Hippie Rant: Acceptance, Tolerance, Intolerance, and Bigotry

I wrote this for a Blog I used to have on MtSpace.

There were a number of comments I received to things I wrote in that Blog that indicated that some people may know HOW to read, they weren’t able o COMPREHEND WHAT THEY WHERE READING.

I seem to be seeing a lot more from people who seem to have the same problem with understanding that difference between freedom of religion and freedom FROM Christianity.

If ypu know any people like that, feel free to share this with them (just give me due credit). – Ninure da Hippie

Acceptance, Tolerance, Intolerance, and Bigotry

Acceptance: There are peas on my plate. Peas are not my first choice to eat when I am humgry, but I eat them.

Tolerance: There are peas on my plate. I don’t care for peas, I am not that hungry, so I leave them alone.

Intolerance: There are peas on my plate. I HATE peas. I hurl the plate on the floor and jump and down on the peas. I try to file criminal charges against the person who cooked the peas.

Bigotry: There are peas on my plate. Not only do I hate peas, I hate the people who cook them, who grow them, and anyone who likes them. I spend a great deal of my time trying to outlaw peas, and deprive anyone who grows or likes them of their human rights. I proclaim that anyone who has anything to do with peas hates God, abuses children, and is a terrorist.

The Cleaning Lady

Have you ever visited/belong tp a church like the one in this story? Your friendly Hippie is afreaid she has. But guess what? Jesus can be found there too!

The Cleaning Lady

There was a little old cleaning Lady who went to a local church. When the invitation was given at the end of the service, she went forward wanting to become a member. The pastor listened as she told him how she had accepted Jesus and wanted to be baptized and become a member of the church.

The pastor thought to himself, “oh my, she is so unkempt, even smells a little, and her fingernails are not clean. She picks up garbage, cleans toilets – what would the members think of her.” He told her that she needed to go home and pray about it and then decide.

The following week, here she came again. She told the pastor that she had prayed about itand still wanted to be baptized. “I have passed this church for so long. It is so beautiful, and I truly want to become a member.”

Again the pastor told her to go home and pray some more.

A few weeks later while out eating at the restaurant, the pastor saw the little old lady. He did not want her to think that he was ignoring her so he approached her and said, “I have not seen you for a while. Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yes,” she said. “I talked with Jesus, and He told me not to worry about becoming a member of your church.”

“He did?” said the pastor.

“Oh, yes” she replied. “Jesus said he’s been trying to get into your church for years, and even HE can’t get in!”

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Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
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My YouTube Channel
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http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Hope – a poem

Hope

It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.

It sprouts in each occluded eye
of the many-eyed potato,
it lives in each earthworm segment
surviving cruelty,
it is the motion that runs the tail of a dog,
it is the mouth that inflates the lungs
of the child that has just been born.

It is the singular gift
we cannot destroy in ourselves,
the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God.

It is the serum which makes us swear
not to betray one another;
it is in this poem, trying to speak.

~ Lisel Mueller ~

(Alive Together: New and Selected Poems)

Disclaimer: Pursuant to the UCC (Uniform Comedy Code), all depictions of events and persons on this site are more real than reality itself, and therefore any resemblance to reality is not really real.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

You may have noticed the increased amount of notices for you to notice. Some of our notices have not been noticed. This is very noticeable. It has been noticed that the responses to the notices have been noticeably unnoticed. This notice is to remind you to notice the notices and respond to the notices, because we do not want the notices to go unnoticed.

“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”</i

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

You know you’re a…

(Thus a repeat from a couple of years ago, for those of you who do not want to dig thru my archives – Ninire da Hippie)

It seems I am always gettting one of those variations of “You kno you’re a southerner…”.

Tho some of them make me chuckle, I – bwing an African-American Northerner -have never felt comfortable about passing it on to anyone. Even when the person sending it to me was hin/herself a Southerner, there was always something slightly insulting about these things to me. Or least it seems that it would be insulting coming from an “outsider”.

So I am happy to post this for all my fellow notherners – and southern friends as well – to send on whenwver they get one of those “You know you’re a XTZ….”

YOU KNOW YOU’RE A NORTHERNER WHEN…

~ you know the 4 seasons – winter, still winter, not winter and almost winter
~ you design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit
~ you have more miles on your snow blower than your car
~ driving in winter is better, because all the potholes get filled with snow
~ you feel warm and toasty at minus 26
~ you find minus 40 a mite chilly
~ the trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer
~ somewhere in the area is a piece of frozen metal with bits of your tongue stuck to it
~ you thought “Grumpy Old Men” was a documentary
~ men think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightgown with only eight buttons
~ your dog wears boots too
~ the mayor greets you on the street by your first name
~ if you don’t go out for lunch you miss the sunrise and sunset
~ moose leave poopsicles around for the dogs
~ there is a sign outside of McDonalds that says: “Park dogteams in back”
~ if the school district had snow days, no one would ever have to go to school
~ you live in a house that has no front steps, yet the door is one yard above the ground
~ you think the start of deer hunting season is a national holiday
~ you know which leaves make good toilet paper

today’sTHOT============================

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

People often say with pride, “I’m not interested in politics.” They might as well say, “I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future.”
    — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist   (1908-1998)

Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

‘God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!’ (Hugh of St. Victor).

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NOTICE: Due to Presidential Executive Orders, the National Security Agency may have read this Blog without warning, warrant, or notice.

They may do this without any judicial or legislative oversight. You have no recourse nor protection save to call for the impeachment of the current President.

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Patient Amusement – a Stillspeaking Deovtional

Patient Amusement

Mark 8:23

“He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’”

Reflection by Donna Schaper

Wouldn’t you just love to know the tone of voice in Jesus’ words to the blind man? Was he irritated, the way parents talk to teenagers who miss the meaning of the risk they just took? Was he gentle, the way a nurse would talk to a patient in recovery from surgery? Was he clinical, the way an eye doctor would be as she adjusted the lens machine?

I think Jesus was patient, almost amused. Patient because he knew eventually something would work to help the blind man to see. He just didn’t know how much saliva it would take; he knew he had other methodologies. Amused because he was glad beyond glad that he had healing powers and that there was a way to restore sight.

My mother has had glaucoma for almost thirty years now. She is the most patient of patients with her eye drops and would not think of missing or mis-measuring one of them. She follows doctor’s orders in a patient, amused, confident way. She is childlike in her obedience to the doctor’s sight-giving drops. Because of this patient obedience, she keeps the pressure in her eyes constant and has not lost much sight.

Believe it or not, the reason Mrs. Astor gave our church in New York City the money to repair our gorgeous stained glass windows was a blinking bow tie. Yup. She came around to visit and look at the windows – and one of our more eccentric members was there that day wearing a bright red blinking bow tie. She was so amused that she opened her purse. Healing can come from eye drops, saliva, and fancy medical machinations – and from a patient, ready to be amused hope that we can be healed.

Do you want to be well? That was the question Jesus always asked as part of his healings. He knew all will be well. It is just a question of when.

Prayer

O God, when we have lost hope and patience that we can be well, come to us with a lightness of spirit that answers yes to the weary world, yes, we want to be well. Amen.

“I trace the rainbow through the rain and see the promise is not in vain.”

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Resolutions you can keep….

I was talking with a friend of mine about New Year’s Resolutions.

I told him that every year I resolve NOT to make any.

He said, “Well that a poor attitude!! But it’s not to late to put things right. I’m going to send you a list of resolutions you can keep!!”

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS YOU CAN KEEP

Are you sick of making the same resolutions year after year that you never keep? Why not promise to do something you can ACTUALLY accomplish?

Here are some resolutions that you can use as a starting point:

~ Gain weight. At least 30 pounds.
~ Stop exercising. Waste of time.
~ Read less. Makes you think.
~ Watch more TV. I’ve been missing some good stuff.
~ Procrastinate more. Starting tomorrow.
~ Spend more time at work, surfing the web.
~ Take a vacation to someplace important, like to see the world’s largest ball of twine.
~ Don’t jump off a cliff just because everyone else did.
~ Stop bringing lunch from home–eat out more.
~ Don’t have eight children at once.
~ Get in a whole NEW rut!
~ Start being superstitious.
~ Personal goal: Don’t bring back disco.
~ Don’t ride in a car driven by Britney Spears.
~ Speak in a monotone voice and only use monosyllabic words.
~ Only wear jeans that are 2 sizes too small and use a chain or rope for a belt.
~ Spend my summer vacation in cyberspace.
~ Create loose ends.
~ Get more toys.
~ Get further in debt.
~ Don’t believe politicians.
~ Break at least one traffic law.
~ Don’t drive a motorized vehicle across thin ice.
~ Don’t swim with piranhas or sharks.
~ Spread out priorities beyond the ability to keep track of them.
~ Wait for opportunity to knock.
~ Focus on the faults of others.
~ Mope about faults.
~ Never make New Year’s resolutions again.

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Aim low. Reach your goals. Avoid disappointment.

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People often say with pride, “I’m not interested in politics.” They might as well say, “I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future.”
    — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist   (1908-1998)

Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

‘God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!’ (Hugh of St. Victor).

<

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

The Day After Christmas – Humour

I hope that this poem is NOT true for you!! LOL!!

‘Twas The Day After Christmas
David Frank

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house
Children sat slack-jawed, bored on the couch.

Wrappings and toys littered the floor,
An incredible mess that I did abhor.

With Mom in her robe and I in my jeans,
We waded in to get the place clean.

When suddenly the doorbell: it started to clatter,
I sprang to the Security-View to check out the matter.

The new-fallen snow, now blackened with soot,
Was trampled and icy and treacherous to foot.

But suddenly in view, did I gasp and pant:
An unhappy bill collector and eight tiny accountants.

The door flew open and in they came,
Stern-looking men with bills in my name.

On Discover, on Visa, on American Express,
On Mastercard too, I sadly confess,
Right to my limits, then beyond my net worth,
OUer the top I had charged, in a frenzy of mirth.

The black-suited men, so somber, so strict,
I wondered why me that they had first picked.

They stared at me with a look I couldn’t miss,
That said “Buddy, when are you for paying for this?”

I shrugged my shoulders, but then I grew bolder,
Went to the cabinet and pulled out a folder.

“As you can see,” I said with a smile,
“It’s bankruptcy that I’ll have to file!”
And with a swoop of my arm, my middle digit extended
I threw the bills in the fire: the matter had ended.

The scent of burnt ash came to my nose,
As up the chimney my credit-worthiness rose.

Without another word they turned and walked out,
Got into their limos, but one gave a shout:
“You may think that’s the answer to all of your fears,
But it’s nothing you’ll charge for at least seven years!

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/

Christmas is waiting to be born

I heard someone say, as I was at the grocery store, “Somehow it seems to think that I went thru all that for one day, I feel let down somehow.”

It does sometimes seem odd to me to, how we all “gear up for Christmas” and then the day is over, and then the next day “we” go on as if nothing has happnened.

As of waking up from a nice dream into a nightmare, we rrealize that indeed the world has not changed for the better…yet.

How can this be, after all the gifts, all the lights, all the songs, all the feasts? – Ninure da Hippie

Christmas Is Waiting to be Born
Howard Thurman

Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes
And the heart consumes itself, if it would live,
Where little children age before their time,
And life wears down the edges of the mind,
Where the old man sits with mind grown cold
While bones and sinew, blood and cell,
go slowly down to death,
Where fear companions each day’s life,
And Perfect Love seems long delayed,
Christmas is waiting to be born
In you, in me, in all mankind.
Source: The Mood of Christmas

A tale for Christmas Eve

I decided I would repost this..it is one of my favorite Christmas stories.

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us – and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?
- 1 John 3:16-17

The Geese And The Snowstorm

There was once a man who did not believe in either the virgin birth of Christ or the spiritual meaning behind it, and was skeptical even about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in the faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her belief and mocked her religious observances.

“It’s all nonsense — why would God lower himself and become a human like us?

It’s such a ridiculous story,” he said.

One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had departed, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening.

Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window… And, still another thump. He looked outside but could not see anything. So he ventured outside for a better view. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese. They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but they had been caught in the snowstorm.

The storm had become too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles. He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, the barn would be a great place for them to stay. It is warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. Nevertheless, they did not notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear.

He went into the house and came back with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still did not catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety, and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, “Why don’t they follow me?

Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?” He thought for a moment and realized that they just would not follow a human. He said to himself, “How can I possibly save them?

The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them. Then I could save them. They would follow me and I would lead them to safety.” At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: If only I could become like one of them, then I could save them. Then, at last, he understood God’s heart towards mankind…and he fell on his knees in the snow.

Author Unknown

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

===================

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

TOP 20 THINGS OVERHEAD ON THE WISE MEN’S JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM

TOP 20 THINGS OVERHEAD ON THE WISE MEN’S JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM

20. You’ve heard the old saying about the Camel being the ship of the desert?  WELLLLL, I’m getting seasick.

19. OK, we got gold. We got the frankincense.  We got the Myrrh. Think we should get something more practical, like diapers maybe?

18. I thought this was SUPPOSED to be a WEEKEND road trip.  Boy, is my wife ever gonna be ticked when I get home.

17. All this gazing at a star while riding a camel is making me woozy.

16. Wise men. They call us wise men.  What’s so WISE about wandering around the the desert for three years?

15. I still say it wouldn’t hurt to drop by Balthazar’s place for another visit on the way back.  That was SOME buffet!

14. 16 hours a day on a camel.  Are you sure this beats walking?

13. All in all, I’d rather be a shepherd.  All they ever do is stand around and WATCH the stars. We have to FOLLOW one.

12. Time to check the map again, I think we took a wrong turn at Amal’s house.

11. Why should I always have to be in the rear?  It’s somebody else’s turn to get sand in his face.

10. I need to stop at the Bazaar in the next town and pick up one more gift.

9. C’mon, we gotta stop and ask for directions, if we don’t this trip could take years.

8. You guys have any idea how to treat saddle sores?

7. Man, I’m starting to get a rush from this frankincense!

6. You guys ever eat camel meat?  I hear it tastes like chicken.

5. You know, I used to go to school with a girl name Beth Lehem.

4. What kind of name is Balthazar anyhow?  Phoenician?

3. Hey, do you either of you know why “MYRRH” is spelled with a “Y” instead of a “U”?

2. Okay, who forgot to give their camel a bath before we left?

1. Whaddya mean we’ll be part of history?  A year from now, nobody will have a clue why we did this.

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We had cured ham for Christmas dinner. We all wondered what illness it was cured of.

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People often say with pride, “I’m not interested in politics.” They might as well say, “I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future.”
    — Martha Gellhorn, writer/journalist   (1908-1998)

Live simply. Love generously.
Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

‘God does not share his love between all of his creatures; He gives *all* of his love to *each* of His creatures!’ (Hugh of St. Victor).

===================

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc.

This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

This material is distributed without profit

Every 3.6 seconds a real person dies from hunger somewhere in the world!!!
Feed a hungry person today:
http://www.hungersite.com

My YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/Ninure

God is still speaking
http://www.stillspeaking.com

John Mark Ministries
http://jmm.aaa.net.au/