Ukraine's Neighbor

 

And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once (Luke 21:9) I wish I knew more about the current situation in Ukraine so that I could let you all in on what is really happening but, as you have probably heard, truth is often the first casualty of war. This you can be sure of though--many Christians are caught up in the conflict on both sides and they have very few choices available to them to escape violence. Millions are fleeing to Poland. Being Polish myself and the son of immigrants, I grew up hearing stories of war time atrocities and when I visited then communist Poland in 1985, you could cut the air that was heavy with Soviet oppression. There is a long history of bitter rivalry that exists between nations in that part of the world that we, relatively comfortable in our blessed country, really have no concept of and if you would like to read about my reflections and travels to Eastern Europe, you can do so by getting my brief travelogue that I wrote upon my return to the USA from behind the Iron Curtain that existed then. It's available here at Amazon. But above all, I encourage you to remember the members of the Body of Christ that are facing death and tribulation daily and pray for peace.

Red Beets and Horseradish

Curiously enough, I received this week an order to do a music review and band feature on the new album by long time musicians, Little Wretches. RED BEETS AND HORSERADISH is inspired by a relish or side-dish usually served around the holidays of Easter or Passover by various ethnicities of Eastern Europe. For the Serbs, for example, the red of the beets is symbolic of the blood of their people, and the horseradish the bitterness of their suffering. For others, the symbolism involves the blood of their savior and the bitterness of His suffering. People in the Jewish tradition also enjoy the dish, but there is no blood involved—the beets are merely for flavor—but the horseradish does represent the memory of bitter suffering in bondage. It always fascinates me how the timing of these things work out. You can check out the post here on my blog.

After a few weeks of collaboration with various artists and others involved in the project, my band, Patient Chill's second EP is almost ready for full distribution soon when the finishing touches have been applied. It's an eclectic combination of songs in smooth jazz, pop/rock, worship style and psychedelia that we are proud to release. You can hear snippets of it at our Linktree page

Thanks for subscribing to the CMA newsletter and remember: As crazy as things appear on earth these days, all is right in heaven! Just keep calm and listen!