For this blog category, “Countdown to Christmas: Images of Peace,” each day between December 1 and 25, I share some of our photography that invites rest, peace, tranquility and love.
“Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.”
I love this truthfully encouraging quote from our (by which I mean Georgia’s) senator Raphael Warnock …
“A vote is a prayer about the kind of world we want to live in. And prayers are stronger when we pray together.”
As you may know, on December 6 there is an important senatorial runoff in my state of Georgia between Warnock and Herschel Walker.
I know that many who care not about facts will of course disagree, but Walker has shown himself to be a repeated liar (“I am a deputy!”), a horrendous hypocrite (“I am anti-abortion” while paying for multiple abortions for his lovers), a terrible father (his son says he was never there for him), “pro-family” (which means that he is against my being able to stay married to my husband Robert), “pro-life” which means he is against a woman’s right to have autonomy over her own body, an election denier (“Trump won” — of course Trump won, he groomed and endorsed you), etc, etc, etc.
Here is a link to an article from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlighting the two candidates’ stands on major issues …
https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/10/21/us-senate-race-voter-guide-warnock-walker-on-the-issues
May Georgians overwhelmingly dismiss Walker’s corrosive campaign and keep our Senator Warnock in D.C.
“Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.”
1. Leftover Low Country Boil. Yum!
2. Air conditioning. Air conditioning. Air conditioning. Our real feel here in Savannah is 100+ nearly every day lately.
3. Grandson Daniel in Savannah Theatre’s summer production of “Grease.” Great music and fun.
4. The inexplicable joy of having a husband who loves my ex-wife Donna and works hard on projects for her. Here he’s putting together a picture frame hanging thingy for a puzzle. I quickly lost interest and started a lengthy internal debate about how much pink Himalayan sea salt I should shake on my butter pecan ice cream.
5. The power of prayer.
I pray you have a brilliant weekend ahead.
“Please Little Dove, fly your olive branch to Russia and Ukraine. Drop it on the leader Putin. Cover his heart with leaves of olive. Drop it on the Russian soldiers, who must have babies at home. Drop it on the ravaged land of Ukraine. Drop it on the innocent little children. Stop the killing, Little Dove, stop the hatred, stop the war.
Fly. FLY!
I know it is a long, long way there. And your wings are just dove wings. And you are harboring that heavy olive branch. But I believe you can do it.
You must do it.
The World depends on you, Little Dove.
Please fly.”
A blog category featuring quotes and prayers for peace for our troubled world.
For this week’s Saturday Evening Post, I share with you excerpts from today’s weekly email from Billy Hester, the pastor of our church here in Savannah — Asbury Memorial.
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Dear Asbury & Wesley Oak Family,
I write you with a heavy heart due to the tragedy occurring in Europe. For the first time since World War II, Air Raid Sirens are going off in Kyiv. We are seeing the worst of humanity as Russia invades Ukraine, destroying the lives of countless men, women, and children. More than ever, we need to come together in prayer. I hope you will join me in church this Sunday as I lead us in prayer for the people of these two countries and for the world.
When I was a teenager I was a percussionist in the Savannah Youth Orchestra. But honestly, I wasn’t a very good drummer…as in the snare drum. But I played a pretty mean bass drum. My real speciality was playing the cymbals. I could clash with the best of them! And I got to play the cymbals on my favorite piece of music that we performed, a song called, “The Great Gate of Kiev.” It is one of the most majestic and inspiring songs ever written. Kiev is another way of spelling the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. The song was written to celebrate the Golden Gate that was built to protect Kiev in 1873.
Here is the song. It’s about 9 minutes long. I invite you to pray for the people of Ukraine as you listen to it.
After you spend this 9 minutes in prayer, go back to the 8:00 minute mark of the song and watch the orchestra play the last part of the song. This was my favorite part. It’s when the cymbals really take over. Watch the cymbal player, and imagine little Billy Hester clashing away on the stage at the Civic Center!
Love & peace, Rev. Billy Hester
May there be Peace on Earth.
Lord in Your Mercy, Hear our Prayer.
O God of many names
Lover of all nations
We pray for peace
in our hearts
in our homes
in our nations
in our world
The peace of your will
The peace of our need.
— George Appleton, The Oxford Book of Prayer (Oxford University Press, 1985)
“Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.”
Each December, Robert and I LOVE watching the old animated holiday classics, reminiscing of yesteryear. Last night we pulled out The Muppet Christmas Carol.
My capital “F” Favorite song in the movie is “Bless Us All,” sung by poor, sickly little Robin/Tiny Tim and the rest of the Cratchit crew. It always gets me choked up (until I realize that, as a “grown man,” I am crying over an anthropomorphic, singing, cloth-born frog puppet).
“Bless Us All” is actually a beautiful, prayerful meditation, expressing both gratitude for all we have (the sun, family, each other, etc) as well as supplication for greater good outside of our individual little worlds.
I invite you to take a couple of minutes out of your Saturday for a quick listen …
Muppet Truths …
“No place on earth compares with home.” (Of course, “home” can have various definitions for us.)
“We have so much that we can share with those in need we see around us everywhere.”
“Let us hear the voice of reason singing in the night.” (Oh my goodness, yes.)
The full lyrics …
BLESS US ALL!
NealEnJoy 