On the Cusp of a New Year...

May your New Year
be filled with Peace and 

even more blessings 

than the year soon to end.

See you on the other side of the calendar page.

Happy 2015!

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful year!

Peace     שלום     سلام

Being Safe Places for Others ~ Meditation by Henri Nouwen

Among my favorite resources to help me along on my Faith Walk are the writings and musings of Henri Nouwen.  You can learn more about him by visiting the website of the Henri Nouwen Society.

Below is the Daily Meditation for today.

Have a great Sunday!

Peace...
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Sunday December 28, 2014

Being Safe Places for Others

When we are free from the need to judge or condemn, we can become safe places for people to meet in vulnerability and take down the walls that separate them.   Being deeply rooted in the love of God, we cannot help but invite people to love one another.  When people realise that we have no hidden agendas or unspoken intentions, that we are not trying to gain any profit for ourselves, and that our only desire is for peace and reconciliation, they may find the inner freedom and courage to leave their guns at the door and enter into conversation with their enemies.

Many times this happens even without our planning.  Our ministry of reconciliation most often takes place when we ourselves are least aware of it.  Our simple, nonjudgmental presence does it.

 
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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

A Prayer For Peace ... And a Comic (Just For Fun)

I’m presenting a preview of my church’s Christmas Eve worship service by sharing the prayer below.

Into a world full of conflict and fear; 

into a world where scarcity abounds in some places, 

while plenty abounds in others;
into a world still unable to find the balances
that would make for true peace; and
remembering the vision of the prophet Isaiah,
we bring our light of peace.
By the light of this single candle,
may the way forward be shown.

©Yorktown United Methodist Church, Yorktown Heights, New York

On this, my favorite day (and night) of the year, I would like to share the comic below, from this past Sunday (21 December 2014).  Shoe is one of my favorite comics, in part because it is irreverent, much like yours truly.  It also will sneak into its panels, from time to time, a moment of breathtaking profoundness, as with the strip below:

I pray that you find and experience the all-consuming, comforting Peace that God wants to share with you, during these Holidays and in the New Year.

Amen…

[Oh, and if you are in the Yorktown Heights, New York, area tonight come and join us at the 11:00 PM worship service.  I’ll be there to say, “Hi!” and “Peace!”.]

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

"Let There Be Peace On Earth"

This has long been one of my favorite songs about being an agent of peace.  Even without the melody playing, simply reading these lyrics creates a powerful feeling of tranquility and the assurance that everything can and will be alright.  We are empowered and emboldened to stand up and spread the Gospel of Peace in a hurting, fearful world.

Let there be peace on earth

And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.

 ©JillJackson Miller and Sy Miller 1955

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

A Prayer For Peace

Reading or watching the news of late is not for the meek or timid.  In fact, one might be tempted to bar the door and stay inside, in the relative safety of home.  However, God is calling us to do just the opposite; we must step out of our comfort zones and make a stand for peace.

Right now, there are myriad false prophets exhorting people to violence and vengeance.  We are being told who is responsible, whom we should blame for the current unrest and troubles in our society.

Placing blame and urging retribution are not what Christians are called to do.  Our loving and just Creator is very specific is what is expected of us, if we are to live our lives according to the life of Jesus. 

Paul, in his letter to the young community of believers in the capital city of the Roman Empire, encouraged them to “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”  (Romans 12:10)

One of my Faith heroes is Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, AKA Saint Francis of Assisi.  His prayer, which has been uttered and sung countless times in churches around the world, is a pretty good “how-to manual” for how to be an agent for peace in the world…

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

As the celebration of the birth of our Christ draws near, please join me in praying for peace in the world.  The kind of Peace that is all-encompassing, that blankets us in the protective Love of God.

And pray for the courage to stand up and be counted as an agent for Peace. 

You will be in my prayers.

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

Paix Sur la Terre, la Deuxième Partie...

miers
taika
мир
fiadanana
സമാധാനം
Paċi
te rangimarie
शांती
Амар амгалан
शान्ति
صلح
pokój
paz
ਪੀਸ
khotso

mier
katentreman
amani
сулҳ
அமைதி
శాంతి
ความสงบสุข
barış
світ
امن
tinchlik
hòa bình
heddwch
פרידן
alafia

[With thanks to GoogleTranslate]

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

Peace On Earth, Part One...

Peace
سلام
שלום
paz
paix
vrede
խաղաղություն
sülh
Bakea
свет
শান্তি
mir
мир
pau
Kalinaw
和平
Fred
paco
rahu
kapayapaan
rauha
მშვიდობა
Frieden
ειρήνη
શાંતિ
lapè
zaman lafiya

शांति
kaj siab lug
béke
friður
perdamaian
Síocháin
pace
ピース
ಶಾಂತಿ

бейбітшілік
평화
ສັນຕິພາບ
Pax

[With thanks to Google Translate]

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

A Minor Christmas Digression ... Or Not

For the third year in a row, I will be reading Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol during the week leading up to Christmas Eve.  It is a story that has been made and re-made, ad nauseum, into big-screen movies and television specials.  For me, all of this cinematic re-telling had diluted the tale.  I wanted to re-visit it, without characterizations of Ebenezer Scrooge, and the rest of the characters, by actors from Alistair Sim to George C. Scott to Marlo Thomas to Patrick Stewart; not to mention the several stage versions I have seen.

Two years ago I grabbed my Kindle and re-read it, decades after my last reading of it.  I rediscovered a tale of tragedy, despair, loss, inexplicable rage and all the other emotions and themes of Dickensian London in the mid-19th Century.

I also found a story of devastating simplicity and purity.  Ultimately, for me, A Christmas Carol is about one man's long, painful road back to salvation and love.  The ending leaves me awash in a wave of spiritually cathartic tears at the end of each reading.

The New Testament tales of Jesus provide us with the kernel of the absolute Truth about God's Love for, and His desire to redeem, us.

Dickens, whether intentionally or not, demonstrates to us, more than 170 years later, what it takes to live a modern life keeping always the essence of Christmas in our hearts.  I believe that one need not be a Christian to live this kind of life.  

Perhaps, just perhaps, it is a lesson that all men and women of good will, and any Faith, can exemplify. 

I have invited the folks in my Cyber sphere (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) to read along with me from December 18th through Christmas Eve. We then would have a book club-like conversation about the story beginning on Boxing Day, December 26th.  I will create a page where those conversations can take place.   

In the meantime, happy reading!

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

Thought For Today

Matthew 2:2

Happy Monday!  I came across the following quote today and it resonated with me in an unusually profound way.  

I pray that it does for you, too.

And I pray that you have loved ones near at hand with whom to share this Holy time of year.

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“Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you … to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old … Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world …

stronger than hate,

stronger than evil,

stronger than death…

Then you can keep Christmas! But you can never keep it alone.” ~ Henry van Dyke (1852 – 1933)

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Peace     שלום     سلام

What is Real Faith? (The Magnificat)

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. ~ Luke 1:38

The Annunciation, by Daniel Bonnell

How's that for an expression of faith?  This girl, barely in her teens, in response to the mind-boggling news from the angel Gabriel, that she is going to give birth to the son of God, says, “Sure.  I’ll do it.”  

That simple?  That easily?  Probably not, but she acquiesced to the power of God, allowing herself to be used as a tool to bring healing and salvation to a broken world.

WOW!

Then, while pregnant herself, she undertakes a rather perilous trip to her older cousin Elizabeth, to help see her through the final months of her pregnancy.  In response to Elizabeth’s awestruck, evidently shouted, declaration, “Blessed are you among women!”, Mary sings praise to God:

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”  - Luke 1: 46-55

I pray that you and I have the faith and courage of this young girl when we are called to action by our God and Creator.

Finally, please enjoy this musical version of young Mary’s Song.  (Apologies for the ad at the beginning; YouTube has to get their coin.) 

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Advent Musings on a Saturday Morning...

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” ~ Luke 1:31-33

Welcome to the WEEKEND!  And it is not just any weekend; it is an Advent weekend.  Tomorrow is the third Sunday of Advent.  This is one of those times when I truly appreciate the three years in high school that I spent studying Latin, a "dead" language where punctuation was always optional (or so it seemed to an impatient teenager trying to decode Cicero, Horace and any of a number of long dead boring dudes).  

Advent, from the Latin adventus, means "arrival" or "coming".  So we spend the month after Thanksgiving waiting for the arrival of that most special baby, Jesus.  Many are the ways that Christians celebrate, or mark the days of, Advent: an Advent Wreath lighting ritual in church or the home; various Advent calendars, some of which reward you with a mini chocolate as you open the "window" for each day.  I enjoy a musical Advent calendar courtesy of Andre Rieu's website (how can you say no to free music downloads, concert tickets or other cool stuff!).

The common theme among all of these rituals or ceremonies is marking the passage of time.  Think about the Israelites for a moment.  They waited thousands of years for this special birth, this coming of their Messiah.  We only must count down four weeks, about 28 days, give or take, depending on how the church calendar lays out in any given year.  I would say that we get off easy, compared to the faithful children of Israel. 

Let's keep that in mind as we sit at our desks, antsy and impatient, waiting and DYING for the days to speed up so we can open gifts on Christmas.  

Let's focus on each day and consider ways that we can make this season of waiting more about caring for others.

Let's focus more on GIVING.  Two things will happen:

• The time will fly by (YAY, Christmas is finally here!!!)
• This time of year will become intensely more meaningful and joy-filled for you and those whose lives you will touch

Happy Advent!

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

THIS IS OUR SAVIOR?!

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’” ~ Luke 2: 8-12

Read Luke 2: 1-21.

Imagine that someone comes to you today and gives you this message: 

“Dude, your savior was just born.  Time to rock this world!  This is some righteously awesome news.  Oh and BTW, if you wanna go check him out, maybe hang and bring some gifts, he’s with his mom and pop up in the South Bronx in some stranger’s garage.  You’ll know it’s the Messiah because he’ll be wrapped in dirty old t-shirts.  Yep, and he’ll be lying in an old barbecue grill because nobody had a bassinet or even a car seat to put him in.  Just push your way past all the animals to get a good view.”

[Imagine what Child Protective Services would do if they got wind of this situation!]

How would you react?  I’m not sure that I’d go running to check out just another poor baby born in the squalor of the inner city.  Even if the person telling me this was crazy awesome-looking and had a zillion similarly impressive buddies singing in agreement. 

Would you?  I might run like hell in the opposite direction. 

Yet, that’s what we see these shepherds do.  They leave their sheep grazing and head right back into the city to find this baby in a stable, in a freakin’ feeding trough for the critters. 

The faith of these folks has always been, for me, the most astounding part of this wonderful story.  They do not hesitate.  Nor do they doubt that they are witnessing something, someone, special.  Someone who will indeed rock their world.  And who keeps rocking it two millennia later

How impossibly wondrous that our God would come along and walk with us, live with us, work with us, mourn with us, celebrate with us.

How improbable that anyone could love us that much, let alone the Mighty Creator of, well, everything!

But it’s true.  Pretty cool.

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

A Prayer for Today

Hi, God.  It's me.

Just checking in today.

How are you?

I'm facing some challenges,

BUT

I thank you for giving

me the strength and comfort 

to face these with 

COURAGE,

GRACE,

HUMOR,

FAITH.

.

I also want to 

lift up today

the one who,

RIGHT NOW,

is reading this.

Bless and help them

to FEEL your 

PRESENCE,

to KNOW your 

LOVE.

to EXPERIENCE

the JOY

that comes only from

your SPIRIT.

Whatever they face,

today and everyday,

I pray for them.

Though I may not

know them, 

I love them, 

for they are yours, 

as I am yours.

Thanks again,

for EVERYTHING.

Love,

me.

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Human Rights Day and Being a Good Samaritan ~ #rights365

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another."  ~ John 13:24

Read the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

Today is Human Rights Day, an annual observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on this date in 1948.  

As children of a loving and merciful God, we are called to love and care for one another every day, not just once a year.  

Let us make a commitment, today, to lead others to Christ by the example of our respect for, love of, and service to, others.  Regardless of their complexion, or names, or dogma we must show others how it is that we are to love each other.    

We can start by respecting the unassailable right to a dignified life of all people, who are our sisters and brothers.

If not you and me, then who? 

[Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations: video message for Human Rights Day - December 10, 2014]

#rights365

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Thought on Charity to Ponder Today (and Everyday)...

On a light note, I'm loving those sideburns!

"Do it now. It is not safe to leave a generous feeling to the cooling influences of the world." ~ Thomas Guthrie

Third Annual #GivingTuesday Raises $45.7 Million for Charity (Re-Posted from Mission Is Everything!)

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ~ Matthew 25:40

Read Matthew 25:37-40.

One of our obligations as children of a loving and merciful God is to be charitable.  By tithing at our places of worship, contributing money or giving our time in voluntarism, we are called to work toward helping those who are...

• Disenfranchised 
• Voiceless 
• Powerless

In recent years a powerful movement that seeks to shine a light on philanthropy has gained incredible momentum, as you will see from the article (see below) that I shared today in one of my other blogs.  It is important that we take the message of #GivingTuesday and keep shining that light on it all through the year.

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Third Annual #GivingTuesday Raises $45.7 Million for Charity (Re-Posted from Philanthropy News Digest)

Well done, everyone!  Let's keep it going all through the year...

December 5, 2014

This year's #GivingTuesday activities raised a total of $45.7 million for charities, according to initial estimates tallied by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy with support from the Case Foundation.

Based on contributions to nonprofits tracked by five donation processing platforms — Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, GlobalGiving,Network for Good, and Razoo — online donations made on December 2 totaled $34.9 million, while offline donations processed as of noon on December 3 amounted to an additional $10.8 million. Results for the day-long event are expected to increase substantially as offline donations are processed. Initial data indicate that the total amount raised during this year's event was up at least 63 percent over the estimated $28.09 million raised, primarily online, during last year's event. In addition, the number of donations processed this year is estimated to have increased at least 53 percent, while the average gift amount was estimated to be up 6 percent.

Launched in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in New York City and the United Nations Foundation, #GivingTuesday has evolved into a global movement that counts fifteen thousand participating nonprofits and twenty thousand partner organizations. Driven largely by social media and online giving campaigns, this year's event saw the sharing of nearly seven hundred thousand tweets with the #GivingTuesday hashtag, an increase of 159 percent from 2013.

"Just as Cyber Monday and Black Friday are key indicators of consumer sentiment and economic health, this data on #GivingTuesday can serve as an indicator of the health of our giving economy," said Case Foundation co-founder and CEO Jean Case.

"It's encouraging that early results already indicate that Americans donated $45 million on #GivingTuesday this year, highlighting their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others," said Una Osili, director of research for the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. "As tremendous as that amount is, though, #GivingTuesday is not just about the money that is raised, it is also about people and nonprofits engaging with each other to improve the world. In just three short years, the number of people making contributions and the number and types of nonprofits of all sizes receiving those gifts has increased dramatically."

"Significant Growth in Online Giving Seen on #GivingTuesday 2014, Initial Data From Major Donation Processing Platforms Show." Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy Press Release 12/03/2014.Sheila Herrling. "#GivingTuesday Moves From Campaign to Tradition." Case Foundation Blog Post12/03/2014.

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!

Christmas Greetings From an Old Pal...

My buddy Gumby, who's been with me for a very loooong time, would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a
healthy, happy 2015!

God bless everybody!!!

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Reminder: if you have a prayer need, please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send it my way.  I will respond.

Have a wonderful day!