Translating a World on the Edge

 

 

The difference between fiction and real life is that the fiction writer is pretty much in control of  her own self-created characters, their actions, and the consequences of those actions, just as there are consequences for every action in real life — good and bad consequences that can be life threatening.  

Giving someone the wrong amount of a medication can kill them; making the wrong job choices, or investment decisions can impoverish a family; the wrong directions will take you where you do not intend to go; and immoral choices like lying, or being unfaithful in marriage, or killing a pre-born child, can result in the destruction of an entire family. This is why an informed conscience is necessary. And this is why we have to look for absolute truths, not relative truths, to guide us.

TRUTH MATTERS – especially when it concerns a whole country on the receiving end of slanderous lies meant to destroy. And those kinds of lies, when we accept them, WILL destroy us–personally and as a people.

The constant refrain of lies spouted by some politicians on what ought to be news platforms, but are now only concealers for those who call themselves ‘leaders.’  These politicians wear false masks, speak false words, and deliberately lie to the  American people to keep their own dire deeds concealed.

We need to be engaged. We do not need to be stuck in the middle of a grey cloud presently obscuring the brightness of Truth –because Truth will prevail.  For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. –Luke 8:17

Life goes by quickly and we will all be called to account –politicians included. 

Are you certain what you say is the Truth? If you are not certain, then Do Not Speak. That’s more than just common sense, it’s a human being’s responsibility toward others.

A human characteristic is the ability to speak, to converse, to give instruction, to make our opinions known. We talk. We use our tongues–sometimes without thinking, and sometimes very intentionally.

Our speech is directed to another, a listener. The listener may be a child, a friend, a family member, or a stranger in the grocery store. Regardless of who or where, what we say to each other matters. Speech is a gift to be used with care. I would suggest loving care, though I’m often guilty of overlooking that.

 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” — Matthew 12:36

Wow! That’s a lot of personal responsibility.

Yet what we say to each other is not always done with words. Our actions speak for us as well.  How do our actions speak to our vulnerable children, or the friends and family who learn from us? Aren’t we especially responsible for our actions as parents and teachers, leaders and co-workers? Do we practice what we preach? Again, many of us often fall far short of that. It’s a good thing we have personal control over what we do, and if needed, the ability to correct ourselves.

There are times though, when we’re not the ‘speakers’ or the ‘doers,’ but the receivers, the targets of speech and action. Over this, we have little control, and no doubt the voices and actions are loud from those with agendas which they will lie to preserve. This includes the news media, and of course, politicians.

Except each of these segments are made up of individuals like us. Are these individuals any less responsible than us for what they say today’s world? Shouldn’t they be TRUTHFUL? Don’t they, too, have the ability to correct themselves? Or have greed and power –the two prime motivators for LYING–overtaken them completely?

Words and actions by those in prominent places can make or break this country. Are they ready to take responsibility?

Will the words and actions they use as weapons against others be ignored, or inevitably condemned by those they are supposed to serve? 

Jesus says, The devil was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to his own nature, he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44). 

Beware. The devil is on the doorstep now. What are we going to do about it?

We must form our conscience and the consciences of our children to perceive absolute truths that will guide us throughout our lives until the day of our death. Because Eternity is an awfully long time to be wrong.

I am the mother of two Catholic sons and the grandmother of eight Catholic grandsons. And I’m sick and tired, as well as horribly disappointed, concerning the left-leaning media’s demeaning propaganda about our American boys, especially those who are Christian.

Using the March for Life, ‘indigenous’ groups wanting to get some point across, embarrassed themselves through vulgar language and ridiculous claims in front of a group of teenaged boys from a Catholic High School in Kentucky. These boys had participated in the March for Life and were simply waiting for the bus to take them home.

THE  STORY IS DISHONEST

It was NOT the boys who harassed the two groups; it was the groups who harassed the boys. AND YET–CNN, followed by others, reported the opposite. Their insane claims that the boys were angry and disrespectful was a lie. Their lack of reporting the truth, that the two ‘indigenous’ groups WERE angry and disrespectful is exactly why they have earned the label FAKE NEWS. These boys were NOT an angry crowd, but only kids waiting for their bus. Watch an actual video below. Has peacefully standing still with a smile on your face become a hate crime today? Did the group want a riot from the Catholic boys? Well, they didn’t get one, did they?

AND THIS…..

I DO hate to show this second video with all its pompous stupidity and ignorant vulgarity. But there is no way to know the truth if it is not shown. The video speaks for itself–of course, the voiceovers do not, they are purposely meant to deceive. And talk about prejudice and racism?? This is racism at is worst in an attempt to ruin the young lives of American Christian boys.

Today, we are indeed living in A WORLD ON THE EDGE, while being fed little more than garbage by most of the media. And what is worse, some people who will not think for themselves actually lap it up.

The fact is, the ONLY way the left wing, pro-abortion media would even have mentioned THE MARCH FOR LIFE is if they could find some disgusting way to spin it. God help us to be HONEST!

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters. ― Albert Einstein  

You will come to the grave in full vigor, Like the stacking of grain in its season. Job 5:26

Old age is nothing we wish for, except for the genuine wisdom in it. And yet, we will all get there, and we know it.

I thought this was worth sharing. It starts with two of my favorites: Toby Keith playing golf with Clint Eastwood. That sets the stage. At one point, Eastwood said to Keith, “I turn 88 on Monday.”

“What are you going to do?” Keith asked.

“I’m going to shoot a movie,” Eastwood replied, with filming scheduled to begin the following week.

“What keeps you going?” Keith asked him.

“I get up every day and don’t let the old man in,” Eastwood said.

“I’m writing this down right now,” Keith replied.

Keith didn’t ask him if he could contribute a song, Keith just went home and wrote it, sent it to Clint and hoped that he would consider it. And, he did.

Here it is:
“Don’t Let The Old Man In”
(from “The Mule” soundtrack)

Don’t let the old man in
I want to live me some more
Can’t leave it up to him
He’s knocking on my door

And I knew all of my life
That someday it would end
Get up and go outside
Don’t let the old man in

Many moons I have lived
My body’s weathered and worn
Ask yourself how old you’d be
If you didn’t know the day you were born

Try to love on your wife
And stay close to your friends
Toast each sundown with wine
Don’t let the old man in

Many moons I have lived
My body’s weathered and worn
Ask yourself how old you’d be
If you didn’t know the day you were born

When he rides up on his horse
And you feel that cold bitter wind
Look out your window and smile
Don’t let the old man in
Look out your window and smile
Don’t let the old man in

It has become almost cliché to say that before you can truly love someone else, you must first love yourself.  Cliché or not, the statement is true.

But we cannot love a false self.  We are more than mannequins dressed by another’s intentions. We have to know who we are–for Real.

Loving oneself begins with digging deep to be honest about who we are and what we do. Digging deep to discover the things we are good at, and loving those things about ourselves. Digging deep to discover our faults, our flaws, and doing something about those so that we can love ourselves. Because love is not just a word, it is always action.

When Jesus talked about the greatest commandment of all, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and said we are to love God with all our heart. But He also added the second greatest commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. God wants us to love ourselves, the way He created us to be.

Oddly, or maybe miraculously, the way to honestly loving ourselves is by loving others. How many times have you felt a certain excitement over what you’ve done for another–a word of encouragement, an act of mercy, a simple gift to another of something he/she desperately needs?

Conversely, don’t we feel disheartened when we try to be only what another wants us to be–especially if what another wants us to be goes against our moral code? That’s the failure to love ourselves. That’s being untrue to the core of who we are.

If we want to be happy, we must realize that God loves us terribly, and because He does, we can love ourselves, too–enough that we want to be worthy of His divine love. As it always does, God’s love calls us to action. And to possible change.

There is a story, Bluebird of Happiness, in my short story collection, “Birds of a Feather,” in which a physician misuses his profession in an attempt to keep peace with his controlling wife. He puts that misguided peace above being true to his own moral core. Of course, he is unhappy with himself, with his life, and with his wife. I think many of us do something like this only to please others, or to keep some tranquility. But it does not make us happy. Loving ourselves in the right way is what will actually make us happy.

Taking to heart other people’s opinions of us as if they were Truth— though sometimes those opinions may flatter us, as well as put us down–is not the way to the joy of knowing and loving ourselves.

It’s a new year, so let’s take some time out to discover  what we’re good at, or what we’d like to be better at. Take off any false image we have of ourselves that someone else may have thrown upon us. Then we will find the goodness within us that it takes to love ourselves, and because of that goodness, which can only come from Almighty God, we can also become vessels of love for others as well.