We Were Made for War!

Does the language of the Bible ever seem overblown to you.

Psalm 144
1 Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples [a] under me.

I would be satisfied if he just helped me get through next week. This sounds like a reality that I don’t live in. It seems on the level of LOTR. In those stories gates must be broken down, riches hidden in darkness and precious friends set free.
But If there is a war the language of the Bible makes perfect sense.

Isaiah 61:1
He has set me to bind up the brokenhearted
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.

This is God’s personal mission for his people; the offer is for us all. so we must be all held prisoner to some form of darkness. We just don’t know that the proof for in darkness you can’t see.What has the enemy stolen? Our hearts. Our hearts are hidden by darkness, pinned down held away in a secret place held for ransom - Prisoners of war – that’s a given
The question is not if there is a spiritual battle but Where and How?

WHAT IF?

J. R. R. Tolkien wrote,
"Why should a man be scorned,
if,
finding himself in prison,
he tries to get out and go home?"
What if,
rather than trying to escape reality,
our spirits are trying
to connect with it?

The Most Important Question

"I wonder what sort of tale have we fallen into?"

—]. R. R. TOLKIEN, The Lord of the Rings

It’s been quite a journey for Frodo and Sam when the little gardener wonders this.
Ever since they left home they've encountered more wonders and more dangers
than they could have possibly imagined. Their fellowship has fallen apart;
their friends are now far away on another part of the journey.
Into the shadow of Mordor they've come, two little hobbits and their cooking gear
on a journey to save the world. t's at this point Sam says,
"I wonder what sort of tale we've fallen into?"
Sam could not have asked a better question. He assumes that there is a story;
there is something larger going on. He also assumes that they have somehow
tumbled into it, been swept up into it.

What sort of tale have I fallen into?
is a question that would help us all a great deal if we wondered it for ourselves.
It just might be the most important question we ever ask.

Stage Fright

See the man with the stage fright?
Just standing up there to give it all his might
He got caught in the spotlight
But when we get to the end /
He wants to start all over again
He wants to try it once again /
Please don't make him stop
Let him take it from the top /
Let him start all over again

-- The Band / Stage Fright --

Don't Try This At Home

Something to give you a smile on a Friday.
The following came from an anonymous Mother in Austin, Texas:
"Things I've learned from my boys (honest and not kidding)":
1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20x20 ft. room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh oh", it's already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke -- lots of it.
9. A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10. Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.
11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Super glue is forever.
13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15. VCR's do not eject "PB & J" sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22. The spin cycle on the washing machine will, however, make cats dizzy.
23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24. 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.
25. 80% of women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kid.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God; your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
NELSON MANDELA, inaugural speech, 1994

“Deju view all over again” - Yogi Berra

Never did I think I would return top construction after 15 years of office work. Nevertheless, this week I was a laborer for Blue Fin Construction. Much has changed in the past 15 years, once we called ourselves “Caveman Construction” due to our use of physical labor rather than modern power equipment. Now there were nail guns and table saws.
Still pulling #5 40 foot iron rods onto a second floor deck hasn’t changed much. Anyway it put a few dollars in the wallet and groceries onto the table.
Leaving in a few days for our house in progress in North Carolina. After a week of work its time for a vacation. HA!

10 Career Metahpors Guaranteed to Destroy Your Church

Found this posted at http://david.kaleochurch.org/...... LINK
and found it hilarious but on further reflection discovered truth in the humor.

1-Traffic Cops.
These individuals are well meaning dragons that come to church not to serve, but to control the serving. You’re certain one day they will show up with white gloves and a whistle so they can direct traffic.
2-Seismologists.
These are walking Richter scales, gifted in the art of fault finding. If they don’t feel a quake, they’ll shake the room.
3-Umpires.
These individuals enjoy calling the shots. They expect hustle from the team while they watch with a critical eye. Usually umpires have no interest in dialogue once they have made their call. Issues are black and white, and truth is as true as they see it.
4-Taxidermists.
These individuals enjoy taking dead controversies and issues and stuffing them with artificial importance to make them appear lifelike. Instead of letting things die, the taxidermist will attempt to preserve a matter as long as possible.
5-Stenographers.
These individuals are often friends with seismologists and taxidermists. They are very perceptive and record every discussion in earshot for the purpose of reproducing their notes without the expressed written consent of the one giving their testimony.
6-Town Criers.
These individuals take it upon themselves to make announcements or proclamations either by speaking loudly in public places or simply shouting in the streets. Town Criers are often very committed to the church and assume their role is irreplaceable. Who would know anything without them?
7-Morticians.
Morticians are often friends with taxidermists. These individuals thoroughly enjoy dressing up corpses. They revere pastors who served before you and subtly communicate that you’ll never be as attractive until your dead and under their care. Morticians attempt to hide decay and death behind a façade of rosy-cheeked make up.
8-Curators.
Curators are guardians and superintendents of minor religious artifacts. They spend their entire life dusting and polishing insignificant secondary doctrinal issues and can not understand for the life of them why others don’t have the same passion. Curators prefer time alone with their rapture theories or theonomic plans to rule the world. Please be advised, curators are often socially awkward and may resort to theological turrets and blurt obscure passages of scripture while using multi-syllabic words that end in “ism,” “logy” or “ist.”
9-Astronomers.
These individuals often find themselves gazing at far off issues that don’t seem to have much relevance at the moment. Astronomers are usually more concerned with what might happen at another church while forgetting their call to serve the one they attend. So interested in otherworldly matters, they often have difficulty connecting to people on their own planet.
10-Synchronized Swimming Coaches.
These individuals were left last because their event is often given the 3 am time slot for the Olympics. Next to the wildly popular Canadian sport of curling, this may be the most unimportant activity in the history of mankind. However, these coaches are confident that their particular ministry has just not received the right support, but if they did, the entire globe would be changed by the mere sight of their pinched-nosed water ballet. SSC’s are constantly on the lookout for ministries that are completely irrelevant to the vision and mission of the church. SSC’s politicize their case persistently until someone gives them their much needed attention. Shortly after they make repeated attempts to convert every other ministry and absorb all additional resources to their pet cause. If their ministry fails to deliver the global impact it promised, blame is immediately assigned to the church leaders and administrator for not granting a larger line-item on the budget.
Disclaimer: These metaphors are in no way intended to diminish the value of these careers (with the exception of the synchronized swimming coach).

Ruin your Life

Consider carefully the quotation below:

"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."

Soren Keirkegaard

Morning Prayer

This day I call to me:

God's strength to direct me,
God's power to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's vision to light me,
God's ear to my hearing,
God's word to my speaking,
God's hand to uphold me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's legions to save me,
from the snares of the demons,
from evil enticements,
from failings of nature,
from one man or many
that seek to destroy me,
anear or afar.

from Saint Patrick's Breastplate

Second Grade Wisdom

From my "teacher" files something to make you smile on a Friday and perhaps to ponder.
A group of second graders were given the following adages and asked to fill in the second half.
Here are their responses:

Better to be safe than . . . Punch a 5th grader
Strike while the . . . Bug is close
It's always darkest before . . . Daylight Savings Time
Never underestimate the power of . . . Termites
You can lead a horse to water but . . . how?
Don't bite the hand that . . . looks dirty
No news is . . . impossible
A miss is as good as a . . . Mr.
If you lie down with dogs, you'll . . . stink in the morning
The pen is mightier than the . . . pigs
An idle mind is . . . The best way to relax
Where there's smoke there's . . . pollution
Happy the bride who . . . gets all the presents
A penny saved is . . . not much
Two's company, three's . . . the Musketeers
Children should be seen and not . . . spanked or grounded
If at first you don't succeed . . . get new batteries
You get out of something what you . . . see pictured on the box
When the blind leadeth the blind . . . get out of the way

Currently Reading

“The more that you read,
the more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go.”

Theodor Geisel,
(aka Dr. Seuss)

A Prisoner in the Garden, The Nelson Mandela Foundation
In 1977 the South African prison authorities allowed a number
of journalists to visit the notorious Robben Island.
The intention was to persuade the outside world that
the conditions there were not as bad as widely believed.
On their tour of the island the journalists encountered a tall, thin man dressed neatly in prison clothes and leaning on a spade. The expression on his face was one of intense hostility, and his bearing was more that of prince than prisoner.

The man was Nelson Mandela, in his 13th year of incarceration on Robben Island.

Today the photograph, captioned ‘A Prisoner Working in the Garden’ by the prison authorities, forms the centrepiece of the Mandela Prison Archive, which when viewed as a whole constitutes a living record of Mandela’s 27 years in prison. It includes rare photographs and video footage, Mandela’s handwritten letters to family, friends and the authorities, his personal diaries and notes, official records, medical records and legal documents. Together they form an extraordinary picture of prison life but, even more remarkably, of a man who, together with his close comrades, never gave up the fight for freedom and the vision of a liberated country.

This book is bursting with story. The records of Mandela’s confinement are widely scattered – in conventional archives and some surprising personal collections. Readers will learn about chance discoveries and dead ends, crossing paths and painful reminders. The struggle against oppression can be seen as the pitting of remembering against forgetting. A Prisoner in the Garden documents one part of that struggle.

Emotionally Healthy Spirituallity: Unleash the Power of Authentic Life in Christ,
Peter Scazzero
The Christian faith is supposed to produce deep, positive change. So why doesn't it seem to work in "real life"? That question screamed at Pastor Peter Scazzero when his church and marriage hit bottom and every Christian remedy produced nothing but anger and fatigue. As he began digging under the "good Christian" veneer, he discovered entire emotional layers of his life that God had not yet touched. And that emotional immaturity had fed his spiritual immaturity. In this book, he unveils what's wrong with our conventional means of "spiritual growth" and offers not only a model of spirituality that actually works, but seven steps to transformation that will help readers experience a faith charged with authenticity, contemplation and a hunger for God.

You’ve Got to Read This Book!: 55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life,
Jack Canfield and Gay Hendricks

Canfield, the co-creator and editor of the Chicken Soup for the Soulseries, and psychologist and author Hendricks surveyed 55 leaders or a visionaries in their respective fields. Each leader introduces a simple sketch of the most influential book and how it has impacted their life. Contributors include Stephen Covey, Lou Holtz, Dave Barry, Bernie Siegal, Kenny Loggins, and a multitude of others from the fields of athletics, business, art, and politics.

The Last Week: A Day-by-Day Account of Jesus's Final Week in Jerusalem,
Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan

Scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. Using the Gospel of Mark as their guide they present a day-to-day account of Jesus’ final week of life. The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is a moral hero, and more dangerous than the one enshrined in the Church’s traditional teachings.
(Adapted from the flyleaf)

In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq,
Nir Rosen

Rosen minutely charts the course of Iraq's rapidly metastasizing sectarian conflict, which he observed up close from the immediate aftermath of Baghdad's fall in 2003 to the elections of January 2005. A fluent speaker of Iraqi Arabic and a freelance journalist, Rosen gained an impressive measure of access to both the Sunni and Shia resistance, dissidents and ordinary Iraqis, attending sermons at mosques and visiting tribal meeting halls across Iraq—from Baghdad to Tikrit, Najaf and Falluja to Kirkuk. The title is a reference to the Islamic idea that martyrs' souls are flown to heaven in the belly of a green bird, the book serves as a window onto the rhetoric, ambitions, strategies and historical context of the numerous violent groups struggling for power.
From Publishers Weekly

Resign or Retire

According to Websters online dictionary:
RESIGN
Function: verb
1 : RELEGATE; especially : to give (oneself) over without resistance
2 : to give up deliberately; especially : to renounce (as a right or position) by a formal act
intransitive verb
1 : to give up one's office or position : QUIT
2 : to accept something as inevitable : Submit
RETIRE
Function: verb
1 : to withdraw from action or danger : RETREAT
2 : to withdraw especially for privacy
3 : to move back : RECEDE
4 : to withdraw from one's position or occupation : conclude one's working or professional career
5 : to go to bed
transitive verb
1 : WITHDRAW: as a : to march (a military force) away from the enemy b : to withdraw from circulation or from the market : RECALL c : to withdraw from usual use or service
2 : to cause to retire from one's position or occupation
3 a : to put out (a batter or batsman) in baseball or cricket b : to cause (a side) to end a turn at bat in baseball
4 : to win permanent possession of (as a trophy)
5 : to pay in full : SETTLE

I have retired, at least in the mind of everyone I know, rather than having resigned my position, which is what I actually did. What is interesting to me is that it matters to me and I am bothered every time a comment is made regarding my “retirement”.
Perhaps that is due to our conception that retireing is good and acceptable while resigning is not. Nevertheless, according to the definition I have done the following:
1 : given up my office or position : QUIT;
2 : accepted this as inevitable : SUBMITTED
I could accept “retire” however according to the following parts of the definition:
1 : to withdraw from action or danger : RETREAT.
The danger to my family and emotional health has lead to this “change” be it retirement or resignation.
Either way I rejoice in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (out of context)

“Free at last,
free at last,
thank God Almighty,
I am free at last"

Our House

Our house, is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you

Graham Nash















We just returned from our third trip to establish a new home
in Salisbury, North Carolina.  Since we still have a home in Key Largo
(slow ... er non-existant housing market at present) this may
prove difficult.














I'll light the fire
You place the flowers in the vase
That you bought today
Staring at the fire
For hours and hours
While I listen to you play your love songs
All night long for me
Only for me

Morning Prayer

In the beginning, O God,
your Spirit swept over the chaotic deep like a wild wind
and creation was born.
In the turbulence of my own life
and the unsettled waters of the world today
let there be new birthings of your Spirit.
In the currents of my own heart
and the upheavals of the world today
let there be new birthings of your mighty Spirit.

Celtic Morning Prayer