We are in a culture that values productivity. Maybe even productivity over persons. We often identify ourselves with what we do. What if we challenged that a bit and spent some Sabbath inviting God to show us within ourselves the beloved child of God that God sees. What if Sabbath was more than a cessation of the daily grind, but the kind of pause on the things that keep us from paying attention to God's presence. The kinds of things that distract us from the pain we feel. Because when we feel that pain and then let God be present with us in that pain, we start to understand even more God's love for us.

The bible says there's a time for peace and a time for war. We pray against the latter to be sure. And when I pray, I also pray that in the future, we have enough strong and courageous men and women who will step into the arena, risking their lives, willing to give their last full measure for the country.

"The Bible say God created the world beautiful. But in the time that I was in my world, my time, the region that I grew up, it wasn't beautiful. I didn't see the beauty of what God had created, how the world was beautiful at the time when I was young. That beauty did not even enter into my mind because there was a fear. Fear of not knowing if you're going to live tomorrow, war happening. But, today, I'm living in a beautiful city. I'm in a paradise."