Monday, September 20, 2010

Every Crook and Nanny

I love spoonerisms. When someone is searching thoroughly for a missing item, he will probably look in every nook and cranny of the room. But when you say "every crook and nanny" the meaning changes.

I found a few sites that look like fun. http://www.fun-with-words.com/spoonerisms.html

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Transform from Victim to Victor

Are you a victim of… Verbal abuse? Physical abuse? Sexual abuse? Someone who takes you for granted? A scam artist? Perhaps you find yourself in a situation like this: You give your boss your very best, but it never seems to satisfy him/her. Coworkers take advantage of you. Someone else can come in late or take long breaks without consequences, but not you. You seem to be the resident whipping boy or scapegoat. Your spouse does not appreciate your contributions to the relationship. It seems as if you do all the work but get no rewards for your labor. Your boyfriend/girlfriend uses you. Whether it is providing money or sex, you feel your only role is to satisfy his or her needs. Your relationship feels one-sided since you are the giver and he/she is the taker. You do more than your fair share at your church or club. When people need a job done, they call you. Although you are happy to help, you secretly resent the fact that you work harder than others. You have a big heart, so you help others whenever you can. After a while, you feel your energy sucked away. Too many people want too many things from you. You seem to be drawn to the same old kinds of relationships. You have a knack for picking losers. You try your best to help someone turn his/her life around. Instead, the relationship only drains you. A secret is tucked away in the recesses of your past. Someone abused you. The pain is too great to even think about, but the experience colors everything in your life. You wish you could shed that awful baggage, but you don’t know how. God is the designer of transformation. Just as the caterpillar can transform into the butterfly, you can transform from victim to victor. Give him a chance.

Monday, September 6, 2010

I'll Never Darken the Door of a Dentist Again!

"I'll Never Darken the Door of a Dentist Again!" It sounds a bit extreme, doesn't it? But you just don't know all the misery my family has experienced at the hands of dentists. There's the time my dentist mixed my chart records with someone else's. Later, when we moved to another town, suddenly we all had cavities that needed filling. After another move, no one in the family had cavities for years. In yet another city, I developed a need for an extreme deep cleaning. My husband swallowed his so-called permanent crown, but the dentist would take no action without the missing crown. My husband was disinclined to reuse it once it was recycled. He finally went to another dentist who declared the previous dentist did inferior work. The saga continues, but I won't bore you with the details. And I really didn't stop visiting dentists. No, I realize I can't make it on my own. I need help from someone with higher dental wisdom than I. How foolish it would be for me to stop seeing a dentist. Even though there are plenty of fools in white jackets, I just kept looking until I found someone who did quality work. But this tale does remind me of bitter words I've heard from too many people: "I'll never darken the door of a church again." They go on to tell how someone hurt their feelings or acted in a hypocritical way or failed them somehow. Their stories are indeed sad. Someone truly did them wrong. But why do they stop looking for a real place of worship and fellowship? Can't they see how self-destructive that is? To starve yourself of spiritual food is far worse than missing a few teeth. I know the sting that lingers after a slap from a so-called Christian brother. I've seen my husband used and abused by more than one "church." If he added up all the money he should have been paid from churches X, Y, and Z, then he would have a lovely nest egg. But all the insults, slights, disrespects, and cheatings from those who call themselves Christians will never be enough to make me walk away from Christ. No matter how others may treat me, my life has no quality without His influence. I could live without dentists if I must, but I can't make it without fellowship with true believers. None of us who call ourselves Christian is perfect, but we need each other.