#it was kind of a miracle that he left Zion when he did

[platinummice]

Ok there's kind of a lot here, but: A2, 4, 6, 7, 16. B12. C2, 8. D3. E2, 8. F11. G6, 7. H7. I2, 5. L1, 2, and 9

Hell yes, give me a reason to answer every single question, I’ll do it

A2. What alignment are they? Chaotic neutral, lawful evil, et cetera…

I think Archer is a chaotic neutral character. He is caring towards animals and certain people and then doesn’t really care about what happens to really anyone else. He tends to be more on the chaotic side because he’ll do anything for people he cares about. Literally anything.

A4. Are they a pessimist or an optimist?

 Archer is a cynical optimist. Half hopeful, half jaded, fully confused. He hopes everything will work out for him in the end, but realizes that the chances of that are kind of low. It doesn’t stop him from thinking about his future though.

A6. Does your OC tend to assume their interpretation of events and reality is correct, or do they question it? I.e., “I’m sure that’s what you said” versus “It’s possible I misheard you.”

He is definitely the “I probably misheard you guy. Its very easy to abuse this aspect of him, because with his schizophrenia, he has a hard time deciding what’s real and what isn’t anyway. So if someone says he heard something wrong, or that he was seeing things he’ll believe them, because that is a legitimate possibility for him.

A7. Is your OC confident in their reactions to life in general, or do they get embarrassed or easily shamed for it? I.e., if something startles them, do they insist it WAS scary? When they cry, do they feel like they overreacted?

He might not be super confident about his reactions but he also doesn’t let people shame him for feeling. If he is startled by something he’ll say something along the lines of “Damn that got me good.” and if people are laughing he’ll chuckle along side them. He also doesn’t judge people for crying, he knows sometime you need to let it out. He won’t feel that he’s overreacted because he knows he’s been through some shit and if a little cry helps him feel better, then he’s going to cry. None of that ‘men don’t cry’ with this guy, and if that is brought up to him he’s liable to start a fight.

A16. Does your OC have to go through their own trials to learn a lesson, or do they listen and learn from observation and lecture? I.e., does your OC listen when someone tries to tell them the importance of budgeting, or do they have to go experience what happens if you don’t budget first?

Archer doesn’t know what it means to learn a lesson. It takes making the same mistake a few times and someone drilling him for it for him to stop and think ‘damn maybe i shouldn’t do that huh’ 

B12. Your OC orders something to eat and gets their order done in a pretty wrong way, something they can’t just pick off or whatnot to correct, or something major is missing. What do they do?

He’d just ask politely for it to be fixed, he realizes people make mistakes and there’s no real reason to get worked up over something small like that.

C2. Would your OC feel bad if they acted against their morals? If not, would they find a way to excuse themselves for it?

So I would say one of Archers biggest morals is being loyal to his friends. And he really sticks to that, to the point where i can’t really see him ever acting against it, unless it is purely accidental. If he ever did accidentally betray one of his friends? He would be devastated. He’d need at least a few days by himself before he’d even partially feel up to interacting with anyone and then he’d most definitely avoid the person even though he could probably easily explain what happened.  

C8. Is your OC more practical or ideal morally? I.e., do they hold people to high expectations of behavior even if it’s not realistic for the situation, or do they have a more realistic approach and adapt their morality to be more practical?

Archer is more practical when it comes to the people around him. He realizes times are hard and he can’t expect people to not look out for themselves and he doesn’t blame them for that.

D3. How comfortable are they with the idea of death?

Death isn’t really something he cares about. It’s gonna happen eventually so why worry about it. The only thing he worries about is leaving his dogs behind without someone to care for them.

E2. Which of the nine types of intelligence is your OC strongest in? Weakest? (Linguistic, existential, naturalist, et cetera)

His strongest is most definitely naturalist, his affinity with plants and animals is amazing. His weakest is probably Logical-Mathematical, please don’t ask him to do basic math it scares him.

E8. What’s one of your OC’s biggest regrets?

Not running away from his parents. He probably would have died alone in the desert, but he believes that would have been better than what they made him do.

F11. What are some of their favorite things to do for recreation? How did they get into it? What part of it do they like the most?

He likes crafting things! He almost always has a few bows in various stages of completion, and if he’s finished with them for the time being he can make arrows. He likes see the finished product of whatever he’s putting together, it makes him feel productive, like there’s nothing wrong with him and he’s just a normal guy living life.

G6. Do they have any favorite childhood memories?

... Uh he found a Brahmin calf wandering by itself in the desert around his house one time. No idea where it came from. He was super super excited when his parents let him keeping. They’d never done anything so nice for him before. 

G7. Do they have any childhood memories they’d rather forget or be less affected by?

The very first pit fight his parents forced him into. He’ll never forget it, not in a million years. Not the bright lights, not the people screaming in the audience. Not the hungry eyes staring him down from the other side of the pit. Not what he did to them.

H7. What do they look for in partners? (Emotionally, mentally, physically..)

I wouldn’t say Archer is really looking for partners. Mainly because he doesn’t think he deserves love but once he realizes that’s not true he’ll probably gravitate towards someone who knows how to take control. Its not the healthiest decision for him for him, because he will do literally anything that person tell him to, he really just becomes a pet. Archer is gay, and he likes shorter guys which is good because he’d have a hell of a time finding someone taller than him. But really he’d need someone who wont take complete control over his life, even if he thinks that's what he wants.

I2. Do they have any eating requirements or preferences? Allergies, vegetarian, organic-only, religious restrictions…

He doesn’t eat a lot of meat, just because he likes animals and if he can avoid killing them he does. He’ll eat it if it’s all he has, plus he still has to hunt to feed his animals.

I5 Are they a good cook?

No. He cooks for himself and his animals. Really he cooks for his animals and then just eats what they eat. I don’t know how he’s surviving.

L1. How have your characters changed since you created them?

Oh man i first created Archer back in 2015 when Fo4 first came out, and he has changed quite a bit since then. He used to be super strong, didn’t have any scars, white hair. Most notably he wasn’t an animal man like he is now. He has always worn a mask though :)

L2. What do you consider the biggest themes in your character, if any?

Oh, maybe your past doesn’t have to control you, or something like that? Archer has a pretty fucked up past but that doesn’t stop him from hoping for a better future.

L9. How did you come up with your OC?

I just started playing the game. It took up until this year for me to actually finish it because i finally got something for myself to play it on, and then i started to actually flesh him out at bit.

[rosesandfandoms]

DFel: Lawrence- Love (Requested)

Requested. I hope you like it!

Summary: Reader is in love with Lawrence, but he loves the original MC. 

For what felt like years, Y/n sat at the back of class, unnoticed by him. Lawrence. The love of her life. Watching as her heart broke into a million little sharp pieces, as Lawrence beat himself up over a girl he met once, over a girl he barely knew, a girl he may never see again. All the while, Y/n, his best friend, was there for him every time his parents expected nothing but the best out of him, was there when Lawrence was stressed and barely keeping himself together, let him lean on her shoulder, sneak over at night before sneaking back home early in the morning. Y/n was madly in love with Lawrence. But he wanted another. And it tore her apart.

Then the virus happened. Everything went to chaos. Somehow, Y/n was left to fend for herself. By some miracle, she ran into a group of young men, one of them happened to be Lawrence. Y/n was close to tears when she spotted the light brown hair, and dreamy brown eyes of her love. The group had agreed that Y/n could come back to the school they were staying at. The walk back Lawrence and Y/n talked about everything that happened, but then Lawrence mentioned the girl he met, the girl he fell madly in love with, over a stupid umbrella. Y/n felt like crying out, screaming at the man for how dumb he is, that while he goes around chasing another girl, he is missing Y/n, who was right in front of him, loving him. It wasn’t fair that he didn’t love her back. 

A few days had passed, and much to Y/n’s delight, she realized that the girl wasn’t showing any interest in Lawrence, it actually looked like she was infatuated with Zion, who seemed to return the feelings. For the first time in forever, Y/n felt hope. 

“Hey, do you want to be on night patrol with me?” Y/n asked Lawrence once everyone left the meeting room.

“I’m actually busy with something later,” Lawrence smiled sweetly, “I’m sorry.”

Y/n nodded in understanding as she left the room to get some rest before her night patrol, but before she left, she asked Ethan to come with her. Later on patrol, the two decided to split up on the higher level floor. As Y/n rounded the corner, she heard a door closing, a zombie definitely couldn’t do that. Y/n deciding to not follow what her past self said during horror movies about following a noise, walked to the room. As she got closer, she heard Lawrence’s  voice. 

“She doesn’t like me, but she does Zion?” Lawrence grumbled “after everything I did for her since she got her, she wants to be with another guy?”

Y/n walked into the room, and a pencil got thrown at her. She gasped at the pencil, and the fact that there was electricity in the room, which seemed to be a broadcasting room. 

“There’s electricity? This is great! We can do so much with it,” Y/n’s shock turned into a frown seeing how upset Lawrence looked, “I’m sorry for overhearing, but if she isn’t seeing that you’re an amazing guy, she isn’t for you.”

“If she doesn’t want me, who will? I liked her!” Lawrence shouted. 

“Liked what about her, Lawrence?” Y/n shouted back, “that she gave you an umbrella when you were feeling down? When you only met this girl once and then suddenly she’s your whole world?  I was with you every day, holding you, being there for you, while your parents tried to live their life through yours! I was there during all your worst times, because I love you!”

Y/n froze. As did Lawrence. 

Y/n looked down at the ground and was about to leave, when Lawrence caught her arm and spun her around. He pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was passionate, breathtaking. However, Y/n didn’t feel like being a rebound. Gently, she put her hands on his chest, pushing him away.

“Why?” Y/n asked with embarrassment. She looked at the ground again when she felt heat swelling up in her cheeks and ears.

“For years, I always thought you would never return my feelings,” Lawrence smiled, “I always felt like you were too good for me, so as I tried to forget my feelings, one day it started to rain, and that’s when I met her, she gave me an umbrella, she reminded me of you I guess, the kindness I fell in love with.”

“Why wouldn’t you talk with me?” Y/n asked, her e/c eyes meeting with his brown ones, “because I would have told you that I love you too.”

Lawrence kissed her again, he held the beck of her head with his hand, his fingers combing through her hair, deepening the kiss. 

Y/n pulled away again, which resulted in Lawrence leaving small kisses all over her face. “I don’t want to be a rebound.” Y/n explained. 

“You’re not,” Lawrence argued, “I only started liking her when I felt like I couldn’t have you.”

After a couple moments of silence, Y/n asked about the electricity.

“Oh, I found it the other night, I wanted to check again before I told anyone, not wanting to get their hopes up.” Lawrence lied, however, he didn’t have to use it for what he was going to use it for. 

Because in the end, he got Y/n.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

27th December >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

The Holy Family

(Liturgical Colour: White)

Either:

First Reading

Genesis 15:1-6,21:1-3

Your heir shall be your own flesh and blood

The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’    ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless…’. Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.    The Lord dealt kindly with Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named the son born to him Isaac, the son to whom Sarah had given birth.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading

Ecclesiasticus 3:2-6,12-14

He who fears the Lord respects his parents

The Lord honours the father in his children,    and upholds the rights of a mother over her sons. Whoever respects his father is atoning for his sins,    he who honours his mother is like someone amassing a fortune. Whoever respects his father will be happy with children of his own,    he shall be heard on the day when he prays. Long life comes to him who honours his father,    he who sets his mother at ease is showing obedience to the Lord. My son, support your father in his old age,    do not grieve him during his life. Even if his mind should fail, show him sympathy,    do not despise him in your health and strength; for kindness to a father shall not be forgotten    but will serve as reparation for your sins.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Either:

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 127(128):1-5

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord    and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat.    You will be happy and prosper.

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine    in the heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive,    around your table.

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Indeed thus shall be blessed    the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion    all the days of your life!

R/ O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways!

Or:

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 104(105):1-6,8-9

R/ He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,    make known his deeds among the peoples. O sing to him, sing his praise;    tell all his wonderful works!

R/ He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Be proud of his holy name,    let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice. Consider the Lord and his strength;    constantly seek his face.

R/ He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Remember the wonders he has done,    his miracles, the judgements he spoke. O children of Abraham, his servant,    O sons of the Jacob he chose.

R/ He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

He remembers his covenant for ever,    his promise for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham,    the oath he swore to Isaac.

R/ He, the Lord, is our God. He remembers his covenant for ever.

Second Reading

Colossians 3:12-21

Family life in the Lord

You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.    Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.    Wives, give way to your husbands, as you should in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and treat them with gentleness. Children, be obedient to your parents always, because that is what will please the Lord. Parents, never drive your children to resentment or you will make them feel frustrated.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Hebrews 1:1-2

Alleluia, alleluia! At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. Alleluia!

Either:

Gospel

Luke 2:22-40

My eyes have seen your salvation

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.    Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.’

As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’    There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.    When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel

Luke 2:22,39-40

They went back to Galilee, to Nazareth

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.    When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[thefilmsimps]

The Matrix Revolutions (dir. by The Wachowskis)

-Jere Pilapil- I have a confession to make: for years I have defended the Matrix trilogy as a trio of movies that I think are good and satisfying when divorced from the impossible expectations created by the first one being a cultural phenomenon. But then in rewatching them, I realized everything I remembered about The Matrix Revolutions was in The Matrix Reloaded. In essence, watching this movie this time was almost as good as a first-time watch, even though I remember enough of the very ending to confirm that I did see this in theaters and must have promptly forgotten it afterwards. Thankfully, this is still an enjoyable, good movie.

It’s an imperfect but fitting conclusion to the trilogy, but the thing that’s most noticeable in hindsight is how different it is. We’re no longer jumping back and forth between the”real” world and The Matrix; most of this movie takes place outside the Matrix, in the human city of Zion (we love a good Bible reference, folks) as the last free humans take a stand against the machines’ final assault. Basically, instead of the melding of kung-fu and gun-fu we got in the previous two movies, we have a war movie. It takes a little while to get used to the aesthetics of this setting, because we spend more uninterrupted time here than in any previous movies. In some ways, this seems to be the dividing line in special effects technology: previous movies felt like they were using a kind of craftsmanship to trick your brain, like magic, but most of the Zion battle is CGI. It’s the difference between tactile effects to make an idea “real” and basically being shown a cartoon of the idea. If 1999 saw The Phantom Menace’s CGI worlds and people rejected and The Matrix’s blend of computer and effects wizardry celebrated, then The Matrix Revolutions sees George Lucas’s vision getting its revenge and winning.

That said, these scenes, taken for what they are, are incredibly well done. We’re now 18 years removed from this movie’s release in the fall of 2003, and I’ve lived nearly half my life watching many, many CGI-heavy action sequences (thanks, Marvel). I’ve seen the Zion battle equaled frequently, but rarely surpassed. There’s a grittiness to the human side, as they man mechs (thanks, anime) and frequently worry about reloading ammo as they unload countless bullets into infinite machines. The machines are rendered fantastically, like a million snakes braiding each other as they attack the same prey in multiple directions. The biggest disappointment is that the “real” world - established two movies ago as a rundown scrap heap of rusted technology - is not the most visually interesting place to spend time for nearly all of a 2 hour+ movie. I like a lot of what’s going on, but can’t deny that it kind of looks like mud fighting mud. The movie foretells the the more boring, dominant strain of American blockbuster climaxes, but at least the designs as cool as hell.

Maybe part of the problem is that we’re less familiar with the humans left in Zion: for the most part, Neo and Trinity are off on their own mission, Morpheus is on a ship bound to Zion (hopefully before it’s too late!) and our main protagonist for much of the movie is Harry Lennix’s Commander Lock, who is essentially every atheist you ever met who won’t shut the fuck up about being an atheist. I’m not sure if the Wachowskis heard the complaints about The Matrix Reloaded being too navel-gazing but here they seem to have sacrificed dialogue for having a character tell everyone he doesn’t believe in “The One” or “Neo” or “Miracles” twice per conversation, just to set him up as a foil to Morpheus, who is defined by his belief in the unbelievable.

Ultimately, though, this movie is about ending The Matrix, arguably the defining action franchise for its time. Maybe this movie didn’t need to exceed two hours, as spectacle-filled those two hours are. Certainly, I’d say it feels instinctively like the plot could be split more evenly between the two sequels, somehow. But this is an ending, and as far as climaxes go, the final fight between the virulent Agent Smith and Neo (in the rain! How dramatic!) is a knockout, a perfect encapsulation of their relationship and goals as they have changed and clashed throughout these three movies. Through 2021 eye it lacks the novelty of those first fights in the original The Matrix, sure. And, not to harp on this too much, but I have seen many, many fights between super beings suspended in midair, fighting above an urban skyline now. But a kung fu fight in the sky under a torrential downpour where every punch creates a sonic boom that blows out a skyscraper’s windows? What a way to go out. I hope Lana Wachowski knows what she’s doing, opening Pandora’s box with the sequel that comes out in the next couple weeks. But, based on these movies, I trust that she does.

7/10

[dfroza]

Love is always True and it doesn’t change.

but it can change us, when we are humble enough to allow it.

and in this world we are meant to guard the heart and Love’s sacred truth. we need to guard a seed of rebirth by never turning away from grace. and we need to help provide for this, to illuminate it.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 8th chapter of the Letter of 2nd Corinthians that looks at giving and receiving:

Now, brothers and sisters, let me tell you about the amazing gift of God’s grace that’s happening throughout the churches in Macedonia. Even in the face of severe anguish and hard times, their elation and poverty have overflowed into a wealth of generosity. I watched as they willingly gave what they could afford and then went beyond to give even more. They came to us on their own, begging to take part in this work of grace to support the poor saints in Judea. We were so overwhelmed—none of us expected their reaction—that they truly turned their lives over to the Lord and then gave themselves to support us in our work as we answer the call of God. That’s why we asked Titus to finish what he started among you regarding this gracious work of charity. Just as you are rich in everything—in faith and speech, in knowledge and all sincerity, and in the love we have shown among you—now I ask you to invest richly in this gracious work too. I am not going to command you, but I am going to offer you the chance to prove your love genuine in the same way others have done. You know the grace that has come to us through our Lord Jesus the Anointed. He set aside His infinite riches and was born into the lowest circumstance so that you may gain great riches through His humble poverty. Listen, it’s been a year since we called your attention to this opportunity to demonstrate God’s grace, so here’s my advice: pull together your resources and finish what you started.

Remember how excited you were at first; it’s time to complete this task in the same spirit. Now if there is a willingness to help, give within your means. That’s perfectly acceptable. No one expects you to go without or borrow to give. The objective is not to go under so others will have some relief; the objective is to use this opportunity today to supply their needs out of your abundance. One day it may be the other way around, and they will need to supply your needs from what they have. That’s equality. As it is written, “The one who gathered plenty didn’t have more than he needed; the one who gathered little didn’t have less.”

I praise God who lovingly burdened Titus’s heart for you just as He did mine. You see, when we approached him about you, he eagerly stepped up, not only because of our request but because of his own desire to help. We’re also sending with him a brother who is well known among the gatherings of believers because of how well he proclaims the good news. And there’s more you should know: he has been handpicked by the churches to accompany us as we carry on this work of grace. All this is being done for the glory of the Lord and to show our own good will. We’re being careful so that no one can claim that we are mishandling the funds we’ve collected. For we are taking every precaution to remain aboveboard—not only in the Lord’s eyes, but in the eyes of the people too. So we are also sending another brother who’s proven himself time and again. He’s certainly trustworthy and enthusiastic for the gospel; and after hearing about all you are doing, he’s even more excited because he has confidence in you. If anyone asks about Titus, he’s my partner and coworker in this ministry to you. If there’s any question about who the other brothers and sisters are, they are emissaries of the churches, traveling to bring glory to the Anointed One, our Liberating King. So welcome them before the community in love; show the churches they represent that I have not exaggerated your charity and kindness.

The Letter of 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 8 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 59th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that deals with the nature of lies:

The Eternal One’s reach is not so short that He cannot save you.

His ear is not so deaf that He cannot hear you.

Your persistent wrongdoing has come between you and your God;

since you constantly reject and push God away,

He had to turn aside and ignore your cries.

For your hands are covered with blood;

your fingers are sticky with all manner of crimes;

Your lips drip vicious lies;

your tongue mutters all manner of wickedness.

Everyone misuses the judicial system,

clogging it with twisted accusations and misleading testimony.

With empty charges and baseless lies

they conceive trouble and give birth to injustice.

They concoct and create the most poisonous things;

it’s as if they hatch vipers’ eggs or weave spiders’ webs.

Eat their eggs and die; crush one and a viper is hatched—

yet more poison, hurt, and distrust.

There is nothing of value in their creations—

the webs they weave are not fit to clothe or cover anyone.

The products they make are nothing but trouble;

violence comes naturally to them.

Their feet race to do evil;

they rush to shed innocent blood;

Their thoughts are bent toward injustice;

destruction and trouble line the roads of their lives.

They never travel the path of peace;

no justice is found where they have been.

They set a course down crooked roads;

no one who follows their lead has a chance of knowing peace.

People: That’s why we can’t make things right;

good and true can’t gain any ground on us.

We look earnestly for a bright spot, but there isn’t

even a glimmer of hope; it’s darkness all around.

We are left to stumble along, grabbing at whatever seems solid,

like the blind finding their way down a strange and threatening street.

In broad daylight—when we should have sight—we stumble and fall as in the dark.

We are already like the dead among those brimming with health.

We growl like bears and moan like doves.

We hope that maybe, just maybe, it will all turn out right;

But it doesn’t. We look for liberation, but it’s too far away.

For our wrongdoing runs too deep before You.

Our sins stack up against us—sure evidence of our guilt.

For our offenses are always with us; they are insidious and lasting, as You know.

Our guilt says it all. We know it, too.

We took You for nothing, and did just the opposite of Your commands.

We broke our promises to You, ignored and rejected You.

We hatched up schemes to oppress others and rebel, to twist the truth for our gain

while presenting it as honest-to-God fact.

When justice calls, we turn it away.

Righteousness knows to keep its distance,

For truth stumbles in the public square,

and honesty is not allowed to enter.

There is no truth-telling anymore,

and anyone who tries to do right finds he is the next target.

It’s true. The Eternal One saw it all

and was understandably perturbed at the absence of justice.

God looked long and hard, but there wasn’t a single person

who tried to put a stop to the injustice and lies.

So God took action. His own strong arm reached out and brought salvation.

His own righteousness—good and pure—sustained Him.

But God’s equipment was that of no ordinary warrior:

He strapped on righteousness as His breastplate,

And put on the helmet of salvation.

Wrapped in vengeance for clothing and passion as a cloak, God prepared for war.

Finally, God determined they must get what they’ve earned:

fury to those who oppose Him, vengeance against those who are against Him.

To the ends of the known world, God will go to render justice.

This is how people from east to west will come to respect the name

and honor the glory of the Eternal.

For He will come on like a torrential flood driven by the Eternal’s winds.

Eternal One: The Redeemer will come to make Zion right again,

to rescue those of Jacob’s holy line who turn their backs on wrongdoing.

This is what the Eternal One declares.

Eternal One: This is My covenant promise to them: My Spirit, which rests on and moves in you, and My words, which I have placed within you, will continue to be spoken among you and move you to action. And not only you, but so it will be for your children and their children too. And so on through the generations for all time.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 59 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, August 6 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that reflects upon the pure significance of grace:

If you ever feel frustrated because of recurring personal struggles and failures, do not add to your troubles by despising yourself, but instead allow your character defects to lead you to humility and surrender before God. Bear in mind that you are unable to please God apart from his intervention and help (John 6:63), so avoid self-reproach, since teshuvah ("repentance") is not about learning to deal with your pains, after all, but trusting the Lord to do the miracle of healing within you. You "have been crucified with the Messiah" (Gal. 2:20) - the verb used in this phrase is a "perfect passive" form (i.e., συνεσταύρωμα), meaning that it indicates completed action done on your behalf. Your job is not to devise your own sanctification but to receive the blessing by faith, trusting in God's righteousness given on your behalf. The focus is not on you, and when you get out of the way and surrender, the grace and love of God will do the impossible within you (Matt. 19:26). In a way, teshuvah is a form of death, that is, identifying with the judgment of Messiah given on your behalf, just as teshuvah is life as you take hold of your new identity in him. Practically speaking you turn away (i.e., "die to") your anger, disappointments, bitterness, and sorrows by turning to the Lord for his acceptance and grace. God will bring freedom and newness of life from what binds your heart. As C.S. Lewis once advised: "Remember that He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can't see it. So quietly submit to being painted, that is, keep fulfilling all the obvious duties of your station... asking forgiveness for each failure and then leaving it alone. You are in the right way. Walk --- don't keep on looking at it" (Collected Letters). How you do teshuvah depends a great deal on where you are standing: if you are before the cross of Messiah, then you stand on the side of divine grace; otherwise you will remain in a place of exile, questioning God’s love for you.

The message of the gospel (i.e., הבשורה, from the word basar) requires that you regard yourself as worth dying for, that you are God’s friend... “There is no greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). God quite literally demands that you regard yourself as benefited by the sacrifice of his beloved son Yeshua in your place; he demands that you understand how dear you are to his heart. God sees something of such great value in you that he was willing to suffer and die to redeem it from loss... Just as the kingdom of God is a “pearl of great price,” so you are a pearl of great price to God. What grieves and angers God is the refusal to believe that you are someone of infinite importance to him... Only God can rightfully make such a demand because He knows that loving other things more than Him leads to "disordered love," darkness, and eventual madness. We were made for God's love, but substituting finite things for this infinite need will never suffice to bring lasting healing to our souls...

Those who are “in the flesh” cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). We must turn away from regarding ourselves as mere “flesh” and understand that we are essentially spiritual beings created and redeemed by God (2 Cor. 5:16). We must give up the distinctions in the “world of basar” - the carnal world that is known through sensuous apprehension - and accept ourselves as “new creations” in the Messiah. It is “not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Rom. 9:6-8).

The mere conviction of sin is not the same thing as repentance. We have to step beyond a troubled conscience and have our sin crucified by God’s love and grace. Grace is therefore essential to genuine repentance, since moral reformation is never enough. “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” We must be humbled so that we can receive. God gives us bitter experience of our inadequacy to call us to return to him. Only God can kill the power of sin within our hearts. Conviction of sin is not the end, but rather newness of life...

There is a place for godly sorrow, of course, and for genuine regret over our sins. As we understand God’s desire and love for us, we begin to realize that the essence of sin is the refusal of God’s heart for us. The underlying issue with sin concerns the question of God’s love. Simply abstaining from certain actions does not address the deepest need of the heart. It is not turning away from sin that matters as much as turning toward God. The death of sin is meant to lead us to the life of love... [Hebrew for Christians]

and another:

God is both infinitely loving and infinitely just, and both of these “attributes” are inseparably a part of who he is. God is One. Nonetheless, the cross of Yeshua proves that “love is stronger than death, passion fiercer than the grave; its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame, the very flame of the Lord” (Song. 8:6). It is at the cross that “love and truth have met, righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psalm 85:10). This means we must drop our defenses – even those supposed objections and pretenses voiced by our shame – and “accept that we are accepted.” It is God’s great love for you that leads you to repent and to turn to him. Allow yourself to be embraced by his “everlasting arms.”

Genuine repentance will entirely change you. It is an act of profound respect over what God has done on your behalf. You say, but I am a miserable wretch! Indeed that is so, but the consciousness of your wretched state is the heart’s cry for love... God goes “outside the camp” to meet with you. He enters the leper colony to join you there, in your wretchedness, and even takes upon your fatal disease. He sees you in your desperate estate and joins you there. God enters into the dust of your death and says, “Live!”

Repentance means changing your thinking, turning around to face the truth, and returning to embrace God’s love. It does not identify the whole person with sin, but rather regards all people as redeemable, worthy, and valuable to God. Conviction of sin is not the end, but rather the means to newness of life. God saved us so that we could be in a love relationship with Him. We must “choose life,” and that means choosing to welcome God’s love into your heart. The only sin that can keep you from God’s everlasting love is the denial that his love is personally for you. You must forsake seeing yourself “in the flesh” and take hold of God’s spirit, his passion, and his grace for your soul. You are worthy to be loved because God is worthy to make you so.

Repent and believe the good news. God is love, and that love is *for you*... [Hebrew for Christians]

8.5.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

August 6, 2021

Treasures of the Snow

“Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?” (Job 38:22)

It is interesting that this book, the oldest in the Bible, contains more references to snow, ice, and frost than any other book of the Bible. This is despite the fact that Job’s homeland was in what is now essentially a desert region. Possibly the effects of the post-Flood Ice Age were still strong in Job’s day.

In any case, the beautiful phrase “treasures of the snow” is both appropriate and prophetic. Its crystal structure, though mostly in the form of delicate six-pointed “stars,” is endlessly varied and always intricately symmetrical and incredibly beautiful.

The snow is a treasure in other ways as well. The winter’s snowpack in the mountains is often called “white gold” because of its indispensable water storage capacity, released in the melting season each spring to provide life to teeming cities and irrigation in the desert for needed food supplies. The snow also aids in maintaining the planet’s chemical cycles by returning various elements in the nuclei of its flakes back from the ocean to the lands from which they were leached and transported by rivers to the oceans. When the snowpack becomes a glacier, it can greatly assist in the breakup of rocks to form fertile soils.

In the Scriptures, its pure white color is often used to symbolize the cleansing of a sinful heart that trusts the Lord. “Wash me,” said David, “and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” the Lord promises those who come to Him for salvation (Isaiah 1:18).

As the snow comes down from heaven, so comes the Word of God to ask the soul as in today’s text: “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” (Job 38:22). HMM

[cheatdeathsarchive]

FOR MOBILE: CONNECTIONS ( FACTIONS )

ROBERT HOUSE: Six harbors unrequited feelings for Robert House. She feels indebted to him for bringing her back from the dead. they nearly had a falling out when he demanded the Brotherhood be destroyed, and while that cooled her infatuation with him, she still jumps if he commands it. House is largely unaware of this infatuation, though he does feel a large sense of pride and gratitude for the work Courier Six has done for his vision of New Vegas and the Strip.

BENNY & YES MAN: Upon arriving at the Strip, Six sought Benny out to get answers. She got them as well as an offer: help him overthrow House. Benny, along with Yes Man, taught Six the ways of underhanded scheming, and somewhere along the way the business relationship became something a little more… physical. The chip traded hands several more times before Benny fled into the hands of Caesar’s Legion, where Six helped him escape after making him promise he would never show his face in the Mojave again. Yes Man was disassembled and reconnected to House’s systems soon after, Six having been given access to him during her time working with Benny.

CAESAR'S LEGION: With the generous offer to use her medical experience to attend to Caesar’s tumor, a complication in surgery had him dying on the table. In the resulting chaos, Benny and the chip were lost, and there was only one guess as to who was responsible. Six, by some miracle, talked the Legate Lanius down from throwing the Legion into the fray at Hoover Dam, cinching it for Mr. House. after Lanius’ retreat, the securitrons under the fort were dispatched and cleaned up what legionaries were still at Fortification Hill. Six spent time in Arizona teaching medicine to some of the slaves, and was careful to also outline ways they could rebel once the opportunity arose. With the war in full motion and the power vacuum that arose after Caesar’s death, the Legion struggled to organize themselves enough to deal with the growing pockets of resistance.

NCR: Her time in service with them has the mostly on pleasant terms, though her work with Robert House and preventing them from making a foothold in the Mojave has the relationship friendly, but strained.

BOOMERS: Though the Boomers have begun to interact with caravans and traders outside of Nellis, they remain largely at the air base. It is Six's hope that some kind of truce can be brokered to allow for air travel across the Wastes thanks to the Boomer's resources.

BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL: Upon House’s demand that the chapter be destroyed, Six spent excess time trying to figure out a way to create some sort of unlikely alliance. Her hand was a bit forced when Brotherhood Scribe Veronica Santangelo attempted to kill her. Not long after the hidden bunker was nothing but a pile of underground rubble, and those who had been outside the bunker upon its destruction either made their way back to California or died the same way so many in the Mojave do.

GREAT KHANS: Sfter peacefully resolving the hostage situation with the NCR and preventing the last of the Khans from complete wipeout, the Khans are making due and scraping by with their smaller numbers.

ENCLAVE: Encouraged to place their bets with the NCR, as the NCR retreated from the Mojave so too did the remaining members of the Enclave who had chosen to back them in the battle.

FOLLOWERS OF THE APOCALYPSE: With Arcade at her shoulder encouraging an independent New Vegas, the next best thing was to work with the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Kings to make Freeside and North Vegas a better place for those less fortunate. After all, all the good fortune comes back around tenfold.

THE STRIP & THE FAMILIES: After some changes in management, the three Families that run the top casinos on the Strip are to a much better standard. Fortunes are still won and lost in moments, only now it’s with far more flair.

THE KINGS: Convincing The Kings to make nice with the NCR, Six made it worth their while when Mr. House finally took control of the Hoover Dam. Still a fixture of Freeside, The King's work -- though tentatively -- with the Followers of the Apocalypse on improving conditions. Six wishes badly to be a member of The Kings, finding an unlikely friendship with their leader, the King himself.

FREESIDE: Though there is a bit of a disagreement on how things should be handled, the overall wish to make Freeside more than just a place for addicts and pickpockets is strong enough to disregard any ill feelings.

GOODSPRINGS: Six spent several months recovering in the small town. Thanks to the efforts of Doc Mitchell, Sunny Smiles, and the other locals of Goodsprings, the damage of being shot in the head was... relatively minimal. Courier Six can still be found visiting from time to time, appreciative and attached to the little place that saved her life.

NOVAC: After Jeanie May Crawford’s unfortunate death, and introducing Chris Haversam to the settlement, Novac did well for itself, though Dinky the t-rex toys are still not purchased by anyone other than Courier Six.PRIMM: After Beagle’s unfortunate death at the hands of the Powder Gangers, Primm’s new sheriff, Primm Slim, did a surprisingly good job of keeping the peace.

JACOBSTOWN: Six and Lily worked with the super mutants here to help develop a cure for their schizophrenia. The settlement flourished as a safe place for super mutants, and their supply trades, facilitated by Cassidy Caravans, helped sustain their small haven.

POWDER GANGERS: After Six helped Ringo and Goodsprings from their attack, word spread around their ranks to keep an eye out for a woman in a vault suit. Eventually, with the help of upgraded securitrons, what remained of the Powder Gangers were once again incarcerated if not killed outright.

THE SORROWS: Working with Daniel, Six assisted with their escape from Zion and the battle between the Dead Horses and White Legs. She eventually met up with them again, where she was finally able to meet Walking Cloud’s children.

DEAD HORSES: Six worked with Joshua Graham in repelling the White Legs from the valley. Follows-Chalk was invited to the Strip to see the glory of the old world as a guest of honor before he moved westward to see what the NCR territories had to offer. Six spared Salt-Upon-Wounds’ life. Whatever the Legion would instill as punishment was worse than death.

THE BIG MT.: To the Courier, the entire expanse of the Big Empty was a nightmare. She spent her time there finding comfort in the personalities of The Sink, and visits sparingly to check on Dr. Mobius as well as look through the centuries of research that might benefit the Mojave.

THINK TANK: Angered and afraid of the brains of the Think Tank, after being reunited with her brain and making sure her spine and heart were where they needed to be, Six guaranteed that the they would do no harm to the rest of the Wasteland by killing them and taking the Big MT for herself.

SIERRA MADRE: Following the trail left behind by Father Elijah and the mysterious other courier in hopes it would take her mind off of Veronica’s death, Six wakes up with a bomb collar around her neck and a pressing need to return home. After all, she left a lot of unfinished business behind. She jumps through all the hoops Elijah has put forth, working with a group who doesn't trust her to break into the long-sealed casino for nothing. The golden bars are still locked in the vault along with the late Elijah's corpse.

LONESOME ROAD: information to come.

[kingfindekano]

tagged by the lovely @jeffreycombs​!

last

1. drink - iced tea

2. phone call -  my dad i think

3. text message - claire in the dnd gt

4. song you listened to - make your own kind of music - mama cass elliot

5. time you cried - yesterday when one of the main show themes played in Lost

ever

6. dated someone twice? - nooooooo

7. kissed someone and regretted it - no

8. been cheated on - not physically no

9. lost someone special - yep & two of them to the same type of cancer. lung cancer can fuck all the way off

10. been depressed - yes

11. gotten drunk and thrown up - nope

fave colours

12. forest green

13. sky grey

14. stormy blue

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends - yes

16. fallen out of love - never been in love in the last year

17. laughed until you cried - nearly every day rip

18. found out someone was talking about you - not in a negative way

19. met someone who changed you - does that bus tour guide in scotland who made me realize what an absolutely MASSIVE thing i have for scottish accents count

20. found out who your friends are - i’ve never had a “now i know who my real friends are” moment; i’ve been very fortunate in the friend department lol

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list - nope

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl - like 93%

23. do you have any pets - not anymore alas. my dad has 3 labs tho & i get to see them when i visit his house

24. do you want to change your name - frequently but it’s too much of a HASSLE

25. what did you do for your last birthday - i don’t remember

26. what time did you wake up today - 8:16

27. what were you doing at midnight last night - reading newmann fics & bouncing around various social media apps. cackling about this one dog picture i saw on peyton’s blog

28. what is something you cant wait for - the next episode of rpdr allstars 3!!!

30. what are you listening to right now - Welcome to the Rock (from Come From Away)

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - not that i recall

32. something thats getting on your nerves - popcorn chewing noises

33. most visited website - the tungle probably but i go on reddit a fair bit

34. hair colour - dark dark dark brown

35. long or short hair - long

36. do you have a crush on someone - an all-encompassing crush on ben linus from Lost and elizabeth olsen. also jeff goldblum

37. what do you like about yourself - intelligence, music/writing ability, good listener, thick hair that’s useful for keeping my head/neck toasty even tho the house is freezing. also that one freckle on my lip

38. want any piercings? - a second set of ear piercings would be rad

39. blood type - A positive

40. nicknames - rose/hannah rose

41. relationship status - single

42. zodiac - taurus sun, libra rising

43. pronouns - she/her

44. fave tv shows - LOST, TURN AMC, star trek, rpdr, merlin, torchwood, spn, stranger things, parks and rec, the office

45. tattoos - none

46. right or left handed - right

47. ever had surgery - for wisdom teeth

48. piercings - just ears

49. sport - volleyball & the 50m dash away from my responsibilities

50. vacation - my last vacation was a graduation present we’d saved up for for a while–a trip to London & Scotland that was SO GOOD. prob going to zion national park for a few days next!

51. trainers - what

more general

52. eating - just had some carrots & half a loaf of trader joe’s pretzel bread

53. drinking - iced tea, immediately followed by beet/apple/carrot juice from central market, which was a MISTAKE. those aftertastes do. not go well together.

54. i’m about to watch - Lost 

55. waiting for - writer’s block to vanish

56. want - the cloudy, cold weather to stay

57. get married - yes

58. career - who knooooowwwwsssssssssssss

which is better

59. hugs or kisses - kisses

60. lips or eyes - eyes

61. shorter or taller - taller

62. older or younger - older

63. nice arms or stomach - stomach

64. hookup or relationship - relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant - hesitant

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger - nope

67. drank hard liquor - nope

68. lost glasses - no

69. turned someone down - yes

70. sex on first date - no

71. broken someones heart - not that i’m aware

72. had your heart broken - i guEss

73. been arrested - nope

74. cried when someone died - yep

75. fallen for a friend - in love? no. had a passing crush? yes

do you believe in

76. yourself - yes

77. miracles - yes

78. love at first sight - nope but i do believe in a Very Strong Connection at first sight

79. santa clause - omg

80. kiss on a first date - sure

81. angels - yeah 

other

82. best friend’s name - adjfjfd i couldn’t say one bc i’ve got around 5 people i consider Best Friends

83. eye colour - blueish. sorta grey or green depending on the day

84. fave movie - either chocolat or mad max fury road

85. fave actor - michael emerson. he’s so COMPELLING

tagging: anyone who see this and wants to do it!

[la-appel-du-vide]

Thanksgiving 2019 🍂🥧🥐🥔

Another Hatch Thanksgiving in the books... though this one was a little different than usual.

This time, it was me, Whit, Mom and Dad driving down in one car, and Isaac and Alyssa driving down in another. Aubrey stayed home cause she didn’t really want to go... also we needed someone to take care of the animals. Kinda weird to not have the whole family together. And kinda weird to have a girlfriend join us for the first time.

The weather was forecasted to be a snowstorm Wednesday-Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, which is just what you want to hear when you have to drive to Hatch and back on those days. On our drive down there after work on Wednesday, Dad realized that he had forgotten all of his medications. By that point, we were in Beaver, and it was like 8:30 pm. I quickly called around looking for pharmacies, but the closest one that was still open was a Walgreens in St. George, and they closed at ten. They agreed that they could give Dad an emergency 2-day supply, but that he would have to come pick it up by 10 pm. Luckily, Stephanie lives in St. George and she was able to go get it for us. So we had to drive all the way down to St. George to get the medication, and by that point it was almost midnight. Dad decided to just call it a night and get a hotel room there, instead of driving back to Hatch. Fine by me! That just means that I get an actual bed, instead of having to sleep on the gym floor hahaha.

We had a great night sleep, but unfortunately, mom and dad sent all their stuff down with Isaac and Alyssa, so they couldn’t even get ready in the morning. Kind of entertaining for me and Whit though. (;

We had a long drive back up to Hatch, since a lot of roads were closed due to dangerous conditions from the snow. We ended up driving through Zion’s National Park - which did make for a pretty drive. 

Once we finally got there, Thanksgiving preparations were in full swing. I helped put together some of mom’s dishes while she got ready for the day (at noon (; ). We played games with the cousins and Darlene, recreated a picture from like 12 years ago (Annie was so happy that I picked up Cole - it made her day), and we caught up with everybody. 

We ate a little later than planned, because Todd’s kid was really late and they didn’t want to start without him. (I think Annie was very annoyed by this haha, oops.) But dinner was excellent - especially the mashed potatoes and the CROISSANTS! First year I’ve ever had croissants as part of Thanksgiving dinner, and I was so here for it.

Isaac, Whitnie, Alyssa and I left pretty quickly after dinner, because mom was worried about us driving in the dark/snow, and I had to get home for Black Friday. (It was a good thing we left when we did too. When mom and dad came home on Friday, it took them almost twice as long because it was an absolute blizzard the whole way.) But it was good to see everybody, and a great Thanksgiving. 

This year, I’m extra grateful for my Dad. It is definitely a miracle that he is still here with us, and we can’t ever take that for granted. It hurts my heart a little that his quality of life isn’t what it used to be - he gets little shocks from his defibrillator all the time and it is so uncomfortable for him - but it makes me happy to see him happy. Watching football, talking to his brothers, playing with Archie, drinking Diet Antifreeze.... all the things that he loves to do. 

I’m also so grateful to be healthy, to have everything that I need, to have great friends and family, for a job that pays me well, and for so many amazing opportunities. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

[ruminativerabbi]

What Melville Saw

When we lived in Heidelberg, we often heard it said that the reason the town was largely spared during the Allied bombing raids that hastened the end of the Second World War was because General Eisenhower had already decided to set up the headquarters of the American Army in Europe in that town and wished it to be, at least more or less, in functioning order (i.e., with clean running water and an intact electrical grid) when the Germans finally surrendered. That much apparently is true—but the part of that same story I’m less sure about is the assertion that Eisenhower chose to spare Heidelberg specifically because he fondly remembered reading Mark Twain’s very funny account of his visit there in his 1880 book, A Tramp Abroad, and thought it would be a kind of after-the-fact homage to Twain to set up American headquarters in one of the few German cities with deep roots in American literary history. After all, it had to be somewhere!

A Tramp Abroad is mostly forgotten today, although it really is very amusing and interesting, as is its companion work, The Innocents Abroad, which wraps up with Twain’s extended account of his trip to Israel���then Turkish Palestine—in 1867. I read both books years ago—I went through a period during which I could hardly read enough of Mark Twain—and enjoyed them both, as I also did Twain’s other travel books, particularly Roughing It (which is about Twain’s travels in the Old West and Hawaii in the 1860’s) and Life on the Mississippi (about the years he spent as a riverboat captain on the St. Louis to New Orleans route). For readers who only know Mark Twain through his fiction, I recommend all these books for the glimpse they offer into the man himself when he wasn’t writing about Tom, Huck, and all the rest.

I was brought back to thinking about The Innocents Abroad this summer by an essay by Meir Soloveitchik in which the author compares Twain’s account of his visit with one that took place a cool seven centuries earlier, the one undertaken by one of the greatest of all medieval Jewish scholars and authors, Ramban (i.e., Rabbi Moshe ben Naḥman, also called Naḥmanides) in 1267. (To read Soloveitchik’s essay, published in Commentary just last month, click here.)

The thrust of the essay is to show how two authors, both clearly men of integrity and insight, were able to look out at the same landscape and see two entirely different things.

For Twain, what mattered most was the dreariness of the place. He has some caustic comments about the “big” tourist sites—he is particularly biting about his visit to the alleged grave of Adam within the confines of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem—but his most acidulous disdain he pours out on the land itself, which he found barren, lifeless, and—to say the very least—desolate. It is not at all a flattering portrait. Nor would or even could anyone reading it cold (i.e., without any previous sense of attachment to the land) come away possessed of any sort of interest in ever visiting it personally.

To this uninviting travelogue, Soloveitchik compares Ramban’s account of his visit. What brought him to Jerusalem is a sad story in its own right. Ramban apparently acquitted himself quite well in the famous 1263 public debate about the legitimacy and reasonableness of Jewish beliefs known to history as Disputation of Barcelona. (For interested readers, a remarkable graphic novel about the Barcelona Disputation by Nina Caputo and Liz Clarke called Debating Truth: The Barcelona Disputation of 1263, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016 and is extremely readable and at least as interesting as it is upsetting.) By all accounts he was eloquent and convincing, for which effort he was rewarded by being charged with blasphemy and eventually exiled from Spain. And so, after several years of sojourning in various overseas locations, he arrived in Eretz Yisrael in 1267, precisely six centuries before Mark Twain.

Ramban also found the place desolate and mostly forsaken. But instead of describing the land as bleak and abandoned, he saw in it a land in mourning for its former glories. Indeed, he suggested that, just as people tend only to find true solace in the wake of tragic loss in the company of caring family members, so does the Land itself exist in a state of misery as it awaits the return of its children. And so he set to work, playing a major role in galvanizing the Jews present in the land and, among other things, founding the famous Ramban Synagogue that has existed ever since in the Old City of Jerusalem other than during the dark days of the Jordanian occupation from 1948 through 1967. And he also invented Zionism, writing passionate, interesting letters back to Spain in an attempt to re-awaken a desire among his people to return to Zion and re-establish Jewish life in the Holy Land.

Soloveitchik’s essay, which I liked very much, set Twain and Ramban in opposition. But I would like to add a third voice, one almost always ignored even by Americans otherwise familiar with his work: I am thinking of Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick and one of my personal literary heroes. Melville, the bicentenary of whose 1819 birth lovers of American books everywhere are celebrating this year, also made a trip to the Holy Land and wrote about it. But he did so in an entirely different way than Twain.

Melville left behind a complex legacy. Moby-Dick is acknowledged by all as an American classic, but others of his books, including some truly famous in their own day, are hardly remembered by anyone. But least recalled of all is surely Melville’s epic poem, Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

Coming in at a cool 18,000 lines, Clarel is a big read. Avery big read. (My edition is 893 pages long.) Nor is it an easy one: the plot is extremely confusing, the cast of characters is immense, the language is obscure in many places, and the style is—to say the very least--challenging. This is not a book for the faint-hearted.

And yet it has a place in my heart. Twain was writing to be funny and he succeeded admirably, albeit at the expense of his subject. Melville was attempting to say something profound and inspiring about the place he felt the Land of Israel—and particularly Jerusalem—should play in the American sense of the world and the place of our nation in it. Basing himself on his own experiences traveling there in 1856, he presents himself (played in Clarel by the character Rolfe) and Nathaniel Hawthorne (played in Clarel by Vine) as close friends seeking spiritual fulfillment on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, then moves on from there to involve them in the lives of a dizzying amount of fellow travelers.  It’s an interesting premise and the book could have been a big seller, but that didn’t happen: the initial press run was a mere 350 books, of which the printer ended up burning the unsold copies (which constituted more than half the press run) when the author couldn’t afford to buy them at cost. In 1925, the literary critic Lewis Mumford famously found the pages still uncut in the copy owned by New York Public Library, unambiguous proof that the single copy the Library owned had remained unread for a full half-century. The reviewers, to the extent there were any, were unkind.

Melville, like Ramban and Mark Twain, found Israel to be, to say the least, uninviting. In his journal he wrote this: “Judea is one accumulation of stone: stony torrents & stony roads; stony walls & stony fields, stony houses & stony tombs; stony eyes & stony hearts. Before you and behind you are stones.” Nor does he harbor much hope for a Jewish future in that place, noting that it would be a true miracle if Jewish people were ever to find it in themselves to create a viable agrarian society in such a barren, desolate place.

Nonetheless, Melville found in Israel a place of natural haven for Jews of all sorts. In the endless pages of Clarel, he describes Jews from India, American converts to Judaism who have chosen to settle in the Holy Land, Jewish scientists hard at work deciphering the land’s geological legacy, religious and secular Jewish types, doubters and believers, socialists and capitalists, farmers (or rather, would-be farmers) and urban types. In other words, Clarel looks out at the landscape of mid-nineteenth century Turkish Palestine and sees something remarkably like the State of Israel today: a Jewish country filled with every conceivable kind of Jewish soul attempting to make the desert bloom, to create a viable economy, to find accommodations that make it possible for people of all kinds of beliefs to live in harmony with each other. Mostly, Melville writes endearingly about Judaism itself, seeing in the Jewish faith the platform on which the rest of Jewish life should and does stand. Had the word existed in his day, Melville would surely have been acclaimed as the most prominent non-Jewish Zionist the world had ever seen. (For an excellent introduction to Clarel published by P.J. Grisar in the Forward this summer, click here.)

For all sorts of reasons, American Jews are feeling insecure these days. The attacks on the synagogues in Pittsburgh and Poway are always in the background. The sudden, unexpected shakiness of the traditional bedrock-solid support for Israel in the Congress is (or should be) a source of intense anxiety. (I personally think that the center will hold, but I share the sense of foreboding felt at least slightly, I suspect, by all.) The rise of anti-Semitic incidents both in centers of Jewish life and in places far from those centers is beyond troubling. And then—at least for me personally—there’s Melville waiting in the wings with his gigantic poem describing the deep interpenetration of the American and Jewish dreams, and promoting the idea of the Jewish attachment to the Land of Israel functioning for Americans as a symbol of what can be wrought by wholly dissimilar people when they embrace a single powerful idea.

Melville died in obscurity, his death barely noted and his name misspelled in the obituary that did appear in the New York Times. It took decades for Moby-Dick to take its rightful place among the great American books. And even today many of his works, including some of my favorites, are read by almost no one at all. But beyond all the rest stands one immense poem about America and Americans, about the Holy Land and Jews, about the specific way the future and the past meet in Jerusalem for all who journey there to seek out its peace.

On the two hundredth anniversary of Melville’s birth, I invite you all, at least a little, to sample Clarel and to marvel at what one man, toiling away on East 26th Street, could see of the future.

[romancatholicreflections]

6th July >> Daily Reflection on Today's First Reading (Genesis 22:1-19) for Roman Catholics on Thursday of the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Commentary on Genesis 22:1-19 Today we read of an extraordinary test that Abraham was asked to go through by God. It is to be understood as a test and not a temptation. God never tempts his people to wrong but things are allowed to happen to confirm our faith or prove a commitment we have made. We have seen how several times God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great people. And now he is asked to offer his only legitimate son – the only link with that promised future – as a holocaust to God. It just did not make any sense at all. But Abraham had committed himself by covenant to be obedient to the Lord and had consecrated his son Isaac to the Lord by circumcision. The Lord put his servant’s faith and loyalty to the supreme test, thereby instructing Abraham, Isaac and their descendants as to the kind of total consecration the Lord’s covenant requires. The test also foreshadowed the perfect consecration in sacrifice that another offspring of Abraham would undergo in order to wholly consecrate Abraham and his spiritual descendants (i.e. all of us) to God and to fulfil the covenant promises. There is a parallel here with the story of Hagar and Ishmael which we read yesterday: A journey into the wilderness An encounter with an angel Divine consolation and re-assurance A miracle at the site The naming of the site. Abraham is told to take “his only son, Isaac, whom you love” and to offer him as a burnt offering (holocaust) on a mountain in the land of Moriah. The location of Moriah is not known for certain but it has been identified with the hill on which the Jerusalem temple was later built and later tradition accepted this identification. We see Abraham accepting God’s injunction without a word of protest. This is clearly intended to be another example of his tremendous faith and trust in God’s word. Rising early in the morning, he saddled his donkey and took Isaac together with two of his young men. And, before setting out, he also cut some wood for the sacrifice. It was on the third day of travelling that Abraham saw the place of sacrifice in the distance. He told the young men to remain behind with the donkey, while Abraham and Isaac went to the mountain to worship. After that, they would return (i.e. Abraham would return with the burnt remains of his son). He then laid the wood for the sacrifice on the shoulders of his son, while he himself carried the fire (an unlit torch for kindling the offering) and the knife and then they proceeded to the place of sacrifice. As they walked, Isaac spoke to his father. “We have the fire and the wood but where is the lamb for the offering?” Abraham replied that God himself would provide the sacrificial lamb. On reaching the place of sacrifice, Abraham built an altar and put the wood on it. He bound his son and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. (Isaac seems strangely submissive to all of this!) The future Lamb of God would be sacrificed on wood also. Just as Abraham raised his knife to kill his son, an angel from heaven called him by name. Speaking in the name of God he said: “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Abraham then saw a ram caught in a nearby thicket by its horns. He took the ram and sacrificed it instead of his son. And Abraham called the place “The Lord will provide”, a reference to the answer Abraham gave to his son earlier on about providing a lamb for the sacrifice. It became a proverbial saying: “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” This saying was particularly meaningful if the “mount” was to be identified with the hill of Zion on which the Temple was later built. There then comes a solemn blessing from the Lord: Because Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only son, he will be especially blessed: His offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the grains of sand on the seashore. “Your offspring will possess the gate of their enemies and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessings for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” The “gates of your enemies” is the first clear indication that Israel’s inheritance of Canaan will involve war with the local people and the capturing of cities. To capture the city gates was tantamount to taking the whole town or city. Abraham then returned to where he had left the young men and they went to Beer-sheba where Abraham lived. There are some remarkable foreshadowings in this story of Jesus’ later experience: – As Abraham offered up his only son, so God the Father too will offer up his only Son to be sacrificed. – Isaac carrying the wood for the holocaust on his shoulders prefigures Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary. – And when Isaac asks where is the sheep for the holocaust, Abraham answers: “God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust.” Jesus, too, would be the sheep of the sacrifice, he will be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. There is one big difference, however. In the end, God spared the life of Isaac once he knew of Abraham’s fidelity; but God, who loves the world so much, did not spare his own Son, who was both Priest and Victim. Some commentators also see in the story the basis of the ritual prescription for the redemption, the ‘buying back’ of the first-born of Israel. The first fruits of flocks and herds and animals were usually offered in sacrifice. Humans, however, were not to be sacrificed but bought back, ‘redeemed’. Commentators also see in the last minute preventing of Abraham killing his son strong opposition by the Israelites to the child-sacrifice which was common among neighbouring peoples. But, above all, in this incident it is Abraham’s faith which reaches its climax. Once again we, too, can reflect on the extent of our faith and trust in God. Are we ready to give God anything he asks for, knowing that whatever he asks is for our good? In my life now, what would I find it most difficult to give up if God asked me?

[thecrimsonarcher]

The Zion Mountain Chronicles--Testimony from Sandra “Sandy” Hunt, former member of the Grundy Rescue Squad

It happened every night over the course of several days, starting not long after sunset. It would always come from the same place, a wooded area that was behind the strip mall that used to house the Pig. By some miracle, a small portion of it remained untouched by the flames, a sliver on the hill’s peak. We all believed that’s where it would frequent, possibly where it would “nest” during the daytime. Scary thing is, we never saw it the entire time we were there. Judging by the sounds it made, that thing was huge. How in the hell could something that big hide itself away so easily?

We weren’t stupid. We knew exactly what it was, except for the guys who came in from out of state to help us put out the fires and with recovery efforts. They had absolutely no idea what they had walked into. Poor bastards. They were under the impression Zion Mountain was a quaint little resort town, a facade created by the travel brochures they might have seen at other area attractions. We locals knew better than that. We knew the real Zion Mountain, the one controlled by the cult. I guess that was the real tragedy, huh? On the surface, they wore a mask to cover up the fact they were suffering. It’s sad. They didn’t even realize themselves just how much trouble they were in. Maybe it was ignorance. Maybe they were being naive. Maybe they knew the entire time, but by that point, they had fallen so deep into a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Either way, it was an awful situation that put us all at risk. That thing they brought into this world, the monster they called God, terrorized our camp.

I’ve heard so many stories about this thing, so many that I have no idea which one is true. Now, the one I grew up with claimed their God, Kalona, lived in the mountains outside of town. Some say it lived at the highest peak in the Unicoi Range, Hawkins Bald, where it would look down on the valley and watch over the people of Zion Mountain as their guardian. He would only come down from the Unicoi Range if they were ever in trouble. Kind of ironic when you think about it. They somehow fulfilled their own prophecy. Kalona came down from the mountains all right, but it wasn’t to save them like they said in the old stories. It burned them to death, it viciously maimed them, it hunted them down as they fled for their lives, and even ate their remains.

You’ll never forget that sound once you hear it. This thing made a wide variety of ungodly noises that would send the hair on the back of your neck on end. Right as the sun began to set over the mountain, that’s when the psychological warfare would start. It would last for hours and hours upon end without letting up, it’s end goal being to make us leave Zion Mountain. No matter how terrified we were, we weren’t going to let Kalona win. Not this time. We all had a personal obligation to help the families find the closure they needed and we were going to stay until the last body was recovered.

During the first night, we decided to make a temporary base of operations in one of the few surviving buildings in town, a Dollar General that had opened across the highway from the Unicoi Outlet shopping center a year before. By some miracle, it suffered minor damage, namely to the windows at the store’s entrance. Would you believe they had been riddled with bullet holes? Even stranger, the interior of the store appeared to have been mostly intact and there were no signs of customers or employees by the time all hell broke loose around 8:15 on the night of June 13th. In fact, the front door was locked. Dollar Generals typically stay open until 10 PM, yet this location’s hours of operation were completely different from the rest–8AM to 7PM. We all thought that was a bit weird, but come to think of it….a lot of businesses in Zion Mountain were like that. We never could figure that out.

The second night, we were all gathered in the parking lot, getting ready to have supper. Over the course of our occupation of Zion Mountain, there were many people(wonderful people, I might add) who were generous enough to volunteer their time and resources to help all of the first responders involved. Even if that meant getting a hot meal catered to us after a long day of recovering body after body after body from what little remained of the town, every small gesture meant the world to us. When everything seemed to be lost, I was comforted knowing that there was still a small bit of hope left in an even more hopeless situation. Maybe the people here had strange views we could never understand, but….they didn’t deserve to go like this. No one does. This was something they couldn’t have done to themselves. It was a decision someone made for them. Almost everyone in the Grundy Fire Department felt the exact same way. This wasn’t an accident and it sure as hell wasn’t something done to willing participants. The revelation sent many of us into a deep depression when it was all said and done, that human beings would be capable of such cruelty, to put their own fellow townspeople in harm’s way just to satisfy their evil god. There was no other reason. There was no other justification for it.

We were standing in the parking lot when we heard it for the very first time on the second night. The smoldering ruins of Zion Mountain were silent that night as the sun began to set over the mountain. As far as we knew, the entire strip mall where the Pig was located was empty. The parking lot was suspiciously absent of any cars, which we thought was really strange.

As it moved down the mountain, the sound of small trees being snapped and making impact with the rocky, steep terrain beneath the weight of this thing echoed across the hollow remains of town, causing everyone to stop in their tracks and listen. Branches from the taller trees broke off, sliding down the side of the mountain, some making impact with the concrete below, where the old loading docks for the stores once stood.

Whatever in the hell this thing was, it was huge. Sure, the Unicoi Range was no stranger to animals that were pretty good sized. In fact, I can recall reading the paper and seeing where a teenage boy shot a wild hog that was roughly 600 pounds about a year or so before the incident had taken place. There were black bears, wild hogs, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes that were as big around as a man’s arm up on the mountain, but nothing that ever lived or existed before or since was as big as this thing.

It started out as a deep growl that rumbled like a rolling thunderclap across the smoldering ruins, gradually becoming louder and louder until it was the only sound we could hear. All of Zion Mountain fell into a nervous silence, terrified and unsure of where exactly the sound was coming from. Even the lone whippoorwill that had been calling off in the distance prior to this hushed itself, scared of what was about to happen. The way the mountain stood behind the shopping center, it was almost like a natural amphitheater, amplifying any loud noise coming from it. For all we knew, it could’ve been further down the mountain. It was getting dark and we could barely see what was going on across the highway from us, making the situation even more tense than it already was. Not once did I take my eyes off the mountain. Was I terrified? Absolutely. We had no way of knowing at the time this was more than likely what caused Zion Mountain’s destruction. I had no idea we were that close to Kalona. I don’t recall when I came to that conclusion, but when it finally “clicked”, I was deeply disturbed. It could’ve easily came down from its nest and took us all out at once, but…it didn’t.  

And then, that’s when all hell broke loose. The growls suddenly stopped and it let out this….loud, bellowing roar that became more and more high pitched, like a bloodcurdling scream, stopping everyone dead in their tracks. Once it started, it wasn’t letting up. It screamed and screamed into the coming darkness, its loud wails echoing across the plain. It was like nails on a chalkboard at times.

From that night on, it became a regular occurrence we had other choice but to put up with. Starting at dusk, Kalona would start making its ungodly howls before finally stopping at 2 and 3 in the morning, leaving us so unnerved we couldn’t go to sleep. Sleep was out of the question when we spent most of our time dealing with the trauma of having to dig up the remains of our loved ones and being afraid for our lives. The stress became too much for some people, causing them to leave Zion Mountain and never look back. A few had to be hospitalized after suffering from nervous breakdowns, panic attacks, heart attacks, and in one case, a stroke.

Despite my personal ties to Zion Mountain, I refuse to go back so long as Kalona still haunts the Unicoi Range. Considering the bullet holes we found at the front entrance of the Dollar General, were they trying to defend themselves against Kalona, who suddenly came down from the mountains as the legends spoke? Was something far more sinister at play here?

–Testimony from Sandra “Sandy” Hunt, former member of the Grundy Rescue Squad

[gregkatepetegowest]

Grand Canyon National Park - OH YEAH!

This is a long one!

Our drive from Albuquerque to the Grand Canyon was scheduled to be just under six hours which was one of our longer one day drives. A couple hours into the drive, we saw signs indicating that I-40 W was closed due to an accident. We got off at the next exit and got gas because Pete lives in fear of running out and by that point, our GPS was routing us to Route 66 which essentially runs parallel to I-40. For a couple miles we were cruising while I-40 next to us was at a dead stop but we soon hit traffic and ended up adding around 40 minutes to our drive. Not ideal but when we passed the wreck that had closed the interstate down, we felt grateful to safely be able to continue our journey to AZ.

We arrived in Tusayan, AZ around 5 pm and felt victorious to have made it. We opted to stay very close to the South Rim Entrance which was quite a bit pricier but felt worth it.

Quick digression: I waited to book our lodging until a month or so before we left which was a mistake, especially since we are traveling with a dog. Lodging inside the parks book up a year in advance so I had a really hard time finding affordable places to stay that were relatively close to park entrances AND allowed dogs. However, if you camp, you should have many, many more options to choose from than we did!

Okay, back to Tusayan! We decided for day one of hiking we would tackle as much of Bright Angel as we could. This trail is a 15 mile out and back with an elevation gain of 4,400 feet. The trail descents to the bottom of the canyon and leads you to the Colorado River. There is a lodge at the bottom, The Phantom Lodge, that is extremely sought after. The only way to get a reservation is a lottery system and yes, Pete and I are now on the list. If you don’t want to hike to the lodge you do have the option to ride a mule in and out. TBD on what we’ll do when our name comes up in the lottery (manifesting this to the universe).

We got up at 5:45 am and I took Greg for a quick walk (it was 38 degrees outside). Our hotel, The Red Feather Lodge, was located on a touristy strip of hotels and restaurants, so it was super quiet when we were walking. I found a little trail that ran parallel to the main street and hopped onto that. We had only walked for a few minutes when I spotted an enormous male elk with a GIANT rack laying in the leaves just off the side of the trail. Thank f’n goodness I saw him before Gregor did. He definitely saw us but was relatively unphased. We slowly backed up and head back to the main street at a speed walk. I could still see his head/antlers from the street and he tracked us until we were out of view. Really cool to see (from afar) and very happy Gregor didn’t spot him because he would have lost his dog mind. I also informed Pete that he would be coming on the morning walk the next day.

By the time we were at the trailhead it was around 7:20 am and it was nearly 70 degrees. About half a mile into the hike we realized we were overdressed in clothing and underdressed in sunscreen. The views were incredible, but it was hard not to think about the hike out as we descended into the canyon. The further down we traveled, there was less wind and more heat. We decided to turn around just before mile 3. The sun was intense and, again, we had minimal sunscreen and I didn’t have a hat or anything (idiot) to protect my face. The hike out was the most physically taxing hike I have ever done, but it wasn’t unmanageable. We stopped for a few water breaks, but otherwise we made good time getting out. The sun/heat was a huge factor in how challenging this hike was. Our elevation gain was 1,900 feet. During our hike out we passed SO MANY PEOPLE just beginning. I truly cannot imagine starting this hike any later in the day than we did. We both agreed that we wanted to be up and started much earlier the following day. At this point, it was only 10:30 am (but pushing 90 degrees), so we strolled around the South Rim and soaked in the views. On our drive out of the park the incoming traffic was fairly backed up and we were very happy we had decided to get there early.

After hiking, we showered up (COVERED in dust) and hit up the iMAX at the visitor center to watch a 34 minute doc on the history of The Grand Canyon. Really cool and awesome videography. Perfect length, too, because we both nearly took a snooze towards the end due to our day of hiking in the sun.

We grabbed dinner at La Plaza Bonita which was located next to our hotel and we were responsible people who ordered salads (but we did gets margs). Towards the end of dinner, Greg spotted an elk across the street grazing and got himself all worked up. Luckily, we were about to pay/bounce, so any sort of crisis was averted.

For day two, we decided to hike South Kaibab to Cedar Point which was a three mile out and back trail. There is no parking in the lots near most of the trails but if you go early, you can find street parking. After roasting in the sun the day before, we made the executive decision to get up at 4:30 am, walk G and get to the trailhead. The walk from where we parked to the trailhead was .6 but it was a nice wooded walk. We started the hike by 6:20 am and it was COLD and windy but we knew as soon as the sun rose a bit higher the temp would increase significantly. We also dressed more appropriately (i.e. we had shorts on under pants that we could easily take off, light layers on top, etc.).

As we started our descent, I was impressed by how many people we passed already on their way out. At the .75 mark of this trail is Ooh Aah Point which is essentially a panoramic view and I’m guessing many people go here for sunrise.

We arrived at Cedar Ridge and decided to continue a bit further. At this point, we both agreed this hike felt more technical than Bright Angel. Most of the trail consisted of steps made from rock or wood (think railroad ties) so instead of just walking uphill for miles to get out on the canyon we would be doing a natural Stairmaster instead. I hate the Stairmaster. We decided to loop back just before Skeleton Point which would have put us at the three-mile mark (but we had already walked the .6 to get to the trailhead). The South Kaibab Trail also takes you to Phantom Ranch if you follow it the whole way down and is just over 14 miles out and back. I saw an All Trails post from 6/8/21 from someone who had made it down to Phantom Ranch and the temp was 112 degrees there! So wild how much the temperature changes from the top to the bottom of the canyon.

The first mile of our hike back up was pretty brutal and felt much harder to me than the day before. think this is also because my legs were tired from hiking Bright Angel but having to step up versus just walking kind of sucked and we were in the full sun at this point. We got back to Cedar Ridge and took a quick water break and then continued onward. Most of the remaining hike back up was in the shade and soon the wind picked up which made a HUGE difference. By the time we got to the top, I was a little chilly in my shorts and tank. We finished around 9:15 am and felt great! There were mules hanging out in a corral at the top, most of them napping, and I spent some time giving out pets which was definitely the highlight of this hike for me. This was check out day, so we headed back to The Red Feather to shower and pack up.

Grand Canyon fun fact: The most dangerous animal there is a ROCK SQUIRREL. I am not kidding. I did some research because I was suspecting there were cougars or possibly bears within the canyon (which there are, but bears are mostly on the North Rim and cougars are extremely rare) and wanted to be cautious since we had early starts planned. Alas, the Rock Squirrel is what you should fear while hiking. They are super accustomed to people all up in their domain and they associate people with food (thanks to the moronic people who feed them) and they bite. If you put your pack down, they are known to chew a hole through it immediately in search of food. They carry fleas which equals diseases not good for humans so a bite from a RS is no good. They are all over the place and Pete and I both lived in fear of them for good reason.

From Tusayan, we had a 4.5 hour drive to Hurricane, UT which is 35 minutes outside of Zion. The drive took us through the Grand Canyon park and we hit a ton of traffic at the entrance. I’m telling you; it is SO worth getting up at the ass crack of dawn so you don’t have to deal with annoying people and high heat temps. The drive itself was beautiful, so much to see and it’s a miracle I didn’t drive off into the canyon as I was trying to sneak peeks of the scenery.

We pit stopped in Page, AZ to see Horseshoe Bend. I had not checked the weather at all and thought since we were going north it would be cooler, but I was WRONG. When we arrived to Horseshoe it was 95 degrees. Dogs were allowed on this short 1.5-mile trek but there was no way Greg was going in that heat. Additionally, we have been dealing with hot, hot pavement and sand and already had one instance where I realized his paws were burning. Given this, we are being super conscious of how strong the sun is here. Our solution in this instance was one of us would stay in the car/AC with Greg and we’d take turns going down to the viewpoint. Horseshoe Bend was INCREDIBLE. Truly breathtaking and worth the stop. Bummed we didn’t get to put our selfie stick to use here but happy Greg’s feets stayed safe. From there we continued to Hurricane, UT where our “Modern Glamper” awaited us. More to come!

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

16th November >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Saturday, Thirty Second Week in Ordina︎ry Time

or Saint Margaret of Scotland 

or Saint Gertrude, Virgin 

or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Saturday, Thirty Second Week in Ordina︎ry Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Wisdom 18:14-16,19:6-9

The Red Sea became an unimpeded way

When peaceful silence lay over all,

and night had run the half of her swift course,

down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word;

into the heart of a doomed land the stern warrior leapt.

Carrying your unambiguous command like a sharp sword,

he stood, and filled the universe with death;

he touched the sky, yet trod the earth.

For, to keep your children from all harm,

the whole creation, obedient to your commands,

was once more, and newly, fashioned in its nature.

Overshadowing the camp there was the cloud,

where water had been, dry land was seen to rise,

the Red Sea became an unimpeded way,

the tempestuous flood a green plain;

sheltered by your hand, the whole nation passed across,

gazing at these amazing miracles.

They were like horses at pasture,

they skipped like lambs,

singing your praises, Lord, their deliverer.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 104(105):2-3,36-37,42-43

R/ Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

or

R/ Alleluia!

O sing to him, sing his praise;

tell all his wonderful works!

Be proud of his holy name,

let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

R/ Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

or

R/ Alleluia!

He struck all the first-born in their land,

the finest flower of their sons.

He led out Israel with silver and gold.

In his tribes were none who fell behind.

R/ Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

or

R/ Alleluia!

For he remembered his holy word,

which he gave to Abraham his servant.

So he brought out his people with joy,

his chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing.

R/ Remember the wonders the Lord has done.

or

R/ Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation

James 1:21

Alleluia, alleluia!

Accept and submit to the word

which has been planted in you

and can save your souls.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Through the Good News God called us

to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 18:1-8

The parable of the unjust judge

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. ‘There was a judge in a certain town’ he said ‘who had neither fear of God nor respect for man. In the same town there was a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, “I want justice from you against my enemy!” For a long time he refused, but at last he said to himself, “Maybe I have neither fear of God nor respect for man, but since she keeps pestering me I must give this widow her just rights, or she will persist in coming and worry me to death.”’

And the Lord said ‘You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now will not God see justice done to his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

——————————

Saint Margaret of Scotland 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise.

First reading

Proverbs 31:10-13,19-20,30-31

A perfect wife - who can find her?

A perfect wife – who can find her?

She is far beyond the price of pearls.

Her husband’s heart has confidence in her,

from her he will derive no little profit.

Advantage and not hurt she brings him

all the days of her life.

She is always busy with wool and with flax,

she does her work with eager hands.

She sets her hands to the distaff,

her fingers grasp the spindle.

She holds out her hand to the poor,

she opens her arms to the needy.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty;

the woman who is wise is the one to praise.

Give her a share in what her hands have worked for,

and let her works tell her praises at the city gates.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 127(128):1-5

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

You will be happy and prosper.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

around your table.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed

the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

all the days of your life!

O blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn13:34

Alleluia, alleluia!

I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you,

says the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 25:31-46

I was naked and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”

‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”

‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’

————————-

Saint Gertrude, Virgin 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise.

First reading

Ephesians 3:14-19

May Christ live in your hearts through faith

I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:

Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 22(23):1-3a,4-6

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.

Fresh and green are the pastures

where he gives me repose.

Near restful waters he leads me,

to revive my drooping spirit.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me along the right path;

he is true to his name.

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

with these you give me comfort.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

You have prepared a banquet for me

in the sight of my foes.

My head you have anointed with oil;

my cup is overflowing.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me

all the days of my life.

In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell

for ever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn15:9,5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Remain in my love, says the Lord;

whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 15:1-8

I am the vine, you are the branches

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I am the true vine,

and my Father is the vinedresser.

Every branch in me that bears no fruit

he cuts away,

and every branch that does bear fruit

he prunes to make it bear even more.

You are pruned already,

by means of the word that I have spoken to you.

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.

As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,

but must remain part of the vine,

neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Whoever remains in me, with me in him,

bears fruit in plenty;

for cut off from me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me

is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;

these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,

and they are burnt.

If you remain in me

and my words remain in you,

you may ask what you will

and you shall get it.

It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,

and then you will be my disciples.’

————————

Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

(Liturgical Colour: White)

Readings for the memorial

There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Saturday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise.

First reading

Genesis 3:9-15,20

'The offspring of the woman will crush your head'

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’

Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,

all wild beasts.

You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust

every day of your life.

I will make you enemies of each other:

you and the woman,

your offspring and her offspring.

It will crush your head

and you will strike its heel.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

Responsorial Psalm

1 Samuel 2:1,4-8

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

My heart exults in the Lord.

I find my strength in my God;

my mouth laughs at my enemies

as I rejoice in your saving help.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the weak are clothed with strength.

Those with plenty must labour for bread,

but the hungry need work no more.

The childless wife has children now

but the fruitful wife bears no more.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

It is the Lord who gives life and death,

he brings men to the grave and back;

it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.

He brings men low and raises them on high.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,

from the dungheap he raises the poor

to set him in the company of princes

to give him a glorious throne.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,

on them he has set the world.

My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.Lk1:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!

Blessed art thou among women.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf.Lk1:45

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed is the Virgin Mary, who believed

that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.

Alleluia!

Or:

cf.Lk2:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed is the Virgin Mary,

who treasured the word of God

and pondered it in her heart.

Alleluia!

Or:

Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy are those

who hear the word of God

and keep it.

Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary,

and most worthy of all praise,

for the sun of justice, Christ our God,

was born of you.

Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy is the Virgin Mary,

who, without dying,

won the palm of martyrdom

beneath the cross of the Lord.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 1:1-16,18-23

The ancestry and conception of Jesus Christ

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,

Perez was the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,

Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,

Obed was the father of Jesse;

and Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

Joram the father of Azariah,

Azariah was the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah;

and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.

Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon:

Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor was the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Achim,

Achim the father of Eliud,

Eliud was the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob;

and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;

of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son

and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’

[averycanadianfilm]

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying Ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ this umbilicus ulna resonance/ is all part of her song and dance/ and is not directed to any Human audience/ but to Mermaids, Dolphins, and the occasional Sea Lion/ a former resident of Zion/ she discovered this at a past life regression seance/ mitochondrial Eve/ was the first to conceive/ in a cozy cave in the rift valley/ guess who was the daddy/ an immaculate conception in that African land/ cause until she gave birth there was no man/ a female from a related species, her surrogate Mother/ able to grow a fetus from another/ a form of Divine artificial insemination/ a leap forward for biological Human evolution/ modified sperm met egg in that womb/ a divinely guided action/ miracles like that can but rarely happen/ an that was the Ugrian's song of immaculate conception/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ Mitochondrial Eve's first born son probably wasn't named Adam/ an who knows what she called her daughter/ her son of course the father/ an how many children did Eve give birth/ to get Humanity started here on this Earth/ is this how this Earth was first seeded with Humanity/ or is her song a form of insanity/ an what about the opinion of various clergy/ who might vigorously object/ to her creation story that contains incest/ an what of the scientist/ is this a testable hypothesis/ I asked her this/ any objections she dismissed/ it's her creation song/ about it she feels strong/ she's gonna sing it/ it's her likely story and she's sticking to it/ it is not an intentional lie or fib/ she prefers it to Adam and his rib/ Mermaids, Dolphins, and the occasional Sea Lion/ Love an groove to her song/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ she said she was a direct descendant of a powerful witch called, The Morgan/ this is the kind of thing that can happen at 5am in Tim Horton's/ for who am I to doubt her/ like her, I'm just a humble urban outside dweller/ she sang her song to a cantankerous fellow/ at first he was quite mellow/ but then he began to stutter, stomp, and holler/ he said her song was a disgrace/ and he was telling her that to her face/ she said she didn't have these kind of problems in Zion/ and on Earth, that's why she only sings to Mermaids, Dolphins, and the occasional Sea Lion/ he said science will find a better solution/ to the riddle of Human biological Evolution/ which came first the chicken or the egg/ she said the egg mutated in some other kind of bird/ word./ of this fact she was steadfast and held firm/ an that egg was met by a mutated sperm/ an that's how the first chicken was born/ for Humanity the entire process was guided by Divinity/ that's her song, her creation story/ the offended fellow got ready to make his exit/ pulled out his smart phone and texted it/ then left to sleep on the bench around the corner/ she sneered at his gadget with its transponder/ this is exactly why, she says to me/ I sing this song to only select creatures of the sea/ what was I to say I'd been stalled writing this song since quarter to three/ she said I looked familiar/ it was definitely me or someone very similar/ she'd seen on the drive, or on East Hastings, or Marpole/ or now that she thinks of it perhaps it was the South Pole/ or good goddess was I from Zion too/ I didn't answer it was six and there was a breakfast queue/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ A woman Ugrian ululates/ when the dying ulva undulates/ an her umbilicus vibrates/ while her ulna resonates/ Words and Music by Hubert Hugh Burke.

[dfroza]

what does it mean to you to love God and others?

Love is the fulfillment of God’s law.

and even though no person is perfect enough to do this perfectly, yet grace is still available to perfect the heart in our Creator’s eyes which humbles the heart & mind.

people choose either Light or darkness to live inside where desire begins.

and we will get nowhere in the absence of humility before our Creator. we have to see ourselves as daughters & sons of eternal Light.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 15th chapter of the Letter of Romans:

So now what? We who are strong are not just to satisfy our own desires. We are called to carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong. Each of us must strive to please our neighbors, pursuing their welfare so they will become strong. The Anointed One Himself is our model for this kind of living, for He did not live to please Himself. And as the Scriptures declared, “When they insult You, they insult me.” You see, everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living. I pray that our God, who calls you and gives you perseverance and encouragement, will join all of you together to share one mind according to Jesus the Anointed. In this unity, you will share one voice as you glorify the one True God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, our Liberating King.

So accept one another in the same way the Anointed has accepted you so that God will get the praise He is due. For, as I am fond of saying, the Anointed One has become a servant of the Jews in order to demonstrate God’s truth. Effectively this confirms the promises He made to our ancestors and causes the non-Jewish nations to glorify God for His mercy. As the Scriptures say,

For this I will praise You among the nations

and sing praises to Your name.

Again the Scriptures say,

Nations, celebrate with His covenant people.

And again,

Praise the Lord, all nations.

Raise your voices, all people; let your praises flow to God.

Again Isaiah says,

Then, the root of Jesse will emerge—

He rises to rule all the peoples of the world

who come to Him for guidance and direction.

In Him they place their hope.

I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My brothers and sisters, I am ultimately confident that you are full of goodness, knowledge, and the ability to help and instruct one another. I have written to you with unflinching honesty on many topics because I do not want you to ever lose sight of the tremendous grace God has given me. His grace makes me who I am, a minister of the Anointed One, Jesus, called to serve the nations.

The good news of God is the focus of my priestly work. In effect, these nations have become an offering to God, totally acceptable, indeed made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit. So in Jesus, the Anointed One, I have reason to celebrate the things I do for God. I don’t want to be presumptuous, so I will restrict myself to what the Anointed has accomplished through my words and actions, which has culminated in the obedience of the nations. My words and actions have been rooted in Spirit-empowered signs and miracles. The upshot is this: I have been able to preach the good news of the Anointed One in city after city from Jerusalem all the way around the Mediterranean to Illyricum. I have dreamed of preaching the gospel in places where no one has ever heard of the Anointed so that I do not build on a foundation laid by anyone else. But as the Scriptures say,

They will see Him even though they’ve never been told about Him;

they will understand even though they never heard of Him.

Because of many issues, I have not been able to visit you in the city of Rome. But my time to serve those here is coming to an end, there’s no room left for me in this region, and I have longed to come to you for many years. So I plan to visit you on my journey to Spain. I am hoping that I will not only see you face-to-face, but that you will assist me in the journey west after I have enjoyed our time together. But right now I must make the journey to Jerusalem to serve the saints there. Those in Macedonia and Achaia decided it was a good idea to share their funds to help the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. I must tell you that they were thrilled to be able to help. They realize that they are indebted to the believers in Jerusalem. If the nations share in the Jews’ spiritual goods, then it’s only right that they minister back to them in material goods. When this work is complete and the funds we’ve collected are delivered, I will make my way to Spain through your grand city of Rome and enjoy some of your hospitality. I’m sure that when I come to you I will come as a blessing and as one fully blessed by the Anointed One.

My brothers and sisters, I urgently plead with you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, and by the love of the Spirit to join together with me in your prayers to God for my success in these next endeavors. Pray that I will be rescued from those who deny and persecute the faith in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem will meet the approval of all the saints there. If that happens, then my journey to you will be filled with joy; and, if God wills, I can rest and be refreshed in your presence. I pray the God of all peace will be with you all. Amen.

The Letter of Romans, Chapter 15 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 34th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that points to an act of God’s Judgment upon wickedness:

Gather around, everyone. All peoples take note!

The earth and everything in it,

The world and all that comes from it should hear this, too,

For the Eternal One is furious with all the nations. He has had it with their armies.

He has marked them for destruction, and has given them over to slaughter.

Their blood will run like rivers down the mountains,

their corpses tossed out, heaped up, and randomly piled in a great stinking mound.

All the stars in the once-vibrant heavens will vanish:

and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll.

All the starry hosts will wither and fall,

like grape leaves crisped by fall or fig leaves shriveled by winter.

Eternal One: For once my sword has had its fill in the heavens;

I’ll set it against Edom, those people who despise My own.

I have marked Edom for judgment and destruction.

The Eternal One indeed has a blood-gulping sword.

It drinks up fat and blood from the innards

And flesh of lambs, goats, and rams—the sacrifice.

And now the Eternal is coming to sacrifice the Edomites—

A great slaughter in their capital Bozrah,

And great wild cattle will be slaughtered

along with them—bulls, oxen, and steers—

Until their land is soggy with blood and oozes with their fat.

For the Eternal has determined a time for retaliation,

a time to vindicate Zion, ravaged by Babylon and Edom.

Edom’s waters will be made thick and black as oily pitch.

Its dust will turn to brimstone, and the land will ignite with burning pitch.

Edom’s fiery judgment will burn day and night for all time;

the smoke from it will ascend forever.

For generations to come it will be a wasteland,

and no person will make it their home ever again.

Desert owls and screech owls, great owls and ravens

will take up residence in that bleak place.

When God measures the land,

desolation will be its width and chaos will mark its length.

The land will be known as No Kingdom.

No nobles are there to name a king. Its line of princes will cease.

Its great towers will be covered in thorns.

Nasty nettles and thistles will overrun its strong cities.

Wild jackals will slink around the premises,

and ostriches will make themselves at home.

Among the howling and hissing wild creatures and demons,

Lilith herself, demoness of the night, will call Edom her haunt,

A place to recoup and rest between her devastating forays.

Owls of all sorts will take up habitation there,

nesting and laying their eggs.

They will hatch their young and cover them beneath their wings.

Vultures and their mates will gather there.

You can look for it and read all about it in the book of the Eternal One.

None of these creatures will be missing and none will lack a mate

Because His voice has given the order

and His Spirit has gathered them in that place.

He has determined where they should live;

He has handed it over to them and it will be theirs for all time.

They will live there, one generation after the next, forever.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 34 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, july 12 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that points to the significance of documenting Torah, as well as all of Scripture since what it all reveals is the True illumination of the Son:

Shavuah tov, friends. This week we begin reading the concluding book of the Torah, called Sefer Devarim (ספר דברים), so named from the phrase eleh ha’devarim (“these are the words...”) found in its opening verse (see verse below). In our English Bibles, Sefer Devarim is known as the Book of “Deuteronomy,” from a Greek word meaning “second (or repeated) law” (i.e., δευτερονόμιον), a term used to translate the phrase mishneh ha-Torah (i.e. משׁנה התורה, “copy of the Torah,” in Deut. 17:18). Generally speaking, this book represents Moses’ “farewell address” to the people of Israel before he died wherein he reviewed the history and the laws given to the people and repeatedly warned that obedience would bring blessing while disobedience would bring disaster. The series of personal discourses (or sermons) in this book all have the tone of rebuke and admonition, and indeed some of the sages have said it resembles a sort of “deathbed blessing” not unlike Jacob’s blessing given to his sons...

Our Torah portion (פרשה) for this week, called parashat Devarim (פרשת דברים), is the very first reading of the Book of Deuteronomy – which begins with Moses recounting the journey from Mount Sinai to the edge of the promised land. Moses mentioned the difficulty of personally governing the people and recalled how he had set up a system of judges to help him administer justice among the various tribes. He then reminded the people of the sin of the spies and the rebellion of the people at Kadesh Barnea which led to God’s decree that no one of that generation would live to enter the land of Canaan (except for Caleb and Joshua). Moses then provided an outline of the 38 year exile of the Israelites back toward the Sea of Reeds, into the desert regions, and then back again until the subsequent generation was ready to enter the promised land. For more information, see the links listed below. [Hebrew for Christians]

7.11.21 • Facebook

and another about the space of the inner life:

The inner life of the self can be one of tranquility and peace, or it can be one of turmoil and struggle -- as we sense forces within our own hearts that seek to pull us away from what is good... What is hidden within can become a destructive force, ready to erupt in unexpected moments. We have to be careful to "take every thought captive" before the presence of God, since otherwise our thoughts can lead to chaotic thinking and unrestrained emotions. If we allow ourselves to self-indulgently murmur or envy, for example, such thoughts may surreptitiously become a fixed part of our character.

As C.S. Lewis once said: “Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others... but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God "sending us" to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will be hell unless it is nipped in the bud.” (Great Divorce)

We can find deliverance from our inner conflicts by humbling our self and opening our heart to a trusted friend, as it says: "Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16). A good friend will make time to quietly listen to the story of your struggle and to then extend grace, compassion, and forgiveness, serving as a priest for your heart, revealing God's kindness and mercy in your darkest of moments... The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). [Hebrew for Christians]

7.12.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

July 12, 2021

The Right Man on Our Side

“Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” (Luke 22:31-32)

Satan wanted Peter to fall, and fall he would (v. 34), but Christ had prayed for him that victory would come. The second verse of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” reflects our vulnerability on our own and our invincibility on His side.

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right man on our side,

The man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He,

Lord Sabaoth, His name, From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

After revealing many thrilling blessings, Paul asks: “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Furthermore, neither “principalities, nor powers” nor any thing else in all creation is “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). With Him, Satan cannot win the battle for our minds or destinies. But on our own, we cannot win.

The term Sabaoth is the Hebrew word for “hosts,” in particular the “host of heaven.” The term Yahweh Sabaoth or “Lord Sabaoth” occurs some 300 times in the Old Testament and constitutes a most majestic name for God. “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5). This is none other than “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Creator (Colossians 1:16), Sustainer (v. 17), Redeemer (v. 20)—He must win the battle. JDM

ICRscience: ✝️ Could someone who doubts God's existence interpret the Bible correctly? Yes, because the Bible's words are clear.

#TheBibleIsTrue #GodIsAlive

@randyguliuzza

7.12.21 • 2:15pm • Twitter

A tweet by illumiNations:

@IlluminationsBT: Today, we're highlighting a Bible portion in a language from east-central Tanzania with approximately 269,769 speakers.

Do you know what language this is? Comment below with your guesses.

7.12.21 • 12:00pm • Twitter

[dailyofficereadings]

Daily Office Readings September 24, 2019

Psalm 78

Psalm 78

God’s Goodness and Israel’s Ingratitude

A Maskil of Asaph.

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

5 He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with[a] the bow, turned back on the day of battle. 10 They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. 11 They forgot what he had done, and the miracles that he had shown them. 12 In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. 13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. 14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light. 15 He split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. 16 He made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. 18 They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? 20 Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out and torrents overflowed, can he also give bread, or provide meat for his people?”

21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage; a fire was kindled against Jacob, his anger mounted against Israel, 22 because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power. 23 Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven; 24 he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance. 26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind; 27 he rained flesh upon them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas; 28 he let them fall within their camp, all around their dwellings. 29 And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved. 30 But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths, 31 the anger of God rose against them and he killed the strongest of them, and laid low the flower of Israel.

32 In spite of all this they still sinned; they did not believe in his wonders. 33 So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. 34 When he killed them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly. 35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. 38 Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and does not come again. 40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! 41 They tested God again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when he redeemed them from the foe; 43 when he displayed his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the fields of Zoan. 44 He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams. 45 He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. 46 He gave their crops to the caterpillar, and the fruit of their labor to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamores with frost. 48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts. 49 He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. 50 He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. 51 He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham. 52 Then he led out his people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. 53 He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54 And he brought them to his holy hill, to the mountain that his right hand had won. 55 He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56 Yet they tested the Most High God, and rebelled against him. They did not observe his decrees, 57 but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors; they twisted like a treacherous bow. 58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols. 59 When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel. 60 He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mortals, 61 and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe. 62 He gave his people to the sword, and vented his wrath on his heritage. 63 Fire devoured their young men, and their girls had no marriage song. 64 Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. 65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a warrior shouting because of wine. 66 He put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting disgrace.

67 He rejected the tent of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; 68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. 69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. 70 He chose his servant David, and took him from the sheepfolds; 71 from tending the nursing ewes he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel, his inheritance. 72 With upright heart he tended them, and guided them with skillful hand.

Footnotes:

Psalm 78:9 Heb armed with shooting

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Kings 5:19-27

19 He said to him, “Go in peace.”

Gehazi’s Greed

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “My master has let that Aramean Naaman off too lightly by not accepting from him what he offered. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something out of him.” 21 So Gehazi went after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he jumped down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything all right?” 22 He replied, “Yes, but my master has sent me to say, ‘Two members of a company of prophets[a] have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim; please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” 23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents.” He urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them in front of Gehazi.[b] 24 When he came to the citadel, he took the bags[c] from them, and stored them inside; he dismissed the men, and they left.

25 He went in and stood before his master; and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant has not gone anywhere at all.” 26 But he said to him, “Did I not go with you in spirit when someone left his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to accept money and to accept clothing, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? 27 Therefore the leprosy[d] of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your descendants forever.” So he left his presence leprous,[e] as white as snow.

Footnotes:

2 Kings 5:22 Heb sons of the prophets

2 Kings 5:23 Heb him

2 Kings 5:24 Heb lacks the bags

2 Kings 5:27 A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning uncertain

2 Kings 5:27 A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning uncertain

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?

3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing.[a] When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.[b]

6 Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Footnotes:

1 Corinthians 5:4 Or on the man who has done such a thing in the name of the Lord Jesus

1 Corinthians 5:5 Other ancient authorities add Jesus

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Matthew 5:27-37

Concerning Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.[a] 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.[b]

Concerning Divorce

31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Concerning Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.[c]

Footnotes:

Matthew 5:29 Gk Gehenna

Matthew 5:30 Gk Gehenna

Matthew 5:37 Or evil

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.