Tuesday, June 30, 2009

TWO FOR TUESDAY {REDO}

Not every song that will be featured here will be what is generally considered as being “Christian” in the eyes of this world. For some will be anguished cries from the pit of despair, and others will be quite obviously ferverent rants of rebellion. Nonetheless, be assured that they will all be of our Heavenly Father (in one way or another) and I hope that you have been given ears to hear the message.



Link: [On YouTube]

Paper Sun
Def Leppard

Does it hurt to remember
Does it help to forget
Do you know what you started
When you lit the fuse of regret

There’s not a reason why
You’ve come undone
There’s nothing left to justify
This can’t go on
There’s nothing left inside
As I walk this broken land

‘Cause you’re living on a paper sun
Blind to all the damage done
Living on a paper sun
Waiting for the tide to turn
Living on a paper sun
You can’t hide and you can’t run
All your dreams have come and gone
Living on a paper sun

Do you still hear ‘em screamin’
And does the fear make you run
Is the anger inside of you
A gift from father to son

I don’t believe in you
You’ve come undone
I don’t believe in what you do
This can’t go on
I don’t believe in you
As I walk this broken land

‘Cause you’re living on paper sun
Blind to all the damage done
Living on a paper sun
Waiting for the tide to turn
Living on a paper sun
You can’t hide and you can’t run
All your dreams have come and gone
Living on a paper…

You will discover
The way to suffer
And like no other
You feed the fire

There’s not a reason why
You’ve come undone
There’s nothing left to justify
This can’t go on
There’s nothing left inside
As I walk this broken land

‘Cause you’re living on a paper sun
Blind to all the damage done
Living on a paper sun
Waiting for the tide to turn
Living on a paper sun
Waitin’
For the night
All your dreams have come and gone


Link: [OnYouTube]

Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
Def Leppard
Gypsy
Sittin’ lookin’ pretty
The broken rose with laughin’ eyes

You’re a mystery
Always runnin’ wild
Like a child without a home

You’re always searchin’
Searchin’ for a feelin’
That it’s easy come and easy go

Oh
I’m sorry but it’s true
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Takin’ all the best of me
Oh can’t you see
You got the best of me
Whoa
Can’t you see

You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache

Can’t you see
Oh

You’re such a secret
Misty eyed and shady
Lady how you hold the key

Oh you’re like a candle
Your flame slowly fadin’
Burnin’ out and burnin’ me

Can’t you see
Just try and say to you
You’re bringin’ on the heartache
Takin’ all the best of me
Oh can’t you see
You got the best of me
Whoa
Can’t you see

You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache

Can’t you see

Can’t you see

No
No
No

You got the best of me
Oh can’t you see
You got the best of me
Whoa
Can’t you see

You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak
Bringin’ on the heartache
You’re bringin’ on the heartbreak

Link: [Def Leppard]

Lyrics From: [LyricsDownload]

Monday, June 29, 2009

Come Monday...An Ode To Crotchety

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about, websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time. Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.” This is subject to change, however. In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while. For rants promote change, and change can be good—right? Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).



It is said that he was born on the banks of the Bay of Bayonne. No one really knows for sure.

Yes, there are records, but records are made to be altered in New Jersey. Besides, there is also this to consider: As I stood on the sandy beach, I saw a beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads. On his horns he had ten royal crowns (diadems) and blasphemous titles (names) on his heads. And the beast that I saw resembled a leopard, his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth was like that of a lion. And to him the dragon gave his [own] might and power, and his [own] throne and great dominion. And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed, and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration. [Revelation 13:1-3 AMP]

No, I am not one to adhere to conspiracy theories. For I much prefer facts over fantasies, and I seek to only speak to what I know to be the truth always, without any embellishments whatsoever.

Therefore, you can believe that Crotchety is doing as well as expected, considering the fact that he is now on dialysis. For I spoke with a man who referred to himself as being Joe at the number that Crotchety published on his [main blog] the day before, and Joe is a name that Crotchety sometimes goes by.

To be honest, however, that raises more questions than I have answers for. For many of his lemmings also refer to him as being Dom, and the man I spoke with was actually quite pleasant—way too pleasant to be a crotchety old man who yells at cars! I mean, we talked about all sorts of things like normal people would, and that was not at all what I expected.

I suppose there is only one thing to do, and that would be to make a call to 732-321-7308 yourself. Just be mindful of the different time zones. For when it is 9 PM in California, it is midnight in New Jersey, and whoever answers the phone might not be very pleasant at all if you decide to call when it is 9 AM in the U.K.

Come to think of it, since he [now] has Internet access, it might be safer to just leave comments on his blog posts like before. Proceed at your own risk.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

A Sunday Drive

Back during my childhood, our parents would often load up my brother and I after Sunday morning church services for a leisurely drive around where we lived. Even though we were seeing mostly familiar sights, it was still good to see them, and this is why “A Sunday Drive” sounded about right for the name of a weekly series revisiting familiar sites that are well worth seeing again and again.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Bittersweet Refinements: XXXI

Bittersweet Refinements is another book that I have been given to publish. If it gets to sounding an awfully lot like a broken player stuck on repeating the same old wrong song over and over again that is because it is to a fairly great extent. For most of it contains rewritten parts of the Bitter/Sweets that were published here before. Hopefully, it will get to sounding a lot better to you very soon, and for the benefit of those who do not have access to multiple versions of our Heavenly Father's Holy Bible, numbered Scripture references in the text (for example, [1]) provide links to such through Bible Gateway this time around. The same also applies to verses included in the text.


Chapter XXXI
Intimate Relations


But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. [1 Timothy 1:5-11 NAS]

Be assured that our Heavenly Father did not establish His church in the name of His only begotten Son, who truly is the Lord Jesus Christ, to save any souls, nor to change any behaviors. For that is the work of His Holy Spirit[1].

No, this is not to say that it is has no part in the process. For the body of believers who make up His church[2] are called to echo what His Holy Spirit is already saying[3], which involves the convicting of sin[4].

Nonetheless, even in regards to that, it can only be righteously done in His love. For it is written: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [1 Corinthians 13:1 NAS]

Subsequently, it is also the work of our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit to teach us about His love. For what we naturally consider to be love is nothing more than a mere shadow of what His is[5].

Furthermore, it is another part of His Holy Spirit’s job description to allow and enable us to love as His does[6]. For there is a big difference between knowing about something and being able to actually do it[7].

It should not, however, be assumed that all in Christ are allowed and enabled to truly love as He does. For as it is with all of the other Spiritual gifts, that is determined by what He wants to accomplish in and through someone[8].

Proof of just how much is misunderstood about this is clear to see in every direction. For what is often referred to as being “Christian love” has more to do with doing one’s duty in a military sort of way than anything else.

Whereas the kind of love that truly is of our Heavenly Father is oh so very personal. For it is written: Love is patient, love is kind {and} is not jealous; love does not brag {and} is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong {suffered,} does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NAS]

Yes, it can be argued that it is not their fault, and if it was not for the witness of our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit, there would be ample evidence to support the objection. For it is written: Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. [1 Timothy 1:5 KJV]

Needless to say, there is a big difference between “love” and “charity,” but only in regards to what charity means in the eyes of this world now. For in 1611, it meant so much more[9], and in the Light of our Heavenly Father’s absolute truth[10], even that was not taking it far enough[11].

Yes, I can certainly appreciate why there would naturally be so much resistance to this. For in order to truly love someone like our Heavenly Father does, we must want to get personally involved in their life to the extent that we are welcomed to, and that is just too close for comfort in far too many cases (naturally-speaking, of course).

Nonetheless, I would still think that most would want to believe otherwise when looked at from a different direction. For which would be better, to spend all of eternity with the One who truly loves you[12] or is charitable—even by the natural standards of 1611?

{1}John 16:8-11; {2}Romans 12:4-5; {3}John 15:26-27; {4}John 16:8-11; {5}1 Corinthians 13:12; {6}Galatians 5:22-23; {7}John 15:1-17; {8}1 Corinthians 12:11; {9}Matthew 5:40-42; {10}Matthew 11:25-30; {11}1 John 4:7-21; {12}Jeremiah 31:3.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Sites To See

This is the new version of FIVE FOR FRIDAY. As with the former, it is the SOLE purpose of this weekly series to call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another. Please, go see for yourself.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

WhiteHeart Wednesday

Link: [Highlands]



MP3 Audio Player From: [BlogDumps Video]

Heaven Of My Heart
WhiteHeart
Did I hear angel wings
Thought I heard Gabriel sing
This can’t be some crazy dream
These feelings are too real

No Alice In Wonderland
It’s the same world it’s always been
But my vision’s been born again
Like a lantern in the dark
Heaven’s come to my heart

Locked in a special room
Is a land made for me and you
And we’re going there
But until the dream comes true
There’s a secret place
So full of love and grace
When the world spins and breaks apart
I’m going to the other Heaven of my heart

This isn’t some mystery
Heaven is inside of me
And from the love in your eyes I see
There is Heaven in your heart

Now we are to understand
Why He wanders this lonely land
The Shepherd is calling again and again
For the lost in the dark
To find a Heaven of their heart

Locked in a special room
Is a land made for me and you
And we’re going there
But until the dream comes true
There’s a secret place
So full of love and grace
When the world spins and breaks apart
I’m going to the other Heaven of my heart

So let the plan unfold
To walk on His streets of gold
In this Heaven of our heart

It’s so full of love for me

When the world spins and breaks apart
Come go with me to the Heaven of our heart
It’s a land made for me and you
And we’re going there
‘Cause this dream has come true
There’s a secret place
So full of love and grace
When the world spins and breaks apart
Come go with me to the Heaven of our heart

Heaven’s here with me
Heaven’s here with you

Oh in this Heaven of our heart

The place where dreams come true

The Heaven of our heart

Heaven of our heart

Link: [WhiteHeart]

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

TWO FOR TUESDAY {REDO}

Not every song that will be featured here will be what is generally considered as being “Christian” in the eyes of this world. For some will be anguished cries from the pit of despair, and others will be quite obviously ferverent rants of rebellion. Nonetheless, be assured that they will all be of our Heavenly Father (in one way or another) and I hope that you have been given ears to hear the message.



Link: [On YouTube]

Join Together
The Who
When you hear this sound a-comin’
Hear the drummers drummin’
I want you to
Join together with the band

We don’t move in any particular direction
And we don’t make no collections
I want you to
Join together with the band

Do you really think I care
What you eat or what you wear
I want you to
Join together with the band

There’s a million ways to laugh
And everyone’s a path
Come on and
Join together with the band

Everybody
Join Together
I want you to
Join Together
Come on and
Join together with the band
We need you to
Join together
Come on and
Join together
Come on and
Join together with the band

You don’t have to play
You can follow or lead the way
I want you to
Join together with the band

We don’t know where we’re going
But the season’s right for knowing
I want you to
Join together with the band

It’s the singer not the song
That makes the music move along
I want you to
Join together with the band

This is the biggest band you’ll find
It’s as deep as it’s wide
Come on and
Join together with the band

Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey
Join together
Everybody come on and
Join together
Come on and
Join together with the band
Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey
Join together
Everybody come on and
Join together
Come on and
Join together with the band
We need you to
Join together
Everybody come on and
Join together
Hey
Hey
Hey
Join together
Come together with the band


Link: [On YouTube]

Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Who
We’ll be fightin’ in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship
Will be gone

And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun
Sings the song

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again

The change
It had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold
That’s all

And the world looks just the same
And history ain’t changed
‘Cause the banners
They are flown in the next war

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again

No no

I’ll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya

There’s nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced
By the bye

And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer
Overnight

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again
Don’t get fooled again

No no
No no no
Don’t get fooled again

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Link: [The Who]

Lyrics From: [LyricsDownload]

Monday, June 22, 2009

Come Monday...From Miller To Poverty Point

“Come Monday…” is a weekly series that will involve a review of, or commentary about, websites, movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may tickle my fancy at the time. Be assured that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy Buffett song “Come Monday.” This is subject to change, however. In fact, I would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a while. For rants promote change, and change can be good—right? Therefore, since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).

I know that this will come as quite a shock to most. For I have maintained a level of discipline unparalleled in the anals of blogging history, but I am still too distracted to get back with the program here.

So, since there was some interest expressed last week about hearing more of what has me so distracted, it seemed only appropriate to post another crumb from the rewrite of The Crackerhead Chronicles. Again, I would greatly appreciate hearing what you think about it—even if you believe that I am wasting His time.


The Fourth Crumb
(From Miller To Poverty Point)

It would be around another decade before Dinah Shore would start singing about seeing the U.S.A. in a Chevrolet in advertisements, but that didn’t stop my parents from starting early. For a Chevrolet was the vehicle of choice for my dad, and from fire ant hills down old El Paso way to garbage-can-raiding black bears on the upper peninsula of Michigan, he showed my mom sights that made her heart sing.

Of course, that had little to do with wildlife. For my mom was raised in an area where a man was not considered to be fully respectable until they had been chewed on some by a mountain lion or a bear, and a woman was expected to be just as tough.

One of her favorite stories was of a very young mother who was left all alone at home with a colicy baby while her husband was off on an extended hunting trip. The crying of her child attracted a mountain lion because of it being very similar to the sound that their own cubs often make, and it wound up trying to go down the chimney in a desperate attempt to get inside the log cabin after exhausting all other possibilities. Needless to say, the young mother was just as determined to keep the big cat from getting her baby, and she started burning what furniture they had after using up all of the firewood that had been piled up next to the hearth. Finally, the only thing left to burn was the mattress that her mother and grandmother had worked so hard to make for a wedding present, but when she dragged it onto the fire, the only thing the mattress succeeded in doing was put the fire out. When she heard the mountain lion making its way down the chimney, she grabbed her baby and rushed out of the door. After making it to her folk’s place, she returned with her father and a couple of her brothers to find the big cat curled up on the mattress and appearing to be quite content.

No, seeing wildlife was not the reason for the song in my mom’s heart, but she would be the first to admit that seeing such sights with my dad was like nothing she had ever experienced before. For he made everything better for her, and he was always quick to tell anyone who would listen that she made everything better for him.

Oh yes, the good times rolled as my parents traveled from job to job, and in what seemed like no time at all to her, my mom had dangled her feet in the Atlantic Ocean from a pier in both South Carolina and Connecticut. She enjoyed being down in the deep south more than anywhere else because of how much it was like home, but she had to admit that New England did have its charm.

They (the good times) do have a tendency to come to an end after a spell, however, and the extreme reluctance of three of my dad's sisters to truly accept my mom into the family put a definite strain on my parent’s relationship. So, establishing a home base in southeastern Kansas was out of the question.

A home base was somewhere to go during downtimes, and not all pipeliners saw the need. For the way the business worked back then was that a particular project, or “job,” would last from a few weeks to several months, and many would just stay where they were until until the next one came along. Considering the fact that most new jobs were lined up before the old one was completed, there usually wasn’t much downtime to be had if you were any good and wanted to work.

No, there was no set crew that went together from job to job. For it was left to the project manager who would work, and they always wanted the best available.

So, when there were jobs in different locations, the best workers often had their choice of where they wanted to go. They also had the option of not working at all, of course, and this is when having a home base to rest for a while was especially nice.

Be assured that these breaks from the action were not just for the menfolk, neither. For as my mom would attest, not having all that much to do while their husband is at work for sometimes up to fourteen hours a day is harder on some wives than others.

My parents finally settled on buying a nice little house just outside of the city limits of Miller, MO, which is around 40 miles west of Springfield, MO. For it appeared to be a fine community of a few hundred good people and a couple of old sore-heads thrown in for good measure, and it was well within the neutral zone (DMZ) between Blue Mound, KS and the Buffalo River area of Arkansas, which limited their exposure to the inlaws and outlaws on both sides of the family.

The plan worked to perfection. For the only visits they had were very welcomed ones from my dad’s sisters, Ann and Maxine, and my mom’s unofficially adopted mother from Texarkana, AR.

Alas, they say that all good times must eventually come to an end, and this is exactly what happened six years into their marriage. For the time had come for me to wreak havoc on their very happy lives.

No, it is not that I was unwelcome. In fact, just the opposite was true. For my parents had been praying for a child for several years, but it was not long before their eyes would glaze-over whenever they heard any reference to the old adage, Be careful with what you pray for because you just might get it.

It started right away—actually. For pipeliners generally had a reputation not so unlike that of cowboys on a cattle drive. This often lead to a great deal of difficulty finding a place to stay in less populated areas, and having a small child in tow made it even harder.

To remedy the situation, my parents went the mobile home route. I’m not sure what they started out with, but before it was all over, we had a 8’ x 45’ Spartan that my dad towed behind a heavy duty one-ton GMC truck.

Of course, that led to a whole new set of problems. For instead of just finding an apartment to set up house in, a trailer park with an empty space had to be located, and when that was accomplished, the trailer had to be set up for occupancy.

Yes, I am quite sure that my dad looked forward to actually going to work. For that had to have been more enjoyable to him than making sure the trailer was level and hooking up all of the utilities.

It also brought him some relief from me. For at the age of nine months, it was off to the races for me, and to make matters worse, I absolutely hated going to sleep. Did they not have Benadryl back then?

Whether it was to keep bad guys out or me in, I am not sure, but an 80 pound German Shepherd by the name of Lady was conscripted into service sometime around 1960, and oh the good times we had. For I would grab one end of an old towel and she would grab the other, and we would spend a good part of each day dragging each other the full length of the hallway down the center of our trailer.

The winter of 1962-3 was eventful. For my parents had built a fabulous house overlooking Table Rock Lake in a subdivision near Hollister, MO that came to be called Poverty Point by the locals because of the affluence of those who built homes there.

Yes, my father made very good money for that time, but we certainly did not rank up there with the doctors, lawyers, and celebrities who came to be our neighbors. For I can remember him saying in 1964 (I think) that no one was worth being paid 6 dollars an hour.

No, it was not part of the plan that we wind up being amongst hillbilly royalty and the societal elite of the area. For our house was the second to be built in that subdivision, and by 1965, we were gone.

Before going there, however, I still have more to say about the winter of 1962-63. For just after Thanksgiving Day, my mom left for about three weeks, and I found out that my dad could only cook eggs and hot dogs. Needless to say, we both eagerly awaited her return, but when she finally did come home, she was not alone!

They named him Terry Alan Beuterbaugh, and I was absolutely fascinated with my new baby brother, who was born on December 14, 1962 in the same town of Newport, AR as I was. Then the new wore off, and I went back to my job of trying to be the center of attention at all times.

Yes, my job had become a lot harder with that cute, cuddly newborn around, but I was quite resourceful for my age. One time I even went as far as to suck a holly berry up my nose after being told (repeatedly) not to.

Off to the medical clinic in Branson, MO we went, and when the good doctor came at me with a tool to remove the berry from my nasal passage, I hollered, "Hold it!!!" in a very loud voice, put a finger in the unobstructed nostril, and then promptly blew the berry across the room. The doctor cracked-up and my mom was absolutely mortified. Mission accomplished!

Alas, there were also times when I attracted too much attention to myself. One of those was when I played Guess Who? with my Hollister School Bus driver. If you are familiar with the game, it requires one of hold their hands over the eyes of the other while asking them to guess who you are.

No, there was nothing necessarily wrong with that. That is, unless you consider it wrong to be playing the game while the bus is going down the road.

Thankfully, a guard rail stopped the bus from sliding off the side of the mountain after it had flipped onto its side. For instead of there being multiple deaths and serious injuries to report, only a few scrapes and bruises occurred.

I was physically unhurt (of course) in the accident, but I still get a little shaky whenever I must pass through a very tall doorway because of how tall the Hollister Elementary School Principal's office door was. I swear, it must have been 20 feet tall, but I suppose that my tall-door phobia has more to do with what happened to me after I went through the Principal's office door than with the door itself.

My reign of terror came to a screeching halt when my tonsils were removed in Harrison, AR (I think) when I was 5 years old. For they failed to do a throat culture on me before performing the procedure.

So? Well, it so happened that I had a Group A streptococcal infection (strep throat) present at the time, and I subsequently contracted a very serious disease by the name of Rheumatic Fever, which was left undiagnosed for several weeks.

Thankfully, the next job was in Minnesota. For the doctors up there were quite familiar with the disease. Whereas, most of the doctors down south at the time were not. For Rheumatic Fever rarely reared its ugly head south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

My parents were advised to get me to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. For the medical facility had quite a reputation for going above and beyond the standard call of duty for their patients, and it was there that I was correctly diagnosed.

Alas, I do not have much of a memory of those days. For what recollections I do have are mostly rather hazy at best, but the sight of that Mayo Clinic doctor coming up to my mother with the results of the tests that they had done is still as clear to me as if it happened just a few minutes ago.

I was so scared. For they had left me sitting all alone on an examination table in a room with large windows (kinda like being placed in a petri dish), and then I saw my mother put her right hand over her mouth, go almost completely limp, and start sobbing.

No, the news was not all bad. For they did want me to stay in the hospital for a period of observation because of having a slight heart murmur, but the disease had mostly attacked my joints. Therefore, it was quite treatable with Penicillin. Aside from not being able to walk very well for a while, my life was expected to return to normal.

I do not remember just how long I stayed in the hospital, but I do have some very clear memories of being there. For my legs hurt a lot, and there were all of those needles coming at me from all directions at all hours of the day and night.

Nonetheless, I also have some very good memories of being there. For I milked my plight for all it was worth, and my parents responded by bringing me G.I. Joe stuff and enough comic books to jam my overactive imagination into overdrive!

Yes, I can see now that my stay in hospital, along with my time of convalescence at home, was truly a great blessing. For it was during that period that I learned about the joys of reading, and not all of my reading material was about Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. For I practically wore the covers off of a comic book of Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and I did the same to a comic book of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last Of The Mohicans.

No, not all of my time as a certified invalid was spent indoors. For I was sometimes granted a furlough to be led out into the sunshine, and I was told about my mother placing me on a limb of a tree that I could see from my window and cry about not being able to climb it. One would think that I would have some pleasant memories of such an auspicious occasion, but there are none to be found rattling around in my head.

Jealousy over Terry and Lady playing our game helped accelerate my recovery. For I was not about to let them have all the fun dragging each other up and down the length of the trailer, and within two years, I was back to walking almost normally—much to the joy of my parents and my little brother, I’m sure.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A Sunday Drive

Back during my childhood, our parents would often load up my brother and I after Sunday morning church services for a leisurely drive around where we lived. Even though we were seeing mostly familiar sights, it was still good to see them, and this is why “A Sunday Drive” sounded about right for the name of a weekly series revisiting familiar sites that are well worth seeing again and again.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bittersweet Refinements: XXX

Bittersweet Refinements is another book that I have been given to publish. If it gets to sounding an awfully lot like a broken player stuck on repeating the same old wrong song over and over again that is because it is to a fairly great extent. For most of it contains rewritten parts of the Bitter/Sweets that were published here before. Hopefully, it will get to sounding a lot better to you very soon, and for the benefit of those who do not have access to multiple versions of our Heavenly Father's Holy Bible, numbered Scripture references in the text (for example, [1]) provide links to such through Bible Gateway this time around. The same also applies to verses included in the text.


Chapter XXX
Laodicea

"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 'Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and {that} the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"
Yes, there really was a church in Laodicea. What is left of the ancient city after series earthquakes devasted it over a period of several hundred years can be found in the southeastern part of what is now the nation of Turkey.

Not that any of that really matters for the purposes at hand. For what the Lord Jesus Christ was addressing to the church there was in regards to a state of mind—an attitude, if you will, and the message that was given is just as viable today as it was back then[1].

Perhaps you have heard something or another about it? I cannot imagine anyone in the Christian community who has not. For it is certainly a very popular subject to preach upon.

Tragically, there is good reason for that. For it is quite natural of us to think that the way things appear to have always been is just the way it is[2]—perhaps even the way that it should be[3], and this is a very dangerous state of mind to be in[4].

No, this is not another call for an end to what is often referred to as being institutionalized religion. For our Heavenly Father established His church in the name of His only begotten Son[5] to serve as reflection of His Light[6] in a world deeply steeped in the darkness of spiritual ignorance—much in the same way as a globe reflects the light of a lamp[7].

Neither is this a call for an end to the teaching of doctrine. For it is impossible to truly believe in something if you do not know what it is, and doctrine is meant to help with that[8].

In other words, there is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater (so to speak). For in many cases, just a change in perspective is all that is required[9].

It is, however, in those changes of perspective that the foundations of many religious institutions begin to crumble. For it truly is as it is written: For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 3:11 NAS]

Yes, it sounds like just another futile exercise in semantics. For common sense dictates that a vine[10] cannot grow in worthless soil[11].

Subsequently, many look at the church that they are in as being obvious proof of being in rich soil, but be assured that not all is as it seems. For come Judgment Day[12]: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” [Matthew 7:21-23 NIV]

Therefore, let us listen closely to what our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit has to say to the churches—even now in this day and age of post-modern sophistication[13]. For it would be better to swallow our pride while we still can than to have to taste its bitterness for all of eternity[14].

Of course, how can this happen when most have no idea that He is even speaking[15]? For all knowledge and understanding comes from Him[16].

Yes, every invidual member of every individual church wants to believe that they are of the Truth[17], but how can there be so many different beliefs if that is true when all who are truly in Christ are supposed to be like-minded[18]? For it is written: There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. [Ephesians 4:4-6 NAS]

{1}Romans 15:4; {2}1 Timothy 1:1-5; {3}2 Timothy 4:2-4; {4}Proverbs 14:12; {5}Matthew 16:13-28; {6}John 8:12; {7}Matthew 5:14-16; {8}2 Timothy 4:2-4; {9}John 7:24; {10}John 15:1-6; {11}Matthew 13:1-23; {12}Revelation 20:11-15; {13}Job 33:14-30; {14}Proverbs 16:18; {15}John 5:31-47; {16}1 Corinthians 2:6-16; {17}John 14:6; {18}Philippians 2:1-11.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Sites To See

This is the new version of FIVE FOR FRIDAY. As with the former, it is the SOLE purpose of this weekly series to call attention to sites that I think many would find most interesting—in one way or another. Please, go see for yourself.