Awesome!

Just to show how awesome the universe is... a glimpse by photographer Daniel Lopez.  

Makes these words from the Bible ring very true. Psalm 147:4-5 says "He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite."

Home is where the love is.

This is our own Galaxy the Milky Way, our solar systems home in the Universe. Home to an estimated 200 to 400 Billion stars, just in one Galaxy! There are an estimated 100 Billion Galaxies in the observable Universe.
God knows each star by name, (He heals the broken hearted... He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Psalms 147: 3-4) , each person by name ("See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:16) and by inference each Galaxy by name. How amazing is that! That we, unobservable specks on an unobservable planet in an average Galaxy circling an average star on a speck of rock are known by name and Loved by the Creator of all.
I give the thanks o Lord for you are King of kings, Lord of all. May I always look upon your works and know your Majesty, may I never stop praising and glorifying your name.
Today I bring you a medley of quotes to ponder...
“The reduction of the universe to a single being, the expansion of a single being even to God, this is love.” Victor Hugo
“The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms” Lao Tzu
“Everything is perfect in the universe - even your desire to improve it.” Wayne Dyer
“What makes the universe so hard to comprehend is that there's nothing to compare it with.”
“The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.” Scott Adams
The one I like best!
“May my soul bloom in love for all existence.” Rudolph Steiner

Infinity...

another word for Forever or as we Christians believe, Heaven... how do we get there... easy, simple, listen to this song and find the hidden meaning that got planted there by the Holy Spirit when I started playing this song a few times...

Here are the lyrics with some "keys" in the url links... I will add some explanation on a verse by verse basis... not that there are many verses.
Infinity - Guru Josh aka Paul Walden
Here's my key = Jesus is the key of course.
Philosophy = The Gospel is the best philosophy.
A freak like me = Some call Jesus a freak as well as those that follow him.
Just needs infinity = God's "unboundedness."

Relax = Trusting in God makes one relax and worry less.
Take your time = Once you find God time has a different meaning.

And take your time
To trust in me = Psalm 56:11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
And you will find = Ask God for guidance, through the Word and prayer.
Infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me = We need to trust like children.
And you will find
Infinity, infinity

The time goes by
So naturally = As a child of God one tends to naturally obey God.
Why you'll receive = Believing brings blessings.
Infinity

Here's my key
Philosophy
A freak like me
Just needs infinity

Relax
Take our time

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find
Infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity, infinity

And take your time
To trust in me
And you will find

The time goes by
So naturally
Why you'll receive
Infinity

These are the key Bible references that opened up the song to me as well as the ones I linked to...
Psalm 56:11

"In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid . . . "

Matthew 18:3 (New International Version)

3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I am constantly amazed how God is using music to get his message through, even when the artist/songwriter does not even believe in God! So next time, before you freak out at the music your child/grandchild is listening to relax... thank God that He is in control and will put the right words in their ears and eventually their mind will connect the dots and see his Glorious plan. Trust in Him...
Getting back to Infinity which is also a description of God's unboundedness (is that a word?), we cannot put God in a box, he is Infinitely more wonderful, powerful and loving than we could even begin to imagine. To understand him would take Eternity... and that is why he wants us to be there so that he can show us once again how he created all so that we may know that he is God and he loves us Infinitely.
That sentence above sort of loops around the word Infinity... and the Mobius loop is a symbol in one dimension which tries to show how infinitely complex the universe is that God created. I am looking forward to spending Eternity exploring Infinity.
“Love is like a mirror. When you love another you become his mirror and he becomes yours... And reflecting each others love you see infinity.”

The Universe is a zoo.

Today's APOD is amazing! This is now being named Hanny's Voorwerp. At the moment no one is very sure what it is, some think a cloud of energized gas, wich is of galactic proportions by the way, or a Green Dragon? It shows that there are still many things to be discovered in the Universe. Every time something like this happens I am reminded who created it all and how AWESOME God is.
If you think you have the eye and the time, register at the Galaxy Zoo and do some identification. I have...
I leave you with these thoughts on the Universe...
There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what
the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be
replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another
theory which states that this has already happened.
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)

The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten
counting system and likes round numbers.
Scott Adams (1957 - )

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the
universe.
Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996)

Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we
can imagine.
Sir Arthur Eddington (1882 - 1944)

The Weaver

The Weaver
Written in relative realtime.

"Quite a thunderstorm, hey John?" I comment to my collegue, then the radio splutters and the lights go out!

With a barely perceptible hum the UPS takes the load, sitting in the darkened computer room with just the monitor's light I thank old Volta for his bright idea to store electricity in a fluid. Then it strikes me, my brain is a fluid medium, why not interface to a computer via a fluid instead of wires and optic fibre?

The Weaver sat at the loom scanning his handiwork, the Core was stable, shimmering in the neural glow, strands of peptides and neucliosides made up the web of the Core. Softly he touched the strands with minute care, potential flowed across the synapses and he seemed to fade from view. The Core seemed to expand exponentialy then turned a violet blue. The Weaver was gone!

"Daydreaming again! Pete?" My collegue John calls out to me from his terminal. "Naw, just doing a rollback" I quickly banter. The lights pop on again and the room is awash with harsh neon light, I close my eyes to protect me from the glare. "How long was that outage?" I ask.

Light was streaming in from all sides as the Weaver emerged from the Core, surveying his surroundings he made a quick mental calculation, the jump had taken 15 milliseconds and now he was 15,000,000 kilometers from where he had begun. He was on his way home.

"About 15 seconds, according to the log" answers John, I shake my head in wonder, amazing how much one can think of in 15 seconds.

The Weaver glanced up from the Core to see a dark shadow cross the window of the Core housing, he moved over to the aperture to be greeted by a blinding flash of lightning streaking across the sky, it seemed to extend from one horizon to the next, a storm on Jupiter is always an impressive affair. He was also thankful for the fact that the Core's energy field was designed to absorb and convert any energy that hit it, almost alike to a sponge sucking up water.

I sit and ponder how we humans might be using technology in 15,000 years time from now and if we would recognize them as being human, "mmm I am daydreaming again." I smile wryly.

The Weaver turned to move back to the Core, it was built inside a relatively small speck of silicon & protein suspended beneath an envelope of Dacron floating in the Jovian skies. Insignificant, but more powerful than the very planet it was stationed on, actualy floating on the atmosphere in its electromagnetic fields to be correct.

The Weaver remembered the day he had fashioned the first Core, a crude affair compared to the one before him. It had taken him 15 years to perfect the first one, and each one thereafter was made more complex than the last, the 15 'th Core became a thing of wonder at it was the first to self replicate, just 15 months after the first.

"Well Just another 15 minutes then my shift ends John" I was looking foreward to return home after working an extra 4 hour shift to get all the data loads done for the Fermilab's project on microminiature circuitry.

The terminal beeped and flashed:

> DATALOAD COMPLETED...______
> Remove tape from unit 15 please!_
> #____________________________

The Weaver turned and touched the web of the Core with a delicate stroke, shimmering he disappeared from view.

Less than 15 milliseconds later he was in the chamber of the first Core, albeit a reincarnated version, as the Core was now a living entity of its own, replicating and improving itself across the galaxy. The next step was a jump to the Andromeda galaxy, for that the Core had summoned the Weaver to his home planet, even though the Core was self sufficient it needed the touch of a human to help weave the next part of the web of Cyberstrands that would spread across the galaxy out into the universe itself. Transporting itself and its human symbiont's to ever further galactic frontiers.

After removing the tape and placing it in the rack for storage I gaze back at my terminal, the screen saver had kicked in and an image of the Andromeda galaxy as seen through the Hubble telescope was now filling the display. "I wonder if any human will ever gaze on this from a closer perspective John?"

The Weaver gazed in wonder at the sight before him, a million billion stars dancing before his eyes, it was a familiar yet alien view, he was the first human to visit the new Core on a planet of one of the outermost stellar systems of the Andromeda Galaxy. "To think this all was started by a power outage of 15 seconds, 15,000 years ago while I was daydreaming, 15 must be my lucky number."
The Weaver has a smile of utter content on his face as he gazes at the starry sky.

As promised this is one of the short stories I wrote in 2001... hope you enjoyed it.
"A prose writer gets tired of writing prose, and wants to be a poet. So he begins every line with a capital letter, and keeps on writing prose." Samuel McChord Crothers

Finding the fire within

This video and should make us all realize how awesomely wonderfully the Universe is being created before our very eyes.

This past Sunday I decided to tone down my blogging and other online activities to meditate with the Bible and have some solitude. It was not something I read in Scripture but an idea that I felt I had to carry out. I am so glad I did because very often I do not...

On Monday loaded all my Christian, instrumental and classic music... I have been missing this. Checked my mail and answered what had to be done then went back to some cleaning... both of the flat and my soul. My reading for the day was Colossians 2:10 how we are completed in Him with the Holy Spirit and 4:12 where we are reminded to pray for one another.
On Tuesday I did what was needed for the weeks reports then I went shopping for some music, I was looking for some Gregorian Chants and managed to find 2 albums... One by Canto Gregiano and the other by St Dominic's Priory... plus I bought Daughtry... their songs just touch my soul but I will be listening to them later this week, in the meantime my soul has a hunger for Chant... something in the Latin words is just filling a hunger in my heart plus all my Christian music... I must listen to it more often and get Winamp to play more of it. My reading for the day was Psalm 119... a prayer for purification, sanctification, blessings and guidance. Read the whole psalm, you will be astounded.
On Wednesday I had a Physio appointment... She is very happy with my progress and attitude. I also had electro therapy... at first I felt nothing but as the current started to stimulate my nerves it kicked in, a pleasant tingle. Since then the exercises have been easier to do. I compare it to becoming aware of how the Holy Spirit has slowly revitalised my spiritual life.
I was also invited for a drink by my best friend at their bike club, I had quite a good time but the amazing thing was that I got a chance to have a chat to another biker that is planning a trip on his father's bike, something they had spoken about but never done as the father had been killed in a car accident a while ago. I gave him a short version of my 12 days in the Cape and encouraged him to do the adventure they had planned as tribute and witness to his fathers memory. Never say no to following a shared dream, even if one of you is no longer there. God speed Max and go with the memory of your dad and the best wishes from me. I will be thinking of you. As I drove home in the spring rain I knew that rejuvenation had returned to the dry countryside as well. My reading for the day was just browsing through and reading some passages I had underlined in the past, a sort of review of where I was and had come from. Amazing how many times the word seven is used, yet my concordance has no references to look up... I think this is a study on it's own so I am going to do so some time soon.
On Thursday I read some of my regular blogstops and found that somehow they were also having introspective episodes... quite amazing as their experiences sort of found an echo in my soul. Just Peachy was giving advice on keys, Scully has also taken a break and her next one is also a good read.
But BWH's one had me smiling because I feel like partying as well after realising that I have been welcomed back with open arms. The reading for the day was Isaiah 59:17 and Ephesians 6:10-18, how we are to armour ourselves and be a witness. Just like I should have had all the kit on the day of my accident we have to dress for spiritual success.
On Friday we said goodbye to my assistant at work, Monday means I have to start training a new assistant... Then I dropped off M as he and the Lady Cheetahs are on their way to Pretoria for the Semi finals... Holding thumbs for Saturday's game. Watched some of the RWC games and had an early night. The reading for the day was from quite a few passages, almost a summary of Renewal if you like; Psalm 51:10 Renewal and Cleansing, Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 103:5 given the Strength of eagles, 2 Corinthians 4:16 Renewal of our spiritual being, Ephesians 4:23 Renewal of our Attitude and Romans 12:2 our minds being renewed to focus on God's will. WOW
On Saturday Shrek got delivered and I parked it on it's spot in the carport, had this urge to kit up and take a spin... that will have to wait till I can put weight on my leg (sigh)... Then I went to visit my best friend, to chew some cud and have a chat about bikes and life. After that I headed to the MX track and had a ball until the sun set trying out the sprinkler system with Anton and watching all the guys practice... the smell of damp earth, petrol and exhaust fumes made me feel so alive again. Now that the track is watered more often we have more and more blokes wanting to ride and join... this was money well spent and I am also thankful to all the firms that chipped in to fund the system. This sport is now so part of my life I cannot think of not being involved in some way or another. Then we all headed to Duggie's place for a sundowner...Caught the last few minutes of the Sharks/Cheetahs game... The Cheetahs won... both the Currie Cup team and the ladies team that my son M assists as sport scientist, he had sms'd me earlier the day, I am so glad that his team is on the way to the final, all his and the coaches hard work this season has paid off and it is another notch in his CV. My kids make me so proud! L has been busy all the time this break with assignments, I would have left them for next term if I was in her shoes. The reading was Isaiah 41:10, God assures us of his presence... and on Sunday Pastor had a sermon based on Revelation 3:20-23 on how we can Overcome the world through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and it just summed up what has been happening all week on a spiritual level. So looking back I realise it was the Holy Spirit that had put that idea of taking a break in my head... He wanted to spend some time with me and I was blessed to be obedient. So next time you have a crazy idea it may well be a prompt from Heaven for you to find the Fire Within. I have...

This is the second awesome video and should make us all realize how awesomely wonderfully we are created. Pity about the commercial at the end though, not my favourite make of car, now if it were Subaru...
It's the thirst for approval, validation and justification, from sources outside of yourself, that blinds you to the fact that they need not be earned.