Ertha Kitt (1927-2008)

Boasting

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB)

23Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.

cross references

It's Almost Over

"Ew.

But just in case you start feeling sorry for the bumbling, daffy senior-citizen,










HERE's the final shot,

the smug no YOU suck recovery shot,





and it's totaly where the real horror begins:"

H/T Princess Sparkles Photo Blog

Q4 What is God ? (Westminster Catechism)

A. God is a Spirit,[7]

infinite,[8] eternal,[9] and unchangeable,[10]

· in his being,[11]
· wisdom,[12]
· power,[13]
· holiness,[14]
· justice,[15]
· goodness,[16] and
· truth.[17]

[7] Deuteronomy 4:15-19. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. Luke 24:39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. John 1:18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 4:24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Acts 17:29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

[8] 1 Kings 8:27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Psalm 139:7-10. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 145:3. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 147:5. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. Jeremiah 23:24. Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. Romans 11:33-36. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

[9] Deuteronomy 33:27. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Psalm 90:2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 102:12, 24-27. But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.... I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Revelation 1:4, 8. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

[10] Psalm 33:11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Malachi 3:6. For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Hebrews 1:12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Hebrews 6:17-18. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

· In His being,[11]

[11] Exodus 3:14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM [eternal] : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
1 Timothy 1:17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:15-16. Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality [eternal] , dwelling in the light [unchanging] which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

· Wisdom,[12]

[12] Romans 11:33-34. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [infinite] are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Hebrews 4:13. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. [infinite]
1 John 3:20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things [infinite] .

· Power,[13]

[13] Genesis 17:1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty [infinite] God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Jeremiah 32:17. Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee [infinite]
Matthew 19:26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things [infinite] are possible.
Revelation 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega [eternal] , the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty [infinite].

· Holiness,[14]

[14] 1 Peter 1:15-16. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. [unchanging]
1 John 3:3, 5. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.... And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Revelation 15:4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy [unchanging] : for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.


· Justice,[15]

[15] Genesis 18:25. That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? [infinite]

· Goodness,[16]

[16] Psalm 107:8. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! [infinite]

· Truth.[17]

[17] Exodus 34:6. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth [infinite] , Psalm 86:15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth [infinite].
Psalm 117:2. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever [eternal] . Praise ye the LORD.
Hebrews 6:18. That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie [unchagning] , we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

Dr Brenda Schaeffer Discusses Limerence

Brenda Schaeffer discusses limerence from Andrew Gingerich on Vimeo.

"... And At Christmas You Tell The Truth ..."

Broker turned monk offers home truths on crisis

TSURNOGORSKI MONASTERY, Bulgaria - Brother Nikanor, a Nasdaq broker turned monk, advises former colleagues to put a jar with soil on their desks to remind them where we are all heading and what matters in life

cross reference : 1 Timothy 6:7-10

H/T Mizah Haber:

The war in Georgia is raising the question again:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Crossing the Bosphorus

This Is How I Feel Right Now - Thanks Otis.

- written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper
- lyrics as recorded by Otis Redding December 7, 1967, just three
days before his death in a plane crash outside Madison, Wisconsin
- #1 for 4 weeks in 1968

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
'Cause I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothin's gonna come my way

So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes

Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

(whistle)

Quote of the Day

Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of PhysicsAstronomy at Rice University, in Houston, Texas. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene ("buckyballs") (with Robert Curl, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and Harold Kroto, a professor at the University of Sussex).

• "The burden of proof is on those who don't believe that "Genesis" was right, and there was a creation, and that Creator is still involved."
  • October 2004 address at the Tuskegee University's 79th Annual Scholarship Convocation.

• "Evolution has just been dealt its death blow. After reading Origins of Life with my background in chemistry and physics, it is clear that [biological] evolution could not have occurred."
  • May 2005 comment on Fuzale Rana and Hugh Ross' book Origins of Life [1]

• "Recently I have gone back to church regularly with a new focus to understand as best I can what it is that makes Christianity so vital and powerful in the lives of billions of people today, even though almost 2000 years have passed since the death and resurrection of Christ. Although I suspect I will never fully understand, I now think the answer is very simple: it's true. God did create the universe about 13.7 billion years ago, and of necessity has involved Himself with His creation ever since. The purpose of this universe is something that only God knows for sure, but it is increasingly clear to modern science that the universe was exquisitely fine-tuned to enable human life. We are somehow critically involved in His purpose. Our job is to sense that purpose as best we can, love one another, and help Him get that job done."
  • May 2005, letter sent to the Hope College 2005 Alumni Banquet where he was awarded a distinguished alumni award; his illness prevented him from attending in person

Turkey's Unsafe Christians

"Don't You Care That We Are Perishing?!"

Read it HERE.



From Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible :

"1. Christ ordered his disciples to put to sea, that he might show his glory upon the water, in stilling the waves, and might do an act of kindness to a poor possessed man on the other side the water: He went into a ship with his disciples, v. 22.

They that observe Christ's orders may assure themselves of his presence. If Christ sends his disciples, he goes with them. And those may safely and boldly venture any where that have Christ accompanying them. He said, Let us go over unto the other side; for he had a piece of good work to do there. He might have gone by land, a little way about; but he chose to go by water, that he might show his wonders in the deep.

2. Those that put to sea in a calm, yea, and at Christ's word, must yet prepare for a storm, and for the utmost peril in that storm; There came down a storm of wind on the lake (v. 23), as if it were there, and no where else; and presently their ship was so tossed that it was filled with water, and they were in jeopardy of their lives.

Perhaps the devil, who is the prince of the power of the air, and who raiseth winds by the permission of God, had some suspicion, from some words which Christ might let fall, that he was coming over the lake now on purpose to cast that legion of devils out of the poor man on the other side, and therefore poured this storm upon the ship he was in, designing, if possible, to have sunk him and prevented that victory.

3. Christ was asleep in the storm, v. 23. Some bodily refreshment he must have, and he chose to take it when it would be least a hindrance to him in his work. The disciples of Christ may really have his gracious presence with them at sea, and in a storm, and yet he may seem as if he were asleep; he may not immediately appear for their relief, no, not when things seem to be brought even to the last extremity. Thus he will try their faith and patience, and quicken them by prayer to awake, and make their deliverance the more welcome when it comes at last.

4. A complaint to Christ of our danger, and the distress his church is in, is enough to engage him to awake, and appear for us, [v. 24]. They cried, Master, master, we perish! The way to have our fears silenced is to bring them to Christ, and lay them before him. Those that in sincerity call Christ Master, and with faith and fervency call upon him as their Master, may be sure that he will not let them perish. There is no relief for poor souls that are under a sense of guilt, and a fear of wrath, like this, to go to Christ, and call him Master, and say, "I am undone, if thou do not help me."

5. Christ's business is to lay storms, as it is Satan's business to raise them. He can do it; he has done it; he delights to do it: for he came to proclaim peace on earth. He rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and immediately they ceased (v. 24); not, as at other times, by degrees, but all of a sudden, there was a great calm. Thus Christ showed that, though the devil pretends to be the prince of the power of the air, yet even there he has him in a chain.

6. When our dangers are over, it becomes us to take to ourselves the shame of our own fears and to give to Christ the glory of his power. When Christ had turned the storm into a calm, then were they glad because they were quiet, Ps. cvii. 30. And then, (1.) Christ gives them a rebuke for their inordinate fear: Where is your faith? v. 25. Note, Many that have true faith have it to seek when they have occasion to use it. They tremble, and are discouraged, if second causes frown upon them. A little thing disheartens them; and where is their faith then? (2.) They give him the glory of his power: They, being afraid, wondered. Those that had feared the storm, now that the danger was over with good reason feared him that had stilled it, and said one to another, What manner of man is this! They might as well have said, Who is a God like unto thee? For it is God's prerogative to still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, Ps. lxv. 7.

Israeli Opinion Poll about JESUS

HERE

The Servant Songs

David Field has a superp post on the third servant song HERE

Prayer

"Lord, take as your right, and receive as my gift,all my freedom, my memory,my understanding and my will.Whatever I am and whatever I possess,you have given to me;I restore it all to you again,to be at your disposal,according to your will.Give me only a love for you, and the gift of your grace; then I am rich enough,and ask for nothing more."

-- Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556)

Blessed Be The Name of The Lord

(views : 143,081)

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
album: Where Angels Fear To Tread (2002)

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Quote of the Day

The ultimate value of life is based on awareness
and the power of contemplation
rather than mere survival

- Aristotle.

Front Seat, Back Seat

I was running from my master, and I tried out every new thing I could find
But my life turned into one disaster, without the Lord I almost blew my mind

I was sitting in the front seat, trying really hard to be the driver
Thinking I was making real good time,
but always winding up the late arriver

But now I've been riding in the back seat,
and I see it is a very great relief
Now I'm trying out the back seat,
and I'm leaving all the driving to the chief

I went barrelling out full speed ahead,
I went a-running every stop sign that I'd see
Thinking I'd give the Lord a short cut, yeah,
but I found out he don't need no help from me

Front Seat, Back Seat
Words and Music by Chuck Girard and Tom Coomes
on Love Song
Copyright 1971

Quote of the Day

"Death will never be pretty--its sights and smells too close and crude. And it will never come under our control: it gallops where we tiptoe, rips up our routines, burns our very breath with its heat and sting.

And yet while sorrow is certain, fear is not. "She had a very good death," a friend says of her mother, and I have an idea of what she means and don't hear it as a shrug of denial or contradiction.

I asked a doctor friend what makes the difference, once the battle is out of her hands.

"Fear," she said, "and regret. Take those away, and what's left is peace."

Source : "The Light of Death" by Nancy Gibbs

More Again on Emotional Intelligence

I googled the phrase "listening to your emotions" and the top ranked page was:

"Emotions - How To Understand, Identify Release Your Emotions".

Now as far as I can make out, that article has quite a lot of valuable information on the subject. It really does.

But it does suffer from a few drawbacks which are common in circles that deal with psychology or pop psychology. Let me touch on a few such examples using this article as my jumping board.

First, when you read about the author you learn that she is a "vibrational consultant" who can perform a "vibrational assessment" on you. Wow! Whatever is that and whatever does it mean ?

Do you see already where I'm going with this ? For me, if I were approaching this subject cold the image put out by this article would immediately lead me to write it all off as 'cranky' and 'weird' and boy I sure don't have any time for that sort of thing, thank you very much. It might be a mistake but you do "consider the source" and if the source smells fishy well out it goes with the rest of the garbage.

Secondly, while the article does have a lot useful and insightful information it all sits in a sea of subjectivity and is presented in such a way that what is subjectively real is ultimate. Nothing wrong with subjectivity since the topic we are considering demands it but if it leads to navel gazing then it's too much. And this article as probably 90-95% of all psychological literature does just that-- navel gaze.

This is why my appreciation of the subject of emotional intelligence had it's impetus from what i read about it on Brett Starbarger's blog called Trader Feed. It's an interesting trading blog where Brett quite often has a pastoral take on things. In the context of rational intelligence and analysis which is what all good stock market traders do plenty of he manages to bring in emotional intelligence in a grounded way that also makes a lot of sense.

For instance, consider that once all the hard analysis has been done, the trader must take a decision to buy or sell. From that point on he has skin in the game. He is emotionally engaged which means he's now existentially heightened. That is where Brett comes in and he says "listen to your emotions" because your emotions are giving you important information about this trade. What is that information ? Well it has to be drawn out and that takes 'emotional intelligence'.

Jesus - (Ben Hur)

Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

(views:26,237) - an obituary HERE
and HERE.

Richard Widmark (1914-2008)

views :347

Good Friday Meditations

Jesus Smells! : a Good Friday Reflection from Euangelion


Mother Kirk: the agony : poetry about the crucifixion.

Linkestan on Mathematics

Indispensability Arguments in the Philosophy of Mathematics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Golden ratio : coolio !

Tipler_PeerReview_070103.pdf :

Symmetric Groups and Group Actions : very good and easy to understand explanations

My Son Is Playing The Guitar

Views :42

The Grand Mufti of Canterbury Has Spoken

UPDATE :
There is a superb philosophical/theological treatment of our dear 'Grand Mufti' 's speech HERE. Very much worth reading;but, really, the final verdict on the state of this man's silly and depraved mind must remain as depicted in this pic at the left.

Some Notes on Emotional Intelligence

I have been thinking about the subject of 'emotional intelligence' and think that maybe it might shed some light of self-knowledge.

I realise this term 'emotional intelligence' itself is poorly defined but i approach it as that internal ability to *listen* to what our feelings are telling us and then the ability to bring those feelings under rational analysis without suppressing them or judging ourselves for them.

At the extreme where there is perhaps little or very limited emotional intelligence perhaps the expression "bitter and twisted" comes to mind. I don't like to go there because it assigns a value judgement to a person's inability to listen to his or her emotions in a healthy and liberating kind of way.

I hope to think through some of these aspects and hopefully reach some helpful conclusions in which case i may post some of my thoughts on this later, God willing.

UPDATE : Kansas Bob has a series of posts HERE which speak around the subject of "emotional intelligence" from a Christian perspective.

Slow Posting Here For A While

In the meantime there will probably be more posting action over on my financial blog : click HERE if you are interested.

'Turkishness'

HERE is a thoughtful and thought provoking post on the the subject.

Looking out on the intellectual landscape I can only see Murat Belge and Mustafa Akyol who are not afraid to take this subject on head on.

What distinguishes Akyol even further is that he does not shy from taking an almost humourous and light hearted approach (THIS recent post from his blog is a perfect example).

Is he the first 'Turk-in-essence' , to borrow a phrase from Ziya Meral, in all of recorded history to be able to laugh at himself and his Turkishness ?

Maybe.

The U.S. Presidential Election

Milton Friedman on YouTube : what is libertarianism ? it's only a 2 minute 23 second video but covers the subject pretty comprehensively

Libertarians Rising - TIME : that would be Ron Paul

Christians for Ron Paul .com - home page : the only candidate that makes sense

It's not funny anymore, it really isn't : a small indication of the lost opportunities under Bush. can the next prez clean up this global mess ? who is up to the task ?

Why He's Rooting for John McCain : the guy makes a pretty good case; but, as someone said in the comments the lot for the Republicans could be to "sit in the corner and think about what they have done" for (at least) the next 4 years.

Obama, Huckabee sweep to Iowa victories : They each seem to have pretty slick political machines. This is what is needed to become President these days, especially as people are generally too mentally lazy to discern beyond the PR to real issues and to real potential. So while Ron Paul is the first and only true and consistent libertarian presidential candidate, he seems to have hurt himself by coming across as an "America blamer". Will it then be a Obama/Huckabee horse race in November ? We will see.

UPDATE : Libertarian or not, there is simply no excuse for racism. I am withdrawing my personal support for Ron Paul : right ideas, but the wrong man.

Linkestan 2008 01 01

Kemalist Science and Its Perpetual Motion Machine and
Israeli UAVs For Turkey : 2 pointers that all is not healthy in this country which has been coming into the world's spotlight in the past 5 years.

New Year's Resolutions

1) no snacking at bedtime
2) replace lunch with a snack of brazil nuts and dried fruit
3) to go down to 75 kg by 01.01.2009

Bye Bye Miss American Turkish Pie