RE: Here's a little something I posted on an atheist blog. I thought it appropriate, and have been contemplating over the years about the relationship between our internal energy and spirit.
"A little correction: "ShaunPhilly wrote: Isaiah 7:14 says this: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The word that Christians translate as ‘virgin’ here is ‘almah,’ and the word that translates into virgin is ‘betulah’ in other parts of the OT. So, really? That’s a prophesy for Jesus? You have to be kidding me! If that is your standard for prophesy, then you can believe anything is prophesy for anything." Your bias is evident. The word "almah" means "a lass, (as veiled or private):-a damsel, maid, or virgin." according to Strong's concordance...and the meaning of the word and the prophesy go hand in hand to tell the tale of truth. You see, as she was a virgin "hidden away" from "knowing" a man (which is to say that she had not had ANY sexual relations)...thereby solidifying the book of Isaiah's choice of word, she being set aside, and apart. ShaunPhilly also said: "There is no evidence that I have seen for this thing called spirit. You are being suspiciously vague about your JREF experience. I’m calling BS on you. You can believe whatever you like, but when you die and nothing happens you will not have realized how much of it you wasted worrying about fairy tales." Even science proves a "beyond". Wiki says about the Law of Conservation of Energy that the "...consequence of this law is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one state to another. The only thing that can happen to energy in a closed system is that it can change form, for instance chemical energy can become kinetic energy. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity shows that energy and mass are the same thing, and that neither one appears without the other. Thus in closed systems, both mass and energy are conserved separately, just as was understood in pre-relativistic physics. The new feature of relativistic physics is that "matter" particles (such as those constituting atoms) could be converted to non-matter forms of energy, such as light; or kinetic and potential energy (example: heat). However, this conversion does not affect the total mass of systems, since the latter forms of non-matter energy still retain their mass through any such conversion..." Our very core the brain works "electro-chemical"-ly, like a battery. See: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec97/880395992.Ns.r.html And, since you agree with science, and taking into consideration that the FIRST definition in thefreedictionary.com for spirit is: "a. The vital principle or animating force within living beings." And knowing that this is the same electrochemical makeup of our being then it preposterous to not acknowledge the facts. There is more to this life than just to end up in dirt. From all avenues from trust, and hope to prophesy to science continually prove God. God continually proves Jesus. Take that to your JREF." A New Song
I was looking through some of my recently deceased Dad's old writing, and was inspired by the words he wrote, and the emotion he imparted through them. I wrote a song to express how this particular piece he wrote affected me. I am in the process of recording the song. These are the lyrics:
Light (of My Life) At the end of this life When my day is done, And my fire is gone... At the end of this road Will you be standing there To bring me where? Where the light of Your life Is the fire I can't deny, And your love that brought me through Has brought me here. Like a flame in the wind That flickers and fades So be my numbered days. But on that dusty road Will be wet with my tears, Because you will meet me there. Where the light of Your life Is the fire I can't deny, And your love that brought me through Has brought me here. This Year's EndA newborn child and the death of a parent are milestones in any person's life, and so was the circumstances for me. In under a month I lost My Dad and got my son Zakary. We knew that Zak was coming and had prepared for it in the months previous to his imminent birth. Dad's passing came as a shocking surprise on one dark night. I don't remember a lot of things that my teachers told me in my younger years. But, I do remember one saying that the best written stories aren't muddied down by the words on the page. I'm hoping that the words here aren't the muddy water I suppose they could be. It amazes me at the different point of views that I had of my father through the years that I had known him on this side of eternity. In the earliest parts of my life I found him the strict leader and disciplinarian. I thought at the time he was trying to take my fun away. But, he was guiding me into the good habit of good work ethics...when a man can be trusted at his word and he desires to do a good job at work for other people's sake rather than just the means to gain financial gain. In my teens and twenties, he was the patient father waiting for his wayward son to return. I found that as I reached my thirties (and after a subsequent conversion to Christianity,) that my old man wasn't as unintelligent as I'd once thought. And, though I don't agree with all of his methods I do realize that he did the best with what tools he had, as we all do. Each man's entire life is riddled with contradictions, and problems, and mysteries. And, blessing. Zak came on October 13th, and started very early in the morning. Despite all of my preparations and calm patience three o'clock in the morning after a Tylenol PM (when one is not accustomed to such medications) the situation became “TV-ish”. After having a full Monday of walking the mall and conversation, and being sent home from the hospital because Jennifer wasn't dilated enough I took one Tylenol...which I never do. I knocked me out...so much that when Jen came into the bedroom to wake me up at three I was dead the world. Three hours later I was able to move, and get her to the delivery room. It was very nerve-wracking to witness, but an indescribable blessing to see the birth of my son, and actually play a part in the delivery. (I was helping with her right leg.) I understood my father just a little more. Then, my mother decided to take our advice and tear down their dilapidated home. I understand him just a bit more. I see that although he didn't build that house with his own hands (the structure of it, that is,) he did his best to put life into it. And, now that I have gained an understanding and greater respect for the decision making skills and foresight my regret is that I am not able to tell or show him now what I have learned. But, I do have a son into which I can pour my blessings into. Jennifer is cooking in the kitchen. Lexi is playing Wii. Zak is sleeping peacefully in his room. Life is as normal as it can get...(as I write this I can't help but wonder what comes next in the inevitable strings of life.) A New Begining
This isn't my first attempt. I have done this before. So, why does it seem so unfamiliar to me? With the advent of the internet, everyone and their mother has access to the World Wide Web. This new thing was supposed to make our lives easier. I heard that at sometime in the 1950's that by the time 2000 rolled around that the daily work load would be minimized to three hours a day.
Didn't work. Not only did technology make things "not easier", one practically needs either a masters degree, (or a teenager) to be able to navigate through today's 1's and 0's. Well, good thing God doesn't change. Ever. That's a comfort that we can trust in every day. Christmas...Sometime Ago
Another Sunday, like any other Sunday.
It is also the Sunday before Christmas, the time of the year we are to reflect upon the coming of a Child whose destiny was (and is) to change the universe. Times are tough. They have always been tough. In every aspect of society, in every time period of men since the beginning of time, and through all cultural ties we have this in common, and that is struggle. The political and the rich struggle with their desires to contrive and keep power, feeding their greedy obsessions with more and more earthly things. The poor struggles jealously with the lack of those things the rich possess. Each in our own fighting that which is within, and that which is without... Solutions have always been as rampant and disgusting as the sin that ails them. A thousand years ago one would seek a witch, or soothsayer for answers...or a religious priest or priestess to atone for them. Today, a pill, or shrink will subvert...for a time. This and more in a conventional world. But conventional means have only always been conventionally temporary. The effects of pills wear out. Doctors cannot stop time. There really is no hope in the darkness that is this hopeless world. The twinkling lights shine in the dim like stars fallen from the sky. From a child I have grown only to realize that by the time I realized the solution I had forgotten the question...realizing that I would never know everything this side of eternity. Realizing there will always be more questions than answers... I am a speck. But, there is hope in a dying world. (We are all born to die.) And, that has always been the reason for the shiny streamers, intoxicating aromas of cedar, pine, and pumpkin, and the festivities of family fun. Hope. That a Child was born...but not for a moment in time, like me. But One who lives for Eternity, so I can have peace. Peace in Christ to all, and to all a good night. Ye Olde Intro
This has long been in the intro to my website. I didn't feel like chunking it, as it has also long been where my heart is...resting in the peace that passes understanding, though the waves may rock.
"Welcome into a journey with daily struggles and joys that sometimes feels like standing with one foot planted firmly atop a snow-crested mountaintop feeling the freedom of the breeze where only eagles dare fly; while the other foot is trapped in a snake infested swamp, and wondering where to turn. I found an answer in the hope and communion with a loving and merciful God who understands, and wants to be an integral part of our everyday lives I love making music. It has long been for me an obsession through which I express through vocal, percussion, guitars, and electronica/digital mediums. I have been a music lover and performer since childhood, beginning in church and continuing through times when discovering that sticks and a bucket can keep a rhythm. I have learned to play a variety of musical instruments and styles throughout my life." Previous Blogs...Grace and Law
The Law feels great...on the surface.
The boundaries it creates can give a sense of fulfillment or comfort. A path so one can know which steps to take to reach a final destination. It can give the formula for a successful venture, designed to line up, step by step to be an infallible staircase to perfection. It can define failure, ruining lives. It can be manipulated and twisted to achieve personal goals. It can give recompense. It can end life. Mathew Henry says, "The Law may discover sin, and convince of sin, but it cannot conquer and subdue sin...It discovers the defilement, but does not wash it off." I can know the logical blueprint that structure through law brings, but unless the blueprint for the correct choice in Love is not written in my heart I cannot follow it anyway. Another Henry quote goes as such: "(The Law) is holy, just, and good, v 12 of Romans, 7. The law in general is so, and every particular commandment is so. Laws are as the Law-makers are. God, the great law-giver. is holy, just, and good, therefore his law must needs be so. The matter of it is holy: it commands holiness, encourages holiness; it is holy, for it is agreeable to the holy will of God, the original of holiness..." Get my point? Law in and of itself is good, as it creates the framework for what is good. But, it can never save one from the guilt that the law mirrors. It's design is to show us our short-fall, that we can re-direct the attention we put into perfecting ourselves and direct our attention at the Author, Finisher, and Perfection of the law and perfection. Grace is next... When I was a child, I thought like a child...I talked like a child. I reacted as a child. And I trusted as a child. When I grew older, I began to loose trust until there was nothing that I could rely on but my own wits...which aren't that reliable. I found the end of a lot of different ropes... Then, I found another Way. I learned that no matter who I'd been through the night of my life, that there was Someone who had compassion on my endless plight of self degradation. Someone with a new commission. Someone who gives and does not expect in return. GIFT: –noun 1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present. 2. the act of giving. 3. something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned... The gift is Jesus. This is a continuance upon the previous blog entry I made yesterday, as I did not have even enough time to get into the depths of such an amazing gift as Grace. I wrote of the Law, specifically the spiritual laws given at the time of Moses, (though legalism is a part of any culture in varying degrees through similar functions...but, that is a different subject all together, yet applicable throughout.) I am most specifically concerned with the implementation of legalism after receipt of the gift of the saving Grace of God. This is the discussion that my wife and me, along with our Sunday School class is having…quotes from bible passages from here and there, with each person's reasoning explained rise up in conversational tones worthy of any collegiate classroom. (I love a challenge.) The idea in the forefront of the belief system is we get saved, and then we've got to start doing stuff. But, it's more like getting a Christmas present than getting a job. When Christmas comes around, and there are presents under the tree with your name on it, then you know that on either Christmas Eve, or Christmas day (depending on your family's tradition) you will get to open and keep that gift. There were never any questions to it's ownership...it was already yours. Salvation is not like getting a job, where you have to show up every day and are expected to perform at a certain level in order to get paid. The paycheck in Salvation has already been earned and put into the bank for your spending pleasure. God gave the law so that we could see we need Grace. Grace takes trust. Trust is built on relationship. The realness of religion is not a "doing" thing, which is what following rules is, but a "trusting" thing. I sat alone upon a small hilltop amidst the piney East Texas wood, pondering life and reading my bible as I often do...listening to the sounds and to God. The breeze was warm and steamy. The birds were singing, and elsewhere I heard the noises of machinery working...all the world's glories and controversies present on one stage. There has from the beginning of this world's time been political unrest. It is what this society's glue is made up of, so it would seem. From the Battle of the Ten Kings, to the U.S. excursion in Afghanistan the struggle for power is extremely evident. And, my question is in a world crying for peace why are we bent for war? Solutions to the global policy I have none...yet I know that a personal commitment to the Creator of the universe takes me away from focusing on the falsehoods of the world, and helps me concentrate on becoming a better me. Thus, the new adage 'changing the world one me at a time' rings true. Alone upon that hilltop I realized I was not alone. None of us are. Collection 1
Here's some that I've already posted, and didn't want to chink:
Someday (I’ll Understand) It seems a forever and a day Since I went away (…since I went away.) And this cold, tired road Just keeps on rolling on. (…just keeps on rolling on) (and) All these treasures that I found And lost along the way, I keep, cause they’re my brighter day. Someday I’ll understand What it means to be a man. I’ll understand these mysteries That still baffle me…may be. Through this pain glass I see Another stop sign crowd the busy street, Crowds my busy mind. And, I sit upon the edge Of this old Greyhound, Lost in sleepless dream. Yeah, I’m headed out on the road With another song in my soul… Gotta’ make it to another show. Someday I’ll understand What it means to be a man. I’ll understand these mysteries That still baffle me…may be. the conclusion i have come to the conclusion of the whole matter concerning the current situations encompassing the entirety of this little floating rock...we should just concentrate on the graciousness of a loving and caring God and the awesome sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ (as it states at the end of Ecclesiastes...) why? cause the rest of this world is crazy. have you stopped to take a look at the insanity wreaking havoc all around. choose life, people. its a pretty simple choice, really. pick the future that's eternal and true, and leave the rest of all that other stuff behind...whatever the cost. trust me. it's worth it. jOy! Don’t run from the lions, Stand in the midst of flame. For this trial will soon be over, And with it, all of it’s pain. For You have turned for me Mourning into dancing. I will sing the dawn. Forever my glory will bring To You, this joyful song. Joy! I found joy here. I found joy unspeakable here. I cant help but wonder Why did you save this man? Cause it seems like every step I take Is one further back again. But, you’ve removed these filthy rags, And clothed me in the finest gown. I’ve found a joy in this dancing, And a love that must abound. Joy! I found joy here. I found joy unspeakable here. Melody ...I tossed and turned between the blue and cream striped comforter that dons my midnight refuge. the sheets trapped, and the images pelted me...though i fought against their onslaught. yet in the daylight hours they evade. What's all this about dreams, anyway? Are my waking processes argumentativly rendering incomplete freedoms gained beyond a realm so thought of as reality? It feels good to let go and let one's soul pour out through the symphony of a six string... (God is always Good.) Untitled See... Here's the shell that you gave me on our walk along the shore. I haven't had that much fun since I was a child. Never in a million years could I have imagined that you would save my life, and give me love. I can still taste the salty brine of the gulf when I hold that shell driving down the PCH a red-tail hawk dodges raindrops over a pasture sparsely decorated in colorful splashes near the briny beach. i can't help but wonder, as the highway passes by 'neath the rumbling rubber and the sprinklets spattering upon glass what it must feel like to fly... For A While When you close your eyes, Does silence say nothing? Well it means something To someone who knows. That’s why I lift my eyes to the sky And forget this world for a while Cause it’s another day, Another dawn, Another chance to carry on, And be free for a while Its another chance, Another dream, Another change to change the scene, And be free for a while. Clear your head of unforgotten imaginations With the sound of drifting away. Take my hand, take a journey Up on high, Out of the world’s eyes. Cause it’s another day, Another dawn, Another chance to carry on, And be free for a while Its another chance, Another dream, Another change to change the scene, And be free for a while. Gotta’ be free. Per Se Words cannot express lonliness... no matter how hard they try. There is no logical deduction offering solution. Philosophy cannot explain away the pain I see of the lost in a blind oblivious world. So, I have discovered the answer to the question, "WHY?" (Is this all there is? This, and then we die?) No, Life is somtimes living through the pain... and, learning, to Live is Christ. To die... Gain. Paz. 
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