Hair Yesterday - - Goon Today!

      Since I'm going on Methotrexate tomorrow, today I had my 3 1/2 feet of hair chopped off. Locks of Love got 20 inches of it after ends were trimmed. I now don't need to "do" anything much to my hair - just rub conditioning cream and then styling mousse into it and "scrunch" it in my hands. I can do my hand exercises while I "scrunch!"
      Don't much like it, prefer long hair, but this is an interesting change. And, if part or all falls out, at least Locks of Love got it! I'll post pics as soon as my DD sends the ones we took today.
      The change of weather plus "pushing too hard" and "overdoing" the past several days is catching up with me. I don't dare stop going to the pool, but I'm going to have to take a break - take a really decent nap each day tomorrow and Saturday.
      DD went with me to get myhair cut. She made lots of good suggestions to the hairdresser. My hair is soooo naturally curly, it is really hard to handle. She is just marvelous. DIL likes my hair, so that's 2 who like it. Ol' Curmudgeon says I'm still his "Windy-Girl." I don't know, yet, whether I like it, though.
      I can almost be grateful that I have developed RA - it has brought DD, DIL and me closer together. They have both been so supportive it has truly touched my heart.

The Current Dilemma

      Recently I've been remiss in posting here. With the new diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, I have been struggling with whether to post about how it is going or simply to ignore it. I don't want this blog to degenerate into a pity party.
      Yesterday I had an appointment with my rheumatologist (a wonderful man!) who is very successful in treating his RA patients. He's somewhat aggressive, but believes that "throwing the book" at RA fairly early in the disease process is more likely to achieve remissions. And for most of his patients he is correct. So I am assuming he is correct in early aggressive treatment in my case. The long and the short of it is that I'm going on methotrexate (Rheumatrex). This is an old cancer drug that is pretty successful in achieving remissions in early, mild to moderate RA. I start on it on Friday. As with any therapy with powerful drugs, there are good things and bad things. The good is, of course, the high percentage of remissions achieved with it. The bad things are: high possibility of major hair loss :-( and serious nausea.
      So tomorrow (Thursday) I will go get my 3 1/2 feet of thick naturally curly hair chopped off and donate it to Locks of Love. It will make my aquatic therapy easier, as I won't be so reluctant to get my hair wet. It will also remove a serious source of vanity. Those are the "up" sides of the possibility of hair loss!
      The "up" side of the possibility of serious nausea is, perhaps I'll actually lose serious weight. That would be good for the joints in my feet, ankles, knees, hips and spine.
      As my dear, dear friend Meg says - "Glory to God for All Things!" We need to remember - and I, in particular need to remember - that God is, indeed, in charge of all. He both can and will redeem all things in His time. That is a great comfort.
      So, there is no "pity party" here - just the daily struggle to improve my spiritual life and to keep my physical health as good as possible as long as possible.
      Now, I'm going to aquatic therapy and get my joints moving!

The Republicans Missed the Boat

In 1994, the incoming Congress, with substantial Republican majority, set forth with a mandate to implement the Contract with America. (See below.) They managed to implement parts of that contract. Had they truly worked with their collegues in both the House and the Senate, however, all aspects of the contract would have passed - and Presidential vetos could have been overcome.

Now, as we approach the 2006 interim elections, there is a question as to whether the Republicans will retain their majority. I contend they will not and that it is because of 2 major things - failure to continue to honor the spirit of the Contract with America and an arrogance that led both to pervasive immorality and fiscal corruption. That arrogance, that immorality and that fiscal corruption are the chief reasons people do not trust them. Now, I do not think that Republicans are any more or less immoral or fiscally corrupt than any other political group, but their arrogance, hubris if you will, has led to their current problems. Am I going to vote Republican this election? Yes - but only because my Senators and Representative were true to the Contract. If I were in another state or another district, however, I most probably would be having second thoughts.

We need smaller government, not ever-larger.
We need fewer taxes, not more.
We need simpler tax laws, not ever-more complex ones.
We need committment to family and family values - lived by our Senators and Representatives, not just given lip service.
We need a judiciary that much more strictly adheres to the basic constructs of the Constitution.
We need to be able to live safely - from criminals, from invasion.
We desperately need strict term limits so that representational "dynasties" cannot be created as easily.
We need a morals clause for both Senators and Representatives that will automatically remove from office any member who *during tenure* practices, supports, seeks, or advocates pederasty, pedophilia, adultery, bribery, vote-buying.
We need to forbid any and all lobbying by corporations, political action committees or other groups.

The safety of this nation is paramount - we need less partisan wrangling and more unity supporting both diplomatic and military protections.

= = = = =

REPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.

That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.

This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.

On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government:

• FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
• SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
• THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
• FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
• FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
• SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
• SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
• EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny.

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses.

2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools.

3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility.

4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society.

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief.

6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world.

7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years.

8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages.

9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation.

10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.

Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.

Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.

= = = = =

To see how the various items of the Contract With America fared, and why, check out this Wikipedia article.

USATODAY.com - Official warns US could face North Korean missile

USATODAY.com - Official warns US could face North Korean missile

Updated 10/10/2006 2:47 AM ET
SEOUL (AP) — A North Korean official threatened that communist nation could fire a nuclear-tipped missile unless the U.S. acts to resolve its standoff with Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.

"We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes," the unnamed official said on Monday, according to a Yonhap report from Beijing. "That depends on how the U.S. will act." MORE...

Gee, didn't I just blog about this the other day?

Wars and Rumors of Wars

Well, Korea is threatening to test a nuke. So I guess we are back to the days of the "Cold War" of the 60s. Shall we again have "put your head between your legs and kiss your a-- goodbye" drills in the schools?

Seems we have not learned from history and so are doomed to repeat it. Contrary to what the tree-huggers and other liberals would have us believe, simply treating everyone "nicely" won't work - because too many people and nations are not "nice." They are just evil. No matter how "nice" we are to them, they are going to try to bully the world. When will we learn?

To deal with bullys, you have to demonstrate that you are stronger and won't take their bullying any longer. So far, we have proven our weakness by keeping on stepping back. It's like being a mother dealing with a brat:
"Johnny, Mother doesn't like it when you do that!"
"Johnny, now stop that, sweetie!"
"Johnny, didn't I tell you to stop that?"
"Johnny, must I put you in time out?"
"Now, Johnny, I've told you again and again not to do that!"
"I'm going to have to tell Daddy!"
"Johnny!"

Johnny isn't going to stop until he is actually punished - and don't tell me about "time out." He just goes to his room and plays computer or video games. Or watches his TV. Or plays with his other toys. That's not exactly a punishment!! And neither are sanctions - as proven by Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Dictators don't care about sanctions - no matter what they do to their subjects.

No, they need to be "paddled." On the national and international level, a "paddling" involves war. Sad to say. Yes, people will die. But what will happen if we don't? Even more than that will die from one nuked American city, however.

Imagine - Seattle, Portland, and Sacramento going up in a nuclear cloud? What if San Francisco is nuked? Would it unsettle the San Andreas fault and set off the major earthquake we've been expecting? Any or all of those are possible given the estimated ranges of Korean missles.

To Realize - The Loss of Steve Irwin

To Realize The Value

by Anonymous

To realize the value of a sister
Ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who Has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to A premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second:
Ask a person Who has survived an accident...

To realize the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend: Lose one.

= = = = =

On Sept 4, 2006, the world lost a friend in Steve Irwin. For those who don't know who Steve is and was, go to:

http://www.crocodilehunter.com.au/crocodile_hunter/about_steve_terri/main.html#

and click on the "Tribute" link. It will pop up a new window.

I have been weepy and in shock for over a week. I was raised on the books by and about Martin and Osa Johnson, on the original "Wild Kingdom" TV show with Marlon Perkins, on the stories and books by Ernest Seton-Thompson. Given different circumstances, I probably would have moved to Australia, studied midwifery there, and been an midwife in the Outback and done natural history kinds of things on the side. I used to capture snakes for fun, and raised black widow spiders for a CDC venom project.

I just loved Steve Irwin and his family. Theirs was the kind of life I used to want to live. I took great joy in the marriage of Steve and Terri, and in the births of their children. He was young enough to be my son, yet I learned so much from him about various animals and their habitats, their lives, their place in God's world. And I came to value God's world even more because of the Irwins - but especially from Steve. His ebullent personality, his infectious enthusiasm, his self-acquired but valid knowledge about animals, their niches in the natural world, the roles they play in our overall ecology - he taught us all about the importance of each specie. He made the unattractive and scary somehow less mysterious, more attractive, and less scary.

One of the many dreams of mine that will not be fulfilled is to go to Australia, visit Australia Zoo and meet Steve and his family in person. Perhaps, health and finances permitting, I will someday make that trip and meet Terri, Bindi Sue and Bobby. I would tell them how much Steve meant to me, an old woman in Georgia in the USA - how much I learned from him and that I miss him.

The love he had for his family, his pride in his wife and children, his unashamed devotion to his late mother and to his father as well as his friends - these were only some of the things that were endearing about him. Any woman would have been proud to have a son like him.

Now Steve Irwin is with God, and the world is emptier. I pray that his lessons on conservation will be spread even farther. My prayers are with his family - his father, his lovely wife, and their children, with his colleagues at Australia Zoo, and his world-wide circle of friends.

May his Memory be Eternal!

Brussels Journal Editor Threatened with Prosecution over Homeschooling | The Brussels Journal

Brussels Journal Editor Threatened with Prosecution over Homeschooling | The Brussels Journal

All you homeschooling parents out there - beware! This will be coming to a community near you - in the all too near future!

FOXNews.com - Report: $1.4 Billion Went to Fraudulent Aid for Katrina Victims - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political Spectrum

WASHINGTON — The government doled out as much as $1.4 billion in bogus assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, getting hoodwinked to pay for season football tickets, a tropical vacation and even a divorce lawyer, congressional investigators have found.

Prison inmates, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address, and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel all were able to wrongly get taxpayer help, according to evidence that gives a new black eye to the nation's disaster relief agency.

Agents from the General Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, went undercover to expose the ease of receiving disaster expense checks from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The GAO concluded that as much as 16 percent of the billions of dollars in FEMA help to individuals after the two hurricanes was unwarranted.

The findings are detailed in testimony, obtained by The Associated Press, that is to be delivered at a hearing Wednesday by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on investigations.

To dramatize the problem, GAO provided lawmakers with a copy of a $2,358 U.S. Treasury check for rental assistance that an undercover agent got using a bogus address. The money was paid even after FEMA learned from its inspector that the undercover applicant did not live at the address. MORE

= = = = =

Unfortunately, this story is a "duh." Too many people are just dishonest. And this is the problem with a distant government doling out aid money. Charity belongs to the local areas - to the churches, to the charitable organizations. Charity does not belong at the national governmental level. Our tax dollars should not be used in this way. If I want my money going to people who live in a known hurricane zone who don't bother to prepare or evacuate, then I should be able to designate where it goes and how it is used. The government should not be holding a gun to my head, taking my hard-earned money and just throwing it away like this!

I support the Fair Tax!! And I support *gradually* removing all charitable purposes from the government and turning them back to private charities and churches. If people want to eat, they should work. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-11: "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. * For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.") If they cannot work, then they should be supported by their families or at the discretion of private charities or the churches.

Harsh? Perhaps. But when nearly 30% of the country receives their support from the government, then something is definitely wrong. I'm disabled, but I work from my computer at home. I take no money from SSI.

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

TechRepublic is one of my favorite places on the internet. This is an older article I managed to miss. Don't know how that happened, but I picked up on it today. The replies were marvelous. Nearly every grammar error that grates on my nerves was covered. Spelling errors, too. and abbreviations. Read and take to heart.

holyoffice: The Interpretative Dance Theocrats

This is totally tongue-firmly-in-cheek, and *funny!*

John J. Miller on Music on National Review Online: Rockin' the Right - The 50 greatest conservative rock songs.

"On first glance, rock ’n’ roll music isn’t very conservative. It doesn’t fare much better on second or third glance (or listen), either. Neil Young has a new song called 'Let’s Impeach the President.' Last year, the Rolling Stones made news with 'Sweet Neo Con,' another anti-Bush ditty. For conservatives who enjoy rock, it isn’t hard to agree with the opinion Johnny Cash expressed in 'The One on the Right Is on the Left': 'Don’t go mixin’ politics with the folk songs of our land / Just work on harmony and diction / Play your banjo well / And if you have political convictions, keep them to yourself.' In other words: Shut up and sing."
more . . .

Doing What is Right in the Sight of God

Abba David said, "Abba Arsenius told us the following, as though it referred to someone else, but in fact it referred to himself. An old man was sitting in his cell and a voice came to him which said, 'Come, and I will show you the works of men.' He got up and followed. The voice led him to a certain place and showed him an Ethiopian cutting wood and making a great pile. He struggled to carry it but in vain. Instead of taking some off, he cut more wood which he added to the pile. He did this for a long time.

Going on a little further, the old man was shown a man standing on the shore of a lake drawing up water and pouring it into a broken receptacle, so that the water ran back into the lake. The voice said to the old man, 'Come and I will show you something else.' He saw a temple and two men on horseback, opposite one another, carrying a piece of wood crosswise. They wanted to go in through the door but could not because they held their piece of wood crosswise. Neither of them would draw back before the other, so as to carry the wood straight; so they remained outside the door. The voice said to the old man, 'These men carry the yoke of righteousness with pride, and do not humble themselves so as to correct themselves and walk in the humble way of Christ. So they remain outside the Kingdom of God. The man cutting the wood is he who lives in many sins and instead of repenting he adds more faults to his sins. He who draws the water is he who does good deeds, but mixing bad ones with them, he spoils even his good works. So, everyone must be watchful of his actions, lest he labor in vain." END

from "The Desert Christian," by Benedicta Ward, (New York; Macmillan, 1975), p. 15-16

Exerpt from: The Ascetic Podvig of Living in the World

by Metropolitan Laurus of Eastern America and New York

Being a true Orthodox Christian, prepared to preserve unto death one's faith in Christ our Saviour, is much more difficult in our day than it was in the first centuries of Christianity. It's true there were persecutions then and Christians were tormented, but the Christians well remembered the Saviour's words, " . . . fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul" (Matt. 11:28). Being fortified by God's grace, they joyfully went to their martyrdom and gave up their lives for Christ. This was also the case in Russia during the torture and persecutions. Now nobody threatens us, living here in freedom, with persecution and torture, but in spite of this, a persecution in its most diverse forms is being carried on against Christianity and against the Christian way of life. Today we see that everything connected with faith in God, with the teaching of God's Word, with Christ's teachings and the teachings of the Orthodox Church, in one way or another is being driven out of a person's life. This process that is taking place in the contemporary world is a process of apostasy, and it can be detected in every aspect of life.

The Old Testament says, "God, to be sure, framed man for an immortal destiny, the created image of His own endless being; but, since the devil's envy brought death into the world, they make him their model that take him for their master" (Wisdom 2:23-25).

We have been given our holy Christian faith so that we might obtain eternal life in blessedness. But to conform perfectly with the spirit of the Founder of our faith, Christ our Saviour, and with His teaching, to really cleanse ourselves morally, to increase in virtue, to become acquainted with spiritual perfection, all this demands special, grace-filled cooperation from above, in addition to an Orthodox person's own efforts. This grace-filled cooperation is called sanctification and is given to us by the Lord. It is achieved by the Holy Spirit in the holy Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ for our sanctification and salvation.

The Canticle of Pascha

Easter Canticle

Let God Arise - and let his enemies be dispersed!

The Holy Pascha is revealed to us today:
The Pascha new and Holy;
The Pascha Mystical;
The Pascha all honorable;
The Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer,
The spotless Pascha,
The great Pascha.
The Pascha of the Faithful.
The Pascha which has opened unot usthe gates of Paradise,
The Pascha that sanctifies all the Faithful.

As smoke vanishes so let them vanish

Come from that scene O women bearers of glad tidings
And say to Sion:
Receive from us the glad tidings of joy, of Christ's Resurrection:
Exult and be glad and rejoice O Jerusalem,
Seeing Christ the King who comes forth from the tomb
Like a bridegroom in procession.

So the sinners will perish before the face of God,
But let the righteous be glad.

The myrrhbearing women at the break of dawn
Drew ner to the tomb of the life-giver.
There they found an angel sitting upon the stone,
He greeted them with these words:
"Why do you seek the living among the dead?
Why do you mourn the incorrupt amidst corruption?
Go: proclaim the glad tidings to His disciples."

This is the day which the Lord hath made
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

The Pascha beautiful,
The Pascha of the Lord,
The Pascha,
The Pascha all honorable has dawned for us
The Pascha!
On which let us embrace one another with joy.
O Pascha!
A ransom for sorrow.
For today shining forth from the tomb as from the bridal chamber
Christ filled the women with joy,
Saying, "Proclaim the glad tidings to the Apostles!'

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages, Amen!

It is the day of Resurrection
Let us be glorious in splendor for the feast,
Let us embrace one another.
Also, brethren, let us speak to those who hate us
And in the Resurrection let us forgive all things.
Therefore, let us cry:

Christ is Risen from the dead;
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs bestoring life!

(From the Matins of Pascha)

The Creed of St. Gregory the Wonderworker

A DECLARATION OF FAITH.

There is one God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image: perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son.

There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all things, and Power formative of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal.

And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to wit to men: Image of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all.

There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged. Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude in the Trinity; nor anything superinduced, as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abideth ever.

++++++++++++++++++++++

The Creed of St. Gregory the Wonderworker (St. Gregory Thaumaturgus / St. Gregory of Neocaesarea / St. Gregory of Pontus)
http://www.voskrese.info/spl/thaumcreed.html


Born at Neocaesarea in Pontus (Asia Minor) about 213; died there 270-275. Among those who built up the Christian Church, extended its influence, and strengthened its institutions, the bishops of Asia Minor occupy a high position; among them Gregory of Neocaesarea holds a very prominent place. His pastoral work is but little known, and his theological writings have reached us in a very incomplete state. In this semi-obscurity the personality of this great man seems eclipsed and dwarfed; even his immemorial title Thaumaturgus (the wonder-worker) casts an air of legend about him. Nevertheless, the lives of few bishops of the third century are so well authenticated; the historical references to him permit us to reconstruct his work with considerable detail.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07015a.htm

Potpourri

Kind of a sad commentary on our times that the election of a "straight" bishop by an Episcopal diocese is newsworthy isn't it?

Question: why is it OK for Patrick Kennedy to misuse prescription drugs, but it is a criminal act for Rush Limbaugh to have prescription drug problems?

This struck home. Only 2 weeks ago, our oldest was in a wreck involving not just one but two vehicles driven by illegal entrants into our fair country. Neither had a drivers license, neither had insurance. His work van was totaled, he walked out with lots of soft tissue injuries, and they both went to jail. He wasn't cited at all. But who will pay for their cars? I hope the tax payers don't. Son's employer's leasing company is stuck with the bill for his van - and the tools that were destroyed.

Amazing! A Californian (Los Angelino, even) who thinks Hollywood is too liberal! This one made even me pause: Draft Hollywood.

When does an apologist for "traditional" Christianity fall short? Raymond Keating thinks Bill O'Reilly is off center in his assessment of the "Gospel of Judas." Well, I think so, too, and I particularly like Keating's last paragraph: "Either the Gospels are history, or Christianity is a fraud. That's the choice."

Something that is not in the news, but has the potential to make many "waves" in the future is the IV All-Diapora Sobor (meeting, conference, convention) of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia that is going on this week in San Francisco, CA. The main question before the Sobor is whether to end the division between the Orthodox Church in Russia (Moscow Patriarchate) and the Church Abroad which has existed since the First World War. There are theological and sociological considerations in addition to the more obvious political ones. How the end of this division might "look" in the future is unknown - as is whether it will end. The prayers of hundreds of thousands of people are with the delegates to the Sobor, that their decisions will, indeed, reflect the Will of God. May our Lord have Mercy on them and guide them.

Love

One of the Initiated, being asked what love is, answered:
Love is the divine fire which burns in the elect and banishes and destroys from their hearts every other impure desire.

Another said:
Love is fulfilling the will of the beloved.

Another:
Love is the power which springs from nature and overcomes the will. The mind cannot attain it, nor can the tongue explain it.

Another wept till he had become blind, stood till he was bent, fasted till he was wholly abstinent, and prayed till he was exhausted. During all this he did not become weary nor bored, but he said: I swear by You, Lord of Lords, if there were a stream of fire between me and You, I would come to you through it as if it were water.

The same person said:
The love of my Lord has alienated me to mankind and human things.

The same person said:
At the banquet of Love I have drunk goblets as it were from a flood; and as wine was not exhausted and I did not get drunk, I was overwhelmed by ecstasy. From desire of You I kept watch the whole night until the first light of dawn. And if I had looked at anything beside You, I would have been blinded.

An other has said:
When the love of God is awake in the heart, it is wholly filled with burning fire, and in an insupportable way it is kindled with joy, and it longs after the sight of the hidden things.

A certain brother said:
When the fatherly mercy dawned on me and took my mind from me, before it was swallowed up in ecstasy and stupefaction, my mind was swimming in a sea of light and plunging into and emerging from its waves, ascending and Iying down, rejoicing and exalting at the floods of its greatness. It beheld there radiant angels singing hymns of praise and it became familiar with them and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Zebaoth. And again the mind was taken, and it penetrated into the light of many rays and was stupefied by the sight of the Beautiful and captivated by the love of the High One and all, even itself, became as not existing. This state of the mind, namely the entrance without knowledge and the absence of impulses will sometimes last a short moment, sometimes one hour, or a whole day, according to the will of the spirit. Also after its return from that state it will remain without inclinations during nearly a whole week. And now the mind will be dark, and then it will be radiant. At first there will dawn in the heart something like a star with many rays and of wonderful beauty, then it will appear as a column of light and thereupon the mind will ascend and enter and be hidden in the cloud. And from that time gifts consisting in revelations and visions, prophecy and power of healing, are given to it.

Another has said:
Morning dawns and gives joy, light radiates and gladdens, the friend speaks and enflames, the good incites and exalts and shows Himself and what is His, in joy.

Another has said:
The fire of love does not permit him who burns with it, to accomplish his service. For as soon as he is standing to pray, his heart will begin to glow till it burns and enflames the whole body, so that he is not able to stand upon his feet but falls on the earth as dead; and his harp is broken and he lives only in madness; he thinks himself and what environs him to be in a fire, because of the living fire which is blown in him by Him who lives eternally For the Lord is my witness, that several times I have heard one of the brethren crying, when he was in the drunkenness of the love of Christ, so that he could not restrain himself because of the divine fire that burned in him: O. how burning is Your love, my Lord and my God, my life perishes from love of You, I cannot bear it! O for Your unspeakable beauty, let me enter Your chamber, o King, that I may rejoice and exult with You! — with other things which are not to be described.

Further it has been said:
Love makes the body and the senses silent, it elevates the mind so as to gaze on the inaccessible light of the beauty of the Desired. Mercy dawns unto it and takes it to the place without place, the world without denomination, the nature without beginning. And when the solitary reaches the divine cloud and enters the harbour of all service, and sees with his mind, face to face, the glory of the Lord and is made radiating by it, and is transformed into His likeness—then his mercy is poured out over all, like that of God. And the beloved above all shows him love, and the beasts of prey, cattle, the birds and obnoxious reptiles do not harm him, because they smell from him the scent of their creator Even stones and wood and all inanimate beings are dominated by him. Even rebellious demons show themselves obsequious unto him, because of the fear which is laid upon them. Wonderful is also the love shown unto him by the angels and the cry they utter unto him: Now let the heart rejoice of those who have sought the Lord in distress.

It has further been said:
Look at the fire which becomes one with the iron in the furnace. The iron alone is not to be recognized there, because it has assumed the likeness of the fire, by their union. So you see not two images but one, no discrimination being possible, though the two substances remain separated. In the same way the children of God see themselves as the image of God; so they become, all of them, gods, by the grace of their creator. And when their nature grows in glory, they are not aware of increase, even as those who grow up are not aware of the growth of their bodily stature; but they observe only that the glory of their person has become greater. And as it proceeds, love increases.

It has further been said
If anyone writes the mysteries of the spirit, without the spirit's dictating them to him, it will not mix its sweetness into his words and therefore they will not be loved by those who read them nor give delight to those who hear them. But if anyone learns the mysteries of the spirit from the Spirit, writing what it dictates to him, then the Spirit will mix itself into all his words and all those who hear him will smell its odours and their hearts will be filled by these words with life and their sound will eradicate the passions from them. And this is the pen of the ready writer with which he writes his holy book.


From: The Ethikon of Bar Hebraeus. IV, 15, 15. A collection of scattered sayings concerning Love.

I'm Urban Essential!!

Tagged by Sharona, I'm an Urban Essential Purse!

Style comes naturally to you; familiy, friends and your career are all a priority. although you don't fuss over the latest trends, you still manage to always look your best. Your look is effortless, practical and put together.With your handbag you are prepared for anything!

http://www.wnetwork.com/promos/danier/promo.asp

Try it!

Adversus Idiotas

There's a new blog by an Orthodox teacher. I commend it, as it praises the intellectual challenges of reading "tough" books.
Hope he keeps it up!

Thomas Sunday

The first Sunday following Eastern Orthodox Pascha (Easter) is called "Thomas Sunday." On this Sunday we remember the fact that the disciple Thomas "would not believe" in the Resurrection unless and until he had seen and touched the Risen Lord with his own eyes and hands.
One of my grandsons took Thomas as his baptismal name because he said if one of the disciples could doubt and still be a Christian, then he could be a Christian, too.