A Christian Viewpoint

I got an occular migraine happening right now. At least that is what the optomitrist called it when I explained the symptoms. There is no pain associated with the experience. What happens is that your vision changes and it looks like you are looking through one or whole bunch of small prisms. General shapes and even smaller objects are easy to make out but the finer stuff, like reading print, is almost impossible.

I was over reading dougie_g’s blog when it came on. Almost impossible to read anything. I decided to write this up just in-case others have had the same experience. It isn’t serious and it goes away after a time. I guess I am making a public service announcement. Anyone else ever have this problem and how did it affect you? Curious to compare notes.

Apologies if there are typos… can’t see well enough to know if I got everyone of them.

The Children of Hurin

author: J.R.R. Tolkien

This book is rather a quick read. Slow to start but the action picks up nicely and then carries you along. Images have been included to give you a visual perspective.

The story itself? If you have read The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien you would know that they take place in the third (?) age. Other of his books cover the same period while others give you an overview of the history of middle earth. The Children of Hurin goes back to the days of antiquity. The first age when the great evil first took a permanent body and, as always, was striving to crush middle earth in his hand.

It begins with a battle between good and evil. Turin, one of the human leaders, joins forces with some of the elves to throw back the hand from Angband. The battle is lost and Turin is taken captive. The story then turns to his home where his pregnant wife and infant son Hurin wait for Turin’s return. If you are expecting a happy tale don’t pick-up the book. The story is a dark one and tradgeties abound. A curse placed upon the family of Turin by Morgoth exacts a terrible price. Hunted and haunted heros and heroins. There are moments of victory mind you but the twists in the story may be found disturbing by some readers.

As I came down to the last couple of chapters the reading became too familiar. I knew the outcome before the chapter ended. Perhaps having read many of the other books this story was covered in part and my mind filled in the rest. Either that or my longterm memory is on the fritz and I have read the book before. I doubt that but just incase you are an avid reader of Tolkien’s work you should know that the ending may not be too surprising. If you haven’t read any of Tolkien’s works before there is a good primer at the beginning of the book to help the novice understand the overall storyline of middle earth.

For the past couple of weeks I have been going out for a drive around the harbour. Sometimes with Linda and have a good talk. Sometimes alone with God for a good talk. On several occassions there would be a stop or two in route. One night Linda and I watched some stalwart people with dip nets fishing for smelt off the canal piers. A walk along the pedestrian path watching the waves. One time it was to stop and share a plate of french fires. It was never quite the same and always good for the soul.

Tonight, after being cooped up in the house all day, I got in the car and went for a drive. Down Cannon, pass Dundurn Park, Plains road to Mapleview mall, right turn down to Joseph Brant hospital. Now comes the part I like the most. Keep driving along the beach strip road.

There is a point where you turn to the right to pass under the big bridges. Tonight the road was blocked by pylons with a cruiser parked behind them, headlihgts dimmed. No choice, turn right onto the highway access route and take the North shore cut-off. Left onto the road and then right onto the QEW Niagara access route. Oops, the bridge over the QEW south bound was closed… take the side access. You guessed it… more pylons and I pass the cruiser that was parked under the bridge. This time I see his tail-lights. Why send me all the way around?

So I go over the lift bridge and enter the parking lot on the east shore. Now I forgot my jacket and the breeze off the lake sent a chill through my body. Guess I won’t be visiting the dipnet fishermen this evening.

Back in the car I drive south to get onto beach road. Yep, the access is blocked by pylons. Why? I haven’t got the faintest idea. Inquisitive and a bit stubborn I take the west service road and drive down to Centennial. Left turn down to the beach. Pass Hutches but no fries tonight. Then a right turn onto the beach strip. Drove all the way to the end. You know what I saw. Yep, the pylons I passed going the other way. No reason for the pylons to block access. So I turn around and go home via Tim’s to pick-up a coffee for Linda.

Tonight my drive was interupted by pylons. Most of which seemed to have been placed for no purpose. It made for an interesting drive. Sigh… I wouldn’t want to do that again.

Woke up and had my breakfast. Finished watching the 700 club. Ah well, time to go upstairs and check the email etc. Stepped into the office…

My senses are reeling. Something has changed and I grope for reality. Mental confusion as my mind tries to sort out the great changes that have taken place. Finally my eyes rest on the office window. Something strange is happening. I feel a slight breeze moving through the room. Earthy sents fill my nostrils. Birds chirping while I hear the hum of traffic in the back ground.

Aha! Now I understand. The window is OPEN. I stare at it for some moments. I try to grasp the importance of what I see. Another sign that it is not only warmer outside… It must be spring too.

Earlier this year I looked outside and saw that the sun was shinning. I turned on the TV and saw that the temperature was rather nice. I cracked open the door and sniffed the air outside. “Rather inviting”, I said to myself. No coat, no hat, I stepped through the door. Outside, boy did it look big. I walked down to the sidewalk. The sun shone with a brightness I haven’t experienced in months. Oh, too bright I thought. I dared not look down… I may see my shadow. I fought the urge to run back into the house. No, no, we don’t need another six weeks of winter. I walked a little further and said I can tolerate this quite well. I have no idea what Wiarton Willy did on groundhog day but this recluse stayed out.

That was a good sign then. Warmer weather on the way. Spring cleaning, specially outside, calls to me… clean me it whispers. Well, truth be told it was more like a nag. Now the true sign that spring has finally arrived isn’t the warm temperatures. It isn’t the sun shinning. The birds? The flowers? Etc? No, no, the true sign that spring was here happened last night. Linda and I got in the car and went for a drive. Was that it? Nope. It was when we got out to Hutches at the beach strip. We got out and walked. Ooohh, two rusty soldiers of life limbering up with their first walk together of the season. Didn’t go far but it was a start.

Yep, it must be spring.

Alaska by: James A Mitchener

 Oooohhhh… that was a long read. Paperback book, over a thousand pages, small print and a billion years in the making. Well not the writing of the book took a billion years but it is the time frame that the book covers. True to form in his writing style and method Mitchener goes to the dawn of time and weaves a history from the forming of continental plates, land bridges, mastodons, mammoths, first humans, etc.

It was interesting to read how the first humans came to Alaska and settled the islands and coast lines. Then the Athapascans, Tlingits and later the Eskimo followed on and took up their own respective areas. He explains what life was like in those early days. Then he quickly comes to the white man’s foray (Russian) into this vast wilderness. The story then continues to the modern era. Sale of Alaska to the U.S., two gold rushes, salmon fisheries, Japanese invasion, statehood and on and on it goes.

This book took me four months to get through. There came points where it was just a tiring read. Eventually I read the book only during those late night episodes of sleeplessness or doctor’s visits. Ha! My wife started the book before me, she is a faster reader, but still hasn’t finished the book. She stalled about 800 pages into the book. She is currently devouring other books and reader’s digest condensed stories. I enjoyed the story but like the Lord of the Rings trilogy it needs to be broken up and read at different times. This book in one straight read is just way too long. It seems to me to be one of his longest.

About his method. One giant story filled with smaller stories for each era covered. Most of the characters are fictional and are simply a representation of the types of people in the circumstances you could have come across if you were there. The story ends rather abrutly sometime in the late 1980’s.

If you are not much of a reader you should avoid this book. If you like historical fiction and don’t mind stretching your reading over a couple of months you will enjoy this book.

As some of you may know our nephew had a lung collapse on the weekend. They inserted a tube into his chest wall to take the air out so the lung could re-inflate. He was then sent home. On Monday morning he returned to the hospital to be evaluated. His lung was previously 20% collapsed. On the evalution he was found to have a 50% collapse. He was admitted to the hospital. He underwent a simple proceedure of having a machine hooked up to the tube coming from his chest and it sucked the air out. Now they are waiting until later today or Wednesday to see if the lung will remain inflated. If not then he will have to undergo surgery to repair the lung.

Your continued prayers would be appreciated until this event has run its course.

So wordpress found a small vulnerability with the last version. “You need to upgrade your wordpress” the message says. Sigh! I remember the heartache trying to move my wordpress program and data to netfirms from powweb. Took the bit between the teeth and stepped into the process. First back-up the database in case something goes wrong. Hmmm… that was too easy. Next download the zip file to my computer. Open it up in another folder. Upload all the contents to your web server. So far seems too easy… way too easy. Went over to my site and everything is working. Huh! It’s working??? No hassels, no problem and no glitches! Everything is in its place?

Gosh, I wish everything worked that easily. It sure was nice for a change. Oh my gosh… I upgraded my site’s program and I feel something strange on my face. Never been there before. Why, it’s a smile. Sigh!

Easter is just around the corner. A lily we have in the back sunroom has decided to give us a show. It hasn’t bloomed once since we got it a couple of years ago. In the midst of the snow storms it started to put forth its flowers for the first time. Perhaps this is to symbolize a new beginning this Easter holiday. When we not only celebrate the resurrection of our Lord but the resurrection of purpose, dreams and a new life.

If we would only die to self we would live for and in Jesus.

I got an email today from someone having a problem with a page I wrote titled He who comes to God must believe that He is.

This is what he wrote:

it all started out so good but, how do you get “And these three are one, and are each one, God” ? how do you deal with these scriptures: 1.here o israel the lord thy god is one lord.: 2. one lord one faith and one baptism.:3. one god and father of all.:4 and his name shall be called wonderful……….everlasting father.5.god is spirit and they that worship him must do so in spirit and in truth. my point is i do believe that you must first believe that god is but after you need to seek god for the understanding of who is. i know that some say the trinity is mystery but it’s one that we should not even have to try to solve because to understand the oneness of god is to truly learn of gods’ love. he said he looked for a man and could not find one so his own arm has gotten him this salvation. no greater love than this that a man would lay down his life for his friend. we know god is not a man but he took upon himself the form of a servant and humbled himself even to death on the cross. isaiah writes i even i am he and besides me there is no savior. i conclude that trinity makes no sense at all and to believe in one would cause us to question who is the father of jesus the holy ghost that overshadowed mary or the father that said this is my beloved son in whom i’m well pleased.

Here was my response:

Thanks for writing. I read your email with interest. The scriptures you have used below are all valid. I will not dispute with you what they mean. A simple reading explains what each of those references mean. I accept what they say.

In my page that you read I also use scriptures. I will honestly expect you to read them with the same determination you used when pointing out your own scriptures. I have laid out for you the scriptures themselves and then I go further and point out to you what they mean to me. The conclusion I wrote about is the one that I believe is right.

Does this mean that I think you are wrong? No, not according to the scriptures you have used. The question then becomes; “what of the scriptures that Joe quotes?” In the beginning was the Word etc… is John’s way of saying that the Jesus he saw in the flesh is the same person who said… “let there be light” in Genesis.

The question you need to ask yourself is, “do I use all the scriptures to understand what God says about himself?” I know this is a hard question to honestly answer. I have struggled through years of searching to understand “the mystery.” There came a point for me when I had to simply believe what the scriptures revealed… all of them… and accept that your core statement “hear O Israel, the Lord is One” and one of mine “in the beginning… the Word was God” and “became flesh.” Do they seem at odds with each other? Of course they do. Does that mean one or the other is wrong? No, they are both right.

I would like you to know the Jesus that I know. That comes from revelation. Not because I am smart or clever or specially holy, I am not, it comes from God the Father. I needed to stretch “my faith” to accept what the bible declares. Read my page again and then pray.

Like the scriptures say, “God is the rewarder of those that diligently seek him” (which is the next page in the series).

May God bless your continued search for the truth… wherever He may lead you.

I am interested in knowing what you think on the subject. Ahem… play nice (as Patti says).