We all have problems. It doesn't matter who we are or where we are, what our station in life is, our race, gender, nationality, religious choice or any other way we can differentiate ourselves from each other. We feel pain or anger or are tempted to do something that we know is wrong or get angry or whatever; we have problems.

But sometimes our problems get more personal. We feel pain deeper, we are more lonely. Sometimes it seems like our temptations come at us faster, more frequently and with more power and are far more difficult to resist. Lust is closer to overwhelming us, and guilt and shame seem almost too much to bear. Our anger flares hotter and tears flow more freely and it is so easy to isolate ourselves. We feel so powerless and we feel so small and it just seems to keep coming and coming until there seems like there is nothing left to do but drop to our knees and shout "Oh, dear God! PLEASE! help."

WDJWMTD?

OK so here's how this is going to go down. I am trying to make a point about how WWJD(what would Jesus do) misses the point of how we should behave or maybe think as Christians. What triggered this thought process was seeing a bumper sticker on a car that read WWDD (what would dumbledore do). I was even all set up to pull passages from the Holy Bible to support my case. But I just don't think that way, at least not in this phase of my life anyway.

So what is wrong with WWJD? the very wording makes several suggestions to me that I am uncomfortable with.

First and foremost is the implication that Jesus is not with us. What would Jesus do (if he were here). That seems to imply that Jesus is not here and we are alone and on our own to figure things out so here we are stuck without a clue as to what to do next. But my understanding of how I was taught is that Jesus is here with us now and he is always willing to help us if we just listen. This same implication also indicates to me that we are to assume a backwards looking mentality. After all if Jesus is not here with us now then all we can do is think in terms of what we should do relative to an ancient time and culture that for the most part has little to do with us now. Now that does not mean to say that we should not take cues from the Bible. The Bible makes many points about life that are still relevant today. But Jesus was pretty clear about living in the present and let the past go.

So my point in all of this is to not ask what would Jesus do, as if he left us alone in the past but think more in terms of the present, the here and now and our relationship with the living Jesus Christ who is with each and everyone of us right now, right here, where ever here and now might be for you my reader; and ask; What Does Jesus Want Me To Do?

A Thought

As a general rule I try to avoid doing a whole lot of searching for signs or symbols or codes in the bible, but occasionally a thought strikes me that there may be more than the obvious in some places in the bible.

Most recently I was thinking about "The Seven Last Words of Christ", I have a copy on my IPod and I had listened to parts of it recently, and the thought struck me that maybe when Jesus spoke of his thirst he was not only speaking of the physical thirst which surely must have been as severe as any other pain he was suffering, but that maybe he could have been also alluding to being cut off from the water of life as an extension of his earlier question, "At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, eloi, lema sabachthani?", which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
(Mar 15:34 ISV)(e-Sword)

This video is well worth viewing, it gives a more clear picture of what global warming is all about.


Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

More Excuses

I am back again, drawn to the blank screen feeling a need to write. But what should I write about? A poem perhaps? No, a poet I am not or at least not a very good one. My written work still tends to be more prose, so sometimes I do write proetry. Maybe proetry is not a real word, yet it describes what I sometimes write and i have seen or experienced or maybe even felt the works of others that wasn't really poetry but at the same time not exactly prose either. Proetry is a sort of writing that contains more imagery then prose but without the rhythm or rhyme of poetry and sometimes it contains the feelings in both.

So anyway, here I am feeling compelled to write. I like to think that it is God who is calling me to write but I still don't feel much inspiration to write anything of any real substance. I suspect that part of the lack of inspiration and passion comes from my feelings of depression. For a long time now I have been in a deep place that is more than just an emotional sense of sadness or despair or depression. There is a physical sens to this depression as well, and that is really hard to explain. I don't want to say it is like a weight on my shoulders though I imagine that some others who experience this my feel that very way. I do feel closed in like there is a skin tight shell around me, This shell does not protect me from the physical world yet there is a physical sense like a garment in constant contact with my flesh and hair. I think that this shell does insulate me, to some undefined degree, from the social world around me. Sometimes the sense of the shell closes in so it feels like it is wrapping around my mind; at these times I find it easy to slip into a trans like dissociative state that tunes me out of what is going on around me. I am not completely tuned out nor in a total trans like state because I can come out of it instantly in times of need so I am not totally out of control and, to be honest, I am not sure if anyone has ever actually caught me or been aware of me being in a trans like state. But sometimes this state can be a nuisance, say for instance when I sit down to write post for this blog, then the shell begins to close in, my mind empties of thoughts that I may have had about writing and I sit staring at a blank screen not knowing what to write. To compound the matter, there is a certain sense of comfort when I am in this state, I am alone, my mind is more quiet than usual, there is almost a feeling of numbness not only emotionally but aches and pains seem to recede and become distant.


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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly
via FoxyTunes

Getting Re-Started

I think that if I want to continue blogging I need to just start writing. I have had such a long dry spell that it is almost as if I forgot how to write. That is not the case but anyway, I think that I will just start putting whatever I can down even if it does not make much sense. Heck in this day and age what does make sense anyway?

This evening I helped with Wednesday WRAP at my church.

---copied from FPCMesa webpage---

"Wednesday WRAP is an after-school program that runs from 4:30 until 7:30pm and includes Bible study, recreation, worship (bell and vocal choirs), service opportunities and dinner for children, youth and adults (3 years through 12 th grade). Registration is necessary for youth and children, and the cost for entire school year is $80 per student, most of which covers the cost of dinner (scholarships available). Registration forms available in the church office or at the WRAP registration table." ---end copied text---

It starts at 4:30pm and goes till 7:30pm and includes a low cost evening meal for $2.00 each. There are lots of activities for the kids as well as time set aside for Bible study and worship. The activities include games and crafts and even guitar lessons and rehearsals for some of the music ministry programs at my church I help by volunteering to help in any way I can which usually means cleaning up in the kitchen after dinner. I don't mind the clean up at all, after all it is still a needed part of the ministry. At the moment this is what God has called me to do as well as continuing to be involved in the sound and recording ministry. I control the audio recording part of the sound system in the sanctuary, the recordings are put onto CD,s for the sick and shut ins or whoever would like a copy of one of the services and the sermon is copied into a file of its own and posted on the church's webpage for anyone who is interested in listening to the sermon. The webpage posting got started as a response to a member of the congregation who served a mission in Iraq and wanted a way to keep in touch with what was going on in the church back home.

That is about all I can think of for now.
See you in the future!
David

It has been too long since my last post. I will not belabor you with needless excuses. I simply apologize and now move on. So far it has been an "interesting" time these last few years of my life. I have been busy at times and at other times not really doing much of anything and at still others, while not busy, I have found myself distracted by many outside influences or forces. At any rate here I am again.