Traveling to Dakota I will be non-posting for a week at least. This may be the last post for the year.
I wish everyone all the best at this season of remembrance. We will face the year to come and I can only encourage you by some wise people saying Quasi-wise things.
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn."
- Henry David Thoreau
The snow is gone from Illinois. Winter is sort of here and not. It’s like being in Kentucky for weather. If it keeps going too long like this the Magnolias will have been fooled into bloom. Then again that’s not so bad.
"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself."
- Henry Miller
I will be spending Christmas with Family, Family going thru changes. Some of those are painful changes. I would like to remember when it wasn’t so. I would like to remember the former things. But, I will try to treasure the here and now.
"A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen."
- Edward de Bono
I want to believe all will be well, that all will work out for the best. I want to believe that but sometimes I struggle. Optimism is hard work. So, I watch and wait and am thankful who holds the future in His hands.
"Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness."
- James Thurber
I will or might have much to Blog on in the New Year. But, I must update my diary.
"Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us."
- Oscar Wilde
God Bless us EVERY ONE!
Merry Christmas
See you soon……………………….
Friday, December 22, 2006
Eureka
I just discovered a wonderful blog that I have already bookmarked and recommend. You must see it.
Bill Barnwell is a 26-year-old pastor in Michigan. He is part of a fellowship (that's denomination to those of you from another time) that is eerily similar to the one under which I am credentialed. It appears that our theology would be as near identical as possible.
He is a deep thinker who has a way with the pen (or should I say keyboard).
His strong article, which was published on Lew Rockwell, has caused a great deal of buzz.
If you have NOT read it in its entirety you really must, particularly if you are in the arts and music.
It's time to take the lid off, or as I heard recently, get back to the basics.
Bill Barnwell is a 26-year-old pastor in Michigan. He is part of a fellowship (that's denomination to those of you from another time) that is eerily similar to the one under which I am credentialed. It appears that our theology would be as near identical as possible.
He is a deep thinker who has a way with the pen (or should I say keyboard).
His strong article, which was published on Lew Rockwell, has caused a great deal of buzz.
If you have NOT read it in its entirety you really must, particularly if you are in the arts and music.
It's time to take the lid off, or as I heard recently, get back to the basics.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Close all Churches
What if that were the mandate from a new ACLU driven Liberal Administration and congress in 2009? What if Churches were seen as anti-freedom and not relevant to society, so in response to a few complaints, all churches everywhere were closed by court order and all Staff had to become sanitation workers.
I know that's not going to happen, but stay with me here. IF it happened and 50 years goes by, will society be better or worse off than it is now?
I submit in 50 years we would be the same as we would have been with or without the church. My proof? Look at the last 50 years. Last Sunday in Church Barry Kolb said that the 1950s aren't coming back. I winced. The 1950s with it's implicit attempts at honor and morality (however veneered), the 1950s when swearing on your honor meant something. Gone? All this time the Church of Jesus has done what it always did, sang and preached. NET RESULT? No effect. 90% sexual activity before marriage, divorce and abortion in the church as high as in the culture. Every deviance exists in the church equal to what it does outside. Ergo, we have had no effect on the culture whatsoever.
I have been hearing one word from God as am waiting for him to develop what he wants to say thru me for 2007. That word is relevancy. Ron at Blessed Economist just wrote about it, the Pope just spoke about it. John Armstrong just wrote a post about it. I think that may be the word for 2007: Make a difference or disappear.
We in the Church (and I love the Church) have become as close to irrelevant to the society at large as anything can be. Our (the Church’s) influence on humanity is about the same as the Flat Earth Society. We just don't matter anymore. Worse we have become targets of spite and sardonic humor. What hurts the most, we did it to ourselves.
Oh, those of us IN the Church sure think we matter. We read each other's press releases. In Reality - We don't matter at all. I used to believe the Church of Jesus was that restriner against the man of Lawlessness as is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. I no longer do. We don't restrain anything. In fact if the man of lawlessness is among us we make him a Pastor or some other church leader. As I read the whole chapter of 2 Thessalonians 2 I think we are in the dead center of this time. It is only the Holy Spirit living in each person alone that restrains. The institutional Church as we understand it in America is without hope, in the world outside of the Covenent. Eph 2:12
This must change or why bother?
We have become neither salt nor light to the world.
We are an inert ingredient.
I know that's not going to happen, but stay with me here. IF it happened and 50 years goes by, will society be better or worse off than it is now?
I submit in 50 years we would be the same as we would have been with or without the church. My proof? Look at the last 50 years. Last Sunday in Church Barry Kolb said that the 1950s aren't coming back. I winced. The 1950s with it's implicit attempts at honor and morality (however veneered), the 1950s when swearing on your honor meant something. Gone? All this time the Church of Jesus has done what it always did, sang and preached. NET RESULT? No effect. 90% sexual activity before marriage, divorce and abortion in the church as high as in the culture. Every deviance exists in the church equal to what it does outside. Ergo, we have had no effect on the culture whatsoever.
I have been hearing one word from God as am waiting for him to develop what he wants to say thru me for 2007. That word is relevancy. Ron at Blessed Economist just wrote about it, the Pope just spoke about it. John Armstrong just wrote a post about it. I think that may be the word for 2007: Make a difference or disappear.
We in the Church (and I love the Church) have become as close to irrelevant to the society at large as anything can be. Our (the Church’s) influence on humanity is about the same as the Flat Earth Society. We just don't matter anymore. Worse we have become targets of spite and sardonic humor. What hurts the most, we did it to ourselves.
Oh, those of us IN the Church sure think we matter. We read each other's press releases. In Reality - We don't matter at all. I used to believe the Church of Jesus was that restriner against the man of Lawlessness as is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. I no longer do. We don't restrain anything. In fact if the man of lawlessness is among us we make him a Pastor or some other church leader. As I read the whole chapter of 2 Thessalonians 2 I think we are in the dead center of this time. It is only the Holy Spirit living in each person alone that restrains. The institutional Church as we understand it in America is without hope, in the world outside of the Covenent. Eph 2:12
This must change or why bother?
We have become neither salt nor light to the world.
We are an inert ingredient.
Massachusetts Takes Action on Killer Disease
(AP) BOSTON Massachusetts could become the first state to ban the HIV-spreading behavior of anal intercourse if a bill to be filed today wins legislative support.
Massachusetts is considering reviving the puritanical sodomoy laws banning homosexual men from engaging in anal sex -- a move some in the gay community are giving a thumbs-down.
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health, filed a bill Tuesday to make Massachusetts the first state to impose the ban.
"It's basically killing people," Koutoujian said.
He said health officials have known about the "evils" of the HIV virus for years. He said two recent developments -- greater access to condoms and a move by some in the gay community to shy away from casual sex -- now make a statewide ban possible.
"People are dying and suffering from AIDS all around us and anal intercourse is something that is easily replaceable," he said. The HIV virus can be spread when homosexual men engage in casual, unprotected sex.
Oh Wait, I got a wrong version, here's the real one.
What does this mean???
Massachusetts is considering reviving the puritanical sodomoy laws banning homosexual men from engaging in anal sex -- a move some in the gay community are giving a thumbs-down.
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health, filed a bill Tuesday to make Massachusetts the first state to impose the ban.
"It's basically killing people," Koutoujian said.
He said health officials have known about the "evils" of the HIV virus for years. He said two recent developments -- greater access to condoms and a move by some in the gay community to shy away from casual sex -- now make a statewide ban possible.
"People are dying and suffering from AIDS all around us and anal intercourse is something that is easily replaceable," he said. The HIV virus can be spread when homosexual men engage in casual, unprotected sex.
Oh Wait, I got a wrong version, here's the real one.
What does this mean???
Nativity is Pretty Good
Peggy and I went to see the Nativity last Saturday PM.
It was very traditional in theology. I was ok with that. It was also beautiful in it's portrayal.
For me the most interesting two situations in the movie was the relationship between Mary and Joseph and the manger scene.
Both had impact on me.
The rest was just really pretty good.
What breaks my heart is that according to this report the movie isn't doing very well. That's too bad. It'a pretty good flick.
It was very traditional in theology. I was ok with that. It was also beautiful in it's portrayal.
For me the most interesting two situations in the movie was the relationship between Mary and Joseph and the manger scene.
Both had impact on me.
The rest was just really pretty good.
What breaks my heart is that according to this report the movie isn't doing very well. That's too bad. It'a pretty good flick.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
What is happening end of Feb??
Hearing from God regarding 2006 in late Dec of 2005, many things were spoken by the spirit responding to the zeitgeist of the times. There was a lot of fear among people, even christians, at the end of 2005. We forget what things were like at the end of 2005. Katrina had just happened. Things were very uncertain. Fear was in the air. Here are some areas where the Lord wanted at that time to allay or help get perspective. In fact, the beginning of the prophetic spoke most about fear and reaction to fear. You can read it for yourself.
NATURAL OCCURANCES
We had just come off the biggest hurricane season in years. Predictions abounded that because of global warming we would have more hurricanes in 2006. God said no. He did say however that we would have other radical weather. Most tornadoes in history, flooding, and rainfall. His word was intended to get those with ears to hear off the pronouncements of Man and on to what God says. Are there yet earthquakes?
Men’s hearts have been failing them for fear, even in the Church, about bird flu.
If you don’t remember this you should. I was one who in the flesh believed we were all gonna die. We didn’t. There were some minor outbreaks here and there. A couple hundred die. But, this was an important reassurance for Father to give us.
CULTURE
God cares about the culture in which we live. He speaks against the areas where our culture is out of line. He judges those things that must be judged.
My judgment will come against corrupt media in 2006
Many people were confused and discouraged by the dominance of mainstream media at the end of 2005 and on the opinions of others. God wanted to tell us he would do what needed to be done. That’s called RESTING in God. He did and will
In 2006 I will initiate the beginnings of an educational implosion.
There were more articles, news programs, news stories, exposé’s of the corrupt public school system in 2006 than ever before. At the end of 2005 many were dissatisfied. Now in revolt.
People have given up on cities.
That was a headline at the end of 2005. But, God wanted to reassure his people that he doesn’t forget or condemn. Cities are becoming a new destination for many people to live.
I will continue to expose those workers of darkness in media
The big stars at the end of 2005 in shock jock radio. Name one who is still on the air in a big way. God cleaned house.
The music industry which possesses an antichrist spirit will be cleansed.
At the end of 2005 there were lawsuits and raii infringement issues that reached a fevered pitch. I believe this word must have come to reassure those in the music business that God has it all in hand. This is a case of me knowing nothing in the flesh of these things but hearing it clearly for someone who would read this. I would be interested if anyone who did read this could tell me what this meant and why. None of these things are for naught.
The Economy
There were all kinds of prognostications at the end of 2005. Few were positive. Cost of Oil and Katrina and the cost of War were all going to take us under. Then there was a weak stock market. Some were saying the stock market was going to take a major dive in 2006. The spirit of the day was doom and gloom. But GOD had other ideas.
This will be a year of restabilization.
It was
General Motors will face bankruptcy
It did
The employment of my people in America will remain about the same
It does
Nearly a 25% decrease in housing starts.
There was
At the end, the economy, although shaken will continue to be good.
It is
Inflation concerns and tighter credit will cause fear
It does
Oil prices
Stable and falling in real value
Media empires
Collapsing
There will be a major scare in the stock market
There was
POLITICS (God puts up and takes down)
I put up whom I will and I take down whom I will.
Boy did he (at the end of 2005 it looked like the R's had a lock)
Judge Alito will be confirmed.
Yes he was, but at the end of 2005 conventional wisdom was he would not be, Roberts was enough, filibuster
departures from the Presidents administration
There were, but Bush kept saying, no changes.
The fall elections will be of little consequence.
Still remains to be seen. What appears to be change may not be
Your President Bush will be protected
There were assassination predictions at the end of 2005
I am purifying government. The scandals
The rumbling under the floorboards in the government was that these scandals would pass and have little effect. God said, it’s a purifying. Boy did he..
All the issues below were up in the air at the end of 2005
Patriot act – Passes but with modifications YES
Dems had said that there was no way in heck it would at all,
Social Security – no change in 2006 YES
Big priority at the end of 2005, lost of smoke and mirrors
Health Care Reform – serious talk begins YES
At the end of 2005 no glimmer of this conversation which begins again
Tax Reform – will continue but still not enough YES
In Dec of 2005 everything was about rolling back tax reform, more passed
Global Affairs
Things happening globally are of concern to God, Otherwise why did Jesus warn about Wars and rumors of war. Why didn’t he just talk about souls being saved. God wants us to be confident when the rumors start.
The long questioned WMD issue will be settled
The drumbeat at the end of 2005 was that Bush lied. He didn’t. BUT, WMD deniers will never be convinced. Then we have holocaust deniers too, same thing. Facts don’t matter to deniers.
Iraq will settle down. I will raise up leaders for this season of restoration.
At the end of 2005 it seemed like no election would happen, no government organized, no national representation that this would be without any hope. Now, while things are still a mess, there is a government, a police force, national representation and a glimmer of hope that the leadership of Iraq will solidify.
An alliance of Iran and Russia’s Putin
At the end of 2005 Russia still seemed to be the USA’s friend. The real colors of our “friendship” have begun to be revealed..
Afghanistan will require new interventions
At the end of 2005 it seemed like Kahrzi and government had things well in hand.
As a result Terrorist efforts will be come less frequent but more deadly
At the end of 2005 people expected a ramp up of terror bombings. I think of the Wedding Bombing in Jordan as a deadly example.
I have raised my hand against the UN.
2005 many believed that the UN could play a key role in solving the worlds problems, it has wider and deeper been shown for what it really is, an inept corrupt useless entity.
I will judge North Korea for the sake of a Christian South Korea
2005 many believed that North Korea might attack or be a danger. The paper tiger they really are and the desperate circumstance of their people is the real story today.
China and India will continue to ascend.
2005 there were questions how far these countries could go. The answer is further than we thought.
I have placed a mantle of peace over my promised land, Israel.
2005 Sharon stroke, civil war potential, Gaza in flames, Arafat gone. It looked bad. But, despite the brief war with Hezbollah 2006 was peaceful.
His Church
At the end of 2005 people in the Church at large were asking what was going to happen in unity. What would bring revival? Where was God in all this? What God said wasn’t a word of peace peace. In fact the last year has brought exactly what God said it would bring.
To date we have only lost 3 of consequence
The other question is, do we consider the fall of Ted Haggard a "Loss of a Major Leader"? Is the word accurate but misundestood? Did it have to mean death. I’ll wait it out. There are still 14 days yet in 2006.
In waiting on the Lord for 2007, I’m not getting much vision past the end of February. I don’t know what that means if anything. Last year it was wide open. Revelation flowed. Now it seems like things have closed up after February. I’ll still wait. More coming.
What does this mean?
Is something happening in Feb or early March that changes everything? Something really big?
I'm still waiting.
NATURAL OCCURANCES
We had just come off the biggest hurricane season in years. Predictions abounded that because of global warming we would have more hurricanes in 2006. God said no. He did say however that we would have other radical weather. Most tornadoes in history, flooding, and rainfall. His word was intended to get those with ears to hear off the pronouncements of Man and on to what God says. Are there yet earthquakes?
Men’s hearts have been failing them for fear, even in the Church, about bird flu.
If you don’t remember this you should. I was one who in the flesh believed we were all gonna die. We didn’t. There were some minor outbreaks here and there. A couple hundred die. But, this was an important reassurance for Father to give us.
CULTURE
God cares about the culture in which we live. He speaks against the areas where our culture is out of line. He judges those things that must be judged.
My judgment will come against corrupt media in 2006
Many people were confused and discouraged by the dominance of mainstream media at the end of 2005 and on the opinions of others. God wanted to tell us he would do what needed to be done. That’s called RESTING in God. He did and will
In 2006 I will initiate the beginnings of an educational implosion.
There were more articles, news programs, news stories, exposé’s of the corrupt public school system in 2006 than ever before. At the end of 2005 many were dissatisfied. Now in revolt.
People have given up on cities.
That was a headline at the end of 2005. But, God wanted to reassure his people that he doesn’t forget or condemn. Cities are becoming a new destination for many people to live.
I will continue to expose those workers of darkness in media
The big stars at the end of 2005 in shock jock radio. Name one who is still on the air in a big way. God cleaned house.
The music industry which possesses an antichrist spirit will be cleansed.
At the end of 2005 there were lawsuits and raii infringement issues that reached a fevered pitch. I believe this word must have come to reassure those in the music business that God has it all in hand. This is a case of me knowing nothing in the flesh of these things but hearing it clearly for someone who would read this. I would be interested if anyone who did read this could tell me what this meant and why. None of these things are for naught.
The Economy
There were all kinds of prognostications at the end of 2005. Few were positive. Cost of Oil and Katrina and the cost of War were all going to take us under. Then there was a weak stock market. Some were saying the stock market was going to take a major dive in 2006. The spirit of the day was doom and gloom. But GOD had other ideas.
This will be a year of restabilization.
It was
General Motors will face bankruptcy
It did
The employment of my people in America will remain about the same
It does
Nearly a 25% decrease in housing starts.
There was
At the end, the economy, although shaken will continue to be good.
It is
Inflation concerns and tighter credit will cause fear
It does
Oil prices
Stable and falling in real value
Media empires
Collapsing
There will be a major scare in the stock market
There was
POLITICS (God puts up and takes down)
I put up whom I will and I take down whom I will.
Boy did he (at the end of 2005 it looked like the R's had a lock)
Judge Alito will be confirmed.
Yes he was, but at the end of 2005 conventional wisdom was he would not be, Roberts was enough, filibuster
departures from the Presidents administration
There were, but Bush kept saying, no changes.
The fall elections will be of little consequence.
Still remains to be seen. What appears to be change may not be
Your President Bush will be protected
There were assassination predictions at the end of 2005
I am purifying government. The scandals
The rumbling under the floorboards in the government was that these scandals would pass and have little effect. God said, it’s a purifying. Boy did he..
All the issues below were up in the air at the end of 2005
Patriot act – Passes but with modifications YES
Dems had said that there was no way in heck it would at all,
Social Security – no change in 2006 YES
Big priority at the end of 2005, lost of smoke and mirrors
Health Care Reform – serious talk begins YES
At the end of 2005 no glimmer of this conversation which begins again
Tax Reform – will continue but still not enough YES
In Dec of 2005 everything was about rolling back tax reform, more passed
Global Affairs
Things happening globally are of concern to God, Otherwise why did Jesus warn about Wars and rumors of war. Why didn’t he just talk about souls being saved. God wants us to be confident when the rumors start.
The long questioned WMD issue will be settled
The drumbeat at the end of 2005 was that Bush lied. He didn’t. BUT, WMD deniers will never be convinced. Then we have holocaust deniers too, same thing. Facts don’t matter to deniers.
Iraq will settle down. I will raise up leaders for this season of restoration.
At the end of 2005 it seemed like no election would happen, no government organized, no national representation that this would be without any hope. Now, while things are still a mess, there is a government, a police force, national representation and a glimmer of hope that the leadership of Iraq will solidify.
An alliance of Iran and Russia’s Putin
At the end of 2005 Russia still seemed to be the USA’s friend. The real colors of our “friendship” have begun to be revealed..
Afghanistan will require new interventions
At the end of 2005 it seemed like Kahrzi and government had things well in hand.
As a result Terrorist efforts will be come less frequent but more deadly
At the end of 2005 people expected a ramp up of terror bombings. I think of the Wedding Bombing in Jordan as a deadly example.
I have raised my hand against the UN.
2005 many believed that the UN could play a key role in solving the worlds problems, it has wider and deeper been shown for what it really is, an inept corrupt useless entity.
I will judge North Korea for the sake of a Christian South Korea
2005 many believed that North Korea might attack or be a danger. The paper tiger they really are and the desperate circumstance of their people is the real story today.
China and India will continue to ascend.
2005 there were questions how far these countries could go. The answer is further than we thought.
I have placed a mantle of peace over my promised land, Israel.
2005 Sharon stroke, civil war potential, Gaza in flames, Arafat gone. It looked bad. But, despite the brief war with Hezbollah 2006 was peaceful.
His Church
At the end of 2005 people in the Church at large were asking what was going to happen in unity. What would bring revival? Where was God in all this? What God said wasn’t a word of peace peace. In fact the last year has brought exactly what God said it would bring.
- I am forcing a wedge into the body of Christ
- The middle ground is disappearing.
- Lukewarm is becoming vomit
- The purifying I am doing is not just for people; it’s for the church at large.
- Overt direct persecution of those of faith will accelerate.
- Polarization of those who say they believe
- Spiritual deception from high places
To date we have only lost 3 of consequence
- Zola Levitt
- Ted Engstrom
- William Sloane Coffin
The other question is, do we consider the fall of Ted Haggard a "Loss of a Major Leader"? Is the word accurate but misundestood? Did it have to mean death. I’ll wait it out. There are still 14 days yet in 2006.
In waiting on the Lord for 2007, I’m not getting much vision past the end of February. I don’t know what that means if anything. Last year it was wide open. Revelation flowed. Now it seems like things have closed up after February. I’ll still wait. More coming.
What does this mean?
Is something happening in Feb or early March that changes everything? Something really big?
I'm still waiting.
Christmas Drives Me Crazy
Saw this, toooo Funny. With Attribution:
* 1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
* 3. Dementia --- I Think I’ll be Home for Christmas
* 4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
* 5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and Airplanes.....
* 6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
* 8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I’m Gonna Cry, I’m Gonna Pout, Maybe I’ll Tell You Why
* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the
airplane - can I have a chocolate - why is France so far away? - all is calm
* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells , Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells,! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle
Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I hope Jesus is a Bears Fan
So, the news is that Tank Johnson, who has fumbled more off field balls in the last week than it is possible to imagine, is going to be playing next week and as long as we play even and into the SuperBowl.
This after a week of problems of illegal guns, raids and his bodyguard being killed at 2AM in a VIP room downtown Chicago. None of this is good.
I heard Lovie Smith, Coach of the Bears speak on this last night. I knew right away. They need him. The Bears are a little light right now and can use all the help they can get. He'll be back on the team.
So when today I heard the announcement that the Tankmeister was back I actually thought it was a good play. Winning is real important and Lovie Smith's job is to win. Building character should have happened in High School. This is pro ball. Whatever character Tank does or doesn't have is already in his DNA.. Win the stupid game.
So, this afternoon we hear the big news. Jerry Angelo GM of the Bears announced that the Tank was back on the team. I'll bet Mr Tank will be very very good the rest of the season, he'll play hard. So, all in all it was a right move.
But, as to this comment: Jerry said, "The decision to keep Johnson on the team was not based on the playoffs".
This is on video tape. In front of God and everyone.
Now in the Bible there are admonitions about the really bad thing liars recieve in punishment. Lakes of fire and all that. But these are the playoffs Lord. We need this win.
I only Hope Jesus is a Bears fan and can overlooke this one little, let's say slightly adjusted for media, remark.
Go Bears!
Amen
This after a week of problems of illegal guns, raids and his bodyguard being killed at 2AM in a VIP room downtown Chicago. None of this is good.
I heard Lovie Smith, Coach of the Bears speak on this last night. I knew right away. They need him. The Bears are a little light right now and can use all the help they can get. He'll be back on the team.
So when today I heard the announcement that the Tankmeister was back I actually thought it was a good play. Winning is real important and Lovie Smith's job is to win. Building character should have happened in High School. This is pro ball. Whatever character Tank does or doesn't have is already in his DNA.. Win the stupid game.
So, this afternoon we hear the big news. Jerry Angelo GM of the Bears announced that the Tank was back on the team. I'll bet Mr Tank will be very very good the rest of the season, he'll play hard. So, all in all it was a right move.
But, as to this comment: Jerry said, "The decision to keep Johnson on the team was not based on the playoffs".
This is on video tape. In front of God and everyone.
Now in the Bible there are admonitions about the really bad thing liars recieve in punishment. Lakes of fire and all that. But these are the playoffs Lord. We need this win.
I only Hope Jesus is a Bears fan and can overlooke this one little, let's say slightly adjusted for media, remark.
Go Bears!
Amen
Holy Resiliency
Last night I met a couple who had two beautiful children in tow. Oriental. The Children not the parents. They were kids who had been adopted from an orphanage or something.
That’s not the story. The story is how, not many months out of hell, these kids are bouncing back. Wounds and all, they have light in their little eyes. They are resilient. Kids are resilient. That’s why parents seem to have no trouble getting a divorce, “Kids are resilient” they tell each other and go about being selfish and bullheaded.
Yes, I am one who believes parents should stay together for the sake of the kids. Unless there is physical danger.
Those little kids will always carry some scar on their soul. Jesus can and will heal it but they will always walk with a slight limp emotionally.
The real gift God gives them is the gift of Holy Resiliency. Bouncing back from difficulty.
So, when do we lose this? When do we reach the stage where everything that happens to us is a huge disaster? I know people who will stay in bondage to events and circumstance because they love the attentions they get in travail and they reject the gift God wants to give them in Holy Resiliency. I have lots of Bible bullets I could quote. 2 Timothy 2 is a good place. But I won’t.
Sufficient to say, the whiny folks you see on the evening news after some little thing complaining about their circumstances, that somebody did em wrong, that their feelings were hurt and oh by the way where’s my attorney’s phone number.
I think the world needs a dose of Holy Resiliency. Last Sunday my Pastor and Friend Barry Kolb said something I wish weren’t true. He said, the 1950’s aren’t coming back. Making a deal over a beer and a handshake, being stoic in the face of great pain and suffering. Not good news.
How did we lose all that? I sound like an old guy. Maybe the 50’s weren’t perfect. I’ll submit they weren’t. But having this thin-skinned wounded generation who can’t take an occasional sling or arrow of outrageous fortune without being destroyed and complaining about it to everyone is out of balance. Many prayer requests I read are really a lack of Holy Resiliency.
My hope and prayer for you and yours is that you develop the gift of Holy Resiliency.
I may preach this. I’m a bit ticked off at all the whiners. I’m more ticked off that I am one sometimes.
Lord give me the Gift of Holy Resiliency.
That’s not the story. The story is how, not many months out of hell, these kids are bouncing back. Wounds and all, they have light in their little eyes. They are resilient. Kids are resilient. That’s why parents seem to have no trouble getting a divorce, “Kids are resilient” they tell each other and go about being selfish and bullheaded.
Yes, I am one who believes parents should stay together for the sake of the kids. Unless there is physical danger.
Those little kids will always carry some scar on their soul. Jesus can and will heal it but they will always walk with a slight limp emotionally.
The real gift God gives them is the gift of Holy Resiliency. Bouncing back from difficulty.
So, when do we lose this? When do we reach the stage where everything that happens to us is a huge disaster? I know people who will stay in bondage to events and circumstance because they love the attentions they get in travail and they reject the gift God wants to give them in Holy Resiliency. I have lots of Bible bullets I could quote. 2 Timothy 2 is a good place. But I won’t.
Sufficient to say, the whiny folks you see on the evening news after some little thing complaining about their circumstances, that somebody did em wrong, that their feelings were hurt and oh by the way where’s my attorney’s phone number.
I think the world needs a dose of Holy Resiliency. Last Sunday my Pastor and Friend Barry Kolb said something I wish weren’t true. He said, the 1950’s aren’t coming back. Making a deal over a beer and a handshake, being stoic in the face of great pain and suffering. Not good news.
How did we lose all that? I sound like an old guy. Maybe the 50’s weren’t perfect. I’ll submit they weren’t. But having this thin-skinned wounded generation who can’t take an occasional sling or arrow of outrageous fortune without being destroyed and complaining about it to everyone is out of balance. Many prayer requests I read are really a lack of Holy Resiliency.
My hope and prayer for you and yours is that you develop the gift of Holy Resiliency.
I may preach this. I’m a bit ticked off at all the whiners. I’m more ticked off that I am one sometimes.
Lord give me the Gift of Holy Resiliency.
Northern Lights Spectacular
This morning I opened a link sent to me by Ken which blew me away.
I have always been in awe of the Northern Lights. Have sat in bitter cold and watched with mouth open as the heavens explode and crackle.
So, for a glimpse into what life was like in North Dakota last Thursday Night at 2 in the morning, look at these pictures. They are amazing.
Also, his website with other pictures from the prairie is worth looking at. This is the kind of land I grew up on.
I have always been in awe of the Northern Lights. Have sat in bitter cold and watched with mouth open as the heavens explode and crackle.
So, for a glimpse into what life was like in North Dakota last Thursday Night at 2 in the morning, look at these pictures. They are amazing.
Also, his website with other pictures from the prairie is worth looking at. This is the kind of land I grew up on.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Studying for Finals
In a little over a week or so we will enter a new year. 2007.
I have so many things that “Must” be done by then. Actually, most of these things are self-imposed. I don’t HAVE to do them. But if I don’t, I’ll pay later. So, I’m wrapping things up for 2006.
It’s like college.
I kept up with assignments so the idea of studying for finals always seemed a bit strange to me. Others would be up all night. Wracking their brains, drinking coffee and other things to stay awake.
Then, the next morning bleary eyed show up and hack thru the test. Getting interesting grades.
A = Average
B = Better
C = Courageous
D = Distinctive
F = Fabulous
I was a Fabulous student.
I never got it. Oh, I studied; I had term papers with the ink not yet dry sometimes. But mostly I slept thru preparation for finals. I thought, whatever I don’t know, it’s too late to learn.
But in life and in school, a little every day gets me to the end. There’s always a last minute flurry to get things done. But, usually it’s odds and ends. Not as one young lad whose term paper was due the next day was planning at 3PM to get a start on it “pretty soon”.
I need a nap by 3PM.
Always did, Still do.
I have so many things that “Must” be done by then. Actually, most of these things are self-imposed. I don’t HAVE to do them. But if I don’t, I’ll pay later. So, I’m wrapping things up for 2006.
It’s like college.
I kept up with assignments so the idea of studying for finals always seemed a bit strange to me. Others would be up all night. Wracking their brains, drinking coffee and other things to stay awake.
Then, the next morning bleary eyed show up and hack thru the test. Getting interesting grades.
A = Average
B = Better
C = Courageous
D = Distinctive
F = Fabulous
I was a Fabulous student.
I never got it. Oh, I studied; I had term papers with the ink not yet dry sometimes. But mostly I slept thru preparation for finals. I thought, whatever I don’t know, it’s too late to learn.
But in life and in school, a little every day gets me to the end. There’s always a last minute flurry to get things done. But, usually it’s odds and ends. Not as one young lad whose term paper was due the next day was planning at 3PM to get a start on it “pretty soon”.
I need a nap by 3PM.
Always did, Still do.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Talent Isn’t Everything
I won’t bore you with the old Calvin Coolidge quote about Persistence.
I’m not completely sold on everything about his quote. I have known some very persistent people who didn’t make it. I have known many educated and bright people who squandered their genius and education like it was small change. So do you.
But, most legendary are those extraordinarily talented people who fail in spades. Talented, educated, bright people with terrible flaws that causes them to crash and burn in life. They torment me.
Coolidge’s quote will live on after my lame observations.
Tank Johnson, a powerful talented player on the Bears football team has just self destructed. Terril Owens of The Cowboys threw a tantrum and spit in a teammates face. Spoiled brats. Lack of character. Our professional sports system systematically destroys more people than it helps. This is a result of our big pay for play system in professional sports. Baseball long ago crossed this barrier. The carnage along the first base line is horrid.
What of “Real” life? I have so many examples that this could be one of Gene’s really long (ergo unread) blogs. The problem for me is all of these are real people with names and addresses and lawyers they know. It will do me no good and potential harm to talk directly of these people.
I think as I get older and I see these shipwrecks it becomes so clear to me what could have been done earlier to avoid the disasters that are left on the rocks of life. Not avoiding the conflict, avoiding the disasters.
Skilled and talented people who can’t do the job. They just go the easy route and hope you won’t notice.
I have been these people. The trouble with being bold and stepping out is you fail in full view of everyone else. Like our current national sweetheart, Barak Obama who represents whatever you think he does to you. I mention it because in business and life there are people who successfully do nothing and keep their head down with the hope that you might believe they know what they are doing and get away with doing nothing.
I had such a one that worked for me. The upper management of the company in telling me how good he was often said as an appellation, “He dresses well”. Like that mattered when in fact he couldn’t do the job.
Oh, they get found out eventually. Not before becoming a major disappointment. If you never do anything no can criticize you. It becomes the parable of talents not used.
Talent, Skill, Knowledge, Education, Smarts AND Persistence and just a little bit o Luck is everything.
So get it and stick with it.
I’m not completely sold on everything about his quote. I have known some very persistent people who didn’t make it. I have known many educated and bright people who squandered their genius and education like it was small change. So do you.
But, most legendary are those extraordinarily talented people who fail in spades. Talented, educated, bright people with terrible flaws that causes them to crash and burn in life. They torment me.
Coolidge’s quote will live on after my lame observations.
Tank Johnson, a powerful talented player on the Bears football team has just self destructed. Terril Owens of The Cowboys threw a tantrum and spit in a teammates face. Spoiled brats. Lack of character. Our professional sports system systematically destroys more people than it helps. This is a result of our big pay for play system in professional sports. Baseball long ago crossed this barrier. The carnage along the first base line is horrid.
What of “Real” life? I have so many examples that this could be one of Gene’s really long (ergo unread) blogs. The problem for me is all of these are real people with names and addresses and lawyers they know. It will do me no good and potential harm to talk directly of these people.
I think as I get older and I see these shipwrecks it becomes so clear to me what could have been done earlier to avoid the disasters that are left on the rocks of life. Not avoiding the conflict, avoiding the disasters.
- Marriages ill conceived
- Trysts without sense
- Skilled but without vision.
- Able but unable to draw others into the plan
Skilled and talented people who can’t do the job. They just go the easy route and hope you won’t notice.
I have been these people. The trouble with being bold and stepping out is you fail in full view of everyone else. Like our current national sweetheart, Barak Obama who represents whatever you think he does to you. I mention it because in business and life there are people who successfully do nothing and keep their head down with the hope that you might believe they know what they are doing and get away with doing nothing.
I had such a one that worked for me. The upper management of the company in telling me how good he was often said as an appellation, “He dresses well”. Like that mattered when in fact he couldn’t do the job.
Oh, they get found out eventually. Not before becoming a major disappointment. If you never do anything no can criticize you. It becomes the parable of talents not used.
Talent, Skill, Knowledge, Education, Smarts AND Persistence and just a little bit o Luck is everything.
So get it and stick with it.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Global Warming – No Sweat OR? UPDATE
I had a terrarium when I was a kid of 11. Frogs, crickets, fish etc inhabited Geneland. It was a sealed system. No air or water in, none out. The idea was that the O2 generating plants would trap the CO2 and keep the O2 using animals alive. In subdued light it worked pretty well. Oh, we had the occasional muerte. But it went on for weeks.
Then I had the bright idea of exposing it to a great deal of extra sunlight.
So I did.
It was instant global warming at least for the residents of Geneland.
HereÂ’s what happened. Plants wilted, things on the surface of Geneland became crispy. Frogs hated this and spent more time in Geneland lake. Crickets headed underground. Life changed.
Then something happened that I thought about yesterday. All at once the whole environment became very sultry. Sticky, humid, and everything was wet. The inside of the terrarium dripped. The plants were soggy, and the frogÂ’s little tongues hung out.
What happened was after the first flush of drought resulting from the increase in temp, the moisture was trapped in the air and precipitated out. This happens with Meringue if you bake, this happens when you try to soften bread rolls in the oven or microwave.
The first thing is a crisping, a crusting, then moisture is released and everything gets soggy. Your flambe' is ruined.
So, let's think about a larger terrarium, oh, let'’s say, THE WORLD.
We live inside a closed system. For one reason or another our world is warming. That warming accelerates the production of decomposition of previously frozen tundra and that releases even more warming atmosphere that increases the decomposition etc. This is a cycle that has repeated itself every 20,000 years for a while.
People who are smarter than us (they say) who will tell you smugly that they have a degree in Science and that makes them better able to think are for the most part unable to do so beyond what ever the herd mentality allows them to think.
Maybe the end result of Global warming is a GOOD THING. Of course it will mean change, and all change is interpreted as loss to people. But, Here'’s a hypothesis based on a 50 year ago terrarium experiment.
The world temp increases 10 degrees in the next 100 years. THAT'’s a LOT. Instead of everyone baking in the sun and dying, what if the net result of that is a radical increase in the worlds Rh factor. Humidity. Steamy. Tropical rainforest conditions. Nearly pole to pole.
The humidity in the air has the net effect of making much of the planet look like the Amazon, or the rainforests of Washington state.
That would be bad because........................?
It would be different. Huge rainfall would create lakes where none were before. It would make deserts that formerly were forests reforest again. Sahara and the West China deserts would blossom and flourish.
Much of the western USA would become verdant and the east would become lush. Rainfalls of 100 inches per year would be common on the globe. And in true rainforest fashion it would rain every night.
Look at Florida, southern India, Indonesia, Philippines, Central and equatorial South America. Maybe instead of toasting, drying up and blowing away we will swelter. And things will grow and people will eat, and animals will thrive and life will change.
I can'’t prove my theory, that a higher temp will evaporate more of the water from the planet into the atmosphere and cause an ultrahumidification of our global climate. It seems to me that to extrapolate straight line that warmer means drier as we hear from some people with degrees in science is as valid my as thinking there may be an inversion coming by a shift in the hydrological cycle. A release of global humidity driven by a radical speedup of the Water Cycle we all learned about in School. More heat, more water, more atmospheric potential, more rain, more clouds, instant tropics.
My bet is that the increase of heat on the planet is net net net a GOOD thing for everyone. Change, but good. Besides there is NOTHING you or I can do about it. We didn'’t cause it, we canÂ’t cure it. You would do just as well to sacrifice a virgin (if you could find one) on the top of Mt. St. Helens to the God of weather as most of what the Kyoto treaty wants us to do. It'’s useless.
Oh, and the frogs and crickets in Geneland? I let them out after the frog ate the fish. There are descendents of Frog and Cricket walking the earth today talking of this myth of how the Gene created all.
I wonder what ever happened to that dumb terrarium. I know this, that once I removed the lid, life went back to "“Normal"” in Geneland and it wasn'’t better. I hope the creator of all of this doesnÂ’t remove our lid. I'’ll take whatever comes.
There is no other choice.
Based on the comments from the intelectual left who only parrots what misleaders say here are other voices. I wish I could take full unmerited credit for this thesis. I can't. I can just support what may be the FACTS (not that it ever stopped the global warming mafia before).
Global Warming is cyclical and normal
No one knows what the net effect is going to be and liars only say they do
These things have happened before and life goes on
As late as 12,000 years ago
So relax. It is what it is. No amount of hand wringing will solve this. No amount of artificial sacrifice will have any effect whatsoever.
Learn to live with Global Warming.
To Ken and Karma, who insist I must not read any scholarly scientific journals, I'll match my scientific reading and in depth science education (2 degrees and most of a masters in the life sciences) to anyone who decides to match mine. I'll match you journal for journal, book for book, degree for degree, and experience for experience. You don't know what you are talking about and you are living in a world driven by liberal delusion. You have been dumbed down and blinded. I would offer you books of scholarly treatises that will go against the conventional wisdom with competence and authority. You wouldn’t read them. It would mess with your worldview and could cause you to actually doubt what the ecomafia wants you to believe. Even if they told you the truth you wouldn’t believe them. You are blind to reality.
I only wish you would open your mind and start to just question what the ecomafia is feeding you. You are a sheepling.
Then I had the bright idea of exposing it to a great deal of extra sunlight.
So I did.
It was instant global warming at least for the residents of Geneland.
HereÂ’s what happened. Plants wilted, things on the surface of Geneland became crispy. Frogs hated this and spent more time in Geneland lake. Crickets headed underground. Life changed.
Then something happened that I thought about yesterday. All at once the whole environment became very sultry. Sticky, humid, and everything was wet. The inside of the terrarium dripped. The plants were soggy, and the frogÂ’s little tongues hung out.
What happened was after the first flush of drought resulting from the increase in temp, the moisture was trapped in the air and precipitated out. This happens with Meringue if you bake, this happens when you try to soften bread rolls in the oven or microwave.
The first thing is a crisping, a crusting, then moisture is released and everything gets soggy. Your flambe' is ruined.
So, let's think about a larger terrarium, oh, let'’s say, THE WORLD.
We live inside a closed system. For one reason or another our world is warming. That warming accelerates the production of decomposition of previously frozen tundra and that releases even more warming atmosphere that increases the decomposition etc. This is a cycle that has repeated itself every 20,000 years for a while.
People who are smarter than us (they say) who will tell you smugly that they have a degree in Science and that makes them better able to think are for the most part unable to do so beyond what ever the herd mentality allows them to think.
Maybe the end result of Global warming is a GOOD THING. Of course it will mean change, and all change is interpreted as loss to people. But, Here'’s a hypothesis based on a 50 year ago terrarium experiment.
The world temp increases 10 degrees in the next 100 years. THAT'’s a LOT. Instead of everyone baking in the sun and dying, what if the net result of that is a radical increase in the worlds Rh factor. Humidity. Steamy. Tropical rainforest conditions. Nearly pole to pole.
The humidity in the air has the net effect of making much of the planet look like the Amazon, or the rainforests of Washington state.
That would be bad because........................?
It would be different. Huge rainfall would create lakes where none were before. It would make deserts that formerly were forests reforest again. Sahara and the West China deserts would blossom and flourish.
Much of the western USA would become verdant and the east would become lush. Rainfalls of 100 inches per year would be common on the globe. And in true rainforest fashion it would rain every night.
Look at Florida, southern India, Indonesia, Philippines, Central and equatorial South America. Maybe instead of toasting, drying up and blowing away we will swelter. And things will grow and people will eat, and animals will thrive and life will change.
I can'’t prove my theory, that a higher temp will evaporate more of the water from the planet into the atmosphere and cause an ultrahumidification of our global climate. It seems to me that to extrapolate straight line that warmer means drier as we hear from some people with degrees in science is as valid my as thinking there may be an inversion coming by a shift in the hydrological cycle. A release of global humidity driven by a radical speedup of the Water Cycle we all learned about in School. More heat, more water, more atmospheric potential, more rain, more clouds, instant tropics.
My bet is that the increase of heat on the planet is net net net a GOOD thing for everyone. Change, but good. Besides there is NOTHING you or I can do about it. We didn'’t cause it, we canÂ’t cure it. You would do just as well to sacrifice a virgin (if you could find one) on the top of Mt. St. Helens to the God of weather as most of what the Kyoto treaty wants us to do. It'’s useless.
Oh, and the frogs and crickets in Geneland? I let them out after the frog ate the fish. There are descendents of Frog and Cricket walking the earth today talking of this myth of how the Gene created all.
I wonder what ever happened to that dumb terrarium. I know this, that once I removed the lid, life went back to "“Normal"” in Geneland and it wasn'’t better. I hope the creator of all of this doesnÂ’t remove our lid. I'’ll take whatever comes.
There is no other choice.
Based on the comments from the intelectual left who only parrots what misleaders say here are other voices. I wish I could take full unmerited credit for this thesis. I can't. I can just support what may be the FACTS (not that it ever stopped the global warming mafia before).
Global Warming is cyclical and normal
No one knows what the net effect is going to be and liars only say they do
These things have happened before and life goes on
As late as 12,000 years ago
So relax. It is what it is. No amount of hand wringing will solve this. No amount of artificial sacrifice will have any effect whatsoever.
Learn to live with Global Warming.
To Ken and Karma, who insist I must not read any scholarly scientific journals, I'll match my scientific reading and in depth science education (2 degrees and most of a masters in the life sciences) to anyone who decides to match mine. I'll match you journal for journal, book for book, degree for degree, and experience for experience. You don't know what you are talking about and you are living in a world driven by liberal delusion. You have been dumbed down and blinded. I would offer you books of scholarly treatises that will go against the conventional wisdom with competence and authority. You wouldn’t read them. It would mess with your worldview and could cause you to actually doubt what the ecomafia wants you to believe. Even if they told you the truth you wouldn’t believe them. You are blind to reality.
I only wish you would open your mind and start to just question what the ecomafia is feeding you. You are a sheepling.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Life is Short - so - Git-er-done
I got a call this morning from a friend of mine in the nursery business. He and I were supposed to link up this week. We didn't.
Then he told me his sister about my age was in her last days in hospice dying of cancer. He had been spending time with her. He knew she had been sick but had no idea it was terminal. She had been a nurse in Cleveland and worked hard all her life. No vacations, working hard.
Now with imminent death she made time to do some things she always wanted to do. His sister had spent the last year taking all kinds of life extending things and enjoying a bit of travel. I said made time. She didn't make time. She reclaimed it.
Biblically we are told to redeem the time. Get it back from the tyranny of busy.
The same is true of Money. We think because we have little or it's scarce we can do nothing. It freezes our lives.
Well, I'm NOT dying of anything other than the disease called terminal humanity. 3 score and 10, 20 or maybe 30 which is how much my genetics proclaims I will have. I have tried to abuse my body so maybe 29.
There are two great truths reinforced this morning by my conversation with Doug:
So, in my most KIND way possible, don't ever say to me, I don't have the time or the money to do that important thing. You do and you know it. You take time and find the money to do whatever is important to you. If you don't, it wasn't that important. We get done what is important to us. We find a way. Heck and High Water won't stop us.
I'll get just a little political here. I liked Bill Clinton. Think it would have been fun to hang out with him. Think he would have been a fascinating night on the town talking about all kinds of things. I think he's a bright man.
BUT
I'll never forget how as President he kept telling all of us that "I've never worked so hard in all my life". I just can't get anything with this uncooperative congress (1994 Republican takeover). So for the years from 95-2001 he just marked time. Complained about things and did little.
I submit, that was all Billoney. If he had wanted to cooperate with and work with Congress he could have made things happen. Congress didn't help much (Impeachment) and Clinton leaned into the punch (Definition of Is is).
For the most part, Clinton was a decent President who could have been great if he had just moved out with courage and boldness.
In business as CEO of a couple large Corporations I had minions who constantly complained about how hard it was, things weren't happening, people weren't cooperating, they didn't have time, they didn't have money.
I had one tactic I always used on these folks. I said, "If I could take away that hindrance can you do the job?" In other word I called their bluff. Most of the time the real hidden agenda came out. We went to war a couple times. And, in the end I had to fire them or they quit. A few fessed up and stepped up to the plate, did the job and they outlasted me.
Life requires doing what's right and not what's easy.
NO EXCUSES. If you were assigned a job to do and don't do it, the man in the mirror is the problem. I'm not the sports fan my friend Barry Kolb is but, I suspect this is an area of agreement I would have in spades with Bobby Knight based on what I read in Barry's Blog. I need to get one of those armbands that asks the question, WWBD? What Would Bobby Do? Then do that. How much do you want this Coach Sheldon in my high school used to ask. If we wanted it bad enough we got it. Jesus asked the Rich Young Ruler how much do you want it? The King who threw a wedding feast ended up with a lot of people who were pretty busy with Oxen, Land and Marriage problems. They missed out. Life's like that, enough excuses as to why you can't do something and life passes you by.
Life's too short to do it stupid. Get it done. Or, is the truth you really don't want to?
Sorry, kid. You got the gift but looks like you're waiting for something. (the Matrix: spoken to Neo by the Oracle in the Kitchen).
Truth is Kind.
Then he told me his sister about my age was in her last days in hospice dying of cancer. He had been spending time with her. He knew she had been sick but had no idea it was terminal. She had been a nurse in Cleveland and worked hard all her life. No vacations, working hard.
Now with imminent death she made time to do some things she always wanted to do. His sister had spent the last year taking all kinds of life extending things and enjoying a bit of travel. I said made time. She didn't make time. She reclaimed it.
Biblically we are told to redeem the time. Get it back from the tyranny of busy.
The same is true of Money. We think because we have little or it's scarce we can do nothing. It freezes our lives.
Well, I'm NOT dying of anything other than the disease called terminal humanity. 3 score and 10, 20 or maybe 30 which is how much my genetics proclaims I will have. I have tried to abuse my body so maybe 29.
There are two great truths reinforced this morning by my conversation with Doug:
1. We always have enough time to do the things we want to do. When people say they don't have enough time, what they are really saying is I don't want to. Oh, I don't mean to be unkind (see earlier post on kindness). But we have time to do what we want to. Deciding that and doing it are acts of true life.
2. We always have the money to do what is necessary or important to us. We find a way. If your child or spouse walked in with a broken arm or a hole in their head from a gunshot wound, would you say."We don't have the money right now to take care of that, so you'll just have to suffer". Of course not. We would find the money one way or another. The fact that we don't have the money to do certain things is an indicator of it's importance to us. We have whatever money we need for the things that must be done. If it's important we'll find the money. In America in particular.
So, in my most KIND way possible, don't ever say to me, I don't have the time or the money to do that important thing. You do and you know it. You take time and find the money to do whatever is important to you. If you don't, it wasn't that important. We get done what is important to us. We find a way. Heck and High Water won't stop us.
I'll get just a little political here. I liked Bill Clinton. Think it would have been fun to hang out with him. Think he would have been a fascinating night on the town talking about all kinds of things. I think he's a bright man.
BUT
I'll never forget how as President he kept telling all of us that "I've never worked so hard in all my life". I just can't get anything with this uncooperative congress (1994 Republican takeover). So for the years from 95-2001 he just marked time. Complained about things and did little.
I submit, that was all Billoney. If he had wanted to cooperate with and work with Congress he could have made things happen. Congress didn't help much (Impeachment) and Clinton leaned into the punch (Definition of Is is).
For the most part, Clinton was a decent President who could have been great if he had just moved out with courage and boldness.
In business as CEO of a couple large Corporations I had minions who constantly complained about how hard it was, things weren't happening, people weren't cooperating, they didn't have time, they didn't have money.
I had one tactic I always used on these folks. I said, "If I could take away that hindrance can you do the job?" In other word I called their bluff. Most of the time the real hidden agenda came out. We went to war a couple times. And, in the end I had to fire them or they quit. A few fessed up and stepped up to the plate, did the job and they outlasted me.
Life requires doing what's right and not what's easy.
NO EXCUSES. If you were assigned a job to do and don't do it, the man in the mirror is the problem. I'm not the sports fan my friend Barry Kolb is but, I suspect this is an area of agreement I would have in spades with Bobby Knight based on what I read in Barry's Blog. I need to get one of those armbands that asks the question, WWBD? What Would Bobby Do? Then do that. How much do you want this Coach Sheldon in my high school used to ask. If we wanted it bad enough we got it. Jesus asked the Rich Young Ruler how much do you want it? The King who threw a wedding feast ended up with a lot of people who were pretty busy with Oxen, Land and Marriage problems. They missed out. Life's like that, enough excuses as to why you can't do something and life passes you by.
Life's too short to do it stupid. Get it done. Or, is the truth you really don't want to?
Sorry, kid. You got the gift but looks like you're waiting for something. (the Matrix: spoken to Neo by the Oracle in the Kitchen).
Truth is Kind.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Not NICE but KIND
At a recent conference in conversation with other ministers the comment was made about me, "You're not Nice but you are Kind".
I took that as a high complement. I hope to be Kind. I hope never to be mistaken for nice. I know that I was hearing in the conversation a rehash of a recent sermon this minister had just given. We all do that. Give something we have poured our lives energies into at the drop of a hat rehearsing it back. I mean we have a new audience who hasn't yet heard our sermon. I can always tell.
But there is something revolting to me about the idea of a God (Jesus) who is syrupy nice. IF I met Jesus face to face I would most likely tremble in my shoes and fall to the ground as if I were dead. That's what happened to the Apostle that Jesus Loved, John, when he met the resurrected Jesus. Revelation 1:12-18
I am not the only one revolted by the idea of supersweet Nice God. In the Tribune today two articles piqued my interest. I would commend them to you. It costs nothing to sign up for this service and it's worth it. One is about a movement called GodMen that has a basic tenet, I THANK GOD FOR MY TESTOSTERONE.
The Other is about a man I never met but that a friend of mine knew quite well. Jay Bakker. Scion of Jim and Tammy Faye. He is now a "Preacher" in his own right. His ministry sounds anything but NICE. I think I might like attending his church.
These two articles are signposts along a highway that is leading us away from a namby pamby Jesus, babe in the manger, all nice all the time, to a Jesus who is here to kick some serious devil butt. I can relate to that.
I have relatives who struggle with the fact that I'm not nice. I ask hard questions. I don't give up. I stay with an issue. I'm Kind. I'm not Nice. I don't plan to change. Is it NICE or KIND to yell at a kid running out into heavy Traffic? Sometimes LOVE compells me to take actions that others may see as not nice. If its not driven by love it's just so much clanging gongs. I always hear this from people who take offense and my lack of NICE, "You could have picked a "Nicer" way to say that". OK, I'd translate that ineffective and obscure. You may be familar with the concept of Minnesota Nice. If you grew up in Minnesota (or as I did near it) you know that is code for mumbling indirectness while looking at your shoes hoping the hearing party catches onto the nuance. WHAT? Say it already! The other argument for nice is that you can't get others cooperation by not being nice. OK, so what? If nice is the driving force for your cooperation it will dissolve into a heap of BS very soon. Just as soon as someone doesn't do what you or they thought someone did or didn't do and has their feelings hurt. I'm just sick of it. MEN, be a man, KIND, caring, compassionate but don't try to be nice. Be strong but not cruel. Life is too short to be nice.
On my bookshelf are large heavy books of Greek and Hebrew words. I looked up any reference to NICE in any iteration in the Bible. Smooth Words was a close as I came and they were not in a positive context. Had to do with a whore soliciting business.
But Kindness. Lots of References. Like Romans 2:4
Kindness in it's meaning Biblically has to do with Demeanor, not necessarily action. It has to do with justice and generosity. With being Tolerant at the right time and intolerant at others. Patience when patience is proper and direct when not. It has to do with appropriate Gentleness and proper distance when Gentleness isn't correct. Some translations confuse the word Gentleness for Kindness. They are not the same word. In Galatians 5 as the word is translated it seems to go either way, but it is not the word Kindness as used in the rest of the Bible (Mostly). Getting at the root of Greek and Hebrew words is more art than science but in a way unless you do you miss the color of the meanings.
I think the best way is to say, kindness is how a child feels when her Father who loves her is at her side. She knows that he might deal with her if she gets out of line. She knows while she is by his side and that his purpose is only to do her good and protect her. He will discipline her, sometimes severely, but not harm her. In Lewis' "Lion Witch and Wardrobe" series there is a description given by Mrs. Beaver of this "Kind but not NICE" God type Aslan the Lion King.
It's my goal in life to be Kind in every way possible and never to be mistaken as nice. I want to emulate my King. As he grows in me I will be thankful for my manhood and it's kind but not nice nature. I hope as I get old(er) it will be said of me, "He's a very kind man, but he can be a little testy".. The worst thing they could say is, "He's a nice old man". What a disdaining thing to say.
I am thankful for a Jesus who is at the same time Kind (Not safe but good) and you can trust Him. I have seen all the pictures of him with a lapful of lambs and all. That's OK, but lets see if we can get a better picture of him.
Kind but not Nice.
Maybe those lambs were for Lunch? Now that makes sense.
Now, don't get all offended on me you old religious spirit; I love a good rack of Lamb, crusted with herbs and dried mustard, baked to perfection, YUM!
I think I'll go make some right now.
I took that as a high complement. I hope to be Kind. I hope never to be mistaken for nice. I know that I was hearing in the conversation a rehash of a recent sermon this minister had just given. We all do that. Give something we have poured our lives energies into at the drop of a hat rehearsing it back. I mean we have a new audience who hasn't yet heard our sermon. I can always tell.
But there is something revolting to me about the idea of a God (Jesus) who is syrupy nice. IF I met Jesus face to face I would most likely tremble in my shoes and fall to the ground as if I were dead. That's what happened to the Apostle that Jesus Loved, John, when he met the resurrected Jesus. Revelation 1:12-18
12 Then I turned to see [whose was] the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 And in the midst of the lampstands [One] like a Son of Man, clothed with a robe which reached to His feet and with a girdle of gold about His breast. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, [as white] as snow, and His eyes [flashed] like a flame of fire. 15 His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last, 18 And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead).
I am not the only one revolted by the idea of supersweet Nice God. In the Tribune today two articles piqued my interest. I would commend them to you. It costs nothing to sign up for this service and it's worth it. One is about a movement called GodMen that has a basic tenet, I THANK GOD FOR MY TESTOSTERONE.
The Other is about a man I never met but that a friend of mine knew quite well. Jay Bakker. Scion of Jim and Tammy Faye. He is now a "Preacher" in his own right. His ministry sounds anything but NICE. I think I might like attending his church.
These two articles are signposts along a highway that is leading us away from a namby pamby Jesus, babe in the manger, all nice all the time, to a Jesus who is here to kick some serious devil butt. I can relate to that.
I have relatives who struggle with the fact that I'm not nice. I ask hard questions. I don't give up. I stay with an issue. I'm Kind. I'm not Nice. I don't plan to change. Is it NICE or KIND to yell at a kid running out into heavy Traffic? Sometimes LOVE compells me to take actions that others may see as not nice. If its not driven by love it's just so much clanging gongs. I always hear this from people who take offense and my lack of NICE, "You could have picked a "Nicer" way to say that". OK, I'd translate that ineffective and obscure. You may be familar with the concept of Minnesota Nice. If you grew up in Minnesota (or as I did near it) you know that is code for mumbling indirectness while looking at your shoes hoping the hearing party catches onto the nuance. WHAT? Say it already! The other argument for nice is that you can't get others cooperation by not being nice. OK, so what? If nice is the driving force for your cooperation it will dissolve into a heap of BS very soon. Just as soon as someone doesn't do what you or they thought someone did or didn't do and has their feelings hurt. I'm just sick of it. MEN, be a man, KIND, caring, compassionate but don't try to be nice. Be strong but not cruel. Life is too short to be nice.
On my bookshelf are large heavy books of Greek and Hebrew words. I looked up any reference to NICE in any iteration in the Bible. Smooth Words was a close as I came and they were not in a positive context. Had to do with a whore soliciting business.
But Kindness. Lots of References. Like Romans 2:4
Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?So, I thought, what does it mean in the original language. Here's what I came up with.
Kindness in it's meaning Biblically has to do with Demeanor, not necessarily action. It has to do with justice and generosity. With being Tolerant at the right time and intolerant at others. Patience when patience is proper and direct when not. It has to do with appropriate Gentleness and proper distance when Gentleness isn't correct. Some translations confuse the word Gentleness for Kindness. They are not the same word. In Galatians 5 as the word is translated it seems to go either way, but it is not the word Kindness as used in the rest of the Bible (Mostly). Getting at the root of Greek and Hebrew words is more art than science but in a way unless you do you miss the color of the meanings.
I think the best way is to say, kindness is how a child feels when her Father who loves her is at her side. She knows that he might deal with her if she gets out of line. She knows while she is by his side and that his purpose is only to do her good and protect her. He will discipline her, sometimes severely, but not harm her. In Lewis' "Lion Witch and Wardrobe" series there is a description given by Mrs. Beaver of this "Kind but not NICE" God type Aslan the Lion King.
"Is -- is he a man?" asked Lucy. "Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion -- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh," said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he -- quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." "That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else silly." "Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy. "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver, "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
It's my goal in life to be Kind in every way possible and never to be mistaken as nice. I want to emulate my King. As he grows in me I will be thankful for my manhood and it's kind but not nice nature. I hope as I get old(er) it will be said of me, "He's a very kind man, but he can be a little testy".. The worst thing they could say is, "He's a nice old man". What a disdaining thing to say.
I am thankful for a Jesus who is at the same time Kind (Not safe but good) and you can trust Him. I have seen all the pictures of him with a lapful of lambs and all. That's OK, but lets see if we can get a better picture of him.
Kind but not Nice.
Maybe those lambs were for Lunch? Now that makes sense.
Now, don't get all offended on me you old religious spirit; I love a good rack of Lamb, crusted with herbs and dried mustard, baked to perfection, YUM!
I think I'll go make some right now.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
I'm not from There anymore.
Being from North Dakota and about to embark on a long trip to the "Old Country" as my Grandma Lee used to call Norway, I read this column in the Chicago Tribune from an occasional correspondent of mine and a man who is of the same vintage as I who carries a well-written wisdom worthy of reading.
Read this:
We didn't get our deer this year, but we got deer meat. 5 of them, thanks to the Frankhauser Gang who never met a deer they didn't shoot.
So, venison is still on the plate if you come to visit the Redlins in 2007. But, I didn't shoot it, I'm not from There anymore.
Oh, and if we do invite you to a nice plate of Deer Liver, There are no hormones in Deer Meat; Other than Lead.
Read this:
Charles M. Madigan
Even in the familiar thicket, we're not from here anymore
Published December 12, 2006
A few weeks ago, we were in the town of Summit, Pa., which sits, appropriately, at the top of a mountain on the Pennsylvania-Maryland border, when I heard a comment that planted itself so firmly in my head I have not been able to forget it.
My wife and I were looking for directions to the burial place of a poet-theologian ancestor in her family. A woman at the library was helping us.
"We're not from here anymore," my wife said. "We need to get to Mercersburg."
That statement, "We're not from here anymore," struck me as profound.
Of course we are no longer "from" Pennsylvania. We are literally "from" Evanston now.
The less obvious part, and the one that applies to me, to my wife, to all of us as a matter of fact, is that the place we were from is no longer literally there anymore, not the way it was in our youth.
To say "We're not from here anymore" is a statement that recognizes the nature of change in one's own life, and in the life of the place where it all began.
Briefly put, there is no "here" in my life anymore.
My parents are gone. The railroad that built my hometown, Altoona, is gone. Most of my friends are gone. The old neighborhood is strange, not as meticulously kept as when the Pennsylvania Railroad employed 54,000 people at very ripe wages. My grade school is gone. The convent is gone.
My first newspaper is gone.
I still have my brother and my sisters. But everything else that was familiar exists in my head, not on the ground.
I found that a pretty sad thought until I concluded that what doesn't change much in the formula is the individual and some rituals.
That was why there was a powerful resonance for me in being in Pennsylvania in the woods on the opening day of deer season.
Hunting is a ritual, like church. Even though the weapons have changed and the gear is fancier, it's still about the season, the quest, the win or lose prospect of coming home with your deer.
A week into combined buck and doe season, hunters had worked the deer far up into the mountains. At altitude (2,000 feet is high in the Keystone State) it was not unusual to run into little herds of deer high-tailing it for the Maryland border. It was rainy and in the 60s, unusually warm for the post-Thanksgiving hunting season.
I had witnessed this season many times in my youth. The symbol used to be the front-fender deer carcass, which you would see all the time as hunters hauled their trophies down the highway. Now the hills are alive with sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks of every description, so the deer are stowed before the trip home begins.
Hunting season eve seemed pretty much unchanged, at least at the little store where we stopped to pick up some food. A long queue of hunters waited to pay, armed to the eyes with turkey and deer jerky, lots of canned food, meat for dinner. Some of them wore orange coveralls.
That, in retrospect, was somehow comforting.
I talked with a man in the checkout line. He said the deer were not as plentiful as in previous years. Lovely as they are, deer behave like 200-pound rodents. They are dangerously wild, especially if accidentally confined. A big herd causes trouble, and a good hunting season will solve much of the problem.
Because we planned to be in the woods with our cameras and our eyes as the season played out, we stopped at Wal-Mart and purchased, for $3 each, orange Wheaties "Breakfast of Champions" hats to warn hunters that we were not a part of the harvest.
Happily, this worked.
A few cabins away from us, I talked with a young man who was icing down a big buck and a doe that were tied to the porch rafters, legs spread to open their cavities.
He told me the story of his hunt for the buck, and how his dad, who had just joined him on the porch, shot the doe a few minutes later in the same location. He was proud and I was honored to hear the little saga.
To some, I know, hunting sounds brutal. But I also know families who depend on deer season for their winter's meat. We're not all townspeople. We're not all well paid.
I felt that sense of loss, deep in the woods, that I was not from there anymore.
But it was comforting to know that this part of life, the deer-hunting ritual and the stories it creates, has not changed.
We didn't get our deer this year, but we got deer meat. 5 of them, thanks to the Frankhauser Gang who never met a deer they didn't shoot.
So, venison is still on the plate if you come to visit the Redlins in 2007. But, I didn't shoot it, I'm not from There anymore.
Oh, and if we do invite you to a nice plate of Deer Liver, There are no hormones in Deer Meat; Other than Lead.
Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish
I am very pleased that Kofi Annan gave his LAST speech to the world yesterday. Pleased that is was his LAST!
He has been the most horrid leader of the UN, a disgraced entity, that is possible to imagine. He represents all that is bad about the UN. And that is saying a lot. It would please me if tomorrow the UN just dissolved. But that's another Story.
So the king of Corruption and inaction goes to Independance MO to the Truman Library and goes off on the USA, GWB and all things American. What an idiot.
What makes this so unique, this coming from a man with no discernible gonads. Whiny and hopeless. I only hold James Earl Carter ex pres ret in lesser standing. But that's another story.
Today's Chicago Tribune has a brilliant piece in it's lead editorial.
excerpts:
It has been said that if the oil-for-food scandal alone had occurred in any legitimate organization on Earth, its CEO long ago would have been ousted in disgrace.
Today Jeff Skilling began a 24 year prison sentence for the Enron situation. This in itself is a travesty. But if there was any justice Kofi Annan would be in the cell next to Skilling and I would hope he would find a nice 300 pound "girlfriend" named bubba.
As to Annan. I don't like him much. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
He has been the most horrid leader of the UN, a disgraced entity, that is possible to imagine. He represents all that is bad about the UN. And that is saying a lot. It would please me if tomorrow the UN just dissolved. But that's another Story.
So the king of Corruption and inaction goes to Independance MO to the Truman Library and goes off on the USA, GWB and all things American. What an idiot.
What makes this so unique, this coming from a man with no discernible gonads. Whiny and hopeless. I only hold James Earl Carter ex pres ret in lesser standing. But that's another story.
Today's Chicago Tribune has a brilliant piece in it's lead editorial.
excerpts:
Annan said when the U.S. "appears to abandon its own ideals and objectives, its friends abroad are naturally troubled and confused." Translation: Have I told you this week how much I resent the U.S. for enforcing the 17 resolutions against Iraq that my Security Council adopted but then abandoned?
Paul Volcker called Annan's reign a "culture of inaction"--that aggravated one crisis after another:
- The corruption of Annan's bureaucracy in the oil-for-food scandal is Exhibit A. While UN swells slept (or shared in the booty), Saddam Hussein funneled fortunes looted from his own people to his influential pals in Russia, France, China and elsewhere.
- Sudanese officials may have slaughtered Muslim villagers "with genocidal intent," a UN panel reported in 176 pages of blather. But the mass killings in Darfur aren't "genocide." How convenient for Annan. A finding of genocide by the UN would have forced the rest of the world to act. Russia, France and China didn't want embargoes or sanctions to gum up their trade with Sudan--and Annan didn't apply the muscular diplomacy that might have persuaded those governments to help stop the killing.
- A 2004 internal UN report admits that the body is hamstrung by "an unwillingness to get serious about preventing deadly violence." Two years later, nothing has changed.
- Iran ignores an Aug. 31 Security Council deadline to halt uranium enrichment. Does Annan demand sanctions? No, he flies to Tehran and, with the naivete of a 3-year-old, announces that Iran's president "reaffirmed to me Iran's preparedness and determination to negotiate" a solution to the nuclear confrontation. What? In Mahmoud Ahmadinejad we trust?
- North Korea sets off a nuclear device. Kofi Annan's UN ... blinks. No pressure, no punishment. How better to teach other rogue governments and their mad-hatter rulers that acquiring nukes is the best way to snub the world?
- A new UN Human Rights Council replaces a disgraced Human Rights Commission that coddled member nations with dreadful records of oppression. Except Annan's new panel blames almost every indignity it mulls on Israel. Even Annan fusses briefly. And then does nothing.
It has been said that if the oil-for-food scandal alone had occurred in any legitimate organization on Earth, its CEO long ago would have been ousted in disgrace.
Today Jeff Skilling began a 24 year prison sentence for the Enron situation. This in itself is a travesty. But if there was any justice Kofi Annan would be in the cell next to Skilling and I would hope he would find a nice 300 pound "girlfriend" named bubba.
As to Annan. I don't like him much. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Monday, December 11, 2006
American Taliban
A few weeks ago I saw a sad video of a little girl from Gaza who was rehearsing for her parents her hatred of Jews and Americans. She rehearsed how they (The Jews) were pigs and apes.
It was horribly sad. I thought, it's going to take a great deal of reprogramming to get that child to even be partially accepting and adapted into the world at large. Or she will be marginalized and maybe die a homicide bomber.
Then I saw this video. An 8 year old child. Indoctrinated by the hate speech of the left.
I only have one question. True or False. The Taliban is alive and well in America. Destroying young minds with hatred and evil. If you think this is OK for this child to spew this kind of hate the liberal left routinely spews, you are a sick person.
It was horribly sad. I thought, it's going to take a great deal of reprogramming to get that child to even be partially accepting and adapted into the world at large. Or she will be marginalized and maybe die a homicide bomber.
Then I saw this video. An 8 year old child. Indoctrinated by the hate speech of the left.
I only have one question. True or False. The Taliban is alive and well in America. Destroying young minds with hatred and evil. If you think this is OK for this child to spew this kind of hate the liberal left routinely spews, you are a sick person.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Between Two Worlds
I am between two worlds right now.
I'm feeling more peaked than usual. Sniff, Cough, Ache.
But I'm a tough old goat, I'll get back to the otherworld of wholeness soon.
My business days are wrapped up for the year. We are in the process of finishing things up and beginning for next year. That is the nature of seasonality in the nursery business. Between two worlds. Good world in the year gone by, hopeful one in the year yet coming.
I'm back to a routine that is December for me, It's one I value and nurture. I was in Dallas. Another World. At a conference that opened my eye to a world I have long been a part of but on the outside looking in. Now I'm back in my world. Very interesting. Without elaboration, I was changed and see the world differently as a result of that conference.
During the Conference we stayed at what must be the largest resort hotel in the world. Maybe it isn't. But it was for me. The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine TX. WOW! I honestly have never seen anything that intentionally grandueresque (if that's a word) in my life. And, I'm hard to impress. I have traveled all over the world. I have been lots of places. It was another world. I found it interesting to go there but I wouldn't want to live there (in the hotel).
In about 13 days we make our occasional trip to ND for Christmas. It is going to be interesting, painful, difficult and perhaps enlightening. We will only be there for 5 days. Long enough and short enough. That is for me now another world. A world of familiarity and yet strangeness. Son Kevin is coming in to help drive his older than he parents to Dakota land. It's always good to go to that other world and then to return.
In the end, I'm happy where I am, doing what I do, with whom I do those things. I couldn't do what I do elsewhere. I feel sorry for those who are less than content with life as they know it. It's so short and so terminal, there is little reason to spend one minute of it in a world not of your first choice.
There are two worlds, choose carefully.
I'm feeling more peaked than usual. Sniff, Cough, Ache.
But I'm a tough old goat, I'll get back to the otherworld of wholeness soon.
My business days are wrapped up for the year. We are in the process of finishing things up and beginning for next year. That is the nature of seasonality in the nursery business. Between two worlds. Good world in the year gone by, hopeful one in the year yet coming.
I'm back to a routine that is December for me, It's one I value and nurture. I was in Dallas. Another World. At a conference that opened my eye to a world I have long been a part of but on the outside looking in. Now I'm back in my world. Very interesting. Without elaboration, I was changed and see the world differently as a result of that conference.
During the Conference we stayed at what must be the largest resort hotel in the world. Maybe it isn't. But it was for me. The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine TX. WOW! I honestly have never seen anything that intentionally grandueresque (if that's a word) in my life. And, I'm hard to impress. I have traveled all over the world. I have been lots of places. It was another world. I found it interesting to go there but I wouldn't want to live there (in the hotel).
In about 13 days we make our occasional trip to ND for Christmas. It is going to be interesting, painful, difficult and perhaps enlightening. We will only be there for 5 days. Long enough and short enough. That is for me now another world. A world of familiarity and yet strangeness. Son Kevin is coming in to help drive his older than he parents to Dakota land. It's always good to go to that other world and then to return.
In the end, I'm happy where I am, doing what I do, with whom I do those things. I couldn't do what I do elsewhere. I feel sorry for those who are less than content with life as they know it. It's so short and so terminal, there is little reason to spend one minute of it in a world not of your first choice.
There are two worlds, choose carefully.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Leading From Courage
I just returned from a conference with several hundred spiritually like-minded people . One thing that continued to resonate in my ear were words spoken a couple days before I went to that conference by a friend of mine.
Leaders must always lead from courage.
Now that may not rattle your cage. It did mine. I've never been accused of being a wallflower (Much). But it is still resonating in my head.
My concern is what happens spiritually when we fail to walk in courage and confidence in the purposes placed in us. I can tell you; we miss our destiny. We fail to accomplish the mission God invested in our DNA when we were formed in our mothers womb. We fiddle around the edges and eventually take to the grave the undone things God expected us to do.
WHY?
Lack of courage, lack of conviction, lack of willingness to be a fool for Jesus when he calls you to step out. Fear, get alongism, don't push the envelope, just relax maybe no one will be offended, those are the attitudes that become the spiritual castration stopping the purposes of God you were meant to accomplish. I don't see as much courage as I wish I did in the Church of Jesus today.
It's easy to be a sideline sniper. I am trying to be one less than I have been in the past. I know what God has called me to do. I know he is faithful to accomplish his purposes if I am faithful to do what he asks without fearing what men say.
The fear of man is the greatest demonic oppression of men and women of God rendering them inert holding the dreams God gave them captive.
So, to those who I got notes from, and for those who were disdaining of the prophetic gift of the word of the Lord for 2006 in comments, I have this message:
1. I will pay the price to hear from God again for 2007. You don't have to read or heed it, but you should.2. I will publish it and allow it to stand on it's own. It's not about me.3. God will do or not do what he chooses. If I'm embarrassed, its ok. It's not about me.4. I have read and heard many nationally recognized prophet's issuances. The fact that I am more precise than some who use fuzzy words and vagaries to cover their prophetic rear ends means I am more subject to criticism. The purpose of the prophetic is to demonstrate to unbelievers and those who walk in nominal Christianity the existence and omniscience of God as a sign and a wonder. If not this method, what would you suggest? This is the call and purpose for me. If you have another, you should pursue it.
5. I always hold out the challenge to those who disregard the prophetic gift or criticize it, OK, show me how you can from reason or science make a set of statements more accurate than what comes thru the prophetic.It can't be done. The challenge still stands.6. To my good friend Karma, who actually in my opinion walks out the purposes of God in her own life in her passion for the prairie and the arts (although she would deny they are God's purposes), I couldn't disagree more with your evaluation of what did or did not come to pass. It is as I said. Your evaluation is done with blinders on. You are NOT famililiar with the vocabulary of the prophetic. A careful reading of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the "Minor" prophets will give you a flavor of how prophetic utterances have layers of meaning and fulfillment. God isn't doing anything different today. Without spiritual eyes to see and discern you will miss what was said and how it manifested in the light of the prophetic. It's not your fault. You don't speak or understand the language of the spirit.7. To the others who were disdaining of all this: if you are not a Christian or make no pretense to being one, what you say has little meaning. Sorry, see above. You have no idea what you are saying.8. If you are a Christian (or think you are one), you are in deep weeds. You don't have to believe me or not. You only have to do as Mary did and ponder on them in your heart. But, your attitude toward prophecy demonstrates a lack of understanding and a profound lack of spiritual depth that will be a direct limiting factor for you ever being used of God.
If He can't speak to you thru his prophets, even ones who don't get everything right, He can't speak to you at all and you will drift into spiritual oblivion, shipwrecked and alone. God will use his prophets to warn, encourage, correct and guide. Ignore them at your peril.
So, if not from me, seek to hear the word of the Lord, and ponder them.
Or ignore and laugh them off as so much mumbo jumbo and be cast aside (or even destroyed).
Most gifted leaders in the Body of Christ on a personal level are decidedly flawed and human. I have known many, I could write a book on them. Some of the most anointed powerful gifted men of God I have ever known were terribly flawed and vulnerable in the humanity they carried. But when they stepped into the gift God placed in them, they became another man. My hope for you is that you would become another man or woman as you walk out the purposes of God in your life and disregard the flawed vessel of clay He choose to place it in.
That is truly leading from courage. It's not about you.
One more thing, some prophetic instruction is purposely masked, there is some above for YOU if you have ears to hear. As my good friend Harold Hein said to me, "A prophet is assigned to say what God says."
I just did. Read and heed.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
2006 Word of the Lord Prophetic Review (Out of a possible 54, the score is 45 God - 9 Others, God Wins)
Starting today, I will be out of touch until next Saturday. An ICA convention in Dallas. If you know what that is I may see you there. If you don't it doesn't matter.
As of this date 92% of the year has passed. There are 29 of 365 days left in 2006.
It's a good time to take a near-end-of-year review of the prophetic word given last January for fulfillment and accuracy. I am already engaged in fasting and prayer seeking the word for next year. If God wills and uses me once more I will have a complete "Word of the Lord for 2007" by the end of December. I don't want to have the two confused. This review is a clearing of the cobwebs .
I expect doubting eyes to roll, poo-pooing to go on, the truth of all this to be discounted, the "Oh this is easy or anyone could do this" to be said with a sniff.
OK, let's see if you have the guts to put your 2007 predictions out there in print, naked without a net and no real god as your source. I have doubt anyone who doesn't know and hear from Father prophetically will be courageous enough to do this. I don't issue that challenge in anger. I just want you to know that when you know who it is that is speaking it's so much easier to have this kind of boldness. AND I am always eager for an Elijah style showdown with the priests of Baal "prophetically speaking".
Much of what was given me at the beginning of this year was criticized royally as being "out there" and even potentially embarrassing. An 83% prophetic accuracy shouldn't be sniffed at. God is God and I'm not, (and by the way neither are you). Like all prophecy, much is best understood in a rear view mirror. Example: there is one about the 2006 fall elections. I thought it meant one thing when I got it in December; turns out it was right on as a prophecy but meant something else than I thought it did (or wished). Rear view mirror.
Prophecy is often misunderstood even by the prophet. The words heard and written down are what matters. The interpretation in the end is subject the events as they unfold. If not, Jesus would not have been such a surprise to most of the Jews of his day from his birth in Bethlehem to his death on the cross.
Spiritual gifts are put here to edify believers and as a sign and a wonder for unbelievers. Unlike tongues, the word of Knowledge and miracles the prophetic is not really a sign gift. It should make people wonder however. People who don't believe won't believe even if one should rise from the dead. Jesus said that and he rose. People still don't believe. I'm not going to try to convince them. I'll take the brickbats and ignore them.
For those who do believe and understand this is simply confirmation of the goodness of God speaking thru the prophetic gift. Go doesn't want you to be unaware or fearful. He places the prophetic gift at your access to give you hope and a future. And He never does anything without telling his prophets first.
Read the full review and comments for last December's prophecy for 2006 and then see the fulfillments of it as they came to pass.
Those who have ears to hear what the Spirit of the Lord says. You are destined to overcome, to partake of the tree of life, and to stand eternally in paradise.
There were 54 clear proclamations made in the 2006 prophecy.
45 of them have come to pass.
9 have not --- YET!
Website containing this Word is:
OK, let's see if you have the guts to put your 2007 predictions out there in print, naked without a net and no real god as your source. I have doubt anyone who doesn't know and hear from Father prophetically will be courageous enough to do this. I don't issue that challenge in anger. I just want you to know that when you know who it is that is speaking it's so much easier to have this kind of boldness. AND I am always eager for an Elijah style showdown with the priests of Baal "prophetically speaking".
Much of what was given me at the beginning of this year was criticized royally as being "out there" and even potentially embarrassing. An 83% prophetic accuracy shouldn't be sniffed at. God is God and I'm not, (and by the way neither are you).
For those who do believe and understand this is simply confirmation of the goodness of God speaking thru the prophetic gift. Go doesn't want you to be unaware or fearful. He places the prophetic gift at your access to give you hope and a future. And He never does anything without telling his prophets first.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Evangelical Splits
I am grieved at a split taking place in the evangelical arm of the Church. It was prophesied. I didn't really want to believe it.
Up till recently you could count on most evangelical Christians to be conservative, maybe not in politics, but in approaches to things like, life (abortion), Stem Cell research using human embryos, end of life euthanasia, support for Israel, support of the President in his office, condemnation of evil as manifested by radical Islam, homosexuality as sin, homosexuality in the pulpit and church leadership, Church and state issues and many other culturally radical left wing ideas.
There has for a while been a wedge driven into the mainstream of evangelicalism by a group known as the Sojourners. They have pumped compromise into the body of Christ until now many formerly well grounded leaders have tipped into apostasy. I call it that because that's what it is.
A few weeks ago I raised the red flag on this blog regarding Rick Warren's foray into this arena. Now the leader of Sojourners is identifying himself with left-wing politics.
I am frankly discouraged with this. This isn't good for the Body of Christ. What fellowship can darkness have with light. As they move away from truth I no longer can treat them other than how I would treat others of the world. These foolish people are hoping being lukewarm and middle of the road will win people.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We were warned that in the last days many would exchange evil for good and good for evil. We were warned that many people's love would grow cold. We were warned that people, even ministers, would do things to puff themselves up.
Well, it's here. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and not the Sojourners. It's always true, a tiny bit of compromise ultimately leads to apostasy. It must.
So be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, for the Father up above is looking down in love so be careful little eyes what you see.
Oh, and for those who will write me for causing splits, hatemongering, causing division, consider this: I DIDN'T CHANGE, MOVE OR MODIFY MY POSITION, THEY DID.
Take your anger out on them. They are causing this split and it grieves me terribly. This WILL be held against them, by someone much more than me. They were put in charge of souls, leading them down these paths is a terrible and fearsome thing. Did HE ever know them.....................?
Scrooge Chapter 58
It's the season to consider the Spirit of Christmas. Ghosts of Christmas past. Scrooge and Tiny Tim.
A question: How Much money did you spend on Christmas last year. You, your wife and kids, tree, travel, gifts, food etc.
Rough estimate:
Write it down.
How much money will you spend this year?
Write it down.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just important to budget and realize what we spend at this time of year. We’ll come back to this, so keep your notes.
I’ve been thinking about the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and I think I can summarize it in a sentence.
When you take care of Things God cares about, He takes care of things you care about.
We recently had a week of packaging and giving into a charity called feed the starving children. The benefit to most of the people involved was not that it made them feel better, but that unanswered prayers were suddenly answered, relationships were strengthened, and favor with those who can offer you favor was found. What’s that all about? Let’s see if we can find out.
Now considering Ol Scrooge, after he saw the light he took care of people who had less than him. He discovered that Christmas time could be a time of good will and of giving (and therefore receiving). Why is it in fact more blessed** to give than receive? Maybe there is a supernatural answer. There is.
What are some things you could do to help someone, take care of the underprivileged you know? What are charities and areas into which you can give where you know you make a difference?
Write down a couple. Make sure they are worthy.
God wants to be God to us. He wants us to expect, embrace and engage everything he has for us. He does that when we are his hands for him. What difference might it make to me you ask? I mean, shouldn’t I do this selflessly and without expecting reward. Oh, you could, but maybe knowing God has stored things up for you might help you step out in faith in this area.
Here's a list of the “More Blessed** things God wants to do for you” direct from the Bible (Isaiah Chapter 58) and what they mean to you.
(Reader Tip: All of the below are from Isaiah 58. Verses are often divided into sentences or thoughts. Hence, a,b,c,d etc. So 8c means the third thought in that verse. Now, with that, read on)
1. You will shine brighter then you ever have (stand out. Become exceptional. Find favor.) v8a
2. You will recover from difficulty quickly (When hard times come, you will not be a victim but a victor) v8b
3. You will be righteous and at peace. (There will be peace in the midst of the storm and the accusations of the enemy will be silenced) v8c
4. God will watch your back and protect you (Times when you could have been hurt or injured you will be covered by grace and mercy. The devil will find you are bulletproof) v8d
5. He will hear and answer you when you pray (Things you have prayed about for years will suddenly start to happen. He will answer in ways you never thought possible) v9a
6. He will reveal himself to you in a new way (You will find new facets of God's personality revealed to you in unusual ways. You will become amazed at who he really is.) v9b
7. Your depression and sorrow will cease. (God will strip depression and melancholy out of your life in supernatural ways) v10c
8. You will be guided by God’s hand (Somehow you will know what to do, when and how and you'll know it's the hand of God showing you. You will get supernatural strategies you never did before.) v11a
9. You will be confident when hard times come (Because of the sense that God is truly Immanuel to you, you will have a higher level of confidence than ever before) v11b&c
10. Your provision will never fail. (You will find that lack will leave your abode. That is a promise directly from the word of God) v11d
So, how do all these good things come to us? Is it possible to earn the blessings of God:
By fasting and prayer?
By Going to Church more?
By Taking communion more often?
By having others lay hands on you to release blessings?
By saying 55 hail Marys?
By hearing good Biblical Teaching?
By doing good works in the sight of all?
By humbling yourself, crawling on the floor?
By looking very pious, wearing a bigger cross than anyone else?
By wearing sackcloth and ashes?
By sleeping on a bed of nails?
By studying your Bible twice as much?
By rebuking the enemy?
By having really great worship services?
By keeping the commandments of God?
By having prayer vigils to seek the wisdom of God?
By being really good people?
God doesn't condemn any of those, but none of them in and of themselves release the power of God. They are not wrong but they try to manipulate God when he says to us, "I will not be manipulated, I will have a people who care about what I care about and when they do they will activate My Power in their lives". He blesses us to be a blessing and when we bless others he blesses us and round and round it goes.
God’s not interested in rule followers; He’s interested in heart followers. In fact if you become a follower after Jesus heart people will think you are just a little wacky.
Turn to Isaiah 58. The secret to this is in there. Read it from verse one and see if there's a clue as to what releases this power.
Here’s an article that will help you grasp a full meaning of Isaiah 58.
If you want to put into force the benefits shown above look at the story of Ebenezer Scrooge by Charles Dickens. When he became giving and generous Tiny Tim didn't die, Scrooge became healthier, and his life was renewed. Generosity is a rewarder to the generous.
Go back and look at how much money you are going to spend on Christmas, that calculation I had you do at the beginning.
I'm going to suggest you tithe 10% of that amount and use that money to give to the poor in some way. In fact, spend 10% less to do so.
If you take care of what God cares about he'll take care of what you care about.
That seems like a good deal to me.
Take the list of some ways you could give to the poor and make a value decision to do it now. God’s is offering you the best deal since the creation of the earth and your salvation.
God has so much more for you. He wants your heart. I have often said, serving God will cost you everything and it's worth it all.
Here is a good guide to Caring for the Poor.
Now here’s what you can expect for the Christmas Season.
As Tiny Tim was heard to say, (Who did not die) “God Bless Us, Every One”.
I expect him to be faithful to His word, so can you.
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