If music be the food of love, play on

The ministry of music is one like no other- it has the ability to turn us all into passionate, heart-wrenched converts. It transcends our mental barriers and Orthodox walls, and reaches right down into our souls with the use of our subconscious.

I have always loved the praise and worship services that came hand in hand with youth ministry,  and the way in which those moments made it feel as though God is so close, so close it makes your heart race and your skin tingle. While 'growing up' has created some distance from those events I have now taken to exploring my options at Musica and Cum books and have come to understand that seek and ye shall find.

The options are really quite plausible as you will find anything from Kirk Franklin and the Winans classic favourites to Hillsongs remakes of popular tracks that will take you back.

Cum books had an awesome disc up for listening (I will have to purchase that next time. I was busy birthday present shopping. Cum is a good place to find prezzies by the way!). The CD was alternative and provided the kind of listening that a younger crowd could and certainly would appreciate. The artists are Jesus Culture and the covers called 'Unstoppable Love', as it is indeed.

Musica will humour you with volumes and box sets that will have you grappling about trying to decide which to buy. I have recently purchased 2 volumes of '16 greats ', which turns out to be from the '90s; it is still under review. 

I've found that Music as a medium can be anything you need it to be. It can be soothing,  healing,  and even exhilarating. As human beings we forget that we thrive on emotion and miss out on the natural high that Music can bring. 

So keep your earphones on hand and learn to open that doorway to your soul.

Corpus Christi

The festival of Corpus Christi,  observed by many nations and also referred to as Corpus Domini,  Celebrates the holy Eucharist and the institution thereof in our church and in our lives.

This festival was only introduced to the Christian church in later years,  after Augustinian nun, St Juliana had a vision about the Eucharist and its reverence.

While the Eucharist and its importance is observed on Maundy Thursday,  in anticipation of Good Friday, St Juliana advocated a sacrament so precious deserved a celebration more fitting,  that the sombre atmosphere of holy week did not sufficiently celebrate the body and the blood and the dynamics around this heavenly sacrifice. To St Juliana, the Eucharist needed to be celebrated with joyful anticipation.

Looking at what this festival reminds us of, there are many, many lessons to be learnt. And as with everything else presented to us from the church,  the bride of Jesus, we may take from it was is suitable to our lives and current situation.

The three important points to take home,  this (and probably every) Corpus Christi :
The challenge of sacrifice
The reward of forgiveness
The joy of new life.

Happy Friday :-)

Hello again, World

Sjoe! In at last. Technical difficulties have kept me from here and now I'm stuck with proverbial cobwebs and metaphorical crickets.

I'm saddened really,  I missed Lent this year, and it is always Lent that brings me back here, but after a fair amount of hacking I am back- and in time for a festival no less!

Tomorrow is Corpus Christi, the Western Orthodox Churches celebration of the institution of the Eucharist- tomorrow we celebrate the body which is given for us, and the blood which is shed for us.

I will try and clean out some of these cobwebs and hopefully tomorrow I will.be able to give an article about Corpus Christi,  the reverence it deserves.

Stay safe - may the Good Lord be with you

This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine...

The December 8th entry in my little 'Moments with God' book, takes from Psalm 27vs1:
The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The lord is the strong hold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?

The author then goes further to touch on the battle of dark and light. Reminding us that the Pharisees believed that when there is a battle between dark and light, that dark would win. Also adding that there are churches who discourage involvement with sinners and who stay in their religious shelters and complain about the increasing evils of the world. Indeed as Jesus was not afraid of being around those who were 'unclean' we should also not be afraid. Jesus had no fear of sinners but with his overwhelming faith would and could heal them and help them in the name of is and our holy father.

Often in a society strewn with unjusts, we as overworked people avoid situations of controversy and and prefer to turn a blind eye. But as children of God we cannot do that, blind eyes and deaf ears are what has allowed our world to become what is. People to lazy to influence other people's thinking through their own behaviour or through the handling of a situation. We would rather avoid the annoyances than try to encourage a open minded, loving, courteous state of mind.

This week South Africa and the world mourns the passing of a great man. Madiba was not afraid to fight for a new world, a mind set, and the 'ideal for which he was prepared to die'. He made a difference perhaps more iconic than is fair to expect from everybody, we all excel in our own way, but he is an example to look toward when deciding small things that make a difference. My analogy? You know how good you feel when a stranger performs a gesture than makes you smile to yourself and think, 'there are still good people in this world'? Be that stranger from time to time. Small acts can change the world because small acts of kindness have a ripple effect.

Treat people well, with respect and confidence so that you may instill in them a standard by which they may not previously have thought hey had in them.

Madiba had lots of great quotes, which I am not going to use now (since its all over TV at the moment). It is Albert Einstein that I wish to quote:

Un-human

The chills I feel as I read the Argus today are not a result of the storm from which Cape Town recovers, but rather from what I read in the paper.

The article is about a society of normalised gender violence, our society of normalised gender violence. It touches on the stories of Bredasdorp's Anene Booysen as well as student Jyoti Singh Pandey, who was gang raped and murdered in a bus in India.

Way in on page 11 is where the story appears and there is little left to wonder. We want to ask all these questions, but we have asked then before. What makes people act so, un-human? I use the term 'un-human' because inhumane indicates some form of choice and I hope that any animal that could do the things that these people do are doing so without a choice. The decision to rape and slaughter cannot be the rational thinking of a creation of God...or can it? Another question! Gods role in all of this. Why God, we ask. Why would a God allow this? We can go back many posts ago to the story of the man in the barber shop, where the conclusion is that in this world everything only exists because we acknowledge its existence. But as happy as that story may end, I am sure we can go back in history and find instances where 'going to God' seems of no relevance, perhaps like when a baby is raped? (apologies for the tasteless example but there was a point to be made and I think you got the point).

What are we doing wrong? Why are our people suffering so? I think perhaps the human condition is the biggest problem. We are greedy, we want, we favour, we turn a blind eye, we are selfish. How do we turn away from this?

I'm not saying victims are partially responsible, nobody has any right to harm another human being, what I'm saying is that we are society. We need to step up. Small acts of selflessness can trigger a domino effect. We need to lead by example. There are all sorts of principles in place that we can use to do our bit.

John Miltons' on his blindness teaches us that we must use our God given talents to praise God. This is how we can make a difference, through the traits that God has instilled in us. The problem is that people are not always able to identify there own gifts. I have two perfect examples from just this weekend:
1. I was at the annual SACTWU springqueen pageant, a rather, Erm, drunken crowd and not the most reserved bunch either. A very drunk girl accidentally spat most if the energy drink that was in her mouth, into my face. Now, given the crowd around us, if it were anyone else she may have seen the bottom of the staircase at the top of which we stood, but instead I established how completely wasted she was, and encouraged that she find her friends so that she could get home safely and not with anyone...else. my gift: patience.
2. Sunday, road rage went horribly wrong when the occupants of two vehicles ended up in a full blown fight, complete with crowbars and beer bottles as weapons. It was late afternoon and most of the cars in the road were of the variety that would probably also not step down from a fight, but in this case, as outsiders, they were able to identity that there was a problem here, and like clockwork several people were out of there cars, fearlessly trying to stop a fight without thinking twice of their own safety. Their gifts: fearlessness, courage, faith, and possibly some stupidity. But you get my point.

We can use the gifts God gave us, the things on which we pride ourselves, to make a difference in a world we ruined. Yes its not us but it is our kind, man kind, who stood by and watched as a specie with the most developed thought processes committed the most senseless and profound acts of cruelty.
Just like MJ said, and just like Ghandi said (so it works whether you prefer black, white or Indian), it starts with the man in the mirror- be the change you want to see in the world.

Daddy's Day

Tonight I celebrate with others the birthday of the man who soon too, will be my dad. And as I was searching for a quote for one of the speeches tonight... I stumbled upon the poem below.

Perhaps at this point I should include a little disclaimer about the whole USA vs Middle east situation and that I wish to make no statement regarding that.

This poem just made me sad a bit..just a little bit. As for once I allowed myself to think about by own father. Who has been far away for the last 14 year's...but surely will be at my wedding.

Her hair was up in a ponytail
Her favorite dress tied with a bow
Today was Daddy's Day at school
And she couldn't wait to go.
But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone.
But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn't there today.
But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.
But the little girl went to school,
Eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees,
A dad who never calls.
There were daddies along the wall in back,
For everyone to meet
Children squirming impatently,
Anxious in their seats.
One by one the teacher called,
Each student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name,
Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
For a man who wasn't there.
"Where's her daddy at?"
She heard a boy call out.
"She probably doesn't have one"
Another student dared to shout.
And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offened her,
As she smiled up at her mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on.
And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.
"My daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.
And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.
He loved to tell me stories
He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.
We used to share fudge sundaes,
and ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him,
I'm not standing here alone.
Cause my daddy's always with me
Even though we are apart.
I know because he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart."
With that, her little hand reached up,
and lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favorite dress.
And from somewhere in the crowd of
dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.
For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.
And when she dropped her hand back
down,
Staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.
"I love my daddy very much,
He's my shining star.
And if he could he'd be here,
But heaven's just too far.
You see he was a fireman
And died just this past year.
When airplanes hit the towers
And taught Americans to fear.
But sometimes when I close my eyes,
It's like he never went away."
And then she closes her eyes,
And saw him there that day.
And to her mother's amazement,
She witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.
Who knows what they say before them,
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.
"I know you're with me Daddy."
To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
Of those once filled with doubt.
Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
Was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.
And a child was blessed, if only for a
moment,
By the love of her shining bright star.
And given the gift of believing,
That heaven is never too far

- From the poem Daddy's Day, by Cheryl Costello-
Forshey

Don't judge

A 24 year old boy seeing out from
the train's window shouted...
"Dad, look the trees are going
behind!" dad smiled and a young
couple sitting nearby, looked at the
24 year old's childish behavior with
pity, suddenly he again exclaimed ...
"dad, look the clouds are running
with us !" the couple couldn't resist
and said to the old man... "why
don't
you take your son to a good
doctor?" the old man smiled and
said ... "i did and we are just
coming from the hospital, my son
was blind from birth, he
just got his eyes today..."
Every single person on the planet
has story.
"don't judge people before you truly
know them. the truth might surprise
you...
think before you say something...!!!