New Year's Resolution?

        Is there a point to making a New Year's Resolution?  I like to think so - a new beginning, an opportunity to try again, a reason to look forward.  For me it's better than celebrating a birthday!  Here's another thought:

http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2013/12/prayer-for-new-years-resolution.html

       What do YOU think?

Can't Pray today?

Take a look at: 

http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2013/12/prayer-for-not-praying.html 

and come back soon!

Prayers of the People ~ Christmas

             

      The Prayers of the People for Christmas are posted on the blog People's Prayers, the link is below.  I hope you will visit and join us is these prayers.  May you feel the Blessings and Joy of this Glorious Birth and find a New Life in yourself!



http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com/2013/12/prayers-of-and-for-all-people-christmas.html

Prayer for Grieving at Christmas

For All Who Worry, Mourn, or Feel Lost at Christmas
Dedicated especially to the Giving Our Grief a Voice group
Delaware women who have lost loved ones to homicide

 

Silent Morn, Holy Morn

Sometimes I wonder

Why I was born.

I wake in the darkness and

can't see the light.

All I want is the end of the night.

Take this grief from me, Lord

Please take this grief from me, Lord.

 

Silent Noon, Holy Noon

All songs I sing,

are out of tune.

I’ve been looking for right words to pray

Nothing I’ve found yet, has shown me the way.

Help me find my voice, Lord

Please, help me find my voice.

 

Silent Day, Holy Day,

All's not calm, on my way.

In my life,

so much does not seem,

to be close to what I once dreamed.

Help me trust in Your Peace, Lord.

Please, help me trust in Your Peace.

 

Silent Night, Holy Night

Finally calm, finally bright

With Your love so vast and yet mild

Now I can rest as I’m also Your child

I found some peace in this night, Lord,

Heaven-sent Peace in this night.

 

Feel Free to share with attribution

© 2013 Christina Brennan Lee

 

This and other prayers by request and inspiration are posted

at People's Prayers  http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com 

Please visit often and feel free to share.

 

 

 

 

Advent 4 ~ Signs A-Wastin'

 

                 
 For the last three weeks I have posted the Prayers of the People  (PoTP) for the Season of Advent along with brief commentaries about the message of this Season and each week.  These Intercessory Prayers are being used in several Churches as part of the Sunday Service and are posted on several Facebook pages.  I hope that you will find them useful for personal prayer or small group meditation or in your congregation.  See more information at the end of this post.

                                                             

         We're STILL Waiting?  YES!  But, are we looking?  Do we know what to look for? A momentous occasion feels imminent but how will we know?  We are told the signs are all there, all we have to do is ask God for them.  But the ever-Kingly Ahaz says "Oh-No-I-don't-want-to-test-God" with the false humility of a leader who is really saying, "I can't be bothered."  Isaiah's frustration is palpable when he says, in effect, "OH PLEASE!  The Lord Himself is telling you that there's a young woman with child from the House of David, and you'll be out of here before he's old enough to know good from evil."  And Joseph has a lot of strange dreams but he believes in signs and so acts upon what he's told.  Our Messiah is coming, soon, to a stable near you! Are you ready? PAY ATTENTION to the signs.   There's an old bumper sticker that says, "Jesus is Coming, Look Busy." I think it should say, "Jesus IS Coming, LOOK!"

 

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Advent 4

Readings:  Isaiah 7:10-16; Ps 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

 

Leader: ~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Your Holy Name means “God is with us.” Your Holy Birth is only hours away.  Let us breathe into the present moment, savor the anticipation, and look for the embrace of the only true GIFT of the season, YOU. 

 

Response: DEAR GOD of NOW, let us find a stillpoint to wait in and let go of the frantic activity that distracts us from You.
 

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, we are called, as Mary, to be a vessel that carries You into the world and yet we resist the changes we need to make in our lives.  Give us the courage to open ourselves to Your Glory and allow You to shine through us for all to see and understand.

 

 

DEAR GOD of NOW, in these remaining moments before we celebrate Your birth, let us feel the fullness of Your Presence in our bodies, minds, and souls.

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, we beg for Your Grace and Peace to infuse the sensibilities of those who govern in this world.  The homeless, hungry, frightened, lonely, and brutalized need the Compassion, Empathy, and Mercy that are the hallmarks of this season of Your birth.  Push the rest of us to be determined, intentional, and proactive in our pursuit of Justice, Tolerance, and Humanity for every person on this Earth.  Help us to be the Reflection of Your Love in every thought and action of our lives.

 

Dear GOD of NOW, help us to remember that we are as responsible for the well-being of Your people as every individual in every government position.  Keep us aware and involved.

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, may the impending joy of Your birth bring healing mercies to those who are ill and for those who give them care.  Free all who suffer from pain, sadness, loneliness, and fear and release us all from single-mindedness and self-pity.  Restore and renew our faith and hope in You.     (add your own specific petitions)

 

Dear GOD of NOW, it is said that if You are with us, who can be against us? Help us remember You walking with us through all sorts and conditions of woman and man.

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, please dry our tears as we mourn our loss of those whose souls now live in Your eternity.  Help us feel the warmth of Your tender care in our grief and the promise of our own new birth in You. (add your own specific petitions)

 

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience as You walk with us in our sorrow toward the time when suffering and grief are no more.

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, we rely on those who lead us in Your Church to show us the pathway to You.  Endow and imbue them with Your Spirit that they may feel the depth of You in themselves and impart the mystery of Your breadth to us.  (add your parish/congregation/Diocese, Province, etc. name here).  

 

Prepare us, Dear GOD of NOW, to revel and live into the Joy of the Birth so close at hand.

 

~ Emmanuel, Emmanuel, our souls deeply know the astonishing You. Please help us connect our hearts and minds with our soul knowledge and live each day as a new creation in Christ.

 

Prepare us, Dear GOD of NOW, to revel and live into the Joy of the Birth so close at hand.

 

The Celebrant adds:  Dear God of Now, in these hours before our Holy Child is born, we are called again by You to willingly and knowingly belong to Christ Jesus our Lord. Give us the fortitude to hear the call, to follow Him, and share the Good News as easily as we breathe.  Amen.

 

These Prayers and those for the four weeks of Advent are available for personal or congregational use as long as they are not sold or charged for in anyway. I ask only for attribution and a copy of how they are used. All other content and photos on this blog are proprietary.  Please contact me at leeosophy@gmail.com for further information.

 

Beginning with Christmas Eve, 2013, Prayers of the People and other prayers will be posted on

"People's Prayers" at http://prayersofthepeople.blogspot.com  Please visit often!

 

 



Advent 3 ~ All is Rosy!

The Third Week of Advent
The Rose Candle is Lighted
 


 For the last two weeks I have posted the Prayers of the People  (PoTP) for the Season of Advent along with brief commentaries about the message of this Season and each week.  These Intercessory Prayers are being used in several Churches as part of the Sunday Service and are posted on several Facebook pages.  I hope that you will find them useful for personal prayer or small group meditation or in your congregation.  See more information at the end of this post

       We’re still waiting for the birth of the Christ Child as we light the 3^rd candle in the Advent Wreath. But, there's a notable change.  Some Traditions use a Rose colored (or pink) candle and perhaps even vestments and hangings this week.  Why change color in the middle?  Well, Advent, from its inception, has traditionally been a penitential season like Lent, with somber readings and admonishments to fast and pray for worthiness to await the coming of Jesus.  With the Revised Common Lectionary and newer scholarship, there has been more of an emphasis in the Joy that is to come – which isn’t to say we should not be prayerful or penitent as we wait!  With the penitential aspect, all the colors were Lenten purple and the rose color was a symbol of a rest break – let’s stop, breathe, and feel JOY at the coming Nativity. 

 

       Now, as was noted in an earlier blog post, many churches use blue to represent Hope instead of the penitential purple and the Rose candle is still a symbol of Joy.  Historically, the Latin name for this Sunday is Gaudete (gow-day-tay), Latin for “REJOICE!”.  It comes from an Introit (opening) of the Liturgy.  We hear the Joy, the Rejoicing, the Hope and the excitement in the readings.  We’ll be ransomed from sorrow and sadness, lifted up, beloved, and blessed.  We still have to be patient, there’s still some time before THE DAY, but we can smile as we wait – our future in Christ is Rosy, indeed!

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Advent 3

Readings:  Isaiah 35:1-10, Ps 146:5-10, Luke 1:46b-55, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope as we seek Your Holy Way. Help us to be strong and without fear as we wait for the desert moments in our lives to blossom and the dry land of our hearts to be glad.

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience for You to ransom us with Your Goodness and Mercy.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope as we now realize that the Voice crying in the wilderness is our own.  Open our ears to hear your Good News and our eyes to see each other with Your sight.

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience for You to look with favor on our sense of lowliness.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope that those holding power over us in government, employment, and other areas of our lives, wield empathy, compassion, moderation, and equity.  We pray especially for  the marginalized and oppressed peoples in our own streets and on Your whole Earth to know justice, mercy, and relief from suffering. Help us all to delight in Your love, our God, and to stay faithful as we wait expectantly for our Savior. 

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience for You to show us Your way of Justice and Peace.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope as we remember in prayer all those who are sick in body, mind, or spirit.  We ask special grace for them and for those who care for them that pain and anxiety are calmed through the abundance of Your healing and comfort. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience for awareness of Your healing mercies.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope as our lonely hearts mourn the loss of those we love.  Help us to know and feel Your Peace that passes all understanding so that our memories are sweet and comforting in our laughter as well as our tears. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

GOD of us all, we wait in prayerful patience as You walk with us in our sadness toward the time when suffering and grief are no more.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, we turn to You in hope as we ask for special blessings upon those who lead Your Church in lean times and times of plenty especially here in (add your parish/congregation/Diocese, Province, etc. name here).  Help us all to remember and renew our faith in You and the One who is coming as we pledge to share the Light of Christ in our Sanctuaries, in our homes, and on the streets.  How we live in You is what we give to Your world.

Prepare us, O God of us all, for the One who is coming.

~ O God of Jacob, Mary, and the Baptizer, let us feel the strength of Your Grace so that our souls may also magnify Your love and our spirits will rejoice as we await the Precious Coming of Jesus the Christ.

Prepare us, O God of us all, for the One who is coming.

 

The Celebrant adds:  O God of Grace and Peace, You call us again to renewal and conversion and to rightly prepare ourselves for the Way of Truth, Harmony, and Love that will abide in and shine through us with the coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.


These Prayers and those for the four weeks of Advent are available for personal or congregational use as long as they are not sold or charged for in anyway. I ask only for attribution and a copy of how they are used. All other content and photos on this blog are proprietary.  Please contact me at leeosophy@gmail.com for further information.

 

Advent 2 - Who's Your Daddy?



Advent 2
The Second Candle is Lighted

     Last week I posted the Prayers of the People  (PoTP) for the first week of Advent along with a brief introduction to the concept of the Season of Advent.  These Intercessory Prayers are being used in several Churches as part of the Sunday Service and are posted on several Facebook pages.  I hope that you will find them useful for personal prayer or small group meditation or in your congregation.  See the information at the end of this post.

 

     It is time to light the second candle on the Advent wreath and think about those who have gone before as we wait expectantly for the coming One.  This second week is an excellent time to increase our attention and intention to preparing ourselves in a different way for the birth of the Messiah.  Begin again by really listening to the readings and think about the voices the words represent, even though that’s not always easy.  For example, Isaiah starts the week off with “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”  What does that mean?  The stump of Jesse?  Well, the family tree of Jesus is an interesting one.  Many of us know that King David is part of His lineage.  Jesse was the grandson of Ruth (of “whither thou goest, I will go” fame) and her husband, Boaz.  We first hear of Jesse in the First Book of Samuel as a farmer with eight sons, the youngest of which is David who becomes King of the Israelites. It is through Jesse’s family tree that this root, this Branch will flower into Jesus.  And Jesus is indeed the reason for the season; the reason for our Christ-mas - our act of worship of the One we call Messiah, the Anointed Son of God.  

     The secular spectacle that Christmas has become has many caught up in increasingly frantic activities of decorating, shopping, gift-wrapping, and rounds of parties all without a sense of impending Joy.  (Personally, a display of fuschia, turquoise, and orange LED lights draped badly over shrubbery doesn’t speak to me of either Advent or Christmas, and spare me the huge blow-up Snoopy, Santa, or Grinch balloons with circulating “snow”! An even stranger sight in the daylight as they all lie unplugged on the ground as a stark image of Christmas gone flat.)   It is into this environment that the Psalmist calls His name blessed and asks that His glory fill the whole earth.  The Apostle Paul wants us to abound in hope and the Gospel of Matthew brings us the very direct and not shy voice of John the Baptist. 

     New Testament scholar, theologian, and author Marcus Borg tells us that Advent “…is a season of anticipation, yearning and longing for a different kind of life and a different kind of world.”  What kind of life, what kind of world are you longing for?  Where do you put God in your family tree?

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Advent 2

Readings:  Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

LEADER:  ~ O Timeless God of Wonder, it is a new year in Your Church, a chance to begin yet again.  Help us to heed the words of Your messengers as we prepare ourselves for another flowering of the Branch of Jesse’s Root.

RESPONSE:  LORD of all, grant us hope, patience, and joyful expectation.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, the Child that is coming will lead the wolf with the lamb, the calf with the lion, the cow with the bear. Let us be as children and, as we follow Him along Your path of righteousness, let us walk hand–in-hand –  and welcome as He will welcome us, those who are like us and especially those who are not like us.

LORD of all, grant us hope, tolerance, and joyful expectation.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, we pray especially for those who govern on Your Earth.  Grant them wisdom and understanding, good counsel and knowledge so that we all may live in harmony and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

LORD of all, grant us hope, peace, and joyful expectation.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, we send you our prayers for those who are ill and for those who help them, so that fear and pain may be relieved and replaced with healing in spirit, mind, and body. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

LORD of all, grant us hope, healing, and joyful expectation.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, teach us to give the gift of listening and comfort without platitudes to those who are in mourning; and to remember in prayer those who have gone ahead to prepare the way for us. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

LORD of all, grant us hope, comfort, and joyful expectation.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, give us the courage to recognize and repent of our sins against You, against each other, and against ourselves.  Let us truly love ourselves as we are to love one another.

Prepare us, LORD, for the coming of Your Kingdom.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, help us to prepare the way for Your Child by moving us to prepare Holy Space in our lives, sweeping our hearts and souls of the debris of hatred, despair, judgment, greed, and destruction.

Prepare us, LORD, for the coming of Your Glory.

~ O Timeless God of Wonder, enfold and guide those who lead Your Church as they walk us forward into ever-changing tides and times.  Help us, Your People and Leader(s) of (add your parish/congregation/diocese/province name here), walk together through the thinning fog towards the coming Light.

Prepare us, LORD, for the coming of Your Glory.

The Celebrant adds:  O God of Grace and Peace, You call us again to repentance and conversion so that we may rightly prepare ourselves for the Way of Truth, Harmony, and Love that will abide in us through the coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

 

 These Prayers and those for the four weeks of Advent are available for personal or congregational use as long as they are not sold or charged for in anyway. I ask only for attribution and a copy of how they are used. All other content and photos on this blog are proprietary.  Please contact me at leeosophy@gmail.com for further information.

 

 

ADVENT?

What is Advent?     With the serious nudge (or even shove would be a good word) of encouragement of a good friend, I am going to post some intercessory prayers that I have been writing to be used in the Sunday Service for my local Episcopal Church for the Season of Advent. But, perhaps YOU don’t know or have forgotten what Advent is really about.  SO, a brief description is in order.  Then the prayers for the first week of Advent will follow and I will post the prayers for the following three weeks in their time.

In the Christian calendar, Advent is a season of hopeful waiting.  We spend the four weeks before Christmas preparing for the birth of Jesus, our Savior.  It is also the beginning of the Church’s Liturgical Year. Liturgy is, simply, the public worship, the Mass, or the Service (most often on Sunday) of the Church as parish or congregation. The Liturgical Year, in some denominations, consists of various seasons of the Church such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time.  Different colors are used for the various seasons – the colors for Advent are usually Purple and Pink although some Churches will use Blue and Rose. The colors are used in hangings on the lectern, the pulpit, the vestments and the altar. 

      We mark the beginning of each week by the lighting of a candle in the Advent Wreath and some

people will also use an Advent Calendar to mark each day.  For children, there may be a gift of candy or tiny toy to increase the excitement for the coming Christmas in each of the doors or envelopes of the Advent Calendar.  Ideally, adult Christians will use the Advent Calendar and the Candles at the Service as a way to make a special effort to pray, meditate, and look at what the meaning of Christ’s coming is for everyday life. Just as a New Year's resolution starts well and means well, Advent is the opportunity to be intentional about preparing for and renewing our commitment to Jesus as our Savior.  The seasons of the Liturgical Year that follow are designed to help us remember and continuously renew and re-commit.

     In several denominations, notably Episcopal/Anglican, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, United Church of Christ, some branches of Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic, we follow a Lectionary – that basically means we all use the same Scripture readings for the same Sunday/Week/Day. There are always exceptions here and there but mostly we can be fairly sure of what is being used widely which helps our own individual prayer planning. 

     Also in several denominational Liturgies, we use Intercessory Prayers.  In the case of the Episcopal Church, they are also known as The Prayers of the People.  They are led by a lay reader and the congregation has a response.  The Book of Common Prayer has six different forms of the Prayers of the People but there is also the allowance for the Prayers to be written by a congregation, an individual, or even be extemporaneous.  To that end, the Rector of my local parish asked me to pen the Prayers of the People for Advent weeks 1 and 2.  Then I was asked by another group to write the other two weeks as well.  For each set I will give the references for the Scripture from the current Revised Common Lectionary which inspired my thoughts.  The reader reads each one with the response being in the boldface.  You can use them in a Service, a small group, or on your own as a meditation. They are available to everyone who wants them and all I ask is attribution, a copy of how you use them, and they may not be sold or charged for in anyway.  I hope they will inspire you to commit yourself to preparing for the coming of God in Jesus, to the renewal of your life, and to the Hope that will fill us with Joy upon His arrival!

THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Advent, Week 1   

Readings:  Isaiah 2:1-5, Ps 122, Romans 3:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44

~ O God of Hope, as the approaching winter brings us into ever shorter and darkening days, help us to prepare ourselves for the radiant light that will announce the birth of our Savior.

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, the nations, states, and cities of Your Earth continue to battle one another and their own peoples, even in our home streets and neighborhoods. Give us Your strength to work together to melt guns into cooking pots and drones into tractors; let us want and learn to turn warring into peacemaking.  

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, we pray especially for the peace of Jerusalem, the ancestral and spiritual home of all of us who are the children of Abraham so that peace in that City will spread among her children everywhere.

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, as the weather turns bitter, cajole us to seek and serve Christ in all and especially to provide necessities for those among us without shelter, food, or loved ones in this season of Waiting, Joy, and Excess.

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, we send you our prayers for those who are ill and for those who help them so that fear and pain may be relieved and replaced with healing in spirit, mind, and body. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, teach us to give the gift of listening and comfort without platitudes to those who are in mourning; and to remember in prayer those who have gone ahead to prepare the way for us. (add your own petitions silently or aloud)

May all who love You, prosper in Your Peace.

~ O God of Hope, give us the fortitude to turn away from all that glitters falsely and turn toward the coming light of the Son of Man.  Let us charge our spirits with Your love and shop for the light of Christ ‘til we drop into the arms of Jesus and everlasting life.

Prepare us, Lord, for the coming of Your Reign

~ O God of Hope, wake us from the sleep of complacence and keep us alert and active in Your service, awaiting the unknown hour of the coming of Christ Jesus.

Prepare us, Lord, for the coming of Your Reign

The Celebrant adds:  O God of the Present and of the Future, keep us ever watchful for the signs of Your works and wonders as we prepare ourselves and each other for the renewal of the face of Your Earth as the New Jerusalem, through the coming of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.



These Prayers and those for the next three weeks are available for use as long as they are not sold or charged for in anyway.  All other content and photos on this blog are proprietary.  Please contact me at leeosophy@gmail.com for further information.

I beg a pardon from my friends in the Southern Hemisphere as I am well aware that your

approaching summer is giving you more light, rather than less as my first prayer indicates!

Watch This Space!

It's been a crazy year.  LOTS of travel - visiting generous friends for a month in NZ, then hither and yon up and down the East Coast and as far west (not THAT far) to Ohio to visit family.  July was a catch-up and then away again in August for a cruise to the Baltics.  Now pushing 2 weeks into an almost 3 week visit with Favorite Youngest Granddaughter (nearly aged 3) as she recovers from a tonsillectomy. 

My head is full of "stuff" that needs to get written down and some of it will end up here in the not-too-distant future.  So please stay tuned and I will post on Facebook and Twitter when a new blog piece is up and running.  For example, what's been tweaking me for years is the sense that The Golden Rule is still just all about ME!

BREAKING NEWS IS BROKEN!

        Freedom of the Press is a fundamental right of the US Constitution revered, celebrated, and a source of pride for thinking Americans.  That said, there have had to be some regulation to curb some of  the "yellow journalism" that tabloids still seem to conjure. And I believe more is needed.

      But in these days instant communication becomes the curse of "news-tainment", alleged news stories that are promoted by teaser trailers on tv which amount to nothing more than thinly disguised product or business advertising and self-promotion of the broadcasters who call themselves "journalists." Any incident becomes the trigger for an all-day marathon of constant updates, interrupting all other programming to keep us all informed of a minimal change of the situation.  The 24 hours of "news" available on television, radio, and the internet, and of course, the social media sites that post instant photos and personal commentary, flood the ears, eyes, and minds of us all with often irresponsible mis-information that becomes imbedded as "reality".

      I write as I - as millions of others no doubt - have the tv on with the continuous coverage of the situation in Boston and Watertown because of the Boston Marathon bombing.  But this concept has been emerging in my consciousness for a very long time.  The local stations in my area of Greater Philadelphia are supposed to be part of a major broadcast market such as New York, Chicago, LA, Washington and therefore the reportage and reporters are considered to be of a higher caliber than somewhere in the middle of a rural area.  They are affiliates of national networks such as ABC, NBC, and CBS, and others.

     Many of the people I know well as friends and family have for years complained of the nonsensical and laughable 14 hours of coverage for a 2 foot snowfall - a huge "team" of reporters all over the city with yardsticks measuring snowfall, sinking into snowdrifts, interviewing people coming out of convenience stores or stuck on an icy road.  WHO CARES?  No one I know.  Why does anyone need the live broadcast of a  press conference when a local professional athlete changes his shoes or a lottery winner receives a payment?  A car accident occurs on a city street? Those moments seem to be improving as complaints to the stations apparently have gotten the attention of the program directors who no longer stop programming but give hourly updates and/or show a concurrent silent video with information crawling underneath  - however, other incidents, such as this day about Boston, purport to be critical information for the public, and this is the crux of my concern and frustration.

     Recently, there was a shooting at the Courthouse in my hometown.  I, as many of my friends, was riveted to the television for information regarding casualties and other pertinent information for people in the immediate vicinity.  I was appalled at how quickly the reporters lept into ridiculous assumptions, false information, and all with constant and absurd chatter asking each other inane questions and then repeating it all for hours.  All three local channels made much drama of a situation that needed no embellishment and then later promoted themselves as being "on the spot".  One of the stations posted a photograph of  "the shooter" supposedly obtained from the attorney for the individual.  REALLY?  Guess what, the photograph turned out hours later to be of the son of the shooter.  6ABC later promoted itself as being "on the scene and it was chaos."  Yes, it was chaos and most of it had to do with the jockeying of reporters and people walking down the street wanting to be on camera.  Street interviews were broadcast with a man who was driving by and heard at least 20 shots fired.  Another man's sister was in the Courthouse for jury duty but had called immediately to say she was fine.  Comments about police cars driving up and officers getting out of cars. And on and on.  MOST of the initial information given over several hours of constant coverage turned out to have very little relationship with the truth. Reporting on who and how many were shot, killed, or injured in what part of the building and by whom was all wrong in the final analysis. It came on the heels of the horrendous day in Newtown, Connecticut with equally and continuously dreadful reporting of wrong information.

     TODAY, a Russian-speaking broadcaster has spoken to the suspect's father in Russia who gave her his son's phone number.  She has been calling the suspect's phone number but it has been busy - so, she's going to say what to him if he answers?  Another reporter discovered the suspect's sister and was interviewing her before the FBI did.  There have been interviews with people who know the suspects, and with residents of the town giving information on what it's like to be in lock-down in the city, a press conference with an uncle who had no communication with his suspect-nephews in several years. The rampant speculations of reporters CNN, FOX and other "news" outlets in recent days since the bombing have been shown to be nothing more than rumor-propellant designed to be "exclusive" and "first".  How does all of this serve the immediate need to keep people safe and accomplish the arrest of the suspect?

     Answers - anyone?  I am torn between wanting transparency in the information that is available and responsible reporting that perhaps requires curtailing of instant information.  What public need is served by bouncing around multiple reporters pointing down streets repeating the same "information" and "perhaps"-type speculations over and over.  How is it useful - and reasonable - that media personalities self-promote themselves into interviews before law-enforcement personnel?  Why not just regular updates when there is credible and useful information from those who are coordinating the investigations and the search for the suspect?

     Yes, we all want to be sure that law-enforcement is appropriate and we all want to be sure that we have all the "facts" of any given situation.  But what I'm seeing are talking heads giving miscellaneous details about the immediate moment that is not factually relevant to current and future safety.  "Look, there's a resident taking trash out", "Look, a police car is leaving, a police car is driving in, a resident is shooting video from the roof of his house" doesn't seem to me to be nail-bitingly helpful to anyone except those who are happy to have their own faces projected into my living room.  OH, at 3 pm they are signing off - for now - having been reporting non-stop since probably 6 or 7 am.  OH, wait, the local station now has a "special edition" of the local news about the situation in Massachusetts because why - because, of course, it's their turn to show me their faces.  OK, time to turn it all off.  Within the coming weeks, there will be several documentaries, special investigative news shows, and next year the Lifetime Channel will air a docu-drama movie with the script highlighting mostly the rumors supplemented by terrible acting.

Meanwhile, I'll get an update later, on Facebook no doubt.

   
   

Antipodean Adventures

Dear Readers,

Much has been bubbling through my brain and fabulous images have been flowing through my camera lenses over the last days and I look forward to gathering all the threads together here when I get home. I am currently graced with the sublime views and experiences of the stunning geography that is New Zealand.  Many blessings and much gratitude must be bestowed upon my amazing Kiwi friends for their hospitality and more than gracious generosity in allowing me to wander with them through the sites and sounds they know and love.

I will share all soon so please watch this space!

Of Mice and Me

The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry...   

 (from Robert Burns' To a Mouse)

     Neither Robert Burns nor John Steinbeck be I, but I do converse with mice; well, ok, I just yell at them in language that is perhaps, not so poetic or prose-like.
 
       Following on from my previous post "Falderal and Fa La La", I am happy to report that the meeces have departed my humble abode.  However, they left far many more gifts than I had first realized.  I have spent many recent days relocating the contents of two rooms from upstairs (not finished with that yet) to downstairs in preparation for some internal demolition in the coming weeks (Favorite Oldest Daughter is coming to tear down the wall that separates the two rooms, yikes).  I have also tried to make space upstairs and down for estimators to come in to measure for some new windows and electrical work. 

      The downstairs work was more painstaking in some ways because of keeping areas clear to walk around in and of having to vacuum and scrub down areas where the little beasties left evidence of their habitation.  Thankfully, I had gotten it all done - except for some more relocating of stuff - and today was the day I was going to put extra blankets and pillows into those plastic bags that the air is vacuumed from for more compact storage, rearrange some things in my sewing area and get started on birthday gifts for my soon-to-be 8 year old triplet nephews.  Surprise, surprise surprise...
 
       I put several blankets in one large plastic vacuum cube and then remembered some quilts and blankets I have in a high-boy dresser downstairs.  I decided to put them all together and free up the drawer space.  I can pile the storage bags and cubes on the closet floor downstairs.  When I pulled a quilt out of one of the upper drawers, I was shocked to see leftover lentil bits and other unmistakeable leavings.  Guess who had come to dinner?  Of course you realize that I had to go through all drawers, remove all contents (carefully cleaned and folded summer clothes, et al), take the drawers upstairs and outside to shake out, wipe out, disinfect, and load up the laundry room floor.  Then I went through the closet and after thinking many angry thoughts in blue, I started to empty hanging shelving (inexpensive cloth and flimsy bowed cardboard) most of which I have just thrown in the trash.  It's time to rethink storage!   

      I did have a moment to laugh.  The exterminator distributed lots of material in the attic and in sealed containers on the main floor and in the basement.  It consisted of green bricks of bait designed to drive them out of the house by a fierce thirst.  I found a very seriously gnawed green crayon in one of the drawers.  Fascinating - can mice see in color?  SO, a breath, and then forward momentum.    

      OH WELL!  There is good news.  In the midst of relocating the contents of two rooms I have also been culling and clearing.  Certainly this was not the day I had planned to do more of that but it has been a liberation of sorts.  Much more is going out for trash or recycle than I had planned (say thank you to mother, children o' mine), much more will follow.  No sewing today but far less stuff in the house.  Ah, there's the dryer buzzer...next load.  Stay tuned, one charming friend suggests my meeces will return some day.  OH YEAH?  Well, I have the exterminator on speed dial....

      Anyone want a high-boy dresser?