Good News

Adrienne Lee, The Good News Rev

Let It Go

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~Lewis B. Smedes

Have you ever been hurt, offended, cheated or misused? What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Unfortunately, life can be rough and anyone who has lived more than a few months has experienced hurt of some kind or another – physical, mental, emotional, racial, religious, sexual, relational… the list goes on and on. If we were seated in a room together we could share stories that would have us all in tears.

So what is the solution? How do we survive life’s inevitable injustices? There is no easy answer, no magic pill to make the hurt go away. Each of us must find the path toward healing in our own way. Here are excerpts from stories of people who have suffered greatly and found ways to begin their healing journeys.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , ,

Mother’s Day

I was driving down the street recently when the traffic came to a screeching halt. As I tried to figure out what was going on I noticed a man standing in the middle of the road waving his arms. When I looked down I could see why the traffic had stopped. There was a mother duck and 6 little ducklings waddling nonchantly across the street. The mother appeared to be oblivious to the danger that they were in she was just taking her babies out for a walk. The ducklings felt completely safe just following their mom. The mother-child bond is amazing to observe.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I am reminded of the great lengths that mothers go to in order to nurture and protect their young.  This applies to human mothers, but animals also make extraordinary sacrifices for their offspring. Here are a few examples:

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,

Home, Sweet Home

“He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”
~John Wolfgang von Goethe

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
~ Maya Angelou

 “The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.”
~Confucius

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”
~Author Unknown

Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz nicely summed up these quotes about home when she said, “There’s no place like home.” What is a home? Home is a safe place, a comfortable place, and a haven from the outside world. I was blessed to grow up in a warm, loving home. I had an experience at an early age that taught me to appreciate it. My parents, who worked for the same company, were offered positions at a plant in another part of the state. So they began the process of relocating our family from southern to northern California. Part of the process involved them going to find housing. Since I was 5 years old and my brother was only 2 years old, they left us with a family friend for what seemed like forever.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,

Why Weight?

Have you noticed that our society seems to be obsessed with weight? While standing in line at the grocery store recently I noted that all of the magazines featured articles about weight loss and diet. While glancing at headlines today I came across the following articles:
 
“Women Walking the Weight Off”
“Weight Loss Success Stories” 
Another article stated that a certain celebrity is “looking gaunt and thin as she prepares for her wedding”.
 
In an article, “Fat Talk Makes even skinny women feel Huge” Cari Nierenberg wrote, “Spend any time around tween, teen, or college-age girls and it won’t take long before one young woman says to her friend, “Ugh, I feel so fat.” Now, a new study confirms that the overwhelming majority — 93 percent — of college-age women engage in “fat talk.” Most of them believe it makes them feel better about their bodies, but the study results suggest the opposite: The more college women talked about how fat they were, the more likely they were to be dissatisfied with their bodies.
 

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,

Let It Shine

“Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are.” These are the opening lyrics from a very popular children’s song. Have you ever wondered what a star is?  Wikipedia describes a star as a massive, luminous ball of plasma, held together by gravity. The nearest star to the Earth is the Sun. Other stars can be seen from Earth during the night when they are not outshone by the Sun. For at least some of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in its core releasing energy that traverses the star’s interior and then radiates into outer space. Historically the most prominent stars have been grouped into constellations with names like The Big Dipper, The Little Dipper and Orion. Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. Some stars may even be close to 13.7 billion years old. Stars and constellations have been studied extensively down through the ages. However, you do not have to be a scientist to appreciate the beauty and magnitude of stars in the sky. They are amazing!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,

What Are You Wearing?

If you are a movie buff, you probably watched the recent Academy Awards show. It was the 83rd year for this gala event where Oscars are awarded for the best motion pictures of the year.  Although the Oscars are the primary focus, there is always lots of buzz about the pre and post show activities.  This year’s post-show party scene included the Governor’s Ball, the Vanity Fair party and many more. I especially enjoy hearing the celebrity chefs describe the menus that they have prepared for each of these after-show soirees.  The pre-show highlight is the red carpet where some of the most beautiful and talented people in Hollywood make their grand entrances. For 4 hours reporters line the red carpet to interview the Hollywood glitterati as they emerge from their limousines to sashay into the event.  The primary focus is fashion. One of the first questions that reporters ask is “Who are you wearing?” The celebrity answers with the name of the famous designer who provided her gown for the event. 

Fashion takes center stage in our society. Magazines are filled with news of the latest fashion trends and styles. Millions of dollars are spent by “fashionistas” to capture the latest looks.  Although fashion is fun, it is only external. What would happen if we spent as much time and money on cultivating internal beauty?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

It’s a Love Thing

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today our thoughts turn to my favorite subject – love.

Wikipedia defines Valentine’s Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions.  The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of Saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Modern Valentine’s Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,

Here Comes the Judge

As a student of human nature I enjoy studying trends in society and popular culture. Wikipedia defines popular culture (commonly known as pop culture) as the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society. 

Some of the trends in recent decades have been fun and constructive. Others, not so much. People tend to be influenced by mass media and assume that if they see it on TV, it must be popular. This assumption can be applied to everything from clothing and music styles to television and movie stars. It also applies to toys, technology and inventions. Many have a lasting impact on our lives, while others are not so fortunate. Do you remember the pet rock? Or the Chia pet?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Get Well Wishes

Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

“I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (John 5:1-5, NLT)

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,

Those Were The Days

“Those were the days my friend
We thought they’d never end
We’d sing and dance forever and a day
We’d live the life we choose
We’d fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.”

 

These lyrics are from a song that was recorded by Mary Hopkin in 1968.  They invite reflection upon the way things used to be. With modern technology it is easy to forget that the conveniences that we enjoy today weren’t always available. I was thinking about a few of them recently and (at the risk of dating myself) I decided to make a list.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , ,