NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD CHRISTIAN…(for real, it’s a book!)

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Virginia

Zombies, vampires & werewolves are not my usual reading fare (although if you check out the plethora of these books on Amazon cyberspace shelves & real-time library shelves, lots of other folks are really into this genre!) HOWEVER, I saw this new book posted on author John Scalzi’s “Whatever” blog (I enjoyed his “Old Man’s War” – a unique read, not quite Terry Pratchett but well done fun. His blog is over-the-top-amazing!) Clicking over to Amazon reviews with endorsing blurbs “written like C.S. Lewis,” as an avid C.S. Lewis groupie I decided to give the “Night of the Living Dead Christian” a try. In seconds my Kindle hummed with the new book. After finishing it, HOWEVER, methinks the blurbs should read: ‘written like C.S. Lewis ON CRACK.’

 Evangelically potent, but still…the author obviously had lollipops laced with SOMETHING radical in his childhood (or maybe, at Church??)

Matt Mikalatos (the author) doubles as the narrator and almost-main-character while Luther Martin, the werewolf (trying-to-transform-his-werewolf-ness) takes over a few chapters & is definitely the Main Character.  Throw in a mad scientist (Dr. Culbetron), his robot side-kick (Hibbs 3000), a vampire neighbor (Lara), and a horde of churched Zombies (undead & dead) … add Borut, a ruthless werewolf hunter out to kill the werewolf Main Character, and the plot definitely thickens with hilarity, the Absurd layered in levels of Allegory, and bits of seriously Serious Seriousness by the end.

You have to plod through quite a few ruffled feathers (& monsterish clashes) to get to the good bits at the end. Keep plodding. The Allegories (undead & dead Zombies at church dragging about their heavy Study Bible tomes, unquestioningly swallowing spoon fed faith without letting it near their hearts) are not exactly subtle. The Lutherans get an especially bad rap (Luther Martin blames his father, a Lutheran pastor, for his lack of faith; but that’s just the beginning of the anti-Lutheran diatribes.) PERTURBED, I put the book down a few days, since I worked with many devout Lutherans in Tanzania (my boss George Mkanza, his wife Sarah – a Lutheran pastor, our Board of Trustees Chairperson, Helen Kijo-Bisimba, along with probably half of our 600+ staff!)  AND I am a huge groupie of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a rather devout Lutheran and CHRISTIAN (if anyone doesn’t think he’s on the other side rejoicing in the Heavenlies: PHOOEY ON YOU-EY!!)

But, I kept going (keeping in mind these views are held by the WEREWOLF, who may end up doing some changing…) Lutherans are not the only ones zapped in this book – best to read it with an open mind (hey, we could all use a little transformation, not just werewolves & vampires!)

Werewolf Luther wants to be transformed to get his wife & daughter who have left him back, so Matt & his odd assortment of new monster-ish buddies try to help him find Jesus – (attempts to scientifically ‘clone’ Jesus from a Catholic communion wafer are hilariously unsuccessful, but at least Dr. Culbertron holds the Host ‘reverently’… & there’s a great part where all the Gospel translations are programmed into a robot Jesus & even Matt’s Evangelical ‘I-know-the-answer-to-that-one’ is turned upside down!)

It all comes together in the last few page-turner chapters that include a few tear-leaks (the water kind) as Luther Martin dramatically finds the real Jesus (& transformation) with the help of his neighbor-now-friend Matt  in a redemption scene that is rather C.S. Lewish-ish. (Ruffled feathers are definitely unruffled by the end…)

Creatively challenging, this book made me laugh (more than once); it made me mad (more than once); it made me think (more than once); it made me cry (more than once)…& it will make me pray (more than once) for more ‘un-dead’ Christians (of all varieties) to be the LOVE-FILLED Hands & Feet of Jesus to the world’s ‘Werewolves’ around us.

Keep at those laced-UP radical lollipops, Matt Mikalatos (!)

ding-dong … must dash to Trick-or-Treat door duty – lollipops anyone?

grace, peace & Happy Halloween!

Virginia  : )

http://www.mikalatos.com/

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Sunday tinklings: Life & Dreams (a poem by Virginia)

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Virginia

LIFE & DREAMS

What have I done with the life I’ve had,

What am I doing with the life I have…?

What have you done with the life you’ve had,

What are you doing with the life you have…?

    LIFE … to live … LIFE. .. living … LIFE…

                                                          LIFE … to exist … LIFE. .. existing … LIFE

– We touch – We feel  – We walk – We run – We laugh – We cry – We love –

– We sigh – We hurt – We hug – We kiss – We die –

 Life…         

             A package wrapped with joy and pain, a complicated gift

                   –sometimes a privilege, sometimes a drain.

           “Life in the fullest” — to express, to feel

                    with the highest extent of ourselves possible.

           But we build islands to shut life out;

                   dulling realities with non-realities

                   we become numb to the world around us, within us.

           Cluttering up our lives, we move into the desert of apathy

                   and forget our dreams.

 Dreams…

              Dreams to have, to hold, to be, to do

                                                                   …the impossible.

 vlw, jerusalem  (17 July 1995)

*Virginia’s NOTE:  On Friday while listening to the NPR morning news on WHRO (our favorite classical station – a shameless plug, but hey, they play GREAT CLASSICAL MUSIC!) we heard about a 13 year old pulled from the rubble of the earthquake in Turkey. He evidently survived several days by drinking rainwater and digging deeper into the dirt around him. Years ago when I worked in the Middle East, there was a terrible earthquake in Korea where a young lady survived for over a week underneath the rubble. When we heard of her rescue, I wrote this poem & shared it with my boss, who then shared it with our Korea office.  Dusting it off today the question remains: what does life look like underneath a ton of rubble? Some of us walk around completely rock-rubble free, but our hearts are so overloaded we have forgotten our dreams… & maybe even HOW to dream.

Life IS a Gift… and God is bigger than our biggest fears and deepest tears…

‘just saying… maybe now is not the time to be scared to dream a little…

grace, peace & DREAMS (the big or little kind)

    Virginia : )

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ESTONIA & “The Singing Revolution”

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Virginia

After hibernating a bit in its Netflix envelope, last week this documentary made its way onto our TV screen for what was meant to be a partial dinner viewing, but our dinner plates remained un-cleared as we sat completely riveted until the last credit rolled.  What an amazing story of the courageous change-agents who influenced Estonia’s emergence from communism – without a single drop of bloodshed.  And, yes, SINGING played a major role culturally AND politically.

Who’d a thought(!) singing as a force for change? for a WHOLE COUNTRY? But these Estonians, they are seriously into singing & have been for eons.  Imagine an annual music festival with 20,000 participants, all singing together, taking on Soviet era rules against nationalistic songs: individual courage + collective courage = courage that influenced change!

A confession: I didn’t know a whole lot about Estonia before watching this documentary, just that it’s a former Soviet country near Lithuania & Latvia along the Baltic Sea. Now, however,  it would be grand sometime to visit this beautiful place of amazing people who persevered through so many hardships yet maintained their cultural heritage, weaving it together with their desire to be FREE.

The documentary blends the history of the music festival with the horrific challenges of the first Soviet takeover (after the country had brief independence in 1918), the German occupation of WWII & the subsequent return of the Soviets.  So many families suffered prison camp deaths & sentences to Siberia … for a long time Estonians shared their heritage and desire for freedom in extreme secrecy while some, like the Forest Brothers, took their fight against the communists into the woods.

But what struck me watching the end notes about the interviewees – during the extremely dangerous ‘revolution,’ it was the Supreme Council comprised of Estonian communists who courageously declared independence from the Soviet Union while the masses gathered to SING and stand between Soviet tanks and their capitol buildings.

Incredibly inspiring movie, like I said: RIVETING (not what you expect from a documentary!) And the music. wow. Truly, truly glorious… interspersed beautifully throughout from the first scene through to the credits.

Music IS the international language of the heart.. and Estonia, may the rest of the world learn from your courageous example!

http://www.singingrevolution.com

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Prayer Appeal from Bethlehem…

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Virginia

After hosting an exquisite lunch today, my friend Christie passed along a slightly tattered document: a copied fax,  dated 12 March 1994, sent to my parents’ church along with an INGO situation update that my Papa shared with the whole congregation. Reading it brought back memories of tense times (there were quite a few during my 5 yrs there!), but methinks the prayers therein are still applicable – not only for Israel/Palestine but many other places of conflict.  So, with my Papa’s encouragement, I would like to share this as a ‘blog’ from a much younger Virginia… & if you have loved ones living in challenging places, may this be of comfort.

12 March 1994:   PRAYER APPEAL FROM BETHLEHEM

 “To cry out to the God of life in the midst of darkness, to hold on to joy while walking in the valley of tears, to keep speaking of peace when sounds of war fill the air – that is what prayer is about.  It is indeed a clinging to the Lord when all is being torn apart by greed, hatred, violence & war. In its pure form, prayer is the divine breath of those whom the world tries to suffocate with terror. Prayer is the martyrdom of those who live.”  Henri Nouwen

Hebron (1994)

This crazy red head sends greetings and love from Bethlehem to you at the WCC family. Depression reigns here as 64+ Palestinians have been killed the past two weeks, including 30 shot by an Israeli settler at the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron on Feb. 25.  Surviving these tense times in the West Bank and Gaza has been rather challenging.  God has been really good in the protection department lately – His angels must be clocking overtime. Feb. 25 I was down in Gaza and woke up to frenzied demonstrations as news of the massacre in Hebron hit the streets.  Zooming out through barricades and military blocks on to my home in ‘curfewed’ Bethlehem, God’s faithfulness has been REAL.

Although a major ocean separates us, your prayers transcend minor water barriers and God has been very GOOD.  I have not felt scared… sure there’s been slight anxiety at times, but He has been very faithful to keep me from totally freaking out.  I have been memorizing 2Corinthians 4, which has played over and over again in my head like a tape recorder, strengthening my resolve and faith that God can work even in awful circumstances.  “… But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…”

Lord Jesus I pray for hearts of flesh to replace hearts of stone in Israel… in the West Bank and Gaza Strip… in Washington DC… in the U.N.  Please let Your peace flow like a river through this land encompassing all peoples living here who are loved equally in Your sight. Fill the soldiers with Your compassion. Please curb the increasing tide of violence that threatens prospects for peace.  Disarm the hatred with Your love. Strengthen the Christians in this area to be Your light in the swirling darkness. Grant courage to those seeking to be bridges across the schism dividing the peoples here, especially now.

And Lord Jesus, please continue to send Your shipments of hope in where so many discouraged with words need actions of peace. Stir the leaders’ hearts… shake them up to DO SOMETHING before the chance for peace passes.  Holding onto Your joy while walking this valley, please be with Your crazy red head and others serving You here, by granting Your peace in tears on anguish.  (And please grant families and friends the peace of Your Holy Spirit to know that we are cradled in YOUR HANDS, the safest place of all to be…)

Bumbles (far right) & friends in Bethlehem

Clutching Bumbles (her Teddy Bear)

Virginia

(alias “Ginny Lea”)

 

 

 

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Relief Links & More….

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Virginia

Accessing Safe Water Sources (Turkana KENYA)

Virginia, the ‘on hiatus’ relief & development worker, just posted a new ‘Page’  (for you email subscribers, it means you must visit the actual blog & click on the ‘Relief Links’ menu bar selection to see it!)  The nice thing about constructing a Page (this still-kinda-new- blogger has learned) – it’s always THERE for visitors who might be interested to learn more, which is the idea for this particular Page of Relief Links.  You can come back (again & again) and look up one link a day to: Read something(!) Learn something(!) and maybe eventually DO something (!!)

Altho currently busy with the Order of the Towel, Mop & Broom (ie, executive domestic assistance bossing kitchen appliances around vs.  leading a cutting edge team of professionals – the people kind : )  my heart still beats – quite loudly – for those who are suffering & facing challenges the world over.  Since I started overseas in 1992 so much has been done (thanx be to God!)  but so many challenges remain the same:  injustice (of all types), conflicts/ refugees, disease (malaria, HIV/AIDS!!)  food security, education (especially for girls), access to safe water, nutrition, shelter, healthcare, access to markets/$$/ micro-enterprise opportunities… (the list is long!)

As a let-the-world know type of relief & development worker, I have not been terribly shy discussing these issues – with interested students, at church, in the grocery line, on the street – so I thought it might be kinda helpful to focus on an issue every now & then on this blog …and if random cyberspace visitors come to read about a book or movie, why this very subtle Page will be there to entice their ‘clicks’ to click away on the links…

And YOU, dear Reader, I sincerely hope that you WILL click on the Relief Links.  First – to learn & be inspired by the many outstanding global stakeholders doing AMAZING things … and Secondly, because it took a week or two of VA’s blog-time to put all the links on the Page-that-was-a-draft-&-now-is-posted-LIVE for all to see!

So, please CLICK AWAY!!!

grace, peace & Busy Page-Builders

Virginia : )

p.s. if you support or know of other organizations doing a great job out there, pls comment with your suggestions  … most of the groups on this list i worked with in coalitions for malaria, HIV/AIDS, inter-agency coordination, joint projects (etc) : lots of Roses (the Living Kind) encountered in some pretty tough spots!

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15 October – St. Teresa of Avila

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Virginia

It’s late in this busy day & I really must dash to make supper (!), but I so wanted to post something about St. Teresa of Avila before the clock strikes 12:00AM (Miss Cinderella Blogger must get grooving – without the glass slipper, altho hanging out with a handsome prince would be nice! : )

So, here goes. I am SUCH a huge groupie of this AMAZING woman of faith who lived a long time ago –  (1515-1582) – but who continues to be used of God to impact so many folks today through her writings and life of dynamic faith, dedicated courage & PASSIONATE love of Jesus Christ. She so loved Jesus – crazily putting all her trust in Him during tense times of the Inquisition (no fun at all, at all), writing when she was under difficult scrutiny (one confessor priest consulted a huge stack of deep theological books “to try to understand an hour with Teresa!”),  continuing to push for reform of her contemplative order when so many challenges and challenging people stood against her.

In my early 20s I read St. Teresa of Avila’s books, “The Interior Castle” and “My Life” – resulting in lots of faith strengthening & deepening. Teresa’s images of long ago are still relevant today as she likens our faith journey to the structure of a castle as we enter into each part (dealing with the tough stuff along the way..)  Her “Way of Perfection” is also excellent…and anything else you can set your eyes upon! Her words have a way of jumping off the page & zapping your heart — gradually  edging their way through those difficult mind doors… to get that change thing going.

St. Teresa’s strong sense of humor helped infuse joy in joyless times (like making a formal street procession with musical instruments after a lice infestation to ‘mock’ them out of the sisters hair!)

St. Teresa had a tough go of it as a woman, too, in times when women did not have much recourse to their own initiatives.  Her father didn’t want her to be a nun, but she managed to become a nun anyway. She ended up as spiritual director of St. John of the Cross – totally radical for that time.  Today, she is a Doctor of the Church – the first woman to be so named, and only one of three (with St. Catherine of Sienna & St. Therese of Lisieux..)

Now Cinderella blogger must dash to supper duty, taking to heart St. Teresa’s admonishment to the contemplative sisters who had to leave their prayer stations for food duty — “Know that if it is in the kitchen, the Lord walks among the pots and pans..”

grace, peace & simmering pots

Virginia : )

“The Lord does not look so much at the magnitude of anything we do as at the love with which we do it.”  –St. Teresa of Avila

(check out this link re: Teresa’s life  http://www.karmel.at/eng/teresa.htm  )

 

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Clare & Francis (The Movie!)

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Virginia

Last Sunday we finished watching this inspirational portrayal of St. Francis & St. Clare – after breaking the viewing into 2 parts (at 3 hours running time it’s very thorough!) The time, however, was incredibly well spent – this it is truly one of the BEST movies about the life of St. Francis out there, with the added bonus intertwining of St. Clare’s story.

What a life!!  Totally RADICAL for his times (1182 – 1226), St. Francis would still be considered rather radical today… and St. Clare, too, in a radically contemplative way.  During a time of extreme poverty, both Francis & Clare were born into wealth: Francis to a rich cloth merchant family and Clare into a powerful family of the nobility.  Both gave up everything, severing their familial ties to serve the poorest of the poor.

Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. With his father’s enthusiastic support, Francis dreamed of being a knight and winning renown in battle. Taken prisoner in his first battle, however, Francis became quite ill before he was ransomed home.  When he later does well marketing-wise in the cloth trade, his father transforms his disappointment over the knight-debacle into successful merchant & son expansion endeavors.

After much wild living (the movie doesn’t dwell too much on this, but you get the idea!) Francis is horrified by a group of lepers…and then by a former comrade in arms who has leprosy. God is chipping away in his heart, making way for some BIG changes. Francis starts noticing the poor, giving food away, selling cloth on the cheap to help them (angering his father in the process!)

The movie covers the highlights of St. Francis life -the showdown with his father, God’s ‘call’ from the cross in the dilapidated San Damiano Chapel to ‘rebuild My House which is falling in ruins,’ his work among the lepers & the poor, the founding of the Franciscan Friars (& the challenging trip to Pope Innocent III in Rome for his blessing), his trip to the Sultan during the Crusades and more and more and more…

Meanwhile, Clare struggles with the challenges of women in her day – an arranged marriage to someone she doesn’t love – when she feels called to a life of prayer and poverty like St. Francis.  After seeking to join St. Francis in his work, she ends up taking vows & starting a women’s order linked to the Friars – the Poor Clares.  Not without some excitement when her grim, violent uncle tries to take her forcibly from the convent where Benedictine sisters have taken her in..

There is truly so much to take in, as when you read the account of their lives. Sometimes Francis seems like such a MAJORLY RADICAL saint, how can his life inspire us today?  Are we meant to give up all our possessions, take off our designer clothes, join an order, become a pastor, or be a missionary?

Some of us, yes, may be called to do so (the Franciscans & Poor Clares continue doing that the world over!!)  But maybe you might be inspired to live differently right where you are – to be a brighter light where God has placed you.

After Francis draws closer to God, he sees the lepers around him with new eyes – eyes of Love, the Heavenly kind for ALL people.  As he kisses a leper & tenderly binds his wounds, he sees Jesus Christ.  It’s that Mother Teresa kind of reaching out – seeing the image of God in all people, even society’s ‘throw-a-ways.’

Look around, we all have ‘lepers’ in our lives – those we are afraid to touch, who seem reprehensible.  As much as we shout ‘Hallelujah!’ and then walk down the other side of the street (political aisle, gender room, race divide…), we need to reach out, like Saint Francis, and kiss the lepers in our lives with the love of Jesus.  (ok, so maybe a REAL kiss is kinda mushy, but how about a HUG? how many HIV+ folks have you hugged lately? how many Republicans/Democrats have you had to lunch – cordially without coming to political blows? how many people different from you have you at least SMILED at? vs. pursing your pious lips & looking the other way…)

Sometimes we have to start simply … and smiles don’t cost much.  :  )

2007 film directed by Fabrizio Costa, starring Mary Petruolo & Ettore Bassi.

All in all, this is an outstandingly inspiring movie – excellent acting, filmed beautifully on location in Italy & endorsed by the Franciscan leadership.  We had it from Netflix, but it’s surely one to add to the collection.

“Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.”  St. Francis of Assisi

Radical & still applicable – 800+ years on…

http://www.ignatius.com/promotions/clare-and-francis-movie/


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October 4 – St. Francis of Assisi

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Virginia

San Damiano Chapel, Assisi (iTALY, November 2009)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
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Immaculée Ilibagiza: LEFT TO TELL

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Virginia

I read this AMAZING book several years ago & keep giving copies away (we’ll see how long the current edition stays on VA’s shelf!!)  Immaculée’s powerful testament of courage, faith and forgiveness amidst the horrifying Rwandan Holocaust of 1994 is truly extraordinary, inspiring, and almost impossible without faith to believe.

But Led by Faith (the title of her second book which is also amazing!), Immaculée survived when ethnic violence claimed almost 1 million in her country.  How she survived, however, is where Faith (with a capital ‘F’) comes in – her faith & the faith of others like Pastor Murinzi who hides Immaculée & five other women in a tiny bathroom as Tutsis & Hutus (who help Tutsis) are butchered all around them.

For three months they live under extreme conditions of terror and silence (even the Pastor’s family doesn’t know about them) as gangs of machete-wielding killers repeatedly search the house and surrounding areas to find them.  Immaculée’s faith grows in the silence, however, as she prays, and prays, and prays some more, coming to know God – the God of Love – in a deeper way.

Impossible to believe in the middle of genocide, but Immaculee survives, and – “Left to Tell” – she poignantly shares how hiding in that bathroom she comes to know she must forgive those who killed her beloved father, mother and brothers…

Beautifully co-written by Steve Erwin, this book draws you in from page one. It’s hard to put down as you meet Immaculée’s beautiful family, experience the world through her eyes as she grows up, studies hard and makes it into university – such an honor – before the insanity of inhumanity begins around her.

Not many of us (thank GOD!) will ever experience the horrors Immaculée faced, but I hope her example of courageous faith will inspire you – as it has me- to FORGIVE  (sometimes even the little stuff is hard…) letting the impossible become possible as conduits of God’s miraculous grace & mercy.

In Immaculée’s 2nd book, Led by Faith, also co-written by Steve Irwin, her faith continues to be tested in the aftermath of the genocide as she finds work with the U.N. in Kigali & eventually makes her way to the U.N. in New York… encountering many interesting people (some good, some bad) while meeting each new challenge with courageous faith.

There’s also “The Diary of Immaculée” – a short DVD documenting her return to Rwanda years after the genocide, visiting places in the book, meeting up with survivors and those who helped her. Very powerful…  and more recently, I read her beautifully written Our Lady of Kibeho – amazing..

grace, peace & Courageous Faith (awesomely inspiring)

Virginia : )

p.s. if we had “Roses in the Rubble” awards, Immaculee would certainly win a top prize!  To learn more about her current comings & goings, check out her website —

http://www.immaculee.com/

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“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth…”

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Virginia

Last week Anita (a buddy in the U.K.) asked me to whip up a guest blog addressing ‘Blessed are the Meek – what does it mean?’  After contemplation (& prayers for meekness), I submitted the following that is ever so appropriate to re- share this Sunday morning.  BTW, Anita’s blog is  REALLY amazing – be sure to check it out…   http://dreamingbeneaththespires.blogspot.com/

Jesuit Centre, Wernersville PA (2007)

Anita asked us to unpack this Beattitude theologically (exogeting & all that), but with all those heavy-duty theological types over there in Oxford, I’d like to focus on what it means to BE meek. Practically. What does meekness look like?

It’s simple. Look at a crucifix (I know, I know…Jesus is risen, but he DIED first.)

Jesus Christ on the Cross: meekness personified, exemplified…deified.

To be meek means to lay down our lives for others after laying down our very ‘selves’ – for GOD. This laying down of self is quite different from putting ourselves down. It’s very tricky walking the Heavenly meekness line, reaching the end of self, yet recognizing the beauty of our beloved-ness in God’s sight – letting our lives and gifts be all for the Glory of GOD’s Kingdom vs. the Kingdom of ME.

Meekness is in the ‘how’ – letting go and letting GOD work in and through us. If we are TRULY meek, we will love (I Corinthians 13 style) with a love that reaches even our enemies. We won’t be so quick to condemn but will put ourselves in ‘others’ shoes. We will be quick to forgive (although it’s still quite hard!)  Meekness makes the hard stuff possible by letting GOD dish out the grace-filled-means that makes what seems impossible, possible.

Meekness and mercy go hand in hand. Meek folks are usually on-their-knees Mercy groupies, recognizing their need for God’s mercy…and the need to BE MERCY in this whacked-out-whack-everyone-to-get-ahead world.

Back to the crucifixion, see Mary standing at the foot of the cross.  Did she flashback through images of angels, shepherds, three kings, ministry & miracles? Her son, God’s son, hangs crucified. Yet she stands: humble in meekness to maybe not understand, but in meek persevering faith to STAND.

Being meek does not mean being a doormat. It means courageously opening the doors of our hearts, minds and spirits to let God in …and then… again and again.

Look at the cross. Really look at it.

“Blessed are the Meek, for they shall be like Jesus.”

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