but don't give up completely on us mere mortals yet, God isn't finished with us. I look at commentaries as possibly insightful, and possibly in error, and with God's help we can hope to find the right way. I love any branch of learning and commentary that might move us closer to the source of all light.

Isn't a Sunday sermon a sort of Bible commentary? And isn't a Sunday sermon usually beneficial?
Papacito

I love your art. You need to do more, and post it....

2011-02-27T19:55:19.445-07:00

I love your art. You need to do more, and post it. TTFN BJ

haha I learned to love the judgments a long time a...

2011-01-24T11:38:31.143-07:00

haha I learned to love the judgments a long time ago. Maybe you will soon find them endearing too.

hmmmmm interesting. i wanna hear more on a sunday ...

2010-12-23T21:11:02.497-07:00

hmmmmm interesting. i wanna hear more on a sunday morning. maybe i shall read it

"I also think I learned that perfection isn&#...

2010-12-01T20:14:23.211-07:00

"I also think I learned that perfection isn't always about what offends my eye, but what comes of it's existence."

And it is loved. By being loved in a certain sense imperfection becomes perfect. And the love can be from either God or man.

Papacito

Oh ye un-inspired: Here are two videos that might ...

2010-11-20T21:25:00.528-07:00

Oh ye un-inspired:
Here are two videos that might serve as your muses for future blogs:
*http://www.wimp.com/heraclitusparmenides/
*http://www.wimp.com/diogenessinope/
Papacito
P.S. Your doin' pretty good for someone un-inspired.

hahahahaha maybe i should find a tea shop job inst...

2010-11-11T02:11:31.022-07:00

hahahahaha maybe i should find a tea shop job instead of coffee shop cuz lemme tell you grumpy morning people without their coffee would much rather me move fast than create quality.

or you can come stand at the door and send out vibes of calmness to all entering customers... only after you've had your tea of course.

thanks for reminding me to slow down

Hiya, Where does this little gem fit into philoso...

2010-11-08T19:52:01.806-07:00

Hiya,

Where does this little gem fit into philosophy and religion? See http://www.wimp.com/expandingperception/

Papacito

I enjoy this piece, it has a nice quaint Billy Col...

2010-11-06T16:24:33.026-06:00

I enjoy this piece, it has a nice quaint Billy Collins feel to it that makes me smile.

-Jonny

I like this. Personally, at times, I've been f...

2010-10-21T22:02:10.637-06:00

I like this. Personally, at times, I've been frustrated with the easy "pray about it" answer, not to take away any credit from prayer. As a high stress person as well sometimes I need more... detail to deal with. My friend told me about a good Christian Yoga book focusing on meditating on the gospels. I have yet to find it but I think it would be worthwhile.

Ok. Your post made me find my first post 7 Feb 20...

2010-10-15T21:30:21.642-06:00

Ok. Your post made me find my first post 7 Feb 2006. That day I bookmarked:
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2005/02/best-scope-and-sequence.html

Which was the post linked in the article I read about blogging.

Thanks for sharing. I took a forced Sabbatical af...

2010-10-15T21:15:59.414-06:00

Thanks for sharing. I took a forced Sabbatical after my fall this summer. It has been six months and I am beginning to try an come back. Slower still. Rinda, I am sorry for your pain. I pray for you and your family.

I have enjoyed Ann's posts for some time. I love her poetic way of looking at the ordinary, her artistic way of photography, and her spiritual reflection on life's lessons and everyday struggles.

The black and white of the water dripping from the clothes line.

I think I discovered her the day I started blogging. I had read an article on blogging posted on LDS Living. After looking through the many links, I thought, "I want to blog." I book marked this one. That was in February 2006. Funny, my site manager tried to get me to blog for several years. It was looking at the other blogs that finally inspired me.