OCTOBER 31ST

Halloween
As an American I do not celebrate many holidays of other nations, mostly because they mean nothing to me; to American national heritage. Just as I would guess independence day isn't so well celebrated in England, the day the cardinals won the world series by the many teams they have beaten or the conquering of Ethiopia to Mussolini by the Ethiopians.

Hypothetically...
Let's say you are a Jew in Hitler's Germany. The Nazis have sworn to destroy you and your kind. Let's say each year they celebrate the day they enrolled the Hitler youth. Every year They celebrate this with dressing as Hitler youth with swastika badges and candy given to everyone. As a Jew who has watched the Nazis burn, cage and destroy your family and relatives, would you celebrate this day with them? It is just dressing up and enjoying candy; no harm done. but would you celebrate with your enemy? Would you celebrate separately from your enemy in a different fashion?

Christians, we are in a war. Let's not join in celebrating a day that centers on our enemy, seemingly devised by our enemy. A day Certainly not promoting the love and life of our king. instead celebrate our king everyday.

P.s. If you have any left over candy send it my way.

Tess Wiley-Raise Your hand (+playlist)

GODISNOWHERE

Do  I "believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. .. mystical energy field control(ing) *my* destiny" ? Actually after 30 years of belief I sometimes ask myself this question-still. Even after having multiple metaphysical encounters and too many "coincidences" that have worked in my favor. After knowing that creation, entropy, the laws of nature, the multifaceted aspects of humankind are by grand design and that these effected by people speaking, people praying, and acts that should have no effect on them, do indeed effect them; I sometimes wonder can this be true (although brought up in a post-modern world, i do in fact believe that there is truth).

It happened again the other day, I was reading a passage in the Old Testament  of the bible something about the following: sacrificing your son, killing hundreds under the power of god, sacrificing goats, sheep, doves etc. and the similarities between what was causing the evil in the world and what was causing the good didn't appear so far apart. But when looking at the New Testament it's almost as if the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus saved God from this comparison; these similarities. I, for one, prefer things a little more clear; seeing the right and wrong. It reminds me of the season finale in Smallville; the conversation between Lex and Clark:



It is, and would be much easier to accept God in the New Testament  without knowing of him in the old testament. I realize that the old covenant was only a shadow of the new covenant  One could see the battles and victories over the armies in the old testament as a shadow of the victory of the Christian over the devil and spiritual forces of evil in the new covenant. In fact, we often do; i know it encourages my soul, maybe my spirit as well. Someone told me, "like they said 'Saul has slain his thousands,, but David his ten thousands' you will be like David". I took the meaning to mean that I would effect many lives for good and actually just briefly thinking about it i probably have effected about 3,000 people so far, so 10,000 wouldn't be far fetched. I just have to wonder, did those tens of thousands of people have to die so i could be encouraged with a prophetic word a few thousand years in the future? I don't know the answer to that, but I still believe and trust in God as described in the bible.


Another thing happened; I recently came across this explanation of our world:

To Sum Up

There are at least 27 dimensions and rays, and 7 solar planes.  Each plane in our solar system signifies higher levels of physical and etheric existence in our solar system.  The first Ray energises the 1st chakra to activate the 7th chakra, and so forth.  Chakras are components of the aura (electro-photo-magnetic field in seven layer or auric bodies surrounding a human), and the aura and chakras interpenetrate the other.  Each chakra feeds into one of the auric bodies. The civilisations are seven cycles of materialisation and spiritualisation on Earth, which activate the energies of the chakras. "

Truly my favorite part of the above was the "to sum up" as it went on with a confusing array of created terms and figments of realities. Truly, people are looking for an explanation to what they think, feel, and see around them. I do believe there is but one conclusion.

In PSALM 14:1 it says"
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”

I'd like to say, that I am no fool, I know there is a God out there, in here somewhere. Lately I've been traveling down the highway/freeway at about 65 miles an hour and looking at the people next to me; the people passing me. There are so many of them, each of them know so many more people. Through my car, the tires on the pavement, i can feel a vibration connecting me to them to the people at the stores, the waitresses, the cooks, the robbers  the cops, the robbers and I see a world so large so many people, so many living organisms (sometimes i even sense the cats, dogs, frogs, worms, bees, the trees). The world is so connected in intricacies that we rarely realize or hardly fathom. I don't mean the connections that our internet, 3G, 4G, and social media have created; like most things in technology these mimic the natural world.  We are all so close; when we think we are alone. So close to God; when we are redeemed.

Certainly this post has done very little to explain or prove the existance of God here, or god no where, but it hopefully made us think about our lives; how we can impact each other; how we already do; why we do.

GREAT ARTICLE: Middle-of-the-Road Policy Leads to Socialism

Middle-of-the-Road Policy Leads to Socialism:

'via Blog this'

disappointments abound

Isaiah 58 has been my life verse for nearly 15 years now, nearly half my life. Part of it says this:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

This is how i have chosen to live; daily, almost daily, i invest in people hoping to bring them out of the darkness, give them some, hope, or just make their general day to day life better. I often do not see the results of this. I hope for the best and God does the rest. I rarely feel disappointed in any of the young people that I work with when they do not succeed to the level that I was hoping they would. Thee are some that have disappointed me; but most I view on a different level, and i am aware that they are making these decisions for success or failure. 

it is another event altogether when i have a perceived idea of someone, a friend, and they disappoint you. i only say perceived idea because i may assume they didn't change, but were always the way they now appear. As a christian we have many choices before us, many paths to choose, many items to take up, many items to put down, and a life to live for Christ. (i'd go so far as to oppose the view  that says God's ultimate joy is seeing humankind doing whatever they find brings them pleasure). 

by god's help i will not be a disappointment-(tell me if you think i am; i will do something to change it).

Trust in the Lord

I do my best not to lean on my own understanding and in all my way acknowledge God.

The Church on a Swaying Bridge

" people aren’t willing to embrace the challenges of a lifestyle of obedience to Jesus as emphasized by the sound teaching in the New Testament" -Mike Bickle



"Some believers don’t hunger to grow in righteousness in their daily life. Rather, they seek to know how far they can go in sin and how little they need to talk with Jesus to keep their salvation intact." -Mike Bickle

Where are you?

God I am thankful for where I am right now.
So many times and so much time is spent trying to get to where we want to be or where we are going.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
This house, this land, this country, this earth.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
This job, this income, these material items.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
So many of us envy to be others or to be like others; feeling jealousy continually.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.

There are people in our lives for a reason; don't take them for granted before they are taken.

God I am thankful for where I am right now.

Just yesterday I spoke with a few individuals that I hadn't seen in a little while. Each of them may have a tough time saying "God I am thankful for where I am right now", maybe not- but listening to them made me say it.

The first guy I hadn't seen since December. He had taken a trip to southern Ohio to live in a community of Juggalos (not to be confused with gigolos). He came by and said hi with his traveling backpack and a girl with bright pink hair. He said he plans on being around permanently.

The second guy I hadn't seen in about 3 months. He had been staying at an out of town shelter and working long days as a roofer for the summer. I will say he looked like he was in better shape than the last time I saw him. I surmised he probably made good money seeing that he didn't have any bills at the shelter. He said he only had a couple hundred dollars saved and was thinking of moving to Georgia with some nice people he had met at the shelter.

The third guy I hadn't seen in about four months. He is a pretty hyper active guy and it really is hard to follow his conversations; they are always so emotional as well. But I did get that he had been traveling with the carnival for the past few months. He told me that he met a lot of people who had warrants out on them and they were keeping on the move. He mentioned that he didn't particularly fit in so he came back to stay with his parents; whom he usually doesn't get along with.

The fourth guy I had seen about a month ago. He only lives a short distance away (by car). He has a medical marijuana license so people let him live with them (though I don't see what it would matter if they didn't have a medical marijuana license). He didn't say much other than the fact that he had to be going to get the bus soon (he told me the time to the minute).

People everywhere are living their own lives. Some may appear better than others, some may appears worse than others. But, God I am thankful for where I am right now.

 Timothy 6:6-11

New International Version (NIV)

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Tyranny of the Urgent, Again.

This morning I took a shirt trip to Sams Club and bought a couple items. Sams Club brings a mixture of people; those who are meandering and carefully looking at items, while they lean on their over sized carts, and there are those who are buying for business with their flatbeds and lists hurrying about and looking determined.

I found myself shifting between the two today; only speaking or making eye contact when a collision ensured, but moving slowly and taking in the different products and people purchasing them. It wasn't a particularly busy morning in Sams Club. I got into a lane where a couple who appeared Chinese in ethnicity were finishing up their purchase. Their change was a dollar and some cents. I handed my card to the young lady who had multiple visible tattoos and she asked me to leave the heavier items in the cart. Items were scanned and she told me the total. I paid in several twenties and she was meticulously counting them; rubbing her fingers together, making sure I didn't over pay her (I'm not sure if that's the reason). But she was over zealous and tore one of the twenties right in half.; right don the middle. She looked shocked and repeated that she had ripped a twenty in half a couple times and told me not to worry about it (i wasn't). She finished the transaction; she was still holding the twenties, all of them. The receipt printed and she handed it to me and I started to leave; as if i was in a hurry. She said, oh don't forget your change as she was holding a half of a twenty in each hand and the others were strewn around the checkout counter. I said, oh that's right, as I realized that I really was not in a hurry. So I backed up and waited for her to get the change out of the drawer as we made small talk about ripped twenties: "it's like two tens" "wish i had some tape" "maybe i should put it i a special spot in the drawer" "money is money".  I noticed her name tag (mostly because I just read a couple pages from a book my wife was reading from her work about customer service), told LaayLaah to have a nice day and went to get my items inspected and marked by security on the way out.

It is so easy to get caught up in the importance of  "our time" and be hurried about what we are doing to get t the next thing that we will be doing.You know, it isn't only busibodies who succumb to the tyranny of the urgent. The lazy do the same thing: waiting until the mail comes then rushing to get it, waiting for the W-2s to spend the refund as quick as possible (like the money is on fire and it would burn if put into your pocket). Hurrying to watch a show impatiently because the one they wanted to watch is on next.
STOP.
Stop recording shows to make you think you are controlling the urgent(though I am sure that some people do manage this well), only to get home and watch everything you have recorded as fast as possible.
STOP.
Meditate on the goodness of God in the peace and quiet.
Sit and do nothing for a couple minutes.
Stand and look around you at the store; what's happening?
Listen to the leaves fall (in Michigan).
Listen to the cars drive, and as you quiet yourself listen to the tires, the fan belts, and even the people or music inside.
Feel the cold (or warmth depending on where you are).

Doing this will help clarify what is urgent and what is important. Breathe.

▶ Eight by La Dispute - YouTube

Two totally different worlds,
Sharing nothing but longitude and latitude.
There was the nation in the day, and the nation at night,
Existing side by side but each fleeing the other;
A daylight nation and a midnight nation.

I saw a country bifurcated by more than just the presence and absence of light,
But by lives cast aside and lost and uncared for;
The walked away and the thrown-away on one side, and on the other,
Those who pretended not to see them, because not seeing is easier.

▶ Eight by La Dispute - YouTube:

'via Blog this'

The Voice

I remember listening to a sermon over and over and in it the speaker said " be a voice, not an echo". I believe what he meant by this was not to just repeat good things that you have heard from others, not even to just repeat what you have read in your bible, but whatever you say to "make it ours" speak with conviction and believe it. i  am always quoting people, using good quotes that I like. Many of these have resounded deep within me and are words put together to relate what I have felt inside for years; or what I am feeling at the moment. Sometimes we quote or echo people who we wish we could be like and hopefully one day by the excessive quoting these words will become ours.
I always remember what I learned in history class." If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe i" ; a quote from Adolf Hilter , written by his speech writer. i think this holds true, though it doesn't have to be a lie; could be a truth.

Well I am sure this was meant to be a well thought out deliberation of evidence on the power of words; I'm simply saying be careful what you say and what you hear.

The Exit

So, I was listening to this band called Lydia. They have this one song called "The Exit". Some of the lyrics go.


"I've just been sitting here counting ghosts.

And you look scared again.
Just sing it out loud, it'll sound like this:....I don't hang this cross for him,
I hang it for my mother's grin.
If I wasn't so far away,
I'd ask my pops if he's free today.
But everyone, everyone here looks like they're on their own."






It's one of those songs, one of those bands really, that makes you think about your past and maybe what is going on right now, why you did what you did, the things you'll never get back, the things that won't happen again, how good your life is now; some basic life contemplation. I started thinking about life. There are hundreds of people that I've known, hundreds that I have been good friends with, hundreds that I don't talk to anymore(i.e. there isn't time, we don't have similar interests anymore, the conditions aren't right, we forget). This all made me think two distinct thoughts that are parallel but not the same. One is that I've known a lot of good people, that have meant a lot to me, that have effected me; that I will probably never meet again (due to the above i.e.). The second thought is of the people I know that i talk to briefly or minimally; maybe i don't say everything i could say to them.






I felt like doing a romper room, without the mirror, listing the people i will never have contact with again, but that have effected me and that i have thoughts of periodically; who i ask God to take care of.






There are the people from high school; we all spent so much time together. We experienced so many things together; became who we are today in part by our interactions with each other. (4 years)






There are the people from Elim Bible Institute all of whom I grew closer to as I saw who i was in Christ and became who God created me to be; we experienced so many things: miracles, emotional times, frustrating times, and each other. Some of you have impacted me the most. (1.5 years)






True I did attend St Clair Community College, Macomb Community college, and Oakland university; but I don't have one person that I am in touch of now because of those classes. I do have a couple that I think of from time to time. (7.5 years)






It's funny how time doesn't necessarily determine closeness or meaningfulness in relationships. For instance, I an closing in on 12 years with the non-profit that I work with. Nearly all of the relationships that I have with the people that i have worked with over the years, even for 12 years, is purely professional; we are not friends. There are some exceptions, that I am grateful for.






Then there is the Blue Water House of Prayer; the musical/prayer group that we traveled around the thumb of Michigan with playing at different church congregations weekly for about 7 years. Some people we came to be very close with. Some people we drifted apart. Some people we never spoke to again. some people we can pickup right where we left off. It's always different when you are meeting people in times of heightened spiritual awareness and emotionalism.






The hundreds of young people, kids in trouble, homeless people that I have met, tried to help out and loved are mostly passerbyers. Some I know for a day some for a few years, but non have really been a permanent connection, but they have effected me; for better or worse. I hope I've had an effect on them. You have to do whatever you can for each other.






Now there's family, whether they are blood or someone you call family, because of some past experience or your feelings; i'm very glad that we have made it a habit or tradition to end all of our phone calls and meetings by saying "bye love you god bless you". Even though sometimes it is said so quick only we know what is being said, it is still meant and means.






What I am seeing and saying is that people really are the most important aspect of this life. There are people who commit horrible acts, people who are miserable, people who love everyone, people who need people.










Some of Lydia's other lyrics (though I don't know what they mean, they make me feel like this blog):


"It's still not quite the way it was

But you promised me this is love

So stay and watch the hospital

That's just across the street

From your apartment balcony

I'll never ever leave there

I'll never leave




Oh, no one is watching now

Sing like you just might drown

But always come back home

'Cause I never got to see you once more, no

I guess that's all I wanted

Yeah, I guess that's all I needed"

Why I don't need cable TV

Just had a heartfelt powerful conversation with a young guy. A 22 year old black guy who grew up in Detroit, has seen, a couple friends shot, never had a father, now lives in Mount Clemens in low income housing. 
He recently got his CNA certificate and is working at the DMC.

He asked me for some information to help someone who had been a victim of domestic violence.
First, he told me a story about something that lead up to his coming to ask me where to get help.

His girlfriend, whom he is faithful to and helps take care of her 6 year old daughter, has a friend who has a 3 year old son and a boyfriend. This girl comes to his girlfriend saying she left the 3 year old with her boyfriend and now he cant find him. She is bruised and bleeding a little bit. So the 22 year old man goes with his girlfriend to the house to ask the boyfriend where the boy is. The guy says that the grandma stole the boy.

They are about to put out a missing person/ kidnapping report into the police when someone gets a hold of the grandmother. She says she stopped by the house and say the 3 year old was hurt so she took him and called protective services. After verifying this with CPS the 22 year old talks with the boyfriend who said the grandmother took the 3 year old. The guy says that he doesn't know what is happening and still says the grandmother is trying to take the 3 year old.

After some arguing it comes out by the girl who was bruised and bleeding that the boyfriend is the one who made her bruised and bleeding. Just then she gets a call from CPS about the report and her 3 year old. It is officially reported that the 3 year old has 3 broken ribs and some other bruises and reportedly done by the boyfriend who also beat up his girlfriend. This is when the 22 year old says to the girlfriend, leave him and come with us. She starts to leave with them and the boyfriend tells her to stop. She stops, but so does the 22 year old who came to talk to me. He turns to her and tells her to get in the car with his girlfriend. He tells me about his inner turmoil about getting a good job and doing well in life and how something little can mess it up. 

Once the girls are in the car he tells the boyfriend that he is "not cool" beating up his girlfriend and child. He then makes his decision; to beat the guy up; but not to kill him. 

This was two weeks ago. The girlfriend is living with them and CPS still has the 3 year old. A few times since then the 22 year old has gotten in his car to beat the guy up again, but chose not to but instead encouraged the girlfriend to press charges, which she did. 

I gave him some advice and encouragement; he gave me some hope.

A Poetry Book

In 2000 I spent a month living at an inner-city missions facility in Queens NY. Throughout this time Monday through Friday a group of us went throughout Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx giving food, faith, and hope to the impoverished hopeless masses in New York City. Some experiences I will never forget is playing cards with those on deaths door at the AIDS hospital, preaching in Mexican Town with a translator, taking sandwiches to those on the streets at midnight, the countless soup kitchens and coffee houses and making hundreds of children laugh as a clown on the streets in the Bronx.

Coming back to Michigan shortly thereafter, I enrolled in college and needed an income. Moved by the hand of God, in spirit, I searched online for any job openings. I simply typed in ‘youth” in the search. I went for the interview, got hired, and got trained as an Intervention Counselor in the city of Mount Clemens. This began my journey in the helping field. The field where you meet the hopeless, hurting; those people whom the devil has tried his best to destroy physically, emotional, spiritually, people the devil has attempted to devalue and dehumanize.  You meet them in hopes of undoing the devils work, in hopes of repairing, restoring, showing them their value, loving, and caring for those who have no one else; no one.

Over these past years, beginning in New York, I began to write poetry, both reflecting on situations, deflecting pain, empathizing with the hurt, and examining these effects on my life. Now these poems are together in an e-book recently published in the Kindle store.

megan

I am so impressed by how well megan did in college. She also scored the highest score on the state board test of any macomb graduate. She is very smart.

A Match to Light a Fire not to Burn Out

Just recently I finally watched a movie called Patton; about Gen. Patton. While it seems he was a pretty messed up character from the analysis of the character I am choosing to glean somethings from his life (i'm sure people don't use the word glean anymore in America anyway, do people still glean in fields?)

I recently put up a couple quotes in my office at work:
"better to fight for something than live for nothing"
"courage is fear holding on a minute longer"
"work harder than you think you can"
"do more than is required of you"

While it may be true that  (as some have told me) i am under paid and don't receive the recognition or reward for the work i do; this does not pave way to an apathetic or disgruntled outlook at my work. In fact if i worked in a retail store making minimum wage i would carry the same quote mentality with me; in fact encourage others to do the same. i would.

so i  remember a man once said to me while i was sitting in a large room. It was a room of about 300 people we were sitting down and he was on a stage talking and he said " young man stand up." i actually looked around me. He said "you there in the hat (i had a tigers hat on). i stood up and he said while pointing at me ," you are the match that is going to light the fire of thousands of young people" ;he said some other things as well. it's my choice to use those words as fuel or to disregard them. they are fuel. Another guy told me in a room of about 100 people; he pointed to me and quoted from the Bible saying, "saul has slain his thousands but David his ten thousands. you aren't going to be slaying people but you will be changing them". more fuel. Still another time a homeless man grabbed my hand and said to me one on one, "when you meet these young people look them in the eyes and give them hope."

i didnt make these things up, but maybe these things made me up. so i will burn until i "am utterly changed into fire".


(i just E-published my poems from over the past 10 years)

Teeth Dream

After eating a ton of pizza before bed last night I had a dream. I dreamt that I was in my parents house, their bathroom by the front door. My teeth started hurting and I looked in the mirror and felt my teeth with my hand. The bottom row on the left side came out in my hand as a set. There was a small amount of blood and some pain as well.  Since they were a set I tried to place them back in but the pain was to great so I held on to them. I was rinsing my mouth out and spitting out blood when out popped the top half of the back left side of my teeth, all in a set. These bleed a lot and I continued to rinse my mouth. When there was less blood coming out I looked up at the mirror and saw that without teeth that side of my face sagged in and it was extremely painful to put my too gums together. I must have been making some noise I thought ( I also thought I wonder if my gold cap fell out); because my younger brother and mother came in to see what was going on. I showed them my mouth with the missing teeth and my mother was horrified. I told her it didn't’ hurt that bad.  She said it was the redness and the bumps. I looked in the mirror and noticed that that side of my face was also missing, this exposed my missing teeth and gums as well as some muscles. At this point I said to y self, that’s enough. I woke up and my teeth on that side were very sore; I am certain I was grinding them.

Heath dream 3.26.2013

(any intrepertations welcome)

CareCare

Care is a word used to show a type of affection  or concern.  We tell people we care for them or we may even provide care for them, but what does it mean to care for someone.
There seem to be very few people who are not living for themselves.  Notice drivers,  notice yourself when you drive,  are they looking out for the benefit of other.  Just today I was cut off,  tailgated,  and flicked with cigerrate ashes.  I am guessing if each driver had my benefit in mind things would have been different. 
Let's try to live for others,  Jesus did.

12 Vainess

Well, I am at 12% body fat. It really isn't what I was hoping. 8?

the Office

My office

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