from the mind of my daughter

 So my daughter has something she wants to share.  Here it is.

 

Today I am going to talk about the DC Super Hero Girls!  Now you're probably wondering who they are and what they do.  Well, they are heroes who attend Metropolis High School and I will be describing each hero.

First there is Wonder Woman!  Her secret identity is Diana Prince.  She is from the paradise island Themyscira, inhabited entirely of the Amazon women.  Diana is the princess of the island and her mother is Queen Hippolyta.  Wonder Woman is the team leader of the Super Hero Girls and is always ready to face anything and she is tall.   Her one weakness is her intense crush on Steve Trevor.

Second is Zatanna!  Zatanna has both light and dark magical powers. Her secret identity is Zee Zatara and she has the highest popularity in school and she loves doing performances with her father and alone.  Her weakness includes looking bad in public.

Third is BumbleBee!  Her secret identity is Karen Beecher and her greatest fear is public speaking.  Karen made a suit so that way she would be big, but it didn't happen.  Instead, she wound up shrinking herself to the size of a bee!  With her suit on Karen can fly, have enhanced strength, and can shoot electric stings!  Karen is also very smart. 😁

Fourth is Supergirl!  She was born on the planet Krypton as Kara Zor-El, cousin to Cal-El who is Superman (Clark Kent).  After coming to Earth, she was adopted by the Danvers family and is now known as Kara Danvers.  She gets her powers from Earth's sun just as her cousin does.  Her powers are super-strength, super-speed, flight, heat vision and x-ray vision!  She's also bulletproof!  She enjoys being with her friends, eating burgers, listening to rock, and punching bad guys out into space!  Her weakness is Kryponite.

Fifth is Green Lantern!  Her secret identity is Jessica Cruz.  She is also a vegan and is always protesting against the eating of meat.  Jess is part of the Green Lantern Jr. corps and sometimes has to work alongside Hal Jordan.  With her power ring, Jess can make anything with her will.

Sixth and finally is Batgirl!  Barbara "Babs" Gordon is her secret identity and is the daughter of Police Commissioner Gordon.  She is crazy smart and spends a lot of time inventing new gadgets.  She also has a very good photographic memory and is a great investigator.  She works at the Burrito Bucket when she's not at school or fighting crime alongside her BFFs!

What is there to truly enjoy?

 Earlier I had posted this about the world.  This is in response to my recent study of the book of Ecclesiastes.  It truly is amazing how the more you get to know God and the truth your perception in transformed.  Indeed...life under the sun is just a puff of smoke.

So then...what is there to truly enjoy?  If everything we know about in this world is here one moment and gone the next, what does that leave?  Well...I've learned to simply take it all one day at a time and see what happens.  What I have found to be the most enjoyable are all the things of God.  Spending time out in the wilderness, listening to nature, spending time with my wife and daughter, listening to and performing music.  All of this I enjoy and I believe that when my time under the sun comes a close and I go Home, I'll still be able to enjoy music and being with those I love and enjoying all that God has created.  

Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth, which are essentially only temporary.  Instead, store up treasures in Heaven.  Aaaaah...now were talking.  Treasures in Heaven are eternal!  So what are these treasures He is talking about to store up in Heaven while we are in this life under the sun?  After much thinking...it's relationships...people!

It's challenging, for certain, building relationships.  It seems though that doing anything worthwhile is hard, but not impossible.  The single most important relationship to have is with Jesus Christ.  So if you don't know Him, I want to invite you to get to know Him.

Rhythm

So my friend and brother in Christ, Phil, posted this about Melody and Harmony.  Now it's my turn to say something about what I believe is the most critical part of music...rhythm!

Let's face it, without rhythm it's just noise.  We are rhythmic creatures.  We walk with rhythm and we live to a rhythm.  Now I realize that there are some who have difficulty with walking or movement for that matter and it may appear there is no rhythm to their movement, but I believe if you watch them long enough you'll see a rhythmic pattern.

God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th.  So even from the beginning our Creator God established a rhythm.  Work for 6 days, and rest on the 7th.  Indeed, take time out to rest.  I had the pleasure of resting this past weekend.  I was able to be among the wilderness of His creation and soak in the beauty of it all.

Now for those who know me, I'm a drummer.  Whether tapping out something on a dashboard or actually playing an instrument, I got the rhythm in me.  Here's a little something of rhythm to enjoy: 

It's all just a vapor

 Well now...it sure has been a long time since my last post here.  Life is indeed an adventure and you just never know what will happen next.

I am now facilitating (God is leading) a small group of men with my church in Bible study and group discussion.  We recently finished a study of the book of Ecclesiastes and one of the biggest things I take away from it is that this life under the sun is only temporary...a vapor...a puff of smoke.  This is a comforting thought with all the bad stuff that keeps happening in this world.

I've heard it said before about this world being a cesspool...what?!?  Oh yes.  If you stop and think about it and let it all settle in, this world is a sin infected cesspool.  It's ugly.  It is indeed the world God did NOT mean for us to live.

So here we are, living in a mess.  Fortunately, it's not permanent.  It's only temporary.  As the writer of Ecclesiastes expresses, do the best you can with what you have and enjoy it as much as you can.  Yes, sometimes the bad guys win.  It's only a vapor.

Life is Indeed an Adventure

Okay...it's been a while since my last post here.  This year has become quite a crazy adventure for my family and I.  To begin, I finally was hired back in fully to Robert Bosch LLC in May with the first day of this new position being June 02.  The hard part is we have to relocate.  Okay, fine with that.  So now the house is listed for sale with Cressy & Everett and all we can do now is wait.  Waiting is the hard part.  I want so much for things to happen, but all these things are beyond my control.  So patience is being exercised much these days.

I am reminded of Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus explains to us that we have nothing to worry about.  Really, with God in the middle of everything we really do not have anything to worry about.  However, we still worry.  We worry because of so much unknown.  Will our house sell?  Can we afford another house where we need it?  So many questions, so little answers.  This is what makes this life such an epic adventure...we just don't know what will happen next.

I do believe God has something in the slow-cooker for our lives.  We just don't know all the details, and that's fine because we can trust Him with everything.

An Idea

How do I start this?  I am a child of God, a follower of the Christ Jesus, a husband and father to a little Princess, and a brother of the Church.  I have something to say.  Something that I believe is driven by His Holy Spirit within me.  It’s a simple idea, yet I know it will be so hard for many to comprehend and accept.  Some may call me crazy or nuts.  That’s okay.  Many called Noah crazy for what he did.

For millennia now, since the Fall of humanity, we all have been deceived.  Yes, let that soak in for a moment.  Since the beginning of humanity we have lived with the drive to acquire wealth.  We believe that we must work hard to earn a living.  So we grow up, get an education, get a job, and so on.  Since that beginning, we have had money in the mix of this Creation.  Whether it is coin or paper note or simply land to trade, the business of buying and selling or trading has been in place.  So just what is money anyway?  First let’s take a look at a little of what God says.  Exodus 20:3, of the Ten Commandments, ”You shall have no other gods before me.“  From I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”  Wow, money sure does seem like an ugly thing.  So what is it then?  It is nothing more than a cast idol that, let’s face it, so many worship!  When I say cast, I mean it in a Biblical sense that it is something manufactured by human hands.  Whether coin of copper or silver or gold, or cast of paper, it is an idol.  Let’s face it, many of placed this god before the God of all Creation!  Yikes!

So now, do we really need it?  Let’s see here, God shares with us all that we need and more.  He is the owner of the entire universe, and He chooses to share with us.  He doesn’t sell us His stuff, He shares it.  Yes, we have humans who will claim ownership of His stuff and demand payment before they will share it.  What?!?  First of all, it is all His stuff.  He is the owner and we are simply His stewards or managers of His stuff.  So we really have no claim to sell His stuff to each other.  God shares it with us first, that is His intention.  So we ought to follow His example and share freely with each other.  Therefore, we really don’t need money now do we.  We use money as stuff to exchange for other stuff.  Be it food, water, clothes, houses, transportation, and so on.  Let’s eliminate money and thus buying and selling from the mix.  Whoa!  What?  Yeah…meditate on this.  No money.  No buying and selling, no profit making.  There is only sharing.  It can be done.

Without money, buying, and selling in the mix, this will eliminate so many problems with poverty and disparity in the world today.  People no longer will work a job because they have to so they can put food on the table and a roof over their heads.  People can pursue what God put in them to do and receive all the support they need to do and be the best they can.  Money limits this, but remove it and those limitations melt away.  If it is in you to be a manager, that do that.  If it is in you to be an engineer, then do that.  If it is in you to be a musician, that do that.  No buying or selling, no profit making, no paychecks needed…only sharing.  You can still go to your community market place for food and such, but when you check out it is only for the purpose of inventory management.  You can still go see a movie or play or concert, but the artists share what they have and not sell it.

This idea right here is quite literally Heaven on earth.  Everyone freely, generously, and lovingly sharing with one another.  This is all His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Try to imagine it.  A world where there is no money, where everyone is sharing art and harvests and crafts and skills with one another, where everyone contributes to one another by doing the very thing that makes him or her come alive inside!  A world where no one is suffering because they don’t have the money to pay for food or shelter or health care.

Alas, this kind of world won’t be until Jesus returns.  Yet, I wonder….  What if the entire Church around the world came together under one banner of Christ and decided to eliminate money from the mix of living and shared?  I believe it could be done.  “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  –Matthew 19:26.

Now for the next question, can this idea go viral?  Only time will tell.  May the peace and love of God abound in us all.

A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 - a review

So I have begun reading the Game of Thrones books since I love to read and the simply fact is I do not have cable or dish at home to watch it on HBO.  Books are so much better anyway.  I have finished Book 1 and have begun Book 2, A Clash of Kings.

I have to wonder if the inspiration of these books for the author, George R. R. Martin, is modern politics.  So much of the politics the book is very much like reading about what is going on in Washington D. C. today.  In the books, you have 4 great houses or families.  First one of note is the House Stark of the North.  Lord Eddard, or just Ned, Stark of Winterfell is an honest man.  Sure, he made some mistakes in his younger days.  Ned had a son out of wedlock, Jon Snow, but at least he did the honorable thing and raised the child and took care of him.  This was certainly a hard thing to do in a society where bastard children are chastised and marginalized.  Jon of course realizes this and decided to "take the black" and become a brother of the Night's Watch at the Wall.  Overall, the House Stark is a good house.
The flip side of the coin seems to be the House Lannister of Casterly Rock.  The only Lannister I appreciate is the Imp, Tyrion.  He sure has a wit about him and can talk his way out of anything.  At least he gives you what he promises.  Tyrion is, so far of what I've read, probably the only honorable Lannister of the whole house.  His Lord father, Tywinn Lannister, is...shall I say, sneaky.  Of course, Cersei is no better.  Like father like daughter?  Cersei is very treacherous!  She murdered Jon Arryn because he discovered what Ned Stark had discovered...Joffery, Myrcella, and Tommen are all pure-blood Lannisters!!!  Of course, Ned was able to talk his way out of being killed by Cersei, but that didn't stop her brat son Joffery!  Geeez...what a jerk!  Having Sansa's father beheaded right in front of her!    So yeah, I have no love for the Lannisters save for Tyrion.
Now there's the House Baratheon.  I am not sure what to think of them.  The late King Robert of Baratheon was, well, he just wanted revenge against the House Targaryen for killing Lyanna Stark!  So he and Ned Stark teamed up to usurp the Mad King Ares II.  Kind of an inside job as it was Ser Jamie Lannister of the King's own guard who ran Ares II through.  Uh, yeah...some loyalty.  Thus, Ser Jamie becomes known as the Kingslayer.  Anyway, the House Baratheon brothers Stannis and Renly are now at each other for the Iron Throne.
So let's see here, we've got Joffery "Lannister" crowned King (by his mother no doubt...Joffery is most likely his mother's puppet even though he doesn't admit to it), Lord Stannis Baratheon claiming himself King and his brother Renly doing the same.  And in the north, Robb Stark has been proclaimed King of the North!  So now we have all these "kings" bickering with each other and oblivious to what is happening across the narrow sea...Daenerys Targaryen!
Lovely Dany by the end of Book 1 now has 3 hatched dragons!  Ooooooooooooooo....she's the one I'm watching.  I can't wait to see what she does.

Favorite House:  Stark
Favorite Character:  Daenerys Targaryen
Favorite moment:  when the dragons hatched and Dany emerged from the fire unburnt!