paravanes:meditations

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing buy the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me clean, I know. (sometimes sung as "white I know.") No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus! -- Robert Lowry (1876---now in public domain) Am I looking for some other way to "fix my problems" and move forward in  life? There is nothing but the blood of Jesus that re-starts my experience, removes guilt in life and fear of death, that focuses my gifts on something worthwhile and worthy, that frees me to forgive myself and others, that empowers me to life gracefully and honestly even when surrounded by those who are not graceful nor honest. How can this be true? How does the death of the God-Man Jesus Christ make me whole? His death and suffering reconnect me to God. Through the blood of Jesus, I am no longer under guilt for the bad things I have done and the failed/...

Teens abusing parents may be considered a “final frontier” in the battle against domestic violence. I am not referring to what is sometimes called “elder abuse”, the situation in which seniors are abused by their adult children or caregivers (paid, family, or volunteer). I am referring to the increasingly common situation in which teenagers mistreat their parents, usually behind closed doors, in the home. The abuse behaviors include: hitting, name-calling, destruction of property—or instilling the fear that property will be destroyed if the teen does not get their way, stealing from the parents, hurting family pets, misuse of credit cards or other personal/financial information, disregard, dismissal, and disrespect not only of the parent’s authority, but of the parent as a person. These behaviors do not constitute regular teenage rebellion. I am not sure if there really is such a thing as “regular teenage rebellion.” Abuse, however, goes far beyond what is typically consid...