Category Archives: Greek Orthodox

Christianity, dance, faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness, hello: goodbye, Life, music

Food for thought #7

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My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.† For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?† But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;† but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:1-9, OSB)

This came up in my daily readings this week.

Ironically, I started going back to church after my husband died, because I felt I needed the fellowship in my life. I also pursued dance class at the same time, taught by a parishioner of my same church.

I don’t fit in either place it seems, though I was excited and eager to be both places, I don’t quite seem ‘good enough’ in either place. Dance class made me feel inept and the instructor cancelled further leasons after just one, citing lack of interest. He restarted them 3 months later but I didn’t bother because of how the initial experience felt to me.

After church, when people gather for fellowship, I end up mostly sitting alone at a table, most already have their people they talk regularly to…I’m simply not one of them and after several weeks, I still wasn’t any closer to being…and I did try.

I don’t tend to have a negative outlook on life or a victim personality…but I’m feeling a little down with regards to these things.

Best,

A

faith, Greek Orthodox, Life

Food for thought #5

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He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:15-17, OSB)

I think God, and Christ, both allow us to form our own thoughts and beliefs on who he was. He gave ample opportunities to those who surrounded him, both in his intimate space (apostles, close friends, and the women who followed his ministry) and by evidence even enough that even those farther removed saw His miracles or came to understand who he was.

I believe in Him because my heart tells me He is who He says He is. I don’t push others to believe against their will, nor do I hide or have any shame in my beliefs. I know God hardens hearts and opens hearts, ultimately we have to trust that.

I also think, maybe we should ask those around us who we are to them a little more often.

Just food for thought

Christianity, faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness

Food for thought #4

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Wasn’t sure I was going to write this today, been a little out of sorts and tired today.

So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”† He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”† This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” (John 21:15-19, OSB)

This is one of my favorite passages because there’s a story here that means more than just the words on the page: here is the gist-

When Christ asks Peter the first time ‘do you love me?’ If you’re reading the passage in the original Greek…he uses Agape (all encompassing, move heaven and earth kind of love) when Peter answers- he answers him with Filakia (a brotherly, friendship kind of love)

Christ asks again with Agape- Peter answers again with Filakia

Then Christ comes down to Peter’s level and asks him if he loves him-Filakia and Peter, while wearied (I believe with himself ) confirms the Filakia level of love.

I think the biggest lesson to me is that even while he was here among us, he was able to come to us and understand and meet us at our level. (He knows we’re better than we acknowledge or try to be, but he meets us where we are until we understand the concept of moving heaven and earth ourselves with our love for Him.

That’s all I got for today,

All the best

A

Christianity, faith, Greek Orthodox, Life

Food for thought #3

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“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.† (Matthew 5:13, OSB)

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” (Mark 9:50, OSB)

“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?† It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 14:34-35, OSB)

This one I shared many instances because it’s one that definitely stays with me. Funnily enough I was told yesterday during the discussion aimed at me in a quite mean manner, that I was ‘salty’ actually that I was ‘the saltiest’. Mind you, I wasn’t being salty at the time, and yes…I’m capable and am quite salty at times, but I digress.

I am not sure if how I perceive this one is how it’s meant to be seen, and I’m certainly not trying to steer anyone wrong here, but here is how it reads to me.

Don’t lose who you are in trying to fit in in this world, you have a voice, you have a personality, you have convictions about God, life, and humanity. Don’t let the world take who you are away…because it will, at every angle. If you become a duller, weaker version of you, you get lost in the muddled world we live in.

Stay strong, keep your flavor!

Stay salty my friend,

A

country life, faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness

Early(ish) morning ramblings.

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I find I wake slower these days than I used to when I was younger…it’s not a complaint.

There is a peace and relaxation in the rhythm and routine of my mornings, and in the peaceful solitude they offer.

My 2 young adult children are up in their rooms tucked away, and they rarely disrupt that solitude…when they do, it’s a welcome disruption.

I wake slowly, read my orthodox reading for the day and my inspirational text for the day, generally play 2 rounds of solitaire and 5-10 minutes of the monopoly game before getting up to go to the bathroom and pull my hair up to start my day.

My bed isn’t fastidious or a thing of beauty…it’s simple in fact…but making it is one of the very first things I do when I’m up.

I shuffle into the kitchen for coffee, the cats wait outside my door to tell me they’re starving and their water bowls need filled; I of course oblige. I decide on my coffee cup for the day, I have many as I collect them and they match my moods. I set it at the Keurig and proceed to load the dishwasher. I assess the laundry situation and decide there isn’t enough dirty for a load yet. I wash my hand washables and put my coffee on.

My yard is bathed in a beautiful pink glow this morning…it makes me smile as I’m washing the dishes partly because it makes me think of Christ and the way he called (I believe) the Pharisees and scribes hippocrites because they could read the signs with regard to weather but not with regards to God…and partly because the pink is my favorite color right now and this glow seems to soften my whole front yard. I didn’t take a photo because I didn’t need one to remember it, and I didn’t want to physically share it as some things feel like a gift just for me. Once i finish my morning cup of coffee, I’ll grab dog food and a bottle of water and head out to feed chickens and goats and dogs and quail. I lost Vincent, one of my favorite chickens, yesterday. Not sure what happened but it seemed like he got choked/asphyxiated somehow. Burying him was heartbreaking to me. Not sure how the rest of the day will go, lots of little things to do/catch up and will probably spend the afternoon with my daughter either watching tv or walking to the garden area in the rain.

I hope you have a blessed day,

See you soon,

A

faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness, Travel

Food for thought #2

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Todays thought isn’t a verse but part of a familiar story:

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”† So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”† (Matthew 14:28-31, OSB)

I think what stands out here to me is the human propensity to freak out when things start to get a little rough in life. If you examine it closely, Peter’s doubt wasn’t in Christ’s ability to save him, he had no doubt there, where he doubted was that Christ already had him protected and covered.

We stress a lot in life, it’s easy to be upset on how life is going and even sometimes feel like maybe God doesn’t have out back. But sometimes it’s our own freak outs that cause everything to go south. We don’t hand it to God and trust that he has our back, we pseudo hand it to him and decide he’s not going to help us…for whatever reason.

We need to trust God a little more and our own thoughts a little less.

All the best,

A

Christianity, faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness, Uncategorized

Food for thought #1

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This is going to be a new series of posts, separate from my day to day. Based on my own thoughts on some of my favorite Bible verses and my own reflections on them. Things I think about while doing simple things such as doing the dishes or feeding the animals around my little homestead. They are my own personal take and thoughts. That, to me, is the Joy of God’s Word, it pertains to you how it pertains to you, its ‘living’ in that even that meaning changes throughout your life. So…here goes:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Matthew 23:25-26, OSB)

This isn’t the only time this thought process is presented to us in The Word and it’s one that plays often in my mind, especially when I’m doing dishes, (also I feel that so many of the things shared with us were meant to be relatable to everyday life (planting, cleaning…) because they’re meant to bring the verses or thoughts to mind in the day-to-day of humdrum life.

To me, this verse is telling us to worry more about our thoughts, and even our words that come out of our mouth than we are our outward appearance.

Let’s face it, you can spend two to three hundred on a really nice outfit, and go out to hit the town, and if you treat people hatefully or rudely, or even if you are thinking hateful or rude thoughts (believe me when I say that these do spill over into your actions and mannerisms) all the finery in the world doesn’t make you a better person.

I believe Christ meant it more in the contact of sinning, don’t think about what others have in a manner that is jealous or plot to take what someone else has away. Don’t think hateful thoughts about other people, wishing ill of them or wishing their demise. These are what lead to things like theft, adultery, and even murder…you generally get consumed with the thoughts before you take the first step towards hurting another person in this manner.

Anyway basically, my general thought on it is ‘keep your thoughts in check, and you won’t have things to ask forgiveness for further down the road’

All the best

A

country life, faith, Greek Orthodox, happiness, hello: goodbye, hospital, Life, Travel, wonder

When I was 17, I wrote a poem that was published in my high school ’paper’

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It was a poem about my biological father. I can only remember snippets of it to this day.

two parts I remember:

‘Tis eighteen years since we last met, I’m only seventeen. I barely know to be my dad; a man I’ve never seen.’

And the end of poem:

‘Would I have been a daddy’s girl, if I had had a dad? Or would you be just like the rest, and make me very sad?’

When I was 36, I finally met the man I’d wanted my whole life to know. The man I’d daydream busting with pride because I was in the army and following his footsteps even without him being there. (He was a green beret, sniper, in Vietnam)

My dad was the ultimate disappointment in life. He was a perverse old man who though he knew about all of his kids (there were at least 5 of us) he took responsibility in life for none of them. Claimed no knowledge, but had photos of all of us when we were babies there in his home.

He died of lung cancer in February when I was 40. His family treated me and my children like a nobody at his funeral because all his other children looked like him. I didn’t favor him in any way. (My grandma used to say I was nobody’s kid, because I looked like nobody I was supposed to look like in her opinion.)

Despite all this, I’m glad I got to know the truth on him, that he wasn’t the man I watched for in all the drill sergeants and instructors I had while I was in the army. He was just as ordinary as any other man, and a purposeful deadbeat at best.

Sorry for the dark and twisty start to the day.

All the best,

A

(Craig, I also wrote about Christ when in elementary…about keeping Christ in Christmas, I think I was 4th or 5th grade. He wasn’t ever allowed to be present much in my schools growing up: atheists will tell you that’s a separation of church and state, I believe it’s just one more way to keep their thumb on believers- but o see it as one more way Christ separates the wheat from the chaff, enough trials like that and the chaff will fall away…the wheat won’t…just my 2 cents)

(Also Craig, per Luke, the Holy Spirit forbade them from preaching in Asia. Maybe there was a reason the Asian churches fell away? (Acts 16:6-7) )