It only works if you are moving

From the book Impermanence – Embracing Change
by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Hodge
(Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, NY 2008)

“Almost everything in life is a little bit like skiing. It doesn’t really work if you are standing still. It only works if you are moving. One of the things about moving and skiing is that you are never really in control. I’m never in control. You have to be okay with being a little bit out of control and find a balance that you can keep up as long as you can and still be out of control enough so you keep going down the hill. Being aware that change is going to happen whether I like it or not, I can choose to go with it or I can try to not go with it, but it’s going to take me anyway.”

Questions

"There are some questions that can't be answered by Google."

~ church sign

Non-violence attracts violence

Non-violence attracts violence.
Suffering violence erodes the attacker's moral authority.
Unearned suffering is redemptive.

~ author unknown

Our Choices

"It is not our abilities that show us who we are. It is our choices."
Dumbledore, to Harry Potter

Thine enemies will give feigned obedience to Thee

Psalm 66 ^NASB
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
² Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious.
³ Say to God, "How awesome are Thy works! Because of the greatness of Thy power Thine enemies will give feigned obedience to Thee.
⁴ "All the earth will worship Thee, And will sing praises to Thee; They will sing praises to Thy name."
⁵ Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.

Embodying Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is not so much a word spoken, an action performed, or a feeling felt as it is an embodied way of life in an ever-deepening friendship with the triune God and with others. As such, a Christian account of forgiveness ought not to simply or even primarily be focused on an absolution of guilt; rather, it ought to be focused on the reconciliation of brokenness, the restoration of communion—with God, with one another, and with the whole Creation. Indeed, because of the pervasiveness of sin and evil, Christian forgiveness must be at once an expression of commitment to a way of life, the cruciform life of holiness in which we seek to "unlearn" sin and learn the ways of God, and a means of seeking reconciliation in the midst of particular sins, specific instances of brokenness."

~ Gregory Jones, former dean of Duke Divinity School, Embodying Forgiveness

Listening

"The first service one owes to others in community involves listening to them. Just as our love for God begins with listening to God's Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them …. Christians who can no longer listen to one another will soon no longer be listening to God either; they will always be talking even in the presence of God. The death of the spiritual life starts here, and in the end there is nothing left but empty spiritual chatter and clerical condescension which chokes on pious words."

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Forgiving Love

"Forgiving love is a possibility only for those who know that they are not good, who feel themselves in need of divine mercy, who live in a dimension deeper and higher than that of moral idealism, feel themselves as well as their fellow men convicted of sin by a holy God and know that the differences between the good man and the bad man are insignificant in his sight."

~ Reinhold Niebuhr, An Interpretation of Christian Ethics

Peace

"Peace is both the absence of war and the creation of positive social conditions which minimize destructive conflicts and promote human well-being."

~ author unknown

Dostoyevsky Quotes

Dostoyevsky Quotes:

“Love a man, even in his sin, for that love is a likeness of the divine love, and is the summit of love on earth”

“If God does not exist, then everything is permitted”

“What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love”

“The soul is healed by being with children”

Joy and Hope

http://www.ptsem.edu/PUBLICATIONS/inspire/12.2/interactive3.php

Following is my experience seeing God’s presence in worship bringing joy in another culture—that of Alzheimer’s patients. Residents with Alzheimer’s can take great joy in singing their old favorite hymns and saying the 23rd Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer. These beloved words bring reassurance, comfort, and hope. As chaplain at Spring Mill Presbyterian Village, I’ve learned that the earliest memories are among the last to be forgotten at the end of life. It is very important to teach children the Word of God that can sustain them during challenging times in their future.

Also, God’s presence in worship brings joy and hope to us. Although we come from diverse backgrounds, cities, and denominations, we are accepted and united by the one God who creates, redeems, and sustains us. Jesus invites all of us to the Lord’s Supper together.

B. Gail Simons (M.Div., 2005)
Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania

Vows and Convictions

George W. Bush, Decision Points, 2010
conclusion:

“Decades from now, I hope people will view me as a president who recognized the central challenge of our time and kept my vow to keep the country safe; who pursued my convictions without wavering but changed course when necessary; who trusted individuals to make choices in their lives; and who used America’s influence to advance freedom.”