Comments for Good News in the Wilderness

Comment on Deja Vu All Over Again? by Sue

Sue — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:34:40 +0000

Our Mothers live in all of us. My nieces laugh at me when I make comments to them that sound like my mom. “You sound just like Grandmom” they say, exactly like her…. Oh my, that’s frightening. Especially when I think sometimes, that I’m not half the woman she was. The hanging out of laundry was my mother too. She didn’t care how cold or windy, the more windy it was the better she liked it. But the smell,, I can still remember the smell..

Thanks Sheila, this is a lovely post.

Sue

I’ve been making an attempt to back away from putting the pedal to the metal too. BUT that’s hard!!! It’s so much fun with the wind whipping this head of silver hair……Dang GB!

Comment on Sunday Evening Musings by ST

ST — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:47:53 +0000

I am a people watcher, and I observe with interest folks in church, in and out of worship. Now I know you’ll be muttering something about my tending to my own knitting and saying my own prayers. There is time found for that.

I’ve observed over the years (it’s sometimes good to be a wee bit ancient) how the folks in the pews reach out to one another, especially at St. D’s during the passing of the peace and before and after service. This reaching out includes the priest also.

We who occupy the pews are family for the most part. Somewhere I think I’ve heard this about church families.. Well some you like, some you don’t, and some make you nervous. From the caring and sharing, to the bickering at vestry meetings, being on committee’s for building programs, Sunday school projects, Rite 13, choir…through it all S/He is there in the midst, and loves us no matter what, as you always say, No Exceptions!

But I watch the priest also. ( No one escapes you see.) This person is doing Holy work, and it is work, because services are prepared, and sermons are painstakingly researched and prepared. I’ve often wondered and never have asked the question ; do the priests get to worship at the same time as their congregations?

To answer your question about why people come to church, I think over all people are starved spiritually and many don’t even know it. With all that is going on in this country, and the world, it is a very scarrey time. They/We need to know the presence of God.

Your musing came along while I’ve been studying Amos and Hosea for EfM. Quite an appropriate post. Thanks.

Comment on Forgiveness, the Gospel, and Sept. 11 by forsythia

forsythia — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:05:44 +0000

This sermon was wonderful. How I wish you had been here the Sunday after 9/11. The church was packed. The poor priest must have been shell-shocked himself; the sermon was a pretty much of a disappointment. The choir’s anthem was totally stupid. A light-hearted ditty written by someone’s friend, as near as I can tell, called Little Lamb, Little Lamb. The strangers in our midst must have thought we were out of our minds. Better to have been silent than to have sung that! Or to have treated an appropriate hymn in the hymnbook as our anthem. When I expressed my deep disappointment to the choir director at the next rehearsal, his lame excuse was: “Well, it’s what we had practiced, and I didn’t think it was so bad.” But it was. Probably a lot of the strangers who showed up that day never came back.

Comment on Love is All You Need by forsythia

forsythia — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:13:36 +0000

Back from the cabin in Ohio. Love built it. Something to be enjoyed by generations yet to come, we hope. I picked a small bouquet of wildflowers: Queen Anne’s lace, white snake root, ironweed, golden rod, cone flower. Just gazing at it during the 3 whole days we were there made me so happy.

Our neighbor (retired high-school science teacher) came for supper. He said, “The older I get, the more I think that man created God in his own image.” He occasionally attends church at the local Wesleyan Methodist church. His family donated some money to fix up the building back in the 70’s, with money from the one fairly productive oil well they had for a little while. He says he doesn’t like it when folks “get to testifying.” Takes up too much time, and he’d rather be elsewhere.

Comment on Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me by CLS

CLS — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:29:16 +0000

You may appreciate the work of Justin Peters. His site is http://www.justinpeters.org and be sure to watch “DEMO.” he gave the full length seminar at my church and comes highly recommended by my pastor, Dr. John MacArthur.

Comment on Bishops, Power and the Kingdom of God by Ernestine

Ernestine — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:01:26 +0000

To quote Bill Clinton, “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.” It is our example of radical love towards all of God’s people that speaks volumes … thank you for this reminder, and for the reminder to pray for our bishops. Especially the good ones. And there are so many good ones.

Comment on Worthy to Gather up the Crumbs Under Thy Table? by Robert Thomas

Robert Thomas — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:51:26 +0000

I can certainly see why this won the Hines Award. It is definitely a keeper!

Comment on The Church Drums of War and the Holy One by Robert Thomas

Robert Thomas — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:49:27 +0000

A great reminder for us all.

Comment on “Who Do You Say That I Am?” by compassiondave

compassiondave — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:59:52 +0000

Howdy!

WORDPRESS says that our two blogs (at least our most recent posts) are related, so I came by to check you out. Please stop by my place and let me know what you think (and maybe add Jesus + Compassion to your blog roll so we can stay connected).

God bless you!

Comment on The Church Drums of War and the Holy One by forsythia

forsythia — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:02:12 +0000

Amen.