Be a hero and Give Thanks

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that whatever today has in store for you is something that you can celebrate in some way, maybe watching the parade, enjoying a football game, or eating enough food to feed a small country.

 

I just watched a story about Baltimore Raven football player Ray Rice and his work to end bullying and strive towards friendship. He pointed out that bullying has gotten so bad “because of the power of social media”.

 

When I looked up the definitions of bullying, I saw that many things I have seen on social media and heard from people is bullying – straight and plain. Someone can be a bully if they belittle someone because of a difference of opinion (ie: “My news channel is better than yours”) or anything degrading through a disagreement (ie: “You’re an idiot for thinking we’re going to change”). (Yes, the examples might seem far-fetched, but these are statements I’ve heard or seen in the past month).

Does this mean that people cannot have a difference of opinion or disagree? No. It means that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and people need to understand that there may be a point when further research is needed or it is just time to agree to disagree.

 

Rice also pointed out that we should “Be kind to somebody, because you never know what someone’s going through.” In a time of turmoil of uncertainties, this statement can’t ring any louder. We don’t know what someone else is going through. We don’t know the phone call that someone just received or the visit that so-and-so just encountered or the small disaster that the guy around the corner just dealt with. We can’t read someone’s mind or translate the stress that  someone is going through.

 

In a time when we can watch “hero” movies, let’s start at home, or better yet, within ourselves. As the story I saw pointed out, “You can be a hero just by being someone’s friend”.

 

Give thanks for what you do have. You may not agree with that lady, but bless-her-heart for being there when something is needed. You may not like that guy, but less-his-heart for praying for your family the other day when you didn’t even realize it. You may not like how things are priced, but thank God that you have a place to purchase that stuff. And the list can go on.

 

Give thanks.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rogue7Vp2uA

 

 

The power of words

The last few months have been a roller coaster - fun and thriller, and a little scary at the corners.
I'm enrolled in two continuing education courses. Two. I really only need one at a time, but one goes through the second half of 2013 and first half of 2014, and the second goes for 18 months, meeting every three months.
I'd say "do the math", but I wouldn't know how to converse about the equations, so the only thing I can explain is that every pastor is suppose to do some sort of education every year, so I can say without any doubt that I'm getting me education.

The type of classes I'm taking seems to flow so much into circumstances around me right now. I've been ministering to people dealing with unique, odd, troubling, or difficult situations (well, duh), but some of the ministering is dealing with how others say or react to a person's issues.

So many times recently, the phase has come up "I told them so" or "I felt it was better if they..." or "I knew what was best for them".
Really? You knew what was best for someone else, who in many cases, is only an acquaintance to you?

Or people, especially in an age of mass misinformation, will put their own spin on a news article, and somehow make it equate to why a situation has turned out a certain way.
So the government is responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Got it.

The point is that when someone needs a friend to be there for them, or a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to vent to, more often then not, they don't need any sort of "I told you so".