tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46446739531118095882024-03-05T04:11:35.553-03:00GARLAND OF GRACE, GOADS AND FIXED NAILS...Welcome! This is my space for postings in English. As an extension of our Portuguese original [coramdeocomentario.blogspot.com.br] this will bring musings, commentaries and short articles, as well as some translations from the posts of our collaborators in our original Portuguese blog. Blessings and good reads! [Beth Gomes]coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-30362277774999988052018-11-28T09:36:00.000-02:002018-11-28T09:36:05.164-02:00NA ESCASSEZ E NA PROSPERIDADE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaGUvsSTDl99ttSMUVrQKAB5vgRuIeijZ_pyMCW0o6DC_UZ2h4us9abop3BDBYNOJebcj_VXVKGg69cy0UVhrk5m8HF9PIRk3zg4hFgvQ6vqnQjNWMNkTQv8HyTVrxwZdwmJhFGu0xBBD/s1600/gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="812" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaGUvsSTDl99ttSMUVrQKAB5vgRuIeijZ_pyMCW0o6DC_UZ2h4us9abop3BDBYNOJebcj_VXVKGg69cy0UVhrk5m8HF9PIRk3zg4hFgvQ6vqnQjNWMNkTQv8HyTVrxwZdwmJhFGu0xBBD/s400/gifts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Você, alguma vez, já mandou uma carta para Papai Noel? Outro dia, vi uma reportagem sobre a campanha dos correios, incentivando pessoas a doar presentes a crianças carentes as quais escrevem cartas ao “bom velhinho”, fazendo os seus pedidos. Os correios se encarregam de levar os presentes para alegrar a vida das crianças. Além de pedidos clássicos de boneca, carrinho, um brinquedo bem legal, um conjunto de roupas e sapatos, bicicleta etc., muitas cartinhas indicam carências mais profundas: material escolar, “comida aqui para casa porque meu pai foi embora e minha mãe não sabe como vai fazer”. Enquanto isso, nos shoppings, crianças pedem celular da hora, videogames importados e notebooks personalizados junto a listas cada vez mais sofisticadas de mais, mais, mais. Jovens e adultos elaboram listas de roupas de grife, sapatos, bolsas e acessórios, jóias e eletrônicos que seus pais não imaginavam existir, e muito mais, porque você merece. <i>EU MEREÇO!</i> O décimo terceiro salário (quando trabalhamos sob o regime da CLT) já foi gasto antes de ser depositada a primeira parcela. E se estamos desempregados e não temos nada no banco ou no bolso, ainda assim queremos comprar, comprar, e ganhar, ganhar. Temos de ter! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Devoramos sem dó, e somos devorados pelo consumismo natalino o qual se esquece do maior presente dado aos seres humanos de todas as idades, em todo o universo – o Cordeiro em manjedoura num estábulo, Deus Conosco, habitando conosco, com o propósito de viver e morrer para redimir inimigos injustos pecadores. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Aponta na cabeça de todo mundo: O que é que vou ganhar? enquanto alguns nos preocupamos com o que é que posso dar? Quanto vou gastar? Como é que vou pagar? Ah! se eu tivesse... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">O frenesi pré-natalino traz inquietações junto aos sonhos realizáveis, impossíveis ou frustrados — mil léguas longe de responder a pergunta: “Que darei ao Senhor por todos os benefícios que tem para comigo?” Lembro alguns tesouros com suas aplicações práticas da Palavra de Deus para a vida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Na escassez: g</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">enerosidade e gratidão</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Um conto clássico de O. Henry narra a história de um casal empobrecido desejoso de presentear um ao outro, no Natal. Ela tinha longos e belos cabelos, e ele quis comprar uma linda fivela de ouro para enfeitá-los. Ele possuía um relógio herdado do pai, mas não tinha uma corrente adequada para usá-lo. Ela cortou os cabelos e vendeu-os para comprar o presente perfeito para o marido: uma espessa corrente de prata. Ele, por sua vez, vendeu o relógio para comprar a jóia da belíssima fivela. Tantas vezes se repete a doce ironia dessa história, quando alguém abre mão de um bem precioso para dar a alguém amado — e esse alguém abriu mão de um bem a fim de trazer alegria ao outro!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Generosidade não é ter muito para dar muito. É dar abundantemente do que temos — mesmo quando é pouco. Paulo disse aos Filipenses: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">no início do evangelho, quando parti da Macedônia, nenhuma igreja se associou comigo no tocante a dar e receber, senão unicamente vós outros; porque até para Tessalônica mandastes não somente uma vez, mas duas, o bastante para as minhas necessidades. Não que eu procure o donativo, mas o que realmente me interessa é o fruto que aumente o vosso crédito. Recebi tudo e tenho abundância; estou suprido, desde que Epafrodito me passou às mãos o que me veio de vossa parte como aroma suave, como sacrifício aceitável e aprazível a Deus (Filipenses 4.15-18).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A generosidade deles foi atuante e marcante—quando os próprios crentes de Filipos passavam por necessidades, tendo o apóstolo necessidade de animá-los, dizendo:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Não andeis ansiosos de coisa alguma; em tudo, porém, sejam conhecidas, diante de Deus, as vossas petições, pela oração e pela súplica, com ações de graças. E a paz de Deus, que excede todo o entendimento, guardará o vosso coração e a vossa mente em Cristo Jesus (Filipenses 4.6 e 7).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Concluiu com a promessa: “O meu Deus, segundo a sua riqueza em glória, há de suprir, em Cristo Jesus, cada uma de vossas necessidades”(v. 19). Falando aos Coríntios — igreja cheia de problemas — Paulo não deixou de mencionar uma qualidade importante: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">no meio de muita prova de tribulação, manifestaram abundância de alegria, e a profunda pobreza deles superabundou em grande riqueza da sua generosidade. Porque eles, testemunho eu, na medida de suas posses e mesmo acima delas, se mostraram voluntários, pedindo-nos, com muitos rogos, a graça de participarem da assistência aos santos (2 Coríntios 8.2-4).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Esses donativos foram planejados e preparados de antemão “como expressão de generosidade e não de avareza” (2 Coríuntios 9.5). Sendo assim, o apóstolo instrui:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cada um contribua segundo tiver proposto no coração, não com tristeza ou por necessidade; porque Deus ama a quem dá com alegria. Deus pode fazer-vos abundar em toda graça, a fim de que, tendo sempre, em tudo, ampla suficiência, superabundeis em toda boa obra, como está escrito: Distribuiu, deu aos pobres, a sua justiça permanece para sempre. Ora, aquele que dá semente ao que semeia e pão para alimento também suprirá e aumentará a vossa sementeira e multiplicará os frutos da vossa justiça, enriquecendo-vos, em tudo, para toda generosidade, a qual faz que, por nosso intermédio, sejam tributadas graças a Deus (2 Coríntios 9.7-11).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Isso é totalmente contrário ao que, hoje em dia, propõem os pregadores da prosperidade, os quais torcem o ensino bíblico, dizendo que nossas ofertas são “sementes” para nos garantir riquezas. Na verdade, a meta da generosidade é que sejam tributadas graças a Deus! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Achei que fosse falar de presentes de Natal, e lá vai você falar de contribuições para a igreja! O que tem a ver caridade com a necessidade de presentear minha família e amigos? Na verdade, os princípios da generosidade são os mesmos, quer estejamos planejando presentes adequados para aqueles que amamos quer estejamos considerando o que contribuímos para quem já nos doou todas as coisas. Alguns lembretes:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Não podemos esperar presentes por merecê-los. Diante de Deus, na verdade não merecemos nada por termos sido “bons meninos” durante o ano que passou! Toda nossa bondade é “trapo de imundície”(Isaías 64.6) e nossos esforços todos não passam de tentativas vãs diante de um Deus santo. O que Deus nos dá abundantemente é somente por graça. Aplicando essa verdade espiritual ao dia a dia, não damos nem recebemos presentes porque merecemos ou deixamos de merecer. (Aliás, a vida não consiste no que é secular <i>versus</i> espiritual. Se somos nascidos de novo, toda a vida, prática e secular, é espiritual!). Presenteamos pais, filhos, irmãos, amigos, porque os amamos e queremos compartilhar de maneira tangível a lembrança. Não podemos exigir que outros nos deem nem indicar o que eles deverão dar. Claro que se eles perguntarem do que precisamos ou o que desejamos, podemos indicar – sem exigências, sem esperar que façam o que nós queremos.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Não podemos dar visando o que vamos receber em troca. Já dei muitos livros a uma pessoa rica, na esperança que ela quisesse comprar mais para presentear a outros! Às vezes damos um presente caro esperando que “eles” nos deem na mesma medida. Ledo engano! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Generosidade nem sempre implica presente caro; muitas vezes custa-nos muito além de dinheiro, embora seja pouco dispendioso. Tempo, atenção, carinho, sensibilidade são presentes de grande valor.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Nossos presentes jamais devem ser para afirmar ou demonstrar agendas secretas (quanto nós somos bons, ou estamos bem de vida, ou merecemos ganhar com valor igual ou superior).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Não podemos dar o que não temos, embora devamos sempre dar além do que achamos que podemos fazer! Da mesma forma, não podemos “contar com” presentes prometidos, antes que sejam dados nem ficar decepcionados quando não se materializam. Uma amiga que contava com um presente em dinheiro gastou de antemão o prometido — que não veio — e lhe restaram apenas dívidas pesadas e sentimentos feridos.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Use de criatividade em vez de gastar o que não tem para impressionar! Não podemos deixar que uma lista de Natal nos escravize a pagamentos de prestações. Devemos diminuir a ostentação e aumentar o carinho!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jesus curou dez leprosos, mas só um voltou para agradecer. Muitas vezes, nós recebemos, de Deus e das pessoas, presentes de infinito valor e não demonstramos gratidão. Somos indesculpáveis diante de Deus quando não o reconhecemos, não o honramos nem damos graças (Romanos 1.20, 21). Nossa gratidão às pessoas que nos presenteiam deve ser análoga à gratidão devida a Deus. O casal idoso que me deu três ovos da sua poedeira, a criança que compartilhou o chocolate da mãozinha melada, o menino que deu os lápis de cor para eu preparar o cartaz da escola bíblica — presentes humildes — os colocam no rol de gente preciosa por quem eu sempre serei grata.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Não precisamos repetir as razões para gratidão, mas em todo tempo temos de ser gratos por pequenas e grandes coisas que nos deram e fizeram. Um casal nos deu uma viagem inesquecível a Israel — não eram ricos nem estavam muito próximos — mas quando Deus lhes deu os meios, presentearam-nos com algo que amigos abastados jamais imaginariam. Outra vez, um próspero médico deu a um pastor carente o dízimo dos proventos de uma cirurgia que fez: um carro. Quando fui operada, uma irmã que ganha a vida limpando casas, fez a faxina de minha casa e ainda trouxe almoço completo para a família. Quando nos preparávamos para um evento em O Refúgio, uma amiga veio de surpresa com uma “equipe de limpeza” para nos ajudar a por o local em ordem. Um presente de preciosas horas de labor. Somos gratos por todas essas ocasiões inesquecíveis de generosidade demonstrada. Somos gratos também pelos “pequenos mimos” — um queijo ou doce trazido de longe, um conjunto de sabonetes perfumados, uma toalha de mão bordada.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Não se pode exibir pobreza como medalha nem esperar que outros tenham de ajudar. Ninguém é responsável pelo que não temos nem mesmo pelo que poderíamos ter. Por outro lado, somos responsáveis por gerenciar bem o pouco ou muito que Deus nos deu, e nisso sermos generosos! Somos mordomos porque nada que temos é realmente nosso. Temos de cuidar bem, mas manter a mão leve e aberta. </span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Se você recebeu um presente, por menor que seja, seja grato — foi de graça, por graça, graciosamente dado. Assim, também ensinamos a filhos, netos, amigos que nos cercam a demonstrar a mesma gratidão.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Na prosperidade: g</span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">enerosidade e gratidão</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Todos já imaginamos o que faríamos se, de repente, recebêssemos uma fortuna inesperada, dinheiro ou bens muito além do que hoje possuímos. Junto com a compra de casa, carro, viagens, muitas coisas que apenas sonhamos, também imaginamos ter dinheiro para doar a um hospital de câncer, uma escola que faça diferença na vida da comunidade, qualquer que seja o seu sonho filantrópico. Se eu tivesse um milhão, eu... (complete a frase com mil sonhos!). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lembro-me de que, quando criança, em nossa classe na igreja, achávamos importante depositar no ofertório as nossas moedas e notas surradas, centavos ou um cruzeiro. Certa vez, uma amiguinha veio com uma nota de dez cruzeiros, novinha em folha, e mostrou-nos o quanto ela iria dar, deixando-nos verdes de inveja. Ela mereceria sentar bem na frente, quando chamada a apresentar o versículo decorado? Tiago era irmão de Jesus e com certeza sabia o que era ter um parente famoso e benquisto, e escreveu: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As vossas riquezas estão corruptas, e as vossas roupagens, comidas de traça; o vosso ouro e a vossa prata foram gastos de ferrugens, e a sua ferrugem há de ser por testemunho contra vós mesmos e há de devorar, como fogo, as vossas carnes. Tesouros acumulastes nos últimos dias. Eis que o salário dos trabalhadores que ceifaram os vossos campos e que por vós foi retido com fraude está clamando; e os clamores dos ceifeiros penetraram até aos ouvidos do Senhor dos Exércitos. Tendes vivido regaladamente sobre a terra; tendes vivido nos prazeres; tendes engordado o vosso coração, em dia de matança; tendes condenado e matado o justo, sem que ele vos faça resistência (Tg 4.2-6).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">E Paulo lembrou a seu filho na fé, Timóteo:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Exorta aos ricos do presente século que não sejam orgulhosos, nem depositem a sua esperança na instabilidade da riqueza, mas em Deus, que tudo nos proporciona ricamente para nosso aprazimento; que pratiquem o bem, sejam ricos de boas obras, generosos em dar e prontos a repartir; que acumulem para si mesmos tesouros, sólido fundamento para o futuro, a fim de se apoderarem da verdadeira vida (1 Timóteo 6.17-19).</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Na galeria da fé, há menção de gente muito rica, como Abraão, José (da cova, escravatura, falsas acusações e prisão, a governador do Egito), Salomão, bem como outros, extremamente pobres. A condição financeira dos servos de Deus jamais indicou maior ou menor bênção e proximidade de Deus. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No cotidiano cristão, temos contato com gente de posses que tem ajudado a muitos, especialmente na igreja, e gente paupérrima igualmente importantíssima no Reino de Deus. E quando pensamos em presentear ou receber presentes por ocasião do Natal, aniversários, casamentos, qualquer que seja a data, temos de entender a abundante riqueza e a imensa pobreza, nossa e a nossa volta. Deus permite que tenhamos bens, mas proíbe que sejamos orgulhosos ou que coloquemos esperança na instabilidade da riqueza. Deus permite que estejamos pobres, mas lembra-nos que somos “ricos em fé e herdeiros do reino que ele prometeu aos que o amam” (Tiago 2.5). Conhecemos “a graça de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, que, sendo rico, se fez pobre por amor de nós, para que, pela sua pobreza, nos tornássemos ricos” (2 Coríntios 8.9).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A geração de meus pais e avós era econômica, às vezes <i>muquinha</i>, por medo de sofrer de novo as carências da Grande Depressão ou da 2</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">a</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">. Guerra que lhes tirou tudo. Uma amiga conta que o avô não admitia a qualquer membro da família que guardasse dinheiro separado dele, o qual tudo controlava, guardando no banco “para garantir a sobrevivência da família”. Temos todos lendas familiares sobre dinheiro guardado, fortuna desperdiçada, tesouros escondidos e privações reveladas. As gerações atuais, muitas vezes, são perdulárias, pródigas, sem pensar em economia; vivem gastos acima dos ganhos, ostentam, como “essenciais” à própria vida, coisas que nossos antepassados mais ricos sequer imaginavam. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Nesse clima de comprar “porque mereço”, de consumir sempre mais e melhor do que o próximo, é que tentamos conviver com a ética protestante em que fomos educados. Somos levados na enchente pelos mesmos três aspectos em que grandes servos de Deus naufragaram na fé: “a concupiscência da carne, a concupiscência dos olhos e a soberba da vida” (1 João 2.16) – e em matéria de presentear e receber, no Natal ou em outra data, esses três aspectos geralmente estão presentes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Uma pessoa que <i>enricou,</i> disse: “Tenho medo de contar o quanto eu ganho, porque, aí, todo mundo vai chover em cima de mim pedindo ajuda ou empréstimos”. Meu avô dizia que decidiu emprestar apenas o que não o prejudicasse nem magoasse caso não fosse ressarcido. Outra pessoa, que vive com uma grande legado, é extremamente solitária, temendo dar e receber, temendo amizades interesseiras.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">É difícil, à pessoa que “tem tudo”, viver num clima de gratidão constante — mas somos conclamados a fazer exatamente isso: “Em tudo dai graças” a Deus. Na humilhação e na exaltação. Na carência e na prosperidade. No “nada tendo” e no “possuindo tudo”. Quando aprendemos a viver contentes em toda situação não perguntamos: “O que é que vou ganhar?” nem mesmo “O que é que vou ter de dar?” mas: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Que darei ao Senhor por todos os seus benefícios para comigo? </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomarei o cálice da salvação e invocarei o nome do Senhor.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cumprirei os meus votos ao Senhor, na presença de todo o seu povo...</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Oferecer-te-ei sacrifícios de ações de graças e invocarei o nome do Senhor.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cumprirei os meus votos ao Senhor, na presença de todo o seu povo,</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">nos átrios da Casa do Senhor, no meio de ti, ó Jerusalém. Aleluia! (Salmos 116.12-19.)</span></blockquote>
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coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-75449791947769405672018-10-25T11:16:00.002-03:002018-10-25T11:16:51.715-03:00STICKING YOUR FEET IN YOUR MOUTH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">After baby has discovered her hands by sight, taste, observation of movement and grace, one fine day, she finds her feet. Not only can she reach and lift her feet, separately or even together, but she can bring those chubby wiggling toes to her mouth to taste their sweetness. The pleasure and surprise of feet in a little one`s mouth is almost as good as a mother`s taut nipple dripping milk on lips and tongue, or a good pacifier when she was upset and sleepy. A foot in one`s mouth can be something wonderful to munch on, since one doesn`t have sharp teeth and that foot has not been hardened by walking the ground.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But once we lose the nimbleness of a baby`s body and acquire the ability to firm our feet on the floor and, more than toddling first sweet steps, get them walking to where we want to go, our feet lose their sweetness. As they get older, they even gain dirt and calluses! That is where sticking one`s foot in one`s mouth becomes a serious disorder. Not only has the mouth developed teeth and taste for beef and potatoes as well as mother`s milk and pablum, but the feet have become nimble at getting into trouble going to and from destinations near and far. Speech is another detail we have developed and will continue to use in all our life of communication and miscommunication. So when, instead of sane and pleasant speech, we say something that gets us or someone around us into trouble, we say we stuck our foot into our mouth. It isn`t just an infantile habit – it is a grossly inappropriate use of an appendage to a limb in a clumsy, unacceptable manner. Blessed are the feet, that stand fast in adversity, that bring glad tidings, that keep us walking or running the race. Blessed is the mouth that salivates, that tastes good food, that tastes and sees that the Lord is good, the mouth that chews well, the mouth that kisses and caresses his or her beloved. But feet don`t do well in one`s mouth, nor does a mouth do well full of stinky feet!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Growing children sometimes still stick their feet in their mouths, like when I was nine and learning more facts of life, and asked a friend`s obese grandmother when her baby was due. Adolescents are notorious for sticking their feet in their mouths and thinking they are oh! So awesome! But when you or I are reasonable adults, we must take care with our words lest they do less or more than communicate grace and love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Some “foot in mouth” blunders people close to me (or even I myself!) have committed:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Saying “we look forward to your presents” (in lieu of presence) when inviting someone to their wedding</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Mentioning “your father’s first wife” to someone whose parents have been together for more than fifty years</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">How are you dealing with your Inability to hold down a job? Alcoholism? Drug dependency? Dementia? Depression? Or name it – whatever problem, although firmly denied, looms greatly over their lives </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Asking how the lovers’ family is getting along, to someone who doesn`t know (or refuses to admit) the other person’s infidelity?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Questioning someone’s spiritual (sexual, financial, academic) life</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Mentioning uncomfortable situations or “giving advice” when not asked for </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Foot and mouth disease is a physical ailment that can be treated with antibiotics. But the displeasure of sticking one’s foot into one’s mouth hurts the body that attempts it, the body that hears or sees the effects of the feat, and everybody around, both near and far. Jesus said that our mouths speak what fills our hearts (“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” – Mat 12:34). His brother James affirmed: “… the tongue is a fire” (cf. James 3:5-18). His disciple born out of season, Paul, vividly described the situation: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (cf. Romans 7:24-25.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hope to not have to learn through the school of hard knocks (another cliché worth dissecting in a future blog) how to guard my mouth and through it commend knowledge and with gentle tongue be a tree of life (cf. Prov 15:2-4). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
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coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-60753024412290128732017-12-02T12:19:00.002-02:002017-12-02T12:19:26.315-02:00HANDS AND NAILS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>A</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">fter a week full of hands-on activities, I had my nails done for the first time in ages. My hands are somewhat calloused and always aching, and I do not have the delicate pianist fingers of my daughter Deborah or my daughter-in-law Adriana. I had finished a translation and decided to get some major yard work done: weeding and re-planting my vegetable garden and planting flowers all over our Eden. Have two pairs of garden gloves sent by my son from Japan, but I am a hands-on, get the dirt under your nails kind of gardener, no matter how much I know it won`t be a neat job to get them clean. That sort explains the callouses. The aching is due to constant arthrosis, and when these hands don`t ache, they tingle, reminding me that I`d better see an angiologist soon – can`t ignore bad circulation forever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other activity I enjoy to get my hands working well is making bread. Kneading is very good exercise, they say, and last Saturday`s batch of rolls didn`t make it to the table for our community Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone who came into my kitchen to help get stuff ready came out of with a hot roll or two. Four baking sheets of rolls disappeared, and my husband didn`t even have a chance to try one! So today I baked for him alone: one baking sheet of rolls, one loaf, and one sheet of esfihas (bread stuffed with lemon and mint-flavored meat) though I am freezing half the esfihas for another day. Since I was in the kitchen and the ideas were boiling over, I made stuffed peppers to freeze for later, beef parmegiana for lunch and to freeze for another occasion, doce de abóbora (squash), sagu de vinho (red wine tapioca pudding), started on tomorrow`s feijoada and cleaned my fridge in the middle of the mess. I have to admit I am not a very organized cook, and am glad that tomorrow my cleaning lady will be here to finish off what I didn`t get done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to my hands. Adriana was going to town and asked if I wanted to go with her. Besides being tired, my feet were a mess and I thought it would be relaxing to have long overdue podologist see (i.e., treat) those tired feet. They could do my feet at one o`clock (forty-five minutes from the time I called, and would I like to do my (hand) nails too?) Why not – I could use a little pampering – so I rushed Lau through lunch, ran in and out of the shower, and was off with my daughter-in-law to an hour or so of luxury. While waiting to be attended, I checked out the colors. Never in my sixty-nine years of life have I chosen anything more daring than pink, nude or an occasional red for nails – but a luminous royal blue nail polish beckoned and I heard its exaggerated siren`s call. Nothing (short of long treatment with a dermatologist) can be done for my speckled skin on hands and arms, but the terminals sure look pretty and are a perfect match for the blouse I plan to wear to church on Sunday. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After a long winter without posting in my Garland blog, I am writing something apparently superficial and certainly not life-changing about getting my nails done in royal blue. On a day celebrating theologians, instead of writing on deep issues of life applied to daily living (Bible is definitely practical theology and I love it!) I decided to pamper my feet and color the tips of my hands royally. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course that made me think of the many Biblical metaphors on hands. First, God`s hands – a God who made the world by His hands, who has the tiny little baby and our personal universe as well as aeons of prehistorical, distant past, present chaos and apocalyptical times all in the hollow of His hands. He is a personal God who made me a person and put me in a community of millions of unique individuals, and promised to guide me to the end of my days and beyond. He takes me by the hand and leads me through valleys and higher places (Psalms 31:15; 119:73; 139:10; Isaiah 42:6 ). Jesus said that He gives everlasting life and “no one will pluck us out of His hands” (John 10:28). We rejoice because God holds us in His hands -- though everything around us is shattered, torn asunder and ground to smithereens – I shall not be moved. Yet I am moved, because He gave us hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My own hands are not metaphors – they are mini-analogies to the greatness of a creative, ever acting God who does not slumber and is mighty to save. Wisdom says that the righteous “open their hands to the afflicted” (Proverbs 31:10) and whatever we have to do has to be done “with all our might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). “Whatever we do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him,” Colossians 3:17). God has put His signet ring on our clumsy fingers and makes it possible for us to do His work on our weeping planet! For this reason, men and women lift holy hands in prayer and godliness with good works (1 Tim 2:8, 10). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">God incarnate was the Word from the beginning of time and spoke the world into existence. He came into a world that did not welcome him, and gave himself so we might become His body. Head and hands are always joined, because analogously, we do with our hands that which first comes from our heart and head – and our Lord gave up His throne to have his body broken and hands pierced by rough nails:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">See from his head, his hands, his feet</span><span style="font-size: large;">Sorrow and blood flow mingled down.</span><span style="font-size: large;">Did e’er such love and sorrow meet</span><span style="font-size: large;">Or thorns compose so rich a crown?</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our hands are not vital organs like heart and lungs, nor do they go long distances by themselves – they have to be connected to the rest of the body. But we would be severely handicapped without them. Though we use hundreds of word-figures for our hands (handyman, ask for one’s hand, give me a hand, hands-on, handmaid, hands off) they all work in connection with the head. Our lives are changed by things that are nailed: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">– Christ nailed to the cross for our sins, resurrected from the grave for our justification, lifted high as He ascended to heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father </span><span style="font-size: large;">– the words of the wise (like goads and like nails firmly fixed given by one Shepherd, Ecclesiastes 12:11)</span><span style="font-size: large;">– historical events like the nailing of 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg cathedral in 1517.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">But the color or shape or even physical condition of my insignificant nails has nothing to do with all of this. Sllly things like what they did to my nails do raise significant details on life and being, making me ponder on more than the condition of my hands and feet. So yeah to my royal blue fingertips, because they are just a tip of the iceberg of life as it is and as it should be coram deo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
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coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-85721583413812677502017-09-05T14:21:00.000-03:002017-09-05T14:21:34.443-03:00HYLA DOC -- I-lu p’ing-an <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Yesterday two books arrived for me at the post office. I think my aunt Cindy has been sharing books with me since I, first-born niece of the youngest daughter of the Stowell family, went with my parents to Brazil, was born. These books are biographies of a legendary great-aunt, Hyla Doc, who was medical missionary in China until Americans were expelled in 1949, and then went to Liberia in 1950 until the mission board forced her retirement at age 67 and she crossed Africa and Egypt into Israel, to “retire” in Tupper Lake, New York, where she practiced medicine and gave speeches almost until age 87, when she was urged to consider her age and the hazards of remaining in practice as lawsuits became more popular. This moment coincided with the easing of restrictions on travel to China, so she sold her car and used the money to go once more to China to renew old friendships and lecture to students at the new medical college connected to WuHu hospital. She was a born storyteller, and when the friend who collected and compiled her story commented with the ancient medical missionary that hers was an impressive story, she retorted, “What impresses me is that it is the story of the goodness of God”. Through all the griefs and hardships and challenges of her life, Hyla Doc voiced a constant thanks to God for the loveliness of the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I knew “great grandcousin Hyla” became a doctor in an age when most women, if they went to college, were denied such a strenuous education. She earned her MD from Cornell University in 1921 (the year my mother was born!), one o six women in the class of thirty-six, and interned at Belleview Hospital in New York City, and then Morristown, New Jersey, before going to London to specialize in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene by the Royal College of Surgeons and Royal College of Physicians of England. While at Belleview she wrote:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> I stand by the side of a current</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> That’s deeper by far than the sea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> And storm-beaten craft of every drought</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Come in to be healed by me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> But some have more sins than fever,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> And some have more grief than pain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> God help me make whole both body and soul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Before they go out again.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“The years of Hyla Doc’s career in China all fell within this turbulent transitional period between the downfall of the Ch’ing dynasty in 1912, and the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949” . She was chief surgeon at the then new Wuhu General Hospital, which stands on the banks of the Yangtze. Damaged almost to destruction by occupying Japanese troops during the Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945) and again during the Cultural Revolution after 1966, Wuhu I-chi-shan Hospital has now (1991) grown to seven hundred beds. It is the teaching hospital for Women’s Medical College, the leading Anwhei province medical school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> On one of her visits to New England around 1933, Cousin Hyla gave my mother, Carolyn Stowell, then a twelve year old, a cotton Chinese dress which is in my closet. Today, over 85 years later, my youngest son and his family are missionaries in Japan, and he gave me two Japanese kimonos (quite different from that Chinese tunic) which remind us of a continuum in world missions in our family, but also in God’s people over the centuries. I discovered in reading Hyla’s story – that my grandfather’s family of Puritan and Huguenot stock, “were strict, law-abiding people, but in one thing they broke the law of the land. Their farm was one of the stations on the underground railway, and all but the youngest children took part in helping slaves escape up to Canada.” And Franklin and Louise Stowell’s home was open to a young stowaway Jo Nishima (1843-1890) who came to spend vacations at their farm and told the Stowells that his great dream was to go back to Japan to set up schools like those in America. Long after, in Japan, Ada Stowell (Hyla’s mother) was honored as a friend of the founder of a school in Kyoto: Doshisha University (Dr. Niishima Jo was a celebrated Japanese educator who received his B.S. from Amherst and was ordained a Congregational minister).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> So Hyla’s grandparents (my great-grandparents) also gave haven to a Japanese samurai and stowaway, who became one of the greatest educators and founder of the Doshisha University in Japan, where today in the 21st century, my Brazilian son Daniel Charles Gomes, a missionary to Japan, is pursuing his PhD!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Among hundreds of births, Doctor Hyla delivered Helen Priscilla Stam, daughter of John and Betty, missionaries with the China Inland Mission (known today as Overseas Missionary Fellowship), in Tsingteh. “In December 1934 a Red Army swooped down on Tsingteh where they killed most of the officials and well-to-do citizens… including John and Betty. They debated sparing the life of the baby, when a townsman stepped out of the crowd and offered his life for hers. For a day and a half, Helen Priscilla cried alone in a deserted house, unfed, uncared for, unharmed, but no one dared go near. A colporteur named Lo had also been taken, then released… [he and his wife] gathered the broken bodies and the baby, and made their anxious way to Wuhu. We found Helen Priscila healthy and unharmed, and buried her parents in our small cemetery.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> On a lighter vein: “One afternoon a patient appeared with outstanding ears. They really stood out like the ears of a dear. He asked, ‘Are you Hua I-sheng?’ I said ‘Yes,’ and he said ‘I’ve come to see if you would operate on my ears and lay them flat on my head.’ “I said, ‘Yes, we can do that. There’s not much going on today; I’ll operate on one this afternoon.’ ’How did you know to come here to have it done?’.... ‘I went to the clinic and registered, and they gave me a stick with a number and told me to sit down and wait until my number was called I went into another room and Jesus was standing there. He was a tall man (Dr.Loren Morgan), a foreigner, but he had a mouthful of Chinese words, so I asked him if he could operate my ears and lay them flat. He said, ‘You go up to I-chi-san Hospital Hua I-sheng and she’ll make them flat for you.’…‘So I sent for the Bible-woman and said, ‘Mrs Chao, I am operating on this man, and he wants to know about Jesus… After a week, I took out the stitches and started on the other ear, and he said, ‘Please make this one much flatter than the other one, so I did… He came back often, and one day her brought his wife with him, and their nine-year-old son. I had heard him speak of his son and knew he thought a great deal of him. He said to me, ‘My wife and I are very grateful to you, and we have brought our boy to be your boy. Where you live he will live. Where you go he will go’. I tried to think how I would get along with a nine-year-old boy to look, ‘You know, I work in the hospital every day, and how would I ever be able to take care of a boy? Besides, there is a proverb you have that says a child should grow up before the face of his father and mother. I think the proverb is right, and the bet thing for him is to stay with you. I appreciate the honor, but truly think you had better keep the boy youselves.’ They were pleased and went off with broad smiles, taking the boy with them. Someone suggested that the Bible Woman may have told them the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> They are fascinating tales of exotic adventure, but it is obvious that the stories of sacrifice and suffering are much more that good story-telling. The blending of lives given in love for the Lord Jesus and for His people permeate every page. today give great importance to “right doctrine” or what today is known as “political correctness”, (and I agree with the emphasis), missionaries such as cousin Hyla Doc did not enter any battle to impose their way of thinking, but served with intense and matter-of-fact love. I am amazed at the weaving in and out of numerous lives of valiant servants who preceded our lives with grace and truth, and touched our being with their being. The battles were all wrought in heavenly places for the furthering of the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace. This tradition comes though many centuries – Saint Thomas, Jesus’ doubting disciple, went on to minister in India, and the Chinese say he evangelized China in the first century AD!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Reading old missionary stories, one remembers that the mission did not belong to this or that group, nor was it founded, implemented or enhanced by human merit – it is the mission of God through human lives, toward other human beings who, whatever their nation or color or culture, are part of the same world God loved, and invites us to learn to love.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Hyla died at age 94 and on her stone are carved in Chinese characters the words with which she always said farewell to her friends: <i>I-lu p’ing-an</i> (May you have a peacefull journey all the way).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
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coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-2606014954781145292017-06-19T11:06:00.000-03:002017-06-19T11:11:01.418-03:00LIFE IN JAPAN,<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">By Ruth Gomes, age 13.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ruth is our granddaughter who lives in Japan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">with her pastor missionary dad and family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Depression is something "common" in Japan. Due to the difficulty in learning the Japanese language, many Brazilians have been here a long time and still don`t know how to communicate. Many people feel abandoned... this happens, not only with Brazilians, but also with the Japanese. Japan is such a sophisticated country, but many people do not know God and do not have real joy that is found only in Jesus Christ. Many Brazilians who are here are factory workers; few finish middle school and they end up losing a good notion of things, to the point that many of those Brazilians who study in Japanese schools are illiterate in both languages.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Many Brazilians living here do not care about religion and such things. Once, talking to a Brazilian kid in school, I mentioned that I go to church every Sunday, and he said that that is a waste of time. How can someone say that worshipping God is a waste of our time?! Today, in Japan, less than 1% of the population is Christian, and that It is quite normal for a person to be born a Shintoist because that is beautiful, grow as a Buddhist because it`s good for you, get married in a “Christian” church because the wedding ceremony is pompous, and die in Shintoism. Often we see buildings in the form of Christian churches, made just for weddings. The number of Shintoist and Buddhist temples in town is incredible; temples are on the streets and altars in every home.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Japanese are very supersticious. The number 4 in Japanese is shi, which also means death. So, in many buildings there are no apartments with the number 4, nor is there a fourth floor. Japanese legends are quite peculiar, and in almost all of them these is an onique. Onique is the Japanese demon; according to the legend, usually he arrives and tries to drag the person into the underworld. Therefore, one of the rituals in festivals is to chase this demon away. For this, they hang the koinobori, which is a fish made of cloth hung outside the house. The number of koinoboris hanging outdoors varies according to the number of people who live indoors in the house.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Japanese language has three different alphabets: hiragana, katakana and kanji. O Hiragana is used to write normal Japanese words; Katakana is used for foreign words, and Kanji is like drawings of the words. There are many words in Japanese that have many meanings, so the kanjis serve as drawing that explain what those words are. In school, I am learning lots of Kanjis. After you get the gist of it, they help our reading a lot and are not as difficult as they seemed to be at first.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzh0h7M14c2dUW5uKiXcdZe1mEKNQyzAfbGbcEeRKJKPQKpYk2ajsNao3zm0WiG3soLBlgZYzqLKWB-IzoC8DNRsilGtBPiAHP-cXThWPX1BUcgpHTAxl0HxwBuXk5sqglNF93D4EzfCB/s1600/Ruth+formatura.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="200" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzh0h7M14c2dUW5uKiXcdZe1mEKNQyzAfbGbcEeRKJKPQKpYk2ajsNao3zm0WiG3soLBlgZYzqLKWB-IzoC8DNRsilGtBPiAHP-cXThWPX1BUcgpHTAxl0HxwBuXk5sqglNF93D4EzfCB/s320/Ruth+formatura.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shougakku graduation, April 17, 2017</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Japanese School system consists of three different schools, the first goes from First to Sixth grade: (shougakku). After you graduate from that, you go to another school from 7th to 9th grade (shyugakkou). After that, there is another graduation and they go to middle school (high school) from First through Third Grade (koukou). After that, few people go on to university (daigakkou). In Japanese school there are many subjects we do no have in Brazil, as, for example, home economics, which teaches how to sew, clean and arrange the home, and cook. From first grade on, the school lunch is prepared in separate buildings and then distributed to the regional school, given out from classroom to classroom with traycarts, dishes and silverware. Usually lunch is rice, a soup or curry, salad and some kind of meat, many times fish, and sometimes they give you fruit or gelatine, and 250ml boxes of milk for each student. Meals are made one per student, and we are not allowed to throw anything away – if you got it, you eat it. Usually the food is very good, but some days I have to drink a sip of milk at each bite of food for it to get down. On days when some classmate misses school, we play “stone, paper our scissors”, and the winner gets the milk or whatever he or she wants from menu. There is also a class about how to make Japanese tea, and how to serve and drink it. From 7th to 9th grade students must participate in extracurricular activities in school, such as kendô, judô or other sports, music, computer science, and several others. These activities exist to improve working in groups and so students can get to know each other better.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I stay in school from 8:00 AM until about 6:00 PM. When I get home, I need to rest a little, take a bath and do my homework. It is a very is busy day. I am still having a little trouble because there are many words I still haven’t learned, and so sometimes I don’t understand the teachers’ explanations well. I also have trouble with some rules the school requires of the students, like having to tie your hair up at a certain height, you can’t pain your nails r use any kind of makeup, and no earrings. Girls donot have pierced ears and are surprised when I tell them that in Brazil my age mothers Pierce their daughters’ ears when they are still babies. For them, pierced ears are a sign of rebellion. One day I went to school wearing nail polish (I had used a really light pink polish over the weekend and forgot to take it off!). They took me to a different room and gave me acetone polish remover and told me clean my nails, and watched while I did it. The uniform is exactly alike for every girl, and the teachers measure the length of our skirts, that have to be below our knees, almost reaching the white socks that we have to wear.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I like in living in Japan, but miss my relatives and my home in Brazil. Sometimes I even cry from nostalgia. It is difficult to make friends with Japanese girls because I am so different from them in my appearance and way of being. Many classmates think I AM furiô (a rebellious person) because they think I dye my hair (which I do not do), I have pierced ears, and like to talk a lot. Besides, everyone know that I am a Christian, because I can’t stand to be quiet when they are teaching stuff like evolution or about many gods.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"> I want everyone at school to know that there is only one God and only one way for salvation and fredom from depression and worry. May God help me giving me patience to do this!</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-36454554969068498482017-03-15T14:22:00.001-03:002017-03-17T20:05:39.359-03:00PURIM! PURIM!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNQdrzZJ3FexF5Pv-dY3eUfrcqF20HlAkI0rfLki5sN1JEsxi8deqa3VVVy4RHbgL0vwLjRfyCaRfF7KpJhmBrCFTD0a68XIOKqEL_1Y7j9j-fly3ijwyha-myBm2frfdztCuXe-4IZzN/s1600/Esther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNQdrzZJ3FexF5Pv-dY3eUfrcqF20HlAkI0rfLki5sN1JEsxi8deqa3VVVy4RHbgL0vwLjRfyCaRfF7KpJhmBrCFTD0a68XIOKqEL_1Y7j9j-fly3ijwyha-myBm2frfdztCuXe-4IZzN/s400/Esther.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recently,
Jews all over the world celebrated Purim. My memories of Purim are a photo of
my Israeli friend Orah Breitbart in Japanese costume, when I was about
fourteen, and my receiving a generous gift of <i>hamentaschen </i>from a Jewish library patron when I worked at the
Elkins Park Library in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Pennsylvania</st1:state></st1:place>
in my forties. But the biblical story of Esther has always intrigued me, and I
considered writing a book that blended the 483 b.C. history of Xerxes’
(Ahasarus) Persia and its Jewish immigrants with the Twentieth Century stories
of Iran that once was a modern shahdom before being engulfed in dominion of
Muslim ayatollahs’. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Persepolis</st1:place></st1:city>
(both the idea and the touchingly narrated and illustrated story of a Persian
childhood by Marjare Sartori) impressed me with the idea of women living under
the threat of annhillation, and drove me back to the biblical narrative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I
have a British-American friend, daughter of a Muslim Iranian businessman, who
lived in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>
until the Islamic coup that ousted the Shah and put their land eight hundred
years back in time. She is totally an American citizen and evangelical pastor’s
wife, with whom I share life’s tidbits and the workings of God’s grace in our
pilgrim lives. A lover of history, I always have sought links between Biblical
facts and current events. So, for me, the book of Esther is not disassociated
from things that still happen in the world that impact and change history as
well as God’s saving His people in the <i>chiaro-scuro</i>
days of Diaspora.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The
Megilla depicts God’s grace and intervention without once mentioning His holy
name. Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Haggiai and Malachi all cover the 70
years captivity (as well as parts of Isaiah and Jeremiah), and the story of
Esther happened in Shushan while Ezra was leading the return of Jews to rebuild
the temple. We don’t know what took the lives of Hadassah’s parents, but we do
know she was an orphan, raised by her cousin Mordechai, who was of Benjamite
royal lineage from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Judah</st1:country-region>
(say, like Saul, Jonathan, and Mephiboseth long before Jair, and may have been
brought to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">land</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Medes</st1:placename></st1:place> and Persians by
the Babylonian Nebucchodnezzar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The
festival which celebrates the outcome of the story has several customs — the
sending of gifts to family and friends, celebration and merrymaking, wearing of
costumes. This is <span style="background: white; color: #252525;">a way of
emulating God who "disguised" his presence behind the natural events
described in the Purim story, and has remained concealed —yet ever-present — in
Jewish history since the times of the destruction of the first <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>. Charity is a central feature of the
day, when givers and recipients disguise themselves this allows greater
anonymity thus preserving the dignity of the recipient. The Persian Exile
alludes to hidden aspects of the miracle of Purim which was
"disguised" by natural events.</span> The
story begins in with Ahasurus’ banquet in Shushan to show off the riches and
glory of his kingdom that reached from <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>
to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Queen Vashti (according to some Talmudic scholars, daughter of Belshazar and
granddaughter of Nebocodnezar,) hosted a banquet for the noble women of the
land. Some Bible teachers use the fact that she refused to display her beauty
before the drunken king and his guests is a teaching on modesty, while others
use the fact that she defied the king’s order as an affirmation of
fifth-century feminism—I prefer to think of it in terms of the facts: she
refused to obey her wine-imbibed show off husband and, and like the wife of any
tyrant, consequently was deposed. It then became law: every woman shall honor
her husband and every man <i>is</i> lord of his own household, and had
the right to speak his own language (Esther 1:20-22).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When
the king’s rage was spent, a new proclamation went throughout the land: a
beauty pageant was planned and all the most beautiful virgins were now
candidates to the queen’s position. If anyone thinks this is the ideal way to
find a husband, confound him or her—it’s an ancient pagan method of choice,
with no thought for integrity. But God was working in the shadows, and there
was a Jewish man of character in the palace, Mordecai, who suggested his
adopted lovely daughter be candidate. After a year of intense preparation under
the auspices of Hegai, the chief guard and beauty advisor, Esther was presented
to the king and immediately chosen as wife and crowned as queen. Her cousin
told her to keep her Jewish identity secret. Tradition has it that she ate only
fruits and nuts because kosher food was unavailable in the palace (maybe like
Daniel and his friends (Dn 1.5-16).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Graceful Esther was given a banquet in her
honor for princes and their servants and the other virgins who had participated
at her installation in the royal house. Genorosity and gifts were the order of
the day, and once again, Mordecai sat at the king’s gate. While there, he
discovered a plot to murder the king, and told Esther, who revealed it to the
king. The incident resulted in the hanging of Bigdan and Teres, and was
recorded in the historical chronicles of the Persian kingdom. Nothing more was
said about it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, enter the villain prime minister
Haman, to whom all but Mordecai bowed down. Haman took his irritation at the
personal slight to a national level, and decided to do something to end not
only Mordecai but all the Jews of the land. Anti-semitism resurges over the
centuries and is always never discreet, but virulent, comparable to Nazi
Germany’s plans to eliminate the Jews in the 20th century. A great sum of money
was promised to the king, the document was written, signed with Ahasarus’ seal,
translated into every language of the kingdom and distributed by couriers
throughout the country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mordecai heard of the edict and received
documentation, and so did Esther. Jews throughout the land mourned, fasted and
prayed, wearing sackcloth and ashes. Mordecai reminded Esther, “Don’t think you
will escape just because you live in the palace. If you are silent, help and
relief for the Jews will come from somewhere else, but you and your father’s
house will perish. <i>Who knows if you have
come to the kingdom for such a time as this</i>?” (Esther 4:13,14). Esther sent
word to her protector asking that he convoke all Jews in Shusan to fast and
pray for her; meanwhile, she will do the same and go to the king. “If I perish,
I perish.” After three days, she put on
her royal robes and went to the inner patio in front of the king’s room.
Delighted with her presence, the king stretched out his royal scepter asked her
what she wanted, promising he would give up to half his kingdom if she so
wished.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No, just give me the pleasure of coming to a
banquet I have prepared for you. Bring Haman with you.” It was done, and after
the banquet, Haman bragged to his family how the queen had honored him inviting
him to accompany the king. “But I won’t be satisfied while Mordecai is still at
the king’s gate”, to which Zeres suggested, “Then prepare a scaffold to hang
him!”— which he did.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the King’s insomnia suggested a sure sleep-provoker—having
them read to him the boring chronicles of the history of his kingdom. “What
honor was given to Mordecai for uncovering the plot against my life?” he asked.
“Nothing happened.” Next morning Haman was in his patio and he turned to him
and asked, “What should be done to the man the king wishes to honor?”
Conceited, self-involved Haman thought surely he would be the man, and
counseled the king to have him clothed with kingly garb and crown, riding the
king’s horse, with someone going before him and proclaiming, “Thus shall be
honored the man the king wishes to honor!” “Then go do it — don’t omit a single
detail — to Mordecai!” Crestfallen, the prime minister obeyed and paraded and
honored his arch-enemy, then ran home to tell his family. While they were
thinking of these things, the king’s emissaries can to fetch Haman to the
queen’s second banquet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">This time, while they were wined and dined, the king insisted on asking
what was on Esther’s mind, and she told him that she and her people were to be
destroyed and killed. “Who would do such a thing?” asked the king without a
clue. She begged for her life, revealing, “This man, this oppressor, this enemy
is the evil Haman!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Power was stripped from Haman and given to Mordecai; Haman’s property
was given to Esther, but the laws of the Medes and Persians could not be
revoked, so a new law, giving the Jews permission to defend themselves and kill
their attackers was proclaimed. Purim was made a day of banqueting and joy, of
sending gifts and finding respite, and giving generously to the poor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i>For such a time as this</i>, an orphan Jewess became queen of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Persia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
saved her people from extermination. It was all written in a book. Mordecai
became second after king Ahasarus, and great among the Jews, esteemed by the
multitude of his brethren, seeking the well-being of his people, and
proclaiming prosperity for all his descendants (Esther 9:32; 10:3).</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-58719319275614186122016-12-01T17:17:00.001-02:002016-12-01T17:19:58.674-02:00FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Fe1C-x-RF-UEBXahAvsXfckMph3qIVofUVopesmPFMh4phm_4HPdDe1pkkv9g_crl8su7kAizwZ5zNhsFJjuSgUxhOor_da-bUewgpjRwxU36Y2gFtYLup7jWx20NR7zVWdCroDlgMQJ/s1600/Deborah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Fe1C-x-RF-UEBXahAvsXfckMph3qIVofUVopesmPFMh4phm_4HPdDe1pkkv9g_crl8su7kAizwZ5zNhsFJjuSgUxhOor_da-bUewgpjRwxU36Y2gFtYLup7jWx20NR7zVWdCroDlgMQJ/s400/Deborah.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h1 align="center" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: large;">The last few days, Brazil has seen moments of suffering and pain on several fronts. On the way to the South American championship, the rising Chapecoense team, along with journalists and others who accompanied them, was wiped out in an airplane crash. While Brazilians were reeling with grief over the death of their idols, in the silence of the night, Congress passed laws with tremendous consequences for the future: one curtailing the action of justices in investigating and judging dishonest politicians, thus guaranteeing that the attitude and actions of “I`ll do as I pleases” continue in this Wild West; and the other, permitting, “no questions asked” abortions until end of first three months of gestation.</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In <st1:state w:st="on">Ohio</st1:state>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
once again gunshots felled college students, spreading terror and confirming
that no one is safe anywhere! All over the world we hear of tragedies—some
refugees drowning, dumped at sea, situations so terrible that they are
unthinkable, on their way to “freedom”—and we would rather not hear any more
about it. We also hear of people who, in compassion, take in refugees and are
permanently hurt by them, as has happened repeatedly in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> and
other European countries, by Muslim “refugees” who rape and kill their
benefactors whom they deem “infidels”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Cuban
dictator’s ashes are being carried around the beautiful island country that he
ruled with terror and deprivation since he ousted Batista (another dictator) in
1959. I remember as a fifth grader, my classmate telling me that her father, an
officer in the US Army, was hopeful that the new revolutionaries would make
Cuba paradise on earth—but he got suspicious of their intentions when seeing
evidences of their Godlessness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recently I
watched three historical movies, and though I realize that fiction permeates
the stories we read or watch, have to admit that history moves my present,
giving both hope and confirming some despair at prospects of future grief. Over
the past year, several of God’s servants whom we knew and loved were “promoted”
to heaven, and their families and churches still feel pain, though they know
the Lord and trust in Him. Recently a beloved pastor-teacher who taught me and
Lau since the beginning of our ministry, Dr. Russell Shedd, died.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Also recently,
I heard a person I love express hope in the midst of a hopeless situation in
which I can do nothing but pray for her, and remembered the many times in the
history of the world, in the history of God`s people, and in my personal
history, in which God intervened in direct answer to prayer. A sovereign God
always knows what is, what was and what shall be—YWEH is the I AM from
beginning to end, even if without a beginning and in ever in eternity. Both in
historical past and more recently, we have witnessed God’s presence in midst of
trials. One must return to the Word of God whenever <i>always and recently</i> perturb our <i>present
</i>time. Jeremiah had his fill of persecution, suffering and affliction. He
said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My soul is
bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I say,
“My endurance has perished; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So has my hope from the
Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Remember my affliction
and my wanderings, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">the wormwood and the
gall!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My soul
continually remembers it<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and is
bowed down within me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;">BUT this I
call to mind, and therefore I have hope:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">His mercies never come to an end, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They are new every morning;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Great is your faithfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Lord
is my portion, says my soul,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Therefore
I will hope in Him.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> (Lamentations
3:17-24) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">God is
sovereign in time and eternity, but whether in recent or distant past, or soon
or someday future, we have opportunities to do, for our own good, and the good
of our fellow human, what is required of us: fear and love God, walk in His way
s, serve him with all our heart and soul, keep His commandments and statutes
(Deuteronomy 10:12-13). That is why, over the ages, heroes rise. I was thinking
of two women heroes, one a prophetess-judge,
the other a foreign princess married to a heathen despot king. Both
dared change history even if it killed them. Read the narrative of the
situation after Deborah had been judging <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> under her palm tree for
twenty years: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> cried out to the Lord for help, for he
had 900 chariots of iron ad he oppressed the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> cruelly
for twenty years. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> at that
time… “Up! For this is the day which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand.
Does not the Lord go out before you?”(Judges 4:14)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Mordecai informed his niece of the political situation
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Persia</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
he challenged her to act:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For if you keep silent
at this time, relief and deliverance will rise from another place, but you and
your father’s house will perish. And <i>who
knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as </i><i>this?
... </i><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: large;">“if I perish, I perish.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> (</span><span style="font-size: large;">Esther 4:14-16.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The beloved story of
Purim follows, where a beautiful woman, immersed and guided by the prayers of
her people, dares enter the king`s quarters and puts herself at his mercy. The
God of history had placed her in a strategic place at a strategic time, and she
was willing to change the situation even if it killed her. It was for such a
time as that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are spectators in
this wonderful, wicked, willful world, but we live in it, we breathe here and
are part of what we watch, what we hear, what we see. There are many things in
which our hands are tied and we are merely weak witnesses. But if there is
something we can do to change situations where we are, none of us is immune,
none can say, “there is nothing I can do!” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What is required of us, God`s
servants? Only “that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). To a Great
and faithful God, we are small and our abilities are few and weak. Where have
you been recently? Where are you now? Where will you be ten years from now? Francis
Schaeffer reminded us that there are no little people. The Koheleth wrote:
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes
9:10)—for the Christian, it is not a question
of “no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol”, but “whatever you do,
in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
God the Father through him”. So: “Arise and be doing, the Lord shall be with
ye!” We are in this world for times such as this!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Elizabeth
Gomes</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-15036105387861681432016-10-13T14:55:00.000-03:002016-10-13T15:00:46.253-03:00WHERE ARE WE FROM? WHO ARE WE? WHERE ARE WE GOING?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gjcM4ZllhMxkDCK3Oxz96Tm3CTKJwjWu3ICx1Pt-yyxZvnLQrAr2bFvc0jzHfchMJmVKrUC03YFl7dS2dQMBrxiXp5o_VyAYjEImH5b8xPFmY21uIwb3UDMqQkL2LwvQYOXUemcAns1C/s1600/Gauguin+where+do+we+come.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_gjcM4ZllhMxkDCK3Oxz96Tm3CTKJwjWu3ICx1Pt-yyxZvnLQrAr2bFvc0jzHfchMJmVKrUC03YFl7dS2dQMBrxiXp5o_VyAYjEImH5b8xPFmY21uIwb3UDMqQkL2LwvQYOXUemcAns1C/s640/Gauguin+where+do+we+come.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Gauguin, <i>Where are we from</i><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: start; text-indent: 48px;">?... 1897, Boston Museun of Arts</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thinking of friends of all ages and walks
of life, many creeds and stages of belief and unbelief, people I have met or
enjoy from afar through books and writings, songs, sermons and speeches on
almost everything this planet has to offer. Many of my facebook friends are
ministers and missionaries from all corners of the earth, while others are
professionals in every walk of life: musicians and composers and poets, medical
doctors and dentists, accountants, teachers and lawyers, social workers, civil
servants and physical therapists, athletes, computer nerds and psychologists.
My good friends are often <i>just plain moms—</i>multi-tasked
wives and mothers who do everything under the sun to ensure their family’s
well-being. As for where, I have friends in Africa, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Chile</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cambodia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>, <st1:city w:st="on">Jakarta</st1:city> and
<st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Korea</st1:country-region>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Hungary</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">France</st1:place></st1:country-region> and German.
The friends whose activity strike the chords of my heart more than any other
(despite the strong second place of musicians and poets) are those who, like
me, are translators, writers, <st1:personname w:st="on">editor</st1:personname>s
and other communicators involved in producing in printed form the results of
their life and thoughts. Time and again, they make me think through the
questions in the title of this blog: Where are we from? Who are we? Where are
we going?<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">All human existence, all culture, all
dreams, all reason for being is questioned in this painting which represents
various scenes of how life goes on, from birth and childhood to death. Writing
in 1901 about that dreary time Gauguin said, “I wanted to die, and with that
state of mind, I painted it in one single stroke. I hurried to sign it and took
a formidable dose of arsenic that was probably too much; terrible suffering,
but no death came upon me...” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I
had never been attracted to Paul Gauguin. Previous impressionists like Van
Gogh, Monet, Degas and Renoir gave me an imprint of beauty in little and great
things, but Gauguin’s paintings, especially after he abandoned his family and
moved to Tahiti to “find himself” and live close to nature, free from the bonds
of the present and discover his own truth” were not the kind I would chose for
delight. For all his brilliance, Gauguin was a fool who, after he heard of the
death of his daughter, declared: “There is no God” (Psalm 14.1). Gauguin was
everywhere, in <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>, <st1:city w:st="on">Holland</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Panama</st1:country-region>,
the Antilles, travelling the world, moving his family to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Denmark</st1:place></st1:country-region> hoping
things would be better there. (In one sense they were: his wife Mette Sophie
Gad courageously took on the job of translating to support the family, while he
went away to Central America to “live like a savage” and then to Oceania and
finally <st1:place w:st="on">Tahiti</st1:place>, where he invented the world of
NoaNoa and among other paintings created his famous <i>Where from? What are we? Where are we going?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">His
questions are certainly good ones. Our origin and roots mark, influence, denote
and give meaning to the next answer: What are we? What and who we are in one
sense are in our DNA, while where we were and where we are now are constantly
changing. We are who we are (made in the image of One who declared “I am who I
am”) but we are not yet what we will be in the future. A naturalistic answer is
no real answer, however, because it remains materialistic and allows no space
for transcendence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In
a more positive vein, the Brazilian Christian poet, Gioia Junior wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where am I? I don’t know,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nor do I know from whence I come<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Where will
I later be is a mystery,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">—
But I know that he lives!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If
I know that he lives—my Savior and my King<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">—
I know that with him I have been<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> and will forever remain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If
there is a reason to motivate my faith,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This its heart and soul:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My Redeemer lives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so will I live with him!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Gioia
certainly was thinking of another poet surrounded by naysayers who lived in the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">land</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Uz</st1:placename></st1:place> and was covered by myriad questions
about life while covered with boils and abandonment: Job, blameless and upright.
Upon learning he </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">lost all sons and daughters, all his wealth and well-being, he
declared: “Naked came I from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The
Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job
1.21). God asked Satan “From where have you come?” to which he answered, “From
going to and fro on the earth”. After the inimical dialogue of friends who
blame him for the evil he has suffered, Job exclaims:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh that my words were written!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh that they were inscribed in a book!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh that with iron pen and lead<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">they were engraved in the rock forever!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For
I know that my Redeemer lives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And
at the last he will stand upon the earth,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And
after my skin has been destroyed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yet
in my flesh I shall see God, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Whom
I shall see for myself,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And
my eyes shall behold, and not another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My
heart faints within me! (Job 19:23-27)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">When
we experienced a life-threatening accident in the beginning of our ministry in
the city of Jaú, I thought I had lost my husband forever and needed to answer
my three young children’s doubts as to why their father was killed, hope dawned
when my unconscious husband murmured the words to the song Gioia Jr penned and
Decio Lauretti put to music: “Onde estou?... O meu Redentor vive, e eu também
viverei”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A
living Redeemer who gives purpose and meaning is the central theme of the
Gospel, the good news inaugurated by Jesus Christ and preached by his disciples
and apostles after his death and resurrection, through the ages, until now, and
will be proclaimed until his return. A prisoner writes with flaming pen, in
prayer “that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and
discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and
blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).
As I translate a book about the <i>Basics
for Christians</i> and write my own thoughts in lesser words and works, I am
impacted by D.A. Carson’s vision of our faith. His questions provoke me to
thinking hard about reason and motivation for being, for living, for writing,
for doing any and everything under the sun:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What
is it in the Christian faith that excites you? What consumes your time? What
turn you on?... abortion, pornography, home schooling, women’s ordination (for
or against), economic justice, a certain style of worship, the defense of a
particular Bible version, and much more... I am not suggesting that we not
think about such matters or throw our weight behind some of them. But when such
matters devour most of our time and passion, each of us must ask: In what
fashion am I confessing the centrality of the gospel?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This
is not a subtle plea for a denuded gospel, a merely privatized gospel, a gospel
without social ramifications. We wisely reread the accounts of the Evangelical
Awakening in <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> and he
Great Awakening in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
and the extraordinary ministries of Howell Harris, George Whitefield, the
Wesley brothers and others. Soundly converted men and women saw that life must
be lived under God and in a manner pleasing to him. But virtually without exception
there men and women put the gospel first... they reveled in it, preached it,
cherished Bible reading and exposition that was Christ-centered and gospel
centered, and from that base moved out into the broader social agendas. Not to
see this priority means we are not more than a generation away from denying the
gospel<a href="file:///D:/Miss%C3%A3o%20Integral%20e%20a%20centralidade%20do%20evangelho.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What
motivates me? Where do I come from? Where am I now? Where am I going? </span><span style="font-size: large;">My
original questions from a naturalist pagan who rejected the wealth of
Christianity find answers especially in the iron pen of the apostle Paul, who
said that “with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body,
whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain…(Phil
1.21) and concludes: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already
perfect, but I press on to make it my own…forgetting what lies behind, and straining
forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the upward call of
God in Christ Jesus”(Phil 3.12-14).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You
and I have a mission of proclamation—not as intellectually stimulating teachers
of the Word nor as pastors, but as redeemed human beings who have a true story
to tell—maybe like one beggar to another telling where you can find bread,
maybe like a person who lived with questions and found them answered in a
Person of full integrity and righteousness. Though we recognize the value of
writing fiction as parables, we are totally committed to proclaiming truth in
whatever genre or style we pen our thoughts. It must be the verifiable, experiential
truth of the gospel, undefiled by the dross of false motivations and mixed
conceptions (misconceptions), we denounce the lies people go after, and
proclaim truth with life and vision. We are reminded (again by <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Carson</st1:place></st1:city>) that “When Jesus denounces the
religious charlatans of his day, he ends up in grief as he looks over the city
(Matthew 23). For our part, we must not become people who denounce but do not
weep. Neither may we become people who weep but who never denounce. Too much is
at stake both ways”<a href="file:///D:/Miss%C3%A3o%20Integral%20e%20a%20centralidade%20do%20evangelho.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>. We
weep as we denounce, and denounce with tears, as we observe the questions and
answers of a hurting world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div>
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<a href="file:///D:/Miss%C3%A3o%20Integral%20e%20a%20centralidade%20do%20evangelho.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">D.A Carson, <i>Basics for Believers</i>, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Grand Rapids</st1:place></st1:city>, Baker Academic, 1997, p 27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///D:/Miss%C3%A3o%20Integral%20e%20a%20centralidade%20do%20evangelho.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>D.A.Carson, <i>Basics for Believers</i>, p. 93.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-36567890343421884312016-08-16T12:44:00.000-03:002016-08-16T12:44:17.457-03:00TRANSLATING AND COMMUNICATING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbWc3Otr7jWWIhfZCs0AzvgtHtXtNryAjGATx6QipLjKml9gtOAmSGMaNv4m9y6DazvbtavPb0v0COJozSyEKSlstKJewe7OikhVPiKF0NJ3nTkGBejG3SjEPawVpXiYFRX39_ADZafgc/s1600/A+globo+terrestre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbWc3Otr7jWWIhfZCs0AzvgtHtXtNryAjGATx6QipLjKml9gtOAmSGMaNv4m9y6DazvbtavPb0v0COJozSyEKSlstKJewe7OikhVPiKF0NJ3nTkGBejG3SjEPawVpXiYFRX39_ADZafgc/s320/A+globo+terrestre.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I`ve been thinking about friends, what we learn from them,
and how we communicate. It used to be that when friends or relatives lived far
away, writing letters was important to keep friendship alive. Phones usually
were not an option. To phone my boyfriend on Christmas 1965, we set a time when
he went to the phone company and we talked for a minute before the static cut
our conversation short. A couple of times after I was back in Brazil, we had
friends who were ham radio operators make phone patch calls to my mom in the
USA, but it was a major operation, and by the time contact was established, we
did not know what to say. Since I was a young teen, I had a score of pen pals
all over the world, as well as the habit of writing for birthdays and Christmas
to my aunts and uncles. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I began to really write letters in the year and a half I was
in the States and the love of my life was in Brazil. Writing love letters is an
altogether different category, and we have never repeated the feat once we were
together for life. Sometimes he wrote morning, noon and evening, and I followed
suit. Love letters were life and breath to me and to him. He wrote poems. I
became skilled at describing life around me and the dreams and aspirations we
shared. We not only became familiarized with each dream and family story, we
became legend, myth, plans and reality as we corresponded, putting brains and
brawn, heart and soul, into what we wrote. I returned to Brazil in June, got
engaged in August and married in December 1966. Some time after we married, Lau
declared that we should burn our letters, lest our children or strangers find
and read them. Reluctantly I joined him in putting fire them on fire—but not
before hand-copying each of the hundred and sixty-so poems he had penned in our
correspondence. I typed that collection of poems and had them bound in leather
when we had been married about ten years.
We no longer write love letters, though love is present and still
growing strong—we have the <i>presence </i>of
each other to spur, provoke, inspire, exasperate, and continually learn caring
from each other. Sometimes he or I will still write lighthearted rhymes or more
ponderous sonnets to each other, but we never phone to the other and rarely
write notes. But Lau is the first reader of anything I write, whether about
children and grandchildren or Christian life and life on this blemished planet
or candid every day actions and reactions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Back to communicating with friends and fellow-sojourners:
I`ve assumed today`s facebook as a tool to keep in touch. Some two thousand or
so between old friends from the past, some of their children and grandchildren,
and fellow friends who are writers, poets, composers, dentists and designers,
pastors and teachers and their wives, missionaries and non-religious activists,
plain people complicated by incredible stories—all my <i>facebook friends </i>are real life samplings of diversity in unity.
Some of my friends greet each day or evening with “Good morning (evening).
Aren’t you going to say good morning to me?”, or publish pictures of beautiful
flowers, children and pets, or fine porcelain teacups. I have to admit there
isn’t time to reply or “like” each friendly greeting. Can’t play each game they
propose to draw me into, or solve each puzzle people post—there’s simply no
time to lose. Some friends make
delicious <i>doces </i>and desserts; others
post their <i>churrascos</i> and family
gatherings, or the beautiful crafts they are making. There are people who post
terrible pictures of people dying of cancer or beheaded by jihadists, with the
saying: write amen if you believe God can heal them or save them all from ISIS.
I pray for the suffering church worldwide, and pray for those I know are facing
terrible illness and pain—but typing “amen” is not going to do anything for
them. Some people are dying for a good argument, and post philosopher or
Christian leader or politician’s declarations, expecting my feedback. Now, I
admire great thinkers, love a good discussion, but try to limit myself to
subjects that really have changed my life or the lives of people in our world.
Do not want to get into arguments about Pentecostalism, Calvinism or
Arminianism, (have friends who are serious about God in each and every one of
those camps) or denominational differences, though I have firm beliefs and
denials and adhere to basic Christian orthodoxy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">What do l like to write? Basically, what I like to read.
Words that touch the soul and stimulate the mind, goading to action. To sum it
up, I want to translate into understandable, applicable language, in whatever
language we are using, what Jay Richards said about C. S. Lewis:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lewis was the consummate
translator. This is an academic achievement every bit as impressive and lasting
as any other. Translation of academic subjects into laymen’s terms is akin to hand-copying
Van Gogh’s <i>Starry Night</i> with a much
more limited palette of colors than the
great Dutch artist used for the original. The original required artistic
genius. But a good copy using a limited palette requires genius as well… He
once observed: “Any fool can write <i>learned</i>
language. The vernacular is the real test.” Many academics, in contrast,
disdain the task of translation. They seem to pride themselves on grinding our
turgid academic prose that is accessible to few and enjoyable to none… Lewis never
settled for such a provincial academic career. On the contrary, he made his own
academic life difficult by writing children`s books and Christian apologetics.
Most Lewis scholars suspect that this is the one reason he never advanced
beyond the title of lecturer during all his years at Oxford University. It was
only late in life that Cambridge University had the good sense to hire him and
give him a professional title befitting his academic stature… We must
distinguish the elite populist from the dabblers or “second hand peddlers of
ideas”… who have a disproportionate but mostly undeserved influence on culture.
Such pundits offer their opinions on everything from film criticism and science
to economics and politics; but their commentary is often superficial because
they haven’t first learned those subjects. Rather than translating, they merely
opine.<a href="file:///D:/Communicting%20and%20Translating.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Guess communication via social media has that same
superficiality of “second-hand peddlers of ideas”. I hope to get to the
sources, and share where living water and bread of life are found for anyone
who is really hungry and thirsty. So I read and write on facebook—as a
translator of unsearchable riches in everyday language!</span></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
<br />
<div>
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<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///D:/Communicting%20and%20Translating.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jay W. Richards, “Mastering the Vernacular”, in John G. West, The <i>Magician’s Twin: C.S.Lewis on Science,
Scientism and Society,</i> Discovery Institute, pp. 182-83.</div>
</div>
</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-31069817931359294602016-07-03T18:36:00.001-03:002016-07-03T18:39:19.928-03:00COMMUNICATING AWESOME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmAal-alK_mBJH_MMtKmeBtOMrfnWTcKgQBpBkCDw0iw41hhyphenhyphenPLQCpU9H1UUWBs4TtBxxGOBHnDi2cFEAKxmi40Em5PR9SA49Hf_kPQ3KzebLkFeln2SAUvsBGDRrac4YROkszUrmxDqC/s1600/File+03-07-16+18+28+33.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinmAal-alK_mBJH_MMtKmeBtOMrfnWTcKgQBpBkCDw0iw41hhyphenhyphenPLQCpU9H1UUWBs4TtBxxGOBHnDi2cFEAKxmi40Em5PR9SA49Hf_kPQ3KzebLkFeln2SAUvsBGDRrac4YROkszUrmxDqC/s320/File+03-07-16+18+28+33.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
A few years ago my daughter gave me a T shirt that says “May
your life be as awesome as you pretend it is on facebook”. It is one of my
favorite everyday shirts because it’s black (doesn’t show dirt very much), the
knit is tight and well-made, and I enjoy teasing people about their
relationship—and mine—to the social media. I don’t mind being the recipient of
other punny, wearable shirts.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More than shirts, I like to observe people’s postings. In
spite of terrible grammar in both Portuguese and English, in spite of pathetic
or pithy statements to which I can agree or disagree, there’s a lot to learn
about people on facebook. My facebook friends are of all stripes and colors,
and they communicate accordingly. Some use facebook to share family news and
achievements, as a sort of cybernetic brag book. The grandmas and grandpas post
their grandchildren’s antics and pictures, smart takes and cute sayings.
Besides grandmas, young mothers are notorious for doing the same, I love
learning about those adorable kids and how they relate to their pets, siblings,
people at church and potty training. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other friends of mine are childless, but have awesome pets
that are pampered to death, with pics of the poor beasts wearing<i> frufrus</i> and double ribboned pony tails
in lieu of ears: the smartest animals in the world, and the “mommies”and
“daddies” of canine, feline and anyline animals act as if their loved ones won <i>hors concours</i> all the best dog shows in
America, North or South.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some of my facefriends are so needy they post “Will you
please say ‘hi” to me, pleeease!|” and if I don´t take the time to type “Hi, So
and So, you are my friend. How´s the weather today?” they are offended if I
breeze through their inanities without “li<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>”
what they wrote--they take it as a personal offense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there are those who post photos of beheaded and
crucified Christians in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country-region>
and <st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place>,
or cancer patients with horrendous tumors or deformities, and the instruction:
“Say amen if you feel sorry for them, or believe God can heal them, or
whatever”. I confess that though I believe in prayer and pray for many situ
ations of which I am aware through facebook, I am loath to write “amen” or
share horror stories.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, sometimes I share tales of persecution of Christians or
lopsided politics or even of friend in need of prayer, but I do not share
things lightly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I started with facebook, I figured it would be an
effective instrument for communicating the gospel, giving updates and news
about our publications in a non-commercial, non-threatening way, and so I added
almost every pastor or missionary friend I knew of—these would be my feedback
for our books. But many of the pastors I added see facebook as a fighting ring
in which to point out their particular doctrines and why their faith is better
than So-and-So´s. Never imagined there would be so much name-calling and
“cutting off” friendships in those who lead the body of Christ!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was delighted to re-discover old friends and some of these
speak my language and feel as I feel. Friends from thirty years ago surfaced
and renewed sharing. A few who were best friends are no longer “best”, but we
do get along fine and I´m always learning from them. Though changed, the
friendship still stands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have an old friend who shares the “flower of the day” each
day, but doesn´t tell e much about what she thinks or does, except as a
clinician. Another sends “a kiss of light” to me in everything I say, and still
another copies and pastes every thing <i>her</i>
friends have shared that day, without discerning whether the sentiment is true
or false. If I fail to comment on some
of those posts, she get offended.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A dear person writes mini-sermons on well-known Bible verses
and shares good songs, but never reveals what is really going on with her life.
The descriptions could go on to each of the almost three thousand “friends”
I´ve accumulated or renewed in the three or four years I´ve had internet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone calls them “followers”, but I don´t dare think of my
friends as my children, students or disciples! I´ve got a lot of following to
do, and they have so much more to teach me! Yes, I want to post truthful,
uplifting, thought-provo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> ideas,
but only as one beggar tells another beggar where to find good free food! In
some sense, whatever we do or say should be for God’s glory—but my postings are
not a means of evangelism or changing even the world around me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That takes me to those friends who march to a different
drum. I had one friend I loved, who was an extremely religious Roman Catholic
and was offended by some other friends, Protestant and Reformed who wrote ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> fun of her beliefs. If I find a person
ridiculing others for their beliefs, I end up considering eliminating them,
even if I partially agree with them, because I believe God’s love requires that
we love our neighbor as ourselves. I miss my Catholic friend who wanted to love
Jesus. Several others post sayings like “May Mary, Joseph and Jesus bless you” or
May Mother Earth bless you, and I do not comment. Appreciating that the Lord
Jesus <i>does </i>bless, and certain that
the mother of Jesus and his earthly father are in heaven, as one day I will be,
I don´t have to “set my friend straight”, but just appreciate her good wishes.
Things get more complex when a muslim prays that Allah bless, or my anti-religious
friend makes fun of some Bible verse I posted. When it comes to gender issues,
things get tougher still. As a Christian who believes the Bible, I do not agree
with same sex attraction, but have several people in the family who have
trouble with, or have embraced, their homossexuality. I love them and respect
them as persons—I decry their lifestyle, the same as I also don´t agree with
heterosexual fornication or adultery. Or robbing or cheating. As one sinner to
another, I have to say: God loves us, but does not love our <i>twistedness</i>. And he can transform us!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay,<i> twistedness</i>
is a very strong word, and some people tell me they don´t want to be
transformed. I don´t shove the Good News down anyone´s throat, but pray that
they may be found by Jesus´ righteousness! God is the one who makes straight in
the desert a highway for Himself. If it depended on my artistry, I couldn´t
draw a straight line for the life of me!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to my T-shirt, the wish is “May your life be as awesome
as you pretend on facebook”. My life is full of contentment, graced with
unexpected blessings and truly at peace with God and with my self. But I
wouldn´t say it´s <i>awesome.</i> Though by
some estimates, we “deserve” to be treated royally, we—you, I, my dearest and
best friends, as well as those I´d just as soon forget—are all quite common. Actually,
my life is quite ordinary— even when I experience some extraordinary miracles,
it is not spectacular or worthy of note, but by the grace and goodness of an <i>awesome God</i>. <i>He </i>is worthy of awe, the one who surprises me each day with
faithfulness and love. And I cannot pretend otherwise! Because <i>He</i> is awesome, my <i>commonness </i>contributes to God’s glory and humankinds good! That is
truly and extraordinary privilege, available to all who trust in Him!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are many questions I´d love to ask my facebook friends
about the gaps between when I last saw them and when we re-met on facebook.
I´ve discovered they are beautiful and strong, remarkable and worthy men and
women whom I admire.Some are the children of my old friends. Sure, I wish I
could warn some about avoiding telling it all—they will get hurt in the end. </div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Admittedly, many people use the social media to pretend what
they aren´t—photoshopping their portraits to perfection, copying other people’s
good ideas and achievements. The idea is posting <i>selfies, </i> and sometimes our
friends project sexy selves, intellectual provocations and super-heroic deeds.
Or do that with their children, boyfriends, grandchildren, spouses, pets, or
even great meals! Instead of <i>intending </i>well-being,
they<i> pretend </i>what no-one really can
deliver. I´d rather take a picture with my beloved in a garden, with wrinkles
on my face and shadows all around, showing off that common reality of an
eternal soul clothed in humanness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Jesus´s disciples saw the transfiguration, all they
could think about was building a tabernacle to <i>contain the glory</i> of Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Jesus immediately set
their feet on the ground and invited them to deal with a desperate father and
demonized son. That put the fear of the Lord back where it belonged!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me, facebook is a privilege, but not a ministry. I can
learn a lot through computer information, but my <i>character</i> must be formed by
the Word of God which filters data that is shared. Many new friends were made
through social media, but that cannot substitute real relationships. May my
life be real, as I serve an awesome God and my fellow human beings in great and
small ways, for each minute of my day, whether on my facebook mural or my
fractured, re-made life.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
Elizabeth Gomes</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-39910748892991781622015-10-01T08:31:00.000-03:002015-10-01T08:31:04.359-03:00FOR SEASONS OF BEAUTY AND TENSION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYRQ6KEm_LpwfElPIQdfbcxJ8p02kU9qR_k195ykouYJ2daSxOcwGpbqxDuA57isAVdgQkCQCYG6wMqDvz9ZuWZQDBjHc_N1p-BgoeHO-XxFnFKK2r1hMcwlAxhxmPKOB4ND0lgIKjRMb/s1600/woman+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYRQ6KEm_LpwfElPIQdfbcxJ8p02kU9qR_k195ykouYJ2daSxOcwGpbqxDuA57isAVdgQkCQCYG6wMqDvz9ZuWZQDBjHc_N1p-BgoeHO-XxFnFKK2r1hMcwlAxhxmPKOB4ND0lgIKjRMb/s320/woman+garden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">It
was my birthday, and among many gifts received, three were remarkable and rare:
a letter from a dear aunt (letters are so much more personal than email or
phone calls) and two video renditions of Vivaldi’s four seasons: one a full
orchestra in formal splendor, the other an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
capela</i> sextet. Both of the musical presentations lifted my spirit while
pulling my heartstrings as they reminded of the beauty of the earth and wonder
of the skies. Vivaldi is not known for being conducive to worship, nor is my
aunt known for Christian piety (though she’s got an enormous blend of zest for
life and common sense), but they made my day and caused me to say “Thank you,
God”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday
I read an article for ministers about the tension between pastoral excellence and
a life of scholarship, and it struck a full ring of keys. I am not a pastor,
nor am I a scholar, but as a Christian who enjoys thinking and cannot but
write, the pull of ordinary, everyday, intellectual integrity, and hunger for
beauty and excellence, while present and constantly remaining barefoot, true,
and coherent in what I think with what I do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Used
to think such tensions were part of adolescence, later conceded that they came
with being a woman but would dwindle with maturity. Now I’ve had to admit that
“golden years” may bring increasing pains of aging, dwindling mobility and
white hair, but maturity is still elusive – I may be getting <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">old</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>but am far from being wiser or more settled. Oh, I’m okay with my spouse
whom I love more than ever, and with myself though there are areas I can’t
begin to plumb. We’ve carved out a good life and reached many of the goals of
our youth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is so much more I
want to understand, be, develop, do, produce, expand… I have time on my hands
because no job and no kids at home allow me to “do whatever I want”. My
husband’s health has improved to no longer need to care 24 hours a day—he is
returning to thinking and doing many creative, productive tasks that don’t
require my help. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">But
I have no time for getting one single thing done as planned. Writing deadlines
are seldom reached – well, I write in the dead of night and cross lines every
day between writing ordinary, even superficial stuff, with deep insights into
God’s Word and people’s worth. This <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Garland</st1:city></st1:place>
blog, for example, has been dormant for months – and I can’t get my keyboard
unstuck. My proposed second novel has been waiting with question marks from
chapter eighteen on, for the last eighteen months. The planned book on changes
in life from the Biblical lens of Paul’s letter to Philippians is still in the
planning. Nothing’s changed since before Lau was hospitalized. Joyous to be
home, I get some weeding done, scatter seeds in my garden, but procrastinate
the dreaded total revamping of my back yard. Hands and back ache too much! Walk
through the orchard and verify that macadamia and persimmon will be producing,
got lemons galore, got tired of so many chestnuts and still am hopeful for our
peaches, passion fruit and jaboticaba. Planned to sit down and put my
collection of recipes and home-cooked stories on paper for publishing by
February—not 2016, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">last</i> February.
It is still simmering in my imagination, though I’ve enjoyed scores of Nigella
and Jamie Oliver and Barefoot Contessa and Bel Gil and Rita Lobo on TV these
past months. Get real, Beth! Gonna have to speak to the Rock in the desert for
the water to flow?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes,
must speak to the Rock, drawing near and keeping my eyes focused on Him,
listening to Him more than to the sounds of multiple screaming tidbits of
demands that that burst like soap bubbles as soon as you attend to them. Wanted
to study more, prime my thought-patterns for sharing with friends who seem
hungry for the Word (which I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">profess to
aim</i> to communicate). Only managed to publish one article in academic paper,
two years (or was it three?) after I researched and wrote it. Get some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">likes </i>on my facebook communiqués, but
even dumb blonds’ posts (pardon the pun) get<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
liked </i>on facebook<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>In what is my
life making a difference?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">When
I went to the Moody Write to Publish conference in 1988, my room mate was an
eight-plus lady who had published years ago and then bemoaned her article about
“how to date and get a husband” being rejected by a Christian woman’s magazine.
I was forty, at my prime writing period, and was bemused at this lady’s not
having a clue as to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">why </i>such things
occur. Lord, keep me from being that way today! Keep me renewed in writing
every day—even when I reach Edith Scheaffer or Elizabeth Eliot’s old age (well,
now both my mentor writers are in God’s presence living what eye has not seen
nor has ear heard!) and I’m still in my sixties.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">The
pull between having, ambition to be well-pleasing to God, with excellence as
goal – and being an ordinary, barefoot, clean-faced <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">older student/writer </i>is a see-saw — or roller coaster—for the young
and daring. How dare <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mature ladies like
me </i>venture on such a tilt-a-whirl?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">My consolation is that
such tensions are common to many human beings like me (“common to man” is the
biblical expression). The great Reformers, Calvin and Luther both had bouts of
doubt and deep frustration. The greatest writer-pastor-apologist<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Christian history wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>I do not do what I
want, but I do the very thing I hate… I know that nothing good dwells in me… I
delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another
law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of
sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from
this body of death?</em> Romans 7:15-25<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">And yet to those at <st1:place w:st="on">Philippi</st1:place>, Paul wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"><em>I press on to make it
my own, because Jesus Christ has made me<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>his own… forgetting what lies behind and straining forth to what lies
ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus.</em> Philippians 3:12-14<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Garden
trivia and writers’ block, living in a home that always needs fixing and fixing
furniture and décor one day at a time all remind me of the exquisite beauty of
Four Seasons and the common grace of a great letter from Aunt Cindy, because
though we wage an inner war that spills outward, we run a race that Jesus has
already won for us. Hands on in working! Hands raised in praise. God is not
through with me yet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-46849534609590151352015-05-23T18:18:00.000-03:002015-05-23T18:22:17.098-03:00INTERRUPTIONS, IMPEDIMENTS AND UNEXPECTED SURPRISES<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the lookout for stories that change lives? One
need look no further than the incredible true tales narrated by Dr. Luke in two
books of the New Testament: the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. In both
books dedicated to a “person who loved God“ (Theophilus) he shared “a narrative
of the things accomplished among us” (Luke 1.1) and continued the sequel with
what happened after Jesus ascended and the Holy Spirit was given to the church,
from the first days through the apostle Paul’s journeys throughout the known
world. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The book of Acts is a fascinating, action-packed backdrop
for Paul’s epistles, and since the letter to the Philippians is the subject of
my next book, I wondered how the church at Philippi got started. Like many
wondrous things that happen in life, this church began with an impediment and a
change of plans. Paul had spent some time in Antioch teaching and preaching,
and after sharp disagreement with his old mentor Barnabas over letting Mark go
with them or not, chose Silas and departed for his second missionary journey, still
in Asia Minor, through Syria and Cilicia, the Derbe and Lystra (where Timothy was
added to the missionary team), and then Phrygia, Galatia and Mysia. The plan
was to go to Bithynia—but their well-though-out plan was interrupted by a huge
impediment: “The Spírit of Jesus did not allow them”. So they passed by Mysia
and went on to Troas—where a vision came to Paul: “Come over to Macedonia and
help us!” Here Luke continues the narrative as “we” instead of “they”:
“Immediately we sought to go on to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us
to preach the gospel to them”. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">From Troas to Samothrace, Neapolis and Philippi,
about eight miles inland-- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“a leading
city of the district of Macedonia”—founded over two centuries before
Christ<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by Philip II, father of Alexander
the Great, and after Rome conquered Persia, a Roman colony. Their first stay in
Europe. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPWcUuJWBvSZUjYcZm768A4hz8tAOq3W7G0_gck2ApFzyIQDQgfHGB1CGS16T3h2ahgdnltlrJgpXoHNtkeXv87IpP0edSShau9FLT6xZ26tmtSNwuta6HEXmkPivpoyZDJPIiU0ctK7y/s1600/lydia-of-the-bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPWcUuJWBvSZUjYcZm768A4hz8tAOq3W7G0_gck2ApFzyIQDQgfHGB1CGS16T3h2ahgdnltlrJgpXoHNtkeXv87IpP0edSShau9FLT6xZ26tmtSNwuta6HEXmkPivpoyZDJPIiU0ctK7y/s320/lydia-of-the-bible.jpg" width="311" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Remaining in the city some days, on the Sabbath Paul
and his companions sought a place of worship. There was no synagogue, but there
would be a gathering of the faithful “by the riverside”. Since the time of
Ezra, Jews in Diaspora would gather to worship by the river in whatever city
they lived, (Ezra 8:15; Psalm 137:1). Not even enough men for a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> minyan</i>—but there were some women who
worshipped God. Lydia was an expat from Thyatira (near Tarsus from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whence Paul had been born). Convert number
one in Philippi: Lydia, a businesswoman who dealt with an expensive product:
purple dyed fabric, cloth and clothes fit for royals. Today she might be
comparable to a director of the House of Dior or Givenchy. Whether she was a
Jew or Gentile, she was “a worshipper of God” whose heart was opened to “pay
attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16.14). After being baptized with her
entire household, she “urged us saying, If you have judged me faithful to the
Lord, come to my house and stay”. So the first convert became hostess for at
least Paul and Silas, Luke and Timothy.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The second narrative “as we were going to the place
of prayer” tells of an irritating and constant interruption. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time they went to the prayer meeting, a
demonized slave girl went after them, calling out loudly: “These men are
servants of the most high God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation!” What
she said was absolutely true, but annoyed Paul because the affirmation was
instigated by an evil spirit of divination (Leviticus 19:31: “Do not turn to
mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out and so make yourselves unclean…”).
Fed up, Paul turned to her and commanded the spirit to come out of her in the
name of Jesus Christ. The girl was freed from the evil one, but those who owned
and used her “gifts” were furious because “their hope of gain was gone”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Convert number two in Philippi: an unnamed,
tormented slave girl who lost her devious ability to read the future by the
power of Jesus Christ.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmBim1gIMfu0Ujd9j2X9PAdd7Rp-ktK3oxq5UjVWIkGUcyqahPmpydn2II_-R4FntzhVUcwGwn2zvns3TIslNeTKNoUyAzXgkKMUWZMqT-Y4CwP7dz28scGR0adBJ8dIjfHsSmkuSFqX3/s1600/the-gypsy-fortune-teller-enzie-shahmiri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmBim1gIMfu0Ujd9j2X9PAdd7Rp-ktK3oxq5UjVWIkGUcyqahPmpydn2II_-R4FntzhVUcwGwn2zvns3TIslNeTKNoUyAzXgkKMUWZMqT-Y4CwP7dz28scGR0adBJ8dIjfHsSmkuSFqX3/s320/the-gypsy-fortune-teller-enzie-shahmiri.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This conversion resulted in “the owners” seizing
Paul and Silas, dragging them to the marketplace before the rulers, and
accusing them of being Jews (anti-Semitism laid bare) and “disturbing the city”,
advocating “customs that we Romans cannot accept or practice”. Adding insult to
injury, the rabble joined in attacking them, and the magistrate tore the
garments off them and ordered them beaten with rods. After inflicting a severe
beating on the messengers of salvation, they threw them into prison, telling
the jailer to guard well the disturbers of the peace.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This takes us to the jail, scene of conversion
number three. Tortured, beaten, falsely accused, Paul and Silas did not mention
their privileged citizenship status, and instead, did what they always advised
the brethren: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4) —praying and
singing hymns to God. The prisoners were listening to them when an earthquake
shook the prison foundations and immediately all the doors were opened and
everyone`s bonds were unfastened. Freedom for the prisoners meant death to the
jailer, so the jailer`s reaction was to attempt to commit suicide instead of
undergo the shame of capital punishment by the authorities above him. Paul saw
what he was planning to do and intervened: “Don`t kill yourself! We are all
here!“ He called for lights, trembling with fear, and fell down before Paul and
Silas asking what he must do to be saved. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
you will be saved, you and your household.” The hardened prison warden took
them in and washed their wounds, and he was baptized with his entire family.
Then he brought them to his home and gave them food and “rejoiced along with
his entire household that he had believed in God“.</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">People in leadership positions, such as Lydia and
the Warden, were saved and included their entire households in this gift of new
life. The slave girl, whose sole identity lay in what she produced for her
masters, was saved individually, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>receiving
a completely new identity—and caused an uproar in town because “These men are
disturbing our city”. Each person saved in Philippi became a believer through
unique means, as they were unique persons – pious <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and wealthy God-worshipper, an impudent, wild,
demon-possessed fortuneteller, the civil servant jail warden who went from
attempting suicide to aiding and abetting his maximum security prisoners --were
each and all saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></div>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3alN1H2j8jFBCsuFJ74wdxPNUUmkgj2HZlZtJPnYCH94MbmijfV_TvxaUZvFQYKIDfinDTlt07ZFNDhBzD88BI0F4sk1ene1Z7xkRacnNniTc7WmwtoAS7qaCG7S67bNA3rROJYyVswf/s1600/Jailer%252520of%252520Philippi_TIF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3alN1H2j8jFBCsuFJ74wdxPNUUmkgj2HZlZtJPnYCH94MbmijfV_TvxaUZvFQYKIDfinDTlt07ZFNDhBzD88BI0F4sk1ene1Z7xkRacnNniTc7WmwtoAS7qaCG7S67bNA3rROJYyVswf/s320/Jailer%252520of%252520Philippi_TIF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">After everything that happened, the
magistrates sent the police to release the apostles, but Paul spoke up: “They
beat us publicly and threw us into prison, though we are Roman citizens, and
want us to leave quietly?! No, let them come themselves and take us out.” When the
magistrates realized that they had mistreated Roman citizens, they were</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">frightened, and went to Paul and Silas
with apologies, asking them to leave the city. The apostles left prison and
went to visit Lydia. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and
departed.</span></div>
</div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Years later, when Paul wrote to the
strongly established Philippian church, commending them for their “partnership
in the gospel from the first day until now“ (Philippians 1:5) told them that
they had been given the gift of not only believing in Christ but of suffering
for his sake, “engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear
that I still have“(1:30). He goes on to write the most encouraging text for
Christians of all ages, social and political situations, of all eras, about the
mind of Christ: </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking
the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and e</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">very tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father Philippians
2.</span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-50085204254570642272015-02-20T15:24:00.002-02:002015-02-20T15:24:55.759-02:00I LOVE THE FACT THAT WE WERE MARRIED YOUNG
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6Cea-I66w3f8E_X1dUSKAn_O0rayOxW2zwj2OwR47NUQW1t96i5eBicijYyTKwkJ7zkOlL_3vUKnL-1NG1BFBLIqM6_SWiRH1hhK9kCg1CuhhY5Z11Vyy5W15yKJvBrqhpEFn8EiQz7f/s1600/a+bETHLAU1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6Cea-I66w3f8E_X1dUSKAn_O0rayOxW2zwj2OwR47NUQW1t96i5eBicijYyTKwkJ7zkOlL_3vUKnL-1NG1BFBLIqM6_SWiRH1hhK9kCg1CuhhY5Z11Vyy5W15yKJvBrqhpEFn8EiQz7f/s1600/a+bETHLAU1.jpg" height="321" width="400" /></a></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">What does one have to say
about marrying young? First, though older than many of my readers, I think of
myself as being young for a longer time – though I have to consider that
through living hard and never easy, there are benefits to learning<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through hindsight! Yes, I married younger
than most people I know today. I was just eighteen and still in school. Forty
eight years my husband, Lau still tells me daily that he loves me more today
than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I repeat the same mantra to him, and mean every word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When someone looks at our old wedding
snapshots (yes, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">snapshots</i> in black
and white—we had no professionally-crafted gorgeous album like the ones young
friends share today.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our few pictures
are unforgettable, as were some of the incidents that surrounded our wedding.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The day before our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wedding, Lau drove three hours plus<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to São Paulo to look for the justice of the
peace who had forgotten to sign the petition for our civil wedding (in Brazil
of those days, one had to have a civil wedding with a justice before
celebrating<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the religious wedding in
church). After trying three or four restaurants, he found the judge and gave
him the document, which he signed, and returned to Araras, where we were
married.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">While my future husband was
going through the rat race to get everything ready, one of my childhood
friends, who was also engaged and had come to see us tie the knot, asked me,
“Do you ever have doubts about whether you should get married or not?” I told
her, “If there were any doubt, I’d never get married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re still in school, have no money, have
nothing but each other…” Shortly after we returned from our three-day
honeymoon, I got a letter from that friend telling us that she had broken their
engagement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the reasons many
Christians marry young is the pressure of sexual attraction – a very normal
fact of life. Non-Christians don’t see that as a problem, because premarital
sex is a given. Like almost everything in this post-modern world, non-believers
believe they are entitled to sex whenever they “feel it’s right”, and so they
often “feel good” about having sex without responsibilities or commitment. Many
times over. But Christian young people who want to live according to God’s
standards are pressed to bursting because the Bible warns to flee promiscuity
and sexual sin, and they want to be true to the Word of God. Or else, they live
a double standard, saying they obey biblical principles, while in practice,
they live exactly like their non-Christian friends. The world preaches that
“safe sex” is using protection to avoid pregnancy, STD’s and AIDS. The Bible
teaches that safe sex is married sex with one partner to whom one is committed
for life: a triple marriage pact between a man, a woman and the God they serve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some couples manage to let
God rule their hormones and practice chastity until the Lord gives them the
green light after the wedding, but many more flounder and almost drown, repent
and start again on the path of sexual purity. But that is just one of the
aspects that push people toward early marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">They say that the teenage
years are the best years of one’s life, but if your life is any way like mine
was when I was a teen in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sweet,
psychodellic sixties</i>, we take issue. Teen years often suck. My parents were
at war, stifled by life and so broken they could not see their daughters’ pain.
They finally divorced, but my sister and I were never what we would have been,
if only .… (that’s one of the myths often dreamed: the idea that if we’d only
had better circumstances, better opportunities, less stress, we could have
become president of the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
or a singing actress, a sports super star, or Bill Gates, or at least queen of
the prom).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keeping balanced between what
you dream and how your life plays out is no easy task—plus, you seesaw both
academically and socially in school, between dreams of successful ,
good-money-paying work and realities of delivering pizza or babysitting, in
relationships where the all-</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">important<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“all or nothing” stand leaves you stranded,
often alone, with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nothing</i> to it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">In one way, teens today have
it worse than ever:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their expectations far
exceed their realizations, and the result is general, unbridled frustration.
You can be anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just do it. Go for
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Follow your dream. You deserve it –
and discover you are just one among the millions who heard the same clichés and
took them to heart as personal prophecies – unfulfilled.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Over three thousand years
ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes said, “Remember also your Creator in the days
of your youth, before the evil days come” and despite all the problems of
youth, young days are the days where what we think, dream and decide will have
repercussions all the days of our life – and to eternity. My decisions to
follow Christ, to study and to work for Him, were made in my youth. Wadislau
and I made our decision to love each other, for richer or poorer, in sickness
or in health, for better or worse, when we couldn’t imagine all the twists and
turns life would present. But we had a couple of things in our favor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">We married in the Lord. We
didn’t just love each other, think it felt right, hope it would work out, or do
the best<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we could under the
circumstances – from day one, the Lord Jesus (and not our growing/
fleeting/sink or swimming love) was the foundation for our marriage. Whatever
our lot, we were in it together and no one would pull us apart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus reiterated the creation account of
Genesis, saying: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Therefore a man shall
leave his father and his mother, hold fast (King James version says ”cleave”) to
his wife, and the two of them shall become one flesh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So they are no longer two, but one flesh</i>
(Matthew 19: 5-6).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first verb in this
affirmation is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">leave his father and
mother. </b>That implies maturity to live independently, no longer under the
same roof, financial responsibility or paternal/maternal authority. One has to
be mature enough to start a new home – have a job that takes care of basic
needs of the couple, and the two join forces and incomes for one good: their
home. The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> home</i> isn’t the house or
apartment you buy or rent and set up—home is you and your spouse together,
wherever you are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we aren’t ready to
leave home, we are not ready to marry. Leaving is not abandoning or rebelling,
it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">leaving well and settled</i>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If someone leaves his or her parents in anger
or bitterness, she or he continues to be influenced by the home of origin and
has never “left<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>home” in fact. It is a
matter of growing up emotionally, socially, professionally, financially – undergirded
by<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> spiritually</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">If the two lovebirds are
mature and ready to leave their parents and live independently, the second
aspect of Jesus’ admonition is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">cleave to
your spouse</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are like we were
when I was eighteen and Lau twenty-one, “cleaving and becoming one flesh” was
our dream of dreams. Sometimes we forget all it entails:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> besides the obvious and marvelous<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>working out of a robust sex life – which
takes work and practice and doesn’t happen as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>a once and for all magic moment – one<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
grows</i> and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> becomes </i>a loving couple
when both invest 100% of all they’ve got.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> my spouse is my very best friend – no one
else shares our intimacy, our plans or our problems more or better that the two
of us. My buddies or mom or whoever do not determine <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our life together.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> we don’t bicker over who earns more or who
gets to spend his/her own money on what we want independently. </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Wingdings 2"; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: "Wingdings 2";"></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> we are one flesh – we decide together what
we will do with ourselves, with our money, with our plans. Our goal is “the
common good” of the couple. Sometimes one in the partnership is better than the
other at administrating, and the other more prodigal at spending, but we have
to both agree about what we will do with what we have (or don’t have). Maybe we
have to set a limit on what and how we spend – many people sink in a sea of
debt before they learn that their money (like their name!) doesn’t belong
exclusively to one of them. If I can afford to spend X on lunch money I can’t
go out and splurge at a restaurant and expect everything to smooth out
miraculously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any major financial decision
must be weighed by both together!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Becoming one flesh</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> is much more than enjoying sex. Casual sex is a
horrid lie because something deep and meaningful can never be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">casual </i>if it is going to last. And good
sex was not made to be forgotten or despised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, most articles about
marriage focus on the wedding, and many couples spend way more than they can
afford to put on a memorable show, but do not invest anything in their marriage
as a leave-cleave-one-flesh one of a kind affair.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if that is not the case, many couples who
take too long to get married do so because they want to start out life with all
the perks their parents have now – a well-furnished house and maybe money in
the bank. One of the advantages of marrying young is that you work together <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">toward</i> your joint goals. Every goal you
achieve together draws you closer. That means you work hard and know you won’t
immediately have everything you dream of, but both know the cost of things and
the value of being together over getting rich.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the same way, many (if not
pregnant when marrying) postpone having kids till they’ve landed their dream
job or bought a house. They know they can’t afford having a baby. But one of
the reasons God gave us marriage is to have kids! He said “be fruitful and
multiply” and children are a blessing from the Lord. Even unfertile couples are
blessed by a generous God, and can adopt, or at least help friends with
children who struggle by voluntarily babysitting or taking a kid to a ball game
so their mom and dad can have a date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Willing to have kids is a must. Being married means you<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> can</b> be parents – so you’d better
prepare for that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the most
wonderful people in the world are products of an unplanned pregnancy, and
Christian couples have to plan for the possibility that their love will
multiply into a little spit ‘n image of them both, who will grow up to be a
person unique and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>different<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>as each of you are. So if you are planning to get married, you imply
that you will accept the burden and blessing of children with no complaints.
That’s part of the package. Of course you will plan, use acceptable birth
control – but know that the only one totally in control is the God who made
you, and He just might think a kid will temper your life with gladness!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve mentioned matters that
are very private and I or any other person, young or old, do not have a right
to barge<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in or manipulate or tell
another human being what they can or cannot do. We are not God. When Lau and I
married, we were still in school, yes, but we had left our original homes and
were independent and responsible for our own livelihoods. We worked when
weren’t in classes – often early morning (at four AM Lau had to get milk freshly
milked on a farm!) for the seminary students’ seven AM breakfast. I often was
cooking some treat to sell or giving remedial English classes to colleagues
until late at night – and we had a commitment to each other and to God (and to
those who were going to invest in our missionary support when we graduated) to
keep our grades and spirits high. We worked hard! And we stuck together! (And I
got pregnant immediately!) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I know life is not the same
as it was almost fifty years ago, but neither are we! We often <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">groaned</i> as we became<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> grown, </i>but God in His mercy saw us through and is still working on
us. Yes, being old and decrepit does not make us any wiser! What makes
Christians—young and old, men and women, well-educated or fairly ignorant—wise
is what Proverbs calls “The fear of the Lord”. That is what makes us able to
say “I am not afraid of what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">man</i>
(human beings, male or female) can do, for I will trust in Him. Obey Him. Live
for Him, whether single or married. That is absolutely the best state in which
to live!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth
Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-75115096336966778802015-01-24T08:48:00.000-02:002015-01-24T08:48:06.556-02:00A WOMAN OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrue7Ynq2xdGtuqcR9X-Dl1yLHHbupDFIKNOjktIJSkveA5dP91NA-Z_XaIKv6amMwxEyDz1JyvLfv05Q6jqTBb5wjNcGXZP1Y0NSXwB1bIPFPNmjb6Sv_dItpL9MhFwtEycUWlPp3B8E/s1600/A+tentmaker2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglrue7Ynq2xdGtuqcR9X-Dl1yLHHbupDFIKNOjktIJSkveA5dP91NA-Z_XaIKv6amMwxEyDz1JyvLfv05Q6jqTBb5wjNcGXZP1Y0NSXwB1bIPFPNmjb6Sv_dItpL9MhFwtEycUWlPp3B8E/s1600/A+tentmaker2.gif" height="403" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></i> </div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;">La donna è mobile, cual piuma al viento… </span></i><span lang="EN-US">“My! How you’ve changed!” “I can’t believe
you’re doing that!” “Never know your mood.” “With her, I never know what to
expect!” Many times we’ve hear those refrains, probably uttering similar
comments ourselves. Change is good, change is bad, nothing changes, she’s
changeable as the weather—we are delighted, frustrated, overjoyed, instigated,
exasperated, feel overcome<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by
warmth,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>are struck cold as ice—change in
others does all of this and more. In ourselves, we long for positive changes in
life, finances, affections, circumstances, and decry the downhill slide which
often characterizes the changes we longed for. All of us are moved by
change—none of us enjoy the pain that goes with it. We want to move on—we wish
to go back to when… <o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guess one of the richest
gifts of maturity is retrospective memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I love to remember the beauty and clumsiness of youth, the fresh
perspectives of expectations that were surprisingly fulfilled in ways never
dreamed, frustrated hopes and multiplied renewals in life that scraped and
shaped me. We will never return to “the way we were”—though in some ways--in
germinal ways--we always were what we are now, and our future holds incredible
turnings even though we will (in some ways) always be tomorrow who we are
today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking of Biblical women
who were familiar with more than skin-deep change, I always go back to
Priscilla. If older women are to teach and model piety and righteousness to the
younger generation, according to Paul’s vision of women’s roles in letters to
Timothy and Titus, the wife of <st1:place w:st="on">Aquila</st1:place> is a
“Teacher of the Years” example to me and millions of Christian women over two
millennia. Priscilla appears in Luke’s narrative of Paul’s stay in <st1:city w:st="on">Corinth</st1:city> after his watershed sermon at the Areopagus in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Athens</st1:place></st1:city>. The Jewish couple
had “recently come from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>…
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>”. So they were refugees, displaced
persons, exiles in a strange land. Originally from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pontus</st1:country-region>
(Northeastern region of Asia Minor on the shores of the Black Sea), these
(Turkish) Jews left their home and everything they had built in the Capital of
the World to re-settle in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Greece</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
There is no mention of children or other relatives—I imagine them as a
middle-aged or older hard-working couple who had enjoyed some prosperity but
suffered tremendous loss and upheaval right when they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thought </i>they would be settled.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Their tentmaking trade was
essential for wandering Jews and unstable Gentiles alike. From the Orthodox who
“had their tents carried before them” for any Sabbath travel, to Gentile
merchants and tradesmen of all nations around the Mediterranean Sea, <st1:place w:st="on">Aquila</st1:place> and Priscilla would always have clients. Today we
call bivocational missionaries “tentmakers” because, like their colleague Paul,
this godly couple<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>worked leather and
sturdy textiles into transportable shelters, and simultaneously sheltered the
Word of God that dwelt in them, sharing their know-how and knowledge with any
who would listen. Paul stayed and worked with them and was “occupied with the
Word” in the synagogue every Sabbath. After Silas and Timothy joined the
apostle and Jewish opposition increased, Paul left the Aquila-Priscilla
household<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and moved to the home of a
Gentile believer, Titius Justus, next door to the synagogue. There, Crispus,
president of the synagogue and his family all became believers, and Paul
remained in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Corinth</st1:place></st1:city>
for eighteen months. Certainly Priscilla heard about Paul’s vision and took
those memorable words to heart: <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Do not be
afraid, but go on speaking</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and do not be silent, for I am with you,</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and no one will attack you to harm you,</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>for
I have many in the city who are my people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Paul suffered united attack
by the Jews, who took him to court—where the Corinthian magistrate refused to
judge religious matters. The angry Jews beat Sosthenes in front of the
tribunal, and Gallio “paid no attention to any of this”. After staying “many
more days longer”, Paul and his entourage took leave of the brothers and set
sail for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, “and took
with him Priscilla and <st1:place w:st="on">Aquila</st1:place>”. Now the
tentmakers were colleagues in foreign missions—a creative, productive solution
for people who realize that above all, they are pilgrims in a strange land.
Many ports, many towns were their stopping places. In all the region of <st1:place w:st="on">Phrygia</st1:place> and Galatia Paul went on<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“strengthening all the disciples”. Priscilla
and Aquila decided to stay longer in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ephesus</st1:place></st1:city>—especially
after hearing Apollos speak, and weighing the opportunity to minister in his
life. They did not badmouth the young preacher for his errors, but “took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately”. From Acts 18
through 19, it looks like Priscilla and her husband were adept at mending and
tying loose ends in the lives of people they touched, risking their lives,
putting in practice the doctrine they learned from their rabbi Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">They did return home—a
political change again made them resume residence in Rome, because when Paul
wrote his letter to the Romans (around 58 AD), he greets Prisca and Aquila as
“my fellow-workers<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Christ Jesus, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">who risked their necks for my life</i>, to
whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as
well” (Rom. 16:3).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">When Paul got his wish and
arrived in <st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city> it was not as a free
Christian-Jewish academic and Roman citizen native of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tarsus</st1:place></st1:city>. He had appealed to Caesar and was a
prisoner in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>—perhaps
under house arrest part of the time, but most certainly under constant
surveillance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Priscilla and Aquila must
have been frequent visitors who alleviated his incarceration with food and
clothing and maybe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>books (later he<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would ask Timothy bring his coat, books and
especially parchments he had left in <st1:place w:st="on">Troas</st1:place> --
2 Tim 4:13).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And continued to be
disciples, as they also continued <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">discipling</i>
others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Paul wrote to the Christians
at <st1:place w:st="on">Philippi</st1:place>: “it has become known throughout
the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for
Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the lord by my
imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear…” (Philippians
1:13-14) Paul’s prison letters (to people at <st1:city w:st="on">Ephesus</st1:city>,
<st1:place w:st="on">Philippi</st1:place>, Colossus--Philemon was a member<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the Colossian church to whom he wrote
personally in defense of the runaway slave whom Paul must<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have met and evangelized in jail) are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pregnant</i> with life-giving doctrine<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and life-living<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>joy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joy was the theme of one who did not know if
he would live or die, but learned to be content: “Making my prayer with
joy”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1:4); “”Christ is proclaimed, and
in that I rejoice” (1:18); “I will rejoice for I know that through your prayers…”;
“continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith”
(1:25);”complete my joy” (2:2); “I am glad and rejoice… likewise you also
should be glad and rejoice with me” (2:17-18); “Receive him with all joy”
(2:29);”Finally my brothers, rejoice in the Lord”(3:1); “my brothers whom I
love and long for, my joy and crown” (4.1); “Rejoice in the Lord, again I say
rejoice”(4:4); “I rejoiced…”(4:10)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I suspect that Priscilla
learned that kind of contentment throughout the months and years she and her
husband were associated with the apostle. The words of the hymn “When I survey
the wondrous cross” resound with Paul’s teaching: “My richest gain I count but
loss, and pour contempt on all my pride”. A woman who lived through many
changes in life— living well through wealth and poverty, sojourner in tent
without a roof over her<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>head, yet giving
shelter to young and old, apostle and new Christian, possibly living the
loneliness of childlessness, but anchored by a husband who was with her at all
times and found refuge in Christ alone—going back to where she started, while
that return will never be the same—you and I can relate to Priscilla’s changing
status, moving circumstances and fluctuating feelings that accompany myriad
changes. Like <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
of old that dwelt in tents under the shadow of the Almighty and the Pillar of
Fire, gathering manna and quail in the wilderness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have learned to be content”; “I can do all
things in Christ who strengthens me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like you and me, Priscilla
was not a noblewoman noted for her strength or prowess. She was a working
woman—a thinking woman, knowledgeable to the point of “straightening out” wrong
ideas of a talented young preacher! Probably she cried and wrung her heart each
time change meant loss—<st1:country-region w:st="on">Pontus</st1:country-region>,
<st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Corinth</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on">Ephesus</st1:city>, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>,
to the ends of the earth. But she learned to rejoice always and return, always
being where God wanted her to be—wherever and under whatever circumstances they
were.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have made friends of all
ages, all lifestyles and walks (or sprints) of life. When with children and
grandchildren of friends of my youth, I must remember the freshness and vigor
that opened the door to my heart, and look to them likewise. To aged friends
battling their constant losses and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">disfranchising</i>,
I must share hope that “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me”. To
those caught in the boredom of middle-years’ sameness, I can share the newness
of abundant life. Many are the virtuous women whose stories flood the Bible
with character and courage, and we women of postmodernity can learn from them.
I hope to have learned a little with a woman sojourner and missionary called
Priscilla, whose husband <st1:place w:st="on">Aquila</st1:place> was both Eagle
and Needle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not wanderers lost
and tossed by life—we are pilgrims with purpose and destiny, who enjoy (even if
sometimes groaning!) each step of the way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-75667767546493179552014-11-27T02:47:00.002-02:002014-11-27T02:47:50.549-02:00THANKSGIVING
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuo0A7pG-KQwq7MuFjqwf0RLxTOnG4VH5ZAlY3TeZo65yy7ym9mEG1RjQz3bOK8gh66F1xJv-y0OTKjvbhPDxgZ-36Whqsl2ko7ZOW9ey6bFLB1LIJr9qYZZkeLtNW3lLzP0Nm8EjDMHY/s1600/First_Thanksgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVuo0A7pG-KQwq7MuFjqwf0RLxTOnG4VH5ZAlY3TeZo65yy7ym9mEG1RjQz3bOK8gh66F1xJv-y0OTKjvbhPDxgZ-36Whqsl2ko7ZOW9ey6bFLB1LIJr9qYZZkeLtNW3lLzP0Nm8EjDMHY/s1600/First_Thanksgiving.jpg" height="305" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Bwgrkl; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-language: PT-BR;">kata.
pa,nta euvcaristei/te\ dio,ti tou/to ei=nai</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Bwgrkl; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-language: PT-BR;">to.
qe,lhma tou/ Qeou/ pro.j evsa/j evn Cristw/| VIhsou/Å</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;">Em
tudo, dai graças, porque esta é</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;">a
vontade de Deus em Cristo Jesus para convosco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">In every
thing give thanks: for this is</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">the will of
God in Christ Jesus concerning you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">1
Thessalonians 5.18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner,
and I am on a see-saw of intercultural thoughts that poke my muse. In the
United States, it is a national holiday that reminds of when <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pilgrims celebrated a worship service of
thanksgiving because, after having suffered two devastating winters that cut
down many of their people, they now had an abundant harvest of what they had
planted and would be stored for the coming winter months. Initially the <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place> colonists were Reformed Calvinists escaping
religious persecution in their countries of origin. To this banquet they
invited the Native Americans who had given them succor in their affliction, seeds
for planting, teaching new fishing and hunting methods and harvesting the fruit
of the land. These guests did not see themselves as having the liberty of
stuffing themselves to death, but as honored and worthy co-laborers, they also
brought their food to share with these light-skinned, dark-clothed, often clumsy
colonists who prayed to one only God, spoke a complicated language and sported
many weird customs.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US">Brazil</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US">, for ages <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">copycat</i> of everything American, did not easily adopt this day.
Though there was no small effort by the Bradesco Bank in the Sixties to
celebrate National Thanksgiving Day throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>, they did better at copying
the commercial <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black Friday </i>of
shopping malls. We are bombarded with “80% OFF” consumer objects we do not need,
in a frenzy to buy, buy. sped, spend, I want, I need, I just couldn’t
resist—and we forget to give thanks for the grat blessings and small victories
in which we live and move.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">True, many in North America also forget
their history of faith and see this day as Turkey Day, watching football (American,
not the Brazilian national sport which Americans call soccer), family that only
communicates once a year get together to eat until they burst. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;">Why turkey? </span><span lang="EN-US">Because Indians taught colonists how to
hunt wild ones and send starvation far away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I've bought my turkey and will share it wth
about fifty young people of all ages from our church (IPP) who will be coming
over to our farm on Saturday (because in our State of São Paulo this Thursday
is no holiday) for a community feast. Hope the other forty nine also bring food
and drink because one turkey, even an eighteen-pounder, is too little for so
many people! Yes, the Lord Jesus will be present, but in our present era does
not go around splurging the New Testament times miracle of multiplication of
fish and loaves on postmodern believers--who should be learning to work hard
for our daily bread and have enough to share, while simultaneously resting in
the Lord of Life and Provider of All Things. Just one more of those thoughts
and facts we must learn to weigh, balance, share and pass on to our neighbors
and kin. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">I remember a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thanksgiving</i> a few years ago in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city>, when we invited my uncle Philip
Stowell to our table. I made a huge pumpkin stuffed with shrimp, Brazilian
style, and he gave us the gift of the story about when he was in the Navy after
the second world war and was assigned to help the chef prepare turkey stuffed with
“oyster dressing”— for hundreds (or thousands?!) of gringo soldiers homesick
for a real thanksgiving banquet. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">À propos</i>,
we also had a stuffed turkey for dinner in Philly: the bird was a gift from Nina,
my boss and the pastor’s wife from the church we attended <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in exilio,</i>) and the fixings of cranberry sauce, corn, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">creamed onions</i>, other vegetables and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cornbread</i>. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;">An international culinary
mishmash!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I know our dinner did not quite match the
banquet Uncle Phil described, but we were grateful for the mercies and
providence of God during meager as well as feasting times He always gives. And
we “weird foreigners with strange customs” were able to share with my “all-American
New Englander” since Cotton Mather and Pocahontas’s times uncle, a little of
the joy of Jesus. Like many senior citizens in North or <st1:place w:st="on">South
America</st1:place>, he was extremely lonely and we had<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a profusely present family to liberally give
away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Presently we live in a city founded by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bandeirantes </i>of Portuguese origin that
sunk their roots in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mogi das Cruzes</st1:place></st1:city>
more than <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>450 years ago. Lau is a
descendant of, a bandeirante and the legendary Native Brazilian Bartira. I am
remembering ancestors who crossed the Atlantic in tiny ships and once on dry
land , built, with axe, shovels and rough tools, first a school and a church,
before putting up their frugal one-room homes lac<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
“essential commodities”—but knew their Bibles, sharing what they knew with
their children, neighbors and friends. I remember the relationship David
Brainerd developed with the Indians less than a hundred years later from the
budding English New World colony, and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>see shadows loom tall, of people molded by faith in the God who had
chosen them to be His people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fast-forward
</i>to this next-weekend’s video and try to balance my wandering thoughts about
food, hospitality to friends, giving and receiving, giving thanks in everything
and for everything, with tales of the first <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanksgiving in the New World and the thanksgiving
of the Hebrew people in the desert after their exodus from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>. In spite
of the complaints characteristic of God’s people under Moses or under Obama or
Dilma today, whether an abundance of quail instead of wild turkeys, manah
instead of cornbread or Indian Pudding, water bursting from a rock in the
desert instead of abundant streams and lakes of the “beautiful for spacious
skies and amber waves of grain”, there have always been reasons to give thanks.
Later, in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">land</st1:placetype>
of <st1:placename w:st="on">Israel</st1:placename></st1:place> conquered, inhabited,
consolidated, invaded, sacked by consecutive <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s
and warriors, and many times re-built, Bread and Water of Life came down
incarnate. After His death and resurrection, while Pedro and Company Ltd
decided to go back to fishing and couldnt catch anything, Jesus waited for them
on the rocky shore and prepared<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a
breakfast of grilled fish and pita bread, to talk with them about love and
shepherding God’s flock <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(John <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>21:3-24). Jesus had multiplied a boy’s lunch
of fish<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ad rolls for a hungry audience
of over five thousand. Now He prepared the fish for frustrated fishermen and
turned them into men who built His church, turned the world upside down and
would indellibly mark history of Christianity for all times, to the ends of the
earth. John the evangelist ends his narrative saying that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jesus did many other things as well. If
every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would
not have room for the books that would be written”— This is the Good News for
which disciples, apostles, rude fishemen and eminent theologians and thinkers of
all shapes and colors, people of all kinds, from the birthplace of ancient
civilization to the setting sun of modern civilization have reasons galore to
give thanks. no longer need promote --local, national, traditional or borrowed
from different cultures, neither descendants of English, Dutch, disinherited
Portuguese, slaves brought over on ships from Africa, or landowning
slaveholders<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-- once-a-year days of
thanksgiving –<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and all the angels ...<i> </i>the elders ...
and beasts fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying:
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and
might, <i>be </i>unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 7:9-12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I am loo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
forward to our thanksgiving dinner, whether next Saturday, Thursday or any
other day we get together to celebrate. Above all, I look forward to a Wedding
banquet of the Lamb, in which the guests will be of all kinds, and the Host and
Owner of the Party, the only Lord. You, and any who want to, are invited to
join us!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth
Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-64403684197370076722014-10-14T07:15:00.000-03:002014-10-14T07:15:21.063-03:00OH JERUSALEM!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6UxzGTR707Ac6NDG0t4QO5Ykzhd-9o5lhsPaEPkTtv1wJ0it5Rdu4BOylC5AXSkQRcfkJqNzQ5TCYF0rFaPZ39S51iMWvnupxFm6wo4-NY0wKKguzVWWUoi3fmcgQO1HsWGVt3zqyamZ/s1600/Jerusalem-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE6UxzGTR707Ac6NDG0t4QO5Ykzhd-9o5lhsPaEPkTtv1wJ0it5Rdu4BOylC5AXSkQRcfkJqNzQ5TCYF0rFaPZ39S51iMWvnupxFm6wo4-NY0wKKguzVWWUoi3fmcgQO1HsWGVt3zqyamZ/s1600/Jerusalem-photo.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1998 friends who had been part of our church in <st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city> offered a gift to us—the dream of my life: a trip
to the <st1:place w:st="on">Holy Land</st1:place>. Their generosity not only
gave us ten days of tourism that stretched the limits of our heartstrings, but
continue to bless and perturb sixteen years since.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">It
was the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel, and
the girl who dreamed <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
since she began to read Bible history at around eight years of age had also
turned fifty. Lau and I had started our ministry in 1969 among Jews in Belo
Horizonte, Minas Gerais,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and São Paulo,
even after we left that mission, continued to study and remain fascinated with things
Jewish. He taught Jewish Evangelism at the seminary from which we had
graduated, and I read and befriended <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">judaica</i>:
people, ideas and achievements. As committed Christians, we believed that there
is still an important place in God’s dealing with humanity for the children of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Jewish
friends were part of our life; we believed Yeshua to be Hameshiach, but did not
try to proselytize—only pre-evangelizing, creating bridges and bonds which
would reach out and bring into the fold of the Great and Only Shepherd of
Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">We
have friends and colleagues who, while believing the Bible, interpret what it
says about the future in amillennial or postmillennial ways. Though we respect
them, we dare differ. Our historical premillenial view of God’s dealing with
all nations of the earth allows us to make distinctions between Jews, Gentiles
and the Church, and believe that God still has a purpose for each group. In one
sense, the church is continuation of the children of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>—we are sons and daughters of
Abraham by faith. But <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
as a people and a nation still are unique, and there is a promise for those who
pray for the peace of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I identify with the apostle Paul’s longing
for “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Theirs
is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving
of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and
from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever
praised! Amen”(</i>Romans 9:3-8)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> Of
course I knew that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it is not the natural
children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are
regarded as Abraham's offspring</i>” (v.8) and because we believe that God’s
gifts and calling are irrevocable, I considered myself to be a “daughter of
Sarah” by faith. "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I will call them
'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is
not my loved one... they will be called 'sons of the living God.'</i>" I
applied God’s promises through Isaiah to his servant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that this people of the covenant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would be a light unto the Gentiles, to open
eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the
dungeon those who sit in darkness—which the gospel of John (8:2) attested as
being Christ himself, and Dr. Luke documented in his story of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus’ first sermon in the synagogue of
Nazareth, when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he read Isaiah and
declared, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Today this Scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing</i>." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I
was enchanted with the way Edith Schaeffer followed the crimson thread of
redemption in her presentation<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of
Christianity as being Jewish, and rejoiced in roots in history that point to
identification with Israel from days of old. But going to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> was not
a magical encounter. I walked the land where Jesus walked, but saw, on one hand,
misguided Christians, just as their Jewish peers, who believed that placing a
written prayer in the cracks of the ruins of the walls of the Temple would
assure God’s answer to prayer (a woman minister who was in our group had been
given the ticket and all expenses paid to bear the prayers of her congregation
in the US and stick them in the cracks). And they went down to river Jordan to
be re-baptized or dipped seven times for healing in the same manner as Elisha
told the pagan general to do (a lady with cancer on the bus with me said that
she had made the pilgrimage and therefore “claimed her healing” after the
Jordan dip. I walked the stony shore of Galilee where Jesus talked to his
disciples about stony hearts as well as singling out Peter and saying: “You are
a pebble, but you are a stone also, and upon the Rock I will build my
church”... <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lots
of superstition surrounded a journey through the Holy Land, and the most
appalling was in the visit to Omar’s Mosque, which is built on the ancient site
of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Temple</st1:place></st1:city>
and where, ages before, Abraham had presented his only son in sacrifice. Lau
refused to enter that monument to the destruction of Judaism. I entered to observe
the artistic beauty of the architecture. While under the arches and surrounded
by incredible mosaics (or would I say,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
arabaics</i>) of that gold-domed palace, in my ten-minute walk through that
holy spot I saw a mother sock the mouth of her little child and a man hit the
face of his veiled wife. <st1:city w:st="on">Bethlehem</st1:city> was visited,
not by shepherds or wise men, but buyers of holy oil and olive-wood trinkets, a
town infested by anti-Israel haranguers preaching at every corner to men who
religiously bowed five times a day toward <st1:city w:st="on">Mecca</st1:city>
and while living in freedom in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
swear to destroy the Jews that harbor them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Antisemitism
is as old as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and we Christians are ashamed at the
many times it was wielded in the name Christ, the only Perfect Jew, against
Jews of all kinds. Many of the first who colonized <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region> were “cristãos novos” – Jews
forced by the Inquisition to become “Christian” or die. Cohens became Coelhos
(rabbits), Pereses became <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pereiras</st1:place></st1:city>
(pear trees)—but there was a coexistence even when much of the Jewish tradition
was completely swallowed up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">My
adopted country, Brazil, was the first to welcome the State of Israel into the
United Nations in 1948, but today the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">presidenta</i>
made a speech in that disunited union condemning the United States’
intervention in the Middle East and saying “we must dialogue with Hamas and
ISIS”, ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> clear her predilection
for Islamic State’s atrocities in Iran and Syria against Christians and Jews, and
despising anything we “anti-socialists” do for humanitarian causes. She was the
only chief of State in the world to emit such a blatant discourse! <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a
melting pot and harbor for people of every tribe and nation—and presently a
“preferred residence” for terrorists. I am appalled to see many evangelicals
swallow the propaganda of godless men and women who in the name of freedom
incongruously prefer an Allah-for-men-only dominated culture than
Judeo-Christian thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many
of our friends had their origin in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>:
Lebanese and Armenians, Turks and Persians and not-so-modern Babylonians, Druses
and Syrians. I love the food they taught us to appreciate, their generous,
gregarious, hospitable welcoming of strangers. These “arabs” are in all
segments of Brazilian society, many in high leadership positions far above
their tiny storeowners and traveling salesmen grandparents. They coexist well
with the Jewish descendants of those who fled persecution in Nazi Germany or
Bolshevik Iron Curtain lands. As I think of God’s mercy on all nations of the
earth, I cannot help but love and accept people descended from Ishmael, as well
as from the twelve tribes of Jacob. Or from tribes of Gês, Tapuias and
Tupinambás or the more than three hundred other people-nations which made up <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s first
inhabitants, and were also decimated by “christianizers” centuries ago. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
an unlikely and unknown American living and serving Christ in Brazil on a
little piece of farmland, with no merit or fame to my credit, I pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, as do many sisters and brothers like (and different from)
me. But my yearning, as a citizen of heaven, is to see the day when a
declaration that transcends all nationalities is made:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">You are worthy to take the
scroll, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And to open its seals; For You
were slain, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And have redeemed us to God by
Your blood </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Out of every tribe and tongue
and people and nation, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And have made us <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s and priests to our God; </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And we shall reign on the
earth." (Rev. 5:9) and </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">behold, a great multitude which
no one could number, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">of all nations, tribes,
peoples, and tongues, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">clothed with white robes,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">with
palm branches in their hands, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">and crying out with a loud
voice, saying, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">"Salvation <i>belongs </i>to
our God who sits on the throne, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">and to the Lamb!"
(Revelation 7:9-10)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-25020916757676368702014-08-07T20:06:00.003-03:002014-08-07T20:06:43.494-03:00WRITERS, AUTHORS AND AUTHORITY
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Recently a young
friend posted on facebook the first things he planned to buy when he got
royalties from the book he was beginning to write. Another would-be writer countered
that he (the unhatched writer who was counting chickens as first-class aviary
empire) had better wait till his beard was long and knotty before he started
counting the dividends. I chuckled, because I know exactly the feeling (though
have never grown a beard, smooth or knotty). Have dreamed of writing three or
four Books and Culture top of the list Christian non-fiction bestsellers, as
well as a New York Times fiction blockbuster since I was thirteen or fourteen,
and over fifty years of my life have gone by without any of those goals being
even closely reached. This does not mean that I haven’t inscribed, penned,
typed, composed or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">digitated</i> on
personal computer any literary and life-building gems over the years – actually
all I do these days (besides caring for beloved people by coo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>, cleaning, gardening, putting up with anything
that has to be done around our place) is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">read
and</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">write</i>. Have translated over
one hundred Christian books from English to Portuguese, three from Portuguese
to English, a couple from Spanish to Portuguese and one big architectural
manual from French to Portuguese. Still dream of producing memorable reads, and
have published six books of my own as well as numerous articles over the years,
but am far from being known as an author. Better known as Lau’s wife or mother
of Davi (or Deborah or Daniel, depending on the social circle in which I’m
mentioned) and now, grandmother of ... (won’t mention names because all seven
are important young people who plan to make a difference in this wonderful
fallen world)!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Back to my theme
(one of my pet peeves is the tendency to run around in circles with facts,
motives, thoughts and dreams), being a writer or would-be author may be the
major activity in my life, but I must admit that it won’t yield much money. Here
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
translations for Christian publishers are paid by the 1200-pica page, and my
own books get slim royalties that do not cover the cost for having a cleaning
lady once a week for the six months or more it takes to write one book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly, there are best-selling authors who
buy mansions and BMW’s and get their names dropped at every party of wannabe
intellectuals even in Brazil (like Paulo Coelho or defunct Jorge Amado), but
they don’t write Christian books, and I do not dig for ungodly treasures. The
market my husband and I write for has no booths in vanity fair – we aim for
ministry, service to the body of believers and the host of unbelievers who may
seek the Word of Life by some word we might communicate. Many of these
unbelievers are the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">best thinkers</i> and
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kindest doers</i> I know, and some
believers we know are unbelievably clumsy when it comes to thin<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> logically and biblically, but we do try to
reach, teach and transform lives, and that mission marks our words. Whether
read by a hundred or ten thousand, if ten people can be impacted for eternity
as well as for times like these, I will count it all joy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Just got a message
from my <st1:personname w:st="on">editor</st1:personname> as<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> me to give my account number so they can
deposit the payment of my “author’s rights”. Last time I was paid for my
“rights” it was a couple of hundred dollars. Royalties? More like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">serfities</i>! Maybe made a thousand<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> reais</i> over the fifteen most recent
years. We do get paid for what we sell, but with illness curtailing seminars
and spea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> engagements, sales from
our books are pretty meager. My facebook acquaintance can let his beard grow
for a good many years before the eggs get golden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">A couple of years
ago I took an American course in writing and publishing for the Christian USA
market, with the hope of brea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
into print in the evangelical arena there. A modest advance for a book there
would yield the money needed as down-payment to publish and advertise two books
for the Christian market in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
so I pursued that goal, with no results. I could not honestly say I had an
audience of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ten thousand where I could
speak and be heard in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
So, no sale – yet. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Did</i> publish an
article in a Sunday School take-home paper there.) Actresses and soccer players
become authorities overnight even if the inane things they say cannot fill the heart
and brain of an ant, but years of wisdom and service to God’s people count as
nothing in the religious publishing world. I am a writer, but have no authority
as a thinker and doer who makes a difference. I do not yearn for greatness or
fame – only faithfulness and steadfastness in what and how I communicate. But I
must learn – anew – that writing is not about ME, that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I </i>am not the author or even transcriber of good words. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The wisest of <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s
of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
Solomon, who wanted to be known throughout posterity as a Teacher not only was wise,
but also knowledgeable in communicating knowledge to people. Ecclesiastes (12:9-14)
says of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Koheleth</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">“He pondered and searched out
and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">searched
to find just the right words</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what
he wrote was upright and true.</i> The words of the wise are like goads, their
collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-- given by one Shepherd.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
is the deep desire of any writer who believes the word of our Shepherd. Like
any who plan to write balancing realism and hope, he must add a warning:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to
them. Of ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> many books there is
no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the
conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole <i>duty </i>of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Goads and firmly embedded nails are a gift
from above. No writer today is divinely inspired like Moses, David, Ezra or
Apostle Paul or Dr. Luke. Yet each writer who wants to communicate godly wisdom
will be judged not just by what she or he writes, but how he and she think or
live—every hidden thing, whether good or evil, emerges in some way! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">That is contrary to what post-modern
writers of today—literary theorists, best-selling authors, Pulitzer journalists
or tabloid gossipers—say about good writing. My grandsons’ teacher says that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> the writer writes really does not
matter, because each reader “owns” what he or she interprets, emptying any
meaning the original author intended to give. One boy turned to his teacher
commenting, “Well then, I can give any answer on any test any way I want,
because as the reader, once it has been published, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own </i>what the writer says, and my interpretation is as good as the
next one’s.” The instructor replied, “No you can not. You have to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">read what I said, know what I taught and do
exactly what is expected in my class</i>. What I just affirmed is literary
theory—exclusively outside the classroom and grades spectrum!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The teenage students came home outraged at
the foolishness their teacher proposed, and immediately dug into their books on
Philosophy by Christian thinkers. Which goads me to thin<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
about the matter of authors and authorities. In my own<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>teenage years, I wanted to question any
authority—especially if someone was “lording it over me”. Even today I cringe
when someone writes as if her words were written on stone tablets. A writer who
communicates well does not shove opinions down my throat or treat me like a
proverbial dumb blonde. We abhor prejudiced know-it-alls who do not respect
readers and consider as mute emptyheads those who read their magnanimous
postulations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Good ideas have to precede good writing,
and the only Supreme Authority is the Creator of every good gift (James 1:17)—any
other creator is an imitator, no matter how much she tries to be original. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God</i> creates from nothing—we create from
something the Creator has already thought, declared or done through timeless
eternity! Even highly-educated, knowledgeable writers don’t know it all, and
any authority they have is conceded by authorities higher than they are.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I have a friend who gushes adjectives and
adverbs in torrents of verbosity, but ignores any relationship that has caused
pain. Consequently, she has very little to say about what really matters in
life. She doesn’t understand why her articles aren’t published—her double major
and master’s degrees make her an authority in Language, but don’t produce the author
she wants to be. Other friends, deficiently educated, are always attuned to
life-changing ideas linked to people they love—these are perpetual learners who
express themselves beautifully. Sometimes I wish I had thought or said exactly
what they shared. Even their often sparse everyday conversation is never trite!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Writers of the Old Testament did not simply
relate history or facts of Jewish life. The book of Ezra is about books and
decrees by pagan rulers—fitting subject matter for an author well-versed in the
Law of Moses as well as the history and laws of Babylonians, Assyrians,
Persians and the <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s, advisers and
powerful officials of the Middle Eastern world. But what has been documented
for three thousand years about this maven writer-priest is recorded in Ezra 7:9
and 10:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">For the gracious hand of his God was on him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and
observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Same goes for Daniel, another wise thinker
who did not write exclusively for God’s people, but inclusively for several
dynasties that ruled the world. Abducted from among young princes of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Judah</st1:country-region> to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Babylon</st1:place></st1:city>,
God gave<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>knowledge and understanding of
all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and
dreams of all kinds” (1:17) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through
Daniel’s time as advisor to Darius, <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
of Persia, to whom he foretold the future Greek dominion, this Hebrew prince
humbly wrote about events that would shatter the known world. Though they came
from all walks of life—princes and cowherds were equally prophets, there were
also <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s unequaled in literary
genius—the shepherd warrior poet David, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Schlomo</i>,
his highly educated-genius-philosopher-teacher compiler of proverbs and
collector of wives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The Gospels narrate the encounters between
Jesus and the people around him, many times expressing admiration that he
spoke, taught, healed, forgave, expelled demons <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">with authority—</i>not as their scribes (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke
4:32). Their writers, the educated men whose living was based on the Book, who
postulated on ever <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">jot and tittle</i> of
the Law, did not have authority when it came to living out their faith.
Instead, they were like whitened tombs! After the resurrection, the disciples
were invested with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">authority</i> to speak
boldly and impact their world for change, beginning in <st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city>,
Judea and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Samaria</st1:place></st1:city>
and to the ends of the earth. Peter the Coward spoke and wrote movingly.
Murderous Saul mellowed into a writer of letters that build and multiply the visible
and invisible church to this day. A son of thunder became the Apostle of love.
Incredible writers all, you can believe it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve read much about writing, and written a
lot about what I’ve read over the years, and have to admit I still have eons to
learn. Simultaneously more pointed as well as more softened in what I write,
wish I were an author with authority, but have to settle to being scribe and
translator, though I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will</i> continue
writing and producing good reads, better in each article or book! Tips have
been many, some useless, others priceless, but if I want to write with
eternity’s values in view, it has to be like the anonymous writer of Hebrews
(who, by the way, wrote several things about authority and authorship):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Therefore we also, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which so easily ensnares <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">us<i>,
</i></span>and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, loo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> unto Jesus, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
author and finisher of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">our </span>faith</i>,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-85473495829069443902014-04-02T17:33:00.000-03:002014-04-02T17:33:26.955-03:00NOTES FROM THE TILT-A-WHIRL
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Last
week an editor friend sent us two books. Wish all my friends who are editors
had the generosity of our friend Felipe, who lavishes us with the printed word
from his consideration and production for the Refugio library! (These gifts
will reach and provoke so many more readers and possible writers). The first
was Michael Reeve’s doctrinal introduction to the Triune God, which enlarges
one’s understanding of grace and the glories of God’s being. The other book
surprised and boggled my hunger for beauty in writing on things long known and
loved, presented in unique, almost unbelievable ways—about creation and
destruction, belief and unbelief, and everything imaginable in between time and
eternity. I had never heard of N. D. WILSON. His <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Notes from the tilt-a-whirl</i> hooked me with its dizzying, reelingly
real story of life in relation to eternal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With every enticing word woven through, I wondered, in my sinful
writers’ jealousy, why <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> had never
imagined such art-laden metaphors. Discovered that Nathan Wilson is a very you</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"><span style="font-size: large;">ng</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> (younger than my youngest son) Fellow of Literature and
novelist who has made his mark with children’s books which I’m dying to read
and pass on to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i> grandchildren. A
sample of the amusement park disequilibrium grown-up <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">unbalancer</i>: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This universe is a
portrait in motion, a compressed portrait in motion, a miniature, inevitably
stylized, for it is trying to capture the Infinite. The galaxies are each one
fraction of a syllable in a haiku of the Ultimate. On the human level, attempts
at taking a sunset from the small frame of the horizon and putting it on a
postcard; taking a blues riff, the rhythmic vibration of strings, and capturing
a sense of loss; marble, chiseled and shaped until it shows nobility; a cartoonist’s
frame, grabbing at six-year-old boyness, grabbing at laughter… What is the best
of all possible things:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That which is
infinite, always present and undecaying. That which is both many and one. That
which is pure, ultimate, and yet humble. That which is spirit and yet personal.
That which is just and yet merciful. Yahweh, God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost...
What is the best of all possible Art. That which reveals, captures, and
communicates as many facets of that Being as is possible in a finite frame
[Notes from the tilt-a-whirl, N.D. Wilson. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nashville</st1:place></st1:city>: Thomas Nelson, 2013, p.108].<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Both books gifted are
about God and how he defines and hones the artist in his image-bearing
creatures who “communicate in finite frame”. They got me to thinking how trite my
own communication is, even as I try to make what I write spring from and
overflow with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">coram deo</i> reality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite the admonition
of Dorothy Thompson, my ancient teacher at Palavra da Vida 45 years ago, to “be
balanced”, despite my wealth of years in communicating Christian life, I still
totter and sometimes fall flat on my face. Take the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tilt-a-whirl</i> condition Paul bemoans in Romans 7: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful
nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For what I do is not the good I want to do;
no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing.</i> Now if I do what I
do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that
does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right
there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another
law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind
and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a
wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to
God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to
God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin (vv.18-25).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">This
conflict between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the good I crave and the
evil I am</i> has been with me since I became a person. The greatest thinker,
church-founder and writer Paul and a lopsided attempter at thinking and writing
Beth Gomes—both assert that there is no getting away from our human condition.
It is exemplified in all aspects of our life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Take
the double edged sword of writing/translating. My heart’s desire is to write
well, be read and recognized as someone who has something to say and says it
with graceful sharpness. I do not yearn for riches or even best-seller
status—just want to share life experiences in a way that touches many others. I
want to know Jesus better and communicate with women and men, young and old,
how he touched and transformed me. His story, my stories, the stories of people
all over the world, of inner struggles and outer battles of those both extra
and ordinary, with pain and exultations (the power of his resurrection and
fellowship of his sufferings, Philippians 3:10), are all part of <u>what I want
to write</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
I want to write</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">? Well, with beauty, simplicity and poignancy. Practical
stuff, the stuff of love and life—without <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stuffiness</i>—and
learning out of the mouths of babes, utterances of unforgettable women and men.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">What do I write</span></u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">? I have
several projects, and though sometimes fear there are too many irons in the
fire, have proposed five for the next few years: 1) Joint project with my
husband on Life Changes in letter to Philippians; 2) Flesh out a textbook for a
course on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women`s Issues in Counseling</i>;
3) Write a storybook-cookbook on Refúgio cuisine, its preparation, presentation
and provision; 4) Fiction – a novel based on missionary and native Brazilian
life. This has been in my mind for twenty years and is two-thirds written—must
complete, query and submit to US publisher; 5) Fiction based on the oft-told
story of Esther, weaving Persia and its endangered Jewish diaspora population,
with women in Iran who search for meaning in the God who sought and wooed them
with an everlasting love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Okay,
so those projects should keep my arthritic fingers dancing. But besides <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what I will write</i> there is the fact of
what I am doing now. Last year I translated Kevin De Young’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crazy Busy,</i> which was a thirty-nine
lashes admonition for me: don’t fill my life with busy-ness. But
translation—that copycat activity which yields some cash for expenses not
covered by being a wife and/or being retired, gobbles up a huge serving of the
day. Work in translating Christian books has numerous advantages: 1) I learn
from authors admired, acquiring knowledge, understanding and abilities of men
and women with multi-perspectives; 2) I make the word available to people of
cultures different from those original authors, building bridges and
consolidating Christian lives in places I could never personally reach; 3) I
learn to discern: spiritual, intellectual, practical <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">keenness</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">After
a hundred translations to my pen, I’ve lost count, and the advantages of
plodding through books good and bad, and making them into good reading in
another language, are too many to enumerate, so, let me now mention a couple of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">disadvantages.</i> 1) I’ve already hinted
at the fact that my time is sequestered: when I’m translating someone else’s
book, I am not working on my own. No matter I’m learning, making good books available,
building bridges and consolidating Christian living as well as enhancing keen
discernment—my own production is impaired and stymied. 2) As translator, I flit
from heavy to ultra-light, from Carl Henry, Michael Horton, D. A. Carson or
Nancy Pearcey to Dave Powlison or Ed Welch or Paul Tripp or John Piper (these
last four are not light in content, but in pleasurable delight even with heavy
themes.) My own thinking can become not only Poythress’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">multi-perspectival</i> but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth
Gomes’own <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">multi-mixed up! </i>3)
Sometimes what I have translated becomes incorporated into my own work in a way
that I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">forget</i> to attribute something
to an author I have worked on, and replay the text as my own. I am in constant
need of revision, to see again what I say and make worthy reference to my
predecessors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Wish
there were paid sabbaticals for freelance writers! Along with my life companion
Lau and with Paul of old, I have learned to be content in every situation, be
humbled or exalted, in need or well-supplied (Philippians 4:11). But sometimes
I wish there were time and money to purchase more books and write my heart’s
stories instead of other people’s doctrinal teaching! I know I grow with giants
and great reads—at times I groan with the insufficiencies and inadequacies of
my own life. Yet—this is a wonderful word I must always share—I press on, I
press toward the goal, reaching forward to those things which are ahead! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">In
some ways, I am the same girl who wrote eighteen chapters of her first novel at
age thirteen and never got it finished; in others, I know I am the mature woman
who continues to see writing as unfinished business, a challenge to faith, hope
and love. Pressing on is no drudgery!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-90272178409402523782014-02-10T11:32:00.001-02:002014-02-10T11:32:59.196-02:00COUSINS
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMYtEP_Z0VtSnfLfPi2TRkqOKItEwiEIHj3-8ATKHm5PL6X9dzQ5Upxii1riDowBtqS3e1bEfAD6kXIqtNXrYw_27d3AJdNGK-gLHyZRbdCkdtHNcos4aMiYQOaN7f-cMbwtBokHIAZkx/s1600/cousins-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMYtEP_Z0VtSnfLfPi2TRkqOKItEwiEIHj3-8ATKHm5PL6X9dzQ5Upxii1riDowBtqS3e1bEfAD6kXIqtNXrYw_27d3AJdNGK-gLHyZRbdCkdtHNcos4aMiYQOaN7f-cMbwtBokHIAZkx/s1600/cousins-1.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Recently a
cousin with whom I have had little contact posted two items on Facebook. One
was a picture of a snow blower he had gotten for his birthday (yeah! I clicked
“like”) and the other was evidence that his dog had eaten and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">undigested</i> something plastic (“yuck” – we
have observed the same thing happen with the dogs at home here in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>).
Afterwards, I thought “Why in the world would my only communication with a
person I value and would like to know better be an expression of disdain over a
natural function of pedigreed and mongrel pets alike?” That got me mulling over
relationships which are important but not considered primordial in today’s
hectic world, mainly, cousins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I grew up far from my cousins – a half
continent away, to be exact. Cousins – and aunts, uncles, grandparents and
others significant to my family – lived in another world which I visited for a
few months every four or five years. During those special visits, I met my kid
cousins (I was the oldest daughter of my Stowell grandparents’ oldest
daughter). Especially memorable, because marked for history by a family
portrait, was the family reunion when my great grandmother was still alive, and
my oldest Foster cousin, Scott, was a babe in arms. My cousin Jim was a
good-loo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> boy of maybe nine or
ten and his parents had not yet brought my Korean-born cousin Wendy onto the
scene. Cousin Hillery, Aunt Jinny and Uncle Bill’s one and only, was a winsome
little girl that already gave indication of the intelligent beauty she would
become. Uncle Roge and wife still had not produced their two sons, and when I
was in the States, proposed to have me live with them to get a good American
education.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Visiting my dad’s side of the family
was another story. He was ninth of twelve children and it looks like most of
them continued the order given in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Eden</st1:place></st1:city>
to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth”. My dad was an uncle when
he was born, and my older cousins and their kin were mostly names mentioned and
faces blurred into nirvana. There were cousins I enjoyed playing with – Uncle
Allen’s Byron and Anne, Aunt Doris’s Dianne, Debby and Harry Milton, and cousin
Valerie. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harry went with us to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jamestown</st1:place></st1:city> when Lau and I
visited the first time when Davi was four and Debby less than two, and it was a
joy to get to know him for a day. Still wish there were a way to re-connect
with them: There were aunts and uncles we loved, who treated us to special
meals and a gift or two – I remember each one of them. But contact with my
Charles cousins was rarer as the years went by, and stopped after my aunts
and/or uncles passed away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">There were surrogate cousins when we
were children living in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>
– fellow MK’s. Missionary kids were part of our life, and their parents were
our real-life aunts and uncles. I still have contact with one or two (Yeah
Nina!), and have discovered that we continue to have much in common despite fifty
years gone by!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the unexpected blessings when
I married was the deluge of relatives acquired along with Lau. Lau’s parents
adopted me from the day he told them he was marrying that gringo blonde. His
dad was one of eight brothers and sisters (with between none and eight
offspring a piece) and Da. Eulina one of sixteen. You can imagine how many
relatives that produced. For several years, when we had family reunions, there
were over one hundred people gathered from several states of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region>! It was
hard to keep track of everybody, but the few aunts and uncles that remain, plus
the many cousins from all over, plus their children and grandchildren, are
always in our mind and hearts. We still keep in touch as “primo” and “prima”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The name for cousin in Portuguese
(primo or prima) comes from Latin “first”— and some of these cousins in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region> are
really “first” in our hearts. But I’d say that our children really got the<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> prime opportunities </i>in cousin
relations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Each time I was pregnant, my two
sisters-in-law also had children, so my children grew up with same age cousins:
Davi, Glaucia, and Márcio, Deborah, Daniela and Maurício, Daniel and (slightly
younger) Alvaro Filho (Alvinho), then Leda. Add to these, those cousins who
lived in neighboring towns, as well as those who lived far away but were part
of the larger community of church family we visited. For example, Davi was
fourteen when he travelled alone by bus from Jaú to São Luis dos Montes Belos,
over <st1:metricconverter productid="1000 miles" w:st="on">1000 miles</st1:metricconverter>
away, to visit tio Neto and tia Ester and the cousins Eliseu, Eliezer and
Gabriel. That’s another funny use of relatives’ names: Tio is uncle and Neto is
Grandson, so Lau’s sibling cousin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(both
fathers and mothers are brothers and sisters!) Venâncio was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Uncle Grandson” to my kids!) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we moved to Brasília, our cousin Regina
Claudia and her husband Emílio, had our support every time one of her children
was born, so that our second cousins are as much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">primos </i>(or more!) than the many cousins I’ve never met. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Relationships change over time, and
I guess that is one of the reasons relatives grow apart or even break up, apart
or down. Our (Lilian, Alice and I) children who grew up together are no longer as
close as they were when kids. Davi and Marcio used to spend every vacation
together and have unforgettable underage experiences, from being held up under
gunpoint at Márcio’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chacara </i>to going
together with a long list of Bible verses, to talk to the Catholic bishop and
question why that church venerated idols and considered Mary holier than Jesus.
Today Márcio is a successful customs official in the port of Santos who has
made totally different lifestyle choices than Davi, who is happily married with
two kids and chancellor of the largest private university in South America.
Debby and Daniela are friends though living completely different lives on
either side of the <st1:place w:st="on">Atlantic</st1:place>, while our beloved
Maurício lost his life in drug-related suicide when only in early twenties,
leaving a fatherless child. My oldest Colombini nephew and niece also took
different roads in life: Derlinho is hardwor<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>,
success-driven, centered father of equally successful sons, while my beauty-driven
architect, niece Adriana faces continual losses (or screw-ups) in life, as do
her son and daughter, and grandchild. Comparisons suck, but they always come up
when considering the life and times of cousins!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Patty Duke starred in of my favorite
TV shows when I was a kid, where “identical cousins” were look-alikes from
contrasting life situations. Loo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
at the pictures of cousins in albums of the past, we remember good times and
regret the bad moments (or days, months and years) that accumulated pain in
their lives and ours. Most of the time, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">didn’t
have a clue</i> as to what was going on in my cousin’s lives, or the lives of
my children’s cousins. We heard and read and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
intuited</i> what was 80% gossip and maybe 10% reality – leave the remaining
10% for whatever other motives one might have. We loved our family, and had
hundreds of reasons to become closer to people like and unalike us, and we allowed
opportunities to flutter like feathers from a torn-up pillow on a windy day.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The Bible is packed with stories about relatives and relationships
of all kinds. Some cousins reach the Hall of Fame for giving bad advice – take Jeroboam’s
young kin in 1 Kings 12:8-15 – causing permanent division and constant civil
was between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Judah</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Come
New Testament times, a couple of memorable cousins change the world: Yohanan
ben Zacariah and Yeshuah ben David. The first was born to aged infertile Levite
parents who had trouble believing they would give birth to John the Baptist.
Six months later Jesus was conceived by a Judean teen virgin whom Joseph,
carpenter of royal lineage, married. One spent his early years on the outskirts
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:city></st1:place> and
as he matured, assumed the wild trappings of a prophet in rough clothes and a
diet of locusts and honey. The other spent his first years a fugitive in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region> until the puppet tyrant <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> died and he returned with his family to grow up
in <st1:city w:st="on">Nazareth</st1:city>, <st1:place w:st="on">Galilee</st1:place>.
John’s whole purpose in life was to prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus was the
Lord whose way had been prepared “from the foundation of the earth”. When the
two met as adults, Jesus asked John to baptize him, and John announced “Behold
the Lamb of God”. Both were destined for violent death – John beheaded on a
whim, Jesus crucified – and he was ressurrected three days later! Those are
cousins of true renown!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I take this moment to honor
my cousins by blood ties and through heartstrings, in hopes that we may build
bridges in our humanity, and connect the many existent or imaginary gulfs into
one distinct, diverse, and divine family!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Elizabeth Gomes</span></span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-77782072101788851552014-01-10T09:04:00.000-02:002014-01-10T09:04:37.308-02:00scripturient
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FKoGOZT10yE0oB7aJxoQdIxiiRorZtWxRyAeEAphyphenhyphenDB-Pd-mNwee8E29jIOuYT5raJ5P8IwDt0n373ZSxVHCe7ljpMO72T1ppmdG6M07bzfhmxYDXuUgso4XPNedtmnXk1FXuwSeaA6F/s1600/Scripturient.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FKoGOZT10yE0oB7aJxoQdIxiiRorZtWxRyAeEAphyphenhyphenDB-Pd-mNwee8E29jIOuYT5raJ5P8IwDt0n373ZSxVHCe7ljpMO72T1ppmdG6M07bzfhmxYDXuUgso4XPNedtmnXk1FXuwSeaA6F/s1600/Scripturient.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span><strong>scripturient: </strong>(adj)
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">having a consuming passion to write</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt;">pronunciation: skrip- tUr- E- ent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Today I learned a new word I had never
heard before with my old friend who is, like me, an English teacher. I have
been immersed in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Scriptures </i>since
childhood, and am equally passionate about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">writing</i>
since I first learned to read (and consequently, write), and know at least a
dozen words derived from the Latin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scriptura
</i>in both English and Portuguese, but was unfamiliar with the adjective that
perhaps describes my past and present goal:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
scripturient</i>. Thanks, Nina Woody Morway, for defining the passion that
consumes me as well as significant others in my life!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Here in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brazil</st1:place></st1:country-region> day before yesterday was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">National Readers’ Day</i>, also a definition
I had never heard about, though every day at our house has always been a day
for reading and writing. Many friends posted comments about the books they had
recently read; a few ventured to mention the books they futurely wish to write,
and my mind was boggled with thoughts and ideas and plans and mental outlines
and entering and deleting a glut of stories and concepts my fingers (or
word-processor, when push comes to shove) are too slow to write. Got letters
from a couple of thin<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> friends
and discovered that it was my reading-thin<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>-corresponding
aunt’s birthday, so I wrote to her and was immediately rewarded with her
delightful communication. And began to consider how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relational </i>reading and writing really are.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Have a<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> facebook</i> friend who is a writer of
romantic, slightly steamy (if someone can steam only slightly) novels. I don’t
even remember how she got on my list, but along with my thirty-something author
friends – mostly Christian thinkers and doers – who write serious popular
non-fiction, this writer lightens me up with her humorous posts. Her relation
to books is downright idolatrous, and her books are about relations – love and
hate – between glamorous men and women, but you really can’t say her writing is
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relational </i>in the sense that the
Biblical God of Scriptures wrote, or people who believe Him write about the
Word in flesh.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The wisest <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> in the
world, author and compiler of the ancient wisdom of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, chose to call himself
simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Koheleth</i>, Teacher or Preacher.
He “searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and
true”, describing the words of the wise as “goads, their collected sayings like
firmly embedded nails – given by one Shepherd” (Ecclesiastes 12:10). But in the
same text he warned of the vanity of anything given in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>addition to the words of the one Shepherd: “Of
ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> many books there is no end, and
much study wearies the body” and after all had been said, concluded that
humankind’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">whole <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">duty </span></i>was to “fear God and keep his commandments, for God
will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it
is good or evil”. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">There is much argument as to when or even where another wise man
lived and wrote (or was subject of deep drama laden with dialogue from
beginning to end. But the oft-repeated declaration of faith he left for all
generations of Old and New Testament believers, </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I know that my Redeemer lives</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">and that in the end he will
stand upon the earth.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And after my skin has been
destroyed, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">yet in my flesh I will see God;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I myself will see him with my
own eyes-- I, and not another. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">How my heart yearns within me!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">is sandwiched between a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scripturient </i>declaration writers like
you and me wish for:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, that my words were
recorded, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">that they were written on a
scroll,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">that they were inscribed with
an iron tool on lead, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">or engraved in rock forever! (Job
19:23-25)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Scripture speaks of writing as more than documenting a covenant,
though the everlasting covenant is written in hearts and stone and from the
beginning of human history “inscribed by the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18;
34:27). As God’s image-bearers, His people were to “write down for yourselves
this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it...” (Deuteronomy
31:19). Not just the songs and poems,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">but also the ethics of “love and faithfulness never leave you; bind
them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will
win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man (Proverbs 3:3).</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">The revelation to the prophets, whether by Habakkuk, who wrote disturbing
questions in Judah right before the Babylonian invasion by Nebucadnezzar, or
Daniel in exile, or John on Patmos, was to be written visibly – as a royal
message and a readable road sign: "Write down the revelation and make it
plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an
appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it
linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay (Habakkuk 2:2).</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Jesus Christ himself commissioned John to write <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what he had seen</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what is now</i>,
and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what will take place later</i>
(Revelation 1:19) and finishes off with a promise: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"I am ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
everything new!" affirming: "Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rev. 21:5</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course, we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scripturient </i>writers<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, </i>whether passionately driven or
leniently procrastinators, do not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own</i>
the words of God nor write anything close to inspired Scripture. But the most
prolific writer in the New Testament compares us to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">letters </i>– a writing genre with which he was quite adept – as he
wrote to the Corinthian believers: </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">You show that you are a letter
from Christ, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">the result of our ministry,
written not with ink </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">but with the Spirit of the
living God, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of human hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Paul gives Christian readers and writers words of trust and
competence, of unsurpassed beauty and glory and competence – goals we seek in
writing the truth (even through fiction), writing well, ministering in a new
spiritual covenant: “Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our
competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new
covenant-- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the
Spirit gives life...” that breaks into poetry:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">If the ministry that was
engraved in letters on stone, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">came with glory, so that the
Israelites </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">could not look steadily at the
face of Moses </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">because of its glory, fading
though it was, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">will not the ministry of the
Spirit be even more glorious?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">If the ministry that condemns
men is glorious, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">how much more glorious </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">is the ministry that brings
righteousness!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">For what was glorious has no
glory now </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">in comparison with the
surpassing glory.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And if what was fading away
came with glory, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">how much greater is the glory
of that which lasts!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Therefore, since we have such a
hope, we are very bold.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We are not like Moses, who
would put a veil over his face </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">to keep the Israelites from
gazing at it </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">while the radiance was fading
away...</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">But whenever anyone turns to
the Lord, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">the veil is taken away.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Now the Lord is the Spirit, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is freedom.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And we, who with unveiled faces
all reflect the Lord's glory, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">are being transformed into his
likeness </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">with ever-increasing glory, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">which comes from the Lord, who
is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3.3-18).</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We really cannot say such a text is taken out of context when
applied to a modern Christian writer’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">scripturient</i>
desire! May 2014 find us writing with passion, truth and love, good metaphors
and profound simplicity!</span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US">Elizabeth Gomes</span></div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-31590549870325905922013-12-15T18:39:00.001-02:002013-12-15T18:44:38.767-02:00LOUDMOUTH AND STILL, SMALL VOICE<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLao12ABH619l-MwFwhF6RjlhdSqRIoSUKzq6fcov_r9qTmdiHlDEzkUmxb8seoSRqipm0M7vNXFdEv4bTnua5WKINUk-ZjgBeoW0Z4jZihrkQcMIT8Ore5sBATmU-cjh19Lxe0BxBGhg7/s1600/Coral+infantil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLao12ABH619l-MwFwhF6RjlhdSqRIoSUKzq6fcov_r9qTmdiHlDEzkUmxb8seoSRqipm0M7vNXFdEv4bTnua5WKINUk-ZjgBeoW0Z4jZihrkQcMIT8Ore5sBATmU-cjh19Lxe0BxBGhg7/s400/Coral+infantil.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coral Infantil Sementes da Esperança (http://www.alagoas24horas.com.br/conteudo/?vCod=77856)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Some time ago, Lau
and I were invited to participate at a youth conference and for the first time
I was listed as speaker. Usually my articulate,
immersed-in-the-wisdom-of-the-Bible husband, was keynote preacher and I accompanied
him for support and maybe a question-answers session for women, but I was never
a spokesperson. This time was different: both of us would be spea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> to the entire group at different sessions, and
I must say I loved the idea. The week before the event, my doctor pronounced a
verdict on my intermittent sore throat: we’ve got to operate, or the infections
will escalate to unbearable heights. So I had a tonsillectomy and was forbidden
to speak. I went to camp with Lau and the young people of the church, but was
not only mute for public spea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
but also for singing praises. All I could do was play the recorder – and I was
never a great instrumentalist –when they sang in congregation. I wrote
expressing my frustration:</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Lord, I want to be a mouth,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">shout from mountaintops, proclaim through great reads</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">-- but today you make me silent,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">and to a mute voice you whisper, “Just be still</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">and remember that I Am.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I give and take what plans you make</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">to work out well all one can say</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">of mercy and sheer grace.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 20.7pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted
to proclaim, I confess it now,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 2cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 7.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">for it made me sound important</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 49.05pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 7.65pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
the sound of my enamored voice seemed</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 41.4pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 15.3pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>clearer
than the message I was to communicate.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">“Dumb speaker, talk with your life,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">shout with your being and love with your seeing,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">be a hearer, be a doer – but stay quiet,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">listen humbly, learn intensely, share my infinite gentleness!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">When our children were young and my mother was visiting, she once
exclaimed, “They are so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">loud</i>! Why
can’t they be more quiet and polite like so-and-so’s kids?” I confess that I
was never a good teacher of politeness or quietude. At the dinner table we
always seemed to have wild discussions about everything under the sun –
sometimes three or four simultaneously. Ideas, dreams, frustrations, spiritual
struggles and temporal victories were all on the table, spilled over, hoarded while
shared, communicating thought and hope with words, not always of wisdom, but
always wielding authenticity. Sometimes our words rose from the flesh, but we
always looked toward the Word who became flesh, and tried to flesh out faith in
action. All of us, became, become and are becoming speakers, though the sound
of music runs from rhythmic rap to symphonic praise to the simple <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do re mi</i> of pain.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">When I consider that one of the only
permanent aftershocks of my cerebral vascular accident is losing my voice I
must concede that God was generous to me. (He is always generous and good and
would still have been good if I had lost everything, even my life – but a proud
and strong-willed loudmouth can learn a lot when she is not the soloist and
can’t even carry a tune in the choir – if she learns to listen well). So losing
one’s voice is an opportunity for learning to hear – even when one perceives that
physically my hearing impairment is increasing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">Jesus’ brother may have had similar
issues before he wrote:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">My dear brothers, take note
of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become
angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires
(James 1.19NIV). </span></i><span lang="EN-US">Quick to listen, slow to speak,
slow to anger! My tendency is the opposite: quick indignation, quick and easy
tal<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>, hard of hearing and harder
still to listen well, so James’s admonition is counterpoint to what comes
naturally. And we not only must listen well, but do what we heard from God.
Jesus said that what distinguishes his sheep from others is: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,
and they follow me </i>(John 10.27). Christ knows those who listen to him, and
those who hear his voice follow him. Doers and not just hearers or sayers (I
must concede that some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sayers, </i>like
Dorothy, are real <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">doers</i> with their
stories – but you get the point).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">One of the aspects of writing, for me, is
communicating truth in a way that is lovely and loving. Paul says it well:</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span lang="EN-US">“spea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> the truth in love, we will in all things grow
up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” and “put off falsehood and speak
truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body” Ephesians 4:15,
25). The result of truthful communication in love is growing in all things in
Christ, and the reason we do so is that we are all members of the same body. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We see progression: good listening yields
true speech, which results in growing as participants in one body. When Charles
Wesley expressed the desire for a thousand tongues to speak the praise of our
Redeemer, he was not just tal<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
about multiple languages. We believe there are people out of every tribe and
nation who have heard and are practicing the written Word by the living Word
incarnate – so more than a thousand tongues are tal<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>,
and tal<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> well. But each singular
Christian has the opportunity to express what has been expressed in: “the
honors of thy name”. One Word made flesh and dwelt among us – this “charms our
fears, bids our sorrows cease, breaks the power of cancelled sin, sets the
prisoner free, ‘tis music in the sinner’s ears, ‘tis life and health and peace”</span><a href="file:///J:/LOUDMOUTH%20AND%20STILL.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">.
Wesley’s wording is laden with<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> awesome</i>!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Isaiah saw the incredibly awesome throne
of the Lord, encircled by six-winged seraphs singing the holiness of the God
who fills the earth with his glory. The prophet’s exclamation was not of having
reached a personal pinnacle of spiritual success – on the contrary, he had to
say “Woe to me! I am a man of unclean lips, and live with people of unclean
lips, and my eyes have seen the <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>,
the Lord Almighty!” Isaiah’s mouth was touched and his guilt removed, and he
was commissioned to tell God’s wayward people “Until the cities lie ruined and
without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined
and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly
forsaken” (Isaiah 6.7-12). A prophet sent by God must communicate the truth
even under the threat of total ruin. In an utterly forsaken land, arises a
voice crying in the wilderness – predicted by prophets, fulfilled by the last
prophet of the old covenant: John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3; 43:19; Matthew
3:3). Even the advent of the locust and honey-eating prophet was preceded by his
father Zechariah’s being stricken with... muteness (Luke 1.5-20). And John was
called to preach in the middle of nowhere – in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">desert</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Judea</st1:placename></st1:place>.
Some of God’s servants who were pretty holy had to shut up while God was entering
humankind!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Awesome were the scenes witnessed while
shepherds watched their flocks and angels sang one unforgettable night, and the
uncultured sheep-watchers were commissioned to spread the word concerning Jesus
(Luke 2:8-18). The same John (not the Baptist, but the old apostle who had
walked with Jesus since early in his lifetime) who spoke about the Word made
flesh (John 1.1-14) wrote to complete the joy of every believer with “the Word
of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim
to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete!”(1 John 1:1-5). Nearly a
hundred years later, John heard the voice of angels and fell down to worship at
the feet of the angel who had been showing the vision of the eternal city, when
the messenger intervened: “But he said to me, Do not do it! I am a fellow
servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the
words of this book. Worship God!" (Revelation 22:8).</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">The entire Bible is laden with the dance
of hearing, understanding, and being silent and acknowledging our woe before we
can communicate life-giving speech. Listening to the voice of the Wind that
blows when and where he wishes (John 3:8-12) we are born anew. It is in a
gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11, 12) that the Lord speaks to us after letting
loose earth-shattering thunder and fire. Likewise, he expects our powerful
speech, whether through multimedia at full volume or written books shared by
word of mouth in plain English or Portuguese (in our case), or Chinese, or
International Sign Language, Swahili or any other language in this world, to be
simple, understandable truth spoken in love, with the whisper of the Spirit
that resounds throughout the earth. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">This Christmastide, I wish I become known
for listening well – not just music that I love, but God’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">forever music, </i>the sound of a mighty rush of wind and a gentle
breeze that touches one’s life to leave it never the same. I wish my friends to
hear the Voice – not voices of idols or babble of incoherent speech, but the
voice we are admonished to listen to without hardening arteries or heart. May
we develop learnable hearts and minds, so we acknowledge the God who gives “knowledge
and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning” (Daniel 1:17). </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I remember my Jewish friends who
celebrate the feast of lights, Hanukkah, a lesser festival in their calendar,
and the words of the prophet who was displaced from his land and served
faithfully through several international</span><a href="file:///J:/LOUDMOUTH%20AND%20STILL.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: large;">
dynasties:</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Praise be
to the name of God for ever and ever; </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">wisdom and
power are his.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">He changes
times and seasons; </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">he sets up <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s and deposes them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">He gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">He reveals
deep and hidden things; </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">he knows
what lies in darkness, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">and light
dwells with him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I thank and
praise you, O God of my fathers: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">You have
given me wisdom and power,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">you have
made known to me what we asked of you, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">you have
made known to us the dream of the king.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">This song is reminiscent of Paul in his
letter to the ex-pagan Corinthians:</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">For God,
who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">made his
light shine in our hearts </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">to give us
the light of the knowledge </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">of the
glory of God in the face of Christ.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">But we have
this treasure in jars of clay </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">to show
that this all-surpassing power </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">is from God
and not from us (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">May Faith communicate the truth of a
brilliantly happy Christmas to you and yours, with glories that are not our
own, and treasures multiplied throughout the earth in every tongue, for every
nation!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth
Gomes</span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///J:/LOUDMOUTH%20AND%20STILL.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">O for a thousand tongues to
speak</i>, Charles Wesley, in Hymns of the Christian Life # 7, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philadelphia</st1:place></st1:city>: Christian Publications</span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///J:/LOUDMOUTH%20AND%20STILL.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> From the year 605 to around 532 BC, from Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
through Cyrus, the Mede, and then Darius, <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Persia</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-32980750764396203822013-11-29T21:59:00.000-02:002013-11-29T22:13:14.390-02:00CONTROL FREAK<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbAnqgCKqQmWrZm1mG5ZT9ImmEsyUDNFovmea5HfuNCKGcLzVPCSKGgIVOe8P2hTUQ-EcQyx93FJhHytXQQZ2Jnjrv6IufrEYT9qrlGuYB3DKcnx7QyFYMd748IyUJ1l5oU34Dk0VNuD5/s1600/Control3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbAnqgCKqQmWrZm1mG5ZT9ImmEsyUDNFovmea5HfuNCKGcLzVPCSKGgIVOe8P2hTUQ-EcQyx93FJhHytXQQZ2Jnjrv6IufrEYT9qrlGuYB3DKcnx7QyFYMd748IyUJ1l5oU34Dk0VNuD5/s400/Control3.jpg" width="348" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am not a TV addict.
While my husband enjoys watching action-packed adventure movies, almost as soon
as the television is turned on for us to relax most evenings, I get down to more
serious relaxation – and doze, or even sleep the whole night, if I remember to
put and turn on the C-pap before saying goodnight. After prayer, hugs and
kisses and a screen-filled story, I usually don’t follow the CSI’s or NCIS’s or
Blacklist or whatever past the first ten minutes. If I have a good book, I can
spend hours past bedtime reading, but only a short scene or two on the screen –
unless it is a historical novel or well-crafted mystery. If Lau gets up to
answer the phone, however, I grab the remote control and do some serious
surfing, chec<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> out several
national and international news stations, a couple of coo<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
experts (I especially loved Kylie and Nigela and enjoy Jamie Oliver’s
thirty-minute meals) and even take a peek at ridiculous situations on What Not
to Wear or Wife Swap. As soon as Lau gets back to the bedroom sofa, I return
the remote control to him, trying to focus the scene where he left off – while
I return to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terra Somnia</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">What makes me crave the
control when I don’t even like TV? Guess it’s really a matter of wanting to
know <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what’s on</i> on twenty-something
stations in living color and deadly world news or crime scenes. It’s having
that gadget in hand and doing something different from what is presently
presented – like the idea of “anywhere but here” of a wanderlusting reader or
watcher. I have to confess that not a few moments of irritation have risen
around issues of remote control and who says <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what</i> we will watch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Long ago, when I was
younger (I am still<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> young</i> at heart,
though over sixty-five!) I used to criticize my mother for her need to control
every detail in her well-ordered life. Mom’s closet had clothes with notes
about the date they were purchased (shortly before she died at 88 I found a
skirt she had bought in Porto Alegre when I was fourteen), what accessories she
could wear with the outfit, and a rubber band on each hanger indicating whether
the garment was sparkling clean or had been worn and would need laundering
after two or three uses. She knew where every penny she paid had been spent (or
wasted, in her opinion, many times when given to someone else). Mom made to-do
lists and grocery lists, collecting coupons and comparing savings. She had
reams of paper of all colors, shapes and sizes, but used to cut up used
envelopes and write notes in her impeccable ambidextrous calligraphy on
everything from “B’s birthday” to “mail check for tithe” to “turn over the
compost pile” and “make soup from chicken bones” or “pray without ceasing”. On
her birthday list, besides writing the name of the person whose birthday would
be celebrated on a certain date, she wrote the relationship beside the person’s
name: Beth – daughter –August 17<sup>th</sup>; Deborah – granddaughter –
October 25<sup>th</sup>, Louella – friend .... and for many years indicated
what was given for the occasion. As I said, I used to criticize my dear mom for
the controlling details of her life, until I realized that the need to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">be in control</i> was due to the fear that
she was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">losing control</i>, forgetting,
and worse, not being able to foresee the outcome of plans and dreams. To a
detail-oriented, well-ordered woman, the shoc<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
surprises of life were earth-shattering, and she had trouble dealing with them,
except as “reasons for prayer requests”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">In John Frame’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Doctrine of the
Christian Life</i> we read about the reformed understanding of God’s authority,
presence and control, and when we learn about God’s control over all things, we
learn to trust God and his providence. Our faith is in who he is, what he does
and did, and what he promised for our future. It is trust in the sovereign care
of our loving Father. We often think of Romans 8:28 as a catch-all for a sort
of fatalistic clichéed Christian life, but when we look carefully at the text
we understand that God’s will in the life of those who love him is full of
purpose and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">controlled conformity – to him</i>!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And he who searches our hearts knows the
mind of the Spirit, </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">in accordance with God's will.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And we know that in all things </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">God works for the good of those who love
him, </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">who have been called according to his
purpose.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">For those God foreknew he also predestined </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers.</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">And those he predestined, he also called; </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">those he called, he also justified; </span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">those he justified, he also glorified.
(Romans 8:27-30)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the case of
God Almighty, control is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">beneficial</i>
(God works for the good of those who love him), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">relational </i>(that he might be the firstborn of many brothers) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">progressively better </i>(those he
predestined he also called, those he called, he also justified, those he
justified, he also glorified). Human control freaks (like you and me) often do
not want to control for the benefit of the one(s) we control, but for our own
personal benefit. Instead of thin<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
relationally of others as brothers and sisters, we want to dominate or dictate
as captains of our own souls as well as of others’ lives, and in lieu of
improving the circumstances toward glory, we want to control because we don’t
believe the other person is capable of wise decisions and actions! Remote
control in hand, we boss around here, there and everywhere – even when our
choices are just as stupid as the other options presented!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;">Jeremiah was a prophet who received the Word of the Lord when he was
still very young, and foresaw and experienced the destruction of his people and
nation even when every other prophet was preaching peace and good times, and
the shepherds of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region></st1:place>
were “curing the hurts of their sheep superficially”. When he got to writing
Lamentations, there was no way to control what was happening in current events
or heartfelt stories – for Judah has gone into exile and she who was queen
among the provinces is now a slave (Lam.1:3,1). But Jerry had to admit he lost
all control: “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath”.
His skin and flesh “grow old and he has broken my bones”; he is “surrounded with
bitterness and hardship”, dwelling<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“in
darkness like those long dead”; “walled in so I cannot escape”; “weighed down
with chains”; “barred my way with blocks of stone”... “he has turned his hand
against me again and again, all day long” (Lam. 3.1-20).</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Truly Jeremiah, who was called by the Lord before being formed in his
mother’s womb”, and was appointed to have control “over nations and <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>doms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and
overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10) seems to have lost it
all – health, prestige, being believed, family, friends, position and even
possibilities in his nation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of my friends and family have situations similar to that of
Jeremiah. They are faithful to God, but by the standards of prosperity-gospel
preachers and of the real world we live in, all seems lost. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Even I</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have no control over circumstances or
situations, and wish there were a magical remote control to put things back
onto the right station or more pleasant programs. Like Jeremiah, they (and we)
“well remember... and our soul is downcast within” but there is something else,
something more: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">YET, this I
call to mind and therefore I have hope: </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Because of
the LORD's great love we are not consumed, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">for his
compassions never fail. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">They are
new every morning; great is your faithfulness. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">I say to
myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The LORD is
good to those whose hope is in him, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">to the one
who seeks him; </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">it is good
to wait quietly</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">for the
salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:20-26)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">And in spite of no control in our hands, like crying prophets, demoted
priests and fallen <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>s and queens,
we sing: Great is thy faithfulness, Oh God my Father, There is no shadow of
turning with thee/ Thou turnest not, thy compassions they fail not/ as thou hast
been, thou forever wilt be! Great is thy faithfulness!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: right;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Elizabeth Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-67489530201944666452013-10-20T17:21:00.000-02:002013-10-20T17:21:28.048-02:00GLORIFIED SPECIALS<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWv1uYbv22lQuizgOq4L2fn12cUUaFXmfTY3bIDyGc4dEwVTUj3E8jmoSWd9tWYTYWfwriUWlyXjZVVPsvUBQkJwNkLgnUhzgynXXLvbQMcezzO9vnhM6UKPQwXSoZyDWGbw31tFXonhJh/s1600/Edison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWv1uYbv22lQuizgOq4L2fn12cUUaFXmfTY3bIDyGc4dEwVTUj3E8jmoSWd9tWYTYWfwriUWlyXjZVVPsvUBQkJwNkLgnUhzgynXXLvbQMcezzO9vnhM6UKPQwXSoZyDWGbw31tFXonhJh/s320/Edison.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thomas Alva Edison (born Feb 11, 1847 -- died Oct 18, 1931), was taught at home by his mother because at age 7 he was expelled from school for being considered mentally retarded -- he was deaf.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">I remember in Grandma Kate’s kitchen, seeing the old
man with long hair and crooked hands. “So you’re Dougie’s girl,” he said. I was
five going on six, loved my daddy Douglas and had never heard him called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dougie</i>, but it sounded like a good
mixture of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Douglas and Daddy</i>. I
nodded. Cat swallowed my words. That was the first and only time I met my
Grandpa Charles. Later I asked my parents about him and was put off with “He’s
in a hospital”.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Institutionalized</i>.
“Always been crazy”. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How come there were
such pretty paintings all over Grandma Charles’ homestead, though everyone said
she was so poor an’ he never gave her anything?</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why does Grandpa Charles have long hair – boys wear it short</i>. ‘Cept
in pictures of Jesus and Moses and people from the Bible. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is Grandpa from the Bible times? Did he die?</i> And when we visited
the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Richmond</st1:city></st1:place>
park and zoo, daddy told me that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his </i>daddy
had worked on a lot of the parks – he was a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">landscape
architect. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later asked mommy what a
landscape architect was, and she replied, “It’s a glorified name for a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gardener.”</i> I liked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">glorified names. </i>Having seen television for the first time, I was
enthralled by some of the advertisements. “Halo shampoo – it<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> glorifies</i> your hair!” and was sure that
would make me not only more beautiful, but somehow <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holier. </i>There was always a vague remembrance of an unknown
grandfather who sired twelve kids and left my valiant, perfect matriarchal grandmother
to raise them by all herself during the Depression. Some years later I
overheard my mom and dad mentioning that he had died in the “Institution”. No
great grief. Just emptiness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Nowadays the problems of mental illness are different.
People are no longer institutionalized for long periods. Several friends I know
on both sides of the Atlantic have family members who struggle with mental
illness and though there is no more a culture of “putting away” or
institutionalizing people who have “gone mad”, many are the unresolved issues,
and families are embarrassed to talk about them. Often family and friends wish
there were a way to simply “lock up” the “offender”. “Crazy” family members
spend like made, though they may have been the most beautiful child in the
family, do weird and irresponsible things like getting rid of all their
belongings, or expecting Christmas presents every day, or hiding and hoarding
food, when not getting drugged and dragged naked into the street by their
folly. They are old children, never growing up and never knowing what a soft,
gentle demeanor can do to make them lovely once more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Once when a recovering addict answered the phone at
the Refúgio clinic my husband directed in Brasília, the person on the line
asked, “Is that where the crazy people stay?” and Ulisses, without missing a
beat, answered, “Yeah, here the best of us drool!” Especially after I suffered
a CVA, I felt that not only the “best of us drool”, but also the Brazilian saying
“between doctors and madmen, we all own a bit of both”. Edward Welch describes
diseases that “characteristically alter intellect, emotions or behavioral
capabilities. These can impair understanding, pose limitations on the
expression of the heart, provide occasions for temptation and sin, and raise
unique problems for families.... because they mimic spiritual problems of the
heart, they are often misdiagnosed by counselors and physicians”.<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Now, a blog is no place for an all-encompassing, deep
essay on mental disabilities – and I am certainly not qualified to analyze such
problems. Have a couple of friends who are respected neurologists, many who are
practicing psychologists, and even a couple of psychiatrists, besides the
pastoral and family counselors with whom I am familiar. I can only write as a
Christian reader who wants to know what the Bible can offer to those who are
perturbed. Mainly it is a matter of hope and encouragement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">I write as a “drooler” -- one who not always can
control the saliva I produce – much less the mental and psychological issues
that we confront on a daily basis. I write as the child who discovered that her
grandfather was labeled “crazy” and put away, the young mother who discovered a
child she begat and wholly loved -- with mental illness that loses her, the
middle-aged couple who have to deal with their parents’ senility, the “golden years”
grandmother who faces the reality of her own disenfranchisement as she forgets
more often, remembers “long ago” but lets the beans burn and the shower run dry
and mixes up the grandchildren’s birthdays. I write to friends who are afraid
of “losing it” and want to grab every detail of their past and hold tight so it
won’t get away, while hoping to forget those things that hurt deep in their
heart of hearts and still make them feel “like the motherless child” of the Negro
spiritual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Mental and emotional disabilities remind us that
nobody is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> normal. Disability
requires patience, time, trust, submission and hope” – qualities most of us,
normal, mildly or severely disabled all, severely lack in our post-modern
world. There is need for “awareness that to live will involve us, at some time
and at some level, in physical and/or psychic suffering”.<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Michael Beates poses some hard questions: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Why do we... demand that everybody be ‘normal’ and
look the same? Why do we ... try so hard at hiding people with disabilities
from our everyday view? Why do some people with visible and invisible
brokenness often feel as if they have to hide the problem in order to join
God’s people for worship? Finally, and perhaps more importantly, what answers
does the good news of the gospel give us for those questions, and how does the
gospel give us hope in these situations?... Many sources number statistics as
to Americans with disabilities at over forty million people.... Add to this the
number of people whose ‘brokenness’ is relational and emotional, and this category
may include almost every other person in the pew.<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">I have a dear friend who struggles with bipolarity and
a split personality, and has illusions that, if by faith, she stops ta<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> her meds, the Lord will heal her through the
television ministrations of some quack <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">evangelist</i>.
Another loved one is locked in her room and her dreams while hoping she will be
healed by a new relationship, a new love, so she buries the meds and tries out
new loves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Disability is not foreign to the Bible. King Saul was
tormented by fits of madness for which David was called to sing, play his harp
and comfort the <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> – First case of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">music therapy</i> that we have documented
knowledge (1 Samuel 14:14-23). Later, David sought refuge with the <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gath</st1:place></st1:city>
and faked madness in order to save his own life (1 Samuel 21:10-15). Job found
himself disabled, disenfranchised and in despair, and his wife gave the counsel
of a madwoman (Job 2:8-10). The Bible runs the gamut of descriptions, from
“simple” (13 times) folly (9 times) fool or foolish (24 times), stupid or
stupidity (5 times) madness (54), unreason (3). The book of Proverbs is pregnant
with contrasts between wisdom and folly, good-sense and nonsense, giving vivid
examples of various types of spiritual, mental and emotional “disabilities”
which all of us have seen, if not experienced personally. Reason and
understanding were removed from mind and behavior of Babylonian <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> Nebuchadnezzar, who behaved like an irrational
animal (Daniel 4). Later both reason and government were restored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">When, upon preparing
to enter the promised land, Moses presented his people with the fullness of
blessings or destitution of curses as they obeyed or disobeyed the Word of God,
I was intrigued by one of the curses: “The LORD will strike you with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">madness</i> and blindness and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">confusion of heart</i>.... So you shall be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">driven mad</i> because of the sight which
your eyes see” (Deuteronomy 28.28, 34), and goes on to a horrifying description
of evil in the land. A couple of thousand years later, Paul warns Timothy of
the evil of the “last days”, which in every detail seems to describe <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">our days</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">For men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying
its power. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">And from such people
turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives
of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always
learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy
3:2-7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">.We
are confused at Biblical representations of those who are disabled. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imago dei,</i> the fact that we are created
in God’s image and likeness, would indicate that we were created <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">perfect,</i> and the many imperfections in
the people around us whom we love and loathe are the result of the universal
fall, but definitely “not the way it should be”. Just as the sacrificial lambs
goats or bulls had to be “perfect”, entrance in the tabernacle and temple were
denied to those with deficiencies. But sacrifices were made “for the simple and
those who could not answer for their own sanity” (Numbers 15:30; Ez 45.20). On
the cross, Jesus prayed: “Father, forgive them for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">they do not know what they do</i>” Luke 21.34. There is a disability
due to ignorance which is freely forgiven. But as we look at the Gospel, we see
that the Spirit was upon Jesus to heal and set free. Beates says:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">In many respects (John 9 being an exception), Jesus
never fully explained his focus on the lame, blind, crippled and poor. He let
the healings and parables speak for themselves, allowing the hearers to connect
the dots, so to speak.... Paul drew the lines more clearly, perhaps for the
sake of those new to the covenant community... but throughout, we continue to
see (albeit sometimes subtle) an important thread in the fabric of our
understanding of the gospel: brokenness (spiritually and emotionally) and
weakness (physically representing our spiritual state) are the normative human
condition. And recognizing this reality is the first step to embracing the life-giving
power of the gospel.<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">There is a very special boy in our family who has struggled
with learning disabilities, mental and neurological challenges, and in a way
will always need help, medical and psychological, to function properly. But he
loves the Lord and was taught in the Word. When he was still quite little, at a
school that denied the Trinity, he said to his dad, referring to his teacher,
“Here Dad. Tell her that God is three in one -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Tell her like the Bible says!” More recently, he has depended on the Lord to
strengthen him in the areas where he is weak, and prays that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">God will use me with my disabilities to help
other kids like me to know Jesus”. </i>We are as proud of this young man as of
the other children all – whether normal, gifted or disabled. This gospel is
what gives hope to us – whole or “special” – in manifold ways. Paul says it
humbly and triumphantly:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">For you see your
calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, <i>are called. </i>But God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world
to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world
and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not,
to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His
presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God
– and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- that, as it is
written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD." (1 Corinthians
1:26-31)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Elizabeth Gomes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Counselor’s Guide to the Brain and its
Disorders</i>, Edward Welch, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Grand
Rapids</st1:city></st1:place>: Zondervan, 1991, p. 107</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Disability, p <st1:metricconverter productid="71”" w:st="on">71”</st1:metricconverter>.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Disability and the Gospel,</i> Michael S.
Beates, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Wheaton</st1:city></st1:place>:
Crossway, 2012, p. 17.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="file:///D:/GLORIFIED%20FOOLS.doc#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> p. 61.<span lang="PT-BR" style="mso-ansi-language: PT-BR;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-85709833856005300302013-08-05T19:40:00.001-03:002013-08-05T19:40:55.687-03:00PROVERBS AND PRECIOUS PROMISES
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSvt7MygYzhC1bHyfpdLrncQnw2Oufj7PQmktZy2iynrobBgNyFTOA9_UFDPx9LBecl7cujtzP2lp5Zh8xaZ2_8pfFLmBts4ZHugIBKtBBI0esvK12MhhLZHHfHfV174Hdc28jUj7m96o/s1600/hair-wreath-550x342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSvt7MygYzhC1bHyfpdLrncQnw2Oufj7PQmktZy2iynrobBgNyFTOA9_UFDPx9LBecl7cujtzP2lp5Zh8xaZ2_8pfFLmBts4ZHugIBKtBBI0esvK12MhhLZHHfHfV174Hdc28jUj7m96o/s320/hair-wreath-550x342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: center;">
<strong><i><span style="color: black;"></span></i></strong><br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<strong><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A garland of grace for your head (Prov. 1:9).<o:p></o:p></span></i></strong></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<strong><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Over the last couple of weeks</span></strong> I had a translation
deadline that forced me to ignore simple pleasures like chec<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> my emails or posting comments on various things
that were happening in the lives of friends and family. Once when I began a
posting, my computer went beserk and so I went on to other activities, only to
discover two days later that that unfinished comment “graced” my timeline and
several people “answered” my unfinished incomplete non-thought. Tal<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> to a friend, I had affirmed that one of the
reasons we are involved in Christian counseling is that we have seen and felt
more than skin-deep the need for wisdom in the body
of believers who so often set off for “ministry” with the best of intentions
but total lack of wisdom in practical life, even though they (we) believe the
Word of God and serve the living Word with heart and mind. The Bible is full of
guidelines for our path, from Genesis to Revelation. This early morning I made
a pit-stop at an old favorite, Proverbs, whose God-breathed words of wisdom
were collected by the wisest of men who was a total fool when it came to
marriage and involvement with the idols of his culture. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
The
introduction delineates the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">raison d’etre</i>
for the book that at first glance seems to be a potpourri of antithetical
sayings: attaining wisdom and discipline;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent
life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young. When I mentioned to the friend my desire
to help women in ministry deal with their<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
being</i> as redeemed Christians with fallen worldviews in a decadent world, I
felt guilty of being like a blind person trying to lead the blind. I am
certainly no better than the women and men we have observed over the years – stumbling,
bungling, banging their heads and brea<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>
their hearts while trying to love God over all and love their (our) neighbor as
(our) themselves (Matthew 22:36-39 rehashing Deuteronomy 6:5). </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
If we
deem ourselves wise, we must learn to listen and add to our learning (Prov. 1:5),
and if discerning, get further guidance for understanding proverbs and
parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. It’s not the understanding of
ancient clichés, though the name of the game is “proverbs, parables, sayings
and riddles of the wise”. It starts with the fear of the LORD –without which we
will fear what man can do to us, fear our very stepping into the arena of true
knowledge. This fear of the Lord goes with us at every stage of life – unless
we are fools enough to despise wisdom and discipline.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
Fear
of the Lord touches even on our ambivalence to our forefather’s instructions:
though our memory listens to the instruction and teaching of our father and
mother, we often forget the garland of grace for our head and chain for our
neck – we remember instead the goads to our self-esteem and fear they instilled
on “what will other people think?” </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
In a
way I was a Christian “flowerchild” wearing a crown of daisies and wishing a
gold necklace of rubies, but too often I neglected Peter’s reminder that:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>His
divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span> through
our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>so
that through them you may participate in the divine nature <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>and
escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>For
this very reason, make every effort <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>to
add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>and
to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>For
if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>they
will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>in
your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>But
if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>and
has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>Therefore,
my brothers, be all the more eager<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to make your calling and election sure. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>For
if you do these things, you will never fall,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>and
you will receive a rich welcome <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>into
the eternal <st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname>dom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>So I
will always remind you of these things, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>even
though you know them and <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>are
firmly established in the truth you now have.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>I
think it is right to refresh your memory <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>as
long as I live in the tent of this body,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often
I forget that wisdom calls out from the streets and plazas of life and think
that “nobody knows anything worth knowing.” But they do! Somebody does! He
says: “If you had listened to my rebuke I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you...” (Prov. 1:23). I remember the lament of
Wisdom Incarnate over <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>:
“How often I would have gathered you under my wings...” </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
God’s
wisdom is not an intellectual assent – it is essentially a conjunction of mind,
heart, gut feelings and action. From the injunctions to the Law in Deuteronomy
(see, for example, Deut. 32:47: They are not just idle words for you-- they are
your life. By them you will live long in the land...”) to the petrine, joannine
and pauline injunctions to Christian living (example: Eph 1:17-18). Every son
of Adam or Daughter of Eve is admonished in Proverbs 7:1-4 to use wisdom as
safeguard for moral purity:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 1cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;">
<span><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Keep my words and store up my commands
within you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Keep my commands and you will live; </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Living according to God’s word is a matter
of life and death!)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>guard my teachings as the apple of your
eye<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Look at God’s teachings as the most
precious of gifts)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Bind them on your fingers; </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(That is why my fingers, though sluggish,
are anxious to write!)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>write them on the tablet of your heart </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(this tablet is affectionate and written in
living stone).</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>Say to wisdom, "You are my
sister," <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span>and call understanding your kinsman </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(if I want to be keen in wisdom I must make
Wisdom my kin!)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The story of Wisdom began in eternity, and the Proverbs
narrative (7-8) reminds one of what John narrates in the beginning of the
Gospel when the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and glory
(and sends us back to the beginning of time narrated by Moses in Genesis one).
The entire story of learning and understanding from God in love which encircles
and inspires (in spirals of involvement from the Lord of Life to human creature
created in his image) is a true story that gives hope for me and any other
person who realizes we have only begun to scratch the surface of learning – but
He promises that we will know Him! That will be sufficient to learn and proceed
to know throughout eternity!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: right;">
Elizabeth Gomes</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4644673953111809588.post-88738237426895738192013-07-18T09:36:00.000-03:002013-07-18T11:14:44.678-03:00TRANSLATION -- COMMUNICATION FOR TRANSFORMATION<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How many books I’ve translated from English into Portuguese?
Lost count! Well, if I sit down and concentrate, I’m sure the numbers will show
up on what has been one of my major jobs for the last forty years (besides
being a pastor’s wife and mother of three, voracious reader, Bible student,
English teacher, cook and dishwasher, sometime gardener, not such a neat
cleaner and a few other mundane activities). Lots of experience still leaves me
stymied with some texts. I don’t make the same mistake of translating a
Christian sex education book for pre-teens (Ken Taylor’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Almost Twelve</i>) substituting “Eustachian tubes” for “Fallopian
tubes” as I did in the early seventies. I’ve had several ear surgeries since
and don’t mix <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">them there</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">tubes</i>
with those of the reproductive system. Bilingual from the time I learned to
talk, having majored in English and Portuguese, I thought translation would be
a cinch. The <st1:personname w:st="on">editor</st1:personname> caught my
mistake in the galley proof. So began my experience as book translator.</div>
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That first publishing house had a monthly meeting for
translators and <st1:personname w:st="on">editor</st1:personname>s, which
contributed to smoothing out and improving most texts. These meetings with
peers forced us to go beyond formulaic translation, using our imagination to
produce quality work.</div>
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I gained writing experience in the process—often re-writing
ten times and still not getting it to “sound” right. I also became immersed in
published works by established writers, learning to distinguish good writing
from bad. I have always learned about writing from translation. For instance,
my first attempts were with a few chapters of textbooks that classmates at
seminary had trouble reading. I translated almost word for word, resulting in
an incomprehensible Portuguese text that caused as much trouble as the English original.
A couple of medical students asked me to put a few chapters of their dense
textbook (where I had to consult a medical dictionary at almost every
paragraph) into readable Portuguese, on which I labored almost a month, and
they, “in gratitude, paid me with a box of chocolates<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”! À propos</i>, the difference in payment between secular and
Evangelical publishers is still humongous, so we do Christian books as
ministry, not money making. The money made is minimal.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Translation in
history<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
From
the time of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Babel</st1:city></st1:place>
in Genesis to the flames of Pentecost in Acts, language, meaning and
understanding another cultural context have moved and revolutionized <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all people that on earth do dwell… </i>The
drama and dialogue between Joseph, his brothers and all others concerned was
done through translation, because Joseph hid his true identity until his
youngest brother had arrived in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region></st1:place>
(Genesis 42-47). </div>
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When young
Jewish noblemen were transported to Babylonian captivity, besides the well-known
story of refusing the rich food of a pagan king, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">physical transposition and cultural translation</i> is an even greater
emphasis: “young men in whom <i>there was </i>no blemish, but good-looking,
gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who <i>had </i>ability
to serve in the king's palace, and whom they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">might teach the language and literature</i> of the Chaldeans... God
gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had
understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1.17). The book of Daniel also
relates a divine translation narrative in which the untranslated words MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN spoke of the doom of Belshazzar’s Chaldean rule (Dan
5.17-31).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bible translation<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
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Ever hear of the lady who wrote to a Missionary agency
saying “I never got beyond eighth grade and don’t know nothing but English, but
if you can spare me an English-Spanish dictionary, the Lord will help me
translate the Bible into Spanish to help all those Mexicans be saved”! Translation
work is as varied as the types of texts to be rendered into a new language.
Guess that is why it took over seventy scholars to translate the Bible from
Hebrew into Greek in second century BC. I would say that producing the
Septuagint was one of the major cultural-religious feats of the interbiblical
period. This translation of the Old Testament plus Apocrypha was only
translated into English by Sir Lancelot Brenton in 1851. Jerome (347-420) took
twenty years to translated both old and New Testaments from Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek (using Origen (185-254)’s translation of that Alexandrian VXX as well as
the Torah, Neviim and Ketuvim in original Hebrew, and koiné Greek for the New),
producing the Vulgate translation into Latin which the Bible Christians had in
hand (though only a few erudite people had access to it) for the next few
centuries. The birth of the Reformation could be described as a season of
translations: Erasmus of Rotterdam translated from Greek into Latin. Meanwhile,
Martin Luther used Erasmus’s Greek-Latin translation to translate the New
Testament into German (1522), and by 1532 had finished translating the entire
Bible. This translation helped develop a standard for the German language and
added several principles to the art of translation. William Tyndale lived for a
time under the wing of Luther and, stimulated by the German reformer, produced
the first Bible translated wholly into the English language. Then in 1611,<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"> James I of </span><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">England</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> (James VI of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Scotland</st1:country-region></st1:place></span>) ordered a new
translation, which was to be accurate and true to the originals. He appointed
fifty of the nation's finest language scholars and approved rules for carefully
chec<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> the results, insisting that
the translation use old familiar terms and names and be readable in the idiom
of the day. This was to be made readily available to be read in a land where
seventy per cent of the population was illiterate and a single book cost the
equivalent of a year’s salary for a humble laborer or even a <span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">tradesman!</span> A good part of the King James
Version of the Bible (1611) was actually translated by Tyndale. Very quickly
translations into almost all the modern languages were being made and the Bible
was spread throughout the world. Today there are translations of the Bible in
over two thousand languages!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Translation as transmitting
the Gospel<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">"Translation is the church's
birthmark as well as its missionary benchmark," say Lamin Sanneh, of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Yale</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
"The church would be unrecognizable or unsustainable without it...
Translation is profoundly related to the original conception of the Gospel:
God, who has no linguistic favorites, has determined that we should all have
the Good News in our native tongue." The writer of Ecclesiastes said there
is no limit to the writing of books (Ecc 12.12), but that was translated from
Hebrew. Without translation it could not have reached English, Portuguese, Swahili
or Chinese ears, as it has for hundreds of other languages. Gods Spirit made
the Good News understandable to</span> “devout men, from every nation under
heaven” – the multitude came together, were confused, everyone heard his own
language spoken by ignorant Galileans (from Acts 2 throughout the entire New
Testament). Some of the sharers of Glad Tidings were well-versed in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripture and secular literature (Paul,
Apolos), but others such as Peter had been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sub-literate</i>
until the Holy Spirit invested them with power to preach, teach and live out
the Word. Communicating God’s Word turned people and their world upside down!</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Modern translations
into previously unknown languages <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Several of our friends are missionaries involved in
translating the Word into native Brazilian languages, the result of dozens of
sending churches, seven missionary agencies, 66 translators and more than 150
native speakers directly involved in the translation process. There are two
complete Bibles (in W<span style="font-size: 9pt;">ai-Wai<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and </span>Guarani-Mbyá) and 32 New
Testaments translated into indigenous languages in our country alone. A great<span style="font-size: 9pt;"> </span>part of these translators have difficulty
simultaneously dedicating their time to translation and evangelization – even
though the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">only</i> means of evangelizing
will be through the written word which they produce. It usually takes over
twenty years to translate the Bible to native tongues, and these may be read by
a population of three hundred to three thousand people! Not what you would call
a popular edition!<span style="font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Modern Translation
foibles<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
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I admire those dedicated translators mentioned above, but
confess falling short, by far, of their abilities and goals. Two Western
languages with similar enough cultures suffice for me. I have done a couple of
translations from other languages (French and Spanish, and in a pinch could try
my hand in German), but English and Portuguese keep me on my toes and my arthritic
fingers to the keyboard. Though English is an Anglo-Germanic tongue and
Portuguese Neo-Latin, about 70% of the vocabulary used<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in English texts is of Latin origin, so it’s
relatively easy to translate into Portuguese – though some words with the same
origin took on different or even contrasting meanings. “Exquisite” in English
is uniquely marvelous, while “esquisito” in Portuguese is strange, weird.
”Pretend” in English is “make believe, fake” while in Portuguese “pretender” is
synonym for “intend, plan”. Even in the same language, some things are interpreted
differently: as an English teacher in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region></st1:place>, I was valued for being a
“native speaker”, but when I wrote about “sharing the gospel to the natives” I
was definitely politically and vocationally incorrect! The germ of this blog
was planted by observing my peers’ translations – even having two cultures one
can make serious mistakes, such as:</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
• In a book about Augustine,
where the author wrote “be content” the translator wrote “be chaste” and mixed
continuance with continence – though the old saint was dealing with sexual
purity in his Confessions, the modern author was talking about being content
(happy) in the Lord’s commandments, which surely implies all of that but was
not the gist of the book in English.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
• A translator used a
computer-generated translation for an important document on airport enhancement
and support, declaring that the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">suite of
computers which commanded airplane traffic control</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“wore a modern suit”(“usou um terno moderno”)!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">•</i> The<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>translator must
have thought of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings when he was doing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The God who is there’s </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“the ring of truth” </i>into Portuguese, because
he translated into “o anel da verdade<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">” --
</b>substituting the idea of bells pealing to announce truth with a golden
circle to be placed on a finger!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
• For every time the original
author mentioned that someone was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">raised
in a God-fearing home, </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a recent
translation I saw had rendered into “levantado”, or “lifted ”, (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So and so lifted his good house</i>) --changing
the sense and ma<st1:personname w:st="on">king</st1:personname> the translation
nonsense. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
A dictionary-sized book could be written about translations
that do not make sense, or contradict common sense, or lose tract of what the
original author really meant to say. But as long as people are diverse,
translations will be needed. I would like to see more Brazilian authors
published here, because communication – whether Biblical or biological -- is
clearest within the cultural context of the people being addressed. For me,
translation was a beginning place, an initial interpretation of ideas to
another group. It should also be my end, in whatever language I write, to
communicate and interpret from one framework of thinking to another – relaying
the truth of the Written and the living Word of God to people like me, in order
to understand God’s eternal truth in fresh language, so that “all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion <i>is </i>an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom <i>the one </i>which shall
not be destroyed” (Daniel 7.14 NKJ).</div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: right;">
Elizabeth Gomes</div>
coramdeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10176910892295512918noreply@blogger.com0