Words from the Heart

Photo Credit: (c) 2016 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas The finish line is in site.  The 30 Poems in November challenge is at its end.  One more day of poeming and I will be ready to revise my poems, picking one to read at the celebration held at Smith College's Poetry Center in three weeks. Many, many thanks to family and friends who supported my efforts.  I am blessed, as are our students, by your generosity. For those who may wish to give but haven't yet, simply click on this link: 30 Poems in Nov! Linda Neas . Click on Donate Now and follow the directions.   Today's prompt was to write a love poem (my favorite!).  Here is my contribution: ANOTHER DAY  The alarm serenely plays  a gentle calling to awaken.  I roll over, gathered in by your arms.  Snuggling, we begin our daily ritual of life together.  Giggling over silliness,  we rise to greet the morn,  giving thanks for another day to dance  before breakfast;...

Image via Wikipedia As we round out the holiday look at gifts and giving, let's look at the one gift that is the best gift to give - the gift of self. How do we give this gift?  Well, giving the Gift of Self requires that one be mindful, compassionate, and willing to risk.  Giving of Self can be dangerous.  Your heart can be broken; you make be ridiculed and you may even feel like a fool.  BUT!  The reward - the mitzpah returned - is worth the risk. There are many who give of themselves, daily.  They are the women and men who put their entire lives on the line for their communities, countries and the world.     I offer prayers, daily, for military members, as well as the fire, police and rescue people. Often, unsung heroes, these members of our society risk their lives daily to keep us safe, free from harm and disaster.   Our media can sometimes concentrate too heavily on the bad behaviors of people, causing the rest of us to t...

Image via Wikipedia   God Resting on the Sabbath -  Engraving from First Russian Illustrated Bible Of all the controversy this holiday season, the one that has rattled me more than anything else is the fact that churches are closing their doors on Sunday, because Christmas falls on that particular day of the week this year.  Christian churches with congregations that have opted to "be at home" on Sunday rather than come to church for services. When the subject came up at my congregation, we decided that the church would most definitely be open with Sunday service as usual.  To me this seemed like a no-brainer.  After all, we are Christians; it's Jesus birthday celebration AND it is Sunday, the one day a week given to worship and fellowship by many.  Then, I wondered, what kind of a message are churches that choose to close giving to the world? Interestingly, I am reading a book for my seminary courses that touched on the importance of Sabbath.  S...

Image via Wikipedia After a month-long look at Giving Thanks, I am taking a month-long look at Gift Giving.  Tis' the season in many cultures around the world.  That being so, I will look at some of the aspects of giving, pondering questions such as, who gives; why do we give; are there rules to giving; what are the traditions around giving; when do we give; are there specific ways to give, etc. To begin, I will share a few lines from a little book (literally) by Dean Walley - Gifts of the Heart . "Giving's receiving, Receiving is giving! That's really the secret That lies behind living. So give something each day And you'll find that it's true... All the gifts of the heart Will be given to you." Giving is receiving and receiving is giving...how does this work?  Each time we do a kindness, we give the gift of our self to another through that kindness (Giving does not need to include the exchange of presents.) In accepting that kindness, the person rece...

Clip art from Microsoft   We live in an age where reaching out to someone consists of texting, or tweeting, or chatting online.  We have "friends" from all over the world we have never met.  This is not a problem, it is simply something we should reflect upon. Reaching out to someone in need used to mean that one person physically went to the aid of another.  Often that aid was given face-to-face but sometimes it only meant physically doing something to help the other person.  For instance, there are churches reaching out to their communities by collecting food and clothing to later be distributed to those in need.  The people in the church do not go to the shelters where the food/clothes are distributed; but they do physically bring the donations to the church, thereby, reaching out to others in the community. With our new technologies, actual hands reaching out to each other seldom happens.  We are names, sometimes with faces, often with avatars t...

Literacy is one of the most powerful tools we humans can access. Yet, for many of our brothers and sisters around the world, those in power deny them literacy. Paulo Freire , the esteemed educator from Brazil, taught that when we teach people to speak/read/write, we give them the tools to "read" their world. Most political scientists will attest to the fact that when a power is planning to overtake a population, one of the first things they do is destroy the native language by making it criminal to speak it. When people are not allowed to speak their own language, they cannot "read" (understand) their world. They become fear-filled, thus easy to manipulate. It gives me great pleasure as a teacher of reading and writing to empower my students to be able to utilize the tools they need to understand the world around them. When people are able to communicate with others with confidence, their lives have richness, a depth that is not present when they are unable to rela...