Franciscan benediction juni 25, 2008

May God bless you with discomfort…

At easy answers, half-truths,

and superficial relationships,

so that you may live deep within your heart.

 

Mat God bless you with anger…

At injustice, and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

 

May God bless you with tears….

To shed for those who suffer from pain,

rejection, starvation and war

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them

and turn their pain into joy.

 

And may God bless you with enough foolishness…

to  believe that you can make a difference in this world.

So that you can do

what others claim cannot be done.

 

Amen

The power of your actions februar 21, 2008

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, ‘Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.’ I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends, tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, ‘Those guys are jerks.’ They really should get lives. ‘He looked at me and said, ‘Hey thanks!’ There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would never have hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, ‘Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! ‘He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, ‘Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!’ He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. ‘Thanks,’ he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began: ‘Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach…but mostly your friends…I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.’

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn’t have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. ‘Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.’

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it’s depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person’s life for better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

‘Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.’

There is no beginning or end… Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

Om rikdom og fattigdom desember 28, 2007

Rikdom er å være fornøyd med det man har, og fattigdom er å være misfornøyd med det man har.

 .

(Profeten Mohammad (fvmh))

Fra profeten Mohamad desember 28, 2007

Do not consider any act of kindness insignificant, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.

.

(Profeten Mohammad (fvmh) )

Roseregn september 23, 2007

Roser regner aldri ned fra himmelen.

Hvis vi ønsker oss flere roser, må vi plante flere trær.

.

(George Elliot)

Mulighetens lidenskap juni 17, 2007

Skulle jeg ønske meg noe,

da ville jeg ikke ønske meg rikom eller makt,

men mulighetens lidenskap.

Det øye som overalt,

evig ungt, evig brennende,

ser muligheten.

 .

(Søren Kierkegaard)

Every tomorrow mai 12, 2007

Every tomorrow has to handles.

We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety

or the handle of faith.

.

(Henry Ward Beecher)

The road not taken mai 12, 2007

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

.

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day
Yet knowing how way leads to way
I doubted if I should ever come back

.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less travelled by
And that has made all the difference

.

(Robert Frost 1874-1963)

Våre små søsken mai 12, 2007

Vi har en liten søster

Vi har en liten bror

Som er litt anderledes

Enn andre barn på jord

.

De kom til denne verden

- det vanskelige sted -

Med mindre håndbagasje

Enn vi er utstyrt med

.

Vi voksne er så kloke

I mening og i ord

Vår lille bror og søster

Blir aldri riktig stor

.

Vi har vår eng og åker

Vi har vårt kjøpmannskap

Og vi beregner livet

I vinning og i tap

.

Det er så lett å skubbe

De små og svake vekk

Og la dem stå tilbake

Med hjelpeløse trekk

.

Det er så lett å glemme

Når siste båt skal gå

Må alle passasjerer

La all bagasje stå

.

(Inger Hagerup)

Kloke ord fra Salomo mai 12, 2007

Et mildt svar vender harmen bort, men et sårende ord vekker vrede.

.

De vises tunger bruker kunnskapen godt, men dårers munn flyter over av dårskap.

.

En sunn tunge er livets tre, men når den er fordervet, brytes ånden ned.

.

En dåre forakter sin fars rettletning, men den som lar seg irettesette, er klok.

.

I den rettferdiges hus er det stor rikdom, men det følger ødeleggelse med den ugudeliges inntekt.

.

De vises lepper sprer kunnskap, men dårers hjerte gjør det ikke.

.

Et lykkelig hjerte gir et lyst ansikt, men med sorg i hjertet blir ånden nedbrutt.

.

Den forstandiges hjerte søker kunnskap, men dårers munn næres av dårskap.

.

En hissig mann vekker strid, men den som er sen til vrede, demper tretten.

.

Den lates vei er som en tornehekk, men de oppriktiges vei er som en hovedvei.

.

En vis sønn gleder sin far, men et menneske som er en dåre, forakter sin mor.

.

Den som er grådig etter urett vinning, fører skade over sitt eget hus, men den som hater bestikkelser, skal leve.

.

Den som legger øret til livgivende irettesettelse, holder seg gjerne blant de vise.

.

Den som ringeakter rettledning, forakter sin egen sjel. Men den som hører på irettesettelse, vinner forstand.

.

(Bibelen, fra Salomos ordspråk 15)