Reconciliation Shoes

    To reconcile means to bring something into agreement
or harmony or to make it compatible or consistent
with something eIse. stylish plus shoes In the theological sense, it refers
to the end of the estrangement between God and humanity
that was caused by sin. Satan got right on that with Eve in
the Garden of Eden, and from that time until now, the issue
of reconciliation has faced us all. First and foremost, we
need reconciliation with God, but we also need reconciliation
in our relationships with other people. If we are putting
on Christ, as is stated in Galatians 3 :27, our character will
reflect His, and we will refrain from holding grudges, hating
one another, and harboring unforgiveness.
    The story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15 highlights
a struggle that all of us face sooner or later. That struggle
deals with reconciliation in a relationship. Whether that
struggle comes with a spouse, chi1d, sibling, friend, ourselves,
or even God, the time comes when we must take the
reconciliation shoes out of the closet and wear them ourselves
or offer them to someone else.
    In the story of the prodigal son , the son decided to take
his inheritance and go his separate way to live hls own life. 1
am reminded of the little poster that says, "Teenagers, leave
now while you still know everything." Of course, 1 am only
kidding, but the reality is that young people often overlook
the wisdom of their parents and choose to run away. The
National Runaway Switchboard (2011) reports that between
1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away each year, and 47 percent
of them indicate confiict with their parents or guardians as a
major problem.
    Fortunately, the Prodigal Son eventually realized the
error of his ways. Not long after his departure from home,
things started to fall apart， and he ended up in a pigpen-
hungry, broke, dirty, tired, and emotionally drained. He then
made the decision to go back to his father's house. The father
welcomed him warmly, and they had a joyous reunion.
And he arose, and came to his fatber. But when he was yet a
great way， his father saw him, and had compassion, and
rao, and fel1 on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said
unto him, Father, 1 have sinned against heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put
it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and
be merry.

 

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Earthquakes Aren't All That Shake Up San Francisco.

      The next time i would meet someone from the internet would be in April of 2005. Jim and Mary,a couple from England, couldn't get a vacation time that would coordinate with the barbeque but wanted to meet both Bob and I. So they first flew into Los Angeles and spent a few days with Bob while they toured and saw the sights of Southern California. Then they hopped on a Greyhound bus and rode up to visit with me for a few days. On the afternoon of Wednesday Apri1 27th,i picked them up and we spent the afternoon visiting and went to dinner.
      Then on Thursday we drove to Rob and Des'to meet up with Rion. Rion knew
San Francisco like he knew the back of his hand and agreed to be our tour guide. At first i wasn't sure how this meeting was going to turn out. Although i wouldn't allow it in the room, Rion and Jim had a long standing feud with each other. The feud began when we were in the music room one night. AOL in it's usual stellar service had booted me oflline. (Do i detect a bit of sarcasm in that statement?) Yes, that was intended sarcasm. Since AOL is my primary ISp， when they boot me offline it also boots me out of Paltalk. While i was rebooting Jim went and put on his "hat" . While Jim was gone, Rion took the mic. Jim came back and asked Rion to give the mic up, but Rion refùsed so Jim had to boot him from the room. i came back and everyone related what had taken place. i took the boot off Rion and he came back, but didn't like the fact that Jim booted him and started going off on him. i gave Rion the obligatory warning to stop,but he wouldn't relent so i had to boot him.

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The Four As Of Living Small

    SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, in the middle of everything
else we've been doing around the house, 1 ended up with
these four words rattling around in my head: reduce, reuse,
recycle, refuse. Over and over. It was maddening. Worse than
that song 1 promised to not sing for you. Still, when you think
about it, those four words do accurately describe the whole philosophy
of living small. It is all about reducing your use, reusing
what you can, recycling as much as possible, and even refusing
to accept (to buy or whatever) things that you honestly do not
need in the arst place. Reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse. Sing it with
me - you know the words!
    Reduce? Yes, that is, despite the irony, a very big part of 让.
This is where most people can make the greatest change, and
the easiest. Simply use a little bit less. Not a lot, mind you, just
a little. Say, ten percent. A little bit less electricity, a little bit less
water, a little bit less of everything. Could you get by with a little
less food? Ten percent? Maybe so. Not a lot, just a little. One
tenth. JoAnn and 1 started with trying to generate a little less
trash (those newspapers, remember?). From there, we worked
on using a little less electricity for a little lower power bill. After
that, it became a game we're still playing: How much less can
we use and stilllive our lives the way we want to? How much
before we say, no, that's too much. That's too big of a cut. I'lllet
you know when we get to that point. I'm still snifing around
the house, looking for places to save energy and money. It's a
challenge, like limbo. How low can we go? Ten percent is a good
start. A reasonable goal.
    We have, over time, reduced our overall electrical use to one
 of the regional average. Our water use is minimal.shoe store, 1 went
looking for a plastic bag in the house the other day and couldn't
find one. (We usually do have at least a few, but fewer all the
time.) We are steadily reducing the miles we put on our truck,
and find our lives to be more enjoyable the less we drive (traffic
here is really bad). Living small is funny that way. 1 keep waiting
for this living-small thing to be annoying, and it never is. Well,
not for us, an沪.vay. Maybe it would be if we had to have done it
all at once, or if we had been doing more to begin with, but because
we chose to do it as we did and started where we did, it's
an intriguing, fascinating game.
    Now, do keep in mind that we do not live our lives in a bare,
empty home with hollow rooms that echo. We do not sit quietly
in the dark and do nothing. Quite the opposite. Quite. Our home
is overwhelmingly full, making it easier, 1 suppose, to say no to
even more and still have plenty to do. Yes, we still do buy and
add things to our home, but we have (1 hope) become somewhat
more selective in our acquisitions. We're kind of out of room.
That makes it easier, 1 guess. Still, we do look at every potential
purchase in terms of how badly we really need or want 让. There
is a difference between the two, and just because we don't actually
need something doesn't mean we don't really want it - and
that doesn't mean we're going to say no. If we have a place for it,
it usually comes home.
    The moral here is to reduce what you can willingly, but don't
get all hinky about iιSmall reductions do add up, and it's better
to increasingly reduce what you use over time, rather than try to
reduce too much too fast and find yourself reverting back later
and regretting what you threw away just last week. Baby steps.
A little bit at a time. You can do this.
    Reuse? Oh, I'm big on that despite my height. You've probably
heard the old line, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"?
We11, this takes that a step further. After I've used something
for its original, intended purpose and it no longer works
for that, 1 wonder what 1 can use it for next? Yes, this is a form of
recycling. Maybe its purest form, as it takes the least amount of
energy and effort to transition an item from one use to the next.
You want examples? Examples l've got aplenty.
    Let's sort with a quick, easy one. We get fake plastic credit
cards in themail with applications that we shred and recycle.
The fake cards are of the "Your name here" variety, and maybe
we could throw them in the plastics recycling bin, but they do
make great bookmarks, so we save them for that. joAnn and 1 always
have a stack of books to read, and it's always nice to have
a few extra bookmarks at the ready. These fake plastic credit
cards work great for that. And they're free!
    1 do a lot of fussing around with bicycles (big shock there,
1 know) , and it always grated on me to have to throw away old
bicycle tubes when they could no longer be repaired. Yes, I'd remove
the valve core and add 让to my now endless supply thereof
(and geez, Louise, how many do 1 rea11y need?) , but the tube
itself? There must be something 1 could do with that. One day
1 was rebuilding a bicycle with drop (racing style) handlebars,
and 1 didn't have any handlebar tape for the bike. And, since 1
planned to simply give the bike away, 1 was somewhat reluctant
to go out and buy a brand-new ro11 of handlebar tape for a bike
1 was just going to offer out for free in the driveway. 1 did, however,
have an old tube off the bike that was blown out. No way
to repair that. l'd have to pitch it. It wasn't even recyclable. Then
it dawned on me: 1 cut the valve stem section out of the tube,
split the rest of it long ways, and then cut that in half long ways
again. 1 now had two perfectly good long lengths of black rubber
handlebar tape, and they worked like a charm. Strips of bicycle
inner tube are stretchy, making them easy to apply, and very
cushy and grippy for your hands. It was perfect! All 1 threw away
was about two inches of the old tube where the valve stem was.
Much better. Now, these days, that's all 1 ever use for handlebar
tape. 1 have a nice, steady supply of the stuff from all the old
tubes that can't be repaired. Reuse is good!
    Broken spokes get reused as wire hangers (when 1 paint
bike parts) , the twist ties from bread wrappers hold bundles of
spokes for later use and even those wide-mouth plastic peanut
butter jars (low 臼t， of course) are perfect for storing small bike
parts. Everything we recycle gets scrutinized before it goes into
any recycle bin, and certainly before it's thrown away. Can we
use this again for something else before it goes wherever it's
going next? What else could this be? Once you start looking at
everything you use in your life, reusing things from one activity
in another becomes second nature and a great challenge as well.
Pick it up, turn it around, and look at it again. What else could
this be? Maybe I'd better save it. You never know.
    And of course 1 reuse (or do 1 recycle?) entire bicycles. I'm a
nut about this. Just ask my wife. We have several bicycles in our
collection that came off of trash piles and at least one that was
pulled out of a ditch. (For a while there, we had a nice one we
pulled out of a lake!) More often than not, whatever bike 1and
in my travels gets pxed up and given away. I've probably given
away hundreds over the years. 1 get them to work, then simply
wheel them out to the end of the driveway with a "FREE!" sign
on them. They are usually gone within minutes. 1 really do like
looking up from whatever I'm working on in the garage and seeing
one of my former free bikes go by with its happy new owner.
One less car, one bike at a time. Found bicycles that honestly
can't be fixed are salvaged for their usable parts to help other
bikes, and their unusable components really are recycled. 1 currently
have an old Schwinn 1Yphoon frame hanging from the
rafters, in need of wheels before 1 give it away. Interested? 1 just
found a set of wheels on my morning walk. We can make this
work!

   

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Black Catholics and Their Church

    THE BLACK CATHOLlC BISHOPS I of the United States issued their fìrst and, to
date, only pastoralletter, What We Have Seen and l-leard,2 in 1984. They did
so in recognition of their belief that "the Black Catholic community in the
American Church has now come of age." This coming of age, they noted,
brings with it the duty, the privilege, and the joy to share with others the
rich experience of the "Word of Life. " stylishplus, Today, we are witnesses to further signs of that coming of age. African American Catholics4 are today asserting their rightful place in the Roman Catholic Church, nationally and global Basing our claÍ1n for recognition and inclusion on our history in the Alnerican church, which predates the Mayflower, our persistent faith gives living
expression to the "Word of Life," which we have received and which we fu l1y
embrace:
    you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citi zens with
the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Christ J esus himself being the cornerstone, in
whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple
in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God
in the Spirit. (Eph 2: 19-22)
    Strangers and sojourners no longer, African American Catholics can no
longer be required, in the words of the Psalmist, to ". . . sing the Lord's
song in a strange land" (Ps 137). Instead, we are taking down our harps and
converting that "strange land" into a honleland, one rich with the woven
tapestries of our voices lifted in praise and song; of our spirituality expressed
in deep and heartfelt prayer and preaching; and of our cultural heritage a
colorful nlixture of peoples of Africa, the Caribbean, the West 1ndies, South
America, and North Ameri ca.

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ÄLEX WORTH STRODE

    ÄLEX WORTH STRODE down the fancy marbled hallway, looking for his roorr•his
"suite.'J He never thought a guy like him would be staying in a place like
the Cayo Sueño Resort. :Finally I an undercover assignment with perks.
    His conscience spoke loudly in his head. Remember how you got here.
DonJt forget whafs at stake.
    He ignored the stab of guilt and kept walking. There. on the left. Room
-Suite 809. He disengaged the lock and swung the door open. The fìrst
thing he noticed was a pair of sandals in front of the couch. The, cherry-red
high heels had "seduce me" written all over them.
    Alex glanced at his magnetic hotel card key and then checked it against
the door number. He was in the right place. He looked back over at the
sexy sandals. Talk about service. The hotel room came with a woman.
    "Hello?"
    He listened intently for any sound of movement. Nothing.
    After setting his carry-all in the foyer, he slammed the door shut as a
warnlng.
    Still no answer. The thick carpet muffled his steps as he moved farther
into theωe. He called out 刷n . hìs voice echoing off the pale 仰ered 号
walls.
    "Hello? Anyone here?
    He poked his head into the bathroom . No woman ,just a makeup bag
on the vanity and a used towel hanging on the shower rod. The living room
was empty, too, except for the lingering scent of perdume. Something floral,
but somehow smoky...
    A lace--edged bra and matching panties were carefully arranged on the
couch cushion. Alex smirked. Who was this woman? The bright red lingerie
had been laid out precisely, like she'd wanted to see how they'd look on
her body. He picked up the' bra, trying to imagine the breasts that fit into ìt.
The satjn fabric feU slippery between his fingers and it wasn't hard to
picture a hot babe who was equally stick.
   He dropped the bra back on the couch I scooped the sandals off the
floor and headed for the other room. Maybe the woman was lounging on
the bed silently waiting for him.
   Nope. No such luck. What the hell was going on? How did she get into
his suite, and more importantly, where was she now?
   Two small suitcases sat against the wall beside the closet. He set the
shoes down and f1ipped one of the luggage tags around. Apparently
Meghan Elise Foster was visiting Florida from Baltimore, Maryland. He had
a name now, but her reason for being here was stìll a mystery.
   He'd been invited to Cayo Sueño by Rogelio Braga, his connection in
the Miami cartel. Braga was 'Supposed to introduce him to the infamous
Frankie Ramos. So Alex couldn't trust an叭hing about this trip, not even
bright red panties that begged, "touch me." Too many good agents had
been compromised in situations just like this.
   A third suitcase lay open on the. bed. It was half full , as if she'd been
interrupted. He didn't hesitate over rummaging through the contents. He'd
worked undercover too long to let a Httle issue Iike privacy stop him. He
had to know who this woman was.
   The ''touch me" panties and "seduce me" sandals didn't go with the.
clothes laid out on the bed. Qual1ity t with recognizable labels, but kind of
plain. The skirts were long, the necklines high and everything was a solid
color, not a stripe or pattern in sight.
 

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FOR PASTORS ONLY: CAN WE TALK?

    Luke and 1 are friends with a couple from church named Clay and
Tammy, who have become very dear to us. We sometimes eat Sunday
lunch together at a local buffet. 卫1Îs restaurant has a carved-meat
counter where the same man has worked as long as we can remember.
He greets every single woman with, "Hello there, pretty thang!
How are you doing today, foxy mama?" and if he weren't so portly
and innocent (and if he didn't cook such a great steak), 1 might be
offended. As it is, we laugh it off and go our way.
    Our children and husbands didn't know this man always made
such comments, and one particular Sunday, Clay and Tammy's
daughter ran back to tell her dad that the man at the meat counter
had been flirting with her mother. Tammy wasn't back to the table
yet, and Clay just laughed like it didn't affect him in the least.
    there have been many women who have approached me
privately by email for wise counsel in the midst of trying times both
personally and within the church. Because 1 don't know them or the
church situation, they feel free to divulge the details they've been
forced to hold back. It's a release for them and a ministry opportunity
for me. On the ßip side, I've also dumped on a long-distance
friend who just happens to work in the pastoral care office of a large
church. It's such a relief to be able to teIl it all to someone without
repercusslons.
    1 do feel the need to caution you against overdivulging sensitive
details on your public postings. 1 have cringed while reading the blogs
of some ministry wives, knowing there would likely be repercussions
within the church body when the content was shared on Sister Susie's
Hotline. If you think your church members don't know you have a
Web site, think again! Be wise when writing and always consider
whether your take on a situation could be hurtful, misconstrued, or
just ßat-out inappropriate to share in the blog format. Bottom line,
if you wouldn't want your husband reading it from the pulpit, then
don't publish!
    The danger in blogging is the temptation to withdraw from faceto-
face relationships and immerse oneself in a virtual reality with no
real personal obligation. In a busy world that is already disconnected,
the convenience-store mentality of friendship only serves to heighten
isolation. Blogging should never be used as a replacement for ßeshand-
blood relationships but rather as a wonderful addition to them.
If you are as blessed as I've been, it can also be a tool for meeting new
friends whose paths may never have crossed your own otherwise.
   

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We are called to trust.

    First Peter 3:6 says, "Just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him
lord, ... you have become her children if you do what is right without
being frightened by any fear" (NASB).
    This verse is found in a passage describing how a woman's
beauty is to be found internally instead of externally (verses 1-5).
Among other things, Peter describes how a woman should be in
willing subjection to her husband, even if he is not a believer. Dread
shouldn't motivate her in yielding to him, but rather a healthy fear
of God's mandate to honor her husband. Sarah's singular obedience
was dually blessed. She wanted to obey God by following
Abraham. God's laws are not arbitrary and are not given without
benefit attached. Sarah's reward was the gift of inclusion into the
blessing of the nations that God had intended through Abraham.
If we seek to surrender our lives to God's will through His call on
our husbands, we will be given the blessed distinction of being a
daughter of Sarah.
    So what does this type of obedience look like in a minister's wife?
Certainly the amount of reluctance you are feeling toward this role
will dictate the type of faith it will take to accompany your husband
into the unknown. Hear me well when I say that no matter how
much initial trepidation I feel when God asks something of our family,
He has yet to call Luke to a task without also piercing my own
heart.
    D o you work outside the home but do your b est to participate in
the body when possible? The church knows this and for the most
part will understand. (Oh, there will always be exceptions!)
    However, what they will n ot easily forgive is when yo u take
a seat in the back and refuse to play a part able or n ot. There
are many women who are embittered by the demands the church
has placed on their family's life and time; therefore they refuse to
support their husband's ministry or the church b ody in any way,
shape, or form. We'll discuss in a later chapter the delicate balance
between home and church life, but let's just say for now that
this attitude is extremely unhealthy and can be a huge detriment
to your husband's relationship with the church. The support the
congregation perceives your husband receiving from you and your
willingness to care for them even if you aren't able to do all that
you'd like is a bridge between their h earts and your man's. Just like
Sarah and Abraham's situation , your participation in his call is not
only nice but necessary for him to effectively live out what God
will do through him, whether you realize it now or not.

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