GPS is recognized as the acronym for Global Positioning System, an amazing gridwork of 31 functioning satellites that allow very accurate position and time information for anyone with a receiver.
gps is a new acronym I have been thinking about that orients the user to true evaluation of the source of good. gps stands for gracious providential serendipity. Grace is unmerited favor, or as I like to say, “getting what you don’t deserve”, compared to mercy, which is “not getting what you do deserve.” Providence is divine guidance and provision. Serendipity is “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for” (1) So, unmerited guidance or provision in an area unsought for is gps. God knows our need and desire and frequently graciously provides for us apart from our knowledge.
Several times recently I have been in utter need of knowledge and discernment regarding what I was doing. I prayed for clear answers. In the sense of seeking an answer, the guidance was definitely sought for, but the answer was several times surprising in content, delivery, and source. God is indeed gracious; He is sovereign; He has all knowledge and all power. I am constantly in need of His guidance but especially cognizant at the moment of that fact with significant decisions on the near horizon. I need some good gps signals.
As I stood praying with several brothers and sisters after service, a young sister prayed with fervor and striking wisdom for one so young. The latter is largely the result of her good Christian heritage, parents and grandparents. The former is because she “owned her faith”, as her grandmother said. It was not just her parents’ faith, it is hers.
Suddenly, an analogy flashed across my mind.
Young Christians (specifically, I mean young in Christ, young in the faith) are like Igneous rocks, newly formed and fiery, that is, passionate about their faith and progress in it.
Mature Christians are more to be likened to Metamorphic rocks, who through heat and pressure of this life are become purifying factors making the believer hardened and weather resistant to the wiles of the devil, the world, and the flesh.
Carnal and Disobedient Christians are similar to Sedimentary rocks, who once were living stones, but now have retreated to being mere history lessons of past events recorded in layers of deposition or fossils of mineralized bones of past failures of belief.
The analogy can quickly breakdown (erode) if pushed too far, particularly with inclusion of rock cycle transition. However, I think one transition in the rock cycle that should encourage us in this analogy is that even Sedimentary rocks can be metamorphised into more stable forms, just as Carnal and Disobedient Christians may repent and pursue maturity. Then the history lesson of their sediments is both a precautionary tale and a picture of God’s grace in bringing us to completion.
Soon after my last blog entry (Transitions), I had a realization about my thinking processes. See if this assertion rings true for you. I frequently think more clearly and find more insight into a subject if I am not directly focused on it. It seems that when I set to determine a course of action, develop and idea or conviction, or gain deeper understanding, I get bogged down in my thinking processes or research when I concentrate on it. If I, instead, look at it as if with peripheral vision, listening to others discuss the idea, having previously considered the subject, allowing rather than pushing my mental wheels to spin and weave a coherent answer or summary, I think and formulate more clearly. If you carefully read, I do not mean haphazardly blab opinionated platitudes, but rather having previously considered the subject and raised it to the light of Scripture. In fact, it is at the moment of so raising it by myself or others to the light of Scripture that I seem to make connections. And connections are the stuff of analysis leading to synthesis.
This is the first day in more than a week that I have been motivated to think. My wife and I have COVID, identified Wednesday morning but probably resident within us for 3 or 4 days before that. The Wednesday before we had been tested because we were sick. I had a bacterial sinus infection and my wife had a non-COVID viral infection. I had heard that these associated bacterial infections were common, and I think it is the worse part of my sickness and symptoms.
Being nearly 62, but in relatively good health, the thing that has surprised me the most is how this disease zapped my motivation. I am highly motivated, though not Type A Business motivated. If there is something that I want to do or see that I need to do, I usually spend inordinate amounts of mental and physical energy accomplishing the task. But several days ago I was lying in bed and managed only one coherent thought. I was only motivated to do two things: breath and lay down. Sleep followed for 15 to 16 hours a day, but when I had to get up it was with much labor and the first thing that I wanted to do was lay down again. I certainly did not want to eat and even small amounts of food nauseated me. I didn’t want to start a fire, though I managed to twice in every 24 hours. I think that I did that for my wife, though it may have brought me significant benefit. I was forced to be upright, take on bracing fresh air, exert myself to carry in two loads of wood, and remain in front of the stove long enough for it to heat up so that I could close the damper. Then I went and lay down again and promptly fell asleep.
I have began to reflect on whether this is the sickest that I have ever been. The answer is a definite “no”. I will not recount my numerous sicknesses over 62 years, but I will quickly relate what seemed like the most life threatening sickness at the time. When I was in the 10th grade, which would be the winter of 1976, I came down with a flu that had me in bed for a week. I had a fever of 104 degrees for 4 days. The only thought I can remember from that time was that my mother seemed worried in such a way that she wasn’t sure that I was going to survive. Besides being massively behind in school, the worse problem was that it reduced me to a literal 90 pound weakling. When I got back to school, I had difficulty walking up stairs. I waited for the bus to go home out by the double doors to the weight room. The football players were in Spring training. At first I watched, but slowly I began to lift a few weights. Many of the athletes were my friends and seemed pleased that I was willing to try their strong suit. In a year and a half I went from being the weakest I ever was to probably the second strongest (must be a story for another day). About half way through that period of time, the basketball coach caught me lifting weights. I’m sure all kinds of liability specters danced before his eyes. A combination of much explanation, pleading, and his knowledge that I was an honorable student and person caused him to allow me to continue with restrictions, the most of which I was already following anyway.
Well, I have made it further mentally that I expected at first sitting, so I think that I will just go take a nap.
The atmosphere has always fascinated me. As I sat in the sunshine eating lunch the other day, I noticed the contrast of deep blue to the pine needles of the surrounding pencil straight conifers surrounding the house. A few moments later as I relished my lunch and the opportunity to sit down in the midst of a day of labor, I saw a soaring bird up very high. It appeared black but with no gray wing feathers, which would have identified it has a Turkey Vulture. It could have been a Black Vulture, Golden Eagle, or Raven, though the latter is unlikely that far from the mountains. It wasn’t an Osprey because the wings were too broad. Next I spied a commercial jet very high en route to some far away city. I started. I knew that the deep blue meant low humidity, but here was an airliner with no contrail whatsoever. I made comment to my work partner, and he replied by reminding me we were under a severe fire hazard warning and that Pilot Mountain was even now burning.
For all our efforts to insulate ourselves from the changes and extremes of the atmosphere, we still are waylaid by its sudden and violent outbursts and subtle intensities. Low humidity is certainly the latter of the two, quite enjoyable for the blue skies and warm afternoons but endangering our forests and sometimes homes with the potentialities of dryness.
California is an example where this subtlety all too often becomes an intense extreme. The Chaparral Climate* there is generally dry with rainfall ranging from 10 to 17 inches of rain annually. Most of the moisture falls in the winter, causing the summers to be extremely dry. If that were reversed and the rainfall was in the summer, fires would probably not be a serious problem there. But the shifting ocean current, which is determined by the tilt of the Earth and therefore the Sun exposure, controls when it is wet and dry and there isn’t really a climate with limited rainfall and wet summers. A little less winter moisture than usual and wildfires abound.
I am so thankful for the temperate climate in which I reside. The weather and the woods are most usually friendly with just enough change to draw one’s attention to changing seasons and weather patterns.
Though I bring up these details in retrospect, as I concluded my lunch on that day, I decided to forego the cost/benefit analysis of dry weather and enjoy the day while I labored on. Solomon agreed: “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.” Ecclesiastes 5:18
I am thankful for awareness to perceive the small little wonders that God has placed in my path each day. As Anne of Green Gables said that there is so much “scope for imagination.” But these wonders aren’t pretend. They are real, interesting, and point up. Check out but a few at “Random Wonders“.
Many a parent will recognize the title of this blog as a title of a children’s book. I think that I should write one titled “Real, Pretend, Alive, and Inanimate”. Yeah, I know, I would have to say “Not Alive” for a children’s book title, but the idea is that young, concrete-thinking children have difficulty differentiating these concepts, and I’m not really sure I could help them, so it’s just an idea. That is not t he purpose of my entry, so I regress.
While my daughter and family were in town one weekend recently, all of us were in the kitchen at one moment. This little family gathering got turned upside down when a critter that belongs outside came inside. I was talking to my wife while we stood at the counter when she shrieked and said that a critter, possibly a possum had just run past her and under the hutch. Now she reminded me that a few moments later that I should not doubt my wife, but I was as surprised by the idea as she was by the critter. I bent down and peered under the hutch to see a baby o’possum frightened and then running over under the dining table. I ran downstairs for a container, and thankfully for the purposes of observation, grabbed a clear bowl. The next time that I saw it moving I clamped the bowl over it. Everyone was fascinated for a look and curious how in the world it got into the house. A few days later while in the basement, I observed that the dryer vent line was knocked off of the exit point through the external wall. I went outside to find the plastic grating over the end of the vent pipe fallen off. Evidently, the little varmit had run into the pipe and somehow dislodged the pipe from the wall, probably when he fell the down the ~7 vertical feet of the pipe. He was happy to be outside, inside his own habitat, right-side up.
Some of what I say here is trivial and mundane. Other things are substantive and worthy of record for posterity. Since 2007 this blog site has been a journal of sorts* for what I was doing and learning and thinking. And I know that some few people have read old blog entries because the metrics reveal that they have. In fact, two different people read through many of my old entries recently because every time I would get on the site the “Stats” would reveal one view of 3 to 6 entries, frequently in chronological order. I have a desire to share my thoughts, even if it is only with myself, but I have a greater desire for someone to understand the Gospel of Jesus through what I share here.
So, why the title, “What’s Next?” If you read my last entry, then you will know that I cut it short because some photos would not upload. It turns out that I have reached the 3 GB storage of the site. Now there are several simple solutions. One is to upgrade, but that is more than double of what I pay now. It is a reasonable price, but not one I feel settled about paying with all of the bills right now. A second option is to stop blogging, too much time on electronic media and all that, but this is certainly not mindless surfing the web. In fact, it might even be a good therapy for an aging brain to stay engaged. And there is the fact that I enjoy it. The content must not be too exciting because I get few comments, but I hope it makes some people think about and dwell on what “is true… honorable… right… pure… lovely… of good repute… any excellence… worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). Thirdly, I could delete earlier entries to make room for new ones. This is a bitter sweet option for me. I do go back and read entries occasionally, especially to prepare for new ones. But even more so, when talking to someone, I will refer them to a previous entry for more context or further thought. And this may be just the thing that I do. But what do I delete? Do I pick a category, say “Poems” for example, and wipe the blog of all poems? Or do I pick and choose less “useful” or “striking” entries? Or perhaps I just trim off entries as space for the next one requires.
As I said, I don’t get many comments, but I’m going to ask anyway. What do you think? Which option should I go with? If I trim the entries, which and how should I go about it? What do you think? Really, I’d like to know. I have a silly little entry waiting in drafts, but because it would include one picture, I can’t upload it. And I will run out space for words soon…………..
*I feel like a “real” journal would include the good with the bad. I have shared some struggles, but for the most part people don’t really want to hear what you are struggling with, but what you are excited about and learning about. As I commented to a friend on FB recently, “Life is good because God is good, but it is difficult at times.” As the subtitle of this blog reminds me, “Pointing to One who… sustains me.” He has done that and blessed me in good times and difficult times. He is good.
“1: extremely charming or appealing” [examples:] an adorable child, an adorable cottage 2: worthy of adoration or veneration” (1,2)
Notice that the charming definition comes before the adoration one. I assume that this preference is based on the amount of usage in the English language. Interestingly, the etymology (3) of adorable and its base word, adore, is based entirely in worship of God. To find one’s spouse or child or anything adorable is secondary and found arising in language 3 centuries later. So, it makes sense that the definition of adore reflects this origin:
“1: to worship or honor as a deity or as divine 2: to regard with loving admiration and devotion [example:] He adored his wife. 3: to be very fond of [example:] adores pecan pie” (4)
More than likely this order of definition is also based on usage. In present culture, I dare say that you have heard the word adorable in its primary use more than adore in its primary use. With this in mind, consider that it is reasonable that I was struck anew with the following phrase from the hymn, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”:
“Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight.”
Now you may wonder what the purpose of my introduction is. Obviously, this sentence is talking about God. But I didn’t have the definitions and preferences of use in mind at the time, just the cultural tendency to think of adorable, for example, adorable grandchildren (5).
But then I thought, “Wait, these angels believe God is adorable, that is, lovable, beautiful, worthy of veneration and devotion.” And they do not worship Him out of compulsion or duty, afterall 1/3 refused to and became demons (6). No, they veil their sight, for though they are powerful and beautiful and pure beings among whom humans faint and tremble, their power and beauty and purity is trivial compared to God’s. Are they ashamed to look upon Him? Probably not, since they are pure. But He is so holy, so other, and so glorious, so heavy, and so pure, so full of light. They adore Him because He is worthy and they want to, are privileged to. That will be heaven, worshiping before Him because He has enabled me to and with a pure heart I will want to and it will be blissful.
Caution: The following content is an extended metaphor and not resonate with concrete, literal thinkers.
Have you ever tapped on various boards and felt their difference in resonance, ring, or bounce. Have you ever done it on rotten wood or a wood used for instruments like spruce? Have you ever tapped on a flake of rock that may be loose and heard it resound? Certain cave formations are good for this. (1) Upper Sheep Cave in Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness is particularly good for resonance. If you walk back into it several hundred yards to where the ceiling lowers and the passage narrows to less than arms’ length, you can sing a very quiet low note and hit the resonant frequency and it booms.
It may seem odd upon consideration that the word sound, which we most frequently associate with vibrations in noise, song, or speech, also means “in good condition; not damaged, injured, or diseased.” (2) The connection, I believe, comes through the resonant sound (amplified “resounding”) made by various materials when they are vibrated. A doctor will tap on a person’s chest and listen for a certain quality of thug that indicates the lungs are sound, that is, healthy. “Soundness is “the state of being in good condition; robustness” and “the quality of being based on valid reason or good judgment.”
Concerning reason and judgment, particularly in science or a court of law, it is necessary for acceptance of an evidence or hypothesis. We say that it sounds reasonable. Sound here is not merely that we hear vibrations. Rather, we have sounded it by tapping on it to see that it is of a quality resonance, that is, we have compared the thought to what is considered to be correct and logical thinking and have concluded that it is.
So, with what does inward soundness resonate? It resounds with integrity, that quality of internal consistency where there are no voids or rotten, soft spots of dishonesty. ” “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9″ There is no human 100% sound all the way through, because we are sinners both by nature and by practice. (3) However, we may be and increase in soundness given and taught by the Holy Spirit through consistent deeds that match our proclaimed ideals.
As areas of sinful tendency and practice are revealed, the person of inward soundness, spiritual integrity, allows and participates in the Holy Spirit cleansing his/her inward parts and outward practice.
I want to resonate with the fruits of the Spirit, resound with the Gospel message, reverberate with compassion, proceed with sound thinking and good judgement. I am not there yet. My core still has pockets of rottenness that deaden the echo of God’s glory that should sound forth from my heart. God is gracious with those instruments He is shaping and polishing and tuning. I will one day resound with the melody He plays and conveys to my spirit. Until then and as I grow, may I “praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals” (Psalm 150:5) of life and speech and thought.
I don’t mean stalagtites and stalagmites because that is destructive to their ability to continue growing since it introduces skin oils that stop up the water channels.
“For as in Adam all die, so also inChrist all will be made alive.” I Corinthians 15:22 As federal head, we all receive a sin nature from our father, Adam. Then we choose as we will, which means sinning: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
I may have broken a record yesterday, if such records could be accurately recorded.
In a 24 hour period of time, I lost a truck key, and locked a truck and car key in my truck.
Have you ever been so involved, so intense, so overwhelmed that you finally say, “I can’t do this anymore or something is going to give.” As they say, I have “been there and done that”.
Well, I had a single key in my pocket as I worked. All I can figure out is that it was drug out onto the ground when I pulled something else out of the pocket. It goes without saying that I looked and looked. It may show up yet. The person for whom I was working was not home and I couldn’t think of anyone else who could pick me up or who it would not tremendously inconvenience to do so. So, I walked home in the dark. The next morning I drove the car with my wife’s spare truck key and car key. I worked for awhile and then drove the truck to Lowes. I sat in the parking lot, making a list of what materials I needed. The list was more lengthy than I anticipated. I promptly slid off of the seat, locked and slammed the door, immediately remembering my keys, both truck and car, were on the seat. I’m down two truck keys at this point. During COVID, Public Safety and Sheriff’s Department will not open cars unless there is a child or a pet locked inside. I don’t blame them. I imagine they would need a full time Officer of the Door just to take care of this mishap. The one locksmith company I called “no longer has a professional in your area”. Then I remembered that I had once had a second spare key. I called my son, knowing it meant an hour of driving to and from and between. He was good-natured about it and only lightly razzed me about it. I couldn’t find the spare key at home. He did. Then he took me to the car to drive it home and then back to Lowes to fetch my truck.
So much for a highly profitable and efficient workday when you take a 2 1/2 hour lunch break to gain access to your vehicles. Actually, given the mental distraction of the events, it was amazing that it was that short of time. And yes, I have put into place several safeguards to prevent that from happening again, but it seems like that there are always situations that can overcome any pre-planning and preparation one may muster. Well, I didn’t go off. I just sighed and prayed, but I can’t say I laughed about it. Maybe I will later.
I share a random day in my little town. Actually, the following pictures are a composite of several days. I like to take walks in my neighborhood. It’s my constitutional, a time to think and decompress, and I always look for something new, be it ever so small.
I went out early to go to a jobsite. The Eastern sky was aflame.
After work I went for a walk. The head welder at a nearby muffler shop finds time for more creative uses of his talents than muffling exhaust. A quick Google search in images informs me that other people are doing this kind of thing, but I see some real creativity in these “Tin Man” models. This lady, out for the day shopping, was the welder’s first attempt.
Sponge Bob and friends came next. The color really adds something to the art.
My favorite part of the boy is his skateboard, which I think is made from a catalytic converter.
The wry grin, copper corded beard, and fretless electric guitar are quite the sight. The alien looks like something straight out of Star Wars. I like his manifold pants.
Brenda the Good Witch or the Wicked Witch of the West?
Rudolph parked in the corner for next season.
Simple decorations for the Advent Season are the most appealing to me.
Cascade Park is a quiet little piece of woods in the middle of town. Different seasons, temperatures, and flow make it worth coming to see many times over. It is a good urban space to take first time visitors to when you go for a short walk.
Each type of tree has its own form of crown, which if not disturbed by trimming reveals the species. Pitch Pine is a well shaped tree.
Southern Magnolia was originally only native to the Gulf Coastal Plain. Now it is an ornamental all over the South. Since it can live and compete successfully in all of the growth zones, why didn’t it? I suggest it is evidence that the period since the Flood has not been so long. Starting from some few plants it spread over the deep South but didn’t make it any further in the time allotted. It is easy to see why Dogwood is an understory tree. They don’t get much larger than the one pictured.
Oaks trees are ubiquitous in this part of the country. But which of the 15 likely varieties is this treeform? It certainly is of the redoak rather than whiteoak grouping. It is quite large with a spread crown so it is likely Southern Red Oak, Black Oak, or Northern Red Oak.
I took this picture for three reasons. Firstly, you can see that the hour is past midday and the low angle winter sun never shown on the heldover snow. Secondly, the front porch canopy is unique and nice. Thirdly, the old fashion window awnings are a Southern touch to keep out the hot summer sun.
Long may it fly and what it symbolizes stand. “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.” Thomas Jefferson
In order to highlight our town’s diversity, the local business commissioned this mural on the side of the local climbing gym. I shows a very Latin American woman in a very Western North Carolina habitat.
I could do a whole blog entry or two on the local architecture. I love big porches. This house also has local fame because a former president sat on the porch during a campaign rally.
Genuine randomness here. Did you know that the color of the hydrant cap reveals the flow rate it can generate so that the firefighters know what they have available?
Red: 500 gallons per minute Orange: 500 to 999 gpm
Green: 1,000 to 1,499 gpm Blue: 1,500 gpm or greater
Also, did you ever consider that hydrants have not changed form substantially for a century?
The sky alight with setting sun and condensation trails is an interesting sight.
A walk by the river at dusk is always pleasant, even though it can be quite chilly this time of year. Cold drainage and moisture from the river seem to make the cold penetrate more.
This is proof that old dogs can learn new tricks. In fact, I really like the new garlic press that got online. It is soooo much simpler to clean.
I hope you may have as nice of random days as I have. I am so very busy and blessed and challenged.
I love words. God has graciously created language so that we may commune with Him and with each other. Language enables us to think and create abstractly.
Certainly language is changed and molded by culture, but culture is profoundly and deeply effected by language as well. For example, as my pastor is preaching, he will occasionally explain how a thought is put at the beginning of a sentence in Greek for emphasis. English generally places the subject and verb at the beginning or in the place of prominence in a sentence. In this way the language influences how the conveyed thought is perceived by the hearer or reader. I think that means that our language is an action language. Subject, action, emphasis- how do they influence our communication, intent, and meaning? In another example, Don Richardson in the book “Peace Child” says, “The Sawi have no word for nor concept of God; they believe only in disinterested or malevolent demons and spirits of the dead.” (1) The result was an elevation of treachery and revenge killing in their culture. But their culture also had a redemptive analogy, the “peace child”, that Richardson utilized to teach them of the ultimate peace child, Jesus Christ.
I have favorite words. Some because of meaning or usage or connotation and others because of sound. Below I list a few of these with explanation for why I like them. (I have already discussed my liking of many of these words, and I have links to some of my past blogs. But some of these terms have categories of their own on the sidebar of my blog. For instance, you can click on “Grace” here or on the sidebar for articles that specifically include the idea and workings of grace in Scripture or in my life.)
So: (“So..?!”)- I like therefore also, but so is a more intoned, intense than therefore in my mind and usage. I can hear it being pronounced “soooooo” or “so?” or “so cool”. Or it can mean “therefore” of “in conclusion”. It seems to function as an idea conjunction. (2) In short, I am fascinated by the multi-function of this short word.
Copious: An abundant supply of examples has been my usual use of this word. Newton’s Third Law comes to mind, in that every action is met with a reaction. You cannot touch without being touched. A normal force as read on your bathroom scale in the morning is also weighing the Earth. (3) The word itself has a narrow meaning, but the focus of that meaning possesses a cornucopia (4) of extent.
Ubiquitous: “Everywhere all the time” is how I think of this word. By example, most of the fundamental forces (5) are very short range. Gravity is by far the weakest but exerts its influence beyond galactic distances, and therefore may be said to be ubiquitous in the universe. I am seeing a trend in my liking of words: I seem to like words that reflect the big, complete, and abundant. Let us see if this continues.
Colloquialism: I am neither from a big city nor a rural life. My home town has grown into a small city after I left it, but when I was there our family lived in the older middle class suburbia in houses many people wouldn’t even look at on a real estate sales sheets these days. The houses were not run down but neither were they fancy. So, where did that come from? I have never felt like I grew up with nearly so much culture as I would have liked nor devoid of much culture that I only became aware of later. TV (now streaming) and cultural elitism have greatly damaged cultural diversity. Regional sayings and idioms seem to hold on most tenaciously and tenuously. Some of the language needs to go because of its crudeness and disrespect of others, but many sayings are informative of meaning and perspective, “I reckon”. It is more interesting to have different perspectives, ascents, and ways of saying things.
Jesus: I am forever and always thankful that the meaning and power of this name has been revealed to me. His name means “to rescue”, as the angel said, “for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) “For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) At the mention of His name the demons obey (e.g. Acts 16:18) and tremble (James 2:19) for they “recognize Jesus” (Acts 19:15). I call on His name when I am afraid, when I am thankful and excited, and when I am confused or needy.
Grace: (“All of Grace” and “Of His Grace” and “Grace Enough” are blog examples) When speaking of it, I define grace as “getting what we don’t deserve”, while mercy is “not getting what we do deserve”. Where would I be without grace? I am grateful for God’s saving grace, His “manifold grace” (I Peter 4:10 KJV, NASB1995) for serving Him in the church and the world, and the abundance of grace for living (II Corinthians 1:12). It is my desire to make grace my life theme, but it is a struggle since everything in my upbringing seemed to speak otherwise.
Apropos: The word means “being both relevant and opportune” (6). Both of those ideas are connected to time and context. Speaking the right words at the right time for the right reason to a hearer in the right frame of mind to receive them in the right way is crucial for wisdom to be imparted rightly. I feel deep contentment when those moments occur. In fact, I hope that such a moment has occurred as you have read this blob entry.
If you have made it this far into my ramblings, I have a request to make of you. Put in a good word for me. That is, comment on this entry with a word that you like or is your favorite with a reason why. I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
Idea conjunction is my thought on connecting ideas as opposed to word or phrase conjunction like “and”, “or”, and “but” So is considered to be a regular ole conjunction, too.
As I taught my students, weight is not gravity nor the pull of gravity, but the measure of the pull of gravity. Because of the interaction of Newton’s Third Law that measure may differ between the two objects because of distance, relative motion, and the mass of the two objects.
Etymology is an interesting study, too. The “copia” part of the words comes from the same Latin word for abundance.
three, four? It changes, but I think in terms of Strong Nuclear, Electromagnetic, Weak Force, and Gravity, recognizing that Strong and Weak have theoretically already been combined as Electric and Magnetic were many years ago.
… and little people are nonetheless significant beyond their size.
My wife and I visited our daughter and her family this past weekend. It set me to notice little things more than I have recently. Flowers blooming at the end of November is novel, but this little guy was showing off his stuff right next to their driveway. I have told the problem with controlling the focus on my phone, but here it reminded me of a little thing. This is what the flower looks like when I don’t have my bifocals on or when not using the right part of them. Doing fine work above my head is a pain since I have difficulty seeing it. I have actually flipped my glasses upside down to see what I am doing. It’s those little things.
I took an early walk the next morning. The temperature was brisk and there was no one out yet. The woods on either side of the road give this straightaway a pleasantly lonely feeling. White oaks and red oaks and maples and Sourwood and the occasional pine reside in a woods infrequently grazed by cattle. It is a pleasant little scene.
Most of the leaves have turned and dropped off, but this little Red Maple tree by the road was not having it. There was still time to show off the colors.
I’m not a big dog fan, but their dog is an outside dog and likes to explore and circle back around to you. He seems to have come to understand that I’m OK with his occasional inquiries as long as he is not in my face all the time.
Little grandchildren are a big deal, posterity and all that. It is fun to watch them explore and learn. It was a little kindness, but the man in the picture who is unknown to us, gave the children feed to give to the goats. I hope that he enjoyed watching them interact with them as much as they and we did.
It was also curious to watch how adept the goats had become at retracting their heads and horns out of the fencing without getting hung up.
Little moments of quiet, particularly in nature, are so restful to the soul. I hope that my son-in-law found it so.
The rolling hills of the Virginia landscape are fertile soil for an orchard.
Pruned apple trees produce larger and more fruit. The orchard is picturesque because of the views in both directions.
The Little Man is riding on his mama.
His big sister is not so little anymore and in the 3rd grade this year.
Who knew that anything ate Cayenne peppers. Tobacco Hornworms do. (My daughter looked it up first.) The seven white V-shaped markings and red horn confirm the ID.
Yet another small flower exhibiting its beauty. It is some variety of Balloon Flower, because that is its appearance before the bloom opens. The flowers were confused. I have an azalea still in bloom this 6th day of November, the third time it has bloomed this season.
I guess the hood warms his head and the bear warms his heart. But what warms his feet?
While I am talking about little things that are big, I thought I’d add a few more thoughts. One of my pastors offered me some firewood that he had no need of. I cut and began loading. In a few minutes he came out with his son saying, “I brought reinforcements”, and helped me load the wood. Kindness can be a word of encouragement, but an act of encouragement is even better.
Today I did small repairs on a house. I sealed the leaking skylight on the roof. I re-nailed a soffit board that had warped and pulled loose. I caulked around windows that were leaking air and allowing Lady Bugs entrance. Such a little crack can allow so much to transverse a barrier. Do maintenance on the little cracks that can allow rain and cold and insects into your living space. And I don’t just mean your house.
In Chemistry it refers to the combining strength of an element and is usually used in reference to valence electrons. Those are the outer shell electrons that form chemical bonds. In one extreme, ionic bonding, atoms either donate or accept electrons to form charged particles called ions, which are attracted to one another. In the other extreme, atoms share electrons, called co-valent bonding. You could say that they have a certain ambivalence, that is, both sides showing strength. This sharing may exhibit equivalence, as in a carbon-carbon bond, or it may show varying degrees of inequality as in the nearly balanced sulfur-selenium bond or the more extreme imbalance of a boron-oxygen bond.
Equivalence is evidently a state of affairs we desire or want to understand. A simple Wikipedia search of equivalence* lists the numerous ways we have scientific, economic, and psychological laws of equivalence and principles of equivalence in most areas of life. We have a prevalence and desire for equal or shared strength within our systems.
Furthermore, we should be discussing the seroprevalence of COVID-19 as compared to the symptom and severe symptom prevalence in our population so that we may come to a reasoned conclusion about opening our struggling economy. We lack strength as a society if we do not move forward, but continue to give in to the voices of fear, manipulation, and ambivalence.
On a more positive note, I like Valencia oranges, which were named after Valencia, Spain. That’s a strong name, but this hybrid orange was developed in California when it was still part of Mexico, by a Mexican citizen, who named it after sweet oranges in Spain.**
Thus, you have a stronger appreciation for the latent valency of the term.***
You are right or left hand dominant because of genetics, right?
When I was six years old, my oldest brother began to teach me how to play baseball. It was simple catch at first. I wanted a glove. My brother seemed to think that I threw as well with my left hand as with my right hand. He insisted that I should throw left-handed. I got a left-hand glove. He said lefties make pitchers who are harder to hit off of and make good 1st basemen. I was learning to write, shoot basketball, eat with a fork and pick up a cup with my right hand, and kick balls with my right foot. I definitely had right hand preference, not only because of the many everyday things I do right-handed, but also because fine motor skills are much more developed in my right hand. I definitely do not consider myself to be ambidextrous, but here I am throwing baseballs, footballs, and skipping rocks with my left hand and doing everything else right-handed.
As time has progressed I have learned to hammer nails and split wood with either hand. I hammer more accurately right-handed but go at it left-handed sometimes in order rest my right. The inside of my wrist on my right forearm has a muscular budge missing on the left wrist from pounding nails and wedges. Learning a skill with the other hand is tedious and sometimes dangerous. I split wood with both hands simultaneously, but the hand on top is the preference and lead hand. For the sake of working longer and working both sides of my body, and particularly my back, I alternate hands.
Which leg of your pants do you step into first, right or left? Which arm of your shirt or blouse do you put on first, left or right? Which way do you cross your legs or fold your arms or clasp your hands? Which one is on top? You have a preference, a handedness, a brain side preference.*
But you can change the level or preference and the balance of strength and coordination. In a number of sports and skills, equal strength and grace are needed by both hands and both sides of the body. Try putting the opposite leg into your pants first. It is hugely awkward the first few times you do it, but with time you feel more coordinated. I alternate regularly. Cross your arms or legs or fingers the opposite way. It feels weird but makes new connections in your brain as you practice it.
There are some things I will not try both ways for safety reasons. I tie my rope and belay when climbing the same way every time so that I may do it correctly without thought in an urgent situation. For the belayer these situations are frequent. As a result, I can and do have conversations while belaying and still catch my partner every time. But climbing requires strength, coordination, and flexibility in all four limbs and in many combinations. That takes work. I can only imagine how a good dancer or ice skater leads into a move with equal grace on either leg. A good pianist must be able to play the melody and complex harmonies with either hand and trade back and forth as the score of music demands. These activities and many others require practice and consideration.
Here is another childhood story that applies to my three brothers and me. Our mother taught her young sons to put their belts on clockwise, that is, starting through the loop right of the button. Traditionally in the U.S., men wear their belts counterclockwise and women wear their belts clockwise. Supposedly this originated with women dressing their men and men opening cloaks to draw swords. I did not know all of this detail until I was challenged as to why I wore my belt “backwards”. Now to increase coordination, I wear my belt both ways, alternating from one day to the next.
So, handedness is definitely genetically gifted but is environmentally altered and may be altered and attenuated by intentional effort. As I have argued here, I think it is useful to strength, coordination, grace, flexibility, and skill to do so.
*The right hand is operated by the left brain and visa-versa.
I enjoy the occasional foray into the realm of etymology. Word origin provides insight into the many and varied meanings and connotations of words and metaphors. There is a humorous twist on the origin of the terms mile and milestone. I assumed that since mile is a thoroughly English measurement of distance that the word, though perhaps not the concept, came from bloody ole England. Afterall, the U.S. is the only major country in the world to still be using the English system. But no, when traced back, mile comes from the Latin mil, or one thousand, which is quite base ten, or metric. Milestones then were stone markers called mille passus, meaning one thousand paces (1), along Roman roads. They were first placed every one thousand steps along the Apian Way out of Rome. Even then they would not have actually paced off the distance, but would have used a standard chain or rope length, the stade (eight stades to a mile). (2)
Etymology was only a small part of why I’m writing this blog entry, but it is fascinating. Metaphorically, milestones are visual, emotional, mental, or group markers for significant events or changes. Milestones typically include salvation, graduations from educational institutions, marriage, arrival of children, job changes or promotions, retirement, lifestyle changes, or significant personal goals reached like weight loss or the first marathon. The term can be overused, particularly in the business and education worlds it seems to me, and there is definitely a difference in significance levels from eternal to trivial. Nonetheless, the idea is solid and shows up in Scripture, even promoted by God (Joshua 4:1-7), and used by prophets (I Kings 18:31, I Samuel 7:10-12).
I have been privileged to have many profitable and enjoyable milestones in my life, and a few significant ones of late. All five of my children are now married and I have just recently retired.
I passed a small milestone in blogging, which I only inadvertently realized while rereading a few blog entries. This very entry is my 500th blog entry. Having written in this blog since July of 2007, it is quite an accomplishment for me to have continued with only a few months in all of that time of not publishing at least one entry. In fact, the average number of blog entries per month over the that period of 13 years has been just over three entries. It causes me to muse upon why I would be so consistent for so long. The obvious answer is a love and a need of the this forum. I need an outlet for my thoughts and love this particular one that is potentially interactive (3). It gives me a voice, an influence, if ever so small, and a sense of not forgetting what experiences and insights God has so graciously given to me, that is, an online journal. It may hopefully be part of my intellectual inheritance to my children and grandchildren.
But a question arose in my mind: Would a milestone be a milestone if we were unaware of it? I don’t think that this is the existentialist argument about a tree falling in the forest (4), because we are talking about a metaphor for the perception rather than a physical mile marker. When I consider this idea, it reveals to me how dull and fickle our perceptions are. They are dull because we do not perceive significant events that have eternal consequences for good or for ill (John 3:7-8), and they are fickle in that we may see them as significant in one situation and for one group or person but not for another or not at another time. What revealing of missed opportunities and privileges may be ours when our lives are reviewed in eternity. I am thankful for God’s grace to test all things by fire and reveal those works which were by and for Him (I Corinthians 3:10-15, 21-13), for I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).
So, I conclude this 500th mille passus of sorts with one further testimony to God’s goodness in my life. He has been and will be at work in my life to bring it to a good and completed conclusion (Philippians 1:6), not because I am deserving or always willing or cooperative or able, but because He is good and powerful and has attached me to His riches by His grace. To Him be all praise.
1) How our mile got to be such an odd number, 5280 feet, is more complicated, though the origin of the whole measurement seems to have been the Roman’s copying of the distance around a Greek stadium track for running events, and thus the unit stade.
2) I wonder if they had workers who held signs for travelers to avoid collisions in construction zones?
3) Oh, that it were more so, that I had to moderate multiple comments, questions, reprimands, and encouragements on each entry. Alas, life is busy.
4) If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? Being a Christian and a student of Science but not an Existentialist, I would retort that of course it makes a sound. It vibrates air particles, following God’s physical laws.
While driving a short distance to run at my local Greenway, I turned on the radio to hear the beginning of a TED Radio Hour presentation on NPR about the idea that “Everything Is A Remix”, a web series and idea by Kirby Ferguson. The host of “Science Friday”, Ira Flato, asked, “Is there really nothing new?” Mr. Ferguson said, “The Big Bang.” This line of thinking dissonated with me because of the worldview conflict, and because it is only correct in a way undisclosed by either of those speaking. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.” But what about beyond the sun? And what does this mean, anyway?
Mr. Ferguson’s point is that any song you hear has an association to an earlier song. He generalizes his maxim to say no thought or attempt at creativity is original. The only creativity is found in remixing it to make it your own and make it fresh. Johannes Kepler wrote, “I was merely thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in regard to the book of nature, it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God.” My conclusion to Kepler’s quote is that God has made us in His image, which includes creativity, but our discoveries are repeats of a limited nature of His thoughts and plans. We receive joy and He receives glory when we explore, create, discover, and acknowledge.
Create beauty in visual or musical art forms, God has been there already. Create beauty in prose or poetry. He has known it long since. Create sacrificial love and moral purity. He has perfected it. Create novel questions and solutions. He has mused upon and answered them all. The Humanist will be offended by what seem to him or her a deterministic regurgitation of God’s ways. I rather find joy in discovering what He has done.
The following blog entry was written several months ago, but the mental state of the time, the ambivalence about publishing it, the time constraints to finishing it, and the arrival of better emotions and thoughts prevented me from publishing it until now. Now it is time and it will add some balance and veracity to my blog by telling more about who I am. People enjoy a good story, but how about a melancholy tome? It may be instructive to those who don’t struggle with this problem and encouraging to those who do.
I have been struggling with a touch of depression lately. I purposefully state it that way because it is nothing compared to times past. It will be passing, which I can say with confidence because I know how to get help and from Whom. But is it depression or could it be, particularly since I say passing, discouragement? Or might it be desperation? Now I could refer to the dictionary and sort these out, but I am going to give a personal, experience based definition, which may not ring true for you, or better yet, may ring all too true and give you encouragement and tools for dealing with them or it, as the case may be.* These definitions will by no means be totally devoid of knowledge gained from study.
In my experience, depression is an emotional background noise or foreground roar that is hard to define in terms of its source, and harder still to get rid of. Many people excuse it as a chemical imbalance that is not of the person’s doing. I believe that chemical imbalance is a problem for some people, but even then there are ways out, most of which don’t involve drugs in the long-term.** It is not helpful to dwell on the depression itself, but it is profitable to study your own modus operandi during depression for the purpose of recognizing when there is an onset. You are experiencing one of my quirks of depression by reading this passage. When I am depressed, I get very wordy, verbose, articulate, long-winded, redundant. That is most likely the source at present of my long sentences. Another way I deal with depression is to become very silent, but because I have learned to attack it, I now do the opposite and become verbal. Oh, that is the reason for quirk #1. And here is a help for you, dear friend, if you suffer with depression. Talk yourself out of it, not by any random droning of your voice, but by declaring out loud truth. The form it takes in me most often is singing hymns. So, I knew that I was dealing with mild depression this morning because I felt compelled to sing. The odd thing about my singing is that I can be loud and enthusiastic and crying, either inside or literally, all at the same time. I don’t know if the crying is repentance, thankfulness, remorse, release, or sadness, but I do know that if I sing long enough the cloud dissipates. That occasionally is too much for my wife because she is a stroke victim and the continual sound and language overloads her aphasic processing. If it is a hymn that I know well, whistling works so that I can think about other things or tasks simultaneously, but whistling is particularly problematic for my wife.
Desperation is more easily recognized and pinpointed. I was desperate yesterday because I had so much paperwork to do and a sense that it would never end. Perhaps that was part of what brought on today. Planning ways to lessen the load, spread it out, or see light at the end of the tunnel are ways I usually deal with that short-term irritant. Finding the purpose in the mundane and repetitive and distasteful makes it more palatable. Procrastinating is something we have all done to avoid what we don’t like to do, but it is counterproductive because it just prolongs the mental desperation. Desperation, then, usually comes from a fear, be it fear of purposelessness or fear of harm by whatever traumatic or long-term means (e.g. old age for example).
Discouragement can be short-term or long-term and its source obvious or not. Unfulfilled goals and dreams are the source of most of my discouragement. Inability to do something at a higher level of my own making or meeting someone else’s expectations can weigh heavily on me at times but do not usually cause discouragement. I guess that I understand that despite my attempts to be exceptional in various areas of my life, I am just a “common Joe” with perhaps a little better than average ability. I am profoundly limited in some areas. Failure or rejection are high on the list of what brings discouragement to many people.
In all of these areas, particularly depression, I have several coping mechanisms that are my go to’s. I have already listed 1) identifying when I am depressed by things I do and think when depressed and 2) singing my way out of that mode. For me, and these must be specific for you individually, I 3) rock in a rocking chair and think, 4) write to organize my thoughts and identify how I am feeling, 5) talk it out to others***, 6) walk, 7) do anything active, particularly climb, run, bike, or hike, 8) experience nature, contemplating God’s goodness, and 9) organize and propound truth on any subject, though theological and scientific areas are my most common subjects. What is your coping mechanism? Don’t know? Try one of mine. Experiment with things that are true and good (Philippians 4:8). Make them edifying pursuits, not destructive ones like drugs, alcohol, binge eating, binge videos or computer time, or pornography or illicit sex. Look for a way out, not a way further in.
I have purposely separated my last help for depression, desperation, and discouragement: 10) Spend time in prayer specifically about the source of your feelings, or about the emotion itself in the absence of knowledge of the source. To not just be talking to yourself, several things must be true: 1) You must be a believer in Jesus as your Savior, 2) You should be seeking to be repentant of sin, and 3) You should seek to discover what expectation you have that has not been given you by God and give it up to Him. Frequently either #2 or #3 is the source of the depression. If #1 is true, then you have power given to you by God to repent of sin (I John 1:9) and overcome temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). 4) Persist in prayer until you get past distraction, temptation, doubt, and waiting. Your circumstances may not change, as God sees fit, but your peace and joy can return in the midst of the sorrow.
Life is a journey with a destination rather than a destination only. Therefore, be patient with yourself. Conversely, don’t let yourself off the hook in the sense of ‘oh, everybody does it’. Instead, seek to make progress. Growing requires effort, but in the same way as you can not pull yourself up by your boot straps, you need an outside force, the power of God, to make real and lasting progress. May God enable you with His power to grow and may you find those coping mechanisms that work for you to ease your pain by pointing you to truth.
*Long sentences are so fun to attempt, because they are so easy to get wrong, particularly concerning commas, and therefore challenging. I think mine are right.
**How could I be so unfeeling and arrogant as to suppose I can make declarations about others people’s difficulties? Well, not only because I have studied this issue, but because I have personal experience with serious, dare I say, clinical depression, I am speaking up. You may need drugs to steady the boat, but they are a poor way to propel it forward.
I love to observe the beauties of nature. Some of the following pictures are from before the pandemic and many are part of my coping mechanism since it has started. The first picture shows algae with what I believe to be a brown spore case. If I am wrong, I wish some algae expert would set me straight.
Algae under a microscope
Cameras can be deceptive. The pizza place was actually rather dim with little points of light. We enjoyed the cauliflower crust pizza with organic toppings of veggies and cheese.
Upscale Pizza place with my Valentine
It is convenient that my son has several downed trees in his side yard that I have cut off of a few times. I had never been so low on wood, oh, except for the time many years ago when I had been sick for several months and nearly ran out. At that time a friend felt sorry for me and brought some wood. The present wood is dry and off the ground with very little rot. The day was pleasantly cool for work.
A little more wood needed
I gave one of my 9 year old Sunday School students an adult coloring book. The next Sunday she showed me the following:
Sunday School student’s art
A mobile lab comes to our school each semester to do a DNA Electrophoresis Lab with our Biology students. It is a very effective use of their time.
DNA Electrophoresis Lab
migrating DNA in a gel
A friend of ours from Bible School days came by to visit. She is retiring from many years of missionary work in the Philippians. It has been a privilege to be in contact with her all of these years, following what God has been doing with and through her.
A friend and missionary
All of the previous pictures were pre-pandemic. The following ones are various fresh air excursions since warning to keep apart from others. The trillium are going wild in a little triangle of woods about 1/2 mile from my house where I frequently walk.
Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum)
I like the beauty of my own yard in Spring as well.
Grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)
Just a week before the restrictive stay at home orders came, my daughter and two grandchildren came to visit.
He can look so serious
Only 3/4 of a mile from the house is a small waterfall in a draw (small vale or notch for those of you from a different neck of the woods) surrounded by wooded suburbia.
Neighborhood waterfall
We hiked one day to a much larger waterfall. It is a short but steep walk, which I would have thought nothing of had it not been for the little ones to help along. We have had so much rain lately that the ground keeps giving water.
Upper Creek Falls
Mama enjoys time outside, too
I can’t paint a still life, but I can appreciate one.
Colors, Contrasts, and Tones
When my daughter went home, my granddaughter wanted to stay. We did several fun and relationship building things. When we went to the climbing gym I told her to watch me climb at first, knowing that she takes time to warm up to things. After about 45 minutes of following me around, she asked if she could have some climbing shoes. She was really quite good.
More time together
Only thing lacking was confidence
roughed up a little
Historic times
My wife is a wonderful cook. The only problem is her food doesn’t last long around our house with me there.
Yet another fabulous dish from my favorite chef
On the way back from a doctor across the state line, I decided to stop for a leg stretcher. In warm weather it is one of the best and most crowded swimming holes.
good flow
Elk River Falls
Two more backyard blooms and a small neck of the woods trillium follow:
Backyard Beauty
Pontentilla sp.
There is little for perspective, but this huge, perhaps 12″+ in diameter.
At 5 PM on this very day, they were closing down many outdoor venues, specifically including climbing areas. I went and got in a quick session since both gyms and crags are closed for the foreseeable future. So much time to go and so little availability.
Mushroom Boulder
View from just behind the boulder
Galax
Bloodroot and Wood Sorrel
Wood Sorrel
Bloodroot
Having not been outside much to climb lately, I was mostly shutdown by problems that I could previously do. I enjoy climbing for the mental and physical aspects. I needed some success before I went home and this is a good boulder for it.
Warm-up Boulder
Shelf Fungus
I bought this ground cover only last Spring and it is covering the ground!
Verbana sp.
Red Dogwood
I don’t know why it is named after a snake, but the vividness and pattern of the white lines on the leaves are fascinating:
Rattlesnake Plantain
Fiddleheads
Mayapple
Wisteria
Many trees can be identified to the species by how they are shaped. Even sometimes their reaction to heavy pruning still comes out identifiable. One bright blue day I took pictures of 8 or 10 treeforms. I won’t bore you with the lot of them but the general idea is there.
Spruce treeform
If you know what fractals are, then you will see why I mention them before the white oak tree picture.
Oak treeform
To end this random array of flower arrangements and outdoor excursions and such I give you one more flower that grows by my backyard shed. Enjoy what little joys and beauties you are afforded. They help you deal with the sad and ugly moments of life. They are gifts from a gracious Father who loves beauty and blessing.
CreatorWorship 