Knowing and modeling

Recently I was involved in a study of the fabulous story of Jesus as presented by Mark. The men who were asked to study the various accounts of this story were asked to come up with the characteristics of a follower of Jesus based on the account they were studying. Today those men all met again to bring forth the characteristics they had found. It was interesting to see how the accounts mirrored the walks of life each one had taken. But beyond that, they brought out what they had studied over a month's period of time.

I am going to dedicate the blogspot for at least the next 2 weeks to my meanderings about the characteristics I found to be outstanding in the account from Mark. I found 7 characteristics that I listed and two more that I didn't list because I didn't think it was the right forum for the other 2. They were more personal in nature. So, I start with characteristic #1

Characteristic 1: (S)He knows the tenets of the message of God’s reign and knows (s)he must exude it.

Representative sample from Mark:
We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came.
(Mark 1.38)


Other textual support for characteristic: 1.38, 2.2, 3.34, 4.1, 4.33, 6.6b-7, 6.34, 8.31
Fact from Mark: 37% of all textual episodes in Mark contain the teaching of Jesus.

If I were asked what Jesus' reason for coming was, I would have answered that he came to seek and save the lost. But, after reading Mark's account, I see the statement above. And teach is what Jesus did. He went all over the countryside around his hometown teaching. He crossed lakes and walked miles to villages near and far. He sent his selected 12 out in pairs to a number of villages to get his message out. Mark's account is rife with teachings about human behaviors from people divorcing to people trying to show that they deserve the kingdom of God.

But, just because Jesus taught, does it mean that his followers should follow suit? Well, let's call it "teaching." Under finer analysis, it is probably closer to knowing for ourselves the tenets of what Jesus taught so that our behavior is consistent with those tenets. What we know from Jesus' lessons and how we act ought to be consistent. Some of Jesus' most castigating words were reserved for the educated elite who said one thing, but did another. So, knowing the message so that we can model it is paramount.

And the message is not merely a series of good lessons. Its provenance is from the kingdom of God, so the path on earth his lessons put us on end in our entering the kingdom of God. I think there is a bit of a problem with that idea for Americans. We are not "kingdom" people. The word is in our language and we understand it. But it is so archaic that we don't make a true association with it. An alternate word is "reign." It is an old term as well, but Americans have more of an association with its idea than "kingdom." We all are held accountable to somebody or we report to some "boss." So a word like "reign" carries with it the idea that we are held to a set of expectations by someone or some company.

So, the idea is complete. Jesus taught the message of God's reign in a person's life. We accept God's reign and show it by modeling the behavior asked of us by the various tenets of the message. Our behavior, in turn leads us to our home where God reigns. In that manner, then, we teach as Jesus taught. We know the tenets of the message of God's reign and exude it for others to desire to emulate it.

Block peace

The block I live on is everyone's block. Mine is not special in any way. That's what makes one generation the same as the last or the next. That's what makes one culture the same as the next. People are people. They basically have the same nature—the human nature. But for all the despair I may see on my block, I also see the striving on my block for there to be peace in people's lives. They are decent people seeking to live in harmony with their neighbors. Viva block peace!

The affairs of the block I live on

The neighbors surrounding my house are a motley crew. The people on one side of me live day to day with a menial job in today's society's view. As far as I can tell they have no church affiliation. The lady across the street from them is an old maid. She was moved in by her daughter from out of state. She rarely comes out of her house. One never knows whether she is home or not because she always keeps her car in her garage. She apparently has no religious affiliation. The couple directly across from me are Mormons, very active ones. They are the kindest people you will meet and are hard workers in their yard and in their church. They have tried sharing their faith over the years several times. The people next to them are raising two children. The father is a hard worker and an alcoholic. The son inherited his father's party spirit. The mother is so nice and tries to be sociable with her neighbors. The man next to me is on hospice. His sight left him several years back. I haven't seen him in about 2 years, but I visit with his children when they come to see him. He's Methodist, but has not gone to a church building in the 12 years of my living on this block.

It's quite a state of affairs on this block I live on. People are doing what it takes to stay alive and put food on the table. But, I don't know any of these people very well although we are all nice to each other if the occasional yard visit is the measuring stick. I know the Great Teacher moved around a lot when he taught. He would go through the cities of a region teaching. I don't know how he would have gotten his message out if he had lived in my neighborhood. I do know however, that one of his teachings works in any neighborhood. "Whatever you would like people to do for you is what you should do for them." It has worked in neighborhoods for a couple of thousand years. I don't see it failing now or failing me when I enact it. It's a phenomenal, supernatural teaching.

A decade in the life of ...

"What a difference a year makes" is a common expression. One can imagine what a difference a decade makes. I have lived at my current residence for 12 years. My neighbor to my left housed a couple who were in their 70s. The man there died after 3 years after we moved in. His wife died last spring. Now a whole new family lives there. The man and his wife across the street from them and diagonal to me took care of his wife for 5 years after we moved in. I saw her only once before she died. The man lived in his house for 3 years after that, moved to his daughter's house in another state and died about 2 years after that. Another person lives in that house now, but it stood vacant for at least a year. The people directly across the street had two children at home in high school when we first moved here. They're now long gone and married. The neighbor and his wife on the other side of me have had their share of difficulties. He grew blind within 7 years of our moving here. His mind also has been deteriorating over the last three years. His wife has been making monumental efforts at watching after him. But, she died last week, and he was put in the care of hospice.

Oh! My household? We are not untouched. Both of my kids were in grade school when we moved here. Now both are out of school. My son graduated only to break out with cancer and die at age 19. My daughter has been seeing a phsychiatrist and/or a psychologist ever since. My wife was a practicing alcohlic for all but the last 3 years in this house, but has since lived each day that comes her way as a sober alcoholic. My father died 3 years ago 8 days before my son did after a cognitive illness of 11 months.

And that's just me and the block I live on. Multiply this times about 6 billion people on the earth. What does it take to be the Creator of heaven and earth? I have no idea. But, somehow he shows that he cares about me. He sends encouragements amidst hardships. He inspires determination and commitment. I am thankful that somehow he cares about me and the block I live on. Not in his spare time. And not with just me and my block people. I truly have great respect for the way he handles everybody's business in the whole world. It's supernatural.

On embracing sin

Alexander Pope said that first we abhor sin, then we tolerate it, finally we embrace it. He is talking about how people are influenced by the tainted world around them. I find this to be true for my own walk in life, but it doesn't bother me. I think Pope had the wrong angle on the situation. As a young man, I tended to see the world in black and white. Something was either according to the moral law I had grown up knowing from teenage years or it wasn't. But, I matured and watched carefully how older people in the world behaved. Matters weren't just black or white. Next, I figured that the world was a big place, so I could walk to the beat of my own moral law and not have to hold anyone else responsible for it—just me. Then, I matured and noticed how situations were never according to any moral law. Good situations were nearly always tainted by evil and evil situations nearly always had some noble element about them.

That being true, I realized that striving for some fictitious moral code that no one ever observed was ludicrous. I might as well let life play out. Where I could be the good part of an evil situation, I would be. Where I could act on behalf of good even though a situation was mostly bad, I did. I know to someone looking in it might seem that once upon a time in my youth I abhorred evil and that as I matured I began to tolerate evil, only to finally embrace it. I would rather think as an insider that I finally understood the human condition and the other-worldly principle that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A divine moment captured on earth

I am seeing something tonight that warms the soul. My friend knows someone in trouble. He and his wife's extended families are gathering around this person to show that they still believe in this person, that no one has been discarded. That resonates with every fiber in my core. It's what the Teacher taught. No one has to stand alone and be condemned even if society thinks differently. I cannot think of stronger measures to show the Teacher's message. It's not a parable or words on a page. It's a reality, not a reality show with a script. It's true, unadulterated reality. The Creator of the universe has to be weeping tears of happiness—tears for the trouble the person is in, happiness for the number of people standing behind this person with unfiltered care. I am truly touched.

What I see happening on the human scene tonight and tomorrow morning reflects what will happen in a future, more heavenly scene captured in a statement written at the end of the book Discerning the 7 Sealed Scenes.

"The broken seals reveal God's urgent and emphatic message—broken people proudly exhibiting His mark of ownership and approval. Notably, the broken seals reveal that broken people are not discarded. God's broken people are never discarded! Never! God dresses them in brilliant white robes. That is assured!" (page 70).

Empty sounds

From time to time people tell me that those whose actions have been an impediment to progress have changed and have said that they want to work with the one they have been causing grief to. My first reaction is that their words are deceptive. Words have to have accompanying actions. Otherwise, they are empty sounds in the wind. While it is true that words can be a precursor to good actions, it is usually true that words are mere vapors that dissipate before actions can be put in place. That's why we have the expression in English, "Words are cheap." So when an enemy has a change of heart based on his words, I just laugh. I'll believe it when I see it. Hit me up in a month and tell me the same thing. I'll check the book of actions and see if the words are true.

Desire confused for truth

One matter that irritates me most is the dishonesty that comes when people confuse their desires with the truth. I know a lady who is on her second doctoral level course (she has just started her program). She wants the Ph.D. so badly that she has already signed her name and put Ed.D. following it. But it's not true. She goes around proudly saying, "research says thus and so," but when admonished to produce the research, she can't or doesn't. She doesn't know the research like a doctor would. She recently wanted a particular educational instrument to be purchased for her school district so badly that she sent an email to the powers that be stating that most schools in the US used this instrument. There are precious few pieces of curriculum that most schools in the USA implement, and this instrument is not one of the precious few pieces. Such a lie. It's hard for me to tolerate the above actions and other ones on their own merits, much less when they come from the lips of someone who has the same religious roots I do and still espouses Christian tenets. I would think honesty should be near the top of the list for such a Christian. I have to take action next week because I can no longer understand nor stand for dishonest behavior. I eschew in the most vehement terms expressible the deception of this person who confuses desire with truth. I will take this action next week in the clearest of conscience. I have seen this person's fruit. It doesn't pass muster.

Matthew 7
The Tree and Its Fruit
15"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. 16You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don't pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. 17A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. 19So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.
New Living Translation

Honesty is not always direct

It's interesting to hear people speak when they don't know how to speak double-speak. They say things transparently, but they also don't understand what is being said from when someone uses double-speak on them. That makes them vulnerable. They think language use is for purely straightforward communication.

There's a certain arrogance to that view. They usually are not diplomatic people nor are they people-oriented people. And although directness is sometimes necessary, to be direct always is not the same as being honest always. They're different most of the time. It's an arrogant person who always wants direct communication because they feel that they are always honest. People who know how to be indirect with grace are more the work of beauty than those whose pragmatism stunts their use of indirect language.

From my experience, transparency, directness, pragmatism, and honesty only converge in rare moments. People who want those qualities to merge all the time either get hurt a lot or do not get out much around people. Even the greatest teacher used parables in much of his teaching.

The enemy paradox

Sometimes the enemy is one who is least expected. People get close, learn all they can, and fire away. It's sad, but it happens at times when least needed. The master teacher said to "pray" for such individuals. He doesn't say what to pray for them. If "request" is meant by prayer, then I request that their plans be exposed, thwarted. If "carry on a conversation" is meant by prayer, then I would like to explain my position and ask how in the world that position needs to be brought down or attacked. If "ask a blessing" is meant by prayer, then I simply make that request and leave it in the hands of the judge of all to take action. I'm not in control of my enemies, so I guess I will trust the Maker of those enemies to deal with them justly (and me for that matter).

Matthew 5
43 < 44But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil. 46Why should God reward you if you love only the people who love you? Even the tax collectors do that! 47And if you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! 48 R52 You must be perfect---just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Riveting drama

I guess the thing that I most liked about this weekend was a TV show from My Great Big Obnoxious Fiance. It is supposed to be hilarious for viewers to see how people aren't nearly as committed to making money as they think they are. However, in this episode, the show met its match. The family picked was one that every American family ideally desires. A family that stuck together even in the face of great difficulty. The action of the show was riveting because normal people, not actors, provided the drama of every day life. I think I liked it because, under conditions of great duress, a family did not split apart. It cracked in several places, but it did not come apart. It was a work of beauty. My wish is just that for every family tonight. I know people are working hard so that splits in the fabric do not unravel. I know immense pressure is brought to bear on families. But, my wish is for those families to stand firm tonight.

Walking in a sun basin

This morning I got to see in 3D what every newspaper runs on the front page this time of year after an ice storm. Papers usually run some picture of a tree glistening in ice. My 3D experience this morning was that picture times 100 in its beauty. The park's walking path is ringed in trees which in winter looks pretty bleak since the leaves are all gone from the trees' branches. It was still and quiet. Very little movement by either nature or humans was perceptible. The sun had been up for about 20 minutes. As it shone through the glistening ice waxed onto the trees, the park looked as if it was a part of a sun basin. The brilliance was much brighter than high noon on a summer day. The walk with the Maker this morning was like being in Heaven already. The words spoken there seemed like they lasted a couple of minutes rather than the 20 they actually lasted. What a pleasure to walk in beauty and talk in time suspension.

Dump the childishness

The Creator has built in one of the best ways to perpetuate a value system. Our brains learn through repetition because they build dendrites and create synapses all the way through youth so that our values become "second nature" to us. Although we continue to build dendrites at will in adulthood, it is the "will" part that slows down the process in adulthood.

The problem lies with our will in adulthood. We humans have the capacity and hardwired ability in our brains to continue seeing situations and forming informed repsonses. Instead, we rely on the values in place from childhood. Why should we stop there? I know that a proverb from the Hebrew sacred tradition says that if principles are given when people are young, they will not depart from those principles when old. That is an accurate observation, but it is because lazy people in adulthood depend on the value system formed in their childhoods. That's why cultural differences exist. Some people, to give an example, have been conditioned to burp after a meal in order to show their appreciation for the meal. Other people have been conditioned to burp silently, if at all, because the burp is a show of ill manners. It was a value taught in youth and perpetuated into adulthood.

If the idea of this topic is applied to our sacred traditions, then people get nervous for tampering with something "holy." What I like about the Master Teacher's principles is that they are born from experience or are designed for practical application to situations that change from culture to culture, from one generation to the next. Arguments for the existence of God change from one generation to the next and from one culture to another. Which of the master's teachings to highlight change from one generation to another. Three generations ago, the judgment aspect was highlighted, today the love aspect is.

As a child I learned that "going to church" was important. There was a principle behind that, but the outward manifestation of attending a church service became the value that I put in my system. As an adult, I find that stimulus from life's journey really should allow the information traveling through the synapses formed about sacred traditions to change. Church meeting attendance absolutely has nothing to do with the principles of living according to the One who represented the Creator. Or when I read, "You have heard it to be said that you must not commit adultery, but I tell you not to even think about others in wicked ways," I can see that I am bound to repsect other people's personal space. Otherwise they might see my lack of respect for their space and invite me in, or they might reject me and quit listening to other aspects of my life that are worthy of respect. But how does one teach this understanding of adultery to a child? Of course, it is for adult understanding.

So adults need to continue forming synapses so the message from the Teacher can have a refined understanding, not a childish one. Why do so many adults want the rigid teachings designed for children to last on into adulthood? They're lazy. They don't want to allow life's stimuli to grow new synapses or reroute existing ones. New stimuli causes conflict with some of the manisfestations of childhood values. Familiarity with an idea makes it comfortable. Comfort turns into routine. Routine becomes "second nature," opinions and notions. It is not necessarily accurate or refined adult reality.

So, when my heart speaks to others in honest moments, I wish for them to see adult illumination for the real journey through life, the one that leads us all to our home not seen through our earth-bound eyes.

Viva Bill!

Recently I heard from a man who is 76. I called him. He is half Indian and half white. But he is pretty proud of his Indian heritage. He cares a lot about those on the reservations because he sees it as the main reason for the demise of his people, that and alcohol. So, he is busy contacting chiefs, 4 of which he has had some success, in order to tell them of the message of the Great Teacher. At 76! Now that's impressive. Also at age 76 this is his second year to be learning Biblical Hebrew. Power to him. He is still trying to get at the heart of the message. That's commendable. I can only wish to be as active as he is when I reach his age. He's raised 5 children and still is able to help give money to his grandchildren's college funds. I can only wish to be so generous at his age. In an age when we all need models, I certainly adopt this man as one of mine. Viva Bill!

"The answer is blowing in the wind"

I see all kinds of Christians. Many act in ways that are different from the way I interpret the Bible. I have struggled in the past with this. I know how to be tolerant of others' viewpoints. That's not the struggle. What about the people who decide to come against me in one arena or another other than religion. What about the person who asks me to support him in an election by writing a letter to the editor (which I did) and then turns around about a month and a half later to tell me how offensive my interpretation of prophecy is. To me there is a disparity. Or what about the person who attends a Christian church but decides to ensure that I get no money in the work place as a part of a budget I am supposed to oversee because he wants to see my programs fail. To me there is a disparity.

I don't know what to think about these 2 situations when I read John 3.8.

8 The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

What was the Teacher trying to say? I can't judge others because I can't see their spirits which have been born again? Or I can't tell when God has moved in someone else's spirit since I don't have the big picture? Or I should be able to judge another's spirit if I hear the sound of a spirit?
Or this is a corollary passage to the one Paul writes about the fruits of the spirit because one should see evidence of the blowing of the wind?

In the passage, Nicodemus didn't understand about a second birth. I guess I don't understand either since I think a second birth ought to relate to actions that are consistent with decent intents and motives from those who have the sound of the wind in their lives. In the park in the morning, I will try to feel the wind on my face in hopes that illumination can happen about the "wind passage."

A mere speck of sand

Sometimes we get caught up in living for the moment. I certainly am guilty of that. Then like tonight, I watch a science documentary of the eras of the earth. That makes my puny number of years lived on this earth a grain of sand in comparison. It's hard to imagine the immensity of the universe, the number of years the earth has been around, the number of terrains extant on the plot of land my house sits on, or how many more number of terrains into the future that those alive then will see that I don't. But, what is not hard to imagine is the small impact any single life has. Even the people history has designated as great, really have no impact except in an era that will disappear into oblivion. Who were the great people of 25,000 years ago or 5000 years ago? What criteria made them great? What was their daily life like? What did they think of when they thought of the Creator? Did He communicate with them? How? But even if I knew, I would see the changes in that just like a geologist does the earth or the astromer does the heavens.

So, getting caught up in the moment will probably happen again to me. But, I have plenty of reminders that my space of a speck of sand is not that important. So, I just need to focus on the path in front of me that leads me through my era to another place prepared for me.

No talk of history

I don't know why some people have the need to wallow in bringing up unpleasant past events on a regular basis. I suppose it fills some need or they wouldn't do it. What is the need? Perhaps they need to feel superior in some way. Perhaps they need to feel that they should punish someone else since they themselves perceive that they are suffering some kind of persecution. Maybe it's the willingness to live in misery since they don't deserve better. Maybe the subtle idea that torturing someone else actually feels good is attractive to them.

I realize that revisiting the past can have productive ramifications if continuous improvement is the plan. Or revisiting is good if resolution of something unresolved is being achieved. But to bring the same events up on a regular basis for the same reasons to make the same points seems sadistic or masochistic.

It's like people won't accept the youth changing the language in some regard or another just because of their conditioning to other, more familiar ways. I'm with Bill Parcells. In a press conference before their first playoff game in 3 years, reporters wanted to know why the Cowboys lost 3 of the last 4 games even though they had cinched the playoffs. Parcells told them if they wanted to talk about history, they needed to go to the museum down the street. If they wanted to talk about the playoffs that 20 other teams were not getting to experience, to go ahead with questions. Go Bill. I'm all for making a better future, not bemoaning the past.

Why can't youth change meanings?

I had an interesting conversation a few days ago with a colleague of mine. It was about words. In general, all words are created equal. However, society takes words and assigns meaning to them that suits its needs. It is well known that any or all words could change in a generation's time. So, as I was talking to my friend, the idea that the current young generation (16-26) is "the harshest-talking generation" came up. The word "bitch" was used as an example. It was said that young people use bitch as easily as they drink water. They don't think twice about it. Then I said that that was probably good because that means that the stigma that society had assigned to the word had been overcome. There's some truth to that. I know because familiar words begin to also show up in variant forms. I hear "biatch" about as often as I do "bitch." I also know that the word has broadened its meaning. Men could never have been referred to as bitches. Now men refer to each other as bitches.

It's hard for the older generation to accept changing mores from the younger generation. But on this matter, I think change is good. Why would an old fogie want to go to the grave always assigning taboo meanings to words when they were all created equal in the first place? That is just sheer stubbornness. Why not allow something to change from evil to good for a change, and an overdue, welcome change at that?

Time's up

I'm sure everyone has been asked the answer to a riddle, been given a certain time in which to guess it, and then hears the familiar refrain, "Time's up." The person gives you the answer since you have been stupid enough not to come up with it. Every December 31st I think, "One more year I have looked for the answers to life, and although I may be a tad bit smarter, I am not that much closer to finding the answer. I hear, 'Time's up.'" Then I start another year's search.

The truth is that whenever I find a little of the truth, I know it is just for me. Seldom does it also apply more widely to friends, siblings, children, spouse, relatives, co-workers, or people in organizations. Even those who share the same goals don't actually get the same truth. I have a friend who has been invited to teach a class at a univerisity on the interpretation of the New Testament. We both know that interpretation underlies the value system we have, so we try hard to develop a sound system of interpretation. But we have differences on what "sound" is. He and I even talked at length about and agreed on the validity of the chapter headings and subheadings of the book he will use in the class. But, given enough passages, there will end up too many choices and our interpretations will be different. For example, when authorship of any book of the New Testament is in question, my friend will argue well for a particular author different from mine, usually, and then decide that it doesn't matter who wrote it because the book was canonized. It does matter to me, on the other hand, because certain positions of "doctrine" may not be deemed important if the author is not who he is purported to be.

That's what makes life and truth so illusive. Multiply the number of interpretive choices (sound ones, even) times 300 million people in the US and 7 billion people in the world and the web of truth becomes so entangled. Ultimately, one year will be the final earth year for me, and when I hear "Time's up" that time, I will want my value system to have reflected the principles of decent living that the Creator expected me to learn in the small increments from one year to the next, piecemealed.

I would like to include the first post I wrote on Blogger.com about 2 1/2 years ago. It shows that I haven't come very far in discovering truth.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Convolution

The more the world spins on its axis, the more that everyone is out for him(her)self. The more the truth gets expounded upon, the more truth becomes relative. The more one knows about the people around him (her), the more one becomes comfortable with his(her) own positions in life. No solid ground exists—only a jello surface morphing and dancing beneath one's feet. I think learning to live means learning that jello is tasty even if it is not solid.

posted by Dwordman @ 7:22 PM 0 Comments

Scarless events

My sister-in-law referred to the Xmas for the in-law side of the family as the ADD Xmas. That's because everyone raced through the present opening to watch the football game. Consequently, not all gifts were opened in the sight of everyone. They were held to the privacy of the person's home at a later time.

I don't know how many times I have missed getting to absorb the value of some event in my children's lives because I was off to the next thing on my list. I hope it was often since they are now gone from home. But memories are tricky and I don't know what they might label the ADD event for them for whatever reason.

Fortunately, humans are malleable people and we let our memories guide only what we want them to guide. We all get over miserable events in our lives and move on. Most of the time there is no scarring effect. I hope the New Year brings those scarless events. So be it.

Ravaging sands

I recently communicated with a friend from the remote past. It was good to hear from him. A lot has gone on in his life. Life never leaves us the same after it blows through. He was the epitome of freshness and enthusiasm. He now is ravaged by the sands of time. I would like to say it's sad to see, but I would just be incriminating my own story to say that. So, I will instead say that I empathize with him. I hope he finds the kindness from the Creator that he seeks.

For those who think they know

Words, words, words. So says a Shakespearean character to indicate that someone just said something meaningless. Words in the wind is another expression. Words, however, do allow us to express the emotions and intentions we have in our minds. So, I don't particularly like the two expressions just mentioned.

Last Friday at work there was a debriefing session with a company that wants to fix our department, so I thought I would play a little mind game (word game) with them. I did this to see if they truly can tell about people making up the department just through having training sessions and debriefing sessions. I don't think they are too terribly good at it. At least, over the last 3 months, I think they are tuned in to the wrong speech markers and behavior tags. They'll be back in February. That means I am left to plot against them again. At least I will have a little planning time. This should be fun.

Lining up pictures

I use a camera from time to time to have the great memories in place. I look back on those memories through the snapshot that has been taken only rarely. I wonder why that is sometimes. But that is the subject of another blog.

Today I had an occasion that reminded me so much of looking at pictures of our lives at various stages in life. I have a decision coming up concerning my daughter. I know that that decision will take place over a period of the next 4 weeks and then that particular decision time will be gone forever although its ramifications won't. So, I started down history lane to form a "track record" in my mind to help me make this decision. That is typical of my M.O., but I realize that other people use a different process by which to make decisions. The events that ended up going into that record were pictures that I wanted to destroy or redo. Of course, time is linear, and redoing and destroying are impossible.

I lined up snapshots that I hoped would lead me to a bottom line and then a decision could be made. Well, the bottom line wasn't there. It was smudged, gray, unclear. The snapshots were clear, but adding up snapshots does not include real life. It only adds up moments in time. It doesn't factor in hope or prayer. It doesn't include that I am really not in control of what is best for other people (nor should I be).

There will be a decision made over the next 4 weeks. But, I have no idea what that decision will turn out being. It will only include the pictures in my mind of past events to a less than 50% extent because life is dynamic, not static like memories and pictures. Every time I look at a picture, I remember what happened after that or what resulted after the picture was taken.

That leaves me with a dynamic life-giver leading me through a dynamic life circumstance. I just have to trust that a card will not be misplayed from this hand. If it is, it will cost me in a very important aspect of life for the next 20 years. So, walking in the park over the next 4 weeks will be an interesting proposition. That's when the dynamic life-giver and I get together. I hope to see clearly the path through this life circumstance, just like I clearly see the path in the park every day. May it be so.

Until then

I got to talk of dreams today. They were not shared dreams, however, with the one to whom I talked. That is a shame since I would like for them to have been shared. So, I can see some decisions that I hoped I could avoid ahead on the horizon. But, life is not predictable, and people do not always act as they indicate they will when only in the talking stage. And the One who can invade people's minds with thoughts that they don't have at first is still in the mix. There will be another occasion to talk again of dreams. We'll see how it turns out at that point.

Tunes for refreshment

The music inspired me today. In fact, I can't go long in a day without hearing my inspiring music. It feeds my psyche. It causes me to be grounded. It allows me to think clearly. It urges me to give tribute to whom tribute is due. So, I keep my music in the car and my study so that I can always remember who my maker is. Not that I would forget. But so that I can keep him foremost in my environment. Simply having words in the environment won't cut it. Art and music feed my psyche. So, I try to have plenty of both. Long live the musicians and artists among us.

The broken life

I see brokenness all around me. People I know, including me, have children that have strayed from the straight and narrow. People I know have divorce decrees structured that give their precious children to reprobate parents for weekends and holidays who should never be allowed to be in the presence of children. People I know have back ailments that have dogged them all of their adult lives, but they just live through the pain. People I know have experienced children who have committed suicide at young ages. People I know work themselves to the bone only to go home to ungrateful children who think their parents should be doing more for them. People I know have seen trials of drunken teenagers kill their children and left them with grandchildren to raise. People I know live with spouses who have diseases that have robbed them of earthly vigor - still the commitment to spouse and Creator alike is honored.

Ad infinitum.

All of these people call themselves by the name of the one who died for their forgiveness of sins. All of these people call out to the one who created the heavens and the earth and who decides at times to intervene in human affairs.

My heart aches for all of them and me along with them. Our cries continue to haunt the heavenly realms. It seems they are put into a vault. Not long ago, I wept on the way to work for the sorry human condition I find myself in. I wiped my eye and turned the tear on my finger heavenward, thinking, "Surely you see these tears!"

Hear your broken people. Heal your broken people. Don't discard your broken people. Meet your broken people on their individual paths tomorrow and speak to them, reassure them. The journey home is long.

Succumbing to grace

Rage is what I experienced today. People trying to do jobs at which they were incompetent. People trying to go over other people's heads with supervisors. People trying to get others in trouble. People socializing when work was supposed to be getting done. People wasting time when productivity to meet a tight schedule was needed. All on my watch. Somehow, I will sleep tonight and wake up to return to the same group of people with the same behaviors. Through the night I will hear the refrain, "My grace is sufficient for you." Tomorrow I will start renewed because I can be gracious in return for the grace I receive tonight. A conversation with the Maker of all about 6:30 AM will ensure the day gets off on the right foot. I'll run the above idea by Him at that time, but I think the answer will be, "Freely you have received. Freely give."

Gone in 60 seconds

"You say the nicest things." Of course, it's not the words. It's the attitude behind the words. A person smiles, nods, empathizes. A person visits, calls at the right time, places a card in the mail. It's all about actions and pictures (attitudes). It's not about words. When the words fade, which is about 30 minutes after they are uttered, a person remembers the gesture, the attitude. Words are like dreams. They dissipate, but one remembers the fact that a dream occurred.

Maybe today and tomorrow, I can decide to be pleasant, to have a ready word for someone who will then also decide that I was pleasant toward him or her. That should affect someone positively. I would love it to be so.

Pictures not words

All of us have heard, "Guns don't kill, people do." It's the same with words. They are vehicles. When words are used to malign others, the receiver of the words should not say someone has said thus and so to me. The receiver should say, "Your anger, your hatred has been conveyed adequately." One has to look past the words to the attitude or total message. Then, the proper response on the part of the receiver can formulated. If the response is to duel with the other person in words, it is much like the old-time duels with guns. It's still the people doing the killing, not the guns/words. There are other ways to show anger and hatred besides using words. Body posture is one. Ignoring someone is another. Avoidance is one. Fisticuffs is another. Pulling strings behind someone's back to get the person transferred or reassigned is one. Staring is another. Words are just vehicles. If one uses a thousand words, it's still just worth a picture. So, it's the picture, not the words that are important.

What pictures of others are rumbling around in my head? That guides my actions. Changing pictures changes the words. Not the other way around. My desire in working with others should be to have the right pictures, kind pictures, honest pictures rather than plotting, scheming, malicious pictures. Today I resolve to do so.

Vehicles

A car has no brains. It is the driver that makes the car do what it does. It is the manufacturer that designs the car in the first place that gives a car its magic. Words have no brains either. They are not magic. It is the speaker with an idea that has to use words as a vehicle to express the idea. The idea is magic.

Part 2 later.

Spin doctor

In writing, people always have a choice of words. That means that the choices made truly represent what is on someone's mind. This is generally true of speech although it is somewhat more complicated. This makes email a great medium to analyze. It's the written word, so it really does reflect one's thinking. It takes a clever person to put spin on a message. That's because it takes time to massage words to communicate something other than what is on someone's mind. So, next time you want to put a mask on the words you write, just spend a little more time than it takes to empty your mind of its first round of word choices. Massage, massage, massage—presto, spin happens. Congratulations.

Wisdom of not knowing

I don't know what it is like to live to 100. But, this weekend my grandmother turned 100, so we had a big party for her. All of her extended family with the exception of 2 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and 1 great, great grandchild gathered to honor her. People came from California and Arkansas and all points around Texas. Grandmother tired after about an hour, so she went back to her apartment. Then she came back for another two-hour round of eating and gift-giving before retiring for the night.

At the end of the party, I went over to her and said that I thought she would mention why she had lived so long. I was looking for something profound, some advice to follow. But, her answer was, "I don't know."

And that's about the truth for many aspects of life. She was wise enough to admit it. I think I need to be looking at certain aspects of life and admitting my absolute failure to be able to analyze them accurately. "I don't know" needs to be a more recurring refrain from my lips. I need to look at a circumstance and admit, "I didn't create it. I don't understand it. I don't control it. Not even close. Don't even try." So be it.

The quietest man

I work around the corner from a health insurance man. He is very quiet. Most days I don't even know whether he is at work or not. He exchanges greetings if I happen to see him on the elevator or in the bathroom, but that is rare.

This week it was time for my annual review for health insurance, so I went to see this very quiet man. We talked about my current needs an updates. And, of course, no talk with an insurance man happens without talk of death and dying—thus the need for life insurance. I guess he thought I was a little distraught with the talk of death and dying, so he mentioned that death doesn't really matter for those who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It was very naturally spoken by him, it's just that I wasn't expecting that statement from him, the quietest man on earth.

So, I am thankful today that I live in a world in which many around me, whether I know it or not, have a faith that will lead them home one of these days. Once in a while, it looks as if evil is actually overcoming good. Then I run into these quiet people. It always surprises. But, it also always encourages me.

This Thanksgiving I am encouraged that this world has many representatives of the next world all around me.

Noticing a turn of events

I am wondering now what will happen. 6 weeks ago the One who disturbs his people's sleep did so and led me to a book I had not read in a number of years. It was about apocalyptic literature. I accepted the ensuing events over the last six weeks in light of the intensity of oppression that is reflected in this genre of literature. And it has been intense at work. I have prayed for a certain enemy, but as is the case with enemies, they don't relent. I have worked 10-16 hour days to survive in this environment. Still nothing has changed.

But as is also true of apocalypses, there is an end to the oppression. The Weaver of Events wins and works His will. The last two days have seen a turning point. Finally, the one human who can rid the enemy of his ungodly work has been made aware of certain obstacles (placed in the way by this evil minion) that have been unnecessary and unreasoned. In time, the One who weaves to win will get the recognition he deserves for the capitulation of one who belongs to His enemy. I will sing that praise in advance through this blog. I say "Thank you" and hope it echoes through the divine quarters.

This for that

There sometimes seems to be a unity in life that allows for compensation, a quid pro quo system. It seems that if one experiences good, then bad follows or if one has a particularly bad experience, then a particularly good experience follows. One such case of this happens the Friday after Thanksgiving. My maternal grandmother turns 100. What an achievement. On the other hand, I never knew my paternal grandmother. She died when my father was around 10. Another such case is that my son departed for another world at an early age. Immediately on the heels of departure, The One who compensates led me straight into a job I had tried for over a 10-year period of time. It was just in a different town from the one I had lived in for a long time.

Call it irony, maybe even cruel justice. I don't understand the compensation fully. It just seems to exist. I don't think there is an answer in the sacred book or an equivalent observation in it. It doesn't seem to be related at all to the sow-reap principle. So, I just accept it when it happens and log in one more observation.

Inside the storm

I work in the midst of a stormy environment. Everyday I see evil wax and wane against good. Somedays corruption wins the day. Other times, integrity wins the day. So, a storm rages. I frequently remember this saying:

Sometimes God calms the storm.
But sometimes God lets the storm rage
and calms His child.

So, after a particularly nasty storm last night, The Calmer of spirits came today to do just that. Tonight my spirit rests.

One day this, the next day that

What happened?
One day I was trucking down life with hope in one hand and zest in the other.
What happened?
The next day the life-partner took a different track in life and I lost the hand of hope.
What happened?
The next day the son of my loins departed this life for the next and I lost the hand of zest.
What happened?
One day I realized that this world highlights life's arrows and darts, and I lose unless someone is waiting on the other side and is actively guiding me home. Zest and hope are restored.


John 1
11He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him. 12Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children.

On people and dens

I don't really know anymore what society wants out of people. Somebody gripes about something or someone, it seems, all the time. If you make accommodations for someone, a larger group gets mad or starts to question. If someone sees someone else get to do something that (s)he doesn't get to do, petty jealousy sets in. People decide not to get along for a variety of reasons. Politics is disgusting, but we are all forced to play it. So, we're all left with doing what suits us. So, when the Master Teacher decided to clear out the temple for some of the same reasons I just mentioned, I guess he had reached his limit. I think I am at mine too. And I think everyday that I could say when I go to work, "You have made my father's house of prayer into a den of thieves." Father help us all.

My hearing has improved

Listening to voices that don't come through the space continuum of our 3D world is an art not a science. Mainly because it deals with belief. One has to believe actually that the Creator not only creates but also "speaks" so that He can be understood. Thus, in my personal odyssey through this life, I have had to learn to decipher the "voice" that can be heard.

In my younger years, I heard nothing. Then again, I uttered prayers, but they didn't merit an "answer" to them most of the time. They consisted of thanks and help me. But ever since The One Who Showed No Mighty Rivers to me liberated me from the chains of organized religion, I have had experiences that "spoke" to my mind and intersected with circumstances that I had nothing to do with.

So, listening these days does not mean that my ears have audible sounds that stike the ear drum. It means that I have learned to see trademarks on experiences, mind impressions, visual scenes, dreams, disturbed sleep, and I'm sure another "sound" or two that are left off this list. Oh, they don't happen daily. Sometimes weeks go by. Sometimes perspective comes after a couple of years. Sometimes, inspirations happen in retrospect of a decade. Sometimes encouragements come every few days. But, that is the way it was designed. I am an adult child and I'm not living at home. So, when my father visits, he leaves a little of himself behind. He communicates in the most pleasant of ways and occasionally in the most troubling of ways.

It made such a difference when I finally understood the Son of Man's words when he said that he was returning to his father, but that he would leave someone else with us who would stand beside us and that this other person would guide us to a more complete understanding.

Thanks to him I understand "voices" when I hear/sense them.

What I'm left with

This was one of those mornings which happened just like I wanted it to. I got up, walked, ate breakfast, went to a study, ate lunch, watched a ball game, etc. So, why is it at the end of the day (literally) that I feel as if I missed something today.

I think it is that I am expecting that the One who leads will lead me to something/someone that will slake my thirst for wanting to see what is in the other dimension. That does happen on occasion. I guess I want to see it on a more frequent basis. So, I'm left with trusting.

That's all anyone is ever left with. And the Master Teacher's main saying about the after-life is about trusting: "You trust God. Trust me as well... I am going to prepare a place for you." So, I'm left with trusting.

I'm not buying it

I think I need to take a page out of the history of the earth. The earth was hot at first, then cooled. As it did, life began to flourish on the earth. First it was in the sea; then came the flying creatures, then the huge reptiles. They disappeared. Next came several species of humans, the last of which was the species that modern people resemble. Over that period of time the earth continued to change. It went through periods of ice over much of the earth and through periods of heat and drought. Once a volcano erupted that nearly caused the human race to go extinct.

All that to say that sometimes we have to depart from childhood ideas and ideals. Circumstances around a person change. Sometimes huge changes take place that cause the world to "be a different place." A person, for example, who became an adult in 1930 went through so much change during the 20th century that his or her childhood didn't even resemble the childhood of his or her grandchildren. It was a different world!

And although it is the popular idea that the One who made the world and everything in it never changes, there's something about the history of the earth and the world that I was born into and that I will exit that tells me a different story. And I wish that the children of the Creator would allow God to deal with each of his children in the generation in which he was born instead of always trying to figure out the grand design and saying that they have captured God in some design that they have concocted. Or that the way the Creator dealt with his children of the ancient past is the way in which he deals with His current children. I'm not buying it (if it is for sale anywhere).

Subtlety

I was expecting something different. I wanted to see fire from heaven burning the sacrifice on the altar. I got taking the men to the river to see who wants to lap water like dogs so that they could remain in the army.

I guess it doesn't really matter what the manifestation was. The One who leads in a variety of ways knows which way fits the occasion. I was disappointed. But, He didn't focus on my expectations. He simply came and went in the hearts of each participant without the trumpet's flourish. I was a little vengeful in what I expected and wanted. But subtlety was the fare for the day. I have to trust that the One who leads His children home helped each participant grow from something almost so subtle that I missed it. But, I am not in control.

Anticipation of God's main business

Tomorrow will be a special day. 6 people will be meeting in order to heal some of the splits that have happened to them over a 2 1/2 year period. 5 of these people have worked together for this period of time. 1 person has been a member of the team for only 4 months. Words have been exchanged and attitudes have been exhibited that have split the group in its desire to work together.

What is touching is that God shows up for meetings where reconciliation is the main theme. He's the precipitator of such meetings, the sustainer of graciousness during such meetings, the center of any progress in human relationships.

So, I look forward to tomorrow's meeting. I know the One Who Mends will show up. He will heal. He'll guide. 5 people will enjoy camaraderie again. A 6th person will join the bonding experience.

Appreciating a gift

The language of Neanderthals could not have been too sophisticated. It resembled more what chimpanzees have been able to accomplish since the muscles allowing for speech (attaching the jaw to the temple area) were not placed in the same position as modern homosapiens. However, that does not mean Neanderthals did not have a communication system set up.

But, what good does language do if its generators use speech to destroy instead of advance a good cause. So, it causes me to pause on the Son of Man's words, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." It's not a statement about sophistication of communication. It's a statement about the use of speech. Since it is a gift to homosapiens, its use should be prized. No other creature in the animal kingdom can be justified or condemned by its use of words.

Communication war

So much of the job entails communication with others. It's almost like a war every day. Some of the battles in the war are lost; others are won. Those lost cause a great deal of time in validating why the battle was lost. The wins are simple and create no time in validation. Usually a battle is won. But the lost ones require so much time, one would think that is all that happens in a day's time. So, talk is not cheap. Winning communcation isn't cheap. A lot of it has to happen for progress to be made. Losing communication is not cheap because so much backtracking takes place. Talk is prevalent, but not cheap.

Spirit over vehicle

I had a good conversation today about uniformity. The particular item of discussion was whether or not a particular reading method should be used throughout the whole school district of the city I work in.

I hate uniformity. But I love zeal. No matter what method a teacher uses, if she teaches with zeal, the children in her class learn. We need to make sure that a teacher teaches with zeal rather than monitor what method (s)he uses.

It seems that with any business, the matters of a person's spirit are infinitely more important than the vehicle a person's spirit is required to fit inside. There's not a one-size-fits-all vehicle. People's spirits drive beauty or terror in whatever capacity they may find themselves.

Poised position

"Poised" is a position I desire to be in. I don't know too much about this position. But, I do ask the One who would like to use people to poise me in the right positions for His use. I guess He will use me when the right time comes. I don't always know if my position is poised or not for Him to use. But, I guess he will let me know when He's ready. In the meantime, I wait in position.

Memory Maker

Memories are what we are left with when a person leaves our presence. If we write those memories down for posterity to read, then we help others have a memory even though presence never occurred. Church history is replete with creating memories for us all even though none of us alive today lived with these former great people. Polycarp is my favorite. He seemed to have had awesome presence with the early Christians.

The story of how he died a martyr's death is inspiring. It has created an indelible memory in my mind. It helps get me through hard times. It's a story of commitment in the face of the ultimate sacrifice. That allows me to hang on to my commitment when I least want to carry on with commitments I have made. So, I thank the greatest Memory Maker of them all for perpetuating Polycarp's memory much past his hour of presence on the earth. It has helped me to stay on the path home.

A second note about spiritual language acquisition

ghoti

This is always a favorite example of phoneticians when they began explaining the sound system of English. The word above is pronounced "fish." How, you say? gh=f as in enough; o=i as in women; ti=sh as in imagination. Sleight of hand to be sure. But the example allows for discussion leading to establishing spelling rules in the English language.

So, would there be equivalent rules of spelling or pronunciation in the spiritual language code? For example, if a spiritual event happened for someone else, would it be safe to transfer that principle for myself if my circumstances are different? Or would that be like selecting gh to sound as an f at the beginning of a word. Or what about some of the cultural comments that Paul makes? Is the thinking today that a woman's hair is her glory? Perhaps a woman's brain is her glory today or her class status or her ability to cook delicious food or any number of things. Or what about the application of Old Testament ideas to the modern scene? Because Hezekiah received 15 more years for his life, does that mean we also can negotiate with our Maker? Because the last book of Daniel is a book written in 164 BC using a former Jewish hero and having him "interpret" visions that applied to the oppressive times of Antiochus Epiphanes, does that mean that the modern person should be looking for some kind of modern application of the book (usually explained by religious people as a prophecy for modern times)?

Problems learning how to read the English language have come to be known as dyslexia. It's a correctable condition. I'm wondering if compensation for dyslexics needs to happen in the world of spiritual reading as well. Biblical scholars abound. Maybe they could help us learn something about spiritual reading.

Is there a vote for spiritual reading?

Language acquisition of any kind is interesting to me whether it be 1st lanugage acquisition, 2nd language acquisition or written language acquisition. In several different forums lately I have been informed of steps to written language acquisition or reading. The steps are phonemic awareness, sound/letter correlation, oral fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These are truly needed ingredients in order to read well.

So, I started thinking about acquisition to other "codes." What if there is a language of reading messages from the other (spiritual) dimension. What ingredients would that entail? Probably the same ones. One would have to be aware of the "sounds" of the new language. I suppose that would mean that a person is aware of the basics of God's hand in an event. Next would be the idea that God's actions are correlated somehow to our own. Next would be the act of seeing God's hand in action over and over. One would have to learn how to articulate new and old events well enough for others to understand it. And finally, one would fully comprehend God's actions in his own life and sometimes in the lives of others.

Maybe reading the other dimension's language with fluency is the same as wisdom. Maybe experience is a synonym for it. I don't know for sure. But, it's nice to know that there many, many fluent readers among us and that they can teach others how to read well. Perhaps, accepting the notion of a Creator is the step to be in a beginning reading group. And I am sure that he has much more success at teaching reading than the public schools. And I am pretty sure that he evaluates our ability from time to time. Thus, language acquisition and being a Christian in the world are synonymous.

Revealing what's inside

Being a linguist is the best job in the world. That's because analyzing speech is so fun. The Master Teacher said that people speak from the repostiory of the heart. That's the whole basis for any analysis I do. And it is so interesting to hear what is in people's hearts. Just today I heard someone making a derogatory comment about someone else because of regional vocabulary and pronunciation. I heard a presenter at a workshop make a plea/sales pitch for something she believed in strongly. Yet another person made some remarks in order to be positive about a situation that is irritating her to death. I had many more encounters than these but these serve to show that people's hearts are being exposed at every turn.

The derogatory comment was made to show the superiority of the individual. She needed the boost of herself. The presenter was proud of herself for fooling her audience with a little semantic witchcraft. She was blowing smoke because people allowed her to redifine some key educational concepts so that they could see their own goals more clearly (according to the redefined concept of education). She needed the job security. The last person was hurting over a situation and didn't want it to drag her down although she was spending more time on the matter than she wanted to.

I did reply to 2 out of 3 of these people to let them know that I knew what was on their hearts. The other person wasn't seeking a response, but charlatans never are. Words are dead give-aways to people and their thoughts. It's so fun. I guess the Master Teacher thought so too since he commented on it. There's a responsible side to this job too. But that's another blog's worth of words.

Say what is meant

I hear people speak many times, but just as many times, I hear reports of what people speak. It's not the same thing because I know that when speech is reported, that the teller only relates the gist of what was said through his or her own filter. I reacted to a statement of reported speech today. That's always a little perilous. But I knew I had to send a warning message of what I hoped was not said. I figured that if the teller had changed the wording, that she would get the message that I thought she had a poor choice of words. If the teller was accurate in the reporting, then the person she needed to carry the message back to would get the message of not being in denial, but accepting the results of her actions. Either way, I wanted to get a message across.

People don't expect that kind of reaction from me usually. They just think I need to listen to their version of a story. So, when I say something in order to send a message, they many times think that I am not a fair listener. But, since they are not expecting the response of getting a message about the report they just made, they make quick judgments about my reaction. In the end, it is a miscalculation on the part of those reporting someone else's speech. They find out that they need to choose accurate wording. But, that is the key to clear and concise communication.

To Him who is out ahead of me

I was called last Friday about a meeting that was to take place today. The one who informed me to prepare for the meeting, told me how vicious the people were who instigated the meeting. So, I was "loaded for bear."

The rest of the story reminds me of some of the fights that the Old Testament records that Joshua was called into. The battle lines had been drawn. The armies showed up, but God had laid all the groundwork and the Israelites routed their enemies. The Jericho takeover is a good example of this kind of story.

So, I showed up for my meeting. The person who had called the meeting was extremely nice. The people vicious people who instigated the meeting were equally as nice. They posed their questions, but accepted the answers. A resolution was made before the meeting's end. A more amiable meeting probably has not been held in this place. For a flash of a second, it seemed as if the groundwork for the meeting had already been laid.

In the old days of my youth, I would have let that flash of a thought go and looked for more earthly reasons for the meeting to have gone smoothly. But, these days, I pay attention to the flash of a thought. Of course, the groundwork had been laid. It seems that earlier in my life I had chosen to close my eyes to a recurring theme. Abram had the groundwork laid for him when he took his only son to the mountain to sacrifice. Isaac had the groundwork laid for him when he went back to his homeland to choose a wife. Jacob recognized the groundwork done for him before he met Esau. Moses knew that the pillar of fire was there to go before him into the wilderness. Joshua only had to march around walls for them to collapse. Jehoshaphat knew that someone had leveled the playing field for him before fighting one of his local enemies. Gideon conquered a huge army with only a handful of men because of the work ahead of time done for him. Even the Son of Man had someone who went before him to prepare his way.

So, call it scales falling from the eyes or something, but today I was supposed to have been led into a lion's den. I could not help but notice that someone was in the pit with me who had shut the lions' mouths. So, I say thank you to the One who goes before me on the way.

Trusting souls and sacred books

Once upon a time there was a book made that was added to over the centuries by people who lived over an 800-year period of time. It was considered sacred. After that 800-year period of time, a few other pieces of literature were added to it, but not many. Then, an event happened that divided history. It was reported that the Creator sent His son to earth to express His opinion about how life should be lived. Then a whole new sacred book was compiled that included the teachings of this son and how those principles were to be worked out in the culture.

I'm wondering why the sacred book was closed. One of the teachings of the son was that the Creator had put inside every trusting soul a conscience that would reflect the teachings. That's why the book should be added to continually. His spirit is not a retired author. Some modern people have been gifted to write. But, their books aren't sacred according to most of the trusting souls in the world. I think we ought to open the book and add some of the journeys of the modern trusting souls. They are equally as inspiring as some of the old stories.

I also think that if the book had not been closed, the bickering about meanings of certain of the sacred writings would have not continued at the level it is today. People would have accepted other writings from their own culture to argue about. Nonetheless, I think the Creator sent His son in order for people to just be inspired to live decent, honest, lives of integrity. And there are plenty of those stories if people would just notice or listen. I pay a lot more attention to the living spirit in people these days than to much debated passages from ancient texts, unless it would be to the teachings of the Creator's son. Then, this trusting soul is all ears.

In this world

The politics at the office are harsh and growing harsher. Scandals are breaking loose in Washington. Young people are being killed in public schools. A wall will be erected to keep our southern neighbors out if voted so by the congress. Terrorists are daily trying to enter our country to wreak havoc. Once a week I pass a wreck on the way to work. And in nearly every quarter destruction and wickedness seem to gain another inch of territory.

But, I walked in the park tonight in safety. My stomach is full. I can go to work from a house in which I slept comfortably. The moon outside is so full and bright and vibrant like its Maker. The earth is rotating on its axis. My son is in the safekeeping of my Father.

John 17
14I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. 17Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth.

Divergent paths

Sometimes I think about my daughter's life. It has been so-o-o different from the one I lived at her age. I think about her childhood and see that she had a very different personality from mine. I consider her parents and see that they were so different from mine. I think of her brother and see that he was so different from my siblings. So, what should I expect? That she should be made in my image? She shares DNA, but she is still so different.

So, when I consider her future, I should see that it would be very different from the life that I have lived. But I don't. I wanted it to be different from what it is. I just want her to join me in the next life. But I guess the Maker of each person's path home is different. That's why I am left only to pray. I can't really guide her home. Her path is so different that I don't know what is ahead on her path. I merely make a request of her path Creator: Whatever is on her path home, let her see it clearly and act on it timely. Please make it so.

In need of earmarks

The day was hectic. About half of what should have been done got done. Time ran out. In the middle of the day, when it was apparent that not all would get done, I took a trip to a small outdoor walking park that is filled with pine trees and flowers. It's a sanctuary because it has all the earmarks of the Creator there - life, beauty, tranquility. I needed all 3 qualities today. The scene immediately calmed me - that's what the Creator of tranquil moments does best. Amidst the storm, a calm energy settled my spirit so that the rest of the day went smoothly for me, mentally at least. I was saved yet again from getting off the path that leads home.

Not breaking faith

Sometimes my sleep is disturbed with waking hours. This happens rarely. But, when it happens, I nearly always know that God is asking me to do something for him. I usually begin by praying, and if that is not what I find that He wants, then I read, thinking that my eyes will read what is needed for me to act upon.

Well, that happened the other night. The reading part is what God led me to. Prayer was not what God was asking for. But my reading was about apocalyptic literature. And not about Bible apocalypses, but the pseudapigraphical ones. Of course, apocalypses were written in times of oppression to let the believers know that if they did not lose faith, God would act.

At my workplace, oppression of the sort that pits good against evil is running rampant. So, God wanted me to just let my immediate supervisor know that God would act if she would just keep faith that He would act. She's a little impatient. But, God will do the acting because he hates evil more than we humans do. And when He acts... just reference the Elijah vs. Prophets of Baal story. Vintage God.

Hallelujah

While attending Oklahoma Christian College as a fresman, I heard a rumor around campus that a professor couldn't teach there unless he or she signed a statement acknowldging that the 1st 11 chapters of Genesis were literal. I didn't understand the ramifications of signing such a statement because I was just out of high school. And truly, I couldn't believe that someone could believe some other way than the literal interpretation of the 1st 11 chapters of Genesis.

By the time I was in my late 20s, I was hearing and reading about a flood story that the Sumerians had written that predated the Genesis material. It was at that point that I began doing timelines and reading archaeological and historical books about the ancient time periods. Then, I understood the dating of the Biblical books much better. During my 30s then, I had to come to a different understanding of the Bible. I also encountered a very different way of knowing how the Bible itself was put together through a theory called JEPD, after the names for God and the priestly ways of preserving the law. After translating a number of books of the New Testament, gaining a perspective of the influence of manuscript traditions, and discovering linguistic principles about the multiple meanings of words, I had to shift away from the literal interpretation of the Bible.

I went through my 40s learning more and continually shifting and shifting away from ideas such as inspiration of the Bible if it meant, as I had been trained as a youth, God's actual thinking through the hands of the humans involved in penning the books. I was finally able to see that if Genesis had been written around 1300 BCE and the Sumerian flood story had been written about 3000BCE, then it appeared that at the very least, the Hebrews had been transmitting stories from one generation to the next for 1000 years. About 1/2 way through that time span, Abram migrated from Sumeria (at least from the upper Mesopotamian area). God revealed himself to Abram, so the name of the maker of the flood and the causes were different, but the other details had been left intact. I finally understood what Oklahoma University had asked their professors to declare. By this time in my life, I also knew that I would never have been able to sign such a declaration. Even the Garden of Eden stories now had Sumerian prototypes. The names for God were different, but much of the story had been left as the Hebrews presented it hundreds of years later.

Just recently I ran across some information in a documentary that served as a crowning proof that any of the great stories of the Bible had literal value. The Garden of Eden was the topic of the documentary. It was interesting and plausible. But with 10 minutes left in the program, the editors of the program mentioned the keribda (cherubim) of the Garden. As it turns out, Keribda guard cities and important places in the ancient Mesopotamian area. They were winged creatures with the face of a wolf or dog, much like the Greek griffins. When Adam had been driven from the Garden, according to the Bible, Cherubim had been placed at the entrance to the garden so that Adam could not reenter it. Yet again, the Bible has its roots in some fanciful tales of the ancient Sumerians.

This information caused no surprise or stir for me. I had long ago given up the literal understanding of anything in the 1st 11 chapters of Genesis and maybe for Genesis itself. Many people see this stance as heretical. Some see it as just a misjudgment on my part. Others hope that this understanding is a phase in my life. What it has done is to liberate me from bibliolatry, worship of the Book. What it has done is to allow me to see the Old Testament more as a human record of humanity's attempt to worship a deity. What it has done is to show me the authentic, unique nature of Jesus, God's son, against a backdrop of human attempts to worship God. What it has done is to drive me closer to the presence of a modern, real, active God- a God not based or bound by tradition or by book(Bible) reading. My faith is much more vibrant now than it ever would have been. Hallelujah!

Oh yeah, the average day

I saw the horoscope today. It says I will have an average day. Ha. I have no idea what the average would be in a day. Every day's activities are different. People's reactions are different. People's moods and mine too are different. Events around town are different. When people depart from this life, leaving me without their company, my mindset is different. I can't even average my days over a long period of time because the seasons of life make my experience level in life different. Fortunately, the Maker of the stars gave us a book that records his interactions with humans rather than a book of the alignment of the planets. Oh, I'll go through my day all right, but average it will not be. Interacting with the Creator's creation it will be. As it always will be.

When the Accuser momentarily wins

It is sobering to notice when a brother or sister falls prey to the temptations of the Accuser because he no longer just accuses, he becomes correct in his accusations. There's always forgiveness, but contrition on the part of the Christian needs to come first. My heart feels for a sister right now who doesn't know yet that she is about to prove the Accuser right. My heart aches for her, but hopes that she will see the Forgiver and return instead of driving herself away. Please make it so.

Know thyself

I noticed today that some very educated people made some very ungrammatical statements. Fortunately, they were not trying to teach grammar. But they were presenting a program and representing a university. They were trying to gain the trust of the group I was a part of. I also noticed that the ungrammatical parts of their speech came at the same spot every time. That just means that the region or era or both that we grew up in marks us.

I know what marks speech, but I wonder what other areas of life leave their marks all over us. Probably childhood environment. Probably beliefs of parents and personalities of siblings. Probably the friends we chose. Ad infinitum. No wonder that adults are referred to as products of their environments.

I wish figuring out life were as simple as identifying what we are marked by. This identification is definitely a starting place in the journey of knowing ourselves. The next step is to know how we fit the bigger picture. That's another blog, though.

Let them rail

I got a dose of other people's realities today. Their reality was certainly not mine. My reality is always more positive than negative. Only one time in my life has that been different. But today I got to see other people's very negative realities. I guess they felt trapped or passed over or something limiting. They expressed pent up rage. They were trying to place blame on someone other than themselves.

But opinions are not facts. Facts can be evidenced; opinions are unsubstantiated notions. All the railing today took place after a scan of some data - cold, hard facts. The people should have stuck with the story the data was telling. Instead, they chose to ignore the facts. So, I choose to ignore their notions.

There will be no mighty river

The trip was drawing to a close. It had been fun. But the One who had made the rough, majestic mountains had not made Himself known yet. So, I took a hike down through the forest to a place where two rivers made their trails. One river roared down its course. Its white water splashed over immense rocks and boulders and occasional miniature waterfalls. Its thunderous sound carried a great distance from its banks. Its mist sprayed all those walking along its banks. The other river was small. "Stream" was a more appropos description. A person could jump it with one bound. Its sound was mostly blocked by the constant roar of the mightier river just 30 yards from it, but in the places where its trickle could be heard, it sounded like a large but continuous drip.

It was merely a last scene before the end of a weekend trip. Yet the message it carried let me know that the Maker of the two rivers' majesty just showed up. The message was enigmatically given, mirroring the cryptic messages given at the oracle of Delphi 2500 years before this scene. As time passed the message of this scene lingered and worked itself in my life.

But, it was this same scene two years later that impacted my life more immediately. I had come to the mighty riveronce again, but no roar could be heard, no splashing water over rocks, no mist on the skin. A drought had hit the region. Not a drop of water rolled down the mighty river's path. But the little stream 30 yards away was still trickling down the slope. Its banks were lush with green grass and flowers And its tiny sound was magnified in the silence of the forest.

The tiny sound, however, spoke a message so clearly and loudly. My aims had always been to follow religious teaching within an institution and to climb its hierarchical ladder to the top. But the One who had created my soul also created a scene for me to let me know that from this point on in my life the mighty river of religion in my life was not yielding a drop of water. It had dried up. There was no life in my ambitions. If I would just notice the real river of life, tiny in size comparison, yet much fuller in life, then I could know the one who gives life much better. He alone would sustain me without all the flash and glitz that religiosity might provide me.

It was not the message I wanted to hear, but it was the one I received. It has been true ever since I saw the scene. But, my sustenance has been continually supplied through the years by the giver of life and the teachings of the one who represented the creator of heaven and earth. I have learned that majesty of religiosity is not the path God placed me on. Instead, I learned that a simple trust in the small river of life has all the sustenance (and surprises) I need.

So be it.

Bottom of the barrel

I ponder from time to time what some of the master teacher's words meant. The beatitudes begin with (depending on the version one uses) "Blessed are the poor in spirit." When I first learned the Greek language, I thought it was neat to explore some of the meanings of words in the original such as, "How fortunate are the beggars in spirit."

But, trying to put either the idea of "blessed" or "poor" into something understandable has proven to be a challenge over the years. The word for "blessed" is a challenge in itself. Then the phrase "beggars in spirit" has multiple meanings depending on one's view of the time period. I wish I could definitively come to a conclusion about this saying. But, I can see that my lifetime is too short for a definitive conclusion.

Tonight I came close, I think, to the idea of this beatitude. It was in a group setting in which I usually have something to offer. But, the chat that went on at the beginning of the group time took my mind down a melancholic path. So, I had nothing to offer. As much as I may have wanted to offer something, my mouth was muted, and I listened mainly. I don't think I gained great insight from listening. The nature of the comments didn't pertain to issues needing great insight. The group discussion centered on a topic I was disinterested in. My inner person was impoverished. And as I understand "blessed," it would have something to do with being honorable or having integrity. So tonight I experienced the honor of feeling impoverished. Now I think I know what the bottom of the barrel looks like as far as it depends on me to do anything for myself or understand my own life.

The first beatitude was suddenly my reality. It was a weird place to be in. But, since I wasn't able to look to myself or anyone else for insight or understanding, the only place left to turn was to heaven. And that is exactly how the beatitude ends.

How honorable for you when you finally discover that you have an impoverished spirit because it is then that you will find/understand heaven. Jesus

Waiting on the Master Mathematician

I think the one who offers serendipitous moments did so yesterday. I had been praying for a certain enemy of right to be exposed to the one who could do something to rid the evil. After talking to someone about a related matter, this enemy's name was brought up and the person said that a certain distance had been created. I said that that was an answered prayer because it allowed more objectivity for the person who could rid this evil. Perhaps seeing with more objectivity would spur the action that needed to happen.

All of this cryptic language to say that the Master Mathematician can still cause 2 to be added to 2 to get 4 by allowing for circumstances to develop in the mind of the right person to get what the human equation is all about.

Relief with trepidation

Today I was privy to watching someone face his future being mapped for him. I have often wondered what that would be like. Of course, I was thinking of a fortune-teller mapping out the future or some religious so-called prophet engimatically telling what would happen. But, this sight today was directed and specific. The person watching his own future mapped stood there with two airs about him. One was relief mixed with trepidation. The other was courage to trust in a system that might fail him. The relief was evident by the confidence in the voice that the right decision had been made to put his fate in the hands of a single person. The trepidation involved the uncertainty that comes when you hope that circumstances will dictate something better than what you deserve, but you don't know for sure that the person holding your fate agrees that you don't deserve worse. The courage was evidenced by trusting the one who is your main advice giver. You hope against hope that the advice is sound.

So, I briefly had a chance to reflect on my own future for a moment having been taught by the scene I had just taken in. How much trust do I put in the one who holds my future? Is it mixed with courage? How much trepidation do I have when trying to see down the path a ways? Is it mixed with the relief that I have done the right, true, and honest thing?

So, I ask the One who holds my future to help me be poised to act honestly, to cherish right, and to be true to the CEO I serve on earth and to the One who spoke often of His father to earthly audiences a few years ago on the historical timeline. And I say ditto for the person who showed me courageous trepidation this very day.

Not courage, just trust

I went to a funeral today. The secretary's mother died at age 63. After the funeral one of the men riding with me said that he hated funerals. He hated death and admitted being scared of death. He' s still in his 20s.

One of my favorite songs was written 20 years ago by a group named Harvest. It was about Jesus conquering death. The line in the song that I still remember was, "He stared at sin and conquered death and now I'm a mountain climber." I liked the song because I admired the tenacity and sheer courage it takes to stare at sin and conquer death. I was in my early 30s when the song was popular.

Since that time, many around me that I knew have died, not the least of which were my father and son 8 days apart. Most recently my aunt died. But through those experiences, I have found that a person doesn't have tenacity nor courage to stare at sin and conquer death. Nor is it a matter to be frightened about. A person simply stares death in the face and trusts that the unknown parts of the actual crossing from one life to the other is handled appropriately by the one who hides those parts from us all. No courage really. Just simple trust in the capability of the creator of the life here and there to smoothly transport us from one side to the other. No tenacity, just trust.

"In my father's compund are many houses, many rooms. If it weren't so, I wouldn't have told you that it was. I am going to prepare this place for you." Jesus

Blessed are the merciful

I heard something today that made me think twice about my relationship with other people. What I heard today was not from someone talking about relationships with others so much as it was about requesting a prayer. The request was for me to pray for mercy. This is a prayer I am very familiar with since I have requested mercy for myself on a number of occasions. But I am much too hard on people I am around. And as far as I know, God always answers prayers for mercy when it comes from a contrite heart leading to a change in behavior. So I need to be more merciful. Thank you to the person requesting that prayer. May the Grantor of mercy be generous to him for it has certainly reminded me of a principle in life that I need to reconsider.

A little knowledge

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,
Drink deep, therefore, or taste not Pierian Spring,
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
But drinking largely sobers us again.
Alexander Pope

One thing about having some age is that there is no reason to have an arrogance about what we know and don't know. Why bother wasting breath if we don't honestly know. We know that someone in the nation has studied a particular area. So, we simply defer to that person.

But on Thursday of this week, I came face-to-face with one of those young upstarts who thought her experience was the end-all word on a matter. She even decided to let her experience guide her thinking in direct opposition to a well researched idea. Her remarks, couched in rather stinging terms, didn't end with her notions being spoken. She decided that she needed to provide her great wealth of life's knowledge with everyone else in the city since it was so beneficial through mass producing a notebook of her ideas.

It is hard for me to be too diplomatic in such a situation. I excused myself from the conversation after about 10 minutes to go to more productive work left to do in the day, but the young woman droned on with a couple of other people for another 15 minutes. If I had thought to do it at the time, I would have quoted Alexander Pope's pithy saying listed above. But, there will be another occasion or she will discover this truth on her own. I can only hope she drinks largely to sober her from her intoxicated state.

Circumstances generalized

A note from my mother came today. It read, "I wish we could have met at the lake [for Labor Day], but that's life." My family canceled the reunion due to scheduling conflicts of mainly the spouses (outlaws) of the family. It seemed like sagotage to me, but as mom put it, "That's life."

Life is made up of individual circumstances. So depending on who is in charge of the circumstances, so goes life. It's always a give and take between those who control circumstances. But, whoever has the upper hand for the moment controls the circumstance. Since upper hands are subject to change, directions in life switch back and forth. So, we have come up with the expression so as not to blame the controllers of circumstances for the moment. "That's life," we say.

Dreamworld

Dreams and fantasies are mere hoaxes, right? They take the information in the brain and, while asleep, the information gets scrambled into something plausible although unlikely. They appear in story form at times and mere rapid paced fragments at other times. They entertain the taboo, the immoral, the uncouth, the imaginary. We can learn from dreams, smile at dreams, and forget dreams because they really don't matter.

That's what science would have us believe. But, on two very distinct occasions they have been something else - once a special insight, once a warning of what was to come. The Maker of dreams made them to relax us, to give us entertainment for the night, or to otherwise allow us to live in a truly surreal place. But, occasionally, He interrupts them for something He wants to deliver specially. He can do that when I'm awake also. But, that is the subject of a different blog.

Surreality

It was only a pause in time, only for a moment. The park was empty. My footsteps on the walkway were the only noise. Birds were absent. The sky misted the park's trees, paths and playground equipment. A near-fog hung in the air. Occasional, distant street sounds could be heard, but a person would have to be listening for them. It was just right for conversing with the Maker of just such scenes. The time went fast. A mile reeled off in what seemed like a couple of minutes rather than the actual 20. The subjects of conversation were the usual. It was the scene that was surreal. If I could have a steady diet of those kinds of surreal scenes, I think I would never have a dissatisfying moment in life. They help me see a side of life that is rarely seen. They are those moments when time is suspended and all is well in my inner world.

"Sometimes God calms the storm. But, sometimes, God lets the storm rage and He stills His child."

Down with fairy tales

In the familiar Wizard of Oz story, Dorothy starts her journey toward Oz following a yellow brick road. She collects friends throughout her journey. When she finally ends up in Oz, she has to overcome several obstacles before finally being given a blessing by the wizard. Then, she returns home to Kansas.

Here's the familiar story of a person today. People start their journeys toward adulthood following the American Dream of being whoever they want to be. They reach adulthood only to realize that the friends they picked up along the way led them off the American Dream and they didn't realize it, or the friends were in it for themselves and they are abandoned only to have to start over again with friendships in adulthood. Adulthood does bring its share of obstacles and often they end in job loss, identity loss, depression, or other dire straits. Then, if people are strong enough to have a spiritual experience, that is see the wizard, then so much baggage has been collected that they may or may not have the stamina to make it out of this life and into the next with a sense of wonder of the Creator of the universe.

Well, one of the stories was designed to be a fairy tale, one a reality check. But I have to wonder about fairy tales. They blow so much smoke of idealism into the world that they are not appreciated any longer. When is the last time you knew a young person who knows fairy tales or was told a fairy tale. That's because reality TV has dominated the air waves. And maybe they should since fairy tales take people nowhere in their worlds.