I felt like adding this: In case you read my stuff normally, and consistently, you're probably not offended by the spiritual beliefs I talk about. And I hope it helps. But here's something that will help you more if you believe it: I invite you to pray this prayer:
Dear God, I believe you sent your son Jesus to die for my sins, of which I repent, and that he's been resurrected by you and sits now with you, at your right hand. I ask you, Jesus, to come into my life as my Lord and Savior. I give it all to you. Thank you for coming into my life and saving me, Lord Jesus. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and meant it, I'd especially like to hear from you. Not to try to sell you anything but just to thank God for another soul brought into His Kingdom.
Monday, 31 October 2005
10.31.05
So I was having dinner with my family a couple of days ago, after which we went to see one of my sisters go dance. She loves to do this stuff. What’s surprising is that she’s really pretty good at it. There’s no physical reason why she shouldn’t be, but I’ve this image of her, sometimes, as more buttoned-down. It’s good to see her enjoying herself so much, and I’m very happy for her.
Then another sister suggested, as we were leaving, that I take up dancing, that I’d be good at it. I think she’s trying to get me active, get me to lose some weight. I told her I’m a good dancer, but even under pressure I didn’t say what kind of dancer. I guess mine would be kind of spastic, actually. Or very jerky where I’d want to be smooth, fluid, like Astaire.
What kind of dancer would I like to be, though, were I a dancer? I don’t know. The closest I’d come would be to learn a martial art, and the one of those that interests me is tai chi. Problem is, if there’s a good, old school tai chi master around here, I haven’t found him/her.
What’s the appeal, speaking of martial arts, of tae kwon do? I think it’s marketing. I think of tae kwon do as the sort of Wal-Mart of the martial arts because of its ubiquitous presence.
There’s a place around here that advertises karate with the slogan “Bully-proof your child”. Another fellow said, “I’ll make a man out of you”. I think these attitudes fail to take the person into account and instead seek to mold the person into some pre-fab form. I think martial arts are fantastic for learning self-discipline, focus, serenity, self-defense and exercise, but one shouldn’t draw one’s identification from them. As to the bully-proofing...well, violence begets violence.
Ever see the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he meets Yosemite Sam with a gun, Sam comes back with a bigger gun, and they go back and forth until they’re launching missiles, gobs of them, at each other. I think they both got blown up. Violence begets violence.
So why would I want to learn something which has the specific intent, to Western eyes, of killing people? Is it a power trip on my part? Maybe. I can imagine the confidence one gets from being pretty sure you can take anybody is similar, at least in a wispy form, to that which one has as a child of God. Thing is, once you give them permission, or God does, to, you’ve got the angels of God protecting. When you’re walking in Him, you’ve no need to defend yourself. Your spiritual retinue is quite capable of handling whatever situations come up, so long you keep God first. That said, it’d still be fun to learn. I guess it, like so much else, matters most what the motive is.
So I was having dinner with my family a couple of days ago, after which we went to see one of my sisters go dance. She loves to do this stuff. What’s surprising is that she’s really pretty good at it. There’s no physical reason why she shouldn’t be, but I’ve this image of her, sometimes, as more buttoned-down. It’s good to see her enjoying herself so much, and I’m very happy for her.
Then another sister suggested, as we were leaving, that I take up dancing, that I’d be good at it. I think she’s trying to get me active, get me to lose some weight. I told her I’m a good dancer, but even under pressure I didn’t say what kind of dancer. I guess mine would be kind of spastic, actually. Or very jerky where I’d want to be smooth, fluid, like Astaire.
What kind of dancer would I like to be, though, were I a dancer? I don’t know. The closest I’d come would be to learn a martial art, and the one of those that interests me is tai chi. Problem is, if there’s a good, old school tai chi master around here, I haven’t found him/her.
What’s the appeal, speaking of martial arts, of tae kwon do? I think it’s marketing. I think of tae kwon do as the sort of Wal-Mart of the martial arts because of its ubiquitous presence.
There’s a place around here that advertises karate with the slogan “Bully-proof your child”. Another fellow said, “I’ll make a man out of you”. I think these attitudes fail to take the person into account and instead seek to mold the person into some pre-fab form. I think martial arts are fantastic for learning self-discipline, focus, serenity, self-defense and exercise, but one shouldn’t draw one’s identification from them. As to the bully-proofing...well, violence begets violence.
Ever see the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he meets Yosemite Sam with a gun, Sam comes back with a bigger gun, and they go back and forth until they’re launching missiles, gobs of them, at each other. I think they both got blown up. Violence begets violence.
So why would I want to learn something which has the specific intent, to Western eyes, of killing people? Is it a power trip on my part? Maybe. I can imagine the confidence one gets from being pretty sure you can take anybody is similar, at least in a wispy form, to that which one has as a child of God. Thing is, once you give them permission, or God does, to, you’ve got the angels of God protecting. When you’re walking in Him, you’ve no need to defend yourself. Your spiritual retinue is quite capable of handling whatever situations come up, so long you keep God first. That said, it’d still be fun to learn. I guess it, like so much else, matters most what the motive is.
Friday, 28 October 2005
prosperity/questioning
10/24/05
I’m sitting here trying to discover how best to write a particular sentence. The problem with over-thinking how to do something like this is it leads, if one is not careful, to paralyzing self-censorship.
10/27/05
So, I thought with only five or so hours, more like four-and-a-half, of sleep, I’d be dragging, but thanks to God and sugar and caffeine, I’m feeling pretty normal, actually. Maybe even a little happier, or more energetic. Of course, the fact that this is the last day before a couple of days off is also contributing to the happiness factor here.
Another factor is that we’re pretty busy tonight. I’m having to write this, if I write it, in fits and starts, with only a few minutes each sit-down.
I found some not-so-good stuff on Kenneth Copeland Ministries today, but most of it seems sorta like sour grapes. There are claims made there on the website of which I’m speaking, which is decrying Copeland, that are just wrong or taken out of context or maybe just not understood. I did scroll down to the bottom of the thing and find that the author used to be into all this charismatic stuff. So the thing seems like a disgruntled employee criticizing his former workplace.
There are other websites that take other prominent figures in the Word of Faith movement to task for their expensive homes, jets, such stuff. The thing that I wonder about is whether these same people take, say, corporations to task for their executives’ homes, cars, jets, and so on. I mean, fair’s fair.
Then again, there’s the thought that preachers should be poor. That there’s some nobility in poverty. Well, there might be something to that, but given a choice betwen being poor and prospering, including money, I’ll take the money. I think it’s one thing to keep honoring God even though you’ve no money, but if you have the ability to get resources, you should get them. Then, if you still want to have no money, then give the money away as the Holy Spirit leads you to. Same for houses, cars, etc. See, if you have the power to earn, I think you have that power for a reason and that you should exercise it and then bless others with your gain, again, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
See, there’s a big misconception regarding the prosperity message. Actually, there are a couple, but the biggest one is that it’s about money. Well, money’s part of it, but a large part of prosperity is peace, which is wholeness. This is in spirit, soul and body. So it means you’re whole in your emotions, in whatever issues you have, in your interpersonal relationships, in your physical health as well as in your bank account. In fact, you’re so well in these areas that you’re able to bless others out of your abundance, which is why you have abundance, and not just enough, in the first place--to distribute among the poor, the needy, to whomever the Holy Spirit directs you to. Still, many think it's is a get-rich-quick scheme. Let me be clear: it’s not about hoarding up a mountain of gold and sitting watch over it, jealously guarding what’s yours and being a giant skinflint. That’s the world’s way. It’s not God’s way.
I remember a friend of mine assuming my best friend was like herself, that she was into voluntary poverty. My best friend said she wasn’t. It got me thinking: who would take a vow of poverty? Why would somebody voluntarily enter into and remain in poverty? I’m wrestling with this issue because another friend of mine said she related more to people, saints, who took vows of poverty. Maybe it’s in the reason for doing it. If the reason is noble, maybe the fulfillment of that vow can be noble as well. But I wonder if being voluntarily impoverished isn’t selfish? That’s money that could be put into circulation--money on which business owners and their employees depend. Not that one person’s reduced patronage will affect many businesses much, but get enough one person’s and it will. On the other hand, it could be in order to distance oneself from the world and the world’s system and focus more on God, who can provide us with plenty even in poverty.
I’m sitting here trying to discover how best to write a particular sentence. The problem with over-thinking how to do something like this is it leads, if one is not careful, to paralyzing self-censorship.
10/27/05
So, I thought with only five or so hours, more like four-and-a-half, of sleep, I’d be dragging, but thanks to God and sugar and caffeine, I’m feeling pretty normal, actually. Maybe even a little happier, or more energetic. Of course, the fact that this is the last day before a couple of days off is also contributing to the happiness factor here.
Another factor is that we’re pretty busy tonight. I’m having to write this, if I write it, in fits and starts, with only a few minutes each sit-down.
I found some not-so-good stuff on Kenneth Copeland Ministries today, but most of it seems sorta like sour grapes. There are claims made there on the website of which I’m speaking, which is decrying Copeland, that are just wrong or taken out of context or maybe just not understood. I did scroll down to the bottom of the thing and find that the author used to be into all this charismatic stuff. So the thing seems like a disgruntled employee criticizing his former workplace.
There are other websites that take other prominent figures in the Word of Faith movement to task for their expensive homes, jets, such stuff. The thing that I wonder about is whether these same people take, say, corporations to task for their executives’ homes, cars, jets, and so on. I mean, fair’s fair.
Then again, there’s the thought that preachers should be poor. That there’s some nobility in poverty. Well, there might be something to that, but given a choice betwen being poor and prospering, including money, I’ll take the money. I think it’s one thing to keep honoring God even though you’ve no money, but if you have the ability to get resources, you should get them. Then, if you still want to have no money, then give the money away as the Holy Spirit leads you to. Same for houses, cars, etc. See, if you have the power to earn, I think you have that power for a reason and that you should exercise it and then bless others with your gain, again, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
See, there’s a big misconception regarding the prosperity message. Actually, there are a couple, but the biggest one is that it’s about money. Well, money’s part of it, but a large part of prosperity is peace, which is wholeness. This is in spirit, soul and body. So it means you’re whole in your emotions, in whatever issues you have, in your interpersonal relationships, in your physical health as well as in your bank account. In fact, you’re so well in these areas that you’re able to bless others out of your abundance, which is why you have abundance, and not just enough, in the first place--to distribute among the poor, the needy, to whomever the Holy Spirit directs you to. Still, many think it's is a get-rich-quick scheme. Let me be clear: it’s not about hoarding up a mountain of gold and sitting watch over it, jealously guarding what’s yours and being a giant skinflint. That’s the world’s way. It’s not God’s way.
I remember a friend of mine assuming my best friend was like herself, that she was into voluntary poverty. My best friend said she wasn’t. It got me thinking: who would take a vow of poverty? Why would somebody voluntarily enter into and remain in poverty? I’m wrestling with this issue because another friend of mine said she related more to people, saints, who took vows of poverty. Maybe it’s in the reason for doing it. If the reason is noble, maybe the fulfillment of that vow can be noble as well. But I wonder if being voluntarily impoverished isn’t selfish? That’s money that could be put into circulation--money on which business owners and their employees depend. Not that one person’s reduced patronage will affect many businesses much, but get enough one person’s and it will. On the other hand, it could be in order to distance oneself from the world and the world’s system and focus more on God, who can provide us with plenty even in poverty.
Saturday, 22 October 2005
violence and other stuff
10/21/05
I want to write something hard. Not difficult, per se. Just...hard. Like Rob Zombie hard. Loud. Violent. Aggressive. Slam-bang. Intelligent, so you can enjoy it again and again. I like that genre. I’m writing something like that now, and I wish I could put more violence into it, but it wouldn’t work with the story--not at this point, anyway.
Then again, part of the problem with listening to mood-evoking music is I tend to want to act out the mood on paper, and that’s not always appropriate for the scene.
I should put together lists of songs for different moods.
I find it kinda funny, still, that some people expect me to like a certain kind of music. Those of you who know me can probably guess why. Then I mention Zombie or ‘tallica or some such and people kinda nod their head like, “Hm.” Like they didn’t expect that from me, which I’m not surprised at. I assume certain things about people from surface cues as well.
Ever felt like you wanted somebody to start a fight with you? I felt like that today for a while. Probably lack of sleep combined with too much caffeine. I, of course, didn’t start anything or even project the air that I wanted to. Maybe a sort of “Don’t mess with me” air, but that’s as far as it went. I think those who carry that attitude, like they’re ready and hoping for a fight, are liable to get themselves into one. The consequences of such can be devastating. See, I might think I could do such and so in a fight, but having never been in a real one, I’ve no idea. And, truth be told, I'm not eager to find out.
I checked out some PC-based laptops at Best Buy today. They’ve still got nothing on the Macs. I think they take an old-school approach, rather like a hot rod fanatic will try to solve a speed problem with raw horsepower rather than trying to get the engine to do better with what it has instead of _just_ upping the speed. Macs, on the other hand, tend to do more, better, with less, mostly through design inside and out. It's sort of like taking two boxers and bringing them to a certain level of skill, then taking one and training it to have more skill while taking the other and training it to simply be stronger. The former one, not as brutally strong, but still strong and better at what it does, has a good shot a winning.
Somebody showed me a PC Weekly or PC World article that said journalists might be biased toward Macs, as they largely are Mac users. Duh. But Apple wouldn’t have such a loyal following if they didn’t put out a great product. The author said he’ll ask people why they use Macs, at which the questioned will say, “Because they’re better”. The author posited that, basically, of course they’d say that, as they probably don’t have experience with anything else.
I do have experience with something else. Macs are better. The other stuff is just more popular, which is part of the reason the other stuff stays popular--people tend to stick with what they know, and I won’t even try to argue that there’s a lot more software out there for PC than Mac. There is. Problem is, from what I’ve seen, a lot of it is crap (not to say all Mac software is good--there's a lot there that is not). Like somebody said in the mid-90s, the better stuff tends to have a Mac version come out eventually. Essentially, if there’s really something to it and there’s the demand, the maker’ll probably make a Mac verson at some point. Why not? Just more money for them.
I don't know why I keep trying to tell people Macs are better. The ones I tell just tune me out, thinking I'm just blindly loyal to Mac, which is really unfair. I'm speaking from experience on this issue, and I am qualified to do so, given years of experience with both types of computers. There are some things I really know a lot about, and people should listen. I know they won't switch, though, likely, if for no other reason than because they've got all their software on their Windows machines and don't care to buy more software for a new operating system. That's understandable. I just wish they wouldn't pooh-pooh Macs around me without knowing what on earth they're talking about. It's dismissive.
That might be the big problem, actually--feeling dismissed, patted on the head as a naive eccentric. It happens a lot, and I think people do it with me and with others because they have an idea that they've got me and others figured out. In many cases, they're right.
Many is not necessarily all.
I wonder if people are wondering how much Apple Computer is paying me to say all this. Nothing. They don't know me except as a customer and former job applicant, but there's not really much I've found that I would be qualified to do at Apple...so in case you were wondering, no I'm not on their payroll. ;)
Then again, that's happened all my life, come to think of it--being dismissed and misunderstood (on the occasions when I wasn't simply understood all too well. ;) ) I think that happens to many people, and I think there could be more peace in the world if people, including myself, took more time to try to understand people and the reasons for their opinions rather than just reacting to them on nothing but reflex and presuppositions.
I want to write something hard. Not difficult, per se. Just...hard. Like Rob Zombie hard. Loud. Violent. Aggressive. Slam-bang. Intelligent, so you can enjoy it again and again. I like that genre. I’m writing something like that now, and I wish I could put more violence into it, but it wouldn’t work with the story--not at this point, anyway.
Then again, part of the problem with listening to mood-evoking music is I tend to want to act out the mood on paper, and that’s not always appropriate for the scene.
I should put together lists of songs for different moods.
I find it kinda funny, still, that some people expect me to like a certain kind of music. Those of you who know me can probably guess why. Then I mention Zombie or ‘tallica or some such and people kinda nod their head like, “Hm.” Like they didn’t expect that from me, which I’m not surprised at. I assume certain things about people from surface cues as well.
Ever felt like you wanted somebody to start a fight with you? I felt like that today for a while. Probably lack of sleep combined with too much caffeine. I, of course, didn’t start anything or even project the air that I wanted to. Maybe a sort of “Don’t mess with me” air, but that’s as far as it went. I think those who carry that attitude, like they’re ready and hoping for a fight, are liable to get themselves into one. The consequences of such can be devastating. See, I might think I could do such and so in a fight, but having never been in a real one, I’ve no idea. And, truth be told, I'm not eager to find out.
I checked out some PC-based laptops at Best Buy today. They’ve still got nothing on the Macs. I think they take an old-school approach, rather like a hot rod fanatic will try to solve a speed problem with raw horsepower rather than trying to get the engine to do better with what it has instead of _just_ upping the speed. Macs, on the other hand, tend to do more, better, with less, mostly through design inside and out. It's sort of like taking two boxers and bringing them to a certain level of skill, then taking one and training it to have more skill while taking the other and training it to simply be stronger. The former one, not as brutally strong, but still strong and better at what it does, has a good shot a winning.
Somebody showed me a PC Weekly or PC World article that said journalists might be biased toward Macs, as they largely are Mac users. Duh. But Apple wouldn’t have such a loyal following if they didn’t put out a great product. The author said he’ll ask people why they use Macs, at which the questioned will say, “Because they’re better”. The author posited that, basically, of course they’d say that, as they probably don’t have experience with anything else.
I do have experience with something else. Macs are better. The other stuff is just more popular, which is part of the reason the other stuff stays popular--people tend to stick with what they know, and I won’t even try to argue that there’s a lot more software out there for PC than Mac. There is. Problem is, from what I’ve seen, a lot of it is crap (not to say all Mac software is good--there's a lot there that is not). Like somebody said in the mid-90s, the better stuff tends to have a Mac version come out eventually. Essentially, if there’s really something to it and there’s the demand, the maker’ll probably make a Mac verson at some point. Why not? Just more money for them.
I don't know why I keep trying to tell people Macs are better. The ones I tell just tune me out, thinking I'm just blindly loyal to Mac, which is really unfair. I'm speaking from experience on this issue, and I am qualified to do so, given years of experience with both types of computers. There are some things I really know a lot about, and people should listen. I know they won't switch, though, likely, if for no other reason than because they've got all their software on their Windows machines and don't care to buy more software for a new operating system. That's understandable. I just wish they wouldn't pooh-pooh Macs around me without knowing what on earth they're talking about. It's dismissive.
That might be the big problem, actually--feeling dismissed, patted on the head as a naive eccentric. It happens a lot, and I think people do it with me and with others because they have an idea that they've got me and others figured out. In many cases, they're right.
Many is not necessarily all.
I wonder if people are wondering how much Apple Computer is paying me to say all this. Nothing. They don't know me except as a customer and former job applicant, but there's not really much I've found that I would be qualified to do at Apple...so in case you were wondering, no I'm not on their payroll. ;)
Then again, that's happened all my life, come to think of it--being dismissed and misunderstood (on the occasions when I wasn't simply understood all too well. ;) ) I think that happens to many people, and I think there could be more peace in the world if people, including myself, took more time to try to understand people and the reasons for their opinions rather than just reacting to them on nothing but reflex and presuppositions.
Friday, 14 October 2005
in case
In case anybody doesn't know about this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051014/ap_on_bi_ge/samsung_price_fixing
Granted, no company's perfect, but I prefer Panasonic.
'nuff said.
-Sean
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051014/ap_on_bi_ge/samsung_price_fixing
Granted, no company's perfect, but I prefer Panasonic.
'nuff said.
-Sean
Tuesday, 11 October 2005
wonder woman/assumptions
I wonder why I didn’t know before a couple of years ago that Wonder Woman is as strong as Superman. I think I just assumed that she wasn’t, being a woman and all. I also wasn’t terribly interested in reading those comics, Wonder Woman, because it was a woman and some notion of her not being as interesting a super-hero as a man. Well, that and the idea of magic used in her comic, what with the lasso she uses. I have a problem with magic that stems from my spiritual beliefs.
The point, though, is that I just assumed Wonder Woman was weaker than Superman because she is a woman. It seems a reasonable assumption, but not the best one to which one should come automatically. I didn’t even know if she was a s strong as Batman or exactly what her powers were.
What brought this to mind was a picture of She-Hulk and my having recently re-reada couple of Hulk and Superman’s battles. I wonder who would win in a fight between She-Hulk and Wonder Woman--if She-Hulk is as strong as Hulk himself.
What on earth does this have to do with anything? you might wonder.
It concerns the assumptions people make about each other--assumptions that might be perfectly valid but which shouldn’t be taken for granted. That every woman wants the door held open for her. That all men are cheaters and want only to get into a woman’s pants. That all conservatives are uptight a-holes and all liberals are tree-hugging enviro-nazis
Without getting too deep, though, I am a little surprised at some assumptions men make about women down here in the almost-south and the same about women toward men. For example, there’s the idea that the man’s going to be the bread-winner and that the woman has to go to him to get money, as she’s got no income, being a soccer mom and all. I know it’s not as prevalent as I suppose it used to be, but...well, I just wonderhow deeply into Proverbs 31 some people who want to be a Proverbs 31 woman have looked. The woman described in that chapter is not sitting at home, barefoot and pregnant, slaving away in the kitchen. She takes care of the home, yes, but she is also in business and engages in trade, and I don’t know that that’s going shopping (there’s another kvetch I have--fascination with shopping, even though I sometimes share it). Now, this assumption (the barefoot and pregnant thing) isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, but I still see some of it from time to time, and it angers me. Partially because I think it puts an undue burden on men and partially because it limits a woman’s fulfilling her potential to be automatically locked into the cycle of going to school, going to college only to get an MRS, that sort of thing. I’m talking about being locked into it--unwillingly. If that’s what the woman wants, fine. If not, that should be fine, too.
But what unfair assumptions do I make about women? Hmm...I assume that no means no, I assume that most women should want to go to college and have their own career before marrying, as should men. What else...I assume they can make up their minds by themselves what outfit looks best on them, that they are perfectly capable of going to the bathroom by themselves and that if they take another woman with them, it’s so they can talk about something...I assume that some play games but that if I catch them at it and warn them off of it that they’ll respect that...I assume I won’t be interested in anybody who exhibits a “been there, done that” attitude (that’s one assumption of mine that could use some work)...that’s about all I can think of.
Here’s something else I just found out recently: I’ll enjoy PBS on the local OETA station, channel 11, yet the programming stops for a while in the night. But there are scheduled programs--they’re listed on OETA’s website. I asked the OETA people about this, and they said those programs are available on cable. Which goes, to me, against the very idea of PBS--which is to be publicly supported as well as gaining support through grants and so on. Not commercially-supported. Well, if you have to subscribe to cable to get all of the OETA programming, how is that not commercial? I don’t know.
I was just going through some of these cowboy proverbs I have. One of them says, “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.” That can apply very well to debt relief.
I remember my dad and my brother gave me two of the best pieces of advice regarding money that I ever remember getting. Dad said, “Don’t spend more than you have.” My brother said, regarding getting out of debt, getting a better credit rating, that sort of thing, “Pay your bills and keep ‘em paid.”
That right there will save a person untold hundreds on weekend seminars, get outta debt schemes, whatever. It’s just common sense. Sort of like keeping yourself trim and healthy: eat right and exercise. That’s it. How much? Well, don’t eat when you’re full. How much to exercise? At least 20 min. at about 60, 70 percent of maximum heart rate, done three times per week. So how do you figure your maximum heart rate? 220 minus you age. So if you’re 20 years old, your max heart rate would be about 200. What’s 60 percent of that? Take 20 times 6, which is 120. Keep the ol’ ticker going at that rate for 20 minutes, 3 times per week and you’re pretty good to go.
Of course, then there’s strength training and all, but cardiovascular stuff is more important.
A lot of people who know me will probably be thinking, “Well, why doesn’t he take his own advice?” Dunno, actually. Don’t feel like it. I know what to do; I just don’t want to do it. Which is really rather foolish, now that I think about it. Maybe I’ll take up tennis again. Certainly not jogging or spinning or doing anything that keeps me rooted in one place, bored. The only physical exercise I like that has me doing that is weightlifting, and that’s partially because it’s fun to watch the muscles flex. Really, it is--once you can see them. ;)
Wow--I’ve actually written a blog that wasn’t mostly me praising God for something or other. Well, I do praise God for this day and for the wonderful sleep I got this weekend. I do love my sleep when I get enough of it--for a while, it was just an interruption to my day. I thought I was missing out, being asleep for four or five hours, but going through the day about half-speed is no way to enjoy the day for real. And I kept not wanting to do the devotions, because I was reading Ezekiel, which has some very not-so-nice stuff in it and I “have” to get it, which means I’ll read the same passage multiple times before really getting it, then go back and pick up any passages I missed or skimmed over--really an inefficient way of reading the Bible. It’s much easier to just remember to pray beforehand for understanding and then concentrate the whole way through.
Well, I’m done with Ezekiel now, and I think I’m going to Job next, as I’ve heard some teachings that shed some new light on what happened to the guy for real. For example, it looked for a long time like God was just letting Satan pick on Job for no good reason. But Job opened himself up to Satan’s attacks by doubting--it says early on that Job would offer daily sacrifices in case one or another of his kids sinned. He didn’t know whether they did or not, but just in case. Well, that’s like asking God to forgive us for any sin we commit today--we don’t know what sin, if any, we’ll commit today, and it hasn’t been committed yet, so there’s nothing to forgive. But the bigger, real issue, is the fear that his kids sinned--Job gave in to fear, which is faith in a negative thing happening, at its most basic level, belief that God won’t fulfill his promises. This is why we often go to God again and again with the same sin, which we’ve been forgiven for already--we still feel guilty (which is a feeling we shouldn’t allow ourselves to have once we’re forgiven), but there’s no reason to. We’ve been forgiven and should just drop it now. God did--well, actually, he removed it really far away and cast it out of his memory. Keep giving in to guilt, and one wonders, “How much guilt is enough?” It’s not going to be enough, no matter how much it is. Only forgiveness and belief in that forgiveness assuages guilt. Good works, while noble, certainly don’t.
I’m getting my preach on again.
Anyway, there’s this gorgeous gal at church I’m wanting to ask out--cool part is I know her mom, so I’ll ask her mom for permission first. That’s firstly because it’s polite and secondly to find out whether the gal’s even available, and thirdly to make a good impression on both. At the core level, it just seems like a good thing to do. I’d avoided asking her for a long time, but now I don’t think she’s going out with anybody else and I’m thinking, “No guts, no glory.” That’s what a lot of people say before getting shot down. Which might happen. But then it might not. ;)
The point, though, is that I just assumed Wonder Woman was weaker than Superman because she is a woman. It seems a reasonable assumption, but not the best one to which one should come automatically. I didn’t even know if she was a s strong as Batman or exactly what her powers were.
What brought this to mind was a picture of She-Hulk and my having recently re-reada couple of Hulk and Superman’s battles. I wonder who would win in a fight between She-Hulk and Wonder Woman--if She-Hulk is as strong as Hulk himself.
What on earth does this have to do with anything? you might wonder.
It concerns the assumptions people make about each other--assumptions that might be perfectly valid but which shouldn’t be taken for granted. That every woman wants the door held open for her. That all men are cheaters and want only to get into a woman’s pants. That all conservatives are uptight a-holes and all liberals are tree-hugging enviro-nazis
Without getting too deep, though, I am a little surprised at some assumptions men make about women down here in the almost-south and the same about women toward men. For example, there’s the idea that the man’s going to be the bread-winner and that the woman has to go to him to get money, as she’s got no income, being a soccer mom and all. I know it’s not as prevalent as I suppose it used to be, but...well, I just wonderhow deeply into Proverbs 31 some people who want to be a Proverbs 31 woman have looked. The woman described in that chapter is not sitting at home, barefoot and pregnant, slaving away in the kitchen. She takes care of the home, yes, but she is also in business and engages in trade, and I don’t know that that’s going shopping (there’s another kvetch I have--fascination with shopping, even though I sometimes share it). Now, this assumption (the barefoot and pregnant thing) isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, but I still see some of it from time to time, and it angers me. Partially because I think it puts an undue burden on men and partially because it limits a woman’s fulfilling her potential to be automatically locked into the cycle of going to school, going to college only to get an MRS, that sort of thing. I’m talking about being locked into it--unwillingly. If that’s what the woman wants, fine. If not, that should be fine, too.
But what unfair assumptions do I make about women? Hmm...I assume that no means no, I assume that most women should want to go to college and have their own career before marrying, as should men. What else...I assume they can make up their minds by themselves what outfit looks best on them, that they are perfectly capable of going to the bathroom by themselves and that if they take another woman with them, it’s so they can talk about something...I assume that some play games but that if I catch them at it and warn them off of it that they’ll respect that...I assume I won’t be interested in anybody who exhibits a “been there, done that” attitude (that’s one assumption of mine that could use some work)...that’s about all I can think of.
Here’s something else I just found out recently: I’ll enjoy PBS on the local OETA station, channel 11, yet the programming stops for a while in the night. But there are scheduled programs--they’re listed on OETA’s website. I asked the OETA people about this, and they said those programs are available on cable. Which goes, to me, against the very idea of PBS--which is to be publicly supported as well as gaining support through grants and so on. Not commercially-supported. Well, if you have to subscribe to cable to get all of the OETA programming, how is that not commercial? I don’t know.
I was just going through some of these cowboy proverbs I have. One of them says, “If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.” That can apply very well to debt relief.
I remember my dad and my brother gave me two of the best pieces of advice regarding money that I ever remember getting. Dad said, “Don’t spend more than you have.” My brother said, regarding getting out of debt, getting a better credit rating, that sort of thing, “Pay your bills and keep ‘em paid.”
That right there will save a person untold hundreds on weekend seminars, get outta debt schemes, whatever. It’s just common sense. Sort of like keeping yourself trim and healthy: eat right and exercise. That’s it. How much? Well, don’t eat when you’re full. How much to exercise? At least 20 min. at about 60, 70 percent of maximum heart rate, done three times per week. So how do you figure your maximum heart rate? 220 minus you age. So if you’re 20 years old, your max heart rate would be about 200. What’s 60 percent of that? Take 20 times 6, which is 120. Keep the ol’ ticker going at that rate for 20 minutes, 3 times per week and you’re pretty good to go.
Of course, then there’s strength training and all, but cardiovascular stuff is more important.
A lot of people who know me will probably be thinking, “Well, why doesn’t he take his own advice?” Dunno, actually. Don’t feel like it. I know what to do; I just don’t want to do it. Which is really rather foolish, now that I think about it. Maybe I’ll take up tennis again. Certainly not jogging or spinning or doing anything that keeps me rooted in one place, bored. The only physical exercise I like that has me doing that is weightlifting, and that’s partially because it’s fun to watch the muscles flex. Really, it is--once you can see them. ;)
Wow--I’ve actually written a blog that wasn’t mostly me praising God for something or other. Well, I do praise God for this day and for the wonderful sleep I got this weekend. I do love my sleep when I get enough of it--for a while, it was just an interruption to my day. I thought I was missing out, being asleep for four or five hours, but going through the day about half-speed is no way to enjoy the day for real. And I kept not wanting to do the devotions, because I was reading Ezekiel, which has some very not-so-nice stuff in it and I “have” to get it, which means I’ll read the same passage multiple times before really getting it, then go back and pick up any passages I missed or skimmed over--really an inefficient way of reading the Bible. It’s much easier to just remember to pray beforehand for understanding and then concentrate the whole way through.
Well, I’m done with Ezekiel now, and I think I’m going to Job next, as I’ve heard some teachings that shed some new light on what happened to the guy for real. For example, it looked for a long time like God was just letting Satan pick on Job for no good reason. But Job opened himself up to Satan’s attacks by doubting--it says early on that Job would offer daily sacrifices in case one or another of his kids sinned. He didn’t know whether they did or not, but just in case. Well, that’s like asking God to forgive us for any sin we commit today--we don’t know what sin, if any, we’ll commit today, and it hasn’t been committed yet, so there’s nothing to forgive. But the bigger, real issue, is the fear that his kids sinned--Job gave in to fear, which is faith in a negative thing happening, at its most basic level, belief that God won’t fulfill his promises. This is why we often go to God again and again with the same sin, which we’ve been forgiven for already--we still feel guilty (which is a feeling we shouldn’t allow ourselves to have once we’re forgiven), but there’s no reason to. We’ve been forgiven and should just drop it now. God did--well, actually, he removed it really far away and cast it out of his memory. Keep giving in to guilt, and one wonders, “How much guilt is enough?” It’s not going to be enough, no matter how much it is. Only forgiveness and belief in that forgiveness assuages guilt. Good works, while noble, certainly don’t.
I’m getting my preach on again.
Anyway, there’s this gorgeous gal at church I’m wanting to ask out--cool part is I know her mom, so I’ll ask her mom for permission first. That’s firstly because it’s polite and secondly to find out whether the gal’s even available, and thirdly to make a good impression on both. At the core level, it just seems like a good thing to do. I’d avoided asking her for a long time, but now I don’t think she’s going out with anybody else and I’m thinking, “No guts, no glory.” That’s what a lot of people say before getting shot down. Which might happen. But then it might not. ;)
Friday, 7 October 2005
coming up on abundance
I gotta share this: this week, God's brought me from a negative bank balance to abundance. When the balance was negative, I got prayer for a manifestation of MONEY in God's time. Well, my paycheck came, plus I received my share of an inheritance (not a lot, but pretty cool) and I've gotten paid for some other hours I'd worked last week sooner than I thought.
I know my peace is not in money (it helps, but think: money without God? I'll pass.). It's in God. And it's always there to be rooted in.
And this is just the beginning--God's got so much for me to distribute as the Holy Spirit directs and so much for me personally... I'm excited to get what's coming, in God's time, and get to work distributing it (and getting some cool stuff along the way, but that's not the point). Let's go, I say!
I know my peace is not in money (it helps, but think: money without God? I'll pass.). It's in God. And it's always there to be rooted in.
And this is just the beginning--God's got so much for me to distribute as the Holy Spirit directs and so much for me personally... I'm excited to get what's coming, in God's time, and get to work distributing it (and getting some cool stuff along the way, but that's not the point). Let's go, I say!
Wednesday, 5 October 2005
attacks
Well, Satan was trying to get to me again, this time in the area of finances. My paycheck didn't show up at the time it usually does and I got all concerned about it. But I called the Abundant Life Prayer Group and got prayer for manifestation of that check in God's time, and when I woke up a bit ago, there it was.
Now, did it really take an act of God to get me my paycheck? Well, since he runs stuff, yeah. Not a big act, like parting the sea, but an important one.
The key issue here, though, is Satan trying to get me to doubt God's word. See, if he can get me to do that, then he'll have a foothold in my life. Fear. Fear is faith twisted to believe that something negative's going to happen, that God won't deliver on His promises.
But.
BUT.
But, bless God, an important thing to remember is that as strong as your fear is, if you have it, is at least as strong as your faith can be, if you'll just untwist it, turn it from fear into faith. It's all a matter of, really, which dog you choose to feed, faith or fear. Keep feeding fear and it'll grow big and strong--and eventually the pork chops you're giving it won't be enough--it'll want to eat you. It will consume you. Then you're dead meat.
Oh, but praise God, if you take the same food and feed it to faith, then that one will grow big and strong and eventually consume you, and then you're really alive. Your old, fearful, unbelieving self is gone and you step more and more into a new life. Behind you, wayyy back in the distance will be your old life, rancid and rotting and eventually gone, thank God, while you move from glory to glory (blessings, divine enablement), from faith to faith (from one level of faith to continuously higher levels), and that's the life you want--fully dependent and trusting in and on God. There, my friend, is freedom.
So, right now, I give glory and praise and thanks to God for my paycheck--for seed to sow and bread for the eating. Thank you, God. Praise your blessed and holy and marvellous name!
Now, did it really take an act of God to get me my paycheck? Well, since he runs stuff, yeah. Not a big act, like parting the sea, but an important one.
The key issue here, though, is Satan trying to get me to doubt God's word. See, if he can get me to do that, then he'll have a foothold in my life. Fear. Fear is faith twisted to believe that something negative's going to happen, that God won't deliver on His promises.
But.
BUT.
But, bless God, an important thing to remember is that as strong as your fear is, if you have it, is at least as strong as your faith can be, if you'll just untwist it, turn it from fear into faith. It's all a matter of, really, which dog you choose to feed, faith or fear. Keep feeding fear and it'll grow big and strong--and eventually the pork chops you're giving it won't be enough--it'll want to eat you. It will consume you. Then you're dead meat.
Oh, but praise God, if you take the same food and feed it to faith, then that one will grow big and strong and eventually consume you, and then you're really alive. Your old, fearful, unbelieving self is gone and you step more and more into a new life. Behind you, wayyy back in the distance will be your old life, rancid and rotting and eventually gone, thank God, while you move from glory to glory (blessings, divine enablement), from faith to faith (from one level of faith to continuously higher levels), and that's the life you want--fully dependent and trusting in and on God. There, my friend, is freedom.
So, right now, I give glory and praise and thanks to God for my paycheck--for seed to sow and bread for the eating. Thank you, God. Praise your blessed and holy and marvellous name!
Saturday, 1 October 2005
interesting
Today I remembered something Kenneth Copeland said a while back: "The reason you think God's word ain't no good is because your word ain't no good."
Sooo...keep your word more and it'll be easier to believe God'll keep his. Food for thought.
Sooo...keep your word more and it'll be easier to believe God'll keep his. Food for thought.
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