Favourite Designs: Georges Hobeika ‘Flamingo Club’ Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection Pt.2
Tony Ward ‘Untouched’ Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection
Elie Saab ‘Summer Breeze’ Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection
Religious despair is often a defense against boredom and the daily grind of existence. Lacking intensity in our lives, we say that we are distant from God and then seek to make that distance into an intense experience. It is among the most difficult spiritual ailments to heal, because it is usually wholly illusory. There are definitely times when we must suffer God’s absence, when we are called to enter the dark night of the soul in order to pass into some new understanding of God, some deeper communion with him and with all creation. But this is very rare, and for the most part our dark nights of the soul are, in a way this is more pathetic than tragic, wishful thinking. God is not absent. He is everywhere in the world we are too dispirited to love. To feel him — to find him — does not usually require that we renounce all worldly possessions and enter a monastery, or give our lives over to some cause of social justice, or create some sort of sacred art, or begin spontaneously speaking in tongues. All to often the task to which we are called is simply to show a kindness to the irritating person in the cubicle next to us, say, or to touch the face of a spouse from whom we ourselves have been long absent, letting grace wake love from our intense, self-enclosed sleep.
Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer
“Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? The homemaker’s job is one for which all other’s exist.”
— C.S. Lewis, Christian Apologist
A Victorian archery outfit belonging to Mrs Fanny Giveen. C. 1855, now part of the collection of the Museum of London
Nehemiah 8:10
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
One of the most freeing things you can do as a Christian is start praying over EVERYTHING. And I don't mean "actually remember to pray over the important things that deserve divine attention" or something I mean the stupid stuff
"my videogame controller isn't working properly and it's messing up my game and it's really frustrating me, but I really wanted to play this right now" you have NO idea how often this actually works
"God I can't find my other shoe and I'm in a hurry, please help me find it" BOOM, found.
"I can't sleep because I'm getting myself worked up, give me peace." And it works. Consistently!
Yes we should treat God with reverence, but you misunderstand; he is our father, and our friend. Talk to him. Talk to him about anything and everything. He'll always hear it.
and if i may add, training yourself to pray for other people just in passing is good too. if i’m on the road and i see someone on a motorcycle, i pray that they’ll get home safe. if i’m at work and notice a customer seems a bit annoyed or down on themselves, i pray that they’ll be given peace. if i see someone having a good day, i thank Him for that gift for them, even if i myself am not having the best time.
praying for yourself and your friends is beautiful, and praying for strangers is just as much so
I mean we're spending our entire days with Jesus, so why not talk to him in our free moments, even about the smallest little things?
"wow God this tree is gorgeous, thank you for creating it!"
"that man was rude to me. I pray that by the time he gets home he will have colled down and won't be so rude to his family"
"pleeeease help me not be late for my bus"
"gee what a beautiful human, I praise you for making her like that!"
"I'm nervous about this interview. please help me and give me courage"
"thank you that the lady at the bank was kind, and didn't shout at me. I was so anxious about that"
"God I felt very uncomfortable during that one conversation today. I don't know what to do about it. Help me"
"That hamburger was delicious! Thank you that I got to have it!"
talk to Him about everything. Isn't that what a relationship is, after all?
"If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?» On several occasions I've had atheists yell back at me, "No!" No? "Wait, you claim to be a beacon of reason, yet when I ask you if something were true would you believe it, you say 'no!' How is that reasonable?" It's not. That's because reason or evidence isn't the issue for such people. They don't have an intellectual objection to Christianity they have an emotional, moral, or volitional objection. They've been hurt by Christians or think they've been let down by God but more often, as several atheists have admitted, they simply don't want to give up their autonomy and submit their will to God. They are not on a relentless pursuit of the truth, open to fol- lowing the evidence where it leads. They're on a happiness quest, not a truth quest. They reject Christianity because they think doing whatever they want will make them happy. So it's a heart issue, not a head issue. It's been said that this kind of atheist is looking for God as much as a criminal is looking for a cop. This resistance affects all of us at times. When we want to be our own gods, we're not open to accepting the true God.
Pascal put it this way, "People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive".
The researchers gave the participating women capsules containing powdered versions of the two foods. Thirty-five women consumed the equivalent of one medium carrot, and 34 women consumed the equivalent of 100 grams of chopped kale. The remaining 30 women didn't consume either.
Twenty minutes later, ultrasound scans showed that most of the fetuses exposed to the kale flavor seemed to grimace, while most exposed to the carrot appeared to be laughing. The control group, meanwhile, didn't have the same responses.
I had a two hour flight, so I painted a sketch I started a while ago
