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Come have a look.  Not only that, a nice new blog page is included.  This will be the location of all future blog posts.

Readers who have followed me on blogspot will also enjoy the new blog

Join me at justadcs.com!  See you soon.

How great is our love?

Of course I don't judge people by their looks. 

Of course you don't either!

This video shows an experiment revealing how many of us are intimated by appearances. Stay with the video to the end.

God told the prophet Samuel not to be impressed by appearances, because God looks into a person's heart.  Jesus taught his followers to not be deceived by appearances.

I wonder if, in this experiment, I would have been able to look past appearances. I think so. I hope so.

(Don't be distracted by the discovery that a brewery promoted the experiment.) 

Innovative Hallelujah from Quinhagak, Alaska

Innovation
                      CreaTivity                       Spontaneity
                                            Fun
    Precision                                         
                                                                     IncluSiveness.

                 Order

                                                   FamilY

 Participation
                                                                             Timing

          Out of the boX!
                                             Did we say fun yet?

Praising God should be happy.  It should be spontaneous and inclusive.  And so these fifth graders in Quinhagak, a fishing village of perhaps 560 people, did all of this and more.

They are celebrating their school, their village, their families, and life itself.

What a wonderful teacher stands modestly somewhere behind the scenes, who let the kids accomplish a project on such a scale of delight that the whole world smiles.

What your bumper stickers say about you

Sometimes, maybe most of the time, our actions speak louder than our words.  Occasionally our words confirm our behavior.  This can be good, if our behavior is good; or not so good if we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget that life is not all about us.

Striving to be consistent with one's highest ideals takes effort.  This facetious little reminder keeps making the email rounds.   

Yellow -- prepare to stop?

The light turned yellow, just in front of him. The driver did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. 

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, cursed in frustration at missing her chance to get through the intersection.  Not to mention her annoyance at having dropped her cell phone and her makeup. 

As she was in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. 

The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. 

Instant response

Here's an amazing video.  Stacy Westfall is a horse trainer -- I'm not sure trainer is the politically correct word these days.  What's the new word?  Does anyone know?

You'll see her ride this horse without saddle or bridle.  Figure eights, gallop, twirl, side pass, fast/slow.  They move as one.  She makes the calls, and he executes her wishes.  Instantly.

Patience is the keyword.  She achieved this kind of oneness with a horse after many months of working together.

In this clip you can see her feet giving some of the cues.  And a lot of those cues are where and how she places her toes or her heels.  The horse is pleased to do exactly what Stacy is asking.

So of course I had to ask myself, How quick am I to respond to the cues divine Love gives me throughout the day?  How quick do I move with those nudges -- from a walk to a run and back to a walk again?  How seamlessly

Your light can't be hidden.

Another thoughtful email making the rounds.  This one assumed only Christians are loved by God, so I took the liberty of editing so it says what I believe -- that everyone has the Christ light shining within them.  And this creative process sounds so much like what a mom would do, doesn't it?

 Being a child of God is like being a pumpkin.   

She lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all off all the dirt.  

She opens you up, touches you deep inside 

and scoops out all the yucky stuff --

seeds of doubt, hate, greed, fear.  

Then She carves you a new smiling face 

and puts Her light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

Every pumpkin, every person, is unique in God's eyes

Hints from Nature

Swans about to leave the shallows

Across the lake the swan family worked the shallows,  Last spring six gray, fluffy babies had joined the proud parents.  Lately I had seen only seven swans, so it was good to spot the whole group.

About 10 minutes later when I reached their area, the cob (papa), the pen (mama) and five of their nearly full-grown babies were busy eating plants from the bottom in a close-knit group.  The sixth was also eating -- several yards away.

When the cob decided it was time to leave, he set out across the lake.  Five youngsters and Mama obediently lined up single-file behind him.  The sixth swan child ignored their departure.  Eventually she swam into the lake a little bit, then settled into a cove with a couple of mallards far from her family who had selected distant shoreline.

At first I wondered if this was a rebellious youngster.  But there is safety

Expanding relationships

 “Love God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind,” Jesus said.  He was quoting a demand from Hebrew scriptures which was ancient even then.

What occurred to me is that this describes half a relationship -- our half.  Humanity’s relationship to God.  It’s what we are supposed to do in this life.  Align our whole being -- heart, soul, mind -- with the purpose of the Higher Power.

Who is this Higher Power?  Supposing we agree with Jesus' life mission to reveal a God who is totally good?  This means our having no will that isn’t good as God sees it.  Praying for my team to win the football game, for instance,

The power of one good idea

Humanity -- what an amazing resource of talents, skills, hopes, and achievements we are! 

Unfortunately opportunity doesn't play out equally around the globe.  Especially in third-world countries, women are expected to be the oxen, the toilers.  But things are not hopeless.

I believe there is a universal Mind who cares about Her creation, who is infinite in resources and practical ideas for transforming lives.  It does take people with vision and unselfish lives to bridge the gap.

This great little video shows how one creative idea can improve the lives of an entire village.  Although it starts out on a gloomy note, stick with it to the joyous conclusion.

Church World Service (CWS) is one organization which finances life-changing projects.

Let there be light!

Jesus announced that he was the light of the world. He was this at many levels.

He lived a life that threw healing light on the darkness of hopelessness and illness.

His light of truth-speaking exposed the hypocrisy of religious traditions in his day. Traditions which allowed, for instance, a donkey to be released from its stall on the sabbath for a drink of water, but condemned freeing a sick woman from a long-standing illness on the sabbath.

His light of insight into what life is really about, still blinds materialism with its encouragement to love your enemies, be honest, pure, fair, generous; not to judge.

Fast forward to contemporary culture with its poor still struggling to survive. A man shares a simple and brilliant (pun intended) solution to literally shine light into the homes of people who cannot afford electricity.

I think Jesus would be pleased.

To the unsung heroes of 9/11

A post 9/11 tenth anniversary tribute to the heroes of the Manhattan Island boat lift.

There's something very spiritual about unity, when people come together of one mind, unselfishly, to help their fellows in need.

Enduring comedy

Here's some real substance.  We know there's something special when we find ourselves smiling at the joy, gentle good-humor, fellowship, skill and talent. How about timing and coordination?

This little video reminds us that these qualities are timeless.  

Lightning McQueen in Africa?

My grandson came for an overnight recently.  He loves movies and brought two DVDs for us to watch.  Kung Fu Panda, and Cars. 

Despite my misgivings, these animations turned out to be well-told stories with good morals.  When others see him initially only as a noodle cook, the humble panda clings to hope, works hard, and finally achieves self-worth.  

Lightning McQueen (race car) learns the importance of being part of a team and of practical caring for others.  Not bad life lessons.

Jump to the world scene.  In Africa right now, millions are on the brink of starvation due to drought and political turmoil.  Self-worth takes second place to survival.  Practical caring is what the rest of the world can offer.  Distribution of basic necessities can be a nightmare.

The Spirit of Christ, Allah, whoever you think of as the higher power, animates each of us to care for and help one another. 

Here’s a tmcyouth link to some prayers being offered for those in great need.  Feel free to add yours.

Story of hope in an unlikely place

People who care.  That's what it takes to make a difference.

In Zambia, at risk youth are being given an opportunity to move their lives forward.  About 200 young people were asked to think about their future.  They decided they'd like to go into business.  So the youths were taught how to do a market assessment and how to select a business that would manageable and profitable.

They chose a banana plantation.  This video shows their steps of hope.

Here's the link to the article in The Christian Science Monitor.

Shipwrecked

This little story has been making recent email rounds.  The moral is useful, especially for anyone going through hard times.

The only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but nothing changed. 

Shipwreck

Over time he he built a little hut out of driftwood and palm fronds to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. 

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke curling up to the sky.  Stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger, he cried out, "God!  How could you let this happen?"

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship's horn!  It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" the survivor asked his rescuers. 

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied. 


The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going badly, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even at our darkest moments.
  

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God. 



Cheers for those angel messages!

Our first hike in the Sierras a couple of weeks ago had to be aborted.  The very name of our destination, Saucer Lake, just over the ridge, inspired my 11-year old grandson, my good friend, Margaret, and me with eagerness.  The hike started well enough, over granite boulders, through manzanita bushes, across noisy rivulets of snowmelt. 

It had been a late summer in the mountains, though.  As recently as two weeks before our adventure, Echo lake still boasted ice.  As we now ascended, bits of snowfields lurked over parts of the trail.  At first we worked around them, picking up the switchback a few yards further on.  The incline sharpened, the snowfields became broader and increasingly treacherous -- as in steep and slippery, with very hard boulders or worse, cliffs, at their bases.  

A small snowfield -- fun and safe to slide down

I’d begun praying quite earnestly about safety probably half an hour before, when continuing the climb began to feel not right.  It was a humble prayer, just asking God to place each step so that She would be praised by this activity.  Neither did it feel right for Grandma (me) to be the one to say we needed to turn back.  So each time I was tempted, I prayed the more earnestly.

Finally, about 2/3 of the way up, we reached the largest snowfield yet.  We could not see where to pick up the trail on either the right or the left of it. 

Boots too small?

King of the snow cave (carved by a rivulet, between his feet)

What I'd like to draw your attention to here is not the snow cave, although standing triumphantly on its thin arched roof was the purpose of the photo.  Rather the boots.

Wonderful, comfortable, hiking boots

It's the boots that will be outgrown by next summer.

I was thinking today how with kids it's easy to know what no longer fits.  Wrists hang out of sleeves, pant cuffs creep upward, the shoes are too tight, and it's obvious.

Somewhere into adulthood we we start accumulating clothes that used to be passed along to friends, relatives, or the local thrift store.  Closets gradually begin to bulge, not so subtly demanding a sorting.

It isn't all that different with our thinking.  As kids grow and learn, they discard outgrown thinking -- tooth fairies and monsters under the bed, and cute

Music to the eyes

I don't know how this works, but perhaps you will agree that it is beautiful.  As one person put it, "Music to the eyes."

Herding Cats?

Nope.  Not herding cats.  Training them.  Or rather, finding out what they like to do, and then rewarding them for it.

I grew up with dogs and cats together.  I can think of three different pairs.  They would snuggle together in a sunny spot on the floor on a winter's day.  Or cuddle together on the couch.  Yes, we did allow our adopted greyhound on the couch.

The most fun was watching these creatures wrestle -- the dog being careful not to overwhelm the cat; and the cat being careful to keep her claws sheathed.  Over and over, round and round they'd go.

Cats who perform is a whole different circus.  Yet here's a guy who has figured it out.  Hope you enjoy their entertainment.

Meet the Mayor of Mississauga

My neighbor was complaining the other day of her curtailed activities now that she "is up in years."  She didn't want to hear another perspective, at least not at that time. 

Seniors have lots of jokes about aging, and all of them accept the premise that aging includes limits, vulnerability, and diminishing faculties.  So the jokes are an effort to make the best of a bad situation.

There used to be an upbeat TV show called, "Life begins at 80."  Week after week the host interviewed lively, busy octogenarians.  These folks did not placidly accept restrictions on their abilities and capacities to do good.  Most of them led active and interesting lives.

Here, from Canada, is a contemporary role model.  It's so refreshing to meet someone whose life quietly challenges these negative assumptions. 

Principle as Love?

 Have you ever thought of Principle as Love?   Yes, and harmony too!


This has been a difficult concept for me to wrap my head around.  Principle is strong, tough, laws and rules, isn't it?  How can it also be Love?

 Well, here's what I've been thinking about.  The red light, when people pay attention, keeps crashes from happening.  It allows an orderly flow of traffic to go forward.  There's a sense of justice, or fairness, because everyone gets their turn.  A red light may be no-nonsense, but it is also an expression of Love keeping everyone safe.

Red keeps right ideas where they belong.  No colliding!

Yellow gives a heads-up on change coming

A yellow light warns drivers that their plans are

The heart of song - Bobby McFerrin

Krista Tippet does her homework before interviewing incredible people.  This morning her guest was Bobby McFerrin.

Bobby grew up in an Episcopal church in LA.  He loved singing in the children's choir.  His dad was an opera singer, and his mom sang all the time.  He grew up with singing in the home.

Here are three great YouTubes of his work.  There are times, he says, when he goes onstage feeling horrible, bad headache or tense because he's just had an argument with one of his children.  Within a minute of being with the audience, he's happy.  By the end of 90 minutes he's usually 80% healed.  To me this says something about his love for what he is doing, his love for music, his love for people, and the healing effect of acting on this love.

He tries to release in his audiences the improvisation and spontaneity they knew as children.  He taps into a deep spirituality innate, it seems, in all mankind.  (Scroll to the interview link at the bottom.)

He says of the Pentatonic Scale, "Regardless of where I am, anywhere (in the whole world), every audience gets that!"  You have to see it, to appreciate "getting it."





How do you draw thousands of strangers into singing "Ave Maria" together, beautifully, the first time?




For the 23rd Psalm, Bobby had been thinking about the heavy patriarchal element in the church and wanted to write something about the feminine side of God.  He dedicated this to his mother.



Note how in the final added verse which, in a traditional chant would be "Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost," he is consistent in maintaining the feminine.

The text:
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all I need.
She makes me lie down in green meadows;
Beside the still waters She will lead.

She restores my soul; She rights my wrongs.
She leads me in a path of good things
and fills my heart with songs.

Even though I walk through a dark and dreary land,
there is nothing that can shake me,
She has said She won't forsake me --
I'm in her hand.

She sets a table before me in the presence of my foes.
She anoints my head with oil
and my cup overflows.

Surely, surely goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in Her house forever,
forever and ever.

Glory be to our Mother and Daughter
and to the Holy of Holies
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be
World without end.  Amen.

You can listen now to  Krista Tippet's interview with Bobby McFerrin,  “Catching song.”

What Is A Dad?

Every boy has a dad - somewhere.

 What Is A Dad?

A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail...
- Unknown 

May our Father in heaven embrace all His children on earth in those tender arms of His love -- boys and girls, dads and moms, grandpas and grandmas, and especially those who think they have no children. 

Revisiting one of the best dads

 Revisiting and honoring one of the best dads I've known.
First published August 28, 2007.
He was fond of saying, "My cup is running over (with goodness), and I'm drinking from the saucer! 

Dan with great granddaughter

My father-in-law passed peacefully away this morning. He’d lived a good and long life, survived two wonderful wives, is cherished by a third. He has three wonderful grown kids, grand-children and great grand-children. Dan was just going, as he phrased it a couple of days ago, “to walk into the next room.”

I’ve known Dan for forty years. He is one of the most consistently happy people I’ve ever met. The world doesn’t know what to do with happy people. It works hard to make them sad. He never took the bait. He kept his joy. Sometimes it took a bit of wrestling on his part to stay aligned with the good he believed was supreme in life, but he always rose to the occasion, and quickly.

He enjoyed a good joke. He was a careful and interesting story-teller. With a twinkle in his eye, he would relate an appropriate pun for the occasion, and chuckle at the groans from his audience. He loved people. He devoted the last 40 years to helping others find health, balance, stability, joy, peace – helping them feel the power of God’s love in their lives.

And, this is the big one – I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. He lived Christ Jesus’ life message: to love one another.

He made the best of what life gave him, and he always felt life was giving him abundant good. He cherished family and friends alike.

With his perpetual joy, undaunted trust in the triumph of good, and genuine love for all God’s children, he set a great example of what it means to unconditionally love one’s fellow man.

He will definitely “Be in that number, when the saints go marching in”!

----------------------------------------------------------------

If you would like to add a tribute to Dan, please do!

If this post has meant something to you, you might want to click on Comments below, and read those too.

Also see "Tribute" post in Kim's blog.

A smile

A smile is the lighting system of the face,
the cooling system of the head
and the heating system of the heart. 

Unknown

Has a smile ever made a difference in your life?  Your smile may have been the joy that lit up someone else's day during a dark moment.  Never underestimate the power of a simple smile.

A smile says to the other person, "You're worthwhile.  You are special.  You are worthy of my recognition."

Nature smiles on us through her flowers and her pristine lakes.  She sings to us through the birds and breezes.

Native Americans "caught some glimpses of the underlying reality, when they called a certain beautiful lake "the smile of the Great Spirit."

Mary Baker Eddy

"Bring me Sunshine!"

Have you ever found yourself avoiding some people because of their attitudes?  Negativity, cynicism, critical conversation can drag us down. 

Ever thought about the news in that context?  Is it any wonder that the advertisers of evening news programs are often drug companies promoting cures for the symptoms of various ills?  

More than one person has asked, "Who wouldn't feel sick after watching this litany of bad news?"

And is it any wonder that some news programs have realized a steady diet of negativity needs some balance.  Often they shine a ray of light in that direction by presenting a human interest story that embodies the values we all want to hear more about.

You don't have to join the crowd of heaviness.  God has given every one of us the ability to appreciate and value the beauty and good all around.  And to help others do the same.  Each of us can be a doer.

Here's a whimsical approach to the ability of one person to make a difference.

What is this place?

This email has been making the rounds.  It poses some interesting questions.  Is heaven a place with gold streets and pearly gates?  What would heaven look like to you?

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
  He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. 


After a while, they came to a high, stunning stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble.  At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
  Standing before the arch, he saw a magnificent gate that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.  

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.  When he was close enough, he called out, 'Excuse me, where are we?'


Best buddies

Questions God won't ask

This is making the email rounds.  Some worthwhile thoughts here.

God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but He'll ask how many people you helped get where they needed to go.  



God won't ask the square footage of your house, but He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. 



God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.   



God won't ask how many friends you had, but He'll ask how many people you befriended.  



God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.  



God won't ask about the color of your skin, but He'll ask about the content of your character.

She won’t ask whether you won or lost, but how you played the game of life.


The Carpenter

This email is making the rounds.  A message worth sharing.

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding, grew into a major difference and, finally, exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I 'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with?  Could I help you?"



"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you.  Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother! Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us.  Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn?

Can you love without an object?

There is a difference, you know.  Between "unselfish" and "unselfed."

Until recently, I’d pretty much considered those two terms synonymous. 

If you think about it, unselfish love can be ego-tinged.  “I am unselfishly giving up my day off to help my neighbor.”  “I am unselfishly doing this or that good deed.”  

Unselfed love is love without self.  It is divine Love expressing itself.

Unselfed love is having no will of my own, but always, ‘Thy will be done.”  Always, "What can I do next for you and your children, dear Father-Mother?”  

Mother love is unselfish, and this mom has several fuzzy
"objects" for her love!

Here are some observations from Mary Baker Eddy, 19th Century religious thinker and healer. 

• Unselfed love doesn’t take offense.
• Unselfed love lives the might of goodness for all mankind. 
• It builds in our hearts a temple to worship God
• Rejoices in the good of others
• It keeps us in the Christian life

Most amazingly, unselfed love doesn’t require an object.  It just loves.  As the sun just shines, genuine Love just loves.

A morning sacrifice

Sky after a baseball game

Ps 5:3  “In the morning you hear my voice, O Lord.  I prepare a prayer, a sacrifice, for You, and watch and wait for You to speak to my heart.”  (Amplified Bible)

The sacrifice I’ve prepared today is self-will -- in the spirit of the Lord’s Prayer which strongly suggests, “Thy will be done.”  

Trusting that God, divine Love, is good, all-knowing and everywhere present, I am happy to step aside and let the Love that is spiritual govern every detail of this day.  And to listen in my heart to know where and how I fit into Love’s wonderful plan.

Is resistance futile?

Who remembers "Star Trek, the Next Generation"?  Do you remember when Captain Picard was captured by the Borg?  He resisted being assimilated in every way he could, but the Borg drummed into him that "Resistance is futile."  No one escaped the Borg.  At each thwarted escape attempt, things looked increasingly hopeless for our hero.

That episode was the cliff-hanger for the end of the season.  The next fall, there was Picard, escaping the Borg, returning safely to his faithful crew.  So resistance had not been futile.

I appreciated the spirit of TNG, as the series was affectionately called.  Evil doesn't have the last word, even when it insists otherwise.  Good will somehow prevail.

My faith tradition, Christian Science, teaches that evil has no authority in the presence of ever-present good.  Even when evil insists otherwise, the Creator of the universe is supreme, is in charge.  As we learn to align our choices and our lives with Her good purpose, we see more often the success of universal good over evil.  

It is important to resist evil.  Acquiescence is approval.  Left to itself, whatever isn't from God's goodness presumptuously suggests itself as powerful as good and as legitimate.  And gets away with this fraud if no one interferes.

Jesus interfered big time -- sickness, sin, lunacy, death, not enough food, killer storms.  He resisted and overcame every one of these "natural" evils with divine authority which, he said, came to him from God.

So is this a comparison between Captain Picard and Jesus?  Well, no.  But both had the courage to resist what they believed was not right.  Picard's courage was moral; Jesus' was spiritual.

Meanwhile, some nostalgic Star Trek fan put a smile on my face with this church sign.

Mother's Day rap

Mothering. While honoring our moms is important, dads do, or should do, a lot of mothering too. Nurturing, supporting, encouraging, cheering. There are no gender qualifications for doing the things normally associated with a mom.  The whole world needs our mothering.  Everybody qualifies for this opportunity.

Having said that, here is a thoughtful rap from Mr. T. (which dates to the 1980s TV and movie era) honoring his own mom. He grew up in a family of 12 children in the Chicago housing projects. He credits his success to his mother's love undergirding his own desire to do well.  He understands the significance of a mom's role in a child's life.

For kids all over, I pray for God's mothering to protect, comfort, guide, and uplift every right desire, and to refine and lead those desires into fulfillment.

Museum or Hospital? or something else?

What is Church for anyway?  Who meets the standards to join my church?  Is it better if they dress, think, and speak just like me?  What if they smoke, and my church frowns on smoking?   What if somebody walks through the door who is homeless?

What if they bring kids who are noisy and run up and down the aisles? 

How genuine is my welcome to the smoker?  the homeless?  the kid who shatters the quiet of the sanctuary?

If Church is designed to elevate the race, how can we make the "race" feel more welcome?   

What's your role?

We aren't always chosen for the spotlight, for the important part, for those much touted 15 minutes of fame.  That's OK.  There are other roles, perhaps lower key and perhaps more important.  

This story has been making the email rounds lately and deserves a wider audience.

Whenever I'm disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott.  Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play.  His mother told me that he'd set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.
 
On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school.  Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement.  "Guess what, Mom," he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me...."I've been chosen to clap and cheer!"

There are many ways to clap and cheer for one another.

Has justice been served?

So Bin Laden is gone.  America, and perhaps others, celebrates.  He was a symbol of unseen hate, a kind of hidden volcano that could erupt any time, anywhere, causing destruction, loss and grief.  That particular symbol is gone.  Yet, until we find how to make peace work, others will replace him. 

So what is the Christian demand?  As difficult as it may seem, it's individual forgiveness.  Not forgiving the hate or the destruction of innocents, but forgiving my own belief that there is something other than the man that God conceived, created, and loved.

Thanks to Facebook friends for their thoughtful reminders, gathered below.

"Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness, any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself." — Corrie Ten Boom

Each day I pray: 
"God bless my enemies; 
make them Thy friends;
give them to know the joy 
and the peace of love."
- Mary Baker Eddy

“Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, 
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.”
- Proverbs

"I have decided to stick with love. 
Hate is too great a burden to bear." 
— Martin Luther King Jr.

"If we have no peace, 
it is because we have forgotten
that we belong to each other." 
— Mother Teresa

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives,
but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." 
- Anonymous



"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." 
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

And here is another idea for practical prayer shared by Christian Science lecturer, Dave Stevens.

"It don't cost nothin' to be nice"

This email is making the rounds.  Somehow the Golden Rule -- treating others the way you'd like to be treated -- has a way of enriching the lives of those who participate.  

At a Touchdown Club meeting many years before his death, Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant told the following story:

I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruiting a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player and I was havin' trouble finding the place. Getting hungry I spied an old cinder block building with a small sign out front that simply said "Restaurant."

I pull up, go in and every head in the place turns to stare at me. Seems I'm the only white fella in the place. But the food smelled good so I skip a table and go up to a cement bar and sit. A big ole man in a tee shirt and cap comes over and says, "What do you need?" I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today? He says, "You probably won't like it here, today we're having chitlins, collared greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I'll bet you don't even know what chitlins (small intestines of hogs prepared as food in the deep South) are, do you?" 

I looked him square in the eye and said, "I'm from Arkansas , I've probably eaten a mile of them. Sounds like I'm in the right place." They all smiled as he left to serve me up a big plate. When he comes back he says, "You ain't from around here then?"

I explain I'm the new football coach up in Tuscaloosa at the University and I'm here to find whatever that boy's name was and he says, yeah I've heard of him, he's supposed to be pretty good. And he gives me directions to the school so I can meet him and his coach.

As I'm paying up to leave, I remember my manners and leave a tip, not too big to be flashy, but a good one and he told me lunch was on him, but I told him for a lunch that good, I felt I should pay.

The big man asked me if I had a photograph or something he could hang up to show I'd been there. I was so new that I didn't have any yet. It really wasn't that big a thing back then to be asked for, but I took a napkin and wrote his name and address on it and told him I'd get him one.

I met the kid I was lookin' for later that afternoon and I don't remember his name, but do remember I didn't think much of him when I met him. I had wasted a day, or so I thought.

When I got back to Tuscaloosa late that night, I took that napkin from my shirt pocket and put it under my keys so I wouldn't forget it. Back then I was excited that anybody would want a picture of me. The next day we found a picture and I wrote on it, "Thanks for the best lunch I've ever had."

Now let's go a whole buncha years down the road Now we have black players at Alabama and I'm back down in that part of the country scouting an offensive lineman we sure needed Y'all remember, (and I forget the name, but it's not important to the story), well anyway, he's got two friends going to Auburn and he tells me he's got his heart set on Auburn too, so I leave empty handed and go on see some others while I'm down there.

Two days later, I'm in my office in Tuscaloosa and the phone rings and it's this kid who just turned me down, and he says, "Coach, do you still want me at Alabama ?" And I said, "Yes I sure do." And he says OK, he'll come. And I say, "Well son, what changed your mind?" And he said, "When my grandpa found out I had a chance to play for you and said no, he pitched a fit and told me I wasn't going nowhere but Alabama, and wasn't playing for nobody but you. He thinks a lot of you and has ever since y'all met." 

Well, I didn't know his granddad from Adam's housecat so I asked him who his granddaddy was and he said, "You probably don't remember him, but you ate in his restaurant your first year at Alabama, and you sent him a picture that he's had hung in that place ever since. That picture's his pride and joy and he still tells everybody about the day that Bear Bryant came in and had chitlins with him."

Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant

Resurrection dance - in Budapest, Hungary

Dancing the resurrection in Budapest - a vibrant and moving celebration!  Click here.

I'm not sure this fits the definition of flash mob.  We don't know from the video whether they assembled suddenly.  But these folks are a joyous, choreographed mob of all ages, however they appeared.

Especially poignant when you realize this couldn't have happened under communism.

To my way of thinking, they have it right -- "Let's celebrate eternal life!"

Doing the right thing

Something special happened in April.  It was a conference championship game.  Sara hit her first ever home run!  The ball flew over the fence.  And then her knee gave out at first base.  

The rules said her teammates could not touch her.  What to do?  Click here to see the heartwarming unexpected. 

In Your presence

"In Your presence is fullness of joy!"  The Psalmist has discovered a close relationship to God is a very happy state.

It depends on your concept of God, of course.  If we accept Jesus' God of Love and goodness, that presence give peace as well as vibrancy and joy. 

I discovered that this evening when my grandsons were wound up after dinner.  They were laughing and rough-housing in the living room while I cleaned up in the kitchen.  I sighed.  This could go on for hours -- if past experience set any precedence.  

On the other hand, I pray before I come to spend after-school time with these boys.  Today my prayers were to see more of everyone's Christly nature, that harmony and cooperation that is so natural to all of us.  

Two amazing things happened.  The first was that after school they both got right to their homework without the usual moaning and groaning.

The second was that suddenly, in the middle of the after-dinner rough-housing, there was silence.  The younger boy sat down at the computer and engaged himself in a football game.  The older boy, with a reading assignment, sat down on the couch with his book.   I had brought some paperwork and marveled, as one hour passed another, at the deep peacefulness of the evening.

Every now and then there was a rustle from the living room.  Finally I peaked around the corner and couldn't help smiling!

It's a good idea while reading to change your position from time to time.

Lives corrected - is rehabilitation possible?

Is rehabilitation possible?  I believe so.

I’ve had the privilege of knowing several inspiring friends whose lives have been transformed.  Their commitment to Christ is humbling.  Among them, an unwed mom who gave up her newborn for adoption decades ago; they celebrated a mutually joyous reunion when he, in his thirties, sought to find her.  By that time her life had taken on a commitment to marriage and family, and she radiated a wise and tender spirituality.

 Tucson sunset - as beautiful as a life corrected?

A newer friend spent 7 years on death row for a crime she didn’t commit.   Since her release she has devoted her hours and days tirelessly to helping women and children in her Englewood community rebuild their lives.

My newest friend did prison time too, for drug and alcohol abuse.  Her reaching out to God came during a period of escape, when God told her to turn herself in so he could use her without her having to worry about getting caught.  Her total commitment to God came, back in prison, as she finished her sentence.  She asked God, “How am I going to keep my sanity for the next 18 months?”  He said, “Write me a letter every day.” 

And she did (write daily letters - of gratitude mostly, and some petitions).  And she did (keep her sanity).  As a side note, she credits her love for Jesus for the fact that she suffered no withdrawal symptoms from the drug and alcohol abuse.  Since her release she's been co-pastor of a church that is dedicated to meeting the needs of a poor Chicago community.

Just as a glorious sunrise promises a fresh and brilliant day, so the bright colors of a declining sun close a day with gratitude.  

Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science) writes this thoughtful definition,  “A radiant sunset, beautiful as blessings when they take their flight, dilates and kindles into rest.  Thus will a life corrected illumine its own atmosphere with spiritual glow and understanding.”

The sun as a metaphor

Tucson sunrise

A couple of weeks ago, I watched a glorious sunrise in Arizona. 

Mary Baker Eddy writes of the sun as a metaphor for God.   "If we say that the sun stands for God, then all his rays collectively stand for Christ, and each separate ray for men and women."  

I like to think about our shining out from God, like rays from the sun.  One ray doesn't interfere with another.  Each has its own assignment.  Yet each is important to lighting the whole day.  If the rays could be turned off, one by one, there would be almost imperceptible, but increasingly less light, till there was no light.  It would be a sad sun that had no rays.

Each of us is unique, important to God's good purpose for today.  Each of us has an assignment only we can fulfill.  None of us can interfere with anyone else's shining.  God, as infinite light, shines through us.  What we do with our moments and our lives makes God known.  We are Her shining.

And She, in turn, shines Her approval on us.

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us."  (Ps. 67:1)