“Jesus of Nazareth, God of Golgotha, Just days ago these people were celebrating (in homes they’ve lost, some with loved ones they’ve lost) your coming at Christmas. Come again I pray to our broken world. Sit with those suffering in the City of Angels, weep with us in the valley of devastation. Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy … Creator God, I ask you for meteorological miracles - an urgent change to the Santa Ana winds, the visitation of rain. Protect and strengthen first responders and firefighters working ceaselessly to quell the flames… Renew them I pray with supernatural strength. Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy … Consuming Fire, We are brought to our knees, confronted by the fragility of life. Let salvation arise from devastation. Lord of Los Angeles, God of the Angel Armies, rescue us. Deliver us. Save us… that we may turn again to you. Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy …” —Written by Pete Grieg
John Griffith was in his early twenties. He was newly married and full of optimism. Along with his lovely wife, he had been blessed with a beautiful baby. He was living the American dream. But then came 1929—the Great Stock Market Crash—the shattering of the American economy that devastated John’s dreams. The winds that howled through Oklahoma were strangely symbolic of the gale force that was sweeping away his hopes and his dreams. And so, brokenhearted, John packed up his few possessions, and with his wife and his little son, headed East in an old Ford Model A. They made their way to the edge of the mighty Mississippi River and found a job tending one of the great railroad bridges there. Day after day, John would sit in the control room and direct the enormous gears of the immense bridge over the mighty river. He would look out wistfully as bulky barges and splendid ships glided gracefully under his elevated bridge. Each day, he looked on sadly as those ships carried with the...
Some years ago I had a friend who I was interested in pursuing a deeper, dating relationship with. I’m not usually so forward with my feelings, but I knew he was a guy that hit many of the characteristics I had prayed for in a spouse. So what did I do? I prayed and prayed, I talked it over with a trusted friend and finally discerned that I would need to initiate a conversation with him that would clarify if he wanted that deeper relationship too. I was told the truth. He couldn’t date me. We then had a brief awkward conversation about how I maybe had the wrong idea and how he had lead me on emotionally. He left the conversation promising to restore his brotherhood to me and then we left. Phew. Ouch! I cried and I cried, but to this day I am glad someone was able to be truthful enough with me even if it meant I’d be hurt. To be honest I don’t usually want to have conversations that risk my comfort and my heart so much, but I’d rather live with what is true than live i...
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