Thursday, August 12, 2010

INNER SEARCH


I've spent a lot of time reflecting these past months on my life and my relationships. The foremost relationship that emerged in my thoughts was with God. In my life I've been in some situations that I didn't know if I would survive. But one thought that always came to me was that when I was scared and in a bad situation I prayed. That was probably a function of my upbringing, but I also think that it was deep in my soul. I remember praying on the plane to Vietnam and making a pact with God that if I got out I would be a better person, one He would approve of. I did the same while I was a cop before I went into situations that were frightening to me. I am here and He delivered me. My contemplation was, why? That's where I am now. God allowed me to survive these times in my life and the only answer I can come up with is that He's not done with me. Now I search for that answer. What does God have in store for me? In God We Trust? I do.

39 comments:

Brooke said...

I often wonder why God delivers some through bad situations.

Law and Order Teacher said...

Brooke,
I don't know about that. I do know that he is available to all of us if we choose follow him. Thanks for the visit.

Tapline said...

Wow! I thought I was alone in the category of talking to God in life's dark hours. I not only have prayed going in, but thanked him coming out. Many times during highly questionable situations, such as when my aircraft was riddled with bullets, I thanked God for being with me. When situations arose in my everyday life, I prayed for the strength to carry on and he always provided me with that strength. Not only with me, but with my relationships, I have noticed that those who have Jesus to turn to in times of trouble seem to come through their trials unscathed...So my answer is if one had God in their hearts it is much easier to survive and as long as he is the boss, I think I'll make it.....stay well...

Tapline said...

Wow! I thought I was alone in the category of talking to God in life's dark hours. I not only have prayed going in, but thanked him coming out. Many times during highly questionable situations, such as when my aircraft was riddled with bullets, I thanked God for being with me. When situations arose in my everyday life, I prayed for the strength to carry on and he always provided me with that strength. Not only with me, but with my relationships, I have noticed that those who have Jesus to turn to in times of trouble seem to come through their trials unscathed...So my answer is if one had God in their hearts it is much easier to survive and as long as he is the boss, I think I'll make it.....stay well...

Law and Order Teacher said...

Tap,
I believe in the saying "there are no atheists in foxholes." At least I didn't know any. I made some hard praying on the C-141 over and every night when I went on post. Come to think of it most of the shift too. Every time I heard noises in the bush I worked those beads. It does make one religious, no?

Ducky's here said...

I got censored over at z's site. She's having a tough time accepting opposition to any of her screeds.

You mentioned that there was no moderating voice among Muslims and I asked how you would know?

What sources would you possibly encounter that would elaborate the broader issues and views in the contemporary Muslim world?

This inability to step back and question our sources is always a thorny problem and doubly so given the state of media in America but I would have expected you to be more aware of it. Really, you visit z's site which is pathological and incapable of any recognition of a moderate element in Islam and question why you don't here more about moderate Islam.

Me, I hang with some Iranian film makers. Pretty damn progressive group and better educated than the bulk of z's posters. This idea Americans have that they understand the breadth of thinking of a billion people is common to our unjustified arrogance.

Leslie Parsley said...

Applause for Ducky. I've had Muslim friends most of my life. They came here to escape the extremists.

btw, law & order, I see you're getting those same Japanese trolls we liberals are. They're like a bad stain - you can't get rid of them.

Ducky's here said...

Well what the far right is forcing Muslims to do is to get defensive and defend themselves from the constant attacks of the rabid right.

The Muslim population in America is not radical but they are stifled by the constant noise from the right wing.

I doubt that the average American has ever even met a Muslim. Rather than accepting their ignorance, which is natural aspect of our mutual condition, they turn off thought and make the tragic journey to stupidity.

That hasn't been LOT's style so I was surprised when he assumed he had access to the range of opinions among Muslims.

Brooke said...

What utter bullshit.

Rita Loca said...

Never met a Muslim???? I have Lebanese family! Knew a few Iranians myself in Venezuela and happen to live in a city where I am surrounded by muslims!

Ducky's here said...

Junglemom, your personal experience is not the matter at hand.

We are talking about the average American's contact with Islam and the problem of how one with little contact can assume he/she has insight into the nature of the Islamic population in America.

A lot of these folks don't get further than Glenn Beck.

Always On Watch said...

Duck,
I got censored over at z's site. She's having a tough time accepting opposition to any of her screeds.

Well, there was a little more to banning you than that. Z actually does want other view expressed, but not to the point of hijacking posts and comments threads and insulting other commenters.

As one who doesn't have a blog, perhaps you don't appreciate the time and distraction involved when a regular commenter conducts himself in the manner that you often do.

Besides, Z's blog is her property. Her property, her rules.

Rita Loca said...

Ducky said; "Well what the far right is forcing Muslims to do is to get defensive and defend themselves from the constant attacks of the rabid right."

Or maybe, the jihad declared on America is forcing us to get defensive because of the constant VIOLENT attacks from the Islamic extremist!

I wonder what kind of treatment an American film making team would experience in Iran? Perhaps you should go for an extended visit and come back to report on it for us? If we do not see you being beheaded on Youtube, we will assume you are in prison with the hikers.

Brooke said...

As far as Ducky is concerned we could all convert to Islam and still not be Muslim enough.

Sound familiar to another argument we've had with him?

Ducky's here said...

Junglemom, Iran is on of the leading film nations in the world.

Yes, they do face government censorship (it's sort of one big z's site) but you find a way to say what has to be said.

We have nobody working in American on a quality level of say Kiarostami. It's part of the voice of enlightened Islam, one that I am sure none of you have bothered to watch which is part of my thesis.

To you Iran is just an country which produces (and probably is incapable of producing) anything of value. No, not quite.

But as I say, if you are a moderate you get squeezed by rabid animals like Pam Geller and Robert Spencer and the hard liners in Muslim countries. An enlightened America would acknowledge them and listen to or mutual benefit.

Rita Loca said...

Why would I think Iran produces nothing of value? Why do you assume thoughts for others? How enlightened of you!

So... I take it you wont be going for a visit?

Rita Loca said...

Also, I have lived with censorship but I do appreciate your explaining it to me!

Brooke said...

Ducky knows nothing but his own assumptions, self- righteousness and bigotry.

elmers brother said...

and still doesn't understand the difference between censure and censor.

of course if he started his own blog...(where he won't be censured) then perhaps he'd understand that Z's blog is her virtual front porch and he's a guest...but there's a lack of understanding there

duhkkky, my family and I financially support people who help Muslims, AIDS victims and others...none of us need your self righteous, uninformed generalities that only inflame...

Always On Watch said...

Duck said:

Iran is on of the leading film nations in the world.

I say: So what? Good film making does not a moral culture make.

Always On Watch said...

EB,
For five years, I've asked Duck to start his own blog.

He never will, you know. Can't take the heat of running a web site.

He gets his kicks out of commenting at others' sites.

Warren said...

How unfair of you all, (tsk, tsk.) Picking on dimwitted Ducky.

You know that if he started a blog he would have to spend all of his time disappearing his posts and comments to hide his moronic assertions. He is so consistently wrong that everyone knows who I mean when I refer to "Nostradumbass".

Really its funny watching a clown like Ducky try to boost his ego at the expense of others by pretending that he's educated or even moderately intelligent. Then he trots out some talking point he picked up at DU or some other trash pit of leftist thought and tries to pass it off as "intellectual", original thought.

His main problem is that he has became unable to differentiate between reality and his fantasy world of cinema.

Here's a hint Ducky, an obvious anti-Semite and bigot, like you, shouldn't go around casting aspersions on people you know little to nothing about! Go hang out with the Oliver Stone's and Michael Moore's of the world and leave intelligent people alone.

Law and Order Teacher said...

Ducky,
My allusion was to those that are cited in the media. If the media were doing its job we'd hear some of those moderating voices that I know are out there, but they don't come forward. There are voices of dissent in every religion that speak out but I don't hear many of them in Islam.

I wish I did, but either they're silent or they don't exist which I know isn't true. I've had many Muslim students in class who don't spout anti-American rants and who are proud Americans. You certainly represent a different side of Catholicism than I do, but we coexist under the same Pope.

I believe that I would listen to any counter opinion to those of the Iranian leadership, but the censoring etc., drowns them out. The American media are so intent on slamming this country they publicize the worst of the worst without and modifying opinion.

You're right that's not my style never has been, never will be.

Thanks for the visit.

Tnlib,
Yeah that stuff is irritating. Please see my reply to Ducky. Thanks for the visit.

Z said...

Law and Order, what a beautiful post...I must say that I'm very glad God isn't finished with you yet, and I believe that's why He keeps us around, too. !

Ducky's here said...

Not entirely satisfactory LOT. There are sources out there but many, I don't know about you, will get there opinions from Pam Geller or Robert Spencer and continue in their gross ignorance because they are comfortable there.

If you weren't aware of the resistance movement in Iran after the stolen election then you simply weren't trying. How many of z's readers know that the burqa is being banned in parts of Syria, for instance?
There are many sources. Again you probably stick to conservative American sources. Ever pick up a copy of The New York Review of Books when they feature an Islamic discussion? Even in the land of Pam Geller there are sources.

Notice that you have AOW begging the question and stating that Iran is an immoral culture. How was that judgment made on an entire people? By her own admission she "learned" about Islam from a far right blog. And it goes round.

Ducky's here said...

It's interesting you bring up charity as if you're unique, Elmer.

Charity is a difficult subject. It's something we need to do for sake of our soul but it can also be something we do to justify discrimination.

So you contribute to AIDS relief, but I can guarantee you are nowhere to be seen when it comes to full rights for homosexuals. Charity is fine when it allows you to feel righteous but doesn't upset the power structure.You can give and still want people kept in their place.
I don't know but it is my bias to believe that a white evangelical is absolutely not interested in social or economic institutions that foster equality.

Second would be the attitude of the rabid right to charity in Islam. It is extensive and also inevitable that some money will flow to Hamas, a group that does do relief work. At that point the individual becomes a terrorist in the world of you and your "enlightened" bloggers.
So be careful, you never know who's the whitened sepulcher.

The one fact is that the ultra far right, which is represented on z's board, exist in a closed system which depends on a few blogs and an idea of revealed truth to form their judgments. It's not the place to look for informed opinion or even a place that can tolerate debate.

Ducky's here said...

Let's take an example from the NYC mosque issue. You hear from z's news sources such as Glenn beck that the Orthodox Church at ground zero is being denied.

Now modest research will reveal that the Port Authority (agency in charge) has bent over backwards to get it done but the church has held out for more money and balked at 50 million for replacement of what was essentially a store front.
They also wanted review powers over nearby structures like the bomb screening area. They wanted a say in security design. They have been impossible to work with.

That's an example. Too many will just go where their bigotry leads them and abandon critical analysis.

elmers brother said...

It's interesting you bring up charity as if you're unique, Elmer.

I don't bring it up because I think it's unique, I bring it up because you think we don't care. I'm rather tired of it. WE happen to put our money where our mouth is. Others I know do too and we're careful about where we do that because it's not OUR money.

elmers brother said...

it's even a Jesuit volunteer. LOL!

So you contribute to AIDS relief, but I can guarantee you are nowhere to be seen when it comes to full rights for homosexuals.

You don't know that.

elmers brother said...

So be careful, you never know who's the whitened sepulcher.

do you ever get tired of throwing this silly bromide around?

Warren said...

Well Nostradumbass, you did it again.

If you're going to quote scripture you should at least refrain from sounding like Norm Crosby.

Did you mean "whited sepulcher"? If you did, I suggest you have a good long look into a mirror.

elmers brother said...

debate duhkkky? is that what you call your comments at Z's?

only if you inclued ad hominems, insults and condescension.

Discrimination?

what have you done to support the troops duhkkky?

Adults and parents know that one can love someone without supporting their behavior. It's a biblical concept too. Read the book you'll see that love does not delight in the wrongdoing (sins) of others...

you have any 'right' wing friends duhkkky? It's hilarious to think that you know all about them from reading blogs.

Brooke said...

"So you contribute to AIDS relief, but I can guarantee you are nowhere to be seen when it comes to full rights for homosexuals.

So Ducky equates AIDS with homosexuality?

And Ducky calls us bigoted? HA! HA! HA!

Why am I not surprised? Give him a minute, and he'll type out something hideously racist and more likely than not extremely misogynist.

Z said...

Oh, please look into the Greek Church controversy...there are two sides, one of which Ducky can't bear to mention.
thanks

Ducky's here said...

Elmer, you don't care. That's the point.

You care about maintaining the power structure that keeps people poor so that you can act self righteously. That's all.

As for z's site, there's a lot more invective directed at me from a crew that is so messed up they trivialize God by calling a flock of Canada geese an act of grace.

Warren said...

Shame on you Ducky!

You aren't fit to lick EBs shoes!

He doesn't care about 'your' BS. You're talking about a man that cares far more about his fellow man than you and your fellow "travelers" will ever care about anyone but themselves.

I know that for a fact.

Any invective directed at you is well earned. Your constant attempts to belittle anyone that doesn't believe that "Marx was a prophet" are needed to remind you of your proper "place". Its impossible for you to disagree with anyone, you have to question their intelligence and attempt to degrade them.

Who trivializes God, he that sees the Creators handiwork in a flock of geese or he who is incapable.

You seem to suffer under the Internet equivalent of little mans syndrome. Right now you appear to be about one pixel tall!

Z said...

Ducky, I see miracles all around me..if they're not God's grace, they're nothing...if geese doing a fly-over at the precise minute the rally started (directly over the water), when Beck had asked numerous times to have a military fly-over and been turned down, then I don't know miracles.
By the grace of God, I do know them.
And, why do you whine that you don't like being discussed behind your back at my place but then come talk about me at other blogs? Are you obsessed or something?
Warren, true about EB.
By the way, Warren, you're a man among men.....as is Elbro and Law and Order. I admire you all greatly.

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

C'mon dude.

C'mon back.

We NEED you in the Blogosphere.

We NEED your insight and opinions.

Give me a break, here.

Come back.

BZ

Law and Order Teacher said...

BZ,
I'm trying to dig out of an avalanche of work between school and coaching soccer. I've got a couple of more weeks of soccer and I'll return when it's over. I love coaching, but it's incredibly time consuming and pretty much done when I get home. Weekends are given over to grading. I'm getting old and sometimes I feel it. Thanks for your concern.