A Grand Morning

A Grand Morning

Sunday, November 18, 2012

God is God


                   God is God
God Is God
So it doesnt matter
who you are,
or who you were.
                   It does matter
                   who you will be
                   Because
                   God is God
God is God
So it isnt important
what you do
or what youve done.
                   It is important
                   what you will do
                   Because
                   God is God
God is God
So it doesnt matter
how you are
or how you have been.
                   It does matter
                   how youll be
                   Because
                   God is God
God is God
So it isnt important
why you are
or why you are not.
                   It is important
                   why you are going.
                   Because
                   God is God
God is God
So it doesnt matter
where you are
or where you were.
                   It is important
                   where you end up
                   Because
                   God is God
God is God
So its not important
when you began
or when you slowed.
                   It does matter
                   when you stop.
                   Because
                   God is God

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

You and Your Words

You and your words

Your words,
like you,
can be a gift.

It is up to you
how they are
given,
how they are
presented,
and how they are
meant to be received.

You,
like your words,
can be a gift.

It is up to you,
how you give
yourself to others,
how you show
yourself in the world,
and how you
wish to be seen in the world.

You and your words.

Friday, September 21, 2012

RIVER AND WOOD

RIVER AND WOOD

            From the throne of God flows the river. It flows down from the heavens onto and into the earth. While it's flowing it reaches out to people wherever they are, and nourishes them no matter what they are doing. It nourishes that which is in all of them, a tiny seed or a spark of something so small that some don't even know that it exists within them. But no matter how small, it is being fed within this person. He or she may not know in the beginning that it even exists within, but God is constantly feeding it all that it needs, God is making it grow. Whatever is needed is given. Whatever is asked is answered. And it grows. This is the Holy Spirit, which everyone of us has within us in the beginning.
            However it's continued growth is dependent on whether we will allow it to, on whether we will allow the River to soak into us. This is something that we must do if we are to survive as something of God. Not only is the seed within us growing, we too are growing as a seed. Being fed, being nurtured, growing up as it were.
            We will grow in the Lord and become strong, we will mature in the Lord because of what He is doing, because of what He is feeding us, and what we are taking in. As we grow and mature we can put down roots into the earth that the river flows over, we can become anchored in the Word and we can grow tall and strong. We will come to be a stabilizing influence to everything and everyone near us. We will become that force that can hold the land together no matter what is happening. We can be the shade to comfort those that need it. Protection and shelter for others that come near our influence. We have the potential of becoming like that stately old tree that everyone looks at, admires, and protects when the need arises. We become what God has wanted us to be from the very beginning. We become what God has ordained for us before we even existed.
            Now in our maturity we will also begin to shed tiny bits of ourselves into the world around us. Let's say that these tiny bits of us are our seeds, not necessarily our actual physical children, they could be our spiritual children as well. These are our seeds and they are spread into the world by means that are not always under our control. All we can do is watch as they are spread beyond our influence.
            By there very nature there is something of us in them, our tiny seed, our tiny spark. Now on their own, these new tiny seeds or sparks will now be opened to receive what they will from the River and what happens then will be up to them. They have moved away, they are becoming or have become what you were in the very beginning. That small tiny seed. And with what you have put into them they too can begin a new life cycle wherever they may end up. The potential is there for such a cycle to repeat itself indefinitely, becoming infinite in its growth. First becoming a small copse of trees, and then a woods, and from there a forest, and then maybe a great forest. A forest big enough and strong enough to cover the entire surface of the earth. A covering of growth of all sizes, in all stages, bringing unbelievable strength and stability to this earth.

HOME

Home on a kite we fly
Home on a breeze we blow
Eyeing the folks below and
Watching everyone run
Each one heading
for a different place
Watching everybody hide
Each behind a different face

Home where the days are long
Back where people are free
Home where all sides agree and
Everybody has a friend
And no one has to grab
Everybody shares the love
Giving everything they have

Forever your lamp will burn
Forever home
forever
would that you'd learn
That you came with nothing
So with nothing you'll return
Home
You know you’re not alone
It’s only because you're not
at home
That you feel
so out of place
Forever your lamp will burn
Forever home
forever would that you'd learn

That you came with nothing
So with nothing you'll return
Home where all can sing
Back where the children don't cry
Home where you never ask why and
Everybody has enough and
You don't have to put on masks
Nobody has to hide

                                                    Because everyone already knows.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Theoretically Speaking

Theoretically Speaking

Theoretically speaking
I don’t think I’m wrong
But this one is true
You were for me
And I was for you

Theoretically speaking
Assumptions assumed
A conclusion drawn true
You are for me
And I am for you

Theoretically speaking
Nothing is new
Believing what’s true
You will for me
As I will for you

Theoretically speaking
A hunch and a guess
It’s truer that true
You are for me
And I am for you

Realistically speaking
No questions remain
It’s definitely true
We are together
Just me and just you

Thursday, August 23, 2012

In the Throne Room

IMAGE:

            I am in the throne room above and we are all anxiously waiting. Something is going to happen and the room is thick with tension. Not tension with a negative connotation, but an extremely intense and suppressed excitement. Everyone here wants to know something about what’s going on and as yet there doesn’t seem to be anyone with any answers. And everyone here is quietly yet urgently whispering to each other, speculating about what might happen.
I take the time to explore my surroundings with my eyes and ears. I see thousands or perhaps hundreds of thousands of people representing every era of mankind male and female, I hear a corresponding number of voices and languages.       The footwear is as varied as the people wearing them, everything from bare feet up to the most modern technically advanced running shoes that money can buy. I see wooden clogs and Indian moccasins, roman legionnaire hobnail sandals to dancers toe shoes, oxfords to deck shoes, everything in the history of footwear is represented here in one form or another. The floor that I am standing on is an amazing thing to behold but I’m afraid that it may be damaged by our milling feet.
Beneath all this mass of humanity and footwear I am seeing every kind of precious and semi-precious stone and mineral that might possibly exist. And mixed right in with them are all the semi-precious minerals as well. Everything ranging
from brilliant diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire to the more subdued jades, carnelians and turquoises, I see marble of all colours, limestone and granite, basalt and even snowflake obsidian. Everything is here. This is really impressive to see as it is, but I’m also seeing pieces of wood among the minerals, I can identify ebony and walnut, oak and maple, there are light woods and dark. All the hardwoods and softwoods seem to be presented within all the minerals. There is also gold and silver and platinum, copper and zinc, brass and steel, all of the naturally occurring metals as well as manufactured ones. Everything is here in some form or another.
Right now as I look down at my feet I cannot see any discernible pattern or design. Just a seemingly constantly moving and flickering floor made up of every colour imaginable. Although what I can see directly seems to be a random design, I know what the overall image really is of.
This piece of floor that I’m viewing is in reality just the tiniest section of a much larger picture of the universe, the whole thing, in every detail, a two dimensional representation of infinity, perhaps even stretching to infinity itself. I think maybe even stretching beyond what I imagine as reality. I think that if I got down on my hands and knees with the most powerful microscope that ever existed I might be able to just barely perceive our galaxy as the tiniest speck within the floor. This floor is a good match for the room that contains it, huge and very impressive without being overpowering to the mind (at least not to my mind yet). The scale is deceptive, when first looking around, with thousands or perhaps even tens or hundreds of thousands of people, it kind of seems a little crowded, but I come to realize the people here are only filling a relatively small portion of it. If I was twice my height and could look over the heads of the masses to the sides of me and behind me the walls and floor would fade into invisibility beyond the bodies because of the distances involved. Directly in front of me not too far away there is a wall with a stepped dais against it and a relatively small throne on top of that. The wall itself is ornate with an exceptional golden hue, a golden bluish pinkish grey that seems to colour shift as you watch it, like a golden mother of pearl combined with opal. There are fancy decorative features on the wall spread evenly across the whole thing and where the dais and the wall meet or around what looks like a window it’s just a little fancier. This large window is just showing black so what might be on the other side is totally unknown to us that are looking. Behind the throne but in front of the window is a large work table, made out of a highly figured wood (maybe olive wood or snake wood) of medium darkness, on the table top there are tools of some kind with one closed book and three loosely rolled scrolls.
            I am in this throne room with everyone else but there is no one on the throne, there is nobody there, it’s empty. But I can feel that although it is showing itself as being empty it is not unoccupied.
            The throne itself is not very ornate, and although it is a golden colour I can’t say that it is actually gold. It reminds me of some of the thrones of European royalty with a low back and seat, the cushioning on the seat is an iridescent white, iridescent blue on the arms and iridescent black on the back.  The actual structure of the throne itself is covered with small vines and leaves over all, highly detailed in all aspects. A small matching foot stool sits directly in front of the throne with a white cushion on top. The dais on which the throne sits seems to be a simple structure, more like a stage. The steps (there are six steps up to the top of the platform) cover the front and both sides of the dais. Each step is fronted with an elaborate geometric design (seemingly worked in gold and silver with the occasional gemstone for highlight) running the full length front and sides. Each step has a different pattern carved into it. The top surface of each step and the top of the dais is floored the same as the floor on which we stand. I imagine that looking from above the raised platform would disappear altogether because of the matching main floor.
Now looking up, the ceiling above all of this is difficult to describe because of its distance from the floor. To me they seem drapery like but they might just as well be dark billowing clouds. No details but always a constant movement within.   
            Now I notice a shuffling disturbance behind me in the crowd and I turn around to look. That’s when the people behind me separate to expose a little child walking (actually more like waddling) towards me. He or she (I’m not really sure) looks to be about two or two and a half years old with the most impressive head of dark curly hair partially obscuring a pair of huge light coloured eyes.
This child is the epitome of the description of an angelic child. He looks directly into my face and my heart feels like it’s going to jump out of my chest. He come right up to me and gently pushes me aside and continues through the crowd towards the front of the room.
            When I next see him he is on the steps below the throne, moving up them as any small child would climb steps that are too big, going up on all fours until he reaches the top of the platform. There he stands waving joyously at us seemingly quite proud of his accomplishment. Then he toddles to the throne and proceeds to climb up onto that as well.
            Everyone around me goes silent as he finally perches himself in the seat with his tiny legs and feet dangling over the edge, still waving and smiling even more.
About half the people are beginning to murmur asking,
“Who is this child?” “What’s going on?” “How did this child get in here?”
“Why is he on the throne?” “Where did this little one come from?” “When will he leave?” “Should he be doing that?”
Now as one half are asking these questions the other half are just watching the whole show of the child smiling and waving and clapping on the throne. These people begin to smile, one by one, until the others start to notice. Again silence grows until the only noise that can be heard is what is coming from the throne. Now everyone is smiling and just watching this child enjoying himself, as if he is the only one in the room.
Now I notice that the anxiety and tension that was so strong before is gone, everyone present is intently observing this beautiful child, wanting to see what he’s going to do next. With everyone watching the youngster raises his hand and quietly says something into the air. I don’t know if anyone heard what he said, I couldn’t because I was too far away. After he spoke he just stood on the throne with his hand in the air looking out above us into the distance.
Then we all heard a horrendous screech from above and behind us and a huge eagle flew low over the masses toward the upheld hand. Now this bird was huge, at least three times the size of the boy and he just stood there seemingly waiting for this giant bird of prey. But as the eagle was approaching the boy it was changing, it was shrinking and changing as it flew, the closer it got to the boy the smaller it got and the whiter it got. By the time it reached the boy, it had turned into a small white dove, small enough to rest quite comfortably on his hand as he brought it down to gently stroke it.
Now the dam broke and everyone began to talk and yell and jump up and down, some even began to sing with the music (I have no idea where that came from), others to dance. “It’s Him”, some said. “He’s back”, said others. A thousand people going crazy all at once with joyful abandon can make a lot of noise but it all stopped at the crack of thunder that blasted the room, when the rumble finally stopped, the boy looked up and said in a whisper “Daddy here”, and a quietly rumbling voice filled the room saying “Yes, I am.”
The last part of the image that I saw was of the child standing on the throne with arms held high as if waiting to be picked up by his father.

As you Speak

AS YOU SPEAK

As you speak,
your words will be spoken
further into the world.

As you speak,
your words will reach
into the hearts of those who listen.

As you speak,
you have taken authority over all your words
and because you have taken this authority
I will give you much more.

As you speak,
realize that you have authority over everything.
You are mine
and those that listen to your words
                                                                    will be mine as well.

Act of Will

“Creation is an act of will,”
                        “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Before I create my art, I conceive it in my mind. It exists from the instant it’s conceived, and all that’s needed to transform the concept into a tangible work of art are time and effort, paint or pen and canvas or paper.
‘Positive thinking.’ ‘Mind over matter.’
If God created the heavens and the earth merely by thinking them into existence, the ultimate power in the universe might be considered willpower.
Our creativity reflects divine creativity because we think new things into existence every day… new inventions, new architectures, new chemical compounds, new manufacturing processes, new works of art, new recipes for bread and pie and pot roast.”
                        “Well I’m not going to risk eternal damnation by claiming that I can do     anything as good as God.”
“I don’t mean that exactly. We don’t have any real godlike power, so we aren’t able to transform our thought energy directly into matter, but guided by our willpower, our thought and reason, we can use other kinds of energy to transform existing matter into virtually anything we conceive. I mean, we spin something into thread to make cloth to sew into clothes. And we cut down trees to make lumber to build shelter, we take dirt out of the ground and make all kinds of metals. Our processes of creation is a lot slower, clumsier, a lot more labour intensive, but it’s still fundamentally an act of creation that we are doing. Do you understand what I’m trying to say here?”
                        “If I ever do, please have me put away please.”
“Work with me here, okay? Can you make an effort?”
                        “Okay, all right, whatever.”
“We are made in God’s image, you ok with that?”
                        “Yeah? So?”
“Then it’s also reasonable to assume that although we aren’t able to create matter out of nothing and although we can’t change existing matter solely by the application of thought, we do however, with our less than godlike willpower, influence the shape of things to come.”
                        “Things to come?”
“That’s right.”
                        “The shape of things to come. What things?”
“Future events. If we are in Gods image, then maybe we possess a small measure…a tiny but still useful fraction…of the divine power to shape things. Not matter, in our case, but the future, our own future. With the exercise of willpower, maybe we can shape our own destiny, at least in part.”
                        “What, I think, and because I think, I become?”
“That’s seems too simplistic, you still have to make the right decisions, and you still have to work for it…but, yeah, I guess that’s putting it right down to the basics. I believe all of us can shape our futures if we apply enough thought, willpower, and effort. The freewill that has allowed us is the power to shape our own future, hopefully within reason. We have the power to make or break, to create. To live as we choose. God is the Creator, we are just creators in His shadow.”

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

ON THE MOUNTAIN

ON THE MOUNTAIN

I am on the mountain.
Looking down.
 I am just above and behind Him,
looking over his shoulder down the slope.
Below Him as far as I can see,
down into the valley and on the up slope I see faces.
Faces with wide open eyes watching
and listening to every word spoken.

As understanding of the words
pierces the minds and hearts of this multitude,
the faces begin to change,
from a look if intensity and concentration,
to a look of peace and happiness.
A visible look and feeling of joy.

There is nothing visible of the ground
that these people are standing on.
Only the occasional tree
and even here each branch is straining
under the weight of those within.

A multitude of people,
a sea of humanity.

And nothing else,
other than His words.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Ultravision Dream

First let me say that I have had very few dreams in my life that I remember and those that I do were and still are dreams that were seemingly visions of or reinforcement of specific events that had taken place or were going to take place while I was conscious.
 
Over the years I have heard people talk about some horrible dream that aunt So-n-So had, or the dream that cousin Whozit had that almost turned her into a basket case but didn’t quite. Or dreams that had people crying while they slept or trying to run away from some dream world horror. Everyone knows about those dreams that have people walking or talking in their sleep, dreams of flying or running or any number of things that might cause people to think twice about going to sleep at night.

Well, a few nights ago I experienced such a dream and it was the absolute most horrifying dream that I can remember in all the years of my life. There wasn’t anything unusual about what was happening to me that I can think of while I was awake that was causing me concern, and when I went to bed that night everything was normal as far as I knew. However, I think it would have been around 02:15 that my normal became, to me, frighteningly abnormal.

My freakishly detailed dream (I’ll call it ultravision) was as follows:

I find that I am working in a hospital as some kind of maintenance worker, you know the kind, wears a matching uniform shirt and pants (dark blue polyester) with my name (Dean) over the right side pocket and the word MAINTENANCE (in gold) over the left. Even my soft soled shoes (with orange laces) matched the uniform (the shoes, not the laces). I was just coming back from being someplace else to where I had been working with something that was needed to finish up whatever it was that needed to be done. I have no idea what that was only that it was very important that it be done right and done quickly. I was working in an area that was behind a nurses station and could see out the window when wanted too (it was daytime, overcast but bright, mid-winter with lots of snow around). The majority of nurse uniforms were light blue with the occasional green showing up in the background. Everyone including myself seemed to be in a good mood and there was plenty of friendly banter going on. As I prepared (had to hitch up that 25lb tool belt) to go up the ladder that I had in place (yellow fiberglass with metal rungs and a big sign on it saying maintenance use only), I had one foot on the bottom rung when I was accidentally jostled. This in turn caused the ladder to move a bit and I saw something falling off the top of the ladder, I just naturally reached out with both hands to catch whatever it was that was coming down. It wasn’t very big and I caught it easily in my cupped hands, as soon as it hit I could feel it was soft and slimy and it almost slid out of my hands to the floor. I quickly looked at my hands and the first thing to register was that it was bright pink (I really don’t like bright pink) and it was moving slightly. When I looked at it closer I saw what it was and that it was trying to look back at me.

Well, let me tell you, at that point I really hit the panic button and was screaming loud enough to wake up the dead bodies in the basement morgue, my heart is about to implode and my lungs don’t seem to be letting me breathe. Everyone dropped whatever they were doing and came running to find out what was wrong.

            What I was holding in my hands was a tiny premature newborn the likes of which I have never seen before and to be honest never want to see ever again. The body was like any other newborn I have ever seen except with fewer wrinkles and the head was almost right but it seemed a bit out of proportion from the norm and like I said before all of it was bright pink (did I mention that I don’t like pink, bright or otherwise). The problem for me was that the body and the head were only connected with the thinnest thread of flesh that I had ever seen. There were no muscles, no blood vessels and no spine, just this fragile line of pink. Well I’m still screaming over this and as more people see what I’m holding they start screaming as well. I have six different people yelling six different instructions at me as I’m trying to remain absolutely still so as not to break the connection between head and body. Then someone reaches out to touch my hands and as they touch the connection between the two parts snaps, there is even enough tension in that snap that I could hear it. Now what do I do, the others didn’t see what had just happened, they didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t really know what was going on and I was the one holding on to the infant, now in two parts, yet still seemingly alive but growing weaker amidst all this noise and panic. My last vision is of hands surrounding my hands trying to get to what I’m holding but not being able to.

            Then I wake up. It’s 02:16. Now if this had actually been the real thing, the timeframe for the whole event would have been forty-five seconds to maybe ninety seconds, everything that happened, did so at panic speed. When I woke up my throat was raw, my heart still felt like it was ready to implode and I still couldn’t breathe right. And there was my dear wife sleeping peacefully beside me completely unaware of what was going on. I have never felt that much panic and fear in my life, my dream self was in so much panic and fear that he was beyond useless, almost beyond humanity, a semi intelligent mass of gelatin.

            As everything was returning to normal I sat on the side of the bed and asked God to erase this horrendous occurrence from my memory, I didn’t want it in my head ever. So He did take it away that night, and I went back to a peaceful sleep. In the morning I had no recollection of any disturbance that might have occurred during in the night. As far as I was concerned I had just had a normal nights rest.

            Then in the afternoon of the following day it all came rushing back in seconds with the racing heart, and the dysfunctional lungs, I didn’t do any screaming though, which was good. My wife would have been somewhat upset as well if I had. I’ve never felt like that before and I don’t want to ever again and I’ve asked God for this and I believe He has consented. I am at peace with what I saw or experienced, but still lack any understanding of why.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Variation

VARIATION

Here is a variation to the old question,
If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound?

If humanity no longer exists
does reality exist?
If there is no one on earth
to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch
anything of the physical world,
does the earth itself continue to exist
or does it become non-existent
because there is no one
to see,
or hear,
or smell,
or taste,
or touch
anything of it?
Many say no,
but just as many say yes.
The ‘experts’ infer
that the mind perceives matter
and invests it with meaning,
and that without the mind to observe it,
matter has no meaning,
and as a result,
technically does not exist.
Therefore
what cannot be perceived
by any of the five (or some say six) senses
cannot exist.


Friday, June 15, 2012

Open


My eyes are open,
to look upon the world
in wonder and awe.

My ears are open,
listening all around me
for the world I need.

My mouth is open,
speaking words
that some might hear.

My hand is open,
reaching out,
touching this world.

My arms are open,
gathering to me
what needs to be gathered.

My mind is open,
understanding something
and understanding little.

My thoughts are open,
always to those
who will listen.

I am open,
to any that care
that I am open.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Then Beginning.

                         He rests and he thinks
What will I be when I grow
Will I someday
Be rich and famous

What can I be like?
A man of words or one of action
Known or unknown
How might I know?

Time is old but never slows
In favor of a man

He sits and he thinks
About all that has been

Now an old man am I
And what did I do
What did I say?
Had I no end to aspire to

Where did they go?
Years gone by
How could I know?
How time would go

But now I can do
As I like
Seeking what I will
All that I might have wanted

But not for me

Everything comes to those who wait

Years do pass
As does life
Nearing an end

I thought life would come to me
But I make my way as able

Though I am still living
What has happened with life?
What is ahead?
In this short yet long existence

Certain future...more
Inevitable future...an end

And between
Nothing

Death is an end

Some, not many
Advance toward it
Seek it, want it
But not me

I will wait
It will come
But I will not go
Willing

Not me
Everything comes
To those who wait
Eventually

But no longer can I wait
Search I must
And hope to find
Life in the dust

I have always lived
But have never experienced
Life
I do not know
Nor shall I
Until death
End

Then beginning