End of My Blog

This is the end of my blog on this site, I have started a new blog on a different site. Friends please check your e-mail for the new address. God Bless!

Now or Never

Yesterday I finished the last major requirement for my masters degree, this morning I woke up knowing that my life will never again be the same as it was yesterday.

It's now or never for me, time to walk through yet another door and I go this time with no reservations, no doubts and without looking backwards for one last glance.

There are many moments like this in life, some of our own making and choosing, some that life unexpectedly hands us. They're all good; it's a matter of perception, a choice to view life in the positive instead of the negative. Perhaps not at the moment when these moments occur, but more often than not our greatest misfortunes can turn into our greatest joys.

We are all given great opportunity in this life, it's ours to do with as we wish. I often counsel my students to never let anyone stand or get in the way of their dreams. I tell them when someone tells them no, or what they've dreamed is impossible that they shouldn't accept what they've been told. No one can tell you how to live your life but you. Mistakes may be made but it will be your life, for better or worse.

Stay true to yourself, follow your heart and believe with all your heart and you won't go wrong. It's only when we try to follow someone else's path that we go wrong. Follow your own path, do what's right for you, no matter what anyone tells you. Follow your heart no matter where it leads you and don't live your life in fear.

Follow the path that God has set out for you, lead the life that you were meant to and follow your dreams... never look back.

The image above can be found at:

http://www.tasanova.com/gallery/spring2002/sanctuaryPath.html

Dominion

Dominion as defined by Merriam-Webster~

Main Entry: do·min·ion
Pronunciation: d&-'mi-ny&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English dominioun, from Middle French dominion, modification of Latin dominium, from dominus
1 : DOMAIN
2 : supreme authority : SOVEREIGNTY
3 plural : an order of angels -- see CELESTIAL HIERARCHY
4 often capitalized : a self-governing nation of the Commonwealth of Nations other than the United Kingdom that acknowledges the British monarch as chief of state
5 : absolute ownership synonym see POWER

The Lord our God, whom-so-ever you might call Him by name, for He truly is one universal God, has given us dominion over the world.

Gen 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

That means the whole earth, not every square foot but the one you are occupying. The whole earth, and we are all included in that statement. You as a whole and complete person have dominion over your very own life, your circumstances and what you choose to do in this lifetime.

"The glory of God is man fully alive." ~ St. Irenaeus

The Glory of God is a Heart fully alive... the heart of a man or woman when fully alive is the Glory of God. Have you ever heard the expression "follow your heart"? As a teacher I always counsel my students that they should follow their hearts and do what they love in life and the rest will follow. No one can tell you what is in your heart. That is only something you can know. You are the key to unlocking your own heart.

Bible verses regarding dominion can be perused at~
http://blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/words.pl?word=dominion

And if you don't know what perused means look it up while you're at the Merriam~Webster site.
The Merriam~Webster dictionary definition may be located at~
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/dominion

The quote from St. Irenaeus may be found at:
http://www.ecomallbiz.com/marshall/passion2/

For further reading~

Martha Beck's "Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live "

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Your-Own-North-Star/dp/0812932188/sr=8-1/qid=1165324488/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7158927-2820168?ie=UTF8&s=books

John Eldredge's "Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive"

http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Dead-Glory-Heart-Fully/dp/0785265538/sr=1-1/qid=1165324558/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7158927-2820168?ie=UTF8&s=books

One Wish, One World, One Storm

My wish this holiday season is that the storms of life would abate for you and life would sail on, calm, along a peaceful sea. There are many comparisons to the the sea in literature, poetry, movies and many other mediums that I sometimes wonder why I didn't think of this allegory before.

As we enter the advent season life may get a little turbulent. At this time of year there are many surprises. One always hopes them to be good surprises but often they may not be.

When the storms of life swirl around you and you're in the eye of the hurricane you need to get in Jesus' boat of faith. Sometimes you may just need to sit for a moment in the calm eye of the storm before resuming your journey in your boat of faith. And that's okay, just make sure you don't stay in the eye of the storm too long lest your boat sail without you....

Mark 4: 33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were aable to hear it.

34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, aPeace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great bcalm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so afearful? how is it that ye have no bfaith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Jesus has imparted his faith unto and given us dominion over all the world~

Psalm 72:7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.

8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.

Take control of your life, don't live in fear and have faith.... for it is written.... and set sail....

Bible verses from http://scriptures.lds.org/mark/4/mark/4/33#33

& http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2072&version=9;

Definition of allegory~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory

The image above can be found at~ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2072&version=9;

Ghostdance

The following is an excerpt from http://www.hanksville.org/daniel/lakota/Ghost_Dance.html, an article written by Karen M. Strom.

"By the 1880's the U.S. government had managed to confine almost all of the Indians on reservations, usually on land so poor that the white man could conceive of no use for it themselves. The rations and supplies that had been guaranteed them by the treaties were of poor quality, if they arrived at all. Graft and corruption were rampant in the Indian Bureau. In an attempt to stem this problem, a move was made to recruit Quakers to take the positions as Indian agents, however not nearly enough Quakers responded to the call for volunteers. This call, however, opened the door to other denominations setting up shop on the reservations. An attempt was made to convert the Indians to Christianity with mixed results.
However, by 1890 conditions were so bad on the reservations, nationwide, with starvation conditions existing in many places, that the situation was ripe for a major movement to rise among the Indians. This movement found its origin in a Paiute Indian named Wovoka, who announced that he was the messiah come to earth to prepare the Indians for their salvation. Representatives from tribes all over the nation came to Nevada to meet with Wovoka and learn to dance the Ghost Dance and to sing Ghost Dance songs.

In early October of 1890, Kicking Bear, a Minneconjou, visited Sitting Bull at Standing Rock. He told him of the visit he and his brother-in-law, Short Bull, had made to Nevada to visit Wovoka. They told him of the great number of other Indians who were there as well. They referred to Wovoka as the Christ and told of the Ghost Dance that they had learned and the way that the Christ had flown over them on their horseback ride back to the railroad tracks, teaching them Ghost Dance songs. And they told him of the prophecy that, next spring, when the grass was high, the earth would be covered with new soil, burying all the white men.The new soil would be covered with sweet grass, running water and trees; the great herds of buffalo and wild horses would return. All Indians who danced the Ghost Dance would be taken up into the air and suspended there while the new earth was being laid down. Then they would be replaced there, with the ghosts of their ancestors, on the new earth. Only Indians would live there then."


In the African American oral folktale tradition slaves were said to be able to fly up to the sun and away from their *masters. *How one person can be master over another is subjective, for one can not truly *master another. Physical control yes, and at times mind control as well, but truly their is no mastering another's spirit as evidenced throughout history and the perseverance of all people everywhere to overcome obstacles placed in their path.

While some thought Ghostdancers were entirely unsuccessful in their efforts truly they were not. Ghostdancers, while appearing in the physical realm to not have achieved the purpose of their dance, had fulfilled it in a different way entirely. Ghostdancers were able to transcend spiritually to another, more astral plane, thereby preserving the traditions set down by our ancestors. Ghostdancing still continues today but more in a form of retrieval and not of a form of departure.

For more information on the Ghostdancers of the 19th century~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance

http://php.indiana.edu/~tkavanag/visual5.html

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/ghostdance.htm

http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/woundedknee/WKghost.html