Comments on: For we are His workmanship…

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:24:17 +0000

Thank you, Nicholas!:-)

By: Natalia Arzhantseva

Natalia Arzhantseva — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:23:05 +0000

Nicholas, who would guess? I have to practice it to achieve a desirable result
: -) .

By: Nicholas Park

Nicholas Park — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:46:16 +0000

I think… the smiles will be converted into graphics if they have spaces on either side, like this: . But if they have characters around them, they won’t, like this: (:-)). We’ll see .

By: Natalia Arzhantseva

Natalia Arzhantseva — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:49:23 +0000

“How do you manage to keep your smilies from being turned into grinning yellow faces? )” – I always wondered….no explanation yet found.

I wanted to find goof poetry quotations for you on the subject, but I fail yet. will try. Russia poet Sergei Esenin & Lord Baron…

By: Deborah

Deborah — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:37:54 +0000

Never mind.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:37:15 +0000

They’re gone!

By: Deborah

Deborah — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:36:39 +0000

>I have definitely fallen into a religion “based on works”:-)

Good point, Natasha. I should have said “to reassure them that I have not fallen into a religion based on MY works” for “without Him, I can do nothing.”

(BTW, How do you manage to keep your smilies from being turned into grinning yellow faces? )

By: Natalia Arzhantseva

Natalia Arzhantseva — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:30:12 +0000

a religion without works….seems like dreaming (or exaltation in its high stage). How is it possible to believe without doing? The revelation of any religion is its shriving. and it’s outward. i.e. our deeds, works – of course not just clinching nails etc. a smile, directed to another person to console or reassure him – is really a work, a deed, when you yourself feel far from that, when you feel sad, disappointed, oppressed…This costs a lot!!!

I have definitely fallen into a religion “based on works”:-) – though I don’t see any:-(. but at least I realize that – that’s smth positive about my “practice”).

Though, I know there exists (and existed as we know from monastic literature) an “extreme”: fancy of “external deeds/achievements” (or there is another set expression for this in English?), laying much emphasis on this & belief that a person can be saved thought them only. What, as the Holy Fathers teach, lead to “prelestj”, extolling & enormous pride. like everything that is not melted by humility.

Anyway, I need at least to move “my lazy carcass” to the church today:-) Evidently, the one type of extolling does not threaten me – works:-(

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:05:31 +0000

Make that ‘quite efficient’….and I keep forgetting that if I make a smile with a colon and parentheses that it gets turned into the silly yellow smilie. (or frownie?)

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:02:45 +0000

I’ve shared this prayer with some of my Protestant friends to reassure them that I have not fallen into a religion based on works. We aren’t saved *by* works, we are created and saved to do good works

We don’t live simply through breathing or because we are breathing. But if we someone isn’t breathing they are either dead or soon will be. It is not life, itself–but it is inextricably linked to it.

I’m glad I don’t have to think about or work at breathing. As long as I keep eating and taking care of myself, the breathing part takes care of itself. I have noticed though that when I don’t exercise or when I am iron deficient that my breathing is not as efficient and can become a bit labored with even slight exertion (which discourages me from wanting to exercise). But, if I improve my diet and start moving my lazy carcass I find that my lungs become quiet efficient again.