A Call to Prayer

Is any one of you sick? 

He should call the elders of the church to pray over him 

and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

James 5:14

I am asking for prayer this evening for a pastoral couple, Pastor and Mrs. Cook, who were involved in a head-on collision at noon today while on vacation.  Mrs. Cook suffered severe internal injuries to her liver, spleen, lungs, diaphragm and intestines.  She has been through surgery and is in stable condition.  Pastor Cook has a broken leg and a fractured hip and pelvis.  He is in surgery as I write this.

Pastor Cook has served the United Methodist Church for many years as a pastor, and when he retired, he founded the Friends of Barnabas to assist the poor in Haiti.  He and his wife have been tireless workers for the Lord, and are in need of your prayers this evening.  There was another couple in the car who sustained various injuries and broken bones as well.  

Thank you for lifting up these fellow Christians in your prayers.  God has promised to be with them, and we claim that promise for them in His name.

Too Old?

National Botanical Gardens, Washington, DC   Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

...in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble,

and mighty men stoop,

the grinding ones stand idle because they are few,

and those who look through windows grow dim.

Ecclesiastes 12:3

A fellow musician friend of mine said to me today, "I hate getting older!"   She was bemoaning the fact that she does not learn piano passages as quickly and easily as she once did.  But I understood the emotion behind the statement, because I feel that way at times as well.  When I get out of bed in the morning and my knees are suddenly creaky, or the exact word I am searching for just will not come to mind, I get a bit disgusted with myself for "getting old!"

As the Baby Boomer population ages, many seniors will have to grapple with the fact that they just don't do some things as well or as quickly as they used to.  No where does that show up more vividly than in driving an automobile.  One of the hardest parts of dealing with an aging parent is the decision for when to remove the car keys.  In Los Angeles, California, one family apparently did not take them away soon enough.

This morning, an elderly gentleman visited a local grocery store, parking his large, powder blue Cadillac in the parking lot.  When he went to leave, he put the car in reverse, but instead of backing into the street, he backed onto the sidewalk across from an elementary school, hitting 14 people, including 11 children.  Children's backpacks, shoes and candy littered the scene after the accident.  The driver claimed to the media that his brakes had failed, but witnesses, including the mothers of some of the injured children, said that the gentleman was not paying attention, and apparently did not see or hear the pedestrians until frantic mothers pounded on his windows, screaming for him to stop.  The age of the driver?  Almost 101 years old (his birthday is September 5).

The man had a valid driver's license as well as active car insurance, begging the question of why DMV would allow a 100-year-old man to continue driving.  The police captain said, "I think it (the accident) was a miscalculation on his part.  The gentleman is elderly.  Obviously he is going to have some impairment in his decision making."  Hopefully the police confiscated his driver's license for further review.  Anyone who "obviously" has any impairment should not be driving an automobile. 

When the Unpredictable Happens

National Botanical Gardens, Washington, DC

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

No one can predict misfortune.

Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds in a trap,

so men and women are caught

by accidents evil and sudden.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 

The people of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana weren't expecting the ocean to burst over the Mississippi River levee this morning, covering their town with water and leaving thousands trapped on a roof or in an attic.  No one thought that they would be marooned by water - without help from the police or the fire department.  The water was rising about six inches every four minutes, gushing over the eighteen-mile-long levee and inundating everything in sight.

A father and his son, however, both named Jesse Shaffer, used two boats over a 12-hour period to pull 120 people (and several animals) to safety.  Starting at 5:00 am this morning, the duo rescued ten people at a local auditorium, breaking through the ventilation system to reach them.  Then they rescued a family of five from the roof of their trailer home just minutes before water swept over the top.  The entire group, including three children under the age of 6, were hanging on to the roof and "screaming [for help] at the top of their lungs."

The older Shaffer noted that some of the houses that were supposed to be located in one area were found over a half mile away, floating along with the flow of water.  ABC News reported that the two Shaffers "fought through debris, rough water, wind, and downed power lines to save their stranded friends."  The younger man said they were just "going on adrenaline."  His father insisted that they were not heroes - just two men doing what had to be done.

There is often no warning before tragedy strikes, and many times people end up standing on the side lines, wringing their hands, wondering what to do.  In the wee hours this morning, two men received a phone call to evacuate in the face of the onslaught of water.  Instead, they scrambled to find boats and set out to save the lives of  their neighbors.  They may not want to be called heroes, but they should be recognized as courageous men, compassionate neighbors, and loyal friends.

Facts of this story garnered from ABC News online

Rackets

Dead flies in perfume makes it stink,

and a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 10:1

racket (rak'it) n.

1.  a noisy confusion

2.  exciting social life or revelry

3.  any dishonest scheme or practice

4.  an easy, profitable source of livelihood

My father used to use the term "racket" to describe any venture or business that aimed to unnecessarily remove money from his pocket to theirs.  There were times when legitimate businesses were on his racket hit list, because of the nature of their dealings.  This morning, I came upon a new racket that I was only partially aware of, and my first reaction was disgust, then sadness.

I am the Music Director at a medium size church.  We have offered traditional mainstream worship at two services on Sunday morning, but are experimenting with ways to change one of the services into a more informal setting.  A month or so ago, the Christian Education Director and I led the worship service while the pastors were at conference, and we used a mixture of praise choruses and songs that were a bit more contemporary and necessitated us to print the words in the bulletin.

These days, you must have a copyright license to print words in your church bulletin, and my church has had one for several years from the largest company in the business (the original company in that business, actually) and we pay about $290 a year for the privilege of utilizing those words outside the printed hymnal.  All was well in worshipland until this morning, when my boss sent me a letter from the conference, informing us that this one company did not actually have the rights to all the songs in the hymnal.  No, two additional companies are now in existence, and the rights to all of the songs in the hymnal are spread across these three companies.  Ergo, to be in compliance to print the words of all of the songs in the hymnal and two supplements, one would have to have a license from all three companies.

After reading the letter, I went online to do a little research.  Company A (the original company) charges $290 for a church our size for a one year license.  Company B, one of the newer boys on the block,  charges $249 for a mid-size congregation, or $15 for one piece/one Sunday.  Company C would lift $250 from our pockets annually (+ $95 if we podcast), $95 for a single event (up to one week in length), or $30 for a single use license.  Therefore, if we wanted to print the words in the bulletin of all the songs in our own church's hymnals, we would have to shell out about $789 a year. 

It appears that my job description just got a little lengthier, as I will now have to check the song titles that I want to print against the catalog of our license provider, to see if they cover that particular song.  If they do, great.  If they don't, we can't print it.  In the wake of this economy, that is the only choice we have. 

Why?

Oh listen, dear child - become wise;

point your life in the right direction.

Proverbs 23:19

 

It is a news story that has become far too common - a young person enters their school and opens fire with a gun.  This time, it is in Baltimore, it is the very first day of school, the gunman is a 15-year-old male, only three shots were fired, his only victim is a 17-year-old boy who remains in critical condition, and the gunman was overpowered by a school guidance counselor and another teacher.  The other students in the cafeteria thought that the first gunshot was a popped bag.  The second shot sent them to diving under the tables and fleeing through the doors. Those are the bare facts and they leave us with a million questions:

• Where did the young man get the gun?
• How did he get the gun into the school?
• How did he conceal it until he got into the cafeteria?  The shooting didn't happen until 10:45am
• What was his motivation?  He apparently did not know the young man that he shot
•  Was he depressed?  Angry?  Bullied?  
• What kind of hatred could so disregard the safety of every other human being in the room?
• Did he have friends?  Did they know what he was going to do?
• What about his family - Mom, Dad, siblings?  
• Did his parents have any inkling of what was going on in his head?
• Were there any tell-tale signs that were missed in the hectic press of life?

All of these questions and many, many more will be pondered by police, school officials, the media, and the families connected to that school.   This young man's life will be gone over with a fine tooth comb;  the gathered information will be dissected, analyzed, and pontificated over.  But in the end, all we will have learned are clues as to why this young man took the action that he did.  In cases like this, there are always far more questions than there are answers.

Please join me in prayer for the young man who was shot, for the young man who was the shooter, for the brave guidance counselor who stopped the gunfire, for the families of both young men, for the other students at the school and their worried parents, and for all those who must search for answers to the question, Why?

The Donkey & The Wolf

Friends come and friends go,

but a true friend sticks by you like family.

Proverbs 18:24

I love a good story.  I really love a good story about animals.  And I really, really love this true tale.  The place: the northern mountains of Albania.  The time: May of 2007.

Villagers in the northwestern city of Patok captured a wolf; one of them - a fellow known to be an evil, selfish man - put him in a pen.  To feed the wolf, he decided to use "live food" - an old donkey who had been exploited by his owner for years and was now considered worthless.  So he pushed the donkey into the pen with the wolf, and waited to see the "show."

What happened next?  Certainly not a slaughter!  Somehow the titles of predator and prey were meaningless to these two animals, and they instantly took the stance of protecting each other - becoming friends, if you will, as evidenced by the photo above.  The story of this amazing companionship became public, and thousands of people petitioned the Albanian government to set the two animals free.  Albanian television covered the story, and under pressure from the public, the animals were finally released.

According to the original article (http://www.gut-aiderbichl.at/aktetier/aktetier_1-38pdf), the donkey was moved to green pasture land and the wolf was released into the wild.  As befits a great story about two great friends, the wolf has been known to drop by the pasture to visit his old buddy.

A true friend is one of the greatest blessings of life.  When you are faced with the possibility of cherishing a friend or devouring a foe, choose life... choose love... choose friendship. 

One Small Step for Man

The day is Yours, and Yours also the night;

You established the sun and the moon.

Psalm 74:16

Forty-three years ago last July 20, U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.  As he stepped down onto the surface, he quietly and somewhat haltingly uttered these famous words:  That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."  His eloquent utterance was heard by 60 million television viewers and repeated all over the world. News anchor Walter Cronkite was visibly holding back tears.   

Commander Neil Armstrong, Pilot Michael Collins, Pilot Buzz Aldrin

 

Many other individuals would have spent the rest of their lives trading on their hero celebrity status, but not Neil Armstrong.  He was never quite comfortable with his celebrity status, and once told a gathering at the National Press Club:  "I am, and ever will be, a white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer."  Whenever he was asked what it was like to be the first man on the moon, he always shared the glory:  "I was certainly aware that this was the culmination of the work of 300,000 to 400,000 people over a decade."

Neil Armstrong died today at the age of 82, following "complications from cardiovascular procedures."  He will always be remembered as the Navy jet fighter pilot who flew 78 combat missions during the Korean War, the pilot who logged 1,000+ hours as a test pilot of some of the fastest and most dangerous aircraft, the civilian astronaut who commanded Apollo 11 - the first manned flight to land on the moon, and the first man to step on the moon's surface.  We say a prayer for the family who are saying goodbye, not to a national hero, but to a dearly loved member of their family.  I wish them comfort and peace.

 

Factual information from the Los Angeles Times Obituary, August 25, 2012

  

Being a Veggie

Then God said, "I've given you every sort of

seed-bearing plant on earth and every kind of

fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food.

Genesis 1

I have been a vegetarian for almost fifty years.  My mom decided to become a vegetarian, and although she always cooked meat dishes for my father, she encouraged her children to follow her example.  Sometimes I have added a little fish to my diet, occasionally I would eat turkey at Thanksgiving, but for the most part, I have stuck with a vegetarian (almost vegan) diet.  I have lots of food allergies and am gluten intolerant, so eating is a bit of a chore for me anyway.  I am allergic to all milk products and don't tolerate eggs all that well, so being a vegan is not that difficult.  In the past, finding food I could eat when I traveled was a bit of a challenge, but those days are long gone with the profusion of vegetarian, vegan, and even gluten-free restaurants.

There are days when I am profoundly pleased that I do not eat meat, and today was one of them, as I read a story out of Fresno, California, reporting that the U.S. government and McDonald's Corporation have suspended purchases of meat from a California slaughterhouse due to animal cruelty and "possible" health issues.  A member of a local animal welfare group obtained a job at the plant and then installed a hidden video camera.  The pictures revealed that animals who were non-ambulatory (usually sick or lame) were being beaten, kicked, shot and shocked in an attempt to get them to "walk" into the slaughter process.  In other words, employees were trying to force cows not eligible for slaughter to be slaughtered anyway.  It is against the law to slaughter a non-ambulatory cow for food consumption out of concern that it might have mad cow disease.  In April, a dairy cow in the same city was diagnosed with mad cow disease.  The slaughterhouse in question primarily handles dairy cows that no longer are able to produce milk.  Footage showed cows with udders so swollen they could not walk, and workers trying to lift downed cattle back onto their feet.

The USDA bought 21,000,000 lbs of beef from the company in 2011 for school lunches and federal food programs.  McDonald's purchased meat for their fast-food chains, as well as In-N-Out Burger--a regional chain, and Costco Wholesale Corporation bought beef to be sold in their warehouses.  Although meat from a West Coast company would probably never make it this far east, all I could think of was "Ew......."  There may be times when the smell of a hamburger or steak makes my nose twitch, but my mind is perfectly content with never having another piece of meat drop down into my stomach. 

Tomorrow

Monet Gardens Exhibit, New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY

Copyright 2012:  singeronthesand

Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow,

you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.

Proverbs 27:1

Just when you think that the world is your oyster, something can happen that turns your whole world upside sets you on your ear.  That certainly happened to Paul Callahan.  When he was twenty-one, he was a student at Harvard University majoring in business with the entire world at his beck and call.  Then Paul slipped on a wet floor, broke his neck and found himself paralyzed from the chest down.  He retained the use of his arms, but not his hands.  Paul spent the next five years traveling from clinics to rehabilitation centers, searching for someone who could help him relearn to walk.  When the doctors finally told him that he would never do so, Paul decided to relearn how to live.

Callahan returned to Harvard, became the first quadriplegic to graduate from that institution, then spent the next 15 years as an assets manager for Goldman Sachs.  A chance sailing trip in 1995 plunged Paul into the passion of his life.  He left his Wall Street job and took over the management of Sail to Prevail - a nonprofit dedicated to teaching disabled children the art of sailing.  Almost exactly thirty years from that slippery floor, 55-year-old Paul Callahan, now a father of two, is scheduled to compete in a 3-man sailing competition at the Paralympics in London, representing the United States.  After placing fifth in the Disabled Sailing World Championships last year, Callahan believes that he and his team have a chance to bring home the gold.

His charity, which started with 8 disabled children, now assists more than a thousand kids every year. When he sails next week for the gold, he is sailing for them.  "I've been very fortunate," he says.  "You've only got a limited amount of time in life.  So you may as well choose to put that towards positive effort, rather than squandering it on the negative.  I've been given an extraordinary gift where I can impact people's lives in a ways other people can't.   

 

The Big "C"

National Botanical Gardens, Washington, D.C.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

 

...I pray for good fortune in everything you do,

and for your good health...

3 John 2

 

As I was walking out of the grocery store this afternoon, I heard someone call my name.  Glancing up, I noticed a woman in the driver's seat of a dark red SUV smiling at me, and I assumed she was the one who had spoken.  The smile seemed familiar, so I smiled back and said hello.  The woman immediately launched into a stream of conversation: how good it was to see me, it had been such a long time, etc., and slowly I began to place who she was.  Had she not first acknowledged me, however, I never would have recognized her - she was so changed.  Her formerly glossy dark hair was very short, frizzy and half gray, and before she even uttered the word cancer, my mind was already going in that direction.

 

She had been diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, and after chemotherapy was considered in remission.  Recently a mass returned, then a lump under her arm, and then indications that the cancer had metastasized to her liver and sternum.  My heart ached as I listened to her litany of radiation and chemo - something that is going to be on-going just in order to stay alive.  I am a five-year cancer survivor (uterine) and feel very blessed that I have made it this long without a recurrence.  So many of my friends and acquaintances are struggling with this vicious disease.

 

Tomorrow evening, I am attending the kick-off rally in this area for Light the Night - the fundraising event for LLS (Leukemia/Lymphoma Society).  I am the team captain for our church; we have fielded a team for the last three years in support of our associate pastor, who has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Light the Night walk in this area is on October 27.  The Relay for Life walk sponsored by the American Cancer Society took place in June.  Each of these walks works toward raising money for cancer research.  Our goal for Light the Night is $3,000.  The national slogan for LLS is, I walk because someone's life depends on it."  I walk because my life, and the lives of Pastor Ben and the woman at the grocery store depend on the funds raised to further research against the big "C".

 

Do you have a Light the Night walk in your area?  I urge you to participate.  For those outside North America,  I urge you to support continuing cancer research in whatever way you can.  For many, many people around the world, our lives depend on it. 

 

 

Don't Just Yak

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

 Like billowing clouds that bring no rain

is the person who talks big but never produces.

Proverbs 25:15

Billowing clouds that bring no rain perfectly describes the skies in my corner of Virginia.  We will get a fantastic forecast of drenching rains and possible thunderstorms.  I can sit on the front porch and watch the lightning.  You can hear the rumbling thunder all over the house.  But rain?  That is entirely a different kettle of fish!

The wind can be blowing, the lightning striking the earth, the thunder booming louder and closer, but it will not come near my little patch of ground in N. Chesterfield, Virginia.  The other day, I was out in Short Pump (west of Richmond), and it began to absolutely pour!!  Heavy, drenching, soaking rain.  As I drove home, it seemed that every exit I came to, the rain lessened a little more and a little more.  At the exit just before mine, it wasn't raining at all.  And sure enough - when I got home and asked how much rain we received, the reaction was,  "what rain"?  My father would say that the sky was, "All talk and no do."

There are few things in life as irritating as someone who says, "Don't worry about that!  I'll do it!" and then doesn't.  People have such big plans - such grandiose schemes,  and they  talk and talk about what they are going to do, and then do absolutely nothing.  Far better to quietly go about your business, make a smart plan, hand everything over to God, and follow up your words with a little action! 

Delightful Children

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Discipline your children; you'll be glad you did - 

they'll turn out delightful to live with.

Proverbs 29:17

My middle daughter is in the midst of securing a Master's degree in Statistics, of all things, and decided to move back here from the East Coast in order to make life a little easier on herself.  She is self-employed as a mathematics tutor, and tutoring in the Washington D.C. area involves commuting far and wide, racking up endless miles on her poor Corolla, which already has 230,000+ on it.  As a temporary stop-gap, she moved into the piano room at one end of my house, finishing up the summer semester and saving money toward moving into her own place in the fall.

Your children change so much over the years.  They grow, they mature, they make mistakes, they exhibit good judgment and then bad judgment, they experience heartbreak, they find love, they get their hearts broken, and then mended again.  Not one of my three girls lives her life the way I might do it if I were in their shoes, but I'm not them, they are not me, and they are succeeding at living beyond my wildest dreams.  Each in her own way is truly delightful - a joy for their mother to love and know.

There were times when the girls were growing up that I was too hard on them.  At other times, I was not hard enough.  I was not a perfect parent - they were not perfect children.  The goal of a family is not perfection, however - it is growth, support, and unconditional love.  Whether they are here with me or off living life on their own, I treasure every moment I have with them.    

In That Morning

Monet Gardens Exhibit, New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Then the saying will come true:

Death swallowed by triumphant Life!

Who got the last word, oh Death?

O Death, who's afraid of you now?

1 Corinthians 15:55

One of my childhood playmates died today.  Mel and I attended school together from 7th-12th grade.  I remember her so well - prominent nose, huge grin, blond hair.  She was mischievous, fun-loving, smart and a smart aleck.  I lost track of her after high school, and didn't see her again until my 10th reunion.  Along the way, she had two kids, a husband who walked out on her when her kids were in high school, and became a nurse.  She became the parish nurse for the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kettering, Ohio.  She also, as I did, contracted uterine cancer, but with the help of radiation and chemotherapy (something I did not have to endure), Mel beat the disease.  

Something (the radiation?) destroyed her bone marrow, however, and she was diagnosed with Leukemia.  She has been fighting that disease for the last four years.  She quit work last fall when she tested with no white blood cell count nor platelets.  On June 19, she had a bone marrow transplant that her body ultimately rejected.  Today, surrounded by her family and friends, she quietly passed to her rest.  

As a cancer survivor, it is always difficult to know someone who loses their battle with this insidious disease.  My heart goes out to her son and daughter, and her many, many friends in the Kettering area.  Rest in Christ, my friend.  I will see you in the morning.

Prayers for Hannah

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY   Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Without warning your life can be turned upside-down,

and who knows how or when it might happen?

Proverbs 24:22

Hannah Rinehart had battled cancer for years, had two bone marrow transplants, and was declared cancer-free seven years ago.  She held the position of patient care technician at a hospital in Georgia, and life was wonderful until July 3, when she was hospitalized with a high fever.  Eventually it was determined that she had contracted a rare bacterial infection from the saliva of the family puppy.  As her condition worsened, doctors placed her in a medically-induced coma, and removed both hands and both feet in an effort to stem the tide of the infection.

Her husband, Mark, is a school teacher, and has rarely left her side this summer as she battles for her life.  With the fall school start-up date just a couple of weeks away, Mark's fellow Gwinnett County teachers told the school board last Thursday night that school employees want to donate their personal time off (PTO) hours to Rinehart so that he can get more time off with pay and devote his days to caring for his wife.  Mark was overwhelmed by the love and support of his fellow teachers in their offer of this very precious gift of time.

Unfortunately, the school board has denied the request saying that it is against state policy to grant it; the teachers, however, are continuing to advocate for the right to give their personal time to Rinehart.  For his part, Mark is asking for prayer for his wife.  He is a strong believer in the power of prayer, and said, "I'm just grateful to anyone who is offering their prayers.  That means the world to me and Hannah."

Please join me in praying for this young couple - healing for Hannah, strength and peace for Mark.

The Unvarnished Truth

An honest answer

is like a warm hug.

Proverbs 24:26

When I was in my teens and went to my father for advice, or for his opinion on how I looked, what I was wearing, a new hairstyle, or any other terribly important topic to my teenage mind, he would invariably look me straight in the eye, give me his cockeyed grin, and say:  Do you want the truth, or a nicely varnished lie? 

When I ran into my problems with the chorus ladies and made the decision to "retire" from the group immediately, I faced the task of informing the director.  I consider him a good friend, and would not hurt his feelings for anything.  There was also the little matter of a solo I was supposed to sing in the Vivaldi presentation.  I briefly flirted with the thought of coming up with some urgent emergency (you wouldn't believe!!) that had suddenly (and unexpectedly) popped up from no where (things like this do happen), and I just wouldn't be able to perform (oh, I am so disappointed!).  That thought quickly went out the window, however, because I value him far too much to lie to him.

Friendships are based on trust, and I needed to trust him to understand the unfortunate circumstances and my decision to vacate the field.  Telling someone the truth says, "I trust you with my honesty and with my feelings; I know you will try to understand and give me the benefit of the doubt."  It was trust well placed, for I received a reply of sorrow for what had happened, and complete understanding of my ensuing decision.  His statement, Thank you for being so honest with me" truly warmed my heart.  I gave him the unvarnished truth, and received a warm hug of friendship in return.

Generous Hands

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY   Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Generous hands are blessed hands

because they give bread to the poor.

Proverbs 22:9

Angela Prattis lives in Chester Township, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia.  For the past few months, she has been handing out free lunches to the children in her neighborhood community while they are home on summer vacation.  The food is supplied by the archdiocese of Philadelphia to help low-income residents of the township.  Many times the only meal that a poor child receives during the day is their school lunch; summer break brings the very real danger of malnutrition among poor school-age children.

The city council found out about Prattis' free lunches, and ruled that she is violating a zoning law because she is giving away meals in a residential area.  She would need to have a variance from the City Council (administrative fees would cost up to $1,000), or be liable for fines of $600 a day.  The Council has finally agreed to allow Prattis to finish out this summer, but there are no guarantees for next summer.

You would think that the township's administration would be falling all over themselves to thank a woman who is willing to daily give of herself for such a thankless task.  Why are they knitpicking?  Do they need the administrative fee money?  Do they fear a loss of control?  A woman who is selflessly giving of her time and energy to ensure that the children in her neighborhood don't go hungry should be admired and praised, not tarred and feathered with red tape.  I think the members of the City Council should pop down to her side of town at lunchtime and help pass out the food.  Perhaps they would gain a different perspective and a more generous disposition.

Sharpening Friends

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY  Copyright 2012:singeronthesand

You use steel to sharpen steel,

and one friend sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

I had kind of a rough evening last night.  I have been attending rehearsals of a community chorus in preparation for a concert at the end of August, and the women in my section have been less than welcoming. I have been arriving slightly late for rehearsal so that I could not get to my section, sitting instead in front of the basses and to the left of the tenors.  Because I was doing some piano work for the director, it was only natural for me to sit where I could have easier access to the piano.

This week, however, the director asked me to return to my section; I complied, and didn't have to wait long for the catty remarks to come forth - first from the lady to my left, then from a girl in front of me.  After the second instance, I thought, "You know - I do this for a living; why am I subjecting myself to this in my spare time?"  At the end of the session, I quietly left my music on the chair in the choir loft, and walked out with no intention of returning.

The morning light brought some doubts - perhaps I was being too sensitive?  Perhaps the women didn't mean it the way it sounded?  A very good friend of mine had called the other day with an invitation to lunch today, and it provided me with a wonderful opportunity to bounce my woes off another sounding board. I told her all the remarks that had been made, from start to finish, and then we discussed what was said and why the individuals involved might have made the comments.  In the end, she reassured me that I was being neither unreasonable nor overly sensitive.  The remarks were not made in a friendly manner so it should be no surprise that I did not take them that way.

My friend is no pushover - if she thought I was in the wrong, she would have told me quite plainly - one of the reasons why she is treasured.  I wasn't looking for someone to agree with me; I was seeking another opinion of the events and the soundness of my interpretation.  I would value her opinion whether she thought I was right or wrong.  And she would continue to value my friendship either way. 

 

When the Enemy is Your Friend

New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

The wounds of a lover are worth it;

kisses from an enemy do you in.

Proverbs 27:6

  

When I first read this proverb, I was puzzled by Solomon's thought process that would have produced the first line:  the wounds of a lover are worth it.  Worth what?  Pain and misery?  I'm not altogether sure that any wound is "worth it."  Surely the wounds from a friend are equally capable of doing you in?  I wonder what Solomon would say in the case of the Pennsylvania man whose lover was also his enemy?

The gentleman in question, Thurman, has been sick for three years with symptoms including nausea, vomiting, blood pressure spikes and breathing problems.  His doctor recently alerted authorities when tetrahydrozoline, a chemical found in eye drops, showed up in his blood tests.  A follow-up test at the police station revealed an extremely high level of the chemical in his bloodstream.

Further investigation revealed that Thurman's girlfriend (and the mother of his child) was the likely culprit.  When confronted, Vickie admitted to police that she had been poisoning her boyfriend with Visine eye drops in his drinking water.  She stated that she had laced his water with the chemical a dozen or so times over the last three years.  According to a court affidavit, Vickie never meant to kill Thurman, she just wanted him to pay more attention to her.  She was arrested and charged with 30 counts, including simple assault and reckless endangerment, carrying a maximum sentence of 240 years in jail and $300,000+ in fines.

It is true that when a person is sick, they are more in need of someone's help, but poisoning your boyfriend so that he will pay more attention to you?  Watching him struggle with debilitating symptoms, knowing all the while that you are causing them?  Playing with the life and health of your child's father?  I can only hope that Thurman is grateful that the "wounding" from his lover was discovered before it truly did do him in.

Conclusion Jumping

Japanese Gardens, Maymont Park, Richmond, VA.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Don't jump to conclusions - 

there may be a perfectly good explanation

for what you just saw.

Proverbs 25:8

A few weeks ago, the three young boys in my neighborhood who regularly play in the street were standing stock-still, right in the middle of the street behind my house, gawking at the human tableau that was playing out in the front yard and on the porch of a neighbor's home.  There were three police cars in the driveway and on the lawn, and a young man who looked like he had been smacked around a bit was sitting on the porch steps talking to the police while the officer examined his face.   

The house is occupied by a young couple and their two small children, and the guy on the porch appeared to be the husband.  I tried to talk the kids into going on home and minding their own business, but they were having none of that.  While I was trying to coax them, they took about three steps backwards, but it was clear that they were not really going to go anywhere.  I will be truthful and admit that I was curious as well, but I'm a little too old to be standing in the street (or the yard) trying to figure out what is going wrong with my neighbors.  Just as I turned to leave, an officer inside of the home opened the door and the wife went out to the car, retrieved an item, and went back inside the house.

I have thought of this household many times in the ensuing weeks, especially when I walk the neighborhood in the morning.  I immediately assumed that the police were there for a domestic dispute call, and it looked for all the world like the wife had manhandled her hubby, but was that the case?  I had no clue, and to my credit, I remain clueless on what happened that morning.  There may have been a completely innocent reason for the presence of the law there. The point is, I don't need to know what happened because it is none of my business.  

My father always believed that in life as well as in law, people should be assumed innocent until proven guilty.  Always try to believe the best about those around you.  If they are not what they seem, the truth will come out eventually.  It just doesn't need your help  

Sing His Praises!

Hallelujah!  O my soul, praise God!

All my life long I'll praise God,

singing songs to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 146:1-2

For the past month or more, one of my former students from the music specialty center where I teach (now a college sophomore) has been planning a choral festival at his church, bringing together his choir and the choir from a neighboring Baptist church.  Then he invited "special guests," - his sister (a glorious soprano), his junior high chorus teacher, his high school chorus teacher, a couple of high school buddies (trumpeters), and me.  The group had one dress rehearsal, and then we presented the concert this afternoon.

It was a great experience.  He chose excellent choral pieces that I've sung before, such as Jernigan's Great is the Lord Almighty, Allen Pote's A Jubilant Song, and Tom Fettke's The Majesty and Glory of Your Name.  Other pieces I was unfamiliar with and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know:  Days of Elijah, Anchored in the Rock, and MackWilberg's Saints Bound for Heaven. 

The highlight of the afternoon, however, was Robert Ray's He Never Failed Me Yet.  A great gospel song with a wonderful message: no matter what has happened in life, God has never failed me.  I was privileged to hear a magnificent baritone soloist [who turned out to be the new minister of the church].  All in all, it was a wonderful time of song, fellowship, and praise to God.  To share the blessings, I've attached a video of a high school choral group singing He Never Failed Me Yet.  I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed performing it this afternoon!

Be There!

Don't hesitate to step in and help.

If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business,"

will that get you off the hook?

Someone is watching you closely, you know - 

Someone not impressed with weak excuses.

Proverbs 24:12-13

 

I was sitting in my office this afternoon, preparing to teach a Sunday School class tomorrow, when I heard my cell phone ringing in the dining room.  That fact was amazing in itself, because I almost never hear my cell phone when it is that far away from my current location.  I sprinted down the hall and through the living room, reaching my phone just as it quit ringing.  The call was from one of my music students, so I immediately called back.  The phone was answered by a young woman in deep distress, sobbing so hard that I couldn't make out a single word.

My first reaction was a quick prayer of thankfulness that the crying child on the phone was not one of my own.  My second reaction was panic - this is not one of my kids, and something is terribly wrong, and do I really want to deal with this?  That second reaction flew by swiftly, as the sure knowledge settled in that I heard my phone ring because God knew that someone needed me, and that He would enable me to handle whatever was wrong.

The sweet girl on the phone was completely broken:  everything that could go wrong had gone wrong, for almost a month now, and whatever had just transpired in her life was the straw that broke the camel's back.  She slipped into the darkness of utter despair, questioning her very existence.  I concentrated on getting her to focus and not cry, so that I could understand what she was saying, but the emotional impact of what I could hear was overwhelming.  Would anyone miss me if I was gone?  Do I have any value at all?  Is there a reason for me being alive?

 

I prayed a great deal during that phone call, feeling completely inadequate for the task.  Years have taught me, however, that when God calls me to step forward to help another of His children, He is not asking me to do it alone.  He understands my weakness and the limitations of my wisdom.  He is right beside me, offering His wisdom and grace - using my hands and my heart to bless a hurting soul.

 

We are His hands to touch the world around us,

We are His feet to go where He may lead.

And we are His love, burning in the darkness,

We are His love, shining in the night. 

 

A Gold Medal for Courage

Tiger Mountain, Bronx Zoo, New York.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

If you fall to pieces in a crisis,

there wasn't much to you in the first place.

Proverbs 24:10

What is courage?  Webster defines it this way:   

Facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, 

difficult or painful instead of withdrawing from it.  

That definition perfectly describes an American runner named Manteo Mitchell.  

Mitchell ran the opening leg of the U.S. men's 4x400 meter relay qualifying heat yesterday, and appeared to have a difficult time toward the end of his segment.  He successfully handed off the baton to Josh Mance, but then slowed and grasped his leg.  He tells the story this way:  "I got out pretty slow, but it picked up and when I got to the 100-meter mark, it (my leg) felt weird.  I was thinking I just didn't feel right.  As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt it break.  I heard it... I wanted to just lie down.  It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half." 

In point of fact, his leg bone (fibula) had broken while he was running.  I cannot imagine how he kept going - physically or mentally, but he did. He said, "I didn't want to let those three guys down, or the team down, so I just ran on it."  After he passed the baton, his teammates picked up the pace and the U.S. team easily qualified for the relay final.  If Mitchell had fallen or stopped (no one would have blamed him under the circumstances), his team would have been out of the running.

Dangerous (to the health of his leg), difficult (how do you run without a stable leg bone?), painful ("It hurt so bad"), and yet he never stopped.  He drew from his mental/emotional reserves to face an impossible situation and he not only dealt with it, he triumphed!  That kind of supreme courage deserves a medal all its own.

Guess What? I Cheated!

Tiger Mountain, Bronx Zoo, New York.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Make it to the top by lying and cheating;

get paid with smoke and a promotion - to death!

Proverbs 21:6

A huge part of the hype of the Olympics is the post-medal ceremony interview.  Everyone wants to talk to the gold medalist - find out the story behind their success, the hard work and personal goals that propelled them to the top of their sport.  Some stories are heart-wrenching, others are hilarious.  Imagine though, a gold medal Olympian blurting out in his interviews:  Hey - I got a gold medal and a world record - and I got them because I cheated!!

Probably sounds far fetched, right?  Actually, that is a quote right out of the London newspapers, as well as The Los Angeles Times and the Sidney Morning Herald.  In a recent interview with the Australian newspaper, Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa, gold medalist and new world record holder in the 100-meter breaststroke, claimed that he won the race and set the world record with extra, illegal dolphin kicks.  Burgh said, If you're not doing it, you're falling behind.  It's not, obviously - shall we say- the moral thing to do, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my personal performance and four years of hard work for someone that is willing to do it and get away with it."  So he does it, gets away with it, and then brags about his cheating?  That is an entirely new level of "sportsmanship."

Burgh's excuse for cheating?  Everyone else is doing it.  And if other people are cheating, and he doesn't cheat, then he won't win, and winning is what this is all about, right?  Obviously not just winning, but winning at any cost.  Somehow, that takes quite a bit of luster off of that gold medal.  For the rest of his career, he will be known as the Cheating Olympian of the London Olympics. Not exactly the best story to pass down to the grandchildren.   

Vengeance is Mine

Don't ever say, "I'll get you for that!"

Wait for God; He'll settle the score.

Proverbs 20:22
 

Do not take revenge, my friends, but 
leave room for God's wrath, for it is written,
"Vengeance is mine; I will repay," says the Lord.
Romans 12:19

It is the summer Olympics - one of the greatest sports contests on the planet.  Teams from almost every nation on earth gather together to compete in the pool, on the field, around the track, and through the air.  When one thinks of top-notch athletes, one thinks of skill, class and sportsmanship.  Unfortunately, not every competitor comes up to snuff in the class and sportsmanship categories.

In Monday's soccer semi-final between Canada and the United States, Canadian Melissa Tancredi intentionally stomps on the head of a fallen U.S. midfielder who is down on the pitch.  What should have been a red card foul (with automatic ejection of Tancredi from the game) went uncalled.  France's Nic Batum, frustrated in the final moments of a loss to Spain in basketball, delivered a roundhouse, close-fisted blow to the groin of one of the Spanish players, who collapsed in agony.  In the Argentina vs. U.S. basketball game a short time later, an Argentinian player delivered the same blow to the U.S.'s Carmelo Anthony.  In each of these situations, the first reaction of the victimized team is to wipe the other team off the map - immediately and physically.  Fortunately, cooler heads and wiser coaches prevailed.

Revenge is defined as "a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, real or perceived."  Also termed retaliation, vengeance, retribution or payback, the desire for revenge is the most common human reaction to pain and suffering inflicted by another.  You want the other person to hurt as badly (or worse) as they have hurt you.  Unfortunately, however, the act of revenge often brings as much pain and suffering on the one retaliating as it does on the intended recipient.  That is why the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

All of us are faced with instances in life when we are slighted, slammed, and slugged for no apparent good reason.  Getting back at the other person is almost always our opening reaction.  God says, Hey - cool it.  Leave it to Me.  When all is said and done, I will see that justice is done.  As another proverb says, Revenge is a dish best served cold.  Just be sure you let God be the waiter.

Giving of What You Have

Sinners are always wanting what they don't have,

the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

Proverbs 21:26

It is hard to believe, but we are already advancing into August, and soon the summer break will be over.  September is just around the corner, bringing with it the start of school.  Yesterday a friend in Arizona posted pictures on Facebook of her kids already in back-to-school gear.  The stores have long been in back-to-school mode, and this last weekend, we had a Tax-Free Weekend in Virginia for school supplies, clothing and shoes.  

I live in the Beulah neighborhood of Chesterfield County, right next to the Bensley neighborhood to the east of us.  These two neighborhoods are the poorest of the entire county, and no where is this more clearly reflected than in the local schools.  Beulah Elementary and Bensley Elementary students are so poor, many of them can barely afford clothes to wear to school, much less the required backpack filled with school supplies. The average elementary school pack with required goods costs $50 or more - far too much money for the average family in this neighborhood.

Enter Beulah United Methodist Church, situated right smack dab in the middle of the Beulah/Bensley area.  Every year, the mission team and the staff pile empty backpacks on a table in the foyer, along with the school supply lists for grades K-5.  Two weeks ago, 32 backpacks were put out, and 32 backpacks disappeared by the end of the worship services.  Soon those bags, filled to the brim with crayons, paper, pencils and more, will be returned to the school in time to be given to needy families during late August registration.  I have five backpacks sitting in my living room, waiting to be transported to Bensley Elementary.  The need is so great, I wish I could give fifty instead of five, but I know that every little bit helps.

Do you have an elementary school near you?  A quick phone call to the administration will tell you whether or not they could use help in providing school supplies to low-income families.  Every aspect of life can be difficult in this economy.  For those of us can, there is a blessing in giving of what we have to help those who have less. 

Justification by Appearance

We justify our actions by appearances;

God examines our motives.

Proverbs 21:2

After September 11, there has been both a blatant and a subtle backlash against individuals who appear to be Muslim.  I say "appear to be," because many people who are not Muslim have been the victims of racial profiling by professional and the everyday man on the street. Such has been the experience of the Sikh community, whose male members have been deemed Muslim because of their colorful turbans and full beards.  Amardeep Singh, program director of the Sikh Coalition, said Sikhs had become "collateral damage" in a 24-hour news machine that uses dark-skinned, bearded, turbaned men as visual shorthand for terrorists.  Yesterday, this truth was driven home when a gunman invaded the worship service at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, killing six people and seriously wounding four others.

In point of fact, the Sikh faith is based on peace.  A Sikh must have the courage to defend the rights of all who are wrongfully oppressed or persecuted, irrespective of religion, color, caste or creed.  It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, with over 30 million Sikhs and is one of the most steadily growing. They are far from propagating terrorism - enjoying strong community and living quiet, peaceful lives.

That peace was shattered on Sunday by a gunman with ties to white supremacy, whose life was concentrated on hating those whose appearance seemed to stand for everything non-white, non-USA.  We have little to go on to determine why the killer acted as he did; he lost his life in a gun battle with a policeman outside the temple.  What is clear is that a man with intolerance in his heart and violence in his soul attacked an innocent group of people he knew nothing about, just because their outward appearance was an affront to him. 

The families of the victims and the survivors need our prayers - prayers for their grief and pain, and prayers for ourselves - for our prejudice and our narrow-minded fear.  We are all in need of God's grace and peace.