Good news update: Zipper has been rescued!

He has a presser scheduled for 9:45 his time, about a half hour from now.

He was the only one of the three Liberal Democrat Candidates committed to killing the ETS, the Aussie version of Crap ‘N Tax.   Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Commenter Tallbloke over at WUWT instantly threw water on the celebration, saying it may not be enough:

Up to eight Liberal MPs are threatening to cross the floor and vote with Labor. Kevin Rudd only needs seven Liberal MPs to vote for an ETS in the Senate and it will become law.

Perhaps the champagne is premature, perhaps not–they say there’s medication for that anyway. Here’s the take from The Australian.

Killing the ETS right before Copenhagen is the perfect way to piss in the Wheaties for the “ClimateGate doesn’t mean a thing” spinning assholes in the UN, the UK, in Washington and in the Red Estate media.  No AGW Pooftas!!!

Right, let’s get some Sheilas.

Remember how I’ve been mulling over giving up on trying to break into the opera world and building up my own thing?

I’m on it. So much so that I’ve started a new blog just to talk about it.

Plan C: The Blog is where I’ll be talking about my new ideas, posting works in progress, asking for feedback on what I’m working on. I’m planning on posting there about twice a week (I’m planning on posting here every day again as well).

I haven’t posted much yet, just a general discussion about why I’m doing this, but I’ll post links when I put up new stuff. But don’t worry, I plan to keep this blog just as frivolous and time-wasting as it is now.

For example, did you know that you can buy a Hello Kitty toaster?

I won’t post anything more, but if you’re bored, google “unusual hello kitty merchandise” and you’ll find some weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeird stuff.

This blog entry is cross-posted from Pollinate Asheville. Thanks, Suzanne, for your kind words!

Pollinator: Get Fit. Go Green. Give to Others.

Can I just tell you how much I love the YWCA?  We are so fortunate to have a strong YWCA in Asheville, thanks to the amazing leadership, staff, and community support of their programming.

A Bit of History

Back in the day, like most other institutions, the YWCA was racially segregated.  The Asheville YWCA was the first in the South to integrate AND, the building that it currently occupies was originally the YWCA for African Americans, which is unusual.  In talking with Holly Jones, Executive Director, integration typically took place in the YWCAs for white folks, likely because the facilities were in better condition.

Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women

I started going to the YWCA to utilize their fitness equipment and classes, and quickly realized that it is much more than an exercise facility.  Even upon filling out the membership form, I had to sign on a line that I agree to show respect for others and myself while I am in the facility.  And, coming from the Pittsburgh-area, I find it odd that it is so difficult for me to meet friends with racial backgrounds different than my own.  Not only have I encountered rich diversity at the YWCA, but I notice that the staff is multi-racial—a rarity in Asheville.

“Our diverse staff helps us better serve our diverse community,” says Holly Jones.

5 Reasons to Support the YWCA

1. Their Mission: Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women

2. Efforts to Go Green and Lessen their Carbon Footprint: Solar Hot Water

3. Amazing Fitness Facility and Classes and a Pool.

4. Diverse, Friendly and Knowledgeable Staff

5. Community Programs, including support for teen mothers, diabetes support and prevention, child care, and more.

5 Ways to Support the YWCA

1. Become a Member

• Stop by the YWCA on South French Broad Ave. to learn more.  It’s affordable and worth it.

2. Make a Donation to help reach $100K this year

3. Volunteer, Share your talents.

• Contact Catherine Peck, Programs Director – 828-254-7206 ext. 215

4. Sponsor a Program, custom-designed sponsorships available.

• Contact Catherine Peck, Programs Director – 828-254-7206 ext. 215

5. Talk about the YWCA.  Take a look at the programs they offer and tell your friends.

Also…the YWCA’s Tribute to Women of Influence (TWIN) award nominations are being taken now.  Find the link to the nomination form on the homepage of their website.

Go to the YWCA Website for more information.

Go to the YWCA Blog for news and updates.

South Korean navy ship rescues a North Korean soldier.

Shyne speaks to the inmates and prisoners of his native Belize and shares his experiences of being involved in the Club NY shooting and his time locked up in prison.  He also offers them ways to hope in that they can relate to him because he was once in their shoes.

Virtual internships, while relatively rare, are becoming more common, career experts say, fueled by improving technology and the growth of social media. They are most popular among small to midsize companies and online businesses. More than one-fourth of 150 internships posted on UrbanInterns.com, a site that connects small businesses with part-time workers, are labeled virtual, where the work typically involves researching, sales, marketing and social-media development.

“In the last 10 years they’ve gone from being almost unheard of to being something almost every college student has at least considered,” says Steven Rothberg, founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, a job board for students and recent graduates. Mr. Rothberg says he first saw virtual internships in the late 1990s in information technology and software development—industries, he says, where virtual internships are still the most common today. Other growth areas include the sales, marketing and social-media departments of companies across various industries. (By JONNELLE MARTE, The Wall Street Journal, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009)

Read More

Contributed by Vicky White
www.LifeDesignStrategies.com

It was just another one of those brown envelopes from Revenue Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the IRS)…until I read the fine print and realized I was being audited.

Predictably, I did what most people would do; I panicked!

Then I reviewed the facts: the letter wasn’t very friendly, telling me that most likely I owed them a huge amount of money; they listed a whole load of documents they wanted from me, going back over three years of my business, as well as the precise format of how they wanted them presented; and they told me that I had 30 days to get the materials together! The letter was signed by a Mr. Chan.

Of course, the brown envelope arrived one week before I was to fly to New Zealand to visit my family for a month! I bravely contacted Mr. Chan, told him I was off to New Zealand, and received an extension.

Meanwhile, everyone I spoke to told me horror stories about Revenue Canada, along the lines of “they’re out to get you”, “you can’t win”, and “they’re a law unto themselves.”

I did stress out for a couple of weeks before I remembered what I teach the clients I work with: there was a reason this was happening, and most likely I had a lot more control over the outcome than others were predicting. It further occurred to me that this audit was actually a gift – Revenue Canada was going to help me get my accounts in order and create a system that would enable me to grow my business!

The fact that I’d started a relationship with a former accountant a few months earlier just had to be some kind of divine timing! There definitely seemed to be a plan afoot and I felt that, whatever happened, I was being supported.

I made a decision to refer to “my friend Mr. Chan” whenever I mentioned his name or spoke about my tax audit. My financially experienced friend didn’t quite see it the same way, but he did spend countless hours with me over the next few months getting my accounts in order, documenting where I had made mistakes in my addition (huh?), where I had claimed things that were not claimable, and where I had neglected to claim things I could have!

The truth was, it wasn’t that I was trying to get away with anything. I’d been in Canada for just a few years, I’d been doing my own monthly accounts, and I’d been making assumptions about what I could claim. Definitely a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing! I did have someone complete my tax return each year, without realizing she was just transferring the figures I gave her onto my tax form without questioning anything. I could have done that myself! I was sending in tax returns that made no sense – no wonder they flicked up a red flag in Revenue Canada.

I learned several things in the process: I learned that renovating my new condo was not actually something I could claim; and that credit card statements are not receipts (after all, those expenses could be for anything). I learned a lot of things that were probably silly enough to show Revenue Canada I wasn’t trying to rip them off.

I convinced myself that Revenue Canada was there to help me. And I was convinced that my friend Mr. Chan was there to see that I was helped. He and I became buddies (in my mind, anyway) and I eventually delivered a box with the information they wanted, including a whole lot of receipts I had managed to get from coaches and service providers from past years. My friend Mr. Chan and I then had a little to and fro process with letters as he asked more questions and I explained what my business was all about and what my intentions for it were.

This whole process took six months and I can’t say it was fun, but in the end I felt I had been well treated. There was one expense I really think they should have allowed but I was more than happy with the $5000 tax refund I received a few weeks later plus the tax credit I was granted for the following year. I came away feeling as if I probably wouldn’t have had the same outcome had I gone through this process with the belief they were out to get me.

I now have a system I still use, I know how Revenue Canada likes things to be organized, and I know that if I was ever in a similar situation, it would take me half a day to get everything together to present to them. Revenue Canada did support me in creating the foundation for a strong business, for which I’m very grateful.

Questions for reflection:

• Do you think Vicky’s early shift in attitude about her predicament – before the full audit process was underway – made a difference in her outcome? How?
• Do you believe it’s possible to apply an “Upside perspective” to just about any situation in life? What exceptions would you make and why?

Previously on “My Life When Written…”
This is for real. Not made up, although it sounds, and feels, kind of like a bad sitcom.

Three weeks ago
In 2004 I bought a new laptop. It was a top of the line consumer model, nice sized monitor, plenty of hard disk space and sufficient RAM. I used it a lot and it traveled with me and was used at the office and at home. It was a great buy and worked well.

In five years a lot changed. The RAM was no longer sufficient, the operating system was a version or two behind and several browser ad-ons were out of date and no longer functioning as a result, the hard disk space was all but filled and a lot of files were on external drives.

Sometime during year two I had to send it in for repairs. When I got it back the left speaker would only work once in a while. During year three a crack in plastic began to appear along the joints that attached the monitor to the body. During year four someone tripped on the power cord and the laptop fell from the coffee table onto the floor. The monitor hinges were broken, leaving the monitor permanently open and very delicately attached. The laptop became a permanent table top, but I continued to use it for more than a year.

About three weeks ago I got a call from a very excited friend who had just come into a little bit of money. And this friend had ordered two laptops, one for each of us.

Normally the excitement would have been tremendous, but with the divorce becoming final and, at nearly that exact same time, with the mortgage holder telling us they could not work with us on our mortgage and that our house was going up for sale, well — it was hard to work up much excitement.

But it was exciting and spectacular, none-the-less. This friend wishes to remain anonymous, but deserves a tremendous “thank you”. Like many people, I use the computer for work and this allowed me the freedom to compute from anywhere again. And keep in mind that I may be living in my car in a few weeks, so having a wi-fi enabled lap top with a car power adapter may come in handy … car adapter pending…

There are many stories about people helping other people. In the past I have been able to be one of those who offered the help. This was the first time someone had done something of this magnitude to help me, us.

There are angels out there. The angels may be experiencing some cash flow problems, too, but their compassion and caring are still there.

Angels are among us. Be an angel to someone today.

In Numbers 21 the Bible tells of the story when God sent a plaque of snakes into the camp of Israel as punishment for the nations complaining against God. Many people died as a result. When the Israelites came to Moses in repentance, seeking deliverance from the serpants. Moses prayed and God gave instructions to Moses on how those bitten could be saved. The instructions were simple: make a pole, set on it an image of a snake and if any who are bitten will look upon the brass serpent, they will be saved. Once poisoned, the solution was not to start eating healthy, exercising regularly and going to bed earlier. Once bitten, a better lifestyle would not help the Israelites at all. No deed they could do would remove that poison from there bodies. The only thing that would remove the death from their bodies was to look in faith to the instrument of God’s salvation. We are in the same condition, born poisoned with sin, already infected with death and disease. A good lifestyle will not remove that poison. A proper religion will not remove the poison. Only looking to God’s appointed salvation will remove the poison that infects your body. Only trusting Christ to save you will bring life and healing to you. God is not pleased because you give money to the church, or you are a kind person. God is not impressed by your charitable donations. God is not moved by your religiosity. Earning righteousness by your personal devotion, your good deeds or your religious systems is impossible. Each of those things are fleshly and they do not come from God, impress, please or persuade Him in anyway. The only thing to do is look to Christ, depending on Him alone to save you.

Rwanda and France agree to restore diplomatic ties.

Rwanda joins Commonwealth.

Luke 21:25-36

25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

            A couple of months ago our family decided spontaneously to go see a movie one night. Everyone was home together for the first time in several weeks and we wanted to do something as a family. So off to the movie we went.

            Before our feature film started, we were treated as usual, to a number of previews of upcoming movies. One preview in particular, caught my attention. It was for a movie I had not heard of before, called “2012.” In just a few moments of the preview I got the basic idea behind the film’s plot.

            In a nutshell the plot is something like this: the Mayans, an ancient people now extinct, were well known for their astronomy and calendar making. Though they lived long ago, they formulated accurate calendars for periods long after their people became extinct. But the Mayan calendars abruptly end on December 21, 2012. According to Mayan belief, the world will enter some type of planetary chaos on that day that will bring the world as we know it to an end.

            Then the movie preview showed a few action scenes of buildings and monuments across the planet falling apart, and mixed in the usual drama of the hero trying to save his family, and…well, you get the idea.

            It looked like quite an action packed film!

            Then, just a few days later I was channel surfing one evening and I came across a show on the History Channel about Nostradamus, the 16th-century French apothecary who, some claim foresaw everything from the rise of Napoleon to the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Can you guess what is coming next?

            Yes, that’s right, the show on the History Channel said that Nostradamus predicted that the world will come to a cataclysmic end in the year 2012.

            So I started asking myself, “Do you think anyone is buying all this 2012 doomsday talk?”

            Do you know if you Google “December 21, 2012” you will get nearly 7 million hits? If you do the same search on Amazon.com you will find more than 400 books on the subject.

            It seems like there is a lot of interest in this date, and a growing sense of anxiety about it as well.

            All of this got me thinking about some questions…

Could the world really end on December 21, 2012?

What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

How do you prepare for the end?

            So what are believers in Jesus Christ to think about all of this?

            And what did Jesus teach about this subject?

            Does our faith have anything to offer that gives hope in times of uncertainty?

            Jesus talked a lot about His coming again. In fact, each year we celebrate “Advent” a season of 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. “Advent” is a word that means “coming.” Advent is a time for us to think about, and prepare for, the coming of Jesus Christ.

            This seems like a great time for a series ripped right out of a Hollywood movie script: “Will the world end in 2012? What the Bible says.”

            That’s what I want us to think about in this teaching.

            So what does Jesus say about the end?

            In Luke 21, Jesus tells us two important truths. The first is this: one day, there will be an end.”

            Just as creation has a beginning, so it will one day come to an end.

            Jesus describes this end in terms of a cosmic cataclysm:

            The sun, moon, and stars will be affected: the sun will stop shining, the moon will no longer be seen, the planets will be shaken. On earth the nations will be in distress. All of creation will be in chaos and confusion.

            Jesus teaches us that the end will cause people to have one of two responses.

The first way is this:

1) I can respond with fear, foreboding, and fainting.

Luke 21:26

26 “People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

            Some people will see the end approaching and will be afraid.

            The reason people fear the end is because they are unprepared.

            Jesus taught His followers to live ready for His return, and not be caught off guard.

            Jesus told His followers His return would bring redemption and justice. They were to look forward to His coming again.

            Those who were not prepared for Jesus’ return would greet His arrival with fear, foreboding, and fainting in terror.

            Jesus used a word for “fainting” that means hyperventilating and passing out due to anxiety.

            Jesus said when He returns, some folks will see Him, have a panic attack, and faint dead away.

            Some will respond to the chaos of the end with fear. Have you ever noticed how quickly people respond in times of uncertainty and chaos, with fear?

            When I was in school, from time to time the teachers would say, “Clean off your desk, put your books away, and get out a clean sheet of paper. We are going to have a pop quiz.”

            I learned over time that I greeted this news in two very distinct ways.

            If I had not been studying regularly like I should have, I would feel a sense of dread come over me. I’d get a little queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew that the teacher was about to discover I was unprepared for a test. But if I heard the teacher announce a pop quiz and I had been keeping up with the reading and reviewing my notes, then I looked forward to the test. The teacher was about to discover that I was ready for an exam.

            Whether or not we look forward to the test depends on how ready we are for it!

            So, let’s be honest: Is there anything to this Mayan calendar theory of the end of the world?

            The truth is, the Mayan “long count calendar” does end in December 2012. This is the time that the ancient Mayans believed would be the end of the present day cycle of creation.     

            The Mayans were in fact very accurate in their calendar making and their skills in astronomy. They charted planetary movements with skill that was unmatched until the invention of the telescope, and to some degree, not until the 20^th century.

But all this begins to break down when we realize that even though the Mayan calendar ends in December of 2012, they never said this was the sign of the end of the world, or the beginning of any cataclysmic disasters.

            Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. The Mayans didn’t say either way.

            When people get caught up in the latest predictions of “the end of time” it is usually the result of a society experiencing anxiety and uncertainty. When people become uneasy about their lives—their world—their future, they often begin to panic and start to think “the end is near.”

            In 2004 there was a massive and destructive tsunami in Indonesia. It caused a temporary, world-wide sense of uneasiness. People began to ask, “What is the possibility of a tsunami hitting my nation? Could this be the end of the world?” The recent economic downturn has brought reports of the end of the world as we know it. And all we have to do is think back to how we felt on September 11, 2001 when we saw planes flying into the World Trade Center, and you know right away that anxious feeling of vulnerability that swept our nation.

            Today fear seems to be the controlling factor in our society. But the time was, when people faced fear with faith.

            Listen again to these words from Psalm 46 that has brought comfort and hope to people for generations:

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. {Psalm 46:1-3}

            To make sure we clearly hear what Jesus is saying, it is important to remember Jesus said two things about the end.

            The first is that as creation has a beginning, so creation will have an end. The second truth Jesus has for us is this: After the end, comes a new beginning!

            God’s good news in Jesus Christ is this: There is beginning, ending, followed by new beginning.

            Jesus said in Luke 21:28 when we see signs of the end, “Stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

            Redemption. A new beginning. A fresh start. The old is taken and transformed into something totally new.

            There is another way to face an uncertain future, even the end of the world as we know it—without fear.

            Jesus teaches us a second possible response to the end:

2) I can respond with faith.

Luke 21:28

28 “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

            Jesus says that at the time when it looks like everything in all of creation is shaking and coming apart, that is when we swill see the Son of Man coming with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).

            So how would you respond if you knew that when it gets as bad as it can get, that’s when you’ll find Jesus there?

            Jesus challenges us to look to the end not through the eyes of foreboding and fear, but through the eyes of expectant faith.

            Fear looks at the end as doom and gloom.

            Faith looks at the end as the beginning of redemption.

            Redemption is a word that pictures restraints breaking, chains unlocking, doors opening, and bondage ending.

            Some will see the end as a time of collapse; others will see in the same event a time of release and renewal.

            A few weeks ago was the start of basketball season in our house. The coach of the opposing team on opening night was a pastor that I know. For weeks before the beginning of the season he had told me how big his team was, and how good they were going to be. He even sent an intimidating email to the other coach describing how much more superior his team was to any others around.

            So I was looking forward with great interest for the season to begin so I could see with my own eyes this outstanding basketball team of giant all-stars.

            When the game ended, the giant all-stars had lost, and lost significantly. They were clearly unprepared for the game.

            When the final buzzer sounded, I noticed two very different reactions by the two different teams.

            The team that won raised their arms in excitement, clapped their hands in joy, and held their heads up high.

            The losing team lowered their heads and slumped their shoulders in defeat.

            The buzzer sounding the game’s end brought two completely opposite reactions.

            That that had been prepared was victorious. They were glad at the final buzzer.

            Those who were unprepared were defeated. They were upset at the final buzzer.

            Jesus tells us that one day the final buzzer will sound, and the game will be over.

            For some, the end of the game will be a time of terror, where hearts will faint in defeat. For others, the end of the game will be a time of great joy and celebration.

            So will you face the end in fear, or faith?

            Will the end find you unprepared or ready?

            Will it be a time to bow your head in shame, or raise your head in hope?

            Do you remember watching the TV show “The Price Is Right?” From 1972 until 2007 (September 1972 to June 2007; his last new episode aired on June 15, 2007) Bob Barker hosted this show where contestants try to guess the price of various types of products.

            Do you remember how the show gets the contestants they need? The announcer calls their names and says, “Come on down.” What happens next? The folks whose names are called, stand up, look up, and start jumping up and down because they have been chosen to play the game.

            Jesus says some will view the end with fainting, foreboding, and fear, but others will see it as a time when Jesus is about to do something great. For those, who look forward to the future in faith, Jesus’ return will be like hearing their name called on “The Price Is Right!” It will be a time to jump up, look up, and come running forward toward our redemption!

            Will the world end on December 21, 2012?

            I don’t know. No one, not even the Mayans know.

            This I do know: One day for each of us, the world will end. One day, Jesus will come for each of us.

            The most important question I can think of it: Are you ready today, for the end, no matter when it comes?

            Are you prepared for Jesus’ return?

            On that day, will you face it with fear or faith?

            I think the way you settle this notion of whether the world ends in 2012 and Jesus returns, or not, is simple. You get ready now, and you live ready. Then it does not matter when the end comes.

            How do you get ready, and live ready? You decide that you are going to look to Jesus. He is going to be your Source, your Strength, your Savior, and your Security!

            You decide to live by faith in Jesus, instead of fear of the future.

            You determine that when Jesus comes, you will raise up your head in victory, rather than hang your head in despair.

With the growing number of foreclosures and millions more of Americans in the brink of losing their homes, the Obama administration is set to introduce a new round of efforts to address this continuing problem.

“We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability,” treasury spokesman Meig Reilly said. The government is said to push banks into hastening the pace at which home loans were being converted into new loans and leaving homeowners with lower monthly payments. The full details of this plan are scheduled to be announced this Monday.

The new proposal is said to offer more help to borrowers and agencies who provide troubled homeowners assistance. It also calls for more transparent and enhanced accountability for mortgage service providers and banks in the services they provide.

This new plan is part of the massive $75 billion government program aimed at aiding the millions of American who are in danger of foreclosure. Latest reports estimate the number of homeowners in danger of foreclosure or delinquent stood at 4 million. Under this program qualified homeowners are set to receive $1,000 for each loan and an additional $1,000 annually for up to 3 years.

The initiative is part of the government’s huge $700 billion financial bailout plan designed to offer cash incentives to banks in return for accepting reduced mortgage payments. The program and financial aid was aimed at curbing the rate of foreclosures by helping mortgage providers forestall foreclosure proceedings with huge cash injections from the government.

New Threat

In a report last month by the Congressional Oversight panel tasked with overseeing the Government’s Bailout Program concluded that the foreclosure problem has reached even the stable fixed rate loan market.

The recent spate of foreclosures was largely due to homes with Adjustable Rate Mortgages. These mortgages start out with low monthly payments and steadily increase after a set period of years. Homeowners have not been able to cope with rising mortgage payments resulting to the ever increasing number of foreclosures.

Traditionally good areas of the mortgage industry such as those with Fixed Rate mortgages and homeowners who were able to place the minimum 20 percent down payment are now also showing signs of strain because of the economic difficulties today. Homeowners who previously had good track records of payments are now also showing signs of delayed payments.

The continuing economic difficulties and huge unemployment numbers have contributed to the steady rise of foreclosures and have affected all areas of the housing market.

“The subprime problem has regrettably morphed into an unemployment problem,” Talbott said. He said there was no government program to help the unemployed who are in danger of losing their homes but “many private lenders are modifying loans for the unemployed on their own.”

Reported by REOProteams

For more information on the latest and hottest deals or how we at REOProteams.com could help you please email us at info@REOproteams.com or visit us at www.reoproteams.com or LVbargainproperties.com

Tomorrow  is the first Sunday of advent.   We will light the first candle which represents Hope.  Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on the day before Christmas. Thus it begins on 29 November 2009 and ends on 24 December, Christmas Eve. 

We will celebrate the last day of advent with our Midnight Christmas eve service.

The main reason for the Season of Advent is to recognize the first and second coming of Christ….

Ps 25:10  The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

Luke 21:25-36    “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

  29 Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. 30 When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. 32 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

 34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

And one would be incorrect.

And, you know, the thing about Patrick Stewart, what makes him so infinitely watchable, is the fact that whenever a character of his has a supremely difficult moment, you know that it’s coming from a real place inside of him, and yet it is also very dignified. And I don’t mean “dignified” as in “uptight.” I mean that Patrick Stewart has freaking dignity, man. A single half-smile from Stewart is more profound than an entire lifetime of shenanigans from most of Hollywood. And there are reasons for that, reasons that have to do with his talent, and reasons that, I realize now, must have so much to do with what he lived through. Patrick Stewart, I salute you.

…

And because things are getting intense around here, here’s a LOLPicard (I guess technically it’s a LOLPatrickStewart, since he’s not really in character here, but no need to get pedantic, really):

He most likely could, dudes. He most likely could.

Click Here to View the Good News!

 *As reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer*

It’s about time for a Nerf Assassination 3, huh?

We’re now in the works on coming up with the concept and writing for a sequel to our successful Nerf Assassination 2: Echo Squad.

We want to know: What do YOU want to see?

The highest vote totals or the most frequently suggested ideas will make it into the next Nerf film! Hurry becuase we’re working on it a little every day and the earlier you can get your comments in the better!

Thanks to everyone for all of the support!
We hope you enjoy our next Nerf Assassination!

-Jack

Ten Years ago this past September marked 10 years of knowing Christ. Now I had been raised in religion my whole life but in 1999 I had a real encounter with the Lord of Glory. I gave my life and have been walking out His grace ever since. After my conversion I was compelled to witness and compelled to go overseas. The very first place I wanted to go was Africa. I didn’t even care where. I felt the need to go to Africa. As a 14 year old kid my parents, still reeling from my sudden change of heart, very shocked that I would choose to go to another side of the world. Out of protection and assuming it was a phase the banned me from Africa.

Two years later I would travel to the Dominican Republic. That trip began a series of prophetic encounters that I’m still living out to this day. I assumed that I would travel all the time after that trip. After all God had led me on that little trip to get His heart for missions and the poor. He had branded me with a fiery desire to travel the world preaching good news and loving the poor (both material and spiritual poverty. So I assumed that that was enough and that doors would swing wide open. Just the opposite happened. Every door shut so tight I couldn’t open it if I tried.  Since that time I’ve gone through so many years of equipping. Learning to operate in healing, the prophetic, learning to cultivate and release an atmosphere of His glory. Above all learning to serve and love others more than myself. I continue to learn and grow and go through the Holy Spirit’s “School of Christ” .

Now after 10 years of waiting and nearly 9 years since I was on the foreign mission field I’m headed (Lord willing) to Mozambique Africa with Encounters Network to build a playground for the area near Rolland and Heidi Baker’s Pemba mission .

Here is what needs to take place:

1. My application needs to be accepted by Encounters Network

2. I need at least $2,000.00 more dollars

3. I need prayer support!

Here is my plan if my application is accepted

1. I will be putting together a team of intercessors who will pray for me and the whole team going to Mozambique. I’ll keep this group up to date on all the ins and outs as well as special prayer requests from he point my application is accepted to my return to the U.S..

2. I will set up a pay pal account or such by which anyone online can give to help send me to Mozambique

If you’d like to help pray for me please leave a comment on this post and I’ll be in touch

Leaving the Dream,

Jason Aldridge

Numbers are back down again…thank God…not low, just much better  (in the low 100’s)…so we’re happy.  Still no insulin.  Trying to extend this honeymoon period as long as possible. 

We just had a coconut protien shake for breakfast with a little turkey bacon.  Still checking BG Levels about 7 times a day just to see what’s happening.  So far so good.  Probably off to go shopping now.

Me:)

Bison returns to Mexico for the first time since 1800’s

Find sample blogs on a gazillion topics at Alpha Inventions

Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, c. 1440

‘Pray Without Ceasing’

From ancient times the Church has had the custom of celebrating each day the liturgy of the hours. In this way the Church fulfills the Lord’s precept to pray without ceasing, at once offering its praise to God the Father and interceding for the salvation of the world. —Office of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

I, Fanny McElroy

When I, Fanny McElroy, first discovered The Brother Cadfael Mysteries, by Ellis Peters, I ripped through them like a scairt rabbit about to be et by a hawk, as Sister Alma Rose says her Daddy Pete says, or maybe it’s “a hawk after a scairt rabbit.” Anyway, I read them fast. And then there weren’t any more, because Ellis Peters died, so for the longest time I put off reading the final book, the twentieth, because I didn’t want to say goodbye to Brother Cadfael, a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey during the 12th century, but I found other books to read because I had become fascinated by all things medieval and all things Roman Catholic.

Compline — Coronation of the Virgin

I loved Brother Cadfael’s irreverent way of being genuinely and truly religious, his painstaking cultivation of herbs for healing, his humor and his kindness. And the way he told the time not by the clock but by the Canonical Hours for Prayer — Matins, Lauds, Vespers, Compline, and so forth. Sister Alma Rose has specific times for prayer during the day, and if I am at her house when one of those times comes, we go into her chapel and pray together, and sometimes we pray out loud, sometimes we don’t, and she reads a psalm and we sing a hymn — harmonizing rather nicely, if I do say so — but the thing is, she always seems to know what she’s doing, I mean there aren’t any awkward “what should we do now?” moments. And now I know why.

The Liturgy of the Hours

Book of Hours, Paris, c. 1410

One lazy summer afternoon I was sitting on the steps of Sister Alma Rose’s great green wraparound porch half-listening to Sister Alma Rose talking with Father Dooley and his sister Bernadette, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and who is a willowy, fair-haired, freckled young woman who has, as she says, “quite enough money,” and her occupation is Doer of Good Deeds, and she would have become a nun, she told us, but she wanted to get married and have children, which she hasn’t, yet, but she’s only something like twenty-two, so she spends her time visiting the sick and does what she calls “healing prayer work,” and sometimes she takes in the homeless, temporarily, like mothers with children running from an abusive man, that sort of thing, not scary people or drug addicts.

Versicle: Poem on a Stick?

So I’m sitting there, drowsy with the sun and the hum of a summer afternoon, and I perk up when I hear Bernadette say “Compline,” so I get up from the step and go over to the green wicker table and sit in the one vacant green wicker chair and listen to Bernadette talking about the Liturgy of the Hours, which is also called the Divine Office, I have no idea why, but Catholics have funny names for everything, like antiphon and breviary and versicle, which is not “a poem on a stick,” as I suggested, and everyone laughed, which was very gratifying because when one thinks that one is being very clever, it’s good to know that others think so too.

The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreaux

I think that everyone was surprised by my fascination with such a dry subject as the Divine Office, which I had thought was something from long ago… well, which it is, but it is still practiced, or “celebrated,” as Father Dooley says, and he as a priest is obligated to “celebrate” the Liturgy of the Hours, but it is a joy to him, he says, and Bernadette also “celebrates” the Liturgy of the Hours, and Sister Alma Rose says that her daily prayer times are “based on” the Liturgy of the Hours. “Fanny McElroy,” she says, “y’all have been celebrating it with me for years,” and then she laughs and pours me a glass of Mr. Truman LaFollette’s incomparable lemonade.

Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, c. 1410

Sister Alma Rose is not Catholic (she has referred to herself as “a Christian Jewish Buddhist,” probably offending adherents of all three religions, but she doesn’t mind — like J. Krishnamurti, she doesn’t mind much of anything, she says, and she is certainly the most serene person I have ever known, though in a crisis she becomes very exercised and shouts prayers to Heaven).

I am not a Catholic either, but there are many things I like about Catholicism, and here is one of them: For two thousand years or so, in spite of corruption and scandal and competition from other religions, and popes who had mistresses and children, and bishops who plotted royal assassinations, and so forth, the Catholic Church has inspired, comforted, counseled, educated, and healed. Irish monks preserved the knowledge from Roman and Greek antiquity by copying a huge lot of documents by hand (read How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe, by Thomas Cahill).

Sister Alma Rose has told me about the vile perverted priests who prey on young boys, but I don’t think that those sick men’s transgressions erase all the good that the church has done. And I love the idea of Confession, and the Rosary, and having one’s own personal saint, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, with her woman’s wisdom and her tender heart, and, of course, the Liturgy of the Hours. And, basically, that Catholic worship has gone on uninterrupted for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Some facts about the Liturgy of the Hours

So I ask a thousand questions, and here is some of what I find out about the Divine Office:

It sprang from Jewish prayer practices (“Seven times a day I praise you,” it says in the Psalms)

It began rather simply, with reading or chanting psalms; reading from the Old Testament, the  Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and epistles; and canticles, which are basically hymns from the Bible but not usually from the psalms.

By the end of the fifth century, the Canonical Hours were — and this is a lot of praying and involves getting up in the middle of the night —

• Matins (during the night), sometimes referred to as Vigils or Nocturns, or in monastic usage the Night Office; it is now called the Office of Readings
• Lauds or Dawn Prayer (at Dawn)
• Prime or Early Morning Prayer (First Hour = 6 a.m.)
• Terce (rhymes with “purse”) or Mid-Morning Prayer (Third Hour = 9 a.m.)
• Sext (rhymes with “next”) or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = 12 noon)
• None (rhymes with “John”?) or Mid-Afternoon Prayer (Ninth Hour = 3 p.m.)
• Vespers or Evening Prayer (“at the lighting of the lamps”)
• Compline (KOM-plin) or Night Prayer (before retiring)

Wow! Don’t you love it that the time for Vespers is “at the lighting of the lamps”?

The complete Liturgy of the Hours is contained in the Roman Breviary. Most of the pictures on this page are from personal breviaries made for wealthy people in the Middle Ages.

Très Riches Heures calendar page

All hours begin with Ps. 69-70 v.2, “God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me,” and then the doxology:  ”Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.”

The Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer may consist of

• opening versicle (a short verse said or sung by a priest or minister in public worship and followed by a response from the congregation) or (for morning prayer) the invitatory (Psalm 94)
• a hymn, composed by the Church
• two psalms, or parts of psalms with a scriptural canticle. At Morning Prayer, this consists of a psalm of praise, a canticle from the Old Testament, followed by another psalm. At Evening Prayer this consists of two psalms, or one psalm divided into two parts, and a scriptural canticle taken from the New Testament.
• a short passage from scripture
• a responsory (chant or anthem recited after a reading in a church service) typically a verse of scripture, but sometimes liturgical poetry
• a canticle taken from the Gospel of Luke: the Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus [Blessed be]) for morning prayer, and the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat: The “Song of Mary” from the Gospel of Luke, Magnificat anima mea Dominum = My soul doth magnify the Lord) for evening prayer
  

  Zechariah, Russian Orthodox icon

Nativity from an Antiphon

It looks complicated, doesn’t it? But I have to tell you, it is refreshing and renewing to drop everything at 3 p.m. or whatever because that is the time you have set aside for prayer. And if you’re not Catholic, you can develop your own structure for prayer and praise, as Sister Alma Rose has done, she created a sort of hybrid of the Divine Office, and Father Dooley says that’s fine with him, he encourages everyone to pray in the way that suits them best, as long as there’s no mutilation of poultry and stuff like that.

Well, you can buy the complete Liturgy of the Hours in four volumes for more money than I have in my piggy bank, which last time I counted was $97.13, I am saving for a school trip to walk the Appalachian Trail, but there are less expensive books, such as those that have only the Morning Prayer and the Evening Prayer.

There is much, much more to be told about the subject, but Bernadette had to leave to go back to Grand Rapids and her Good Works, which she does out of love and not to earn points toward Heaven or anything like that. So I will just tell you that I, Fanny, “celebrate” the Hours four times a day using the website DivineOffice.org, which has an audio version with beautiful music, and there are other websites with text versions. Sometimes I pray with Mama, and sometimes with Sister Alma Rose, and sometimes it’s just I, Fanny.

Even if you are not a Christian, you might enjoy this prayer discipline, which is principally made up of psalms anyway, though the references to Jesus Christ Our Savior might make you cringe, I don’t know. What I do know is that I need and enjoy discipline and structure in my prayer life, and for me, Fanny McElroy, the Divine Office is the beginning of that discipline and structure.

Chant; Troparion; hook-and-banner notation

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I know this is a bit late but hopefully the statement “better late than never” still applies here. Since Im about 8+ hours ahead that hopefully offers some reprieve.

So what is it that people do on this Thanksgiving Weekend? Go around to all your friends and say THANK YOU BUDDY? Thank the family? Thank your teachers? Or sit around and chew on a turkey bone watching Sunday night football? I guess it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you remember why you are doing it. Why are you doing it?

Ok I looked it up on Wiki. Kewl!

Anyways. Till this time next year… Happy Turkey Weekend.