Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Taking the name of God in vain

quotes below are from:
"Did God Really Say That?"
Norris Burkes
Christianity Today
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/buildyourfaith/wisdom/didgodreallysaythat.html

I confess there is a sort of sadistic streak in me that revels in the embarrassment of people who suddenly realize a Baptist chaplain heard their off-color remarks. They look at me like they are suddenly 7 years old again and I'm their mother threatening them with a bar of soap.

"Jeez, chaplain, I'm sorry. I didn't see you standing there."

I'm not a fusspot, but it is moments like these in which I jokingly step into the role of theological grammarian. For instance, if you pronounce God's last name as "Damn," I might say, "No, no, no. He hasn't used that name since Sodom and Gomorrah. He goes by his initials now: WWJD. Haven't you seen the bracelets?"

If you respond to frustration by saying "Oh God," I'll throw my voice into a deep baritone and say, "Yes, my son"

If you blurt, "Jesus!" I might ask, "Was that a prayer?"

If I sneeze, and you respond with "God bless you," I'll say, "Thank you, he does."

Leadership Vision

If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery, 20th century

Sunday, June 28, 2009

The criminal mind: "I don't love nothing"

"[Kaboni] Savage's savagery went way beyong witness intimidation. It was witness extermination.
"Without the witnesses," he bragged in prison trash talk, "you don't have no case." ...
"I don't love nothing, man," he once declared, "nobody love me." ...
"I ain't got no regrets."

"Kaboni Savage, man of no regret"
"Man without remorse is home to face justice"

Commentary by Monica Yant Kinney
Philadelphia Inquirer p. B1,B4
May 20, 2009

Adapt or Die

"We have to adapt or die. We need to energize viewers and users. ...
They don't need us the way they used to, and we have to find a way to make them need us again."

Chris Blackman
vice president, NBC10 News
"Economic tailspin batters local TV"
Philadelphia Inquirer, p. A12
May 20, 2009

Viloma

Viloma - "against a natural order" (Sanskrit)
"A parent whose child has died is a viloma."

Karla FC Holloway
NPR essay

what is the real problem?

quote from a substance abuse counselor recommending family therapy:
"families thought the problem was drugs or alcohol, and the abuser thought the problem was the family!"

"When a loved one is gripped by depression"
Dan Gottlieb
Philadelphia Inquirer
May 25, 2009

how to break out of a slump

quote from the following book review of
Breaking the Slump
How Great Players Survived
Their Darkest Moments in Golf
and What You Can Learn From Them

By Jimmy Roberts
Collins. 256 pp. $24.95
-----------------------
Reviewed by Joe Logan
Posted on Sun, Jun. 28, 2009
Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/books/
20090628_A_quick__breezy_look_at_slumps.html
Curiously, the best advice I found about how to break out of a slump didn't come from one of the golfing subjects in the book at all. It came from former tennis great Chris Evert in the chapter about her new husband, famous slumper Greg Norman, as Evert talks about her battles against her old rival Martina Navratilova, who once beat her in 13 straight matches.
Suffice it to say, it's all about confidence - or at least projecting an air of confidence.

"Have fun and the audience will have fun"

quotes below are from:
Ed McMahon, host, sidekick and pitchman, dies at 86
By Gayle Ronan Sims, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Wed, Jun. 24, 2009
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/obituaries/
20090624_Ed_McMahon__host__
sidekick_and_pitchman__dies_at_86.html
Ed McMahon, 86, who began his half-century television career in Philadelphia before becoming Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show, where his booming announcement "Heeere's Johnny!" became his trademark, died yesterday.
...
"The Tonight Show was powerful. It launched the careers of many comedians," said the stand-up comic Tom Dreesen, who appeared on the show 61 times. "Johnny Carson didn't speak with guests before the show. Ed McMahon would.
"The show had about 15 million viewers, and the first time I performed I was obviously nervous. Ed McMahon put his arm around my shoulder and said, 'Have fun and the audience will have fun.' I never forgot that. I think about that every night before I go on stage to this day. Nobody had more fun than Ed McMahon. He had a hearty, distinctive laugh."

(underscore added by blogger)

SAT: "concentrate on specific concepts to narrow the focus"

quotes below are from
"An Ivy approach to SAT preparation"
By Kristin E. Holmes
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted on Sat, Jun. 20, 2009
www.philly.com/philly/news/local/
48667252.html?cmpid=15585797
Nicholas Green, ... 24-year-old Harvard University graduate, achieved a series of perfect scores on the SAT while a teenager. Later, in 2003, he founded a test-preparation firm that trades on the mystique of the Ivy League and a skepticism of college entrance exams.
His company, Ivy Insiders, based in Cambridge, Mass., is blanketing the Philadelphia area for the first time this summer....
"We show that the test is beatable," Green said. "It's not about being a genius, but about understanding the content and how it's being tested. That can be a very empowering thing for students wrapped up in the myth of the SAT."
The myth, he said, is the belief that college admission tests measure the knowledge students have crammed into their brains by the time they sit down with an answer sheet and a No. 2 pencil....
It's the approach that matters, and he describes his as game-oriented and irreverent.
The Ivy Insiders course concentrates on specific concepts to narrow the focus in subjects such as English and math. Students then learn the types of "predictable" questions that test those concepts, Green said. Repeated practice on actual exams rounds out the curriculum.
...
Last year, Green said, his company's 1,600 students averaged a 265-point gain. Fees range from $699 for class sessions (34 hours plus four practice tests) to $2,399 for 30 hours of individual tutoring. Discounts and financial aid are available.
Test coaching typically costs about $400 for online courses, $1,100 for in-person classroom workshops, and $100 to 200 per hour for in-person tutoring, the NACAC study said.


(underscores added by blogger)

Matt Miller's Grace and Grit

quotes below are from
"Grace and Grit, A Young Athlete’s Fight for Life"
Rebounding, to race again
By Michael Vitez, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
Last of three parts.
http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/
20090623_Rebounding__to_race_again.html
His longtime girlfriend from Radnor High, Emily Privette, said:
"He seems to single-mindedly pursue his goals with the belief that he is in control of his own destiny. And, to achieve them, all that is required is that he always give his best."
...
Matt told his story to 300 students from third to eighth grade at a private school in Virginia where his uncle is a teacher.
Matt spent hours thinking about what he wanted to say.
Before the accident, he told them, "I pretty much thought that I was invincible and unstoppable."
He urged the students to wear a helmet, which had saved his life, and to take care of their bodies. His conditioning had speeded his recovery.
He emphasized the strength he drew from those around him:
"Honesty, hard work, going out of your way for others, doing the right thing at the right time, these are what will build strong relationships with others. And these relationships will not only bring you happiness every single day, but they will help save your life when you need them the most. It is not possible to exaggerate the importance of family and friends."
He encouraged the students to create a vision for their lives and work tirelessly toward it.
"We cannot decide what happens to us, but we can decide what happens in us," he said. "How we take the raw stuff of life and make it a thing of beauty. That is the test of living."

Friday, June 26, 2009

Gratitude

"Gratitude is the best healer."

~ Lois L.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Making Opportunities

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

~ Francis Bacon

Monday, June 22, 2009

5 Quotes to Open Your Heart

"Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries."
— Theodore Roethke

"Every beginning, after all, is nothing but a sequel, and the book of events is always open in the middle."
— Wislawa Szymborska

"Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
— Rumi

"Behind all this, some great happiness is hiding."
— Yehuda Amichai

"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You are not a painter,' then by all means paint…and that voice will be silenced."
— Vincent Van Gogh

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/spirit/inspiration/
slideshow1_ss_omag_200505_5quotes/1

Maranatha

Gk Marana tha, meaning "Our Lord, come!"
These Aramaic words can also be read Maran atha, meaning "Our Lord has come"

BibleWorks 8, 1 Cor. 16:22 NRSV

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

In scripture as well as in the Didache, the only form it is found is in the Greek μαραναθά; the Aramaic form is believed to either be maran atha 'Our Lord has come' or marana 'tha 'O our Lord, come thou'.

So while I'm no expert in Aramaic, it would seem from what I read in the OED that assuming the form you suggested maran would translate as 'Our Lord' and atha would translate the English Perfect 'has come'.

http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/
index.php?topic=13854.0

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

"Maranatha" is the prayer word recommended by the World Community for Christian Meditation, the community of followers of the teaching of John Main OSB's teachings on the practice of Christian meditation. The prayer is one where one places everything aside: instead of talking to God, one is just being with God, allowing God’s presence to fill one's heart, thus transforming one's inner being. [1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maranatha

[1] "Heavenly Father, open our hearts to the silent presence of the spirit of your Son. Lead us into that mysterious silence where your love is revealed to all who call, 'Maranantha…Come, Lord Jesus'."

In 1976, shortly after he had begun his public teaching on meditation, John Main composed this prayer for his first set of tapes. Later it was published in his first book “Word into Silence”. In few words it expresses both the essence of the Christian understanding of prayer and the sense that we do not pray in isolation but also as members of the community of the Body of Christ.

Having at first been introduced to meditation through its universal tradition in the East many years before he had become a monk, he was experientially prepared to recognize the essential Christian expression of the teaching when he encountered it in the Conferences of John Cassian and the Christian medieval tradition in the late sixties. It was not, however until a few years later that he realized how deeply enriching and universal this approach to contemplation could be in the church at large.

At first he had seen it as a way of monastic renewal. But through his experience of teaching lay people of all ages and walks of life at his monastery in London he understood that here was a simple yet transforming practice of the prayer of the heart that could be followed as a gentle and daily discipline by all disciples of Jesus.

John Main’s theology of meditation is both Christocentric and profoundly Trinitarian as this prayer shows. He has been well called a ‘Trinitarian mystic’. Many individual meditators and meditation groups around the world today begin their silent meditation that takes them beyond all words with this short prayer which comprehends the mystery of silence in the experience of the God who is communion in love.

The mantra ‘maranatha’ that was John Main’s preferred recommendation to people beginning meditation is the oldest Christian prayer (it means ‘come, Lord’), in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, used by St Paul at the end of the First Letter to the Corinthians (16:22) and found in the earliest Christian liturgies.

http://www.wccm.org/item.asp?recordid=
openingprayer&pagestyle=default

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

"maranatha" (a word from the ancient Aramaic language meaning "Lord of the heart"

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/
emotionalhealth/spirit_meditation_mantra_b1

Sunday, June 21, 2009

UCC Covenants

The Broadway UCC Covenant
"A covenant is a promise. For us, that means a promise made to God, to a local church, and to one’s self or it can be a summary of how we agree to live. While our UCC Statement of Faith is a good summary of what we believe, our church covenant is a summary of how we agree to live – more importantly, it is a summary of how God would have us live. It does not include every explicit command regarding obedience, but it does give a general summary of what it means to be a member of the United Church of Christ."

"The covenant that our congregation has made to each other is :
The Broadway UCC Covenant
In response to God's love made known to us in Jesus Christ, we covenant with God and with one another to be God's Church in this time and place as the Holy Spirit may direct.
http://www.broadwayucc.org/bucc_covenant.php

Pastor Sandy Johnson on United Church of Christ Covenants:

"The various parts of the church are connected to one another by covenant, rather than by hierarchical authority. Individuals covenant together (as we do) to form congregations; congregations covenant together to form Conferences (and Associations); Conferences are in covenant with the bodies at the national setting of the church. Our whole church is held together by these covenants: mutual agreements to work together in various ways to worship God, nurture faith, care for each other, and work for justice in the world." ...

"People who come to our Inquirers’ Groups have often had difficult experiences in other faith communities. They are glad to learn that we are not a creedal church – that is, that they do not have to attest to particular articles of faith in order to become members. They are, I think, often relieved to hear that what holds us together as a congregation is not a set of doctrines, but rather the commitment to be companions to one another on our spiritual journeys. Think about the verbs in our congregational covenant: covenant, trusting, seeking, exploring, and witnessing. Our lives are woven together by what we do together."

http://firstucc.org/weblog/post/624/

Abington Presbyterian Church Covenant

Founded in 1714, sixty-two years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Abington Presbyterian Church is the third oldest Presbyterian church in Montgomery County. Benjamin Franklin was still a child and George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had not yet been born when seventy hearty pioneers banded together in a primitive settlement to unite in the worship of God.

For their leader and pastor they selected one of their number, Rev. Malachi Jones, then 63 years of age. It was in his home on the east side of York Road that 70 people adopted and signed these words of Covenant
"In the Township of Abington, year 1714, we whose names are underwritten have engaged ourselves to be Ye Lord's, and do hereby engage ourselves to Ye Lord and to one another to unite in a Church-State according to rule God gave in His word to direct His church in all the duty required toward God, ourselves and toward all men. The Lord please to aid and direct us."

Scripture on their hearts

An Hassidic story tells of a rabbi who always told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts.

One of them asked, “Why ON our hearts, and not IN them?”

The rabbi answered, “Only God can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put it on your hearts, and then when your hearts break, the holy words will fall inside.”

[From Seasons of the Spirit, Lent-Easter 2009, p. 67]

Where is my Sunday paper?

This is dedicated to all of us who are seniors, to all of you who know seniors, and to all of you who will become seniors. It pays to be able to laugh about it when you are!

"WHERE is my SUNDAY paper?!" The irate customer calling the newspaper office loudly demanded to know where her Sunday edition was.

"Madam", said the newspaper employee, "today is Saturday.. The Sunday paper is not delivered until tomorrow, on SUNDAY".

There was quite a long pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a ray of recognition as she was heard to mutter, "Oh, … so that's why no one was at church today."

~ from the Internet

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE ...................

NICKNAMES
a. If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
b. If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.

EATING OUT
a. When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
b. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
a. A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
b. A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
a. A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel .
b. The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
a. A woman has the last word in any argument.
b. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
a. A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
b. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

SUCCESS
a. A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
b. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

MARRIAGE
a. A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
b. A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
a. A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
b. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

NATURAL
a. Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
b. Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
a. Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
b. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

SO, send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it ... and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

~ from the Internet

Our Greatest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light , not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of god. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make and manifest the glory of god that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Author Marianne Williamson from her book A Return to Love

Friday, June 19, 2009

Strong at the Broken Places

"The world breaks all of us,
then some become strong at the broken places."

~ Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms

Thursday, June 18, 2009

"I have outgrown my critics."

"I have outgrown my critics."

Truthful Grace

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Six Steps of Forgiveness

  1. Admit our sin, own our actions
  2. Confess, "first reconcile to your brother before making your offering", (see Psalm 51)
  3. Repent, promise never to do it again
  4. Receive the great gift of forgiveness
  5. Be forgiving, "forgive us as we forgive others", hit the delete button and don't keep old records
  6. Receive the Holy Spirit, a new heart and a new spirit

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

your highest, most beautiful self

"in the eyes of swan, you will always be seen as your highest, most beautiful self."

http://www.prweb.com/releases/Cherokee/Wisdom/prweb2427794.htm

More oriented toward their promise than their past

Emergent churches are, in the words of Andy Crouch, "improvisational in their approach to everything from worship to leadership to preaching to prayer … [They are] oriented toward their promise rather than their past."

Recall Notice

RECALL NOTICE:

The Maker of all human beings (GOD) is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect has been technically termed "Sub-sequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.

Some of the symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this defect.

The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R Once connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any time by 'Knee mail'.

Senior Wedding Planner

Jacob, age 92, and Rebecca, age 89, living in Florida, are all excited about their decision to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding, and on the way they pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in.
Jacob addresses the man behind the counter: "Are you the owner?"
The pharmacist replies "Yes."
Jacob: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"
Pharmacist: "Of course we do."
Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"
Pharmacist: "All kinds "
Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism?"
Pharmacist: "Definitely."
Jacob: "How about suppositories?"
Pharmacist: "You bet!"
Jacob: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, and Alzheimer's?"
Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."
Jacob: "What about vitamins, sleeping pills, Geritol, antidotes for Parkinson's disease?"
Pharmacist: "Absolutely."
Jacob: "Everything for heartburn and indigestion?"
Pharmacist: "We sure do."
Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers and canes?"
Pharmacist: "All speeds and sizes."
Jacob: "Adult diapers?"
Pharmacist: "Sure."
Jacob: "We'd like to use this store as our Bridal Registry."