finding my way

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How
gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer
you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of
affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will
see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will
hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 30:18-21

The day after my posting about "the cliff," this passage was next in my daily Bible reading. Amazing.

standing on the cliff

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their splendor.
"All this I will give you," he said,
"if you will bow down and worship me."
Matthew 4:8-9

I believe that at certain times we are led to the cliff where we must decide who we are and what we are willing to do. For some, the cliff is a pivotal moment where we either live up to our potential or give into our base desires. For others, it is an opportunity that we seize or we shy away from because of doubt and fear. Sometimes what we see over the cliff is what we truly want, but other times the cliff only shows a seemingly easier path that our soul knows is wrong.

I've been on the cliff quite a few times -- sometimes I've fallen over into regret and sometimes I've been true to myself. But lately, I have found myself at that point frequently and now I am wavering. Wavering because of uncertainty. Wavering because I cannot look over the cliff and then back down the mountain and see a right and wrong path.

I now look back down the mountain and see only mistakes. The straight path is lost to me and I fear that I cannot find it again. The cliff is inviting because the lowlands are shrouded in fog and I cannot see the troubles that I've encountered before. Uncertainty has become attractive.

I never knew why some psalms ended with a certain word and still I do not know the precise meaning of the word. But it seems appropriate at this moment. Selah.

the divine measure

First, let me say that I'm not Jewish. Still, the thought of any man (or council of humans), finding me or you acceptable unto God (or a religion) troubles me greatly.

JERUSALEM -- Raised without religion in Maryland, Shannon sought to make a new life for herself as a Jew in Israel.

In a rigorous conversion process, she studied religious law for a year, took a Hebrew name and changed her wardrobe to long skirts and sleeves as dictated by Orthodox Jewish custom.

Finally, a panel of rabbis pronounced her Jewish.

But five years later, she and some 40,000 like her have suddenly had their conversions annulled by Israel's Rabbinical High Court. The court says the rabbi who heads a government authority set up to oversee conversions is too liberal in approving them.
Full article on washingtonpost.com

If you consider "religion" a club, then a person's commitment can certainly be judged by humans. But if you believe religion to be the spiritual relationship between a person and God, then men don't have anything to say about it. It matters not if the person meets our definition or criteria for a Jew (or Christian)... only God can accept or reject them from His fold.

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6: 6-9

sugar baby mama

Here's a simple question. Should a teenage girl who's about 6 months pregnant go trick-or-treating in a short dress (really a tee-shirt) that says "sugar babies"? (The question is not rhetorical... she came to my house tonight!)

We (at least some of us) decide!

MSNBC has a nice widget and since I'm a geek...