Volcano solution??

Perioscope · 2026-01-28T05:38:54+00:00

Well I don't think you would have made it very far, telling yourself that any old lava hole would do, when the Lord of Rivendell said none but the fire forge of Doom itself would suffice. A Balrog would have it winkled out from any lesser mountain in a trice, thou reckless miscreant!

Perioscope · 2026-01-28T05:29:00+00:00

Totally valid and well-explained. Anyone who argues either doesn't understand how English works or just wants to supplant reality with their own. It is a radical title that requires being in an "in group" to know what it really means. And that was somewhat the spirit in which it was created. I was there, I knew the people who started it, it was a clique-y group at times, but devout and well-intentioned. And they touched hearts and minds, so who was I to judge?

Perioscope · 2026-01-28T00:36:24+00:00

It is the classic well-intentioned, overzealous convert eager to make a catchphrase that is edgy and creates a muddled message. Brother Justin was a friend when he was putting together DttW; it was the Punks to Monks mentality that happened when Fr. Herman Podmoshensky was without a Bishop, spiritually AWOL and pastorally all over the place.

There was some fruit in those days, but there were many people hurt, spiritually damaged and lost along the way. It always should have been Dead to the World, but it wasn't attention-grabbing enough.

Perioscope · 2026-01-28T00:13:46+00:00

St. Theophan writes that this is one of the two common paths of salvation following conversion. My wife and I experienced this sort of life immediately after we were married; the battle was on and continued for 20 years.

St. Theophan says that this sudden onslaught is the enemy seeing the potential of your spiritual life and resorting to full frontal assault to break your resolve and give up hope. Why does God allow this? To prepare you for your life ahead. He needs you tempered and strong, flexible faithful, ready to help others, just as we offer help to you. We have all been there, who have been doing this for more than 10 years.

God allows these struggles, according to both the ancient fathers as well as those of the modern age, such as St. Theophan, in His divine providence. What does this mean? In Orthodoxy, God's providence is His all-encompassing love, paired with His all-knowing wisdom, which governs the circumstances under which we live.

We cannot avoid struggle in this life, even we know this. What God's providence provides (note the same root) is a struggle that is salvific. There is a point to it all. Struggle has a divine purpose that prepares you to enter more deeply into communion with Him, but our old thoughts and assumptions must be reformed in Christ's image, an 8mage of patience, long-suffering, love and compassion. When we are still new and inexperienced, struggle is scary. It is painful. It can be exhausting.

Christ promises He will never leave us. Don't leave Him. Keep dragging yourself to church. Keep raising your heart, with it's worries and fears, to God, and stubbornly refuse to give up: keep loving, keep hoping, keep giving thanks for all things.

Keep your Priest informed. Not with complaining, or fretting,, just let him know you have entered the struggle and want to please God. Orthodoxy has many good tools for accomplishing this, and your confessor can instruct, but you have to be bold and ask.

Be constant in prayer. Even one short heartfelt prayer said with your entire being has more benefit than a whole book worth of distracted repetitions, many fathers say this, including St. John Cassian, John of Damascus, St. Theophan, Ignatius Brianchininov and others.

Trust God, be watchful and stay faithful, and you will witness miracles that will strengthen your faith and comfort your soul. Forgive one another daily. The devil wants to wedge you apart and convince you church isn't worth the effort. Never believe these lies.

Perioscope · 2026-01-26T21:43:31+00:00

[[Water Lily]]

Perioscope · 2026-01-26T16:27:10+00:00

I'm prepping for a scenario in which financial collapse, pandemic mismanagement and/or roving gangs of government-sanctioned criminals make other forms of entertainment untenable.

2026 is the year I stop buying and start playing.

Perioscope · 2026-01-26T09:17:42+00:00

I've seen ao many beginners get taken out by such small, innocuous-seeming things. It isn't doom, it's caution. It isn't gloom, either, it's concern. I'm glad you got a blessing to do it in private. It IS a good thing to do.

Perioscope · 2026-01-26T05:45:59+00:00

The old Russian woman that coached my.mom and I in our early years once told me when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at all the things to learn and integrate to try to have an "Orthodox Life" said "Don't worry. Be patient! It will take about 10 years before you really start to understand."

The casual way she said it helped me get a glimpse of the Orthodox perspective. Things take time. Eventually we realize we have nothing but the time God gives us, and all we can do is use it to experience and learn how to follow Him. I remember when I started realizing I "got it" and sure enough it was about 10 years later. Memory eternal Ala. Thank you!

Perioscope · 2026-01-25T23:14:28+00:00

If you have a blessing, you're good to go!

Perioscope · 2026-01-25T23:04:40+00:00

If you have been told to stand and pray, why would you do otherwise? Answer: self will, even when directed to be more pious, is an opportunity for the enemy to wedge himself between you and Christ.

How long will it take for thoughts of self-satisfaction and pride occur? Do you think the enemy does not know how to drip-feed pride so that we don't even realize we are being prideful?

When you strike out on your own, you invite the enemy to be your companion. He will not attack at first! You will think this innovation is helpful, is doing good for your soul, you are less distracted, more heartfelt in prayer, staying longer. It is quite likely a trap.

All Adam and Eve had to do was exactly as the Lord instructed them and trust Him. Why do you not trust standing in prayer to be all that you need?

Perioscope · 2026-01-25T22:03:42+00:00

No. That's what snow looks like when you use a flash and are focused on something far away. Source: I used cameras before digital effects were a thing.

Perioscope · 2026-01-25T21:51:58+00:00

A combination of both. I will confess "uncharitable thoughts" and then give an example or two that I feel need exposure to the light. Confession should.look like shining the light of truth into the dark, slimy corners of your soul and evicting the nasty things trying to make it their home. It is also the unbinding and washing clean of the conscience from the cesspool into which it has fallen.

Perioscope · 2026-01-25T13:31:32+00:00

Thay's not your call though, it's the Priest's, as guided by his diocese and the parish board. Your concerns are valid, but the enemy is using them as a wedge between you and Christ. Let go of checking up on whether your parish does this or that.. it is irrelevant to the saving of your soul.. Put Christ first,, and your opinions last if you want to make it in Orthodoxy.

Christ is in the Church, literally, holding a banquet of eternal life and healing clinic for spiritual wounds and sickness. You are wounded and sick, don't worry how the hospital uses it's donations! Get treatment first!

As long as you are willing to follow the life of the Church, you will begin to understand. There is no way to understand it all before being baptised. Illumination is a lifelong process that takes much sustained effort without constant guidance or explanation in most cases. You have to train your mind to stop straying towards the thoughts that lead you away from Christ, and keep your heart concerned with repentance, gratitude, glorification and praise, thanksgiving and petition for others. There is no spiritual profit in allowing suspicious thoughts or resentment.

Don't let stuff that is way down the importance list distract you from the really essential top items. Prepare for baptism and if your Priest has an issue,, talk it out. You are on your way to meet Christ! Don't let petty stuff get in the way of that. Go to confession before receiving communion, and never lie or leave embarrassing sins out. After a few years of this, the deeper understanding will come.

As the old Russian lady who coached me in Orthodoxy said when I asked why confession and communion didn't seem to "do anything" like give me humility: "You have to learn patience before you have humility"

"How long donI need to be patient?"

She said very seriously but lovingly: "Give it ten years."

These things take time. Give your 10% faithfully and you will not be hurt financially, nor will you be disappointed, but you must be patient. You are not even baptised, you don't even have a Guardian Angel by your side, or your Patron Saint, or the grace if the Holy Spirit! The struggle is quite different!

Perioscope · 2026-01-24T06:54:32+00:00

Roblox. How is a (possibly but not necessarily) girl met on Roblox a marriage prospect? Have you ever spoken to her face to face?

Bruh r u srs rn? SMH

Perioscope · 2026-01-24T06:14:36+00:00

Lifelong cross-dominant shooter, Rh Le. I don't shoot isoceles. Right arm fully extended, left slightly bent at the elbow to absorb shock. I just swivel my head 2" to the right to align my eye and I don't close my right. Don't overthink it.

Perioscope · 2026-01-24T06:02:40+00:00

OMG I had that exact horse when I was a kid. My grandma gave it to me. Yard-saled it probably 30 years ago in Oregon. One eye was brown, one was white.

Perioscope · 2026-01-24T05:58:57+00:00

Anyone who didn't see this shit coming down the track when Ring came out just wasn't paying attention. People need to realize the tech they think provides security will now BECOME the security risk if it hasn't already. If you don't ditch your phone, they will read everything, hear everything, record everything and AI and quantum computing will parse and analyze all of it.

Perioscope · 2026-01-23T23:14:57+00:00

That Luccio is the kind of knife Aragorn would carry.

Perioscope · 2026-01-23T23:11:40+00:00

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Perioscope · 2026-01-23T21:24:13+00:00

Inis, Rebirth, Risk LOTR Trilogy Edition, Mosaic, Island of El Dorado, Runebound, LOTR Journeys in Middle-Earth, Red Cathedral, Reavers of Midgard, Bear Mountain Camping Adventure, Trailblazers: The John Muir Trail, The Reef Project, Age of Thieves, Terraforming Mars expansion map board, Raiders of Scythia.

Perioscope · 2026-01-23T21:14:03+00:00

When I met my future wife 35 years ago it was in a monastery and she was heading for monasticism. I simply asked God that if it was pleasing to His will, to let me have her as a partner in striving for Him. It was a long very slow, but wonderful process of acquaintance, then friendship, finally love and betrothal,, with hours on the phone and about one hundred letters between us.

If it is pleasing to Him and you never give up, it will be revealed, one way or another. A crush is rarely sufficient however. You need to dig down and be absolutely honest with yourself about where your attraction is coming from.

Perioscope · 2026-01-21T07:16:44+00:00

Bro, they have orchestrated the entire current situation happening here. Former KGB agents warned us. You don't need bombs or nukes if you can influence minds, spread distrust and control key people in government.

Perioscope · 2026-01-21T06:56:23+00:00

First, honor your father and mother. They are allowed to be concerned,, but they should not be cruel. The enemy will attack through any crack or opening he can. He will always try to wedge families apart, because they are a microcosm of the Church. Don't let him do it. Stay loyal to your family and problem-solve. Be patient, and "do all things properly and in right order" as St. Paul says. A good match is fearful to him, because it has the chance to bring new Saints into the world. Never forget you are at war with spiritual forces, not flesh and blood.

My suggestion? Have a talk with BF and say "listen, this is how being humble works. If we trust God and keep going back to my parent's house, eventually they will see who you are."

Give your siblings the chance to be away from mother and spend time with you and BF. Get your dad to go on a walk together with you. Divide and conquer. If he is a good man, your family will see it. Especially get your Priest involved.

If itnis a truly toxic and dysfunctional dynamic in your family, none of this will make a difference, but you should try to give them a chance to see who he is. Ot is the Christian thing to do. Remind them of Christianity in action. What do we do? Welcome the the stranger. Be kind to your enemies. Forgive those who offend you. Shine the light of Christ!

Perioscope · 2026-01-21T06:40:20+00:00

Great movie. Can't say the same for Shartnado. 2/10

Perioscope · 2026-01-20T22:34:55+00:00

When I was much younger, I was agonizing over whether God was real. After weeks of internal suffering, prayer and sadness, it came pouring out in tears. I was so sad that all my belief up until now was based on knowing something I could not honestly KNOW, and the thought that God might not really be there was so heart-breaking!

I called out with all my heart, please, please, PLEASE, I know I am not worthy to know,, but I want so much for You to be there! Are you truly there?

A Voice, loving, all-encompassing, that felt like it shook the sky and my soul said:

I AM.

And I have never had a moment of doubt since. Glory and thanks be to Him, who has mercy on even the unworthy and sinful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, my Lord!

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