Puzzling Prayer Partners

When I moved to Texas in 1997, I had the prayer support of two of the largest churches in Georgia.  First Baptist Atlanta, where I had my membership, and North Point Community Church , where I attended. Both are pastored by a man named Stanley. That is a different story. It was a prayer network that easily could have contained 15,000 people.  We supported each other in prayer.  Sadly, that support failed me when I moved to Texas.  The prayers of fifteen thousand people failed.
     I got the latest issue of Science of Mind Magazine this week.  In it is an article on prayer partners and how well they work.  Or work for him.  They have failed me.  When I moved to Texas, I joined a Religious Science church (Science of Mind/New Thought).  I was told that everything in my life was my fault. (Except for weather-this minister believes that nothing we do affects the weather.) That included my decision to come to Texas. When I agreed that coming to Texas was my fault, I asked the minister to pray for my return to Georgia.  He instead prayed for me to have "options."  My words are not supposed to come back to me void but in this case they did. Another failure of a prayer partnership. 
     When I left Georgia I considered myself a Christian-plus.  I was a Christian yet I studied other things, mainly New Thought writings.  Oprah Winfrey could probably be put in that category.  I felt like I had the perfect combination of spiritual support. Again, sadly all of that failed me.  It should have worked.  I had knowledge and support. I get told by my Baptist and Religious Science friends that the bad Houston economy is my fault.  I can't find a decent job in Texas because of my sin and negative thinking.  Evidently moving across state lines constitutes sin and negative thinking. The obvious solution was for me to move back to Georgia, where I had a great job.  But they wouldn't support me in prayer for my return.
     So I basically have two problems with prayer partners.  They only seem to work in a limited geographic area.  Secondly, if they don't agree with your goals you don't get any support-only guilt trips.  But I have not given up.  I now have a prayer network that is national.  I rarely ask for locals to pray for me.  I go to websites where they don't judge my goals, they just pray for me.  They don't consider me a sinner or a negative thinker- they simple pray for me as a human being.
    So that is my two cents on prayer partners.  If they work for you continue on.  Make sure your partners are truly on your team. Remember that you and God constitute the best prayer partnership there could be.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Venting of steam

I need to one blog just to get off some steam.  I am so stupid when it comes to electronics.  Really anything mechanical.  My twitter is messed up.  They are blaming my computer, but every other website is working.  If it were my computer, I should be having issues inn other places.  My father's internet connection sucks. He has ATT, it is a high speed connection.  And it throws me off every five minutes.  I dropped ATT.  My main phone is Verizon.  So far so good.  The final thing I am pissed about is my Dad.  I spent the evening with him last night.  He doesn't realize it, but he is like a vampire.  He doesn't like to meet people.  He expects his family to be his socializing.  It is starting to suck.  Our family is dying.  My brother and Mom.  Out of the four children there is only one grandchild.  So much for family.  My Dad is so stubborn.  He pushes people away and he doesn't even realize it.  Okay I feel better time for my calm blog.

Enoch

Why I am Still Single

There are many reasons why I am still single.  The fact that I can come up with many reasons may be the biggest reason.  But tonight I want to focus on one.  The short answer is that my Venus is in Virgo.  (I share that with JLo).  The slightly longer answer is that I am very picky.  My criteria for a wife has changed over the years.  When I was a Baptist I wanted my wife to be very submissive.  I was going to be the controller and she the controllee.  Barefoot and pregnant would have been okay- she could wear flip-flops for cutting the grass.  But I have evolved.  When I decided that I wanted to be a minister my model for a wife became Corretta Scott King.  Someone strong and beautiful.  Someone who could have a career in her own right and yet also take my mantle should something happen to me.  Someone like Mrs. King would be perfect.  If anyone guaranteed Dr. King's legacy it was her.  While the SCLC was discussing what to do she did something.  She started the King Center and basically got the King Holiday created. Could there be a better partner?  That is my word partner, not puppet.  True partnerships are hard to maintain. Lots of face time.  There would have to be alot of understanding.  (Who needs that in a marriage?) We wouldn't talk about every decision.  What difference does it make if we have Italian on Friday and Chinese on Saturday?  On questions concerning her areas of expertise I would defer  to her. I hope she would defer to me where I had more knowledge. There is one class of decisions I would retain for myself.  I would not allow my wife to make any decisions where she would feel guilty if she made them.  For example, our dog Spunky got hit by a car. The surgeon says that he can save Spunky, but that his life will be a living hell. I would be the one to decide Spunky's fate. Either way it is tough decision.  But otherwise we talk alot.  There are more and more women like Coretta Scott, so maybe I will find mine.  Now that my career choice is Public Speaking I would love to have a wife that could introduce me and also speak with me.  ( I have an idea for an introduction that would give my wife the laugh line.) JLo has found her life partner so mine must be out there somewhere.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

MLK Pictures of Hope

There's alot of crap going on isn't there?  Dr. King would be the first to address it. Wars, terrorism, poverty, discrimination.  He would bring it to our attention.  Yet he would also call us toward hope and optimism.  He who had helped so many to overcome so much would urge us to do the same one more time- or as many times as it takes.  There are two images stuck in my mind from today.  His granddaughter standing in the front of the tomb of her noble grandparents.  Grandparents she will never know on the Earthplane. It is cold and yet she is beaming.  Hope, optimism.  The next image is of two daughters serenading their mother on her birthday.  The mother just happens to be the First Lady of the USA.  Again they are beaming.  Hope and optimism.  Could those be two of the ingredients to solving our problems?  We need those spiritual bifocals that Pastor Peter Marshall talked about so long ago.  We need to see things as they are and we need to see them as they could be.  Through the eyes of three little girls. Through the eyes of hope and optimism.  Dr. King would expect no less.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

The Pentad of Archangels

I had a dream one time.  In my dream I was taken up to heaven.  I was directed to an office.  In this office were the five archangels. Micheal, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Metatron each had a bank of electronic stuff.  Faxes, computers, teletypes etc.  Each of the angels were frantically answering prayer requests.  They were incredibly busy.  "I want to see God" I demanded.  They ignored me.  I walked up to Metatron and grabbed his arm.  "I need to see God, now!" He replied "Look partner, there is a three month backlog.  File a request like everyone else." I could see I was going nowhere.  I turned and saw a door marked "God'.  I thought to myself "Ah, God hides in his office while the Angels do all the heavy lifting."  I started to grab the door knob when Michael yelled "No- don't open that door!"  Too late Buddy.  I opened the door.  I had discovered the ... broom closet.

What if there is no God? What if there is just a hierarchy of beings who are trying to fill in the gap.  Angels trying to make sense out of confusion?  There is a school of Buddhhist thought that says that the existence of God is not an important question.  That doing the spiritual practices are important. When we do the practices our answers will arrive.  I think there is a common ground (if not higher ground) that atheists, agnostics, theists, and deists can agree on without arguing about God's existence.  We who are concerned about Earth and our Earthmates have a job to do.  It doesn't matter if our orders come from God or from inside ourselves.  Let us serve one another, let us be compassionate toward each other.  And as we fix the problems our answers will come.  I believe in God, yet I can not prove his existence. So I will not argue for it.  I will continue to do the spiritual practices.  We can all agree to that, can't we?

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch

Puzzled by Palin

In 1913 Leo Frank was lynched in Atlanta Georgia.  To my knowledge he is the only Jew to be lynched in America.  In 1955 the Jewish temple was bombed in Atlanta Georgia.  I would like to thank Sarah Palin for removing the Anti-Jewish stigma from my home state of Georgia.  Her comments today were insensitive and self-serving.  Instead of talking about the merits of her argument, Palin resorted to an appeal to raw emotion and fear.  Maybe that's because her aguments have no merit.  She redirected us from considering her old mistakes by creating new mistakes for us to ponder.  Isn't it funny that she believes that her words do not impact mentally instable people, they impact the sane.  Maybe, Governor, it is in fact the opposite.  You need a new speech writer and a new attitude.  You hate socialism.  Do you realize that the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was written by an avowed socialist?  Tonight's ceremony was begun by the playing of "Fanfare for the Common Man" be Aaron Copeland- a gay composer.  Sarah do you hate gays?  On a Sabath morning when she could have been at Temple, Congresswoman Giffords was doing the people's business.  A Catholic Judge coming from mass was shot dead.  A  Catholic child also lost her life.  Sarah, we are not a nation of WASP's, but a nation of diversity. E Pluribus Unum the Latino said.  The president and the nation applauded.  Atlanta has become the city too busy to hate.  Maybe Sarah you are just too busy.  You had a chance to be noble today.  You blew it. You are just another thing we have to overcome in our stride toward peace, justice, and human rights. May Gabby Gifford's principles prevail and not yours.

Enoch

My Spiritual Pledge

"I Pledge Allegiance to: One God, having many expressions. Two wills-mine operating under the authority of God's. Three faiths; faith in my God, myself, and our relationship. Four loves; God, myself, humanity, and the universe.  Five spiritual practices; prayer, meditation, study, service, and giving. And the Celtic Cross representing all of the above: one emblem comprised of two symbols, made by three strokes, having four quadrants and five intersections."
The long version continues "Six sources of Spiritual Knowledge; scripture, tradition, reason, experience, intuition, and inspiration. The seven classic heavenly bodies and the rays they represent. The eightfold path of Buddha. The nine fruits of the spirit, namely -love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  And the ten commandmants."

 I am indebted to John Wesley, Sandra Kynes, and others for inspiring me to adapt their ideas.

In Peace, Love, and Light,
Enoch