Celtic Prayers

Open our eyes to Your presence
Open our minds to Your grace
Open our lips to Your praises.
Amen

May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow.
May the soft winds freshen your spirit.
May the sunshine brighten your heart.
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you.
And may God enfold you in the mantle of His love.
- Old Irish Wish

As the rain hides the stars,
As the Autumn mist hides the hills,
As the clouds veil the blue of the sky,
so the dark happenings of my lot
hide the shining of Thy face from me.
Yet if I may hold Thy hand in the darkness
It is enough….

Since I know that though I may stumble in my going,
Thou dost not fall.
Amen

Time Jumps Around

I'm not quite sure what to make of Daylight Savings Time - are you?

Daylight saving time, which begins on Sunday, is unsettling... Winding the clock forward in March and back in November is like biannually changing the measure of an inch.

This tinkering with clocks is our inheritance from a people obsessed with time. Clocks spread rapidly in early America... But all these clocks were like many Americans themselves: individual, conforming to their own notions. There were hundreds of local times, each city setting its city hall or courthouse clock to match its own solar noon. When it was 12 p.m. in Chicago, it was 11:50 a.m. in St. Louis and 12:18 p.m. in Detroit. But that wasn’t a problem because local time was all that mattered.

That changed when the railroads began to unify the country. The railroads ran by their own time, which vexed travelers trying to make connections. Many stations had two clocks, one for railroad time and one for local time.

To eliminate the confusion, railroads took it upon themselves in 1883 to divide the country into four time zones, with one standard time within each zone...

That explains it. The Railroads messed up our sense of time.

Be sure to set your clock ahead tonight!
GHT

Fun with Words

The Washington Post published its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words.

And the winners are...

1. Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.

12. Pokemon (n), A Jamaican proctologist.

13. Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.


Just for laughs -- don't feel the need to comment -- unless you'd like to vote for your favorite word. No pressure.
GHT

Take a Deep Breath -- Prayer

Just now Lord Jesus -- I breathe out my sin and failure
I breathe in your forgiving grace
I breathe out my selfish words and ways
I breathe in the breath of God’s selfless love
I breathe out my cares and concerns
I breathe in the peace of God that passes all understanding.
I breathe out my doubts and fears
I breathe in fresh faith in Jesus Christ in whose strength I can do all things.

I sit quietly before you Jesus -- the author and finisher of my salvation.
I sit in awe and wonder of the Creator of everything -- the Savior of the world -- the Guide and Comforter of his children.
What a wonder you are.

So just now Lord Jesus
I breathe out my own striving and stressing
I breathe in your goodness and mercy
I breathe out my tension and turmoil
I breathe in your calming presence
I breathe out my obsession with everything I have done wrong
I breathe in complete confidence in everything you have done right

I sit quietly before you Jesus -- the Author and Finisher of my salvation.
I sit in awe and wonder of the Creator of everything -- the Savior of the world -- the Guide and Comforter of his children.
What a wonder you are.

Feeling Blue?

Feeling blue? Buy some clothes
Feeling lonely? Pick up the phone
Feeling down? Rent a DVD
Feeling bored? Watch TV
Feeling empty? Eat a Sundae
Feeling worthless? Close a deal
Feeling anxious? Hit the spa
Feeling isolated? Go online
Feeling sad? Tell a joke

Isn't this an amazing age?
We don't have to feel anything.
There's a substitute for everything.
God help us!

Favorite Movies of 2010

Unfortunately I didn't see ten great movies this past year. But I did see five and a few other not so great ones.

These are the ones that stood out to me.

The Kings Speech - incredible acting, compelling historical drama.

Inception - amazing cinematography and it messed with my mind. Dream inside a dream inside a dream etc.

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader - uplifting, true to C. S. Lewis' storyline and just plain well done.

Book of Eli - dark but solid apocalyptic drama, well acted, poignant.

Ghost Writer - well written murder mystery that made me think.

What about your favorites?
GHT

BEST MOVIES of 2010

According to Roger Ebert - with whom I generally agree -- they are:

1 The Social Network
2 The King's Speech
3 Black Swan
4 I am Love
5 Winter's Bone
6 Inception
7 The Secret in their Eyes
8 The American
9 Kids are All Right
10 The Ghost Writer

Of those I have only seen: The King's Speech, Inception and The Ghost Writer.
GHT