It’s kinda nice being back home…

I’ve been gone so long I hardly know where to begin…

The memories come back in fragments, here an old habit prompts me to turn in a certain direction, there a scene comes rushing back in so fast my head swims… I pause… and the pixels of time slowly click into place. A fragrance, a tree, the light in the afternoon sky… and I’m back.

Now there’s a familiar face! Look at His smile…

I breathe deep, and deeper still. Why did it take so long?

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” T. S. ELIOT

It only took me 3 weeks to figure out how to make the above link work right!! But it’s running now. ENJOY the King of Kings!!

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love,

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

“And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. I Kings 17:7-15

Reflection

There is not much

Just enough actually

For me and my boy

Our last supper

Then he came

The holy hungry man

Scruffy

Crusty

Brazen

Prophet: “I am hungry give me some food!”

She muses:

I am hungry too

There has been a famine in the land now for some time

Note my clothing

See my son

Look at our home

You are the man of God

Fix for me a miracle

Widow: “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son.”

Son, we have enough to give this holy man

It is virtue to give even if it is our last bit of flour and oil

Don’t cry my boy

Daddy would do this if he were here

Fetch for me the flour and pan

Take the sticks

Prepare the fire

The widow and son watch

The holy man eats

Furtively

Hurriedly

Ravenously

Crumbs fall from his face

They hunger

She believes for both herself and the boy

He must not see her afraid

Not now

Not at the end

She will die feeding this man of God

Elijah: For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

She passed the test

Somewhere between time and space

An exchange takes place between Heaven and earth

An ordinary jar of flour and oil becomes a receptacle for a miracle

The extraordinary faith of a widow is noticed and still talked about today

God wants you to know…

He notices the widow

The orphans

The needy

You

He hears your silent screams in the darkness

He feels the weight of your doubt and fear

You are not alone anymore

Nor have you ever been

All He asks for is an exchange

What you have

Including:

Weakness

Failure

Lack

Your heart,

Will

Trust

Your faith

He will carry you through this season

Fill your emptiness

Multiply resources

And inhabit the deep places

There has been a great famine in the human soul

A couple thousand years ago

God gathered some sticks

Laid upon them His only Son,

The Bread of Life

You never need to hunger again

reprinted from the Deaconess Hospital E-Boost

Badaptation: a bad movie version of a good book.

Carbage: the trash found in your automobile.

Dadicated: being the best father you can be.

Ecrastinate: checking your e-mail just one more time.

Faddict: someone who has to try every new trend that comes along.

Gabberflasted: the state of being speechless due to someone else talking too much.

Hackchoo: when you sneeze and cough at the same time.

Iceburg: an uppity, snobbish neighborhood.

Jobsolete: a position within a company that no longer exists.

Knewlyweds: second marriage for both.

Lamplify: turning on (or up) the lights within a room.

Mandals: sandals for men.

Nagivator: someone who constantly assists with driving directions in an overly critical manner.

Obliment: an obligatory compliment.

Pestariffic: adjective describing a particularly pesty person.

Qcumbersome: a salad that contains too many cucumbers.

Ramdumbtious: a rowdy, energetic person who’s not too bright.

Sanktuary: a graveyard for ships.

Testimoney: fees paid to expert witnesses.

Unbrella: an umbrella that the wind has turned inside-out.

Vehiculized: you own a vehicle.

Wackajacky: very messed up.

Xerocks: two identical pieces of stone.

Yawnese: the language of someone trying to speak while yawning.

Zingle: a single person with a lot of pep in his or her step.

O beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful, for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!

O beautiful, for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

‘Til all success be nobleness, and ev’ry gain divine!

O beautiful, for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

Katharine Lee Bates, 1859 - 1929

For who among us holds within themselves any worthy offering
to the God who owns the universe?
To come to you while the entire world moves away from you,
is our only gift of worth.

And so I come this day: ignore me or use me,
save me or spend me.
Use me or set me by,
I am yours.
Amen.

author unknown…