Bolivia Journal, Part V, Painting at the Clinic

Brightening the Recovery Rooms and Hallway


Tepe.

Work at the house was progressing nicely. Some of us moved over to the clinic to repaint rooms while the rest continued to install doors and windows.

The clinic walls were all a sort of dull tan. On the second floor one of Cindy's friends had painted a small mural... the one bright portion of the hallway. We set to work on the recovery rooms first with a nice violet and yellow. Then we painted the hallway.

In a reverse twist on the muralists' art, I painted around the branches of a tree that spread over the wall. I used the old wall color and outlined around it to add branches and depth, making it appear that the mural was painted on top of the new paint!


Freshly painted recovery rooms.


Edging a mural by creating softer branches from the old color.

Our time in Bolivia was drawng to an end. We hastily replaced switchplates and cleaned up our jobsite. We quickly showered and dressed for a nice final dinner together at an Argentinian/Brasilian restaurant. Fernando came along with us. Sammy and his wife joined us. There it was announced that the house was to be for her and Sammy! What a happy blessing for two faithful servants and their children!

In the States, the two bedroom house would be considered just big enough for Sammy and his family. Here in Santa Cruz, there will be room to take in more.

There is an old story, where a boy is walking along the beach, picking up stranded starfish and returning them to the water. A passerby sees him and remarks that with so many stranded starfish, it cannot possibly make a difference. The boy answers: "It made a difference for that one." referring to the last one he threw in. G-d does not ask us for a report with numbers... he calls us to LOVE. He does not throw a quota in our face. He knows that if we Love, we will SUFFER. If we SUFFER, we will STRUGGLE.

He knows that by His Grace, and in His time, those who STRUGGLE will WIN. Their crown is an eternal one, from an Eternal kingdom where gold is merely a pavement choice and there is no need of sun or moon to give light, for G-d Himself is the light of that place!


An Austrian family owns this little resaurant in Santa Cruz. They specialize in delicious specialty cakes and Italian cuisine.


This is the lady who's son asked for a Pastor to visit their house and teach the Bible. The result was a church in the poorest section of Santa Cruz. Here she visits with Cindy while holding a Granddaughter.

Bolivia Journal, Part IV, Casa 3

Finishing a House for a Clinic Worker & Orphans...


Casa 3 is based on a Habitat for Humanity plan...


...and built of hand moulded local brick.


I saw this wildflower in the yard before we started work.

We don't know who the house is being built for when we start work. There are many deserving people here. Sammy drops the ladies off in his green Toyota Sprinter and the guys are dropped off by Fernando in his white van. There is much to accomplish. We set to work staining, painting and hanging doors.

A young man named Tepe helps out. We notice that he works hardest when placed alongside the pretty girls on our team. His curly hair and engaging personality remind me of my own son. It is hard NOT to like Tepe!

The house is located in a walled compound bordered by streets that translate as "Heaven's Way" and "Paradise Way." How fitting! Last year, along with another artist, I painted an interpretation of the New Heaven and New Earth from Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21 on the walls of a church in Staunton. The rendering is finished. Now I am in another hemisphere working on actual construction. Last year Laney and I took photos of real children in difficult places of the world and recast them as princes and princesses of the New Heaven and the New Earth. Here Cindy is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to real families in Santa Cruz! This is the Lord's work and it is exciting to be a part of it. It is all about redeemed lives!

The streets are unpaved... literally dirt! The fall rains have turned them into quagmires! Getting us to the site takes some pretty skillful driving! Sammy got mired once. Inside the walls are three beautiful houses. Two are complete and one is taking shape.

GH, a Staunton builder, and Gary, my roommate are the most experienced builders. Martha, an RN who has made many trips with surgery teams, transitions easily into installing door hardware. She chisels out the insets for latchplates and hinges like a German Zimmerman! Big Jeff and Little Jeff, both from our church, install tile to complete the laundry room. A young brother and sister from Charlottesville are on the team. They paint well. The sister is a natural at cutting edges. She will leave Bolivia with the offer of a Summer job from GH!

We have a really great team. After a couple of days some of us will more on to repairs on the older houses and then to the clinic to repaint rooms in the recovery area.


Windows awaiting stain and glass.


Doors to be hung.

Bolivia Journal, Part III, LAUS DEO!

A Church Service and Fellowship I will Never Forget...


Four dancers add richness to the music...


...of worship in the service.


Pastor Enrique.

For seven years I worked designing publications for a mission agency. It was a very frustrating exercise as we were routinely rejected when we tried to print photos of people sharing the simple joys of life. We were forced to emphasize the bleakness and poverty of their lives, creating a very one-dimensional picture of the people we represented.

Sharing a laugh, a meal, a bit of the journey has always been a doorway into a relationship. Here in Santa Cruz's poorest neighborhood I was not dissapointed! Here I saw the richness of life in some of the world's poorest people. Here were girls sharing secrets in church, young adults with the same playful spirit as some of my friends at home and kids being kids!


I suppose these young girls were sharing things that their US counterparts would totally understand during the service.


After church I photographed these young adults outside...


...who quickly found their otter natures when they saw the camera!


The Sunday School kids were picking something out of the planters. I wondered if their teachers had hidden treats there? I also wondered at the little girl's grimace until I saw the rest of the game. I'd caught her in the act of picking pebbles out of the planter before the kids had a pebble fight!


Susan tries in vain to get these boys to smile...


...and they do smile, when they see their pictures!

Bolivia Journal, Part II, The Journey

How One Woman's Vision Touched So Many Lives


Sunrise in the Andes as seen flying out of La Paz toward Santa Cruz.

It is like a story out of Charles Dickens' England. For the lack of $75, little Marcelo lost his leg. At the age of eleven, Marcelo developed a severe infection. His Mother took him to the local hospital only to learn that she could not afford the needed antibiotics. Marcelo's leg had to be amputated.

Charlottesville Nurse Cindy Thacker, who always had a passion for bringing healing for the suffering of those in difficult places, was moved to action when she learned of Marcelo's plight. She became Marcelo's foster Mother and enabled him to recieve much needed care and therapy.

But Cindy thought about the ones left behind. She started Mission of Hope, Bolivia [click to read] in 1996, initially hoping to improve conditions in Santa Cruz Childrens' Hospital. The group collected money, supplies and medical equipment to give to Childrens' Hospital. Sadly, when Cindy later visited Childrens' Hospital she learned that many of her donations had simply dissapeared. "One day, I made a search of every room of the hospital. A lot of the equipment I had donated was not there. I asked where these things were, and nobody could tell me."

Not only that, but Cindy learned that patients were being charged for medications she had donated. Those who's families couldn't afford medications were operated on without pain medication!

Now seeing that only the establishment of a free hospital for the poor would make any difference, Ms. Thacker expanded her vision. When a hospital facility came up for sale in Santa Cruz, she raised over a half million dollars to buy it! Members of the University of Virginia Hospital community are regular supporters of the ministry and surgery teams from UVA regularly visit Santa Cruz to make life-saving and life-changing surgery available to the poorest of the poor.

Cindy writes: "The people we serve live in extreme poverty. Many of them have been turned away from public hospitals because they did not have money to pay. Many of them have suffered for years with their medical problems. Most of them have been treated badly by other people simply because they were poor.

Our desire is to be a blessing to these people by not only taking care of their medical needs, but also by treating them with dignity and respect. We want to be a blessing to them by showing them the love and kindness they have not experienced in their own society. We also want to share with them the hope that we have in Jesus Christ."

We're on our way to see firsthand what G-d can do through the persistence of one RN in a situation that would overwhelm most ordinary people. Our team will help build a house for one of the staff members to live in and take in orphans as well. The plane flies out of Miami, levelling off for supper over the waters where Santiago struggled in Hemingway's tale. It is dark when we make landfall on Venezualia and a row of thunderstorms put on a powerful light show.

We nap fitfully before landing in La Paz and watch the sunrise bring the Andes Mountains alive as we fly out toward Santa Cruz.

Clearing customs, we make our way into the bustling metropolis of Santa Cruz. It is a city of contrasts. Gleaming corporate headquarters stand next to simple brick buildings. The concrete skeleton of a stadium stands weathering as funds ran out to complete it. Busses and taxis crowd the boulevard entering town, making three lanes out of the intended two. An accident has brought the traffic to a standstill.

This Summer will mark ten years that the Mission of Hope clinic has been serving the people of Santa Cruz. We arrive at the clinic and take a quick tour. The staff seem cheerful and the facility itself is amazing. Cindy brings surgical teams in from the US to perform a wide range of needed procedures. We're talking about specialists here. The clinic's operating rooms are stretched to provide the maximum benefit to as many people as possible. Surgeons wanting to volunteer are sent the actual schedule and asked straight-up: "Can you perform this many operations in a single day?" Many, working in state-of-the-art facilities in the US, have never done anything close.


A friendly greeting from a member of the church in Santa Cruz's poorest neighborhood.


The clinic in Santa Cruz. People line up early in the morning to receive compassionate medical care.

Thoughts for Memorial Day, 2012

Remembering Those Who Won Our Freedom...


Stained glass design of the Betsy Ross Flag in the sunrise by Xaver Wilhelmy. Rendering by Laney Riley.

Bolivia Journal, Part I, IMAGO DEI

A Thousand Stories in Search of a Hemingway!


A dancer moves with the music to add visual richness to worship. The church is in Santa Cruz's poorest neigborhood.

Where does one begin? Ninety miles from his Key West home, Ernest Hemingway wove the tale of the heroic fisherman Santiago. I love the story. Santiago was a a master fisherman with a young helper. Now, with the boy no longer with him, his sails and gear tattered, he sets out to catch a giant marlin only to see his catch devoured before he can bring it to shore. I have often echoed Santiago's sentiment: "I live in a good town," about my beloved Valley and my former home in Crozet. In Hemingway's masterwork, tenderness and tragedy are artfully woven against a background of the harsh realities of life.

Four thousand miles from the beautiful Valley of Virginia, I step into the stories of some amazing people as well. I'm no Hemingway, not by a long shot, but there is much to learn and much to tell!

The graceful dancers move in unison, adding visual richness to a lively worship music. There is joy on the faces of young people and old alike. One can see the Inca ancestry in their faces. In a little church in the poorest part of Santa Cruz, I join in singing. They have a little LCD projector so I can follow the words in Spanish. They sing some favorites like "how Great Thou Art!"

The little church is there because a 12 year old boy who had received treatment at the Mission of Hope clinic had asked his Mother if a Pastor could visit them. A home Bible study grew into a meeting under one blue tarp. Soon it was three blue tarps. Pastor Enrique works at the clinic as a lab technician. He also gives a message to patients about the love of Jesus. To suppliment his income he works at another job as a lab technician at the public hospital. He receives no salary from the church.

The head nurse of the clinic also moonlights. Her husband Sammy is a stay-at-home Dad. He was hired to be one of our drivers for the week. They live in a single room that they rent.

Then there is the Mother who would not give up when her Son experienced kidney failure at a very young age due to an infection. Because she persisted, he eventually recieved a transplant (at Mission of Hope), and is now a Youth Worker. He shared these words with us:

"He who LOVES will SUFFER,
He who SUFFERS will STRUGGLE,
He who STRUGGLES will WIN!"

Then there are a thousand more stories. Driving to and from the worksite we see glimpses of them. Young and smartly dressed people texting under shop awnings, ladies in traditional dress selling bananas with a child (or two) close by, on street corners. Motor scooter mechanics work late into the night in little shops with roll-down doors.

On the square by the big church in the center of Santa Cruz, a shopkeeper's children sit under the arcade and enjoy some sort of cool treat as their parents keep shop on a Sunday afternoon. There is family life to be seen everywhere... but there is also a lot of abandonment and many single Moms are struggling to put food on the table each day. I met some amazing people and saw great love... love that manifested itself in struggle for those loved, and I heard testimony of victories as well!








Some members of the congregation.


A shopkeepers daughter enjoys a cool treat on a Sunday afternoon as her parents keep shop in Santa Cruz...


...and a young woman texts under a shop awning in the outer rings of the city.

THYME Magaine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume IV, Issue XX, Special Edition

THYME's First 'Defender of Freedom' Award

Last year we recognied a true peacemaker. He is a man who possesses the strength of character that allows him to stand on principle and common sense. He possesses the grace to accept the graceless behavior of an American President and say simply that "this is a dispute among friends."
Thank you, Binyamin Netanyahu, for your continued friendship to the American people. We apologie for the other weekly news magazine´s treatment of you as well.

SWAC Girl Has This [click to read].


Why 'land for peace' won't work. The green borders are the UN borders originally drawn in 1947. As you can see they create a defense nightmare. The straight line border with Egypt and the current definition of the West Bank came in 1949 after the initial Arab invasion was put down. The 1967 war resulted in Israel controlling Jerusalem and the West Bank and Sinai as well.

The Biggest Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East

In The Nakba Obsession [click to read] Sol Stern in City Journal presents a clear-headed analysis of the Palestinian problem and why it needs to be better understood.

"There is only one just compensation for the long history of suffering, say the Palestinians and their allies: turning the clock back to 1948. This would entail ending the “Zionist hegemony” and replacing it with a single, secular, democratic state shared by Arabs and Jews. All Palestinian refugees—not just those still alive of the hundreds of thousands who fled in 1948, but their millions of descendants as well—would be allowed to return to Jaffa, Haifa, the Galilee, and all the villages that Palestinian Arabs once occupied.

Such a step would mean suicide for Israel as a Jewish state, which is why Israel would never countenance it. At the very least, then, the Nakba narrative precludes Middle East peace. But it’s also, as it happens, a myth—a radical distortion of history." --Sol Stern

The problem today is that the origins of the problem are ignored in the discussion. The original attack on Israel and the subsequent refugee problem are succinctly stated in Stern's piece. Also noted is the fact that Israel's neighbors, who could have assimilated the refugees, have instead chosen to perpetuate their status. The Left today has run with the Nakba Narrative. Anti-Israel sentiment runs high, often bubbling over in Vitriol of the Worst Sort [click to read], but it was not always so.

The Left, in fact, once viewed Israel as a great triumph. Stern Chronicles journalist I. F. Stone's initial praise of the modern Jewish State and his subsequent conversion to Palestinian apologist. The progressives who once lauded Israel for its... progress... cutting edge agriculture and technology, modern cities and inclusive government later abandoned her as they took up the causes of victimology and redistribution.

The Left's own narrative that those who have achieved prosperity have obviously stolen it from the disadvantaged plays well here. Also ignored in this narrative is the fact that Israel groans under the burden of the many refugees it has brought in, such as the Russian Jews who populate places like Sderot and often bear the brunt of missle attacks from places like Gaza.

Perhaps a better narrative for this part of the world would be one that sees most everyone in the region... Jewish, Coptic or Palestinian as one who has suffered under or fled the forces of oppression.

Jesus and Davey Crockett

A Pastor Recalls Two Heroes He Met in His Childhood


David (Davey) Crockett, painted in 1834 by Chester Harding.

Jesus and Davey Crockett [click to read] by Dale Freeman

Childhood memories of Christmas past are vivid with Davey Crockett. [1]. I had a number of items that were official 'Davey Crockett' toys. The longest lasting was the Davey Crockett footlocker/toy box which featured a picture of the great hunter facing a rather fierce bear. Crockett was a hero you could look up to. After all these years, the only thing Crockett did that I take issue with is "grinning down a bear." I'd NEVER show my teeth and stare into the eyes of a genuine wild bear [showing teeth and staring is an agressive posture in the ursine order].

Who didn't feel a thrill as Crockett fought the Creeks and later went to Congress. I wish we had Congressmen like him today. He rode through the night to oppose Andrew Jackson's Indian Bill.
"He knew when he spoke his career was done, but speak he did and his point he won." Crockett's honor was inspirational. Back in the politically incorrect Fifties he could start out the movie fighting Indians and end up defending their interests on the floor of the house. It was a great time for a kid to be alive!

Yes, Crockett [and Crockett toys] were a great part of my youth! Other fond memories include Daisy air guns and building sets with moving parts. I had one that you could build an actual model of an oil refinery out of and run real water through to watch it "work." It was made by Kenner, who made some other cool building sets too.

John Kass, writing in Jewish World Review, has His Own Memories [click to read] of toys of yore. Be sure to read it BEFORE you head for the mall.

Farewell to the mountains
who's mazes to me
were more beautiful far
than Eden could be

The home I redeemed
from the savage and wild
The home I have loved
like a father his child

The wife of my bosom
goodbye one and all
in the land of the stranger
I rise or I fall

-- Song Davey Crockett sings at the Alamo in the movie.

The Ballad of Davey Crockett

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew ev'ry tree,
kilt him a b'ar when he was only three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

In eighteen thirteen the Creeks uprose,
addin' redskin arrows to the country's woes
Now, Injun fightin' is somethin' he knows,
so he shoulders his rifle an' off he goes
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

Off through the woods he's a marchin' along,
makin' up yarns an' a singin' a song
Itchin' fer fightin' an' rightin' a wrong,
he's ringy as a b'ar an' twic't as strong
Davy, Davy Crockett, the buckskin buccaneer!

Andy Jackson is our gen'ral's name,
his reg'lar soldiers we'll put to shame
Them redskin varmints us Volunteers'll tame,
'cause we got the guns with the sure-fire aim
Davy, Davy Crockett, the champion of us all!

Headed back to war from the ol' home place,
but Red Stick was leadin' a merry chase
Fightin' an' burnin' at a devil's pace,
south to the swamps on the Florida Trace
Davy, Davy Crockett, trackin' the redskins down!

Fought single-handed through the Injun War,
till the Creeks was whipped an' peace was in store
An' while he was handlin' this risky chore,
made hisself a legend for evermore
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

He give his word an' he give his hand,
that his Injun friends could keep their land
An' the rest of his life he took the stand,
that justice was due every redskin band
Davy, Davy Crockett, holdin' his promise dear!

Home fer the winter with his family,
happy as squirrels in the ol' gum tree
Bein' the father he wanted to be,
close to his boys as the pod an' the pea
Davy, Davy Crockett, holdin' his young'uns dear!

But the ice went out an' the warm winds came,
an' the meltin' snow showed tracks of game
An' the flowers of Spring filled the woods with flame,
an' all of a sudden life got too tame
Davy, Davy Crockett, headin' on West again!

Off through the woods we're ridin' along,
makin' up yarns an' singin' a song
He's ringy as a b'ar an' twict as strong,
an' knows he's right 'cause he ain' often wrong
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

Lookin' fer a place where the air smells clean,
where the trees is tall an' the grass is green
Where the fish is fat in an untouched stream,
an' the teemin' woods is a hunter's dream
Davy, Davy Crockett, lookin' fer Paradise!

Now he's lost his love an' his grief was gall,
in his heart he wanted to leave it all
An' lose himself in the forests tall,
but he answered instead his country's call
Davy, Davy Crockett, beginnin' his campaign!

Needin' his help they didn't vote blind,
They put in Davy 'cause he was their kind
Sent up to Nashville the best they could find,
a fightin' spirit an' a thinkin' mindDavy,
Davy Crockett, choice of the whole frontier!

The votes were counted an' he won hands down,
so they sent him off to Washin'ton town
With his best dress suit still his buckskins brown,
a livin' legend of growin' renown
Davy, Davy Crockett, the Canebrake Congressman!

He went off to Congress an' served a spell,
fixin' up the Govern'ments an' laws as well
Took over Washin'ton so we heered tell,
an' patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear!

Him an' his jokes travelled all through the land,
an' his speeches made him friends to beat the band
His politickin' was their favorite brand,
an' everyone wanted to shake his hand
Davy, Davy Crockett, helpin' his legend grow!

He knew when he spoke he sounded the knell,
of his hopes for White House an' fame as well
But he spoke out strong so hist'ry books tell,
an' patched up the crack in the Liberty Bell
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear!

When he come home his politickin' done,
the western march had just begun
So he packed his gear an' his trusty gun,
an' lit out grinnin' to follow the sun
Davy, Davy Crockett, leadin' the pioneer!

He heard of Houston an' Austin so,
to the Texas plains he jest had to go
Where freedom was fightin' another foe,
an' they needed him at the Alamo
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear!

His land is biggest an' his land is best,
from grassy plains to the mountain crest
He's ahead of us all meetin' the test,
followin' his legend into the West
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

The Value of Passion

Could it Be the Essential Ingredient for Renaissance?


Wright Brothers' Memorial, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

In His book: Make Me a Legend, Pastor Chuck Balsamo writes in Chapter 12:

"It is a fact: today’s doctor spends 10-12 years and a few hundred thousand dollars to become a physical healer. Why then would the average Christian go to a one-hour church service every few Sundays, reluctantly toss ten bucks into an offering plate, and then marvel over why so few of us experience any real miracles in our lives? Let’s face it; we are not adequately educated in the ways of our Force. Many in this generation are biblically illiterate and spiritually malnourished. It’s like starving to death in the middle of a grocery store. We are sitting on a message of power beyond our wildest dreams, lacking the oomph to break its ancient seal!"

Looking back on some of the more interesting projects I've worked on over the years, it is clear that passion drives the best ones. We love the stories of those who have pursued a dream, built something grand, or cured some dreaded disease. Would it surprise you to know that Heavenly Zeal stands firmly behind so much Earthly progress?

Why We Should Be Zealous [click to read] by Pastor Balsamo will challenge our "Nothing to Excess" notions when it comes to things of the Spirit.

Indeed, I have written before about how much of what we value in our culture today has its roots firmly in faith that prompted men and women to live out their convictions and in the process they made society a better place.

How Christianity Changed the World [click to read].

"Probably the Most Important Speech"

Dennis Prager on Romney's Commencement Address


"Moral certainty, clear standards, and a commitment to spiritual ideals will set you apart in a world that searches for meaning." -- Mitt Romney

Here is the Speech [click to read] that Dennis Prager considers perhaps the most important in this campaign:

"Harvard historian David Landes devoted his lifelong study to understanding why some civilizations rise, and why others falter. His conclusion: Culture makes all the difference. Not natural resources, not geography, but what people believe and value..."
-- Dennis Prager

Seeing the Church in the World

A Great Lesson from a Famous Painting


"The Andes of Ecuador" by Frederic Edwin Church, 1855, oil on canvas, 48 x 75".

Early in his career, artist Frederic Edwin Church travelled to the Andes Mountains in search of subjects and inspiration. His large painting The Andes of Ecuador, eventually ended up in the collection of the R.J. Reynolds estate. It is said that one of the very young Reynolds children, and I do mean very young, was observed staring intently at the painting. "I'm looking at the Church," the child remarked. Thinking they had a young prodigy on their hands, the parents looked closer, only to discover there is indeed a little mission painted into the countryside.

Of course that is the challenge to the believer in our day. Do we "see the Church" in the great composition of our lives and of our world?

Mural Gallery, Recent Works

Mural Work in Crozet and in Staunton


Here is the Crozet Trestle Mural as restored.

Crozet Trestle Mural [click to view larger images].


Here is the Mural at Staunton Alliance Church.

Journey to Jesus [click to view larger images].

The creation of these composite images was inspired by a similar project involving the murals that José Clemente Orozco had painted in Dartmouth University's Baker Library. The murals had been documented in a composite image so that one could view them on a web page. His murals there presented 'The Epic of American Civilization.' He became the inspiration for the murals Laney Riley and I did in Staunton Alliance Church, which we subtitled 'The Epic of Human Civilization.' Our mural is 82 feet long and covers both sides of a narrow hallway so it is impossible to view the entire mural at once.

The composite was created by stitching over 100 images taken at regular intervals in the hallway. When Laney and I assisted Meg West in the restoration of the Crozet Trestle Mural, I photographed the refurbished mural for a similar set of images.

Happy Mothers' Day 2012

"The Mom Song" Complete with Lyrics


Enjoy your special day! ht/Pastor Brandon

Nurturing a True Passion for Living

Some Thoughts on Living from Ralph Waldo Emerson

 
Ralph Waldo Emerson.

"If our young men miscarry in their first enterprises, they lose all heart. If the young merchant fails, men say he is ruined. If the finest genius studies at one of our colleges, and is not installed in an office within one year afterwards in the cities or suburbs of Boston or New York, it seems to his friends and to himself that he is right in being disheartened, and in complaining the rest of ......his life. A sturdy lad from New Hampshire or Vermont, who in turn tries all the professions, who teams it, farms it, peddles, keeps a school, preaches, edits a newspaper, goes to Congress, buys a township and so forth, in successive years, and always, like a cat, falls on his feet (by way of determination) is worth a hundred of these city dolls. He walks abreast with his days, and feels no shame in not 'studying a profession,' for he does not postpone his life, but lives already." -Ralph Waldo Emerson ht/Carmen

Nurturing a True Passion for Marriage

The Humble Daily Realities of Building Great Marriage


Happy Family. ht/Dawn.

"Suppose I said, “My passion isn’t to build up my marriage. My passion is for Marriage. I want the institution of Marriage to be revered again. I’ll work for that. I’ll pray for that. I’ll sacrifice for that. But don’t expect me to hunker down in the humble daily realities of building a great marriage with my wife Jani. I’m aiming at something grander.” If I said that, would you think, “Wow, Ray is so committed”? Or would you wonder if I had lost my mind?" -- Ray Ortlund [1.]

With these words, Pastor Ray Ortlund addresses those of us who claim to have a passion to build the Kingdom of G-d, but don't have much interest in being part of the daily workings of the local church. Indeed much ink has been spilled over passion for the institution of marriage in the past few days. I am challenged by Pastor Ortlund's observation that I have been a slacker when it comes to doing the real work involved in building my own marriage.

Indeed, we may win or lose our preferred definition of marriage at the ballot box, but the case for marriage really needs to be won in the trenches. Christian marriage is in trouble these days. It is all too easy to fall into default patterns and ignore commands such as that to "Love your wife as Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for her." That is radical living and does not come naturally in today's narcissistic world.

Although the Church is referred to as "The Bride of Christ" and we look forward to that day mentioned in Revelation 21 when the New Jerusalem appears "like a bride," there is no mention of an earthly wife in Scripture. Still, Christ gives us insight in those instances where he does relate to women. In John 8, a woman "caught in adultry, the very act" is brought to Jesus. The men want to stone her to death. OK, if she was caught in the very act, where's the guy? Jesus stoops down, writes on the ground, and her accusers turn away. Jesus does not condemn her, but tells her to change the way she lives.

Another time Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. He asks her for a drink, which is pretty radical for a respected rabbi. He was not supposed to talk to a woman, let alone a Samaritan one. Again Jesus shows grace as he speaks truth. That is the challenge. There is a lot of ungraciousness these days.

Many of us are all too eager to speak our "truth," but all too quick to forget the grace part. Grace is hard work. Talk is cheap. Grace weeds the garden. Grace does the dishes. Grace is slow to speak and quick to listen. So I first want to challenge myself, if I truely believe in the institution of marriage, I will work on it, starting with the foundations. I need to repent where I have not lived like I believe in my own marriage, and I need to seek G-d for the grace to live it as He would have me live it. My challenge is to bring to the table a marriage that reflects the work of G-d in my life... a testimony to HIM, and the Kingdom He is building.

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume IV, Issue XIX

Do Uber Mom's Really Exist?

The 'other' weekly news magazine has just put out their 'Mother's Day' issue. It asks: "Are you Mom enough?" and references Dr. Bill Sears, guru to the 'trend.' Here is Their Cover [click to read] and some thoughts on 'Attachment Parenting.' We at THYME have have our own cover devoted to 'Attachment Parenting,' where both parent and child are nurtured and suckled by the state [1.] Rush Limbaugh's art director, Michaele has come up with This Alternative Cover [click to view] and Rush repeats the story Here [click to view]. Before 'Attachment Parenting,' there were the uber Moms...

"You've seen them on Desperate Housewives: Uppercrust ladies in pastel sweater sets who parade down the halls of their children's schools. They're so smug. They coo sypathetically when they survey us "poor" working mothers.Or there's the New Age flip side, with their babies in slings, breastfeeding until their kids are ten, co-sleeping, home-schooling, and forget about vaccinations. See Maggie Gyllenhaal's stroller-hating harpy in Away We Go for an over-the-top rendition. But the ridiculousness of her "LN" character is a tip-off: These uber moms aren't real." -- Martha Nichols

In Why I Don't Like Trend Stories [click to read], Ms. Nichols echos a sentiment that I too have when I see TIME present yet another overview of LIFE that just doesn't fit MY life. THYME has decided to celebrate Mother's Day with a few real stories of real Moms (with real faces):

Tim Tebow and His Mom
by Lynn Randall Mitchell from SWAC Girl [click to read]

In an interview on Thursday morning's ABC "Good Morning America" show, 24-year-old professional football player Tim Tebow and his mom, Pam, sat down with host Robin Roberts to talk about a variety of subjects but most especially Mother's Day.

Roberts, who described the Tebows as "an incredibly loving family," learned how important Tim's mom was to Tebow, the youngest of five children, and whose parents were missionaries earlier in his life. As a mom who spent 16 years educating my own children, the Tebows are ambassadors who represent the good that comes from the homeschool community.

As a homeschooled student, Heisman Trophy winner, Denver Broncos quarterback, and Christian with strong family ties, Tim Tebow is a positive role model for our children, one of the good guys who actually understands that the world doesn't revolve around him. He is a public figure who shares his good fortune and reaches out to those who are hurting, all while retaining his down-to-earth personality. He even won over crusty ESPN reporter Rick Reilly.

During the ABC interview, Tim shared the story of one Mother's Day when he was still at home, young and without money to buy a gift. Wanting to express his love and appreciation for his mother, he searched for something other than a material way to do so and ended up weeding her flower garden in the middle of the night, using only the illumination of a flashlight. His mom, listening as he recalled the story, smiled and remembered that it was raining that night.

Tim's mom revealed that, after he turned pro and landed a job as quarterback of the Denver Broncos, he used his first paycheck to buy her a gift ... a necklace from Tiffany's with a key on it, something she was wearing during the interview and said she wears much of the time. It was, he told Roberts, a symbol that his mother was the key to his success, and he added, "I couldn't have done it without her."

One segment of the interview had to do with family meals. A typical homeschool mom, Pam Tebow is a good cook and there are favored foods from the children including Tim who revealed that he loved her Pizza Pie, a simple yet apparently yummy meal, along with Rice Krispy Treat ice cream pie. In a household where dessert was only allowed on Sundays, Tim laughed and talked about coming home from church and sitting in the living room after lunch, watching sports, and eating Rice Krispy Treat ice cream pie.

I continue to be impressed with this young man. He has remained grounded even after hitting the big time in sports, and he still maintains a strong connection with his family, his faith, and those less fortunate than he.

Jason Pierre-Paul and His Mom
Meet the Real MVP's of Last Year's Superbowl


Jason Pierre-Paul's parents, Marie and Jean. Sun Sentinal

A Milestone Monday Feature

Jason Pierre-Paul was just nine months old when his Father lost sight in one eye while driving. Within weeks, Jean Pierre-Paul was blind, the victim of a viral infection that destroyed his sight. His Mother Marie Pierre-Paul became the sole breadwinner for the family, working long hours in the housekeeping department of a hotel.

Jean stayed home and cared for Jason. He and his wife taught their Son great lessons in perserverance as they adjusted to meet the challenges life handed them.

Almost thirty years ago, the family came to the United States, settling in Florida. Jason attended Deerfield Beach High School and actually played basketball until a serious leg injury sidelined him, but then another MVP came into his life.

In his junior year, Jason signed up for a geometry class taught by Manny Martin, who happened to be defensive coordinator for the school's football team. Martin jokingly told Jason that in order to pass the class, he'd have to play football. The rest is history.

There was a problem though. Jason worked after school at Boston Market to help the family with their rent. Marie was working as a domestic and finances were tight. Martin went to Jason's boss at Boston Market and they worked out a schedule so he could keep his job and still make practices. Jason would leave practice and go straight to work. often he would work until midnight and then get up early to make it to high school. The superstar remembers this as the hardest year of his life.

He went to three colleges: College of the Canyons in California, Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and finally University of South Florida. He was drafted by the Giants in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Sunday his Dad went to Indianapolis to attend his first-ever NFL game. He listened as his Son matched wits with Tom Brady, rushing and batting down passes against one of the best quarterbacks in the game. It had to have been an amazing day for Jean and Marie! [2.]

Blind Man in the Bleachers
Kenny Starr

He's just the blind man in the bleachers to the local hometown fans
And he sits beneath the speakers way back in the stands
And he listens to the play by play, he's just waiting for one name
He wants to hear his son get in the game

But the boy's just not a hero, he's strictly second team
Though he runs each night for touchdowns in his fathers sweetest dreams
He's gonna be a star someday though you might never tell
But the blind man in the bleachers knows he will

And the last game of the season is a Friday night at home
And no one knows the reason but the blind man didn't come
And his boy looks kinda nervous,sometimes turns around and stares
Just as though he sees the old man sitting there

Well, the local boys are tryin' but they slowly lose their will
Another players down and now he's carried from the field
At halftime in the locker room the kid goes off alone
And no one sees him talkin' on the phone

And the games already started when he gets back to the team
And half the crowd can hear his coach yell, "Where the hell you been?"
"Just getting' ready for the second half", is all he'll say
"Cause now you're gonna let me in to play"

And without another word he turns and runs into the game
And though the silence on the field, loudspeakers call his name
It'll make the local papers how the team came from behind
When they saw him playing out his heart to win

And when the game was over the coach asked him to tell
What was it he was thinkin' of that made him play so well
"Well, you knew my Dad was blind", he said, "Tonight he passed away"
"It's the first time that my father's seen me play"

The Place of Faith in Education

A Unique Perspective on the Issue from CIVITAS


Iris.

"Education is only adequate and worthy when it is itself religious… There is no possibility of neutrality… To be neutral concerning G-d is the same thing as to ignore Him… If children are brought up to have an understanding of life in which, in fact, there is no reference to G-d, you cannot correct the effect of that by speaking about G-d for a certain period of the day. Therefore our ideal for the children of our country is the ideal for truly religious education." -- William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1942.

Here is a very interesting report from CIVITAS [1.], on The Place of Faith in Schools [click to read] by Professor David Conway. It adds a new dimension to the debate now raging in America between those who would impose a strictly secular criteria and those who consider Faith an essential component of learning.

"[A] nation which draws into itself continuously, and not merely in its first beginnings, the inspiration of a religious faith and a religious purpose will increase its own vitality… Our own nation… has been inspired by a not ignoble notion of national duty to aid the oppressed – the persecuted Vaudois, the suffering slave, the oppressed nationality – and it has been most... characteristically national when it has most felt such inspiration…

We offend against the essence of the [English] nation if we emphasise its secularity, or regard it as merely an earthly unit for earthly purposes. Its tradition began its life at the breast of Christianity; and its development in time, through the centuries… has not been utterly way from its nursing mother… [I]n England our national tradition has been opposed to the idea of a merely secular society for secular purposes standing over against a separate religious society for religious purposes. Our practice has been in the main that of the single society, which if national is also religious, making public profession of Christianity in its solemn acts, and recognising religious instruction as part of its scheme of education." -- Ernest Barker, Cambridge Philosopher

Professor Conway  Concludes: "All would stand to benefit from such committed forms of religious education in the country’s state-funded schools, not simply because it would be likely to improve the educational performance, behaviour and well-being of the nation’s schoolchildren. They would also all benefit because, I believe, only by continuing to provide it can this country be assured of remaining the independent and united liberal polity that it has for so long been and from whose continuing to be such all its diverse inhabitants would derive benefit, even those who do not share that faith or any other."

Rhododendron Flowers in Symmetry

Subtle Beauty in Design in the Spring Garden


A rhododendron blossom creates an elegant composition.

We Found 'Julia's' E-Harmony Match

Tim Hawkins Says What the President Ought to Say


"The Government Can."

Along with several other commentators, we noticed that there is no man in 'Julia's' life, even though 'Zachary' magically appears to claim benefits at the appropriate time. The staff of THYME was concerned about this oversight, so we approached the good folks at E-Harmony and this is the match they found for her.

Inside a Rhododendron Flower

Journey Through the World inside a Blossom


An ant explores the blooming rhododendron.

Meet 'Julia,' and Usher in '1984!'

Is it Any Coincidence that the Woman's Name is 'Julia?'

A Nanny State Update


I reported earlier how a child in a Staunton, Virginia was 'busted' for bringing a Wendy's lunch to school [1.]

Barack Obama presents: "The Life of Julia" [click to read]. Here is a 'womb to tomb' nanny state in all it's glory... provided you aren't aborted before you leave the womb! Here is government taking care of you at every stage of your life. Of course that life might just become shorter if you become too expensive to keep alive under 'Obamacare,' but I digress. This wonderful presentation produced by The Ministry of Truth -- (Minitrue, in Newspeak), makes it clear that "Big Brother is Watching (out for) You." That nasty old Mitt Romney will cut the programs that give you all the goodies.

So remember:

"WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH!"

Bearing Drift Has More [click to read],
Human Events Has More [click to read].
Obama's Orwellian Unemployment Numbers [click to read] from Rush Limbaugh.

A Better Life for Julia [click to read] thanks to the Heritage Foundation!

"But the name Julia actually means “youthful, energetic.” It’s a great name that belongs to many self-governing women across America—who put themselves through school, marry, raise children, volunteer at the local church or charity, and run their own businesses (despite miles of red tape). It’s the responsibility of every citizen—not just the Julias—to resist the tyranny of the burecratic state and ensure that the ideal citizen (man or woman) remains a self-governing one." -- Julia Shaw (I am NOT making this up)!, writing for The Heritage foundation

Revival Fire for Our Time and Place

It Won't Happen Unless Someone Lights the Fuse...



Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. My lovely wife and I found ourselves on the porch as thunder clouds rolled in, praying for our Nation. "Where are the Jonathan Edwards for our time?" I found myself asking G-d. "Who will ignite the Great Awakening we so desperately need?" This morning I opened my email only to find that Chuck Balsamo [click to read] is right there in the fight!

This is our time. Like Frodo, the noble hobbit, who laments: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened;" we need to heed the words of Gandalf:  "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
 
We can talk about renewing our great Country and work hard to achieve her renaissance, and that is a noble endeavor, but without a renewal of her spiritual foundations, America's greatness can never be realized. A Nation who owes her greatest distinctives to the afterglow of Great Awakenings cannot survive without the Spirit that gives birth to those things.

Spark Twenty-12 [click to read] begins next week!

THYME Magazine

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume IV, Issue XVIII

Can America Face the Truth?

The 'other' weekly news magazine is focused on China this week. "The People's Republic of Scandal" [click to read]. There is no question there have been abuses of power in China, but what is even more chilling are the abuses of power in our own country and the media's unwillingness to cover them.

On the one hand it is good to see TIME acknowledge China's thuggery, but it is disheartening to see them ignore SEIU violence, voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party and Eric Holder's ignoring of it... all the while throwing roadblocks in the way of Arizona officials simply trying to enforce existing US immigration law. The EPA is fast overtaking the IRS as the agency to be feared by honest business people.

Potential voters (legal or otherwise) receive preferential treatment while those who actually pay the bills and make the country work are increasingly being treated like criminals.

The President spent twenty years under the teachings of Jeremiah Wright, disciple of James Cone. Their 'Black Liberation Theology' is basically Marxism in a racial wrapper. The President's 'solutions,' such as 'healthcare reform' are basically government taking over functions of the private sector.

The president lives like a so-called 'one per-center,' taking lavish vacations and hosting lavish parties at the White House, not to mention his hefty golf schedule, all the while blasting the captains of industry and finance for doing so. The media gives him a pass on this, allowing him to maintain the image of being 'the people's president.'

But as his energy policies drive prices to the levels of those in Europe, as desired by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the people's need for reliable affordable energy is being ignored.

Domestic exploration that could employ so many Americans is on hold while our money goes to countries that want to destroy us. Clearly this is bad from a national security perspective as well.

Then there is the whole ACORN problem. Obama functions in a world described well by Steven Malanga:

"Community organizing’s roots stretch back to the 1930s and Chicago organizer Saul Alinsky, founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation and author of Rules for Radicals. But it wasn’t until President Lyndon Johnson’s ambitious plan to end poverty through massive federal spending that the Alinsky model—grassroots organizing, neighborhood by neighborhood—really took off. Starting in the mid-1960s, the federal government directed billions of dollars to neighborhood groups, convinced that they knew better than Washington what their communities needed. The federal funds, eventually supplemented by state and local tax dollars, helped create a universe of government-funded community groups running everything from job-training programs to voter-registration drives—far beyond anything Alinsky could have imagined. Some 3,000 local social-services groups were soon receiving government funding in New York City alone. Many were new, but the money also helped turn traditional charities that had operated on private donations into government contractors."

Malanga gives more background in Organizer in Chief [click to read] in City Journal. The President routinely dismisses the Tea Party but he and his minions have embraced the Occupy Movement. Alinsaky would have loved it! That the Tea Party is true grassroots and the Occupy protesters spring from the Alinsky model tells you everything you need to know.

In October of 2008, Michael Barone wrote these sobering words:

"I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors," Barack Obama told a crowd in Elko, Nev. "I want you to talk to them whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face." Actually, Obama supporters are doing a lot more than getting into people's faces. They seem determined to shut people up.

In "The Coming Obama Thugocracy" [click to read], Barone gave us a chilling foretaste of "the audacity of hope and change." It is a shame more people weren't listening.

In Augusta the Adults are Governing

The Augusta Supervisors just voted to increase the personal property tax rate. Voting 4-3 Wednesday night not to raise the real estate tax rate after advertising a potential 3-cent increase over the 48-cent per $100 rate, they instead voted 4-3 to raise personal property taxes 25 cents on cars and trucks. The personal property tax rate goes from $2.25 to $2.50 per $100.

A little background is in order. First of all, the new Board of Supervisors came into a situation where everyone knew tough choices were in order. Then candidates Karaffa, Pattie, Michaels and Pyles devoted much of the campaign to informing the electorate. They held town hall meetings and laid out the needs of educators and public safety people. They referenced the last botched reappraisal but offered solutions.

The debate over providing essential services/tax increases was held in the open. The skewed appraisals had resulted in a decrease in funding returned from Richmond. Now it was time for the hard choices.

Debate over whether or not to use capital fund money occured at a reasonable point in the debate (and in the open), then the tax debate was again held in public view. In the end, none of us likes paying more car tax, we would like Richmond to pony up, but unlike Washington, Augusta has to pass a real budget.

If you were listening, no promises were broken. Hard decisions were weighed and made, and according to David Karaffa we're well on our way to correcting the appraisal numbers in 2014. That, Karaffa says, is the time to set the real estate tax rate.

So now is not the time to play 'blame games.' I think the Board of Supervisors actually deserves our thanks for performing an unpleasant part of their job in a responsible manner.

Lynn Writes More [click to read] about the Augusta County Budget hearings: "In a year that has demanded difficult decisions from five new members of the seven-member board, it was refreshing to know that all had deliberated about the budget shortfalls, always mindful of their constituents who struggle day-to-day to pay their own bills."

Today is the National Day of Prayer

“…if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” -- 2 Chronicles 7:14

Today is the National Day of Prayer. Please join in prayer for our nation on this special day.