Thanksgiving

It's November 24, 2011. Thanksgiving Day in most of North America. I have no problem thinking of a number of things I'm grateful for. God has truly blessed me in many ways. HE loves me and will forgive me thru His Son's blood. I have a wonderful, loving, supportive, beautiful wife. The same goes for our family-loving and supportive. We live in a place where God's beauty is on display daily, The Blue Ridge Mountains. I have one of exceedingly few doctors that recognized a disease that otherwise would've killed me before my 50th B-day. Interferon has stabilized and kept the disease in check for over 2 yrs, now. We are part of a church family that encourages and helps us build a better, loving relationship w/ our Father/God. We do not want for food or clean water. We have warm, comfortable clothing, a  roof over our heads and oil in a furnace that works. We have a fantastic landlord, who's concerned about our being warm.
Last, but not least, there's always "Curry", our Yorkie. He honestly seems to know when we need comfort, a smile or a laugh. He knows how to bring those results on, too.
Yep. I'm an extremely blessed man.
Thank YOU for this life, Father. You've been far more than generous and patient. Thank You for helping me to see that. I'm a better man, because of You.

God's Promise

Through this NIH study in Bethesda, MD, God does not promise a cure. What He does promise is that, through this research, folks in the future who are diagnosed w/ ECD will have a better understanding of the disease. They and their loved ones may not have to experience the fear and anguish that we have at times, and their doctors will have a better understanding of this illness's progression & its treatments. Who knows?! Maybe through this, those folks will have a cure. If that's how He wants to use me, fine by me. I trust Him.

Athletics Becoming an Idol at Our Kids and Country's Cost.

I'm pretty upset at Americans and their worship of college athletics. Many seem to feel that colleges are there for their entertainment. The facility is berated for a losing season. We hear "So and so SUCKS" when the team is having a rough day, not the school. I like athletics. It's a wonderful display of God given talent.
But, sports is an extra curricular activity. The school isn't there for the sports. The sports is a great offspring of the school. Frankly, I would want my child to go to MIT rather than Oklahoma or Alabama, per say. I want the focus to be on education, not boosters, advertising and the coaches multi-million dollar salary. That money should go to the instructors and professors who actually perform a service for the young adult preparing to enter the real world. Americans need to make a reality check. What's worth more to a parent, their child or getting a very expensive risk for a team. A coach doesn't come w/ guarantees. He/she does keep the money, though.
Sports has just really gotten out of control in today's world!

Human Capability

I watch movies and documentaries on the wars human beings have fought, especially over the last century(I feel we owe it to those who died or put themselves in harms way for our sake to get a bead on the hell they went through). Imagine the thought and time wasted developing weapons that will kill more and more men, women and children. We are quite accomplished at killing each other in unbelievably more complicated ways. But, we can't figure out how "NOT" to kill each other. That's sad.
Another thing that troubles me is, we were created in God's image, the image of Love and forgiveness. Yet, we allow this type of action to sprout from that seed. It tears me up that we "CAN" do this to each other, that we allow ourselves to take life. Seeing the atrocities of war on film brings me to tears. Yet, I have two brothers, one in Viet Nam, and a nephew who've seen live action. One of my uncles was a tail gunner in WWII. The nightmares they must still have (Thank God they all made it back alive). I know a person has no choice in that situation. But, how does one wrap their mind around the types of death we inflict on each other. Napalm, chemical warfare, shrapnel, shells the size of two fingers and some bigger than my forearm. Nuclear war seems almost kind for those who are just incinerated. ALMOST!!
God has to shed tears during war. HE didn't design us this way. We screwed up! What a shame.
Yes. I know someone "Started It". That person is still a human committed to finding something worth killing husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, wives, mothers, sisters and daughters for and leaving families with gaping holes in their chests and lives.
"In God's Image"!! And everything above is the image we reflect. Did we keep our brains, but sell our hearts somewhere along the line?

"Where was God"?

I've been watching some of the documentaries about 9/11. One question I repeatedly hear is "Where was God?". Again, people are so quick to blame God, or at least hint at God as the culprit. This right along w/ not really believing in Him in the 1st place. I don't think the question is "Where was God?". Saying God should've stopped the disaster is saying one believes in Him. If you believe in God, then satan must be believed in, also. God says satan exists, and God doesn't/can't lie. #1. Where are people "for" God? Do they pray and trust He knows best in the BIG picture? Do they work on a relationship w/ Him?
Where was satan? There's the question. he was sitting by w/ a big, self-satisfied grin on his ugly face. I wonder if he knows how the "story" ends.
#2 Where was God? He was allowing Free Will to take place. We're not puppets on a string. He wants us to follow Him and love Him of our own "Free Will" (What's love worth if it's forced?). He didn't get in those jets and decide to kill people. He doesn't read His Word and radically, viciously take it out of context or twist its meaning to meet some thoughtless agenda, bending the Truth to justify a lie or cruelty.
God loves us. He has the BIG picture in mind. Eternity!
satan? he has today in mind. 'Cause today he might be able to swing just one person away from The Creator. Today he just might be able to get someone killed the day, hour, minute before they accept Christ and put quite a crimp in their eternity. It's a LONG, LONG time, ya know.
We need to stop pointing the finger at God. How much suffering are WE responsible for? Yep! Each one of us. Did we lie to someone today? That has a consequence for them and us. Did we steal? Uh-huh. A consequence for both. On and on. Do we lose trust in God if our spouse lies to us? Nope. THEN we know where to place blame, and we decide whether to forgive them or not.
Point the finger where it belongs. Blame a CRUEL, hateful, vicious little brat who will hurt us as deeply as we let him, tell us any lie we're willing to believe just to keep us away from LOVE. You're worth WAY more than that.
God waits w/ His Arms open every day. We're just rarely paying attention. Some of us are so twisted due to hate, that we're too busy planning to kill as many people as possible because those people don't believe the same way.
God loves us more than we can imagine. Don't let some radical group that made their own decision to commit a horrid act turn you away from that. The picture is just TOO big for us to fathom. Maybe we won't get a bunch of virgins. We won't have genitalia anyway! But, we will see many of our loved ones, again. And we won't have sorrow, crying nor pain to worry about ever again (Rev. 21:4). We get to spend all that time, so to speak, w/ SomeOne Who will never stop loving us.
Beat that!

Life. Bending Truth to make it fit? add.

I left out some pretty important words in my "thought". #1. I should have said "In many cases a fetus is treated like a problem....". I know there are times when very difficult choices must be made because the mothers life is at stake.
#2. I want to let folks know that I realize I'm a man. I have no estrogen. I'll never know what it is to be a woman or to be pregnant.
I was just tapped on the shoulder and given an interesting seed of thought on how life tends to take on different definitions, sometimes for convenience, sometimes due to circumstance.
Sorry if that made me sound like a thoughtless ogre. I try not to be.

Life. Bending Truth to make it fit.

I'm part of a group studying "The Truth Project", which I highly recommend. This series leaves one no choice but to think, deeply and hard.
When NASA's looking for life out there, it is considered a success if a bacteria, microbe, whatever is found.
Here on Earth, life is.....fill in the blank. Whatever fits the situation in the way we want? It would be considered a tragedy to kill a mold, bacteria, slime from another world, asteroid, etc..
Why are the most complicated cells, w/ "blue prints" which can't be duplicated (even twins are different), dividing in the human body not afforded the same response? Will a mold ever have conscience? Yet, we kill a human fetus as if it's nothing more than a pest, a problem, a choice. I saw something on Facebook, "Eat Plants, Love Animals". In other words, a plant's not alive? Love animals, but have no thought for a human life growing in the womb?
I'm confused!

Song

Renamed the song "I Rejoice". It works very well rhythmically and w/ the meat of the tune. Now, if I can just get back to playing and singing.

It's Been A While

I finally am close to having a new song done. It's titled, "I Long For You". I re-named it 'cause this new one makes more sense. I have quite a bit of polishing before it's actually ready. But, I'm excited about it.