Deus Misereatur

Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn't the American Dream by Brian Fikkert My rating: 5 of 5 stars Every Friday morning I dedicate about two hours of my time picking up nearly-expired produce, breads and meats from grocery stores to take to a local Christian food bank. Our church is invested with this service organization doing various drives through the year (collecting toiletries, toilet paper, etc.) and lending a hand at the facility on occasion. What draws us to sink our time and resources into this ministry's work is that they have a bigger aim than just feeding the bellies of their low-income "clients". They set up arrangements for medical care, teach folk how to budget, maintain a network of other resources to aid them, have a kitchen where they will begin conducting classes on cooking soon, and more. But the volunteers and staff also talk with the patrons-in-need about the Bible, their lives and loves, as well as provide biblical material and of...

Stories of Old-Time Oklahoma by David Dary My rating: 5 of 5 stars It's exactly what it says it is: Stories of Old-Time Oklahoma! This 271 page paperback is packed full of select episodes in the unfolding of what became known as Oklahoma. David Dary (deceased March 15, 2018) was a journalist, prolific author and emeritus professor of the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism. He compiled some fifty-five stories into this handy volume. Each narrative lasts between three to four pages, and gives the reader the pleasure of garnering anecdotes and accounts that are not often recollected. The subjects cover lawmen and outlaws, Native Americans and narratives of lost treasures, terrain and territory, as well as stars and garters. Some of the lore follows men like Bass Reeves, the African American lawman who arrested 3,000 outlaws in Indian Territory. Others dig up little known facts such as how Boise City, Oklahoma was the only town in the continental United States actually bomb...

{This congregational prayer is built on Psalm 87} On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God. Selah . Sometimes, Lord, we forget that you love the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Sometimes we think you should cherish our country more than you do your Church. Sometimes our constitutional concerns become more important to us than the cares of your kingdom. So, remembering that you love the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob, we still pray for our country as you have bidden us to do. Tensions abound on the right hand and on the left. Violence raises its beastly head in brutal and bloody ways. The rhetoric of some seems to pour more petrol on the smoldering embers threatening to ignite into a bursting flame. There are places and spaces of injustice in our courts, on our streets, behind closed doors, and out i...