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> Conspicuous By My Absence
Elspeth 
Posted: 18-Sep-2004, 10:48 AM
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Sorry I haven't been on much. The newer people are going to think I'm a myth or something. biggrin.gif

First, Welcome to all who I haven't personally welcomed. Such a bad hostess am I. unsure.gif

Second, how has everyone been? I noticed since I pinned the joys and concerns no one has been posting. Has nothing happened? Should I move them back down?

Third, there are some I haven't seen about for a while. Tsargent and wizardofowls come to mind. I was going to say Roisin, but I see she's come back to us. Or maybe powerwalked her way back. DOes anyone know where they are?

And lastly, some sort of explaination. I took a job delivering papers so I am out the door at 2AM. So, instead of chatting here, I nap. biggrin.gif Also, I am having a great deal of difficulty in life and so I just can't quite think of things to post here. I wonder about what God really wants to happen in my life and what is the way it is due to other's free-will choices which have screwed up my life. Do we just live in it and long for the after-life? Such an unsatisifying way to live. So many questions. And, the church we attend has never been quite a fit for me. There are things I have strugggled with from the start and still do. So between my distance from God and my feelings about my church, I haven't have any incentive to be there. My son's baseball games are a great excuse to just skip it. Such an atypical action for one who is presently serving on the search committee for our new pastor. But I figure I represent the disenfranchised. smile.gif

So, anyway. That's where I've been.



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Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too.
- Frederick Buechner



If society prospers at the expense of the intangibles,
how can it be called progress?

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MacAibhistin 
Posted: 18-Sep-2004, 01:04 PM
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Hi Elspeth,
I wanted to respond to a few items in your post.

I wonder about what God really wants to happen in my life and what is the way it is due to other's free-will choices which have screwed up my life. Do we just live in it and long for the after-life? Such an unsatisifying way to live. So many questions. And, the church we attend has never been quite a fit for me.

Despite what some will say, I think God wants you to live a healthy and happy life. I know that the choices that others make often affect us negatively, and the best you can do is take care of yourself and your immediate family. Often, that means setting up clear boundaries to protect yourself from others. This makes us unpopular sometimes, but that is okay. We need to do what is healthiest for us first.

As for your church, if you are in the US then you will be surrounded by options. Take a look at some other fellowships. Achange won't hurt you, as long as you realise there is no perfect church or "perfect fit". Sometimes, however, a change can usher in a new perspective and a renewed sense of hope. smile.gif

Finally, we do kind of life in want for heaven. This concept was made especially clear to me as I studied history in graduate school. Pioneer life was what I looked at and it always amazed me why there weren't more suicides in those harsh times. Yet, people had a much stronger work ethic and a stronger faith than today, and it seems they always learned to make the best of things, no matter how difficult and painful their lives were. We all go through seasons where we are on a high and others where we are in a valley. Don't sit around waiting for God to tell you what to do. He may already be doing this and you don't recognise His voice as your own common sense.

I'll leave you with a Gaelic saying we used to use in Cape Breton - Mo Tho Gair. It basically means "don't worry too much," or "who cares". The implication is that you do what you can to make your life good, and deal with the rest with a light heart.

Hope this helps,
Rory
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Tassiecelt 
Posted: 18-Sep-2004, 10:11 PM
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Hi Elspeth, we have not really met, but I was sure you were a real person smile.gif

I hope you find fulfillment in your church, I know it can be difficult, I have challenges too, I pastor a small church that struggles to grow and it can be discouraging.

We have a God Who is able to lead us to where He wants us to be. That is ever a cause for rejoicing.


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WizardofOwls 
Posted: 18-Sep-2004, 10:53 PM
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QUOTE (Elspeth @ 18-Sep-2004, 12:48 PM)
Third, there are some I haven't seen about for a while. Tsargent and wizardofowls come to mind.

Hi Elspeth!

I'm still here! I've just had too much on my plate lately and feeling like I'm spread too thin! I know how you feel about your church! My wife and I haven't been for a while either! We love our church and want to go back but there has been some strife lately amongst our members. Wehave found it better to just stand back and wait til the smoke clears rather than get in the middle and be forced to choose sides. But it sure does make things difficult for me! I have always viewed my church as my filling station, where I go to get the fuel I need to make it through another few days, and right now I'm beyond running on empty, I'm sucking fumes! biggrin.gif Anyway, I'm still lurking about and though I don't always respond (often because I just don't feel that I have anything to add of any importance) I still read when I can!


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Slàn agus beannachd,
Allen R. Alderman

'S i Alba tìr mo chridhe. 'S i Gàidhlig cànan m' anama.
Scotland is the land of my heart. Gaelic is the language of my soul.
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tsargent62 
Posted: 27-Sep-2004, 08:35 AM
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I'm still here. I check in every once in a while. I haven't been on the Kirk and Chapel thread in a long time, though. I'm hoping that now I'm done with school I'll be able to be a little more present.

My spiritual life hasn't all that great of late, either. I still love God, but have felt some distance from him for the past few months. We haven't been real happy with our church, so we've hardly been there in months. From what we're told there has been a big transformation, so we may give it another try.


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Cheers!
Todd



Normal is a relative term. For some reason it is not a term my relatives use to describe me.


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CelticRoz 
Posted: 28-Sep-2004, 02:28 PM
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Hi Elspeth! I have wondered where you have been! I have missed you! I hear your pain and disappointment. It is hard to know that God is even there with you when you are going through such trying times, isn't it? But I know in my heart that he is. It all has a purpose that we will learn now or later.

I have not been happy with my church either and the last we spoke, I had decided I didn't even want to go to church anymore. My husband in his concern had us attend a different church, which was okay. I have been through many a church strife situations within the church, that it just soured me from getting involved. I just attend that is it. I decided that it is more of my attitude than anything. I am struggling with my spiritual life as well.

I will keep you in my prayers. Personally, I forgot about Joys and Concerns. Plus I always feel like I am always whining about something.

Great to hear from everybody in here as well.

Graham, I had no idea you were a Pastor of a church. That must have its blessings and strain as well. Bless you for your ministry!

Rory! I thought your statement about Pioneer times versus today was extroadinarily wise! thumbs_up.gif
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