Curtis Dahlgren
Count your blessings, make your blessings count (and know your enemy)
By Curtis Dahlgren
"When the wicked rule, the people mourn." — Proverbs
IT HAS FINALLY COME DOWN TO THIS: G-O-D. PRESIDENTS, GENERALS, AND DIPLOMATS ARE BECOMING IRRELEVANT. And the "bitter clingers" just became a little more "bitter." I'm being facetious, of course. Nevertheless, we could all use some "power of positive thinking" this time of the month.
To top off election week, a hacker tried to buy a $600 TV with a counterfeit of my debit card. Denied, he tried again to buy something for $200 at WalMart. Master Card declined the purchase again because they knew that this was way out of the range of my normal purchases. Isn't it nice to have friends in high places? Friends who know a lot about you?
On the other hand, an enemy of mine knew my card number, my pin number (and who knows what else?)! They probably knew I had just received a Social Security check, so they kept the purchase under $1,000.
I wonder why it happened during election-week? Was it mathematical time-and-chance, or a message? "We know your GPS location. And everything else!" A little knowledge in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing. Just ask General Petraeus.
Well anyway, sensing that we really really need a dose of positive thoughts right now, I was thinking about a column I wrote five years ago in August. Here's an excerpt:
THESE ARE "A FEW OF THE MOST FASCINATING THINGS"; MY "TOP 26":
The Atomic table
Bat navigation ("radar")
The Cud-chewing animals
DNA
Eagles
Fire
The Ginkgo tree leaf
Hummingbirds
Intelligence (human brain + "the spirit in man")
The Jet stream
Kangaroos
Light (physics of, plus gravity, etc.)
Mountains
Northern lights
Osmosis
Photosynthesis
Queen Anne's lace (the white roadside flower)
Redwood trees
Symbiosis (from aphid-milking ants to meat-eating plants) — and sunsets and seahorses
Thunderstorms
The whole UNIVERSE!
Vision — the eye and the mind's eye — without which the universe couldn't be seen
The Water cycle
Xylem and phloem
Yourself — a unique being created in the image of God
The rest of the Zoo — with special emphasis on the ability of fish, birds, and butterflies to migrate over great distances without a GPS system. [end of excerpt] www.RenewAmerica.com/columns/Dahlgren/050806
Well, in celebration of the final days of 2012, I have written an updated, revised standard version:
When the bee stings, when the brown recluse bites, here are a few of my favorite things —
The Aurora borealis
The sweet spot of a baseball Bat
The COOL side of the pillow
a faithful, loyal Dog
Electrons and Electricity
Fire and Fireflies and Faith
Having a God who makes Himself known to you [how hard have you been looking for Him?]
The word "I" — the word that stands for the Individual, the "god-child"
Having a Job, a real job (see M and W)
Kisses
Loved ones
Money
News (occasional good news)
Independent fact-based Opinions
Protection (I'm talking guardian angels, not sex, stupid)
Queen Anne's lace (still!)
Rainbows
Snow (hey, I'm a yooper you know)
TRUTH
Unity (but only unity founded and grounded on Truth
Veritas: Truth added to Truth (not bilingual, but Universal Truth)
WORK
X-rays
Yellowstone, and other National Parks
Zonking out on the cool side of the pillow, after a hard day's work!
P.S. I don't know if this is the end; the real question is, "When the Lord comes, will He find faith on the Earth?"
© Curtis Dahlgren
November 15, 2012
"When the wicked rule, the people mourn." — Proverbs
IT HAS FINALLY COME DOWN TO THIS: G-O-D. PRESIDENTS, GENERALS, AND DIPLOMATS ARE BECOMING IRRELEVANT. And the "bitter clingers" just became a little more "bitter." I'm being facetious, of course. Nevertheless, we could all use some "power of positive thinking" this time of the month.
To top off election week, a hacker tried to buy a $600 TV with a counterfeit of my debit card. Denied, he tried again to buy something for $200 at WalMart. Master Card declined the purchase again because they knew that this was way out of the range of my normal purchases. Isn't it nice to have friends in high places? Friends who know a lot about you?
On the other hand, an enemy of mine knew my card number, my pin number (and who knows what else?)! They probably knew I had just received a Social Security check, so they kept the purchase under $1,000.
I wonder why it happened during election-week? Was it mathematical time-and-chance, or a message? "We know your GPS location. And everything else!" A little knowledge in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing. Just ask General Petraeus.
Well anyway, sensing that we really really need a dose of positive thoughts right now, I was thinking about a column I wrote five years ago in August. Here's an excerpt:
THESE ARE "A FEW OF THE MOST FASCINATING THINGS"; MY "TOP 26":
The Atomic table
Bat navigation ("radar")
The Cud-chewing animals
DNA
Eagles
Fire
The Ginkgo tree leaf
Hummingbirds
Intelligence (human brain + "the spirit in man")
The Jet stream
Kangaroos
Light (physics of, plus gravity, etc.)
Mountains
Northern lights
Osmosis
Photosynthesis
Queen Anne's lace (the white roadside flower)
Redwood trees
Symbiosis (from aphid-milking ants to meat-eating plants) — and sunsets and seahorses
Thunderstorms
The whole UNIVERSE!
Vision — the eye and the mind's eye — without which the universe couldn't be seen
The Water cycle
Xylem and phloem
Yourself — a unique being created in the image of God
The rest of the Zoo — with special emphasis on the ability of fish, birds, and butterflies to migrate over great distances without a GPS system. [end of excerpt] www.RenewAmerica.com/columns/Dahlgren/050806
Well, in celebration of the final days of 2012, I have written an updated, revised standard version:
When the bee stings, when the brown recluse bites, here are a few of my favorite things —
The Aurora borealis
The sweet spot of a baseball Bat
The COOL side of the pillow
a faithful, loyal Dog
Electrons and Electricity
Fire and Fireflies and Faith
Having a God who makes Himself known to you [how hard have you been looking for Him?]
The word "I" — the word that stands for the Individual, the "god-child"
Having a Job, a real job (see M and W)
Kisses
Loved ones
Money
News (occasional good news)
Independent fact-based Opinions
Protection (I'm talking guardian angels, not sex, stupid)
Queen Anne's lace (still!)
Rainbows
Snow (hey, I'm a yooper you know)
TRUTH
Unity (but only unity founded and grounded on Truth
Veritas: Truth added to Truth (not bilingual, but Universal Truth)
WORK
X-rays
Yellowstone, and other National Parks
Zonking out on the cool side of the pillow, after a hard day's work!
P.S. I don't know if this is the end; the real question is, "When the Lord comes, will He find faith on the Earth?"
© Curtis Dahlgren
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
