.
Try talking with God, instead of each other. You’ve got the rest of the day, when you’re outside church, to talk with others. Besides, some of us who are trying to talk with God find your chatter about golf, stores, restaurants, friends, etc. distracting.
Open the Eyes of My Heart Lyrics
Artist: Michael W. Smith
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Repeat two more times)
Holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you
(Repeat five more times)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Denial isn't just a river in Egypt
.
"See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil."
Does that make the evil go away?
"Don't confuse me with the facts."
Does that make the facts go away?
We don't like to deal with ugly, including our own biases and errors. We'd rather put our hands over our eyes and ears. Speak out to right a wrong? Forget it--it's easier to put our hands over our mouth.
Being in denial (not the river in Egypt) doesn't change facts, and it doesn't make ugly pretty.
"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
.
.
"See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil."
Does that make the evil go away?
"Don't confuse me with the facts."
Does that make the facts go away?
We don't like to deal with ugly, including our own biases and errors. We'd rather put our hands over our eyes and ears. Speak out to right a wrong? Forget it--it's easier to put our hands over our mouth.
Being in denial (not the river in Egypt) doesn't change facts, and it doesn't make ugly pretty.
"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
.
.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Prayers for Judy
.
.
.
Judy is my baby sister (she's in her 50s). Judy has von Hippel-Lindau disease, a genetic disorder that spawns multiple brain tumors.
.
.
Here's a note that Judy wrote to me after one of her surgeries:
.
.
Dear Ray,
God loves us so much and He wants us to trust in Him totally and completely. It is getting easier for me to do just that. I trust that He only wants what is best for me, surgeries included (and this was the fifth not that I'm counting!). Thank you and everyone for all the prayers. I'm so very blessed.
Love, Judy
Her youngest, Daniel, is in middle school (an old photo) and has Smith Magenis Syndrome.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Please pray for Judy, her husband, Matt, their children, Daniel, Rosemary, Drew, and Rachel, for her extended family, and for all those who are praying for them.
Thank you.
more from Judy:
Dear Ray, ... What a story of faith. And its because of that faith and trust that your friends have, we are able to get up again and again to go on after an event in life flattens us. Losing a child has to be the worse. As hard as it is to believe sometimes, God is doing what's best for each of us always because His Love for us is beyond measure.. What joy and peace comes from holding on to that and never letting it go. ... I think all of us are inspirations to each other the way we handle the trials of life. Everyday, all around us, people are picking up their crosses and following Jesus up the road to Heaven. You know it's gonna be beyond words........Love you, Judy
.
.
..
Judy is my baby sister (she's in her 50s). Judy has von Hippel-Lindau disease, a genetic disorder that spawns multiple brain tumors.
.
.
Here's a note that Judy wrote to me after one of her surgeries:
.
.
Dear Ray,
God loves us so much and He wants us to trust in Him totally and completely. It is getting easier for me to do just that. I trust that He only wants what is best for me, surgeries included (and this was the fifth not that I'm counting!). Thank you and everyone for all the prayers. I'm so very blessed.
Love, Judy
Her youngest, Daniel, is in middle school (an old photo) and has Smith Magenis Syndrome.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Please pray for Judy, her husband, Matt, their children, Daniel, Rosemary, Drew, and Rachel, for her extended family, and for all those who are praying for them.
Thank you.
more from Judy:
Dear Ray, ... What a story of faith. And its because of that faith and trust that your friends have, we are able to get up again and again to go on after an event in life flattens us. Losing a child has to be the worse. As hard as it is to believe sometimes, God is doing what's best for each of us always because His Love for us is beyond measure.. What joy and peace comes from holding on to that and never letting it go. ... I think all of us are inspirations to each other the way we handle the trials of life. Everyday, all around us, people are picking up their crosses and following Jesus up the road to Heaven. You know it's gonna be beyond words........Love you, Judy
.
.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Prayers for Jual
.
http://jualsgems.blogspot.com/
Alex is my nephew and Jual is his wife. Ella, Pierce, and Ryder are their three small children.
Jual was diagnosed with breast cancer in spring 2007 while she was pregnant with Ryder. In September 2008 she was told that her cancer is in Stage IV.
Please pray for Jual, Alex, Ella, Pierce, Ryder, their extended families, and all who are praying for them.
Thank you.
.
.
http://jualsgems.blogspot.com/
Alex is my nephew and Jual is his wife. Ella, Pierce, and Ryder are their three small children.
Jual was diagnosed with breast cancer in spring 2007 while she was pregnant with Ryder. In September 2008 she was told that her cancer is in Stage IV.
Please pray for Jual, Alex, Ella, Pierce, Ryder, their extended families, and all who are praying for them.
Thank you.
.
.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Prayers for Molly
.
2/17/09
Dear Friends and Family,
We had wanted to share with everyone how Molly was doing and what he have learned about her long term condition since her operation.
The great news is that Molly has been doing fantastic physically, and neurologically. We were home Monday evening from our Friday surgery and Molly hasn’t looked back. She is laughing, running, jumping she is back to the way she was prior to the tumor affecting her life. Other than one very small issue with one of her eyes, which an eye Doctor will be looking at soon, her doctors see no other current side effects of the operation. They also believe that they were able to remove the whole tumor and the follow-up MRI seemed to confirm this – and her next MRI in May will hopefully confirm this fact. Molly’s strength, and resilience has impressed everyone around her… including the many doctors that make up her Oncology clinical team.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The only troubling spot in all of this is that they have yet to come back with a clear, definitive pathology on the Tumor. Samples went to two labs and the first came back as “Inconclusive” but mentioned the possible presence of a very different tumor than what we were hoping for. The second lab that received a sample of the tumor for testing – is a far more qualified clinical pathologist at John’s Hopkins and this Doctor is running a more detailed series of tests to try to nail down what exactly we are facing. But this is going to take even more time now…
We have been hoping for all along what they call a JPA; a tumor that if caught before it gets into such critical systems as the spinal cord can be treated with 95% effectiveness with just surgery… AKA removal of the tumor. All other options come with some elevated risk of either dramatically increased re-occurrence rates or malignancy both of which are far scarier than the first option for our sweet Molly. We will continue to pray for strength as we wait…. It shouldn’t be too much longer now… at most another week before we have a better idea of where we go from here.
Please keep Molly in your prayers…. and Thank You for all the incredible support to date!
The Quigleys (Jim, Kathy, Caitlin and Molly)
2/1/09
Dear Friends and Family….
This started off being a very difficult letter to write… but what a difference a few days can make….
On Thursday of last week – Kathy and I took our youngest girl Molly (2 ½) in for an MRI. It was intended to just eliminate “the worst case” scenarios for what was becoming an ongoing string of headaches that our baby had been suffering from over the last few months. Unfortunately, we had one of those moments that you never thing will happen to you even in your worst nightmares… The radiologist pulled us aside and explained to us that they had found a massive tumor in Molly’s brain… and that we needed to immediately admit her to the ER.. I can tell you in that moment… time was frozen and it seemed like our world came crashing down around us. You never think it will be you living through those moments and when it is – you only wish there were some way to switch positions with your precious little one…. In the end you can only trust that the lord has a plan.
We are happy to say… it is three days later… and what will go down as the worst moment in our lives was quickly followed up by a string of some of the best. Molly was scheduled for surgery the next day at 7:30am… and after 5 hours of operating our God sent Neurosurgeon told us that he thought they had removed all of the tumor and that he felt comfortable classifying it as low stage & benign (something we hope to have confirmed early this week when the final pathology report comes back). Molly came through the operation with flying colors and within a few days was talking, laughing, had a few bites of pizza this evening, and even took a few steps. Today we had more good news as the follow up MRI seemed to confirm that the tumor appears to be gone, and there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage caused by the invasiveness and size of the tumor. Right now the plan is to be home sometime Tuesday or Wednesday which will make little Molly very happy as she is very anxious to play and spend time with her older sister Caitlin (3 ½). Molly will live her young life going through constant MRI’s to make sure the tumor doesn’t return but with that being said for now at least – God has given us the gift of our child’s life.
If you want to see how much of a miracle that is… take a look at the MRI image below that left us cold in our tracks…. You can see how large the tumor was how absolutely incredible it is that she is up and about today….
Our thoughts and prayers are with other families tonight who are going through this traumatic experience – many of whom have a much longer, harder hill to climb. For us we are grateful for every day we are Blessed with our precious miracles – this event gives us greater pause as we reflect on the time we have with our children and all of our loved ones….
Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes – we have felt them all.
The left image is looking down on Molly’s head.. the item in white and the grey around it is the tumor… on the right is the side image of Molly’s head… and you see the tumor at the base of her brain in white. The other white material at the top - is the excessive spinal fluid caused by the tumor that gave Molly the headaches… those headaches ultimately saved her life.
2/17/09
Dear Friends and Family,
We had wanted to share with everyone how Molly was doing and what he have learned about her long term condition since her operation.
The great news is that Molly has been doing fantastic physically, and neurologically. We were home Monday evening from our Friday surgery and Molly hasn’t looked back. She is laughing, running, jumping she is back to the way she was prior to the tumor affecting her life. Other than one very small issue with one of her eyes, which an eye Doctor will be looking at soon, her doctors see no other current side effects of the operation. They also believe that they were able to remove the whole tumor and the follow-up MRI seemed to confirm this – and her next MRI in May will hopefully confirm this fact. Molly’s strength, and resilience has impressed everyone around her… including the many doctors that make up her Oncology clinical team.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The only troubling spot in all of this is that they have yet to come back with a clear, definitive pathology on the Tumor. Samples went to two labs and the first came back as “Inconclusive” but mentioned the possible presence of a very different tumor than what we were hoping for. The second lab that received a sample of the tumor for testing – is a far more qualified clinical pathologist at John’s Hopkins and this Doctor is running a more detailed series of tests to try to nail down what exactly we are facing. But this is going to take even more time now…
We have been hoping for all along what they call a JPA; a tumor that if caught before it gets into such critical systems as the spinal cord can be treated with 95% effectiveness with just surgery… AKA removal of the tumor. All other options come with some elevated risk of either dramatically increased re-occurrence rates or malignancy both of which are far scarier than the first option for our sweet Molly. We will continue to pray for strength as we wait…. It shouldn’t be too much longer now… at most another week before we have a better idea of where we go from here.
Please keep Molly in your prayers…. and Thank You for all the incredible support to date!
The Quigleys (Jim, Kathy, Caitlin and Molly)
2/1/09
Dear Friends and Family….
This started off being a very difficult letter to write… but what a difference a few days can make….
On Thursday of last week – Kathy and I took our youngest girl Molly (2 ½) in for an MRI. It was intended to just eliminate “the worst case” scenarios for what was becoming an ongoing string of headaches that our baby had been suffering from over the last few months. Unfortunately, we had one of those moments that you never thing will happen to you even in your worst nightmares… The radiologist pulled us aside and explained to us that they had found a massive tumor in Molly’s brain… and that we needed to immediately admit her to the ER.. I can tell you in that moment… time was frozen and it seemed like our world came crashing down around us. You never think it will be you living through those moments and when it is – you only wish there were some way to switch positions with your precious little one…. In the end you can only trust that the lord has a plan.
We are happy to say… it is three days later… and what will go down as the worst moment in our lives was quickly followed up by a string of some of the best. Molly was scheduled for surgery the next day at 7:30am… and after 5 hours of operating our God sent Neurosurgeon told us that he thought they had removed all of the tumor and that he felt comfortable classifying it as low stage & benign (something we hope to have confirmed early this week when the final pathology report comes back). Molly came through the operation with flying colors and within a few days was talking, laughing, had a few bites of pizza this evening, and even took a few steps. Today we had more good news as the follow up MRI seemed to confirm that the tumor appears to be gone, and there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage caused by the invasiveness and size of the tumor. Right now the plan is to be home sometime Tuesday or Wednesday which will make little Molly very happy as she is very anxious to play and spend time with her older sister Caitlin (3 ½). Molly will live her young life going through constant MRI’s to make sure the tumor doesn’t return but with that being said for now at least – God has given us the gift of our child’s life.
If you want to see how much of a miracle that is… take a look at the MRI image below that left us cold in our tracks…. You can see how large the tumor was how absolutely incredible it is that she is up and about today….
Our thoughts and prayers are with other families tonight who are going through this traumatic experience – many of whom have a much longer, harder hill to climb. For us we are grateful for every day we are Blessed with our precious miracles – this event gives us greater pause as we reflect on the time we have with our children and all of our loved ones….
Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes – we have felt them all.
The left image is looking down on Molly’s head.. the item in white and the grey around it is the tumor… on the right is the side image of Molly’s head… and you see the tumor at the base of her brain in white. The other white material at the top - is the excessive spinal fluid caused by the tumor that gave Molly the headaches… those headaches ultimately saved her life.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Good news!
Our history:
“When the LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth,
and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil,
he regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and his heart was grieved.”
Gn 6:5-6
Our hope:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Jn 1:1-5
Our salvation:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish,
but might have eternal life.”
Jn 3:16
God is good, WAY beyond our comprehension.
“When the LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth,
and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil,
he regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and his heart was grieved.”
Gn 6:5-6
Our hope:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Jn 1:1-5
Our salvation:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish,
but might have eternal life.”
Jn 3:16
God is good, WAY beyond our comprehension.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Yankees
Being born and raised in Virginia, and living there all my life until I retired, I never considered myself a Yankee. That is, until we moved to Bluffton, SC, and I discovered that anyone who comes from north of Charleston is a Yankee.
We Yankees can be our own worst enemies. Many of us are rude, demanding, and disrespectful (not to mention, horrible drivers). On the other hand, the indigenous people here who are always saying “We don’t want to hear the way that you did things up North” would do well to remember that South Carolina ranks in the bottom ten percentile in the US in just about everything—education, poverty, unemployment, roads, etc.
So, Yankees, don’t be rude, demanding, and disrespectful. You’ll find that you’re treated better. And, Rebs, remember what percentile that you’re in. Listen up--you just may learn something from Yankees, and move up from the bottom ten percentile.
We Yankees can be our own worst enemies. Many of us are rude, demanding, and disrespectful (not to mention, horrible drivers). On the other hand, the indigenous people here who are always saying “We don’t want to hear the way that you did things up North” would do well to remember that South Carolina ranks in the bottom ten percentile in the US in just about everything—education, poverty, unemployment, roads, etc.
So, Yankees, don’t be rude, demanding, and disrespectful. You’ll find that you’re treated better. And, Rebs, remember what percentile that you’re in. Listen up--you just may learn something from Yankees, and move up from the bottom ten percentile.
Monday, February 16, 2009
change
It's not difficult to agree with President Obama--we need change. The collapse of our economy shows that.
We need deep change. When I was young, I was idealistic. Right was right, and wrong was wrong, and I knew the difference between the two.
Forty years in the business world eroded that idealism. Every day I saw dishonesty--cheating on expense accounts and timecards, exaggerating qualifications, inaccurate billing, etc. These weren't monumental lies--a dollar or two on an expense report, a half hour on your timecard, "puffing" qualifications statements, etc. "Everybody does it. So what's the big deal?" The big deal is that little cheats turn into BIG CHEATS, and an economy collapses.
Now that I'm retired, thankfully I'm getting some of my idealism back. I wish that it had been sooner.
We need deep change. When I was young, I was idealistic. Right was right, and wrong was wrong, and I knew the difference between the two.
Forty years in the business world eroded that idealism. Every day I saw dishonesty--cheating on expense accounts and timecards, exaggerating qualifications, inaccurate billing, etc. These weren't monumental lies--a dollar or two on an expense report, a half hour on your timecard, "puffing" qualifications statements, etc. "Everybody does it. So what's the big deal?" The big deal is that little cheats turn into BIG CHEATS, and an economy collapses.
Now that I'm retired, thankfully I'm getting some of my idealism back. I wish that it had been sooner.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
grouches
The assistant pastor at our parish spoke about grouches again today. It's the second Sunday in a row. He’s right on target!
It seems that our youth group volunteered to pass out cards for parishioner input after Mass. Some of the cards were in English, and others in Spanish. When one teen gave the wrong card to an old grouch, he jumped in his stuff. Talk about a grouch!
Do you suppose that these are the same people who can be heard all the way to the altar talking and laughing, while other people are kneeling in prayer? Are they the same ones who leave during communion? Are they the able-bodied people who sit at the end of the pews and force others to climb over them? I think so.
Grouches, get James Taylor’s “Shower the People” and play it every day. Do you think that it’ll make a difference?
Shower the People
James Taylor
You can play the game and you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn't written for you
But tell me, how do you stand there with your broken heart
Ashamed of playing the fool
One thing can lead to another; it doesn't take any sacrifice
Oh, father and mother, and sister and brother
if it feels nice, don't think twice
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will
(do as I say)
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna be much better if you only will
You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone
Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease
I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel
Always getting the grease.
Better to shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things will be just fine if you only will
(what I'd like to do to you)
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way you feel
Things are gonna be much better if you only will
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
They say you know the rain will fall
Like pouring down rain pouring down
Make it rain
Make it rain down love
Love, love, love is sunshine.
Make it, Make it, Make it rain down love
Love, love, love is sunshine
Say Everybody, everybody
Oh somebody, somebody gonna love someone
Love love love love
Things will be much better if you only will
It seems that our youth group volunteered to pass out cards for parishioner input after Mass. Some of the cards were in English, and others in Spanish. When one teen gave the wrong card to an old grouch, he jumped in his stuff. Talk about a grouch!
Do you suppose that these are the same people who can be heard all the way to the altar talking and laughing, while other people are kneeling in prayer? Are they the same ones who leave during communion? Are they the able-bodied people who sit at the end of the pews and force others to climb over them? I think so.
Grouches, get James Taylor’s “Shower the People” and play it every day. Do you think that it’ll make a difference?
Shower the People
James Taylor
You can play the game and you can act out the part
Though you know it wasn't written for you
But tell me, how do you stand there with your broken heart
Ashamed of playing the fool
One thing can lead to another; it doesn't take any sacrifice
Oh, father and mother, and sister and brother
if it feels nice, don't think twice
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna work out fine if you only will
(do as I say)
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things are gonna be much better if you only will
You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone
Once you tell somebody the way that you feel
You can feel it beginning to ease
I think it's true what they say about the squeaky wheel
Always getting the grease.
Better to shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
Things will be just fine if you only will
(what I'd like to do to you)
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way you feel
Things are gonna be much better if you only will
Shower the people you love with love
Show them the way that you feel
They say you know the rain will fall
Like pouring down rain pouring down
Make it rain
Make it rain down love
Love, love, love is sunshine.
Make it, Make it, Make it rain down love
Love, love, love is sunshine
Say Everybody, everybody
Oh somebody, somebody gonna love someone
Love love love love
Things will be much better if you only will
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)