Siloam

Breaking the Silence

Erica Ambrose

Christian Rocker




My Life As A Martial Artist

Whoever said learning martial arts was easy, lied. Now it’s not as hard, let’s say, as rocket science or open heart surgery, but it’s not that easy, especially if you’re just starting out. Now, I don’t want to scare anyone from beginning some classes, because I think starting my martial arts training is one of the best things I could have ever of done, especially now that I’ve started my weapons training. Here again, I don’t want to scare anyone into thinking this is some violent form of training. What people see is mostly the fighting part. What they don’t see is the discipline and control that goes into this training. Even those in the movies doing all of these moves have had to train. I was joking around with a fellow student who has a higher belt than I do. I was joking when I asked him not to hurt me. His response was that no one would get hurt if we practiced control. Control and discipline are taught as much as the martial arts are, because without control and discipline, we are as much at danger of getting hurt as the other person, either by ourselves or them. It can go either way.

    I have also found that most of the training is mental. This is the had part. The conditioning is tought, but we as Americans are so out of shpe and we tend to give up easy, when if fact, we can go further and endure more if we focus our minds. I don’t mean you can do a hundred push ups if you focus, but you can push yourself to do more that what you think you can. I wouldn’t trade what I’ve went through for anything, not even some burgers and fries. I’ve had to go through too much to have to work those calories off again.   

Changes

Where to begin??? I have my itunes program running and it’s kind of odd when you go from listening to Britney Spears to Charlie Peacock. those of you who know both artists know what I’m talking about. Some of you may wonder why I’m listening to Britney anyway. The song I’m listening by Britney reminded me of an e-mail I recieved today. It was written by a guy named Dale Thompson of a group called Bride. Just this e-mail alone will testify that there are some people out there who are a little off center. The essence of the e-mail was that we (Christians, the body of Christ) need to change our views of Christianity and be led by the Spirit. According to Dale, we Christians have it all wrong. We have been teaching the things of God all wrong for ages. Now, for the most part, I don’t agree with what Dale says in his e-mails, but he has a point, sort of.
I do think we need to do some changing within the body of Christ. Much like what Dale has done, we read the Bible the wrong way and say that it says what we want it to say instead of what it actually says. I don’t mean to say that anybody has a corner on what the Bible says, but there has been so much distortion that it’s hard to know who’s teaching the truth. One of the questions I have is about the Sabbath and us coming together. In the beginning, God… and on the seventh day rested and made it holy. Was the first day actually a Sunday? Fast forwarding to the new testament, we find the Disciples worshipping on the first day of the week for fear of their lives. If there was a reason to be dead set on a day of the week, why were so many coming to Christ early on? Later on in the new testament we’re commanded not to forsake the gathering together of ourselves and where 2 or 3 are gathered together in His name, He is there.
We also have this mentality that if the people who don’t know Christ will just come to church, everything will be alright. It seems as though that their just being in Church will get them saved as we sit back on our laurals and wonder where we’re going to eat after the service. Whatever happened to building relationships with people and forming that bond and trust with them to where they confied with us and allow us to minister to them? The Church doesn’t seem to feel so much like family anymore like it once did when we would go out of our way for our friends and family and for the wayward souls. Church has gone from a family meeting to a social club. Not that anything’s wrong with having functions at Church, but it’s no more than a place to be seen. I’ll have more next time.

Thinking

I’m sitting in front of my computer once again, thinking. I was born in 1972, thus growing up in the 80’s. I was 13 in August of ‘86 when I was saved. It wasn’t until ‘89 when I was turned on to this thing called Contempoary Christian Music. The church I had been a member of, had a falling out over money. I left with the group that left, but joined another fellowship instead. It seemed these were times of change. CCM was gaining ground in popularity and validity and I was in a church that was at the very least backing up what they were preaching. I was reading my Bible more and growing in the belief system I was adhereing to. I loved it and thought the world would never end.

    Now I sit here, some19 years later and see other changes. Most of the people I listened to in music are no longer around, and the few that are look as though they will retire soon. Some members of the same church I belong too are no longer with us, because of death on whatever other reason, and some new people are there. Nothing ever stays the same for long, but time must move on. I remember certain areas of my life better than others, but I am not pround of them all. Sitting here, thinking and remembering, brings a smile to my face mostly, because I realize that I’m not who or where I use to be and that I won’t be where I’m at much longer.       

Tourniquet

Suicide

I was reading my e-mail this afternoon, and as I was signing out, I saw this story about Deborah Palfrey, who apparently was a DC madam, was found dead near tampa fl. I definatly don’t want to step on any toes, and I definately don’t know all of the details, but it seems suicide is a bit of a stretch to stop a life at any age for any reason. True, life can be hard sometimes, and whatever the situation was that prompted her to commit suicide may have been more than she could bear, alone or with someone else. Death in many views isn’t the best to deal with, especially suicide. Perhaps she felt this was the best thing to do at this time or she felt it was the only way out, but whatever the case, I’m sure she has people still here who were close to her who are hurting that she is gone. It just seems that there is a better way when life is meant to be enjoyed. 

In Good Times, In Bad Times

I usually check my e-mail, my 401k, and other online entertainment each morning after I get up out of bed. I have noticed that the stock market hasn’t been doing all that well for some time now. I have also noticed, along with everyone else, the rise in gas prices. This morning I read a piece that was talking about people going to places like ebay and craigslist to sell their posessions to get money for nessicities just to live, like food, gas, and money for their bills so they won’t have to go to the streets or homeless shelters. It’s not always easy to let go of things it has taken you some time to collect over the years and I can understand that this is hard for some. One story caught me off guard though. It was of a woman who liked to buy expensive things. She was to said to have been a registered nurse, and from how the article read, not working. The article said she liked to spend money on expensive handbags, some that had cost $1,000 and more. At the time, she had a live in boyfriend, then he left. This brought her to the point of selling her expensive items to pay her bills. It must have been somewhat tough for her. I know it would have been for me since these items are so expensive. In the times we are living, I think it’s time for all of us to look over our finances  and do a reality check. Money seems to be a stress factor more often than not for most people. Now, in the times we are living, we really need to ask ourselves when we are shopping, is this something that I really need? Just because we have these outlets to resell them if need be, we may not get what we need out of them, thus starting a worry whirlwind that will will keep us up at night wondering how we’re going to get something paid.