A friendly Advent Reminder from John the Baptist

Lighting your Advent candles?

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will also be in our troubled world.
- Etty Hillesum,died in Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of 29. From An Interrupted Life, a compilation of her diaries and letters.

For what its worth

saw this at Sojourners and passing it on......

This week GM printed a full page ad in Automotive News magazine to make a public apology. They said:While we’re still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you. At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster. We proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market. We also biased our product mix toward pickup trucks and SUVs. And we made commitments to compensation plans that have proven to be unsustainable in today’s globally competitive industry. We have paid dearly for these decisions, learned from them and are working hard to correct them by restructuring our U.S. business to be viable for the long-term.

I really don't want a God who is solicitous of my every need,fawning for my attention, eager for nothing in the world so much asthe fulfillment of my self-potential. One of the scourges of ourage is that all of our deities are house-broken and eminentlycompanionable. Far from demanding anything, they ask only how theycan more meaningfully enhance the lives of those they serve."- Belden C. Lane, "The Solace of Fierce Landscapes"

This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Source: The Guest House By Rumi

Random rambles

Charter is running slow so I may not bother with this for long! Facebook visiting has , in fact, reduced my time with the blog. I hope you all had a pleasant thanksgiving. Jeff Ozanne fulfilled Park Church's preaching obligation/privilege in our shared Thanksgiving eve service with the Congregational Church. We had a a pleasant house full of good food and good company for Thanksgiving Day. Later in the evening I retreated to the church to gather up my notes from the previous days meeting with Don Paxton's family. We had Don's funeral service this morning. In addition to his 1o years with the Navy and Air Force, he was with the foreign service as a power plant supervisor for the Voice of America in Liberia, Morocco, Okinawa and Washington DC. I was fascinated with his stories and will miss him. This afternoon I visited the new home of a church member family, rebuilt after a fire so we did a house blessing. Sara hosted a party of college students home on Thanksgiving break so they swarmed through the leftovers, for which I am also thankful. My brother, Randy, gets a ride back to Moorhead tomorrow and I hope, with Nicks help, to get up a few Christmas lights...oh and the Sunday sermon needs some finishing.


Life is good . Still a happy thanksgiving

on line labyrinth

There are several out there but here is one
http://www.gratefulness.org/labyrinth/index.htm