Virginia is for Lovers

It seems like Virginia was the first state to coin the phrase and made t-shirts galore promoting their state in the slogan "Virginia is for Lovers." The original conception had several takes on the theme: "Virginia is for history lovers," "Virginia is for beach lovers," and "Virginia is for mountain lovers." The campaign started in 1969, the year of Erich Segal's "Love Story," Henry Mancini's "Love Theme" to Romeo and Juliet was played on all the radio stations, and Woodstock drew more than 300,000 for a weekend of peace, music, and mud. With all of that love in the air, the team eventually decided to use the universal campaign of "Virginia is for Lovers", and leave off the qualifiers of history, beach, etc. The first ad appeared in Modern Bride magazine, and today Viriginia is the tenth most popular tourist destination in the fifty states. Maybe after thirty years it's time to update the t-shirt with technology and print "Virginia is for blog lovers!"- probably not, but I am thankful for at least one! I was unsuccessful in finding a way to make a comment show as part of an earlier post, but I thought it was too pertinent to hide in a pop-up window. So tonight I thank Virginia for sharing this poem and for Sabbath rest. Shalom.

Anonymous said on June 19th...
I love your word "prikkelbaar" it kind of sums up that icky feeling. Thought I would share a poem with you that helps me out when I have those "prikkelbaar" feelings. - a friend in VA.

I Promise Myself
By Christian D. Larson

To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the bestand to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times
and give a smile to every living creature I meet.
To give so much time to improving myself
that I have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger,
too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,
so long as I am true to the best that is in me.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, Let us be true to our promises to ourselves, that we spend less time on worry and anger and more time on growth and compassion. Let us be true to our pledge of faithfulness to you, that we become all that you have called us to be; to have agape love, a consuming passion for the well-being of others (F.F. Bruce). Christ is for Lovers - Agape Lovers. If we wear more than the shape of a heart on our shirt, instead showing our love through our actions, then our church can become a cherished destination for the weary and the joyful, the hurt and the healers, the seekers and the guides, the haters and the lovers... agape lovers. Amen.