rabit51 - restricted viewing allowed

no government?

2007-05-12T15:39:00.000-04:00

on the google home page today ... the quote i got was:

If men were angels, no government would be necessary.
- James Madison

sadly, this is not completely true. if by angels ... he means the coloquial use of the term, "angels" as meaning "good doers" then he'd be right. but, strictly speaking - even angels (as in the real ones) includes the classification, "fallen angels." i do not pretend to know what transpired so fully as to complete their choice - or to make the choice of those angels which remained faithful unto their Maker a choice that is beyond doubt or need of worry.

i mean, it seems to me that once chosen - those faithful angels and those fallen angels have cast their lot and by God's power remain (and shall remain) as they have chosen. i simply see that this is the case ... and my speculation is that the agreement was based upon God's decree, God's ability to keep these angels in the state of their choosing for eternity.

if my thesis is correct ... then i suppose the above quote actually stands firm - if we are to imply by the term "angels" that the US 4th President meant - those messengers of God which have remained faithful, through God's power, and shall ever be ... faithful.

i suppose a christian, who struggles as we all do ... with the weight of temptations, tests, and trials, might be tempted unto envy towards the state of the angels in their choice - for we wrestle against such powers - daily.

we should first not be fooled by the struggle of our sojourn to the resurrection into thinking that God's holding power does not extend to the christian much more than it does to angels ... for i am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the Day of Christ Jesus..."

secondly, christians have been made partakers of the Divine Nature ... we are in Christ and Christ in us - we are in God and God in us shall we restate - for in us dwells the earnest of the Holy Spirit and the hope of glory. these, and many other things of the christian life are things into which the angels desire to peek - but can only know, lovingly, from afar - be they close to us as can be.

praise God for his faithful angels - we must remember that the apostle paul made much of the importance of our witness before the angels and powers. by showing humbleness and honor towards God and God's order ... we somehow give witness of God's glory unto the angels. the real idea here is ... even angels - filled with the face of God - long for more of God.

rabit51
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2007-04-03T23:48:00.000-04:00

i got word last night of the loss of a friend... like a daughter to me really ... spent the day sick to my gut. i am such a spiritual man ... no. just a man, just me.

on days like this all i can recall is that indeed we are all just people in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ.

this is for crystal ... may i hold your chin in my hand and see your smile on that crystal shore ... because of the choice Jesus made ... because of Good Friday, Sad Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter).

MARGARET, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie.
And yet you will weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.: Gerard Manley Hopkins

peac4d.
pops

resentment camp

2007-02-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

so, today i sit in the 'ville - quite a few miles from my home and many miles from sweet philly, pa too. last night, i dreamed about philly - i could still smell the air of philadelphia as i awakened (a fond remembrance).

next monday, i take a job inside, in an office, for the money. it's gotta be ... we certainly need it and my little family unit is worth the world to me. still, i am saddened by the whole enterprise - i did not spend myself to be spent like this... but such is life, such is love.

in philly, as we labored against the wall of impossibility (with smiles on our faces) i can still feel the pain of family from home. family members just don't make good dream team members - they love you too much.

resentment wells up from time to time in me towards them ... i let it out, say hello, and cut it's little head off with reason and prayer. resentment, (feelings, stuff like that), - well, you know it's asking some form of a legit question. so, it's not enough to lop it's head off - it'll just come back stronger next time. you have to talk to these little thoughts and expose them to the light of reason. the hard part is when people you love are involved. my family telling me how foolish a mission i am on and how stupid this and that is. my inlaws seeding us with enticements to move to their city - a house, a car, food, childcare, etc., all stuff that wasn't true - but like a little fox it ate away at the guts of our resolve.

resentment gets born in places and spaces like that. for me, there's the mental illness issue. having panic anxiety dissorder isn't exactly what i had planned. though it makes a great deal of sense out of my past journey - and why every task was so difficult for me. if i had only known? i might not have come so far :-). really, i didn't know, i just thought it was hard and pushed ahead. example: for me to walk from the car to church was always difficult - i didn't know any different - so i just mustered through. i really didn't think about it too much at all.

my answer to resentment over moving to the 'ville and leaving the mission? we moved here for real reasons. some i cannot write in a public space - except to say, "love had a voice that was calling our name in a time of need ... and we answered willfully and willingly with joy and tears." another reason - i need to re-tool and become aware of what i can do. no need to focus on what cannot be done. so, that is why i am here - and if i have any recollection of the stories in this blog - then i am certain that i am on the right path.

there's a dream i'll have to write about later - this one bugs me tons.

rabit51

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down with the pukes

2007-02-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

i spent all day down with the pukes. several homes that i visit during my work had epidemics of stomach virus last week. i suppose, tag i'm it! what a joy!

i think we fool ourselves from time to time ... thinking we're more if we can accomplish and thinking ourselves less if we cannot. i am not disputing that we're made by our Maker for good works, destined for each to fulfill in the Father's hands and times. still, on a day like today - there's no utitlitarian purpose in which i could have been employed. i don't even think i would have made a suitable paper weight.

but, i knew the Lord's pleasure all day - even in this down and out mode. i knew it and know it just as freely as i do when i am "in the zone" scaling great heights of being spent on mission.

i suppose, when we think more of ourselves and ending up (ironically) thinking less of ourselves.

without faith, it is impossible to please God (i can be pleasing to God!)
for the one who comes to God must believe that He is (knee one bent - God is!)
and that God will reward those who diligently seek Him (knee two bent - i can know God and know the reward of finding God).

so, i can please our Maker and i can know the pleasure (reward) of knowing my Maker.

all life, every human being, is of great worth. even on days with da' pukes.

here's some of the music from my bro chris carder:

» Browse This Collection

rabit51

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reopening a blog long closed

2007-02-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

i've tried over the past to redirect this blog - but - it's really just my personal weblog - not more, not less. i've come to see that. so, from this point forward this blog will be mostly about my own walk of faith, my own spiritual journey.

this sunday, our pastor continued his messages from james with the following text:

James 4
4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions [1] are at war within you? [2]

2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4 You adulterous people! [3] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

through the process of hearing the Word, i simply came down to my own desires and the events of the recent past which have landed me where i am. it's a long story, one i'll not go into yet - but over time ... i intend to tell it and come to terms with the path i am walking.

let it suffice to say, i chased my dreams - and i came to the point of capturing them - only to loose and to end up here (where i am today).

and in this space, i "humble myself" and lay my dreams down to die ... or to rise ... i know not which? but, i refocus myself this day to being whatever the Lord wishes and to say, "it is well."

rabit51

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tagia: none

2006-07-03T02:13:00.000-04:00

since there's world wide war, the pacific rim is hot with swirling signs of earthquake like activity, israel has pulled the trigger, wars and rumors of wars - not to mention an asteroid coming dang close to earth, i thought this song by my bro chris carder might be apropos.

the week will probably go fine for most of us :-) - but the future, it cometh to us all. so, i find this beautiful song to always be timely.

peac3e.
rabit51

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talebearing, tail baring, more experiences, TIOC...

2006-07-01T15:40:00.000-04:00

this week's reading from TIOC "The Imitation of Christ" said much about prudence in action and focused (as per my understanding) upon gossip and talebearing. this, quite possibly, is an old lesson for me. i am not prone to tell tales concerning others quickly or to believe all that i hear readily.

but, the reminder is good: "...not to believe everything people say or to spread abroad the gossip one has heard, is great wisdom."

a thought that crossed my mind many times as i pondered this reading was the great lack of prudence and discretion people use on the internet. there is the literal "tail bearing" and the figurative.

i shuddered when i thought of how many people are loosing the ability to blush, to be modest - and that the same supposed impersonality of the internet which allows people to behave rudely or speak to one another and act towards and about one another in ways they'd never do in public - is the same supposed impersonal realm where a great many people bare their literal "tails" (ie. butts, bodies, acts, etc.) on webcams and in images, pictures, pics, etc. it is a literal world of the wannabe amatuer porn star. once, our culture considered exhibitionism to be, not only a crime, but a sign of mental issues and certainly an evidence of one being disturbed in one way or another. now? it seems the disease is spreading.

figuratively, people expose much more of themselves by way of blog, chat, myspace, bebo, hot vs not, facebook, friendster, newsgroups, and a host of other services where indiscretion has riddled the consciences of both the actors and the lurkers.

my personal theory - that a distorted version of our natural desire for self disclosure - from the physical desire to the emotional (and all inbetween) is taking a greater hold of many via the net and getting greater "exposure" (at the very least) thru the internet. it's a quest for intimacy and comfort IMHO which lies unfulfilled at the core of this.

kempis wrote: "A good life makes a man wise according to God and gives him experience in many things."

to me this stands in a grand contrast as an answer to our natural desires for intimacy, for experiences (plain and simple - because not all exhibitionism is the rooted in some iffy-niffy quest for love, disclosure, etc., but simply in our hunger for experiences too). his advice is that "a good life ... gives ... experience in many things."

now, i know he was saying that a good life makes one experienced and therefore wise to face the world of gossip, talebearing, tailbearing, etc. it brings the person to maturity and to a life of wisdom where not every inclination is heeded unwisely.

but, it also means that for those who seek experience and a great many of them - a good life offers more and better experiences tempered with prudence, discretion, wisdom and above all - connection with God.

no baring of self between one another can equal the depth of self disclosure and intimacy one can have and experience with our Maker. in our Maker we also discover what schaeffer called, "the beauty of human relationships."

let us be wise when inclinations come knocking upon our door.

rabit51
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tagia: kempis mondays talebearing tail baring experiences relationships

Prudence in Action : kempis mondays

2006-06-26T15:20:00.000-04:00

the topic of this brief reading this week is titled: Prudence in Action and so it's chapter four (4) for those following along (me, God, some random angel).

"DO NOT yield to every impulse and suggestion but consider things carefully and patiently in the light of God’s will." (TIOC)

my what a big, "DO NOT" this reading begins with!?!! funny thing too, i was just about to come on here and spill my guts about what i have begun to perceive about my families life ... these insights that have slowly been coming to me as i have worked this day.

kempis was writing, it seems, about speaking of others and being humble. and now that i look at what i had begun to post - i see that the topic of "me" is the topic of "us" (with a few "they's" and "them's" thrown in there too). so, i will pause with prudence and her sister (hmm, humbling moment, i cannot recall that word i know so well ... it begins with a "d" - "discretion" - well now i've thought of it) discretion.

i know a man who was just a simple factory worker his whole life - but he's very wise and quite amazing in many ways. i was born with a flapping mouth - but this man always paused before he spoke and he's quite the opposite of myself. early on, i realized that quality about this man was a part of wisdom - to pause with prudence and discretion.

this reading seems short - i wonder if it will have me thinking all week - and more, doing.

rabit51
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knowing God... kempis mondays

2006-06-24T23:37:00.000-04:00

i think i need more time to digest all that this reading from "TIOC" has in it. it offends, shocks, causes one to say, "no ... maybe ... i think ... yes" and i find what a great devotional reading does - it opens one's eyes.

this quote seems to be central to the entry:

"Every perfection in this life has some imperfection mixed with it and no learning of ours is without some darkness.

Humble knowledge of self is a surer path to God than the ardent pursuit of learning.

Not that learning is to be considered evil, or knowledge, which is good in itself and so ordained by God; but a clean conscience and virtuous life ought always to be preferred.

Many often err and accomplish little or nothing because they try to become learned rather than to live well."

in a recent comment on shiverings blog i wrote:

"...all truth is truth (period). but, everything that comes guised as truth is not. when we speak of "God's truth" we are speaking of those things revealed by God - things too high for human ears, things which eye has not seen nor ear heard, but which has been uncovered for us - in Christ crucified.

see this story of saul unable to hear from God - and going to ways that God had forbidden. the scriptures do not say that what saul encountered wasn't the truth nor true. yet, we can hardly say that what saul sought was following God in search of the truth. no, he disobeyed God in seeking truth and it did not serve him well...."

the story of saul seems important to me ... he sought knowledge over pleasing God and being pleased in knowing God.

Proverbs 9:10
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

rabit51
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tagia: kempis mondays

again, i invite anyone to join with me in reading The Imitation of Christ and blogging along with me. just put the word "kempis monday" in a tag or text or title.

kempis mondays ... much to consider

2006-06-20T18:07:00.000-04:00

there's quite a bunch being said in this week's reading from "The Imitation of Christ."

i am still chewing on one line and another:

one:
"HAPPY is he to whom truth manifests itself, not in signs and words that fade, but as it actually is. Our opinions, our senses often deceive us and we discern very little."

another:
"A good and devout man arranges in his mind the things he has to do, not according to the whims of evil inclination but according to the dictates of 6 right reason."

much to ponder in this reading, there is much to reflect upon - this will take several re-reads.

i invite any blogger who wishes to join me in posting their way through kempis - just title or tag (or both) your posts (done anytime during the week) as kempis mondays and join with me in the weekly reading of the imitation of Christ.

rabit51
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tagia: kempis mondays

looking back on this week's reading

2006-06-18T00:36:00.000-04:00

i began this "kempis mondays" theme with the idea that readings such as these should be digested over a longer period of time than just one day. this week's reading seems to have proven the point (to me at least). the seven days from last monday is coming to a close - and yet - i am still pondering much from this reading.

on one level, i understand better what i have read. on another, i am more entangled in the ideas presented that have contended with my thinking and my doing.

"Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise.

Many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life eases the mind and a clean conscience inspires great trust in God." (source)

as a person, many words are one of my favorite things - words, words, words, and thoughts, thoughts, thoughts, i love them - consume them - pursue them - and wrangle with them - much to my own delight or obsession. but, "mind of peace" and "a great trust in God" are such precious gems that i cannot compare any thought, nor any thing, nor any pursuit conceived to be equal to being one of the sheep in john 10 - those who know the Shepherd - come in and go out and find good pasture. being in peace in the care of God is worth more than a temporal trust in a nimble mind or a collection of thoughts or skill with words.

my work takes me into alzheimer patient and head trauma recovery centers daily - and it is with this week's reading that a saying of my own has become something of a knowing purchased again, "we all are just one brain cell away from playing with our own drool."

it's not a pretty saying, nor one destined to be a classic - but such is true. the pursuit of God and being like Christ is worth more than much knowledge of any sort.

rabit51
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MHO... kempis mondays

2006-06-12T09:16:00.000-04:00

when reading this second chapter of "The Imitation of Christ" i have often heard people reject the writing outright as being "anti-intellectual," or "extreme asceticism," or "piotism," etc. [note: it's often odd to me how people i have known react to the notion of piotism as if it were an evil notion - which always frames an oxymoron in my head, "evil piotism."]

to me, when i read this - i am often reminded of receiving a graded paper in school. the grader circles or marks something in red and then questions why the writer hasn't backed up their point or questions the implications of a statement. often, extremely often, if the grader had read the paper first - they would have seen that such ideas, questions, and points are addressed in the paper - the grader just hasn't gotten to them. being a punk, i often circled their statement and then pointed to how it was addressed later in the paper - with an odd note about intro material being "intro material" or exposition if you like.

sometimes, it's even worse, the grader missed the context all together - and needs to be pointed back to the exposition - sometimes the opening sentence.

that's what i see when reading the words here in this reading from TIOC.

you read:

"Shun too great a desire for knowledge, for in it there is much fretting and delusion. Intellectuals like to appear learned and to be called wise. Yet there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul, and he who concerns himself about other things than those which lead to salvation is very unwise."

first, what we just read is true - "there are many things the knowledge of which does little or no good to the soul." but, we need not read into that some idea that a ball bearing maker need not study ball bearings - or any other such over reading. instead, we need to stay in context - as pointed out in the first sentence:

"EVERY man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God?"

second, if one reads further - a healthy perspective of humility in knowing is given:

"Do not be proud, therefore, because of your learning or skill. Rather, fear because of the talent given you. If you think you know many things and understand them well enough, realize at the same time that there is much you do not know."

the line i find myself wrangling around with is this one:

He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when praised by men.

at first glance, maybe even second - i had to say, "this just isn't true - a person who knows himself doesn't automatically become mean in his own eyes and not happy when praised by others"!

i don't think kempis means "angry, spiteful, etc." when he uses the term "mean." though i could be wrong. i will ponder this throughout the week.

instead, due to context (...not happy when praised...) i think kempis uses, "mean," in the sense of being "base, common, ignoble."

in this case, i hear the writer saying (directly to the greeks and the oracle at delphi), "know thyself and know someone who needs salvation."

to be more blunt - "know thyself and know a sinner."

or as kempis ends the message with this tautology:

"All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself."

i also noted that kempis is more specific in his term for knowledge than the translator - using the term, "metaphysics," as opposed to knowing, knowledge, etc.

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kempis mondays ::: contrition :::: one

2006-06-05T07:06:00.000-04:00

I am beginning to ask bloggers to join me in blogging through "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas, à Kempis. if you want to join in ... we're beginning with chapter 1. a fine copy is found at ccel.

The First Chapter
Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth

"I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it." ~ the rest

well, i didn't know how to define contrition - in so many words. of course, i knew what it meant - but putting it into words, "a broken sense of confessing that i need a Savior, that i need to turn from sin and sinning ... etc. ...."

turns out, that i was close - the word does come from latin, "contritio - a breaking of something hardened".

kempis was writing for brothers in a very strict lifestyle - monastic and holiness oriented. i'm no monk and i ain't no saint :-)

i could have selected a ton of lines from this reading - but this one - it seemed to echo through my memory as being about something i once experienced quite sharply and authentically many years ago ... the breaking of the fallow (hardened) ground - so that the seed of the Word might get inside and produce...

in my walk with Christ - this daily walk - this often moment by moment walk of something that is, at no moment less than eternal, have i grown hard ... or even just hard in some places in my heart and mind and life?

what matters more to me, being able to define contrition or knowing the feel of the thing?

Father, shine your light upon me, search me and know me, see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in your way everlasting. - amen.

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tagia: Thomas à Kempis kempis mondays contrition Christ repent christian

thanksgiving... and the lame turkey animation

2005-11-24T14:27:00.000-04:00

don't be anxious - be thankful in all things - and pray. for christians - everyday is thanksgiving and all moments of life, cruel of sublime, are moments of wondrous thanks - for our lives are never to be lost no matter what may come. above all the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord remains - no matter what:

the lamest turkey animation i could find!

Romans 8:35-39 (esv)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

music of the moment (click pick to check it out)

delirious new cd!!!

rabit51
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tagia: thanksgiving delirious

beachball: if i should die...

2005-11-14T02:13:00.000-04:00

Beachball
once when I was just a 4 year old boy, I lost my beachball at the
beach. Awwww!

I had no sooner blown it up that the winds grabbed it and took it
sailing out to sea.

I can still recall laying there in the sand and watching that
multicolored ball turn into a tiny dot on the horizon and then
dissappear.

I imagined a group of native children, on some island somehwere,
running out of their huts, and welcoming my beachball to their shore
-- where they played and played.

for some reason, that imagination made me happy and made my loss seem
less horrid.

Mother
when i was just a 30 year old man, i stood beside a strange bed, in a
clinical place, and looked at the skinny and cancer ravaged body of my
mother. i watched my father pet, lovingly, my mother's arm, saying
her name again and again.

i had just driven 400 miles to get there - living away from my family.
nothing my father could do seemed to draw her out of her morphine
induced slumber - until my father announced that i was there.

her eyes opened instantly...

they were crossed eyes, still beautiful and brown as coffee - but
wracked with pain and the effects of the drugs.

30 mins later she was gone.

and, i've been sitting on this shoreline... looking off in the
distance... her image far from my view...

lack of practice?
maybe, i has been a bit of selfishness, maybe a bit of "lack of
practice" since you only get to lose your mother once...

but, i've had a hard time imagining her being greeted on the other
shore and the ensuing play and worship...

i know she's not coming this way again... but i go to where she is...

mostly, i have vented my "lack of imagination" concerning this into
song and my art - there's sometimes a safe distance in art ya know...

an enlightened generation of christians?
i am of the "enlightened" generation of christians - who know it's
impolite to ask, "if you were to die tonight?" and who knows better
than to teach their children to pray, "...if I should die before I
wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

when i was younger i used to say, "don't sing me no hymns about, 'way
over yonder' or 'heaven' or 'on that other shore' or 'celestial bands'
and such... "

now that i am older, i become "less enlightened" with every passing...

Question?
when did we come to this place where we began to pretend and imagine
that life on planet earth isn't terminal?

peace.rabit51

p.s. i have gotten a great deal of comfort, inspiration, and boldness listening to and singing the songs of the late mark heard. here is one of my favorites of his. which will also begin a new feature in my postings - when appropriate - i'll post some of my musical favs, links, etc.

mark heard's satellite sky

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tagia: death christianity christian blog directory christian music die question

a four door faith: door two: the heart

2005-11-10T13:43:00.000-04:00

Door Two The Heart

one day a man was riding a horse. the horse stepped on a long stick
and within an instant the horse reared up and began running wildly.

the man pulled on the reigns and shouted, "Whoaaa!" but the horse
continued to run for about a hundred yards before the man could bring
it under control.

why did the horse run?

why did the horse ignore the pulling of the reigns and the feeling of
the bit and bridle that should have made the horse stop?

why did the horse ignore his master's commands of "Whoaaa!" which
should have made the horse stop?

something deep in the horse's brain sent a message to the horse. a
message that was deeper and more powerful than the message of the
reigns, deeper than the message of his master's voice.

i doubt the horse had ever seen a real snake, but deep in his
instincts there was a message that told the horse: "long slender
things that move along the ground are dangerous."

it was a message that was so powerful, so attention getting, that the
it overpowered everything the horse knew about riding, being ridden,
the reigns and the vocal commands it had learned.

the horse saw the long slender thing moving on the ground.
the horse thought, "danger."
the horse believed it was, "dangerous."
the horse communicated with itself and said, "danger!"
and the horse did something,
it ran.

we are discussing the doors of life
those doors that usher us into the faith experience
the first door we discussed was the door of the mind
the role that our thinking plays in our lives.

today we are considering the door of the heart
the door of our believing
and the role that belief plays in the faith experience.

the story of the man on the horse demonstrates to us just how powerful
beliefs can be in our lives.

beliefs are deeply held convictions about who we are, how we relate to
the world around us and what that world is like.

the horse was a broken horse -- which simply means that he had been
trained for riding.

the horse was a trained horse and knew what the commands of the bit,
bridle and reigns meant.

the horse was the man's horse, and knew the man's voice and the man's
vocal commands.

but, all of those things were not powerful enough to help the horse
overcome a deeply seated belief system

in the horse's case this was the instinctual message which God had
programmed for its survival
"long slender things that move along the ground are dangerous"

when we enter into the door of our beliefs

and if we have any hopes of growing in our belief systems

then we need to be aware that we are encountering deep forces within
our own minds

each of us have messages which hold great power over our lives

each of us hold on to deeply seated belief systems

changing these beliefs is hard

it is difficult

you might say that it is almost impossible.

that's how the writer of Hebrews 11:6 put it:

"Without faith it is impossible to please God, for the person who
comes to God must first believe that God is, and that God is a
rewarder of those who seek Him earnestly."

as we saw with the horse, changing thoughts can be done with some
effort and work

changing and growing in beliefs is another story

which brings us to the door of believing.

let us look at 4 common beliefs found in Hebrews 11:6 which are
commonly held by people

#1. Please God:

this is a common prayer that is spoken all of the time

at the race track -- please God let my horse win!

in the classroom -- please God let me pass this test!

in an airplane -- please God let this plane land safely!

on a date -- please God let him/her like me!

i am certain you could think of another 100 examples of this common
prayer!

what is the belief behind such prayers?

a. for some it is that God is like a lucky charm, a lucky rabbit's
foot that can be called upon to help in times of need or want.

b. for others it is that God is a last resort, someone to call upon in
times of trouble, distress, or need.

c. for some it is that God exists to please them, to help them out
when they need him.

God does care about the little details of life -- but this is a
limited and limiting view of God, and will certainly hinder our
entering through the door of belief into the experience of faith.

#2. Please God = Appease God

the image comes to mind of a bad 1950's or 60's movie where the
cavemen are carrying a virgin sacrifice up to throw her in a volcano
to appease the god of the mountain and save the village.

many people think God is like that

this God is always angry and wants us to do something to appease His
constant and dangerous anger.

many people live their whole lives with a sense of guilt and
oppression because their deepest belief is that God is mad at them.

#3. Please God = the tyrant God

Others tend to think that God is more like some tyrant who wants us to
please His whims

you never know what this God wants

you never know what this God desires

you never know how to act

there are many who think that this God is playing with their lives and
toying with the experience of living a full life

this God is a spoil sport who seems to derive pleasure out of
depriving humans of joy and life!

#4. it is impossible to please God

many people have tried and they have come away from the experience
feeling that they have failed
or that God has failed them
or church has failed them

the bottom line is
there's really no way to please God

#5. God's is pleased with everybody

some people think that God just automatically loves everyone
no matter what they do
no matter what they believe
no matter how they live
God just is love
all paths lead to God

there are more belief systems than i could mention here
but they are very powerful
and they directly effect our ability
to enter into the faith experience

Hebrews 11:6 says more than simply, "It is impossible to please God!"

the words speak a message of the door of belief

the door of faith.

"The person who comes to God must first believe there is a God!"

the first knee bent in the faith experience is the knee that bows and
confesses, "God exists!"

"...and God will reward those that seek Him earnestly!"

the picture i like to think of here is of a deer hunter

the deer hunter is earnestly seeking one thing

and the deer hunter's reward

is the deer.

for those who seek God

the reward is God Himself.

Here's my version of Hebrews 11:6

"There is a God and you can know Him"

Belief Systems 101

these are the two central beliefs that make up the door of our heart
which usher us into the faith experience

they are steps of faith

steps that each person must take for themselves

1. Is there a God?

2. Can I know this God?

faith is not a force

God is not some principle

God is a personality

the message of the church has been and will always be:

There is a God and you can know Him

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
a note about pleasing God

i find the usage of this word {please} to be one of the great belief
builders

God is a being that can be pleased by knowing us

God is a being that can please us when we know Him
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

So What?

so, if you are on this faith journey

you will encounter doors along the way

the door of the mind -- and your thinking
the door of your heart -- and your believing
the door of your mouth -- and your confessing
the door of your life -- and your doing

when it comes to your believing remember growth and change is possible
with faith.

God is.

You can experience God.

rabit51
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Make us new, as a pledge...

2005-11-03T01:59:00.000-04:00

the prayer below comes from a very personal time of prayer by a fountain about 7 years ago in the 'ville. the fountain is a memorial to the many lives lost and the massive destruction of a 1970's tornado which devastated my old neighborhood. it also was a secret place for me - a place where my daily walks would end. often, i'd circle the fountain - just being quiet and purposeful in prayer. on this occaision i sat behind a large marble sign and it was there that God made certain and rather important promises to me. promises of which i am still living this side of...

today, i only see rocky road and obstacles and threats to the promise. that, btw, is the narrative theme of the scriptures. don't believe me? pick one up and read the stories from genesis forward - notice the theme of promise, threats to the promise, death of the dream, and God's promises fulfilled. o.k. maybe picking up the whole book is a biggy - so how about just reading the life of abraham <---already found it for you :-) just pick up the story from there and read on - the narrative theme should become apparent.

anyway, today was wondering what next? how? what's to come? Lord i cannot see your path before me - all i can see is rocky road. tonight was chatting with a person i only see out and about - here and there - and learning of her battle with cancer. some people want to be preachers or something because they have this burning unction to "be heard!" or "go and tell!" and i must be broken somehow - because, i want to be with dying people, sick people, i want to be there when babies are born and when marriages fail or overcome. i cannot fully explain this - and really no job or lack thereof in the field has ever stopped me from being who and what i am and doing what i do. but, today, i live in this between space (don't we all in some way) and i can only rest my head under Christ's and live one day after another.

"every word they say makes me think i'll last forever, and don't you know, tomorrow, tomorrow i might be gone." ~ mike roe

life is daily ~ Jesus *

anyway, this is the prayer born on that day by the fountain:

"This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in
it, I am weak, but He is strong - He is the King, He has the power and
the glory is all to Him, to whom I owe my life, my very existence and
my eternal life, the life that is now resident within me through His
person.

The thing, "I did not know," which God told me, saying, "I live inside
of you," the temple of God, and that we are... the children of God,
and that we are... the people of God.

Come Holy Spirit and transform our lives, come minister the Word of
God which renews our minds and shapes us to the image of Christ, a
holy temple, a royal priesthood, a divine lineage, a people for you,
our God.

Make us new, as a pledge, make us new, as a promise - that one day
everything, heaven and earth, will be made new.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done - here. "

a-men

if you're a christian and have a blog - on any topic - then
click the image above to visit "four door faith : dettonville's christian blogs"
submit your blog for inclusion.

rabit51
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Don't Slap the Face... a musing on a song

2005-10-26T14:10:00.000-04:00

[note: i wrote this back when i lived in philly, reagan was still alive, things were different in the world - i found it today - read it again - things have changed - but they're still the same ... we're just one step closer.]

The Days to Come
(Mark Tootle) performed by the 77's

Something tells me that we'll come out of this
With a healing compassion or a scarring bitterness
Don't revive painful times, let them rest
Don't drag a net through the sea of forgetfulness

The cut was deep, the blood was warm
I can't deny what it's done
But if we don't release the past
We'll slap the face of the days to come

There's a hand at the door refusing to leave
Its pulse is throbbing, its heart on its sleeve
It's a new tomorrow waiting to be received
By somebody ready and willing to believe

The cut was deep, the blood was warm
I can't deny what it's done
But if we don't release the past
We'll slap the face of the days to come

Remember this melody
Don't ever let it go away
Sing it to your heart
Day after day after day

The cut was deep, the blood was warm
I can't deny what it's done
But if we don't release the past
We'll slap the face of the days to come

i love it, that the faith of our Lord -- christianity -- is the
religion of singing.

when i was a boy, i used to think -- well someday they're just going
to run out of songs -- there just cannot be enough to sing about.

but, then i met Jesus, the one who puts the song in our hearts -- and
from his word i read the wonderful visions and words of john the
revelator in revelation 4-5.

8Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with
eyes all around, even under his wings.

*Day and night they never stop saying:*

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to
come."

9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who
sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,
10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne,
and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns
before the throne and say:
11"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."

(elipsis)

the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before
the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full
of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9And they sang a new song (elipsis)

when we begin our worship -- we always remind ourselves that we are before the throne.

when i bend the knee -- i remember that in the Spirit i am there, and
in Christ i am there, and boldy may i come before the Father.

but often, i am driven to my knees by the weight of these days, the
weight of the distance born in "Thy kingdom come..." and "come quickly
Lord Jesus!"

the mortal body is just that -- dying.
the terminal planet is just that -- dying.
even the sun in the sky -- is dying.

before this is over, i may be like ronald reagan is now -- alzheimers
or sitting in "depends" on a stoop in philly muttering to the children
as they play in the streets -- we're all just one brain cell away from
playing with our own drool -- one red light or stop sign away from bed
sores and pans (if you think about it).

in this kingdom tension of the "now and not yet" that we live in, the
circumstances, experiences, the everything that the enemy throws at
us, the weight of our own flesh, and those around us --it all
presents, for each of us, a daily (sometimes moment by moment) choice.

"Something tells me that we'll come out of this
With a healing compassion or a scarring bitterness..."

truth is, no matter what one is going through, they will come out of
this, they will be somewhere tomorrow...

with either a healing compassion

or a scarring bitterness.

depending upon whom one follows, and unto whom one worships, depending
upon the song that one chooses, day after day after day.

rabit51
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tagia: worship

a four door faith: door one: the mind

2005-10-22T23:54:00.000-04:00

port: a door • a door: the mind

when i was just a young boy, i awoke from a nap time dream
i had dreamt that i could fly -- in my dream i had
the greatest time soaring around the house
i couldn't wait to show my parents
my kid brother
everyone
the whole world
"i could fly!"

when i woke up
i thought to myself -- i can fly!
i believed it -- i can fly!
i said it -- i can fly!
and then

i did it!

i climbed on the edge of the couch, i held my arms in front of myself
like superman -- and with one mighty leap!
for one spell binding moment!
i was airborne -- but only for a moment
as i crashed
face first to the floor below

yes, i tried it a few more times before the reality sunk in, i thought -- hmm, i can't fly... i believed it (finally) -- i can't really fly... i said it (sadly) -- i can't fly... i didn't try it again

In this 4 part series we are talking about a four door faith:

"The doors of faith which usher us into the faith experience"

here we are talking about the door of the mind
our thinking!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

There once was a father who had two sons. One of his Son's came to him
and said, "I want my half of the family inheritance now!"
The father gave it to him.

The son thought:
I am trapped in my father's house
I want what is coming to me
I deserve better than this
I want to be free
Living here with my father is bondage

He thought it
He believed it
He said it
He acted upon it

So, the son took all of his money and moved far away from his family.
There he spent his money on wild living, and he lived the life of a
wealthy, fun-seeking party animal.

He thought:
I deserve to have any desire I desire
I have plenty of wealth
I can go on like this forever
I am really living now
This is freedom!

But, in time, his money ran out.
And to make matters worse a famine hit the land.
So, the son had to find a job.
He ended up working on a pig farm
feeding pigs.

He was so poor and so hungry that one day he looked at the slop he was
feeding the pigs and he thought about eating it. Even pig slop looked
good to him now.

He thought:
I am poor
I have nothing
I am a nobody
I'm so hungry that
Even pig slop looks good to me

But, then one day -- he came to his senses!

He thought:
Hey, even the poorest of the workers in my father's house eat better
than I do?
I could go home and ask my father to hire me as a slave?
I am not worthy to be my father's son anymore
I will go home

And so he went home.

While he was walking home, his head hung low, his feet bare with
poverty, his clothes ragged and worn....

His father saw him in the distance.

His father ran all the way out to him and grabbed him
and held him
and cried and cried!

Even in his father's loving embrace,
the son thought:
I am not worthy to be his son
I am a disgrace
I will ask to be one of my father's slaves

The son began his prepared speech:
"Father I am no longer worthy to be in your family, but if you would
hire me as a slave...."

But the son could not finish his words, his father spoke to his
servants:

"Quick! Bring the best clothes and put them on my son! Put a ring on
his finger and bring him new shoes! Bring the best food and wine!
Prepare a feast! Let us celebrate!

Hurry! This is my son who was once lost to me, but now he is found! It
was as if he were dead, but my son is alive!"

And so, they celebrated.

This is what Christians call "The Good News!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the Beginning
the son thought he was trapped by the father
he thought the father was holding back from him
he thought the father did not have his best interests at heart
he did not know that his father loved him

When He Ran Away
the son thought he had an unlimited supply of wealth
the son thought nothing could happen to him

{we too think we have an unlimited supply of "life" but the truth is,
our life span is limited. we too can think that nothing will happen to
us, but there is no such thing as certainty in this life. the events
of 911 should make that way too clear to all of us}

When the Money Ran Out and the Famine Came
the son thought that he was doomed to poverty
and that he was a mere pawn in the cruel game
of life's circumstances

When He Came to His Senses
the son thought that he could find help with his father
but he would have to become some kind of
slave to his father

When He Came Home
the son discovered that he had a place in this world
the son discovered that his father loved him
the son saw what rights, riches and responsibilities
he had always had with his father

A. he was welcomed in as a son -- and enjoyed all the rights of a son!
B. he was given a nice clothes, shoes, and a feast -- riches!
C. he was given a ring -- this meant power to do business on the
families' behalf -- responsibilities!

We call this the Good News, because every human has a place, a home,
rights, riches, and responsibilities awaiting them in the house of our
Father

The Door of our Thinking
but our thinking can keep us far from experiencing or enjoying the
life we were meant to live!

Some people think that faith is magical, mystical, or only
supernatural. But faith is truly ordinary and very natural

there was nothing wrong with the door of the son's thinking
it was the thoughts that came through the door that enslaved him

funny isn't it -- in seeking to keep from being a slave -- he ended up
seeking to be a slave? how tragic!

the thoughts that came through the son's mind -- made their way from
his thinking into his believing -- from his believing into his talking
-- and from his talking into his experience

Faith Works the Same Way for You and I

if our thinking is distorted
our belief systems get distorted
our talk gets distorted
and our lives get distorted

and we miss out on all that we were made to be

"Faith comes into our lives by hearing, and hearing comes through the
Good News"

It all starts with the door of the mind

may God richly bless you!

peac4d.
amos dettonville

"Do not let this world press you into its mold, but rather, be
transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Apostle Paul 60AD

rabit51
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the bully and the plastic spider...

2005-10-20T23:00:00.000-04:00

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free"
Jesus of nazareth
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"what a mess the world is in, i wonder who began it, don't ask me, i'm
only visiting this planet"
larry norman
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

it was out on the playground one day, that billy wanted to have some fun with the other kids.

he looked around to make certain that no one
was watching. he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a plastic spider.

oh, he laughed and laughed as he chased the other boys and girls
around with the plastic spider. they all ran screaming. it was the
best of fun. until his eyes saw her, suzie brean, and her little club
of girls, once again, hogging the swingset.

billy ran gleefully, and tossed the spider into the crowd of squealing,
screaming, running in terror -- little girls. suzie brean had taken a
direct hit, and fallen from the swing. there she sat in abject terror,
with a spider sitting right on top of her.

you know, sometimes when you're are afraid, really afraid, you run.
sometimes you fight and kick and scream, but sometimes you do what
suzie did that day -- you lay there -- frozen and unable to move.

trembling, and ghost white with fear, suzie opened her eyes. her plan
was to sweep the spider off and make a mad dash for the school. but,
when she looked down, she saw something. the spider wasn't a real
spider after all. it was fake.

"it's just a dumb old plastic spider!" suzie announced to everyone.
she picked it up, and threw it back at billy. she wanted to beat him
up, but saw the teacher coming, and well, suzie brean never got in
trouble, well, she never got caught anyway.

later, billy kept trying to scare people with the plastic spider, he
would run up and throw it at the other kids, but the word was out.
everyone knew, the spider wasn't real.

billy thought, "hmm, now I am just going to have to capture a real
spider." and spent the rest of his time on the playground looking for
a spider. a small group of boys followed billy, hoping to join in the
fun. they never did find a real spider, and billy never brought it up
again, because -- if the truth were told, billy was really glad that
he didn't have to pick up a real spider.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

you may ask, what has this got to do with change? or more
specifically, what has this got to do with distorted vs right
thinking?

to quote yoda, "everything!"

the belief that those kids had, that billy was truly terrorizing them
with a real spider, is an example of how distorted thinking can have a
real influence on our lives.

while everyone thought the spider was real, fear ruled the day. but,
when suzie brean discovered the truth. she experienced an immediate
freedom from fear. once the lie was exposed, that little plastic
spider lost it's power to instill fear, make people run, or hold any
influence upon anyone. billy, the bully, could throw that plastic
spider all he wanted now, no one was going to care.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

in our quest for real world change, the battle is largely for our
minds. just like the plastic spider looked very much like a real
spider -- every good lie has a little truth to it. distorted thinking,
basically is believing a lie. right thinking, is discovering the
truth.

the familiar line from 12 step programs, like AA, or NA, has almost
become a joke in our culture. "the first step is to admit you have a
problem."

this one step, may very well be the biggest step of them all. because,
a person who is willing to take this step, is moving from distorted
thinking into right thinking.

yep, that's the hard part. most of us would rather keep the distortion
up and the truth factor on low, low, low.

i know it is hard to believe, but even a distorted thought, that helps
you function day in and day out, and keeps you from having to take
that long hard look in the mirror, is really a bondage of sorts. it's
like chains to keep you locked up; it's like a prison cell to keep you
captive; and it is like a plastic spider, that fools you into living a
life based upon lies and falsehoods.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

i cannot tell you what your first steps are. but i can tell you that
our path to change, real world change in our lives, will usually lead
us down a path where we will need to come face to face with our
distorted thinking. and sometimes, once that lie is captured, it can
be painful to confess.

and it can be an even greater challenge to embrace the truth, once it
is known.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

this is part of what the word, "repent" means, by the way. it means to
change one's thinking. actually, it means "turn." and that just makes
sense doesn't it?

it means to turn from distorted thinking (lies) and to turn towards
right thinking (the truth). it means to stop running from billy's
plastic spider, and to never be afraid of it again.

the battle for change takes place largely in our thinking.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
rabit51
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tagia: faith change spirituality

katrina im-ok dot org

2005-09-09T12:05:00.000-04:00

from media memos:
with so many displaced by katrina - even though time has passed - i suspect there is still a need for this site: http://katrina.im-ok.org

if you need it - our prayers are with you. if you see this post - and have a blog, website, biz, post in forums, a guestbook, newsgroups, whatever - pass the word along. link page is here.

rabit51
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man of steel (written sometime after 9.11)

2005-06-30T23:33:00.000-04:00

Man of Steel
hungry for war • hungry for peace • america

Our story begins with a 53 year old man who worked in lower Manhattan,
NYC. He was a rough edged character who had spent most of his years
working as a machinist. He had the uncanny ability to take the
engineer's dream and the draftsman's design and literally make them
come to life out of the hardened steel that was the stuff of his
life's work. Some would say it was his art. Some would call it a
special talent or gift. He just simply called it work. But, the look
on his face while working betrayed that certain sense of pride and
satisfaction that only a true craftsmen knows. On the floor he was
known as "The Man." His name was Johanne.

The cruelest day that Johanne ever worked was the day he held a
crumpled piece of paper in the pocket of his coveralls. A piece of
paper that basically said something to the effect of "...due to the
economy and lost accounts...LAY-OFF...." That was all Johanne could
read of the letter, at least that's all he could remember.

Work was found. It required a long commute, but the pay was good
enough. Johanne became a "Number One" on a maintenance team working in
one of Manhattan's smaller buildings.

Johanne was thankful for the job and spent the early morning train
ride quietly praying. No morning passed that he didn't thank God for
his job and the ability to work. Prayer was something that didn't
really enter into Johanne's life until he was about 29 years old. It
had happened on a summer at the Jersey shore. The story is not quite
clear, but one day Johanne was alone with the family Bible. That
night, on the boardwalk, he paused and said what he thinks was his
first prayer.

To be honest, Johanne remained the grizzled, rough and tough man that
he had always been. That is, in his appearance and the way he spouted
out his words. But something he had read in that family Bible and that
prayer had changed him. The words he had read said something like,
"Those who cling to worthless idols, forfeit the grace that could be
theirs."

Johanne once said, "God's grace cuts steel." He would go on to
describe himself as "a raw piece of steel that love was fashioning
into its own image and design."

On one occasion, after apologizing to a neighbor with whom there had
been a verbal war, he was heard to have said, as he walked into the
house, "By God! I am still steel, but it seems you have shaped me so
that I cannot hold to hate and I have to cling to peace...." The
family realized he wasn't exactly talking to them, so they quietly
listened as he wandered upstairs still speaking to his unseen friend.

Those words, "I'm still steel, but it seems you have shaped me so that
I cannot hold to hate and I have to cling to peace," would soon be
tested with something more than a disagreement with a neighbor over
dog poop on the sidewalk.

It was September 11, 2001 and Johanne was quietly working on a
deserted floor of the building in Manhattan. Buffing and waxing floors
wasn't exactly in his job description, but that is what he found
himself doing -- when he heard it, felt it, and soon found himself in
the streets running towards it.

He stood in horror as he watched the Twin Towers crumble to the earth
below. Two days later he returned home, filthy, exhausted, and looking
rather beaten up. He did not wash, but climbed into a bed. A bed which
offered him a comfort he could not take and offered him a sleep, he
did not get.

No one knows exactly when it happened. Though people say it happened
on the train. Johanne was suddenly compelled to pray. And as he prayed
he heard the voice of God speak to his heart. "Johanne, go to that
great city Kabul, in Afghanistan. There you will find the Taliban, and
Bin Laden, and terrorist leaders from all around the world, gathered
for a secret and special meeting. Go and cry out against that city and
those leaders! Tell them that their wickedness has come up before me.
Tell them that I am about to judge them."

Johanne never made it to work that day. Instead he had stopped by the
credit union and then made his way to the port. There he found a
Libyan freighter that was heading to South America. He booked passage
on the ship and sailed away that day.

Leaning over the railing of the ship he vomited from the overwhelming
seasickness that had taken hold of him. But, while he was vomiting he
was thinking, "I will not go to ‘that great city Kabul' and I will not
speak out against them. I have known your mercy God, I know what you
are like. If I speak to those people, they might just call out to you
for mercy, and I want them to pay for what they have done."

That night the ship ran into an incredible, unexpected storm. The
danger was so great that the crew had begun to throw over whatever
cargo they could in hopes of saving the ship. In hopes of saving their
lives. Times like this will even drive the hardest seaman to prayer.
In that storm, all of the men aboard the ship were calling out to
whatever deity they believed in or had at least heard about. But
Johanne remained in his bunk down below.

Finally, one of the passengers came and called Johanne to the deck.
"Pray!" the passenger shouted. "The ship will never survive this
storm," said one of the crew. Certain members of the crew believed
that someone's bad karma had caused this to come upon them. Johanne
heard them speaking and speculating about this. He spoke up, "It is my
fault." There was a storm tossed meeting of the minds and Johanne
suggested to the captain that it would be best if they threw him
overboard.

The captain did not wish to do this, but the crew was intense. "He has
no papers, no passport anyway!" was heard among the din of voices.
"It's his fault! He's made the sea angry!" Finally, after much
argument, a mob was formed and Johanne was thrown into the sea.

Splash! under the turbulent waters went the grim and hardened face of
a man ready to die. Why not? He could not betray his own country by
going to Kabul. He could not let go of his hatred for those
terrorists. "I'll die, they'll die!" he thought as he sank under the
sea.

But, a huge fish came up from deepest regions of the ocean and it
captured Johanne in its mouth.

"Great, still no release!" thought Johanne. "My death will be slower
this way, but let it come." And in the fish Johanne waited for his
end.

While waiting to die, he began to think of his life. His wife, his
kids, the grand baby. He remembered the joy of working, his years with
the guys on the factory floor. He remembered singing in church. He
remembered his train rides. He remembered God.

He began to tell God that he was sorry for running away, but he felt
he had to run away. While he was engaged in this conversation with His
maker, he heard his own voice praying some very familiar words, "Those
who cling to worthless idols, forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

It echoed in his mind, "By God! I am steel, but I cannot hold to hate
and I am compelled to cling to peace! The peace you have made with me,
when I deserved your hate." He pictured the crucifix in the grade
school he had attended. "You got beaten up for me!" he cried, "so that
we could have peace between us, the peace I have enjoyed all these
years since that day....

But, Johanne could not finish his words, because the fish vomited him
up on a strange shore. A shore in the Middle East.

God's voice spoke to Johanne a second time, "Johanne, go to that great
city Kabul, in Afghanistan. There you will find the Taliban, and Bin
Laden, and terrorist leaders from all around the world, gathered for a
secret and special meeting. Go and cry out against that city and those
leaders! Tell them that their wickedness has come up before me. Tell
them that I am about to judge them."

This time Johanne obeyed.

He found his way to the city. He found the meeting just as he had been
told. He spoke through interpreters and delivered the message of the
Lord. The people, the leaders, it seemed even the animals, listened to
Johanne. They said, "We must obey the message we have heard, and
possibly the God of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob will have mercy
on us, Quickly everyone, repent!"

From the greatest to the lowest, everyone dressed as if they were in
mourning and stopped all that they were doing to ask God for mercy.

Johanne walked out of the city. He climbed a hill. Sat down in the hot
sun and said, "I knew they would listen, I knew You would have mercy
on them, It makes me sick, I'm going to just sit here and die." He
wasn't kidding.

Johanne sat in the sun for days looking down upon the city. A tree
that was nearby grew in such a way that its limbs and leaves came over
him and provided some peaceful shade. Johanne seemed to like the
shade. Dying was one thing, but the sun was murder.

That night, while Johanne slept, a worm came. These worms began to eat
the tree so that it withered and the shade was taken away from
Johanne.

When Johanne woke up he became livid. "Those nasty worms, ate my
shade!" He was fuming with anger over the loss of this tree when a
familiar voice spoke to his heart.

"Johanne, you liked the shade of that tree which you did not plant. It
gave you pleasure didn't it? And now you are angry because it has been
destroyed? Now you understand how I feel about the people down there
in that city. I made them for my pleasure and to enjoy me as well! And
you're angry about the loss of a tree? Compared to the millions of
people in that city? And Johanne if you cannot care about the people,
at least think of the animals that would be lost.

This is the story of Jonah and the Whale

rabit51
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-------
mostbloggers network : mostbloggers to the rescue since 2005

MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS (as found on usenet)

2005-06-15T17:03:00.000-04:00

> Schiavo Autopsy Finds No Sign of Trauma
(as found on usenet)
> By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer
>
...
>
> Michael Schiavo convinced the courts his wife would not want to be kept
> alive artificially with no hope of recovery, contending that she made
> statements to that effect before her collapse.
>
> Her parents doubt she had any such end-of-life wishes and also disputed
> that she was in a persistent vegetative state. They believed she could
> get better with therapy.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> So much for all the so called "doctors" and nut cases saying she could
> be rehabilitated. The evidence before she died had already proved
> this.
>
> Michael Schiavo was vilified for being right.

"Some people argued that Schiavo was "minimally conscious" -- a recently formulated condition defined as a notch above "persistent vegetative state." Both states, however, are diagnosed purely on the basis examination of the living patient. They can't be confirmed with certainty on the basis of autopsy findings."
http://6URL.com/MINIMALLYCONSCIOUS

she wasn't brain dead, which is something everyone should agree on. the question concerning her state - was she pvs (persistent vegetative state) or was she mcs (minimally conscious).

neither of those can be "...confirmed with certainty on the basis of autopsy findings."

so, the whole matter really was hanging on did she express a right to not be kept alive with no chance of rehab or something along the lines of a living will. the same would be true, honestly, if she were pvs or mcs.

in this case - the courts ruled in favor of her husband over her parents. any dispute, after the fact, really is on the merit of the case in hindsight.

"There is something disturbing about declaring someone dead if they can still open and close their eyes."
http://www.reason.com/links/links032205.shtml

btw, the link above is a good read on the matter with much good info.

i would hope that all of us would find something disturbing about denying someone food and water when their wishes have not been expressed to us concerning such measures as presented in the shaivo case.

did michael schaivo have a right to change his mind? - probably. during his law suit for malpractice he contended that he believed that his wife would live to be about 50 years old and that the awarded monies would be spent for her care and rehab.

were the parents wrong in suggesting that she was not pvs? maybe and maybe not.

were the parents wrong in suggesting that she could get better with therapy? that's a tough call - it depends upon what one means by better. if they meant better to the point of eating and drinking - it appears to be no. if they meant better in regards to motor function and health - the answer would be yes, though to what end or extent who can say?

were the parents wrong that their daughter had never had any such "end-of-life wishes"? that is where the courts came in - leaving the matter something which can bear the scrutiny of examination as any trial judgement can. also, having the same legal power as any court ruling does.

that's my take at this moment.

rabit51
i get my internet from amos dettonville's mostbloggers

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evil pagan origins of the halo | snicker

2005-06-08T16:59:00.000-04:00

sometime back i read some online k00k railing about the pagan origins of halos.
i'll not do much here on that topic - except to say :genetic fallacy:

anyway, i did find something terribly threatening about halos and their
use - it appears that most of the people reading this right now probably
have an evil halo on their moniter right at this moment:

http://www.lope.ca/halo/ie.jpg

anyway, this is one of the better articles i have found on halos - i
was pleased to find it online:

http://www.lope.ca/halo/

also, while not quite a halo - i thought this was a great:

http://www.lope.ca/prints/33/page.html

rabit51
i get my internet from amos dettonville's mostbloggers

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§:perichoresis:§

2005-06-07T16:18:00.000-04:00

john 17
20
"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in
me through their word,
21
so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in
you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you
sent me.
22
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be
one, as we are one,
23
I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as
one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them
even as you loved me.
24
Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also
may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because
you loved me before the foundation of the world.
25
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know
you, and they know that you sent me.
26
I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the
love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them."

§:perichoresis:§

Mutually indwelling

A rather difficult but useful explanation of the relationship of the distinguishable persons of God is called perichoresis, which means, envelopment (taken woodenly the Gk. says, "dancing around"). This concept refers for its basis to the Gospel of John, 14-17, where Jesus is instructing the disciples concerning the meaning of his departure. His going to the Father, he says, is for their sake; so that he might come to them when the "other comforter" is given to them. At that time, he says, his disciples will dwell in him, as he dwells in the Father, and the Father dwells in him, and the Father will dwell in them. This is so, according to the theory of perichoresis, because the persons of the Trinity "reciprocally contain one another, so that one permanently envelopes and is permanently enveloped by, the other whom he yet envelopes." (Hilary, Concerning the Trinity, 3:1).

soundtrack: [hi-fi lo-fi] 10-The Danse (4:56) from: magnatune

rabit51
i get my internet from amos dettonville's mostbloggers

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