What Are You Hiding? | Francis Chan

My guest speaker of the week, Francis Chan.

Email me for FREE spiritual or nutritional advice at: LoraJET@rocketmail.com

The Cost of Following Christ | Francis Chan

My "guest speaker", Francis Chan,  is a tremendous inspiration for the Christian community!

I will post a week-long "series" of sermons from Francis to help you identify the people who will really inspire you, help you grow in Christ, and stay strong in Him as  a group!

Email me for FREE spiritual or nutritional advice at: LoraJET@rocketmail.com

"....But Don't Stay Alone Forever" MUCH Easier Said Than Done!

 

"BUT DON"T STAY ALONE FOREVER", starts near the beginning of this Relevant article.

I hear this a lot, and while they mean well, I find it quite presumptuous that it's assumed a person can easy-peasy join and be accepted into any group or community they want--with open arms!

UH, NOT SO.

I find it extremely difficult to find real community, a group, a tribe, a team, of fellow spiritual kindred spirits on this planet. I either get rejected by being ignored (someone once said, when you find great inspiring holy people, unfortunately, they are too busy to spend any time with you--so true!), or I witness a lot of sacrilegious and blasphemous people within the group that I leave that darkness.

The bible states in Matthew 7:13-14: Jesus says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." 

Proof that it's SO HARD to find those few who are truly righteous. 

By the way, I will be blog posting a series next week from a "guest speaker" on how to really notice those righteous few. The litmus test to make sure you are really in a group of people where you can grow spiritually in your walk with God. The type of people to truly inspire you to get closer to Him. The genuinely Holy Spirit-filled.

And my search is still on to find such a group. The group won't be found as a whole in ANY church parish. A church house is possibly the answer...but I am planning on joining a Christian Catholic bible and book group at my parish starting up in October, so who knows? Maybe this will be the one.

Stay tuned....

Email me for FREE spiritual or nutritional advice at: LoraJET@rocketmail.com

Vegan Global Run

Unfortunately, I just missed the first (hopefully annual) virtual vegan global runners day.

It was held on April 4, 2015, sponsored by Vegan Health and Fitness.

It was an event where vegans from all over the world participated together in a virtual run! Runners chose the length of their run, their location, and how many times they started and stopped over the day of the event.

If you missed this year's run, you can still get more information about it, and keep up-to-date on upcoming events throughout the vegan community by registering at the Vegan Health and Fitness' website, where can also post your profile and get tips from champion vegan athletes too.

Check it all out at the link above, and specifically about the virtual global run at: Vegan Global Run

The Problem with Vegan/Animal Rights Forums

I have been a regular poster on many online vegan/animal rights forums and I have yet to find one where I would like to stay there.

After thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that what they all have in common is the people on these forums have a huge chip on their shoulder, eagerly looking to be defensive and ready to attack you if you say just one thing they don't like, and less likely to be politely informative and cordial.

I believe the reason is based on the much egotism and jealously within the vegan/animal rights community/forums, and this really brings out the worst in people. I can even "feel" the negative energy if I stay their long enough--and a few hours is long enough!

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with others, stating why and encouraging others to see your side if it helps the animals in a positive way, but it should be done in a mature, polite manner instead of putting people down, hurling insults to the point where the moderators (sometimes) have to delete comments because they are so vile. This does not make for a friendly, healthy place to fellowship with others!

I will not name names of these vegan/animal rights forums but chances are, all the ones you know about are like this. I have a feeling if there is a website filled with mature animal rights people in the forum, such a site is probably small and difficult to find online. Why? Because I think many people enjoy the meanness, rudeness, and bloodthirsty arguments in forums; I guess to them it makes for good entertainment. But whether the reason for such horrible forums is because of egotism, jealously or looking for some bloodthirsty entertainment, we need to stop this ridiculousness as an animal rights movement and instead discuss, educate, and  encourage people in a mature, kind, responsible manner. Non-vegans are watching and it's no wonder many refuse to be a part of the animal rights cause.

While I think vegans definitely need to talk more to non-vegans instead of wasting much time discussing veganism with other vegans (aka preaching to the choir), we do need some time to discuss with other vegans on how to approach non-vegans in an effective way so they become vegan/animal rights activists, and well, sometimes animal activism can be very emotionally draining and it's sometimes good and healthy to be with fellow vegans for encouragement and to regroup.

Also, I've noticed most vegan/animal rights people aren't that spiritual. I think lack of a spiritual foundation causes mean-spiritedness, negative energy and anger. Vegans should take time out to deal with that side of them. It's imperative to be healthy in all parts of one's life: Body, Mind and Spirit. This makes for a better, more mature person.

We vegans/animal rights people must be a  good representative of the movement. The animals depend on it.

Film: Redemption

Based on the groundbreaking book of the same name, this is the story of animal sheltering, which was born of compassion and then lost its way. It is the story of the No Kill movement, which says we can and must stop the killing. It is about heroes and villains, betrayal and redemption. And it is about a social movement as noble and just as those that have come before. But most of all, it is a story about believing in the community and trusting in the power of compassion.

Written by Nathan Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center and produced in partnership with Debi & Lincoln Day, No Kill Nation, and Sagacity Productions.

More information:

No Kill Redemption

People Who Can't Handle Opposing Views

 


As I continue with my animal ministry, I expect to see my share of people closing off when I give my opposing views regarding veganism/animal rights to non-vegans. But what I didn't expect at the start of my ministry (but later, saw examples of) were some people in my own community--animal rights people--closing off to me as well. Everyone will not always agree with others in any group--fine, understandable and even healthy--but to close off opposing views for no apparent good reason is not a wise way of relating to others.

Examples of what I mean by closing off is by blocking someone online (I got blocked yesterday on Twitter as I politely chatted with a person called, The Vegan List), censoring comments online, or by just walking away from someone, ignoring them. If you want to end a conversation, it should be done in a respectful manner, especially when the other person is being polite toward you.

Mind you, it doesn't bother me personally, but psychology is a huge interest of mine, so I find it very interesting as to why some people react in such childish behavior, which is especially sad in the vegan community because we need to listen to other views in order to effectively help animals. I wanted to write out my theories, but found the link below, by author Faceless39 (Kate) that perfectly describes what I am seeing how some people react towards me as well, even with what Faceless39 stated in the beginning of her article echoes my own experience almost perfectly when I commented on other people's blogs recently.

I totally agree with this article 100%. Please read:

Why Can't Some People Handle Opposing Viewpoints?