Messenger of
Hope
2 ... "See, I am sending my messenger
ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3the voice of one crying out
in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'"
4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 1:1-8
St. John the
Baptist
CARAVAGGIO
1604-05
Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art, Kansas City
Hope is not
the conviction that something will turn out well,
but the certainty that
something makes sense
regardless of
how it turns out.
~ Vaclav Havel
If you lose hope,
somehow you lose
the vitality that
keeps life moving,
you lose that
courage to be,
that quality that
helps you go on
in spite of it
all.
And so today, I
still have a dream.
~ Martin Luther King,
Jr.
We joined three big elk for
breakfast Wednesday morning at our breakfast club.
They were right out the
window where we sit.
One of them had a string of
Christmas lights on one antler.
It was a very nippy
morning! See the condensation from his breath?
Today was The Celebration
of Life Remembrance for Bill Brockner.
Sylvia, his wife, was going
to wear a black dress but friends
convinced her to wear red
... Bill's favorite color.
Here,
Sylvia listens to some
of the remembrances.
In front of her is a
picture of her when she first
married Bill in 1940.
The Lakehouse was packed
with people who came to honor Bill's contribution
to the world, to birding,
and to all of us.
Saturday evening was a
Christmas party!
Thank you, Anne and
Mark!
Bill is giving Hanna a hug
for allowing herself to be dragged to the party ... for
just
a short time. Hanna
lost her husband, Al, last Tuesday and his service will be
next Saturday. We
laughed together, then cried together.
Kimra is showing the
antique butterfly pin that Hanna gave her
for being such a wonderful
support and being with her when Al died.
Kimra is our Butterfly
Lady ... she
dresses with wings and magic wand ...
and is always
there when people need support. I, too, was
visited
by the Butterfly Lady when
I was in the hospital in August!
Hope is the feeling
you have
that the feeling you
have isn't permanent.
~ Jean Kerr
December 7, 2008
Second Sunday of Advent
Previous OPQs may be found
at:
1The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. 2As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of
the Lord, make his paths straight,'" ...
8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit."
Mark 1:1-8
Agnus Day, by James Wetzstein
Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2,
8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
