Part 1

So I've been being bothered by several recent conversations in which it is more and more painfully obvious to me that most people do not know how to realize the true dignity of Man...I'm speaking about a community setting...particularly the one I'm in stands out to me. The men don't know what IS a man much less HOW to be one...and many of the women have the same skewed idea of what it is to BE a woman! ...though both sexes seems to believe that they know...many from both genders even think that they are what they should strive for! 
  Quite a few people in the history of Man have written about being a man...few have written, with any insight, of what it means to be a woman...I'd wager that many of these authors were a good bit smarter than I may ever hope to be. I don't intend to ply my limited skills against the daunting task of a "Human Dignity For Dummies: Holiness Made Easier" guide. I do want to, with help of Holy Spirit, figure this out, or at least become a little better at it in my own life.   We (men AND women) seem to have the ridiculous idea that we need to be in control. We misread the scriptures and we think that leadership means lordship and that respect means obedience without question. When things don't work out like we think they should we think we've been wronged and we react as if we've had our rights violated. We present ourselves as such pitiful creatures. We flaunt ourselves openly...making a public show of private privileges. We humiliate each other and we look at others as a means to an end. How can a man or a woman believe that anyone will treat them with proper dignity if they don't treat themselves with that dignity.

   A man's conduct should be an inspiration AND a security for a woman to be what she is made to be. The conduct of a woman should be an inspiration to a man who understands that the woman can only realize her full dignity as he accomplishes his duty to inspire and sustain her.

Currently listening to: Spoken, "This Path"

  Rise and fall, rise and fall...my life is a mountain range. I stand on this rock face and look back at the peaks that I've climbed before. This isn't the highest I've ever felt, but I can tell by looking back that I'm closer to Jesus than I've ever been...and I'm not at the top of this one yet. I look in all directions for a glimpse of where to go next. The path ahead is shrouded in mist. Behind me the view of the horrors and heavens brings forced contemplation and holds me transfixed. I only recognize the vastness of Jesus' presence and work in my life as I see the beauty of the story to date.