Quotations On Wisdom

November 24, 2009 at 11:28 pm (Quotes and Poems, Wisdom)
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Without WISDOM, knowledge is either useless or destructive.
- Anon

The sublimity of WISDOM is to do those things living that are desired when dying.
- Anon

You can buy education, but WISDOM is a gift from God.
- Anon

WISDOM is knowledge, rightly applied.
- Anon

Knowledge becomes WISDOM only after it has been put to practical use.
- Anon

Authority without WISDOM is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than to polish.
- Anne Bradstreet

Patience is the companion of WISDOM.
- Augustine

There is a wisdom of the head, and a WISDOM of the heart.
- Charles Dickens

A loving heart is the truest WISDOM.
- Charles Dickens

The doorstep to the temple of WISDOM is the knowledge of our own ignorance.
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The beginning of WISDOM is to call things by their right names.
Great doubts deep WISDOM. Small doubts little WISDOM.
Beauty is the WISDOM of women. WISDOM is the beauty of men.
- Chinese Proverbs

WISDOM is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it.
- David Starr Jordan

WISDOM is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
- Doug Larson

WISDOM is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d preferred to talk.
- Doug Larson

WISDOM is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
- Doug Larson

True WISDOM lies in gathering the precious things out of each day as it goes by.
- E. S. Bouton

The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest WISDOM in a happy mind.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

To know when to be generous and when firm—that is WISDOM.
- Elbert Hubbard

Cleverness is not WISDOM.
- Euripides

WISDOM is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech.
- Evangel

A prudent question is one-half of WISDOM
- Francis Bacon

WISDOM not only gets, but once got, retains.
- Francis Quarles

It is characteristic of  WISDOM not to do desperate things.
- Henry David Thoreau

Science is organized knowledge. WISDOM is organized life.
- Immanuel Kant

When God punishes a land, he deprives it leaders of WISDOM.
- Italian Proverb

WISDOM is found only in truth.
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. WISDOM makes life endurable.
- John Patrick

A proverb is one man’s wit and all men’s WISDOM.
- John Russell

Learning sleeps and snores in libraries, but WISDOM is everywhere, wide awake, on tiptoe.
- Josh Billings
The only thing that we know is that we know nothing and that is the highest flight of human WISDOM.
- Leo Tolstoy

Knowledge comes, but WISDOM lingers.
- Lord Alfred Tennyson

Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; WISDOM lies in their simplification.
- Martin H. Fischer

Never mistake knowledge for WISDOM. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.
- Sandara Carey

Knowledge is proud that it knows so much; WISDOM is humble that it knows no more.
- William Cowper

Where fear is present, WISDOM cannot be.
- Lucius C. Lactantius

It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of WISDOM to listen.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

WISDOM becomes nonsense in the mouth of a fanatic.
- Otto Schuwdrmer

WISDOM is always an overmatch for strength.
- Phaedrus

Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on WISDOM.
- Queen Elizabeth

In seeking WISDOM thou art wise; in imagining that thou hast attained it, thou art a fool.
- Rabbi Ben Azai

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can,
and the WISDOM to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr

Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls WISDOM.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A short saying often contains much WISDOM.
- Sophocles

Honesty is the first chapter of the book of WISDOM.
- Thomas Jefferson

It requires WISDOM to understand WISDOM the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.
- Walter Lippmann

Committing a great truth to memory is admirable; committing it to life is WISDOM.
- William A. Ward

The end of WISDOM is to dream high enough to lose the dream in the seeking of it.
- William Faulkner

WISDOM is learning what to overlook.
- William James

WISDOM doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.
- Woodrow T. Wilson

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Book Review of The Church of Facebook: How the Wireless Generation is Redefining Community by Jesse Rice

November 24, 2009 at 5:55 pm (Book Reviews, Jesse Rice)
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In ‘The Church of Facebook:  How the Wireless Generation is Redefining Community’ Jesse Rice (writer, musician and worship arts director) presents the issue of our basic human need to ’connect.’

Delving deep into this issue of how Social Networking reflects this need is the focus of this book.  The information is informative, educational, and often inspiring and humorous; a great formula for discussing any issue or idea.

His illustrations match well to the area of connectivity he discusses in these six chapters, almost provoking one to research the illustrations themselves.

What is spontaneous order?  How did Facebook become the phenomena of Social Networking?  Is there really power in your online profile? How Social Networking consumes us almost unintentionally? What is the nature of a relationship; must it be geographically bound?  In this new Social Networking World, what are some prudent limitations?

This book is well researched engaging the reader not only to consider the dynamic of the Facebook and Social Networking in general but the underlying human need it addresses offering not only wise options to manage you online presence but opportunities to reach vast numbers of people.  This is central focus of the book.

Facebook is a tool and an opportunity to reconnect lost relationships and share our lives with others we may never physically meet.  In the final chapter of the book, several good tools are mentioned and some great strategies are given such as practicing intentional, mindful, and authentic interaction

In preparing this review, I visited the author’s website and found some very funny material. I would urge you also to visit. My favorite portion was on the author’s FAQ page.  You will find some very interesting comments here.  It is a must read for humor value alone. For instance, his response to the question ”Who is Jesse Rice?” The answer given:

“Jesse Rice (who is not a recognized cult leader, at least not of any
cults particularly large or bovine in nature) is the author of this blog
and the entertaining and informative book, ‘The Church of Facebook.”

About the author:
Jesse Rice is a writer and musician who served for eight years as a worship arts director at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA.  Jesse has a Master’s degree in counseling psychology from Santa Clara University and is a sought-after worship leader and speaker with more than fifteen years experience in church ministry. Jesse and his wife, Katie who is also a musician, have been married for three years.

765345: The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are
Redefining Community

 

By Jesse Rice / David C. Cook

# Paperback: 240 pages
# Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (October 1, 2009)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1434765342
# ISBN-13: 978-1434765345

Disclaimer:
The review copy of this book was provided free of charge by the author’s representative and was donated to the Westwood Baptist Church.

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Thanksgiving 2009: Give Thanks

November 23, 2009 at 7:33 am (Musings)
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Thanksgiving 2009

This Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

Is there a short story you would care to share?  Here is an opportunity for you to share a story of what you are thankful for this holiday season.

Feel free to comment on what you are thankful for in the comment section below. And may God richly bless you and your family this holiday season.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God
in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
- I Thessalonians 5:18 -

Here are few things I am thankful for.

  • Free gift of salvation and my one smart decision to accept it -
    I’ve made some pretty big blunders in my life but this one I got right.
  • My husband, my children, and my family -
    Often too busy to notice, I am reminded at Thanksgiving that I am especially blessed with the love of my family.
  • My church and church family -
    Hearing hard Truth sometimes takes it toll but knowing my church family is struggling (just as I am) to become more like Jesus everyday is comforting and encouraging.
  • My job and my hobbies -
    I’ve long since dropped my dread of going to work knowing that I’ve been placed in such a job to offer encouragement to others no matter the work I do. Hobbies, like reading and writing, keep me entertained and provide a release of stress and tension.
  • My health and quality of life -
    Like many, there are things I’d like to change about my physical body. But, I am thankful that I am in good health.
  • My home and my community -
    There are many christians today who face persecution. We, as Christians, do not face that yet here in South Carolina. We live in the most beautiful part of America and I am thankful for that.

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Life Lessons: Wicked Hearts and Chocolate

November 19, 2009 at 10:20 am (Life Lessons)
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Women love chocolate. I am no exception. You’ve no doubt read, heard or seen the many reports on how chocolate affects the brain.

Picture this.  At the end of a recent church service during the time when announcements are made, my ears perked up when the phrase ‘We still have some World’s Finest Chocolate for sale...”  Our youth group used the ‘World’s Finest Chocolate‘ fund raising program recently and we had a few boxes leftover.

In my mind, I make the word association of [chocolate - yum] and [fundraiser - good cause].  I quickly turned to my husband and said ‘I want some chocolate. It’s for a good cause. Let’s buy a box.‘

Of which he replied ‘No, we don’t have any cash and we didn’t bring the checkbook.’

Frowning, I made a mental note to make sure we brought the checkbook when we returned for the evening service.

Fast forward to the evening service.

We walk in and see the chocolate display and I immediately mentally kick myself for not bringing the checkbook.  My ‘exception’ scenario begins in my head and I begin plotting to take the chocolate and pay the youth for it later, after all, I am good for it.

I turn to my husband and ask what kind of chocolate bars he wanted.  His response was ‘No, we don’t need any more chocolate, anyway.‘

What happened next in this ‘G rated child of light’’s a heart (a term my son has bestowed upon me), is nothing short of wild, wicked rebellion.  Understand this, I really didn’t want the chocolate that much, truly I didn’t. I wanted to help the youth group and if getting chocolate in return was the avenue, I was all for it.

Now, I begin to pout and say ‘...but it’s for a good cause‘ and ‘...you know you love chocolate as much as I do‘ and ‘...why would you say that now when any other time you would grab that chocolate box and run with it.’

Each time I questioned, or pouted, or asked again – I received the same answer – ‘No, we don’t need any more chocolate.‘

It was then I played the God card.

My husband teaches an evening bible study just before the evening worship service.  As is our custom, we always begin in prayer.  As he grabbed my hand to begin the prayer, I reminded him of I Peter 3:7 saying ‘You wouldn’t want your prayers hindered, now would you?”

“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

He smiled at me and said with that winsome smile of his, ‘No, we don’t need any more chocolate.’

As we were gathering our things to leave the church after the worship service that night, he brought me a mini tootsie roll from the Preachers container of candy for the children.  He looked at me and gave me that smile that makes me smile. How does he do that?

As we were leaving and we were recounting the story to some friends on the way out the door, he looked at me and said

“Isn’t that just like us as Christians?
We hear the word no,  and we want the thing all the more.”

Those were the words that changed my attitude.  I really didn’t want the chocolate but I didn’t like the word no. And I realized that perhaps I should check my attitude a little more often, especially when God tells me no on something.  Do I fuss? Do I pout? Do I play the God card against God Himself?  How silly of me.

In the end, it was a comical story with a strong punch line that I will not likely forget.

Life Lesson:
We know that if we pray in the will of God we will have what we ask for. Still, there are times we may not have what we ask for at the very time we ask for it.  Or, it may be that God has not arranged events so that it is beneficial for me to have it at that time.  All those things are good to remember, but the life lesson is not the providence of God, but the reaction of this Christian.

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What the Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy

November 16, 2009 at 7:28 am (Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, Patti Lacy)
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What The Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
What The Bayou Saw
Kregel Publications (March 24, 2009)
by
Patti Lacy

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Though Patti’s only been writing since 2005, she thinks her latest profession of capturing stories on paper (or computer files) will stick awhile.

The Still, Small Voice encouraged Patti to write after a brave Irish friend shared memories of betrayal and her decision to forgive. In 2008, An Irishwoman’s Tale was published by Kregel Publications. Patti’s second novel, What the Bayou Saw, draws on the memories of two young girls who refused to let segregation, a chain link fence, and a brutal rape come between them.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti’s gray matter. A third book, My Name is Sheba, has been completed. Patti’s WIP, Recapturing Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China’s “One Child” policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, “All the Broken Pieces,” at women’s retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they’ve dubbed a “Worchestershire Terrier” for her “little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed.

ABOUT THE BOOK


Segregation and a chain link fence separated twelve-year-old Sally Flowers from her best friend, Ella Ward. Yet a brutal assault bound them together. Forever. Thirty-eight years later, Sally, a middle-aged Midwestern instructor, dredges up childhood secrets long buried beneath the waters of a Louisiana bayou in order to help her student, who has also been raped. Fragments of spirituals, gospel songs, and images of a Katrina-ravaged New Orleans are woven into the story.

The past can’t stay buried forever Rising author Patti Lacy’s second novel exposes the life of Sally, set amid the shadows of prejudice in Louisiana.

Since leaving her home in the South, Sally Stevens has held the secrets of her past at bay, smothering them in a sunny disposition and sugar-coated lies. No one, not even her husband, has heard the truth about her childhood.

But when one of her students is violently raped, Sally’s memories quickly bubble to the surface unbidden, like a dead body in a bayou. As Sally’s story comes to light, the lies she’s told begin to catch up with her. And as her web of deceit unravels, she resolves to face the truth at last, whatever the consequences.

If you would like to read the first chapter of What The Bayou Saw, go HERE

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Book Review of Green (The Circle, Book 0: The Beginning and the End) by Ted Dekker

November 15, 2009 at 8:45 pm (Book Reviews, Ted Dekker)
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Green‘The beginning and the end.’

Ted Dekker’s long awaited Green, Book 0:  The Beginning and the End was, as always, a great Dekker read.  Dekker’s ability to define and reveal characters is one of the main reasons he is one of my favorite authors.

Add to this the wondrous allegory of the Christian themes that are so tightly woven throughout all his books, makes Dekker a simply must read author.

Curious of how Green could be the first in the The Circle Trilogy as well as the last, I could not wait to read it.  Reading the familiar characters hearkened my thoughts back to the original story and reignited my experience of when I read Black, Red, and White.

Thomas Hunter, leader of the Circle, is faced with rebellion from within his own family as his son Samuel leads an uprising of those in the Circle who have grown tired of waiting for Elyon.  The way Thomas is portrayed here reminds of how David grieved for his son Absalom.

What option does Thomas now have to renew the Great Romance in his son Samuel? He must travel in time and find the Books of History. He will have to do what he can to change history.

You will find evil in this book and it is shown as it is, sometimes repugnant, vulgar and gross. But that is true evil. You will also find good in this book and it is shown as it is; pure, beautiful, engaging and spotless.  More importantly, it is revealed that God is providential and never out of control.  This is a difficult concept to weave into such a story of good versus evil, but Dekker accomplishes it quite well.

This is simply a dynamic thriller and one not to miss.  Warring tribes, supernatural encounters, the end of the world as we know it, love, hate, and sacrifice all vivid reminders of humanity’s fallen nature.  This is humanity; this is our nature without a loving God to intercede.

542880: Green,The Beginning & the End, Circle Series #0 Green,The Beginning & the End, Circle Series #0

By Ted Dekker / Thomas Nelson

# Hardcover: 432 pages
# Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 1 edition (September 1, 2009)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1595542884
# ISBN-13: 978-1595542885

Disclaimer:
The review copy of this book was provided free of charge by Thomas Nelson Publishers and has been donated to Westwood Baptist Church.

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Book Review of Critical Care (Mercy Hospital, Book 1) by Candace Calvert

November 15, 2009 at 1:54 pm (Book Reviews, Candace Calvert)
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Critical Care (Mercy Hospital, Book 1) Can a medical drama be written without explicit dialogue or scenes?  Can an author craft a story without such material?  Certainly! And Candace Calvert has done just that.

Critical Care is the engaging  story of Sierra Mercy’s Emergency Room physician (Dr. Logan Caldwell aka Dr. McSnarly)  and Claire Avery, a Education Nurse charged with securing the mental and emotional well being of the emergency care staff.

What I learned from this book?  What keeps take out pizza’s on speed dial for an ER doctor.  The often comical mental discussions women have with themselves when falling in love. And finally, that there is nothing that an afternoon walk in a ‘glorious field of daffodils’ won’t cure.

This story is filled with believable characters with personalities much like most work environments.

There is always an ambitious, type A personality such as Sarah Burke, another ER nurse that at Sierra Mercy Hospital driven to succeed or to please at all costs.

There are often dedicated managers/supervisors that receive dictates from their superiors but identify more often with their subordinates such as Erin Quin, Sierra Mercy’s ER Head Nurse.

And there is most always, a person having to process the fear and failures of their past like Claire Avery, the heroine with a traumatic memories of the loss of brother.

With this array of characters and personalities, the reader can easily relate to the story. As the story develops and the reasons for each behavior is revealed, the result is a well developed story line.

The romance between Dr. McSnarly and Claire Avery gradually unfolds first with frustration, then with uncertainty, and finally with grace.  In the end, the story heralds that fact that our behavior is sometimes the result  our past experiences and the clear choice in overcoming them is to simply face them.

This is a great read. I recommend it highly and look forward to Book 2.

325439: Critical Care, Mercy Hospital Series #1 Critical Care, Mercy Hospital Series #1By Candace Calvert / Tyndale House

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (May 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414325436
• ISBN-13: 978-1414325439

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Book Review – The Shame Exchange: Trading Shame for God’s Mercy and Freedom by Steve & Sally Breedlove and Ralph & Jennifer Ennis

November 13, 2009 at 10:15 pm (Book Reviews, Ralph/Jennifer Ennis, Steve/Sally Breedlove)
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The Shame ExchangeWritten by a team of two couples with many years of experience, this is a timely book for those who find themselves struggling with shame and guilt whether it their own or others.

An extensive list of real life examples and illustrations are noted throughout the book. What follows is a general discussion of the definition of shame and guilt and the suggestion that not all shame or guilt is bad.

An engaging concept and while reading the book you find that it is true. Some shame, some guilt is healthy and promotes repentance and reconciliation.

While the book is written to all, the focus seems to be mainly on those who have made a commitment to Christ.

All ideas in the book are biblically sound and therefore trustworthy. The application process of the ‘healing ingredients’ provides a firm foundation for dealing with shame and guilt prompting the reader to solid approach to healing.

If I would note one criticism, it would be the shift in speakers.  All four authors are interesting and offer great advice; however, the reader may struggle with the change in author.

I would recommend this book to any believer battling the issue of shame and guilt.  The advice comes from four experienced authors and provides sound biblical advice.

About the Authors
Ralph Ennis serves with the Navigators National Training Team. In this role he trains staff, consults leaders, researches cultural decision patterns and develops resources to better minister to the hearts and minds of the 18-35 age group. Ralph has a Master’s degree in Intercultural Relations.

Jennifer Ennis counsels in a private practice office and serves on the Navigators National Training Team. She and Sally Breedlove began JourneyMates – a small group spiritual direction ministry for Christian leaders.

Steve and Sally Breedlove have pastored churches in the United States and Canada since 1972 as well as raising five children and thoroughly enjoying a growing cadre of grandchildren. In 2005 they joined eight other families to plant All Saints Church, an orthodox, evangelical Anglican congregation serving the region of Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.

066252: The Shame Exchange The Shame ExchangeBy Steve & Sally Breedlove, Ralph & Jennifer Ennis / NAV Press

# Paperback: 192 pages
# Publisher: NavPress (July 15, 2009)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1600066259
# ISBN-13: 978-1600066252

Disclaimer:
The review copy of this book was provided free of charge by NavPress and has been donated to the library of Westwood Baptist Church.

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Book Review of JC and Me: A Relationship, A Journey by Mark Koehler

November 13, 2009 at 9:01 pm (Book Reviews, Mark Koehler)
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JC and MeJC and Me: A Relationship. A Journey is recounting of Mark Koehler’s life beginning with his salvation experience through to his present day missionary work for Mission Ukraine Children’s Hope (MUCH), a charitable organization founded to provide hope to Ukraine’s disadvantaged children.

Parts of the book are testimonial, though in a very interactive and engaging way.  His story is retold using illustrations and anecdotes bringing the testimony to that resembling more of a memoir. He lists many of the mistaken ideas he had to put away about the Christian life, especially the concept of being rather than doing.

Parts of the book are instructional. As a missionary, all avenues of his life are focused on ‘knowing Him [Jesus] and making Him [Jesus] known’. This becomes quite clear as you read the chapters.  Many of the basic principles’ of Christianity are offered and examined with an ease that only one with experience can do making this a very good book for the new Christian.

Parts of the book are interactive. Each chapter ends with a more focused section named the same as the book JC and me.  Following each chapter is a list of questions for personal reflection. These questions would work well in a bible study group or small cell group.

The writing is conversational and at times brutally honest reminding me somewhat of Brennan Manning’s work. Throughout the book, you discover his deep need to know God, not just know about Him – to those who identify with this, it is refreshing to read and encouraging to know that another feels the same yearning.

Always willing to read, hear or watch a testimony, this was a very enjoyable book to read and I highly recommend it.  The only critical comment I would make would be in text edits which is something those of us who enjoy seeing how God works through His saints can easily overlook.

Disclaimer:
The review copy of this book was forwarded free of charge by an representative for the author and has now been donated to Westwood Baptist Church.

* Paperback: 148 pages
* Publisher: AuthorHouse (March 9, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1438944721
* ISBN-13: 978-1438944722

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Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

November 13, 2009 at 5:01 am (Book Quotes, Quotes and Poems)
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AbeLincolnAbraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
(from the collection of Lincoln’s papers in the Library of America series, Vol II, pp. 520-521)

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.

To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

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