I hope this post to be one of many containing bits of wisdom gathered from books new and old. I wish to share what I have learned in the past year.

Francis De Sales writes:

Honors, dignities, and rank are like saffron, which thrives best and grows most plentifully when trodden under foot. It is no honor to be handsome if a man prizes himself for it; if beauty is to have good grace, it should be unstudied. Learning dishonors us when it inflates our minds and degenerates into mere pedantry. If we are demanding about rank, place, and title, then we not only expose our qualities to examination, judgment, and condemnation but make all of them base and contemptible. Just as honor is an excellent thing, when given to us freely, so also it becomes base when demanded, sought after, and asked for. A peacock spreads his tail in self-admiration and by the very act of raising up his beautiful feathers he ruffles all the others and displays his own ugliness.

What a statement! True honor is not earned by touting your deeds loudest in the crowd. It is not earned by demands that others acknowledge your work. True honor does not boast, it is simply evident from the humble thoughts and deeds of those who possess it.

One of the last few meetings of Fusion (the young adults church group I attend at FAC) has given me an idea for a question I would like to pose to everyone. Take a look at the picture below. Each of the black dots represents a person just like you and me. Mentally place yourself (as a dot) in an area that you think describes the strength of your relationship with Jesus Christ. Consider ‘A’ to be an atheist (or no relationship) and ‘B’ through ‘D’ to be gradually strengthening relationship. Now… which area would you like to be in?

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I hear people say now and again that we (Christians) must be delirious to think that we talk to some invisible immaterial God and that He actually talks back to us. Has anyone ever taped a single conversation? How can we prove that what we hear isn’t just a figment of our imagination? Granted, it is rather difficult to describe something that another person hasn’t experienced. For example, I would have the same trouble describing my feelings standing at the top of the Grand Canyon to someone who hasn’t had a similar experience. Does that invalidate what I say? No at all. I sometimes wonder why people are quick to accept my description of the Grand Canyon (which is just as personal as a message from God) but who conclude that I have a couple of screws loose when I start talking about Heavenly things. Well, let me say here that if you are one of the people who aren’t willing to give me the benefit of doubt then the rest of this post will bring you nothing of value. Please stop reading. However, if you are like me, who consider other people’s experiences to be genuine and think you can learn something from other people then read on.

(As a side note, I think it is actually ridiculous not to trust other people’s experiences. I wonder what people think when they create their online profiles and put down things like: “I am someone who is up for trying anything once.” Maybe then skydiving without a parachute is for them. I will certainly rather stay on the ground and learn from their experiences, having never experienced that myself. Yes, that’s a silly example but it drives my point home. I believe I can learn from the experiences of those who have gone through drug addictions to never try drugs myself; I think I can learn from people who’ve been treated unfairly by their peers or their supervisors and never deal with those people… you get the point).

What’s it like?

Have you ever had one too many coincidences in your life? If not, then this is going to be difficult to imagine, but I am assuming that I am not the one lucky person on this Earth to have seen improbable things happen in succession. You may have heard the same phrase uttered by several unrelated people on the same day. Or maybe you are working on a project and you know you won’t meet the deadline but then something strangely fortunate comes along and you’re done just in time. You get that big break just when you need one. What if I told you that not all coincidences are just coincidences? Would you believe me if I said that when you stop and think about life-changing events in your life, you may notice a thread? This has been my experience in life. Right things happen just at the right time that take my life in a direction I never imagined (and more importantly, better than I have imagined).

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Welcome to my corner of the internet. I am glad you found me and I hope you take some time to browse through the various topics and pages that this blog contains. I have decided to make something special out of my first post. Here’s what I have in mind…

Just like you, I learn about this world through experience. Most experiences are good, some are bad but in either case there is a lesson to learn. What I learned I want to retain and share with all of you through this page. This will be my neverending post as our learning experiences are also neverending. With every word comes a story and with every story comes an experience that has influenced my way of life. Please feel free to share your stories and experiences as I share mine. And by all means, keep coming back to this page because this page will never cease to grow in content.

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