Skip to main content

The vet and the Buddhists at the 2008 County Fair

Dear friends

"Would you like to hear how we are reducing violence in the war zones of the world?" I asked Justin as he walked by my booth, and we started what turned out to be a very warm conversation. "No, I have been in the military for 15 years; I have seen too much of that already," Justin responded.

"WOW, you have been through a lot. Part of my calling is to pray for people; I will put you on my prayer list," I answered. Justin responded, "Well, that is awful nice of you, thank you very much."

"What do you do any way?" I asked. He answered, "I take care of my grandmother. Being in the military all those years, I saved my money. I live real simply, don't spend very much; her and I are the only ones left in our family, so we just have each other. . . Sorry I don't want to sign up for your letters, I just have seen too much already. I am sorry I gave all those years to military service, I am just trying to heal."

As part of several other conversations about prayer and meditation with Alisa, a Buddhist, I read from the Message Bible to illustrate a point. She responded, "I sent my children to church and my husband is in AA. I have been looking for a good modern translation to share with them; that one sounds good." I added, "This is what I feel is a spirit-led paraphrase; I have found the Lord really speaks to me through it. Also the Remix version, where it is divided into verses, I have found easier to use, and if you go to Biblio.com you can buy it used and quite a bit cheaper." Alisa replied, "I always like recycling, let me write it all down. Thank you very much!"

I gave to Alisa, as I did to many people those five days, a reminder that I would be giving slide programs at two local libraries. She promised to come and invite her other Buddhist friends. She also bought a book from me, Bo Lozoff's It's a Meaningful Life on prayer and meditation.

Pray for the Lord to speak to us in all my upcoming slide presentations. And that the seeds that are planted sprout, grow and flourish and that the God's will be done in this election and for peace.

Thanks so much for your prayer support,

Jim

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

informe de salud

  Queridos amigos, Les escribo para informarles que hace unas semanas me diagnosticaron Parkinson vascular. Tenía problemas para mantener el equilibrio y caminar. Vi a un neurólogo y me hicieron una resonancia magnética de mi cerebro, y a partir de eso y de mi historial, me diagnosticaron Parkinson vascular. Me siento muy bien con mi doctora. Mi Parkinson Vascular es causado por mini accidentes cerebrovasculares que bloquean la sangre en la parte del cerebro que controla la marcha. El Parkinson vascular afecta principalmente a la parte inferior del cuerpo, y por lo tanto, afecta la marcha y el equilibrio y regularmente no suele provocar temblores. Es diferente del Parkinson clásico que es causado por la falta de dopamina. El tratamiento principal para el Parkinson vascular es tratar de detener los accidentes cerebrovasculares manteniendo bajo control factores como la presión arterial y el colesterol; esto puede evitar que la enfermedad progrese. Por lo tanto, no necesariamente empe...

Fear and the Corona Virus

Dear Friends,                                        Fear and the Corona Virus In some self-reflection I have come to see that I have been unconsciously enveloped in a fear over the coronavirus pandemic. I feel paralyzed and hopeless. I noticed I feel I just have to turn the radio on to keep up on what is happening. Each time I hear more figures on how it is getting worse everywhere in the world, it fills my mind, the focus of much of what I think about. When I came to see this was happening, I noticed I wanted to just turn on the radio, and it was and is hard to turn it off. Just about everything on the radio was related to the virus. In reflecting I realized this subconscious fear permeated me. This fear was not healthy. It was creating anxiousness and anxiety, and anything but peace and contentment. This fear was what I needed to get rid of. From a Dr. Bruce Lipton...

A FARC Phone Call

Hello friends,                       A FARC Phone Call “Hello, this is Commander Morales of the FARC. We are taking over your farm.” The FARC is the largest guerrilla group in Colombia. At this Jose and Maria with their son Jorge left quickly with just the clothes on their backs. “Jose was crying as he gave up his dream of the farm to provide a future for his son,” Maria chimed in as they told me their story.  Jose added the following: “Maria was pregnant with our next child. The farm consisted of acres of coffee, and many cattle. We had 20 hired employees. The FARC said they wanted to recruit our 8 year old son Jorge because they noticed he was such a good worker and therefore would make a good soldier.  “The FARC found us in the town where we tried to escape. The FARC then sent four guys to his school and told the school they were sent by us to pick him up. Neigh...