TO FIGHT FOR WISDOM

(Proverbs 21:11)  “When the scorner is punished the simple is made wise:  and when the wise is instructed he receiveth knowledge.”

A scorner is someone who speaks words of disgust against something or someone else.  He disapproves, he belittles.  This is not a healthful situation and it is a good thing to correct it.  The scorner needs to be publicly told his words are damaging and not helpful.  Apparently when this happens the simple see the damaging words for what they are:  destructive, unhelpful words.  When they make this perception – that scorning is a damaging activity – they become wiser than they were.  Once someone has perceived this they have increased in wisdom.

Two things happen when you publicly stand against scorning:  A bad activity is stopped, and people are instructed toward wisdom.

DRUMS AROUND THE FIRE

(From a 1998 Journal entry:)

First the thought, and then how I arrived at it:

We would criticize the native American for using drums to achieve some sort of spiritual contact during his religious ceremonies yet we Christians do the vary same things during ours.  Whether during services we use jumpy charismatic tunes or they are old hymns, we hope to achieve a state of worship for the Lord.

How I got here:

I was thinking of a native American who believed in the “Great Spirit” before the time when the Europeans began to emigrate to this hemisphere.  I have wondered if such a person, having never had contact with a Christian, and therefore could not properly state the Gospel, yet believing in the Creator of all things, could not be a “pagan believer”?  He would be a person whose heart was sincere and earnest for God.  I wonder if having a true desire to know the one true God, to be willing to forsake all for, and to suffer for the truth, has the equivalence before God to confessing Jesus with the mouth?  Could the verses in Romans, the ones that speak of the physically uncircumcised acting as if they were circumcised, figuratively apply to such a person?  Again, I am speaking of people who have never had any exposure to God as the sort of revelation the Jews and Europeans had through the Scriptures.  If there were many like him in his tribe, could not the drums about the council fire be the same as our worship music?

Could the name of “Great Spirit” be to this person as “Jehovah” or “Christ” is to us?  You would have to know his intended purpose for his calls to the “Great Spirit” and the intended purpose for the music.  More fundamentally, you would have to know what he thinks the “Great Spirit” can do, what he can not do, what he did, what his requirements of us are.  What is mankind's place in the world, in the after life and what is man's place before him?  What if his understanding does not line up exactly with our understanding of God?  Without the Bible how would he get that understanding?

But in the 21st century, with the spread of the Gospel over the globe, there are very few of such people to be found upon the earth.

LISTENING TO MUSIC

Back when I was a boy I remember hearing, every once and a great while, Latin music on the radio. I would hear the breaks when just the percussion instruments would play. To me it was a thrilling sound. Back then there were no records or tapes or CDs to buy - - you could only hear the music once, while it was playing. When it was done you had to wait until the next time something like it was played, perhaps months later. Back then the sound quality was poor. I don't remember that we listened to the radio all that much at our house yet I remember rhythmic syncopated music exciting me.

Now I can select from a wide variety of all types of music. If I have a recording I can play it over and over. By repetition I can learn it so well so as to know all the parts of it. I can know instantly if anything is different from another recording even if the voicing and arrangements are all the same. Now music performance is at our fingertips - - we may have it whenever we want: from a recording or from the radio or T.V. We are bound no longer to performance by live musicians, or to performing it for our own selves.

Why is it, then, that I don't listen more at home. I rarely ever do. Playing music distracts me from other things. With me it's one, or the other.

CHATTERBOXING

Once on the way into work I was having an imaginary conversation with someone. These people I “talk with” are usually people with some influence or importance in some area. I thought, “Why do I do this?” Am I wishing for some favor from them; do I want to gain their attention? Then I thought, “Here I am imagining a conversation with an imaginary person, who is not real, yet I do not pray to the Lord, who is real.”

Would it be a good thing for me to have these “conversations” with God instead? If I did this would it have a value to God? Would I be a chatter-box endlessly whining on about my problems and ideas and never leaving a space for God to respond?

WATCH FOR CURVES

In his word God tells us how he expects us to think and act via men like Moses, Paul, Peter, Mathew, John, etc.  This is how we can know what truth is.  As shown in 1 Tim 1 we are supposed to “teach no other doctrine”.  I take this to mean that we are not to modify the intended meaning of the Scripture.  There may be cases where we are teaching about a subject and use Scripture to support our teaching, but we should not use our teaching to modify the meaning.

When we wish to describe a topic we have many tools to use, and Scripture is one of them.  It is perfectly allowable to use Scripture this way.  Scripture is a tool of truth; we use it to give a foundation to a truth we want to communicate.  But we need to use the proper tool for the proper  job.  We do not use a chisel to turn a screw tighter, and we do not use a screw driver to trim a piece of wood.  We do not use truth to tell a lie.

Men are good at “weasel wording”, they can turn aside from the original intended meaning toward something different.  They start along the proper path and start walking along the edge of that path.  Sometimes they will take a little side path that parallels the original and hop back into the true path.  Perhaps they continue staying on the parallel path.  Then the path that was parallel may slowly start to veer, ever so slightly, to the left or right.  Perhaps the path they are following bends further astray until one day it is not going to the same destination at all.

Watch your compass to make sure you are taking the true path.

SERVING THE STICKS

God washed the disciples' feet and said “As you have seen me do, so should you do to one another.”  This is not unusual, God has always acted in service to us.  He gave us the run of his creation for our use and provision.  He required little from us other than to take care of it and of each other.  He overlooked many insulting and grievous transgressions we did as we were using it.

What do we do?  We create too:  we take sticks of wood and construct a house.  Then we become concerned over the house - - it becomes our protection; it is our peace-giver; it is our thing of beauty; it is our future; it is our life-giver.

When this happens the house is not serving us, we are serving the house.  We have come to worship the house.  Through his provision and forbearance God serves us.  We were never God, yet we turn ourselves to serve a pile of sticks which we  sawed from God's trees.

EXTENDED BRAINS

It's fascinating to think about how human-devised devices can work as extensions of our brains. Our brain registers and interprets sound, which we receive through our sense organs, the ears. So the brain becomes extended through the ear. The ear itself can be extended when we listen to a phone call. The phone extends our ear to the person at the other end, perhaps miles away. All our senses can be extended as Norman Doidge explains Marshall McLuhan's insight to us:

" . . .the communications media both extend our range and implode into us. His [McLuhan's] first law of media is that all the media are extensions of aspects of man. Writing extends memory, when we use a paper and pen to record our thoughts; the car extends the foot, clothing the skin. Electronic media are extensions of our nervous systems: the telegraph, radio, and telephone extend the range of the human ear, the television camera extends the eye and sight, the computer extends the processing capacities of our central nervous system. He argued that the process of extending our nervous system also alters it."

The Brain that Changes Itself, Norman Doidge, MD, Penguin Books, copyright 2007.

THE BEST POSITIONING

(2 Timothy 1:3) Paul served God “...from [his] forefathers...”  The tradition of serving God came to him from his family.  His father served God, his Grandfather served God, his nation served God.  Paul grew up in a family that served God.  (v5) Timothy also had a line of faith starting with his Grandmother Lois.

God has a plan for us, a calling according to his own purpose which may, or may not, coincide with our works.  God has had a plan for us which was in place before we ever started to plot out our own lives.  It was in place “... before the world began.”  Paul was called to be a preacher, apostle, and teacher (of the Gentiles) (v11).  Timothy had “... that good thing ...” (v3).

I believe God's plan for each of us in general in nature.  He wants all of us to live according to his instructions.  But he positions individuals with certain specific intellectual and skill tendencies and leaves the development of them to each of us, as he did with Paul and Timothy.  The more we try to be sensitive toward God, the more likely we will not disturb the positioning God has made for us.  The more self-centered and worldly we are, the more likely we are to make the position less effective, or perhaps destroy the positioning altogether.

How do we know what God's plan is for us personally?
- Word of God (Bible)
- Circumstances
- Observation
- Opportunities
- Other people as in:
    – Family
    – Friends
    – Books
    – Seminars
    – Test instruments

THE DOCTRINE OF DOCTRINE

Doctrine is principle or body of principles. A doctrine is a systematic attempt by men to describe what the Word of God says about a certain topic. There are elements within the Word of God that can be taken and used as building blocks for doctrines. Some doctrines can use one or more elements of other doctrines. Each doctrine is represented by a window through which we look at a portion of the Word of God. Each window looks at a different area; some windows cover only one area while other windows overlap each other.

Doctrines, taken individually, can not represent all of what the Word says to us. It may be that many doctrines linked together can approximate much of what the Word says.

Doctrines can be wrong, either partially or wholly. Sometimes doctrines take what God said simply and make it so complex that men go wrong or become discouraged. Conversely, some doctrines take a complex communication from God and so simplify that it looses it's intended meaning.

The Word is always larger than the efforts of man to classify or explain it. Given the limitations of our flesh, God has told us (mankind) more than we can comprehend, understand, or explain.

Similarly, no single man can comprehend fully all the knowledge wrapped up in a microchip. It took thousands of men hundreds of years to discover electricity and the technology to harness it to produce power and to manipulate knowledge. There are geniuses, but no one man can comprehend it all.

So don't feel bad about not knowing everything; you can't; no man can.

THE DOLLAR-EIGHTY SERMON

Is faith a matter of the mind only, or is there some feeling mixed in with it?  The Charismatics look for the feeling – the experience.  The Baptists look for the teaching.  When the Bible says “we walk by faith, not by sight” does that mean we set aside the feeling and recall from our minds what God said and walk that way?  What feeling could there possibly be that would be reason or justification enough to go against God's word?

If sermons can be rated as to worth, say from $0 to $3.00 dollars, X preaches a $2.00 sermon.  What does it mean when he preaches a $1.80 sermon and we have to add to it $0.20 from our own store so that it can be a somewhat balanced sermon?  Where do we get the other dollar?  What about when this happens Sunday after Sunday?  What about the people who don't have anything to add because they do not actually read the Bible.  If they read, they read books about what is said in the Bible.  What do they do?

GROWING THE UNDERSTANDING

When I first came to know the Lord, I accepted Jesus as my savior, but I has a problem with thinking of him as God.  Much later (after accepting Jesus as God) I had a problem with accepting the Holy Spirit as God.  Later (after recognizing the Holy Spirit as God) I struggled with the Trinity being “persons” rather than “offices”.  The growth of the concept came from doctrine taught over the years.

AVOIDING (THE WRONG WAY)

2 Timothy 3, vs 1-7 speaks very well of the current day people who are in the church but are really wicked. It seems to me the list can apply as well to lofty Legalists as the flamboyant Charismatics. The aberrant Charismatics* are more open and easy to see than those who have the “form of godliness, but deny the power thereof”.

We avoid them by:
- - Continuing in things learned and assured (proved).
- - Learn things that come from good sources
- - Life long learning from the Scripture..

This we get through:
- - Doctrine, systematic way of teaching, thinking. First we must know the basic truth.
- - Reproof, “you are wrong, stop, repent”. We must stop the wrong activity.
- - Correction, “you are going off course, this is what you must do to correct”. We must show where and how we are getting off course.
- - Instruction in righteousness, describing and demonstrating what are the right actions and thoughts. We must show what is the right way to do things..

Parents play a first, primary and major role in accomplishing this..

*Not the good ones, but the aberrant ones.

FINDING AND KEEPING THE WAY

God has many ways to teach us. We should read the Bible as our primary source but we also should seek instruction from other godly people.  We should attempt to achieve a right understanding in line with God's principles.  Thereby we can become a means of changing ourselves and others who want to be Godly.  Then we can be a source for our children.

Yet we have to be aware of wrong thinkers, those whose thinking does not match the moral principles taught in the Bible.  Then we can identify and avoid, and perhaps fight, false teaching.  It may be we could help such to change to a godly way.  But if they won't change we should avoid them and take steps to protect the innocent if necessary.

LANGUAGE FRUSTRATION

OVERUSED WORDS:

“Like” when used as a verbal pause as in “uh”, “err”, or other unnecessary noises people make when communicating.

“Not a problem” when you mean “you are welcome”.

“I love . . .” when you really mean you “like” or “admire” or “appreciate”. You would actually love (have a strong emotional attachment for) your spouse, children, country, etc. You do not “love” the way a room is decorated.

“Absolutely” Very few things are absolute.

“So” when it's used at the beginning of response: “So, the answer to that is . . . “, “So, when he went . . .”.

“Actually” Actually, there is very little need to use this word except to emphasize a contrast, which actually is rare.

"Utilize" I don't see why this word exists. It's enough to say I "use" something, I made "use" of something. For example: "I waste my time utilizing Facebook." I "use" Facebook; I don't "utilize" Facebook. Utilizing that word does not make you appear smarter.

DOING IT OUR WAY

Initially God wanted the people of his creation to be self-governing. He wanted each of them to know right from wrong and to act responsibly. He gave them his law through Moses and set up judges to interpret the law for them. But (as men do) the judges (who by then were Samuel's sons) started to become selfish and act badly. The people said to Samuel:

". . . Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now MAKE US A KING to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but THEY HAVE REJECTED ME, that I should not reign over them. (1Sam 8:5-7) (emphasis mine)

When people sought for a king God was displeased with them. They wanted someone to take responsibility for doing the work of governing. They did not want the responsibility for themselves. They wanted to point to the government for the common security and the common provision, they did not want to bother with it themselves. If there was lawlessness, it would be the king's fault; if there was general immorality, it would be the king's fault. The king would pay for their health care and for their education. The king would be responsible for their material health.

Thus we have a general sin: “Let the government do this or that for me . . .” But God wants everyone to obey his law personally within himself. Every man is to know what God's law is, and every man should keep God's law. But people do not want God, they want a king. They want the government (God, parents) to do something for them, yet in other things they want complete power; they do not want outside interference when they are “doing their own thing”.

Every man is responsible for his own actions and thoughts. Every man is responsible himself to administer his actions. Every man must govern himself.

In contrast there is another sin: that of Satin wanting to be God, to be the creator, to be the standard setter, to decide for himself what he shall do and shall not do.

WHAT DO WE DO TO TRAIN OUR CHILDREN SPIRITUALLY?

We do the formal things people usually associate with spiritual people: We read devotions, hopefully directly from the Bible, but at least from a devotional book that uses the Bible as a direct source. We Pray for guidance, protection and provision from God and for the well being of others. We "Talk of these things while [we walk] in the way", we speak using the concepts we have learned from the Scriptures.

It's very important to be spiritual by example. What does it mean to be Spiritual, how do we know if someone is spiritual? We see what such people teach, they do good work, they witness (they tell others of the existence and providence of God and specially of Jesus.) They care for others. They seek God by: reading the Bible, praying, having fellowship with other believers.

We train our children by telling them what good character is. To demonstrate to us they have learned we make them tell us what a good character is. We make them actually show good character. We encourage them to do good works by telling them what good works are and by doing good works ourselves.

We endeavor to be good examples because:  what we talk about and do, the children hear and see. We let them see by letting the Bible show us (how do you know what the standards are unless you read them?)   We let the Church show us and let others show us.

THE HEALTHFUL MOUTH

(Proverbs 10:32) “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.” The righteous shows consideration; he knows what is acceptable because he has studied the other person and knows something of their state and knows how different words would effect him. The wicked also knows of the other but speaks away from the appropriate answer (FROward = away from). So the wicked shows hurtful consideration, the desire to oppose.

(v11) “the mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.” A well in an opening from which something must be drawn out. What good is inside the righteous must be drawn out, he is not quick with his answers. The answers are healthful, as water is healthful. If there is any healthful thing within the wicked, it is inaccessible because the well is covered. Obvious to all is the violence that covers his mouth. It is always on top, always presenting to people.

Lord help me, give me the grace to be a healthful speaker on behalf of others. Please do not let me do damage and violence with my mouth.

JUDGEMENT

(Psalm 9:7) “But the Lord shall endure forever: he hath prepared this throne for judgment.”

I wonder, if man were not sinful, would God not have to set up his throne for judgment? His throne would be for ruling, but it would not have to be for discovering and pronouncing punishment of the wicked. But since there are the wicked, God is preparing his throne for a time when they will be brought to account for their transgression of God's will. God will outlast any hope of the wicked for covering up, or justifying, or getting past their wicked deeds (hoping the deeds will be forgotten). From the time a wicked act is performed God's judgment throne is ready to pronounce a punishment for that act. The time in court will come.

Let us not forget judgment of wrong doing is not only for the wicked: (v18) “For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.” Since vengeance is from the Lord, the downcast will also have their day in court. There will also be recognition of those who have repented.

NOT ALL ROCK-AND-ROLL

(Proverbs 28:7)  "Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father."

Webster:  Rock-and-roll, a style of popular music marked by a heavily accented beat and a simple, repetitious phrase structure.

There are some things that cause the righteous to go aside into an evil way.  We have to be careful of rock-and-roll for that very reason.  Rock-and-roll seems to have originated in the world, not in the Church.

Sometimes secular (and sometimes Christian) rock music promotes those who disrespect authority, it can be the the ground of riotous men.  Therefore we have to be very careful how we use it.  As with anything that requires caution with its use, we perhaps should not even have it around.  Ideally all the members of the band, the singers, the audience have to have a good walk with God.  Even then, there should only be “seasons” of rock-and-roll, not rock-and-roll all the time.  We should avoid riotous people and riotous activity.

Who are the people at secular rock-and-roll concerts?  Loud beer drinkers, sensual dancers, women that dress to excite lust, men who exude dominance and violence, bitterness, people who can't be quiet and listen, people who think authorities (police, teachers, parents, etc.) are “them”, dope users.

It's strange I wrote this, me, a drummer who loves to play music with a strong rhythmic theme, one who likes rock-and-roll and latin.  But also, I am not riotous.  ALL “praise” music does not have to be in the rock-and-roll style.  I like hymns too.  I like songs that have more than eight words to them.  Music can have more than verse-and-chorus, it does not have to constantly repeat itself, it can also have an introduction, and ending and variations.  And, it does not have to be LOUD; I like it when people can hear themselves sing.

THE CALLS OF TWO WOMEN

In Proverbs 7 we can view the “adulterous woman” as representing a person or group of people who are wrong according to scripture.  She calls to the “young man”, (who could represent any of us).  We see the young man is simple, he does not know much.  It is night = the absence of God's word.   She has the attire of the harlot = she is very appealing to his desires.  She is subtle, loud stubborn, not abiding in her own house = she is very crafty and evasive with issues, picking on minor points in an attempt to defeat a larger truth.  She opposes the traditional ways.  She goes outside of her house seeking to win and lure in others.  By talking about “peace offerings” she claims to be all right with God.

In Proverbs 8 Wisdom is also personified as a woman: 
(Proverbs 8:-4)  “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.“

For this reason we are to “lay up”, “keep”, “bind”, “write” God's principles in our hearts; and to say about wisdom:  “Thou art my Kinswoman”, “thou art my sister”.  Why do this?   To keep us away from the strange, adulterous woman.

WHEN IT'S GONE IT'S GONE

(Proverbs 5:3)  “Her mouth drops as a honeycomb and her moth is smoother than oil.”  This is how the wisdom of the world sounds.  It is sweet and smooth.  It is difficult to in over come because it sounds as if it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil).  But it is death (v5).

The wisdom of the world is movable (v6).  It has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction.  Also, when you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that is is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery.

The wisdom of the world will cause  you to:
- - Give your honor to others.  Your sense of worth and dedication will be among the humanists and evolutionists.  It will not be with God's people or family.
- - Give your years to the cruel.  Your time will have vanished among the humanists and evolutionists.  It will not be with God's people and family.
- - Strangers will be filled with your strength.    The materialists will have the effect of your strength and not God's people or family.
- - Your labors will be in the house of a stranger.  Your  labor will be in the house of people you don't know or own and not with God's people or family.
- - Your flesh and body will be consumed.  Your body will have been spent for your evolutionist education and in the service of the humanists and materialists.  Your possessions will have decayed and your career will not have furthered God's kingdom.

When you seek your occupation in place of your family, when you seek your automobile and other toys in place of God's will and at the expense of your character, when you select your fulfillment in place of your proper relationship to others - - then at the end you will find your honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, labors in the house of others, flesh and body consumed.  At that point you will no longer be able to correct what you have done.

SEARCHING FOR TREASURE?

(Prov 2 . . .) “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures . . .”

It seems that it takes a lot of continual effort to get knowledge, understanding and wisdom. These things don't come easy and they don't come quick. It takes work - - it takes work every day. Receive, Hide, Incline, Apply, Cry, Lift your voice, Seek, Search.

When you seek for silver and search for hid treasure it's not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video. To seek you must decide where, go there and inspect every rock formation. To search you must do diligent research and then methodically comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You have to spend something.

So it is we have to spend something for God's word. The application of seeking understanding, knowledge and wisdom is to know the right paths, the right way. Both men and women, who are wicked, walk in wrong paths. The knowledge of the truth would deliver them. A great place to find it is in the Bible

WHAT'S THE CAUSE?

By looking at Genesis one I wonder if we can make an observation:  All things that appear to have a cause and effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause/effect relationship.  God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness “night” and the light “day”.  Then the evening and the morning were the first day.  It was after that (three days later, on the forth day) that God created the lights and attached them to the day/night cycle (“rule over the day and over the night”).

– There was light without a  “source” for it (i.e the sun, stars)
– There way have been “day and night” without the rotation of the earth (i.e. since there was yet no Sun and stars there was no need for the earth to rotate on it's axis, nor was there a need for the earth to revolve about the sun).
– Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence (there was light, then there were sources for the light, then the sources were made to rule over the light).

– Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause and effect relationship which really may not be that way?
– Were other energies made before the sources for them came into being?
– Is it natural for us, in a human sense, to create “energies” before we create the “sources?
     – Spirit  --->  Soul?
     – Idea  --->  Thought?
     – Feeling  --->  Thought?

ABOUT PLANNING

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.
- - You should understand your way.  You should know what you are going to do and how and when you are going to do it.

There is a way which seemeth good to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
- - In your plans make sure you are going where God wants, and not some other way.  Many ways seem good, not all are.

The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
- - Look well to the way you go and be wary of your counselors.  Every word of counsel should be examined and re-examined.  All should match the building of God's kingdom.

The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
- - The simple inherit folly because they have not made any plans.  They get whatever Satan, or some other non-godly element, brings their way.  The prudent see their plans accomplished.

In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to poverty.
- - Plans are good, but if you only talk of them (or just write them), and never work them, then they are useless.  You have to take action on our plans.  You also have to evaluate, re-evaluate and adjust them.

THE EFFECT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness doesn't just happen, it is built step by step on a daily basis.  It is not an “unchangeable” part of out character – something, like our body type or sex, that has been given us from the start.  When we need righteousness, if we haven't been working to build it, it will not be there

The act of righteousness is staying on a prescribed path.  Righteousness is like a pathway across a field, we know what is “path” and what is “field”.  To walk off the path is to walk into what is not known as righteousness.  At the best it is undefined, at the wort it is wickedness.  Someone has established what is right and what is wrong.  God has told us both: what is right and what is wrong.  Other sources can tell us this too.  However, other sources may only tell us what, according to them, is right; still others may tell us only what is wrong.  If the others are not God what they define for us as right may be, in fact, wrong.

Righteousness and wickedness start from within.  For the righteous what is within will preserve him when trouble comes, when the outward, uncontrollable, hurtful situation occurs.  However, what was internal to the wicked will have no worth for his deliverance.

The righteous would have been doing good acts and gaining a reputation for it.  Perhaps that is what helps save them.  Perhaps right internal responses results in the right outward responses in the time of trouble.

TO DO

These are some of the things to do to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2 vs 3-4):

Do:  Receive God's words.
Result:  Believe what you read as for what it says and expect it to take authority.

Do:  Hide his commandments with you.
Result:  Memorize, keep them tucked away in private places.

Do:  Incline your ear to wisdom.
Result:  When you hear wise things focus your attention on them, tilt the head, hear more clearly.

Do:  Apply your heart to understanding.
Result:  Work for understanding, spend time at it, “stick to it”.

Do:  Cry after knowledge.
Result:  Call out for knowledge, arrest knowledge's attention by calling after her in public.  Visibly point out the facts, be a witness.

Do:  Lift up your voice for understanding.
Result:  In public make a plea for the true relationship among ideas, things, situations.  Cause true things to be presented in the courtroom.

Do:  Seek wisdom as silver.
Result:  Search for wisdom, it is of utmost value.

Do:  Search for her as hid treasures.
Result:  Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things, perhaps she may be behind them.

Remember:  The right way is obvious, the obvious is the right way.

THE DEAD TREE

Years ago when we lived on Blackwood Avenue in Gotha, Florida, there has a tall dead tree in your front yard.  I was very worried about it and feared what would happen if it fell over.  I did not have the money to pay someone to take it down and it was too tall for me to do myself.  But God sent along a wind storm which snapped the tree midway up the trunk and laid the top part neatly in the open part of my yard.  Only a few twigs were taken off the Sweet Gum tree, and a few minor branches off the Laurel oaks toward Timothy's yard.  Everything I was afraid might be damaged was spared:  the trees, the power lines, the well, Fannin's fence, the road, our cars.  Everything was fine.  All I had to do was buy a chainsaw ($260.00), saw up the the remains, and cart it off to the burn pile in the back yard (this was before laws against open burning).

How many things of great convenience does God do for us that we do not even recognize?  How many that we know of do we fail to thank him for?

GOD SAYS, WORLD SAYS

God says: “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”
World says: Put yourself forward and listen to your own standards to get riches and honor; for riches and honor are life.

God says: Think of others
World says: Think of yourself

God says: Do what is right
World says: Do for yourself

God says: Give others the way when it seems to be their time
World says: Take your chance, don't let others get in the way or you will miss out

God says: Obey God's rules
World says: Stick by whatever set of standards works for you as long as they suit your goals

God says: Respect authority
World says: Use the authorities to suit you, or get around them, or bribe them.

And you would add . . . ?

God says:
World says:

God says:
World says:

THE STRANGE WOMAN

Proverbs 5 speaks of the “Strange woman”. Here is what happens to the man that goes after her:

• He gives his honor to others
• He gives his years to the cruel
• Strangers are filled with his wealth
• His labors are in the house of a stranger
• His body is consumed (and he knows it did not have to be consumed).
• He knows he did not listen to instruction, his folly is on his own hands.

Think of the “strange woman” as the way of thinking that is not after God's way. It is without regard to God's instruction. In this way a woman (female) can also go after the “strange woman” (ungodly thinking).

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.