Jewish Girl gives birth in barn

Think about it. 

 COURAGE and FAITH.

 A teenager in a Hebrew culture was ostracized for being pregnant. 2000 years ago !

Yet she carried on and gave birth to a baby in Bethlehem. 

That baby Jesus changed the world. 

 Remember them today and tomorrow and think about what that courage means. 

Young Mary surely was an ordinary person doing extraordinary things in her own time. 

  In what way are you performing extraordinary tasks everyday? 

—————————-

God Bless your Christmas celebration. 

—————

The Christmas Story Luke 2:1-15 It’s a BOY! Name: JESUS Born in Bethlehem Announced by Angels Adored by Shepherds 

 He Came in Love to Be Love for all who believe. He came to serve and live among the ordinary people and teach them extraordinary ways of being and living. As he loved us he invites us to love him and live as he did with simplicity and humility. sponsored message

Peace - the Prince of Peace

Let us remember this little bit of truth when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.

Let us remember to not discriminate other people because they are different from us.

Let us remember peace and live with justice in our hearts amid a chaotic and violent world.

We NEED Non-violence to be a priority

If we are to have peace in this world of ours, we EACH must do our part.

Non-violence is a learned skill and a lifelong commitment.

YOU can support peace by purchasing WHAT IS PEACE? shown in the video.


Become involved with someone else who is practicing non-violence.

Members of Benedictines for Peace make the following commitment:

I commit myself to take up a nonviolent way of living in a violent world as an expression of my monastic calling.

I commit myself to keep one day each week as a day of fast and prayer for peace.

I commit myself to learn more about the spirituality and practice of nonviolence.

You are invited to take the above pledge, too, and join us in spirit, prayer, and action as you are able.

God of Creation,

"Help us to achieve peace in our hearts, in our homes,

in our neighborhoods, and in our troubled world.

Let peace fill our lives

so that we may live in God's grace and love.

Amen. "

YES We Did

With a lot of help from people who never voted before and a lot of people who got them registered, and a lot of other helpers... and with the Grace of God... We have much to be thankful about and much work to do.

YES WE DID have a VICTORY over past ways of doing and being.

It is now our challenge to keep up the momentum and BE the Change we need to be.

Name one thing YOU will do differently to promote justice and be peace in your community.

Nonviolence Is The Right Choice—It Works

Thanks for this article from another site...

Nonviolence Is The Right Choice—It Works

by Amitabh Pal

Nonviolent resistance is not only the morally superior choice. It is also twice as effective as the violent variety.

That's the startling and reassuring discovery by Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, who analyzed an astonishing 323 resistance campaigns from 1900 to 2006.

"Our findings show that major nonviolent campaigns have achieved success 53 percent of the time, compared with 26 percent for violent resistance campaigns," the authors note in the journal International Security. (The study is available as a PDF file at http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/)

The result is not that surprising, once you listen to the researchers' reasoning.

"First, a campaign's commitment to nonviolent methods enhances its domestic and international legitimacy and encourages more broad-based participation in the resistance, which translates into increased pressure being brought to bear on the target," they state. "Second, whereas governments easily justify violent counterattacks against armed insurgents, regime violence against nonviolent movements is more likely to backfire against the regime."

In an interesting aside that has relevance for our times, the authors also write that, "Our study does not explicitly compare terrorism to nonviolent resistance, but our argument sheds light on why terrorism has been so unsuccessful."

To their credit, the authors don't gloss over nonviolent campaigns that haven't been successes. They give a clear-eyed assessment of the failure so far of the nonviolent movement in Burma, one of the three detailed case studies in the piece, along with East Timor and the Philippines.

In some sense, the authors have subjected to statistical analysis the notions of Gene Sharp, an influential Boston-based proponent of nonviolent change, someone they cite frequently in the footnotes. In his work, Sharp stresses the practical utility of nonviolence, de-emphasizing the moral aspects of it. He even asserts that for Gandhi, nonviolence was more of a pragmatic tool than a matter of principle, painting a picture that's at variance with much of Gandhian scholarship. In an interview with me in 2006, Sharp declared that he derives his precepts from Gandhi himself.

Gandhi's use of nonviolence "was pure pragmatism," Sharp told me. "At the end of his life, he defends himself. He was accused of holding on to nonviolent means because of his religious belief. He says no. He says, I presented this as a political means of action, and that's what I'm saying today. And it's a misrepresentation to say that I presented this as a purely religious approach. He was very upset about that."

One of the authors of the study, Maria Stephan, is at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. The group's founders wrote a related book a few years ago, "A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict." Erica Chenoweth is at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

This study is manna for those of us who believe in nonviolent resistance as a method of social change. We don't have to justify it on moral grounds any more. The reason is even simpler now: Nonviolence is much more successful.

Copyright 2008 The Progressive Magazine

Get a Grip on Global Climate Change

If you don't believe in global climate change, you MUST watch this short animated video which explains several natural feedback loops which add to our growing dilemma.

Yet. It is not too late, entirely. Watch it and see what you learn.

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo

It IS a matter of peace or war.

Peace is What?

So what is Peace anyhow?

How will we know we have achieved it?

How can we know if it will last?

Consider the words of UN founder Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche:

Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread, rice, shelter, health and education as well as freedom and human dignity.

Are you prepared for that level of peace in your heart?

What will it take to bring that kind of peace to our world?

Which of the presidential candidates in the USA will be most likely to build leadership towards this kind of peace?

9-11-2001- Remembered and Felt

9/11 Terrorist Attacks (2001)

It was a sunny day in Alabama on September 11, 2001.

No one wanted to be indoors watching the news.

But we were glued to the screens of computers and televisions and cell phones.

The Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger airplanes.

They crashed two planes into the Twin Towers in NYC.
We saw that happen over and over and over again on the news that day and for weeks afterwards.

A third plane flew into the Pentagon building in Virginia.

The fourth flight crashed in western Pennsylvania in spite of the efforts of passengers to regain control of the plane.

This was horror on a grande scale on American soil.

It ripped the soul of the nation.

It tore at hearts all around the world.

9/11 will always be remembered by those who lived it in 2001.

We will know where we were and what we did perhaps forever.

Remembering those who have fallen in this horrid terrorist attack and those who have suffered in the times since then as the stories snowballed across the land.

Praying today for all who suffer and who serve to prevent suffering.

There is no peace in the hearts of terrorists. For that I am filled with sorrow.

It disturbs my peace and fuels the fires of hatred among so many others with distraught hearts.

I pray for peace today in honor of all the caregivers who helped and who continue to help the victims and the rescuers. . . yes, and the rescuers who became victims.

Voices of Martyrs

Do you think about what it means to be a martyr?

EVER? Well it is time to. No matter what your religious beliefs are.

You have a history of martyrs, I imagine. Buddhist martyrs are in Myanmar these days in the news.

These martyrs are in China. They are Christian.

"The eyes of the world will soon be on the
Olympics. But the eyes of God remain on His children and especially those who
suffer for their faith. Despite what you may hear in the news, Chinese
Christians who refuse to register with the government controlled church are
being persecuted. Many have undergone horrific suffering. "

This information was updated from the site managed by The Voice of the Martyrs.

You can show your concern and/or support with prayer action and FREE prayer bands as the world prepares for the 2008 Olympics in China. I know I will not be present in China for the Olympics but I have been paying more attention to what is happening on that side of our planet in recent months.

I see cosmetic changes in preparation for the Olympics. I see what looks like "urban renewal" types of gloss over the undesirable elements of society and present what the world wants to see kinds of activity like the fancy topiary gardens, nice. I wonder how many homeless people were displaced for that land.

Were they Christian? Were they peaceful people? Will we learn from our mistakes? How will further protests be managed by the Chinese government? By the people? Time will tell.

KNOW Your Food Source

Now More Than Ever, we need to know the face on the farmer.
Where did our food come from?
Do we trust this farmer?
Has the produce been handled properly?

Living Simply does contribute to peace full living.

I can think of few better reasons to BUY LOCAL and GO ORGANIC.
Go to your Local Farmer's Market this week and check it out.

FOURTH of JULY

Happy Fourth of July!

SING Out for LIBERTY

Independence is more than just doing what we want.

Independence is more than just quitting the day job.

Building a Nation and Building a Business

are both a lot of work.

They both take TIME.

They both require INTERDEPENDENCE.

May your Celebration be Joyful and Filled with Peace and Safety and Gratitude.

Remember the Founders of the

United States of America and the brave

commitments they made to build a nation...

We Hold These Truths to Be Self Evident. . .

---

NOTES: Thanks for being a part of my team. Have a great weekend.

---

WILD NEWS:

Grass Strangles Baby Penguins see video... nice scenery in Australia


My New Squidoo Lens on Bird-Watching

---

Summer Solstice 2008

The Summer Solstice is the time when the sun is in its glory in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the longest day of the year and the shortest night. The summer solstice falls on June 21st or 22nd every year. In terms of the position of the sun relative to Earth, the summer solstice in eastern US is at 7:59 p.m. Historically, the summer solstice was called Midsummer because it occurs about halfway through the European growing season.

Midsummer Night had a focus for lovers and nature, the forest and the perception of magic in the shortest night of the year. It was a time for a maiden to discover her future husband’s identity. It was a time of bonfires and celebration. Maidens decorated their hair with flowers and young men jumped through the flames. It was a joyous time with firelight on all the hills and peaks of England. Dancing and music and gaiety were the order of the day and night.

Linking people to the land and the stars, solstice celebrations are often considered to be pagan. Certainly they have pagan roots, as we all do. It is a grand time to celebrate the season of summer and reflect on growth within ourselves and growth around us.

Christians celebrate the solstice too, particularly in agrarian societies. We plant seeds in soil and nurture them to provide us with food and sustenance. You do not have to be pagan to celebrate the solstice. God made Earth and sun and set our planet into orbit. The solstice is a day of special notice in the annual cycle of planetary movement.

Listen to the gifts of Creation all around you. Give thanks with a grateful heart that you are able to celebrate and appreciate God’s bounty. Be mindful of the slight changes in the wind and temperature. Notice life in abundance. Take time and pay special attention to how the day feels and notice the night as it comes around you. Cherish the moment and be thankful.

The Summer Solstice is an excellent time to pay attention to harmony and healing in your life. It is a time to nurture the seeds we have planted in our souls. What seeds in your spirit are coming to full season now? Are you mindful of the abundance of energy around you?

A Summer Solstice Prayer
God of Creation, let the light of
this Summer Solstice glow in our
hearts and homes.

Bless our hearts and
minds with creativity and fire our
imaginations.

We give thanks for gardens that nourish
us.

We pray the fires of compassion and
creation will eliminate hunger and
poverty, war and hatred.

Let the light of the Solstice stir us to
enthusiastic and healing responses to all
around us.

Grant comfort where it is needed.

Grant peace to all of creation.

May we embrace the fire of God’s passion and allow the light
around us to become the light within us

As we share the love of God with all the people of creation.

The Christ of the Cosmos shines throughout all the
universe and we give thanks.

AMEN June, 2008, bydpb

Remembering Tim Russert

This is a year to really THINK. And to have REAL conversations.
How often we rally 'round the latest gossip of the day instead of
allowing ourselved to fully participate in the discussion or the thought
process.

Too often do we see reporters and journalists presenting "sound bytes" or
tiny clips of trivia linked to celebrities instead of doing real
reporting or journalism. Instead of engaging disenfranchised guests and
LISTENING to them through the interview process.

Yes, the world will feel the loss of Tim Russert, even if they live
in a far away place that has never heard of him. I link this blog
title to Joan Chittister's post at NCR because she says more about him
and covers the issue really well, as always. Thanks, Joan for your insights
again. and again. and again.

Thanks Tim. Forever. Condolences to all of the family and all who mourn his death.

When one suffers, we all do

Rain and floods, crop destruction, life disruption all are part of the midwest.

Open your hearts to the people who live there and their families who wait to hear from them.

Open your hearts to the rescuers who work long hours and days to relieve their suffering.

And then remember there are floods and earthquakes all across the world. Who thinks of China or Iceland in the course of everyday life? The people who live there. And we do even for a moment when a natural disaster happens.

Send them prayers of peace in their hearts as they struggle with rebuilding their lives.

Ears at Peace

Just a few posts ago, I mentioned tinnitus, or ringing in your ears. As a preface to peace on the inside leading to peaceful actions on the outside.

Today just a short note.

Details are found at On and Off the Wall if you want to follow along.

Suffice it to say. My ears are much better than I ever imagined since the treatment at the Shea Clinic in Memphis. My hearing has more clarity and even tests out better on the audiology report. I acknowledge this is a PROCESS, not a one time fix-it.

But I also celebrate progress and the ability to think clearly for longer periods of time. I give thanks for this growing internal peace all day everyday.

When this began, there were no treatments available to remedy tinnitus. The prevailing thought was "Too bad, you'll just have to learn to live with it." And Live With It I did for a long time. Now the prevailing thought regarding treatment is to teach people HOW to live with it. And research is focussed on finding causes and cures.

Meanwhile, in Memphis, there stands a surgeon who seeks remedial action for patients now, not twenty years from now. And he has been treating people with success with these techniques for more than 15 years.

I am grateful. People ask me if I am resentful because all of this time I did not know about this procedure. No. I may wish it were different but I am not resentful. My life has been blessed in many ways despite the challenges of severe tinnitus. And perhaps the need to listen "through" the sound has helped me become who I am today with the courage to stand up and express what is important. Be Peace and Do Justice. Live Simply.

I thank God for the guidance and support I had to get me to and through the operations. Both ears are much improved. I need ask for nothing more.

You see, some of that peace has already been growing in a climate of noise and now it has the opportunity to blossom. I can only be thankful.

You might appreciate my newsletter on being thankful. Think Thanks.
An attitude of gratitude supports success.

Practically at Home: Grocery Bag Bonus

Practically at Home: Grocery Bag Bonus

I have noticed that Walmart and Krogers and some other stores are now providing cloth reusable bags that are made of recycled plastic bottles. It take four PETE clear plastic bottles, like soda pop or water bottles to make the plastic fiber for one bag that is as durable as you can imagine... just don't pour a plastic solvent into it.

A friend of mine has a room with a plastic carpet made from recycled plastic bottles also.

The number 1 inside the triangle that shows it can be recycled is what tells you it is the kind that they can use for making fiber.

The number 2 kind of plastic recycles well into things like plastic lumber or decks or docks.

The other numbers are not as easily handled at this time.

Remember the basic principles of science still work here. . . and entropy sets in the further away from the source we go.

Matter is always becoming something else. But it cannot go backwards and become more complex than it was before once it has been melted down, so a drink bottle cannot become another drink bottle. It has to become something else.

Now GLASS is yet another story. But people talk less about it.

Some Green to Celebrate

Remarkable. Here we are watching and being absorbed by the political protests surrounding the 2010 Olympics in China.

And the Russians give us a GREEN alert to capture our attention.
The planned site for the 2014 Olympics at Sochi is located very near sensitive ecosystems.

The locals are surprised at how quickly development is happening to "prepare" and/or beautify the area in time for the Olympics.

They are even more concerned that the extensive development will produce irreversible environmental damage in their sensitive locale.

Now THAT is worth celebrating. NOT that damage will occur. But that SOMEONE noticed and has begun to DO something to prevent it THIS FAR in ADVANCE!

It is April. So We are seeing more green news everywhere.
What I like about that is that it is a refreshing change from mayhem in the world around us.

It is a reminder that with each season we have a new call to notice new growth and assess how we impact the world around us.

The shortest path into the Universe is through a deep forest. ~John Muir~

My Ears Continued

Healing continues with my ears.

God is so gracious. I am so grateful.

How can I be anything but peace in this world?


This clip is from last summer. But the story still "rings" true for the people of this world with ringing ears.

Is there Peace in Your Head?

Exploring the world of non-silence that is my reality really does fit into this peace themed blog.
Fifty million Americans experience tinnitus... ringing in their ears. And the military has begun to notice more and more cases in soldiers returning from Iraq. It is one more toll the road bombs take and leave them with forever.

Put perhaps it is not forever. Researchers are actively creating new approaches to mitigate tinnitus and its sometimes debilitating effects on one's life.

I share a personal journey with tinnitus at a different blog Feel free to check it out and share it someone you know.

Here I want to share an occasional article on some of the factors involved with this very real and invisible condition which somtimes becomes a disability.

Did you remember?

Did you remember?

And Spring Comes Earlier

Holy Week Reflections

Entering into what may be the most sacred of Christian times, we begin the Tridium tomorrow. Holy Week.

Holy Thursday.

Good Friday.

Holy Saturday and then

Easter Sunday.

Each day has its own special emphasis in the historical journey of Jesus into Jerusalem on the days before he was crucified.

Each day calls us to reflect on what it means today to commune with each other, to share our hearts and minds, our souls and meals with each other. To serve and be served.

To face contempt with dignity and persecution with compassion.

To face crucifixion with forgiveness.

To grieve the absence and loss of your sacred loved one.

To be shocked with the stunning news of resurrection on Easter morning.

He is Risen.

He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia.

Lent and forgiveness

Lenten forgiveness or was it Lent and forgiveness?
Is it one and the same?

Reflecting on the ills of our day. Of our souls. Of our bodies. Of our world.

Each and every facet requires healing.

For healing to happen. Reconciliation must happen. For that to happen.
We must first recognize the darkness within each and feel the awareness of how it touches our lives every day.

To allow reconciliation, we must first seek forgiveness.

Sometimes we feel it is too much for one person to bear... a life in this world.

The ailments of this world.

Then comes the recognition we are not alone.
Everyone of us is comprised of atoms and molecules.
Dirt and dust and spirit . . . cosmic dust.
Like animated stardust we come seeking the light of Easter Sunday
Awaiting the resurrected hope even before we have taken the steps to
forgive ourselves. . .

But if we feel unworthy of forgiveness, we need only recall that we are already forgiven.
Yes. Before we ever knew it.
Just accept the gift.
And the light follows.

We can move to a greener world. A safer place to live. A more peaceful way to live.

Lend your spirit to this season of Lent and find forgiveness here too.

"Rats and roaches live by competition under the law of supply and demand; it is
the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy."
- Wendell Berry

Women in Civil Rights

Johnnie Carr was a personal friend of Rosa Parks. How many of you recognize her name?

Sometimes it is the quiet friends who keep us moving towards our goals, day in and day out. And they become their own voices, as did Johnnie Carr.

She died on Friday and it is a loss to be noted as much as Rosa Parks, and as much as Martin Luther King, Jr.

She remained active in Montgomery for many years promoting improvements in race relations and transportation and school conditions.

There is more to the AP press story and you can be sure there is MORE to Johnnie Carr's story.

My spiritual Mentor spoke of her with great reverence. And now I wish I had known her too.

Be your best self today. If you are not a part of the solution then you are surely part of the problem. What are you doing today that can improve race relations?

Are you in the same platitude state of mind that lulled people into inaction back into the fifties? Are you in a radical frame of mind left over from the sixties?

Or have you moved into an active force that is relevant to issues of today?

How many 97 year old Black Women do YOU know who are active in their communities right up until their time of death?

God Bless the family of Johnnie Carr and all who mourn her passing.

Let us not allow her absence to permit her to fade away unknown.

Obama Update

Keeping pace with politicos these days...
since it is all connected to peace and how we shall continue to live our lives. . .

Lent is so early this year and the campaigns are so intense it is a real challenge to live with a sense of congruence.

Candidate Comments and News

The last two posts did not make it to the screen due to a computer glitch.
So this time. I will post it before it is finished and then return to edit later.

Super Tuesday Storms in South

The storms were bad enough that the hyped up candidates even stopped to talk about them!

It was about 3 AM at my house. The cat was driving me crazy. Mom was sleeping soundly.
The weather alert sounded off AGAIN. For about the 4th time that night. Good grief. Didn't it know I had to get up early to go to work in the morning??

This time it was LOCAL. This time it was clear when I popped out of bed and dashed to turn down the volume and tune in the station that we were in trouble.

Lightning like I have never seen before was EVERYWHERE. ALL the Time.
Bright enough that I could even see color!

The raging wind was indeed loud and seemed palpable. We have so many trains coming through our town that I could not tell if it was a train or if it was the wind.

It seemed like I could SEE and taste the wind. And yet, I stayed indoors.

We were fortunate, it did not land in our town. But in outlying areas ... wow.
Total tornado trashout.

A few hours later Mom saw spectacular lightning right at sunrise. It looked "as if" the thunder and lightning and heavy cloud cover smashed the sun back into the ground.

I missed that one. Wow.

What a way to enter into Lent the season of repentance and atonement!
Being reminded of the powers of nature and the fragile nature of our everyday living.
Wow.

Today it is calm and I am resting at a nearby lake area.
Praying for those folks who were not as fortunate as we have been.

Maybe tomorrow I will be rested enough that I can help someone besides myself.

May your Lenten reflections be blessed.

It is clear which candidate I favor.
Between now and November perhaps I can help you understand why I do.

VOTE on TUESDAY USA

Our Nation needs YOUR VOTE.
Our Nation needs real, progressive and POSITIVE transformation.

I believe Barack Obama is the candidate who gives us the best hope of uniting and inspiring the nation to move in that direction.

I believe he also has the ability to restore America's dignity and standing as a member of the global community.

Millions of people are going to the polls this Tuesday to pick our Democratic nominee.

I hope you'll join me in voting for Obama.

My personal wish is for a power-packed team with Obama as president and Hillary as VP
Now that is not impossible... other presidents have chosen their opponents as VP .

Please don;t give us another 4 years of Republicans or Clintons in the White House. '
Give us a break.
Give us Barack.
I respect your right to hold a different view than mine,
but I do want you to know this is a carefully chosen message that I write tonight.

Carol Bellamy on Leadership and Peace

Carol Bellamy, former head of UNICEF,

was a graduate of Gettysburg College.

So was I. We just went at different times.

In recent interviews on campus she spoke

on some really big global issues.

Most essential to my comments on

peace-making are

those regarding foreign study.

(A luxury I have never had in person,

but I knew it was important and

went out of my way to learn more a

bout many cultures with an open mind.)

A few of her remarks are shared here for your peace journey.

"...the globalized world we live in demands new competencies and techonology..."

Celebrity status sends stardom to developing countries.

Yet, Carol Bellamy adds,

"...people who carry both a first name and a last name can make a difference.

It's about choices,not celebrity DNA"

I like that.

I believe each one of us makes a difference everyday.

The choice is ours whether it is a good difference or not.

Carol continues:

..."people need to learn to listen, to learn to care,

to be tolerant of human views and to be intolerant of human suffering."

"Everybody has to make whatever their contribution is,

but I think we have to continue to try

to create an environment in which more attention

is paid to the quality of leadership --

government leadership, private-sector leadership, civil society leadership."

Carol reminds us that going global does not mean ignoring your immediate neighborhood.

"In the US, 1 of 4 kids is born below the poverty line."

She speaks of environmental issues with a different focus. And calls us to recognize that :

"Environmental issues are not just the prerogative of environmental agencies."

When natural disasters occur, the environmental degradation

is greater in countries with fewer protections.

The poorest people of our world live in some of the most fragile areas.

The fact that children of this world continue to die

from diseases or conditions that are preventable is deplorable.

~~~~

And so in the shadow of Martin Luther King Day, I beseech you

PAY ATTENTION.

Pay Attention to what your leaders are doing at all levels of government and society.

Pay Attention to more than celebrities and their pets or babies' names.

Pay Attention to what the presidential candidates have
done that MERITS more leadership responsibilities.

Pay Attention to what these candidates say they ARE doing
and WILL do to promote world peace and sustainability.

Pay Attention to their plans for reducing Global Climate Change.
If they have not told you yet, ASK.

In those everyday ways we can act for justice and make a difference.

A difference that will last beyond our lives.

A Great Man of Peace and Justice - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major.

Say that I was a drum major for justice.

Say that I was a drum major for peace.

Say that I was a drum major for righteousness.

And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

I won't have any money to leave behind.

I won't have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind.

But I just want to leave a committed life behind.

And that's all I want to say.

If I can help somebody as I pass along,

if I can cheer somebody with a word or song,

if I can show somebody he is traveling wrong,

then my living will not be in vain."

Excerpted from "The Drum Major Instinct", a sermon by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1968.

Available on CD and print in

A Knock At Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Indeed it is our lives and actions today that continue to MAKE a Difference.

===Let Peace Begin On Earth===

===And Let it Begin with Me. ===

I first heard this song in Wilmington Delaware in 1970 at Gray Elementary School

and it touched my heart and changed my life.

It was this experience with inner-city schools and the children who live there

that planted the seeds of non-violence firmly in my heart.

This many years later.

I see some changes. I some improvements. I see some losses.

And yet... the hope for the future has not failed...

it simply requires more people working for peace

by living with hearts of justice and compassion.

One day at a time.

Bottle Houses in Bolivia

Go ahead and make a house of sand that will work as low income housing and reduce plastic waste disposal problems.

These people did. Peace on earth begins with each person and when one thinks outside the box to solve a problem it helps all of us.

New Year and New thinking

Michael Dowd's book is an exceptional leap to link science and religion at a time when the world continues to debate the issues of global warming and religious wars.

I agree with him when he says

"A sacred evolutionary worldview offers a way for people to make peace with
themselves, each other, and the planet, and no gift could be greater than that
right now.

If this book doesn't end the science and religion war, it's certainly a MAJOR step in the right direction! "

If you don't read it, at least watch the fantastic video trailer for the book! It is a short story of the universe. A very short story.

One path to peace is recognition of our oneness. This story expresses that well.

So, live well. Take action for peace and justice in your part of the world today.