A New Year, Decade, Moment. 2010

It's really my duty, as one who blogs with followers and a few regular readers, to post a New Year's blog. I really haven't much to say.

Coming off of what has been called the worst decade ever we are fortunate to be alive. That's not all, we are blessed beyond right or reason.

I spent New Year's Eve where I ought and where I'd most want; at the altar wanting a love relationship with God more than ever.

You remember my two "Sunday" blogs? (http://theclassicmc.blogspot.com/2009/05/sunday.html, http://theclassicmc.blogspot.com/2009/06/sunday-ii.html) They were full of ideals about new beginnings and everything refreshed-like.

That's now. This is our moment. Moment. Try something new if the old was not working. This is it. Take the year by storm. Win. Hope. Dream.

Go

2010

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

You Can't Take It With You (Part II)

I have a peculiar, "break-the-rules" manner of dictating a bucket list. It also leaves a lot less room for disappointment. You see, I put it on my bucket list only after I've done it. It's a system alright. Very much a compliment to my backwards docket are my real-life Sycamore family described in an earlier post of the same name. They didn't fail to deliver this time. Here's what the itinerary consisted of this time around, again simply put to preserve the beauty:

Still greeted in very much the same way, with an approach of many. I retailed their names in my mind again only miffing two. After a few comments on the lovely weather (rain and cold) we all went inside. I was hit early with the schedule, that had a mixed feel of pre-determination and spontaneity. First was a showing off of the architectural computer game. It was the low light but still intriguing. Next the eldest showed me his newly purchased scanning radio and a listing of all the stations he'd uncovered. We listened for a while to the Blountsville police and puzzled at their numeric code. Then came the jokes, my favorite kind. Those presumed corny. A telling and retelling commenced, some with spice and drama, others with stuttering and mistakes, but all funny. The relish of each one by them all was a breath of fresh air. They did most of the telling to start with but I eventually got up the nerve. Next came a lecture on guns and a marvelous showing collection-wise. Of course now the shooting will come. To load the impractical but amazing black powder pistol you must first clean it out, then pour a measured amount of powder, finally the lead ball and then mash it all in tight. Then squeeze the caps to put on the back (you squeeze them so they don't fly off). Now to shoot. Glasses on, hearing protection on, both deemed unecessary by me, but I'm no expert. I'm a horrible aim, but I manage to spare the cats and chickens with my two shots. After that we are back inside, but only for a second because two of us are off to milk the cows. Now I've never done it before but it's very simple if you aren't squeamish. I wasn't very productive and was shown up tragically by the seasoned milker. I finished a mere cup and a half while he belted out around a half gallon. Now discussions of government conspiracy. A trip back to the house, we try the milk. It is warm and creamy. Some pour it in their coffee. I'm shown a gun-like flyswatter. I talk about how unimaginative the name of a fly is. They say they haven't had a chance to try it out yet because there have been no flies since the winter, and I am pleased to find one on my own. Finally I'm shown the sheep, goats, chickens (I was offered one to take home. I regretfully declined.), horses (which you can ride) and more. A quick run around the property, the lending of a Smith Wigglesworth book, and the traditional, everyone outside to wave farewell will wrap up the afternoon.

I know good sorts from bad sorts and these are good sorts. Here's another for the annals. Look for another, I have no doubt one will come up.

Extraordinary

Everyone deserves to dress fancy, have there picture made, have their name in the paper, have the word "the" in front of their name when being introduced, have their talents recognized and applauded, be picked first when teams are being separated, be remembered, receive a phone call, get a letter in the mail, be someone that another friend "has to meet!", have a song written about them, be included in the acknowledgments of a book, and be someone's favorite. I don't imagine that is the case with everyone. I'm spoiled. Most of these have happened to me.

The politically correct thing to say is that everyone is extraordinary, and just maybe that's so, but then it's just as likely it isn't. Maybe no one is, how should I know. Maybe those so undoubtedly extraordinary are only a facade. Then again maybe their ability to keep it up is extraordinary in itself. It's possible that as a whole, as the enormous net of uniquities and talent we all are, we are extraordinary. Extraordinary as a body. I like that. Deciding what is normal is a stupid task with a jury pledged into not being too technical.

There is the kind of extraordinary that everyone wants to be. Those like Sherlock Holmes, The Fonz, the flattering and annoying side character in movies who tries to steal the girl... Then there are more specific extraordinaries and we think to ourselves that wouldn't be half bad either. People like Bill Watterson, Paul W. Bryant, and John Wayne. Then there are those rings of extraordinaries like the cast of I Love Lucy, the Sean Connery led comic book, sci-fi team (only a joke), or the U.S. army. The groups are the most appealing to me.

I like to think of myself as extraordinary. And so do you. I exaggerate myself in my mind, then, try to live up to it. Sometimes I do, others not so much. Then I covet things to add to my extraordnariness (Mitch! Is that a word?). My imagination makes me feel good if I'm at the right place. Art and talent are what I want to have. And so do you.

I don't have an end to this one. It's a change, but not a first. Thoughts were given, so it's only proper that thoughts be welcome. Fire away. I'm ashamed of this post. Apologies.

"Coursing Indepthrible Plasms..." A Fictitious Christmas Prelude.

I wrote a poem once. It was a Christmas poem, but I didn't know that at first. I know no words can do justice to Christ's love. We cannot give up dejected because of that, however. In short. I made up words. This blog is that poem. Only in prose form. Let us begin...

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:10-14

These are the words that we get used to. From the obligatory Christmas Eve service to A Charlie Brown Christmas, you had to expect them to show up in this blog. But don't they just "sedgeline the hairs and emotives" that poach your neck and sizzle in your heart? It's a chilling piece really. But something occurred before this little "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" scenario. A sacrifice happened.

When most people think about the sacrifice of Christ it is Him pegged to a cross, and oh what a sacrifice that was. But the sacrifice comes before then. Much before.

I imagine Jesus Christ in Heaven. The threshold, overlooking the small, blue, beautiful orb, spoken to life by his Father, Himself. Spinning in the silence, it was not his trophy. We were...are. His "solar eyes" were affixed on the passage he would take through the "trampdom," through the "anthral empire" which we were making a sorry show of. But the show he saw was to be even sorrier. It was all before Him. The worst of it being exposure. Exposure to discomfort, previously unknown. To the sin that would "horrify His divinity." He saw the confinement. His omniscience and omnipotence corralled into a single cerebral "comburstion." Pain, fear, sorrow. Everything that comes with humanity. He saw disbelief among His loved ones. He saw ridicule and temptation. He saw betrayal. He saw when He was arrested and the whip slurped the blood from His back. He cringed with each pound of the nail that would be His future. The beating, the spitting, the dehydration. He saw it all.

But He saw something else.

He saw us. Not only when were in church or with our noses in a Bible. But when we were dragging His name through the mud, wasting His salvation, and cursing His love. He looked at all this, with the wind rushing past His spirit, and looked down again through the "grayened sky" with a lightening-ridden yard, with the greatest Christmas Carol, the greatest Anthem, ever heard blasting through the unknown atmosphere to enhance the fiercest love of all time, and He said, "Let's Go."

The anecdote just given, though embellished, is a fact. No night has ever proved so marvelously enchanting. Our Saviour took the jump, His heart racing as quick as it formed, and fell right into the swaddling earth. The baby only barely breathed was the product of a decision of love. He saw it all. The credits were far from rolling, the greatest story ever told, was just beginning. Thank You.

From me to you, have a Merry Christmas. I hope the year has left you with cherished memories. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a celebration and in everything you are honoring our Saviour. Rest peacefully on this Christmas Eve. You are beloved of God and worth it all to him. "Celebrate the Day!" I wish many more Joyful and Peaceful Christmases to you on each one of your Classical Rides.

Merry Christmas

The Poem

Coursing indepthrible plasms...
Did you want to do it?
Was it all a great adventure?
When you fell from the grayened sky to what could hurt you most?
Did you see me sitting here tonight
a blue glow on my crying cradle taking up someon's air? Oblivious ammense
the melodious strictangles and bleeting?
Were you surprised? Did your solar
eyes widen? Did you wonder at your
now divided hands or condition at your omniscient
comburstion?
Did the cutions sedgeline the hairs and emotives
of all those whom you cherished.
Was it more than a ficticious wave that
horrified your divinity?
Did you feel your regality though you glided through our trampdom
Or did you
willfully connect as a sect in our anthral empire?
Was it allowed to stray from the plan when your nature became ideative?
Did the journey transcend all that can be dictionaired
and thus resort to this?
Because when we run out of words to say or just none can
rive the deed.
We slake off in bitterst defeat and give not another thought.
Staying with all the polititudes. Afraid to visit the hue from which He fell, afraid to astonish or invent.
Believing the trees to be just fine though too maystained to
branch out.
So the myths they still remain undrawn but they
best represent the truth.
Did you do the impossible? Can I not try my
best?
I know that there aren't words and that harbrynths
won't explain, so I'll shief avante gardens and sing-hai brand new glories for you.

http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#Celebrate%20the%20day%20relient%20k

Half and Half

Honestly I cannot think of a thing that is good in the subjective quantity of half. Whole almost always beats it. This line of thinking solves my half-caf decision in Burger King. If I know I'm getting caffiene why not go all in. And so turbo it is.

On a more crucial note, is the fractioned fame decision. No condemnation, it's just that we all want to take the credit for ourselves. We practically scavenge out the stuff. As Christians we ought to know better. And I mean WE. I go into stages and projects where my sole goal in my forethoughts is to give all the glory to God. But too often I'm wondering what good people will think of me. When I go in for the kill on a good deed, I'm thrilled at the prospect of my added "good kid" reputation. When a situation comes up I try to be the hero, knowing good and well that the best I can do for the situation is a prayer and not a punch in the nose. It's a tragedy to try and steal the dues of One who made any good deed you did possible. We all have to stop and ponder where the desire even came from to do the right thing. A tool is no good if it has left the hand for his own magnification.

With a sincere attempt and a sincere prayer, the half can become a whole. Humility feels good after you've worn it for a while. But you can't break it in unless you wear it.

Honestly

The most imposing blockade to forgiveness is dishonesty. Honesty is ugly in our merciless minds. We get to where we've fooled ourselves into thinking we've done nothing wrong. Hypocrisy ensues. Then comes the powder. Our makeup that makes people "ooh" and "ahh" about our walk with Christ. Like a hag wooing the charming prince, he and your admirers are in for a shock. "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known." (Matthew 10:26). Redemption requires the sort of brutal honesty that will lead to a real remorse and mourning. Fortunately it is those that mourn that are comforted (Matthew 5:4) and the added bonus of a clean start. Dishonesty is the only reason any Christian ever looks at another in disgust and says "Shame on you, you dirty sun of a gun, how could you do this or that!" That's dishonest with themselves and their prey. They are living in a fantasy. In "The Ragamuffin Gospel" Brennan Manning quotes Gerald May as saying, "Honesty before God requires the most fundamental risk of faith we can take: the risk that God is good, that God does loe us unconditionally. It is in taking the risk that we rediscover our dignity. To bring the truth of ouselves, just as we are, to God, just as God is, is the most dignified thing we can do in this life." Yes wallowing in the mud of our humanity is dignified.

Happy Thanksgiving

A lot of people don't get nostalgic about Thanksgiving like I do. That is because it is so often looked right over. Cornered by Football season and a commercialized Christmas it doesn't stand much of a chance. Selfishly, that really doesn't bother me much, because I like to have the cozy uncommercialized feel that Christmas gets tainted with. The traditions are vague enough and few enough not to be thrown in your face. With Christmas, holy smokes, you can use anything. You've got songs, Santa, sleighs, snowflakes, wreaths, trees, lights, movies, stars, candles, red, green, angels, ornaments, plays, parties, books, trips, and traditions that can be scooped of and killed by the media. With Thanksgiving all they really have is a turkey to run across the television or newspaper. It's just a meal shared together where you are thankful. What a blessing that is. So to my small minority of faithful readers, I'm thankful for you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Author

We completely shrug off and/or underestimate the enormous amount of power that comes with the authorship of something. An author's creation is his own to alter and control. An author is hardly bound by trivia like definitions or 'inconsistencies.' The author can rattle reality until all the leaves fall off. You can find no flaw in the story, because of that apastrophic punctuate that specks the word, author's.

It's his.

His.

Who wrote our story? Who is writing it as we speak? It was and is Almighty God. How can we hurl our man-strewn definitions at him like they are highly evolved. We don't understand we are offering them brazenly at the very one who invented anything conceptual. We'll say things like "My dear God, this grace you offer is hardly just to our actions, and yet you are a 'just' God, or so you say." I wish I could scoff and keep my conscience clear at such statements as that. God defines what it is to be just and we can't possibly bind him with all the Webster's in the world.

Nothing about God is argueable. You can dig up no dirt on Him. You can bring nothing alarming from His closet. You'll find that his slate is spotless, and his hands only dirtied by the ragamuffin children He holds so tightly in them.

But people are becoming arrogant. The age we live in now is cuddled in a great, big man-made quilt of technology. So much of what we see now is metal, plastic, and electrical. While formally, someone could bid you, "Look around you and see the beauty of God's creation," when we obey that command now we see skyscrapers, neon lights, computers, funiture, and other accessories that are far from than organic. Maybe that is what causes even we Christians to stop and say, "Oh yes Father, I forgot, YOU are the author of all this."

So a word to myself and all other readers to the divine story he now pens: Don't question or try to disprove the author, and marvel at his professional prose. Here's praying this has left you with a greater drive to submit to your Creator and the story and purpose He has all drafted out for your own personal...Classical Ride.

You Can't Take it With You (Part I)

The winner of 1938's Best Picture Award was Frank Capra's You Can't Take it With You. It starred Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, and Edward Arnold. It revolves around the Sycamore family who, by some, are thought to be insane or abnormal, but by their plethora of friends and neighbors, only abnormal in recognition to their uncommon kindness and care for others. The theme of the Sycamore's happy home defies the envisionment of a twisted American Dream. While the outside world is wasting their entire life for hopes of financial success they are inside, not lazing, but working at what it is they love. For instance Grandfather collects stamps, his son-in-law and their former ice man make fireworks, the new clerk they adopted into their family makes toys and the like, a daughter dances, the mother writes plays, a son-in-law prints things, and the list goes on. Any guest is recieved with the utmost of hospitality.

This weekend found that utopian film coming to life before my eyes. At the last minute I decided to accompany my sister, her friend, and my mother on a trip that had little to do with me save my attempts to stay awake. The trip was actually for a small jewelry making experience for my traveling-mates and my invite only came with the fact they had eleven children. What would I find, but a brief stimulus of hyperactive children?...What indeed?

I'll tell you what with none too professional diction so as not to spoil the magic of it all. My arrival was greeted by two younger boys, an older boy and a mother. They explained to me with subtle introductions the structure of their piled up house, the chicken in one of the younger boys arm, and little else. As they gradually got more comfortable around me the explanations ranged from new games like a favorite of theirs, "Bases" and why 'kids' are goats and 'children' is the proper name for human young. I saw things like a four year old girl scaling a flagpole and swinging cheerfully on her rope that she got for her birthday. I played tag, and hide and seek, and Apples to Apples. I watched knife throwing videos. I learned how to make certain parts of jewelry in a room solely dedicated to that sort of thing (which is saying a lot with eleven children). I was educated on many a Christian band, namely: Audio Adrenaline, Newsboys, and D.C. Talk. I was offered three kinds of fruit and two kinds of juices. I was lent a 7 hour DVD on people who found Christ in strange ways. I was given the names and distinctions between many, many cats who all looked the same shade of gray to me. I was offered puns I could not solved. I was made to guess names and ages. I was given a ride in a tub down a creek. I was informed about "Papa's" and other siblings hike in the Appalachian mountains. I was made known to family reunions that rent out entire hotels for the some 200 close relatives. I was smiled at, accepted, and amongst a brilliant group of minds who knew what it was to be happy. When we left, the entire family that was there stood as we pulled out and waved. Every single one of them. All with a priceless smile on their faces.

Yes indeed. People like the Sycamores truly exist and they are my favorite sort.

Loyalty

Undeniably my favorite virtue to find in people. Fierce, unshakable, and unashamed loyalty. Merriam-Webster calls it "unswerving allegiance." There's a beautiful feeling in the knowledge one can be depended on. Here are a five qualities of loyalty.

1. Loyalty is not always mutual- Sometimes a truly loyal person has to put there own betrayal aside and stay true regardless of whether or not the other party took on the same position. It's best exemplified with Naval Captain Stephen Decatur's quote, "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong" or Civil War General Carl Schurz's elaboration, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right" Look at it as a friend instead of a country here "...may she always be in the right, but our friend right or wrong." This does not mean you are accepting their behavior? Of course not! Which is why I like the add on of Schurz "...if right, to be kept right; if wrong, to be set right." Loyalty will be relentless in setting things right, no matter how much itself is wronged.

2. Loyalty is not ashamed- This is almost inserted as my soap box. It bugs me to no end to see those who will gladly act as your equal while you are alone, but when you both branch out among the powers that be, they will scarcely look in your direction or will sometimes even demean you. How unfortunate is the denial of a friend for fame, because one is more lasting than the other and I can assure you it isn't renown or fleeting popularity. Please all who read here, do not ever deny a friend, because they are priceless. Stay true and you will be rewarded.

3. Loyalty is selfless- It is on multiple occasions in the greatest show on earth, The Andy Griffith Show, that shrewd Sherriff Andy Taylor will rescue his Deputy Barney Fife from ever-impending embarassment. One of my favorite instances is where Andy and girlfriend Helen Crump find themselves trapped inside a cave. They eventually find there way out only to find that Barney has organized a search party. Instead of saying well he'll get over it eventually, they were both quick to change back into there dirtied clothes and hurry back into the cave to wait for his rescue. Also among his loyalties are turning down exclusive clubs that would not accept his socially un-savvy buddy and capturing a crook that Barney clumsily released in the first place and bestowing the credit to him instead of taking it for his own to save Barney's pride. This kind of loyalty is the most extreme. This is going the distance. This is being loyal far beyond just the person as the are, but to their feelings and each thing that affects them. It puts all personal gain aside for salvation of another in whatever way is at stake. (For more thoughts on T.V. shows, see http://theclassicmc.blogspot.com/2009/05/television-shows.html).

4. Loyalty is defensive- It isn't enough for a loyal person to stand my and cheer no matter how unshakeably they do so. Being a fan is only a sub-category of true loyalty. The real friend is in the battle hurdling antithesis at each degrading blow. Loyalty does not allow others to be hurt and will not be shy in making there opinion known on the matter. Consider the dog. Often a symbol for loyalty. Does a dog when his master is beset, merely stand by and bark? You and I both know that a faithful dog would gladly tear the assailants head off without any concern with personal safety.

5. Loyalty is constant- It does not take off days. It isn't only loyal when it is convenient for itself. When people argue against the contraversial theory of a innate Moral Law, there can be a dialogue that goes back and forth as follows: "How, sir, can you say there is no Moral Law when people do things, at times, that are good without any personal gain?" "Well to that I will say this, they do it at times to attract a mate who might be impressed with such virtuous chivalry and therefore there is personal gain." (This argument is discussed in further detail in C.S. Lewis's book Mere Christianity). You see loyalty cannot be like one who is trying to fish in a Gent or Damsel. It might be selfishly beneficial to fish in a mate for a time, but when a day comes where it pays to deny it is "so long Sally." No it must be present in the most unpleasant scenarios.

So there you have my favorite trait, I promise you Proverbs 19:22 speaks truth in saying, "Loyalty makes a person attractive." (NLT)

Anti-Climatic...Wise Man (Men) III

My life lacks climax in almost every highlight. Maybe not so much climax as distinction. Situations just enter onto my stage production without cue or fizzle off without closure. There is no mounting crescendo to introduce a pivotal point in my life. Not even an F and F-sharp combo that a cinematic shark is found worthy of. No tears are shed and no curtains are drawn as another era dies off from my story. Oh how this sort of gig cheapens the plot.

I can honestly say I hate how my biggest realizations come as little back thoughts with little room for monument. Rue the day I would ever achieve fame, for a biographer would have an unholy time recording landmark times in my life. The reason is there is no memory of them.

All of a sudden I'm reminded of one of my favorite movies, The Prestige. It tells the stories of two rivalling magicians and their obsessed quest to best the other. An important thing to know about their contest is their specialties. Where one is truly magnificent magician the other has a knack for showmanship that the first lacks. It strikes me as highly correlative to the human race and their own personal purposes. There are those who do as much good and are little recognized and those that have showmanship (which isn't necessarily bad, after all it does attract attention). The first of these two types might go about making there difference one person at a time while the other outlines Project Change-the-World with propaganda, advertisement, and all. Though I stick to this, that neither are wrong, I do believe greater reward comes with the first because of this scripture from Matthew 6:5,6 "When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." Because it is not publicised it becomes irrelevant and is lost.

But it truly bugs me. Not that it is not recognized, but that I have no past to brace myself on (though it also helps with I cannot excuse either). All I have is right now and that is fleeing fast. It seems like things are happening before I know it. My memoirs have followed the pattern of my very first landmark, birth, and stayed stupidly unsure of what just happened. It just...happened.*

It is possible you are thinking, "Why, this matters even less than the mediocre high points of your life that you so failed to remember." Well there, sir or madam, I would say you are wrong. Two different wise men have bequeathed to me this belief to percolate into my solvent-like brain. The first made it clear to me in a church sermon that "Your [my] story will make other people believe." The second was witness and testifier to the fact that our story is the greatest message we can give to people. He taught that my story was a gift to minister to others. These things I believe.

So without the parade or the bugle's sound I'm left lost in a shadowy past of trivia. What then will I do to bring distinction to things. In this case vague is ugly. I don't like it. I suppose it remains but to rally the scribes and hullabaloo in order to keep record so that I too may have a story to tell.

*Nothing omitted, ellipses are purely for emphasis.

Wasted Laughter

Sometimes I reprove my own self for the disturbing thoughts that I come up with. I know I'm going to either get yelled at, laughed at, or looked at strange.

(I'm smiling)

Those reprovals don't happen very often.

This time my thoughts are of limiting laughter. Most people aren't a fan of this practice. But oh the woes of wasted laughter.

I'm not talking at laughing at goofy things or finding humor in things that few people do. Those are great things. I love to laugh! Laughter, in truth, is the best medicine, and a friend in sadness. I'm not even talking about laughing at tragic times. In fact sometimes that is the best thing to do. There are a few times where you should not laugh though.

First and foremost you have "Lewd Laughter." This is when the things people laugh at are just plain inappropriate. I've yet to wonder at why some of the sickening jokes that are told tickle our humerus bone (pun intended).

Next there is "Lofty Laughter" when your laughter causes a cocky "comedian" to continue their inane joke telling. I guess when you have problems in yourself you dislike them in other people and I do tell jokes and think they're funny when they are just plain not. Please don't laugh at my jokes.

Then there is "Lying Laughter." Which is where you laugh to be polite. You can see where this may lead to complications. I understand trying to find humor in a joke they tell perhaps, but often it happens that we just plain lie with our laughter. It's not going to feel good when they get around people who aren't polite. They won't laugh and that's bound to hurt.

We'll call the next "Loathsome Laughter." This one is just plain mean. David von Drehle sums it up well in his Time magazine article with, "There's something especially loathsome aout torturing helpless creatures for fun and profit." And for my money laughter. This is the laughter that comes from other people's misfortune or pain. No cheap chuckle is worth the absolute misery of someone else.

If you laugh in any of the following instances then you are one of those who are wasting their laughter. Please don't stop laughing. Laughing is one of the greatest pleasures on earth. But refrain in these four cases. Feel free to disagree, and let me know if you do. Feedback's the word. As for me, regardless of your feedback I'll continue to ponder over shocking ideas.

...

It's anyone's guess as to what in the immensity of human language could have been in the place of the illusory ellipsis that take the place of this title. A word, sentence, or even an entire paragraph or two can be omitted and overshadowed by these three little punctuates. A friend to any debater, politician, or salesman. Always there to deliver when even the deceptive fine print has been found and all the cyphers have been decoded. They are infamous for censorship and metamorphic meanings. What's worse is, lest you know the origin of the text you cannot possibly read between the lines and find the truth behind the matter.


I'd not tell you that at one point or another I haven't been guilty of assuming these three points to get my own point across, but somewhere along the line conviction came into play...and reason. (The ellipsis aforeused were for accentuation, which is the secondary use and not to be confused with omitted content, which I assure you there was not). I say reason because if what your ellipsis concealed was brought into the light (and it changed the meaning of your assertions), it would render your standpoint prostrate. Little to nothing else you said on the matter could be validated. Whether or not your argument was in the right matters not if scandal was unveiled. In fighting for what is just, it is always worthwhile to play by the rules. It bothers me especially in any sort of Christian writings where scripture is referenced and plagued with ellipsis. It's vanity to think that it cannot stand alone without propagated distortion. Never should anything be omitted from scripture to change the meaning or for any other reason. As in 2 Corinthians 4:1-2:

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart, But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

So it is a friend...to the reader. (Original sentence reads, "So it is friend to those attempting to market their beliefs or trying to indoctrinate those for selfish benefits, but a sworn enemy to the reader"). It is a dreadful sight in important information. The apprentice of deception. A little harsh for punctuation, albeit, but think of the damage it can do. It's a temptation for all who have a point to get across and a bane to each who search for the facts.

As long as we follow this censorship subject. There are more commonly used tactics. Taking words out of context is one. Or the use of brackets to incorporate a word that has only been vaguely implied. What will begin to happen is the new distorted version of the truth will become widespread and eventually the brackets and ellipse and whatever else will disappear and we shall have a full scale pandemic of false arguments and deceptive texts.

There are times, however, when the use of the ellipsis is harmless as in the previously mentioned case of accentuation or in some cases of necessary brevity. But be wary of its overcasting shadow. Steer clear of its enticing availability. And above all remember to never use these to alter your theses in the hopes of an argument won. As William Shakespeare said, "In a false quarrel there is...true valor."* Or is that what he said?



*Actual quote was "In a false quarrel there is no true valor."

Principles and Carpetball

My interest in principles began in the most profound of ways. Of course my definition of profound is most likely not yours. Unless your definition can be exemplified with a few happy kids playing carpetball. I'll take for granted that you are already familiar with the billiards/bowling hybrid that is the summer camp game of carpet ball, because it would severely digress to much to long a parenthesis if I tried to explain.

A certain wisened young man was taking his shot at the sport one night at a residence that I love dearly. He began explaining to me that one would usually be much better off if he would only stick to his original principles and not let other people's suggestions or any situation change them. Using only the launching of the ball as punctuation he formed my idea in my mind that has categorized most every good trait. Whether he had any serious intent with his monologue or not I took it to heart and there it stays to this day. It's true that if you lay down principles for yourself that are absolute, holding fast to those statutes will give you the security you want. A good solid principle is almost never situational. It can be likened figuratively to not being jolly content with a friend of yours when you are alone or among a small group of friends, and being ashamed or embarrassed of that same friend in another social scenario. It makes me sick (coincidentally one of my principles is directly antagonist to that act). In the same way you should not betray your principles even if they are not necessarily the acceptable thing to do. Taking into account that principles are a sort of subgenre to wisdom Proverbs 4:6 does indeed apply in saying, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you."

Now, as my politics are coming to a close, I would encourage you directly a final time. Detail some principles of your own. Cuff them tightly to your wrist and be happily towed into a respectable imprisonment. Others will take notice and follow your example in due turn.

Welcome to America Part II...Part of the Problem

I don't wish to further add to my arrogance by continuing to say 'them' in reference to the people of America. I'm an American, one of many who are fed up with the evident and almost inevitable decadence.
Well, among those of us in which there is a shred of humanity remaining (which I really believe is a good many of you despite my negativity) you are probably asking, "What can I do" as is usually the question of those that are unwilling to do what it takes. (Again I don't wish to add to arrogance, I've asked the question many times with this mindset). With the risk of talking to the wall I can put forth my theories.
In the mid-1800s, at the rise of the Revivalist movement, a man named Lyman Beecher was teaching on the power of individuals to reform the world. He said that true reform could only take place through "the voluntary energies of the nation itself."
You would agree that our nation is made up of fifty states. You might also agree that in each of those states you have what are called counties, then cities and neighborhoods and so on however specific you want to get, all ending with the individual citizen. Now I appear to change directions in saying that the our physical self starts with our body and is broken down to organ systems, organs, tissue, and again however particular you want to get down to the cell. (Please refrain from petty arguments such as incorporating the atom into the mix, bear with me). Now if a cell is gone bad you would know that the tissue...organ...organ system, and evenutally the whole body would go bad. Like cancer. There is cancer in America, and it's terminal.
If a cell has gone bad is there any hope for it? Is a person ever to far gone to be cured. I don't think so, but does a cell heal itself? I wouldn't think so, though I'm no scientist or doctor. No, no, it needs medicine. Now the question is, what am I insinuating is the medicine for the U.S.A.? "You have already condemned America to ruin with your silly cancer metaphor," you might say.
Ironically the only thing that can cure terminal cancer in your body and figurative cancer in America are one in the same. A bridge between metaphor and reality. That connection and cure is the living, active, omnipotent God.
Go ahead, scoff at the nature of that comment. Write this composition off as another sermon. A cheap homily to herd in naive converts. You do and you immediately prove my decleration of we Americans as heathens. The facts are God CAN heal this nation. He absolutely without a doubt can. Why doesn't He? Why doesn't a loving God fix all this madness? Before answering these you answer me: How often do you include God in your daily life?
I'm a Christian you see, or a Christ-Follower, or a Jesus Freak, or whatever sobriquet you choose to endow me with. I don't care what you call me as long as you know where I stand. That is with complete faith in the power of almighty God. And the sovereignty of His son Jesus Christ. Furthermore I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that a righteous man's prayer can save our nation.
That cute little word 'righteous' is everyone's problem. That cute little word along with a prayer seems to be what's postponing complete destruction of the word. Do you see how one individual living a life of honor and obedience is saving the world? That is what an individual can do. But we have to fix ourselves first. Consider your prayer ignored. It's starts with us. The final question is, are we ready to do what it takes to see our nation healed?

Welcome to America Part I...Definitions.

A young lady sent me a term paper once on the horrors of abortion. Here words are what first ignited the question in my mind about just what a civilization really is. In all the 'correctness' I can muster I'll draw my first source of aid in explanation of the word from our ever-faithful American Language companion, Webter's Dictionary.
Main Entry:
civ·i·li·za·tion
Pronunciation:
\ˌsi-və-lə-ˈzā-shən\
Function:
noun
Date:
1772
1 a: a relatively high level of cultural and technological development ; specifically : the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of written records is attained b: the culture characteristic of a particular time or place 2: the process of becoming civilized 3 a: refinement of thought, manners, or taste b: a situation of urban comfort.
Pay special attention to definition 2 and 3a, for they are more relative to civilizations original definition. (What I believe to be the actual definitions of civilization are listed 2nd and 3rd due to lack thereof I excuse). Let's even more especially look at number 2. To take this deeper let's define the word 'civilized.'
Main Entry:
civilized
Function:
adjective
Date:
1611
: characteristic of a state of civilization ; especially : characterized by taste, refinement, or restraint.
We see here characteristics of a civilization. Listed are: taste, refinement, and restraint, my favorite in this argument being restraint. Now, to go even more into depth on the word, let's take the prefix, 'civil.'
Main Entry:
civ·il
Pronunciation:
\ˈsi-vəl\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin civilis, from civis
Date:
14th century
1 a: of or relating to citizens b: of or relating to the state or its citizenry 2 a: civilized b: adequate in courtesy and politeness : mannerly 3 a: of, relating to, or based on civil law b: relating to private rights and to remedies sought by action or suit distinct from criminal proceedings c: established by law4: of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, or ways, or civic affairs as distinguished from special (as military or religious) affairs5of time : based on the mean sun and legally recognized for use in ordinary affairs
synonyms civil, polite, courteous, gallant, chivalrous mean observant of the forms required by good breeding. civil often suggests little more than the avoidance of overt rudeness . polite commonly implies polish of speech and manners and sometimes suggests an absence of cordiality . courteous implies more actively considerate or dignified politeness . gallant and chivalrous imply courteous attentiveness especially to women. gallant suggests spirited and dashing behavior and ornate expressions of courtesy . chivalrous suggests high-minded and self-sacrificing behavior .
I put the whole lot on here this time, for this is the most important part of 'civilization' I'll be dealing with. Raise your hand if after reading this, you want to put on a disgusted face, look straight into the eyes of America and say, "And you call yourself a civilization!"
When does abortion, the murder of unborn babies, fall into play with any of these synonyms? When did the defilement of marriage by joining the same sex legally relate to any of these definitions? These are the biggies, but the list goes on. America is slowly but surely revealing their true self. Heathens. Cavemen wearing nice clothing and combing there hair. Animals. Heathens is a word that would make some Americans indignant. Very well then, I offer the definition of heathens.
Main Entry:
2heathen
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural heathens or heathen
Date:
before 12th century
1 : an unconverted member of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of the Bible 2 : an uncivilized or irreligious person
There now you see. Welcome to America. And that isn't all I would call the citizens of America. Barbaric, is an adjective I would attribute to them. Think I'm being too severe once more? Again I give the meaning.
Main Entry:
bar·bar·ic
Pronunciation:
\bär-ˈber-ik, -ˈba-rik\
Function:
adjective
Date:
15th century
1 a: of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians b: possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive savagery but less sophisticated than advanced civilization2 a: marked by a lack of restraint : wild b: having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality3: barbarous 3
Note particulary, once again, definitions 2 and 3. In 2a we have that word restraint again or lack thereof. And in 3 we have another word, closely related enough that I can give it in conjunction to barbaric without dedicating another introductory paragraph.
Main Entry:
bar·ba·rous
Pronunciation:
\ˈbär-b(ə-)rəs\
Function:
adjective
Etymology:
Latin barbarus, from Greek barbaros foreign, ignorant
Date:
15th century
1 a: uncivilized b: lacking culture or refinement : philistine2: characterized by the occurrence of barbarisms 3: mercilessly harsh or cruel
Oh, but no! Barbarians are those who eat with there hands (just a 'leading up to' example, but hey America has finger foods galore!) or kill their children (uh oh) or fornicate (uh oh) or murder senselessly (uh oh) or walk around the streets half-naked (uh oh).
Do you see what we've become? Things that run our blood cold, the things of nightmares, that is reality. And we have made it that way, all by the due process of law. Come one come all, to the United States of America. Do I sound too serious? Good, remember the words of William Lloyd Garrison, "I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! No! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; but urge me not to moderation." And I'm not anti-America. I'm a sucker for it believe me. I love it, I'm scared for it. Help.

The Now

Explaining the unearthly paradox of time would be an appropriate introduction for this blog. I tell you truth I can't do it. I can't narrow Now down to a fractional portion of any sort of numerical measurement. I can't properly analogize the existence of the present or make you or I understand the way it simultaneously becomes the past and the future. Oh, but I can warn you of this extant moment's deceptive ways. I can illustrate how it clouds our hope and greater good. With a little help I can do it in two points.

1. We are all familiar with some kind of unpleasantry. Anything ranging from discomfort to pain (physical, emotional, or spiritual) will drive our minds to long for a better Now. But what will you trade for it? It's staggering what the world would trade for a better Now. What we are forgetting to take into account, or simply ignoring, is our greatest justice, the Ends. Here I borrow wisdom from well-know, Christian pop group, Relient K, who reminds us in their song Let it All Out, that "If the burden seems too much to bear remember the end will justify the pain it took to get us there." The reward for a proper, though sometimes "unbearable," Now is a uncompareably "worth-it" Later . I reckon often with the bother of those who can't seem to look further down the street to where the hard work and pain may have paid off where it came. I'm not excluding myself. It's tempting just to put off the suffering for now. Tomorrow always more attractive than today in our future-darkened views. So we procrastinate the trials as long as we can, but eventually they will catch up with us and dig in with a long-starved appetite. The truth is there isn't a better time than now to face what comes with this moment in time. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, "You cannot run away from a weakness; you must sometimes fight it out or perish. And if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"

For my second point I have asked the ever-inspirational, thought-provoking, and startling visionary Sarah Jane Murray whose blogs you can find at (http://mitiocbygrace.blogspot.com/) to share her heart. Her "square of thoughts" on the subject of not "settling for less" are as follows:

2. "Why Lord, do we not struggle, sweat, weep, and wait for that which is to come? We are human that is true. Oh but the riches you have for us are worth far more than our strain. I have done it and I've heard people do the same. We give spiels, set goals, and dig our heels into the ground where we stand. We say "I will never..." with great intention to keep those statements. More often though we take little pleasures wrapped in our arms in a moment. We forget the standards we promised to keep. They were wealthy in thought and came bubbling from our soul. But when our words come to the table where they are called to act, we lose it all. Take a runner for thought. The contestant trains amply for the race ahead. With his heart ready to pump blood through his veins and to his lungs oxygen. The gun fires and he is off. Now he is beating the pavement with every haunting step of the runners behind. Some run to take the gold metal home. That runner perseveres through the pain and sweat to win. But it's much easier to be a sideline racer with a cheer. But you were meant to be in the race. Comfort stops the most audacious fulfillment seekers. They build up their future at night within their mind. But then morning brings the bright sun to their sleepy eyes. They instantly pocket themselves comfortably back into the pillow. Your future starts with a good dose of love. Love for Jesus Christ! Forsaking all other lovers to run to win the heavenly prize. The pleasures that lure you away with luscious colors will fall dim before your eyes. And the comforts we are given are deceptive. Your comfort will rely on the stats of this world. In turn you will have traded your future written by your Abba God for an average script never intended for you, His very Beloved."

Undoubtedly these words, so poetically put, have triggered a conviction in your heart. How often can you recall taking what is right in front of you in trade for what you know you deserve? The tangibility of it all is a seducing prospect. It's in the End that you will truly see what you have forsaken.

All this is not to say that the Now is not an important time. If you constantly look to the future you may just miss where you are now. It's a trying paradox. You cannot waste the Now away, nor can you let it fool you into a state of stagnant. You cannot abandon what is the best and always be looking for more, but you can't settle for what isn't quite over par. Truly you'll know if you have saved a pain or trial for later, or if you are settling for what is not a full wage. Be honest with yourself at all times and make the right choices and the Now will not coax in your demise.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this presenttime are not worthy to be compared with theglory which shall be revealed in us.”

Romans 8:18

Born

Sitting on the stairs of my church these words were birthed freely from my impregnated thoughts onto paper. The notion has long been dismissed as an excuse. Please have the maturity not to take it that way.

My parents were married in the church I now attend. I was dedicated there. I was baptized there. My first mission trip was sent out from there, my dreams and purpose has been cultivated there. I was born there. I grew up there. I've never known anything else. It's been the biggest part of my life in accordance with my heart, mind, and actions.

I've subconsciously souvenired the memory of an instance that replays itself from time to time in my unfocused mind. The hierarchy of classes for children at my church at the time staired from Pre-church, "Soul" Church, and Kids Church. "Soul Church" was my rank and I was being escorted by my mother from the classroom after service. Undoubtedly playing with my clip-on tie as we walked through the breezeway towards the parking lot. I held a small animated pamphlet detailing basics for a "born-again" life that I never read. "Guess what" I would ask my mother. "What?" she would ask me. "I got saved today," I would answer. Then she would say, "Again?"

While my caring mother remembered an apparent time before, this is my first memory of proclaiming salvation. You can understand that this left a questioning thread in my mind. Had I already made the "life-changing" decision? The thunder was taken from me amidst confusion and shrugging shoulders and the event went from an entire chapter to a mere subscript in the books. And so, I've always been saved.

Recently a missionary spoke at my church and he told the story of a baptism they had in a river. His son who attended, but did not participate was quoted to have said something along the lines of "I want to get baptized-ed, it looks fun." Besides laughter the reply from his father is remembered by me as "There are a few things we have to do first before baptism." I was silently surprised at this. I'm not sure, but could it be that this means his son has not yet prayed the sinner's prayer? Could it mean, that because he does not yet have a full grasp of the situation, that he is not yet making the choice? Could it mean that he is not repeating words that he has no grasp upon in order to give him a little ease from nightmares? Is it possible that under godly influence from his parents and others that he will someday make the desicion to completely turn from sin and dedicate his life to the Lord? I think it's very possible and I think it's honorable.

From experience, that system beats going through life and getting "saved" countless times. The true salvation experience has been lacking in me for sometime. I'll never have that one beautiful, defining, real moment that I turn my life from dedication to sin and follow God with an uncommon fervency.

Abraham Lincoln said this, "It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him." He's right. I've never denied God, so I've never truly felt like one of this world, but I have oft denied his commands. Verses from Jeremiah chapter three verses four and five remark my mental side-thoughts to God during these confused times:

"Yet you say to me, 'Father, you have been my guide since the days of my youth. Surely you won't be angry about such a little thing! Surely you can forget it!' So you talk and you keep right on doing all the evil you can."

And so the ugly cycle will continue until these words from the prophet are relayed to you and you realize your folly.

There are some things you should learn alone. You have to trust God to draw one in with his power and not your own. He can. A forcible entry always does damage. Once again that is not to excuse myself. I am a born-again, saved child of God, and I can make my own decisions. All blame shifts only to myself.

Again, make no mistake, I'm all for instilling children with a firm foundation early on. Without my parents constant preaching of right and wrong and Christ's sacrifice for us, God knows where I would be today. Only would I warn not to hurry them through the most important desicion of their lives.

Dangerous Ground

As soon as you are no longer ignorant of something, you are forced to make a choice.

These words are my own but given, stretched across a page in a notebook that was intended for something entirely unrelated to my periodical meditations. To me, pen and paper are precious instruments of beaching your inspirations onto an anchoring shore.

In reading this you are treading on dangerous ground. You are trapped by a choice. You cannot avoid it. If you discontinue this read you've made the choice to possibly miss out on something vital. As you go through the day you are exposed to choices you cannot possibly get out of. I would ask you to have the courage to make the right one.

Many will say I did not write with tact. Perhaps that I should not have been so straightforward. William Lloyd Garrison holds to my creed in announcing things that are our passion in saying:

“I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- and I will be heard.”

It's been told to me that people die at such a rate that each time you breath out can represent a death somewhere across the globe. I could never justify my life in the end if I did not fiercely give everything I had towards ensuring that people know just how critical this situation has become. There are one additional quotes I would like to cite before officially saying what I want to say. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says this:

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Certainly if Herr Bonhoeffer could act in the face of being executed I can act in such a free country as this. You see if you see a problem and you decide to simply remain silent and ignore it, you've still made a desicion. If you don't want to think about making a desicion right now, you've jut made a desicion. I'm going to act...

The truth is this: God absolutely did send his son Jesus Christ to this earth. He stayed for 33 years and performed many miraculous signs and he was crucified to take the sins of the world upon himself. He did rise from the grave and he is in heaven right now. You can either choose to accept him or you can choose not to. There is no alternative after you have read this. If you put it out of your head and never think about it again, you have chosen not to. If you take it to heart and you turn away from this perverse world, then you can have a freedom like nothing you've ever experienced and you can have a purpose like no one else can give. When you die you will live for eternity with him in Heaven. It is forever, it is paradise, and it is real. If you choose, and again you will have to, to deny this, not believe this, or curse these truths, when you die you will not spend eternity with him. The ONLY alternative is Hell. It's forever, it is torment, and it is real. For your soul's sake choose love! Choose Christ!

You've crossed dangerous ground. You are either in or out of trouble. My prayers are with you that you make the choice that leads towards Him.

Monumental

A monument: A lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great. A would add on to Merriam-Webster defining it as a tribute and an honor to someone or something or an idea even, such as liberty. We've honored kings and rulers, presidents and heros, soldiers, martyrs, battles, events. The list goes on and dwindles towards mundane and idolatry at times, other times innocent commemoration and gratitude. Where our glory goes and the effects of these memorials is certainly not my thesis. I've always liked monuments and always will.

We humans can at times be an ungrateful, forgetful, and arrogant people. We may need to dedicate a portion of the emotions we have to something that will always be. We may need to go out of our way to show thanks for an everyday blessing. We may need to give credit where credit is due.

One of many instances in the book of Joshua 4:1-7 is recorded to demonstrate the commemoration of a great deed:

"So Joshua called together the twelve men and told them, "Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder--twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel."

The toil of these men, in their thanks, would be remembered and passed down from generation to generation all in honor of this miraculous act. And it does not have to be as extravagant as all that. David would often commemorate a work of God with a song such as in Psalms 28:7:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

How much could you honor God with something simple? God is pleased with all you do in worship. Draw him a picture, write him a poem, make him something. He's a real God! Make or do something to show others what he has done for you. Monuments tell a story. Be creative, but do something to remind yourself or show others the amazing miracles God does for you in your life everyday. If he's released you from some sort of bondage, do something for him! If he's given you guidance in a dark situation, tell the world!

When God does something Monumental in your life, remember it.

Science

If you are around me enough you will probably hear the mostly startling statement of "I don't believe in science." This IS NOT insinuative of any sort of grudge against the class in school for all it's strain as most suggest. My dissensions are rarely so unfounded. The class did put me to thinking on the subject again, however, and as usual in a critical way. The definition has evolved into a much more realistically enstranged topic, antagonizing its initial purpose of moving closer to the truth. There are three main definitions, please read them carefully because there is something I want you to see:

1 : the state of knowing : knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding
2 a : a department of systematized knowledge as an object of study b : something (as a sport or technique) that may be studied or learned like systematized knowledge
3 a : knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method b : such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena : natural science

I will now call to attention the method in ordering these alternative definitions. Almost always either the original or generalist definition of the term get the first slot and they continue in descending order. You will also notice that in these definitions they come to have a more material preoccupation as they go, and stray away from the traditional knowledge-thirsty intent.
The biggest problem with science is its disregard for the supernatural. You cannot begin to non-fictionally discover the earth's phenomena with but exclusive research of natural explanations. Nothing is natural. I would wonder as to how one could be so arrogant that they believe they could have a knowledge of every miracle and completely trash all divine control.

Now I know you are all reading and waiting for my comments and disdain for popularly hailed and shunned, evolution. Well put it out of your head, because I will not specifically criticize it. No, I believe I'll stick to science in general. However, I will provide some thought on Mr. Charles Darwin, advocate and more or less founder of the "Evolution Revolution."

Briefly: Grew up in a Unitarian church with his 5 brothers and sisters. After his mother died he attended a boarding school and soon began to apprentice as a doctor with his father. He found these practices not only dull, but distressing and began to slack in this line of work. He learned and excelled in taxidermy, classification of plants, and natural history while in school, but his father soon sent him away to Christ's College, Cambridge due to his negligence in his medical studies. The reason? A bachelor arts degree and the first step in the path to becoming a parson. Yes that's right, our evolution man, hideously disparaged by almost every preacher a gospel man himself. While he was there he was strayed away from his studies by newly discovered hobby of beetle collecting and other sport such as riding and shooting. As finals moved closer however he buckled down to his work. He was intrigued and infatuated by some literature by William Paley, a vigorous advocate and theologian that mainly subjected the existence of God. He did exceptionally well on his exam and continued to study Paley's work embodying many such subjects as divine design in nature. His interest in natural history however led him to abandon his schooling for that famous voyage on the HMS Beagle. While on his voyage he began to theorize about the adaptations and evolvement of species. As he begin to delve more and more into thoughts on involvement, his distinction between human and animal began to slowly become thinner. Besides overwork in his obsessive interests he also began to experience health problems, including stomach pains, vomiting, severe boils, palpitations, trembling and other symptoms none of which the origin was ever discovered, he suffered from these symptoms for the rest of his life. His interests began to rest heavily in the origin of things. When he finally published his work on natural selections controversy and interest exploded. While Darwin mostly sat back and watched his subtle theory explode into hundreds of assumptions and adoptions, his inner circle of friends (Gray, Hooker, Huxley and Lyell) were really the ones to take it in all different directions. Gray and Lyell were for a more faith based portrayal of the theory while Huxley began to "elaborate" in favor of the prescence of the "men from apes" theory in the book (which was not at all in the book) and begin a fierce campaign for science's trump over religion. The whole experience from the time Darwin had returned from his Beagle voyage had left him questioning the Bible as literal truth. He would often quote the Bible on the voyage and sought to tie in the adaptations of species from a pro-creation standpoint. His studies left him doubting. His blossoming thoughts on natural selection began to make divine design seem silly and pointless. To add to his questioning he begin to take notice of all the pain and strife demonstrated in the world's everyday life and thought that someone as good as the Creator he knew would not cause such, and with the death of his daughter Annie his Christian faith began to dwindle. While he never denied the existence of God and clung tightly to the bible as a source of moral law, his strong Christian lifestyle had been crushed by the search for reason. His lust for learning in regard to the natural, and his quest for explanations within human reason brought him further from the truth. His inner war between Christianity and Science gave him (and his wife) severe bouts with depression. In learning more and more about the world his faith was shaken. Our boy Darwin was growing up and leaving his child-like faith behind and with it the eternal truth that he would never get a grasp on again.

I speak to my brothers and sisters in Christ now. What can we hope to gain in pursuing science? Wisdom and true knowledge don't come from this earth or from natural things, but from above. I would venture to say another startling statement. I don't believe a Christian should avidly study science unless they are exceptionally and unshakeably firm in their faith. No if science is taken for what it was meant to be it isn't a bad thing. Not at all and it may be worth your time depending on its source. Why, though, would you intentionally delve so incureably deep into to a realm that will only fill your mind with doubts and harden your heart to the miraculous way of our Lord. Science should be more of a companion to Christianity with no difference in the Word and discovery. The only way you can uncover the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is in checking your hypotheses based on what God's word says. This contemporary science has become a heretical religion instead of a quest for intellectuals. A haven for atheists and the secularly inclined. It breaks my heart to see yet another Enemy infested perversion. Science is like all good things, not wrong unless corrupted.

Also I must point out that as much as science begs to shut down the supernatural as truth, in it's explanations it is ignorant as to just how much it's supporting it. The more statistics and complexities it begins to explain the more it's realized just how impossible it is to be without divine intervention. It hails God's hand, unfortunately with names like "spontaneous," and "chance." It tries to name our physical makeup while it just can't comprehend how astoundingly intricate we our. It blames chemicals and such for our thoughts and perfect revolution and location for the existence of life on earth. Then, I wonder, whom or what does it blame for the chemicals or such a precise location. They can never ever trace it all back to the beginning, because to do that it would have to admit that a never-ending chain of theories strung together loosely with spontaneous happenings would leave them with no end, because the end, people, is God and God defies their creed.

All this said I'm not on the whole against science. Just look once more at the first enumerated definition above, there's as far as it goes for me, and even that has it's limitations. Just look where a "state of knowing" has gotten human beings since that fateful fruit infringement in the garden of Eden. But as for the present day and age, ignorance is not the place to be in order to make a difference and wisdom is God's wish for us. Let's just seek it out in eternal places. Among the everyday miracles of God's creation. In the mysteries of Love that have been put in place everywhere we go waiting to be discovered. In the thrill of the Lord's promise and all the knowledge He would love to give to us. Nothing in this earth can compare to Christ's Love. Now there's something all your theorizing, hypothesizing, and explaining can't get a hold of. How much your Savior loves you. Science will never be supreme, no matter how foolish it attempts to make Christianity look. Our faith and our belief will not waver.

My Essentials

Whatever place you may choose to read, it is always a smart move to take a look in the scriptures each morning before you start the day, if it's just one verse. With this in mind I've compiled so many verses and scripture together to make up my Essentials. The verses I've found so far to best prepare me for the day. This list is not constant, I've added to it several times and plan to continue. Here they are:

1. Ephesians 6:10-20/The armor of God, practical and perfect for the intro to any day. So that you will be able to stand the wiles of the devil.

2. 1 Corinthians 13/To remind me what love truly is, and it's vitality.

3. Jeremiah 29:11/Just in case I get the notion that God is against me or out to get me (my mind can go strange places. He has good thoughts and plans for me.

4. Psalm 139:7-12/This whole chapter sometimes gets my read. Such a great passage. These few verses explode with the omniprescent spirit of God. Inescapable. Love it!

5. Matthew 23:11, 12/Reminds me to participate in the greatest imitation of Christ. Servitude with humility on the side.

6. Romans 8:28/A promise. Everything works for good if we continue to love God and run after His purpose for us.

7. Romans 8:38, 39/My favorite promise from the Lord. It's impossible for us to seperate ourselves from the love of Christ. Nothing can!

8. Romans 12:2/The anti-conformity statement of the day. Be different! We are aliens and this is not our home. Change the culture don't let it change you. We have something to prove.

9. Phillipians 2:14, 15/I really need this one playing over and over in my head all day. Be blameless and shine bright.

10. Matthew 6:9-13/This is definitely one to be practiced everyday. The Lord's Prayer. We cannot up it with our own prayer so each day it should be entreatied to Heaven.

11. Proverb/The Proverbs have the best one month setup. Everyday would be ideal for each one. The Proverbs show you how to be a practically moral person, and give you precious wisdom.

So these are my essentials. Leave take or recommend, but definitely start a set for yourself.