Do You REALLY Care?

You would not know it about this culture which surrounds the lives of those whom "claim" to be "christian", nor by their behavior in any given situation - but CHRISTIANS are called to be "CARING" - towards each other, towards the lost, towards the culture as a witness!  Nowhere are we told to be anything other than loving ...

Mark 7:31 - 37

If you desire to care, as Jesus cared, there are four things you must do:

• Care Individually
• Communicate Clearly
• Identify Fully
• Be Changed Completely

Nothing shows this more meaningfully for me that my involvement in the Seattle gay community during the 1980 to 1984 timeframe.  I was selling cut stones back then and I was to become friends with 34 men of the local community whom "deemed" me as being "real".  These men, I counted as friends, as they did me.  It was a horrible time, these men knew they were dying and why, I did witness to each of them - with NO observed changes in 33 of them.  That did not mean I wrote them off ... I stayed, I helped care for them - at a time when no one understood what the disease was nor fully its transmission, until they died.  Oh how that hurt to lose so many in so short a time.

One of them however, did repent, he did turn to God - he even explained to me he desired no healing, he deserved death.  He understood his choices had cost him heavily and this was what was necessary for him to have found salvation.  I remained in his family's life at least until the "christian" media descended upon them in order to capitalize on his death.  I always wondered how you tell someone's story when you cut out the politically incorrect one to have cared enough to risk self and identify with him ....  I never saw the special they ran, no reason to, I knew the story, it is no different than any of our stories - we do what we want to do, are surprised when we get caught and complain when we have consequences.

You have to KNOW your own testimony and why it is relevant to them and you!
You have to understand where they are coming from - lost in sin and it ain't pretty!
Then how to communicate what they need to know and do ...
But, this is oh so much in the realm of the Holy Spirit, not of you at all.

In my opening here I already spoke on Identity, you do not have to KNOW and PRACTICED their sin - you are a sinner, you have lots of practice.  So, get off the soap box and reach out to real people, once you are ...

But, none of this possible unless you are willing to live for Jesus alone - completely changed on the inside, knowing what is real and what is not.  And God will lead you were you never expected, once you can do this ...

Oh yeah, I need to mention once again that you will be turned on by friends and family alike - and you still get to love them in their Satanic hatred of you ...

Joy of the Redeemed

Isaiah 35

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.  Like the crocus,  

² it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.  The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
⁴ say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.  Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
⁷ The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.  In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way.  The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
⁹ No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,
¹⁰     and those the Lord has rescued will return.  They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.  Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

What a Maroon!

This is actually the second time I have written and posted about this.  January was when I originally had done so.  But it seemed at the time, God caused a confusing change ... suddenly everything was not as it seemed.  How the heck was I to have figured this out?  So, you roll with situation and think up a new post.  But, in the back of your mind - you are quite confused - up is no longer up.

And now for a second time this year - it happens again!  I write the post - and change is there before the post is published!  But, no, none of this reflects human attributes - it is confusion .... and God is not about confusion.  I can see clearly ahead, but I keep getting hit from the sides ...

Have you ever been played?  I would not attempt to define being played, other than  being  used by someone, for whatever reasons, to their ends and not your good.

I have thought on this for months.

Am I too trusting or is it that I trust too easily?
I have only ever trusted seven people in my life ...  But maybe I just have a problem believing the "signs" that foretell of problems ahead.  Afterall they are trusted.

Have I somehow lost touch with seeing what is of God versus what is over Satan?  Well, you do have to ask yourself.

Am I cutting people slack when none is due them?  Am I listening to excuses and lies, trusting people are being straight up with me?  Yeah, well, as Bugs Bunny says, "What a Maroon!".
Or, maybe everyone in the world really does have a drug problem ...

Only real logical explanation.

So, I am back to where I was in January.  Angry with myself, feeling betrayed (because I trusted), feeling stupid (and I really hate stupid!).  Concerned over others behavior.

How does one remain open to people and yet still protect yourself from those whom apparently would prey upon you?

And yet, in the back of my mind,  I keep wondering ... isn't this exactly how we are supposed to be?  Open, transparent, vulnerable?
Everything the world is not?
Else what would show that we different ... ?
 - bruised, battered, victims .....

Musical Saturday Morning

Sunday Services On the 4th

I really do not look forward to church services on any Sunday around the Fourth of July here in America.  It ALWAYS revolves around veterans getting up and talking about bombing Germans into submission, or diary excerpts read by the children of those whom relished killing Germans.  No exaggeration here guys, I have heard it all and in terms I am sure God does not approve of at how horrible Germans are and how they deserve to die - from the pulpit of my and many, many other churches here in America I have visited around this time of year while on vacation.  Not likely to hear a similar sermon or testimonials in Germany ...

So, you sit there and quietly suck it up.  After service you have to flee, I learned, because after such an uplifting presentation, everyone wants to talk about their and of course your family's wartime history.

"Yeah, my father was a NAZI, he was dedicated to creating an atomic bomb to blow New York City or Washington DC off the map ... and end American aggression in Europe."

No, not exactly what you want to say.  (And thank God that Heisenberg, program head, was so horribly wrong in his approach!  His bomb would have made a major mess for the Earth!)

Even if  you can explain that your father went on to becoming an Operation Paperclip scientist for the US Government - that is meaningless, he was still a NAZI.

So, I tend to just go and bring a good Bible study with me to do in the pew while the voices rant their celebratory memories or their forefather's memories, forgetting that there ever was another side to the story - whose testimonies are just as compelling but are silenced.

It is why I have refused to ever get involved in politics my entire life - I am appalling to the masses.  I think, I study all sides, I form my own opinion.  Not appreciated in American politics where the mainstream is the right opinion and no other is allowed.  Sigh ....

One has only to look at the uproar over South Carolina's Civil War battle flag - now politically incorrect because a minority of racist have defined it as theirs.  Funny, it used to stand for State Rights, over Federal Rights, once upon a time.  It was an "in your face Federal Government" statement.  It never did represent slavery nor any issue associated with slavery.  But sorry, I am looking at facts and not feelings again ...

Now, if you ever want to discuss South African or Rhodesian politics, I am extremely knowledgeable there as well - but you have to throw away your politically correct American ideologies to understand just how wrong the American press was, how manipulated America - where those governments did go wrong and why ... it would not be what you think you know ...  Facts, not feelings are the basis of truth.

Grandchildren

Kids are kind of a hoot.

I was still in college when I was made a God Parent to my best friend's children.  It was very interesting playing pseudo parent to the two of them.  Apparently, I did well since I now have 11 God Children, thankfully now adults, and still in my life!

Working with youth brought along another group I called, "My Kids".  Youth whom came along and stayed in my life.  As this is posted, I am expecting two of them from my 1977 youth group to be dropping by for a long weekend visit and bbq.  :)  At least with the reunion going on, I will have someone to talk to!  Since one is now Buddhist and one is now atheist, it ought to be interesting!

And eventually, adopting four kids of my own.  God had laid strongly on my heart that every kid needs a father.  And, they do.  They are all adults now, two with their own families and grandchildren are a real hoot!

The most endearing is the Oldest Grand-daughter.  From the time I first held her, there was this "connection".  It really bothered her parents at how she bonded on day one as an infant, on with me, if she is crying give her to grandpa.  :)  Very odd.  But she is such a delight!  Last night she gave me one of her little stories she did for her first year in school.  It was about going out for Mexican food with me, what else?  :)  Extremely cute!  Extremely helpful and always wanting to please her "Papa".

Grandson, now five years old is a hoot as well.  He says the craziest things - all guaranteed to crack you up and his blond clueless face is just the topper to bring him to the center of hilarity.  But, he is all boy and you can just see his little mind working on how to try the next level of excitement.  It could be how does that water get into the hose, to playing with being a klutzy pizza delivery boy past bed time but always guaranteed to make you laugh, whatever the outcome.  His latest was "What would it be like to have a birthday ever single day of the year?"  I commented that the mother would be very unhappy.  Of course, he could not understand and commented that, that would be one mean mommy!  I just love the little guy.

And Youngest Grand-daughter, well only has one use for me - to find her My Little Pony games and videos to watch on the computer!  Or to take her to Value Village in the eternal quest to find more and more MLP stuff.  There is nothing like being subjected to 3.5 hours of constant MLP!  to really melt your brain and remove all intelligence!  But, other than that, she really only likes females.

Yeah, grandchild are best: all fun and no responsibility ... :)
And yes, I do shovel them full of sugar and send them home :)

Letter From Home

Received a letter from my youngest aunt back home in Switzerland.  Actually, she writes quite often but my life has been such a nightmare of change - there is just no point to draw a line in the sand and say, "Okay, I can write about that!".  Or maybe I am just over analytical and a letter at any point would be fine.  Sigh.

Decisions - Decisions!  Argh!

My eldest aunt seems to be growing more fragile :( and I am not happy about that.  I would like to spend days with her just to visit.  Of course, I would need an interpreter for a few days until my language caught back up with me!  How I envy those, like my father, whom could speak nine different languages fluently and simultaneously!  I am lucky to get one right at a time!  Well, I am not sure I get English all that right most of the time!

My youngest aunt's husband has many health issues, the farm life is nothing if not hard on the human body.  Though they are able to travel, not far from home, but they are both artistic and so send copies of their paintings and drawings of where they have been. 

I have a large library of photographs I have torn out of magazines and books through the years, pictures of things I would like to draw or paint at some point, and from my aunt I get to see what the colors ought to be.  So cool.

Now if I could just find the time to paint and then I could be sending them copies of something I have done as well ...