Thursday, November 27, 2014

Biblia Files (part 5) - Waiting ....

everystockphoto.com/Advent Light

Advent ... it's all about waiting.

And it's the first event celebrated in the traditional liturgical calendar.  And for 2014, Advent starts Sunday, 30 November and continues to the 4th Sunday on 21 December.
[references:  Advent Days 2014, Liturgical Calendar 2015 (pdf) ]

For more details on this first event of the Christian liturgical calender, check out this fine resource:  Celebrating Advent.  But this video clip gives a good summary and perspective:




In Summary:

Waiting ... Hope ... Anticipation ... before Christmas
Remembering the first coming of Christ to a dark and sinful world
*  Galatians 4:4
*  John 1:14
Anticipating He's coming back on the last day - the second Advent

Meanwhile, while we wait ....

But you, dear friends, 
by building yourselves up in your most holy faith
and praying in the Holy Spirit, 
keep yourselves in God’s love 
as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ 
to bring you to eternal life.


Blessings, my friends, 
      during the Holy Days ...

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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Nostalgia (part 1) - A Father's Thanksgiving Prayer

Wikipedia/Thanksgiving Grace

Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday.  And this holiday has been the focus of some TV specials and episodes in series, especially in the 1950s.  Reflecting on some of the early days of television is a good lead in for this new thread -

nostalgia


a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time:  a nostalgia for his college days.

according to:  nostalgia. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nostalgia

One popular show of the 1950s was  Father Knows Best (1954 - 1960). At its center was a loving family: a hard working father, a wise stay-at-home mother, and three kids growing up in more innocent times.  And it was a time when prayer and patriotism were not banned from public places or ridiculed, but they were encouraged in our culture.

The series first Thanksgiving episode, "Father Knows Best" Thanksgiving Day (TV Episode 1954), focused on this holiday that had started out badly.  But in the end, the family came together and the father prayed with his wife and children.




Though it first aired 60 years ago, this final scene still touches me and fills me with nostalgia.

This father leads, loves, and prays.  And he thanks God for their blessings, which are our blessings: our country and our freedoms, especially personal rights to worship, think, and speak as we choose.  And finally he thanks God for his family and their love for one another.

With the masculine references and King James English, this prayer is as un-PC as it gets.  But these virtues are a good thing to remember and something to reclaim.  The following Scriptures come to mind:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

During this Thanksgiving special, with its religious roots, its nostalgia helps me to -

Remember Who We Are!
   
For its history and its impact on our culture, here is a  good resource for more information for starters:   Thanksgiving - Facts, Origin, Pictures & Videos - History.com


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Thursday, November 20, 2014

CC (part 1) - The Commander and the Chief: His Tribe of One

Cover art by Davis Creative

I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new thriller series:

The Command and the Chief

Book 1
His Tribe of One

Dr. Nova Orlovic has many doubts about President Lincoln Todd’s version of her husband’s death. Educated as a scientist and lawyer, Nova smells a cover-up. Stonewalled and threatened, the "Chief", as Nova is known—she’s half Cheyenne, goes on the warpath against the Todd Administration.

With help from a trusted advisor with long reaching connections, Nova assembles a team of Brits including a Royal Navy medical officer, Commander Reginald Barrett, to get to the bottom of it. During their expedition, the Commander and the Chief annoy each other until mutual respect bonds them. But when they stumble upon evidence that could take down the powerful, will they manage to make it out alive?


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For now its in an eBook form and can be sampled and purchased for:

NOOK devices at Barnes & Noble:  His Tribe of One


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For the latest news, check out:  S. K. Smith - The Commander and the Chief

I will let you know when it comes available in print.

Your readership is most appreciated!

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Photo:   Cover art by Davis Creative

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Pray4America (part 16) - God Bless America, 1938

everystockphoto.com/RoadTrip

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) originally wrote God Bless America for the military revue Yip! Yip! Yaphank! in 1918 during World War I.  Twenty years later, the composer changed a few words, and it was reintroduced on Armistice Day (today, known as, Veterans Day) in 1938 on The Kate Smith Show.  The song - a solemn prayer for peace - tapped into the national psyche as World War II was about to break out.

Below is a dramatization of that reintroduction from the 1943 movie, This is the Army.  One of the stars, Ronald Reagan, is shown at 4:20 in this clip:




As World War One (1914-1918) began 100 years ago and World War Two (1939-1945) 75 years ago, this Veterans Day, let us be grateful for our heroes who sacrificed for freedom and protected us.  Also, may we offer our solemn prayers and ...

Pray for America

May God be gracious to us and bless us

    and make his face shine on us—
that your ways may be known on earth,
    your salvation among all nations.
 
Psalm 67:1,2 (NIV) 


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