Brother Fire

One of my least favorite things about the end of the year are the number of year-end retrospectives that pop-up all over the media. Most of it is centered around celebrities of which I could care less. But this one from http://politicalhumor.about.com tickles my funny bone. Enjoy. Top 10 Bushisms of 2007 The Dumbest Things President Bush Said in 2007 10. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it." --interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007 9. "I fully understand those who say you can't win this thing militarily. That's exactly what the United States military says, that you can't win this military." --on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007 8. "One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be." --on ...

Ugh! That's the only word to describe the attitude of those who are scurrying around to find the "latest thing" to buy each other for Christmas. It seems that negativity is a prerequisite feeling for shoppers who think that the importance of the holiday is not that guy....you know...that famous guy...whatsHisname...oh yeah....JESUS, but rather buying stuff for people.. I generally am not a big retail store shopper. Which is ironic being that I work in retail part-time. I prefer casually meandering through small shops and patiently finding things that mean a lot to friends and family for the holidays. If I can't find that 'special something,' well then...that special something was not meant to be found and a gift card will have to do. Presents are nice. But clearly...that's not the point. And the point definitely isn't to make sure one says, "Merry Christmas!" instead of "Happy Holidays"...because if I don't say "Merry Chris...

Recently, I was speaking to my dear friend Virginia Walsh about how disturbing it is that Christians go after each other in the name of Jesus. The irony is that His greatest commandment is to love each other, yet we act as if Jesus' words have no meaning. I asked Virginia to write for my blog about an idea that she has to address the anger and disdain that opposing Christian camps have for one another. She sent an email introducing the post and I thought the email was as powerful as the post itself so I'm sharing it here: I'm deeply troubled, as I'm sure we all are, by the hurtful, sniping, name-calling, and generally disrespectful "dialogue" in civil society. In many ways, I believe that those behaviors have infected the Church. Does the following paragraph sound familiar? They're out to undermine our nation. They call themselves Christians, but they have no real understanding of God or morality. They pray, but they don't actually have a living relati...

The pandemic still lingers. On the eve of World AIDS Day (December 1st), there are 33.2 million people around the world living with HIV -- including 2.5 million children. More than a million people in the United States are living with the virus. The good news is that there have been tremendous strides made with the development of new treatments to stem the virus. Over 29 medications have been approved in the U. S. to fight the virus, and many more are in development. People with AIDS are living longer, and with better quality lives in the western world. However, that's not true in the developing nations. And not all AIDS patients respond to the treatments. People are still dying! More needs to be done! The World AIDS Campaign's (WAC) slogan for 2007 World AIDS Day is "Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise." It's a call to government leadership, policy makers, and health planners to do all they can to meet goals that were set to stop AIDS. The 2007 theme of ...

Jen Lemen was presented that question in a statement last year around Thanksgiving and this is how she answered it. Peace.

Dixon Kinser of its so indie it's embarrassing has a terrific post about death and dying. He had a 'death retreat' for his youth ministry. He said: Over the course of the weekend we practiced prayer mediations in hospitals, visited funeral homes and had four different conversations; 1.) Why We Are Afraid to Die in America? 2.) Living With Death: Why Almost every Christian Symbol connected to Death and Dying. 3.) The Afterlife Part 1: What’s the Deal with Hell? (Hint - It’s not what you think.) 4.) The Afterlife Part 2: Nobody Goes to Heaven After They Die. It sounds like a great idea for kids -- heck, for adults too. I'm an advocate for providing frank, but age appropriate information about death for young people. He also writes about some ideas with links for 'green funerals.' Definitely worth checking out! Peace.

What horrible news ! Over 3,100 are dead. Millions are homeless and have lost everything! A country already fraught with hunger and poverty, Bangladesh needs our prayers and our help with resources. Sometimes it's hard to understand how & why such tragedies happen. Jesus, please protect those who've lost their homes and are vulnerable to the elements and to disease. Comfort them as they suffer so much loss. Give them relief from their troubles. Please give them strength that they may rebuild their lives. And give us strength that we may be able to help them the best way that we can. Peace. Cash contributions can be mailed to: American Red Cross (Bangladesh Relief & Development) P.O. Box 37243 Washington, DC 20013 Consulate General of Bangladesh Chief Advisor's Relief and Welfare Fund 211 East 43rd St. Suite 502 New York, N.Y. 10017