Hebrews 13:2
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."
I don't know about you, but I was always instructed NOT to talk to strangers, let alone invite them into my house. This verse has a lot of wonder connected to it. First of all I should not FORGET to entertain strangers. As if this is something on my list of "to do" things. Thanks for the reminder, because I might absent-mindedly skip inviting strangers into my home while attending my daily chores. Then, the author casually tosses out the reason we might want to talk to strangers. Oh yeah, they might be ANGELS. ANGELS!? How do we know that they are angels? Do they act any differently than regular people? Are they believers in Jesus Christ their brother? Do I set out the good china for them or offer them a glass of wine? So many questions and so little to go on for answers.
Now before you leave comments, I got the Bible verse from Heartlight's Today's Verse that I receive everyday. Love it as I do, the devotional did not give me a lot of answers. In fact it was the same old, "Greet the visitors that come to your church" speech. Yes, of course I agree with that, but I don't say hello because I'm looking for celestial wings. I do that to be friendly. Still, I don't automatically invite them to my house. If only they could give me some angelic clue. A slight sparkle to their smiling eyes or perhaps a hint of angel dust still resting on their shoulders would help to clue me in as to their heavenly identity.
Well, apparently I have not seen any angels because none of the strangers I've met lately have given off any heavenly vibes. Except maybe a few of those guys in that inner-city church we visited last Sunday. They weren't very cleaned up, but they sure liked the food our church brought to them. Then, there are those people downtown that don't have a home and sleep on the sidewalks. You know the ones that we pass on our walk to the baseball park? There was that one guy though. He was sitting near the place where we parked our car for one of the games. He was certainly homeless and he spoke real friendly as he advised us that our car might get hit if we didn't pull in a bit more. I wonder about him. He had nothing to gain by talking to us. He asked for nothing in return and he even assured us that he would be there all evening to watch over our car. Now even though he was gone by the end of the game, our car was sitting untouched right where we had left it. Maybe the people like that man and the people we fed are the strangers. Come to think about it, the guy that "watched" our car really did have a sparkle in his voice. I wonder?
July 24, 2005
July 22, 2005
"On A Clear Day"
Words are bumping around in my brain this morning like balls in a pinball machine. Too much is happening in the world, with friends, with my family, at church, I could go on and on until my eyes glow, "TILT". So, what to post today? The recent bombings, explosions, and terrorist suspects in London? Do I talk about how a friend of mine who is going through such hard trials with her family? Do I talk about the privileged society we have become in this age of technology when we can text message our son in NYC while he is on an intermission break at a Broadway show? Or how we are learning that if we enter ICE on our saved cell phone numbers with the name and number of our emergency contact, that police will be able to use our cell phones to quickly call our "In Case of Emergency" number if we are in an accident and unconscious? Or I could write about how it seems that more and more people are calling for prayer? Or should I write about how I still struggle with the issue of drinking alcohol and what is healthy and what is not? I could write about the very long Defensive Driving course I finally completed online because yes, I got a speeding ticket. Or do I want to write about farmer's markets and food we should be eating that do not have pesticides? Or the fact that all the processed foods that American's eat are making us a fat nation? Maybe I should just write about my husband's 5th job this year and how it is going to be the best career change he has ever made. Although, I could just write a "feel-good" piece about my two adorable, forgiving cats that seem to love me no matter how badly I behave.
No, that's all too much for my brain to process today. I'm still sitting among boxes I've mentioned in past posts and I still have a garage full of "treasures" to sift through. No, I won't write about any of those subjects. I'll just leave a scripture for you and I to ponder over today.
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
No, that's all too much for my brain to process today. I'm still sitting among boxes I've mentioned in past posts and I still have a garage full of "treasures" to sift through. No, I won't write about any of those subjects. I'll just leave a scripture for you and I to ponder over today.
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
July 20, 2005
The Older Woman
I have become the older woman. No longer do I sleep blissfully through a whole night. I wake up two, maybe three times in the night before I give in and get out of bed. My legs, hip joints and bunions begin to hurt when stationary for too long. My husband, bless his heart, is the older man next to me snoring and snorting all through the night. Now why doesn't that wake him up? It is so irritating that he is comfortably sleeping while I'm tossing and turning right next to him.
Another reason for my sleepless nights are those flashes of heat we older woman get to experience. Without warning these hot flashes come at any time of day but especially during the night when we are trying to sleep. #*??!! I realize that God was mad at Eve for the whole eating the fruit in the garden thing, but I ask you...is this fair? Wasn't it enough that women were sentenced to "pain in childbirth"? Where does it say, "Thou shalt have great flashes of heat in your older years."? In the middle of the night I kick my covers off letting our ceiling fan do its job of cooling. Then, with a sudden chill the heat is gone and I'm covering up again. Meanwhile, there is that noise beside me, my joints ache and now I have to go to the bathroom! AAhhhhh! "Calgon take me away."
Excuse me now while I adjust my thermostat and take a few pain killers.
Another reason for my sleepless nights are those flashes of heat we older woman get to experience. Without warning these hot flashes come at any time of day but especially during the night when we are trying to sleep. #*??!! I realize that God was mad at Eve for the whole eating the fruit in the garden thing, but I ask you...is this fair? Wasn't it enough that women were sentenced to "pain in childbirth"? Where does it say, "Thou shalt have great flashes of heat in your older years."? In the middle of the night I kick my covers off letting our ceiling fan do its job of cooling. Then, with a sudden chill the heat is gone and I'm covering up again. Meanwhile, there is that noise beside me, my joints ache and now I have to go to the bathroom! AAhhhhh! "Calgon take me away."
Excuse me now while I adjust my thermostat and take a few pain killers.
July 18, 2005
"Book Tag"
1. How many books have I owned?
My own personal books...about 100 maybe less.
2. What was the last book you bought?
An embarrassing little book I have dubbed "the bathroom book". It is a collection of very short writings called, "Guilty Pleasures". It is by a group of 7 or 8 ladies who had formed a writing group in St. Louis. Before that I bought "French Women Don't Get Fat".
3. What was the last book you read?
"French Women Don't Get Fat"--It made me want to go to France.
4. What are FIVE books that have meant a lot to you? (These are in order of when read - not favorite order)
Well these will have to be in the order that I remember them, who knows when I read them? Except the first one. I read it on a ski trip that I took to Colorado with my church group about 13 years ago.
These books I have read as an adult because that is when I truly became a "reader".
#1. NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM SAVIOR by Lucado --What an eye-opener that book was for me! It seemed to not only validate this "faith" I was supposed to have, it revealed who Jesus was.
#2. THE SINGER TRILOGY by Calvin Miller --The Mythic retelling of the story of the New Testament. It is pretty powerful. Stick with it to the end. You'll be glad you did.
#3. THE WONDERFUL SPIRIT FILLED LIFE by Charles Stanley --I'm sure this book has won no particular awards and it is not the big seller that Lucado books are. But it taught me lessons about the Holy Spirit that I had never before heard.
#4. & #5. THE SCARLET PIMPERNELL and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO --Both of these books were read back to back and were the first classic stories I'd ever read. I read them about 5 years ago.
#6. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Susan Monk Kidd--one of the few adult books I truly read for fun and enjoyment. I read it last summer.
----------------------------------------------
Now that I have participated in my son's game of "Book Tag", I'd like to talk a little bit about some of my experiences as a "reader".
The family I married into is a group of avid readers. Teachers and college professors, this group of people could set up camp in a public library and be in "collegiate heaven". My husband's parents and grandparents were college graduates. They were also educators that put a lot of stock into the printed word. My husband reads constantly and he even took books to read on our honeymoon. I was insulted thinking the books would get more attention than I would. I was/am intimidated by their knowledge and love of books. The fact that they gave books as Christmas gifts and would even read them first was a brand new concept in gift giving to me. The conversations at my in-law's dinner table often included discussions about books that my husband and his family had read. Those were conversations I listened to with no connection to what they were talking about. Quite often I felt left out and bored.
At my parent's house there was talk about what was in the daily newspaper, the baseball scores or a new recipe my mom had gotten from one of my aunts. Mother was a housewife the majority of my life until I reached the tenth grade. She read recipes, pattern instructions for sewing, "Better Homes and Garden" and "McCall's" magazines. Daddy was a refinery worker. He taught an adult Sunday school class and I remember seeing him read not only the Bible, but also commentaries and other books as he prepared his lessons each week. My mother went to work outside of our home to help send my brother and me to Abilene Christian College. She worked in a local clothing department store where she became one of their most valued employees. Both of my parents were intelligent people. They were married during World War II. I suppose they liked to read, but they read for information and not pleasure like my husband's family often do.
I did not like to read as a child and even now it is not my favorite pastime. Reading put me to sleep and as a child, I thought it was extremely boring. My second grade teacher gave me a most boring book called, "Desert Animals". I cried as my dad sat beside me on the floor of our dining room and prompted me to read along with him. Reading caused me much pain and anguish throughout most of my elementary years. I felt like I was wasting my time with this mental torture. I owned a very few books as a child. My oldest brother was ten years older than I was and he loved reading. Once when he was in high school, he bought me a "Little Golden Book" named CINDERELLA. All I recall about having that book was how pretty Cinderella was in the pictures. I was the "baby" of my family and since my mom was a housewife, I had never stayed with a babysitter except for my grandparents. School was a traumatic experience for me. I started school a week after my sixth birthday and I didn't want to be there.
Learning to read isn't easy for a lot of children. I was one of those children. I almost didn't make it out of first grade. For that matter, I pretty much sweated passing every year in elementary school. At the start of first grade, my teacher gave the 6 or so children in my "group 3" reading group, a little set of alphabet flash cards. We were to take them home to practice letter recognition, a skill that most 4 and 5 year olds master before the first grade. When I gave the cards to my daddy to "test" me, I took out the ones that I didn't know. It surprised me when he knew some of the letters were missing.
My son and my husband have both admitted to not reading all the required reading in high school. I never read the required reading. Most of the time I read "Cliff's Notes". Not a very helpful tool when you haven't read the book. Somehow I got out of high school, and went on to graduate from Abilene Christian College with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. Nine years ago to my utter astonishment, I earned a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston- Clear Lake. When I enrolled in graduate school I was put on probation because my college transcript from 14 years before revealed a barely passing GPA. I found that going back to school at age 40 was a lot easier than at any other time in my school career. I cared about learning and worked harder in my classes even though it was still challenging. Now I have been an elementary school teacher for 26 years and surprisingly, I have taught Reading most of those years.
I'm not sure why I thought I needed to write a bit of my personal history with reading. Except I wanted all of the avid readers that cut their teeth on Dr. Suess and are now reading all of the Harry Potter books and many other novels, to have patience with children that don't appear to like reading. It is NOT an easy skill for everyone to learn. Not everyone that learns to read will enjoy reading. Some children get put in the bottom reading group and struggle to put sounds and letters together to form words and meaning. I will say again, "It isn't easy." Don't take for granted that perhaps this enjoyable bit of recreation that was easy for you should be easy for everyone. Don't assume that a child is lazy or stubbornly disobedient just because they refuse to do their homework. How many tasks do you enjoy that are difficult for you to accomplish? Be patient and understanding with that child who finds it tedious to read. Encourage and praise their efforts and some day they will read because they want to and not because a teacher made them. Then perhaps when they are 52 years old, they will realize that through the years, they have read some pretty good books and actually enjoyed what they read.
My own personal books...about 100 maybe less.
2. What was the last book you bought?
An embarrassing little book I have dubbed "the bathroom book". It is a collection of very short writings called, "Guilty Pleasures". It is by a group of 7 or 8 ladies who had formed a writing group in St. Louis. Before that I bought "French Women Don't Get Fat".
3. What was the last book you read?
"French Women Don't Get Fat"--It made me want to go to France.
4. What are FIVE books that have meant a lot to you? (These are in order of when read - not favorite order)
Well these will have to be in the order that I remember them, who knows when I read them? Except the first one. I read it on a ski trip that I took to Colorado with my church group about 13 years ago.
These books I have read as an adult because that is when I truly became a "reader".
#1. NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM SAVIOR by Lucado --What an eye-opener that book was for me! It seemed to not only validate this "faith" I was supposed to have, it revealed who Jesus was.
#2. THE SINGER TRILOGY by Calvin Miller --The Mythic retelling of the story of the New Testament. It is pretty powerful. Stick with it to the end. You'll be glad you did.
#3. THE WONDERFUL SPIRIT FILLED LIFE by Charles Stanley --I'm sure this book has won no particular awards and it is not the big seller that Lucado books are. But it taught me lessons about the Holy Spirit that I had never before heard.
#4. & #5. THE SCARLET PIMPERNELL and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO --Both of these books were read back to back and were the first classic stories I'd ever read. I read them about 5 years ago.
#6. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES by Susan Monk Kidd--one of the few adult books I truly read for fun and enjoyment. I read it last summer.
----------------------------------------------
Now that I have participated in my son's game of "Book Tag", I'd like to talk a little bit about some of my experiences as a "reader".
The family I married into is a group of avid readers. Teachers and college professors, this group of people could set up camp in a public library and be in "collegiate heaven". My husband's parents and grandparents were college graduates. They were also educators that put a lot of stock into the printed word. My husband reads constantly and he even took books to read on our honeymoon. I was insulted thinking the books would get more attention than I would. I was/am intimidated by their knowledge and love of books. The fact that they gave books as Christmas gifts and would even read them first was a brand new concept in gift giving to me. The conversations at my in-law's dinner table often included discussions about books that my husband and his family had read. Those were conversations I listened to with no connection to what they were talking about. Quite often I felt left out and bored.
At my parent's house there was talk about what was in the daily newspaper, the baseball scores or a new recipe my mom had gotten from one of my aunts. Mother was a housewife the majority of my life until I reached the tenth grade. She read recipes, pattern instructions for sewing, "Better Homes and Garden" and "McCall's" magazines. Daddy was a refinery worker. He taught an adult Sunday school class and I remember seeing him read not only the Bible, but also commentaries and other books as he prepared his lessons each week. My mother went to work outside of our home to help send my brother and me to Abilene Christian College. She worked in a local clothing department store where she became one of their most valued employees. Both of my parents were intelligent people. They were married during World War II. I suppose they liked to read, but they read for information and not pleasure like my husband's family often do.
I did not like to read as a child and even now it is not my favorite pastime. Reading put me to sleep and as a child, I thought it was extremely boring. My second grade teacher gave me a most boring book called, "Desert Animals". I cried as my dad sat beside me on the floor of our dining room and prompted me to read along with him. Reading caused me much pain and anguish throughout most of my elementary years. I felt like I was wasting my time with this mental torture. I owned a very few books as a child. My oldest brother was ten years older than I was and he loved reading. Once when he was in high school, he bought me a "Little Golden Book" named CINDERELLA. All I recall about having that book was how pretty Cinderella was in the pictures. I was the "baby" of my family and since my mom was a housewife, I had never stayed with a babysitter except for my grandparents. School was a traumatic experience for me. I started school a week after my sixth birthday and I didn't want to be there.
Learning to read isn't easy for a lot of children. I was one of those children. I almost didn't make it out of first grade. For that matter, I pretty much sweated passing every year in elementary school. At the start of first grade, my teacher gave the 6 or so children in my "group 3" reading group, a little set of alphabet flash cards. We were to take them home to practice letter recognition, a skill that most 4 and 5 year olds master before the first grade. When I gave the cards to my daddy to "test" me, I took out the ones that I didn't know. It surprised me when he knew some of the letters were missing.
My son and my husband have both admitted to not reading all the required reading in high school. I never read the required reading. Most of the time I read "Cliff's Notes". Not a very helpful tool when you haven't read the book. Somehow I got out of high school, and went on to graduate from Abilene Christian College with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree. Nine years ago to my utter astonishment, I earned a Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston- Clear Lake. When I enrolled in graduate school I was put on probation because my college transcript from 14 years before revealed a barely passing GPA. I found that going back to school at age 40 was a lot easier than at any other time in my school career. I cared about learning and worked harder in my classes even though it was still challenging. Now I have been an elementary school teacher for 26 years and surprisingly, I have taught Reading most of those years.
I'm not sure why I thought I needed to write a bit of my personal history with reading. Except I wanted all of the avid readers that cut their teeth on Dr. Suess and are now reading all of the Harry Potter books and many other novels, to have patience with children that don't appear to like reading. It is NOT an easy skill for everyone to learn. Not everyone that learns to read will enjoy reading. Some children get put in the bottom reading group and struggle to put sounds and letters together to form words and meaning. I will say again, "It isn't easy." Don't take for granted that perhaps this enjoyable bit of recreation that was easy for you should be easy for everyone. Don't assume that a child is lazy or stubbornly disobedient just because they refuse to do their homework. How many tasks do you enjoy that are difficult for you to accomplish? Be patient and understanding with that child who finds it tedious to read. Encourage and praise their efforts and some day they will read because they want to and not because a teacher made them. Then perhaps when they are 52 years old, they will realize that through the years, they have read some pretty good books and actually enjoyed what they read.
July 14, 2005
Our Seasons of Discontent
April 27, 2001
"Our Seasons of Discontent
By Mary Lou Martin
Our spiritual lives can be compared to seasons rotating through its cycles of growth and change. In the spring of our Christian walk, we feel happy, free and fresh with God's love and Spirit. Gathering in His memory we, the Christian sinners of this earth, are keenly aware of the sacrifice that Christ our Savior made for us. God speaks to us each day from His word adding depth to our faith. Our awaken souls long to embrace with gentle kindness, every grieving child we see or struggling mother. We yearn to reach out and touch the lives of the lost in a meaningful, soul-fulfilling way. Our faith is a budding flower nourished by the Holy Spirit. Our roots are watered with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Then, as the days grow longer, we work harder to please God. We work in the sun-filled summer warmth of the church. Our church families, also wanting to please the Master, are comrades in a heated battle against Satan's army. Adults work feverishly to afford teenagers the opportunities to experience helping people in need while accepting each other as brothers and sisters. We fellowship each other at times of worship, social gatherings and on weekend retreats. Our personal time becomes consumed with the striving to be all the Christian we know we can be. The days are hot and long; the fresh, relaxing spirit we once had begins to feel strained under the weight of our growth.
The autumn of this spiritual cycle has begun to sap our divine energy and our Christian attitudes wilt. A crisp, chilly breeze fills our souls as we notice our holy countenance portraying colors of stress. Children are returning to school, and their extra curricular activities consume our time. Of course, we continue to schedule church involvement because we know that for the children and us, our spiritual development is so important. Although, the more we keep going to church added to all of the activities, the cooler our attitudes get toward church. We must persevere, though, because it is expected of us. Soon we aren't reading the Bible for lack of time. Our minds become filled with questions covering our faith with a blanket of shaded doubts. "Is God really in control of my life?" "Why does God allow us to fall again and again into sin?" "Where is the freedom we have been promised." "What if we just quit for a while? Can we do that?" "What Would Jesus Do?" Our secret desire is to shed the leaves of religious commitment.
Winter can be very cold without the warmth of the Son shining on our souls. A depressed faith begins to search for something by which to light the flame again. A faith once on fire for the Lord is dying into ash. We go to church to worship God, but instead find our minds aching for an escape. We crave freedom from our gray existence. As we drift away from the Son's warmth, we're tempted to drink life's enticements. The Lord reaches out to us, but instead we pull away toward a false freedom. Satan has an enticing charm that makes us believe we are free when we are really slaves to our own desires. Peppering our language with words never uttered before, we laugh, drink, and gamble on our faith. It's exciting for a season, but soon we begin to feel the winter chill that comes with guilt.
Then, we notice a small ember of faith buried under the snow-covered doubt begin to glow. God is offering us a way to return to Him. We can break free from the Deceiver's soul-freezing trance by drawing closer to the Son.
Finally, completing the cycle, spring returns and tears fall like rain on a contrite heart and we are rejuvenated. Our dormant faith is once again awakened, just as Jesus' dead body was awakened from death. No matter how many times our faith may cycle through its seasons, God will always welcome us back. Seasons will come and go, but the Lord will remain the same today, yesterday and always.
"'I the Lord do not change. … Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty." (Malachi 3:6)
"Our Seasons of Discontent
By Mary Lou Martin
Our spiritual lives can be compared to seasons rotating through its cycles of growth and change. In the spring of our Christian walk, we feel happy, free and fresh with God's love and Spirit. Gathering in His memory we, the Christian sinners of this earth, are keenly aware of the sacrifice that Christ our Savior made for us. God speaks to us each day from His word adding depth to our faith. Our awaken souls long to embrace with gentle kindness, every grieving child we see or struggling mother. We yearn to reach out and touch the lives of the lost in a meaningful, soul-fulfilling way. Our faith is a budding flower nourished by the Holy Spirit. Our roots are watered with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Then, as the days grow longer, we work harder to please God. We work in the sun-filled summer warmth of the church. Our church families, also wanting to please the Master, are comrades in a heated battle against Satan's army. Adults work feverishly to afford teenagers the opportunities to experience helping people in need while accepting each other as brothers and sisters. We fellowship each other at times of worship, social gatherings and on weekend retreats. Our personal time becomes consumed with the striving to be all the Christian we know we can be. The days are hot and long; the fresh, relaxing spirit we once had begins to feel strained under the weight of our growth.
The autumn of this spiritual cycle has begun to sap our divine energy and our Christian attitudes wilt. A crisp, chilly breeze fills our souls as we notice our holy countenance portraying colors of stress. Children are returning to school, and their extra curricular activities consume our time. Of course, we continue to schedule church involvement because we know that for the children and us, our spiritual development is so important. Although, the more we keep going to church added to all of the activities, the cooler our attitudes get toward church. We must persevere, though, because it is expected of us. Soon we aren't reading the Bible for lack of time. Our minds become filled with questions covering our faith with a blanket of shaded doubts. "Is God really in control of my life?" "Why does God allow us to fall again and again into sin?" "Where is the freedom we have been promised." "What if we just quit for a while? Can we do that?" "What Would Jesus Do?" Our secret desire is to shed the leaves of religious commitment.
Winter can be very cold without the warmth of the Son shining on our souls. A depressed faith begins to search for something by which to light the flame again. A faith once on fire for the Lord is dying into ash. We go to church to worship God, but instead find our minds aching for an escape. We crave freedom from our gray existence. As we drift away from the Son's warmth, we're tempted to drink life's enticements. The Lord reaches out to us, but instead we pull away toward a false freedom. Satan has an enticing charm that makes us believe we are free when we are really slaves to our own desires. Peppering our language with words never uttered before, we laugh, drink, and gamble on our faith. It's exciting for a season, but soon we begin to feel the winter chill that comes with guilt.
Then, we notice a small ember of faith buried under the snow-covered doubt begin to glow. God is offering us a way to return to Him. We can break free from the Deceiver's soul-freezing trance by drawing closer to the Son.
Finally, completing the cycle, spring returns and tears fall like rain on a contrite heart and we are rejuvenated. Our dormant faith is once again awakened, just as Jesus' dead body was awakened from death. No matter how many times our faith may cycle through its seasons, God will always welcome us back. Seasons will come and go, but the Lord will remain the same today, yesterday and always.
"'I the Lord do not change. … Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty." (Malachi 3:6)
July 7, 2005
Words of the Day
Explosions, terrorist, mass destruction, attacks, security, orange alert.
We woke up this morning to news of bombings to the London transit system. The "tube" as the Britains call it, was bombed three times and then a fourth bombing to a double-decker bus. Memories of where I was and how I felt on September 11 as terrorist flew jumbo jets into the World Trade Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a remote place in Pennsylvania where an additional airplane, taken over by terrorist, crashed as brave people prevented an attack to another government building, has been rerunning through my mind.
As I type this I am listening to CNN report a confirmed dead of 37 people and 700 injured in London. They expect the numbers to go higher. Our nation is under "orange" alert. The U. S. is taking extra precautions because of the bombings in England. Even though at this time, there are no threats to New York, police are on alert. In fact every large transit system in the nation is taking the same precautions.
Before I began this post I scrolled through various blogs of other Blogspot members. Many posts written in other languages such as Mexican, French, German, were also blogging this morning about the tragedy in London. There is something about seeing posts from other countries discussing the same tragedy and listening to national leaders on television voice their support for London and their sympathies for the fallen families, that makes me realize all humanity is related. A common event effecting all nations pulls people together to fight against the evil and support the victims of those acts of evil. My mind is boggled at this notion of so many in the world in effect relating and talking about the same terrible event. The news media is even talking about this outpouring of support from other countries for Great Britain.
President Bush said we will spread an ideology of hope and compassion and overwhelm the attacker's passion of hate. Prime Minister Tony Blair concluded his remarks with "We shall prevail and they shall not."
Proverbs 24:19-20 "Do not fret because of evil or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out."
As Christians we know that in the end, God will rule supreme.
Revelations 19:1-2 "...Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments."
We woke up this morning to news of bombings to the London transit system. The "tube" as the Britains call it, was bombed three times and then a fourth bombing to a double-decker bus. Memories of where I was and how I felt on September 11 as terrorist flew jumbo jets into the World Trade Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a remote place in Pennsylvania where an additional airplane, taken over by terrorist, crashed as brave people prevented an attack to another government building, has been rerunning through my mind.
As I type this I am listening to CNN report a confirmed dead of 37 people and 700 injured in London. They expect the numbers to go higher. Our nation is under "orange" alert. The U. S. is taking extra precautions because of the bombings in England. Even though at this time, there are no threats to New York, police are on alert. In fact every large transit system in the nation is taking the same precautions.
Before I began this post I scrolled through various blogs of other Blogspot members. Many posts written in other languages such as Mexican, French, German, were also blogging this morning about the tragedy in London. There is something about seeing posts from other countries discussing the same tragedy and listening to national leaders on television voice their support for London and their sympathies for the fallen families, that makes me realize all humanity is related. A common event effecting all nations pulls people together to fight against the evil and support the victims of those acts of evil. My mind is boggled at this notion of so many in the world in effect relating and talking about the same terrible event. The news media is even talking about this outpouring of support from other countries for Great Britain.
President Bush said we will spread an ideology of hope and compassion and overwhelm the attacker's passion of hate. Prime Minister Tony Blair concluded his remarks with "We shall prevail and they shall not."
Proverbs 24:19-20 "Do not fret because of evil or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out."
As Christians we know that in the end, God will rule supreme.
Revelations 19:1-2 "...Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments."
July 2, 2005
To My Brother in Christ
Early this morning a friend, that I rarely saw anymore, died. He had cancer that was terminal from the first detection this past spring. Patrick was a unique person and one that I enjoyed knowing. The first time I met him was in the church auditorium where I attend. It wasn't a regular service time, but our preacher asked us to join him there to witness the baptism of Patrick. He was so happy to be a Christian and showed it by getting involved. I don't mean involved in church programs. I mean involved in people's lives for the sake of the Lord. There aren't many people that show their enthusiasm for being a Christian quite like Patrick did.
Patrick and his wife Denise lived in my neighborhood and on several occasions we found ourselves in each others' homes. Kim used to lead a Bible study at our house once a week. Patrick was always there and on a few occasions was the only other person there besides us. I remember one time in our study that I took issue with referring to myself as a saint because clearly I was a sinner. I don't remember what scripture we read, but Ephesian 6:18 comes to mine. Patrick explained to me that yes while we were sinners, Christ died for us and made us saints because we are God's children. I remember being very taken back by that which I had never before considered. I never knew that I was one of the saints.
I was sad when Patrick and his family stopped attending church with us. I never saw as much of them anymore. I never knew exactly why they decided to leave and go somewhere else, but we were still friends and I would occasionally see Patrick or Denise around town. It saddens me now that I won't see him again. He was a man working to straighten out his life and help others along the way. He helped me more than once.
Patrick leaves his wife Denise and a young daughter who will surely miss him dearly. My heart and sympathies go out to them.
In my mind I see Patrick sitting on a cloud swinging his legs, grinning from ear to ear, and patting his open Bible on his lap. He's doing this with anticipation because in usual Patrick fashion, he has a scripture that he wants to discuss with The Maker and he can hardly wait. I'll miss the chance meeting that I might have with Patrick as we go about our daily lives in this town. That is okay because Patrick is right where he always dreamed he'd be, with the Lord.
Goodbye to my brother in Christ.
Patrick left this world July 2, 2005 at 6:00 a.m.
Patrick and his wife Denise lived in my neighborhood and on several occasions we found ourselves in each others' homes. Kim used to lead a Bible study at our house once a week. Patrick was always there and on a few occasions was the only other person there besides us. I remember one time in our study that I took issue with referring to myself as a saint because clearly I was a sinner. I don't remember what scripture we read, but Ephesian 6:18 comes to mine. Patrick explained to me that yes while we were sinners, Christ died for us and made us saints because we are God's children. I remember being very taken back by that which I had never before considered. I never knew that I was one of the saints.
I was sad when Patrick and his family stopped attending church with us. I never saw as much of them anymore. I never knew exactly why they decided to leave and go somewhere else, but we were still friends and I would occasionally see Patrick or Denise around town. It saddens me now that I won't see him again. He was a man working to straighten out his life and help others along the way. He helped me more than once.
Patrick leaves his wife Denise and a young daughter who will surely miss him dearly. My heart and sympathies go out to them.
In my mind I see Patrick sitting on a cloud swinging his legs, grinning from ear to ear, and patting his open Bible on his lap. He's doing this with anticipation because in usual Patrick fashion, he has a scripture that he wants to discuss with The Maker and he can hardly wait. I'll miss the chance meeting that I might have with Patrick as we go about our daily lives in this town. That is okay because Patrick is right where he always dreamed he'd be, with the Lord.
Goodbye to my brother in Christ.
Patrick left this world July 2, 2005 at 6:00 a.m.
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