Holly Michael's Writing Straight

~ Connecting and Inspiring Along Life's Crooked Lines by Author Holly Michael

Holly Michael's Writing Straight

Tag Archives: wisdom

Pleasing Who?

04 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Holly Michael in Christianity, Inspiration, Writing

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Aesop's fable, church teachings, conservatism, Faith, God, Jesus Christ, liberalism, moral relativism, pleasing everyone, societal norms, teachings of Christ, the man the boy and the donkey, wisdom

Kristen Lamb blogs about the pitfalls in our writing careers when we try to please everyone. She references Aesop’s Fable: The Man, the Boy and the Donkey. The moral of the fable, below, is worth considering in every aspect of our life.

First, here’s the Aesop’s Fable Kristen referenced: A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?”

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.”

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.”

Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said:

“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your hulking son?”

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

After reading Kirsten’s blog, then reading this fable again, I considered that we should apply this lesson to all areas of our lives–especially today, on a Sunday, to our spiritual life.

Over the years, I’ve seen different church’s teachings swing in liberal directions because of the sway of society. Prayer books tossed and rewritten. Liturgy changed. Reverence to God diminished.

imagesCAFBP7I0The world has changed from how it was when I was a child. I’ve seen friends dump their entire belief system because they were told their thinking was “old-fashioned.” I once heard a grandmother say, “Well, I used to think that way, but now I go with the flow.” It made me sad to think a woman, so late in her life, would throw away what she’d believed for her entire life to “go with the flow.” I’m talking about moral teachings that society has maintained for….well….I guess since Jesus taught them to his disciples, or actually since Moses brought them down on tablets from Mount Sinai.

untitled (8)Not to say there wasn’t sin in the world since the beginning of creation, but for the longest time on earth, most people could agree on what was right and what was wrong.

I was raised in a conservative home. By the time I left home for college, I knew right from wrong. That didn’t mean I always did the right thing (I was a typical college kid) but when I did wrong, I certainly knew it.

imagesCA5ORRNF

Then, something happened to me during my first semester at college. I had a shift in my thinking. My professors challenged my beliefs by teaching moral relativism and all sorts of other nonsense. I thought I was gaining an open mind. I wasn’t. I was losing myself and giving up all that I’d learned in Sunday School, all that my grandparents and parents taught me. I was losing my groundedness and my faith.

imagesCAN0ZHHDA few years later, maturing and following Jesus’ teachings brought me back to my original belief system. Whew! (Thank you Jesus, for never letting go of me.)

imagesCAIY7KCL

And my lesson in this post is the same as Aesop’s with an added bit of wisdom: When in doubt about anything in your career or life, don’t be like the father and his boy in Aesop’s Fable. Seek the wisdom of God. Don’t follow what society dictates. Don’t always listen to your peers. Follow Jesus’ teaching. That way, you’ll never be carrying a donkey. untitled (2)

Have a great week!

imagesCA0M2UU0

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Great Conversations

28 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by Holly Michael in Christianity, Inspiration, Photography

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Altar of Repose, Bishop Leo Michael, Blog, getting to Heaven, HCCAR, Heaven, Holly Michael, Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, I am the way the truth and the life, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John 14, Maundy Thursday, St. James Anglican Church, The Father, Trinity, wisdom, www.writingstraight.com

A few years ago, on the way to the grocery store, a small voice spoke from the back of the SUV.

“Mom, how do you get to Heaven?”

Big question for my four-year old to be pondering while I was contemplating whether to buy white or wheat bread.

While I thought about the best answer to give a preschooler and also why he would even ask such a question out of the blue, he said, “Never mind, Mom. I know. Jesus comes and takes your hand.”

images

“Yep,” I said. “That’s how.”

Simple wisdom from the mouth of a child. From that day onward, I had a deeper understanding about the pathway to Heaven, to eternal life, to our final home. Jesus will be there, with his outstretched hand. Who would not take it?

This morning, I read another beautiful conversation along these same lines that also left me in awe and wonder. 

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going,” Jesus said.

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

images (3)

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.”

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“Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

What a conversation. Incredible messages. I could really “hear” this conversation, so full of hope, promise, love. And that last line, “You can ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Amazing.

It’s Holy Week. Happy Maundy Thursday! Tonight we have Mass, washing of the feet, stripping of the altar and adoration in the Altar of Repose. My husband, Bishop Leo Michael, took this lovely picture through the altar rail. Hope you all have a blessed Easter!20130328_171436_resized

 

 

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Einstein and Christianity

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Christianity, Inspiration

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

Albert Einstein, Armando Silva, Art, Bible, Blog, Christianity, Colorado, Colordao, Einstein, Einstein and Jesus, Faith, God, Greeley, Imagination, Inspiration, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Public art, Scripture, wisdom, www.writingstraight.com

I discovered this public art in downtown Greeley, Colorado, spray painted by local artist, Armando Silva.

Since Einstein was one smart guy, I chose ten (eleven, including the last one) of his quotes to share how they relate to my Christian faith.

1. Imagination is more important than knowledge

 – As a writer, imagination is a vital tool of my trade. It outranks knowledge. Knowledge is learning something already established, looking back. Imagination takes us into the future, new possibilities and discoveries, deeper spirituality. Consider Ephesians 1:17-18: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. I love the words, “the eyes of your heart.” I believe the Holy Spirit guides our imagination and “eyes of our hearts,” to greater depths.

2. There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.

– When you open the “eyes of your heart” to miracles and truly expect them, they happen. Try it. It works and you’ll be amazed. Einstein knew this.

One of our little churches had no Sunday school materials, no money, no nursery toys, and suddenly so many little kids. I’d looked around last week at Goodwill and other places and found nothing. On Sunday I told God what we needed. After Mass we turned the corner past our church to discover a larger church had a front yard full of Sunday School materials (some brand new) and nursery toys. Free! (I offered a small donation). Miracle? You bet. I could write a blog a day about miracles and never run out of stuff to write. The Bible is filled with God’s transforming miracles. 1 Corinthians 12:28 says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.” Our God is the God of miracles.

3. Every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.  

– If more people truly believed this, along with Einstein, the world would change dramatically. Are you a giver or a taker? St. Francis said, “It is in giving that we receive.” Though at times it was painful to give beyond my comfort zone, I’ve never once regretted my acts of giving.  Acts 20:35 says, In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

4. When the solution is simple, God is answering.

– Sometimes we wrack our brains for answers. Then, we get wise, pray, and give it to God. Bam! The the solution is there and we become amazed at how easy that was. God is loyal. God is just. God likes us. He provides answers. Matthew 7:7 says: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

5. True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness.

– At the beginning of each Sunday Liturgy in our Holy Catholic Church, Anglican Rite the priest reads the Summary of the Law from Matt. 22:37-34: THOU shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Truly following these words of Jesus (and Einstein) is real living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness.

6. Only a life lived for others is a life worth while

– Or as Scripture says in John 15:13: There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

7. Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Not force, but prayer, petition, and thanksgiving will gain the peace of God in our hearts.

8. The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.

Consider The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:14-31. The Rich man basically did nothing to harm Lazarus, the beggar at his gate. His only sin: ignoring Lazarus. When Lazarus died the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. When the rich man died he went to Hades and was in torment. Luke 19: 11-27 also gives us the parable of the talents, where the one who doesn’t use his gifts is condemned. Need I say more about doing nothing.

9. He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.  

I love to watch the world through the eyes of a child. They are always wide open with wonder and awe. This is how we need to look at the world and this is the way we should worship God. Maintaining awe and wonder keeps our souls alive. Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” 

10. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

One of my favorite songs is, Fairest Lord Jesus 

Fair are the meadows, Fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

You can’t separate God from nature. It’s His creation. When we admire and respect nature, we admire and respect God’s handiwork. I have a dear friend, who thanks God every time she notices beauty in nature.

Albert Einstein was no dummy. His words are wise and are backed by Holy Scripture. Einstein and Jesus: I think they were friends. I think they’re hanging out together now.

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Journeys: Tamil Nadu and Of Dust and Kings

30 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Guest Blogging, India, Inspiration, Journeys: In Writing and Life, Photography

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Blog, Down Syndrome, Holly Michael, India, Love, Matt Patterson, My Emily, Of Dust and Kings, photography, T.E. Hanna, Tamil Nadu, wisdom, www.writingstraight.com, Yercaud

Today, I journey over to the blog: Of Dust and Kings. TE Hanna, a Master of Divinity student at Asbury Theological Seminary, recently asked this question on his blog Of Dust and Kings: “What pieces of wisdom have you picked up from unlikely sources?” I responded in his comments and he asked me to share more.

And speaking of journeys…

A couple of photos I shot in Yercaud, a hillstation in Tamil Nadu, India. Below: Yes, that’s a road. Yes, we really traveled on it. (with a 4 wheel drive Jeep.)

Now journey over to TE Hanna’s site (one of my favorite blogs) where I share about the lessons of love I learned from an unlikely source.

May all of your journeys be blessed!

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Done this: Regular freelance ghostwriter and online editor for Guideposts for Teens/Sweet 16 Magazine, creator/editor of a magazine for Wal-Mart Corp., journalist, newspaper features writer, published in a variety of national magazines and local newspapers, script writing/editing for corporations. Doing this now: author of fiction and nonfiction, blogger, and editor of Koinonia Magazine. I’m the wife of Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, an Anglican Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church-Anglican Rite. Mom to three great kids: Nick (#81 Rajin Cajuns), Betsy (Super cute professor) and Jake (T1D & NFL player) Also, enjoy my travels extensively across the United States and internationally.

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