NOTE: Part of this post began as a comment to a post at Living With Multiple Personalities. It triggered off other thoughts that I decided to put up a post in response to it.

One of the ugliest symptoms of my depression is anger. Although, I am recovering from my depression, I still get stricken by disproportionate anger flare-ups occasionally. I also used to get so insanely angry at seemingly minor irritations that my outbursts were both irrational and uncontrollable. The problem was that such fits occured very rarely but when they do, it was always when I was around the people who I deemed safe for me to reveal the “real” me: that is, the people who are the closest and dearest to me, my family.

But this is really crazy. You see Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: anger, depression

Mrs Hell on Heels, from whose blog I got the idea, received over fifty questions. I thought I might get half of that, but only received a handful. I guess my readers/visitors are either shy, lazy or maybe even, non-existent! In any case, as promised, here are the questions and my answers:

• From Helen: Have you ever tried any of the recipes in your renters blog?

The Bloke: No, even though I like to cook, I have been very lazy, because I am married to one of the most amazing cooks I have ever known!

• From James: What’s your favorite way to relieve stress?

These days, I love going to the Jacuzzi with my wife. Nothing like strong jets of hot water on those sore muscles! And the steam gets the eccrine or so-called “good” sweat out of your system and invigorates you!

Favorite television program?

Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy and 24 are some of my favorite programs. I like Boston Legal’s Alan Shore, played by James Spader, the maverick legal eagle whose heart of gold often shines through a façade of bravado and seemingly apathetic cold-heartedness.

Favorite blog?

I don’t have one favorite blog, but here are some of the blogs that I check out often: Messy Christian, Never Eat Alone Blog, Frugal for Life, and recently, I picked up the following two as well: From the Morning and Rice Daddies. Also, I think I might be checking out my current tenant, Living with Multiple Personalities on a regular basis as well!

Read the rest of this entry »

Long time readers (all 2 or 3 of you, maybe?) of …in the outer… would know that I am a guy with lotsa issues! Some of them mental! You might remember that I was diagnosed with a “borderline” mental illness (as I said then, whatever that means!). Sometimes I think I am waaaaaay over the border anyway.

You might also remember how I sank to the lowest of low because of life’s circumstances. And, how I battle spiritual and emotional depression. You might remember the time I was near suicidal. You might also remember that I have a soft spot in my heart for those who not only suffer from mental illness but who suffer alone, ashamed to admit that they are depressed, on medication, or seeing a shrink.

That’s why I am so happy to welcome my latest BlogExplosion tenant, Living With Multiple Personalities, a blog by “cat”. Here is a snippet from her “About Me” page:

My mission has been to open the eyes of others and help them walk down a healthy mental path. Did I say mental? Yes. How many times would you admit to seeing your Dr. for a cold? No issue there…you’d tell others and get some pity here and there…and then you’d take the medicine required to get better, right? Well, how many times would you tell someone you went to your therapist 3 times this week? And that you were placed on medication to make you feel better, mentally? Most would rather die than admit this to others. There is such a stigma placed on mental conditions in this country. So many feel if they admit to taking an anti-depressant, they are admitting they are crazy or something!

I want to tell you not to be ashamed. Yes, there are places and times to bring this stuff up…and there are still items of recourse you must look ahead to and note before telling certain people…but don’t be ashamed. Don’t feel like you are the only one. You aren’t!

Please, do pay her blog a visit, and let her know that the bloke sent ya!

This is an idea borrowedstolen from Mrs Hell On Heels. She asked her visitors to post 100 questions for her to post her answers. Questions started pouring in and when she got to about 53 questions, she posted her answers.

I thought what a great meme! Although I did do my “50 Things” post a while back (that was in the days when I didn’t know you’re supposed to do 100 things) I thought I might steal her idea and invite you my reader, visitor or “stumbled-by-er” to post me your questions, and I will put them together in a post with links to your blog.

So, there you go! Ask me your questions in the comments and post my answers probably over this coming weekend… Just please note that I may plead the fifth on some questions, ok, but if I do, I will try to come up with a creative answer nonetheless!

And, for a little bit of a challenge, come back for the “answers” post and vote for your favorite question, most creative question or most challenging question!

So, let the games, I mean, questions begin!

Yesterday at church, the lesson was based on the familiar story found in Mark 11: 12-18. It got me thinking!

The chapter from Mark 11 provides the context to this story. If you remember, Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphally the day before. His first stop was the temple where he “looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” (verse 11).

He came back into Jerusalem the following day and since He was hungry, he looked for figs at the first fig tree He came upon to replenish himself. But He found no figs on the tree, “because it was not the season for figs.” (verse 13).

I must tell you: I don’t remember that part of the verse in previous readings! Just goes to show how your memory deceives you and how you are so familiarized to the stories that your memory or attention is diverted from what the Word actually says. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, I highlighted a reported move by Roman Catholic scholars to rethink the image of Judas Iscariot, but apparently the Vatican has denied there is any such initiatives. But actually, if there were any such movement, it might not have been initiated by Vatican scholars, but it certainly has been entertained by others over the years, according to this Beliefnet article. Many have asked questions in relation to Judas, his act and his motivation.

What was Judas Iscariot really up to? Is it possible that he was motivated not by greed or betrayal, but by love? Was his suicide an admission of guilt, or perhaps, a sign of his loyalty to his fallen Messiah? “I’m not saying Judas is a saint, but we owe him an enormous debt for having helped Jesus to accomplish God’s will,” argues William Klassen, a retired professor of New Testament at the University of Waterloo in southern Ontario and author of “Judas: Betrayer or Friend of Jesus.” “Why the church has turned against him so terribly badly is a mystery to me, and it also means that the church still hasn’t understood the meaning of Christ’s death.”

My guess one reason that the church turned against Judas is due to the peculiar quirk of human nature that Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Judas Iscariot

There they go again! Over at Christianity Today’s blog there is another little storm brewing! This time it is an altercation about the cover of the recent issue of Leadership which features the a statue depicting in clear view some fine “marble bosom”. Rather than discuss the import of what the issue was dedicated to, it appears that readers are more concerned with the supposed propriety of depicting a statue with bare breasts on the cover page of a magazine dedicated to ministers and ministry. (Incidentally, Messy Christian is also wondering why there is such a fuss over part of the female anatomy).

First, there was the guy who complained that he could no longer leave a copy of the magazine on the coffee table for fear that one of his 8 sons might see some (er, very cold) skin. Then there was the woman who found the need to strategically paint over the images before (gasp!) her husband got a hold of the semi-pornography (actually, it might be pornographic after all, by some definition!). Finally, there was the guy who found the photo of a bare-chested man and a woman wearing “a shirt that seemingly could fall off at any moment” within the pages of the magazine a little too pernicious. And, “[a]s if that weren’t enough, neither of them is wearing a wedding band and the article is about sex”. What horror of horrors!

So, the debate continues… Read the rest of this entry »

This week, I welcome back my blog tenant, Kitchen Fun with Donna and Friends.

This is a group blog which is open to membership from the public, and is devoted to sharing recipes. So, why wait, go over and start perusing for your special meal or party!

Have recipes to share? You can even join up as a member to post your own recipes!

So, get over there now and don’t forget to let them know who sent you!

According to this article, some scholars within the Roman Catholic church intend to revise the public view of Judas.

Usually, when we think of Judas, images of the “bad guy” or the “betrayer” comes to mind. He is known as the disciple who turned against his Master. He sold the Savior for thirty pieces of silver, a term that is now linked with bounties from acts of treason. Although he later apparently regretted his miscreancy, he is typically demonized in works of art, literature and biblical studies. But, scholars suggest it is time for a rethink:

Father Allen Morris, Christian Life and Worship secretary for the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, said: “If Christ died for all — is it possible that Judas too was redeemed through the Master he betrayed?”

Apparently, this move to clear the name of Jesus’ renegade disciple coincides with moves to publish Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Judas

One of the managers at work sent me the following story. This story is intended to encourage cooperation and collaboration within the workforce. But, I think it is applicable not only in the daily worklife of organizations but may well apply in the recent cartoon row.

Mouse Story: A message!

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

“What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning.

“There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said,

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: cartoon row

Craig the Gastric Bypass Guru is offering $50 for the best idea for a Valentine’s day gift for his wife, Leslie. So, go over and help him out, and in the process, find out what others are suggesting. Even if you don’t need the dough, maybe you can get some ideas for your own V Day gift. Now, when exactly is Valentine’s day again?

Here is a comment I placed on a post I found at this site.

By way of introduction, the post, and some of the comments received, cast a little anxiety on the so-called frivolous lawsuit that Luigi Cascioli brought against the Rev. Enrico Righi of the Roman Catholic Church about the existence of Christ.

Apparently folks are worried that while the litigant may lose in pre-dominant Roman Catholic Italy, a subsequent appeal to the EU Court may mean that Christianity might be outlawed in Europe, setting a precedent for the rest of the world. Even (gasp) the United States.

My comment: Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: frivolous lawsuit, Luigi Cascioli, Enrico Righi