Pearl of Wisdom: Reason for Celebration

One of the main origins of Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the historical and present day Savior of the Christian faith. There are over a billion Christians -Followers of Christ - globally who celebrate Christmas for this reason. Even though, people in the west celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth on December 25^th, they understand the exact date is not actually known. It is only believed Christ was born around this time based on the ancient calendars and time frame. Christians celebrate Jesus Christ on a daily basis, but choose his birthday as a way to celebrate his birth corporately and to express the joy they feel about His Gift of Salvation. Though Christmas has become a mixture of both Christian and non-Christian themes the origin of the holiday remains the same for Followers of Christ. For anyone celebrating Christmas there are traditions that we all share: giving of gifts, sending Christmas cards, enjoying Christmas music, going to a Christmas church service, gathering with family and friends, putting up Christmas trees or lights, hanging a wreath on the door, and decorating with garland, mistletoe, or holly. Jesus Christ, for believers, also represents and embodies the Love of God for the World. So, whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not, when anyone says Merry Christmas, they are simple wishing you love, joy and laughter as you join or respect them in celebrating the birth of “Immanuel”(Jesus) on this Holiday “…and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23b. Pensacola’s Pearls of Wisdom – Lessons from My Father wishes you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!

Pensacola Helene

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Pearl of Wisdom: Cheaters

We hear about people cheating all the time. When someone is called a cheater they are actually being called a “fraud,” or “trickster, “or charlatan,” or “rogue,” or “swindler.” It’s definitely not a compliment. It has become so common that most people are not even surprised when they hear about a cheater.  What gets lost in the cesspool of cheating is the one who is cheated on. No matter how good or bad a person is; they don’t deserve to be cheated on. If the relationship has gotten to the point where cheating is a serious and tempting option, get help or end the relationship. If you’re married, use the Good Book for help. However, there are some people who cheat, simply because they are cheaters. These are the ones who leave the most devastation in their wake. Because the one they cheated on didn’t see it coming and they are shocked when they hear about. Nothing hurts worse than heartbreak of this kind, because you trusted the person from the purest place. Whether a person remains in the relationship with the cheater or not; building trust again borders on “almost” impossible. A cheater may seek to regain what they once had with their love one and won’t be able to accomplish it; at least not without the help of divine intervention. A cheater changes the relationship between themselves and the other person forever; whether they stay or go. Yes, there is forgiveness and people do survive cheating, but like the loss of innocence it alters the original purity of the relationship. Trust is one of the most pure and safest benefits of love. Trust is the most sought after component of all relationships. Few people enjoy the gem of trust, and if you are one of them hold onto it, because what you possess is truly rare. Having someone who genuinely loves and trusts you is the greatest gift on earth, don’t taint it by cheating. Why? Because a cheater cheats everybody involved out of what is foundationally good about loving relationships. I have only one thing left to say, especially to those who may be thinking about cheating: DON’T DO IT!

Pensacola Helene

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Pearl of Wisdom: SEX is not Intimacy

Sex is not the intimacy. It is an act of intimacy; that was meant to express the intercourse that had already taken place between two hearts. Enduring love allows intimacy to develop in the heart first and why real lovers wait for the proper time to engage in sex. When intimacy is learned in this way, love will be easier to maintain in the long run of the relationship. The Good Book didn’t have us sustain from sexual pleasure as a punishment, but so we don’t miss out on what truly matters in the area of intimacy: two hearts becoming one, not simple two bodies. If you shape your experience of intimacy around the act; you will find intimacy limited to that act. However, if you shape your intimacy around the intercourse of two hearts, it will outlast the act, which always alters with age and maturity. No matter who you are; no matter how good you are sexually, no matter how liberal you are in engaging in the sexual act – you will come looking for real intimacy one day. So learn and train yourself in what real intimacy is while the spring still blossoms.  For when the winter comes and it will; the heart may be too tattered by the “act” to know real intimacy, or to find it, or even recognize it staring you right in the face. Real intimacy starts with the intercourse of the heart, not the body.

Pensacola Helene

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Pearl of Wisdom:While they were here

There are so many ways to lose the ones we love. The ways of loss are varied and common to us all. We can lose them through death, a romantic break-up, divorce, emotional distance, sickness, addiction, careers, physical distance, dementia or Alzheimer, peer pressure, youth, the hands of crime, adulthood, misunderstandings, mistakes, and on and on and on. The hardest part of loss is wanting the person back and missing them to the point of unbearable heartache and pain. There are no words that can actually tell a person how to walk through loss. There are no clever steps or wisdom or psychological guarantees of how to overcome such an experience. 

When I lost my father, I knew for certain life had changed and it would never be the same. Suddenly my world that was once so familiar became a strange place to live. It was indeed frightening. I learned I could not stop the wind from going where it wished and I could stop lost from its visit to my heart. I miss my father every single day. It doesn’t hurt as much as in the earlier days, but the missing lingers. I don’t mind the missing; it reminds me how deeply I carried him in my heart. 

Holidays are particularly hard on those who have lost love ones and I pray that they find some soothing means of comfort that helps the heart. Loss is never, ever a pleasant garden to tend, but the flowers that bloom, if we allow, - from this experience - will fragrance our lives forever. My love one made a difference and not at all as I imagined. But what stays with me every day – what makes me smile – what gives me peace - what warms my heart is that while they were here: we loved.

Pensacola Helene

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Pearl of Wisdom: Who's the "real" Fool?

There are people who make commitments or promises and with everything in their fiber they remain faithful no matter what. It doesn’t mean that there are no challenges to being faithful, but its value lies within the heart of the individual. Faithful people want others to know they can be depended on and that alone provides the ones they love with a sense of emotional safety. However, too many of us have known or experienced the pain of unfaithfulness, especially in regard to romantic or marital relationships. The Good Book distinctly says that an unfaithful person lacks sense and destroys his or her own soul. Yet the faithful man or woman often feels like the fool or is called a fool because they remained faithful during the relationship. However, one is never a fool who honors love by being faithful to their word and true to their own nature. I know by experience the piercing arrow of unfaithfulness and I am determined never to do that to another human being. I walked away with my dignity and character in tact and have been fortunate to find a new faithful love. I truly value faithfulness in myself and others. Is it an awesome trait to possess and one most people hope to find in anyone they pledge their hearts to; including, I hope, their own heart. A fool, you see, is a person who “acts unwisely” or is “deficit” in character. Faithfulness demonstrates both wisdom and depth of character, so the question needs to be asked of the unfaithful: Who’s the “real” fool?

Pensacola Helene

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