Being Grateful and My Personal Rant

It is a cold Wednesday in Northwest Louisiana but not nearly as cold as other parts of our country.  However, it is always a good day when bloggers get together with Joyce for

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's something you take for granted, that when you stop and think about it you feel truly grateful for?

I don't want to run this in the ground, but lately for me it has been walking or specifically using my right foot how I want to.  But, on a more serious note it is friendship and health.  Recently, we visited three older couples who are very dear to us.  Each couple is dealing with severe memory loss on the part of the husband and mackular degeneration and or ambulatory problems for the wives.  Our hearts were broken as we visited with these precious people who have previously led such vital, energetic lives.

2. The color brown-love it or no? What's your favorite shade of brown? Most loved something in your home or closet in a shade of brown?

LOVE IT!!!  Actually, I love all shades of brown from chocolate to rust.  I recently purchased a new pair of rust-colored JAG corduroy jeans and I love them.  They not only fit superbly, but are soooo comfortable and warm.

3. What's something you're looking forward to today?

Eating the Tortilla Soup I'm making later today.  But in the meantime, I am going to photo a friends lovely home that I hope to post about next Monday.  Stay tuned!

4. The word 'feminism' is not new, but it has been generating all kinds of headlines in recent days and months. What do you think/feel when you hear the word? If you're a woman, do you want to be described as a feminist? Why or why not?

To me, the word 'feminism' initially holds a negative connotation.  It may be due to the early emphasis of women not needing a man and thereby denigrating the male species.  It may also relate back to the personalities who brought this movement to the forefront several years ago.  The relationship between 'feminism' and the LGBT movement probably also adds to the very bad taste in my mouth to this word.  That being said, I'm sure this movement has paved the way for women receiving more rights and support in the work place.

I do not want to be described as a feminist!  I want to be described as a person who accepts the worth of all persons without the exclusion of more than half of our race.

5. What's something you personally can't eat without making a mess?

That's funny because just the other night I fixed hot chocolate and toast that I absolutely loved as a child.  I dip my toast into the cup of chocolate and it is so good, but it does make a big drippy, sloppy mess while getting each bite to your mouth.

6. When did you last surprise someone with a little gift or when were you last surprised by someone with a little gift? What was it?

I recently surprised a friend with a recording a mutual friend made of herself playing the piano.  Our friend is an amazing pianist and I knew she would appreciate hearing and reflecting on our friend's beautiful gift of music.

7. Share a favorite quote, saying, song lyric or scripture relating to gratitude. 

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH

"For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth over and arise us lies;

Lord of all, to Thee we raise This hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale and tree and flower, For all gentle thoughts and mild:

Lord of all to Thee we raise This hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love, Brother, sister, parent, child;

Friends on earth and friends above; For all gentle thoughts and mild:

Lord of all to thee we raise This hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy Church that evermore Lifteth holy hands above,

Offering up on every shore Her pure sacrifice of love:

Lord of all to thee we raise This hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best gift divine, To our race so freely given;

For that great, great love of Thine, Peace on earth and joy in heaven:

Lord of all to thee we raise This hymn of grateful praise." 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I know this is not necessarily the forum for political rants but since this a place for random thoughts, I would like to address something that happened last week that seems to have gone virtually unnoticed and certainly unpublicized by the public media.

On the 100th anniversary of the religiously-motivated genocide of Christians, Washington D.C.’s National Cathedral was converted into a mosque as several Islamic groups, all of which have alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, held their Friday Jum'ah - or day of prayer.

The National Cathedral was chartered by Congress in 1893 as a national house of prayer under the Protestant Episcopal Church Foundation. It was meant for Christian prayer.  On November 14, Islam "claimed" the National Cathedral by holding Islamic prayer in the building.

There have been those voices who have spoken out against this before and after, to little or no avail.  But, where is the Church?  Why isn't there a major outcry from our churches?

Franklin Graham had this to say:

"It’s sad to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything other than the One True God of the Bible who sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to save us from our sins.

"Jesus was clear when He said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6)."

Bill Wilson, the Daily Jot wrote this in an article regarding the claim that allah and the God of the Bible are the same:

Those who would say that allah and YHVH are the same are chief among the false prophets. Especially those who call themselves Christians and also preach that allah and YHVH are the same. The basic tenet of the Christian faith is found in John 14:6, where Jesus declares: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” The Koran, the holy book of allah, in many verses denies that Jesus is the Son of God.

 There was one courageous woman from Tennessee who stood up and reclaimed the place for Christ and she was quickly ushered out.

HERE is a link to a Breitbart interview with Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, who helped organize the occasion.  In this interview he calls it "deliciously appropriate" to hold prayers in this National Episcopal Cathedral on such a tragic anniversary of the genocide of millions of Christians, after which he also calls for the elimination of all infidels.

Does it not make sense that it would have been a greater demonstration of good will and call for peace and tolerance of all faiths (I do not believe Islam to be a faith or religion but an ideology of hate) if the largest mosque in D.C. had removed its mats and installed pews and invited Christians and Jews inside to worship the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob?

Or, was this not their mission after all?

Okay, that's my rant and my random thoughts for today.  May God be praised!