06.20.06 Tuesdays Reflection

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="13eb8750.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="117" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>"We, who have received the love of Christ through the Spirit must not contain it..."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U>Mission Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways You Can Help Us"><U>Ways You Can Help Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About VMM"><U>All About VMM</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Qualifications"><U>Application Qualifications</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Discernment Process"><U>Discernment Process</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="application.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Form"><U>Application Form</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bridges Newsletter"><U>Bridges Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters from the Missions"><U>Letters from the Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adobe Printing Instructions"><U>Adobe Printing Instructions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=36-3153581" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networ"><U><IMG SRC="1887e300.gif" border=0 width="126" height="48" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <form method="get" action="http://search.atomz.com/search/"> <input size=15 name="sp-q"><br> <input type=submit value="Search"> <input type=hidden name="sp-a" value="sp10020180"> <input type=hidden name="sp-f" value="iso-8859-1"> </form></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM-USA)</B></I></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >            </FONT><B>06.20.06 </B><A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U><B>Tuesdays Reflection</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> We represent a wide variety of charisms and lifestyles and may be </div> <div> distinctive only by our commitment and openness to the Spirit of God.</div> <div> Spirit and Lifestyle</div> <bR> <div> I think that an important way to be "distinctive" today is by being </div> <div> Bearers of Hope. It is easy to let ourselves be influenced by the </div> <div> media that report many events of failure, violence and horror and </div> <div> that doubt there can be a better world. With faith, and because we </div> <div> are God's witnesses, we can overcome fear, sow joy, cherish all </div> <div> living beings with loving hearts and radiate goodness and compassion </div> <div> in the world.</div> <bR> <div> From the article that Nancy Kunkel forwarded us recently, I gleaned </div> <div> an important way to be "distinctive" and "bearers of hope"</div> <bR> <div> "To build an effective peace movement and reach our goals we'll need </div> <div> a better grounding in nonviolence and better strategies for reaching </div> <div> out to the general public. We need political analysis, vision, </div> <div> courage, certainty, and we also need empathy for the human beings who </div> <div> are caught in other roles as well as for ordinary folks who are just </div> <div> trying to figure out our confusing world. . . . [We need to explore </div> <div> how we can] help move our local community toward mutual understanding </div> <div> and peace. Governments create wars, but grassroots people can create </div> <div> peace."</div> <bR> <div> If we focus on the positive regularly, our hearts will become </div> <div> considerate and there will be light and hope on the road. May our </div> <div> hearts be filled with hope and joy. May we bearers of hope.</div> <bR> <div> Cecily</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>