2:129, #433: Smoke

I'm thinking about smoke this morning, based on one devotional that pointed out James 4:14 that we are "a vapor" and pass away quickly. I was thinking that it would be better if Christians were to be more like the smoke that clung to the battlefields of the American Civil War "back in the day" of the 1860s. I'm listening to the soundtrack of "Gettysburg" and have been playing "Civil War Generals 2" these last several days, so warfare is on my mind.

Actually, warfare is pretty much always on my mind, given the fact that we're in Enemy Territory, are surrounded like the paratroopers of "Band of Brothers" at Bastogne, and we're supposed to be the sweet smell of Christ to those around us...a smell, by the way, that for some is like the aroma of a good cigar that identifies us to people even around the corner of a building when they can't see us, while to others it's the stench coming off Old Smelly.

Smoke always has its origin in fire. The Spirit is the fire within us we're not suppose to quench. How do we avoid putting up smoke screens with our lives instead of being a cloud of incense wafting out of the temple where the Spirit dwells? Maybe that's what Paul was thinking about when he said not to quench the Spirit in I Thessalonians 5:19. On the other hand, are we to be sending smoke signals to those around us in order to give them the Message? Will the uninitiated know what we're saying? NOPE...the Spirit's got to do His job to "clear away the smoke" the Devil has been blowing for millennia!
Got a light?

2:128, #432: I Found My Second Career...

...And that would be writing a baby-care book!! Now how did this epiphany arrive...by stork, of course! No, actually by Facebook side comments. Here's how it happened...

A third time new-Momma (hey, every bundle of joy is a new experience!!) posed the question, "How many times should you let your baby fill her pants before you do the unthinkable and wake her to change the diaper?" My response, after reading several others, was "train her to sleep half naked on a bucket and you've got both problems solved!" Momma replied that I sometimes make her speechless...an achievement in and of itself, I would say! Then, another commentator mentioned that I should write a baby-care book since Dave Barry (a humor columnist according to his site I just Googled) could. Since I originated the Balaam's Ass Theory of God's Way to Communicate...if He can speak through a donkey He can speak through any of us...I take that as a sign...sorta like "Maternity Ward," but given my gender and lack of biological children, we'll go with Grampa Ward, probably Section 8 of the local Funny Farm. (Some mixed metaphor that, Eh?!!)

Well, the FIRST baby-raising epiphany I had was when Lady Galadriel was changing her second-born's diaper back in '84 and I saw the process while I was doing some carpenter work for the family. Tending Jesus' sheepies is like tending babies...they eat, bleat, and excrete and expect all three functions to be dealt with by older sheepies who brought them into this mortal coil.

In regard to my sleep/cleanup response: I'm thinking about marketing Bob's Baby Bucket in soft, molded plastic to simulate the baby's shape, pink and blue swirly color so it works for both sexes, with inserts for smaller sized tykes so they don't slip through the opening. AND...for another small fee, we could offer Robert's Recyling Repository in which to hold the reprocessed baby formula for future use as fertilizer for the garden! Hey, when I used to work in Central Pennsylvania, some Amish folks used outhouse leftovers on their fields!! Smelled bad, but worked great.

Well, Grampa has to go tend to the mundane business of opening up Camp Cornelius buildings... kinda like Samuel opening up in the mornings...so all you sheepies keep expanding the Kingdom as you do and I'll have more to write later!!
Got formula?

2:127, #431: "Way To Go, Furrball!"

I like last lines of movies. The classic is from King Kong, "It wasn't the planes that got him...it was Beauty killed the Beast!" (Watch the movie if you don't understand.)

Today's post title is Wolverine's last line from "X-men, The Final Stand" when he sees the TV newscast that his now-buddy, Dr. Hank McCoy a.k.a. The Beast, has been made Ambassador to the United Nations for both regular and mutant Americans...part of his reward, I guess, for saving the world 'with a little help from his friends', as the Beatles used to sing. This is the male-bonding side of yet another action packed chick flick...chick flick trilogy, actually...where good old Wolverine has to run his adamantian blades through Jean Grey a.k.a. Phoenix, who was causing a really bad day to go with the power to destroy everything!! Gee, I guess he took the line, "You always hurt the one you love" a little too seriously?!!

So what's my point? (I seem to ask this rhetorically quite a lot these days.) This comic book presentation spiffed up with 21st century movie making technology is a morality play about the transformational power of love!! And you thought it was just a bunch of cool (especially Bobby, a.k.a. Iceman) freaks with super powers trying to decide whether they should wipe out the human race or fight the bad guy mutants who are convinced they should. Of course, true Love (no, not that found in "The Princess Bride") isn't even part of the equation...you know, as in the Lord?!!

Even though I enjoy these Manichaeistic superhero movies...the Light might win against the Dark side...I wonder if there are any writers/producers/directors out there who could put forth a version of Frank Peretti's Christian novels dealing with spiritual warfare that would actually grab the public and put forth a message of Truth without wimping out? It might be an interesting way to help pierce This Present Darkness.

In fact, "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure!"
Got popcorn?

2:126, #430: X-men Theology

A few minutes ago I gave a brief Facebook Status idea based on my 4am epiphany about "X-men," "X-2," and the linguistics of X-mas. I have more thoughts:

The basic premise is that, if we shorten "Christmas" to "Xmas" we can shorten "Christians" to "Xians" or "Xns" as I do in my prayer journals...the Lord hasn't struck me dead with the short-hand, so I guess I'm ok. Now, given those two givens, we can shorten Jesus' stature as the Christ/Man to X-Man, the head of the X-men, "men" being like the original Greek "anthropos" meaning "man/mankind" vs. "andros" meaning "man/male" which excludes...should that be X-cludes?...our beloved sistren in the Lord and narrows down just about whom the text speaks.

Clearly, based on Galatians 3:28, in Christ...hmmm, that would be "X" in our syllogistic shorthand... there is neither male nor female but we are one in Him, so the X-men are ALL us spiritual mutants who have been Born Again and become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), gifted with supernatural powers listed in Romans 12: 6-8 and elsewhere that are not available to the Aints (vs. us Saints) of this world. HOWEVER...we are not at war with the Aints (even though they seem to think they're at war with us) as Ephesians 6:10-20 says, but with the unseen forces that our Enemy, the Devil, has at his disposal. Hmmmm...a disposal is where the garbage goes to get chopped up and flushed down the drain...I see a spiritual parallel in these linguistics, methinks!...and I guess ends up in the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation in the really real universe.

Well, all that being said, "X" was always the unknown factor that needed to be discovered in first year algebra in order to solve the equation. The logical...at least in MY Marvelling Universe... conclusion is that "X" is the unknown to the world (cf. John 1:5) and needs to be declared to the Aints so that they, too, can become mutants like we sheepies are!!
Oh, and the "X" of the flag of Scotland was a public domain image, whereas a great pic of St. Andrew's Cross or the X-men are not, and I'm of Scots descent, so it works for an illustration in my little world...
I guess our robes of white we be the equivalent to the X-men uniforms?

2:125, #429: Just About Perfect Day

Yep, that's what I've had. Got trees pruned outside the Grey Havens, remembered to take the picture of the azalea The Artiste wanted, he painted our "outside puppy" Butch as the second pic shows, I got an annoying hosta transplanted, 4 of the 6 young trees I transplanted on the 19th are still alive and thriving, had a good ceegah whilst doing some outside work, I watered the garden which is doing well, got "Ashokan Farewell" back on my computer, am listening to some great tunes, found out some good stuff from Facebook, AND I'm about to play some Civil War Generals on my computer to satisfy the tactician/strategist facet of my personality.

The weather's great, the campus looks good for upcoming graduation, and liverwurst was on my menu for lunch. Even had a couple of scoops of peanut butter right out of Peter Pan's jar a bit ago. Even got a couple of chapters of Acts read before I got rolling.

How's yours?

2:124, #428: Where There's A Will...

...There's A Way. OK, this age old adage was quoted in "Chicken Run" last night at the Grey Havens second show. As usual, my brain was running, not like a chicken with its head cut off, but in some of the elliptically shaped circles outside the box...

Since Rocky and Ginger fall for each other, is this the Ultimate Chick Flick?

Could the adage be altered? For instance, Where there's a will...
...there's probably a lawyer.
...there's a terrible two year old.
...there's a stubborn 50-something.

And, for you spiritually oriented types...
Where there's a will, there's two Testaments, and definitely a Way, Truth, and Life.
Have a good Memorial Day Weekend. Hmmmm...can a day be a weekend?

2:123, #427: Dragon Stuff

This morning I'm wearing a Christmas present...a black and white shirt that says, "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy & taste good with ketchup."
I've also got a poster in my office, stuck to the wall with a steak knife that says, "CAUTION: This area is protected by fire breathing dragons." This one is under Aragorn who is next to Sweeney Todd and Cap'n Jack Sparrow/Will Turner.
One of my favorite chick flicks is "Reign of Fire" where the dragons have taken over most of the world but eventually get annihilated when Christian Bale's character, Quinn, blows up the male's guts with a C-4 crossbow bolt down his fire breathing gullet...AND goes walking off into the distance with his arm around the female American helicopter pilot!!

So what's my point? Dragons were real at one time...check out the description in Job 41:1-34, as were dinosaurs...brontosaurus is aptly described in the preceding chapter at Behemoth. THE Dragon...Satan himself...is still real and is prowling about to rip your guts out and swallow you whole if you give him the chance. HOWEVER, as 1 John 4:4 says, "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world!" God has given His angels not only charge over you to protect you, but sends them to help you fight off the demons, powers, principalities, rulers, world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places, and Satan himself as necessary.

You've got the Holy Spirit within (assuming you're saved), you're in the Father's right hand, and Jesus is seated at His right hand interceding for you, so even without angels you've got the Dragon outnumbered 4 to 1, so you can "stand firm against the schemes of the devil" in the strength of Christ's might while tramping with both feet on The Dragon's head as Ephesians 6:10-20 indicates in practical Christian-walk details. So...
got heavenly armor and sword?

2:122, #426: Just Some Oddities Noted

Last night I heard a feeble rap on the Grey Havens' back door and was asked to rescue a bird from my squirrel trap. Well, it turns out it was Mrs. Boo Radley the Mockingbird flapping around inside the metal frame. She never even said "thanks" when I released her. I guess she was too busy imitating a squirrel let loose leaving a jet stream trail behind her! ;p

Then there was the City Boy description of some four legged critters inhabiting the place a few weeks ago as "coyote pups." Well, considering that the natural habitat of coyotes is hundreds of miles west of the Eastern seaboard, I decided to investigate. Turns out Momma Brown Fox has at least four cute pups that I saw the other morning at 7am. The inexperienced little goomers actually were going to walk towards me until I told them to get back in their burrow after Mom headed for the woods...they listened to Grampa Alpha Male quite quickly!!
Would you believe that foxes not only eat mice, squirrels, ground hogs, and other pests, but can actually hear earthworms crawling underground near the surface and dig them up for a high protein snack!! I've heard that the early bird gets the worm, but never the Midnight Fox! ;p

Soon I'll be approached to drill holes in buckets to hang tomatoes upside down for some cool growing experience for one of the folks here at Camp Cornelius, so it's time I wrap and roll outta here!!

2:121, #425: House Resolution 397

It just so happens that Gimli's look sorta-alike strolled past my office as I started to read this here piece of action by some of our Congressmen and he suggested I post the link on this site. This is an argument for why the first week of May should be declared "America's Spiritual Heritage Week" in the eyes of the proposers. [http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hr397/text]

I also happen to be wearing my "Browncoats...I aim to misbehave" tee shirt commemorating the Firefly series and movie "Serenity" so I'm about to kill you with my brain if you're not ready for this.

This Resolution gives an interesting look at the religiosity of the fuzzy wuzzies, as Malcolm Reynolds of "Firefly" might say, as well as the influential Christians of our nation's history. Frankly, if we're going to spend a week lauding our Spiritual Heritage, I think there should be a clear-cut emphasis on the Canaanite-like behavior patterns of the First Peoples of our land that were so readily adopted by the Second, Third, and Fourth Peoples when they came looking for prosperity and occasionally brought Jesus with them. Sure, we have some Judeo-Christian heritage that the minority rulers managed to get the populace to adopt and adapt over the last 400 years, but it would appear the rise of "those who call evil 'good' and good 'evil'" is the natural eventual reaction to kowtowing to something that goes against their nature.

But look at the bright side...pun intended...the darker the surroundings are, the brighter the Light of Truth will shine! Even if it's half-moon shaped on the door!
Got basket to hide under?

2:120, #424: Angels At The Tomb

Yesterday my Bible study took some interesting paths. The four Gospels record the event in Matthew 28/Mark16/Luke24/John 20. I read John's account first of Easter Sunday's tomb scene and was impressed that "But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'" I noticed that they did not have to say, "Fear not" to remove her scared reaction to their presence as always happens when angels show up. So I checked the other three accounts and came up with this scenario.

All four accounts agree that it was right around dawn...slightly before dawn as the women arrived, about sunrise when the angel rolled away the covering stone and sat on it, scaring the guards senseless and saying, "Do not be afraid" to the women. Matt shortens things with the angel's orders to go tell the disciples about Jesus' resurrection, the women grabbing Jesus when He revealed Himself to them, inserting the guards/Pharisees/Jews to this day parenthesis, and then reporting the eleven's meeting with Him in Galilee. (Matt's a Jew writing to Jews, so the parenthesis makes sense.)

Mark records the stone had been rolled away when the girls found it, they went into the tomb, found out from an angel (young man/white robe) sitting on the right side about the Resurrection, then fled the tomb in fear but said nothing to anybody. He remarks that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene out of whom He cast seven demons. (This makes sense since a lot of Mark's Gospel points to Jesus' power through miracles.)

Doctor Luke relates the women brought anointing spices (his medical/mortuary interest, I suppose), found the stone rolled, entered the tomb, meet two angels, got scared, heard of the Resurrection, and returned with a report to the eleven and all the rest. Luke says Pete ran to the tomb and found the empty wrappings. John reports a bit more detail, since he was there.

Mary Magdalene showed up at dark, found the stone removed, and ran to tell Peter and John. John won the foot race but lost his nerve, Pete goes in and John follows, they find the empty wrappings and go away. Meanwhile, Mary's outside crying, looks in and sees two angels sitting at opposite ends of the slab...I figure much like the two angels on the Ark of the Covenant for symbolic reasons...talks with them, turns around, and sees Jesus but thinks He's the gardener. (I figure this is another interesting providential coincidence since He's the Second Adam and Adam was the First Gardener before the Fall prior to becoming the First Maintenance Man after It.) Jesus wakes up Mary, she grabs Him, He tells her to go tell the disciples and she does.

Now, Synchronizing Grampa Bob figures it like this: The Women's Auxiliary of 33AD bought spices late Saturday night at Inara's Incense Imporium in the Jewish Quarter, were just over the hill from the tomb at the dark before sunrise, saw the angel descend in a flash and earthquake, came up on the rolled away stone, like-dead guards, and the angel sitting on the rock eating salted pork and smoking...ooops, that was Merry and Pippin at Orthanc...My Bad! This angel won in a three-way version of "rock/paper/scissors" with his two brothers who got to be inside as the symbolic covering angels of the slab.
The women get the usual "Fear Not" greeting, go inside, talk with the angel on the right...reminiscent of Zacharias' talking with Gabriel at the incense altar in Luke 1:11...and they spot both angels standing. They ran to get The Men, they get to see Jesus and grab his feet, they make their report, John won the footrace/Pete went in first/Mary followed them back but stood outside, the guys leave after not seeing the two angels sitting down that Mary saw when she peeked in, and Mary gets a one on one with Jesus who she mistakes as the gardener until He speaks to her...I'm of the opinion that she gave Him a Big Ole Hug (like my granddaughters do on occasion) in her excitement that elicited His "Don't cling to Me"...and then she "came" (John would have been back at the Meeting Place by then) and reported she had seen the Lord. Maybe when the other girls spotted him and clung to His feet, she had lagged behind or run ahead...can't say for sure on this one...or maybe she got a double dose of personal worship!

So, what's my point? Even if I can't successfully synchronize these stories any better than this, DER HERR AUFSTANDEN!! THE LORD IS RISEN!! Give Him a hug in your excitement!!
Got outraised arms?!!

2:119, #423: Eternal Optimism

No, I'm not talking about the Great Hope we have in Christ or about my seat at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb or even the fact that I think the glass is half full and you might as well take a swig!! ;p Today it's playing the radio in my truck while heading out for some distilled water. Every time I turn the FM radio on I'm hoping against hope that I'm not going to get the incessant babble of DJs enamored with their own voices or music that just plain SUCKS! ;p I'd say most of the time my low expectations are more than adequately met.

Today, however, I just kept rolling the dial a bit and was happily surprised to get an OLD song, "Boom Chicka Boom Boom Boom," then there was some stuff that I can only describe as N'Awleans Jesus jive, and then Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff;" which, by the way sounds really good on my Elfson-beefed-up computer speakers with subwoofer!! Since I ALWAYS wax theological in my musical moments, I'm crankin' George Thorogood's take on Total Depravity, "Bad To The Bone."

So why do you need to know this? Because, being the Barnabus-like-encourager that I am, I want you to persevere in rolling your own radio dial...both physically in your car and/or truck with or without gun racks as well as metaphysically...round these here parts, we call that the Perseverance of the Saints; which, of course, has me playing Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See the Light"...Of The World, I would say! ;)

2:118, #422: My Bucket List

Last night I learned about a Bucket List. Just now I learned it comes from the movie, "The Bucket List" about two guys who are terminally ill. They make a list of things they want to do before they die. I could only come up with "see people for whom I've prayed come to faith" and thought that my life-bucket has been well filled already, especially in the 29 years of walking with the Lord.

Wiki had a list from the movie, so let's compare:
1. Witness something truly majestic. Every day I work at Camp Cornelius I see God's handiwork. Then there is the recurring epiphany I get every time I read Isaiah 6 and choke up with emotion.
2. Help a complete stranger for a common good. I frequently MapQuest for lost strangers to get them to where they're going when they drive on campus. Introducing myself to and getting to know students who start out as strangers is just an on-going Ephesians 2:10 lifestyle.
3. Laugh til I cry. Heck, I've done this lots of times throughout my life over really stupid stuff.
4. Drive a Shelby Mustang. Pshaw...how about a '64 Corvair at 90mph with Mom sitting next to me when I was 17?!! And she didn't realize the speed we were going!!
5. Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world. Heck, I hug several of them a coupla times a week!! "THE most beautiful" is a stupid limitation on a topic that has several levels/categories/nuances to it. Just on hair color alone, there are blond, brunette, redhead, gray, salt and pepper, and Miss Clairol.
6. Get a tattoo. Sorry, I'm too cheap and I might change my mind. Although, "Tattoos Are Stupid" might be one I would consider, but then where would I have it put so I could pass along my opinion?
7. Skydiving. Nah, I ride The Sidewinder at Hershey Park and train kungu fu kitties to be archangels!! OOORAH!
8. Visit Stonehenge. Hey, I've got it on my computer Desktop when I feel like it and I'm of the opinion that it was built by the Anakim mentioned in the Bible, so what's the big deal?! Besides, I hate plane flight to get there.
9. Spend a week at the Louvre. Well, I've been to The Philadelphia Art Museum and live with The Painter/Cook/Audiovisualman. Again, plane flight...ycch!
10. See Rome. I watch "Hudson Hawk," "The Italian Job," "Ben Hur," "The Robe," and get homemade pizza, spaghetti, and chicken parm on a regular basis now...why travel?
11. Dinner at Cherie D'Or. I eat at Grey Havens where The Cook reigns supreme in the kitchen. The food's so good it spoils the young'uns from eating similar stuff anywhere else!
12. See the Pyramids. Hmmm...some dead guy's tombs...I used to work in a cemetery during summers while in college and actually got to handle parts of a dead guy in one re-opener of a grave. Alas, it was not poor Yorick!
13. Get back in touch/"hunt the big cat." Well, I live on The Edge, am in touch with who I am, talk with God Almighty daily, and live at the center of the universe where old friends come across my path in providential ways fairly regularly.
14. Visit Taj Mahal, India. Well, in 2003 I sang in a group that visited Chennai, India, fellowshipped with some thousands of saints there, and ate at a 5-star hotel.
15. Hong Kong. Well, here at Camp Cornelius, the best cross cultural mission field on the planet, I've personally interacted with folks from Hong Kong and 53 other nations, so I'm good...besides, need I say "ycch" to the plane flight?
16. Victoria Falls. Though perhaps not as majestic, I remember having to deal with Archangel Falls in the Business Office when an overflowing bath tub on the Third Floor got things enlivened for a while. I think some ladies saw a light in my eyes that rarely flares, too! ;p
17. Serengeti. Wiki calls it an ecosystem. Hmmm...my ecosystem includes bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, ants...crawling and flying, worms, silverfish, centipedes, all kinds of bugs whose names I don't know, mice, squirrels, bats, skunks, raccoons, opossums, ground hogs, rabbits, foxes, deer, cats, sparrows, wrens, cardinals, woodpeckers, mockingbirds, robins, dogs of various breeds, and four distinct season changes, among other stuff. Oh, Yeah...I watch "Madagascar" and "Madagascar 2" when I feel like it.
18. Ride the Great Wall of China. Why? It's not going anywhere.

Soooo...this is just the tip of the iceberg of my exciting bucket of life experiences. I try not to "despise the day of small things" as Zechariah says and walk in the good works laid out before me by One who knows how to work all things to my good. Hmmm...getting preachy might be one of those leaks in my bucket. Time to go get some routine blood work done.
Enjoy your weekend bucket.

2:117, #421: Elijah the Presbyterian

Yesterday while mowing on the old John Deere I thought about telling folks to pray for sunshine for the next three days so I could mow the rest of the property in preparation for the Camp Cornelius Cookout/Campout. My 'hook' would have been James 5:17 about Elijah being a man of like nature to ours...you know, someone who loves God with all his heart and is willing to call down fire and death on his antagonists...behavior that reminds me of Presbyterians for some reason!!

Then it occurred to me that the New Testament equivalent of Elijah was John and James "Boanerges" ("sons of thunder") in Mark 3:17/Luke 9:54...brothers who wanted to call down destruction on Samaritans who would not receive Jesus. I guess you could call them the Christian terrorists of the first century, Eh? I wonder if James the brother of Jesus, traditional author of the Book of James, had the Boanerges in mind when he wrote chapter 5?

This morning it dawned on me that the Facebook quiz "What Biblical Character Are You?" came up with this result:
"You are Elijah. You're somewhat of a loner. You prefer to challenge others on your terms. When the confrontation doesn't go your way you may get depressed. The good news is that you have inner strength that few people possess." Yeah, and I'm ready to call down destruction on my antagonists on more than one occasion! Although, I must say that "'Vengeance is Mine' says the Lord" makes me say "OK, You go get 'em and I'll get on with life!" It really is an antidote to a lot of wasted emotional effort, by the way.

So...in 24 years of mowing, I've only requested a weather alteration once while mowing...I needed 15 minutes of dry weather, when it was obvious that a downpour was about to break on me, so I could finish mowing an area, got it, and just made it back to the Shop when the deluge began. Generally speaking, I figure I'll regulate the interior environments of my buildings and let the rest of the planet to "He Who gives rain to one city and withholds it from another" as Amos 4:7 says....you all can request dry weather for social outings as you feel led.
Got umbrellas, firewood, and wienies?

2:116, #420: Handy Things

I was just thinking this morning that one good argument for the Intelligent Creator Theory of everything is the fact that Daddy's palm is the same shape as his Terrible Two's tush for disciplinary action Biblically prescribed.

All those handy dandy little swirls and what nots give you the ability to clutch things, as well as giving law enforcement agencies an almost foolproof way of identifying you so that you're answerable to the authorities as Romans 13:1 indicates should be the case.

Opposable thumbs give you the ability to hitch-hike, tell someone you're in favor or not in favor of their activities with the "thumb's up"/"thumb's down" Caesarian gesture. Hmmm...was Nero's seat with his entourage at the Coliseum known as the Caesarian Section?

If you've got long, slender, gracious digits, they look really cool waving at Grampa to let him know you've heard his cliche numerous times, right Archangel?!!

Palm reading as most people know it is a load of rubbish, but you can tell a lot about a person by his/her hands...callouses indicate manual labor or, if on the tips of fingers, guitar playing, scars indicate injuries that might be work related, clumsiness, or sports related, red or white palms might be lupus indicators, nails can tell calcium related stories with white spots or personality traits from being bitten to the quick/lengthened for attractiveness/neatly trimmed for fastidiousness or personal care.

Knuckles might show rheumatoid arthritis by their misshapen nature, a tendency to punch things if "skinned up" or swollen, or an industrial accident occurance if missing.

Time to go wrap my hands around some lunch.
Got baloney?

2:115, #419: Buzz Word Acronyms

A long time ago someone pointed out that grace could be defined as God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Sometime between then and now, two other acronym's came to my attention: faith is Forsaking All, I Trust Him and joy is Jesus Owns You.

Early Sunday morning I came up with some others that may or may not be worthwhile:

Peace = Perfect Eternity After Calm Earthwalking
Mercy = My Eternal Rigtheousness Comforts You
Truth = Theology Ultimately Refers To Him
Agape = Always Giving, Always Pure Emotions
Love = Living Out Veiled Eternity
Wrath = Willfully Relegating All To Hell
Hope = He Over-abundantly Provides Evidence

Holy stumped me for a while and I'm not sure about my final solution:
His Obedience Legitimizes You

Got others?

2:114, #418 Stonewall, Nessy, and Niccolo

Well, I've just been shooting my mouth off to Friends on Facebook and now have switched to a different gauge shotgun. This is an interesting Day in History...

My Civil War interest...I'm still suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from being in my great grandfather's loins while he was being shelled by Stonewall Jackson's artillery during the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862...reminds me today is the day Old Jack was shot by friendly fire from troops who thought he and his scouting party returning to Confederate lines were some attacking Yankees. He ended up losing his left arm, but it was the pneumonia he developed from an act of kindness several nights earlier...putting his outer covering over Sandy Pendleton to keep him dry during an overnight rainfall...that ushered him into Heaven on Sunday, May 10, 1863. (Aint this a great public domain picture by Kurz and Allison?!!)

Next on my list is the Lock Ness Monster, which wriggled to modern fame on this day in 1933 when the Inverness Courier carried the story of his/her siting. Hey, you skeptics...Nessy Lives! It's even reported in the History Channel This Day in History [http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=6885] that Saint Columba, the Irish Christian missionary to Scotland confronted Nessy in 565 A.D., told him in the name of God to quit attacking some guy, and Nessy (and I would say his descendants) have not attacked anyone since. Think like I think for a minute...there's a Flood, animals living in the waters continue on, Nessy and Mrs. Nessy and their offspring of limited numbers continue on to this day...what's the big deal? The book of Job talks about creatures that are dinosaurs (Behemoth in Job 40:15ff) and fire breathing dragons (Leviathan in Job 41:1ff)...or Nessies!! And you ask why would God create these things and let some live to this day? TO GLORIFY HIMSELF WHEN I POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS TO YOU FLATLINE THINKERS!! ;)

Now, last on this miscellaneous rant list is Niccolo Machiavelli, patron saint of bad guys, who was born on this day in 1469...exactly 500 years before I graduated high school and began my college career as a political science major! His famous work, The Prince, can be summed up in the Grampa Bob Digest (yes, I've actually read the whole thing) as: "Do what you can to get power...do whatever is necessary to keep power!" Thus endeth that lesson for the day. As I said in Facebook today, if Reincarnation is reality, then the herd of demon possessed swine of Mark 5 have come back as theologians and/or New World Order politicians! Oh, I just Wikied an interesting aspect of The Prince. The original title was About Principalities...one of the categories of demonic powers listed in Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) is "principalities"...so maybe Old Nick (one of many nicknames for Satan) Macchiavelli had some external help to construct his famous and very influential book?!! Remember...or learn for the first time..."doctrines of demons" is Paul's phrase for false theologies in 1Timothy 4:1 and the Bible is full of castigations of how "the wicked" gain, hold, and use power.
Well, as Emperor Joseph of "Amadeus" might say, "There it is."