Above All

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

John 3:16
For God So loved the world that, He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Reason

The reason why I can only fall on my knees and whisper... Thank You Lord...
When I saw this on YouTube I knew what day to post it on... I wonder if the writers ever thought that the song could describe how I feel about what Jesus did for us on the Cross...

Hoobastank : The Reason Lyrics
Songwriters: Estrin, Daniel; Hesse, Chris; Lappalainen, Markku; Robb, Douglas;

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Thats why i need you to hear

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is You

and the reason is You [x3]

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found out a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

Jesus Messiah

Now once again it becomes time to remember the last Passover... Praise my savior Jesus!

Para mi amor

I miss you like the desert's miss the rain...
Where do you go to my lovely...
Please don't go... you're the only Angel I know...
Just some songs from No Mercy that help pass the time while MD is away in Johannesburg... The guitar playing of this group always makes me wish I could! The notes seem to tug at my heart...
Especially after our trip to Argentina I have gotten very fond of Latina music, particularly the ones from South and North America, they have a vibrancy and energy that is contagious.
So until mi amor is back I will console myself with music and doing some solo riding on the bike...
I found this amusing quote that sums up how things have gone the last few days as fitting in with the title of the first song...
"Either I've been missing something or nothing has been going on." Karen Elizabeth Gordon

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.”

Where do you stand?

While the world seems to be in shock it forgets how Hamas uses the funds it gets from outside.
The anti Israel block decries the support Israel receives in aid from the west but forgets to mention that the same amount of financial support goes to the Palestinians as well.
The crux of the matter is the application of this money...
Israel builds better facilities for it's citizens... the palistinians build tunnels to smuggle in weapons.
The Israelis buy seed and fertilizer for farms, the Palestinians buy fertilizer... for bombs and rockets.
Israel devotes it's energy to the upliftment of it's society, the Palestinians break down their society by perpetrating violence against Israel.
Israel leaves the settlements in Gaza complete with working infrastructure... the Palestinians blow it up anyway.
If you still think the Palestinians are being oppressed by Israel then you need to do more research on the matter.
By the way... the people called Palestinians are really part of the same people that live in the countries bordering Israel and have even less claim to the land they occupy... very conveniently forgotten by their countries of origin so that they can be used in the war against the Jews by the islamic nations.
“We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us” Golda Meir

The answer is plain to see

Many years ago a group of well meaning Christians layed hands on me and asked God that my right leg be "healed" in the sense that it would grow back to the length it was before the accident that had shortened it... nothing happened and they were quite surprised that nothing had happened... but I was not dissapointed as far as I was concerned it was a miracle that I still had my leg... seeing more than 27 bits of bone on an x ray makes one gratefull when 18 months later you put down the crutches...
Then last year I had another accident and the same leg was involved... titanium screws and plate helped get all the parts together again. I had proper therapy this time as well and with the help of the physiotherapist I now have more movement than ever in my ankle... Because she was able to explain why and we both wanted the leg to be better than before... so in a way there was laying on of hands...
If you are wondering where this is leading to bear with me.
You see I believe in the microcosmic miracle as well as the blown away type. The healing in both my accidents were on the microcosmic scale. Insignificant to many people but real to me, God worked a miracle, he made me walk again, not once but twice!
That is why I am always puzzled when people say they do not believe in miracles because X's leg that was amputated never grew back when people prayed and layed hand on X... that is just an example of how people want to be convinced by "blown away" miracles.
Then today in church we again read a passage from Luke 1, but that is not what caught my eye... the last verses of the previous book was what I had never really seen before!
St Mark 16 verse 18
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
There was my answer and the answer for the ones that get dissapointed when the miracle that they hoped for never happened... Jesus said "sick" not maimed! However I do believe that if God wants to and it would glorify his name that he would restore a maimed person as well. We shoul also remember that God promised perfect bodies when we join him in Heaven, so as a person with "battle scars" so to speak I have no use to be perfect in body while on this mortal coil. The porpose of a "blown away" miracle is never for the person involved as such but for the glorification of God and to serve as example of his Power and Majesty. The person recieving the miracle is a vessel for this purpose. Not for us but for You!

The quote for the day is also very true... each breath I take is a "blown away" miracle to me!
"We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery." H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)

Agnus Dei

This is the time of the year when Christians commemorate of the birth of Jesus... Son of God but more important! Lamb of God who died for my sin and through his Spirit I attempt to live the Love he is and has shown us by his sacrifice on the Cross...

- - Alleluia, alleluia
For the lord God almighty reigns
Alleluia, alleluia
For the lord God almighty reigns
Alleluia

Holy, holy are you lord God almighty
Worthy is the lamb
Worthy is the lamb
You are holy, holy are you lord God almighty
Worthy is the lamb
Worthy is the lamb
Amen
so while doing the dishes I decided to listen to some Christian music and got FoxyTunes to look for more on YouTube. It found some in Spanish... Por español...

Another Spanish version, the song has a special sort of meaning when I heard it today in Spanish, the language we sort of picked up in Argentina...
Forgive me for not having done the Argentina trip yet, since getting back it has been rather hectic at work and blogging has not been a prime objective... will get around to that as soon as I can... In the meantime all I can do is praise God for the things he has done.
You are the Lord
The famous one
Famous one
Great is your name
In all the earth
The heavens declare
You're glorious, glorious
Great is your fame
Beyond the earth
Chris Tomlin - The Famous One

Livin la vida Mushroom

Once again I have to change plans I had for the weekend because no one informed me that we have to close the system a week earlier!
I normally do not mention work on my blog but I need to rant somewhere!
So this weekend's trip to St Francis is fading fast, so sorry Moondancer!
I hate it when that happens...
However... this will give me a chance to update some of my draft postings from Argentina.
Unless... just maybe I can figure out how to get away...
“You must grow like a tree, not like a mushroom”
Janet Erskine Stuart

Tears in heaven

As a member of Wild Dogs adventure riding forum we were saddened to hear of the passing of one of our members.
Songololo, you will be missed but will be remembered by family, friends and all you touched during your brief stay here on earth.
As a father of a wonderful son and daughter myself I still cannot imagine what his parents and family are going through, I believe nothing ever crosses one's path that God cannot hold you through but losing a child is one of the toughest ones.
To all I offer my condolences and you will be in my prayers. When something like this happens I am always reminded of this song from Eric Clapton... written after he lost his 4 year old son.

Tears in heaven.
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

(instrumental)

Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
Hopefully this will be of some comfort to his loved ones.
"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come."
Rabindranath Tagore