I am soon to be 64 years of age. Luckily I feel healthy and relatively young.
I thought I had seen and heard just about everything. But I was wrong. Again.
Richard Dawkins, one of the Smartest People around - at least in his own mind that those of his admirers - said one of the absolutely Stupidest Things I have ever heard.
What he said was, "... that somebody as intelligent as Jesus would have been an atheist if he had known what we know today.”
Really?! The arrogance of some men simply knows no bounds. Maybe Mr. Richard Dawkins is the Nimrod of our day - full of himself even when standing before God (see Genesis 10:9).
One request: Mr. Dawkins, please don't be a Nimrod (again), you are just a man no matter how smart you are, while Jesus is God.
Deal with it.
Friday, November 4, 2011
What is it like?
What is it like to die?
What is it like to be brought back to life?
What is it like to live in a coma for 10 days?
What is it like to be in recovery with instructions to always try to “do more,” but not “too much?”
What is it like, days later while walking about, to see the one, “I take one look and know the man, as well as I know my brother. This man was my “respiratory therapist.” His was the first face I saw on waking from my coma.”
One of his thoughts, “To say what you feel towards these people and all the others of your friends and family is a sense of "gratitude" does not even begin to get on the scale of what you feel.....”
This is Gerard Van der Leun's story. It happened to him. You may read his story/essay here. It is a great read - as are the comments.
More importantly though after reading Gerard's story, wonder how it be when we finally recover from this life and meet Jesus in the eternal next life.
The author of the above article gives us a glimpse of what it will be like to meet the man who gives us eternal salvation.
Perhaps, (paraphrasing) “To say what I will feel towards the people and all the others, friends and family, who never stopped praying for me and my salvation is a sense of "gratitude" that does not even begin to get on the scale of what I feel. After all, I am in heaven and could have ended up in hell."
My gratitude? Boundless.
What is it like to be brought back to life?
What is it like to live in a coma for 10 days?
What is it like to be in recovery with instructions to always try to “do more,” but not “too much?”
What is it like, days later while walking about, to see the one, “I take one look and know the man, as well as I know my brother. This man was my “respiratory therapist.” His was the first face I saw on waking from my coma.”
One of his thoughts, “To say what you feel towards these people and all the others of your friends and family is a sense of "gratitude" does not even begin to get on the scale of what you feel.....”
This is Gerard Van der Leun's story. It happened to him. You may read his story/essay here. It is a great read - as are the comments.
More importantly though after reading Gerard's story, wonder how it be when we finally recover from this life and meet Jesus in the eternal next life.
The author of the above article gives us a glimpse of what it will be like to meet the man who gives us eternal salvation.
Perhaps, (paraphrasing) “To say what I will feel towards the people and all the others, friends and family, who never stopped praying for me and my salvation is a sense of "gratitude" that does not even begin to get on the scale of what I feel. After all, I am in heaven and could have ended up in hell."
My gratitude? Boundless.
Don’t Quit! Don’t Give Up!
Letter to my Dear Daughter,
You don’t know (maybe you suspect) the number of times I have hoped and prayed you would quit and give up your dream of making a living from handmade jewelry and hand dyed yarn.
Tonight is a different story. Don’t Quit! Don’t Give Up! I was wrong. I think I knew I was wrong in my heart of hearts (you know – the place sealed by the Holy Spirit) and that’s probably the reason I never voiced my concerns to you. Now I won’t be voicing them, except to say (with a great deal of humility), “I was wrong.”
Just watched two videos on “made by hand” and the first one was on handmade kitchen knives (kitchen knives!) of all things. Something gritty inside me really responded to that video. Maybe it was time spent around machinery in a machine shop, working in my Dad’s garage a few times, or working in my own garage when I used to do my own automotive maintenance.
Maybe it was something else. I don’t know.
I do know something in me responded deeply to the video.
Then I watched the second video on a startup micro distillery. It was part way through the second video I began to understand you and your passion for almost anything handmade.
To tell the truth, I still don’t get all of it. But I get enough of it now to say to you Dear Daughter, “Don’t Quit! Don’t Give Up!”
I love you and as always wish you the greatest success in your endeavors. Now fill up your website, DaharaDreaming.com, with handmade products ready for the market.
Love you,
Dad, nwJ
PS: One day you may have to give up, but only after you have tried your best and your hardest.
(h/t americandigest.org for initial links)
You don’t know (maybe you suspect) the number of times I have hoped and prayed you would quit and give up your dream of making a living from handmade jewelry and hand dyed yarn.
Tonight is a different story. Don’t Quit! Don’t Give Up! I was wrong. I think I knew I was wrong in my heart of hearts (you know – the place sealed by the Holy Spirit) and that’s probably the reason I never voiced my concerns to you. Now I won’t be voicing them, except to say (with a great deal of humility), “I was wrong.”
Just watched two videos on “made by hand” and the first one was on handmade kitchen knives (kitchen knives!) of all things. Something gritty inside me really responded to that video. Maybe it was time spent around machinery in a machine shop, working in my Dad’s garage a few times, or working in my own garage when I used to do my own automotive maintenance.
Maybe it was something else. I don’t know.
I do know something in me responded deeply to the video.
Then I watched the second video on a startup micro distillery. It was part way through the second video I began to understand you and your passion for almost anything handmade.
To tell the truth, I still don’t get all of it. But I get enough of it now to say to you Dear Daughter, “Don’t Quit! Don’t Give Up!”
I love you and as always wish you the greatest success in your endeavors. Now fill up your website, DaharaDreaming.com, with handmade products ready for the market.
Love you,
Dad, nwJ
PS: One day you may have to give up, but only after you have tried your best and your hardest.
(h/t americandigest.org for initial links)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Seven Billion
Sometime on Monday, October 31, 2011 a human being was born increasing the number of living humans to 7,000,000,000 or seven billion on planet earth.
Now one billion is a big number (really big as one billion seconds is approximately 31.7 years) and seven billion is obviously seven times greater.
Many people are already in despair and claiming the sky is about to fall because we now have seven billion people on our planet. They are asking, "What are we going to do about this incredible population explosion before we are all lost and drown in this sea of humanity."
First of all a little perspective is called for here.
Let's just answer one question first, "Where in the world could we put so many people?"
Answer: "How about Texas? It is the second largest state in the USA with 268,820 sq. miles which computes to 7,494,271,488,000 square feet (sf) or about 7.5 Trillion sf."
A little division and that comes out to about 1,071 sf available per person in Texas alone for all (every single person) seven billion.
Imagine that, everyone in Texas and the rest of the world vacant, empty, devoid of mankind.
But few people will live alone in their 1,071 sf (lots of folks, like married couples and families) will share 1,071 sf or a bit more. If apartment buildings are used for most people, then half or more of Texas would be vacant as well. Or would it be vacant?
Probably not. The rest of Texas would be full of roads, shopping centers, restaurants, manufacturing and anything else 7,000,000,000 people might be interested in.
Heck, if the apartment buildings for all seven billion are Texas sized (many stories high) and made available for most people, then all 7 billion people could fit in less that 33 percent of Texas leaving 67 percent vacant ... along with the rest of the world.
So, forgive me, but no cries of despair here.
However, there is one question that keeps bothering me, "How is the world are we to get the gospel of Jesus Christ to all 7 billion people on this wonderful earth of His?"
It would surely be easier if they were all in Texas.
Now one billion is a big number (really big as one billion seconds is approximately 31.7 years) and seven billion is obviously seven times greater.
Many people are already in despair and claiming the sky is about to fall because we now have seven billion people on our planet. They are asking, "What are we going to do about this incredible population explosion before we are all lost and drown in this sea of humanity."
First of all a little perspective is called for here.
Let's just answer one question first, "Where in the world could we put so many people?"
Answer: "How about Texas? It is the second largest state in the USA with 268,820 sq. miles which computes to 7,494,271,488,000 square feet (sf) or about 7.5 Trillion sf."
A little division and that comes out to about 1,071 sf available per person in Texas alone for all (every single person) seven billion.
Imagine that, everyone in Texas and the rest of the world vacant, empty, devoid of mankind.
But few people will live alone in their 1,071 sf (lots of folks, like married couples and families) will share 1,071 sf or a bit more. If apartment buildings are used for most people, then half or more of Texas would be vacant as well. Or would it be vacant?
Probably not. The rest of Texas would be full of roads, shopping centers, restaurants, manufacturing and anything else 7,000,000,000 people might be interested in.
Heck, if the apartment buildings for all seven billion are Texas sized (many stories high) and made available for most people, then all 7 billion people could fit in less that 33 percent of Texas leaving 67 percent vacant ... along with the rest of the world.
So, forgive me, but no cries of despair here.
However, there is one question that keeps bothering me, "How is the world are we to get the gospel of Jesus Christ to all 7 billion people on this wonderful earth of His?"
It would surely be easier if they were all in Texas.
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