The neti pot experience

This is probably the grossest thing I've done... well... since the last time I did it.

The first time I've learned about it, was in January of this year, when I had a sinus infection. Man, that thing REALLY cleans you out!

Here's how it goes...

1. Get Neti Pot (I got mine at Wholefoods, but I heard that Bed, Bath & Beyond has it too).

2. Get salt that comes with it. Sea salt works fine too.

3. Get a cup of warm water, not too hot, not too cold, and dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of salt in it, and put it into the Neti Pot.

4. Now comes the fun part! Put the spout in one nostril and turn your head and let it pour through your head (!) -Do you remember ever being in the water and doing a summer salt and then getting your nose and head completely full of water -yeah, same feeling!

5. Blow your nose. Wow, it's amazing to see all that was stuck up in there!

6. Do it again with the other nostril! YEAH!!

Oh, and here's some fun links too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8KOsNtpV8w

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neti_pot

Urgent Call to Prayer: Signs of the Times

I just got this in my email and I wanted to pass it on to all y'all. It's something that's, in part, been on my heart for quite a while too now, and I'm glad that the alarm is now being sounded on a much larger scale...



Urgent Call to Prayer: Signs of the Times

Convergence

It is critical that the church in America understands the times and what needs to be done now. The natural things speak of the invisible. Natural happenings on the earth are revealing something that is going on in the spiritual realm. There is a great spiritual conflict with a rising tide of Islamic boldness being manifested. Several happenings are converging this week. First of all, our President has recently proclaimed, honored, encouraged the Muslim holy days of prayer and fasting called Ramadan. He was very silent on the National Day of Prayer but very vocal on the support of Ramadan. Interestingly at the same time a major Christian leader of the Emergent Church called for forty days of fasting and prayer in the same Ramadan period with the goal that the church will better understand our Muslim friends. We are all for understanding but we must have spiritual discernment as to the spiritual dark powers that are being invoked into our nation.

Cause for Concern

At the same time, on the 25th of September, Muslims are calling for a Muslim Day of Prayer in Washington DC (http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/). They are calling for 50,000 Muslims to gather and pray on the DC Mall. This is the exact word of one of the Sheikhs who is leading this historic gathering, “Muslims should march on the White House. We are going to the White House so that Islam will be victorious, Allah willing, and the White House will become into a Muslim house.” These are not empty words. They speak of a dark spiritual intent and a coming day of great trouble to America.

A Divine Moment

Now one of these events is enough to awaken us to this significant throbbing moment, but when they all converge it becomes a massive spiritual alarm that must be responded to by the praying Church. However, I believe in this moment of divine providence God has raised up on the stage of history a little “Esther” that if we pray and fast for her she could be a major voice to expose the dark under-belly of Islam and radiate a bright hope for a day of salvation for Muslims in America.

Headlines

On Monday, Rifqa Bary, a young 17-year-old woman, will be in the headlines of US news. Four years ago, while living in a very devout and radical Muslim home, Rifqa met Jesus in a powerful way as her savior. She hid her conversion, began praying secretly, and began hiding her bible from her parents. Then, on Facebook, her love for Jesus was exposed to the radical Muslim community in Ohio. Rifqa’s father demanded that she renounce Jesus or he would kill her as is commanded by the Koran. As a radiant believer in Jesus she refused to renounce her Lord and fled to Orlando where she was taken in and cared for by a Christian Church and family. Now, the father is appealing to the courts to bring her back under his custody. Major television networks have already covered her story. How must the Church of America respond in this moment for our sister who is a part of the Body of Christ?

A Major Sign

This convergence, I believe, is urgently summoning us in the midst of the rising tide of Islamic influence in America to recognize that our God is above every god and that if we return to Him with all of our hearts and call upon Him with fasting and prayer then God could use what the enemy meant for evil to bring about a great day of salvation for Muslims in America, of which Rifqa is but a major sign.

Here is The Call

First of all, we cannot be passive as a Church to let these kinds of developments go on without being challenged in the spirit. Our fight is not against Muslims, it is against principalities, powers, and forces of darkness. We are calling the Church of America at the end of Ramadan, from September 21st through 25th, to five days of concerted prayer. On Monday, we must pray that God would grant supernatural wisdom to the courts so that the testimony of Jesus would be proclaimed and that the best situation for Rifqa and her family would take place. We must pray for Rifqa to be bold in proclaiming Jesus that even thousands of Muslims would hear and be awakened to the love of Christ. She has already said that this is not about her but about many Muslims coming to Jesus. We must pray for her lawyers who are being bullied, threatened, and challenged on every side. On Friday, September 25th, the Muslim Day of Prayer, we are calling the Church of America to fast and pray that Muslims would be moved by the Holy Spirit, convicted by the testimony of Christ, and even be visited by Jesus in dreams. We must pray that God would restrain the spiritual powers behind Islam and grant us the great awakening that we desperately need for America.

Let us hear the call to prayer and not miss this moment,

Lou Engle
The Call

going to another church

This post is just to clarify something that's been on my mind for a while now and I'm still getting asked about it, so I hope this will help a little.

I've been going to a different church for about 5 weeks now, and really liking it a lot. It's called Spectrum Church, located in Chula Vista. It's not that the one I've been going to, South Coast Community Church is bad or something bad happened, but that I've changed (the classic "it's not you -it's me" :-P ).

I've been around a lot of different denominations growing up, and also more on fire for God, or less at different times too. And maybe in the last year or so, I've been increasingly feeling like I'm missing a lot of the manifestations and guidance of the Spirit during the services that I've been use to growing up with. I know that SouthCoast leadership believes in all that, but I've been missing the real hands-on application that I've been "participating in" at other churches, such as Spectrum (I also occasionally visit the bi-weekly Saturday evening services at The Awakening, a church plant of Bethel Church in Redding, CA).

More and more it's become important to me to allow the Holy Spirit to do His thing, and not only believe in the supernatural, but also allow it to happen during services, and speaking in tongues etc., something I've been missing for too long. I don't want to sound bashful or critical of SouthCoast, especially not here in this open web space, but I do want to clarify what's going on. I know that supernatural manifestations and the like are not everyone's cup of tea (in my opinion, it should be though :-)), but it increasingly is in my life right now.

As I was explaining to a friend just the other day, it's very interesting that in just this short period of time, I feel like my life has spiritually accelerated, and even if things are not always looking great in the natural, I feel like things are getting better on a spiritual level at an exponential rate. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel like I'm perfectly aligned with the will of God for my life, and in the right place at the right time. All the trials and changes I have to go through are just part of becoming more precisely aligned.

Not only is it graduation time in 3 weeks, but metamorphosis time, like a former caterpillar breaking out of its cocoon as a butterfly, I'm breaking out of a spiritual cocoon and getting ready to fly! Come and fly with me!

Anonymous letter

Today I received an anonymous letter in the mail. It was sent from zip-code 91106, had no return address on the envelope, sent off on August 13th, and all that was inside was a brochure for ADT Security Services.

The largest title on the front (after the phone number), says "A Sign of Safer Things to Come".
What does it mean?

I looked up the ZIP and it's in Pasadena CA. I don't know anyone in Pasadena. But I do know of some churches in Pasadena that are moving in the gifts of the Spirit, Signs and Wonders, and prophetic gifts etc. Maybe someone out there was just trusting God and send this out in faith, trusting that it would bless and encourage me -which it is!- as "a sign of safer things to come". Thank you Lord!

And after the amazing! weekend I had, I'm can't help but almost expect some rather strange things to happen :-)

This is not good: National Health Scare

Just got this in an email from MorningStar as a Special Bulletin, written by Rick Joyner. I think it's important that as many people as possible know about this, are aware of what is going on behind the scenes in our country, and do something about it. I know I will write to my representative... Here goes...

When I read the brief on what was contained in the National Health Care bill that is now being presented before Congress, I could not believe I was reading something that was actually being considered in the United States of America. This is not about money or government mismanagement—this is about something far more diabolical than that. As incomprehensible as it may seem, this is about euthanasia, the power to determine who lives or dies in America. Hitler and Stalin would have loved to have had a means such as this for dispatching the millions they killed—it would have made their job much easier, and probably given them the ability to kill many more than they did. THIS BILL IS THAT SINISTER. This is not a joke—this is actually the nature of what is being proposed in the National Health Care legislation, and it is the obvious reason why the Obama Administration wants to ram it through Congress before anyone gets a chance to read it.

I have resolved to always be as generous as I can toward people with opposing views of my own. I do this because I believe it is the mandate of I Corinthians 13 to always believe the best about people, rather than the worst. I know this opens me up to be misled by some, but I consider that a small price to pay to not become cynical. I also do it because I think it is wise to always try and understand the position of my opponents—to be open to consider their positions and not be too rigid or inflexible to change because we all “see in part,” and “know in part.” Because of this, I have been chided for being too generous by giving those I do challenge grace by believing that they had not thought through the consequences of their proposals, or had other good intentioned reasons for doing what they were doing. However, after reading the brief on this health care bill, I don’t see how anyone could not see that there is profound evil and evil intent at work here. I just do not see any way to be any more generous with those who proposed this bill than that. It is that bad.

This bill is obviously designed to put the authority to determine who lives and dies in America into the hands of government bureaucrats. As outrageous as that seems, it is true—you can read it yourself. It even gives the government access to all of your accounts, and the authority to make withdrawals. I know this is hard to believe, but you can read it yourself.

Do you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your mother or father can receive treatment, even in life and death cases? Would you want a government bureaucrat to determine if your child, or you, could receive treatment, even when it means life or death? Think of the best experience that you ever had working with a government bureaucrat, and then think about them having the power to make a potentially life or death choice for your child, your parents, or for you. This is actually what is being proposed.

Add to that chilling thought the fact that this bureaucrat does not have to know one thing about medicine to be in that position. In fact, this bill proposes letting the government define what quality health care is and impose that definition on health care workers. Nowhere does it even specify what training, expertise, or qualifications this all-powerful government bureaucrat has to have to be placed in the position to make such ultimate decisions for the health, well-being, and even the lives of Americans.

Am I being too hard on bureaucrats, or the Obama Administration’s intentions? Certainly there are many bureaucrats who are sincere and true public servants. I agree that such are deserving of our appreciation and respect. The modern world could not exist without them. Think of the most noble and conscientious there are. What kind of position would we be putting them in to have to go to work every day and decide who is going to get treatment, who is going to have to go on a waiting list and for how long, and who are they going to have to just let die?

Who could live with such a job? There are many who could, who would just see it as paperwork, and those are the ones who would be in that position because the truly noble ones could not endure it. Hitler found many who could dispatch thousands each day, and then go home and enjoy their own families at night. There are people with that kind of moral disconnect. These jobs will be filled and by the very ones we would never want in such positions.

It is beyond anything I thought I would ever see in my lifetime that such a bill could ever be seriously considered in the U.S. Congress. This bill has the potential for totalitarian control to be imposed on America to a degree that Hitler and Stalin could not have even imagined. With the technology available now, totalitarian control can very quickly be imposed to a degree far beyond what was attained by either the Nazis or the Communists, and this bill has provisions in it for just that. It mandates the sharing of all of your personal information, from just about every conceivable source, with the new health care bureaucracy being set up to implement this national health care system. The penalties for trying to escape this web are serious. This would actually make America into a national concentration camp, and we can be sure that ultimately it will be a national death camp. You do not have to take my word for it—read it for yourself. Below I will include a brief on this bill so that you can look it up, chapter and verse.

Who could live with such a job? There are many who could, who would just see it as paperwork, and those are the ones who would be in that position because the truly noble ones could not endure it. Hitler found many who could dispatch thousands each day, and then go home and enjoy their own families at night. There are people with that kind of moral disconnect. These jobs will be filled and by the very ones we would never want in such positions.

It is beyond anything I thought I would ever see in my lifetime that such a bill could ever be seriously considered in the U.S. Congress. This bill has the potential for totalitarian control to be imposed on America to a degree that Hitler and Stalin could not have even imagined. With the technology available now, totalitarian control can very quickly be imposed to a degree far beyond what was attained by either the Nazis or the Communists, and this bill has provisions in it for just that. It mandates the sharing of all of your personal information, from just about every conceivable source, with the new health care bureaucracy being set up to implement this national health care system. The penalties for trying to escape this web are serious. This would actually make America into a national concentration camp, and we can be sure that ultimately it will be a national death camp. You do not have to take my word for it—read it for yourself. Below I will include a brief on this bill so that you can look it up, chapter and verse.

I am a pastor and a watchman, and I therefore have a mandate to watch out for the people, and to sound the alarm when I see a threat. I have never seen one like this before. Even so, I have prayed for restraint and calm as I address this, and do not want to exaggerate anything. In spite of this terrible evil that is manifesting itself through the Obama Administration, I am resolved to pray for our government leaders, and I try to pray for the President every day. My sincere hope is for a spiritual awakening for him and for those in every government position, and for the Lord to give them wisdom and help for the most difficult task they have. However, with all due respect (and I mean this), what is coming out of the Obama Administration is evil, more evil than anything I thought I would ever see in America. It is time to call it what it is.

Click here to read more

Heretics, false prophets and false teachers

Wow, lately I've been increasingly hearing from other people that "this preacher is a heretic", "that guy is a false prophet", or "watch out, this person's teachings are dangerous" etc. Not only that, but I've been having people tell me that about people who I've been listening to their messages for more than 10 years...now I'm suddenly suppose to stop doing that because it's not "safe".

First off, thank you to all who are so concerned about my well-being.

Next. Here's a simple reminder that (1 Corinthians 13:9, NIV) "For we know in part and we prophesy in part," -see where I'm going with this? I believe that if we continue labeling good teachers, preachers, prophets, and even writers (no, i didn't forget you, John Shore) as heretics or false, we're gonna miss some very important messages for our times.

Not to say that false teachers/preachers/prophets don't exist, but remember way back when we were burning witches at the stake? Yeah, we're headed that way again.

So, just to add some validity to what I'm saying here, and ultimately it's me who has to judge these things for myself and not someone else, I've looked into some of the issues that have been circling around, and I'm happy to report back that you were all worried about me for nothing...

Rob Bell. Apparently, a heretic and false teacher for (most prominently) rhetorically speaking, questioning the virgin birth in his awesome book, Velvet Elvis (yeah, it's awesome and you should read it, regardless of what you've heard about Rob Bell). What critics with this stance seem to forget, is the paragraph right there on the same page, where he clearly affirms his belief in the virgin birth, along with other vital parts of the Christian faith.

Most of this criticism towards Rob Bell seems to be coming from Mark Driscoll, ironically a leader of a different church, and even in a different city in a different state, with the same name as Rob Bell's.. hmmmm... not to bash Driscoll, and I haven't really taken the time to listen to his teachings and research him, but it does kinda make me curious... I mean, it looks more like some kind of church-rivalry-thing going on here, and to be honest, if one has a problem with the other, they should be talking about this one-on-one, not talking to whole congregations about it...

Bob Jones. Ok, there's way too many accusations that I could ever post here, but even in one critic's own words concerning his prophesies "The accuracy of these revelations has proven to be extremely profound.", kinda makes me wonder how they then can still go on to label him a false prophet.

If there's any question about one of his prophesies, please keep 1 Corinthians 13:9 in mind while making a judgment call. I'm not defending him if he's wrong, but making sure that we all understand that we are humans and make mistakes. Even a prophet is human and imperfect like the rest of us. Yeas, there are also false prophets, but an easy way to see if one is, is to check how what he says lines up with scripture. It should also lead you closer to Christ. The fruit of Bob Jones' prophetic gift in my life is that he has led me closer to Christ and not away. True prophet.

Rick Joyner. I've pretty much heard the same kinda stuff that I hear about Bob Jones too. But, just for a little history, Rick Joyner's books and messages, and MorningStar Ministries have probably been the greatest influence on my faith within the last 15 years. If it weren't for these guys, I don't know where I'd be at... not likely still in a church...

Rick Joyner has had some of the most profound prophesies concerning the times we are in right now, and still has very accurate information as to what is going on in the church, as well as with our government right now, much unlike the media. I believe that the church will miss out on a lot of what God has to say to us concerning the times we're living in right now if we continue to just throw out anything he says because we've heard something bad about him.

John Shore. Accused of being a heretic for telling Christians to stop evangelizing, in his book, I'm OK - You're Not. Please read the book! He makes it very clear that the way Christians have been evangelizing in the past hasn't worked very well. He makes the great argument of how Christians will automatically fulfill the great commission by first fulfilling the great commandment. Read the book, if you don't get it, read it again. Not a heretic, but a really fun and smart author!

The list goes on.......at some point, I think that pretty much every teacher/preacher/prophet has been labeled a false teacher/preacher/prophet. We need to stop. Christians, the kingdom of God is at hand! Let's put aside or constant bickering and pointing of the finger and finally see Christ for who He is and not who He's not or who's not enough like Him. We can no longer afford to keep fighting each other while there's an enemy that we should all be fighting against in unity instead. We can do this.

Why we should love our enemies

Something I've come across recently, is the answer or reason to why we are supposed to love our enemies, as Jesus tells us to in Matthew 5 and Luke 6.

See, Paul explains to us in Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) that "...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

So, when a person does something to us that causes us to want to take revenge, fight them and call them our enemy, chances are that they did not necessarily do it out of their own accord. Not trying to negate the fact that humans are still sinful and wicked without God's love, grace, wisdom, peace, healing etc. anyway, but isn't it quite possible that the evil nature of man becomes amplified and manifested by the presence, and especially the direction, of evil spiritual forces?

I'm not saying that whatever the person did was OK, but we are still told to forgive them and even love them, even if their actions carry consequences that they will have to live with, such as a court order, prison or even death in some societies. But to make it clear, they will still have to serve time in prison or whatever the legal consequence is, even after we've forgiven them, but that' a whole different issue.

My point is that we are told to love the person who is our enemy. And I think the reason for it lies in the action or spiritual force to be dealt with as an enemy, rather than the person, or the "flesh and blood" so to speak.

Just my thoughts...

"I dare you to pray this prayer"

..and here's the link to this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2oi6y292kE

Unity in the church

Something that has been weighing a lot on my mind lately is the unity in the church or the lack thereof.

The reason why this is such an important topic to me, is because it seems that the society we're living in here in the US, is at a turning point right now, with all the economic stress and bills being passed that are rapidly taking away many of our basic freedoms. The turning point is a place where something new is going to happen and new can either mean "really good" or "really bad" at this point.

I know that a lot of the time, when someone mentions the word "church", people cringe and are reminded of some time they got hurt by a person in the church. This is really sad because it wouldn't have to be that way, and I believe that if there were more unity in the church, it wouldn't necessarily be associated with something so negative. Of course, for me growing up in the church, I know I already see things differently than someone who hasn't been there all their life. But at the same time, I've found myself wanting to leave my church for the same kinds of reasons too.

Growing up in Switzerland, I hadn't really been exposed to all the different denominations yet, as they make up the church over here in the US. Over there, we have four main denominations: Catholic, Reformed, Methodist, and so called Free Churches (the equivalent of non-denominational churches in the US). There is also a very strict and smaller denomination there that would be the equivalent of the Baptist church over here, but most people there view them as a sect.

Now having lived in the US for almost 5 years, I'm still learning about new types of churches and denominations. And what is strange to me is that they (mostly) all read the same bible and believe in the same God, but they keep fighting over who is right about certain small details and who is the final authority over those issues. There is definitely more unity over great issues in Switzerland, even if they don't all agree on some of the smaller ones.

One example of this is supernatural miracles and healings. I would say a good chunk of the church in the US today believes that these took place 2000 years ago when Christ walked the earth, but that they don't take place anymore today. Another large portion believes that it's possible for them to still take place today, but have never seen proof of one or that they won't happen to them. And there's some who have witnessed them, but have scientific or theological ways to explain them away. And finally, there's the churches that have signs and wonders happening on a regular basis.

Lately, I've been running into people from the first two groups more frequently and for me as a participant of the last group and being excited about the experiences I've had, it's been hard to watch how believers have limited themselves because of denominational barriers, basically saying things like "we don't do those kinds of things in our denomination."

I think that because the church has entrenched itself within their specific denominations and values, it has lost a lot of its power, authority and recognition in our society. I think that the new Hate Crimes Bill being passed is a direct result of the church not being strong and unified enough to prevent it, and may ultimately result in criminal charges against churches that speak out about issues like Gay Marriage etc.

So to wrap this up, I believe it's time to lay aside the petty differences that keep the church from being unified, and stand up as one for the issues that really matter.

San Diego Lobster

Have you heard about this place? It's a Lobster restaurant that's opening sometime this month on university avenue here in San Diego. I hear they have fresh lobster from Maine... Who wants to go check it out?

Thoughts on Pentecost

Why is Pentecost not celebrated like a big holiday in the US? Growing up in Switzerland, days like this are a big deal. Tomorrow, people will have a nationwide day off, "Pfingst Montag" or Pentecost Monday -yeah, that's how big of a deal it is in Switzerland and in other surrounding European countries, especially more traditionally Catholic ones.

I remember a few times when I was at a Pentecost Camp with others from my church over the holiday weekend and we would meet for a time of worship and fellowship and the Holy Spirit would come on us like in Acts 2 (well.. minus the tongues of fire over our heads) and we would speak in tongues and prophecy. Not that we don't do that on other occasions too, but it was a celebration of the very first time it happened in history and continues on in the same way today. Oh, what marvelous days those were!

Maybe a day will come when this tradition will be celebrated here too.. instead of mocked, even by some Christians :-(

Other thoughts, literally "on" Pentecost...

I saw a lady today wearing a dark blue sweatshirt that said in strong light blue letters "SEX" across her chest.. not sure what she's trying to say with that. Is she sex? (can a person be sex?) Would she like to have sex? I should have asked her what her shirt meant. Well, maybe not. Maybe she might have thought that I was asking her for sex. Maybe she sells it out of the trunk of her car. In little baggies. For 20g at a time.

Today I also met one of my neighbors. She was painting her car. No, literally -with acrylics and paint brushes. She has a black beetle and she was painting bright colored flowers all over it and listening to blues. It looks awesome! If you're ever stuck in traffic and see that car, you'll smile. It'll make your day.

I don't like to drive slow. If I pass you, it's not because I want to drive fast, it's because I want to not drive slow. Don't drive in the left lane if you're going to drive under the speed limit. Please.

Equality

I recently saw a post of a person I went to school with, who is considering becoming a lawyer to fight for "equality" and build a Class Action Law Suit against the “State of California” and “Yes on 8” for Gender Discrimination.

"A Gay Man and a Gay Women can marry and enjoy all the benefits of a married couple according to the wording of Prop 8. The denial of the right to marry has nothing to do with being Gay but because both parties are the same Gender." -so goes his post..

I don't think it's not worth pursuing a law degree for.. not for this reason... It should be about something "smarter" than that -i mean, the gay marriage thing; is it worth fighting to call it "marriage" or is there a problem with calling it a "civil union" and extending the same rights to that institution as a marriage in california currently enjoys? Is it really about equality or is it trying to get the foot in the with a hidden agenda -and money?

I've seen people do dumber things for money... just my thoughts

Other stuff I see:
Like this quote...
“When any society says that I cannot marry a certain person, that society has cut off a segment of my freedom.” - Dr. Martin Luther King
Don't get me wrong, he was right when he said that, but the equality these people can hardly be compared to the equality MLK was talking about. Since when is "being gay" a race or skin color??

Giving

Lately, I've been downsizing and just getting rid of a bunch of stuff I have around but really don't need or use... and one thing I've found out about giving stuff away and just blessing others who have a need for it, is that I've started to enjoy it. I mean, it seems like the more I give away, the more I enjoy giving and blessing others. I'm starting to try to find ways how I can be a blessing to other people. Strange.....but in a good way :-)

Psalm 139 (New King James Version)

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Miss California

So is this what it all boils down to? If someone speaks their mind, and happens to disagree with a certain people group, they should be ostracized, and in the case of Miss California even be marked down from receiving the title of Miss USA? Should she have answered what Perez Hilton wanted to hear just to get the crown? No way!

By the way, here's an excellent link to get some of the facts, http://www.therocksandiego.org/stories/misscalifornia/

In California, "we the people" decided in November that marriage is between a man and a woman. Should the person who represents that state (if she weren't already speaking from her personal convictions) go against what the majority of that same state believes? And what about the rest of the country; as Perez Hilton even explained that 4 states have so far legalized same-sex marriage, wouldn't that in a 50 state nation kinda leave 46 of them where it still is illegal? Why should we as a society have to bow down and serve a minority?

"That's not politically correct!" -Is it politically correct to ostracize a person who stands by their religious convictions? Is it even morally correct to take away the rights of a person to justify another's deviant behavior? Unless our freedom of speech and freedom of religion are no longer "real" freedoms...

People have heard me say that allowing gay couples to get married is like allowing a child get away with deviant behavior (and even celebrating it!). -And even for putting this on my blog, I'm running the risk of being ostracized for my convictions or worse :-O

Even crazier, now with the new Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act in place, I could be committing hate-crime for speaking what I believe is the truth!
(i don't know for sure yet... am I?)

And why is the gay community so bent on claiming "marriage" for themselves? Why is the gay community so bent on destroying the sanctity of marriage in a way that takes away the rights of religious groups that don't agree with them? Is there a hidden agenda?

Just to make it clear: I do not hate gays and lesbians.

In fact, the same God that condemns homosexual behavior also commands His people to love thy neighbor...and I happen to live in a primarily gay neighborhood.

I love you.

But I don't agree with you -please don't hate me for it.

the man-cave

..is usually described as a dedicated area of a house, such as a basement, workshop, or garage, where a man can be alone or socialize with his friends.

but some psychologists also describe it as a figurative cave that a man retracts to in his mind when he's spending extra time in thought or going through some kind of transitional period in his life.

that's where i am right now.

don't worry, it's nothing personal if i seem distant or out of it on the outside... it blows over..

Say goodbye to farmers markets, CSAs, and roadside stands...

...unless we STOP HR 875, HR 814, SR 425 and SOON, HR 759

I just got this in an email and I'd like to pass it on:

The above so called "food safety" bills in Congress were written by the nation-less corporations such as; Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, ADM, etc. These bills are all associated with the opposite of food safety. What is this all about then?

- By Linn Cohen-Cole - March 3, 2009

In the simplest terms, organic food and a rebirth of farming were winning. Not in absolute numbers but in a deep and growing shift by the public toward understanding the connection between their food and their health, between good food and true social pleasures, between their own involvement in food and the improvement in their lives in general, between local food and a burgeoning local economy.

Slow Food was right - limit your food to what comes from your region and from real farmers, and slow down to cook it and linger over it with friends and family, and the world begins to change for the better.

And as we face an unprecedented economic crisis, and it is hard to be sure what has value, one thing that always does is food. Which is why the corporations are after absolute control over it. But what obstacles to a complete lock on food do they face? All the people in this country who are "banking" on organic farming and urban gardens and most of all, everyone's deepening pleasure in and increasing involvement with everything about food.

To truly make a difference; we recommend a direct person to person contact, such as phone calls, faxing and paying personal visit to their offices and see how they are ruining our lives. - We need to stop these bills first, or we are left with no money from the financial bail-out and no food from the food steal-out.

President, Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone: (202) 456-1414
Comments: (202) 456-1111
Fax: (202) 456-2461
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

U.S. Congress: (202) 224-3121 http://www.house.gov/

U.S. Senate: (202) 224-6221 http://www.senate.gov/

Send a message to Congress.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/568/t/1128/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26714

We need millions to be fighting this. Contact Eli Pariser at MoveOnmoveon-help@list.moveon.org
to tell him MoveOn is badly needed.
http://us.mc543.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=moveon-help@list.moveon.org

Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: Stop HR 875, HR 814, SR 425, and soon, HR 759
http://www.usalone.net/cgi-bin/oen.cgi?qnum=7290

Click here to see the most recent messages sent to Congressional Representatives and local newspapers
http://www.usalone.net/cgi-bin/transparency.cgi?qnum=oen7290

Linn Cohen-Col
http://www.opednews.com/author/author10919.html

Daniel Joseph Martinez

Simulating Daniel Joseph Martinez' self portrait of gory images of wounds inflicted on his body, I used his way of saying "a sane answer to an insane world", and made my own as "a sane explanation of an insane quarter"...

The spirit of lawlessness

Have you noticed how more and more people have increasing fears about the economy? My advice: stop watching the news. The media is creating a mass panic, deliberately or not, but since most news stations are owned by a larger company, there must be some plan with this.

Other thoughts... "Yes We Can" seems to have turned into "Yes I'll do it even if it's not legal" or "Yes I can - no that law doesn't apply to me" and It seems to get more and more like this; a spirit of lawlessness is gaining momentum...

thoughts on the Zeitgeist movie

for those who haven't seen it, i encourage you to get a copy of it or watch it online (zeitgeist: the movie and zeitgeist: addendum), on google or on zeitgeistmovie.com.

Zeitgeist, The Movie is a film that was released on Google Video in the spring of 2007 and was created by Peter Joseph. Essentially the video covers three areas of Interest. Part I, entitled "The Greatest Story Ever Told" evaluates Christian beliefs and asserts that it was all taken from pre-existing myths, primarily Egyptian mythology. In Part II, entitled "All The World's a Stage" it goes on to talk about how the US Government knew about the attacks on September 11th, 2001 before hand and that it was a large conspiracy and cover up -- essentially an it was an inside job. Lastly we are told in Part III, entitled "Don't Mind The Men Behind The Curtain", that powerful bankers and world leaders are conspiring for world domination and consolidation of power.

The second film, Zeitgeist: Addendum, attempts to locate the root causes of this pervasive social corruption, while offering a solution. This solution is not based on politics, morality, laws, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs,but rather on a modern, non-superstitious based understanding of what we are and how we align with nature, to which we are a part. The work advocates a new social system which is updated to present day knowledge, highly influenced by the life long work of Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project.

As with everything else, always remember to discern information you receive and don't just readily believe that because it's in a movie (or documentary) that it's true... having said that, I don't want to tell you that everything contained in the zeitgeist movies are lies, but there are some things that they claim and portray as the truth, without necessarily having factual knowledge of. And just to set the record straight, I'm not opposed to the movies, but in fact, I'm happy that they're out there and so readily available to the public. I think they're both must-sees and I wish that more people would see them.

What I don't understand though, is why the maker of the movies, Peter Joseph, is also using these movies to rant about and debunk religion, especially Christianity. I mean, of course I understand why someone do do that.. but for someone who is uncovering government secrets and their hidden agendas, it doesn't seem too smart to be so obvious about one you have yourself. I mean, all the facts presenting how Christianity enslaves believers really just shows a lack of understanding of what Christianity actually is. Also, the solutions given to counter religion, ironically, are based on concepts and ideologies taken from the New-Age movement. Seriously, is the message to tell people to stop being Christians and become New-Agers?

I don't want to rant about what I don't like about the movies too much either, but I do think it's important to point out that Peter Joseph is doing the same thing with the movies as he's trying to warn us about: influencing us to believe something. While a lot of the things talked about in the movies are good things to know, he's also asking us to reject religion. I wonder why..

Need directions to McMillin Event Center in Point Loma?

Address:
NTC Promenade, Point Loma
2875 Dewey, San Diego, CA 92106
619-573-9309

From the North: From Interstate 5, take Rosecrans South. Enter NTC Promenade at Roosevelt and Rosecrans (Gate 3). Free parking is available in Parking Lot G (corner of Roosevelt and Truxtun).

From the South: From Interstate 5, take the Pacific Highway exit. Stay to the left and take the Barnett Avenue exit. Continue straight onto Lytton. Take a left on Sellers Plaza (Gate 1). Sellers Plaza will merge to Truxtun. Cross over Roosevelt Rd. Free parking is available in Parking Lot G (corner of Roosevelt and Truxtun).

From the East: From Interstate 8, take the Rosecrans exit. Continue on Rosecrans to Roosevelt. Enter the NTC Promenade by taking a left on Roosevelt (Gate 3). Free parking is available in Parking Lot G (corner of Roosevelt and Truxtun).

From Downtown or the Airport: From Downtown, take Harbor Drive past airport to Laning Road. Turn Right and take it to Rosecrans. Right on Rosecrans and right on Roosevelt (Gate 3). Free parking is available in Parking Lot G (corner of Roosevelt and -Truxtun).

driving

ok, this is maybe weird for some... lately, i've been noticing how things that happen in the world, like to economy, the elections etc. have been influencing the way people drive, at least in San Diego. I mean, some of you already know that I don't have a TV and that I'm not particularly fond of the news or the media. but with this new-found "gift" i don't have to watch it on TV -I just drive.

I'm also curious as to if there are others who are experiencing this stuff. Seriously, before the elections, there was a heightened sense of confusion, afterwards it seemed lighter and more fluid. Then the other day it was really crazy, people were all over the place, cutting others off, creating dangerous situations etc. A fluke? nope- I asked a friend about the news, and sure enough: the Dow had just dropped a whole bunch...

confused?

I was just just reading an article by John Shore called "Are The Great Commandment and The Great Commission Incompatible?"
He breaks the two down as follows:

1. Fulfilling Jesus’ “Great Commandment” means loving our neighbors as we love ourselves.

2. Fulfilling Jesus “Great Commission” (”Therefore go and make disciples of all nations …”) means sharing the gospel with nonbelievers, in the hopes that they’ll really hear the message of Jesus, believe in Him, and become Christians.

3. Putting The Great Commandment into words means saying to a nonbeliever something that, in essence, amounts to, “I love you with all of my heart.”

4. Putting The Great Commission into words means saying to a nonbeliever something that, in essence, amounts to, “You should exchange whatever you believe in now for belief in Jesus Christ.”

5. Boiled down even further, “You should exchange whatever you believe in now for belief in Jesus Christ,” amounts to, “You need to radically change who you are.”

6. ”I love you with all my heart,” and “You need to radically change who you are” is a confusing, unhelpful message.

7. Maybe we should rethink how we do evangelism.

---------------

I think that as christians we've omitted parts of the great commission. The great commandment though remains what it is. The thing with the great commission is that it is the "sharing the gospel with nonbelievers". But we often forget what the gospel, which means good news, is in this context.

Yes, it is the gospel of salvation that says "we are all sinners and we are doomed to burn in hell, but jesus christ paid the price in our place, so that if we believe in him, our sins are forgiven and we can now go to heaven". What we often forget though, is that there's also the gospel that the kingdom of god is right here on earth or "at hand". What I mean is that in the context of "sharing" my faith with unbelievers, it is the kingdom of god shining through from the inside out that people around us notice and want to know "hey, you're different. why?". Or showing kindness to someone
who didn't expect it and then wonders why we do what we do.

So it is first the kingdom inside of us that is demonstrated. And then it is communicating the gospel of the kingdom, that this kingdom can also be inside of the unbeliever because of the gospel of salvation.

Now, here's the tricky thing: the great commission can only be fulfilled by fulfilling the great commandment. They MUST go hand in hand, or none of them can be effective.

What's REALLY going on in Israel

I found this quite interesting...

"The Middle East war is not now and never was a conflict between Israelis/Jews on the one hand and Palestinians on the other. In fact, the Arab-"Palestinians", while currently the perpetrators of most of the anti-Jewish atrocities, were never a very important part of the conflict. In fact, before about 1970, virtually no one in the world considered the Middle East conflict to be one between Israelis and Palestinians.

"The term "Palestinian" itself had referred to Israeli Jews back in the 1940s, and had been slowly deconstructed and redefined to refer to the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza. The Middle East Conflict was always a war by Arabs against Jews, not a conflict between Israelis and "Palestinians." The war was repackaged as a conflict between Jews and Palestinians as a public relations gimmick by the Arab fascist regimes. These regimes had never had any interest in "Palestinians," in creating a "Palestinian" state, or in "Palestinian nationalism" before 1967. That is because Palestinian nationalism did not and DOES NOT exist. The Palestinians were a regional group of Arabs having virtually no cultural nor national distinctive traits separating them from Syrians, Lebanese, and Jordanians. They are all basically Arabs!

"The bulk of what are called "Palestinian Arabs" are members of families who migrated into the Land of Israel beginning in the late 19th century. Palestinian nationalism is a mislabeling of Arab nationalism. Arab nationalism exists, although it is closely bound up with Islamic nationalism and even Islamism. Palestinian nationalism, however, is a phantom. It is nothing more than genocidal hatred of Jews.

"The Arab assaults and aggressions against Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1968, and 1973 had nothing to do with Palestinians. The Palestinian terror campaign would itself be easy to suppress today and eradicate if the Middle East conflict were really a Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israel would simply obliterate the terrorists and expel their supporters to Syria and Lebanon. The Middle East war continues because it is really an Arab-Israeli war, not an Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In many ways it's an Islamic religious jihad against the Jews."