Dave's Raves

Still true...

2009-03-03T07:18:00.002-05:00

I just read this quote that resonates with something deep inside me. When I looked at the source - Jim Wallis I was not surprised. I have respected his observations. But when I looked at the date I was amazed. 1976. That was the year I was married. So young, so full of ... idealism.

I was going to say, this is even more true today than it was in 1976. But something true can't be "more true". Better to say I see this clearer today than I did back in 1976.

The quote that struck me this morning...

“The renewal of the church will come not through a recovery of personal experience or straight doctrine, nor through innovative projects of evangelism or social action, nor in creative techniques or liturgical worship, nor in the gift of tongues, nor in new budgets, new buildings, and new members. The renewal of the church will come about through the work of the Spirit in restoring and reconstituting the church as a local community whose common life bears the marks of radical obedience to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

“Practically, this means a clear recognition that the demands of obedient discipleship will bring us into conflict with the ordinary social values and normal patterns of the world systems which continually seek to fashion us into their image and conform us to their molds.”

Jim Wallis, Agenda for Biblical People, 1976

I like this Gladys....

2009-02-17T20:53:00.002-05:00

I don't have a cemetery plot but I think I found what you can put on my gravestone...

On the culture of debt...

2009-02-11T19:54:00.004-05:00

Lifted this straight from Andrew Jones blog (TallSkinnyKiwi) ---

"The only cultures which have NOT been marked by debt have been Biblical cultures, and, with the rejection of the Bible, we should expect the return of the culture of debt – indeed the return of culture of debt was and is inevitable, with all its disastrous consequences. But there is always hope because we are called in every generation on this earth, to the struggle for faith, righteousness and peace.

... the global culture of debt, which is a consequence of a global culture of greed, has been overcome in the past by the actions of our outstanding spiritual ancestors from the Radical Reformers to William Wilberforce. And the good news is that the global culture of greed and debt can be overcome again"

Professor Prabhu Guptara, Executive Director, Organisation Development in Switzerland, from the speech "The Global Culture of Debt" given 20 Sep, 2008.

The dream we dream most....

2008-12-24T07:25:00.005-05:00

On this night of hope and salvation
One child lies embraced in a dream
Where each man regardless of station
On this night can now be redeemed

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we've dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won't be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices!
Raise your voices!
All as one
On this Christmas day!

All rejoice
Raise your voices!
Raise your voices!
All rejoice
Anno domine!

On this night when no child's forgotten
No dream sleeps where he cannot see
No man here is misbegotten
And this night's dreams are still yet to be

Where every man regardless of his nation
Ancestral relations
On this night the past can fly away

And that dream we've dreamed most
That every child is held close
On this night that dream won't be betrayed

All as one
Raise your voices!
Raise your voices!
All as one
On this Christmas day!

All rejoice
Raise your voices!
Raise your voices!
All rejoice
Anno domine!

Transiberian Orchestra "Anno Domine"
Paul O'Neil songwriter

Blogging Thru Revelation - What I Don't Understand

2008-09-06T11:05:00.003-04:00

Be sure to check out Paul's contribution on "Escapism" here.

I am more and more convinced this a damaging "doctrine" - it certainly sidetracks the mission of God and thus is close to heresy. It is amazing to me that when a book like "The Shack" comes out - people cry heresy on its view of the Trinity (another word not in the Bible) even though the story is clearly presented as fiction. Yet books like the "Left Behind" series don't get that kind of scrutiny. It really puzzles me that it is a bigger "offense" to "mess" with the Trinity than it is to "mess up" His mission.

As we get into this study in Revelation Paul list some important reasons why we should look into this book so be sure to check his post and the blurb from NT Wright he cites.

Blogging Through Revelation - Part 4

2008-09-02T22:09:00.003-04:00

Post - Awakening Views

"Post-Awakening" is kind of misnomer here - I'm still "awakening" - learning, discovering, growing. I used the "pre", "mid", and "post" prefixes to divide up my story in an order that seems to make some sense as I reflect on how my views on the end-times have formed and changed over the years. And I hoped you all would think I was clever using these prefixes that usually end up in these eschatalogical discussions.

Probably a better title for this section of my story would be "The Great Reversal". The major shift in my view in the end times has to with a "reversal" of where the earth ends up in the "end of time". Let me try to explain...

Even though I considered myself a Post-triber which viewed the "rapture" (the term is NOT in the Bible) as a welcoming party for Jesus return/second coming to earth I still had the impression that when Jesus came back the earth was doomed, done, over with - destroyed. OK - maybe we got to live here for a 1,ooo years but still - the earth was eventually going to be caput.

But I'm starting to see that God's plan has always been for heaven to come to earth. Hey, yeah, duh - Jesus even taught us to pray this way - Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I'm starting to see that the beginning of time ties in COMPLETELY with the end of time. Genesis and Revelation go together. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end - the first (you can think of Creator and creation here) and the last (you can think of Consummation, the summing up, the pulling together of all things here). What He had planned in the beginning for creation -even before creation - is going to be fulfilled.

The book of Revelation ends with heaven coming to earth and with God dwelling among His people. Amazing! This God - always coming to us! I always thought it was the other way - someday I would be dwelling where God was in heaven out there some place. And that's true EXCEPT - the way Revelation shows it - God comes to us. God does take me to live with Him and he chooses to make His dwelling among men, on earth. He brings heaven to earth. His kingdom comes, His will is done on earth.

I've also come to see that God's "plan of salvation" isn't just the saving of souls for heaven. His salvation, his redemption is for the whole WORLD which includes the earth, as well as its people and creatures - ALL of creation.

I'm also coming to see that the book of Revelation doesn't chart things out like this...

My thinking in these "post-awakening" time has been helped in a large part through reading Brian McClaren's "A New Kind of Christian" trilogy - particularly "The Story We Find Ourselves In" (which is one of the very few books I have ever read more than once) and "The Last Word - And the Word After That". Rob Bell has also been very helpful in tying in Revelation with Genesis.

I'm looking forward to getting into this study with my friends Paul and Ben.

How sweet it is...

2008-09-01T21:24:00.005-04:00

Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. I managed to avoid laboring at home as we took a quick trip to Lakeside - "the Chautauqua on Lake Erie". My mom has a cottage up there and while we are always welcome to come it seems like we don't get a chance to do that much. In 24 hours I did all kinds of memorable stuff:

Rode with Christian on the old tandem to Marblehead (right "next door" to Lakeside) to see the lighthouse.
Sat on the rocks at Marblehead and watched the roller coasters on Cedar Point climb their frames.
Played shuffleboard on the world-class courts at Lakeside.
Remained victorious over my boys in the shuffleboard.
Played mini-golf on the course only about 50 feet from Lake Erie at Lakeside. The weather was perfect, the scene picturesque - I was with my boys - I can't say how "perfect" it felt.
Remained respectable at mini-golf. (I parred the course -even got a hole-in-one -but lost by one stroke to my youngest son).
Took lots of walks - several with my mother.
Watch Christian juggle Lake Erie rocks as the waves rolled in.
Ate good food outside. (I love eating outside).
Ate Patio donuts. If you've never had a Patio donut (from the Patio Restaurant in Lakeside) you would be missing out - they are only served warm - right after they're made - their cake doughnuts beat Krispie Cremes! I'm sure it's the grease but they sure are good.
Got to see fireworks over the Lake - they have a ceremony to close out the season at Lakeside - my brother-in-law Chip played at this closing, as well. It's always fun to watch him do his music!

It was a relaxing 24 hours and I return home thankful and blessed.

Blogging through Revelation - part 3

2008-08-27T19:30:00.006-04:00

Mid - Awakening Views

In April of 1978, I was formally recognized and ordained as the Upper Room Fellowship's lead pastor. With a little bit of theology under my belt I began to have more of an "opinion" on the end times. Whenever I spoke or taught "from the pulpit" I would advise people on adopting a post-tribulational view of the rapture for the reasons I mentioned in my previous post. Our church fellowship was also closely connected with similar fellowships that had been birthed during the Jesus Movement. Much of the teaching that we connected with supported and encouraged Christians to be prepared to go through the Tribulation.

Within the leadership of the Upper Room we learned all kind of practical things in preparing for difficult times. We bought wheat grinders and wheat and learned how make our own bread. We stored up water and food and bought water purifiers. We learned how to can and how to dry and store food. We subscribed to Mother Earth News and bought all the Foxfire books. We began to ask ourselves what we would do when we couldn't buy toilet paper and tampons. (Really! Well, what would you do if knew you were going to go through the tribulation? I remember one girl saying being without tampons would be the Great Tribulation! Even today I have a list of "Tribulation Food" - things I would only eat if I had to - oatmeal is at the top of this list for me.)

Actually all this was practical stuff which could be used in any natural or national disaster. I never regret doing any of it or learning about it. And we did it all without a sense of panic. We believed not in our resources but in One who was His people through all kinds of tribulations.

In 1988 another end time book hit the "fan". Wikipedia gives the details:

Edgar C. Whisenant (September 25, 1932 – May 16, 2001) was a Bible student who predicted the Rapture would occur in 1988, sometime between Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. He published two books about this: 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 and On Borrowed Time. Eventually, 300,000 copies of 88 Reasons were mailed free of charge to ministers across America, and 4.5 million copies were sold in bookstores and elsewhere. Whisenant was quoted as saying "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong; and I say that to every preacher in town," and "[I]f there were a king in this country and I could gamble with my life, I would stake my life on Rosh Hashana 88." [1]

Whisenant's predictions were taken seriously in some parts of the evangelical Christian community. As the great day approached, regular programming on the Christian Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) was interrupted to provide special instructions on preparing for the Rapture.

I was one of the ministers that received Edgar's book for free. I only looked at it to see how many of his 88 points he got wrong (in my humble opinion). I doubted Edgar's predictions would hold true.

In 1988, September 11 came and went like normal. No rapture on the 12th or 13th either.

I became tired of predictions and charts. If people living in the first century couldn't discern Jesus coming in their day and time why did we think we would be able to figure out his second coming in ours?

Blogging Through Revelation - Part 2

2008-08-24T09:03:00.003-04:00

In March of 1975 I traveled traveled out to Los Angeles California to enroll in the spring quarter classes of the newly forming Melodyland School of Theology. (Melodyland was an actual theater/bar across the street from Disneyland that Ralph Wilkerson had bought and converted into a church then added a school of theology where he attracted a lot of high profile charismatic teachers. Each class actually began with a period of worship and prayer and occasionally these times would preempt the planned lesson! At 18 years of age I thought this is was pretty awesome for a school.) Being in the midst of charismatic theology (if there was such a thing) "end time teaching" and charts and dispensations seemed to abound.

While I was enrolled at Melodyland I made Calvary Chapel my "home" church which featured the Marantha Singers (a name like that ought to give you a clue as to there being some end times emphasis). Chuck Smith, the founder and pastor, was a good bible teacher and espoused a pre-millennial pre-tribulational rapture view. (After only a few months in California I had some new lingo to throw around!)

My Christian Doctrine III class that quarter was the first time I heard the term "eschatology" (or at least the first time I was paying attention - there was going to be test this time!) (Eschatology means "the study of the last things" from the Greek "eschatos " meaning "last" and "-ology" meaning "study of", or more literally, "word of"). The professor of this class did a real good job in laying out the major views of the end times not only commonly held today but throughout church history. I became exposed to pre-millennial, post-millennial, and a-millennial views referring to the 1000 year reign of Christ after the "rapture". Ahhh, the rapture - when was that going occur? Before the "Tribulation" (Pre), after it (Post), or in the middle of it (Mid)? And the book of Revelation was it prophetic/apocalyptic, poetic, or historical, literal/spiritual in it's eschalogical interpretation? Our professor laid it all out there and said they all had scriptural support and different views were prevalent at different times of history. Right now it seemed apparent that in the 1970's in Southern California a Pre-tribulational Pre-millenial literalist interpretation of the book of Revelation was the happening thing!

Remember, Hal Lindsay was saying that the earth, as we know it, was doomed - real soon! here's how the thinking went: Israel received nation status in 1948; a generation was about 40 years; the world would be destroyed with fire after the Great Tribulation; if Jesus was going to come back for the church before the destruction - probably 7 years before that, maybe 3 1/2. This return was REAL close to 1975! Don't think I wasn't thinking about this stuff!

As for me at this time - I was still praying my same prayer "Come Lord Jesus, please, after I'm married". I also began to adopt a "Pan -millennial" view - I figured it would all pan out in the end. And since Jesus said no one knew the hour of his return I figured you better hold all of these views rather loosely.

But I remember thinking - if push came to shove - I mean if someone shoved me into a view, I would pick - I would "be" a "Post-Triber" concerning the rapture. It seemed to make the most sense from what Jesus said - if no one was going to know the exact time but we were to be prepared then why not hold to a Post-tribulational view of the rapture? If Jesus did decide to come back before the Great Tribulation then, oops, I guess I was wrong but at least I was ready. Being "right" on my end time view didn't seem to be a requirement to "make" the rapture but being "ready" did.

Blogging Through Revelation

2008-08-22T08:03:00.003-04:00

Hello friends out there! As you can see I have been silent for some time.

I've been "challenged" - so I'm going to try to reenter the blogosphere. This post is an acceptance of the invitation issued by my friend Paul Dazet to begin a study in the book of Revelation. Along with Ben Yost we are going to be taking a fresh look at this last book of the Bible posting our thoughts and encouraging discussion as we blog along.

So my first "challenge" is to relate how my view on the "end times" have been formed, influenced and changed during my journey. And rather than post this part all at once ('cause as you can see I'm not used to writing so much at one time). I'll break it down into three sections "Pre-awakening views"; "Mid- awakening views" and "Post -awakening views.

PRE - awaking views

I made an intentional decision to follow Christ when I was 14 years old. In fact I remember the time and place where I did that - it was at an altar in the front of the Methodist Church in Columbiana on a Sunday morning in March of 1969. Prior to that time I had no real strong thought about the "end times". I know we recited a creed occasionally where we proclaimed that we believed God was going "judge the quick and the dead". I had a clear sense that God was going to someday make everything right - that love would eventually win - that doing the right thing mattered as much for now as for a future time.

But after I made this conscience decision to follow Jesus and learn and do what He taught I quickly became more aware of "end time teaching". As I began to really read the Bible for myself - apart from the verses and stories I learned in over 10 years of Sunday School (hey - how's come nobody ever got held back in Sunday School?) - I saw how the early Christians really lived with a sense that Jesus would return to earth someday. My parents began taking us to conferences and to hear speakers who spoke about things I never heard about in the church I grew up. (I had no idea I was becoming an "evangelical" at the time!) Invitations were often given to be sure we were "ready" for Christ's return and I began to seriously think about "end times stuff".

I remember actually praying something along these lines - "Jesus, I know you are going to return and I want to want you to return but if you could please wait until I got married I would appreciate that." At 14 years of age I had a real "fear" that Jesus was going to return before I had a chance to have sex - and I didn't want him to return to catch having sex before I was
married.

My first real "car" that I got to claim as my own was a two-tone brown and white Ford Econoline cargo van that happened to missing a front bumper. I got a 2 by 12 piece of wood from the lumber yard, fashioned it into a bumper and painted the words "Jesus Is Coming" in hot pink psychedelic letters. I thought it would be real cool if people saw that message coming head on down the road or in their rear view mirrors. And apparently I thought it was important that people think about Jesus return and be ready for it.

Another thing that greatly "influenced" me during this time was Hal Lindsay's book "The Late Great Planet Earth" that came out in 1970. This book pushed to the top of the nonfiction best seller list in that year and sold over 9 million copies by 1978. Focusing on apocalyptic passages in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation, Lindsay speculated that these climatic events would take place some time in the 1980’s. A large part of this was based upon the idea of this being the length of one generation from the time of the recognition of Israel as a nation in 1948.

Now I put “influenced” in quotes because I never really ever read this book. I remember people kept talking about it but I didn’t want to read it. Partly because in 1970 I was a Freshman in High School and only read what I had to read for school. But the real inner reason was I was afraid and disappointed - I didn’t want to look at this possibility that the world was going to end before I had the chance to really experience the adult things in life like getting married, having kids, owning a house and a car – living the American Dream I was promised as a baby boomer.

This book – though I never read it – set me up for things like this... One day after school I came home and found no one in the house, which was VERY unusual as my dad had his business at home. I called all through out the house – upstairs, downstairs, in the basement. No answer from brother or sister or mom or dad. Panic flooded my mind and my heart raced – oh, no the rapture occurred and I was left behind! It was real serious panic only to be relieved by finally finding my parents.

And somehow the title of the book really influenced me though I never opened it’s intimidating cover which depicted the entire earth ablaze with fire. It became fixed in my mind - the planet earth was doomed to die and be destroyed.

good reading and good eating

2008-03-15T16:27:00.002-04:00

I'm reading an excellent book right now. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. In this book Pollan seeks to answer the loaded question "what should we have for dinner?

At one time in man's history that was a no-brainer - we ate whatever we could hunt or gather. With all the choices we have today that question has a lot to it.

The subtitle of the book is called "a history of four meals". Pollan tries to trace 4 meals from their source to his belly and tell what he discovers along the journey.

In visiting an "organic" farm Pollan makes some discoveries that apply to the church as well. (This book is not "religious" or about ecclesiology whatsoever.) The farmer spoke of "the impossibility of taking a 'decidedly Eastern, connected, holistic product, and selling it through a decidedly Western, disconnected, reductionist Wall Streetified marketing system.'"

He was speaking about how the governments involvement in the organic food industry has ruined the term and concept of "organic". (Not just the "government" - the capitalistic Western system.)

To me - I can't help but think the same applies to the church. When we take something as pure and natural and organic as the church is to be and try to sell it in a decidedly Western market system - well it's impossible - it ends up ruining the "organic-ness" of the church. (This is my observation or "association" - NOT the author's.)

I wish I could explain this better - but hopefully you catch my drift. Anyway, the book is really good - the guy is not a health food or organic food advocate - he just shares his findings as he tries to follow 4 meals that he puts on his table. He's a good writer and easy to read - for those who only read fiction and find nonfiction "boring" - this would be good one to wet your palate with.

Pun intended but the recommendation is serious.

Speakeasies and Blind Pigs

2008-03-15T15:16:00.007-04:00

I told you I think about words.

I didn't tell you this though.

I was strolling in downtown Charlotte on a Saturday morning several weeks ago. I passed an establishment that was known, in it's name (I can't remember it's full name), as a "speakeasy". Obviously it was a bar of sorts and it wasn't open in the morning - in fact it didn't open until 8 pm nightly.

But the term "speak easy" got me thinking, as words sometimes do. What a neat concept or term for a bar I thought. A place where you can relax, speak easy with friends. A 'third place' where one could have conversations with friendly people who might not remain strangers very long.

I can't shake the desire to be involved in a "third place" of this type. A place that would be a place of conversation and healthy discussion. A place where people could meet and linger long.

I just looked up "speakeasy" in Wikipedia. It turns out the term is not as noble as I envisioned - A speakeasy was "an establishment that surreptitiously sold alcoholic beverages during the period of United States history known as Prohibition (1920-1933, longer in some states), when the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol was illegal. The term comes from a patron's manner of ordering alcohol without raising suspicion — a bartender would tell a patron to be quiet and 'speak easy'."

Oohhh...

It went on to say they were related to places known as "blind pigs" - where people would be served a complimentary alcoholic beverage under the pretense of entering the establishment to view an unusual animal (such as a blind pig).

Wikipedia went on to say, at least, that "speak easies" were usually high class establishments where as "blind pigs" were generally low class dives.

Well, I still dream a high class 3rd place where people can speak easy.

Are there any good 'isms' out there?

2008-03-04T17:45:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about consumerism. I can't help being a consumer because I consume. If I stop consuming I die. But consumerism sounds "bad" and I believe it is. One of the causes of death that commonly appeared on death certificates in days gone by was "consumption". Even though it's not a medical condition any more (I think we call it cancer now) people are still dying of consumption.

I know I'm not walking in a straight line with my thoughts but putting an 'ism' on the end of a good or neutral word usually turns it into a bad thing.

Nothing wrong with being a part of a denomination but denominationalism is bad - real bad.

Communism - I'm all for community but not communism.
Socialism - people and societies are important but this isn't usually very good.

OK - how about:
Capitalism?
Globalism?
Colonialism?

Here's a neutral 'ism' I can think of right off the top of my head -
Organism - but that's more in the category of biology so it's off track for my raving discussion here.
How about "idealism"?

There might be some "good" 'isms' -
Optimism - usually a good thing.
Orgasm - oh, wait that's spelled differently. Never mind.

I think about words

2008-03-02T07:01:00.003-05:00

Like sometimes I wake up thinking about a particular word - where it comes from - it's roots - how it's related to other words - stuff like that.

This is usually pretty random - most times I don't know how I get stuck on a particular word other than my mind usually doesn't shut off at night and one gets caught in the net of my waking consciousness.

This morning I work up with the word 'espouse' caught in my brain.

Is the word 'espouse' related to 'spouse' and if it is what does it mean for one to espouse something with that connection?

So i just looked it up in the dictionary. Espouse does have the word 'spouse' as it's root. Espouse has two meanings; 1) to marry 2) to pick up the cause of (support).

Hmm... interesting. So if I espouse something maybe I better be sure I want to be married to it.

A Pew Study or a pee-ewe study?

2008-03-01T10:56:00.006-05:00

My two most favorite things of newspaper reading are: number one - the Sunday morning Vindicator. (I used to read the "funnies" first. Now I never read them. I read the Business section first, then the Technology section.) The second most favorite - the Saturday morning Vindicator - I read the Religion section religiously. I like to see the "take" the local Vindicator and the Associated Press present on whats happening in the area of spirituality. ( I know - I'm not "normal"; I'll also tell you this - I never read the Sports section.)

Well, this morning there was the recent findings of a interesting study of the Pew Forum of Religion and Public Life. The survey confirms the "no-brainer" hunch that denominational loyalty is fraying.

I found a very provocative comment in the article by the Rev. Eileen Lindner, a Presbyterian minister - "As with most things for Americans religion is a consumer product. So it's not brand loyalty you can rely on. It's marketing, location, and other things. Denominations have been slow to react to that."

Some interesting tidbits I found in the article:

Many Americans don't want to be associated with with denominations even if they belong to one. (This would definitely include me. (I'll tell you this but don't tell anyone else - I'm a part of a Nazarene church!)

16% of Americans are not affiliated with any religious tradition - an increase from earlier surveys. Says Alan Wolfe - "What we've been witnessing is a shift from a fixed identity to a fluid identity."

The research identified 20% of nondenominational churchgoers as mainline Protestants. (The mainline tag was applied to people who did not identify themselves as "born-again" or evangelical Christians and to those who said they attend "liberal nondenomiational" or "emergent" churches.)

The nation is on the "cusp" of becoming minority Protestant.

In commenting on the findings of the survey Rev. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention said, "It points to the shallowness in our society, where people don't care about what really matters. It's a consumer society. People look at what looks good on the surface - the bells and whistles. People are apt to ignore substantial issues they deem unimportant."

Ignoring substantial issues because I deem them unimportant... Is this what consumerism does to us?

That stinks. PU

Reacting to these findings by tweaking our marketing strategies? That really stinks.

As far as denominational loyalty and/or Protestantism shrinking - I think that smells pretty good.

Wishing We'd All Be Ready

2008-02-28T23:30:00.002-05:00

I just learned today that Larry Norman passed away this last Sunday at 2:45am. He was 60 years old.

Larry Norman was an early hero of mine. As a high school aged Jesus person his revolutionary music encouraged me with the counter culture nature of the gospel. We appreciated how he asked "why should the devil have all the good music?". He encouraged us to pick up those guitars and keep playing those drums.

Probably his most famous song was "I wish we'd all been ready." The theology was probably not spot on but the sentiment was.

He dictated these last words to a friend several hours before he breathed his last...

(from his brother Charles website)

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry

Tell me more...

2008-02-05T17:45:00.000-05:00

I'm learning something here. I mean right here - through this blog page.

I was hesitant to write about my mundane weekend thinking no one would be interested and yet it generated 6 comments. Plus several people that commented personally in normal day to day contact so my "feedback" on that post was the most I've had so far. Not that I live for the feedback - but I like it - I like that "connected" feeling.

Now here's what I'm learning but I got to be a little more transparent to make my point. I always thought my "philosophiocal" stuff was a little more interesting, more substantial, more "earth moving", more revelational than my sharing about my weekend. But maybe people connect more with stories than with ideologies or philosophies. Hmmm...

Maybe I need to change the title of my page (and the focus) - I really don't like the it anyway. Who wants to here someone "raving" anyway.

Any suggestions? For a name I mean.

My weekend

2008-01-27T16:57:00.000-05:00

OK - I usually don't write about the what I did - at least not very extensively. And usually it has to be somewhat extraordinary. Or sometimes I chronicle an event that has taught me a moral or life lesson. (Of course you can look over my blogging history and see I haven't real deep history in any of the aforementioned).

But - I do find it interesting when my blogging buddies post updates so here's mine from this last weekend.

I was supposed to go winter camping this weekend. Yeah a Polar Bear. I have done this in the past with my brother and brother-in-law in particular and we have some great trips in the past twenty years. But this year when it came time to go - I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't get motivated to get ready. I did go on an overnighter with Andrew and his buddies on the first part of January and I think that fixed me up for winter camping this year.

This weather this weekend would have been perfect for a winter camping trip around here. So I kept doing the would-a could-a should-a thing in my mind.

I don't like when I do that.

What I did instead of winter camping (see! I can't stop doing it) this weekend:

Read a lot of the new Ken Follet novel "World Without End" that Eric got me for Christmas.
Figured out some cool stuff I could do on my Blackberry after I installed a microSD card on it. I downloaded some cool podcasts and pictures and a video.
Spent some time marveling how small they can make memory now! It's incredible!
Packaged up my Sony CyberShot camera to send in for repair. Hopefully - it's still under warranty. Well, it is still under warranty but I'm not sure if it's warranteed against child abuse.
Worked at the Inn on Friday.
Worked at the Inn on Saturday for four hours.
Went out with our good friends Jay and Rita for our first annual Tie1On Christmas party. (I know tie one on sounds like what we did but it's the name of Rita and Brenda's custom sewing business - They graciously treated their husbands to a great meal at the Iron Bridge Inn. I had Kentucky Bourbon Prime Rib - it was awesome.
Went to New Hope on Sunday - listened to Paul preach a good message on John 14.
Read some more Ken Follet.
Read a little more about home brewing.
Spent a lot of time researching "intentional communities" and co-housing projects - this idea is really fascinating to me.

I think I did some other stuff too but now I got to finish out the weekend by getting Christian to youth group, hanging out with Steve and Vicki and John and Michele and then going to Eric's soccer game.

I told you there is a Copernicus Revolution going on!

2008-01-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

Jim Henderson, founder of Off the Map, speaks to the paradigm shift going on in our culture (and hopefully, churches) which I was trying to speak to in my thoughts/rave/post on Copernicus - Does It Really Matter? From his article...

Peter Drucker said, “Every few hundred years in Western society there occurs a sharp transformation. Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself… We are currently living through such a transformation.” Apparently, Drucker believed that we’re currently living through a cultural transformation unlike anything that has happened since the 18th Century. That would include the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the atomic bomb and even the Beatles! What if there’s a Copernican Revolution going on and we don’t “see” it, what if we’re on the wrong side again?

His complete article can be found here - where he asks "Where could you take Jesus to church and not feel like you had to explain it to him?"

Another wise guy

2008-01-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

I love this quote -

Ministry cannot be about maintenance, but it is about gathering, about embrace, about welcoming home all sorts of and conditions of people; home is a place for mother tongue, of basic soul food, of old stories told and treasured, of being at ease, known by name, belonging without qualifying for membership.

— Walter Brueggemann

Numbness

2008-01-16T21:23:00.001-05:00

The end of the year and the beginning of a new one always puts me in a reflective mood. I feel like I go into a cave of sorts every year at this time and deeper each year I get older. (And dang, I keep getting older every year).

Numbness is the descriptor for where I'm at right now. I've got so much to be thankful for and so many good things are going on. But I feel numb.

Like when a body part goes to sleep while your just sitting there. Or you don't even have to be sitting. (I've ridden my bike before and even while working up a sweat my "seat" has gone to sleep.)

I feel like something's asleep and I've got to get up and move around or change positions to get the nerve connections back on line.

Quote from a wise guy

2008-01-06T09:45:00.000-05:00

Boars Head Tavern has posted a great quote from Eugene Peterson:

What other church is there besides institutional? There’s nobody who doesn’t have problems with the church, because there’s sin in the church. But there’s no other place to be a Christian except the church. There’s sin in the local bank. There’s sin in the grocery stores. I really don’t understand this naïve criticism of the institution. I really don’t get it. Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree. There’s no life in the bark. It’s dead wood. But it protects the life of the tree within. And the tree grows and grows. If you take the bark off, it’s prone to disease, dehydration, death. So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive. And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn’t last long. It disappears, gets sick, and it’s prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism. (Eugene Peterson)

Home for the Holidays

2007-12-28T20:35:00.001-05:00

My biggest best Christmas gift this year - having the family all together at Christmas. This everybody on Christmas eve.

Does it really matter?

2007-12-19T18:31:00.000-05:00

Somewhere in the 1500's an astronomer by the name of Copernicus proposed a "scientifically based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe." This theory was regarded by The Church as "false and altogether opposed to Holy Scripture." (The Church would have been the Roman Catholic Church - but before the Protestants really got rolling so it would have been in essence "the church" of the day.)

I wonder what weight the debate or discussion regarding this issue would have carried with the average joe church person back then. Copernicus theory to most probably seemed absurd. But I wonder how many would have thought "what does it really matter anyway?" I mean after all, the sun rises every morning, sets every night, there are seasons, and we can go to beach and get good tan. Does it really matter if the sun revolves around the earth or the earth revolves around the sun?

It mattered more if you realized all that Copernicus was saying in his "heretical" theory: that the sun, not the earth is the center of our solar system; that "there is no one center of all the celestial circles or spheres"; that "what appear to us as motions of the sun arise not from its motion but from the motion of the earth and our sphere " and thus the earth has more than one motion.

And it matters today in so many discoveries that have been opened up through the acceptance of Copernicus's "theory".

I wonder how many "church" people have the same attitude toward the discussion of the emerging church. On the church needing to be "incarnational" rather than "attractional". On whether the Christendom model of church is broken, over, or irrelevant today.

Does it all really matter anyway? I mean, so long as people are being "reached", the gospel is being preached, and Jesus is coming back does it really matter anyway?

It might matter more if our goal is authentic disciples and not just getting people to attend a church or have a better life. It might matter more if Jesus wasn't returning to take His church out of the earth but to bring His kingdom to earth. It might matter more if "modern" culture is over (and that "modern" isn't good or bad - just a describer and the same with post-modern; but they are a way of thinking, seeing, understanding and the ramifications are far reaching just like Copernicus's were.)

Does it really matter how we do church anyway? When you consider all that we are really saying through the way we do what we do I believe it does.

(Did you get that last sentence? I'm not sure if I do - but I'll try it like that.)

Go on over

2007-12-11T23:04:00.000-05:00

Good discussion going on on my friend Sam's blog Eleven on "an interesting concept" Sam thinks might work for under-used church buildings. Plus a question from Chris welcoming enlightening comments on what and why the traditional church mode of meeting needs to change.

Christmas Joy

2007-12-10T19:18:00.001-05:00

2007-12-10T18:20:00.000-05:00

I recently rented "Next" on DVD . Next features Nicholas Cage as a guy that can see 2 minutes into the future. The government becomes aware of this and hunts him down to get him to help them prevent a nuclear attack by a terrorist faction. The plot was little hokey - I mean they literally hunt him down with big time manpower and equipment - I never could understand why they didn't just go up and ask him for help. (If anyone else saw this one maybe you can explain this to me.)

Anyway, even though the plot was rather hokey I thought the "moral of the story" was pretty cool. I'm not going to tell you what it was cause I don't want to jeopardize the ending for any who might want to see it. And this movie is all about the ending. (At first I didn't like the ending but after thinking about it I got it - then I liked it - the ending that is.)

I'm blogging about this not to develop any skills as a movie critic - which I'm not - I just know what I like and what I don't. I write to post a "rave" (a comment - "speaking out wildly") and a couple questions.

My comment - I have movies I like which I wouldn't necessarily recommend - not because of content, per say, or most times - but because I didn't think the movie was that well done for some reason usually acting or plot. "Next" would fit in this category. LBNRS - liked but not recommended strongly. Then there are movies I liked and would also recommend (too most people - my mother, though, that's tough one - I don't use her for a "filter". ) LAR - liked and recommended. The last movie I rented that I would put in this category is "Reign Over Me".

My questions - what is the last movie you saw that you would recommend someone to watch? And what is your "rating criteria" for recommendations to friends?

On becoming someone to be remembered

2007-12-08T08:33:00.000-05:00

Amazing! - several of the of my favorite blogging friends (Love Wins - to name one) are pondering on a similar thought I find myself wondering about this Christmas season - how God emptied Himself and became a man. Not a super man but an ordinary man. Who began his life as we all do - as a helpless baby.

The idea of God emptying himself really blows me away.

I'm not sure who wrote this poem but it really spoke to me. (I got it from Kingdom Grace and it looks like she got it from Kester Brewin's book).

THE GREAT REVERSAL

Walking with the crowds
Carried along by the pressing forward.

Each one eager to get ahead
But each one starting the same:
Born as a baby, and from then on, struggling towards
meaning, power and influence.

Be someone
Be remembered
Make a big impression
Leave some indelible mark in your 3 score years and 10

From birth, a struggle to find eternity, to burst
through life with such dazzling intensity, that
everyone will remember forever.

But walking the other way, picking out a route
against the crowds, a solitary figure passes me…
passes all of us - all straining away innocence, to be someone,
And he passes us, a quiet chaos in the crowd.

Christ, eternal, omniscient, creator, beyond time,
source of wisdom and beyond petty claims of influence…
in very nature God, slips into reverse
and walks back past us -

away from Kingship, away from power,
away from influence, away from eternity,
away from wisdom… towards infancy.

Calmly stepping into the body of a tiny child.

And even as this baby grows,
figuring out how to control the body he himself designed,
he still walks the other way,
realizing that life cannot be found in the struggle for permanence,
but in giving it up.

This Great Reversal subverts me.

Tired of pressing forward,
I realize I need to turn,
for what I have been searching for
has just walked past me the other way.

Happy Birthday Kaden!

2007-12-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

Kaden Cole Stryffeler is 2 years old today! Kaden calls me "Poppee" and I think he is the smartest most advanced two year old I have ever known! Happy Birthday Grandson!

A Toast to Sean

2007-12-04T23:23:00.000-05:00

That's my boy, Sean. He turned 23 today! Happy Birthday - and many more!

I hate when this happens ...

2007-12-02T17:34:00.001-05:00

I've had some (rare) quiet time this weekend. I saw it coming so I went to the library to get a novel. (My usual reading is "study books" as my wife likes to call them and I usually have 2 or 3 going at the same time. But sometimes - especially when the weather gets colder I just like to get into a "story book" - I don't usually read anything too deep or complex here.)

I picked out Ken Follet's A Dangerous Fortune - I've read most of his stuff - most of them are what I would call time period soap operas. I'm reading along and every once in a while I get this deja vu feeling. So I start thinking - wow - I don't remember his plots as being so predictable.

By the time I get to page 350 (it's the large print edition)I figure out what is going on - I've read this before.

I hate when this happens because...
* I have never read any book more than once. Not that there haven't been excellent books or stories - I just figure there is so much else to read, I'd better move on to something else.
* It scares me that it took me 350 pages to finally be sure I read this before. The book was written in 1993 - and I'm sure I read it less than 14 years ago. The large print doesn't bother me as much as this part.
* I don't know what to do now. I'm halfway through a book I already read and the more I go the more I know what is going to happen. It musn't have been that good the first time or I think I would have remembered it more. Unless there is more to my reason above and again, that scares me.

Has this ever happened to any of you, my friends? Please tell me it has. My wife told me it has happen to her numerous times but she reads so many books (I bet she reads 100 or more novels a year. I might read 2 -4.)

Sam Shouted At Me

2007-12-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

I told Sam if he shouted at me I would give this a try again. So here I am - no promises on blogging everyday for a month. But I do want to do this more regularly. I appreciate the way my friends share their thoughts and their lives and I fell richer reading their entries. I'm glad they write regularly - I look for new additions everyday. Occaisionally I'll comment but mostly I read and listen. I guess that makes a "lurker" or a "voyeur" (Wikipedia comment: "A literal translation would then be “seer” or "observer", with pejorative connotations.) I don't like the pejorative connotations associated with these words. But I do feel something is missing - I am a wanna be - I wanna participate more.

So how do some of you guys do it? (Don't make the sexual connotation here!!!) What satisfaction do you get from posting on a regular basis? Has writing down your experiences, thoughts, and feelings made you a better person or richer relationally?

Who Am I?

2007-04-23T08:24:00.000-04:00

Who am I and what am I doing here? Any guesses and comments are welcome.

Where Am I ?

2007-04-19T21:21:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know where I was from this picture I took recently? (Only answer if you know from THE PICTURE).

Honestly

2007-04-11T06:49:00.000-04:00

The other night I was watching a movie ("The Departed" - the story was interesting but the language was "over-flavored" with the f-word for my liking; and if you like happy endings you probably wouldn't be happy about this one)...

Anyway, though, something in the movie got me thinking. A counselor was talking to her client and remarked something to the effect -"telling the truth is not equal to honesty".

Then last night I was reading a blog where someone, unrelated to the movie, made a similar statement.

Honestly (this was a bad place for a pun) in my mind I have considered "truth" and "honesty" to be pretty much synonymous (the same thing).

I am thinking about this one. I have some thoughts but I'd like to hear yours first. What do you think - Is "telling the truth" the same thing as "honesty"?

Reverend Pastor Sir

2007-04-04T21:10:00.000-04:00

OK - the title of my blog is "Dave's Raves" and it's probably about time I ranted or raved about something. I'll post my first "rave" about one of my pet peeves - titles we think we need to bestow upon clergy or, worse, titles clergy expect us to bestow upon them.

When I was a pastor of a "traditional" church (and even when I was a pastor of what was considered a "loosely organized" unconventional church) I did not want anyone to use the term "Pastor" as a part of my name, as in "Pastor Dave". This was not because I did not see myself as a pastor but because 1) in didn't make sense 2) I thought it was something Jesus told us to watch out for or avoid doing and 3) it only helped put me in a special class called "clergy" and put those without out that term as a part of their name in a category called "laity".

It doesn't make sense...
If we need to use the term "Pastor XXXX" then we should equally refer to others by their function or profession; Jeweler Bill, Musician Bob, Housekeeper Terry, Best Damn Automechanic John, etc. In the bible the term pastor always refered to a function - it was never used as a title. (BTW - Apostle was never used as a title either; Paul never refered to himself as Apostle Paul. That's someting we do/did. Whenever Paul refers to his apostleship, it's Paul, an apostle.

Something Jesus told us to avoid...
The way read the scripture about calling no one on earth "Teacher", or "Father" or "Leader" - I think Jesus was talking about this very thing. Seeking honor or esteem in a "earthly" way just like the world does. It's not that that there aren't teachers, leaders, or fathers - it's that we aren't to insist or seek to be called that.

Clergy Class...
The biggest reason I think the "Pastor XXXX" is unhealthy is because it emphasizes a special class of Christians called "clergy" and then by default another class called "laity". Even if we don't use the term "clergy it still creates or accentuates the division. If every Christian has a gift (which I think they do and more than one) then why should one class of gifts be singled out for "entitlement". Besides I think the term is over-used and miss-used. Many people with the title are not pastoring anybody; many others would be more accurately named in one of the APEPT gifts (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher).

I think the leaders in God's church should be humble servants seeking to honor the only one worthy of many titles, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. Isn't it amazing that we can call Him, simply, "Father" or simply, "Jesus"?

"Corrupt Communication"

2007-04-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

Paul posted this story -

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Pastor Terry McCann was pleased to see his associate pastor interviewed on the local news about helping to solve school truancy. But he was mortified when the associate used the word "sucks."
"I called him immediately and said, 'What on earth are you doing?'" says McCann. "He told me, 'Relating to the younger generation.'"
The staff of Rolling Hills church is evenly divided over whether the word "sucks" is appropriate or not.
"I don't think twice about it," says the youth pastor who uses it commonly with youth. He bonded with his new associate pastor by using the word.
"When you can freely say something sucks, it feels good. It's like letting your heart out," he says.
But he catches continual flak from pastors who find the word offensive.
"Do people know what it means?" says the executive pastor incredulously. "I don't care if everyone says it. It's beneath us."
He and others send out emails that remind their co-workers to "Let no unclean words proceed from your mouth." Some roll their eyes at the "sucks police." The singles pastor, a die-hard "sucks" devotee, responded one time with a reply that said simply, "That sucks!" He included a photo of a vacuum cleaner in the message, to cover himself.
During a recent sermon while McCann was on vacation, the college and career pastor used the word "sucks" off-the-cuff. When his wife pointed it out, he absconded with the sermon recording so McCann wouldn't hear it. But McCann found out anyway because members of the church sent him angry emails.
McCann finally insisted that no church staff member use the word, especially during ministry. He suggested alternatives like "that stinks" and "that's terrible."
"Saying something stinks sounds like you're just afraid to say 'sucks,'" gripes one staff member who says it "may take me a while to get around to changing my habit."
Meanwhile, McCann recently used the words "scumbag" and "brown-nose" in a mid-week sermon. Staff members later called him on the carpet.
"Do you know what those words mean?" they said with mock outrage. McCann looked up the definitions, turned red and vowed to ban the words from his vocabulary. •

This story gets me thinking - what is the "corrupt communication" we are encouraged to avoid? Some thoughts I had while considering this --
When I was growing up - OK that was more than 40 years ago and I suppose that is relevant to the point I am trying to make here - the word "fart" was considered in my home to be in same category as the word "shit" - a bad word, a "swear" word. Today I allow that word in our house (which includes 5 boys) not considering it as a bad word. Does "corrupt communication" change over time or are my standards becoming "corrupt"?
Are "substitute words" (frinkin'; freakin') not as corrupt as the real words they stand for? How can something be not as rotten; not as corrupt? if something is rotten, isn't it rotten - not just a little bit rotten?

Overall, I'm wondering what you think the "corrupt communication" -that's the King James Version of "unclean talk"- (That's the version I grew up memorizing) - what do you think that means and how do you try to avoid it?

News at "Eleven"

2007-03-15T21:42:00.000-04:00

There is a good discussion going on over at Eleven started by Kyle and provoked by Sam (I think Sam provoked the whole thing from the start). It's about "Church" - it's relevance to our lives personally. Here's the comment I posted (but the other comments are better than mine - check it out!)

Sometimes, in discussions like this it seems like we are trying to determine whether church is necessary or not for one to be a Christian. I believe we can not "escape" the church if we are a Christ follower. It is something Jesus is building and nothing will stop Him from building that church.

Sometimes it seems like people think I've given up on church but I never have. It's just important to me to try to deconstruct our modern idea of church - it's not very close to original version, in my opinion.

It's interesting to me that Jesus never called his followers "Christians"; Christians didn't even first call themselves Christians; the "world" first called us Christians. Christ folowers were originally called just that - Christ's followers or disciples; later the Followers of The Way. A follower denotes movement and BEING; something we are actively doing and pusuing. Now - today - we call ourselves Christians and name our churches but don't focus much on what it means to be a Christ follower.

I fully believe Jesus didn't come to start a new religion called Christianity. He camed to call people to follow Him. Those followers ARE his church. When I think of church in these terms it is impossible for me to think of church as something I go to. I'm not saying we shouldn't go to meetings or worship or fellowship. If we a following Jesus we will worship together, pray together, work together - aren't there about 30 "one anothers" in the New Testament part of the Bible that indicate what our life together will be like - what we are - what we are doing?And the first Christians did "meet" from house to house and in the temple. So there are meetings whether in houses or in buildings.

What Sam or Kyle or whoever started all this is trying to put out on the table concerns "why" of "going to church" and the "what" is the church - not the "whether" we should go to church.

No sugar tonight in my coffee...

2007-03-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

I decided to fast something this Lent. Mainly to join a lot of the church that I had written off before - more Christians fast during Lent than any other time, I think. And also because I think fasting is "good" for a body. But I don't like to do it.

So I decided I would need to fast something that would be a sacrifice and for me that would be coffee. So coffee it's been. No coffee since Ash Wednesday. My body has missed it. (I didn't fast caffiene - so Excedrin has been helpful). My soul has missed it. I love the smell of coffee. I love the routine and ritual of my morning coffee. I love relaxing with a cup of coffee and i love getting going with a coffee. I love conversation around a cup of coffee.

But it's been good in a strange kind of way. It's good to tell the "flesh" "NO" sometimes. It's good to remind the body it's not the boss of me. And not to dicotomize myself too much - it's good to remind the soul who's in charge as well. Man shall not live by coffee alone.

Anybody out there fasting over Lent? How's it going? What are you learning this time through it?

Trip to Indiana

2007-03-13T20:52:00.000-04:00

Brenda and I got a chance to get away this weekend for a quick trip to Indiana to see our son Ryan and his lovely fiance Kristen. They are getting married May 5 and if you can't tell I'm excited about this. I'm especially excited about welcoming another daughter to our family. (The reason I have 5 boys is because they are boys - we kept trying to have another girl it never worked.)

The occasion for our trip was a shower for Kristen which Brenda was invited to attend. The trip to Anderson, Indiana is 337 miles which means almost 6 hours of driving for me. Brenda doesn't like to drive unless she has to and I don't mind driving but when I drive I usually get into a "zone". I turn on my music and get lost in my own thoughts.

Brenda doesn't like the "zone". She considers it a shame to have ridden 6 hours with a person and not to have had some conversation with them. I find no problem with that and figure I could be a good truck driver. But on this trip to Indiana I decided I would try to be more of conversationalists and stay out of the "zone".

I did pretty good at least on the trip out. I cheated because I need help - so I looked around on the internet and got a printable list of "discussion" questions for married couples. We took turns picking numbers and answering the questions. It went better than I thought it would and I think I got points from Brenda for it. I really did enjoy it and learned some stuff about my wife.

On the way home we were both talked out from the weekend and she got a little sleepy so I did enter the "zone" and listened to some good classic rock tunes half of the way home.

Did I just bless somebody, or what?!

2007-01-29T21:52:00.000-05:00

I was picking up some things this evening at WalMart for a fajita feast tomorrow night and thinking how good a Corona would taste with those fajitas! So I loaded a 12 pack of long necks on my cart. Just now (at about 10 pm ) I started thinking about that Corona again and then I suddenly remembered I never brought that in from the van. Then I suddenly remembered, hey, I bet I never took that case off the bottom of the cart when I loaded up my van in the parking lot. A quick hopeful look, just now, in the back of the van confirmed my (suddenly working) memory.

So I called Walmart Customer Service and was sorry that that no one had "turned in" any Corona Extra from the parking lot. Also, sorry, but they had cleared the parking lot and said I probably didn't need to call back, sorry, for your loss.

Just curious, what would you have done if you saw my beer in the parking lot on the bottom of a shopping cart?

> Say "Thank you God" it's even cold!

> Make the long trek in the cold to the Customer Service area (and wait in line) to turn it in?

> Look at it and say, "they'll be back for it" - I better just leave it there.

> Think I don't drink that stuff and neither should you.

I have to honestly say I probably would have picked it up and received it as a gift.

I did this once before with a gallon of milk only I didn't feel as bad then as I do now. I guess since I would have received it as a gift - I'll just head off to bed now feeling like I blessed someone.

Ride Captain Ride

2007-01-28T18:05:00.000-05:00

I've got biking music on my mp3 player that gets (and keeps) me going. The other day (when it was above 40) this song came on ...

Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay,

Rolled off of their ship and here's what they had to say...

"We're callin' everyone to ride along- to another shore,

We can laugh our lives awayand be free once more."

But no one heard them callin', no one came at all,

'Cause they were too busy watchin' those old raindrops fall.

As a storm was blowin' out on the peaceful sea,

Seventy-three men sailed off to history.

Ride, captain ride upon your mystery ship,

Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip.

Ride captain ride upon your mystery ship,

On your way to a world that others might have missed.

I remember this song from the 60's by The Blues Image but I never knew who they were singing about. (I thought then it might have been a "veiled" drug reference; I don't think anybody really knows for sure, though some speculate it may have been about Sir Francis Drake). But today I can't help but think they might have been singing about anyone who answers the Captains call to journey with Him. I am amazed at the friends I have here on this trip!