Give me Hill Country

August 25, 2007

"Mafia"

"Mafia," in Arabic, means a place of sanctuary, and the word took its place in the Sicilian language when the Saraceans ruled the country in the tenth century. Throughout history, the people of Sicily were opressed mercilessly by the Romans, the Papacy, the Normans, the French, the Germans, and the Spanish. Their governments enslaved the poor working class, exploiting their labor, raping their women, murdering their leaders. Even the rich did not escape. The Spanish Inquisition of the Holy Catholic Church stripped them of their wealth for being heretics.

And so the "Mafia" sprang up as a secret society of avengers. When the royal courts refused to

take action against a Norman noble who raped a farmer's wife, a band of peasants assassinated him. When a police chief tortured some petty thief with the dreaded cassetta, that police chief was killed. Gradually the strongest-willed of the peasants and the poor formed themselves into an organized society which had the support of the people and in effect became a second and more powerful government. When there was a wrong to be redressed, no one ever went to the official police, they went to the leader of the local Mafia, who mediated the problem.

Lupara: a deadly sawed-off shotgun. It is tradition that every Sicilian peasant own a lupara. The hatred of a Sicilian peasant could never be taken lightly.

The greatest crime a Sicilian could commit was to give any information of any kind to the authorities about anything done by the Mafia. They kept silent. And this silence came to be called omerta. Over the centuries the practice enlarged to never giving the police information about a crime committed even against oneself. All communications broke down between the people and the law enforcement agencies of reigning governments so that even a small child was taught not to give a stranger the simplest directions to a village or a person's house.
Throughout the centuries the Mafia governed Sicily, a presence so shadowy and indistinct that the authorities could never quite grasp the extent of its power. Up until World War II, the word "Mafia" was never uttered on the Island of Sicily."

In the Italian culture, the family is a crucial and fundamental element of society. Its importance probably goes beyond other Western cultures today. The family is always a source of protection and support for the individual.
"A man who never spends time with his family, can never be a real man."

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August 02, 2007

Moments

In your lifetime, you will have only 1440 beautiful moments. Today, be aware of those moments, and spend them wisely.
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"The most beautiful things in this world are not seen....
...they are felt."
-Anonymous
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"I want to live my life more immersed in the moment. Those who don't live for Christ, life for the moment. Those who do live for Christ should live in it. "
-Pastor Mark Buchanan

"I realized, on reflection, that I tend to approach life as a sequence rather than a series of moments. I schedule my time, set goals, and march onward toward their achievement. Phone calls, or any unscheduled event, I view as a jarring interruption. How different from the style of Jesus, who often let other people-interruptions - determine his daily schedule.

If you can live through a moment, you can live through a day, and how you live a day is eventually how you live your life. I spend so much energy on the correct way to live in general that I miss the specific moments that are actually the only way I can live."

-Philip Yancey (quoted from "Rumours")

"No recipe for life will help us.

Life is something to be entered, not solved."

- (quoted from "Silence of Adam") by L. Crabb

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April 16, 2007

Something real

"If you was hit by a truck and you were lying out in that gutter dying…
and you had time to sing one song, huh, one song…
people would remember before you’re dirt…
one song that would let God know what you felt about your time here on earth…
one song that would sum you up…
you telling me that’s the song you’d sing?
That same Jimmie Davis tune we hear on the radio all day?
About your peace within and how it’s real and how you’re gonna shout it?
Or would you sing something different?
Something real, something you felt?
Because I’m telling you right now…
that’s the kind of song people want to hear.
That’s the kind of song that truly saves people."

-Walk the Line (spoken to Johnny Cash)

With some much talent available musically in most churches, can’t we sing more of what’s on our hearts, sing about what we don’t understand, about our hurts, our pains, our lives? Let’s give glory to God, but let’s do it in a way that is real and connected to our lives,....not totally unrelated.

-Anonymous

March 12, 2007

A Thousand Words

I sit down to write a thousand words. It has been a long time. Things happen; life happens, and gets in the way of doing what I love. I have missed it. The writing comes slowly but it comes, and I remember how. I won’t tell you why I stopped. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I am writing now.

There are lots of reasons to stop doing what you love: most of them bad. I won’t list them, I couldn’t write them all in a thousand words, but they all have one thing in common; they make you forget. They make you forget who you are because you are what you love.

So, I write. Not because it will win me fame, or praise or even understanding. I write for writing sake: a reason known only to a writer. I sit, and I type my thousand words, so little; no amount of words would be enough. I could write until I fell into exhaustion, sleep and then write again. I write. It’s not what I am: it’s who I am.

quoted from relevantmagazine.com

Bored

I go back to school tomorrow, for my last semester after what has turned into an almost 10-year college career. The better
part of my college-level education took place outside of the classroom, during the years where I traveled and lived away from home. I had lots of questions about life and God, and hitting the road was how I worked those questions out—not to say that I’ve found any answers. The last two years, though, have been spent back in the classroom, trying to finish up my undergrad work so that I can have it behind me permanently. The problem with the last two years is that I don’t do so well in the classroom anymore. I get bored.

I don’t think it’s OK to allow boredom to be a norm. That’s what I decided today when I finally went outside and crossed the apartment parking lot to the gym. I ran on the treadmill and listened to the stream of iPod Shuffle goodness that emerged (mostly U2, some Bob Dylan and other random stuff). And while I ran, I thought about these last couple of years and this last semester. I don’t want to be bored. But I braced myself for it.
I did not muster any enthusiasm for my impending school reality. I did, however, decided that I am not going to succumb to boredom this semester. It may be fine for a couple of days of cold weather, but it is an unacceptable lifestyle. I don’t see any pattern in the life of Jesus or anyone else who I respect and try to learn from that leaves a lot of space for boredom. Silence, yes. Alone, sure. Bored, definitely not.

I don’t know what will happen in June. I still miss traveling and want to be a part of doing justice and loving mercy in Africa and other parts of world that seem overwhelmingly broken. I don’t know what that will look like. I still want to learn how to live in one place and commit to the people who are my neighbors—my family and friends and the people who we cross paths with on a daily basis. I still want to find ways to creatively be whom God envisions me as but who I often fail to be.

quoted from relevantmagazine.com

March 10, 2007

Courage one

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February 22, 2007

From the inside out

From the Inside Out

by: Mark Pouteaux

A question that I try to challenge myself, as often as I remember: Do I love God, from the inside out?

-> Am I continually surrendering to God, that He may daily transform me? 'Cuz I don't follow a religion or a set of rules or a formula. I follow HIM. But change doesn't happen overnight, it takes time, and it happens on the inside!

So what effect does my relationship with God have on my day to day life?

Phillipians chapter 1 says: "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

That word "pure" means .........set apart

Set apart, for one, for only God, and nothing else. We are called to be pure of heart and mind.

Only when you let your heart be searched by God, can you fully see what your heart is like!
So,..pray constantly. Pour out your prayer.
Have confidence in God, God is the one doing wonders, its your choice of whether or not you want to be a part of what He is doing in this broken and dying world.
Don't guilt others, love them, want the very best for them. God saved us out of a burning love for us. Show that to others.

Don't compromise your morality, or your faith. Stand up and step up to what God says is excellent. God is going to finish what He began in you. Do not obstruct with what God wants to do, in you, and in this world.

"Lord make me like you, give me a heart like yours, to love what you love, and to hate what you hate."

February 20, 2007

Life

It takes a whole lifetime,..to live a life

-Lawrence Jensen

February 17, 2007

Suffering and Hardship

by John Fischer

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the problem of pain. One says: “Sometimes the going will get tough, and in those times you need to remember that your faith will get you through and something good will come out of hardship. Hang in there, this will soon be over.” The other would be: “Get use to it. Pain, suffering, and hardship are necessary for growth. They will be constant companions to those who desire to know and love God deeply. Get ready for the long haul. If you’re feeling good and life is relatively painless, that’s the abnormal experience, not the norm. Enjoy it, but don’t expect it.”

Now I don't know about you, but most will admit they don't like suffering very much. In fact, most people will try to completely ignore suffering or deny it.

But reality is like fine wine, children won't like it."

-Donald Miller

The other perspective is much more in keeping with reality and the belief that our real purposes go way beyond this life and this present darkness. It is a perspective that expects hardship and pain to be a part of the day-to-day program. If we are waiting for anything, we are waiting for eternity with Christ, not for everything to get better here on earth. We have learned that trials are such an integral part of our growing life in Christ that we even welcome trouble when it comes our way, because we know that by it, our faith is found worthy of being tested and our endurance will have a chance to grow (James 1:2-3).

“Grace must wound you, before it can heal you.” — Flannery O’Conner

February 15, 2007

Do I give generously, or spend greedily?

It kinda makes me feel guilty to think of how we don't even hesitate when it comes to buying something for ourselves.

Stuff like a new shirt, new watch, new sunglasses, a new cd, or the latest gadget.

But when it comes to giving time or money to a good cause, or to charity, or to church, we don't want to, we think our money is too precious to be given away to those things. To think that we've worked too hard for it, and we can do with it what we want, besides, its our money right,......No. Not at all.

Everything that we have, we should give God all the praise and the glory.

Think about this..... How many times do we thank God, just for our health???

Are you thankful for what God has blessed you with? Before you go on complaining about your coat zipper breaking, or gas prices, or complaining about doing chores and homework,
We need to get down on our knees and thank God for all of our many blessings, like family, our health, a home to live in, food to eat, freedom,... and give God all the glory and all the praise.

"....Rejoice in every good thing which thy Lord thy God hath given unto thee."

-Deuterouomy 26:11

Have you thought to thank Him recently? Do you feel that the good things which you enjoy are accidental and through some effort of your own:

Who gives you the power and wisdom and strength to get gain? Acknowledge the hand of God in your life now that it may be well with you in the future.

"Let every thing that has breath, praise the Lord."

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February 13, 2007

A true joy in life

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“This is a true joy in life, being used for a purpose, a purpose that you recognize as being a Mighty one, becoming a force of the kingdom; instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

-George Bernard Shaw

February 12, 2007

Amazing Grace (history behind the song)

In 1748-49, John Newton was first-mate on the slave trade ship named Brownlow. After survivng a horrific storm and suffering from the effects of a violent fever, he threw himself totally on the mercy of God.

Later in life he became an Anglican minister and wrote the song "Amazing Grace."

The lyrics are based on 1 Chronicles 17:16,

John Newton was also a strong mentor to a man named "William Wilberforce" who spent five decades successfully working for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

For more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newton

http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. organized a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he gave a speech, a speech which forced the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Click the link to read the speech entitled "I Have A Dream"

http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

January 31, 2007

Everybody has choices

There’s always something waiting at the end of the road. And if your not willing to see what it is... ...you probably shouldn’t be out there in the first place.