A SECOND CALL TO PRAY AND ACT

When I read a post by someone who wrote that the main issue as to why that person voted Republican and voted for Trump is the issue of not agreeing with those who are Pro-Choice, the images of fatherless babies because their fathers were lynched came horribly to mind . . .and images of babies and children, their parents, grandparents and other relatives killed in the Holocaust; images of babies and their mothers, sisters and grandmothers--along with the men--killed by soldiers on the Great Plains and dying on the Trail of Tears . . . .images of babies starving because drugs and violence and terror abound in the marginalized neighborhoods . . . images of babies and their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, being killed in the name of religious beliefs . . . images of babies dying of starvation and disease in refugee camps, or in tankers and semi-trailers or packing crates fleeing to America from conditions most of us can't even imagine . . . images of little girls and boys and even babies being used and abused as sex slaves. Are we all working together hard enough for those babies and children and adults?

Because, yes . . . abortion is a horrible thing for a woman to resort to. 

Mother Theresa said, "It is a poverty."

But isn't there another way to help women who feel led to make that horrible and sad decision? There ARE ways. 

(And many people work to help.)

We can protect and care for the children and women of all ages who are raped and abused over and over again. 

We can work on improving opportunities and living conditions for the marginalized people in our society. 

We can have compassion for the woman or young girl made pregnant by incest and/or rape and make sure the perpetrators are punished. 

I suspect that very few of the violent protestors who threaten and sometimes injure or kill women and the people trying to help them have any knowledge at all of the kinds of violence that is forced on the women--and girls--who are not supported enough by the fathers of their children or who are pregnant because of rape or incest. 

No one wants a baby to die. But condemning women and girls and the people who serve them does not help. 

Surely we need to turn back to God and live in the peace, security and abundance that all people desire for themselves and their families. 

Surely all people want to enjoy the security of a home and food on the table and safety and security. 

But it is also "a poverty" for people who have all those things and who have never lived in fear and poverty and hunger and homelessness to angrily and judgmentally berate or do violence against women--or girls--who face that sad and life-changing decision.

When abortion first became legal, an elderly physician told me that he believed that as a nation we would reap the whirlwind over the decision to legalize it. 

However, as a nation we have been mostly unrepentant of many whirlwind-triggering offenses such as those below (not a complete list).

We are a nation that at its founding claimed freedom as its goal while making slavery the basis of its economy. 

We are a nation that ordered and tolerated the mass murder and dispossession and ongoing abuse of the indigenous people, continuing to perpetuate the conditions that have led to generations of impoverished people.

We are a nation that tolerates inequality and oppression; homelessness and starvation; drugs and missing children while McMansions spring up as far away from the people living in poverty as possible.

We are a nation that encompasses all of that and more, so it seems to me that if the whirlwind is indeed coming, the wrath of God will have much more to fuel it than the sadness of women--and girls-- who feel led to make the sad and horrible decision of not being able to bring a child into the world.

I do not believe in abortion, but I also do not think it has anything to do with a government or any man's directions or censors -- or any woman's either, except that woman--or girl--who is pregnant.

Even if you don't believe in God, you must see that we are out of control and that there are consequences for our actions and for our inaction.

Turning to violence, hatred and fear instead of acting out of compassion, protection, understanding; and doing all we can do to help people does not help but only causes more damage.

The most important avenue to help does not have to be through the government but from our grass roots. Just as happens in so many cultures where the people help one another -- including those who are recent arrivals here, or traditionally, the most important way to help people is starting at home . . . and then helping members of your extended family and your neighbors . . . and helping the people in your town or village, your county . . . through your clubs or your faith-based organizations, your business community, your counties, your states, and beyond.

There is a lot more that we together can do for one another when we work together. Our government leaders from the federal level on down . . . or from the local level on up, can and do make a difference by setting the tone and offering some standardized care. But when we expect the government to do everything--or when we decide that the government should not do anything, too many people get no help whatsoever.

Of course a great deal is being done by many people and organizations as described above this. Nevertheless, there is still so much help needed. 

All that is needed will not be accomplished in an atmosphere of hate and fear. If we tolerate those conditions, we will all lose and suffer. But people with the greatest need--the least, the last and the lost will suffer first and suffer the most as they already do.

So I am putting out another call to pray and act according to your conscience, joining with people who have compassion and act on it, Beloved.

When even one of us is oppressed, suffers or is marginalized, that affects us all. 

And it is wrong to believe that God won't notice hasn't noticed. It is wrong that there will be no consequences when eternal spiritual, economic or societal laws and principles are broken. 

The results of allowing and causing suffering are already evident in the world today. Beyond that, you only have to know a small bit of the history of the last century when most of us were born and raised to find very good reasons to stop it all from happening again.

This is not a time to sit back and see what will happen next. 

This is a time to pray and to act and to change things. 

We must head off what disasters and strife may come if we do not pray together, act together, keep praying and keep acting.

* * * *

As ever, I pray for you, Beloved, that you will come to know how much you are loved, and that you will share that love in action with people around you and with whomever you feel led to share. 

May the Lord of Lords bless and keep you and yours tonight and always.

<3 <3 <3

A CALL TO PRAY AND THEN ACT

Regarding the 2016 Presidential Election . . .
( I know we are not alone.)

The feelings of shock, sadness, anger, disbelief, and determination keep competing with one another and with feelings of horror and disappointment. Beyond feelings, though, with the Lord's help, I keep choosing to seek God's face, His peace in Jesus Christ, His protection for each person existing in fear. I pray for those who mourn and for each one at risk.

Even amongst people whom I love very much and whom I have known all my life, there are those who in no one certain terms have pulled out all the stops and are supporting people and activities that I believe to be insupportable.

It's too sad.

I still love them all, but I know that our conversations and interactions are going to continue to be affected by the polarization we are experiencing.

It's a sickening feeling.

The only thing to do is to continue to find hope. And with that hope, there must be love and action.

Jesus was able to do the miraculous things that He did because He spent time first alone with the Lord, praying and being filled with God's power through the Holy Spirit.

We also, if we are believers, must begin with prayer.

Probably the most important prayers will be to pray for those who persecute and spitefully use people.

Only God can change their hearts.

If we are to continue to become more Christlike, we will have to seek the Holy Spirit. With His help through scripture, we will find the guidance, support, and encouragement that we need as we pray.
The Lord keeps bringing to mind a lot of Bible stories where God has required fewer and fewer people to fight the battle so that those who are fighting and those who will be defeated know that the Lord alone is the champion and victor.

Think of Gideon in the seventh chapter of the book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible.

In our age God is still coming through for His people:
http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/…/top-17-miraculous-isra…/

Remember that God is always on the side of the short statistic if what happens has to do with deliverance and victory.

And remember that the Lord is always on the side of the least, the last, the lost, the oppressed, the imprisoned, the destitute, and anyone suffering from violence.

God loves each and everyone of us, but He has never loved the activities that cause anyone pain and suffering. The Lord weeps for the perpetrators of evil just as much as he weeps for their victims.

The Lord never has turned His back on anyone, but those who have turned their back on His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness and understanding have turned their back on the Light and Life.

They are moving into deep darkness.

We have a responsibility to warn them.

Our witness is the love we have them.

As Baby Boomers, we know this well. We saw in person or in pictures or on films the flowers being pushed into the mouth of guns on tanks. 

We saw marchers of all ages courageously stand up in nonviolent protest, or sit down bravely in places where they would be verbally vilified as well as physically assaulted.

We wept when we heard that four beautiful little girls violently perished in their church. And we mourned when others perished in sacred places, and in a myriad of other locations that should only have been associated with peace and security.

Even the Lord must be more than weary to see rising again what so much that the Greatest Generation--and those of many other generations--fought for and died for . . . and suffered for to the world's everlasting grief.

By some estimates, the wars of the mid 20th century, along with indigenous political mass murders took the lives of over thirty-two million people.

THIRTY-TWO MILLION PEOPLE

And that wasn't enough to work harder so that the people of the world can live in peace?

Enough is way beyond enough, and we have to break out of our numbness and shock.

Our work is cut out for us, and we indeed have been born for such a time as this.

Whoever you are, Beloved, and whatever you believe, my prayer is that you will open your heart to the Fullness of Love and let that Love wash over you and fill you so that there is nothing but love, joy, mercy, peace, righteousness and the complete knowledge of how loved you are in your body, mind, soul and spirit. That will make a start.
In Jesus' Holy and precious Name I pray. 

Alleluia! Amen and amen.

REUNIONS, LARGE AND SMALL

We arrived in Alaska in late January 1983 to begin a stint in the US Air Force stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base outside of Anchorage. Of all the amazing things about living in Alaska, one of the most amazing was that through friends of mine for two different parts of my life worth living there with their families. I have mentioned this previously when I have written about our time in Alaska, but thought about our time there in a new way this evening.

While posting on Facebook tonight, I saw that one of those friends "liked" several posts. One of them was a beautiful photograph of almost uncountable numbers of eagles in tress decorated with hoar frost along a shimmering ice-glazed river with snow-covered Alaska mountains in the background. My kids tonight so I just talk to side north of general when we were coming out of the Air Force in January of 1986, near the Mendenhall glacier north of Juneau.

I first met two of the friends and their families who were in Alaska waiting for us when we lived in Urbana at the Orchard Apartments, University of Illinois Married Student Housing. The friend who "liked" the photo of the eagles in Alaska lived near us in the fall of '79 and the spring of '80, when both of our families lived on Keesler Air Force Base near Biloxi, Mississippi. Our husbands were at first in the same Communications Officer Training Class.

Soon after starting to live there, our custom was to invite all the class members, and their families if they had dependents, to a touch football game on the Biloxi Beach on Saturday afternoons, followed by a potluck turkey dinner. We had developed a way to roast an in-stuffed 18-20 pound turkey in a kettle grill over charcoal for four hours or so. You might want to try it sometime.

We would put the turkey in, and tell our friends that we would supply the turkey and bread. Invited to bring supplemental dishes and whatever they wanted to drink, the classmates, their spouses and kids came through every time with delicious dishes and stellar spirits, beers and drinks for the kids.

In December, in the middle of the week, I also managed to pull off a surprise party for my husband at the time. He liked apple pie more than birthday cake, so I backed about five, and asked some of the other wives if they would also bake some. I think we had 27, altogether.

Then, on the last Saturday before I left for officer training school, we had a cookout potluck and party that lasted all the way until the next morning. That was on April 24 of 1980, so we all knew each other very well by then.

Now that I remember it, all of the participating families were not necessarily headed by officers in exactly the same class that my husband was in at the time. I met the wife and kids of one of the families who came to the get-togethers when my children and I were in San Antonio Texas for the last six weeks of their dad's time on Medina Annex of Lackland Air Force Base.

The first time we went to the Commissary on Keesler, I saw a familiar car in the parking lot. After going in to get our groceries, I quickly perused each aisle and, sure enough, found my friend who had been with us in Texas. Her husband had started his training in Mississippi several weeks before my kids' dad's class began, although they had been commissioned on the same in September of '79.

Coincidentally, that day was also our son Tom's fifth birthday. Beyond the friend and her kids who were in Texas with us, there were seven or eight other families who were waiting for their spouses/dads to graduate. So in addition to the commissioning parties, we had a birthday party for Tommy. One of the mom's we knew was deeply involved in baking decorative cakes. The one she made for our son had R2D2 and C3PO on it. We were all delighted.

There's more to tell you, Beloved. Will leave it there for tonight.

As ever, I pray for you and yours that you all have a peaceful night's rest. Why don't you whisper a, "Good night. . . " to the angels who will be guarding your rest?

AMAZING HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Persecuted, hounded, villified, harassed . . . why?

Just because she is a woman.

Brilliant, passionate, erudite, so quick, so beyond capable,
Yet they hate her . . . why?
Just because she's a woman.

And I really wonder and am so confused.
Because what could there possibly be
About her that is really so threatening and frightening
To them, those big strong powerful white boys?

And even more confusing, their wives?

Since it seems beyond me, mostly . . . maybe,
I was almost just ready to quit trying to understand
The unreasonableness, selfishness, bullying, destructiveness,

And just decided to try to pray for them,

(But even more for the people they are hurting.)

Because the saddest thing about what they
Think and believe and how they act
And then chortlle and wink at each other after being so cruel . . .

(Saddest except for how their thinking, acted out,
Leads to suffering, oppression, violence, slavery and death,
Which is incomprehensible so much sadder and more horrible.)

So the second saddest thing is that over and
Over and over again they are really only
Condemning themselves and their offspring
To existence in mean little boxes with no way out . . .why?

Maybe partly because they are afraid
That they will be treated the way they
Have been brainwashed to treat those
Other people not like themselves.

(But haven't there been enough examples
From human history that show conclusively
That the whole thing never works out well
For anyone?)

Really.

Makes me wonder what was kept from their teachers
That they wanted and were cruelly denied maybe . . . why?
So that they feel they have to keep all the marbles
And make sure no one else ever has any at all.

And that they are hurt in such a way that
they will never try to get the marbles.

Ever.

Or any of their kids or grand kids either.

But that sounds like giving them excuses, doesn't it?

When people are not held responsible for how
They hurt others, they have no basis to ask
For forgiveness.

Archbishop Tutu et al have lived that out and
Shown how much healing can begin
Even though scars and devastating loss
And the deepest sorrow may still remain.

But so it was (and is) with crucifixion, death
And resurrection.

So in trying so desperately to win and stay on top,
They tragically not only lose everything, but
Cause everyone connected to them
Now and for generations to come not only to be lost,
But to have to live with the shame and guilt until redemption . . .

Why?

* * * *

Another amazing accomplishment of Hillary
Is that she understands them and
Would like to Help them . . . even them!

Why?

Because she has vision, passion and compassion.

We are so blessed that she and Bill and Chelsea
Have been able to put up with it all; and endure;
And keep on keepin' on. . . and on.

Why?

Because they care and will never give up.

Thanks so very much!

We're still with with you and always will be . . . why?

Because we said so.

[Kathleen Ware Harris, 11-11-2016]

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

WE WERE BORN FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

In the face of such a time of divisiveness and strife, when the first reactions of many people may be driven by fear, we can look to the narration of the Book of Ruth for inspiration and to under gird our resolve to walk ahead in faith, trusting the Lord of Righteousness and Peace.

Whatever happens, God is our strong tower. The Lord is always ultimately victorious and those who are called by His Name must rely on Him as we move through storms. We must not fall into fear and despair. We must cling to hope and rest assured in His presence.

We must have the courage to realize that with God all things are possible. The battle belongs to the Lord and God is always victorious.

When my daughter was born I hemorraghed and almost died. I had never heard of Near Death Experiences (NDEs), and it wasn't until Krista was six that I read "On Death and Dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. After reading the book, the first person I told about what had happened to me was the friend who allowed me to read the book.

During part of the NDE, I was given a vision of my whole life. I even saw my parents before I was born. As I watched the vision, I could feel how I was feeling during all that took place. I could slow down the images and look more carefully at what was happening.

God said He was showing me the vision because I expressed being sad not to be able to be with my daughter and how sad it would be for my husband if I died. God said I could choose to go back to my life, but that He wanted to show me all of it before I decided what to do.

I saw times of great difficulty and sadness, especially two periods -- surrounding the divorce and having to do with the time of the nervous breakdown. And I saw that beginning in the 90s, chaos and violence would lead to another world war, even more horrible than the wars of the 20th Century. I felt that God was telling me that He had purposes for my life, including to help people during time of strife and devastation. I was charged with lifting up the Lord helping people have hope.

After seeing the vision, the Lord told me that it was time to decide what to do. Despite how beautiful being in the presence of the Lord was and how peaceful I felt, i only wanted to be with my daughter, so I chose to return.

The Lord is so good and so faithful.

The Lord told me that I would not remember everything from the vision, but that He would always be with me. Nevertheless, always before times of strife, for months before the difficult times I would have deja vu dreams and wake up remembering that I had first seen what happened in the dreams during the vision in the NDE. At one time I complained to the Lord that I felt like I was going through it all three times, but He answered that He wanted me to remember the outcome, that He would see me through whatever happened, and that all would be well.

As Baby Boomers, our lives have been formed and overshadowed by what our parents and grandparents went through in the Great Depression and in World War II and beyond. We have worked for peace, but as we are now in the generation that is in power in the world, we can see that decisions we have made as a nation have not always led to the furtherance of peace.

We have a responsibility to repent to God and seek His face.

As believers in God in Jesus Christ, we must realize that indeed we have been born for such a time as this. No matter how difficult life may become, we always have the choice with God's help to stand up for justice, righteousness, peace and mercy.

No matter how difficult life may get, there is always hope. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome the light.

As we who believe in God in Christ Jesus continue to stand up for justice, righteousness, mercy and peace, we will have our work cut out for us.

The most important decision we will make every day is whether or not to trust the Lord and to allow God to work in and through us to relieve suffering and to work toward victory in the Lord.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, I ask you now to seek God's face and to offer yourself to Him. He has work for us to do. There has never been a more important time to allow the Lord to work in us and through us. No matter what the conditions may be as we go forward, the battle belongs to the Lord and He always has victory.

May the Lord continue to bless us, keep us, strengthen us, guard us and guide us as we move through this time.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus!

ISSUES ABOUT HEALTH CARE AND OPPORTUNITIES

It makes me sad when people who have always taken health care for granted because granted they have always had jobs that provided it do not understand how difficult it is for too many people who work very hard, but don't make much and don't have benefits . . . or who live in poverty because of the inequality of opportunity and marginalization that our society perpetuates.

I believe at times that some of the problems come from not being able to walk in someone else's shoes . . . Not being able to imagine existing the way some people are forced to live. Other times, sadly, perhaps there are those who don't want to help because they fear ending up the same way. Others may feel overwhelmed by the problems and not knowing where to start to help.

When we all have the will to work on it together, even just in a small way, right where we are, we will make a difference.

One of the reasons the new health care system has problems is that it was not primarily designed to serve people, but primarily patched together to keep the huge medical and pharmaceutical lobbies Happy and rolling in the dough.

As long as the focus we have is on wealth and not the well-being of people, programs will fall short and people will,continue to suffer.

The truth is that many, many people have suffered more and died earlier than otherS who take for granted what they have and who work to deny it to those in need.

And we act like the Lord won't notice.

Even if you do not believe in God, there are so many examples in history of our inequality and enforced suffering and unrighteousness has affected people and the societies they live in. The more people are given the opportunities to take care of themselves and their families in peace and security, the stronger a nation is.

When each person is clothed and fed and has a roof over his or her head because that person and that family are free to be able to work at jobs or professions that give satisfaction as well as remuneration; as long as they live in safety and not in fear; as long as they truly are guaranteed the ability to pursue the happiness they seek and not infringe on anyone else's rights and freedoms a society flourishes.

Whenever greed and material wealth are the most important focus of a person, or of a family, or of a business, or of a group--or even a faith-based congregation, church, synagogue, mosque, temple, community center--then that operating principle leads to people suffering.

We we were all given consciences and the more we hear ourselves rationalizing what we are doing on behalf of material wealth, the farther away we are from peace, love, joy and contentment. Even if we think we are happy, somewhere in our heart or mind we feel guilty that we are taking sustenance, peace and blessings from others because we have too much and are not willing to share.

There are many aspects to the ways that the focus on wealth is damaging. When St. Paul writes that, "the love of wealth is the root of all evil," * it is just the beginning. If people work for material things to the detriment of our folks' needs, rights and freedoms; the conditions of that society ma first that a minority of citizens prosper and the majority of people suffer.

St.Paul wrote that Jesus said that, "it is more blessed to give than to receive," ** he was pointing out the benefits of sharing rather than selfishly withholding surpluses.

it has just occurged to me that some of this sounds judgmental and critical. Please forgive me. I only want to point out that there doesn't have to be and "us and them" situation. We can all help to make changes. The process starts with the softening of our hearts and wanting to lovingly help.

May the Lord continue to help us lovingly make changes so that each person and each family in our nation is blessed.

* For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with." [1Timothy 6:10 (KJV)]

** "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” [Acts 30:35 (ESV)]