Adult baptism- Sarah Goodyear & Ed Weissman Epsicopal Haiku The church, its ways, and its people, seventeen syllables at a time (Seabury Books NYNY 2007)
was once called "Baptism for
those of Riper years."
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Haiku for today #112
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Haiku for today #113
About St. Paul: Some- Sarah Goodyear & Ed Weissman Epsicopal Haiku The church, its ways, and its people, seventeen syllables at a time (Seabury Books NYNY 2007)
of us can't warm up to him.
What are we to do?
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Haiku for today #114
Our currency is- Sarah Goodyear & Ed Weissman Epsicopal Haiku The church, its ways, and its people, seventeen syllables at a time (Seabury Books NYNY 2007)
doubt. Slowly, we spend it on
faith. Good investment.
Monday, January 28, 2008
not w/a bang but a whimper
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.- Thomas Stearnes Eliot The Hollow Men
A world ended today. I remember when it began -- St Mary's, Oak Ridge -- a wet day -- I remember chasing a jack-off through the mist to the Turnpike.
Was that the fateful day the bean pot welded itself to the stove on Principia (no that was the apartments -- was it also the street?) Such smoke -- an ill omen.
Then the trip down here -- chill in the house - strep - strep in the other - then mono -- more ill omens for a bad beginning. A nice evening w/ her cousin at James Brown's club.
How did we stay together for 25 yrs? My reluctance for change, or was it just lonliness? What went through her mind indeed?
And now we have nullity -- just a whimper. she lost in the mists of yesteryear, me just lost.
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats’ feet over broken glass
In our dry cellarShape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;- ibid.
Monday, January 21, 2008
I'll bet my son hasn't shown this to his wife
Guts & Balls - The Medical Distinction
We've all heard about people having guts ot balls. But do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the defination for each is listed below:
GUTS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask: "Are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?"
BALLS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume & beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping you wife on the butt and having the balls to say "you're next."
I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions.Of course, medically speaking, there is no difference on the outcome since both ultimately end up in death!
We've all heard about people having guts ot balls. But do you really know the difference between them? In an effort to keep you informed, the defination for each is listed below:
GUTS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being met by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to ask: "Are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?"
BALLS - is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, smelling of perfume & beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping you wife on the butt and having the balls to say "you're next."
I hope this clears up any confusion on the definitions.Of course, medically speaking, there is no difference on the outcome since both ultimately end up in death!
Friday, January 18, 2008
TELL ME WHOM YOU LOVE
The following story is one of my favorites. It comes from Max Lucado's book, "And The Angels Were Silent." I have shared it before but want to share it again.
"John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.
"The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.
"When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. 'You'll recognize me,' she wrote, 'by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel.' So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.
"I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. 'Going my way, sailor?' she murmured.
"Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat.. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.
"The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.
"This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. 'I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?'
"The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. 'I don't know what this is about, son,' she answered, 'but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!'
"It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. 'Tell me whom you love,' Houssaye wrote, 'And I will tell you who you are.'"
The story carries its own application, so I will add no thought of my own. Simply this scripture:
"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Mt 25:40)
Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you whom you are. - Alan Smith http://www.tftd-online.com
"John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, but with the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.
"The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.
"When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. 'You'll recognize me,' she wrote, 'by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel.' So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.
"I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened: A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. 'Going my way, sailor?' she murmured.
"Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat.. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.
"The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her.
"This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. 'I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?'
"The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. 'I don't know what this is about, son,' she answered, 'but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!'
"It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. 'Tell me whom you love,' Houssaye wrote, 'And I will tell you who you are.'"
The story carries its own application, so I will add no thought of my own. Simply this scripture:
"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." (Mt 25:40)
Tell me whom you love, and I will tell you whom you are. - Alan Smith http://www.tftd-online.com
Thursday, January 17, 2008
de fide
(latin for On faith)
There was a little old lady, who every morning. stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD!" One day an atheist moved into the house next door. He became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he'd step onto his front porch after her and yell: "THERE IS NO LORD!" Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. One morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord!" The next morning she stepped out onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "PRAISE THE LORD!" she cried out. "HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!" The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: "THERE IS NO LORD; I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!" The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY FOR THEM!" - Donald Pohlner q.gcfl
There was a little old lady, who every morning. stepped onto her front porch, raised her arms to the sky, and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD!" One day an atheist moved into the house next door. He became irritated at the little old lady. Every morning he'd step onto his front porch after her and yell: "THERE IS NO LORD!" Time passed with the two of them carrying on this way every day. One morning, in the middle of winter, the little old lady stepped onto her front porch and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! Please Lord, I have no food and I am starving, provide for me, oh Lord!" The next morning she stepped out onto her porch and there were two huge bags of groceries sitting there. "PRAISE THE LORD!" she cried out. "HE HAS PROVIDED GROCERIES FOR ME!" The atheist neighbor jumped out of the hedges and shouted: "THERE IS NO LORD; I BOUGHT THOSE GROCERIES!!" The little old lady threw her arms into the air and shouted: "PRAISE THE LORD! HE HAS PROVIDED ME WITH GROCERIES AND MADE THE DEVIL PAY FOR THEM!" - Donald Pohlner q.gcfl
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
I wonder how my mother would react in this case
My mother has a "lead foot," so I was not surprised when a state trooper pulled us over as we were speeding through Georgia. Hoping to get off with a warning, Mom tried to appear shocked when the trooper walked up to the car. "I have never been stopped like this before," she said to the officer. "What do they usually do, ma'am," he asked, "shoot the tires out?" - Thomas Ellsworth q.gcfl
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Be it resolved ...
At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers' New Year's resolutions on the bulletin board.
As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded.
This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
Maybe this is a good time to see how you're coming on your New Year's resolutions (if indeed you made any). The above story demonstrates why making resolutions may not be such a good thing and, in fact, may be detrimental to our spiritual growth. What happens when we make resolutions? At some point, the resolution is likely going to be broken. It may be a matter of days, weeks, or months, but eventually we tend to falter.
If your resolution involves dieting, there will likely come a day when you'll sneak a piece of fudge. If your resolution is quitting smoking, there will likely come a day when you'll reach for that cigarette you've been craving. If your resolution is reading the Bible every day, there will likely come a day when things are so hectic that you miss your reading.
And once the resolution is broken, it becomes even easier for it to crumble further. The incentive that kept you going ("I've maintained my commitment to this point") is now gone. One slip leads to two which quickly leads to three, and before long we have the attitude, "I've messed up so much that it's not even worth continuing to try." So what is there left to do? For most of us, we set our sights on January 1, 2009 and determine when that day rolls arounds, we'll try it again ("and NEXT time I'll do it!").
Allow me to suggest an alternative. Instead of yearly resolutions, what if we made daily resolutions? Begin each day with this prayer:
"Father, today I want to live for you. I want to dedicate to you my time, my energy, my passion and my resources. Today, I will seek to add one quality that will make me more like You. Today, I will seek to eliminate something in my life that doesn't please you. I will seek to be more conscious of You in my life. I will try to be more appreciative of the blessings I receive from Your hand, and I will look for opportunities to show You glory in the way I deal with people and in the way I react to situations I face."
Make it your resolution to end the day a little bit closer to God than you began. The goal is spiritual growth...
"...Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ." (Eph 4:14,16)
- Alan Smith
As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded.
This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
Maybe this is a good time to see how you're coming on your New Year's resolutions (if indeed you made any). The above story demonstrates why making resolutions may not be such a good thing and, in fact, may be detrimental to our spiritual growth. What happens when we make resolutions? At some point, the resolution is likely going to be broken. It may be a matter of days, weeks, or months, but eventually we tend to falter.
If your resolution involves dieting, there will likely come a day when you'll sneak a piece of fudge. If your resolution is quitting smoking, there will likely come a day when you'll reach for that cigarette you've been craving. If your resolution is reading the Bible every day, there will likely come a day when things are so hectic that you miss your reading.
And once the resolution is broken, it becomes even easier for it to crumble further. The incentive that kept you going ("I've maintained my commitment to this point") is now gone. One slip leads to two which quickly leads to three, and before long we have the attitude, "I've messed up so much that it's not even worth continuing to try." So what is there left to do? For most of us, we set our sights on January 1, 2009 and determine when that day rolls arounds, we'll try it again ("and NEXT time I'll do it!").
Allow me to suggest an alternative. Instead of yearly resolutions, what if we made daily resolutions? Begin each day with this prayer:
"Father, today I want to live for you. I want to dedicate to you my time, my energy, my passion and my resources. Today, I will seek to add one quality that will make me more like You. Today, I will seek to eliminate something in my life that doesn't please you. I will seek to be more conscious of You in my life. I will try to be more appreciative of the blessings I receive from Your hand, and I will look for opportunities to show You glory in the way I deal with people and in the way I react to situations I face."
Make it your resolution to end the day a little bit closer to God than you began. The goal is spiritual growth...
"...Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ." (Eph 4:14,16)
- Alan Smith
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
prayer request
Bobbi Anderson, loving wife of SK Bill Anderson, our dear sister in Christ, friend, catechist, spiritual guide and mentor, has begun a battle with Lung Cancer. She has already begun radiation treatments on the lesions in her brain.
from her husband:
from her husband:
Fellow Knights, I would like to request your prayers for my wife Bobbie whom most of you know. She has been diagnosed with Lung Cancer which has also gotten into her brain. She has been in Piedmont Hospital since the 26th. after having a Biopsy done her lung collapsed. She has been on a suction which draws out the air from outside her lung. Hopefully they can remove this tomorrow (Wednesday) and she can come home. She has had 2 radiation treatments for the Cancer in her Brain and will have 8 more in the next 4 or 5 days. The Drs. believe this clear up the Cancer in her brain and they can then start Chemotherapy for lungs. She is in good spirits even though the prognosis is not real good. Please pray for her and me and our whole family
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Have a blessed New Year
I once listed all the good things I did over the past year, and then turned them into resolution form and backdated them. That was a good feeling. - Robert Fulghum
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