thoughts on the news of the day: pets

hmmm…..

            The 137^th Kentucky Derby will run today.  It is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky on the first Saturday in May.  The race is one and a quarter miles (2km) and takes place at Churchill Downs.  It is known as “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” because that is approximately how long it lasts

            I wonder if trainers and owners of these thoroughbred horses get attached to them.  Certainly because of their earnings potential they would be of enormous value to those responsible for their care and training but I’d be curious to know if they get emotionally bonded to them.  I am thinking about that today because I took my Pomeranian puppy to the kennel today for a four day stay.  It was a little more traumatic for me than I had expected. 

            Not being much of an animal or pet person prior to my inheritance of “Roxy”, I didn’t expect her to win me over.  But she has.  She follows me from room to room and insists on a good petting every now and then. Now,  I could go on and on about my sweet doggie, but unless you are a pet owner yourself, you could probably care less.

            They have no earning potential, especially if they have been neutered, they will never win any races, but our pets are priceless and irreplaceable to us.  My “Roxy” may not ever win the Kentucky Derby, but to me it doesn’t matter.  I miss her already.

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: mothers day

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            This Sunday marks the day we celebrate each year as Mother’s Day. Traditionally the second Sunday in May, mothers throughout the country are showered with flowers, served breakfast in bed, lovingly honored, or in some cases appropriately ignored.  It is a bittersweet paradoxical day.

            For most, it is a time to reminisce about days gone by when Mom was there to support, love and protect.  It can be sad day, though, when the mother who once loved us is no longer living.  Then, there are those who weren’t blessed with a loving mother.  In some cases, she just wasn’t around. In others, Mom was neglectful or even abusive.  For children in that category, Mother’s Day is sometimes even painful.

            Another category to which Mom’s Day is not so joyful are the many young women who would love to have a child, but aren’t able to conceive.  Year after year they struggle as friends all around them bear children.  It somehow doesn’t seem fair to be deprived of something so easy for so many.  And, tragically, Mother’s Day is almost unbearable for those who have lost a child.

            So, I have mixed feelings when I prepare my sermon and prayers for Mother’s Day Sunday.  I want to honor all of those women who have lavished love on their children but I want to be sensitive to those for whom the day is one of loss and pain.  In my own case, I mark the passing of my own mother who died several years ago, but I rejoice and revel in the gift of my own precious daughter.  And, I look ahead to the day when grandchildren will come into my life.

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: unity

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            Happy Cinco de Mayo! May 5 is the day that celebrates Mexican heritage and culture. It commemorates the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War.   Interestingly enough, the day is virtually ignored in Mexico and is primarily celebrated in the United States. The most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico is September 16, which is their Independence Day. So in some ways you could say that Cinco de Mayo is just another way to sell more tacos and enchiladas, not to mention a marguerita or two. 

            Since bin Laden’s  death, there has been lots of talk about unity in the United States and in the world.  Now might be a good time to examine how our country can stand together.  Perhaps celebrating our diversity is a good start.  We are all children of God, but we come from many different views, cultures and backgrounds.  That is the dichotomy we live with in this country.  For many different reasons, the Mexican culture has become a part of almost every area of our country.  In the southwest, because of its proximity to Mexico, it is most prevalent, but it has begun to influence every region of the nation.  May 5 is a great day to celebrate our brothers and sisters of Mexican heritage. 

            Let’s take today to join hands in unity.  We have overcome a great foe, now let’s overcome our own separateness and celebrate our freedom.

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: what's next?

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            Maybe we have said enough about Osama bin Laden.  I had a comment on my blog yesterday that said “why so much to say about an evil man.”  And we certainly have had a lot to say.  First of all, there are all the gory details about the attack and his death.  Debates about whether the body should be offered up for public viewing fill the news.  There are eyewitness reports from relatives that he was killed – isn’t that enough?

            And what about all the commentary on whether we should celebrate his death or not?  Yesterday I reposted a quote attributed to Martin Luther King.  It went like this: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy.  Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.  Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”  I assumed it was correct.  Turns out only the second part of the quote was actually written by him.  Still profound words, still by MLK – but the first sentence was actually written by someone else. 

            Maybe we have said enough; maybe it’s time to focus on more positive things.  Evil will always be with us but is it necessary to elevate it by spending so much time and energy on it?  What about the folks who are trying to recover from the tornadoes?  What about Gabriel Giffords, who is still on a long road to recovery from the gunshot wounds of her assailant?  What about Japan? 

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: God wins

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            Pastor Rob Bell of Mars Hill Church in Michigan recently wrote a book called, “Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived”.  Bell challenges the idea that hell is a place of eternal horror for people who don’t believe in Jesus Christ.  To tell you the truth, his ideas aren’t all that new—they have been around a while.  But, they haven’t ever been expounded by an evangelical pastor in the controversial way that Bell does. 

            Bell proposes that in the end, God wins and love triumphs.  This brings me to the question, Did Osama bin Laden go to hell?  I am curious to know what Rob Bell would think.  Surely anyone who has suffered a loss in the 2001 terrorist attack would like to think that bin Laden had some consequences for his actions.  We would like to know that he didn’t get away eternally scott free for all the pain and suffering he inflicted on innocent people. 

            But is that how God sees it?  Isn’t everyone a child of God?  Doesn’t everyone ultimately receive grace no matter what their actions have been?  How do we reconcile these two very different ideas?  Bottom line is, we don’t.  Paradoxes exist in our world – ideas that seem to be contradictory.  They exist and we struggle with them if we have any spiritual life at all.

            I don’t know if bin Laden went to hell.  I haven’t been there and there is no one that I have ever heard of who has been to eternal damnation and come back to tell us about it.  So I have to go with the idea that God knows and that there are always consequences for actions and that in the end, God wins.

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: 911

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            It is all over the news today and is the biggest headline of the year.  Osama bin Laden has been killed in a raid on his compound deep in Pakistan.  This is the culmination of almost ten years of searching for him in hopes to bring him to justice for his primary responsibility in the attack on September 11, 2001. 

            September 11 (9/11) will forever be emblazoned on our hearts as a day when our freedom was attacked and our citizens killed.  I am guessing that if I were the victim of the attacks or had a loved one injured or killed, today would be a bittersweet day.  It is a victorious day on the one hand, because a vicious killer had been brought to justice, but also is a sad day because another chapter in the story of 9/11 is about to be closed.  Memories of loved ones grow still dimmer and though they are never forgotten, day by day living begins to cloud their remembrance.

            So today is a good time to think once again of all those who lost their lives on 9/11.  It is a good day to give thanks for all the soldiers and their families who have sacrificed so much in this war on terror.  May God bless them all.  May God bless America.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: happiness

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            “Six Surprising Reasons You’re Cranky” reads my internet web site this morning.  The reasons turn out not to be so surprising.  They are things like: a too bright bedroom, a crabby cubicle neighbor, worrying about your spouse, worrying about meeting new people, your weight, and not getting enough sleep. 

            Abraham Lincoln once said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”.   In other words, we can choose to be happy, if we want to be.  Now, some people live with chronic pain, and those folks probably would not agree with Lincoln’s statement.  Pain can make you pretty cranky; and physical pain that you live with all the time can make you really grouchy. 

            So far in my life, I have not had to live with much physical pain.  Oh, sure, I used to have horrible migraine headaches when I was younger, but I always knew that eventually they would go away; nothing like the day after day pain that many suffer from on a constant basis. So, the people I really admire are those who do live with perpetual agony, but still seem to be able to put on a happy face.  They are the saints of life.  They have made up their mind, no matter what to be, like St Paul, “content in whatever circumstances come their way.” 

            Probably Abraham Lincoln and St. Paul are right.  We do choose whether we are irritable or not.  But it still helps to get enough sleep.

            hmmm…..