It's a London Bridges Falling Down Thing

Dear America,

"Courage doesn't always roar.  

Sometimes courage is 

the quiet voice 

at the end of the day

 saying,

 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

anonymous

this morning greets me with an array of messages, as forces of heaven and hell stature catapult me into grief and then almost as quickly, subside...

I am here, alive, by the grace of God; and with that understanding know,  deep in my soul, that everything under heaven  --absolutely every living and dying thing --  that this material world reveals to us in the every day, gives us an opportunity to choose better.

That even goes for the sorrow-filled community of the  United Kingdom upon the Pentecostal morning; you can choose better.  And quite possibly -- now, making a rather provocative projection --- your peace, security, and life depends upon it. 

Courtesy of the Vatican Radio page....

4 June 2017

Today concludes the Easter season, the fifty days that, from Jesus’ resurrection to Pentecost, are marked in a particular way by the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is in fact the Easter Gift par excellence.  He is the Creator Spirit, who constantly brings about new things.  Today’s readings show us two of those new things.  In the first reading, the Spirit makes of the disciples a new people; in the Gospel, he creates in the disciples a new heart.

The marking and the making of this day, according to church liturgy, is all about the unmasking of the Holy Spirit inside each of us --  our talent and our gifts; things given to us, by the grace of God and through the workings of the Spirit of the Almighty Lord.  In short, Pentecost Sunday claims a victory of sorts, celebrating a day long ago, when the Holy Spirit came down from the heavens and showered a gathering crowd with the gift of tongues, allowing for St. Peter to give a sermon, and miraculously allowing for all in attendance to understand him and each other.   It was a certain community communion with one another and made possible only through the Holy Spirit.

It is now widely known and honored as being the Birthday of the Church of Christianity.

Oh happy birthday, oh Happy Birthday, to you!

PLEASE READ THIS, from Christianity Today....Happy Birthday, Dear Church, and posted by Carolyn Arends, May 31, 2017. [You will just love the story of the "spooky handshake," too]

The Holy Spirit makes all things new....even after a total loss, even after total devastation, even after total tragedy, even after someone breaks your heart, even after losing the fire in your belly to keep on keeping on.  There lives inside all of us something dynamic no matter what the day brings; that ping of life, nestled deep into our soul and often disguised or buried or teased or traumatized, is really a spark to go on and do something solid, bold and beautiful with ourselves.

To become something anew, this is what our days should be made of, and fixated upon, with every ounce of our being.

Speaking of which -- my darling girl just sent me a photo from across the miles....It's a pic of my papa holding up two fists full of a chocolate shakes -- yes, one in each hand with a smile 10,000 waves wide.  It's his birthday today, too.  God love him; eighty years freaking fantastic and a man of distinction in every possible humanly way. 

To the man who made all of me possible -- powered by the Holy Spirit, of course, and a righteous purpose under heaven (with some help from my little mama, too, teehee);  my gratitude is not enough whether by word or by action or by sentiment.  All I truly know is, you were made for me and me for you; the Lord tied us together long before the stars took their positions, long before the sun began to shine, long before the moon turned out the lights at the end of a day. It is all splendid, in good days and bad; AND every day we are alive on this mother earth should remind us of this glory.

This morning, Londoners and their lovely London Bridge were all falling down in spirit, in the wake of a night gone terribly wrong.  And I got to thinking -- even though I firmly believe that God loves ALL His children,  the reality is, there won't be any terrorists in heaven; for none of them believe in the Trinity -- the Father, Son and Holy Spirit  (let alone celebrate Pentecost Sunday).   wooooo whooooo and yippee ki yay!!! And won't that be some kind of day to look forward to in every possible way.  amen amen

This is a day to meet sorrow with the grace of God and realize the ability to harness a Power that can do great things with the misery made manifest on earth by the evils of man.  It starts with first recognizing where this kind of power comes -- THANK YOU, GOD; and in the second, fully recognizing just what this earth and its inhabitants are up against -- the clear and present danger of dark souls who live within the community everywhere. There is no place immune to the forces, whether we are speaking a force of one or three thousand or 300 million or a billion and one.

Having said that, here's a question:  how can President Trump be castrated across the pages of the web and twitter for "exploiting" the situation in London, after he emphasized the importance of his travel ban, if, in fact,  his reactions to the terrorist events of his presidency are tightly interwoven with his actual platform from day one of  his presidential campaign??

He has been nothing but consistent!
From posing a temporary travel ban, to being woefully specific, if not also, honestly refreshing, even brave, by calling out terrorism for what it truly is, radical Islamic terrorism -- the reaction from a sitting American president only serves as pure evidence that he has ONE CHIEF CONCERN, and that concern is aligned squarely with his purpose as it stands right now; and that purpose is all about protecting America, America's interests, the safety of the American people... be it at home or abroad!

The thing is, this is a president choosing NOT to lead from behind, as his predecessor.

This is a president who, by all appearances, is all about the world UNIFYING against evil!  We can choose better in the course of protecting the world against this kind of evil; and yes, there is cause to be alarmed when their is a stronger police presence in the middle of the town square, on a not so quiet Pentecostal Sunday morn.   Mayor Sadiq Khan, is this your idea of welcoming in a new norm?

Clearly, the proverbial bridge that crosses the pond is in need of some repair; perhaps we can meet half way and discuss some options, including that which is not negotiable, and ultimately part waters over a warm beer and a 'trinity handshake.'    Or not....can't ignore the history, right; we've been here before, haven't we UK?

President Trump is NOT WRONG; and more than that, he is carrying the torch for all of us who recognize that heaven and hell on earth have no boundaries or borders!

This is a day to wear red, in Pentecostal flair; this is a day to light the candles on a really big mother of a cake; this is a day to make it known to the world that we -- true believers of Something truly Great and Not of This World  -- are not afraid ------ that we are part of the Living Water that flows over the hills and valleys, choosing good over evil to the best of our abilities, in every small way and in every huge gesture.   And we will protect our own, believe you me, believe you me.  And we just might even try to convince you in your darkest hour to cross over and join us....teehee....there is that.

This girl, on this morning, just wants you all to know as London Bridges all fall down, that I STAND WITH OUR PRESIDENT.  God bless you, Mr. President and the United States of America.

Make it a Good Day, G