Labels

My mother is one of those people whom has to label everyone and once so labelled they are stuck with whatever it was in her mind and they are never allowed to change or act differently without her then  trying to figure out what they are scheming to do to her, because - well, change is not allowed in her so ordered world.  Yeah, and people wonder why I do not do well with her around me!  "Say mom, I've got an idea, how about you change!!!!!??????"

Of course, in Christianity, we have labels which have stuck and others which never seem to have come down to us through time.  Even the Apostles had labels for one another, though a few of their references have been translated out of existed because in English we lack the richness of words.  For example we know that Peter was called the 'Rock', a little rock in Greek, meaning he was just about as dumb as a rock by the other disciples.  Jesus instantly jumped on them and told them that Peter would be 'The Rock', a big rock, upon which the church would be founded.  I am sure they were uncomfortable with that concept!

Of course, we know that Judas, got labelled the Betrayer and the other Judas went by Thaddeus, even Jesus' brother Judas was renamed to James in order to keep him separate from the Betrayer.  Just think on how many people you have met through the years named Judas.....

How about poor Miriam, aka Mary of Magdalene, thanks to the Roman Catholic church.  She is a prostitute.  Really?  We know that how?  She is Jesus' wife, really?  yeah, she got tagged with miserable titles.  She certainly was rich and I will allow that even in the ancient world there were rich women, we know of one whom financed Jesus' ministry for almost the whole three years! 

And then there is Thomas.  Everyone instantly can think of him as 'Doubting Thomas', a label given him by the Roman Catholic church, not by the Bible.  In the Bible he was referred to as the "Twin".  Is the label of 'Doubting' actually deserved?

John 20:19-31

Doubting Thomas, in light of scripture:

• Luke 24:10, "no one believed" the tale that Jesus was not in the grave
• Mark 16:11, "no one believed"

Jesus' resurrection from the grave was literally the last thing anyone expected!  They all doubted these women's tale.  As you might remember, Thomas was the one whom was ready to go with Jesus to die with Him!  Peter was willing to start the fight at the arrest.  As things went the way, they did, the Apostles and Disciples went into hiding!

We have to allow people to not be classified or labelled, they need released from these, often times unearned titles!

The Apostles and Disciples were in process.  They had to go through grief.  This man, whom they had followed for three years was sentenced as a criminal against the religious order and thus executed. In order to believe, they had to understand what had just happened.  Then they could be lead in truth.

When Jesus reappeared to his followers, He allowed for their questions and did not start off with a sermon.  Instead, in their grief, He said, "Peace be with you."

Questions are what allow for us to grow and to understand.

For us today, we need to cling tightly to His words and in order to do that, you need to be READING the Bible!  It is full of question askers, just like you and me!

We need to wait for the rest of the story.  We need to see the lives of others beyond the labels applied to them.  Jesus sought out Thomas and said, "Thomas touch ..."  Of course, we are not told if he did or didn't go for it!  I think the realization of the offer was about as great a proof as he would need!

Of course, Jesus offered that "greater are those whom do ot see ....".  Faith is what is required and by not believing the woman, Thomas certainly was a doubter, just as they all were.  But, he was no less the Apostle for it, loosing his life in what is today India according to tradition.

And our modern world is full of labels, often used as put downs.  Geek, nerd, flake all instantly come to mind.  They were my labels when I was in high school and then in the world of writing operating systems.  No one could envision what I saw and so I was labelled to set me apart.  'Smart' might have been nicer than 'flake' though.  I really did not mind being geek and nerd when those words came into being.....

So this week, think on how you label or categorized people and work through the idea that maybe they are in process - just like you and those labels do not allow for them to grow.  Nor do they show the respect we should hold for all people.

Monday, ugh!

So, another gun show is done and in the history books!  And am I ever glad!  this one completely wore me out!

The NRA runs a little show tracker and the statistics looked good.
Dutchman was available.
One of "my" boys, learning to make knives, was available.
With being wiped out for the next year by the IRS and having to come up with property tax money, yeah, right timing!

And then my car died.

Not an uncommon occurrence it seems.

So, son offered to help me set up the show.
Knife maker offered to drive me down and back each day.

But, the show was poorly attended.
I am starved for cash so brought my good stuff, marked it at 80% of what it is selling for, and waited.

By the end of the show I had only sold a black powder rifle and an air pistol, which did not even cover the cost of the show!  Literally at the very last minute, a pile of ammo I brought sold out and then my Luger.

Suddenly I had enough to meet my taxes due tomorrow!  Yipeeeeeee!

But, 24 hours of standing on concrete was just too much on my feet and they are now dead, but then, so am I.

To be followed by a restless night, wherein I dreamt that in order for my daughter to return, I had to say good bye to my Niece and I was trying to negotiate with God over this because what did one have to do with the other?  Very convoluted, probably the price of eating Mexican at close to midnight.....  Too bizarre the world of my mind.

Then for added fun, Sunday someone dedicated some part of their day to attempting to hack this account!  So, that was fun to get it unlocked so I could even post this!  Given the last few weeks undue interest in me online, I have to wonder whom .....

Now to walk to the cash machine, to make a deposit, so I can pay a little on my credit card, so I can order the car parts I need.

There is Still Hope

Thursday was a beautiful day, lower 70's, bright, sunshine.  I had finished physical therapy for the morning and walked the half mile to a grocery store, picking up enough for for two days worth of meals and then started for home.  Well, I didn't get much past started, because my knee, even in its brace, collapsed.  Luckily I was but a few hops from Starbucks.  So, I picked up an iced tea and sat in their outdoor section, alone but in full enjoyment of the morning.

Humming birds buzzed around my head, some chick-a-dis thought my banana bread looked mighty good.  And about 150 feet away sits Tony with a sign readying, "World War II Veteran, help need.".

Now Tony has been a fixture there for about three years now.  I heard that he lives with a grand-daughter whom works at the grocery store and as she works, he tries to pick up some extra money for them.  Very sad how this culture fails its true heroes.  Sadder still at how the local church ignores the needs of those, in or outside, of their ministry!  Here sits a ministry opportunity ... unanswered by any of the 24 churches within a one mile radius.  I have even seen my own pastors walk past him with no comment.  Cold, distant, out of touch, pure evil, but I am not condemning the pastors, for they are but a reflection of this culture.

I sat there for perhaps an hour and no one approached him at all.  And I thought to myself, this is an evil and vile culture when the old can not even sustain their lives without begging!  Then, when reduced to begging, there is no one to help.  So, I prayed, "Lord, I really do not know this man's story, and I know that I have never helped him since he showed up after I lost my job.  But, please bless that man as you deem appropriate.  Amen."

Within minutes a guy walked up and started arguing with the man.  I am not sure what was said but the young guy stomped off.  Then one of the Starbucks workers came outside and took him a drink.  I thought, wow!  As she walked back, but too far for me to have politely said anything, I quietly mouthed, "Thank you."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled and mouthed back, "I love him..."  The grand-daughter perhaps?  But, no, it turns out.

He quietly sat there with his Starbucks, sign in the other hand.

The young man whom had some sort of argument returned with a sandwich and cold drink from one of the local shops and set them on the sidewalk beside him.  By now the Starbucks lady rejoined and they all walked back to the table beside mine as she was telling Tony she was on break.  They talked for a long time, so I heard his story.  The young man as he left promised to bring him lunch everyday.  As the young woman had to return to work, they hugged and he got up to walk back to t his chair.  She gave me another look, quizzical but kind.  The only new female I have encountered this year I thought I could trust, if I had to, and I would like to just end this year with the one I have as a friend now.

I picked up my bag and with cane in hand joined him as he walked back to his chair.  He was being honked at by an impatient woman wanting to drag race out of the drive through lane.  I gave her a contemptuous look and she took her hand off of the horn and allowed the two to of us to walk across the driveway, slowly as she now chatted on her phone.

Tony is a neat old man.  We talked for about half an hour.  Yeah, I will probably yak more with him when I can walk that far again!

Those two young people have renewed my hope for mankind.  Each different, probably each with their reasons for helping him, but two is more than I have ever seen help him in the previous three years.

And should this weekend's gun show go well, I guess I will be able to help him a little as well.... I should probably add that the only reason I was at Starbucks is because my youngest daughter gave me a Starbucks card this month.  She is a dear and spoils this odd duck of an adoptive father, God has saddled her with.  Which is lucky for me or I would never have been at Starbucks otherwise.

Touching The Void

I have been extremely disappointed to find that most of my old favorites in movies no longer have any attraction for me with this new personality developing within me.  For instance, I find myself more attracted now to the photography  than to the story line (old me).  I am sure my children are rejoicing that I no longer view vampire movies anymore, but Godzilla still rules!

So, last night, I plugged in, Touching the Void.  A disquieting movie because I used to be a climbing guide and it was the only place where I knew I belonged for very many years.  And almost instantly, I was back on Longs Peak in Colorado, December 1975 .....

In the 1930's, the US Geodetic Survey was working on the mountain to determine the actual height of it (14,259').  Those men had to spend months up there, living in an area called Boulder Field and having to summit everyday.  Well, it is a hard climb and so to ease their labors, they packed in about a thousand feet of steel cable to help them past the almost impossible part of the mountain's northern terrain.  Those men hold the record for most ascents on the mountain.

However, outside of those men using cables to reach the summit, no one was able to beat my record I set in high school.  I darn near matched those engineers.  In some ways I have a little pride there because I did every route on the mountain, even creating a few new ones - and without using bolts to do so.  If you are not a climber, none of this really matters to you.  So, I digress...

It was bitterly cold day, easily -20 F.  Not too bad for a Colorado winter's day.  But, it was not until you went  through the Keyhole that you would be whacked by the 60+ mile per hour winds that day.  It was bitterly cold with that wind chill factor!

It was a little before noon when my climbing partner, Randy and I reached the Trough.  A narrow chute in the granite of the mountain.  Filled with snow and ice, it is a short slide before you are launched into the air for the rest of the 8,000 foot fall into the valley on the western side of the mountain.  I had lost a climbing party here in 1973.  One second they were there, the next they were gone, just that fast.  I and the guy roped to me thought maybe they had turned back.  Yeah, wishful thinking.  Randy and I roped up and began the nerve wracking climb up the ice.

I had just reached the Notch, a break in the eastern face of Longs Peak when I heard Randy yell.  He was falling in the chute!  I was at the worse possible place to have this happen.  In front of me, below the frozen snow cornice I stood on, was Chasm Lake 1,600 feet of air between us.  Behind me was a falling Randy and 8,000 feet of air to the bottom.

I did the only thing I could do as I was jerked backwards, I swung my ice axe for all I was worth, hoping for a solid bite into the ice beneath the cornice.  But, there was precious little space to swing that ice axe in and so as the pick slammed into the ice, the lower walking point I had been using up the chute, penetrated my leg and sunk solidly into the bone above my right knee.

At once, a thousand thoughts raced through my mind: the sudden pain as the leg was pierced and the sound of the bone splintering, the sharp impact as the rope went taunt and my leg was jerked free of the spear which had gone through it, the heavy grunt of my friend as he reached the end of the rope's stretch, the jerk of pain as my right shoulder separated being pulled out by the strap which held my wrist to the ice axe, then knowledge that we were dead.

There was nothing I could do to help Randy from where he hung.  He had to get back on the ice himself; I was busy slamming my right shoulder on the rock wall hard enough to pop the arm back together, before it swelled up.  It would be worthless now for trying to do anything with.  I put weight on my right leg; exquisite pain.  Randy was now up to me and apologizing for the fall, which was the least of our worries.  Going back the way we came was out of the question, as the area known as the Narrows, a thin ledge of rock, would require strength in both of my legs.  It was easily another 500 feet up the side of the mountain to reach the top.  I knew the cables were still there, but after almost 50 years, what kind of shape would they be in?  Would they hold our weight?  Could I control my descent with only my left leg and arm, my weakest side?  And could we even make it to the top?  Randy would have to lead and he did not know this part of the mountain.

So, standing in the notch, buffeted by sixty mile an hour winds with a wind chill somewhere around -80 or lower, we asked God for a miracle.  And Randy took the lead, with my guiding him on how to avoid the common mis-steps on that section of the mountain which had led to more than a few tragedies in the recent past.  We summited about an hour later, it was a glorious day, but we had no time to enjoy the view, we had to get me down and we were now three hours from the car when on good legs.  I theorized that if Randy could get me down to Jim's grove, a sheltered area, I could survive with my space blanket for a few hours while he went for help.

We crested the summit and found the upper cable to be in good shape.  1,700 feet below lay boulder field where the engineers had lived for months.  With Randy belaying me, I slid to the first eyelet holding the cable to the mountain, then he joined me.  I would slide to the next eyelet and so on, until we reached a point where he could stand and I could continue my slide down to a ledge  wide enough to hop along.  This was actually the easy part.

As we entered Boulder Field, those random rocks only hours ago we had hopped across in glee, now posed an almost insurmountable obstacle!  No way around the rocks, no way to now jump from rock to rock and no way Randy would be able to carry me.  My right leg  had been completely numb since starting the descent and my right shoulder robbed me from any grip with my strong hand.  I knew the femur was broken to some extent and I counted it a blessing I could not feel anything.  It had been excruciating making it the 500 feet to the summit from the accident point.  Four miles to the car and only Randy's good will to rely on in order to make it just to Jim's Grove,  maybe a mile and a half more, and I could curl up into a ball and whimper.  God how I needed something for my shoulder!

With Randy helping me move gingerly from rock to rock, we made it past Boulder Field.  We were at the juncture; turn right and bivouac in Jim's Grove or go straight.  The official trail wanders around through the trees for miles and would take Randy hours to traverse, or if Randy could be my crutch, I remembered the route used to run the telegraph line up to Boulder Field from the base of the trail.  It would be hazardous for me due to the terrain and ice but this could save Randy literally hours and maybe my life.  Randy was game to try.

We made it back to the car about 6:00 pm.  I limped to the car, threw my gear in the Duster's trunk and then pulled my pants and Duco leggings off.  I expected to see blood and lots of it but there was nothing other than a blackened square hole in my leg and a very wobbly bone underneath.  Yeah, we thanked God for getting us back to the car.  If bone chips and frostbite were all I was going to suffer above the knee, then awesome!

As we drove back to Denver, my leg began to thaw out and the pain began to come in waves.  I splinted it while Randy drove and thanked God again for even being alive.

As the movie drew to a close, I felt so sorry for that man whom had to crawl five miles out, after having been left for dead by his climbing partner, and having survived a horrible fall!  I could relate to a well told story, I could still feel the truth in their words.  I understood their viewpoints, but I also recognized that what separated us was that Randy and I were both Christians and therefore you sometimes need to take a risk, to make a sacrifice to save a brother (or sister, or even the lost!).

I am not saying that what happened on that mountain face in Peru would have been any different, were they Christians, but neither of them seem to have seen or found God through it, when He was so plainly evident in what did happen in the story.  There are no coincidences in life.....

Language is a little rough in spots in the movie, and though I consider it a must own because of my own similar experience, it has some real lessons in it concerning the nature of man, the triumph of the will, and the need for God by every person - particularly before you are facing your maker in an icy tomb .....

Rent it.  Sorry no girls, death, machine guns or explosions, just a real life story of survival and the nature of natural man.

Now for the rest of the story:
Back home, of course I had to go to the hospital.  A tetanus shot, some work for the frostbite at the wound site and a better splint helped a great deal.  Unfortunately, this was followed by blood poisoning and I almost lost the leg, however God came through....  :)

Of Faith, Obedience and Silence

For the past several days my mind has been revolving around an enigma, very strange things going on in my private life, things which certainly point to an ongoing attack by evil, a limited source for it to have originated from and yet God's call for my obedience.

For weeks now, I have been getting emails to my private account of an evil nature.  Yeah, I have my public account which is tied to this blog, however, I have a private address known only to my family members.  However, even at that, I get no emails from anyone in my family, we talk via phone and FaceBook constantly.  It has really only been used by my estranged daughter and niece.  So, as I said, limited resource to have disclosed my email address from, if that had happened at all.  Yesterday, I thought I would end this stupidity from whomever it was sending those daily multiple emails and ran down their IP address - they originated from where estranged daughter had an interest in serving as a missionary to and she has several "friends" there.  Okay, that  is weird and yeah, I could see her getting one of her friends to do this so as to prove I am the evil she now believes.  Sorry, but I am not whom you think I am.  Yesterday, I blocked that IP address because things got weirder.

Yeah, yesterday came with an invite to have a new friend on FaceBook, complete with photos.  It could have been someone else, whom looks a great deal like my daughter (NOT!), but just to be wise as a serpent, I hacked the originating IP address of that FaceBook account.  Interestingly, this one came from where daughter had served as a missionary many years ago to and to cinch it, there were already had two of her friends on there whom I remembered when we shared FB accounts with one another.  So, yeah this one was either her friends being cruel to her or flat out from her trying to snare me.

Now, what are the odds?  Two flat out evil offers, both originating from places she was associated with.  Both I believe to prove I was the kind of person she believes me to be.

I turned down the friendship offer and the account disappeared from FaceBook almost instantly.  Interestingly, it proves I was right, it was evil attempting to lure me, else why would it disappear when it failed to snare me?  And should my daughter actually be innocent of this, then again I must remind her that photographs taken during moments of great intoxication, are forever.  And really, my private email address, I would appreciate remaining private, just as I have honored your privacy but not "stalking" you, it is reasonable to expect the same.

So I have thought on this weirdness and am reminded of Zachariah - okay only in my mind is this obvious ... :

You might remember Luke 1:5-25 and 57-80.

Zachariah was told what God was going to do, but he chose to disbelieve.  So, for his disbelief, his voice was silenced until John (Jesus' cousin) was born.  His silence became a sign for the truth of what he had been told.  And EVERYONE knew it!

So there are three ways of looking at this and learning from it:

1.  When you are being silenced, you need to examine why and correct where your faith in God has gone wrong.
2.  When God is being silent in your life you need  to read, meditate and pray to know the source of the silence.
3.  When you are being obedient and have been silenced, you have to continue to be obedient to what God has told you.

So my family, my ex-friends, my church, my pastors and my estrange daughter all firmly stand on the first option for me.  And like the stubborn German I am, I stand solidly that I am of the third classification - only remaining friends agree with me on that one, but then they actually bothered to know me and look at the evidence before deciding not to condemn me.  I can only stand in place in obedience, even if at least 120 times this year I would have rather grabbed my cane and started walking to Argentina!  But, then that would have proven I was guilty to all!  Except to daughter, for she knows what that reference means.

Verses 66-77 are so beautiful!  Here Zachariah has been silenced and now can speak and agrees that the son's name will be John (probably a bit of a scandal since it was not a family name).

Zachariah did not expect a miracle, did not believe one possible when he was told there would be one and so God had to smack him upside the head to get his attention long enough to understand he was in for a miracle!

So, in like manner, even though my daughter has run away, does her best to attack me as she is able, I stand firm because God told me to.  I pray daily for her because God told me to.  I expect her to return because God said she would.  I will remain obedient because I am that stubborn old German.  It is called faith, it is called obedience, it is called for in the silence of my life in being able to bring her to where she is supposed to be.

But do not believe this does not bring its frustrations, as my poor Niece can affirm, the lure to run away is there but unlike Jonah, I already know I can not hide from the face of God, do not want to get swallowed until I learn my lesson, etc.  So, I stand, taking the rebuke from all, daily, in my face hatred for what I have not done but been accused of.  I will pay whatever the cost required for my daughter to return - in my innocence, because it is all I have.  From my perspective, if my family is reduced to only the size of my niece and estranged daughter, so be it.  It does not mean I do not love my family, for I do, but it does mean being obedient to God means more.

And poor Zachariah, he too learned a lesson and he stood and he waited, when he did not have to, and was mightily blessed for it.

Fishy, Fishy

I have no idea what my city government is up to at times; they do the weirdest things!

A case in point would be Friday.  No most people work with the exception of those of us whom have been laid off, still about 14%, though only reported as 7% since half have gone back to school, took early retirement, or just gave up and work at Burger King or similar.

So if 86% of the population is working, why would you have a one day visit of a fish sculpture to the town on a Friday and not the following Saturday and Sunday?  I know, silly me for even asking.....

And Friday we were visited by a 20 foot cast metal fish.  No explanation, not a part of any celebration, just a fish:

And now add the mystery from last week which appeared on a dead tree on the roadway down to where last week's dead whale was, and you have another oddity that makes the residents look at one another and go, "Yup, more Californians moving in ......"

Oblivion

Friday night was movie night and I managed to attend the IMAX release of Oblivion with and compliments of a friend. I am sure I have mentioned in the past that I find Tom Cruise to be about as exciting as wall paste, so keep that in mind as you read this review....

Beautifully photographed using fly through technology (again, thank you again cruel world for using something I had a hand in and not giving a me nickel for it! ). But, it was so well done, it was almost believable throughout the movie, it was some of the best CGI I have ever seen.  Much cleaner than the last Sherlock Holmes.

The Sci-Fi toys were great and I want that little airship, bad, honest!

The story was actually a  pretty good one, and wall paste even did a believable job with his parts!  (As if one TC is not bad enough!)

The Good: an exceptional movie and I loved it.
The Bad: one nude scene and luckily having my friend with me allowed me to continue to save this new born emotion and spirit within me from any tarnishment or exposure to desire.  Yeah, month two of complete take over and still hanging in there!

Final thought:  the movie asked a relevant question: What price humanity?

Interestingly, I had been praying about just that very question on Friday.  I find myself growing frighteningly human but at what cost?  Everything I possess to become what? A human?  Why?  What was wrong staying as I was?  Questions, questions, questions!  No answers.

But, this movie is highly recommended by both my friend and I, save for the 90 seconds or so I missed with my friend's help.

It is an owner.

Behind the News

I am writing this on Monday but since my desire is not public political comment, I will wait until Saturday to publish this.  Perhaps the news media will catch up with my mind or perhaps I will be proven wrong and so then this will not be published!

So this is an interesting run down on similar to Boston devices which have been reported in the news:

February 2013: A bomb hidden in a pressure cooker explodes inside a restaurant in northern Afghanistan, killing five people.

October 2012: French police find bomb-making materials in an underground parking lot near Paris as part of a probe into an attack on a kosher grocery. The discovery includes bags of potassium nitrate, sulfur, headlight bulbs and a container used as a make-shift pressure cooker.

May 2012: U.S. jurors hear that explosives experts had found a pressure cooker containing smokeless gunpowder and other material in the Texas motel room of a soldier accused of planning to blow up Fort Hood military troops and other personnel.

May 2010: One of the three devices used in the May 2010 Times Square attempted bombing was a pressure cooker, according to a joint FBI and Homeland Security intelligence report issued in July 2010.

March 2010: Suspected militants attack the U.S.-based Christian aid group World Vision in northwestern Pakistan, killing six Pakistani employees. Officials say the attackers remotely detonated a pressure cooker bomb.

March 2006: A series of bombings kill 20 people in India. One bomb - at a temple in the northern city of Varanasi where five people died - was placed in a pressure cooker and detonated by a timing device.

December 2004: Ten accused Islamic militants are convicted for their roles in a plot to blow up a Christmas market in the eastern French city of Strasbourg on New Year's Eve 2000. Authorities say the group had planned to blow up containers packed with explosives, a technique they allegedly learned in Afghan camps.

August 2002: Explosives packed in a pressure cooker shake a shopping mall in Katmandu, the capital of Nepal. Shops are damaged but there are no casualties.

So just interesting that we have a Chinese connection to Nepalese terrorists, to the Islamic terrorists, to someone a decade later in the United States.

Very interesting connections and theory possibilities.
 

Just My Life

A significant part of my young life was lived in 1960's Germany.  A Germany where terrorism was well known.  A Germany where every teenager was a suspect and controlled accordingly.

To leave my village of Miesau requited a permit from the chief of the police.  My sister and I would often ride for miles on the country roads on our bicycles.  But, the day before we had to get a permit from the police stating the route and towns expected to be visited.

With pass in hand, I had to stop at the next village upon arrival and have the police mark in the time on the pass.  Yeah it was a pain.  However, I could sort of understand this because someone was bombing public gatherings and places where US GI's would gather.  I always figured this had to have been the work of the Baader-Meinhof gang, but it seems none of what happened around the Pfalz was to be attributed to them before 1971.  Makes one wonder who did do the bombings!  Luckily, I managed only one of those, when someone set off a bomb at the Kaiserslautern Saturday market.

But even in traveling through Europe, I was stuck numerous times in full blown anti-American riots in France.  No, I was German but that was good enough for the French to equate me to the Americans.  On one trip, two of my friends were dragged off the bus and butchered, with machetes, on a northern France castle tour.  And people wonder why I am not too excited to ever return to France.

But, in 19969, I found the US to not be much better.  The KKK was having a grand time in South Carolina.  I was unfortunately bused about forty miles to a black high school and on any given week, there would be at least one day in which our bus would be stopped, flipped over and set on fire.  Eventually, someone on Shaw Air Force Base would see the smoke and call for the fire engines ... and eventually a replacement bus.  Yes, it was frustrating if you had studied for the tests that day or had done your homework.  And then there were the bombings at the high school, both fake and real.

The world was a very hazardous place in which to live through my eyes.

When we moved to the mid-west, I hoped for something normal.  But, that was not to be.  My first weekend in my new town and someone stole a gas truck, dumped 5,000 gallons of high test fuel into the sewers and attempted to blow up the Fourth of July parade later that day.  They launched all of the sewer covers off of of the street for about a mile, but that was all.  (It was actually sort of funny, to be born so stupid....)

The governor declared a 9 pm curfew on all youth under 18 years old.  Sigh.  So terribly unfair, to just blame high schoolers when I am certain it was the college students whom did this one.   Yes, I and my friends were high on the lists of "offenders"!  Us troubled youth, you know, sentenced constantly to pick up trash for our offenses to mankind, but staying out too late at the Shakey's Pizza Parlor.

And I gave up on mankind.

Aircraft hijackings, car bombings, blowing up power transmission towers, acts of terrorism almost everywhere I have lived.  Of course the 1980's were nothing to write home about where I lived!  And I have thought on this.

Is violence the last resort of those whom have no longer a voice in society?
Is it a question of mental health?
Perhaps a certain class of drugs being used?
Out of control government /  politicians?
Or is it the loss of a sense of value for human life?
Is a blood lust just normal?

I think all of them are probably answers. to my question.


Today, as I write this, I have John Lennon's words cycling through my mind, "Just give peace a chance...".  Yes, naive perhaps, not going to happen, etc.  All the same statements from the 1960's echoing through my mind.

And yet ...

Turning Tears Into Triumpjh

"Where is God when _____?"  Fill in the blank with the question of the day, your life, or your friends lives.

"Where is God when it hurts?"

"How am I to handle grief?"

How can you turn tears into triumph?  With the truth.

John 11:23-27

It is now four days after Lazarus' death.

Seek the truth, because theology matters.
"Your brother will rise again."
"But ....."

Yes, Jesus is Lord, but who he is, is more important because there is no "universal" salvation.
What you believe determines how you will live your life, where you will place your hope in eternity.

Know the truth, It is Jesus!
Jesus claimed to be the resurrection and the life.  And then He proved it!
Make a note here my skeptical, non-Christian readers, the Rabbis were to write about how after the death of Jesus, they moved against Lazarus.  But a fight broke out amongst them.  They KNEW Lazarius had been raised from the dead, so placed him and his sisters bound in a leaky boat and set it our to sea for "God" to take their lives.
Lazarus reappears as the Bishop of Cyprus, was to die there and was memorialized there.  Eventually, his grave was moved to today's Turkey.  However, the remains of his grave are still on Cyprus.

Embrace the Life, it comes with the truth!
Death is not the end, it is only the beginning of what is to follow.
We struggle for life: medications, drugs, surgeries, etc. to put off the inevitable.  Yet death is what starts your eternal life.
It is not the duration of your life, it is the quality of life, God's quality.
Eternal, exclusive, your life belongs to Jesus alone.

Answer the question, Its the Key.
The most important question appears in 11:26, "Do you believe?"
What you believe is how you will understand and answer His question!

Timing Is Everything

One is tempted to comment concerning the Boston bombings.  I realize that this is the result of the new nature within me that I am struggling to understand.  But, I also understand that internally, the question is really one of what is to be learned and how does this affect our faith.

I am reminded that there are several principals I hammer into my students that I may have never of mentioned across the various blogs which preceded this one:

• You are likely to be the only view of Jesus someone may ever see
• Your goal as a believer, is not "the life", it is to reach others for salvation
• Your ability to do this, is the only manner in which this world will ever be changed

The big idea is that you need to be Jesus' exclamation mark in a culture of question marks.....

John 7:10-13, 25-36, 40-52

The world is full of question marks.
The audience's opinion was conflicted in these passages.
Some thought Jesus was the Messiah, others thought it could not be possible.
There is little change in that, across the 20 centuries since his death.

The world desires to hyphenate everything!
Take on the spiritual color of where we are.
When the values of those around us becomes greater than our love of Jesus, you will become a hyphenated believer.
Fear God, not man, nor the world system ...
Be bold to stand up for Jesus, not man's values.

The world needs to see exclamation marks.
 No, you do not have to be perfect.
God uses broken pots to show His blessings.
We are broken, weak, unworthy.
It does mean you are to be transparent enough to show your brokenness.

To live with integrity in all aspects of our lives.  Learn to "walk your faith".

Now is a good time to start.

This is Reality?

Well, it is about a year since my last tale I shared with you about an observed train wreck, or better known as the first date from hell.....

Friday night I took Gaelic Girl to Outback steakhouse for dinner.  She is sort of talking to me, not really, but I hoped a steak might brighten her up.  She chose chicken and I knew no mood changes were to be expected, so my mind wandered to the table next to ours, a first date from hell was occurring and I almost got up to have a talk with the guy.  Yeah, he was that out of control and really needed a brick upside the head.

She was dressed in jeans, grey sweater, modest.  He had not accomplished the act of combing his hair nor getting 30% of his shirt in his pants.  He looked like a bad tv date joke.

She had a very pretty face, however he would not have known, his eyes were riveted to her chest, where she had been cursed by what will be causing massive back pain in a few years!

They ordered drinks, he had downed his pina colada and ordered another, faster than she could take a sip from hers.  Within minutes the effects were to tell.

Conversationally, they started out with which cell phone was better.  He then named one of her breasts for one brand and then the other for the other.  And each time that brand was mentioned he would make a grab for that breast!  She was a skillful dodger.

Failing this, they then moved on to playing some trivia game.  There was some question about some a tv show and he commented that only an imbecile would have known the answer to that question.  It was her favorite show apparently.  After a few more like that situation, he wrestled the device away from her and played some game by himself, while he told her about how smart he was (not!) and should be that millionaire show.

Dinner came and was eaten without comment.  He then told her that he would be driving them to the theather and she told him that was alright, she would drive herself.

And at this point I had to laugh because it was very plain, he would be waiting in line for her for a very long time at the theater.....

Don't you just love train wrecks?

And you really have to wonder how he has managed not to show up on the Jerry Springer Show, yet.

Death of a Whale

Friday night a whale was spotted floating in the waters not far from my home.  Next morning, one of my boys from church headed over to see if it had washed ashore.  It certainly had.  So, my son rushed over and did some photography as well.

Friday night the whale still had a tale, so i would guess that someone attempted to tow it out in the early morning tide and torn the tale and skin off.

The poor whales seems to have been struck by a ship's propeller and thus the demise of one of God's grandeur creatures.

Of course, what was this lone whale doing in Puget Sound?  No idea.

Knowing the local water quality for marine life, one must assume that the whale was lost, getting ill and honestly that prop might have been a mercy stroke to what happens to most marine life in Puget Sound.  Very sad.

Of course, people flocked by the thousands on Sunday to see it.  So, rather than show my grand daughter what a whale is, she got to go swinging at the playground.  Probably smelled better there.....

Reality

Reality sucks.

Surprised that I might say something like that?  Yeah, well, then I wish you could walk with me and see what has been going on in my life and head this week.  I feel so sorry for my niece, she gets to bear the brunt of Kris' mental convolutions.  Even Dutchman, whom took me out for lunch had to sit back and just go, "Wow ......"  Yeah, my brain is on fire, searching, sifting, analyzing and reanalyzing everything as I redefine whom Kris is.  By the way, Dutch now thinks it is time to retire and wants me in his second house on his property outside of Priest River, Idaho.  But, my grand kids are here.  conversely, he does have places in Puerto Vaillarta.  Hmmmmm.

Just as serious as my redefining reality to myself, so is the entire topic of eternity, I have been rolling this around my head for a few days on another level of my brain.  Yeah, I usually have four or five things all running concurrently through the grey matter.  Usually things may rot in there for weeks before I come to a conclusion.

Do you take the topic of eternity seriously?

I do not think that most do, especially the "pseudo-christians" filling America's churches.  (pseudo is Greek for false-form, something that appears to be one thing but is actually something entirely different)  Generally, when I bring up this subject, I get feelings, impressions, whatever the latest pop-culture whim is!  Mighty flimsy foundation upon which to base your eternity on here!

Please read John 3:16, if you have not already memorized it.

Interestingly, when it comes to your eternal life, you will either be dead-wrong or dead-right.  You are going to die, it is almost guaranteed!  I do not think anyone can afford to actually be dead-wrong!  My father bet his eternity on my being wrong; I am satisfied I am not.

So, you die.  The exact moment comes for  you, God knew long ago when it was, and you either took advantage of one of your opportunities for salvation or you are not going to perish.  There is a bread truck or a train wreck with your name on it out there just waiting to occur!

Perishing is not ceasing to exist, it is still existing but now suffering the torments of Hell.  Hell was made for the rebellious angels and Satan, not you.  But, you get to earn eternal destruction just by not accepting Jesus as the payment for sin and what separates you from God.

Vine's Bible Dictionary, defines this as:
"the idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but the loss of well being."

God will judge us for our sins, our deeds and willingly sentence us to Hell, but only as a last resort - only over His son's dead body!

John 17:3, 3:36, 5:24 and 1 John 5:11

When does eternity begin?  It begins here and now, where you are, what you are facing, what you are doing.

The world and even our churches are filled with walking dead people!  They are spiritually dead, they are looking for someone to notice, for someone to show them the way.  And they are probably clueless that this is true of them.  It is always someone in Borneo, not right here in my church, neighborhood, restaurant, etc.

When Heaven is mentioned in the Bible, it speaks in terms of things we are familiar with here on Earth.  However, you must remember and realize that Heaven is a gated community.  Not everyone is welcome nor will be admitted.

It boils down to either you are responsible for yourself when you stand before God, or Jesus is.  Unlike my father, make the wise decision and err on the side of God taking responsibility for you.

Facing Your Denial

John 18:15-18, 25-27

None of us are perfect.  Were perfection attainable we would not need Jesus' blood to cover our sin before God.  So any perfection you will ever have is only going to be through Jesus.

I was struggling with my sin nature and confessing this to Bill Bright, whom I was having breakfast with that morning (and since he was paying, I got to the do the talking).  Bill goes, "Okay, I am God and you are not a sinner, what do you see?" 

"You, er, God."

Now he picks up a packet of sugar and said, "This is Jesus." and held it at arms length in front of my face.

"You are a sinner.  What do you see?"

"Jesus"

"Right! And when I as God, look at you what do I see?"

"Jesus?"

"Right!"

So this lead to an interesting discussion and I have used that simple visual dozens of times through the years and explaining this very same principal to those whom ask.

David, in Psalms commented that, God uses weak people.  Let's face it, David was not exactly someone you wanted as you next door neighbor (think Uriah here if you are confused) and you sure would not have wanted him as your father (think his complete failure in judging his son!).  But, David, even in his weakness was whom God used mightily!

How did you get there?
Peter, the strong man with the sword only hours earlier, is now denying he knows Jesus, to a maid, not an official, not someone whose testimony could be used against him!  He is discouraged, his defenses are down, his is probably tired, nothing is going right.

Yet Peter is not to be defined by his failure but what he did with that failure!

So, Peter was:

• exhausted
• over confient
• under pressure
• slowly sliding into sin

God knew Peter's heart, He knows yours, it is the most precious thing He has given you.

Turning away from denial

•  the rooster - the warning , the reminder to Peter for his lifetime
• the look - Jesus looked at Peter when the rooster crowed.  Knowing ...
• the words - to restore you to the right position, not to condemn you
• the tears - led to repetence for Peter, the lack of them to Judas' death

 What can we learn?

• be humble - pride will precede your fall
• be disciplined - prayer, meditation, study, worship, confession
• be accountable - need others in order to see ourselves clearly
• be discerning - is the action worth the cost? freedom vs cost

Romans 12:2 

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Missing The Boat

John 18:1 - 14

First off, you have to understand that ALL prophesy is going to come to pass!  In this passage, Jesus finds himself, exactly where he was supposed to be, Isaiah's words are about to be fulfilled ...

You can miss it
Judas came close, but he missed the mark with Jesus.  He was there, he saw the same miracles that all of the other disciples saw, he heard all of the same words as the other disciples did, he sat through all of the same lessons, he walked in Jesus' footsteps.  But, something went wrong inside of Judas, maybe he never really was a follower...

Remember that Judas was hand picked by Jesus!  Jesus knew what He was doing, he knew Judas' heart at the time as well as what it would be in the future.

You can not fool everyone
The other eleven had no clue who Judas really was, either during the three years of following and learning under Jesus, nor what Judas had been up to recently.  At the dinner table no one thought the betrayer of Jesus would be Judas!  They each questioned if they were the one.

And that is interesting, each questioned their own dedication, love for the master and faith.  Indeed we each know the truth about ourselves, as ugly as it can be sometimes.  The disciples were no different than us in this regard.

Your disappointment can yield disaster
Was Judas greedy?
Was he scared?
Or maybe disappointed that Jesus was not going to conquer the Romans?
Was he politically motivated?
Or religiously motivated, to do what he did?

Take your pick.  What did separate his mind and his heart from God and God's will in following Jesus?  We may never know, but whatever the source of his anger / frustration, it forced him on to a path of disaster.

You can trade true love for something far less
Judas is going to betray Jesus.
Jesus offers him a chance to reconcile, but to no avail.
Judas returns with perhaps as many as 600 soldiers, priests, servants and people.

A fight was expected, but none was given.

You do not need to be a Judas
We can learn from his mistakes!
Have no strings attached to your relationship with God.

And expect, the unexpected...

You Can't Get To Heaven

When I pastored my first youth group, one of the favorite songs was, "You Can't Get To Heaven".  The kids loved singing this and always had to include whatever my poor excuse of a car was at the time.  For those of you whom are confused: "Oh you can't get ot heaven, in Kris' car, 'cause Kris' car, won't drive that far."  So you get the idea, any mode of transportation makes for a fun round singing.

But this morning I am in John 3:1 - 15.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Religious
Being a Christian is about have a relationship with Jesus, not religion.  Religion is feel good-ism.  Christianity is about a struggle as you relearn how to walk in this world, place the emphasis on God and Jesus, not yourself.

You can be a Christian and do religious things; but you can also do religious things and not be a Christian.

Although I think little of those whom devote themselves to philosophy, I have to admit that Pascal's observation that there is a "God sized hole in each of us", does seem to be true about man, across all cultures.  We, without even thinking about it, seek to fill that hole with whatever draws us in.  Materialism, politics, sports, sex, power, money, etc all seem to fit the hole that we each have, interestingly, so does God.  As I told my father once long ago, "... you can be successful and have the world, but what is the cost of being a servant of God, living a life devoted to helping your fellowman?  If I am wrong, then I will have lived a life truly in joy of the knowledge that many youth will be the better for it.  Amassing wealth, will only show how shallow I really am."  Yeah, well, he chose women and all of his wealth went to pay for 7 divorces.  Still bothers me.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Important
Nicodemus was rich, respected, religious and a ruler!
He had the best chance of any but still needed to recognize that Jesus was his Messiah (Christ).

We were talking about religion and US Presidents, and just doing fruit inspection.  So, when was the last Christian US President?  We were able to agree on Jimmy Carter.  And before him?  Yeah, that is a tough one.  I thought maybe Truman, but it would be using a definition of a Christian I am not very comfortable with....  Power does not seem to be very compatible with being a Christian.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being Righteous or Good
Even though the Pharisees tended towards legalism, they loved God's Law and emphasized righteous living.  As leaders they judged, taught, were held accountable in business, etc - but still they came up short when it came to having salvation.

You Can't Get To Heaven By Being a Jesus Admirer
Saying, "Jesus, you did many great miracles, what a teacher you are", isn't the point of Jesus life and sacrifice.  You have to attain a new life.  Who needs to?  We all do!

It is time for Christians in this western culture to realize that they are not living any form of the Christian ideal, admit that and change accordingly.  Our churches are filled with, giving them the benefit of the doubt, admirers of Jesus, not disciples, not followers, not even converts!  Christianity has lost its way and we have a church quite happy with the status quo on the express rail to Hell.

What can you do?  Honestly, read your Bible.  Then be in prayer for understanding.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you knowledge and wisdom.  Seek earnestly to know.  And God will respond, just be prepared to leave your ideas in the dust.

Although this is what I did, I am not saying you need to, but I found that I spent most of my time reading books about the Bible, not actually reading the Bible.  I was getting a head filled with other believers thoughts, ideas, beliefs, etc but I was not getting my understanding from the Bible.  I gave my entire library of over 4,000 books to a local church for an auction they were going to have.  And I do not miss them.

Yes, I kept a few commentaries, books by mentors, whom were signed for me.  But, the library went, I may have a few dozen books in total now on the Bible, ancient times, etc.

So, what is Kris' understanding of how to get to Heaven?  Well, we will be beating that horse to death over then next several days.  :)

Testing My Nature

I have not said much about the war within me lately.

When twin natures raised its ugly head, I fought it for all I was worth.  And I lost some of the battles but did finally succeed in killing that new second nature.  But, it wrestled complete control away from me, just in time for Edvard's death, my old nature was gone for good it seems.

So my mind of course, is working through this, how do you change a genetic anomaly without changing the underlying base DNA?  Was my DNA modified somehow?  Well that is an easy one actually to test on me because apart from the four genes which compose the sociopath anomaly, I also carry one for passing on manic depression (bi-polar for you you younger folks).  Luckily I have never had to have suffered from that one, but as recently as 2008 I had taken six weeks off and disappeared into the hills of Colorado because I had to have steroids for my lungs.  Self confined to a hotel in the middle of nowhere, I worked my way through by not talking with or to anyone and remaining extremely isolated as the rage steroids cause those with this disorder, flowed through me.

However, it is now three weeks since the last course of steroids and I think everyone would agree I am very much the same.  The has been NO reaction what so ever!  So, it would appear that indeed, Kris' DNA is no longer what I have known.  It makes one wonder what else has happened to me on the base level.

I have tested food allergies and yup, at least jalapenos and parsnip both have their effect on me still.  bleeeech!

So, I have decided to play with movies and see how those affect me.

First movie was After Life.  Weird would be a word.  It brought no real emotional response at all.  And I have to admit I do not really know by the end if the characters really were dead or not.  You would hope so, but then again the movie was so creepy that maybe they really were buried alive.  As I said, little in the way of an emotional response.

I found Hero, to be confusing when I first saw it.  Yesterday, I was stunned by the visual beauty of the movie and the story brought me to tears.  Probably not at the points at which a normal person would have cried but then again, I know I am still not totally normal.  It was when the Emperor decides Jet Lee needs to die in order to save China.  Everyone else would have been emotional when Jet Lee's character dies moments later, however, I could understand the Emperor's struggle and had empathy for him.

So, second one was a movie I knew, what about one I did know about but not seen the movie?

The Hunting Party, a story I knew personally and had directly impacted my life.  I just was not ready for the movie to to move on to the topic Polij, where the only other male Plattner was executed.  So, lets us just say that the story was so unreal, that it had to be real, the actors did a very good job.  And they did not show the horror of Polij.  My cousin was one of seven NATO medics executed for rendering aid, but over 1,100 were executed that day there, mostly women, children and the elderly.  This was not a good movie for me to have seen, too many memories.  And so, my mind returned to the concept of murder.  I had personally empowered a small Croat army to destroy Radic's ability to wage an uncontested war.  Had I broken my vow against violence?  Deep in prayer and thought, I could not find condemnation for myself.  I found a very deep peace in stead.  Would but that one of my snipers had found Radic.....  God is waiting for you.  And, yeah, though it personally disgusts me, I honestly do hope his heart can make peace with is Creator before he receives the execution he deserves.

It has been a hard weekend.  I am not impressed with the results of the tests.  Honestly, I had hoped there was some vestige of the old me left, it would have given me comfort.  But, it seems that whatever God is working in my life, it is a new Kris the future gets to see.  And yes, that does frighten me.

The Walk

Thinking on John 1:29 - 40

Jesus wanted them (and us) to verbalize, think through what we really want from God!

Everybody comes to Jesus with a expectation, whats yours?

The essence of Discipleship is relationship, so:

Expect your walk to take tike.
Are you giving your walk with Jesus time?
Discipleship is "a long obedience in the same direction" (Eugene Peterson)
II Cor 4:16, Luke 18:1

DON'T lose heart or faith...

Hold close to Jesus.
Not just His good ideas!
It takes a relationship, between teacher/mentor and disciple.
This is the core, the DNA or your Discipleship - know your teacher!
Good DNA means good faith out the other side.

You are not going to make it by trying:

• Philosophical studies
• Relying upon traditions
• Advice of friends

You need to be in the BIBLE.

Move from curious to committed.
Discipleship is about relationship and that means by definition you can't be in a real relationship with Jesus and not have your life affected by it!
Expect difficult times:

• God's enemy will select you for hard times
• Your memories will attempt to corrupt your walk
• Your mind will tell you that you can't do this
• Your heart will scream "uncle!" for all will seem lost
• Your spirit will fail, if your eyes are not where they belong

I honestly do hope you go for being a disciple.  It is hard, but it worth the efforts to know you serve a real God, one of power, one of passion, one of strength, one of Love, one whom listens and responds to prayer.  Yeah.....

The Old Grandfather

Yes, another of my favorite German fairy tales of my youth:

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had grown dim, ears deaf and whose legs shook.  When he sat at the table, he was hardly able to hold his spoon, he would spill soup all over the tablecloth, and a little would even run out of his mouth.  This disgusted his son and his daughter-in-law, and so finally the old grandfather had to sit in the corner behind the stove.

They gave him his food in an earthenware bowl and little at that.  He used to look sadly towards the table, and tears would come to his eyes.  One day, his trembling hands could not even hold the bowl any longer and it fell to the floor where it broke to pieces.  The young woman scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed.  For a few pfennig she bought a wooden bowl for him to eat out of.

One evening before dinner, the four year old grandson was fitting some small boards together on the floor.

"What are you doing there?", asked the father.

"I am making a trough for you and mother to eat out of when I am grown up.", answered the son.

The husband and wife looked at one another for a while and finally both began to weep.  At once the grandfather was brought to the table.  From then on they always let him eat with them at the table, and not say anything - even when he did spill a little of the soup.

Maury Island Incident

It was a sunny day in 1947 when suddenly a UFO appeared in the skies over Maury Island in Washington State.  This was the first real sighting, well, let's say the first real verifiable sighting.  How real?  Well, there was a fair number of witnesses on both sides of Puget Sound and some physical evidence no one could explain away.

You see, the saucer became stationary over the beach area on Maury Island and then some part of it exploded.  Proof?  Well, how about a dead dog and, a man and his teen aged son in a boat fishing whom were hit by flying debris and injured enough to require hospitalization.  And then there was the man on the dock under the saucer.  Yeah.....

In the following days and weeks, Maury Island was to be descended upon by the Sheriff's office, Washington State Patrol, the FBI, the Army and a questionable group dressed all in black whom thought they owned the island and took complete control.  And then there was the problem of "aliens" making a surprise visit several more times.

Weird enough yet for you?

How about one of the survivors of the incident, whom had been injured by the explosion, writing a book to remind people it really did happen, and getting the local media and businesses to start a campaign to get a movie made of this?

And so, a saucer was constructed, a crash staged just blocks from my house, and I was there!

It was great fun!

About 400 came out, many dressed in alien costumes, some quite inventive, there were two flash mob dances, lots of smoke from the crash and an official alien emerged!  It was one of the local celebrity horticulturalists whom is well liked here.  He emerged from the smoke with a huge bag of brussel sprouts and began throwing them at the crowd! It was a great deal of fun and a real hoot!

And yes, even a picture of me at my lowest weight since about 2000!  Yeah, I lost 35 pounds last year, have kept it off and lost a further 10 this year so far!  All I did was shift my big meal of the day to lunch and a small meal, no seconds, for dinner.  So very happy.  Of course, in this little contest, one of my cousins has lost 190 pounds and she was featured on the Biggest Loser last year and the other cousin lost almost 260 pounds! to date.  Yeah, they got me whipped but I am still lighter than either of them as of this point!

So, it was a very fun afternoon and evening!

Mistress Trudy

I have long wanted to share some of my favorite German fairy tales from my youth.  They will be short, reworked as best I can translate or interpret the ideas behind them.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was stubborn and inquisitive, and whenever her parents told her to do something, she would never obey.

One day she said to her parents, "I have heard so much about Mistress Trudy; I will call on her sometime.  People say that her house looks queer and that there are many strange things in it.  I have become quite curious."

Her parents strictly forbade her going there and said, "Mistress Trudy is a wicked woman, given to evil things, and if you go there, we will disown you."

The girl paid no attention, however, to her parents' orders and went straight away to Mistress Trudy's.  When she got there, Mistress Trudy asked her, "Why are you so pale?"

"Oh, " she answered, shaking all over, "I am frightened at what I have seen!"

"What have you seen?"

"I saw a black man on your stairs."

"That was the charcoal burner."

"Then I saw a green man."

"That was a huntsman."

"Then I saw a blood red man."

"That was the butcher."

"Oh, Mistress Trudy," the girl shuddered", "I looked through the window and I did not see you but the devil with his fiery head."

"Is that so!", she said.  "Then you saw the witch in her proper garb.  I  have been waiting for you for a long time now and have longed for you.  Now you shall furnish me with light."

There upon she transformed the girl into a log and threw it in the fire, and when it was all aglow, she sat down beside it and, warming herself at it, said, "That really does give a bright light."