BACK-AND-FORTH ON IMAGINATION

I have an active imagination. In my Journal of 1995 I was thinking the following:

I have been trying to do away with my imaginations. I wonder if they do not short circuit good that I might do. I live vicariously through the imagination. I imagine it, therefore I have “done” it, therefore I do not really have to do it.

Yet God says “without vision the people perish”. Some sort of thinking about what will happen is good. How can an event take place without there first being an idea? But I wonder if my imagining takes away from positive action. Certainly the negative imagining is not good for it sets an evil cast upon events which have not actually happened.

Maybe my mind being so full of imaginations keeps me from hearing from the Spirit of God. For example, I imagine “others do not want me around” and I launch my imagination off in that direction. What I should rather say is, “I resist that [negative] thinking; God said, 'resist the Devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh unto you'. In the name of Jesus I resist that thought.”

I need to walk “by faith and not by sight”. But surely “by faith” has a good deal to do with inward thought and therefore imagination. Perhaps God's inward voice to us originates partly through the imagination. Is it not possible he can use this tool?

It's important to know what God says and believe it is true (the faith part) and thereby order my behavior. If I listen to only what I say, I have a motor but no rudder. If I also listen to what other men say, I have a motor and rudder but no map or compass. If I listen to what I think, what other men say, and primarily to what God says, I have a motor, rudder, a reliable map and compass. I must use all sensibly.

NEITHER SEEING NOR HEARING

(Of idols:)
Psa_115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa_135:16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

(Of people:)
Jer_5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Eze_12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.
Mat_13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

TREE TRUNK

When you look at me think of looking at the trunk of a tree. I am the stem, the trunk. Above me are the branches: my children and grandchildren. These will grow out to ever more branches as long as there be human existence on earth. Below me are the roots: all my ancestors. These would be my Parents, Grandparents, Great Grandparents, etc. These go out ever wider into numerous sub-roots.

We, as a human society, divide ourselves into various categories: country of origins, ethnic groups and races. Let’s think about country or origin as a root system. Because my Father’s parents came from Sweden, I could say “I am Swedish”. But what about the heritage I received from my Mother? I could not exist without her, so, if I am like a trunk of a tree, I am not just “Swedish” but I am a blend of “English” and “Swedish”. I am more like a candy cane: a spiral of two things (mother and father) that flow up into all subsequent branches.

However, If I say only “I am Swedish” I deny being English. If I say “I am English” I deny being Swedish. To name one and ignore the other is an insult to the one I fail to mention. It is not a complete description of who I am. If someone wants to know more about my national heritage than just that I am an American I would say I am a mix of Swedish and English.

Think about race. The same issue (mentioning one and ignoring the other) arises when talking about our racial heritage. In fact I am a blend of whatever racial background my parents provide. In this country this seems to be an issue for people of mixed African and European racial origins. Some seem to prefer to refer to themselves only as “Black”. True, a few others choose to refer to themselves only as “White”; but when they do that we say they are "passing".

What of their true heritage? Why is there shame in having a white heritage? Why is there shame in having a black heritage? In fact every one of us has a complex mix of cultural, ethnic and racial diversity that serve to make us the unique person we are. This has become an issue with charged emotional content in this country resulting from our national history infected with slavery and racial discrimination. It really doesn’t much matter to most of us in the USA when we divide ourselves by country of origin. But when we divide ourselves by the notion of race it becomes a big deal to some.

The trouble with the tree analogy I used at the first is that my branches don’t stay branches. They become trunks themselves as they unite with someone else’s branch. My children get married. They (the two of them, man and wife) become a trunk that produces branches: they have children. I love my children. I love my grand children, and cherish who they have become. They are a mix contributing to the makeup and future of the Clan. We are a tree: roots, trunk and branches. My grandchildren, as much as my sons, are my blood. And through the blood of my grandchildren my sons' wives have become my daughters.

If at some future point someone were to inquire for a more perfect definition of my grand children's heritage than simply "American" I would feel slighted if the grandchildren or great grandchildren identified themselves solely as "White" or “Black” or “English” or “Swedish” and ignored their other roots.

There is too much to accomplish in a family that is positive, that builds and feeds and shares all that has made this “tree” healthy and beautiful.

WHEN “REGULAR” IS NOT ENOUGH

I once attended a church where where it appeared that I made two of the clergy angry.  One was older.  He never smiled at me or ever gave any indication of welcome, let alone kindness.  Once or twice he reached around behind me to smile and welcome another.  If I had committed some great offense I was never shown what it was.

The other was younger and phoned me up to ask why I had not provided an “Exit Interview”.  He seemed quite put out about it.  I neither executed any “Membership Document” nor verbally expressed an interest in becoming a “Member”.  I thought being a member of the Body of Christ was enough.  If there was a contract written, stated or implied I was ignorant of it.  Perhaps I was wrong by being a regular participant in the worship and providing them with a portion of my tithe.

WHAT DO WE DESERVE?

Jude 11 says: “Woe unto them for they have gone in the way of CAIN and ran greedily after the way of BALAAM for reward, and perished after the gainsaying of CORE. (emphasis mine)

CAIN – The sacrifice of works rather than the sacrifice of blood.

BALAAM – Seeking to become rich in the doing of God's work.

CORE – putting up themselves to take the place of God's appointed leaders.

What does this say about us? Do we place our toil before God and expect him to honor it? Do we expect riches and honor to flow from our doing of God's assignments? Do we believe we can do something better than the one that God seems to have already placed there?

DRESSING THE WOMAN

Where is the sin when women don't dress right? It is in the mind of the one who describes it as sin. There are one of three that make this determination: God, the man, and the woman.

The most important of the three is God. How does he define appropriate dress? He started clothing people at the garden of Eden. He said we should wear some type of clothing. My guess is he wanted to inhibit promiscuity. He did not want us going about exciting sin in the heart of another person or group. Notice he also established the marriage relationship which drastically reduces sex opportunities.

Dressing well for the woman can mean many things. She wants to look good, to be attractive, to be in style and to be comfortable (not too hot or too cold). She wants to attract a man's attention for companionship, to impress him, and to be respected.  However, some women merely want to appear sexy.

The man looks at the woman's clothing to appraise her for many reasons. What are her intentions? Does she want companionship? Does she want attention? Is she doing it for lust?  He thinks: what can I get from her, companionship, a cooperative workmate, sexual favors? How should I treat her? Should I treat her with respect, with disdain? Should I avoid her; should I befriend her?

Sin in dressing does not originate with the woman alone.  More frequently it starts in the man's heart. I really resent men who require women to be clothed in draperies because she may incite men to lust. A man should control his own mind and where he looks. He should not lay the blame for his sin on a woman. That being said, I doubt we would get along well as a society with no dress codes at all.

HAS HE BEEN THERE?

Much of what we know about God comes from how he has worked with other men. We know when  God works in men because they write about it. Of the writings we have available to us men decide some are true, some are not. What we should look for in these writings are:

They are eye witnesses
They have known eye witnesses
They have lived within 200 years after Christ lived,

THE ILLUSION OF PREDESTINATION

God is the God of all time. He exists in the past, present and future. For him time is just another created entity that is controlled by him. I can somewhat comprehend the foreknowledge of God in this manner: I am 71 years old. I know at 71 that I have been in the Navy, have married, have three children who are married, and am retired. If I was like God, and time was something I created, I (being god) would exist also at the time I was born as well as I do at this time, and for eternity. Time is like a dot moving along a line.

- - >Birth===========>.(Now)==========>Death - - - - - - - - ->>

Creatures subject to time must stay on the dot, but God stands back a distance from the line and can see the dot, the beginning and end of the line. So if I were like God, I could stand back from the line, while the dot was at 71 years and see clearly at the spot on the line of me at zero years. I would know that in the “future” I would join the Navy, get married, have children, work and retire.

If I were like God, I could proclaim all this to the zero year spot on the line and it would sound to the zero year old creation me like predestination. However, the 71 year old me had been making choices all along the way to the present, and will make choices into the future. But I can not stand back from the line, like God, to see the extent of it. God may know what my choices will be but I do not. I must make them when I arrive at them with the best of my knowledge, experience, intelligence and ability. And It is possible for me to make bad choices, even sinful ones. God does not strong-arm me to decide certain ways. The finest proof of that is: God gave me the choice of whether to accept Christ as Savior and Lord or not. I did not have a place in heaven until I chose it.

FROM THE WELL OF HUMANISM

Here is a quote I recently saw: "Your ability to generate power is directly proportional to your ability to relax." Will someone explain this to me? What is “your power”? It seems to me it could be many things. Your “power” would be directed toward something or things or purpose. What are they? This sentence, “Your ability . . . “, would require many paragraphs to explain it, perhaps a book. The sentence does not convey usable guidance as would a verse (any verse) from Proverbs. The sentence comes from the well of humanism.

SERVING IS NOT AN OPTION

Jesus speaks to his disciples when they did not want him to wash their feet, “. . . if I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me.” He was saying that it is not an option about accepting the service of God. We must accept his personally serving us. Even though we know him to be God - - greater than any other person, object or force - - we must allow him to serve us. Even if he is very much higher in station and privilege than us we accept his service as if he were one very much lower.

So our serving others is not an activity we should avoid. We do it because we are to be like him, as commanded. We should do as he does. Right after talking about serving, Jesus tells us “. . . the servant is not greater than his lord . . .” Why does he say this? Is it because he knows as we get to serving one another we will begin to think how noble and giving we are? Perhaps more noble and giving than anyone else in the whole world ever was? Perhaps more a servant than God ever knew how to be?

We can never serve as God has served us: by taking the punishment for a misbehaving creation to demonstrate the extent of his care for us. Yet he wants us to be like him in serving. In doing so we must remember we are made to serve, not to be served. And, may I add, when being served we show sincere appreciation for it.

24 CARROT GOLD MIRACLE

Jesus wanted to allow Lazarus to die so he waited four days before he went to him. If Jesus had been there when he was alive, a sick man would have been healed. This still would have been a miracle, but a lesser one. Some would have said, “Lazarus was sick and just got well; he would have recovered even it Jesus were not there.”

By letting him die and raising Lazarus from the dead he performed a much greater miracle, a 24 carrot gold miracle, a miracle almost as good as it gets. Who could argue with it?

The Pharisees could, and did. Their solution to the problem was to seek to put Lazarus to death (John 12:10). If you can't argue with the truth, avoid it.

WHY NOT LIGHTNING?

Jesus was amid a turmoil when he was with us 2000 years ago. Some believed him and some did not. Many may have contended, “The Messiah is supposed to come from Bethlehem but this guy comes from Nazareth. This guy has never even been to seminary.” Perhaps these did not know that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem. They certainly did not know he was God incarnate, one with the Father and Holy Spirit. The Pharisees wanted the people to believe as they believed and they used themselves as the example and reason: “Have any of us (the Pharisees) believed on him? We have all gone to seminary and are smart and understand what those who have not gone to seminary can understand. To know if you are correct in your thinking look at what the seminary graduates are thinking. But you people who do not have the training are cursed.”

We have doubts about things because we do not know all there is to know. Jesus appeared as if was not obeying the Law because of work he did on the Sabbath, yet he did a right thing when he healed a man on the Sabbath. It was right to do because God's intention for us is for wholeness. Many were seeking his harm: the religious leaders and even his brothers (the other sons of Mary).

Why would he choose to place himself in such a setting? Why not just come in lightning and power and destroy all who oppose him and whip the rest into submission? Because if he came that way most being sinners would die immediately, many others would die in a short while later, many would be miserable suffering stripes on their back. Only a few would be somewhat content, though walking on eggshells.

What did God want? His will was to demonstrate mercy. His will was that all should not perish, but should come to the knowledge of the truth. He came not to give stripes - - but by his stripes we should be healed.

This is an example of Gods great love and loving kindness - - by not sending lightning.

DON'T AVOID THE DRIPS

In the reading of one of my old journal entries I noticed two things. One of my tendencies at that time was to concentrate on failure. Another was that I was practicing piano.

My negative tendency then was to concentrate on what I did not do or what I did not do well. I would think about what I could have been and about what I am not. The effect was to make me not want to do anything at all; it made me want to give it all up. All this holding on to things perceived as failures or as incomplete were very sapping to my strength.

Yet in that same entry I recorded how I was becoming fairly good at elementary piano playing. I have no memory of ever being good at piano, but the Journal says I was. The only way I could have accomplished this was through persistent practice. Many times I did it only because I thought it might be something I wanted. Many times I wondered if this was a thing I could ever do - - or whether it would ever be worth the effort. But I knew I could never achieve anything id I did not take the little steps.

It's like drops in a bucket. If there are no drips the bucket will never become full. Want to be good at piano? Do the practice: drip, drip, drip. Want to get depressed? Think bad thoughts: drip, drip, drip.

So I need to press on through the failure. I need to turn my mind from failure to a worthy goal, whatever it may be. I need to overcome, overcome, overcome. Overcoming may not look pretty and glamorous; it does not even feel virtuous or victorious at the time you are doing it. The unimportant appearance of an overcoming task is a deception. We want the bucket filled with one sweeping, dramatic, Hollywood slosh whereas it is filled only one drop at at time. No drops, no filling. There will never come the Hollywood slosh.

CHRISTMAS CONSPIRACY

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." This was a quote from an automatic email I get. It is supposed to refer to Christmas. Odd that it does not mention Christ. When I think of “conspiracy” I think of evil people colluding together to do bad things. Good people “cooperate”, Bad people “conspire”. In fact the dictionary says conspiracy is, “An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful or subversive act.”

It seems Christmas has changed from a religious holiday to a time of obligations for many and a time of financial opportunity for others.

WHEN STARVING PREFER TO STARVE

“The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for want of wisdom.” (Proverbs 10:21) What he says goes out and “feeds” the ears of many. The words are feeding the ears of people who are listening. The words feed because they are helpful, hopeful, beneficial words the listeners can use in their lives. The ears gobble them up and send them to the brain, intellect, spirit, emotions to be digested and used in life.

But there are some, the fools, that will not hear. This is a choice; the words are spoken but they choose to reject, not to hear, them. Perhaps these words conflict with how they intend to live their life. Perhaps they will effect their money or status. Perhaps they would have to change their direction.

MEEK VS WEAK

Some people use the word “meek” when they really mean “weak”. They turn the first letter of the word upside down. I wish they would not do that. If they mean to refer to a person they consider “weak” they should say “weak”. Say what you mean!

A meek person is one who is not “froward”. A meek person shows patience and humility; he is gentle and considerate. He may be meek but that does not mean he is easily imposed on or submissive. One who is easily imposed on or submissive is called “weak”. Remember the old song lyric, “. . . gentile Jesus, meek and mild . . .” While Jesus might have been easy-going and kind to some, he was hardly a push-over!

If you mean to say a person is unassertive and retiring, say he is “weak”. Don't call him “meek”. Do not turn the first letter of the word upside down.

A “froward” person, by the way, is one who is stubbornly contrary and disobedient; he is obstinate.

THE INSIDES MATCH PEOPLE

Proverbs 10:18 says that he who hides hatred with lying lips AND he that speaks slander is a fool. (emphasis mine)

The Hider is one that hates who or what he is talking about, but tells others something entirely different. The listener does not know where or how he really stands.

The Slanderer openly despises the thing or person he talks about, and everyone knows it.

Although apparently different, they are inwardly the same. The similarity between the two is in the heart, where there is hatred. They both seek to do damage. The hate and destruction makes them fools.

They are not god-like, filled with creation, love and true judgment.

USE OF WEALTH

The wealth of the rich enables them to build strong defenses, which protect them and enable them to keep and acquire more wealth.

The poverty of the poor leaves them nothing with which to avoid or defend against destruction. This causes them to lose even more of what they already have, which makes them poorer.

The considerate and generous wealthy seek to share their excess in ways to save, secure, educate and uplift deserving poor people or the general public.

The prudent poor seek to understand their situation and to plan ways and means to exit poverty. They will solicit advice from the more fortunate.  They will use welfare to escape from the need of it and never to return to it.

The inconsiderate wealthy seek to keep all they have and to acquire even more. They may even try to usurp wealth they have no right to own by underhanded or illegal means.

The inconsiderate poor merely complain of their situation and take no thought of how to change.  They may horde to themselves that which they could spare for the less fortunate.

TURNING

People have to make an effort to get knowledge and wisdom, and they have to make an effort not to. Know, perceive, receive, hear, attain, understand.

Regarding Proverbs 31: Wisdom calls out to the Simple and the Scorner, among others. If they were to turn she would pour out her spirit and make know her words. Because he will not put out the effort the Simple (and I am not talking of the mentally incompetent) is unaware of basic facts thus making himself incapable of more complex mental activities. The Scorner looks upon others as inferior to himself and is more than willing to say so.

If the Simple and the Scorner will turn (steer away from their usual way of doing things) Wisdom would make them capable of receiving wisdom. The spirit of wisdom will allow them to think the way the wise think. They will become enlightened to wise concepts. They will be able to see as they have never seen before, as when in a dark room the light has been turned on. What a wonderful thing: for the Simple to become smart and capable and for the Scorner to have a humble, hopeful view of things. But it takes the effect of turning.

Some people choose not to have wisdom for they hated knowledge of God and they did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would have none of wisdom's counsel. They despise all the reproofs. “. . . the turning away of the simple will slay them.” Those that choose prosperity over wisdom (and obedience and godliness) are choosing destruction.

It takes effort to be wise (and godly) and it takes effort not to be wise (and godly). If we are going to have effort, let us ave effort that profits to godliness. Let's make the right turns.

TREATING WOMEN

In Proverbs 31 Wisdom is personified as a woman.  We find this advice to a man from Wisdom: "Give not your strength to women, or your ways to that which destroys kings". It is interesting that a wisdom's advice to a man she cares for, one she wants to give the "inside track" to, is to avoid other women.

I wonder if women are different from mothers, sisters, wife, daughters ? He should not spend his money, time and influence for women that are not his family.  Rather, of the woman he engages foremost, he should favor his mother, sister, wife, daughter.

The thrust of a man's life should not be women. I think it would not be even his wife. He should consider his purpose in life is to serve his God. In the service of his God he cares for and prefers his wife and raises and educates his children. In the exercise of serving his God, a man serves others, like wife and children.

When God is going over the books with you in heaven and you get to the "Treatment of Other People" section, the first major category will be "Family".

DOES MY ARM REALLY ITCH?

An amputee feels sensations of itching or pain from a limb (arm or leg) that is no longer there. There are no longer any physical sensors (nerves) to provide signals. No messages can travel from sensors that are not there. Where is the feeling coming from when there is no limb?

Yet the sense of itching or pain is still present in the victim; the victim knows, the victim can feel it. Where is the feeling when there is no limb?

Does it arise from an actual electrical-chemical-physical stimulus? What is its origin: The Spinal Chord, the brain's nerves? If it is, how can this process be identified, demonstrated and measured? Can it be controlled by drugs or surgery?

Does the feeling have an emotional, not-physical source? Is it a process of thought, of emotion? Can the victim control this process? What does the existence of this phenomenon say about spiritual reality? Where is the pain or itching really? Is it in the limb, the nerves, or in the brain?

When we, who have all our limbs, feel itching or pain where does it really exist: in the limb, the nerves, or in the brain?

VANTAGE POINTS

12 September 1994

A while ago I was flying in the plane on my way to the MACS (Marine Corps Air Station) at Tustin, California I looked down upon the earth from 35000 feet.  Things of men were so small that only the largest of buildings were obvious.  When looking at a super highway it would have been difficult to pick out a semi truck.  Indeed, I never saw one.  If a person, like say Jesus, was standing in the middle of an intersection you might know in your mind he was there but you could not possibly see him.  Then let your eye wander over the rest of the earth that you could see.  The smallness of that place  where Jesus is becomes astounding.


Yet through such a means (a human body) God saved the world.  Think of God living in one human body.  Compare to John 1:14 . . . and the Word became flesh and dwelt among men . . .


The vantage point of the plane demonstrates the expansiveness of God's comprehension.  He comprehends what the human eye in the plane sees . . . and every thing else.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY POSTINGS

The following blogs, down to the one titled "Buster and The Toilet" (posted 11-16-2015), were taken from an autobiography I intended to write. Upon reflection I don't believe anyone except my immediate family would really be interested in an autobiography about me. So I put them here, which is as close as they ever will get to the public.

The only new post in this series from November 16 2015 to date is titled "Zacchaeus" (posted 11-22-2015).

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-6

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, and several following, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes".  All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]

An entry in FaceBook that is not repeated here elsewhere:

"And it's even better than that. I seems Tamra had a graduation party on Saturday, and I was there. Well, my body was there. Maybe I drove off without my memory. I didn't make a fool of myself, did I? I have no inkling that anything is "slipping", as far as I know.

"How I know about the party came from a Facebook invitation to Tamra's party, dated last week. Well, the party may be gone, but Tamra is not. PapaJ loves you girl, and your sisters and Mom and Dad."
5/23/2012

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-5

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, and several following, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes". All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]
An email to Gordon Anderson: "Gorden, It turns out I could have made our coffee time tomorrow. My other appointment has been pushed off to another day (the 29th).

"I believe I have told you about my 'brain freezes', a peculiar feeling I have been getting for the last 4 to 6 months, about one set of episodes a month. I loose some memory when they happen.

"The following is how I described it on FaceBook: 'Ever loose almost a whole day? I went to church Sunday, sung in the choir, ate the picnic lunch . . . and I don't remember any of it. It's like it never happened! It's just not there in my memory. This sucks!

" 'But I'm not going to think of it as "gone". I'm going to think of it as there, but unattached. Somehow the path to that block of memory got broken. I'm going to believe that someday I will "find" the memories. I'm certainly not going to mope around, "Oh woe is me! woe is me!" I'm going to believe I'll get them back! Being negative and "down" will not help.

" 'Scary, and nothing to do about it. Later that day (Sunday) Lizzie tells me I had a hot dog while I was there. I remember eating a hot dog, but nothing else (yet). Where did it (the memory) go? What else is gone? How would I know what is gone? What can I do?

" 'I should struggle against it, yes, but to obsess would do more damage. The hot dog is my anchor for that day. I'm glad I have a more sure anchor within the veil . . . . '

" 'I don't remember anything about the Dream Builders Breakfast (you can see why). I don't believe I'll go. We can either keep the original time, 1100am, or make it a later time. You say when. (The original time was 1100am Thursdays, wasn't it? Do I have that right? -- I'm now gun shy about times.)' "

[[ Dec 5, 2015: Those memories still have not come back. I now believe they are forever gone.]]

5/23/2012

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-4

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, and several following, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes". All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]
Another email from Lizzie to the Kids: "Dearest Children: Dad is having some serious memory loss tonight. It began (as far as I know) at 8:30 pm this evening. He has had another at 11:30; not remembering what we did all evening. He is very sad; was sad at the afternoon picnic and it has continued. Please pray for him. I am not sure how long it will go on, (as is usual). I love him and we will seek the Lord in this."
5/20/2012

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-3

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, and several following, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes". All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]
Another email from Lizzie to the children: "Dear Children; A small group which we have joined from Ascension anointed Dad with oil and prayed fervently for him; we are quieted and encouraged. Five phone calls were on the answering machine from when we got home. We have landed. I feel that we have been searching for this group of believers and found our place in the Body of Christ. It's hard to describe, but I feel good, welcome, accepted. Even with Eric's episodes, they seem to take it in stride and treat us like a loving family. Praise be to God.

"Eric's MRI is scheduled for early tomorrow. Though I don't know when we will have results, we will surely tell you as soon as we know.

"Coldwater Creek has asked me to stay as a permanent part time. They know about Eric's situation. Funny timing in my estimation for this opening to come along; Eric was so happy for me he teared up. I'll try for this as long as he is safe and OK here at home (or better yet, is out and about on his usual independent way). We love you so much; we can't tell you how grateful we are for your calls, advice and our sense of your being nearby."
5/21/2012

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-2

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, the one following, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes". All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]
This is what Lizzie wrote Bob Johnson: "Bob, Eric has had a serious memory loss episode. It began Sunday evening. Today, on Monday, when I returned from work it was severe. He has had episodes off and on for 3 or 4 years, but comes out of them after several hours and is back to normal. Doctors, after extensive testing, tell us there is no dementia or Alzheimer's. They are mystified. Eric would like to come as you requested, but he is concerned because the episode has never been this severe. He enjoys your music and leadership very much. Hopefully this hard time for him will pass."
5/21/2012

MAY 2012 MEMORY LOSS-1

MEMORY LOSS
[[This blog, and several above this one, have to do with memory loss events apparently due to "brain freezes". All took place before my one-and-only seizure. ]]

This Is what Lizzy wrote to the kids toward the end of the memory loss episode:

"Dearest Children: Dad's memory loss is severe this time. I want you to know about him today so that you can advise me if you think of anything, and know of his welfare.

"The episodes began 8:30 pm Sunday, and they went on through the night. This morning we had coffee and devotions and he was aware and coherent. But when I got home from work at 4:15 today his memory loss was severe. Evidently he had slept on the couch the whole time I was gone from 10:40 am to 4:15 pm. He doesn't remember anything from yesterday: (it was a special day at church, etc., where we sang in the choir and a picnic after).

"So I need wisdom: not to be as a "mother" but to know what decisions (if I should make them) will be for his best. We have an appointment at his primary care doctor tomorrow AM.

"You all seem to have different and thoughtful advice when we ask. If you sense I should be doing or thinking in a way you think is good, please tell me."
5/21/2012

SELF PROCLAIMED TITLES

TBD
I was thinking about titles. There are a lot of titles we can apply to ourselves:

- Husband
- Father
- Grandfather
- Son
- Brother
- Uncle
- Taxpayer
- Civil Servent
- Military Man
- Radioman
- Student
- Logistics Manager
- Government Representative
- Education Specialist
- Customer
- Assistant to the Author
- Website Manager or Webmaster
- Blogger
-
6/7/2012

SOFTWARE WORK

LESSONS LEARNED
What need am I filling when I write VBA or transfer information from one file type to another file type? I Want:
-- to unlock the information.
-- to manipulate the information.
-- to make a tedious task easy
-- to discover something from the information that no one else has seen
-- or to get it before anyone else does.
-- to be a purveyor of information.
-- to be a source of correct information.

None of the above seems to be connected to the actual content of the information; I just want to get it, convert it, shape it, present it.

NEEDS

LESSONS LEARNED

What are my real needs?
-- Food, air, water, shelter
-- to be wanted.
-- to be respected.
-- to have a purpose. 

And the following, which are the most important, but so often left off the list and out of the thinking:
-- to please God.
-- to hear God.

WHO MAKES THE MONEY

LESSONS LEARNED
Once years ago, as I was having a severe fit of depression and self pity, I tried to identify why some people made lots of money:
-- They have a skill others want and not many have: Electricians, AC men, IT men, etc.
-- They have knowledge or special education not many have: Doctors , Lawyers, etc.
-- They are entrepreneurs that employ and pay others. (they get their own salary plus the company profit.)
-- They are in commissioned work.
-- They invent something or write something and earn royalties.
-- They Manufacture a product.
-- Their parents were wealthy.
-- They are a part of a self serving club: Educators, Politicians, Anthropologists, etc.
-- They steal.
-- They have experience that others have a use for: Logistics Managers, Travel Guides, etc.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE

LESSONS LEARNED
What would I do if I could do anything I want?

-- Build my Garage furniture, jigs
-- Build furniture, useful articles
-- Play "acoustic" jazz with really good musicians.
-- Do art: painting, ceramics, photography ...
-- Assemble things, like a training device.
-- Write VBA code that someone else besides me will find useful.
-- Write Python code to manipulate my stuff, interface with WORD and EXCEL documents
-- Use Office products in ways others are not (or can not) so the information they contain reaches the highest potential.
-- Travel to Paris, London, Italy, Germany. Maybe Spain, Sweden (where my Grandfather came from).

DO THE JOB YOU ARE PAID FOR

LESSONS LEARNED
When I was working for Mr. Watts I started as a helper to Gary Bowles, an air conditioning installer. One day I was standing in the warehouse. Gary was crouched down working on something. Mr. Watts (the boss), Jerry (the supervisor) and I were watching Gary. Mr. Watts looked at Gary, he looked at me, looked at Gary, looked at me and said (with an acid voice) "Help Him!" Immediately I realized I was not doing the job I was hired to do: be a helper. That meant was I was supposed to look for ways to do that job, to look for ways to help. My job wasn't that I was supposed to wait around, idle, until I was told what to do.

Since then that very important lesson has served me well the rest of my life. Unlike most other people, if you look for some way to make yourself useful you will show yourself to be a valuable person.

SPENDING TIME TO SAVE TIME

LESSONS LEARNED
Sometimes you can spend a lot of time doing a thing that on it's face seems wasteful, but will save much time and effort later. I have spent lots of time learning about Microsoft Office software and Visual Basic for Applications software. Many times the skills I have learned enabled to do my job faster and better later on. I spent two hours and saved eight -- and the work was of better quality. The skills also enabled me to do tasks that the others around me could not do. Just the understanding and software I developed to compare two different lists equipped me to finish an analysis in five minutes that would take another several hours to complete if they did it "by-hand". I have enabled myself to analyze items that would be too complicated or tedious or lengthy for others to do.

YOU WILL DIE

CANCER
When I was sick Tania and Josh gave me a book in which to write my experiences with the cancer. Although I wrote some, I regret I did not write much. One of the biggest is the realization that you can eat right and exercise right but you can still get cancer. Another is that death is inevitable. Something like cancer can make you grasp the reality of it. I always knew I was going to die. Cancer brings the realization you can die tomorrow.

If I was to die immediately there would be events, relationships and situations I had left undone. Perhaps I would have to stand red-faced at an interrogation desk just on the other side of THE DOOR.

Being yet on this side of THE DOOR, however, begs me to think, "What events relationships and situations should I be engaging in now?"

As I am writing this it makes TV and movies seem less important.

GOOD BOYS

OBSERVATIONS
One thing I am thankful for is the boys that God has given me. Others seem to have received drug-ridden, drinking, philandering, excess-spending, non-working, lazy, foul-mouthed sorts -- but not me. God has given me men I am proud of

IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU, IT'S ABOUT HER

FAMILY
Liz sometimes undergoes a situation that it comes to the forefront of our existence, like writing the book or facing a challenge with her relationship to her family. When the boys were younger that happened with them too.

I sometimes wonder,

"Is my position and purpose on earth only to be a support to Liz and the boys? Is there no task that is assigned to me alone? Am I only a servant for this? Are Liz and the boys more important than I?"

At times like that I can apply Standard Answer Number One and think about what Jesus did. God clothed himself in flesh and came to earth to die for MY sin, raise himself up again, send the Holy Spirit and involve himself in MY life so much as I will let him.

What does the think of himself when he is doing this? Does he wish to be of more significance? I think he does want to be significant, but he allows us to make the final decision about how much significance we give him. Then I think, how CAN I be any different? His direct statement is, ". . .not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. . ."(Rom 12:3).

And so what! What if that (care of my family) is the only purpose I have: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might . . ."(Ecc 9:10). So I should do it with all my might.

When It's all "over" for me, only the people last.

That is an important thought: Only the people last.

LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH

MARRIAGE
After several months into my marriage I noticed that you have to adapt to the woman you live with. This woman -- the one you married -- is not the one you thought you were marrying. She resembles her, but now you see new dimensions of which you were not aware at the time of the courting and early days of marriage.

What you have to do is to adapt to this woman, because this is the one with whom you MUST "become one flesh" (Gen 2:24) (Mat 19:5) (Mk 10:8) (Eph 5:31). Maybe you would not have preferred her to be this way, but that's the way she is. You can learn to rearrange your interactions with her to accommodate her needs and desires. Indeed, you must do that.

You can fearfully think, "what if she does not think about who I actually am? What if she remains selfish? What if she refuses to stand on her own two feet?"

Sorry, that does not matter: you must do what is in YOUR power to do. You can act for yourself, you can not act for others. What others do is their responsibility before God.

You first exercise your responsibility to God, then you exercise your responsibilities to others.

You are not, after all, an Iron-Fisted Mug, neither are you a Push-Me-Over. If you are either: shame on you.

I LOVED BAND

TEENAGER
I loved band. Band was my salvation. Band was an organization I could belong to that not a lot of other people could. In band I could do stuff others could not do. In my time I was the best drummer Mr Toland (the band director) had. And I wasn't proud about it; I would help the other drummers however I could. I didn't try to play ""King Of The Mountain"" with my position. Others could play trumpet and clarenet but they could not do the drums. Others could play drums, but not as well as I. 5/30/2012

I HATED HIGH SCHOOL

TEENAGER
High School was an unpleasent time of my life. Except for band I didn't fit into any special group. I wasn't one of the tough guys, the bullies. I wasn't a sports guy. (Although I did run on the crosscountry team -- ANYONE could get on the crosscountry team. I rhink I must have joined because I thought I ought to be in a sport; the "all boys do" sort of thing). I wasn't one of the smart people, nor was I a dunce. I wasn't one of the vocational people and I didn't feel I was college material.

I was girl-crazy. What a waste of time that was! I stayed girl-crazy to a point way too late in life. If I could only could have channeled that energy toward more productive activities and toward more worthy people.
5/30/2012

BEING BULLIED

TEENAGER
For some reason I was easy to bully. I don't know why, I just seemed to draw it on myself. Maybe I didn't look like I would fight back. In fact, I would not have fought back because I didn't believe I should. I think the origin of that attitude would have been my Mother's teaching, it wouldn't have been my father's. (I don't remember any teaching from my father except, "don't join the armed forces", which, as you know, I did.)

I did not believe, and still don't believe, that brute force or intimidation should be used when some other way is possible.

One day I offended Billy Collins. I was a hallway monitor at the high school and made him walk around me the way I made everyone walk around me. My job was to make sure all walked around me on the proper side. Billy didn't want to do it. I said if he didn't I would report him. He told me he would see me outside after school, and he did. Billy met me and pushed me around right at the front entrance of the school. He tried to get me to swing at him so he could have a brawl, I suppose. I would not fight him. A whole crowd gathered around, boys and girls. Everyone watched, no one did anything except Billy Collins who punched me a couple of times. Billy and his tough boy friends were amused by the affair. I suppose the others were amused too.

I don't know how to think about this. Why should I even allow Billy a place in my memory?

As it was then, so it is now, that my deliverance comes not from strong-arming the Billy Collins's but by relying on the deliverance of the Lord. For I am indeed weak, but He (the Lord) is strong.

A couple years later I picked up Billy as he was hitch-hiking home. By this time he was in the Coat Guard and he was in uniform. He accepted the ride, but even then I don't think he was happy about it.
6/5/2012

ZACCHAEUS

Most people think of Zacchaeus was a thief and a scoundrel because he was a Publican. Most thought the all Publicans (the tax collectors) treated people unfairly. Maybe not. Many sermons I've heard portray him as a scoundrel. The assumption is repeated multiple times so that it seems to become "true". No one seems to question it.

While many others may have been scoundrels, perhaps Zacchaeus was not. Is every IRS employee bad? Are all government contractors bad?

Zacchaeus said to Jesus he would pay back four-fold IF HE HAD CHEATED ANYONE (emphasis mine). But Maybe he didn't have to pay back four fold because he did not cheat or overcharge people. Maybe he, unlike some others , did not abuse his authority. Maybe Zacchaeus said that openly in front of the crowd knowing no one could honestly claim to have been cheated.

Just because a class of people are assumed to be bad does not mean every member of the class is bad.

WORKING WITH DAD

BOYHOOD
I never felt close to my father, neither did I ever see that he expressed any affection toward me. He did, however, let me hang out with him when he did anything. He never showed annoyence and he never chased me away. When I needed help, like the time I had taken the front end of my car all apart, he would help me. He would Stay as long as it took.

ABOUT CHILDREN

CHILDHOOD
I think children can understand more than adults think they can. I think I could grasp the general content of what my mother was talking about. I remember her talking on the phone and she kept saying "my husband". I remember what she said was not very flattering of him.

BABY CARRIAGE

CHILDHOOD
I remember being rolled uptown in a baby carriage by my mother. Mrs. Lameroux stopped my mother to talk to her. She wanted to look inside the carriage. She looked in at me and seemed to be a little surprised. I think I must have been a little older and wanted my mother to treat me like a baby and get wheeled in the carriage. Hence, when Mrs. Lameraux looked in, she saw someone a little older than she was expecting. Or maybe my memory goes back that far and I was actually a baby.

PAUL McKENNA

CHILDHOOD
Paul McKenna was the only other kid my age that lived in my neighborhood. There was something wrong with Paul. Sometimes he would stand, do a sort of running-in-place, shake his hands and make funny guttural noises. I don't really remember, but I don't think he was mentally all there. He had the potential for being the butt of all sorts of cruel jokes. But my Mother told me, "You need to be careful with people like, Paul. They can not help who or what they are. Even if other people are bad to him you can not be. You have to stand up for Paul if he needs it."

I hope I didn't hurt Paul, but being a kid I'll bet I did.

I'm sorry, Paul.
5/11/2012

BILLY NOREN

CHILDHOOD
When I lived at 65 South Street I was friends with a kid diagonally accross the road. His name was Billy Noren. My Mother didn't like him much, but I did. Anyway, he was the only kid around I had to play with. I was too young to play with my brothers. They, and their friends, did not want to play with me. Once I was annoying David my brother and one of the Webber boys by following them around. They saw a chance for freedom. They gave me one end of a rope and told me to hold the other end. They started pulling me. They approached and entered the thicket of a very large lilac bush. What fun! I followed them right along. I was just about to enter the thicket myself when the tension on the rope stopped. I started to pull on it myself; I was going to be the leader now. It didn't take long to figure out the boys at the other end had disappeared.

So Billy was around and I played with him.
5/11/2012

BUSTER AND THE TOILET

[[ I ran across a bunch of old files that I had been putting together as part of an autobiography. I decided to post them here since it's easier than actually trying to think of something to write. Some have dates associated with them shown at the end of the items that had them. I don't remember what the date actually reflects; It doesn't appear to do with the actual date of authorship. ]]

CHILDHOOD
Buster, our mongrel dog, would come with us to our vacations to Maine. The house we rented on the island was on a wooded hill beside a river. This river was tidal, meaning that the water went toward the sea when the tide was going out, and went inland when the tide was coming in. Conditions were primitive for us and the neighbors. There was no running water. That meant that as well as using a hand pump to get water we also had to use either a privy outside, or a chemical toilet inside. Most used chemical toilets. When they got full the neighbors and we would empty them into the river when the tide was going out. Buster loved to swim. From time to time he would run down the hill and swim in the toilet effluent. That was bad enough. When he was through he would run back up the hill, stand close to anyone who was handy and shake himself, the way dogs do. We would watch him run up the hill knowing what he intended to do. We would point our finger at him and say (or yell), “Don't you do it Buster! Don't!” He didn't seem to understand. And he would do it.
5/17/2012

JOB APPLICATION WORDS

I wonder if any company could bear to write a job description for a position they want to fill without using the following words or phrases:

State of the art
World-class
Excellent
Exemplary
Highly engaged
Dedicated
Best possible
High quality.

While all this is nice, or even preferred, I'll bet the business world will keep on functioning when their job applicants lack most of these qualities.

BULLIES

There seem to be four groups of people: the Bullies, the Beautiful People (which would include the athletes), the Smart People, and All The Rest Of Us. If you take the fourth group, the rest of us, away, the only group that would suffer would be the Bullies because then they would have no one to bully.

The best thing that could happen would be the bullies would chew themselves up to oblivion.

Among some of the Beautiful People there may bully-like tendencies. Some, after all, are more beautiful or athletically skilled than the rest of us and want us to know and all about it.

Some Smart People really want all others to understand they are smarter and will attempt to demonstrate it.

Bullies are left-over Neanderthals who, because of their poorly developed and distorted sense of self-worth, feel they must force another to be under them.

USELESS OLD AGE

I recently have heard a statement similar to this:  "The older should step aside to allow the younger to fill his vacancy".  This suggests that older people mature into incompetence and raises several questions in my mind.  Am I in someone's way?  What process am I obstructing?  Is there a specific age where I crystallize into this obstruction?  At what age is the person of younger age being frustrated? 

If, in the past, I have been in the way it would have been nice to have been told.

If I am now in the way it would be nice to be told.

CHURCH MUSIC

Sometimes I find myself annoyed at church music which leads me to attempt the following definitions:
-- "Music leading":  Singer(s) performing the exact melody (note the phrase "exact melody") expected of the people being lead.
-- "Solo":  Lone singer singing melody with decorations as he/she feels inspired.  There is no expectation of leading the listeners while this is done.
-- "Dixieland":  An ensemble of 3 – 5 instruments simultaneously performing solo improvisations of the melody.  Note: Dixieland will always at least once clearly state the melody with all instruments in harmony.  This is done before the section using improvisation.
-- "Mess":  A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together.
-- "Awful Mess": A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together some out of tune.
-- "Dreadfully Awful Mess": A group of singers, perhaps mixed with instruments, all improvising a melody together all out of tune.

THERE IS EITHER MALE OR FEMALE

Here is a quote from Melissa Atkins Wardy as seen on Upworthy.com,  "There is no 'boy side' or 'girl side' to childhood," she told Upworthy, noting gender stereotypes can hinder a child's development by limiting their experiences. "Why would we tell a kid they can't like cars or pirates or fairies or pink?  . . ."

There is most definitely a "boy side" or "girl side" to childhood.  I would never want my male child or grandchild to have any confusion about his sex (operative words, "sex" and "he").  It would be no big deal to me if he liked the color pink, or green for that matter.

I would never want my female child or grandchild to have any confusion about her sex (operative words, "sex" and "she").  Incidentally my granddaughters less than six years old do like to play with the toy cars.  My older granddaughters actually drive real cars.

Physical hermaphrodites are extremely rare.  They are the only ones where the "girl side" or "boy side" issue may be confusing.

Most children are either MALE or FEMALE.  There is actually no shame in identifying yourself, or your child, as a MALE or FEMALE.  Nearly all adults and children know the difference. 

There is really no need to be afraid to tell a girl she is a girl, or a boy that he is a boy.

REPORT CARD

I saw three minutes of a PBS show where some rural Chinese parents had left their home to earn money to send back to the family.  Upon their return the first thing they wanted to see was the report card of their child.  The first thing they said was, "You were fifth in your class; why didn't you do better?"  I immediately felt sad and turned off the show.

What should have been the first emotion?  Should not it have been a gladness to see the child after being away?  They wanted the child to succeed (I suppose) but was their child's success only a token for their own success?  Was the only purpose of the child's existence to please the parents?

If I was the child I would have the deep feeling that no matter what I did it would never be good enough for my parents.  I would never really succeed.  Where do you suppose these feeling would lead?

I wonder what feelings the parents of the last place child had?

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK

Here is a quote from Sidney Madwed, an American author:

"Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image. What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives."

To be fair I do not know the context of this quote, but what is it really saying?
Is the thinking that is going on in our subconscious - - that has no humor, cannot distinguish real and imagined, that may not know the difference between thought or image - - always going to manifest in our lives?  Do we have no control? 

Is the “subconscious” real, or an idea, a concept?  If we are not aware of it, how do we know if it really exists - - just because some say that it does?  What really happens before an idea can be sensed enough to express it - - to put it into words, or to draw a picture of it?  And once we can express the idea then do we not have control of it?

I think once we can express it we have control over it.  Therefore we can apply humor to it and tell the difference between it and reality.  Unless we are mentally ill we always have control over our thoughts and actions.  We have a large degree of control of what we know.

The “subconscious” is a blame-boy that’s too easy to use.

WARTIME

I was in the Vietnam War.  I went for two reasons: 1) I always wanted to sail on a big ship and 2) I would have been drafted and I wanted to serve in the Navy rather than on land or air.  I became a radioman on an Oiler, the USS Ponchatoula.  Our job was to refuel other ships off the coast of Vietnam.  These ships included aircraft carriers from which planes flew to bomb the Vietcong.  We operated day and night.  At night the planes would fly with their running lights on, dive down and drop the bombs.  You could see the flashes and a few seconds hear the boom-boom-boom.

I liked being in the Navy and liked the job I did.  I did not drop the bombs, but without my ship (and therefore me) the rest of the fleet could not conduct operations.  I was not, and am not, sorry for my Navy time.

When I got out I never talked with anyone about my Navy time because it appeared that most people did not support the war or our government’s participation in it.  It didn’t seem as if people believed this war accomplished what other wars have, like WWII, Afghanistan and Iraq.  I felt I would have little respect from most people for having been part of the military in the Vietnam era.

I am proud of, and thankful for, our men and women in the military.  I believe their work is keeping me and my family reasonably safe.

REALIZE YOUR BLESSINGS

I am realizing I am a blessed man this morning.

• I have a faithful (and faith-filled), loving, loyal wife.
• I have productive, upright sons who are high quality family men.
• I have no trouble paying all my bills, and no reason to think I might not become unable.
• I have survived colon cancer and am presently in good health.
• I am benefiting from a good education and good life-long work experiences.
• I live in a fine neighborhood and have peaceful neighbors.
• I live in the USA and benefit from it’s history, laws and traditions.
• But fundamental to all: I know who Jesus Christ is and what he has done for me and the world, and know what he will yet do. 

There are many other things I could also list.

MAN-IN-THE-MIDDLE

If you will notice, the Bible describes many times where God wants to directly use someone or to directly speak to someone yet the person (or group of people) want someone else between them and God, or them and the task.  You can see an early example of this in Exodus 4 where God wants Moses to speak to Pharaoh yet Moses begs off because he thinks he won’t be good enough for the task.  So instead of what God really wants, Moses to speak directly to Pharaoh, we end up with a man-in-the-middle:  Moses speaks to Aaron who speaks to Pharaoh.  Notice how Moses resists God:

"Exo 4:10  And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11  And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
12  Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13  And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15  And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
16  And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God."


Another - - and sadder - - example is in Exodus 20 when God would have spoken directly to the people but they want Moses to hear what God has to say and come back and tell them.  Instead of the people hearing directly from God they make Moses the man-in-the-middle.

"Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

This is what we tend to do in the Church; instead of listening to God ourselves - - through reading the Bible or prayer - - we put a man-in-the-middle.  We depend on the priest or pastor or rabbi, or a certain denomination or sect.  It seems easier to let someone else think for you than to think for yourself.  Other people are important to listen to - - and we should listen to others - - but we should not depend on others to be the-man-in-the-middle between us and God.

THE GRANDFATHER

As I was sitting on the front porch this morning a man pulled up in a black Mustang with a rumbling engine and dark opaque windows.  Who could be inside this car?  Was this a drug dealer?  Was his hair thick and black and combed back in greasy neat rows?  Did he have on a sports jacket concealing a .45 caliber?  Was he wearing sunglasses and did he have a smirk on his face?  What was he here for and who was he going to see?

Would it end well for the one he would visit?

Then - - -

The driver's door opened.  A grandfather got out to bring the forgotten lunch to his granddaughter at the school across the street.

BUY AMERICAN

Buy American.  Bring manufacturing back to our shores.

Avoid things that are made in China.  That does not mean you should throw out your iPhones and computers.  Sometimes you will not be able to find items that are not "made in China".  But many times you can make a choice .  So look on the labels and avoid "made in China" when you can.

If enough of us do this, and the months and  years pass, we will bring our manufacturing base back to this country.

I AM ALLOWED TO SAY, "THE BIBLE SAYS"

If I say, “the Bible says . . .” I am not shutting down conversation. I am simply stating something about which the Bible makes a statement. The hearer is allowed to disagree with any statement I, or the Bible, make. And I am also allowed to disagree with any statement he may make. I will not be troubled if the hearer thinks I am a fool or somehow less intelligent.

We all must have some ultimate authority upon which we base our beliefs. While some may choose to rely on the many various man-made theories, I choose to believe the Bible is the ultimate authority. It speaks for itself.

If “context is really important” for us to understand or interpret the Bible, whose context are we accepting? Are we relying on the Bible, or are we relying on many opinions of disparate groups of people (churchmen and humanists alike).

I look at the Grand Canyon and say, “Here evidence of a world wide, catastrophic, hydrologic event.” Some others say, “Here is evidence of millions of years of lying down of sediment, followed by other millions of years of the carving away of a channel by the Colorado River. If the Bible says God created the earth (and everything else) is six days I believe it.

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE . . .

Neighborhoods these days build walls facing the main street going by them.  When there is a neighborhood on each side of the road it  has the appearance of driving down a canyon; there is no view, nothing to see.  For this reason I hate these walls.

If I lived by a busy street I would like a wall there to keep out street noise.  Also it would be safer to keep children from wandering into danger, and to keep unwanted people from wondering onto your property.  For this reason I like these walls.

Since I don't live by a busy street I hate these walls.  If I did, I would like these walls.

". . . HE WILL BE KING . . ."

Americans know not the concept of “king” or “aristocracy” except as defined in a dictionary. They don’t have the experiences connected with these words as some European Nations have. We did away with all that garbage at the Revolution.

Though they would not use those words, a few of the rich and some politicians like the concepts of “king” and “aristocracy”. If they actually publicly used those words we would be aware of their intentions and prevent them from implementing that kind of government. Some large Corporations like the concept of absolute control too. Therefore we also have to be vigilant against their establishing similar types of domination.

God is the only entity worthy - - and capable - - of being a perfect King. Some earthly kings have sought power at the expense of their subjects. In contrast, God has all power by his very nature, and exercises that power for the benefit of his subjects.

TIME WELL SPENT??

As I do crosswords I keep track of clue answers that could fill the numbers of squares that the answer requires. Many times I find there could be two or more words that will both answer the clue and exactly fill the squares.  I mark these sets of words on the bottom of each crossword I complete and later transfer them into a spreadsheet.  If the set of words contains two words (like “melt” and “thaw) I enter two rows on the spreadsheet.  One row will have “melt” in the first column and “thaw” in the second column.  The next row will have “thaw” in the first column and “melt” in the second column.  A set of three words will take three rows.

Over the years I have built up the list to 1456 rows.  There are 1276 sets of entries.  42 rows have six columns per row (7 sets of six words).  Many rows have only two columns filled (2 sets of two words).

Here is an example from the list:

WORD 1    WORD 2    WORD 3    WORD 4    WORD 5
Abase    Abuse    Shame      
Abide    Allow          
Ablaze    Aflame          
Abode    House          
Abuse    Shame    Abase      
Accosted    Ambushed          
Ace    One    Pro    Win  
Ache    Pain    Pang    Sore    Hurt

MAYBE IT'S MY FAULT AFTER ALL

With respect to LOUD CHURCH MUSIC:  it my be my fault.  See the two quotes I ran into below:

"Tinnitus could be the result of the brain’s neural circuits trying to adapt to the loss of sensory hair cells by turning up the sensitivity to sound. This would explain why some people with tinnitus are oversensitive to loud noise."

"Noise-induced hearing loss, the result of damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear, is one of the most common causes of tinnitus. Anything you can do to limit your exposure to loud noise - - by moving away from the sound, turning down the volume, or wearing earplugs or earmuffs - - will help prevent tinnitus or keep it from getting worse."

So it looks like I still must avoid (what seems to me) LOUD MUSIC.

ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD

Yesterday we had yet another church experience.  The church we tried had ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD music.  We tried four (that’s 4) churches the Sunday before and they each had ROCK-CONCERT-LOUD music.  We also tried a church where the music was not too loud, and the message was reasonably good, but we know the people there.  We know they disapprove of what we do - - have a glass of wine in the evening, and perhaps a glass of beer when we dine out.

So in many churches you can not have contemporary music and must refrain from alcohol, even though there is no danger of becoming an alcoholic.  And in many others you can have contemporary music IF you are willing to damage yourself, that is your sense of hearing.

I’ll add another comment:  I have never found that Rock-and-Roll or Jazz music had driven me to illicit sex, or to drugs, or to drinking, or to terrorist actions, or even to disobeying my Mother.

LOUD ALL OVER

Last Sunday (that is the last Sunday after the previous last Sunday I wrote about before: so, I am  speaking about the latest last Sunday) (the most recent one, not the one before; that is, the last last one) we went to three churches in a row and all of them had music that was too loud.  I really wonder if there a church we can go to.

This music is so loud that the congregations can not possibly hear either themselves or those next to them sing.  What then is the point of congregational singing if the congregation can not hear themselves?  Is not the singing portion of the service for the congregation to sing?  In this atmosphere of loudness the congregation does not sing.  Let us not kid ourselves, these events are not events of congregational participation, but events of performer-audience.  The performers act and the audience listens.

(or plugs their ears).

HEARING AND THE AUDIO MAN

Last Sunday we went to a church that was meeting in a school.  As we walked in the people there were very friendly and welcoming.  The only problem was the music was too loud, even in the foyer.  They very courteously tried to usher us in but even with my hearing aids turned off the music was way too loud.  We turned and left.

We will never know if the preaching was good, if it was true to the Bible, if it would have made us more effective in our Christian life.  We will never know if there were good and lasting friends to meet there.  We will never have the opportunity to contribute our knowledge built up over 41 years of a faithful Christian marriage.  We will never be able to participate in the music.  We will never be able to encourage the believers there to read the Bible every day as we have done all our married life.  We will miss any encouragement there may have been there for us, or the new lessons we needed to learn.

All this because the music was too loud.  No one in that congregation could have heard themselves singing the songs or heard others around them singing.  Some would have been discouraged from singing.

I would have liked to attend a small church with contemporary music, even if they never sang the old hymns or even owned hymn books.  I like up-beat music.  I like rock-and-roll.  I grew up on rock-and-roll.  I like jazz too.  The radio in my car would never be tuned to a classical station; classical music is OK, I just do not prefer it.

But the volume of the music at that church will never be turned down.  That’s because the audio guys like it that way.  They like it loud.  They can stand it either because they are already deaf, or because they are wearing earphones and are not effected by it.  They control the volume, not the musicians, singers or the pastor.  He who turns the dial has the power.

And the congregation there must like it too because they stay.

Some might say, “Just get over it and learn to be immersed in the experience.”  I wear hearing aids because I have poor hearing.  I have had poor hearing all my life.  I have spent six thousand dollars on hearing aids just so I can hear somewhat better yet I still struggle to hear.  I refuse to allow some audio-jockey to bore out my ears and destroy what hearing I have left.

Someone said, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old.”  I guess I am.

TAMING SOFTWARE

The only effective way to approach software:

LEADING FROM THE BACK

In some blog I got to somehow the timpanist of a major orchestra spoke of his responsibility as “leading from the back”

Having played in orchestras I would never dare say the percussion “leads from the back”.  The conductor leads.  Even in Big Band work the percussion does not lead, he (she) is part of the ensemble - - part of a group that is lead.  In Big Band work the leader is often not the drummer.  It’s the leader, or conductor, who decides the timing and tenor of the musical piece to be played.  The drummer (or percussionist) never “leads from the back” (unless he’s Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa or Ginger Baker).

Tell the conductor you are “leading from the back” and you will be “leaving out the back” (door).

It took me long enough to draw this; just another way Facebook sucks away time!

THE OLD SELF DOUBT

For some reason the other night, I remembered the time a teacher, Mrs. Griffin, said to my mother that I “had a flare for writing”.  I did with that statement as I have done with so many other similar affirming statements about me:  I blew it off.  I said to my self, “she's just saying that to flatter. She doesn't really mean it. She's saying what she wishes, not what is.”

Once I remembered that event I said “Why do I always disallow or minimize the good things that are said about me?”  It is a bad habit.  I ought rather to appreciate the positive things.  I ought to try to own them and build on them.  I ought to improve myself in the way that is spoken to me.  I ought to believe that I am “that way” and that I can do “that”.

I am tempted to doubt, to say “What if I am not 'that'?”  Well, if I'm not “that” I won't be able to do “it”.

But it is more honorable to endeavor to become “it” while trying, hoping and being positive.  How can it be honorable by never starting the thing because I think “What if I'm not”?  How can it be honorable never try 100% and only give 75%? 50%? 5%?

[[ Lord please help me to put away from me my disbelief in myself.  Please help me to appropriate the “good works which you have before ordained that I should walk in them”  Help me to recognize the “goodness and mercy which shall follow me all the days of my life.”  After all I am dwelling “in the house of the Lord forever”.  How bad can that be - - rather, how excellent that is. ]]

MOTORS AND ANCHORS

Here is a quote from a man named Wayland (I suppose the person is a man, my having only the last name) . . . "There are two types of people - anchors and motors. You want to loose the anchors and get with the motors because the motors are going somewhere and they’re having fun. The anchors will just drag you down."

This quote is either good or ridiculous depending on the assumptions you bring to it.

Wayland here seems to think anchors are bad; they are preventing you from making progress toward a goal you want to achieve. But I think of anchors as safety devices. Anchors keep your boat from drifting to places you don’t want to go, like going aground.

Wayland seems to think motors are good; they are powering you toward a positive goal. But motors do not always take you to the right places. There are some motors I do not want in my life. I do not want the motors of hateful, negative thinking. I do not want motors that drive me to buy things I do not need.

Yes an anchor can be a hindrance if you throw it overboard at the wrong time or place, but why would you? If you needed to leave your boat offshore in a river, or in a cove near the seashore, would it be OK with you for it to drift with the current or tide? If you habitually sailed near the brink of Niagara Falls would you choose the boat without an anchor?

Yes a motor provides the impetus, the power, to get somewhere; but where is the “somewhere” and how do you need to arrive there? If you need to go forward is it OK for you to use a motor that runs only in reverse? What about a motor that only goes forward and never runs in reverse? I do not paddle my Ford Explorer to the store with a canoe paddle. Neither could I use 200 horsepower V-6 in my canoe. Different motors are for different purposes. The world could have done without the motors that drove Nazi Germany, but we needed the motors that eventually won the war.

People are not only anchors, and they are not only motors; they can be both anchors and motors. It’s up to you to choose where and when to use an anchor just as it’s up to you to choose what type of motor you need for your situation. Choose the right motor; choose the right boat; don't forget your anchor.

ANGRY OVER NOTHING

I was sitting on the porch this morning when two professionally dressed cyclists rode by - - the kind dressed in all the fashionable cycling wear and helmets. As they rode buy one dropped behind the other and moved toward the curb to make room for an on-coming automobile. I thought to myself, "what if that guy decided not to move over?" I wondered, "What if that guy was thinking, 'I am going to keep my lawful place on the road, I'm not going to move for anybody; to hell with anyone who thinks I should move for them!' " I imagined that man as having a confrontational, sour attitude. I almost put myself in a sour, confrontational mood just thinking about it.

But the thing is: I don't have a clue what that guy was thinking. You can't know what anyone's attitude is if they don't speak to you, or by communicating in some other way (as in writing or with a gesture). You don't know what you are not told and there is very little point in trying to imagine what you don't know -- at least in a case like this.

I could have put myself in a sour frame of mind over something that never happened.

How often do we do that?

WHY NOT?

In our family (Lizzie and I) the domination of women is not an issue. I never thought it was right for me to dominate my Wife/Partner/Friend. I don't associate with, nor care to associate with, any person who advocates the abject submission of women, or even the general submission of women.

It makes me sad that some men and some groups push domination of women. Some men take advantage of their strength and force-of-will. Some cultures promote subservience of women as the natural order of the human condition. Why is this so? I believe for many it's simply a case of: “That's the way it's always been done.” It's passed of from Father to Son and from the culture to the men.

Why did I not grow up thinking dominance was my right? I believe it's because my Mother was an intelligent woman who knew right from wrong and saw it as her duty to pass this knowledge to her children. She required her children to act accordingly in her presence. I believe it's because I never saw my Father dominate or be harsh to my Mother. My Father also would not let his children speak disrespectfully. I believe it's because I live in this country and in this age where women have stood up themselves.

WHOSE OPINION IS THIS?

When you are hearing a negative voice in your head saying something disparaging about you know it's probably the Devil. He's always the first one in line with his two cents.  Know that's all his opinion is worth -- about two cents -- even less than that.  Don't listen

VOICES

There are many voices that proclaim themselves to be the truth.  Yet there is only one which is of God.  As Psalm 55 suggests some are from clamorous enemies and some seem to be friends.  How can we tell them apart?

Without God's word I don't know that it's possible to know good from bad.  We would eventually throw some voices out after experiencing their bitter fruits.  This would come at a high cost and being delayed much by the experience.  Others would never be recognized as folly.  We would continue on though life with them.

If we did not read God's word how would we know them?

Someone has to tell us what is good and what is bad.  Whose voice do you listen to?

YE ARE GODS

Joh 10:34:  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

“your law”  Jesus uses that phrase when he talks to the religious leaders about psalm 82.  Here it says, “is it not written in your law . . .”  They, the religious leaders, have taken God's law and have twisted it into their own law in the sense that they use it for their own ends.  Over the generations the leaders have determined that only a certain interpretation can be applied to God's word: their own interpretation, no one else's.  They have stopped understanding it according to god's sense.  Perhaps they feel they can an amend it as we would amend the U.S Constitution.

It must have taken some length of time to go by tradition from God's intended meaning of his word to man's meaning.  Perhaps some of this change was influenced by the desire to control the congregation into certain actions, certain ways of thinking.  Who knows better than those who have gone to Bible school?  Surely the trained clergy knows better.  Perhaps they feel they can an amend it as we would amend the U.S Constitution.

Step-by-step inch-by-inch, here a little and there a little.

But let me also be quick to say: he who has not read the Bible for himself is in no position to challenge one who has.  A person who has gone to Bible school most likely knows much better than he who has not even read his Bible.

IF IT'S NOT BROKEN DON'T BREAK IT

It's easy for me to be negative about work and about others' participation in it.  I think the worst of them - - that they are taking the laziest route, that they are seeking only to advance their careers, that they have motives other than they ought to have.

In truth what do I know about another's motivation unless they tell me what it is?  I end up speaking unhealthy things which do not improve the situation but rather harms it.

I should refrain from speaking harmful things, and speak helpful things.

God wants to build a fruitful world, not a broken, crippled one.  I want to help what God does, not harm it.

FAMILY TREES

Once I was diagramming family trees while waiting for Lizzie to finish at Publix.  It's amazing how complex they grow over just 3 or 4 generations into the past, or into the future.  It's like a tree: you are now, the trunk.  Below, in the past, are the roots: your parents, grand parents, etc.  Above is the future:  your children, grand children, etc.


I would like to understand how the roots grow ever bigger below into small rootlets, yet all reach back to a single couple:  Adam and Eve.  Even if you hate the idea of God and creation, it still reduces down that way:  to a single couple, or at least a very few couples.

 

IT STARTS WITH A MACHETE

Matt Dhann wrote, “What new paths for our minds do we need to blaze?”

The old roads are paved and easy to travel. To make a new road we have to hack out the brush, chop down the trees, blast out the rock, bring in the foundation gravel.  It's a long process.

But first you machete out the brush. If you keep traveling the path, the brush doesn't grow back. The more traveled the path is the more obvious the path becomes. It gets more defined when you drive jeeps and logging trucks over it.

When you've built an inn in the forest you need a more serious road, not just a track. From a dirt road it can grow to be a paved road, to a multi-lane road, to a major road, to a highway, to an Interstate. If the way becomes important enough there eventually will also be railroads and airlines.

It all starts with the knowledge there is a new way to go and the decision to pick up the machete.

START WHERE THE INFORMATION IS

I wondered today if the part of God's attention toward creation and us is not a very small part of what God pays attention to?  We think that it is all he has to do. 

But, in fact, whatever part of his "time" he spends on us is 100 % of all we have.  We have our being in him, not he in us.  How can we hope to comprehend the boundaries of God? 

We are self-important about what we say we know about the universe.  We say how big stars are and  how hot they are and what they are made of from observation of an infinitesimal speck of light passing through a man-made spectrometer.  We start with what we have been given on earth (helium gas and a prism) and presume the same rules apply uniformly thru out the universe.

Unlike the stars, which hardly give anything, God has given us the Bible.  It provides us much more information than stars. Certainly more than a few bands of light on a spectrometer.

THE SUPERNATURAL

Life as I am experiencing it has an intimate connection to the spiritual world.  Jesus said something like “As I am in the Father, so are you in me; as the Father is in me so am I in  you”  (Look at John 17 and preceding).  He was physically in the world: we could have seen, herd  him and touched him..  Yet he talked with the Father.  He said “my Father and I are one”.

So that should be true between Jesus and us today - - we are in him and he in us.  We should treat our daily living as if we are also somehow also presently in heaven.  What if a veil could be pulled back and we could see the spiritual beings about as it was done for Elisha's servant when he saw the heavenly army? (2 Kings 6:16)

How do I adopt an attitude of living my physical life and realizing, experiencing that I am at the same time living the spiritual life?

I'll bet we have been tricked into thinking that the physical is now, and the spiritual comes later.  Or we think that any spiritual event is unusual in the physical course of events.  What if the spiritual is coursing along at all times but we have made ourselves blind and unhearing toward it?  If everyone else chooses to be blind should we follow meekly along and be blind too?

What do I do to see?  What do I do to listen?

 -- Keep looking to see spiritual things
 -- Keep listening to hear spiritual things.
 -- Keep reading the Bible and rehearse the passages that support spiritual intimacies.
 -- Realize that “the Kingdom is at hand” means it is AT HAND.  It is here now.  It is a natural thing.
 -- Realize your “natural” perceptions could well have a supernatural component.
 -- Embrace your “natural” perceptions and ask God to show you what he wants you to supernaturally know.

THE OLD SELF DOUBT

For some reason the other night, I remembered the time a teacher (who I can see, but not remember the name) said to my mother that I “had a flare for writing”. I did with that statement as I have done with so many other similar affirming statements about me: I blew it off. I said to my self, “she's just saying that to flatter. She doesn't really mean it. She's saying what she wishes, not what is.”

Once I remembered that event I said “Why do I always disallow or minimize the good things that are said about me?” It is a bad habit. I ought rather to appreciate the positive things. I ought to try to own them and build on them. I ought to improve myself in that way that is spoken. I ought to believe that I am “that way” and that I can do “that”.

I am tempted to doubt, to say “What if I am not 'that'?” Well, If I'm not “that” I won't be able to do “it”.

But it is more honorable to discover “it” while being positive, trying and hoping. How can it be honorable by never starting the thing because I think “What if I'm not”? How can it be honorable never try 100% and only give 75%? 50%? 5%?

[[ Lord please help me to put away from me my disbelief in myself. Please help me to appropriate the “good works which you have before ordained that I should walk in them” Help me to recognize the “goodness and mercy which shall follow me all the days of my life.” After all, I am dwelling “in the house of the Lord forever”. How bad can the be - - rather, how excellent that is. ]]

WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE NEIGHBORS?

When an individual regards the Bible as the word of God - - and reads it - - he is forever become a different person. And those individuals are catalysts of change for everyone about them. Even those who do not regard the Bible as special are unavoidably influenced for change by those who do. You can not live alongside a group of people and not be changed by them.

Those cultures that have seriously regarded the Bible were changed at their roots by it. And as a result of that every other culture beside them were changed. Eventually the world was forever changed.

Even the ones who hold the view that there is no god have been solidly and unquestionably influenced by the book about Him - - the Bible. The influence spread from Israel to Rome to Europe and hence throughout the world. If the no-god believers were to attempt to reverse the influence the Bible has already had they would have to undo thousands of years of history, and explain why they did.

BACKSTAGE

The admirable qualities of Biblical characters are often hidden behind the words of certain Biblical passages. Nehemiah is a good example as can be seen in Nehemiah 2:

He was proven. After being brought as a slave to a foreign land he worked diligently within his new circumstances. He eventually worked his way up to being the King's cup-bearer (or wine steward, or wine servant).

He earned a high level of trust, for the wine servant had close contact to the king. The king and his security team knew Nehemiah would neither stab nor attempt to poison the king.

He was familiar and on conversational terms with the king. When he perceived Nehemiah was sad the king cared enough to be concerned -- and the king was interested in Nehemiah's welfare.

The king also realized Nehemiah was a capable leader in his own right. He knew Nehemiah could conceive, organize and guide the reconstruction of Jerusalem, so he sent him off to accomplish it.

The Bible does not state these facts directly to us, we have to imagine them through reading the story, by hearing the words and viewing the actions. There's a lot to be learned backstage.

GETTING RICHER THROUGH DEBT

I get a "quote of the day" via email; today's quote was: "Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them."

This relates directly to my previous post: Running Into Debt.  But there is one debt that is enriching and encouraging to retire, and that's our debt to appreciate and act on God's gift to us through Jesus Christ.  What we do to "retire" that debt makes us richer in character and oddly can increase our other kinds of wealth.

WE CAN DO MORE

In Nehemiah one we notice that he was the Cup Bearer to the king.  I'm not exactly sure what this position entailed but it certainly meant that he was close to, and trusted by, the king.  It must have taken years of background history for him to become established at the Cup Bearer's position. 

He was close enough that the king noticed Nehemiah was troubled and sad (chapter two).  For you, this is like President Obama personally being concerned  about you, and wanting to know why you are troubled.  It would mean you had that kind of high-flying job, which almost everyone else doesn't. 

The whole book ends up with Nehemiah going back to Israel and rebuilding the wall, making the defenseless defensible.  But he was a CUP BEARER, for crying out loud!  He had no credentials for being a General, or Governor, or Architect, or Contractor.

What this shows us is that we can do a lot more than others believe we can do, or that we ourselves think we can to.

RUNNING INTO CREDITORS

I get an email from a source that provides a "motivational quote of the day".  I absolutely disagree with Today's quote

"Running into debt isn't so bad. It's running into creditors that hurts."

If you get into debt, you put yourself there. You have creditors because you put yourself into their hands.  You borrowed because you felt you wanted something now rather than putting yourself to the discipline of working and saving for it.  It will hurt when you must put off other desirable things because now the bank is standing at the head of the pay line. What hurts worse is when you do not honestly deal with your creditors and have law enforcement guiding you to the pay line. A good man (or a good woman, for that matter) always stands behind his commitments.

It is hard to find honor in letting someone cosign for your debt, for then you are introducing risk into their lives.  You are dragging them into your pay line.  There may be cases where this is acceptable, but I'll bet more are not acceptable than are.

Very few debts are "good" debts. Paying a mortgage rather than paying rent comes close. While you are sharing some of your wealth with the bank, with the rest you are slowly gaining title to the house and land.  Car debt sometimes seems to be necessary, but many times it can be avoided (or at least greatly lessened) by buying a used vehicle - - or maybe just repairs, maintenance, or waiting and saving.  School debt is more troublesome.  Will the targeted occupation guarantee an income large enough to justify the debt?  Doctors, Engineers and Lawyers may answer yes, few others can.  Have you applied for scholarships?  Are you willing to work and pay-as-you-go?

A quote like "Avoid debt if at all possible" would be a better quote than the one above, but I guess it wouldn't be as funny.

WHAT'S NEXT

Elijah had been doing a lot of work for God and he was tired.  He was thinking he was all alone in getting it done.  In fact Jezebel was out gunning for him because he had caused the death of all her false prophets.  He told God, "I've been angry like you about all the false prophets and how your people have turned their back on you. Now I'm the only one left."  God in effect said, "Go back. I'm not finished with the work I have for you to do. You do not realize this, but there are seven thousand more like you that have never worshiped the false Gods."

We are like Elijah.  We often think there is not much more that we can do.  But it's not over; there's more to do;  there always is.  There are a few church things to do, but most are personal things and family things.  The only time we will know it's through is when we're face-to-face with Jesus in heaven; then that part of the work is done.

Be patient, the next set of tasks will become apparent soon.


(( We were reading in 1 Kings today, chapters 18 and 19. Lizzie wrote a blog too.  Here is a line to hers: .ELIJAH WAS SUCCESSFUL

LIZZIE HAS CANCER

My wife has breast cancer. A friend just wrote to her today, "My heart breaks knowing your life travel plans just got interrupted with this detour down the road of breast cancer."

Being a man, and ex military, I tend to think of things in different terms. I don't think of it as a "detour". I think of it as "new orders", or "increased responsibilities", or "greater opportunity through engagement in a tougher challenge".

A "detour" speaks of a temporary alternative road to a road which is normally better. This is not an alternative road, this is the road God has directed Lizzie (and I, and the rest of the family) to travel. We thought we were going to California, but all along on God's map the destination was Massachusetts. There is good stuff in California, but there is also good stuff in Massachusetts, perhaps better stuff, wonderful stuff.

The Bible speaks of "the peace that passes all understanding". When I had colon cancer, and now as Lizzie has breast cancer, I think we have this gift, the gift of peace. We don't feel fear, confusion, or apprehension. We know the future, although unexpected, holds good things for us. Maybe they will not be comfortable things, but they will be things through which we have the opportunity to grow. Growth is always more important than comfort and pleasure. Who wants to get to heaven and report to God, "I've had a lot of fun and pleasure, but I haven't grown much."

We will grow. And along the way we will have the fun and pleasure too

The friend who wrote above offers her valuable support. She's been there and done that. For fifteen years she has been on the road through Breast Cancer Country. She, and none around her would have chosen it, but she, and they, are the better for it. It's easy to say, tough to do, but it's still true.