Bridge Builders

VOTING RIGHTS                        By Rep. John Lewis Voting rights are under attack in America.   Quietly, gradually, state-by-state, the right to vote – a right that many people died to secure – is being taken away.   The Brennan Center released a report that shows that voting law changes across the nation will make it significantly harder for more than 5 million voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote.  This should not be happening. Today, we should be making it easy, simple, and convenient to vote.  Instead, legislatures around the nation are creating barriers and making it more difficult for citizens to vote.  There is not just one law, but many types of laws that are disenfranchising millions of voters: voter photo identification laws, proof of citizenship laws, barriers to registration, elimination of early voting and absentee voting, and laws mak...

Worthy of throwing a shoe at this woman.  There is not another Aretha Franklin.

No one would pay to stay in a messy hotel room but we will spend our lives living in messy rooms, dorms and homes.   Over time we get comfortable with the disorganized chaos.   We tell ourselves, we know where everything is and can find it easily.   Occasionally, we clean the mess when expecting company.   We do not pay for mess or want to visit mess. Other people do not appreciate our mess. It takes a very close friend or family member to put up with our mess and if they do, it is for a short stay.   I have been known to clean a house before unpacking my bags.   Some of us carry Lysol to make sure the place is clean.   Who would want to stay in mess? Colossians 1:27  27  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which   is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Our Lord Jesus Christ lives in us in the midst of our mess.   It is this great mystery of how Christ...

Most birds sound like sopranos.   Every now and then you hear an alto, but regardless they are always singing.   Whether early in the morning or in the wee hours of the night, they sing.   They neither have a roof over their head or a chef to cook to provide meals, they sing.   In storm, snow and blazing heat without air conditioning or the warmth of a fire, they sing.   A bird will sing. Why does the bird sing whether alone or with the flock?   What prompts them to chirp?      Only God knows. Psalm 104:12 12  By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. We may not know for sure why birds sing, but we certainly ought to know why we sing.   When we think about the continual flow of blessing that envelope us each day, praise and song should be our response.   When we consider the Lord’s death on a cross on behalf of desolate, sinful man, songs of praise should fall from our ...

 What happens in the waiting room?  It appears only a few   parents   are completing   their   paperwork because they are just starting to fill out forms when I open the door to the exam room.  Urgent phone calls have not been completed because parents are still making calls when I attempt to ascertain why they are in the office.  Children’s coats and hats are still   on   because they were not removed while sitting in the waiting room.  Surely, Dads have already called their wife to find out what they were told to tell the doctor but no, they tak e out the phone in the while I am examining their child   to speak to Mom.  What on earth is going on in the waiting room!   Apparently, not very much.    John 9:4   King James Version (KJV)   4  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.   What have we been doing while waiting o...

What’s so happy about “Happy Hour?”   If’s it’s so happy, why do you have to return every Friday night.   It appears the happiness is fleeting.   It depends on who’s at happy hour, if the appetizers are edible, if there is a cover charge, if the drinks are watered down, if the music is decent and for some, if you leave with someone.   The concept of “Happy Hour” is based on a lie because Happy Hour last from 4 PM to 7 PM.   That’s not an hour.   The premise that happiness can be found in a bar or restaurant during a certain time frame is false advertising.   The more time we spend searching for happiness in the wrong place, the less likely we are to find where true happiness resides. Psalm 144:15 15  Happy  are  the people who are in such a state; Happy  are  the people whose God  is  the  Lord . Happiness is not found in a place.   It is found in a Person.   We are a blessed people when hav...

Americans accumulate a ton of stuff.   We spend an inordinate amount of time working to buy stuff, shopping for stuff on line or at the mall, deciding where to put the stuff then searching for someone to come and pick-up the stuff after storing the stuff in our attic and garage for years.   We cycle through stuff in warp speed.   Stuff goes out of style, stops working, no longer interest us or we just want to replace it with other stuff.   A majority of our waking hours consists of managing, organizing or thinking about our stuff.   When assessing how much we get back from stuff compared to what we put in, it is fleeting, fruitless and finite.   Our stuff is giving us all a raw deal. Matthew 6:19-21 19  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust [ a ]  destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  20  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust dest...

San Antonio had an unexpected snow storm in mid-December.   We did not see it coming.   I opened my front door to picture of winter wonderland in South Texas.   A few days later, the roads were cracked with scattered potholes.   After snow and ice, roadways give way.   Potholes occur due to the expansion and contraction of ground water after is has entered into the ground under the pavement.  Drivers know to expect potholes after inclement weather .   We do not stop driving.   We go around the potholes or at least we should to prevent damage to our car’s rims, tires and suspension.   After snow, look for the potholes, take evasive action and keep on trucking. Psalm 118:24 24  This is the day that the  Lord  has made      let us rejoice and be glad in it. Expect trouble. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.   In the world you will have tribulation. ...

Jared played saxophone and Zachary the baritone in their school band. Periodically, the intensity of their practices accelerated in preparation for the assessment done by the band direction for chair assignment.   Competition for first chair was fierce.   Making second chair was also a celebrated accomplishment.   I never really understood the difference between first and second chair.   Jennifer Jones, Assistant Concertmaster for the Nova Scotia Symphony gave a simple thought provoking explanation of the two. “All violinists in an orchestra have very high skill levels and the only difference between the two sections is the role they play in the orchestra. Members of both sections audition with mainly the same repertoire and have to maintain a very high level of musicianship. If truth be known, a lot of what is required of the second violins is difficult even at times treacherous! They often have to play rapid intricate rhythms on the lower strings, whi...