Shameless

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Psalm 34:4-5

Furious!

Get ready for a bit of a rant. I'm just furious.

After finally getting my car out of the shop after I was hit in a parking lot, I walked out to my garage to find that I was grafittied by some idiot with yellow paint last night. Of course, this came after a very difficult night and hard conversations with people I love.

What is it lately with people not taking responsibility for their actions? Why am I the one that has to constantly excuse and live with someone's immaturity in relationships, job insecurities, or flat out refusal to do what is right. It's never alright to be a coward and let someone else pay the price because you can't man up. I'm tired of people pouting when they do not get their way or when they are challenged when they lie, cheat, steal, and gossip. What's true is true- and it's not relative to what you feel at the moment.

No one is exempt. Not our politicians, not our leaders in any arena, not you, not me. And for that, I'm most furious at me when I do it, too!

Ticked Off

Ever been so mad it feels as if your head is going to explode? I have been there way too many times, unfortunately. Getting much, much better over the years, but every once in awhile- boom!

The whole "Be angry but do not sin" scripture from the New Testament really gets to me. How can I do that? Get angry legimately and not let it take me places I don't want to go. A puzzle. We were discussing this issue with some good friends the other night. One of them said she thought God created anger as part of our palette of emotions. That got me thinking.

Anger is a good tool for telling us when our personal boundaries are crossed. It also functions like an alert system, pointing us to areas of our life that still need to be worked on. Actually, anger can even reveal deep pain in us from situations past and present that we still need healing from.

It is very unfortunate that there are so few models in the television and movie representations of it. Usually, a villain gets angry and does something evil. Or a hero gets angry and avenges the world. I guess I'd like to see someone get really ticked off- then stop and reflect what would be the best thing to so with it from there. Would certainly set a good model for behavior under hard circumstances- and maybe even reduce violence in our world. Maybe even cause me to stop and try to reflect on God's heart in a difficult situation- you know, in that instant when we have to decide how to handle ourselves. Just imagine the times I wouldn't have to apologize for the things I've said and done in anger.