Session Notes

www.lewrockwell.com

At the beginning of the scientific era, men had the hope that the ability to discover truth would free mankind from superstition, dogma, and the service of power. The belief in truth was powerful. Truth would deliver justice and bring an end to status-based privileges and the falsehoods propagated by privilege. The faith in truth was short-lived. Today propaganda is everywhere in the ascendancy.

All I can add is that it’s about time someone stood up and said it.

Your Child’s Emotions:

“Encourage your child to use words to express her feelings. These should be words used to describe what your child feels rather than words used to hurt others.”

This is an excellent point about sharing one’s experience of the feelings. However it also stresses one is not allowed to hurt others.

When Your Parents Divorce:

“ in any case forgiveness can be a challenge, I pray and ask God for strength. I ask Him to change my heart to be graceful toward others, just as He is graceful toward me. Daily as I choose to forgive and not become bitter, negative feelings flow away and peace floods my heart.”

This is an excellent article to grieve your way through parental/separation and divorce to God. It outlines that confusion as one feels love for both parents yet also feels obligated to take sides/peacemake. The only exception I have to it is the tendency to mix the old covenant of sin with the new covenant of grace. The old has been done away with in Christ. The only law that remains is love and the true gospel is peace/joy. This truly glorifies God.

When Your Kids Divorce:

“For example, what about your child moving back home? Some counselors caution parents about the implications that come with putting out either a ”Vacancy“ or ”No Vacancy“ sign. Perhaps your child should explore other options, such as moving into a smaller apartment or taking on tenants, instead of returning home. How much financial or material support can/should you offer? Consider conditions on your help, such as whether your giving should be a gift or a loan, and for how long. Other legal and financial questions must also be considered, such as your will and raising grandchildren, directly or indirectly, if the need arises.”

This article focuses on adult children of divorce. It stresses blaming, especially of childcare decisions makes reconciliation difficult.

One preacher’s message: Have hotter sex – America Unzipped – MSNBC.com :

“No inhibitionsThis literalist view cuts both ways. Beam has been attacked by some conservative Christians for his liberal take on certain subjects. Much of what he preaches contradicts the teaching of other sects, such as Roman Catholicism. But he argues that if the Bible does not forbid it, you can do it. So bring on masturbation. Try any position in the Kama Sutra (but refer to drawings, please, not pictures of real people). Wife away on business? Have phone sex. Birth control is good. Even anal sex is OK if (and Beam believes this is a big if) it does no harm to the body.”

This is a refreshing article on sex. It even has suggestion on how to make male oral play more pallitable for the women. I disagree with the law parts.

Money and Your Marriage:

“Money. It’s the one thing there never seems to be enough of and the one thing couples fight about most. She likes to shop and he likes to save. She wants to save for a rainy day and he wants to splurge on the trip of a lifetime. Each has their own definition of needs versus wants. ”

This is a good synopsis of the marital trouble regarding money. The definitions need to be surrendered to God for His priorities to be lived out in His most timely way. Both aspects seem to be the Lord’s will.

Hard Truths About Trust :

“The fact that we are made uncomfortable by the
Bible’s repeated calls to trust God is probably an
indication that we have too often been living like
practical atheists — uncritically trusting
ourselves, not acknowledging God or remembering His
past faithfulness, and failing to meditate on His
trustworthiness.

The Bible repeatedly tells us that to ultimately trust in
anything or anyone but God is a disastrous
mistake:

”He who trusts in himself is a fool“ (Prov. 28:26). The New King
James renders this verse in a way that speaks to many
in our day who are given to thinking their individual
subjective desires are always correct, ”He who trusts in
his heart is a fool.“”

Hard Truths About Trust :

“The fact that we are made uncomfortable by the
Bible’s repeated calls to trust God is probably an
indication that we have too often been living like
practical atheists — uncritically trusting
ourselves, not acknowledging God or remembering His
past faithfulness, and failing to meditate on His
trustworthiness.

The Bible repeatedly tells us that to ultimately trust in
anything or anyone but God is a disastrous
mistake:

”He who trusts in himself is a fool“ (Prov. 28:26). The New King
James renders this verse in a way that speaks to many
in our day who are given to thinking their individual
subjective desires are always correct, ”He who trusts in
his heart is a fool.“”

This is a fantastic article on underlining that the peace and joy are found only when our greatest trust is placed in Jesus. It also has some good guidance on to propose or not to become engaged. (the person has godliness, strength, and you enjoy each other’s compamny. It has some description of family of origin issues to grieve. We are not doomed to our histories, but may have to have God reshape our thinking because of them. (ROM 12:1-2) The only exception I take to this article is it points on sin. It is not the most helpful to live life looking at failures rather than trusting in the grace of God to come. However it is tragic when youth is wasted on prodigal living. It does seem ironic that in view of all that Christ has done, taking sin away, that we cannot fully trust Him. I pray He would live out the faith we are to have in Him.

Sometimes, when no one will listen to truth in any other way, all that remains is mockery…

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Times Online

Priests are being torn by the pressure of having to be nice all the time to everyone, even when confronted with extremes of nastiness, she says.

It is worse in the suburbs, where Christians can choose between a variety of “gathered” churches, all offering different styles, from tambourines to High Mass with incense. Here, troublemakers indulge in “church hopping”, moving on to the next church once they have had enough of the one they are in.

Dr Savage says that these people suffer from neurotic personality disorders bordering on the psychotic.

The clinical definition for these individuals is, “Corporate antagonism.” It is a sub-clinically significant combination of paranoia and delusionality.

Antagonists are individuals who, on the basis of nonsubstantive evidence, go out of their way to make insatiable demands, usually attacking the person or performance of others. These attacks are selfish in nature, tearing down rather then building up, and are frequently directed against those in a leadership capacity.

The primary effects of antagonism lie in their ability to obliterate community, to create doubt, to instill fear and to create a climate of dishonor such that even natural allies can begin to doubt, without cause or sensibility, the character and values of their leader.

In short, this is real, it’s hardly limited to England and it can be dealt with via a concentrated strategy of knowledge for the clergy, education for the church leadership (Board level) and a pattern of strategic hardening of the entire church culture that makes such repellent to these individuals.

Henze & Associates offers this educational and strategic hardening service to companies, churches and community organizations — really any body of people who have had enough.