Forgiven

Ran across this song today, and really appreciated the lyrics & message - Forgiven, by Sanctus Real

Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I am reminded of the wrong that I have said and done
And that devil just won’t let me forget

In this life I know what I’ve been
But here in Your arms I know what I am
I’m forgiven I’m forgiven
I don’t have to carry the weight of who
I’ve been ’cause I’m forgiven

And my mistakes are running through my mind
And I relive my days in the middle of the night
And I struggle with my pain
And wrestle with my pride

Sometimes I feel alone and I cry
When I don’t fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ ‘Cause ….

In this life I know what I’ve been
But here in Your arms I know what I am
I’m forgiven I’m forgiven
I don’t have to carry the weight of who
I’ve been ’cause I’m forgiven

Transformation, by Terri Kraus

David C Cook blurb:

“What happens when the normal Christian life you expected doesn’t turn out exactly that way? Can a good, hard-working Christian man disregard his cultural and religious admonitions—as well as his mother’s plans for his life—for the love of a woman and a historic church building? For anyone who has ever faced a dilemma of the heart—or for the avid HGTV watcher—author Terri Kraus tackles these questions with The Transformation (David C Cook, September 2009), the latest installment in her Project Restoration series dedicated to remodelers, rehabbers, and DIYers.

Oliver Barnett is a good contractor, a good Christian, and an obedient son, never in trouble, never one to rock the boat…until real estate developer Samantha Cohen enters his life. Samantha, full of life, vitality, and wit, is unlike any woman he has ever known—in more ways than one. Not only is she planning to transform a historic church into a restaurant/nightclub, she is Jewish and has had a “modern moral past,” having none of the restrictions that Oliver has had placed upon his own behaviors. While Oliver needs the work, he struggles with the idea of being involved in such a building project.

At the same time, an old girlfriend, Paula, rekindles a long-ago relationship with him—with the enthusiastic encouragement of Oliver’s domineering mother. Paula would be the safe choice, and the choice that would appease Mom, yet Oliver is drawn to Samantha because of her beauty and her exotic nature. Oliver finds himself in a most unsettling dilemma. Does he do what’s right by the nice girl his mother has chosen for him, or does he do what his heart is telling him to do?

“Can a ‘good, Christian boy’ find happiness with a woman from another faith?”asks Kraus. “Can Samantha find salvation through Oliver’s witness? And can a church ever be anything other than a place of worship? These are the intriguing questions I pose in The Transformation and I hope readers will enjoy discovering the answers”

My review:
I thought this book, Transformation, by Terri Kraus sounded really good. The idea of the story, a building being transformed as the backdrop of a person being transformed, made a very good plot.

I liked the main character, Oliver, and could appreciate his struggles and determination to do right. The message came through loud and clear that no matter what your past, God can forgive and redeem.

I did have a couple of problems with the book. The main character, though a Christian, drank alcoholic beverages, and even went to a bar. I know a lot of Christians are ok with that, and I have heard the arguments, but there are also a lot of Christians who do not drink, and believe it is wrong. I feel it is something a Christian author should avoid in their books. It is a big turn off for me when I run into it in a book, and I am sure there are others who feel the same way.

Oliver had two women throwing themselves at him, both trying to seduce him. I know it was a fiction book, but a real Christian man should have walked away from both women under the circumstances, so I think that gives a wrong message about dating relationships.

Overall, the book was a good read, and if alcohol-consuming Christians don’t bother you, then you will most likely enjoy this author. She can write a good story.

More from the bridge

I went back to the covered bridge today and took some "real" pictures with my camera. I didn't walk today, just spent some time praying and thinking and enjoying the scenery and peace & quiet. The second picture is now my desktop background. If you like covered bridges, enjoy.

Unredeemed

Ran across this song by Selah this evening, and love it. It is from their upcoming CD, Deliver Me. The song is titled "Unredeemed". I think the lyrics are awesome, and they do a good job of singing it:

The cruelest world
The coldest heart
The deepest wound
The endless dark
The lonely ache
The burning tears
The bitter nights
The wasted years

Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every life that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But when anything that's shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
It may be unfulfilled
It may be unrestored
But you never know the miracle the Father has in store
Just watch and see
It will not be
Just watch and see
It will not be unredeemed

A Walk To Remember

No, this has nothing to do with the book or movie. :-) I decided to take a walk today, beautiful, cool day for one. As mentioned in my previous post, I went to a different part of the Greenway Trail for a change of scenery. I had a great walk, listened to my Ipod, and enjoyed God's creation. Walking through the woods on a paved trail is a very enjoyable experience. And to those who wonder, I am not sure how far I walked. After I started, I ran onto mile marker 5 and didn't walk to mile marker 6 - I walked about 45 minutes, and figure I did at least a mile, maybe more. It felt like more. :-)

Where I entered the trail. And yes, it was that shady. I didn't need the sunglasses I took along.


A "rest area" on the trail. And nope, I didn't use it.

A view of the trail from a more sunny perspective, though most of the trail was shaded.

A rock wall beside the trail.

The picture below is supposed to be of three deer I saw below the trail, but I really can't pick them out. But they are there, and it was neat to see them.

A bridge on the trail, and where I turned around to head back.

I thought this was neat. Part of a fallen tree that has vegetation growing out of it. I had the thought occur to me that if God can cause a plant to grow out of a dead log, then surely He can cause new life to grow in hearts that we think are beyond hope. We all have people we are praying for, and wonder if they will ever mind God, but who knows the seeds God has planted in their hearts.

The creek that the covered bridge and new bridge crosses, far below the trail.

I really did enjoy my walk. I would have enjoyed a walking buddy, but it was still nice to walk through the woods. Ran onto a few bikers and a woman with a dog which seemed more afraid of me, than I was of it.

One song that played as I was walking really came home to me as I walked along:

Sometimes it seems God's a million miles away

Too busy for a creature such as I

And then I think of how He sees each sparrow fall

I call on Him and find that he is nigh

In valleys low I look toward the mountains high

And praise the Lord that caused this world to be

To think that God so great holds me safe within his arms

What love that He should ever care for me

The eyes of Jesus
Are upon each footstep that I take
His ears are always open when I pray
His hands are always there to help me lift my heavy load
His heart is broken every time I stray

And when I got back home, I found freshly fried bacon, fresh tomatoes, and lettuce, so I had a delicious BLT....... minus the mayo, of course. :-)

A Walk to Remember.....The Bridge

There is a 12-mile paved walking/biking trail here in town. The one end starts about 1/2 mile from my parents' house. It goes straight through the woods, crosses several roads, and ends in the next town up, Leetonia. I always walk on this end - when I walk - today I decided to branch out, so I drove about five miles to the "Teagarden Covered Bridge" where the same trail crosses around the curve. Here are some pictures of the bridge. Built in 1876, it is not in use anymore, but is just a historical marker.

They have a large parking lot and picnic tables on the site. Pretty cool place to go visit for a while. There are better pictures of the bridge here, including a nice shot of the interior, but I am still going to post the pictures I took - I was in a photo-taking mood - should have taken my camera along, but all I had was my phone.

Below: picture from the far end of the bridge - the exit side

The parking lot. There are several picnic tables to the left, and that is my white car third vehicle over. :-)

The creek that the new and old bridge crosses..

Close-up picture

Another picture of the bridge - my phone has no flash, or I would have taken an inside shot

The information sign. If you click on the picture, it gets big enough to read - one thing it says is there used to be 250 covered bridges in Columbiana County, and of those, only five remain, this being one of the five.

We Have It Backwards

I have had my fill of Kennedy coverage. Even the conservative news sites I visit seemed to be 99% coverage of Edward Kennedy's home going. Some of the people who are viewed as conservative, had much to say about what a great man he was. They talked of his "legacy." Just what kind of legacy did he leave behind? This "great" man?

I got an email that outlined what kind of man he was. I knew some of this, but this is the kind of man the world lauds and spends hours of coverage honoring:


1.) He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it.
He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate
to cheat for him.


2.) While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. Oops! The man can't count to four! His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition), pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea , where a war was raging. No preferential
treatment for him! (like he charged that President Bush received).


3.) Kennedy was assigned to Paris, never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private!


4.) While attending law school at the University of Virginia, he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark.. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959. Amazing!


5.) In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash and
hospitalized for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was admitted had shown he was legally intoxicated. The results of those tests remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed. Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we?


6.) On July 19, 1969, Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts . At about 11:00 PM, he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail, Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.


7.) He swam to shore and walked back to the party passing several houses and a fire station. Two friends then returned with him to the scene of the . According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew - that he was required by law to immediately report the to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep. Kennedy called the police the next morning and by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying Kopechne had scratched at the
upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car.
The Kennedy family began "calling in favors", ensuring that any inquiry would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family before an could be conducted.
Further details are uncertain, but after the Kennedy says he repeatedly dove under the water trying to rescue Kopechne and he didn't call police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an , and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills.... a "token of friendship"?


8.) Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors, and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism". In his very first Senate roll he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S.
immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for
immigrants from third world countries..


9.) Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court nominees, as if he was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of ³what¹s right². What a pompous ass!


10.) He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud,
boisterous, and very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better
description than "great American". "A in every pond" is his motto.

Doesn't sound like the kind of man that deserves all of this adulation to me. Not mentioned above, he was 100% pro-abortion - and no person who is an actual Christian would champion that cause - and pro-gay. He was for everything Christians and conservatives are against.

I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem there was this much adulation and coverage when Reagan died, who truly was a great man.

We do have it backwards in this country, and worldwide. Much is made of the deaths of corrupt individuals like Kennedy and Michael Jackson, while countless good people are dying, and no one notices.

I am reminded of the story of a missionary who was returning by ship to America after a life on the mission field. A famous individual was also arriving on the same ship, and crowds of people had turned out to see that person home. No one was there to welcome the missionary. He was feeling rather badly about it, and his wife pointed out that he wasn't home yet. How true.

These wicked individuals like Jackson and Kennedy are going to get their best home going here. For the Christian, no matter how inconspicuous or lowly, if we are faithful, will get a homecoming that is truly out of this world, when we arrive in Heaven. The welcome we receive there will make the homecoming of Kennedy seem like child's play in comparison.

And a note in closing, I know it is entirely possible for anyone to ask God for forgiveness at the very end of life, and be granted it, as God is merciful, but often the way men live, is the way they die.