Priorities

Vancouver, BC

My Mom emailed me the following:

Comments from police officers to persons pulled over:

"You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't.
Sign here."

"You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?"

"If you take your hands off the car, I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

A comment from school children:

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to; my Mom is a good cook.

The other day I was taking my friend to the airport and he accidentally dropped his cell phone in my car. As I was driving home, he tried calling his cell phone from the airport, but I did not answer it in time, as I had to pull over and look for the phone which I at that time concluded was obviously in my car, having not realized this previously.

When I arrived at home there was a message on my answering machine from my friend stating that he was not sure if he had been pick pocketed or had simply left the phone in my car.

I emailed him this message:

Subject: a message from your cell phone

You abandoned me in that old car, but that nice rather scary looking man is looking after me at his house. I think I am safer with him. I cried in his car and he saved me.

(disappointed) Love,

Your Cell Phone

In regard to Facebook, I am very glad that some good friends from England that had not been in contact with me in 5 years asked me to join, and we are in dialogue once again. It has been a real blessing being in contact again with such good friends. My personal way of doing business is to by email, mail, or phone, keep in touch with my good friends that live a distance away, but some folks are not interested in that type of thing, at least not initially. I reason that I have so few good friends that I need to keep in touch with the ones I have and try to find more.

It is interesting to have many of my good and acquaintance friends my age (as Facebook is more popular with younger persons I imagine) from the Vancouver and Manchester areas on one website in relation to me at once. I have asked some of my blogging friends to join, but I understand that some women especially wish to protect their full identity on the web and may not be interested in Facebook, although I think that one could probably join Facebook without providing the last name. Facebook is a side issue for me with the web and will be a very good way to keep in touch with some friends that live far away and to make plans to visit when trips are made. But, my main focus with the web is with my theology blogs and to provide Christian ministry, write theological and Biblical truth, make and keep friends, and to build up my websites with links slowly over time in order to somewhat support my theology career, as I will be looking for work as a professor once I have completed my PhD dissertation, God willing.

My plastic surgeries

Plastic surgery-definition

Surgery to remodel, repair, or restore body parts, especially by the transfer of tissue.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plastic+surgery

Thanks be to God, I am not deformed, and my heart goes out to anyone in this world that does suffer from deformity. I respect those in the medical profession worldwide that assist people that truly need plastic surgery. I also realize that there are some, especially in our Western society, that at times receive questionable procedures. I am not stating that all plastic surgery that is not for deformity is necessarily wrong. I have had some procedures done within the last few years. In July 2006, I received nasal reconstruction called Septal and tip reconstruction, right turbinate debridement. This was to assist me with my formerly very serious sleep apnea problem. A few years ago, I had eyelid surgery called Blepharoplasty for my right upper lid that was slightly droopy and did not close entirely at night, causing me to have dry eye. This consisted of burning part of the lid and stitching in the corner of my eye.

Today I am recovering from my second right lower lid temporal elevation sclera and resection and pyogenic granuloma. These surgeries were needed in order to correct the position of my right eyelid in relation with the left, as the right was moved down somewhat after my second Strabismus surgery for my weak eye, which is not very cosmetically noticeable. The Strabismus surgery was also done to correct some of my double vision that began increasing a few years ago, and is quite a bit better now. The two lower eyelid surgeries have consisted of me receiving sclera that is commonly known as the white of the eye. The sclera have both come from deceased persons. I have mixed thoughts on this issue. On one hand, it is very sad that two people have died and I benefit by using tissue from their eyes. On the other hand, in this fallen creation, which features a problem of evil, death occurs and tissue and parts from the deceased can be a benefit for the living. A few months after I received the first sclera, it developed a blood clot that eventually pushed itself out. My surgeon stated that this occurs in about ten percent of the cases. I realize that plastic surgery is a very important issue in regard to deformity and in the context of our Western society also has its satirical potential.

Dave Allen: Religious humour

 

Not the original video, which was pulled from You Tube.

http://satireandtheology.blogspot.com/2007/02/dave-allen.html 

Please check out this new link: 

http://fun-foodandfighting.blogspot.com/2007/06/russ-these-are-for-you-brother.html

Tower Bridge, trekearth

A man's got to know his limitations

A man's got to know his limitations - Magnum Force (1973)

Magnum Force is one of my favourite all time movies.

One of the things I like about the Dirty Harry movie series is that although they purposely for the sake of dramatic effect, place Harry in violent situations, they also show the darkness of evil in the world. Harry not only beats up and kills criminals, but also at times becomes injured himself and the ugliness of crime is portrayed in an artistic and entertaining fashion. The following statement is one to live by. A man's got to know his limitations. Every person should be aware of limitations and realize that if these are ignored, terrible consequences could result.

I do not want to primarily trust in what God gives me, but need to trust in God. I am both limited and sinful, and God is neither of these. God wants neither a follower that has no significant free will and is a robot, nor one that is completely autonomous. But, in Scripture it is clear that from the Exodus 20 commandments and the great commandments of Matthew 22:34-46 and Mark 12:28-37 that God desires followers to follow him with at least some level of freedom. I theorize that human nature and consciousness does not choose to be as it is, but was created by God, and has been corrupt since the fall of humanity, which is a Biblical concept in Genesis 3. From consciousness and self-awareness, human beings would develop motives and desires, and eventually make limited free will choices. The primary cause of human acts is determined by God who creates the human nature, and influences human choices. The secondary cause of human acts is the individuals that act according to nature, consciousness, motives, desires, and a limited free will influenced by God. These human acts are not coerced or forced by God, and yet are willed by him.