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SEEDS TO GROW
You planted me here so many years ago
Tired and worn out
Must be my time to go
I spread my branches toward your sky
Never once questioning why
The days, they pass
As do the nights
Now ending with a heavy sigh
And, when I was nowhere in sight
You’re the one that planned each day and night
You poured me full cups of sunshine, pelted me with wet rain from above
And fed me from treasures below
Oh, how can it be so
Tired and worn out
Must be my time to go
Tender branches once warmed by summer winds of long ago
Yes, my dark, dark winter is here
The falling leaves of death are oh so near
Come home you say
Your job is done today
For you planted seeds to grow
And they’ll forever stay
Don’t you know
Love Triumphs
“Meanwhile, I was in a place of clouds. Big, puffy, pink-white ones that showed up sharply against the deep blue-black sky. Higher than the clouds-immeasurably higher–flocks of transparent orbs, shimmering beings arced across the sky, leaving long streamer-like lines behind them.
Birds? Angels? These words registered when I was writing down my recollections. But neither of these words do justice to the beings themselves, which were quite simply different from anything I have known on this planet. They were more advanced. Higher.
A sound, huge and booming like a glorious chant, came down from above, and I wondered if winged beings were producing it. Again thinking about it later, it occurred to me that the joy of these creatures, as they soared along, was such that they had to make this noise–that if the joy didn’t come out of them this way then they would simply not otherwise be able to contain it. The sound was palpable and almost material, like a rain that you can feel on your skin but that doesn’t get you wet.
Seeing and hearing were not separate in this place where I now was. I could hear the visual beauty of the silvery bodies of those scintillating beings above, and I could see the surging joyful perfection of what they sang. It seemed that you could not look at or listen to anything in this world without becoming a part of it–without joining with it in some mysterious way.
Again from my present perspective, I would suggest that you couldn’t look at anything at that world at all, for the world at itself implies a separation that did not exist there. Everything was distinct, yet everything was also a part of everything else, like the rich and intermingled designs on a Persian carpet……or a butterfly’s wing……….. A warm wind blew through, like the kind that spring up on the most perfect summer days, tossing the leaves of the trees and flowing past like heavenly water. A divine breeze. It changed everything, shifting the world around me into an even higher octave, a higher vibration.
Through the Orb, Om (GOD) told me that there is not one universe but many–in fact, more than I could conceive–but that love lay at the center of them all. Evil was present in all the other universes as well, but only in the tiniest trace amounts. Evil was necessary because without it free will was impossible, and without free will there could be no growth–no forward movement, no chance for us to become what GOD longed for us to be. Horrible and all-powerful as evil sometimes seemed to be in a world like ours, in the larger picture love was overwhelmingly dominant, and it would ultimately be triumphant.”
“Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.
Then Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thoughts and emotion–and in essence makes us human–shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.
Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in a coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with the Divine source of the universe itself.”
I am currently in the process of reading this remarkable book called “Proof of Heaven” by Dr. Eben Alexander. This is an outstanding book written by one of those previously doubting skeptics that has to have everything proven by scientific facts. If you have never read this book, I would certainly recommend it. You will never be the same after reading this one. The statement that evil is necessary kind of threw me a bit… I suppose we would all just be robots in life if we were not allowed choices by an all-knowing, all-powerful GOD. And GOD knew that if we did choose evil instead of good that he still loved us and would forgive us.. But he wanted us to want him, to want to come back to him, to turn from the evil choices of this world, and to follow him. Love is stronger than any amount of evil that can be thrown at us by the little god (Satan) who controls the world we live in for now. If you get a chance to read this book, let me know what you think.
Have you ever known anyone that has had a similar near death experience. I haven’t but my sister used to go to church in Pasadena, Texas with Don Piper (her Sunday school teacher) who wrote “90 Minutes in Heaven”, and who died in a car accident and came back to tell the story of his own encounter with heaven.
There is an unseen dimension, an unseen world that is as close as the breath we breathe. A world more real than the physical world that we can see with our eyes. A spiritual battle rages on day in and day out, and we will not know how many times we have been saved from terrible accidents by our own guardian angels until we get to the other side of heaven. I have had personal experiences with angelic beings myself which I have written about in some previous blog posts. On this side of heaven, our prayers and our words are ever powerful. We can choose to speak words of evil or of love. Remember to pray always for your family and friends for protection from the evil forces of this world that fight against us, and let love win out in the end!
United Heart of America
Well it’s been a few weeks since the election of our 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, and there are still those interested in pursuing a recount of votes – like Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party.
While it is true that Hilary Clinton does now lead in the popular vote by 2,357,260 votes with the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania still busy recounting votes, Donald Trump is way ahead in the electoral college by a whopping 104 electoral votes.
We all know that the electoral college is the vote that really counts in electing the President as was set up by the Founding Fathers of America under article 2, section 1 of the United States Constitution. There are a total of 538 electors which are based upon the number of members of congress per state. The exception is the District of Columbia which has the number of electors of the smallest state which is currently 3. Two-hundred seventy electoral votes are needed to elect the President, or which Donald Trump has 306 already. Some argue that the electoral college is not a fair system and should be eradicated. My argument to that insane comment is that there would be no fair balance between the smaller states and larger states in voting for the President if it was abolished.
When I was going to elementary school, there is something we did every single day of school before we would start our day. We would stand up beside our desks, place our right hand over our hearts, face the United States flag of America positioned in the corner of the room, and boldly say these words.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Hilary Clinton has already conceded, and it looks as if she does not, and will never have enough electoral votes to win the election, in spite of her lead in the popular vote. Nothing will change the outcome of Donald J. Trump officially becoming our 45th President of the United States in January 2017.
No matter how much we protest in the streets or pout, or want to move to another country, nothing will change the outcome. Division gets us nowhere as a country. We as Americans need to unite behind our flag and President and move forward as a nation of one now. We have much to accomplish to make our country even better than it is now!
Water Hole
Sometime, when you’re feeling important!
Sometime, when your ego’s in bloom;
Sometime when you take it for granted
You’re the best qualified in the room;
Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave a unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how it humbles your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it, up to the wrist;
Pull it out, and the hole that’s remaining,
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.
You may splash all you please when you enter,
You can stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find in a minute
That it looks quite the same as before.
The moral in this quaint example;
Is do just the best that you can;
And be proud of yourself, but remember
There’s no indispensable man.
– Anonymous
Sometimes we may think that we are the best at what we do, but we should always remember to be humble, and that there is always going to be someone who comes along that may be better. I think that’s good advice to just do the best we can and let the cards fall where they land. Doing your best is all you can do, and being too proud of oneself always has a downside in the end.
Keep On Keepin On
“Come on Sparky, it’s time for school.” Said his dad, a barber in local Saint Paul, Minnesota. Sparky was always running late for school where he attends Richards Gordon Elementary.
“Come on Sparky, get the lead out, put your pencil down and that silly pad, and get your butt going.” “You are going to be late for school again.”
Sparky was kind of a loser at school if you want to know the truth. He got an F in Algebra, English, and Physics, but he did make the golf team. He lost of course! He was a very shy kid in school and rarely talked unless spoken to. He especially never talked to girls.
There was one thing Sparky thought he was good at though and that was drawing. Even if no one else thought he was good at it, he did. When he attended Central High School he submitted a drawing for a scene in the High School Yearbook which he thought might get published. It didn’t!
After finishing high school Sparky sent drawing samples to Walt Disney Studios. Once again he was rejected. Sparky could have quit there but he was persistent, and kept going, knowing all along that his artwork was good and soon someone would appreciate what he did.
Then he submitted some of his work to the “Saturday Evening Post”, and from there everything changed in Sparky’s life. Better known as Charles Schulz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. Just like the character he created – Charlie Brown – could not do a lot of things. But one thing he could do was to draw.
Sixty years later, the high school that once rejected Charles Schulz and his drawings, now has a 5 foot tall statue of “Snoopy”, one of the characters made famous in the “Peanuts” comic strip he created.
The “Peanuts” comic strip ran for some 50 years, and was published in more than 2600 newspapers in more than 75 countries, in 21 different languages. There have been movies and an assortment of books associated with what Mr. Schulz did with his artwork. At one time, Charles Schulz had income of more than 40 million dollars per year from his simple artwork that no one wanted or thought was any good.
Charles Schulz once said, “I think I’ve discovered the secret of life – you just hang around until you get used to it.” I think we can all learn a lesson from Sparky. Never give up on your dreams, never give up on your hopes, even if everyone else says you can’t do it, or you are no good at it. Keep going and “Keep On Keepin On”.
College Education
He tried to raise cattle. That didn’t pan out that well. He tried his hand at remodeling houses and pretty much lost everything he had back when he was twenty-one years old. Oh well, that’s the past. And now, oh well, now is all he has left. That’s all any of us really have is the now. We can’t live in the past and we certainly can’t live in the future. Although many of us do try our hand at that even if we can never seem to make it all come together.
He sits there all alone in his creakity old chair. It’s no different from any other time at two in the morning now. The only light in the living room is the orange glow at the tip of his cigarette. Usually says he can’t sleep for one reason or another. Is it a lie? Well, you figure it out. He takes a drag – inhales slow, pushes his mouth towards the ceiling and lets the smoke come out in one slow – long – swirl. Flicks his ashes in the bottom of the rolled up cuff of his jeans and sighs. Coughs and tries to clear his throat. Inhales as the glow of his cigarette lights up the dark room once again. That’s been his usual routine for these past five years.
Just a common man without much education. He’s worked hard all his life – not a paper pusher as he says. But a man who worked with his hands and made a living sweating. Not that he has anything against paper pushers. It’s just he never could understand how someone could get paid to push papers and push buttons on a computer all day long. Never made much sense to him.
Tonight I’m spending the night with Dad. Mom passed away just this past October. Dad seems more restless than usual tonight for some reason. As he shifts and turns in his chair I hear every creak and moan of the worn out recliner from a nearby bedroom. I wish just once he would stay in bed for an entire night!
Well now Dad is making it so that I can’t sleep either tonight. I just had to drive 500 miles from Houston to get here and now this! I wipe the crusted sleep from my eyes, roll over and grab my t-shirt and jeans that are laying on the dresser nearby. I slither them on as best as I can without any light and in the process bang a glass of water sitting on the same dresser. Ice cold water drenches my bare feet. “Man – that water is cold”.
I latch on to my cell phone and push a button so that I have some sort of light to make my way to the living room. I look through the arched door opening to the living room and see that glow of his cigarette staring me in the face. “Hey Dad”. “Hi Son.”, he says. “Why don’t you get up and go to bed Dad?” “I would if I could Son.” “I just keep thinking, maybe I should have got a better education in my life so as to take better care of you kids and your mom somehow.”, he says.
“Oh now come on Dad, you worked 35 years down at the steel company every single day. It was hot and hard work! You gave the best you could to your family.” “And besides that Dad. Do you know you gave me more by not giving me everything I wanted in life? You gave us all a roof over our heads and food on the table. We never once went without food or a place to live. And you taught us about the LORD – not by just what you said, but by what you did.” ” If I had it to do all over though son, I would have gone to college.”, he says.
“Why’s that Dad?” “Oh, to make something of myself.” he says. ” Can I just tell you something Dad?” “When I was a little boy, I looked up to you. And even though I’m all grown up now I’m still looking up to you. I am the man I am today because of you, and even though you might not know it, you’ve made something of yourself. I love you Dad.”
“Thanks son, today you’ve given me more education than I could have ever had at any college”