#prayerful-habits

[thepersonalwords]

My prayer; Lord,open my eyes to see good visions.

Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

[quotelr]

Dear God,Let the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit be mighty upon me, so I can who you want me to be.

Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

[skania]

OnK Chapter 150

Honestly, the naive part of me wants to believe Aka is doing this in purpose, because this chapter alone highlighted like half the reasons why I find romantic!Aqua and Kana so poorly written lmao

Compare that to this:

The writing in Aqua's and Akane's is so much better it's unreal 😂

I'm so glad to have confirmation that Goro's regrets were appeased by knowing that Sarina is living her best life as Ruby. Goro acting like an over-protective dad and Aqua reaffirming that Ruby is his precious little sister were the highlights of the chapter for me. Figures that once Aka finally gives us some Aqua insight, he immediately makes it clear where Aqua stands in regards to Ruby lmao

Goro is often personified as the guilt and regrets Aqua carried into this new life, but he is much more than that.

He is an entire framework of thoughts, complexes and experiences right there at the center of the individual we have come to know as Aqua. He is the entire base Aqua is built on, because when he reincarnated, he was just Goro - albeit a Goro thrown into a completely different situation, and a completely different life.

Of course, the longer Goro lives as Aqua, the more Aqua he becomes. He has been developing a new framework of thoughts, complexes and experiences that are more befitting of his situation and based on his current life. This all results in the Aqua we've come to known.

Up to now, Aqua has been simultaneously existing as the man he once was and the young boy he has become. But the man he once was is now feeling at peace knowing that Sarina-chan has gotten a new chance at life, which leaves the young boy he has become with one less reason to cling to a painful past.

But things aren't that easy, as evidenced by the fact that even after being "freed" by his past guilt, Aqua still has his black stars. As Aqua, he has regrets, guilt and issues of his own to overcome.

But it isn't just the revenge and the guilt, really. This, for example, is a confusion that has followed Aqua into his new life:

Which takes me to...

It's so incredibly ironic that it's "Goro" of all people who brings up Kana 😭 I've mentioned before that Kana has a lot of parallels with Ai and Sarina, and I theorized this may be one of the reasons why Aqua seemed so drawn to her from the get-go. And now we have Goro himself, the one who originally admired all of those traits, saying that Aqua likes Kana. It's like clockwork, except the clock may be broken.

The reasons Goro cites are so shallow and superficial, too. Perfectly fitting for an Oshi or a teenage crush, but hard to think of as anything deeper than that (for me, at least).

Which is even more ironic, because we end the chapter with Kana declaring herself as "seriously in love" with Aqua, when she herself does nothing but describe him superficially 😭

Kana has been basically living a shoujo manga in her head and Aqua is her chosen Male Lead 😂 It's like that time she thought Aqua was "straight and sincere", or when she thought Akane was a "goody-two-shoes".

Meanwhile, Aqua and Akane:

Poor Kana is out of her depth in this manga, but maybe that's the point. Kana is perfectly normal and that's just what Aqua needs am I right?

Seriously though, that's why I've always said that to me it doesn't really matter if Aqua and Kana end up together, because their writing is just... not it 😭 It's always just one giant trope without any depth of substance. It's no coincidence that these last three chapters are filled with tropes and forced writing. That's the way this ship has always been written in my eyes, and that's why it does nothing for me regardless of whether it's intended to be canon or not 😭

Even this, for example:

Aqua confirming (yet again) that he has been aware of Kana's romantic feelings all along could back-up what I said here and here. But at the same time, this could just be part of something as simple and unsubtle as this:

It's like there are two wolves within Aka. One is great at subtlety and organic development, and the other completely sucks at it 😂

But enough about that, I'm sure Aka will give me plenty to complain about next chapter so I'll save it until then lmao

Hmmm where have I seen this before?

Oh, right!

Funny how Akane is magically not brought up this chapter. If we assume Aka is just writing obvious stuff without deeper meaning, then Akane isn't brought up because Aka considers Chapters 97 & 98 as their romantic closure. Or maybe all the theories about Aqua being a scumbag that only dated Akane because Kana wasn't available were right. But considering that would make Aqua trash not worth discussing, I can only hope Aka won't stoop that low lmao

If we give Aka the benefit of the doubt (does he even deserve it at this point tho), then Goro not bringing up Akane can be pretty fitting. Because if Aqua likes Akane, it wouldn't be because she fits the ideals and tastes of the man he once was. It would be because of everything they have been through together as Aqua and Akane.

Case in point, when Aqua thought of Kana and Akane back when he first thought he was free, he did so as fully himself. But I digress! 🤡

Another thing that caught my eye is that Aka deliberately changed the number of chapters in the previous volume just so these Aqua-Kana focused chapters can be in the same volume as the Aqua-Ruby focused ones. Ruby, who mainly loves Aqua because he once was Goro and Kana, who just loves Aqua. Maybe he's doing it to contrast them (in favor of Kana, duh), or maybe he wants to show they're two sides of the same infatuation coin. One can dream, at least!

Speaking about not nice though, what the fuck is this 😭 I know Akane is trying to push Kana's buttons, but baby girl is switching from I-only-see-him-as-a-son!! I swear!!! to Haha actually! so swiftly that she's going to give herself whiplash. Plus, can't Aka let Akane push Kana's buttons while saying less OOC stuff? Granted, it's not like Kana knows Akane well, so of course she doesn't think it's weird for Akane to say that she wants to be with a boy on Christmas lmao

Poor Akane has gotten her eyes shut so tightly close that it's a wonder she doesn't walk into walls. She's really acting like a robot on auto-pilot 😂 When in the world will you be allowed to have a chapter of your own, Akane? When will we be able to look into your heart?

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

guys please pray for me

[kyxgrey]

me: *prays to lord hypnos for peaceful sleep*

me: *sleeps twelve hours straight*

me: im still sleepy :(

lord hypnos: patience young one. 

[sprinkleofthunder]

When someone cries, I think they pray to their souls

Mother says souls exist, so does heaven and hell. Mother scolds me everyday because I never pray. Mother says I am too arrogant for not submitting to God.

I always quarrel back. Religion is a delusion, I say, rebellion roaring in my eyes and spreading across my veins.

Later in the week, when guilt, desperation and worries choke me and I can't breathe, I secretly go to the praying room in the middle of the night. To cry. I look in the eyes of the God and breakdown into tears. Because that's how I pray. That's how I pray to my soul. To the God that keeps my heart beating. That's how I pray for forgiveness from the God that gives me life.

I cry. I cry. I cry.

[shironezuninja]

I found the Supaidaman playlist through a YouTube Kids app, after 10 months of having my research getting cut off. Happy Halloween, indeed.🎃👻😆

[notetaeker]

April 8, 2024 - Monday | Ramadan Challenge 29/30

Clean up / organization day! Spent half the day looking for the pedal of my sewing machine and digging around in my room. I eventually found it and fixed my mom’s Eid abaya. Then I steamed a bunch of stuff and packaged 30+ gifts 😵‍💫 I even managed to waste time having a long heated discussion (with all parties aggressively agreeing) about a community problem.

Day 29: Ramadan is our honorable yearly guest who is now preparing to leave 💔 What are 3 gifts Ramadan is leaving for you as a parting gift until we meet it again (inshallah) next year.

Sunnah prayers

Mindfulness of behavior towards parents, serving them

Salah add-ons (dua, dhikr, etc)

[malkahpariyz]

This is totally your sign to go ahead and make you a prayer corner.

♥ Paris Dior

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

[spiderwarden]

So I was singing along to this song. And I half wondered if all the clerics can sing. Music is part of religion no matter what religion you’re in, and it’s been confirmed Minthara can sing. So like, does this apply to all clerics?? Can Shadowheart sing??

[7loveneverfails]

Habits are powerful. Working on changing some of mine.

It's weird, I listen to podcasts when I clean and cook and it's enjoyable but today I opted for worship music instead and the joy of it was so much more than the numb sort of pleasure I get from my political podcasts.

Why do I not choose joy more often?

Because choosing pleasure has become a habit.

So I am building habits that make room for joy. Specifically taking a sabbath rest weekly, reading my Bible before I get on my phone and my newest is praying briefly but intentionally three times a day.

Also adding Bible reading before bed.

[momentsbeforemass]

Real peace

(I keep coming back to this one)

“Do you wish to be at peace amidst suffering and temptation?

Then make it your principal endeavor to grow in habits of prayer and in union with Christ.

Have confidence in Him. He will make you victorious over your spiritual enemies and over yourself.

He will enlighten your darkness and sweeten your sufferings, and in your solitude and desolation He will draw nigh to you with His holy angels.”

That’s the recipe for peace. It sounds something one of the saints would say.

Just the sort of thing that you would expect from someone who has the luxury of spending their days in prayer. And not much of anything else.

From someone who doesn’t have to deal with all of the problems – or all of the people – that you and I have to deal with.

Well, it is the recipe for peace. And it does come from a saint (today’s saint), St. Vincent of Saragossa.

But St. Vincent didn’t have the luxury of spending his days in prayer and nothing else.

St. Vincent was a deacon and the spokesman for the bishop of Saragossa. He traveled throughout northern Spain, preaching during a time of persecution.

But what really makes St. Vincent’s recipe for peace stand out is what was going on in his life when he said it.

Because it’s not the advice of someone who lived a life of prayerful ease. It’s not the product of hours, days, or weeks of quiet contemplation.

It’s not even the advice of someone who prayed as he walked the long miles between the towns he was preaching in.

This is the advice of someone who was tortured for two days. And who is now mortally wounded and too weak to move.

He’s lying on the floor of a prison cell, dying.

And his fellow prisoners cannot believe how at peace he is. They ask how it’s possible and he gives them the recipe.

“Do you wish to be at peace amidst suffering and temptation?

Then make it your principal endeavor to grow in habits of prayer and in union with Christ.”

Because peace, real peace has nothing to do with what’s happening to us.

Real peace has everything to do with Who is within us.

Today’s Readings

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

:/

[angel-cryptid]

Just wanna let you know I’ve had so much green tea I’m on my second cup rn

hehe okay I'm jealous. I'm so full right now I can't eat anything else but I want to, help.

[harryhandstan]

my fellow deconstructed former Christians..what do you do now for comfort instead of prayer?