A comment from Janet Paschal.............

This is an Email I received from Janet Paschal, she is a Gospel Singer and I have admired her for many years. This is her perspective, and one that we all should share. She is a very giving person.

Alabama On Our Minds

Hey Everybody,

I have just returned from Tuscaloosa where we partnered with Comfort Care of Alabama for a Tornado Relief concert. On Thursday night we raised $5,000 and on Friday night in Brewton, the concert attendees added a truckload of basic essentials for the people of that state. God bless America...

I was granted a behind-the-scenes tour of the hardest hit areas. Amid the indescribable pictures, it was encouraging to see the people and corporations who have joined hands, hearts, and logistics to reach out to the people of that area. Tide laundry (P&G, I suppose) set up a free washer and dryer facility along the main stretch of highway; next door was a makeshift Duracell battery charging station; at posts all throughout the worst areas the National Guard offered free water and tarps. Many national companies sent supplies, stations, and volunteers to work hands-on as the area begins a long recovery. I spent the day alternating between deep sadness and sheer pride at the response of a nation under God that does not wait to be asked, but who moves without hesitation to help someone whose need is more imminent.

I know that the people of Alabama and the other areas affected sincerely covet your prayers. I also suspect that many of you have already been praying for them. That, too, makes me proud.

We love you. We appreciate you, too.

Blessings,

Janet

Four Little Words

I suppose that everyday, little things happen that mean so much to someone. There is a whole series of TV ads about someone doing something nice, someone sees it and they in turn do something, and so on.

I have been on the Email list of Janet Paschal for many years. She is one of the leading and most popular gospel singers in the country today. She is a regular at the Gaither Gospel concerts.

She sends out periodic Emails. I have responded to a few of them, and in a case or two, she answered my Emails, which made me feel great, to think that someone so busy, would take the time to answer me.

She went through breast cancer, and she kept us all apprised of her progress. I related to that because my wife had gone through the same thing.

Today, she wrote a nice newsletter about an incident in her childhood. I replied to it:

Beautifully written, we shared childhoods for a moment, thanks for taking me back there with you .......... Joe Dooley

She replied:

My pleasure, sir.

Janet

That didn't take her long, just four little words, but Janet Paschal, took a brief moment, to write to me, and in doing so, well, for one thing, brought some tears to my eyes, but she lifted my spirits, and made me feel great.

I wanted to share this.

Passover Prayer

Janet Paschal had this on her blog, it is worth reading, and thinking about.

When the Jews celebrate Passover today, they pray the Passover Prayer, which recalls the triumphant story of their people. Read for yourself:

Long ago, at this season, on such a night as this, a people - our people - set out on a journey.
All but crushed by their enslavement, they yet recalled the far-off memory of a happier past and heard the voice of their ancestral God, bidding them summon up the courage to be free.
Boldly, they went forth from Egypt, crossed the Sea, and headed through the desert for the Promised Land.
What they experienced, they remembered, and told their children, and they to theirs.
From generation to generation, the story was retold, and we are here to tell it yet again.
We, too, give thanks for Israel’s liberation; we, too, remember what it means to be a slave.
And so we pray for all who are still fettered, still denied their human rights. Let all God’s children sit a his table, drink the wine of deliverance, and eat the bread of freedom.

Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppression,

Freedom from hunger and freedom from want,

Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear,

Freedom to think and freedom to speak

Freedom to learn and freedom to love

Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice

Soon in our days, Amen