Treasure

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7)

What treasure?

"...the light of the knowledge of the g l o r y of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)

On this Monday the earthen of me is a bit creaky and a bit cracked, but the glory is always constant, in which I rejoice.

(Friend Laura Wetherbee chose the verse today on Facebook. Thanks, it's a good one to have in my mind today.)

William Tyndale (1494-1536)

William Tyndale (1494-1536)

William Tyndale was the Oxford-educated polyglot theologian and reformer who produced the first printed Bible in English.

His translation was from Erasmus' Greek-Latin Bible, the same one which Luther used to translate his German Bible. Tyndale's Bible was banned in Britain: you can't trust the rabble to read it themselves. He famously said that he wanted a Bible that "every plowman" could read himself.

Tyndale was executed by Henry Vlll for his efforts. It is believed that Thomas More was pushing for the execution.

It is thought that up to 80% of the King James Bible - the most printed book in the world - is Tyndale's product.

Voice recognition. . .

Satan knows of our inborn desire for the supernatural and the mystical, and he will oblige.

I think sometimes (not always) that the phrases “The Lord showed me” or “The Lord led me” can be used to sort of ward off any challenges. If the Lord “showed” someone, who can possibly question them?

WORLDmag.com Voice recognition (An interesting article written by Andrée Seu)

Euro, one size does not fit all . . .

Countries that are highly uncompetitive are normally able to slash interest rates and devalue their currencies to prop up their economies.
But this is not possible within the euro, given its one-size-fits-all economic governance.
The implication is that weak, peripheral eurozone members will have to suffer years of painful deflation and tumbling living standards, as well as draconian budget cuts, in order to adjust.
Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, a long-standing sceptic on the euro, yesterday said the single currency 'isn't working' because member governments have no incentive to keep their public debts under control.
'There's too much incentive for countries to run up big deficits as there's no feedback until a crisis,' he said.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250433/Greece-debt-bailout-EU-leaders-split-euro-crisis.html

Star Chamber

PRONUNCIATION:
(star CHAYM-buhr)

MEANING:
noun: A court or group marked by arbitrary, oppressive, and secretive procedures.

ETYMOLOGY:
After the Star Chamber in the Palace of Westminster in London. It was the site of a closed-door court appointed by King Henry VII of England in the 15th century. Notorious for its abuse of power -- rulings made in secret, no appeal -- it was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. The chamber was so named because its ceiling was decorated with stars.

Universal wish. . .

Robert Fulghum, OFFICIAL Website - Recent Entries:

IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE LOSS,
BUT THE SIZE OF THE SORROW.

"So what’s this all about?

I’ve been asking myself that for the last few days.
My frustration in this small matter mirrors, I think, a deeper universal human wish that any one of us could make things better for all those in pain wherever, whenever, no matter how small the loss or large the sorrow."

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (II Corinthians 1:3,4).

Israel, a nation...

“So there are some Believers in Israel, but Israel is there mainly in rank unbelief.

But it is still a nation, and if it is a pre-cursor, a foreshadowing...certainly before the Anti-Christ comes Israel has to be there as a nation."

(Lisa Leland) Still trying to link...but won't work : (

Sometimes it hurts. . .

"To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." I Thess. 3:13

From friend Laura Wetherbee in Chicago.

Primordial Soup

The sort of environmental flukes on which the Darwinian depends for his salvation are all very well if you have infinite time. But as we began to realize, about the time Primordial Soup was first served, the universe wasn't nearly old enough -- by a factor approaching infinity -- for any meandering and purposeless scheme to achieve the sort of results we see all around us.

The alternative, of course, is that the universe was in some sense "programmed," that biological and ultimately human life was implicit in the Big Bang. This is called the "anthropic cosmological principle," and it fits with every observable fact of nature. It is resisted by atheists, however, because it is highly suggestive of Creation by God, and is described with great clarity in for example in the Book of Isaiah:

"For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:18).

(From David Warren - Primordial Soup)

http://www.davidwarrenonline.com/index.php?id=1107

America

17. ~Paules:
America will never be Greece, not ever, nor any other socialist hell. I offer you anecdotal stories to cheer your heart:

While in Rome I saw gypsy kids lift a wallet in clear view of Italian police. It took a group of American students to run down the miscreants and return the purloined cache to its rightful owner.

While in Bern I discovered an addict shooting up heroin in my dorm. The hostel manager complained that the government forced him to take in such people. Addicts are thieves, everyone of them, and under all circumstances. The American contingent backed by resolute Aussie allies evicted him bodily from the hostel.

While in Marseilles the Americans in my group swept a park of garbage before we settled to picnic. The French declared that no one asked us to, so why bother? A fellow from New Jersey informed them that Americans do what needs doing. No one has to ask. We left the French students perplexed.

I met an American lad in India who drove a bus across the highest road in the world minus the assigned driver. About twenty minutes into the trip the passengers realized the Indian behind the wheel was drunk. The Europeans protested, but did nothing. A doughty Brit finally tossed the driver. An American finished the job bringing her home safely into Leh.

While in Thailand I raced a bamboo raft down an unnamed river while on a trek to the hill country. It wasn’t some sort of official race. Our very experienced Thai guide offered the following: “When you have Americans in the group, it’s always a race.” Indeed.

I reckon readers know where I’m going with this. America is a very special place, and the American character is as strong as ever. Believe it. We are a righteous and resolute people. Socialism is a cheat and a lie. The American people love liberty today and for all time. Because that’s just the way it is. Count on it.

(Comments from Victor Davis Hanson article 2/10/10)

Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear is smarter than the average bear,

Yogi Bear is always in the ranger's hair.

At a picnic table you will find him there

Stuffing down more goodies than the average bear.

He will sleep till noon but before it's dark,

He'll have every picnic basket that's in Jellystone Park.
Yogi has it better than a millionaire

That's because he's smarter than the average bear.

Something better . . .

The whole perspective on trouble, on suffering, on difficulty—its meaning has been radically altered. Instead of destroying me, it’s working for me.

A renewed mind says this has come into my life, not to destroy me, but to be productive.

Not just to take it away, but to use the suffering; give some meaning to it, give me something that might let it do something for me NOW and work for me a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory. That’s talking about eternity being brighter and better because of the (current) suffering.

As opposed to something that comes and steals, it brings gain. It brings the ability for you to KNOW Him in a way you could never know Him. Trust Him in a way you could never trust Him. Grow in a way you could never grow without it.

A passage that focuses on getting people to see this reality is Romans 8:18-28:

[18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.[19] For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.[20] For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,[21] Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.[22] For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.[23] And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.[24] For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?[25] But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.[26] Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.[27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.[28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

(From Lisa Leland.com commenting on Pastor Jordan's study on 2 Corinthians.)

Albert...at least Felix trembled. . .

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. (Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel laureate, 1879-1955)

Consider the Apostle Paul when speaking before Felix the governor:

"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he (Paul) reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled" - Acts 24:24-25

Israel's reality . . .

"If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel!"

- Benjamin Netanyahu

Oops! Presumption does another in. . .

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist - -" -last words of General Sedgwick

John Sedgwick - Wikipedia

The Little Mars Rover That Could

Something Wonderful: The Little Mars Rover That Could @ AMERICAN DIGEST

To the rover, Spirit:

It was a big job to ask
of little gears and chips
and shiny foil.
To race alone through nothingness,
to taste the red dust
of a land no soul calls
home.

But, like the little pill bug
that entertained an earthling
with his plodding in the rain,
you rolled on.

But if you stop,
burdened by the dust
or an unseen crack
in the cosmic sidewalk,
who is there to pick you up,
dust you off,
or place you gently
under a leaf?

There will most likely never be a human's bootprint on the surface of Mars; it's now way too expensive and too dangerous for humans to spend so much time in a vacuum full of cosmic rays, and by the time we have the resources and the technology to do it safely there will be no point; robots will have long been doing a better job of exploration, far more cheaply.

But the little rover that could has shown why that is no great loss. We're there with the little guy and will be with all his successors.

Writing in pictures...

"The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pilgrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets." From James Thurber, The 13 Clocks (New York, 1957)

Let's bow our knee today. . .

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

-Philippians 2:5 - 11

Standing by what authority?

Sin is sin.

First, you have to define sin.

Then you have to reveal the authority behind the definition.

Then you have to stand by that authority as unbelievers scoff at your unscientific, reactionary, outdated, bigoted beliefs.

Israel helps Haiti

ISRAEL’S DISPROPORTIONATE RESPONSE

Because of Israel’s long history of enduring bomb and missile attacks the Israeli army (the IDF) is one of the most experienced in the world in treating mass-injuries and using specially trained sniffer dogs to locate wounded persons in the rubble.

The IDF was one of the first on the scene in Haiti last week (sending considerably more troops and doctors than, for example, Britain and France did). Hundreds, if not thousands of Haitians have already been treated (and many life-saving surgeries performed) in the IDF Medical and Rescue Field Hospital, set up in a large tent on a soccer field in Port-Au-Prince. In addition, Israeli forces have located and rescued survivors trapped in ruined buildings, including many who were injured during the collapse of the UN headquarters

Grover

October 16, 1919 - January 9, 2010

Uncle Grover has passed into eternity.

The last of the Anderson boys. Andy, some called him.

When we were children, with his stutter and laugh, he was a larger than life presence as he came from Detroit to visit us at the Linough farm in Ensign during hunting season.

Then in his later years you can still see all the fence posts and wire he put up to enclose the farm after he and Bea retired. Work, work, work...moving around on his four-wheeler.

Mother cured him of his cancer with carrot juice (she says).

He enjoyed life and had many years.

May he have entered into his eternal rest, in Christ Jesus.

Facts

Facts are stubborn things. (John Adams)

Where is the promise of His coming?

I used to expect Jesus to come and save us. Something seems to be delaying Him. (From friend at Forgotten Prophets)

"Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2 Peter 3:4).

"For this they willingly are ignorant of...the Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

For Jason . . .

Jimmy Piersal on how to diaper a baby:

Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.

Sweet Babe. . .

If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle. - Vincent van Gogh -

Our little girl is full-term. She is comfortable and warm, the Doctor says, and not anxious to leave what she knows for what she doesn't.

Even so, the space is getting more confining every day, and the time for exit is imminent. We are waiting to see her smiles. Should be soon.

That's Greek to me. . .

Koine Greek parchment

Unless you understand Koine Greek as well as you do English, when you combine an interlinear text (done by men) and a lexicon (compiled by men) you are using your limited understanding of a foreign language as a substitute for a real translation.

I will not tell you not to learn or study Greek, but remember that there is no good reason to think the result of all this is a better translation than a thorough translation done by real scholars as is the King James translation of the Hebrew and Greek majority text.

I believe the best approach is to take the KJV (King James Version) and read it. Compare one part against another. It is a literal translation, except where a completely literal translation would be clearly wrong.

The KJV translators deliberately left clues throughout the text to indicate the original word. For instance, in the Old Testament if you see LORD in all capitals, the word in Hebrew was Jehovah. The word Lord, with just the first letter capitalized, indicates the word was translated from the Hebrew, Adonai. And God indicates the Hebrew word was Elohim.

None of this takes away the ability to look at a Greek or Hebrew word if you’re so inclined, as many Greek to English word books are available to purchase. A good one is Strong's Concordance, which I use.

Presumption. . .

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me" (Psalm 19:13).

noun = the act of presuming; assumption of something as true; an assumption, often not fully established, that is taken for granted in some piece of reasoning; unwarrantable, unbecoming, or impertinent boldness. Synonyms: audacity, effrontery, arrogance, gall.

Presumption is the lowest form of knowledge.

How do we keep from presumptuous sins?

By letting God's Word, the Bible, be our standard of truth, not our own reasoning.

Who will have all men to be . . .

"...this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (I Timothy 2:3-5).

From Matthew Henry commentary:

God bears a goodwill to all mankind. There is one God, and one only. This one God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. It concerns us to get the knowledge of the truth, because that is the way to be saved.

There is one Mediator, and that Mediator gave Himself a ransom for all. As the mercy of God extends itself to all His works, so the mediation of Christ extends to all the children of men.

We deserved to have died. Christ died for us.

He put Himself into the office of Mediator between God and man.

A mediator supposes a controversy. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God. Jesus Christ is a Mediator to bring God and man together.

(God is so good to us. And His salvation, found in Christ Jesus, so right and available to us all. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33). May we all be rejoicing in this salvation!)

The real person . . .

Beethoven

One key factor that separates man from all lower creatures: man's ability to form conceptual ideas and to express them in words and music and art! We are made in the image of God our Creator and the lover of our souls. The same cannot be said of any other living creature.

This simple fact reveals the futility of searching the world of fossils to find a "missing link" between man and lower creatures of any kind. It is equally futile to search the DNA of man and animals for a missing link. Neither the skeletal structure nor the DNA has anything to do with who the person really is.

Even if the complete skeletons and DNA of Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens, and Ludwig van Beethoven could be discovered, would they hold the key to the genius of these men? Of course not! The real person is a nonphysical being living inside the physical body. This fact is indisputable.

The Berean Call Website! thebereancall.org

Happy MMX . . .

Russians Going To Blow Up Asteroid

The asteroid, Apophis, supposedly has only a 1-in-45,000 chance of hitting Earth. But that's too close for comfort for the Russians so they're planning a mission to steer it away from us.

The US is not sure this is a good idea. All the Russians promise is that it 'won't involve nuclear explosions' and that they 'will obey the laws of physics'.

The Word of God speaks of an asteroid which will fall to the earth during the Tribulation time:

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters: and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter" (Revelation 8:10-11).

We are living in the time of God's grace where these trumpet judgments are all future, but as the Lord Jesus Christ is absent and rejected in this world, these days are called "man's day" where man is the measure of all things, and he is the fixer of all problems. It is interesting to see how far man has progressed with the mind and matter God has given him.

P.S.
As we prepare to enter a new year, may everyone reading have already taken the step of trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior, and have appropriated His death as the payment of ALL sins, past, present and future. He truly is worthy to be trusted. And then, a very Happy New Year to all.

New Year's Blue Moon

Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve.

Ringing in 2010 we will be treated to a blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue - the name has nothing to do with the color. 'Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a 'hunter's moon' or a 'harvest moon'.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month - a blue moon - occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

"O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:1,3,4)

Ah, yes, what is man that God is mindful of us?

We are created in His image (Genesis 1:26) and He loves us (John 3:16).

As God is mindful of us, let us be mindful of Him in this new year.

How silently the gift is given. . .

Silent night! holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon virgin mother and Child,
Holy Infant, so tender and mild--
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!
--Silent Night

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv'n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But, in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.
--O Little Town of Bethlehem

December 21 - Solstice

The Solstice Seen from Newgrange @ AMERICAN DIGEST

Wonderful Christ

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
-- Isaiah 9:6

The Case For Christmas

Defense and Confirmation: The Case For Christmas with Lee Strobel

Daystar

“When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” - Luke 18:8

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,
Christ, the true, the only Light,
Sun of righteousness, arise,
Triumph o’er the shades of night;
Dayspring from on high, be near,
Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by Thee;
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till Thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till Thy inward life impart,
Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine;
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiance Divine,
Scatter all my unbelief;
More and more Thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day. --Charles Wesley

Mother

"The dying person's spiritual vision often begins even before death," apparently because the two worlds are drawing closer together, so to speak.

It is as if the other world penetrates and infuses this one with a peculiar but distinct energy, something most people can experience when in the presence of the dying loved one.

Thank You Very Much

Thank You Very Much (Part 2) Scrooge (1970)

Weasel

"Here's looking at you, kid."

Casablanca (1942)

Quiet sun. . .

"This lack of sun spots is a genuine issue for concern."

Fences . . .

"I would like to know what I was fencing in and what I was fencing out."- Frost

The Kookaburra song. . .

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Eating all the gumdrops he can see.
Stop, Kookaburra,
Stop, Kookaburra,
Leave some there for me.

(I loved singing this song when a young girl. Don't remember where it was taught but probably in grade school where we would listen to a teaching program on the radio each week and learn new songs. Also our teacher, Mrs. Gustafson, played the piano and introduced many unusual songs. I'm sure I didn't know what the strange words meant. c. 1954ish)

The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a carnivorous kookaburra in the Kingfisher family well known for its laughing call. It is about 18 in. in length and is found throughout eastern Australia and neighboring islands.Its trademark "laugh" is to establish territory amongst family groups. When one bird starts, often others will join in, including nearby birds from rival tribes, which can fill the bush with their calls.

Marion Sinclair wrote the song in 1932 for a contest being held by the Victorian Guides. The competition was for an 'Australian round' song. A gum tree is a name for the eucalyptus tree. There are more gum trees than any other kind of tree in Australia. Gum tree leaves are the favourite thing for koalas to eat.

Measuring oneself. . .

Mozart: [hesitantly] I never knew that music like that was possible!
Salieri: [uncertainly] You flatter me.
Mozart: No, no! One hears such sounds, and what can one say but... ”Salieri."

[about Emperor Joseph II's musical tastes]
Salieri: Actually, the man had no ear at all. But what did it matter? He adored my music.
(Amadeus (1984) - Memorable quotes)

Salieri measuring himself to Mozart falls way short!

Consider a true measure to measure ourselves:

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ...Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;" (Ephesians 4:7,13).

Grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Let's set our hearts on that measure.

A goodly heritage. . .

"The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm 16:5-6 KJV).

heritage n 1. something inherited. 2. a condition, lot, or portion acquired by being born (again -to be qualified to inherit).

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman...to redeem...that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts...wherefore thou art a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:4-7).

Childhood fun . . .

"Snap the Whip" by Winslow Homer

I loved being part of "Crack the Whip" as we called it. It almost felt like flying when you were on the end and the whip snapped. We would do it on the ice rink too. Always someone got hurt so finally the "Whip" was not allowed.

Blue Tanzanite

In 1967, the gemstone of the 20th Century was discovered in Tanzania, Africa.

The rich, bluish-purple colored gemstone is now known as the December birthstone.

I think it is the most beautiful of gemstones.

Seeking for Me

Elizabeth "Bette" Majors
September 15, 1915 - November 21, 2009

Dearest Friend,
Faith has now become sight!

Bette played and sang many songs of her Savior, Jesus Christ, but one that is not well known, in fact to me she is the only one who knew this song, expresses her faith and hope. I can hear her singing .... Seeking for Me

Jesus my Savior to Bethlehem came,
Born in a manger to sorrow and shame;
Oh, it was wonderful--blest be His name!
Seeking for me, for me!
Seeking for me! Seeking for me!
Seeking for me! Seeking for me!
Oh, it was wonderful--blest be His name!
Seeking for me, for me!

Jesus my Savior, on Calvary's tree,
Paid the great debt and my soul He set free;
Oh, it was wonderful--how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!
Dying for me! Dying for me!
Dying for me! Dying for me!
Oh, it was wonderful--how could it be?
Dying for me, for me!

Bette is now absent from her body and present with the Lord.

The checklist. . .

So there’s a checklist, formal or informal. I used to put it on them -- go take a look, and anything that’s yours and out, take care of it. Of course they wanted to do a sloppy job. It’s not bad, it’s human. But there’s accountability too.

After they got used to the rules, they’d know that any toy they left lying around, I’d keep for a while. Put it up high, where they could see it but not have it.

Mean? I smile with thin lips, and call it justice.

(taken from Forgotten Prophets)

Thanks To God!

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20)

Thanks, O God, for boundless mercy
From Thy gracious throne above;
Thanks for ev’ry need provided
From the fullness of Thy love.
Thanks for daily toil and labor
And for rest when shadows fall;
Thanks for love of friend and neighbor
And Thy goodness unto all.

Thanks for thorns as well as roses,
Thanks for weakness and for health;
Thanks for clouds as well as sunshine,
Thanks for poverty and wealth.
Thanks for pain as well as pleasure--
All Thou sendest day by day;
And Thy Word, our dearest treasure,
Shedding light upon our way.

Thanks, O God, for home and fireside,
Where we share our daily bread;
Thanks for hours of sweet communion,
When by Thee our souls are fed.
Thanks for grace in time of sorrow
And for joy and peace in Thee;
Thanks for hope today, tomorrow,
And for all eternity!

(August Ludvig Storm, Swedish Traditional Hymn "Tack O Gud" - 1891)

Thanks to God! is one of the most popular Swedish hymns that found its way into many of our evangelical hymnals.

August Storm was born 1862, in Motala, Sweden. He converted to Christ in a Salvation Army meeting and although he suffered a back ailment at the age of 37 that left him crippled for life, he continued his Salvation Army work until his death. The gratitude expressed to God ranges from the "dark and dreary fall" to the "pleasant, balmy springtime," and "pain" as well as "pleasure." There is gratitude, warmth of text and a folk-like quality in the music. Go to http://www.hymntime.com/ (Johannes Hultman score) to hear the melody.

Poppies

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies...

- To Autumn, John Keats

Scientific thought, free or not?

Amazon.com: Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed: Ben Stein, Richard Dawkins,

Darwinism leads to Atheism.

Your worldview determines your conclusion to scientific hypothesis.


The way to expose darkness is to turn on the light. Ben Stein turns on the light in the academic community. Well worth your viewing.

Beacons of light . . .

There is no ideal place to live. Every place you go, you are going to find an earth totally contaminated with sin. Children are hungry, people are suffering from war and pestilence -- there are so many heartbreaks.

Some people try to escape the world by moving out to the country. I have found this doesn't work because there is no place to escape from yourself.

We are directed to be beacons of light to this lost world. You can't be a beacon while hiding in a cave.

Economics

Morality represents the way that people would like the world to work--whereas economics represents how it actually does work.

(Freakonomics, p. 11)

Greek Euro Coin

The abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull.

How many people are aware that the Greek two Euro coin depicts a woman riding a beast (Rev. 17:3).

Of infinite value. . .

What is the future? Something that Jesus said to not concern ourselves with. Not urging us to irresponsibility. It's just that towers fall and crush passersby, and armed men come and make victims out of citizens. It's why people believe in fate. I don't believe in fate any more than I believe in the assurance of earthly blessings. God keeps his promises. He just never promised to keep us safe. He deals with eternity.

God is forgiving, but reality is not.

See how it is? We are victims of choices, our own or of monstrous mothers and murderous scum. Victims of happenstance as well, having turned right instead of left, or waited a moment instead of moving. What horrors have we missed, for such choices? Or suffered?

I see people speaking of the future as if it were a real thing. We have to act as if it were. That's what hope is. But always in my heart I hear the sound of stifled sobs, memory of lost loved ones and the triumph of evil. Compassion is easy. Some people bleed it.

In the things that matter we must persevere.

The cat came back. Murdered little molested girls don't come back. Somehow, though, God will find comfort for them, and redress, the wounds to their souls healed, and the price in suffering they have paid will buy them, somehow, comforts of infinitely greater value. I forget this most of the time.

My self-esteem can absorb occasional failure, and learn from it. It makes me wiser, and eventually stronger. That's how God sees his fallen creation. It can be full of failure, and yet, somehow, be of infinite value. Enough, somehow, to be worth an infinity of suffering.

(From Forgotten Prophets, November 17, 09)

Memories

"Why should the old envy the young?

For the possibilities that a young person has?

Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered." -Viktor Frankl "Man's Search for Meaning"

Mother now lives in her memories. She loves being there.

Don't say it is a waste.

Heart to heart, Mother, I hold you in my memories too.

Nature's secrets. . .

John Calvin, from his commentary on Genesis,

"To be so occupied in the investigation of the secrets of nature, as never to turn the eyes to its Author, is a most perverted study; and to enjoy everything in nature without acknowledging the Author of the benefit, is the basest ingratitude."

Bring them in with the truth of the Bible . . .

Youth pastors have to attract kids; at least that's what they are told. A very wise youth pastor said,

"What brings them in keeps them in."

The idea is that if they are brought in by novelty, and if they are brought in by something exciting or bizarre, whatever it might be, that's what they are looking for. We're in a day of advertising, we're in the day of infomercials and all of that,

but

it cannot be applied to somebody who is seeking out truth, God's Word, God himself.

Keat's Eremite. . .

BRIGHT STAR, WOULD I WERE STEDFAST by John Keats

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art---
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors---
No---yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever---or else swoon in death.

Eremite:

An eremite (pronounced ERR-uh-mite) is a 'religious recluse', someone who, from religious motives, has retired into a solitary life. Both eremite and hermit came into English late in the 12th century and were used interchangeably for over 400 years. Hermit is now the more common word. In Modern English, especially since the 16th century, eremite is most often used poetically or to create a certain effect. Time magazine referred to J.D. Salinger as "the eremite of Cornish, N.H." in a 1999 article.

In the poem "Bright Star," Keats speaks of "nature's patient sleepless Eremite." The reference is to an unidentified star which, like a hermit, sits apart from the world. Frost, in "Choose Something Like a Star," refers to the steadfastness of "Keats' Eremite."