Honor Upons One's Death

In the end,

whether its through the completion

of some small or great endeavor;

or upon passing from this world into the next -

the honor and respect given to us in remembrance,

is almost always commensurate

to the honor and respect

we had given to each endeavor

and/or to our life out of which we lived.

Reality and Perception

The Fullness Of Reality Is Known
Not Only By What Is Obvious To Us
But Also Through The Perception Of What Is Missing -

That Is Always There.

This Is Why Many Of Us Are Haunted
With The Troubling Sense
That At Best
Our Existence Is Only Half Of What It Should Be.

Merely Good Intentions

"Good Intentions"

Without Resolve

Is At Worst A Lie

At Best Self-Deception

Wrapped In Rationalization -

Away From A Heart

That's Was Convicted

The Witness of "Imago Dei"

We Can Know If A Local Church

FAILS

In Its Divinely Given God-Given Purpose,

When Any ONE PERSON Within It,

Is A More Authentic Representation

Of Jesus Christ,

Than The SUM TOTAL Of The Individuals

Within The CONGREGATION Itself.

It Must Be The Comprehensive Witness

Of The "Imago Dei"

"If the highest good,

is only the provision of everyone's

basic physical needs;

then the individual's pursuit

of aesthetic beauty

becomes one of the greatest evils."

Exactly at what point do our "needs" end and the "superfluous" begin? There is both an "absolute" and "relative" dynamic to both - particularly as they relate to the responsibility to the individual; as well as responsible economics. If I live strictly according to my basic needs, and give what I would have spent to the "needy;" then those who were employed because of the "superfluous" now become the "needy".

Wisdom in the Crucible

So Many Of The Great Challenges Within Our Life,

Are All About Navigating The "Kinds" Of Choices
That We Need To Make,

When The Assumptions That We Bring To Life,

Never Come To Pass..."

(rsg 7/23/2010)

Do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you;
Love her and she will watch over you.
Proverbs 4:6

Those Who Habitually

Jump To Conclusions


Habitually Reveal

Some Inner Fear

(rsg 07/12/2010)

Confession

True Confession Before Christ

Necessarily Means Embracing The Kind of Inner Honesty

For Which Eternal Separation Becomes

Not Only A Vivid Possibility,

But A "JUST" One As Well.

On The Other Hand,

The ABILITY To Truly Confess

Also Necessarily Means That The Confessor

Is Now Bathed and Swathed

In The Surpassing Grace Of A Loving God.

Why Everyone Shouldn't Get A Trophy - (Among A Whole Host Of Other Things)

If We All Wait

For EVERYONE To Catch Up

REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Then NO ONE Gets Ahead

And We ALL Languish

In Smoldering, Paralyzing MEDIOCRITY.

The Inconvenient Truth Is...

That For Those Whose Vision And Efforts

Have Moved Them On AHEAD

("Inequity" Isn't Always Synonymous With "Unfair")

They Blaze The Trail For Those Behind

Whose Arrowed Road Sign Reads:

"This Way To The Realm Of Possibilities"

Good Government

Thoughts About July 4th: Good Government Happens (When Those In Power) Establish Laws, That Strike A Balance Between The Oppression Of The Individual And The Collective Good Of Individuals Within A Society. At Issue: Liberals = Individuals Are To Be More Morally Free And Economically Restrictive. Conservatives = Individuals Are To Be More Morally Restrictive And Economically Free.

(rsg 6/29/2010)

Young Adult Maturity

TRUE MATURITY Is Achieved Among YOUNG ADULTS

When Their RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

Live In A Harmonious Relationship

With Freely Embraced PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY...

Why is it, that when we have identified a legitimate NEED, that we usually leap to the conclusion, that the ONLY logical recourse is to make it an ENTITLEMENT? It's like having a debilitating ITCH in the middle of our back, that can't be reached, and someone else becomes RESPONSIBLE for locating, purchasing, delivering and facilitating a BACK-SCRATCHIER with which to bring about our relief.

ORTHOPRAXY

There Are "IDEALS"...

And Then There Is "REALITY"...

The Balanced Assimilation Of These Two

Creates The Ever Elusive Phenomena Called

"ORTHOPRAXY"

[Ortho = Correct (Implying Belief or Ethic) & Praxis = Deed]

Journaling

To Capture A "Thought"

In Written Form

Is To Declare With Some Permanence

The Perception Of "Reality."

Meditation

Out Of The Intentional And Quiet Moments

Within Our Soul

Come The Authentic Possibilities

For The Kind Of Activity

That Are Truly Redemptive And Life-Giving...

For Ourselves As Well As For Others.

Parent or Friend

A Parent Can Be A Friend To Their Child Only To The Degree That It Begins To Interfere With Their Ability To Mature and To Be Competent. After That... The Most Necessary Thing Is To Simply Be Their Parent. It Is Not About Being "Liked" During The Interim... Love And Respect Come Later In Life Because You Lovingly Guided Them Into The Fullness Of Their Potential...

Excerpt - The Eternal Now - Thomas R. Kelley

In The Immediate Experience Of The Presence,The Now Is No Mere Nodal Point Between The Past And The Future. It Is The Region of Divine Presence Itself

No longer is the ribbon spread out with equal vividness before one, for the past matters less and the future matters less, for the Now contains all that is needed for the absolute satisfaction of our deepest cravings.

Why want, and yearn, and struggle, when the Now contains all one could ever wish for, and more? The present Now is not something from which we hurriedly escape, toward what is hoped will be a better future.

Instead of anxiety lest the future never yield all, we have hoped, lest we fail to contribute our full stint before the shadows of the evening fall upon our lives, we only breathe a quiet prayer to the Now and say: “Stay, thou art so sweet,”

Instead of anxiety lest our past, our past defects, our long-standing deficiencies blight our well-intentioned future efforts, all our past sense of weakness falls away and we stand erect, in this holy Now, joyous, serene, assured, unafraid.

Between the relinquished past and the untrodden future stands this holy Now, whose bulk has swelled to cosmic size, for within the Now is the dwelling place of God Himself. In the Now we are at home at last.

Is it just me, or do the crystal clear images associated with each of the upcoming days, weeks, months and years, become less and less vivid and more and more of an obscure blur - gaining speed and losing clarity with each succeeding year I live? I need to take Brother Lawrence & Thomas R. Kelly's admonition and learn to live in the "Eternal Now."

Spring Awakening

Last Night While Quietly Biking After Dark

I Felt In The Star-Filled Skies

A Startling Sense Of Vibrancy

Caused By The Cool, Clear, Crisp, Feel

And Smell Of The Spring-Time Air

Heightened Even More By Plunging Through

Assorted Pockets Of A Heavy Powerful Elixir -

The Exhilarating Aroma

Of Apple Tree Blossoms

ATTITUDE AND HEART

I Would Like To Have Seen

The Whole World With Eyes

Incapable Of Anything But Wonder,

And A Tongue Fluent Only In Praise

(Pay Conroy - Prince of Tides)

Disagreeing With Liberal Ideology Is Not The Same As Racism

A Letter To The Editor, In Response To Newspaper Beaver County Times, Editor JD Prose (03/28/10), That To Disagree With Liberal Progressives and Barak Obama - Is The Same As Racism.

I was not surprised by J.D. Prose's most recent column that accused anyone of not agreeing with President Barack Obama's policies as being a racist. (Question: how would Prose explain conservatives Lynn Swann, Michael Steele, Clarence Thomas and Alan Keyes?)

With feigned concern, Prose demurs sanctimoniously that these same people virtually invented hate-speech. Notably, Prose conveniently ignores the endless vitriol aimed at conservatives, particularly by hate-speech purveyors and apostles Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann and Joy Bahar, and even organizations like MoveOn.org.

Prose's poisoned penned jabs are either irresponsibly uniformed and/or intellectually disingenuous to consistently leverage alleged (many unsubstantiated - abhorrent if true) comments and activities from the fringe (endemic to both political parties) to make his best argument, raising the question of whether he's an ideologically bound propagandist or thoughtful journalist?

Parroting talking points from far-left leaning websites resembles many of the journalistic practices of the former Soviet Union's media outlets: Pravda and Tass.

People can genuinely rejoice in the election of an African American (who ran as a moderate) and still reject without being racist the inexorable attempts at social re-engineering, wealth-redistribution, entitlement machinations, legislative violations and financial shell games from ardent liberals.

Rich Grassel

Ambridge

Wednesday March 31, 2010 02:25 AM

Some Thoughts On The New Healthcare Law - Ok, Its A Bit of a Rant!

In Light of Government Healthcare Reform: There is no EMPIRICAL evidence that it works. NONE! There are no real firm FISCAL figures! NONE! How about Democratic TRANSPARENCY? NONE! Effort for real BIPARTISANSHIP? NONE! Chance that Reid & Pelosi intend to stop without pursuing Universal Single Payer Healthcare? NONE! UNBIASED Elite Media in their reporting? NONE! That the AVERAGE AMERICAN has actually taken the time to carefully think through the precedents socially and economically of the Healthcare Bill? NONE! That PA Democrats who will survive this Fall? NONE!

"The nose of the Camel is now underneath the tent." The intent by the Democrats is to have the entire Camel in the tent, with us... Here are my thoughts:

1. When 32 million people - about 17 million of which are young singles - many of whom opt out to pocket the extra cash, become dependent, there will be no turning back...

In addition, this is not a static number... as time goes by and young adults mature they will have to be added...


2. In response to the claim that there will be lower health insurance premiums: How can you tell Insurance Companies that they now have to do the following:

a. Sign on dependents up to age 26

b. Ban limits on life-time coverage

c. Not deny people for pre-existing conditions

d. Insure 32 million people who were heretofore not insured

Where will this EXTRA money come from? We are talking billions upon billions of dollars - ad infinitum.... To borrow a line from President Obama: "Let me be clear..." Its not that we shouldn't be compassionate about all the above... its the HOW and the WAY we get to it that matters...

Point: Insurance Companies (who's average profit margin is 4%) will have to pass those costs on to you and me...

Now follow this...

For two full-time staff people we pay almost $1,900.00 A MONTH for Health Insurance. If our Insurance Premiums go up to say $2,800 - $3,200 A MONTH, then Non-profit groups like ours may say: "To heck with it! we can't pay this... We are dropping our Healthcare Insurance benefit for employees, pay the $800.00 PER YEAR fine for each individual and let the Federal Government do the rest - THROUGH OUR TAX DOLLARS... We now become dependent forever, like those other 32 million, on the Federal Government. Washington bureaucrats increasingly will now become responsible for the decisions related to our personal decisions related to healthcare.

LOOK THIS IS THEIR PLAN AND IT WILL BE ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE IT HAPPENS... IT HAS TOO....

In the end, you and I will be paying for the uninsured BY PROXY, through Higher Insurance Premiums... Largely without the government having to officially tax Individuals and Families. It's a beautiful thing isn't it? The real taxes will be passed on to those making more than $250,000.00 per year, who already pay about 50% in taxes already... Note: The bottom 45% of all income makers pay NO INCOME TAX AT ALL... AND MOST GET WHAT IS CALLED: "AN EARNED INCOME TAX BENEFIT" TRANSLATION: the Federal Gov't gives them money, in the form of a tax return, for not making enough money...

3. Special Interest Groups - you know the groups that the Administration regularly attacks, as if they are completely innocent themselves, play a huge role here... In the Form of NO TORT REFORM... Billions of dollars are spent every year in defensive medicine and frivolous law suits... but because of the Obama Administration's, er, um how shall we say this: "night-time companions" - Did you know that the Trial Lawyers Special Interest Group, are exempt from any complicity in the burgeoning cost of Health Care.

4. For the first time in the History of the United States... You and I are being required to buy something very personal against our wishes by the government... This is the essence of socialism... Sorta like the Obama Administration saying: "GM Auto is to big to fail, the anyone seeking to purchase a new car will have to buy from GM only." This of course could never happen because the Autoworker Union would never permit something like that down the road ... Right?

5. Getting back to my original post: There is NO EVIDENCE ANYWHERE that Government sponsored Healthcare Works well. Not in Russia, China, all of Europe or even Canada. For example: In Canada, if you need an MRI you will wait almost a month, but your CAT can get one the NEXT DAY!!!

This whole process has been smoke and mirrors, dis-ingenious, intellectually dishonest and yes even a bit evil. And the part that the Elite Media has played on this is a violation of everything that has to do with what Journalism is supposed to be... they really ought to rename themselves either PRAVDA or TASS...

Psalm 1:3 The Giving of Life In Life

1. ANSWER This carefully:

What Person Do You Know,

Who When You Are In Their Presence

"GIVES YOU LIFE," and why?

2. DON'T ANSWER This - But Think About It Carefully:

What Person Do You Know

That When They Are In Your Presence

"YOU GIVE THEM LIFE," and Why?

Before We Die

For Many Of Us...

One Of Our Last Rational Thoughts That We Have...

Before We Die

And Cross Over

[Victorious?]

The Finish Line From This Life Into The Next...

Is To Dare To Look Back Over The Course Of Our LIFE...

The "RACE" That We Had Just Run...

Complete With Whatever Kind Of

Discipline We Employed,

Strength We Exercised

And Heart That We Exerted...

And We Look Deep, Deep Inside

And Ask Ourselves...

[In A Voice With Quiet Intensity]

"Could WE Have Done Qualitatively Better?"

"Could WE Have Given More?"

"Did WE Give It ALL away?"

AS WE RAN WITH THOSE WHO RAN WITH US...

[That We Said We Loved]

"Did My Great Commitments In Life

Spur My COMPANIONS

To GREATNESS In Their Life?"

Perhaps... We Are Secretly TERRIFIED

[That Maybe, Just Maybe]

That During The Course Of OUR Life

Our MOST Faithful and Closest COMPANION Was

The Specter Named: "MEDIOCRITY"

Who Was Mantled Around Us The Entire Time...

rsg 1/26/2010

(1 Cor. 3:12-15)

The Great Swiss Psychologist
Paul Tournier Said:

Most People Spend Their Entire Lives
Indefinitely Preparing To Live...

Why Neither Hyper-Capitalism and Socialism Will Work

Fundamentally...

When It Comes To

Hyper-Capitalism and Economic Social Progressivism [Socialism]EACH fails to work for the same sort of reason…

Hyper-Capitalism fails because the individual,
as a matter of personal principle

works hard only for themselves; and
Socialism fails because individuals,

as a matter of personal principle,
will not work hard for the other.

Selfishness and Pride
will not be easily filtered

by ANY economic and/or political theory.