Pure?

You Are 47% Pure

You're not so innocent... in fact, you're quite unpure. You have seen and experienced a lot. And you're no worse for the wear!

The 100 Question Purity Test

City of God, sermon by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

City of God, sermon by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

People often ask me why an Episcopal bishop would sign e-mails with the Hebrew word Shalom. I tell them that for me it is a continuing verbal symbol and reminder of what it is I'm supposed to be about, and in fact, what all Christians are supposed to be about.

That word “shalom” is usually translated as “peace”, but it's a far richer and deeper understanding of peace than we usually recognize. It's not just a 1070's era hippie holding up two fingers to greet a friend-”peace bro.” It isn't just telling two arguers to get over their differences. Shalom is a vision of the City of God on earth, a community where people are at peace with each other because each one has enough to eat, adequate shelter, medical care and meaningful work. Shalom is a city where justice is the rule of the day, where prejudice has vanished, where the diverse gifts with which we have been so abundantly blessed are equally valued.

The biblical image of Jerusalem is a city like that- that's what the “salem” part means. And that word for peace shows up all over the Middle East. Islam comes from the same root, and it means submitting one's will to God's in the search for that just community. The greeting we exchange with each other at the Eucharist is another reminder-”I will be in peace with you, let us be people of peace together.”

When Jesus goes back to his hometown and reads that passage from Isiah in the synagogue and says, “today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” he's talking about this version of shalom, the reign of God springing up all around. When he says, “Today, this has happened,” he doesn't mean that all the work's been done and finished, that God's reign is fully realized. I don't know about you, but I look around out there and see a fair bit of poverty, lots of prisoners, quite a few people with broken hearts, and lots who have no access to health care. The work is not finished, by a long shot! But we do see signs-interfaith networks and soup kitchens and music that brings balm to the wounded souls.

And we don't just see signs in the work that every parish does. Each one of us had the potential to be a partner in God's government, to be a co-creator of a good and whole and peaceful community. Each one of us has been given abundant gifts to do that work. All that's needed is a vision and a heart. The vision is one that Isaiah spells out-a society of peace and justice. The heart is a work in progress for all of us-sometimes a harder heart, sometimes a softened up enough to feel compassion, our hearts tell us to get off our duffs and use our gifts to do something about those people around us who are in pain, who don't know peace.

When you think about your gifts, consider what you're good at, what gets you up in the morning, where your passion is, what you love about living. For some, it's probably sports-soccer, swimming, golf, tennis, football. What in the world do they have to with Shalom or the reign of God? Whatever we do can be a witness, an example, that leads other people towards sharing our vision of Shalom. What's sometimes called old-fashioned sportsmanship is about treating our opponents with respect, and permitting them to have as much dignity as us, both in victory and defeat.

Some people are gifted as teachers, or parents, or mediators. How each one goes about living out that vocation can be part of building the reign of God. In lots of cities, I see people standing on the street selling newspapers, and I usually buy one. Most of the people I meet in that encounter are good ambassadors for what looks to be like the reign of God- they are happy to meet a stranger, and they treat this stranger with respect. The guys I meet do their work with a dignity that denies what most of society would say about them.

In the newspaper recently, there was a series of letters to the editor about a Muslim student who had left high school because of the way she'd been treated. Let's remember that our baptismal covenant does not distinguish between Christians and others- we promise, with God's help to see and serve Christ in all persons, and respect everyone's dignity, and it doesn't say anything about religion, gender, age, sexuality, nationality, and so on and so forth. The reign of God is not going to be realized until all of us can live together in peace. Those letters to the editor were from students at a local high school, inviting the young Muslim woman to join their school, where they believed she would be welcomed. The students who wrote those letters were using a public forum to build a more just society.

That's the kind of work each one of us has agreed to do: to use every resource at hand to build the reign of God- to use the gifts we have, the ones we think we might have, and the ones we haven't discovered yet, to be willing to speak aloud our vision of peace, whether in the newspaper of the halls of Congress, and to dedicate our lives to making that vision come alive, to give our hearts to it, to believe it, with every fiber of our being.

Building the reign of God is a great and bold adventure, and it the only route to being fully alive. If we don't set out to change the world, who will?

email poem!

Sand and Stone

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH

THE ONE WHO HA D BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE! AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

'TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE'

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,
YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'

THE FRIEND REPLIED
'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT'

This poor blog

This blog has been seriously neglected because most of my pondering lately have been of a very personal nature and I have doing them in a notebook. I am considering blogging the exercises, because I have a few friends (wow imagine that, lol) who actual check this space out.

If I do blog the exercises from the book "The Four Day Win" it will be on a private blog. I really am an open book, so if you know me and want to be included as one who can read the private blog, drop me an email or post a reply here.

Until I work though these issues, this space will continue to be neglected. Thank you for your understanding.

And I leave you with this quote that I lifted from a friend's blog (thank you Susan):
"True healing has more to do with listening and unconditional love than fixing people." Gerald Jampolsky

Beauty of Math

Is Math your strong point, this gives Math a whole new meaning - this is neat and I couldn’t resist sharing this one.

Beauty of Math!


1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321


1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111


9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?


And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321



Now, take a look at this...


101%



>From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:



What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to

GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?


What equals 100% in life?


Here's a little mathematical formula that might help

answer these questions:


If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.


If:


H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%


And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%


But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%



THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:



L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%


Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Stations Of The Cross

This service is geared towards the 3-7 yr old crowd, but it really moves me each year. The stations are 'told' storybook style by a storyteller who tells a first hand account of what they witnessed.

Station one: The arrest and trial, a disciple tells what she saw the night of the arrest and the trial with the high priests.

Stations two: Pontius Pilot, tells his version of what happened....
Station three: A woman in the crowd tells what she saw when Jesus was made to carry his cross through the streets.
Station four: Mary Magdeline tells what she saw, felt, and heard sitting at the foot of the cross waiting for Jesus to die. (this was the story I told tonight which is why there is no storyteller pictured:) )
Station five: A witness to the death tells what was he was thinking and feeling about the whole ordeal, and how Jesus' last words changed him.

I don't know what moves me more, the way the kids really begin to understand the story, or the stories themselves. I love the solemn quiet of the noon service, I love the beautiful haunting music of the evening service, but this simple little service with the one song "Were you there" is still the most powerful of the three. I think part of it is how much emphasis is put on making it family friendly and not 'dumbed down' or 'oversimplified' it hits real raw emotions by making the stations so personal. Real live breathing people experienced this very real event.

No matter where I fall on the Resurrection issue, the Last Supper, Jesus' Trial, the beatings, the Crucifixion were very real events that changed the world forever. The pain is fresh every year.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord ?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord ?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord ?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree ?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree ?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree ?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side ?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side ?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they pierced him in the side ?

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb ?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb ?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb ?

I really like this paper by Athena!

Athena Rose

English 102

Joy K

28 February 2008

Voting Race, Not Issues.

“Do you want to go down in history as the one to prevent a Black from winning the White House?” This is the question that Super-delegate Cleaver was asked by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr of Illinois (politicalticker.com). This assumes that races feel a need to band together regardless of the issues just to elect a person of a specific race into office. Jackson confirmed this conversation and added that the dilemma may pose a career risk for some black politicians. The dilemma he is referring to is the one where many Black Super-delegates had confirmed their support for Clinton, but now their Black districts have voted for Obama. This of course is just one issue in a bundle of many. Not only are there conflicts with Blacks and Whites, but Asians and Latinos have taken a role in the polls.

So far in this campaign, Asians are the one ethnic group that has voted most consistently for Clinton, with the single exception of Hawaii where Obama lived and has family. This has generated a debate that has raised a very touchy and ugly question: Could some Asian Americans not be voting for Obama because he is Black (Cullen)?

Cullen claims Clinton has grabbed hold of the Asian community. In California, Asians make up 8% of the electorate, a CNN poll found they voted three to one in her favor. New York's Asian Legal Defense Fund found that 87% of Asian Democrats back their state's Senator and in New Jersey she pulled 73% of the Asian vote.

Even though Asian cultures are patriarchal, and Clinton is the only female candidate in the field, Asians are finding her a more attractive candidate. Cullen explains despite their cultures, many immigrants from those countries may in fact be more familiar than Americans with a female leader: Indira Gandhi in India, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the Philippines, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. And many of those leaders, like Clinton, were married to or descended from former leaders.

While Asians make up just 5% of the population and may not have the numbers to change the nomination one way or another, their overwhelming support for Clinton has led to serious debate about what lies behind it all. Experts have thought about various possible reasons little to do with race. But the touchy question about race is the one getting the most attention (Cullen).

When CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 ran a segment by Gary Touchman implying that racism may play a role in Asian's voting choice, the outcry was instantaneous. Cullen reported that the 80-20 Initiative, a political action committee seeking to solidify at least 80% of Asians in one voting bloc to back Clinton, put together a petition demanding that CNN run a corrected segment..

Still, the idea has stirred some debate in the community.

“Maybe it's just my cynicism speaking, but you look at those numbers and on some level there has to be some element of race,” says Oliver Wang, a sociology professor at California State University at Long Beach. While not discounting the myriad cultural reasons that could explain the support for Clinton, “on a gut level my reaction is that at least some Asian Americans are uncomfortable voting for a black candidate. The images of African Americans that get exported to other cultures is not often positive,” says Wang who teachers about pop culture and race. “It's unusual to find new immigrants who have ever had a meaningful, personal encounter with an African American. So there's a very uninformed bias,” says Wang. “Obama is a different kind of African American,” he adds. “His background doesn't date back to slavery; he is half black, half white; he grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii. In other words he's no Al Sharpton. But those nuances get lost when someone comes from a foreign country. To them, it doesn't translate.” (Cullen 2008)

Wang told Cullen that he is a child of Taiwanese immigrants, even though he was born and grew up in the US. He believes it is the foreign-born Asians who are leading the Clinton support groups. All the talk of change reminds them of the unstable governments they left. That is most plausible non-racial reason for the Asians as a whole supporting Clinton in record numbers.

This may also be part of the reason Clinton has such strong support within the Latino community. Wagtendonk explains that on Super Tuesday, Clinton lost every primary except New York where she received 74% of the Latino vote and in California she received 66% of the Latino vote, more than double that of Obama. These two states had the highest percent of Spanish Speaking voters on 'Super Tuesday.' Her support by the Latino community continued when in New Mexico, Clinton received over 56% of the Latino vote.

Traditionally, there has been a strong rivalry between Spanish Speaking people and African Americans. Each group feeling threaten by the successes of the other. This would make many Latino voters think very hard before casting a vote for a African American man. However, Wagtendonk explains that unlike Asians and African Americans, Latinos are a much less homogeneous community, so this race was expected to be a tight one all the way to the finish.

Juan Williams, in an NPR interview, explained how voting along racial lines is especially strong between Latinos and Blacks. More than two-thirds of the Latino votes cast so far have gone to Senator Clinton. The more than 8.5 million Latinos in Texas helped give her the win over Obama by a 63% to 35% ratio.

Even with the support of two racial communities, Clinton is struggling because the African American community is beginning to pull together behind Obama. In Louisiana, where over half the voters are Black, Obama received 86% of the votes. Williams explains that over 80% of the Black Democrats are voting for Obama, while 60% of the White Democrats are voting for Clinton in the Southern States.

While Senator Clinton won the Ohio Primary, the exit polls showed that race and change were the biggest reasons people gave for choosing their candidate. In Ohio, Blacks make up 19% of the Democrats, but they voted for Obama 89% of the time. Even though Clinton spent millions running ads saying she was all about 'change' those voters who thought change was most the most important deciding factor voted for Obama, 63% of the time (Stein).

Recent polls show that Black women are expected to make up more than a third of all Democratic voters in the South. These women are in an unexpected dilemma, they are the first to ask themselves “Do I vote my gender or my race?” No other political bloc in the country faces this choice (Kaye).

Randi Kaye, a reporter for CNN, went to a hair salon to interview some of these women. Hairdresser Shontell Horlback, who is undecided, says, “It's not like I'm selling out, not that I'm not keeping it real 'cause I am, but keeping it real means the best candidate for the job.” Angela Jackson, the owner of the salon, is out numbered. She supports Clinton. She defends this support by saying “They don't pay my bills. And they are not attached to my belly. Nobody is attached to my belly, but me. They don't feed me, clothe me, I don't care what they think...she's a woman, I'm a woman.” Many of the women in the salon said that they see Michelle Obama as a 'Rock Star', they say they are impressed with her strength and like the idea of a strong Black Woman in the White House. One Obama supporter, Toni Dawson, said “I made the decision, because with Hillary so many Republicans and Independents hate her, that if she was to become President, I think she would get nothing done....With Obama, he is a fresh face. I think he could unite everybody (Kaye).”

Kaye also spoke with Democratic analyst, Jehmu Greene.

Greene said, “We've all wanted the day to come where there was a Black person in the White House, and a time where there was going to be a woman in the the White House. I don't think we imagined it would have to be one or the other.” Geene also said that Black women, including herself, face serious pressure to vote their race. In the Black community, there is an assumption that race trumps gender. “Black women are really politically savvy, and the question of experience is weighing heavy on their mind. Maybe race does trump gender as they're looking at this decision, but I think they also put a very high premium on experience, and that in itself is the real dilemma they are facing.”

Black Super-delegates are being pressured to release their support for Clinton. Black Super-delegates Lewis and Scott, are reflecting on how elected Black officials are being told not to get in the way of a Black becoming President. They are being pressured to vote the same way as their districts, even though the White Super-Delegates who support Obama, who have districts that support Clinton, are not receiving the same pressure. Everyone will be watching to see if the Super-Delegates overturn the election of the people (politicalticker.com).

References

Cullen, Lisa (2008). “Does Obama Have An Asian Problem?”

Retrieved February 28, 2008

from http://www.time.com/time

/printout/0,8816,1714292,00.html

Kaye, Randi (2008). “Gender or Race: Black Women Voters Face Tough Choices in S.C.”

Retrieved March 6, 2008

from http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLOTICS/01/21/blackwomen.voters

Politicalticker.com, (2008). “Some Black Superdelegates Reassess Clinton Support.”

Retrieved February 28, 2008

from http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02

/14/some-black-superdelegates-reassess-clinton-support/.

Stein, Sam (2008) “Ohio Exit Polls Show Clinton's Late Attacks Worked”

Retrieved March 6, 2008

from www.thehuffingtonpost.com

Wagtendonk, Reinout (2008). “Hillary Clinton's Hopes Pinned On Latino Vote”

Retrieved February 28, 2008

from http://www.radionetherlands.nl

/currentaffairs/080228-hillary-texas

Williams, Juan (2008) Morning Addition on NPR

Interviewed on February 11, 2008

from www.NPR.com

Sisters

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,

drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As

they talked about life, about marriage, about the

responsibilities of life and the obligations of

adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her

glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance

upon her daughter

'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling

the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll

be more important as you get older. No matter how

much you love your husband, no matter how much you

love the children you may have, you are still going

to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now

and then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...

your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other

women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women

always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman

thought. Haven't I just gotten married?

Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a

married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely

my husband and the family we may start will be all I

need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact

with her Sisters and made more women friends each

year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,

she gradually came to understand that her Mom really

knew what she was talking about. As time and nature

work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,

Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,

here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favors.

Careers end.

BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how

many miles are

between you. A girl friend is never farther away

than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you

have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life

will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,

praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on

your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the

valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk

beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,

daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,

Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended

family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and

neither would I. When we began this adventure called

womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or

sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we

would need each other.

Bar Stool Economics

Bar Stool Economics: Our Tax System Explained

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

 The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

 The fifth would pay $1.

 The sixth would pay $3.

 The seventh would pay $7.

 The eighth would pay $12.

 The ninth would pay $18.

 The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed
quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
'Since you are all such good customers,' he said,
'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.'

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so

the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers?
How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33.
But if they subtracted that from everybody's share,
then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill
by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

 And so:

 The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

 The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

 The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

 The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

 The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

 The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.
But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too.

It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?
The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison.
'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and
had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill,
they discovered something important.
They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, 
is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes
get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them
for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.
In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

  David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
  Professor of Economics
  University of Georgia

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I just got this from a blog a read. It was easy and fun.

Sorry no original thoughts lately, most too personal even for here.