Monday, December 15, 2003
This Isn't Helping Either
'White Trash' Remark Decried by Group's Leader
By Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 14, 2003; Page C01
In a meeting that erupted into a shouting match, members of the Ward 8 Democrats voted yesterday to table a motion to remove the group's first vice president from office for calling a new member "poor white trash."
Eugene Dewitt Kinlow, president of the political organization, read aloud a statement disassociating the group from the slur used by Mary Cuthbert at a meeting last month.
"These comments are embarrassing," Kinlow said. "Our party welcomes everyone. We are aware there are increasing tensions between newcomers . . . and blacks and whites in our ward, as in other wards across the city."
But instead of defusing the controversy over Cuthbert's comments, yesterday's meeting produced more tension.
As Kinlow read his statement, several in the crowd of about 80 people yelled that he was out of order. Cuthbert and Sandra Seegars, the group's second vice president, said Kinlow was wrong because the executive committee had directed him to make the statement at its next general meeting, on Friday. Yesterday's gathering was not a general meeting, but a special session to take a straw poll on the candidates running in the District's Jan. 13 nonbinding Democratic presidential primary.
As soon as Kinlow finished, the group's recording secretary, Cynthia Kain, made a motion to start the process of removing Cuthbert. The group's bylaws call for officers to be notified by certified mail two weeks before they are to be removed for cause.
But opponents of the motion said no action should be taken until Friday's meeting, and the measure was tabled.
"I move that Kinlow be recalled," Seegars then shouted. "I'm getting out of here. This is a joke."
Others said that all the organization's officers were at fault for not condemning Cuthbert's comments sooner and for letting the controversy fester.
"How about all of you be recalled?" Rahim Jenkins asked.
"All y'all need to get to stepping," Joyce Scott chimed in. "Anyone who supports that kind of hatred needs to go."
Cuthbert made her comments during a Nov. 22 meeting at which Kinlow nominated Kirsten Burgard, who is white, to the group's legislative and issues committee and she was elected to head the panel.
Cuthbert called Burgard "poor white trash" and "poor white trailer trash."
In an interview after yesterday's meeting, Cuthbert said she regrets her statements and has decided to apologize to Burgard, who is the first white person to serve on the group's executive committee.
"It's wrong," Cuthbert said outside the meeting at the Washington Highlands Branch Library in Southwest Washington. "I know it's wrong. When the time comes, I will do my apology."
She reiterated to other members, however, that she will not resign over the incident.
Just feet away from Cuthbert, Burgard handed out Howard Dean presidential campaign stickers. Cuthbert did not address Burgard, who was not at the meeting during the contentious debate.
Kinlow last week called on Cuthbert to step down and said he feared that the episode would cause members to stop being as active in the group.
But Calvin Lockridge, a founder of the group, said after yesterday's meeting that although he was not pleased with Cuthbert's comments, he wanted to ensure that she be treated fairly.
"Do I get along with Mary Cuthbert?" Lockridge said. "No, I don't. But I'm not going to allow her to be railroaded by this organization."
Lockridge said that he understood Cuthbert's frustration about Burgard's nomination and that the group should empower black people economically and politically.
"Why would you appoint a white person to be head of your legislative and issues committee?" Lockridge said. "White people don't understand our issues."
Lafayette Barnes, who ran against Kinlow's Unity Slate in the group's September election, said anyone who supports bigotry does not represent the Democratic Party.
"This is not a personal attack," he said. "This is about principle. The Democratic Party has always been about civil rights and human rights."
After the meeting, Barnes told Cuthbert that he loved her but that she must step down.
"I don't have to step down," Cuthbert answered.
By Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 14, 2003; Page C01
In a meeting that erupted into a shouting match, members of the Ward 8 Democrats voted yesterday to table a motion to remove the group's first vice president from office for calling a new member "poor white trash."
Eugene Dewitt Kinlow, president of the political organization, read aloud a statement disassociating the group from the slur used by Mary Cuthbert at a meeting last month.
"These comments are embarrassing," Kinlow said. "Our party welcomes everyone. We are aware there are increasing tensions between newcomers . . . and blacks and whites in our ward, as in other wards across the city."
But instead of defusing the controversy over Cuthbert's comments, yesterday's meeting produced more tension.
As Kinlow read his statement, several in the crowd of about 80 people yelled that he was out of order. Cuthbert and Sandra Seegars, the group's second vice president, said Kinlow was wrong because the executive committee had directed him to make the statement at its next general meeting, on Friday. Yesterday's gathering was not a general meeting, but a special session to take a straw poll on the candidates running in the District's Jan. 13 nonbinding Democratic presidential primary.
As soon as Kinlow finished, the group's recording secretary, Cynthia Kain, made a motion to start the process of removing Cuthbert. The group's bylaws call for officers to be notified by certified mail two weeks before they are to be removed for cause.
But opponents of the motion said no action should be taken until Friday's meeting, and the measure was tabled.
"I move that Kinlow be recalled," Seegars then shouted. "I'm getting out of here. This is a joke."
Others said that all the organization's officers were at fault for not condemning Cuthbert's comments sooner and for letting the controversy fester.
"How about all of you be recalled?" Rahim Jenkins asked.
"All y'all need to get to stepping," Joyce Scott chimed in. "Anyone who supports that kind of hatred needs to go."
Cuthbert made her comments during a Nov. 22 meeting at which Kinlow nominated Kirsten Burgard, who is white, to the group's legislative and issues committee and she was elected to head the panel.
Cuthbert called Burgard "poor white trash" and "poor white trailer trash."
In an interview after yesterday's meeting, Cuthbert said she regrets her statements and has decided to apologize to Burgard, who is the first white person to serve on the group's executive committee.
"It's wrong," Cuthbert said outside the meeting at the Washington Highlands Branch Library in Southwest Washington. "I know it's wrong. When the time comes, I will do my apology."
She reiterated to other members, however, that she will not resign over the incident.
Just feet away from Cuthbert, Burgard handed out Howard Dean presidential campaign stickers. Cuthbert did not address Burgard, who was not at the meeting during the contentious debate.
Kinlow last week called on Cuthbert to step down and said he feared that the episode would cause members to stop being as active in the group.
But Calvin Lockridge, a founder of the group, said after yesterday's meeting that although he was not pleased with Cuthbert's comments, he wanted to ensure that she be treated fairly.
"Do I get along with Mary Cuthbert?" Lockridge said. "No, I don't. But I'm not going to allow her to be railroaded by this organization."
Lockridge said that he understood Cuthbert's frustration about Burgard's nomination and that the group should empower black people economically and politically.
"Why would you appoint a white person to be head of your legislative and issues committee?" Lockridge said. "White people don't understand our issues."
Lafayette Barnes, who ran against Kinlow's Unity Slate in the group's September election, said anyone who supports bigotry does not represent the Democratic Party.
"This is not a personal attack," he said. "This is about principle. The Democratic Party has always been about civil rights and human rights."
After the meeting, Barnes told Cuthbert that he loved her but that she must step down.
"I don't have to step down," Cuthbert answered.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
How is this helping anything or anyone?
In 1854, H. Lehman & Brother, a Montgomery, Alabama-based company bought a slave. It is unknown whether the slave worked for the company or not.
One-hundred and forty-nine years later (that’s seven score and nine years), Lehman Brothers announced this fact (because it was supposed to under a Chicago city ordinance).
Then there’s an alderman in Chicago named Dorothy Tillman who attacked Carole Brown, an African-American senior vice president at Lehman, for saying that ''the Lehman Brothers in the 1850s is not the company that it is today.'' By saying, ''She should have kept her mouth shut and said, ' I'm not going to speak against my people,' "
''Who is she to say that things have changed?'' Tillman ranted. ''Things have not changed. The economy for blacks in this country is just as bad as it was under Jim Crow.''
Tillman is demanding that Brown either apologize to the black community for her grave insult or resign from her position as chairwoman of the CTA board. ''If she's that insensitive as an African-American woman not to understand the effects and residues of slavery, she certainly can't represent us on the CTA board.'' In other words, Brown is a lackey for whitey. Brown has wisely stayed mum. The Harvard-educated executive is by all accounts a sharp and savvy professional.
So, a company that follows the rules and reaches back a century-and-a-half in its historical archives to find the tiniest speck of dust in its closet and has the 21st century savvy to have an African-American Senior Vice President is going to get held up by “the reparations movement.”
Tillman is not alone. During the debate over the reparations law, 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin voiced her support by declaring, ''I want 40 acres and a Lexus. You can keep the mule.''
One-hundred and forty-nine years later (that’s seven score and nine years), Lehman Brothers announced this fact (because it was supposed to under a Chicago city ordinance).
Then there’s an alderman in Chicago named Dorothy Tillman who attacked Carole Brown, an African-American senior vice president at Lehman, for saying that ''the Lehman Brothers in the 1850s is not the company that it is today.'' By saying, ''She should have kept her mouth shut and said, ' I'm not going to speak against my people,' "
''Who is she to say that things have changed?'' Tillman ranted. ''Things have not changed. The economy for blacks in this country is just as bad as it was under Jim Crow.''
Tillman is demanding that Brown either apologize to the black community for her grave insult or resign from her position as chairwoman of the CTA board. ''If she's that insensitive as an African-American woman not to understand the effects and residues of slavery, she certainly can't represent us on the CTA board.'' In other words, Brown is a lackey for whitey. Brown has wisely stayed mum. The Harvard-educated executive is by all accounts a sharp and savvy professional.
So, a company that follows the rules and reaches back a century-and-a-half in its historical archives to find the tiniest speck of dust in its closet and has the 21st century savvy to have an African-American Senior Vice President is going to get held up by “the reparations movement.”
Tillman is not alone. During the debate over the reparations law, 34th Ward Ald. Carrie Austin voiced her support by declaring, ''I want 40 acres and a Lexus. You can keep the mule.''
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
Be our glory, let us be loved for your sake
The only Son of God was to come to earth, to become a man, and in this nature to be born as man. He was to die, to rise again, to ascend to heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, and to fulfill his promises among the nations.
After that he was to come again to execute his threats against the wicked and to reward the just as he had promised.
-- St. Augustine's Commentary on Psalm 110, 3
Prayer: Lord, we are your little flock; we belong to you. Spread your wings that we may take refuge under them. Be our glory, let us be loved for your sake, and let your word be feared in our midst.
-- Confessions 10, 36
After that he was to come again to execute his threats against the wicked and to reward the just as he had promised.
-- St. Augustine's Commentary on Psalm 110, 3
Prayer: Lord, we are your little flock; we belong to you. Spread your wings that we may take refuge under them. Be our glory, let us be loved for your sake, and let your word be feared in our midst.
-- Confessions 10, 36
Saturday, December 06, 2003
We shall soon be having Christmas at our throats
ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A mob of shoppers rushing for a sale on DVD players trampled the first woman in line and knocked her unconscious as they scrambled for the shelves at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
-- Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- In sorting out the sociological significance of the fact that rival shoppers, according to the trampled woman's sister, "walked over her like a herd of elephants," note that elephants do not behave that way to others of their species, even when they are stampeded by a 6 a.m. siren announcing, on the famously anarchic day after Thanksgiving, open season on a finite supply of $29 DVD players. But, then, elephants do not have Christmas celebrations.
Conservatives, in their simplistic way, will blame the Florida trampling on facets of human nature to which the Christmas story pertains -- mankind's fallen condition, meaning original sin. Liberals, being less judgmental and more alert to the social causes of things, will blame Wal-Mart. They already blame it for many flaws in creation, from low wages in Asia to America's "loss of community," by which liberals mean the migration of shoppers from large-hearted Main Street merchants to the superior variety and lower prices at the Wal-Mart on the edge of town.
But at the risk of sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge, who was not the character in English literature who said, "We shall soon be having Christmas at our throats," consider a possibility. Perhaps, as liberals like to say, the "root cause" of modern Christmas discontents is the ruinous success of Puritanism -- ruinous, that is, to Puritanism.
That Christmas-at-our-throats fellow is a character in a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, who was as sweet-tempered as Scrooge was not. If the Christmas season, as it has become, could cause the preternaturally amiable Wodehouse to pen such a dark thought, how did it come to this?
That God works in mysterious ways is not news, but it is particularly puzzling that the birth of Jesus occurred when Romans, who then set the tone of the times, were celebrating Saturnalia -- think of a Wal-Mart at 6 a.m., plus wine, women wearing less than those little Wal-Mart vests and songs that are not carols. Songs that would not have been amusing to Oliver Cromwell, whose piety caused him to ban the celebration of Christmas.
He did the right thing for the wrong reason. A Puritan scold and a killjoy, he thought Christmas had become too much fun, which is not our problem today, unless getting trampled at a mall is your idea of merriment.
Today's problem, in addition to the toll taken on the body by seasonal wassailing and gorging, is shopping that includes stocking up on "retaliation presents." They are used to counter unexpected gift-giving by persons not on your list, which by now includes family, friends, the stockbroker who got you out of Enron in time and the person who cleans your gutters.
The first Americans included a number of Cromwell's fellow travelers, who, like him, saw the long arm of the papacy behind Christmas festiveness. It was, they thought, a short slide down a slippery slope from liturgical "smells and bells" to jingle bells and mulled cider. But in a delicious dialectic, the modern hedonistic Christmas emerged from the cultural contradictions of Puritanism.
Puritanism inculcated Scrooge-like asceticism, deferral of gratification, green-eyeshade parsimony and nose-to-the-grindstone industriousness. But those led to accumulation, investment of surplus capital and, in time, prodigies of production and a subversive -- to Puritanism -- cornucopia of material delights.
Soon there were department stores, those cathedrals of consumption. Against their plate glass windows -- prerequisites of "window shopping"; precursors of the holiday shopping catalog -- were pressed the noses of the Puritans' descendants.
Those noses no longer detected a sulfurous stench of damnation wafting from the stores' perfume counters. Those counters, you may have noticed, are strategically placed on the stores' first floors, to start the shoppers' pleasure synapses firing.
The Wal-Mart stampede style of Christmas was a long time coming. It was, for example, not until 1885 that federal workers were even given Christmas Day off. Which, come to think about it, is odd. Here in modern Washington, Christmas Day is one of the minority of days that are not like Christmas elsewhere -- not devoted to the lavish disbursal of gifts.
At least a portion of the government's largess can be considered a gift because part of the cost is debt that will be paid by others. By future generations. They are not consulted, but surely they will pay cheerfully, in the Christmas spirit.
-- George F. Will
-- Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- In sorting out the sociological significance of the fact that rival shoppers, according to the trampled woman's sister, "walked over her like a herd of elephants," note that elephants do not behave that way to others of their species, even when they are stampeded by a 6 a.m. siren announcing, on the famously anarchic day after Thanksgiving, open season on a finite supply of $29 DVD players. But, then, elephants do not have Christmas celebrations.
Conservatives, in their simplistic way, will blame the Florida trampling on facets of human nature to which the Christmas story pertains -- mankind's fallen condition, meaning original sin. Liberals, being less judgmental and more alert to the social causes of things, will blame Wal-Mart. They already blame it for many flaws in creation, from low wages in Asia to America's "loss of community," by which liberals mean the migration of shoppers from large-hearted Main Street merchants to the superior variety and lower prices at the Wal-Mart on the edge of town.
But at the risk of sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge, who was not the character in English literature who said, "We shall soon be having Christmas at our throats," consider a possibility. Perhaps, as liberals like to say, the "root cause" of modern Christmas discontents is the ruinous success of Puritanism -- ruinous, that is, to Puritanism.
That Christmas-at-our-throats fellow is a character in a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, who was as sweet-tempered as Scrooge was not. If the Christmas season, as it has become, could cause the preternaturally amiable Wodehouse to pen such a dark thought, how did it come to this?
That God works in mysterious ways is not news, but it is particularly puzzling that the birth of Jesus occurred when Romans, who then set the tone of the times, were celebrating Saturnalia -- think of a Wal-Mart at 6 a.m., plus wine, women wearing less than those little Wal-Mart vests and songs that are not carols. Songs that would not have been amusing to Oliver Cromwell, whose piety caused him to ban the celebration of Christmas.
He did the right thing for the wrong reason. A Puritan scold and a killjoy, he thought Christmas had become too much fun, which is not our problem today, unless getting trampled at a mall is your idea of merriment.
Today's problem, in addition to the toll taken on the body by seasonal wassailing and gorging, is shopping that includes stocking up on "retaliation presents." They are used to counter unexpected gift-giving by persons not on your list, which by now includes family, friends, the stockbroker who got you out of Enron in time and the person who cleans your gutters.
The first Americans included a number of Cromwell's fellow travelers, who, like him, saw the long arm of the papacy behind Christmas festiveness. It was, they thought, a short slide down a slippery slope from liturgical "smells and bells" to jingle bells and mulled cider. But in a delicious dialectic, the modern hedonistic Christmas emerged from the cultural contradictions of Puritanism.
Puritanism inculcated Scrooge-like asceticism, deferral of gratification, green-eyeshade parsimony and nose-to-the-grindstone industriousness. But those led to accumulation, investment of surplus capital and, in time, prodigies of production and a subversive -- to Puritanism -- cornucopia of material delights.
Soon there were department stores, those cathedrals of consumption. Against their plate glass windows -- prerequisites of "window shopping"; precursors of the holiday shopping catalog -- were pressed the noses of the Puritans' descendants.
Those noses no longer detected a sulfurous stench of damnation wafting from the stores' perfume counters. Those counters, you may have noticed, are strategically placed on the stores' first floors, to start the shoppers' pleasure synapses firing.
The Wal-Mart stampede style of Christmas was a long time coming. It was, for example, not until 1885 that federal workers were even given Christmas Day off. Which, come to think about it, is odd. Here in modern Washington, Christmas Day is one of the minority of days that are not like Christmas elsewhere -- not devoted to the lavish disbursal of gifts.
At least a portion of the government's largess can be considered a gift because part of the cost is debt that will be paid by others. By future generations. They are not consulted, but surely they will pay cheerfully, in the Christmas spirit.
-- George F. Will
Friday, December 05, 2003
good both going and coming back
...So was I once myself a swinger of birches;
And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
-- Robert Frost
And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
-- Robert Frost
more gratitude
1. snow - while it's falling
2. Luther Vandross' God-given voice
3. how long fresh cut flowers can last
4. elevators
5. Bill W. and Dr. Bob
6. All Kinds Of Time - fountains of wayne
7. how, the more we learn, the universe seems less like a divine mechanism and more like a divine thought
8. the (almost) universal availability of the Gospel
9. reminders from the Holy Spirit not to give up
10. 5 senses -- failing, faltering, unpredictable, unreliable, imperfect senses
2. Luther Vandross' God-given voice
3. how long fresh cut flowers can last
4. elevators
5. Bill W. and Dr. Bob
6. All Kinds Of Time - fountains of wayne
7. how, the more we learn, the universe seems less like a divine mechanism and more like a divine thought
8. the (almost) universal availability of the Gospel
9. reminders from the Holy Spirit not to give up
10. 5 senses -- failing, faltering, unpredictable, unreliable, imperfect senses
Thursday, December 04, 2003
page 417 (formerly page 449)
When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away. From that moment on, I have not had a single compulsion to drink.
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake... unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
-- "The Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous
The whole thing can be found here.
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God's world by mistake... unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
-- "The Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous
The whole thing can be found here.
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
Whoever comes to me becomes humble
I came in humility, I came to teach humility, I came as a model of humility. Whoever comes to me is incorporated in me. Whoever comes to me becomes humble; whoever adheres to my will will be humble, for such a person does not perform his or her own will, but the will of God. And therefore he or she will not be cast out.
-- John 25: 16
Prayer. Lord, you exist without care for your own security, but are full of concern for us.
-- Augustine Confessions 9, 3
-- John 25: 16
Prayer. Lord, you exist without care for your own security, but are full of concern for us.
-- Augustine Confessions 9, 3
Do people talk against you?
People who change their way of life and begin to think about making spiritual progress also begin to suffer from the tongues of detractors.
Whoever has not yet suffered this trial has not yet made progress, and whoever is not ready to suffer it does not even endeavor to progress.
-- St. Thomas of Villanova Province, Commentary on Psalm 119
Whoever has not yet suffered this trial has not yet made progress, and whoever is not ready to suffer it does not even endeavor to progress.
-- St. Thomas of Villanova Province, Commentary on Psalm 119
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
It's not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It's far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point--ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. The Bible says, "It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power." -- Rick Warren
The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point--ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. The Bible says, "It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power." -- Rick Warren
Monday, December 01, 2003
Paul's advice to the Galatians: concern yourself with what matters
As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died long ago, and the world's interest in me is also long dead... What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. May God's mercy and peace be upon all those who live by this principle. They are the new people of God. From now on, don't let anyone trouble me with these things (that don't matter).
Gratitude List
No particular order
1. Eric Clapton's live recording of Robert Johnson's Walkin' Blues on Unplugged.
2. Johnny Mercer wrote Baby It's Cold Outside - a sweet, sexy holiday classic.
3. American Dreams
4. I have five senses, but the one I have most in mind is hearing for all the wonderful music in the world
5. I have a job that pays me well.
6. My children are healthy, reasonably happy and doing well in school.
7. I have a wonderful wife who is also reasonably happy.
8. I have a borrowed electric bass I get to play whenever I want.
9. I get to go back to Dallas this Christmas.
10. God looks out for me, even when I'm getting in my own way.
1. Eric Clapton's live recording of Robert Johnson's Walkin' Blues on Unplugged.
2. Johnny Mercer wrote Baby It's Cold Outside - a sweet, sexy holiday classic.
3. American Dreams
4. I have five senses, but the one I have most in mind is hearing for all the wonderful music in the world
5. I have a job that pays me well.
6. My children are healthy, reasonably happy and doing well in school.
7. I have a wonderful wife who is also reasonably happy.
8. I have a borrowed electric bass I get to play whenever I want.
9. I get to go back to Dallas this Christmas.
10. God looks out for me, even when I'm getting in my own way.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Staying Connected
We Christians can easily become isolated from our unchurched friends. What is your capacity and sensitivity to connecting with people outside the walls of your church? Here are my top three suggestions to improve your “Connection Capacity.”
Available
Have you made yourself available to God? God is more interested in your availability than your ability. Could God be prompting you to make a decision that could strategically place you exactly where He wants you? Have you yielded to these invitations?
Be sensitive to what God might have in mind for you and pray something like this: “God, what would you have me do so you can accomplish your will in my life?” Be available.
Aware
Are you aware of the opportunities around you? Are you sensitive to where God is leading you? If you want to really turn up the spiritual temperature in your life, start thinking in terms of partnering with God on a secret spiritual mission. Daily, ask God what he has in store for you. Who does he want you to engage with? Where are the spiritual opportunities? How can you work with him to change lives?
Think of every phone call, every new acquaintance, each business meeting, the person serving you at Starbucks, the person next to you on the plane, every knock on your door as a situation God has orchestrated—full of spiritual potential. Regardless of how seemingly insignificant the event, be aware God can use you. And be ready to take action.
Act
Even in casual conversations, I find myself asking God, “Does this person have a church? Where is he spiritually? God, where do you want me to go with this?” If you sense a leading to ask a spiritual question or drop a risky word into a conversation, go for it! More often than not you’ll find God has prepared the way. Even if you don’t see immediate results, know that God has used you. At a minimum, you may be the first link that leads that person to Jesus Christ. And that individual may feel safe to engage in a follow-up conversation with you in the future.
Finally, to expand your spiritual reach you need to maintain friendships outside of your church. Don’t exclude your unchurched friends from social and family events. Stay in touch with old friends and be sensitive to how God might want to use you.
Availability. Awareness. Action. Tune in to God. Be bold. There’s nothing like partnering with God and watching him accomplish his will through you!
Available
Have you made yourself available to God? God is more interested in your availability than your ability. Could God be prompting you to make a decision that could strategically place you exactly where He wants you? Have you yielded to these invitations?
Be sensitive to what God might have in mind for you and pray something like this: “God, what would you have me do so you can accomplish your will in my life?” Be available.
Aware
Are you aware of the opportunities around you? Are you sensitive to where God is leading you? If you want to really turn up the spiritual temperature in your life, start thinking in terms of partnering with God on a secret spiritual mission. Daily, ask God what he has in store for you. Who does he want you to engage with? Where are the spiritual opportunities? How can you work with him to change lives?
Think of every phone call, every new acquaintance, each business meeting, the person serving you at Starbucks, the person next to you on the plane, every knock on your door as a situation God has orchestrated—full of spiritual potential. Regardless of how seemingly insignificant the event, be aware God can use you. And be ready to take action.
Act
Even in casual conversations, I find myself asking God, “Does this person have a church? Where is he spiritually? God, where do you want me to go with this?” If you sense a leading to ask a spiritual question or drop a risky word into a conversation, go for it! More often than not you’ll find God has prepared the way. Even if you don’t see immediate results, know that God has used you. At a minimum, you may be the first link that leads that person to Jesus Christ. And that individual may feel safe to engage in a follow-up conversation with you in the future.
Finally, to expand your spiritual reach you need to maintain friendships outside of your church. Don’t exclude your unchurched friends from social and family events. Stay in touch with old friends and be sensitive to how God might want to use you.
Availability. Awareness. Action. Tune in to God. Be bold. There’s nothing like partnering with God and watching him accomplish his will through you!
God takes care of us
Even when we go in a direction we shouldn't be going. I was off on a tear in an ungodly was, full of resentment, and He sent me here.
Thanksgiving are due, indeed. He's an on-time God.
Thanksgiving are due, indeed. He's an on-time God.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
For earth, we give you thanks, O God. For work, we give you thanks. For blue heavens, we give you thanks. For meaning that is simple and sacred, for bonding of family and friendship and church, for the possibility to hope and live into the future, we give you thanks. For the light of day and the darkness gentle in the night, for the turning seasons of the year and the celebrations by which we mark our time, we give you thanks. For the gospel story, for the the salvation of souls, for the promise of eternal life, we give you thanks and praise, God of holiness and splendor, even as we gather together in the name of the One who makes all love incarnate, Christ Jesus. Amen.
For earth, we give you thanks, O God. For work, we give you thanks. For blue heavens, we give you thanks. For meaning that is simple and sacred, for bonding of family and friendship and church, for the possibility to hope and live into the future, we give you thanks. For the light of day and the darkness gentle in the night, for the turning seasons of the year and the celebrations by which we mark our time, we give you thanks. For the gospel story, for the the salvation of souls, for the promise of eternal life, we give you thanks and praise, God of holiness and splendor, even as we gather together in the name of the One who makes all love incarnate, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
We must always do our best to encourage others in their own paths to God
Even if that challenges what we practice and believe. Even if that seems counter to our own path. Even if the person reviles us and our beliefs. We must support the path they are on if they sincerely want to grow closer to God.
Even if that challenges what we practice and believe. Even if that seems counter to our own path. Even if the person reviles us and our beliefs. We must support the path they are on if they sincerely want to grow closer to God.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Everything That Rises Must Converge: More From Teilhard - Care of comparative-religion.com
According to Teilhard, there exists, beyond the laws of physics, another fundamental principle of organization of the universe, another dimension: the infinitely complex.
Starting from the simplest to the most complex, all matter can be put in allignement along an axis, from the most elementary particle to the most complex organism.
In this progression towards an ever increasing complexity, of which the human being is the highest grade, evolution is not linear but proceeds by a series of quantitative then qualitative leaps.
When a level of complexity reaches its point of maximum complexity, it jumps to a new different level and organization of its wholeness.
The more matter becomes complex, the more it approaches to awareness.
The propellent force of this evolution comes from the cosmic and all-encompassing physical-moral force of Love.
With the human being, Love begins to actualize in tangible form its potential.
Yet the human being is only one of the stages: the unification of humanity on a world scale coincides with the emergence of noosphere, the world of thought, the global consciousness.
This process is inevitable: should it not happen, humanity would dissolve.
There is no doubt though:
"Willingly or unwillingly, all our directions and needs converge to the same place".
We all converge to the final goal, everything is directed towards the Omega point, humanity's natural point of convergence, of access, through the second coming of Christ in glory, to the creative unification of the world in God.
According to Teilhard, there exists, beyond the laws of physics, another fundamental principle of organization of the universe, another dimension: the infinitely complex.
Starting from the simplest to the most complex, all matter can be put in allignement along an axis, from the most elementary particle to the most complex organism.
In this progression towards an ever increasing complexity, of which the human being is the highest grade, evolution is not linear but proceeds by a series of quantitative then qualitative leaps.
When a level of complexity reaches its point of maximum complexity, it jumps to a new different level and organization of its wholeness.
The more matter becomes complex, the more it approaches to awareness.
The propellent force of this evolution comes from the cosmic and all-encompassing physical-moral force of Love.
With the human being, Love begins to actualize in tangible form its potential.
Yet the human being is only one of the stages: the unification of humanity on a world scale coincides with the emergence of noosphere, the world of thought, the global consciousness.
This process is inevitable: should it not happen, humanity would dissolve.
There is no doubt though:
"Willingly or unwillingly, all our directions and needs converge to the same place".
We all converge to the final goal, everything is directed towards the Omega point, humanity's natural point of convergence, of access, through the second coming of Christ in glory, to the creative unification of the world in God.
Thursday, August 14, 2003
God is the friend of silence
The beginning of prayer is silence.
If we want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks. And to be able to see that silence, to be able to hear God we need a clean heart; for a clean heart can see God, can hear God, can listen to God; and then only from the fullness of our heart can we speak to God. But we cannot speak unless we have listened, unless we have made that connection with God in the silence of our heart.
Prayer is not meant to be torture, not meant to make us fell uneasy, is not meant to trouble us. It is something to look forward to, to talk to my Father, to talk to Jesus, the one to whom I belong; body, soul, mind, heart. Therefore we shall take as a special point silence of mind, eyes, and tongue.
First there is the silence of the mind and of the heart: our Lady "kept all these things in her heart." This silence brought her close to our Lord, so that she never had to regret anything. See what she did when St Joseph was troubled. One word from her would have cleared his mind; she did not say that word, and our Lord Himself worked the miracle to clear her name. Would that we could be so convinced of this necessity of silence! I think then the road to close union with God would become very clear.
Then we have the silence of the eyes which will always help us to see God. Our eyes are like two windows through which Christ or the world comes to our hearts. Often we need great courage to keep them closed. How often we say, "I wish I had not seen this thing," and yet we take so little trouble to overcome the desire to see everything.
Silence of the tongue will teach us so much: to speak to Christ, to be joyful when with others, and to have many things to say. Christ speaks to us through others and at meditation He speaks to us directly.
God is the friend of silence.
We need to find God and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, and the grass grow in perfect silence - see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.
Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us.
Jesus is always waiting for us in silence. In that silence He will listen to us, there He will speak to our soul, and there we will here His voice. In silence we will find new energy and true unity. The energy will be ours to do all things well. The unity of our thoughts with His thoughts, the unity of our prayers with His prayers, the unity of our actions with His actions, of our life with His life.
- Mother Teresa
The beginning of prayer is silence.
If we want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks. And to be able to see that silence, to be able to hear God we need a clean heart; for a clean heart can see God, can hear God, can listen to God; and then only from the fullness of our heart can we speak to God. But we cannot speak unless we have listened, unless we have made that connection with God in the silence of our heart.
Prayer is not meant to be torture, not meant to make us fell uneasy, is not meant to trouble us. It is something to look forward to, to talk to my Father, to talk to Jesus, the one to whom I belong; body, soul, mind, heart. Therefore we shall take as a special point silence of mind, eyes, and tongue.
First there is the silence of the mind and of the heart: our Lady "kept all these things in her heart." This silence brought her close to our Lord, so that she never had to regret anything. See what she did when St Joseph was troubled. One word from her would have cleared his mind; she did not say that word, and our Lord Himself worked the miracle to clear her name. Would that we could be so convinced of this necessity of silence! I think then the road to close union with God would become very clear.
Then we have the silence of the eyes which will always help us to see God. Our eyes are like two windows through which Christ or the world comes to our hearts. Often we need great courage to keep them closed. How often we say, "I wish I had not seen this thing," and yet we take so little trouble to overcome the desire to see everything.
Silence of the tongue will teach us so much: to speak to Christ, to be joyful when with others, and to have many things to say. Christ speaks to us through others and at meditation He speaks to us directly.
God is the friend of silence.
We need to find God and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, and the grass grow in perfect silence - see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.
Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us.
Jesus is always waiting for us in silence. In that silence He will listen to us, there He will speak to our soul, and there we will here His voice. In silence we will find new energy and true unity. The energy will be ours to do all things well. The unity of our thoughts with His thoughts, the unity of our prayers with His prayers, the unity of our actions with His actions, of our life with His life.
- Mother Teresa
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 4 Also Call Us To Imitate God
There must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness--righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Chapter 5 goes on to say:
Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.
There must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness--righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Chapter 5 goes on to say:
Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.
Monday, August 11, 2003
The Imitation of Christ We Are Called To Perform
We come to you, holy God, with our many needs. Some of us are people in authority with weighty decisions to make. Some of us are fighting battles we cannot win. Some have faced unexpected losses that tear at the very fabric of life. There are broken relationships among us, feelings we do not want to admit, realities we do not want to face. There are also joys we have not really celebrated, reasons to give thanks to which we have never given voice. We come, O God, to be lifted out of our ruts and routines, seeking instead to find fullness of life with you. Amen.
If God should mark iniquities, who could stand? If God counted our sins, how would we ever find forgiveness? Yet, the attitudes and actions that build barriers among us and shut God out of our thinking and decision-making can be overcome. God is ready to help us.
O Holy Spirit, how we have grieved you! How often our words have been bitter, filled with malice and anger. How easily have we uttered lies of pretension and self-protection. How readily we take for ourselves the rewards of another’s labor! Forgive all that is false and evil within us and among us. Free us from the self-justifying excuses that keep us from reaching out to one another. We want to believe, to trust, to live as imitators of Jesus Christ. Help us, gracious God. Amen.
We come to you, holy God, with our many needs. Some of us are people in authority with weighty decisions to make. Some of us are fighting battles we cannot win. Some have faced unexpected losses that tear at the very fabric of life. There are broken relationships among us, feelings we do not want to admit, realities we do not want to face. There are also joys we have not really celebrated, reasons to give thanks to which we have never given voice. We come, O God, to be lifted out of our ruts and routines, seeking instead to find fullness of life with you. Amen.
If God should mark iniquities, who could stand? If God counted our sins, how would we ever find forgiveness? Yet, the attitudes and actions that build barriers among us and shut God out of our thinking and decision-making can be overcome. God is ready to help us.
O Holy Spirit, how we have grieved you! How often our words have been bitter, filled with malice and anger. How easily have we uttered lies of pretension and self-protection. How readily we take for ourselves the rewards of another’s labor! Forgive all that is false and evil within us and among us. Free us from the self-justifying excuses that keep us from reaching out to one another. We want to believe, to trust, to live as imitators of Jesus Christ. Help us, gracious God. Amen.
