Kelly Clarkson has a new song out called "Dark Side." It asks the question that if someone really knew her dark side would they still love her and would they be willing to know her dark side. It's a very good question. There are many philosophies about people and their dark sides. Basically I think it's the stuff in life that we want to keep covered up. We're not always aware of the stuff in there. Sometimes we are aware that we have stuff there but we try to cover it up and ignore it. We all have them and some people are able to live a life without really ever engaging their dark sides. Then there are others who dive on in and try to work on their dark side. That's what I'm trying to do - explore the stuff in my dark side. The dark side does affect me even when I wish it didn't. It's not an easy process and can be painful. There have been many times were I have been brought to tears and crying to the point of hyper-ventilating. I fight myself often in going to that dark place. I try to go around it and not engage it but in the end I learn more about myself be engaging the process and my dark side. I'm learning to be more self-aware and aware of others. My compassion and empathy are increasing and I know that I'm becoming more connected to the universe and others. I'm becoming more then I was and hope that my dark side will become smaller and I'll find a more holistic person.
As a minister I have the honor of performing rites and ceremonies for people at a variety of stages of life: baptisms, blessings, marriages, funerals, etc. I usually enjoy planning and leading these events. But lately I've had a rash of folks shocked that as a minister, I would have a fee to do some of these services. So lets talk about why I have fees. To start with, if you are a member of my congregation you do get my services as a part of my contract with the congregation as long as they are spelled out in the contract. Generally if you're a member of the congregation I serve, it is expected that I will preform baptisms, blessings, funerals, weddings, etc for you because I want to remind you of God's continuous blessing in your life and especially at important moments in your life. However some folks are shocked that there would be an honorarium suggested for the minister. The reality is that these blessings, weddings, funerals, etc. are extra work in our wee...
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