Lux Thinking Aloud Cast The First Stone 9:52 AM You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. -To Kill A Mockingbird Cast The First Stone Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone (John 8:7). I love that verse. The video of a priest reprimanding a single mom before baptizing her illegitimate child went viral. Of course, the ravenous critics feasted on it. “The church has no system.” “Religious leaders don’t act accordingly.” “Shame on them.” “What a hypocrite.” Insults. Hand-washing like Pontius Pilate. Stones thrown again. If I may say: You can’t judge the whole Catholic community or any community for that matter, just because one priest or leader failed to show compassion. It’s like saying Harvard or Stanford has a rotten system just because one student or teacher messed up. You can’t say a Forbes Fortune 500 company has a lousy service just because an employee got involved in a scandal. You certainly can’t say that a family is good for nothing just because of one black sheep. You can’t judge the whole nation just because their government officials are corrupt. What about the citizens who are doing their share in making the country a better place? You don’t want people to judge you just because at one point, you lose your temper and said and did irrational things Yes, the priest should have shown mercy, compassion, and understanding---things expected of someone who embodies Christ. I guess that’s human error. Even Jesus got angry when He was very human. For all we know, maybe the priest is also an illegitimate child, and grew up being bullied because of it. Or someone got his girlfriend pregnant. (Sorry, my mind's a little creative). Or he’s having a really rough week. I know it's no excuse for shaming someone who just wanted to receive the sacrament. I think what he did was uncalled for. Not condoning it at all. But nobody’s perfect. The woman who only loved too much. The priest who wanted to impose doing the right thing (who went overboard trying). The people who claim this is unacceptable. We all have our own stories. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. The problem I see is that we accept our imperfections, but we rejoice when we see others fail. Like it makes us superior, or less sinful when others' sins are magnified. When we point out others’ faults, it doesn’t make us any better or lift us higher. It only reveals who we truly are. I’m not saying that the priest is right. I’m not saying that the critics are wrong. All I’m saying is that before you judge, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. If all you see is nothing but immaculate perfection, then by all means be the first to cast the first stone. What Susie says of Sally says more of Susie than of Sally. Remember that. -Anonymous Know the story behind the story. -Bo Sanchez via Google images Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Life Lessons Don't Be Like The Dead Sea 8:45 AM If you don’t share your blessings, it will rot. Don’t be like the Dead Sea. No living creature is in it because it’s 8.6 times saltier than any ocean in the world. Why so? In Israel, the Sea of Galilee gives water to Jordan River. The Jordan River gives water to the Dead Sea…and the water gets stuck there. The only way the water escapes The Dead Sea is through evaporation. The Dead Sea is teaching us valuable life lessons: Greed kills. Selfishness will leave you lifeless. Everyone shuns the avaricious. When you don’t know how to give, you die. Sometimes I store food and forget about it. So, it gets spoiled. Naturally, I have to throw it away. What a waste. If you don’t share your blessings, it will rot. No one will benefit. It’s not just about the money. It’s about your gifts; your knowledge, your talent, your time. I used to love dancing. Then I stopped. Now, dancing makes me feel awkward. When I stopped writing for a while, it took me a long time to get started again. When you don’t share what you know, or keep your gifts to yourself, you will eventually lose it. When you share what you have, no matter how small you think it is, the world benefits. When I decided to share my experiences and lessons learned, I didn’t expect that it will impact my readers so much until I started receiving emails and comments from random people. People from across the globe thanking me, cheering me on, and asking for more stories. I realized playing small is not humility...it's selfishness. A lot of people need you, need what you have, need what you can offer. Play big by simply sharing what you have. Don’t be like the Dead Sea. Give...and stay alive. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Listicle 21 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger 7:08 PM Youth is wasted on the young. -George Bernard Shaw Originally written for and shared on The Praying Woman There are many things I wish knew when I was younger. I used to say that 21 was my favorite age. It was when I became a full-fledged professional, it was when I first moved out of our house, it was when I met someone I thought I'd end up with, and it was when I became an integral part of the real world. That was when I felt like a real adult; when I thought I had everything figured out. Boy, was I so wrong. No matter how much we try to live each day to the fullest, there's always something we wish we should have done differently or known earlier, right? 21 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger You need to travel more Traveling makes you appreciate life more; the more you see new places and experience new things, the more you appreciate being alive. Traveling makes you see the beauty of nature up close, and appreciate the works of your Creator. You get to release stress, you worry less, you become a happier person eventually. You see things from a different perspective. Although in my defense, I had to put off traveling because I was helping in the house expenses and my siblings' education, I still could have allotted a budget for mini-vacations. Oh, well. I think the long wait made my traveling more exciting now that I get to do it. Start investing early. I've only learned about investing in the stock market when I was 27. And I didn't start investing then! Now, when I look at my portfolio and see how my investment has grown in only a few years, I think about the years I've wasted not investing. You live, you learn. Time is an illusion. When I was younger, it always felt like I had my whole life ahead of me. So, I kept on procrastinating; putting off reading that book I've always wanted to read, not dropping a message to a friend I haven't seen or talked to for a long time, not exercising daily, not saving and investing, not going out. Now, I look back and I realized I've wasted so much time planning and not acting. Friends come and go. You may feel a certain connection with some people and think you could be friends forever. Truth is, if you're not losing friends you're not growing up. When you feel like the friendship is not helping you grow anymore, you're not learning anything new, or it's holding you back, know that it's normal. Also, you'll find out some people also change, and feel like you don't belong in their world anymore. It's either you've outgrown them, or they've outgrown you. Either way, it's time to let go. It's okay to be the odd one out. When you're young, people your age call partying cool and not partying boring. In my head though, it's the other way around. Still, majority wins so you go out and hang out as you're expected. But, it's okay to be the odd one out. Don't be afraid to be different. Celebrate your uniqueness. Why fit in when you were born to stand out? -Dr. Seuss You'll get your heart broken. You'll be hurt and broken. Maybe once, maybe twice. It's all part of the package. Only a very few are lucky enough to end up with their first love. Most mortals will have to meet a few wrong people before they meet the right one for them. It's never too late to pursue a passion or change career path. If you're not happy with what you do anymore, it's never too late to shift. If you're itching to pursue something you've always wanted, don't delay it. There's a reason why that dream or passion has been planted in your heart. Use it to bless the world. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. -Les Brown Take more risks. When you're young, you have more opportunities to fail. More opportunities to fail means more opportunities to learn. More opportunities to learn is more opportunities to succeed. Plus, you become wiser and stronger in the process. You can't change a person or save the whole world. It's God's job to change a person, not yours. Your job is to accept and love them for who they are. The change will follow. If they're sucking out your energy, learn to love them from a distance. You'll go crazy trying to save the world. It's frustrating! What you can do is try to save one person at a time. How? Be a friend. Listen. Empathize. Share your time. Let them feel they matter. Never underestimate the power of kindness. If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth. -Anthony de Mello Dance, run, hike. Dare to try something new. Go out of your comfort zone while you still can. While you still have the stamina, the energy and the time, do something that you think you'll never be able to do. People you know and care about will eventually die. That's the hard truth. We can't live forever. Cherish the people around you, show them you care, and never miss an opportunity to affirm. Words are powerful, and it's impact can resonate forever. Haters gonna hate. It's not what you do, it's not what you say, it's how you affect them. And how you affect them is not your call. How you treat others is a direct extension of how you feel about yourself, and when you try to make someone else feel bad or embarrassed of who they are, it’s deplorable. A happy, secure person wants to share their light. -Maddison Jensen What do you wish you knew when you were younger?
Faith Today, I Choose 4:37 PM Our life is the sum total of the choices we make. Today, I Choose Today, I choose to be happy, with what I have, wherever I am. Today, I choose to be productive. Today is not the day I set aside the things I need to do. Today, I choose to forgive the people who hurt me. But more than that, I choose to forgive myself for giving them the power to do so. Today, I choose to move on, to look forward to tomorrow, to remember the past but not be affected by it. Today, I choose to dream again, to build new dreams, and to believe that anything is possible. Today, I choose to look at the goodness in me, and see the good in others, too. Today, I choose to embrace my imperfections, and see beyond my faults. Today, I choose to believe in miracles. Today, I choose to open myself to endless possibilities, and shower of blessings from above. Today, I choose to dance in the rain. Today, I choose to be a victor, and refuse to be a victim. Today, I choose to love, even the most difficult person in my life. Today, I choose to look at things from a new perspective and believe that I will see something I've missed before. Today, I choose to face the unknown with boldness. What's there to be afraid of anyway? Today, I choose to be in control. Today, I choose to live. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
Stories A Story In 25 Words: The Wedding Guest 12:58 PM A Story In 25 Words The Wedding Guest "You're always late." She teased fondly as he approached. "I know. Congratulations." He said. He hurriedly left...before she could see the first tear fall. Hey, did you find this post helpful or entertaining? Please go ahead and share. Share buttons on the left and at the bottom of the article. Big thanks! Subscribe to About Life And Love by Email
