Holy Awesome

^{"Proverbs 3:5-6
 5}    Trust in the LORD with all your heart     And do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶    In all your ways acknowledge Him,     And He will make your paths straight."


^{"Proverbs 9:10-11
10}    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,     And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
¹¹    For by me your days will be multiplied,     And years of life will be added to you."

Or not. 
I'll get to that in a minute.
Notice that first verse, containing one of the hardest verses in the Bible: 'do not lean on your own understanding.'
Sure, we trust God. With all of our heart...okay. But we still want to lean on our own understanding, and that's gonna mess us up (to misquote the Kinleys from their song of the same name).
Abraham leaned on his own understanding when he allowed Sarah to talk him into having a child with her handmaiden so as to have an heir...instead of trusting God Who had promised him a proper heir. He also offered up his servant, asking God if Eliezer of Damascus could be his heir? Nope Nope Nope
If we actually trust in God, we shouldn't fall into the error of those who tip over from leaning on their own
understanding. If we acknowledge Him, trust Him, depend and lean upon Him...that's a Life Win.
'years of life will be added to you'.
I meant that 'or not' earlier. If our lives truly belong to God, if we trust in Him with all of our heart, then we do not worry as to  the number of years we live on this side of eternity.
If I am His to do with as He pleases, my life is His, and whatever He decides is fine with me.
I love life, and have been blessed by God in incalculable ways. If He requires my soul of me today (read Luke 12:20) I would be giddy as a schoolkid set free to his Summer vacation. (I would quote Alice Cooper here, but don't want the parochial cops snootin' at me)
He doesn't promise that if we are 'good' we get to live longer on Earth in this sinful cosmos of a mess.
The 'years of life will be added to you (me)' will have their perfection in Heaven. How cool is that?

Dr Oz vs Dr Luke

Don't worry-no fist fight will break out between the Doctors here at FDW- like Joshua and his friends who are symbols in Zechariah chapter three, Oz signifies our physical lives and good Dr Luke our spiritual.
It is important to live as well as we can for as long as we can in these corruptable meat sacks (thanks, Futurama!)...but no matter how well we take care of ourselves, eventually we end up dust.
That is, the physical part of us becomes dust, the part that Luke symbolizes continues into Eternity.
"For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. 
⁶Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 
⁷then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 
Ecclesiastes 12:5b-7
You have a life AND a body. You can do whatever you want to both. Some of the scariest monsters ever to come out of Hollywood are the actresses and actors who have 'had some work done' attempting to maintain the spark and flower (and illusion) of youth.
You can tat your skin, grow fat or mutilate yourselves.
You can exercise, stay fit and eat right.
Dust. All dust at the end of your day.
If the Nihilists were correct, after we die there would be nothing. They are wrong.
" the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. "
My spirit. Your spirit. His or her spirit. We return to God either to face Judgement or Peace.
Now this post is about to get a little dark, but stay with me. 
After we die, we are given bodies fit for eternity. ALL of US.
God's people will see the perishable taking on the imperishable, and we will be able to commune with God forever in Forever bodies.
All others (one reason you might not have heard this is because it isn't very nice) will be given Forever bodies which will suffer eternally. If your dust body went into the Lake of Fire it wouldn't last a millisecond-so those bound for that fate will also see the perishable taking on the imperishable.
Not cool. Just Just.

You Lucky, Lucky Personage!

So I was thinking about Howard the other day-Hughes, not 'the duck'-one of the richest men in the world, shuffling around with his feet in tissue boxes, fingernails like Cruella Deville...he had it made, right?
He never heard of Katy Perry. He missed American Idol by a couple of decades. His PHONE had to STAY! IN! HIS! MANSION!!!
Howard Hughes loved movies, even made a couple, but there was no Netflix for the poor old Howard. He owned a tv station, I think KLAS in Las Vegas, and he would call the station and have them play his favorite movies.
But what could he watch them on? CRT. Cathode Ray Tube. With less resolution than a Nintendo wristwatch.
Picture on top is one of the newest of the new OLED televisions which cost more than my house (almost).
Bottom pic is the British version of American Gladiators...on ICE. Which would be awesome on an OLED!
Next time you're scrolling through the World Wide Webs (like...right now) stop a moment to appreciate the technology at your fingertips (especially if you have a touchscreen 'puter).
Howard Hughes had multi multi millions of dollars, but he couldn't buy a laptop. Poor guy.

Tribute

Here we go. The young boy in the picture is holding a bribe. His left hand holds an apple or some other food-family history says that he was such a rammy run around kid that the only way to get him to stand still
for a picture was to give him a treat.
He was a good kid and, eventually, a good man. I've waited until midnight to post this on what would have been his 83rd birthday. Happy birthday to the run around kid. I have no idea what his sister was looking at.

Peace Is Our Profession

It wouldn't hurt me a bit to get to sleep a little earlier tonight-I couldn't sleep last night, so I put in one of the darkest of dark comedies, Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Bomb".
The Army base at the center of the conflict has as it's motto the title of this post, "Peace Is Our Profession" which sounds noble and would be a positive statement, coming from anyone but Kubrick.
Pitch black humor indeed, leavened with lighter touches from Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and, in a minor role, Keenan Wynn.
Peace is my profession, though you might not agree-I am one of the most un-peaceable thick heads to ever take up an argument.
But I don't argue with God, and He's the only One whom it is imperative to be at Peace with.
If I am at Peace with God, I can't help but be in conflict with 'the world'. Being God's friend brings me into
enmity with just about everything and everyone else.
I wouldn't have it any other way.

And Anything Similar

Galatians 5:19-21 (HCSB)
^"19  Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity,
²⁰  idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,
²¹  envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." 

Sounds like a great Saturday night, right?
Any...ANY problem that we face in our societal groupings has its genesis from some element on this list.
Sure, sorcery might not be a biggie for you. And you might ask the judge for a determination as to the meaning of drunkenness. "If your BAC is above or below _____?"
It's all flesh. We're all flesh. You or I may be tempted to feel superior to our fellow Mankinders if we miss a
few of the 'biggies' on the list, but
it. is. us.
Read through the list and you can see the cause of every War, every conflict the world has ever known.
But is that last bit fair? That 'not inherit the kingdom of God' part seems kind of harsh, since we all are imperfect shaved monkeys who just want to monkey around. "Here we come..."
Even people who do not believe in God kinda sorta know that, given a choice, they'd rather go to Heaven than hell. They'd rather be happy than sad. We'd rather live than die.

Galatians 5:22-25 (HCSB)
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
²⁴  Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. 

Sounds like a great Saturday night, right?
Here's the thing-this wonderful list contains the elements which have kept us from 'devolving' into chaos.
If not for this list, we would have wiped ourselves out thousands of years ago.
We all have spirit, we are all souls, but this list is from God's Spirit, not man's ignoble flesh-encased one.
So we ALL may  love, have joy, live in peace...imperfectly. That flesh thing still kills us. Still not
good enough. Still 'will not inherit'.
A Christian who has been crucified with Christ, that is, born again to God's Spirit, can do what the flesh cannot: please and be at Peace with God.
We live by the Spirit; we must also follow the Spirit.
When we get to Heaven, we will no longer have a single iota of problem with the top list-but here and now
each one of us Christians struggles with the flesh while trying to live by the Spirit.
The outcome of this is that we fail and sin. Often.
Which humbles us. And makes us seek God's forgiveness. Often.
Thank God that God is in the forgiving business.

Random Medicated Thoughts Friday

I've always been a joiner; two days ago I joined the ranks of those who have caught the Flu.
My hair hurts. My toenails hurt; everything in between hurts. I am medicated and doing better than I was, though still contagious; I have quarantined myself in my house, and won't even get near the cats because I read on the internets that cats CAN catch the flu from humans. I'm also missing two days of work for the first time in recorded history (due to sickness).
Ah well.
Let me point you towards one of the best old films that I've enjoyed recently: "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", the 1956 original done up pretty on Blu Ray. It's a tight, well told story that moves along quickly.
"Dog is Man's best friend, Man is Cat's best servant." One of the things I appreciate about cats is that they always operate in their own self interest. If they are getting underfoot or head butting your leg, it isn't done to benefit you-they want something. Dogs will do anything to please you-cats, if they don't see an upside for them, will ignore you to focus on their own stuff. That honesty is refreshing.
Speaking of honesty, t'other day I read a comment on another blog which told more about the commenter than the subject being discussed. Let's call him Mel Misogynist-his comment about a fictional woman became a tirade against evil heartless women who cause more trouble than they are worth.
I said, "Wow-he has more issues than "Ye Olde Farmer's Almanac".
I am the same on-line as I am in the real world-I am simply me, whether in church or at work or interacting with my fellow earth walkers out and about. Good, bad, or indifferent-it would be hypocritical
to act one way on-line and another way off line. Though 'Mel' showed himself to be a woman-hater (at the very least) it was refreshing to read someone being 'real'. A real jerk.
Time to lay back down. Hav 

The Best News I've Heard Lately

Although it happened last October, I just became aware through the interwebs that Bobby Valentine was dumped as Red Sox manager-the new guy is John Farrell, pictured above in his car salesman suit.
I like the Bosox just fine, but never have cared for Valentine as a manager. Farrell,  a former pitcher, has done his time managing, and should be a good fit for Boston.
I'm sure that there's no truth to the rumor that David Ortiz will be using a "Hoveround chair" to run the bases as the DH.
I notice that they have added "The Flyin' Hawaiian" to their outfield-another good solid player.
If I still lived in Vegas and had an extra $10.00 to throw in the gutter, I would consider making a prop bet now as to who will be in/win the World Series 2013. Detroit and St Louis. Cardinals take it all.
Of course, I've shown myself to be the worst prognosticator since the scout who told Custer, "All clear, boss."
May 2013 treat you better than I deserve. Much, much better.

Annoyed With It All

Google to the rescue once more for the image above! Goggle images keyword 'annoyed'.
So, I was recently amused by a Buddhist who went off script-Buddhism speaks of Love and Balance and not giving in to the lesser emotions. Karmic-wise, it's considered bad form to hate anything, as that opens one up to harsher circumstance. All you need is Love, right?
But this Buddhist found it possible to rationalize his hatred, because he was (wait for it...) morally superior to the object of his hate: "Corporations".
I am pretty sure that the corporations which disgust him are those soulless "For Profit" corpos.
You know who I mean. The Meanies in the Suits that Occupy Everything agitated against a few years ago.
Those guys. Ooohhh, they're BAD! BAD!
Here we are at the beginning of another year, a fresh slate on which to (re)write our lives.
Are you more animated by the things you love or by the things you hate? Do you live/love to complain
because the world just isn't fair...or are you grateful for another day each morning that you wake up?
Hate can be a strong motivator, even if it does eventually curdle the milk of our human kindness.
If your life is a constant battle against items on your personal hate list...give it up. That's not a recipe for ever having Peace in your life, because there will always be something else that adds itself to your list.
I've used the example before of a backwards colander-if you don't recall it, don't worry, I often repeat myself.
A colander or strainer catches some things while other things pass through.
A happy person has a colander which catches the good things and lets the bad things drain away.
An unhappy person's colander works backwards, catching only the bad and not retaining any of the good.
An unhappy person can't remember the last good thing that happened. But still fresh is that moment in first grade when they were embarrassed in front of the class, as it's still their colander.
Getting back to the Buddhist-he would be farther down the road to a more pleasant existence if he didn't allow hate to stain his life.
Some things are hateable, no doubt about. But if your life is motivated by hating something or someone rather than appreciating the good things, you are doing more damage to yourself than to any object of your hate (which, in the case of for profit corporations, doesn't even know/care that you exist).
2013. Clean slate. Peace, man.

If Horsepower Were Minutes...

You'd be a blue radish.