Deus Misereatur

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. Penguin Books www.penguinrandomhouse.com September 2015 ISBN: 9780143127741; $18.00 5 Stars of 5 Stars After being struck by trauma – combat, auto accident, assault, abuse – why do the dreams come and come and come? From where does the anxiety, distractedness, or outburst originate? Are there reasons for the gut balling up into a knot and the chest squeezing tight and feeling like it will implode when unwanted memories of the distress invade? Why does the recall come in pieces, chunks, or flashes? And then there’s the inability to communicate, the mental shut-down, the emotional-frigidity; what is that all about?   Is there any way to move from the trauma and its aftermath to some sense of genuine wellbeing? All of these subjects, and more, are covered by Bessel van der Kolk, founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts, professor ...

Praying for Your Missionary: How Prayers from Home Can Reach the Nations Eddie Byun IVP Academic IVPress.com December 2018 ISBN: 978-0-8308-4556-9; $16.00 5 Stars of 5 Stars I’ve seen it happen too many times: someone is sent out to another place to take the Gospel of Jesus to people in other locations, and after a flurry of emails and letters, they slowly become fairly forgotten. Or an indigenous evangelist and church-birther will visit an American church and rouse liberality and liveliness. But once they’re out of sight, they quickly go out of mind. Eddie Byun, missions and teaching pastor of Venture Christian Church in Los Gatos, California, and author of Justice Awakening and Praying for Your Pastor , has delivered a great tool for Christians and churches in his brand-spanking-new 192 page paperback, “Praying for Your Missionary: How Prayers from Home Can Reach the Nations”. This little volume is user-friendly, prayer-friendly, missionary-friendly, an...

["Mother and Child" watercolor by Jehuda Rodan (1916-1985). Accessed on 24 December 2018 at Kodner ] ( The audio file is here ) Christmas Eve 2018 God Sent Forth his Son, Born of a Woman Galatians 4.1-7 ALMIGHTY God, who has given us your unique, one-of-a-kind, only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we, being regenerate and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit ever, one God. Amen. It’s an interesting situation. Paul could have said other things or just left well-enough alone, but he follows the path of the Gospel records to emphasize what would have been fairly unpopular in his day. It’s like he’s piling on objectional statements, one right after the other, stacking them on thick. And each statement is a classification in its own right.   When the fullness of time had come – not ...

Glory be to God on high: and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise you, we bless you, we worship you: we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory! Great King and Sovereign look upon our country and the peoples of this world; watch over the plans and intentions of our Oklahoma State Senators and representatives, our national legislators, and every world leader. May all come to know your peace on earth by becoming men and women of goodwill. O God of armies send forth your angels to preserve and protect our greater Oklahoma City area firefighters, police officers, Sheriffs, deputies, and Troopers, and our military members, particularly those who are close to danger, at home or abroad. Yahweh rapha, Lord our healer, sustain and direct our doctors, PAs, nurses, First Responders, and specialists – especially those who are on call or working through Christmas. Thank you for their help and availability; and may they know they are appreciated and that ...