{"id":3209,"date":"2017-09-10T11:40:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-10T17:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=3209"},"modified":"2017-09-13T08:12:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T14:12:00","slug":"thoughts-prayers-not-enough-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/thoughts-prayers-not-enough-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts and Prayers Are Great {But We\u2019re Called to Something Much, Much More}  \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>I just got back from Houston and I may soon be deployed to Florida. I\u2019ve got hurricane stories to tell but that will come later. Someone asked me if I was a storm chaser. Another shook their head and said with a smile that I was a fool. Maybe I\u2019m all of that and that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n<p>Catching up on emails and my social media feeds I\u2019m seeing all kinds of news about the big storms. Watching <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcmiami.com\/news\/local\/Watch-Live-NBC-6-News-204316851.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">television live streams<\/a> is addictive isn\u2019t it? With breathless reporters looking for victims and at the same time scared half to death themselves. We can\u2019t stop with see-saw of shock and fear and dismay.<\/p>\n<p>We all want to do something, but most of us feel helpless. So we offer our <em>thoughts and prayers.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve done that, offered the words when I don\u2019t know anything else to say. But now I\u2019m wondering.<br>\n<a id=\"aRVelgMqSutbbgQL0YDCUg\" class=\"gie-single decorated-link\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/842237764\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\nwindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'aRVelgMqSutbbgQL0YDCUg',sig:'_hrZtCyM0NJxSMJ3TjYSGNUMeW0W-6IFtV_6b-3i7OU=',w:'594px',h:'395px',items:'842237764',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>There\u2019s a place for that<\/h3>\n<p>Now don\u2019t get me wrong. When we send our thoughts to the needy, to the suffering, the hurting they are important. When my father died and then my mother in a short amount of time, the idea that people were thinking of me was tremendously helpful. The emails, texts, and actual cards and letters that poured in me proved to be of great comfort.<\/p>\n<p>And the prayers are those silent weapons that actually do change things. Of this I believe. And to tell someone that you are praying for them, and actually mean it, has marvelous influence. When tragedy hits, we turn to God, looking for answer, looking for hope. And prayer to find some meaning in it all is of great comfort. Even the prayers of those who do not believe, who think it\u2019s a big bunch of hogwash are welcome. Just pray. Please.<\/p>\n<p>Of course politicians and leaders have to say something in the face of tragedy. To Tweet out \u201cthoughts and prayers\u201d is almost automatic these days.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone from the <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/money\/4934974\/hurricane-irma-7-11-free-water\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">7-11 convenience stores<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/abc13.com\/queen-elizabeth-ii-sends-prayers-to-harvey-victims\/2369077\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Queen Elizabeth II \u00a0<\/a>to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lifeandstylemag.com\/posts\/beyonce-houston-2017-141476\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Beyonce<\/a> have issued statements using the phrase.<\/p>\n<p>As a professional corporate communicator, I know the pressure for the boss to say just the right thing. You want to be sensitive and yet take into account all the factors.<br>\n <a id=\"ax6xxBsVSM5BtmtuUIwxOg\" class=\"gie-single decorated-link\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/842002566\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\nwindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'ax6xxBsVSM5BtmtuUIwxOg',sig:'87ncU4zR099FaH1Gl0DPuHnkTwmHXJT68xvgcHa8JFY=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'842002566',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>But then there\u2019s more<\/h3>\n<p>But for me, I\u2019m at the point in my life where I\u2019m no longer satisfied with just Thoughts and Prayers. If that\u2019s all I\u2019m offering, I am no longer in the service of love, of compassion, of change. I have hung up my uniform and ceded the fight to another.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t want you to stop thinking and praying for those who are impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. I saw first-hand the devastation of Harvey and know that hundreds of thousands of people have had their\u00a0lives upended. To see row after row of homes with all their worldly possessions scooped out onto the front of the house was humbling and sad.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t give up sending thoughts to victims of terror, or violence, or devastation. Don\u2019t quit praying for those who have cancer or have lost a loved one or been fired from a job.<\/p>\n<p>Yes. Think. Yes. Pray.<\/p>\n<p>But I believe we all need to add one more word. \u201cDo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>I\u2019ll be posting an article tomorrow on some ideas of what we can, no matter who we are to help. What are some of your ideas? \u00a0Please share in the comments below<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/580\/2017\/09\/Hurricane-Harvey-147.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3210\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3210\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/580\/2017\/09\/Hurricane-Harvey-147-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo By David Rupert\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"><\/a>Photo By David Rupert<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m at the point in my life where I\u2019m no longer satisfied with just Thoughts and Prayers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":3210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1694,1697,1696,1693,1692,1695],"class_list":["post-3209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-action","tag-hurricane-harvey","tag-hurricane-irma","tag-prayers","tag-thoughts","tag-tragedy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Thoughts and Prayers Are Great {But We\u2019re Called to Something Much, Much More} \u00a0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"And don\u2019t give up sending thoughts to victims. 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