Revisited

A highway tries to contain a culture, a lifestyle defined by the two major cities it contains. I chose to leave it in 1985 to build a new life. Twenty two years later I return. Outside the confines of this circumnavigated harness, the harsh West Texas landscape opens my eyes to a different kind of life. Oil derricks, cattle ranches, windmills and cotton fields are the scenery for hundreds of miles along the way. When I arrived at the place that I once dreaded and, by grace, escaped from... it was gone. Beautiful new upscale apartments now populate the the area where I once died. The street no longer exists, and the I can only imagine that remnants of the building I stayed in might be buried beneath the soil.

What's the meaning of this?

Outside and inside, forces vying to control me. The bottom line and the divine and the struggle for meaning in-between. The choices that are before me are not clearly right or wrong. Only a higher principle can add value to the choice, and the battle that will ensue. Look to the right, the left and behind... I am surrounded. Compromises have left my body weak. A mental lassitude has begun to set in.

Look up and find a higher principle.

Dig deep in the manual of life, and follow the instructions.

I will be hated, but I am loved.

Application Launcher Error

Red

I'm out of the the black and into the red. My accountant warns me of penalties I should dread. Enough with the rhymes, enough said. But I just can't get this thing off my head. A reminder. The account was settled long ago. A chapter 7 of sorts I declared. But as for here and now, where will I go, or will I remain? A thin line divides the 'haves' and the 'have nots.' To have what? What thing can I truly possess and call my own? Only that which is in my soul. And I relinquish ownership of that too. The narrow gate doesn't allow one to pass with much baggage. Have I left it all behind?

That's 9 "I's", 4 "my's", and 1 "me."

That shouldn't be.

Focus

There is a popular product heavily advertised during late night television called Focus Factor. I've seen the product on the shelves of Wal-Mart.

Early in my marriage, I knew that I would have to change my focus on occasion to avoid conflict. While walking a mall in California with my wife, I would intentionally keep my eyes fixed about 6-8 feet in front of my path, looking at the floor. The very moment I lifted my gaze, a gorgeous female passed by. I quickly looked back at the floor, but it was too late. I was busted. I knew better than to look up, especially in that particular mall.

It is easy to walk without focus, without intention, to take the direction that seem most fitting to the eyes. Pick up this magazine, watch that show. So many decisions are made based on emotion, which is fed by the intellect, which is fed by who knows what. So then, where should you fix your eyes? There is only one person that I can fix my eyes on and not loose focus.

The Master Plan

Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Christi......

so that...

Soli Deo Gloria!

John 10:27 "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

Heart, Soul, Mind

He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head.

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Deuteronomy 6:5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.

My desire is to immerse my mind in his word. Yet, my children seem to know when I awake early and they demand my attention (three out of four are ill). My wife finds me in a quiet place and decides that it is a good time to talk. Last night, at last, everyone asleep, I thought I could finally devote some time to study - no. Yahoo Instant Messenger pops up, I have a call.

I guess right now is not the time to read about love, but to display it.

Little sleep, wiping noses,

Washing dishes, drying clothes.

Love with my heart, Love with my soul,

Mind into action, Eyes on the Ball.

(Sorry, but I guess you just had to be there to catch those last four words. I'd better sleep now before I type something that merits the use of the 'delete' button - or have I done so already?)

Thanksgiving

The test of praise, the reflection in the water, only when I'm home, will my eyes be satisfied. I look forward to Thanksgiving, and a family gathering. Who's house will it be at this year? But I look beyond the next few weeks, to another sort of family reunion. The time is not for me to know. But, I know who's house it will be at, and the host is very well known. Won't you join me?

Expressive Aphasia

Overloaded
Frontal Lobe
Obfuscated
Refocus

Diligently
Quiet time
Recovery
Found inside

Heavy Burdens
Meditate
Eyelids Lower
Peace resides.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. - NIV

Four years of genocidal massacres have killed more than 200,000 people in the Darfur region of Sudan, killing or driving off what remains of the region's non-Arab population.

The Rwandan Genocide started on April 6, 1994 as the Hutu-led Interahamwe began to slaughter the Tutsi population, however, no foreign aid came from the United Nations or its more powerful Western member states until after over 900,000 Rwandans had been murdered.

The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which approximately 1.7 million people lost their lives (21% of the country's population), was one of the worst human tragedies of the last century.

Nazi Germany, East Timor, Guatemala, Yugoslavia

360 degrees

Many good stories are written in such a way that the plot takes a complete 360 degree turn back to the beginning. Sometimes, reading the ending, adds a new light on all that is written before the final chapter. Mesopotamia, Europe, America, the Far East and back to...

As Americans, are we just enjoying our moment in the sun?

The denouement, Jerusalem.

Truth or Fiction

There must have been at least 10 different versions of the grim reaper show up to our door last night. One with flashing red eyes, another with fake blood which appeared to run down the fake skull face. These fictional characters remind me of some of the B horror movies with the grim reaper, zombies, the undead. I am currently reading some non-fiction that involves dragons, a prostitute, plagues, earthquakes, hail, and a lake of fire with burning sulfer.

You can see a shadow of the truth on the 6 o'clock news and the front page of MSN.com. I have come to realize that truth is often much scarier than fiction.

Bloggers Paradise

Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors, but I know of a place with more. Each one with the goal of not pleasing me, but of pleasing the one that spoke all things into being. I see Italian Ice Cream - Gelato, and other factories tempting me with with their goods. But I just can't seem to leave the place that stays true to the Master's proven recipes.

Revision

...Three stanzas completed, four lines each of equal meter, alternating rhyme. True and emotive, without error but one, without love. So in this instant, off the cuff age, I found a new friend in button which reads 'Delete,' and in an instant, my error is erased (more accurately, the full consequences of my error are erased).

144,000

An avid music fan since my teenage years, I would often encounter music that just didn't make sense to me. Neither was it pleasing to listen to, nor were the lyrics comprehensible. So much has changed over the years. Just as what spit did in the eyes of a blind man, I feel the same about what I am able to hear. Sometimes what I listen to, others will not understand. But I know that something has been awaken, and I can enjoy what others still don't understand.


Rev. 14:3 And they sang a new song...No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

Longing

Sunlight pierces through the clouds. Closes the day with sherbert clouds and blue skies. Into the evening I return to work. At 2:00 a.m., I should be home. Cars still pass by. Electric devices surround me, and I long to stroll in the cool autumn evening as I did before I knew better. Before the 24 hour pharmacies and the corner head shops arrived. Before the drive-bys and the all night bright lights. Before safety was a concern (how having children can change your sense of reckless abandon). An evening in the remote countryside still declares His glory. But within these four walls, these walls, fluorescent lights, the air is conditioned, the water is chlorinated, and still there is pollution no E.P.A. can tackle - a spiritual battle involving the heart and mind (is there such a dichotomy?). There is also a longing for pure water, pure light, eternity. Yet everything seems to be rags. Wishful thinking to escape the battle grounds. My arms are weary, mental fatigue sets in and I want to rest....

Homeward Bound

Sunday, a distress call came. I knew something was brewing, but I was deep in my own quagmire. It was literally a matter of life and death. Revealed again was why I had undergone the same suffering in the past.

Rev. 7:17 ...and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Plato Paragon

Plato, a follower of Socrates, and teacher of Aristotle. But how does the surname relate to the first name? One might look for a pattern for comparison. Plato is a model used for illustrative purposes. Why follow Socrates and how can I teach Aristotle if they are dead? Whom then should I follow?

Title Deed

Every year, at least one person asks me, "What is your favorite car?" For a several years, the answer was - a 1995 Mercury Tracer. With a puzzled look on the inquirers face, as if I misunderstood the question or they didn't hear me clearly, they would respond by saying, "A what?", or "No, really." I'm certain they were expecting me to say something like a Ferrari, Maserati, or Lotus. I explained, that the 1995 Mercury Tracer was my favorite car because it was paid for, I no longer owed the bank, and was not in debt to somebody for this car. I held the title. Now I can say the same about a 2001 Toyota Land Cruiser. Although it is very thirsty (11-13 mpg), maintenance has been nothing more than routine. And I hold the title.

I can't say that about my house. But someday, my car will succumb to the elements, and repairs on this house will be constant until its final day. But how narrow minded I would be if these things were my primary concern.

--------------------

For quite some time, I thought that I held the title deed to myself. Master of my own destiny I thought. I tried to own something that wasn't mine, and I hadn't paid for.

I am fascinated about a title deed that no man can fulfill the requirements to open it. It's for the greatest closing to come.

Listen

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

-- Revelation

These elephant ears (colocasia) stretch toward the light to grow well. They also flourish when provided generous amounts of water.

Revelation's repetitions bear repeating.

Connected

I am fascinated with this intrument we have been given, the mouth. Not just the sounds that emanate forth, but the thought (or lack of thought) that precedes. An artist spends hours, days, years, contemplating the right relationship between the notes, the melody, not just the technical aspects of the music and song, but ultimately how it may be received by the listener's ear. People very dear to me have asked, "can you teach me how to say things correctly?" It is true, I have spent a considerable amount of time studying communication, but the crux of the entire matter regarding effective communication lies in the heart. Until one accepts that it is a matter of the heart, all of the rest is just rhetoric.

Unveiling

66 rests on 65, which speaks of 3, that are one; before, now and what is to come. May I be ready to hear, and not neglect what was written to 7, to fear none, and take to heart, the finest instruction.

Rebuilding

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, but searched the scriptures daily, to prove whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Several organizations are currently making efforts to rebuild the Temple. What are the implications if/when the temple gets rebuilt? Why should this concern me?

____________________

I see a pattern in what I read:

Some Good News

The Bad News

An Exhortation

And a Promise

____________________

How does all of this tie together? I need to do some searching, but not alone.

The Dark

When I was 12 years old, I began a fascinating journey through a literary series called The Dark Is Rising. It played well into my my fantasies for something greater in life than what I was currently experiencing - my parents divorce. The series was difficult to read, but thoroughly captivating. And the subject was timeless, the battle between good and evil. Now my son 9 years of age is reading the series.

I have begun a journey into another fascinating book which reads much like a fantasy fiction novel such as The Dark Is Rising, yet the story is neither fiction nor fantasy. Swords and blazing fire, seven stars and seven lampstands, the tree of life, the crown of life, the second death, the white stone, the morning star, the book of life, creatures with six wings, and scrolls and seals. As an adult, I have tried to read this book previously, yet found it difficult reading. It definately requires guidance to understand. I am thankful that I've been assigned the best guide, and am surrounded with a team well equipped to go on this journey with me.

Intentions

Columbus day. 3/4 of staff out of office. Full schedule. Kids out of school and I was to watch them until I got the calls and text messages. I know who I'm up against, but I know who is on my side. Victory will not come from any battle skills I've learned from the world, but from that underacknowledged battle position which begins with one one his knees.

Posts

post under construction...

Two days later -

I purposed to post today

But the day interupted

There was something to say

So I thought

Then my child couldn't wait

And I did what I ought

To say I was negligent

And to that I must say

To post was my intention

But my intentions were not the plans

Someone else had for me today.

Kings

The king pours out his heart, holding nothing back, to the the one who already knows.

From one king to another, I admire the relationship they have shown.

Generations

The brief time that I have had with my grandfather has made an enormous impression on my life. He worked many jobs - owned a gas station, built and tested submarines in WWII, then went to work for LTV. But the work that I remember him for was his avid gardening. I wanted to draw analogies between gardening and life, generations and ancestors, lasting impressions. But the truth of the matter is.......I miss him.

Dark and Light

Dark matter - it cannot be observed by radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, or gamma-ray telescopes, known by its gravitational effect on normal matter. Dark energy -a mysterious force behind the expansion of the universe. This expansion could continue to accelerate until the universe is ripped apart, or could go into reverse with a giant implosion.

Fascinating indeed, but there is only one presence I need. And the ending has already been written, but it sounds too far fetched for many to believe.

Patterns

Ex.25:40

It is no suprise that a good pattern, with the right tools and techniques will yield the promised results with mathmatical precision. I see the patterns made by a master designer, and know that I must prepare my tools for the work ahead.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." ---- Abraham Lincoln

Elements

There are only about 115 known elements. I look and see diversity that my mind cannot extrapolate from 115. What hand can sustain such order, with such accuracy and detail. Give me 115 blocks build with, and I will surely see them fall into disarray before any semblance of order is attained.

Miracles

I went to drink some water but,

Somebody changed it into wine.

I went to drink some water but,

Somebody changed it into wine.

I was not invited to the party but,

I had such a very good time.

I went out to go fishing but,

My nets were empty all day long.

I went out to go fishing but,

My nets were empty all day long.

I didn't catch a thing until,

That Man said try just one more time.

I wanted to check out but,

There was one thing that I hadn't tried.

It was time to say goodbye but,

There was one thing that I hadn't tried.

Everybody I knew failed me but,

He said, "Why don't you just give me a try?"

I've heard of second chances but,

For me I knew I should have none.

I've heard of second chances but,

For me I knew hard times had come.

But when I left that world behind me, I know

I gained friend for all time.

© 2007, Timothy Dalton

Avoid Verbigeration

Expressions

Lamentations and celebration,

Declarations and manifestations,

Not by rhyme or rhythm,

But by relationships,

The King's poetry, not prose.

Hydrogen Oxide

There is something so therapeutic about a good shower or bath. It goes beyond the mere removal of oil, dirt and debris. Experts in the medical profession espouse the benefits of drinking 8 glasses of water each day. From the outside and inside, water that is clean and pure, is good.

You may say, "these things are nothing new." True. But how joyful it is to experiece this renewal daily, especially when you encounter the Living Water.

Halo3

Psalm 36:1 - An evil man is rebellious to the core.
He does not fear God

My son notified me that one of his friends is getting the new XBox game - Halo3. MSN gave the new game front page placement on the internet.

Here's a short list of a few words used in the storyline: Covenant, heresy, religion, faith based, halos, defy, revelations, prophets, deceiving, the truth, deluded, the flood.

Is this really, "Just a Game?"

Roots

Spinoza, Aquinas, Thoreau and Emerson - variations of rationalists, naturalism, trancendentalism and empiricism; my roots have memories of where they once drank deep from these philosophies. But I have since been uprooted. Even so, just as an amputee still feels the sensation of an arm that longer exists, my tendencies to reach out and say 'This is still a part of me, who I am," remain.

My roots, although they remember drinking from Walden Pond, now drink from the Living Water. I confess and am concerned, but wait on the One who will not abandon me.

Show and Tell

Only had time for some Robert Zimmerman on my morning drive.

"You may be an ambassador to England or France,

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,

You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed,

You're gonna have to serve somebody,

Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody." -- Bob Dylan

Atomic Clock

Messier 31, our nearest galactic neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy, is generally believed to be about 2.5 million light years away. Einstein's relativity theories have been telling the world that time is not a constant. And Moses said, “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." And my son said, "Dad, I think time goes slower when you are younger."

This week, I've experienced what I call an imbalanced life. It is difficult not to live an imbalanced life these days.

Indeed, my days are numbered. While there is a season in my life, eternity is firmly set in my heart.

Revealed and Concealed

The counsel I receive is relatively free. Yet until I confess, he will not help me. Only when I uncover and reveal, will I be covered and concealed. How paradoxical, but real.

Echoes

Drywall covered with paint and paper. Plastic, steel and laminate. Free me from these four walls. Let me walk the path in the woods, over the mountains and alongside the brook. There I experience true communication. Mother nature is just a misnomer. What I see and communicate with echoes of something so much greater.

X=X

The math student is always substituting for X. The basic fact is that X=X. What if no substitution is made? Where does the analogy lead?