As per the book "Ireland's Treasures: 5000 Years of Artistic Expression," the Pope Celestine in 431 sent a man named Palladius to serve as bishop to the Irish believing in Christ. It was probably the first time in history that the papacy had agreed to send a bishop to people outside the bounds of the Roman Empire. This act would suggest there must have been a sufficient number of Christians in Ireland to warrant the sending of a bishop to provide them with pastoral care, and that gradual Christianization must surely have been happening already in the fourth century.
One of the principal characters in the Evansing novel is a warrior turned monk by the name of Percival. He has been chiseled by life to become a humble man who plays a very important mentoring role in the life of Edwin, the central hero in the book. The two men are separated by many years in age but their hearts are joined in the common purpose of pursuing The Quest of bringing unity to the fractious feuding kingdoms of Ireland. Percival plays a protective fatherly role for Edwin and is a great source of wisdom and knowledge to the young man.
Evansing - Heart of the Irish Kingdom is available at createspace.com and Amazon.com.
Friday, 13 September 2013
Thursday, 5 September 2013
The Yearning for a Father and a Healed Heart
This is the second posting of sharing the traits of the characters in the novel "Evansing - Heart of the Irish Kingdom." The book is available at createspace.com and Amazon.com.
At the time Edwin recognized he needed to try to find a new life, he also experienced his deep desire for a father. He thought of this as he considered going to a local monastery and recalled how the priests were called Father. He desperately wanted to be loved and even celebrated just for being alive. He hungered to have the little boy in him nurtured and nourished.
Fathers have great responsibility for the present and future well-being of their children. The effects of poor fathering can leave serious scars on a child's heart. It behooves every father to recognize the importance of their daily interaction with their children for better or for worse.
Persons hurt by bad fathering have responsibility to get past the pain and disappointment. It all starts with forgiveness, no matter how atrocious the behavior they've experienced. As long as there is pain and unhealed wounds it is important to seek healing. One very powerful way is to simply ask God to heal your heart. It is out of one's heart that all the issues of life flow. In other words every part of your life will be tainted by whatever lies and hurts dwell in your heart. As James Richards of Impact Ministries has shared, if for example you have a poverty heart you will never feel worthy to have prosperity. There will always be something that will get in the way. Likewise if you struggle in relationships or health or whatever there is a root heart issue that needs healing. Consider visiting impactministries.com to check out their resources for healing the heart.
At the time Edwin recognized he needed to try to find a new life, he also experienced his deep desire for a father. He thought of this as he considered going to a local monastery and recalled how the priests were called Father. He desperately wanted to be loved and even celebrated just for being alive. He hungered to have the little boy in him nurtured and nourished.
Fathers have great responsibility for the present and future well-being of their children. The effects of poor fathering can leave serious scars on a child's heart. It behooves every father to recognize the importance of their daily interaction with their children for better or for worse.
Persons hurt by bad fathering have responsibility to get past the pain and disappointment. It all starts with forgiveness, no matter how atrocious the behavior they've experienced. As long as there is pain and unhealed wounds it is important to seek healing. One very powerful way is to simply ask God to heal your heart. It is out of one's heart that all the issues of life flow. In other words every part of your life will be tainted by whatever lies and hurts dwell in your heart. As James Richards of Impact Ministries has shared, if for example you have a poverty heart you will never feel worthy to have prosperity. There will always be something that will get in the way. Likewise if you struggle in relationships or health or whatever there is a root heart issue that needs healing. Consider visiting impactministries.com to check out their resources for healing the heart.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Awakening and awareness
August 31, 2012
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the life wisdom and admirable traits demonstrated by the characters in the novel, "Evansing - Heart of the Irish Kingdom" available at https://www.createspace.com/3935159 and Amazon.com.
In Chapter 1, Edwin the hero, wakes up realizing he needs to do something different. He finds it hard to imagine life could be different, but he has decided to at least try. The concept in life of awakening and becoming aware is a very foundational truth. It is essential to growth. Until a person knows there is a better way of doing life, he or she will have no motivation to change or even a capacity to know change is necessary. As well, a person must have at least some basic belief in their ability to achieve the desired change and a willingness to take the necessary steps.
An essential requirement for becoming awake and aware is teachableness. Whether it's from an external source, such as an expert on some subject or simply an internal stirring, there needs to be a willingness to acknowledge that one's present course or beliefs may be erroneous or at least need an adjustment to ensure a better outcome in some aspect of one's life.
In order for the new awareness to have any effect there must also be a courage to take steps to implement the required change. This can be very difficult, especially if there is a lot of investment tied into the previous belief and behavior. There have been examples of military commanders still going ahead with battle plans even after new intelligence indicated that the plans would not work. Their ego investment would not allow them to change and the results were disastrous with many lives needlessly lost. Of course even everyday opportunities to change can be ignored simply because its uncomfortable. Quite often this is due to some sort of fear of the consequences of the change, even when it is apparent it will lead to better long-term benefits. People can have fear of failure or even fear of success. This will result in a person staying in a dead end job or abusive relationship because its familiar and even in a distorted way, comfortable.
Let us be people who are open to the possibility of being wrong in even some of our most cherished beliefs and actions. Let us be people with the courage to take steps to implement necessary changes.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the life wisdom and admirable traits demonstrated by the characters in the novel, "Evansing - Heart of the Irish Kingdom" available at https://www.createspace.com/3935159 and Amazon.com.
In Chapter 1, Edwin the hero, wakes up realizing he needs to do something different. He finds it hard to imagine life could be different, but he has decided to at least try. The concept in life of awakening and becoming aware is a very foundational truth. It is essential to growth. Until a person knows there is a better way of doing life, he or she will have no motivation to change or even a capacity to know change is necessary. As well, a person must have at least some basic belief in their ability to achieve the desired change and a willingness to take the necessary steps.
An essential requirement for becoming awake and aware is teachableness. Whether it's from an external source, such as an expert on some subject or simply an internal stirring, there needs to be a willingness to acknowledge that one's present course or beliefs may be erroneous or at least need an adjustment to ensure a better outcome in some aspect of one's life.
In order for the new awareness to have any effect there must also be a courage to take steps to implement the required change. This can be very difficult, especially if there is a lot of investment tied into the previous belief and behavior. There have been examples of military commanders still going ahead with battle plans even after new intelligence indicated that the plans would not work. Their ego investment would not allow them to change and the results were disastrous with many lives needlessly lost. Of course even everyday opportunities to change can be ignored simply because its uncomfortable. Quite often this is due to some sort of fear of the consequences of the change, even when it is apparent it will lead to better long-term benefits. People can have fear of failure or even fear of success. This will result in a person staying in a dead end job or abusive relationship because its familiar and even in a distorted way, comfortable.
Let us be people who are open to the possibility of being wrong in even some of our most cherished beliefs and actions. Let us be people with the courage to take steps to implement necessary changes.
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