Insidious Adaptation

Opposition at times seems to be the best method to describe something. When one cannot think of what it is, one can only know what it isn't. With that, what if Jesus did not die on the cross for our sins as the Holy and perfect Son of God in flesh to account for the terrible deviation against all that is true. Furthermore, what if He didn't exist. A world without Jesus, a world then without the Bible, for the Bible refers to His coming and God's sending His son for Redemption. So, no Holy Inspired Word from God. Therefore our sins, they still exist. They are still ours to account for. Life would not be full of rebellion, there would be nothing to rebel against. There would be no hope. All that is good would be lost to the evil of man in this world, and those that oppose Jesus now, or oppose God don't even realize the structure provided for them to defile God's nature by the ones who believe in Him. "For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will...

“and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!” Matthew 18:3 NET The innocent unwrapping of pretty paper. The adults patting themselves on the back as what lay beneath a tree a bounty a plenty. We are good parents, for we provided these extras. We may secretly compare with others and what they have, we my have held on a little too tightly to the shopping this year, spent a bit much, been carried away with elation. For this too shall pass.  Tomorrow is December 26th and the reminders of what we aught to do shine as bright as the bulbs do on this Christmas morning. We are called to be consistent us adults, yet, we show children emotional doing by overdoing, and overreacting, we are at times their biggest stumbling blocks. Children’s minds are infinite in possibilities. Like Jesus, Immanuel, How numerous are his ways. The mind of a child submits eas...

"The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in very much. If then you haven't been trustworthy handling world wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?"  - Luke 16:10-11  We would all like to believe our cause is a noble one. We look to the world to tell us that it is. We look to our friends, whom have had the similar interests, or to family from which our interests have been raised, for them to tell us, "Yea, good job." When in the end, what matters is the progress of your wealth for others, not yourself. In July there was a death. An uncle. A military man, retired. His name was Mike. His funeral was yesterday, five days after what would have been his 72nd birthday, a service I was fortunate enough to have seen pictures, videos, witness second-hand, the military burial at Arlington National Cemetery. I performed those same funeral specifics. I have done what t...

Toilet seat? Is that really a thing?  I have not had to worry about a toilet seat placement at any point in my life. I have not been corrected, but maybe one time. One time, most recently, my wife reminds me that I need to leave the seat down so our daughter can get up on her own to pull her little seat on top of the adult toilet seat and prevent her little cheeks from falling in the water. One time.  Arguments over money? Like, blaming the other person? Like, complaining that they are using it all?  Any discussions of finances on my end has never been on where my wife spent money. There have been a few between us about career choices, decisions, new jobs, and what this meant for bills, however accusations have never been my forte, nor have I ever felt that from her.  Blame, resentment, despise, contrite...you exist with those feelings?  Why the heck would I have married someone who I would hold a deep resentment for? Why would I want to be wi...

In the spirit of the season, I sometimes find it best to reflect on where we've come from to see where we're going. I find that looking at the very elements of a situation can assist in finding common ground in which to walk, versus the egg shells we sometimes tiptoe around or crush just enough to pierce the leathery skin on the bottoms of our feet.  I will refer to the Bible here, so if you aren't interested past this then, there ya go.  In Genesis, man was made, and woman was made from man. God did both.  In Genesis again, man sinned, woman sinned. God did not make sin.  The rest of the Bible and life as we know it is based on this original sin and how we react, cover, attempt to live life on top of it, all the pain of cycle after cycle, mess on mess, and now here we are blurring the lines of what a nationalized agenda-biased media depicts either way about sexual assault.  Ah, this season... No, this isn't for children, and there are n...

Infidel- as a noun, a person who does not believe in religion or who adheres to a religion other than one's own. I don't get it.  As I sat in the court room, looking at the judge, prosecutor, county attorney. I couldn't understand the "vibe" I was feeling in relation to the well being, of a convicted man. When one gets a taste of the privilege, of a situation they think ought to be more prestigious, more enlightened than their own, there is no place left to go with expectations, but a crashing downward spiral as reality rears its ugly head. "Well, we could discuss the instance where the guy said...." I cannot give details, for these conversations were something, "privileged" however, the depth of text was lacking. The feast turned into a Country Buffet line of which there was no meat, only a plethora of cheap breads, followed by frozen, sweetened-milk, (definitely not ice-cream) for dessert. I expected to come into this back court...

The title, I feel like I came up with by myself, but there has to have been an idea like this before? Please tell me that someone somewhere has taken a step back, away from the crowds of bootcampers, the various cross-fit exercises, the supplements, the diet, all of it, and ask, why? Not just in why am I doing this, but, more specifically, why this? Why this workout, why this supplement, why this food? All necessary for an efficient, goal-driven lifestyle. I figure if you are going to take the time to invest in your overall wellness, you must have taken consideration in what kind of wellness? When we went to school, or started a career, did we just say I need a job, and stop there? We may have at first, like eating carrots instead of a Butterfinger or running instead of sitting, but time advances, and so should you. It's OK to ask questions when it comes to where you choose to spend your time. It is OK to ask why you should be eating certain foods, or less of others. It is OK...

It is the hopeless that need hope, for the optimists have it all figured out right? Like, would we listen to those who maintain a positive regard? Would we want a song about love, where everything worked out, the happy ending, the positive self getting all the stuff they ever wanted? Boring. That isn't worthy of our time. We need pain. We need to feel something and happiness is taken for granted. Get in touch with your spirituality, the fact that life here is temporary and that there is only room for love, removes a lot of pain. Unfortunately, art without pain, without sacrifice, is shallow. Optimism, positivity, they are good for self-help books, but for the real sellers, we need to have us some discomfort. There is hope in Jesus, he died for us after all. The original superhero, for no other Marvel Character did what he did, even in their fictional tales. We no longer live in the pain of death, we are now saved. Say that again using logic. It is as logical as the sun settin...

A box on the grocery store shelf, nothing special. Two dollars, an egg, and a cup of oil, and you’ve got yourself a snack made for a king. In fact, kings wouldn’t have had it this good when kings ruled the land. The heroes depicted in Game of Thrones don’t have a box of easy to mix, bake, and eat brownies, but yet, I do. I am not royalty, I am not famous, why should I have access to such a plethora of taste. My buds stimulated as a sugar glaze and the perfect ratio of fatty acids graces the tongue telling the brain how good I’ve been. As with all good boys, they are rewarded. My reward is a delicacy ready without much effort at all, and available to anyone. No longer are delicacies measured by the time it takes to produce. Sure, purists can always argue that those ingredients are crap and that the authentic stuff is better. Nobody is disagreeing with that. However, to a poor person getting $100,000 one could say a million is better, but that hundred grand still looks pretty sweet (...

The human hair, it grows all over the body. It seems to get more plenty in undesirable areas as we start declining in our productive years. Lanugo is the slight fur of a baby, necessary for warmth, the same hair that grows on a person whom suffers from anorexia. The hair above the eyes, well, that one has always been a mystery, maybe it keeps a slight bit from the second line of defense, the eye lashes. The more private areas tend to have a preference as to what is done with that, for women it helps keep a pH balance, men, it is useful for....smell maybe? Nonetheless, no hair is more important than the ones on our head, especially a girl's head. Girls have this ability to alter their entire persona by simply changing their hair style. One day they can be mysterious and dark with long, thick locks dyed a dark brown or a bold black, the next they can be a fun, party-girl with a short, blonde cut making the hair appear light and as free as its owner. Other hair styles, such as the a...

That look, a reminder of a former self, a self that was better than this version now. That man I used to be, he was so much better than me now. He was muscular and cool, though he didn't see it at the time. This man gets brought back up whenever he is reminded of the superficial presentation of others he used to be, "in the mix" with. 5 years ago! That man, that front of a person, for he lacked anything real, he is exactly as I remember him, anything anyone else liked. He was a ghost, a mirage, giving everybody everything they ever wanted, at the cost of him. This was not noble, or, "nice" it was for selfish gain, for you to like him and gather admiration. Even a cloud or fog finds resistance to an airplane to vehicle passing through. He wasn't valuable, but was merely Santa's bag, giving the kids whatever they asked for. His own wealth put off, converted to a currency of here and now, that same "now," that is over, with no lasting benef...

The last drink has been drunk. The final call has been made. The work day is over. The dessert bowl has been all scooped, and re-scooped, and there is simply, no more left. What happens when it's all gone? Well, "it" as we use it, has to be defined, which for each of us, could really be anything. IT could be pleasurable, IT could be an achievement, IT could be love, IT could be hate, IT could be pain, IT really could be anything we give it power to be, but IT will come to an end, for anything as we know it to be, will cease to be.   Like a blank piece of paper after all the work initially torn away, discarded, a part of ourselves, never to be seen again, however, built on, better.  A sad and disgruntling thought as I ponder what I can then rely on. Can I rely on my daughter, no, for she will either grow and move on as I want her to, or she will  suffer  from the debilitating effects of the conclusion of the human condition, the diagnosis we all must face. C...