Prejudice

I received a text message from my "little sister" (19 years old) recently. I am glad she did not to take it personally, but I wish others would stop teaching prejudice.

"The saddest thing happened today. A girl called me not pretty... because my skin isn't white. That's not the sad part, I can deal with racism -- the sad thing is she's 6 years old.

"It's sad because when I was 6, all I was worried about was what my Barbie dolls would wear. I don't recall judging someone by skin color. My Barbies were all colors from all different parts of the world.

"I was taken aback by what this little girl said. So taken off guard that I couldn't get upset. I just sat quietly. She said I'm ugly because my skin is brown. I didn't know what else to say. She's 6 and this is her mindset already."

My response was this: "Prejudice is not natural; it is taught to kids. I pray for that child and her family. Imagine all the hate that must exist in that home. How can someone truly be happy and experience God's unconditional Love with all that hate?"

~ ESA

Song of Silence

 It's been a long while since I blogged. Some asked me why on Twitter. One time a poem came as reply, which I share with my readers.

 

 

Lately, and the reason I've been offline
I've been working through trials at this time
Chronic pain, hard to move from bed
But I still thank God for my daily bread

I can telecommute in my role
But being away does have a toll
After seven years of increased cost
And no raise; my savings are lost

Combined, for a time
Joy was smothered too
That is why I didn't tweet
Or talk to any of you
But I kept praying
God does not leave us alone
Fire is rekindled
Song still inside has a home

There is still pain
Financial trouble too
But Spirit sings inside
So I know what to do

I sing when I am happy
Pray when I am sad
Reach out to others
Who never have had

 

For in my trials
One thing I did learn
Others suffer too
For God they do yearn
But in this world
God seems hard to find
That's why we must be
Compassionate and Kind

For when another struggles
To find God in the stormy woe
God reaches through us
To let His Light and Love show

 Like precious metals
That go through the fire
When we keep eyes on God
Our trials lift us higher

You are right
God shares our tears
And gives Joy
In place of our fears

Little steps we make
In this world wide
God smiles at our efforts
And takes much bigger stride
:D

~ ESA

Twitter Trolls

A friend who is new to Twitter came to me with a problem. I wanted to share my response, in case my readers face similar.

Twitter trolls will happen, no matter what you do. It's sad, but some insist on trolling as a way to get their kicks. Don't let them irk you.

I usually investigate to discover why the person attacks a tweet that is not addressed ("@") them.

For this particular troll, he is a frustrated Atheist / former-Christian, who is mad at God because God didn't turn out to be the way he wanted. He also suffers from poor health, which only adds to his frustrations and beliefs that if God really was there and really CARED for him, none of this would happen.

Because he now believes that God doesn't exist, he can no longer take his anger/frustrations out on God - so he targets others (particularly Christians) to troll instead.

So you have a choice:

(1) You can try to get into a theological debate, which will only increase his animosity and attacks. He will continue to "dis" you (is that still a term?) and bring in reinforcements by including other Atheists. They will join in trolling you until they drive you in tears from Twitter. You will not get them to listen that way as the ego can only listen to another ego. And egos love fighting with one another.

(2) You can block him, so you don't see any of his tweets, which helps buffer you from his attacks. This, however, gives his ego a boost. Trolls count "blocks" as "points" in their game. It depends on how much your ego wants to let them "win" that stupid game.

(3) You can ignore him; pretend that his tweets do not exist. Shunning does work. Eventually he gives up and goes away.

(4) You can continue to treat him with kindness, love and respect. He will continue to belittle what you say, but at the same time you are teaching through example, rather than through words alone.

On social media sites, you show others - even those you don't realize - what it is to walk in Christ's steps. What it means to forgive and turn the other cheek.

The lyrical Blessing that came to mind: "May good health return; may you wear a gentle smile. May laughter and Love fill your heart all the while." Feel free to use it. I can't claim full credit anyway, as the Spirit helps me.

May your days of trolls be few

May the Spirit guide what to do

~ ESA

The Choir (Choirii) (Story)

This is a story I was told long ago and has recently resurfaced. I've been asked to share:

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THE CHOIR (CHOIRII)

In a time before the fall, long before humans were ever created, was a time of God and His angels.

One day, God commanded the angels before the Throne to sing a song.

The angels gathered at once to obey His command.

However, one angel's heart wasn't into it, and did not put his/her full effort into the song.

After all, (s)he believed, "it would not matter if I do not sing my best. For mine is just one small voice within the vast multitude."

The song started beautifully.

But since the angel's heart wasn't in the song, it wasn't as perfect as it should have been.

Notes were missed.

This wrecked havoc on the harmony, which in turn led to the ultimate collapse of the melody - it was a disaster.

God was furious!

He knew what happened and why.

He let forth a tremendous Wrath upon all the angels of the choir.

All parts of Heaven reverberated with the sound of His Rebuke!

And the very essence of Heaven shook with His Rage!

The angels suffered tremendously - especially the one who did not put his/her heart into the song.

There was a great multitude of "singed feathers" in Heaven that day.

And the cries of their loss echoed across all Creation...

From that point on (for a while at least) anything angels did to serve God was done with their whole heart and not half-hearted as the one angel had done.

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- ESA