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Not All Progress

Not All Progress

Not all that seems to be or is called progress, is in fact progress.

I recently purchased an older home with an unfinished third bath. All plumbing in place with no fixtures. I purchased all new fixtures, but upon testing, the toilet and sink didn’t drain. It turns out the plumbing on that side of the home had been disabled years before.

There are claims of prepress in our culture that I’ve come to believe are not in fact progressing us spiritually, intellectually or otherwise.

Some primitive examples are that we simply don’t have the environmental survival skills or knowledge of our environment as our ancestors did just two generations ago. Although we have volumes of literary works available at our finger tips, our ancestors just two or three generations ago had many literary works committed to memory such as holy scripture, government documents, poetry, etc.

Morally and ethically it would be difficult to prove we’ve progressed with the rate of divorce and lack of traditional families.

Suffice to say, it is plausible if not factual that we have taught to believe we’re progressing while I’m fact regressing.

And like my futile attempts finish my unfinished bathroom, we’re installing fixtures to plumbing that doesn’t work.

We are His Workmanship

We are His Workmanship

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

We live during a time that many are uneasy about the future as plans and lives have been put on hold. In our modern time, we have connected our jobs and “life goals” to our sense of fulfillment and sense of self with to a high degree, and I believe, to our mental detriment.

Fulfillment, I have found, is found in varied places. That sense of sublime joy that comes from a deep place; a connection to God and His divine plan for our lives, is already within us. I have found it flowing from being a husband, a father, helping those in need, being helped when I’ve been in need, acting on something I’ve believed was asked of my by God for reasons I don’t understand although outside my normal routine, sacrificing the “now” for future security, dirt-bike riding, playing with a dog, rebuilding an engine, studying history, etc.

There are things that that will bring great fulfillment to you, I believe, that are all around and are natural to your state, for example; parenting; if you find yourself a parent, then great fulfillment can be found by working to excel in that state.

If you find yourself a caretaker for a loved one, great fulfillment can be found by excelling at being such.
Often times the thing that we are supposed to be doing and fulfilled by is the thing right before us.

When God sent Moses to Egypt to bring the Israelites to Canaan land, Moses used his shepherd’s staff. He used it to perform miracles, to part the Red Sea, and more. He used the thing that had been part of his nature; his shepherd’s staff, and God used him.

What is in your hand today? Not a staff, but maybe something else that’s particular to you. It’s probable that God placed you in the natural state you’re in right now for a particular purpose and reason that if acted on with faith and perseverance, will bring great fulfillment and satisfaction.

Putting Fear Behind Us

Putting Fear Behind Us

Three months ago we were finishing our Christmas shopping. Many were dealing with seasonal emotional swings, others were dreading the memories of the past, some were unsure if they’d have enough money for presents, still some were battling illness.

We have all but forgotten the holiday season; those worries and fears are a distant memory. But today uncertainly abounds.

How can we get free of the grip of today’s fear? (more…)

When The Worst Is Upon Us, Even Coronavirus

When The Worst Is Upon Us, Even Coronavirus

There is a three foot tall wooden cross that hangs outside on our front porch. It is hangs about 7 feet up the wall by a single nail. I special ordered it and shellacked it myself so it can be outside in the weather. The wind can really pick up here in Southern Arizona, and there was a wind storm just a couple days after I initially hung the cross outside. 

The storm came in the evening. A sound came from the front porch like someone was banging wood against the house. The dogs went crazy and the kids were scared. I jumped up and opened the front door to find (more…)

The Detrimental Affects of Pornography On The Mind

The Detrimental Affects of Pornography On The Mind

Viewing pornography is detrimental to brain function, with the extent of brain malfunction not yet known. Subsequent to the detriment of the mind, are the detrimental affects of pornography on society.

Society has yet to witness the complete results of the proliferation of pornography. Not long ago the use, availability and proliferation of pornography was difficult to ascertain. What’s more, obtaining and viewing pornography was looked at with disdain and shame by the western societies. But those two things have changed in recent years. First, with the proliferation of digital and online pornography, the study of its use is more scientific. Second, due to shifts in popular morality, western society’s view of pornography has softened.

Apart from religious and moral objections to pornography, there is a growing body of research and study into the actual affects of pornography on the human mind. This study and information is absolutely essential for a responsible society.

In a shocking study, Kuhn and Gallinat “found a significant negative association between reported pornography hours per week and gray matter volume in the right caudate…”(Kuhn & Gallant). Gray matter being that which “contains the cell bodies, dendrites and terminals of neurons. . . where all synapses are” (Grey Matter and White Matter). Grey matter is “a part of the brain used for the transportation of information from sensory and motor stimuli”(Grey Matter, Wikipedia).

(more…)