Still thinking a lot about our Homeland, and, of course, about my aunt’s journey there.  I was thumbing through my collection of Jessica Power’s poetry and found this most apt poem.  (Poetry is one of the solaces in my life.)

The Homecoming

The spirit, newly freed from earth,
is all amazed at the surprise
of her belonging: suddenly
as native to eternity
to see herself, to realize
the heritage that lets her be
at home where all this glory lies.

By naught foretold could she have guessed
such welcome home: the robe, the ring,
music and endless banqueting,
these people hers; this place of rest
known, as of long remembering
herself a child of God and pressed
with warm endearments to His breast.

            ~Jessica Powers, The Selected Poetry of Jessica Powers, p. 53

The same will be true for us.

“I would rather rule in hell, than serve in heaven”. This is one response I once received many years ago, when I was sharing the gospel with a family friend. It reflected a crude understanding of what heaven would be like. For this friend, heaven would be like an endless church service, sitting on a white cloud, surrounded by people with whom you would not normally mix. The reality is most people have only a vague idea of what heaven will be like.

So what is the future for those who are followers of Jesus?

The Bible says that God will one day restore his perfect rule over the universe through his son Jesus (Eph 1:10). Every form of evil, corruption and tyranny will be destroyed. Sickness and death will be no more. There will be no more disappointment or frustration or pain. Everything that stands against God’s purposes will be completely removed.

Instead, people will enjoy the fruit of their labour. ‘They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit’ (Isa 65:21). They will enjoy a world of perfect peace, righteousness and justice. We will enjoy perfect relationships and real community. What will guarantee this future is that God will live with his people and we will be with him forever.

We do not have space to fully present all the biblical images of heaven. But for the Christian, heaven will be the ‘home’ towards which we look forward. It will be our ‘promised land’, the place of rest. It will be a wedding feast. It will be the security, companionship and riches of a great and perfect city.

The book of Revelation is full of imagery, speaking of things beyond our own experience. And the most striking imagery is given in Revelation 21:1-22:2, where our future hope is described as the city of God, the new Jerusalem. God will be at the centre of that city’s life and joy.

“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Rev 22:3-5)

What the Bible presents is only a glimmer of what that future glory will be like (1Cor 13:12, Rom 8:18). But God’s word calls us to constantly set our hope on that day when Jesus returns (1Pet 2:13, Col 3:4). And we’re called to think often about this future hope, like homesick travellers looking forward to the day when we’ll finally be at home with the Lord (2Cor 5:7).

Why don’t you take time out this week to meditate on some of the Biblical pictures of heaven in the following passages: Isaiah 65:17-25, Revelation 7:14-17; 21:1-22:5?

The Bible teaches us that there are actually times in Heaven when God and the angels celebrate…..  And it is about us….

Currently I am upstairs in my room, listening to the rise and fall of my parents’ voices downstairs.  This steady hum is broken only by occasional sounds of laughter.  Just now my dad wondered aloud what I’m doing. This is what makes me feel warm and at home.  That, and this cup of green tea with brown rice.

When I first stepped foot into my house after my mom picked me up from the airport, I was filled with this strange sense of unfamiliarity; like this house wasn’t really home. Especially since, as I was walking up to my room, I realized my mom changed the stairs from carpet to wood.  Totally unfamiliar.  I actually turned around and asked her if this was our house.

Now, as I sit here sipping my tea, listening to the rhythm of my parents’ conversation, I finally feel like I’m home.  Totally cliche, but I’m going to say it anyways: it’s really not the house or location that makes someplace a home.  Home is made up by the people around you, those who love and care for you, who you love as well.

Makes me think a bit about heaven: how many people (including myself before I truly understood the Gospel), want to go to heaven only because they don’t want to go to hell.  But their idea of “heaven” is something they’ve created for themselves in their minds.  You know, the pearly gates and harps and angel wings.  “Paradise.”  People walking on clouds.  Being fed grapes by beautiful women in white.  Whatever ideas of “happiness” in the afterlife you desire.  But in truth, heaven is simply (or not so simply) where God is.  All these people want to go to heaven, but they hate God, don’t know God, don’t want to be with God.  And in theory, if you’re stuck for eternity with some random person you don’t know, or even hate…that’s not “heaven.”  That’s just awkward.

But for those who love the Lord, going to heaven is like returning home.  Scratch the “like,” it IS going home!  It’s like being on the plane, itching to get off, because you can’t wait to finally see your Father’s face….but magnified by infinity.  I may never truly fit in with this world (I pray that I don’t!), but I know where my home is.  I can’t wait for the day I can sit at my Father’s feet, and listen to the sound of His voice as it fills all of heaven with His glory.

When shall I reach that happy place,
And be forever blessed?
When shall I see my Father’s face,
And in His safe hands rest?

When shall I reach that happy place,
And be forever blessed?
When shall I see my Father’s face,
And in His safe

Watch this video. It could be of eternal value for your life over the next 4 minutes.

The news broke the same day a very famous actor in financial straits (Dire straits… Mr. Knopfler would stress) had to sell off a castle or two, part with his comic book collection worth more than our home and other items legitimately needed to define & give shape to his humanity.  Elena Desserich was only six years old when handed a death sentence which read pediatric brain cancer.  She was only six, but she figured out the meaning of life long before most do, including me.

Sometimes the sun itself is captured and revealed in tranquil waters:  Ponds, lakes, even the ocean are small when compared to the Heavens but still apt to display the very thing that glides across its surface; turning towards it as if to find the perfect angle of reflection; now & then our lives do the same.

 The story hijacked my heart because Elena and I share a secret:  for the past twenty years I’ve been collecting books (hey…I don’t play golf so extra money must go for something?) and in that time I’ve put various letters/cards/documents inside my many volumes hoping someday when I kick off to eternity my daughters and their children would find a little-bit-of-me hidden in well-worn-pages. I thought my plan was rather unique, that I would leave a legacy to be found slowly (without fanfare or hype) which would reveal a man filled with thanksgiving…then I read Elena’s story.

 Elena was six and dying…and somehow she figured out the secret to a life lived well and was kind enough to share it with others.  She simply wanted to tell those in her care, those stationed in the galaxy of her world…that she loved and appreciated them.  Beyond mere words, the fact that she ‘hid’ her affection to comfort her parents when she was gone makes me wonder what was going on in that little girl’s mind and did she know how much her words would soon mean in her absence?  Those I love, I long to hear (and I believe “I will hear them again”) when I venture across the Great Divide and down in deep green shires filled with notes hidden here and fully revealed there. When I enter that place I intend to look her up; her story reminded me in a time of confusion what Life is really about.

 And those notes will last throughout Eternity; because our Love for one another is God-given and Thanksgiving reminds us to tear our souls from the daily grind and to embrace those around us as if they are more important than life itself…notes slowly transformed into songs.

 So be thankful as Elena was. And although I’m saddened by her passing and short life here on Earth, her Wisdom shone with the bright light of the Ancients who extolled that Love was real and Love was all any human creature really had to offer another. There’s nothing new under the sun, but love notes hidden by a child for parents in anguish to discover temporary joy…that’s pretty close.

 I’m thankful for so many things including GayLynn’s continued remission, amazing parents I admire, love & respect, four unique beautiful daughters, a new job, new script, and a horizon filled with promise.

 Elena, on Thursday I’ll remember you and give Thanks.

When he died, there were no crowds outside the hospital, no editorial comments in the papers, no announcements on television, no mention in Parliament, no attention paid by the nation. In his hospital room there was no one by his bedside. There was only the quiet hiss of oxygen, vainly venting because he has stopped breathing and would never need it again.

But on the other side all the trumpets sounded. Dad won entrance to the only throne room that matters, not because he was a good man or a great man—he was, after all, a most ordinary pastor—but because he was a forgiven man. And he heard the voice of him whom he longed to hear saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.

Don Carson, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor

You are taking down my earthly tent with much tenderness and love. You have prepared a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. May you never leave me nor forsake me, ’till I be with you, where you are, and be like Christ and enjoy him for ever and ever! Yet a very, very little while – hold on, faith and patience – and I shall see Jesus in his glory, which is the heaven of heavens.

William Romaine

so many people have vague ideas about death. many never even think about it much.

many say death is whatever their particular interpretation of their particular branch of their particular religion’s views are.

many say death is the end of everything, and after electricity stops flowing in the body and brain, then the lights are out forever.

we collectively know so little about this. most people debate and argue over their opinions and views, but there has never been anyone who has been dead and came back, so we can’t make any progress for any argument other than we don’t know.

or is that so? in my search for meaning in a life that seemed broken and in an imperfect world where people cannot be trusted and rarely mean what they say and say what they mean, i’ve found much information about this. and yes, many people have died and come back to life–well actually they came back to their physical body. they were always “alive,” even out of their physical body.

i wanted to write this as someone i knew had passed away recently. and we as a culture rush in with the traditional church service, the heaven, the angels, etc., even most people who are not religious still pay huge sums of money to do this. you see it in movies all the time. it’s a cultural thing for the most part, just as in the Philippines it’s a cultural thing to wait 3 days after the death and see if the person wakes up. Then observe if they come into your dreams. And then after a period of time, bury them. Or something similar to that, I just heard this from a friend of a friend and only a brief description.

what i’ve learned is that death is so much more complicated. and that our actions have consequences. you know, it’s one of the things about most people who label themselves Christians right now. there are so few people actually doing the things and having the heart that Christians are supposed to have. and that is significant. because it also means that so many who think they are going to ‘heaven’ right when they die are going to be upset when they do leave their physical body.

that’s what i’ve been learning about this person that i know. i thought, other people did too, that he would end up in heaven and it would all be good and happy. but it’s not like that at all. in fact, this person had so much selfishness, and was so mean during large parts of his life, that now he is still “earthbound”. you hear that term a lot and it refers to ghosts.

those who are reading this who are not spiritual people might feel like this post was a waste of time and stop reading here. that’s fine but…what im saying is real. and i cant make anyone believe that if they don’t want to so i will just continue. but there is so much evidence out there (books, websites, youtube interviews, etc.) about this. all it takes is some looking to find, and you will find it. it’s not like this is a few decades ago or further back where there was not much evidence in recorded media. there is a lot now.

i have a very intuitive friend and i’ve been helping her out so much lately. that’s unrelated but we have gotten close these past few months due to her struggles with the economy and everything. i called her on the morning he crossed over, and told her. by the way, i just remembered this. she said several months ago that he would die on the day he did. she said, “now, he always has free will and it may go into december, but November 20th is what I’m getting”. And early on the morning of Nov. 20th he left his physical body.

so i told her it was that day and it happened and we talked and then i asked her what she saw around him. she has died several times in her life, always brought back after some time in the hospital. she knows what it’s like, she’s been there, like other near-death experiencers.

she said what she saw was very surprising. she said it’s surprising because it’s relatively uncommon. most people, when they leave their physical body, are so happy to be free and out of pain and suffering, they feel the light (that you always hear mentioned) and they go to it, or it comes to them. but she said that, he was actually having a really hard time. she said that when he left his body in the early hours of the morning, he was disoriented. and i’ve read that that is not an unusual occurrence. being in that form is different than what we’ve been in all our lives, and can be really surprising. when my mom was in the hospital, he stayed around her, observing everything. she said that he will actually take a long time to ascend (or go to the light) because of his energy. she said it feels very heavy, like lead. and it makes total sense. she never met this guy, she never knew anything about him other than what she intuitively picked up.

he did do a lot of selfish and mean things in his life. he was very narrow and stubborn in his thinking. he would not even really listen to anyone with opposing views. and he seemed to be a devout Christian. he always talked about the bible, always read it. every time i talked to him he would say something about Jesus coming or his theories on the various countries of the world and the coming apocalypse and things like that. he treated my mom poorly, like a slave even, especially in the last year. he was constantly yelling at nurses, caregivers, etc. who came to help him due to his congestive heart failure. he did some good things, but he also had this huge negative weight of his actions on him as well. and what my friend said, though surprising to us at first, makes a lot of sense.

she said he will be around for a while, and has told my mom not to give into oppressive or bad feelings, because it will be his energy still around her for some time.

and this is what “ghosts” are. i met my first ghost this spring when i moved into a new place on county land, with old abandoned buildings around. the ghost i met had a lot of anger as well. i would hear loud screaming (in my mind) when i would be falling asleep. i talked to a healer guy and he picked up on this ghost and said it was a man who died in his 50s, had a lot of issues, etc. he helped guide the ghost into the light where it belonged. even when they are mean or angry, all they require is love. and he helped that process, and that phenomenon  stopped happening to me.

my sister slept over my mom’s place the other night and picked up on the ghost of him as well. she was really scared because she kept seeing and feeling something vague around, but when she looked directly at it, it was nothing. it was like a vague shadow. and she kept hearing things, and when she went to sleep in my mom’s (and what was his ex-bed) she had a dream that he was standing there glaring at her very angry). it’s amazing.

it’s amazing because this is all real. or at least im not making it up. skeptics might say it cant be real, well if it’s not then what my family experienced over the past few days had to be some sort of impossible occurrence, because im just the messenger.

it’s also amazing because it shows how religion does not do much or anything for people if they dont REALLY get the message of the religion and TRY to live it. what my intuitive friend said about this person/ghost now is that he will have to have his life review, and he is so stubborn and heavy in his energy that he will not even want to take responsibility for it. i’ve learned that we all have this life review at some point, and he will too. and she said it will be very hard for him, because of his attitudes and how he’s treated and thought about others. she said it’s his beliefs which are locking him down “here”, on the earth, which is why he has not “gone up to heaven” where he belongs, towards that light. she said it will be very hard for him. and that he will have to “go through hell” also because of this. not an eternal, movie-like hell that’s so hyped, but he will have to experience a lot of pain and cleansing in order to finally “rise up” and ascend. it’s not a free ticket.

our actions have consequences, our intentions have consequences, and what we do and how we do it matters more than what we claim to believe or what words we repeat religiously. i just wanted to share this because it’s such an incredible learning experience. hopefully we will all learn more about this in time.

“I do not think that the life of Heaven bears any analogy to play or dance in respect of frivolity. I do think that while we are in this ‘valley of tears,’ cursed with labour, hemmed round with necessities, tripped up with frustrations, doomed to perpetual plannings, puzzlings, and anxieties, certain qualities that must belong to the celestial condition have no chance to get through, can project no image of themselves, except in activities which, for us here and now, are frivolous.

For surely we must suppose the life of the blessed to be an end in itself, indeed The End: to be utterly spontaneous; to be the complete reconciliation of boundless freedom with order–with the most delicately adjusted, supple, intricate, and beautiful order?

How can you find any image of this in the ’serious’ activities either of our natural or of our (present) spiritual life? Either in our precarious and heart-broken affections or in the Way which is always, in some degree, a via crucis?

No, Malcolm. It is only in our ‘hours-off,’ only in our moments of permitted festivity, that we find an analogy. Dance and game are frivolous, unimportant down here; for ‘down here’ is not their natural place. Here, they are a moment’s rest from the life we were place here to live.

But in this world everything is upside down. That which , if it could be prolonged here, would be a truancy, is likest that which in a better country is the End of ends. Joy is the serious business of Heaven.”

–C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (San Diego: Harvest, 1964), 92-93.

Read John 14 (Click on the link to read it in NIV or select your prefered version when the window opens.)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

You hear it a lot today… “I’m a good person. I don’t need the church or all that Bible stuff. I’ve tried to live a good life like Jesus said we should. I’m not worried about the afterlife because I believe God will be okay with how I’ve lived my life.”

Others will ask, “How can God punish these ‘good’ people?”

I don’t believe God wants to punish people as much as people want to imply. That isn’t the problem at all. The problem is that God didn’t create a perfect and glorious place like heaven for people who don’t want him.

At the beginning of time God created the heavens and the earth. He brought mankind onto this earth, and he gave them the choice to accept or reject his commandments. Just as Adam and Eve rejected his first and only commandment in the Garden of Eden, man has continued to reject his commandments unto this day.

God gives us the opportunity to accept his forgiveness for our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. It was no small sacrifice for Jesus to endure the crucifixion and death on a cross to pay for our sins. The choice is ours. Do we want God or don’t we? If we choose Jesus we choose God. If we don’t choose Jesus we are saying we don’t want his Father, the God of all creation.

Those who don’t want God, have no right to expect him to open heaven’s doors to them when their time comes. By choosing not to follow God’s commandments people have messed up the earth already. The problems of humankind’s sins are escalating before our very eyes. Why should we expect God to allow this to happen to his glorious heaven as well?

So what about the punishment of hell? Do people who have tried to be good in their own strength but didn’t choose to accept Jesus have to be punished the same way as terrible criminals do? I won’t attempt to give an absolute answer here, only food for thought. If all the people who accepted Jesus go to heaven to be with God, Jesus, and all the heavenly angels; and only those who chose not to accept Jesus are left outside to fend for themselves with Satan and all his demons who are eager to offer their brand of spiritual help, what is it going to be like? 

The final word will be one of two: You wanted him and accepted him. {Or} You didn’t want him - you rejected him.

Father God, I pray for those who don’t understand, for those who are so willing to let themselves be fooled into believing their only measuring stick for entering heaven is how they measure up to the persons around them. Wake us all from our slumber and give us eyes to see who you really are. Show us your compassion.

Read the entire passage of John 14. It is so powerful.

© 2009 by Janice D. Green

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

By Shane

“Dreams surely are difficult, confusing, and not everything in them is brought to pass for mankind. For fleeting dreams have two gates: one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those which pass through the one of sawn ivory are deceptive, bringing tidings which come to nought, but those which issue from the one of polished horn bring true results when a mortal sees them.”- Homer

Sigmund Freud believed that our dreams serve as wish-fulfillment bring about all our greatest desires, fears, needs, and wants. Carl Jung believes  that our dreams correct imbalances in our life. Much like our immune system that naturally fights unwanted bacteria and infections, or our natural respiratory system that sustains our life processes as we sleep. When we are out of balance with the natural patterns of life, our subconscious sends us dreams and visions manifested by our inner self.  However, all these concepts come from psychiatrists, dream councilors, etc.  who are educated to think in a particular fashion.

What if there is a deeper meaning to what resides within our dreams? What if a soul on a downward spiral and essentially everything that happens is a chain reaction leaving one action to beget the next? Every man has a weakness because we’re flawed by nature. In these flaws guilt is born and evolves into shame. Through various acts committed this shame is compensated with pride and vanity. When pride fails despair consumes and sets his destruction in motion. Somewhere in this process the flow has to stop.

What if all the beautifully horrid dreams that plague my nights is in retrospect a battle being fought over my soul. For every dream of bliss and happiness was I being touched by a guardian? Likewise, for every terror was I graced by an incubus? Are these thoughts in my conscious mirrors of my unconscious mind or influences of the battles that take place over me.

Take a deep breath. Breathe. Follow me as I lead you on this journey to the end of my conscience and we dive into my dreams.  As we plummet into the abyss I can feel myself succumbing to the shadows over me. Makeshift wings sprout taking us into flight among the darkness. Down below I can see myself tossing the ripe fruit from the tree sanity as all seems loss.  We slid down a razor blade’s affectionate kiss as my veins cried out in triumph and blood tags along for the ride.  Impure, horrendous thoughts lodge themselves in my ivory skull as my wings fade and I lay helpless next to my own body.

Paranoia.

Delusional.

Tortured.

Do you feel it? The control the incubus has over me. The power the incubus now has over us as I can no longer protect us here. Not that it matters because what do you know of how I feel? Is this my hell?

As i lay there. My stare is blank as I watch myself savagely mutilate my once former body. Peeling off the flesh like fresh fruit.

I can’t scream.

I can’t turn away.

Death is what I yearn for.

A warm hand closes my eye’s and warmth encompasses my body. “Believe” is whispered and echoes intensely in my head. My guardian I hear you. Push these demons out of me. I watch as light replaces all the areas where once only darkness dared. It was my thoughts that connected me to you, but it was the tainted ones that allowed evil to leave its mark. Our thoughts is the blue print to our reality for the things we dwell on we cause inadvertently.  When you sit on the fence between heaven and hell. The devil owns the fence. Don’t make the mistakes I’ve made and put your destiny in jeopardy. Death is guaranteed and we might not always get the chance to rectify all our sins.

“We live in terribly complex times. We are confronted by very serious problems. Some of us are faced with sickness, with economic difficulties, with worry and concern over many matters. Our refuge, our peace, our well-being lie in walking in the way of the Lord.”

For obvious reasons (my aunt’s death and it being the end of the liturgical year), I’ve been thinking about our Homeland.  As Christians, it can be all too easy to forget that we are citizens of heaven first and of our country second.  This quote from what looks like will be a great novel, emphasizes this point.  (Read “Christian” instead of “Jew”.)  The conversation is between a young German and his teacher, a Jew, in the early 1900’s.

    “Does it make any difference, being a Jew?”
     Dr. Mendel looked down at the tablecloth, the plush tablecloth that had been there all of Max’s life, and smoothed it with his familiar hand.  He did not answer for some time.  
     “Ah”, he said.  “At last we come to it.  Yes, Max, it does.  It makes a great deal of difference.  A Jew does not ever quite belong to the country in which he lives.  I have been a French Jew, and I have been a German Jew, but I have never been a Frenchman or a German.  The Jews are a people who carry their homeland with them wherever they go because it is in their souls and not in the streets of cities or in the villages and fields and woods where other people allow them to live.”
     “Is their homeland where God lives?”
     Dr. Mendel raised his head and looked searchingly at Max.
     “It should be, Max, it should always be, perhaps for everyone.  But it is not always so, even with Jews.  They also, as other people do, often make another homeland for their souls.  Perhaps it is France, or Germany, or science, or music, or the making of much money.  Then, because they have lost God, they have lost the distance that should be precious to them, the distance from which it should be easier to look calmly at all these passions, the loves and hatreds and fears, which drive wars and draw frontiers and arm people to fight over them.”   (Lucy Beckett, A Postcard from the Volcano, p. 57)

by Rajdeep D

The first time I saw her was at a computer lab in the university. I was trying to get a free computer to sit at and finish my oh-so-important English assignment. I am sure that I was gaping at her with my mouth open when she walked in with her friend. Somehow, I did manage to close my mouth when she looked my way. “Smooth move player!”, I said to myself rolling my eyes towards the heavens.

Yes, there were times I wanted to go up to her and say “Hi!” or something along that line. I mean, I do have the courage to do that but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. Why? We will come to that later.

The next time I saw her was a week after my gaping incident. I remember she was in the Cafeteria and I was sitting at the table beside hers with my friends. I couldn’t help but look at her. I know, I know, I sound like a teenager. But well, as I said before, I couldn’t help it. A really weird idea came to my head. What if I paid one of the mamas in the Cafeteria and sent a drink (Obviously Mountain Dew or Coke or something. What were you expecting?) to her?

But alas, I couldn’t bring myself to do that either!

Why? I’ll tell you why.

It is not the fear of rejection that bugged me. It is the fear of what she might think of me that bothered me. Let’s face it; we live in a conservative society. She might just think that I am a pervert or worse a “bokhate”. I wouldn’t want that now, would I? We learn what the society teaches us. But, we end being a bunch of hypocrites behind a veil of niceness. We still can’t express how we feel about each other. We are close, yet so far.

I would be happy just being friends with her. Not everything in the world is about scoring a girlfriend or a boyfriend. I do believe that platonic relationships do occur in the real world.

I didn’t see my beautiful stranger ever again after that day. Now I am writing this dismal article expressing my regret.

You know what? If you like someone let them know it. Go to the town !!

Sometimes, it is better to be sorry than safe.

30 days till the BIRTH of CHRIST,

and 5 days till the beginning of the ADVENT season.

“HO, HO , HO-ly God, We Praise Thy Name!”

Quote of the Day:

 Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

Today’s Meditation:

The Canticle of the Sun by Francis of Assisi (day 8 of 14):

… Be praised, my Lord [Jesus], through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten the night. He is beautiful & cheerful, & powerful and strong. …

Most people are fancinated by fire.  The colors, movement, warmth, dancing in the air in a raw “emotion” that claims that it is in charge and in control.  Fire causes massive damage each year, but also does so much good in the way of heat, cooking, and ascetic beauty at a camp fire or in the home fireplace.

Fire separates the darkness of night.  It decreases the fear of the unknowing by illuminating the world that surrounds us.  Jesus is our light.  When on fire with HIS Holy Spirit, there is nothing to fear in this world.  When He dwells in us, he are warmed by His indescribable love and mercy.

Let His fire burn in me forever.  Amen.  

The full text of “The Canticle of the Sun” can be found at many web sites

including: http://www.poverello-society.org/prayer_canticle.htm.

Pax et Bonum

Dan Halley, SFO

*****

Secular Franciscan Order (SFO) Rule #24:

To foster communion among members, the council should organize regular and frequent meetings of the community as well as meeting with other Franciscan groups, especially with youth groups. It should adopt appropriate means for growth in Franciscan and ecclesial life and encourage everyone to a life of fraternity. The communion continues with deceased brothers and sisters through prayer for them.

What is the difference between terrible and long debates regarding abortion guidelines, etc. and deaths of “in-this-world” already uninsured human Americans beings? Murder and Murder and Murder!

Why! And how can the Far-Right from Reason (Religion-Thumpers) continue to support Murder because a fetus is a ”Human Being” maybe?

May our Jesus Christ (Prince of Peace) forgive us…Amen. Respect and Understanding and Peace and Love be with…

A ship sets out to sail
Upon the mighty blue
How my heart does swell
With that last wave of adieu

Silently I wait…
Till it’s long out of sight
To walk out from the gate
Into the lone moonlight

Far away across the sea
A light welcomes this ship
Home from its life long journey
Safely moored in Heaven’s slip

click on title to go to a site that
summarizes what an LDS funeral is like

Notícia do site da KissFM
Dio: boatos de problema no coração

A esposa e agente de Ronnie James Dio, Wendy, agradeceu os fãs pelas mensagens de apoio ao veterano do rock, que foi hospitalizado recentemente.

A mensagem publicada no site oficial de Dio manteve os holofotes sobre o apoio prestado pelos fãs e não revelou mais nenhum detalhe sobre a causa da hospitalização ou a condição de saúde do artista.

Os boatos, segundo a Classic Rock Magazine, são de que o frontman de 67 anos de idade estaria sofrendo de algum problema no coração. Mas, por enquanto são apenas boatos. Recupere-se, pequeno (no tamanho) grande (no talento) Ronnie James Dio!

O que eu acho: é isso aí Dio, cuide-se. A gente não quer perder você tão cedo, mesmo que você não seja mais um garoto de 40 anos há umas três décadas, hehehhe…Brincadeira cara, força sempre!!!

I borrowed this from Our Daily Bread. <3

A college professor at a Christian school perceived that his students held a distorted view of heaven; they considered it to be static and boring. So, to stir their imaginations, he asked them these questions:

“Do you wish you would wake up tomorrow morning to discover that the person you loved most passionately loved you even more? Wake up hearing music you have always loved but had never heard with such infinite joy before? Rise to the new day as if you were just discovering the Pacific Ocean? Wake up without feeling guilty about anything at all? See to the very core of yourself, and like everything you see? Wake up breathing God as if He were air? Loving to love Him? And loving everybody else in the bargain?”

In response to that professor’s intriguing questions, the students all lifted their hands. If that’s what heaven will be like, and even infinitely more so, they certainly wanted to be there.

“I go to prepare a place for you,” Jesus told His disciples (John 14:2). We all share the desire—really a deep-down yearning—to be in that glorious home forever. It is a place of indescribable bliss. And the supreme blessing will be the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself!  — Vernon C. Grounds

When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory. —Hewitt