Pecans and Promises

The time is full.

The pecans are ripe,

Opening like fingers

Full of promises kept.

They fall

From rattled branch,

Into my thankful, cupped,

Receiving hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHICH DO YOU LIKE BETTER,  THE ABOVE VERSION

OR THIS ONE?   :

~~~~~~~~~~

The time is full.

Pecans once more are ripe,

Opening like fingers

Full of promises kept.

Gracefully given,

Gladly released.

The work of care-skilled hands,

They fall from rattled branch,

Into my thankful, cupped,

Receiving hands.

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The Day Will Come

Howdy y’all,

Chaff here again and mighty glad to be.  This is another day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

I’m writing today about that Harold Camping guy.  I mentioned him in my first and second blogs, (go here to review ) seems like a long time ago.  I’ve learnt a lot since then, thank God, and thank my cousin, Gloryteller, and my wonderful wife, Millie Jean.

Well, Mr. Harold Camping is at it again.  He says October 21, 2011 (TODAY) is THE day when Christ will come and this old world will end – the day of so-called rapture.

(Well, let me back up here and say there is lots of argument about the “rapture” and whether Christ will come then or later, or whether His coming is one event or two, or whether some people will be left here after the believers are taken.  It doesn’t matter!  All that matters is that He will come and take us believers with Him)

Harold Camping could be right.  It could be today jist as much as any other day.  But exactly when or how it will happen NO-ONE KNOWS.  According to the Bible, the “big event” will come as a surprise on an ordinary day jist like any other day.  Maybe a day when we least expect it – like a day when some pretender predicts it – a day jist like today.

I heard some women on the news say that if  Mr. Camping is right, he wins, but if he’s wrong we all win.  They have it so wrong and so right.  The believers I know welcome the day when Christ comes to take us with Him and ALL PEOPLE WILL BOW ON THEIR KNEES TO HIM.  Of course the non believers will soon find out their judgement and it won’t be a good day for them.  No wonder they think that if the world remains intact and whole it is a good day for them.

I, for one, can hardly wait to see my Savior, so that day WILL BE the best day of my life here, and it will be my entrance into eternity with God and His Son.  I don’t know, Eternity probably isn’t even measured in days.  It could be like one, endlessly beautiful GREAT DAY.

So how about y’all?  Will the last day be a great day for you, or a horrible day?  It is important that you think about that and be prepared.   The keys to Life or Death are layin’ on the table in front of you.  Please, please, my friend.  Choose LIFE!

Blessings to ya’ll,

Chaff Rantley

 

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I Will

Only look my way                                   

And I will love you

Like a whisper is to the shout

Of how Christ always has.

Only reach for me

And I will hold you close

Like a candle is to the furnace

Long kept aflame for you.

Only say the word

And I will lift your name to Heaven

Like one precious note is to His great symphony,

And these just a little like He will

When you say “YES”.

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Second Guessing Oneself

Do you ever doubt your own judgement?  Well, I have wondered about allowing that last post.  It was, most certainly, meant as a concise articulation of a point of view.  But did it alienate any friends and readers?  I’m torn between removing it and taking a stand upon it.

These days so many people remain silent out of fear of ‘offending’ others. Many want to be “politically correct”, but there lies the problem – there is hardly anything associated with politics that is correct anymore.  It is corrupt, and usually, being politically correct directly contradicts Biblical Truth.  Then there is the subject of tolerance. Tolerance should be a good thing, but lately I’ve seen it as just another way to avoid the truth, especially Biblical Truth. And, to compromise can be a very good thing, but compromising oneself only leads to trouble.

So I stand with Chaff (Well done, Chaff) against political greed, against the hunger for political power, against hate —  FOR our republic, and for sensible, unselfish, governmental spending, taxation, and economic policies. The Bible teaches that debt is a very bad thing, to be strictly avoided. However, our whole economy is based on debt.  Not surprising is it?  And not surprising that we’re in trouble!

To be artificially politically correct, or to tolerate concepts and ideas obviously outside of Christian values seems just a way to compromise with “the world”,  which Jesus never did,  nor did the apostles, nor did the early believers.  Thank God!

To stand upon the unshakeable Rock of Christ is the answer to our worldly troubles.   Come join me there!  Anyone?

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I Strive, Therefore I Rant

I’m Chaff Rantley (Gloryteller’s erstwhile cousin and alter ego) and I thank Gloryteller for this forum.  Sorry if I step on any toes in here, but I gotta blow some steam off.

What set me off was when I saw how some gubmint types were tryin to tell Californica people how their kids WAS gonna git vaxinatened  to prevent their STD’s.  Also how the kids CAN’T git a tan, both of these whether the parents want it or not.  Elsewhere, they want to go around the parents on healthcare things and abortion too.  Apparently parents aint smart enough anymore to make decisions about there own children and aint able to raise them and give them values without “help” from the Power That Be.

Lately, well fer the last couple years, I been hearin’, readin’, and watchin’ how the gubmint, (ok – guv-ern-ment) has been growin’ bigger and bigger and more powerful to boot.  They’s spendin money jist like they actchally have it – which they don’t.  (and won’t unless they Tax Somebody harder)

I read where the Chief of the Administration – the Prez – has appointed hisself about 32 or more Czars (ain’t thet a Russian word?)  and not a single one of them is elected, or is accountable to us or our representatives only to the president.  We pay them but what they do, God only knows.

The Supreme court seems to be makin law from their high benches which they have no constitutional right to do.

And if that aint bad enough, the Congress – our own dang personal representatives – somehow can’t seem to do what WE want them ta do, but only what benefits THEM personally and politically and finanscially.  THEY ARE MAKING AND ENFORCING LAWS WHICH AFFECT US BUT THAT THEY, THEMSELVES, ARE EXEMPT FROM.  THEY RAISE THEIR OWN PAY AND BENEFITS AND LET US PAY FOR THAT.

I say make them ALL – all the branches of gubmint, all them politicians, judges, lawyers, Presidents, Czars, Senators, Representatives, legislators, and governers live under OUR minimum wages, Our Medicare,  Our Social Security, our lack of jobs, our lack of control over our own lives, and then tax the livin’ hell outa them besides.  Make ’em live within a budget!  Balance their checkbooks!  No bale-outs!  No 100% lifetime pensions and free stuff when they “re-tire”.  THEN  JIST SET BACK AND WATCH!!!   Kin y’all imagine how fast things would change then?  (Yet, I know that we, the public would not want anything, any change, that raises debt for us or our children.  We see the need to live within our means whether we have learned this through parental wisdom or through bad experience with  oppressive debt. IF AMERICA HAS TO BITE A BULLET, WE ALL SHOULD BITE A BULLET)

Here’s a comment I gave to the smart, nice, lady writer,  Rebecca LuElla Miller when she wrote and ranted a little about this topic.  I took my rant a bit farther, Rebecca.  Hope thets OK, cuz I really tried hard to be my most formal, my most rational, and spellin’ right too . . .

“That is the liberal mindset – that the ‘governance’ is smarter, knows more, and is more able to make wise decisions concerning how we spend our money, how we raise our children, how we run our businesses, and what values we hold. To a liberal, it is government who giveth and government who taketh it, in turn, away; and to most perfectly achieve those ends, the governing body should be as large and powerful as possible. This is unacceptable doctrine. It demeans us as individuals and as a society. It far exceeds, even perverts the original tenets and intentions that we have a REPUBLIC; of, for, and by the people. Yes, in a republic, supreme power lies with its citizens.
Let us apply our rants where they will have the most effect – send the clearest message – in OUR polling places backed up by prayer in OUR places of worship (while they still remain OURS)!”

Lord, help us fight the selfishness we ALL have!  And let us not hate, but do what is right and act as You would have us do.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen

I’m Rantin’ Chaff Rantley, American, and I’m jist sayin’…..

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Climbing Long’s Peak – the Short Version

Look up!  It is the mountain that presides over this site.  At 14,259 feet, it is the only “fourteener” in RMNP, the northernmost fourteener in Colorado, and the most prominent landmark for the vast surrounding area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I climbed Long’s Peak :

Because it is there.  (Well, OF COURSE it is there!  Sheesh)

Because I can, was my thinking before I knew what it would take.  (Well, maybe I can.  It’s within the realm of possibility.)

Because it kept looking at me. (I stared at the mountain and it stared back)

Because it is visible to me, day or night, wherever I go.  ( O^O )

Because I am getting older fast and wanted to do it while my legs, etc, still work.

Because I wanted to see the top before the beaver-rat eats it. (It is sniffing at it right now. See it on the left slope, near the summit?)

Because it transmits a siren-song in my frequency.  (It calls to me)

Because it somehow MADE me do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things the attempt required :

Hours of research to determine what I was getting into and what to do once I did.

Good planning.  Mental conditioning.  Ummm, people die up there …

Good fortune (luck), or blessings.  Only 3 out of every 10 climbers who attempt the summit actually make it.

The proper equipment and clothing.  Adequate amounts of food and water.

Knowledge of alpine weather.  (It is  predictably extremely unpredictable. )

Physical conditioning.

Me to hike 6 miles in the dark while gaining nearly 3,500 feet in altitude then climbing a difficult, sometimes highly exposed, 1.5 mile, nearly 1,500 vertical-foot  route to the summit. (“exposed” means a mistake results in serious death or injury)

Good timing to be off the summit by noon to avoid lightning, rain or snow-slickened granite.

Me to avoid injury, especially ankle or leg injury.

Me to avoid “summit fever” and be ready to turn back at any point due to adverse weather changes or altitude sickness.  (At 14,000 feet only 60% of sea level oxygen is available in each breath)

Climbing wearily and carefully down and somehow hiking back to ‘basecamp’.  This is statistically the most dangerous part due to fatigue, exhaustion, weather concerns, and hypoxia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Success involved this :

19 1/2 grueling, joyful hours “on the mountain”,  over 4,891 vertical feet of ascent and later descent in a cold rain, getting “lost” then finding the way again and covering more than 15 miles of trails and climbing routes.

I MADE IT UP AND BACK ! However, I was never alone. I can’t take most of the credit.  So many things could have gone wrong, but hardly anything did. What unforeseen things happened? The complete account is forthcoming.

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About The Music Links Below

I don't own, and have no claim on, these music videos. The following are simply links inside my website pointing back to the original locations of the videos. The names of the creators of these videos are cited wherever possible, and only "embedding-enabled" selections are used.

The Basic Christian Library

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. This is fundamentally what Christianity is all about.

"The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. Another converted atheist presents His compelling case for believing in Jesus.

"Left To Tell" by Imaculee Ilibagiza. This profound work is her own extraordinary story of endurance, discovery of the Holy Spirit, grace, healing, and an astonishingly compelling account of the necessity for forgiveness.

Compelling Christian Fiction Reads

"The Circle" 4-book series by Ted Dekker.
A man is the bridge between two very different worlds. Sound familiar? Can he save both? This T.D. work is brilliant in my book.

"This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti. Tales of spiritual warfare from a unique perspective. Stirred a small controversy, but sold millions. What are we Christians afraid of? Hey, it's fiction!

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