The Words Are For Me!

Wise and helpful advice on reading the Scriptures came from a friend named Margaret, many years ago. It was not her original thought, but I have forgotten whose it was. She said, "When you read the Bible, always take the words as directed to you." That was a difficult lesson to learn, for, at times, I'd hear the words from the Scriptures or read them and think, "Wow! So-an-so really needs to take that to heart!" Thoughts of someone else's misdeeds came to mind more often than I care to remember.

As soon as Margaret spoke the words, I knew she was right. How absolutely liberating to read the words in this new way - as directed to me - to take the words into my heart and my mind to apply them to my life.

As for contemplating the sins of others, Mother Julian of Norwich says:

The soul that would preserve its peace, when another’s sin is brought to mind, must fly from it as from the pains of hell, looking to God for help against it. To consider the sins of other people will produce a thick film over the eyes of our soul, and prevent us for the time being from seeing the ‘fair beauty of the Lord’-- unless, that is, we look at them contrite along with the sinner, being sorry with and for him, and yearning over him for God. Without this it can only harm, disturb, and hinder the soul who considers them. I gathered all this from the revelation about compassion...This blessed friend is Jesus; it is his will and plan that we hang on to him, and hold tight always, in whatever circumstances; for whether we are filthy or clean is all the same to his love.

I am rereading Kathleen Norris' Cloister Walk. Norris is an Oblate of the Order of St. Benedict.

An Oblate is a lay or clerical, single or married, person formally associated to a particular monastery. The Oblate seeks to live a life in harmony with the spirit of Saint Benedict as revealed in the Rule of Saint Benedict and its contemporary expression.

She spends varying periods of time in monasteries with Benedictine monks and nuns. In the course of several weeks, the monks and nuns read through the entire book of Psalms, since they pray them at morning, noon, and evening prayer each day. Norris says:

But to the modern reader the psalms can seem impenetrable: how in the world can we read, let alone pray, these angry and often violent poems from an ancient warrior culture? At a glance they seem overwhelmingly patriarchal, ill-tempered, moralistic, vengeful, and often seem to reflect precisely what is wrong with our world. And that's the point, or part of it. As one reads the psalms every day, it becomes clear that the world they depict is not really so different from our own; the fourth-century monk Athanasius wrote that the psalms "become like a mirror to the person singing them," and this is as true now as when he wrote it. (p 93).

In praying the psalms we find ourselves - ourselves when we feel angry and vengeful, ourselves when we want to do violence, if only verbal violence, intermixed with periods when we find ourselves filled with joyful praise and thanksgiving from grateful hearts.

The psalms make us uncomfortable because they don't allow us to deny either the depth of our pain or the possibility of it transformation into praise.

Norris' take on the psalms set me free, for I formerly found myself cringing at certain of the words, but when I began to pray them in this new way, I was able to enter into the poetry of the psalms and let it carry me along.

There you have it: another episode in the story of Mimi, who is neither a Scripture scholar nor a theologian, making up her Christianity as she goes along.

Keith Says It All

Rmj at Adventus has the video from Countdown of Keith Olbermann's examination of the great ongoing "sacrifice" that Bush has made in solidarity with those who have lost their lives in the war in Iraq. It's 12 minutes, but it's well worth watching. It makes you want to cry for Bush's pain. For some strange reason, Keith doesn't seem impressed.

Lapinbizarre And Becky

Their story told by Lapinbizarre:

Three or four weeks back I noticed a particularly sad case on an English Pointer rescue site I check from time to time. Becky, an eight-year-old hunting dog, had been worked out by her last owner and dumped, lame and barely able to walk, at a dog pound. Fortunately for her she was located by Dogs Hope, a rescue group. Judith, her rescuer and a fellow-librarian, wrote, "Such a love. Becky just came. She was taken to the shelter because she couldn't keep up with the hunt. Her back legs are in very bad shape and it is clear that each step is painful. I'm hoping that she can take pain medication, as she is crippled in both back legs - front legs don't look too good either. She is devastated by losing the only home she ever knew, even if it wasn't the best home."

That last sentence touched me so much, that I contacted Judith. Dogs Hope doesn't ship, but it's in North Carolina, about three hours north of here. We agreed that when Becky had recovered her strength sufficiently, I would drive up there and she and I would check one another out. Things worked out well and I brought her back to Columbia last Saturday. She's a delightful, intelligent dog. Physically her condition has improved amazingly. She's mobile once more and this morning, for the first time, was pulling me as we walked. While she's clearly been physically neglected, she shows no obvious scars, as my other two "rescue" dogs do, one more than ten years after I adopted her, of physical or psychological abuse.

She's a demon for getting into things. Like the garbage. "No" is not in her vocabulary - one reason I do not believe she has been physically or verbally abused. I was greeted this morning by a couple of hundred or so plastic grocery bags, bagged for recycling, all laboriously unpacked and spread wall to wall across the kitchen floor. Very pleased indeed with herself!

A beautiful story with a happy ending, no? And Lapinbizarre, aka Roger, is a lovely man.

What kind of owner dumps a working dog, when it can no longer work? Why not give her a comfortable retirement? Thanks to our friend Lapin, she has that now.

Here's the link to the website of Dogs Hope.

Please Pray For Kirstin

Kirstin at Barefoot and Laughing is undergoing surgery today to remove a melanoma from her ear. Pray that lesser surgery is sufficient to remove the tumor and that "All manner of things shall be well."

Almighty God our heavenly Father, graciously comfort your
servant Kirstin in her suffering, and bless the means made use of
for her cure. Fill her heart with confidence that, though at times she may be afraid, she yet may put her trust in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Kirstin says:

How to be with me, in the next while

I don’t know whether I’m going to be admitted. I don’t know what the surgeon’s going to want to do, beyond the excision of (on?) my ear. (I don’t even know if he has jury duty tomorrow.) I don’t know what kind of lymph involvement I do or don’t have. I really, really, really don’t want a neck dissection.

From Susan S.:

Also, Kirstin.... I dropped off at the hospital 30 minutes ago. I wait for someone to call and tell me when to come to pick her up. The actual surgery is scheduled for 1:00pm PDT.

UPDATE: from Susan S.:

Kirstin has been back from the hospital since about 7:00pm DST. She had some nausea, but otherwise is ok. She has gone to bed and will not get up until tomorrow, I think. In any case, they nipped her ear thingy off and I think she thinks they biopsied a lymph node. She will tell you more when she feels like it.

Thanks be to God! And thank you, Susan for the report.

Please Pray For Jack, Sr.

From Jack at The World of Doorman-Priest:

There may be sporadic posts......

....as Dad is in hospital! Seventy eight and now with no appendix and a perforated bowel. So prayers for Jack snr. please and for Daphne, left rather adrift and anxious, but with sense of humour intact!

UPDATE from Doorman-Priest: Thanks all. He appears to be a bit perkier and has gone from his own room to a room with three other chaps, which I take to be a good sign. He now also has a radio, so is in touch with the world again.

Pray For Lambeth

MadPriest reminds us to pray for Lambeth. Here is the official prayer from the Lambeth Conference website:

Pour down upon us, O God, the gifts of your Holy Spirit, that those who prepare for the Lambeth Conference may be filled with wisdom and understanding. May they know at work within them that creative energy and vision which belong to our humanity, made in your image and redeemed by your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I confess that I don't have great hope that good will come out of the Lambeth Conference, but perhaps I shall be pleasantly surprised. However, I will join in with all my heart to pray for the bishops and the conference, that God's perfect will may be done, keeping in mind the following passage:

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:8

Come, Holy Spirit!

Lindy Has A New Blog Home

Lindy, the guardian of the Rowan, the dog of renown pictured above, the Rowan that we all know and love, has a new blog name and location, Still Fruity. She has all sorts of interesting and amusing add-ons on her sidebar. It's an amazing place. Check it out.

Louisiana Legislators Cut Programs

Back to my own little plot of ground. The members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations voted to cut the budget submitted by Governor Bobby Jindal.

From the Advocate:

Lawmakers slashed Gov. Bobby Jindal’s $30 billion state government spending plan by $120 million Sunday.

Most of the cuts in House Bill 1 — the budget legislation for the state spending year that begins July 1 — were to the Medicaid program and public colleges and universities.

For example, lawmakers trimmed $52 million in payments to private doctors and others who treat the poor.

Of course, the poor with no voice and little power for advocacy come first in the cuts. And public education in Louisiana has such a sterling reputation for excellence, that we can surely afford to cut allocations to the universities.

Legislators recommended the cuts in answer to a push by so-called fiscal conservatives to rein in the growth of state government.
....

Another $2.5 million was whittled away from a pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-old students.

Sigh....

These cuts come in the face of a large budget surplus from royalties from the increase in the price of oil. I'm having a hard time finding an exact figure for the size of the surplus, but one estimate was $800 million. Now, the citizens of Louisiana deserve some of that money back in in the form of tax cuts, but in the cause of fiscal conservatism, it's not right to target health care for the poor and education to take the first hits - or so it seems to me.

UPDATE: Meanwhile there's a bill in the Senate to triple the salaries of the legislators.

"The English" - Bad News, Good News

Themethatisme on his blog, Conscientisation:

The English

Nothing "so fascinating, beautiful and culturally diverse yet as insular, self-important and irritating as England."
..so saith the writers of the 'Rough Guide' series for world travellers. I am delighted. "England is an irritating and insular country full of overweight, binge-drinking, reality TV addicts, a new guide warns tourists." they go on to say.

Unfortunately they also say some pleasant things too. Unlike several other commentators...

The English think soap is civilisation - Heinrich von Trietschke

Britain is the only country in the world where being 'too clever by half' is an insult. - A.A.Gill

The English have an extraordinary ability for flying into a great calm. - Alexander Woolcott ....

There's more, but the more is "over there" at his blog. As for his blog handle and the title of his blog, I know he chose them deliberately so that they'd be difficult to type. You have to actually THINK while you're typing them, especially with the added complication of the craaaazy English spelling.

A New Son - Grandson For Johnieb

johnieb sez:
....

O/T, but family related, it appears my new grandson's birthday will be today; my daughter's water broke last night and the pains are five minutes apart as of 0630 Phoenix time. I request all your prayers and good wishes.

Prayers and good wishes coming right up, Johnieb.

UPDATE: From Johnieb: Daughter just called from Phoenix, , sounding like an old hand, with the new baby crying in the background. Both are fine; he was born about two hours ago: 4:30 Phoenix time.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. 7 lbs. 8.4 oz, 19 inches and something, but the due date was the 25th.