The Hair Cut Lottery

I used to be quite vain. It was kind of obnoxious. Between the ages of about 16 and 23, I was obsessive about my hair. I had these long, god-like locks of red hair that were to die for. Women used to tell me, "I would die for hair like that". It was also a work of art from the stylist's point of view. It was cut in such a way that if I went out into a high wind and then came inside, all I had to do was shake my head back and forth and every hair would fall into place in an almost mystical sort of way. My hair seemed to have a memory.

My stylist at that time (1973-1980) was named Rick. He worked at the House of Sculpture on University across from Mercy hospital. He and his business partner Larry ran the place. Strangely, it was my Dad that hooked me up. He had been going there for awhile on the advice of someone he worked with so it was natural to take your kid there and see what would happen.

Never in my life had I felt good about how I looked or even having red hair. Rick changed all that for me. He turned me into a primping, vacuous, air head in front of the mirror. I really liked what I saw. I had confidence that I never had before. I actually thought I was good looking. Maybe I was. Both sexes would look at me, ask me where or who cut my hair and when the guys asked, they were always a little red faced. Being me, I always enjoyed that.

The pic above is of me and my Mom at Grandma's house. I was hot. I have to say, I think I would have dated me. Is that narcissistic? Most likely. We are talking about me here. I am prone to such.

Anyway, as life moved forward and I moved away, there was no one to style my locks and I had to move into the working world and be responsible and pay taxes. Even if I had stayed home, I would have lost Rick and Larry. They both ended up in prison for dealing cocaine out of the shop. The House of Sculpture became an architect's office.  It was a shame. It was the 70's. No one really understood shame.

Reality can be a bitch. So I went in search of the correct stylist/barber, but I never found them.

All of this went through my head today as I was getting clipped at one of those assembly line haircut places, paying more than I paid Rick and Larry back in the Day.

I actually came out looking pretty good considering there is not as much to work with these days. Today my hair is a kind of golden white color that I cannot quite describe and it's much shorter than it used to be. Life has humbled me, Jesus has taken care of me and I love Him for it and people no longer look at the hair anyway. It's OK. I am content and confident in ways I never was in 1979.

It takes more than a haircut to make a man..even so, I still think I would go out with me. It's no wonder I never got married. I've been in love with myself all these years. I guess I'm happy together.

Is this getting nauseating? :^) 

Maybe this summer I will go with a buzz cut. I haven't had one of those since I was about 7 years old.

I will probably look the same, but with wrinkles. 

Reflection

In Philippians 3:4b-14, Paul uses his prison time to reflect on his early life as a Pharisee, comparing it to what he has in his present time.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Keep in mind, he is a prisoner when he writes this. He is probably in chains. He has eye sight issues. He has endured a kind of persecution that believers today can only wonder about and yet...and yet he is not discouraged and he manages to encourage others throughout his letter. I find myself wondering if there would even be a Christian faith without Christ's choice of Paul as an apostle. Jesus relentlessly pounded the Pharisees of His day for their lack of zeal toward God and their failure to accept Him; yet He managed to turn Paul to His purposes on that road to Damascus and He created the greatest missionary in Christian history.

The central part of Paul's words here I add again below.
 
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

This is what is at the core of it for all of us that believe. The realization that all of our achievements in this life are meaningless in the great scheme of things; that we have no righteousness before God on our own, but only through our faith in Him. Knowing God through our Savior, Jesus Christ, should be the overarching goal of everything we do. Obedience to rules and merely knowing Christ through scripture is not enough - not for Paul, not for me, not for anyone that claims to be a Christ follower. We have to move forward and take hold of Him that gives us Life. He is our Brother, and Friend. We must take advantage of that relationship. He walks with us always. It behooves us to take advantage of His continuing presence and stay in constant communication.

Our invisible friend...well maybe. He Is Here.     

Something From Paul to Help You Through The Day

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky

Ash Wednesday

If you are at least a semi-serious Catholic or some other perturbation of high churchian, you are probably well aware that today is Ash Wednesday. It marks the first day of what is to be a 40 day fast leading to Resurrection Sunday. The actual date of Ash Wednesday fluctuates with the phases of the moon as does Easter in the semi-pagan Catholic Christian calendar.

On Ash Wednesday, tradtionalists will go to church and receive ashes from the priest on their foreheads, sometimes in the sign of the cross. It is to be a reminder of man's sinfulness and mortality as in the curse in Genesis 3.

   By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”

For the next 40 days a fast is to observed. This is done today by giving something up like red meat or chocolate or sex or or or. In past centuries, they would starve during the daylight hours and eat at night - not all that different from Ramadan in Islam. The purpose was to commemorate the fast of Jesus in the wilderness after His baptism. 

As a protestant, I find the whole thing to be silly, but some would say that I am mired in my own traditions that are not necessarily biblical. So be it. I have known many Catholics over the years; some have been good friends or family. I will not judge them, though I might enjoy a spirited discussion with them.

For me this is another day of the week. I seem to get reminded regularly by the Holy Spirit of my sinfulness and mortality. I do not have the need for a public mark of humiliation to indicate this. I am not sure what drives the need for these ceremonies or rituals. Some people derive a spirituality from it. My personal opinion is that it is more of a feeling than anything spiritual per se, but who am I to judge? Had I been raised Catholic, I might feel differently. I can accept that.

So I hope you are having a good Ash Wednesday if you observe such things..may God empower you for the fast. Go for it.

For you other schismatic Christians - like me - eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die! See y'all in heaven.   

The Slump

I call it 'the slump'. It's something that happens spiritually to Christians that can have paralyzing effects. Many refer to it as spiritual dryness. Some feel it as a lack of connectivity with God or apathy toward the things of the Kingdom.  Sometimes it scares them. On other occasions I think it goes unnoticed.

My first advice for those in this situation has always been to seek out Christ. He is the source of life for all of us that believe. Sometimes this works. For some it does not.

Having thought about this some more, I have come to other conclusions that might be more to the point. Maybe it's not spiritual dryness at all that afflicts my brethren. Maybe it's just bad brain chemistry.

I am not making a joke here. And I am not trying to minimize the affliction, but sometimes something in our lives will change that creates this dryness. Something is gone that was there or something is there that was not there before the dryness. 

Let me be clear. I am not talking about myself here. I am always dry. I do not have the normal range of feelings and emotions that others do. I may have mentioned that I had to learn empathy, sympathy and other emotions to be able to function in life and as a Christian. I know this is weird and it points to my brokenness, but I'm OK with it. I seem to enjoy other abilities and I am learning to use them. This is good. Christ is helping me with my sociopathy. Also, for me, spirituality has never been connected to emotion. It can produce emotion and even point to what I should be feeling in a given situation, but for me it is not an emotional issue. For others, this is not the case.

How people feel is directly connected to their spiritual state. I am not sure why this would be. I think people mistake feelings as some sort of spiritual experience. If you are one of those, then expect a spiritual roller coaster. The key to spirituality in my mind rests in the ability to be able to separate the emotions from the spiritual. My prejudice here is that rationality rules spirituality. The ability to sort out the mess, compartmentalize an issue and deal with it rationally (even though what's going on may not be rational) is the key to spiritual success. For me, if I am content, I have achieved a spiritual state...but I digress

If you are a Christian out there today experiencing spiritual dryness, maybe there is another more organic cause that you have not explored. You may laugh at some of these ideas, but as a victim of bad brain chemistry, I can tell you, they all make a difference.

Has your diet changed. What we eat can determine how we feel and we can confuse those feelings for spiritual issues.

What has changed in your life? Is your partner perhaps not feeling well for whatever the reason? As part of who you are, your partner has a major effect on both your emotions and your spirituality. If their health or mental health or spiritual state is not good, yours will suffer too. Whether you realize it or not, their conditions effect your conditions because your lives are tied together in every way. If they suffer, you will suffer too.

Yes, it's true. I know nothing about that from a personal perspective, but I am a keen observer. I have seen the travails of partnered people. Y'all are like a two headed animal. I will say no more.

Lastly, mental illnesses can create spiritual havoc unless you learn to deal with the illness. For years I mistook my near bipolar state for a spiritual issue. It is not. Brain chemistry. Do not let it trick you.

None of this changes what I said originally. All life for us Christians comes from Christ, even when we are feeling bad or we 'think' we are in a spiritually dry period. Just remember....when you cannot depend on your spiritual mind to motivate you, do the right things anyway simply because you know they are right. Never mind how you feel. Feelings come and go. Motivation comes and goes. Practice some spiritual discipline. Do what is right.

I love you.    

Was Donald Trump's "Emergency Landing" A Final Warning to Exit the Race?

Y'all know how I love a good conspiracy. You also know that I believe at some point this spring, Donald Trump will pull out of the race for the Republican nomination. Now I have found someone that agrees with me.

Aaron Dykes over at Truthstream Media believes that the recent engine trouble on The Donald's 757 may have been a warning from TPTB to pull out of the race. I do not disagree. Aaron cites similar veiled threats to Ron Paul and Ross Perot who were also non-establishment candidates in their times.

Aaron's conclusion is that once Trump is out, Jeb Bush will rise to the occasion. As you are aware, I have chosen Marco Rubio for that role. Seriously though, they are both establishment golden boys and Rubio is firmly in the Bush pocket if Jeb does not pull through, so it's 6 of 1, half dozen of the other. Jeb, the joyful tortoise, could be it, but I still think not. We will see. Bernie or Hilly would get pounded by either one.

The more serious issue here is the alleged threat to Trump. If this is true, the Republic is long dead, voting means nothing, and the machinery is permanently broken. As you are also aware, I have thought this to be true for a very long time. I also think Iowa proved this. There was enough stink in both parties at the caucuses to cause scrutiny of the results and yet no one wants to lift that rock and shine the light of truth on what's beneath. It's an archaic method of choosing the parties delegates anyway, full of slipshod procedure that could be bent to the will of whoever is the real vote counter. The Iowa system is prone to abuse and the more people that show up, the more problems there seem to be. I never agree with the Des Moines Register, but today even they said something smelled. Their concern was on the Democrat side.

I will close with this. Donald, be careful. I will not be voting for you, but I do not want to be denied the potential choice. Bernie, watch yourself. There are many that would like to see you go away before November too. You know, both of you could throw everything open right now just by announcing 3rd party candidacies. A four way race in November would slap TPTB in the face and it might even force a run off in December. I love a mess that brings the power of government and money into question. This kind of chaos would just make my day. I say let them feel the fear. Speak truth to power boys. The people need a wake up call.    

This Might Be One Reason that The KC Chiefs lost the First Superbowl

I do not know who number 16 was, but there you have it. It's the way things used to be. People smoked and you had to deal with it....everywhere.


Notice also he is drinking a Fresca...it was, no doubt, sweetened with cyclamates. Do you remember cyclamates? They were the best artificial sweetener available so naturally they got banned. I always thought the sugar industry was behind it. Whatever. I thought the pic was funny. Thanks to Bev S for sending it.

What If Bernie Is The Nominee?

I don't generally waste much time on Democrat politics, but this campaign season has been interesting. The Democrat race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders has been particularly interesting. When Bernie first reared his ancient head as a potential candidate, I did not think he stood a snow ball's chance of getting any traction. He is not even an official Democrat. He is an independent Socialist that votes with the Democrats in the Senate. Now he is running on the Democrat label. He came within a delegate fraction of taking Iowa earlier this week and who knows? Maybe he did. Irregularities are being claimed on all sides. Now he is going to New Hampshire and he continues to gain ground in polls there. I wonder if the Democrats have considered that he may win the nomination?

Bernie Sanders is the logical next step up from Barrack Obama in the Marxist gradualism of the Democrat Party. Maybe he is the One...or next One as the case may be? Hillary is just too 'late 20th century' for today's progressives and Democrats. She represents what once was, but is no more. Never mind her criminal past, she is just old news. She is uncomfortable in her own skin and uncomfortable with the skin of others. She hates men...I wonder why?... and she hates other Democrats. The nursing home awaits her.

Either one of these will be inconsequential against the establishment favorite...Marco Rubio. Yes, I am still sticking with my prediction. Marco is the one. Whether he will win the big dance in November remains to be seen, but I think he will. Marco was not my candidate, but I still believe he is the real 'One'. Can you say 'President Rubio'?   

Finnish TV Releases Unintetionally Hilarious PSA on How to Protect Yourself From Rape

Apparently rape can be prevented in Finland by wearing huge oven mitts and swinging a 'bowling bag size' purse at the perpetrator. I had no idea it was that easy. Apparently American and European women have been doing it all wrong. Leave it to Finnish innovation to find the answer.

A Weird Week

Work has been strange this week. I knew my boss was coming up from St Louis, but then the feces struck the oscillating wind device. Just as my boss arrived yesterday, two managers from human resources arrived, accompanied by an area security manager.  This does not happen on any regular basis and the combination of these departments seldom bodes well for the operation. When you get HR and security together, someone usually gets fired on Friday. It will be interesting to see what develops.

We have two operations in my building. My boss oversees both of them. We are are what's called a cohab. Two different divisions of the company sharing the same digs is not unusual. Yesterday, the manager of the other operation was placed on vacation while an investigation was completed. I do not know what is being investigated. No one is talking...to me. I do know that this man's operation is a money making machine and if there was any way possible, the company would do well to find a way to exonerate him or at least take disciplinary action short of termination.

It's true that he is not always politically correct and sometimes he will cut corners to get the job done. I know he has offended many people in our organization with his directness about what he thinks regarding the company and his employees, but he is very, very good at what he does. He could squeeze a dime out of his last quarter.

It would be a mistake to fire him in my opinion. I guess if my opinion mattered though or I knew what HR and Security knows, I might feel different, but right know I am firmly in his court. I know full well how things can happen based on circumstantial evidence and poor investigatory skills of those that pursue such matters. I have been on the receiving end of such witch hunts and I know they will tie you to the pyre with little proof unless you take action to defend yourself.

The company I work for is big. I mean really big. They regularly eat people for lunch. There is always a steady stream of employees being turned into ex-employees worldwide. There is also a corporate bureaucracy that can only be compared to the US government. The company employs too many people whose job it is to look for trouble where there is none and then make a big deal of it to justify their cushy jobs. My company could create a fortune overnight by putting these people on the street to find honest work. I'm thinking though that work is not what they want to do. They would rather fire productive people and replace them with politically correct rule keepers that produce nothing besides good feelings.

As you can see, I have my own opinions. I would also like to say that if any one from work is reading this, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Brian, if you are reading, and I KNOW you have before, this is my opinion. This is my space to share it. You would do well to leave it alone. I have not named the company or anyone involved in what's happening, so back away from your keyboard and keep your cool.

For the record, this may well be a righteous, well intended investigation involving serious charges that have to be answered. If so, let justice be done. I just have problems with the competence of one of the investigators. This person is more interested in closing cases than seeking truth. My experience with this person is that this person is incompetent. It's unfortunate that incompetent people rise to positions where they have power over the lives of others, but it happens all too frequently. Washington DC is an example of that.

If justice is done in this case, I will retract the things I have said here. I suspect I will not have to retract anything.    

The Coin Toss

The story is that 6 precincts in the Iowa Caucuses were tied on the Democrat side of things. The resolution to this situation here in Iowa is a coin toss. Winner take all.

My opinion is that this is absurd. Why not just let them be tied and go with the running total statewide? I am not a Bernie Sanders supporter by any stretch of the imagination, but I think Bernie got screwed by this methodology. Have you ever done any coin tossing? Try getting 6 straight coin tosses to go your way. It does not happen...unless someone is cheating.

Bernie, I don't like your politics, but you deserve better treatment. I also think you are much more honest about who you really are than your opponent. She is a two faced tool of the bankers and the defense industry. She is part of the War Party in this country that crosses party lines. A vote for Hilly will be a vote for more war.

Bernie, you have to find a way to take her down and send her to prison for her crimes in Libya. Gun running to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is pretty serious. If you do nothing else in the election, you have to take her down. We, as a nation, will be eternally grateful. It will be enough for me to stand and say a few kind words about the socialist from Vermont. Gitt'er Bernie. Take the Bitch down.

Oooo. Did I say that? Oh well. I'm sure that millions of other Americans are thinking the same thing this morning. The difference is that I said it. Send Bill's ball breaker to prison or at least back to her mansion in New York. She can write a memoir and after it comes out, we can have a book burning. This one needs to go. She's toxic. She's bent. She is a spiritual dead end. No inner life. Merely a lust for power and control.

I have to move. American politics is too much for me to deal with. I long for the days of the old Republic. I think I will secede. Wherever I go, the 20 foot circle around me will be sovereign territory. You will need a passport to approach. I will have no immigration problem within my personal space and no one else will have authority. I will be a nation and island to myself. I wonder if I should acquire nukes? They might be useful in the short term. 

Happy Ground Hog Day To You

I know you have been looking forward to today for weeks. It is a special time of year; a magical time. After one has been asleep all winter, toward the end of the hibernation, one must get up to pee. Yes, nothing spells relief like a good midwinter pee.

And really, that's what started it all. Sun or clouds, we really just needed to get up to take a leak. Shadows or the lack thereof are really irrelevant. You will get six more weeks of winter either way. Maybe more. It's why we always go back to the burrow. Those last weeks of sleep are the best.

But do not be concerned. We will be digging up your foundations and living under you decks soon enough. All things in good time.

In the interim, just continue to observe your superstitions. It will give you something to do while you wade through the snow everyday. Fools.

I'm so sleepy. I'm going back to bed. See you in April!

Cruz and Clinton in Iowa

 CLINTON 617 SANDERS 610
*CRUZ 28% TRUMP 24% RUBIO 23%

I am reliably informed that the clown show in Iowa is over. They can all get back in their clown cars and drive off to New Hampshire now. I have to say, I'm a bit surprised though. Bernie got within 7 votes of the Whore of Babylon.. if I was him, I'd demand several recounts. There's got to be away to put a foot on her neck. I wish we could still burn witches. Bernie tried. Oh well. He may take New Hampshire.

Cruz just enjoyed his only victory of the primary season. Once boredom sets in for Trump, he will suspend, drop and leave his votes to Rubio, then it will be over. Marco will be the next president, the Witch of Endor will be under indictment and Bill Clinton will move to England.

I just love America.  

Yesterday, The Day Before And This Week

Sunday was good. I really enjoyed my 0800 Sunday school class yesterday. We are in the gospel of Matthew and we have started the final week of Christ's life on earth. Yesterday we did the triumphal entry into Jerusalem - Palm Sunday (Matthew 21). I would really like to have been there to see that. I am not sure what side I would have been on. Knowing myself as I do, I probably would have been a Pharisee. I would like to think I would not have been one of those adamantly opposed to Jesus, but you never know.

Some have said that this event in Christ's life is contrived - planned, either for continuity in the gospels or for show purposes. Usually this gets pointed out with some negativity on the part of the critic. For my part, I would say these things are true, but only coming from the most positive intent. These events of Jesus' last week were controlled by Him and in His Father in such a way as to make only the most consistent reporting possible and to ensure events played out exactly as they were supposed to. This is, of course, my believer's point of view. You may have another. That's all right. All things in good time.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. I did not attend a 1030 Sunday school class because I had to pee. So why did I not urinate at church? Truth? I am uncomfortable using the restrooms at church. I can not explain this to any satisfactory degree to the casual reader, so I will not, but I left after the service and went to the grocery store to pick up a few things, but not before I stopped at a convenience store to utilize their facilities. I then went home and made pizza for lunch. Dad was fairly lucid yesterday and enjoyed the pizza. In the afternoon he got a bit confused, but we got it straightened out. I finished my day watching episodes of "OZ" on Amazon. The show fascinates me. It's about a maximum security correctional facility and the lives of the prison staff and inmates. There is not much actual correction going on, but there is crime and punishment and an exaggeration of reality that could only happen inside the close confines of such a disturbed community. I do not know if it's an accurate portrayal of the prison environment, but it is entertaining. The character development is incredible. Enough about that.

Saturday was a weird experience with Dad. He decided he wanted to get ready for church on Saturday night. He has never done this before and it was a good idea, but he is an Alzheimer's patient, and it crossed my mind that he would not remember that he had showered Saturday night when Sunday morning rolled around. Whatever. I gambled and we got it done. He did remember on Sunday and it made Sunday morning go much more smoothly. He has been less combative of late and so I try to cooperate with his whims when I can to keep things smooth. It seems to be working.

Today starts a new week and a new month. February is upon us. I live in Iowa so today is also caucus day. We kick off the 2016 campaign season for the nation tonight. The truth is that the campaign has already been going on for a year here, but no one else has to suffer through that. I am of the opinion that we here in Iowa delude ourselves about our importance to the national political process. We are not, in any way, a valid cross section of the US electorate and what we will do tonight will have very little meaning in terms of who becomes the next president. The Iowa Caucuses are much ado about nothing. I am not sure why we are first. It's ridiculous. I do know there is a lot of money generated for the state by all this attention, but there are no valid reasons for Iowa to be first. It's a highly overrated contest. Many a candidate that has won the Iowa contest has gone on to lose and lose and lose and eventually become forgotten. We are the last stand for many that are hopeful. One might even argue that a win in Iowa is a political curse. What does a bunch of aging, middle class white people know about what our country will need in the future. We are more concerned with social security and Medicare than we are with immigration and cultural change. Many of us will be dead in 20 years. Large portions of our population are on the public dole in some way. For this reason, politicians must tread lightly here. The farmers like ethanol. Others of employment age like wind energy. Both of these are heavily subsidized by federal programs that even Republicans support. It's the dole. Bread and circuses for the masses. If you pay taxes, these 'would be' presidents are competing to give those taxes to others. Ever wonder how many people you support. Come to Iowa and have a look. We are a state on the dole.

Tomorrow there are two things happening, nay three. It is Ground Hog Day. I am pleased. Second, it is supposed to snow in yet to be determined heavy amounts. No shadow for me tomorrow, but also a very inhospitable day. and finally...the campaign calls, ads and polls will be over for awhile. Washingtonians and the press will forget they were ever here and Iowa will return to normal - boring, white and mildly moral.

I am ready for more 'boring'. It is the absence of tragedy. It is why I live in Iowa.     

If Republicans Still Believed...Like Barry...I Would Be One

Barry was a man before his time. He rent the Republican party in two in 1964 with his belief in American liberty and freedom from the intrusions of the federal government. The result was a landslide for Lyndon Baines Johnson. If we had listened then, we would not have the present mess and debt and corruption in Washington DC. It was Johnson and the moderate Nixon after him that gave us the monster that is the present US government. In 1964 we still had a chance to turn from the path of empire and live as a republic. Instead, Americans voted for their welfare check. So be it. Now you are paying through the nose.

All of you flower children that fought so hard for social justice are still blind to what it has cost you, your children and your grandchildren. You will be dead when the empire expires. Your progeny and legacy will be living on the streets in poverty or in prison camps. Socialism always ends this way. Ask the Russians. Eventually the bills have to be paid morally and actually.

I would be Republican again if there were a man or woman like Barry in the party that would look directly into the camera and say, "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice...and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

I get chills thinking about it.

Donald Trump, you are no Barry Goldwater. I miss him.

The Schumann Resonance

Did you know our planet has a "heartbeat" of sorts - a frequency that has been constant for tens of thousands of years? That frequency was discovered by Mr. Schumann to be 7.83 cycles per second. It has remained at this constant since it's discovery, then something weird happened in 1980. It began to increase. Some people think that this increase is due to our expanding universe, and further, that time itself is actually passing more quickly than it once did. Others see an interesting possibility in the ever increasing frequency of our planet. There is this from The Esoteric Metaphysical Spiritual Database 

"Scientists discovered many years ago that the earth gives off a pulse. This pulse or frequency which has been likened to a heartbeat has been stable at approximately 7.8 cycles per second for thousands of years. However, since around the year 1980 the earth’s heartbeat began to speed up. The most incredible thing is some scientists believe the earth will actually stop rotating when this pulse reaches 13 cycles per second. When the earth stops rotating on its axis it is believed that it will remain still for around 3 days and then start spinning in the other direction. This will cause a reversal in the magnetic field around the earth but what will happen after this point is unclear. At this point you are thinking one of two things. Either you are thinking this sounds pretty amazing or you simply cannot believe it. I’m kind of in the middle myself, I think it’s hard to believe but I’m prepared to keep an open mind. Since I have become interested in spirituality I have seen wonderful things happen in my life and because of this I believe almost anything is possible."

So, suppose for a minute that the rotation of the earth did stop for three days. What would happen? Would not the dark side freeze up and the light side burn up? I'm just thinking out loud here, but would this not be an ELE - extinction level event? Suppose the powers that be (TPTB) are aware this will happen in the near future? They cannot plan for this, except on a small scale. They cannot save the masses, so they will probably save themselves in order to restart civilization. This would be an incredible opportunity for them. I they can preserve the present knowledge database, they would be able to run their new civilization with robots and computers and very few others would be necessary. It would be a breakaway civilization of sorts and could represent a quantum leap in human advancement.

Interesting. We will need very deep shelters to survive 3 days of cold or burning heat. If we prepare now, we could give the TPTB quite a start on day 4. Might be fun. Then again, if Jesus came back on day 4, all bets would be off. The new earth would be His and we would be His people. That could be the real plan. TPTB would get neutered in an instant. Here's to hoping it works out that way.

Time to build a new basement (:^ )))))))))))))))))))))))  

Cervical Spondylosis

Here's a disease you never want to have. Cervical Spondylosis. It's osteoarthritis of the neck vertebrae. For the last two days I have had a headache and numbness and tingling in my left arm because of it. It's been like a two day hangover and I certainly did not do anything to deserve it.  Alcohol has not touched my lips.

The pain will start in my lower neck on one side or the other and gradually move up the back of my head eventually reaching the front. I am not sure what brings on the pain. Is it something simple like sleeping in an incorrect position? Is it related to how I sit at work? Or is this just going to happen from time to time regardless of measures I take to prevent it.

There is not much in the way of treatment for it. I am lead to believe that surgery can actually make it worse. Aspirin and acetaminophen will somewhat manage the pain, but it is always there lingering during the event. I have some residual numbness this morning in my left hand, otherwise I feel much better. Getting old is absolute hell you know that? The flesh is broken in more ways than I care to think about. I blame Eve for this. If I knew where she was buried, I'd dig her up and slap her. That might make my neck hurt though and I don't want to start that up again. Whatever. Maybe I can get some better drugs from the doctor. I wish this was Colorado. I would know exactly what to do.

The Last Debate

Let me say at the outset that I am not going to caucus or vote for Donald Trump. I will say this though. I admire his courage and his strategic manipulation of the establishment media. He stands as Reagan in 1980 before the quagmire of the Iowa caucuses and refuses to participate in the last media circus (debate) and even possibly lose here rather than be manipulated and framed by the establishment media in an irrelevant debate. President Reagan did lose in Iowa and he did refuse to participate in the last debate in 1980. He lost to Bush 1, but he went on to take the nation in an electoral landslide. It was a brilliant ploy and here and now The Donald has done it again. There is no shame in losing in Iowa and there is no virtue in winning. Indeed, many Iowa caucus winners have gone on to the dust bin of history, relegated to ignominy.

Trump is not smart like a fox. He is smarter than a FOX. He refuses to allow network talking heads define for us what conservative and liberal mean in our times. Neocons and business elites are scared to death right now that the American electoral system may actually work this time and give us a popularly elected president rather than media elected or one appointed by business interests as the least worst choice.

As a Libertarian, there is no one that I can support and despite whatever Trump's intentions are, he will be crushed by a congress that is tightly controlled by neocons and socialists that share many of the same goals. My thought is revolution and not election. The cupboard must be emptied. All the cups are filthy and cracked. It's time for some new china. Let the Empire fall and the Republic rise again from the ashes. I could say more. Maybe I will. It's going to be a long journey to the first Tuesday in November of 2016. I hope it ends well. Maybe at least we can get the Bolsheviks out of Washington DC.

Sometimes you win a debate by just not showing up.

Ten Strategies for Alzheimer's Caregivers

I got these from a friend at church and thanks again Beth!. Being five years into taking care of my Dad who has Alzheimer's, I really appreciate some of these items more than you will know. There is also a sort of bill of rights for Alzheimer's patients that will follow the strategies. It's easy to lose sight of these things when you let yourself get caught up in the delusions of someone with Alzheimer's. If you are wondering how that can happen, do some care giving yourself for a couple of weeks. It happens. Anyway, here you go...

STRATEGIES FOR LIVING WITH AN ALZHEIMER’S VICTIM: 

Being reasonable, rational, and logical DOES NOT WORK!!!  Neither does arguing, pleading or manipulating, Keep communication simple and direct.

They don’t have to be grounded in reality.  There’s no need to re-live their pain.  Distraction works.

We don’t know what they can or cannot do; all we can do is guess at their abilities.  We can let them try, but must be alert for frustration, agitation and anger.

Making deals doesn’t work.  THEY FORGET.  Just do what needs to be done.

TELL, DON’T ASK!  All that choices do is confuse and agitate them.

We can’t do it all by ourselves.  It’s OK to ask for and receive help and support.

WE’RE NOT PERFECT.  Forgiving ourselves and them makes life much more serene.

Separate the PERSON from the DISEASE!  Be grateful for the good times; learn from the bad.

Therapeutic lying may be necessary.  It can prevent much stress.

Doctors don’t see the whole picture.  We have to tell it like it is.  Then, they may also have to lie.

REQUESTS FROM AN ALZHEIMER’S PATIENT:  

BE PATIENT WITH ME:  Remember I’m the helpless victim of an organic brain disease which is out of my control.

TALK TO ME:  Even though I can’t always answer you, I can hear your voice, and sometimes I can comprehend your words.

BE KIND TO ME:  For each day of my life’s a long and desperate struggle.  Your kindness may be the most special and important part of my day.

CONSIDER MY FEELINGS:  They are very much alive within me.

TREAT ME WITH HUMAN DIGINITY AND RESPECT:  As I’d treat you if you were the victim.

REMEMBER MY PAST:  For I was once a healthy, vibrant person full of life, love, and laughter; with abilities and intelligence.

REMEMBER MY PRESENT:  I’m a loving person, a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a relative, or a dear friend.  I very much miss my family, friends and home as I knew them.

REMEMBER MY FUTURE:  Though it may seem bleak to you, I’m always filled with hope for tomorrow.

PRAY FOR ME:  For I’m a person who lingers in the mist that drifts between time and eternity.  Your presence may do more for me than any other outreach or compassion you could extend to me.

SMILE AND HOLD MY HANDS:  This gives me a feeling of well-being.  Never underestimate the power of a touch or a smile; for they pass on energy from your heart to mine.

LOVE ME:  And the gift of love you give will be a blessing which fill both our lives with light forever.

Is This The Church?

The opposition was fierce. Jesus was healing people and doing so on the Sabbath, calling Himself the Son and claiming authority that the elders among the Jews doubted He had. He stood firm in His resolve and taught them the truth. Truth can be a relief or seem like utter falsehood if it grates against the way one lives. John 5 is replete with this.

Two verses stand out here to me. John 5:39,40.

  ³⁹ You study^[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

This seems to be life in the church today. We cling to our Bibles, we are rule keepers, we condemn others among us when they step outside of these bounds and we try to control each other.

Wouldn't it make more sense if we all just submitted to Jesus? He is the source of life for us; the source of Scripture. He is our Lord and our God. So often we use Scripture like a hammer to pound out resistance to agendas. The only agenda we should be interested in is Christ's. If we each work on our own submission issues, everything should work itself out. 

I am not saying we should ignore our Bibles. I am saying we need to put them in context. We have to love Jesus and each other then proceed from there. Scripture is not a weapon to bend people to our wills. It's not even a tool for building a church in our own image. It is the living Word of God to show us the way back to Him and nothing else.

Trump

I had an intuition about The Donald today. It may be completely off base, wrong, and everything else that goes with that, but here is is. I believe that sometime in the next two to three months Donald Trump will suspend his campaign and withdraw from the race. The reasons for this are unclear as yet. It may be health or family or even a scandal, but I think it is going to happen. There will be a reason that he will have to return to his semi private life as just another billionaire.

Given the current climate - his feud with Cruz, his hatred of Bush and his general disrespect for the others, I believe he will throw his convention delegates to what he considers to be the least distasteful remaining candidate. That man will be Marco Rubio. Despite Marco's waffling on the immigration issue, which is one of Trump's house causes, I believe he will choose Rubio as the only one with real possibility of beating Hillary in the general election. In this he may be right. Marco could conceivably bring in the Hispanic vote which is a very big deal, he would satisfy establishment types, his candidacy would "prove" that Republicans are not bigots and he would be a tasteful choice for swing voters and Reagan Democrats. He's da man!

My conspiratorial side also tells me that he is secretly in the pocket of the Bush's. This would make him near perfect for the establishment. He is the wild card that will be played to "trump" Hillary.

I will not make any wagers over this intuition. I will be happy to be wrong and I do not support Senator Rubio.. But if I'm right...you read it hear first...OK?   Behold. The next President of the United States, Marco Rubio.

Also, in the interest of fairness....The Whore of Babylon

Do you think there was ever a time that Bill Clinton actually loved her? It would be like being married to a Klingon.

Sundowning With Dennis

Most of you know that Dennis is my Dad. Some of you know he has Alzheimer's. It is a bazaar disease. He is at a special stage right now where he goes a bit crazy after sunset. In Alzheimer's parlance, it's called sundowning.

I think I miss out on the worst of it through the week because I do not get home from work until 8 or 9 PM, but I see the results and I get to experience it on Saturday nights first hand. It's strange stuff.

One night last week I came home and he had removed the cable box to his TV and unscrewed the plate on the cable outlet on the wall. I had to hook it all up again. I am not sure what that was about and he could not explain it. On other nights, and this happens several times a week now, he takes all the items (which he uses regularly) that are on his end table next to his chair and will put them in a box and place them in the back of his Toyota Highlander. This will include his TV remotes and the telephone. The telephone is a land line that he physically has to unplug from the wall outlet.

When I asked him why he did that he would say he was getting ready to go home or he was moving out. Tonight when he did it, he told me he was worried they would get stolen. Earlier this week, he was putting his remotes and a toothpick holder in a Corning ware ceramic baking dish with a glass lid. When I asked him if he was going to bake something, he said 'no', he 'just needed something to carry them around in'. Weird.

Tonight he also called me 'dad'. This is new. He was getting himself some ice cream and cookies and he said , "Dad, do you want any cookies?". Now it's conceivable that he thought his Dad was really here, but I am the only other human in the house. Whatever is going on in his head, it's not right. There are other times when he confuses me with his brother Dick. He talks about "our dad" and asks me if I remember things from back in the 1940's. Last Sunday when I got home from Church, he asked me where Dad was.

It's all just a very odd experience. I tried an experiment tonight to see if I could calm him by praying for him silently. I believe it worked to a certain extent. He did not get argumentative as he usually does and he seemed to settle down from his packing behavior and his phone is still plugged in at this hour.   

I cannot imagine what it must feel like being inside of his head. I find myself wondering just how much is actually left of what was once my Dad in there. Dad was multi talented in his earlier years. He was a carpenter, an electrician and an auto mechanic. He could fix anything. He was a technician in that middle 20th century way that no longer exists. Now he is completely out of his element in everything and it makes me sad. It also makes me feel guilty because it makes me angry at the same time. I know we all have to die, but why should anyone have to die in this way, piece by piece, bit by bit, memory by memory? He was not the perfect father or husband and his personality may have needed some work. He could be a bit of a bully at times. But I do not think it merits a slow death from Alzheimer's disease.

I think the time has come for me to get him evaluated again by a neurologist to see how far the Alzheimer's has progressed. From there, I may need to begin looking for appropriate care facilities. We will see what the doctors say. My concern at this point is, should he be left home alone? I'm thinking no, but we will see. He did fall in the driveway earlier this week. It had just snowed a bit and he thought he was going to get the mail. When I pulled in from work, I could see the snow angel he had made while trying to get up. Since it was still snowing, I knew that it was fresh and he did tell me about it when I got inside. He seems to be unscathed with the exception of a small scrape on his right cheek bone. He also says his ribs are sore, but there are no bruises and he is able to get up and down and move around as always. Had he hit his head that night and become unconscious, it could have been more serious. It was very cold and he is on blood thinners.

I worry. Is this transition going to be forced on both of us? It's looking like it. If he forgets how to catheterize himself, that will be the clincher. I will do many things for him, but inserting a catheter into his penis is not one of them. He has not been able to urinate without one since his knee surgery. So far, self cathing has gone well for him with few UTI's (even though he will reuse them from time to time). I suppose it's only a matter of time before he forgets how to cath or forgets to urinate all together.

One has to wonder how this need will effect how he is placed in a care facility too. Can an Alzheimer's patient be place in general population in a care facility because they cannot pee on their own? I do not know.

When I was an orderly in a nursing home back in the mid-seventies, all the old folks were together, crazy and otherwise. I found myself pitying the dementia patients because they could not die and feeling sorry for the quick minded because they were trapped in bodies that did not work so well anymore.

My grandpa told me once, "Jeff, getting old is a terrible thing." I believe he is right.   

Sports

Or 'sport' as the Brits call it, is something that I cannot wrap my mind around in any effective way. I know it constitutes entertainment for many people. They will buy season tickets to be physically present just to watch their favorite team play or they will watch it for hours on television at home. I just do not understand the fascination with it. I have actually enjoyed playing various games and participating in competitions, but watching it is just boring.  It is, to my mind, an incredible waste of time. Watching multi millionaires with hormone issues playing grab ass in pursuit of a ball is just ridiculous. Most of what passes for sport is not sport anyway. It is just a game. As John Irving pointed out in "The World According to Garp", if it involves the use of a ball, it is not a sport, it's just a game.

Activities like running, swimming and wrestling are true sports. These involve one on one competition as well as competition against one's self. These are the greatest measure of a man's athletic prowess - continually bettering one's own numbers is the healthiest competition of all. This is true from both a physical and spiritual point of view.

I can remember wrestling in gym class in high school. It was fun. I do mean fun. I never cared much whether I won though. I enjoyed the process. I hate to admit it, but it was a lot like foreplay to me. This should be understandable if you know me and I'm sorry if I offended you by being out front like that, but I did like it.

Even so, watching wrestling does nothing for me. It is like watching paint dry...that might have more interest for me. Whatever.

These days I wrestle with God. I know I will never win, but I know He loves me and He would never hurt me in any spiritual way. He is gentle.

I like to teach others how to do this, mostly because there is so much to learn from the process and I do enjoy watching others grapple with their Maker. It is the single best way to get to know Him.

Get out there on the mat with Him. He's tough, but you will learn. 

Words Of Encouragement From Simon Peter To The Church

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ...you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy...Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

I rearranged it a bit, but I think you get the point. Do not forget who you are, who you belong to and how much all of that cost. We were an expensive bunch and we are marked as His now. Keep that in mind today as you go about His business and yours. See ya Sunday.

Truth Revealed Under Cover of Darkness

In the gospel of John, chapter 3, a Pharisee that is also a member of the Sanhedrin, approaches Jesus at the place He is staying. He comes by night. His name is Nicodemus.

This is interesting. Why at night? Does he want to talk privately with Jesus or is he fearful of what the other Jews in leadership will think? Whatever the case, Jesus seems undisturbed by this intrusion into His privacy. He welcomes the questions that Nicodemus presents and there does seem to be a genuine interest on the part of Nicodemus in what Jesus has to say. Perhaps he just wants to talk to Jesus without the interference of his other more skeptical friends. This is good. It is the way we should all approach Jesus - one on one and without guile and pride in our heart.

Nicodemus was an educated man. He would have known the Law of Moses backward and forward. He would known the traditions of the Pharisees in the same fashion. His honest but covert Christ seeking is commendable. Even so, he is confused. He has never seen or heard a rabbi do or say the things that Jesus does and says. It is other worldly and spiritual in a way that the Jews were only beginning to grasp and Nicodemus does not understand. And yet...you get the impression that he is almost a believer.

   Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”
⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^{[e] 14} Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^{[f] 15} that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Nicodemus asked one question, and an innocent one at that, and what he got was a Sunday school lesson. I am not sure that he understood what Jesus was saying, but I am certain that he thought about it for a very long time. 

This is supposed to be very basic stuff for us Christians and yet I wonder, if we really understand what this means? We say we are born again, but we continue to live lives that reek of death born in fear and darkness. If we believe, then we need to move into the light.

Once in the light, we have to live as if we were enlightened. We have to bring the grace and truth of Christ to a fallen world so they can find their way back to God. Jesus started this process with the Jews. Most of them rejected His ideas and ultimately He moved on to the Gentiles through His disciples. The idea that God would seek man was a new idea in the Gentile world. It caught on very quickly. 

I believe it also caught on with Nicodemus. He was one of two Pharisees that tended the body of our crucified Lord after His death and placed Him in that now empty tomb.

Join Nicodemus and I out here in the light. Get yourself born of the water and the Spirit and come into His glorious light.  Someday everything will be made known. There will be no more secrets, no stealthy night meetings to seek truth or anything else. 

To my brethren I would say this. Learn what it means to be truly born again. Earnestly seek Him and His will. Faith and obedience - obedience and faith. This is the path to that answer. For myself, I find daily that there are things standing in my way to Him. We have to shift those obstacles and move forward. Personal pride, anger, hatred, prejudice, unbridled desires and self righteousness - it all has to go. These are the old self that must die if the new creation is to grow in the knowledge of this new life we must embrace. Seek the light. He will be waiting there.

Who Do You Love?

I was thinking about the woman at the well in Sychar yesterday. It's not like I'm so old that I remember her. I was not there and I would never go to Samaria anyway (:^))) However...

In John 4, Jesus finds Himself in Samaria in the town of Sychar at noon. His disciples go into the city to buy supplies and they leave Jesus at the town's well. This well is famous. It was one sunk by Jacob, the father of all Israel and it had not run dry even in the time of Christ.

Back in the day, people, usually women, would go to the local water source to retrieve water for the day. In desert climates this was usually done early in the morning. The people that would gather for water would converse. It would have been a social center for the town; a place for exchange of information and maybe even local gossip. And this last bit may be the reason why Jesus encountered a woman at the well getting water at noon. She did not go to the well when others did because she was not what you would call virtuous; adventurous maybe, but not virtuous. Her reputation probably did not sit well with the other hens in the chicken house at Sychar. She would have been the one about which the others gossiped.  She had relationships with more than one rooster.

Jesus, being God in the flesh, knew this about her as she approached the well and He engaged her in conversation. There are several reasons why this conversation should be impossible in Christ's day and the woman herself points this out.

1. Jesus was born a Jew. Jews do not associate with Samaritans. They would be considered like Gentiles, unclean sinners outside God's family.
2. A Jew and particularly a rabbi would not have accepted a drink from a Samaritan.
3. Any righteous Jew would not have gone through Samaria if it could be avoided and they would certainly not have stopped to socialize or eat.
4. An observant male Jew would not have spoken with any woman that was not his wife. 

So Jesus is breaking all the rules here. He is socializing with unclean sinners and His goal seems to be to enlighten them about who He is and why He has come.

The story kind of breaks my heart. I see the courage of the woman whose life is a mess addressing her Messiah without fear, but with respect. I see her hospitality as she invites Jesus and His disciples into town to meet everyone. She is amazed and enthralled by what Jesus knows and what He knows about her. Despite her sinful life, she is smitten in spirit by the gentle rabbi from Nazareth. She desires immediately to tell others about Him and she does. As a result of her enthusiasm, many in Samaria learned the Truth that day. Jesus took a harvest of believers among these Samaritans before He departed. 

I love this story. Jesus took what could have been a tense situation and turned it into an opportunity. While holding fast to the Truth, He presented Himself and His Father with the grace these people so needed and brought them into the fold. Grace and Truth, living in the tension between the two. This is what we as believers are called to do.

Do you know anyone like this woman? Is she at church or at work? Is she marginalized by the rule keepers and relegated to going to the well at noon? Strike up a conversation with her. She could introduce you to people that are just waiting for what you have. In our pursuit of grace and truth, sometimes we are called to go to Samaria. Is that time now? Well, maybe.

  

Crazy

"Crazy" is riding your recombitant bicycle to the grocery store when it's 2 degrees below zero and there is a breeze from the west. I just witnessed this behavior. The rider was a middle aged woman that appeared to be heavily insulated in sturdy winter wear. I can remember when I used to go outside and run every day; even on days like today. There are few things that make you feel more alive than working up a sweat in subzero temps. After that, even a cold shower seems warm. Cold showers are important. They get you just as clean as the warm ones and they also drive away the "urge". Yes, I thought you knew what I was talking about.

I need to get back into some form of exercise. I have fallen away from that church in the past 5 years and I need to get back to it. As I said, I used to run every day. I was usually out for an hour and on weekends I would run until I could not run anymore - 3 hours or longer. I would get quite the endorphin buzz. It would leave me feeling like I was floating on air for the rest of the day. Sometimes I would even come home from work and run again at night. I loved it. There is something sexy about running at night in July wearing only running shorts and a wife beater undershirt when the air temp is still 85 degrees and the humidity is 100%. It's like the atmosphere and the darkness are caressing you. There is pain and there is pleasure. The sweat flows like streams. You get soaked from head to toe and your natural aroma permeates the air. It's then that you become aware of how you are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made". Running nude back in those days even crossed my mind. I was not such an eyesore then and I'm sure it would have felt wonderful, but I'm told reliably that one can be arrested for such activities and being known to the police is not my goal in life.

There is also a reason why the original long distance runner collapsed and died at Marathon on that fateful day when he delivered his message. 

Such activity does take a toll on the body and particularly the joints. I believe my knees have mostly healed by now, but my cervical vertebrae are kind of a mess. And since they have to hold up my head, I probably need to take better care of them.

So I'm thinking of some kinder, gentler means of exertion. Something low impact that will raise the heart rate and still make the perspiration flow. Walking is probably not going to cut it. I may start that way, but I will eventually have to ratchet up the burn. We will see what develops. I am told that wind sprints are better than long distance runs for the calorie burn. Maybe that will be the answer.

If you find my head snapped off my body like a dry twig, you will know my cervical damage is complete. Please try to get it to the crematorium with my body if you find them.

I love y'all. Thanks for stopping by.   

Yes, I will

For those concerned, I will be teaching Caleb Kaltenbach's "Messy Grace" in the spring quarter at church. The wrestling match is over and as usual, I lost. God remains undefeated. I do not know why I even try to challenge Him. If all else fails, He breaks my heart into a million pieces and says, There now...how are you gonna deal with that?" You would think I would have learned by now (as I sit here in my truck in the Hy Vee parking lot crying) that you cannot challenge the living God and expect anything but His will to come out of it.

So I will start by writing a few lessons, getting my head right and trying to anticipate questions and comments that I might not otherwise expect. I will prepare my self to love the unlovable and care for the broken. I will be obedient and love God and my neighbor.

Lord, I hope you are going to support me. You know that things sometimes things come out of my mouth that are offensive to some. I know that sometimes offense causes thought and thought can bring surrender and submission to Your will. Perhaps you can use my failed articulations in that manner. So, along with opening my heart and soul to your truths, you might consider preparing those that you know will attend. A little cultivation prior to planting never hurts the crops. I want this to be an open forum Lord where people will not be afraid to speak there minds and discuss the relevant issues in an open honest way. I hope that is your goal too. I guess we will find out. This needs to be your undertaking more than mine Lord, so I will need your guidance in showing me where and where not to go. My personal thought is to overturn every stone in the yard, exposing what is beneath to Your light. If that is like taking an ax to a sapling, then show me a better way. I will listen for Your voice as carefully as I can, but You might have to yell to get my attention. You know how I am. It can be hard to break my concentration, especially when I think I am right.

Lord, I love you and if there are only 3 or 4 of us, I will do this. Ministry is ministry, even if it's only one on one. Some of the best ministry I have experienced has come from Your servants in a one on one situation. I thank You for them all. You have done well to put them in my way. It's time to go do something productive now. Jesus, in Your Name I pray these things...Amen 

Earning It

A rich man once asked Jesus, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

There are many that think this event is recorded here to illustrate the difficulty involved in saving the wealthy. That may be part of why it's in our Bibles, but I believe there is a deeper reason. There are many that think they can earn their way into God's good graces and the rich man in Matthew 19:16-30 is one such person. He has been obedient. His only real question is, "what do I lack?"
 
⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”
²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”


Is it just me that notices this or is this man arrogant to the extreme? Who among us has kept the law perfectly? Who among us is that righteous and that consistent in our righteousness? I may need to re-access my approach to righteousness, but I do not believe anyone is this good. Am I a cynic or an astute observer? You decide.

So when Jesus was rattling off commandments in verse 18, which ones did He leave out? I will tell you. He left out the ones dealing with devotion to God and also covetousness. Interesting no?

There are many of us that appear to be good. We do all the right things. We do not purposely harm others and we look good in our communities. Everyone likes us. That's important. You can't network and use your community for your goals in life without that kind of reputation. In our world, to look good is to be good. This rich man looks really good. He knows it. Jesus is about to wipe off the rich man's mirror so he can see what he really looks like.

²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

There was something that the rich man loved more than God. Some would say it was his wealth. My assessment is that it was himself. His God was his ego. His sense of self righteousness and entitlement is just overpowering. One does not need to be rich to be like this, only deluded.

You cannot earn God's favor and He owes you no favors. We are His creations. He made us to love and serve Him alone. If we bend the knee to Him in faith, He will teach us what it means to love Him and love our neighbors. Those relationships are what determine our eternal status. These are not works that save. They are acts of love in response the love of our eternal parent. Our salvation is not dependent on good works. It is dependent on our relationship with Him.

Wrap your mind around the beauty of that. Incredible.    

Jimmy Needham on Porn Addiction