It's Something to Talk About and Teach Thing

Dear America,

hippo birdie to me, hippo birdie to me...
so good day all.  and yes, I have officially cracked.

It's my birthday; a birthday celebrating the downward slope in years and the upward slide in thoughts, musings, academics, growing into a certain wisdom only time can give.

Matter of fact, a little thing I just learned the other day is where the word 'education' comes from, with regards to it's Latin roots; it means, to bring forth from within.

Willing to bet, besides the obvious requirements stemming from the instrument itself --  quality teachings, wisdom of the ages, and teachers of sound mind and moral character --  nothing can replace the quantity of hard earned time, the life experiences that begin to add up and create a sense of knowing and understanding.

Real wisdom grows over time, like interest, compounding and becoming the invaluable, timeless, essence of old age.  It's only fair, considering the wrinkles and the gray hair that comes with, right.

Real wisdom comes from instruction, insight, inspiration, words of truth.

The Book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament of the Bible, speaks of this; it actually makes a splendid read upon the annual celebration of the day we are born.   (Only a suggestion)

One of our local preachers, Dr. David Jeremiah, offers a Sunday morning televised sermon each week; this week, he centered upon the message of Ecclesiastes, thought to have been written by King Solomon of Israel.    Most famous, possibly, for it's chapter 3-- the one revealing a time for everything under heaven -- the meaning of life is fully examined.

So, in awe of the word and in respect to time and space, let's aim on making a long story short:   Solomon makes the point that although the things of the material and physical world may seem all too important -- nothing, but nothing, can fill our hearts as being in relationship with God.  

God wants us to live abundantly, honestly, in integrity, in community with one another -- and remember from where it comes.

"Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole, duty, of man. 

For God

will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether good or evil."

pretty straightforward, pretty simple.

That still, small voice we hear in the day to day -- it is God, leaving an impression upon us, nudging our every thought, word and deed; when we are not living in relationship with the Almighty, then we are missing something.     Something deep inside us remains unfilled, empty, and we become lost and sometimes broken.  And naturally, the ill effects become evident in our daily experience.

Quickly switching gears to another favorite place of mine for inspiration, The Patriot Post has highlighted stunning testimony of Robert Steed, resident of Newtown, Connecticut, when speaking before the State Legislature.   I am going to copy the whole thing as The Patriot Post selectively edited -- and, of course, you are welcome to link up to see the video, also made available at The Post.

"This is the third day I've taken off of work to come here to, like so many of the rest of us, plead to you for us to keep our guns because of the actions of some wing-nut in Newtown, Connecticut. If that isn't inherently wrong, I don't know what is. That these bills are even in proposed form is scary enough. That any of you could be possibly undecided is scary enough. ... I can't for the life of me understand how this state can have as many gun laws on the books as it does and have members of its legislature need to take firearms 101. And as far as the, what I felt were potshots taken at the NRA earlier today: They've done more for gun safety -- they'll do more for gun safety this weekend than this committee will do in your careers. ... Sometimes things are beyond your control. You can't control everything. Evil exists. Adam Lanza commits a crime, and I'm here to grovel and plead for my rights and explain to you that my firearms are kept safely? I keep hearing the word 'solution' -- 'we need to find a solution.' You're not going to find a solution, it doesn't exist. You can't find a broad brush solution to evil. ... The reason that your jobs are becoming so difficult is that you're coloring outside the lines of constitutional parameter[s]. That's the bottom line. You are trying to marriage up public safety with constitutional rights. The Constitution did not guarantee public safety, it guaranteed liberty. And sometimes what comes with liberty is tragedy, unfortunately."  Robert Steed

Steed reminds his state legislators, "You're not going to find a solution, it doesn't exist.  You can't find a broad brush solution to evil."

For it is true -- mankind cannot fix a broken man; only God can fix that.   That is the way the world was made, just as that is the way man was created.

It's just a dimple in the way all things are divined.

An impression everlasting is made, only to be filled with the love of God... over time.

A broad brush solution to evil is a life living in relationship with God.   And the duty of the individual -- the man, the woman, the child -- is to eat, drink and be merry in this life of faith and atonement with the word, recognizing the fullness of blessings come with great duty and responsibility through honoring life itself, and God wholeheartedly.

Our children will never make this connection unless we teach them, starting young; but given good council is widely available, we must ask ourselves -- just why is society such an abomination these days?

It seems we are no longer teaching from the root, up.

It also seems we have dismissed the wisdom of the Ages. 

And yet, we hunger for it -- as evident by the blowout audience of The Bible series on The History Channel.

Perhaps this is a mixed bag of ideas today; blame it upon the arrival of a brand new year.  It's seems the celebration of the mid-life is being assaulted with a barrage of questions and summations fit for a child --  a child of God wondering what on earth are we doing to ourselves, what is my purpose, where do I go from here, how can I serve God better today than I did yesterday?

A real education is to bring forth that Something, something from within; that Something is The Thing Itself, and every single one of us can do it.   And allow me put it another way, America is depending upon it.  It's how good wins over evil.


Make it a Good Day, G 

Dear America,

Thank God It's Friday.

This has been a rough week for G -- actually the last couple have been shaky -- but who's counting. I keep trying to find the silver lining. I keep trying to look on high and believe that everything happening right now is just part of the plan and no accident.

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9

There is a time for every season under heaven.

As circumstance would have it, I had a few hours spent in an emergency room yesterday; and came away with the thought that everyone should do that at least once in their life, voluntarily and without due cause of course, just to observe.

First, it wasn't like I was in downtown Chicago; I was in an upper middle class region of La Jolla, California at Scripps Memorial. There was a steady stream of activity ranging from a stroke to a dog bite, including an accident that happened while on hospital property.

This sweet old man was coming to the hospital for a checkup with his doctor, when after his wife dropped him off at the curb, she looked back in her rear view mirror and watched him fall over backwards and hit his head; Eavesdropping, I overheard he was born in 1918! They checked in rather quickly showing their insurance and proceeded to be seen almost immediately; I'm sure the liability occurring on hospital grounds had nothing to do with it.

But I must say, there was just something in the way this man looked, dwarfed within the arms of the wheel chair.  I'm not sure what it was.  He was a very tiny man -- frail -- with tufts of white hair slicked back and a pair of glasses that appeared to have swallowed up his face. Perhaps it was in their accent --sounding Hungarian or something -- I quickly pictured a 120 minute Hollywood movie play out in my head, imagining a war torn history, leaving a homeland, coming to America, and finding peace, not to mention a new home. 

Really, I did.

For awhile, it seemed like everybody was coming in at once; I thought, how in the world do they do this 24 hours a day, every day of the week? But even in an emergency room -- at the risk of sounding flip -- there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time for peace and a time for "stat", in any given moment of the day.

Interestingly enough, and you would have to know I would be getting around to this, by my calculations of who I saw getting checked in (as many just went straight to ICU or behind closed doors), I saw two people without insurance seeking immediate help -- and they got it.

Both were "foreigners". One guy who could barely speak English, was returning to the emergency room from two weeks prior having had received care to a wound, and needed to have the staples removed. As it turned out, he was actually in the wrong place; he just had trouble in the translation and direction as to where to return to for follow up.  Eventually, the gal behind the counter figured it all out and a lo largo del camino se fue...or along the way he went.

The other guy was a bit more disturbing.  He looked utterly homeless.  Scraggly, greasy hair with a knit beanie on his head (72 degrees with blue skies outside).  A goatee.  Leather bracelets and chains.  A necklace adorned with an assortment of keys and tags.  NO SHOES (so gross).  And all along the inner portion of his left leg was a wound from the knee down -- the leg appeared doubled in size by comparison to his right -- oozing in blood, organic liquid of another sort, and just plain looked disgusting.  The guy was practically dragging the leg in tow as if he already lost feeling in it.  Ugh.

He wasn't from the area.  He said he was from Portugal with the conversation continuing a little something like this ... aah and when did you come here, sir?...replying with twenty years ago...(huh? yeah, I didn't get it either, but let's move on).  He didn't have any information with him, couldn't remember the address of friends he was currently living with and kept having to leave his paperwork and come back for one reason or another.  Had to go outside. Had to use the rest room.  I tell you, it was sad, kind of creepy and heart wrenching to watch the whole thing. 

This was the dog bite victim.  It happened a couple weeks ago, and everything was fine according to this poor guy until about the last five days. Now, he certainly needed help; while I would be surprised if he actually still had the leg this morning. It was pretty narly.

From my experience yesterday, I came away recognizing sometimes we never know what the future brings.  One day, we may find ourselves healthy and happy, while the next our world comes crashing down around us without warning.  If only there was an emergency room for everything, right?  The reality is, times have a way of testing us, and testing our faith, and even going so far as testing the very humanity of mankind.

You know how I've been talking about the new show Flash Forward on ABC; well, it didn't fail me again last night.   A touching scene was during the eulogy of a team of FBI agents who lost their lives on this now infamous day when the entire world blacked out at the same time.  The leader of the bunch, played by Courtney B. Vance, makes this beautiful observation:  "we are all prophets now" and continues his remarks saying "I can't think of a prophet worth a damn that didn't suffer. I also can't think of a prophet that God didn't love". 

Isn't that stunning.  Everyone on the planet, who was watching of course,  heard the very same words as I did, at the same time.  Yup, that's how my mind works, can you dig it?

I wonder, how often do we slip into thinking about the same thoughts, the same fears, the same hopes, and the same dreams for America?  How often do we wonder, when is our season of peace and understanding coming? And just how many of us think it at exactly the same time?

There is something to be said for what is called "race consciousness."  It is a term having nothing to do with the color of our skin or any one's actual race at all; it is defined by the prevailing beliefs or consciousness of an entire group of people, or an entire culture, or country or continent.  It lumps together the common thought happening over the entire body, all at the same time.

Basically, it is seen and recognized by way of the power of suggestion of a thought transferring from one person to another; that to say that it is subjective, manipulative and quite powerful in it's ability to influence our own mind, would be an understatement

All forms of media, and for that matter, anyone in the public eye, have a way with shape shifting perceptions and opinions of what happens all around us everyday.  Sometimes, I think, just by way of how something is portrayed, we gather up our opinions all together, as if the power of suggestion is so strong, we cannot find the strength to be our own prophet; hindering our ability to be truly objective.

We mindlessly attract a thought that's really not our own, all by accident.

Today, to keep up with the day in the life of America, our President was given a prestigious award --the Nobel Peace Prize.  Oh sure, some say premature; I will not toss in my two cents today on whether or not he is worthy just yet.  What I will look at though is the idea behind most of what I read this morning surrounding this remarkable feat in less than a year -- and that being the clear cut evidence that the race consciousness of the world has changed.  In every attempt to ring true that there is a time for every season, America has a new found perception unto the world, hence the honor to the President responsible.

But what's more captivating in the age of treason we're in (ooh did she really say that), is this uncanny way that this young President continues to woo the world and do so in spite of having not actually done anything; it is based solely on his "potential" to bring peace to the world.  It is in recognition of Obama's sorcerer's hand in creating "a new climate of international politics".  Basically, Obama has done a tremendous job talking up a storm about peace and bringing the world together, apologizing for Bush our past mistakes, and looking ahead to a brighter future; even though we haven't actually seen it come to fruition (yet). 

But yes, there is a time for every season and a purpose under heaven, and this just so happens to be a display of simply the unwavering hope in the world's latest prophet to make the world a better place by giving peace a chance; and with such a high honor bestowed upon him, how can all the world, and all of America too, not think anything else but, for it surely becomes a matter of the power of suggestion breeding and perpetuating unto the race consciousness  itself, like wind to a fire, or a broom to a bucket of water (you would get that if you clicked into the mickey clip above).

So, here we are.  I hope the time for peace is coming, just as the next girl.  I hope the time for healing can come to everyone.  I also know there is a time for everything unto heaven:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven;

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and  a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to throw away,

a time to keep and a time to give up,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Peace out, G

Question is, having been awarded the prince of peace, how difficult will it be issuing more troops to Afghanistan?  What does the world know that we don't know?

Timing is everything.