This is the Queen for whom the Title 'Gracious' most assuredly Fits

One More Tuesday With Mitch (probably time well spent)

From an interview with Mitch Albom author of 'Tuesdays With Morrie' and the new book,'One More Day'. 

Do you have any sort of notions about what waits for us after death?

Mitch:

Hey, when you’re the guy who wrote "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," you’re gonna hear stories. People have been told me that they’ve been visited by someone they’ve lost, or that when they almost died they saw their mother come and hold their hand and say, “It’s not your time yet.” I’ve been told about visions of Jesus, conversations with Jesus. It’s just too much for it to all be hallucinogenic or coincidental. So, yes, I do.

I truly feel that there’s something beyond here. I see it in the sparks of divinity I see inside everybody, even bad people. And I mean, we’re not here on Earth to be worm food. I have an internal belief that there is something beyond here. My hope is that it’s better and that it rewards the good that people have done and takes care of the poor, and the sick, and the suffering, who have not had a fair shake here on Earth.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/227/story_22738.html

Come let us worship Him.

The Annunciation

IT IS A PRETTY GOOD STORY ISN'T IT?

Crazy for God (and that ain't neccessarily a good thing)*

(I used to like this guy when I was younger. I thought he might be able to bring some intellectual integrity to the religious claims of evangelicals.  Now that I am older I prefer his son's perspective which acknowledges the goofiness and tries to live and speak authentically even when it doesn't support the "God said, I believe it, That settles it" mentality that so distorted my own early 'born again' training.)

Even Schaeffer's father said the powerful preachers they hobnobbed with were "not our sort of people." Schaeffer goes further in "Crazy for God": "In public they maintained an image that was usually quite smooth. In private they ranged from unreconstructed bigot reactionaries like Jerry Falwell, to Dr. [James] Dobson, the most power-hungry and ambitious person I have ever met, to Billy Graham, a very weird man indeed who lived an oddly sheltered life in a celebrity/ministry cocoon, to Pat Robertson, who would have a hard time finding work in any job where hearing voices is not a requirement."

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2007/12/18/frank_schaeffers_roundabout_journey_to_find_faith/

That sort of talk has made the book a hit with the left, including a long review from novelist and onetime L'Abri tourist Jane Smiley in The Nation. But Schaeffer emphasizes that he was trying to tell his own story, not simply become a culture-war turncoat. And he has not turned away from religion, having joined the Greek Orthodox faith.

"At one point in your life, you think faith is an actual thing in itself that you've made some conclusion about. You say things like 'I believe.' I think what Mother Teresa woke up to maybe at some point and that certainly would describe my own journey too, in terms of faith, is that you can't really say 'I believe.' What you say is, 'I hope' something. 'I hope this is true.' And to me that's what faith is."





Crazy for God (and that ain't necessarily a good thing)*

* contrary to what many preachers and evangelists might tell you.

good counsel for melancholics such as 'moi meme'

For the world and time are the dance of the Lord in emptiness.
The silence of the spheres is the music of a wedding feast.
The more we persist in misunderstanding the phenomena of life,
the more we analyze them out into strange finalities
and complex purposes of our own,
the more we involve ourselves in sadness, absurdity, and despair.
But it does not matter much,

because

 
no despair of ours
can alter the reality of things,
or stain the joy of the cosmic dance which is always there.

Indeed, we are in the midst of it,
and it is in the midst of us,
for it beats in our very blood,
whether we want it to or not.
Yet the fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose,
cast our awful solemnity to the winds
and join in the general dance.

- Thomas Merton
New Seeds of Contemplation

see being peace in video section

www.beliefnet.com/features/peace/test2/container01.html

Our Hope.......His Glory

Many find Jesus’ teaching on enemy love and forgiveness a stumbling block to faith. Because we find it too difficult to practice, we dismiss it as unrealistic and utopian. We should think again, and we should pray that it is not unrealistic, because this congruence of Jesus—the consistency between his teaching on forgiveness and his action on the cross—is really our only hope. It is all that stands between us and the consequences of our monumental frailty. Thank God today that Jesus died as he lived, because with those words, "Father, forgive..." he forgives us all, and he forgives us still.

- Peter Storey
Listening at Golgotha: Jesus’ Words from the Cross

"God Bless The Child"

"God Bless The Child"
(Single), Shania Twain
Written by Shania Twain and Mutt Lange.

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
God bless the child who suffers
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
God bless the young without mothers

This child is homeless,
That child's on crack
One plays with a gun,
while the other takes a bullet in his back
This boy's a beggar,
That girl sells her soul
They both work the same street,
The same hell hole

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
God bless the child who suffers
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Let every man help his brother

Some are born addicted and some are just thrown away
Some have daddies who make them play games they don't want to play

But with hope and faith
We must understand
All God's children need is love
And us to hold their little hands

This boy is hungry, he ain't got enought to eat
That girl's cold and she ain't got no shoes on her feet

When a child's spirit's broken
And feels all hope is gone
God help them find the strength to carry on

But with hope and faith
Yea, we can understand
All God's children need is love
And us to hold their little hands

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Let us all love one another
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Make all our hearts bilnd to color
Hallelujah, hallelujah
God bless the child who suffers

Saved By Hope (Pope Benedict xvi)

   Holy See: Benedict XVI
"We must acknowledge that modern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation," he wrote. "In doing so, it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task."

The Christian concept of hope and salvation, he says, was not always so individual-centric.

Quoting scripture and theologians, Benedict says salvation had in the earlier church been considered "communal" — illustrating his point by using the case of monks in the Middle Ages who cloistered themselves in prayer not just for their own salvation but for that of others.

"How could the idea have developed that Jesus' message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the 'salvation of the soul' as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others?" he asked.

While seeking to provide answers, he also says there are ways for the faithful to learn and practice true Christian hope: in prayer, in suffering, in taking action and in looking at the Last Judgment as a symbol of hope.


"Saved by Hope," which Benedict largely penned this past summer while on vacation, follows his first encyclical, "God is Love," released last year.
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi

To Die in Hope is Better Than to Live in Vain

No sorrowful tears, no beating of the breast

For a safe repose has taken me.

I dance Ring Dances with the blessed saints

In the beautiful fields of the righteous.

Ancient Christian Tomb Inscription.

God is more of a painter than a preacher. His sermons come in silent but living colour.

I'd Take A Simple Doer Over An Eloquent Preacher Any Day

We take pride in our almost unique and wide-ranging learning, as if there were not many people much more learned than we whom we do not want to despise us. We enjoy ridiculing those who are less educated than we and make no effort to remember that entry into the kingdom lies open not for those who only learn the mysteries of faith and the commands of the Creator by meditating on them, but for those who put into practice the things they have learned.
- Bede Bede
from Homilies on the Gospels, quoted in Essential Monastic Wisdom: Writings on the Contemplative Life by Hugh Feiss

I'd always thot it said..."and the Lion shall Lay down With the Lamb

In a zoo in California , a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only "orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops?

Now, please tell me one more time..........why can't the rest of the world get along?*********************************************************************

Brokenness

The great mystery of God's love is that we are not asked to live as if we are not hurting, as if we are not broken. In fact, we are invited to recognize our brokenness as a brokenness in which we can come in touch with the unique way that God loves us. The great invitation is to live your brokenness under the blessing. I cannot take people's brokenness away and people cannot take my brokenness away. But how do you live in your brokenness? Do you live your brokenness under the blessing or under the curse? The great call of Jesus is to put your brokenness under the blessing.

- Henri J.M. Nouwen
Lecture at Scarritt-Bennett Center

Try Dancing With These Stars

from one of my favourite spiritual sites, Aish.com

by Shoshana Greenspan
They may not be able to run, walk, or even sit up, but oh, how our children can dance.
You have seen our children. Our children are the special children, the ones that you see with braces, crutches, walkers and wheelchairs. The ones who look a little bit different. You always smile kindly when you pass us on the street, in the supermarket, at the playground. You are sympathetic when you see them being lifted onto their special vans in the morning. You are encouraging when you pass them wheeling their own wheelchairs or learning to walk in their walkers and you think that you have seen the extent of their abilities.
But you have never seen our children dance.
They may not be able to run, walk, or even sit up, but oh, how our children can dance.
From the first exhilarating dance after Yom Kippur, the Sukkot holiday is a time of joy and dancing. You have never seen true joy until you have seen our children dance. That's when you can see who they really are. When you see that glow in their eyes, you can glimpse our children's souls. And at the Simchat Beit Hashoeiva for the special children of Jerusalem's Meshi School, that is precisely what we saw.
Outwardly, our children looked the same as on any other occasion. There were the body braces and wheelchairs of spina bifida, the twisted limbs and drooping heads of cerebral palsy, the drooling mouths and fixed stares of the chromosomal disorders. There were the children who struggled to walk on their own, with walkers and crutches, and there were the children who tugged at everyone's heartstrings as they expertly maneuvered their own tiny wheelchairs. There were the children who supported their own body weight, sitting up in their chairs and looking almost normal, and there were the children who curled up in their mothers' arms like babies. There were the children who could speak, and there were the children who communicated only with their eyes. Each child a world unto his own, with his own needs and requirements, his own special abilities and disabilities. Each child a unique individual. The one similarity amongst them was the beaming ear to ear grin on every face. No matter how severe their disabilities, our children can all smile.
And they can dance.
They dance in their wheelchairs, exuberantly spinning through the crowd.
They dance in their walkers, swaying back and forth in the center of the circle.
They dance in their leg braces and full body braces, lifted high on their fathers' shoulders.
They dance in their mothers' arms, gently rocking back and forth to the music.
They don't just dance with their bodies; they dance with their souls.
The circle of dancers began slowly, hesitantly, as if anxious about our children's disabilities. But on this night, our children did not want to be confined or protected. They wanted to dance. And dance they did. As the tempo of the music grew more insistent, the circle of men grew faster, more exuberant. Those children who could control their own movements formed their own circle in the center of the ring of fathers and brothers. And those who could not, were held, lifted or twirled into the heart of the dancers. Everyone was equal on that night. No one was left out. Everyone was dancing.
The dancers came from every segment of Jerusalem's varied population. There were bare headed men, clean shaven men with khaki pants and white knitted kippot, bearded men with black suits and hats, men with long curly peyote and streimels. The children were dressed in every color of the rainbow. There was no division between them. Everyone was dancing with our children.
Sanding on the side and taking it all in, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. That night was not for tears. There had been plenty of time for tears throughout the year, times for frustration, for pain, for anxiety. That night was a time for celebration. Not a time to focus on our children's lacks, their weaknesses and disabilities, but a time to celebrate their abilities, their strengths, their uniqueness. A time to dance.
As I looked at the crowd of women -- mothers, grandmothers, teachers and therapists -- I saw the same feelings mirrored on every face. Feelings of love, of joy, of pride in our children. We were celebrating the special soul inside each one of them, that holy inner spark that burns as pure and clear as on the day it was given. Within the deformed bodies, we all saw the radiantly perfect souls.
And seeing those souls is what our lives are all about. Our task on this earth is not to judge people by the color of their skin, dress or yarmulke. Our task is not to judge people by their looks, talents, intelligence or education. Our task is not to judge people by their abilities or disabilities. Our task on this earth is to discover the pure soul within; the inner spark of Godliness that unites us all. Despite our differences, we are all brothers.
A few more nights like this one, a few more nights of unity without regard for our trivial man-made dividers, and we will all be able to join hands as one to greet the Messiah.
And then we will all dance.
This article can also be read at: http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/Dancing_with_Our_Children.asp

Church Politics as it should be practiced

There was a church where the preacher and the song leader were not getting along. As time went by this began to spill over into the worship service.

The first week the preacher preached on commitment and how we all should dedicate ourselves to the service of God.
The song leader lead the song
"I Shall not be Moved."

The second week the preacher preached on tithing and how we all should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The song leader lead the song
"Jesus Paid it All."

The third week the preacher preached on gossiping and how we should all watch our tongues. The song leader led the song
"I Love to Tell the Story."

With all this going on, the preacher became very disgusted over the situation and the following Sunday told the congregation that he was considering resigning. The song leader lead the song
"Oh Why Not Tonight?"

As it came to pass, the preacher did indeed resign. The next week he informed the church that it was Jesus who led him there and it was Jesus that was taking him away. The song leader lead the song
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus."


My thanks go out to Pastor Hammond for furnishing and quite possibly living these insights.

Prayer should be brief and pure, unless it happen to be lengthened by an impulse or inspiration of divine grace.
- Rule of Benedict
Quoted in Essential Monastic Wisdom, by Hugh Feiss

A Magnificent Story of A Broken Hallelujah

Someday I will stand before
the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue
but this broken Hallelujah

And it will have to be enough
because it is all I have





Please see this Film if you can.

Saint Ralph's Spiritual Advisor and Running Coach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7AgO8VxEdo

"You know Father Superior, when it comes to anarchy, Nietzsche really had nothing on Christ."
Father Hibbert

Saint Ralph

Solutions to some of life's most difficult problems.

1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boilingwater down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself. Then call the doctor.

2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.

7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 an d Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS

Christians commemorate the Transfiguration on August 6.

Matthew 17
The Transfiguration 1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce's Devils & Dust CD is chock full of songs about hope, love, and redemption, as well as tales of sin, brokenness, and confession. The album's spiritual highlight is "Jesus Was an Only Son," which poignantly captures the bond between Mother and Child:

As he walked up Calvary Hill /
His mother walking beside him /
In the path where his blood spilled /
Jesus was an only son /
In the hills of Nazareth /
As he lay reading the Psalms of David /
At his mother's feet …

Well, Jesus kissed his mother's hands /
Whispered, "Mother, still your tears" /
For remember the soul of the universe /
Willed a world and it appeared. (I like that, don't you?)

Springsteen told The New York Times that although he's "not a churchgoer," his music is "filled with Catholic imagery … a powerful world of potent imagery that became alive and vital and vibrant. … As I got older, I got less defensive about it. I thought, I've inherited this particular landscape, and I can build it into something of my own."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/august/8.59.html

Either we are adrift in chaos or we are individuals, created, loved, upheld and placed purposefully, exactly where we are. -Elisabeth Elliot



Joy is to feel the doors of the self fly open into a wealth that is endless because none of it is ours and yet it all belongs to us. -William Sloane Coffin

Andrei Tarkovsky. A Man Worth Knowing, Whose Films are Perhaps Worth Seeing.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/features/fof.html

The most revered Russian filmmaker since Sergei Eisenstein, Tarkovsky offers an unabashedly religious worldview, without which, he wrote, "people cease to feel any need for the beautiful or the spiritual, and consume films like bottles of Coca-Cola."

Raised in the Russian Orthodox tradition, director Andrei Tarkovsky once told an interviewer, "I consider myself a person of faith, but I do not want to delve into the nuances and problems of my situation, for it is not so straightforward, not so simple, and not so unambiguous."

Nature, not seen as fallen in the Eastern church, but rather good at its core, possible even of bringing one to salvation, plays a major role in his films.

The influence of Russian religious history is also evident in his use of the Holy Fool, an archetype of Russian literature—often characters of deep faith, seen as fools by the world, yet who see God's reality as it truly is.

All his films deal with apocalyptic scenarios; indeed, one film idea he had was titled "The End of the World," yet he refused the label "pessimist." Indeed, he said of apocalyptic literature, "It would be wrong to consider that the Book of Revelation only contains within itself a concept of punishment, of retribution; it seems to me that what it contains above all, is hope."

"I believe that it is always through spiritual crisis that healing occurs," Tarkovsky wrote. "A spiritual crisis is an attempt to find oneself, to acquire new faith… . It seems to me that the individual today stands at a crossroad, faced with the choice of whether to pursue the existence of a blind consumer, subject to the implacable march of new technology and the endless multiplication of material goods, or to seek out a way that will lead to spiritual responsibility, a way that ultimately might mean not only his personal salvation but also the saving of society at large; in other words, to turn to God."

A Paradox of Grace

There are only two kinds of men: the righteous who believe themselves sinners, and the rest, sinners who believe themselves righteous.-Blaise Pascal

Have You Found Jesus.......Down By The River

A man is stumbling through the woods,
totally drunk,
when he comes upon
a preacher baptizing people in the river.
He proceeds to walk into the water and
subsequently bumps into the preacher.
The preacher turns around
and is almost overcome
by the smell of alcohol,
whereupon he asks the drunk,
"Are you ready to find Jesus?"
The drunk answers, "Yes, I am."
So the preacher grabs him and
dunks him in the water.
He pulls him up and asks the drunk,
"Brother have you found Jesus?"
The drunk replies, "No, I haven't found Jesus."
The preacher, shocked at the answer,
dunks him into the water again for a little longer.
He again pulls him out of the water and asks again,
"Have you found Jesus, my brother?"
The drunk again answers, "No, I haven't found Jesus."
By this time the preacher is at his wits' end and
dunks the drunk in
the water again
-- - but this time holds him down for about 30 seconds
and when he begins kicking his arms and legs he pulls him up.
The preacher again asks the drunk,
"For the love of God have you found Jesus?"
The drunk wipes his eyes and catches his breath and says to the preacher,

"Are you sure this is where he fell in?"

Wisdom or was that Wizzz....Dumb?

Classic "Simpsons" lines:

"I'm sure God will let us return soon. How long can he hold a grudge?" --Marge Simpson, in her dream where she is Eve

"I may not know that much about God, but I have to say we built an awfully nice cage for him." --Homer Simpson, after motivating islanders to build a church

"It's all Christianity, people. The little, stupid differences are nothing next to the big, stupid similarities." --Bart Simpson

"What if we picked the wrong religion? Every week, we're just making God madder and madder!" --Homer Simpson

"It's a good thing Buddha teaches freedom from desire, because I've got the desire to kick your ass." --Richard Gere

Bart Simpson once asked his father about the family's religious identity. Homer classically replied, "You know, the one with all the well-meaning rules that don't work in real life. Uh, Christianity."

"Bless the grocer for this wonderful meat, the middlemen who jacked up the price, and let's not forget the humane but determined guys over at the slaughterhouse." --Ned Flanders, when he is saying grace

A Simpsonic View of Religion.

Thank God it's Doomsday (Christianity)
May 8, 2005
Homer and the kids stumble into a movie theater at the mall that is showing a film based on the "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic pulp fiction. "The virtuous have gone to heaven," a character intones, "and the rest of us are left below." Fear struck, Homer buys enough Christian books to calculate the exact time and location of the Rapture and convinces townsfolk to gather with him on a mesa at that moment. But he makes an error, and when the event doesn't happen on schedule, he becomes an object of ridicule. On the right date, Homer is raptured by himself. But without his family with him in heaven, he is desolate. So he convinces God to turn back time and postpone the Rapture.

Classic "Simpsons" line: "I know about family suffering. I sent my Son down to earth once. I don't know what you people did to Him but He's never been the same since." God commiserating with Homer about the suffering of those 'left below'.

An Outcast Painted Saint for the Outcast Campy and Colourful Among Us....May God Bless and Keep Her

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=16020

It's Not Dark Yet..but its gettin' there

Church No No's

6. Never ask an usher to break a $20.
5. Never do a cannonball in the baptismal tank.
4. Never hold a church business meeting on Super Bowl Sunday.
3. Never tell the pastor, "We love your church and we might even come back next Easter."
2. During youth group activities, never bungee jump off the church steeple or play chicken with the church buses.
1. After a soloist of impressive size sings "Love Lifted Me," don't follow with the hymn "It Took a Miracle."

From "Bible Humor Top Seven Lists" by Dave Veerman and Rich Anderson:Amazon: http://snipr.com/biblehumor

Radical

In the early Christian communities, the character of the Jesus movement found expression in the abolition of social distinctions of class, religion, race, and gender.
- Mary John Mananzan
quoted in Cry Freedom, by Charles Ringma

Blessed Be 1 Peter 4:1

"BLESSED are those who mourn" is, paradoxically, a more necessary message than "Rejoice in the Lord always," because there can be no true rejoicing until we have stopped running away from mourning.Simon Tugwell, The Beatitudes

[MOURNING] cannot be limited exclusively to expressing sorrow for one's sin … or grief surrounding death. … Rather, "those who mourn" has the more comprehensive sense of Isaiah 61:2-3, an inclusive grief that refers to the disenfranchised, contrite, and bereaved. It is an expression of the intense sense of loss, helplessness, and despair.
Robert A. Guelich, The Sermon on the Mount

THE DISCIPLES bear the suffering laid on them only by the power of him who bears all suffering on the Cross. As bearers of suffering, they stand in communion with the crucified. They stand as strangers in the power of him who was so alien to the world that it crucified him. This is their comfort, or rather, he is their comfort, their comforter. … This alien community is comforted by the Cross.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship

IN THIS BEATITUDE, Jesus praises … those who can enter into solidarity with the pain of the world and not try to extract themselves from it.
Richard Rohr with John Bookser Feister, Jesus' Plan for a New World


IT IS NOT ENOUGH for us … within the arena of the world's pain merely to know of a God who sympathizes. It is not even enough to know of a God who heals. We need to know of and be connected with a God who experiences with us, for us, each grief, each wound. We need to be bonded with a God who has had nails in the hands and a spear in the heart!

Flora Slosson Wuellner, Weavings

EVERY SUFFERING can be blessed because it hollows out a place in us for God and his comfort, which is infinite joy.
Peter Kreeft, Back to Virtue


IT IS impossible for one to live without tears who considers things exactly as they are.
Gregory of Nyssa, De Beatitudine



BLESSED are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.Matthew 5:4Related articles and links


1 Peter 4:1
King James Version (KJV)Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

R2E (aka 'The Road'): Interstices (Where to look for and possibly find God)

R2E (aka 'The Road'): Interstices (Where to look for God)

Where to find God

http://lle.freewebspace.com/

Where to look for God

http://impossibleape.blogspot.com/2007/02/hallejujah.html

The Naked Truth.

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter.
Revelation 3:20 begins
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock."
Genesis 3:10 reads,
"I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."









Thank you Pastor Hammond for another funny moment.

NO DEAL!

News Flash

Howie Mandell is not God!

According to the latest poll Howie is not the diety.

Which is your favorite movie or television God character?


Morgan Freeman ('Bruce Almighty')
27%

George Burns ('Oh God!')

18%

Alanis Morisette ('Dogma')
16%

Val Kilmer ('Prince of Egypt')
4%

Graham Chapman ('Monty Python')
4%

Various Actors in 'Joan of Arcadia'
9%

Harry Shearer in 'The Simpsons'

2%

Charlton Heston ('Ten Commandments')
19%

Eric Dearborn ('Bedazzled')
1%

Howie Mandel ('St. Elsewhere')
0%

Howie is not God....

The Poll says.......

Morgan Freeman is preferred by 27% of respondents.

Interstices (Where to look for God)

http://impossibleape.blogspot.com/2007/02/hallejujah.html


A Place where God and our reality can play even if the world is hermetically sealed (an apparent Closed system where magic, transcendence, God and love are banished).







the cradle of creativity is such a place of interstice












the meeting place of the quark as it exits and enters our dimension is one such interstice.






















Where love meets pain is another


















and perhaps most powerfully in the experience of beauty



like the glinting of the sun off the iridescent head of a spring plumaged mallard as it swam on the crystal water of a pond while large golden fish glided beneath the translucent surface.












As I lay on the lush new growth of grass soaking in the warmth of the gentle April sun after an especially hard, cold and dark winter the light off that duck's head was a window, an interstice if you will, into of a new reality that transcended the darkness and constraint of a closed world that often overwhelmed me







it was joy...surprised in the interstice by joy





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw



that was my experience of salvation












Unfortunately much of what followed in my religious life has been a distraction from that reality, a pornograghying of the truth. A sideshow in hype, hucksterism and hypocrisy.


My duty now is to try to re-engage the beauty without the false overlay of propositional faith. To experience the holy and the beautiful in the moments I have been given and to invite others to find the interstice in their own authentic experience.

This is my calling to help people find their own place where god and Reality can play, and love and create.... to discover their own interstice...their own 'space and place between'.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw





LH

Orthodox Evangelism (wisdom from Above....and from beneath the Onion Dome)

Orthodox evangelism is greeting visitors as they come to the Church and thenmodeling (neither instructing nor condemning the visitor) for them proper behavior and demeanor in the Church. Orthodox evangelism is hospitality offered to share meals, to provide shelter and clothing as needed. Orthodox evangelism is to pray for our neighbor and to love our neighbor as ourself. Orthodox evangelism is going to the soup kitchen and serving there -Orthodox evangelism is giving to the poor without regard for "how the money will be used". Orthodox evangelism is visiting the sick in hospitals andpraying for them. Orthodox evangelism is going the prisons (contact yourlocal prison chaplain regarding how this might be done) and offering comfort and kindness to the imprisoned. Orthodox evangelism is loving your enemies (Elder Silouan of Mt Athos says that this is the true mark of a Christian -the love of one's enemies). Orthodox Evangelism is loving your neighbor as yourself. If we all did these things (and I am a wretched sinner and fallshort of all that I have just said) then our Churches would be open and filled with light and glory drawing all who see her by the grace and action of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. We don't have to preach on streetcorners, we don't have to have "events" or revivals or seminars as evangelistic tools - we simply have to be Orthodox Christians "to the max"without reservation or compromise. That is Orthodox evangelism.


BruceBruce's Blog <http://brucesworld.blogspot.com/>http://brucesworld.blogspot.com/

What no circus', healing crusades or sideshows

WOW


maybe they are onto something

Knocking on Heaven's Door

This is the meeting of two grizzled old performers who were knocking on heavens door from different sides....one has entered in...the other is occupying while waiting his call.







I think he will make it (if anyone does).

Dignity

Dignity does not float down from heaven...It is a reward reserved for those who labor with diligence.-Bill Hybels


I don't think Dylan would agree..I know I don't.









Dignity is the birthright of every human being. Many have forgotten and have lost touch with the knowledge of their worth. When the lies of the adversary are believed and the restraint of knowing that 'we are better than that' has been lost many people are led to empty troughs of despair, and an experience of wasted lives, sickened bodies, shattered minds and lost souls....but if they could only look upon the shining face of the Anointed One and realize that they are all made of the same stuff as Jesus himself...they would know that they have Dignity and it is the gift of God not of works for no man can boast. ...It is NOT a reward reserved only for those who labor with diligence.

All men can rejoice in the fact of their God-likeness.......





















even Joshua (aka Destroyer of Worlds
and
the Saviour of his people )

Joshua has dignity while his diapers are being changed, his spills being cleaned up, his cries being attended to and his frustrated 'hitting out' is being warded off ...........because he too is of the kingdom of God.

And if you don't agree
then you don't know 'Jack', Joshua or Jesus .

LH

Orthodox Marriage

"The Orthodox take on marriage is that it is a form of martyrdom. The spouses die to themselves to live for each other, and for God. This is symbolized in the Orthodox ceremony by the use of "martyrs crowns" to crown the bride and groom. It's a very beautiful ceremony full of symbolism and wonderful prayers."
(this quote is from Bruce of
Bruce's Blog http://brucesworld.blogspot.com/ )

this kind of reminded me of a famous quote from the recently deceased wife of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham.

she is reported to have said that she never ever considered divorce, her commitment to the sacredness of marriage was too great...On the other hand murder had occurred to her.....but thankfully she thought better of that remedy for marital dissatisfaction.


A great lady, may she rest in peace and may Billy be comforted in his great loss.

Here is something else that brought tears and inspiration to my heart today

As Ruth lays dying........we should remember that love never fails

"Ruth is my soul mate and best friend, and I cannot imagine living a single day without her by my side."— Billy Graham, in a statement today that his wife "is close to going home to heaven." The Associated Press reports that Ruth Graham, 87, fell into a coma this morning.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2007/06/ruth_graham_clo.html

A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.-Ruth Bell Graham

Perhaps

Let’s not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we
are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving
God.
-Henri Nouwen

We'll see

Let me tell you this: Faith comes and goes. But if it is presumptuous to think that faith will stay forever, it is just as presumptuous to think that unbelief will.-Flannery O'Connor

Hitchens vs God

Recently Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson have debated the proposition that Christianity (and theistic belief of all kinds) has been, on the whole, bad for mankind.

you can read the arguments here.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/juneweb-only/122-52.0.html



I enjoyed the debate very much and made this comment at its conclusion.



Perhaps it will intrigue you enough that you read the articles in the link. I hope so. The articles are well worth the time and they are entertaining as well as educational. Kind of like Sesame Street for theologians if you will.







Impossibleape said





I have enjoyed this entire series. I am a Christian who is often mad at God for many of the reasons spoken of by Christopher. I am a 'sometimes' atheist who continues to be mad at the Being that I occasionally say I do not believe in (the fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God').

I was inspired to think better of the Christian tradition and teachings by Douglas's excellent defence of Jesus as the life of (and therefore the good of) the world. But I agree with Chris that even Christianity needs to evolve because no amount of verbal contortion or ridiculous double talk can justify the outrages against simple morality contained in the Old and to a lesser extent the New Testaments.

On the whole I give the debate to Doug. Even though I am still a 'sometimes' Christian atheist (as I expect Chris is) I do feel a little better because of what I have experienced here and I hope Chris will too........in the evolving contingency of time. Thanks to all.

LH

It better to knock rocks together than curse dark shadow of Pterodactyl overhead (or it only takes a spark)

Listen to the It's About Time theme

The tech support problem dates back to long before the industrial revolution, when primitive tribesmen beat out a rhythm on drums to communicate:

Ugh! This "Fire Help." Me Groog.

Me Lorto. Help. Fire not work.

You have flint and stone? Ugh. You hit them together? Ugh. What happen?

Fire not work. (sigh)

Make spark? No spark, no fire, me confused. Fire work yesterday. *sigh*

You change rock?

I change nothing.

You sure?

Me make one change. Stone hot so me soak in stream so stone not burn Lorto hand. Small change, shouldn't keep Lorto from make fire.

* Groog grabs club and goes to Lorto's cave*

* lights go out in Lorto's brain * it be dark for sure for sure

because its about time....whacking time that is........

ITS NOT DARK YET.....but its gettin' there

ye shall be released

unreleased 1976

A Prophet of Olden Times

THE TIMES ARE A CHANGING - Bob Dylan
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
....
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
.....
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a- changing

Prayer for All Who Are Abused

You chose, O loving God,
to enter this worldquietly,
humbly, and as an outcast.
Hear our prayerson behalf
of all who are abused:
For children,who suffer
at the handsof parents
whom they trust and love;
for spouses,beaten and destroyed
by the very onewho promised to love
and to cherish them forever;
for all people ignored, hated and cheated
by the very neighbor who could be
the closest one to offer your love.
Hear the cry of the oppressed.
Let the fire of your Spirit
fill their hearts with
the power of vision, and hope.
Grant to them empowerment to act,
that they may not be passive victims
of violence and hatred.
Fulfill for them the promises you have made,
that their lives may be transformed
and their oppression ended.
Turn the hearts of the oppressor unto you
that their living may be changed
by your forgiving love;
and their abusive actions
and oppressive ways brought to an end.
Amen.

- Vienna Cobb Anderson

Whom God Would Use Greatly

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6063 "A famous pastor once said that nobody is fit for the pulpit who has not been broken badly in life. He's right: Only when you have been broken can you empathize with others; and only then do you recognize that only God can put you back together. Understanding costly grace, prisoners make great leaders. " Chuck Colson (from Today's Breakpoint Commentary)

Perhaps Chuck is referring to a Quote from A.W. Tozer,
"Whom God would use greatly, first He wounds deeply."
About 3 years ago Road to Emmaus began with this quote.

I am still a little broken and only a little better 'used' but I love this quote because it gives me hope that the suffering of each and every person, no matter how seemingly insignificant that person's stature, will not go for naught.

I will continue trust in a law of compensation that will someday raise up the lowly and bring down the mighty to make a straight path for God and humanity to walk upon.



even as this wonderful and broken man did in his lifetime........

LH

Seven Wonders of Canada

I recently received this from a very dear friend....
HEY EVERYBODY I NEED YOUR HELP please go to CBC.ca/sevenwondersofcanada and vote for Manitoulin to win one of the 7 wonders we all know it is and we nominated it and now we need your help THANKS EVERY ONE LOVE YOU
BRENDA

Manitoulin Island Home of the Great Spirit

Please make a couple of old Haweaters (native born Manitouliners) happy by voing for the largest freshwater Island in the world as one of Canada's wonders.

The Manitoulin Island Manitoulin is a sacred island to the Native Peoples whose legends tell us that when the Great Spirit Gitchi Manitou created the world, he set aside the bluest sparkling water, the brightest twinkling stars and the most beautiful glistening quartz rocks. With these he made a special island and set it in the Great Inland Sea (the Great Lakes) allowing it to drift gently northward until it bumped into the rocky shoreline. Here it rested. He tilted the island slightly to the south to catch the best weather and to protect it from north winds and reserved this special place for himself and other spirits to play.

vote here
http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/vote.html