From the Ranch

From the Ranch
Showing posts with label peace in the Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace in the Middle East. Show all posts

Friday, March 28, 2014

It Is My Privilege and Honor

It is my privilege and honor to call Canon Andrew White, known the world over simply as the Vicar of Baghdad one of my dearest personal friends.  He has caused in my heart a love for the people of Iraq which comes from the very heart of God Himself.  Brother Andrew has written several books, which are so moving and inspirational.  I have given copies of them to all those whom I love.  Today I posted this to Brother Andrew's Facebook page, because it has my thoughts about the three men I most admire in it.  If you haven't read Faith Under Fire, I highly recommend the book... His life is one of those lived above the common man.  It might very well change your life forever to read of how he is spending his. I believe very, very, few things have the real ability to change our lives in any way...  

Here is the post I made on Brother Andrew's wall:




Brother Andrew, my dad and Randy are tied for being the best men I have ever known...(you are a very close second place,) and I have made gifts to my dad of all your books. He is going to be 86 this fall. He and his "older" friend who is 89 recently handed out Gideon Bibles at a festival that is held in my hometown every year. My dad has been a Gideon for over 40 years. He and his friend handed out 1800 Bibles over 3 days. He called me today to tell me he read your book again Faith Under Fire. I laughed when he told me that the good thing about being 85 is that you can read a good book, (he still reads about one book a week,) and then about a year later read it again, and it is brand new all over. He said it made him wish to be a young man again and to come and help you, and that it stirred his heart in love for a people and a church he has never seen. He has a prayer list, and he takes our grand-children to school everyday, and picks them up every afternoon, (he still drives,) and he always arrives an hour early each afternoon and sits in front of the school, so that he can pray and read his Bible. He has added you and the Christians of Iraq to a written prayer list he maintains... as we say in West Texas, Brother Andrew, you are in high cotton now! He is one of God's right hand men, and you have his full support and admiration. I am quite sure that his prayers that you would have every need met were instrumental in your getting your visa. Hurry home to your people, and keep an eye on that rascally husband of mine.  He likes to run with scissors, just like you!





Friday, January 25, 2013

I Have Found a Poet Whose Words I Love!

Oh have I ever found a poet whose words I love...

Another one of my loves is photography, and this is one of my favorites I made of wildflowers in Austin County in Texas.

He was a thinking man, who longed for God, and he was Iranian...  This man knew God leaves no room for hatred among people of the world.

If God Invited You To A Party

If God
Invited you to a party
And said,
'Everyone
In the ballroom tonight
Will be my special
Guest...'

How would you then treat them
When you
Arrived?

Indeed, indeed!


And I know
There is no one in this world

Who
Is not upon
His Jeweled Dance
Floor



Shams al-Din Hafiz

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Uncommon Men

There are men among us who walk where the rest of us can't or won't.  There are men among us who live very serious lives, engaged in work activities that often place them at risk, and they do so without fear.  They are enabled and empowered because their faith and trust lies entirely in God's will for their lives, and the work they do each day is extremely significant that day, and it will be significant in a hundred years, and it will be of great value still in a thousand years, and it will still be spoken of in a million years.  When time is no more, their daily activities in this present world will be adding to God's Kingdom, and therefore will still be of note when that Kingdom is our eternal home.  Their everyday efforts at a vocation are efforts which carry out God's plan for spending eternity with all who will choose to love and serve Him.  It is assumed by such men that any given situation they find themselves in is due to God's Divine Plan, and therefore they are by God's own promise equipped for the situation.  Their confidence lies in God, whom they love and serve.  This attribute of fearlessness is available to all of us, but few of us choose to live in this state of grace.  We may give being fearless lip service, but in truth we are fearful of the least threatening of things and situations.  Our son Brian is another of these "uncommon men" in the making, and he was home for the holidays to visit with us and Brother Andrew.  As I listened on Saturday to Brother Andrew White, known as the Vicar of Baghdad, talk about the work that he leads in Baghdad at St. George's Church, and the people who worship and serve God there, I knew why he and my husband are such good friends, and once again realized one of the reasons God sent Randy to Iraq was to support this work.

You might think that the seriousness with which these kind of men pursue their life's work, would tend to make them dull and too reserved to enjoy life, but that same belief that makes them fearless also makes them full of fun.  There is scripture that mentions "joy comes from the Lord," and so it is that when you have a dinner party with such men, there is much laughter, banter, and you feel the true joy of friendship, the bond of an eternal family, and the knowledge of how important each moment of our lives are.  Every opportunity to fellowship with those who love and serve the Lord should be relished and enjoyed as the gift from God that it is, and we did when Brother Andrew White arrived at our house in Austin County, Texas last Saturday.



 When I offered Lina the opportunity to try on any of my "Texas cowgirl" hats, she wasn't particularly excited about this ridiculously large one... however Brother Andrew's eye twinkled, and he offered to help her try it on!  Turns out she makes the hat look great!

  

For a long while now Cannon Andrew White has been Randy's pastor in Iraq.  He is the chaplain for American Embassy there in Baghdad.  Over time they have formed a close friendship that stems from the two attributes they share, that fearlessness I spoke of, and the love of being happy and living life in the "fun zone," no matter how serious their work is.  Randy and I both greatly adnire the work Brother Andrew does toward peace in the Middle East, and his leadership of the ministry at St. George's Church, which is also located in Baghdad, but we are not alone in our admiration.   The following is a list of some of the international honors Brother Andrew has collected over the years of his devotion to God's purposes in the Middle East:

 - International Sternberg Prize
- Honorary Doctorate, University of Gloucester
- US Cross of Valour
- International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) Prize for Intellectual Contribution to Jewish-Christian Relations
- Three Faith’s Forum Prize for Inter-Faith Relations (2003)
- Tanenbaum Peace Prize (2005)
- Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem (2003).
- Woolf Institute Peace Prize (2007)
- Companion of the Community of Cross and Nails from Coventry Cathedral for his work on reconciliation in Israel and Iraq
- Train Foundation Civil Courage Prize
- International First Freedom Award (2011)
- Ultimate Christian Library Book Award (2012) for "Faith Under Fire"


I hear so much talk from people who believe the situation in the Middle East is hopeless, and that there will never be peace there.  Some men know that God is willing and able to bring peace to the Middle East, and that He has a heart of love for all who live there.  May God's message and hope of peace go forward, and may those who bring the message be blessed and empowered this message to bring to the world.  We feel so privileged to know Brother Andrew, to call him friend, and to support the work there in Baghdad.  Visit the page that describes the work at  www.frrme.org, and learn about how God is moving in the Middle East.
 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Hundreds and Hundreds of Sparrows


My girl-friend Jacqui and I went to supper together tonight, and then on to an art show at the Holland Street Gallery in Bellville.  Bellville is the charming little town of about 4,000 where I live.  They have a square that is much the same as it was over a century ago.  Some buildings are even over two hundred years old.


The art work is first class in this little gallery.  I was just blown away by the artists who were displaying tonight.   Amazing work that reflected such talent.  The photos I took cannot  do the work justice.



 I was thinking about Baby Rose all during the evening, and I shared her story with several people talking about how the consensus had been she would be forgotten and lost in the system, and there was not much hope of a great outcome.  I talked with each person about the Bible verse I had used which speaks of two sparrows selling for a penny, and when one falls that God takes note.  That scripture goes on to say how much more valuable we are than two sparrows to God.  Despite how well received the story was by each person I spoke with, as I left the art show doubt was playing around in my mind.  Thoughts like, "what are you thinking, the world will not get behind one little baby."  Then, "this is just making you look foolish, and you don't need any help with that."

As I crossed the street and entered the Wells Fargo parking lot, I noticed people looking up and when I did too, hundreds and hundreds of sparrows filled the air.  They were collecting in tw0 of three trees, and the sounds of their chirping together were  really loud.  Many birds commonly collectively roost, but I have never heard of or observed it among sparrows, certainly not in Texas.  As more people exited the building, or arrived in the parking lot, their attention was immediately drawn to the strange bird behavior, and everyone commented as I photographed the birds, then took video.

For me the behavior was a perfectly clear message from God to "keep telling the world the story of Rose, I love her, and she is worth so much to me, more than thousands and thousands of sparrows."

Here is a very short clip from the video I made so you can get the picture of how many sparrows were crossing the sky and landing in two trees under which I had parked my truck to go to the art show.  I will never forget this phenomenon, or Rose, and the message she has brought to my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Bwr4g8F2s