Guest Post by L. E. Thissell (TS)
We talk about some of the world events that swirl and twist in the distance that surrounds this remote area, like threatening storm clouds seen over the tops of distant mountains. Storms that we both know will someday finally reach this valley. I can only hope that he doesn’t see the final end of what he has known his entire life.
I wrote the above at the end of the previous article, Saying Good-bye: To A Legend. There is something especially daunting about the thought of my folks – and all of that generation – watching the only world they have ever known crumble. To watch it wisp away, until only the memories remain. Until even the memories are gone.
We have said several farewells, lately. Both in my life, and here at TBP. Since I wrote about Tom I have lost more friends. In fact, at the store a few days ago I ran into a friend who I hadn’t seen for awhile. She had just lost her husband, George, a few months ago. I was shocked because I hadn’t seen them for awhile and hadn’t heard. He had quite a few medical problems, though I didn’t realize how serious they had become, and one day he just froze up and called it quits.
And as I was talking to her, here came my friend Pete, whose wife died of pancreatic cancer just a few weeks ago. Good days, and bad days, he says. Gary, a friend and fellow church brother I’ve known for at least 25 years, died a short while after Tom. Cancer.
And my uncle Bill, Dad’s last remaining family his age, died this morning, at 90. That’s a good-bye to an entire generation. There is no describing just how horrible it must feel to be the last one to go. Some here might have experienced that. The blessings of strength and vitality has now become a curse, in Dad’s eyes. You can read it plainly on his face.
I feel your pain, Stucky. And that of every one who has spoken here of their own personal losses.
As Mary Christine wrote about grief, every good-bye is a loss of something. That is not necessarily a bad thing. For example, saying good-bye to a long stretch of pain is always good. But those types are far more infrequent than that familiar old loss of something good.
All good-byes have a commonality, and each has a certain uniqueness to it.
When Tom died, it was at the end of a prolonged good-bye, but one in which he was he until the final letting go. With Dad, it is a slow losing of the ‘ who and what’ that made him who and what he is. That is the true good-bye that we are walking through, him and I.
And then there are those losses like George, where the good-bye is all one-sided, because they are already gone. It is completely internal, with no opportunity to contemplate or prepare. We can only grieve and then commit that good-bye to memory. In some ways the sudden unexpected good-byes are easier to digest. The sudden shock is far more intense, but then it’s over, if you survive the initial slam. No drawing out, no lingering hopeless expectations; only an immediate loss and then moving through and on.
We don’t just say good-bye to people. But to jobs, to pets, to relationships, to material objects, to ‘that rough patch of road’ that we just came out of, or to the comforts we may have enjoyed, and so on. If it goes away, one way or another we will say good-bye to it. Sometimes with a sigh of relief and a hearty ‘good riddance’, but far too often with the lingering dull weight of permanent loss.
And we can also say good-bye to our dreams.
Most, if not all of us, have had to say good-bye to some expectation, some hope, some wish that was finally rendered not just impractical but impossible outside of a verifiable miracle. And quite often we say good-bye to something that we only thought was real.
Far too often in failed relationships – divorce is an excellent example – it’s not the person we are actually losing, but the person we thought they were. So it’s a double whammy. Not only are we losing the actual relationship and physical presence, but also the belief, the dream, of what we had thought was real.
That concept can be applied to every area of our lives. Such as, for one last example, opportunities and jobs that turn out to be an abyss of quiet desperation with the wholesale slaughter of initiative.
There is an almost infinite number of scenarios of why we say good-bye, and to who and/or what. But I’m pretty sure you all get the picture.
Here at TBP I see a uniform, for all practical purposes universal, mindset. Despite the differing opinions, regardless of whether or not we agree on where we came from, how we got here, what happened along the way or where it is all going, I believe every single one of us shares one common point of reference; the world we live in – the scope of our day-to-day existence – is going away and will never return.
We are saying good-bye to the American Dream.
The American Dream.
This Dream is not solely present in America. (I know, I know; technically every country in North, Central and South America are ‘American’, but we all know that I am referring to the good ol’ U.S. of A.) The ideals of that Dream transcend location and reside within the minds – the souls – of people, and are applicable regardless of location or genetics.
No, it’s called the American Dream because here is where a unique set of circumstances of timing, location and opportunity allowed it to burgeon into a world changing phenomenon. That happened, for better or worse, on this continent and under this form of government.
At no other time in history have the ideals of this Dream been better expressed than with the founding documents of this nation. Whether or not men ignored or applied those ideals is immaterial; the ideals speak for themselves. And nowhere have those ideals, though inconsistently and imperfectly, been better applied.
As I wrote about my father, the flaws and strengths of the system that brought this Dream to fruition are not what I am discussing. Volumes and volumes have been written about both. It was a unique time in history, with a unique result. It is not a perfect system; there is no such thing. Imperfect beings cannot create a perfect product. Sincere devotion and abuse went hand-in-hand.
The history of this entire march of development, from the time of the first nomads crossing the Bering ice bridge to the present corrupt and failing global structure we are now enduring, reveal incredible extremes of both the noble and the ignoble. No single group or individual throughout this roller-coaster ride has a corner on any of the horrifying excesses, or on the incredible levels of benevolent largess bestowed on the oppressed and needy.
Though the world at large seems oblivious to the trends, cycles and warning signs, those of us here at TBP are all too aware of just how fragile this whole structure is. The termites have eaten the foundation almost completely away and, though the floor seems solid to the casual observer and there’s new curtains in the window, one last strong gale will bring the entire edifice down.
To go into detail about the how, why and when of this imminent collapse would be redundant. After all, these topics are what we discuss every day.
So it’s good-bye.
There’s a few who might say “good riddance”, but I imagine those are few and far between. What comes next is not to be desired, by any reasonable sane person. We might not know the details, but we can certainly figure out that it won’t be good. In no honest and accurate scenario does this end well.
Which brings us to this; each one of us must face this good-bye with our own unique individuality that the Dream ideals were based upon. That’s one thing that will never be taken. It can only be given away.
How each one of you faces that future is for you to decide.
For me, I trust God and Jesus.
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Amen
Don’t have a dream, have a plan. Eventually you wake up.
Jesus may save a few but I’ll put my trust in being as prepared as is reasonably possible.
Over at Peak Prosperity, Chris Martenson has written a book called “Prosper”. In it he discusses 8 forms of capital. All of which are needed for whatever befalls us. It’s a easy read, very sensible and I very much recommend it. If you haven’t taken the free 26 part ” Crash Course” offered at PP, what are you waiting for?
Excellent read ! The group of contributors to this site are truly impressive…..
I’ve been saying ‘good-by’ to the “American Dream” my whole life, it seems.
To paraphrase a line from ‘Open Range’, “from the sweet grass to the slaughter house, we’re all just travelers here”
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—-==
"For me, I trust God and Jesus."
Me too !
I know how you feel . All my family members from my Grandparents generation have died. My father ,brother ,sister,uncles and aunts have passed on. Just my mother ,myself and little BB are left. I could not have had a better more loving family during my teens and early 20s.I was so blessed but I didn’t know it. I took it for granted .Then death .Then one by one people started to die. I’m 58 so I know my days are numbered. I put my hope and and faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord. I have no other hope. You know looking back on my life I have not accomplished anything of lasting value. Nothing.
Au contraire, BB; you have accomplished the one most important thing. The one with the eternally lasting value.
Philippians 3: 8-10
I suffer, at times, with a sense of futility and apathy about how little I seem to have accomplished of any worth when I look back. But if we are honest, we will also remember those times when we have done the little things that would mean so much if we were the ones receiving them.
Drive safe, dude.
We think alike BB.I grew up so lucky,in a different time it seems in America. My children have no idea what they missed. I tell them as much as I can,but how could they know. My fathers family is all gone,and my mother is the only one left on her side. She says little about what once was.I think the changes have mortified her to that point. I am in the Winter of my life. So the time is becoming short. I tell my children of my wishes. No calling hours,no obituary. Less than 10 people gave a hoot when I came into this world,and less than 10 will give a hoot when I am gone. Just cremate me and put in the ground next to the son I lost. I know….does not sound very encouraging,but when you live in real-ville That’s just how you see things.
Admirable introspection and honesty. We could congeal if enough did that. Men compared notes on their failures with women and became experts on women. I look up to your life as better than mine. Better to have loved and lost. You were not betrayed by family. You have it at all. Your God giveth, and your God taketh away. You have plausible deniability by steadfast faith.
Thanks, ordo. You’re pretty literarily literate yourself.
TS – Something brought me here tonight to re-read your trilogy, as well as the comment threads. The essays are still as heart rending the second go around as the first. I really enjoy your writing style and miss seeing your contributions of essays and comments.
I hope you are doing well and still a follower of TBP. Lots of the older contributors have found their way back as we approach the election and the unrest that is sure to follow. Be well and may God Bless you and yours.
Damn, that’s a great line, but not my favorite. It has a defeatist sheepish mentality, and we all know why that appeals to many here. A certain blogger, might have been Vulture of Critique, wrote about being ‘trampled by the hooves of history’. What a line. Yes, living a lie and being stripped of your potential for trying to excel at a hoax. It is demoralizing. I have achieved nothing. You who have had careers or meaningful marriage or decent children, you are winners from my perspective, from down here, in the massaged, fertile mud. Can you trust Jesus and fight for what you want? I have my doubts. Onward, Christian soldiers. On, Donner! On, Blitzen! On, Dumpy! On, Grumpy! Away from the enemy’s cross. Away. To something about you achieving something. Anyone can be a loser. Being a better loser is less than being the fastest walker. It’s being fastest going the wrong way. Wow. Such talent. You meant to lose. You have such absolute control over your life.
Reality Dog….
I’m not sure if your response was to me? I’m confused because you write:
“I have achieved nothing. You who have had careers or meaningful marriage or decent children, you are winners from my perspective, from down here, in the massaged, fertile mud.”
I never held the same job more than 5 yrs, and most for only 3 or less. I have no children, but do have a loving wife.
“Anyone can be a loser”……? I doubt many can be as accomplished at it as I have been.
“Can you trust Jesus and fight for what you want?”
Yes, but I never really wanted anything but to build my own home from scratch. This little 1000 sq. ft. home we’ve been in for 35 yrs was remodeled by me, but each time I was getting close to saving enough mammon to do it, I had to throw money at a spend thrift mother to try to help her keep the house I was raised in. Then, we had to find a house for the wife’s mom who lived with a son that died……and my mother reverse mortgaged it and lost it to the bank and rest home…but whatever.
Keep shakin your fist at God, but start reading his Word
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–== Soon, in one hour, we will all be brought low
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Hebrews 9:27 King James Version (KJV)
I’ve never held a job more than 2.5 years, and it was part time. Never got to 2 years with a full time job. I was writing from the heart. I know you can’t believe that. We are genetically different. You are not the outcast I am. I just can’t get with your herd narrative. I’m happier when I don’t try. You are happier when you do. We are different. It is abusive to mold what is not inherent, but then we try and hope, to mold others and not ourselves. We’re screwed. You cared about women too much. Women that can get you as a boy will do that. A real father would of course prevent it with superseding council. The government has done a fine job destroying constructive fatherhood. I think Gospel lovers aided and abetted bureaucrats. My opinion. Neither of us has the authority to impose on anyone. This is a social outlet for me. It sure as hell is not creating anything.
Real Dog….
“It sure as hell is not creating anything.”
I beg to differ……it creates camradery !
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <——==
I think the divorce analogy is apt. Realizing that the country you thought you grew up in is an illusion and was never actually what your history classes taught.
Oh, but the US has done many a good deed and the people who live there regularly do help others out. How many “Foundations” have been established to create the illusion they are philanthropists?
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” Isaiah 64:6
I was just telling a friend last night that our only hope is the Lords promise to make things right in the end.
We had thistles everywhere on this land until last year. I thought they were gorgeous and didn’t realize what a menace to the hayfield they are because the heads look like clover, so I figured they were “like” clover. I noticed they sprang up in clusters around trees, so I let them line the entire treeline, as a colorful accent. Last summer, one of the nice rodeo grandpas who mow and take our hay (and provide my hay for rabbits!) told me those purple weeds would ruin my field in a few years.
Why am I talking about thistles? Well, because I “hear” when I read. Some do.
What a wonderful piece of prose to share with us here, Mr. Thistle.
I own a condensed version of The American Revolution by Sir George Otto Trevelyan, a British Historian who wrote a 6 volume set of books in 1926.
All right, so all of that to tell you just one of the main things I brought away from the initial skimming of the condensed version (while bedridden last year, I read a LOT and some of it is jumbled due to medication and, well, of course… brain surgery issues.)
Trevelyan noted something only someone from the British uppercrust would notice. He noticed that Americans made a special effort to teach their children to read. And encouraged them to do so. He said he’d never seen, in England, such a competitive spirit among children about learning to read and write. I have several pages marked (and when I saw “marked” about one of my books, I mean written all over) and tabbed for reference, but have no desire to pursue that now. He said (and I do not quote) that he believed it could lead to an entire country of citizen lawyers who understood the principles of their government so well they would never be fooled again. Again, that is MY paraphrase, but I am sure I could find the pages that imparted that idea to me, if necessary.
Am just saying that when you said “at no other time in history have the ideals…” it reminded me of the kind of lofty way Trevelyan spoke of the era of the Revolution.
This is an excerpt available from someone who wants 300 bucks for the set of old raggedy books.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/7087993-the-american-revolution-set
Seriously, Mr. Thistle, doesn’t that look fascinating? Sir George was looking through the eyes of Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, etc. From first hand accounts, in many cases?
This particular treasure was in that box of old books and magazines for which I paid five dollars. I really wanted the Norman Rockwell collection (at the very bottom) but I ended up with some real treasures!
Mr. Thistle LOL, one of my nicknames in my early years was ‘Stickerbush’.
I took my maternal grandfather on a trip in the mid-90s, after my gramma died, through Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC, where they had grown up, married and lived in their early lives. At one small park, I took a stroll and found a cluster of Russian thistles around an old rusty gate. I have that pic somewhere. For some odd reason it has always been ‘Thissells Through The Gate’ to me.
My mom taught me to read very early, and I was blowing through probably 4 or 5 adult-level books a week by the age of 7. It was a consuming passion for many years. I even read encyclopedias and dictionaries just because…
I read Gone With The Wind the summer between second and third grade. A lot of it was over my head, but later in life, my head caught up and retrieved it. I wrote a story in black viewpoint one time, sent it unsolicited to a “big name” magazine and got a phone call! If I’d just been somewhat ethnic, they said, they could have worked with it.
I sent it to an old high school friend (black) who read it and told me she didn’t remember telling me any of that stuff. It was written, of course, through her eyes. She was my viewpoint character, in a way. But, what was crazy? She asked me to NOT PUBLISH my fictional account of her first day of school when desegregation occurred.
I had a scene where the prim and proper school teacher faces the little black girl and slaps her. And, my viewpoint character, MaeAudra, is “so shocked I stopped crying and looked inside that mean little woman and saw I scared her to death because I was brown. And I felt sorry for her.”
Nekita said that was a very valid reaction and she had felt that people were afraid of her a lot as a kid and that the black kids were afraid of us. I never really thought about their concerns about us and when she brought it up, I realized she’d gifted me with yet another look through her eyes. I have a distinct memory of seeing her and two other black girls (those first weeks of school, second grade) against the wall of the school building one day and asking if they wanted to jump rope with us. The shook their heads no and I always wondered why.
They were afraid of getting white cooties and Nekita didn’t want them to know she knew me.
Getting a sudden glimpse through someone else’s eyes can be, for lack of a better way to phrase it, a real eye-opener.
I read through encyclopedias and dictionaries as well. I’ve was told by my ex that I’m weird.
VV
LOL. I’ve been told I was weird for a lot more reasons than that.
Thistles have a very good liver cleansing ability, for both people and animals. Not too sure about cattle.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320362.php
Well, they take over the soil in clusters, so Nick and I had to walk the fields to get them all. No more thistles here. Thistles is fun to say.
Sounds like a great book. I would like a copy if I can find one less than $300. A lot less.
Going forward is getting tougher these days.
good article,i liked how you tied together actual death w/the coming death of our country and western civilization–
with natural death it’s still hard to take even when we know it’s coming & have braced ourselves for it such as when a person has a terminal illness but death is a part of life so we eventually accept it–
it is oh so much harder for those of us who see what is happening to our country & the entire world,knowing how it will probably end,knowing how to prevent it,but powerless to prevent it b/c of the greed,insanity or cowardice of our fellow travelers–
Thanks, Red. Pretty frustrating at times, isn’t it?
my father was a mess. he lived a chaotic existence – poverty, the Great Depression, WWII, labor strikes, mental issues, violence, divorce and alienation from his children. his deeds were mostly bad ones, but only by happenstance. he could not self govern.
yet i still have an occassional sense that he is looking over me judgmentally, as my dream was to not become him.
My nephew also learned that lesson. He vowed to never be like his step-father and became a wonderful husband and father.
TS,
I had a brother-in-law who was abusive to my sister and their two boys. Scared all three of them.
When I found out about the mental and physical abuse through my Mother, my sister had hidden it, their boys were 4 and 3. I was 26, I got him alone in a locked room, and went into a fighter’s stance screaming curses and insults at him.
I told him I was going to beat him within an inch of his life.
Now, he was a bit bigger than me, but we both knew I was going to do what I had announced. His size was no match for me.
He wouldn’t get up out of the chair he was sitting in, and he wouldn’t raise his eyes to look into mine.
I went on and on with my challenge…he wanted no part of a brawl. I think he knew I might have killed him.
Before I left I got in his face and told him if I heard he ever touched one of them again I was going to take a tire iron to him and break all four of his limbs…and I meant it.
She finally divorced him two years later…but from that day on he never, ever touched one of them.
He died in his early 50’s after a debilitating stroke, it was coke and booze, he had exploded his own heart.
His two boys were raised by my Father and a little by me. One has 4 kids, the other 2, are wonderful Fathers in long term successful marriages, with extremely successful careers.
They got past the abuse, and broke the pattern, see I later found out their Father had been abused by his.
I relate, Mark. I had a similar discussion with my own Bro-in-Law, whereupon he at least quit the physical stuff. He was quite the scrapper, and definitely stronger than me, but he knew for a dead certainty that if he went for it, I was going to beat him into permanent damage. I had my own set of skills. Also, at about the same time, my nephew told him that life in prison would be worth it to kill him, if he ever hit him, his sister or his mother ever again. And my mom got in his face, and he seriously knew not to mess with her or my father. He got the message.
Incredibly, as you no doubt can also relate to, he later became a Christian and now he and my sister have at least a decent marriage. How she stuck with him through it all amazes me.
He, too, had been abused severely by his father. Not sexually, but physically and emotionally.
That is a great story TS…glad for the ending…my brother in law could have had it all, had charisma, looks, sharp mind, my sister loved him, two beautiful boys!
Just repeated the abuse pattern, but also snorted his life away up his nose.
It’s an old story.
You’re old school, Mark. Very few younger males these days would even think of doing what you did.
Hans,
I’m 70…but I was old school when I was 15 (had a hippie dippy girl tell me that once, she did not mean it as a compliment – but that was how I took it from her).
My wife said that’s one of the reasons she married me.
I have two nephews who are old school…the two I helped save in the above story.
One is even more of an old school badass then I was, and I cleaned a lot of clocks. I mean no one in their right mind messes with him, and he is not a big man. Some men look lethal, because they really are…it radiates from them.
Stepfathers get a bad rap
Not all. I was a step-father, and I was better to the kids than their natural mother and father were.
Boo Hoo.
Try being a stepmother El Cinderfella.
I think the majority of step-parents get bad raps. I had two step-mothers that were nice women. I had a step-father that I couldn’t stand. Because of that experience, I vowed I would not remarry after my divorce because I didn’t want my son to go through something like that. It was from my own experience and projection, but it was logical to me.
I feel that last line.
Doug,
I never had any experience with that, but I do know it is a hard challenge to overcome, and I have seen the damage it can cause.
Best to you in overcoming it, and rising far, far above it.
Thank you. It’s all I could do with my life’s vitality to own myself mentally. You see that. It’s a relatively recent development. Now that old-school white men are ostracized from financially gainful relations, it’s a bit too late. But I won’t quit wanting to get up if I can move. This too shall pass. I had my time and my parents ruined it nicely for me, and I need them more than ever. You can’t know unless you experience it. A sponge child brain with intellectual integrity is the easiest mark in the world. Americans are so ill bred now that bad parenting is a cliche after my generation, the X. My offensiveness here is my attempt to rise by planting ideas that will grow and come back to me, or at least my enemy one day in the distant future. I’m tired and can only blather. To be productive and paid for it without being a celebrated libtard, that is a bar too high for me.
Doug,
You are obviously an extremely bright guy, and no doubt you own your wounds. Now, I don’t pretend to understand your personal experiences, because they are yours and not mine, but I do understand wounds, that is a ‘reality’ we all have to deal with in life.
You come off sometimes as ‘you’ against ‘us’…and insult and mock what some of here hold close, and treasure, then add in some general blame our way. That never seems to go over well, but have at it. It’s a wild and wooly platform on fire.
I’m not saying your pain isn’t worth sharing or isn’t real, and I responded one time to one of your posts with a saying my wife uses, “Hurt People – hurt people” as I thought that was evident.
No need to offend us…we’re just like you, sharing some deep personal experiences, pains, humor, feelings, opinions, laughter, thoughts, musings, wit, bite, and occasionally some flinging shit.
Like I said, I hope you can find your way…above and out of your past fray.
Mark,
I never had any experience with that either, my dad was one of the best !
Dad was a hardware wholesaler, a traveling salesman rep on commission only. He would leave around 5am and get home about 12 hrs later, most days. Then he would ‘write-up’ his days orders till 10 o’clock or so. He got paid once a month, never signed his own paycheck, and at the start of each week, mom would give him two dollars (for buying coffee/pie). If he was lucky in the coin flips, he would have that two dollars at the end of the week. Come Friday, he would slip that two dollars to my older brother, then to me, then to my little seester as we each began driving so we could “put it in your gas tank”
I became obsessed with studying the Word after he died, shaking my fist at the heavens for taking him ! In despair, I finally surrendered…..
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <——== one of his sayings was "there's more to this ole world than what meets the eye"
My friend,
What a heartwarming review of your Father.
We both hit the Dad lottery, not everyone remotely does.
It was a struggle, but during his last years he finally surrendered. It took a stroke and great suffereing, long story.
I cried when my sister sent me the e-mail telling me, and read it aloud during his eulogy.
I suppose Iska wrote this, who else is being mindful today and who is escaping into a fantasy world of acquittal?
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/what-were-we-thinking
Smoke and mirrors, EC, smoke and mirrors. Until the moment the glass breaks and all of a sudden we’re looking at the smoke-stained wall behind it. Ala Zappa.
Good analogy. Or metaphor. I mix them up.
Non sequiturs get mixed up.
When things don’t seem to follow? Just head off in another direction and become the leader.
I have a nephew named Doug.
Yes, what you see there behind the tree behind Doug’s head is indeed an outhouse. Our pipes tended to freeze in winter. Outhouses are practical in the country.
I sure enjoy the pictures of your old homestead, MG. They remind me of my aunts’ and uncle’s (on my dad’s side) places in Rushville, Mo. They are all gone now, as a matter of fact, I am the last of his family name
Well, I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee, except I’m a Missouri Mule with gumbo stuck between my toes. That shit never comes off.
I watched my dear Mother fight cancer for 5 years until she was ready to meet Jesus face to face and gave up the fight. She quickly wasted away from this terrible disease. I also watched my wife’s mother slowly lose her mental facilities through the terrible affliction of dementia. She was physically healthy until the last few months when her body slowly shut down due to her advanced age.
As I look around this once great country, I see similarities with both of these losses. It is like a cancer is on this land. Many of us are fighting it, but we know deep down in our hearts, that the fight is futile and the end is known to all. I do not plan on giving up the fight, but neither did my Mother.
All we can do is keep a positive attitude, make sure our progeny are knowledgeable about the past and encourage them to keep up the good fight. With Christ, all things are possible.
TN;
I agree; we do what we do because of who and what we are. Our true selves cannot be denied.
Incidentally, you were the inspiration about the sudden loss without being able to say good-bye, when you commented on the first article, about losing a friend suddenly.
Thank you TS. I have reached the age where I am losing contemporaries at an alarming rate. I am looking forward to my 50th HS reunion Memorial Day weekend. We have already lost 1/4 of the class when the actuarial tables say we should have another 15 years or so to live.
I talk to God regularly, keep a positive attitude and try to seize every opportunity to enjoy life.
Thanks for your essays. They are well written and thought provoking.
the fight is futile
But that is what Whittaker Chambers was saying 70 years ago when he wrote Witness. Yet, on the losing side (as he saw it), he wrote Witness.
Where is Soviet Russia? Who is King of Kings of Russia today? The Patriarch of Moscow is calling on the Russian Duma to stand for unborn life. Where is the Christian leader in the US who has such a pulpit, such an audience among the national legislators?
There is a testimony of Iranians coming to Christ. It is at the price of their life to proclaim it. And yet, it has happened before.
Xi is persecuting the Christian Church in China (no rice-Christians they). Yet the Church grows.
2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I beseech thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he looked, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Some of the analysis was right on. Are the Christians, who move at God’s speed, now grasping that the American Dream was a lie waiting for us at birth? Hell, in a few decades, if not dead, Christians might dare to dream their own dream. Someone posted on some article back an analysis ending in ‘NO’. Why is the enemy central to your thoughts, desires, moral code? Why are they the standard by which your dreams are measured? Why not yourselves? Just bless the idea as God’s will. It will be fine.
TS,
I enjoyed your thoughts very much. I am an unabashed, unashamed, bold believer in the redemption of Jesus Christ, because of the radical lifesaving, and eternity direction reversal He brought to my life in 1993 at 43. Shocked everyone, especially me…was a hard case. Even though my arms were too short to box with God, I had kept punching until then.
I had just finished a letter to my Cousin’s son who to the stunned shock of all of us is currently in a drug treatment center as evidently he fell fast and hard into Opioid addiction, and has destroyed his marriage, his career, broken the hearts of his wife, two little girls, parents and many, many others.
He had everything: A wonderful family, intelligence, career, looks, money, and a huge beautiful home with a bright future….poof! All gone to get high and evidently horribly addicted.
I felt he is a metaphor for the US…a rich, spoiled young country that had everything…and threw it all away to get high on its wealth, greed, and spoiled life style. Turning its back on God and living for the moment, the high.
He and I have always had a good relationship and he calls me Uncle although we are 2nd cousins, he is 38. He has been detoxed. Here is what I wrote him.
Johnny,
I talked with your Dad yesterday as he reviewed the plans/costs for our new home we are building I had e-mailed them to him, for him to scan, and he caught me up on you.
Thought I’d write you and offer some encouragement and heartfelt advice.
You are obviously at a crossroads in your life, and where you go from here won’t just be critical, it will decide the direction of the rest of your life. I would chose redemption…it’s an old story, and it is your choice. Sooner or later it’s a choice we all face…Your time is here.
Going back to where you have been would obviously be hell on earth, for you and everyone who loves you.
Here is an honest statement I have to offer. There are so many things I’ve done I wouldn’t want anyone to know about, the list is so long…you don’t have the time to read it, and I don’t have the courage to write it.
Now, I didn’t surrender to Christ until I was 43. What brought me to that point was the end of my own stubborn pride, sinfulness, selfishness. It led to the beginning of my repentance.
I didn’t have a drug addiction, I had a selfish pride addiction. But you know that’s what all sin is…selfish pride.
Johnny, first comes brokenness, then come redemption.
That is what I pray and wish for you…brokenness and redemption, and then, after time, your old life back.
It will take time, and like anything worthy in this world it will take some suffering, but you already know that.
You’re Aunt and I will be praying for you…she asked me to say hello and tell you she loves you, and so do I.
God Bless,
Uncle Mark
Yup, the only thing that ultimately comes between us and true redemption is ourselves.
Thank you, Mark.
That prayer is difficult to speak over others, but so necessary. Only we who have been through the ‘fiery trials’ understand why it is worth it.
Beautiful letter to your nephew, Mark. If he has truly hit bottom and is ready to change, Jesus will lift him up, just as he did so many of us. My prayers are with Johnny.
I hope that touches a lot of lives of people who need to have faith that there is indeed hope.
“How each one of you faces that future is for you to decide.”
I’m actually kind of excited. yeah we’re saying goodbye to a good thing, but now we’re presented with a chance to restore and advance what was, and to make our own next step for that good thing.
That’s what the dinosaurs said, how’d that work out?
Awesome!
I up voted. Crisis is opportunity for someone. Bowel movements are for eliminating baggage. Let what must come come. Remember gents, the soil to plant a liberty tree will be a wonderful prize for the winner. The losers will lose their pain.
Well, you are in a real “shitty” mood tonight, aren’t you fertilizer breath?
Thoughtful words, wonderfully moving as always. Just two things caught my attention enough to comment upon.
First, “For me, I trust God and Jesus.”
Amen and amen. Just a slight alteration. “For me, I trust God, Jesus.” They are One and the same albeit manifested to us in different ways at different times.
Second, a note of optimism amidst the melancholy. What’s coming to this world will be miserable and the world deserves every bit of what it’s asking for. What’s coming to the children of God by faith in what Jesus Christ (God) did for us (Gal 3:26) is stunningly beautiful. Trusting Christ is cause for great hope and joy even while saying goodbye to someone or something we love here; as physically hard as that may be.
Ephesians 1:10 KJB… “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”
All things in Christ; Gods earthly program via someday redeemed Israel and His heavenly program via the church which is His body, gathered together, in Him. Regardless of what we say goodbye to here in this world, we have so much more to look forward to in the next. A perfect eternity! Hello…!!!
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 KJB… “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Keep looking up y’all. We’ll see the eternal things soon enough! Share the good news; God became us and died in our stead for our justification, as much as possible! People need to know. He paid it all… ?
Celebrate this phenomenal truth daily! Even while the physical things around us (including us) fall apart.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJB… “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
The verse reads “in” everything give thanks. Thanks for what Christ has already done! In good times and in bad we can thank God for the salvation He freely offers; and make others aware of that offer!
Thanks for the great article TS!
Well said, GCP, and thank you. You hit my beliefs exactly. It’s not the end that we are watching, but the painful and convulsive pangs of child-birth for a new, and eternal, existence.
“For me, I trust God, Jesus.”
LOL. True, true. I actually almost simply wrote Jesus, but saying God and Jesus somehow seemed to emphasis His role as Creator and sovereign King of the physical plane better. I actually, in retrospect, should also have mentioned the Holy Spirit if I was going to reference two out of the three. I doubt if He/They will hold it against me. 🙂
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Hey, GCP…
I’ve been avoiding responding to you for a while over semantics……..
“That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom 15:6
A while back, I posted a comment about being ‘grafted into’ the vine (or fig tree), and then read a response from you to the posters I had responded to about how “you’re no piece of fruit” ?? I felt offended as the response was not to me, but to who I had commented.
On the one hand you speak of Grace undeserving, but on the other you seem to thread a needle. Who can be saved that doesn’t hold the level of intellect you have? Only those wise enough?
And ‘flat earth’…..”The idea of a spherical Earth appeared in Greek philosophy with Pythagoras (6th century BC), although most pre-Socratics (6th–5th century BC) retained the flat Earth model. In the early fourth century BC Plato wrote about a spherical Earth, and by about 330 BC his former student Aristotle provided evidence for the spherical shape of the Earth on empirical grounds. Knowledge of the spherical Earth gradually began to spread beyond the Hellenistic world from then on”
Along comes the KJB about 2000 yrs later, and the ‘truth’ of a flat earth is hidden deep in scripture ? The inspired Word didn’t clear up the deception? And if not, how then do we know it’s not all deceptive? I could go on and on, but will not at this time.
And, since I’m pissin on your leg, why have I not seen anything from you on the Stucky article? I have looked for one as the subject bores straight to a question MANY people have, and, while I view some of your recent posts as stumbling blocks, I deeply respect your depth of knowledge in the Word.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum
“Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” Rom 12:16
“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 1 Co. 1:10
Greetings, GCP…..
I just told CJ that I had posted a reply to you that I was greatly concerned about, logged on to show her and your reply was here…..we read it together.
We looked at each other, and I said “see why I strive to be more like him?”
I have been looking into the flat earth since the intelligence of 3 men I’ve come to respect arrived at such a conclusion. I’m not there yet. I will watch the video you posted (I’ve watched them all including the GC weekend seminar)
I’m cutting this short, my computer is stuttering …..
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—==
Thank you….we'll speak again
Always looking up,
ordo
PS- I don't think Stucky cares much for me either, but I wouldn't want my enemy to suffer thru what he has. I see my brother going thru much the same with his Alzheimer stg. 5 wife. (and he is a Materialist who 'believes' in Ancient Aliens
ordo ab chao,
Check this out my friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayDOFdeuI0A
Thanks, Mark..
I just finished the short little video you posted. I watched about 30 min. of GCP video yesterday evening before I was pulled away. (I will be finishing it shortly).
This will be a fairly long journey for me, recognizing first and foremost that we are approaching the subject with finite minds (and clouded pineal glands), searching to find understanding of an infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Creator.
I will need to dig into the original Greek and Hebrew words-a layman’s attempt at etymology…..
My carnal mind lends itself to accrediting the flat earth, but my heart tells me the limitless expanse of space, the order of planetary alignments, is a nothing burger for God…….but always mindful of the masonic involvement.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <——==
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job 1: 6,7
The verses are repeated again in Job 2: 1 and 2
Psa 89:10
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.
Isa 51:9
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
The asteroid belt located where the missing planet's orbit should be?
My friend…when I started the journey to investigate it I was skeptical, even too embarrassed to discuss it with anyone…but a funny thing happened along the way…the same thing that happened when I had investigated:
1. The dollar & the Fed
2. What started the Civil War?
3. What started every war after?
4. Especially the Tolkien Gulf incident that started a war that killed, maimed or wounded most of my company, including me?
5. What really happened to the USS Liberty?
6. Who killed Kennedy and why?
7. Who killed RFK and why?
8. Why did they really change the immigration law in 65?
9. Did they really land on the moon?
10. What happened on 9/11?
11. What is the real history of the Bushes, the Clintons and Obama.
12. Who is Killing Uncle Sam?
13. What is Chemtrailing and who is doing it?
14. What does the Georgia Guidsestones say?
15. What explains the murder and cooking alive of Americans in some of the fires in Northern California and other places around the world?
There are many, many others to list…but in every single case, time and time again I found out everything the schools, the government, and the media had taught and told me was a lie.
If NASA told me the sun rose in the east and set in the west…hmmm…I would have to investigate and I have.
So there is that.
So, this is a good place to put this meandering thought I had when I followed a bunch of those odd WHO posters to their designing organization and discovered some of the funding comes in from US sources, of course.
Well, I was speculating to my husband about two of the true labyrinthine mazes I knew of from days gone by: NSF and Smithsonian.
Both are in over a hundred countries with education and cultural assistance programs. A very good way to win friends and influence a lot of people if you ask me.
Don’t tell me who controls a third-world country; tell me who controls the food and thoughts of the children in that third world country.
So, the Smithsonian is a National Museum built on land and from a collection donated to the country. Congress enacted the land and its future endeavors as a National Museum and Archive with the “full faith and credit of the United States.”
Seriously, that language is in the Act. I don’t know what it means but I speculated to Nick that those sort of outlets in all those countries would be a good way to run all sorts of contraband and information networks.
He said “I hope you are not saying that to people on that blog” and I said “I have NOT said it to anyone there.”
Which was true when I said it.
‘all sorts of contraband and information networks’…….and clandestine coverup operations
Mark,
I’ve peeled the layers off each of your listed items, and then some. I am heading to the rabbit hole, but I see room for the limitless expanse of the heavens to declare His handiwork, while at the same time knowing nothing escapes the “I AM THAT I AM”
I’ll also be looking into what Dr. Missler has to say on the subject, if anything. Won’t necessarily surprise me to find I’m wrong, TLPTB and their masterfully manipulative masonic minions have most of us believing the “In God We Trust” refers to the One we both know
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==
ordo,
I have pondered if the movie TRUMAN…wasn’t Hollywood’s in your face version of the Georgia Guidestones?
To reconcile the 6000 yr. ‘young earth’ creationist concept with the archeological evidence found around the world has been one of my primary endeavors.
The concept of a snow-globe dome is one I can’t foresee grasping, and after only a couple hours of looking, evidence abounds to support my objections.
https://www.kjvbible.org/firmament.html
“The firmament deals with the structure of the present heavens and Earth (Genesis 2:1), as opposed to the structure of the original heaven and Earth (Genesis 1:1). In the present heavens and Earth there exists a three (3) heavens structure. In the old world of the original creation, there was a different configuration. Let’s look at Genesis 1:6 again and more closely:”
And, further down the page:
“As we said, this is a present “sea” of separation is a FIRM and impassable barrier between the world of man (below) and the world of God (above) and they only way through there is in the Lord Jesus Christ. That barrier structure can be seen in the design of the Tabernacle and the Temple. It is represented by the Veil.
The diagram below shows a comparison of these things to the structure and layout of Moses’ Tabernacle, which is the same basic arrangement used in the layouts of the First and Second Jewish Temples in Jerusalem.”
I have oft spoken of a plenary to Scripture. One such example would be the ‘Veil’……which I believe also represents the separation between life and death-torn asunder through/by Jesus Christ efficacious sacrifice.
(I’m breaking this up a bit to preclude the PO’d feeling when a comment disappears into the ether)
Still from this page:
“In the construction of Moses’ Tabernacle in the wilderness there were three (3) main parts: 1) The outer court, where the brazen altar of sacrifice was. 2) The Holy Place, where the candlestick, table of shewbread, and golden altar of incense were. 3) The Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was. Again, note that between parts two and three was a curtain for a partition, which matches the “sea” above the firmament (in type) in the structure of the Three Heavens. It is no coincidence that all these Biblical things have a similar three-tiered structure. There is much spiritual insight to be gained in further study of those things: ”
In addition to the archeological, there is the reconciliation of scientific and geological evidence:
“Concerning the design of the Temple, keep in mind that Moses’ tent Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple both had three (3) main parts:
The outer court
The holy place (where the table, lamp and incense alter was, outside the veil)
The Most Holy Place (where the Ark was, behind the veil)
As you can see, this theme of structure based on threes is consistent throughout the Bible. Even the basic structure of the Earth has three (3) main divisions: the core, the mantle, and the crust.”
At the bottom of the linked page, you can click on to the next one:
“In the next section, we are going to discuss disconnect between the apparent age of the stars and the universe and the concept of a regenerated heavens and Earth at the time of the seven-days of Genesis.”
I hope you and mark keep this up because your debate and discussion is the reason I visit this blog when it is late at night and the muses weave meaning into the mist.
Thistle’s fan…
The Jehovah’s Witnesses used to come knock on my door, and when they realized I had great interest in, and much time spent studying the KJB, they kept returning with older and ‘higher ups’ in the organization…..to the point of a national level rep accompanied them. Haha, and I’ll bet I was the only man that would ever follow them to their vehicles as they tried to end the discussion. I told each group from the start (went on for about a year) that if they spent the next 30 yrs. coming by, I would not change my belief in the Trinity.
I think the discussion has already been had here, and doubt this will continue. I don’t hold a candle to these boys in the realm of literacy, but roll thru here every morning for the reason you state.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—-== A New World Order
ordo, Thistle, GCP, Boomer,
Got some chores, and shopping, be back later…this is a great read, site to wander around on.
The Biblical Flat Earth: The Teaching From Scripture
https://www.philipstallings.com/2015/06/the-biblical-flat-earth-teaching-from.html
On a final note for this morning, if the snow globe concept allows God to observe his creation ‘closer’, why is it that He had to ask Satan where he’s been?
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Job 1: 6,7
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/earth-is-flat-as-a-pita-the-israelis-who-push-the-ultimate-conspiracy-theory-1.5448036
wait until the flatearthers find out its a jewish conspiracy at its core
Boomer,
I used to make Haaretz, Arutz-sheva, and Jerusalem Post a near daily visit on my trek around the web….not so much anymore, but do visit them on a less frequent basis.
Your link was interesting, to say the least. Dated 9-17. My finger always points past the jewish conspiracy to the luciferian conspiracy, where admittedly, many jewish folks are found.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==the New Atlantis
“My finger always points past the jewish conspiracy to the luciferian conspiracy, where admittedly, many jewish folks are found.”
Bingo!
Satan has an inferiority complex… As if the LORD needs to ask anything? He’s simply making a point.
Greetings, GCP….
Satan has a superiority complex. And what point would he be making?
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–== a being with an inferiority complex desires to rule the world and to be worshipped as god ?
“ a being with an inferiority complex desires to rule the world and to be worshipped as god ?”
Yup. And he can’t. And he knows it. That’s why he’s trying to burn it down. It’s a temper tantrum on the grandest stage.
“Even the basic structure of the Earth has three (3) main divisions: the core, the mantle, and the crust.”
Says who?
Science ? Geology ? Who says it doesn’t ? That little fella on a utube video?
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <——==
I understand your dispensation, and yet I can see the utter fallacy of flat earth.
The dispensations are a far more important topic… ?
“Science ? Geology ? Who says it doesn’t ? That little fella on a utube video?”
You mean “scientists”, “geologists” of course. The same dudes who work for NASA. The little fella on the video makes some excellent points to me. Still, he’s just one man. Always bring it back to the Bible. Gen 1… no gap.
And the morning and the evening… how many times?
Have an awesome day sir ordo! Work beckons.
GCP..
Wish I didn’t have to pull away earlier. There is a 91 yr. old married couple at the rest home, married for 70 yrs. She is a resident with Alzheimer 5. He lives in an apartment located between my house and the rest home. I’ve know of the family (small town), and ole Bud’s a mason. He had a car wreck about two yrs. ago, and I loaned him my mom’s car for a week or so. Up until about 4 months ago, he visited her to feed her a meal time EVERY day. An illness came upon him and he is having real trouble bouncing back, and it has nearly stopped him from visiting his wife except on an occasional basis.
My mother, who always beats around the bush, got me down there because he had his son bring him down. If the poor old woman would ever listen to the words I speak to her, she would know that he has been calling me since the first of the year, and that I had just spoken to him by phone yesterday evening…..I long ago had given him my phone #, but they are a wealthy real estate family, so my materialist mother drools for a chance to think she is of the same ‘social circle’.
Wasted trip, but few have a mother as mine. (my dad always accused her of ‘puttin on the dog)She is three months older than ole Bud, and I have been the servant child since birth. She lived to visit doctors…both knees replaced, two back surgeries, then neck, shoulder, then hip………..I nearly found the doctor to whip his ass when I discovered she was oxy addicted, but she kept on saying she ‘needed’ the operations (121 life alert “help I’ve fallen” in the 9 yrs. she had the alert)…..man, I’m side tracked clear off the path here, apologies.
I actually meant ‘science’ and ‘geology’…..the fields themselves. I believe the same EXACT bible verses uphold the concept of a gap, planets, and an unlimited expanse of the heavens-the firmament. I sure wish you would have responded to my 12:17 comment about the Rev. verse…no matter
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==
Yup… it’s long. These things take time.
There is no GAP.
Revelation 21:1 KJB… “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
If there was, this verse would be false.
GCP…
I’ve been reading/feral cat hunting/cooking sausage biscuits starting about 12:30. And now I got a call from my mom, so I’ve got to run down to the rest home and see what she wants me to do.
My brain is getting a bit foggy, so for now I’ll simply say the verse you quote is for a later regeneration, at a future time. It seems you would already know that, especially with the dispensation you admirably hold.
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==
Have you visited the linked site?
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Rom. 14:5
Re GAP:
The Bible says, “In the beginning God Created the heaven and Earth” (Genesis 1:1) and at Genesis 1:3 God says, “…let there be light”, which is followed by the seven-days of “Creation” and the making of the world into which He placed Adam and Eve. But between those two verses there is the mysterious and enigmatic statement of Genesis 1:2 which says:
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2 KJV)
From the site:
“This verse should not to be dismissively taken as just some ‘throw away’ statement of how God began the creation process, because it is a serious declaration of factual conditions by the Holy Spirit to call the reader’s attention to something that is abnormal and out of place. Those facts are: 1) The “Earth” already exists, 2) The planet is void of life, 3) There is great darkness everywhere, 4) Water already exists. WHY? When was all this created?
That mysterious verse is the Holy Spirit’s guidance to a key Scriptural Truth. Specifically, the heaven and Earth of the original creation (Genesis 1:1 & Job 38:4) had been destroyed and corrupted as a result of Lucifer’s sin of rebellion back in Earth’s ancient past (Isaiah 14:12-16 & Ezekiel 28:13-17). That first world on the face of the Earth was now in complete ruin. What remained was shrouded in a great physical and spiritual darkness and the power of death. The reason? Sin in Deep-Time.”
I hate to just copy/paste, but I can’t state in more clearly, so continuing on a short piece more:
The Apostle Peter spoke of this mystery in the New Testament:
“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
(2 Pet 3:5-7 KJV)
“People assume that the mention of the word “water” in the above passage makes it a reference to Noah’s flood and the antediluvian world of man, but it is not. The phrase “willingly ignorant” and common sense should tell you otherwise. After all, anybody even remotely familiar with the Bible knows about Noah’s flood. No, the verse is speaking about something else, and the only other place in the Bible where the Earth was covered in waters is Genesis 1:2. The ramifications are obvious: The Bible itself reveals that the “heavens and the earth, which are now” (made during the seven days) was not the first-time creation of all things. The Word of God is telling the observant reader there was a previous world on the face of this old Earth before the present world of man.
The Lord God created the heavens and the Earth and He authored the Bible through His Holy Spirit. Those are two (2) witnesses to God’s truth (Matthew 18:16) . One witness is the Earth’s geology, which reveals evidence of death in the fossil record extending back millions and millions of years. The other witness is the written word of God which, when rightly-divided, can tell men why there is death in the fossil record. The Genesis Gap Doctrine, commonly called the “Gap Theory” or “Ruin-Reconstruction” interpretation of Genesis, is not a modern-day interpretation of the Holy Bible. It is a theological teaching that was espoused by the early Church and even the fundamental Protestant faith in the years before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was even published, at a time when the geological sciences were still in their infancy. The Genesis Gap Doctrine has always been within the Holy Bible. It was there when Moses penned the book of Genesis, it is not a recent notion.”
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <—–==
Lucifer is PRIDEFUL….and very powerful, the ruler of this present world.
I’ve studied the arguments in favor of the gap. I remain a young earth creationist and hold that the flood far better explains the fossil record. That said, this is hardly a hill to die on, not being a salvation issue so no big deal if you do and I don’t.
This excellent teaching by a guy named David Reid puts it to scriptural scrutiny using the same verses you quote in the above argument in favor. Give a listen if you feel like it.
Enjoy Sunday my friend.
That was true …. at one point in time. We had some pretty colorful exchanges. It is no longer true. Please see my response to GCP.
My beloved dad died two years ago. The love of my life, Maureen died a month ago. Mom probably won’t make it past this year or next. Sometimes I feel so alone. The death of loved ones changes people. It sure changed me … my whole outlook on this life, especially what is, or is not, important. I believe I am evolving … right in front of your eyes.
In fact, I relinquish my unofficial title of King Shitflinger. There was a time for that … and I had a blast with it. But, times change. I change with them. I just don’t have the stomach for it anymore. That doesn’t mean I won’t drop an occasional bat-shit crazy rant … but, overall, I think ya’ll can give a eulogy to King Shitflinger.
As sure as I live and breath, your reply brought a tear to my eye….
Thank you !
” Sometimes I feel so alone.”
My dad died in ’99. As an adolescent, I said the same thing to him (50 yrs back). He said, “At least I know you’re in good company when you’re by yourself”
I have thought of it more than a thousand times since his passing….
That’s a heavy sack-a-rocks you’ve been tasked with carrying in a short span of time
I figure there are several candidates to take over the role, having learned at the huge lumberjack paws of Stuckenheimer.
So, who thinks they can fling like a King?
i nominate rins
A good idea, but what in the world happened on this post overnight?
That was true …. at one point in time. It is no longer true. Your views used to irritate me. I am on a journey seeking truth. You are on a journey seeking truth. I am never 100% correct. Neither are you. I am never 100% wrong. Neither are you. I am resolved to no longer going bat-shit crazy when another Seeker Of Truth diverges from my own path. I’ll go so far as to say that I even have hopes of learning from the truths as you see it.
It can be but does not have to be a long and winding road. I’m glad your on it.
Grace and peace Stucky. See you around… ?
What if we all were to pledge to try and see things from someone else’s viewpoint at least a little.
What if?
The call of the parasite: “See muh point of view. Muh, muh, muh.” Thou art woman. You creatures never miss an opportunity to imprint your agenda on the raw emotions of men.
I own that downvote.
I bought one too, preacher man.
Me three.
i gave the degenerate xer one as well and tried to give more but the damn application won’t let me
[youtube
Don’t waste your time watching it.
too late why didn’t you say that before
Is that you Paula?
GCP…
A little note in case you are notified when responses are made to your posts (I don’t). A little farther down the thread, I’m gonna throw a couple thoughts/links concerning the ‘flat earth’. Time is of immeasurable value, but when you can, look into what I provided, will ya?
nice nice nice… can’t wait to see the expanded discussion group
I will, of course!
my mom died on 02/02/2020 after a painful week of almost losing my dearest friend because of there choices. What do real friends do but support them in there choices ? but the feeling of an end remains along with the sorrow. and the only thing left is can you live with yourself another day knowing more ends will arrive in sudden and unexpected ways ? or rise again in hope ? shit in one hand and hope in another and see which fills first, the future will be a trail of tears
I’m so sorry you’ve had such an ordeal. And you are right; this world is so full of pain, loss and sadness. There are many good things, too, but at times they are almost impossible to see. Or even relate to, even if we see them.
You have no idea how much I am recognizing in the ‘between the lines’ of what you are writing. I also recognize that, for now, I don’t think, at the moment, that you would be able to receive the best advice I could give you. Strong grief can blind the sharpest vision.
I don’t have anything profound to offer, only a heart that knows what you are feeling. So I’ll just say take a deep breath, go somewhere quiet, eat an ice cream cone or whatever strikes your fancy. Enjoy the simplest pleasures, for now, and maybe the company of those also hurting as you are. Sometimes the greatest solace and inspiration comes our way from giving that support you mention. These things have to work their own way through, in their own time.
I refuse to offer platitudes, or bright shiny promises. You don’t need that. I myself at one time was in an emotional pit so deep and dark I couldn’t even recognize the smallest spark of hope. But it is there.
So, one breath at a time, one step at a time, and my best advice for a devastated heart;
cry out to Jesus with every ounce of your being, and every last bit of your pain. I literally strained so hard that I don’t know how my heart didn’t physically explode. This is not metaphorical, it is literal. He can handle whatever you throw at Him. Challenge Him, test Him – just do it with a sincere heart coming from a place of total loss. I know, I lived it.
What have you got to lose? Except hopelessness.
And my hope is that I haven’t made your situation worse.
Just for you –
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If I could choose who was around me in my last hour…..
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum <——==
"The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd."
And to Any Mouse:
"shit in one hand and hope in another and see which fills first"
My dad always said it…."wish in one hand and shit in the other". He believed Hope and Faith were something to grab tight and hold.
Why not read and follow Stucky’s journey and see if it can get you off that trail?
Great article! I can really identify with it.
The other day I posted a pic of the Austrian town where we lived. We left that paradise to move to Newark, NJ. WTF???!!! But, I’ll tell you WHY my parents did that. In a nutshell …. in pursuit of the American Dream.
Bad as it is, I believe there is something worse than saying goodbye to a dream. It’s saying goodbye to hope.
My dad said that without hope we are nothing. I’m clinging to hope for America and that’s why I’m not yet ready to say goodbye to my American dream. But it’s getting harder every day.
Thanks, Stucky.
That was exceptional! And like you, I, too, put my trust in God and Jesus.
I see plenty of people talking big online about wishing for a civil war. Those people don’t realize what they’re asking for. That’s the last thing I want to see. Wars seem to go in directions never predicted. And so far, wars like that only bring more tyranny in the end. If a second civil war were to happen here, there are too many variables on who would become involved. The outcome is never certain and, the majority of the time, unanticipated.
We all know the economy will fall, and we’re doing what we can to prepare ourselves and others for that eventuality, but it’s not going to be pretty or safe. Things you can’t imagine will be irreparable damaged, from farms to zoo animalsto grocery store employees to medical employees.
I pray that we can right this ship before we hit that iceberg. Either way, I’m preparing for the worst.
Thank you, VV –
And TP; it always seems to become scarce as soon as the SHTF. People never take that into account.
As an old man I find that everything is cyclical and I am almost at the end of my cycle. As you, I have lost family and many friends, and now I and my generation are the next to move on. God and Christ would seem to be the only constant.
Holy Cow!
This thread made it to 100.
I am shocked and humbled. I had zero expectations of such.
Thank you to all who indulged.
I expect to see a comment from Maggie about this, especially if she wasn’t the 100. 🙂
I stayed abed a bit longer than the norm. My doctor prescribed Tramazone, a sleep aid which seems to help without causing too much hangover affect. I’m still struggling with circadian rhythm and blues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xir6WiMXKZE
Nice thread. I missed it. I don’t know what to say, except the words of an old song that asked, who suffers more, he who leaves or he who stays? Shall we envy the dead? I thought I only wanted to live long enough to see my grand-kids grow up. Otherwise, I’m just biding time.
You were preoccupied with your QOTD, which brought out some interesting responses and a new really interesting new Boomer Sooner feller.