Picture yourself spending some time with congenial friends, sharing your lives and pictures from your cell phones." They're curious about that cool game, song, movie, camping trip, art show, or other event that fascinated you. You talk about all kinds of stuff, poetry, styles, personal achievements, relationships, and bad days. You can share your inner child, and laugh together. They sympathetically listen to your feelings about serious topics like politics or climate change, even when they don't agree.
Personal validation comes from paying attention to one another, giving more than you get. Everyone respects you and themselves, despite our amazing range of personal tastes and interests. They'll tell you they don't agree with an idea or behavior without implying you're a bad person or somehow deficient. It's an "I'm OK, You're OK" kind of fellowship, where nobody tries to make himself look better by picking on somebody else.
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Comment by Joan Denoo on January 19, 2013 at 1:38pm
Comment by Ian Mason on January 19, 2013 at 10:57am Some very heartwarming accounts of brave lives lived in defiance of adversity. They give others hope and encouragement. Thank you so much.
Love the Ikea cat and Tiger photo booklover.
Thanks for sharing your family stories with us.
I enjoy reading about your daily lives here.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Comment by booklover on January 19, 2013 at 9:20am
Comment by booklover on January 19, 2013 at 8:26am Joan, you are right! My Mom has even said that even though she and my father truly loved each other, she knew in her heart he would always be a 'playboy' and not someone who would be able to handle responsibility. She wanted to get the hell away from her Mother. She loved my Grandpa, but he would just stay quiet to keep the peace with my grandmother. That makes me mad about him. My grandmother was not an alcoholic or anything, just a bad mother and truly a bitch! She physically took care of her children, but mentally was horrible to them.
I think that my getting married so young was also because I wanted the security of having a husband. My Mom was single again at the time, and I was sharing a room with my sister. I didn't have any real plan for after high school. I went to community college and worked part-time, both off and on because of anxiety and panic-attacks (and we didn't know what they were at the time, I just thought I was crazy in a way my friends weren't), and I clung to my boyfriend, now my husband. I'm lucky I chose a stable man who turned out to be a really good husband and father, but we had to grow-up together along the way.
Comment by Joan Denoo on January 19, 2013 at 1:55am Grinning Cat, this is a wonderful resource. I can't imagine I have never seen or heard of it before. Thank you so much. The language is strong, it does not mince words, and it is a powerful message. Thanks.
"A thriving church community can be an amazing thing. But it is the people who make that happen, not any imaginary being."
Future wrote, a page or two ago:
In my vision of a perfect world, all churches would be shuttered not because they had no choice, but because their members started thinking critically and left.
In line with Joan Denoo's comment, we can hope they'll become secular fellowships that do things to improve the world, as the author of Why Won't God Heal Amputees would like to see:
What About Churches
[...]
A thriving church community can be an amazing thing. But it is the people who make that happen, not any imaginary being. Once the imaginary being is gone, churches continue to exist as communities of people who enjoy each others' company, who help one another in times of need, and who focus on goodness and good deeds for the benefit of society as a whole. What's not to like about that? By removing the imaginary being, church attendance may actually go up, because a strong church has a lot to offer.
Comment by Ruth Anthony-Gardner on January 18, 2013 at 11:09pm Great video, Joan! Thanks. I have to share that in Parenting Little Heathens too. Have a great night, all.
Comment by Joan Denoo on January 18, 2013 at 9:48pm 'I'm a Daddy and I Know It' YouTube video goes viral
Hope this one works.
Comment by Joan Denoo on January 18, 2013 at 7:30pm
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