To be great is to be misunderstood.

The title quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  i never realized what a cool guy he is.

another quote by him i like is:

     "A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages."

basically..he's saying man should rely on his own thoughts and trust his own judgement. he says that man should rely and dig deeper into his own thoughts and not feel inferior to the great minds of people like Plato or Aristotle;  other famous philosophers, because they are no smarter or less significant than we, they just spoke their minds, even when what they believed contradicted modern beliefs...and for that--you have to give them credit. someone who will defend what they believe to the death. its admirable and i hope that if a situation arises like that for me, that i'll have courage and stand up for what i know in my heart.

this was pretty significant for me...due to recent occurances. we talked about murder in bible study today, it was a really interesting study. it put way more out there than "murdering is wrong" this passage had special significance to me.

Romans 12:17-21

.:Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance, I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: -If your enemies are hungry, feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you. Dont let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good-:.

i feel like this is one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, things we can do.  In the Lord's Prayer, it says: "...And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us..."

its never easy to turn the other cheek when you feel you've been wronged, and no one can change their entire personality over-night. its a process....a slow,  meticulous, grueling process meaning we have to watch ourselves every moment of our waking hours, being sure to try and do what is right even when we dont want ot or even worse, feel like we shouldnt need to. Handing things over to God to deal with seems so simple, yet its so hard. I know for me, i always want to do it myself, i'm INDEPENDENT and when i try to fix things myself, basically i'm telling God, "Yeah, i know you created the Heavens, me, all of creation as i and every other being knows it, but really God, i think i have this under control. Why dont you just sit down and let the big dogs take care of this one ok? i dont want you getting hurt or screwing things up." thats the dumbest thing you could ever do. God can ONLY help lighten our burdens, give us strength, courage, and self control when we need it most and trying to be Superwoman is an insult and completely ignorant of me; of anyone.  He doesnt create unnecesary mess for us, He loves, supports, and cherishes us like His children, which we infact are. We need to be cared for, we NEED protection, we need God and the sooner we realize AND accept his graces, life will be so much easier.

to quote my lovely friend Elizabeth Anne Leavitt:

--Life would be so much simpler if we all just learned to pray.--