David’s plea-Take up our case, my God and my Lord.

O LORD, you know all about this.
    Do not stay silent.
    Do not abandon us now, O Lord.
Wake up! Rise to our defense!
    Take up our case, my God and my Lord. 
[Psalm 35:22-23]

This is what the Sovereign LORD,
    the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
    and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength. 
    But you would have none of it.” [Isaiah 30:15]
I need to  turn to God and  seek our rest  in him, i need to  be quiet and trust the Lord, for the victory to be won and the battle to get over, for He assures of His help.

In India, the Premji Foundation Tries to Improve Public Education - NYTimes.com

In India, the Premji Foundation Tries to Improve Public Education - NYTimes.com:
"Rather than being drilled and tested on reproducing passages from textbooks, students write their own stories. And they pursue independent projects — as when fifth-grade students recently interviewed organizers of religious festivals and then made written and oral presentations.

Mr. Premji, whose total wealth Forbes magazine has put at $18 billion, recently gave the foundation $2 billion worth of shares in his company. Those newly donated shares are being used to start an education-focused university in Bangalore and to expand and spread programs to reach 50 of India’s 626 school districts."

A Family's Exodus from Cairo to the New World

A Family's Exodus from Cairo to the New World
 Lucette Lagnadoan , The Wall Street Journal reporter in her memoirs, takes us to wartime Cairo,in the late 1950's when her family, as they were Jewish, were forced to leave the country . A touching depiction of their exile, life as stateless refugees in Paris in the early 60's,and her father Leon Lagnado's struggles, who once was a prosperous businessman in Cairo  .They moved from Cairo to Alexandria,  to Paris, finally to the United States. Being refugees in Paris was a shock to Leon, who after a lifetime investing in the stock market suddenly found himself “destitute, dependent on charity for himself and his family to survive.”

THE MAN IN THE WHITE SHARKSKIN SUIT

My Family Exodus From Old Cairo to the New World

By Lucette Lagnad


http://www.abc.net.au,
Newyork times

New COBA course for future charitable doncourse for future charitable donorsors

New COBA course for future charitable donors: "
ACU's College of Business Administration is training students to put their future wealth back into charitable causes. Jim Porter, COBA executive in residence, and Dr. Phil Schubert, ACU president, teach "Case Studies in Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy."The course's special focus is on the quest for wealth and how to manage it for good works in order to help those in need.

Amazon droughts increase climate change fears

AMAZON DROUGHT

• Scientists: 2010 drought was more widespread and damaging than in 2005
• Tropical rainforests such as the Amazon act as a natural buffer to man-made emissions by absorbing huge amounts of carbon each year. However they become major emitters of CO2 during drought years.
• Tropical rainforests act as a natural buffer to man-made emissions
• Some climate models suggest climate change will increase number of droughts
• 
  

The Amazon River fell to its lowest level in decades, with many of its tributaries such as the Rio Negro completely drying up in some area.CNN.com

Less is More for Aditya Birla Retail - The Economic Times

Less is More for Aditya Birla Retail - The Economic Times: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

A Dewdrop-Frank Dempster Sherman

Little drop of dew,
Like a gem you are;
I believe that you
Must have been a star.

When the day is bright,
On the grass you lie;
Tell me then, at night
Are you in the sky?

Frank Dempster Sherman

Nehru on Mahatma Gandhi

“… He did not descend from the top; he seemed to emerge from the millions of India, speaking their language and incessantly drawing attention to them and their appalling condition. Get off the backs of these peasants and workers … all you who live by their exploitation; get rid of the system that produces this poverty and misery.”
http:gandhifoundation.org

Einstein views on Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi's life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the conciously thinking human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works.
We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come.
From  http://www.gandhiserve.org/streams/einstein.html

The Human Seasons-BY John Keats

The Human Seasons
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
    There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
    Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
He has his Summer, when luxuriously
    Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
    Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
    He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness--to let fair things
    Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forego his mortal nature.

דיטריך בונהופר על המשיח

דיטריך בונהופר על המשיח

"אני בטוח כי ידו של האל סיטי ... לעולם ספק כי אני אסיר תודה ושמח ללכת בדרך שאני מובל. חייו האחרונות שלי מלא שפע של רחמים, ו, חטא, הוא אוהב ורחום של ישו הצלוב. "
חייו של החניכות יכול להישמר רק בתנאי שהם אינם מורשים בין ישו לבין עצמנו - לא את החוק ולא אדיקות אישית, אפילו בעולם. המשמעת תמיד להסתכל רק על אדונו, לעולם אל ישו ואת החוק, ישו ואת הדת, אלוהים והעולם. ... רק בעקבות ישו לבדו יכול להישמר רק עין אחת. ... לפיכך, בלב של תלמיד צריך להיות מונח על ישו.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer op Christus

Dietrich Bonhoeffer op Christus
Dietrich Bonhoeffer op Christus

"Ek is seker dat God se hand en lei ... Moet nooit twyfel dat ek dankbaar en gelukkig die manier waarop ek gelei word om te gaan My verlede lewe is baie vol van genade. en alle sonde, is die genadige liefde van Christus wat gekruisig is. "
Die lewe van dissipelskap kan slegs gehandhaaf word mits hulle nie toegelaat tussen Christus en ons - nie die wet nie persoonlike vroomheid, selfs in die wêreld. Dissipline altyd net kyk na sy meester, nooit na Christus en die wet, Christus en godsdiens, Christus en die wêreld. ... Slegs deur die volgende Christus alleen bewaar kan word net een oog. ... Dus behoort die dissipel se hart gelê word op Christus.

כאשר אתה זקן, על ידי B W ייטס

כאשר אתה זקן
כאשר אתה זקן אפור ומלא לישון,
ומהנהנת ידי האש, לקחת את הספר הזה,
לקרוא לאט, ואת החלום של המראה הרך
העיניים שלך היו פעם, של צללים עמוקים שלהם;
כמה אהב את רגעי החסד שלך שמח,
ואהבתי היופי שלך באהבה שקרית או אמיתית,
אבל אדם אחד אהב את הנשמה צליין בך,
ואהב את הצער של פניה המשתנים שלך;
ו מתכופף ליד פסי זוהר,
מלמול, קצת בעצב, איך האהבה ברחה
והתהלך על תקורה ההרים
ו הסתיר את פניו בתוך קהל של כוכבים.

Cuando llegues a viejo-By B W YEATS

Cuando llegues a viejo-By B W YEATS

Cuando llegues a viejo
Cuando estés vieja y gris y soñolienta,
Y cabeceando junto al fuego, tomes este libro,
Y poco a poco leer, y soñar con la mirada suave
Sus ojos tenían una vez, y con sus profundas sombras;
Cuántos amaron tus momentos de alegre gracia,
Y amaron tu belleza con amor falso o verdadero,
Pero un hombre amó el alma peregrina en ti,
Y amó los dolores de tu rostro cambiante;
E inclinada ante el resplandor de los leños,
Soplo, un poco triste, cómo escapó el amor
Y por sobre las montañas
Y escondió su rostro en medio de una multitud de estrellas.

Un San Valentín a mi esposa

Un San Valentín a mi esposa
Un San Valentín a mi esposa


Acepta, querida niña, esta pequeña muestra,
Y si entre las líneas que usted busca,
Encontrarás el amor que he hablado a menudo
El amor de mis labios morir a hablar.

Nuestros pequeños están haciendo feliz
O'er del cancioncillas am'rous rimada en broma,
Pero en estas palabras (aunque muy torpe)
El artículo genuino, expresó.

Usted es lo más justo y dulce y tierna,
Queridos míos poco cariño de ojos marrones,
Como cuando, un joven inexperto y delgado,
Le pregunté a ser tu día de San Valentín.

Qué importaba que estos años de ser nuestra efímera?
Qué importaba que los años de juventud se voló?
Voy a burlarse de Tempus de edad con la repetición,
"Me encanta mi amor y solo ella!"

Y cuando me caigo antes de su cosecha,
Y cuando mi tartamudez es mudo,
No creas, no mi amor está muerto o dormido,
Sino que espera a que venga.

Así que toma, amor mío, esta pequeña muestra,
Y si no habla en cualquier línea
El sentimiento que me han hablado de buena gana,
Oye, te beso tu Valentín?
    

Una oración de San Valentín

Una oración de San Valentín


Su Divina de San Valentín
Un día de San Valentín puede jugar una canción de amor para ti, pero Dios te canta la canción más dulce el amor en el universo.
El Señor tu Dios ... se regocijará por ti con alegría, te renovará con su amor, se regocijará sobre ti con cánticos. Sofonías 3:17
Un día de San Valentín puede dar flores, pero Dios le envió la rosa más bella de todas. Jesús.
Yo soy la rosa de Sarón y el lirio de los valles.
Cantar de Salomón 02:01
Un día de San Valentín puede traer el chocolate, pero Dios te ofrece algo aún más dulce, Su Palabra.
¡Qué dulces son tus palabras para mi gusto, más dulce que la miel a mi boca! Salmo 119:103
Un día de San Valentín puede el amor para toda la vida, pero Dios te amaba antes de que nacieras y te amaré por toda la eternidad.
Sí, yo los he amado con un amor eterno ... con misericordia te he dibujado. Jeremías 31:3
De Aurora Devociones

Dietrich Bonhoeffer en Cristo

Dietrich Bonhoeffer en Cristo

"Estoy seguro de que de la mano de Dios y la guía ... Nunca se debe dudar de que estoy agradecido y contento de ir por el camino que estoy siendo llevado. Mi vida pasada es abundante llena de misericordia de Dios, y, sobre todo el pecado, se encuentra el amor misericordioso de Cristo crucificado. "
La vida de discipulado sólo se puede mantener siempre y cuando no se permite que entre Cristo y nosotros mismos - ni la ley, ni la piedad personal, ni siquiera en el mundo. La disciplina siempre se ven sólo a su amo, nunca a Cristo y la ley, Cristo y la religión, Cristo y el mundo. ... Sólo siguiendo a Cristo el único que puede que preservar un solo ojo. ... Así, el corazón del discípulo debe ser puesto sobre Cristo.

FROM DEAD MAN WALKING

FROM DEAD MAN WALKING

All you hypocrites and liars
In the temple seeking gain
All you senators and lawyers
With your motives to explain
All you victims and you heroes
Your petitions to complain
All you murderers and martyrs
On the fields where you lay slain
On the just and unjust
Alike it doth rain
And the quality of mercy is not strained

Yes vengeance and revenge
Are just two words for pain
And the quality of mercy is not strained

Did not I crucify my Lord?
Did not I bind Him in chains?
Did not I three times betray Him?
Three times deny His name?
Did not I cast the first stone?
Then justify the blame?
Did not He die for my sins
But never would I do the same?

Oh I've been three times a sinner
And two times a saint
And the quality of mercy is not strained

A valentine prayer

 

Your Divine Valentine

A Valentine may play a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.
The Lord your God... will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

A Valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all. Jesus.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Song of Solomon 2:1

A Valentine may bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even sweeter, His Word.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

A Valentine may love you for a lifetime, but God loved you before you were born and will love you for all eternity.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love...with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

From Dayspring Devotions

A Valentine to My Wife

A Valentine to My Wife


Accept, dear girl, this little token,
And if between the lines you seek,
You'll find the love I've often spoken
The love my dying lips shall speak.

Our little ones are making merry
O'er am'rous ditties rhymed in jest,
But in these words (though awkward very)
The genuine article's expressed.

You are as fair and sweet and tender,
Dear brown-eyed little sweetheart mine,
As when, a callow youth and slender,
I asked to be your Valentine.

What though these years of ours be fleeting?
What though the years of youth be flown?
I'll mock old Tempus with repeating,
"I love my love and her alone!"

And when I fall before his reaping,
And when my stuttering speech is dumb,
Think not my love is dead or sleeping,
But that it waits for you to come.

So take, dear love, this little token,
And if there speaks in any line
The sentiment I'd fain have spoken,
Say, will you kiss your Valentine? 
     
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)

When You Are Old- By W B YEATS

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

How writing strengthened Anne Frank in her hiding place

How writing strengthened Anne Frank in her hiding place
Anne Frank found strength by penning down her daily thoughts, her dreams and daily happenings  inside the hide out where she stayed with her parents and sister along with four more people for two years.The dairy describes that writing helped her to forget her painful and fearful circumstances, the uncertain events, also it describes the hopeful future she was waiting for each day.
Quote1: "Still," she writes, "what does that matter? I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart." Saturday, 20 June, 1942, pg. 2
Quote 19: "I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn." Tuesday, 4 April, 1944

Jews and Hitler

Nazis gained control over Germany in 1933 after Hitler came to power.Soon the anti-Semitic laws were implemented, which involved hunting down the Jews , imprisoning them and finally  their planned extermination.Hitler reigned  Germany from 1933 to 1945 as the head of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. He became the Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933.He removed unemployment, brought jobs, spent heavily on military activities and suppressed  all civic organizations,labor unions and the government. Hitler was the  Führer everything under his control and with this the persecution of Jews, seizure of their property began. By December 1941 Germany allies controlled almost all of mainland Europe,they were about to occupy Moscow.The countries not under the Nazi Germany were  Spain,  Sweden, Portugal, Switzerland,Vatican, Monaco, Andorra etc.  

 Six million Jews, Slavs, and political prisoners, were  killed,  ten million people were put into forced labor , systematic state-sponsored extermination was carried out.
The persecution and genocide were planned and implemented step by step.Initially legislation
to remove the Jews from civil society,were passed as per the Nuremberg Laws . Concentration camps were established , labor was enforced upon the prison inmates , who were packed tightly in Ghettos, the survivors of these crowded camps were eventually exterminated in gas chambers.History has never witnessed such systematic elimination of mankind before, all the while Germany expanded its boundaries and Hitler brought economic prosperity for the country until one night when the Red Army marched in and Hitler had to take his own life, his ultimate defeat.

UK government reviews ban on HIV-positive health staff | Dental Tribune International

UK government reviews ban on HIV-positive health staff | Dental Tribune International: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
LONDON, UK: The Department of Health in the UK has confirmed that the current policy of preventing HIV-positive surgeons and dentists from working in the UK is under review. Under the Department of Health rules, HIV-positive health workers working in surgery, dentistry and specialist nursing, as well as obstetrics and gynaecology are not permitted to carry out invasive surgery or “exposure-prone procedures” that may pose a blood contamination risk.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Christ

“I am sure of God’s hand and guidance... You must never doubt that I am thankful and glad to go the way which I am being led. My past life is abundantly full of God’s mercy, and, above all sin, stands the forgiving love of the Crucified.”

The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to come between Christ and ourselves -- neither the law, nor personal piety, nor even the world. The discipline always look only to his master, never to Christ and the law, Christ and religion, Christ and the world. ... Only by following Christ alone can he preserve a single eye. ... Thus the heart of the disciple must be set upon Christ alone.

Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals

Q & A: Billy Graham on Aging, Regrets, and Evangelicals | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

When we're young we usually don't think much about growing old, or about our parents growing old either—not until something forces us to think about it. But it will happen, if they live long enough. So the first thing I'd say to those whose parents are growing older is to be prepared for it, and to accept whatever responsibilities it brings you.

Then be patient with them. They may not be able to do everything they once did, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily helpless or incompetent. And be alert to their needs—including their emotional and spiritual needs. Sometimes they just need to know that you're there, and that you care.
And pray for them also, that they will experience God's peace and comfort as they grow older. Some day you'll be there also, and what you do now will be an example to your own children.

Detach Yourself from Your Work - Gill Corkindale - Harvard Business Review

Detach Yourself from Your Work - Gill Corkindale - Harvard Business Review: "- Sent using Google Toolbar
Excerpts--
"Enjoying small things on a daily basis — such as good bread, a favourite café, lovely flowers, using a nice pen, a brisk walk home, reading a book to your child, dinner with your partner, an hour to yourself with a glass of wine ¬— will help you remain relaxed at home and ready for the challenges of work".

Defend Your Research: Guilt-Ridden People Make Great Leaders - Harvard Business Review

Defend Your Research: Guilt-Ridden People Make Great Leaders - Harvard Business Review: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

An answer to pain and suffering in the world

The following is an excerpt from Daily Reflectionby Mark D. Roberts titled

what Helps Us Be Open to God?

This portion today sort of answered my disturbing queries to God on hunger, poverty, pain and sufferings of the innocents.I had been questioning  myself about inequality , injustice, hopelessness in this world, which is beautiful and comfortful for some and hope less for others.

Luke 6:17-21

"those who have little in this life are often more open to God and his kingdom right now. Poverty, hunger, and sadness can help us be open to God in powerful ways. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard well-off American Christians return from mission trips to impoverished places in the world, marveling at the faith and even the joy of the people they met who have almost nothing in the way of material possessions.

Most of us, myself included, do not want to experience want or grief in this life. Yet, the teaching of Jesus in Luke 6 encourages us to allow our struggles and sufferings to open our hearts to God. When we acknowledge our need and our inadequacy, when we own our grief and discouragement, then we realize just how much we need God and his kingdom in our lives. In our weakness, we become open to God’s presence, thus experiencing his blessing and even his joy."

A poor old beggar

i don't get food everyday,
if at all i get, it is either leftover or
just the dull, porridge,
iam a poor old beggar,
life is not easy for me,
each day is a srtuggle,
iam not clean,
my clothes unwashed for many days,
 my beard unshaven,
come near me  and all you will get
an unwelcoming smell,
i have no shelter,
iam a nomad,
the streets are my shelter,
come rain or winter
summer or storm,
i move from one dorm
to another place.
I see the rich with
their swanky cars and
plenty of money
everything puzzles me.
who is responsible for my state
me, myself, society, my parents or God
Now and then i get some job,
then oneday the job is gone
iam to beg again
after much searching ,
i get one for few days again
my strength gone
old age homes have no
place for me.
But as long my heart beats
i need to be surviving,
though i would love to depart from
this cold world
to some warm world
where i get good food to eat.

POEM ON RESURRECTION

RESURRECTION.
'T was a long parting, but the time
For interview had come;
Before the judgment-seat of God,
The last and second time
These fleshless lovers met,
A heaven in a gaze,
A heaven of heavens, the privilege
Of one another's eyes.
No lifetime set on them,
Apparelled as the new
Unborn, except they had beheld,
Born everlasting now.
Was bridal e'er like this?
A paradise, the host,
And cherubim and seraphim
The most familiar guest.

Emily Dickinson
(1830-1886)

water facts

·  884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one in eight people.

·  3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.

·  The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

·  Poor people living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more per liter of water than wealthy people living in the same city.

·  An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typical person in a developing country slum uses in a whole day.

http://water.org

End Water Poverty

End Water Poverty

Water has become the most precious resources today.The failing climate, lack of monsoon, ill developed water conservation methods, deforestation ,excessive exploitation of water resources for industrial purposes has together led to the fast diminishing water table.

as time runs our , water too is running out!

SAVE WATER.

CONSERVE WATER.

USE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY.

TAKE ACTION.

REMEMBER THOSE IN POOR COUNTRIES

LACKING DAILY DRINKING WATER.