Cool morning
It's been hot and humid lately here in OK City. Nice thing is, it's not always humid the whole Summer, like it is in Houston where we came from -- we get a break sometimes.
A front came through this weekend, and after the rain, the humidity and the temperature dropped. Shirley and I did Evening Prayer Sun evening by the lighthouse at Lake Hefner. And we had a nice walk together, except for the gnats. But the weather was nice.
I walked out the door this morning to go to work, and it felt so much better -- a lot cooler and the humidity was low. It was very refreshing, and a surprise, and nice to begin the day with. Our great God comes to us like that -- with His refreshing peace and Presence, and it changes everything.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
So go out and live real good
and I promise you, if you do, you're gonna get beat up real bad. But, a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars...when you wash up on that other shore, even though you've been disfigured beyond any recognition, the angels are gonna see you there and they're gonna go, 'What is THIS? We're not even sure if it's human!' But Jesus will say, 'No...that's human. I know that one.'
-- Rich Mullins, shared at a concert on his last tour
and I promise you, if you do, you're gonna get beat up real bad. But, a little while after you're dead, you'll be rotted away anyway. It's not gonna matter if you have a few scars...when you wash up on that other shore, even though you've been disfigured beyond any recognition, the angels are gonna see you there and they're gonna go, 'What is THIS? We're not even sure if it's human!' But Jesus will say, 'No...that's human. I know that one.'
-- Rich Mullins, shared at a concert on his last tour
Making art
Mike Roe, incredible guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the 77's, the Lost Dogs, and a solo artist, was asked what the role of a christian is in making art. "I would say that the first role would be to do art, and then, to do it as good as you can with as much attention to quality as possible....When that's happening, then the art will reflect who you are, and if you're a christian, it will reflect where you are at that moment, the amount of faith you have, and the journey of your life with Christ, with its ups and downs."
Mike Roe, incredible guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the 77's, the Lost Dogs, and a solo artist, was asked what the role of a christian is in making art. "I would say that the first role would be to do art, and then, to do it as good as you can with as much attention to quality as possible....When that's happening, then the art will reflect who you are, and if you're a christian, it will reflect where you are at that moment, the amount of faith you have, and the journey of your life with Christ, with its ups and downs."
John Michael Talbot’s Little Portion hermitage chapel and common bldg destroyed by fire
From JMT - Written on Tuesday, May 29,2008
Greetings!
Last night the sleep of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, Monastic, was interrupted close to midnight as a raging fire burned our Chapel and Common Center to the ground. Viola and I were the first on the scene as I saw the orange/red glow through our hermitage's back windows. Upon arriving we found there were no hoses capable of stopping the raging flames. I ran up the hill and woke up the community, and we started the almost futile task of spraying down the part of the Common Center that had not yet burned and retrieving anything from inside we could still find.
Although I have seen some house fires, I have never seen anything this big. The flames reached high into the sky. The smoke was very dense, as was the heat. Despite this, our people ventured into the smoky building to retrieve whatever they could reach. Some of us suffered from smoke inhalation. I spent a lot of time trying to get people out of the building before it exploded into flames. We finally surrendered to the inevitability that our Chapel and Common building were going to burn to the ground before the fire company could get to us.
After 30 to 40 minutes the firemen and women began to arrive, followed soon after by the fire trucks and water trucks. Four fire companies responded and did heroic and valiant work at saving the other buildings from being consumed. We are most grateful for our volunteer fire departments!
We lost some most valuable things in the fire. Our community archives were lost and all of the books in our library. The Troubadour stockroom and inventory were lost to the flames. All of the various awards received were melted in the intense heat of the fire. We have some back-ups from computers, but nothing current. It is our hope that most of this is covered by our insurance.
God gave members various words or locutions. I shared that God is stripping us back to what is really essential to our way of life and that we will rebuild with greater efficiency, but in stone. Someone got the image of Gideon, who was repeatedly told by the Lord that he needed fewer men, but men well-prepared for battle. Another said that she got a word that God is with us through this trial. These served to inspire us and to keep our spirits hopeful and filled with faith, hope, and love. I believe we may have lost some buildings, but He will make us stronger for going through this together.
For the immediate future we will pray at our Portiuncula Chapel, which was untouched by the fire (as was most of our Prayer Garden). We will use some vacant hermitages for common meals and community meetings. Another will serve as a temporary office. Many have offered their homes and guest houses to us, but we will get by and keep the praying heart of the Hermitage alive in the months ahead.
Eventually we will have to rebuild. We will rebuild with stone and earth in a way that is environmentally "green." At that point we may ask for donations from our benevolent benefactors. We are humbled and grateful beyond mere words for the outpouring of offers to help with food, housing and other things.
In Jesus,
John Michael Talbot
Founder, and Spiritual Father
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage
Would You Like To Help?
We sincerely appreciate any donation you can make to assist in the rebuilding of Little Portion Hermitage Monastery. Your kind donation is tax deductible.
Your continued prayers and generosity are greatly valued. Please know that our community prays for each of you.
Sincerely,
Jim Cosgrove, Operations Manager
John Michael Talbot Ministries
Troubadour for the Lord Music
www.myspace.com/johnmichaeltalbot
www.johnmichaeltalbot.com
From JMT - Written on Tuesday, May 29,2008
Greetings!
Last night the sleep of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, Monastic, was interrupted close to midnight as a raging fire burned our Chapel and Common Center to the ground. Viola and I were the first on the scene as I saw the orange/red glow through our hermitage's back windows. Upon arriving we found there were no hoses capable of stopping the raging flames. I ran up the hill and woke up the community, and we started the almost futile task of spraying down the part of the Common Center that had not yet burned and retrieving anything from inside we could still find.
Although I have seen some house fires, I have never seen anything this big. The flames reached high into the sky. The smoke was very dense, as was the heat. Despite this, our people ventured into the smoky building to retrieve whatever they could reach. Some of us suffered from smoke inhalation. I spent a lot of time trying to get people out of the building before it exploded into flames. We finally surrendered to the inevitability that our Chapel and Common building were going to burn to the ground before the fire company could get to us.
After 30 to 40 minutes the firemen and women began to arrive, followed soon after by the fire trucks and water trucks. Four fire companies responded and did heroic and valiant work at saving the other buildings from being consumed. We are most grateful for our volunteer fire departments!
We lost some most valuable things in the fire. Our community archives were lost and all of the books in our library. The Troubadour stockroom and inventory were lost to the flames. All of the various awards received were melted in the intense heat of the fire. We have some back-ups from computers, but nothing current. It is our hope that most of this is covered by our insurance.
God gave members various words or locutions. I shared that God is stripping us back to what is really essential to our way of life and that we will rebuild with greater efficiency, but in stone. Someone got the image of Gideon, who was repeatedly told by the Lord that he needed fewer men, but men well-prepared for battle. Another said that she got a word that God is with us through this trial. These served to inspire us and to keep our spirits hopeful and filled with faith, hope, and love. I believe we may have lost some buildings, but He will make us stronger for going through this together.
For the immediate future we will pray at our Portiuncula Chapel, which was untouched by the fire (as was most of our Prayer Garden). We will use some vacant hermitages for common meals and community meetings. Another will serve as a temporary office. Many have offered their homes and guest houses to us, but we will get by and keep the praying heart of the Hermitage alive in the months ahead.
Eventually we will have to rebuild. We will rebuild with stone and earth in a way that is environmentally "green." At that point we may ask for donations from our benevolent benefactors. We are humbled and grateful beyond mere words for the outpouring of offers to help with food, housing and other things.
In Jesus,
John Michael Talbot
Founder, and Spiritual Father
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage
Would You Like To Help?
We sincerely appreciate any donation you can make to assist in the rebuilding of Little Portion Hermitage Monastery. Your kind donation is tax deductible.
Your continued prayers and generosity are greatly valued. Please know that our community prays for each of you.
Sincerely,
Jim Cosgrove, Operations Manager
John Michael Talbot Ministries
Troubadour for the Lord Music
www.myspace.com/johnmichaeltalbot
www.johnmichaeltalbot.com
Hello all,
Sorry I haven't posted anything here in a while. I've been quite busy, and caught the myspace disease, and things I would have posted here ended up on that blog. So today I'll cut and paste a couple of things over here.
Peace of Christ to you,
Fr. Francis Robert
monk/priest/husband/father/drummer & writer
Sorry I haven't posted anything here in a while. I've been quite busy, and caught the myspace disease, and things I would have posted here ended up on that blog. So today I'll cut and paste a couple of things over here.
Peace of Christ to you,
Fr. Francis Robert
monk/priest/husband/father/drummer & writer
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