So, here we are at the end of an another year.  Boy, were has time gone?  

What a year!!  A year of change.  This time last year we were still in North Carolina getting ready for the chapter of our journey.  Now, back in Texas I think we can look back on a successful year in so many ways.  The move was a success and I think we have settled down here pretty well.  There are still things we miss, but, I think the transition went better than I hoped for an expected.

So, this leads to the new year.  I think it has to be a year of consolidation.   We definitely need to find a Spiritual home.  Our church in Raleigh and the folks there are the thing we miss and missed the most.  I really hope and pray that early in 2012 we will have found a community here.   I also want to write more, or, at this point I should almost say start again.  By this I mean writing poetry again, or just posting on my blog.  

With a few hours to go in 2011 I would like to say to my wonderful bride.  Thanks for this exciting journey and here's to many more.  I love you!!

-Richard

Who thought finding a new Church would be so difficult?  Trying to find the right doctrine, or trying to find one with the right "social" teaching.   At some point it has to be a compromise, but, where?  Or, does there have to be?

-Richard

The eleventh day of the eleventh month. Does this mean anything any more? The dark days of The First World War are now a distant memory away. Then war, at least until the horror of the trenches became so apparent was all glory. Have things changed? Every life can be destroyed in an instant, even the world due, to the destructive power in our hands. So, do we remember and say "never again!" or, do we still revel in military might, honour and glory?

"We shall NEVER forget the ultimate sacrifice and NEVER again"

-Richard

Here I am in Starbucks playing with my new iPad having finally joined the twenty-first century.

Reading the news though it really makes me think about how far have we really come. I have just recently re-read The Communist Manifeso and Winston Churchill's history "The Age of Revolution". What do these have in common? Protests against the rolling classes be it The British for the American colonists, or the French Bourbon monarchy, or the bourgoeis in the case of Marx and Engels.

Now too today. Occupy Wall Street has emerged and spread throughout the country and into the world. Common folks, essentially protesting the mis-use of power be it form the financial powers or the governments. A different target than the days gone by, but the same cause: a person or group of people abusing positions they are in to the detriment of the average person, who in most cases are the reasons they are in the position of "power". What will the outcome be I don't know, but, if history is to be believed man's ultimate selfish nature will prevai and even if there is a short term change does occur it will not be for long. The Russian Revolution is the best example of this. The Marxist-Leninist ideal corrupted almost immediately by power hungry folks leading ultimately to the evil dictatorship of Stalin meaning the oppressed people before the revolution ended up being in an even worse place.

The only way for true fairness is for the "true" message and teaching of Christ to be followed.

More on this later.

- Richard

Pharisees

The other day I was driving to Dallas and listened to podcasts from Fred, the pastor from our old Church in Raleigh.  Listening I was struck (again) how so many in the so called "Christian Right" resemble the Pharisees of the New Testament.  This certainly was not the theme, but, it certainly spoke to me that way.

A religious hypocrite

In Biblical times

A Pharisee, 

Or Sadducee?

Following the rules 

To the letter

Impossible to be perfect

Yet stoning the fallen

Where in true judgement

They would all stand together.

A religious hypocrite

In the twenty-first century

A right wing Conservative,

Or fundamentalist?

Ignoring the new Gospel

Condemning those who disagree

With hate not love.

Ignoring their failings

The modern day Pharisee

They claim to abhor.

-Richard

A new blog

I have decided to create a separate blog where I pull away from my original one.  That has essentially turned into me listing, and occasionally writing about the books I read.  The main reason for this is that those posts sometimes get lost, even to me among all the books I read.

I want to try and blog more on how to live and what it is like to live a Christian Life in the US, especially in terms of the current socio-political environment.    I am sure I will go of on many different tangents, but, hey, that's what I do!!!
-Richard