#turning to God

[momentsbeforemass]

Stuck on us

It’s easy to see problems. To spot how things are going wrong.

When someone else is doing it.

So let’s do that. Today’s Gospel shows us the moment where James and John are bugging Jesus about sitting on His right and His left. When Jesus is crowned in His glory.

With everything that’s going on, with the rising threats against Jesus. And them. With what Jesus just got done telling them about His death, this is what they’re worried about?

Yes. That’s exactly what they’re worried about. Which tells us a lot about them, and what’s going on inside them.

Because there’s only one way that anyone can be this oblivious. And it all turns on what they’re listening to.

They’re not listening to Jesus. They didn’t hear a thing that Jesus said. So what are they listening to?

The sound of their own insecurities.

Whether it shows up like this, in a demand for special treatment. Or if it takes the form of the need to be better than someone else. Or attention seeking. Or some other unhealthy leakage.

All of it shows that someone is focused on the wrong thing. That they are meditating, ruminating on something they don’t like. Some perceived grievance about what someone did or didn’t do. What they’re afraid of, how bad things are, or what they don’t have.

All of which are just different ways of getting stuck on something they don’t like about themselves.

Sound familiar? It should. If we’re honest. Because it’s something that all of us are capable of. Something that all of us do or have done at some point (maybe both).

How does this happen to us?

It happens when we take our eyes off God and get stuck on us. It’s easy to do, because we’re really fond of us.

The thing is, when we do that, we create an opening. One that the Enemy will happily exploit. To harness our natural bent towards the negative.

And since our eyes are stuck on us? The Enemy will be happy to offer us a continuous stream of our failures, our shortcomings, and everything we least like about ourselves.

Left unchecked, we will find that we are spending more and more time focused on the worst parts of us. Meditating on things that – if we gave them half a moment’s thought – we would never intentionally revisit. In a toxic, self-poisoning parody of praying without ceasing.

Because that’s what meditating is. Not some mystical practice for those sitting cross-legged on the floor with their eyes closed.

Meditating is just thinking over and over about something. It’s a skill that all of us already have. We just know it by another name – worrying.

So what do we do about it? Give it half a moment’s thought. Literally.

The next time we catch ourselves worrying, meditating on something negative. Whether it’s some perceived grievance, what we’re afraid of, what we don’t have, or just something we don’t like about ourselves.

Stop. Actually give it half a moment’s thought. Realize what we’re doing.

And don’t try to handle it by ourselves. Whatever it is, whatever we’re telling ourselves, take it to God in prayer.

It helps if you do it with a sense of humor – “God, I’m doing it. Again.” – because it won’t be one and done.

Let’s be clear, turning to God isn’t about ignoring our problems. It’s about keeping them in perspective, while we deal with them. Instead of letting them take over.

Turning away from ourselves. Developing a habit of the right kind of “worrying,” meditating on God. Instead of on ourselves. Takes time.

But in the end, it’s the only perspective that can keep us grounded in reality. Instead of ending up stuck on ourselves, and lost in negativity.

Today’s Readings

[perplexi-glass]

I have delivered🫡

Based on my HC from… literally half a day ago blasting 600 strikes on repeat can do wonders apparently

[problemnyatic]

when will we talk about the willful helplessness epidemic on here. So many people on this god forsaken website demand to have any and all things that exist outside their personal experiences directly, personally pre-chewed and spoonfed to them. And when you do, they'll then ask for you to swallow for them, too, because, you see, in THEIR experience..,

[lotrmusical]

never let anyone tell you that trawling through mediocre victorian poetry isn't worth it. we just happened upon an absolute BANGER of a worm poem. go read it or else 🪱🪱🪱

[hamletthedane]

The movie Wicked is proof that any source material can be vastly improved by simply making the intense female friendship much gayer + the mutual male love interest both wildly bisexual and lowkey down to just be their third

[redhoodfucker69]

bastille has done more for the queer community by just making all of their love songs about "you" instead of specifying a gender than taylor swift has in all of her discography. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[1whoconquers]

Abandon God, and He'll Abandon You: A Warning for Individuals and Nations

The WarningAbandoning God comes with grave consequences, not just for individuals but for entire nations. Scripture gives us a chilling picture of what happens when humanity rejects Him. Romans 1 warns us of the devastating trade-off: exchanging the truth of God for lies. When people or nations dismiss His authority and refuse to acknowledge Him, God allows them to follow their own path—a path…

[mangozic]

my dead goth son and his friendly neighborhood personified concept of insanity

[fraternum-momentum]

give me your complete and unwavering devotion.

[hinamie]

morning glory

[theoldkyokodied]

Really quick doodles of a few scenes from the stream yesterday. Including combat flirting taunting, gale’s magnificently distracting shoes and.. whatever you wanna call gale agreeing to give 15 gold to astarion 😐😑😐😑😐 (that’s me blinking)

[pacipinka]

*taps mic* is this thing on? Yeah okay so every vampire in the vampire chronicles is turned at critical a moment in their lives and beyond just the body they are in when they are turned, their mentality stays at that standstill for their entire immortality, Lestat was turned against his will, he was clinging onto Magnus begging him to be freed, so he’s constantly seeking freedom and only finding loneliness and thus turning back to people again and again, however he can’t STAND being told what to do, since he desires agency in his life so desperately, Armand was turned after years and years of abuse and lack of control but such a desire for genuine love, by a man he ‘loved’ so wholly who he felt was barring his love from him, he needs control in his life, he needs a ‘master’ but he does not desire it, it does not fulfill him, he is trapped in a room but the door is unlocked! Louis was mourning his brother, he felt like an utter failure and so he’s always seeking family, seeking people he can care for, he can coddle, he can prove he is good too, but he loves people who either cannot stand coddeling and need a sense of looseness to live (Lestat) or people who grow out of coddling who prove to Louis he will always fail the people he loves (Claudia), Claudias turning, in many MANY ways mirrors lestats in that it was against her will, she was stolen from her home, and in her immortality she desires freedom but unlike Lestat does not have the agency/ form to get it, she will always be small, she will always be looked down on, even by Lestat who cannot deny how much she is just like him *taps mic* ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!! NONE OF THEM CAN BREAK THE CYCLE!!! TO BREAK IT WOULD BE TO UNDO THE VERY FIBER OF THEIR IMMORTAL SELVES!! THE CYCLE IS THE BLOOD THEY DRINK IT IS THE HEART IN THEIR CHEST AND IT ROLLS AND ROLLS DOWN THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND IT CAN NEVER BE STOPPED BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER STOP LOVING EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dorothywonderland]

play stupidGod games win stupidGod prizes - Hermes, probably

[themetalhiro]

Moral dilemma

[flagellant]

yeah we might be brothers in christ but so were cain and abel so shut the fuck up before i decide to find a rock about it

[nothing-impt]

Athena in my mind eats bird feed cause she's technically an owl.

Edit: ignore how the panels are inconsistent I’m using some obscure art app and idk how to actually do comics lol)