Reflections

This is a happy day!

2015-09-23T02:36:00.000-07:00

I am immesely happy when i created this web blog site. The thought of sharing information and views simply thrills me.

All of us can hear, but all of us cannot listen. Hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is involuntary and listening involves the reception and interpretation of what is heard. It decodes the sound heard into meaning. Does a knock on the door sound the same all the time? What if you are alone and you hear a knock at late night? What happens when you hear a knock while you are expecting someone whom you like?

People generally speak at 100 to 175 words per minute but we can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 words per minute. This means most of the time only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy for the attention to drift. This happens to all of us. The cure: active listening. This involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interests, see how the other person feels, even show support. This type of listening takes the same amount of or more energy than speaking. This requires the listener to hear various messages, understand the meaning and then verify the meaning by offering feedback. Here are some of the traits of an active listener:

• Does not finish the sentence of others.
• Does not answer questions with questions.
• Is aware of biases. We all have them… we need to control them.
• Never daydreams or becomes preoccupied with one’s own thoughts when others talk.
• Lets others talk.
• Does not dominate the conversation.
• Plans responses after the other persons have finished speaking, not while they are speaking.
• Provides feedback, but does not interrupt incessantly.
• Analyses by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions.
• Keeps the conversation on what the speaker says…not on what interests them.
• Takes brief notes. This forces one to concentrate on what is being said.

Is God Alive?

2015-09-23T02:34:00.003-07:00

Well, God is not dead, but neither is he particularly alive as we know it.

The deeper question is: "What does it mean to be alive?" Psychologists, biologists and computer programmers debate this question. (Philosophers debate a similar question: "What does it mean to exist?") Unfortunately, they're not very successful at coming up with a useful answer.

Psychologists might say that you need a certain degree of self-awareness to be alive, biologists might say that something is alive if it can move and reproduce as a species, while programmers who deal with artificial intelligence might say that giving a deep illusion of being alive is what makes one alive. All these viewpoints can be insightful, but in the end what it boils down to is: "Something is alive if it's like me."

Everything is God. In this sense, God is alive, and through the oneness of God the whole world is alive. Being alive or not is a concept that makes sense in everyday human life, but does not really apply to God as God is well beyond these human concepts.

God is not a single person - he is all of humanity. He's not bound by time either, so it makes no sense for God to die. In a way, God is the only one truly alive, because compared to God, we are just sleepwalking through life with slumbering consciousness.

The breath of life goes both ways: in and out. We are alive through God and God is alive through us!

The Farmers Government

2015-09-23T02:34:00.000-07:00

The Government had constituted National Commission on Farmers in 2004 under the chairmanship of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan. The terms of reference of the Commission included, inter alia, methods of enhancing productivity, profitability and sustainability of the major farming systems in different agro-climatic regions of the country and suggesting measures to attract and retain educated youth in farming and working out a comprehensive medium term strategy for food and nutrition security.

The Commission submitted its final report in October 2006.

Based on the recommendations made by the Commission in its Revised Draft National Policy for Farmers and the comments/suggestions received from various Central Ministries and Departments and State Governments, the "National Policy for Farmers, 2007" has been formulated and approved by the Government of India. The policy, among other things, aims to improve the economic viability of farming by substantially improving the net income of farmers in addition to improving productivity, profitability, land, water and support services and provide appropriate price policy, risk management measures.

Main provisions:

Important provisions and features incorporated in the National Policy for Farmers, 2007 include the following:

(a) Human Dimension: Focus to be on the economic well-being of the farmers than just on production and productivity and this is to be the principal determinant of Farmers policy.

(b) Definition of Farmers: Expanded to include all categories of persons engaged in the sector so that they can be extended the benefits of the Policy.

(c) Asset Reforms: To ensure that every man and woman, particularly the poor, in villages either possesses or have access to a productive asset.

(d) Income Per Unit of Water: The concept of maximizing yield and income per unit of water would be adopted in all crop production programmes, stress on awareness and efficiency of water use.

(e) Drought Code, Flood Code and Good Weather Code: To be introduced in drought prone areas, flood prone areas and in arid areas respectively so as to maximize the benefits of monsoon and to be prepared for likely contingencies.

(f) Use of Technology: New technologies which can help enhance productivity per unit of land and water are needed. Biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy technology, space applications and nano-technology to provide opportunities for launching an "Evergreen Revolution" capable of improving productivity in perpetuity without harming the ecology.

(g) National Agricultural Bio-security System: To be set up to organize a coordinated agricultural bio-security programme.

(h) Inputs and services-Soil Health: Good quality seeds, disease free planting material, including in-vitro cultured propagules and Soil health enhancement hold the key to raising small farm productivity. Every farm family to be issued with a Soil Health Passbook.

(i) Support Services for women: When women work in fields and forests the whole day, they need appropriate support services like crèches, child care centers and adequate nutrition.

(j) Credit & Insurance: Credit counseling centers to be established where severely indebted farmers can be provided a debt rescue package to help them out of debt trap. Need for both credit and insurance literacy in villages, Gyan Chaupals to help in the task.

(k) Setting up of Farm Schools in the fields of outstanding farmers to promote farmer to farmer learning and to strengthen extension services.

(l) Gyan Chaupals to be established in as many villages as possible to harness the help of Information and Communication Technology.

(m) A comprehensive National Social Security Scheme for the farmers for ensuring livelihood security by taking care of insurance needs on account of illness, old age, etc.

(n) Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanisms to be implemented effectively across the country so as to ensure remunerative prices for agricultural produce.

(o) Market Intervention Scheme to be strengthened to respond speedily to exigencies, specific crops to be identified.

(p) Community Foodgrain Banks: To be promoted to help in the marketing of unutilized crops.

(q) Single National Market: To develop a Single National Market by relaxing internal restrictions and controls.

(r) Expanding Food Security Basket to include nutritious crops like bajra, jowar, ragi and millets mostly grown in dryland farming areas.

(s) Farmers of the future: Farmers may adopt cooperative farming, create service cooperatives, undertake group farming through self-help groups, establish small holders' estates, adopt contract farming and create farmers' companies. This is expected to increase productivity, efficiency of small farmers and would create multiple livelihood opportunities through crop livestock integrated farming systems as well as agro processing.

(t) A Cabinet Committee on Food Security is to be constituted.

Mechanism for operationalising the policy:

In order to operationalise the Policy, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation will constitute an Inter-Ministerial Committee for preparing a suitable plan of action for the purpose.

Agriculture Coordination Committee under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister would oversee and coordinate the integrated implementation of the National Policy for Farmers.

Anna Hazare in election campaigns

2014-04-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

: Mamata Banerjee's first election rally with Anna Hazare in Delhi ended up as an embarrassing solo act for the West Bengal Chief Minister, with the Gandhian activist giving it a miss.

His aides cited health reasons, but Ms Banerjee said "she had no idea" why he didn't show up.

"It is not our rally. Anna invited me, so I came here despite my work, as I had promised," the Trinamool Congress leader said at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, visibly upset at the activist's absence at what was meant to be her pitch to the nation ahead of next month's general election.

At the sprawling venue, which was awash with posters of Anna and Mamata, the absence of one of only two star speakers was glaring. Sources say Anna changed his mind after his aides reported a lukewarm gathering at the site of his 2012 anti-corruption campaign alongside former protege Arvind Kejriwal.

The Trinamool was clearly taken aback by Anna's no-show. As the party's Mukul Roy met the 76-year-old at the Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, reportedly to persuade him to attend the rally, Ms Banerjee declared on stage, "I don't care who supports me. I don't want anything for myself."

Speaking to NDTV later, she insisted that she wasn't bitter.

"I am not disappointed. It wasn't a political rally. It was a social rally. I came because Annaji wanted to address the crowds and invited me to come. It was only after I arrived that I was told he is not coming," said the Chief Minister.

The Trinamool is fielding candidates in at least eight states apart from West Bengal and is expected to name candidates for all seven seats in Delhi.

Anna recently overcame his aversion to supporting political parties and joined the Mamata bandwagon, drawn, he says, by her simplicity, austere life and leadership qualities. At today's rally, he was widely expected to root for the 59-year-old as a prime ministerial probable.

2014-04-10T02:19:00.000-07:00

Religion makes a lot of mistakes.

Faith traditions can be so harsh that they drive away everyone but the self-righteous scolds. Or they can so indulge in therapeutic comfort and manufactured joy that they come to seem like a charlatan’s game.

They can be so otherworldly that they offer no guidance to those living in this one on matters of justice, freedom and how we should live together. Or they are so captive to the here-and-now that it becomes hard to distinguish between a congregation and a party headquarters.

And for many in the wealthy nations and among the young, religion has no relevance to their lives whatsoever. It’s seen by some as a charming throwback and by others as one more insidious force focused on power, money and self-preservation.

When Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope a year ago, only a few expected that he would confront all of these challenges simultaneously.

Yes, his choice of the name Francis was a promising sign that he would emulate a saint devoted to the poor and to simplicity. Yes, he was already on record with searing criticisms of the injustices of global capitalism. From the beginning, he stressed his more humble role as the “Bishop of Rome,” suggesting an anti-imperial papacy.

And then it continued. He disdained the trappings of piety and might, including the ornate regalia that appeal to so many prelates. The Roman joke was that as priests got with his program, one could find many lacy surplices on sale at steep discounts on eBay. On his first Holy Thursday, Francis washed the feet not of the usual group of priests but of a dozen young people being held at a juvenile detention center, including two women and two Muslims.

He has not altered church doctrine, but his shift in emphasis has been breathtaking. “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods,” he has said. “This is not possible.” He thus declared that the church’s main mission would no longer be as a lead combatant in the culture wars. It would stand primarily with and for the neediest.

The most important aspect of a Pew survey released this month was not its finding that 68 percent of American Catholics thought Francis was changing the church for the better, or that 76 percent said he was doing a good or excellent job of addressing the needs and concerns of the poor. No, the truly revealing fact about this study is that it did not even occur to Pew’s pollsters to ask in their benchmark poll a year ago whether poverty should be a priority of the new pope. This is no knock on Pew; the fact that its researchers had to include a new question about poverty this year shows how much Francis has transformed the church.

The pope said recently he was uncomfortable with being seen as a “superman,” and indeed, he is not. Francis expressed his unease in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera during which he made the most troubling misstep of the year.

Speaking of the pedophilia scandal that has shaken the faith of so many Catholics, particularly in the United States and in Ireland, he was uncharacteristically defensive and aggressive, insisting that the Catholic Church “is perhaps the only public institution that has moved with transparency and responsibility.”

“No one has done more,” he added, “and yet the church is the only one that has been attacked.”

In fact, the church is not “the only one that has been attacked.” Even if it were, a pope who has emphasized the urgency of seeing the world from the perspective of the vulnerable and the wounded should have been the first to hear how his words might sound to the victims of abuse. A leader who has criticized a “psychology of princes” and the “spirit of careerism” should have known better.

But the keen disappointment felt over this is a mark of how high Francis has lifted expectations. He has shown that the spiritual life is also a life of social commitment. He demands a lot while preaching a God of mercy, confounding scolds and religious therapists alike. By engaging joyfully with nonbelievers and those who believe differently, he speaks to those skeptical that Christianity has anything left to say.

He called for a church that is “bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets,” and has proved that such a church is hard to ignore.

Greater Love For Easter

2014-04-10T02:10:00.002-07:00

Beloved brothers and sisters, the Lord defined that fullness of love which we ought to bear to one another when He said: “Greater love than this no one has, that a person lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13). Earlier he had said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” and then added to these words what you have just heard: “Greater love than this no one has, that a person lay down his life for his friends.” From this there follows what this same Evangelist John says in his epistle, “As Christ laid down His life for us, even so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 Jn 3:16), loving one another in truth as He loved us who laid down His life for us.

Such also is doubtless the meaning of what we read in the Proverbs of Solomon: “If you sit down to supper at the table of a ruler, consider wisely what is set before you; and so put out your hand, knowing that you art bound to prepare similar things” (Prov 23:1-2). For what is the table of the ruler but the one from which we take the body and blood of Him who laid down His life for us? And what is it to sit at that table but to approach it humbly? And what is it to consider intelligently what is set before you but worthily to reflect on the greatness of the favor? And what is it so to put forth your hand knowing that you must prepare similar things but what I have already said: that, as Christ laid down His life for us, so we also must lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters? For as the Apostle Peter also says, “Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps” (1 Pet 2:21). This is to prepare similar things. This is what the blessed martyrs did in their burning love. If we do not celebrate their memories in a merely formal way, if we approach the table of the Lord for the banquet at which they themselves were utterly filled, we must, as they did, be also ourselves preparing similar things. For at this table we do not commemorate them in the same way as we do others who now rest in peace and for whom we pray; rather we remember them so that they may pray for us that we may closely follow in their footsteps, because they have actually achieved that full love than which, our Lord has told us, there cannot be a greater. For they offered to their brothers and sisters things similar to the ones they too had received from the table of the Lord. (In Ioannem Tr. 84, 1; PL 35, 1846-1847)

Holy Week day by day

2014-04-10T02:07:00.003-07:00

“Even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38) In the Gospel of John, Jesus consistently calls his disciples to believe — believe in him, believe in God, believe in the Good News. What can you do today to deepen your belief in Jesus?

April 12

“It is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (John 11:50)

The high priest Caiaphas said this in support of getting rid of Jesus. Yet the irony is that Jesus woulddie so that the people would not perish, but have eternal life. God can take evil plans and transform them. Give thanks to God for this great plan of love.

April 13 Palm Sunday

As we read the story of the Passion according to St. Matthew (26:14-27:66), we see how Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 50 and gives himself completely for us. As we begin Holy Week, spend some time in prayer and reflect on what Jesus has done for you.

April 14 Holy Monday

“I the Lord have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand.” (Isaiah 42:6)

“Our life does not exist by accident…My life is willed by God, from eternity. I am loved. I am necessary. God has a plan specifically for me.” (Pope Benedict XVI) Where have you heard the Lord call you this Lent? Can you believe in his love and his plan for you?

April 15 Holy Tuesday

“Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37) Peter had confidence in his own abilities, claiming he would die for Jesus. Yet a short time later, he will deny him. Judas, too, will betray Jesus. Yet Peter later accepted forgiveness, but Judas didn’t. We are asked to trust in Jesus’ forgiveness for our sins. Can you believe in his pardon?

April 16 Holy Wednesday

“The Lord God has give me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” (Isaiah 50:4)

Jesus was able to speak words of comfort to the weary, to the broken, to the lost. Can you believe in his presence, even when you feel lost?

April 17 Holy Thursday

“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow.” (John 13:14-15)

The model Jesus gives us is one of loving service, of laying down his life for his friends. How can you follow Jesus’ example? How can you love?

April 18 Good Friday

“Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” (Hebrews 4:16)

The Cross is Jesus’ throne of grace, from which mercy and love pour out upon us. Jesus spent his life giving of himself, loving us and trusting in God. He took all of our sin, all of our pain, and took it to the cross with him.

April 19 Holy Saturday

“Something strange is happening — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh.” (from an ancient homily on Holy Saturday)

Spend some time today reflecting on the past 40 days of Lent and give thanks for what Christ has done for you. After reading this, turn off the electronics and silently listen for God.

April 20 Easter Sunday

“I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” (Matthew 28:5-6)

Alleluia! Jesus is risen! As Pope Francis said: “Love has triumphed, mercy has been victorious! God’s mercy always triumphs because God’s love is stronger than evil and death itself. God’s love can transform our lives too.” Rejoice and be glad! Seek to continue living in the new life God has given you! Alleluia!

Lent -a walk through life day by day

2014-04-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

“Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart.” (Joel 2:12)

As we begin our journey of Lent, this time of reconciliation and spiritual growth, we are reminded that change, repentance and transformation are integral to the Christian life. To repent means to change your way, to turn around. Reflect today on how you hope to grow and change during this holy season, and ask God for the grace and strength to follow through.

March 6

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) What do you need to give up this Lent to truly follow Jesus? What are you challenged to embrace? Pray for a deeper trust in God’s plan of love and life for you.

March 7

“This is the fasting I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, setting free the oppressed, sharing your bread with the hungry.” (Isaiah 58:6-7)

While we may give up chocolate, or fast food, or meat during Lent, we are reminded today that our sacrifices are aimed to purify our hearts and spirits. What we aim to give up during this Lent is selfishness and pride in order to serve our brothers and sisters.

March 8

“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” (Luke 5:31-32)

Each of us is supposed to get a medical check-up every year. Lent is a time that we do our spiritual check-up. Jesus is the divine physician who can heal us of our sins, our struggles, our emptiness. Can I ask Jesus to help heal what I need to be healed this Lent to follow him as Matthew did?

God Talks to You

2012-03-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

To believe you must have a personal experience with God. A part of God lives inside of you. You are not God, and never will be, but God will talk to you inside of your mind. As you read this, you feel a gentle nudge. That is the Spirit of God awakening. Once it matures it is going to change the world. God is your creator, friend and father. He wants to tell you his plan for your life.
Try to be open-minded. If you have doubts—good, that means you are being honest with yourself. God can handle your doubts. When God speaks to you, you will know it is God--there will be no doubt. Of course, after the experience, doubt will come back. That is the force of evil. Evil doesn’t want you to communicate with God because once you do you are going to change human history. Imagine the God who knows everything about the past and the future, who knows everything about everyone, the God who has all the power, the God who can do anything, imagine this God talking to you.
Aren't you excited to find out what God has to say?
God is not going to be quiet in your life anymore. This is what he said to me:

"I want the world to know how much I love all things. I am the Lord God and I created all. I am going to do something to show the world I exist. I am going to speak to the people. My people must learn how to hear my voice. I yearn for deep communion with all people. I will not remain quiet. Listen to me. I have a plan for each of you, a plan that will bring you to the zenith of your creation. You can only reach this pinnacle of existence with my plan. I love you so much that I give you the choice to reject me. This rejection causes me great pain. I suffer for my children. A great wind is coming. It begins with the whisper of my voice. This wind will sweep the earth and consume the universe with love. I, the Lord God, am coming. I will strike my chord in every heart. I have been doing this since the beginning, but people have not listened. Even good people do not listen to me. People fill the churches and sing songs and listen to each other. I tell you, the time is here to listen to the Lord your God. If you do not, you will be isolated from me for all time. I will leave you to the darkness. You give me no alternative. In your heart, as you perceive this message, you know it is I. You cannot deny your God, any more than you can deny yourself. Listen to me. I am speaking, even now, to your heart."

Experiencing God

2012-03-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

I just did a search on the internet for the phrase “experience God” and came up with over 51 million references![1] Wow, that must be an important idea! “Well off course it is”, I hear you say. “We must experience God” has become such a common idea amongst Christians today that we all accept, without question, that this is God’s will for us. And of course none of us want to be so unspiritual that we don’t want to have an experience with God and so many who have not “experienced God” silently sneak away feeling embarrassed, cheated, and inferior. Then there are those special, highly spiritual ones who have experienced God and walk around feeling superior to the rest of those who have never experienced this level of spirituality.

But what is the truth about experiencing God? I did a search through the Bible and found that neither the King James nor the New King James version use the phrase “experience God” at all. The English word “experience” appears three times in the New King James[2] and three times in the King James.[3] None of these scriptures refer to experiencing God in any way.

The idea of experiencing God is simply not based on the Bible. It finds its source in ancient occultic and pagan practices, and the modern entertainment oriented world where the emphasis is on experiences to the degree that many will use any means, even narcotics and witchcraft, just to have some kind of an experience. The whole entertainment industry is built around the idea of giving people an experience. Even shopping is supposed to be a wonderful experience which, it seems, only the fairer sex are capable of enjoying.

There is just no scripture that enjoins us to experience God, or that Jesus died that we might have an experience with (or of) God. Is God like a movie or a theme park or a bungee jump that has to be experienced? Is He the ultimate thrill? I guess to some people He is just that. A denomination in South Africa used to run a full page, full color, advertisement in a trendy magazine showing the derrière of a curvaceous young girl clad in denims. The following words were embroidered on the pocket of the jeans: “You’ve tried it all, now try Jesus”. No wonder the leader and founder of the denomination was fired for multiple adulteries.

Did Abraham, Moses, Paul or anyone else in the Bible “experience” God? What was the experience like? What did they feel when the experienced Him? No, none of these men (or any others) experienced God. Some saw some aspect of Him and others heard him “speak” but none of the saints of the old or New Testaments “experienced” Him. The closest any one came to experiencing Him was John and the other disciples, who wrote “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled…” (1John 1:1). But that was unique to those who saw Jesus in the flesh and even they did not “experience” Him in the mystic way which is now being promoted.

If we were to experience Him, what would that experience feel like? Is it like the goose bumps we feel when they play the national anthem or the hair standing erect on our necks on an eerie night? Or is it like the experience of hearing a live orchestra play a stirring piece of music, or for some, the bagpipes or when the pipe organ hits those low notes that makes your very soul reverberate? Well, it seems that whatever experience some may claim to have, the world is able to produce exactly the same feelings, and even greater.

How do we get to “experience God”? One writer says: “Many have never had a personal experience of God’s presence with images as the primary medium”[4]. So God’s presence is in pictures? Yea right! Others will insist we can experience God through music, worship and meditation. None of these ideas have any biblical basis. Can you see Jesus on the mountain looking at a DVD so He could “experience” His Father, or Paul attending a contemporary Christian music concert so he could “feel” God?

And what are these experiences supposed to do? They are supposed to change us. Wilson and Moore speak about “…the power of digital media to create transformative experiences of God”.[5] Well, they have that partly right. These experiences are transformative and changing. But while the scriptures want us to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus (Rom 12:2), these experiences will change us into the image of the world. And no, it is not God you experience in the concert hall, at the parade or on a dark and stormy night and it is not God you experience when looking at the beautiful (often abstract) pictures of the PowerPoint presentation; neither is He in that magnificent cathedral with the powerful pipe organ. Oh, and was there not something about not making an image of God and worshipping it? (Exodus 20:4). (Sorry, I forgot that was Old Testament – modern Christians are far to clever to be bound by such ancient rules!)

Paul had this to say “we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising” (Acts 17:29). This kind of idolatry, for that is what it is, is exactly what Paul had in mind when he wrote about those who, “Professing to be wise… became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image…” (Romans 1:22,23).

Praise God, He can be known, heard and seen but not with natural senses and not through the use of technology and techniques. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1Cor 2:14). God is hidden from natural eyes, ears and emotions. There is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. No service, multimedia show, picture, music or drama can bring you into His presence – it is only by the shed blood and broken body of His Son that we are able to draw near to God. (Heb 10:19-22)

I’m searching for God, but He seems to be hiding …

2012-03-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

I don't think many people have a “bright light” experience with God that knocks them off their horse. I think the process for most of us is similar to yours--an ever-growing restlessness that eventually takes you to a decision. At some point you realize that you must either say yes or no to Jesus; he will not let you off the hook without giving him an answer. And soon after that you realize that saying “no” to God is not a realistic option. You've gone too far to do that, having moved closer to the yes and farther away from the no. Then you have to say to Jesus with the man who's child was attacked by demons: “I believe. Help my unbelief.” (see Mark 9:24 and its context). We do not move from “unbelief” to “belief” in one breath, or even in a lifetime. It is a lifelong transition that begins with a kernel of faith. It sounds like you have that faith.

Why are you searching for God? Because God is drawing you to Himself. It's not because we are smarter or better or more worthy than the next guy. It's God's pleasure to woo some of us into a relationship with Him. That's why I said that it sounds like God is pursuing you as much as you think you might be pursuing Him (although with his track record, He's not losing as much sleep as you are).

You're concerned about your behavior, or “outer changes” as you call them. That's fair. It's somewhat counter-intuitive how this works. When we become God's children, our behavior does change, but that doesn't mean that we have to change before becoming His child. And I don't think that our behavior changes against our wishes. Rather, God changes our wants so that we want our “outer life” to please Him. In other words, are you okay if God changes your “wants” (and then, subsequently, your behavior)?

So why not do it officially, as I've coached hundreds of people like you to do: Get on your knees and say something like, “God, I think I believe in you. Help my unbelief. I am a sinner in need of your grace. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior because of His work on the Cross for me. By receiving Christ, I'm now and forevermore your child and you are now and forevermore my Heavenly Father. Thanks for forgiving my many sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be, and make me want to be that kind of person. Amen.”

Dear Students,

2012-03-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is not easy. What I am about to tell you may scare you, anger you or inspire you. I feel the need to apologize now so that what I am going to tell you will land soft and gentle upon your young, eager spirits. And so I am sorry!

Our nation is going to war. In the next few days, weeks and months you will see and hear of American troops storming into dark places where evil men live and where their evil schemes are directed. You will see images from your television of fighter planes scorching the skies and smoke billowing from huge cannons designed to destroy and kill. You will hear inspirational speeches, you will hear patriotic songs and you will see flag draped caskets. What you are about to experience you will never forget.

I will never look at you the same again. As I now look upon your faces I have to wonder what your future will be in this. I wonder that about my sixteen-year old son and my daughter of thirteen. We have been promising a bright and glorious future for you, I hope we can deliver. Since your first day in school you have been told by adults to work hard, respect others and good things will happen. Suddenly those words are shaded with our own doubt about tomorrow. America faces an enemy determined to destroy us.

Your education thus far has been dedicated to teaching you how to write, think creatively, express yourself with a command of language, and challenge you in science and math. You�ve been on a faster track in education than any generation in history. You were reading before you got to first grade and writing short stories before you could spell. Though test scores indicate a great expanse between where you are and where experts want you, let me say you have done a great job. You have not cracked under the constant pressure and though you go home tired and often dejected, you keep showing up day after day and it is in that spirit that our greatest hope is sustained. Though your generation has not been easy, it has a relentless quality that never backs down or looks away. It wants what it wants when it wants it. We commend you for that.

But, have we left something out? Are you ready for what our country is about to face? I hope it isn�t too late to tell of passion for our country and our freedoms. You need in this hour to understand how we got here, what we have, and what is worth sacrificing. Have you spent enough time looking into the wrinkled faces of aging veterans who lost friends, family, and a generation of innocence to give you what you have? Don�t think for a minute that your lifestyle, characterized by unprecedented leisure and wealth is a civil right. The freedom to demonstrate against wrong and even burn flags in protest were handed over to you from the those very men and women who march in unattended Veterans Parades and proudly cover their hearts during the national anthem. Please understand the cost.

You need to hear me on this one. We have heard you say of us, the adults of your world, that we don�t understand you, that we have isolated you and have failed to accept you. Much of that assessment is true. It has been difficult understanding your generation. Your music sounds nothing like anything we have heard before and is often tainted with words of hate and vulgarity that make even old rock and rollers blush. You have been part of a generation that has written a new chapter in the sexual revolution while being both the perpetrators and victims of the worst school violence our nation has ever experienced.

Yet you need to know that those aging veterans who fought long ago, would go again tomorrow if their bodies would allow to fight again to keep your freedoms. Freedom is, to them, worth dying for even if used in ways they do not understand or endorse.

Somewhere along the way of your education journey I hope you have seen the price tag of your freedom. And I hope you understand in these days and the days to come, that the sacrifices have been worth every cent and every life. It will not be easy to turn our young men and women loose upon a dangerous, foreign land to confront evil men with evil purposes. That difficulty is confounded by our failure to keep the price of liberty in our crosshairs and to keep you, our youth, ever mindful of the fragility of freedom.

Now comes the time when our nation will watch and school children everywhere will learn. You will learn how our nation really works and what America is really about. And perhaps it will soon be your turn. History awaits your generation to continue the American dream. You will be turned loose upon yet another menace determined to bring down more than buildings but the foundational principals of a free land. The harsh reality is that you may be asked to fight, to die, and to carry this fragile banner of freedom forward.

As these days unfold and your destiny played out I would like to encourage you in the words of Walt Whitman. "Sail forth! Steer for the deep waters only. For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, and we will risk the ship, ourselves and all." God bless you !

An Invitation to Bold Love

2012-03-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

�I have to forgive no matter what...don't I?�
�We're supposed forgive and forget...aren't we?�
�We need to forgive others unconditionally...don't we?�

Forgiveness of others is a process worked in us by the Holy Spirit, not a once-and-for-all occurrence. Forgiving another does not mean forgetting the offense. When we forgive someone it should not be unconditional or one-sided: �Forgiveness is an invitation to reconciliation, not the blind, cheap granting of it.� The authors go so far as to say that without true repentance on the part of the offender, we should not grant forgiveness. So what is repentance? �Deep, heart-changing acknowledgment of sin and a radical redirection of life.� Glossing over sin and acting as if it never happened is not forgiveness, and is actually a refusal to love the one who has hurt you.

Do you like the sound of this? Have you been too easy on those who have offended you? No, true forgiveness isn't cheap for your enemy. But it can also cost you more than you have ever imagined.

The heart and soul of Bold Love is the path Allender and Longman blaze for the one who has been hurt. They challenge the reader in ways almost unimaginable. They demand the seemingly impossible. They sound alarmingly like...well...Jesus.

For �bold love� is �courageously setting aside our personal agenda to move humbly into the world of others with their well-being in view, willing to risk further pain in our souls, in order to be an aroma of life to some and an aroma of death to others.�

Wait just a minute. Why would I want to move into the world of someone who has hurt me? Allender and Longman throw down the gauntlet and dare the reader to pick it up. Why should you? Because you are on His side, and this is war. Let's hear another definition: �Bold love is the tenacious, irrepressible energy to do good in order to surprise and conquer evil.� (You do want good to win over evil, don't you?)

The authors challenge the reader to exercise forgiving love, �the inconceivable, unexplainable pursuit of the offender by the offended for the sake of restored relationship with God, self and others.� Do you long for true redemption---not cheap forgiveness or simply pretending nothing ever happened, but earnestly desiring that your enemy repent and be the person God intended him to be? And (here's where it really gets tricky) if that ever did happen, could you grant him the restoration of relationship? Would you?

At this point Longman and Allender put forth a deliciously provocative look at the notion of revenge. Once again, it's not what you expect. I don't even want to give this one away. It's too good; you'll just have to read it for yourself.

In keeping with the theme of warfare, the authors explore at length the concept of surprising your enemy by doing good. The last section of the book examines how we are to love three different types of enemies: truly evil people, fools, and simpletons. Their stated premise is that �different kinds of 'good gifts' are required to impact different kinds of people with truth and life.�

Throughout the book, Allender makes liberal use of examples from his own family and from many of his counseling situations. He shows the reader what bold love can look like---and just how difficult it can be. He is, if anything, brutally honest. He never says this will be easy.

But then, neither is, �Take up your cross and follow Me.� And when it's all said and done, that's exactly what bold love is all about

Rules Made To Be Broken

2012-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

What do Saddam Hussein and your local school have in common?

It will be interesting to see what transpires over the next several weeks in regard to the crisis in Iraq and President Bush�s insistence that Saddam Hussein follow the rules set by the UN. I have my doubts that the United Nations will offer much in way of consequences for his actions. We are living in a world that has mastered making rules, but fails miserably at dealing with those who break them.

The school where I work has developed some rather exotic rules that well-intentioned people spent hours creating. We have rules that do not allow chewing gum, clothes with a logo, shirts without collars, running in the hallway, rubber bands, cussing, fighting, or being late for class. The consequences created for breaking these rules are equally marvelous with things such as Saturday school, Friday night school, after-school detention, conferences, and in-house suspensions to name a few. You can almost hear lips quiver. But those who break the rules in our school have no fear of the consequences because they have no impact. And now it seems the world is watching.

Saddam has mastered the system as evidenced by thumbing his nose at weapons inspectors and United Nation tough talk. He has continued to break the rules knowing there will be no consequences of significance. I have no doubt that he took his lessons from the United States.

My heart goes out to the President and his staff who are trying to actually enforce the rules. He can now join the thousands of schoolteachers and administrators, juvenile court workers, police officers, probation officers and more whose duty it is to enforce the rules and punish those who break them. Welcome to the world of pacifistic, pandering, political correctness. They want you to fight this war with feathers.

The rules and laws that have gone into effect in America- whether in state and federal government or local school systems- are absolutely powerless, unless there are clear, quick, effective consequences for their abuse. Let me repeat: the rules are powerless unless they are enforced. Somewhere along the way we seem to have convinced ourselves that the rules in and of themselves are enough to maintain civility. My school has an ever-thickening manual of school rules and discipline policies. Parents and students are asked to read it, sign it and obey it. We talk to them from day one about our rules; they have memorized most and can rattle off our dress code policy as if it were the Gettysburg Address. They know the rules. So does Saddam.

The greatest injustice happening right now in America�s schools is that students are not made to fear breaking rules. I have given up hope that corporal punishment will return to public schools, but I dream of a day when students who break rules find their actions dealt with swiftly and in a way they will remember so that they actually can learn from their mistakes. We are churning out a generation of students who will not follow rules because they have no moral compass to steer them correctly. And we are producing many, many more who will, for the rest of their lives, mock right from wrong.

Recently I began an after-school program that has court ordered students involved in a twelve session high adventure program that is designed to help students gain confidence and work together. These are students who were made by a judge to attend this class. I learned very quickly (in the first ten minutes of session one) that being court ordered to do something meant very little to these students. They had no fear of the consequences and my approach to hold that up to them fell flat immediately. It scares me to think that our system has become so anemic that young people aren't even intimidated by the courts.

Another shock came recently when a student diagnosed with a form of autism assaulted a thirty-year veteran teacher. The student attacked the teacher (hitting, kicking) forcing the teacher to subdue them in order to protect himself and other students. The parents of the child have now filed charges against the school for abuse. And we are forced by law to take this child back. Maybe its time for schools to disregard the rules like everyone else.

It is no surprise that many Democrats are taking the pacifist stance in dealing with Iraq. A President determined to enforce the rules has been mocked as an inept, gun-slinging cowboy while the so-called intellectuals chant �Inspection � Not War!� How quickly things have changed since the events of 9-11-01 with regard to a unified resolve to end terrorism. It seems the so-called pacifists would rather create more rules and let the President fight windmills.

The Freedom to Limit Freedom

2012-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Freedom, according to many of these critics, consists of constitutional guarantees to due process. They feel it consists of principles, laws and legal protections. The President's call to try terrorists outside of these guarantees and protections seems to be an encroachment of the Federal government, particularly the Presidency, into sacred territory. To whom are such tribunals accountable? How are they limited and controlled? How do we know they will not be used in the future for the unjust persecution of "enemies of the state" who are, in fact, simply political enemies of the current administration?

Citing Lincoln and Roosevelt does not impress these critics. The Civil War and World War II presented uniformed opposition and a formally declared state of war. The executive was accountable to the other branches of government. The current situation presents non-uniformed opposition and it is highly likely that persons residing in the United States under the protections of our government may be prosecuted under such tribunals. Those who vehemently oppose the military actions of an "undeclared" war on terrorism are rightly nervous about how their opposition might be cast in a highly charged atmosphere.

The rule of law, and not the rule of men, is a fundamental principle of our society. The thought of nameless generals in unknown locations presiding over secret trials and even executions is not a thought to warm the heart of any person who loves liberty. We have put terrorists on trial before and given them all the advantages and protections of our legal system. While no one liked seeing those responsible for the 1992 bombing of the WTC sneering in the courtroom, it showed the greatness and superiority of our system to put even that kind of scum on trial before a jury of the very people they sought to kill. Do we really want to step away from that back towards a practice that more resembles some third-world dictatorship?

All of these arguments appeal to me greatly. They are noble, clear and well-founded. My reason for supporting the president in what appears to be a deliberate step away from the primacy of liberty is not inconsequential. It is the larger picture, a picture that includes not only the principles of liberty, but the results of liberty. I am for a potential limitation of liberty, and a potential expansion of the power of government for the purpose of the health, practice and increase of liberty itself. It is not liberty as a principle, but liberty as a reality in the lives of Americans, that moves me to support the President. I believe we must potentially limit certain freedoms in order to more effectively guarantee all freedoms, even the survival of freedom itself.

I could reason this out slowly, but I will be blunt. If terrorists explode nuclear weapons in America's cities, the discussion of freedom and civil liberties will hardly matter. If our free society produces the result of allowing our enemies to attack us on a massive and apocalyptic scale, then our principled defense of freedom will be a mute point for the next generation to discuss. I would like for my children to be able to enjoy all the freedoms that make America special in the world. At this point, it appears to me that military tribunals are the best way to guarantee that our children have the same chance at experiencing and perpetuating those freedoms that you and I have enjoyed.

Neither Lincoln nor Roosevelt nor any other President has faced a domestic threat such as President Bush faces. The fact that the enemy is a loosely constructed network of saboteurs is no reason to take them any less seriously than uniformed forces. The fact that there is, at present, no entity against which we can declare war is no excuse either. This enemy is virtually invisible, but deadly in an unprecedented fashion. The possibility of using small nuclear weapons, hijacked aircraft, sabotaged nuclear plants, biological and chemical weapons makes military tribunals almost mandatory. Such enemies cannot be given freedom on principle. The threat is simply too great. The threat is great enough that all the risks mentioned by the critics can be agreed to, and tribunals still chosen as necessary.

The President has said he will not allow the enemies of freedom to use freedom against us. I think that is fabulously clear thinking. The success of these terrorists will not be simply acquiring property or making an ideological point. Their success will be the destruction of entire populations and the end of our civilization. How can the critics of tribunals sleep at night with these people given lawyers and allowed the opportunity to present their case? If no one is left to read about your noble dedication to the principles of freedom, what is the point?

There is a time to limit freedom for freedom's sake. Anyone who has lived through an emergency knows that freedom is worth protecting by limitation. Surviving to the day that freedom can once again be debated as a principle may depend on our willingness to compromise some of those precious principles.

Roosevelt closed the banks to save the nation from economic ruin. President Bush may have to close a few courtrooms and allow a few firing squads to save the nation from an evil that has no respect for the rules or results of war

Mel Gibson's Passion

2012-03-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

A letter about what to expect when you make a movie about Jesus.

by Michael Spencer

Dear Mel,

Well, you�ve gone and done it now. Started making a movie about Jesus. Turns out, you�re a serious Roman Catholic, and you just couldn�t resist taking a shot at presenting the greatest drama, the greatest story, the greatest noble tale of them all: the passion of Christ. I commend you. It is a noble and worthy undertaking.

We should have seen it coming. You�ve always been attracted to the larger than life characters. People of courage and moral vision living in perilous times. Once you�ve really come to understand the story of Jesus, once it�s gotten its teeth into your soul, you begin to see that all those other stories are, one way or another, derived from His story. Every hero, every person who died because he loved others more than self, is in one way or another a shadow of Jesus.

It�s understandable that someone who has been in the shadows, would sooner or later want to tell the one story that is the very light of the sun.

Your movie will, according to what we are reading, tell the story of the last twelve hours of Jesus' life, without subtitles, and using the dead languages of Aramaic and Latin to present the dialog as realistically as possible. You�re right in thinking that most people know this story well enough to not need subtitles or English to explain what is going on. This project is a labor of love for you, and lots of us are cheering for you to succeed in presenting Jesus in a way that honors him and beautifully illustrates the great truths of scripture about the suffering of the Son of God for sinners.

Of course, I am sure you know that this project will not be greeted with much applause from your peers. They will consider it a waste of the power and influence you have accumulated in Hollywood. Now, if you were to use your position to make a self-indulgent film with themes of sexual perversion, religious terrorism, capitalistic greed or general American depravity, you would be applauded, even singled our for recognition. The more indulgent and controversial your choice of a topic, the more you would be hailed as a man of vision.

Taking on Jesus is actually more controversial and counter-culture than any of the pet projects of your Hollywood peers, but they won�t see that. They will act as if you are making a propaganda film for the Bush White House. Look to be labeled divisive, bigoted and intolerant. Especially look to have your traditional Catholicism skewered as some sort of mental illness, driving you to waste your talents on this white whale of a film. The fact that your project is certain to be commercially successful will make no difference. In fact, it will be greeted as proof that you�re not really an artist with integrity.

I doubt if anyone will outright call you a religious fanatic to your face, but the label is already being polished up after �Signs� and the announcement of "Passion". Strange that when we were treated to the bizaare, mentally ill Jesus of �The Last Temptation of Christ�, Scorcese was hailed as brave and brilliant. You, I predict, will be diagnosed as obsessed and eccentric, and if your presentation of Jesus is seen as true to scripture, it will be whispered that you are over-the-edge dangerous and your career will be pronounced over.

You can also expect to have a fair number of Christians denounce your film. Christians have a notoriously difficult time with art, and cinema especially. If you do not adequately serve someone�s agenda or pay service to a particular theological totem, your movie will certainly earn the Oscar for �Best Film Inspired by the Devil.� Who knows, for all your trouble, you may even earn that coveted award frequently given to those making movies about Jesus: a fundamentalist Christian boycott, just to prove a point about who really owns Jesus.

If you made "Left Behind III," you wouldn't have this problem. For that reason alone, I'm totally supporting you.

I guess what I am saying is that you are taking up with the most controversial, provocative, misunderstood person in all of history. Everyone- from traditional Catholics to Gay activists to fundamentalists to atheists- has an angle on Jesus. He represents our longings, our fears, our hopes, and our deepest feelings about ourselves. Just as this film represents your own aspirations and commitments, so it will touch the lives of millions of people who are on intimate, personal terms with the subject of your film.

Jesus is someone we feel like we know, and more importantly, someone we feel knows us. Anytime someone takes Jesus away from the safety of our private interpretations and seeks to present him to all of us through the vision of just one person, we are very defensive, even irrationally fearful that the Jesus up on the screen is somehow going to replace the real Christ. So the mental patient Jesus or the gay Jesus or the hippie Jesus, though they have little if any relationship to the real Jesus of history or scripture, still upsets us. We see in this profane image a desecration of God and, somehow, of ourselves. While most of us aren't all that sure about the exact application of the second commandment, movies about Jesus get close to our sense of disturbing the Holy.

So beware. No matter how close you get, you are doomed to miss the mark. You are going to have to love this project for reasons far beyond what others will think of it to carry it through with the passion and honesty it deserves. And for that, I have a suggestion.

As Christians, we are called to ultimately offer all that we do to God as an offering of gratitude for what he has done for us in and through Jesus Christ. Christians see this as a transforming truth, making anything from washing dishes to painting the Sistine Chapel a worthy act of worship. It also frees us from the slavery to human evaluation, as what is done by the light of eternity, not the dim light of human opinion, comes to be what ultimately matters in any act of creation.

It is my hope and prayer that this truth will be what energizes you. That each act of direction, each frame of film and every detail will provide a place to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. What a worthy king he is! The true Braveheart who gave himself for us. It is the suffering of God in human flesh that is our salvation. (On that we all agree.) I believe it is in your heart, and within your abilities, to present this more powerfully, more worshipfully, than any other director ever has. Do well, as an offering to the one who offered himself for us.

ASH wednesday

2012-03-13T09:19:00.002-07:00

Ashes are what one is reduced to finally one day, the residue after a fire or burning. When a dedicated social worker who spent his life to build the lives of the poor died recently, he requested that his body be cremated and ashes to be strewn in the sea, so that he may not have any material thing worthwhile on this earth. Ashes thus resemble what is worthless, unwanted and destroyed. Today, when we apply such ashes on our fore-heads, we remind ourselves who we truly are; admitting our broken, worthless, sinful situation. Ash Wednesday is also a day that reminds us of our beginning, the beginning from dust and the end of our earthly sojourn which turns our body back into dust. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return”.

All human beings, according to our Christian vision of life, have such a beginning and such an end in God. Ash Wednesday reminds us of this reality. It also invites us to stop and go deeper into the “desert” of our hearts to reflect, pray and do penance for forty days. This is to find out the truth of our lives. Who we really are? What are we doing with our lives? Where are we heading? We can have three different “persons” in us. I as the “person known to the world” or what others know of me; I as the “person known to me” or the awareness I have about me: and finally I as a “person known to God” or who I am before God. The knowledge in the first two can be erroneous but it is only God who really knows who we really are. Ash Wednesday and the forty consequent days are to find out that truth about ourselves.

In the hustle and bustle of the modern day society and life, our structures and systems, our responsibilities and regulations and our problems and pre-occupations may not leave time or space to reflect about nature, to come into contact with the divine or to maintain a prayerful relationship with God. But we may have become busy-bodies like the “hypocrites” in today’s Gospel where many things were done to be seen by others: to boost the image of “the person known to the world.” Whenever there are elections in the country, we have enough examples of such people.

Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday, has traditions from the Old Testament too, when people were invited to atone for their sins through penance, wearing sack-cloth. They were to fast and complete the fast with works of charity (Isaiah 58:1-12). Today, we too can go through this “spiritual cleansing process” if we enter into the forty days after applying Ashes on our foreheads and to begin the purification and sanctification of our hearts and souls. It’s a time to think and work for others and to give up our ego and selfishness.
Our selfishness, this cause of all evil, damages us, our relationship with the world, with our neighbours and with our God. It is evident in the world how the natural selfishness of humanity that is a legacy of our nature afflicts all men and women at all times. A few examples are:
The unresolved global economic and financial crisis, caused by the liberalist market economy. The Vatican’s Justice and Peace Council calls it as characterized by “selfishness, collective greed and the hoarding of goods on a great scale.” The idolatry of the market, profit without ethics, have caused this economic chaos which affects poorer nations the worst.
National issues that remain unresolved due to feet-dragging or lessons-never-learnt attitude, is causing the poorer sections and those affected by war to linger on, suffering without a light at the end of the tunnel. Lack of political will and solution causes delay in real people-centred development. Selfishness and greed abounding in decision-making make a few richer and many poorer.
When it comes to our commitments in family life, our selfishness can raise its head when we think only of our comfort, our opinion or our indulgence or profit. When we break the promises we made for a life time that can make us blind to the fact that the spouses and children were entrusted to us to be looked after and nurtured. Broken families, neglected and orphaned children, unhappiness and guilt will be the result of such selfishness.

God was able to breathe life into the dust and give life to man. Lent is a time to go to the Lord, the Creator and plead with Him to once again turn our “dust or ashes” into a life of grace

Happy Women’s Day to you

2012-03-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

A wonderful person and a great friend.
It’s a blessing to have both of them in you!
A very Happy Women’s Day to you!

I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope, I'll be your love be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do..
I will be strong I will be faithful 'cause I'm counting on A new beginning.
A reason for living. A deeper meaning.

I want to stand with you on a mountain.
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever.
Until the sky falls down on me

And when the stars are shining brightly in the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish send it to heaven then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the pleasure and the certainty.
That we're surrounded by the comfort and protection of
The highest power. In lonely hours. The tears devour you
I want to stand with you on a mountain,
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever,
Until the sky falls down on me

Oh can you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes 'cause it's standing right before you.
All that you need will surely come

I'll be your dream I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope I'll be your love be everything that you need.
I'll love you more with every breath truly madly deeply do

The four wives

2012-03-08T06:27:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confident and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No! ", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity.

Let Love lighten your way

2012-03-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

Every day we encounter something new. sometimes it makes us happy. sometimes it makes us sad. sometimes we become mad. but in the midst of being angry let your love shine through. we never really know what someone else is going through at that time. they may be walking in their own darkness of the soul and are just venting. by letting love and compassion fill your heart you succeed in becoming a candle for others who are lost in their own darkness of the soul and your love lightens the darkness. let your love shine through and a single candle will light so many ways!

In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger,something better, pushing right back.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.-William Ernest Henley

ADVENT IN THE SEASON

2011-12-09T04:37:00.001-08:00

Advent is a holy season of the Church, celebrated before Christmas. Read on to learn more about this time.

According to the Christian church, the time before Christmas is meant to be spent preparing for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the festival of Christmas. This time is referred to as Advent and is celebrated in churches throughout the world. The entire period of Advent lasts for 40 days. It concludes on December 24 i.e. Christmas Eve.

Significance of Advent

Advent is derived from the Latin word 'Adventus', which means coming. Advent has a dual significance. It is primarily to remember the Hebrews or Israelites who waited for their saviour to be born. Advent is also celebrated to enable today's Christians to prepare themselves for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The second coming has various interpretations among Christian denominations. Most common interpretations sum it up as an event that will fulfil aspects of Messianic prophecy. The prophecy includes the general resurrection of the dead, last judgment of the dead and the living and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth (also called the "Reign of God"), including the Messianic Age.

Traditions Associated with Advent

Advent lasts for around four weeks and always includes four Sundays, which are termed as Advent Sundays. On each Sunday, a special candle is lit, which has its own theme. The first Sunday of Advent is usually reserved for the theme of hope. It may also include a segment dealing with biblical prophecies regarding the second coming of the Lord. The other three Sundays usually deal with themes that focus on the festival of Christmas itself. Some examples are peace, joy, love, compassion, etc. On Christmas Eve, a fifth candle is lit. This candle is white or gold, and is called as Christ's candle. It is lit to signify the birth of Jesus Christ.

Generally, the colour of the candles on the first, second, and fourth Sundays is purple or blue. The colour of the candle lit on the third Sunday is often red or pink. This is because this Sunday is celebrated as Gaudette Sunday. This is a day of joy since the arrival of the Lord is near. The Advent colours influence even the priest's robes. During the period of Advent, a priest wears violet-coloured robes. Only on the third Sunday, he wears rose-coloured robes to mark Gaudette Sunday.

During Advent, the liturgy is based on the specific themes. The theme for the mass, the readings, gospel, and sermon are chosen accordingly.

Advent Celebrations

The first Sunday of Advent is considered to be the beginning of the Christian liturgical year as per the Western Christian calendar. This calendar is followed in most countries of the world. Some eastern European countries follow the Eastern Christian calendar, where the liturgical year begins in the first week of September.

Advent traditionally begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Therefore, the first Sunday of Advent must always be between November 27 and December 3. The season concludes on Christmas Eve. If this day falls on Sunday, then Christmas Eve is considered as the fourth Sunday of Advent.

In Roman Catholic churches, priests wear robes of a deep purple colour during Advent. On the third Sunday, they wear red-coloured robes to celebrate the joyous coming of Christ. In some churches belonging to other Christian denominations, priests wear blue robes rather than purple. This is because they follow the Sarum rite rather than the Roman one.

In the fourth century, Advent began to be declared as a period of fasting, similar to that carried out during Lent. In some areas, fasting began on November 11, the day of St. Martin of Tours. Hence, the fasting at Advent also came to be known as St. Martin's fast or the forty days of St. Martin. In modern times, the church has relaxed its rules and fasting during Advent is no longer compulsory. However, this period is still considered to be one of repentance.

In the weekdays between December 17 and December 24, Advent antiphons are sung during the evening prayer in church. An antiphon is a response sung in the form of a Gregorian chant. These antiphons form the basis for the Advent hymn 'O come Emmanuel'.

Most people tend to focus only on Christmas day. However, the celebration of Advent is what gives meaning to the true joy of Christmas

Anna's support stems from people's anger

2011-08-17T09:14:00.000-07:00

Anna Hazare is not every Indian's flavour of the month. Many question his tactics and strategy of battling the government version of the Lokpal Bill. All ordinary Indians do not endorse the way in which he and his colleagues are carrying on the movement for corruption free India.
On its side the government's and Congress party's leadership has tried hard to impress upon people that the Jan Lokpal Bill, the version of the bill put forward by Anna Hazare and his colleagues is one legal framework against stopping corruption while the Government Lokpal Bill is another framework. The government has tried to impress upon all that there is scope of civil society actors to come forward to the Parliament's standing committee and express their opinions on the government's version of the Lokpal Bill.

But why are ordinary Indians feeling attracted to Anna Hazare's movement? Have they compared the two versions of the bill, the Lokpal Bill of the government and the Jan Lokpal Bill of Anna Hazare and his colleagues? Most have not. Then why are they showing solidarity for Anna's movement? Though they have not read either of the versions – the government's or the civil society's, they have witnessed how a callous and corrupt government has let scam after scam happen – Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Society in Mumbai, the telecom scam and more getting unearthed week by week.

All parties are seen to be corrupt. The Congress, the breakaway parties of Congress, the BJP, the communist parties, the social justice parties of DMK, BSP or RJD – all seem to be indulging in corruption and promoting corruption. The entire spectrum of India's political parties seems to be steeped in corruption. Even there are allegations that the Maoists indulge in extortion. Does that mean people think each and every politician is corrupt?

No, they are wise enough to see that there are honest people too in political parties. But they feel that the overarching ethos of organized politics has become one of big money and power. The groundswell of people's support for Anna Hazare is an expression of their fatigue of and anger with the big money and power nexus.

The popular surge for Anna Hazare needs to be read between the lines and the call for a people's India as opposed to a politician's India needs to be actualized. That is the task for India's people and its panchayats, its assemblies, no less its Parliament, in the next decade.

2010-09-26T11:34:00.001-07:00

Hi dear friends,
From the way politics is moving, we feel frustrated. Yet there are ways in which we can meaningfully participate in each others lives. Suggest some ways of bringing meaning to our daily lives. Some simple tips please!

Glorious Steve

Gandhi-a grateful student

2008-10-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. - Cicero:

It was in the year 1996 when I was teaching in Don Bosco Matriculation School, Yagappa Nagar, Thanjavur that I met this student, named Gandhi. I was just back from Mysore after my bachelors degree at Maharaja's College Mysore, Karnataka.

I saw a batch of students who were new to the aspirantate house where they will somehow manage to study in the neighbouring Don Bosco Matriculation School with the little English they have learnt. One among the newcomer was Gandhi.

The new entrants were timid by nature but willing to learn. They always needed special instructions and always some extra ones at that. They were finding it very difficult to adjust with the rest of the students and particularly the timetable. I need not mention the fact that Gandhi too fell into that category.

Out of special interest in these students, I started teaching them a little bit of English language and Memory Skills. I thought they are going to be of no use as they were still blinking not knowing a word of English. The whole year passed by very fast.

I left Thanjavur. Went to Trichy for further studies and then later to Nilgiris for a six year period of work among the tribal people of Nilgiri Hills in Tamilnadu.

During those years, I had to visit Salem once. After a short stay in Don Bosco Anbu Illam, a house for street children, I was starting off to my place in Nilgiris. As I took my bag and started, I heard a voice calling me from behind. I turned back to see who it was. It was Gandhi.

He was so happy to meet me. I could see his face filled with gratitude. He told me that he was grateful to me for having taught him Memory power. He said that he happened to be a topper in the +2 exams in the school level. Here is a student whom we all knew to be a dull student. He tells me that he scored the first mark in the school.

"Unbelievable ," I said.
" Believe me," he said and continued to say that it was the memory power techniques that I taught him made him score such good marks.

He said I happened to sparkle in him a desire to study more and score more. He said that I lighted a flame in his heart. These words reminded me of the words of Albert Schweitzer who said, "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

He came to meet me in Chennai. He said that he was teaching in a government school. He also gave me a pleasant news saying that he is teaching that to his students as a gratitude to what he has gained from me. I see him so full of gratitude even today for the little he received.

Buddha said,"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

He stands as an example for people who are great by virtue of being grateful to people and by virtue of recognising and appreciating the good that they receive.

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in people'will for the good of others. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of your gratitude.

With gratitude

Glorious Steve

This is a happy day!

2007-09-30T07:56:00.001-07:00

I am immesely happy when i created this web blog site. The thought of sharing information and views simply thrills me. I will be grateful to people who go through this site and give me some useful comments to enhance this blog.

The notes that I will be writing will be surely of some help to all of you who read it. I must tell you another fact. This blogspot is going to force me to pen something everyday. This spot is going to discipline me. I surrender to people and things that make me better everyday. All I wish is that i become useful to a good number of pepole around me.

I wish you all a happy reading.

Affly

Glorious Steve