Splash - Traveler Photo Contest 2013 - National Geographic
Monday, October 13, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Hopscotch Memory Verse
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| photo by Craig Piersma, used under the creative commons license. check out more photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnblues/ |
Write the entire memory verse on 81/2” by
11” paper, putting only one or two words on each paper. Mix up the papers so
the verse is out of order and place the papers on the ground. Have kids hop from one paper to the other,
saying the verse out loud as they step on the papers in the proper order. Mix up the papers so someone else can
try. Make sure kids take their shoes off
so that they do not tear the paper. Teachers should stand close to make sure
children do not slip and fall down as they hop. You can either laminate the paper or use heavy card stock so that the paper doesn't rip. Even though this is called Hopscotch Memory Verse, it is recommended that you do not place the papers in Hopscotch form but rather keep the papers close together so that kids can easily hop between the papers without falling. In no time, all the kids will learn the verse!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
St Christopher, Patron Saint of Havana
St. Christopher is patron saint of Havana. Not much is known about how this came about nor why the city decided that Christopher was the right man for the job but, perhaps, his life exploits reveal why this man would be the perfect candidate as protector of the city. St. Christopher has very interesting stories surrounding him. The most famous involves him carrying the child Jesus across the water. Now how did he get privilege of carrying Christ?
It turns out Christopher, a Caannanite, was a very tall man and fierce looking. He reasoned being such an imposing figure like that should do him some good in the world so he sought out to find the greatest king there was and serve him. After may inquires, he thought he found just the man and began serving him. But, this king, upon hearing the devil mentioned, made the sign of the cross upon himself thus Christopher knew that the devil was greater than this king. Time to switch loyalties! He went to the desert to find the devil and while not encountering a man in a red tights and pitchfork, he did run into a man who was leading a band of marauders who claimed to be the devil. So Christopher began serving him. Once, though, this devil took great pains to avoid a wayside Cross he saw on the road. Hmmm, this devil is afraid of the Cross? Guess there is Someone greater than him. So, it was time to serve Christ.
With that, Christopher went on a quest to serve Jesus, this Greatest King and he asked people where he could find Him so that he could serve Him. A hermit heard of Christopher's plight and introduced him to Jesus by instructing him in the Christian faith. How, then can I serve Christ, he asked the hermit, Prayer and fasting, of course. That wasn't going to work for him. Being seven and half feet tall, he needed all the food he could get and I guess he wasn't much of a praying man. The hermit came up with a solution. There is a dangerous river that many have perished in while trying to cross it. To serve Christ, he could carry people across the river. This service, said the hermit, would surely please Christ and would be serving Him, the greatest King there was!
That seemed right up his alley! So, for sometime, he carried people across this river and saved many lives from perishing in the angry waters. He was happy in his work, no doubt, assured that by helping others he was serving Christ. Anyway, it was something he was good at and could easily carry people of all sizes since he himself was so big. One time, a small child came and asked to be carried across the river. This should be easy! He could do this without breaking a sweat!
And at first it was easy. But, in the middle of the river, the child suddenly became as heavy as lead. The river became fiercer and the job of carrying this child became increasingly difficult. In fact, Christopher thought that , this could be the end but he soldiered on and finally got to the other side. Not really wanting to complain, he did manager to mention though, "I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were." Then, the Child said something profound
You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work.
Then the Child vanished! Thus, by carrying Christ upon his shoulders, Christopher became patron saint of travelers. And being such a great saint, he seemed a worthy candidate to become patron saint of Havana able to protect the city because of his massive size and since he was in such proximity to Christ (after all, you could say that he and Jesus were road trip buddies), Christopher could protect the city by his prayers.
St Christopher has fallen on some hard times, though. In 1968, in the midst of the Vatican II Council,the Roman Catholic Church formally de-canonized him. Sort of. After studying history and tradition, they believed there simply wasn't enough evidence to even be sure if he actually ever existed. So, he was dropped from the universal calendar and thus, wasn't commemorated with his own feast day anymore. But the Church realized that Christopher had a long history of devoted followers and did not forbid his veneration. So while he was not really de-canonized, he was simply demoted.
The fact that people of all times love St. Christopher is obvious. Below you can see an article published in the New York Times in 1898 which reported on a Mass celebrated in honor of the Patron Saint of Havana, our very own St. Christopher. Many military and civil officials attended the event, thus showing how St. Christopher was truly revered by all in the city.
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| NY TIMES Article about St. Christopher, also known as St. Cristobal |
You have to wonder, how St. Christopher is viewed now. Do many in Havana still consider him their patron saint? Given the secularization of all western countries this past century - certainly Cuba is no exception - do people still venerate this strong Saint? I hope so! We could all use his prayers!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Pastor is looking for his favorite golf shirt and goes all through the house but can't find it. He looks everywhere! Finally, he decides to look in his wife's closet and sees a bag of one dollar bills and half a dozen eggs. He is staring at these two items when his wife comes into the bedroom.She looks guiltily at him and says, "Oh. You found my secret." He looks at her then at the eggs and money and says, "What are these doing on the floor of your closet?" She says, "Now, honey. You know I think you are a great pastor and you have served faithfully for 27 years at our church. But when I felt your sermon wasn't so great, I put a single egg in the carton." The Pastor sighs and shrugs and says, "Well, I guess that's not so bad! 27 years of Sundays and there's only six eggs in the carton. But I still don't understand the bag of dollar bills." His wife looks at him and says sheephishly, "Well, everytime I got a dozen, I sold it for a dollar."
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