April 29, 2017
April 28, 2017
UNCLE
Last week I was on Amazon ordering some exploration reference materials for later this summer ... when I saw the Man From U.N.C.L.E. .....
I was living Germany when the series began and it was an instant hit amongst of all us NATO brats! We actually believed that U.N.C.L.E. must actually exist, it was all too plausible! Sort of like believing that the National Enquirer actual reports real news! LOL!
And there were even 8 movie reles in Europe, I understand they were not available to American audiences, much less us youth. They were all rated 'M' for mature audiences only ... No fair! Even Bond's movies were 'G' on the NATO bases. Different versions were shown in the European theaters, as 'M'. sigh....
So, I have been watching the eight movies and yes they are 'M's! For the time pretty risque, today not so much as even a rating in this morally corrupt day and age .....
But interesting story lines, very much filmed in a TV mentality and format. It would be utterly viewed as acceptable today. Though, the lack of swearing may make the films quaint.
Now back to my 190 hours of marathon viewing!
I was living Germany when the series began and it was an instant hit amongst of all us NATO brats! We actually believed that U.N.C.L.E. must actually exist, it was all too plausible! Sort of like believing that the National Enquirer actual reports real news! LOL!
And there were even 8 movie reles in Europe, I understand they were not available to American audiences, much less us youth. They were all rated 'M' for mature audiences only ... No fair! Even Bond's movies were 'G' on the NATO bases. Different versions were shown in the European theaters, as 'M'. sigh....
So, I have been watching the eight movies and yes they are 'M's! For the time pretty risque, today not so much as even a rating in this morally corrupt day and age .....
But interesting story lines, very much filmed in a TV mentality and format. It would be utterly viewed as acceptable today. Though, the lack of swearing may make the films quaint.
Now back to my 190 hours of marathon viewing!
April 27, 2017
Enough
With too much free time, one has too much time to think ...
What does God expect of me?
What does God expect of any of us?
How much is ENOUGH?
Yeah, these past three years have been a mighty horrible.
And anyone would be a liar if they were not to wonder about what God expects of each of us ...
Of course, I am old German by upbringing - everything is viewed as being black and white.
As my father told me as a child, "There is definitely a God, and you must recognize that he exists, but he really is not nice and you really do not want to know him."
Well, as I was to understand decades later - his viewpoint was skewed as a troubled Swiss youth whom chose to join the Reich, it was the duty of every Germanic after all. His family, all strong Zwingli Christians, violently disagreed.
So, I do KNOW there is a God.
I do KNOW Him to be loving and personal.
And I have seen Him exacting His justice .....
Hence, I learned how He works ... so at least I know I am not under wrath (whew!)
But what does He expect of us?
How much are we expected to take in silence ..... ?
Well:
But through these thoughts I am reminded of the question I heard so long ago: "Which Jesus do you serve? The one of the Bible, the one of man's creation or the one in your mind?"
God has a really stringent requirement that you know whom He is and what He stands for.
He is the creator of all we can comprehend. He demands we place nothing in front of our worship of Him. I need go no further.
Intellectually, we discount God asthe creator, we question the why and the how of creation, we go out of our way to destroy His creation! We create laws to outlaw conflicting thought - we mock those whom we declare unenlightened. We have so many false gods it is almost an endless list which encompasses all of us! Just think of sports, sex, drugs, alcohol, our jobs, our families ...... our mostly pagan churches calling upon culture rather than Biblical values in their teachings and judgements! Accepting sin as normal or excusing it!
No, we never will have perfect anything! Not you, not me, not my friends, not my church. But it is possible to at least know and be able to discern where we fail - and repent our failure ..... and not repeat it!
So where does that leave me, in my frustration?
God is testing, God is teaching, it is the only way in which to view these many years.
So ya just gotta keep on, keeping on .....
What does God expect of me?
What does God expect of any of us?
How much is ENOUGH?
Yeah, these past three years have been a mighty horrible.
And anyone would be a liar if they were not to wonder about what God expects of each of us ...
Of course, I am old German by upbringing - everything is viewed as being black and white.
As my father told me as a child, "There is definitely a God, and you must recognize that he exists, but he really is not nice and you really do not want to know him."
Well, as I was to understand decades later - his viewpoint was skewed as a troubled Swiss youth whom chose to join the Reich, it was the duty of every Germanic after all. His family, all strong Zwingli Christians, violently disagreed.
So, I do KNOW there is a God.
I do KNOW Him to be loving and personal.
And I have seen Him exacting His justice .....
Hence, I learned how He works ... so at least I know I am not under wrath (whew!)
But what does He expect of us?
How much are we expected to take in silence ..... ?
Well:
- God exists (whether you acknowledge Him or not!)
- God is sovereign over your life (whether you like it or not!)
- God is molding you for your eternal life (whether you want it or not!)
- God will push you to your limits (until you submit to His Will!)
- God will sustain you through your shaping process
But through these thoughts I am reminded of the question I heard so long ago: "Which Jesus do you serve? The one of the Bible, the one of man's creation or the one in your mind?"
God has a really stringent requirement that you know whom He is and what He stands for.
He is the creator of all we can comprehend. He demands we place nothing in front of our worship of Him. I need go no further.
Intellectually, we discount God asthe creator, we question the why and the how of creation, we go out of our way to destroy His creation! We create laws to outlaw conflicting thought - we mock those whom we declare unenlightened. We have so many false gods it is almost an endless list which encompasses all of us! Just think of sports, sex, drugs, alcohol, our jobs, our families ...... our mostly pagan churches calling upon culture rather than Biblical values in their teachings and judgements! Accepting sin as normal or excusing it!
No, we never will have perfect anything! Not you, not me, not my friends, not my church. But it is possible to at least know and be able to discern where we fail - and repent our failure ..... and not repeat it!
So where does that leave me, in my frustration?
God is testing, God is teaching, it is the only way in which to view these many years.
So ya just gotta keep on, keeping on .....
April 25, 2017
Klansman
Again remember I am rebuilding my mind from absolute zero, almost. Yeah still only one memory, apparently of no value though.
I have been reading through old magazines, tearing out pictures and articles of interest. So in the Jan/Feb 2013 of The Saturday Evening Post is an article entitled, "Portrait of a Klansman".
Nice photo of a guy in a living-room, holding rifle with a Mauser style action. A few other adults and toddlers round it out. Brings no problem to my mind, until you remember that the article is about Klansmen. So it seems Klansmen love guys, play with guns, show them off the guys, win guns in contests, give toy guns to children - etc. Obviously written by someone with firearm issues, they would probably complain about knives too! Sigh ...
But, it triggered a memory of living in South Carolina, in the "heart of the KKK country" as the 30 foot billboard announced as you drove into town. And they were quite active with calling up integrated schools with bomb threats, stopping school buses and lighting them up, and generally terrorizing the town. So many memories - so much unhappiness!
No, no love here for bigots in my life! Hence, the source of many of my issues with my Family! Prejudice should really be the family's last name of the American side! Thank God my Plattner aunts and uncle are what I call normal! Of course living in a small country surrounded by many nations leaves little room for prejudice.
Interestingly, God does not think much those whom think more of themselves than they should, or less of others than they deserve ...
I have been reading through old magazines, tearing out pictures and articles of interest. So in the Jan/Feb 2013 of The Saturday Evening Post is an article entitled, "Portrait of a Klansman".
Nice photo of a guy in a living-room, holding rifle with a Mauser style action. A few other adults and toddlers round it out. Brings no problem to my mind, until you remember that the article is about Klansmen. So it seems Klansmen love guys, play with guns, show them off the guys, win guns in contests, give toy guns to children - etc. Obviously written by someone with firearm issues, they would probably complain about knives too! Sigh ...
But, it triggered a memory of living in South Carolina, in the "heart of the KKK country" as the 30 foot billboard announced as you drove into town. And they were quite active with calling up integrated schools with bomb threats, stopping school buses and lighting them up, and generally terrorizing the town. So many memories - so much unhappiness!
No, no love here for bigots in my life! Hence, the source of many of my issues with my Family! Prejudice should really be the family's last name of the American side! Thank God my Plattner aunts and uncle are what I call normal! Of course living in a small country surrounded by many nations leaves little room for prejudice.
Interestingly, God does not think much those whom think more of themselves than they should, or less of others than they deserve ...
Protein
After the third surgery this year, March 1st, I was told to over consume protein. And, I have been! I am so sick of all forms of protein!
I honestly dream at times of eating salads. Spinach, cold and hot, any salad with a home made thousand island dressing!, a fresh crab louie, or how about a world class chef salad? How I long for a beet salad, so common in the fall back home in Switzerland! I would even settle for the Siberian fur coat I lived on for several months in a land where anything green is unknown ... (if anyone is interested I do have recipe from my Great-Auunt)
Today, as I often do during the week - I get a ride to local place with acceptable steak and eggs. As usual, I add sliced tomatoes and avocado. And my tummy is full and happy but utterly bored with protein! :(
However, the protein approach appears to be working. In just the passed three weewks my wound has decreased by 65%! It may well be that I will have or be awfully close to wound closure in the next three weeks!
But, I still have to allow time for the wound scar to thicken and heal. Then I will be able to start physical therapy again ... and casting ... and a new leg ... and learning to walk all over again! :)
Yup, my metal detector is gfoing to be up and running by fall!
I honestly dream at times of eating salads. Spinach, cold and hot, any salad with a home made thousand island dressing!, a fresh crab louie, or how about a world class chef salad? How I long for a beet salad, so common in the fall back home in Switzerland! I would even settle for the Siberian fur coat I lived on for several months in a land where anything green is unknown ... (if anyone is interested I do have recipe from my Great-Auunt)
Today, as I often do during the week - I get a ride to local place with acceptable steak and eggs. As usual, I add sliced tomatoes and avocado. And my tummy is full and happy but utterly bored with protein! :(
However, the protein approach appears to be working. In just the passed three weewks my wound has decreased by 65%! It may well be that I will have or be awfully close to wound closure in the next three weeks!
But, I still have to allow time for the wound scar to thicken and heal. Then I will be able to start physical therapy again ... and casting ... and a new leg ... and learning to walk all over again! :)
Yup, my metal detector is gfoing to be up and running by fall!
April 24, 2017
Humility
It was 1975 and I was camping with the college Bible study group on the banks of the Hoh River at La Push, Washington. It was April and we had a three day weekend, so camping was a requirement, no matter how cold it was! And was it ever!
On Friday night, we had discussed having a baptism time on Saturday morning. Now, I had not been dunked since I had accepted that Jesus was real - and so was my need of Him.
It was quite the ordeal as there was ice on the ground, we were barefoot, about to be dunked into ice cold glacial water. Yeah, not the smartest situation .... but we were being obedient. Afterwards, we retired to the unheated bathrooms at the campground to dry off and put some warm clothing on!
I stripped down and started drying off. But I was distracted by a guy named Leonard Savage (email me dude when you see this!) whom was kneeling at my feet and trying to clean off all of the sand and fir needles! I was horrified!
We had quite a discussion afterwards. I had never even heard of someone cleaning someone else's feet other than the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet! And I was no disciple! We talked about doing what is necessary, being willing to do the least, to be the least to help our brother and sisters in the faith. Hmmmmm ......
I only stumbled into footwashing one other time - at a wedding a decade ago where they washed one another's feet to show their willingness to put the other one first! You would have thought they had sacrificed the pastor as part of the ceremony! I have not seen a fight like that in a church since my oldest daughter covered her head to pray in church! EEPAH!!!!! Cross-culture train wrecks can be fun ....
But, humility ... with one another, in public, in the church, as the basis of our marriages. Hmmm, sure is not the message of this culture - much less of today's Church!
We can not have God's power in our lives, in our marriages, in our ministries as long was we insist on keeping the big ME at the center of our lives. Live by God's rules, live by His power, do His work - and - it all begins with humility before Him and others. No, I am not saying we need to start footwashing, but the heart of that intent is what we need to cultivate.
On Friday night, we had discussed having a baptism time on Saturday morning. Now, I had not been dunked since I had accepted that Jesus was real - and so was my need of Him.
It was quite the ordeal as there was ice on the ground, we were barefoot, about to be dunked into ice cold glacial water. Yeah, not the smartest situation .... but we were being obedient. Afterwards, we retired to the unheated bathrooms at the campground to dry off and put some warm clothing on!
I stripped down and started drying off. But I was distracted by a guy named Leonard Savage (email me dude when you see this!) whom was kneeling at my feet and trying to clean off all of the sand and fir needles! I was horrified!
We had quite a discussion afterwards. I had never even heard of someone cleaning someone else's feet other than the story of Jesus washing the disciple's feet! And I was no disciple! We talked about doing what is necessary, being willing to do the least, to be the least to help our brother and sisters in the faith. Hmmmmm ......
I only stumbled into footwashing one other time - at a wedding a decade ago where they washed one another's feet to show their willingness to put the other one first! You would have thought they had sacrificed the pastor as part of the ceremony! I have not seen a fight like that in a church since my oldest daughter covered her head to pray in church! EEPAH!!!!! Cross-culture train wrecks can be fun ....
But, humility ... with one another, in public, in the church, as the basis of our marriages. Hmmm, sure is not the message of this culture - much less of today's Church!
We can not have God's power in our lives, in our marriages, in our ministries as long was we insist on keeping the big ME at the center of our lives. Live by God's rules, live by His power, do His work - and - it all begins with humility before Him and others. No, I am not saying we need to start footwashing, but the heart of that intent is what we need to cultivate.
April 22, 2017
Musical Saturday Morning
From is probably the best album ever produced - Pet Sounds, is this little song by Brian Wilson and performed in this footage.
In my college days I got to spend many hours a week with Mark Linsay, late of the Raiders, so I got to hear all of the gossip about the 60's rockers that I liked. But he would never talk much about himself or his problems - his daughter kept me up todate on Mark and his health. I did care. And I was very sorry to hear what had caused Brian to disappear - same as Mark - poor choices.
And it has been great for me to see that both have found ways around their issues - they are very talented! But the lost years .......
In my college days I got to spend many hours a week with Mark Linsay, late of the Raiders, so I got to hear all of the gossip about the 60's rockers that I liked. But he would never talk much about himself or his problems - his daughter kept me up todate on Mark and his health. I did care. And I was very sorry to hear what had caused Brian to disappear - same as Mark - poor choices.
And it has been great for me to see that both have found ways around their issues - they are very talented! But the lost years .......
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