Tomorrow marks a new year.

2006 will be busier than I can currently imagine, if only with the already scheduled items. Add those things I haven't planned on, and I have a packed schedule.

Fortunately, I'll be getting up earlier, and spending more time with God. The scripture says he'll give us more time in a day, and I guess all I can do is trust him for that. Pride is blown away by conformity to time, I suppose. I really have no choice but to abide by the rules of time, no matter how awesome I think I am. :-\

SO, here's what we say.

January:

1: Church, and New Year sermon.
2-10: Prep for Leonard Knight documentary and Wedding Videography.
11: Dad flies in Alaska for a business get-together. I wish I was goin' along, but I sadly will not be.
12: Dad arrives in Alaska.
13: Wedding rehearsal.
14: Wedding. I'm the videographer.
15-19: Dad arrives somewhere in here.
20: Leaving the house for Dream Night (a business convention). Driving to Colorado.
21: Dream Night.
22: Eagles Club (another business convention).
23: Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Colorado.
24: Drive from Colorado to Pheonix, Arizona.
25: Arrive in Pheonix. Have a business meeting.
26: Arive in Palm Springs, California.
27: Go Diamond Weekend, another business convention.
28: Go Diamond Weekend, continued.
29: Church Service at Salvation Mountain, with Leonard Knight.
30: Beginning of production for 'A Childlike Faith', the life story of Leonard Knight.
31: Continued filming at Salvation Mountain.

February:

1: Continued filming of 'A Childlike Faith' at Salvation Mountain, in California.
2: Tait Zimmeran's Birthday, Continued FIlming at Salvation Mountain.
3: End of filming at Salvation Mountain.
4: Reagan Moore's (my sister) Birthday, Drive home to Kaufman, Texas over the next couple days.
5: Arrive home, at Kaufman, Texas.
6-9: Relax.
10: Todd Rogers and his family arrive in Kaufman, Texas, from Alaska. He stays for three weeks. During this time, I will be resting and relaxing from the gruelling film shoot in California during February.

I have very few unscheduled minutes, so blog posting might (as in, very likely will) slow down a bit.

God Bless!

~ In Christ, John.

Flywheel, and Humility

Just saw the film 'Flywheel' tonight. Very impressive Christian film, done for next to nothing budget-wise.

Yesterday I saw Left-Behind: World at War, and I must say, I'm far more impressed with the low budget 'Flywheel' than I was with the multi-million 'Left Behind'.

That just shows that God works where the people are willing to do what he says, not where they can pay cash.

God Bless!

~ John.

Blogs that link to this one.

I don't have a links panel on the right hand side of my blog.

However, I've noticed that many, many blogs do. It's pretty effective that way when it comes to networking. I will probably ADD a links bar eventually, with links to here, there, and everywhere. I just haven't done so yet.

However, there are blogs that DO link to this one in their side bar. A couple out there, are as follows.

The Rebelution, by Alex and Brett Harris.

Not by Bread Alone, by Tait Zimmerman.

Ah The Life, by Miss Kelly.

Oneway Purpose, by David Boskovic.

Unconformed, by Hannah, I think.

Catch-Word, by Chloe Elizabeth.

All of these blogs have some great information on them, though just like me recommending playing computer games as a great form of creative thinking, I suppose that they're bound to make mistakes once in a while. You'll just have to allow for that, and learn from their mistakes as well as their wisdom.

To all of those who have linked to Life, by John, thank you very much, and if you didn't get put in this list, please let me know via comment, and I'll remedy the situation.

God Bless!

~ In Christ, John.

Merry Christmas!

I know I'm late, but as we don't REALLY know the day of Christ's birth, I'm sure it won't matter too much.

I'm sure all of the regulars already got this link, but for visitors, here it is.

It's my family's Christmas e-Card.

Hope you enjoy it, Merry Christmas to all of you, and God Bless!

~ In Christ, John.

Our Most Limited Resource.

Time.

It is a nonrenewable resource, given to all of us in equal amounts every day. Why then does it seem that some people have all the time in the world, and others are always busy but get nothing accomplished. Why is it that some people seem to just naturally get amazing things done, and have time left over? Many of us work very, very hard all the time, and still can't get done the basic things necessary for proper operation without canceling out any great desires we had to do great and mighty works.

The Parallel.

Money is a great example of time, because it is also a resource that seems to run away from us. With that in mind, let us think of people who do great things with their lives, and those who are very wealthy, as being one in the same. Let us think of those who are barely able to survive on the money they're earning, and those who seem to be busy all the time but never get anything accomplished, as also being one in the same.

First of all, remember the sayings. 'The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer.'. Rich men gain more wealth because they're constantly watching where their finances are going, and investing their hard earned gold carefully. The wealthy man does what made him wealthy, and the poor man does what made him poor. The same goes for a great man and his time.

Any Christian financial adviser, based on biblical principles, will tell you this: Track every penny you spend, and give a tithe of all your increase to God. If you are busy all the time, but not accomplishing the goals you had intended, be they mowing the lawn, writing your book, or preparing to be the head of a household, perhaps you're not following the simple guidelines that are laid out before us. Let's take a look at those and how to apply them.

Tracking.

It's essential. The best financial freedom programs, weight loss programs, and time management programs all have one thing in common; They tell us to write down exactly what we're doing with every penny, calorie, or minute we have. If we don't know what we're doing wrong, we can't correct it. I've found that if I force myself to write down what I'm doing, how long I do it, and what time of day I do it, I'm able to effectively do much more in a day, because I'm conscious of my every action. It's like a GPS and navigation. It allows us to see our course, and make corrections.

Budgeting

Give yourself only a limited amount of time to certain activities, no matter how justified they are. Internet time can be a huge waste of our most valuable resource, and yet can provide us with endless amounts of wisdom and information from bible scholars and teachers around the world. Setting a limit effectively causes us to work faster, read faster, and learn faster. God has given us certain amount of time, and it's constantly burned up. All we can do is balance it all out, making sure that nothing gets too much time, and nothing too little.

Tithing

God wants our whole existence to be his. Our money is his, our thoughts are his, our bodies are his, and our time is his. We can't be loose with our money, because we're stewards of it. We can't be loose with our thoughts because thoughts turn to actions, and we're called to righteousness. We can't be loose with our bodies because they're the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should not defile that. We can't be loose with our time, because there isn't much to go around, and God wants us to watch over it and guard it all carefully. If you have no time, perhaps you're not giving God what's rightfully his. He knows we don't have enough time. Giving him the sabbath is to acknowledge that he is the king of all time, and is the only one who can help us accomplish everything that needs done

Proverbs 3:2, speaking of God's laws, says “For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” The Bible isn't redundant. Why would it say 'length of days', then say 'and long life', if they meant the same thing?

I submit that the scripture is referring to God giving us more than 24 hours in a day. Have you ever had a day where everything clicked? Everything seemed to fall into place, and work exactly according to plan? Well based upon that scripture, I believe that when we give God his required share of our time, he blesses our faith by adding length to our days.

The Calling.

We're called to live the fullest lives we can in Christ, doing as much as possible. Idleness, therefore, is a sin. The next time you say 'I'm bored', it's God telling you that you need to be doing something for him. Our life is a jar, and set before us are some very large diamonds, small pieces of gold, and silver dust. God has given us time to fill up the jar with as much treasure as possible. In order to do this, we start with the largest diamonds, then fill around this with gold, then pack in as much silver as possible. That's wise time budgeting. Idleness, however, is to grab sawdust off the floor and pour it into the container, merely to fill space.

It's up to you to decide out of video games, movies, reading science fiction novels, visiting the zoo, traveling, reading the bible, studying with friends, building knowledge to run a business and/or a home, diligently praying for wisdom in choosing a life partner, and encouraging others in the faith, which ones are the diamonds, and which are the sawdust.

Simple Application

I have yet to have a conversation with a boy without him exasperatedly stating, “I'm Bored”. Well, I suppose that you could interpret it that way, but I would interpret it as God providing us with a nice little slot in the jar to fill with diamonds. This is where we determine who our God is. If we play video games, idleness is our God. However, if we study God's word, pray, plan for our futures, or look for creative ways to bless our parents, we are filling the jar with special jewels of all kinds. I hope that from now on, when you say 'I'm bored', you're convicted to find something great to do.

Treasures could be described as pyramids. We start at the base with many small tasks that bring glory to our God and honor to our parents. As we build this pyramid, we get to a higher level, where soon we're bringing glory to God and honoring Christ through actions that bless our friends as well as strangers. The pyramid grows, as long as our ego doesn't, and the accomplishments grow. Without a strong foundation in the smaller areas of life, our world changing accomplishments will never stand strong.

More Complicated Endevours

Are you sleeping ten hours? Perhaps you could skimp a little and go with nine, giving God an extra hour of study time. Already getting nine and don't have time to give to God? Nine minus one is eight. The math is simple, but grasping the concept may not be.

When Dad asks me to get the car from the shop, which is about one hundred and fifty yards away, I have several ways I can do it. I can wait until I'm done reading my article, then get the car, I can walk up to the shop, taking about two minutes each way, or I can do what I prefer the most; I can run at the very top of my speed, so that I'm completely out of breath when I get back to finish reading the article. When God says jump, we should ask how high, but only when we're up in the air. Don't stop for details. They'll be filled in along the way. Do to your utmost what you can do right now.

Conclusion

Don't be idle. Our lives are but a vapor, and will surely vanish with so much as a wisp of wind. Don't waste what God has so generously entrusted you with. Care for it wisely.

When we properly understand time, we won't be panicked, but we will work with such speed and purpose as to make a soldier amazed, then we'll truly be fulfilling Ephesians 5:15,16: See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

God Bless You, and Merry Christmas!!

~ In Christ, John.

Mankind is not very bright...

We try to overcome obstacles, such as darkness, with our own inventions. Light bulbs. But we've created a new problem for ourselves, because now we need electricity. Electricity is dangerous and has been the cause of more than one housefire, so we need to beef up our fire department.

Now that we can stay up and do all these great things at night, we end up being very tired during the day, and sleep away the hours of one of the best light sources available, the sun.

Sometimes, we get so wise in our own inventions that we forget to see the light of the Son. Big cities stray from God's word because they believe they don't need God's world.

Just a thought.

God Bless!

~ John.

Oh for the days of old...

I wish we still lived in a time when people understood the importance of a culture's theological reasoning for everything.

When we understood the basic worldview of every culture, we had an easy time dealing with them. As evolution and humanism crept into America, we started looking at people as merely at different stages of social evolution, and we deal accordingly. It doesn't work.

Doug Phillips recently posted a short video about a time when we DID consider theological differences first, and the results were much different.

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/?archive=/2005_12_01_index.htm#113510566741802689

I found it fascinating and thought provoking, and I hope you'll do the same.

God Bless!

~ John.

Satan's Workshop

There is a saying that says 'The Idle Mind is the Devil's Workshop'.

This was essentially what the Pastor preached on heavily this service. He talked about how sin leads to sin, and idleness is a sin. He then pointed to how King David's first sin in the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah wasn't actually killing Uriah, but in fact, being idle, and not going to war with the armies, as he was supposed to do.

I'm REALLY tired right now, or I'd write more. Interesting topic, and something we can all benefit from.

And over the next week, I'll be doing some very basic research.

Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings vs. Chronicles of Narnia vs. Pilgrims Progress vs. Revelation.

Strange creatures in strange worlds. What's wrong, what's right? I'm about to find out.

God Bless, Keep the Faith!

~ In Christ, John.

Through The Fire, by the Crabb Family

Through The Fire.

I couldn't ever figure out if this was written by the Crabb family or not, but I can garantee you they performed it. They did a marvelous job, and it's perhaps one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. Recently I discovered (or at least I think I did) that the Crabb family did indeed write it.

Jason Crabb puts all his effort and emotion into sharing the lyrics of this song with the listener, not just the music.

I find the lyrics powerful, inspiring, and very meaningful. In the hope that you will as well, I list them here. :-)

So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Or things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
And my frustration gets so out of hand
It's then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
And I've never had to stand the test alone.
As I look at all the victories
The spirit rises up in me
And its through the fire my weakness
is made strong!

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb!
He never offered our victories without fighting
But He said help would always come in time!
Just remember when your standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says "give in!"
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And He will take you through the fire again!

Bridge: I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust thehand of God, He'll shield the flames again, again.

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb!
He never offered our victories without fighting
But He said help would always come in time!
Just remember when your standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says "give in!"
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And He will take you through the fire again!

Great song, and I recommend yawl get it. It's on the 'New Orleans' album from Gaither. You can get it on iTunes. Just search for New Orleans Homecoming.

Songs on that album I also recommend, are the following:

Yes, I am! - The Hoppers

Praise the Lord - Russ Taft

Goin' Away Party - The Easters

Upon This Rock - Allison Durham Spear

Go Rest High On That Mountain - Various Artists.

It's really a great album. I bought the whole thing, because I also like 'He understands my tears', 'On the Authority', 'Goodbye Blue', 'Teach Me Lord To Wait', and 'The Windows of Heaven Are Open'.

There are only a few songs on the album that are uninteresting. Even those are decent. :-)

In Other news, Todd Rogers referenced several great songs that will likely make it to the Summer Conference band list! Great guy, Todd is.

Well, that's all for now.

God Bless, and Have a Great Day!

~ In Christ, John Moore.

Psalms 144. A few comments.

I read this Psalm today, and found some very interesting things.

I love the opening verse:

"Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:"

That's characteristic of David, a man, who knew his role in life was that of the warrior. All men are tought by God to fight. It's called being competetive. On a boys toys list, you would expect to see Water Balloons (hand grenades), Squirt Guns (m16's), A football helmet (hand to hand combat) and of course a tool set (building a home).

A little later, it talks about what he wants boys and girls to be. He says that boys should like plants, and girls like corner stones of a palace.

Without going too deep, I could see that my younger brother Gator is very much like a plant. Or maybe I should say he tends to be down in the dirt, and he's very determined not to move.


Going deeper we can see that boys are to be like plants, in that plants don't move, they're firmly rooted, and they don't need structure to hold them up, and mankind doesn't need to shape them. Rugged. Alone. Growing to be powerful, while retaining marvelous glory for God.

Where the confusion lies, is with the line about daughters becoming like cornerstones.

144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our
daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

Well, we read Mathew Henry's commentary, and he said something interesting.

By daughters families are united and connected, to their mutual strength, as the parts of a building are by the corner-stones; and when they are graceful and beautiful both in body and mind they are then polished after the similitude of a nice and curious structure. When we see our daughters well-established and stayed with wisdom and discretion, as corner-stones are fastened in the building,-when we see them by faith united to Christ, as the chief corner-stone, adorned with the graces of God's Spirit, which are the polishing of that which is naturally rough, and become women professing godliness, - when we see them purified and consecrated to God as living temples, we think ourselves happy in them.

(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

Now, I think that's all fine and everything, but it sure doesn't say much.

Well, after looking up that verse, at the greek words that were translated into 'corner stones', 'polished' and 'palace', I found some interesting things. While the verse is poetic, it had a lot of depth to it.

The word 'polished' came from 'to cut down, or to hew from wood', which is interesting after reading about sons being plants. Trees stand alone, but pillars have been cut out of that rugged roughness, and do not stand alone.

The word 'palace' meant a large building for many residents, not so much a place of the kings abode. And of course, the 'corner stone' was something that never moved, and was the most glorious thing about the palace.

It's very easy to interpret all this the way I do, which is, Women are not like the plants. They do not stand alone, they are carefully polished, and placed as the most foundational and glorious element of the dwelling place of a large number residents. Ooh, hey, you know what this sounds like? It sounds like a home. Sounds to me, like she is never moving, and 'holds down the fort', if you will, at home.

Very interesting thoughts.

It is interesting that She is fashioned, while he grows wild. He doesn't need polishing and fashioning. A man can live alone with a bible, and no spiritual authority other than God himself, and do just fine. But a woman must be carefully polished out of that natural ruggedness, and stand to support something. She must have a spiritual leader.

Now I of course, believe that everybody should have a spiritual authority, but you'll note that while Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days and nights, and while Paul was in the desert learning from the spirit for 2 years ( I think... I may have gotten that number wrong), we never see a woman going into the desert to learn from God. The times when women are mentioned alone, it shows a man of God miraculously intervening in her life to save her from disaster, or it shows her as BEING the disaster.

ANYWAY, those were just some thoughts I've been having this morning. If you dislike them, stone me, if you think they're inaccurate, show me. I'm always ready to learn. :-)

David and I are eager to get together and do some audio tests, and find out how to get the best possible sound from my camera and dual microphones. My camera is the restriction. Audio in the mic jack is TERRIBLE. Ugg.

And very shortly, our family will be official members of the First Presbyterian Reformed Church of Rowlett. To hear a sermon by Dr. Richard Bacon, the pastor of the church, you can download one for free, right here. Just click the link and follow the instructions. I recommend you listen to it.

Well, I gotta run, you all have a good time!

God Bless!

~ In Christ, John.

Homeschooler? Yes. Why?

Ever been asked why you believe in Homeschooling?

Before reading the rest of this post, answer these three questions, very briefly and simply, as if you were in a conversation with a stranger in the checkout of a grocery store, and write them down. (And then post them in your comment).

1.) Why do you believe in Homeschooling?

2.) What is the long term goal of Homeschooling?

3.) How does Homeschooling differ from Public education, besides taking place at home?


Now we continue.

Just recently (as in, three weeks ago), I read a wonderful article by Gregg Harris, the Father of Alex and Brett Harris, who run The Rebelution.

The article is available in it's entirety, here.

Mr. Harris said something very interesting in his blog that I would like to quote, very quickly.

Education is so much more than mere academics. It is primarily matter of character development. Self-discipline may be out of style, but it is never out of work. Do I want my children simply to be nice, well-behaved, and safe from peer pressure? Not at all!

It struck me while reading this, that our purpose and vision will always define our methods.

Our purpose and vision, define our methods.

If the methodology of a homeschooling family is the same as a public school family, it is very likely due to the fact that their purpose is not clear, and their vision is limited to one or two generations. For purpose, the bible says 'Do all things as unto the Lord'. I interpret that two ways. 1.) Do everything like you're doing it for him. 2.) Everything we should do it for God.

Those two truths go hand in hand, because the verse merely says one thing; We're doing everything for God. That comes to our methods of education as well. We must define our purpose for Homeschooling within a Christian context. Gregg Harris goes over many of those purposes in his article, which I highly recommend reading.

Second, we have our vision. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish', God says in the proverbs. Is our vision of homeschooling so poor that it limits our purpose? Our vision defines our purpose, and our purpose defines our methods. (Theology, Technique, Technology, anyone?) Our Vision shouldn't be limited to this day and age, or how children are raised. It should be great, and might, and powerful enough to conquer the world.

Perhaps it's becoming clearer how this will define our objectives. If we look at a goal, and the obstacles between there and the goal, we'll find methods to attain the goal.

The problem is, our goal is often to just 'go to college', or 'get a good job'. That's as far as our vision and purpose extend, and thus, our methods focus on attaining those goals. If our goals, however, are to raise up a family that will take over a state within four generations, well then, that certainly changes our methods, doesn't it?

We have to keep our purpose and vision constantly before us, as these will guide our decision making process.

Without understanding the ideas behind homeschooling, there is no point in homeschooling. In fact, it can be damaging. As the Harris twins pointed out on their blog (click here), we sometimes get lulled into an elitest comfort zone, just because we're homeschooled, and then we end up being worse off in our faith and actions than the standard public school student.

We MUST be visionary. We have to think about homeschooling in a multigenerational context, as Doug Phillips states so often. Homeschooling needs to have purpose, vision, and of course, a proper method. While Gregg Harris sees the purpose, and Doug Phillips is constantly presenting a wonderful vision, my friend Tait Zimmerman is currently working on showing the methods and principles behind the learning itself. I've noted while reading his blog, that he himself has a strong sense of purpose and vision, and knows that if a person doesn't have a purpose or vision, becoming a learner will GIVE them a vision, and GIVE them a purpose.

Well, I'm rather enthusiastic this fine evening, after discussing things with Dr. Richard Bacon and a few of his friends. I just figured I'd talk about what was on my mind.

Another note on Mr. Harris's article, I have one part in particular that I enjoy.

I would like to see my adult sons provide for their wives and children
through family business ownership and entrepreneurial stewardship. Contrary to
the best efforts of the ACLU, there are still millions of public school students
praying secretly to find decent jobs someday. Why not prepare our homeschool
students to hire them?

Bravo Sir, Bravo!

With all this in mind, answer the following questions again, and see if the answers are different than the three questions I asked before.

A.) How does your purpose affect your learning?

B.) How does your vision affect your learning?

C.) How do your methods differ from public education?


God Bless, and thanks for reading!

~ In Christ, John.

Money Answereth All Things....

And if I had more of it, I'd buy one of these.

It's a 30 inch monitor from Dell, that rivals Apple's 30 inch cinema display for quality, but when it comes to price, is a much better unit for the likes of me.

Warning: Beginning tech talk.

Cool info on this. With a screen like this, native HD resolution field monitoring is capable with a camera like the Panasonic HVX200. Because HD has been primarily designed for digital, this monitor is completely suitable for the cause of monitoring without worrying too much about ranges and light. At least, according to one report by a lead guy on an HD software development team. I may be wrong though.

End of tech talk.

Cool info. With a computer like the Mach V from Falcon, I can hook up FOUR of these 30 inch displays, resulting in over 100 inches of display width! (no, it's not 120, because of the diagonal line thing).

Also, this screen natively displays WQXGA, which is much higher resolution than even my CRT monitor.

End of even more Tech Talk.

More info on Books.

Currently going through some more books.

I'm reading 'Entebbe' by Iddo Netanyahu. I started it a long time ago, but never finished it. It looks like it'll be really good. I'm only on page 11, with it sitting here open before me as we speak.

Over to my right, is 'A Table in the Presence' by Carey H. Cash, which I'll read when I'm done with Intebbe. It's a story of Marine Chaplains in Iraq, from what the cover says. :-P I've heard excellent reviews on it.

To my left is 'The Art of Leonard Knight', which I'm reading for the fourth time, trying to expand my general knowledge and feeling about this guy I've never met, but am supposed to interview for four days straight. It will be interesting. I've gotten an email from one person asking how on earth I managed to get interview time with him, when he's recently denied many major networks the right to document his story.

I suppose God just loves his people working with each other, for each other.

Also a course of current study, is 'Cinematography: Theory and Practice' by Blain Brown. Wow, this book is a manual. It's deceiving in that it doesn't look very thick, but in truth, it's crammed with technical data. There is no way a person could read this book and retain even an 1/8'th of the information. I have trouble making my way through it.

So far, I've thoroughly enjoyed his knowledge of light and optics, but it's been work to get through. It's definitely a 'learners' book. Not a 'readers' book. A learners book, you open it, read the contents list, find out what you need to know, and read it.

A readers book you pick up, start and the beginning and the author carefully and skillfully pulls you one way or the other, keeping you on your toes, making it interesting.

Sadly, we're in a culture filled with more 'readers' than 'learners' Ask Tait. Really interesting stuff is available.

Had a great day at church yesterday. Learned a lot. Ate a lot. Had a good conversation with Jeff Reins and with Pastor Bacon, as well as John Reighard. Just a lot of good people.

Well, I must go read some more. You all have a wonderful time, and God Bless!

~ In Christ, John.

John, in his element.

Some of you out there don't know who I am yet. Others, only know me by what I was. There are no doubt, some of you who know me, and wish you didn't know me quite so well...

Hopefully there are few of those.

I could do as most blog writers do, and post some wonderful essay about how amazing they are, and what qualities they've developed in the years they've been on this earth. That doesn't really suit my personality though.

Instead, I'm going to post a paparazzi styled photo that my brother David (age 12) took of me just today.

(click the photos to enlarge)

Now I'll admit, upon initial viewing of this picture, one might think that I'd listened to one too many punk-rock songs in the grocery store, but let me explain how this picture perfectly illustrates me. In the uncropped picture, you'll notice a few more things.

Total concentration on my face. A phone at my ear. I'm talking, AND reading at the same time (For the record, I was reading a post on The Rebelution.) Multitasking is at its best. Next to my hand, is a hi-liter brand marking pen, and on the other side of my hand is a couple books that I just finished up last night. Chuck Holton's, 'A More Elite Soldier' and Blaine Harris's 'Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity'.

The shirt I'm wearing is a carhartt brand work-shirt. A good one at that.

The only unusual thing about this picture, is the hat. But even the hat serves its purpose, because I was in a particularly cold area of the house, and not being interested in wasting a bunch of money heating a mostly empty wing of the house, I put on a hat. A picture truly is worth a thousand words, but only if you spend a thousand words explaining what the picture is about. ;-)

So, hopefully this picture gave you a little picture of what I'm like when I'm 'In my element.'.

God Bless, and see you later!

~ In Christ, John.

Book Review #1 - A More Elite Soldier, by Chuck Holton

"GET READY!"
The jumpmaster shouts over the roar of aircraft engines, stirring me from deep thought. It's almost 1 A.M. on December 20, 1989. I'm one of nearly one hundred Airborne Rangers who, four hours ago at Fort Benning, Georgia, packed into this C-130 transport plane - built to carry no more than sixty-four jumpers.

That's the first paragraph of the book 'A More Elite Soldier', by former Army Ranger Chuck Holton. This book was given to me as a gift from former Army Ranger Jeff James, a good friend and business associate of my Father. Mr. James is a wonderful friend of mine as well, and has been a wonderful resource for information on all things military.

A More Elite Soldier details author Chuck Holton's experience in the United States Army's 75'th Ranger Regiment, from RIP (The Ranger Indoctrination Program) to combat in Panama, to his home, twelve years later. Though the book is an autobiography of sorts, Holton brilliantly ties all of his most important experiences into valid spiritual parallels, making even more evident the military nature of Christianity. He details one account where he let a troubling matter with his girlfriend distract him from his mission as a Ranger, and nearly got seriously injured because of it. He then points out that Satan doesn't have to kill us. He just needs to distract us from our mission for Christ. Such points are made throughout the book, sometimes subtly, other times, they're the focal point of the tale.

The work in the book is creative, inspiring, and convicting. Every story is amazing, and contains a lesson aimed directly at Christians. His storytelling had me on the edge of my seat until the conclusion of each adventure, where he drew a brilliant connection between what he did wrong in the physical realm, and how to avoid the same mistake in the spiritual sense. The reading is light, fast, and simple, which would make it great for family read-aloud time. The book is a short read, and a concentrated reader (which I sadly was not, on this book) could eat through the book in a couple hours, easily.

The book does have a downside or two, such as the authors view of dating and college, but in all, it didn't hurt the book too badly.

Theology? Well thought out and logical. Many convicting scriptural points are brought up through the analogy of his life, and left me amazed that I was doing exactly what he described in Ranger school, but in a different area of life.
Technique? Holton's writing style is effective, easy to read, and feels very much like reading his mind rather than his journal.
Technology? The book is designed for reading, not for setting on a shelf. It's a nice size for carrying around, and it's a paperback, which makes for folding into small locations.

A More Elite Soldier has many wonderful tales of sacrifice, determination, and trials of manhood. I recommend this to any man, particularly if he's considering joining the military. I'm actually so impressed with the book, that I look forward to buying Holton's other books, and reading his tales of bravery, endurance, and combat.

Official John Moore Rating: Four out of five Dog Biscuits. The loss of one dog biscuit is due to the slightly anti-climactic ending, and the dating material.

Where to Buy? I recommend buying it directly from Multnomah publications, as this means more money to the publisher and author, and less to the middle man. I haven't read any of Holton's other books, but I'm interested in buying the latest two he's written, 'Bulletproof' and 'Allah's Fire'. I'll make sure to let yawl know how they turn out. ;-)

Rabbit Trails Aboundeth, my Dear Readerio...

The effect Shakespeare's tragedy based literature on our culture is deplorable. Completely ridiculous. He has warped most literature of the past, and of the present. The attitude of depression and God being out to get us, is seen very often in Hollywood films. The Frankfurt school of aesthetics loves the tale of tragedy and depression. Oh yeah, did I mention they pushed this hard, because they were trying to completely destroy the United States?

They attacked two key places, very effectively, to change American culture. They used the American Cinema, and the Public Education System, starting in 1939. Now, how many movies have you seen that are specifically designed to depress the viewer? I'm not talking Braveheart, where he dies, but is in fact victorious, I'm talking about Rawhide, and Gunsmoke. Some of the most depressing films and series in history were the most famous, due to the pushing and straining from all of Hollywood culture to enforce a suicidal tendency in American teenagers.

There is a really, really in depth look at this, available on CD from Vision Forum. I recommend that you buy it and listen to it as soon as you can.

In the school realm, think about the required reading in most schools! They push depressing romance novels where the main characters kill themselves. Forgive me, they DO actually have some happy, victorious feeling literature in the younger reader's classes. Harry Potter books do, in fact, have happy endings. Think about it. The 'good guys' lose, the 'bad guys' win. Or the good guys are in fact evil. Shakespearian literature dominates our education system.

Yet at the same time, Shakespeare brings up a good teaching point. Isn't it interesting that we translate new versions of the bible, because they're 'easier to read', when reading Shakespeare is a standard requirement in high-schools?

If somebody feels they have a legitimate reason for not reading the Authorized version of the Bible, such as nitpicks over accuracy in translation, then I'm completely willing to discuss the issue with them and work it out. But when they tell me that it's too hard to read, I'm offended and shocked.

Why do we fallen beings feel so arrogant as to lower the standard of God's word down to the level of the people, instead of raising the people to God's word?

That brings up a new point. Liberals want to lower the laws expectations to the level of the people, Conservatives want to raise the people to the expectations of the law, and reformational Christians want to raise everyone, starting with themselves, to the level of expectations in God's inerrant word. See the difference? Man's law is fallible. God's law is perfect in every way. To keep it, is to be perfect. To strive for it, is maturity.


Well, I started out just being mad that some people enjoy 'Romio and Juliet'. Then I started hammering the liberal mindset. Ah, I love my job. :-)

For the record, I don't think all of Shakespeare's work is all bad. In fact, I've heard overwhelmingly good reviews on his work about Henry V. But if you start quoting shakespeare or try to look smart by referencing him, you're lowering my estimation of you as an accurate thinker. Quote the bible. The last time I checked, God liked that one a lot. ;-)

Oh, uh, David, the other book I'm reviewing, I figured I should finish reading first. :-D

So far, I recommend it to every man I know. It's called 'A More Elite Soldier' by Chuck Holton. I've been exceedingly busy though, and I haven't' had time to (a.) finish the book. I only have 30 minutes of reading on it left though, so I'll go finish it and come back when I have time to (b.) write a full review. I'll get to that later as well.

Until Next Time,

~ John.

A Couple of Good Books.

So the other day, I read the book 'I kissed dating goodbye', but Joshua Harris.

The book was good. Though it was redundant at times, it was necessary for people who are playing in the dating world.

However, it gave some great relationship advice later in the book, and how even courtship is often done improperly.

Marriage is more than romance. It's the closest friendship in existence. Without friendship, a relationship will fall all to pieces.

A romantic relationship involves two people who's primary reason for being friends is to focus on the other person, and how he/she can make them happy.

In a friendship, the two are standing side by side, looking towards a common goal between them. Because a husband and wife will be working together, they must have a common goal, and thus a strong friendship.

I think that was the greatest point of the book for me, but it does have a tremendous amount of other good points as well.

It's not a hard read, in fact, it took about two hours to knock'er out.

I would recommend it if you're interested in learning about relationships. It's got some solid information that complies and agrees with everything I've heard from other people who I've learned from.

The only thing that bothered me was the wrong version of the Bible.



So, today I spent the morning with Jack and Rita Daughrey, and David and April Humphrey. Good day. Good day.

It's cold outside. That 3.3 mile run felt like I only ran 100 yards, but I did it with lead weights on my feet, in the snow.

Sadly, we have no snow. Hey! If some of you up in Alaska have a little extra, would you ship it down here? That would be wonderful, if you could. ;-)

Have a great day!

~ John.

Blog Upgrade

I've added a new commenting service to the blog, and it's nice.

I'm not sure all of the wonderful benefits it may hold in store, but I would say it was twelve dollars well spent.

It's the same service as Alex and Brett Harris use on 'The Rebelution', their teen focused, biblically centered blog that strikes a powerful blow to pop culture.

You may be wondering why I added the new comment feature. Well... Let's call it peer pressure. ;)

God Bless, and have a wonderful day!

~ John.

That's it. The foot comes down now.

What is it with us people?

We're given opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing, to stand up and be strong where others are weak, to show courage, bravery, stamina, strength, honor, virtue, etc.

What do we do? We roll over and pee on ourselves like a whimpering loser of a dog fight.

It's understandable though, for the world to slip and fall; After all, they're despicable sinners! We, on the other hand, have a free meal ticket of general 'awesomeness' and thus don't need to watch ourselves, or be 'vigilant'. We're in the safe zone! Homeschoolers in America. Christianity is easy for us. Or wait, is it?

For the second time in the last month, a churchgoing teenager was arrested for murder. They weren't just youth group attendees though, or somebody that showed up at church 'once in a while', that attends Babylon five days a week.

No, in fact, they were both homeschoolers. One of which was very, very good at memorizing the scripture. It's well known that he memorized more than one book of the bible. He wasn't just some bum off the street, that we would almost expect to commit the murder. No, he was an ELITE in the church. Many young men probably looked up to David Ludwig.

More information can be found here, here, and here. They're all the same site, but different articles.

Let me tell you, you aren't any better. I'm not any better.

We're wandering around in enemy territory with our guns hanging empty, on our backs. We don't' have God's word readily accessible to our mind our even our eyes.

The Christians of the early church would cry to see you or me. YOU know who you are, and I know who I am. No, don't think I'm talking about somebody else. The person who is reading this page, right now. These words are aimed at your mind, to sharpen you, and prepare you.

Our adversary the devil walks this earth as a hungry lion, seeking who he may devour, while we put on 'sexy' pageants. The guys are real good. I know this area pretty well, I am one.

We read our bibles and we take our tests to please somebody. The world. We want to be thought highly of by those around us. We wouldn't dare want somebody to know that we're born addicted to pornography, and every billboard on every highway is tormenting our minds and hearts. We think we're tough. We go out and shoot our guns and knock perfect holes in paper, while Satan carefully carves our hearts out with the agility of an experienced butcher, because he is one.

He's knocking us out, slitting our throats, allowing the blood to go running away, then carving us up into steaks for the world to take a bite of us.

You gals aren't much different from the guys. You dress like Britney Spears, or even Rebecca St. James, because they get attention. You put on enough makeup for twelve women, because you can't stand yourself, and admit who you really are.

We're in a combat zone, and we're trying to be impressive for the enemy. Why? Why don't we take up arms and fight! Even if we don't have to fight at this moment, why aren't we in condition yellow all the time?

The five stages are as follows.

White. You are completely unaware of your surroundings. Until somebody shoots you, you don't even know there's a threat in the area, or care. This is how most Christians live, in all three realms: The spiritual, mental, and physical.

In white, anything can pass us by and attack us. Sure, when pornography flashes on the TV, we turn it off, but we let other attacks slip in and corrupt us. Not long ago, a film called 'The Phantom of the Opera' made its way into this world, with a message aimed to kill. It was designed to rape the minds and souls of men and women all throughout America, and oddly enough, it was best received in THE CHRISTIAN MARKET! The film openly supports nude art, as well as multiple other facets of pagan worship, but the subtle attacks are what bite. The film subtly influences us to side with pedophiles.

It's a pedophilic love tragedy. And this is a top seller in the Christian realm? God help us.

Next on the combat awareness list is as follows.

Condition Yellow: We're always looking for red flags; signs of danger. A film like 'Phantom of the Opera' doesn't make it's way into the house, because before the film is purchased or considered, reviews are read on sites such as ScreenIt.com or other Christian film review sites, to find out what is in the film, and what is lacking. In condition yellow, you're comfortable, but not in a comfort zone.

Condition Orange: You have found a possible threat, but you cannot positively identify the specific danger. At this point, you have a friend who watches films like 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', and claims to be finding 'Great Christian Truths' within the pages of the book, as well as on the 'silver screen'. However, you identify this person as a possible spiritual threat, and make sure to watch them closely, and guard your relationship with them, lest it causes you to weaken your dedication and drive for Christ.

Condition Red: You have identified a threat, know where it is, and specifically how it is coming. Your Pastor's daughter is wearing snug, sleeveless shirts, or otherwise lude clothing, and you find yourself looking at her unlawfully.

Or, your grandma is giving your prophesies, telling you whom you shall marry. She uses a Ouija board, and you know it.

In both of these situations, you have to break spiritual, and mental, association with that person. It is impossible for two to run together, if they're traveling different directions. A man going to Hawaii and a man going to Alaska, cannot ride in the same bus to their destinations.

As a homeschooler living for Christ, I have to break constant association with those who are public schooling atheists, hell-bent on destroying the foundations of 0ld-school Christianity in our government. I was in a relationship of this kind. Hanging out, if you will, with people more intelligent than I, with more worldly respect than I, but determined to crush my Christian worldview. They were warping my thinking.

A friend of mine, a Brother in Christ, whom I recently met, called me on the phone. This guy has a busy schedule, and we barely met together once or twice, and spoke fairly briefly. However, he found out about my dealings with the heathens, I suppose you could say, and took time out of his day to call me about it.

We talked for a while, and I realized that I had gradually slipped into a complacent attitude towards those that daily attack patriarchal Christianity. It was sad. I thanked him for the call, and went on my way, determined not to find myself in condition white again.

Suffice it to say, go overboard for Christ.

Guys, stop wasting your lives in front of your computers playing games or trading funny videos over MSN messenger, Skype, or AIM. In real life, soldiers don't play cards and drink. That's what somebody 'in the military' might do, sure. But not a true soldier. A true soldier is constantly in the fight, and is never lower than condition yellow, especially behind enemy lines. Get off your self-righteous, lazy butt, and do something. This isn't a condemning criticism. No, this is a call. I'm saying this as much or more to myself than I am to you.

Gals, stop putting on a show. You're not in business, so don't advertise. I'm not saying this in judgement, but rather, I'm begging in an earnest cry for help. There are guys out here who hate the manipulative clothing you wear, without the foggiest idea of what it does. Dresses help, but if they're jean dresses that force the show of curves, they're just as bad as skin tight jeans, maybe worse. A shirt is good, but a lower neck line than usual or short sleeves is very hard on a guys mind. We're working on it, but do your part and make it possible for us to have a decent conversation without being distracted.


There will be more on this in the future. Think, drill instructor styled chewing outs.

A lot of men come to my Father seeking advice. Coaching. But when it gets too hard, or they refuse to change their couch potato/sofa-slug habits, they scream that it somehow 'offends them', and they leave. They're a bunch of sissies is what they are. They have no grasp of the combat mindset, or how we Christians should live in a society of moral degradation and filth. Well, starting now, Dad and I aim to change all that.

This is a call to arms.

Unite.

Stand.

Stay in condition yellow.

Check your six.

May God Bless you, and keep you.

~ In Christ, John.