Play on Words: Empathic vs. Empathetic

I found this article from The Grammarist to be very interesting:

"Empathic is a variant of empathetic, which means characterized by empathy. Some American dictionaries list empathic as the standard word and empathetic as the variant, and the shorter word is older than the longer one. But empathetic has prevailed—probably due to analogy with sympathetic—and is now about five times as common as empathic in news publications from throughout the English-speaking world."

The Soul and the Spirit Part 2

Spirit can be used to mean the spirit given us by God that animates us, houses our inner-motives and emotional expression.

In the New Testament, the spirit "is the realm where relations between God and a human being can take place (Philippians 3:3)."  It is "that aspect of human personality or self through which these relations are possible (http://www.gci.org/spiritual/soulspirit)."

More on Dreams

With all the books and information out on interpretation of dreams, it seems like fun to interpret the symbols in our dreams.  But, if we're looking for something in our dreams that will give us a message or an answer, what we're looking for seems like more of a vision.

The Soul and the Spirit Part 1

I'll not quote the cliche, but I do get a definite sense about a persons eyes.  Most of the time, I just pick up on the degree of clarity which I take as an indicator of overall health, but every so often, I get a really strong sense, usually in the positive.  Those are the times that my impression is of something greater, more along the lines of (I use these terms creatively) a pure or vibrant spirit, a kindred spirit, a young soul or an old soul.  It's unmistakable when it happens, or is shown to me (it doesn't happen at my will).

What is the soul?  Is it separate from the body?  Does it depart the body when we die?

You Knew Me; You Know My Regrets

My heart breaks for the loss of a child.  I cry for the mother's pain, the father's, the family's.  Prayer requests for children, babies, and mothers are the most difficult for me.  My prayers go to God mottled with tear drops.

Psalm 139:15

Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;
all of them were written in your book.

Dreams

The following is just a brief overview of my position on the topic of dreams.

An important thing to consider about dreams is how the dream made the dreamer feel?  Does the dreamer feel important? Is the focus of the dream on the dreamer? Or, does the dreamer feel humbled, in awe of the vision?

Secondly, has the dream changed the dreamer's behavior in anyway that furthers God's will?

Post Holiday Slump

Just over a week after Christmas - how are you feeling?  All around us, things are going back to "normal."  We've celebrated the birth of Christ, celebrated Christmas with our families; we've hung the stockings and decked the halls; we've wrung in the New Year - now what?