Several people asked Dathan about the poem he read at Devotions.
It is from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and can be found on several websites, here is one: http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html
I've copied the poem and pasted it in full:
On Work:
Kahlil Gibran
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."
But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Heaven Helper Highlights...
Karen leading an Evening Gathering.
Our streetcar ride.
Dinner at Mulate's.
Giving witness at St. John's.
Heaven Helpers Do Sno Balls at Plum Street
This bead encrusted bicycle leaning on a tree next to the Sno-Ball stand fascinated us. We just couldn't imagine the story behind this!!!
It's bling on steroids. Let's you know right away you're in New Orleans.
Sno Balls are a delectable treat that is distinctly New Orleans. They are not snow cones and they are not exactly shaved ice. They have strong heavy syrups over ice, and the flavors are amazing: mint, strawberry 
cheesecake, and cotton candy are taste sensations.
cheesecake, and cotton candy are taste sensations.
Heaven Helper...home again, home again, jiggety jig
What a long/short week!!!!
It was long because the heat and humidity was so constant and demanding, and there was so much to get done.
It was short because there was so much more we wanted to do, and not enough time. It was also short because the team was so harmonious. The time we shared flew by.
It is good to be home. In a lot of ways it was like the end of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy comes back from the technicolor Oz to the real world, but just like Dorothy says, "there's no place like home".
Sometimes people ask why it is important for us to do missions far away from home, when there is plenty of need close to home.
Believe me, the ones of us who have a passion for missions debate this topic regularly and there are many answers, some of which you may never have considered.
First of all, almost all of us do serve locally and serve our families in many critical ways. It is not an either/or proposition. Most of us give our time, our hearts, our offerings, and our work to many causes. We tend to be people who find and keep our faith through action.
Second, these missions have two critical components: (1) building houses, (2) building our St. John's youth. Neither component is more important, nor supersedes the other. When our youth go to places less priviliged than Edwardsville and the Metro East, they learn both appreciation and compassion. We hear these kinds of comments: "I never knew how much my family does for me." "I thought being out of food meant not having anything quick to cook, I'd never before seen empty cupboards and refrigerators." "I realize how lucky we are." And, from a teen aged boy, "I don't say it often enough, and I want to say it in public, I realize now what you provide for me, and I love you, Mom."
Third, taking on missions far away from home requires a different level of commitment. If we schedule even a three day event in the local area, we have people move in and out of the boundaries..."we'll be late", "we'll have to leave early", "we can't spend the night", "we have to", "we can't", "there's a conflict", etc.
When we all pick up and go to Kentucky or South Carolina or West Virginia or New Orleans, we have to have a focused commitment. People have to make plans to serve and the mission is the only game in town.
Finally, travel to interesting and different places is restorative and keeps us from becoming stale and jaded. We have the opportunity to consider alternative ways of organizing life, and different styles and patterns of living. If we open our hearts to the different and new, we have a chance to grow in compassion, and to be less rigid and judgmental. We have the chance to understand that "different" doesn't have to be rated or graded. "Different" doesn't have to be better or worse, it's just another approach to handling this life.
This mission was a wonderful experience. This was our biggest youth mission yet, and we made such an amazing difference. We have no way to know how many lives we touched. Just having a chance to sit in both church services today and hear the testimonies from the various teams was richly rewarding and highly textured.
Here's a great, big "God Bless" to all the followers of our blog, all the members of all the teams, to all the shareholders, to all the members of our St. John's church family and extended family.
It was long because the heat and humidity was so constant and demanding, and there was so much to get done.
It was short because there was so much more we wanted to do, and not enough time. It was also short because the team was so harmonious. The time we shared flew by.
It is good to be home. In a lot of ways it was like the end of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy comes back from the technicolor Oz to the real world, but just like Dorothy says, "there's no place like home".
Sometimes people ask why it is important for us to do missions far away from home, when there is plenty of need close to home.
Believe me, the ones of us who have a passion for missions debate this topic regularly and there are many answers, some of which you may never have considered.
First of all, almost all of us do serve locally and serve our families in many critical ways. It is not an either/or proposition. Most of us give our time, our hearts, our offerings, and our work to many causes. We tend to be people who find and keep our faith through action.
Second, these missions have two critical components: (1) building houses, (2) building our St. John's youth. Neither component is more important, nor supersedes the other. When our youth go to places less priviliged than Edwardsville and the Metro East, they learn both appreciation and compassion. We hear these kinds of comments: "I never knew how much my family does for me." "I thought being out of food meant not having anything quick to cook, I'd never before seen empty cupboards and refrigerators." "I realize how lucky we are." And, from a teen aged boy, "I don't say it often enough, and I want to say it in public, I realize now what you provide for me, and I love you, Mom."
Third, taking on missions far away from home requires a different level of commitment. If we schedule even a three day event in the local area, we have people move in and out of the boundaries..."we'll be late", "we'll have to leave early", "we can't spend the night", "we have to", "we can't", "there's a conflict", etc.
When we all pick up and go to Kentucky or South Carolina or West Virginia or New Orleans, we have to have a focused commitment. People have to make plans to serve and the mission is the only game in town.
Finally, travel to interesting and different places is restorative and keeps us from becoming stale and jaded. We have the opportunity to consider alternative ways of organizing life, and different styles and patterns of living. If we open our hearts to the different and new, we have a chance to grow in compassion, and to be less rigid and judgmental. We have the chance to understand that "different" doesn't have to be rated or graded. "Different" doesn't have to be better or worse, it's just another approach to handling this life.
This mission was a wonderful experience. This was our biggest youth mission yet, and we made such an amazing difference. We have no way to know how many lives we touched. Just having a chance to sit in both church services today and hear the testimonies from the various teams was richly rewarding and highly textured.
Here's a great, big "God Bless" to all the followers of our blog, all the members of all the teams, to all the shareholders, to all the members of our St. John's church family and extended family.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Club NOLA!!! :)
Last day of work :( so sad. There's still so much to do, but we have accomplished a lot. We have a row of OSB board on both sides of the roof and extended the new roof over the old to prevent leaks. We did a lot of straightening and correcting also. We added hurricane clips on all the boards in addition to toe nailing them to strengthen it even more. The youth in our group also had their own "jobs" outside of what we were assigned to do. Ryon and Brandon got a flag and mounted it, while the girls cleaned, caulked, and repainted the home owner's statue of Mary.
Six of Hearts Day 5
Day 5
Morale High
We went to work at 7:30, which is quite early for us.
We returned to our mudding and sanding, finding that we were merging with a Lutheren sect. They seem to work outside most of the time, cleaning up the refuse and debris and cleaning the lawn.
A thing that we noticed was that they were from different parts of the U.S. some were from Pennsylvania, New York, and Georgia. If you are reading this, you know full well that the Six of Hearts is from Illinois. If you are reading this and you didn't know that, you know now.
We continued to press on, finding that the house had a bit of a "fun house" effect. The floor is slanted, along with the kitchen walls being uneven. The King and Queen are trying to place cabinets in the kitchen, with the slight hiccup being that the walls are 2 in. short. The solution: Screw some more planks in and redo them as if they were part of the wall. Utter genius.
As for the bathroom, it is a small room where the heat accumulates quickly, therefore staying in it for extended periods of time is quite unadvised. We have finished the walls, now are trying to drywall the ceiling. It is hard at first, but after we get some pieces in and screw them down, all is well.
The only things left I can think of is the King wants to put a top on the counters, and the bathroom should be drywalled and sanded. Tomorrow (which due to my truancy is now today) is a half-day of work. We shall work hard, and hopefully cover the fiberglass insulation.
Blackjack out.
Note: find the architect clown who designed this place and wring his neck.
Morale High
We went to work at 7:30, which is quite early for us.
We returned to our mudding and sanding, finding that we were merging with a Lutheren sect. They seem to work outside most of the time, cleaning up the refuse and debris and cleaning the lawn.
A thing that we noticed was that they were from different parts of the U.S. some were from Pennsylvania, New York, and Georgia. If you are reading this, you know full well that the Six of Hearts is from Illinois. If you are reading this and you didn't know that, you know now.
We continued to press on, finding that the house had a bit of a "fun house" effect. The floor is slanted, along with the kitchen walls being uneven. The King and Queen are trying to place cabinets in the kitchen, with the slight hiccup being that the walls are 2 in. short. The solution: Screw some more planks in and redo them as if they were part of the wall. Utter genius.
As for the bathroom, it is a small room where the heat accumulates quickly, therefore staying in it for extended periods of time is quite unadvised. We have finished the walls, now are trying to drywall the ceiling. It is hard at first, but after we get some pieces in and screw them down, all is well.
The only things left I can think of is the King wants to put a top on the counters, and the bathroom should be drywalled and sanded. Tomorrow (which due to my truancy is now today) is a half-day of work. We shall work hard, and hopefully cover the fiberglass insulation.
Blackjack out.
Note: find the architect clown who designed this place and wring his neck.
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