And the new year begins!

My beloved and i spent a relatively quiet night at home with a few other families. We just played a few games, chatted around the fire place, and ate until our tummy's ached. ;-) A good time was had by all. We even managed to crawl into bed before sunrise. One thing though... when one stays up so late, it would be smart to turn off one's alarm clock. ;-) I failed to do so and when it went off at my normal time i turned it off and started my normal work day routine... only to realize... i didn't have to go to work on New Years day! lol It took me almost 20 minutes for the fog in my brain to clear enough to realize what i was doing... My poor beloved was feeling very run down from the ramp up to Christmas and then hosting her parents for the week, so i took all three of our young 'uns and headed out to Toys R Us so they could get something with their gift cards, etc. The geek that i am picked up a Scolastic Book on Obi Wan Kenobi. Ok, so it's written for ages 9+... he's my favorite Jedi! The rest of the day we sat around and watched movies and snacking on popcorn. When i woke up this morning i could have sworn it was a Monday instead of Friday. I think the fog has yet to fully lift. ;-) Still there's not much going on this weekend. I hope to get a few more boards nailed down for my deck. I only have about 8 to go, but these are the ones i will need to notch for an exterior PVC pipe, and make up a hatch for a sump pump access. That, and to watch some NFL playoff games. ;-) I am rooting for for Arizona but i doubt the Cardinals defense will be able to contain Turner and Ryan. But with Kurt Warner anything is possible. Then i think Colts are going to take Chargers. this one is hard to predict. Both teams are riding winning streaks - but i'm pretty sure Payton manning will take 'em. On Sunday i am rooting for the Ravens. Mostly out of loyalty to my old army buddies - most of which where/are Baltimore Ravens fans. I am not real confident that a team that went 1-15 a year ago can go very deep in the playoffs the next year. Should be some good games no matter who pulls out the victory.

No matter where you go, there you are

It doesn't matter how far you travel the one constant thing is you. You may be in a new environment, a new town, or even a new country - but you can never get away from yourself. Even when your friends or family are not around, you are. I bring this up because i've seen many people act in totally different ways when they think no one is around and/or watching. One can put on a 'face', but they will have to live with themselves in the end. What got me thinking about this today is the game i have been looking forward to for so long has finally hit the shelves. One of the big selling points is that the player can act like either Luke Skywalker (a good guy), Han Solo (a kind of Neutral guy), or like Count Dooku (a real bad guy). The game even keeps track of your 'karma' and it will change how you can interact with the rest of the game world. I have never been one drawn to games like "Grand Theft Auto" or things like that, but i know many are. I don't even begin to know where to try and understand why so many people are. My boss and his son came to an agreement. Do not play any games that you would not do in real life. Now, that's an over simplified statement - but i think the concept comes across. If i need to go on a business trip i should behave as if my beloved is right there with me. If i am playing a video game, or any type of game, i need to behave as a Christian. Just because it's not real does not mean it that it is a moral choice you are making. Just because it is easy (like copying movie DVD or music CD's) does not make it acceptable. Just because you disagree with a law does not mean you are free to violate it. The only exception would be when it crosses with what God says is right and wrong. I have been voting for... well let's just say this is not my first election. ;-) The candidate that i voted for does not always win the election (big surprise there), but i need to keep in mine just Who has established the "king". While i was on active duty my team and i got to interacting with a man who was on his way to a formal function at the Officer's Club. I had noticed a Bible on his dashboard and made a comment about the Good Book (probably not an acceptable thing to do in uniform). Some how he turned it into a tirade against the administration of the time. I let him go on for a good two minutes before i said to him that it is God who established the rulers of all times, and in all places. He stopped, thought for a moment and said, "I will have to give that some thought". The point i think i am trying to make is that we are to be good and seek to follow Him, no matter where we are, or who is elected. We may not agree with those who are elected, or the laws that are passed, but we are to be good citizens and act as if it was God Himself sitting on the seat of government - for He is. For He has ordained all things for His greater glory and purpose - wether we understand it or not. Verse for today: Romans 13 : 1-7, ESV Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Tales from the Darkside

A longer time ago than i would care to remember i was in a car with two friends of mine. We were doing the "guys hanging out thing" when somehow the conversation turned into a banter of Star Wars and the faith of myself and one of the my other friends. We were witnessing to our friend using a contemporary "tool" if you will. For the past week or so i have been contemplating what it means to die to myself. I don't know if i fully understand the passages where Jesus is quoted saying "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, & Luke 9:23) There are many examples of people dieing for others outside of Jesus. Randy Shugart and Gary Gordon are two that immediately came to mind. But what is it that Jesus is calling ME to? In some regards a call to throw yourself in harms way can be easier to bear then the little things that all add up. Please do not misunderstand what i am saying here. I am in now way taking away from the incredible sacrifice of those who have given their lives for another. It is in the end the most that anyone can do for another. But it can be harder making those daily "little" sacrifices. The deferring of your preferences for others. Why do i consider this to be more difficult? Because, at least in my mind, the little things add up over time. The enemy whispers in your ear about the 'fruit' of taking for yourself. And it is in our sinful nature to want and to be selfish. We do not have to teach our children to be selfish. Some take to the teaching of giving and sacrifice easier than others, but even the most generous take for themselves from time to time. This is why things in life are hard. When we take the easy path down range consequences are sure to follow. And I struggle with taking the initiative in my own life. This is true in all things that are worthy of pursuing. In order to succeed routinely one must be willing to do the hard thing and take initiative. One reason Thomas Jonathon Jackson, aka "Stonewall", was so successful was that he was willing to work his men hard in order to seize the initiative and take decisive action. Early on his men complained about the workload. They did not see what he was doing. He has been quoted as saying, "I am obliged to sweat them tonight, that I may save their blood tomorrow." This is best understood by studying Jackson and his "Valley Campaign" of 1862.

YODA: Run! Yes. A Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger… fear… aggression. The dark side of the Force are they.

Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan’s apprentice.

Ever notice how easy it is to succumb to anger? How quick we react when we have been "wronged"?

LUKE: Vader. Is the dark side stronger?

YODA: No… no… no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

LUKE: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?

YODA: You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

What is hardest is to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These are things that need to be painstakingly nurtured, reinforced.

LUKE: I'll try

YODA: Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.

LUKE: I can't believe it.

YODA: That is why you fail.

What is it that holds us back? We know these things (as Christians) intellectually, but why is it that we fail? Because we are inclined towards laziness and selfishness. It causes us trouble, it takes work. We succeed when we put off the old and take on the newness in Christ. When we die to ourselves we no longer care for what we want, but what we can do for others. There is a part in Eric Haney's Book Inside Delta Force that speaks volumes (to me anyway):

All day long, I crossed that mountain from one side to the other.... I would arrive exhausted and breathless at one RV (check point) only to be sent to the next back on the other side I had just come from. The mountain was too big to contour around, and the lay of the was such that I could never anything approximating a direct approach or maintain the hard-earned high ground for any length of time. Never getting anywhere, back and forth across the same mountain. It was a masterful torture. But then I had a revelation. What difference could it possibly make if I crossed back and forth over this mountain until doomsday? A mountain is a mountain, time was time, and route selection was route selection. The only that that mattered was speed and ground made good.... The frustration and mental torture I had been suffering were completely of my own making - and completely within my power to disregard.

- and -

I was physically spent and sore in every part of my body, But as I reflected on what I had undergone, I felt a calm sense of satisfaction and contentment. I had not just survived an ordeal, because survival in a sense if passive. No, I had conquered. But conquered what? I had to think about that a while, and then I realized: myself.

What had Eric Haney realized? That when he no longer minded, it no longer mattered. I think this post better describes yet another aspect of why i admire the samurai so much. The strived to die to themselves every day in order to serve their lord. "If by seeing one's heart right every morning and evening, one is able to live as though his body were already dead, he gains freedom in 'the Way'. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling." (from Haguakure) Am i perfect in this... not by a long shot. But i feel that it is a noble pursuit. Verse for today: Hebrews 9 : 24-28, ESV For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Why ask questions when you don't want to know the answer?

I know why Cable/Satellite TV do this, but I still get sucked into it. Lately Spike TV has been playing the six Star Wars movies over, and over, and over, and over... well, you get the idea. My beloved and I grew up loving those "first" three movies. We've even played "one upsies" on who had seen them the most (I won ;-) ). Well, last night Episode III - Revenge of the Sith was playing (followed by Ep. IV). I don't know why, but I have come to realize that this is my favorite episode of the series. I mean, how can the Jedi be confused about what Vader (Aka Anakin Skywalker) does? The prophecy stated that he would bring balance to the force... at the time, the Sith had not been seen in what? A thousand years? Meanwhile the Jedi have this huge building right smack dab in the heart of Coruscant! Granted, by the time episodes I-III hit the theaters I already know about IV-VI. I think I like it because it lays so bare the true nature of man. I don't think this is George Lucas' intention but if you think about it you will see what I mean. Anakin's whole aim is to protect his love. Since he 'failed' his mother, he sets out to protect and save his wife. But in the end he is so drawn to power that he turns. One line sticks out in my mind as I write this. "From my point of view the Jedi are evil." Wow. In the end how are we to determine what is right and wrong? As a Christian I know it is by God's Word. He is the only way we can know what is true and just, because He is the only perfect judge. In closing I just wanted to mention two unrelated things. The first one is, my beloved wanted me to trim up the boys hair. She wanted me to do this last week but I let it slide until last night. Well, I butchered the sides. It's not too bad, but they look like whitewalls on a woolly mammoth. LOL. The other is, I am in a desperate search for an old regimental crest. I am working on my "retirement walking stick" that I started at AT. I am almost finished with the surface, but I want to put branch insignia on one side, and on the other the corresponding regimental crests of the units I had belonged to over the years. I have been digging through my twenty two years of misc. junk. I have found two of the three, and the one I was sure I still had... I can't find. I've already written three letters with no replies. If anyone who stumbles across this little blog knows where I can find a crest (pictured above/left) please click on my profile and send me an e-mail. Verse for today: Proverbs 3 : 9-12, ESV Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

Cyclical evolutions of society

For some time I have been concerned about the future of America. I love this country, but I have serious concerns with how we abuse the priviledge of freedoms here in United States. The Bible tells us, ""Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24, NIV). Even a cursory study of ancient empires such as Rome and Greece shows that a slide into decadence preceeded their falls. Now I am not sure how long those slides were before the end - but it was clear that they defeated themselves within before their enemies from outside finished them off. What stirred this up in my mind of late was a recent show on the History Channel titled "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed". In it the commentators talk about the Empire and how George Lucas used the falls of those empires as an example for his own story of corruption and the fall of his empire in the movies. But just like I can't figure out why the charecters in the movie did not understand that the fulfilling of the prophecy (in Anikan Skywalker) would bring down their precious order of Jedi - I am thinking that most Americans (and by that I refer to the citizens of the United States) understand that the "freedoms" they indulge in, that go against the ways of God, will eventually erode our society. Perhaps (in my opinion probably) the eventual rotation of America - similar to ancient Rome and Greece. A really good commentary can be found over at Focus on the Family. Yesterday I heard Pastor John McArthur preaching on this very subject. Focus on the Family has a two day series titled, "A Nation Abandoned by God". It really made me think, and it has really motivated me to pray for my country. I know I have been impacted by the very things I fear will erode this country. To my shame I know I have contributed to those very things. But it is by God's grace that I am forgiven - and our country is not beyond hope. Look to Nineveh to see what happens when a country receives the word of God and repents. I worry about these things because this is the country God has placed me. This is the country my children have been born in as well. And it is most likely the place where we will all grow old and die in, and thus generations will continue to dwell here. America is a great country. Her place in history is assured alongside those other great nations, and by God's grace she will see many, many, many more centuries of prominance within the world. A footnote here... I in no way endorse, or participate in, any actions taken against this government. I see people like those who shoot abortion doctors, or try to do things that harm others that do not agree with them as being a black eye on those of us who profess Christ. The only action I can endorse is the activity of prayer and the participation in our electoral system. Engage in the active discussions with elected officials - even the ones that do not agree with you - and let our voice be heard. Do not be the 'silent majority' - we need to be the vocal (not violent) majority. Verse for today: Jonah 3:6-10, ESV The word reached [3] the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.