Kendall's volleyball team took second place in their tourney yesterday. It's fun to watch genes passed on to second generation. Kendall's 8-year-old sister was part of a dance team that performed at a local mall for a REd Cross benefit. Of course, she was the best dancer :-)
Been reading "Longing for God" by Foster and Beebe. They present Evagrius of Ponticus (345-399) whose key concept in spiritual theology is that our ability to know and love God is tied directly to our ability to cultivate godly virtue. This cultivation proceeds by stages. Unless we face an untimety demise, Evagrius believes that each of us will be assailed by all eight deadly thoughts - listed as gluttony, anger, greed or avarice, envy or vainglory, pride, lust or impurity, Indifference or impatient discouragement - sloth, and melancholy or depression.
Evagrius believes that we overcome the disorientation of the eight deadly thoughts only through the orienting effects of the eight godly virtues, which correspond directly to the deadly thoughts:
temperance overcomes gluttony. Mildness over anger. Generosity over greed. Happiness over envy. Humilty over pride. Chastity over lust. Diligence over indifference. Wisdom over depression.
He claims that these virtues develop as we conquer the deadly thoughts arising from our interactions with other people and social institutions. The virtues like the deadly thoughts are cumulative. Positive resolution at one level leads to positive resolution at subsequent levels. Just as the deadly thoughts creat disorientiation, the moral virtures create an orientation that helps us make progress in our spiritual journey.
Interesting food for thought.
If we don't get snowed in, we're back in Nampa Tuesday.
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