COUNTING TIME

Do you know where we got our calendar?

Or how it is set up?

Or if everyone else in the world

uses the same one?

This weekend we fall back into a new category of time as "daylight saving time" clicks off. Now we have to know how all our appliance clocks work. Aaugh.

Calendars are a challenge since we're constantly having to throw in some time (like leap year) to make them come out right. Since I am an Americentrist (my map has America in the center), I use the Gregorian calendar. Where did I get that? It came from the Pope who got it from Julius Caesar (the Julian calendar). Our Gregorian calendar is largely a solar calendar, but we place Easter each year by using the lunar calendar. If you are Muslim, you use a lunar calendar. You may think the Jews use the Biblical calendar, but they have tweaked it over the years and added man's tradition. The Jewish calendar is called the Calculated Jewish Calendar. So we can't exactly go by that. We can go to what God told Moses (first five books of the Bible, the Torah) and see what God ordained as the Biblical calendar.

Consider how God counts time. Go back...waay back. If you were dealing with people who did not have a watch like the one above, how would you let them know when to start counting the day? Our day starts after midnight. How would shepherds know when midnight was? You could start the day when the first light was observed, but many would be asleep...so sunset is a much better choice. Everyone could see the sun drop down behind the horizon line. VOILA!...A new day. And that is what Israel did. You saw Fiddler on the Roof. Remember when they were rushing around to set the table before the sun went down? Besides, the Jews went by what God had said: "and it was evening and morning, one day". Genesis 1:5

OK, that's a day. What about a week? A month? A year? How would you break down time into those pieces? Would you watch the moon? It counts their month for them. The moon cycle starts as a sliver and moves until it is bright and full, then keeps going until it is the opposite crescent, then disappears a while, then repeats. When Israel sees the first crescent, if you count to the next new crescent it will be 29.5 days. New crescent moon to full moon is 14 days. Makes sense. And the week? Well, each quarter of the moon is seven days. Yahweh made it easy to count time. They just look up. I'll bet that kept them in better touch with creation/Creator as they were reminded to "look up" for direction.

The Hebrew word for week is "shabua" and it shows completeness or perfection. We first saw the word when God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because in it He had rested from all His work. The word for "rested" is the root word for "shabath"...the Sabbath. Leviticus 23:15 affirms that the Lord intended to use seven days for a week throughout time.

When the Creator divided the year into months, He did not say anything about "January" or "February", etc. Why would He? January comes from a Roman mythology god of the doorway. Good luck getting through that door. And February is also Roman and comes from the Latin for "purification". Can we just agree that there is only one Purifier and Door?

God's names for months were also markers for where He would put His celebration days. ("Look for the new moon of Abib and keep the Passover".) You don't get to move God's special days around to suit people's vacation schedule like we do with George Washington/Abraham Lincoln's birthdays. Our God is a great mathematician and things click right along as they have since time began. The Jews were told exactly (Leviticus 23:2) when the correct days were to observe His feasts in proper worship. The observances are placed for a sovereign reason.

"My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass. But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come." Psalm 102:11-13 NKJV

VIEW FROM OUR KITCHEN WINDOW

Is there any doubt that our God does all things well? Check out those four maple trees in our neighbor's front yard. He planted them 19 years ago; they are the "Flaming Red" variety... and don't they flame? Thanks, Mr. Les, for sharing them with the neighborhood. And thanks, Lord, for thinking up maple trees. That Elohim (the Creator God) does an amazing job with rich colors and intricate detail!

Each season is my most favorite, but I do like

fall. If you look closely out our window, maybe you can tell that we had our first frost on the punkin' last night.

The colors of fall are my decorating palette...I love the brick red and orange and spice tones. And I found some lovely half-off fake veggies at Hobby Lobby to make a door wreath. Just call us seasonally appropriate.

I have a personal reason for loving fall - my grandmother LOVED fall and waited for this

tree beside her house to turn every year. I wish

she could see these beautiful red maples in NW

Arkansas. I wonder if "Miss Bessie" ever got this far north in her lifetime. My grandmother grew up, married, and lived all her life in Des Arc, Arkansas. She never owned a car, but walked everywhere. She was a second grade teacher for 32 years in the SAME classroom. Wait! Well...

duh! Grandmother IS seeing way more glorious scenery where she is. Ah, can it be?

And speaking of seasons and heaven, I spent all

day yesterday and today working on a Bible study. I couldn't put it down. Mike is hunting and that gave me a pass to go AWOL. I am struck with the Feasts of Israel and how God uses them to speak to the world. What could be more easily understood than hanging a sign in the sky? Everyone could see it...if they just knew what they were seeing...

Here are some things I picked up in the study:

1. When I hear "Feasts of Israel", I think of Golden Corral. But did you know that the Hebrew for that word "feast" has nothing to do with food? Back in Genesis 1:14, Elohim said "let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for SEASONS ("mo'ed") and for days and years." So God calendars by these lights He hung. And the "seasons" are His festivals.

2. That word for season ("mo'ed") is also the word for "assembly or gathering or a set time or appointment. And it also can be translated "feast". So these seasonal gatherings that the Lord sprinkled on the calendar were put there to declare His glory and to "rehearse" His two great appointments on His daytimer (the Biblical calendar). I heard a Messianic pastor say it was much better to hang a sign in the heavens than to hang a signal lantern ("one if by land, two if by sea").

3. The Jewish Feast Days don't exactly belong exclusively to Israel. In Scripture they are known as "Jehovah's Feasts". So they actually belong to the church as well. But not many in the church know about them. They will get interested, though, when they see how related the feasts are to prophecy and Christ's return. We can mark time in our calendars by the sun (the Gregorian calendar) and moon (Israel's calendar). Gentiles see solar eclipses as signs, but Israel notices lunar eclipses.

4. When you read Joel 2:31, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Luke 22:25, Revelation 6:12, and Acts 2:20...you hear repeated that a sign of Christ's coming will be cosmic upheaval and the moon turning blood red. You can see the picture above of the blood moon over the Temple Mount.

5. Did you know that you can go to NASA's website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEpubs/5MCSE.html

to find out about solar and lunar eclipses that are past/present/future? The earth, moon, and sun have to be lined up a certain way for a lunar eclipse to happen. This century there have been some, but the only string of four consecutive blood moons that actually fall on God's feast days (Passover in the spring and Succoth in the fall) have occurred when something was going on historically with Israel. Now isn't that interesting? There was a blood moon on Passover and Succoth in:

1493/1494 when the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492

Then, nothing in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries

1949/1950 after Israel became a nation in 1948

1967/1968 when Israel won the 6 Day War and took Jerusalem back

The next tetrad (four consecutive blood moons) that match Feast Days are scheduled for 2014/2015. Then, there are none for the next 500 years.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul. And let all that is within me bless His holy name." Psalm 103:1

SURPRISE!

A real surprise for me is when I go to paint my face in the morning, pull the mirror up, and by mistake look into the magnifying side of the mirror. That jolt is a scary surprise, but these days it's getting harder and harder to really surprise anyone. People are urbane; nothing surprises sophistication. They have either "seen it all" or read about it. We are all like New Yorkers in that regard.

Or so I thought...UNTIL...I heard about men willing to strap on explosives so they could go to a land full of virgins. Now THAT was new. We all applaud soldiers who willingly put themselves in danger to protect their country. They risk their lives, but they want very much to come home and LIVE. Remember the kamikaze pilots toward the end of WW2? They chose suicide over the shame of surrender and I get that. But these "modern" terrorists on donkeys volunteer to die so they can score God points. Does God GIVE points for killing yourself and others?

Times have changed and we have an out-dated tendency to think logically and reason about the motivation of our enemies. We need to remember Iran's President Ahmadinejad. We were floored when it became obvious that he wasn't just irrational in the things he was fostering...but that his whole PURPOSE in his actions was to cause instability. We can't comprehend that because it cost the lives of his countrymen. So how would you broker peace deals with that man? We found out that in his belief system, they expect their "Mahdi" to return when things are in a flux. So he's all about causing flux and foment. Apparently in Iran their T-shirts don't say "got milk?" ...they say "got foment?" Ahmadinejad thinks his course is righteous. How far can you torque that twist on righteousness?

Now we need to rethink motivation and consider in that there are some people who LIVE for the exit door and doing harm to innocents in the pursuit of their cause is considered honorable. How topsy turvey is that? Didn't God say "choose life"? Where is their regard for life? Are they hearing from their Maker? Those poor souls deal daily with a punitive mentality and think God is like them (also punitive) and they die punitively. Trouble is...they take others with them.

Which brings us to the current state of our nation. In America, our starting place has traditionally been a place of reason, but we can no longer be sure that we all launch from that common spot. Reason would say that if leadership governs recklessly, they must either be newbies or inept. But that's true only if we launch from the same goal: i.e., the good of our country. We need to realize the possibility that current leaders have another view of "the good of our country".

The Obama administration is taking our country on a wild ride. Now these words aren't meant to imply that our President is a Muslim. Why bother speculating about President Obama's religious roots...when his philosophical roots are openly revealing contempt for the "sweet land of liberty". Listen to the cheery economic optimism from the White House these days about our economy turning around. Really? Only 4% of the stimulus money has been released into the economy, with the rest coming in 2013. Huh? We sure were in a desperate hurry to get that piddlin' 4%. Can a single-digit percentage really be jumpstartng the economy? Where did the rest of the money go? And what if the US economy is spiraling down as the dollar devalues? "Well, it IS!"...you might say. And what if nothing seems to be addressing the problem...but in fact, just more insolvency was coming to pass as more as more folks lose their jobs? "It IS!"...you say again. Then logic would demand we try something different to get better. But what if insolvency WAS the plan? What if economic takedown might be a way to take America to a desperate place that would allow paradigm change. We were promised change. But it may be morphing our country into something she never has been before. It all goes back to context and belief systems.

There was very little context offered to explain Candidate Obama's thinking when he arrived on the national scene. The things he said were lofty, but didn't quite match his voting record. The press brought softball questions to Mr. Obama's altar (if they brought any questions at all). We never found out why those radical people who hated America and could be placed on a flow chart with connections to our president...weren't seriously examined. They were either poopooed (like Bill Ayres) or sacrificed (like Jeremiah Wright) or ignored (like Sol Alinsky). How many Americans do you think even has heard the name Sol Alinsky? Yet our President patterned his beliefs after Mr. Alinsky.

And so now, little by little, we are seeing the president's true colors. Van Jones is "who Mr. Obama is". Valerie Jarrett (the president's Senior Advisor/ Assistant) LOVED Van Jones and so did Michelle Obama. Do you know what Mr. Jones espoused? A former Communist and Black Nationalist, he is NOT a friend to Israel and he thinks Bush masterminded 9/11. Is he crazy or does he really think those things? It makes the regular corrupt politicians who just broke the tax law to pad their net worth...seem like harmless underachievers.

Van Jones has resigned now. But he is a young version of the 60's generation who were radicalized under college professors and took to the streets to protest the country's capitalist system. They are all grown up now, and in grey hair they may look harmless (think Bill Ayres). But their choice to leave the streets and work within the system has paid off. I would think having a number of czars in Mr. Obama's cabinet would certainly qualify as success at "working within the system". I heard someone say the other day that this radical "ruling elite" were openly flaunting their arrogance in power grabs and that their arrogance was building a tower to the heavens. Well, that sounds familiar. Wasn't Babel the test run on that project? Hey Yogi Berra, it's deja vu all over again!

They have not taken into consideration that there is already Someone in the heavens in charge. He will have the final say about this "tower of power"...just as He did the last one. Man persists in trying to make a name for himself while God's purpose is for us to make a name for Him. Rebellion is a tired, old story with yet another new face on it.

"An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?" Jeremiah 5:30,31 NKJV

PARADISE REVEALED

Mike's move to the wide open spaces of Washington County has been both an opportunity and a challenge for him. New ground opened up for discovery and Mike has been doing his homework. He is "on point" for game trails, discovering deer sign, observing habitat, filling feeders, etc. The weather has made these hikes glorious and he has already shot a hog and taken some great game-camera pics of a black bear.

This morning Mike was up and out at 5:30 and had covered a big square of ground in an area that the owners/friends call "Thar Woods". He had already seen three bucks and lots of squirrels (they are cutting nuts like crazy this

week) and he happened to look down at the ground and was about to put his foot on a 4.5 foot velvet-tailed timber rattler. The snake was not curled up and rattling, but was stretched out in the morning sun. (Note: pic to the left is not the actual snake.) The rattler's circumference was bulging behind his head...it was so large that it would have taken both of Mike's hands to go around it. Perhaps the critter had just swallowed a squirrel for breakfast and was just resting and making a mental "to do" list for the day as the lump in his throat passed. Maybe he was thinking how well the morning had gone. But then my husband crossed his path and the pain began.

Mike's morning hike was more a "Lewis and Clark" exploration rather than a hunt. So he was not packing heat. Well now...THAT raised the stakes at this standoff. But Mike's adrenaline snapped in and with a primal urge, he picked up rocks and stoned the reptile. Of course, the man's intensity matched his desire to do mortal damage to the rattlesnake. The rocks found their mark, but the man's rotator cuff was worse for wear. I guess that made the score 1-1. The snake died, but Mike carries a nagging reminder of the conflict. Thankfully, there will be one less velvet-tail with 12 rattles to stumble upon in the early morning darkness.

Some men are made to be satisfied in the outdoors and Mike Cruse is such a man. He finds quietness for his soul and a kinship with his Maker there. Mike moves through the woods as easily as I move through a cluttered antique store. He could narrate most of the NatGeo nature specials because he "knows things" about the habits of so many wild creatures. This week PBS is running a Ken Burns special on the National Parks and that has been such a treat for us to watch. Mike has identified with John Muir (assuming Muir worshipped the Creator and not the creation). Although I used to think "the woods" were my competition, I've come to appreciate the symbiotic relationship that they share. I love my nature-loving man!

"The basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse." Romans 1:19, 20 The Message

THE CRIMSON COUNTENANCE

Can you remember a time when you were embarrassed unto beet red? I mean embarrassed so that you were BEGGING the ground to swallow you up? I can remember that happening to me at least twice, and that's remarkable because I've NEVER been accused of having a good memory. One time that stands out in my mind is from waaay back in 1959 or 60. I can remember that vignette like I'm watching the video LIVE.

My friends and I were old enough to have a leash that extended probably a couple of miles from our house. In those days, we walked everywhere freely; 1960 was pre-predators. Often our destination was a drug store by Big Star on Gee Street. In the back of this drug store was a soda fountain and we would walk there to buy a coke or an ice cream cone. Baby-sitting money must have been burning a hole in this thirteen-year-old's pocket.

Somewhere along the line, someone thought of doing a daring thing. What if we took our ticket from the soda fountain...and wandered up through the store and pretended to be shopping for a while...and then casually just walked out past the cashier without paying...how would they know if we had paid or not? I don't remember if I thought up the plan, but I do remember being afraid the kids wouldn't like me if I didn't go along. (Note to self: 49 years have gone by and I'm still working on that trait of people pleasing.) I can remember the moment I decided to go along, even though that first time was so scarey. Then...liberation...we got away with it! The clerks were so easy to fool. The next few times when we did it, it got easier and easier. My "pretending to shop" act took on more and more flourish. I was Greta Garbo reborn.

Now the next part is fuzzy. I had great parents and I can't remember how Mother found out. I think they had a Mother Underground back then with a hotline. Thank goodness. Anyway, one awful day Mama asked me about it. I remember her face and how it hurt her to even ask me if it were true. I spilled the beans right away because being found out was killin' me. When I admitted it was true, she told me that I had stolen from those people and I should make it right. I was feeling so low you couldn't slide a razor blade under me. Quickly I agreed that I should pay them back (although I had no idea how many times I had done it) and she agreed. I thought that meant that she would take the money in for me. Imagine my shock when Mother insisted that I take the money to them and confess and tell them how sorry I was for taking things without paying for them.

I remember very well the "slow molasses dread" of the car ride to the drug store. I remember Mother pulling up in front, and me getting out by myself. I remember being glad there were no customers at the front cash register. The lady behind the counter asked if she might help me and I handed her some money. She asked me what the money was for...and my countenance glowed red like hot charcoal briquettes. I explained the dirty deed and said that I was so sorry (I was sorry all right!) and I would NEVER do it again. The lady said something encouraging about how she appreciated my honesty to come in and admit what I had done (like it was ME who thought of the plan!).

Back in the car, I can remember being so glad that my life of crime was over. What a relief! And there even was a smidgen of pride that I had done the right thing in confessing. My Mother was a pretty smart cookie. I can't recall EVER even being tempted to take something that was not mine after that. Consequences are prime motivators. Looking back, I can't say that I "fessed up" because I had a sense of disappointing Jesus. I'm sure Mama told me to tell God that I was sorry. But there was someone in front of me with flesh and bones that I had disappointed and THAT nearly broke my heart. The episode was tough love and Mother must have gotten an "A" in parenting that semester.

"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." Proverbs 28:13

Note: This picture is from 1961 when I was in 9th grade. I found the 1960 picture, but the writer retains the right to pick the cutest one. Besides, the red sweater coordinated with the theme.

ADDENDUM TO "UNRAVELED"

In the blog two days ago, I found myself "feeling better" about our political turmoil by remembering how BIG our God is. And that is a great perspective adjustor. He did speak everything into existence and we are tiny specks as ants. But as I thought about those chapters in Isaiah (40-42), I realized that God's bigness only tells half His story. Those chapters also speak of the marvelous/inexplicable other side of God. Yes, He is the powerful Creator, but He also is the tender Shepherd.

Listen to this from The Message. It is talking about God knowing it all (literally a know-it-all) and not getting tired out or pausing to catch His breath as He works with people...

"He energizes those who get tired and He gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind." (Isaiah 40:29-31)

"God's message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, Who breathes life into earth's people and makes them alive with his own life: 'I am God. I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe. I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, to make a start at bringing people into the open, into light; opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons.' " (Isaiah 42:5-7)

God says "I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way, who can't see where they're going. I'll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. These are the things I'll be doing for them - sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute." (Isaiah 42:16)

Our God made the cosmos and keeps it running...and also tenderly reaches down to minister to us. Like a father, He takes us by the hand. He is far above us, but right beside us. What a package!

"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

Colossians 1:16,17 (NASV)

UNRAVELED

It seems like our country is coming unraveled at an alarming rate. Well, then I should get busy writing thank-you notes to:

1. The press. Their choice was not to vet Obama's candidacy. After the election, we got silly swooning rather than objective reporting. And after Wednesday night's big speech (when the polls say 53% of the American public want no part of the President's plan)...media comments were shameless ("a touch of greatness/ something in there for everybody/a remarkable speech/the speech rebranded the President as a centrist"). So by putting whatever goals you media must have...over the welfare of your country, you lead the enablers list.

2. The Democratic party. By keeping a lid on things you obviously must have known for a long time (but chose to ignore), you put career over country and rode the gravy train into power.

3. The black community. Ninety-six percent of you chose race before country (while assuming racism in everyone else).

4. The politically unconcerned and watching Survivor reruns. Snoozing through your political responsibility put amusement over country.

5. The young people who took the President at his word. Thank you for your idealism. As the impact of what you have done sinks in, please write it off as experience. Rather than becoming cynical, commit to examine deeds. It's oft repeated, but true: people do what you inspect, not what you expect.

6. The wide circle of radical friends around Mr. Obama. You are responsible for the puzzled look on Hillary's face. Mrs. Clinton was sure that people would connect the dots and public outrage would sink her opponent's ship. That didn't happen.

And WHY, do you think those dots never did connect? Are we all just busy pursuing our own courses? Do we not take such claims seriously...or understand how such a claim would affect the country..or care? Surely we care. Surely we haven't taken our blessing of liberty for granted. In my 62 years, we sure have "had it good".

When I feel unsettled, I find chocolate comforting, but not permanent. So I look at what the Book says...and the Book says "this is the day that the Lord has made". Huh? Even this day that feels like a Jacuzzi on full tilt? Yes! Isaiah nails it with these questions from the "commonspeak" version of the Bible called The Message:

"Who has scooped up the ocean in his two hands, or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger? Who has put all the earth's dirt in one of his baskets, weighed each mountain and hill? Who could ever have told God what to do or taught him his business? What expert would he have gone to for advice, what school would he attend to learn justice? What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows, showed him how things work? Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket, a mere smudge on a window. Watch him sweep up the islands like so much dust off the floor! There aren't enough trees in Lebanon nor enough animals in those vast forests to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship. All the nations add up to simply nothing before him - less than nothing is ore like it. A minus.

Have you not been paying attention? Have you not been listening? Haven't you heard these stories all your life? Don't you understand the foundation of all things? God sits on high above the round ball of earth. The people look like mere ants. He stretches out the skies like a canvas - yes, like a tent canvas to live under. He ignores what all the princes say and do. The rulers of the earth count for nothing. Princes and rulers don't amount to much. Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted, they shrivel when God blows on them. Like flecks of chaff, they're gone with the wind."

Well, THAT was a wonderful reminder of Who is in control! Listen to some more of what God sez:

" 'So - who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?' says the Holy. Look at the night skies - who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name - so magnificent!...so powerful! And never overlooks a single one.

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or whine, Israel, saying 'God has lost track of me...He doesn't care what happens to me'? Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God LASTS. He's the Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows EVERYTHING, inside and out.

'I, yes I, am God. I'm the only Savior there is. I spoke, I saved. I told you what existed long before these upstart gods appeared on the scene. And you know it, you're my witnesses you're the

evidence...God's Decree."

Yes, I am God. I've always been God and I always will be God. No one can take anything from me. I make, who can unmake it?

Who out there fears God, actually listens to the voice of his servant? For anyone out there who doesn't know where you are going, anyone groping in the dark - here's what: TRUST GOD."

OK, I feel better now.