Annmarieamick's Blog

ama — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:22:45 +0000

To sum up, we are sent into the world, like Jesus, to serve. For this is the natural expression of our love for our neighbors. We love. We go. We serve. And in this we have (or should have) no ulterior motive. True, the gospel lacks visibility if we merely preach it, and lacks credibility if we who preach it are interested only in souls and have no concern about the welfare of people’s bodies, situations, and communities. Yet the reason for our acceptance of social responsibility is not primarily in order to give the gospel either a visibility or a credibility it would otherwise lack, but rather simple uncomplicated compassion. Love has no need to justify itself. It merely expresses itself in service wherever it see need.
Christian Mission in the Modern World, John R. W. Stott

ama — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:06:52 +0000

Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.
J. I. Packer

IV

ama — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:05:50 +0000

tres

ama — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:29:21 +0000

ama — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:23:23 +0000

The prophet’s role was simply and objectively to speak what God wished to say. Whether or not the message was received was between God and his people. And yet to preach such a burning message, and to know that it was God’s word for the faithful, who rejected it, was painful. But this was the pain of the prophetic office, and to be chosen by God as his prophet always meant, in part, that the prophet would share in God’s suffering.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy, Eric Metaxas

ama — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:11:04 +0000

Have you ever watched an infant sleep? I’d venture to say it’s one of the most beautiful images the Lord has given us. The breath and the ease at with which it comes. No one has to tell an infant how to breathe. Naturally they understand to breathe in and their stomach completely pokes out. As they breathe out it comes back down. It’s honestly quite fascinating.

Do you see how humanity has lost this ability as it ages? Our breathe becomes quicker as our days become shorter. There’s no time to eat, much less be concerned about our breathing. Thus we induce panic attacks, insomnia, anxiety and so on. We enter into counseling because what else can we do? We blame how fast life is and quickly shake off relaxation techniques because we’re obviously too busy for that.

But what if we took the time? To breathe. Simply breathe. Like an infant. Slowly in. And slowly out.

Try it.

Did you get a little dizzy? If you’re breathing from your diaphragm you did. Why is that, you ask? It’s because your brain isn’t used to having that much oxygen – the oxygen it NEEDS. The amount of oxygen that it was created and intended to have.

We spend our lives destroying the way the Lord intended our bodies to function. I challenge you to take a few minutes to simply sit still and breathe today.

I’d argue that it could save your life.

ama — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:57:59 +0000

…but I’ve spent time in libraries, not all of it asleep, and I have learned this: every civilized culture in history has discriminated against its abnormal members. ‘Schizophrenia’ is a civilized Western term, and so are ‘witch’ and ‘misfit’ – terms used to rationalize the cruel and unusual punishment doled out to extraordinary people.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Tom Robbins

ama — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:02:58 +0000

book porn

Red likes to send me things like the above link to distract me while i study.

fun fact about me: i really want an epic library one day.

no shame in my mild obsession with books

ama — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:32:54 +0000

While sitting in my favorite chair at my house, textbooks sprawled out in front of me, I decide to grumble about the fact that I’m missing the National Championship to study.

Then I promptly fist pump and shout, “Taking one for the team!! The team of counselors!!!!!”

Toni proceeds to yell, “Helping professions!!! Fighting burning out!!!!”

This is how grad students in the helping professions get hyped up

#doinwerk

ama — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:15:15 +0000

Burnout is the index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. It represents an erosion in values, dignity, spirit, and will – an erosion of the human soul.
Maslach and Leiter (1997), Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions