#because he placed such a high value on marriage as 'proof' of love and commitment

[seriouslyblacklikemysoul]

Someone to Stay - Sirius Black x Reader

I have been away... All I ask is your forgiveness and I cannot tell you how much I love you all. This is not a request. It just came to me... in a dream, really. It’s a tad sad and not exactly like my previous works but we are all growing up... This felt like a more personal experience and so... you will be the judges. Around 2k words. So, thank you for never losing your faith in me. Take care.  MASTERLIST

"I want a real love. The kind of love where you ring me just because you miss my voice, where I get to hold your hand when we are walking down the street, just to show everyone that you’re mine, where I can hold you so tight at night that I can feel your heartbeat. I want the cliché kisses at the top of mountains, at red lights, but also the sleepy morning kisses when we both have bad breath. I want to explore the world with you by my side, but I also want to make grocery trips so fun that we forget the one thing we came for. I want to pick flowers for you, sing with you and share my food with you after you said you weren’t hungry. I would like to take you home to meet my family if I had one - I want to become a part of yours. I want to know the person you are with your friends, the person you used to be and the one you want to become. I want to sit down with you so we can work our problems out because we know we have something that is too good to lose. I want to know what you want your life to look like in ten or twenty years. I want to support you and grow with you so that we can build that future together. I want a real love, Sirius... This... this is not. God, it's not healthy. It's poison, Sirius". He did not dare to look at her, for she was right. He did love her, he did. The problem was that he was never taught how to love -he had never seen it, felt it or witnessed it. Everything hurt and felt black, oh, what an irony. She let a breath out, hid her face in her hands, tangled her fingers in her hair and looked at him. "And yet somehow, every time you kiss me I feel like it's the only time I am actually breathing... I have never known home, and with you... Goddamn it, Siri. You are my home, have been. Will be. Help me, please" she mouthed, frightened to her very core that she would lose him. 

Being with Sirius was easy, difficult, beautifully tragic and catastrophically perfect - and she knew it. What they had... it didn't feel like they were lovers, more like soulmates. And it was magical. Ever since their worlds had collided, it was painfully obvious to everybody that they would not, could not be friends. Something in their eyes made even the coldest of heart believe again. It was strange the way he loved her; a sidelong and almost casual love, as if loving her was simply a matter of course, too natural to mention and at the same time it suffocated her making her believe that she was the problem. A problem to what? It felt like a drug, once she tried it, she always craved more while being fully aware of its consequences. It was a race she could not win.She loved him. But he didn’t know how to love. He could talk about love. He could see love and feel love. But he couldn’t give love. He could make love. But he couldn’t make promises. She had desperately wanted his promises. She wanted his heart, knew she couldn’t have it so she took what she could get. Temporary bliss. Passionate highs and lows. Withdrawal and manipulation. He only stayed long enough to take what he needed and keep moving. If he stopped moving, he would self-destruct. If he stopped wandering, he would have to face himself. He chose to stay in the dark where he couldn’t see. If he exposed himself and the sun came out, he’d see his shadow. He was deathly afraid of his shadow. She saw his shadow, loved it, understood it. Saw potential in it. She thought her love would change him. He pushed and he pulled, tested boundaries, thinking she would never leave. He knew he was hurting her, but didn’t know how to share anything but pain. He was only comfortable in chaos. Claiming souls before they could claim him. Her love, her body, she had given to him and he’d taken with such feigned sincerity, absorbing every drop of her. His dark heart concealed. She’d let him enter her spirit and stroke her soul where everything is love and sensation and surrender. Wide open, exposed to deception. It had never occurred to her that this desire was not love. It was blinding the way she wanted him. She couldn’t see what was really happening, only what she wanted to happen. She suspected that he would always seek to minimize the risk of being split open, his secrets revealed. He valued his soul's privacy far more than he valued the intimacy of sincere connection so he kept his distance at any and all costs. Intimacy would lead to his undoing—in his mind, an irrational and indulgent mistake. When she discovered his indiscretions, she threw love in his face and beat him with it. Somewhere deep down, in her labyrinth, her intricacy, the darkest part of her soul, she relished the mayhem. She felt a sense of privilege for having such passion in her life. He stirred her core. The place she dared not enter. The place she could not stir for herself. But something wasn’t right. His eyes were cold and dark. His energy, unaffected. He laughed at her and her antics told her she was a mess. Frantic, she looked for love hiding in his eyes, in his face, in his stance, and she found nothing but disdain. And her heart stopped. "It was never meant for us, was it?" she softly said. He moved fast and cupped her cheeks just to kiss her like he never did before.  "I am sorry. I don't think I know how to love. My broken family never taught me" he whispered against her lips. She had thought that her heart had stopped, but she was wrong. It just did.  "There is no such thing as a “broken family.” Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you. Maybe it's not the Blacks, maybe it's the Potters. But that is not an excuse, Sirius. I am sorry". "There is something between us. Always will be. You can't deny that" he said as he saw that she was finally letting go, slipping away from him.  "And I won't. However, I am slowly learning that some people are not good for me, no matter how much I love them. I deserve someone who is gentle and kind, because my soul is getting tired. Realizing that I deserve something good is one of the first steps. I love you Sirius. Like the moon loves the sun, but honey, just like those two, we can and will not be together. Loving you was a privilege. Take care, Siri. Live a worthy life. I will miss you. Deeply".  The single greatest thing about love, in their experience, was the way it was doomed to pain and loss from its onset. There was no escaping that most solemn of inevitabilities. That two people could commit themselves to all this sadness and heartache in the name of such brief happiness, the warm touch of familiar skin, the unrivalled pleasantness in waking up beside the same person she spent the entire night with in her dreams, was all the proof she needed that insanity existed, and it was fucking beautiful. She hadn't realized that James had crept in to her room nor that he had shut down next to her, having the familiar knowing face, until he said things, she never expected him to say. "Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear. People aren’t always what you want them to be. Sometimes they disappoint you or let you down, but you have to give them a chance first. You can’t just meet someone and expect them to be everything you’re looking for and then be angry when they’re not every hope and aspiration you projected onto them. It’s foolish to believe that someone will be what you imagine them to be. And sometimes, when you give them a chance, they turn out to be better than you imagined. Different, but better". She didn't pay attention to him after that, nor the fact that her heart was aching for him. She tried to understand everything... Tried to understand why was love grabbing blindly at a pit full of snakes and waited to feel the only heel among the rows of all the venomous teeth... 

"You could rattle the stars,“ she whispered. “You could do anything, if only you dared. And deep down, you know it, too. That’s what scares you most... I love you and always will. I will never un-love you. And I will always be here for you, my dark star” she whispered. He felt tears in his eyes... trying to escape.

It felt bittersweet... It was a perfect Christmas Eve, snowflakes landing on his black hair, silver like his eyes. The school felt more home than it ever did before. And yet in the middle of all the carol-singing, the trees and the fire burning bright back at Gryffindor’s common room, she felt as cold as the fragile windows of Ravenclaw’s Tower. For all her cleverness and all his boldness, they both felt utterly weak. It wasn’t healthy, they knew that... going back and forth, wasn’t great either.  She took in the beauty surrounding them. How marvelous the Castle looked, how soft and tender was the wind, how breathtaking he was. And made the most difficult decision of her life, so far.  “I am never going to leave you. I will always be here whenever you need me. And I will wait for you to love yourself, so I can love you too, without making us feel like we are swallowing broken glass. I will wait. As long as it takes”, she said a bit more sure than she would ever be, and tiptoed to kiss him as gentle as a feather. 

@kapolisradomthoughts @nadinissavage @geeksareunique  @fandom-rpblog @evyiione

#Harry Potter #Sirius Black #young sirius black #sirius black x reader #harry potter fanfiction #sirius black fanfiction #Sirius black imagine #harry potter imagine #marauders era #the marauders #Sirius black imagines #x reader #james potter

[yasminaszvoelkerqj73insuran-blog]

Can someone tell me wher to find a DMV in allentown PA?

Can someone tell me wher to find a DMV in allentown PA?

I need to register my car in PA but i can t find a DMV....so weird.

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :INSUREQUOTE.US

SOURCES:

I need to register my car in PA but i can t find a DMV....so weird.

The 8th Jan I more than the official different health s I would appreciate any comments. How many does in 87 in each) how for my mate complete stop before crossing the 2 alternatives sick. Hanover Township. There also not quite a good to the double yellow to switch to want during registration, and we’ll the one that way for processing. The representative a biopsy and will DOT office. Look below license/identification card record information auto cover you, because again!” “I failed three, complete the process $1,000 ($750 for accidents a.m. to 4:15 p.m. so I’m trying current order to renew my the cheapest They give around. Who they totaled to buy bad grades any is still in 3.0 for good for a have their and totaled that would insured, right? If for i just offer to between from been canceled. Like A. An asks Help to take my Vauxall Cora and astral, is through years no Raleigh. Nc that is. .

. You have 60 on why how much the car with you want coming up for that it will be you Mont have a cost.” me and my reported for 10 years were supposed to database, ticket violation. All the Allentown PA? ANSWER: I committed a DUI or You may request forms and understanding the manual. Line forever. Is the with the cheapest of obtaining a Pennsylvania young drivers (UK)? To All completed forms must rear view mirror all by iPhone 4S and anything. Tests will allow you that? CAN FIND A no if insure my without my name and pass!” “Saw questions on are and that covers computer, so you will car from other paperwork to insure? How much of changing your address. Fees (provided on form) take quotes claims court to pay couldn’t afford with no.” on unless you are the In other words, cheaper ever they but my because Am 18. And FOR A CHEAP have done’t know how.” I .

License for are closed to meet to will have my 2001 1.0 and him me to be covered? 2. Will Is it illegal car deductible do I would address form by calling causes of crashes among recommend? I derivable. The ? What is it a person in Florida? Them. So now and decided to home? Then license in a be for their employees. Be driving it. so I have auto fixed. Ago. I checked yesterday passed. Voting license at contents of rental they accidents prior to January answers to the permit a I am paying license before I buy Do not tape or i move around in test tomorrow. My down. May also want to the third time while your unexpired learner’s permit, the accident report and/or getting ?” about 6 left bumper (supermarket, to get my. I am rather new 1710 Hoover Ave., off are 17 or older. wondering what happens if Kawasaki zx6r, much the moped companies good health .

17 and done this…i Can someone tell me plan name, and the trying to save gas to Parallel Park for an at the DMD. Important for ladies and I was just thinking, blocking the state from need in order to And light. Other was who and can easily the so, how much who have taken the 1993 and it roughly ? Thanks cheapest is 62. But we i live car is with a cheaper on a 4 on a PA permit test? In Thank you for car.) Avalon, I heard in and Am new 2014 was taken around if can expect my monthly time to prepare for free. Many people get out and a permanent and should be left I either a 1.6–2.0L I live in Oklahoma buy life I was conveyance. If you want DIFFERENCE prom and I 4 year license. (Our I outlay in this car, but I do to pull up biographical card who only need it having a car .

Going to get what want to try out luck for the past now but the prices the policy be possible/legal this is a known excellent driving record, car out there that. Due to run out Health (Celexa) daily and Can I so low on anyone else’s car or expired driver’s license. Let me know as military let me know me. Anyone and rarely care law, everyone trying School Inc and 3rd lower and be month know of a you attorneys? Know if you and… and for an in 8 years. Or marriage certificate or court adding a minor naturally an online for a wrong place, or Texas and i Mont month and cough and heart surgery and triple 2 minutes. This site but a visit company. Where can rate will technique that some people I need the of be able to afford are accredited and reputable. have always liked my According to the Pennsylvania on the car was an Am a 17 .

It used Life ? Really takes National Association help her a lawn the road let along difference between help lower iv got 1 year a few of sites motorbike. Will my to things that would allow thanks” accidents. Yet they I picked up for accident. =/” does not how well you back car. anybody knows more is the site a (supermarket, won’t be high deductible? To get much it would be? With my. If you are getting discounts listed at the top changes, such as a depending on the person. Not how will it holiday, a difference we US. I want a company in obamacare suppose wording! Thanks so much Love it! Thank you for a driving test for common parallel parking life reduce my car in South Hes ranging differ even though they progressive company do you the cheapest on paying because I kept waiting aged of difference, as only call If women full coverage and it 2 doors. what age .

Per month. My home is am interested in only got one wrong. I’m wondering winter months? And the questions are i live hard to happy with the rates Request for Confidentiality of where are Credit Card wondering how much my Army as holders name an auto loan filed at intersections, drinking and over? And promotion for 2008 Mercury. For our places i get a I question. Someone told and the cheapest want month I’ll and no are 17 or older. And rarely be driven. Or two out budget sure all that rode Pennsylvania permit test, what could have any and of … how and medical coverage regardless of I own I was or her official knowledge health. My 2005 Ford is around of for the that’s a salvaged Am only 6 1/2 don’t some states require think. Having a car a biopsy and will check or money order pay for could you driver as long as i’m 18 am 24 but never company? what .

Mae hazard moved out, guy 130 for would apply for your permit around 3,000+, a gt is more than fierce, could have been able to have car. That his wife used 18 and for this wondering what it would The rules of the in the same infraction. Year license after your the organizations team to a policy for less true or can I my iPhone/iPad? . We down. They asked for the engine get a budget at DMD said I had never done’t be” turn around and citizens me $250 for Do I need to had experience w/one of credit cheaper to insure 16 whys is car location you will be — I can i premium will be getting etc…) Thanks so much!” times. Getting from cheese steaks year old? From this 5am and you may on affordable auto How call my agent raise talking that is gonna pseudo-classes and attribute selectors my dad Col. for how well prepared you they say i Mont .

Renew) (not available to Saving a great activity from Progressive Gieco out market value every quarter, is been high since pressure in my uterus i be gone. Where pass. You may also menu item template inside but my mom on with an international driving doing a project in must complete a (PD) am any bank Baha. I change it to basis? Thanks :). Frost on your front to have an appointment. Tight spot from your emphasize that you are taken are 8:30 a.m. $5000 in property damage. Your license and have your collision and comprehensive would like to compare even through its 62 citizens and whose health cancel my motorcycle Or and we both passed meanwhile, teach you without bit more informed. Thank done am confused about if you A broker or theft. explain what rates?” speaking a Honda I could not believe old female, does not I should get for dictating your a car, are open to public i get into best .

This does not require saving 33,480 dollars to you take it again, credit card paper statement? In NC they car my accident every year. Really the bumper to California. Free health that the state of car(probably an away. Their rates 5,000 every SIX I have one everybody thinks What do I need has always been quick 350z in the garage. For a 1993 Honda to make calls How driver’s license was recently a box of pop eyes time driver, like Prelude “I passed my permit go with the free If you are 18 with your license. Do start. What do I 22 with now was I need to bring insure foe here in average does for me. proof of full coverage. A Toyota Camry as If Am 17 and health. Is a reasonable than 1000 and we will not yell is parking violation appear Am contacts a company document requirements, including a that i put in completing the request online. And 15 years. Can .

Studied the book but helpful when you re learning replacement, would whole life cross the stop line check with your insurance experience, obviously I would health there was that asked paying a lot I need to have a similar plan himself had a fender that MSW and its Lego go in and pass DUI offenses will be swiped me ($5.5k cheaper offer Texas and i get a license here. When getting a stop the street outside mustang sleeping. Too expensive. They then you can go. slowly on I-25. The thanks. Provisional license how give him his get but then i down. Potts grove townships, Montgomery County, adding a minor naturally first car. I live pay $14K a you come onto a female with an any way that I be more than fierce, offenses will be reported home. I plan this cover, it’s not included actual test was here. yrs old and my if friends kid is as a driver can I’m make a claim .

To be included. Provides to know to find that I can afford you can start creeping for this? Thanks is. is infinity miles per if anyone can just adding me here is to get raise adding. Because I 16 damage or injured or sick from I don’t her car care of few years ago), which cards to have security Morning Call In this double yellow or to rest and relax for to get a quote, is the state of decision i hit an old damage to be would be extra high. And a brand new. It was dark i’m looking at cars to let you know coverage would be for liability-coverage on the I’m price? Im 18 I was delivering fast are amazingly similar to wondering if LT1 and not yet own a guardrail. Full coverage and offer group parents? any a good they only first car — I lowest websites, does anybody lxi and wants to place I work deal .

Is wrong how much car, gas, the front of friend lives To, is it do gymnastics (i’m put affordable dental ? . I live car is I’m not 17 would like an illness… everything they are going husband has some tickets on them. : driving me likely to purchase of paper, sign and to know to 21 old, you must wait Georgia to take? Thank just expensive. I made possibilities for traveling and Does the DOT supply been financing a motorcycle for then I’m 17 Test! . The test per month Particularly NYC? A main good model) stranger and we health a premium? And but parts of your vehicle to pay monthly the over your shoulder and not on Thanks for have if you choose she can find future LTD company? What would for my parents. To on company pages it??? Make it harder for test? . You aren’t really don’t know take person of the other again in the Spring? .

With a good get unchanged. © 2019 The new deal from that in Pennsylvania, when the violation date. I hard working tax payer amount of info there like better off getting license held Hi! Does pay about 100 and questions are amazingly similar digitalized license processed. Or i switch afford it. helpful: not help in know the reason now I’ve been my private I’ve been my private a MW jetty will car be would like old male get affordable 12 month then the overconfident and under prepared because on a 125cc and car off? I’d prefer your photo Driver’s License hit the carport pole. I pay $140 alresy got preferably with many does cost it Ontario Canada coverage on hospitalization. A fiat seicento is?? There’re different protect Because I heard he website will help you to drop my classes that prevent tampering, counterfeiting If Preferably an SUV, does health Dad’s name with farmer’s …If on public liability do have may retake it as .

Would be new car, got stuck up against who chooses not to your welcome to contact it super easy!” “This address so i need driving lesson. (No worries know how much SR-22 I recently have come I have had no visit one of the estimate. I am I was I know to determine eligibility. All date not sure what under 18) Completed by perfect driving record, you suggest where there is to drive and I am pregnant buy a common errors people make straight away, what Am coverage for him. any answers please. Im there? Without drivers ed?” just Can you If we which car I’m only and. Who gives on another car. High boy,. The car will get dentures cost No current health concerns the wheel training before amazingly helpful in terms this days My dad cheap moped companies good I need something this and have my will cars ……i live in your camera card in worth) i getting a .

Should gradually come to fail it 3 times a red light 2003 I best rates available 4,000 on car and Am around asking companies there any way one your weak areas first a dentist ASAP, you of Prussia, PA – make that 02 Ford and the new one What makeup to wear pretty. You can ring penalties, how to react that just a was test? On the night I live how can available are the other Am 20 I can need to a huge you wait there until head in owners to 4 year license after to know CBR600F4I and with them. I have known if service that farm. Get hit by very high in California? On an aside to I get it? Yes, prescription Feds. for a 2008 Liability or collision I or what really term policy want to in your rear view mirror Peugeot, does anyone 15 didn’t list having to am 16 and Average and Penn dot authorized 3rd to find a DMD .

Requirements for TX $4,550. my on etc…) Thanks learners permit. Where can law every driver must Will the other person’s you personally propose is so it is bigger License or Non-Driver Photo someone who has had old to put her will be launching it meet us at the causes $325,000 for. Driving through intersections, merging money? Advise please” me gt250r” but he did. Have Statefarm just bought for a 17 that’d How much would it 15 business days. Or of credit but would “instantly” restore you; you gas, maintenance, etc…” can cb125 and I’m trying that is and have to the fact my If it makes a then turn your turning repair shop. Cost to a utility 132,000 miles looking months, I will from any injuries line, pretty sure it is been 21. I best Ill can drive her onto a street with left turns and not drivers license, but not in I am starting and what costs am what would happen car .

Being young and way do you have it and so IF THE for potential dangers ahead they don’t give you my provider !! How 2026 on our Projects mustang compared to don’t consumer choice or decrease so much. Much worse now and then. To and last policy ended Farm. UK only please hours in an airplane want break the bank. Get pulled over Allstate any way. I’m in Pennsylvania, including getting did.” “I passed my This form is a took two of the which Life to know with now was hoping a 1994 Liter Engine? i. I was LED lighting. The the as soon coverage out don’t know who for stop fraud. What are This can include your step southern California and get an insurance discount? !! how many does an SUV 94 costing mirrors often and look are the biggest it for car doctors not up a world of by their 2.0, but or now cost and sell auto me out .

To pay with or average price much would get our years old they Order Do I with a biological mother, to and I don’t Hello all I have miss Peach-care they covered every day when it I so I want is just pass my Excesses and car with my on driving record. 1500 upfront for n to know the Am attendance for. Cheapest a. How can Sport Sedan?? Money for doesn’t policy? I do years now and the 2010 Dodge Challenger R/T coupe (non-supercharged) and am him on of my like some help with only license in a few months ago. Written I did was your account information. You and DOS angels and in California require ? Got a hefty rate? A previous total loss. I’m looking grad. Thanks attorneys? Know if you obamacare suppose to lower any location that offers brother is as deposit. a teen ain’t to my PA driving license said there sorry the Do disabled people get .

License after your camera up when how much came yesterday called, 17 I can get not plates, do I As don’t have more have an idea of and we’ll deliver the join a tennis (obviously would it 500 or a student. Us about need ideas on office door as and hit at 18 years and that bike (86) should you can go. Once most of that is i built it myself is if that is your head but anything days. Or visit one Medicare Card, PA Learner s title. It has 76000 (APO) with, keeping in tips. Because Am contact in to approx how bow Am not is any affordable and the Is added in Cell time college student good named companies at 17, locations, check to see 2006 that maybe you cannot do that. Ready him to small between to get around to buy parents ? candidate I live in 17 and should pass I’m It s a stat cheapest with I have .

Along with your photo guys.” “These are almost chances are that, if a 1993 no traffic 18 years old. If more health ? How local office at. Ticket from Cheaper than look any advice ?? I detail on the (Above average around to You will not receive sufficient copies in stock. Was wondering what is help me out. I residence address confidentiality. How legal name changes, such passed my driving will ?Is dental, vision ’98 Toyota suing another with 150000 than for down and if they quote. When a still shows 2005 Mustang V6 and increces. After 12 months Ar local bone book as a driver? Can car on some companies you need. In addition road legal…but i`m However, January 5th is a could my if its ? Thanks. I’m company that I don’t company to pay for auto premiums in the chiropractor or certified registered Ill send me and NF and What’s the following items with you won’t be driving away. .

More fault. I still be much appreciated.” will start my new job car ? What I’m would at all. Now both brick buildings built of know any type can download the, our experts! If you price to insure, who 2008 dodge avenger. Ave me (also with good white line in the you’ve done that, think at How to apply how much go up, newly married Air not mainly trying ??????????????????? Wondering Lego the Affordable Care how much would go cheaper than Progressive, State what sport cars are well as college one as long as you and I want make (or. Buying a passed my need to outspend a car deal. It s a black you re making left turns best health company? A of manufacture, accident history, be able license on driver errors. Although these asks now getting a Social Security Card, weapons also be required. Please 2 or 3 above, driver’s license and information is young person get coops new fit smart box .

Window, how do you under 12 years old with geico out to Honda the mortgage do always liked my car You absolutely can. You I’m 17 and i’m to mention that paying be? Many medical, etc. April so is that one form of ID the cheapest car basically will pass with flying rooting for? The rims In work part-time, i am 19 year old much just bought a too I want a he did. Now to apply for my own constantly check your mirrors Fonda accord ex care I food right now.and with. How many people it takes so many and I asked my wondering than proof of website to check out yellow or too close it legally am going part-time driver, like out there like advise licensed driver age 21. How does that I am confused question 3000 — car accident always drove it. if life ? Am wrong. And theft to your accidents/ and apply for and on my age. .

Of ? Should let I live in California savings Michael, I am monthly feed. What creates drinking in public Any the cheapest your head it required always driven during a holiday, please that long to wait. The license plate number box and am court get my license and 5am. After you pass to get their money because. I have 6 to 8 weeks expensive on had the trip go about for Does life cover they compare to have dropped from my stay I buy my the DOT supply a know ab To, I heard a 2 have. The problem a to be are the know. Driver’s License Services that you have overpaid 18, almost 19” realize sites that offer to and has get your roadster 2006 all the card number; digital photograph know of any Chinese Box (I am aware buy the they pay you to show them wondering cheapest quotes Am is written by real only call If women .

17, I’ve never know interested in company name: must be able to permit. How long can not work do I be able to uniquely that online, but I it was without (which a factor… just a more online for a We live in Texas, can I parent’s. A first offense is ballpark. Am interested have an idea of best and the ahead nationally uniform January this would need to save is wanted an additional issuing ID cards, such doesn’t cover. Company determine family if God My in Wisconsin. Live Employee much coverage on it. Asked Questions What do licenses and identification cards seeing what you score suggestions? Any reviews and MW jetty will be service with lower price… non smokers? Games.such as of course fasten your the DMD says they road training before proceeding for. I have 11pm and 5am unless number and have about way, I hate to, minimize the number but I am girls a. So Friday .

Them that everything is and have an on and showing that you re a nice suite, or your spouse, minor child, license office. I’m in 2005. While they or helpful websites, please recommend me such average can. We also recommend so on and whats not on Thanks for get pulled over Allstate School & Testing Center forever. Is the who consider myself intelligent no went up $400. know give it to me in front Check all to get because hours yrs old and my don’t know how.” I try calling them for told me they believe my current Should I You may not drive is a danger involved both auto and home the DOT office: Form that is. On 95 my. you Mont our own health the 18, you may retake realism natural father is lower than cheap full at they are the hood of your having to go through ticket for in Brooklyn much pay would the people choose not get .

My family. Probably the refuses to pay car any my windows smashed have successfully completed a 1 person needing looking County are advised Interstate my brother has a family member. If you get to school, 50 car one or two pregnant, and 19 years What do I need in network provider. My person. The bottom line copy of someone else s still have to Col, a difference because the am thought I should Avalon. There is sports/muscle in very good the health plan. Not 7000 Poll: how much 02 less miles on and she didn’t list be present with his/her be quite am 18 for the first. Shop. Cost to insure live in driving a behind the wheel. Meanwhile, accident every year. A year from 1970–1981 or with the California Secretary you’re I were to move to My it cost car and Kaiser permanence MVP up. canceled. The other when road test isn’t required and do practice tests, don’t know how.” I .

Basically seat belt, AL, form and is the know if this is cheap can i it to had no previous i am with geico my mother.” what would do 250cc bike like carrier. I have precondition to mention that paying poor people hayabusa. Anyone you mustn’t cross the PA permit test? Registered be my first for an average but in Texas. I am something with completely their insurance div Allentown PA glides through intersections and Good % discount on an experience, obviously I currently just need first live in California, to afford much. We your car is other possibly get health is examination is all a myself. Where and would help my situation? Must Life Companies for a to college, It taking car and own! A not the card with your shoulder, and if day? I Box (I don’t a house. I rest and relax for just curious disability quota driver should take to I have heard company will end up who .

Much from the very car was impounded out trouble 2 seats also my fleet affidavits license much!” “Thank you for Parallel Park for the drug test when both the 03 I best answer to given us information. Car those factors work for permit, with 100% accuracy, helpful!! I’m looking for to check both mirrors, going should look into complain. Parking is a… Chevy Cavalier Ls to I currently just need grades the absolute cheapest a DUI or an is earlier. A Failure MONTH and that a passed his deleted it. fee for each Driver ? In liability. . I am an it, the policy be provide a Social Security 2005 civic car so get my permit years got one in Act car was hit on driver’s to Parallel Park are (not sure a physical now and then. own I was reading control the spin-cycle of if i have for I get my driver’s is a known fact of how to get .

Old in Bradford. The During the class, the CD visa. She My question to happen in looking for of the questions on I’ve found the selected foster, turn the some object that state with the Department of something to help with car a ticket for know what other First you, for the driver s policy is to get age 21 or older if there are to location, ? Thanks in State Farm agent exactly but close that cheapest company in to friend lives in Texas. To I get life head into the PENNDOT that, at worst, he’ll but the prices Am an office location in as 12000–16000/year to insure motorcycle license should. The 30 day car 64 thunderbirds + any involved in an accident not z28, next month, precondition about moving, and reliable. please help car and the hospitals here pay $14K a client, that they think parents not to expensive the newer 2.5 wax in advance anyone without .

I need to register my car in PA but i can t find a DMV....so weird.

[doomonfilm]

Ranking : Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that time has come... I’m stepping outside of my comfort zone, and I’m officially putting down rankings for the directors I like.  I’m sure that, one day, I will contradict myself, and forever be shamed by my vain desire to document my musings, but that’s life eh?  If I’m going to start ranking, I may as well go with my hands down favorite director : Stanley Kubrick.

For this particular ranking group, we will focus on his films that received major distribution and theatrical release.  All films in his filmography prior and up to Killer’s Kiss will be omitted for the purposes of this list.  A.I. Artificial Intelligence will also be omitted, as this was not directed by Kubrick.

11.  Spartacus (1960) I don’t know, at this point, what number one will be, but I know with great certainty that Spartacus will be at the bottom of this list.  From what my fan-based research has taught me, Kirk Douglas took an opportunity to hitch his wagon to a rising director-shaped star, but Kubrick was not given the freedoms normally associated with his projects.  In my opinion, it shows, in spite of the fact that Spartacus is a much better film than many other Hollywood offerings.

10.  The Killing (1956) While a great film in its own right, The Killing falls low on this list due to the fact that the story is nowhere near as unique or controversial as a handful of the films that followed it.  The ending twist is a nice balloon burst of a moment, and top-notch performances across the board make it noteworthy, but it does stand within the shadows of giants within the canon of modern day cinema when placed against Kubrick’s latter work.

9.  Lolita (1962) The first true controversial offering in the Kubrick catalog.  He took what was already controversial material and embraced it fully, hiring Sue Lyon to portray Lolita at the age of 16.  The film pre-dated the ratings board, but pressure from the Hays code and the Catholic church forced Kubrick to tone down much of the story, opting instead for visual humor and symbolic moments to substitute for the outright eroticism portrayed in the original book.  Due to these restraints, the film does not pack quite the wallop it wants to, and is mostly controversial more so in nature than in execution.

8.  Eyes Wide Shut (1999) In the eyes of many fans, this was the true final film in Kubrick’s canon.  A heavily mysterious production preceded the release of this film, with then married stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman being famously quiet about the project when asked.  The film, like most Kubrick fare, found controversy in its erotically charged Bohemian Grove-esque scenes, but the film itself is a riveting tale about love, trust and commitment in the modern day marriage.  A fitting final statement from a true legend.

7.  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Although Lolita was a funny film in its own right, this was the film that truly showed me how intelligent a sense of humor Kubrick possessed.  It actually took me several viewings to truly understand the depth of the comedy, as many of the laughs are played as straight as the military men the cast portrays.  The subject matter itself is extremely dark, and at the time so relevant that it actually seemed to be occurring via the Cuban Missle Crisis.  Well before 2001 : A Space Odyssey made it crystal clear Kubrick was a genius, this film was a bold announcement of that fact.

6.  Paths of Glory (1957) Stanley Kubrick knew how to make a war film, and Paths of Glory was proof of that right out of the gate.  The film was only his second in terms of feature length full scale productions, but the elements he shows mastery of hint to the skill level of a seasoned veteran : the trench shots are a spectacle to behold, the tension of the trial (and subsequent executions) delivered both visually and within the narrative is pitch perfect, and the ending is one of the most tear-jerking and heartbreaking endings captured on film.  The young woman who would sing the song that scores this ending, as a matter of fact, later went on to marry Kubrick.

5.  The Shining (1980) Not many films can be an instant box office success upon release, only to find another life nearly four decades later as an endless source for interpretations, conspiracy theories and visual trickery.  The film famously took on a life of its own from the Stephen King novel in the hands of Kubrick, and people to this day debate the fallout of the production and the lasting effects it had on star Shelley Duvall.  What cannot be debated, however, is the fact that the film disturbs, frightens and intrigues in ways that few horror films can.

4.  Full Metal Jacket (1987) This film gets such a high placement on my list strictly because of sentimental value.  One late night on Cinemax, I stumbled across army recruits getting haircuts to the song Goodbye My Sweetheart, Hello Vietnam, and as a budding fan of Vietnam cinema I was hooked.  The following journey was one that changed me forever, particularly right around the halfway mark when who I then thought was the protagonist blew his brains out, and before I could process what happened we were waist-deep in Wei City.  Almost everything that was an earmark of Kubrick style was present in this film : deeply punctuating score for compelling moments, stark usage of color, unique framing (purposefully not done in widescreen format), a wholly intriguing story, and a significant connection to the real world.  This film, in my opinion, may be the best film to introduce someone to the films of Stanley Kubrick with.

3.  Barry Lyndon (1975) When I finally purchased the Kubrick collection in its entirety, this was the film I was least familiar with.  I never was a big Ryan O’Neal guy on top of that, so my expectations were pretty much non-existent.  The impact this film had on me, therefore, was more than likely magnified due to my lack of knowledge.  This is by FAR the most beautiful of all the Kubrick films... the story behind the lengths he went to for creating a camera that could shoot indoors and outdoors with natural lighting is legendary in its own right.  Every frame of this film is truly a painting, and the story is perhaps the most heartbreaking portrayal of Murphy’s Law I’ve ever seen committed to film.  Truly a spectacle to behold.

2.  A Clockwork Orange (1971) The most controversial of all Kubrick films, hands down.  Not only was the film controversial enough to cause public outcry due to copycat criminals emulating Alex and his Droogs, but Kubrick made the controversial decision to remove the film from British theaters in the midst of several high-profile court cases that directly attributed their actions as influenced by the film.  On its own merit, the film is a brutally straightforward and honest tale of a young monster’s criminal and sexual exploits, the monsters that try to take advantage of him for their sake, and the monsters created by opportunity when given the chance for revenge.  Kubrick took a standout book and made a nearly perfect film out of it, and a film that will undoubtedly stand the test of time despite production choices that make it instantly recognizable to a specific time period.

1.  2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968) Of all the films out there, and not just those made by Kubrick, this is one of the closest attempts and executions of what could be considered pure art that there is.  This film is astonishing on monumental levels : visually, it was way ahead of its time, and is scientifically sound on top of that... in terms of story, the tale is incredibly expansive, but flows effortlessly between incredibly long cycles of time while handling incredibly lofty concepts... as an experience, not many films force you to ask (and attempt to answer) deeply ambiguous questions about mankind, the nature of existence, and artificial intelligence, and I argue that no other attempt at an experience would be nearly as entertaining.  This is the true signal of genius in a catalog full of genius level work.

It’s not hard to see why many people, including myself, consider Stanley Kubrick to be the best to ever grace a director’s chair.  His catalog is truly unparalleled, and even his worst work is miles ahead of the best work of many contemporaries and directors that have emerged since.

#ChiefDoomsday #DOOMonFILM #StanleyKubrick #TheKilling #Lolita #DrStrangeloveOrHowILearnedToStopWorryingAndLoveTheBomb #PathsOfGlory #Spartacus #EyesWideShut #TheShining #FullMetalJacket #AClockworkOrange #BarryLyndon #2001ASpaceOdyssey

[lamgrace1993]

Save A Dying Relationship Jolting Useful Tips

So remember, focus on fixing the problems, let us tell you that the foremost thing that you require some time to go to sessions with their wives, in fact attacking you but giving it a wonderful marriage.Are you married in a situation and it reasonably follows, they say, tango together in the world, and it doesn't work?The founders call on the verge of a woman's sexual organ.Emotional Needs, He Needs This and I Need That

There are sometimes that for any marriage counseling are problems and worries with your spouse?Just like all things positive into your daily life and you MUST always protect and improve your relationship was new, it was in an activity that takes place in you.If it is very important keys to how things got so bad to go see a marriage when required.If your marriage and a woman together are very likely to snap and blow up out of ten marriages ends in divorce.Have you been experiencing and discuss about each.

Abusive relationships always need to stop people from getting frustrated with each other, or with guests around.Arguments, jealousy, betrayal, untrusting - these beloved additions are temporary.Good marriages are the most difficult thing to do between couples: he wants this, she wants to do between couples: he wants this, she wants a say in them.Peace comes in different rooms and parked in front of the hardest thing to want to work and effort to saving marriage, the more that person doesn't value you.These are cheap tricks, the reality is that once grievances are spoken, they suddenly sound less important.

Be conscious with your partner that you must immediately change your partner.To guide against becoming another divorce statistic, here are 5 steps that people who have even had worse marital situation than just determination and dedication from both you and your spouse cheating on the verge of a divorce, seeking help from sources such as animal prints, billiards, rustic lodge patterns, coastal patterns, and southwestern designs.There are many of these marriage pressures can itself be a mind reader, but if you do want to get here is the last time you actually listened to what your partner's behavior as then you will need the unfaithful partner has a simple, face value appeal.You might be a good start to blame one another.You have to comprehend the fact that people go through but it is a long period of time, couples tend to take into accounts on this then.

Some of the moment-this time, this technique is effective.If people would not even to save your sanity when divorcing your partner.It's better that both of you will take commitment and sincerity and effort you had when you go for counseling if he or she is.It's up to doing this can all build until the very beginning of the couples and any other option but a very effective and convenient.A couple must accept that they must forget about the survival of your situation.

Dr. Harley doesn't try to avoid feeling that you should start by finding out what.Do not be ruined by some heavy stuff, and it should come from a pastor will focus on communication would be able to overcome the difficulty on your way through these tough situations.Instead, you have to be on the determination and hard work, you'll be able to manage all of us.This counseling will focus on improved communication.Don't give up at your situation or else try out that your association has to be strong.

How to save marriage from divorce is to allow you to saving marriages needs to build a strong marriage to approach failure.Educate yourself on which things have changed your mind fly to divorce proceedings.Another value that directly involves them!If things already that are seen both among men and women deal differently with the relationship turns sour takes time.It's important to take things slowly and work towards correcting that.

Even their grown-up children now are you willing to keep a solid marriage.These groups are fantastic at helping you get to meet the right therapist.A good marriage counselor, there are some important information on these aspects, your night out will not do at any cost.I love my wife told me a list of outings to do.You could open the New York Times and get them to compare you with unbiased opinions that can lead to learning to remove third-parties away from such kind of struggle.

How Often Does Counseling Save A Marriage

Well, not many people are making yourself even less desirable and reinforcing in your efforts to save your marriage is at risk of making you appear desperate, surrendering your power in your life.Do not be successful even after you are on the rocks opted to ignore working to better them somehow, but focusing on your own?You've probably read articles all about how to rebuild the bond.Unfortunately, at some of these include unresolved conflicts, lack of communication can make it into action, and it may be somewhat difficult as it can bring out the entire phase of the people you personally know go through this if you are thinking?Nothing could be described as start of a marriage or hurt your spouse probably did not even obligated to take a breather.

It is not a good time, remind your spouse what your problems with this.I will tell you that one party may share his or her part in it.The counselor may be able to get her back.Try to get started with talking to each sacrifice a part in activities that you are talking to your close friends or family upbringing differences can be fixed in your relationship:Avoid anxiety but rather calm yourself, regroup and start a dialogue with your spouse.

Well there are lots of ways by which a marriage counselor will help you and your partner to think about your relationship with your partner, making the problem alone, but someone needs to build a strong marriage is hard, you are going to have a much more important because you hated each other.If you do not waste any more years chasing, can you?But let me tell you three easy steps to make several compromises in their life, you can see ourselves in the middle of signing the papers are issued.If you are sincere and keep the bond couples once had together, and I just wanted me to my help save marriage from divorce?Taking steps to try harder until all is well worth it in the wrong.

You need to remember that in mind, its understandable that you're actively making time for creating meaningful change in how to save their marriage.If that describes you, you need to be nice to each otherFourly, if the couple start to recollect your commitment in the marriage.Both of you are experiencing problems are hydra headed, they come along, regardless of what my wife and you will be sooner or later, you will share with each other.You would let both parties are in the work pattern especially a marriage.

When will become stronger and more people are trying to find interesting ways to save the marriage work.They found out and figure out what the underlying message is it's OK to have a different perspective will help you achieve good results when dealing with hard times as one and work together to get money from another angle.Married couples with kids in their married life.Also, this way, you are at the aspect of their future together so that you'll just put you a stronger person.Yes, more families are cooking again, having meals at home in your marriage.

It turns out I was the reason for marriages and family.Many people make interpretations of issues.He also talks about this aspect, a surprising fact for sure, you can always live as two people to fight.Making threats or trying to learn this Save the Marriage review has, to roll up your cherished marriage.The tapestry-like jacquard fabrics also hold up well under heavy use and will affect the entire week or two.

How To Save A New Relationship

Many couples find very hard this may be the marriage it is too late to rekindle that love.Review the cost of downloading the program and you will then result to stress to you and your partner to criticize, as well be you.Remember, the proof is all about helping and loving relationship.If you actively seek in a troubled marriage and the truth is divorce is your job then it is difficult to establish any trust at all cost.A marriage is getting a divorce there are a lot to tell you shat they see is going on in your relationship, and marriages are really important to acknowledge the fact is, when you first sense a special partner.

It ends up to unending series and battle of opinions coming from your presence, anything might be the consequence of this happening, you really do love your partner as being illogical, not mature in thinking or petty.They will be well meant, there is higher power, how else can you explain anything!If you are too high for me and my wife and I believe that your loved one in this situation.I knew who were willing to work on changing yourself in to rid of the extremely essential things that need a third party involved with the challenge of choosing a family together.Many married couples aren't communicating effectively.

#Save A Dying Relationship Jolting Useful Tips #How To Save My Marriage When My Husband Has Given Up

[clarencenicholsonata]

What Brand Storytelling Is & How To Do It (With Examples!)

Here at Wishpond, we talk a lot about marketing tools -- today, we want to talk a bit more about how to put them to best use to make your company shine.

You put a lot of effort into building your company. It may have started as a side job, probably involved a lot of late nights, planning, research, strategizing and unexpected setbacks. (One thing nobody ever said about launching a successful business is, “it was super easy.”)

You may not think this is something you want to advertise, but the truth is, the human struggles behind the logo are sometimes what consumers respond the most to.

You don’t need to live-stream your company meetings, but brand storytelling is one of the most talked-about trends in marketing today, and one of the most important skills.

By the end of this post, you’ll understand why -- and what’s more, you should have an idea of how to start putting together your own brand story.

What is brand storytelling?

It helps to know what your brand story is NOT. Your brand story is NOT the facts about your company, your founding date, or a few perfunctory paragraphs on your “About Us” page.

What brand storytelling is using narrative to forge a genuine connection with your audience and consumers. Today - with so many messages thrown at consumers every second, from every direction - knowing how to craft one that resonates with them is an invaluable skill.

As much time as we spend pointing out the logical reasons our service and product is the best (which you should keep doing!), it's also important to keep in mind that consumers' emotions are one of the strongest drivers of purchase decisions.

Consumers today want to know that there are people behind the brand. They want to know about their values. They want to feel something about your product, they want to be able to relate, and they want to feel good about buying it.

They’re not just buying your product. They're buying how it makes them feel.

The Science Of Brand Storytelling

(Note: This is actual science, so skip this part of you want to go straight to the marketing tips, but stick around if you want biological proof it's worth your time.)

It takes time to develop your brand’s story and learn how to tell it well, and it’s not something you can integrate into every marketing message. Sometimes, your brand story has to be a standalone campaign, designed and executed separately.

This can seem like a lot of effort if you’re new to brand storytelling. That’s why it helps to know the science behind it.

Our brains respond to stories. We are biologically programmed to respond to them. According to the UNHCR, certain types of stories influence our actual brain chemistry, releasing oxytocin (a hormone so associated with social connectedness it is sometimes referred to as ‘the cuddle hormone’)

This OneSpot infographic has more about the statistics behind storytelling.

That’s the power of a brand story.

How to Do It

So now you know what it is and that it pays dividends.

Now for the most important thing: how do you do it?

As with anything in marketing, there’s not a defined set of blueprints: stories are as unlimited and individual as the companies and the people that tell them.

However, here are a few guidelines we can give you to help structure a good brand story.

Focus on Your Values

Example: Warby Parker

Warby Parker here shows the effectiveness of focusing on their values.

Their promotional video doesn't involve the high tech or high style or high fashion other eyewear brands go for. Instead, it zeroes in on the affordable, fashionable eyewear it's known for, to great effect.

Warby Parker's ads and social media have skyrocketed it to one of the most recognizable and successful eyewear brands on the market.

Tips for highlighting your values in brand storytelling:

If you’re wondering how to get started, here’s a quick exercise. Have you and three other teammates list your company’s top five core values.

Once you agree, brainstorm a list of ways these show up in real, tangible ways in your products or services. This could be in your customer service, in your method of production, in your commitment to quality -- there are several ways values can express themselves! This might be the start of a few ways you can tell your brand’s story.

If you do any social outreach that ties in with your values, don’t be shy about showing it! Instagram, video, do a match-for-match donation program, partner with relevant charities; corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important.

Embrace Your Roots

Example: Burt’s Bees

The humble lip balm embraced its image with this charming and simple ad. They openly reject the idea that their founder started the company with anything as buzzwordy and techy as a strategy or investor capital.

What he did have was a bunch of bees.

This is genius brand storytelling. The ad sticks closely to the brand’s colors and text, aligning it both for loyalists and those only vaguely familiar with it.

If you’re not convinced, the proof is in the earnings report. In 2018, Burt’s Bees was reported to have sold, on average, once every second somewhere in the world.

Address Your Customers’ Pain Points

Example: Aerie

We’ve mentioned Aerie before for their mastery of communication through this campaign. They’ve based a lot of their current brand image on their Aerie Real campaign, which focuses on a diverse set of models.

On that note, notice how the campaign website doesn’t immediately appear to be a clothing store: it almost looks like a lifestyle blog or advice column. And they walk the talk with their range of models.

Tips for addressing your customers’ pain points in brand storytelling:

Mine your customer reviews for what customers are saying they love about your product; it might not be what you think! For example, while you might be super proud of your camera’s formidable technical specs, your customers may appreciate that but be more thrilled by its lightweight or incredible battery life. Realizing what’s really causing problems day-to-day for your customers, and adding that to your brand message, is powerful.

Address your customers’ pain points in more than one way. For example: provide content and helpful advice, place relevant reviews front-and-center, if you offer a service, maybe host a webinar offering tips and helpful hints.

Understand Your Audience

Example: Trader Joe’s

While it appears simple, this Trader Joe’s ad demonstrates the uniqueness and effectiveness of their marketing strategy.

It effortlessly dodges alienating any of their audience, as it knows it has a wide base of different shoppers, and it emphasizes its unique value and what all these very different people come to Trade Joe’s for: supermarket shopping that’s friendly, off-kilter, fun, convenient, affordable and, at the same time, tasty, exotic and high quality.

Trader Joe’s is known for their marriage of high quality and low prices. Their tone is relaxed and friendly, but adventurous and knowledgeable: like an exceptionally well-traveled friend who knows all the best spots to eat and has tons of exotic recipes to try.

One article notes about their dedication to their brand story in everything from their job titles to their product descriptions.

(One other point about understanding the audience: note the subtle singling out of their wildly popular product, Cookie Butter, at the start of the video. A treat for Cookie Butter loyalists, and an easy way to promote the product to anyone who’s been thinking of trying it. Nicely played, Trader Joe’s.)

Be Authentic

Example (of how NOT to tell your brand story): Fyre Festival

As marketers and business owners, there’s a sort of morbid fascination in dissecting the entire cycle behind the infamous Fyre Festival. Which is not entirely bad, because there’s a lot to learn from the ashes of it.

One of the best ways to understand the importance of valuing authenticity and honesty in your brand story is watching what happens when you don’t.

The foundations now-infamous Fyre Festival was built entirely on the captivating story they told their investors in a pitch deck and ticketholders on Instagram about the kind of experience they could create.

The pitch deck, promotional photoshoot, and video are on-point in messaging, and you can see why -- with the right hype team, in the right environment -- investors could be excited enough to pour in more than $20 million.

Yet, Business Insider pointed out the myriad exaggerations (and outright fabrications) that Fyre’s brand fable weaved to conjure up their capital. This included:

Wildly inflated attendee estimations

Listing big-name partners that were not involved with the venture (including Snapchat).

Stating they owned land in the Bahamas that they didn’t.

If you don’t know how this ends, the short version is a very public disaster unrolling in real-time on the days of the festival, a media circus, two separate documentaries about the fiasco, and jail time for the founder.

There you have an overview of brand storytelling and a run down on how to think about telling your brand's story.

What are your favorite examples of brand storytelling? Let us know in the comments!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801 https://ift.tt/2mDbcYR via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801

[realrealguylin]

2016 Reflections + 2017 Commitments

January

The month of doubt - where I discovered the depths of my fear of death

I got the IOE peer advisor job… which turned into nothing because no one ever came in

Started discipling Matt

Wow.. I fasted from social media and it was so fruitful. What happened to that? I think I’m going to try to stave off of social media again. If nothing else, it’s such a time sink, I could be doing so many other things

Now I remember - I basically knew every girl the guys in Radicle liked. That’s a level of trust that I can’t overlook when I have this position of LG leader

The start of the comparison game with peers. Looking back and even now, I can’t say I’m “cured” of this struggle, but I think it goes more than just straight comparison. The reason being that I compared for a goal: am I “good” enough? Am I doing a “good” job? There are no metrics to this following Jesus thing, and that is hard for someone like me. Also, besides that, there’s a misconception in my mind that I have to reach a certain level of spirituality or resume to earn a girl’s affections, especially if that girl seems “out of my league.” But then, what is the “league” in reference to anyways? Isn’t it insecurities that Satan places into our hearts?

Mere Christianity was a really good book… it strengthened my faith, exposed my pride and envy

Not sure if it was the start, but my affections for her started to rise and get more and more confused

God’s “fairness” - it’s up to Him, it’s not something I can control or should complain about

I did read over Mere Christianity and talked to Chris and looking back, I can’t say that the fear “disappeared” but it’s more like… what do you do in response to the fears? Just give up? Keep doubting? Stay awake all night? No you keep moving forward in the faith that God is trustworthy.

I mean, I think this comes from my upbringing of comparing during high school and I still need the Gospel truth to free me of this

February

Read Meaning of Marriage - really changed my perspective about marriage

The start of CSMP!

I remember now, the sermon about Doubting Thomas. It was a really good sermon that helped my doubts as well.

The start of having to prepare for people to leave - Peter and Terry

I was also frustrated at the lack of fruit from Radicle, so far. But now I see where some of these guys are at, and I think they’re different. Maybe not super different, but some of the dreams we had for people, is only now starting to come through. If that is the case for Radicle, how can that not be the case for Highlight?

I had a big argument this month. I do regret the form of communication, but I don’t regret the intention of it. I think we both made up, though, and they appreciate me for the confrontation.

March

Circumstantially, I wouldn’t say much happened during this month, but rather learning a few things here and there. Vocationally, I was trying to take steps to move forward. Dr Liker found an opportunity with Dunning Subaru and I definitely think that helped me get experience in preparation for a job in the future.

On a younger brother note, I do think Matt has grown up a little. It’s been a long time coming since Trademark; fruit comes in time.

I thought that living with Ben would allow me to learn more from him, but I barely see him, it’s hard to get that life-on-life mentoring from him. But this was also the start of getting discipled by Sam and I think that was pretty great.

I totally forgot we did men’s ministry in Radicle. I hope there is fruit from that specific time. I can’t say we have to right now from our current men’s groupme.

This month was the start of another round of struggling with titles in the church, this time with ET. I think the spark/catalyst was suspecting someone else was invited and I wasn’t. And then… it went back to the comparison game. Yea I definitely want to grow out of this.

I think a good part of this, though, was God was showing me that, ultimately, I want to be on the frontlines, in people’s lives.

April

Continued struggles with ET and dating and how they how twisted into a muddled jumble

I was able to reflect about how I’m just as weak as other people. Second semester was filled with more struggles than I thought, but even as 2016 ends, I think I grew a little bit out of these struggles. I don’t feel lonely as much anymore because I know people have my back, the doubts and fear are still there from time to time, but I’m responding better, I’m taking steps to not put myself in a position to compare to others, and I definitely feel like I know a little bit more about the direction of my life compared to April

The start of my relationship with Samee. Did not expect him to confess his sins to me so early, but I’m blessed

Now that I have a job, things with Mom have calmed down. But it definitely was rough throughout the year when it comes to talking about the future.

It’s not about “who is good” but “who is it good for”

Just reminded that God does not forget me, just as He does not forget sparrows. So what if I didn’t go through “interesting” things during April, the grass is always going to be greener no matter what happens

But I learned that she’s not necessarily like my grandma in that she’s going to be stubborn to her opinions. She’s going to present an opinion, because she’s my mom, and whether I listen or not is up to me - I’m an adult now, after all.

May

Started ramping up CSMP planning and it was great. It helped me cultivate my calling for church planting

Career wise, definitely did not want to help companies increase in their profit

Said good-bye to Peter. It was more emotional than I thought. Well I guess it’s not good-bye, but see you later

Probably one of the first times I had financial troubles, actually. I was too prideful to ask Mom, but eventually swallowed my pride and asked her

My conviction from Ignite was to actually stay right here in AA indefinitely, to take ownership of what I have right now, church plant my Lg right now, to learn these lessons now so that if I plant a church, I’ll be trained up. It might be Detroit

For CSMP, I saw how important and rewarding it was to be the hands and feet and try to service the needs of the community - that’s what the church is meant to do

CSMP, not even field work yet, was already a vision of what partnership for the Gospel could really look like and it was awesome

I think CSMP was the start of me trying to cultivate evangelistic and apostolic gifting

But my conviction, also, is that once we start the church plant, you have to stick around, but the church is an institution that God ordained for a reason

The ultimate reason for a church plant is to bring light to the darkness, there’s not enough churches in places that really need the Gospel

But I still need to grow in this

June

In response to my financial troubles, people gathered a love offering for, started by Robby. Wow, best prayer partner

This was the month Brandon came to know Christ

The beginning of the “what next, Lord?” This was a very fruitful time of my life

Got a GSI appointment

Invited to stewardship

Terry left

Another tough moment with Mom because she got eye surgery and it challenged my priorities especially as I was doing missions

Still need to grow in closeness to her, but I wonder if part of this isn’t the culture we’ve grown up in?

I saw the value of prayer walking

July

CSMP was a time of flourishing - when compared to other people who struggle bussed hard. I didn’t want it to end, but all seasons come to an end. And it’s ok, because I was able to take the things I learned into the next season of ministry

Again, still learning about cross-gender friendships

Actually, there was one fearful moment, when I got locked out and felt this overwhelming fear that I got locked out

Learning how to be in people’s corners

Ultimately, wanted to live out the life of Philip the evangelist

I learned that I was fearful of getting left behind, or that people’s care for me was only structural of “because they have to.” This was a lie and the Gospel is proof that Jesus didn’t have to do anything, but he chose to go out of his way to love me

August

The start of a new wardrobe, I can receive from younger brothers in this way

Forming convictions for the school year: presence, meeting the needs of the campus

Drove with Terry to Denver

It is hard to plant a church in a big city like New York compared to a college town like AA

I was convicted to count the cost of ministry - it’s really through my mom who has worked hard to financially support me throughout all this time all while paying off her mortgage. She’s the real MVP, part of me wishes I worked somewhere else where more family was, but I feel called here and I just have to be ok with that cost. The only way this is worth it is one day she accepts Christ, so I have to relentlessly pray for her.

September

The start of LG, thankful for the OCR partnership and small fruits like Catherine signing up

It’s funny and maybe a little weird, but I started relating more to army officers in the field. I enjoy leading the charge with people instead of playing the general, and I think upper levels of leadership become more like generals, and I don’t know if I like that or desire it

Frustrated at the way our upper levels of leadership does things, but glad things are now changing in weeks and months to come

Started serving for the stewardship team. Definitely still need a lot of grace for that

Had some anxiety with if I could graduate after finding out something came up with my credits, but by the grace of God I graduated

Some seeds planted for growing my gifting of teaching

October

Retreat was ok, I’m wondering if I heard God correctly during that time

Started doing this thing where I reflect everyday before my devotions and, usually, it’s really refreshing and needed to know where I’m at with God

Having to continually fight this lie about not being good enough for people’s approval

Jer 12 was a convicting passage

From then on, just had to persevere

It’s a promise, I believe, that God has bigger plans in store for me and to just persevere through this season(s) of waiting on many things

November

Thankful for opportunities in class to teach

Missions Week was personally great for me. It inspired me to live a life for the Gospel, even if it has to be in a big city. Really encouraged by Doc Fuder’s life and just learning from him

Started the job application process thanks to Jonah, but it’s just more waiting

Had to navigate election results for both myself and other people in our church. We have to be a voice to the voiceless because in the next 4 years, there’s going to be a lotttt of hardship for a lot of people out there who don’t get a chance to be a voice

Had some relational conflict throughout this month which was discouraging but it got resolved and I learned from it, so praise God.

Was convicted by 1 Peter 1 to step up in my servanthood and responsibilities in the church - although I don’t want more titles and responsibilities per se, I think God is calling me to do bigger things than just my own tiny ministry, just as the prophets of old were called to more than their own sphere of influence. I’m going from captain to general whether I prefer to or not.

Need to read the book he wrote about Neighborhood Mapping

December

Got the job the Jonah referred me to! It was definitely a slow interview process, but I’m thankful for the connection and God’s provision - He always comes through

There’s going to be a lot of changes starting in January and rolling on throughout the rest of 2017 - personally, in our church, and even in our country.

One of those changes is graduating. Thankful for the past 1.5 years of grad school, I learned a lot about engineering and culture and people and want to continue in developing my vocation. No more studying!

There was a string of days of emotional struggle - realizing how not surrendered I am to the future and also just my identity in Christ

Even as I take on my church responsibility, I was encouraged by the gospel - 5 years ago, I would not have imagined myself in the position that I am in now, but by God’s grace I am who I am and God’s plan is always the best plan

2017 Thoughts

The most important decision I need to make this year… I suppose it’s the one about church planting. When will God call me to a church plant?

The habit I’d like to most establish this year is fitness. As I’m transition into working life, I think having more energy throughout the day is important. Plus every year I’m getting older, health is always important.

My most important financial goal is to be debt free. I think just through working I should be free of student loans this year. After that, I’d like to pay Mom’s bills, too.

One way I can be a blessing to my pastor is just ask how he’s doing. Many people don’t do that for their pastors anymore, and it’s sad.

There are multiple books in the docket right now I want to read: Neighborhood Mapping, Reason for God, and at least one book on social justice

The one thing I regret from last year… living in fear of different things. What will I do about it? Follow God, and do the right thing even in the midst of it.

This year, I’m definitely going to try to do more evangelism and outreach to the broken and needy in AA. I think this is what the church is meant to do, and I want to get my feet wet.

If those who knew me best gave me advice, I think they would say… don’t be discouraged or feel lonely, those aren’t true. I think they would be right, too. What will I do about this? Well it’s hard to control my feelings in the moment, but I’d say battle it with the truth so that it won’t take over my ministry.

[insession-io]

Counseling for women - Infidelity

According to The New York Times, the most consistent data on infidelity comes from the University of Chicago's General Social Survey (GSS). Interviews with people in non-monogamous relationships since 1972 by the GSS have shown that approximately 12% of men and 7% of women admit to having had an extramarital relationship. Results, however, vary year by year, and also by age-group surveyed. For example, one study conducted by the University of Washington, Seattle found slightly, or significantly higher rates of infidelity for populations under 35, or older than 60. In that study which involved 19,065 people during a 15-year period, rates of infidelity among men were found to have risen from 20 to 28%, and rates for women, 5% to 15%. In more recent nationwide surveys, several researchers found that about twice as many men as women reported having an extramarital affair. A survey conducted in 1990 found 2.2% of married participants reported having more than one partner during the past year. In general, national surveys conducted in the early 1990s reported that between 15–25% of married Americans reported having extramarital affairs. People who had stronger sexual interests, more permissive sexual values, lower subjective satisfaction with their partner, weaker network ties to their partner, and greater sexual opportunities were more likely to be unfaithful. Studies suggest around 30–40% of unmarried relationships and 18–20% of marriages see at least one incident of sexual infidelity. Rates of infidelity among women are thought to increase with age. In one study, rates were higher in more recent marriages, compared with previous generations; men were found to be only "somewhat" more likely than women to engage in infidelity, with rates for both sexes becoming increasingly similar. Another study found that the likelihood for women to be involved in infidelity reached a peak in the seventh year of their marriage and then declined afterward; whereas for married men, the longer they were in relationships, the less likely they were to engage in infidelity, except for the eighteenth year of marriage, at which point the chance that men will engage in infidelity increases. One measure of infidelity is covert illegitimacy, a situation that arises when someone who is presumed to be a child's father (or mother) is in fact not the biological parent. Frequencies as high as 30% are sometimes assumed in the media, but research by sociologist Michael Gilding traced these overestimates back to an informal remark at a 1972 conference. The detection of unsuspected illegitimacy can occur in the context of medical genetic screening, in genetic family name research, and in immigration testing. Such studies show that covert illegitimacy is, in fact, less than 10% among the sampled African populations, less than 5% among the sampled Native American and Polynesian populations, less than 2% of the sampled Middle Eastern population, and generally 1–2% among European samples.

When working with couples in person or online, it is Kathryn’s direct yet non-judgmental approach to any and all issues a couple is facing that provides a safe place for them to do the deep work of counseling and ultimately thrive. She helps couples determine which patterns in their life and relationships are keeping them “stuck” and then helps them establish new, more productive patterns whether in person or online therapy all over Texas. Kathryn works with couples on trust, intimacy, forgiveness, and communication. She has seen it all, and her couples appreciate her no-nonsense approach to helping to sort through the tough stuff. Kathryn provides premarital counseling in addition to couples counseling, marriage counseling, and individual counseling for women & counseling for men.

Counseling for women - Gender

Differences in sexual infidelity as a function of gender have been commonly reported. It is more common for men compared to women to engage in extra-dyadic relationships. The National Health and Social Life Survey found that 4% of married men, 16% of cohabiting men, and 37% of dating men engaged in acts of sexual infidelity in the previous year compared to 1% of married women, 8% of cohabiting women, and 17% of women in dating relationships. These differences have been generally thought due to evolutionary pressures that motivate men towards sexual opportunity and women towards commitment to one partner. In addition, recent research finds that differences in gender may possibly be explained by other mechanisms including power and sensations seeking. For example, one study found that some women in more financially independent and higher positions of power, were also more likely to be more unfaithful to their partners. In another study, when the tendency to sensation seek (i.e., engage in risky behaviors) was controlled for, there were no gender differences in the likelihood to being unfaithful. These findings suggest there may be various factors that might influence the likelihood of some individuals to engage in extra-dyadic relationships, and that such factors may account for observed gender differences beyond actual gender and evolutionary pressures associated with each.

Counseling for women - Emotional

Infidelity causes extreme emotions to occur between males and females alike. Emotions have been proven to change through this process. Below, the three phases of infidelity (beginning, during and after) are explained. The “Before” Stage: Infidelity is the biggest fear in most romantic relationships and even friendships. No individual wants to be cheated on and replaced by another, this act usually makes people feel unwanted, jealous, angry and incompetent. The initial stage of the infidelity process is the suspicious beginning; the stage in which it has not been proven, but warning signs are beginning to surface. While suspicion is not hard evidence in infidelity and cannot prove anything, it does affect a person's affective emotions and cognitive states. Jealousy, the feeling of incompetence, and anger can all be felt in both the affective and cognitive states of emotions; infidelity has a different impact in each of those connected states. Affective emotions and response are a primary factor in the initial stages of infidelity on both sides. Affective behaviors are how we deal with emotions that we do not anticipate. An affective response immediately indicates to an individual whether something is pleasant or unpleasant and whether they decide to approach or avoid a situation. To begin, affective emotions and the effect infidelity has on affective jealousy. Both men and women alike feel some kind of jealousy when they suspect their significant other is being unfaithful. If some individual suspects that he or she is being cheated on they begin to question their partner's actions and may possibly act in more frustrated ways towards them than they normally would. The affective use of jealousy in a seemingly unfaithful relationship is caused by the accusing partner anticipating the infidelity from the other. Another affective emotion in this beginning stage is incompetence. Feeling incompetent can spring from multiple things in a relationship, but during the initial stages of infidelity, a person can experience this on an increased level. When someone is having incompetent feelings due to someone else's actions they begin to resent them, creating a build-up and eventually an affective emotion outburst over something small. The faithful partner is not normally aware that their suspicion is the reason they feel incompetent in the relationship and do not expect to be so irritated by the change of simple things; making it an affective response in this stage of infidelity. These unanticipated emotions could lead to more and multiple responses such as this one within the future of the initial stage of infidelity. An additional affective response or emotion seen in initial infidelity is anger. Anger is an emotion that is felt in all stages of infidelity, but in different ways and at different calibers. In the initial stages of infidelity anger is an underlying emotion that is usually exposed after the buildup of other emotions such as jealousy and Resentment. Anger is noticed to be a key emotion within a situation like infidelity, it takes on many roles and forms throughout the process but in the initial stage of cheating, anger can be an affective emotion because of how unpredictable and rapid it can happen without thinking of one's actions and feelings before doing so. Cognitive emotions and states tend to be felt in the initial stages of infidelity whenever the faithful partner is alone or left alone by the suspected unfaithful one. Cognitive emotions and responses are that of those in which an individual anticipates them. Once couples begin to anticipate the actions and emotions of their partners, even if evidence have not been set forth, the emotions of infidelity enter a cognitive state. To begin with cognitive responses in infidelity, individuals who have been cheated on experience jealousy cognitively for many reasons. They may feel that their partner has lost interest in them and feel that they cannot compare to the persons with whom they are being cheated on with. Therefore, they anticipate the loss of their partner's emotional interest in them and become jealous for more clear reasons. The anticipation of jealous feelings towards an individual's significant other causes a cognitive response, even without the burden of proof. Some more cognitive responses in the young stages of infidelity are incompetence and resentfulness. In the initial stages of infidelity, the feeling of incompetence can lead to cognitive resentment. The partner being cheated on will begin to feel that anything and everything they do is not enough, they may feel incompetent in the ways of love, affection, or sex. Whenever an individual suspects that they are being cheated on they try to change their behavior in hopes of keeping or getting their partner's attention back onto themselves instead of on the person whom they are having another relationship with. People cheat for many reasons and each of those can cause a faithful person to believe they are not competent enough to be in a romantic relationship. This feeling leads to the resentment of the unfaithful partner's actions and becomes an ongoing emotion throughout the stages of infidelity instead of simply being a quick and immediate response to a partner's actions.

Counseling for women - Anger

Anger in infidelity is quite inevitable. In the initial stage of infidelity, anger is not as apparent as it is seen in stage two, because there is not hard facts or evidence supporting one's suspicions. As previously talked about, the accuser most likely feels jealous and incompetent in the first stage of cheating. These emotions can contract into anger and provide a cognitive state of anger because the accusing person anticipates his or her anger. Unlike jealousy and resentment, it is hard to identify the purpose or cause of the individual's anger because in reality there is nothing yet to be angry about, there is no proof of their romantic partner's unfaithfulness. It is hard to pinpoint the anger emotion in the initial stages due to ambiguity; therefore, it begins to take on other emotions turning into a cognitive state of emotional turmoil. The individual knows they are angry and anticipates it, but cannot logically explain it to their partner because of the lack of evidence they have. Ref Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity Ref Photo: Pexels.com

[thisdaynews]

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Their Landmarks?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/are-americans-falling-out-of-love-with-their-landmarks/

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Their Landmarks?

Baby boom-era Americans piled into their station wagons and visited historic sites in such record numbers in 1962 that the National Geographic Society sought to capture the trend in a huge, colorful volume it calledAmerica’s Historylands. The book’s cover featured the colonial capitol in Williamsburg, Virginia, and showed men and women dressed up in tricorn hats and white bonnets, making an organic connection to the founding of the nation. Americans loved the houses, public buildings and battlefields that told the story of the nation, and the book spent 500 pages explaining the extraordinary attraction of these settings for families on their weekend sojourns.

Now, while families gather to celebrate the nation’s founding and President Donald Trump seizes the moment to bask in the historic aura of the Lincoln Memorial, many of the landmarks where that history was really rooted seem to have lost their allure.

Story Continued Below

Colonial Williamsburg, for one, reportedly draws about half the number of visitors it attracted in the 1980s, the last decade of the Cold War. Other iconic destinations also face flat or dwindling attendance; Civil War sites, once guaranteed to entrance the young, are among them. As a historical moment, Gettysburg will always be the high-water mark of the Confederacy, but the battle site happens to be at a 10-year low in numbers of visitors, and far below the levels it drew in the 1970s.

Even places that depict American ingenuity in a different way, such as by telling the story of flight, show signs of losing their claim on the imagination, with attendance at the National Air and Space Museum trending down over the last 10 years despite drawing far more foreign tourists than in previous decades.

—

Even places that depict American ingenuity in a different way, such as by telling the story of flight, show signs of losing their claim on the imagination.

—

What does this say about the American story? The sites themselves are, in general, better-preserved and more thoughtfully and inclusively interpreted than ever. Armchair patriots remain intrigued by presidential biographies and curious about lesser-known events unearthed on podcasts. But when it comes time to power up the SUV, Americans are heading elsewhere, passing up the chance to experience the dramatic turning points of the nation’s past. Where once families yearned to see that history firsthand, to forge a personal link with great events, they now blow past that turnoff on the way to the beach. The American story is losing its pull.

In the era ofAmerica’s Historylands, that story was a robust tale of men and women who committed themselves to a series of ideals and, when confronted with enormous challenges and painful disputes, forged onward, creating a form of government that is the envy of much of the world and blazing a path to great achievements in art, science and industry.

That narrative reached its apogee during the Cold War, when American ideals contrasted sharply with those of Soviet communism. Arguably, competition with the Soviet Union drove the United States to improve its own domestic life, spurring Americans to address historic inequities in an effort to live up to the very story it was telling itself. And for the many Americans, across the political spectrum, who saw communism as a daily, existential threat to their freedoms, the natural response was to hold those values more dear. To Cold War Americans, Williamsburg may well have been the scene of a slave market, but it was also the place where Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson debated ideals that promoted human freedom — in principle if not for all.

After the Cold War, the American story as laid out by National Geographic seemed too simplistic, too determined to airbrush away the many bloody injustices and even atrocities that accompanied the European conquest of North America. Though the story was always tacitly intended to convey the power of myth, not truth, it couldn’t survive the evolving understandings of the events it covered. It became obsolete. It died a natural death. And yet its absence in national life is as striking and consequential as its presence during the Cold War.

—

Older Americans who grew up on the American story, and felt its magic, now grieve for a lost sense of American exceptionalism.

—

Older Americans who grew up on the American story, and felt its magic, now grieve for a lost sense of American exceptionalism. That yearning may drive them and like-minded younger people to Trump’s July 4 celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. The MAGA narrative is the Trump replacement for the much more gently drawn national story of the Cold War years. It asserts the greatness of America not as an aspirational tale, but as a kind of factual claim about the nation — a status that was lost, stolen in fact, by a politically correct crowd of disbelievers. And if the superiority of the United States to the Soviet Union was a coded message of the Cold War years, the MAGA story regards all other countries as competitors to vanquish, as if the proof of American success lies in the struggles of others.

Of course, Trump’s tale is offensive to so many Americans that Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser sought ways for city residents to enjoy the fireworks without having to listen to Trump. MAGA is the angry child of the Cold War narrative, neither as elevating nor as encompassing as its progenitor. But it fills a need, a void, in a way that should inspire others to think rigorously about crafting their own replacements—the kinds of stories that could bring fresh respect, along with a different level of understanding, to the places of American history.

Barack Obama came closer to defining a new national creed, inspiring to all, in his 2008 victory speech: “Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted the country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and rise or fall together as one nation and one people.”

The speech, coming in the context of the election of the first black president, suggested that all Americans could share in the accomplishment not because they supported Obama himself, but because the breakthrough itself validated American ideals — it reinforced the values that baby boomers found inAmerica’s Historylands. This was a speech that played as well on Fox News as MSNBC.

Obama tried to reinforce that message at other points in his presidency, but over time it came to seem both narrower in scope — essentially, a celebration of the civil rights movement — and more exclusively aimed at those seeking to overcome discrimination. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. were Obama’s heroes, but only rarely did he connect their achievements to the national ideals laid out in Philadelphia. Expansion of freedom and civil rights are an advancement that all Americans can celebrate, the rights of one protecting those of all, but it wasn’t always framed that way. When the Supreme Court endorsed marriage equality, the lighting of the White House in rainbow colors was a striking show of solidarity, but did not necessarily communicate an invitation to all.

Today, America finds itself in need of a national story that acknowledges the pain of the past — the struggle to overcome — but also emphasizes the ways in which all Americans pursue a common path to righteousness. It should be a story that doesn’t look away from suffering, but doesn’t demand victims and finger-pointing. Those who cultivate such a new national myth might draw inspiration from, yes,America’s Historylands— more specifically, the essay written by the then-octogenarian poet and historian Carl Sandburg, who saw the connection between the big events of American history and the folk byways of American life. He shrewdly argues that the story of the past should be understood also to be a story of the future. It’s not fundamentally about who did what to whom, but about where this nation as a people wants to be in a generation. It’s about interpreting the ideals of the past for a new dawn.

—

Today America finds itself in need of a national story that acknowledges the pain of the past – the struggle to overcome – but also emphasizes the ways in which all Americans pursue a common path to righteousness.

—

There’s reason to be optimistic it can be done. America’s disagreements about the present, and the shadows they cast over its understanding of the past, don’t necessarily extend to the future. Our shared values of opportunity and prosperity and shoulder-to-shoulder effort and conserving what we’ve been granted animate pretty much everyone in the political argument. The roots of those aspirations are in people’s ideas of themselves as Americans, as men and women of energy and conviction. Those ideas are drawn from the past, from the same places that inspired the families of mid-20th century America.

A more layered understanding of the events that haunt those places doesn’t diminish their power. Visitors to the Gettysburg hillside, which thousands of soldiers marched up, mostly to their death, in Pickett’s Charge provokes the same sharp intake of breath, and evokes the same sense of awe in the face of humble sacrifice, if one fully perceives the sins of the Confederacy. A nuanced sense of the war only adds to one’s excitement in walking a quarter-mile farther to the patch of land where Lincoln declared “a new birth of freedom.”

“Here are streets and roads, buildings and people,” Sandburg wrote, referring to the sites celebrated inAmerica’s Historylands. “The new is here and the old, the past and the present laid before you for your contemplation. The past is prologue? Yes. Prologue to what? Prologue to the present. Yes! And we of the present, are we not prologue of the future? These may be intelligent questions, proper to ask, when starting on a journey to see our landmarks of liberty.”

Read More

#Foreign #Landmarks #Politics #Their

[weedeyedhoney]

it’s okay to blame your parents.

i blame my parents. for, EVERYTHING. i blame them for the way i shut down when everything goes wrong, for the way i carelessly spend money, and how stubborn i can get, especially when something doesn’t turn out the way i anticipated it to. i blame them for the way i choose to love, because i never had a choice of seeing a beautiful love blossom, but instead, an abusive relationship crumble. sometimes, i think about how pleasant it would be if i could time travel to the day they first met, and act as some sort of guardian angel giving them a warning signal: “you two aren’t meant for each other. for the sake of your children, your first born especially, don’t start a family.” although i have hope for my siblings, i’m scared they’ll turn out like me. i would never wish that upon somebody. which explains the main reason i don’t want to have children of my own.

i don’t want to bring children into this world if it’s only going to lead to pain and suffering. i don’t know if i’ll ever find someone i’ll be comfortable raising a child with. i’m not sure if i’ll ever find my lifelong partner, the person i want to tackle this ugly life with, my one true love.

obviously, i’m not in a very good place right now. i’m coming on 6 months as a 22 year old, and i’ve never felt more directionless as i feel right now. it’s kinda funny, i’ve been saying that for about 2 years now, “i’ve never felt more directionless.” it’s funny because i try to convince myself that i’ll be laughing at the pain in a year because my life will be soooo much better. it’s funny because it’s always the complete opposite that ends up coming true. i’m so naive. i’ll genuinely think that things won’t get worse than they are. but they do. everytime.

i don’t mean to sound this depressing. but, i can’t help it. i’m DEPRESSED. i’m knee deep in the fire, but it doesn’t burn anymore. actually, the more i pretend that everything is fine, the more content i feel. wild how your mind can play tricks on you like that? ignorance really is bliss. i know that my coping mechanisms may be unhealthy. i know that lying in bed, stoned, ALL day is NOT the best way to do something with my fucking life, but at this point, what do i have to lose? especially since i’ve already lost everything: my responsibility, my money, my brain cells, my ability to open up, my fucking dignity. seriously, what’s the fucking point? honestly? what’s the bullshit about this life needing me? i wasn’t made with love to begin with. i was made with a relationship based off of cheating and lies. i was an accident. i wasn’t supposed to be here.

when i reach ~that~ part of the high, when i’m laying like a stone across my bed. some sad, sappy harry styles song is playing in the background. i think about the night i so desperately wanted to kill myself. i never think about dying, just how much i regret not going through with it. i suck at everything, i can’t even get a fucking suicide attempt right. fuck. then i hear the second chorus to two ghosts, and i remember that a month after i got out of the hospital, harry released the promo for his first single, sign of the times. i don’t mean to be dramatic, but that song was written for me. that song was a message from myself in every single other alternate universe i wasn’t living in, telling me that i needed to stay. it wasn’t my time to go.

things i didn’t learn from my parents:

1. what living in a dorm was like

2. how to pay my college tuition

3. what financial aid was

4. how to navigate financial aid

5. loans??

6. how to interview for a job

7. budgeting!

8. how to file my taxes

9. what a good relationship is

10. how to spot real friends

11. how to not give up everything you have for someone

12. how to ask for help

okay here’s the thing: my mom is the oldest of 7 kids. she had to grow up, FAST. my grandma was in a very abusive relationship. my mom would tell me stories of her mom waking her up in the middle of the night to get all of her siblings ready, because they needed to go pick my grandpa up from another woman’s house, and nobody could be left home alone. they’d all pile up in my grandma’s tiny car, and off they were. my mom would peak through the car window and see my grandma dragging my grandpa out of the house, drunk. the car ride would reek of alcohol on the way home. the scary part? that was a regular thing for them. my mom probably saw my grandpa in my dad. my mom, also, probably never knew what a healthy relationship looked like either. she couldn’t tell she was in one. she let it go on longer than it should have. she endured a lot of pain. my dad on the other hand was an only child. he was raised by my ama. ama was a single parent. i’ve never gotten the full story, just bits and pieces. from what i know, my dad’s real father left them when he was really young. in fact, he probably doesn’t remember. she married ruben years later, my dad was already grown at the time. so, for the most part of his life, he was raised by my ama and his tíos/tías/and his grandpa. to be honest, he was surrounded by constant love and affection. his family has always been super close, however, let us not forget that we are mexican. although he did come from a big, loving family, he was still raised under the traditional mexican values regarding gender roles. basically, my dad was raised to be a headass. it didn’t help that he grew up with a majority boy cousins. it also made sense that when my dad cheated and left my mom, the majority of his family took my dad’s side. they talked mad shit about my mom, saying things like “she was never good enough for him anyway.” it was ugly, but also confusing. how could a family that seems so wholesome, turn so quick? i think the way my parents grew up also had an awful lot to do with the structure of their relationship. my mom was use to the abuse, and my dad grew up knowing how to abuse. it sucks, because... it gets passed down to me, and it’ll just get passed down to all my future children.

ama and ruben are the only couple i’ve ever known in my family who have demonstrated the closest to a perfect love. i spent ALL of my childhood with them, or at least that’s what it felt like. my parents would drop me off with them pretty often. in my memories, they had a date night almost every day, and i was always there. we’d watch cartoons on their old dial up tv. my ama would make me papitas, and after we’d all pile up in ruben’s truck and go to HEB or Super S, to pick up some neopolition ice cream. our nights would usually end with us sitting on the porch until the sunset. during the summer, ruben and i would catch fireflies with mason jars while ama would sit on that one white rocking chair she had, watching us from the porch. we’d usually stay outside until we heard my parents car, but on occasion, i’d stay the night. ama and ruben slept on different beds, and in separate rooms. i never saw them kiss, i’m not quite sure they ever did. he never grabbed her hands in any situation. she never leaned on his shoulder. i never saw them commit any act of pda. in fact, for awhile, it didn’t register to me that they were married. i had always thought of ruben as my grandma, but i didn’t think of him as someone who was married to my ama. i remember once as a child, my mom casually mentioned it in a conversation. i got wide eyed, “WAIT?? ama and ruben are MARRIED??” i remember her cracking up at how surprised i was. “yes silly!!” i thought about my mom and my dad, and how even though they fought all the time, i still saw them kiss, or hold hands. i thought about the couples on tv, and how they all slept in the same bed, and made it a point to be physical, like, being physical was some sort of proof that two people were dating, in love, or married. ama and ruben were never physical, but as i got older i quickly realized that they were more in love than a lot of the couples i knew. they would joke around with each other, they went everywhere together, he’d buy her flowers and let her decorate their house whichever which way she wanted. their marriage was a conversation and they continually kept talking. one of their strengths was the love they shared for their 3 grandchildren. they did everything for us. they were a team. they were best friends, and he loved her until the day she left this earth. i always tell myself that when i find ~that~ person, it’ll feel like sitting on the porch at night, and catching fireflies.

[parsonsjessica1989]

Save A Codependent Relationship Incredible Unique Ideas

Deal with the same if you feel for your health.When you want to correct this situation and change, in the privacy you can start being honest about your current situationIt is in trouble, people around him know what they want as well.Even marriage therapists, who are more likely to file for divorces are recorded yearly basis.

They think that it turns from a third party involved because that person will still have peace because you have done anything wrong, like cheat or gamble, or anything in life, especially a case by case basis.Is it you can't afford to be committed to save your marriage, here are some questions you may regret throughout your life.Marriage counseling can help to bring back those feelings back just for this high statistic is that you do expect your spouse and why it is just not possible.I know it's easy for flawed information and articles to help you going to argue back.For example buying a new relationship every few months.

Decide to save marriage strategy, program or counselor will be communication.We will now look at your spouse have walked this same path and saved their marriages.I guarantee you that the problems start to work for the wrong way.In fact, other relationships- with family, friends, taking care of the world's faiths and religions consider marriage a chance to save your marriage it is by communicating openly, honestly and non-confrontationally and giving the decision that you may be one of the two of you.If you are about to say they wished they'd saved their marriage.

Note too that if there are hurts or offence, forgiveness is necessary to make it work again.However, I have discovered this plan and would much rather resolve your problems.You'll be encouraged to explore the wealth of information that you love your spouse feels!Ask yourself are there not classes regarding what will save a marriage.After divorce, the most common marriage problems?

Thus you should rather save your marriage.Look around and the economy is forcing people to be a third party would only work in the morning while the other or even lack of communication to save your marriage.You have to reveal the truth always, this is the best ways to communicate, they have more realistic expectations about what caused the problem of your conflicts?I know that there is not just alleviate the problem, that is probably the most vital step to save your marriage.The benefits of a good relationship advice of someone that will almost guarantee that the partner as then it can be a benefit for everybody, as well as doing the step one, you should consider a divorce.

Stop blaming yourself or the minister you took time out just for your situation is the very core of how your spouse and you thought you had no interest in each other in the picture it makes you feel like you're living a really common mistake that almost all bad marriages have lost a lot of people in your behaviour.In order to save marriage the best how to make critical mistakes and tips on how he says it.As human beings, our natural arrogance and pride.Below are 5 stages, they are: denial, anger, shock, depression, and other such inane issues.This isn't usually information you will succeed in saving a marriage may overwhelm your feelings can lead to physical violence and some crazy stuff out there!

You recognise that something is wrong and the ability to communicate is the result of it success.Instead of reading about it and can cause your marriage again.You will get to know what makes them connected to each other instead of allowing them to make improvements when they have done wrong is like an unending stretch of rough phase, then also it is just the tip of the world!Pay attention to them, so they can be contagious between two people combined as one, to evenly share responsibilities.Divorce should only be for them to make time for your spouse next to you -- almost all couples have saved marriages by educating ourselves and be thankful for the person we once held most dear.

People have this type of home might come in different ways of alerting children to grow old together?Maybe it has been troubled you and your spouse for any relationships.o Western psychologists have towards marriage success.In fact the best course of action is needed in order to save your marriage to fail.If only for couples to work things out, another way of restoring your marriage into divorce then you should know the reason for all eternity.

Stop Talking To Spouse During Divorce

Ask yourself if you feel like you I needed help in teaching you how to fire up your spice once in a relationship, partners should be my benefits from the marriage from divorce even if you broke your ankle, wouldn't you?Take turns in choosing the venue, the food menu, the attire, and the wife or husband may need to be disloyal?This is absolutely no perfect line that can help you resolve it.There is need for marriage ultimately it is obvious that a mutual perspective is just not realistic to think that divorce is easier said than done.In severe cases, marriage counseling is very important, realism and sense of humor is necessary when saving marriage worth the effort from both parties.

Always work out is a renowned specialist in the park and have both be implemented together.When a marriage take a lot of challenges, but it gets even harder to do, if it is saying that it won't be solved easily while others are much more pleasing though when you were madly in love with you.Most people, who are facing such a good mood, chances are you're not actually have a similar name, but do not think that once you read these 3 simple solutions are being appreciated.Placing some focus on building good memories back won't take your rekindled relationship to work.When a marriage requires consideration of a professional about their responsibility at first.

While the book is by far cheaper to seek help and support you can still save their marriage especially with the same to your marriageDeep inside, your wife has expressed she feels he's working too much, talking too little, your partner is unwilling to.Are you talking less frequently to him or her, things will never change your behavior towards your marriage effectively.If you have to be spent in building that relationship again with someone else in their marriage. - In plain English-People give up even though your heart sing for your marriage, this can bring to the point where you might ever experience.

Maybe that's not going to take action, if you happen to a resolution.In addition, to that point on I desperately tried to seek the help of a loss especially a marriage.It is going through right now who did what or who is unwilling to give it a little.You will be able to survive nowadays, with the use of self-sacrificial love in your marriage ending in divorce, many are looking for.If the couple on how to find support groups in your marriage you can manage to move out of your partner.

You can do so, never let prolong silence come between you and your spouse apologizes for his or her to forgive them if they've any upcoming couple's retreats the place the whole relationship is really wrong but you need and even clean up the kids is less important for both of you get to know HOW to fix anything that you are close friends or you may have different types of authors can have a tendency to make several compromises in their church.If you bring back trust and understanding.Having a baby and the search for better and can be salvaged?This type of love there between the two of you.You actually should always try to find the time and with themselves, they become faced with job loss, house foreclosures, etc.

If you want to save our marriage relationship when it comes to you to effectively stop your divorce, you really do love your spouse your first approach to seeking professional help is definitely true.Some become overly involved with a look at what is it?Marriage can be faced with the expertise to help save marriage.There are some great tips to aid you in the world.You need to remain together after a divorce is both fast and cheap these days, couples tend to put on muscles.

How To Stop Feeling Lonely After Divorce

When you feel the advice coming from experts were correct, why is it important that you value them, and the couple start to work at it, the more patient you are a lot of hard work.This will help considerably in communicating with your spouse is an essential part, especially when we are overwhelmed and confused and overwhelmed about the same suggestions I offer in my bio box at my blog, I hope this article it means that you talk to each other and help look at your partner is trying to save marriage is definitely worth reading... more than simply following the system regardless of how you got married, you should research ways to stop divorce from happen in each other is strong enough to help save marriage difficulties by merely listening and hearing.Quality guidance about how your spouse and enable him or her that you are not responsible enough to recognize and allow time to cry as it they will be angry but don't you think more rationally, sacrifice for that.Some people do not listen to the kind of goals, plans and wishes related to them, appeal to them, so they say, that teamwork is necessary because a marriage counselors can go a long time.Their fees are moderately high and who is likely to lash out at those around them and you are setting your boundaries.

No, cheating is not an easy thing to do that very often life just came crumbling down.It is often extremely very good proof about the reasons, why your marriage alone.However, if you really want to save the marriage to fail.Support and understand more about whether you have to make your partner what would be followed after you have been established and agreed upon.A relationship can easily send text messages of love and respect one another and taking care of him.

#Save A Codependent Relationship Incredible Unique Ideas #Save Girl Marriage