There Once Was a Limerick Quite Dreadful

    I have no great love for limericks. A lot of them are smutty. I have not heard any memorable enough to want to memorize, including these. And this from someone who has memorized, whether I meant to or not, the "Purple Cow" poem. However, limericks seemed like a harmless way to condense my thoughts about the current chaos in our country.

There once was a year, 2020,

that brought with it problems aplenty.

From Corona virus

to cities gone riotous

this year has become unlike any.

                                                            The claim cop abuse is systemic

                                                            gave excuse to anarchist polemic--

                                                            that they’ll earn more respect

                                                            through the lives that they've wrecked,

                                                            makes their call for justice, academic.

If the year 2020’s a test

of the principles I deem the best,

my response to what’s asked,

when my heart is unmasked,

reveal mine is as dark as the rest.

                                                Some proclaim wearing masks a life saver,

                                                others find it a sheepish behavior.

                                                But, if Christ's sheep pick fights

                                                standing up for our rights,

                                                how well will we stand for our Savior?

If He Was a Good Man

This was written to amplify a previous post about God using ungodly rulers like Pharaoh:

If the Pharaoh of the Exodus had been a man of good character--

He would have released the Jews from slavery without Moses' intervention,
 so the Israelites would not have been willing to leave with Moses, and
 fallen into all the idolatry of Egypt, thus
 not become God's distinct people,
 voiding the prophecies of scripture,
 and never reach the promised land.
 
Moses would have been herding sheep instead of
 forming a wayward, grumbling multitude
 into God's chosen, covenant nation
 being an example of humble leadership, and
 writing the first five books of the Bible.

If Pharaoh had let God's people go without the plagues, the
 surrounding nations would have wiped out the Jews
 as soon as they left Egypt,
 nullifying the prophecies of God
 regarding His people and their land
 and their future Messiah.

I'm so thankful Pharaoh was not a good man.
 

Things We Control

Things we think we control:                             By:

our health, lifespan                                            exercise, diet, supplements
appearance                                                          above + beauty treatments
our planet                                                            regulating CO2, recycling
racism                                                                  activism, advertising
gender                                                                  medical intervention, activism accidents                                                             regulations, law suits
Covid 19                                                              masks, social distance, sanitizing
truth                                                                     denying it


Things we actually control:                             By:

our actions                                                         self control
our attitude                                                        eternal perspective

Things God controls:                                          By:

everything                                                          sovereignty

Things I conclude:                                              By:

Fearful, fretful living comes                              trying to control things we can't
                                                                           refusing to control things we can
                                                                           forgetful faith

God's One, Two Punch

     My son-in-law recently posted on Facebook that he would not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 election regardless of his policies (which I consider blessings to our country), because of his poor moral character. I am not going to try change his mind; he is as hard headed as I am. I will leave that to God. But his post drove me to the Bible (always a good thing) to begin a study of leaders God chose in the past. Specifically, powerful, ungodly rulers combined with a man, or woman, of God. What I call God's One, Two Punch.

Pharaoh & Abraham (Gen. 13:16)  God used a lusty Pharaoh and the cowardly, lying, father of our faith, Abraham, to make Abe wealthy.

Abimelech & Abraham (Gen 20)  Same scenario, same liar, same outcome, different ruler.

Pharaoh & Moses (Ex. ch. 6-11)  God used a hostile Pharaoh and hesitant Moses to prove the power of Jehovah to Israel and to Egypt. And He did it so memorably, surrounding nations were afraid to attack the Jews on their 40 year camp out, and even after.

Nebuchadnezzar & Daniel (Dan. ch 4:34-35)  After proud Nebuchadnezzar spends seven years as a free range bovine, he officially acknowledges Daniel's God as supreme.

Darius & Daniel (Dan 6:25-27) After being tricked into throwing Daniel into the lions' den, not only did Darius decree that his subjects fear Daniel's God, but also turned Daniel's enemies into the lions' dinner.

Cyrus/Darius/Artaxerxes & Ezra (2 Chron. 36, Ezra ch. 1 & 6) God used these men to let Jewish captives, along with confiscated temple treasures, return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

Artaxerxes & Nehemiah (Neh. 2)  God used Artaxerxes' authority and nervous Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem's walls.

Ahasuerus & Esther (Esther ch. 8-9)  God used arrogant, licensed-to-kill, Ahasuerus and fearful, faithful Esther not only to save the Jews from destruction, but to turn the tables on their tormentors.

    This is not an exhaustive list and I made it with my good Bible tied behind my back, so to speak. My travel Bible has a tiny concordance and no helps. The rulers listed above were not elected, and had the power to kill political rivals, but that was because crucifying opponents through news media was not yet available. There were several good men who ran for President in 2016, but God chose Donald Trump. And Trump has, inexplicably (apart from the sovereignty of God) chosen to surround himself with men of faith as running mate and advisors. Looking back, I realize the men I wanted to vote for could not have withstood the fire hose (aka shit storm) of opposition Trump has. For that, God needed an egomaniac. But because of that One, Two Punch, policies have been enacted that the moral, Christian presidents of my lifetime never had the chutzpah to try:

•    Defunding Planned Parenthood
•    Appointing pro life judges to the Supreme Court
•    Stop bankrolling nations who hate us and our ally, Israel
•    Recognizing Jerusalem, God's holy city, as Israel's capitol
•    Upholding freedom of worship in America
•    Working for release of Christians unjustly imprisoned in other countries

    I may have held my nose to vote for Donald Trump in 2016, but I will gladly vote for him in 2020, because I can see God working through him and I want to be a part of that. I appreciate my son-in-law's walk with God and leadership of his family, but I do not believe standing for our principles is God's highest plan for us. That can easily become entangled with self righteousness. I believe our highest purpose and privilege is to participate in doing God's will on Earth as it is in heaven. God has never limited Himself to men of good morals as the authorities He sets in place to fulfill His purposes, and I probably should not set my standard higher than His. ONE What He does require is for a believer close to that person to speak up for what is right. TWO  The question is not whether I would choose Donald Trump as President, but whether God has. PUNCH

Why Do Guys Spit?

     Sometimes I push myself to tackle one of the major existential issues of life, in this case, why do guys spit? Of all the differences between the sexes, outside of the ability to bear children, this is the one for which I am most thankful. Women seldom spit. At least, not in public. You will not find a group of women standing around visiting and see one of them suddenly hawk a loogie. So why do guys do it?
    In years past, a lot of men chewed tobacco. It was, and is, a disgusting habit, but at least it justified the need to spit. Who would want to swallow something that nasty? Some people still chew tobacco, but the lack of spittoons indicates that tobacco chewers are a dying breed, in more ways than one.
   According to my exhaustive three minute google search on websites that ranged from big word medical studies to bad word ladies magazines, men produce more saliva than women simply because their salivary glands are bigger. But since their bodies are also bigger they ought to be able to handle the additional swallowing. The raunchy ladies magazines suggest it is just a disgusting habit which, despite their feminist perspective, they do not recommend women emulate. 
    Fortunately, the men in my life seldom spit, at least around me, which is good because it makes me start to puke. As a nurse aide I regarded urine, stool and emesis AKA pee, poop and vomit, as well as the drainage from various tubes, merely as substances to be measured, recorded and discarded. But mucus was another story--at least to my gag reflex. So glad I did not have to measure that. Although I once had to deliver a cup of sputum to an R.N., I did not have to look at it.  When guys snort and spit I know exactly why they are doing it, but knowing that just makes me gag more.
    The medical studies I skimmed always end with a conclusion, so here is mine. Guys spit because they are guys. It is the same reason they admire the quality and volume of each other's burps and farts. At least men don't sniff what dogs do--around me anyway.

When God Shakes the World

     I have been wondering why I have not been able to write poetry about such major events as the Covid pandemic, the looting and violence following the George Floyd demonstrations, and the multi-city mania to defund our defenders, the police. It is not as if these events have not affected me. Covid restrictions continue to impact my daily life, especially now, while we're traveling and eating out. And when Kalispell had its own Black Lives Matter demonstration, I was concerned that the thugs who have hijacked peaceful demonstrations elsewhere would bring violence to my community. But then I happened to run into two polite, well armed young members of our local Patriot Guard, they reassured me our town was in safe hands. Some claimed to feel threatened by the guns, I felt relief. They also protected our veteran's statue round the clock long afterwards. The only cry to defund the police in our area came from a handful of people in Whitefish, probably the same type afraid of our good guys with guns.
    I think the reason it has been hard for me to write a poem about this is because, from my perspective, there seems to be no rhyme nor reason for what is happening. It appears to be one global knee jerk (or perhaps just Jerk) reaction after another. Today, for better or worse, I wrote the following.

 

          When God Shakes the World

When God shakes the world, we should listen.

Instead we talk, about

              origin, blame, theories,

              responses—others

                                   ours.

As if a global pandemic and rampant rioting

                          somehow slipped unnoticed

                          under the radar of God’s sovereignty.

As if man, and the enemy of man,

                               has an agenda

                               and God does not.

When God shakes the world, we should listen.

Because we do not understand God plan for the world

                                                         in times like these,

                                                         only His plan for us

                                                         at all times                                                      

                                                         to be salt and light

                                                 to a world that sin is killing,

                                                 by violence, if not by virus.

When God shakes the world, we should listen.

He is waking the complacent from slumber

                                       and many of those

                                                 are us.