Pictures!

Lotsa butterflies last night

The usual gang...

...a NEW gang...

And this guy, a green heron

Don't forget the baby bunny!

"I shouldn't be THIS tired..."

And the "trails in woods" mystery deepens- spots that have been posted off and graded.  Some small like this (2X4 ft), some bigger...

Wednesday Bible study: Y is for Yahweh

This is the most important name we will hit in this journey- it is known as the Tetragrammiton, it is sometimes mispronounced as Jehovah, and it is what God called Himself when Moses asked His Name...

Exo 3:14  God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 

Note also that Jesus, establishing Himself as God, also used it...

Joh 8:57  The Jews said to Jesus, "What? How can you say you have seen Abraham? You are not even 50 years old!" 

Joh 8:58  Jesus answered, "The fact is, before Abraham was born, I AM." 

And the actual word-

יהוה

yehôvâh

yeh-ho-vaw'

From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.

...is what you are reading every time you see LORD in all caps in your Bible.  As you can see, it means  'self-existent'- and there are a lot of conceptual/philosophical ramifications to that, many of them beyond our faculties to grasp.  So I prayed that God would show me a better way to approach the subject- and He did.

What I was led to do was to look up the FIRST time the term 'LORD God' (Yahweh elohim) was used in the first few books of the Old Testament.  Because there is a reason that the two linked is more powerful.  In the first chapter of Genesis, the term God- elohim- is used exclusively.  It is plural, denoting the nature of God as both one and Three-In-One.  But in the next chapter, as He deals with His creation, the personal LORD God comes into play.  So what I am going to do is, I'm going to give you those 'first verses'.  Then I am going to break them down two different ways, with some adds thrown in along the way.  Here we go!

Gen 2:4  These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. 

Exo 3:15  And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 

Lev 4:22  "When a leader sins, doing unintentionally any one of all the things that by the commandments of the LORD his God ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt... 

Num 10:10  Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. 

Deu 1:5  Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 

Deu 1:6  "The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 

Jos 1:9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD thy God is with you wherever you go." 

Jdg 2:12  And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 

Rth 2:11  But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 

Rth 2:12  The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!" 

Before I start the main thrust here, I noted that two words came up more than once- generations and memorial, and I want you to think of what follows in the terms of these two.  Generations is actually two different words in Genesis 2 and Exodus 3.  The first refers to the idea of descendants, people through whom the things of the LORD God will be passed on; the second is referring to the cycle of time itself, beyond any single life.  Memorial is differentiated by purpose.  In Exodus 3 it is God's memorial to all time; in Numbers 10 it is our worship presented BEFORE God.  So we have two things going on here- God being shown to all generations across all time, and the interaction between God and Men.

I said I wanted to attack this two different ways, and the first might seem insignificant but it isn't- note that sometimes the phrase "LORD God" is together, and sometimes there is a qualifier between them.  Let's look at these qualifiers:

Genesis- no qualifier.  As He created everything ALONE, by Himself, there is no qualifier needed to understand the verse.  God can do anything, and needs no man as a 'base of reference."

Exodus- 'The LORD GOD of your fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob'.  Here the qualifier is to be used on the Hebrews in Egypt to remind them of the continuity ACROSS the physical generations.

Leviticus- 'The LORD his God.  Referring to a ruler of the people, this reminds him that he in turn is subject to God.

Numbers- 'I am the LORD your God', reminding the people that they are HIS creation, His possession, passed along the generations of TIME.

Deuteronomy- 'The LORD our God', reminding us that He holds us as a group (My sheep, as Jesus called us), not just as individuals.

Joshua- 'The LORD thy God', the intensely personal designation, here between Himself and Joshua, but in fact between EACH of us and Himself.

Judges- 'The LORD God of their fathers, indicating that they had stepped out of the continuity across time by their sin- and were no longer His.

Ruth- 'The Lord God of Israel', reminding those of us who come to Him from outside the bounds of descent that Israel is still His particular people, and we are saved THROUGH THEM.

The next way I want to look at these from is His actions to us.

Genesis- He is the CREATOR.

Exodus- He has shown us His NAME and nature.

Leviticus- He has rules; we are expected to OBEY.

Numbers- Our prime duty is His WORSHIP.

Deuteronomy- He MOTIVATES us in what we are called to do for Him.

Joshua- He is ALWAYS PRESENT in our lives, across lines and times.

Judges- Disobedience provokes Him to ANGER.  The line of descent does not guarantee salvation.
Ruth- This was my favorite, because we who are not Jews, like Ruth, can come to Him in trust, be accepted and earn a REWARD.


Wow, this really is 'the OT in 8 verses'!  We see His nature, His interaction, our duty, and our hope, all in one package!  And all from one phrase- I AM.

Sunday walk

After Church, God mentioned how it wasn't good for me to just sit around on the beautiful days He makes, and I agreed.  Well, not exactly in conversational form, but I know what He means.  So here are some pictures of Sunday, including an every-quarter-mile thing...

One of our bird seeds got us a new flower...

Mr bunny was out as I was filling the feeder

We had a lot of new Titmouse activity this morning... until the Mafia showed up.  As I type, there is a sparrow on all six feeder holes, two or three on the fence waiting a turn, and close to a dozen on the patio.  Fricking pigs!

So now the walk begins...

Quarter post:  Nothin' doin' on Groundhog Road...

Half- mile:  Just outside the woods

...and we're in!  Well, I'm in...

One of the reasons you haven't seen woods pics lately is that I've been upset that they have carved literally dozens of trails into it, with the objective being some lumbering.  The last time I talked to Fart University (Purdue Fort Wayne, or PFW, hence the nickname), I was told that if there was anyone doing wood removal, it "was likely the neighbors".  After questioning the property manager for Fart U WHY he would allow 'neighbors' to come onto their property and do this, I never heard back, so I'm not wasting MY breath on these idiots. 

However, as I discovered...

...the above carnage didn't bother the bunnies...

...or the woodies...

 ...nor the deer, as we shall see in a bit.

3/4 mile...

And then it was this young buck, who let me get surprisingly close on the back trail.  But he wasn't alone...

here he is soon later in the woods... and he had a buddy...

A second young buck... and behind them, two more I didn't get because just then a jogger went by.  Really guys, WHY run in a beautiful woods, when you don't stop and see the BEAUTY around you?  If you just want the sweat, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE SHADE, DIPSTICK!

The one mile mark...

And do you believe this?  The very hill that Scrappy once looked down at me from...

...the 'loggers' stripped the vegetation off one whole side!  Not the side Scrappy climbed, but seriously, why?

Mile and a quarter:  "You are leaving the woods.  Come back soon!"

Mile and a half, just past the Alumni Pond

Amazing mid flight pic of the Swamp Monarch, who swung by to say hi...

Nothin' Doin' at the river, either...

At the mile and 3/4 mark, I catch up with my "Swamp Duck" gang, and... Hey! Someone's missing!

"Here I iz!"

Just because it was pretty

Just before I hit the two mile mark, up by the south end of the Ponderosa Trail, I ran into a lady with two dogs in her car.  She feeds the cat and her kittens that are apparently hiding in the barn (when they're not being consumed by the foxes).  We had a nice talk about the woods, the deer, dogs ("I think God should have a rule that no dog can die before the owner does").  I was considering this very thing, as the Ponderosa Trail has always seemed to really bring my grief out for no real reason.  Church today, the pastor talked about Godly grief vs worldly grief: "With worldly grief, it's not the sin you hate- it's yourSELF."  Dead on, there.  Thus I went this way to start burying it.  This sweet lady was a big help.  Her dogs, a big Mastiff "guard dog" and a little curly-haired old bugger "mostly blind and completely deaf", not so much.

As I said, mile two- Ponderosa Trail

2 and a quarter- south end of the new (and rarely used, BTW) soccer fields

And finally, mile 2.5- just about home!

Sunday message: Loving God

In the midst of a time of grief, I asked the question- or at least sought an answer- that somewhat follows the chorus of an old Hymn:

Jesus, Jesus,

precious Jesus,

o, for Grace to

love Him more.

Love is kind of a funny thing.  When you're a kid, it's all puppy dogs and flowers, and a longing in your heart that brings you to tears.... as you get older, not so much.  It evokes strong loyalty, a sense of well-being, but the strong constant gnawing is not so longer there.  And it makes you wonder:  Do you love God?  HOW, more to the point, do you love God?  I mean, when you think about being before God, what do you see?

Isa 6:5  And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" 

Eze 1:25  And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 

Eze 1:26  And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 

Eze 1:27  And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. 

Eze 1:28  Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking. 

Exo 3:4  When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 

Exo 3:5  Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 

Exo 3:6  And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 

Rev 1:12  Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 

Rev 1:13  and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 

Rev 1:14  The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 

Rev 1:15  his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 

Rev 1:16  In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 

Rev 1:17  When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, ....

Now, as you look at these examples, think on this:  These men were two prophets called to heaven, the man who would lead the people out of Egypt, and the "disciple whom Jesus loved..."

"...I said, 'Woe is me!' ..."

"...I fell on my face..."

"...he hid his face..."

"...I fell at His feet as though dead..."

Atheists reject God because, among other things, they cannot believe in something beyond their limited conception.  They trust in science- as long as science can explain it- or 'will explain it', more to the point- they can still say there is no need for a 'god' to explain things.   We are not only called to believe in the unexplainable through faith, but to LOVE Him.  And how do you love someone so great that the best men of history fall as though dead before?

I don't know.  How did they?

So I looked as I typed.  And amazingly, I found my first answer on the Jehovah's Witnesses website.  They pointed out 1 John 5:3:

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. 

And went on to point out that this was the principle upon which Moses lived his life- showing his love for God through his obedience.  But there was more than this for Moses, as I have pointed out elsewhere:

Exo 33:12  Moses said to the LORD, "See, you say to me, 'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' 

Exo 33:13  Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people." 

Exo 33:14  And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 

Exo 33:15  And he said to him, "If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 

Exo 33:16  For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?" 

Exo 33:17  And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." 

Exo 33:18  Moses said, "Please show me your glory." 

Exo 33:19  And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 

Exo 33:20  But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." 

Exo 33:21  And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 

Exo 33:22  and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 

Exo 33:23  Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen." 

Moses sought to see Him more clearly.  Why?  That he might find ways to find favor in His sight, and teach the people more effectively.  Isaiah, after a vision of how God would destroy evil men, then recounted this in chapter 63:

Isa 63:7  I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 

Isa 63:8  For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely." And he became their Savior. 

Isa 63:9  In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 

He recounts the manifestations of God's unchanging love FOR us; goodness, compassion, and through Jesus the sharing of our burdens and our Salvation.  For him, love was re-telling the Story.

For Ezekiel, love was as simple as hope.  For Ezekiel wasn't allowed to debate, only to speak what God told him.  But when it was for Ezekiel to speak, he usually said something like this:

Eze 11:13  And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" 

Eze 11:14  And the word of the LORD came to me: 

Eze 11:15  "Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, 'Go far from the LORD; to us this land is given for a possession.' 

Eze 11:16  Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.' 

Eze 11:17  Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.' 

Eze 11:18  And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 

Eze 11:19  And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 

Eze 11:20  that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 

The remembrance that God is yet with us, has never left us, and will provide for us if we remain with Him, is the love for God Ezekiel knew.  But it is John from which we learn the most:

1Jn 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 

1Jn 4:8  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

1Jn 4:9  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 

1Jn 4:10  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

1Jn 4:11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

1Jn 4:12  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 

Just like everything else with God, love is not a 'work' we can do on our own.  It isn't about us loving God, but Him having loved us first.  Because He loved first, He sets the example WE are to follow by loving those around us.  Laurie was just telling me a story the other day about a woman at work who was "a Christian", but couldn't even hold a decent conversation about her faith without becoming an enraged, sword-swinging 'christian soldier'.  I have seen and heard from many such people, who would rather "hate their enemy' than pray for them.  But if we want to 'see God', to get a better idea of how to find His favor, then our great weapon had best not be a sword but a kneeler.

Time Machine co-ordinates VICXV5538157

 At work, I have a machine that cuts fabric via a computer (running Windows XP, if you can fathom).  And the panels I cut are somewhat large, so usually it will draw and cut part of a panel, and then move the fabric up.  However, instead of then finishing that panel and moving on, it prefers to draw and cut various other objects AFTER the panel in question, only coming back to the first panel as a last resort afterwards.  I call this procedure 'an excursion into the ass-backwards dimension'.  Today, I was getting ready for work, and I packed my lunch box as I usually do with a pop and a pop-tart., Except that I told myself, "Yesterday, you didn't eat your pop-tart.  So just a pop, no pop-tart."  And as I was about to leave I said, "Hey, wait a minute," and sure enough- packed a second pop-tart, but no pop.  I mused that I had already fallen into the ABD, and BOY was I correct.  What happened?  I'll put it to you as I did to my relief:  "The only thing I have to say about this day is, 'We shall never speak of it again.'  Alternately, my second choice was, 'If I tried to tell you everything that happened, I'd be a third of the way through and you'd say, 'God, I'd rather re-marry my ex than listen to any more of this!' "

And in this spirit, we are going to have an ABD Time Machine this week.  And just to help with the making this lead in the longest of all time instead of the short part of the post, here's your 6D this week!

Clyde Stubblefield was James Brown's drummer in the late 60s and early 70's on songs like Cold Sweat.  He also played on a couple of tracks on the 1995 debut lp by the band Garbage, who had the big hit Stupid Girl.   This band was what you got when you grafted a female lead on to a band I loved from 1989 called Fire Town:





And Fire Town was founded by producer-drummer Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvana's breakthrough Nevermind- and was born on our target date, August 2nd, 1957.

A 6D for our target date?  Why not? absolutely nothing else happened Sure, because we're doing everything backwards, or something close to it!  In honor of, I have dispensed with my usual Pepsi Zero while I type, in favor of...

...a Great Lakes Brewing Edmund Fitzgerald Porter!  So crack open an Eddie Fitz, go take a shower (which I did after putting the logo up instead of waiting till I was done), and let's have NO fun!


*********************************************

All right, let's get our guest out here- Pat Boone!  Pat, I... what the heck???

Pat, I specifically told you not to wear the metal today!  It's in your contract!

Ah, so what?  Listen, I don't like pain.  It keeps me from doing what I love, like golfing, playing ten...

And you really can't do an ad for that darn Relief Factor of yours!  Bellbottom, take care of this!

"RRRRAR!!! Bellbottom SMASH!"

Oh, good grief!  Elvis, can you help out with the Panel?

You bet, my man!  Now, our first contestant, in no particular order, was Buddy Holly an' the Crickets, n' That'll Be The Day, at #42 as a debut on Cashbox.  Then, you got Jimmy Dorsey an' that sissy swing stuff So Rare at #7, but the winner, at #2 on CB, was the Everly Brothers an' Bye Bye Love.

Hey, wait!  You aren't...

Here, Pat, now you do some!

P:  Thanks, buddy!  Next up is Russ Hamilton at #18 with Rainbow, followed by Perry Como and The Girl With The Golden Braids, which peaked in June.  Then there's my own Love Letters In The Sand, at #5- but the winner, at #1 on CB, is you, King, with Teddy Bear!

Now, we can't have 2 win...

E:  Of course I am, Pat!  Bellbottom, do a few!

Bellbottom/Hulk:  Hulk have pretty girl Jill Corey at 36 debut with Love Me To Pieces.  Just look, she pretty!

Hulk, I think...

LOOOOOK!!!

E:  Gotta admit, he has a point...

B/H :Johnny Mathis say Not For Me To Say at 3, Gene Vincent say Lotta Lovin', but not till two weeks, but the winner is Paul Anka with Diana at #20.

But I thought the winner wa...

B/H:  HULK SAY WINNER!  Here Elvis.  Hulk tired of stupid show.  Want more Bologna Casserole!

E:  All right, big guy!  That leaves us with Larry Williams with Short Fat Fanny at #14, Nat King Cole with Send For Me at #12...

And let me guess- but the winner is...

E:  No, man, that's the whole list!

Thank God!  So that means, choose from the Everlys, Elvis, or Anka for your winner!  Now, since this week is ABD week, I'm not going to imbed our two M10 debuts, but I will give you links!  Look for #10 Geowulf and He's 31 here, and #9 Hollywood Ending by Starcrawler here!

In the meantime, here's the rest of the M10:

King Leg holds at #1 with Running Scared, and MAGS with Drugs at #2, but it was Silversun Pickups moving 2 to #3 with Simpatico, The Orwells up 6 to #4 with Last Days Of August, and Beach Bunny's Prom Queen up 3 to #5!  ELO's Mama falls to #6, just outside the all time top ten, which Agnes Obel joins with Riverside falling to #8.  Also falling, but not from so great a height is Foster The People with Imagination at #8.


Stat pack time shows the King winning in the UK with All Shook Up at the top...  the #57 in '57 is Rusty Draper's version of Freight Train, a song written in between 1906-1912 by one Elizabeth Cotten, whose other claim to fame is that she was once a nanny to one Peggy Seeger, singer, radical leftist, and half-sister of Pete Seeger.

I knew 13 of the now top 60 this week, but my favorite was the quickly rising Tammy by Debbie Reynolds.

We have a Tony Bennett twofer on the big mover!  At first I thought he had won it with In The Middle Of An Island, which climbed 19 from 42 to 23; but it was actually the flip side, I Am, which moved up 21 from 56 to 35!  And finally, this week's big debuts were the Chordettes and Mr Lee at 54, Jimmie Rodgers and Honeycomb at 46, and the aforementioned Crickets with That'll Be The Day at 42!

Oh, How about we close out things with our (what would have been) 6D victim, Billy Williams, who was at #4 with I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Me A Letter!

Sure thing, m'man!  It was a three song race- two of 'em got three votes, but the winnah got 4!  And that winnah is...

See, I told ya...

...Elvis an' Teddy Bear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well, that's okay, because whatever happens has GOT to be better than this mess!  See you next week for 1958!