66 Sprague Avenue, Warwick, RI  02889

She does have some recuperating to do, but she is hoping to be back at Norwood very soon.

The Mogollon Rim* is the edge of the Colorado Plateau and Flagstaff sits at the base of the San Francisco peaks, the highest points in Arizona. During monsoon season the moisture flows up from the south, hits the rim and is forced up into the cooler mountain air. Thunderstorms result; dry desert soil turns into mud or raging flows of mud, rocks and other desert detritus.  Everything turns green and smells wonderful.

* pronounced "moe gee yon" (don't ask, I don't know!)

It is the Monday after Palm Sunday. The previous afternoon, Jesus has ridden into Jerusalem to the cries of "Hosanna!" He has briefly visited the temple, then gone back to Bethany with the Twelve and spent the night there. Now it is the morning and Jesus is hungry (presumably they had no food with them as they slept under the olive trees on the hillside) so he is glad to see a fig tree by the side of the road ahead, in full foliage. Even though "it was not the season for figs" (Mark 11.13), Jesus goes to the tree, but when he finds only leaves, he tells the tree, "May you never bear fruit again" and the tree withers away.

This story has always presented something of a difficulty because, on the face of it, Jesus is being quite irrational and unfairly vindictive. If it was not the time for figs, why expect to find any? And then, when there weren't any, why blame the tree?

Well, it was not quite as simple as that. The "season for figs" was June in the sense that figs were not fully ripe until then, but once a fig tree was in full foliage, there would normally be fruit too — green figs which, though not at all pleasant, were in fact edible. And it seems that Jesus was hungry enough to have eaten a few green figs to staunch his hunger, had there been any. But there were none, and this gives Jesus the opportunity for an enacted parable which will be closely related to the first spoken parable he will tell when he enters the temple again in an hour or so's time.

That spoken parable is about two sons. "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" (Matthew 21.29-31). The answer is, "The first," of course, because the second produced nothing but empty words.

The empty words, I believe, correspond to the leaves on the fig tree. The figs that Jesus sought but did not find, correspond, I believe, to the work the first son ended up doing — the fruits of repentance. And the message of the fig tree is that the the person who is all show, all words and no deeds, all feigned obedience, all empty promises, not only comes under divine displeasure but is actually doomed to wither away. Why? Because he is not just telling lies, he is a lie ... and a lie cannot co-exist with the Truth.

How can I be sure that that is not me?

Well, to switch (metaphorically) from one fruit tree to another, the answer is that I must abide in Jesus. That is the only way I can be fruitful. "I am the vine; you are the branches," says Jesus. "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15.5). My fruitfulness, my being more than just show and empty words, depends on a life lived in union with Christ. I in him, him in me, day in, day out, 24/7.

Lord Jesus, let me be a branch that bears much fruit, and let there be fruit on me today. Amen.

On Thursday, July 3rd, a small group of us were lead by Emily on a tour of the new Physics Library and DeMeritt Hall construction project. The building is almost complete, and Heather hopes to be moving into her new digs by the end of the month, or early August.

The new Physics Library is on the corner of DeMeritt as before, closest to Dimond. But this time, they will have three sides of windows - both corner walls, and the wall on the inside hallway. I understand that this glass wall will be fitted with glass shelves, and will be used to display antique physics and astronomy items. The overall footprint of the library is about the same, and will still include compact shelving. The color scheme through the library, and all DeMeritt, is very gentle and natural looking, with various shades of greens and tans.

The building is a marvel of new techniques and features to make it as “green” as possible, at least as far as the budget allowed. The building does have what has become a traditional “bite” taken out of it (on the side facing Murkland), where the budget which was approved at the start of the project couldn’t cover all of the costs of materials once ground was broken. (Dimond and Kingsbury also have these “bites.”)

Some of the “green features” can be seen in the photos here. They include metal awnings on the sunny sides of the building. (I’m sure that these will be much appreciated by the resident pigeon population!) The central stairs are “open” and have a “floating” look to them. The railings are not completely enclosed, and the stair rises are vented. This allows for better air flow. All rooms are equipped with window sensors to that if windows are opened, the heat or a/c is turned off to that room. Much classroom lighting is indirect, motion-sensored, and equipped with dimmers. Some of the classrooms have leveled, or stadium-like seating, and the rise of the different levels are set with vents for the heat or a/c. One very neat ADA feature is the central elevator. It is positioned to open on each floor on one side into the hallway, or the other side directly into a classroom.

There are four places we saw where the old meets the new. On the top/second floor, there is a hallway leading to a gathering area balcony where the new flooring comes right up to the old flooring. They have sided one entire wall of this balcony area with old classroom chalkboards, which will allow students to write whatever they please as they pass by. The balcony overlooks a common area on the main/first floor where the stone Physics crest/emblem which used to greet students over the main entrance has now been mounted, as part of a display which will include historical DeMeritt photos. In the basement, we were shown a room where two walls were fitted with old wooden and glass display cabinets and drawers which were saved before the demolition.

So for now, two out of four branch libraries have new homes. Chemistry is next, possibly. They have a new book lift to allow better collection access to all three floors. However, it doesn’t seem that the Iddles Wing of Parsons (home of the Chemistry Library) is being included in the renovation plans for the rest of the building. As for BioSci in Kendall, well Kendall is included in Phase 3 of the UNH Master Plan, which also includes renovations to Hamilton-Smith, Morrill, Jackson Lab, and part 2 of 3 for Paul Arts. But then Phase 4 of the Master Plan includes a new, all-encompassing Science Library, so who knows…

During the week of July 28-August 1, you can expect the Physics Library to be closed. Why? BECAUSE… YAY!!... WE’RE MOVING BACK INTO DEMERITT HALL!!!

Our fabulous “book movers,” BiblioTech, will arrive on campus to begin measuring and planning for the move on July 14. On July 28, they’ll actually begin moving everything into our new space.

The last 14 months spent in Nesmith Hall have been interesting, but we’re definitely ready to be back in DeMeritt in a brand new library. As of Wednesday 7/2, the lights and carpeting were nicely installed. The tracks for our compact shelving are in, and everything seems to be shaping up quite nicely! We were told our shelving will be installed the week of July 7. Our new home will have better support for traditional library services, plus new-fangled (for us) features like wireless access, collaborative space, and displays. SO EXCITING!!!

We certainly do hope you will all come by to see our new space. If you are interested in a tour during construction, you can contact Emily P. Otherwise, feel free to drop in anytime once we open (August 4). Also, we will be hosting an open house in our new space - likely in September – so make sure you’re on the look-out for the invite!

Once upon a time there was a seed. It was an apple seed. It had landed on the ground last summer when the apple it was in fell from a branch high up on the apple tree.

Over winter, a deer ate the apple and left the seed on the ground.

The seed was a little sad because it was spring and it wondered if it would ever get the chance to reach its full potential and grow into a beautiful tree. But the apple tree growing over it blocked out the sun and had taken much of the soil’s fertility for itself over many long years.

Then one day, the seed had an unexpected visitor who came down from the sky and asked, “Why are you so sad?”

“I need to find a less shady spot and more fertile soil, so that I can grow into a beautiful tree,” said the apple seed. “Who are you? You look like me but seem very different?

“I am a seed from heaven. I am looking for fertile ground as well,” said the angelic visitor.

“What is a seed from heaven?” asked the worldly apple seed.

“I am a spiritual seed — an idea from God.”

“Where on earth are you looking to be planted?” came the inquisitive apple seed.

Just then, a gardener approached. She spotted the apple seed and picked it up. The spiritual seed followed the gardener as she carried the apple seed to a patch of soil that she had specially prepared. She then carefully planted the apple seed and watered it.

The two seeds, however, were able to continue their conversation.

“Now that I have found the perfect place to grow, where will you go?” asked the concerned apple seed.

“There is only one place you can plant an idea,” replied the angelic seed. And with that said, the heavenly seed went toward the gardener and planted itself inside her head. Suddenly the gardener’s eyes opened more widely as though she had gotten a new insight.

Over time, as the Gardener returned to the apple seed, which had now taken root and grown into a strong sapling, the two original seeds were able to continue to converse. One day when the gardener brought her son to see the young new apple tree, the two original seeds began a most instructive conversation.

“Look at me. I have taken root and grown into a small apple tree.”

“I have grown, too,” said the spiritual counterpart.

“But how were you able to take root?” asked the young apple tree.

“I have taken root in the fertile soil of the gardener’s rich experiences which are contained in her memory,” said the heavenly idea.

“What are you growing into?” questioned the curious sapling.

“Since I am rooted in the gardener’s mind, I must draw essential ingredients out of the gardener’s memory and reconstitute them into new mental structures. Instead of a tree, I am growing into a strong belief and faith in God.

“I have grown a stem, branches and leaves. And this year I made beautiful flowers. And look, I have even produced my first juicy red apple,” said the proud sapling.

“Yes, and I will do the same thing within the gardener’s mind. As I already told you my stem stems from organizing the rich material in her memory. This branches out into thoughts taking new directions. Each of these directions will allow her spiritual understanding to flourish like new green leaves unfurling at springtime. Following this, the gardener’s mind will blossom and flower, representing the special joy that comes with the anticipation of having her spiritual ideas bear fruit.”

“Wow,” said the apple sapling, “You can do everything that I do, except in a different place than I do.”

“That is because we both come from God and follow the same holy patterns.”

“I was made by God, too?” asked the sapling.

“Yes indeed, we both can equally express God’s infinite principle of proliferation. You will generate new seeds from your sweet fruit, which in turn will generate more seeds, forever and ever. I will do the same. As this gardener shares the fruits of her ideas with others, the sweetness of her kind act will plant new ideas in them as well. This will allow God’s ideas of love to pass from human to human, forever and ever.

At that point the gardener picked the first apple off the young tree and shared it with her young son. The two original seeds now found themselves working side by side - showing that the goodness of the apple was also the goodness of love.  

Checking out the new sign is Chris Jones (left), VP Sales, of Insuranti.

A grand ribbon cutting ceremony.

Copyright © 2008 Insuranti Inc.
All rights Reserved

I have a bad habit of forgetting to turn my camera off after I upload images to my computer. I get so involved in the editing process that I forget that the camera is still on and it's getting the life slowly sucked out of its batteries by the computer that it's hooked up to.

So, instead of the new photos I intended to take and consequently share this week, I've put together a  mosaic of some of the photos I've taken during my travels in North Carolina this last year. I had the good fortune to travel from the Appalachian Mountains in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east over the last 365 days. It really is a beautiful state and I feel very fortunate to get to enjoy it for the time being.

When my camera is resurrected, I'll show you my new set of teeth.

Fern Living

Lately we've been having a lot of storms. The power has been flickering all afternoon as this newest storm rolls through. As I'm sitting here in my office, I am reminded of the power and majesty of God. His strength and power are matchless, and His mercy can't be compared. So many times we are like the trees in a storm, blown and tossed around. Some of us fall, some of us hold steady, but the difference is our roots, and the ground that we are in. Where are you rooted today? Is the ground you stand under a firm foundation, or are you about to break? I encourage you today to become rooted in the firm foundation of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. You can trust Him when the storms come, because He never lets go.

So, yesterday, I was walking atop a hill at the Lynchburg Old City Cemetery and Arboretum taking pictures of flowers along a border garden and I turned and looked thru the branches of a large weeping willow and an angel appeared on a blanket reading a book…

I met this lovely young lady yesterday at the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia, and she graciously granted be permission to take some photos of her. She was also kind enough to sign a release for me but asked that I not use her name. 

© 2008 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used...(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.

So, selain daripada faedah keahlian yang jelas.. maklumat program yang sampai ke akar umbi... Falsafah sesuatu persatuan yang tidak mencampur-adukkan BELIA dengan POLITIK telah dibuktikan menjadi tunjang untuk menarik minat belia untuk menganggotai persatuan belia...

Sebab itulah Akta Pertubuhan Belia Dan Pembangunan Belia 2007 menetapkan pemimpin mesti di bawah 40 tahun...

“Malaysian Indian Youth Council (MIYC) is the largest Indian youth based national organization in Malaysia. As todate, MIYC has successfully established 14 State Councils with more than 350 branches and 11 Associates Members Organisation with members Organisation with members more than 100,000.”

Kejayaan MIYC diatas di atas 2 faktor UTAMA berikut… pemimpin yang di bawah 40 tahun… & tidak mencampur adukkan diri dengan politik..

Seperti yang tertera di struktur organisasi di bawah…

http://www.miyc.org.my/supreme.html

Dalam stuktur organisasi di atas juga boleh dilihat dengan jelas.. terdapat beberapa muka daripada WP.. ada juga yang menjadi jawatankuasa MBWP...

Jadi apalah salahnya berikan peluang kepada calon dari MIYC.. yang terbukti bawah 40 tahun...

Berikan peluang kepada pemimpin dari MIYC untuk meningkatkan keahlian MBWP yang hanya 17,622 orang itu kepada 100,000 orang seperti yang telah dibuktikan oleh MIYC Kebangsaan!

Syabas MIYC... Calonkan jawatankuasa anda untuk ke Pemilihan MBWP ini.. dan lakukan PERUBAHAN!

Nota kaki :

“Vanajah, an ethnic Indian engineer who is the only astronaut candidate not from the majority community of Muslim Malays, said she didn't see race as as issue.............”

Sometimes it's just the sky, and sometimes it's a composition of patterns in front of my eyes.  Leaves and green and clouds and blue and branches and wires criss-crossing.

I decided to take a break from the Old Testament and found myself in the Gospels reading John 15, the vine and the branches passage. As I read, I felt a familiar tugging at the edge of my heart when I came to verse 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Memorizing this verse as a child, I always wondered why the verse starts out talking about the man and "he", but then moves to addressing the very personal "you". You can do nothing apart from me--it's a direct challenge to the heart of not only the man, but me (and you) personally.

I continued reading thinking about how I need to stop worrying so much because I am in the Vine, who will bear fruit through me for His glory. According to this verse, it's a by-product of a life that's given to Him; we can't help but bear fruit because that is the nature of things. A healthy cherry tree blossoms and produces cherries.

I came to a section I've always found frustrating: "...ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you." As a kid, I thought that God was some sort of cosmic Santa Claus. In faith, I asked Him for a Glo-Worm Doll. I knew that my God would not deny me. I searched all through my house for that silly doll absolutely certain it was tucked away in some nook or cranny. I never found the Glo-Worm Doll. To this day, I think I'm still searching for that wonderful ministry, church, job, boyfriend, experience, and so on ("adult Glo-Worm Dolls".)

I actually wanted the "girl" Glo-Worm, but I would've settle for this guy, too.  Man, they're stupid-looking.

I didn't need a Glo-Worm Doll. In fact, it was a worm in pajamas that glowed when it was hugged. What a weird toy! In retrospect, I don't even know why I wanted one. I had plenty of other toys, childhood adventures, and friends to occupy my time. The Glo-Worm Doll was a lesson in faith for me though; a lesson that even as a child that God would give me what I need, not necessarily what I want. Part of remaining connected to the Vine is not only getting the spiritual nourishment I so desperately need, it's also recognizing that what I want may not be what God has for me right now, despite how much faith I muster when I beg Him for my grown up Glo-Worm Dolls.

Sometimes I feel unloved because I don't get the Glo-Worm Doll. Everyone else seems to have them, except for me. Ah, a woman wallowing in self-pity is a pitiful sight indeed. Then I read this: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love." Did you get that? Remain in My love. I have to make the conscious effort to remain in God's love. Or rather to remain in the knowledge of His love. It's always there for me, waiting for me, imploring me to come close and receive it...but I am the one who chooses not to remain in His love.

Feeling unloved and being truly unloved are too completely different things.  While life on planet earth is turbulent and trying, I must remember that I will never, never, never be without God's love, and that He promises to love me with an "everlasting love" (Jer. 3:3).  It's my choice to remain in it or to reject it entirely. Four words--so beautiful, so profound--"Remain in My Love"

La droite aura mis plus d'un an à montrer son vrai visage. Sous un masque mince d'interventionnisme et de postures pseudo-gaulliennes teintée d'un protectionnisme de bon aloi, se cachait une bonne grosse droite libérale qui vous grimpe à la papa et en redemande. La raison de mon ire? Plus que le simple démantèlement des 35 heures, c'est l'annonce par Xavier "Germinal" Bertrand d'une... disparition de la durée légale du travail.
La position commune qu'avaient réussi à mettre en place le MEDEF, la CGT, la CFDT et la CGPME? Clairement, on s'en tape du côté du Ministère du Travail. Maintenant les cocos on va changer de ton, voici la mesure qui vous arrive en pleine gueule:

Un accord collectif d’entreprise ou, à défaut, de branche permet également de fixer «les conditions d’assouplissement d’heures supplémentaires au-delà du contingent annuel ainsi qu’une contrepartie obligatoire au repos pour toute heure supplémentaire accomplie au-delà du contingent annuel».

En clair? A mort les 35 heures. Maintenant tout se négociera par entreprise, ou à la rigueur ("à défaut", j'adore), par branches. Les caissières de chez Auchan? Rien à foutre, elles bosseront plus. Les salariés de TPE? Qu'est-ce qu'on s'en tape.

Et le plus drôle, c'est que le MEDEF soutient les syndicats.
Maintenant on se bouge. Vite.
Zola, reviens!

Sunset - Through Your Eyes

A Moment of Stillness

Oscar playing guitar

Self - Abstraction

Fetish

Gray Branches

Every Branch in me that Beareth Not Fruit, He taketh It away—John 15.2

(Pe orice mladita, care este in Mine si n-aduce rod, El o taie; Ioan 15.2)

Here we have one of the chief words of the parable—branch. A vine needs branches: without branches it can do nothing, can bear no fruit. As important as it is to know about the Vine, and the Husbandman, it is to realize what the branch is. Before we listen to what Christ has to say about it, let us first of all take in what a branch is, and what it teaches us of our life in Christ. A branch is simply a bit of wood, brought forth by the vine for the one purpose of serving it in bearing its fruit. It is of the very same nature as the vine, and has one life and one spirit with it. Just think a moment of the lessons this suggests.

There is the lesson of entire consecration. The branch has but one object for which it exists, one purpose to which it is entirely given up. That is, to bear the fruit the vine wishes to bring forth. And so the believer has but one reason for his being a branch—but one reason for his existence on earth —that the heavenly Vine may through him bring forth His fruit. Happy the soul that knows this, that has consented to it, and that says, I have been redeemed and I live for one thing—as exclusively as the natural branch exists only to bring forth fruit, I too; as exclusively as the heavenly Vine exists to bring forth fruit, I too. As I have been planted by God into Christ, I have wholly given myself to bear the fruit the Vine desires to bring forth.

There is the lesson of perfect conformity. The branch is exactly like the vine in every aspect—the same nature, the same life, the same place, the same work. In all this they are inseparably one. And so the believer needs to know that he is partaker of the divine nature, and has the very nature and spirit of Christ in him, and that his one calling is to yield himself to a perfect conformity to Christ. The branch is a perfect likeness of the vine; the only difference is, the one is great and strong, and the source of strength, the other little and feeble, ever needing and receiving strength. Even so the believer is, and is to be, the perfect likeness of Christ.

There is the lesson of absolute dependence. The vine has its stores of life and sap and strength, not for itself, but for the branches. The branches are and have nothing but what the vine provides and imparts. The believer is called to, and it is his highest blessedness to enter upon, a life of entire and unceasing dependence upon Christ. Day and night, every moment, Christ is to work in him all he needs.

And then the lesson of undoubting confidence. The branch has no cure; the vine provides all; it has but to yield itself and receive. It is the sight of this truth that leads to the blessed rest of faith, the true secret of growth and strength: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

What a life would come to us if we only consented to be branches! Dear child of God, learn the lesson. You have but one thing to do: Only be a branch—nothing more, nothing less! Just be a branch; Christ will be the Vine that gives all. And the Husbandman, the mighty God, who made the Vine what it is, will as surely make the branch what it ought to be.

Lord Jesus, I pray Thee, reveal to me the heavenly mystery of the branch, in its living union with the Vine, in its claim on all its fullness. And let Thy all-sufficiency, holding and filling Thy branches, lead me to the rest of faith that knows that Thou workest all.

On a stormy day in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the wind howls and leaves and branches whip like so many small flags.

© 2008 D L Ennis, All rights reserved.

NOTE: Permission for the use of my images is granted for personal websites and blogs but is to include a link back to this site and proper credit given to me, D L Ennis. Link to be used...(Visual Thoughts http://dlennis.wordpress.com/)

NOTE: Commercial use, and the creation of prints, must be purchased! For more information you can contact me here.