Scripture for the First Tuesday in Advent 2010
November 30, 2010 by Lillie
Malachi 3:1-4
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Almighty Lord, Your messenger is preparing the way for You. We know You will be a refiner’s fire, a launderer’s soap. Purify and refine us like gold and silver so we can endure the day of Your coming. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture for the First Monday in Advent 2010
November 29, 2010 by Lillie
Romans 8:19-23 (NIV)
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Lord God, Creator of the Universe, we and all creation groan inwardly as we wait for You to return in glory to liberate us from bondage and bring us glorious freedom. Maranatha, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Scripture for the First Sunday in Advent 2010
November 28, 2010 by Lillie
Jeremiah 33:14-16
14 ” ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
15 ” ‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it [he] will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.’
Lord, prepare my heart, mind, soul, and actions to be ready for Your coming. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thanks to October 2010 Commenters
November 27, 2010 by Lillie
Wishing You a Blessed Thanksgiving
November 25, 2010 by Lillie
“‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
for the Lord is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’ ~ Jeremiah 33:11 (NIV)
“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted. ~ Isaiah 12:4 (NIV)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations. ~ Psalm 100:4-5 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ~ Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
TO our prayers, O Lord, we join our unfeigned thanks for all thy mercies; for our being, our reason, and all other endowments and faculties of soul and body; for our health, friends, food, and raiment, and all the other comforts and conveniences of life. Above all, we adore thy mercy in sending thy only Son into the world, to redeem us from sin and eternal death, and in giving us the knowledge and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless thee for thy patience with us, notwithstanding our many and great provocations; for all the directions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; for thy continual care and watchful providence over us through the whole course of our lives; and particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past day; beseeching thee to continue these thy blessings to us, and to give us grace to show our thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, through whose merits and intercession we received them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. ~ 1928 Book of Common Prayer, Family Prayer
May the Lord shower you with blessings, and may you give thanks for every blessing, large and small.
National Bible Week 2010
November 21, 2010 by Lillie
National Bible Week has been observed during Thanksgiving week since 1941.
One of the things I’m most thankful for is the freedom to read and study God’s Word. National Bible Week is a reminder to use that freedom regularly.
I read the Bible daily, and I’ve written about National Bible Week in previous years—2007, 2008, and 2009—as well as a two-part series on reading the Bible.
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4, ESV
BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. ~ 1928 Book of Common Prayer, Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent
photo credit: Steve Snodgrass
The Future of Alzheimer’s: Hope in the Long-Term
November 19, 2010 by Lillie
This week, I participated in an Alzheimer’s roundtable conference call sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). The call was moderated by Ed Belkin, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, PhRMA, and speakers included David Wheadon, M.D., Senior Vice President for Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, PhRMA; David Michelson, M.D., Vice President, Clinical Neuroscience Research, Merck Research Laboratories; Phil Iredale, Head of Neurodegeneration Biology, Pfizer; Richard Mohs, Global Product Development, Eli Lilly and Company; and Trish Vandenberg, USAgainstAlzheimers.
Participating bloggers included Joanne Reynolds of Blueprint for Caregiving and Nora Nagatani of aboutalz.com.
The panelists agreed that Alzheimer’s Disease is already a major crisis and getting worse as the baby boomers age. However, the good news is that nearly 100 clinical trials are underway, and even the trials that have already failed have provided valuable information. Pharmaceutical companies are partnering with academia, and Alzheimer’s is one of the top research priorities. The researchers were all optimistic that the research will eventually lead to effective treatments for this devastating disease.
A transcript of the roundtable will be posted on the PhRMA website soon.
Some of the researchers on the call appear in the video below.
National Alzheimer’s Month and National Caregivers Month
November 17, 2010 by Lillie
More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, and the disease impacts their loved ones in a huge way.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has recently published ”2010 Report: Medicines in Development for Alzheimer’s Disease.” Among the statistics included the report are these:
• Some 70 percent of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias live at home, where they are cared for by family and friends.
• In 2009, nearly 11 million family members and friends provided an average of 21.9 hours of unpaid care per week for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, for a total of about 12.5 billion hours of care. That year, the estimated economic value of the unpaid care was $144 billion.
I can tell you from personal experience that caregiving offers many challenges as well as blessings. My associate, Beverly Ellison, wrote in a recent post about becoming the caregiver for her mother and also shared do’s and don’ts for Alzheimer’s.
November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and National Caregivers Month. Caregivers give unselfishly of their time and energy and emotions to care for those they love who are being devastated by the progressive, fatal disease. Caregivers deserved to be honored all the time—especially during National Caregivers Month.
Call a caregiver to chat, drop by for a short visit, or take her to lunch. Volunteer to sit with the patient for a couple of hours so the caregiver can go shopping. If one of your family members is caring for a mutual relative with Alzheimer’s, offer to help and let the caregiver know how much you appreciate what she is doing. A little appreciation goes a long way.
And before the end of the month, you can give a caregiver a special gift—Help! What Do I Do Now? Caring for Your Loved One with Alzheimer’s. Short, easy-to-read, and, above all, useful, this guide filled with practical tips caregivers can use every day was written by my sister Nancy Nicholson, a social worker with both personal and professional experience with Alzheimer’s. The Watch for more information next week.
photo credit: Vince Alongi.
The World’s Biggest Party for Writers: I Love to Write Day
November 15, 2010 by Lillie
Today is the 9th annual “I Love to Write Day,” aka the World’s Biggest Party for Writers.
I written before about my love affair with writing, and I believe writing is good for our health and well-being.
If you haven’t yet experienced the joys of writing for yourself, today is the perfect day to write something—an essay about a cause important to you, an article about something you know, a resume for a new job, a blog post, a character sketch of the main character of the novel you want to write, the opening of your memoir, or even a short journal entry.
If you, like me, are already passionate about writing, today is the perfect day to indulge your passion and write something—an essay about something you believe strongly, an article about something you’d like to learn about, a news release about an upcoming event, a blog post, an action scene in your novel masterpiece, the middle of your memoir, or even a short journal entry about how much you love to write.
Or you could write a short story or a poem or a how-to guide or a letter to a loved one. If you love to write, then do it today.
Encourage children and teens to write something today. If they don’t already love to write, they will probably learn to like it better and certainly become better at it.
And if you love to write, leave a comment to let us know.
Thanking Our Veterans 2010
November 11, 2010 by Lillie
Thank you to all our veterans. May God bless you.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have sacrificed their time, safety, comfort, dedication, and personal ambitions—and even their lives—in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.
