Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ahhhh...How do I Love thee...let me count the way !

Good evening! Welcome to yet another chapter in this blog. I've added more chairs so pick out one and have a seat. I have a full menu of drinks tonight so let me know what you want. I even have bottled water. It's a special kind, straight from the mountains of Tibet, for those of you that are picky. :-D I myself will have some coffee topped off with some Baileys. Ahhh...now this is living. OK, enough. On to the topic for tonight.
As promised we're going to pursue Love. Let me say here that this will not be an exhaustive treatise on the subject. The purpose of this is to give light to some wisdom about it. Pure and simple. So please don't think that Love is simple enough to fit into a simple man's simple blog. It certainly isn't. Having said that we'll proceed.
The source. This is actually easily put. Based on Holy Scriptures, specifically I John, chapter four, verse eight, we have the answer. So you don't have to look it up I'll put it in quotes here. "He that Loves not knows not God, for God is Love". So there, ladies and gentlemen, you have it. Love comes from God. If you're in Love you have that ability because God gave it to you. If you love anyone in any way, family and friends for example, you have that ability because God gave it to you. We come into this world with an acute desire to be loved and nurtured. After we grow a bit we have the desire to love back. Usually family first. The word Love is probably the most misused and corrupted word known to mankind. It's equated with sex, lust, desire, pornography, homosexuality and other deviate behaviors. The only thing that Love has to do with any of that is that it simply isn't there. Those things exist because of a lack of real Love. In this series I won't be using the words 'true love' because they've become so attached to meanings that have little to do with Love itself. I'll, instead, be using the words 'real Love'. I hope when this series is over you'll understand why I make that distinction. Any pattern of thought or behavior that doesn't reflect the Holy image of God isn't Love and has little or nothing to do with Love. Love is a very special thing brought to be by a sovereign God. Any deviation from what God intends for it to be and it ceases to be Love in the truest sense of the word.
OK, enough for now. Let me say again, this isn't meant to be exhaustive, but to give you some insight and the desire to know more about it. A good place to start in your search for more is I John, chapter four, verses eight through eleven. You're invited back as we delve more deeply into this subject. .........And so it goes.......

Friday, February 16, 2007

The gospel according to.......John, Paul, George and Ringo???

Good Morning all. I'm glad you all are taking the time to read this, another chapter in the continuing saga of Mike's blog. Since it's eighteen degrees outside, and I'm still chilled to the bone from having worked outside yesterday (it barely made it to freezing) I'm offering a limited menu of beverages. There are four choices: coffee or chocolate or coffee or chocolate. You pick which of the four you'd like. :-D Anyway, the most important thing is that you stay warm and relaxed as your read and enjoy.
The posting of this chapter finds us on to something else. Something that everyone has experience with, or has experienced in the past. For some it's been a wonderful and life changing thing, for others it's ranged from mildly bad to horrible. In spite of the experience though, we all crave and demand it. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure any of us could live without it. The irony is though, most don't even know what it truly is. As JL, PM, GH and RS sang "all you need is Love". Well...not 'all' you need. When I was nineteen and just married, my teenage bride and I tried living off of Love. We both lost a lot of weight we didn't need to lose, but I'd highly recommend the diet. Very effective and the most fun of any diet I've heard of. Anyway, my way of saying, there is more to life than Love but I can think of nothing more essential. It ranks right up there with water and food. In this, and subsequent postings, I'd like to talk a bit about Love. It's source, it's promise, what it is, the fulfilling effect it has on our lives and it's potential effects, both positive and/or negative. I suppose one could call this chapter a 'tease' because I'm stopping here. I will though, in the next day or so begin posting on this. I'd be happy to have you join me in the journey. ..........And so it goes.........

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I'm back....sort of.

Good Morning. Just a quick note to say that I'm going to start posting to the blog again. Frankly, I've been a bit discouraged with it but seem to working through it. :-) Anyway...a short post here.
I've been contemplating the connections between Hope and Faith. A quick word about it then on to something else. 'Hope' and 'Faith' are so interconnected as to be non-existent if one is removed. The reason we can have faith is because we have Hope. The reason we have Hope is because of our Faith. Would you agree. In my travels through life I've noticed the inseparability of the two. The longer I live the more firmly that precept is re enforced. I'll be back with more posts in a couple of days on a new yet old part of life. Something that makes life worth living.
.........And so it goes.........