Sunrise to sunset...let me not forget

New location

2009-09-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm now using wordpress for my bloggtastic rantings.

http://pauliej123.wordpress.com

Feel free to forward yourself on :)

Bits and Pieces...bits and pieces...

2009-09-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

My momma told me
That she loved me today
And if I wanted to
Come over and stay
Sit on the back porch
And drink sweet tea
And talk about little more
Sweet memories
But I was born to travel
So on I will travel
But with every mile
My heart seems to unravel

All the things
Could be different
If things could be different.

Because I don't wanna have to
Hug another girl goodbye
And I don't wanna have to ask
Why oh why.
See I am getting older
And I found myself lonely
And I began to wonder
If love will ever hold me.

~From Bradley Hathaway's "Dakota"

The Times...They Are a Changin'...

2009-08-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

Things change.

People change.

Perspectives change.

That event which causes so much pain one week, ends up being something of an afterthought another week. It's funny how our perspective can change so radically....so quickly.

Asa was the King of Juda for 41 years. He was a King that relied whole-heartidly on the Lord; so much so that he COMMANDED Juda to seek and follow the Lord, the God of their fathers. Asa removed the high places and incense alters in every town in Juda and the land had peace during the first 35 years of his reign. (There was one confrontation with the Cushites....but Asa called on God, and He struck them all down). Asa heeded the words of the prophets, and responded to them. But then something interesting happened...

Baasha, who was the King of Israel, blocked off the lands Asa owned to keep anyone from getting in or out. In response Asa made a deal with Ben-Hadad, the King of Aram. This deal involved the silver and gold out of the Lords temple and his own palace....Ben-Hadad's armies would then attack the towns of Israel, thereby setting them free; which he did.

One of the prophets then confronted Asa and notified him that because he didn't totally rely on God, as he had before, God said He was going to end the time of peace and that there would be war in his land from now on. Asa then became angry and even put the prophet in prison. At the same time it's noted that he began to oppress some of the people. Years later Asa contracted a disease on his feet and would not seek the Lord for a cure, but chose to use doctors instead.

Funny how even the most seemingly solid people can change.

How did Asa end up so far away and so off???

Funny how we often forget to seek the Lord and do things our own way.

There are consequences for this. How long have we been preventing ourselves from receiving the most God has for us because we decided to do things our way.

Have we not asked God what His will is?

Power to the people!

2009-08-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

"Jesus was tempted by satan with all the kingdoms of the world, because he wanted to show Jesus all the power and the glory held in them. We need to realize that when we pray in The Lord's Prayer, 'For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Glory, and the Power,' that Jesus overcame the devil in those three words -- the power of the dominion of the world system is what satan boasted and said he gave to whom he wanted. When God does not have authority over the system, the glory that is hidden within the system is veiled..."

For an eagle to fly, it has to have both a right AND a left wing...

2009-07-29T19:50:00.001-07:00

I received a Rick Joyner article today called "National Health Scare" which is his response to the content of the proposed National Health Care Bill that's currently with the congress. I've also heard some talk out there about this...and I have to say, I really don't know what to think at this point. I do, however, have some issues with the "National Health Scare" article on two main accounts which in the end don't really matter all that much. BUT, since everyone else in this country seems to have an opinion worth talking about and posting on line, I figured heck - why not me too?!?!

Here's some content from the article (it's quite lengthy):

"When I read the brief on what was contained in the National Health Care bill that is now being presented before Congress, I could not believe I was reading something that was actually being considered in the United States of America. This is not about money or government mismanagement—this is about something far more diabolical than that. As incomprehensible as it may seem, this is about euthanasia, the power to determine who lives or dies in America. Hitler and Stalin would have loved to have had a means such as this for dispatching the millions they killed—it would have made their job much easier, and probably given them the ability to kill many more than they did. THIS BILL IS THAT SINISTER. This is not a joke—this is actually the nature of what is being proposed in the National Health Care legislation, and it is the obvious reason why the Obama Administration wants to ram it through Congress before anyone gets a chance to read it.

I have resolved to always be as generous as I can toward people with opposing views of my own. I do this because I believe it is the mandate of I Corinthians 13 to always believe the best about people, rather than the worst. I know this opens me up to be misled by some, but I consider that a small price to pay to not become cynical. I also do it because I think it is wise to always try and understand the position of my opponents—to be open to consider their positions and not be too rigid or inflexible to change because we all “see in part,” and “know in part.” Because of this, I have been chided for being too generous by giving those I do challenge grace by believing that they had not thought through the consequences of their proposals, or had other good intentioned reasons for doing what they were doing. However, after reading the brief on this health care bill, I don’t see how anyone could not see that there is profound evil and evil intent at work here. I just do not see any way to be any more generous with those who proposed this bill than that. It is that bad.

This bill is obviously designed to put the authority to determine who lives and dies in America into the hands of government bureaucrats. As outrageous as that seems, it is true—you can read it yourself. It even gives the government access to all of your accounts, and the authority to make withdrawals. I know this is hard to believe, but you can read it yourself.Do you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your mother or father can receive treatment, even in life and death cases? Would you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your child, or you, could receive treatment, even when it means life or death? Think of the best experience that you ever had working with a government bureaucrat, and then think about them having the power to make a potentially life or death choice for your child, your parents, or for you. This is actually what is being proposed. Add to that chilling thought the fact that this bureaucrat does not have to know one thing about medicine to be in that position. In fact, this bill proposes letting the government define what quality health care is and impose that definition on health care workers. Nowhere does it even specify what training, expertise, or qualifications this all-powerful government bureaucrat has to have to be placed in the position to make such ultimate decisions for the health, well-being, and even the lives of Americans. Am I being too hard on bureaucrats, or the Obama Administration’s intentions? Certainly there are many bureaucrats who are sincere and true public servants. I agree that such are deserving of our appreciation and respect. The modern world could not exist without them. Think of the most noble and conscientious there are. What kind of position would we be putting them in to have to go to work every day and decide who is going to get treatment, who is going to have to go on a waiting list and for how long, and who are they going to have to just let die?Who could live with such a job? There are many who could, who would just see it as paperwork, and those are the ones who would be in that position because the truly noble ones could not endure it. Hitler found many who could dispatch thousands each day, and then go home and enjoy their own families at night. There are people with that kind of moral disconnect. These jobs will be filled and by the very ones we would never want in such positions. It is beyond anything I thought I would ever see in my lifetime that such a bill could ever be seriously considered in the U.S. Congress. This bill has the potential for totalitarian control to be imposed on America to a degree that Hitler and Stalin could not have even imagined. With the technology available now, totalitarian control can very quickly be imposed to a degree far beyond what was attained by either the Nazis or the Communists, and this bill has provisions in it for just that. It mandates the sharing of all of your personal information, from just about every conceivable source, with the new health care bureaucracy being set up to implement this national health care system. The penalties for trying to escape this web are serious. This would actually make America into a national concentration camp, and we can be sure that ultimately it will be a national death camp. You do not have to take my word for it—read it for yourself. Below I will include a brief on this bill so that you can look it up, chapter and verse. I am a pastor and a watchman, and I therefore have a mandate to watch out for the people, and to sound the alarm when I see a threat. I have never seen one like this before. Even so, I have prayed for restraint and calm as I address this, and do not want to exaggerate anything. In spite of this terrible evil that is manifesting itself through the Obama Administration, I am resolved to pray for our government leaders, and I try to pray for the President every day. My sincere hope is for a spiritual awakening for him and for those in every government position, and for the Lord to give them wisdom and help for the most difficult task they have. However, with all due respect (and I mean this), what is coming out of the Obama Administration is evil, more evil than anything I thought I would ever see in America. It is time to call it what it is. In the early 1990s, myself and a few other prophetic friends were all shown separately, but at the same general time, that the same evil that gained access to Germany in the 1930s was going to seek access to America. I have shared this often since then, and have made many trips to Germany to seek to understand what happened there. Col. Eugene Bird became one of my dearest friends, and I spent many days with him listening to what he had learned about this, which was considerable. Col. Bird was the U.S. Commandant of the Spandau Prison that held the Nazi war criminals, and ultimately became the one many considered to be the foremost authority on Nazi Germany. Bird’s insight into how evil can gain entry into the human soul and into governments was remarkable, but I always had trouble seeing a connection that would allow what happened there to actually happen in America. Bird often chastised me for this, warning that it could easily happen in America (Col. Bird lived most of his life in Germany, where he became loved and esteemed by that nation, but he remained a patriotic American to the end). Bird often explained how the evil spirit of death that took over Germany gained entry through its health care system. Now it is easy to see what he was talking about in what is being proposed by the Obama Administration.In Germany, the National Socialists (Nazis) gradually desensitized the nation to death beginning with abortion. Then they quietly, seemingly with the most noble intentions, rounded up the retarded and insane, claiming that the state could take much better care of them, but no one ever saw or heard from them again. Then they did the same with the elderly. As word slipped out that they were being euthanized, it was explained that war made it necessary to eliminate all of the “useless eaters” so that the troops could be fed, as well as those who worked for the war machine. By that time, the grip of control was too strong for anyone to protest or they would also be sent to the camps. Life became cheaper and cheaper, people became more and more depraved, and millions were slaughtered in the death camps. America is following a parallel course. If Hitler had a tool such as the health care bill that is being proposed by Congress, along with the technology of control now available, it would have made his task much easier and more effective, and probably resulted in many millions more having been easily murdered. I have had Presidents, candidates, senators, and congressmen and congresswomen from both parties tell me they have read and appreciated my writings. I have maintained for many years that an eagle needs both a left wing and a right wing to fly, and believe that there are excellent men and women of true conviction in both parties. I realize that by writing with this tenor, I risk being considered an extremist, and maybe risk many relationships, but I cannot be concerned about that. With such an extreme evil threatening our country, I would have a difficult time standing before the Lord on that great judgment day if I did not speak up as boldly, as clearly, and as loudly as I can. Call me an alarmist and I will agree with you—I am going to do my best to sound the alarm against evil in every way that I can, and I don’t think I have ever seen anything with the potential for evil like this national health care bill. I pray that senators and congressmen from both parties who have courage and conviction will stand up against this terrible impending holocaust and stop this bill. I expect that it will be hard for many who read and understand what this Democratic Administration has proposed not to refer to the Democratic Party as the Death Party from now on, but let’s wait and see how the Democrats in Congress respond to this before condemning them, too. This bill is criminal—it opens the door for a crime against humanity on a level that could easily surpass what happened in the last century. We must hold accountable all who have written, proposed, and sided with this bill—and determine that with all the resources we are given, they will never be elected again for anything. I pray that every Christian will wake up and rise up to take their stand against what is happening in our country now. If we do, we can stop this. If we don’t, we will have to stand before the Judge having let this happen on our watch. We can expect persecution and even death for standing against such a bold and obvious attack of the spirit of death, but no Christian should fear death, and no Christian will want to live in the world that is now taking shape if we do not become the salt and light we are called to be.We are in need of the courage and resolve of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, who stood before the huge and terrible Balrog demon and declared—“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” The demon was stopped, and even though it was able to grab and drag Gandalf down with it, Gandalf returned with a new level of authority. It does not matter what the consequences are for standing for truth, as Christians we must stand because it is our basic duty. As the first apostles demonstrated, to be persecuted and to suffer shame for our God and His truth is one of the greatest honors. However, we must do it for more than honor—we must also do it for our children and their children."

Issue #1) There was a statement he made about not exaggerating and also about believing the best in people and not the worst. Somehow I feel comparing this bill to something Hitler and Stalin would loved to have cooked up and inferring that this will lead to the old and weak being hustled into concentration camps sounds like an exaggeration. I'm not saying there aren't points that are comparable (like the Nazis desensitizing the nation to death by abortion) but it doesn't quite fit with his ideas of believing the best in others either. Later on in the article he summarizes, in his own strong words, some specific articles of the bill....it quite literally had me distracted off his point and was what I'd consider completely biased propaganda of the same nature of what I'd expect to see from Michael Moore. Rick Joyner is a passionate man however and I'd expect some strong rhetoric from him...but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth! I think he really hurt the validity of his points. STILL, I'm not making any calls to say that the intent of his article is incorrect. We NEED to protect life, abortion is NOT OK, and decisions about life and death should not and cannot be left in the hands of the government.

Issue #2) Can we please stop using the Lord of the Rings movies as examples in sermons and christian articles??? Maybe it's using movies in general that rubs me the wrong way, but there's GOT to be better things to refer to than movies.

I think in the end...it all comes down to what you believe God intended government for. We are under His supreme authority so we should seek out His plan for all things...even government. Did God intend government to be the be-all-end-all in decision making (ie big government). Did God intended government to make decisions about who gets medical care, when,and how much? Did God intend for the government to make decisions about when to pull the plug on the machine that's keeping someone alive while the family holds on to some hope that things will get better? Did God intend for government to make killing unborn children OK to do? The answer is NO....but does that mean the government shouldn't be doing something about the corruption in the medical care system???? Nice try people....but don't start deviating from Gods plan for government and don't try to play God.

My advice....read the Bill (although I hear it's right around 1000 pages!), pray, see what the Lord says about it, and confirm it in the scripture. Continue to believe the best in others and to stand up for life at all levels.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens...

Just 10 more minutes........and I'd be even more confused...

2009-06-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 4:44am this morning. Before I rolled over to look at the clock, I knew it was going to show something interesting...but I was thinking it was going to be 3:33am (that's freeky), which has happended before. But, no....4:44am. That's it.

I asked the Lord, "what are you trying to tell me?". I got John 4:44. Well, that's not entirely true...at first I got Leviticus 4:44...but there's no 44th verse of the 4th chapter. Then I got John 4:44 - "For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country".

Confused?

Yeah....me too :)-

Konnichiwa Cam

2009-05-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQR36dW0GA

I find ordinary faces to be extraordinary...

Can I get this to-go box in glass?

2009-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of each of the last few years I've prayed for the opportunity to travel.....that might sound funny, but it's true. What sounds even more funny is that I've actually been blessed with travel opportunities because of it. Not all have been international, but SOME have.

In thinking about this I yet again find myself eager for an adventure. I'm not simply talking about taking off for one of my random wanderings (although I will be doing that for a week and a half in July) but something a little more purposeful maybe. I really don't know where this part of me comes from (and it definitely is part of me) but I have the desire to travel, experience unique things, and meet the beautiful people of this world. People excite me. People inspire me.

Perhaps it's because this week, last year, I was leaving for my solo trip to Hong Kong. This was one of the seemingly nuttiest things I've done in a long time, but I felt I really needed to do it and a door was opened for it.....and it was incredible. I spent two weeks exploring the city, hiking in the area, taking ferries out to the outlying islands, and meeting up with some HKU Rotary scholars. I also happened to be in China when the huge earthquakes hit. I got to be a part of Chinese history as I was there during the only time in history when the nation stopped dead in it's tracks in a moment of silence for those who were killed. (I happened to be walking through Times Square...yes Hong Kong does have a times square....funny I know) I also met and talked with the most successful architect in Hong Kong on a private floor of the IFC building AND the owner of a Humanitarian relief agency run out of Australia who founded the organization on the amazing testimony of his Grandfather. SO...needless to say, it was one heck of a trip. God had some cool things planned that I would never have even tried to dream up. Why? I'm not sure....I was definitely there for a reason, but I'm not sure if I'll ever quite know what it was (although as I continue to reflect on it even up to a year later....there's lots of perspective things the Lord had brought to my attention)

That brings me to today....ready for another adventure to add to the list. Maybe it's because it's summer time and I work in an office....that sounds like the perfect prescription for adventure seeking to me. But...maybe it's more....maybe that part of me that was designed to live life to the fullest is spurring me on to make the most of God's everyday. To find the excitement placed before me, to seek after Him and take part in the adventure that comes from knowing Him more, to show others who are too bored/stressed out/unhappy/stuck/complacent with life the joy that is available to them.

We've got to recognize it and respond to it...

There's another thing I've noticed though as well, which may be part of some frustration (well...more like learning how to adjust). It's rooted in the fact that adventures are great, but they simply aren't as great when there's no one to share them with. Now, my current frustration (adjustment that needs to be made), is that I have significantly less people around to hang out with....part of the problem of being blessed to live in a place (but an amazing one at that) where all your friends move away. But how much more so when we seek out daily adventure, but leave our Father out of it. God is the alpha....the beginning of all things. Joy comes from Him. Adventure beyond my wildest dreams comes from Him. I have to be careful not to get my fulfillment from others and even unique experiences. Completeness and health in life comes from the maker of all things. I've just got to pray through the times it's frustrating knowing that I'll get used to it. It's also a matter of perspective.

So you want a lesson in perspective? Go to China. Artifacts I saw in the Hong Kong museum of History go back to the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. These are artifacts that are many, many, many centuries older than our country (and more well preserved too). We are infants in the world scene. Artifacts from before the time of Christ. And LOTS of them. While looking at these priceless artifacts in the glass boxes, I realized that it's quite easy to see just how limited our perspectives are. At times it seems that we think we have an idea of what "eternity" means. I tend to think we don't even have a clue. We get amazed by artifacts in a museum that are 2100 years old. Last time I checked, eternity - 2100 = eternity.

Daily reality

2009-04-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

The head justifies what the heart chooses.....

What's your Luke 8:16 reality?

2009-04-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

"Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil - the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be."

~ William George Jordan

Birds of a feather....don't like espresso....but I sure do

2009-04-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever closely watched a bird take off from a tree limb or roof? I don't know that I ever have until this morning when I watched a mourning dove land on the edge of my garage roof. I was out to work on my mountain bike I'm building, but got caught up standing outside with my espresso I just made. I was simply enjoying being up and not having somewhere to be (not to mention the espresso....ugh....so good....). Anyway, It walked around bobbing it's head all mourning dove like (like you'd expect to see), cocking its head around checking stuff out. Then I watched it slowly creep to the very edge of the roof and that's when I was really surprised by what I saw. The mourning dove actually reared back before it took off and literally flung itself off the roof to take off. I thought that was odd because it was a lot like what you imagine a skydiver or base jumper would do. I guess I always assumed the moving of the wings part happened before the flinging off tall objects part. It's definitely not the case however because I watched another bird do the same thing.

It made me think that maybe the proper way to fly is NOT to get to the edge and think it over. Maybe the proper way to fly is NOT to check each wing separately to make sure it's working properly. Maybe the proper way to fly is NOT to start from the ground where it's safe and the risk is low. Instead, maybe the best way is to rear back and throw yourself off the edge and fricken' figure it out. Quick. (Ironically...this is how I learned to swim. Thanks a ton Dad!)

I wonder if birds are "afraid" the first time they hurl themselves out of the nest? Or do they just do it...knowing that it's going to work out so long as they do what they were made to do?

Is it any wonder the Bible talks about how the birds don't worry about the things of life, yet the Father of life cares for them. They don't even worry about flinging themselves off things high off the ground. How much more important in the eyes of the Father are we?

Maybe I should be less concerned about the mechanics of how things work and more concerned about knowing it's going to work out so long as I do what I'm made to do. Maybe it's time I should focus on finding more high spots to hurl myself off of so that I actually fly the way I was made to. What if the higher the perch is...the more time I have to figure it out before I find the ground.

More of Him. Less of me.

Late night walks and lots and lots of sand

2009-04-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day....it was the warmest day we've had in 6 months! After a long and hard winter we reached just over 60 degrees! That means one thing....late night walks to the beach!

For a little background on this I should mention that for the last few years now I've noticed God tends to speak to me on our walks to the water...especially at night. I can't tell you the number of times I've been out at night sitting in the sand next to lake Superior and spilling my heart and listening for His voice. Interestingly enough He tends to use analogies with me there and uses them to recalibrate my perspectives to His.

Tonight's conversation included lots of my thankfulness for such a beautiful night....but He did point out something really interesting as I was taking in the sounds and smells of the shoreline. As a matter of fact I was breathing though my nose as much as I could just to take in as much of the beach sent as I could get! As you can imagine the first trip of the year to the beach is one heck of a good smell. And as I simultaneously listened to the ginormous flock of seagulls out on the small rock island just off shore squawking obnoxiously He brought to my attention the fact that these two things are very strange things to love on their own. I mean....beach smell is made up of dead and rotting decay matter in the water...mixed with seagull poop and dirt/sand - among other things I'm sure.....but it's a beautiful smell! Everyone loves the smell of the beach! On top of that, flocks of squawking seagulls - on their own, is just obnoxious noise....but we EXPECT to hear that....it wouldn't really be the beach with out that noise. It also happens to bring up memories of my first summer in Marquette when I'd fall asleep to the squawking (from about a half mile away) each night with the cool night breeze blowing into my open bedroom window. God so perfectly took two very ugly and dirty things and turned them around on us (without us realizing) and made them desirable. And not just desirable....He made them beautiful. He actually made them two of the most beachy things about the beach!

How much more so does He take our ugliness....our imperfection.....our weakness.....our struggles....our uncleanliness.....and make them beautiful to Him. Does He not desire for us to look at each other through His eyes? His eyes that see all our shortcomings.....and considers it all beautiful. He knows all the grains of sand in all the beaches in the world, and all the deserts, and all the mountain tops, and underneath every house, and under every plant....everywhere. How much more so does He know the desires of our hearts? Are we not more precious to Him than all the grains of sand in this world - of which, he knows intimately?