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No One is Righteous

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged #activitsts, #nooneisrighteous, #politicians, #romans3, #savetheworld, celebrity on January 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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I admit, I am a bit (understatement) of a cynic when it comes to politicians, activists, and celebrities. So, for me, the news and social media have been a satirical gag-fest lately.

Whenever I hear any of the aforementioned groups share their message, I methodically pick apart every word. I do not have it within me to believe that those groups speak truth, or that they care or understand what I need or want.

I chalk my cynicism up to having frequently seen, heard and experienced the curse of money, stardom and power.

A few days ago I had reached the tipping point, after reading headlines of articles about the three groups I am cynical towards, and a phrase burst aloud from my lips:

“There is no one righteous, not even one …”

The words of the apostle, Paul (Romans 3:10), make me think that Paul may very well have been a kindred spirit.

Paul went on (Romans 3:11-18) to describe the depravity of all humankind:

“there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

I am very cognizant of the fact that I am jaded in my thoughts about people in the positions or groups mentioned, and that my negativity can keep me from remembering that those represented are worthy of and need my/our prayers.

Yet, to think that a politician, a celebrity or a march will make or break a nation, a generation or a movement is to put power in the hands of the wrong saviour.

” we know that there is only one God, the Father,
who created everything, and we live for him.
And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom
God made everything and through whom we have been given life.”
1 Corinthians 8:6

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Thinking About Ann Voskamp

Posted in WONDER, tagged celebrity, Grace, leaving the nest, Thanksgiving, thinking about ann voskamp, universtiy on September 9, 2013| 2 Comments »

Labor Day weekend (in Canada), is a time when University and College aged students start to migrate to places of higher learning, driving in cars with little back window visibility, due to the over-packing for the school year away from home.

This year, Labor Day weekend I felt constantly aware of the need to pray for someone I do now know, yet whose life, thoughts, faith and passions are shared daily through her blog posts.

Through her posts at A Holy Experience , Ann Voskamp has indicated that her eldest son was readying to fly from her nest, into his new adventure also known as his university education and experience.

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And this Labor Day weekend, while my own third-year university-experiencing daughter was talking textbooks and tuition, schedules and psychology, my heart was heavy for a woman I do not know, who would be experiencing it all for the first time. The difference between she and me? My daughter has not flown away … and my face is not on the back of a New York Times bestseller.

I wondered if Ann would be given the space (really a gift of grace) by those around she and her son, as he met his roommate, unloaded a years worth of necessities into his half of a room, as the tours were taken, as the cheques were written, as the mingling was happening … as the memories were flooding … as the tears were welling. Space to just be … mom.

“No, no, I’m not ready for now to be over, for the kid who wore a tool belt strapped around him everywhere to leave, the boy who can drive a tractor and wrestle hogs and reads Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” just for fun — just to go. He drove me crazy. He drove me to God. He drove me to love. I don’t care what anyone says — You can cut umbilical cords but you can’t cut heart strings.” Ann Voskamp

I wondered if her face

familiar to her son as strength and grace

frailty and forgiveness,

familiar to those whose faces were unfamiliar to her,

I wondered if her face might draw the unfamiliar to her space,

her mother space.

And I wondered if the unfamiliar to her saw her only as the face on the back of her bestselling book,

as a celebrity in their midst.

I doubt that Ann sees herself as celebrity.

I doubt her son sees her as celebrity …

He sees … mom.

And while he was preparing for adventures, she was reliving

his life …

his whole,

entire,

conception to the now,

life.

“You don’t become a parent by bearing a child. You become a parent by bearing witness to his life.” Ann Voskamp

And I prayed that those who saw her in the midst of the crowds, were able to see her, with eyes of grace, as just another purple-hearted mom, and not a selfish opportunity to enter her space with her child-man. That would have given her a million things to be thankful for!

“Parents wear Purple Hearts: the brave who are wounded and die a bit more everyday – and only get braver.” Ann Voskamp

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A Higher Calling

Posted in WONDER, tagged Aung San Suu Kyi, celebrity, democracy, Freedom, higher calling, human rights, Myanmar, Sacrifice, The Lion King on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I have desired to view the movie, “The Lady” since I first heard of it’s making in 2011. This movie tells of the the freedom fight of Aung San Suu Kyi and her British husband Michael Aris for the people of Burma (also known as Myanmar).

images-7 It is not with any measure of pride that I have to admit how very little I knew/know of the plight of the Burmese people.

According to Human Rights Watch, “hundreds of political prisoners remain, ethnic civil war and inter-ethnic conflict has escalated, and Burmese security forces continue to use forced labor and commit extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, among other abuses.” And this is the case today, as it has been under military control since, in 1962, following a coup d’etat. In 2010 the country had elections that (from my understanding) eliminated military rule … but that does not mean that corruption, violence and human rights are not still problematic there.

Democracy for the Burmese people has been the dream of Aung San Suu Kyi, seemingly all of her life. She was just a young child when her father was killed.

The movie tells of how her visit back to her homeland, from Britain, when her mother was ill changed the course of her life, and that of her husband and children (and the people of Burma). It follows the numerous years of separation she and her family suffered from each other, even to the point when her husband, dying of cancer, and she were separated.

Through the struggles, through the trials, both she and her husband were committed to attaining democracy, freedom, for the Burmese.What they shared, beyond the bonds of marriage, and two sons, was a higher calling.

I do not understand all that they experienced and were focused on to be able to maintain their selfless focus. I am sure that I would have given in, hopped a plane, to go and see my dying husband. I know I would have caved after years (a total of over fifteen years) of house arrest.

What I also know, though, is that they shared in a higher calling. They both knew that their suffering was for the greater good for a nation, for fellow humans. They knew that their loss, however great, paled in comparison with the loss of freedom that generations were growing up without. They knew that their pain was dust in the face of the pain of those who were prisoners and slaves to evil men.

Their sacrifice was, and is divine … it is God-like. He who sacrificed His own Son, for the good of all mankind.

“A saint is only a sinner who keeps trying.”
From The Lady

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50 Years of Marriage

Posted in life, Love, Marriage, WONDER, tagged 50th anniversary, Anniversary, celebrations, celebrity, committed, couple, devoted, Divorce, Hollywood, Joanne Woodward, Marriage, Paul Newman on August 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It all started with a picture …

The picture to the right of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. I saw it, and then read the caption at the bottom, “married 50 years.” I found myself wondering, how can that happen to a Hollywood couple?

Since hubby is a pastor, we get to attend MANY 50th Anniversary parties, and they are truly the highlight of the effects of his job for me.

To participate in celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary is a unique and special thing.

When I hear of couples divorcing, I wonder how many of these celebrations will be happening in the future. Oh, but what celebrations they will be, as they will be a truly rare and special event!

Although Mr. Newman died later in the year of their 50th anniversary, the legacy of their long lasting, committed love in a world that sees that as impossible can continue to encourage those of us who are still in process.

When asked the secret to their long & happy marriage, Paul attributed it to the “correct amounts of lust and respect.” And “. . . because of great impatience tempered by patience. When you have been together this long, sometimes you drive each other nuts, but underneath that is some core of affection and respect.”

It is a great read, accompanied by beautiful pictures.

Paul and Joanne