What I Have Learned From 'Puters

Thus far(I began "using" 10-10-04)I have learned that most people do not give a rip for "how" it works, "why" it works, only that it works the way they expect it to and keeps on doing it day after day after day. Dependability, that is the key to success in the computer industry of the 21st century! I guess I had already learned this lesson during my early years, but some things evolve over time, and the lessons, although appearing to be new, really aren't. I suspect that the very first time the wheel was brought into focus as a means of transportation there were folks who were concerned about how to make it more useful, and overall, "better!" Now we get to the other side of the coin. There have always been those in our midst, for whom, no matter how "good" it gets, it's just not good enough. These can be subdivided into the ones who are working on it and the ones who are whining on it. We probably need both, but, personally, I could do with fewer of the latter. That's just me, though, and is not indicative of any general attitudes that others may share.
Now, if we place this type of thinking at the forefront of our perceptions of God, we come to a realization, that the lessons of life repeat themselves consistently. And isn't that what everyone wants, consistency? They do, and they don't, and that is perhaps why we spend so much time trying to "pigeon hole" our Creator in such a way that He becomes subject to our pleas(whinings). Have you ever wondered why God hasn't stepped forth the past couple thousand years to let us know how we're doing? The truth is, He has, He does, and He is, every day, but we aren't always tuned to the same frequency. It's a little like my favorite rock station on FM, there are some places where reception is just terrible. That's one of the small prices we pay for living on the Great American Desert. So with the advent of this new tool we have for the sharing of images and instantaneous communication across the face of the globe we end up so focused on what's out there, that we find it hard to turn about and look within ourselves for answers to the qusetions of life. God is busy about the continuance of creation just as surely as I'm tapping this out for publication on the blog thing(I haven't go a clue how that all works), and you and I need only take a deep breath and look "within" ourselves to perceive the presence of God in our lives. The next time you notice that the wheels aren't turning as well as you think they should(ie a flat tire), try pumping up the flat side of life with the spritual side of life, and learn just how nicely things can "roll" along. God bless, Preacher!

"I think that I'm going to put one of these on the front of the house." Not the Cornpalace, A Web Cam! 

I Tend To Appreciate Most The Things That Are Real! 

Planning For The Big Day That's Coming?

It really looks quite nice, and I'll bet it would be a lot of fun to go for a ride in this replica of the Morgan family of race cars. I don't know if it would feel like the original, but then, nothing ever does! We live in a world of enhancement. Black and white movies deemed by some to be "classics" become colored films, and music that was recorded 50 years ago is digitally remastered to make it sound and feel better. Everywhere you look we have the new and improved version of everything, and in the midst of upgrading we sometimes go to a lot of effort to make the new look like the old, at least on the outside. Some of the circles I travel in are all about the retro thing, and that's cool, as long as we remember that somethings are great just the way they are, and that is another reason why you and I have to keep our wits about us if we're going to shine the bright light of understanding on the "new" ideas that are attaining some measure of religious acceptance. There is nothing new under the sun, and everything that we are going through today, someone has gone through before us. My personal adventure into the land of technological advances began last October, and continues to this very moment, but I have to admit, even with all of the stuff we've managed to learn, we're still using the same tools to learn it! Our minds are as they have always been, and we as a people are prone to being fooled. There are times when it seems that is what we desire most, to be lied to. Maybe it takes some of the responsibility away from you and me personally when we can say, "I guess I was fooled." This is putting it in simple language, but I do believe that is probably what Adam told God when asked about the apple, and Eve too, for that matter! Now, for the part where it gets really sticky. We just may be raising up a whole generation that is so used to being fooled everywhere they look that they never do find anything that is real and tangible in life. That would be a sad occurrence, indeed, but it may be happening right now where you live. Surely if this, "Living in the virtual world" is out here on the plains of Dakota, it is happening everywhere else in the country and has been for some time. I'm not attempting to put a bone in anyone's ice cream here, I just thought that you might like to know that the kids aren't playing outdoors like they used to, and the number of bicycles on the streets are down every year from what they were previously. I guess that's because you can actually ride one on the video screen and pedal anywhere in the world without leaving the comfort of your couch, or working up a sweat. I know, that's the way it is these days, but I fear where it is taking us. Not for myself, mind you, but for where things are going to be in another 50 years if they continue to change as rapidly as the last 50. I guess I'm just thinking on screen, again. I actually suggested we put together a softball team and challenge one of the other churches to play a game on Sunday. Many thought it might be nice, as long as it did not interfere with the televised sports event they had planned to watch, and then there was the interruption in life for practice. Well, needless to say, everyone agreed it was a "nice" idea and that maybe "someday" we could do "something" like that, maybe a movie together.
God bless, Preacher.

In South Dakota We Have Lots Of Auto Shows 

We can't rewrite truth, any more than we can rewrite history. The truth is that every person must choose for themselves! 

I Believe This Is A Positive Message

If you start off your reading by scrolling down and looking at the photo that follows this piece you will get a better understanding(at least that's the thought I had before I got my timing backwards)of my direction tonight! A church, in what appears to be the middle of nowhere! Is that what you see, also? I looked at it for a long time before taking it in. The first thing that got my attention were the lovely colors in the sky, and then the lonliness of the house caught me, and on examination I discovered the tiniest of crosses on the roof at what must be the front, and where I have a hunch there are double doors to facilitate entries and exits. Then I had a vision of where the church is in the world in which I reside. Not the big, gaudy, overdone sprawling complex that has parking lots filled to overflowing on Sunday mornings, the "real" church, the "Body of Christ." Under attack in more ways than I care to think about here, the church is in a period of decline, the one of the "true" Bible believing "way." The picture puts me in mind of something an artist might paint as a depiction of emotions that surround the anonymity of God's people. Almost rebuilding at a distance from the civilized world on purpose. A passive attempt to rekindle the flame of faith that appears to falter as if blown on by the permissive passsions of 21st century America. A location far enough from the real world that the doors can be thrown open without fear of what may wander in to continue the unrelenting assault on morality and christian sanity. It is my contention that there are a lot of really good folks out there that have given up on the church because they see it going the way of the world. Thus is begun a spiral(think of that swirl in your toilet bowl), the more people see the church faltering in faith as it concedes one after another of the major conflicting moral viewpoints present in our American society, the less they see it as a place of trust. A history in the writing actually, in the past 25 years many of the headliners, those in the forefront of media coverage, have fallen prey to human failings and gotten themselves busted bigtime! That allowed everyone else to stand around pointing fingers and guffawing at the folks of faith. What people want to think, they will think, but the church has not gone away, the real one I mean. It has just retreated! The church is alive and well, and trying to regain the ground that has been taken. It may take another generation, and a great awakening in our country for individuals to start seeing the ruin that present trends are leading toward. I must state that God is busy about the business of setting apart a "remnant" of His people. Think about this for just a moment. This is exactly what God has always done with humankind, "preserved a portion unto Himself." If you wonder where the "believers" are, you may have to look a little harder these days to find them, but please, know that we are here, and if sought, can be found, just like God! There are gatherings where our Lord and Savior is worshipped in the fullness of God's grace every Sunday with as much emphasis on remaining faithful as on redeeming the lost. It's all a part of a plan that I haven't the capacity to comprehend. I do know, though, it is good to stand firm with my brothers and sisters in the peace of my Savior which passes all understanding. In Christ's Love, Preacher.