Dancing On Toothpicks, Or How i survived A Week On Facebook

Omy. The picture above was a postcard sent approximately a hundred and eight years ago, before the internet really caught on.
If you wanted to howdy someone, you wrote it on a card, applied a stamp, posted and waited a few weeks or a month for a reply. You know, like Internet Explorer.
Moving nearly three quarters of a century up this garden path, while looking for the original postcard to check the date, I found something else. Indeed.
Back in the darker ages of High School, some organization thought up the idea of students having "Pen Pals" from different countries.
My Pal was a Scottish girl named Ann, and I just found a letter she wrote in 1977.
Here's the funny thing-in 1978 I found myself somehow in Scotland, in Edinburgh...and I was able to find and speak with her on the phone. Surprised puts it lightly, but it was a nice conversation.
These electronic days? Kids have no wonder at the miracle of instant connections with everyone from their American Idol favorites to the 13th Earl of Hollandaise.
Facebook. I used to think of FDW as my solitary soapbox on the intrawebs-now the chaos chorus of a billion shouters and singers have joined me on theirs.
Some good, some bad, some?
I will keep at it for now. I might even have something of substance to share. Wait a month and we'll see.

Crazy Has A New Address

Well, maybe not Crazy, but Confused is leading the pack.
After researching the pros and cons, today I joined the 21st century and signed up for Facebook. Which is now probably going to go out of business.
It has been peaceful at FDW, but a few more humans might find their way here,  now that I admit to existing on social media.
So, welcome all, leap sideways, and absolutely no refunds after the blogpost has started.

Cutting A Notch

Hope that the picture isn't too confusing-I can't recall if I've used it here before.
Not the easiest thing to do, get a double exposure on a Polaroid instant camera, but here we are. The ghost like figure facing the camera taught me about cutting a notch.
Cutting a notch makes so much sense that I'm surprised more people don't latch on it the idea, claiming it as their own.
Boston got a bit of snow in the past few weeks, and I imagine the sharper Bostonians know what I'm talking about.
I grew up in the country, and we had only a snowblower to keep the driveway clear. The hardest packed and deepest snow was at the end of the road, thanks to some slick yahoos driving County snowplows who seem to have an aversion to clear driveways. The also exhibited an affinity for knocking mailboxes. (Eventually the County got tired of mailbox complaints and set mailboxes that swivel out of the way when hit.) Anyway...
My Dad started cutting a notch in the snow for six feet ahead of the driveway.
Countyplows would push snow into the notch, and we'd still be able to get in and out of our driveway. Win/win.
I live in town now, and my 'driveway' only runs a good twelve feet, but I cut my notch just the same, and the City plows can't fence me in.  
Middle of February, and I've only run the snowblower a few times, as this Winter Boston stole all of our snow. I don't know which is worse for them:
seasonal SNOW or year around being so close to New York City.  I'd choose Snow.

Like Red On A Rose

Sometimes, it just is.
No deep/spiritual theorizing today. Just saw and like this picture.  Those in the know know that the title of this post is 'borrowed' from an Alan Jackson album produced by Alison Krauss, who knows a thing or two about beautiful music.
 Just enjoy.

Obama Finally Right About Somethings

"Christian conservatives furious after Obama says all religions have historically committed violence"

Screamed the headline. 

Not this  Christian conservative. I shrugged my shoulders and moved on to pictures of cute animals. 

But as the 'ginning up of the bases' begins ahead of the next election cycle, some Republican 'hopefuls' to replace President Obama are acting all self righteous and 'how dare he' about what he stated. Free speech, Rinos. He can say whatever he wants, and often does.

So, what President Obama said was true. If you're waiting for the "but..." I have a big one.

BUT... The word he used was 'religions'.

Religions. I've yammered on and on often enough for most readers (both of them) to understand my point. 

Christianity is not a religion. Religion is Man reaching up to discover/remake God and Heaven as Man determines them to be. See examples ranging from secular humanist to hard core Muslim, with Catholicism right in the middle. Christianity is God reaching down and revealing Himself through His WORD, Jesus Christ. 

President Obama stated: "
“And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ,".

Right again. In the name of Christ, not at the bidding of Christ.   

Jesus, the same Jesus who said, "Love your neighbor as yourself" also said, "Bless those who persecute you-bless and do not curse."  A lot of such good blessing was being done in the torture chambers of the Inquisition, but it was coming from the Christians being tortured by the Catholics. Read "Foxes Book of Martyrs" sometime.

So, the perps of the Inquisition and the Crusades? Catholics. Happens to be the religion of some of the self righteous Rinos now blasting President Obama for conflating their church's history with Islamic terrorism. They are trying to incite my religious indignation to defend their religion. Nopers.

So, has MY group ever done anything wrong? Individuals have, certainly. We are humans in every respect, and we often fail to do the right thing, whatever that happens to be. 

But as a group? Nothing rising to the level of genocide and religious bigotry and hatred advanced by Religions. 

Bottom line: If Salvation were available through Religion, then there would have been no need for Christ to come and redeem this fallen Creation. Any Buddah would do. 

But Jesus Christ, always and forever, is God on His terms, not on those imposed by religions.

Okay, I think it is funny for President Obama to accuse others of getting on a high horse, of not being humble. But the rest is true, too.

 

 

A Broken Clock Is Wrong 22 Hours a Day

¹    “I loathe my own life;     I will give full vent to my complaint;     I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
²    “I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;     Let me know why You contend with me." Job 10:1-2

To be VERY Clear right up front:
I love my life; this post is not in any way a cry of despair.
Job was having a tough time of it, though-his children wiped out, his fortune gone, covered with sores and without a single clue as to why God was allowing these things to happen to him, a faithful God fearing man.
'Let me know why You contend with me.'
Further along in the narrative we hear God's answer to Job, but right here in chapter 10 Job hasn't a clue.
That is how it is for all of God's children. We are protected, yes-safe for Eternity.
But in this present age, in this troubled world...God allows some pretty horrendous things to happen to His children. Such catastrophe arrive without warning. Even the 'best' Christians: ministers, missionaries and Sunday School teachers have no special protection because they are involved in "God's Work".
Some bad theology which crops up (Job also got an earful of this stuff from his friends) is that if bad things happen to Doug (me), it is proof that God must be chastising me (Doug) for secret sins.
Bad, bad theology-it ascribes cause and effect to God's workings, as if we muttonheads could possibly parse out the Whys of what God does.
Nope. While God does indeed chastise  me, the Why's belong only to God.
I don't usually share personal info here at FDW, but here is an example:
About three years ago I lost my job. Had been with the company 10 years, did good work, etc.
Was I being chastised? Purified? Tested? I have no idea.
The past three years have been tough, but through it all, I have learned more about the Grace of God than I could have if my life (which is His to do with as He sees fit) had been 'pain-free'.
After three years, I am back with the company, and my employment is more secure.
Job said, " The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.     Blessed be the name of the LORD.".
In my case, the Lord gave me that job, took it away for His own reasons, and then put me back in that same place.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.
I mentioned that God answered Job later on.
That answer is covered in chapters 38-42 of the book of Job, and it brings some perspective, understanding...but we still know only in part, and must trust God for the Why's and Why Not's we will never comprehend.