Hello from the center of a HEAT WAVE. If this is anything like hell, we need to be spreading the word. There’s a good chance we could convert most of Canada and the midwest right about now!
A comment by Reblyner on my weblog made my brain work. She asked why it is that we capitalize the word “I” but not the word “me”. Which made my thoughts wander back in time to a former boyfriend who NEVER used caps, and certainly not when referring to himself. It all had the appearance of commendable humility, but he was in fact one of the most ego-centric, self-absorbed people I’ve known. (Musicians and artists seem particularly fond of “faking it”. The whole “aw shucks” approach to being full of themselves usually has me reaching for antacids…)
So here’s the question of the day. What is TRUE humility? Using lower case letters to refer to yourself is only a cosmetic adjustment. Does a person have to be completely devoid of talent to be really humble? Can a person who has great personal strength and intelligence be humble? Who are the humble people you know, and why do you consider them so? The common misconception seems to be that only someone who consistantly talks poorly of himself/herself is truly modest, and someone who recognized his/her strengths is automatically proud. But aren’t you supposed to be pleased with your achievements? God certainly is pleased with them! Any input??
As for the grammar issue of capitalizing “I” and not “me”….this former English teacher has no clue as to why that is! How’s that for humility??! 
Oh, and Squirt and Ahram? If you’re going to monopolize this page, at least stay on topic! Or I’ll whoop your butts when I get back to Deutschland! You’re scaring people away, for Pete’s sake!
Alright…I’m off to stand in front of my fan in my undies for a while (Just joking! I wouldn’t do that to a harmless fan.)
Michele
pedagoga_quebrante
I’ll be your fan… oh gosh- I can’t believe I just said that.
unnie13
michele..you want to write that all in easy readable language for squirt?! lol..so i guess that means no staying on topics for me cuz i didn’t understand half of what you said haha..anywayz ahram should be back soon hmm..this site is looking awfully tempting!!
yooniepetoonie
i honestly don’t see any true humble people around.. really.. even missionaries who say it’s God not them have some pride issues.. i guess you can be humble in some areas but in whole, i think it’s hard.. and i think real humility is when one doesn’t realize that he/she himself/herself is humble .. you know what i mean? therefore no one can really be humble..
serenitymine
I think I have to disagree with you a little, Beautiful Grace. You’re absolutely RIGHT about pride being present everywhere, even among missionaries! But humility isn’t saying “I didn’t do this myself”…because really, you DID plant the crop, or speak to an unsaved neighbor or write a kind note to someone or raise funds for a needy missionary. Humility is in believing and stating that you could not have done it without God’s inspiration and assistance, and that it will only truly bear fruit because of His blessing. So yes, you might make the action happen, but it is fruitless without God. Saying, “I wrote this book” isn’t pride. But saying, “God inspired me to write this book and He has used it to touch lives” IS humility… Does that make sense? It’s just my personal opinion…….
RebLyner
wow – this is good stuff to ponder. i have to think some more on the subject.
unnie13
how come i’m the only one who doesn’t understand this???lol
yooniepetoonie
oh, rat… someday you will understand.. not that i understand the concept of humility 100% too.. this whole thing is confusing and feels like i will never really understand or reach.. but yes michele, i agree about us making the action and aknowledging what God did.. but u do know what i mean by missionaries with pride who say one thing but think the other..
serenitymine
Which leads to a whole other issue: do we hold missionaries more responsible for their lives than other Christians and do we consider it a greater flaw when a missionary shows pride than when a random other believer shows pride. In other words, are we expecting missionaries to be inherently better and closer to perfect that we expect other people to be? …and is that right??
yooniepetoonie
no, i don’t think that missionaries should be perfect, but at least their attitude should be different.. and people do expect them to be more righteous than others anyway.. missionaries become missionaries to serve not to be served.. there are people who don’t understand the concept of serving and being humble.. (not that i know that myself..) they want to be aknowledged for serving others.. (is that humility? is that real serving? ) and no, not all missionaries are like that but some, more than others.. some are never like that.. i don’t know michele.. this is a hard subject to ponder.. i shouldn’t judge pple for thier actions.. anyhow.. i love you !
serenitymine
Can you do me a favor, Grace? Could you write me an email and give me specific examples of the sort of behavior that has bothered you? No need to give names, but it woud help me to understand your reaction if I knew a little more precisely what people have done, said, or how they’ve behaved that has caused you to feel so strongly. Tell me a couple stories! Call it a little personal research in the perception people have of missionaries! You can answer here if it’s easier, or drop me an email at shellphoenix@compuserve.com.
armie2007roses
YOU will whoop our butts?! NO!! WE will whoop your butt!! Remember? You did NOT tell us who you were at first? Okay Rat! Start writing random things! haha
unnie13
wahoo!! ahram has come back..seriously michele your the one who didn’t tell us who you were..haha we are back in town unnie..muhaha be ware michele
unnie13
nevermind…
laurishka
Expect an email shortly (or longly, knowing my procrastination skills!)!
Love,
L
drea_christine
think its time to update?