On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’
Mark 4:35-41
For quite a long time, I've loved this passage from Mark. As I read the story, it's not really about the miracle of Jesus calming the wind and the sea, but rather about Jesus calming the storm inside me - an entirely different miracle, but a wonder nontheless.
My prayer, "Lord, do you not care that I am perishing?" Then comes the soothing, calming answer, "Peace! Be still!...Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"
At times, I still have no faith, or not enough faith. But all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed to move forward. "Peace! Be still!...Why are you afraid?"
Sunday, June 14, 2009
There Were Two Nuns....
One of them was known as Sister Mathematical (SM), and the other one was known as Sister Logical (SL).
It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.
SM: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for the past thirty-eight and a half minutes? I wonder what he wants.
SL: It's logical. He wants to rape us.
SM: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes at the most! What can we do?
SL: The only logical thing to do of course is to walk faster.
SM: It's not working.
SL: Of course it's not working. The man did the only logical thing. He started to walk faster, too.
SM: So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.
SL: The only logical thing we can do is split. You go that way and I'll go this way. He cannot follow us both.
So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.
Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried about what has happened to Sister Logical.
Then Sister Logical arrives.
SM: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!
SL: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both, so he followed me.
SM: Yes, yes! But what happened then?
SL: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.
SM: And?
SL : The only logical thing happened. He reached me.
SM : Oh, dear! What did you do?
SL : The only logical thing to do. I lifted my dress up.
SM : Oh, Sister! What did the man do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his pants.
SM: Oh, no! What happened then?
SL : Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster than a man with his pants down.
And for those of you who thought it would be about sex,
Say two Hail Marys!
and - of course - forward this mail!
And I forward it to you, my readers.
Thanks to Susan.
It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.
SM: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for the past thirty-eight and a half minutes? I wonder what he wants.
SL: It's logical. He wants to rape us.
SM: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes at the most! What can we do?
SL: The only logical thing to do of course is to walk faster.
SM: It's not working.
SL: Of course it's not working. The man did the only logical thing. He started to walk faster, too.
SM: So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.
SL: The only logical thing we can do is split. You go that way and I'll go this way. He cannot follow us both.
So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.
Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried about what has happened to Sister Logical.
Then Sister Logical arrives.
SM: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!
SL: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both, so he followed me.
SM: Yes, yes! But what happened then?
SL: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.
SM: And?
SL : The only logical thing happened. He reached me.
SM : Oh, dear! What did you do?
SL : The only logical thing to do. I lifted my dress up.
SM : Oh, Sister! What did the man do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his pants.
SM: Oh, no! What happened then?
SL : Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster than a man with his pants down.
And for those of you who thought it would be about sex,
Say two Hail Marys!
and - of course - forward this mail!
And I forward it to you, my readers.
Thanks to Susan.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Obama's DOJ And DOMA
Ever since I read the post from Americablog yesterday, I've wanted to write something about the defense of DOMA by the lawyers at Obama's DOJ. However, I was so disheartened by what I read there, that I had no energy to write anything at all until now, and this is mostly cut and paste.
We just got the brief from reader Lavi Soloway. It'spretty despicable, and gratuitously homophobic. It reads as if it were written by one of George Bush's top political appointees. I cannot state strongly enough how damaging this brief is to us. Obama didn't just argue a technicality about the case, he argued that DOMA is reasonable. That DOMA is constitutional. That DOMA wasn't motivated by any anti-gay animus. He argued why our Supreme Court victories in Roemer and Lawrence shouldn't be interpreted to give us rights in any other area (which hurts us in countless other cases and battles). He argued that DOMA doesn't discriminate against us because it also discriminates about straight unmarried couples (ignoring the fact that they can get married and we can't).
Aravosis' statement in bold type (my emphasis) turned out to have been prescient because he later learned that "one of the three Obama Justice Department attorneys who wrote and filed the anti-gay DOMA brief last night is W. Scott Simpson, a Mormon Bush holdover who was awarded by Alberto Gonzales for his defense of the Partial Birth Abortion act."
And before Obama claims he didn't have a choice, he had a choice. Bush, Reagan and Clinton all filed briefs in court opposing current federal law as being unconstitutional (we'll be posting more about that later). Obama could have done the same. But instead he chose to defend DOMA, denigrate our civil rights, go back on his promises, and contradict his own statements that DOMA was "abhorrent." Folks, Obama's lawyers are even trying to diminish the impact of Roemer and Lawrence, our only two big Supreme Court victories. Obama is quite literally destroying our civil rights gains with this brief. He's taking us down for his own benefit.
During the campaign, Obama stated that he would be gay-friendly. When will he begin?
Thanks (or no thanks?) to Counterlight for the link to Americablog.
We just got the brief from reader Lavi Soloway. It's
Aravosis' statement in bold type (my emphasis) turned out to have been prescient because he later learned that "one of the three Obama Justice Department attorneys who wrote and filed the anti-gay DOMA brief last night is W. Scott Simpson, a Mormon Bush holdover who was awarded by Alberto Gonzales for his defense of the Partial Birth Abortion act."
And before Obama claims he didn't have a choice, he had a choice. Bush, Reagan and Clinton all filed briefs in court opposing current federal law as being unconstitutional (we'll be posting more about that later). Obama could have done the same. But instead he chose to defend DOMA, denigrate our civil rights, go back on his promises, and contradict his own statements that DOMA was "abhorrent." Folks, Obama's lawyers are even trying to diminish the impact of Roemer and Lawrence, our only two big Supreme Court victories. Obama is quite literally destroying our civil rights gains with this brief. He's taking us down for his own benefit.
During the campaign, Obama stated that he would be gay-friendly. When will he begin?
Thanks (or no thanks?) to Counterlight for the link to Americablog.
From A Sermon For The First Sunday After Trinity
No, not by me. By MadPriest, posted at Of Course I Could Be On Vacation, because he is on holiday, but not quite yet, unless he's recorded the sermon for play on Sunday. You may want to read the entire sermon, for it's quite good, excellent, really. Here are a few short quotes to entice you to read it all.
Gospel reading for the day: Mark 4: 26-34 (Parables on the Kingdom of God - of sowing, of harvesting, of the mustard seed)
...Christians are called to be the hands of God on earth. We are included within God’s creative plan as active agents of bringing the Kingdom of God into being. We cannot just resign ourselves to believing that what will be will be or that everything is God’s fault. We are creatures of free will who can effect change in our own present and future for good or ill.
....
And the gospel truth we heard this morning in our main reading is that the Kingdom of God will come into full being through the agency of uncountable, small works of goodness performed by the people of the Kingdom, you and me, included. Our actions, when they are in line with the commandments of God the Father and the teachings of Jesus Christ, are like tiny seeds sown on the ground. Seeds so small you can hardly see them. Seeds that appear lost amongst the dirt and the stones of the soil into which they are cast. But these seeds, because they are of God and his Kingdom sprout and grow. And although they start off as tiny, individual seeds they become a vast field of healthy crops or a whole plantation of mighty mustard bushes. Our individual, usually insignificant, good deeds join together to become something very visible and vast in its scale. And that is what the Kingdom of God is about. It is the coming together of many individuals to become one people within the presence of God.
Now go. Go read the rest.
Gospel reading for the day: Mark 4: 26-34 (Parables on the Kingdom of God - of sowing, of harvesting, of the mustard seed)
...Christians are called to be the hands of God on earth. We are included within God’s creative plan as active agents of bringing the Kingdom of God into being. We cannot just resign ourselves to believing that what will be will be or that everything is God’s fault. We are creatures of free will who can effect change in our own present and future for good or ill.
....
And the gospel truth we heard this morning in our main reading is that the Kingdom of God will come into full being through the agency of uncountable, small works of goodness performed by the people of the Kingdom, you and me, included. Our actions, when they are in line with the commandments of God the Father and the teachings of Jesus Christ, are like tiny seeds sown on the ground. Seeds so small you can hardly see them. Seeds that appear lost amongst the dirt and the stones of the soil into which they are cast. But these seeds, because they are of God and his Kingdom sprout and grow. And although they start off as tiny, individual seeds they become a vast field of healthy crops or a whole plantation of mighty mustard bushes. Our individual, usually insignificant, good deeds join together to become something very visible and vast in its scale. And that is what the Kingdom of God is about. It is the coming together of many individuals to become one people within the presence of God.
Now go. Go read the rest.
Should Olde Acquaintance...?
If an old and long-winded acquaintance, whom we see from time to time in a meet-up in New Orleans, calls and leaves an extended message on the answering machine, telling us everything that's happening in his life right now, running out the tape, must I return his call?
All right, then. I already know what your answers will be. I shall make the call. Am I a bitch for even asking the question?
All right, then. I already know what your answers will be. I shall make the call. Am I a bitch for even asking the question?
You Can't Have Him!
From The Advocate:
Efforts are underway to raise money nationally for a Bobby Jindal presidential campaign.
“We will be sending out mailers, requests, hosting fundraisers,” Dan Kyle, treasurer of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said Friday.
....
Kyle said the governor is not yet participating.
“I believe he is aware of it. I have not personally talked to him about it,” he said.
None of you in the rest of the country have done anything to deserve consideration from those of us here in Louisiana or expectations that we would be willing to share our wealth with you. Jindal is ours, all ours. All the governor's fundraising trips around the country are ONLY for the purpose of raising money for his next campaign for governor of Louisiana.
Earlier this year, he gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s first address to Congress. The response was widely panned, casting a shadow on Jindal’s national profile.
Jindal is struggling to deal with the substantial financial problems facing the state.
Revenue is falling short, creating the possibility of heavy cuts to higher education and health care.
Earlier this week, four of the state’s five living former governors urged Jindal to reduce his proposed cuts to higher education.
What to do? For the Republicans, there is only one answer: run him for president! The entire country should be so fortunate as to have a leader like ours here in Louisiana.
Oh Dear!
On Thursday, I went to sign up for a membership for me and my two grandchildren to use the olympic-sized swimming pool at the university here in town. We fudged a little to get the membership, since use of the pool is restricted to faculty, staff, retirees, and their immediate families. Although grandchildren are once removed from immediate family, I smoothed that out with the person in charge, assuring them that I would have only two grandchildren with me, not a horde. The charge was $50.00, which seems quite reasonable.
On Friday, my grandchildren and I prepared ourselves with the swimwear, beach towels, sun screen, and earplug and headed over to the pool, only to find it LOCKED. So. There we were, the children hyped for a dip in the pool on a hot, muggy day, but now looking quite mournful. We found out that the pool is closed on Friday afternoons in the summer. Now we know.
Back in the car, I asked them what they would like as a treat, since their plans for their swim were frustrated. They suggested that we go to Chubby's Ice Cream Parlor. How's that name for reminding you that everything you consume there will make you fat and clog your arteries? Ah, that may be true, but their offerings are irresistible. My grandson had a Birthday Cake flavor cup of ice cream, with two toppings, and my granddaughter chose the Rainbow sherbet, while I had an old-fashioned strawberry milk shake, just like the olden days, rich and full of real whole strawberries and yummy ice cream churned together in a delicious thick mixture. I tasted their ice cream and sherbet, and both were yummy. The visit to Chubby's served to somewhat, if not completely, mollify the kids for the denial of their afternoon swim.
Then we headed off to the local bookstore, Cherry's Books, to order a book which my granddaughter is assigned to read during the summer. I'm pleased that we now have a locally-owned bookstore. I hope they prosper and stay in business for a while. We've had the locals come and go. The competition is fierce with the discounts offered by the chains and online giants.
We'll try again to have a swim next week.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wenchoster Calendar For June (The Month)
During my trip to England, when our group of bloggers met for lunch at the Tiled Hall in Leeds back in March, Canon Daphne Pullover, who writes the regular feature, The Word From Wormingdale in the "Pharisaios Journal", brought me a gift packet from the Diocese of Wenchoster. Ever since April I have been trying to post the calendar without success. I don't have a scanner. Finally, finally with the help of another staff member from the diocese, here is the calendar.
If you click on the calendar for the larger view, you will see the feast days and activities in the diocese. The names of certain of the saints are unfamiliar to me, but I'm sure that their calendar must be the most accurate.
If you are feeling lazy, too lazy to click, the dates, feasts, and activities are listed below:
1. Feast of the Visitation.
2. Feria.
3. Feast of St. Gregory the Hirsute. (Town barbers will be closed this day.)
4. Feast of St. Olive the Unsteady.
5. Feria. The "Nine Bells," Privy Street is being cleaned this day.
6. Wenchoster Cathedral Pilgrimage
7. TRINITY SUNDAY (Diocesan churches will use the Athanasian Creed at all services this day, including the Churching of Women.)
8. Feast of St. Constance of the Infirmed.
9. Feria. It always is.
10. Holy Mysteries bread baking day.
11. CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSIONS EVERYWHERE!
12. Feast of St. Barnabas, transferred (forcibly.)
13. HM the Queen’s Official Birthday
14. THE FIRST SUNDAY IN TRINITY
15. Diocesan Cricket Competition begins. Howzat!
16. Feria.
17. Feria. Also.
18. Wenchoster Cottage Hospital Gift Day.
19. Vestment Design Fair (Archdeaconry of Trickling Down.)
20. “Nine Bells” Beer & Cheese Festival Week begins.
21. THE SECOND SUNDAY IN TRINITY
22. Feria
23. St. Laura the Tiresome
24. Nativity of John the Baptist
25. Feria. It always is.
26. Feria. Also
27. Petertide Ordinations
28. THE THIRD SUNDAY IN TRINITY
29. Peter and Paul, Apostles. The two greatest.
30. Feria. Again.
I can't say why the list from the diocese stops at June 20.
A closing picture:
Gary Update
From Roseann:
I just talked to Gary's surgeon and everything went really well. They put a pain blocker in his shoulder so he didn't have to be put deeply under and he's waking up now. I'll bring him home in about an hour.
Thank you so much everyone for all the prayers. You're the best!
I just talked to Gary's surgeon and everything went really well. They put a pain blocker in his shoulder so he didn't have to be put deeply under and he's waking up now. I'll bring him home in about an hour.
Thank you so much everyone for all the prayers. You're the best!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
About My Niece
My niece for whom I asked prayers for a lump in her breast received her report. Here's what my brother-in-law wrote:
It is cancer - about the size of a dime - totally encapsulated - he took out extra tissue. She has to go back next week for chest x-ray, MRI and blood work - and they'll take some lymph nodes from her armpit? I think next step after that is radiation. She's handling it pretty well.
Please continue your prayers. It's not good news, but if the rest of the tests are negative for spread, she should be all right. That was about the size of my tumor. Let's pray that the rest of her story is like mine - 24 years passed. I told my BIL to tell her that people all over the world are praying for her.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 458)
UPDATE: Please add KJ, his sister, and his father to your prayers.
My sister heads towards the conclusion of chemo next month, and is doing well. She has been the primary support person for my dad in his battle with colon cancer. I can't remember if I reported that it is stage 4. Chemo has been complicated by low white blood cell count. Fortunately, he's a tough old bird.
It is cancer - about the size of a dime - totally encapsulated - he took out extra tissue. She has to go back next week for chest x-ray, MRI and blood work - and they'll take some lymph nodes from her armpit? I think next step after that is radiation. She's handling it pretty well.
Please continue your prayers. It's not good news, but if the rest of the tests are negative for spread, she should be all right. That was about the size of my tumor. Let's pray that the rest of her story is like mine - 24 years passed. I told my BIL to tell her that people all over the world are praying for her.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 458)
UPDATE: Please add KJ, his sister, and his father to your prayers.
My sister heads towards the conclusion of chemo next month, and is doing well. She has been the primary support person for my dad in his battle with colon cancer. I can't remember if I reported that it is stage 4. Chemo has been complicated by low white blood cell count. Fortunately, he's a tough old bird.
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