Advice On Dying

Well, I was hoping for something a little more exciting - like how to enjoy dying when you accidentally drive your car off a cliff, or how to enjoy a free fall when you get knocked out of a plane without a parachute above the Grand Canyon, or how to drown and enjoy it when you don't have any choice in the matter. That would have been a cool book.

Instead, I found this: ""Everyone dies, but no one is dead," goes the Tibetan saying. It is with these words that Advice on Dying takes flight. Using a seventeenth century poem written by a prominent scholar-practitioner, His Holiness the Dalai Lama draws from a wide range of traditions and beliefs to explore the stages we all go through when we die, which are the very same stages we experience in life when we go to sleep or faint.. The stages are described so vividly that we can imagine the process of traveling deeper into the mind, on the ultimate journey of transformation. In this way, His Holiness shows us how to prepare for that time and, in doing so, enrich our time on earth."

Right. So anyway, not a book worth reading. Not even for the fun of it.

Immediately we see something wrong when we realize that the Dalai Lama's main focus in "leading" his people is the fact that he wants to promote basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness and inter-religious harmony. Oops.

You forgot God.

We must be grounded and founded on God and Him alone. Nothing else is going to save us - absolutely nothing. Not good works, not being a "good" person, not spirituality, not church, not baptism, not anything that isn't Jesus Himself. Just following basic human values and trying to create religious harmony isn't going to get us anywhere. It all needs to start and end with the Creator of the Universe.

Ok, bunny trail ended. At least this counts as some sort of blog update!

Fish Are...Relentless

Fish are indeed relentless. I am pretty  much amazed at how  much a fish can take and still be alive. I am also amazed at how well a little fish can move rocks with just it's nose in order to make a little hole for it to sit in. Strange, I know.

And that's all for now. Because this post wasn't really supposed to be anything anyway. It's purpose only serves to satisfy my curiosity as to how something works, and that is all.

This Sign Isn't Going Anywhere -

On our way home from church this morning conversation turned to talking about a dead deer that was in the middle of the road. All around was evidence that somebody had just kind of thrown the carcass of the deer unto the side of the road and from there, it was scattered everywhere.

Yep, this sign isn't moving. It's being held tight right where it is.

Somebody had fun. Fo shizzle!

No Room

Crimmis Time Is Here

Christmas (or crimmis) time is here - and Chuck is gone, heading to Maryland. Today is filled with work and eating a free lunch...and wanting Monday to get here quickly. But...because we are human (which is a problem we shall have to deal with) we must take heed of time, passing or not, we are stuck in time.

Oh well.

By these exact words: "May we use these days apart to focus on our King, for He is worthy!" I was greatly encouraged. How easy it is to focus on ourselves and completely miss the point of what we are supposed to be concentrating on. It seems that as children, we find it easy to focus on the presents and the excitement of the gifts...as we get older, our focus stays averted but on different things. The yard signs that say "Jesus is the reason for the season" serve as good reminders...after all, our King IS worth of all our attention and praise! For the grace to keep our hearts and mind solely centered on Jesus Christ, our God and King.

Tomorrow after work I am excited to head home and spend Christmas eve and Christmas morning with my family. :) Because I am the ultimate procrastinator, I plan on spending this evening Christmas shopping...at an amazing store a certain amazing someone introduced me to. Yep, Christmas shopping on Christmas eve - epic! I've never done this before...I will probably get home, drop unto my bed, fall asleep and not be able to get up for work tomorrow. Eh, never mind. I'm going to stay as busy as I possibly can because that makes time go faster. Brilliant!

Christmas - such a great time of year. So  much excitement, so many things to look forward to. The challenge to keep Christ as our driving focus, the blessing of everything He has done for us, the love He gives!

So here you have it, an update. ;) Now I can't be given any flak for my negligence of this here little blog. Sorry about your luck.

Leaving now! Time to get back to work!

Be blessed ye!

Amazingness aweciousnessom

Chuck McKnight and Tessa Silvas :)