North Carolina has decided to bring back the Biblical definition of marriage. One man and as many wives and concubines as he can afford. Why stop there? Let's bring back the Biblical method of divorce. Let a man take his wife to the town square and announce three times "I divorce you." At that point she has to go back to her family with nothing. No alimony, no property, no child support. And if she was caught in adultery, then her husband gets to stone her. And if the husband has committed adultery, he gets stoned too. Let's make it mandatory that man who has been divorced should never be allowed to be a minister. So long John Osteen and the church you founded. So long Charles Stanley and your TV ministry.
But why stop there? Let's bring back the Biblical practice of slavery. Let a man own a slave and then release him after 49 years, with the option of buying him back. Jesus knew about slavery and never condemned it, thereby condoning it by his silence.
But why stop there? Let's bring back the Biblical practice of capital punishment. Let a child who disobeys his parents be stoned. Let a person who works on Sunday (like at Walmart) be stoned. Let a woman who wears a wool silk blend jacket be stoned.
But why stop there? Because we all stop there. We all pick and choose the Bible verses we will follow and not follow. It has been done for centuries by everyone from the pope on down. Do we immerse or sprinkle? Do we speak in tongues or not? Do cut off our arms and gouge out our eyes, because that is what Christ commanded, or not?
Be careful, North Carolina, you shall be judged by the judgement you measure out. And by the compassion you withhold.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Seven Days To Creation
I like having a theology or philosophy based on the seven days of the week. The Bible says that God created the world in seven days so there must be something to it. My week starts on Saturday and ends on Friday. Many ancient cultures had the same idea. Many modern business have the same idea.
So let's start with Saturday. Named for Saturn. To me, Saturn has to do with wisdom. In other words smart knowledge as redundant as that sounds. Not just information, but knowing how best to apply that information. So our creation starts with wisdom.
Next comes Sunday, the power day. Power that leads. Power that makes strong. Power that fills the tank a whole week. But wisdom and power are nothing with out emotion.
Monday is the day for emotion. Blue Mondays, etc. We can choose the emotions we feel this day. Peace, faith, love are some positive emotions. Or we can choose negative. Either way emotions are energies in motion. So our creation has wisdom, power and emotion. What next?
Mars is next. Tuesday. Mars is the planet of motivation, courage, action, and war. It is how we get things done. How the ball stays rolling. Commitment, determination and persistence are all words of Mars. So our creative process now includes Mars.
Which is followed by Mercury. Wednesday is the day of commerce, communication and transportation. A day of flexibility. The day we make adjustments to our creation. Add new or more information. A day to recalibrate if needed.
Thursday is Jupiter's day. The day of abundance. This is the day we multiply our efforts. The adjustments of yesterday become the increased production of today. So what is left?
To keep our creation we appreciate it. That is Friday, the day of Venus. To take something for granted is to start to loose it. So we relish our creation in order to keep it and maintain it.
We have an idea for a restaurant. Sat. we gather the best information on how to start and run one. Sunday we gather our resources (powers). Monday we back our restaurant with the strongest emotion we can muster, hopefully love. Tuesday we get into action. Wednesday we make modifications and improvements. Thursday we start leasing franchises. And Friday we express our gratitude for our chain of eateries.
Seven days of creation. Good enough for God. Good enough for me.
So let's start with Saturday. Named for Saturn. To me, Saturn has to do with wisdom. In other words smart knowledge as redundant as that sounds. Not just information, but knowing how best to apply that information. So our creation starts with wisdom.
Next comes Sunday, the power day. Power that leads. Power that makes strong. Power that fills the tank a whole week. But wisdom and power are nothing with out emotion.
Monday is the day for emotion. Blue Mondays, etc. We can choose the emotions we feel this day. Peace, faith, love are some positive emotions. Or we can choose negative. Either way emotions are energies in motion. So our creation has wisdom, power and emotion. What next?
Mars is next. Tuesday. Mars is the planet of motivation, courage, action, and war. It is how we get things done. How the ball stays rolling. Commitment, determination and persistence are all words of Mars. So our creative process now includes Mars.
Which is followed by Mercury. Wednesday is the day of commerce, communication and transportation. A day of flexibility. The day we make adjustments to our creation. Add new or more information. A day to recalibrate if needed.
Thursday is Jupiter's day. The day of abundance. This is the day we multiply our efforts. The adjustments of yesterday become the increased production of today. So what is left?
To keep our creation we appreciate it. That is Friday, the day of Venus. To take something for granted is to start to loose it. So we relish our creation in order to keep it and maintain it.
We have an idea for a restaurant. Sat. we gather the best information on how to start and run one. Sunday we gather our resources (powers). Monday we back our restaurant with the strongest emotion we can muster, hopefully love. Tuesday we get into action. Wednesday we make modifications and improvements. Thursday we start leasing franchises. And Friday we express our gratitude for our chain of eateries.
Seven days of creation. Good enough for God. Good enough for me.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Cars I have owned
1970 Buick Skylark. If only I could have replaced the engine.
1970 Plymouth Valiant. Slant six engine. Best engine of its size.
1975 Chevy Monte Carlo. Doors and windows from hades
1986 Chevy Cavalier. Bought new. Totaled-not my fault.
1986 Chevy Cavalier. Bought new. 2 door sporty car.
1994 Ford Escort. Bought new. (Chevy dealership out of Cavaliers.)
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. My brief second car. Needed a lot of work.
1998 Ford Ranger. Bought used. Expanded cab with jump seats.
2005 Toyota Tacoma. Bought new. My favorite vehicle so far.
I love Toyota and GM. What can I say?
1970 Plymouth Valiant. Slant six engine. Best engine of its size.
1975 Chevy Monte Carlo. Doors and windows from hades
1986 Chevy Cavalier. Bought new. Totaled-not my fault.
1986 Chevy Cavalier. Bought new. 2 door sporty car.
1994 Ford Escort. Bought new. (Chevy dealership out of Cavaliers.)
1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. My brief second car. Needed a lot of work.
1998 Ford Ranger. Bought used. Expanded cab with jump seats.
2005 Toyota Tacoma. Bought new. My favorite vehicle so far.
I love Toyota and GM. What can I say?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
What I Know about Allergies so far
Imagine you own a house. You have two dogs. A small one and a large one. Whenever there is a threat the small dog goes out to investigate. The little dog barks, if the threat goes away the little dog comes in. No problem. If the threat stays the little dog comes in and the big dog goes out to bark. Most of the time the threat goes away. If it doesn't then that is the beginning of an allergy.
Let's say the threat is a wolf. The large dog comes in and alerts you that the wolf is planning to come back with his pack. He tells you that more large dogs are needed to protect the house. So you go out and get 11 more dogs. To support them you work a second job. Now when you come home after 12 or 14 hours of work you still have to take care of the 13 dogs. That is how the allergy wears you down.
The wolves are allergens (pollen) and the dogs are your immune system. The wolves have no teeth or claws but your dogs don't know that. So the troops line up for a battle that doesn't have to be fought.
Let's go back. Allergies were virtually unknown until 1800. Then something happened. Was it the industrial revolution? The revolution of agriculture? No. It was the revolution of hygiene. People got clean. First the rich, then the middle class, and then the poor. The same way that allergies manifested themselves. We got too clean for our own good.
Only children and oldest children are more prone to allergies than other children. Older children go out and get exposed to a full dose of allergen. They come back into the house and give a small, inoculating dose to the other children in the house. The small children have a chance to develop immunity to allergies. My big brother protected me for a long time. But he wasn't around when I got to Texas. So I have allergies now.
They say local grown honey will give you a chance to develop an immunity to whatever allergens are in the area. Bees fly through the air and pick up small amounts of allergens, which they incorporate into the honey.
So that is what I know about allergies so far. I am indebted to Jonathan Brostoff's book on Hay Fever, which I am halfway through. More to come.
Let's say the threat is a wolf. The large dog comes in and alerts you that the wolf is planning to come back with his pack. He tells you that more large dogs are needed to protect the house. So you go out and get 11 more dogs. To support them you work a second job. Now when you come home after 12 or 14 hours of work you still have to take care of the 13 dogs. That is how the allergy wears you down.
The wolves are allergens (pollen) and the dogs are your immune system. The wolves have no teeth or claws but your dogs don't know that. So the troops line up for a battle that doesn't have to be fought.
Let's go back. Allergies were virtually unknown until 1800. Then something happened. Was it the industrial revolution? The revolution of agriculture? No. It was the revolution of hygiene. People got clean. First the rich, then the middle class, and then the poor. The same way that allergies manifested themselves. We got too clean for our own good.
Only children and oldest children are more prone to allergies than other children. Older children go out and get exposed to a full dose of allergen. They come back into the house and give a small, inoculating dose to the other children in the house. The small children have a chance to develop immunity to allergies. My big brother protected me for a long time. But he wasn't around when I got to Texas. So I have allergies now.
They say local grown honey will give you a chance to develop an immunity to whatever allergens are in the area. Bees fly through the air and pick up small amounts of allergens, which they incorporate into the honey.
So that is what I know about allergies so far. I am indebted to Jonathan Brostoff's book on Hay Fever, which I am halfway through. More to come.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Three Grandmothers
I had three grandmothers. Well not really. I had one grandmother I knew. One I never knew. And a Great Aunt who took the place of the grandmother who died 12 years before I was born.
My "Mamaw" Keith was the one I knew. She was a great lady and very spiritual. She liked to say that she had six grandchildren and she loved all of them the same. Yet she adapted her love to our needs. She saved the Clinton Courier for my mom so my mom could read it on the weekends. Very sweet and kind lady.
My father's mother was bitten by a rabid fox and died 12 years before my birth. Even so I felt a connection. She took French and I took French. The story of how she died is amazing. Actually there are two stories. A sanitized version and a more accurate one.
My great aunt Sarah Lou Trentham was like a grandmother to me. As a little kid, I called her aunt Sir Lou. She didn't seem to mind. She could cook from scratch a homemade breakfast about as fast as it would take to microwave a frozen breakfast. Also very sweet and spiritual.
So that is an introduction to my three "grandmothers". I will write more about them by and by.
My "Mamaw" Keith was the one I knew. She was a great lady and very spiritual. She liked to say that she had six grandchildren and she loved all of them the same. Yet she adapted her love to our needs. She saved the Clinton Courier for my mom so my mom could read it on the weekends. Very sweet and kind lady.
My father's mother was bitten by a rabid fox and died 12 years before my birth. Even so I felt a connection. She took French and I took French. The story of how she died is amazing. Actually there are two stories. A sanitized version and a more accurate one.
My great aunt Sarah Lou Trentham was like a grandmother to me. As a little kid, I called her aunt Sir Lou. She didn't seem to mind. She could cook from scratch a homemade breakfast about as fast as it would take to microwave a frozen breakfast. Also very sweet and spiritual.
So that is an introduction to my three "grandmothers". I will write more about them by and by.
Names and Dates to Remember.
Sarah Lou Trentham (nee Wise) 4-20-02 to 10- -83.
Marshall Trentham 6-28-00 to 6- - 78.
Benjamin Theodore Keith 6-14-08 to 7-8-88.
Nell Rose Keith (nee Trentham) 4-20-08 (06) to2- -87.
Virgil Edmonds 7-16-06 to 3-25-93.
Ruby Grace Edmonds (Nee Hill) 10-11-12 to 11-12-53.
William Edmonds 6-20-1863 to 3-25-1935.
Nannie Belle Edmonds Lewis 7-1-1889 to 7-28-1959.
Marshall Trentham 6-28-00 to 6- - 78.
Benjamin Theodore Keith 6-14-08 to 7-8-88.
Nell Rose Keith (nee Trentham) 4-20-08 (06) to2- -87.
Virgil Edmonds 7-16-06 to 3-25-93.
Ruby Grace Edmonds (Nee Hill) 10-11-12 to 11-12-53.
William Edmonds 6-20-1863 to 3-25-1935.
Nannie Belle Edmonds Lewis 7-1-1889 to 7-28-1959.
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