Photographs

Greetings,

the photos below are meaningful to me, since I walked or drived to take them. Two came from my Truck's windshield, one came from the window of Pizza Hut, and the others came sidewalks and streets and railroad tracks. Walking to me is a way to release any tension I might have from routines and repetitive environments, and by talking in my mind and aloud to God while on the romp, my thoughts eventually clear up. Our Creator can show us much if we slow down to see. We're all so hushily in the United States, so hasty and manicured for pleasure seeking, that we sometimes miss out on being obedient and faithful to God and His perfect plan for each of our lives. The plan involves us becoming less stuck on ourselves, which opens a huge door to love others and the Lord.

I'm not sure if these photos convey any sort of message which correlates with the words above, but if anything, they must convey something to each one who may see them. If anyone happens to check this site out at all, even once, then feel free to comment on anything you feel like--photos, the Bible, orangutans, tanning salons, or the Magna Carta.

Many blessings,

Matthew

Pioneer Avenue--This thrift store's clerk woman put me on the "honor system" by allowing me to take home a Ray Stevens 45, which includes on the A side "The Streak", because I didn't have any money. The record cost 49 cents. She told me that "I have faith that you will come back and pay the amount...This place is meant to help the poor, so you don't want to stand before God knowing that you once stole from the poor. All that trouble over a record!" I was so nervous that I would find a Russian mafia money collector at my door one day if I didn't pay the money back. The very next day I paid my debt, naturally.
 

Right: The lady at the thrift store, was shocked to see my two quarters... needless to say. 

North Meridian Avenue--A Look Through My Windshield at Dawn 

Puyallup--The hobo's view. 

Taken in Puyallup--One of the many pieces of local art done by local artists. There are some excellent pieces all around the parks and downtown district. And to see this one, which is either a portrayal of John Henry or some railroad worker, is quite funny when you see it from afar. You might say to your neighbor, "Hey, that thar's Mr. Henry. He's a streel-driving man, didn't you know?" Of course we did, crazy hillbilly man, of course. 

Jerry's Cafe--I simply enjoy neon signs. Plus, I love cafes. Big, greasy burgers, tantalizing plates of French dip, navy bean soup, chowder, coffee and apple pie can make your day. Good stuff.  

Feeling A Little Like Job

"Is there not a time of hard service for a man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man" (Job 7: 1).

Though I am not in the same situation as Job, that honorable man of Uz, who had lost a hair shy of everything he had, including his children and livestock to natural disasters and thieves, my heart relates to him in the way that all men might be able to. I simply struggle too. We all do. I especially do not mind struggling, for it brings change and strength to my maturity and understanding. He who increases knowledge of God increases his strength says Solomon in one pearl of Proverbs, and thus it is that I have learnt this very simple fact: God will show me a thing instead of telling me. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter " (Proverbs 25: 2).

Coming home this morning felt so wonderful, like a revelation, a gift of good news being sent through my soul, to be given the chance to work and come home tired and ready for rest is a blessing unto itself. My feet ache and my skin feel the irritation of the fiberglass, which is always the usual feeling of working in the Pultrusion department of a window and door manufacturer on a twelve hour shift. Ah, so good!

"If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1).

Honor and glory be to the Lord, for He is my God, and today He strengthened me to go further in my walk and interests in life, real, unmistakable life. Early in the morning after midnight, as I put my latest reading down on my brown, upholster-challenged recliner I prayed to Him for the desire to be motivated throughout the day ahead, to be given strength to split and stack wood in addition to spraying the weeds in the neighbors' driveway and walkways around their home for some extra funds. My day off was ahead of me. I at first was reluctant to get out of my bed, which at 7:00 AM or when your mind's psychology is wired to rest after it's body's laboring of any time before, feels like the only meaningful thing in the world. Of course that is just plain stupid to think that way, but in the moment you're almost always tricked into believing the lie. Making the coffee felt great, when in time it was finished it was even better; although, there was an absence to value to drinking my coffee because no one was around to share it with me. Another piece of emotional work checked off on the list.

I prepared for the day with some bacon and three fried eggs, a doughnut, a couple glasses of water, and a couple chapters in Colossians, which I read throughout the day (on my lunch break and when work was over). Uplifted in body and soul, from a hearty breakfast and a first century exhortation, I took with me water and gloves out the front door, leaving Zip, the red heeler, to fend for himself inside. The four horses managed to break through the coiled electric gate to the bottom hay field, which is not very shocking--pardon the cheap pun--because our landlords' terminal is one with weak voltage. "Lousy horses, " I thought to myself as I walked each horse one by one by halter to the top "triangle pasture". After that business, with cleaning and filling the 50 gallon water trough, it was 10:00 AM, and I finally started getting after those sprouting weeds.

Imagining and simply day dreaming can motivate a man to work at a moderate rate and with good quality; of course there must be some restrictions to being infatuated with those wondrous topics on the bulletin board in your thoughts, for the task sometimes is forgotten when he drifts too far. I drift in and out of deep thought as I am working, though when I am immersed in my job, my brow will narrow, wrinkling my forehead, and my eyes will concentrate on my duty. I did this today as I wielded maul, sharp and solid as it came down on hemlock and maple wood for a good five hours. Recollecting, there was a cheesy memo on the news board at work, which offered tips on getting that "second wind" during the long hours of your shift. One tip said, "Take an Imagi-cation", which from what I observed is simply taking little imaginary vacations. That made me laugh like a madman when I read it, spreading my glee to my co-works who really didn't think it was as funny as I did, and some didn't think it was funny at all. They probably have never taken an Imagi-cation, so they can't understand the innocent splendor (i.e., a cheap thrill) one feels when he takes off on one of those high-flying expeditions into unseen spaces. It is of unending joy, straight up and with no question. I have heard some people say that Paul the apostle "was just some man who wrote a bunch of angry letters", but that kind of statement is made by the skeptic, the right-off the-bat sort, who needing the truth as much as anyone, has built a thousand-mile thick wall between him and God. Reading Paul's epistles, and particularly his letter to the Colossians, reveals the truth that he wasn't writing them for sake of writing until his hand cramped up or until he ran out of papyrus scrolls in a Roman prison cell. When reading, really studying all of the Bible and what this minister wrote shows and that it all came to be by the Holy Spirit (this is where the agnostic, atheist, and the liberal theologist throws all his unbelief and pride against Scripture, for the "hard-core" unbeliever does not believe because, I think, he relies too much on how and why instead of being curiously accepting). Read Colossians 2: 20-23 below:

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world,
why as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations--"Do
not touch, do not taste, do not handle," which all concern things which perish
with the using--according to the commandments of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

He was a tool in the Carpenter's hand, the clay in the work of the Master's hand. Saying what he said there, he was reproaching the ideas that to be right with the Lord one must abide by laws which are of no value, more directly, he was telling everyone that the law was a "tutor", and that these regulations are not needed anymore, for grace interjected at the cross in Jesus' sacrificial death, and faith in Christ is like giving up on earthly means of entrance into heaven. It is odd that today, when you talk about heaven, people act as if they don't really care which way they go when they kick the bucket and push up daises. "It's all here and now, not there and then." Reading the Word today in a consistent way offered much insight and learning, and for this I thank the Author and Finisher of my faith, Christ Jesus.

At Fort Lewis the Army has been dropping shells and testing their weaponry all day, so as I worked I could hear the distant thump and echo of dropped explosives, all very well heard and felt. Living near a military base is quite a thrill. I have some friends who were born and bred on those installations in the U.S.A. and overseas, which would be a real thrill needless to say. Just a quick thought: It puts me in amazement to hear of the many situations all of us--believers and nonbelievers--are in today. We are in an exciting and trying time; war is looming always, and new causes of illness are very often discovered, and man is constantly moving toward aspirations and his desires. In the words of God as He came down to see the city and tower of Babel, "Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech" (Genesis 11: 6, 7).

A Seattle Seagull 

Celebration of Christ's Resurrection

"Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for and angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you" (Matthew 28: 1-7).

Today is the celebration of Christ's Blessed Resurrection, His conquest over death, and the eternal life open now for all to be blessed with. Death is now a flame's shadow. Some go on with that flickering wick, but all in vain do they carry it. Charles Wesley's hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today shall be the extent of this entry. The joy for today's celebration is so perfectly expressed in this:

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply: Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Alleluia!
Christ has burst the gates of hell: Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise; Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise! Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died, our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven! Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given; Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now; Alleluia!
Hail, the Resurrection, thou! Alleluia!

Or simply exclaim: He is risen!

Joy in My Heart

"Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained" (2 Timothy 2: 8-9).


I am up, awake, and ready for this night of work again; though it may be a small stage in life, the prospect that I am always on God's side (rather than the popular understanding that He is on another's side), for Him to mold my work at all times, is an abundant blessing. Paul wrote many letters and words which many Christians would encounter as well. The truth we believers must ground ourselves in is the truth that all the turbulence of the day is not something random; the troubles of this day have been ultimately caused by man's sins, and more obvious, man's pride--soon he will want to be called God.

Non-believers, if you so happen to be reading any of these words, I advise you to reconsider your own happiness, comforts, and affluence, by wondering what these things are based upon. You might say that they are based upon you, or possibly someone or something vaulable to you. You might base your life on love, but what kind of love? The love which reaches only so far as to the end of this life, easily trampled and quite finiky? Think about this: the Word of God is not chained. The limitlessness in that foundation produces love for all time here and in eternity, where time is of no consequence. May you come to the base where the moth will not destroy,
where rust will not ruin, and where there will be no thief to steal your treasure.

Scripture Passage of The Day: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with
the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians
4:16-18).

On the road under Heaven 

Some Words on Death and Most Emphatically on Life

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,
Before the difficult days come,
And when the years draw near when you say,
"I have no pleaure in them";
While the sun and the light,
The moon and the stars,
Are not darkened,
And the clouds do not return after the rain.
(Ecclesiastes 12:1,2)
Finished a phone call with my folks and grandparents in California, and talked with Grandma as she is still overcoming the natural time of sadness of having lost her mother, almost 86. I quoted Psalm 39:7 to her at the end of the call, and she gave a short sigh which sounded like a release of stress or a commission of power by hearing that verse. "My hope is in you," said the psalmist. Indeed, without that hope all that a man can wait for is death; it comes so stealthily, and yet so predictable and regular, precise and neat. That doesn't mean it came naturally, only that now it is natural. People like my great-grandmother who passed on, died in the flesh, are not forsaken to the grave. Despite the cynicism of this age, the various thoughts of man's so-called rebirths (e.g., the Renaissance and the Enlightenment) have no power over a child of God, who was at first from birth condemned to darkness and a death hole of Hell, but since saved by supernatural actions of Christ now is eternally bonded to his (as Bunyan illustrated in Pilgrim's Progress) summons of salvation, to his God.

Great-grandma is not lost, we didn't lose her; as with all person's transformed in this life, alive once in the flesh, who were able to kneel without pressure and confess Christ as God and Savior, they merely moved away from this old shack to a glorious mansion in Heaven. As Bob Dylan said in Sweetheart Like You, "Your Father has many, many mansions, all with a fireproof floor." Jesus to Martha, whose brother Lazarus died of a sickness, said in John 11: 25, 26, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe in Me?"

No caption can possibly do this picture justice. It's simply a classic. That's my brother for you, an '88 Buick. 

INSOMNIA at 3 AM: Words for God

"And now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in You" (Psalm 39: 7).

Some thoughts on the last three days are lingering around, behind my eyes, behind the dark lines under their sockets, lifting a silent voice of words of relentless wonder and expressions of enjoyment toward the mighty works of God. I feel less dependent on people, and more interested in what God will show me next. I have no interest in my readership, whether anyone reads this or not, I do not mind writing this, for I write not out of the pleasure for it only but for the Lord who hears and knows all. All the secret things are revealed in time. One day we'll all appear before the King, president's and kings alike will stand naked before Him, He who knows the answers to the questions before we will answer back. I write for Him.

I have worked three nights in a row (36 hours of work total), though that may be somewhat easy for others, I know that if I am yawning at 7 PM on the 3rd night the shift has took it toll. And I am persuaded that my sleeping habits are pretty much screwed up by now, but the motivation that I am preparing a living for myself, becoming more wise in the reality of what God said the Adam after he had eaten of that tree of knowledge of good and evil, that man now must toil labor to eat, to survive, and that "in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground" (Genesis 3: 17, 19). Also, the satisfaction of going home while others must slave through traffic and the early morn to begin their day of toil is undeniably wonderful. At some point I know that, out of pure unadulterated spite, I'll open my sliding door on my Jeep at a red light and taunt some commuter in his Mercedez-Benz with fresh cappuccino froth still on his upper lip and sleep still in his eyes, which in turn he would most likely burn rubber, 0-60 mph in 4 seconds, which is when I would begin to pump the gas peddle so as to keep my engine from dying (I don't have fuel injection action, and still content). But that last motive is merely a perk--not the entire point, you see.

This is very unnerving to be up past 3 o'clock in the morning like an insomniac. Without work, in parts of the long duration when I yearn to be stretched out comfortably under layers of blankets and comforters, and after I've slept a good chunk of my day away when the shift is over and I've driven home, I'm at a loss for the desire to close my eyes. Work has yielded good material time and time again. For instance, on one of my breaks two nights ago, I went to the men's room with my safety glasses resting in my front shirt pocket and the next thing I know is that I witness for the first time in my entire life a pair of glasses falling (almost in slow motion it seemed) into the urinal. My face displayed a look of utter shock. Naturally, I reached in and grabbed the un-kosher spectacles and did as the Hebrews most certainly would had to do by Law if anyone had invented glasses at that time, I scrubbed those puppies with hot water and orange-scented hand soap until I heard them whimper.

I am consistently reminded of the accident last week when I sliced my hand, and when reaching for the First Aid box, fainted to the floor like a sack of cement, hitting my head on the cement floor. I'm called names like Lefty (since it was my left hand that was cut) and playfully and sarcastically asked by my supervisor, "So what was 'Nam like?" I think the bonding has increased proportionately better after all the machine operators and packers in the department had witnessed me knocked out cold on the cool ground. At least now I will spare myself of being puffed up, for it's hard to be proud when you have done what I have done. Vida es bueno.

Esta es la dia que El Dio creo,

Estoy celebro y contento en esta.

(Pardon any grammatical errors in my 1st year-ranking Spanish.)

Proverbs 24: 10

"If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."

Going Home 

Ongoing Thoughts On Mark 14:32-50

"...The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38).

I haven't made regular time for Bible study in the last week or so, becoming distracted by recreation, work, sleep, meals, television, and my own negligence. Thankfully, I've kept up in the Word, by the power of He who strengthens the weak and makes them strong, who was Gideon's confidance and is mine as well. While working for the past couple nights I have thought about the scene in Gethsemane whence Christ's body felt burdened, stressed, weary, where His disciples too became tired, but from sleepiness instead. The showdown between Creator and creation, the taming of Nature came into play here; the Lord dwealt in a flesh suit, as a man, and like the rest of of mankind, the body becomes tired, sleepy, stressed as Jesus felt before the time came for Him to be delivered unto the officials for His trial and execution. He told His disciples, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch" (v. 34). The three disciples who He brought with Him into the garden, Peter, James, and John are the parallel to the point of I have read.

Jesus, giving all of His life up to the Father, gave up His rights; the other three set on watch did not have an awareness of the importance in this situation, for all they could feel and know at the time was that the Master brought them out to this garden to pray past bedtime. But the hour was close for the Son of Man to be betrayed. The foreshadowing of the cross and all of man's sins must have been a very great sight in our Savior's mind, so great that He, God of creation, became very sad! But the beautiful thing about this situation in Gethsemane is that Christ conquered and man failed, demonstrating that man is not invinsible, but mortal and in need of the salvation which Christ established the next day.

With a few index cards of Scripture written on them, while on break I take one out of my pocket or lunch box and take a moment to think about that particular passage. Mark 14:38 is another verse which sticks to my ribs, sticks to my mind; it is another reminder from God that I am weak and He is strong.