From My Heart

Yesterday was a hot tea and movie kind of day for me. Home alone, just me and the TV...   One of the movies I watched was "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". The very abbreviated story line here is there are a group of British retirees who can't afford to live in England so they end up retiring to this "hotel" for the elderly in India. Of course, when they arrive it was not what they expected. Although, I disagreed with the way most of the adult issues were handled in the  movie, it was very interesting to me to watch how the characters either embraced or rejected the very different culture they found themselves immersed in and how they dealt with their prejudices and stereotypes.   The one line of the movie that leapt out at me was in a scene near the end when the young Indian man who manages the hotel is trying to convince his mother why he should not sell the hotel and give up the love of his life for an arranged marriage and a better job in Delhi. She...

My name is Judie and I am a glutton. Sounds kind of gross doesn't it? It is. In order to write this, I did a quick word study on the word "gluttony". I found some things I did not know, and dispelled one belief that I thought I knew but I was wrong. What do you know about that? I will try to share as quickly as possible... Raise your hand if you believe the "Seven Deadly Sins" are in the Bible....I DID TOO! But guess what? The seven deadly sins were a list compiled by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century. (I just love learning this kind of stuff!) His list included: Pride - because all other sins arise from pride. It makes one want to be more important than others. Envy - wanting something someone else has. Gluttony - overindulgence to the point of waste - nuff said. Lust - obsessive or excessive thoughts of a sexual nature. Anger - uncontrolled feelings of hatred. Greed - wanting more earthly possessions to the point of obsession. Sloth -...

Today, we are going to reach way back into Judah's history and take a look at one of her kings, Hezekiah.   Hezekiah seemed to be one of the good kings. His father, Ahaz, was a truly evil king who allowed every kind of idolatry but who actually nailed the doors to the temple shut. (This one sentence probably begs a whole other post about religious "tolerance" and how Christians are treated in America). When Hezekiah came to power, he came as a reformer. He cleaned house politically, tore down the foreign altars, reopened and cleaned the temple, reinstated the Passover celebration. There was a revival in Judah.   Unfortunately, Hezekiah was a short sighted man who only dealt with problems in the short term and he also developed a little problem of pride. After being spared by God from what should have been a terminal illness, Hezekiah entertains visitors from Babylon. (Babylon at this time was an up and coming empire, but students of history will remember that fut...