Enroll in our e-newsletter to acquire romance reviews shipped to your inbox. Psychologist Serena Sheridan has transferred to Charleston to leave her identical twin sis and also family intergenerational drama. Remembered to assist locate their granddaddy so decisions concerning selling the family residence may be created, she unwillingly gets the aid of Lucky Doucet a man along with risky credibility. This book is fantastic, as are her pair of subsequent books. If you read through absolutely nothing else on this list, review this one. It is actually an interesting mystery, complicated by the reality that Lynch is in the closet and also has some connection to a massacre that happens. He can't disclose his involvement without outing themself. Read Best werewolf romance Book
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Another Sherlock adaptation, this one along with a more adult mood. Charlotte Holmes adopts the nom de guerre of Sherlock as well as hits the mean streets of London if you want to quit an awesome and also recover her family name. This book is actually extremely creepy, with an amazingly gorgeous intimate subplot. In 1920s England, Sarah Piper signs up with paranormal detective Alistair Gellis on a ghost pursuit. Believe The Haunting of Mountain Residence, but with a true ghost, sexytimes, and a much better finishing. About half of it takes place in a public library filled with medieval documents, and the other one-half is actually the lead character WHO WISH he resided in a library. Buttoned-up protection agent Victoria Ash satisfies relaxed new fella Adam in the third Guard novel, where an allegedly covered assignment takes a turn for the FUBAR when Adam notices there's a traitor at the business.
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During August of 2010, I walked 120 miles from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans to the Gulf Of Mexico. It was the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the oil spill in the gulf was about to be capped. I came to help. I came to work. I held lofty goals of an activist, and I wanted to use my hands. I walked, I listened and I came to pick up the work gloves of others rather than my own. I believe gloves connect a hand with purpose, and as I walked, I began to see the story of Louisiana between the marks, the scars and the holes of the discarded gloves along the highway. My eye turned to the strangers along the roads; towards the hands that welcomed me into their homes and fed me after my feet grew tired. These are the faces that came to gaze into my camera, and it was their gloves I carried across the state of Louisiana.


Step 1: Sign up with MacKenzie at the Athenaeum–the sooner, the better!
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Counselling Centre in collaboration of UTM Press have been organising Writing Workshop for writers who take part in KFA Project. It’s a Book writing project leads by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Sharif Mustaffa, director of Counselling Centre.
The event was held on February 7, 2013 and took place at University Marketing Unit’s Meeting Room. Began at 8.30 am and ended at almost at 7 pm, it was indeed a fruitful workshop. The three most important figures in book writing, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Issham Ismail, Mohd Zubil Bahak and Hj. Khalid Mazlan had done their best to share their skills and knowledge in writing and publication to all 14 participants.
This workshop is a good start for the Book Writing Project. Knowledge, skills, techniques plus a little bit of writing secrets were all combined and beautifully blended to be one excellent package for the newbie. The management team and all the writers to be are eagerly wait for the second series of the workshop which was scheduled to be around April of this year.


“I’m cold Jack. Can we put more wood on the …”
“No!” Jack regretted the tone as soon as she saw the young girl’s bottom lip quiver. Backtracking and apologizing Jack told her little sister, “I’m sorry Lena, I shouldn’t have yelled like that. The thing is I don’t know how long this storm is going to last. There’s snow coming down out there.”
“Can I see?!”
Trying to hold in her irritation at having to explain things over and over she said, “No Lena. You know the rules. And every time we go in and out or move the blankets off the windows we let more cold into the house and we don’t have enough wood to keep doing that. We need to … we need to be careful with what we have. I don’t want to burn anything from here in the house because most of the stuff has chemicals in it that could make us sick.”
The young girl tilted her head to the side and then asked, “Like the Donovans?”
Jack nodded and sighed. “Yeah, like the Donovans. We could choke on the fumes.”
“And never wake up.”
“And never wake up,” Jack confirmed.
The young girl shook her head saying, “I don’t want that to happen to us.”
Jack shook her head wearily. “I don’t either so that’s why we need to save the wood we have and use it smart and careful. If you’re cold why don’t you crawl back in the tent and cover up.”
“I get lonely in there.”
“I need to think Lena and … and if I lay down I’m going to go to sleep and won’t do the thinking I need to do.”
Quietly the young girl asked, “Are you thinking about Momma and Daddy?”
Jack sighed. “Some. But …” Jack worried that Lena still hadn’t grasped the full import of what had occurred and what it meant for them.
Quietly the young girl said, “I know they aren’t coming back. I know they are in Heaven watching over us and all that. Just … just if we don’t think about them at all we’ll forget them. I … I …”
Jack reached up to the fireplace mantel, plucked down a picture and tossed it to Lena to hold. “Don’t worry Squirt, I won’t let you forget them.”
“But if we have to leave …”
“We’ll take what we can. That’s what I’m trying to think about. Definitely take the pictures and stuff like that … and the important papers … and what food we have left … and lots of blankets, especially the quilts Mom made.”
“And Daddy’s stuff too?”
“Yeah, that too … especially some of that,” Jack said referring to the guns and knives her father had collected and then had to hide from a bureaucracy that had attempted to confiscate what was his by right. “And even if for some reason we didn’t have any of that you have me and I’ve got lots of stories and pictures in my head that I’ll share with you. Now do what I asked please, get in the tent, cover up and get warm, and get some sleep. I’ll be in as soon as I can.”
“Okay Jack. Just don’t leave without telling me like you did yesterday. It was scary not knowing where you were.”
“Sorry Squirt. I didn’t think I would be so long that you would wake up and I wouldn’t be here. But I brought back food and wood didn’t I?”
“Yes. Just … just don’t do it again. You might not come back. Like Momma and Daddy.”
Jack looked at Lena, trying to imitate how their mother had dealt with her, and she finally crawled into the tent and did as she was asked to do. In no time Jack heard the young girl’s breathing settle into the deep rhythms of sleep and it was with some relief that Jack could finally lean over and have the silent cry that had been pent up all day. It had been a little over a week since the cop and social worker had come by to tell them that their parents’ bodies had finally been officially identified among the dead of the multi-vehicle pile-up on the interstate. There had been a backlog in the coroner’s office and it had taken longer than it should have.
This was the Deep South; ice wasn’t supposed to be on the road but it was and people seemed to lose all commonsense on top of everything else going on. Someone driving an SUV had hit a patch of ice doing 65 miles an hour. Careening out of control they banged into several cars and a semi, creating a chain reaction where those cars lost control and ran into still others. A total of forty-two vehicles had been involved resulting in multiple fatalities. Their parents had been driving Jack’s mini cooper to save on gas. The mini cooper had been something her dad had found at an auction and they had spent a couple of months making it road worthy right before Jack graduated from high school.
Because of spikes in fuel prices that had started after the nuts in South America had nationalized their oil fields and dramatically cut US supplies to show solidarity with their Russian overlords after Russia had backed an anti-US dollar regime taking over things in the Middle East, the mini cooper became the family’s go to car for most of the traveling they did … especially long distance travel which is what their parents had been doing. They’d had no choice but to travel almost two hours to get to a private practice that would accept their family insurance so that their Mom could see a doctor. State Troopers had found the mini cooper’s license plate amongst the debris littering the highway. The mini itself had apparently disintegrated during the impact so it had taken a while to confirm what Jack had known in her heart as soon as her parents had never shown up that night or called to let her know they were safe. She had then been forced to deal with lots of official paperwork and during that discovered that Mom was a lot worse off than her parents had been letting on.
“Am I supposed to find comfort in the fact they went together?” Jack wondered for the eleventy-dozenth time. “Because if I am … I don’t.” But the cause for her tears that night wasn’t the loss of her parents but a different straw in the load Jack was carrying.
Jack was about to start crying again when there was a loud knock on the backdoor.


I think Ruby Rose has two things most TV show “heroes” these days are sorely lacking: The first is a High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe. The second is a genuine understanding of what it really means to be a hero.
The full quote I took this essay’s title from is Ozpin’s opening monologue to the series, an answer to the villainous cynicism of Salen warning Humankind that they can’t hope to overcome her through force of arms.
“But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul.”
RWBY may not be a Christian series, but I feel that’s a statement very in keeping with our beliefs. After all, wasn’t it the son of a humble carpenter who saved our world? The Alpha and Omega, the one above all, humbling himself to the form of a lowly man: able to feel pain, sorrow, hunger, thirst, temptation and, ultimately, death, all to save a race of backsliding sinners. Victory in a small, honest soul indeed.
But back to Ruby Rose: Honestly, I could probably fill a small book with nothing but my ravings for this character. But instead, I’ll let the show do the talking for me: this conversation, between Ruby and Blake in The Shining Beacon Pt.2, is one of my favorite from any show:
“As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!”
As far as mission statements go, this has few equals, deceptively simple as it may be. Ruby doesn’t share her teammates strong motivations: She’s not out to redeem her family name, atone for past sins, find her mother, prove her worth, fulfill some higher duty or even just because she has nowhere else to go. She’s becoming a Huntress because that’s where she feels she’ll do the most good: nothing more, nothing less.
Ruby could easily be mistaken for a naive little girl, given how badly she fanboys over Huntsmen/Huntresses and how bright her worldview is, but too dismiss her as such would be a dangerous underestimation.
Look at the family she comes from: her mother died on a mission, her father was heartbroken and emotionally crippled for years, her uncle is a cynical, bitter alcoholic and her step mother straight up abandoned her family. All of these were Huntsmen/Huntresses: it’s a wonder Ruby hold the job in anything but contempt.
But the thing about Ruby is that, like all her teammates, she sees being a Huntress as just a means to an end. Oh sure, she’s in love with the fairy tale aspect, but ultimately she chose this life because she knows it’s where she can do the most good, combat easily being her area of expertise.
Compare her expertise with weapons to her difficulty making friends: her awkwardness at a dance to her grace while fighting for her life. Ruby is at home on the battlefield and she knows it: the only other career she is ever mentioned as considering was Police Officer, and even that could place her in fights on a regular basis (Especially in a World like Remanent).
Ruby’s innocence is not ignorance: She wasn’t really old enough to understand what was happening when her mother died, but she certainly was for everyone she lost in the Fall of Beacon. Slain friends, a physically and spiritually broken sister, a splintered teams and a long, arduous journey constantly filled with pain and difficulty. And at the end of it all, she’s just as defiant as she was when Roman gave her that speech aboard the airship, so very long ago.
She’s grown, certainly. She now acknowledges that bad things can happen just because, that there’s a nearly invincible foe looming on the horizon and that it will take more than Crescent Rose and Silver Eyes to defeat it. But all that has just redoubled her will, her resolve to never bow to evil and to battle it all costs.
Even more impressively, she still considers that a secondary motive. She’s not a broken warrior, out to avenge everything she’s lost. She is still the same, dorky fifteen (Well, sixteen now) year old girl just trying to do what’s right. Yes, times have gotten dark, but she’s fighting both out of a remembrance for the good times that came before, and a hope that those can come again.
As she tell’s her sister, it’s not for herself, or for the people she’s already lost, but for the people she hasn’t lost yet. Salem and associates be warned: Ruby Rose has placed her friends, family and the World of Remanent under her protection, and she will fight to the last to defend them.
Now, of course, there are alternate views. Blake’s, for instance.
“That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale.”
Blake is somehow who already knows just how dark the world can be. Even more, she has had a hand, however small, in making it that way. Happily ever afters would be nice, but she has mistakes to fix first. And don’t get me wrong: that’s an almost equally powerful motivation as Ruby’s.
A touch of personal, even selfish, motives to their hero can go a long way towards humanizing your hero. We all want to relate to our idols, and “It’s the right thing to do!” is a pretty lofty motivation. I think this is best demonstrated with an exchange from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy:
“Why would you want to save the Galaxy?”
“Because I’m one of the idiots who lives in it!”
It really is okay to act out of greed every now and then: All things in moderation after all. We may not look up to the Guardians as much as we do Superman, but I think we all feel like the former a lot more frequently than we do the later. Sometimes, neutrality just isn’t an option: evil cares nothing for “Live and let live” policies after all. They may not destroy/subjugate you at first, but that’s only because it’d be too much effort. Rest assured, someday you will bow to them, or else perish.
Sometimes, regardless of how squeaky clean your personal life may or may not be, you have to stand up and defend you and your own. And if you save some other people along the way? Hey, at least they owe you a favour in the future. Not heroic, but definitely realistic.
And then there are people like Blake (Or, to continue the Superhero themes, Batman and Spiderman) who have deeply personal reason for their heroism, that may not be selfish exactly, but still much darker than the classical storybook hero.
But we’ll get to Blake later. For now, we’re looking at Ruby, and she has her own response for when she’s told the world if far to evil a place for optimism like her’s to realistically exist.
“Well, that's why we're here! To make it better.”
I’ll be honest: when she said that, I wanted to hug her just as badly as Yang did. In a time where the general approach to superheroes, and fiction in general, seems to be “realistic!” and “adult!”, a character who just really gets what I love to see in a fictional hero makes me borderline giddy.
Yes, the world is a dark, often hopeless place. But that’s not what the hero should focus on! They aren’t there to become just another link in some cosmic chain of misery and hurt. They’re there to be lights in the darkness, to be beacons of hope, to be better and make others want to be better, in and out of Universe.
They’re there to, well, fight for what is right and protect people who can't protect themselves! I honestly can’t say it better than that. And if I tried, I couldn’t come up with a better candidate for this mindset than miss Ruby Rose.
I honestly don’t want every hero to be like her: Tortured avengers and Idiots trying to save their homes are always a joy to watch. But a few more like her certainly wouldn’t go amiss...


There is no such thing as 'bad meditation', there is only overcoming yourself. I truly stand behind this statement. As well, a thing that enlightened to me in one of my recent meditations is the idea that I am not only doing it for the benefits I receive at the present moment during the meditation, but the beautiful thing is actually the impact meditation has on the rest of the aspects of life, later on, after the act of meditating.
Someone wise once said that "to meditate" is "to ger familiar with", and I feel that meditating helps me to be more conscious during the day time, to be more intentional with my behavior, to act meaningfully and to be more present and intentional in my relationships. It helps me to be more effective, productive and to step into the zone of feeling joy and happiness without any reason or conditions.
Meditation helps to unlock our potential, and reveals the unconscious layers, in which we can work upon and change there our subconscious beliefs, reprogram the mind, and create a new one.
With that being said, it is a daily work one needs to practice on a consistent basis in order to ger results. It takes time, patience and perseverance. However, time is a relative thing when you tap into that zone, since when you get into the state of no place, no time, no body, no one and no thing – and become true consciousness, nobody and everything at once simultaneously, the factor of time may disappeared. One hour of meditation may pass like 10 minutes, and instead of six months of progress, you can make the same improvement just in one week.
It is worth it. It may sound magical, too good to be true, and one may say it is too mystical. Despite it, there is a very simple method here, you do not need to be experienced to succeed in it, the only thing needed here is to look within. Especially in these times, to take advantage from the situation, and to try something new, to get deeper, to aspire to become better – better person for yourself and for others, better human being.
To become conscious of your unconscious behaviors, and to be fully engaged with the process of becoming the best version of yourself.
It's not all happy and wonderful 100% of the journey, there might be days that Netflix of Instagram will be much more appealing than to meditate, and days that you would rather do anything but this, or days that you straggle with some characteristics you want to change – and the battle might be real. It's important to acknowledge that those days can occur, and the important thing is to accept that with grace and love, despite the fact that this may "ruin" the beautiful series of "perfect days", and to remind yourself that that's a journey, and every time you overcome yourself and your previous habits, you are walking one step further towards your goal. I believe the terminology of 'goal' here might be a bit different from its normal one, what I mean by goal is not a final destination, but more as a general direction in which we decide to grow into, based on certain important parameters for us, in each zone in life.
So, be gentle with yourself, be kind. And on the same hand, be courageous and persistent, and always remind yourself the intention in your steps in life and try to walk hand in hand by them.


I have known Kim for many years; we were best friends at age 12 before she moved away. We kept in contact throughout the years by writing letters and talking on the phone. She seemed to be loving life in Chicago. A few of us have/will experience some rough times in life whether that be divorce, death, cancer or whatever it may be. When you or a friend is going through some hard times in life you always look for someone who went through something similar to you because they can relate. Kim went through this hard time over two years ago. I saw she had a tattoo on her arm and asked her to explain to me the meaning behind it in her words…
“I knew I wanted one on my arm and I knew I’d be stamped by God. I’d been wanting the word “beloved” for awhile but colors and visuals started to swarm my mind. There are several things that created this tattoo. It started with this small group I did with my best friend in Chicago called Art and the Heart, where we would read scripture and pray together and paint whatever came to our hearts or minds. I started to develop a sense of power through color and visuals. One morning I was listening to my one of my favorite bands, Sufjan Stevens, and I started painting. I knew I wanted to use the color blue but didn’t know what I’d paint. I just kept praying and asking God to guide me. In the end it was a bluebird. I looked up the symbolism for blue and it symbolized power in your voice and I was slowly regaining my voice after several hard, tragic years. A bluebird was a return to hope for me. I took my first trip by myself after this hard time in April of 2015. It was much more of a heart wrenching week of torture than I anticipated. It was a week of grieving and finally cutting out the parts that needed cut out for my growth going forward, and grieving the loss that needed grieved. I actually hated my trip. I saw bluebonnets everywhere and it killed me. It hurt my heart because wild flowers made me keep hearing this song over and over in my head, “you belong among the wild flowers. You belong in a boat out at sea. Sail away kill off the hours. You belong somewhere you feel free” by Tom petty and it was significant for me. So God took me to a bluebonnet reserve, because he had a plan for me. I walked among the bluebonnet field for hours and cried. When I sat down on a rock at the end of the field, I turned around and heard God tell me I was as beautiful as these bluebonnets and he Placed me among the wild flowers- That I do belong among them because I am one of them. It was reassurance immediately that he cares for me in such a deep way and that he sees me, he saw my pain, he saw my beauty, and he placed me where I would feel his presence. I knew I wanted a bluebird of hope filled with bluebonnets. When I see it, I know that he changed me for good, that there was a return to hope promised to me, and that he calls me beautiful.”
Enter Steven. Kim and Steven met in January at a mutual friend’s birthday party and have been talking for hours every day since. Steven has been through some hard times too. He dealt with having a brain tumor over two years ago and had surgery to remove it. He was having lots of headaches and decided to get it checked out. That’s when the news hit him that he had brain cancer. He survived the surgery, recovery and living life again to the fullest. Now the hard times are back, but this time he has Kim at his side. Steven will be having brain surgery at the end of the month/early August to remove a brain tumor. Kim and Steven wanted to have photos of them taken before the surgery, hair loss and recovery.
I hope I documented their love and joy for each other just like they had hoped. Please keep Steven and Kim in your prayers during this hard time.


From our homes to yours, may you have a very merry and blessed Christmas!
“Away in a manger no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head
The stars in the sky look down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay”


THE AXE DOTH SWINGETH! Shout it from the street corners and preach it from the pulpits! Let it be known far and wide in the lands of the uncouth and unheathen that the Royal Order of the Mighty Modock shall never again stroll with bones about their native soil. In the words of many a wiseguy it has been said that life is but a brief candle; a weevil-infested purgatory in which we vainly await our calling to another place, and when the hand of fate will make its' swinging sweep is a dark and haunting mystery upon which mortals have been given no capacity to dictate. Thus, let the eulogy begin.
IN the eighty-ninth year of the twentieth century came the great re-illusionment. Pressure cookers filled with Chicken Fat burst simultaneously in the minds of four young emeritus scholars of the first book of the Lleather. Vo-Dee-Oh, Klack-It-Tie-Oh, rah-rah and Hoo-de-ho! Up the creek and on with the show! Be it known that their years of monkish research and reclusivity had at last culminated to the point of dissertory hysteria. The dissertation was organized and commenced one fateful fall evening with the prophetic Whipping Boy Manifesto. A further need was aroused by this event and the formula of solution that lit the bulbs above the heads of these four lads was the widely discussed and world-famed Action Time Vision equation. Hence, the Southern Indiana Chapter of the Royal Order of the Mighty Modock was born, spewed forth like a thunderous roman candle of crackling and uncontrollable electricity and thew itself to the lions in a matter of ten action-packed months. Much ado and many a fuss was in the making but those who truly grasped the chalice and supped upon the ambrosial sacrament of the ambrosial wisdom of the tomfoolery on all sides were few and far between. One of those shining beacons of idiocy was Dr. Daniel Willems, HSQ, dedicated deacon of the theological school of Recordus Adeptus, who cast aside all allegiance to common moral decency and risked life and limb in order to capture the heartwrenching strains of the Order's limited and developing musical capacity.
It was on a frigid and dreary Hallow's Eve as the clock struck twelve that these bearers of the imperial churchkey took to the stage in a back alley known as Lindou's Blue Ribbon Room. In front of a standing-room-only audience of half-a-devil's-dozen, they held forth in the tradition of all that is sick, sober, and sorry. A blithering thirteen minutes later the law was at the front door and audience, band, and assorted hangers-on were out the back. in the wake of this triumphant disaster, Modock derived its creed and sallied forth with a tally-ho and a krak-a-toe to further massacrees of destruction at some of the finest locales in the wilds of the midwest.
Their stint as house band at the world-famous and now sadly destroyed Stud Barn included the still talked about "Lights Out Sessions" which inadvertently resulted in self-induced hypnosis and trancelike delusions which led the band to believe that they were possessed by demons. The battle of the bands at the "Down There" room at Notre Dame University ending in an utter drubbing and complete taming of heretofore ruling-caste cat-daddies Vibrolux at the hands of the Mighty Modock (available on request from Avanti Records). The Harmony High School Sock Hop on the very evening of Del Shannon's untimely death (coincidence? or fate?). And above all, not once, but thrice, the sedate, staid atmosphere of the Black Box Theatre ripped asunder in a literal torrent of White Castle slider boxes and Red, White, & Blue cans cascading forth upon the band in the very act.
The axe was poised above their heads in the sixth month of the year of Our Lord Nineteen and Ninety. The members felt themselves slipping into the vortex of nevermore. Having destroyed everything about them the realization came: now, no choice but to destroy themselves. It was held as self-evident that the double blade would inevitably obey the laws of Newton. These facts weighed heavily upon our intrepid youth as they began their ascent into obliteration on that first, fateful night which began the Modock Trilogy of Terror. The occasion was the annual WQAX Rumble of the Bands. Modock conquered the trophy, slaying all infidels with primordial howlings and ravings. As an extra treat for the peanut gallery, the last days of Pompeii were recreated on stage in a Flaming Vesuvian Eruptive Spectacle, forcing the Ripper to abandon his sacred trashcan in fear for his very life.
Having survived the first round, the boys crawled from their corner of the ring the very next night for what has become known as "The Second Story Beer bath" at the lovely Second Story Lounge. Clad in full war paint, The Genius sporting his Crown of Bones, Wolfgang von Geekus displaying his treasured Caesar's Palace Medallion and issuing forth bombastic barrages of abusive power chords, The Ripper beating out a feverdriven rhythm on his trashcan with the Ace of Spades painted upon his chest, and above all this the catastrophic collision of spastic frequencies, Bird Bath, trademark necklace of churchkeys draped wantonly round his neck, continuously throwing his guitar against his amplifier and screaming that polysyllabic phrase of undeniable truth, "Ooh Pooh Pah Doo". Beer was flung in all directions and a phenomenal time was had by all.
The scholarly amongst us will note, we hope with an approving eye, that stage three of the Rolling Rocket of Terror has been captured and reproduced herein in the hope of dragging, by main force if needed, the discerning listener of another time and place as close to the edge of sanity as possible. For only by confronting the abyss of sheer madness with unflinching ear; only by teetering precariously upon the very knife-edge of the precipice; only by steeling one's heart and soul against the unutterable and alinguistic pandemonium herein magnetically encoded can any mortal man begin to perceive a glimmer of that night of retribution and reckoning.
The field of battle was the Bluebird Boogie House, and the very foundations shook under the tread of gods, kings, and pharaohs of the saintly days of yore. Clad in the togas and ivy'd crowns befitting their rank and status as conquering heroes, the Mighty Modock cried havoc, and let slip, one final time, the dogs of war. As they mounted the stage, the spirit of Captain Jack and his fearless and stately Modoc warriors marched abreast. Men such as these are a rare sight in these sorry days. These were men whose pride led them to face their very deaths amongst the lava pits rather than succumb to the forked tongues and backstabbing dangers of a civilization in which they could find no part for themselves. Who might have thought that these young lads in selecting a moniker which held only connotations of high-school hellraising antics and homecoming football destruction had indicated the very path upon which their illustrious forebears trod as they moved to their doom? And so it is written in the rock of the land: All must foul up at the crossroads.
Lord Dent Invadore, HSQ
Bloomington, Indiana, 1991


The Padacia: august 2005
Linking the theme with key ideas such as the death of God, he also highlights Nietzsche’s dialogue with … 2021-4-10 · What Is Eternal Recurrence? Nietzsche famously writes about eternal recurrence in The Gay Science aphorism 341 titled “The Greatest Weight”, “What if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to … 2021-1-14 · The concept of "eternal recurrence", the idea that with infinite time and a finite number of events, events will recur again and again infinitely, is central to the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche.As Heidegger points out in his lectures on Nietzsche, Nietzsche's first mention of eternal recurrence, in aphorism 341 of The Gay Science (cited below), presents this concept as a hypothetical 2020-5-14 · Eternal Recurrence The Gay Science is one of Nietzsche’s most personal works, collecting not only his philosophical reflections but also a number of poems, aphorisms, and songs. The idea of eternal recurrence—which Nietzsche presents as a sort of thought experiment—appears in Aphorism 341, “The Greatest Weight”: Nietzsche’s next book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, provides a dramatic narrative depicting the task of life affirmation in the face of eternal recurrence. Zarathustra comes to humanity in order to “redeem the earth,” to speak for natural life against all life-denying doctrines. The body of philosophically sophisticated and interesting criticism of the doctrine of eternal recurrence remains unmatched by the literature on any other aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy.
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"This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times Substantial agreement exists that Nietzsche considered the eternal recurrence his most important teaching. He calls it the “fundamental conception” of 29 Jan 2018 Professor Michael Gillespie joins the Kinder Institute's Political Theory Review podcast to discuss his book, Nietzsche's Final Teaching. 19 Dec 2018 At the center of Nietzsche's philosophy is the idea of eternal return — the ultimate embrace of responsibility that comes from accepting the Friedrich Nietzsche. The concept of "eternal recurrence"––"the idea that all events in the world repeat In this book Lawrence Hatab provides an accessible and provocative exploration of one of the best-known and still most puzzling aspects of Nietzsche's thought: 9 Dec 2005 What eternal recurrence is about is not theodicy (p.
thanks Jan 1, 2011 The interpretation of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy has been a source of controversy ever since his lapse into insanity at the beginning of Pris: 656 kr. inbunden, 1997.
NIETZSCHES IDé OM EVIG åTERKOMST - HUMANIORA - 2021
Personal Identity and Circular Time Even if this cosmological theory is true, it does not obviously follow that persons will live their lives again, as Nietzsche’s theory of eternal recurrence … 2020-05-14 Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence supposes that you’d have to experience the same life repeated for eternity. It is the “heaviest weight” imaginable.
Friedrich Nietzsche Department of Philosophy, Linguistics
I just finished "Ecce Homo," which says in the TSZ chapter: "The fundamental idea of the work, the Eternal Recurrence, the highest formula of a life affirmation that can ever be attained was first conceived in the month of August 1881." The Eternal Recurrence of the Same By Mark Musser Karl Lowith’s (1897-1973) “Nietzsche’s Philosophy of the Eternal Recurrence of the Same” was surprisingly published in Berlin in 1935 during the rise of National Socialism which increasingly glorified certain aspects of Nietzsche’s thought as the Third Reich wore on. Lowith was Jewish. Whereas in Nietzsche’s scheme of eternal recurrence, every reborn world is an exact replica of the previous, in Groundhog Day each is an imperfect copy, a simulacrum.
Much of the work deals with ideas such as the "eternal recurrence
and more on the Overman and eternal recurrence. Listen to part one first, or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL! End song: "Upright
I argue that his discussions of nihilism, of the poetry and character of Giacomo Leopardi, of Hamlet, and of the eternal recurrence are best understood in relation
Nietzsche's solution lies in the idea of eternal recurrence.
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According to another philosopher in the name of Martin Heidegger, Nietzsche, though advocating the theory of eternal recurrence, did not really argue that such phenomenon has existed or is existent. Finally, Nietzsche wrote in his notes for Will to Power that “A doctrine is required, strong enough to have the effect of breeding: strengthening the strong, paralyzing and breaking the world-weary.” (862) This is a very helpful note because it suggests that eternal recurrence is, to Nietzsche, a doctrine employed for instrumental reasons: it is something which one uses. Nietzsche celebrated this recurrence because of the power of belief in it to bring about a revaluation of values focused wholly on the value of one’s endlessly repeating life. Belief in recurrence would bring joy to those who had achieved excellence in this life and crush those who had not. 2017-03-10 2021-03-30 The True Meaning of Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence of the Same - YouTube.
Peter Bird ' to a version of Friedrich Nietzsche's doctrine of the eternal Nietzsche's Doctrine of Eternal Recurrence. ○ Infinite
Jul 3, 2012 Nietzsche's Concept of Eternal Recurrence. "This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times
This book examines the cogency and value of Nietzsche's idea of eternal recurrence, as an antidote to the nihilism resulting from the catastrophic event of ' the
Nietzsche introduces this idea, called the "eternal recurrence," at the climax of ## Thus Spoke Zarathustra##, and considers this the culmination of all his
Sep 19, 2020 A central idea of German Philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, is Eternal Recurrence . That the life we are living now may, in its exact form, recur
Dec 9, 2005 [is that] life affirmation and eternal recurrence represent the core and climax of Nietzsche's thought' (p. 106). (Slightly problematic, here
Jan 23, 2019 It was during one of his walks in Sils im Engadin, near lake Silvaplana, in Switzerland, that the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had
Jan 31, 2015 That is to say, Nietzsche's idea of Eternal Recurrence is a kind of repetition of the being of becoming as it orbits around its affirmation.
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In psychoanalysis we encounter a similar fate. Nov 20, 2010 When Nietzsche Wept: Eternal Recurrence "You suggest," said Breuer, "that every action I make, every pain I experience, will be experienced Apr 19, 2014 One of my favourite scenes from the film 'When Nietzsche Wept' where in a discussion the concept of Ouroboros or eternal recurrence is Apr 8, 2014 The bit of knowledge he will whisper in your ear? “Eternal Recurrence” is Nietzsche's pet name for it. It may sound useless to you. You may be Apr 16, 2015 Nietzsche was not the first to encounter this theory of Eternal Recurrence. Heinrich Heine wrote “For time is infinite…All configurations that have Nietzsche's philosophy is concerned with questions about freedom, action, and will. To comprehend eternal recurrence, and to not only come to peace with it but By elaborating Nietzsche's thought of eternal recurrence in the 1937 lecture course, Die Ewige Wiederkehr des Gleichen, Heidegger appears to return to his Sep 18, 2014 How is Nietzsche's Will to Power related to his notion of Eternal Recurrence?
– What if some day or
19 Dec 2018 At the center of Nietzsche's philosophy is the idea of eternal return — the ultimate embrace of responsibility that comes from accepting the
Nietzsche's Zarathustra is described in Karl Lowith's book on Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Eternal Recurrence of the Same (1978, 1997) as a parable in which all
Abstract. Nietzsche's embrace of the idea of eternal recurrence has long puzzled readers, both because the idea is inherently implausible and because it seems
This article shows that Nietzsche's published presentations endorse the cosmological truth of eternal recurrence and that they indicate how belief in this truth can
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2. Personal Identity and Circular Time Even if this cosmological theory is true, it does not obviously follow that persons will live their lives again, as Nietzsche’s theory of eternal recurrence maintains. 2020-02-12 · One of Nietzsche's most famous ideas is that of eternal recurrence, which appears in the penultimate section of his book The Gay Science. Eternal Recurrence The Gay Science is one of Nietzsche's most personal works, collecting not only his philosophical reflections but also a number of poems, aphorisms, and songs. 2021-04-10 · Nietzsche Nietzsche & the Eternal Recurrence J. Harvey Lomax on the love of eternity.
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The eternal recurrence of the same [nietzsche] är på ungerska » …
One such influ- ential interpreter is Bernard Williams, who writes: "This is an entirely hypothetical ques- tion, a thought -experiment.


Do you feel called to write? You don’t have to be a good writer, or even a writer at all. You only need to have a message that would benefit others. We will help you turn it into a book!
This workshop is for people who are just beginning to write. Either you have not yet begun (and maybe aren’t even sure what to write about), or you have begun but are early in the writing process. We will focus on non-fiction writing.
Guests will work with the instructor and in groups to:
• Generate a list of topics within your reach to write about
• Easily prioritize and organize your writing plan
• Create an outline in minutes
• Set doable writing goals and a completion deadline that surprises you
• Come up with additional content to fill your word count goal
• Learn 7 trade secrets that make writing easier
• Plus lots of priceless tips from over a decade of coaching, writing and publishing!
BONUS: Every registrant will be invited to join my writers mentoring group on Facebook for a full 6 months after the seminar! You’ll get ongoing access to having your questions answered, possible peer review of your work, and more.
If you believe God has given you a message, bring your laptop and notebook, and we’ll get you started!
“In the next decade, more books will be written for the Kingdom of God than all other books combined.” – Prophet Greg Bailey, 2013, Queensland, Australia
May 19, 2018
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Vision Church @ CI VLI Upstairs Chapel
$85 / person until May 5 – PLUS first 25 people who register online get a FREE digital copy of “Thx: The Secret to Being Grateful”!
$115 / person from May 5 – May 18
$145 / person at the door
Includes lunch and a continental breakfast if you register by 5/18. Walk-ins will receive lunch on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last.
(Membership Discounts Available upon Request for CIAN, VCCI, VCFWB, VLI)
08:30 AM — Meet & Greet Continental Breakfast
09:00 AM — Generating Topics
10:00 AM — Organizing Thoughts
11:00 AM — Goal Setting & Prioritizing
12:00 PM — Lunch
01:00 PM — Generating More Content
02:00 PM — 7 Secrets to Writing Faster
03:00 PM — Writing with the Book Launch in Mind
04:00 PM — Q&A
Rebecca Francis is a prophetic voice and an author, speaker, editor and writing coach. She majored in English in pursuit of becoming a college professor. Instead, she found passion helping others find their voice and ultimately releasing God’s voice through their writing. Rebecca has 15 years of experience in editing, nearly a decade of experience in professional copywriting and ghostwriting, and has helped dozens of authors write their first book. Rebecca contracts with self-publishing companies and also works independently to help edit and design the finished product. Find out more at rebeccajfrancis.org.


Discover the OLi Lulu universe of fun and original FREE books that make children want to read. Explore the play area to learn while having fun!
Explore Space games from Olilulu, a huge collection of free online games in many categories. Visit the educational section which is a great way to learn while having fun.
Children love being told stories! They allow them to escape into the wonderful world of the imagination, even magical and conducive to daydreaming. Telling stories to children is the best way to spend a very qualitative time with him, comforting and stimulating.


New York is home to legions of great writers who work in theater, books, film, television or online—and, quite often, in some combination of these. Our contributions to the culture are the better for it.
Television writing started in New York. People who wrote films, or plays, or books found a new medium through which to tell stories and move audiences. Over time, the TV industry moved westward, but there are still hundreds of New Yorkers who write great comedy/variety, episodic, public affairs, news and other programs, and we want to celebrate their work.
The Writers Guild of America, East represents writers when they work for TV, screen, radio and digital media. We set up this blog to share the stories of some of our members whose writing thrives in the Empire State. In July, to celebrate New York writers and New York writing, we joined with the Dramatists Guild and the Authors Guild on the rooftop of our building. It was a spectacular evening of conversation and conviviality. We’ve hopefully captured some of that dynamism in the images and words found here.
Executive Director, WGAE


If I were to ask you to describe the activities of a good Christian, you would no doubt mention actions such as praying and reading the Bible often. Of course, often for some people is every day, others several times a week, others read a chapter or two a day.
Today, and ever since the Gutenberg press was invented, we have truly been living in an age of feasting, if only we would come to the meal. The Bible is there and it is available for us to read, to meditate upon and to nourish us. There are many proverbial reasons that can be given to encourage us to read daily but what does the Bible say?
I will list 7 scriptures but want to hear from you what your favorite passages are.
- 2 Timothy 3:14-17 Scriptures serves many purposes in our lives: Reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness but at the end of it, the man of God is thoroughly equipped for every good work by the Scriptures. Don’t be ill-equipped, Read!
- Deuteronomy 17:18-20 The King of Israel was instructed not just to write himself a copy of the law but to read from it every day. Leaders (ministers, elders, etc.) especially need the promise of this passage. Reading God’s word will keep us oriented, on the right path, and most of all, Humble!
- Amos 8:11 God warned of a famine of His word among His people. He would take away the prophets and His words because they wouldn’t listen to Him. Today, we have great access to God’s word. If you don’t read it, you create your own famine. Who is worse off? The person who can read and doesn’t or the person who can’t read at all?
- Psalms 1 More than just reading God’s word, meditating on it is important. If you don’t wrestle with the application of it in your life, you may just think “Mmmm, nice thought” and go on with your life unchanged. Meditate and prosper!
- Acts 17:11 The process of learning is also a process of searching the Scriptures. We have so many people who will tell us what God wants of us but until we begin the process of examining their (teaching/motto/philosophy) with God’s word, we won’t be able to know if it is Godly or only sounds Godly.
- Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to God’s word. When we pray “lead us not into temptation” many times God is saying ” I am trying to tell you but you won’t listen”. Reading God’s word instructs in both the ways of righteousness and the ways of error.
- Psalm 19:10-11 They are more valuable than gold and silver. When we truly bring the world of God into our lives and allow it to be written on our hearts, we find true wealth and contentment beyond the rat race of this world and its egotistical purposes.
So much more could be said on each of these passages. They are worthy of a blog post all their own and may yet get them.
Question: What Bible verse(s) help you draw the conclusion that Christians ought to read God’s word often…or even every day?
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Heb 5:12-14 ESV)
And so it was in the garden of Eden that Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat from the tree that she was not supposed to eat from. Do you remember how that tree was described or named? It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For whatever reason (and we could explore those) God did not think that mankind needed to have that particular knowledge while in the Garden. While in the stage of innocence Adam enjoyed a great deal of communication with God and I am sure the communion with Him was wonderful. So it was truly a sad day when Adam and Eve did what God did not want them to do.
Sadder still is that today, we also do not do what God wants us to do in relationship to “good and evil.” In the Garden we were directed away from it, but today we are directed towards it. We seem to resist that call however. We just do not want to grow up.
The Hebrew writer pointed out to the Christians to whom he wrote that being in Christ should lead to growth. When he says “ought” as in “ought to be teachers” he is bringing out a moral “should” not just an idea or suggestion (e.g. Well, it would be nice if you made it to that level).
He also points out that they are also regressing in their knowledge. Whereas, they ought to be teachers they need to be students and relearn things that ought to already know. After reaching a certain point in school, a student should be able to ‘teach’ a younger sibling to read. How sad to have that older child revert back so far that he would need to learn the alphabet.
Finally, he points out in this passage that one of the characteristics of mature Christians is that we will, with practice, be able to distinguish between good and evil. We begin to understand the wiles of Satan and find ourselves less fooled by his schemes. We also, with maturity, are able to teach others so that they too can avoid his temptations and traps.
The benefit in maturing in Christ is not just for our own good but for the good of others who do not know the difference between good and evil.
Question: What are the spiritual areas in which you need to mature? Which areas, if any, have you regressed?
Photo attribution: Fort Rucker
So I have noticed something about birthdays…if you live long enough, another one comes your way! (It only took me 5 decades to figure this simple fact out.) Surprisingly, people, as we approach 25 or so seem to want to deny their age. I, could, for example simply deny being 50. I might say “I am 18 with 32 years of experience.” Of course, that doesn’t change the fact.
My favorite way people use to cope with another birthday is to say “Well, it’s better than the alternative.” This is a clear indication that the alternative is death! I might even agree with this if death were, indeed, the alternative. However, when one thinks about it, what is the alternative? Life here is good. But the alternative?
For the Christian, one who follows God faithfully, the alternative is eternal life. So, is living worse than the alternative?
This was the dilemma that Paul found himself in when he wrote to the Philippians while he was in jail waiting to see if he would be executed.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (Php 1:21-24)
Faced with an uncertain future, Paul was torn between his desire to depart this world and be with Christ (“which is far better”) and the desire to stay in this world to help encourage those in Philippi (‘which is more needful for you”).
The clear lesson to be learned is that there is work to do in this life. However, this life is not the best we will have. When we act, say, or think that dying is not preferable to living we miss the whole point of being in Christ!
One of the things we say is, we want to go to heaven but not today. We have more life to live. One friend (many years ago) said “The Lord can return but I hope he waits until after I get married.” Marriage is an honorable institution but really, are the joys of being married to be compared to being in Heaven?
In many ways, we are this short-sighted. We are told to set goals and most of the time, those goals are earth bound: Job, marriage, possessions, travel, etc. We want to go to Heaven but how much of a goal do we make of going to Heaven? Three things should be on our mind in relationship to going to Heaven.
- Make sure we get there-Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Are you seeking God’s ways or your own pleasures? If you are poor in this life, you will still be rich in the life to come. You may, or may not, be poor but let God bless you in ways He knows you can handle and be content on your journey.
- Make sure others get there-Not all of us are preachers and teachers but we can till the soil for the evangelist through hospitality and by letting our light shine in the way we live our life. We can also support the preaching of the Gospel. If you were to send $20 a week to someone who preaches the Gospel, it may not be a lot but when coupled with 10 others, it would have an impact.
- Long to get to Heaven. Develop the desire that Heaven is where you want to be and the sooner you can get there, the better! Live like you are going to Heaven at any moment. Be like Fred Flintstone (who, while working hard) waited for that quitting time whistle so he could head home. This longing will help you to refrain from doing some things in life that you might otherwise engage in while thinking, “I can repent later”. It will allow you to tell Satan to take a hike when he whispers how much more fun his way is than God’s.
There are other things to keep in mind, of course, but mostly we need to learn to think, eat, drink, and sleep going to Heaven.
So the next time someone says “I woke up today, I guess that is better than the alternative”, you might ask them if they are sure about that! (and if they are…tell them about Christ!)
Photo Credit: takomabibelot
While there are many classic lines from movies that make it into the American vocabulary and consciousness, the title of today’s blog comes from the movie A Few Good Men and I am sure most of you know that line delivered in typical Jack Nicholson brashness. (I don’t recommend the movie due to it’s R rating, a televised version would clean up most of that language, however.)
Can we actually handle the truth depends on whether we want to handle the truth. It is, therefore, completely up to us to decide if we can handle it, or not! It is a decision of the will.
Truth can be used in many ways, but at the heart and foundation (no pun intended) of “truth” is a foundation that you can build on. Can you imagine what would happen if “truth” changed? Right now, some are saying that truth does change. No, truth does not change but circumstance can. As I write these blog, my wife is not with me. This is truth but the circumstance might change in 10 minutes. If she comes into the room, she is now with me. The circumstance has changed but the truth has not. Through all eternity, it shall always be true that she was not with me when I wrote that sentence.
Gravity is a truth. If you drop a hammer from a tree in Texas, it falls just as fast as if you drop it in India. There is a relationship between that hammer and the planet that causes it to fall. It never rises! It will fall on the moon too, although a bit slower. Gravity is a truth you cannot ignore.
Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue, if NASA tried to send a man to the moon only to find out that gravity stopped working at the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere? What if gravity quit working every other Tuesday, unless the sky was cloudy overhead? It would be circumstantial then, subject to change and not a truth.
Here are some good things to remember about Truth that are based on a book called I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist:
Truth is discoverable but it doesn’t matter if you haven’t yet discovered it. (Jupiter’s moons were there before we saw them.)
Truth does not depend on culture. Math works just as well in the U.S.A as it does in China.
Truth does not change based on our beliefs. Many used to believe you would lose your breath if you ever exceeded 60 miles an hour in a car. This was not true before we did it and suddenly, no longer true. It was always a mistaken belief. If I believe a bottle to contain medicine but it contains deadly poison, I will not be able to avoid death simply by believing hard enough the opposite of the truth.
We expect truth from our doctors, parents, spouses, children, and politicians. (O.k. maybe we don’t expect it from our politicians. That might not be true. LOL) However, we want the truth about the house or car we go to buy. If an archeologist tells us that the skull we are about to buy is the skull of a famous Aztec king, we do not expect him to try and sell us a smaller sized skull and tell us it is the same Aztec King’s skull when he was a child!
So why is it that we do not ask for the same thing in our religion? Why are we willing to buy into the idea that what someone believes to be true can be true for them and not for us, and visa versa?
Here is a truth claim, from the Christian Scriptures: Speaking of Jesus, Peter says ” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Act 4:12)
Now that may or may not be a true statement! Let’s look at that statement though and what it means.
IF IT IS TRUE, it states that there is only one way to Salvation. It states that Jesus is the only way. It is is exclusive of other names, roads, means of salvation. It says, that only by going through this name, may one be saved; if it is true.
IF IT IS NOT TRUE, then perhaps other names are valid means of obtaining salvation, if, that is, that there is a salvation. One might also say that if it not true, that Peter lied, which in most circles is not a good way to obtain salvation. So the door is open to other means of salvation, if salvation exists.
So, can you handle the truth? If Jesus is the only way to salvation, can you accept it? It is not good enough to say “I don’t believe it to be true.”, nor is it good enough for me to say “I believe it to be true.” That statement cannot be both true and untrue, it cannot be true for you and not for me, it makes a claim to be true and it either is, or it is not!
Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world–to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (Joh 18:37-38 ESV)
Indeed, what is truth? There are some people who don’t think there is truth about anything. Some think that truth is relative. Truth however, is real and objective. It is something so precious that it cannot be simply overlooked.
Of course the statement that “Truth is relative” is not true. It is stated as a truth and yet if all truth is relative then how could that statement be true. I may say that I hate coffee and that is truth. It is not true only for me but it is true for others. Steven hates coffee is true to other people also. Where one can say I have a preference and my opinion of coffee is not the opinion of others, this does not change the truth: I hate coffee.
Jesus said that those who are of the truth listen to Him. There is much in the Bible to indicate that God speaks the truth and that His words are what we need to listen to. These scriptures say that those who refuse to listen to him are those who suppress the truth or have not received a love for the truth.
Truth: There is a God. But some deny this.
Truth: The Bible is God’s word. But some deny this.
Truth: Jesus is the son of God, God in the flesh. But some deny this.
In one post, you cannot possibly explore all of these truths to validate them or disprove them but I hope to tackle them over the next few weeks. A few at a time, a bit at a time. However, one illustration may help show how useless it is to dispute something when it is true.
In my last post, the original post (before I corrected it) referred to a fellow preacher and blogger by the name of Eric. I referenced his blog, I thanked him for his comment, and I used his comment in my blog. The only problem is that Eric’s name is not Eric. It is Eugene. While it is certainly true that in the overall scheme of things, a mistake in calling someone by a different name is minor, it still needs to be corrected.
Now I could have told him that his name is not Eugene. But that would not have changed the truth, as his birth certificate, friends, parents, and drivers license would show.
I could have asked him to change his name so that I was indeed correct. Yet, I am sure you can still see that even if he had changed his name to Eric, that would only mean that it had not been when I mistakenly called him Eric.
I could fight it or…I could acknowledge the truth. Why so many people would rather say “Hey, you look more like an Eric to me….” and lie against the truth is curious. It does not have long-lasting implications (although perhaps a friendship would suffer) in the matter of a simple name but when it comes to things like God’s existence, or Jesus’ deity…why stand and beat your head against what is true?
Even worse are those who don’t even care to take the time to investigate. They can’t be bothered with the facts, their mind is made up.
As a means of full disclosure, I will be following a couple of works by others and adding what seems to me to be common sense. The book called “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist” and a study book called “Indestructible foundations” (Peter J. Wilson) are going to help guide me in some of the order things are presented.
Stick around, Lord willing some of these posts will give us good reason to believe what we, as Christians, believe.
Question: Do you have questions, critiques, opposing viewpoints? Comments are welcome. Discussion encouraged. Respectful dialogue is required.
photo credit from Google images
Neglecting one’s salvation would quite easily rank as one of the poorest decisions a person could make in this life. And even that simply sentence may rank among the biggest understatements in the history of blogging.As the saying goes, “Even an atheist does not want to go to Hell!”
Yesterday, we looked at four types of negligence: Passing by, ignoring, forgetting, and being careless. It is highly unlikely that those who consider themselves to be Christians would really “pass by” or “ignore” (at least not completely) their salvation. Those two items would belong to those who will not study to find out the truth for themselves. Much could be written on that topic but in this post, I want to talk about things that cause a Christian to neglect their salvation. This neglect will most likely come through forgetting and being careless.
Paul said: No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (2Ti 2:4)
Christians need to remember that they died…to sin, to this world and to the rat race that so many get caught up in.
Sin is always lurking.
Just because we resist Satan once or twice and he flees from us (as the Scripture says), does not mean that he never comes back again! Even with Jesus, after all the temptations were completed in the dessert, Luke records that the devil left him until “an opportune time.” When we get caught up in sin, whatever form that may take, we become entangled and our salvation can become neglected!
Committing a Sin and living in sin are two different things but neither is what we are supposed to do. We need to be on guard so as not to sin more just so grace can abound. When we do that, we truly treat our salvation with carelessness and as if it has no value. (Romans 6)
The world is always pulling.
Our old friends, if we grew up in the world, wonder at why we do not carry on with them like we used to. The world’s morals and values are constantly being pushed on us and worse yet, they are quoting Scriptures at us to bolster their point. “Jesus said to love” may be a true statement but Jesus also said to “Love God first” was the great commandment. Besides, love does require pointing out the sins so that people can change.
The rat race doesn’t end.
Have you ever noticed that in a rat race, that the cheese is not truly the end? Nope! Those poor rats are pulled out of the maze and sent back in to do it again. Then they change the maze or move the cheese!
Lack of contentment with what we have is a big cause for us to neglect our salvation. We take more overtime or second jobs to pay for things we want. We fail to realize that food, clothing, and shelter is enough when coupled with God’s blessings. It isn’t that you are wrong just for working more but the reason for the work is often ‘wants’ not ‘needs’. Then you get so busy fulfilling wants that you get careless with and forget what is truly important.
While it might seem our duty to buy more and get more and upgrade more and travel more, that theme is from the world and not God. Huxley’s Brave new world and even our Newscasts would be appalled at my next statement: Buy less, be content with less!
You will not get all of it anyway and you will find at the end, that the maze gets changed, the cheese moved, or they now have new and improved cheese with a bolder taste (but you need to run the race again to get it).
One of my readers, Eugene, cited a good Scripture on yesterday’s post. (You can read Eugene’s blog here!)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-3 ESV)
What we should do is “seek” and “set our minds” on those things that are above. If we do that, we will not be in danger of neglecting our salvation.
These three things, sin, the world’s pull, and the rat race are more general things that lead us to be negligent with our salvation.
Question: What are some specific things in your life that are innocent enough in and of themselves, but that you take to an extreme? Do those things cause you to neglect your salvation?
Photo Credit: antwerpenR
The Hebrew writer, asks the question: How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb 2:3) It is a rhetorical question and the answer is an obvious “We won’t!”
There at least four shades of meaning to the word neglect. Do any of them apply to you and your salvation?
Neglecting can mean to “pass by” something.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. (Luk 10:31)
This verse from the parable of the good Samaritan uses the words “passed by”. Yet it means that he ‘neglected’ the man lying on the side of the road.
Do we observe the Pass over in some areas of our Christian life? Do we just pass by hard to understand Scripture because we don’t think we will like the outcome? Might some of those areas affect our relationship with God and our salvation? Whether it is examining our own lives to make corrections, or examining Scriptures to understand ‘hard to understand’ passages, we should not pass by (neglect) those things that can affect our salvation and relationship with God.
Neglecting can be done by ignoring.
Another word for neglect is ‘ignore’. Much like you might ignore your shoe laces until they become untied, you can ignore your salvation until it falls into a state of serious disrepair.
The Priests in the days of Nehemiah committed to doing their part for the service of the house of God.
“We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:…We will not neglect the house of our God.” (Neh 10:32, 39)
I cannot help but think about what Paul wrote in 1 corinthians 3:17 that says “we are the temple of God” when he talks about the congregation. (Chapter 6 says the same thing and talks about the individual Christian). One of the ways you can destroy a house or a temple is to simply ignore it. Perhaps you have noticed that a building structure that is not lived in, will fall apart faster than one that is.
Neglecting can also be done by “forgetting”
Have you ever walked into another room and ‘forgot’ what you went in the room for? Sure, we all have. But what about those times when someone asks you to pick up something in town and, as you head back to the house, you slap your head and go “D’oh!” I forgot that. Sometimes those are very important things that we ‘neglecting’ by forgetting to to them.
Those things that are important to us are the things we will remember to do. In Hebrews 13, the writer reminds his audience to ‘not neglect to show hospitality in verse two and later in verse sixteen, “do not neglect to do good”.
I wonder if the rich man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man simply “forgot” to do good for Lazarus? Either way, he neglected to do anything and look where that landed him! God saved us so that we might walk in good works. Do not neglect by forgetting to do the good works for which we have been prepared. (Eph 2:10 and 2 Tim 3:16-17)
Neglecting can also be done by being careless with something of value.
This I think is the primary thought for this passage. “Pay special attention” to the salvation that you have received.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard… (Heb 2:1-3 ESV)
And why shouldn’t we pay more attention and take care to not be careless with the message of the Gospel. This message did not come by man’s doing! It came from God Himself. Jesus, the Son of God, God in the flesh, revealed the message to man. It did not come through a mediator (angels).
In a family with many siblings, the older child(ren) are often put in charge of the younger ones. What they tell their younger brothers and sisters still is something they need to listen to. Yet, it is the same as when the parent comes in and tells them what needs to be done directly. There is a difference, yet it is the same. If you don’t listen to your brother, they are not likely to ground you or spank you but the punishment will happen when the parent gets home. (and sometimes you talk your way out of it) However, when the parent is home, punishments happen quicker and you should “pay more attention” to what you hear.
Question: What are some things that keep us from paying attention like we ought to do? Lord, willing I will have some answers to that question tomorrow.
Photo credit: jumpinjimmyjava
This post by Steve Higginbottham is well worth reading and sharing. James, indeed, would have taken the brethren to task for an uncontrolled Facebook comments had he written in this century. Happy Reading.
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Act 17:11)
It is my favorite because the spirit that the Bereans had is the same that we should have today.
First, they received the word with all readiness.
They did not simply say “we have the Scriptures already and there is nothing new to learn.” In fact, those Scriptures which they had (our Old Testament) were pointing to a coming Messiah. When Paul showed up preaching that the Messiah had come, he appealed to those Scriptures to make his point. You can see in verses 1-5 that Paul first reasoned from the Scriptures in Thesolonica and some were persuaded of the Greeks, but not so many of the Jews.
Second, the Bereans searched the Scriptures to see:
To see what? To see if what Paul was saying was true. Did the Messiah come from Bethlehem? Would he be rejected? Was Jesus the prophet Moses had promised?
When I go to a place to preach or study for the first time, it is my custom to read verse 11 and explain to the audience (or individual) that we have a responsibility to search the Scriptures to see if the things presented are, indeed, from God. What we are doing, in this case, is saying that we accept the Scriptures as God’s Holy word and as our standard to measure our teachings.
That which is not from God is rejected, that which is from God is retained. Book, chapter, and verse is what we look for.
This means that when we hear someone who wants to impart to us something from God, we can afford to be courteous and do as the Bereans did: Listen. Yet, we also search the Scriptures, as they did. And a final step in that process is to discuss the message with the messenger.
Aquilla and Pricilla did just that with Apollos. They heard him, took him aside, and shared a part of the message that he was missing. He didn’t have all of the Gospel. (Acts 18:24-28) What I write, I hope (I believe) is in line with the Scriptures but it is for my audience member to search the Scriptures and see. They then are encouraged to offer information which they think would be relevant, even if, it is the opposite of what I said, or supplies more than what I said. The goal is not which of us is right but, knowing that God is always right, to make our message in agreement with his.
Which brings up another thought and the motive for today’s blog:
I am sure you have seen on Facebook, or other social media outlets, chain posts that go something like this:
I wanted to see who reads my posts (only about 7 of you) so you need to write one word on my wall and repost this on yours so I can do the same.
Or, If you don’t re post this then you are going to have to start paying for Facebook.
Or, Like this post if you are still my friend, I will delete the rest. Blah, blah, blah!
Why can’t we offer something to others that is truly inspiring? Why not inspire a person with something that will encourage them to live better or do better? Posts about how your life is going, what the kids did or are doing are great; we keep up with our friends, family, and current events. That can be encouraging. But posts like the ones above do not inspire a person to greatness.
While I hope all my posts which I pass on to Facebook and twitter are thought provoking and encouraging, it isn’t like I am the only one who shares good things. So, I am going to take my own advice and try to share a blog post or two from someone else that I think hits the mark. The point of my blogs, and those that I will share, is to present the Scriptures and let my audience search and see if they are from God. If they are: put it into action. If they are not, ignore it.
Your challenge is to do the same. You don’t have to post mine, you can post someone else’s, but share another blog, either on Facebook or your own blog post. Why? Because you will introduce people to another’s perspective, writing style, and way to explain things. It is not the one who waters or who plants but the one who gives the increase (God) that we should be trying to glorify and point people toward.
How much better an inspiring post than a chain post? Of how much more value? How much more a better use of the readers time?
Question: Who do you read that writes good inspiring blog posts? Share the link below. (Yes, you can share your own blog link!)
Photo credit: sbarkley


Sleuth: The Delegation
it would seem that sometime in the last 250 years the fire-farming just stopped. The humans no longer see themselves in the landscape, and consequently they no longer care for the trees, the dirt, the spirit. Now the giants have awoken. These strange and large visitors have come to Canberra to discuss a situation: Australian spirituality is all over the shop! The continent’s psyche appears to be diversifying … this mightn’t be such a good thing.
I don’t reckon this is such a good thing.
And where is Amos? Is he always late for every meeting!!
Sleuth is an ongoing series that begins with exhibitions, comics and other crosses into other multimedia. It explores what is happening with the Aussie psyche and soul, a nebulous and amorphous thing.
Joshua Santospirito is an illustrator, musician and multimedia artist who lives in Hobart, Tasmania. His main artistic obsessions revolve around language, anthropology, culture and psychology. His main works in comics have been his very rambling Sleuth series, and the award winning graphic novel The Long Weekend in Alice Springs which he published in 2013 through Sankessto Publications.


About Our Words
We are three MA Creative Writing students from Oxford Brookes University.
We are working with the Oxford Academy in Littlemore, Oxford and the Oxford Literary Festival on a joint project to encourage year 7 and 8 Academy pupils to get excited about creative writing and literature.
Through weekly sessions with the pupils, we are helping them pick up their pens (or rather, fire up their laptops or tablets!), and find their creative voices!
Why we need your help!
This project is an incredibly important opportunity for the children who take part. By working collaboratively with the pupils, we are able to help them learn new skills, develop their creative imaginations and improve their self-confidence.
“Through this unique project, pupils have had the valuable, and sadly rare, opportunity to immerse themselves into a world of creative writing in which their confidence in their ability increases, alongside a renewed love of writing for the sheer fun of it.”
Erica Robinson, Teacher, Oxford Academy
The project culminates with the children reading their stories at the Oxford Literary Festival in Christ Church College Hall.
The chance to read a self-penned poem in the grand and impressive setting of Christ Church dining hall (which featured in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!) is one that is not afforded to many writers!
The pride the pupils feel from reading their own work at Oxford Literary Festival, surrounded by many successful writers and literature fans, is the encouragement they need to continue their interest in writing.
“Both the quality of their writing and the assuredness of their performances made me fear for my job.”
Jeremy Smith, The Oxford Mail, 23rd March 2013
Not only do the children perform their own work at one of the UK's most celebrated literary festivals, but they also become published writers.
To commemorate the hard work of the pupils, we produce a book of their writing. The book will be distributed free to all the writers and members of the audience.
We need funding to cover the costs of designing and printing this book.
Please give what you can and support this magical project, and help us produce a book as a lasting recognition of the children’s efforts.
Other ways to help!
Even if you’re not able to make a donation, please do click the "I want to help" button to share the project on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you for taking the time to read this! This project is a brilliant way to boost the confidence of local schoolchildren and encourage their interest in writing. We are extremely grateful to all those who make a donation and help us spread the word.


I am Alain English, and I joined Stealth Aspies in it’s first year in 2017. Paul Wady, whom I have known on the autism circuit for many years, approached me with the idea to do the show. The themes of ‘Stealth Aspies’ tie in with my current work as a poet and workshop facilitator. I believe this show is important, and I am glad to be a part of it’s going process. My work with Stealth Aspies consists of performing on stage, helping to promote the show wherever we do it, and I also help develop and organise the material we perform.
I was born in Alexandria on the coast of Loch Lomond, Scotland in 1982. My family moved to Aberdeen on the North-East coast about three months after I was born. My younger sister Yvonne was born two years later in Aberdeen in 1984.
I count myself very lucky to have been born into a loving and supportive family, who taught me responsibility and respect for others, as well as backing me up with everything I do. Nonetheless growing up was challenging and difficult, as it is for many people on the spectrum. I had the common experiences of bullying, isolation and mental health problems.
In 1992, I joined the Aberdeen Scout Gang Show and developed a love of acting and performing that has stayed with me throughout my life. When I was fourteen, I met Annie Inglis, a speech and drama teacher in Aberdeen. She introduced me to Shakespeare and the Aberdeen theatre scene, and later trained me to apply for drama school. Annie passed away in 2010 and I miss her to this day.
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome aged sixteen by a psychologist I was seeing in Aberdeen. The diagnosis only came about when I handed the psychologist a summary of my life up until that point, as well as a list of patterns I had noticed in my own behaviour. My parents did not tell me about my diagnosis initially, and it was only after I came home drunk and humiliated from a student party that I learned about my condition.
In 2004, I graduated from Robert Gordon’s University with an Honours Degree in Publishing Studies, and later moved to London where I gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Screen Acting from the International School of Screen Acting. Although I trained at a screen acting school, my experience before and since training has mainly been on stage.
In 2007, I discovered poetry and starting writing and performing my own material in venues all across London. I later founded and ran a poetry night called Paper Tiger Poetry and have published a memoir and two volumes of poetry.
The acting roles I have played include King James in “5/11” and Mark Antony in “Julius Caesar” (both Network Theatre) as well as the Hotel Porter in “The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas” (Sedos Theatre). In 2017, I played William Butler Yeats in “The Playboy Riots” (Bread and Roses and Hen and Chickens Theatre).
Living in London has not been without it’s difficulties. I struggled for a long time with unemployment and living independently. I have also to deal with mental health issues, discrimination and even hate crime.
I work with support workers instructing them about supporting people with autism/Asperger’s Syndrome, and have recently expanded this into training employers. I am Artiste-in-Residence at the Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall, where I founded Paper Tiger Poetry and regularly perform in rehearsed readings and shows, his most recent of which was ‘Auld Acquaintance: Sylvander and Clarinda”, about the love story of Robert Burns and Agnes McLehose.
My website can be found at http://www.alainenglish.co.uk./


Most of the old TSPDT pages are still available - and will remain - until I manage to migrate them all across (which, knowing me, may take a few thousand years). Go here to view.
TSPDT will be updating it's Film Noir pages in the not too distant future. An update is well overdue, and I am committed to getting the job done. In the meantime, let me please recommend FILM NOIR FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Hollywood's Golden Age of Dames, Detectives, and Danger by David J. Hogan. If you think you've read all you need to read on the topic of film noir, then think again. David J. Hogan's new book is a cleverly structured, informative, and most welcome addition to the Film Noir bibliography. More information here. View at Amazon.


Greg Interviews Author Alex Lewis (2015)
Q. Both Paul and you have been involved with the Tolkien Society at various times over the years. How did you actually meet?
“We kind of hooked up through The Festival in the Shire, which is a celebration of the life and works of Tolkien. I was organizing the academic conference for it. Paul was involved from the point of view of advising the organizers about how to run a festival – practical help, moral support with putting it on. I knew Paul’s name and then I suddenly realized who he was and we got to meet up. From there on in it was just following up each time we met and doing one thing and another.”
Q. You’ve written a great deal about Tolkien – what’s your take on Paul’s imagining of Tolkien’s world?
“I was amazed at the volume and breadth of what he’d done. I wasn’t aware that he’d tackled so many things, and then when I saw some of the pieces in real life – which are really quite large – it was very impressive. It’s not strictly to the text - he takes the text as a jumping-off place for his own artistic endeavours, and I don’t think Tolkien would have been unsympathetic with that approach at all. I think he would have been fine with it because, yes, you can do strictly dead accurate stuff and take the text as gospel, but the most important thing is that Paul has his vision and his art speaks to you. You can certainly take it as Middle Earth, but you can also take it as just pure fantasy art and look at them for their own merit without even needing Middle Earth.”
Q. What do you think Tolkien himself might have made of the work?
“Tolkien was always interested in art and I think he’d have been pretty impressed with the sheer size and ambition of some of the pieces aside from anything else, and the technique is obviously very strong. I think Tolkien would have appreciated that.”
Q. From artwork to lyrics to band names, Tolkien’s influence on the realms of rock and metal has been vast.
“Absolutely. It’s been an amazing inspiration. Even I’ve written songs inspired by Tolkien!”
Q. Although now immensely popular amongst the public thanks largely to the films of Peter Jackson, the literary establishment hasn’t always been kind to Tolkien. Might there be a parallel here with heavy metal and the mainstream music media?
“Well, both show no sign of waning and falling by the wayside as all the critics were hoping! I’ve always been of the opinion that Tolkien’s going to be as important to English literature as Shakespeare in a couple of hundred years’ time. If anything, it’s going from strength to strength and I’m rather hopeful that we’re beginning to see something on that kind of scale already.”


…And so went another bout of egocentric banter between Hobbes and his best buddy Calvin. This time during a drawing session in which Calvin wanted to place his “genius” down on paper. In much the same way, I’d gather with my brother Mikel or childhood friends Collin and Joe at a dinner table or cluster of desks, really anywhere a flat surface was available so we could create art.
Bill Watterson’s re-emergence in Stephan Pastis’s “Pearl Before Swine” strip (seen below) this week brought back all sorts of memories – the weekly Sunday culmination where Bill was given free-reign to innovate on the page, never before seen in any other daily strip.
Overlaid, oblong or circular panels. Shit, even some had absolutely no discernible panels. Just a gorgeous vista and a few text bubbles chronicling Spiff’s ongoing space saga.
Spiff joined a selective but important roster of characters that I learned to draw and even dreamt up adventures for hand-drawn comic book issues. That roster included the Super Mario Brothers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But, it was the pulp-like storyline and adventurous artwork of Spaceman Spiff that always resonated by far the most.
My friend Collin and I spent many free hours and half hours collaborating and finishing two issues on wide-ruled notebook paper in 1991 (you can see these below). This was during the formative years of my ability to draw. Mainly to mimic things I was seeing and make decent approximations without tracing. Those issues we decided to have the class sign, yearbook-style. Not really sure why? Probably we felt a major sense of accomplishment. I know the biggest mentor at that stage in my life was a wonderful English teacher named Mrs. Franklin who always encouraged my writing – be it comic books, short stories, and more.
The fact I’ve kept these relics of my artistic past is partly for nostalgia. And partly because of how important Bill Watterson and his daring humor, biting commentary, edgy illustrations, and quiet humility have stuck with me as I’ve become an adult artist. The content of the strip alone had all the right amounts of slapstick, childish angst, and also a ton of brevity and philosophical musings. This wasn’t merely a meal-ticket to Bill. He saw “Calvin & Hobbes” as serious art and treated it as such. This is further proven by him refusing to license his characters as many of his contemporaries went the toy, t-shirt, and sticker route including my favorites like Berke Breathed, Jim Davis, Bill Amend, and Charles Schultz.
The way he “came out of retirement” was done with so much tact and, dare I even say, magic as the original strip always had, despite merely amounting to 3 panels. It made my month when I saw my colleague John Biggs tweet Pastis’ blogpost the other day.
We are in a “golden age” of self-publication nowadays. There is definitely room in the indie-comic world for Bill to find a niche with new characters and a completely new series. He wouldn’t even have to write under deadline anymore. Andrews & McMeel and newspaper layout guidelines would no longer be a spectre over his creation. The mind wanders what he could do with pure autonomy. Graphic novel? Experimental weekly? Smartphone app stickers?
That being said, now that he’s opened the door once again into his unique take on the world, I can’t help but want more. And unlike any old school C&H junkie, I want my fix again. What do you say there Bill? Bill? BILLLLL?!?!?!
All Imagery of “Calvin & Hobbes” is the intellectual property of Bill Watterson and printed here in reverence of his work.


Utility for simple extended elastic impedance illumination analysis. EEI approach was introduced by Whitcombe et al. in 2002, and became very popular in the recent years.
Using this small application the geoscientists can easily analyse different khi projection angles for fluid discrimation or reservoir parameter prediction.
Whitcombe, Connolly, Reagan and Redshaw, 2002, Extended elastic impedance for fluid and lithology prediction, Geophysics, Vol 67.
The application is coded in Lazarus using FPC, and the used icons originated from FatCow Farm Fresh Icons.