Mama Bird

I am really looking forward to today. There's a joyful thrill when I can help in something good that is far larger than just myself. This one holds a special treasure; it involves both helping kids, and helping them help another in need.

Yesterday evening, there was a knock on our apartment door. I opened it to find a gaggle of children holding a large shoebox. They needed help.

It turns out, a couple of days ago, they discovered two baby birds that had fallen from the nest. One, sadly, had died due to internal injuries. But its sibling survived the initial trauma, and they were all helping to nurse it back to health, helping it survive. They named the baby bird HOPE.

Hope was inside this large shoebox, still no more than a ball of fluff with a beak. The kids did the research, and knew the bird had to be fed every half hour, which they could not do with school. So they had gotten one of the neighbors who works as the community's housekeeper to feed it during school hours. But today, she was going on her son's class trip as a chaperone and could not take care of it. 

Could we?

As my boss is traveling this week, my office should be quiet enough with enough flexibility in my schedule today to regularly stop to tweezer-feed a baby bird. The kids had already carefully researched and prepared the food, handling gloves and all I need for it.

I agreed to "babysit" Hope.

In an hour (6:30 am) the eldest of the kids will be getting on the school bus. On her way to the bus stop, she'll drop off the bird at my apartment. After school, she'll walk to my office (in the neighborhood) and pick up her charge. I think I've just become a baby-bird day care facility. LoL

Something tells me that this mama bird will be remiss when Hope has to leave...

~ ESA
(Pictures below added through the day.)

Lest We Forget

Today, America celebrates Memorial Day. While there is ever-increasing focus on the military, I'd like to take a moment to also note - and thank - others who give life and limb for the sake of others.

Firefighters, both pay and especially volunteer, are the primary responders to fires, accidents and many other calls (from flooded basements, to the proverbial cats stuck in trees). They put their life on the line many times from standing out at roadways accidents on rainy nights to entering blazing buildings. Some never go home from the call...


Police, also put themselves at risk, from high-speed chases to gunfire-fights. Sometimes it's unintentional, such as those officers killed when they were simply walking to help a disabled motorist and they get struck by a car whose driver wasn't paying attention.


EMT, Paramedics and ambulance crews are often not thought about on Memorial Day. But they also put themselves at risk. Speeding through traffic, where cars jump out is one hazard, working roadside at accidents another. One many don't realize is those dedicated men and women also go into dangerous neighborhoods to help a fallen or sick human being. I didn't realize this was an issue until I noted the bullet-proof vest of a friend who's a NYC Paramedic. She pointed out that some calls where someone was shot, the bullets are still flying when you arrive.



Rescue Workers and First Responders include those who dig through the debris of fallen buildings immediately following a tornado, hurricane, tsunami, earthquake or similar. They brave churning flood waters to rescue stranded motorists or people in homes. Many of these aren't trained emergency response but just the caring hearts who first arrive on the scene and realize there is someone that needs help.



And the most important...


The Peacemakers and Those who stand up for the rights of others, especially those who do so at the cost of their own lives. The news reports deaths in other parts of the world where people die during protests against what they see as unfair or inhumane laws or leaders. We in US should not forget our own similarly fallen. Our largest generation, the Baby Boomers, lived through and should not forget the 1960's, where many people ~ men and women, black and white ~ died simply because they stated in words and non-aggressive actions that segregation is WRONG. Some died for protesting for Peace.

These too, as well as fallen military, should be remembered on this Memorial Day. Not just those in the US, but those all around the world. May we especially those who have NEVER raised a hand to harm another, but lost life or limb in helping others and making this a better world.

In Memoriam

- ESA

Memorial Weekend Memory (True Story)

Reposted from last year, but still a fun memory to share this weekend. 

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

On Memorial Day weekend in 2010, I had a fun adventure I'd like to share with my readers. While I hope to share the smiles, I also hope one can see how one can be guided to help another anywhere, any time, in more ways than we may realize.

That year, my husband and I decided to spend the long weekend apart; he'd do things that he liked, and I'd drive out to visit friends of mine in Northeastern PA. For some reason, my boss decided to let the employees leave by noon that Friday. So, given that I wanted to avoid the holiday traffic on the drive from New England, through New York State to the Northeastern corner of PA, I found myself heading out a few hours before my planned time.

While I plan things, I love improvidence too. So I decided on the drive out to stop by for a surprise visit with other friends in Carbondale, PA before I went to the home of the friends I had planned to visit out in Wayne County. After all, I had quite a few hours to kill before my anticipated arrival of 9 pm that evening.

I was on the "new highway" (Route 6) where it bypasses downtown Carbondale when I happen to notice a broken-down car, a group of four people, and the tow-truck driver with his truck. So, given I was only minutes from where my friend lived and knew the neighborhood intimately (as I had lived there a number of years myself), I stopped to see if they needed a lift.

It turns out, the four young (18-21 years of age) people were on their way from Brooklyn, NY to some camp in Wayne County PA when their car broke down. As the tow-truck driver only had room for one person, I took the other three and, knowing the location of the tow-truck's shop, said we'd meet them there.

At the garage, they were disheartened to discover that the fix was not an easy one. The car would not be ready for a couple of days as the part needed to be ordered. It was amusing and sad to watch as they tried offering more and more money to get the mechanic to fix the car sooner. They didn't understand that the part really was NOT there in the shop, and no amount of bribing would get them on the road sooner. I also had to argue with the youths several times that the people working on their car were honest; that almost everyone in that area was honest and hard working. They were not "trying to pull a fast one." Ironically, I later discovered the reason their car stopped working was because the young driver didn't believe HIS mechanic in New York when he was told they needed more coolant for the engine; so they cooked it on the drive to PA...

They called several people they knew at this camp, and, to their dismay, discovered only one who would give them a ride from Carbondale to the camp - for $300! Both the tow-truck driver and I were horrified by this, and we both offered to give them a ride. Wayne County was just "over the mountain" and not worth $300 in gas. The tow-truck driver, however, has an appointment near Scranton, first, and could drive them out in his car afterward. It would be another two hours before he returned.

It turns out, the youth couldn't wait that long as they needed to be at the camp by sunset, for religious observations. So, I loaded all four and an amazing amount of luggage for just a weekend into my Jeep with myself. I noted, though, as I'm playing a manual version of 3-D tetris with the four youth and their belongings, that if my husband HAD been with me on this trip I would never be able to help them now. I had only myself and one bag and we barely squeezed in with stuff on everyone's laps save mine.

The next several hours were interesting, especially given that a point-to-point drive should have only taken a half-hour or less.

First, the youth discovered that technology is only as good as the signal; and there was absolutely NO AT&T signals in northern Wayne County then. My Verizon cell was iffy at best, but I only own a cheapie flip phone, with no GPS or internet like their newest iPhones had. And my '99 Jeep was far older than that. Thus with the GPS and internet maps gone, I asked them for directions as we navigated the rural back roads past cows, woods and open pastures that looked quite reminiscent of Farmville to them. They tried to decipher some limited directions via email but kept referring back to the last GPS coordinates they had. We finally get to the bottom of the email where it read, "Do not use GPS coordinates as they will not get you to the camp."

So, about 3 miles south of PA's northern border, I pull the car aside and ask the young woman in the passenger side to pull out one of many PAPER maps I had of PA. I wish I had taken a picture of the look on her face at that moment. No one considered the antediluvian method of looking at a paper map to find where they are and where they want to go! Worse, when I read off the cross-roads of the two rural route numbers where we had stopped, plus the last "four-corners" town we passed before, she didn't have a clue how to read the map. So I spent the next five minutes teaching four "kids" how to read a paper map, how to find where we were, and an approximation of where we need to go, knowing the name of the private camp will not be listed on the map.

It turns out we had gone about 20 miles too far north, and while turning around, discovered they had entered the wrong "Lakeville" into the GPS. So we drove back to the nearest four-corners, which had an open-air Bar-B-Que. I pulled in and suggested we get out and get some directions. There was a bit of hesitation, which I didn't understand right away. But when I started to get out, one of the young men bravely leapt from the Jeep and ran ahead of me. I approached the nearest table just in time to hear the last of the directions. ".... then once you pass the church, it's the next left, if you come to the fire house, you've missed it."

This was vague but typical directions from the area. There was no street name, also typical. I asked the young man if he understood the directions and could get us there; he nodded. We were off again. Twenty minutes later, we found the turn, which turned out to the be back road into the camp, but it wasn't marked on the paper map. Thus, my four passengers were VERY uncomfortable with taking this unpaved, unknown road that disappeared very quickly into dense wooded area like something out of a Blair Witch movie. So I continued with our map toward where we believed the front entrance to the camp is.

 It was then that my Jeep pointed out that I have very lousy gas mileage and, as I last filled the tank in New England, she was pinging me to remind me to feed her.

Aware that I had limited range, and the nearest gas station known to me was Honesdale, about 20 minutes south of the camp, I took matters into my own hand. I saw a house where there was a pick-up in the driveway and the inner front door was open. I pulled into the driveway, much to the dismay of my passengers and marched up to the front door. They rolled down the windows and called from safety of the Jeep that I was insane to walk up to a stranger's house like this. While I also grew up under the shadows of New York City skyscrapers and understood their fears, I also lived a decade in this part of the world and knew the people here. I was fine.

An old lady called out for me to enter, and my passengers nearly had a conniption as I opened the screen door and calmly let myself in. Remarkably, I had chosen just the right place to stop. While they did not recognize the name of the camp, the old man was once a volunteer firefighter in the area. While he only knew the local roads by local name, the old lady pulled out a detailed map. Voila! We were able to see the property marks of the camp and backtracked down the local roads to where we were. So I now had very accurate directions, which I wrote down with a pencil and piece of paper the old lady was kind enough to provide.

The next ten minutes were the most amusing of all. I was able to follow detailed turn-by-turn directions, right down to barn silos and major bumps in the road. The youth were amazed that someone not only let a stranger into their home - an old defenseless couple at that! - but gave such great directions without asking for money. In addition, they kept asking me, at every "ping" from my low-fuel warning system, what happens if I run out of gas. They realized - with growing dread - that the last time they saw a gas station was way back in Carbondale. They could not grasp the fact that a stranger would not only stop to help us if we ran out of gas, but would most likely give us some gas so we could get to the nearest station.

The bigger issue would be they had a time deadline, and there was no guarantee we'd be able to get them to the camp before sunset if I ran out of gas. The sun's angle was getting quite low; we were cutting this close. I didn't need them to worry more, so I simply kept telling them, "have a little faith."

On the final stretch, we encountered several other cars pulled on the sides of the dusty unpaved road, while one person or another was out of the car holding up their iPhone or similar device trying to get a signal that wasn't there. The youths and I told them, car by car, "Follow us, we have the good directions." By the time we pulled through the gates of the camp, we had nine other cars following us, and many happy people who all needed to be there before sunset.

As the youths, thanked me, they asked for my FaceBook or Twitter account so they could "friend" me. I didn't give them my FaceBook name, and was a bit hesitant to give them my Twitter name as well. But, just as I was pulling away, a bit of mischief tugged at the corner of my mind and I thought, why not... I pulled aside, jotted my Twitter account on a piece of paper, drove back and handed it to them.

I knew they were young Jews, and this was a Jewish camp; the Hebrew letters at the camp's entrance confirmed that as much as the yamakas on the two young men. But that really didn't matter as I was just one human being helping another, a "Good Samaritan" one would say. My young passengers took the slip of paper and read it. And as I drove away, I wondered if they would recall their adventures to others that night around a campfire. And when asked who helped them, they may or may not say that I'm @JesusSister on Twitter. :D

In case you're wondering, yes, I somehow managed to get to Honesdale for gas. It was after sunset (about 8:30pm) by then. While I was pumping gas, my friend who was expecting me called to see if I was nearby and if I wanted dinner. I arrived just a few minutes before 9pm - the expected time.

~ Had I not gotten out early
~ Had I not gone without my husband
~ Had I not previously lived in that area
~ Had I not, on a whim, decided to visit a friend
~ Had I not made plans to arrive late that night at another's
~ Had I not randomly stopped at that particular house for directions
~ Had I not had faith in God and other good hearts of the people there

None of this adventure would have happened as it unfolded.
But I'm glad it did.

- ESA

Everyday Words

If you go to a library or bookshelf at home and randomly pick up a book and open it, what kind of words will you see? Will you see quotes translated from someone two millennium ago? Or will see words that you might write today?

Someone asked for feedback on a preaching video; I suggested he stick with everyday words, as though he were sharing good news from his job, his family or a recent game.

Everyday words connect us on the level with our brothers and sisters. We are not standing before the crowd behind a podium, using complex or antiquated words and phrases. We are not projecting the image that we are better than they are. We are simply sharing a wonderful message with the world - in everyday words.

Speaking of videos, I've seen this on another's blog recently, which presents an excellent example of sharing the message of God and Love with the world - in everyday words. She is not at a podium. She is not preaching. In fact, she doesn't speak at all...

~ESA

 

A girl's message to all Christians

Cover Story

Too often we focus on appearance, rather than the spirit that is within our brothers and sisters. We ridicule that which is different. We don't give people the benefit of the doubt. Or we assume something based on the person's position or place in society.

Too often we judge someone before we know them.

And sometimes we see something that takes us by surprise and reminds us: Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover.

Following are two videos I hope my readers watch. They are pure, heart-moving examples how we should never judge based on what we see as outward appearances. Their stories speak for themselves...

~ ESA

 Susan Boyle

Sung-bong Choi

God's Messenger

For those who may not know, Hermes (pictured to the left) is the messenger of the gods. Why do I speak about a pagan god when I am Christian? Because it's a good lead into this blog post.

Each and every one of us is also a messenger of the divine.

Some may understand this to mean we have a responsibility to share the gospel or teachings of our particular religion. Others may understand this as a responsibility to spread Light and Love to the world around us.

While it can mean both, there is another role that I and others ended up playing without our awareness. That was as a courier.

Yesterday was a very busy day, starting with inventory reports I sent off at 6:30 am, followed by an off-site breakfast meeting at 7:30 am. Yet at that meeting, a colleague of mine handed me three tickets to the local baseball game. I was the last to arrive at the meeting and she asked everyone else at the table. Could I use the tickets for that night's game?

I accepted the tickets, aware that I couldn't use them myself, as I had a packed schedule through 7:30 pm, but I mentioned I could find someone who could use them.

I swung back to my apartment complex on the return trip to the office, tickets in hand. I gave them to the chief maintenance person, mentioning that they were "Tickets to the Rock Cats tonight." With a smile, he said he knew someone who could use them.

The rest of the story, I heard in hind-sight last night.

That maintenance person would have loved to go to that game, but he had mistakenly heard "The Rockettes" and thought they were for a New York City show, instead of "The Rock Cats" who are a local minor league baseball team. So he gave the tickets to a retired resident in the complex, who would enjoy a drive down to New York for the show.

That person, upon looking more closely at the tickets, realized it wasn't for the New York show but indeed a baseball game, for which he had no interest. So the tickets passed to yet another person, who loved baseball but could not afford even a minor league game.

Someone's day was brightened remarkably when he was handed three tickets to a baseball game, and had no clue in how it came to him save the last leg of the journey.

In fact, I don't even know how my colleague came into possession of those tickets, or how many other couriers were in this relay. But we all played a part as messengers of God, bringing Joy into someone's life.

~ESA

Gay Marriage

I may get some flack for this post, or loose followers of this blog or Twitter. But I must not play to the crowd; Yeshua (Jesus) never did.

When I read a blog post titled "Can a Real Christian Support Gay Marriage?" my first response was, "Why wouldn't a follower of Christ want someone to have a "happy marriage"? After all, that is the original definition of the word "gay."

But, I also knew the post was likely in response to the news that Obama admitted his support for gay marriage. I will also take a brave stand to say I see nothing wrong with it. It's not my chosen lifestyle, but I will not - ever - attack another for it. Nor would I deny them the right to make a relationship as committed as the one I share with my husband.

Look at the relationship between Ruth and Naomi: "Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God." The focus of marriage should always be relationship first: the complete commitment to give oneself wholly and completely to the other, without reservation, from that point forward, to death or beyond. If the relationship is one of great commitment without reservation, why do we legally allow pre-marital contracts or divorce...?

There is logically the argument that the nature of Ruth and Naomi's relationship was mother-in-law/daughter-in-law rather than spouses. My point, though, is that many focus on that three-letter word: intercourse.

As to physical intercourse, I would like my readers to take into account this description:

First, there is a violent act, where one will have intercourse with another as a means of physical domination. This is not for love, nor procreation, nor pleasure. This is known as rape.

Second, there is the act where partners will have physical intercourse for the sake of pleasuring the body alone. This often leaves the ones who do this feeling empty inside.

Third, there are those who will perform the actions of physical intercourse for the purpose of acquiring something. This can be for money, favors, fame, reputation, position, promotion, a child, control, or manipulation of a person or situation. Sometimes only one person in the relationship is the one who does this; sometimes both.

Finally, there is the union where people physically express their love for each other and completely let down all barriers between themselves, giving themselves completely to another, without reservation.

Only the last one is acceptable.

Through our history, there are many marriages which are legally acceptable but fall into the second or third descriptions above. My stand is this: If the people are both as committed as Ruth was to Naomi and fall into the last description above, there should be no issue.

In the Old Testament, "go forth and multiply" was so important to the people that multiple wives PLUS concubines was the accepted norm. Now, at only the start of the twenty-first century, we face an overpopulated planet where resources are becoming scarce. There are also children growing up without one or both parents. Where is the love they need?

Do we really believe that the ability to procreate is a vital part of the commitment of marriage? What about the barren women, like myself? What about people who elect not to add to an overpopulated world? What about the elderly who get married in the years beyond procreative capacity? What about those who cannot perform physical intercourse or procreate due to medical reasons? Shall we ban marriage for these people as well?

Or is it that we want to control what goes on in the privacy of another's bridal chamber? Do we desire to place ourselves in judgement over our brothers and sisters? Or, as Christians, shouldn't we refrain from judgement and allow Christ, who alone sees truly into the hearts of all, be the One - the ONLY - judge?

I have seen many say that I must not be a "True Christian." But in faith and trust, I point to the list above. If there are people willing to commit to each other - without reservation - and make their lives as One to death or even beyond, who am I to stand in their way?

We are called not to be Judges.

We are called to Love each other.

Christ Loves us all.

~ ESA

Stop-Look-Listen

Yesterday, I stumbled across a Christian forum that had a debate over which version of the bible was "the right" one. While there was clearly a preference to one version, I found it sad how vehemently they tore apart the other versions. The reasons they found fault with the other versions are the same issues that exists in their own interpretations.

My own studies have led me to this conclusion: NO particular version has it all correct. The bible is NOT a direct transcript from God word-for-word. Neither is the Qur'an, based on how God speaks to humanity. (Please see Conversations with Yeshua for a fair description).

The bible versions today have been written, re-written, translated, transcribed and edited. All versions. The majority of readers around the world today cannot read the original Hebrew, Greek or Coptic. In addition, there is much we loose in context, as we are of a different time and culture. An equivalent would be Yeshua (Jesus) telling someone to "google" for the answer. We would understand it, but someone from that time period wouldn't.

In order to glean meaning from the texts, here is what I do. I read ALL versions, such as John 3:16. Furthermore, in order to place the passage in context, I read what is around it. In the case of the previous example, I would read John 3:1-20. Then I would track down all the footnotes, read the cross-references and ask the Spirit that is within us all to help me best understand in terms I personally would know.

Let's not forget the Gnostic Gospels (that were originally removed from the collection to make the New Testament we know today) as well as several Hebrew texts that were omitted from what we know as the Old Testament. Many who fight over which version is the "right one" often forget there was a great deal of editing done far before the King James Version, or even the original Roman Catholic version in Latin.

I believe monotheistic believers haven't strayed very far from our Hebrew roots. We pick passages out and argue about their meaning at great length. Often we overlook the most important aspect when it comes to reading the good book or any other words through which God tries to share a message - be it book, bible, song, tweet or just a chat with a friend.

What we should always do when we try to understand a message from the divine is admit that our understanding is not perfect, that our words are imprecise, that our perspective is unique, and thus different than the writer / speaker - even one in our own land and time.

We need to understand there is a universal message that God wants to share. The only way to understand that message in terms we can comprehend from our own personal perspective is through prayer.

Taking time to talk with God, and - more importantly - taking time to meditate and listen are key. It really doesn't matter which version one reads. What matters is that the reader asks God, "What do you mean by this?" and then pauses to listen.

Stop

Look

Listen

~ ESA

Competition and Compassion

Too often in the corporate world, it's "dog eats dog." I want to share with you something that happened today between direct competitors that warms the heart.

Among our clients, there are two companies, one large - one medium, that are the exclusive producers of a particular product. The raw materials for this product are the same. They have been in direct competition for decades.

Yesterday, one realized that they had run out of one of these raw materials. The next delivery is slated to arrive via rail "sometime" next week. But unfortunately, there is no guarantee on delivery dates with rail, it could be as long as another two weeks. They will be completely out of that product by Monday. This means the equipment must stop - everything on the manufacturing floor will come to a complete standstill. Dollars will tick away with every minute those machines must wait for that raw material. Anyone who has experience with manufacturing knows this.

Their direct competitor - their only competitor - had that very raw material available at their facility. They offered a truckload - at cost - to help. They could have jacked up the price, or not offered it at all. They could have used it as a way to win sales from their competitor who would thus miss their deadlines.

But they didn't. They acted with compassion.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. Over the decades there have been times when one or the other found themselves in need of help. There have been plant fires, floods and times when they find themselves short of material due to late shipments or other issues that crop up in any business. Each and every time, they have acted with compassion to the competition.

Too often we hear about the ugly side of American corporations. While I cannot share who these companies are, due to confidentiality, I will salute all they have done over the years.

~ ESA