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Christ’s theological and political enemies try, always try, to catch him out with multitudes of trick questions. Which is the greatest commandment in the law? they ask, craftily, ready to make a case for the one he does not choose.
And from the morass of the 613 commands in the Torah, Christ chooses just two. The great and first commandment, the megale and protos commandment, he says, is to love God, with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. Love God, because he, creator of the universe, and of you; lover of the world and of you; dream-giver, dream-granter, is worthy of our love.
The second one is like it, love your neighbour as yourself; do unto others what you wish they would do unto you. Treat yourself gently; treat others gently. The entire law and the prophets hang on these two commandments, Jesus says.
And Jesus models living these commandments--waking early, and slipping to lonely places to chat with his father; maintaining his physical, mental and spiritual health by hiking to be alone with God in deserts, by the River Jordan, on mountains, in gardens. And he loved people, sharing bread and wine he created by the power of faith, cooking fish for his friends, bringing healing through his presence, his words, and his wisdom.
A great golden triad on which to base our lives--love of God, of others, and of our own selves.
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Jesus, wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove, brave as a lion.
Outraged at those who attempted to make money off people’s faith and longing for God, he rampages through the temple, overturning the tables of the moneychangers. He heals, he teaches; he’s proclaimed as Messiah. And he incurs the wrath of his old enemies, the chief priests and elders who ask: Who gave you the authority to do such things?
But Jesus coolly answers their hostile questions with a loaded question of his own, trapping the trappers.
So cool, so calm, so wise! We have no record of Jesus running, rushing, being stressed or lacking peace. He never speaks on his own he tells us, without checking in with the Father. So, no foolish, ill-judged statements.
How do we develop these traits? Long before the day of testing, we must practice breathing, and tuning in to the frequency of the Father. We remember, fearlessly, that our interrogators have no power over our lives which the Father has not permitted them. That our life is in our Father’s hands. That not all questions need to be answered. For feeding pearls of wisdom to hungry pigs, would risk you, the edible, being devoured. Jesus directly answered just three of the 183 questions he was asked, refusing to answer some, answering others with a good question.
Wisdom begins by slowing down and checking in with the Father before we speak or act. His wisdom percolates through our souls as we practice asking him for the best way to do things, organise a home, or write. And then we build upwards, asking for wisdom in ever more complex things.
Listening for the voice of God before we speak, tapping into the Spirit, which Jesus calls streams of living water within us, will give us the wisdom to know what to say which, frequently, is nothing at all. It will quieten us with the silence of God, which sings through the world, through sun and stars, sky and flowers.
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So, Joseph, intending to quietly break up with his fiancée, Mary, found pregnant, though not be him, is assured by an angel that she had conceived by the power of God’s spirit, and the child would be the long-awaited Messiah, who would deliver people from the chokehold of their sins.
And Joseph is not afraid, and lightning-bolt “coincidences” verified the angel’s words. A new star appeared in the heavens, and astrologers from the East, laden with gifts for the new King, followed it, until it stopped over a manger, where the temporarily homeless Jesus was laid. A location described by an angel to shepherds doing a night watch, who then visited.
But then, an angel revisits Joseph with a different message. No longer “Do not be afraid,” but flee with the child to Egypt, for jealous, insecure Herod, hearing from the Magi of this baby and forever King, plans to kill him.
Do not be afraid, but yet flee? Become a refugee? But the angel’s original statements were verified by so many coincidences…Magi appearing with gold which would sustain them in Egypt, angel-sent shepherds with rumours of great companies of angels singing of coming peace.
Joseph flees.
Fear is allowing ourselves to be frozen or panicked by imaginary what-ifs. It tenses our bodies; strains health, sleep and relationships; makes us stingy with ourselves and others; leads to overwork, and time wasted doing pointless things for fear of people’s ill opinions.
Prudence is wisdom--using our experience and spiritual discernment as we battle the demonic forces of this dark world, in Paul’s phrase. It’s fighting with divinely powerful weapons: truth, righteousness, faith, Scripture, and prayer, while surrendering our thoughts to Christ.
So let’s act prudently, wisely and bravely, silencing fear, while remaining alert to God’s guidance, delivered through inner peace or intuitions of danger and wrongness, our spiritual senses tuned to the Spirit’s “No,” his “Slow,” his “Go,” as cautious as a serpent, protected, while being as gentle as a dove, or a lamb among wolves.
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Tamar, who seduced her father-in-law, Judah. Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute. Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, who was raped by David. Jacob, scammer and inheritance thief! Solomon, with 300 concubines and 700 wives. They were all among the chosen ancestors of Jesus. From them, he came. Iraqis, Canaanites, Moabites, Hittites, Ammonites--were all named as his ancestors. From all of them, Christ came.
And he came for everyone. All can dive into the cascades of his love. He is Jesus for everyone. For the brilliant and the shallow, the selfish and the kind. For those who’ve memorised their Bibles and those who rarely open them; those whose prayers move mountains, and those who worry instead; for the theologically erudite, and those with childlike faith. Liars, embezzlers, the avaricious, psychopaths, sociopaths, the sad and those who sadden others: to all, his redemption is offered.
He came for people from every nation and language. For those we respect and find interesting and those we secretly dislike, judge, and are threatened by. For the pushy and the gentle, for strivers and the lazy, for the ethical and the dishonest, he comes, bearing gifts: the ability to give and receive love, answered prayer, his guidance, his presence, his wisdom, his peace.
Nothing separates the thirsty heart from his love, not our stinginess, vengefulness, malice, untruthfulness, selfishness or manipulations, things he understands, for he lived among us, and loved us and left us the inheritance of his Spirit to change us.
And we come to him through the narrow gates of repentance, of surrender of all that we have and are to him, of soaking in sections of his ancient sacred book. We come humbly, breathing and praying: Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. There is room in my heart for you. And he will come again, with grace, with transformation, as he did all those years ago, when he came for everyone, and he came for you. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
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So counter-cultural were Jesus’s values, that even those who lived with him continuously for three years could not fully grasp them.
So his spirited apostles, James and John, whom he called “The Sons of Thunder,” get their mum to ask him for the places of the greatest prestige and visibility, on his right and left, in his court, once he came into his Kingdom.
And the other ten are indignant! Jesus asks them to cluster around him and explains (once again!) the ground rules of the topsy-turvy kingdom he is inaugurating. They are not to lord it over others or boss them around. The greatest, the one who is first, will be the one who is a blessing to others. And so, he offers them, not the second or third place, but the first place in the lives of those they encounter. Be the one who sees others, listens intently, slows down for others, cares for them, helps them.
Such a person is always one of the greatest people in the lives of those blessed to encounter them. They don’t need to sharp-elbow themselves to sit with the greatest. To those whom they have blessed, they are the greatest, in the way Christ himself modelled. They have used their one, two or five talents to bless others, to find the place where their deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
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So Jesus makes a beautiful offer to the earnest, moral young man who came to him, seeking a spiritual life: Come, follow me. Remarkably, the young man claimed that he has kept all the commandments from his youth, including the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself, a statement Jesus does not challenge.
The challenge Jesus does offers him, however, the man cannot accept—to sell his vast possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow Jesus encumbered.
He leaves, grieving, and Jesus looks at him, loves him, and famously observes that it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to live in the world of wonders which is living under Christ’s kingship, guidance and protection.
He reassures his dismayed disciples, however, that with God even the treasure-burdened can squeeze into God’s kingdom, “for with God, all things are possible.”
Following him would quite literally mean walking into a world of daily wonders, and immensely rich conversation, walking through Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, quite impossible to do with suitcases and backpacks laden with treasure.
For what would we reject God’s specific, internally heard whisper or directive, a micro-call? That is the idol which currently grips and possesses us.
Not all of us have great riches, nor is money everyone’s greatest temptation—it can be success, fame, universal esteem, you name it…
But, since with God all things are possible, even those who waver in their pursuit of God can still experience him in fits and snatches, find our spirits singing on a walk or during worship in church, or find our hearts strangely warmed by Scripture, and, sometimes, even “see” Christ stand before us.
For Christ looks at us, Christ loves us, and says, “With God, all things are possible,” even we, the flawed, entering his beautiful Kingdom.
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https://anitamathias.com/2023/09/07/how-to-find-the-freedom-of-forgiveness/
How to Find the Freedom of Forgiveness
Completely letting go of anger and resentment and forgiving is an emotional transaction as well as a decision of the will. We discover that we cannot command our emotions to forgive and let go of anger, just as we cannot ourselves to love or like or hate.
But given that forgiveness gives us clarity of mind, spirit, and emotions, and so much more space in each of these… it’s important to master this gentle art. How?
When tormenting memories surface, our cortisol, adrenaline, blood pressure, and heart rate all rise. It’s good to literally take a quick walk with Jesus, to calm this neurological and physiological storm. And then honestly name these emotions… for feelings buried alive never die.
Then, in a process called “the healing of memories,” mentally visualise the painful scene, seeing Christ himself there, his eyes brimming with compassion. Ask Christ to heal the sting, to draw the poison from these memories of experiences that have injured your mind, spirit, character, and assessment of yourself. We are caterpillars in a ring of fire, as Martin Luther wrote--unable to rescue ourselves. We need help from above.
Accept what happened. What happened, happened. Then, as the Apostle Paul advises, give thanks in everything, though not for everything. Give thanks because God can bring good out of the swindle and the injustice. Ask him to creatively bring magic and beauty from the ashes.
If, like the persistent widow Jesus used as an example, you want to pray for justice--that the swindler and the abusers’ characters are revealed, so many are protected, then do so--but that’s a double-edged prayer. First, purify your own life.
And now, just forgive. Perhaps say aloud, I forgive you for … You are setting a captive free. Yourself. Come alive. Be free.
And when memories of deep injuries arise, say: “No. No. Not going there.” Stop repeating the devastating story to yourself or anyone else. Don’t waste your time and emotional energy, nor let
yourself be overwhelmed by anger at someone else’s evil actions. Don’t let the past poison today. Refuse to allow re-injury. Deliberately think instead of things noble, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
So keep trying, in obedience, to forgive, to let go of your anger until you suddenly realise that you have forgiven, and can remember past events without agitation. Christ be with us!
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So, the temple taxmen come for Jesus and Peter. And Jesus, who repeatedly referred to his powerful body as God’s temple on earth, decides to pay anyway, to avoid a scandal over something trivial--for him. And so, he instructs Peter, a professional fisherman with boats, and massive nets, to catch a fish with a line and hook, tool of the amateur fisherman, and look inside its mouth! And Peter swallows his pride, fishes like a weekend hobbyist, and finds a four-drachma coin, the exact silver needed for his tax, and Jesus’s.
One should never underestimate God’s wonder-working power, or his miraculous provisions, and surprising strategies to create wealth. Prayer for God’s miracles should increasing become our first resort!!
However, sometimes, as Tim Keller wrote, God allows us to fail, as when Peter fished hard all night and caught nothing---to teach us and prepare us through the failure, so that eventually, we may become fisher of humans, if that is our call, or, if we’re entrepreneurial types, perhaps even fishers of money.
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Jesus is blazingly honest about the cost of following him. We can no longer follow ourselves, or be driven by our prideful or self-indulgent desires. We submit our wills to a greater, phenomenally brilliant will, and accept His assignments for our day, and our life.
His assignments, “the cross”, so to say, involve the discipline necessary for growth, rather than neurosis, in Carl Jung’s phrase. It’s the discipline necessary to maintain our health and an orderly household, and develop our gifts and fulfil our calling.
Following Jesus is, of course, not incompatible with goals or ambitions, but it does involve surrendering them to Him. We no longer own our work; God does! And the pursuit of what Tim Keller calls counterfeit Gods: “money, the seduction of success, the power and the glory,” merely exhausts us for nothing. That particular ladder has no end, and our restlessness remains, until as Augustine of Hippo rightly wrote, our heart finds its rest in God.
Besides, as C. S. Lewis points out, the rewards of following Christ are staggering, despite the call to the cross--peace that the world does not give; the fullness of joy; living water to quench our restlessness, living bread for inner life, light for our confusions. And occasional guidance to the one fish which has a silver coin in its mouth, and occasional thousand-fold multiplication of the fruits of our labours. Following Jesus is tough, but worth it, a thousand times over!!
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The story of an amazing, persistent, feisty woman who argues with Jesus, and contradicts Jesus until his No turns to Yes. Jesus praises her for her faith, one of the handful of times Jesus praises humans... and it's almost always for their faith, their honesty, or their ability to hear from the Spirit.
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Character-building difficulty and uncertainty comes for each of us, when it feels as if we are tossed in a boat on a stormy sea, buffeted by waves, with the wind against us.
And in the encircling gloom, Christ whispers the same words with which he reassured his storm-tossed disciples, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.”And Peter, the confident risk-taker, says, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says another of his great words, “Come.”
Jesus, the merciful, did not ask Peter to do something that transcended the humanly possible and Peter’s own faith, but since Peter wanted to get to Jesus as quickly as possible, and to do whatever Jesus did, he gives him permission to walk on water.
We sometimes yearn to do things for which we know we don’t have the money, time, abundant gifting, or even the character. Never begin them before you’ve prayed, “Lord, tell me to do it.”
And if he says, “Come,” start tackling the impossibility, immediately.
And Peter walks on water, until he sees the almost visible wind, is afraid, and begins to sink. Fear paralyses, sinks, and destroys.
And Peter prays a powerful prayer, “Lord, save me.” And immediately, Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him, scolding, “Oligopistos. You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”
And the wind dies down, and Peter learns to keep his eyes on Jesus and his power when he attempts the impossible, and to cry out for Jesus’s help when he begins to sink.
And we, reading their story, two millennia later, learn--take risks, attempt greater things than you have done before, and when, terrified, you begin to sink, immediately reach out for Jesus’ hand, and ask him to save you.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on. Let me stand.
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Jesus says that following him is like discovering priceless treasure hidden in a field. The finder would joyfully sell everything to buy it, as should we!
And so he speaks of living in the Kingdom of God, living with him as our High King and Lord, as a treasure, worth trading everything for. It's described as experiencing peace, joy, and operating in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As literally selling everything we have would take time, so too will adjusting our lives to living in Christ's invisible Kingdom.
It requires a slow, steady but definite adjustment of each area of our lives: relationships, what we read and watch, consumption and production of social media, travel, leisure, our spending and giving, time spent on food prep and exercise, on prayer and scripture, on reading and the news, on home and garden maintenance, on church activities and volunteering. Some of us will spend less time on these, others will spend more, for we each have a unique shape and calling.
Entering into the kingdom of God is a very individual pilgrim's progress; we each have a different starting point. Rick Warren of "The Purpose Driven Life" suggests that those seeking to change anything change their bodies first, by getting their exercise and diet under control... which is where I am starting!!
While following Christ is costly, for sure, it's costlier to follow what Tim Keller called Counterfeit Gods --“money, the seduction of success, the power and the glory,” climbing a cruel ladder which has no end, and never satisfies for long.
In a remarkable account, Bill Bright, founder of Cru, describes his surrender to God as abandoning his puny little plans for God's magnificent plans. Once done, he said the future seemed brighter than ever before... And it undoubtedly was! Jesus's promise that the things the unbelieving world chases will added to those who seek his Kingdom first came true in Bright’s life, as it will in ours as we pursue Christ.
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(The meditation on Matthew 12:22 begins at 6:01.)
On using words to light a fires of inspiration and joy, not devastation, as the Apostle James describes!Words—can inspire, set us on fire, delight…
They can also "set the whole course of one's life on fire," as the Apostle James dramatically says, destroying precious friendships and relationships.
How do we ensure our words bring light, not darkness? We need the Scriptural promise in Ezekiel of the new heart and the new spirit. We need a flooding of the Spirit making all things new within us, with his fruits of love, joy peace, gentleness, and wisdom. A new personality!!
We can accelerate this life-changing experience of the Spirit through ancient practices like breath prayers, breathing out our stress, breathing in prayer like "Come Holy Spirit." Through practices like taking a longish pause before we respond with negative or critical words or emails. Breath prayers and meditation calm and alter our entire neurology, helping us speak words which bring light, not devastation!!
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(The meditation on Matthew 11:28-29 begins at 6:42.)
One of the many literary devices Jesus uses is paradox, as when we offers the weary and burdened rest--by bearing his yoke.Bearing the yoke of Jesus means surrendering our freedom to say and do what we want. It means never committing to things before a chat with him. It means checking in to make sure that we are indeed doing things in his way--for he always has a surprisingly better way of doing things!
Jesus specifically promises us rest if we learn gentleness and humility from him. And that does not come from willpower or behaviour modification. It is a fruit of the seed of the Spirit within us.
Jesus considered the Spirit's power so essential that after commissioning his disciples to the greatest of tasks: to preach the Gospel to all nations, he told them to remain exactly where they were until they were clothed with "power from on high." The Spirit's power--that is our hope for the personality and character change to become gentle and humble, as Jesus described himself, and so find rest for our souls.My memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India UK USA
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Meditation on Matthew 9:27-30 begins at 5:28.
Jesus was the only person in the Bible who restored the sight of blind men. The two blind men called out a simple prayer, known as the Jesus prayer, “Jesus, have mercy on us. And their faith activated a miracle when Christ replied, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” And healed them!The same simple prayer changes things in our lives, too; the transcript of our prayers often becomes the transcript of our lives. However, we live in the “already-not yet” Kingdom. We often see answered prayer but not always, because God often has a happier biography in mind for us than our scripts, which might involve endless scrambling up ladders of striving, success and ever-more. Faith also involves leaving these worries in his hands.
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(Scriptural meditation begins at 4:49.)
Simon Peter was a professional fisherman. And Jesus keeps teaching him, again and again, that he, Jesus, has greater mastery over fishing. And over everything else. After fruitless nights of fishing, Jesus tells Peter where to cast his nets, for an astounding catch. Jesus walks on water, calms sea storms.It’s easy to pray in desperation when we feel hard-pressed and incompetent, and, often,
Christ rescues us, adds a 1 before our zeroes.
However, it’s equally important to turn over our strengths to him, so he can add zeroes after our 1. And the more we can surrender our strengths to his management, the more he blesses them.
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(Scriptural meditation begins at 5:25.)
I'm meditating through the Gospel of Matthew."Do not judge," Jesus says, "and you too will escape harsh judgement." And so once again, he reiterates a law of human life and of the natural world—sowing and reaping.
Being an immensely practical human, Jesus realises that we are often most “triggered” when we observe our own faults in other people. And the more we dwell on the horrid traits of people we know in real life, politicians, or the media or internet-famous, the more we risk mirroring their unattractive traits.
So, Jesus suggests that, whenever we are intensely annoyed by other people to immediately check if we have the very same fault. And to resolve to change that stumbling block in ourselves. Then, instead of wasting time in fruitless judging, we will experience personal change.
And as for us who have been judgey, we still live “under the mercy” in Charles Williams’ phrase. We place the seeds we have sown into the garden of our lives so far into God’s hands, and ask him to let the thistles and thorns wither and the figs and grapes bloom. May it be so!
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(Scriptural meditation begins at 4:48.)
Jesus advised his listeners--struggling fishermen, people living on the edge, without enough food for guests, not to worry about what they were going to eat. Which, of course, is still shiningly relevant today for many.However, today, with immense societal pressure to be slender, along with an obesogenic food environment, sugary and carby food everywhere, at every social occasion, Jesus’s counsel about not worrying about what we will eat takes on an additional relevance. Eat what is set about you, he advised his disciples, as they went out to preach the Gospel. In this age of diet culture and weight obsession, Jesus still shows us how to live lightly, offering strategies like fasting (which he promises brings us a reward from God).
What would Jesus’s way of getting fitter and healthier be? Fasting? Intuitive spirit-guided eating? Obeying the great commandment to love God by praying as we walk? Listening to Scripture or excellent Christian literature as we walk, thanks to nifty headphones. And what about the second commandment, like the first—to love our neighbour as ourselves? Could we get fitter running an essentialist household? Keeping up with the garden? Walking with friends? Exercising to be fit enough to do what God has called us to do?
This meditation explores these concerns.
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(Scriptural meditation begins at 4:22.)
Meditating on a “beatitude.”… Happy, makarios, or blessed are the merciful, Jesus says, articulating the laws of sowing and reaping which underlie the universe, and human life.
Those who dish out mercy, and go through life gently and kindly, have a happier, less stressful experience of life, though they are not immune from the perils of our broken planet, human greed polluting our environment and our very cells, deceiving and swindling us. The merciless and unkind, however, sooner or later, find the darkness and trouble they dish out, haunting them in turn.
Sowing and reaping, is, of course, a terrifying message for us who have not always been kind and merciful!
But the Gospel!... the tender Fatherhood of God, the fact that the Lord Christ offered to bear the sentence, the punishment for the sins of the world-proportionate because of his sinlessness. And in that divine exchange, streams of mercy now flow to us, slowly changing the deep structure of our hearts, minds, and characters.
And so, we can go through life gently and mercifully, relying on Jesus and his Holy Spirit to begin and complete the work of transformation in us, as we increasingly become gentle, radiant children of God.
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(Scriptural meditation begins at 3:48.)
“Do not be afraid,” is the first sentence the risen Christ says. Because his resurrection frees him from the boundaries of space and time, in each room we enter, Christ is with us--and his Spirit, who helps us change our hearts, our characters, and our lives.The seismic power which raised Christ from the dead is now available to us, for the issues of our lives, helping us conquer addictions, bad habits, and distressing character traits.
We access this dynamite power by practising prayer. We need, first of all, to slow down, and bathe and saturate our lives in prayer, praying for wisdom and blessing for, before, and during everything we do.
And as God answers, our faith progressively increases, our characters change, and we begin to experience God’s miracles in our lives.
And a prayer:
Oh God of resurrection,
Come with your dynamite power into our lives.
We put our old dreams and our new ones into your hands.
Bring them to life. Make them glow.
Come like a mighty burst of spring into our lives
Bringing apparently dead relationships, dreams,
The things we once loved,
And all our dormant potential to radiant life.
We put our lives into your hands.
Make them beautiful.
Come Lord Jesus.
Amen.
My memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India UK USA
Blog: anitamathias.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anitamathiaswriter/
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Twitter : anitamathias1
My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) and UK - Laat meer zien
