Why we can't pick and choose

There are probably more people on the earth that believe in God (in some form) than don't. But there are also more people that just want to think He's there when they need Him than those that actually care what He wants or expects. There is NO relationship that works well when it's only one way. Wanting God to be at our beck and call is not a healthy relationship- for God or us! We go on our merry way doing whatever we want and expect Him to be right there when we are desperate enough to take the time to try to communicate with Him. What earthly parent would ever want a relationship like that with their child??? So, there are certainly many people who consider themselves "religious" and they take some time out of their busy lives to read scriptures, pray, and attend church- all to seek to know God and maybe what He wants of them. Too often, we get selective about what we're willing to do. We may follow some of His guidelines but ones that we aren't comfortable with, we just kind of ignore. We say we want to be like our Savior, but only in certain aspects. I have been thinking about what happens when people try to be part-time servants of God.
Generosity and service to others is very important to God. Just doing acts of service does not always mean we are doing what God would have us do. There are wealthy philanthropists who donate a lot but then they expect to have a major say in how their donations are used. They often hope if not downright expect that their names will be prominently displayed on buildings, plaques, or in books. They are more interested in impressing other people than in pleasing God or emulating Jesus Christ.
Honesty is certainly recognizable to most people as an important element in religion. But people can be blunt to the point of being cruel but justify it by saying, "Well, at least I'm being honest." Jesus was honest but he was loving and non-judgmental, like in his dealing with the woman taken in adultery. He acknowledged that the woman had sinned but reminded those around her that they were not in a position to condemn her when they were guilty as well.
Loyalty and love of family and friends is commendable. Mafia members are known for their intense love and expectations of loyalty. Somehow I don't think they are exemplary followers of Christ.
We cannot legitimately consider ourselves servants of God or followers of Christ if we are not doing all we can to be aware of their true nature and earnestly striving to be like them. Having an aspect or two of their character or occasionally following a "rule" taught to us by a church is just not enough. If we are to stand in the presence of our Lord (which we ALL will do at some point), we will need to know in our hearts that, although imperfect, we sincerely and persistently strove to be the most like Him that we could, as we learned and struggled to overcome weakness and temptations. We will condemn ourselves even in the face of His unconditional love if we know we were half-hearted in our discipleship. Regrets hurt.

Day 3

I really wish we had remembered to take a close-up of my eyes, when relaxed, before the surgery . I had long ago decided that my saggy eyelids were just a genetic trait I would have to live with. I'm not into vanity and certainly would never be willing to undergo surgery (I haven't always had the best luck with surgery no matter how good the surgeon!) and spend gobs of money just to try to look better. Then I went to help a member of my church who had her eyelids "snipped" and she explained that medical insurance covers the procedure when it's considered an obstruction of vision. For years I have just kept my eyebrows raised to ensure my field of vision. I decided to ask my doctor, when I was in for other reasons, about it. She looked at me carefully and said she thought it was worth referring me to an ophthalmologist. After testing, photographs, and checking with our insurance provider, I was scheduled for surgery.

I was a little nervous, and even considered backing out a couple of times. But I prayed, felt more calm, and went ahead with it. I was knocked out very briefly, only for long enough to inject local anesthetic into my eye area. Then I was awake for the surgery. It was very strange to have my eyes fully closed then suddenly see the bright lights of the operating room without having moved my lids! After cutting out about an inch (the surgeon- a very attractive younger woman who has apparently done this a lot and is an expert- talked to me during the operation), I could watch her stitch my  lids closed again. I was also able to see her assistant dab at my lids, probably cleaning up blood.

Today is day 3 and my eyes seem to be doing fine. They are really puffy at times, especially first thing in the morning. I will be continuing to ice them for about 15 minutes of every waking hour for another day or so. You can see in the picture how colorful they are! I won't have to work hard at losing the habit of raising my eyebrows because, at the moment, when I do that it stretches the lids and is a little uncomfortable. I'm not venturing out of the house much yet because the sunlight feels intense and I don't want to have to explain to people the whole story or elicit pity. I'm just fine. I plan to put on sunglasses and walk outside, just in the backyard/golf course, briefly this afternoon.

NEW EYELIDS

By looking at the photos you will understand why Mary is not doing this blog. We meant to take some "before" pictures but forgot so all you get are the "after".

 

The first is with her eyes closed where you can clearly see the incisions where the doctor removed about an inch of flesh. The next is with her eyes open.

 

The reason we had this done is her eyelids were "sagging" and starting to interfere with her vision. She has put up with it for many years by raising her eyebrows but when she relaxed they would fall into her field of vision. There is some obvious swelling now but that will subside and she will not look like she is falling asleep anymore when she is relaxed. We did this now because she is still covered by my excellent insurance from the City of Ithaca. We don't know how long that will last. (thank you Mr. President) This will make life just a little easier for her.  Russ

 

WHY??

I was recently struck by a scripture that has cause me to wonder- WHY? The scripture says, "For the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage. These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after the resurrection from the dead, to enter into his Father's kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life.." This is about where people go when they leave earth life. I have had no problem understanding why we would want to be able to return to live forever with Jesus and our Heavenly Father, as well as with those we love and those who have chosen to be good people. But as I have watched my mother's capacities slowly dwindle, and as I have observed suffering of body and spirit, I think of leaving the body as a release and a relief. Why would the dead "look upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage"?? I seriously can't grasp why we would want to return to bodies when there is so much pain, confusion, and sorrow in them. I understand that having a body to begin with was important because there is so much we have to learn that really works best with a physical body, more than just a disembodied spirit. And , as I said before, I understand wanting to be re-connected with loved ones. But why consider the absence of a body, after having lived in it, as a bondage? Maybe there are things we can know in our bodies that we can't know in just a spirit--? But we are told that whatever principle of intelligence a man attains in this life will rise with him in the resurrection. And we are also told that the same sociality we enjoy here will exist later. So why is it so desirable to have a body? I would really appreciate the thoughts of anyone who might read this and understand something I obviously don't.

Relationships

I find myself more and more pondering issues without always coming to a definite conclusion. Lately I have been aware of unsettling attitudes developing throughout society centered around sex. Before hitting the teens, I was barely aware of what sex was. I figured there were boys and there were girls and sometimes they liked each other and sometimes they found each other annoying. Kissing and holding hands were the extent of interaction between members of the two groups that I was really aware of. Hormones kicked in as I hit the teenage years and I was aware of more parts of the body. I remember watching a parade at Disneyland when I was 14 and a man came up- CLOSE- behind me and I kept feeling a prodding in my backside. I was startled to glance around and see that the area of his pants below his waist was swelling and that was what he was poking me with. It gave me the creeps but I wasn't really sure why. I just moved away from him and closer to my parents. I have seen a doctor on tv counsel a single woman that, if she was having unfulfilled sexual desires, she could "take care of that herself". It gave me the creeps. I stopped watching that show- permanently. I saw a letter to an advice columnist from a female telling about a relationship where her partner had "cheated" on her with a former lover and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. She stated that they were lesbians. I pitied the columnist having to write a "helpful" response. I felt uncomfortable about it. For most of my life I have pondered this whole "sex" issue. Homosexuality was once scorned by society but is now forcibly embraced in order to avoid "homophobia", which is the hatred of people. I don't get that at all. In order to be considered loving, you must accept actions that are perverse to you? Pornography was once scorned by society but is now becoming more and more pervasive to the extent that there are CHILDREN being exposed to it in their homes and becoming addicted, influenced in their actions, and sadly warped in their perceptions of relationships.
So, what is sex?? What is it for?? Is it just a physical desire like enjoying a salty or sweet taste in the taste receptors on your tongue? Does it matter who you have excite or satisfy your desire- a paid "professional", a person of the same or opposite sex you may or may not know, yourself, a dog or a child?? In order to avoid "hatred" of people who have different desires/tastes from you, is it a requirement to simply accept desires of different people, without opinion?
So far, the only answer I feel really good about, is that our sex organs are for the purpose of binding us, physically and emotionally, to a mate. We have a desire (lust) and rely on one other person to know us and that we trust to satisfy that physical and emotional desire. Love is not a necessary part of sex. But without love, sex is simply an animal instinct being pursued. Marriage is not required. Commitment is not required. You simply seek a scratch for your itch. THAT gives me the creeps. I realize I have a lot in common with other creatures of the earth but I really feel like I am not simply another species inhabiting the planet. If I am subject to my animal instincts without control, I am simply an animal. I want to be more than that. People often try to ascribe lofty analyzing, motivations, and thought processes to animals. Research has not been able to substantiate that any other living creature is capable of as advanced thinking as humans.
So, other than binding us- making us "one flesh", what is sex for? Again, the only answer I feel good about is creating more of our species. We combine our differing DNA's to bring about a body to house another human being which starts out helpless and totally ignorant. We teach that new being how to survive, just as other creatures do, but we go further. We hope they will learn all we have to teach them and MORE. We hope they will be able to advance the world in ways we were unable to do. Two females cannot make another human. Neither can two males. Neither can one person alone. This is not just a commitment. This is creation. It is a major responsibility. Not all humans grasp the significance of it. Children are too often just the accidental result of two lustful beings satisfying an urge without thought beyond what feels good/exciting. I'm not saying this in a judgmental way. I have fallen prey to this form of self-gratification in my life. The results were a very confused teenager, even an unwanted pregnancy. Following the advice of adults that I thought were more capable than I, and certainly having a nice solution to my problem, I went out of the country to obtain an abortion in a country where it was legal at the time. With the "religious training" I had at the time, I still was horrified. I was not taught that abortion was murder. But I felt really bad about it. I was greatly scarred by the procedure- maybe not physically but definitely emotionally. Making children is NOT just a by-product of achieving physical satisfaction.
It concerns me greatly to see good people of the world heading, like the proverbial lemmings off the cliff, toward accepting sex as acceptable under any circumstances. Inside my head I scream, "NO!" I know it's getting way out of hand. I don't know if I can do anything to stop it. I know there is ONE who can. And I know the time will come when we will hear, in the booming words of Bill Cosby, "All right- everybody out of the pool!"

Getting rich

There is a bumper sticker that I often quote because it is so untrue. I think it's supposed to be funny. It's something to the effect "The one who dies with the most toys wins". The main reason I think it's not as funny as it could be is that too many people actually live as if it were true. Money and everything related to it seems to be the ultimate goal of way too many people. I use money in the generic sense of a medium for trading to get what you want. Bartering was the original form of acquisition but it was definitely cumbersome. The town barber didn't always want a pig or whatever you had to offer. So money became a more convenient way to work out trading what you have for what you want. People seek for money, not just to provide necessities of life, but for power, luxuries, and competition. Money is truly the currency for earth.
So I was wondering, what is the currency for heaven? Obviously, the earth and the fullness thereof is God's. He doesn't need cash or anything it represents- gold, jewels, land, etc. What is the most valuable commodity of heaven? Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. Everything I have ever heard about heaven involves praising God. Praise is given when beings are in awe of or really like something/someone. Isn't that love? Jesus taught us to even love our enemies! God loved us so much He was willing to give us His Only Begotten Son. What does He want in exchange? Our love. The Lord said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments". Obedience isn't for the purpose of making Him feel greater or more powerful, although that certainly must occur. After all, any leader has more power if he is obeyed. But God doesn't need kow-towing of lowly mortals, even if we are His children, in order to be powerful. As a matter of fact, His ultimate goal and desire is to give us all that He has. He wants to share His power and glory, not hoard it. Love can be a powerful force. In romantic stories, love is the cause for all kinds of bravery. People do some crazy and really difficult things out of love- one form or another: romantic love, love for children/family, love of country, etc.
In heaven, in front of God, there is only truth. Here on earth we have managed to come up with counterfeits for love just as we have for money. "Lovers" is a term for people who have sex with each other. But lust is not love. Sometimes people who love each other have sexual relations but love is not a requirement for someone to want to have sex with someone else. God wants us to love Him so we will trust Him. He can only teach us if we are willing to listen and learn. We have to trust Him to do that. Here on earth, people sometimes encourage loyalty or trust but it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with love. Sometimes it's a way to gain power- sooner or later. God loves us and wants us to be happy. Here on earth, we sometimes try to achieve "happiness" through artificial means: chemicals, thrills, giving or receiving stuff, even achieving revenge! None of that is true happiness. It's counterfeit.
So "lay not up for yourselves treasure where moth and rust doth corrupt". We would be much wiser to work harder at accumulating heavenly currency. If we have an abundance of love, we will be wealthy indeed.