We are a goal-oriented society, driven by our goals and dreams. Graduating high school and on to college, Graduating college and entering the work place, to become that which we dreamed of becoming through all our years of toil and study. We strive to accumulate wealth, prestige, honors, so that our Golden years will be happy years... but they won't.
For you see, life doesn't happen when we achieve our goals. Our happiness is not found in the culmination of our dreams. Meeting goals leads to a sense of emptiness. So where is happiness found? Where is life the grandest? It is here, and now, as we struggle to to achieve, as we push ever forward in hopes of achieving... Life, and happiness is happening now. It is our job to recognize it and embrace it. I've heard people say things like, "Where have the years gone?", or, "I never really knew my kids", all because they were so caught up in the dream that they missed life as it happened all around them. Life is now. Happiness is found in recognizing life, and embracing the good as it happens. A baby's first word or step, a delicious meal prepared by your mate, a humming bird feeding outside your window, a gentle caress... there are a multitude of things happening all around us each and every day that can bring a smile to our lips or put a song in our heart. We need to be aware, to live in the moment, to embrace that life happening around us to really find happiness. Life and happiness are not in the meeting of our goals, our dreams, it is in the struggle, the journey, the path to get there.
Living in awareness of life, embracing each day, each moment, and finding our moments of happiness there fills our lives with memories. In my relationships I've had both positive and negative memories occur, which is normal. But I've learned to take those negative memories and couch them between two positive ones- something good that happened prior, and something good that happened afterwards- and I've found that the bitterness of the negative memory, and often the memory itself, fades away and I'm left with pleasant memories of days gone by. And that's where our happiness in our Golden years is found, in the memories of all that was good in our journey. So don't miss out on life today hoping that it'll be grander tomorrow, for it won't, and you will have robbed yourself another day, and potentially many moments of future memories,,, Seize the day, live in the moment, stop and smell the roses... you'll be glad on day that you did.
THOUGHTS OUTSIDE THE BOX : Issues and Thoughts... A Journey toward Spiritual Attainment...
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Broken Love...
Love is something everybody wants, even craves, in their innermost being. Love makes us feel wanted, cared for, special. It gives us a feeling of worth, of importance, of belonging. Even I, the loner, often the social recluse, find myself desiring to be loved. We all need it, we all want it, We all long to fall in love, to belong to, or with someone. Love makes us feel completed...
Some people will balk at that thought, saying that they don't need another person to be complete, but that's not what I said. I didn't say another makes us feel completed, I said love makes us feel complete.
The really amazing thing about love, and the experience of love, is that, at it's very best, it is broken love. It is fallible, it is vulnerable, it is fragile. It is broken because we live in a broken, sinful world, and all in it cannot be anything but broken. And still we crave that broken love. Why?
Because our very nature is made from love, out of love, to live in community with love. Our world was once perfect and that love in it was perfect, for God is love. God's very essence, His very being is love, and out of that love He created us to live in community with Him, to love and worship Him. And the beauty of it all is this; one day this world will cease its groaning and be made right. One day our sin will be eliminated and that love we now crave in its broken state will flow pure and perfected, and we will be complete...food for thought...
Some people will balk at that thought, saying that they don't need another person to be complete, but that's not what I said. I didn't say another makes us feel completed, I said love makes us feel complete.
The really amazing thing about love, and the experience of love, is that, at it's very best, it is broken love. It is fallible, it is vulnerable, it is fragile. It is broken because we live in a broken, sinful world, and all in it cannot be anything but broken. And still we crave that broken love. Why?
Because our very nature is made from love, out of love, to live in community with love. Our world was once perfect and that love in it was perfect, for God is love. God's very essence, His very being is love, and out of that love He created us to live in community with Him, to love and worship Him. And the beauty of it all is this; one day this world will cease its groaning and be made right. One day our sin will be eliminated and that love we now crave in its broken state will flow pure and perfected, and we will be complete...food for thought...
Monday, March 30, 2015
Papa's Medicine...
"You do Papa," he said. "Gummy Bears".
It was so cute that Saturday morning I made a special trip out to my son's, to deliver my medicine to my grandson. The look of joy on his face was more than payment for my efforts, although my son gently scolded me for allowing my grandson to "play" me the way he did...
That little guy can play me all he wants, as can my other grandchildren, for I am no longer bound by those parental rules of right and wrong. I'm Papa now, and the rules have all changed... and I'm loving it!
Food for thought...
Monday, February 09, 2015
Global Warming: Our latest political scam...
In his latest State of the Union speech Barrack Obama said we need to champion this crisis of global warming. We are on pace to spend some $22 billion dollars- that's 22 thousand millions- to try and halt a crisis that doesn't exist. To put it in perspective, that's more than double what Obama will spend to defend our borders. It is about $42,000 per minute, to combat a problem that doesn't exist. It's all a scam, and being perpetrated at the tax-payer's expense, for it is our money that is being spent on this scam...
Obama tweeted, on 5/16/2014, that 97% of scientists agree that global warming is real, and is man-made, and dangerous. John Kerry, Al Gore, and others jumped right on that and parroted the same statistic. The problem was, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the actual statistic was considerably less, like 1% of all scientists thought global warming was a problem, and caused by man... In response, over 31,000 scientists signed a petition that, in essence, stated that there is no convincing scientific evidence that humans cause global warming. Geez Pres, you only missed by 96%. But it makes great scare tactics...
So what is the figures for global warming? NASA has recorded the earth temperatures for the last 35 years. Since 1979 until now we've experienced an increase of .36 degrees, and that was all between 1979 and 1998. Since then we've had 17 years of decreasing temperatures.Since 1998 our temperature has now dropped 1.08 degrees. While excepting his Nobel prize for his work on global warming in 2007 Al Gore famously predicted that our icecaps were "falling off a cliff" and could be gone within seven years- that's by the end of 2014. Well Al, thanks for the scare tactics. As of 2014 our ice caps have increased 43-63% (depending on season) since 2007. We've got additional ice caps larger than the state of Alaska...
So why all the outrage over global warming now? Because politicians and their cronies are getting rich off of it, pure and simple. We now have a 22 billion dollar per year industry to correct a non-existent problem. That's a lot of payola, and it's coming directly out of the pockets of John and Jane Q. Public. The reality is climate change has always been a part of the equation, whether it was the "mini ice-age that hit Europe between the 1600"s and 1800's to the "dust bowl" droughts of the 1930's here in America. But man does not cause climate change. Man cannot alter the earth's rotation from night to day, nor its revolution around our sun, which creates temperature fluctuations, seasons, et al. Rather climate change occurs beyond the scope of man, as in the heating or cooling of our sun, sunspots, etc, or the devastating impact of a collision with another heavenly body, as theorized was the cause of the great ice age that wiped out dinosaurs...
Let's recognize global warming for what it is- scare tactics to aid in a money grab by crooked politicians and their cronies to deal with a non-existent problem that needs no answer.
Food for thought...
Obama tweeted, on 5/16/2014, that 97% of scientists agree that global warming is real, and is man-made, and dangerous. John Kerry, Al Gore, and others jumped right on that and parroted the same statistic. The problem was, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the actual statistic was considerably less, like 1% of all scientists thought global warming was a problem, and caused by man... In response, over 31,000 scientists signed a petition that, in essence, stated that there is no convincing scientific evidence that humans cause global warming. Geez Pres, you only missed by 96%. But it makes great scare tactics...
So what is the figures for global warming? NASA has recorded the earth temperatures for the last 35 years. Since 1979 until now we've experienced an increase of .36 degrees, and that was all between 1979 and 1998. Since then we've had 17 years of decreasing temperatures.Since 1998 our temperature has now dropped 1.08 degrees. While excepting his Nobel prize for his work on global warming in 2007 Al Gore famously predicted that our icecaps were "falling off a cliff" and could be gone within seven years- that's by the end of 2014. Well Al, thanks for the scare tactics. As of 2014 our ice caps have increased 43-63% (depending on season) since 2007. We've got additional ice caps larger than the state of Alaska...
So why all the outrage over global warming now? Because politicians and their cronies are getting rich off of it, pure and simple. We now have a 22 billion dollar per year industry to correct a non-existent problem. That's a lot of payola, and it's coming directly out of the pockets of John and Jane Q. Public. The reality is climate change has always been a part of the equation, whether it was the "mini ice-age that hit Europe between the 1600"s and 1800's to the "dust bowl" droughts of the 1930's here in America. But man does not cause climate change. Man cannot alter the earth's rotation from night to day, nor its revolution around our sun, which creates temperature fluctuations, seasons, et al. Rather climate change occurs beyond the scope of man, as in the heating or cooling of our sun, sunspots, etc, or the devastating impact of a collision with another heavenly body, as theorized was the cause of the great ice age that wiped out dinosaurs...
Let's recognize global warming for what it is- scare tactics to aid in a money grab by crooked politicians and their cronies to deal with a non-existent problem that needs no answer.
Food for thought...
Sunday, January 25, 2015
The Season of Angels...
I began this post pre-Christmas, but set it aside, for I got busy... Actually, I have no excuse for not finishing... Here it is. Sorry it's late.
Tis the season, the Christmas season, in which we hear the Christmas story once again, and the role that angels played. And yet, although many claim to believe in the sanctity, the validity, the truth of the Scriptures, there seems to be a lag in the belief of angel and demons. All too often we think of angels and demons in terms of their Hollywood portrayals- something fantastic, but not really real. A good story, but the stuff of fairy tales, not reality.
When we examine scriptures however, the case for the existence of angles is overwhelming. If indeed we believe the Bible is God's truth, that it is real and unflawed, then we must believe in the existence of angels, for the existence of angels is taught in at least 34 books of the Bible, and the word "angel" appears at least 275 times. Jesus himself recognized and taught of the existence of angels (Matthew 18:20, 26:53).
There is actually many facts about angels in the Bible, which can teach us much about the celestial beings. Like us humans we see that angels are created beings (Col. 1:16).However, they were created before our world was created (Job 38:6-7) and were witness to creation. They were created in holiness, in positions of authority (Jude 6)but with a free will.
Peter teaches that angels possess intellect (I Peter 1:12), and Luke records that angels possess emotions (2:13). They are spiritual beings, residing with God in the heavens, but also created to minister and serve those who receive God's salvation (Heb. 1:13-14). The gospel of Mark (12:25) seems to indicated that angels do not reproduce after their kind. The needn't reproduce however, for Jesus teaches that angels do not die (Luke 20:35-36).
Though like us angels are created, we are distinctly different from angels Psalms 8:4-5). Angels possess great power (2 Peter 2:11) and their numbers seem innumerable (Hebrews 12:22).
Angels are also a structured group. There is one Archangel, Michael (Jude 9), the most powerful of the Angels. It was he who came to the aid of the angel dispatched to answer Daniel's prayers and petitions. There are Chief Princes (Daniel 10:13), there are Ruling Angels (Ephesians 3:10), and there are Guardians (Hebrews 1:14, Matthew 18:10), for everyone, but specifically for children too.There are Seraphim, which have to do with the worship of God (Isaiah 6:1-3), there are Cherubim, which guard the holiness of God (Genesis 3:22-24), and there are Elect Angels, (I Timothy 5:21).
The ministry of angels is diverse. They ministered to Jesus, beginning with predicting and then announcing his birth, protecting him as a baby, strengthening him after his ordeal in the dessert, and again at Gethsemane. They rolled away the stone and announced his resurrection. From beginning to end Angels were with Jesus during his time here on earth.
Like-wise, angels minister to believers. They have a general ministry of aiding, they are involved in the answering of prayer, they observe Christian experiences and encourage in times of danger. They are interested in the evangelistic efforts of Christians, and they care for the righteous at death, (I do have scripture references for each of these). They also have a broader ministry, to the nations. Michael is shown to have a special relationship with Israel (Daniel 12:1). Angels are often God's agents in the execution of His providence, and will be involved in the judgement of the Tribulation during the end times. Even unbelievers find themselves a part of angels' ministry. Angels announce impending judgments, inflict punishment, and will act as reapers in the separation of believers and non-believers at the end of the age.
Angels are real. They were here before us, and will be here to the end of our age. Beyond that- how am I to know? But the next time you find yourself faced with an inexplicable situation, or meet someone you just can't explain be careful- you might have just encountered an angel!
Food for thought...
Tis the season, the Christmas season, in which we hear the Christmas story once again, and the role that angels played. And yet, although many claim to believe in the sanctity, the validity, the truth of the Scriptures, there seems to be a lag in the belief of angel and demons. All too often we think of angels and demons in terms of their Hollywood portrayals- something fantastic, but not really real. A good story, but the stuff of fairy tales, not reality.
When we examine scriptures however, the case for the existence of angles is overwhelming. If indeed we believe the Bible is God's truth, that it is real and unflawed, then we must believe in the existence of angels, for the existence of angels is taught in at least 34 books of the Bible, and the word "angel" appears at least 275 times. Jesus himself recognized and taught of the existence of angels (Matthew 18:20, 26:53).
There is actually many facts about angels in the Bible, which can teach us much about the celestial beings. Like us humans we see that angels are created beings (Col. 1:16).However, they were created before our world was created (Job 38:6-7) and were witness to creation. They were created in holiness, in positions of authority (Jude 6)but with a free will.
Peter teaches that angels possess intellect (I Peter 1:12), and Luke records that angels possess emotions (2:13). They are spiritual beings, residing with God in the heavens, but also created to minister and serve those who receive God's salvation (Heb. 1:13-14). The gospel of Mark (12:25) seems to indicated that angels do not reproduce after their kind. The needn't reproduce however, for Jesus teaches that angels do not die (Luke 20:35-36).
Though like us angels are created, we are distinctly different from angels Psalms 8:4-5). Angels possess great power (2 Peter 2:11) and their numbers seem innumerable (Hebrews 12:22).
Angels are also a structured group. There is one Archangel, Michael (Jude 9), the most powerful of the Angels. It was he who came to the aid of the angel dispatched to answer Daniel's prayers and petitions. There are Chief Princes (Daniel 10:13), there are Ruling Angels (Ephesians 3:10), and there are Guardians (Hebrews 1:14, Matthew 18:10), for everyone, but specifically for children too.There are Seraphim, which have to do with the worship of God (Isaiah 6:1-3), there are Cherubim, which guard the holiness of God (Genesis 3:22-24), and there are Elect Angels, (I Timothy 5:21).
The ministry of angels is diverse. They ministered to Jesus, beginning with predicting and then announcing his birth, protecting him as a baby, strengthening him after his ordeal in the dessert, and again at Gethsemane. They rolled away the stone and announced his resurrection. From beginning to end Angels were with Jesus during his time here on earth.
Like-wise, angels minister to believers. They have a general ministry of aiding, they are involved in the answering of prayer, they observe Christian experiences and encourage in times of danger. They are interested in the evangelistic efforts of Christians, and they care for the righteous at death, (I do have scripture references for each of these). They also have a broader ministry, to the nations. Michael is shown to have a special relationship with Israel (Daniel 12:1). Angels are often God's agents in the execution of His providence, and will be involved in the judgement of the Tribulation during the end times. Even unbelievers find themselves a part of angels' ministry. Angels announce impending judgments, inflict punishment, and will act as reapers in the separation of believers and non-believers at the end of the age.
Angels are real. They were here before us, and will be here to the end of our age. Beyond that- how am I to know? But the next time you find yourself faced with an inexplicable situation, or meet someone you just can't explain be careful- you might have just encountered an angel!
Food for thought...
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