Monday, November 21, 2005

GRATEFUL HEARTS

“In everything give thanks:” for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

(Cicero)

“In the New Testament, religion is grace, and ethics is gratitude.”

(Thomas Erskine)

“If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is 'thank you', that would suffice."

(Meister Eckhart)

TEDDY ROOSEVELT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE TO CIVIC LIFE

“Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure out ourselves what that life would be if these standards were removed.  We would lose almost all the standards by which we now judge both public and private morals, and all the standards towards which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves."  (T.R.)

MAINE CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION ISSUES CAUTION ON BRUNSWICK MONUMENT

The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in on the controversy over the proposed Fireman’s Monument in Brunswick. The monument which will display the “Fireman’s Prayer” is offensive to the Maine Civil Liberties Union because of its use of the word “God.” In a statement issued by the MCLU, Sheena Bellows, the Executive Director, said,

“The Town Council should weigh very carefully any concerns local citizens might have about the religious nature of the prayer. There might be more appropriate options for display that honor the sacrifices of our firefighters while respecting the diverse views of all the citizens they vow to protect.”

In other words, the MCLU is putting the town council on notice that there will probably be at least one concerned citizen in Brunswick who will be willing to sue if the monument goes up.

But how can Brunswick find a “more appropriate option” in the words of the Director of the MCLU?  The same prayer appears on the Firefighters Monument in Augusta and at the National Fire Academy. Any prayer would be offensive in the eyes of the ACLU, since prayers are by nature religious.  And so are firefighters. Any change acceptable to the MCLU would destroy the meaning of the monument, which is a prayer for God’s protection for the firefighters, the victims of fires, and the wife and children the injured or fallen firefighters leave behind. 

In the final analysis, nothing short of a de-religionized America will be acceptable to the ACLU. Their effort to remove God from our civic life now reaches from the chambers of the Supreme Court down to lowly Cook’s Corner in Brunswick. What began as an effort to prohibit nativity scenes in public places has mushroomed into an effort to efface the name of God from all our public monuments. But the Culture Wars are, after all, an effort to transform our society beyond recognition; and that is why, in this battle, there is no longer any neutral ground.  

The Brunswick Town Council will take up the matter tonight, Monday the 21st, at 7:00 p.m. at the old high school on McKeen Street.

GIVING THANKS FOR JOYS AND SORROWS

Lord, I am glad for the great gift of living –
Glad for Thy Days of sun and of rain;
Grateful for joy, with an endless thanksgiving,
Grateful for laughter – and grateful for pain.

Lord, I am glad for the young April’s wonder,
Glad for the fullness of long summer days;
And now when the spring and my heart are asunder,
Lord, I give thanks for the dark autumn ways.

Sun, bloom, and blossom, O Lord, I remember.
The dream of the spring, and tis joy I recall,
But now in the silence and pain of November,
Lord, I give thanks to Thee, Giver of all!

(Charles Hanson Towne)

I AM THANKFUL

for the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight,
because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.

for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato
because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

for the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes
because that means she is home not out on the streets.

for the taxes that I pay
because it means I am employed.

for the mess to clean up after a party
because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

for the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.

for my shadow that watches me work
because it means I am out in the sunshine.

for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
because it means I have a home.

for all the complaining I hear about the government
because it means that I still have freedom of speech. 

for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot,
because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.

for my huge heating bill
because it means I am warm.

for the lady behind me in church who sings off key,
because it means I can hear.

for the pile of laundry and ironing,
because it means I have clothes to wear.

for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,
because it means I can still work hard.

for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,
because it means that I am alive.