Whatever Takes Us Away

While flipping through the channels one evening I came across a National Geographic show on “The Lost Kings of the Bible.” I caught it after it had already begun, but Noah and I decided to start watching it (and when it went to commercial we flipped to a hockey game). Immediately after this program, which seemed mostly to be about King David, came another show about Alexander the Great. I noticed an immediate difference to how these two shows could take similar topics (ancient kings of the Middle East) and have tow very different approaches to the historical data.

With King David we have biblical data that speaks of this great king of Israel. And, in addition to this there are sources outside of the Bible that speak of this person and his “house.” Some of those on the program thought this was not enough to “prove” that David ever existed or that he was ever a king in ancient Palestine.

With Alexander the Great there are written accounts of him, and as a result of his conquests from Greece to the Middle East, much of the Mediterranean became very Greek (Helenization). Many of the written accounts we have of Alexander and his exploits come to us many centuries after the fact, but most historians take this as true as truth can be.

The juxtaposition between the two programs and the two men portrayed is this: if you were a biblical character, person, king, prophet or otherwise you probably didn’t really exist; but, if you were a non-biblical character, person, king, or otherwise you probably did exist and even if there are no archeological records or evidences of your existence you can still be proved to have existed, if by no other means than to “recreate” ancient cities virtually with computer generated graphics or cartoons. This has become our “truth” and many today believe these so-called facts to be just that, the truth. It is a sad state of affairs when the biblical accounts that we have (in the myriad of ancient manuscripts) are discounted as meaningless and without substance or truth. Likewise, it is a sad state of affairs when things such as Alexander’s tomb (of which we know absolutely nothing) are made to be of more importance and given more “truth” points than things which we do have in written historical form.

This is a sad reality of where our nation and our world are heading. We have seen Europe grow increasingly more violent towards anyone claiming to be Christian, and so many of the beautiful cathedrals built in Europe are nothing more than historical sites for tourists to visit. The U.S. is rapidly heading down that same path of truthlessness and is a place where Christianity is constantly under attack. We are supposed to embrace tolerance here, but that tolerance does not extend to Christians.

These two TV programs didn’t make me realize this, but only put a stronger emphasis on what I had already known. For those of you that chance to read this, whether you are a Christian or not, know that truth is relevant and that it does exist, you need only to look into the matters at hand to find what the truth is for any given subject. The media controls what truth has become, but at some point, they too will be subject to that same measure.

I really enjoy hunting, it is something I picked up only a few years ago, but I have found I am quite fond of it. However, I have a problem: I work second shift (until 11:00 pm) and like getting out in the woods before sunrise. That alarm clock sounds more and more like that annoying co-worker in the next cubicle that has no volume or tone control with their voice. Each time, after about the first month, I hear the alarms go off it gets harder and harder to get out of bed; and yet here I am at 12:53 in the am and I am typing this post. Am I just crazy?

6:00 am rolls around much quicker when you're sleeping!

Maybe tonight I will dream of that giant herd of deer that have no sense of smell, no sense of hearing and are all blind in one eye - I think my chances would be greatly increased if only I could find that herd. I'm not a trophy hunter, I enjoy a decent "mountable" animal, but I am more in it for the sport and the meat - yeah, I'm sure P.E.T.A. isn't going to like me any - I eat what I go after.

At any rate, the alarm is set, my gear is ready for the morning and the coffee pot timer is waiting for 5:50 am, at which point, when I fall off my side of the bed into my clothes I will at least have one small thing accomplished: Fresh Coffee!

Only five hours five minutes til' the alarms sound.

In this digital age of (in)convenience it is overwhelmingly easy to reconnect with people from our pasts. And this post is about just that thing; reconnections with old friends.

A few months back I started a Facebook account, not really knowing what Facebook is/was/could be. As it turns out, people really dig deep into their mental memory banks to try their hardest to remember the most obscure people they could possibly remember from their pasts (yes that sentence was intentionally long and arduous). I happen to be one of those people (on both sides of the account). Finding friends from years gone by, friends that I worked with, friends that shared common interests - I am finding that there are some connections that just were not meant to be lost.

Now, take into account that not everyone wants to be found. There was a point in my life that I wanted as few people from my past to remember me or know how I was doing or where I was living, I've gotten over myself since and hence, I can be found as YOUR friend on Facebook. Some people from my past haven't changed much, others have. Me, take me for example. Many of the people I am linking up with through Facebook know me in a short time span (three years or less time spent in "friendship"), and the person they remember was vastly different from who I have become. Over the last 10 years my life has changed in dramatic ways. As a young teen I wasn't really a fan of children, yet here I am with four kids of my own and the fifth added teenager in the house. There was a span of five years that I didn't really attend church on a regular basis, but here I am studying Christian Theology and finishing my first degree in the coming months. Some knew me as one of the fun party guys, hitting the "regular" spots on Friday and Saturday nights from San Diego to Los Angeles, and here I am staying at home on those days.

All of this to say, it is interesting to catch up with old friends, acquaintances, and keep in touch with new friends that have moved away. If you have some time and wish to find old friends, take the time to check it out. You might be shocked, you might be sad or you might find that old familiar friend lives in the town next door.

Life is hectic! If anyone does, from time to time, read this digital journal of mine, they will know that my life is no less strained than anyone else. I have FOUR kids (and a pseudo-adopted fifth - aptly named Number 5), a full-time job, a full-time college schedule and a part-time youth and children's position with my church. Combine this with everything else that goes on from one day to the next and you get one crazy bit of life - my life. As Tina and I have discussed numerous times something needs to change before we go insane (rather, before I drive her insane with my non-stop lifestyle). Something had to give.

At the end of December I will be hanging up my position with the church, something not easy to do, but necessary. I feel I have been neglecting the program there with everything else going on, and I need to focus on school for myself, my family, and need to allow someone else to step into a position of leadership. This comes with a heavy heart, hours of agonizing thought (because I hate to think to heavily), and much prayer as to my future.

The blog here, then, will get back to its original plan and design, a digital journal for me to keep and for anyone (I mean anyone who might think my life is worth reading about) to read that may encounter, by chance or by accident, what happens to happen in my life. The picts of the youth group will soon disappear, the links to certain websites will disappear, and the overall appearance may once again be changed. However, if you are one of the few (I mean very few) who subscribe to and read this blog, I will not change any of the settings that would affect your RSS Inbox - you will still receive (why you would want it I don't know) updates weekly from the blog; assuming there are weekly updates to be sent.

That said, you will once again read more about my life, my (mis)adventures, my kids, family and my mishaps as they come through real-time. This is life, and it changes some times, and this is where I (re)begin.

It has been several weeks now, and nothing posted here . . . I lament if for no one but myself. This past semester has had me reading more books, writing more papers and getting much less sleep than a person should. However, the semester came to an end last night at 11:59 pm - I think I did pretty good even in spite of the mass amounts of work and reading. Only a few more classes to finish that first degree - and only 16 years after I graduated high school!

Since my last post . . .

Well, it is late and I have church to prepare for tomorrow. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I can get back to regular posts (at least once weekly if at nothing else). Until then . . .