'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'
You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK..I am ready to go.'
I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.
I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'
I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.
I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.
I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?
I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all knew Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?
Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.God
During the next 60 seconds, stop whatever you are
doing, and take this opportunity. (Literally it
is only 1 minute.) All you have to do is the
following:
Stop and think and appreciate God's power
Reading Through Chaos
As I read a Curious George book aloud to my sons, I was struck by the example of the little monkey. Almost without exception, George willfully disregards the instruction of his father figure, the Man with the Yellow Hat, and gets into trouble. Yet the story is always brought to a happy ending by George somehow redeeming himself in a serendipitous way – had he not snuck into the penguin tank, he wouldn’t have been able to save the baby penguin.
Obviously, George doesn’t have a mind of his own; his is a manifestation of H.A. Rey, the creator of George and his curiosity. Does the author believe the ends always justify the means? Was the author trying to force a pragmatic worldview upon his impressionable readers? I cannot speak to Rey’s motivation, but, as a father, I can point out the error in George’s behavior and teach my boys about George’s disobedience, even if he did save the baby penguin.
When we teach our kids to read, we give them the keys to the most exhilarating mode of transportation ever created. They can go anywhere, be anyone, and do anything. But, just as it would be foolish to give our kids the keys to a Ferrari without teaching them to drive, we shouldn’t teach our kids to read without also teaching them to discern.
Why is a child susceptible to a goon in a black van offering them candy? Because they innocently trust; they’ve no reason to doubt. They assume the act of benevolence is a revelation of the giver’s nature, and gratefully accept the bait. Perhaps not so calculated, authors possess the same power of influence over readers, especially readers without discernment. That influence is one of the reasons I write. Were it not for the potential to influence I would leave my words bound in a diary.
The Golden Compass is the first volume in the “His Dark Materials” trilogy, written by Philip Pullman. The book came under the intense scrutiny of the Christian church for its apparent anti-God, anti-church message. J.R.R. Tolkien was accused of writing “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy as a mere allegory with a pro-God message. Both authors rejected the claims their novels were anything more than works of fiction, but neither denied the influence of their personal beliefs on their writing.
When asked about the influence of his faith on “The Lord of the Rings,” Tolkien said, “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like ‘religion’, to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.”(1) Frankly, I don’t see how it could be any other way. If you read any of my writing, you won’t find the use of obscene words. I strive to avoid them in my speech, I don’t want my kids to use them, and I don’t like to read them, therefore I don’t include them in my text. My personal belief influences my written content. But, particular words are the least of our concern; the real issues are themes
Grateful (From Walking On To Winning It All At Florida State) by Ryan SpragueReview by Chris Singer
About the author:
Ryan Sprague grew up in Augusta, GA and never envisioned leaving. But, he was given the opportunity to attend Florida State University, and decided to go for it. He walked on to the football team and eventually became a starter for FSU’s National Championship run. He met his wife at FSU, and upon graduation began his career as a full–time minister. He is the proud father of four unique and remarkable boys and his family is replanting their roots in Tallahassee, FL after an exciting year in Hawley, MN and a fulfilling six in Highlands, NC.
About the book:
In 1999, the Florida State Seminoles went wire-to-wire to win the National Championship. In Grateful, Ryan Sprague gives you a chance to see the program like never before, from a player’s perspective. Starting as a walk-on in 1996, Ryan takes you on his journey as he earned a scholarship, won a starting job, and was a part of one of the greatest teams in the history of college football.
My take on the book:
I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure how Ryan Sprague’s book, Grateful, really fit into Book Dads but I’m glad I trusted my instincts and decided to review it.
I’m not a Florida State Seminole fan, but it was hard to resist reading this book after seeing such a wonderful endorsement by legendary football coach Bobby Bowden. When I read that it made me think of my favorite head coach and team, Joe Paterno from Penn State University.Ryan’s story of walking on as a freshman at one of the most storied college football programs in history, earning a scholarship and eventually being a starter for the Florida State Seminoles is a great story for dads to share with any kid who dreams of making it big in college sports.
College football fans, especially Seminole fans, will really enjoy this inside story of one of college football’s greatest championship teams, but the real pleasure for me was the positive messages interlaced among Ryan’s anecdotes. In a time when every week we see a college football player, team or program making headlines on ESPN for all the wrong things, Ryan is clearly the real deal where it matters most: off the field. Ryan’s messages of perseverance, determination, loyalty and of course, gratitude are what really comes across in this memoir.
This is
This poem was November's winner on my Monthly Poetry Contest for kids at www.joe-sottile.com. The poem that wins has to simply be good and say something about our lives. This one is both, written by an 8th grader.
I Am Thankful
By MatthewJoseph Feyh
I am thankful for everything given tome.
I am thankfulfor a place to stay.
I am thankfulfor warmth every night.
I am thankfulfor friends that care.
I am thankfulfor food to spare.
I am thankfulfor grandparents that love.
By:
mrana,
on 12/25/2008
Blog:
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I first began blogging here on the 23rd December 2006. I can barely believe that it's been two years. And so much has happened since then that I would never have imagined or envisioned. If anyone had told me that in a couple of years I would be drawing and living in French countryside I'd have laughed. Loud and long. But here I am ...
I need to thank everyone who has encouraged and inspired me, taken the time to drop by to comment, chat, motivate, and turn into amazing friends whom I hugely admire both personally and artistically. I live a blessed life and appreciate it, and all of you, daily. Hourly. By the second!
Cheers and a Happy New Year to every one of you wonderful, talented, inspiring artists/friends out there! May 2009 bring even more creative sunshine into our lives.
P.S.: My Thank You Blue mug design won me a "Today's Best" Award over at Zazzle :)
By:
mrana,
on 12/25/2008
Blog:
Bit by Bit
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
graphic,
thanks,
floating lemons,
grateful,
hand drawn,
design,
generosity,
gratitude,
appreciation,
typography,
digital,
cards,
Daily Sketches,
thank you,
kindness,
text design,
typography design,
Add a tag
I first began blogging here on the 23rd December 2006. I can barely believe that it's been two years. And so much has happened since then that I would never have imagined or envisioned. If anyone had told me that in a couple of years I would be drawing and living in French countryside I'd have laughed. Loud and long. But here I am ...
I need to thank everyone who has encouraged and inspired me, taken the time to drop by to comment, chat, motivate, and turn into amazing friends whom I hugely admire both personally and artistically. I live a blessed life and appreciate it, and all of you, daily. Hourly. By the second!
Cheers and a Happy New Year to every one of you wonderful, talented, inspiring artists/friends out there! May 2009 bring even more creative sunshine into our lives.
P.S.: My Thank You Blue mug design won me a "Today's Best" Award over at Zazzle :)
two stretches: your header too. that's my favorite stretch: lying down :^)
happy holidays, ms. pumpkin pi. i love you to the moon and back
most sincerely
guess who
Oh gorgeous and glorious!
Do you know Goedele has nearly the same picture of herself this way?
I will see her today :)
Have a wonderful week dear!!!!
♥M
Hi Lo! I love this new painting. She's ready to fly. Hope you are having some wonderful pre-holiday art time! xox
Great Lo. I can see the love.
i remember this but good to see again. to remember the freedom in the air and sky and the many life blessings. hope you are well.
Such an evocative painting, *BS*....it's who you are! Love it as your header or as your FB Avatar.... I give thanks to have you as my friend and sister....
Love,
♥ LS ♥
Beautiful and evocative!
Always loved this one. Nice to see it again.
Beautiful take on the word! :)
Lovely painting! The colors in the sky are wonderful (actually the whole thing is wonderful)! That's how I would like to be greeting my day.
I've always loved this painting...didn't used to be your banner?
Please send me your current address to my email so I'll have it for sending THE BOOK when it's finally published. Congrats on your big win!!! ;-) [email protected]
This captures that exhuberant feeling of LIFE! I feel it on cool crisp mornings in the fall. (then I feel like I'm going to die mid-winter) but that LIFE feeling is so wonderful.
The card you did for marja is pretty darn awesome!!