Devotional for friends // Devocional para as amigas

  We don’t get tired of reading the Bible. Do you want to know why? Because it is like a new book every morning. I have read the whole Bible many times now, about 6 or 7, not sure; and when it is read with patience, and really paying attention, something will catch your eye. I like Job’s story. Although his friends didn’t really believe in his innocence, that doesn’t mean that what they said are lies. They don’t apply to Job. You know, Job didn’t fall in Satan’s trap; although he didn’t know what was going on, nor why he was going through all that. His friends didn’t know either. They thought Job had sinned greatly, and he was suffering the consequences of his sin. A little further into the chapter 2, Job’s wife (I suppose) got tired and didn’t want to go through the ordeal with him, cursed him, and told him to curse his God and die. I would not want to be in his place, especially at this moment. Not the point. The curious thing was his ...

  Almost a month ago, I received sad news about an old colleague; she has been hospitalized since then, in a coma or in an unconscious state. I cannot imagine what it has been like for her family and closest friends. I had the pleasure of working with her for a short time during my Ph.D., and she was always very kind and loving. I cannot say the same for me, but she was a better person than I was at that time. I asked her forgiveness for once I had lost my temper with her; she wasn’t at fault, she knew what I was going through and didn’t make a big deal of it. What I want to say is that God has his plans and He doesn’t fill us in on what comes next. We stay here wondering the whys, hows, and what should or should not have been done to prevent such and such. There is nothing one can say that will comfort the hearts of her family or friends. We don’t know if she’ll wake up or if God will take her to himself. The Job story in the Bible tell...

  Mouth guard, if only we wore them all day long. Protetor bucal, quem dera pudéssemos usá-lo o dia todo. Happy New Year to all. If you can understand the joke above. The mouth guard above protects our teeth, but what if it could protect us from our uncontrollable impulses to talk?   Let’s start this year with at least good intentions. Let’s get better. Let’s get more humble and wiser. Let’s start with acknowledging the vices we have, which appear in our speech. Here, the author, Thomas a Kempis, and I will quote him the whole section, because I cannot write it better. “Who can fully judge or comprehend just how many and varied are the sins and vices which come to being through our words? Let us ask ourselves, how often are our words: •             pointless and profitless, •             Flippant and foolish,...