Asparagus festival, hold the asparagus
Empire, Mich. ----------- The missing ingredient at this weekend's Empire Asparagus Festival is asparagus.
The long, cold winter and cool spring have delayed this year's crop in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula, leaving festival organizers scrambling for a replacement source. The Traverse City Record-Eagle said the festival's usual supplier is Harry Norconk, but that Norconk Farm doesn't have an asparagus crop yet.
Norconk said sufficient asparagus won't be available before Tuesday. He said he's sold as much as 500 pounds of asparagus at earlier festivals. This year, restaurant owners will source asparagus supplies from southern Michigan to meet the demand.
The sun never sets on a .......... oh, wait, it does
London ------------ A London skyscraper that drew ire for having a glare so strong that it melted nearby cars and shops will get a permanent fix.
The offending tower --------- known as the Walkie-Talkie for its curved, bulging shape -------is to have asunshade attached to its south-facing facade to stop the concave surface from reflecting sunlight and beaming concentrated rays to a nearby street, developers said Thursday.
The 37-story building made headlines in September when a Jaguar owner who parked his car at its foot complained that the solar glare melted part of the vehicle. Local shopkeepers also said the beams blistered paintwork and burned a hole in a floor mat during the hottest parts of the day.
A fish in troubled waters
North Royalton, Ohio ---------- A northern Ohio teenager is reeling in attention for a big catch after he spotted a 3-foot carp swimming in receding floodwaters on his street and scooped it into his arms as his mother caught the scene on video.
North Royalton resident Jake Sawyer, 16, waded through more than ankle-deepwater as he stalked the big fish in the dark earlier this week and eventually trapped it. First he tried to throw a towel over it to stun it. He said when that didn't work, he tried to push it toward a curb.
Sawyer said heavy rains that day had caused flash flooding as high as his mailbox, and he suspects the large grass carp slipped out of a nearby pond as the water rose. He said he wanted to ensure the fish didn't become trapped and die in the street, so he carried it back to the pond. He estimates it weighted 40 pounds.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Is Heaven for Real ?
The movie "Heaven Is for Real," based on The New York Times best-seller of the same name, made an impressive debut recently. The film recounts the near-death experience (NDE) of then 4-year-old Colton Burpo as told by his father, a Nebraska pastor. While already grossing more than double its $12 million budget, the movie is generating substantial debate about the reality of such experiences and the nature of heaven. Following closely on the heels of "Son of God," "God Is Not Dead," and "Noah," "Heaven is for Real" is the fourth major faith-based or Bible-inspired movie released in 2014.
The images of heaven supplied by NDEs have fascinated many Americans since the publication of two books in 1975. "Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon ----- Survival of Bodily Death" and "Beyond Death's Door," by Raymond Moody and Maurice Rawlings, respectively, featured dozens of accounts of these experiences. Moody and Rawlings were physicans at the time.
Soon thereafter, blockbuster narratives appeared. Betty Maltz's 1977 book, "My Glimpse of Eternity," and Richard Eby's 1978 book, "Caught Up into Paradise," set the pattern, but the most dramatic and controversial account of a NDE in the last quarter of the 20th century was in 1992 with Native American Betty J. Eadie's "Embraced by the Light." During the time she was clinically dead, she met "Christ, the Creator and Savior of the Earth," and felt "unconditional love."
Christians debate the validity and value of these NDE accounts, including the one described in "Heaven Is for Real." Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who produced HBO's "The Bible and Son of God" series, laud the film. Bishop T.D. Jakes, the pastor of The Potter's House, a Dallas negachurch, who helped produce the movie, argues that it provides inspiration and hope. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, insists that the film shows how the purity and innocence of a child enables him "to see what others do not see." He and others urge church members to see the movie, and the blogosphere abounds with praise for "Heaven Is for Real." The movie's supporters also emphasize that Colton supplies details about meeting family members in heaven who had died before he was born and he had not been told about.
Other Christian leaders, however, sharply criticize the movie. John MacArthur, a Baptist author, radio show host and pastor in Sun Valley, Calif., protests that the book and movie are "a hoax" that "has nothing to do with Christianity" or the Bible. Those who believe in the authority of the Bible, he adds, must conclude that "these modern testimonies ----- with their relentless self-focus and the relatively scant attention they pay to the glory of God ----- are simply untrue." MacArthur continues, saying, "They are either figments of the human imagination (dreams, hallucinations, false memories, fantasies, and in the worst cases, deliberate lies), or else they are products of demonic deception."
On the other hand, numerous investigators accentuate the positive benefits of NDEs. Moody, for example, claimed that every subject he interviewed "had a very deep and positive transformation." As a result of their experiences, Moody reported, people lost the fear of dying and lived lives dominated by love. They developed a "profound appreciation of life" and a deeper spirituality.
Many Christians appear to agree with philosopher Jerry Walls that "NDEs have given many people fresh reason to hope for life after death." Although these experiences are not an essential grounds for believing in the Christian doctrine of heaven, he argues, they do supply glimpses of "realities we know about from the revelation of Scripture and Christian tradition."
Burpo, Neal and Alexander have been interviewed on leading television talk shows, and "Newsweek" and "Christianity Today" have included features articles about the afterlife. The brisk sales of these books, the popularity of "Heaven Is for Real" and the tremendous interest in heaven teestify to the human desire to know both what the afterlife is like and to live beyond theis world.
For Christians, the teachings of the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus provide the primary reason for believing in heaven. Nevertheless, many Christians find firsthand accounts of journeys to heaven to be fascinating and reassuring. These experiences confirm scriptural teaching that they will be reunited with loved ones and have a more intimate relationship with God. Because of their belief in the afterlife and desire to go to heaven, many find NDEs both encouraging and comforting.
The images of heaven supplied by NDEs have fascinated many Americans since the publication of two books in 1975. "Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon ----- Survival of Bodily Death" and "Beyond Death's Door," by Raymond Moody and Maurice Rawlings, respectively, featured dozens of accounts of these experiences. Moody and Rawlings were physicans at the time.
Soon thereafter, blockbuster narratives appeared. Betty Maltz's 1977 book, "My Glimpse of Eternity," and Richard Eby's 1978 book, "Caught Up into Paradise," set the pattern, but the most dramatic and controversial account of a NDE in the last quarter of the 20th century was in 1992 with Native American Betty J. Eadie's "Embraced by the Light." During the time she was clinically dead, she met "Christ, the Creator and Savior of the Earth," and felt "unconditional love."
Christians debate the validity and value of these NDE accounts, including the one described in "Heaven Is for Real." Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, who produced HBO's "The Bible and Son of God" series, laud the film. Bishop T.D. Jakes, the pastor of The Potter's House, a Dallas negachurch, who helped produce the movie, argues that it provides inspiration and hope. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, insists that the film shows how the purity and innocence of a child enables him "to see what others do not see." He and others urge church members to see the movie, and the blogosphere abounds with praise for "Heaven Is for Real." The movie's supporters also emphasize that Colton supplies details about meeting family members in heaven who had died before he was born and he had not been told about.
Other Christian leaders, however, sharply criticize the movie. John MacArthur, a Baptist author, radio show host and pastor in Sun Valley, Calif., protests that the book and movie are "a hoax" that "has nothing to do with Christianity" or the Bible. Those who believe in the authority of the Bible, he adds, must conclude that "these modern testimonies ----- with their relentless self-focus and the relatively scant attention they pay to the glory of God ----- are simply untrue." MacArthur continues, saying, "They are either figments of the human imagination (dreams, hallucinations, false memories, fantasies, and in the worst cases, deliberate lies), or else they are products of demonic deception."
On the other hand, numerous investigators accentuate the positive benefits of NDEs. Moody, for example, claimed that every subject he interviewed "had a very deep and positive transformation." As a result of their experiences, Moody reported, people lost the fear of dying and lived lives dominated by love. They developed a "profound appreciation of life" and a deeper spirituality.
Many Christians appear to agree with philosopher Jerry Walls that "NDEs have given many people fresh reason to hope for life after death." Although these experiences are not an essential grounds for believing in the Christian doctrine of heaven, he argues, they do supply glimpses of "realities we know about from the revelation of Scripture and Christian tradition."
Burpo, Neal and Alexander have been interviewed on leading television talk shows, and "Newsweek" and "Christianity Today" have included features articles about the afterlife. The brisk sales of these books, the popularity of "Heaven Is for Real" and the tremendous interest in heaven teestify to the human desire to know both what the afterlife is like and to live beyond theis world.
For Christians, the teachings of the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus provide the primary reason for believing in heaven. Nevertheless, many Christians find firsthand accounts of journeys to heaven to be fascinating and reassuring. These experiences confirm scriptural teaching that they will be reunited with loved ones and have a more intimate relationship with God. Because of their belief in the afterlife and desire to go to heaven, many find NDEs both encouraging and comforting.
Pray for a Change
My family always said grace before dinner. We thanked God for the bounty my mother prepared, except for the Brussels spouts my little brother stuffed in his pockets and I tossed beneath my chair. When mom discovered the mess we'd made, it was truly time to bow our heads and say our prayers.
When I slept at grandma's house as a young child, I'd kneel beside the bed and recite prayers. Then I'd lie in bed and hear her whisper prayers in Italian. I swear I heard a hosanna choir.
We prayed in church, in hospitals for the sick, and at funerals for the deceased. I even remember kneeling and praying in front of the TV as a 10-year-old, hoping Bart Starr wouldn't quarterback sneak the Packers past the Cowboys in the final seconds of the NFL Championship. That prayer went unanswered. Who knew God favored Lombardi the Catholic over Landry the Methodist?
In each instance, prayer was appropriate, if not always answered, and no one felt excluded.
The same cannot be said of those negatively affected by the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 opinion Monday that allows local government officials to begin public meetings with a prayer. The case refers to local religious leaders in Greece, N.Y., who were invited to begin the town's monthly meetings with a prayer. Between 1999 and 2007, nearly all the clerics were Christian, and the town did nothing to encourage members of other faiths to give the prayer. That angered some non-Christians who attended meetings, and two women filed suit, contending the policy violated the First Amendment ban on establishment of religion.
The high court viewed it differently, ruling that sectarian invocations at public meetings aren't unconstitutional as long as attendees aren't forced to join in reciting the prayer or feel coerced to convert to a religion.
But how could those attending such meetings not feel marginalized? If all prayers were delivered by a Christian clergy member, how would Jews, Buddhists, Islamists, Hindus, Taoists or followers of other non-Christian religions feel. Or non-believers? It may not sound like such a big deal until it's not the prayer of your faith. If each town meeting were to begin with an Islamic prayer, or salaat, instead of a Christian one, you can bet sparks would-fly. Opinions would be different if the prayer was on the other foot.
I'm one who believes in God, and have wrung my hands as a young boy after mistakenly eating a hot dog on Friday during Lent. But is open prayer at a government meeting necessary? Can't we pray in the car on the way to the meeting or when we return home? That way, no one would feel offended or marginalized at the meeting, and we'd all enjoy a direct line to our deity.
Justice Elena Kagan, expressing the opinion for the dissenters, framed the issue perfectly.
"When the citizens of this country approach their government, they do so only as Americans, not as members of one faith or other," she wrote. "They should not confront government-sponsored worship that divides them along religious lines."
Open prayer has its place: before unpopular dinner vegetables are dumped on the floor; before bed; before the altar; before the infirm and the dead; and before a quarterback sneaks into the end zone and brings a 10-year-old to his knees.
But not before discussions about sidewalk easements and property taxes.
When I slept at grandma's house as a young child, I'd kneel beside the bed and recite prayers. Then I'd lie in bed and hear her whisper prayers in Italian. I swear I heard a hosanna choir.
We prayed in church, in hospitals for the sick, and at funerals for the deceased. I even remember kneeling and praying in front of the TV as a 10-year-old, hoping Bart Starr wouldn't quarterback sneak the Packers past the Cowboys in the final seconds of the NFL Championship. That prayer went unanswered. Who knew God favored Lombardi the Catholic over Landry the Methodist?
In each instance, prayer was appropriate, if not always answered, and no one felt excluded.
The same cannot be said of those negatively affected by the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 opinion Monday that allows local government officials to begin public meetings with a prayer. The case refers to local religious leaders in Greece, N.Y., who were invited to begin the town's monthly meetings with a prayer. Between 1999 and 2007, nearly all the clerics were Christian, and the town did nothing to encourage members of other faiths to give the prayer. That angered some non-Christians who attended meetings, and two women filed suit, contending the policy violated the First Amendment ban on establishment of religion.
The high court viewed it differently, ruling that sectarian invocations at public meetings aren't unconstitutional as long as attendees aren't forced to join in reciting the prayer or feel coerced to convert to a religion.
But how could those attending such meetings not feel marginalized? If all prayers were delivered by a Christian clergy member, how would Jews, Buddhists, Islamists, Hindus, Taoists or followers of other non-Christian religions feel. Or non-believers? It may not sound like such a big deal until it's not the prayer of your faith. If each town meeting were to begin with an Islamic prayer, or salaat, instead of a Christian one, you can bet sparks would-fly. Opinions would be different if the prayer was on the other foot.
I'm one who believes in God, and have wrung my hands as a young boy after mistakenly eating a hot dog on Friday during Lent. But is open prayer at a government meeting necessary? Can't we pray in the car on the way to the meeting or when we return home? That way, no one would feel offended or marginalized at the meeting, and we'd all enjoy a direct line to our deity.
Justice Elena Kagan, expressing the opinion for the dissenters, framed the issue perfectly.
"When the citizens of this country approach their government, they do so only as Americans, not as members of one faith or other," she wrote. "They should not confront government-sponsored worship that divides them along religious lines."
Open prayer has its place: before unpopular dinner vegetables are dumped on the floor; before bed; before the altar; before the infirm and the dead; and before a quarterback sneaks into the end zone and brings a 10-year-old to his knees.
But not before discussions about sidewalk easements and property taxes.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
To heal the world, God needs our help
On the island of St. Thomas, there is a mountain that dominates the beautiful landscape. One place that offers a breathtaking view of the land and the water is called "Lookout Point." There is a sign erected by a real estate company on the site that reads:
"View courtesy of Scott-Free Estates, with a little help from G-d"
That sign echoes a Jewish teaching on the song of thanksgiving that our ancestors sang after they crossed the Red Sea in safety,which was about the barrier that separated them from Egyptian slavery behind them and the freedom that was ahead of them.
In their relief and exuberance they proclaimed. "This is my G-d and I will glorify him........."
The ancient Jewish sages took the Hebrew word V'anveyhu (and I will glorify him),and broke it into two Hebrew words, Ani and V'hu (I and He). "I and He" is a great partnership. Man and G-d are joined together in a wide variety of sacred enterprises, and they are dependent upon each other.
An agricultural college in Iowa did a study on the production of 100 bushels of corn on one acre of land. The farmer contributed the labor and G-d provided a few things, as well:
Just as human beings depend on G-d, so too does G-d depend on human beings. "I and He." G-d can no more do without us than we can do without G-d.
Even the Passover story was interpreted by our sages in such a way that the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea was not a solo performance by the Almighty. The Israelites made their vital contribution. Our sages said, "The sea did not part for them until they entered the waters up to their nostrils." Without the faith and courage of the Israelites who ventured into the stormy sea, there would have been no miracle. "I and He."
Perhaps it may sound blasphemous or irreverent, but a mature understanding of G-d should include an awareness of how much G-d needs us. There is not a single challenge that we face ------ war, poverty, pollution, injustice ------- that G-d can remaove without our cooperation. There is no blessing we pray for ------ world peace, food, shelter for all, clean air and a just society ------- that G-d can bring without our cooperation.
G-d is the power who works in us and through us to enable us to achieve those things that our faith in him assures us are capable of coming into being. "I and He."
G-d helps the poor with the charity we give, he heals the sick with the skill and support we provide, he comforts the bereaved with words we speak, and he blesses our lives with the good deeds that we perform.
"We and G-d," wrote William James, "have business with each other and in that business our highest destiny is fulfilled."
As we contemplate the sacred meanings of Passover and Easter, may our prayers and rituals inspire us to strengthen the holy partnership that is "I and He."
May yours be a blessing.Rabbi Howard K. Cove is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Emet, Yardley. From a Faith Perspective is a weekly column written by members of Lower Bucks faith communities.
"View courtesy of Scott-Free Estates, with a little help from G-d"
That sign echoes a Jewish teaching on the song of thanksgiving that our ancestors sang after they crossed the Red Sea in safety,which was about the barrier that separated them from Egyptian slavery behind them and the freedom that was ahead of them.
In their relief and exuberance they proclaimed. "This is my G-d and I will glorify him........."
The ancient Jewish sages took the Hebrew word V'anveyhu (and I will glorify him),and broke it into two Hebrew words, Ani and V'hu (I and He). "I and He" is a great partnership. Man and G-d are joined together in a wide variety of sacred enterprises, and they are dependent upon each other.
An agricultural college in Iowa did a study on the production of 100 bushels of corn on one acre of land. The farmer contributed the labor and G-d provided a few things, as well:
- 4,000,000 pounds of water
- 6,800 pounds of oxygen
- 5,200 pounds of carbon
- 125 pounds of potassium
- 160 pounds of nitrogen
- 1,900 pounds of carbon dioxide
- 75 pounds of yellow sulphur
- 50 pounds of calcium
- 40 pounds of phosphorus
Just as human beings depend on G-d, so too does G-d depend on human beings. "I and He." G-d can no more do without us than we can do without G-d.
Even the Passover story was interpreted by our sages in such a way that the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea was not a solo performance by the Almighty. The Israelites made their vital contribution. Our sages said, "The sea did not part for them until they entered the waters up to their nostrils." Without the faith and courage of the Israelites who ventured into the stormy sea, there would have been no miracle. "I and He."
Perhaps it may sound blasphemous or irreverent, but a mature understanding of G-d should include an awareness of how much G-d needs us. There is not a single challenge that we face ------ war, poverty, pollution, injustice ------- that G-d can remaove without our cooperation. There is no blessing we pray for ------ world peace, food, shelter for all, clean air and a just society ------- that G-d can bring without our cooperation.
G-d is the power who works in us and through us to enable us to achieve those things that our faith in him assures us are capable of coming into being. "I and He."
G-d helps the poor with the charity we give, he heals the sick with the skill and support we provide, he comforts the bereaved with words we speak, and he blesses our lives with the good deeds that we perform.
"We and G-d," wrote William James, "have business with each other and in that business our highest destiny is fulfilled."
As we contemplate the sacred meanings of Passover and Easter, may our prayers and rituals inspire us to strengthen the holy partnership that is "I and He."
May yours be a blessing.Rabbi Howard K. Cove is the spiritual leader of Congregation Kol Emet, Yardley. From a Faith Perspective is a weekly column written by members of Lower Bucks faith communities.
Kennections
All five correct answers have something in common.
Can you figure out what it is ?
1. Which of Disney's Seven Dwarfs wears glasses?
2. Which of the Bluth brothers on TV's Arrested Development had his hand bitten off by a seal?
3. In what city would you find Progressive Field, where baseball's Indians play their home games?
4. What perfume, which made a record $10 million in its first year of sale in 1973, was named for the man who founded Revlon?
5. The 18th-century scholars Ephraim Chambers and Denis Diderot are best known for compiling what kind of reference work?
Bonus : What's the "Kennection" between all five answers?
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Answers : 1. Doc
2. Buster
3. Cleveland
4. Charlie
5. Encyclopedia
Bonus : All are fictional characters named "Brown"
Can you figure out what it is ?
1. Which of Disney's Seven Dwarfs wears glasses?
2. Which of the Bluth brothers on TV's Arrested Development had his hand bitten off by a seal?
3. In what city would you find Progressive Field, where baseball's Indians play their home games?
4. What perfume, which made a record $10 million in its first year of sale in 1973, was named for the man who founded Revlon?
5. The 18th-century scholars Ephraim Chambers and Denis Diderot are best known for compiling what kind of reference work?
Bonus : What's the "Kennection" between all five answers?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. Doc
2. Buster
3. Cleveland
4. Charlie
5. Encyclopedia
Bonus : All are fictional characters named "Brown"
Pop Quiz (Singer & Hit Song)
Match the Singer to the Hit Song
1. Robert Goulet A) Wheel of Fortune
2. Perry Como B) My Way
3. Eydie Gorme C) Little White Lies
4. Kay Starr D) On the Street Where You Live
5. Frank Sinatra E) If Ever I Would Leave You
6. Dick Haymes F) I Believe
7. Alice Faye G) If He Walked into My Life
8. Kate Smith H) Prisoner of Love
9. Vic Damone I) God Bless America
10. Frankie Laine J) You'll Never Know
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Answers : 1. E ; 2. H ; 3. G ; 4. A ; 5. B ; 6. C ; 7. J ; 8. I ; 9. D ; 10. F
1. Robert Goulet A) Wheel of Fortune
2. Perry Como B) My Way
3. Eydie Gorme C) Little White Lies
4. Kay Starr D) On the Street Where You Live
5. Frank Sinatra E) If Ever I Would Leave You
6. Dick Haymes F) I Believe
7. Alice Faye G) If He Walked into My Life
8. Kate Smith H) Prisoner of Love
9. Vic Damone I) God Bless America
10. Frankie Laine J) You'll Never Know
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Answers : 1. E ; 2. H ; 3. G ; 4. A ; 5. B ; 6. C ; 7. J ; 8. I ; 9. D ; 10. F
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