I’m So Excited!

1) You should assume good faith (good intentions, the most flattering interpretation of their speech) when taking with people, 2) it is normal to do so unless you have a serious, ongoing reason as to not do so, and 3) if you do not regularly approach people, especially strangers, in good faith during discussions, then that is a sign of something wildly unhealthy within your psyche.

4) You do have options to change how you think, 5) it will require work to train your brain to approach people sincerely and 6) you may have to stop hanging out in spaces that are toxic or destructive.

But, 7) by tempering your mind, 8) taking accountability for how your words harm others and 9) not hanging out in places that give you an addicting, self-righteous, sense of anger, 10) you can move towards having meaningful, adult, conversations, honestly and openly with others, 11) in such a way where social safety and kindness allows you to be intellectually curious, exploratory, and to grow.

Reblog this to sprinkle some love on prev!

you know those little critical thinking questions that they had at the end of short stories in literature textbooks? we should start putting those in posts. i miss them,,,,,,

questions:

what call to action is the author arguing for?

why does this work lack capitalization? what might this tell you about the author? what might this tell you about the context this work is meant to be read in?

is the addition of the questions self referential? does that make this post humorous? how so? how would the post be different without the addition of the questions?

I did a thing

I was late to class yesterday because I stopped to step on and shatter the ice ☺️

Among those waving palms, there were those in the crowds that asked, who is this?

"This is Jesus."

This is Jesus who even as a boy, underage and unfit, elders were hearing Him and asking Him questions as He taught in the temple. This is Jesus who filled and started sinking two ships of fish in great abundance. This is Jesus who supplied a luxury for His friends at a wedding because of His deep love and dedication for us. This is Jesus who even evil spirits confessed Him to be the holy one of God. This is Him who cleansed the temple because He has the ability to cleanse us.

He who sleeps during the storm, not because He doesn’t care, but because He knows perfectly that all will in fact be well regardless of the storm. He Who is aware, conscious, mindful, active. He Who is perfect regardless of our narrow mindedness because does not turn His back, neglect, abandon, or play favorites. There is not one misfit, not one outcast, not one sinner, who Jesus is not saying to them, follow me, and offering them something more. There is not one who Jesus does not see great worth and great purpose and great need of.

This is Jesus, who gives us access to power to change, to renewal, revival, relief. This is He who goes to the hated, the forgotten, the different, the outcasts, the sinners, the excommunicated, and befriends them, calls them to great things, blesses and loves them. He who goes to the shamed, the judged, the detested, ostracized, and sees great worth and great purpose and great need of them. He who sits with sinners, calls the publicans, touches the unclean and impure, forgives in the act, reaches for those sinking, stops for those buried in the crowd, or alone in the heat of the day.

This is Jesus who, even among mass multitudes, blesses us one-by-one, personally and individually. He Who purposely travels where others don’t to help, to teach, to connect, to love, forgive. He Who comes to us when we are facing emptiness, and weeps with us. He Who stops in the middle of a moving masses because He notices us on the ground, in the dirt, buried under the crowd, to heal even lingering impossibilities. He Who meets us where we are and comforts and lifts us. He comes to us because He doesn’t lose sight of us. He Who only exists to bring us to be better and make us better. He Who is yours.

This is Jesus, who will not meet His match with our suffering, our impossibilities are not a struggle, nor an inconvenience, for Him. When everything and everyone says no, Jesus says, I will. While others may fail us, He comes with healing in His wings and compassion that knows no bounds. This is Jesus who stays until we are filled, and we can be whole. There is a love that satisfies.

That is this Jesus. That is your Jesus.

- Al Fox Carraway

I do not understand, but thank you nonetheless :)

Kitty beans to you too, my friend!

Dick: Eldest child (honorific)

Jason, Tim, Duke, Cassandra: Middle child (professional diagnosis)

Damian: Youngest child (affectionate)

Bruce: Only child (derogatory)

So is all of Colu going to die now?

The tomb of a pastor's wife and stillborn child in a church in Hindelbank, Switzerland, 1751, depicting their resurrection.