the journey

Hurricane Katrina photo/image links

This is a special edition of "cool links" dedicated to everyone affected by Hurricane Katrina:

• flhurricane.com: This site tracks the path of Hurricane Katrina. via
• Flickr.com: Photos posted as "hurricane katrina."
• River Stage Data: Live river flood gauges.
• Resource Shelf
• FEMA.gov: Information on how you can help.
• UMCOR (located in Baldwin, Louisiana): Disaster relief. Flood buckets & health kits needed (see instructions).
• Washington Post: Hurricane refugees head to Houston
• Houston Chronicle: Great links, video, and information for the refugees.
• Associated Press: Latest Katrina photos (a photo gallery)
• Nola.com: New Orleans cops ordered to stop looters
• NASA: Katrina photos via NASA.

Prayer for the Gulf Coast area

From  Sojo:

"During hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, those who have the least to lose are often those who lose the most. Why?

First, the dwellings in which poor people live are not as sturdy, stable, or safe as others. "Shotgun" shacks, mobile homes, and poorly constructed apartment buildings don't do well in hurricane-force winds and tidal surges.

Second, the places where poor people live are also the most vulnerable. The rich often live at the tops of hills, the poor in the valleys and plains that are the first to flood. The living conditions in these neighborhoods are also usually the most dense and overcrowded.

Third, it is much harder for the poor to evacuate. They don't own cars, can't afford to rent them, and often can't even afford a tank of gas - especially at today's prices. They can't afford an airplane, train, or even bus ticket. And, as one low-income person told a New Orleans reporter, they have no place to go. People in poverty can't afford motel or hotel rooms, and often don't have friends or family in other places with space to spare. In New Orleans, there were many people who desperately wanted to leave but couldn't.

Fourth, low-income people are the least likely to have insurance on their homes and belongings, and the least likely to have health insurance. If jobs are lost because of natural disasters, theirs are the first to go. Poverty makes long-term recovery after a disaster more difficult - the communities that are the weakest to begin with usually recover the slowest. The lack of a living family income for most people in those communities leaves no reserve for emergencies.

New Orleans has a poverty rate of 28% - more than twice the national rate. Life is always hard for poor people - living on the edge is insecure and full of risk. Natural disasters make it worse. Yet even in normal times, poverty is hidden and not reported by the media. In times of disaster, there continues to be little coverage of the excessive impact on the poor. Devastated luxury homes and hotels, drifting yachts and battered casinos make far more compelling photographs.

The final irony of New Orleans is that the people who normally fill the Louisiana Superdome are those who can afford the high cost of tickets, parking, and concessions. Now its inhabitants are the poor, especially children, the elderly and the sick - those with nowhere else to go. Those with money are nowhere to be seen.

As the Gulf Coast now faces the long and difficult task of recovery, what can we do?

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared Wednesday a day of prayer: "As we face the devastation wrought by Katrina, as we search for those in need, as we comfort those in pain and as we begin the long task of rebuilding, we turn to God for strength, hope and comfort." She urged residents in her state to ask "that God give us all the physical and spiritual strength to work through this crisis and rebuild."

+ Click here to send this message to friends and family and encourage them to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina with their prayers and donations

If you wish to make a contribution to help with disaster relief, contact one of the following agencies recommended by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) or the relief organization of your choice.

+ Click here for more information on how to help

Source: SojoMail

Hurricane Katrina photos & satellite images

This message is posted on the Digital Globe satellite image page:

Dear Concerned Party,

First let the DigitalGlobe community say that all of the people and communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina are in our thoughts. We hope for the most rapid and best outcome possible for them all.

DigitalGlobe is aware of the extreme humanitarian need in the communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina and is making every effort possible to collect useable satellite imagery of the impacted areas. We have five potential satellite accesses planned for the next week.

Weather conditions permitting, this imagery will be posted on our website and available through our partners.

DigitalGlobe and Google are working closely to provide the updated imagery via Google Maps and Google Earth as quickly as is possible.

Please visit our website periodically throughout the next days in order to get updates on newly available imagery.

Best,

The DigitalGlobe Community

Cool links 2.6

• Dan Kimball's Blog: Reality Church?: This stage-theory focuses on church involvement.
• The Unbound Bible: For the Greek/Hebrew aficionado, and those who desire a variety of Bible translations.
• VintageMask.com
• Reuters: Hundreds feared dead on storm-ravaged US coast
• Hurricane Katrina Photo Galleries
• World Vision: World Vision, like other humanitarian relief agencies, are mobilizing to assist those affected by hurricane Katrina.  Donate your time, your money, your concern & prayers.
• Wikipedia: Hurricane Katrina: A great work-in-progress.  Very informative!

Katrina ravages Gulf coast

  2074350 
  Originally uploaded by John Hay.

Click on photo for larger view.  Be sure to view all of the Hurricane Katrina photographs in this Flickr photo set.

I know you will want to extend your prayers & well-wishes, and tangible expressions of compassion & concern for all of those affected by this natural disaster.

Source: Flickr.com

E-nough misunderstanding

It frustrates me that a reputable, well-publicized dating service is selling infatuation as true love.  Because here's what infatuation is:

• A euphoric feeling--emphasis on feeling!
• The racing heart, sweaty palms, giddiness, incessant giggling
  
• Characterized by statements like: "He makes me laugh, he makes me feel complete or she makes me feel important or special."
• The idealized notion that "everything will be perfect" & you'll live happily ever after
• When you're wearing rose-colored-glasses--everything is rosy & you're only seeing the idealized, romanticized characteristics in one another.

In contrast, true love is:

• A commitment, not a feeling
• A decision to accept & "be there" for another person.
• Accepting the person for who they are & not trying to change them.
• Concerned about the health & welfare of the other; wishing only the best for the other.
• Hard work:  It takes time to develop, and time to nurture.  It involves "submitting to one another" as it says in Ephesians 5:21; subordinating your own will, for the sake of another (or others)
• The sacrificial, selfless lifestyle demonstrated by Jesus

But I'm not seeing anything like that in the e-Harmony commercials.  All I see is the giddy laughter, the primal physical attraction & the idealized, romanticized feeling called infatuation.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: They're selling true love, but illustrating it with glimpses of infatuation. 

The power of touch

I discovered these quotes while doing intitial research for an upcoming sermon:

"During pregnancy, stroking the abdomen is instinctive. Many mothers believe that their babies respond to such prenatal touching. The response may range from a slight shifting of weight to a strong poke in the side. Whatever the response, it represents an important interaction between parent and child.

Moments after birth, parents gently stroke their baby's tiny back. They hold and cuddle the newborn, count fingers and toes, gently caress his or her downy scalp. Touch makes the miracle of a new baby real. These touches are both pleasurable and beneficial. Studies have shown that skin-to-skin contact between parent and child improves the baby's sleep, breathing, heart rate and weight gain (emphasis mine). Kangaroo Care babies also breastfeed more readily. Massaging babies has been shown to encourage relaxation in both parent and child and to promote the baby's growth.

As a child becomes increasingly active and independent, the need for touch remains. Playful stimulation such as bear hugs, tickle-fests, "this little piggy" and "eensie, weensie spider" crawls provide a wealth of information to the brain. Researchers believe it helps to improve coordination, balance and self-esteem. Of course, it also helps to reinforce the bond between parent and child and it's fun.

What's most important is to stay in touch, to help your child learn how and why to touch: to communicate, to relax, to comfort, to play. It's a lesson that will last a lifetime."

Source: St. Alexius Medical Center

And I love this quote by Frederick Buechner:

"Through simply touching, more directly than in any other way, we can transmit to each other something of the power of the life we have inside us.  It is no wonder that the laying on of hands has always been a traditional part of healing or that when Jesus was around, 'all the crowd sought to touch him' (Luke 6:19).  It is no wonder that just the touch of another human being at a dark time can be enough to save the day."

Source: Whistling in the Dark by Frederick Buechner, p. 107.

Don't be afraid

  Cradled 
  Originally uploaded by notraces.

From Dylan's Blog:

"What's holding us back from living into Jesus' exhortation not to be afraid, not to worry about our lives? And what would need to happen for us to experience that consistently and fully? I think that both Luke and John give us some hints, and considering how much they differ in other ways, their prescription for freedom from anxiety is remarkably similar, and if I had to sum it up in a word, I'd say the word is 'unity.'

Take a look at the way that Jesus describes his relationship with God in John 17, that free flow of every good thing between them. What if we answered Jesus' prayer, if we related to one another as he and God relate to one another? It might look a little like Acts 4:32-37. Acts 4 describes a community with that kind of unity, that free flow of gifts.

I read that and I think about the things that I get anxious about. For me, the big anxiety at the moment is about how I can live into my vocation and still pay the bills. But the community described in Acts 4, the community for which Jesus prayed in John 17, would have no anxieties like that, because the whole community's resources were there for anyone in need -- and so there was no one in need. That clearly wasn't the limit, though. We're talking about a community in which every good thing is offered freely. Those with power use it to empower those with less. Those who have respect and trust extend it to those counted as worthless, giving them a place in the community in which they can know what it's like to be valued, and can give that experience to others.

Think of the spiritual power of such a community. Small wonder that Acts 4:33-34 says that "with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." It's a shame that most English translations don't include the conjunction (the Greek word gar) that starts the next clause: "FOR there was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned houses or lands sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold." The great grace and power they experienced proceeded from the grace that those in power showed in giving up their advantage to the advantage of all.

Think of the freedom from anxiety in such a community (emphasis mine). Not only does no one worry about paying the bills; no one worries about who is getting more recognition, or power, or status. That's freedom, real freedom from the constant vigilance exercised by those who are in the rat race, and in it to win. That kind of freedom is glorious -- glorious like the free flow of glory and honor between the Word and the Creator from before the world was made. And each time we break bread and share it, seeking others' advantage, healing, and honor above our own, we get a glimpse of othat glory. We are the Church, the Body of Christ engaged in Christ's work of reconciling all people with one another and with God in Christ, and there's nothing more glorious to see than the Church being the Church Jesus prayed for."

Source: Dylan's lectionary blog

Ephesians 5:21: Subjecting to one another

Dissecting an important verse about marriage:

What does it say?

Subjecting to one another; placing yourself under, deferring to, subordinating; and renouncing one's will for the sake of others.

It's an odd verse because"subordinating" is typically considered something a slave does for his master, an employee does for his boss or something the lesser does for his/her superior.  But there's a difference here; husbands & wives are told to be subject to one another.

What first century image does this convey?

One Roman Senator deferring to another equally honorable Senator--both were nominated by the Emperor, both were one of 600 who made decisions about legislative and political matters. One Semator simply deferred to the other (subjected themselves, subordinated) out of respect (and, most likely, as a matter of decorum).

Why do it?

In the case of this passage it's done out fear of (awe, respect for) Jesus.

Are there any implications for today?

Well, here's one: This passage does not endorse (or condone) bullying, abuse, neglect, dominating, blind or obligatory servitude, superiority, power-plays, sexism or other demeaning behaviors.  It does, however, present an image of one senator gladly yielding to another fellow-senator out of respect (here out of respect/awe of Jesus Christ).  And it's something both partners--husband and wife--need to do for the other.

Sources: Ephesians 4-6 by Marcus Barth; Interpretation Commentary (Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon); PBS on-line; and Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (vol. viii).

Resurrection reality

What kind of faith do you have?  Is it informational or transformational?  Is it all about believing the right things or living the right way?  Is it simply intellectualized (and theoretical) or is it also being internallized (and practical)?

Here's another quote that draws distinction between faith-as-belief and faith-as-relationship with Jesus:

"An Easter faith is not a Resurrection belief, it is a Ressurection reality: 'Christ is alive and among us.' An Eastering people are in a relationship with Christ himself, not just his message or memory.  The relationship is with a Person, not with history (emphasis mine).  It may take the speaking of our name, as it did for Mary, for us to recognize Jesus; or it may take a meal together, as it did for the Emmaus disciples, for us to recognize Jesus. But Easter is about recognizing the risen Christ among us and walking the same way with him."

Source: Out of the Question by Leonard Sweet, p. 9.