Saturday, January 9, 2010
Trying To Keep Your Books Organized?
Go to librarything.com and open a free account. (If you have lots of books like I do, you may want to pay $10 for a lifetime account, but you can list at least a hundred free.) This gives you an online inventory of your library. If your computer crashes or your house is destroyed in some way, you will have a list of your books for insurance purposes, plus you can do a "search" any time and find which books/authors/topics you have.
Article by Noreen Hyslop of Dexter (MO) Daily Statesman
An Essex native, currently residing in Poplar Bluff, recently learned all about angels on earth.
Elizabeth Sagharichi, formerly Elizabeth Black, has an angel of her own named Roya. Roya was stillborn six years ago. In a family of four boys, Roya would have been the only sister of the group.
The loss of their daughter at 20 weeks cessation came as a devastating blow to Elizabeth and her husband, Mahmoud, one for which Elizabeth says there seemed to be no closure.
"At 20 weeks, the baby was not saved to have a burial. We never got to hold her. I felt that a part of me died with her and it was very difficult to grasp when we had nothing tangible to hold on to."
An autopsy was performed on the baby, and a letter containing its findings was mailed to the Sagharichis some time following their loss. So devastated were they that they left the envelope sealed until after the birth of their next son two years later.
"That's when we realized we had a daughter," Elizabeth explains. "That doesn't, of course, make us love our boys any less. It just hurts a little worse to know we lost our only girl. I would never have believed it was possible to miss someone so much who you never really got to know, but it is."
A couple of years after their loss, the Sagharichi couple became acquainted with an organization called SHARE. Affiliated with the March of Dimes organization, SHARE holds annual campaigns, much like Relay for Life and the MS Walk held locally, but with a totally new concept at the heart of their efforts.
The group encourages parents of lost children to participate in activities that help to understand and to accept their loss, at the same time allowing them to share their experiences and feelings with others who have similar circumstances. For the Sagharichi family, the group has been "a God-send."
"My husband is a runner," says Elizabeth, "and the group holds a 5K run each August, so it provides him an added opportunity to get involved. I take part in the walk that is also part of the event."
Another event, and the one that has led to this story, is the annual release of balloons at the SHARE event. Each balloon holds a small card with the name of a child who left its parents too soon. The card also depicts the name of a sponsoring agency that helps to make the event possible.
On a hot August day in 2009, a white balloon was released with a brief message of its intent. The balloon carried the name of Roya skyward, and with that sending Elizabeth Sagharichi was content in knowing that the spirit of her daughter had been lifted up. She couldn't have imagined the response that sending would generate a short time later.
A resident in the state of Mississippi, finding the deflated balloon and its message, tracked down the sender by notifying the sponsor listed on the card. Southern Missouri Bank at Poplar Bluff then forwarded the response to the Sagharichi family. The letter would restore her faith that Roya was indeed, in good hands and that miracles do happen. The letter read:
"Dear Sagharichi family,
My name is Peter Nichol. I am writing you from my 50-acre farm located in rural Benton County, Mississippi, a lush, peaceful, rolling parcel of land very rich in history. Part of that history includes a small family cemetery dating back to the 1800s located on a secluded wooded bluff overlooking a wet weather creek. The site was overgrown and essentially lost to the wilderness when I purchased the land seven years ago, but I have recovered the area and attempt to maintain it with the dignity it deserves.
This morning was cloudy and warm with the threat of rain on the horizon. I took the opportunity to mow the grass and do some general cleaning around the cemetery. As I did this, I contemplated the sadness that must have once weighed heavily here. There are a number of very young children buried at this site. Yellow fever, I believe, was taking a heavy toll at that point in history.
Shortly after finishing my work, I noticed a small card and ribbon resting in the grass not far from the cemetery fence. It was the note that had been tethered to a balloon and released in memory of your daughter, Roya. I was very touched by the symbolism of this find and am truly saddened by your loss.
If part of Roya's spirit traveled so far and so high to find this place, she surely was a brave little girl. I know that the gentle breezes that brought her here at one time carried the joyful voices of these small children that now rest in silence, and this soil contains the tears of those who mourned the passing, I want you to know that your child's spirit and memory are safe, cherished and among friends on this small part of God's green earth.
Thoughtfully,
Peter A. Nichol"
And so the Sagharichi family considers themselves blessed, in so many ways.
Elizabeth Sagharichi, formerly Elizabeth Black, has an angel of her own named Roya. Roya was stillborn six years ago. In a family of four boys, Roya would have been the only sister of the group.
The loss of their daughter at 20 weeks cessation came as a devastating blow to Elizabeth and her husband, Mahmoud, one for which Elizabeth says there seemed to be no closure.
"At 20 weeks, the baby was not saved to have a burial. We never got to hold her. I felt that a part of me died with her and it was very difficult to grasp when we had nothing tangible to hold on to."
An autopsy was performed on the baby, and a letter containing its findings was mailed to the Sagharichis some time following their loss. So devastated were they that they left the envelope sealed until after the birth of their next son two years later.
"That's when we realized we had a daughter," Elizabeth explains. "That doesn't, of course, make us love our boys any less. It just hurts a little worse to know we lost our only girl. I would never have believed it was possible to miss someone so much who you never really got to know, but it is."
A couple of years after their loss, the Sagharichi couple became acquainted with an organization called SHARE. Affiliated with the March of Dimes organization, SHARE holds annual campaigns, much like Relay for Life and the MS Walk held locally, but with a totally new concept at the heart of their efforts.
The group encourages parents of lost children to participate in activities that help to understand and to accept their loss, at the same time allowing them to share their experiences and feelings with others who have similar circumstances. For the Sagharichi family, the group has been "a God-send."
"My husband is a runner," says Elizabeth, "and the group holds a 5K run each August, so it provides him an added opportunity to get involved. I take part in the walk that is also part of the event."
Another event, and the one that has led to this story, is the annual release of balloons at the SHARE event. Each balloon holds a small card with the name of a child who left its parents too soon. The card also depicts the name of a sponsoring agency that helps to make the event possible.
On a hot August day in 2009, a white balloon was released with a brief message of its intent. The balloon carried the name of Roya skyward, and with that sending Elizabeth Sagharichi was content in knowing that the spirit of her daughter had been lifted up. She couldn't have imagined the response that sending would generate a short time later.
A resident in the state of Mississippi, finding the deflated balloon and its message, tracked down the sender by notifying the sponsor listed on the card. Southern Missouri Bank at Poplar Bluff then forwarded the response to the Sagharichi family. The letter would restore her faith that Roya was indeed, in good hands and that miracles do happen. The letter read:
"Dear Sagharichi family,
My name is Peter Nichol. I am writing you from my 50-acre farm located in rural Benton County, Mississippi, a lush, peaceful, rolling parcel of land very rich in history. Part of that history includes a small family cemetery dating back to the 1800s located on a secluded wooded bluff overlooking a wet weather creek. The site was overgrown and essentially lost to the wilderness when I purchased the land seven years ago, but I have recovered the area and attempt to maintain it with the dignity it deserves.
This morning was cloudy and warm with the threat of rain on the horizon. I took the opportunity to mow the grass and do some general cleaning around the cemetery. As I did this, I contemplated the sadness that must have once weighed heavily here. There are a number of very young children buried at this site. Yellow fever, I believe, was taking a heavy toll at that point in history.
Shortly after finishing my work, I noticed a small card and ribbon resting in the grass not far from the cemetery fence. It was the note that had been tethered to a balloon and released in memory of your daughter, Roya. I was very touched by the symbolism of this find and am truly saddened by your loss.
If part of Roya's spirit traveled so far and so high to find this place, she surely was a brave little girl. I know that the gentle breezes that brought her here at one time carried the joyful voices of these small children that now rest in silence, and this soil contains the tears of those who mourned the passing, I want you to know that your child's spirit and memory are safe, cherished and among friends on this small part of God's green earth.
Thoughtfully,
Peter A. Nichol"
And so the Sagharichi family considers themselves blessed, in so many ways.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Burnt Biscuits
I received this in an email today and thought it was SO appropriate for churches, as well as marriages and friendship relationships. Please read it in its entirety.
Subject: Burnt Biscuit
When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
Life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."
God Bless You...... Now, and Always....
So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.!.!.!..! And PLEASE pass this along to someone who has enriched your life.... I just did
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Subject: Burnt Biscuit
When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"
Life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!
"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."
God Bless You...... Now, and Always....
So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.!.!.!..! And PLEASE pass this along to someone who has enriched your life.... I just did
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Amazing Grace
Grace. It’s been called “amazing”, “marvelous”, “limitless”, “unbounded”, and several other adjectives of a superlative nature.
We know it emanates from God. It has been defined as unmerited favor…… in other words, something God bestows upon us that we don’t deserve and could never earn no matter how hard we worked.
Grace is distinguished from justice and mercy in this way:
Justice is when you get what you deserve.
Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve.
Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve.
Grace is one of those words Christians skip over a lot in reading the Bible, or hearing it preached, thinking we know what it means, but most of us don’t have a clue most of the time.
But when you can put a “face” to grace, the meaning comes forth in all its glory.
Last week we had an opportunity to see how grace works in real life. One of the men in our church “messed up”. He didn’t mean to. He really didn’t do anything bad. Like the proverbial definition of beauty, the immaturity of his actions lay more in the eyes of the beholders, but in our day and time, when perception equals reality, all of us who claim to be Christians must be very aware that people, both inside and outside the Christian community, are watching us, and making judgments, whether rightly or wrongly.
And sometimes our actions extend beyond the bounds of what is socially acceptable even into the realm of what could be considered a violation of the law.
So as a church we dealt with this issue in love, making our brother aware that his actions were being questioned and even criticized.
He accepted the Biblical and legal caution given to him and sought forgiveness for his actions and a willingness to use better judgment.
And while it was difficult for him to come back to church on Sunday because he genuinely believed people no longer liked him, he took that difficult step, and when he walked into the church, he walked into the arms of grace extended to him by a loving church family.
Only God knows the human heart, and He extends grace to all who repent and seek forgiveness for their sin. I do not believe our brother had sinned. The Biblical definition of sinning is “the willful rebellion and rejection of God and His law”. Instead his need of grace was due to some errors in judgment which he genuinely acknowledged and repented of.
Who among us does not need God’s grace on a daily basis, and for grace to be extended to us by our church family from time to time. Sometimes our actions have been hidden from all human eyes and only God knows our need for grace. Sometimes our actions are public, and when that happens we need the grace that only a loving church family can give.
As a church family, we have reached out to him, some with simple declarations of love and support, some with handwritten notes of their love, and the assurance of prayer, but all with the full knowledge that not one of us is any better than the other, that we all have sinned from time to time, that we all have made mistakes in judgment, that we all have failed the Lord and each other many times in this daily journey we call the Christian life.
And so we extended this amazing, marvelous grace which we received from the Lord back to the brother we love so much because we know……someday…..inevitably….we will need him and others to extend it to us.
We know it emanates from God. It has been defined as unmerited favor…… in other words, something God bestows upon us that we don’t deserve and could never earn no matter how hard we worked.
Grace is distinguished from justice and mercy in this way:
Justice is when you get what you deserve.
Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve.
Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve.
Grace is one of those words Christians skip over a lot in reading the Bible, or hearing it preached, thinking we know what it means, but most of us don’t have a clue most of the time.
But when you can put a “face” to grace, the meaning comes forth in all its glory.
Last week we had an opportunity to see how grace works in real life. One of the men in our church “messed up”. He didn’t mean to. He really didn’t do anything bad. Like the proverbial definition of beauty, the immaturity of his actions lay more in the eyes of the beholders, but in our day and time, when perception equals reality, all of us who claim to be Christians must be very aware that people, both inside and outside the Christian community, are watching us, and making judgments, whether rightly or wrongly.
And sometimes our actions extend beyond the bounds of what is socially acceptable even into the realm of what could be considered a violation of the law.
So as a church we dealt with this issue in love, making our brother aware that his actions were being questioned and even criticized.
He accepted the Biblical and legal caution given to him and sought forgiveness for his actions and a willingness to use better judgment.
And while it was difficult for him to come back to church on Sunday because he genuinely believed people no longer liked him, he took that difficult step, and when he walked into the church, he walked into the arms of grace extended to him by a loving church family.
Only God knows the human heart, and He extends grace to all who repent and seek forgiveness for their sin. I do not believe our brother had sinned. The Biblical definition of sinning is “the willful rebellion and rejection of God and His law”. Instead his need of grace was due to some errors in judgment which he genuinely acknowledged and repented of.
Who among us does not need God’s grace on a daily basis, and for grace to be extended to us by our church family from time to time. Sometimes our actions have been hidden from all human eyes and only God knows our need for grace. Sometimes our actions are public, and when that happens we need the grace that only a loving church family can give.
As a church family, we have reached out to him, some with simple declarations of love and support, some with handwritten notes of their love, and the assurance of prayer, but all with the full knowledge that not one of us is any better than the other, that we all have sinned from time to time, that we all have made mistakes in judgment, that we all have failed the Lord and each other many times in this daily journey we call the Christian life.
And so we extended this amazing, marvelous grace which we received from the Lord back to the brother we love so much because we know……someday…..inevitably….we will need him and others to extend it to us.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
This poem was inspired several years ago by Betty Shanks, whose email to me I have posted directly below.
LIQUID PRAYERS
I'm often asked why
Tears fall from my eyes
When my prayers ascend to the throne;
It's so easy for me
To shed tears, don't you see;
That's the way I make my needs known.
For the tears that I shed
In the prayers that I've said
Have all been kept by Him
In a bottle rare;
He has placed them there
He has never forgotten them.
For every tear
Is a liquid prayer
That waters the seed that we sow.
Through the good times and bad
Whether happy or sad
The tears help our prayers to flow.
Feel a tug in your heart?
Then let the tears start
When you take to God all your cares.
He knows what you need;
He hears when you plead;
For tears are just liquid prayers.
Written by Joan Rowden Hart 12.17.01, based on Psalm 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” This poem was inspired by my dear friend, Betty Shanks of Farmington, Mo, who coined the phrase “liquid prayers” after I had preached a sermon on “Tears”.
LIQUID PRAYERS
I'm often asked why
Tears fall from my eyes
When my prayers ascend to the throne;
It's so easy for me
To shed tears, don't you see;
That's the way I make my needs known.
For the tears that I shed
In the prayers that I've said
Have all been kept by Him
In a bottle rare;
He has placed them there
He has never forgotten them.
For every tear
Is a liquid prayer
That waters the seed that we sow.
Through the good times and bad
Whether happy or sad
The tears help our prayers to flow.
Feel a tug in your heart?
Then let the tears start
When you take to God all your cares.
He knows what you need;
He hears when you plead;
For tears are just liquid prayers.
Written by Joan Rowden Hart 12.17.01, based on Psalm 56:8, “Thou tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” This poem was inspired by my dear friend, Betty Shanks of Farmington, Mo, who coined the phrase “liquid prayers” after I had preached a sermon on “Tears”.
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