I am Appalled

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“Things would go well for us if we would think positively about everything.”
–Mary Hayes, CLAOQUOT
Each of our thoughts are like individual seeds. These thoughts will plant our life garden. Whatever our thoughts, they grow in our gardens. Each day we will process about 50,000 thoughts or thought seeds. Positive thoughts will produce positive results. Have you ever been aware of what you are thinking about during the day? Of the possible 50,000 thoughts in one day-if the positive thoughts were flowers and the negative thoughts were weeds-how would your garden look at the end of the day?

Great Spirit, let me plant positive seeds.

I was looking for some new “motivational” type posters for my screensaver last night and found this one.  After hearing on the news of a Wal-Mart “seasonal” employee being trampled to death.  I think every one of these people, this “rabble” should have all been tossed in jail for murder.  I am appalled by these peoples actions, the gene pool in Valley Stream, NY needs some cleansing.  And we wonder why Islamic Fundamentalists hate us.  We are no better than they are.

Today here was freaky…. Lightning, Thunder, rain, snow, hail….. all at the same time,  then 20 minutes later the sun was out…. But I guess it’s better to be here in PA rather than GA and SC tonight.

This is a good song, some of you old people might remember it.

Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we’d all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.

A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head, he’s gone,
I wish we’d all be ready,
Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one’s left standing still,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.

Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we’d all been ready,
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we’d all been ready,
There’s no time to change your mind,
How could you have been so blind,
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.

-Larry Norman

Peace… Love Thy Neighbor

TCWF

Another day in the eternity of this life

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“Those who live for one another learn that love is the bond of perfect unity.”
–Fools Crow, LAKOTA
To serve each other, to respect each other, to trust each other, to honor each other, to love each other, to cooperate with each other, to care for each other, to forgive one another, to focus on peoples’ good, to laugh with one another, to learn from one another; to pray for each other – these are all acts of love. These values and actions will connect us to one another in the Unseen World. Nature is a good example of how we should get along with one another. Watch nature. She is our teacher. Nature lives to give to one another. The insects give to the birds who give to the four legged who give to the two legged. The Creator made all things perfect.

Oh Great Spirit, let me serve the people today. Let me see that it is better to give than it is to receive. Be with me today.

Yes, I am still alive.

Finished watching the HBO mini series John Adams this past week.  I’m still wondering how that “Federalist” Party ever turned into the current Democrat craziness.   So I’ve begun to read the “Federalist Papers” (only 400 pages in the free pdf file I found) to try and understand.  For in the words of Jack Ryan in the movie ‘Hunt for Red October’ “It is wise to study the ways of one’s adversary.  Don’t you think?” I’m not sure who exactly I’m going to vote for yet, but I know it won’t be for a Democrat, maybe not Republican either.  Guess I need some extra strong duct tape and a clothes pin for my nose on election day.  I mean seriously, if Obama and McCain are the best this country has to offer as our representative to the rest of the world . . . . we are screwed.

 

One other thing I’ve read recently are the Articles of Confederation of these United States, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Work is the same old thing, I’ve been doing the same run for getting close to 5 years.  My truck is a ‘05 model, next week I will surpass the 400,000 mile mark.  I think I have about 227 to go to get there right now.  I got this truck in Sept of ‘05 and it had about 34,000 miles on it then.  It has it’s issues but eh, it’s a truck, if I ever get to loving it just kill me . . . LOL  I never want to get to the place where I like being at work in my truck more than other places. 

This is taken from Godtoday.com

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

Our acts of love, speak more vividly to the hearts of those around us, than our words. The impact our lives have on others, is found in our day to day activities, and the way we handle and respond to everyday situations. Our children are no exception. The opinions and character formed in them are a result of our actions more than our words. It is these seemingly small, everyday things that have the greatest impact in their lives. If we will continue to seek Creator as our example, He will enable us to be good examples to our children. When children have a firm foundation in the ways and word of God, they will not be easily uprooted and the storms of life will not consume them. They will have the ability to stand strong in our Creator.

Allow my life to be a blessing and example to my children and to all those who know me. Create me in Your image and enable me to live the example of Your word, so that my actions will speak Your love and truth.

I have met only a few people in my life who have taught me more about myself than 1000 people ever could, James Ott,  Aurther Cannon, Peter Miller, and A. Rueben Hartwick.  One was in the military with me, one a preacher and two college professors.  Three are dead now, not sure about the forth.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and week

Peace

TCWF

Voting, Multitasking and Failure

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“When you remove love and try to replace it with monetary things, you’ve got nothing … get him to understand that he has to love himself before he can love anything else.”
–John Peters (Slow Turtle), WAMPANOAG
It is said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” That’s the trouble, most of us do.

Great Spirit, You are love; You are spirit. Spirit and love are interconnected. I am spiritual. Let me realize what I am really made of.

I have decided that this whole election process is just too dang freaking long, I mean there’s still over 290 days till the general election…. I have come up with a plan to streamline the whole process.

No primary campaigning before the 4th of July, primary campaigning begins the following Monday

With 1 weeks primary campaigning in states based on their total population. So first would be Mountain time zone, followed by Central, Pacific and then Eastern (based on total population only.

Primary campaigning is allowed for only one week in that designated time zone only and the vote takes place the following Monday, (NO campaigning allowed on weekends and only 1 debate per time zone allowed)

The next Time zone begins the Monday following the previous primary election voting.

The Party Convention can them be held Labor day weekend, And Campaigning for the General election would begin the first Monday in October. (only 2 debates allowed for the general election). Election day would remain the same, the first Tuesday in November

Any violations would result in a 100,000 a day fine or removal from the ballot if not paid.

So as example, the 2008 Election would be as follows:

Mountain Time, July 7 thru July 11 with voting on July 14

Central Time, July 21 thru July 25 with voting on July 28

Pacific Time, August 4 thru August 8 with voting on August 11

Eastern Time, August 18 thru August 22 with voting on August 25

The Party Conventions begin August 29 thru September 1

The General Election Campaign would begin on October 6 and run thru October 31 (NO campaigning on weekends remember)

The General Election voting on November 4.

See, simple, easy and we don’t have to listen to the same crap being spewed for 2 years only for 4 months…. I’m loving it

I’ve noticed a lot of people struggling with trying to accomplish so many different tasks,  Sometimes we take on too much at once and well, then we can’t do our best with any of them.  I remember the advice I use to give others during my preacher person days (don’t ask, them shoes was way too tight).  Don’t worry about the stuff that Your not getting the answers for right now, deal with the stuff that God is talking to you about, He’ll get around to the rest….  Remember like that old Johnny Cash song, “One piece at a time,”   Life is a lot like a jigsaw puzzle, you can’t put all the pieces together at once, only take them apart. Daily Om had a article about that recently.

At Your Own Pace, The Tortoise And The Hare

The classic tale of the tortoise and the hare reminds us that different people take life at different speeds and that one way is not necessarily superior to another. In fact, in the story it is the slower animal that ends up arriving at the destination first. In the same way, some of us seem to move very quickly through the issues and obstacles we all face in our lives. Others need long periods of time to process their feelings and move into new states of awareness. For those of us who perceive ourselves as moving quickly, it can be painful and exasperating to deal with someone else’s slower pace. Yet, just like the tortoise and the hare, we all arrive at the same destination, together, eventually.

People who take their time with things are probably in the minority in most of the world today. We live in a time when speed and productivity are valued above almost anything else. Therefore, people who flow at a slower pace are out of sync with the world and are often pestered and prodded to go faster and do more. This can be not only frustrating but also counterproductive because the stress of being pushed to move faster than one is able to move actually slows progress. On the other hand, if a person’s style is honored and supported, they will find their way in their own time and, just like the tortoise, they might just beat the speedier, more easily distracted person to the finish line.

It’s important to remember that we are not actually in a race to get somewhere ahead of someone else, and it is difficult to judge by appearances whether one person has made more progress than another. Whether you count yourself among the fast movers or as one of the slower folks, we can all benefit from respecting the pace that those around us choose for themselves. This way, we can keep our eyes on our own journey, knowing that we will all end up together in the end.

Well, I’m going back to work tonight

Walk in Peace, TCWF

Higher Walls

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“People have to be responsible for their thoughts, so they have to learn to control them. It may not be easy, but it can be done.”
–Rolling Thunder, CHEROKEE
WE control our thoughts by controlling our self talk. At any moment we choose we can talk to ourselves differently. The fight comes with the emotions that are attached to our thoughts. If our emotion is high and seems to be out of control, we can say to ourselves STOP IT!, take a few deep breaths, then ask the Creator for the right thought or the right decision or the right action. If we practice this for a while, our thought life will be different. It helps if in the morning we ask God to direct our thinking. God loves to help us.

Great Spirit, today, direct my thinking so my choices are chosen by You.

 

I’m not sure exactly what I want to say today, many things going through my mind.  Had a meeting yesterday, afterwards and in discussing it I think it only accomplished one thing… bigger and higher walls between us.  Is it just prolonging the inevitable, probably.  I think sometimes it’s harder to walk peacefully than it is to just have a knock down drag out argument about things sometimes.  One of my favorite poems is “IF” by Rudyard Kipling, (the link will take you to it).  But sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the harm I’m doing to her, the kids, myself. 

BTW, I took friends lock off.  To heck with it

Was gonna say this the other day but forgot until LadyofAvalonLand reminded me, did we really need Dr. Phil to tell us Brittney was whacked in the head . . . . I mean seriously…

Back to work tonight, got a couple of things to do today, with one of the kids, to his appointments. 

 

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.   Proverbs 19:21

God is much greater than our finite minds can fathom. Regardless of how educated we are or how much knowledge we gain we simply are not capable of grasping all He is. As we seek His purpose for our lives, we must remember it is His purpose and not our own. So many times our need to be in control can blind us from His purpose; we seek our own solutions, opinions and ideas about what His will is. They all pale in comparison to His perfect way. We will not find God’s will for our lives until we are willing and able to accept it. We have to trust His guidance completely and be willing to surrender ourselves totally, moment by moment in even the smallest of matters. If we neglect the wisdom of His guidance we can find ourselves working real hard yet doing all the wrong things.

Thank You for choosing me. You are greater than my mind is able to comprehend, and apart from You I am nothing. All that I am and hope to be I find in You. I surrender myself completely to You and I seek Your guidance moment by moment. I understand it is not about me, and my ability, but Your ability to create value and purpose within my life.  Godtoday.com

Enjoy the pctures, I surely do.

Walk in Peace, TCWF

We are not as strong

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“What you see with your eyes shut is what counts.”
–Lame Deer, LAKOTA
Another whole world opens up when we close our eyes and calm our mind. Be still and know; be still and hear; be still and see; be still and feel. Inside every person is a still, small voice. Sometime it is necessary to close our eyes to shut down our perception in order to see. Try this occasionally; when you are talking to your child or spouse, close your eyes and listen to them. Listen to the tone of their voice; listen to their excitement; listen to their pain-listen.

Great Spirit, today, let me hear only what really counts.

 

Sometimes it scares me when I close my eyes, what I see….   For when I close my eyes, I stand naked before my Creator, unable to hid the evil that dwells deep within me, the past, the sins, the desires.  Sometimes I wish I was strong enough 

More Lyrics, Rich Mullins, adapted by me (as usual) 

Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

And they say that one day Joshua
Made the sun stand still in the sky
But I can’t even keep these thoughts
Of you from passing by
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

We are frail
We are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are

And the Master said their faith was
Gonna make them mountains move
But me, I tremble like a hill on a fault line
Just at the thought of how I lost you
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

And if you make me laugh well I know
I could make you like me
Cause when I laugh I can be a lot of fun
But we can’t do that I know that it is frightening
What I don’t know is why we can’t hold on
We can’t hold on

When you love you walk on the water
Just don’t stumble on the waves
We all want to go there somethin’ awful
But to stand there it takes some grace
‘Cause oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are

Walking in Peace, (for now)

TCWF

Lovely week it was the last of ‘07

 

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“When temptation comes, I don’t say, `Yes,” and I don’t say, `No.’ I say, `Later,’ I just keep walking the Red Road-down the middle. When you’re in the middle, you don’t go to either extreme. You allow both sides to exist.”
–Dr. A. C. Ross (Ehanamani), LAKOTA
We need to practice controlling our focus. Whatever we focus on we become. We also become whatever we practice. We need to focus on balance. Whenever something comes along to tilt us off balance, we need to be grateful, because it allows the opportunity to practice our focus. Sometimes this is called temptation. Temptation in itself is not bad. What really counts is what we do with it when it happens. We need to practice controlling our focus and keeping our thinking focused on the Red Road.

Great Spirit, today, guide me through my temptations and allow me to focus on the Red Road.

Got home last night about 8:30 pm didn’t sleep real well, got up today, and we spent most of it out shopping, Every year I get a gift card from work to a seriation store, I always give it to LV for new clothing, this year with the after Rhama-Haunna-Kwans-Mass sales and discounts, she got $298 worth of regular priced clothing for $122 before the gift card, or basically she got it all free with my gift card and the one she had $22 left over from last year. I can live with that, so we splurged and bought the kids each a candy bar for $ 2.98 each

Okay, so well, this is the story…. about 3 am, on I-68 in western MD, about 15 miles before Cumberland, MD I was going west, down one of the hills, and got passed by a car, doing a good 80, maybe more. I knew there was a cop about 1/2 way down, (it’s a CB thing) so I was just cruising along, about 65, saw the car zip by where the cop was parked and then saw the cops car lights go on, as he puled out then the blues lit up just as the car got to the bridge and started spinning, car hit about three times before leaving the bridge then wound up in the storm run off about three feet on the other side of the guard rail. Cop stopped, I stopped, we drug some people out of the cars, one covered one just bleeding pretty bad, we got my most of it stopped up before the ambulance got there. I dead, one screwed up for a long while. Cop told me thanks for stoping and having the first aid kit in the truck, was given to me about a month ago in KY from one of the places I go to…. Well, at least it was better than last time watching a guy get decapitated on a motorcycle at about 70 running into the back of a pickup with a camper.

A lot happened this week, Christmas day the guys get attacked by a Siberian tiger in San Fran, CA at the zoo…. what’s up with that? Then the two guys who survived were trying to get away and refusing medical treatment? Then at the hospital they are trying to get away and won’t talk with t he cops or anyone…. huh! Then they lie on the phone to the dead guys dad and tell him they haven’t seen the son when he calls one to ask if they’ve seen him….. wth….???? Then in Dallas, TX someone shoots a pet (declawed) Bengal tiger 5 times and dumps it of on the side of a road?

Then the ex, wanna be again Prime Minister of Pakistan (these people have nukes!!!) gets shot and blown up. Now, her son is claiming to be leading her cause in her place… even though he doesn’t even speak the language…. duh! (abc world news tonight) and Al Quida is growing in leaps and bounds in Pakistan…. (the country with the nukes!!!) Oh Yeah, btw, Cashmere and India are up each others butt again….. they both have nukes!!!

 

This weeks pictures a re just some beautiful flower ones …. because I can really use a good cheerful picture

Walking in Peace, on purpose

TCWF

Merry Christmas!

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“When you see a new trail, or a footprint that you do not know, follow it to the point of knowing.”
–Grandmother of Charles Eastman, SANTEE SIOUX
We never gain new knowledge or new experience unless we are willing to take risks. It’s good to be curious. Also, it pays to be cautious. Walk in balance. The path of the Warrior is filled with opportunities to seek new knowledge. As we travel down the Red Road, we will run into trails of opportunity. Down each of these trails are experiences from which we will learn. Experience plus action is the beginning of knowledge.”

Great Spirit, help me to make good choices in choosing only the trails You would have me take.

A lot of times we make quick decisions then have to clean up the mess from something that we didn’t intend to happen.  I have to make decisions like that often, most times everything works as I planned it to, sometimes, I wind up cleaning up a mess later.  I don’t like cleaning up the messes, I don’t like cleaning up someone else’s mess even more.  Sometimes it’s a good thing to just sit back and wait a bit before doing something.  Even when we know that we know the outcome…. This I know.

I think I’m going to regret getting Guitar Hero I, II, III and two controllers for the kids. I can’t say I’ve heard worse music before in my life and not had the opportunity to use adult beverage bottles as earplugs.  But then again, my attempt to play anything resulted in even more dissonance.

As I sit here now, everyone asleep or on their way to sleep besides me.  One light burning beside the chair I sit in, soon to be extinguished to allow the light of a candle to light my way as I give homage to the real one who made today possible. 

God today I find it remarkable how it is in harmony with the EMoD

God’s grace is available to help us to make choices that please Him. Our capacity to love and live our lives according to His principles and word, are dependent upon the enabling grace we receive from Him. It is His grace, which fills and keeps the river of perfect love flowing through our lives. We don’t have the capacity to love and to serve without it. Our choices are made in response to His love; choosing to follow and serve Him; choosing to not only forgive our enemies, but to embrace them; choosing to help others without the prospect of personal gratification or gain. He clothes us with humility, gentleness, compassion and kindness. Even our best intentions fall short in comparison.

We humbly come before You today Grandfather, aware of our inability to serve You. Our best intentions most certainly fall short of Your perfect love. Create us to be vessels of Your love, let it flood through every area of our lives, that are choices will be made with kindness, compassion and love. We thank You for Your grace that enables us to do all things through You, who gives us the strength.

Tomorrow, Back to work….. Walk in Peace, TCWF

•  

  Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Back to Work Tonight

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“Flexible strength is better than inflexible. Let the storm flow over you, and then pop back up.”
–Michael Kabotie, HOPI
Flexibility is taught by nature. You will see the trees bend in the wind. You will see that tree branches are flexible. To be rigid is to break. When we have life problems it is good for us to be flexible. Sometimes we need to flow with what is going on. If we resist, it becomes more painful. We need to be on the path of least resistance. Water flows down the mountain through the path of least resistance. Electricity flows through the path of least resistance. Power flows through the path of least resistance. As Indian people our strength has always been our flexibility.

Creator, I will be flexible today because I know You are with me.

 

My how this was taught to me recently through the ice storm, the trees that were able to bend with the ice still stand strong, others infexible broke under the weight of the ice.  A lot of times I have to bend under the weight of the pressure exerted form outside, or I will, strain a muscle like I did over a week ago.  Sometimes it’s easy for me to bend, other times not so easy.  I don’t want to, I want to fight back, to escalate the conflict.  I’m seen by some as weak sometimes because I don’t choose to fight, but rather to willingly walk peacefully.  A choice I make.

 

I haven’t written to much about Christmas this year, I think we’ve gotten everythig we are gonna get for the kids, maybe one or two small things left but no big deal, next week I’ll give them some $$$ to buy their mom a present, I’m going to get her a external hard drive sh she can backup all her PSP and other graphics and pictures, so they don’t get lost if her computer crashes.  They’re pretty reasonable for a fairly huge hard drive.  I remember my first computer had barely enough space to run Windows 3.1, 25 mhz of ram and way less than 1 gb for a hard drive.  Now I have a laptop with Vista, 2gb of ram, and 80 gb of hard drive, which will never come close to being full

 

I’m going back to work tonight, am going to take it very easy and not do anything stupid this week to casue anything to re-injure myself.  Just take it nice and easy. Besides I’m going crazy here…. haven’t been off work, home this much in years, it’s driving me crazy… LOL

Walk in Peace, TCWF

Ice Storm and Focus

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
“People are equal partners with the plants and animals, not their masters who exploit them.”
–Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders
As human beings, we are not above anything nor are we below anything. Because of being equal, we need to discuss a little about the value of respect. Not just respect when it comes to human beings, but respect when it comes to everything. We are not masters over things; we are caretakers for the Great Spirit. We need to treat all things with respect.

Great Spirit, let me accept and see all things as equal.

Today, LV and I went to do some more shopping for the kids.  As we rode along, we saw a lot of trees that had recieved damage from the storm Saturday night into Sunday, it was a serious ice storm and there are lots of people still without electric service, it was easy to pick out the damaged trees as we drove along and that was our focus.  After a while, I thought how strange that we see the damage in the trees yet look over the undamaged ones.  How often do we as people see the broken and bad areas of others and overlook the good in them.

Hey, today is day number 2 of not taking the medication for the pain in m y back, I still take the muscle relaxer so I don’t inadverantly restrain the muscle, but I’m happy with this.  Back to work on Wedensday for sure.

Walk in Peace, TCWF