tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-306380382024-03-13T21:58:01.158-07:00BOLIVIAN BEAT - building bridges...engaging truthUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-74939403343723356902022-10-10T06:00:00.002-07:002022-10-10T06:00:14.306-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw9QElD7wSjfBnoW2G4BkADNTI5oDdL0Jn0iy-OSp5Y6FZI3qPETgUky2hWwSAr27Rc_b6ZizBKxA1elib2xTYQ-bUWOXAAewGDRdl3MHixfWIM4iV_-T-waa4CcojzfsA38ZS6qO8iQ2Mp6GefzWDjyyoGJLsx83TYkXYS61fbFx6A6S5Hg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1424" data-original-width="980" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiw9QElD7wSjfBnoW2G4BkADNTI5oDdL0Jn0iy-OSp5Y6FZI3qPETgUky2hWwSAr27Rc_b6ZizBKxA1elib2xTYQ-bUWOXAAewGDRdl3MHixfWIM4iV_-T-waa4CcojzfsA38ZS6qO8iQ2Mp6GefzWDjyyoGJLsx83TYkXYS61fbFx6A6S5Hg=w296-h431" width="296" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-15393706580767993372021-12-21T07:09:00.000-08:002021-12-21T07:09:43.085-08:00<p><br /></p><p>So, why not just not have any sex scenes..!</p><p>https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/dec/21/claire-foy-says-sex-scenes-leave-her-feeling-exposed-and-exploited</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-21381885107808082532021-11-06T08:15:00.003-07:002021-11-06T17:02:50.660-07:00CHRIST AND CLIMATE CHANGE <p> <span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #ff00fe; font-size: 30px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">Surrendering to Christ's Lordship and preventing climate change walk hand in hand!</span></p><p><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: #ff00fe; font-size: 30px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-62983112237192004572021-10-02T21:35:00.005-07:002021-10-14T14:06:48.951-07:00Fire In The Sky<p><b><span style="font-size: large;">¡Fires threaten ecological balance of Santa Cruz, Bolivia! </span></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5yhUCAZgS6I/YVkxQjXDGuI/AAAAAAAAWGU/_NyCBmiykm8K2P-zVcUV_is_WuMVwCc8ACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i_OagWumA8M/YVkxXa3UkwI/AAAAAAAAWGY/lghh-r3am_g2jI898lrYebBPJlbs5mLuQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="342" data-original-width="608" height="231" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-i_OagWumA8M/YVkxXa3UkwI/AAAAAAAAWGY/lghh-r3am_g2jI898lrYebBPJlbs5mLuQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h231/image.png" width="320" /></a><img data-original-height="260" data-original-width="380" height="234" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5yhUCAZgS6I/YVkxQjXDGuI/AAAAAAAAWGU/_NyCBmiykm8K2P-zVcUV_is_WuMVwCc8ACLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h234/image.png" width="320" /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-91063797815923812052021-08-24T10:10:00.006-07:002021-08-24T10:10:58.825-07:00CHARLIE WATTS RIP<p>CHARLIE WATTS - DEAD AT 80 </p><p>Charlie Watts kept an almost perfect rhythmic beat behind songs and performances of the Rolling Stones...He didn't grab the headlines like Jagger and Richards but he kept time for the music and songs on the drums. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KfVgyePdwD8/YSUoFDlV-SI/AAAAAAAAV6Q/ypGPhjMVtdIXcBFAUCv57VvEJIAGDcsKwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="620" height="192" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KfVgyePdwD8/YSUoFDlV-SI/AAAAAAAAV6Q/ypGPhjMVtdIXcBFAUCv57VvEJIAGDcsKwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/24/rolling-stones-drummer-charlie-watts-dies-aged-80</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-83002937945714835132021-08-15T15:44:00.003-07:002021-08-15T15:44:17.572-07:00THE 7 HOUR DRAGON!<p> SPUTNIK 5 - SLAYING THE 7 HOUR DRAGON! </p><p>Inculturation in Bolivia Includes the God given grace to slay the dragon of surviving long queues. And my experience in a massive queue for 7 hours to get my second dose of the Sputnik 5 vaccine testifies to this Grace. </p><p>I arrived at about 5.45 am at the Gabriel Rene Moreno University, and slipped into the line; a clerk approached me, took his black marker and wrote number, 409, on my left wrist. He didn't say a word. </p><p>I left the University, dazed more than tired, but, fully vaccinated at 1.30 pm. </p><p>Surprisingly I didnt feel drained inspite of the long wait this time around when compared to the tiredness after a 6 hour wait for my first Sputnik dose a few months ago. </p><p>I felt psychologically prepared for a very long wait, this time around. Also, the pleasant weather today offset the previous experience of standing in the queue under the wretched heat. </p><p>A lady behind me yakked away endlessly and LOUDLY throughout the wait trying to attract attention; someone wanted her to shut up, but he bit his tongue. Lord only knows where she got the energy to annoy us with her commentary on politics, scandals, culture etc. </p><p>The growing queue overflows and takes up space in the pavement; people had begun to line up since 4 am this morning. </p><p>Folk know how to hustle in Bolivia: vendors sell coffee and curry puffs for breakfast; young ladies offer to photocopy documents; men rent stools n chairs to those waiting in the queue; and we had an incredibly talented blind singer who put great emotion into his singing. He deserved every cent his assistant collected for his incredible performance. </p><p>I couldn't see a single policeman controlling the massive and growing queue; people sit on rented stools and follow the person in front of them when it's their turn. We're restless, funny, angry and calm, but also nasty at anyone wanting to cut the queue. You get the sense that this extraordinary collective effort at maintaining discipline in the queue might fall apart if a small number decide to get into a fist-fight. </p><p>His Grace n Mercy holds everything together; and more than props up the fragile discipline of the queue. </p><p>I finally entered the dispensary to get my Sputnik 5 second dose with others. The admin staff and the nurses greet us with a smile and do a great job in administering the vaccines to the masses with patience and skill. I leave the dispensary relieved, jaded but also grateful for His grace. </p><p>Get vaccinated! These vaccines strengthen us in the fight against COVID-19. </p><p>Michelle gets her 2nd dose of the vaccine next week. 👩🏻👩🏻 </p><p>In the Lord's hands we continue to slay the dragons in battles that leave us in a daze! I have no side effects from the vaccine yet... God is good! Amen! 🍇🍇🍇🍇💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-58758885187516255632021-08-06T10:09:00.007-07:002021-08-09T17:20:42.958-07:00BISHOP'S MESSAGE<div style="text-align: left;"><div>Anglican Episcopal Church of Bolivia</div><div> Episcopal Message</div><div> Rt Rev Raphael Samuel</div><div> 06/08/2021</div><div><br /></div><div>The Anglican Episcopal Church of Bolivia celebrates Bolivia's Independence Day, August 6, 2021. We thank the Lord for His blessings over the nation, and give thanks for the hope anchored in Christ Jesus - the Lord of the nations!</div><div><br /></div><div>Bolivia's 🇧🇴 destiny continues to rest in the merciful hands of a righteous God in the midst of her trials and tribulations. </div><div><br /></div><div>GOD is MERCIFUL - He gives us many opportunities to put aside sinful behavior NOT pleasing to Him. For instance the father of the prodigal son, full of mercy, embraced his son and blessed him when he repented of his selfishness. Likewise, God patiently waits for Bolivia to repent, and yearns for her to return to the place where He has saved the best for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>God Almighty extends His mercies to Bolivia by his Spirit with the promise of our restoration in Christ Jesus. </div><div><br /></div><div>He is RIGHTEOUS - His commitment to righteousness will sooner or later vindicate and save the oppressed from their oppressors. For example Joseph's brothers abused him terribly — he suffered injustice from his siblings; but in the end the Lord saved and vindicated Joseph. Likewise, God re-orders the twisted and crooked situations of our lives in order to save us in accordance with His righteousness.</div><div><br /></div><div>God is re-ordering Bolivia in accordance with his justice and purpose and gives hope to the oppressed with His vindication.</div><div><br /></div><div>So let's celebrate Independence Day today with the hope of of God's Mercy - He will not abandon us; and by His grace He frees us from the injustices of the world with the promise of His final vindication in us. ¡Amen!</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-79843097743141411382021-07-12T08:16:00.002-07:002021-07-12T08:20:20.619-07:00FRIENDSHIPS TURN INTO ROMANCE <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyntddMh2pw/YOxdRFqKAuI/AAAAAAAAVrw/f4JARdLDaj4DSFYMNh3JYAe6D0zMldyPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/JimNRebecca%2B001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyntddMh2pw/YOxdRFqKAuI/AAAAAAAAVrw/f4JARdLDaj4DSFYMNh3JYAe6D0zMldyPgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/JimNRebecca%2B001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/12/two-thirds-of-couples-start-out-as-friends-research-finds<p></p><p>Good friendships evolve into great romances...</p><p>my late sister Rebecca and her husband, Jim! </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-89169344538878485132021-06-06T18:31:00.009-07:002021-06-07T14:00:55.189-07:00FALSE MESSIAHS<p> <span style="font-size: 17px;">FALSE MESSIAHS</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jsWWuUD7yqk/YL148UCS3WI/AAAAAAAAVg0/y8XZFjngbiMo7dHl99Ydj7vXVabNukDuwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="194" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jsWWuUD7yqk/YL148UCS3WI/AAAAAAAAVg0/y8XZFjngbiMo7dHl99Ydj7vXVabNukDuwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="180" /></span></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">A holy dubiousness settles </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">in the dust of human decadence,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">and we are lost to the sounds </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">of silence; then, they appear from </span><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">the void </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">to enchant us with </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">strange songs </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">of justice. </span></div><div><div><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">No, the holiness category remains</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">lifeless with no vibrancy; only a </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">cold emptiness staring at a blank</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">empty world. But they bring angelic </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">harp-like sounds to drug us with </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">equity’s rhetoric. <br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">We, an unholy tribe, looking for</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">family, remain lost in the maze of </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">human confusion with no beginning </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">or end; and they offer sacred </span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">brotherhood to purify the </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">land with </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">bloodied hands. </span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">And then their music begins to </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">sound in us - playing our fears back</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">to us in clanging sounds of chains </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">of our own making; and </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">these </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">enlightened ones breathe narcotic </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">thoughts in us. </span></div><div><div><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Surely they must be right, educated</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">and eloquent, building their lies on </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">defaced walls of our learning and<br /></span><span style="font-size: 17px;">we remain for them, serious jesters,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">doing spins to music only they </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">listen to. </span><br />
<!--/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_210606_212855_685.sdocx--></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-5614680484563079702021-05-31T16:19:00.009-07:002021-06-06T19:35:40.204-07:00IF - Kipling<p><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b><span face=""Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-style: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">IF</span></b><span style="font-weight: inherit;"> - Rudyard Kipling</span></span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span face=""Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yVgCFR0IC8E/YLZPrUShkoI/AAAAAAAAVgI/tsk1huvbo2sC9ribdG2fuauvLEZKDrlWgCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" height="214" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yVgCFR0IC8E/YLZPrUShkoI/AAAAAAAAVgI/tsk1huvbo2sC9ribdG2fuauvLEZKDrlWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h214/image.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span face=""Gill Sans", "Gill Sans MT", Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><div class="c-feature-bd" style="border: 0px; font-family: Garamond, Baskerville, "Baskerville Old Face", "Hoefler Text", "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="o-poem isActive" data-view="PoemView" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can keep your head when all about you <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> But make allowance for their doubting too; <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And treat those two impostors just the same; <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can make one heap of all your winnings<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">And lose, and start again at your beginnings<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And never breathe a word about your loss;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> To serve your turn long after they are gone, <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">And so hold on when there is nothing in you<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> If all men count with you, but none too much;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can fill the unforgiving minute<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, <br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"> And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="background-color: white; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro;" /></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-77143487258110727462021-05-30T13:11:00.013-07:002021-06-06T19:37:44.951-07:00BOLIVIA'S BLUE SKY<p> <span style="font-size: 17px;">BOLIVIA'S BLUE SKY</span></p><span style="font-size: 17px;">Under the afternoon blue sky,<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--TW1sOEZscU/YLP3fupX5LI/AAAAAAAAVfk/DBYalOIiAE0hDY7Rj_u_Oh9iZt19Y--ngCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="435" height="221" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--TW1sOEZscU/YLP3fupX5LI/AAAAAAAAVfk/DBYalOIiAE0hDY7Rj_u_Oh9iZt19Y--ngCLcBGAsYHQ/w303-h221/image.png" width="303" /></a></div></span><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">Bolivia sprinkles her magical rest</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">in the heart of a restless pilgrim - </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">he searches for peace too </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">hidden </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">to be </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">found.</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">Yet the </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">blue sky says again</span></div><div>
<span style="font-size: 17px;">and again, "all-will-be-well" -</span></div><div>
<span style="font-size: 17px;">nature's speech wrapped in </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">divine, quiet sounds pulsing</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">toward the tired pilgrim. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17px;">Embraced from so far away by</span><br /><span style="font-size: 17px;">a perfect, cloudless blue sky, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">the </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">pilgrim's weary heart </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">finds </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">holy peace, he </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">cannot </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">put </span></div><div><span style="font-size: 17px;">to rest.</span></div><div><br /><br /><!--/data/user/0/com.samsung.android.app.notes/files/clipdata/clipdata_bodytext_210530_160336_535.sdocx--></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-38951077349934807092021-05-29T09:29:00.012-07:002021-06-06T19:44:29.300-07:00A HEAVY LADEN BOAT <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YLt7fSe9Fqk/YLJt2lTF-6I/AAAAAAAAVdY/wRb7zbeuEksZneid1Chw5wwXZig5voFsQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="284" height="199" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YLt7fSe9Fqk/YLJt2lTF-6I/AAAAAAAAVdY/wRb7zbeuEksZneid1Chw5wwXZig5voFsQCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h199/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />A HEAVY LADEN BOAT</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Sigh...the heavy laden boat<div>carries burdens and dreams</div><div>of our undoing but we carry </div><div>them anyway in Holy love, </div><div>not knowing if the boat will </div><div>smash itself on the hidden</div><div>reef. </div><div><br /></div><div>The indifferent sea - lost in its </div><div>waves, oblivious to our cry, </div><div>blind to our outstretched hands </div><div>and dangling feet - remains </div><div>enslaved by pulsing currents </div><div>none can see. </div><div><br /></div><div>We drift slowly toward</div><div>Earth's sunset, waiting for </div><div>the dark night, listening</div><div>to the gentle gurgle of the </div><div>waves, hoping for angels
to </div><div>descend from Jacob’s ladder</div>
<div>to
save us from our despair. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-10089571152685780992021-04-24T21:39:00.005-07:002021-06-06T19:48:45.599-07:00THE SACRED EMBROIDERY<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">THE SACRED EMBROIDERY</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DxIp2DRIcAk/YITxy2VO9DI/AAAAAAAAVOo/HeOOYo5DZVMrOQ5EAjw6GiKNvBgwKyiXACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="193" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DxIp2DRIcAk/YITxy2VO9DI/AAAAAAAAVOo/HeOOYo5DZVMrOQ5EAjw6GiKNvBgwKyiXACLcBGAsYHQ/w133-h193/image.png" width="133" /></a></div><br />A thread finds its way into the needle's </blockquote><p>eye, and goes for a holy walk, weaving </p><p>sacred beauty on life's embroidery. </p><p>Sharp and pointed, the needle plunges </p><p>through tiny orifices like a diver, plunging</p><p>into the dark sea. </p><p> </p><p>The needle breaks tiny bubbles below and </p><p>surges through the cloth's surface, carrying</p><p>the thread across minute openings, visible </p><p>only to the needle. Oh to breathe fresh air!</p><p><br /></p><p>And darkness around the needle </p><p>dissipates under the Sun's light; </p><p>now; the angels sing to the threaded </p><p>needle, their voices weave the needle </p><p>across life's sacred embroidery. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-92168284251714569832021-04-04T11:58:00.040-07:002021-06-06T19:57:13.154-07:00HOLY ATTENTION<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QHph2XiplUU/YGoIjKvO-PI/AAAAAAAAVFU/SXW8LBfFvN0gYG-jWoFM-DWu-5fN-NAPQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="362" height="213" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QHph2XiplUU/YGoIjKvO-PI/AAAAAAAAVFU/SXW8LBfFvN0gYG-jWoFM-DWu-5fN-NAPQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: large;">HOLY ATTENTION</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Leaves drink the Sun's </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">sacramental light and shine through </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">green foliage; perched on their </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">tips don't petals look for attention?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Slender veins hold the green</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span>leaves on the stem, giving them poise,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span>next to others in Godly design.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span>And they stand not alone but together</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 107%;"><span>to claim holy attention. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-32754043899251464262021-03-25T08:32:00.002-07:002021-06-06T19:58:15.916-07:00ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oz3R6TYfWK8/YFysqKJ0HrI/AAAAAAAAVAM/Yq-2fdaSylkLT65SJ2c8PZS2CXAIMqbZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s289/IntoBreach2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="289" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oz3R6TYfWK8/YFysqKJ0HrI/AAAAAAAAVAM/Yq-2fdaSylkLT65SJ2c8PZS2CXAIMqbZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/IntoBreach2.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: canada-type-gibson; font-size: 1.75rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 1.75rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 1.75rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: left;">Speech: “</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.75rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more</span><span style="font-size: 1.75rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; text-align: left;">”</span></div></span><p></p><div class="c-feature-sub c-feature-sub_vast" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 22px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 33px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="c-txt c-txt_attribution" style="border: 0px; color: #494949; display: inline-block; font-family: canada-type-gibson; font-size: 0.875rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 1.4px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">BY <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-shakespeare" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: color 0.25s cubic-bezier(0.215, 0.61, 0.355, 1) 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE</a></span></div></div><div class="c-feature-bd" style="border: 0px; font-family: adobe-garamond-pro; font-size: 1.25rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="o-poem isActive" data-view="PoemView" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="o-vr o-vr_6x" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="c-epigraph" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.25rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(from <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Henry V</span>, spoken by King Henry)</div><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p></div></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Or close the wall up with our English dead.<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">In peace there's nothing so becomes a man<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">As modest stillness and humility:<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">But when the blast of war blows in our ears,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Then imitate the action of the tiger;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Let pry through the portage of the head<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">As fearfully as doth a galled rock<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Have in these parts from morn till even fought<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Dishonour not your mothers; now attest<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Be copy now to men of grosser blood,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Whose limbs were made in England, show us here<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">The mettle of your pasture; let us swear<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">For there is none of you so mean and base,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow your spirit, and upon this charge<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'<br /></div><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 1em; text-indent: -1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-29679079010547098102021-02-05T19:02:00.016-08:002021-06-06T20:00:01.591-07:00CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER - A TRIBUTE<p><br /></p><div class="css-1nupfq9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #121212; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: headline / headline / headline / headline; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-krkkhw" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 620px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-hshm0p" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><h1 class="css-dxy9hs" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "GH Guardian Headline", "Guardian Egyptian Web", Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christopher Plummer, Sound of Music star and oldest actor to win an Oscar, dies aged 91</span></h1></div></div></div><div class="css-pn0kqp" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; grid-area: media / media / media / media; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-79elbk" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-nzznp8" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-1nfcn93" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-huod3jbl-KE/YB4BGCMPd3I/AAAAAAAAUwY/zfUbeqTjRwgxoKe3ILUIwDX28k1XpeiBwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="225" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-huod3jbl-KE/YB4BGCMPd3I/AAAAAAAAUwY/zfUbeqTjRwgxoKe3ILUIwDX28k1XpeiBwCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="218" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">Christopher Plummer, an outstanding Hollywood actor, will be remembered for his portrayal as General Chang in the Star Trek movie, <i><b>The Undiscovered Country. </b></i></span></div><div class="css-1nfcn93" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="css-1nfcn93" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">He played the role of a nasty warmonger, an evil genius who tries to sabotage plans, by people of goodwill, to make peace between the Federation and the Klingons. Plummer's performance, a far cry from his role as a gentlemanly widow in <b style="font-style: italic;">The Sound of Music, </b>eclipsed the rest of the cast in the Star Trek movie. </span></div><div class="css-1nfcn93" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white; font-style: italic;"><br /></b></span></div><div class="css-1nfcn93" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">The make-up artists did a great job on him: the battle-scarred face, the patch on his left eye, and his bald look accentuated his smoldering grunts and the evil intent of his smiles and gestures. And they also made him spew several Shakespearan lines to complicate and dignify the thuggish Chang character. Plummer's brilliance will be missed. <b style="font-style: italic;"> </b></span></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-1623224173917328382021-01-22T18:45:00.006-08:002021-01-28T20:35:11.346-08:00AN UPDATE<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVXyji8Pqhs/YBOODyIG_vI/AAAAAAAAUug/pcS3G1lXp-4PEQlC3bo9Ewv8CEgF0oTbACLcBGAsYHQ/s281/DavdGoliat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="179" data-original-width="281" height="127" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pVXyji8Pqhs/YBOODyIG_vI/AAAAAAAAUug/pcS3G1lXp-4PEQlC3bo9Ewv8CEgF0oTbACLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h127/DavdGoliat.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /> Dear Praying Friends, <p></p><p>22/01/2021 </p><p>Blessings n greetings from Bolivia! </p><p>Thank you for your prayer support in these trying times. Praise the Lord for all of you! Serving in Bolivia is like a never-ending David and Goliath battle. </p><p>A few days ago during my weekly meeting with the clergy through zoom, we received reports of an increasing number of COVID-19 related deaths and infections. Except for one congregation, the rest have gone back to digital services. </p><p>Pray for the church's zoom driven discipleship programs to thrive and grow during the week. Together with the senior clergy, we are working towards a national leadership training program in March...pray for the Lord to equip His Church to face the challenge of making disciples from the COVID-19 harvest. Pray for anointing, confidence, and for humility to learn. </p><p>Pray for a revival that will move many to Christ and pray for the church to reap and disciple this harvest! </p><p>The present government has more or less chosen the economy n politics over the need for strong social measures to stem COVID-19's rising tide e.g rigid quarantine </p><p>The doctors and frontline medical staff lobby for the latter because health services have broken down again before the avalanche of cases in the hospitals. </p><p>Meanwhile campaigning for the regional elections on March 7th, to elect governors and mayors, continues unabated without much interest in social distancing. Some candidates have died and infections continue to mount. Lord have mercy on us! </p><p>One silver lining is the cancelation in February of the annual "Carnaval" - 3 days of debauchery, drunkenness, waste, and deaths from fights and road accidents. Sadly, only the COVID-19 threat, has the muscle to overcome the big financial interests (liquor companies) that prop up Carnaval. </p><p>Pray for the Anglican church to GROW and find its voice and testimony in the midst of a growing national tragedy. We have perhaps yet to see the worse of COVID-19. </p><p>Pray for Michelle n I to not lose our bearings and to find the quality time to build up each other in Christ. We work from home these days and spend most of our time in this self-imposed confinement. </p><p>Thank you once again for your support and intercessions. PTL!</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-64513921053541393502021-01-13T09:27:00.243-08:002021-06-06T20:04:37.806-07:00GOD'S MERCIFUL JUDGEMENT!<div dir="auto">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfCTPbAbD-E/X_85JvmrI5I/AAAAAAAAUn4/fXPXRg02Sv0AdFJWR6LurwIZN97N8nL8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s620/AmazonianFire.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="620" height="287" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfCTPbAbD-E/X_85JvmrI5I/AAAAAAAAUn4/fXPXRg02Sv0AdFJWR6LurwIZN97N8nL8gCLcBGAsYHQ/w333-h287/AmazonianFire.jpg" width="333" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">GOD'S MERCIFUL JUDGEMENT!</span></b></div><div dir="auto"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div dir="auto"><i><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="text Heb-10-26" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" id="en-NIV-30160" style="background-color: white;">If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,</span><span face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text Heb-10-27" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" id="en-NIV-30161" style="background-color: white;">but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God</span><span class="text Heb-10-27" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"> </span><span class="text Heb-10-27" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hebrews 10:26-27</span></span></b></span></i></div><div dir="auto"><i><span class="text Heb-12-29" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" style="background-color: white; color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></i></div><div dir="auto"><i><span class="text Heb-12-29" face="system-ui, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Noto Sans", sans-serif, Arial" id="en-NKJV-30242" style="background-color: white; color: red;"><b>...our God is a consuming fire -<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Hebrews 12:28-29</span></b></span></i></div>
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<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Judgment offends our charitable instincts and </span><span style="font-size: medium;">doesn't sound optimistic enough to the contemporary ear. </span></div><div dir="auto"><br /></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it's almost impossible to read the biblical narrative and not bump into judgment: its precedents and its results. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews talks about the fearful expectation of judgment and raging fire. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Most of us want an immediate word of consolation in the midst of our losses and misery; judgment elicits guilt and not the sort of consolation we yearn for. And how does one sweeten the fearful expectation of judgment? </span></div>
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus prophetically denounced the Pharisees and then spared no bones in invoking judgment over Israel, cities, and the nations. And it's especially difficult to ignore judgment if one adds the woes in Revelations, the last book of the bible. </span></div>
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<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">His judgments although retributive, are by n large restorative and merciful when set within the universal intent of scripture. And his Son's death on the cross sort of sums up the retributive-restorative-merciful matrix. He submitted his Son to the inevitability of His judgment not to condemn but to lovingly satisfy the thirst for justice and reveal His new creation. </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hence we testify to His merciful judgments with broken hearts, pleading for salvation. </span></div>
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<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some feel uncomfortable talking about judgment cuz it makes them vulnerable to accusations of self-righteousness. And of course, they're right. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">And we shy away from the language of judgment because we perhaps don't want, to somehow, misrepresent God and "blame" Him for natural disasters and evil in the world. It's easier to blame impersonal natural forces and bad people. This line of reasoning leaves God either out of the natural process, or it makes Him out to be servile to nature and human folly. Many are content to declare a mystery here and move on. Not so fast. Maybe we shouldn't move on. Like Job, let's get to grips with the Holy mystery of God, shed tears, wrestle with our doubts, and go to the Cross, cling to His promises, and -<b> Let God be God. </b> </span></div>
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<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">Christ's cruel death on the cross, hovers, like an eagle, over horrific natural disasters, evil, and sicknesses in human history; His suffering and tears mingle with ours and vice-versa. Christ bore our judgment; and transforms our victimization and helplessness not only in His death; but also in the hope of His resurrection. And it's in His resurrection and pilgrimage to the heavenly Jerusalem where God's judgment will find its significance not as the final chapter of our story, but as a necessary stepping stone to the greater glory of our heavenly redemption in the New Jerusalem! </span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, let the biblical testimony bend the contemporary ear to listen to the eternal hope of judgment! </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-7979745887464015942020-04-21T11:38:00.000-07:002020-04-24T07:33:34.224-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3sa49wjbJrQ/Xp9Bfr7hVvI/AAAAAAAATFo/7EA6KMMjMSI5ONyxSYb-I-EeOz-3SaO2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/CV%2BUPDATE%2B3%2BPHOTO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1300" height="120" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3sa49wjbJrQ/Xp9Bfr7hVvI/AAAAAAAATFo/7EA6KMMjMSI5ONyxSYb-I-EeOz-3SaO2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/CV%2BUPDATE%2B3%2BPHOTO.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">BOLIVIAN CV-19 UPDATE 3</span></b></div>
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<b><i>"...Israelites...cried out...God heard their groaning" -</i> Ex 2:23-24</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A CRY FOR MERCY...</span></b></div>
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We pray for Mercy - somewhere in the genetic depths of lost humanity we know God is Merciful.</div>
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Lord have mercy on us! Christ have Mercy! Lord have Mercy!</div>
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Bolivia gets a mention towards the end in this surprisingly ideologically-free report from THE GUARDIAN, below, on the impact of the pandemic amongst the poor in Latin America.</div>
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The Anglican Church in Bolivia helps to serve the needy in our midst. The Lord uses the little we have to reach out to the masses. I try and keep in touch with the clergy and lay leaders through Facebook and Watsaap as they try and minister to the community around them.</div>
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Please pray for church leaders and their families. This has been a stressful time for siblings n marital relationships. Pray for families to turn to the Lord in prayer and for peace to prevail in their homes as the stress of the confinement takes its toll.</div>
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Pray for the Lord's mercy to take charge of impossible situations in families where buried resentments and unforgiveness surface in these times of uncertainty and impotence. Christians and their leaders on all levels are not exempt from bust-ups in the present crisis.</div>
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Pray for the Lord to provide the necessary wisdom, faith, healing, meekness, and finances to meet the present and future challenges in the life of the Church. Prayer for a new generation of hands-on leaders to serve the Lord in a fallen world of selfishness.</div>
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Pray for the government to find a way through the competing needs of safety from the pandemic and for people to earn a living. This article below from THE GUARDIAN deals with this issue, from the perspective of the poor.</div>
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There doesn't appear to be a centralized "one size fits all solution" from the top but a more community-based approach with direct help and coordination from the municipality and the central government appears to be the way forward. To some extent, this is already happening in the midst of a situation without any precedent, in Bolivia.</div>
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Pray for the Bolivian governing authorities to find resources and to persevere and to not buckle under the strain of this growing pandemic.</div>
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And pray for us to not fear the darkness of CV-19 but to plead In Christ, from a place of brokenness, in a heartfelt cry for His Mercy.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-53136201833854825302020-04-20T21:25:00.000-07:002020-04-21T11:39:33.511-07:00<div class="_5pbx userContent _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-testid="post_message" id="js_o" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 6px;">
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<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">BOLIVIAN CV – 19 </span></b><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">UPDATE</span></b><b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"> 2</span></b><br />
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“SOUND THE TRUMPET” </span></b><b style="font-family: inherit;">15th of April </b></div>
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…<i><b>first angel blew his trumpet, there followed hail and fire</b></i>…<b>Rev 8:7</b></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cmZKveBGvsg/Xp5zW_QLCAI/AAAAAAAATFY/UD0m-g52WAU4zdXcuuYEoSO8vEUTsC-UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PoliceCuarentena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="540" height="163" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cmZKveBGvsg/Xp5zW_QLCAI/AAAAAAAATFY/UD0m-g52WAU4zdXcuuYEoSO8vEUTsC-UgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/PoliceCuarentena.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pray for us as we pray for all of you…we’re in this together – the Lord is blowing His trumpet and rallying His Bride around a fresh revelation of His Glory in the midst of great upheaval and suffering.</span></div>
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In South America, the presidents of Bolivia and Paraguay have publicly in their speeches pleaded for their people to trust the Lord and to pray to Him. In Ecuador over 7000 have the virus and more than 700 have died.</div>
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President Añez of Bolivia announced yesterday the decision to extend the national quarantine till the 30th of April. A new minister of health took over last week from the previous minister - he resigned for personal reasons.</div>
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In Bolivia, we’ve registered 354 CV-19 cases and 28 deaths. Santa Cruz, the region where I serve, has the highest infection and mortality rate. Relative to other countries our casualty rate doesn’t seem high; but the government rightly fears a catastrophe of massive proportions that would rip apart a frail national health system, if the disease spreads exponentially.</div>
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Hence the decision to err on the side of caution, apply the sledgehammer of a national curfew with very limited movement to only buy groceries and to do basic banking.</div>
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Various communal self-help initiatives have surfaced spontaneously led by the police and the municipality to feed the needy. Our congregations have tried to help out as well in this pandemic. One of them put together a plan to reach out to the elderly and to the more vulnerable in their communities.</div>
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Ministry opportunities in this period of uncertainty have opened up opportunities on the internet for small groups, personal counseling, and teaching clips. The confinement has either brought families together or divided couples and caused grief in families.</div>
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<b>SO, IS CV-19 GOD’S JUDGEMENT?</b> – The contours of biblical judgment, with fear and trembling, suggest a “Yes” and reflects our failed and incomplete accountability to a moral God in control of humanity, nature, and the historical processes. </div>
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The gamut of His judgment includes eternal punishment, restoration, redemption, retribution, cause-effect, vindication, separation, discipline through plagues, natural disasters, and endless human folly and pride.</div>
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God, faithful to His righteous love, not only shatters human pride in judgment, but he also identifies deeply with those who suffer, through Christ’s Death on the Cross. An exclusive emphasis on the latter at the expense of the former sounds palatable, to the world and to liberal Christianity, partly because God comes across as a benign, long-suffering and therapeutic relative who nurses us back to health.</div>
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The biblical revelation, however, also speaks of propitiation on the Cross that permits salvation by Christ, the conviction of sin, a call to repentance and the thrust to disciple the nations.</div>
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May the Lord grant us grace to speak and sing boldly to the sound of His trumpet</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-25152960213082611042020-04-19T12:00:00.004-07:002021-05-30T14:41:11.410-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48E9C7gvWtU/XpydFYHCghI/AAAAAAAATFE/8xDfLz0CcSUBHsjMmmzDAysTQWB2SelowCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BolivianGirlFlag.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48E9C7gvWtU/XpydFYHCghI/AAAAAAAATFE/8xDfLz0CcSUBHsjMmmzDAysTQWB2SelowCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BolivianGirlFlag.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: red;">SOUL-LIKE BOLIVIAN MOMENT</span></b><div><br /></div><div>A sense of hope colors her face <div>with a well-proportioned smile, </div><div>the almost perfect design of her </div><div>cheeks and teeth hide a beauty </div><div>yet to be seen;<br />
<br />Her innocent eyes, a hint of pain </div><div>from life, invite us to dance with the<br />
soul-like Bolivian moment of her </div><div>hair blown by the wind.<br />
<br />
<br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-33075374141273209862020-04-01T11:28:00.001-07:002020-04-21T11:40:16.826-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">A BOLIVIAN CV-19 UPDATE 1 </b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cajBb-4yF1w/XoT4gs1BbUI/AAAAAAAAS80/SuLUuz9xBPIt6oFQEnm0C4Z_VmuMldVbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/PhotoBoliviaCuarentena3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="751" height="159" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cajBb-4yF1w/XoT4gs1BbUI/AAAAAAAAS80/SuLUuz9xBPIt6oFQEnm0C4Z_VmuMldVbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/PhotoBoliviaCuarentena3.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></span></div>
<span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;">Bolivia locks herself down in a life n death struggle with, CV-19, an unseen enemy!</span><br />
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We’re allowed to shop at the supermarket for our daily needs but we can only do it once a week. The police and the military patrol the streets. My barrio looks abandoned … there’s nothing for the dogs to bark at; cars have disappeared from the streets, and all shops and banks remain closed. It’s different in the poorer districts at the periphery of the major <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">cities of Bolivia - markets here are open and people mingle with little understanding of social distancing. Slowly but surely people are adhering to the rules.</span></div>
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President Añez declared a 3-week quarantine that will hopefully be lifted on the 15th of April. In terms of church-life, congregations meet through Zoom for bible studies, Sunday services, and other meetings. It’s a novel experience for many – sadly not everyone has a smartphone. The President has chosen the health of her people over the nation's economic well-being. Mortgage payments have been deferred. Financial handouts together with social benefits have also been announced.</div>
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I shudder at the economic impact of CV-19 on the Bolivian economy and on church finances. We´ll not only have to tighten our belts after this crisis but we’ll also have to think through how to function, as a church. The Lord’s putting us through this crisis to radically change the way we think about ministry and outreach.</div>
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Missionaries left an expensive and complicated ecclesiastical machinery for the national leadership to manage, and early missionaries with more resources got away with a strong paternal approach but it’s a different scene these days. This is not a criticism but a historical observation from mission fields around the globe. The emerging national leadership needs support and encouragement to fulfill their calling, and there is a still place for older more experienced missionaries to mentor and coach those willing to listen. Pray for us – CV19 has brought to surface issues that require focused attention and the gumption to make tough decisions.</div>
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On a personal level, Michelle and I stay in our home, listen to music, cook n clean, play with our dogs, read, watch TV for the latest updates and stay abreast of what's happening - in the nation and in the world.</div>
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The present crisis has been an overwhelming and heartbreaking experience – the poorer sectors of society clamor for food, the savings of the middle class will disappear and the elite will hunker down. </div>
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We’re a bunch of “Tower of Babel” builders who’ve reaped what we’ve sown.</div>
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Oh! for the mercy of God - times like this when the Kyrie Eleison resonates powerfully in all our hearts:</div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Lord have Mercy<br />Christ have Mercy<br />Lord have Mercy</b></span></div>
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People look to us for easy answers on their terms, but the gospel provides a Way or better said HIS WAY– a journey on the Lord’s terms.</div>
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Our celebration of Holy Week takes on greater significance, - beginning this Palm Sunday!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-31301320892690944482019-09-06T07:44:00.001-07:002021-06-06T20:00:51.610-07:00THE PROPHET'S MORSELTHE PROPHET'S MORSEL<br />
<br />
Prophets nibble at<br />
magic moments - their<br />
eyes open to hidden<br />
wonders under the<br />
spell of mouthful<br />
delights.<br />
<br />
Up and down,<br />
jaws move like ships<br />
on tossy waves; while<br />
food-filled cheeks<br />
sway to gestated thoughts<br />
in palates chock full of<br />
revelation.<br />
<br />
And inside? - the prophet's<br />
incisors slice the hidden<br />
enchantment from holy<br />
flesh, nibbling at<br />
glory and to then be<br />
consumed by sacred<br />
reflections.<br />
<br />
He serves himself, as<br />
sacred morsel, for others<br />
to nibble at.<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-46406634623108895312019-08-27T09:48:00.002-07:002019-08-31T10:35:33.992-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpKmsp-cc7s/XWSL8lIrTQI/AAAAAAAAQfo/REN_0Jh-Gx0TRPCqkFmVRGmb1tawoCCtgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/AzkargotaRaphaelBISA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1198" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpKmsp-cc7s/XWSL8lIrTQI/AAAAAAAAQfo/REN_0Jh-Gx0TRPCqkFmVRGmb1tawoCCtgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/AzkargotaRaphaelBISA.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">¡NO EXCUSES!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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Azkargorta replied in no uncertain terms - <b>"No Excuses" </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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I had asked him to share a helpful insight I could take away from our encounter. He didn't flinch - the words <i><b>"No Excuses"</b></i> slid from his lips easily. He cited an example: he fined players who turned up late for training sessions, never accepting the argument that coming late was part of our Latino culture.<br />
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We are more than our carnal self-imposed limits. </div>
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The bible talks about the excuses we use to justify our lack of commitment and trust in the One we serve...Moses said he couldn't speak well; I'd probably have said something similar if I had to take on Pharoah - this dude crushed people for a living! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Gideon told the angel he didn't come from an important family when given the charge to unite the Israelites and lead them into battle against the Midianites.</div>
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And some folk told Jesús they couldn't follow Him cuz they had pressing family matters. </div>
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Stepping out in faith can be kinda scary; fear-driven excuses lead us nowhere. Trust the Lord...He'll take care of us...</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">The </span><span class="small-caps" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> himself goes before you and will be with you;</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-5737A" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-5737A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> he will never leave you nor forsake you.</span><span class="crossreference" data-cr="#cen-NIV-5737B" data-link="(<a href="#cen-NIV-5737B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deut 31:8</span></b></i></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30638038.post-79405269476748414652019-08-26T21:33:00.001-07:002019-08-27T08:39:00.315-07:00<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">CONVERSATION WITH AZKARGOTA </span></b><br />
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I bumped into the legendary Xavier Azkargota a few months ago at BISA, the bank near my home at Equipetrol Norte, Santa Cruz! </div>
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Azkargota coached the Bolivian soccer team that qualified for the World Cup in 1994. I had just arrived in Bolivia as a young missionary and the thrill of sharing in the nation's celebration at qualifying for the World Cup was exhilarating!</div>
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We exchanged pleasantries, talked about the similarities of our roles as coaches - a diocesan bishop coaching the clergy; and him as coach of a soccer team. </div>
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The Lord brings interesting people into our paths<br />
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