The Guilt Game

It was monday evening and once again, I found myself curled up in the big brown recliner with a "PostSecret" book on my lap.



For those of you who don't know what PostSecret is, it was a sort of community art project started by a man named Frank Warren. Warren printed three thousand self-addressed postcards and left them in a variety of public places. Each postcard had an invitation on it to anonymously mail a personal secret to him. The project had a snowball effect and now Warren receives hundreds of thousands of postcards of people's secrets -- some small, some large, some funny, some horrifying. Warren eventually created a website as well as several book compilations dedicated to showcasing some of these secrets (anonymous of course).



As I lay in the chair reading secret after secret, it occurred to me how powerful this idea is. Not only does it provide a release for many of the people, it enables others to see that other people may be struggling with the same issues. I found myself saying to myself, "Wow, how many times have i felt THAT way" or "I remember when I felt like that."



It also occurred to me that this project succeeded only because of the incredible, inexplicable power that guilt and shame hold over our lives. It seems so often that the shame or guilt that we feel about who we are or what we have done is allowed to completely take over our lives. And Christians are by no means exempt from these feelings. To quote from another postsecret: "Sometimes I wish I didn't believe in God so I could stop feeling like I am disappointing him." I think its important for us to remember that while guilt is an important reminder of our own sinful nature, it can quickly lead to self-hatred and depression, instead of true life change. I am sure that I am not the only person who has struggled with those issues. It is probably the most freeing moment of your life when you can at last come to the conclusion that while you are a first class mess-up, God loves you anyway and wants to spend eternity with you.

Love this...

So a friend told me to check out this website called PeopleofWalmart.com.... Seriously the funniest thing ever. check it out!

www.peopleofwalmart.com

This is depressing.

This is depressing. I work at Pizza Hut. Doing deliveries. I deliver greasy pizzas to people so obese that they can't fit through their doorways. I peer around them only to see old empty pizza boxes littering the floor. The man's shirt can't even cover his over-extended belly. Beautiful. The American Dream at work. I'm so glad I can play such an integral role in making it work.

I return to the store where I find stuff crazy as usual -- people can't get enough of them chicken wings and pizza! I quietly go about my work, unsatisfying and unrewarding as it is. My college degree has really paid off.

I'm looking for a new job now. Maybe a job up in Alaska. I hear it's good money and a neat experience . . .

But then again, I know myself. That job in Alaska won't be satisfying or rewarding either. It won't fulfill me. I know the grass is always greener on the other side. I'll get up there, be happy for two months because I'm done at Pizza Hut, and then the reality will sink in: I'm at just another lame job, slowly drifting my way through the day to day of life. Eventually I'll get to a job where the pay or benefits are good enough and the comfort is great enough that I'll just stay there. Or the necessity of an income to sustain a family will kick in, removing my options. And then I'll drift through the rest of my life, wake up, work, hi Hunny, bedtime, repeat. There has to be more than that right?

Looking for my life's fulfillment in my job will always lead to failure, depression, and frustration. Looking for fulfillment in a marriage will also lead there. People will fail you, even those who love you the most. Finding your fulfillment in God is the only legitimate source of success, happiness, and contentment.

So...
How do you find fulfillment in God?

Welcome!

Hi all!

To be completely honest, this blog is written far more for my own benefit than for anyone elses. It's a way for me to journal my feelings and thoughts in a constructive way and to record the ideas therein.

If anyone does read this, I'd love to hear your comments, both good and bad. Thanks!

Scott

Are You A Fisher Of Men?

Found this and loved it... Very interesting. Any thoughts on the question?

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact, the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were hungry.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year these, who called themselves fishermen, met in meetings and talked about their call to go about fishing.

Continually they searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. They sponsored costly nationwide and worldwide congresses to discuss fishing and to promote fishing and hear about all the ways of fishing, such as the new fishing equipment, fish calls, and whether any new bait was discovered.

These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters.” The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they didn’t do, however; they didn’t fish.

All the fishermen seemed to agree that what is needed is a board which could challenge fisherman to be faithful in fishing. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, and to promote the idea of fishing in far-away streams and lakes where many other fish of different colors lived..

Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built whose purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Those who taught had doctorates in fishology. But the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing.

Some spent much study and travel to learn the history of fishing and to see far-away places where the founding fathers did great fishing in the centuries past. They lauded the faithful fishermen of years before who handed down the idea of fishing.

Many who felt the call to be fishermen responded. They were commissioned and sent to fish. And they went off to foreign lands… to teach fishing.

Now it’s true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish every day. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of fishermen’s clubs. They anguished over those who were not committed enough to attend the weekly meetings to talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”?

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t catch fish were really not fishermen, no matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person a fisherman if year after year he/she never catches a fish? Is one following if he/she isn’t fishing?

Some food for thought... comments ??