A year's difference

At the end of every year I find myself reflecting on what has transpired. What a difference a year makes is what I usually find myself saying. This year is no different. However, today I found that the day brought some unusually reflective moments.

My son left to see his Maker's face 2 1/2 years ago. But, today my thoughts were filled with memories of him. I think of him often, but today his aura was almost with me again. I don't know how that happens, nor do I know how to explain it. There was no sadness from his aura, just a feeling of subtle pleasure. Most days, I miss him so much that I ache in my soul. But that was not today's feeling. In his case I guess I am getting better by the year in getting along without his being present in life's events.

Of course , there was the relief that my daughter had only dysplasia rather than cancer. A year ago, I wasn't as thankful as I am now that I have my daughter with me. Guaranteed that that feeling has changed.

The job I go to every day was a hope within my chest last year at this time. Now, I enjoy the palace intrigue on a daily basis. It gave me a sense of accomplishment that otherwise would not have been felt.

So the difference in this year and last has been a good one. And so, I thank the creator of those differences.

Till I catch up

His glasses many times sat on the table next to his chair or on his lap in the evening hours as he relaxed. He slouched in his later years while he sat in his chair, but that was probably from so many years of long hours of work. He spoke encouragingly usually. And he always thanked me for coming to see him after I was grown and married. I admired his people skills and his slow pace of getting things done, but done right. This is year number 3 without dad. I miss his encouragement and kindness, his patience and wisdom about people. But, I thank my other dad for his safekeeping until I catch up to hm.

Definitely spurious

I was doing a little translating work today in 2nd Thessalonians. I have been doing this for about 3 weeks now. The first week I was translating chapter 1. When I finished, I thought, "This content and tone are so different from 1st Thessalonians that it doesn't seem to be Paul writing this. It is too radically different." After translating chapter 2, I told my wife, "I don't think Paul wrote this letter. The content seems to match a slightly different time period." I told the same thing to a Bible class teacher. His comment was that he never had heard of Paul not writing that book.

Then I found the smoking gun in chapter 3. What I thought from the beginning came clear. It has to be a spurious letter addressed to groups of "orthodox" Christians warning them against the teachings of the gnostic groups. The same word meaning "we instruct you" appeared 4 times within a few running verses. Paul never did that. He was educated enough to vary his wording even when he felt strongly about a matter as he did in Galatians and in the two Timothy letters. But the crowning blow came when unique words started popping up. What are the chances in a small, 3-chapter letter that in the last chapter a word would surface that was unique in all 27 books of the New Testament (and all 66 books of the Old Testament [Septuagint])? What are the chances that a second word, unrelated in form, would surface? I was ready to declare spurious authorship at this point. But what are the chances that a third word would pop up...? 3 unique words in a matter of a few verses. One of the words was used as a variant in a Leviticus passage. And guess what manuscript tradition supported that variant? Right, Syrian and Alexandrian. The two gnostic capitals of the world. That was my smoking gun.

When at the end I had to translate, "I, Paul write this greeting with my own hand," it sounded too bogus. Sure enough, Paul did say the same in Colossians at the end, which some scholars are quick to point out that Paul did not write and in 1st Corinthians. As if someone was trying too hard to make 2nd Thessalonians authentic, he added, "which is my distinguishing mark in all my letters." Of course, that phrase doesn't appear in any of Paul's letters either.

So, "another one bites the dust" in the words of an old rock and roll song. This would be earth shattering to me if I had not already dealt with spurious books a long time ago in trying to figure out something about God's inspiration of writers of the Bible. But, now it just goes right along with God using people as they are, customs as they are, and time lapse as it is. But, I am glad to be able to classify 2nd Thessalonians in the spurious category.

The 2-day Xmas

What is the meaning of Christmas? Now that answer has been distilled into common wisdom of society because it's been around so long. But, now what is the meaning of the day after Christmas. Back to work for some, but not many. Out to more shops to spend Xmas cash. That works for about half of the US. Consumer-oriented culture we are as a nation. I am surprised that we don't have a 2-day Xmas—1 for giving, 1 for buying. It's almost that way already. When about 3/4 of the nation hits the stores after Xmas, the people will have spoken, and we will have a de facto 2-day Xmas. Such are the days of the American people.

I don't know. It will probably be a good thing. People deserve to go shop with those they love if they are with them, and those who are not with their families or friends deserve to go buy something to remind themselves that somebody loves them. And I don't think there's any question about a gift representing love. So, I say go for it America. Get the 2-day Christmas you want and are working hard to get.

Yes, go and die

Ahab had a dilemma. His 400 prophets told him to go fight. Micaiah, a lone prophet, told him he would get killed if he did fight. Micaiah told Ahab that he had seen a scene in heaven in which God had asked his heavenly host if any of them would go tell Ahab to go fight. One of the spirits said he would do it through having false prophets tell Ahab to do so. Of course, Micaiah was disliked and detained until his prophecy came true, which wasn't for long. Ahab died in battle soon after.

A school board member said he wanted to take on atheists in battle. He listened to many voices that said, "Yes, go fight and we'll back you with a book purporting to have truth in it." Some lone voices warned against that move and charted a different track. Alas, the lone voices were ignored and the battle is about to be fought, and the board member will probably meet Ahab's fate.

Learning to listen to voices who have a record for spiritual discernment is the better part of wisdom even if the voices are the minority. It's a sad refrain of history that people don't learn from written examples that stare them in the face. (Second Chronicles 18)

God have mercy

I have cried out tonight. Why would my daughter of 17 years have to have a biopsy after having seen it done to her brother only 3 1/2 years earlier?! I shout "NO!" to the heavens hoping that the Maker or life hears and acts. And I sadly question, "How could a body of Christians miss a clear and evident sign that God delivered the enemy into their hands?" Both events come within 24 hours of each other. Both leave me emotionally drained. Both leave me shaking my head. Both leave me bowing once again in the face of forces unseen, in the face of forces I don't control, in the face of forces that drive me to a blind trust. God have mercy.

Fog is temporary

Roads were foggy tonight. Sometimes my vision in life is too. I can navigate, don't get me wrong. But, details of landscape illude me. The thing about the Maker of the fog is that he lifts the fog. It doesn't linger forever. Of course, that's what I need in my vision in life, too, a lifting of the fog. If it happens, I know who did it.

Trusting an inkling

Life is so fickle. I was reminded by that because this morning I left for work in heavy snow. It was an inch deep when I left. By late afternoon, about 30 minutes before the sun was to set, streets were completely clear. There was no sign of snow on buildings or on the landscape. The weather changed completely in 8 hours. Life smiles on us one minute and frowns the next. We are exhilirated by life for a weekend and trounced by it the next weekend. Events seem favorable for a season and difficult to navigate the next. There's not really a trajectory line for predicting life.

Why is that way? I take it that the Creator of the universe knows. It is not apparent to earth's mortals. I hope with my being that the little inkling we mortals have of the supernatural as found in our sacred books is true. A creator exists and has patchworked our lives into a bigger picture. I trust that small hint given us in our records from old. I have to say that I trust it. Otherwise, life is abyssmal. The roller coaster ride makes no sense - it merely is what it is. I cry from my innermost being if there is no creator. I have to believe the words that were left by one purported to have come from the other side of our mortal existence, "I am going to prepare a place for you... if it were not true, I would have told you."

Soul soothing

A note to the Pobble: Thank you for your thoughtful words. I have been to the park and mentioned you by name in my walks. I'll continue till I hear from you again.

Tonight I was about to lose my evening energy when my daughter's boyfriend took up the guitar to play. It soothed my soul. Then my daughter played my son's recorded music. That was special because he has changed residences and cannot play on this earth any more. That soothed my soul. Both of those incidents reminded me of a dream I had last Saturday morning that was about what happens between the time a person gives up his life on earth and begins the journey to the next world. That thought soothed my soul again. And then I sat to type the blog for the evening and to thank the Pobble for being kind with her comments. How soothing. I think I will rest easy tonight, engulfed with twilight thoughts of peaceful reflection.

Thanks

Once in a while events just turn out right. It seems to me that for every event that does turn out right, there were at least 10 events before it that didn't. By the time the event that turns out right happens, it feels as though I deserve it. Perhaps, appreciation is the response I should have. The 11th event didn't have to turn out right, after all. On rare occasions, I experience 2 right events in a row. Wow! That really deserves double appreciation. Instead, I tend to start thinking I can control my destiny.

Well, now that I have seen my tendency as I have reflected on it, maybe I will be appreciative in the future instead of arrogant. Maybe I will say, "Thank you," instead of saying, "Well it's about time."

Far from the truth

I listened to a person tell me today that life had not really worked out like she thought from when she was in her 20s until now (she is in her 50s). She expressed that she had no regrets about how things had turned out, but that her 20s picture of life had been quite different from the way life had actually twisted and turned.

It's probably true for all of us. I know that I had a really, really different picture of what I as a 20-year-old wanted life to be. Plus, a person at 20 thinks that he or she can control one's destiny for the most part. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. I had no idea my wife and mother would never, ever get along well. I did try to control that on two occasions. I didn't know that I would have only 19 years with my son. His disease was genetically controlled and I never had a chance to control the disease. I didn't know that my wife would have a disease that disabled her for at least a decade of her life. She is only now slowly returning to normal. I definitely tried to control her disease without a wit's worth of success. I didn't know my daughter would go into a tail spin after her brother died and end up on depression medicine and with a diagnosis of bipolarism. She is working through this stage of her life rather perilously. I could only watch and react throughout her experimentation and experiences.

Once a person becomes an adult, life just takes off with seemingly no direction. All I can do is bow in the face of death, bow in the face of disease, bow in the face of another person's experiences. I have great appreciation for people in their 50s because I know that they have seen life's various facets. They have learned to simply live through tough times. People in their 50s are not so arrogant because of life's roller coaster ride. So, I finally bow in the presence of the Maker of life's events, truting that life's big picture makes sense to him and is somehow keeping me on the path that leads home to him.

Results over time

The park I walk in has been cold to walk in this past week. It took monumental gymnastics of the mind to want to walk there in 10 degree air. But the walk is always worth it. No matter if it is 10 degrees or 100 degrees, I always meet the maker there, and we talk. He listens to rather rambling thoughts at times, but he's there to listen in the cold air. Somehow, those talks are productive. I have never been able to articulate why the Creator would listen to a human's thoughts nor if there are right and wrong prayers. Or even what prayer is exactly. I just know that I see the results of prayer over time. Sometimes, the result is merely the more subdued character of an obnoxious person who has finally uttered "Your will be done," until the obnoxiousness has left the person. Sometimes it is the fulfillment of a request. Sometimes, it is the lifeless spirit of a person that revives after a year of conversations with the Maker of life.

So, I will get up tomorrow morning, no matter what the air temperature is, and walk and converse with the one who made the stars that shine so brightly in the early morning hours because even though I cannot articulate what happens, as a result of that time I have observed what happens over time.

Genetic Mercy

My grandmother turned 99 last Monday. I can only dream of making it that far. I asked her if she had a secret to her longevity. She simply said, "No." I was hoping for more. In reality I know it has everything to do with genes. She hasn't had an easy life. So that can't be it. She has made the journey with God. But, others who have been Godly have not fared so well as she. If I make it to 99, I'll probably not have longevity figured out either and just answer, "No," if asked about my secret. I guess there is not any difference between us and Eve who ate from the tree in the middle of the garden, who also wanted to live forever (if that's what the tree of life stands for). May the one who engineers 99-year-old genes have mercy on my grandmother's soul. May the one who engineers 19-year-old genes be thanked for the safekeeping of my son. And may the one who engineers every set of genes have mercy on all.

Time again

Some days go as planned. Others don't have a plan at all. Plans are needed some days. For some, spontaneity produces the needed rejuvenation for the day's needs. Perhaps, frameworks seem to work best. The day has a plan to get started and to end, but what happens in between can be played by ear.

Into this mix some people throw the idea that everything happens for a reason. I could see how that would be true for spontaneous days or framework days, but not for planned days. Other people like to see everything as random happenings. Still others like to see a blend.

Who knows how it really is. This week is going to be a week full of framework days. Perhaps I can tell you Saturday whether things happen for a reason or not.

Defying time

Some days last forever. Other days seem to go by in a blur. I wonder about the time continuum. I don't know about it. Wormhole travel in space seems to defy time. Traveling the speed of light defies time. Meditation defies time. Death defies time. Defying time seems to be the way to glimpse eternity. I hope to see the Creator of time and eternity someday. I will ask him about being stuck in time, except for those moments that seem to defy time. He might just answer, "Then why did you not spend more moments in eternity?" I don't know exactly how to answer that one. So, I think I'll try practicing moments that defy time more often.

Wearing down

After watching a special on Alexander the Great, I realized that being a soldier in his army required one to be away from home for years at a time. That would be wearing on a person. Fighting constantly in foreign lands on unfamiliar terrain would wear a person down. Being wounded far from home or seeing comrades die on a foreign field would dampen anyone's spirits. I feel like that day after day. It wears one's spirit down. It paralyzes one from doing good. The difference between me and the other guy is that I have a spirit from another world that rejuvenates my mind and bolsters my spirit on a continual basis. I am thankful for that.

Warm

Being warm just feels good. Being warmed also feels good. Warming someone or something also feels good. Being in all three positions on a rotating basis is probably how we ought to operate as human beings.

Night light

My morning walking path is in a park. The park has a cement path that encircles the center of it. On the outside of the park, strategically placed, are street lights. So, it is a safe place to walk. The last 2 days fog descended into the park in the early morning hours. It is a work of beauty. As I circularly walked on those days, the mist gently hit my face, the fog shrouded the far side of the park so that I could see about only 50 yards, and the street lights shone on the ground in a ring of about a 20-yard radius. Simply beautiful.

The ring of light was also intriguing. As I would come up on the light, the light would be surrounded by darkness, but inside the ring of light, no darkness existed. I shared the thought written about the Son of Man by someone close to him. Some of his opening words to a book he wrote contain, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never overpowered it." Those are powerful words when you see so beautifully illustrated in the scene around you a light shining in the fog, mist, and darkness, brilliantly and invitingly, with the darkness unable to penetrate a single ray of that 20-yard radius of light. To me the message is plain: the Son of Man's teachings are worth following—they light my path and lead me through darkness from this life into the next.

A spirit assault

Tonight at my place of business The Designer of Events designed an event that caused great joy to his people. I especially enjoyed seeing the event unfold because I had been privy to the evolution of the event from the beginning of the event 10 months ago. Also, tonight my mother is recovering from a major surgery. She had to have the surgery in the first place because a doctor had messed up on a minor surgery 2 weeks ago. Also, tonight my wife read to me some words she found about the spirit that triumphs over cancer even if the body succumbs to it. I have great sadness because I hate cancer so much. So, the words were triumphant and sad simultaneously. Also tonight, my daughter continues her defiance of sound advice from her parents (like we are the only parents that has happened too). Also tonight, I ran into a friend who is absolutely on fire for her God. It shows in every statement she makes.

What a night. And that is only one night in the year. In the flash of an eye.

Redefining community

Try as I may, I can't bring myself to waste my time on speeches that reiterate time and again the points of a story which is itself repeated for the 100th time. I see that the idea of community is one of the recurring themes in Paul's letters of the New Testament. But, I don't see the same in the gospels. Perhaps one could contend that Paul is the next step in the evolution of Christianity. First a Messiah would come; then, a traveling evangelist would take the next leg of the journey to spread the message of the Messiah. Perhaps. If not, then each successive generation to Jesus' has the right to interpret the Messiah's message for itself. The idea of community disappears or at least changes shapes into something useful in the society.

So, I need not be bitter about some lame activity I have convinced myself I should avail myself of. Instead, I need to be ecstatic about a message that enables me to live decently in my work community or my circle of friends after work or my children's friends. Although I have been brainwashed to hear speeches that reiterate time and again the points of a story which is repeated itself for the 100th time, I have hit saturation point. I want to shout, "NO MORE!"

Facets of beauty

5 reasons underlie any learned behavior: opportunity, motivation, personality, incentive, interest. What we learn and to what extent we learn anything depends on the presence or absence and the mixture of these 5 reasons. If I apply this to various aspects of learning a particular value system, then I am not so confused by why the different kinds of people who practice this value system make it look so differently. If I figure the number of combinations (5X4X3X2X1) for these 5 reasons, I get 120. Theoretically, then, 120 people could get together and agree on a value system, but then have different incentives or different motivations or 118 different combinations that cause them to make that value system look different in practice from the others agreeing to the value system.

If each of the 5 reasons also stood for a number, the number increases further. What if there were 10 different ways to express opportunity or opportunity types, 8 personality types, 11 motivation types, 5 incentive types, and 40 types of interest expressed. The number of combinations is then 176,000. That would mean that even if 120 people agreed on a value system, there would be 176,000 expressions of that value system. I have a lot more respect for what the Son of Man tried to establish when I play with the numbers.

And my numbers are probably off, maybe by 2,000,000, because there may be more than 5 underlying reasons and/or more or fewer numbers for each reason. If we as humans ever catch up to the true underlying numbers behind establishing a value system, we would without a doubt understand why the Son of Man began one of his prayers, "Our father in Heaven, may your name be honored." There is honor and beauty in complexity.

Influence

One can gather that the sun is far away, yet it has influence on the earth nonetheless. That's because of its sheer power. One can gather that the moon is close by, but it has influence on the earth's tides and provides light on uncloudy nights. As I think of my own sphere of influence, I have to admit that I have both sun and moon qualities depending on the person I know or have known. There is a Creator for both the sun and moon and the influences they have. So, I have to believe the people in my sphere have been put there for a reason as well.

Down the path

Great. Another day done. Another step closer on the road home. Another evening to reflect on the day's happenings. Another night to gather energy to work with what the Producer of Events puts in the flow of the next day's events. Somewhere down the path there is no such thing as another anything. One reunites with those who have left the world before him. That's not leaving the world with a whimper. It's sheer bliss.

God showed up

The Old Testament has a story about Elijah in a conflict with the prophets of Ba'al. Elijah was tired of the other prophets' moaning and groaning about his god, so he challenged them to a duel of the gods. Whichever god showed his presence at the duel would win. The prophets of Ba'al were not able to get their god to show up. So if Elijah's god showed up at all, not even with great demonstrations of power, he was the winner. But, Elijah's god showed up with power of the first class. He burned the meat on the altar that was offered to him into complete obliteration. He burned the rocks into ashen gravel that made up the altar, and he made the fire so hot that the flames evaporated the water in the moat that had been dug around the altar.

I got to see that very scene played out in a different arena today. Some very evil people had a chance to put all their moaning and groaning against a Godly man into action. People had been praying for God to show up for this Godly man on the day of battle. Which he did with power of the first class. It was unexpected in the way God showed up. And really, all God had to do was show up just a little bit and the battle would have been won. But, God's trademark is to show up so that there is no doubt who showed up. So, today the battle was won and there was no doubt that an all-consuming flame left nothing behind. What a memory I will have of the day God showed up.

A waste

When it comes to attending a class, session at a conference, or a lecture, a person has a choice to attend or not. If presenters at these places knew that people choose to be in their sessions, then I think the preparation level would be higher. As it is, I am not sure they do. Today I put myself in a position to enjoy a stimulating class. Instead, I received bad preparation from the teacher. Disappointing, yes. A waste of time, yes. I think the one who made time in the first place would like us to use our time by choosing places to be that don't waste it. So, I must apologize to Him. And converse with Him about the teacher who wasted my time.

Conversation

Conversations happen for a variety of reasons. Some are pleasant and some are not. Usually in conversations a certain amount of character judgment is going on. But not always. I have a friend who many times disagrees with what I say, but does not judge me or my character. He just arrives at different conclusions about life.

When it comes to the translation of the idea of prayer in the New Testament, I have nearly always, even from age 20, translated the word as conversation. The trouble that some have with that idea is that it diminishes God and places Him more on a peer level. Another argument against conversation is that when the Greeks asked their Gods for protection or guidance, it was nearly always an appeal or request. It was not a conversation. Since the Greeks' language is the vehicle used for expressing NT ideas, perhaps it is wise to see how they used the word.

But a person can converse with God as easily as with anyone else. Certainly requests are made, or appeals. Certainly we talk casually, intensely as with peers. But, no one that I know of really looks on God as a peer. And conversing includes the whole gamut of conversation, not only requests and appeals. Even if the Greeks' idea of request or appeal excluded conversation, I think God allows Christianity to grow and evolve from its infancy 2000 years ago to now. That would allow growth for the idea of prayer to become conversation. So, I'm going to stick with conversation. It's what I have when I take my daily walks in the park twice a day, most days.

In the center

I took a course once on conversational analysis. The main textbook for the course began with a comparison of what happens in speech with what happens with vision. It talked about how the eye focused on something in the center of a vision field. Then it addressed what began to fade from the center to the periphera, and finally, what existed outside the field of vision.

The same is true with conversation. There is a focus on a topic. Of course there are peripheral topics that people think of while the topic under discussion is occurring. Some of these are brought to the center. Then there are those topics we associate to the topic under discussion, but we don't discuss them because they are too far afield from the topic under discussion.

That is why I like to hear people talk. It's a chess game. What is being discussed? Are there inuendoes? Will they surface from the periphera by being brought to the center? Will they be dropped? Are they in the center, but you just have to have 3-D glasses on to see them? What is thought that is never said? Training or experience or both help one to be a good judge of character. We need to be since people's talk and their actions are not seen in the same moment or the same context.

Let it go

I heard a teacher say today this would be her last year. She said she is tired of raising other people's kids for them and that her coaching doesn't matter to any of her students anymore anyway. The great American experiment in mass education has failed once again. I don't know if her pessimism is right or not. We could grind down the educational system to a halt. We would certainly find out then. Why waste dollars on kids for naught. They will grow up to be what they want to be with or without the system in place. Almost anything would certainly beat what is going on in the public shcools now.

Sphere of influence

A certain religious group sends out young men door-to-door. One of their 2-person teams came to the door this afternoon. My daughter answered the door, so I let her deal with them, partly because I wanted to see her response to them. She returned laughing because one of them spoke of Noses and Moah.

Although there is something admirable about what they do, I think the harm outweighs the good in such a setting. Which confirms what I think maybe Jesus was saying all along. Act Godly in the sphere of influence available. Outside of that maybe life tends to swing out of balance.

Splendor

The beauty of earthly phenomena can be captured on film so well these days. Often I can search blogs and find a photo-jounrnalist capturing beauty in a thunderstorm or tornado or capturing the ferocity of tsunamis, hurricanes, or explosions. I call it beauty because the Phenomena Maker uses all phenomena for his ends. Yes, the recent earthquake caused at least 35,000 deaths. No, I don't have answers for catastrophes. But, it's still beautiful to see the ferocity, power, grandeur, splendor because it is above the attainment level for humans (super-natural). As John Keats wrote in the 18th century, "Truth is beauty and beauty truth--that is all/ you know on Earth and all you need to know."

Pendulum swing

I heard on the radio today that a book had been written about why church is for women. Men have quit coming by the droves because the services are modeled on what attracts women. I couldn't agree more. But I can see that it is a reaction to the very male modeled church service of most of the 1800s and 1900s. Because it represents a cycle, then, I don't get alarmed. It reminds me of ice age cycles every 10,000-25,000 years. I just happen to be living in an age when the polar caps have retreated. I don't think I'll see the day return for a more male modeled church service. So, in the meantime, I'll read more of the heart of Christianity, and enjoy the company of people who really act like they embody the Creator's message for humanity when I come across them.

It's what's inside

Translation is merely an exercise in transferring ideas behind words. However, translations bring more than mere ideas. For example, when a child uses the word candy, one thinks of cheap candy, nickle candy, and sees a smile that so easily comes to a child's lips over simple things. When an adult uses the word candy, one might think of a holiday like Valentine's, boxed candy, or a gift, as in Lady Godiva candy, or lack of discipline because candy contains so many calories, almost anything except something simple. But translating candy into Tibetan probably loses the difference conjured by an American between adult and children's candy. It probably loses the smile from the child's lips, the calories from the undisciplined adult, the thoughtfulness conveyed by the box at Valentine's.

So it makes me wonder why the Maker of the universe depended so much on getting some ideas in a book that might lose so much by transferring ideas since words rarely conjure the same picture from one culture to another, much less from one era to another over two milennia. Then again, I think humans may have become misguided over the ages. The Son of Man said he would send another to stand beside us, to live within us. In the modern era, the book has trumped the one living within. But, the words passed on reveal that the message might spark a belief, but that the belief takes on a life of its own, the spirit within. The Maker of words also knew about ideas getting lost. So, the words passed on, pass the torch to the spirit within. A modern follower of the Son of Man doesn't have to depend on letter accuracy of a book, but on decency of living in the eyes of his peers. Goodness takes on many shapes and doesn't lose meaning like words changing languages or cultures or eras.

Simplicity

I remember an incident in the New Testament that gets little press coverage in a church setting. Jesus and the 12 had just finished their experience of transfiguration. When they climbed down from the hill, people were casting out demons in the name of Jesus. This was a major obstacle for the 12. When they asked Jesus if he planned to set them straight, he had the answer that has prompted me in theory to act like his reply over the last30 years. But, in practicality, I have mostly actively incorporated his response over the last 3 years, at the time I needed Jesus' healing touch the most, and since. The response? "If a person is not against me, (s)he is with me." It may not be a good church stance, but it is having the mind of Christ.

Less bibliolatry

Once up on a time... These words at once bring to mind everything about childhood because that is when that phrase was stamped on our minds. Later we passed through puberty and learned that reality was different from the stories that followed this childish phrase.

I wonder, some days, whether or not the Christianity that was learned as a child should inhabit our older lives. When we pass through puberty, the stories so indelibly imprinted from younger days stay put without a further comment. In fact, the sermons heard in our twenties only corroborate what we heard as youngsters. Since we have hired mercenaries as ministers, that never really work in the marketplace, they corroborate only further the stories heard from our youths.

Perhaps, I am wondering, we learn the stories of the New Testament so that when we see people hurting around us we think of the story. That misses the point, of course. Older adults know it does. But, I am thinking that teenage activities and groups on up until mature adulthood is reached need not to think of stories, childish stuff. They need to be under the active tutelage of life. If so, maybe maturity levels would begin earlier, authentic Christianity would be practiced sooner. Stories would be authentic, not contrived. The story wouldn't start, "A certain man went on a journey from Jericho to Jerusalem." Instead, the story would begin, "James was at school on Monday when..."

I think we need more active duty for young people, less bibliolatry.

No universals

Universals in language are very hard to come by. There are too many languages, so very rarely does anything fit all languages. For example, every good English speaker knows that adjectives come in front of their nouns. Unless you're speaking in a romance language like Spanish. Everyone knows that a pronoun like I is a separate word from the verb that shows what I is doing. Unless you're speaking in most other languages in the world besides English, in which case the pronoun is built into the verb as a suffix or an infix and occasionally a prefix.

So, it is highly likely that other behaviors besides language behavior also won't have universals. That's why the Creator looks on the heart, the intentions. Not only is behavior deceptive sometimes, but an action called good here may be called bad somewhere else in the world. But the Creator knows good intentions when he comes across them. So, tonight I repeat an age-old recitation. "May the words of my lips and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you, the one who makes me acceptable."

Filters

Today I put in a CD that I was listening to for 25th time and kicked back just to listen. I listened to it for about 20 minutes until a song came on that I had heard 24 other times and not been astonished by it. The song caught my attention abruptly from one of the bass sounds in it. I had never heard that before. That's because just before that song came on I had adjusted the bass knob on the player, which I guess I had adjusted to lower bass a few months ago. The rest of the song was just beautiful with all the new bass notes I could hear and I arrived at a new appreciation of the song.

I guess the application to life is obvious. We make our adjustments in life. Sometimes we filter out things that otherwise would be beautiful. I hope that the adjustments in the future will enhance the beauty of life, the goodness of life. No telling how long I have been filtering out beauty and goodness. No telling how much I've been filtering. So, here's to less filtering.

Stained

Sometimes life brings us something that we can't seem to get rid of. It's a lot like having a stain on a shirt that we really like to wear. The stain won't come out. So we relegate the shirt to the "only on weekends" or "only after hours" category. But, we still wear the shirt, and every time we do, the we are reminded of the incident that caused us not to wear the shirt as a first run shirt any longer.

I hope I am not alone in remembering the one blot in life that doesn't go away and causes great regret and constant thought. Just like no amount of spot remover will completely take out the stain from the shirt, so life seems to embed the regret so that no amount of goodwill can remove, undo, or even come close to combating the events that would explode upon any attempt at removing the regret.

If you want to say that forgiveness helps, you would be right. But, I am talking about the regret that comes after the forgiveness has been obtained. It's that lingering stain on the shirt. All the time. Especially when I wear it after hours and on weekends. But, I like the shirt. Perhaps, there will be a time to move beyond the stain, get another weekend shirt.

In the meantime, all I ever hear myself saying is, "I'm sorry."

Short termer

Two successive weeks someone has spoken about the direction and future direction that my business is or should take. It's refreshing to hear people speak of something other than the obvious or of a direction that is short term. I do see, however, that life won't hold the future for very much longer for me, that it is short term. My life, after I'm gone, will be lived through my posterity. It will live only through my usefulness to humanity. That's comforting in a way because it makes my moments now a little more purposeful.

Better with age

I have a supervisor that likes to compare what is happening in the modern world to what happened in the Old Testament. It is a good exercise in that it shows that humans act the same no matter in what era one lives. One sees power grabbers, adulterers, ruthless people, murderers, benefactors, entrepreneurs, powerful leaders, etc. I can see that side of things. On the other hand, society has moved on, way beyond what one can see in the Old Testament. One sees scientists on a space station, pilots flying missions in stealth planes, people driving vehicles at deadly speeds. Do the scientists, pilots, and general population act the same really? Although power grabbers could exist on a space station, teamwork is the rule. Although pilots could be ruthless, the whole world would know if they acted less than responsibly. And people in general? I don't know. I guess one could make the case for civilization to have progressed to a point that the population is proportionately better than in days of old, a kinder, gentler place to live. One would hope so. Otherwise people are just plain stupid if they act exactly the same as in days gone by. Surely, over successive generations, people get better.

A prepared house

I had an interesting conversation today with someone who has cancer. He said if he had to live life again, he would still want to have cancer again. It has allowed him to know more about what's important than he would have otherwise known. He didn't elaborate. He's not clear of cancer although most of it has gone away. I will have to talk to him more; we didn't have much time to talk in the first place. But, I can agree with him that when we have to see the Maker through the lens of death there is not much on earth that counts as important. Views of what earth has to offer and views of what the next life has to offer are not even comparable. When dealing from the view of staring death in the face, importance boils down to these words by the Son of Man, "You trust God. Trust me too. In my Father's compound are many individual houses. If it were not true, I would not have told you it is. I am going there to prepare yours for you." As I walk away from the lens of death, then, what is important is filtered through the idea of going to my house prepared by the Son of Man. The pathway home gets a whole lot clearer.

Formulas 3

Formulas exist in all literature in various forms. One of the ways language can show formulas is to establish a system of reference that is the same over time. This happened in ancient times with using numbers to represent something other than numerical value. In the oldest story known to humanity, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the number 10 is used to show something like intensity or difficulty level. The number 7 is used as well to show completion. These numbers took on symbolic value. Other ancient literature echoed the same system. The Trojan War of the Odyssey also lasted 10 years. Whether the war lasted 10 years or not is debatable and many scholars do not think the war was that long or even close. But, the war would have been long, arduous, difficult, and intense, just what the number stands for.

So when a reader reads about famine in the Joseph story of the Old Testament, the number of years in the cycles of plenty and famine follow the well established system of numbers having something other than numerical value. They tell us more about the big picture, the perfection of the timing on the part of the One who brought about the seasons of plenty and famine. When one reads about 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 bowls of wrath in the New Testament, one knows that the seals, trumpets, and bowls represent an idea other than mere numbers, the correctness of a judgment scene between creator and creation, for example.

Formulas are meant to enhance a story or narrative rather than to confuse a story. What a pity that so many people want words to only have one meaning, a literal meaning, when formulas lead us into thinking along the lines of a more fanciful meaning.

Formulas 2

Formulas are just everywhere. Today, someone started an utterance to me with the word "Well." I knew what was coming next because "well" only has 4 functions–all of them adeverse to the listener. At best, the speaker is trying to sort for common ground. At worst, the speaker is outright disagreeing with me. So I knew that what would follow would be negative.

In the New Testament, some translators render the word "but" for the little Greek word "de." Really it is a formula word and not translatable most of the time. Occasionally, the word does mean "but." But, nearly always it is a signal that what follows is not contrastive. It is simply more information, an extension of the original thought. Sometimes in English it should be represented by a period or semicolon, sometimes by the word "and," and sometimes by the word "but."

Formulas are the glue in language we depend on. It gives our brains a split second to relax because the formulaic word used has no meaning. It is a 0 placeholder if a math analogy is needed. Sometimes, this information is helpful to know, especially if a person is thinking that the word in thier version rendered "but" doesn't really fit the context or the contrastive idea destroys the sense of the sentence.

Formulas

Once upon a time is a formulaic phrase that identifies all the fairy tales we learned as a child. To adults this statement is a no-brainer. I think if we took this principle of clear identification based on formulaic language, we would understand more than we do about life around us, even life before us, even life a really long time ago.

When someone starts a sentence with "You know,..." it's a sign that they are about to impart their version of wisdom, truth, emphatic statement, or smug, prior knowledge. It's a language sign that something important to an individual is being said.

In ancient texts, the same formulaic language is used in various places. In 1st Thessalonians, for example, the sections of thought are partitioned by the phrase brothers and sisters. When this is used, the topic changes and he is trying to get the audience to realize that he is commenting on a different matter. It's really that simple. Paying attention to the formulas built in to language is not rocket science and it enhances understanding of people's messages to us.

Cruelty

Cyberspace is cruel sometimes. It took me 20 minutes to comment on someone's blog. The right publish buttons were clicked on. The next day the comment doesn't show up. That just seems like real life so much. A lot of hard work goes on. The race is called a rat race because your hard work seems to count for nothing. So it is.

Vacation moments

Living in the moment is a blessing sometimes. It's hard to do. When it's done, it seems like you are not being responsible anymore. What about the 3 year plans or goals? What about planning for the future? What about the purchase of something of importance for yourself and paying for it? No, it's just the moment in time, sometimes several moments stacked back to back. We, humans were given the ability to look backward and forward. Why does living in the moment have such appeal? It's enjoyable, and we know that it only lasts for a few moments. Being responsible is not enjoyable. It lasts a lifetime. So, my vacations happen in the moments these days. But, I can at least have a vacation every day.

Katrina people

I am really, honestly taken back by all the pictures of the people's worlds that ended as Katrina moved through. People's worlds utterly shaken. I have actually been on that path, just not in that way. Words only approximate the decimation felt. Nights are blacker. Days have little purpose other than to make it through with the hopeful trust that at some point life will not betray you again in such a devastating way. The trust in the one who made storm systems is reduced to a single question. I do hope that the Katrina people will allow time to pass before acting rashly or dumping their faith. The one who made the storm still looks on them with compassion and their faith will blossom yet again. May the Maker of storm systems come and comfort every one of the Katrina people whose world has been utterly shaken.

Moms like mine

Recently I have come across 4 cases of men who were 24, 27, and 40 who were involved in sexual assualt cases involving a minor. All of the men say they did not know the girl was a minor. Too bad they didn't have moms like mine. She taught me as a young man about the wiles of women through the story from the Old Testament of Joseph and Potiphar's wife. She taught me about caution in putting myself in situations that could backfire, like entering a house when no one else was around. Later in life, I would hear of girls who would deliberately lie in order to make someone lose a job. All four of the men above have either been labeled as a sex offender or have cases pending in court. Too bad they didn't have moms like mine.

Pathways

Someone asked me once if I thought that knowing Greek and translating had helped me on my faith walk or if it had any advantage for me. I don't know how to answer that really. We are who we are because the motivation points, opportunities, personality, interests, and incentives are combined differently. So, what might really help me in my faith, doesn't really help anyone else. One person's trash is another person's treasure. So, in answer to the person's question, yes, I have been helped by the path I decided to take or that the Creator afforded me the opportunity to take. But, if the person was also implying the question, "Did it give me an advantage over anyone?" then I would have to say that one particular path for developing faith is not comparable to another path. We're different people. We are led home in different ways.

Exacting humility

As I write, New Orleans has about 9 hours until the storm of a lifetime will hit their fair city. Fair for now. They'll get back with us all on that in 24 hours. On the radar I see a very fierce storm headed for the city. In one interview today, the lady said she was going to stay with her daughter, who presumably could not leave for financial reasons, and die with her if need be rather than leaving and coming back to bury her daughter. I understand. The mayor was warning people to leave town for the past 24 hours saying, "This is the big one." On radar it does appear to be the mother of all storms.

I have this feeling when I watch this storm approaching. It is the same feeling I have had before. It is the feeling that I get when I think of a recent event over which I had no control. I can only bow my head in the humility of knowing that nothing can stop devastation. I bow my head because prior knowledge is so useless if life wants to exact devastation from someone or a group of people. People in Thailand know this from their storm of last December.

I suppose the lingering question in all of this is why the Creator of the universe and the creator of weather on Earth wants to exact humility from people be creating devastation that cannot be stopped by human means. I really don't have the answer for that one. Perhaps it follows the "first shall be last" principle. Or perhaps it has to do with which eyes one wants to see life out of, physical or spiritual. Those are only 2 guesses that could apply. I would hope that there is an answer. In the meantime, I bow as "the big one" bears down on New Orleans. Being borne down on will definitely make a person bow. I will be bowing with many others in about 24 hours.

Work in progress

People have learned much through the centuries. I was watching an archeology show on TV the other night. I enjoyed how the narrators traced human skeletons from a million years ago to the present. I learned much as well. There were 6 different kinds of humans. Some of them coexisted and some seemed to develop over time from others before them. They even showed how the jaw changed when language was developed and how the cranial cavity enlarged after people seemed to have spread from Africa. This, of course, is a very different story from the one I grew up hearing about the origins of humanity. The story of humanity still needs a great deal of tweaking since we have only found pockets of places with bones. Human existence was nearly snuffed out about 70,000 years ago. But, that might have been intentional. After that point, homo sapiens began their rise to supremacy. I guess the story I heard as a youth was the one about the recent history of one branch of humans. And maybe the sphinx is 15,000 years old rather than 4500 years old. And maybe the Black Sea does have a civilization at its bottom that goes back to around 10,000 BC. And maybe the Creator has been working with humans for a lot longer than we want to admit. And maybe I need to give Him a whole lot more credit for bringing this world to the point it is than I have before. And if I understand a picture drawn to this scale, how can I not be tolerant of others. We have been a work in progress for a really, really long time.

Cool wind

There is an expression, "What a difference a year makes." Well, it is true in smaller increments as well. In this case 6 months. I was reminded that the one who reconciles people works behind the scenes, in people's minds. It had a relieving effect on me and I am not even directly involved except on occasion. I guess I just know that one of the main businesses of the Creator is bringing people together that really don't have a motivation to work together. I really would have not thought this person would have made a move today to work together with someone else in a million years. So, this case had the Inner Motivater's stamp all over it. It was soothing to see. Restoration is like a cool wind blowing against the face to cool it. Refreshing.

No substitute

After having been around scholarly journals over the last 15 years, I have learned to recognize the necessity of quality in one's work. Being around journals is not the only way to recognize quality. It's just the way to recognize quality in the field that I work in. This last week, I came across a report that cost 30,000 dollars. It was of the poorest quality for a variety of reasons. It was produced by a group of people that supposedly knew their field. Beyond the waste of money, it cost someone dearly in the accomplishment of goals and morale. There is just no substitute for quality.

When it comes to watching people's lives, it becomes easier, the older we get, to spot quality. When it is not there, a breakdown occurs for those people I watch. A really sad thing is if that breakdown has a ripple effect into my own life. My life is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But, it doesn't need any help in deteriorating either. So, I have learned to watch people's lives without letting that watch influence my own. That's because I have learned the same lesson in a different arena. There is just no substitute for quality.

A different story

I have basically ignored the direct leading of the Creator because it dealt too much with emotion, which I have always thought is secondary to rational thought. In fact, I heard a lecture four days ago on coming to faith through the intellect. The last two years tell a different story. If the creator of dreams and the orchestrator of events wants to act on someone's psyche or in events that drive people to act, he does so. I have to wonder how much I have missed by adopting a different philosophy for most of my life. Well, no matter. Although it did take a brick upside the head to get my attention, I am listening now. In fact, Michael W. Smith's song "Here I Am" is a song I listen to before beginning days that have a certain foreboding to them. It helps me focus my attention on listening to a voice from within rather than trying to always use words from a book as a frame of reference. I am really a better person for having made the switch over the last 2 years.

From blog to blog

August 4th blog records thoughts about peaceful storms. August 14th blog is about a head on a platter. Well, it took 10 days to test the words in the earlier blog. I saw the storm brewing in the distance. But I did underestimate it. I knew the situation was bad. But, I can say, "Absolutely nothing is as bad and utterly defeating as losing your own flesh and blood." So, the storm this time didn't do its usual smashing, causing me to fret and concoct 4 battle plans to combat it. Instead, there was a peace. The great provider would show me the ram in the thicket if one was needed. I still haven't heard from anyone in authority if the storm has passed or not. Appearances tell me it hasn't. But, as bad as this storm has been, it is not the one that sends me to the other side. That will be for another storm, another time.

Head on a platter

One of the English sayings that comes from the New Testament is to want someone's head on a platter like Herod's wife wanted of John the Baptist. Well, Friday was such a request for mine my director said. At least she gave me a little more time by asking to be able to talk to me first. John didn't survive his request. I don't know if I will either, but tomorrow may tell the tale. What I hope happens is an analogy to an Old Testament story of Daniel or the one of his 3 friends. God intervened for them. Life on earth really has its ups and downs. I know this by now, but the down part of the roller coaster ride never really feels any better even if you know it is coming or has arrived. So, may the one who gives second chances, restore. May it be so.

White fields

Funny. The week started with an event that tasted sweet like fruit. But today, that is a whole other story. My dad used to hold up a white sheet of paper in front of people he was speaking to. The only marking on it would be a dot in the center of the paper. Naturally, people would tell him, after he asked them what they saw, that they saw a black dot in the center of the paper. He would make the point that most of the paper showed a white field, but that they wanted to see something that was barely visible. Today, I think that the little black dot is what caught my attention even though a whole field of white was visible. I told my wife the day was a train wreck. If I looked at the written evidence, I would draw a different conclusion than I did about the day. But, if I went with what I read on people's faces and some of the bad feelings detected in the air, then I think the day was a train wreck. I already know how to make a comeback in the future and how to face the day tomorrow. I will be looking at the white field of paper around me.

Fruit tasting

Sometimes it seems that the Maker of Days gives a person a chance to pause and enjoy a little fruit from the slice of life around him. Such a day was today. The team I work with received an invitation to eat from a person who is considered important in both my workplace and around town. The person was more than cordial and actually made the team feel that their work was important. Rewards like that come so seldom. But I'll take them when they come. The encouragement felt good. It tasted sweet like fruit.

Timidity

Perhaps the some of the greatest points of confidence in the past can become the points of uncertainty and paralysis in the future. Perhaps that is a function of the aging or maturing process. Perhaps that is the function of finally seeing those points from other angles that have been hidden before. Perhaps it is a function of fear of outcome. Perhaps the inability to read the future weighs heavily on desired but not probable outcomes. May the one who guides us all fully fulfill that function to help us see and carry on.

Peaceful storms

Life evens out at times. When that happens, I have learned to treat it as the eye of the hurricane, the calm before the storm. But, really I have learned a more primary principle than this one. Storms have a built-in cleansing effect. So, even though I know storms are coming, fear is not present. I only know this from experience. Michael W. Smith puts this priniciple so aptly in his song, "Healing Rain." The song gives such encouragement to me: "Healing rain, let it fall, let it fall, I'm not afraid. It comes with fire, I'm not afraid, it takes me higher."

I don't anymore wish for just the evened out times. I let the storm do what it is supposed to do in my life. Cleanse and heal. The master knew what he was talking about: "I give you peace. I leave you with peace." Peace is not only in the eye of the storm. Its healing rain pelts me with hundreds of drops of peace.

Let the storm rage

Some seasons are rainy seasons. The trick is to move out of the rain and just enjoy the rain for what it is and does. Storms are good. I guess that's why they don't come often. But they do come enough.

Right now there is a storm raging according to some people at my workplace. I am out of the rain at the moment, so I am enjoying this one for what it is and does. And there is a peace inside me as this storm rages. I have even shaped some of the effects of this storm. But the Storm Maker has allowed me to have total inner peace. For this I am thankful.

I am reminded of this saying: Sometimes God calms the storm. But sometimes God lets the storm rage and calms His child.

Snake Pit 2

I suppose that I should be bothered by the snake pit I have chosen to be in. But I am not. I don't know why that is exactly. I have not really encountered being in a snake pit like this one before. I have only temporarily been in some smaller snake pits. Only one other time did I think that the pit had poisonous snakes in it. This is very different.

But this pit is different. The stakes are higher. If I get bitten, I will feel the bite and have to leave the pit. That will cost me. Even if I don't get bitten, I still have to sit around and identify the snakes. The poisonous ones have to be identified from the non-poisonous ones and I have to shout out to the pit watchers which ones to try to handle to take out of the pit.

I don't know if a person can be around snakes for very long without getting bitten, but I know that this pit is one that was put in. I guess that's why it doesn't scare me one bit. It's why I actually enjoy going into it each day. Asking the maker to help the pit-watchers act quickly is the only request I have these days. The rest of the so-called danger is really up to the one who placed me in the pit. My job is easy when I entrust my well-being to him.

Acceptability

OK. I have railed against the slow-to-change jargon of the religious community and the suspicious nature of this community toward change. So, exactly what would I like to see happen?

I think that I would like for people to trust the spirit within them from God to live decent lives. I think I would like for people to see that spirit in a modern context instead of always quoting from an ancient context and trying to apply what happened then to what happens now.

If that took place, then translations of ancient texts would be in the people's language as people wanted their peers in society to easily know what makes them tick. People could then read for themselves and see easily in the language of their current society how to live decently for God and get on the path that leads to him. Instead, we get, and perhaps want, translations that have to be explained and commands that have ended up being codified.

I do see individuals and pockets of people that live daily depending on God to enable them daily to stand in the face of life's curve balls. I don't rail at all when I think of them. I hope that they multiply by the thousands.

Language behavior

Studying how society uses language is interesting. The term language behavior has been coined to describe society's use of language. Society is fickle and hypocritical about its language use. Everyone has heard someone say about the way a friend delivered some news, "You didn't have be so harsh or cold in the way you said that." Not long after hearing those words, the same person has turned around and said, "Why didn't you say what you meant. I don't understand polite." Yes, how fickle.

People make value judgments about others just by the way others speak. If the person is using heavy vernacular, we judge and react accordingly. If the person seems eloquent or "articulate," we act a different way from the way we react to the person using his/her vernacular. If dialect different from our own is used, we react a certain way to that as well.

So, I accept the way people view New Testament translation even though I characterize it as disappointing. We are victims of circumstance of our own language. I guess I am out to change that circumstance, but I know I could not change it single-handedly and not quickly. So, I expect people's fickle comments about liking or not liking new translations or individual's translations to be suspicious or not preferential or bizarre. The language of religion follows the customs of religion, so change is slow, value judgments are not quick to follow generational changes, and reactions reflect caution. I don't like the truth offered by this observation, so I for one am out to change religious language behavior.

Modernity

I am doing a rather informal testing of what people expect or want in a translation of a New Testament book. So far, what I'm finding is disappointing to me. It seems people want a somewhat antiquated rendering. When given a choice between modern English with the most current phrasing and most current syntax, and a little older style English, people opt for a little older style of English. Why? I think that sometimes people just resist change. I think sometimes people get stuck thinking that text representing something old should sound old. I found that to also be true when comparing Beowulf translations from Old English in a class of young people. I think sometimes a change in English phrasing and syntax somehow gets related to inspiration of the Bible and people don't want to update that.

When one deals with the New Testament, one deals with preconceived ideas. I find it disappointing to see a great preconception against keeping Christianity, at least where it represented by translations, from being current, modern, ever-changing, up-to-date. Disappointment doesn't necessarily dampen my desire to ever present the message in modern terms. It just makes me temporarily sad. But my Christianity is not affected. I don't answer for anyone else. So, I press on with the my vision for the modern Christian.

Satisfaction

Translating from ancient Greek is something I did in my 20s because I had the time, it was a little fun, it gave me an edge when around smart people, and I could learn a lot from the material being translated. What a difference a decade makes—actually 3 in my case. I have over the last year and a half picked up the book to translate again. I did a fair amount of translating in the intervening 3 decades, but only when I had a reason to translate, when I was on a mission, or when I took on a project. These days, picking up the pen to translate is fun. I don't have an edge on anybody for anything. All people my age are smart in some area or another and there's no competition. What's the point? I still learn a lot from the material, but now I know in what ways the material enriches my life or in what setting to share any enrichment. It is satisfying to see growth in skill level of translation and in knowing how to cast the translation against a bigger setting of other training I have received over the 3 decades.

I hope that the Creator looks through the centuries and reflects in some of the same ways. I hope he has had fun with his creation. At times it was work to do so I'm sure. I hope that he sees growth in people's perception of him. At the beginning (that's a long time ago) people feared him, split him into various spirits or functions, but now, maybe we see him more for who he is and what he has done. He certainly doesn't have to worry about the edge part. One who knew him put it like this: the light has been shining in the darkness, and the darkness can never put it out. So there's no competition. And I hope he's satisfied when I walk through the door one day to greet him because the path I walked on here led me to his home. I know I will be satisfied.

Tone + Words

Language can be fascinating at times. It can soothe, encourage, excite, anger. It elicits a range of emotions. What about language causes such a response in a listener? Words and tone of voice are inextricably intertwined. I guess that is why emotions are logical responses to words. What would happen if tone of voice were removed from one's speech? Or what would happen if words could not be heard but the tone of voice could? The answer to the first question is that one would have to guess which part of the sentence was being emphasized. In the case of the second, one would have no idea of the substance causing the tone. Together, they make for unmistakable clarity. I know someone who has told me that I get hung up on tone of voice. That words are much more important. That's just not true. Only in writing does one give up tone of voice, but even then, one's mind supplies, by guessing, what tone is being used. Tones help a person match words to thoughts. One can only imagine what it takes to be a good writing teacher or a good writer. Two dimensions have to be created. Well, that's enough on good communications 101. Spouses, siblings, and friends have double the amout to watch for in good communication since there are 2 dimensions instead of 1.

Plainspoken

It was refreshing to be with someone today that I'm not with usually. The conversation was at points routine but at many points the conversation was very unusual. The conversant was just simple, honest, plainspoken. He was not out to impress, nor was I. Every word could be taken at face value. I didn't detect any agendas, any seed planting, any game playing. It's been a while since I have had a conversation like that. It was pleasant. Most days I have to have my language radar machine on and it beeps constantly. So I rest more easily tonight with thoughts of an honest conversation for once.

Heart surgery

Tonight I attended a group that was discussing a letter purported to have been written by Barnabus in the first century. One of the topics from one of the chapters was circumcision. I know what that is because I have been. But it was being applied to the heart, not to the penis. I am wondering about the symbolism here. I think that circumcision is done for health reasons if it is not related to religion or identification to a particular cause or sect. Now when dealing with matters of the heart, I am losing a lot of the symbolism. Is circumcision of the heart a health matter? Or does it mean that my heart is identifying with a cause such as having major ethics? Does it mean having a clean heart? Whatever it is, the circumcision is a request from the creator about the inner person I have developed. Developing character usually hurts in some way. So, in that way I know I have been circumcised.

Phenomenon

Today I got to see a satellite crash into a meteor. Phenomenal! I wonder what living 300 years from now will be like. Phenomenal, I bet. Then I think of all the creation in the multiple universes and the one who made it, and he still cares about me individually. Phenomenal!

Dreamworld

I never have trusted dreams or visions, and even said on one occasion recently that God didn't communicate with me in that way, that I was just a Church of Christ guy that God couldn't use in that way. I lied to myself and that man after I thought about it later. God has communicated through a scene or a dream on several occasions. Twice I have been warned of horrendous events that would take place. On one occasion I was given a dream to tell someone else. I have several times been led to see where my efforts would lead me. So, I have learned the difference between the illusive dreams that seem to vanish as soon as I wake up or soon thereafter and the ones that stay around for me to know to analyze. I have to say that nearly all of my dreams vanish. But, on rare occasions, they sometimes have significance.

Recently, I have had a significant dream. I have not lost its details for 2 running weeks. The environment the dream was set in is not exactly one that a person would want to admit to. But, I think it is one of those that I am supposed to tell to someone else, which means that the setting of the dream is one that helps in analyzing what to tell the other person. I still don't know the direction of the details of the dream. I think it might have been as simple as a plea to fast and pray with that person. On the other hand, I think it might have been as hard as saying this person's son who has cancer is about to get worse. It could, of course, be neither of the above. It might just be an assurance that we are in league together against a common adversary. At some point, I will have to tell this person. I just trust that by that time, I will have a clearer indication of the meaning of the dream. I guess the maker of dreams will make it come clear if he wants me to deliver a message.

Well, the best thing is that the giver of dreams has not given up on me. That's a good sign for I would be devastated to think I would be out of his favor. If he trusts me with a dream, for whatever reason, he is saying that he trusts me to be a good follower of his son. For that I am thankful.

Classifications

One way to refer to what goes on in life is to call it game playing. Many events in life can be compared to playing different kinds of games. Trying to figure out what is meant by someone's actions, for example, is akin to figuring out what someone is doing with a hand of cards. When someone answers a question intelligently, (s)he is compared to being a Trivial Pursuit expert. When people pay for their actions with high stakes consequences, they have been said to have played chess because they didn't think ahead when they moved in order to anticipate the opponent's moves. If people are slow to react in a situation, they get blasted by X-box junkies because they didn't scan and kill the enemy in a split second. And if someone gets mad too easily at work or at another person, then they obviously were poor sports when they lost those beginner card games like Go Fishing.

Certainly one way to classify life's events is to compare it to games. Of course, there are all sorts of other analogies. Some people color code life or compare it to animals. Some people create dichotomies like love and war or win/lose. I don't know what life is. It seems like a nightmare at times and like an illusion at other times. Sometimes I experience ectasy and sometimes agony. The rollercoaster of life is many times applicable to the picture of my experience. Our society has 1001 ways to refer to life's events.

All I really know about life is that it ends and I want to be on the path that leads directly to the door of the next world when the path through this life comes to its end. Lead me home.

Poker

A colleague came to me today. She was asking me to play cards - symbolically. I have played Spades and Poker before, so I know a little about playing cards. She is relatively inexperienced. I don't think she spent time in college playing cards with dorm mates. So, I told her what was in the hand we were looking at and what was more than likely in the hand of our opponents. The bad news about playing cards is that sometimes you guess wrong and lose a hand. I've got about another month before the hand will be completely dealt and played. I hope that good news is the result rather than bad news, that the guess is right and we will win the stakes from the other players. In the meantime, I have my best poker face on to get that result.

Written thoughts

The written language is a contrived language in that it reflects speech, but depends on a grammar that in many instances is not the same as the spoken dialect. Punctuation is all contrived because speech does not use punctuation. So, it amazes me that ancient contact with the gods was written. Of course, the oldest material is certainly based on an oral tradition. But, as time went on, material was written as events happened, thus escaping the oral stage. Some say sacred documents are "inspired." I don't really know what that means. I guess I also wonder why a deity would want to be reduced to a contrived language instead of a vibrant living language. I intend to use language to speak of the Creator and his fabulous story of raising a son from the grave. But, to write down thoughts that rob the living language of its life and put it in a contrived form is a little short of inspired for me. Actions and talk ought to align themselves nicely. Actions and writing are not even under consideration.

Alter-dimension

The sounds of night are very much different, or at least amplified, from the sounds of the day. At night I can't see very well with my eyes, so I depend more on my hearing. I perk up when I hear sounds that are near to me. But, I discount sounds in the distance even if they are sirens or train whistles. I can always hear crickets. Of course, they're harmless. I have noticed a change in my own way of thinking. I try to move and think more like creatures who do move in the night. I think how I can move without being seen or heard. I trust senses other than sight. During the day I don't care about such movements or sensitivities.

That leads me to think about how I might move or think if I were in another dimension. What if the dimension didn't have time? What if it didn't have movement? What if light and dark didn't alternate? What if the creatures in the other dimension didn't have bodies as we do in 3 dimensions? What if our attributes were halos over our heads like bars that show the power level of a cell phone? What if one didn't have to watch evil happen in front of his or her very eyes? What if the physics of the place were so very different? What if... ad infinitum?

I think this dimension is currently called after-life. I don't know for sure, but I will know it when I get there.

Aura of Alexander

The Discovery channel shows great reinactments of great battles. I watch them just so that I can apply their symbolic strategy to some of my work situations from time to time. Recently, the channel showed several reinactments of Alexander the Great's battles. Interesting that he thought that he was the son of Zeus. The program said he went to a temple and found out he was "the son of God."

I wonder if he would have fought as fearlessly if he had thought he was only human. Without question he was a great military strategist. He thought it was because he was Zeus' son that he was so successful. As it turned out, he was merely a mortal after being wounded in battle and later dying partly as a result of a wound. Of course, the same could be said about Jesus - that he was merely mortal and ended up dying from crucifixion. Well, there is not a resurrection story about Alexander.

How do I fight life's battles? Fearlessly? What if I thought I was the son of God? Would I lead the charge that much more often and with a reckless abandon? Would I plan ahead strategically because I would be so sure of a win, being immortal? Would people around me marvel at my success? Would I be assertive with others? Of course, I have a number of years' track record in fighting life's battles. I know how all these questions are answered. The sad part is that I have been a son of God for much longer than was Alexander a son of Zeus.

The Snake Pit

I thought that I was going to be delivered from a snake pit today. Not a literal viper pit, but a symbolic one. Deliverance was not apparent by day's end. So, I spend more time around a snake that seems to strike whenever he thinks I'm not looking. I think that beheading this snake should happen, but that is not my call. Others are in this pit with me and we are trying to watch each other's back so that we don't get bitten. Today, the strongest person in the pit had a great opportunity to behead the monster. I thought it was a sign of weakness to the snake that that didn't happen. But, the one who made snakes and regular humans directed the play by giving different stage directions from the ones I anticipated. So, as long as I have to be in the snake pit, I will continue to trust that the script writer knows what we in the pit need and will send deliverance in due time.

Numbered-Unnumbered

I don't know when a person comes to the realization that truly one's days are numbered. Youth is always characterized as invincible. Sometimes, young people feel immortal. At some point, however, realization sets in that one does not live ad infinitum. My own mortality has been brought home by a son changing his residence from here to the unseen realm where he lives with his maker. So, I see the other side already. I look forward to seeing the unseen world because I know a reunion awaits. My earthly father resides on the other side too. I will join them. I don't know when I am finished here, but until I change residences, I hope to let the maker, whom my father and son see daily, guide me to a fuller life than I had imagined before I got to this place in life. I am enjoying the guidance more and more. I have not always been comfortable being led. I wanted to do the leading. That was before realization set in about numbered days. Now I know those days are exchanged for unnumbered days.

Like Father, Like Son

I had a typical father's day. It was good. I received presents, ate barbeque, had homemade ice cream, and enjoyed the day relaxing. I don't know whehter the Creator is male or female, but I guess (s)he enjoys both mother's day and father's day if (s)he is simply the essence of I AM. I get the feeling (s)he lives in perpetual father's/mother's days for surely somewhere on the earth, everyday, someone is acknowledging the Maker with gifts and honor. Which leads me to think that I, too, receive much on a daily basis that I probably overlook - encouragement, loving remarks, concern from others, kindnesses that people go out of the way just to make. That makes everyday a father's day for me. Well, I'm rich and didn't exactly know it. Rich in Father's Days. I'm better off than I ever dreamed.

Assertion Required

I have been around a younger person now for a while at work. I see this person not able to confront the people in her world that need confronting. I guess age and having raised children makes me less prone to put off asserting myself when circumstances require it. I have read a number of examples in the life of the Master Teacher in which he decided to assert what needed to be said. Print leaves out tone of voice, but I can't read some of his words without hearing assertion in it. So, adopting assertion based on his model, has been much healthier for me than holding back what needs to be said in a situation. I certainly spent the first 35 years of my life holding in words and emotions. Now, I think that some occasions require assertions to be made and I am sure going to make them. Situations seem to clear up when straightforward communication happens.

Learning for all

A colleague of mine and I were talking today about whether someone can be taught if (s)he is not willing to hear the lessons. We differed on that issue. I remember a Chinese proverb: when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I also see all around me the people who have learned much but at different stages in life. Learning is unevenly distributed, and seems to be associated to people's interests and motivations more than from cumulative effect from information. Well, no matter. People live within each moment. They may choose to learn in a few of those moments. May the One Who Made Us give us today the bread we need whether that includes learning or not.

Analogies for life

Life has 101 analogies. Forrest Gump made the most famous one probably. Tonight I had a conversation about life with a lady whom I know little about. But she told me about her life. It wasn't sad; it was just not how she had thought of it as a young woman. That's why we get such analogies such as "life's a bitch." I listened and thought in an analogy as she spoke. Life is such a long and winding road. oops, I copied a famous song on that one.

At one point she tried to engage me in telling my story, my life. I really didn't do that. I don't know why other than I didn't have an analogy for my life. I gave it some characteristics as I related one episode in my life. But, I didn't have a picture of what life was or was like. I think that probably allows the Maker of all to do more with us. If we have an analogy, we have put Him in a box. If we have no picture of how life should be, perhaps we can be more easily led.

Maybe that's a lie. Maybe if we have a clear picture of life, we can more easily move with His help inside that picture.

But maybe that's a lie, too. It would create expectations for life. That would certainly lead to disappointment.

All I know is that life doesn't really have a plan to it. At least not the plan we ourselves choose for it. And if we make choices along the way, I'm not sure that our Maker has anything but general plans for us. If we try to chart future plans based on past plans, the direction changes. Not knowing the picture of life keeps us humble, excited,wondering, suprised, and devastated. All in one rolled-up ball. oops, There's an analogy. I'm sure it's distorted. The one who made us has to be laughing.

Thoughts

I wonder. Sometimes fluency of thought comes without trying. It invades the mind even if I try to put barriers in its way. Sometimes deprivation of thought is the daily fare. It won't develop even if I try to compel its generation. So, I just sit and wonder how thoughts happen and whether the thought process is controlled by something physical or metaphysical. Much can be said about language and thought. But inspiration and imagination are caught up in this land within the mind. I hope that I can tell the difference between the two and let them guide me to a fuller appreciation of life and understanding.

The Neat-EST Thing

Many times our conversations start with, "I heard the neatest thing," or "I saw the neatest thing." In Greece 2 millenia ago, they had a single word for this "neatest thing" idea. It was used in the same way that we use the expression today. Usually people were pretty excited about something they wanted to announce to someone else. They wanted everyone to hear their good news. Many times, in fact, the translation of the Greek word is "good news."

But I wonder if that expression is getting the idea across in today's world. We live in a world of news, all kinds of news. We can get news from the war front with embedded reporters. That's pretty sensational. Then there are all the stories that are on one end of the spectrum or the other, sensational in one sense or another. No stories get told if they are average. Usually, good stories don't get told at all. But if they are sensational enough, they get published. So when it comes to telling someone else about "the neatest thing," we use the superlative form for "neat." Then people listen.

So, if I have a story I would like to tell or if it's not a whole story at all, but pieces of a story that I can tell over a period of time that equal a whole story, then I have just the phrase. I have this "fabulous story" to tell. In reality I do. It's a fabulous story because I become healed after the most outrageous darts are thrown at me by life. It's a fabulous story because at the heart of it is a clear message of reconciliation that I can have with others and with someone who died in my place. Fabulous, really, remarkable indeed. I think translations need to get busy clearly communicating what people in this society will listen to - something sensational, something of note, something fabulous and remarkable. It's just the neatest thing.

Credentials

I saw an article in the paper about this country's brightest and best 2 days ago. While I cannot altogether identify with that elite group of people, I have had enough academic experience that I wish I could tell them what they are headed for. Oh, they will have many compliments paid to them in life. And they will stand tall beside each sheepskin they receive. And many of them will make money, some of them hand over fist. They will be in positions of authority or in the rat race climbing ever upward. But, I wish not to tell them any of this because it is obvious and is what they strive to attain.

I wish I could tell them, instead, that life brings so many unexpected curves, that there is only one way to make it through life with any confidence. And it's not the way of the scientific method. It's the way that is unseen, unknown. It's the way where the greatest guides are those with the greatest confidence in seeing the unseen, knowing the unknown. The greatest credential is the mercy shown from the creator for the human condition. The greatest joys are in reconciliation. The greatest day is the day one enters the portal from this world to the next.

Of course, they will all have to find this out on their own as we all do. May the one who stays home to draw us to him, find many seekers to draw to him.

Giving Candy

Giving encouragement to people is much like giving candy to kids. Some show that they needed or appreciated it while others show no emotion at all and say nothing in return. But giving encouragement falls into the bigger category of just giving. Since giving reflects the giver's willingness to connect to a higher, nobler cause, how a person receives the "candy" doesn't matter. The receiver is under a different set of expectations than the giver. It's not the giver's problem. Now that I have thought through this for the hundredth time and come up with the same answer, I just need to get more candy to give and give away.

Card Hands

Playing the cards that are dealt is tricky at best. In a real card game, a person has to know well the players he is playing against in order to win very many rounds. Playing the cards life deals is tricky too. I don't know how many rounds there are in life, but one does have to study the different environments he is in in order to win very many rounds. Now, what winning means to a person is an altogether different matter. But even if it only means walking away from a round satisfied (for whatever reason), then still playing the cards is tricky. Our self-images are tied up in winning and losing the rounds we play. Sometimes, even, just playing the round instead of folding is monumental and laudable. Well, enough said. I have to get back to my card game. I'd tell you what I'm holding, but I don't want to tip my hand. Bluffing is part of the self-image after all.

Mismeasure

The state measures how much students know about a subject. They do it once a year in most grades. I cannot figure out for the life of me what they think they are measuring. And I cannot figure out the mentality that says measuring everything is necessary. It sounds much like a control freak wanting to call all the shots just because he or she doesn't trust anyone else to call shots. One of my favorite books is called The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould. It definitely raises the question of the existence of intelligence in the first place and the question of whether or not it can be measured if it exists in the second place.

When I deal with my own inner person, I know that growth takes place over time. But, that growth has a learning curve and some failures along the way. I don't try to gauge it once a year. I sometimes go a long time without thinking that growth has or should have taken place. I sometimes start seeing growth spurts everywhere I look. But, constant measuring of something that takes place internally is probably not a good idea. Recognition of growth I support - if needed, if wanted. I hope the state never makes it its business to deal with anything other than knowledge. They have totally screwed up the knowledge business. I prefer the great delight I get when occasionally I "see" growth of some aspect or another of my inner person.

Designs

Someone challenged me tonight to think of something that happened to me that wasn't random. I do believe in the randomness of many of people's activities; my friend doesn't. He thinks everything has a purpose. We can disagree and still be friends. That's a beauty all its own. But, I also believe that not everything is random. So, I was split-second quick to recount a recent event that happened to me with crystal clear certainty that it was not a random event; it was an event that without doubt had the stamp of the Designer on it. I am thankful that the design is in place in my memory. From time to time, I see the indelible print of the Designer, but many times and for many years I have probably missed out on design. Well, I don't know if I did or not. Some designs I see are seen by mature eyes which take years to develop. Other designs are ones that just were not on the road I was traveling at the time, so they weren't available for my eyes to see. Some designs are dictated by experience, so whenever it is in life that you get that experience, you see the design. Anyway, I am suddenly grateful for the designs I get to see in life and look forward to seeing as many as I can from here on out.

Unique Philosophy

I was angry this Saturday. I created a situation, but not all by myself. I wanted to march right in to someone (who lives far away) and just have a word or two. That would have been disastrous, probably, and would have worsened the situation. So, I did not do anything, except to call one person who could say something to the person I wanted to contact. But, that person was gone for the day. So, nothing happened. I am reminded of the words to a song by Matthew West. "Here the strong survive and the rest just disappear. But your (God's) philosophy is more unique. You are only strong when I am weak." So, I guess that I need to let The Strong One handle this situation so that I can continue living in this newly defined strength according to a different philosophy than the one I tried and failed at.

Underestimation

I have underestimated things before. I hate it when that happens. Just today I underestimated again. This time it was more deliberate, but I still hate to do it. It' s a little like sabotage to ourselves. In a way it shows that life is bigger than we are and that we can't predict it no matter how old we get. It's just a reminder that we still have to have someone in charge of our bigger picture who does know about life. He made it, so predicting it is a backwards exercise for Him.

Oasis

It's weird that I should be thinking of paradise today. The sky has been gray all day. The temperature is cold. There is an 80% chance of rain tonight. I certainly have no extrinsic motivation to be thinking of paradise. However, I have mentioned my son twice today—my son who now resides with the Giver of Life on the other side of the time warp. I can't fathom his level of happiness. But, I think paradise comes as close as possible to describing that level of happiness.

Measuring stick

The word odometer comes from two Greek words. "Odos" meant road, path or way. "Metreo" meant measure or apportion. Literally odometer means to measure the road. Wouldn't it be a fabulous measure if a person could find a method for measuring his or her spiritual road. My good friend told me about journaling one time as a way to see the road behind. Of course, blogging is an offshoot of journaling. I go back and read old blogs from time to time and it is effective to see the footprints in the sand. As good as that is, I'm still trying to think of a way to measure rather than just reminisce or see particular moments. A spiritual odometer would be good for a number of reasons.

Night message

I am thinking on whether or not to tell a woman, for whom I had been in intercessory prayer for her son, about a scene that had been given to me about her son. Her son had been found to have cancer for the second time. On the evening before he was due to have surgery that would remove his cancer of find how widespread his cancer was, I was in prayer for the young man of age 23. A scene came to mind from a famous poem, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." I have not read the poem in a number of years and there was no reason for me to associate this poem with the events of the young man for whom I was praying. Yet clearly and distinctly I could see two skeletons gambling for a person's life.

The scene is straight out of the poem because Death gambles with a woman on a ghost ship for the life of the mariner. In the poem, Death loses the roll of the dice. However, the night I was praying, the vision did not have an end. It merely had the representation of gambling for a person's life. I knew that if the roll went against the young man that I needed to pray for the stamina of the parents. If the roll went in favor of the young man, I needed to utter many phrases of thanksgiving.

3 days later I found that the die had been cast in favor of life because the doctor was able to remove all the cancer. My prayers after finding out have been for the young man to realize the gift that was given to him and for him to use his life wisely for the Creator. I am thinking that the young man needs to know about the scene from the poem in order to more fully appreciate what was done for him. Then again, we have never met. So, I'm thinking that if I tell the boy's mother, she can decide whether her son needs the information or not. She would more fully understand and appreciate what the Creator has done for her son. I have a window of time in which to tell the mother because our paths are not going to cross much at all after another week and a half. So, I am thinking that in a week I will tell her of this night scene that stuck in my mind, that the Creator made a deliberate decision for her son to live.

I am wondering why I haven't told her already. But, then, I think it may be tied to the fact that the Creator decided differently for me on one occasion. Banish that thought since my own son lived a year and 3 weeks longer than his original departure date. I better just deliver the message.

Spiritual image

I have truly believed since the year 2000 that reading and writing would disappear by the year 2025. I predicted a major shift from printed stimuli to video and audio stimuli by the year 2017 after a 10 year struggle within education starting in 2007. We're still on target. That means then, that people will have to be really good with words in the future. If writing disappears, we will more or less be making the image of ourselves through our spoken words. Image is everything. That is already true, but it will take on grandiose proportions in 10 more years. I am wondering what the spiritual image will look like then, too. Special effects will be big business perhaps.

One guarantee

It's strange to me that, in a world of no guarantees, people still want assurances about living. If you ask the people of Indonesia, they might surely side with those who say there are no guarantees. If you ask the ancient people of the town of Pompeii, they would side with those who say there are no guarantees. If you ask people who have lost their children for one reason or another, they would side with those who say there are no guarantees. People's position and status in society would seem to argue that there are no guarantees. Al Gore knows this. Mikhail Gorbachev knows this. The Taliban know this. "Here today, gone tomorrow" is an idea that shows up all over the ancient and modern worlds. So, when I read a book that claims a guarantee in life, I take notice. But, really the last book of the sacred writings is about a claim of assurance of life after this life. That's a little different, except that how this life is lived is affected—tremendously.

Wait staff

Restaurants are good images sometimes for teaching me about what work and expertise can produce. I sit down, am served by someone who serves for a living and knows how to take care of a customer. I receive food from someone who has cooked every item I have ordered 1000 times before. I leave saying, "That was the best meal," and I want to return in the near future.

I have a couple or 3 talents that I share with people from time to time. My aim is for them to feel like I do when I leave a restaurant. They benefit from what I have done and want to return to the source for more when they can. I take from more people than I give to so it's hard to see sometimes if what I do is really serving anyone at all. I recall an old image from an old letter 2 millenia ago telling a group of people that they needed to serve others like a waiter of tables (table waiters were slaves back then). That way, everyone in the group would be strengthened and decent living would occur. I do see much decency around me because there are so many people waiting tables around me.