June 4, 2008…a day to celebrate

today is the birthday…
well, honestly..i don’t feel 43 i still feel as though i’m floating around in my late 20s/early 30s, but the grey on the temples says otherwise
its really been a good day..one of the first sober birthdays in way too many years, and i have the Lord to thank for that!
this same time last year, i was blacking out at the end of my final dj gig, and feeling absolutely wiped out, spiritually void, and spent..so, the contrast between last year and this alone is a miracle in and of itself
there again, thank you, Lord..
i want to thank all of you for the birthday comments, messages, etc..right off the bat this morning, from across the ocean..i received b-day wishes from a good friend of mine, and the day has pretty much continued in the same direction..
actually, over the past couple of days, i’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of birthday greetings coming in, and i want to thank each and everyone of you for them..
for what its worth, one of my best friends (of 27 years) messaged me about 5 or 6 days ago telling me happy belated birthday..hehehehe…aw, buyer yer funny
this particular birthday also comes shortly after my 10-month sobriety, delivered from a life of heavy substance abuse…
in fact, this is the first birthday in i don’t know how long where there wasn’t a marijuana pipe attached to my lips, and a head reeling from too much alcohol, let alone all of the other assorted drugs over the years that always seemed to accompany this “special” day…Lord, thank you for pulling me out of all of that…
i spoke with my mom this morning, and that was good(as always)..
and i just thought i’d take a moment to say thanks to all of you, once again, for being such an important part of my life…i thank God for each of you every day, seriously..and yer all in my prayers
God bless y’all much..
d

“Letters from Soldiers(on faith)”

having family and hundreds of friends that are serving the military, i decided late last year (2007) to begin compiling the messages and letters i’d received from our men and women in the armed forces…
i’d been questioned by some of my friends as to why i felt so compelled to reach out to these soldiers who give their all daily for our freedoms, and its because i have such a deep-seated respect for them and what they’ve sacrificed on not only our behalf, but for those around the world who are in need of the same freedoms…
what follows is an excerpt from my “Letters from Soldiers” collection…the section i chose was from “letters on faith”….
i hope ya enjoy reading what’s on the minds of our friends and family in the military…
On faith:
Hey, sorry i haven’t wrote…just trying to get the job done…..its dirty but someone has to do it…..hope you are well…..God bless and good luck.

S.
thank you for listening, D..yeah, i am never home long enough.. goodbyes are always the hardest, now the next step is to ask God to take care of my friends and family when i am gone… i feel that they need it more then i do.
N.
Hey buddy, Sorry I haven’t written forever but I’ve been in the desert, deployed. We don’t usually have access to myspace while we’re out here - I bribed one of the network guys to let me on. That was awful nice of him… LOL. But this is my one and only shot so I gotta make the most of it. Yeah my baptism went well… the water was COLD!! Definitely woke me up. I’m still gonna continue church shopping when I get back though. I still haven’t found one I really enjoy going to. I’ll be returning stateside some time in May/June time frame. I’ll definitely send ya a message when I return. Say some prayers for me bud.
M.
all i got to say bro is “Word”.lol..it’s good hearing from you as well and again i appreciate everything you have done for me. thank you again, D. i couldn’t ask for anymore from a friend.hey man, leave is awesome! i had no idea how much fun i would have this is freaking rockin!!! how about you? you alright? i’m home till the 13th, but i got a lot done already. so i’m happy.
N.
well i don’t know how to tell you how much your support means to me. its for people like you that i do what i do and i want you to know that. not very often do i get to hear anybody say that so thank you. its amazing how God works, He only gives as much as you can handle and its because of people like you i can handle so much. your message couldn’t have come at a better time. its nice to know that your there and praying and supporting me. write me when ever you get a chance its nice to talk to someone.
J.
so i just don’t like being in maryland. i’m from cali and its too cold here. u know ill see how it becomes in the fleet i might like it .my relationship with God was ok, not good enough.. but i pray and talk to him when i get the chance to.
R.
it doesn’t hurt to say a quick prayer for someone whether or not they’re actually in a life threatening situation ..every one can use a hand every once in a while. but hey i’m going to bed, worked a 16 hour day in the weather and the high was like twenty degrees, so i am beat. peace and may God be with you, my friend. you out of everyone i met deserves it.
N.
Its cool what you do on here,its awesome to know that someone out there cares enough to do what you do. The world is an evil place,I have seen that in my travels with the marine corps,pretty crazy stuff!! ha ha
The military is a hard place to live right and to be an example especially the marines,people brush you off and don’t care about the spiritual aspect of being a warrior and how it ties in to being a Christian also.I have thought alot about this lately and it really strikes my mind,there is nothing greater to me than being a warrior as I am now and being right with God! It is just kinda hard to do the right things all the time but I am trying.But I will talk to you later on.I have to get back to work!!
S.
But i am thankful for you cause you understand where i’m coming from. I may not get down on a knee every day but believe me i know He is there and i do pray occasionally.I am thankful for a home i do have in the states and i am thankful to be alive period. but thanks again man, every little bit counts.
i gotta realize a lot of people of my generation are just how can i put it…. selfish and self-centered. thank God my parents brought me up right. hehe.
But thanks again man and God bless
N.
can u pray for me for relationships? my ex broke my heart on Christmas so i’m trying to get over and i just wanna win her back, u know what i mean.. u have any advice?
R.
The filipino catholics celebrate easter by flagulating themselves and reenacting the crucifixion. There were 8 people who crucified themselves.. 12 others who did something similar and the youngest was 15 years old. there was a man who has done this 22 times. Its a big thing here.
N.
i dunno man, its hard to keep a good attitude being out here, I sometimes question what it is i’m doing out here, trying to look at it from an eternal perspective. i appreciate the support.
ya man that’s what i needed to hear. again i appreciate the prayers and support.
i do believe God works through people and i was needing some encouragement so it worked out good, thanks man. i’m gonna crash so ill talk to ya later.
I.
I am a Christian though a rather vulgar one all admit i’m the sinner of sinners but my faith is strong well thank you
N.
Yeah, I deployed for 15 months… we left Nov. 1st, and we don’t come home until March 2009, I do believe in Christ, I belong to a Nazarene Church in Oklahoma.
I am really lonely in Iraq with out my family, I will pray for you too, please pray for my Company the 511th MP CO out of Ft.Drum, NY. Were going through a really hard time losing people and its nice to know someones praying for us..Thanks
B.
I just cant wait to get back into church. I miss being at church about everyday…lol Thats the truth man. Its like I told my Mom. Its up to God whether or not when I reenlist or if I do…That I can PCS back home but he might have me stationed in New York for a reason. Not sure at this point in time. It’s crazy. But I just cant wait to get back home in the states and get myself involved in a church again.
Z.
Hey Bro, thanks, that means alot. But ya know people like you help keep me feeling good. knowing that your not afraid of stepping out and showing your faith. But on my end it hurts to know that I’m the only one who is religious. But you take care brother
Z.
you’ve been a great inspiration to me because, ill tell ya, i’ve been out of the bible for a awhile! when u and i started really chattin’ online, thats when i got my head back into the Good Book of Salvation! thank you!
C.
state side february.. trust i look to God almost everyday thanking him for whatever i have in my life and to be alive.
N.
Yeah Id have to say the one thing I miss the most about being a civilian was my church. But I felt God was calling me to the military not sure why but I know in time he will open my eyes the plan he has for me here. But one of the down falls to me as being in the military it is hard to find a good church and find friends who share the same beliefs as I do. But I think God may have brought you to me to help bring me closer to him. Well take it easy bro.
Z.
God has blessed us with so much. More than we will ever know. There are so many things that He does for us that we don’t even realize that it was done. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. May the Lord bless you and yours.
J.
thank you so much for the message, bro!
and you are so right on with what you have stated to me about the blessings from our Lord and how great our country is… serving this great nation is an honor!
thank you for your friendship and support as well.
C.

thanks for taking the time to read this…God bless the military and God bless you

A new outlook… (part one)

The Games people play… (originally posted January 200

i’m sitting here saddened and amazed..saddened that there are a number of Christians that i know that don’t understand or see the spiritual dangers that literally lie in wait..amazed that these same Christians can have a relationship with the Lord, and yet continue to open themselves up to the demonic world through the nicely-packaged, seemingly “innocent” game…Ouija Board.

all i can do is pray that any of you that happen to own one of these will pray about its place in yer family’s game closet, and in yer lives as well… a bit of background..including a warning from a leading psychic..

keep in mind, the enemy will use anything he can to continue to gain and keep his foothold in our lives, the less we give him..the less he has to use. my prayers are with you as you seek God’s wisdom and discernment in this area.. d

A ouija (often pronounced “wee-gee” or called weegee box in English) is any flat surface printed with letters, numbers, and other symbols, to which a planchette or movable indicator points, supposedly in answer to questions from people at a séance. The fingers of the participants are placed on the planchette that then moves about the board to spell out messages.

Ouija is a trademark for a talking board currently sold by Parker Brothers. While the word is not considered a genericized trademark, it has become a trademark which is often used generically to refer to any talking board. In popular culture these boards are considered to be a spiritual gateway used to contact the dead; however, the only evidence for this is the various accounts of users. Although Ouija boards are viewed by some to be a simple toy, there are people who believe they can be harmful, including Edgar Cayce, who called them “dangerous.”

Critics warn that “evil demons” pretend to be cooperative ghosts in order to trick players into becoming spiritually possessed. Some practitioners claim to have had bad experiences related to the use of talking boards by being haunted by “demons,” seeing apparitions of spirits, and hearing voices after using them. A few paranormal researchers, such as John Zaffis, claim that the majority of the worst cases of so-called demon harassment and possession are caused by the use of Ouija boards.

The American demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, stated that “Ouija boards are just as dangerous as drugs.” They further state that “séances and Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia are dangerous because ‘evil spirits’ often disguise themselves as your loved ones—and take over your life.”

In 1944, occultist Manly P. Hall, the founder of the Philosophical Research Society and an early authority on the occult in the 20th century, stated in Horizon magazine that, “during the last 20-25 years I have had considerable personal experience with persons who have complicated their lives through dabbling with the Ouija board. Out of every hundred such cases, at least 95 are worse off for the experience.” He went on to say that, “I know of broken homes, estranged families, and even suicides that can be traced directly to this source.”

Many Christians hold the belief that using a Ouija board allows communication with demons, which they say is Biblically forbidden as a form of divination. Some people who claim to have been oppressed by evil spirits after using a board say that they could only get rid of these problems after Christian deliverance. Many Christians believe that no dead person’s soul can be summoned, and that the only summoned spirits are demons who are trying to harm humans.

World music (originally posted January 200

even though this is the starting point of this topic, i will use the term bottom-line…

bottom-line, if it isn’t glorifying and praising God..then what is it glorifying and praising? there is really no grey area here..it’s black and white, it’s either God-inspired and holy, or its satan-inspired and unholy.

no matter how the recording industry packages and promotes it, no matter how bubblegum and innocent it may sound, or appear..if it’s not of God, it’s dangerous. in almost every genre of music, whether its hip hop, pop, rock, country, heavy metal, dance, whatever it is..

there are Christian artists who seek God in their lives, and are inspired by Him and their walk with Him to reach others through their music. on the flipside, there are secular artists whose lives are full of pride, immortality, hate, occultic practices..and to whatever degree, are self-serving and inspired, or deceived, by the enemy and seek to draw consumers into their belief systems by sometimes blatant and sometimes subtle lyrics.

when an artist in the music industry isn’t walking with the Lord, the enemy uses those around them (fans, promoters, club/venue owners, managers) to fill their heads with all kinds of wrong and evil things..drug and alcohol use is alot more widespread than they would have you believe, as well as fans that more often than not become the artist’s sexual partners, even if only for a night.

if you’re defensive about yer choice of music or the artists you listen to, ask the Lord to reveal the reasons to you as to why yer defensive. the enemy has used music for a long time to touch the hearts and souls of people, unbelievers and Christians alike..

keep in mind, too, the reason why satan packages some artists so innocently is that it can lure us in without even realizing what we’re buying into, and open the doors to other things, or desensitize us to many things.

i was a nightclub dj in the south sound area for 23 years, spinning pretty heavy music ranging from alternative to nrg to electro to disco to rock, etc…i played a number of venues, and to thousands of people during that time..and that all came to an end this past june, when the Lord laid it on my heart to give it up and give it to Him.

having been a part of the music/club industry for so long, i’m pretty aware of the whole music scene, and the spiritual dangers involved..whether it’s the immorality and decadence of the scene and the lifestyle that accompanies it or the music that’s filled with some very dark(and deceiving)spirits and messages…which is one of the reasons that i got rid of over 500 discs at my last dj gig..

the one band i gravitated heavily towards for almost 25 years was depeche mode, the one band i was fanatical about. i was always trying to justify hanging onto their music and merchandise, even during previous “walks” with the Lord, by digging deep to find some kind of “religious” quality in their sound..and then God brought to my eyes the fact that i’d set them so far above everything else in my life, especially Him..and had created a form of idolatry in my heart towards them.

i had spent countless thousands of dollars over the years building my collection(s), and in july…i threw it all away, and gave those desires to Him. the reason for this topic is that in each of my networks, including the Christian ones, i keep seeing questions as to why rock music is so wrong to listen to…

remember, ask the Lord to show you the things that could be keeping you from enjoying a full-on relationship with Him, especially those that may be tucked way in the back of our hearts and minds, just clinging onto us, hoping that they aren’t discovered…

Talking with a witch… (originally posted January 200

i wanted to share my correspondences i’ve been dealing with over the course of today…

this was a woman’s original post this a.m.: Posted: Jan 7, 2008 5:40 AM

her: Merry Meet, I am Lady Jay. I am a natural solitary witch but I am not Wiccan. I follow my own way but I walk very near the old beliefs. I also love Jesus very much. I come from a long line of witches who did not recognize their gifts. I always knew I was a witch and after I realized both my mother and granmother recognized their own gifts. I have three children who are also witches. I raised them to be comfortable with themselves and their own beliefs. Please tell me something about yourself…… Blessed Be

me: hey jay, i was simply going to give a reply to your post..and then, i flipped over onto yer page to see if i could get a bit of info so i could respond better..and i think i have what i need to be able to respond to yer question.. first of all, i think its great that you love Jesus! and you need to know that no matter what kind of life you live, what you’re involved in..that He still loves you so much! He died for you, that you would be able to live with Him forever when this life is over. in dying for you, He paid the price for every single sin you have ever or will ever commit, because He loves you that much.. after looking at yer profile, and reading what you had to say in yer inquiry..i notice that you say you’re not wiccan, but a witch nevertheless..even with that, He still loves you. unfortunately, the two can’t go hand in hand as many people have been deceived into thinking that they can. our Father is a loving God, but He’s also a jealous God..and one of the first things He said was to have no other gods before Him..earth worship, worship of anything that He created is idol worship, and as much as He loves you, He can’t allow those kinds of things in our lives if we are to truly be considered His children. unfortunately, the enemy has deceived millions of people into thinking they can do both, however it states in the bible that you cannot love or follow two masters..you either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. in yer mind, you possibly believe that you can have a balance of both, and that’s just what the enemy would have you believe..he has appeared as an angel of light, yet is an angel of darkness..even the most practiced witches and priests have been deceived. the enemy hates you, and is rejoicing in the fact that he has such a grip on you and your life that you may truly be blinded to God’s truth, and love.. God sent His Son, to give us eternal life..and what the enemy offers(even if its disguised as something else) is eternal sorrow and suffering.. my hope is that you at least give some of this some thought and consideration, as none of us know if there is a tomorrow..God never promised us another day, but He gives us today(that’s why i thank Him every morning for even just one more day to love Him, to serve Him, and to share His love with others).. jay, i know the reason why God gave me today..i think it might be so that i could tell you how much He loves and truly cares for you, and i want you to know, too, that i love you and would love to see you give your life completely to Him.. you need to know that there is freedom and deliverance and healing in Jesus’ name, and in the power of His blood that He shed for us all.. God bless you so much.. d

her: ~Jay J.~ Thats the thing. I know christianity. i was raised in it and was a high status family member of our church. I am even baptized a bpatist.I have many preachers alos in my family. I know all about Jesus and I pray to him. Just because I incorporate other beliefs also does not make me any less a lover of Christ my lord and Saviour. I posted this to see what kind of results I would get and unfortunately what I was hoping would not happen did. You all misunderstood my faith just because I said I was a witch. Only God will judge me. Blessed Be all Dear friends in God & Goddess.

me: jay, then you misunderstood what i said because i said (verbatim)… i think its great that you love Jesus! and you need to know that no matter what kind of life you live, what you’re involved in..that He still loves you so much! He died for you, that you would be able to live with Him forever when this life is over. in dying for you, He paid the price for every single sin you have ever or will ever commit, because He loves you that much.. it’s not about whether you love Him or not in this case, because you said that you do..so i am not judging you here, that’s His gig, not mine.. but, honestly..yer deceived if you think that you can serve and be accepted by two masters..but, it’s not too late to choose Him. unfortunately, there are alot of Christians that when they step before the Lord in heaven will be turned away when He tells them to depart, because He never knew them.. i don’t know where you read(or have heard) that practicing sorcery is ok in God’s eyes..as i said before the bible is very clear about sorcerers and idolaters..and if you worship anything besides Him, that’s pretty much what it is. i’m sorry if you took it offensively, but i care too much for you to let you believe that its ok..you can be offended, but it was meant out of love and concern, not out of anger or hate. and as i said before, i never debated yer love for Him… the reason why i even responded to yer post in the first place this a.m., is because i was there myself, just as deep and dark if not moreso than you..saying the same things you did, and believing them wholeheartedly..and God delivered me out of that lifestyle 6 months ago..so, it’s not like i’m not aware of what i’m saying here, jay God bless you much… d

her: Well apparently thats where you are uneducated. I am a with and I practice earth ways. Things of nature. I dont do the Harry Potter Bull because that is not real. I know God and he knows me and therefore on judgement day I will be accpeted. To say I will be turned away because I do other things is wrong of you. Thus apparent of how ignorant Christians really are. God loves me ofr me. He created me. I belong to the creator. Judge Not Least yee be Judged. I am a child of God and your arrogance boths me not. I know where I will be for all entirnity, sitting and playing with the angels in heaven. I dont judge anyone for what they believe as you have done to me. Brush up on your faith and others before you judge them especially when you dont know your facts. I came looking for others to pray with and have found AGAIN judgement. God does not like ugly. this includes ugly of the heart.

me: this will probably be my last post to you regarding this.. as far as being uneducated, you have no idea of my past, nor i yours, other than what you’ve posted.. you say you “practice” earth ways? you ARE holding the creation, not the Creator in high regard here.. and i refuse to be deceived by the enemy anymore… i want to commend you for truly seeking the Truth, and for that i can rejoice with you..as i know that if you search for it long enough, you will find it.. beyond that, i’m shaking the dust of your house off my feet as there’s nothing else i can say, or that the Holy Spirit has led me to say..

once again, God bless you d (heaven-bound)

my friend suggests reading the book “The Beautiful Side of Evil” by Johanna Michaelson, she says you might really enjoy the perspective in it…

There are many reasons Christianity is incompatible with witchcraft. To start with, it’s a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments: “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:2) You don’t get any more basic than that. Christianity believes there is one truth, and it is embodied in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. We have a lot more about this in other articles on this site, so we aren’t going to get into all of it here. No one tolerates “everything.” This view of Jesus is one constructed to attract people to certain churches, and to allow people to be able to do pretty much “whatever” and then to hurl “Judge not!” (taken out of context) at anyone who might raise a caution or two. It’s the wishful thinking of children, but is ultimately empty and useless as a spiritual belief.

thx for reading, guys d

Concerns and Issues (part four)

Spiritual Battle: Taking back what the enemy thinks he’s stolen (originally posted December 2007)

just came out of an awesome prayer session with the Lord, and am feeling very strong about some things of a spiritual nature…as usual

the enemy has been wreaking havoc in Christians’ lives, and casting his spirits of depression, defeat, anger, etc on us..and i feel as though we need to take a stand, reclaim that ground that we’ve already won in the Lord, and His blood that was shed for us.

His blood not only covers our sin(s), but it also heals, and it destroys strongholds. i am claiming the blood of our Saviour, and binding the enemy in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ today, right now!

Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

As Abraham Kuyper states: “If once the curtain were pulled back, and the spiritual world behind it came to view, it would expose to our spiritual vision a struggle so intense, so convulsive, sweeping everything within its range, that the fiercest battle ever fought on earth would seem, by comparison, a mere game. Not here, but up there-that is where the real conflict is waged. Our earthly struggle drones in its backlash.” 2 So, the first message of this chapter is: We are in the midst of a spiritual war, not a physical one.

We often get so caught up in the mundane that we forget what the real issues are.

Second: As believers we have the hope and comfort that comes from knowing that victory is already His, therefore we have no need to be afraid. We always can go to the Lord for the reassurance and resources that come from being His child. God is in control, be it in the physical or spiritual realm. His forces will ultimately prevail.

Third, our role is to be one of the prayer warrior. We are involved in the work of heaven, just as Daniel’s prayers receive the response of heaven.

National ID: Coming soon to a state near you…(originally posted December 2007)

At large, the American people are still unaware of the issuance of the Real ID card forthcoming in May of 2008. This new national/international ID card, and its interactivity with national/international databases, can access our medical, financial, driving, Social Security, license(s), firearms registrations, and political status inside its high tech/little nano brain. In essence, it holds our private lives on a swipe-able card that is then privy to any organization, retailer, or person requesting our identification or our money. In other words, our life histories accessible upon command from one 2X3 inch card. Having no choice but to comply, most American people will accept their new national/international ID card.

It is my understanding that without the card, we will be denied bank accounts in the United States of America, a driver’s license, and the right to fly on airplanes unless we have been issued a Real ID card. One might imagine that global retailers might require the Real ID to purchase food and gasoline. Take a look at your current driver’s license. Check the expiration date. 2008 would be a good global guess. For those of us who have seen United Nations military vehicles in the United States, and who have also noticed convoys of military tanks being transported through the wilderness areas of our nation – the same areas that have been locked down and away from the American people via Biosphere Reserves and conservation corridors - we have realized for a great many years that, as one patriot stated, the “stage was being set” for difficult times on American soil – the key issue that mass media ignores at its professional finest.

So, with stages being set, one must also look to the timing of the Real ID card, and to 2008 in general. Let us not forget all the other paramilitary systems in our nation, like the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Citizens Corp groups, Neighborhood Watch groups, C.O.P.S. (Community Oriented Policing Services), the militarizing of law enforcement departments, and the many new for-hire corporations that offer private armies with weapons for a price. And then, of course, there are the U.N. peacekeeping forces, which the American military has been actively involved with for many, many decades while, simultaneously and incrementally, our “leaders” have been closing our homeland military bases during these same decades. The professional timing of the Real ID card in 2008, and its mandatory issuance, brings to mind several forthcoming coincidences and issues.

The collecting and databasing of all personal information of every American adult – coinciding with the CFR’s North American Community – and all global government infrastructures in place and play, one must consider the following: • How are “domestic terrorists” determined and identified? • Who will be held in the Civilian Labor Camps on American soil? • What is the real issue behind the “identity theft” propaganda? • Why are the off-limits American wilderness areas crawling with secret military operations? • And why the mandatory issuance of an ID card that sums up every American citizen with one swipe? One cannot help but to almost laugh when it comes to considering how directly global intentions rest beneath our noses. So easy to see, yet so blindly the public goes about its merry and dull way.

On that note, the Real ID card will ultimately seal your fate. You will be a compliant and completely identifiable slave to the New World Order, or you will be its enemy – and your Real ID will determine which global creature you shall be. Therefore, America, let us not in-fight. The fact of our demise as free people exists no matter whose research is right or wrong. The stage is, in fact, being set for our nation’s conquering.

The Democrats and Republicans have seen to this fact and have worked steadfastly to raise their one-world government. They knew from the beginning that people with property, firearms, and rights were their primary problems, or in other words, the people of the United States of America and other westernized nations.

Our “leadership” is not what they seem. The public acceptance of the Real ID in May of 2008 seals the deal. It will be more than interesting to see which of our friends, neighbors, and family members will willingly sign onto their fate as new “citizens” of the global police state. Just keep telling yourselves that you voted them into office. So did I. As such, we have a lot of soul searching to do and very, very little time – about 21 months.

Are we going to continue to allow our “representatives” to march off with this nation and our Constitutional freedom, or are we going to unite and reclaim OUR nation? Ignorance is never bliss. It is abject slavery, and this time, the enslavement is backed by a system far greater than concepts or perceived notions of freedom. It’s past time to do more than wave flags, wear patriotic tee shirts, hats, and pins. It’s time to serve through action and duty to this nation. Start an A.C.E. (Americans for Constitutional Enforcement) chapter in your neighborhood NOW. Request an information packet (contactus@a4ce.org) and create your local chapter. It’s YOUR job and Constitutional duty to save our nation and to preserve freedom. We have been betrayed. For the sake of your children, open your eyes and act. The only potential answer is to UNITE for freedom and to command that freedom with one voice. Then, as a nation UNITED in knowledge, we can rid ourselves of our “representative” globalists. Now, please stop the bickering and bitching, especially of the partisanship flavor, and get to WORK.

Global government is non-partisan minus the master-slave divide. Is the national ID card the next step toward the imposition of the biblical “mark of the beast” Christians believe will be required to buy and sell during the Last Days? That’s the contention of a growing group of believers who are working to turn back the approval of the Real ID Act by Congress last year. Public Law 109-13 requires the national ID portion of the plan go into effect by May 2008.

“There is a prophecy in the Bible that foretells a time when every person will be required to have a mark or a number, without which he or she will not be able to participate in the economy,” states the Christian website NoNationalID.com. “The prophecy is 2,000 years old, but it has been impossible for it to come to pass until now. With the invention of the computer and the Internet, this prophecy of buying and selling, using a number, can now be implemented at any time.

Has the time for the fulfillment of this prophecy arrived?” The site asks visitors to sign an online petition vowing not to vote for any candidate who does not commit to repealing the Real ID Act. The goal, states the site, which is sponsored by Endtime Ministries, is to get 100,000 signatures on the petition. On the site is a link to purchase a DVD entitled “666 – How Close? Will the National ID Become the Mark of the Beast?” Americans choosing not to carry a national ID, the site warns, will be prohibited from driving a car, boarding a plane, train or bus, entering any federal building, opening a bank account, or possibly from holding a job.

“This is probably our last chance to head off the mechanism before it is actually implemented as the mark,” states the site in the FAQ section. “It truly may be now or never.” The Real ID Act requires states to participate in a federal data-sharing program when issuing driver’s licenses, making those licenses de facto national ID cards. Touted as a tool of the war on terrorism, the ID card provision of the law, which also includes border-security measures, has attracted the most negative attention.

After May 11, 2008, “a federal agency may not accept, for any official purpose, a driver’s license or identification card issued by a State to any person unless the State is meeting the requirements” specified in the Real ID Act. While states can issue non-federal ID cards, they would not be accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for travel purposes, grounding those who don’t carry federally approved cards. The data required to be included in each card are, among other things, the person’s full legal name, date of birth, gender, driver’s license number, a digital photo, the person’s address and machine-readable technology so the information can be ready easily by government or banking personnel.

Each state must agree to share the data on the cards with every other state. Supporters of the law say it does not require a “national” ID card because each state issues its own cards, not the federal government. But detractors note the cards are virtual national IDs since the federal law has dictated what data must be included and that each state must share its database with the others. The New Hampshire Senate yesterday voted to reject a bill to rebel against the Real ID system and not participate in a pilot program for which the state had been tapped.

The state House of Representatives passed the measure last month, but the Senate instead voted to study the driver’s license requirements. U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., is urging his home state to give Real ID a try, saying it’s needed to keep terrorists and illegal aliens from entering the country. According to the Manchester Union Leader, Gregg argues that New Hampshire residents will find it difficult to get on airplanes or enter federal buildings if New Hampshire doesn’t embrace Real ID. Groups opposed to the Real ID Act are making strange bedfellows, with Christians like those running NoNationalID.com fighting on the same side with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sponsors the website RealNightmare.org.

The ACLU site decries the fact that a motor vehicles department staff person will be required to ask for immigration-status papers from those applying for driver’s licenses. “REAL ID will inevitably cause discrimination against U.S. citizens who may ‘look’ or ’sound’ foreign to a DMV bureaucrat,” states the site. “REAL ID requires DMV employees to decide whether someone is a citizen or foreigner before issuing a driver’s license. The law demands that DMV bureaucrats distinguish among citizens, permanent resident immigrants and other non-citizens in deciding who is eligible for a license and what type of license may be issued.

“Based on past experience when similar requirements were imposed on employers, widespread discrimination resulted against citizens who ‘looked’ or ’sounded’ foreign.” The civil-liberties group also slams a requirement of the law that some immigrants be issued a temporary “tier-two” license that has a prominent expiration date. U.S. governors also have come out against the law, saying it is a huge unfunded mandate imposed on the nation’s states.

The National Conference of State Legislatures is equally opposed to the Real ID Act, saying, “Federal legislators and rule makers are negating state driver’s license security efforts, imposing difficult-to-comply-with mandates and limiting their flexibility to address new concerns as they arise. In other words, decades of state experience is being substituted for a ‘command and control regime’ from a level of government that has no driver’s license regulatory experience.”

Endtime Ministries’ Irvin Baxter, a radio host, believes the national ID is a precursor to the forced embedding of radio-frequency chips under the skin. Baxter told the Concord, N.H., Monitor: “That’s where we are headed right now. The prophecy states that you will have to receive a mark on your hand or in your forehead.” Homeland Security officials released long-delayed guidelines that turn state-issued identification cards into de facto internal passports Thursday, estimating the changes will cost states and individuals $23 billion over 10 years.

The move prompted a new round of protest from civil libertarians and security experts, who called on Congress to repeal the 2005 law known as the Real ID Act that mandates the changes. Critics, such as American Civil Liberties Union attorney Tim Sparapani, charge that the bill increases government access to data on Americans and amplifies the risk of identity theft, without providing significant security benefits. “Real ID creates the largest single database about U.S. people that has ever been created,” Sparapani said.

“This is the people who brought you long lines at the DMV marrying the people at DHS who brought us Katrina. It’s a marriage we need to break up.” Homeland Security officials point to the 9/11 hijackers’ ability to get driver’s licenses in Virginia using false information as justification for the sweeping changes. “Raising the security standards on driver’s licenses establishes another layer of protection to prevent terrorists from obtaining and using fake documents to plan or carry out an attack,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a press release.

The 162 pages of proposed rules (.pdf) require: * Applicants must present a valid passport, certified birth certificate, green card or other valid visa documents to get a license and states must check all other states’ databases to ensure the person doesn’t have a license from another state. * States must use a card stock that glows under ultraviolet light, and check digits, hologramlike images and secret markers. * Identity documents must expire before eight years and must include legal name, date of birth, gender, digital photo, home address and a signature. States can propose ways to let judges, police officers and victims of domestic violence keep their addresses off the cards. There are no religious exemptions for veils or scarves for photos. * States must keep copies of all documents, such as birth certificates, Social Security cards and utility bills, for seven to 10 years. However, many difficult questions, such as how state databases will be linked or how homeless people can get identity documents, were left unanswered by the proposed rules. Citizens of states that don’t abide by the guidelines will not be able to enter federal courthouses or use their identity cards to board a commercial flight. Sophia Cope, a staff attorney at the centrist Center for Democracy and Technology, says the rules only mention privacy once.

“The Real ID Act does not include language that lets DHS prescribe privacy requirements, so there are no privacy regulations related to exchange of personal information between the states, none about skimming of the data on the magnetic stripe, and no limits on use of information by the feds,” Cope said. The Real ID Act, slipped into an emergency federal funding bill without hearings, originally required states to begin issuing the ID documents by May 2008. The proposed rules allow states to ask for an extension until Jan. 1, 2010. Cope wants Congress to step in and rewrite the rules.

The ACLU and Jim Harper, a libertarian policy analyst at the Cato Institute who specializes in identity and homeland security issues, agree. “With five-plus years behind us, now is the time to be looking at what works and what doesn’t work,” Harper said. “Students of identification know that a national ID does not help with security.” Maine has already declared it will not follow the rules, and other states are close to joining that rebellion. In Congress, a bipartisan coalition is forming around bills that would repeal portions of the Real ID Act, but it is unclear if today’s rules will slow or accelerate these efforts.

This Christmas…(originally posted December 21, 2007)

well, it’s the weekend before Christmas and i wanted to take a few to tell y’all how much my correspondence and friendships with each of you mean to me. some of you i’ve had the opportunity to get to know really well, and others not quite yet(but there’s a new year around the corner for that)..

i hope that, through all the festivities and chaos, that you’re all able to get breaths in every once in awhile and enjoy this time with frenz and family. i’m going to try my best to get some personal messages out to some of you over the next few days as well, but knowing the timeline and what lies ahead here this weekend, that may be a little ruff..thus the message here

for those that are able to be with the ones you love and like, enjoy yer time..and remember those that aren’t and can’t be with theirs this Christmas…

to those serving in any and all the armed forces around the world, wherever you are..know that yer in the hearts, thoughts and prayers of many of us back here at home..and at the risk of sounding like a skipping cd, thank you again so much for yer service, commitment and sacrifice on behalf of all of us.

God bless each and everyone of you this Christmas! d

So This Is Christmas…(originally posted December 24, 2007)

…the house is filled with laughter; friends and family everywhere, Christmas music can be heard playing in the background..

kids running everywhere, all jacked up on the sugar in their veins, playing with as many of their new toys as possible; you look around and see the images of Christmas everywhere you turn, this is all a memory in the making..

you try hard to smile through the feelings that are sitting just below the surface, those old, familiar pangs of loneliness, resentment, pain and sadness..

the house is filled with the scent of cookies made fresh the night before, and of the food being prepared for the dinner celebration..with so much commotion and activity, you find it hard to see how those feelings of unrest can even be present on a day such as this..

..your mind wanders miles away to where yer family is, and wonders what they’re doing right now as you think of them..is there joy, is there laughter? or is there that shared sense of disappointment and uneasiness that somehow manages to keep itself latched onto you, like a piece of tinsel caught in the fibers of yer clothing..

you find yerself longing for peace, for comfort…and joy.

knowing that you’ve come out of a past where alcohol and drugs were the temporary fix for what you were dealing with, and knowing you didn’t and couldn’t go back to any of that again..

knowing the negative outcome of what such abuse would bring. instead, you find yerself on yer knees, crying..crying out to the Lord to just get you through this.

this holiday is about Jesus’ birth, and the gift that God gave to us when He sent His Son to become our saviour and king..a time that should be filled with such happiness and joy yet, millions the world over, spend these next two days in a mindframe that He would never want for His children..

when this day should be about joy and sharing and love, its often found to produce sorrow and selfishness and hate.

the enemy has come to steal our joy..however he can manage it; he has come to cause separation, to create tension, and to take from us the very thing that God offers each of us(not only at Christmas, but every day of our lives)…and that is His love, His peace, His gift of love..

the spirits of the enemy have been dispatched among us, to wreak havoc and help to destroy the true meaning of Christmas..

www.lordsmessage.com

How the enemy stole Christmas…(originally posted December 25, 2007)

this has honestly been one of the roughest Christmases i’ve ever known.. things changed in my plans about a week ago, when my mom(who i was planning on being with over the two days) informed me that she wasn’t up to the visit, or celebrating this year at all, and initially i even found strength through the Lord with the situation, knowing it was all in His hands, and no matter what that there had to be a reason for it..

so the next few days were alright.. then friday of last week, a friend of ours came a day early for our celebration on saturday, and two of us in the house really felt the presence of some kind of something.

she felt a spirit of lewdness, and i detected spirits of complacency and despair.. the house was hopping on saturday, but there was still this overwhelming sense of something..and even being surrounded with lots of friends, i felt utterly lonely and kept trying to shake it..and even through prayer, something still has lingered all the way thru today.

at what should be one of the happiest times of the year, i’ve had four or five of the hardest days of my Christian walk to date…been on my knees, in prayer, in tears..and still have felt completely overwhelmed.

i try so hard to have broad shoulders thru all this, and have gone to the Lord with it each day feeling incapable of making it thru this. i’m sorry to lay this on ya, it’s been so rough..and normally, i’d take it to Him and leave it there, without even mentioning it to anyone..

i know He’s there, i know He hasn’t left my side..and yet, i just haven’t been able to shake this feeling that the enemy stole my joy this year..i dunno, anyways, thx for hearing me on this..

Concerns and Issues (part three)

I recently decided to go back and dig through my past blogs, and include them here..putting them in order of a timeline that begins back in August of 2007 up to the present, so that it gives an idea of what personal and social issues have weighed on me enough to put them to paper(so-to-speak)…

Ode to the Fallen…

i remember the day you left standing proud and strong among so many soldiers ready to embark on a life and career full of adventure

if it ever crossed your mind you may never come home again you never let me know you never said goodbye

i remember the day you deployed walking tall and honorable among so many soldiers ready to face whatever challenges were ahead

if it ever kept you up at night thinking you might not return you never once let me hear it in your voice you never said goodbye

i remember each call and how everything froze you were always the one among so many soldiers whose return i awaited so impatiently

all the times i waited for your letter in my morning mail they made it easier to get through each day you never said goodbye

when i heard from your parents about what had happened you were one of the fallen among so many soldiers whose face and voice would forever be in my memory

i remember those days that seemed like they went on forever and when i think back from time to time, i realize you never said goodbye

Honouring my dad…(originally posted November 2007)

THIS IS A POST I DID A FEW WEEKS BACK:

hey my frenz, as some of you may know (whether you know me personally or you’ve read some of my blogs), i haven’t had a real or the best relationship with my dad for the majority of my life…up until the last few months, it’s always been kinda strained or non-existent…

my dad has had a stroke, and it doesn’t look good… he’s not saved, at all…and is under the popular belief that God (or whatever supreme being) won’t punish him, because he’s generally a “good person”…

this is breaking my heart…i don’t wanna lose him, i’ve never really had him… but, i know its all in the Lord’s hands and His will…

my dad is a proud man, to a fault… he’s recently had a stroke, and his pride could be his downfall.

his dad, not his biological one…but his dad nevertheless, was a pastor, he was a missionary to the native americans in the pacific northwest my entire life up until the point that he passed away 10 years ago… my grandpa was so well respected and loved by the spokane tribe that they honoured him by burying him among their elders, only the second white man in history with that honor…it was a moving weekend to see how much he meant to those incredible people i’d been raised around most of my life…

my dad grew up in and around the churches where my grandpa preached, and he recently told me that he was the last great Christian that he knew… the following is a response to an email i received from him not that long ago-

“So sad to hear all the drama surrounding your life right now I pray very seldom, but I will think of you constantly and wish for the very best for you. The last very Holy and Christian person that I’ve known in manner, morals, and in deed was my Father. I’ve been very disillusioned by people around me professing to be Christian, and yet seem to the least trustworthy of all my acquaintances. The best and most reliable people I know include my beer drinking, cursing Biker friends that are always there when one of their friends really needs solace, comfort, or financial help. There isn’t even one person in my circle of friends that I consider a ‘Friend’, that hasn’t earned that respect from me, nor would they want to be my friend if I hadn’t earned their respect from my actions toward them and others.. I do believe there is an entity greater than humankind, and that ‘Supreme Being’ will not send you to Hell if you spend your life not intentionally hurting others. All else, is human nature and forgiveable I try to pattern my life after my father, but fail in that attempt a lot. No rumors, no gossip. I don’t intentionally say or do anything to hurt or defame anyone. Everything said to me is kept in confidence, unless told otherwise. I don’t get involved in anything that would harm me or anyone else. I do not ‘Judge’. It’s not for me to live anyone elses life for them, or even think about telling them how to live. I don’t profess to be a ‘CHRISTIAN and Love Jesus’, I just try to be a good person end of email.

…and now he’s had a stroke, and i don’t know what’s going on inside of him, and i really have to leave it in the Lord’s hands…i keep praying the Lord sends someone his way that he’ll listen to…

please keep this son of a preacher man in yer prayers… and to those of you who have already responded, i can’t tell you how much yer prayers mean to me right now…thanks so much.

well, i wanted to take a few to get back to all of you that have been asking about my dad’s condition after his recent stroke last week… i just got off the phone (with his girlfriend), and he’s not doing great…he’s barely doing good. i have to know that this has all happened for reasons only God is aware of, whether it be to slow my dad down enough to open his heart and make him realize he’s not bulletproof, and there’s a need in my dad’s life for a relationship with the Lord before it’s too late…

when i say he’s lived a rock and roll lifestyle for years, it’s no stretch of the truth. he’s run with rock stars and movie stars, he’s been entertained by corporate ceos, his best friend was a major league pitcher for many years, he’s had his own company that sold designs to fao schwarz (artwork was in the movie “big”), helped construct amusement parks, worked for and retired from boeing’s special projects, piloted his own aircraft, and so on… all things that any man could be proud of, but that only lasts for so long… and God doesn’t like pride, and my dad has been very much that way his entire life…

his biological father committed suicide when he was younger, but his “dad”, who he’d had in his life from a very early age, was a pastor and missionary to the spokane tribe…so, my dad had a great Christian influence in his life for many years…and, still has continued to deny a need for Jesus in his life…

i love him, but for many years, i held a major grudge and had a chip on my shoulder in regards to him and the (lack of a) relationship that we had… that changed 10 years ago when i went through almost 2 years of probation and drug rehab, and realized there wasn’t any reason to continue being unforgiving towards him…and then, 3 months ago…i started praying for him everyday, as i still hadn’t honored him as a son should.

yeah, i love him.

i don’t know what the outcome of this will be, but as i said earlier…i know God has everything in His plan, that’s why i just need to trust in Him that my dad will come out of this alright.

so, his memory has been affected, there’s almost full paralysis on one side, he’s got no motivation to do anything, nor does he want anyone to really know what’s happened…sorry, dad

he is supposed to be starting physical therapy here soon, and that will help with the motor skills… he is still his stubborn self, so that’s a positive sign, i guess…cause that’s the man i remember, know, and love…

my prayer is for full recovery, and that he sees his need for salvation…

i don’t know how to feel, i’m really having kind of a rough time with this, cause i want to have the right things to say, i want to have the right answers for him when the time comes…

i just need to let God open the doors and remain faithful that things will happen in His time.

i hope this all makes sense…it’s hard to know how to deal with something like this when it comes to someone that you’ve only known to be “invincible” your entire life…

i want you all to know how much i’ve appreciated the many, many prayers that have been offered and sent up, and the well wishes and thoughts… it means so much to me, more than i’ll ever be able to let you know…

the friendships that i have with each one of you mean SO much… anyways, i just wanted to let ya know what was up have a great night and week and God bless you all so much…

yer bro in Christ, d

“The Golden Compass” (originally posted November 2007)

i want to make this absolutely clear that my posting of this is not taking a stance of supporting this movie, and heralding it as a good thing, but rather…the exact opposite.

what i have posted, which follows below, are articles from sites that are promoting this movie and the accompanying materials that are being distributed to our public schools.

please be aware that i am not for this, but reposting it so as to raise awareness as to how this movie and the trilogy it is taken from is being promoted.

i’ve already received some very negative feedback from some of you, that think i’m pushing this as a good thing…not getting defensive here, just letting you know that what follows is a repost…not my words (beyond my name)…

so, before you start tossing scriptures my direction, please realize that i’m doing this as a “concern for the kids”…i appreciate your comments, but please make sure you are aware of the fact that i’m not in support of this movie/book/author. thanks and have a great day…

God bless, d

Welcome Teachers! We hope you enjoy this language arts program featuring The Golden Compass, the soon-to-be-released film based on the multi-award-winning novel by Philip Pullman.

You’ll find turnkey, skill-building materials on symbolism and characterization that help students understand the relevance of literary themes in their lives. The lessons and activities, while connected to the book and film, can be taught independently to supplement any language arts curriculum. There’s also an amazing student sweepstakes: Grades 8-12 students can enter for a chance to win a Hometown Movie Screening or one of 500+ other prizes!

OBJECTIVE 1. By studying provided examples, as well as studying their own personal choices, students come to understand that a symbol is a representation of a bigger idea or “truth.” 2. Students study character traits and use critical-thinking skills to build their understanding of characterization.

On November 2, 2007, Philip Pullman appeared on the Today Show to talk about his book The Golden Compass and answer questions. He responds to the claim that his books are anti-Catholic, and asserts that he is not promoting atheism in The Golden Compass.

Read his responses. Literary debate and analysis of the meaning of Pullman’s books has gone on in schools and colleges worldwide since The Golden Compass was first published more than ten years ago. Take, for example, this comment from Father P.S. Naumann, S.J., a lifelong educator from upstate New York who wrote, “Teaching English for thirty odd years in a Jesuit high school, I kept looking for a contemporary novel that could, would, and should provoke questions and discussions.

Philip Pullman’s book is an eye-opener and window-opener that can bring kids, parents, and teachers together to talk. The windows in our own minds, and in our own Church, open onto a secular society and a multi-cultural world, as Pope John XXIII knew.

How to deal with that? Sooner or later students will open windows for themselves; it’s part of growing up. If they don’t ask any questions in the process, we may have lost our opportunity.

The Golden Compass will help in that direction, and if the book brings kids and parents together to discuss important ideas, think of the good it is doing.” The Golden Compass is the first book in Pullman’s critically acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials.

It describes the otherworldly adventures of Lyra and her companions. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass complete the trilogy. Lyra Belacqua’s carefree life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors.

First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems.

Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped friend, Roger. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called “Gobblers”—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person’s inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

The Golden Compass was originally published as Northern Lights in 1995 when it won the Carnegie Medal for childrenÂ?s fiction published in Britain that year. In 2007, it was named the “Carnegie of Carnegies,” voted by readers the best Carnegie winner of the last 70 years. Dubbed by many as the “next Lord of the Rings,” The Golden Compass will hit the big screen on December 7, 2007, and has already been heralded by Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly as one of the next big movie events.

The film is set in an alternative world where peopleÂ?s souls manifest themselves as animals, and where armoured polar bears fight over a throne and beautiful but deadly witches must choose sides in a coming war. Starring Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, it promises lots of action and special effects to bring the world of His Dark Materials stunningly to life.

An Emboldened ‘Compass’ By Tom Gilson 11/16/2007 Anti-God, Anti-Church at School Last week, a local school counselor loaned us material from the Scholastic publishing company, promoting curriculum resources based on the upcoming movie and the already-published book, The Golden Compass. The materials were impressive—a gorgeously designed 31-by-21-inch poster of the movie, including an invitation for students to take part in an “Amazing Student Sweepstakes,” and on the back of it, a set of curriculum resources based on the book—all at completely no charge to schools or teachers. (The poster and teaching materials are on Scholastic’s website.)

If it seems somewhat unusual for a curriculum company to be promoting a movie, that’s not the strangest thing about it. The Golden Compass is the first book in Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy.

And what are these “dark materials”? Readers can get a very quick overview of the series through the (quite accurate) plot summaries at SparkNotes online.

There, for example, we learn about “intercision,” a plot feature of the The Golden Compass. What is this “intercision?” The answer really can’t be quoted on this page. You may go to SparkNotes to find out, but be sure no young children are looking over your shoulder. (Note that SparkNotes draws its interpretation on that point from the second book as well as the first.)

Yet Scholastic wants schools to teach this material to our children. And they surely don’t want them to stop at the first book. The second book is entitled The Subtle Knife. That happens to be the name of the one weapon that can kill God.

The third book tells us that God is relieved to be killed. He’s a rather pathetic character, tired of all the responsibility, “half-crazed with age and infirmity,” in SparkNotes’ words. He had been rather mixed up about things all along, though. The Satan figure in the trilogy was the one who brought freedom to humans. God—and the dominating, violent, fearful church—fought against this freedom.

Pullman cheers for their downfall. He has said so not only in his fiction, but also in interviews. The books, he says, are “about killing God.” Pullman’s God is fictional, and we must hasten to note that the actual God is not concerned about death threats that might be made against Him.

The real concern is for students who will have this dark material forced on them in schools. Scholastic is by far the top source of reading materials for American schools. What they market, schools buy.

One might wonder what they stand to gain from giving these expensive materials away. Well, it’s not really all that hard to figure out. The poster says the materials are “generously sponsored by New Line Cinema.” Generous, indeed, that they would co-opt an educational company to advertise their film for them? But it’s not entirely a co-optation—for Scholastic co-produced the film.

It’s all bound to sell a lot of books, of course, and Scholastic will gladly handle that transaction for your child, too. Does this seem like a company that has students’ and schools’ best interests at heart?

There is word on the Web that the anti-God theme has been toned down for the movie; and that theme is expressed much more strongly in the second and third books than the first, anyway. So is there any reason to make a fuss over this first book, and the movie? Yes, because the first book in a trilogy, if it is at all interesting, is (among other things) the strongest possible advertisement for the second and third. It’s impossible to promote only the first.

Who could stop reading The Lord of the Rings just when the Fellowship separated, at the close of the first book? Moreover, the anti-Church, anti-Biblical elements of even the first book are plenty strong. The Church is presented as highly controlling and evil; and this is not some other-world, purely fantastical church with no connection to our own world.

In Chapter 16 we learn of its “Vatican Council.” In Chapter 19 a character speaks of being “baptized as a Christian” in Geneva. Chapter 2 tells us the last Pope in this world was John Calvin, which in another context would be knee-slapping hilarious, but here contributes to the strength of the connection this fictional world has to our real one.

One of the prominent themes of the book is “Dust,” a mysterious “charged particle” from the sky. In the closing chapters of the book, the protagonist, Lyra, finally learns that Dust is “the physical evidence for original sin”; and Dust is what powers her “alethiometer” (the golden-colored, compass-looking device for which the book is named).

From the Greek, alethiometer means “truth-measurer.” It is a device she consults, through a kind of clairvoyant process, to learn secrets and discover truths; it never lies or misleads. Dust and the alethiometer—central symbols in this book—together send the clear message that truth is measured by the power of original sin.

In the closing pages, Lyra decides that Dust is a good thing after all, and she determines to go on and defend this original sin against the Church. Thus we are ushered into the second book.

This is certainly not a message we want our children to take to heart. Still, we cannot lose sight of the fact that Pullman is working on our turf when he tells his tale. I’ll gladly stand up our story against his!

The story of Christ has drama, it has strong characters, it has relevance, it has a truly stupendous surprise ending—in short, all the elements of great story. Best of all, it’s not fiction. It happened!

So we need not respond defensively, or with anger, or by picketing the movie, or with any of the worldly methods Paul warned against in 2 Corinthians 10. This is the time—especially since the movie is coming out at Christmastime—for us to tell the true story of Jesus Christ, in love and with a positive tone.

Yet there is a limit, and Christian parents ought to stand guard on behalf of the next generation. The Golden Compass—book or movie—does not belong in our schools. Tom Gilson is director of strategic processes in the Operational Advisory Services team for Campus Crusade for Christ. He maintains a blog at www.thinkingchristian.net..

For Further Reading and Information Tom Gilson’s Discussion on The Golden Compass, Thinking Christian. Tom Gilson, “Coming Soon To Your Child’s School: Hostility Toward God and Church, Heavily Promoted,” Thinking Christian, 30 October 2007. “Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass,” Scholastic, 2 November 2007. Gina Dalfonzo, “The Impoverished Imagination,” BreakPoint WorldView, March 2004. Gina Dalfonzo, “Tone Matters,” The Point, 2 November 2007. Gina Dalfonzo, “’Pied Piper of Atheism’,” The Point, 15 November 2007.

This Thanksgiving…(originally posted November 2007)

i am so thankful for so many things this year…

God has blessed me so much, with so many things! and if ya knew my circumstances, you’d probably laugh and wonder why i’m thankful at all, as there is so very little i have, in the sense of material things… but, that’s not where the blessings have been…

i have to, first of all, thank Him for what He’s done for me…daily. thanksgiving day shouldn’t be the only day i/we are thankful for what we have…

i thank Him daily for each of the friendships i have been blessed with. alot of you know me in “real life”;), but most of you, so far, i’ve only had the opportunity to get to know through here…that’ll all change when we go home, i guarantee but, just with the conversations that i’ve had with alot of you, especially today with yer comments and replies;), i’ve grown to really appreciate and look forward to our banter back and forth…

i’m thankful to God for the blessings of good and real friendships, compared to what i thought i had lost this past summer…

I’m thankful to Him for deliverance of many things that had me in bondage in the past, up until just four months ago…

i’m thankful to Him for a clear head, an open heart, a body reserved for Him, and no desire to return to any of the things of the past…as He has saved me…

i’m just thankful that there’s another day still to share with others all He’s done and continues to do for me…and what He’s able and willing to do for all of us…and, i’m thankful you took a moment to read this, as i don’t have your phone number or else i would have called to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving

God bless you all so much…

yer bro in Him, d

Concerns and issues (part two)

I recently decided to go back and dig through my past blogs, and include them here..putting them in order of a timeline that begins back in August of 2007 up to the present, so that it gives an idea of what personal and social issues have weighed on me enough to put them to paper(so-to-speak)…

The Letter from Jesus…

Hey, do you have some time? I know you are busy and have a lot to do today, But I was wondering when we could talk?

I was hoping we could spend some time this morning after you woke up, I just had so many things to share with you, but you were in a hurry..i understand, and so I waited.

I was there when you were done with your day, and was looking forward to spending some time with you then, but you’d made plans with friends, and i understand..so I waited for you to talk with Me afterwards.

By then, it was late and you were tired and needed rest..you do know you can always rest in Me…but, I’ll be here whenever you need Me..I’ll always be here for you.

You see I love you, and I miss you, and I just wanted to remind you that I am here for you. I know you say that you feel alone but did you forget me? I have been trying to talk to you every day.

It pains me to see you so lost and sad when all you have to do is call me. I just wanted to remind you I love you no matter what I will always love you. I will never leave you.

So when you find the time I would love to talk to you again.

Love Jesus.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30

Time of Tears (originally posted September 2007)

Lord, all i want is You in my life to open my heart and show me Your light Lord, to be free of these things You are my everything

I walk and i stumble Before You i humble myself at the feet of Your throne Oh, on my face prostrate Cry out Lord, i can’t wait i can’t do this anymore on my own

You are my Master My wonderful Savior Your grace and Your mercy i’ve known

Oh please Jesus help me to be what You’d have me to be no longer alone

The tears run down streaming Yes Lord, i’m believing Don’t want to go through it again

To You i surrender my all and forever i thank You, my wonderful friend

I know why they call His grace amazing…(originally posted October 2007)

i’ve just recently started reading dr. charles stanley’s book “landmines in the paths of believers”, and he reminds us in there of the weapons in the enemy’s arsenal, and the two that come to mind right off the bat are guilt and fear of unforgiveness by God.
we know that when we sin, it builds up a tension between God and us, as He doesn’t want for us to go through what consequences that sin brings…but when we repent and ask forgiveness, He makes it known to us that He is there, if we just seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.
the enemy thrives on our sorrows and insecurities and struggles, and if we fall into temptation…he has a field day with the ensuing results which are guilt (that we went against God’s law and sinned anyway), and the idea that there isn’t forgiveness (that what we’ve done THIS time was too much or that this was the last straw) from God, however as children of the Lord, we know that this is not true, but a tactic of the devil to discourage us, and make us want to give up or to get depressed or whatever other option we might choose, rather than to turn back to God immediately, and just dwell in His peace and reassurance…the enemy doesn’t want that, yet he tries time and time again to make us believe that God is so angry and done with us that there’s no chance of salvation, that we’re worthless…
i heard sometime ago, in a sermon ( and i wish i could remember whose, even though its not of any real importance), that we all have the major sins or struggles in our lives that we’re overly-aware of, and that those are the ones that we sometimes focus on the most, and that’s when the enemy can slip into the cracks with the smaller ones that we may not be as familiar with…that made sense to me, as i know i personally have had some major sin areas that i’ve prayed God’s healing and deliverance in those areas because of the familiarity with the way those particular ones have manifested themselves, and the triggers that can set those sins and/or temptations into motion…and i still have my bouts with them from time to time, as i did today. however, God refines us in such a way that not everyone is immediately healed and delivered from these things at the same time…
my praise report is that God HAS delivered me of my decades-old drug addiction(s), there is absolutely no desire (because of His awesome power) to ever use again, and i thank Him so much for that…not even a question that i would be tempted again in that area, so deliverance did come for me there, but i know that some of us may still struggle with that particular area in our lives…hang on, stay true to your faith in Him, and He will eventually deliver you from those things…
i’ve heard it said again and again that one of the reasons why we aren’t completely delivered of all things sometimes isn’t due, necessarily, to lack of faith or God’s unwillingness to hold true to His promise for us…but that in refining us in certain areas, it’s actually making us stronger (in Him).
that’s so hard to wrap my mind around sometimes, especially in light of the type of day i had…but as the evening has come around, and i’ve had the chance to spend some time in His Word, and doing my devotionals, listening to some worship music, and crying out to Him…i really realize and know why His grace is so amazing. with any of the mistakes i’ve made, He still loves me.
with any of the falls i may have, He’s still there…
just wanted to share this with ya…
on that note,
have a great night and God bless each of you,

yer bro in Christ,
d

Concerns and issues (part one)

I recently decided to go back and dig through my past blogs, and include them here..putting them in order of a timeline that begins back in August of 2007 up to the present, so that it gives an idea of what personal and social issues have weighed on me enough to put them to paper(so-to-speak)…

The backstory (originally posted August 2007)

some of my new friends here have been asking to hear my story, some of you already know it… so here goes…

I was born in Olympia, Washington (named Time magazine’s “hippest town in the West” back in the 90s), and raised all over the Puget and South Sound area growing up.

Some of my earliest memories are of spending each summer with my dad’s parents in Eastern Washington (grandpa was a preacher, and grandma stood by his side), who were missionaries to the Spokane Tribe of Native Americans. Some of my earliest crushes were on the little Indian girls from the bible camp we used to attend during the summer. I remember the tabernacle meetings, complete with sawdust floors, old wooden pews, and even older hymnals…and the incredible people who would attend these good, old-fashioned bible meetings on warm, summer nights.

My parents separated and divorced when i was pretty young, and from that point on…the relationship between my dad and i became more distant and strained, as the relationship between he and my mom wasn’t all that great. From about age 7, i saw him less and less, and mom and i moved a number of times in the few years that followed their divorce. We ended up back in oly right about the time of the bicentennial (’76), and lived within close proximity to most of her family, including my grandma fox (one of the most incredible Christian women i ever knew).

We started attending church around this time, and before the move back to oly..would even drive down from seattle on the weekends just to attend church services with the family. So, i’ve always kinda been raised in and around the church, and was baptized as a kid as well…but never really knew a full and real relationship with the Lord.

As i started junior high, mom and i moved to Boise, Idaho with her best friend and her two kids…and we stayed there for about two and a half years. great years. While there, she worked for HP, and i attended the private christian school that was part of the church that we attended. our pastor was Roland Buck, the man who talked with angels (his book Angels On Assignment was a best-seller) and the church was on fire with the Holy Spirit. Things changed, mom decided she wanted us to be closer to grandma and family, so a couple of days before christmas of ‘79…we moved back to oly.

Five months later, mt. st. helens blew, and i thought it was the end of the world…lol (not really). That summer, she made a re-connection with an old flame from high school and good friend of the family, and within a short period of time..they married, and i was part of a new family…complete with a step-bro and sis. Things were ok for awhile, and we bought and cleared a decent-sized piece of property south of Tumwater, wa…i remember hauling and burning scotchbroom for what seemed like ages every saturday afternoon that was decent weather-wise.

When i started high school, it was the first time in my life that i’d been at one school for more than two years in a row, kinda nice. Freshman year, i became our school’s mascot (the thunderbird), sophomore year i won the state championship for best mascot. Through this time, i’d become one of our school’s “new waver/punk rockers” as new wave was just getting off the ground here in the states, and was part of a very small demographic in a school consisting primarily of jocks, rockers, and preps…lol all the while, still attended church services with the family, and even played a synthesizer my mom had bought for me in the church choir alongside my grandma (one of the best pianists i ever heard)…but, i wasn’t walking with the Lord really at that point…just giving it alot of lip service, at best.

I got into the usual amount of trouble as a teenager, and mom did her best to keep a rein on me, but by the time my senior year rolled around…i decided i was ready to move out and experience the world on my own. I know i broke her heart that day… moved in with a buddy’s girlfriend, and that lasted for a few months, was working and going to school, and bounced around from place to place until graduation was over, but by that time…i’d already discovered the big, mysterious playground that was seattle in the early to mid-80s.

I was getting deeper and deeper into things i didn’t know anything about, and experimented with an alternative lifestyle, and got deeper into trouble (still have a nice scar on my bottom lip after all these years to remind me) by getting into nightclubs at age 19, and associating myself primarily with people of a gay, lesbian, or alternative/clubkid way of life. This continued pretty much through the remainder of the decade, and by ‘85, i’d already messed around with lsd, and began selling it, among other designer drugs that came my way, anything to be numb and make a buck…God forgive me.

I was spending my time in clubs between seattle and portland, oregon on a regular basis every chance i could…everything has a season, but there has to come a time when you just stop…you’d think, right? By ‘90, i’d started doing crystal meth intraveneously, and kept that up for about 6 years, all the while barely holding down jobs (good jobs, though), and going through the motions saying “yeah, i’m a Christian and God knows where my heart is…” how many times did i fool myself into thinking it was ok, too many to count… after a number of years of drugging, and selling, and being part of every horrible thing that goes along with that lifestyle…not to mention the countless people (mostly guys) that i shared my soul with on an intimate level, it finally came to a grinding halt in ‘96 when i got popped for drinking and driving, and got pulled over with a decent amount of marijuana in the car.

That night probably saved my life, because had it not been for that…i’d probably not be here to share this story with you. i went through almost 2 years of probation and rehab, and somewhat re-dedicated my life to the Lord at that point.

My mom, who had moved away to New York for about ten years, had decide to move back to washington…and so, we decided to give our relationship another chance, as it had been strained beyond belief over the years…and for awhile it was good, but because of my unwillingness to change…became strained again, and we went our separate ways for awhile… over the last few years, i continued on with things as usual, claiming to be Christian, yet continuing to live in the lifestyle, and never really doing anything about it, never making that step to truly walk with the Lord, to trust in Him, and to follow Him… and then, in july of 2007…that all changed.

I have never experienced the Lord and His unchanging love for me in the way that i have since then. Even being raised in the church, and giving all that lip service, and going through the motions…i never truly knew and trusted and communed with Jesus up until just recently…and i’m never turning back! Praise the Lord for being as steadfast and patient and loving and forgiving as He is… He gave His life for me, and i thank Him each and every day.

This really is just a nutshell, short version of the whole, sordid story…but i hope for those of you that were wondering, i hope you get the gist. the Lord knows the worst of it and i’ll leave it at that…

I want to close this with a great passage from Ephesians 5:8… “for you were once darkness, but now you are children of the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness…”

Ephesians 5:15… “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

I love Him so much, and want only to do what He wants me to do, and to go where He leads… God bless you all so much, and if i can ever be there in prayer or in time of need, don’t hesitate to ask… check out “What If I Stumble” by DC Talk when ya get a chance…

Getting Started (originally posted August 2007

I figured i’d take a few to give ya bit more background…and then, of course, i will add more soon. I am really stoked i found this, actually through a pastor friend of mine’s site, i’m gonna have to have a chat with him to ask why he never mentioned this one…hmmmmmm anyways, in a nutshell…from the northwest, born and raised.

I’ve been in retail and retail management for years, but started a new chapter in my life in July  when i fully gave my life to the Lord (see other blogs i’ll post later today), so just at a point in my life where i’m really seeking His will and purpose in my life every day, and i honestly, have no idea where He’s gonna lead me, but i’m following Him, without a doubt.

I was a nightclub dj for 23 years, heavily involved in the club scene and all the evils that went along with it. was also involved in an alternative lifestyle, and heavily into substance abuse…and what an amazing God we have!

I’m here to tell you that there is full deliverance from all of these things when we surrender everything to Him, repent, ask forgiveness, and start to walk in the paths that He leads us on…that’s why i’m completely open to wherever He leads, as i spent so much of my life doing things my way, and messing it up royally, and now, all i wanna do is share with others that are going through what i came out of that there’s absolute and total freedom in the healing blood of Jesus Christ!

Wow, ok… as stan lee wrote, ’nuff said for now love ya all, and look very forward to creating some new eternal friendships and relationships here with all of you God bless you much and have a great weekend… yer bro in Christ, d

Growth…(part one)

When i think back over what all has transpired over the past 8 months, i am humbled…and amazed at how faithful and constant God is in His blessings and promises.

Having been saved and delivered out of a lifestyle that consisted of sexual immorality, heavy substance abuse, lies and deceit, and surrounded by wicked things and people…i have come to a place in my heart and my life where i truly understand the statement “there but for the grace of God, go i”…

No matter how hard i tried to fill that void inside with drugs, or partying, or various sexual partners…nothing that i did ever gave my heart the peace and contentment as that which i’ve found only through a relationship with Him.

I’ve never had less in the way of material possessions as i do at this moment in time, and yet been so content with the circumstances and situation that i presently am…i know that he provides for His children, and He knows my needs (even before i do). That’s where the disciple complex comes into play, i guess, as i’ve been in the mindset that if it came to a place where i was asked by the Lord to pack my bag and follow wherever He wanted me to go..without hesitation, i would leave this all behind. I have such a desire in my heart to spread His love and truth to as many as He sends my way…

I know, with the events of the past few months, that God has such a purpose in my life..and that all i need to do is just be obedient to His voice. I know that He opens and closes doors, as i have been witness to some incredible happenings (and i no longer believe in coincidence)..it’s all according to His purpose and plan for my life.

…i just want to thank you, Lord

Hello world!

This initial entry is going to be somewhat brief, as I’m just getting started.  However, that will probably be changing here soon, as i get more comfortable..

I want to thank my friend, Michael, who introduced me to this site..and after reading his entries, i found myself inspired enough to begin my own.

I have a lot to say, and a short time to say it…so, with that said(hehe), i will soon be adding entries as they come to me.