Presents of Mine!

Once upon a time there was a grand-dad who had twins born to him as his grand-children. The twins looked quite similar when dressed up, but were in fact quite different. One of them was a girl who loved flowers and fruit, the other one was a boy who loved puppies & pets. One day, when they were about 24 months old, after they'd been playing in the garden, they both came to their grand-dad saying:

“Grand-dad, you said you'd have a present for each one of us, and also for both of us, when we got home after we had a play. We've had a play ..” then one of them added “..is that enough time playing?”


Their grand-dad looked at them and said, “Yes,

it is a very special (& scary) present for each one of you, - and for both of you together. ..

There are parts of it that are very sweet, yet there are parts that are very stingy;

very hairy and soft to touch, yet very scary and hard to touch,

there's only one, but there is still hundreds.
For 6 months, one of you can own all the black ones (with yellow stripes on them), &

one of you can own all the yellow ones (with black stripes on them), and then you’ll swap.”

The girl said “I'll start having all the yellow ones, with black stripes”, whereupon the boy said “Good, cause I'll start with all the black ones, with yellow stripes!”


The grand-father continued:

“They are animals that are helped by many plants, the plants put out little bowls of food - and desert, for them.

Yet, many plants are helped by them and couldn't make their baby plants without their help.
Can you guess what it is?”

They guessed (with a little prompting) - it was a beehive! How do you imagine each child felt when they both claimed the first bee they saw as their own?

One day after they had learned from their grand-dad how to extract honey from their hive. They together went to their grand-dad and asked if they could each have their own hive. What do you think the grand-dad might have replied?

Other story, world-view & philosophical underpinnings

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da'ye to be born

For God, who is invisible to us

right now, to be our refuge and our strength,

what kind of things must happen? Or what fuss

must now be made, for he to be at length

in all our trouble, ever-present help!

What more must happen for this to be so?

It's not as though we are his cub, or whelp.

Or is it? Thence our present “truths” must go?

For if we were his own offspring, why then

he might be brooding over each of us,

or gathering his chicks up like a hen

and he might be the one who makes the fuss!

If love was not the note that's out of tune,

or just a “magic trick” that is not real,

but rather something we're born from, our boon.

If “God is love”, then how do you now feel?

We will not fear, though all the earth give way,

and all the mountains fall into the sea,  

though all its waters roar and foam & spray,

and mountains quake with surging, ripple-ing.  (Selah)

The river underground, which gives off  springs,

the source of all the life of God's own town,

the holy place where God Most High still sings

and croons to all his little ones (in gown),

is steadfast and remains, she will not fall;

For God himself's within her, just in time

he'll help her, and he'll do that to them all

the Nations, kingdoms, earth, to melt or prime,

or fashion, to be all that it could be.

He made it, formed it, set it in its place,

and longs for us to call on him, that he

might give us wisdom to develop grace,

to help develop social structures too,

that give each other dignity, a place

to still belong, while moving to the new

things that are needed, as we see new ways

and means to hold life, or mechanisms,

as wine skins carry new or old good wine.

Emmanuel - Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob holds us safe in time.

Our fortress, is himself, who keeps us safe.

But in the case of wine, a “skin” is made

not of extruded plastic, or on lathe,

but with the death of animal as bade

by God, in clothing Adarm and his Eve.

So come and see what God, the Lord has done,

the cessations he’s brought. What he can weave.

He makes wars cease, because of how he's won!

He breaks the bow and shatters ev'ry spear;

he burns the shields with fire, to cook good bread.

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am near,

and I am God; I will be what I said!

You can not make this truer than it is.

But you can be a doer of his word.

You can stop acting, yet observe, don't tizz

about, as though he needed you. Absurd!

For love knows very little of “its needs”,

it doesn't think about them much at all.

It always thinks of others, and it's seeds

it trusts will grow up more, it lets them fall!

So God, with faith in this, says ‘I will be

exalted among nations in the earth.’  

So with this Lord Almighty we will see

more wonders than we've thought of since our birth.

Because before our birth we are within

the body of another who surrounds

us in a way that stops our sight seeing,

now as such fortress God gladly abounds.

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God is our refuge and strength,

 an ever-present help in trouble.  

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

 and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,  

though its waters roar and foam

 and the mountains quake with their surging.  Selah.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

 the holy place where the Most High dwells.  

God is within her, she will not fall;

 God will help her at break of day.  

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

 he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  

The Lord Almighty is with us;

 the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Selah.

Come and see what the Lord has done,

 the desolations he has brought on the earth.  

He makes wars cease

 to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

 he burns the shields with fire.  

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;

 I will be exalted among the nations,

 I will be exalted in the earth.’  

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

Psalm 46:1‭-‬11 (NIVUK; Heb & multi-English)

This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it - the Lord is His name. 'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.'  Jeremiah 33:2-3 (PM Version)

May The Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way.  2 Thessalonians 3:16 (PM Version)

Plus, see: poemish thing
https://appallinglife.blogspot.com/2019/02/i-present-to-you.html

our fight is not...

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (PM Version)

Jesus said "Don't be afraid, just BELIEVE"  Mark 5:36 (PM Version)

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (PM Version)
.......

I can do
all things through 
Christ, that's who 
strengthens me
as I be-
lieve him. He

lives in Paul.
Hear his call?
Though I'm small,
I won't be
afraid. He
lives in me.

Jesus said
"Don't be scared"
I'm not dead!
- Though because
once I was,
I'm the boss!

- even, well,
'v death & hell!
You can tell
people who
meet with you.
Which I'll do.

Jesus Christ
sacrificed,
What a price
tag he paid
yesterday
did, today 

does the same,
(Spirit came.
His, by name)
Forever
endeavour,
& never

will leave when
his children
(who are sent)
ensuing
are doing
(and blue-ing).

hopin' dat a sweet birth daisy wheel come!

As difficult as birth is to a mum,
it was as good to all that she had come,
this little one who came out of the tum.
Amanda Gail, was here, and we were dumb,

I say, compared to what she said and brought.
The noise level increased, when air was caught
inside, and burping was a job full fraught
with dangers we’d forgotten of this sport.

When all were gathered round, she’d grimace well,
then give us all a lovely smile to tell
that though it might seem she had come to “hell”
she still liked all of us, especially Shell!

Her big sister, who’d share her tea parties
with little Mandy, and help her “..say ‘Please’”.
Well all of us, would share our each disease
- that’s fam-ill-y, I s’pose; in all of these

the up’s and down’s of life, have come & gone,
and come again, and sometimes we’re forlorn.
And sometimes hard things happen… we got born!
and some gale’s blow upon a shore at morn.

She is our Gail dat brings a smile, when worn.
(She still knows how to give the glare, get shawn,
and I bet that she gives good care, when gorn
out on her nursing sprees, ‘tween dusk & dawn)

So Mandy Murrell - like an M & M
(that’s been inside your pocket since back then).
Might seem a tough exterior, a hen
with “bark”, but choc' interior’s given.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

present to you...

I wait, I say, and quietly; with hands hung limp, and do no thing, I only watch my God, who speaks enabling his commands through eons to occur; not one big "botch.."
My hope I put, not ultimately in a gift or act, of God; but he himself who gives each good gift that i've ever seen and millions more that we find on his shelf.
My shelter, refuge, rock, and salvation,

my fortress, peace (shalom; which means to thrive),

my food and drink, my joy & elation,

is sourced in you yourself, I will not drive

away to find your gifts in other spots,

I'd rather miss out them, and just get you,

if options came to that, I'd rather drop

the bling, and stuff, and skills and just be true,

and learn from you what friendship really means

(not what I do to get back more for me),

but like ol’ Abraham, or so it seems,

who set himself to give all he could be,

and then was called “a friend of God himself”.

What bigger accolade is given him? His friendship was his greatest kind of wealth,

and he himself was known to God, not dim-

-ly on the surface, but to deepest parts,

for God says “Now I know... (some more of you).”

Your friendship and obedience is at heart

such that there is not much left now to do. ... (t.b.c.)

---

The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9 (PM Version)

So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are.
Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life!!  Proverbs 4:23 (PM Version)

The Lord leads the humble in what is right, teaching them His way. Psalms 25:9 (PM Version)

I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him alone. He is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I will not be shaken Psalms 62:5,6 (PM Version)

“Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.”  Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham named that place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord 's mountain he provides.”  Genesis 22:12‭-‬18 GNTD

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.  Ps 46:10-11

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Presence of Mine!

Once upon a time there was a dad (& a mum) who had twins. The twins looked quite similar but were in fact quite different. One of them was a boy who loved puppies & pets, the other  one was a girl who loved flowers and plants. One day, when they were about 20 months old, after they'd been playing in the garden, they both came to their dad saying: “Daddy, I've got a present for you; shut your eyes..” One of them added “..and open your mouth.” Luckily their dad had learnt that that was not always a safe thing to do, so he said “No, you put my present on my hand, here.” Then the dad put out his two hands, one towards each of his children. They gleefully put their treasures onto their dad's hand. With one present, the Dad said “Thanks very much!” & popped it into his mouth. With the present in his other hand, the dad looked at it, gave it back to the boy and said “No thanks.” Then he said to his son who gave it to him, “I want you to put that into the bin.”
 

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How do you imagine each child felt after their father's response?

Can you guess what each child had given the father? (Hint: one gift came from a plant, one gift came from a puppy)

If the boy (whose gift was rejected, still) really did want to give a present to his father that his father would like, what could he now do?

Some slightly related stuff (check out the links in the footnotes): https://appallinglife.blogspot.com/2019/02/1st-job-or-2nd.html

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1st job or 2nd...

First “job” today, well Second one really -

to clean up the “home” that we're living in

(owned by my Father) “temp’rary” nearly,

'coz he's building a palace. Giving in

to his own generosity's calling -

to share his life with children whom he loves,

the ends that he'll go to, are appalling!

A toddler or small child looks up - above

in wonder and awe not at “magical”

but “loving” nature of Mum, and her Dude..

The cynic may see this as tragical.

The child will accept all with gratitude.

Well that's the First “job” - look up and give thanks;

except it's not so much “job”, as “delight”.

A corpse that's lying ’round the place, & stank

(so much you couldn't sleep, but heave all  night)

must just be “cleaned up”; more I mean “thrown out!”

This un-dead thing as well as lies, k’nives

to murder folk both good and true, to flout

all logic & good reason, - “They have ‘lives’,

and they look better than I do, it's true.”

Unless my solemn cov-en-ant’s lived out

no one could live near me, not 'specially you,

because this jealous murderer's about!

Oh, God! The “son of Adam*”: Cain, or Christ,

will be my father to teach me his way!

The choice that I have made is sacrifice

to please ol' Adam's father# here today!

---

*   “son of Adam” was a title used to mean  “son of humanity”, or simply “human”, throughout the story in the scriptures after the garden of Eden. In one instance, in a dream Daniel had, there was one who “looked like a son of Adam” who fulfilled the destiny of humanity given in Genesis 1 of ruling over everything under God. Jesus took this title on and applied it (ambiguously?) to himself. But literally the first son of Adam in the scriptural record,  was a human male called “Cain”(Gen4:1-10, 24-25), who (since God accepted his brother's sacrifice/gift (at an alter?) and not his, instead of learning from the event what was an acceptable gift to God, and giving that,) was filled with jealously, and killed his brother, becoming the first murderer. Christ, on the other hand showed his followers how to allow God's life to spread more to others through the paradoxical method of “taking up their own cross - an instrument of slow, painful, shameful, certain death”, and following the alternative way of life of Jesus, God's anointed (Christ).

#  Adam's “father”, according to the scriptural record's nuances and, then finally for those who could hear it, explicit descriptions, was … ( hint: to be made “in the image and likeness of ...” is a kind of code way of saying “the offspring of ...”, or “the son or daughter of ...”) see Gen 1:26-28; 5:2-5; Ps 82:6; Luke 3:38; John 10:34-35; Acts 17:28-29 .

curses into blessings...

Txt2PW: Bless you Brother!...

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And you too, bro!
God, help this man
in life to show
the way we can
live here below,

as your young son
who loves his Dad,
who will have "fun"
(though life is bad)
because love won!

Take heart there Dan.
Lift up your eyes,
and look again,
do not despise
a child's smile when

she know's she's loved,
and you know too
that from above
de way for you
is not to shove,

but take His way
(that feels like death),
say as he'd say
"Thank you for breath
and life today."

And so I do
thank God for you,
and pray you'll stay
true there today,
a little kid,
who'll do as bid!

- Not 'coz he's scared,
but more he dared
to be the child
he is, who's wild
and not all "tamed"
(though "known*" & "named#").

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"Whoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother.”  Mark 3:35 GNTD

“..and he began to teach them. He said:   ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek,  for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart,  for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  Matt. 5:2‭-‬12 NIVUK

*  Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”  Matt. 7:23 NIVUK

#  Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.  Revelation 2:17 NIVUK

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swimming buddy?

Txt:

I worked last night so just about to hit 
the sack right now, then meet a mate at 3,
but if you haven't done your swimming bit,
you up to swim? - at 1 or 12:30?

If so then give a ring when on ya way,
I'll up & dress & ready for the pool,
if not, no worries; try another day.
I hope you are ok, if not quite "cool".

Reply (about 12): ~ Just finnished.  Just missed your message as I started.

change in the wind..

Txt2PW: Sorry I'm not going to make the walk this morning, getting fam off the school and o/s!
PWTXT: No probs.

---

Oh God please help that fam'ly there to stay
with you in the excitement of the way
of following his call for them today
in doing the exotic, and mundane!

Amen.

Go, with God.

---

hospital-ity 2 healer

Oh God, we pray for Fred, who wants to heal,
who's set his life to learn to work with you,
to stop the rot, or things that though concealed,
still work against what you are trying to

give more of, from the source, the heart of love
that folk have come from to live here on Earth.
He's drawn to your good wisdom from above,
and wants to live it out more since his birth.

So you who made him up, the Watsons too,
and ev'ry hearty healer in this space,
we pray that you will take him on as true
disciple, learner, in your way of grace.

Ol' Mate

They reckon Tezza’s close to fifty years,

that's half a century, when I'm countin’ right!

And that seems to be rather nifty. Cheers!

-   to you, while you're around (but outa sight1).

So “Sire”, with your lady, Kath the “Dam”

you've weathered much (not saying whether ewe

are one of those ol’ wethers or a ram,

but seeing all ya offspring.. there's a clue!

And in the line of Sarah's Abraham,

you've set yourself to follow as his “son”,

a friend of the Creator, the I AM,

most unreligious traveler that begun

to walk around this world - along with God,

instead of running, hiding behind leaves

when there's an indication that he's trod

quite close to here, or that his spirit breathes

a wind that blows an unrest - walks about,

and Tezza walks, and works in this dry land,

instead of grumblin’, flirtin’, like a lout;

content to thank the one who helps2 him stand.

As Sarah's laugh caught on to Abe as well,

they stayed & came together in old age,

their wealth was in their promise, time would tell -

their fam'ly not their house, their heritage!

So Tezza, now at half that age - “Done well!”

You've left a bunch of boys and girls about

who'd like to, like you, try to boycott hell.

With help from your own helper, they've got clout!

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1. I'm in a pub in Orange, NSW, and can't see Tezza anywhere this arvo, though I'm thinkin’ of him while I write this
2. The ambiguity here came from the scriptures that speak of both Eve as the helper to help Adam in their mandated job of multiplying & ruling (as vice regent under God, the most creative loving ruler), and also speak of God as the king/psalmist's  helper to live & rule and create.