Entrapment

Rose, 20-year-old UCLA student and president of the nonprofit Live Action, entered Planned Parenthood's Memphis Health Center undercover and told a counselor that she was 14 years old, pregnant by her 31-year-old "boyfriend" and needed a secret abortion so her parents would not find out about her sexual relationship with the older man.

"Tennessee Code 37-1-605 requires health professionals to report suspected cases of sexual abuse of minors to law enforcement immediately," the group said.

"The Planned Parenthood counselor hears about the abuse, says she should report it, decides to remain silent, then tells me to lie to the judge about 31-year-old man," Rose said of the video. -From World Net Daily

You know that people do not really think that speeding is wrong because they speed, they lie about speeding, and they do not care if others speed. You know that a person does not think that statutory rape is wrong (as well as abortion), when she tells a girl she believes to be a teenager to lie to her parents, the police, and a judge if need be to avoid the consequences of the statutory rape and abortion (which itself is an attempt to avoid consequences).

How can you make a person feel something? You can't. How can you make a person desire to do right and be moral? You can't. Where does that leave us?

Quote of the Week XXII

VD: Do you think an ongoing period of economic contraction will see the British people demand to leave the European Union?

Hannan: They already do! The latest opinion poll was conducted by the BBC a week ago, and showed that 55 per cent of voters want to leave the EU. It's true that this position isn't yet shared by any major political party, but that moment will come: politicians cannot swim forever against the current of public opinion. If you offered a Swiss or Norwegian-style free trade deal, people would go for that with a large majority.

(From an interview posted on Vox Day's blog)

Someone had to say it...

All I Want In This Time

Lord I feel like a hole
Where the good things come to die
And the rot in my soul
Is near the reason that you died

And all I want is just one thing
Just this thing, this great thing
I want to lay my burden down
I want to lay my burden down
I want to lay my burden down
Down at your feet...

Lord my life is like mist
And quickly the sun bids me gone
As the dawn comes like this
So too I fade with this song

And all I want is just one thing
Only just this one thing
I want to lay my burden down
I want to lay my burden down
I want to lay my burden down
Down at your feet...

Bouldering

Seasons are for the weak. Boulder on.

Mt. Healy

Lovely view from the top of Dragonfly falls.

Summers In Paradise

I do so enjoy some places.

We often fail to realize how the Lord is working. It is hard to grasp how much is going on out of our sight and out of our understanding. There is a so much we just do not apprehend.

Ron Paul On Bill Maher

No Explanation Needed... Pure Joy

Freedom Watch With Judge Andrew Napolitano has Ron Paul on the Show

Judge Napolitano and others discuss the "stimulus" package with Ron Paul (part 1 of 6).

Paul Krugman on Looking Ignorant

I particularly enjoyed this one. Nobel prizes are worth less than the krona these days.

Quote of the Week XXI

The laws of logic are universally and necessarily valid, but our use of them, like our use of everything else, is fallible, because of our finitude and sin.

(Frame, John M. "No Other God: A response to Open Theism" p 42. P&R Publishing. 2001.)

Given that God is so powerful and so gracious... we should not cease to come before Him and ask that our thinking be made right. He can do it and we should believe that He has not idly exhorted us to do so.

Westminster Shorter Catechism...

Quote of the Week XX

I have all the corners, and most of the edges, but no middle.

(Melanie Reed, in a conversation about love and relationships)

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Gabriella y Rodrigo are amazing.

The death of death is all my joy
The death inside is all my pain
The death of God is sung in vain
And everywhere We dream...

"We shall overcome,
we shall overcome,
we shall overcome,
some day."

Her voice I hear in the streets
And on the radio
And under all the working,
I hear hear it everywhere.

But do I heed the voice I hear?
Do I do the work I know?
Is there hope before I die?
Is there hope today...?

Things We Want to Say.

"Today is the first day of something..." I think we've all felt and thought (sometimes wrongly) that before. The thing I hate the most is when I want to believe that but can't. You know, it's those times when you would like a new beginning-- but you are just too cynical, or just don't have that kind of faith in God's desire for you to have good. The thing is, despite ourselves, there are new beginnings everyday. God never stops working. He never stops caring. Despite all the awfulness around and inside us, His mercies are new every morning. So maybe today is the first day of something after all.

Sea Bass

Genesis 2:22 explains the creation of Eve saying, "And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man." God made the earth and called it good, but even before sin entered the world God said it was not good for the man to be alone. So, God made Eve to be with the man as a lover, helper, and friend. Until that point, Adam had never seen a woman because one had not been formed by God's hands. All that Adam had seen to that point in his life were the aardvarks, sea bass, and other animals that would not look good in a wedding photo. Eve may or may not have been beautiful, but to Adam she was glorious because she was all he had ever known. Practically, he had no standard of beauty to compare his bride to-- she was his only standard of beauty.

(Driscoll, Mark. "Porn-Again Christian: a frank discussion on pornography & masturbation." RE:LIT.)

I have often wondered weather or not I believed in an objective standard of beauty or not- often going back and forth on the spectrum. This provides me with some food for thought. Would we consider Eve to be beautiful? Did Adam? Does beauty demand that there be an agreement between the two?

Quote of the Week XIX

The basic structure of Christian Theology is simple. Its every teaching should be taken from the scriptures of the Old and New Testament as being the words of prophets and apostles spoken on the authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Saviour of sinners.

(Van Til, Cornelius. "The Defense of the Faith." pg 7. The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. Phillipsburg, NJ: Third Edition, 1967.)

A Child For an Hour

I went winter trail-riding for the first time yesterday. I felt like a kid again. I just pedaled and pedaled and pedaled... it was awesome. I rode a "Kula 2-9" from one of my buddies. It was so much lighter than my winter commuter- and the wheels were so much bigger- and so much wider... I just don't even know where to begin. The bike was amazing- but the real significant thing is what that amazing bike made possible- which was riding through trails in the woods in the snow in the middle of winter... it was incredible. I am very thankful to God for the whole experience. It was refreshing and comforting to be filled with awe and wonder once again.

Cold and Dark

So on my bike ride to work this morning, it was nineteen degrees below zero F. I was riding along, trying to pedal faster and not think about my toes too much when the thought struck me-- "it really is a nice day out." Now, I wouldn't recommend bike rides in the middle of Fairbanks winters to most people, but there is something about getting outside at least once a day and being in God's creation. I'm still trying to work out how the Godhead is evident-- but I'll keep working on it.

A Precursor To A Rough Draft

It's what I long for now
It's what I need right now
I never really got it
I never really understood...

Finding it is not so easy
Losing it is not so hard
Starting it is so much simpler
Holding on is quite another thing.

One is hard-pressed to rise without it
One is hard put to lay down in its absence
"It is not good..."
Ain't that the truth...

Where are there boundaries?
Where are there rules?
Why am I on my own in this?
When I can barely stand without it.

Having it is like a drug
But one that leads to health and not to shame
Living it is like a dream
It takes away so much sorrow even when it brings its own pain.

Who am I to question God?
Who am I to think I know better?
Who am I to think I cannot be blessed?
How dare I...?

I do not know what will come tomorrow
I do not know what will come today
I am not full of joy right now
And maybe that is ok...

Why Comments On Local Internet Newspapers Are So Worth It

I thought Pomeranians were those fruits they eat in the places like Iran and India. Oh, wait, that's pomegranates. It's so easy to confuse the two.

-from "The_Alaska_Curmudgeon" commenting on an article from a small-town newspaper.

The Spaniard Plays To The Weeping Dog

Who is it that would back down?
Who is it that would back away?
Who is it that would stay on the ground?
Who is it that would cede the day?

All around the weakness crashes
All around the death comes hard
Bombs, and screams, and ashes
We are not many and I am just one.

Ugly is this fighting
And nothing in it seems so true
But I am not born for quitting
And I was not set free for chains and fear.

I hear the stomping round and round me
Dancers in their soldier's garb
Music plays and plays and plays and plays
And I just want to fall.

One more day and one more mile
On and up and on we go
My being hurts so much I cannot feel it
And everything is numb.

Play for me that hymn of Jesus
Play for me that sweet guitar
Play for me that haunting rhythm
Play me somewhere away so very far.

"We Don't Have Time For This!"... Or Do We?

It seems that the new American President has made one or two decisions already that have been both noticed and welcomed in the international press. In an article from "Le Devoir":

Finies la torture et les prisons secrètes

Claude Lévesque

Barack Obama a ordonné hier la fermeture de la prison de Guantánamo d'ici un an ainsi que le gel de toutes les procédures devant les tribunaux d'exception qui y siègent, de même que la fermeture, «le plus tôt possible», des geôles secrètes de la CIA et l'interdiction des formes d'interrogatoires, largement qualifiées de torture, qui ont été pratiquées par les États-Unis depuis le 11-Septembre 2001.

And then from The Times:

Philippe Naughton

Barack Obama has wasted no time in getting down to the business of government, asking prosecutors to halt controversial military trials at Guantanamo Bay within hours of his inauguration.

The request was issued via the Department of Defence even as President Obama and his wife Michelle waltzed their way through a series of glitzy inaugural balls.

Mr Obama pledged during his campaign to close the prison camp on Cuba set up in 2001 to hold detainees from the 'War on Terror'. The camp's legality has always been questioned, and former inmates and human rights experts said the harsh interrogation techniques deployed inside it amounted to torture.

Last night's request was for a 120-day stay in the trials of five alleged 9/11 plotters - including the self-proclaimed 'mastermind' behind America's worst terror attack - and of a Canadian accused of killing a US soldier in Afghanistan. Mr Obama had been expected to issue an executive order as early as today for the full closure of the camp, but accepts that it might take months to rehouse some 250 inmates still held there.

And then from Le Monde we have an expansion of the theme.

Guantanamo a marqué les années Bush. Bagram ternira-t-il l'ère Obama ? Situé au nord-est de Kaboul, le plus important centre de détention américain d'Afghanistan compte près de 630 prisonniers capturés par les forces de la coalition. Afghans pour la plupart, tous ne sont pas des "combattants ennemis", mais, à en croire les rapports du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), leur sort n'a rien à envier à celui des détenus de Guantanamo.

The international press is on to something here. The question is: How far is President Obama willing to go on this?

Quote of the Week XVIII

In war there is hope.

-Sarah Connor, From the TV show: "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"

Go Boston...?

So apparently you really could have a CSI Boston show. That is somewhat less than heartening.

Let us drop our fragile masks
And show once more what we once hid
And look intently at each other
As when young, we once did.

New Link- "Poem Hunter"

I put a new link called Poem Hunter some of you might find useful at the bottom on the right under "Other Resources." It is a site with (among other things) a searchable poetry database. I recommend checking it out if you either have an interest in poetry, or are trying to find a poem or poet that is on the tip of your tongue, but that you can't quite remember. Cheers.

On Hope

It sometimes feels like hope is a ghost. Sometimes it is there; sometimes it is not. It is always on the edge of your vision- always on the periphery. It is as if you are more likely to feel it than to see it... and perhaps this is right and good. Still, you cannot plant desires in your own heart. You cannot plant feelings in your own heart. You cannot plant attitudes in your own heart and mind. You may want to hope... but wanting is not enough.

They say it is hard to go on without hope... and this is surely true... but we often do things we do not have good reason to do (even though good reason may exist somewhere else besides inside our own minds). People go on who seem to have no hope every day. Lord save me from my fatalism. Have mercy upon our minds and hearts, oh God.

Oh, this will be good.

I was reading Al Mohler's blog when I stumbled upon this in reference to the upcoming inauguration:

The event Bishop Robinson will open with prayer will be a huge opening rally featuring major entertainment figures and a mass gathering on the mall. Artists invited to perform at the event include Bono, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen, along with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington.

I just want to know why the vampire hunters have not been represented. I feel somehow slighted.

Steven is probably the originator of the ancient art of Tai Chi.

Steven invented Tai Chi during the 3rd dynasty.

The Star Trek Reference Files

I find it difficult to think clearly when I am not emotionally detached. This, of course, makes thinking about emotions terribly difficult. I can sympathize with Data. It is a lot to overcome. Always wanting a release- and always right now... quite the challenge.

Quote of the Week XVII

"Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night:
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke; the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off: my heart was free:
I rose, went forth, and followed thee."

-Charles Wesley

I just broke a coffee pot... very upsetting... war is war though, I suppose. We often break things we took for granted though, don't we? We are more connected than we realize.

I long for the day when Christ returns. Now I just need to prepare. How does one look to the future without ignoring or despising the present?

Some things linger far longer than you would like. The truth is often that you let them. The war is over for us when we are all dead.

God Has Been Faithful

Another year has passed. 2008 was debilitating devastating. I lost two friends to suicide and that was just the start of it. I am tempted to say (with a great sigh of relief), "wow, glad that's over," but I somehow think that that might not give God's work in this past year it's proper due.

The truth is that many great and wonderful things were done in the year of our Lord two-thousand-eight. This does not require any of us to ignore, trivialize, or hide our grief from the terrible pains of this last year. To say that God is faithful has never meant that everything has gone according to our plans. To say that God is faithful has never meant that things have turned out the way that you thought they would. To say that God is faithful has never meant that He has made it easy for us. To say that God is faithful has never ever ever meant that any of us knew his whole counsel and secret will. We simply do not know everything that we might wish to know.

In this past year (and today is my Birthday... so I have really managed to pass another year), there has been grief that is almost too much to bear. There has been sadness almost equal to times past which I had thought would never again even be approached. The questions of why have become haunting. The burden of pain has been like the weight of the world. Yet I am still here; I am still standing. God is still faithful.

In this past year, babies have been born. In this past year, friends have married. In this past year, some of our soldiers have returned home to us safely. In this past year I have gained a new appreciation for family, a new understanding of the need for relationship in my life (and all of our lives), a new heart for education, and a new understanding of friendship and love. I have had errors in my thinking exposed. I have had errors in my doing lose ground. I have had the weight of the fellowship of the Church brought to my eyes and felt it above and beneath my very being. In short, God has been faithful.

I have some new friends and I still have many faithful old friends. I did not reach perfection last year. I did not always do right. I did not always do what was best. Sometimes I did not even know that what I was doing was not going to be so good... even though upon reflection that became quite simple and obvious. People did not always do right by me last year, either. People did not always do what was best concerning me. They did not always have courage; they did not always keep faith. I hurt and was hurt in this past year. I ask that any of you whom I did wrong by this past year would beg God to put forgiveness in your heart... and I will most certainly do the same for you.

We do not always know what to do. We do not always handle our troubles well. We do not always establish appropriate boundaries with each other. We are not always very quick to forgive- and of course we are not always quick to listen. We are not always honest with each other. We do not admit that we need each other every day. When we realize that we need things- we do not always go to the right place to try and have those needs met. We do not always readily admit our part in our own troubles- so much so that we often do not even see our part because we have blinded ourselves. We get mad at the wrong persons for the wrong reasons and wonder why we find it so hard for us to forgive them. In all of our lives, in all of our concerns, in all of our woes- we forget that God is faithful. We do not trust Him. We break fellowship with other believers in times of turmoil and stop going to Church when other believers are exactly the people we should be going to. We hold on to what was never ours. We demand what we have no right to. We expect that which contradicts all our experience and all that we can gather from the Word of God and are somehow surprised that our expectations are not met. We are all of us sinful. We are all of us flawed. We all need.

And somehow, for some reason, God is faithful to His church and to his Word. God has been so in 2008 and He will be so in 2009. Blessed be His holy name.

Quote of the Week XVI

"Hope abides."
-Michael on the radio, From the film, Twenty Years After

Daddy Come Home

Daddy come home,
I'm all alone
Daddy come home,
I'm all alone
Just come today
I'll be so behaved
Please come today
I'd be so behaved
Won't you come home?
I'm all alone
Please just come home
I'm all alone.

In the still and in the dark
Is where I feel the most afraid
And even though I'm there to pray
Perhaps I will not make it.

The simplest things feel so beyond
and all my strength has left me
The joy of it is nowhere seen
And I am having quite the time.

All this feeling seems too much
And all these memories the same
Nothing permanent at all-
Nothing that is, except the pain.

Daddy come home,
I feel so alone
Please just come home
I feel too alone
Why did you die?
I'm still alive
Why did you die?
I'm still alive
Daddy come home
Your son is alone
Please just come home
'Cause I'm all alone.

Gratitude

Today I would like to take the opportunity to thank all my friends and family for being a part of my life, for being patient with me, for exhorting me, for forgiving me, for helping me, and for occasionally letting me help them. Life is meant to be lived in relationship. Kevin, I miss, you. Come back safe. May the Lord bless you all.

Quote of the Week XV

"The ghosts of regret did not return today to mark the anniversary of your death. This time, there was no struggle to hide from memory and imagination. Where once I braced for a backward slide into confusion and guilt, I now prepared to celebrate the years of our mystical companionship.
So when you were there to greet me at dawn, your presence was warmly welcomed. Together we ushered in the day. -Molly Fumia

Sonship and You

What does it mean to be a son (or daughter, for that matter)? What does it mean for you? What does it require of you? Does it benefit you? Does it tell you anything about who you are? These are the questions I will be exploring here in the immediate future. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Adoption Again

"Q. 34. What is adoption?
A. Adoption is an act of God's free grace, whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of, the sons of God."

(From the Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Adoption

Here is a Sermon titled "The Doctrine Of Adoption 1" I found at sermonaudio.com (Pastor Paul Michael Raymond from Reformed Bible Church, Central Virginia)

Daughter

"DAUGHTER, n.
1. The female offspring of a man or woman; a female child of any age.
2. A daughter in law; a son's wife. Ruth iii.
3. A woman; plu.female inhabitants. Dina went out to see the daughters of the land. Gen. xxxiv.
4. A female descendant; lineage of females. Luke i.
5. The female penitent of a confessor
Shak.
This word is used in scripture for the inhabitants of a city or country, male and female. Is. xvi. 2 Matt. xxi. Also as a term of affection or kindness.
Daughter,be of good comfort. Matt. ix."

American Dictionary of the English Language. Noah Webster. 1828.)

Son II

"SON,
2. A male descendant, however distant; hence in the plural, sons signifies descendants in general, a sense much used in the Scriptures. The whole human race are styled sons of Adam."

(American Dictionary of the English Language. Noah Webster. 1828.)

Son I

"SON,
1. A male child; the male issue of a parent, father or mother. Jacob had twelve sons. Ishmael was the son of Hagar by Abraham."

(American Dictionary of the English Language. Noah Webster. 1828)

To My Love IV

I love you tomorrow; I love you always.
I feel you forever, forever inside me
I break in the waiting, and long for the joining
And ever and always I dream of your heart.

I am the least, the least of my brethren
And I am the weakest of men that I know
And I cannot fathom a love to remember
And I am afraid it will go up in smoke.

I long for death as one still born
And all in the valley is dark and cold
And you are a light and gift to adorn
But I fear when I find you I will be much too old.

You are not my salvation and not my rest
Yet I am afloat and I cannot sleep
You are beauty inside me and mostly the best
And I dream that you are real.

"I do not deserve you," is the thing I say
And I am hardly able to call aloud
I feel the confusion and fear for the sway
But I feel alone and haunted right now.

I've never seen an angel
But I am still here
Faith is rewarded
Remember, my dear.

Quote of the Week XIV

"Political pragmatism dug this hole. Abandoning principle one more time won't help America or the Republican Party get out of it." (Vox Day)

Rescue Me

You are worthy oh my God
All your works declare you great
You are worthy Oh my Lord
Far above the highest things

Rescue me out from the pit
Rescue me for I am low
I cannot restore myself
Rescue me Lord; rescue me.

I have drug my weary heart
Through the mire of lustful sin
I feel I've made your goodness naught
I feel I've ruined everything.

Rescue me out from the pit
Rescue me for I am low
I cannot restore myself
Rescue me Lord; rescue me.

Thank you for my beating heart
And all the wonder deep inside
Thank you Lord for what you've done
In your shelter where I hide.

Rescue me out from the pit
Rescue me for I am low
I cannot restore myself
Rescue me Lord; rescue me.

Hear my cry, Lord, for I am faint
Do not leave me with this heart
Create in me what I cannot
Make me like your son.

Rescue me out from the pit
Rescue me for I am low
I cannot restore myself
Rescue me Lord; rescue me.

Keep Me Lord I Pray.

I cannot take the pain tonight
It hurts too much
It hurts too real.

I cannot raise my sword to fight
I have no strength
I only feel.

I am overwhelmed tonight
And all the world just turns and turns
I can never make it stop
While everything just burns and burns.

I am lost at sea tonight
And nothing ever gets quite through
And everything that I had held
Is now what's left and holding you.

I am not alone.

I wish the pain would stop tonight
I wish that it would go away
I am running out of fight
And I don't like to feel this way.

I don't see the end right now
But I know that it's there
And everything that isn't right
And everything that isn't fair--

I know that He will come again
Keep me Lord I pray.

Delta Blues

I have just discovered something monumental. It is called the Delta Blues. Sure I'd heard one or two songs in a movie here and there... but tonight I walked into a pub and there was this guy playing this music. He was up on stage playing the weirdest looking guitar I had ever seen. He was using a slide and singing things that... I am speechless... I have never heard anything like it before. It moved me in a way that, up till now, only Thomas Tallis and J.S. Bach had been able to do- and it wasn't just the songs, it was the style itself. I just do not know what to say...

Quote of The Week XIII

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26)

On The Wishes Of The Burdened

To the dead and to the dying
It's not enough to live again
It's not enough to start it over
It's not enough at all my friends.

To the ones we always ever
See before our very eyes
You have gone and we are left here
But most of us just want to die.

To the ones we wish were with us
Life has never been the same
And ever since you left our presence
We just can't quite play this game.

To the ones who left too early
We just don't know what to say
We are lost and broke without you
And truth is hidden behind the pain.

To the ones who'd have us hate God
As if I could, as if I would
You never ever seem to get it
But I guess you never ever would.

To the stricken who lash and wander
To the ones who cannot cope
To the ones who find the bottle
And the ones who find the rope,

To the ones who pull the trigger
To the ones who cut and bleed
We all of us forget each other
We all of us forget we need.

To the ones whose drugs are faster
Faster than our medicine
To the ones who will not weather,
The ones who cannot rise again,

I and all of us before you
Know this world is full of pain
But we just wish that you would call us
so we could hear your voice again.

Identity

Where do I come from?
I just want to know
(thinking somehow I'll know then something).

If I come from nowhere
Where can I go?
(Perhaps it is nowhere and I wait to die).

Why can't I see you?
Inside my mind.
(Are you a figment of my broken soul?)

I do not know me
And I cannot find
(I have no hist'ry and nowhere to hide)

Please tell me something
Something that's true
(For I am a vapour yearning for you).

Please do not leave me
For I am all fear
(And I do not know, how to be here).

To My Love III

And then again and all at once
I couldn't hear and couldn't fight
And all my strength was washed away
And everything was hanging...

I don't know the smallest thing
And I can't hold to everything
and every single word I hear
Is like again to kill me dear...

I am so low
I am so low
Down here we go
Down here so low.

I never thought you'd ever hear
And all the dreams I wasted dear
I never thought that I would land
Just thought that I was drifting...

I always wanted just one thing
But never ever could begin
And every time I close my eyes
I see the dead before me...

I am so low
I am so low
Down here we go
Down here so low.

I used to think so many things
that now I think are terrible
And all the times I thought of you
I never thought you'd come...

I am dreaming of my God
And everyone is seeking Him
And I am running through the throng
Running home to Him...

I am so low
I am so low
Down here we go
Down here so low.

Until the day when every wrong
Is made to right- I can't go on
But on and on the world just goes
And all inside is broken...

But I hold out this very hope
And I just thought that you should know
And every time I think of you
I'll pray that you are flying...

Quote of the Week XII

"Why would you have Denny's lighting in your home?"

(From the illustrious thug, "Bonesey")

Why?

Have you ever thought about how bad things make you appreciate good things? For instance, if you are really thirsty, a tall cool glass of water is appreciated a lot more than if you are not. If you have been poor, money may be appreciated a lot more when you have it than if you had always had plenty. How many times have you realized just how much you cared for someone after it was too late (one way or another)? We all know of some things that we not only appreciate better after some sort of lack or suffering-- but also we know of things that we probably would not appreciate at all if we had not, "gone without."

It may very well be that the pain of this life is for something in "the next." I sure would like that. I think you would, too.

To My Love II

Will it be safe to hurt with you?
I hope so.
Will it be as I could hope
And will you take from me this coil?
And will you not turn me away
When you are not enough to cheer?

I will wait and hope some more
And everything that I wish for
Will be out there and me in here
As you are not yet with me dear.

I am not well tonight.
I hope that you are better off
But if you're not I'll still be here
But I am not enough to cheer
And if you're not I'll sit by you
A long way off until it's true
And if you're not remember this
I am broken, too.

Chalcedon

I was reading an entry from the Catholic Encyclopedia last night that was fascinating. I always love the amount of seemingly obscure historical detail found in the entries there (there is a link to the main page on the right). What I found the most interesting is all the drama and backdrop that was explained before getting to the stuff I had already heard. For instance, the council met somewhere else and then had to move to Chalcedon(near Constantinople) at the "request" of the emperor. Disputed issues of jurisdiction between Bishops were settled. Also, there was a giant controversy (discussed at the council) prior to the meetings that led to the death of a Bishop. And there was so much more. It reminded me of my life. I wonder how many times I have given a thirty-second version of something that involved sin, betrayal, and death. There is so much that we often leave out. Sometimes, perhaps, we shouldn't.

Christ Have Mercy

"One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord."

(Deuteronomy 23:2 NKJV)

I believe that the double-edged sword has laid the blow that no one else could really make. It seems to me that here and now the Holiness of God brings fear. And so we must fear the Lord. I begin to see the holiness of the Lord as something that is not peripheral. It is not something abstract. It is not something that makes me at all comfortable with myself. Christ have mercy.

Hallelujah

Life so hard I cannot take
And pain so heavy I cannot stand
Another brick and I will break
My load is like a sea of sand.

Oh the joy of just one glimpse
And how I love the slightest breeze
And dreaming on now ever since
I fear the fear my heart will seize.

I cannot bear the pain today
And in this moment I can't stand
I am never here this way
And in this sea I see no land.

Michael row my boat somewhere
Please, I beg of you
Place within my heart somehow
A hallelujah to see me through.

The Fallen And Me A Step Behind

I was just thinking about my dad, my uncle, Richard Harrington III, Mike, Chris, Jess, Doug, Lauren, and Nick. I miss them and I can't get any of them back. I wish they were all still here. In James 1:17 it says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (NKJV)

I wonder when I read that. No variation. The God who does the one thing is the same God who does another. There is no shadow of turning. The God who raises the dead is the same God who cuts down men like wheat. The way He was then is the way He is now. He is the same in the old testament as He is in the new. The scriptures say that God is constant.

Sometimes I find that hard to swallow, but other times, I realize that I need Him to be, or all those people that I can't get back... well, I sometimes realize that if God changes, I am doomed.

Thank you Lord, for being the rock of my salvation. Grief assails me heavy and hard-- Oh Lord, do not delay.

James and Spiritual Discipline

I have been muddling my way through trying to memorize the book of James (it's in the Bible for those of my readers outside the circle of contextual knowing). I am almost through two chapters and I have to say I really think that I could do a better job of it. I think that I really haven't made faster progress because I haven't put in more frequent (or smarter) practice.

Memorization is a wonderful spiritual discipline. It is, however, quite obviously, a discipline. Let us not forget that work is not antithetical to grace.

To My Love I

I am the dead one, the low one
I am the weak one, the bad one
I am always stuck, but never still
And I do fear the coming kill.

I've spent nothing, but nothing's here
And all my labours dissapear
The darkness without is not the fear
It's the darkness within that scares me dear.

I have not the wherewithal
To stand up strait and stand up tall
I seem to stand-- and that upright
But like a puppet, it's the strings I fight.

And all the world conspires again
And I am ready for the blow
And all my fears are justified
I just thought that you should know.

You are probably being great
And being someone I am not
While I am doing things I hate
And hating all the things I've got.

If I could claw my way up there
To the light I've rarely seen
Perhaps I'd catch a glimpse of you
But only God can intervene.

Quote of the Week XI

"Grace, we must learn, is opposed to earning, not to effort."

(From the series introduction by Dallas Willard found in Love Your God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland)

Going Back?

I feel mostly unprepared. We shall see.

In every war there is a turning point. There is always a turn. Why not today?

The Joy of Eating and the Death of America I

Have you ever wondered how the joy of cooking gets lost in fast food? Probably not. The thing to consider, however, is have you ever wondered how the joy of eating gets lost in fast food? Micky D's is the symptom of a dying culture. Fast food is not a joy-- it is nothing compared to a good meal with friends and family. Everything about fast food is a sign of the death of a people. Drive through windows, service right now, greasy cheap food. Even if you think it tastes good, it isn't good for you.

When you are eating in a car, your day is not going well. Life has seasons. Life has rhythms. Life has ebbs and flows. Fast food denies this. The quality of the food denies this. The place you eat it denies this. The speed at which it comes to you denies this. The isolation denies this. Fast food is not the problem. The existence of fast food is a symptom. It is the symptom of the death of a culture. There should be joy in eating-- fast food robs you of that joy. Search for the joy. Search for it.

Slowly Fading

You know, dying is a funny thing. We all die in one way or another. Maybe this is a weird way to look at it, but it seems to be true. On your way out, how do you want to be treated? I have often thought that certain things were a bad idea on the way out. Now, I wonder. Sometimes it's true what they say, "you don't know; you weren't there."

August 26

Tomorrow when the polls open up at 7am for the primaries, I will be off to my polling place to cast my vote. If you do not know where your polling location is,

click here.

Tomorrow looks to be an exciting day. If anyone has any questions let me know.

Republican Primary

Tomorrow is the Republican primary in my Area. I look forward to voting. I am currently planning on voting for Schaeffer Cox for State House for district 7 (among other things). Hope all is well with you voters out there.

(Subtlety and Chuckles)

Some dreams are better than others. Some goals are worthy, some are not. You cannot always have what you want at a given time. Thankfully, we don't get all our dreams. We just do not always see how our dreams are good or bad. You know, as I have gotten older, I have realized that I want so much less out of life than I once did. I dream of little things. But simple and "little" are not always unprofound. The little things are so much more than we often think.

There is one thing I would like to remind myself of. Not everything that I want that I cannot have is bad. There is little reason not to try for that which is good. There is little reason to be dismayed when you fail at good dreams. Just stay away from the bad ones.

Christmas

And on that day a child did come
And we who were not there were saved
And when the star shone after that
wise men from the east came there.

That God should come himself a man
And we His creatures be relieved
Oh the joy they felt that day
And now again remembered here.

What shall we say in memory?
And what might we so small and weak,
Bring our Lord on this sweet day?
This day that God was born with us.

Oh sweet child we sing to thee
For you are great and now are born
And all our hopes did come that day-
Except that you will come again.

Quote of the week X

"5. Which rope is stronger? The green or the blue one? Those of you who answered this question doubtless know something the rest of us don't. You might enjoy ice-climbing."

(John Sherman. Page 105 of Sherman Exposed: Slightly Censored Climbing Stories. The Mountaineers; Seattle: 1999.)

In one moment

Kings have been deposed in a single day. In a single moment, we can gain or lose more than we ever thought possible. Our stride can be broken. Something can hold us down. Oh yes, it does not matter whether or not we are moving. But why do we forget, why do I forget, that what can be undone in one moment can be exceeded in the next. I always remember that it can get worse. I always forget that it can always get better. So much can happen in one moment.

Return

I'm going to Item again. It has been awhile. I fully expect dire conditions. I wish you all the best.

In Brief On Hurt

Sometimes hurts are buried so deep that we can't get to them directly without ripping ourselves apart. Sometimes we have to unpack one thing at a time, as it were. Sometimes we have to approach the healing process slowly. But of course, we have to approach it. Time heals nothing. Healing may take time, but you cannot just wait around and get better. There may be a great pain buried deep down inside, but it doesn't have to come out all at once.

Quote of the Week IX

"The American people are incredibly forgiving, but John Edwards violated a basic sense of public dignity and personal morality. The fact that his wife, Elizabeth, is in the fight of her life with cancer only adds to the public's sense of outrage at his violation of his marital vows. His repeated lies added fuel to the fire. On top of all this, the narcissism and recklessness of his affair revealed a poisonous disregard for his responsibilities, his supporters, his family, his friends, and the public."

Albert Mohler 2008

Invasion

You know, I have never experienced a physical invasion. Reading about the

goings on in Georgia

has got me thinking. This may seem like a tacky stretch, but I'm actually thinking about the worldview clash. What messages are trying to invade the sovereign territory of my worldview? And is that territory really sovereign?

Mountains and Philosophers

I have added two new links to the resources column on the right. One is to Peakware World Mountain Encyclopedia and the other is to The Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy.

The first is a promising new database of mountains (to wet the appetite of climbers all over) and the second is a top-notch online philosophy reference that I highly recommend.

Quote of the Week VIII

"If somebody's willing to kill for you, die for you, and help you bury a dead body without asking questions first, that's all you can possibly hope to find in a friend or a spouse. No rational creature can possibly demand slavish devotion to anticipating its momentary whims; stay very far away from any man or woman who does."

-Vox Day, 2008

Get Me

All laid out in fine array
I see the liars here right now
I listen to their flattery
And know that they don't care somehow.

They listen to my every word
But I know they don't feel a thing
And though they feign an interest now
It's only that they think me king.

And sore and shocked they'll surely be
When they find me just a prince
And when He comes they'll bow the knee
But who then could they convince?

There are plenty of tricks that one can learn
And people are mostly open fools
No one's special here at all
And power flows from certain rules.

Yet all the world I dream tonight
To find just one who won't pretend
Am I a fool to want this thing?
And what will happen in the end?

"The Heart of the Church"

Very little else in the Christian Scriptures is as certain, sure, and repeated throughout as the doctrine of predestination. You do not have to understand it. You do not have to be able to immediately reconcile it with other doctrines you believe are "taught" in the Bible. You certainly do not have to like it. It is simply not possible, however, to read the Bible and miss the teaching of predestination-- both implicitly and explicitly, both by content and by the word itself, and both in the new and old testaments. The Bible contains the doctrine of predestination almost as surely as it contains the doctrine of the existence of God-- and more surely than the doctrine of the trinity (which no one "inside the pale" disputes). This is how Paul's letter to the Ephesians opens:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. (Ephesians 1 NKJV)

People in the Church still manage to say things like, "I don't believe in predestination," and, "the God I believe in would never do something like that." I have been thinking about why someone would ever want to hold on to the Bible and still try (hopelessly) to maintain statements like these. May I suggest a failure on the part of our pastors? Surely this is the case (although not the only thing going on by any means). Many pastors do not preach on predestination. Many people do not study much on their own. Therefore: many people do not have informed beliefs about predestination, let alone right beliefs. It is time for a change in the consciousness of the Church in America concerning predestination. Well, there is that or slow spiritual death, I suppose.

A Brief Thought On Faith and Reason

‘there is no reason without faith, and no faith without reason: they are inextricably connected. They appear disjointed and opposed only when reason is understood in the narrow sense of positivism and faith is understood in the narrow sense of fideism.’ (Alban McCoy, An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Catholicism, (Continuum), p. 3.)

I couldn't agree more. Having spent eight months studying this very topic for a paper I wrote, I understand these words in a way that I could not have before. Try and separate them. I dare you. Faith and Reason are joined at the hip-- have at it if you like though.

On Failure

Failure is always a hard thing to cope with. Sometimes it's hard because our expectations were not met. We really thought that we could do better than that (and by extension, rightly or wrongly, we really thought we were better than that). Sometimes it is hard because it is embarrassing or shameful. We may have failed in front of others and they now think less of us (or we think they do, anyways). Of course, other times failure could be hard because it means we lose something. You fail at fidelity and you might lose your wife. You fail on a climb in the mountains and you might lose your friends life. You fail on a test (or series of tests) and you lose an opportunity to go to a school that you had hoped would furnish you with certain opportunities that you really do not think you will get anywhere else.

Failure is often hard for all sorts of reasons. I think that when we fail, we can react in a host of different ways. Some of those ways, though, are failures themselves. Getting back up is not always so easy. I hope that we all remember God when we fail. Let us not despise his rebuke and correction.

John, Barrack, and the Optimism I Found at DeadHorse

Does it get you down, thinking about choosing between McCain and Obama? Are you tempted to sit this one out? Do you find yourself thinking that maybe if these are the choices it just doesn't matter? Well, I sympathize with you. I would like to suggest, however, that you not forgo your local and state elections while in the throughs of a national voting depression. Primaries are coming up in Alaska and other states. Think a little smaller scale and consider trusting in God even when your choices seem... less than ideal. Voting is not something you should take for granted. And don't forget, you can always write in Mickey Mouse for president.

Fictional Emotional Undisciplined Expression

In the latest Batman installment, the character of Rachel Dawes says to Bruce Wayne, "Don't make me your only hope for a normal life." I thought that was just a bit on the odd side. It seemed like she really wanted to say something else (and maybe meant something else), but said that instead. I think she should have stuck to something like, "I really don't want to date you." I mean we all have "conflicting" feelings now and again, but does every feeling need a voice? If you were to voice all of your feelings all the time to a person, then every time they were in conflict you would confuse the person you were speaking to. Ask yourself this, "do I really want to confuse the people I care about?"

Quote of the Day (Chuckle)

Being a Christian has nothing whatsoever to do with being nice. And all are fallen, every single one. Some of us simply see little point in trying to hide our flaws. Now, your mileage may vary, but I happen to prefer open and snarling disagreement to the false smiles, whispers, and knives in the back that permeate so much of Churchianity.

- Vox Day

"I don't want to survive. I want to live." -- This from the fat cartoon captain in "Wall-E". I am definiely with him on this one.

Of Dreams And Reality

My my how things have gone
And how they change so suddenly
Even though the work was on
It's always only the fruit we see.

But while we slept oblivious
And dreamed of things that could not be
The Ghost came deep inside of us
And planted seeds we could not see.

And now the dreams grow out from in
And we are shocked to find them there
For we had looked for foolishness
But found much better weights to bear.

Do you wonder at the way?
Or do you ponder on the why?
Yet here we are with these things
The Ghost has placed in us to fly.

Shift

There then I saw a thing
A thing I had not thought to see
And though it looked askance at me
I knew where I would want to be.

To shift this way and see anew
Is a thing that's hard to do
And all the old ways must perchance
Be undone far in advance.

Before the new might come to light
That I might walk so upright
And see the world in this new way
For I have seen a thing today.

Happy Thoughts Of Things Gone Wrong?

Looking back you made me think
And really not so long ago
And though we never speak these days
I wonder what you really wanted.

The feelings just don't go away
And like a glacier I move on
It seems like there was more to say
But maybe yet again I'm wrong.

Although the trust just isn't there
And all our hearts went through a sieve
I'd like to think some pleasant things
And maybe just one more thing to give.

Goals and Dreams

Sometimes when you cannot sleep things come to you. Sometimes the things that come to you are unexpected and frightening. God has his ways. I trust Him a lot more than I trust you...and a whole lot more than I trust myself. I dream of peace. I dream of a happy sleep that is only interrupted by a sweet smell and soft skin. I guess we all have dreams. I know I am looking forward to a day of peace-- in this life, or the next. What are you looking forward to?

A Doctor For The Healthy?

Me and the worst of us are lined up today
See us in our fancy armour in our great array
We coat the field like dust and filth
And when we march the earth is moved.

Me and mine are on the move
And with our strength we must prove
That all your goodness will come to naught
And you are helpless and distraught.

The times you fall we rise to cheer
And in the night we feed on fear
All that shines we seek to dull
And crush and break the honest skull.

Think not for what you wish to see
For we will take it far from thee
Think not on all those things above
For we are here to crush your love.

Me and the worst of us are want to hide
And in the corners of your heart reside
We wait for you to rise and hope it's high
For when you fall from there you'll surely die.

There will be blood
Or so I'm told
And so I've thought for oh so long
And though I've never feared the time
I wonder now how you'll hold on.

There will be pain
there always was
And I am not above that price
And all we've sold is naught today
But we will feel it when it comes.

There will be love
I think you'll see
And it will surprise you at the time
But all the pain that came before
Will keep it hid I think you'll see.

There will be blood
Someone must pay
And we will give as we must
And though we wish it otherwise
There is just this one way.

And Things Always Work Out-- But Not Necessarily The Way You Thought

So I wasn't thinking about it but now I am. "Things don't always work out the way you plan..." Sounds like something I would say, but that wasn't me. But now I am thinking about it. (Which means that I can share the "worry" load)... good times... worth it... hmmm...