I wrote a song today. It was a great experience. I love it when God does things through us and we just catch them in the process. It's exciting to have written something that doesn't seem contrived. It just felt good.
Wanna hear, it here it goes...

She walks home from school In a small little town Not part of the others She refuses to frown

Closes her door Holds tight her guitar This gift from the king Makes a glorious sound

She whispers a lyric It’s carried away To the court of the king As He forges her crown

She knows the King In ways that I long to

It seems like a dream A well that I’m drawn to

When she plays guitar Or begins to sing

I have a new mandate Engaging the King

Piercing eyes I’m drawn to engage The knowing look Of a secreted sage

The lilting laughter Of an Irish maid The heart of a lion When she’s up on the stage

And she is my friend Over coffee and more Hearing her sing My heart seems to roar

She knows the King In ways that I long to

She’s got a dream A well that I’m drawn to

When she plays guitar And begins to sing

I have a new mandate Engaging the King

She’s living evidence The King pays attention When she plays her guitar He stands to His feet

She sets a precedence Of awe and adoration When she calls his name His heart skips a beat

And she’s living evidence He gives beauty for ashes When He calls her name She dances around

She sets a precedence Of praise in the madness She sings out His name And we’re all glory bound

I don't have a lot to say about it, it is what it is, but I love the Master for giving it to me.

Can you imagine this? We have been hearing about this tidal wave that is on it's way and there are a lot of people who are looking for it in the natural and there are a number of us that are expecting it to fall in a spiritual sense.
I expect it to fall like the waters did when they destroyed the army of pharaoh in Moses time. I can think of some things that I would like to see wrecked beyond repair, but then again, I look around my town and see the destruction wrought by the people who think that they have something to gain by allying themselves with someone who can't tell the truth against someone who will not lie.
But I believe that the manifestation of this wave has more to do with wrecking the church- "people of faith" Those who don't know will be subject to a choice while those who know will be subject to a whole other kind of judgement.

So last night at Tom and Pat's they thought that perhaps since we have Shock and Awe, the sisters from alternate worlds but the same reality, Ben and I should have nicknames.
I made some suggestions, that were panned, and finally Ben, who is known in India as "BENWHITE" turned and said, "okay, I'll be Peace and you be Quiet." It was a roflmao moment... [Don't ask me what that is Pastor Mike, you prolly don't wanna know (I learned it from Elisabeth- shh {LOL})].
So anyway, I am realizing that there is something in me of a ROAR. I had heard something about it earlier, but didn't really get it, now I have been instructed to impart it to some and that presents it's own challenges.
God is pretty funny. He's funnier than we are. I can almost hear the Father and Jesus talking and one of them springing that line on the other. pretty dang funny. Ya' gotta love 'em.

So, drumming was yesterday. We blessed a church and we blessed our God and we were blessed mightily in the process. I didn't hear anyone say not to call them the next time we do it. Pastors Mike and Lori suggest that it might be a quarterly thing, which I believe is a good idea, although there will certainly be times when we will do the same thing with just people who happen to be around. It was just that good.
Perhaps addictive. Like a good cup of coffee that has just the right mhmhmhmhm in it.
We actually got started at about 1915 because we were figuring out how to record what we were doing. The record is held on three disks, including the long silence at the end. God showed up and silence was the only appropriate response, although my short attention span, SAS for short, kicked in and I didn't quite know what to do. I am glad that Elisabeth and Jim were cohorts in this endeavor as I would have missed the quiet parts.
There is power in the silence that I don't quite relate to yet, but God is good and has made a promise to bring me to the place where I can get it. I'm gonna get it. It's decided, and He promised that He would be faithful to complete it. Odd though, that the drums would be part of that process. God has an amazing economy.
(BTW, lest anyone make the error that Dave pointed out to me, in the picture below- that's Dave's wife Sue. The description I suggest in the post could be used to describe her. That's not it's purpose... and that's all I've got to say about that.)

Sorry once again for being gone so long. I'm not on line where it's convenient and though I've started a number of times, the finish, well, that's a whole other issue for me... But I'll put that topic off until later.
This is about DRUMS!!!
Drums thundering, drums beating quielty like the heartbeat of a content mother, drums that sing the cadence of life.
Drums have an ability that is unknown, and the experiment will be to try it out. I believe that they can fashion a structure over our city to hang unity over.
I know, that doesn't make much sense, and I don't know can only imagine what is going to happen, but the goal is to change the heavens so that God's heartbeat is heard and a city comes into alignment in a way that we can work as a christian body.
I figure that it will take a few minutes to get to that place where unity abounds, and I think that on the way there there will be people who cannot quite get it until they get it. Like white people not being able to dance, if you don't mind an earthy reference, eventually we will find Mantovani (from "The Jerk") and we will all be in unity heading toward the heavens.
There is more that I hope to get to, but for this minute, I'm through and want to maintain at least some semblance of keeping up here. Meanwhile, keep tapping your foot. You can't know who's tapping with you.

Bless me readers for I have sinned, it has been nearly a year since my last confession.
I have been better and worse than ever before.
My mom nearly died as a result of a virile infection complicated by doctors who... well, two of the three monkeys were present... No, See no evil was part of the equation as well. They gave her a pain killer, she is deathly alergic to them, in a patch form and couldn't figure out why she was deteriorating. She's much better now, but showing a little wear.
I have still not found the woman of wonder who will beocme my helpmate. I have, on the other hand, met some fine women who I would be more than willing to allow to be. Just something about how much life they have lived- it's awful how much of a difference than can make. Well, that and time isn't exactly bending over backwards to do me any favors.
I have met a brilliant young woman who challenges me on so many levels. Intimidates might be a better description, but she is gentle and has such faith in God and how He is working things out in me- she makes room for me to work out my stuff musically. And we wrote a song together. I put some words down and she put them with a very nice melody and sang it with passion when she let me know what she wrote. I was ecstatic that I had written something that said what I wanted it to say.
Quite nice.

Sorry I've been gone for so long. Work is long and I don't have internet access where I usually think about things to put here... Nor do I have access to my pictures without my own PC. I'm not much good with HTML or downloading from one site to another. But just the same, I was thinking the other day.
Do you suppose that the feast of the Bride will be catered with the fruits of the spirit? That it's going to be a sort of pot-luck and the fruits of the spirit will be most likely one course in the meal. Some time I'll be able to flesh this out, but apparently not now.
cheers

This is the joyous occasion of a boy's Bar Mitvah, as the Russion Orthodox Jews do it. This is outside of the secure area on the way into the Western Wall, where we had just seen Hillary Clinton in for some photo-ops.
The boy on the shoulders is celebrating his entry to man-hood, and the crowd included parents and sisters, it was difficult to figure out who was family who was guest and who was incidental.
The two guys with the horns were blowing them after the fashion of someone trying to create a spectacle... little did they know the spectacle that they were about to meet in the "clintonian" entourage.
I am left with an inherited spectacle currently. A co-worker took
her own life and was found by a couple of my friends. They are my friends and so I will make sure that they are going through the process of mourning and grief that they must, having been the ones closest to her. Reactions have been interesting from others. Disbelief, shock, the intelect kicks in and you want to know how or why. And the other common element to peoples response is about her dog.
Why do I juxtapose this with a young man's Bar Mitzvah- I would like to say that I don't know, but I suppose it's because we go through stages in life, some with fanfare and some without. A boy is celebrated into manhood, a woman has lost all hope. Ecclesiastes says that there is a season for everything, and I see that there are some who just can't wait for the final fruit to ripen, but I can't help but think that even in those moments there is the Brother who was the agent in our adoption who watches and waits with an attentinve ear, waiting to hear us say His name in order to get our attention so He can hold us, even in our last moments of anguish.
I can't help but feel somehow that Jesus was there watching and when she was free of her earthly body, Jesus took her by the chin, wiped her tears away and smiled at her with a smile that spoke of the love that she was longing for. I don't know the outcome of it all, but I know that life is a gift and we all do with it what we can.
Karen you have strengthened my theory that fair is a myth. We will miss you for time, but you will never be on your own again.

Well, this is not in line with where I've been going lately in this blog, but it does speak my heart on a matter.
My Mom and I have agreed to disagree about worship. She is fine with what I grew up with- in fact, needs it to enter true worship, doesn't believe that the Holy Spirit can move unless it's that kind of worship.
I can worship in just about anything, I think that if I have the will to worship He has the will to be worshipped. I don't believe that we can worship in spirit and in truth unless He is enabling us to do so, therefore I wrote this one saturday before thanksgiving after hearing that the renewal pharisees were comparing one worship ministry to another. I admit it is a reaction, but I do believe that it is truth.
The worship Leader is the one who sets the target. They should not necessarily be in the midst of the journey at the time of corporate worship, but rather provide the means for the congregation to get there.
There must also be a time and a place to raise up and challenge worship leaders to go higher. A new venue, a new congregation, a new songlist- but all of these things require an element of risk and most worship leaders don't like to because they are easily cajoled or easily beaten to submission.
God said "touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm." Worshippers fall into the category of "my anointed."
I have heard (and likely made) many critical statements about worshippers, but I didn't really understand that the role of a worship leader is to give the congregation tools, and then it is encumbent on the conngregation to figure out how to use them, not judge them as better or worse, more or less, than someone elses (gifting).
When Jericho fell (I don't have any pictures from Jericho) the Lord required them to march in silence six days around the wall. Six days without carping.
Carping is an axe laid to the root worship with abandon, and if a worshipper, who is ultra-sensitive by Gods design hears critique without love their ability dwindles. Their freedom is stunted and the target is lowered from high praisse to low, from the tabernacle to the temple, from what is acceptable to God to what is acceptable to man.

The picture above is from Mayan Herod, also called Gideons Spring where he chose 300 men to fight against an army without number. This was an act of worship with abandon, to whittle your army down to 300 men against the nations of the east.
Let us ponder abandon for a bit.

The Family Plot

I think that we just happened along past this in the hillside. This is what the tomb that Jesus was buried in would have looked like from the outside with the stone and all. We stopped, but didn't get out which was fine, as I am still not sure of this tombs status, but what a way to be disposed of, eh? covered with things that you hope will smell better than you can ever smell bad and shut up in something like this to keep animals out. I'm not sure that I'd be willing to go.

Cesarea
Just to the left there was where we ended up sitting and learing about Herod and what he built, what was common for any roman city built outside of Rome. An amphitheater, a race track for horses and chariots, an arena.
Here was the amphitheater. They claim that the accoustics are so good that you can get a way with a whisper and here it in the top row. I was called upon to stand and sing and so I sang Amazing Grace and the group sang along.
My group was sitting on the left there just in front of the aisle where the tunnels came out and I stood at ground level- someone told me that was where I should stand. Perhaps the stage would have been better- and it was pretty amazing to get to sing in a place like that.


Cesarea is an on going archeological dig as is shown here and a port city on the mediteranean sea. I'm sure that it was grand when it was newly built, and even now the beauty of the sea is phenomenal.
In the middle of this picture are some columns that had been recovered and in the forground is the stage from the far left side of the stage in the topmost row of seating. Despite that it was built by Herod who murdered every male child under two, it was a marvel.

I asked my friend Seraphim to pray and ask God for a word of encouragement and this is what he received and in turn, I received;

Seems to me I'm hearing the Lord say:

"Elijah didn't hear me in the storm, or in the earth shake, but in the still small voice -- but for you, you'll only hear my voice in the storm."

Then,

"life is problems living is solving them. the peace you ask for is not the peace of a quiet sunny meadow, the peace you seek is the peace of the bird dreaming in her nest safe in her home in the tree in the middle of the terrible thunder storm.

you asked that i use you in this war. know that i am beginning to use your intercessory dance and prayer to move back the darkness in the territory i've placed you in. you may never see the results in the physical, but one day, when you are with me in eternity i will show you what you have reaped

i love you and am with you. remember el shaddai is also the God of the Storm."

An interesting correlation that I had never heard before.
When a close family member in the jewish tradition, a piece of cloth from their clothing is torn as sign of mourningand the clothing that it is cut from is worn for 5 days without respite and then burned. Clothing being something that guards our manifest being from many things and hides our vulnerabilities and nakedness.
Scritpure speaks of the body as a house and as a temple. Jesus said I will destroy this temple and in three days raise it up. He spoke of cleaning house in reference to deliverance.
Now, I wish that I had this revelation on my own, but I really have to be led down the path by the hand.
The tabernacle- outer courts, holy place and holy of holies, a tri-part structure with a veil to hide the heart of God which is the mercy seat and at the moment that Jesus spirit left his body, according to Mark, the veil, the covering over God's heart was torn in two. The Father mourning for His Son, who had just cried out, "Why have you forsaken me!"
He tore the veil, the clothing that covered his manifest presence in an act of grief (not repentance, but grief)
Amazing love, how can it be...

After Cesarea we went to Megido overlooking the Jezreel valley.

Re 16:16 - Show ContextHe gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, "Har-Megiddo."

Megido is a geological formation called a tel like in Tel Aviv and it means that it is a hill that has been built upon a city in ruins. Megido was conoquered 26 times and some sites were rebuilt each time with the same purpose. They know that one circular platform has always been the site of a temple and referred to in scripture as a high place and the place that they have always thought were stables, though, they have recently concluded may have been for grain storage.
The reason that the site was so desirable was that it overlooked the crossroads of commerce, it was the center of the fertile crescent.I tried to get a panorama shot from the side, but I don't know how that will turn out.

Well, I was going to try to do this in order, but I am moved to share about my baptism in the Jordan.
One of my travel mates is a knowledgable teacher and shared with me some of his knowledge on baptism. It was part of the rite of initiation into the levitical priesthood and included an anointing with oil, and so understanding that I have a place amongst the levites I bought a ram's horn shofar to fill with oil and and some oil to fill it.
I went to Israel to see the beginning of the time of my destiny, and I was baptised about thirty years from the time I was first baptised in water by the same man, which I was pretty excited about. Gary has always believed in me and a calling on my life, so he was absolutely okay with a change in protocol on my behalf, the only problem was that I didn't look at the hole in the bottle and know how it would fill the horn before I did it and so where I intended to have about 2 ounces dumped on me, about 5 drops came out, so Gary filled the horn with water and proceeded.
I contemplated breaking the bottle and dumping what I could into the horn, but I was standing in the place prepared for baptisms and did not want broken glass in the pool to be any part of my legacy there and so it was left to water to carry the oil out of the horn.
Oddly enough, though I didn't understand God not interfering in my weak planning to encourage me on into the future, I was frustrated by it, as has often been the case in times past.
And I don't yet know what seeds of ministry were planted but they were well watered. Soon it will all be in the open and I won't have big money worries, just worries about making my connections, but that's a whole other story.

Let's see. We left Seattle sunday and spent a bit of time in London monday. Went to the tube station that lets out across the street from Big Ben, then flew out for Tel Aviv that night to arrive at about 0430. We were all a little ragged at that point.
We got on the bus and met Devorah, without doubt the most insightful and knowledgable guide in the Holy Land and we were off and running. We went to Herod's port city at Cesarea where I was asked to sing from the base of the stage to illustrate the great acoustics in such a place. I also got to climb a little bit on the old viaduct that ran from Carmel to Cesarea.
This is Jacob, Reed and myself where
the viaduct ends in Cesarea.

We drove through and saw the huge banana farms and learned some about the kibutz in the area.
Devorah also talked about how the Rothschilds started a vineyard there for Carmel Wines, but she never mentioned what they do with the prickley pear cactus that were being farmed, and there were some other places as well. Too Tired to catch it then, too tired to remember it now.
Talk about sensory overload.

I just got in last night after being in Israel for 7 days- two days in Tiberias and 5 days in Jerusalem. Too much to put here in one day but I think that I will try and re-live some of it here over the next little while.
The hardest part of the trip was witnessing how thoughtless people can be, and I was probably the most. I typically come with the attitude that people are christians and will approach things from a conservative standpoint with grace and mercy abounding. Especially when we were in a foreign land.
I have come to the conclusion that the older generation believes that they did everything possible during world war two and the holocaust is just history that the time for reaction is past... That cleanliness really is next to godliness... That you are safe in any country if you are an american and any opinion that wanders into your head has validity no one has the right to stop you from sppeaking it out no matter how inane it is... It is incumbent on your tour host and guide to allow you to wander at will and then to come and find you at the expense of time and the hopes of others that are on the tour.
That off my chest, I had a great time. Baptised in the Jordan by the man who baptised me thirty odd years ago, diving into the Dead Sea (a challenge from somebody at church... it only hurt for a while- the aftermath is like rubbing your eyes with rock salt) and walking barefoot in places where it is certain that Jesus walked.
I'll tell details later on some of these things. Comment if you have questions.
t

faithful are the wounds of a friend

Today was a bit rough.
There is a brother that I work with that came up in Shreveport, La. who is a black man. Two cultural differences that I am trying to deal with and I keep coming up on the wrong side of things.
Twice his name has come up in duscussions of sexual harrasment, and yet I really don't believe that he's guilty in either case- One isn't really even worthy of mentioning and we collectively (road supervisor team) made the decision that it was most likely a misunderstanding, and to some degree, a scatter-gun vendetta kind of a deal.
Today he was talking to a white girl that is dating a black man, and makes it no secret. He was chatting with her this morning and some statements were made that could be easily misunderstood if they were taken out of context (that's how I heard them- out of context) and then they were reported by someone that was not involved in the conversation to someone that tends to believe the worst of people. All around it is a somewhat volatile box of tinder.
I spoke to him as much to protect him as to communicate the official word on the subject, but I came away feeling so wrong. I believe in justice and I believe that I am as responsible for it as anyone else, and I'm thinking that a man feels accused of an act that just isn't in him... twice... and I'm not sure that he knows that he's important to me and the company.
I have to study to understand this harrassment business. Particularly since the person who spoke out has made me uncomfortable with things that she has said in the past.
When the "victim" was asked about it, she said that she could handle whatever was happening- isn't this something outside of the definition of harrassment? Isn't harrassment something that is defined on a case by case basis by the "victim" of unwanted attention?
I feel as though I have done a dis-service to my boss as hurting my friend who I believe is without guilt in this instance.
I don't know if I'll come back to this subject or not, but I have purged a minute amount of my angst here so far.
We'll see what tomorrow brings.

I got into a discussion on theooze last night about grace and how hard it is to receive or understand. I don't know whether I brought them up or Catie did, but the position of the Jews came into it- Ah, it was whether or not the church is getting better with age.
My view is that the church suffers the same kind of effect that the rest of creation seems to- the further from creation, the further the fall.
She brought up the Hebrew being the chosen people, and it seems to me that God said "Hey Abe, I like you and I'm going to do something here for you," but over time He regretted His decision a little and told them that He chose them because they were just enough to identify, but not enough to bew taken seriously and therefore He could show His intentions t'ward man through them.
The Jews are chosen to provide a deliverer, a saviour, the Christ, but they have chosen to be really quite passive about it, other than when they adamantly deny that it is Jesus.
And the church today shudders at change. God doesn't change, but our angle of observation does and we need to realize that it is happening, rather than denying that we can see Him from another side.
Which leads us to the question of the engagement of the flesh these kinds of matters. We have to stop being afraid of it. The flesh will not just lay quietly down to die, and so we must expect it to roll about, and make a ruckus- it's dying, after all. Or at the very least swelling up so that you can see the need to treat the infection.
These are certainly interesting times we live in. And I hope that I'm at least 65% right about my stuff, here. The other 35%... I can't identify it or it would change.Let me know if you have a thought.