Saturday, November 20, 2010
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Friday, November 19, 2010
Prison
I can honestly say that I have never been to prison and never been inclined to do anything that would put me there. But there has been bondage which is a type of prison.
The gray, dank walls of my cell were built with fear from deep within. The floors were solidly composed of despair. The ceiling was constructed of the finest apathy. Windows were blocked with curtains of depression while matching throw rugs of dreams lost and anxiety lay loosely upon the floor. A coarse black sofa filled with the prickly cactus needles of distrust finished the scene. I stood there clothed in a garment of indifference desiring I don't know what and it did not matter.
That is the kind of prison that requires no outside abuser to torture the pained soul. The walls can only be breached from within by the occupant. The door was never locked. It never mattered that there never was a door, just a simple doorway with a view.
It is difficult to see the view if your back is never turned toward the portal. It helps if someone comes to the doorway and knocks to draw your attention toward the light. Scripture speaks of visiting those in prison. While the reference is most likely toward those in a cell with concrete or stone walls, it could be used for those who are imprisoned by their own fear or desperation or mental state.
That friend you haven't seen in a while, the one who did not speak, where was their mind? Was it off tending to its garden of weeds and choking vines?
You, who were rescued from prison, have you forgotten what put you there and how you escaped? Have you passed on your good fortune or simply folded the memory and pressed it like a flower in a book?
Too often, I forget the ones who need a simple word of encouragement. I forget how deep the well is. I forget the stench of despair and how exhilarating it is when someone called or came by with the sweet incense of kindness.
Don't give up. You are loved. Pass it on.
Shalom. May God's Grace shine abundantly upon you.
The gray, dank walls of my cell were built with fear from deep within. The floors were solidly composed of despair. The ceiling was constructed of the finest apathy. Windows were blocked with curtains of depression while matching throw rugs of dreams lost and anxiety lay loosely upon the floor. A coarse black sofa filled with the prickly cactus needles of distrust finished the scene. I stood there clothed in a garment of indifference desiring I don't know what and it did not matter.
That is the kind of prison that requires no outside abuser to torture the pained soul. The walls can only be breached from within by the occupant. The door was never locked. It never mattered that there never was a door, just a simple doorway with a view.
It is difficult to see the view if your back is never turned toward the portal. It helps if someone comes to the doorway and knocks to draw your attention toward the light. Scripture speaks of visiting those in prison. While the reference is most likely toward those in a cell with concrete or stone walls, it could be used for those who are imprisoned by their own fear or desperation or mental state.
That friend you haven't seen in a while, the one who did not speak, where was their mind? Was it off tending to its garden of weeds and choking vines?
You, who were rescued from prison, have you forgotten what put you there and how you escaped? Have you passed on your good fortune or simply folded the memory and pressed it like a flower in a book?
Too often, I forget the ones who need a simple word of encouragement. I forget how deep the well is. I forget the stench of despair and how exhilarating it is when someone called or came by with the sweet incense of kindness.
Don't give up. You are loved. Pass it on.
Shalom. May God's Grace shine abundantly upon you.
Texting and Chatting
I do neither with one exception. That exception is my son. I will chat with him online.
Chatting and texting have their place. They are convenient and a quick way to convey information. Personally, I need to see who it is I am conversing with. Facial expressions often will tell you more than the spoken word and so much more than the written word.
The written word can be misinterpreted far too easily and just who is that person on the other end? The only text message I have received in the past year was from a friend who texts regularly and I never responded. I was driving at the time and by the time I stopped to see what it was, I was at her house.
I get text messages from my cell phone provider and texts from wrong numbers.
That brings up the other possibility. Just who is that person you are chatting/texting with? Just because it is a familiar number does not mean that you know who is on the other line. I do not chat with strangers or people I have just met online or new friends on Facebook. It's a policy of mine.
There is nothing more frightening than realizing you have been speaking with someone who has just gotten a lot of personal information from you and you really don't know this person. And that was in person.
Chatting online gives one a sense of freedom that between a man and a woman should be reserved for husband and wife. We tend to be more relaxed in front of a screen and say something mildly suggestive that only serves to open doors that should remain closed. The same goes for texting. The same people that would never go to a bar without their spouse or strike up unwarranted conversations at the office with an attractive co-worker will do it easily on the internet and consider it harmless. It is not harmless. It is a pathway to discontent and allows you to talk about things that you should be discussing with your spouse.
Chatting and texting do not use enough words to suit me and the words that are used are a different language of parsed words and right now I don't want to learn a new language.
Chatting and texting have their place. They are convenient and a quick way to convey information. Personally, I need to see who it is I am conversing with. Facial expressions often will tell you more than the spoken word and so much more than the written word.
The written word can be misinterpreted far too easily and just who is that person on the other end? The only text message I have received in the past year was from a friend who texts regularly and I never responded. I was driving at the time and by the time I stopped to see what it was, I was at her house.
I get text messages from my cell phone provider and texts from wrong numbers.
That brings up the other possibility. Just who is that person you are chatting/texting with? Just because it is a familiar number does not mean that you know who is on the other line. I do not chat with strangers or people I have just met online or new friends on Facebook. It's a policy of mine.
There is nothing more frightening than realizing you have been speaking with someone who has just gotten a lot of personal information from you and you really don't know this person. And that was in person.
Chatting online gives one a sense of freedom that between a man and a woman should be reserved for husband and wife. We tend to be more relaxed in front of a screen and say something mildly suggestive that only serves to open doors that should remain closed. The same goes for texting. The same people that would never go to a bar without their spouse or strike up unwarranted conversations at the office with an attractive co-worker will do it easily on the internet and consider it harmless. It is not harmless. It is a pathway to discontent and allows you to talk about things that you should be discussing with your spouse.
Chatting and texting do not use enough words to suit me and the words that are used are a different language of parsed words and right now I don't want to learn a new language.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Evolution Means Humans Should Be Getting Smarter?
All you folks that believe in evolution think we are improving, right? I don't think so. At least not in the United States of America. There may be some small pockets of brilliance out there, but if the government has control of the schools and the teachers are controlled by unions, the majority of the public schools are in deep trouble.
I have a great deal of empathy for teachers. The good ones are dedicated professionals who spend much of their personal time working on their class planning, sometimes tutoring students, talking to parents and spending an unfortunate amount of time doing paperwork for the government. While I agree that there should be uniformity within the school system, I feel that the government is now an intruder in the classroom and it needs to back off.
Children should be learning more at home than they are. Schools cannot and should not be burdened with the total task of teaching. Unfortunately, many parents are ill equipped to handle even teaching their small children the alphabet or how to count to 20. It really is not their fault, but the fault of their great grandparents for allowing the downfall of the public school system to begin in the first place.
If we are getting smarter, we should be doing at least the following:
1. Studying Latin, Greek, French and Spanish by at least age 9
2. Begin mastering a musical instrument
3. By age 14 students should be studying history and science intensely
4. Age 16 students should be entering college where the study of mathematics and other studies as preparation for law school or another profession.
5. Be admitted to the Bar by age 23.
Much of the reason that we are not progressing, has nothing to do with evolution. We, the adults, have made it a point to allow children to be children. Life is so tough out there that they need to have fun while they are still children.
Really? At what point do we cease raising children? This philosophy has created a group of children who never leave home because life is just too tough. We do not need to be raising children. We need to be grooming our offspring for adulthood. When do you teach them to handle money? You teach them as soon as they ask you what it is, which could be age 2 or 3. Start then. They won't be dealing with a profit and loss statement until they get their first lemonade stand.
Insisting that children remain children for as long as possible is just plain asinine. Do you want your puppies and kittens to remain immature for years? Of course not. If you want a good pet, you start training them right away. At least treat your children as well as you treat your pets.
So, why do I think we have fallen way behind?
Many years ago a young man did the following:
1. Studied Latin, Greek and French at age 9, learned to properly ride horses, learned to play the violin,
2. Age 14 studied history and science
3. At the age of 16 attended the College of William and Mary and studied mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy
4. Studied law and was admitted to the bar at age 23
His name was Thomas Jefferson. It was the same Thomas Jefferson that helped draft the Declaration of Independence at age 33 in 1776. That was more than 200 years ago.
If evolution works so well, why are we getting dumber?
I do not believe in evolution of any kind. I believe that God spoke the earth and everything into existence in a state of maturity. In other words, the chicken (a plump, mature chicken) came first, not the egg.
I have a great deal of empathy for teachers. The good ones are dedicated professionals who spend much of their personal time working on their class planning, sometimes tutoring students, talking to parents and spending an unfortunate amount of time doing paperwork for the government. While I agree that there should be uniformity within the school system, I feel that the government is now an intruder in the classroom and it needs to back off.
Children should be learning more at home than they are. Schools cannot and should not be burdened with the total task of teaching. Unfortunately, many parents are ill equipped to handle even teaching their small children the alphabet or how to count to 20. It really is not their fault, but the fault of their great grandparents for allowing the downfall of the public school system to begin in the first place.
If we are getting smarter, we should be doing at least the following:
1. Studying Latin, Greek, French and Spanish by at least age 9
2. Begin mastering a musical instrument
3. By age 14 students should be studying history and science intensely
4. Age 16 students should be entering college where the study of mathematics and other studies as preparation for law school or another profession.
5. Be admitted to the Bar by age 23.
Much of the reason that we are not progressing, has nothing to do with evolution. We, the adults, have made it a point to allow children to be children. Life is so tough out there that they need to have fun while they are still children.
Really? At what point do we cease raising children? This philosophy has created a group of children who never leave home because life is just too tough. We do not need to be raising children. We need to be grooming our offspring for adulthood. When do you teach them to handle money? You teach them as soon as they ask you what it is, which could be age 2 or 3. Start then. They won't be dealing with a profit and loss statement until they get their first lemonade stand.
Insisting that children remain children for as long as possible is just plain asinine. Do you want your puppies and kittens to remain immature for years? Of course not. If you want a good pet, you start training them right away. At least treat your children as well as you treat your pets.
So, why do I think we have fallen way behind?
Many years ago a young man did the following:
1. Studied Latin, Greek and French at age 9, learned to properly ride horses, learned to play the violin,
2. Age 14 studied history and science
3. At the age of 16 attended the College of William and Mary and studied mathematics, metaphysics and philosophy
4. Studied law and was admitted to the bar at age 23
His name was Thomas Jefferson. It was the same Thomas Jefferson that helped draft the Declaration of Independence at age 33 in 1776. That was more than 200 years ago.
If evolution works so well, why are we getting dumber?
I do not believe in evolution of any kind. I believe that God spoke the earth and everything into existence in a state of maturity. In other words, the chicken (a plump, mature chicken) came first, not the egg.
Why I Write
There is much to be said for writing.
There is The Bible that answers questions, creates questions and in spite of humanity has survived centuries in its basic format. It tells stories of historical value. It relates the failings of humanity on a grand scale. It gives the answer to the major question, "Why are we here?"
There are strictly historical writings oftentimes written with a bias to the ruling power.
There are informative books. They teach you how to do anything from digging ditches to building skyscrapers; feed your dog; make home improvements; and anything else you want to do.
Self-help books abound by the millions. Most of which do not help in the long run and are more about the writer helping themselves than trying to help you unless you learn what not to do.
There is poetry, fiction of all sorts and the list goes on. Each person's reason for writing is as varied as humanity itself.
So, I asked myself that question. Why do I write?
Writing is a release for me. It takes me back to when happiness may have been a reality. It takes me to a place where release is possible and if anyone laughs at me or pooh-poohs what I have written, it finally does not matter. I can say the things that I always wanted to say to the people who loved me and the ones who hated me. In the stories, there can be happiness where sadness lived; there can be hope where there was only despair. It is my own little world where I can make things turn out okay even if reality was filled with terror. Now and then my own form of justice is meted out sometimes harshly. Even in the truest of them, the end is in sight. Hope reigns!
If you have ever had the desire to write, make it happen. It is much easier to write anonymously and get instant feed back. The internet has opened your ramblings to a monstrous audience, to anyone, anywhere in the world. Your neighbors next door may not even know you have a desire to write. Someone in San Diego, Saudi Arabia, China, Bermuda, Canada or Mexico may be reading your every word.
There are even on-line courses for learning to write. But, it is not about style or sentence structure or even good spelling as much as being able to convey ideas, passing on information in an understandable way or just touching someone's heart.
I will leave you with this:
May The Lord Bless you and keep you!
WRITE ON!!
There is The Bible that answers questions, creates questions and in spite of humanity has survived centuries in its basic format. It tells stories of historical value. It relates the failings of humanity on a grand scale. It gives the answer to the major question, "Why are we here?"
There are strictly historical writings oftentimes written with a bias to the ruling power.
There are informative books. They teach you how to do anything from digging ditches to building skyscrapers; feed your dog; make home improvements; and anything else you want to do.
Self-help books abound by the millions. Most of which do not help in the long run and are more about the writer helping themselves than trying to help you unless you learn what not to do.
There is poetry, fiction of all sorts and the list goes on. Each person's reason for writing is as varied as humanity itself.
So, I asked myself that question. Why do I write?
Writing is a release for me. It takes me back to when happiness may have been a reality. It takes me to a place where release is possible and if anyone laughs at me or pooh-poohs what I have written, it finally does not matter. I can say the things that I always wanted to say to the people who loved me and the ones who hated me. In the stories, there can be happiness where sadness lived; there can be hope where there was only despair. It is my own little world where I can make things turn out okay even if reality was filled with terror. Now and then my own form of justice is meted out sometimes harshly. Even in the truest of them, the end is in sight. Hope reigns!
If you have ever had the desire to write, make it happen. It is much easier to write anonymously and get instant feed back. The internet has opened your ramblings to a monstrous audience, to anyone, anywhere in the world. Your neighbors next door may not even know you have a desire to write. Someone in San Diego, Saudi Arabia, China, Bermuda, Canada or Mexico may be reading your every word.
There are even on-line courses for learning to write. But, it is not about style or sentence structure or even good spelling as much as being able to convey ideas, passing on information in an understandable way or just touching someone's heart.
I will leave you with this:
May The Lord Bless you and keep you!
WRITE ON!!
I Wanted to Sing
I always wanted to sing. There were times when the dreams of my future were unbearably real, but none of the dreams that I had as a child ever came close to being a reality.
The violin lessons when I was six were interesting, but in school when the lessons stopped, there were no more lessons.
The ballet lessons stopped when the instructor told me at 8 years old that she did not know why I was taking lessons because I was much too tall to be a ballerina.
Then there was singing. I could still sing. I did not need lessons for that. Ah, but according to my step-mother, my talent was not in singing. So, at 12, my singing was not to be. It is difficult to sing your heart out when some unthinking person has cut out your heart and stomped on it.
I painted in oils. I painted portraits. I was pretty good, but I stopped because people, well intentioned people, told me that I would never make a living at it and I needed to find something to make a living with.
I wrote stories, but they were not what anyone wanted to read. I listened to people tell me that if I just changed this or that and made it sound like it wasn't what I wrote, it might be okay.
I was a pretty good cook. I baked cakes for people and was starting to decorate the different than anything that anyone else was doing. People actually liked them, but I had to move and when I did I had to give up my "hobby". I just never got back into it. I moved too much and work stole all my time.
But I could act. And act I did. I learned that if I showed any preference for something; if I let it slip that I liked something, somehow it would be taken from me. So I learned to act. I acted like nothing bothered me.
"Go ahead, do your best. Tear me down. I don't care." was my attitude. I learned to not let anyone know what I really liked to do because I was laughed at. Maybe those people had a point. Maybe I would not have ever been a ballerina. Maybe the violin was not my calling. Maybe I really can't sing. Maybe all those nay-sayers were right. But I sure can act.
There are still times in my life when I think I can sing. I still sing when I am alone. I no longer sing in the choir. I got tired of hearing that the piece I sang was not what they wanted to hear.
I am tired of not doing the things that gave me so much pleasure so many years ago. Those childish desires harmed no one. They simply gave a little pain in the ears or eyes of a few harsh, unthinking, simple minded people.
I will sing another song, if only to the Lord. I may even paint another scene or portrait. I may even learn to play an instrument. It won't matter to any of those people because they are no longer in any position to care.
The moral of this story is:
Don't let someone steal your dream from you. Don't hand them your dream either. Keep your dream alive and Lord Willing, live your dream.
The violin lessons when I was six were interesting, but in school when the lessons stopped, there were no more lessons.
The ballet lessons stopped when the instructor told me at 8 years old that she did not know why I was taking lessons because I was much too tall to be a ballerina.
Then there was singing. I could still sing. I did not need lessons for that. Ah, but according to my step-mother, my talent was not in singing. So, at 12, my singing was not to be. It is difficult to sing your heart out when some unthinking person has cut out your heart and stomped on it.
I painted in oils. I painted portraits. I was pretty good, but I stopped because people, well intentioned people, told me that I would never make a living at it and I needed to find something to make a living with.
I wrote stories, but they were not what anyone wanted to read. I listened to people tell me that if I just changed this or that and made it sound like it wasn't what I wrote, it might be okay.
I was a pretty good cook. I baked cakes for people and was starting to decorate the different than anything that anyone else was doing. People actually liked them, but I had to move and when I did I had to give up my "hobby". I just never got back into it. I moved too much and work stole all my time.
But I could act. And act I did. I learned that if I showed any preference for something; if I let it slip that I liked something, somehow it would be taken from me. So I learned to act. I acted like nothing bothered me.
"Go ahead, do your best. Tear me down. I don't care." was my attitude. I learned to not let anyone know what I really liked to do because I was laughed at. Maybe those people had a point. Maybe I would not have ever been a ballerina. Maybe the violin was not my calling. Maybe I really can't sing. Maybe all those nay-sayers were right. But I sure can act.
There are still times in my life when I think I can sing. I still sing when I am alone. I no longer sing in the choir. I got tired of hearing that the piece I sang was not what they wanted to hear.
I am tired of not doing the things that gave me so much pleasure so many years ago. Those childish desires harmed no one. They simply gave a little pain in the ears or eyes of a few harsh, unthinking, simple minded people.
I will sing another song, if only to the Lord. I may even paint another scene or portrait. I may even learn to play an instrument. It won't matter to any of those people because they are no longer in any position to care.
The moral of this story is:
Don't let someone steal your dream from you. Don't hand them your dream either. Keep your dream alive and Lord Willing, live your dream.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Happy Birthday! to My Husband
Today, Tuesday, November 16, is my husband's birthday.
He loves the Lord and is a child of God.
He is a wonderful husband.
He cooks for me.
He does not use foul language.
He remembers my birthday.
He is thrifty.
He works hard at whatever he does.
He is a bargain hunter.
He loves me.
He is a really good man.
He no longer smokes.
He does not drink.
He likes animals.
He likes yard work.
He is creative.
He likes to build things.
He is handy around the house.
He is helpful.
He is generous.
He is faithful.
He grows great tomatoes.
The list could go on and on, but you understand.
He loves the Lord and is a child of God.
He is a wonderful husband.
He cooks for me.
He does not use foul language.
He remembers my birthday.
He is thrifty.
He works hard at whatever he does.
He is a bargain hunter.
He loves me.
He is a really good man.
He no longer smokes.
He does not drink.
He likes animals.
He likes yard work.
He is creative.
He likes to build things.
He is handy around the house.
He is helpful.
He is generous.
He is faithful.
He grows great tomatoes.
The list could go on and on, but you understand.
Monday, November 15, 2010
ENTITLEMENT
According to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary the meaning of the word is exactly what it sounds like.
And I quote,
And I quote,
Definition of ENTITLEMENT
b : a right to benefits specified especially by law or contract
2 : a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group; also : funds supporting or distributed by such a program
3 : belief that one is deserving of or entitled to certain privileges
Examples of ENTITLEMENT
- my entitlement to a refund
- celebrities who have an arrogant sense of entitlement
- entitlements such as medical aid for the elderly and poor
First Known Use of ENTITLEMENT
1942
End of quote.
Since 1942 we have grown accustomed to being entitled. To what? Our share of the pie? Or, maybe a bigger share of the pie? Something we did not work for? That is more like it. We, us arrogant, celebrated United States citizenry feel we are entitled to someone else's stuff.
Is it just me? Am I the only one seeing that the money we want back does not grow when it gets to Washington DC? Of course I am not the only one who sees it. A variety of people have been screaming about it for years (And YHWH said, "I have 7,000 out there just like you." [loosely translated]). BUT, until the politicians started getting voted out of office, they kept on spending and spending and spending. AND if the people do not maintain due diligence in watching the ones that are in government, it will revert within days and become worse than before.
Instead of the government taking our money and then sending it back, why don't they just leave our paychecks alone and let us keep more of our money? Why don't they just take 10% across the board and leave the rest alone? The state could have 5% or reverse that. The Feds could get 5% and the States could take 10% and take care of its own citizens. They could raise their own pigs and deal with their own pork.
The House, the Senate, the Government Accounting Office and the Office of the President cannot get together to even set up a budget without adding trillions to our debt. So why do we keep voting in charlatans and out of work frauds? How does anyone who has to balance their own budget expect the government to function on diminishing returns? And yes the funds are diminishing because by the time it goes through all those fingers only about 10% of it is left. They still spend 100% and more if they think we aren't paying attention. Often we don't pay attention.
The next time you vote for someone based upon what you are going to get from the government, remember they play "elevator" really well and you will always end up getting the shaft. They keep the car and it is full of our money.
Remember this. We cannot just keep printing money. It cannot go on much longer piling up debt. There will be a straw. The camel's back will break and we will all end up paying in the end.
Father God never intended for us to be ENTITLED to anything from the government.
Science Fiction - a Tool Misused
When I was in high school, my desire was to be a nuclear physicist. I read all the science and science fiction books that were in both the school and public library. What science fiction did for me was give me glimpses of possibilities.
H. G. Wells and others provided a fertile field for my imagination. Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, like so many fiction writers, were in fact serious scientists. Robert A. Heinlein worked in aeronautical engineering and had taken graduate classes in physics and mathematics. His desire was to be involved in politics, but I believe that his far left leanings prevented serious accomplishments in that area at that time.
Because the majority of science fiction does have a basis in fact (if only a small one), it has the ability to not only to alter one's view of science but of social mores as well. It is within this genre that all types of societies and odd social structures can be put forth as viable alternatives to our current reality.
I preferred reading was science that was fictionalized and not what is now fantasy and horror. Nuclear physics, which is primarily dedicated to studying the building blocks and interactions of the atomic nuclei, was what piqued my interest at an early age. Rocket fuel, the intense power released by splitting atoms and the sun itself fascinated me and my reading fueled my already open imagination. MIT was what I aspired to but I never got close.
I read voraciously and would often become "lost" in the story. I wanted to be in the lab making discoveries that would give us the ability to travel to distant planets. I wanted to be in that rocket ship that left earth never to return. It was my escape. I was the ship that sang. I was deterred by the cost and was told that nuclear physics was not worth spending money on when I would probably wind up married with children and all that education would be wasted.
Instead, I got swept away with the aspect of social change. Far from reaching to the stars, I remained not only earth bound but bound by the flesh and those desires.
Much of the science fiction was filled with the lack of marriage. The futuristic story lines were formulated to make marriage seem obsolete. Inter-species relationships were growing while families were only necessary if that was chosen as a way of life and then only as a social structure for colonization of some other world. Marriage became an archaic requirement of a past society.
Ridding society of marriage was just the beginning. The choice of partners was now open to whatever was acceptable in one's own eyes. Like a moth laying eggs on butter bean plants or a green horned tomato worm, the seeds of corruption were planted in abundance and proceeded to eat away at the moral infrastructure of our society. Like a brush fire, the cancer of moral disruption consumed America.
Science fiction was not totally responsible for the decline of morals in America. It was just one of the many factors that made it easy for an influx of social dis-ease. It was one of the prominent peddlers of reasons to dismiss the idea of God. When God was portrayed it was simply the way a social structure was defined and a crutch for simple ignorant cultures to define more advanced aliens. The one aspect of God and all of Creation that science fiction cannot effectively portray is creation. Stories speak of advanced races planting civilizations on various planets, but they never say where the planters come from.
Perhaps if I had grown up with Christian parents and a fierce knowledge of who I was in relationship to God, I would not have been so mislead by the fascination of science fiction. Science is not the antithesis Christianity but, as has been discovered, science actually supports Christianity. The Bible in all its wonder and knowledge knew that the earth was round before scientific discoveries proved it so.
H. G. Wells and others provided a fertile field for my imagination. Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, like so many fiction writers, were in fact serious scientists. Robert A. Heinlein worked in aeronautical engineering and had taken graduate classes in physics and mathematics. His desire was to be involved in politics, but I believe that his far left leanings prevented serious accomplishments in that area at that time.
Because the majority of science fiction does have a basis in fact (if only a small one), it has the ability to not only to alter one's view of science but of social mores as well. It is within this genre that all types of societies and odd social structures can be put forth as viable alternatives to our current reality.
I preferred reading was science that was fictionalized and not what is now fantasy and horror. Nuclear physics, which is primarily dedicated to studying the building blocks and interactions of the atomic nuclei, was what piqued my interest at an early age. Rocket fuel, the intense power released by splitting atoms and the sun itself fascinated me and my reading fueled my already open imagination. MIT was what I aspired to but I never got close.
I read voraciously and would often become "lost" in the story. I wanted to be in the lab making discoveries that would give us the ability to travel to distant planets. I wanted to be in that rocket ship that left earth never to return. It was my escape. I was the ship that sang. I was deterred by the cost and was told that nuclear physics was not worth spending money on when I would probably wind up married with children and all that education would be wasted.
Instead, I got swept away with the aspect of social change. Far from reaching to the stars, I remained not only earth bound but bound by the flesh and those desires.
Much of the science fiction was filled with the lack of marriage. The futuristic story lines were formulated to make marriage seem obsolete. Inter-species relationships were growing while families were only necessary if that was chosen as a way of life and then only as a social structure for colonization of some other world. Marriage became an archaic requirement of a past society.
Ridding society of marriage was just the beginning. The choice of partners was now open to whatever was acceptable in one's own eyes. Like a moth laying eggs on butter bean plants or a green horned tomato worm, the seeds of corruption were planted in abundance and proceeded to eat away at the moral infrastructure of our society. Like a brush fire, the cancer of moral disruption consumed America.
Science fiction was not totally responsible for the decline of morals in America. It was just one of the many factors that made it easy for an influx of social dis-ease. It was one of the prominent peddlers of reasons to dismiss the idea of God. When God was portrayed it was simply the way a social structure was defined and a crutch for simple ignorant cultures to define more advanced aliens. The one aspect of God and all of Creation that science fiction cannot effectively portray is creation. Stories speak of advanced races planting civilizations on various planets, but they never say where the planters come from.
Perhaps if I had grown up with Christian parents and a fierce knowledge of who I was in relationship to God, I would not have been so mislead by the fascination of science fiction. Science is not the antithesis Christianity but, as has been discovered, science actually supports Christianity. The Bible in all its wonder and knowledge knew that the earth was round before scientific discoveries proved it so.
Friendship is an Odd Thing
Friends are what you have left when everything else is gone. Too many so-called "friends" are there when the times are good and you are easy to get along with. Let something happen and you see them fall by the wayside.
If you get sick with something like cancer or some other dread disease, they still talk to you but they really do not know what to say. That is understandable. I have had friends with terminal illness and what I have found is you ask them what is okay to talk about. People who are dying often want to talk, but others around them find the subject disturbing. They do not want to consider the fact that they will have to say good-bye.
Divorce is a friend dividing experience as well. When you get a divorce, you know which ones will never speak to you again for fear of offending your ex. Then there are the ones you wish would go away because they keep bringing the ex-spouse into the picture trying to "fix" it. There are friends that you will miss because they felt they had to choose sides. There are the others that dumped you both and will seldom speak to either of you.
It really does not matter how long you have known someone. That is the peculiar thing about friendship. You can form close ties very quickly and some will last for years. With any good friendship, you can pick up where you left off in spite of distance or time.
A true friend can tell you when you are wrong in spite of your anger. They will tell you when your choice of attire really is not becoming to you. They will tell you to apologize to your spouse. They will not talk about you behind your back unless they are arranging a surprise party. They remember your birthday. They send you pictures of their family. They call you from time to time. They are there when everyone else has gone because the situation is too difficult.
There are those times when you leave a job and you are cut off from all of your former co-workers. Suddenly, all those people that you talked with everyday, the ones that you shared your life with have abruptly become uncommunicative. Those chats you had in the hall are no more. The arms that gave you comfort when there was a death in the family are gone. The ones that you gave a word of encouragement to no longer respond to calls and emails. No one comes to you with questions. With all but two, it is like you never worked there. It appears that you have made so little positive impact that it might have been just as well that you had never been there.
Your importance to the company was brought to zero in a heartbeat and it appears that no one cared. Any attempt at some sort of affirmation is met with silence. What you thought was a vital contribution has been determined to be a waste of company resources and of no importance to anyone. You helped no one. You left no positive influence upon anyone. No one misses you and no one cares that you are gone.
Your life, once dependent upon the capriciousness of an ill-tempered boss and his minions, now needs to be redefined. Your affirmation must no longer be based upon "a job well done" or what you can do to make sure things at the office run smoothly. It no longer matters to any of them, nor should it to you. Unfortunately, to you, it still does. There is that part of you that would like to think that in 15 years you were able to contribute something meaningful and lasting to an apparently ungrateful company.
The sad fact is that you should never have given that much of yourself to the job anyway. It only provided an avenue for you to be taken advantage of and thrown away like so much shredded paper. The job thrived at the expense of your family and your own health.
The supposed friendships were nothing more than job-related. It is time to move on and put all that behind you. If you were the unfortunate one who actually thought any of those friendships would survive leaving, my prayers are with you. It is a painful process to know you spent so much time with people who never really cared beyond asking you about your weekend.
Next time, spend that time with The Lord. He really does care. HE is the Friend who never leaves you.
If you get sick with something like cancer or some other dread disease, they still talk to you but they really do not know what to say. That is understandable. I have had friends with terminal illness and what I have found is you ask them what is okay to talk about. People who are dying often want to talk, but others around them find the subject disturbing. They do not want to consider the fact that they will have to say good-bye.
Divorce is a friend dividing experience as well. When you get a divorce, you know which ones will never speak to you again for fear of offending your ex. Then there are the ones you wish would go away because they keep bringing the ex-spouse into the picture trying to "fix" it. There are friends that you will miss because they felt they had to choose sides. There are the others that dumped you both and will seldom speak to either of you.
It really does not matter how long you have known someone. That is the peculiar thing about friendship. You can form close ties very quickly and some will last for years. With any good friendship, you can pick up where you left off in spite of distance or time.
A true friend can tell you when you are wrong in spite of your anger. They will tell you when your choice of attire really is not becoming to you. They will tell you to apologize to your spouse. They will not talk about you behind your back unless they are arranging a surprise party. They remember your birthday. They send you pictures of their family. They call you from time to time. They are there when everyone else has gone because the situation is too difficult.
There are those times when you leave a job and you are cut off from all of your former co-workers. Suddenly, all those people that you talked with everyday, the ones that you shared your life with have abruptly become uncommunicative. Those chats you had in the hall are no more. The arms that gave you comfort when there was a death in the family are gone. The ones that you gave a word of encouragement to no longer respond to calls and emails. No one comes to you with questions. With all but two, it is like you never worked there. It appears that you have made so little positive impact that it might have been just as well that you had never been there.
Your importance to the company was brought to zero in a heartbeat and it appears that no one cared. Any attempt at some sort of affirmation is met with silence. What you thought was a vital contribution has been determined to be a waste of company resources and of no importance to anyone. You helped no one. You left no positive influence upon anyone. No one misses you and no one cares that you are gone.
Your life, once dependent upon the capriciousness of an ill-tempered boss and his minions, now needs to be redefined. Your affirmation must no longer be based upon "a job well done" or what you can do to make sure things at the office run smoothly. It no longer matters to any of them, nor should it to you. Unfortunately, to you, it still does. There is that part of you that would like to think that in 15 years you were able to contribute something meaningful and lasting to an apparently ungrateful company.
The sad fact is that you should never have given that much of yourself to the job anyway. It only provided an avenue for you to be taken advantage of and thrown away like so much shredded paper. The job thrived at the expense of your family and your own health.
The supposed friendships were nothing more than job-related. It is time to move on and put all that behind you. If you were the unfortunate one who actually thought any of those friendships would survive leaving, my prayers are with you. It is a painful process to know you spent so much time with people who never really cared beyond asking you about your weekend.
Next time, spend that time with The Lord. He really does care. HE is the Friend who never leaves you.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Why Women Do Not Need to Teach a Man
We have a long hair chihuahua named Raymond. He should not weigh more than 9 pounds. About 18 months ago, Raymond started having difficulty breathing. It started during the night and gradually it became constant. He had trouble getting up and down steps. He got to the point where he was having problems even walking,
I suspected what the problem was with the little dog. The dog was suffering from hip dysplasia and he was fat. So, in all my wisdom, I told my husband what the dog's problem was. He did think that Raymond weighed a little too much but he did not believe that I knew what I was talking about. I have learned that pressing the issue is worthless. All we end up doing when I chose that route is bickering.
I waited and sure enough, my husband got concerned about Raymond's health and took him to a new male veterinarian. After charging a total of more than a week's pay, the veterinarian told my husband and I that Raymond was 50% heavier than he should be. He had hip dysplasia which was being aggravated by the excess weight. He weighed 14 pounds and should have weighed no more than 9 pounds. The veterinarian prescribed a strict diet with NO treats and pain medication for a short time for the hip pain.
The dog now weighs 9 pounds. He runs and plays like he did before the weight. The only thing that I could not do is prescribe the correct dog food. It took 3 months to get that weight down.
Then there is the garden. I do natural organic style of gardening while my husband gets out the tractor, the tiller and any other machinery plus the 13-13-13 fertilizer. I build up the soil with stuff like humus, sawdust and compost. My garden has always been small and quite productive. His is productive but takes a lot of effort.
One day a man stopped by and told my husband about organic gardening and he has been using more organic methods ever since.
There are many other examples but I really think these 2 are sufficient to make the point. I have heard my husband talk to other men and say how intelligent I am so, why does he not follow my advice?
I think it is this way. Ever since Eve gave Adam the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, men have been inclined to turn a deaf ear to what a woman says. As women, there is nothing that we can do about it except have patience, keep our advice to ourselves (unless they ask for it) and pray for those men in our lives.
Ladies, it goes against everything that woman's liberation has told us and everything that worldly society says about a woman's place as well as defying all advertising, but we need to let men be men and encourage them, not nag them. Men need to be the head of the house because that is their place in life. Many men have abdicated that position because women are so Hell bent upon being the head of everything. They just don't want to wage that battle.
I know how difficult it is to stand by and watch while my husband leads because until this marriage I was in charge and emasculated each ex. I do know what to do wrong. God showed me the right way to go and this marriage has lasted almost 20 years. That is how to succeed. Let God show the proper way to go. Let Him lead so you both can follow a proper leader. It is not the easiest way but it is the right way. And God will give you the strength to remain silent when necessary.
I suspected what the problem was with the little dog. The dog was suffering from hip dysplasia and he was fat. So, in all my wisdom, I told my husband what the dog's problem was. He did think that Raymond weighed a little too much but he did not believe that I knew what I was talking about. I have learned that pressing the issue is worthless. All we end up doing when I chose that route is bickering.
I waited and sure enough, my husband got concerned about Raymond's health and took him to a new male veterinarian. After charging a total of more than a week's pay, the veterinarian told my husband and I that Raymond was 50% heavier than he should be. He had hip dysplasia which was being aggravated by the excess weight. He weighed 14 pounds and should have weighed no more than 9 pounds. The veterinarian prescribed a strict diet with NO treats and pain medication for a short time for the hip pain.
The dog now weighs 9 pounds. He runs and plays like he did before the weight. The only thing that I could not do is prescribe the correct dog food. It took 3 months to get that weight down.
Then there is the garden. I do natural organic style of gardening while my husband gets out the tractor, the tiller and any other machinery plus the 13-13-13 fertilizer. I build up the soil with stuff like humus, sawdust and compost. My garden has always been small and quite productive. His is productive but takes a lot of effort.
One day a man stopped by and told my husband about organic gardening and he has been using more organic methods ever since.
There are many other examples but I really think these 2 are sufficient to make the point. I have heard my husband talk to other men and say how intelligent I am so, why does he not follow my advice?
I think it is this way. Ever since Eve gave Adam the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, men have been inclined to turn a deaf ear to what a woman says. As women, there is nothing that we can do about it except have patience, keep our advice to ourselves (unless they ask for it) and pray for those men in our lives.
Ladies, it goes against everything that woman's liberation has told us and everything that worldly society says about a woman's place as well as defying all advertising, but we need to let men be men and encourage them, not nag them. Men need to be the head of the house because that is their place in life. Many men have abdicated that position because women are so Hell bent upon being the head of everything. They just don't want to wage that battle.
I know how difficult it is to stand by and watch while my husband leads because until this marriage I was in charge and emasculated each ex. I do know what to do wrong. God showed me the right way to go and this marriage has lasted almost 20 years. That is how to succeed. Let God show the proper way to go. Let Him lead so you both can follow a proper leader. It is not the easiest way but it is the right way. And God will give you the strength to remain silent when necessary.
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