Spiritual HungerWritten by Valerie Garner
SPIRITUAL HUNGER ---------------------------------------- The definition of this common word, (Hunger) "The state of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, a desire or need for food, ANY strong desire or craving." The parellel between nautral and spiritual, truly is at times uncanny to say least. We all know what natural hunger feels like. What about spiritual hunger? It can feel different to different people but common feelings are: a deep sense of emptiness; feeling like there's no meaning or significance to life; feeling lost; feeling like something is missing but not being able to identify even what is missing; it can be an edgy, gnawing feeling of unknown origin; it can feel like deep sobbing from very center of our soul. These are only a few examples of what spiritual hunger can feel like. Many, if not most times, when we feel this spiritual hunger we are unaware of what it really is. It does bring discomfort and pain, so we look to soothe that pain. We may fill that with anything...drugs, alcohol, any form of destructive habits, obsessive compulsions, eating disorders, sex, pornography, TV watching, list is extensive. Many times we can also fill that same spiritual hunger with things that look more positive; like filling every second of our lives with busyness, people, family, kids, spouse, sports, entertainment of any kind, shopping, reading, work, list is endless. Not that these things are bad, in and of themselves, but could we be using these things to fill spiritual hunger? I'd encourage you to think about what you tend to turn to when you sense those feelings of spiritual hunger. What are those areas of escape in our lives? There are also some who have been so wounded beyond belief that they simply have lost ability to feel at all, thus masking spiritual hunger with numbness and denial. We often view that discomfort or pain as an enemy to be quelled, after all, nobody in their right mind likes to hurt. Let's explore that a little further. Look back again at natural hunger (food). If we go too long without food, our tummies hurt, we start getting weak, maybe get a headache and if we go too long we can even start to lose our desire for food. If we keep going like this we will eventually die. Some can go longer than others without food, but end result will always be death. Thus, hunger is actually a very good thing, it signals that we have a very real need for nourishment. This is EXACTLY same thing spiritually. The bible says in Luke 6:21 "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled."
| | Pop-up from the Pulpit, Or , Osama bin Laid Written by Kate Kaye
It could happen next time you fly. It could happen next time you open a letter. It could happen next time you're at a ball game. It could even happen next time you check your email in-box. The threat of enemy attack is imminent. It's just a good thing we have Christian Coalition to assist us in our fight against evil. Perhaps you didn't realize that family-friendly lobbying group was also such a strong ally on homeland security front. As told in a 10/8 PR Week story, a pop-up ad window appearing on organization's website recently read, "The tragic terrorist attacks are driving home a very painful lesson for every American. We must make it our top priority to safeguard our own cities and towns from an insidious enemy." The trouble is, CC's idea of an enemy isn't necessarily what you may expect. It's not terrorism, or Osama bin Laden, or any of villains of day. It's pornography. Yes, as site user was soon to discover, "insidious enemy" is "pictures of naked people on Web," according to PR Week piece (Pop-up porn rant poorly presented). A visit to group's anti-smut Web sanctuary by The Lowbrow Lowdown Lackeys revealed that pop-up copy no longer lures site visitors through misleading text (also a common practice of pornography pushers). Instead it reads, "Special Report: How Pornography Is Attacking Our Families (Click for Details)." Sure, at first glance, Pat Robertson
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