#rise confession 529

[take2intotheshower]

Endless List of Why I Ship Jane & Kurt - Part 11 (by @kate-dammit-run)

(re-posting to preserve this list, which was originally created and posted by @kate-dammit-run, whose account was deactivated in 2023)

503. Because Jane’s worst nightmare is Kurt forgetting her 504. Because the thought of losing him– 505. Because they will stop Madeline. Together. 506. Because Ink and Mumbles 506. Because he can help her relax when denaturing deadly chemicals gets tricky 507. Because if they can go undercover in the outfits they wore in Hungary and still find each other hot then they are definitely meant to be 508. Because she helps him stay calm when his daughter is in danger 509. Because everyone wants them to stop Madeline and they will 510. Because he trusts her gut 511. And she trusts his 512. And they both trust their team 513. Because stuck in the bunker elevator 514. Because battle couple confessing their love in the elevator 515. And stolen kisses in the middle of battle 516. Because he’s their mama bear and she’s the flamingo 518. Because Jane will confess and send herself to a black site to protect him 519. Because Rhino!Kurt will charge into six armed terrorists to save Jane 520. Because she’s with him 521. Because… I love you’s through glass doors and hand on heart as the ZIP cloud rises 522. Because when it comes to getting her memories back, Kurt’s face is the first thing she remembers 523. and his face triggers all her memories to return 524. Because she knows how much he loves being FBI 525. Because they can be anything that they wanna be 526. Because they want to start working on starting their own family 527. And because that does not sound like work to him 528. Because being interrupted is just their thing– whether they like it or not 529. Because Jane following her gut is enough for Kurt to act 530. Because Jane going missing for a minute sends Kurt into panic mode 531. Because the ZIP poisoning is the one thing that terrifies them both the most 532. Because he’s not going anywhere when his wife is sick 533. But she knows that when the team needs him, that is where he has to be 534. Because “ok, boss” 535. Because he claims he is not gonna miss this life 536. But she knows he will and so will she  537. But that only means that they’re awesome and cool 538. Because they cannot imagine their life not doing this but they will figure something out 539. Because second time’s a charm 540. Because he doesn’t think she creates chaos or that she’s napalm 541. Because he knows that she has done a hell of a lot more good than bad 542. Because they’re both allowed to be done 543. Because if they’re going to die defusing a bomb, they’re gonna do so while they’re kissing  544. No, seriously, they made out while defusing a bomb 545. Because interrogation room 546. Because “I’m special agent Kurt Weller.” 547. Because they don’t have to lead a quiet life 548. Their life can be whatever they want 549. Because it’s time to make some new memories 550. Some happier ones 551. Because “let’s move” 552. Because Colorado 553. Because Thanksgiving dinner with all their family 554. Because fostering kids  555. Because framed wedding photos 556. Because they’re lucky 557. Because it’s a miracle  558. Because it could have gone wrong so many times and in so many ways 559. and it probably did in some universe 560. Because at the end of the day, when Kurt asks Jane if she’s ok, her reply is “I’m good.” 561. Because Jane’s good. 

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun., Jan. 24, 2021

Commemorated on January 11by the New calendar. 

The Monk Theodosios the Great (529)

     The Monk Theodosios the Great lived during the V-VI Centuries, and was the initiator of common-life (coenobitic) monasteries. He was born in Cappadocia of pious parents. Endowed with a splendid voice, he zealously toiled at church reading and singing. And the Monk Theodosios prayed fervently, that the Lord would guide him on the way to salvation. In his early years he visited the Holy Land and met with the Monk Simeon the Stylite ("Pillar-Dweller",  + 459, Comm. 1 September), who blessed him and predicted future pastoral service for him. Yearning for the solitary life, Saint Theodosios settled in Palestine into a desolate cave, – in which by tradition, the three Magi had spent the night, having come to worship at the Nativity of the Saviour of the world. In it he dwelt for 30 years in great abstinence and unceasing prayer. Steadily there began to throng to the ascetic those wanting to live under his guidance. When the cave could no more hold all the gathered monks, the Monk Theodosios began to pray, that the Lord Himself would point out the place for the monks. Taking with him a censer with cold unlit coals, the monk went into the wilderness. At a certain spot the coals fired up and set the incense smoke to rising. Here also the monk founded the first common-life monastery, or Lavra [Greek "Laura" meaning "broad" or populous"; in Russia were four such: Trinity-Sergeev, Kievo-Pechersk, Alexander-Nevsk and Pochaev], under the ustav-rule of Saint Basil the Great (+ 379, Comm. 1 January). Soon the Lavra of the Monk Theodosios became reknown, and up to 700 monks gathered at it. According to the final testament of the Monk Theodosios, the Lavra rendered service to neighbour, giving aid to all the poor and providing shelter for wanderers.

The Monk Theodosios was extremely compassionate. One time when there was a famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing, that the monastery did not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went into the bakery, they saw that then through the prayers of the abba, that it was filled with bread. And suchlike a miracle was repeated every time, when the Monk Theodosios wanted to give help to the destitute.      At the monastery the Monk Theodosios built an home for taking in strangers, separate infirmaries for monks and laymen, and also a shelter for the dying. Seeing that at the Lavra were gathered people from various lands, the monk arranged for Divine-services in the various languages – Greek, Gruzian (Georgian) and Armenian. For communing the Holy Mysteries all gathered in the large church, where Divine-services were done in Greek.      During the reign of the Constantinople emperor Anastasias (491-518) there arose the heresy of Eutykhios and Severus, which recognised neither the sacraments nor the clergy. The emperor joined in with the false-teaching, and the Orthodox began to suffer persecution. The Monk Theodosios stood firmly in defense of Orthodoxy and on behalf of the wilderness monks wrote a missive to the emperor, in which they denounced him and refuted the condemned heresy with the teachings of the OEcumenical Councils. He affirmed moreover, that the wilderness-dwellers and monks would firmly support the Orthodox confession. The emperor showed restraint for a short while, but then he renewed persecution of the Orthodox. The holy elder then manifest great zeal for the truth. Leaving the monastery, he came to Jerusalem and in the "Great" church, stood at the high place and cried out for all to hear: "Whoever honoureth not the four OEcumenical Councils, let them be anathema!". For this bold deed the monk was sent to prison, but soon returned after the death of the emperor.      The Monk Theodosios during his life accomplished many healings and other miracles, coming to the aid of the needy. One time by prayer he destroyed locusts that were devastating the fields in Palestine; also by his intercession, soldiers were kept from perishing, and he saved both those perishing in shipwreck and those lost in the desert.      One time the monk gave orders to strike the signal, so that the brethren would gather at prayer, and said: "The wrath of God draweth near the Eastern land". After several days it became known, that a strong earthquake had destroyed the city of Antioch at that very hour, when the monk had summoned the brethren to prayer. Before his death, the Monk Theodosios summoned to him three beloved bishops and revealed to them, that he would soon expire to the Lord. After three days he died at the age of 105, in the year 529. The body of the saint was buried with reverence in the cave, in which he lived at the beginning of his ascetic deeds.

The Monk Michael of Klopsk (452)

     The Monk Michael of Klopsk was descended of boyar (noble) lineage, and he was a kinsman of GreatPrince Dimitrii Donskoi (1363-1389). He took upon himself the exploit of Fool-for-Christ: he left Moscow and in rags he arrived at the Klopsk monastery, near Novgorod. No one knew, how he got into the locked cell of the priest-monk Makarii, who then was making a censing at the 9th Ode of the Canon and was going round the cell censing. But there sat a man in monastic garb and beneath a candle he wrote copying from the Acts of the holy Apostles. After the finish of matins the hegumen with brethren came and started to ask the stranger: who is he and of what name? But he answered only by a repeating of the questions and did not reveal his origin. In church the saint sang in the choir and read the Epistle, and at meals he read the Saint-Lives. All who listened were moved by the beauty and spirituality of his reading. On the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Klopsk monastery was visited by prince Konstantin Dimitrievich (son of GreatPrince Dimitrii Donskoi). After Communion he together with the princess was at the refectory, during the time of which the unknown stranger read from the Book of Job. Hearing the reading, the prince approached the reader and, having looked him over, he bowed down to him, calling him by name his kinsman Mikhail Maksimovich. The fool remarked: "The One Only Creator knoweth of me, who I be", but confirmed that his name was Michael. The Monk Michael soon set example for the brethren in all the monastic efforts. He lived at the Klopsk monastery for 44 years, exhausting his body in work, vigils and various deprivations, and he received from the Lord the gift of perspicacity. He denounced the vices of people, not fearing the powerful of this world. He predicted the birth on 22 January 1440 of GreatPrince Ivan III (1462-1505), and the taking of Novgorod by him. He denounced prince Dimitrii Shemyaka for blinding his brother the GreatPrince Vasilii the Dark (1425-1462).

All texts©1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Matthew 4:12-17 

12Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali,14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

2 Corinthians 4:6-15 

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

[dcnativegal]

“Mutual respect, even in passionate disagreement”

The Ides of March, 2018

I am reminded of the fact that Lake County Oregon went for Trump by a bigger percentage than any other county in Oregon, whenever I go to the Paisley Mercantile Store. (See photos, above.)

The other day, one of the members of this little town came over and visited with Valerie and me. He’s a gun-packing retired fellow who has a new implant in his head that helps him hear better. He wanted to know if I’d knit him a cap to cover his mostly bald head, and hide the implant, which does have a slightly bionic/Frankenstein look about it. I said, of course. And then in the course of chatting, he called me a ‘Libtard.’ That’s liberal + retard.  I looked at him with my most skeptical high eyebrows expression. He backpedaled a bit, said he meant ‘libertarian’ which, ahem, I am most certainly not.  Right-o, let me get working on that hat.

I resisted the temptation to call him a Repugnican (a repugnant Republican, the most extreme kind.)  It’s just so much harder to say.

Within a few days, I came to a community meeting I knew he’d be at and tossed the hat to him. Before I left I told him, no charge for the hat but in exchange, you have to tell anyone who asks you where you got that hat, that a ‘local libtard’ made it for you. And everyone laughed, except him. He grinned nervously.

So a crocheted cap can be a bridge between a conservative and a libtard. Good to know.

***

It’s hard for me to feel contempt for a person who is no longer ‘theoretical’ but is instead standing or sitting right across from me.

I am, in my socialist progressivism, now spending hours each week in the presence of cisgendered heterosexual white men who have recent histories of domestic violence, felonies for assault, and sex offenses for which they are registered. Oh, and they all love Trump. I have always thought that God had a well-honed sense of humor. Ha. Let’s send Jane to Trumpistan, Whitelandia and test all that talk of compassion and empathy. I’m not the Biblical Job by any means, but some days it feels like the devil and God hatched up the most exquisite challenges to my previously-confident world view.

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “Closer than they appear.” The host had on Van Jones, who I know as a broadcast commentator (and a very fine-looking Black man). I was riveted by what he said, and had to listen to him several times to transcribe this wisdom:

“We have 10,000 years of human history in which it was perfectly okay to chop people into small bits just because they were part of a tribe on the other side of the hill. … The idea that your tribe of people is now EVERYBODY?? EVERY Human? That idea is NEW ON THIS EARTH. THAT is the challenge.” [emphasis mine]

I think the idea that my “tribe of people is EVERYBODY” is a very old one. Jesus extended beyond his own tribe (the Jews), to everybody including the colonized collaborators and the unclean (the Samaritan woman who’d been married many times, Jewish tax collectors who worked for the Roman colonizers.) We are even to LOVE our enemies.

The Gospel of Mathew wrote some version of this: “You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you… God makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

I love this hymn:

    In Christ there is no East or West, in him no South or North, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.

    Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate'er your race may be! Who serves my Father as his child is surely kin to me.    https://hymnary.org/hymn/EH1982/529  

The idea of being one species on the planet, interconnected to each other and all other species, has to be reintroduced over and over again. I think we are hardwired to distrust that tribe over the next hill: surely, they are doing something nefarious…

**

When I was growing up, the most dramatic example of loving my enemies came when my mother told me to pray for whichever kid it was who stole my bicycle. It was an interesting challenge. Did I need to feel sorry for him, that he would need to steal my bike? Was he poor? Or was he just mean?  Perhaps his family had as much money or more than mine did, since we were, apartment dwellers, renters, and didn’t even have a car. Maybe the theft was just a spiteful thing. “That bike is MINE, even though I don’t really need it.”  I didn’t know. But I was to think of him as a child of God, a brother in Christ, and hope for his wellbeing, and hoped that, whatever reason lead to my bike being gone, would be resolved. My mother was nuts, but she a pretty good Christian.

**

I learned from a Christmas letter about a non-profit called “Better Angels” that got its name from Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural speech on the eve of the Civil War: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory…will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Better Angels was started by a guy who was against gay marriage until a gay man came out to him and explained why it was important to him personally. David Blankenhorn changed his position on marriage equality and eventually founded Better Angels. Using principles from family therapy, his team trains people to facilitate conversations between equal numbers of conservatives and liberals. They give advice on how to start conversations with people who have different beliefs on their web site:  

“Talking Across the Political Divide

  Goals for these Conversations:

·       Learn about the perspectives, feelings, and experiences of someone you care about who differs from you politically.

·       Discover some common ground if it’s there.

  Expectations to Abandon

·       That you can persuade the other person to change core attitudes and beliefs.  

·       That your conversation partner will match your openness.

  Core Principles

·       Everyone needs to save face—no one is portrayed as stupid, blind, narrowly self-serving, or bigoted. “ [emphasis mine.]

And “Listen for underlying values and aspirations and acknowledge them.”

 I am presuming here that name-calling is out.

**

I checked out Van Jones’ book, published in October 2017, called Beyond the Messy Truth: How we came apart, How we come together:

“More of us need to prioritize individual healing to get past our old hurts, wounds, and violations…We need to develop the emotional strength and resilience to reengage intelligently and constructively with the half of America that sees things very differently than we do. It takes a lot of inner work, community support, and maybe a few Jedi mind tricks to deliberately and skillfully place ourselves in conversation with people whose ideas, assumptions, and attitudes often wound us…”

I confess I was a little bit wounded by the ‘libtard’ moniker. I was also wounded months ago by my fellow Christian’s statement, patronizing though sincerely delivered, that he could love me as a sister in Christ while disapproving of my ‘lifestyle.’ (We were sitting in the “community church” in Paisley.)

Mr. Jones points out:

“…the truth is always messy. Some right-wingers are especially extreme in their opposition to social-welfare programs because they think ‘lazy, undeserving’ nonwhites are mooching off the system. At the same time, some liberals are willing to pay higher taxes to help poor people in the abstract, but they would fight to keep lower income people from moving in next door (as some wealthy liberals in California’s Marin County are working to block affordable housing in their enclave) … We need to continually remind ourselves that honest, intelligent people can disagree with us for reasons that are honorable.”

That is for sure. Obama deported thousands of people and killed non-Americans with drones. Bill Clinton eviscerated welfare and passed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I am reminded of a saying: Southern whites don’t like Black People, but they like the individual Black folks they know. Northern whites love Black People, but not the individual Black folks they know.

“If we seriously want to solve any of the mountain of problems we face – or even just be better partisans—we need some spaces where we listen to one another and show up humble enough to accept the fact that we might have something to learn. We need to have conversations that proceed according to a different set of operating instructions. The unspoken imperative should be this: I want to understand you. And I want you to understand me—whether or not we ever agree.”  [Emphasis is Jones’]

I once went through a weeklong training in mind-body techniques with the founder of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, a fellow named James Gordon, a rather refreshingly wacky psychiatrist. In a comment piece in The Guardian, he said this shortly after Trump’s election:

“Trump’s grand and vulgar self-absorption is inviting all of us to examine our own selfishness. His ignorance calls us to attend to our own blind spots. The fears that he stokes and the isolation he promotes goad us to be braver, more generous.”  

In a Huffington Post piece, there’s this from a Buddhist monk named Phap Dung:  “We have the wrong perception that we are separate from the other,” he said. “In a way Trump is a product of a certain way of being in this world so it is very easy to have him as a scapegoat. But if we look closely, we have elements of Trump in us and it is helpful to have time to reflect on that.”

Yeah, okay, I need to be braver and more generous, and attend to my blind spots. What were those Jedi mind-tricks Mr. Jones mentioned?  Harrumph.

**

Valerie and I are currently reading the Hillbilly Elegy to each other. I know that the author is conservative and I’m trying to listen and read J.D. Vance’s memoir without letting that knowledge discredit the experiences he shares in the book. I see that in Lake County, and all over the US, ­­­there are class tensions as well as political ones, and this memoir makes them visible for me. I have one more quote from Van Jones that pushes me to think of my own biases:

“Mutual respect, even in passionate disagreement, must be the goal. Too many liberals look at the red states the same way that colonizers once viewed developing countries. All they see is a bunch of backward, unwashed, uneducated heathens who need to be converted to the NPR religion and force-fed kale until they see the light. This kind of disdain reveals itself in thousands of different ways. But you can’t lead people you don’t love. You can’t rally people you don’t respect. Throughout history, people have resisted being conquered or converted by contemptuous outsiders. If we continue to show up with that attitude, our every word and gesture just fertilizes the soil for white nationalists and others who traffic in the politics of resentment. Without knowing it, we give ammo to the very forces decent-minded people want to defeat.”

Many of my clients are seriously unwashed, and uneducated with barely a GED between them, but all of them have accepted me as an out lesbian from a big city on the east coast. I think my clients know that I am not in the least contemptuous. Puzzled as to why they don’t believe in evolution or global warming, yes. But, contemptuous? No.  

One of my clients is a Veteran, and I case managed his way into finally getting cleared for an operation he’s needed for some time. He’s older than 70, but other than the one issue, he is healthy as a horse. Except for along history of multi-substance abuse, he’s also a law-abiding citizen who supports himself by his own physical labor. He refuses to apply for Social Security. In order to get to Bend where he’ll have his procedure, he needs a ride, because he can’t drive himself home. And he utterly, flat out refuses to use the transportation that is subsidized by taxpayers to get him there for free. Will. Not. Consider. It. I gently asked him why? He stated without hesitation, that accepting a free ride is a form of stealing from taxpayers, and he just isn’t going to do it on principle. He is socially isolated but eventually he bartered with an acquaintance and has a ride both ways.  I think that eventually he’s going to become disabled, because despite his physical strength, his body is going to give out. Perhaps his mind, too. I wonder what he’ll do then.  Even libertarians can’t be an island forever. I am happy to serve as a ferry to the mainland if he’ll let me, when the time comes.

I didn’t ask him what he thinks of ‘corporate welfare’:

[graphic from Robert Reich’s documentary, Saving Capitalism, funded by Netflix]

**

Remember Senator Obama’s speech to the Democratic Party Convention in 2004? His oration put him on the political map. It certainly appealed to the great big-heartedness of the liberal tradition:

“... Alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are all connected as one people.  … "E pluribus unum," out of many, one. ...

There's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America.

There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America.

… We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states.

We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

The audacity of hope: In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead.”

 **

The least we can do in Trumpistan, Whitelandia is defy the Russians, who have apparently fanned the flames of American tribalism for years.

Van Jones writes: “The easy thing to do is to divide people based on a problem. A hard thing is to unite people based on a solution.”

My prayer can be, "May I be a boat, a bridge, a passage."

 (From A Bodhisattva's Prayer by Shantideva)

One day at a time, one person at a time, one crocheted hat for a cranky old man at a time.

[bnha-scenerios-imagines]

Hey, new blog~ may I request some platonic relationship headcanons for Todoroki and Bakugou having a crush on the reader (that kinda go along with the Todoroki platonic headcanons)??

Todoroki Shouto

Todoroki would have to have known you for years. So the two of you are quite close. 

You two met at the beginning of elemntry school and bonded. It took you a few years before he finally opened up about his family and his father. You open up about your own problems and the two of you grow closer together.

He has trouble sleeping so sometimes during lunch he’ll fall asleep on your shoulder or rest his head on yours on the bus ride home. 

 In highschool the two of you worry over each other constantly       •“(Name) have you eaten today?”           “Shouto did you forget your lunch? I brought an extra one”           “Hey I saw you landed awkwadly on your foot during practice. Are         you okay? Should I cool it down for you?”           “Hey you look stressed. Is everything okay? Would you like to talk         about it?”

If Todoroki every catches on that Bakugou has a crush on you he is a little protective of you.

He’s seenBakugou at his best and worst times. He’s seen him become violent with Midoriya, a kind, caring, and gentle person as well asBakugou ‘s childhood friend. He does not trust him.

It would take a lot of time for Todoroki to trustBakugou. A situation would have to rise whereBakugou puts himself at risk for you before Todoroki even considersBakugou trustable.

If you hint or even bring up the fact that you may likeBakugou Todoroki would pullBakugou aside and question what his intentions with you are. Todoroki sees you as a sister, he’s not going to be so willing to let you run off with an aggresive and violent boy. 

In the end if you want to date him Todoroki won’t stop you. He may ask you how it’s going from time to time and make sure he’s treating you well. As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters. 

Katsuki Bakugou

He remembers your name.

You’re extremely kind and patient with him however, it is obvious how nervous you get around him. He tries to be less… aggresive, when he is in your presence. He doesn’t want to scare you however, he doesn’t want to get called out on it either. 

Takes a while for him to realize he has a crush it’s more like, I tolerate you more than I tolerate them. 

It takes a while for him to accept how close you and Todoroki are. He keeps thinking the two of you are dating. You two are always with eachother.

He realizes he needs to get on Todoroki’s good side if he’s ever going to be able to talk to you. 

He almost get’s killed before he even gets a chance to talk with you alone. He’s pissed and ready to fight when he see’s you fighting against three different villians. 

When Todoroki pulls him aside he clearly states what his intentions are with you. He stands with as much confidence as he can muster.

The next time he sees you he pulls you aside and finally confesses to you.          “You…. You want to date me?”          “So what if I fucking want to?”

He actually is pretty soft when you two start dating. He is not big on PDA however, he’s very gentle when you two are alone. He’ll slip his hand into yours, kiss your temple, rub your back when your upset, helps you with any problems. 

He’s not strict with who you hang out with after the two of you start dating. He knows you and Todoroki are like family so he isn’t worried about him. He isn’t worried about his friends because he trusts them enough to not make a move on you. Strangers and people who try to force themselves on you (Mineta) usually end up in the hospital for a few days.

[femkinkharry]

omg hl and 27 or 4! those prompts are so cute

you are the cutest and the sweetest and i love you, chelsea! all of me is all for you – 529 words– canon-compliant baby almost-boyfriend fluff based on prompt 27: i love yous whispered in the dark!

“you still awake, louis?”

“youknow i can’t sleep when you snore.”

harryhides a grin in the ditch of his arm, knowing that louis’ tone negates theharshness of his words. [besides, harry has yet to fall asleep and that meansthat the most noise he’s been making is the hush of his exhales.]

louisturns to face him, lips pulled into a small smirk. “what’s up? can’t sleepeither?”

“worried‘bout tomorrow,” harry confesses to the darkness between them.

underthe heavy blankets, louis crosses their ankles together. “don’t be, curly. you’rethe whole reason we’re still here.”

harryknows that’s not true- knows that they’ve made it this far because they allmesh so well together. he’s a strong believer in fate, in everything happeningfor a reason; there’s a reason that one direction is still in the running towin the x factor and there’s a reason that louis tomlinson is sharing the topof a bunk bed with him even though there’s a perfectly open mattress underneaththem.

insteadof arguing, of pushing back against louis, harry smiles openly. the only lightcoming in is from the moon, but he can see the way louis’ fingers twitch nextto his chest- like he wants to reach out and has thought better of it. no, no,that’s not the way it’s supposed to be, harry thinks. he finds the echo of a “please”on his tongue, but he doesn’t even know what he’s asking for. a touch? validation?reciprocation?

“i loveyour voice,” harry says quietly. finally.

atthat, louis reaches out with purpose, fingers coming to rest on the pulsepoints on harry’s wrists. “i love yours, too. obviously.”

there’sa pause, harry looking at louis and louis’ eyes locked on the places they’reconnected. it’s nice, harry thinks, to enjoy the silence and the way theirheartbeats sync. to be so close that he can taste the warmth of louis’ breath. it’sbeen obvious that the powers that be are attempting to keep them separate andevery atom in harry aches to have louis’ hands on him. even the slight brush oflouis’ knuckles against his cheeks has him sighing contentedly. he’s a tactileperson and always has been and it’s just so fucking unfair that he can’t betouched like this when the sun rises.

“we’re gonna make it,” harry riskssaying, eyes slipping shut under the sweet repetition of louis stroking hischeek. he’s unsure about whether he means one direction or the two of them [ifthere is even a two of them] but the sentiment stands either way.

louis yawns, hands stilling formere moments before tangling in harry’s hair. “i believe you, haz.”

harry hums at the contact, feelinglike he can finally sleep. his nerves melt away, louis seemingly happy to takethem all away from him. it’s reassuring and comforting and harry just loveslouis so, so much. and one day he’ll have the courage to say it instead of “ilove your voice” or offering to cook dinner or ironing louis’ trousers.

but, for now, the tentativereassurances and domestic chores will have to do.  

[listentoemtunespilotscotty]

music list pt.1

stupid google

#331 Pantera-A New Level

Ozzy Osbourne-Perry Mason

Pantera-Fucking Hostile

P.O.D-Will You

Slipknot-Psychosocial

Deftones-Passenger (with Maynard)

FFDP-Momma Said Knock You Out

Weezer-El Scorcho

Weezer-Undone The Sweater Song

Weezer-Pork And Beans

Pantera-Death Rattle

Tool-Parabola

StoneTemplePilots-Sex Type Thing

Ozzy-You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll

Soundgarden-Spoonman

FFDP-Far From Home

Slipknot-Eyeless

Billy Idol-Rebel Yell

Incubus-Pardon Me

Tool-Aenima

Led Zeppelin-Kashmir

Living Colour-Cult of Personality

Breaking Benjamin-Had Enough

Bring Me the Horizon-Happy Song

StoneTemplePilots-Dead and Bloated

The White Stripes-Icky Thump

Incubus-Wish You Were Here

Led Zeppelin-Black Dog

Mötley Crüe-Kickstart My Heart

Incubus-Megalomaniac

Metallica-Fuel

Incubus-Just A Phase

Avenged Sevenfold-Afterlife

Alice In Chains-No Excuses

Guns N’ Roses-If the World

Motörhead-You Better Run/You Better Swim

Guns N’ Roses-Right Next Door to Hell

Seether-Truth

Atreyu-You Eclipsed By Me

RHCP-Easily

Creed-Is This the End

Segment-Wake Up

Metallica-Of Wolf and Man

Metallica-God that Failed

Ozzy-See You on the Other Side

Alice in Chains-Angry Chair

Mudvayne-Dig

S.O.A.D-Bounce

Hellyeah-Hellyeah

FFDP-Jekyll and Hyde

Ghost-From the Pinnacle to the Pit

Staind-Come Again

Megadeth-Angry Again

Papa Roach-Between Angels and Insects

Metallica-Escape

Foo Fighters-Hey, Johnny Park!

Metallica-Ride the Lightning Album

Seven Mary Three-Cumbersome

Corrosion of Conformity-Broken Man

Ill Nino-How Can I Live

Collective Soul-Shine

A Day to Remember-Right Back at It Again

Local H-P.J. Soles

Bush-Machinehead

Kyng-Hide from You

Iron Maiden-Run to the Hills

Royal Blood-Figure It Out

Kyng-Follow Blindly

Kayser-Asphalt and Suicide

Kayser-Old Blanket

Kayser-Good Citizen

Kyng-Electric Halo

Royal Blood-Little Monster

Royal Blood-Out of the Black

Metallica-King Nothing  

Aerosmith-Dude (Looks Like a Lady)

Avenged Sevenfold-The Stage

Rage Against the Machine-Bombtrack

Rush-Spirit of the Radio

Foo Fighters-Rope

Danzig-Mother

Alice in Chains-Again

Ozzy-No More Tears

Ill Niño-De Sangre Hermosa

Ozzy-Mr.Crowley

Machine Head-Game Over

Black Sabbath-War Pigs

Foo Fighters-No Way Back

Machine Head-Beneath the Silt

Metallica-Moth into Flame

Ghost-Cirice

Linkin Park-Points of Authority

Highly Suspect-My Name is Human

Audioslave-Out of Exile

Audioslave-Heaven’s Dead

Cake-The Distance

Soundgarden-Outshined

Foo Fighters-This is a Call

Foo Fighters-Enough Space

The Guess Who-American Woman

Breaking Benjamin-So Cold

Metallica-Atlas Rise

Chevelle-Door to Door Cannibals

Slipknot-Gently

Tool-H.

Guns N’ Roses-Dust N’ Bones

Thrice-Black Honey

Korn-Y'all Want a Single

Nirvana-Scentless Apprentice

Stone Temple Pilots-Vasoline

RHCP-Goodbye Angels

Avenged Sevenfold-Creating God

Incubus-The Warmth

Avenged Sevenfold-Simulation

Incubus-Vitamin

Audioslave-Cochise

Stone Temple Pilots-Big Empty

Danzig-Snakes of Christ

Avenged Sevenfold-Angels

Rise Against-The Violence

Days of the New-Touch, Peel and Stand

Metallica-No Remorse

Thrice-Hurricane

Metallica-Pulling Teeth

Avenged Sevenfold -God Damn

Slipknot-Liberate

Slipknot-Only One

Slipknot-Get This

Linkin Park-Nobody’s Listening

Stone Sour-Fabuless

Linkin Park-Session

Sum 41-Goddamn I’m Dead Again

Linkin Park-No Roads Left

10 Years-Minus the Machine

Seether-Fine Again

Linkin Park-Figure 09

Tool-Part of Me

Tool-Cold and Ugly

Tool-Jerk Off

Tool-Opiate  

Eve 6-Inside Out

Cage the Elephant-Cold Cold Cold

Seether-Count Me Out

Testament-The New Order

RHCP-Aeroplane

RHCP-Coffee Shop

RHCP-One Big Mob

RHCP-Walkabout

RHCP-Falling Into Grace

RHCP-Shallow Be Thy Game

Testament-Into the Pit

KISS-I Was Made for Lovin’ You

Megadeth-Trust

Royal Blood-I Only Lie When I Love You

Korn-Black is the Soul

P.O.D-Masterpiece Conspiracy

P.O.D-Guitarras de Amor

Ghost-Ritual

Ghost-Per Aspera Ad Inferi

Queens of the Stone Age-The Way You Used to Do

Ghost-Absolution

Foo Fighters-Run

Foreigner-Feels like the First Time

Ghost-Con Clavi Con Dio

Arritmia-Te Voy A Matar

Queens of the Stone Age #495 You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire #496 A Song for the Dead #497 Hangin’ Tree #498 Gonna Leave You #499 Do It Again #500 God Is In the Radio #501 A Song for the Death #502 Mosquito Song

Silversun Pickups-Panic Switch

Stone Sour-Somebody Stole My Eyes

Stone Sour-Whiplash Pants

Stone Sour #507 Taipei Person/Allah Tea #508 Rose Red Violent Blue #509 Hydrograd #510 Thank God It’s Over #511 Mercy

Cracker-Low

Theory of a Deadman-Bad Girlfriend

Kings of Leon-Sex on Fire

Ghost-Jigolo Har Megiddo

Korn-Take Me

Godsmack-Come Together

Rammstein-Engel

S.O.A.D-Highway Song

Weezer-The Good Life

Avenged Sevenfold #519 Waking the Fallen #520 I Won’t See You Tonight Pt.1 #521 I Won’t See You Tonight Pt.2 #522 Unholy Confessions #523 Second Heartbeat #524 Remenissions

Incubus-Diamonds and Coal

Serj Tankian-The Charade

Godsmack #529 Sick of Life #530 Spiral #531 Greed #532 Vampires #533 Mistakes

[iprayunceasingly-blog]

Why the Holy Land is the 'fifth gospel' of Christianity

New Post has been published on https://pray-unceasingly.com/catholic-living/catholic-news/why-the-holy-land-is-the-fifth-gospel-of-christianity/

Why the Holy Land is the 'fifth gospel' of Christianity

Jerusalem, Nov 7, 2018 / 03:07 am (CNA).- Pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a powerful journey that can ignite Christian faith through seeing the places Jesus walked, worked miracles, died and rose from the dead.

The Franciscans who have served in the region say people should go.

“When you come here, you are very moved by the experience. It puts the gospel in perspective,” Father Athanasius Macora, O.F.M., told CNA from Jerusalem. “It’s a very powerful tool for evangelizing or re-evangelizing Catholics.”

Macora, an American, is a friar of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, which oversees the holy sites, helps support the Christian presence in the Holy Land, and welcomes Christian pilgrims from around the world.

Another Holy Land Franciscan, the Ghana-born Father Benjamin Owusu, O.F.M., reflected that the Christian experience of Jesus Christ preceded the written scriptures.

“Jesus said we should go and proclaim the gospel. And the gospel was proclaimed. People came to believe. But not in the written part of revelation… if the Word became flesh, it became flesh in a place. Where is that place? That is the Holy Land,” Owusu told CNA. “The Holy Land also testifies to the Word made Flesh, and that makes it more real to us.”

“By going to the Holy Land, the Holy Land becomes real in the life of Christians because of what it stands for,” he continued. “It is, as Pope Paul VI put it, the ‘fifth gospel’ which is not written on ink, but written on stones.”

Owusu works in the pilgrimage office of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, the Franciscan Custody’s outpost in Washington, D.C. The monastery itself hosts replicas of holy sites and holds various events to help link visitors to the land where Jesus Christ walked.

The Holy Land includes Israel, the Palestinian territories, and parts of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The diversity of Christian sites there range from the churches and other places marking events like the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Nativity in Bethlehem, Jesus’ ministry along the Sea of Galilee, and of course Jerusalem, where the site of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is now marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Added to these places are the living legacy of the Jewish people. The Wailing Wall, located at the base of the site of the Temple of King David, gathers thousands of Jews who pray and celebrate at the start of every Sabbath.

Muslims too consider Jerusalem a holy site, and the heights Temple Mount, once the site of the Temple, now hosts both the al-Aqsa Mosque and the golden, gleaming Dome of the Rock shrine.

Father Macora said that in his time in the Holy Land, he has witnessed “quite a number of stories” of spiritual enrichment or transformation among Christian pilgrims. People decide to go to confession for the first time in decades because of a visit to the Holy Sepulchre.

“Once I was asked by a friend to guide a woman at the Holy Sepulchre. I don’t think she was practicing her faith, but after she came out of the tomb she was weeping. So she was hit by the experience,” he continued.

Owusu said the Holy Land has played a large role in the Christian imagination “since time immemorial.”

“Believers have always wanted to go back to their roots, to see the places where our salvation history took place. For example, St. Francis of Assisi was so eager to go and see where Jesus was born, where he was crucified, and where he rose again.”

A Holy Land pilgrimage “really helps Christians in their belief, it ignites their faith and helps us to understand the Scripture in a different way.”

Macora has seen pilgrims weeping at the altar in the quiet Basilica of Agony, near the Garden of Gethsemane, the site where Jesus prayed before Judas handed him over to be arrested.

The Franciscan priest, an American who grew up in a military family, has served in the Holy Land for more than 20 years. Among his current roles is guardian of the Flagellation Monastery in Jerusalem.

Meeting local people is an important part of the experience, he commented, as they are “definitely part of the enduring fascination of the Holy Land.” Some people, such as the region’s shepherds, maintain cultural practices similar to those of biblical times. The guides who accompany visitors and pilgrims are very important, serving as “an ambassador of his or her people.”

He also cautioned that the enduring problems and recent history of the Holy Land, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are something that first-time pilgrims can misunderstand.

“I think that they have to understand how complex the Holy Land is,” said Macora. “I think that they need to hear both sides of the story. There is a conflict going on and there are all kinds of sharp rivalries, even between Christians themselves.”

Israel is about 75 percent Jewish. Its Palestinian population, largely resident in the West Bank and the Gaza strip, is about 18 percent Muslim and two percent Christian, with both Christians and Muslims tending to identify as Palestinian Arab. The Christian population has largely declined due to emigration. Only about 16,000 of the 870,000 residents of Jerusalem are Christian, a significant drop in recent decades, CNEWA reports.

Owusu said there is more to the region than many visitors expect. While people hear about the Holy Land through news media, which often tell stories of violence and conflict, he stressed the importance of “those stories we don’t hear: the day-to-day experiences that go on there among these people, where Christians and Muslims live together in the same place, where Jews and Muslims live together in a particular place.”

“Those things never come on the news,” he said. “These are the things that really make the place real. Not occasional crisis, but the day-to-day life that really goes on. That is what people would really like to know.”

“It is a place where life continues,” he said. “People should not be limited to the bad news, but they should look beyond that and be hopeful.”

However, Macora said it is difficult to make deep contact with local people.

“It takes time to understand certain things and this is not easily achieved,” he said. “For someone coming to the Holy Land for the first time, there is a lot of information, almost too much, to process on the first pilgrimage.”

For Owusu, the Holy Land should never be “a museum where you go and only see places.”

“The people are formed in Mother Church, especially the Christians in the Holy Land,” he said. “The people reflect the reality and the history of what we know about the place, especially in connecting it to the Scriptures.”

While Americans can be skeptical of visiting the region, Owusu said locals receive Americans “with two arms open, as they would receive the Polish or the Italians.” Travel to the Holy Land is positive for both the pilgrim and the host.

“It brings them together,” said the priest. “Pilgrimage in this land is also a sign of hope. The people mostly depend on pilgrimages and they also see that, irrespective of whatever situation the American comes from, there is another brother on the other side of the world that may bring them hope.”

“What you bring back from the holy land is faith…. You take your faith there and you bring it back,” Owusu said.

Pilgrim groups hit a record high in January 2018, with 770 groups bringing 26,000 people, the Custody of the Holy Land-sponsored Christian Information Center said in February. In January 2017 only 529 groups visited and a year prior only 390 did.

Israeli government statistics indicate over half of 2017 tourists were Christian and one-quarter were coming on pilgrimage, with over 40 percent having previously visited Israel. The number of Chinese, Russian and Eastern European pilgrims were on the rise, the Jerusalem Post reported in February.

Israeli tourism minister Yariv Levin credited the increase in tourism to his office’s changes, including an improved visa process.

While travel costs and can be a barrier for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Owusu said it is possible with some financial preparation.

“It’s a life experience,” he said. Those with a desire to go could afford it by saving about a thousand dollars a year for several years, he estimated.

Those who want to go on a pilgrimage should contact the Franciscans who work there, he suggested.

“We’ve been doing this since time immemorial,” said Owusu.

The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America has information on pilgrimages at the website holylandpilgrimages.org.

  CNA Daily News – Middle East – Africa

[notsoredhotchilipepperz]

music list pt.1

stupid google

#331 Pantera-A New Level 

Ozzy Osbourne-Perry Mason

Pantera-Fucking Hostile 

P.O.D-Will You

Slipknot-Psychosocial

Deftones-Passenger (with Maynard)

FFDP-Momma Said Knock You Out

Weezer-El Scorcho

Weezer-Undone The Sweater Song

Weezer-Pork And Beans

Pantera-Death Rattle

Tool-Parabola 

StoneTemplePilots-Sex Type Thing

Ozzy-You Can't Kill Rock and Roll

Soundgarden-Spoonman

FFDP-Far From Home

Slipknot-Eyeless

Billy Idol-Rebel Yell

Incubus-Pardon Me

Tool-Aenima

Led Zeppelin-Kashmir

Living Colour-Cult of Personality

Breaking Benjamin-Had Enough

Bring Me the Horizon-Happy Song 

StoneTemplePilots-Dead and Bloated

The White Stripes-Icky Thump

Incubus-Wish You Were Here 

Led Zeppelin-Black Dog

Mötley Crüe-Kickstart My Heart

Incubus-Megalomaniac

Metallica-Fuel

Incubus-Just A Phase

Avenged Sevenfold-Afterlife

Alice In Chains-No Excuses

Guns N' Roses-If the World

Motörhead-You Better Run/You Better Swim

Guns N' Roses-Right Next Door to Hell

Seether-Truth

Atreyu-You Eclipsed By Me

RHCP-Easily

Creed-Is This the End

Segment-Wake Up

Metallica-Of Wolf and Man

Metallica-God that Failed

Ozzy-See You on the Other Side

Alice in Chains-Angry Chair

Mudvayne-Dig

S.O.A.D-Bounce 

Hellyeah-Hellyeah

FFDP-Jekyll and Hyde

Ghost-From the Pinnacle to the Pit

Staind-Come Again

Megadeth-Angry Again

Papa Roach-Between Angels and Insects 

Metallica-Escape

Foo Fighters-Hey, Johnny Park!

Metallica-Ride the Lightning Album

Seven Mary Three-Cumbersome

Corrosion of Conformity-Broken Man

Ill Nino-How Can I Live

Collective Soul-Shine

A Day to Remember-Right Back at It Again

Local H-P.J. Soles

Bush-Machinehead

Kyng-Hide from You

Iron Maiden-Run to the Hills

Royal Blood-Figure It Out

Kyng-Follow Blindly

Kayser-Asphalt and Suicide

Kayser-Old Blanket

Kayser-Good Citizen

Kyng-Electric Halo

Royal Blood-Little Monster

Royal Blood-Out of the Black

Metallica-King Nothing  

Aerosmith-Dude (Looks Like a Lady)

Avenged Sevenfold-The Stage

Rage Against the Machine-Bombtrack

Rush-Spirit of the Radio

Foo Fighters-Rope

Danzig-Mother

Alice in Chains-Again

Ozzy-No More Tears

Ill Niño-De Sangre Hermosa

Ozzy-Mr.Crowley

Machine Head-Game Over

Black Sabbath-War Pigs

Foo Fighters-No Way Back

Machine Head-Beneath the Silt

Metallica-Moth into Flame

Ghost-Cirice

Linkin Park-Points of Authority

Highly Suspect-My Name is Human

Audioslave-Out of Exile

Audioslave-Heaven's Dead

Cake-The Distance

Soundgarden-Outshined

Foo Fighters-This is a Call

Foo Fighters-Enough Space

The Guess Who-American Woman

Breaking Benjamin-So Cold

Metallica-Atlas Rise

Chevelle-Door to Door Cannibals

Slipknot-Gently 

Tool-H.

Guns N' Roses-Dust N' Bones

Thrice-Black Honey

Korn-Y'all Want a Single

Nirvana-Scentless Apprentice

Stone Temple Pilots-Vasoline

RHCP-Goodbye Angels

Avenged Sevenfold-Creating God

Incubus-The Warmth

Avenged Sevenfold-Simulation

Incubus-Vitamin

Audioslave-Cochise

Stone Temple Pilots-Big Empty

Danzig-Snakes of Christ

Avenged Sevenfold-Angels

Rise Against-The Violence

Days of the New-Touch, Peel and Stand

Metallica-No Remorse

Thrice-Hurricane

Metallica-Pulling Teeth

Avenged Sevenfold -God Damn

Slipknot-Liberate 

Slipknot-Only One

Slipknot-Get This

Linkin Park-Nobody's Listening

Stone Sour-Fabuless

Linkin Park-Session

Sum 41-Goddamn I'm Dead Again

Linkin Park-No Roads Left

10 Years-Minus the Machine

Seether-Fine Again

Linkin Park-Figure 09

Tool-Part of Me

Tool-Cold and Ugly

Tool-Jerk Off

Tool-Opiate  

Eve 6-Inside Out

Cage the Elephant-Cold Cold Cold

Seether-Count Me Out

Testament-The New Order

RHCP-Aeroplane

RHCP-Coffee Shop

RHCP-One Big Mob

RHCP-Walkabout

RHCP-Falling Into Grace 

RHCP-Shallow Be Thy Game 

Testament-Into the Pit

KISS-I Was Made for Lovin' You

Megadeth-Trust

Royal Blood-I Only Lie When I Love You

Korn-Black is the Soul

P.O.D-Masterpiece Conspiracy

P.O.D-Guitarras de Amor

Ghost-Ritual

Ghost-Per Aspera Ad Inferi

Queens of the Stone Age-The Way You Used to Do

Ghost-Absolution

Foo Fighters-Run

Foreigner-Feels like the First Time

Ghost-Con Clavi Con Dio

Arritmia-Te Voy A Matar

Queens of the Stone Age #495 You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire #496 A Song for the Dead  #497 Hangin' Tree  #498 Gonna Leave You  #499 Do It Again  #500 God Is In the Radio #501 A Song for the Death #502 Mosquito Song

Silversun Pickups-Panic Switch

Stone Sour-Somebody Stole My Eyes

Stone Sour-Whiplash Pants

Stone Sour #507 Taipei Person/Allah Tea #508 Rose Red Violent Blue  #509 Hydrograd  #510 Thank God It's Over  #511 Mercy 

Cracker-Low

Theory of a Deadman-Bad Girlfriend

Kings of Leon-Sex on Fire

Ghost-Jigolo Har Megiddo

Korn-Take Me

Godsmack-Come Together

Rammstein-Engel

S.O.A.D-Highway Song

Weezer-The Good Life

Avenged Sevenfold #519 Waking the Fallen #520 I Won't See You Tonight Pt.1 #521 I Won't See You Tonight Pt.2 #522 Unholy Confessions #523 Second Heartbeat #524 Remenissions

Incubus-Diamonds and Coal

Serj Tankian-The Charade

Godsmack #529 Sick of Life #530 Spiral #531 Greed #532 Vampires  #533 Mistakes