Perfectionist (don't quit!)

Definitely not my office space.

 I'm a recovering perfectionist. I like things to be perfect and in order. Though if you look around my office you might think otherwise. Why is that? 

The reason is because if you can't have it perfect then don't try. 

Yes, it's a bad motto but too often I have learned that perfectionists will quit or not even try if they can't get it perfect. 

Now, I'm not in favor of shoddy work, but we need to give ourselves the grace to do work we know isn't going to be perfect. What we may find when we do start giving ourselves grace is that we can discover the truth that nothing in this world is perfect, but it can be good.

I could say more but I've got editing to do. I've been putting it off because I know I won't get it perfect (yes, I know I have issues). Let's beat them with God's help.

James McDonald on Unsplash

Finding Carl Rueben

 

Okay, this is just an introduction to a story/video game/ movie. 

The question I have is: Would you go and find Carl Rueben?

Relativity

The City Between

Relativity is a small part of the city. It is located on an island in the middle of this metropolis. After WW2, the government set all kinds of underground passages and safe rooms. The island was to be a place of refuge in case of a nuclear war. It was to be a kind of underground city. The project was abandoned soon after completed as ten percent of the people who went to the island were always lost. Another 1 percent disappeared. The one or two of that one percent who disappeared for a time returned.

The ones who returned gave a tale of walking through doorways and ending up in other places and times. The only people they meet along the way were the dead, the lost, or the insane. No doorway took you back the same way the only way out was forward. The only road that was safe was Bakker Street which crossed the whole island and took the bridge out of the city. Once across the river, the people were safe.

The city is run down though people still live there. Things disappear all of the time, especially food. Nothing a person lays down is safe. Most people think the island is haunted, the ones who returned tell a different tale, the lost people take it. It is also said that if you climb through a doorway you may end up going down. The ones who returned said they learned to never leave a doorway completely unless they knew it was safe. The final disturbing bit of information was that doorways were not always what they appeared.

Carl Rueben an eccentric older man goes to Relativity every week. He never strays far from Bakker street and is known to leave food, and all kinds of supplies there. Last week, he disappeared after reportedly being dragged into an alleyway by a group of young men. The police caught a couple of the gang. When interviewed they said he ran off and they lost him. They claim he took something of theirs, but they won’t say what it was.

So, do you want to go find Carl Rueben? His wife has placed a reward for his return or proof of his demise. The reward won’t make you independently wealthy, but you could pay off everything and you could take that yearlong cruise you’ve always wanted to. Just to find one man. You’ve never like Relativity, but…

Jr Korpa on Unsplash

There be monster in there (the problem with the mirror).

 I will explain the title just consider this first. 

I have heard a lot of complaints lately about how bad a certain Christian business person is. I heard the quotes some taken from early on in the pandemic when they said they didn't think it would be as bad as proof they keep that opinion after things developed. Claims of being unfair and hypocritical. Proofs as the articles put it that exceptions were being made for some and not others. 

What is the truth? 

I know that anyone who rises to any degree of success is going to be hit. People love to knock down the big guy, prove that they are no better than we are. 

I guess there is some truth in the article and maybe even in some of the claims, but I don't know.  To be honest, considering they aren't in ministry or teaching any false doctrine it doesn't influence me or those in my church, I shouldn't worry about it. 

The thing is people really are up in arms about it. I can't help wonder if it's because of what has happened or as an excuse to dismiss or destroy what the person is selling.  

However, I have to ask myself do I want to be judged the same way this person is. What if every uniformed statement I make, every bad decision I follow, every sin I committed were held up as proof of what kind of person I was? I would want to hide.  I know I have misspoken. I have done things wrong. I know I am not perfect. However, I'm sure at some time someone will on a bigger level than they have in the past when my writing becomes more popular, but I'm not looking forward to it.

Ultimately though I have to consider not what others will do but what I should do. 

I have to tread carefully lest I enter the world of the judgemental. I don't want to become the person Jesus warns us about who is judging others. I don't want to become the very monster I am seeing in others. I want to give grace. Not just to those I tend to agree with but also to those whom I believe are wrong. To be not like the monsters who want to cast stones. but like Jesus who both condemned the sin (go and sin no more) but also didn't throw the stone.

I don't want a problem in my mirror, I don't want to see a monster. 

P.S. As far as the picture goes. There are too many monster images out there that will take away a peaceful night's sleep, I went with something softer. 

Thanks to https://unsplash.com/@alschim

Our/Your Generation (a wrong thinking)

 

Our generation:

 

What generations? There are trends in certain generations at least in the West, but this hasn’t always been the case and it isn’t even a blanket statement now. Not everyone of a generation is ___________(fill in the blank). I think sometimes the term generation is used to put a group of people in a box. This Box can then be handled in a certain way according to certain rules. The problem is that this might be true to see societal moves for academic study, but it is horrible to use when it comes to people as individuals. It is also horrible to use to justify one’s personal choices.

If you are doing something it is because you believe it not because of your generations. There are lots of people who choose to not believe, live or conform to their generation. So saying that your generation does/believes something gives a person the justification they are not alone or perhaps it isn’t their fault. But how we continue to live our lives is always our choice. It is always our fault if there is a fault to bear.

When we look at other people and say your generation. We lump persons into a box and can justify dealing with the individual the way we would deal with the box of ideas we have decided they are in. This is also true when it comes to genders and race but that is another subject. Once we put someone in that box, we can deal with them as we do would that box.

We need to remember we deal with people, not generations. They may have some of the aspects of one group but let’s not be too quick to put someone in that box or even to put ourselves in that box. For the latter when we put ourselves in a box we surrender our choices to a group. We need to own them and say they are ours for the good or the bad.    

The Heirs of NoSera

 

The Heirs of NoSera

 

The Scepter, the Standard, and the Shield.

 

C.S. Areson

 

 

 

More than Fiction…

 

 

This book is a Fairy Tale. However, the Scepter, the  Standard, and the Shield exist. I would be remiss to say that the crowns and keys are also in the hands of those to whom they belong.

 

The question is can you find your own key to the magical world of imagination?

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time Charles and Michelle discovered the magical kingdom of NoSera. Charles found the doorway to this kingdom in a cedar chest belonging to his mother. Michelle discovered through a wardrobe as most people who find such kingdoms do. They had many grand adventures, fell in love, married, had children, and became the rulers of the kingdom. The world outside NoSera kept them busy and as they grew older, they felt it was time to pass on the kingdom to others. This is the story of how they passed on the Kingdom of NoSera to their grandchildren.

King Charles and Queen Michelle had three wonderful grandchildren. They were not perfect, but they were the perfect age to discover the land of NoSera. The King and Queen wanted them to rule NoSera in a way that was fair to each of them and to the people of NoSera.

Of course, the first thing they had to do was to discover the kingdom. Like all magical kingdoms, it takes imagination to find. The King and Queen could not just open a door and take the three children in. The children had to find their own way into NoSera. Wardrobes and books were the way most discovered magical worlds, but each person was different. The King and Queen knew that their grandchildren would have to find the kingdom on their own.

 

To help them find their way, the King and Queen commissioned three magical keys. The keys would not unlock any door in their world, but with imagination, they could help them discover a way into NoSera. The keys gave them the idea there was something to be unlocked. The first step to opening the imagination. The keys might serve as a compass to direct them in the correct way to go. The keys though unable to unlock any door in this world should open many in the kingdom of NoSera. Finally, the keys being what they were, and each connected to the child’s imagination could do things that no one, not even the king and queen, could conceive.

 

With his own hands the King forged a crown for each child. One of gold filled with gems, one of purest gold, and a special one whose power even the king did not understand of sapphire blue. These would show all the people of NoSera the special relationship the children had with the royal family. The crowns would also give them access to the castle which sat in the middle of the kingdom. The creation of the crowns flowed from the imagination of the king. He knew the crowns would bring only good, so the king felt safe giving these talismans to his grandchildren. The king well knew that when he forged these items from his imagination that the crowns would bring amazing and unexpected things into their lives.

 

Finally, the king and queen worked together and with others to create a special gift for each grandchild. These items would give them the ability to rule the kingdom of NoSera together. Each talisman was crafted for a specific child. The children could switch, but each would work best when in the hands of the one it was given. A child could hold two of them but if tried there would be a surprise. These magical items would only work when held one at a time. If one of the children held two of them the magic of neither would work. They would also not work if taken by someone other than family

 

The oldest child received a scepter. This scepter gave her the right to make decrees and laws which would help the people of NoSera. She discovered the Scepter would only work when the holder was in the throne room of the castle sitting in the sovereign’s chair.

 

 

The middle child received a standard with the crest of NoSera on it. The standard gave the holder the right to enter the throne room with anyone he wanted. If ever there was a battle the standard held another power. When the Standard was held high, it would bring victory to the standard-bearer’s side.

The final gift for the youngest was the shield of NoSera. The shield which also held the crest of NoSera would cause those around to defend and enforce the laws and decrees of the land. The shield could also give extra strength to the wielder when used to defend those weaker than himself or in a cause that was noble and right. 

 

When the children received their gifts, they were surprised and happy. Nevertheless, they had no idea what they truly held. The only clue came in a small story that their grandfather the king had written for them.

If you like what you have read so far, you can get the book on Amazon.