Category: Life

The Pedagogy of Animals

thegarden God created the animal kingdom for our joy, but also for our instruction…

From birds we learn freedom from care,
From ants we learn industriousness and teamwork,
From dogs we learn loyalty and selflessness,
From cats we learn stillness and contemplation,
From rabbits we learn alertness,
From squirrels we learn inventiveness and persistence,
From horses we learn sensitivity and cooperation,
From elephants we learn wisdom from experience,
From fish we learn diversity,
From each other we are meant to learn love.

Gun Control Debate

nogunBecause of the recent tragic events at Newtown, CT, the country returns once more to one of its favorite bones to gnaw, gun control. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not own a gun and can’t imagine a reason I would ever want to—except for zombie apocalypse—but I have no problem at all if my fellow citizen wants to own one legally.

Should my fellow citizen have a good reason to own a gun, as defined by other citizens? I don’t think so. Why? The Second Amendment to the Constitution not withstanding, what constitutes a “good reason?” Is sport a good reason? Varmint control? Personal protection? Collecting? What may seem a valid reason to the gun buyer, may not be one for you or me. Should my fellow citizen have the ability to purchase an AR with a 30 round magazine? Sure, why not? And for the same reasons.

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Yes Virginia, there is a Devil

bleakEnough digital ink has been spilled over the horrible massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, so I’m not going to add to it except to say that yes, there is evil in the world; real evil, perpetuated by a real entity intent on destroying human beings.

Our Lord said of him, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”¹

Jesus was speaking here of the devil, Satan, Beelzebub, whichever name you prefer. It’s not fashionable in our modern age to believe in the boogeyman. This is all a superstitious fantasy according to the wise and learned. But this is exactly how the devil wants it. He doesn’t want us to believe in him. He wants to corrupt, and twist, and pervert in the shadows. He wants to kill, mutilate, and debase in disguise.

His is the malignant voice that whispers in the sad, mad, deluded, lonely ears of Adam Lanza, Timothy McVey, Charles Manson, Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, and on and on, fueling the hate in their broken minds so that they will carry out his evil plans.

And it is the devil’s voice that whispers into your ear and mine. He will assure us that all is chaos, that we are lost, forsaken, forgotten, and excluded from the love of God. He will patiently draw us to the brink of despair and then push us over, just as he did to Judas. He does it every single day, every single hour, every minute, he never rests.

My friends, he is very real, and he is a liar!

The devil is defeated. His time is at an end, appearances to the contrary. The final word was spoken from the cross, “It is finished.”²  In this life we will have tribulations and trials, that’s a guarantee. We will suffer the effects of the devil’s evil: violence, treachery, bigotry, hatred, and disorder, but this is not the end.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’³

¹John 8:44
²John 19:30
³Rev 21:3-4
All quotations from the NIV

From Ages Past

clothbookBy F.O.B. William ~

At one by book was made of cotton
and on the cover was a great big cat.
I loved it and hugged it and gummed it,
until the time I began to chat.

At four my book had a nice hard cover
with thrilling stories of Dick and Jane and Spot,
I must confess, however,
that I don’t remember a single plot.

My eighth grade book was big and fat
was written by some old English dude.
His lines were sometimes strange and funny
but to find fault would be so very rude.

The books in high school and college were very huge
and some were very difficult to read.
The say though that I managed to get through them all,
but I did skip a lot of pages, this I must plead.

And now the old eyes have dimmed
and reading presents quite a lot of strain.
But now I have my great copy of Senior Times
and all, again, is right as rain.