From Cafe Boulevard, Volgograd, Russia

"Money is the cheapest thing. Liberty, freedom, is the most expensive thing." Bill Cunningham (NY Times)

Do people in America live a more affluent life than people in other countries, such as Russia? Maybe. Maybe not. If it is said that we do, it does not at all mean we have a better life. Nor does it mean we are more intellectual or more sophisticated.

It also does not mean we are more spiritual. I haven't found a scripture that says wealth equates to holiness. But I have found scriptures that warn me about the trappings of wealth, the pursuit of wealth, hording what I have. I can easily and readily cite entire paragraphs that tell me to do what my ancestors did which means sell my stuff, give the money away, and for goodness sake don't make a big deal about it. Oh yeah, and I'm supposed to be happy about it. I'd read about that all my life but it wasn't until a few years ago that it suddenly became very clear to me as Alex Ferguson read about it during a communion message. Selling stuff and donating the proceeds. Think of it!

Somewhere a man once said, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." He learned the "secret." It's a secret. You don't learn that kind of secret by never having gone into the world, into all the world, his world at that moment in history (but our world now).

Somewhere it is written about a man who went into towns and villages "proclaiming the good news."

Somewhere it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

"He who seeks beauty will find it." Bill Cunningham (NY Times)

Someone once said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."


I have found beauty in this place.

For the Team.

Mike