Redemption

Maybe redemption has stories to tell,
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell.
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here, I dare you to move...


A short stanza from one of my favorite songs. It reminds me of the plan of redemption put in place by our maker. Are you listening? He is speaking - to you!

Snapshots...

Okay, I know it has been a while since my last post, but I want to make sure that each post made to my blog is something of substance and not just a bunch of rambling.

My dear wifey, in one of her many creative moments, put together a bunch of pictures into sort of a mini-movie of "Jon" moments. The people that appear in these "snapshots" are the ones I hold most dear to my heart.

These are my last 35 years, God willing, I will have 35 more...

Ridiculous

Bill Maher IS ridiculous. In the words of Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

After 17 years, I finally found one!

After 17 years, I finally found one. You see, during my last year at WHS, I handed out all of my senior pictures to my friends, not realizing, I had handed my last one out, saving none for yet future aquaintances. While packing away my Grandpa's belongings this weekend, I actually ran accross this picture. I went ahead and scanned it in for your enjoyment. Remember, this is Auust of 1991 and the hair (some would call it a mullet!) was actually cool then.

My top 25 movies of all time...

Okay, so my dear wifey wanted me to blog my top 25 movies, series and-or specials of all time tonight, so here we go:
25: It's A wonderful life.
24: Vacation (The complete series)
23: Prince of Egypt
22: Bill Cosby, Himself
21: Rocky (All Episodes)
21: Blazing Saddles
20: Any which way you can & Every which way but loose
19: Pink Floyd, Delicate Sound of Thunder
18: The Eagles, "Hell Freezes Over"
17: Pink Floyd, "Live in Pompeii"
16: Saving Private Ryan
15: The PBS Cival War Series
14: Pink Floyd, Pulse
13: A Christmas Story
12: Sixteen Canldes
11: David Gilmour, Remember that night
10: Fleetwood Mac, "The Dance"
9: Top Gun
8: Pink Floyd, The Wall
7: The Lion King
6: E.T.
5: Forrest Gump
4: Indiana Jones (All episodes)
3: Superman (All episodes)
2: Star Wars (All six)
1: The Passion of the Christ

There you have it. If you are curious to see my dear wifey's blog, here is the link: http://scrappingtrish.blogspot.com/2008/09/top-20-movies.html

A fall abstract....

Summer lingers,

A hint of harvest swarms the air.

The crisp western tone,

Own's the summer's share.

Beautiful sunrise,

Bountiful ware.

T'is autumn's leaves,

And golden flare.

~Jon, 2008

One of my heroes, Billy Graham

A prayer by Billy Graham:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done:

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free."

In the name of our Savior Jesus, Amen.

The spirit of Football

Football season is amungst us once again. A time for our state to rally around our young men, from Jaycees to our beloved Huskers. I am reminded of something my father said many years ago that has stuck with me. I often think of this saying when my favorite teams lose a close one, or win unexpectedly....

"Football is a great way for young men to sneak up on manhood."

One sweet man...

The world lost one of the most gentle souls I have ever known today, August 13, 2008.

This world's loss is heaven's gain.

I thought I would share with you some of my best memories. I am certain that his grandchildren have had the pleasure of many of these experiences as well.

• The first time I ever drove a vehicle I was about 10 years old, I sat on his lap and he let me drive down a busy highway 50 into town.
• There were times when we would fish for bullhead in his pond, and we didn't throw them back, we cleaned them and actually had bullhead for dinner.
• Going to the county fair and getting to ride the Ferris wheel.
• I remember getting my first digital watch from Grandpa and Grandma. It was even a Dukes of Hazard model!
• Getting to ride his "Big Red" 3-wheeler through the fields, over the terraces, seeing how many cow patties I could avoid hitting.
• Butchering chickens, the experience speaks for itself.
• Sitting in his shop on countless Christmas days starring at all the hats hung in the rafters wondering, "where did he get all of these, especially that authentic Nebraska football helmet from the early 70's?"
• Fritz, the only German Shepard I knew that loved beer and "a chew."
• Harvesting beans and milo in the fall and realizing how precious the work is that farmers do.
• The joy in his voice when he heard he was a great-grandfather.

In the words of his 10-year-old great-grandson Kyle, " You know, sometimes we get to go to a friends house for a few hours, but then we have to come home after a while; that is kind of like our life on earth, sooner or later we have to go home."

See you in the relatively not-so-distant future, Grandpa Bernie.

A simple question...

"Do you have the right to be angry?"

-God

(Jonah chapter 4, verse 9)

Have faith!

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:28)

SHALOM!

Shalom (שָׁלוֹם) is a Hebrew and Jewish word meaning peace, Nothing missing, Nothing broken, wellbeing, and complete[1] [2] [3], and used to mean hello, and goodbye. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between man and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. It is also used as a greeting to either say hello or farewell, and is found in many other expressions and names. Its equivalent cognate in Arabic is salaam and sälam in Ethiopian Semitic languages from the Hebrew root shin-lamed-mem (ש.ל.ם).

Peace be with you!

Spring....

Spring is finally here... The newness... The restoration... New life.... Baseball... Ahhh, life is grand....

Education

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper."
Enough said!

-Robert Frost

A new direction....

Welcome to my blog. This is something I have wanted to start for quite a while now, and have only now decided to make it a priority.

I will be posting updates over the next few days, weeks, months, and years. Please check back often for the latest from my perspective on the world God has given me the privilege to live in.

-Jon