Clothing vs Clothing

Most of us spend a considerable amount of time, money and attention on our clothes. But there are some clothes we may not have thought much about. Several years ago, I met Ruth Catalano, a teacher, prophet, and missionary to the American Indians, Sallisaw,Oklahoma. ‘Sister Ruth’ while visiting in Virginia and NC spoke on II Corinthians 5:1-4 and I had the privilege of hearing it. She spoke about clothing, ‘a clothing upon’ as the King James version says, that has an eternal value to us.

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From inaugurate prayer ’09

of Rev. Joseph Lowery, an 87 year old civil rights pioneer:
Rev. ended his prayer with, “Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around – when yellow will be mellow – when the red man can get ahead, man – and when white will embrace what is right.”

What does this mean?

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‘Lessons I Learned in The Light’

I have been reading a birthday present that Sara had given me, entitled, ‘Lessons I Learned in The Light’ by Jennifer Rothschild. Author Rothschild has been blind since age 15 but her in-SIGHT is tremendous. She is really NOT in the dark as she has relied on Jesus, literally, for her SIGHT and LIGHT.
One of many revelations that she has shared in her book, that really spoke to me, concerns an incident where she unilaterally made a decision to get rid of a piece of equipment in her home that really belonged to her husband, without his knowledge or permission, because she wanted it OUT!! She later tells us that it was good that she got rid of that piece of equipment, not because of the extra storage room it freed up, but because she discovered what a truth it exposed about herself
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Inauguration Prayer

Almighty God, creator and sustainer of all things, we praise you and honor your name.

We thank you that you have allowed us to live in a nation of peaceable government. That we have a quiet change of officers. We ask you for the continuance of this process.

As we change officials of the nation, we ask you to continually bless President Bush, his wife, Laura, and family as they humbly step aside and return to citizen life. We ask for their health, of soul and body as they transition to another phase of life.

We pray for President-elect Obama, his wife and children as they step into new roles. we pray for their protection from evil in all forms.
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Unbelief is a Parody to me

It seems it takes faith to have non-faith? As one parades around words and actions of unbelief parody begins to lead the parade. Why you might ask? How could this be? I believe it is an exercise in self-parody. I recently read portions of “Welcome to Your Brain” by Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt. They gave an interesting thought on mental aptitude:

Q. “Why can’t you tickle yourself?”

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Part V Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

What Alice finds on top of the mushroom was a blue caterpillar who appears to be very comfortable with who he is and whose questions make Alice feel very uncertain as to who she is. His penetrating question, ‘Who are you?’ is one she can’t quite answer. She has changed sizes so many times since this morning and her memory isn’t working too well either. (Now in my imagination, it seems like Alice’s not knowing who she is, yet having a plan to become her true size again and get into that beautiful garden is allegorical. For don’t we all desire to be our authentic self in the Garden of the Lord? I think of Jeremiah 31:12: “And their life will be like a watered garden.”)
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The Velveteen Rabbit

I was given The Velveteen Rabbit as a Christmas gift by Jon M. I hope you enjoy the summary below. It is a story warm and dear to my heart as my own two boys each had their own special stuffed animals they made real.

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams is about a velvet rabbit who was found in the Christmas stocking of little boy. He was brand new with real thread whiskers and a soft body filled out just the way brand new bunnies look. For a while he seemed to be forgotten and thrown in the toy room with lots of other toys. There he met a skin horse who was old and wise. He asked the Skin Horse, “What is real?” Skin horse said that it wasn’t a matter of how you were made but a thing that happens to you. Skin Horse explained that when you are real you don’t mind being hurt and that it takes a long time. You lose your fur from being hugged too much, your eyes drop out, and your joints become loose and shabbiness occurs. You are not ugly to the one who loves you, only to the ones who don’t understand.

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