Buckeye Trail Hiking

I've recently gotten back into hiking (mainly for my health).  I went along Ohio's Buckeye Trail for a little while today and took some pictures.  Enjoy!

 

If anyone has any information, I'm curious as to the source of mysterious blue wood that I always find along the Buckeye Trail.  Thanks for any help!  The second to last picture here is of the blue blaze that signifies the Buckeye Trail.  I'm looking for information on the third to the last picture, and the piece in my hand at the end of the third row.

Conclusion: School Administrators Are Dumber Than Rocks

Read this infuriating article.

Stormy Rich, 18, was riding a school bus when she noticed a special needs student being bullied.  She consistently told the bus driver and administrators what was happening to this young woman who was being bullied.

Yet, the administrators shut her up by suspender her for bullying, and not the students she was reporting.

You all know that I am a big advocate for anti-bullying legislation, but school administrators need to be careful who they consider bullies.

Suspending Rich because she turned in other students for bullying is like taking the batteries out of a smoke detector when it is going off and saying look the fire must be out.




Here's what I say.  After reading this article, and many others like it, and writing a research paper on it, I have come to this conclusion: SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ARE DUMBER THAN BOXES OF ROCKS.


Fire ALL administrators in the Lake County Schools.  Fire the bus driver for not doing anything.  Screw policy.  Use COMMON SENSE. Not Zero Tolerance.  The administration should be ashamed of their hypocrisy.  The press needs to keep this issue afloat and in the mainstream to pressure schools to not screw up like this again.  Shameful.

April 3, 33

Geologists have found an earthquake happened on April 3, 33. Many people believe Jesus was about 30 years old when he died, making this date probably the day Jesus died.

When geologist study earthquake activity, they look for layers of sediment in the rock that are disturbed.

There are four major types of earthquakes, and they are described here.  Just pay attention to letter B.  Don't worry about letter A.

Scientists are able to calculate the date when the earthquake happened by looking at the surrounding sediments and rock layers like you would look for rings on a tree trunk.  The older the rock layer, the further back in history that rock layer goes.

The author of the article above summarizes a paper written by Colin Humphreys and Graeme Waddington.

• All four gospels and Tacitus in Annals (XV,44) agree that the crucifixion occurred when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea from 26-36 AD.
• All four gospels say the crucifixion occurred on a Friday.
• All four gospels agree that Jesus died a few hours before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath (nightfall on a Friday).
• The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) indicate that Jesus died before nightfall on the 14th day of Nisan; right before the start of the Passover meal.
• John’s gospel differs from the synoptics; apparently indicating that Jesus died before nightfall on the 15th day of Nisan.

Since the calendar has changed several times since Jesus' time, these changes have been factored in and a highly possible date (in today's calendar) is April 3, 33.

This article briefly mentioned the fact that 3 gospels describe a darkness coming over the land after Jesus' death.  This makes me wonder if a volcano somewhere erupted.  Volcanos and earthquakes go hand in hand, as they both are features in the Tectonic Plate theory.  This theory states that the earth is covered is chunks of crust called "plates," and that these plates are not stationary.  When a volcano happens, an earthquake is bound to happen as well.  The area around the Pacific Ocean is called the "Ring Of Fire" because of the various collisions and sliding of the plates.

These plates slide against each other (San Andreas fault in California, where the "Big One" is suppose to happen), the collide with each other (Mount Everest, which is constantly growing taller), and pull away from each other (Mount St. Helen's).  See the picture above.  When plates pull away from each other, the magma underneath becomes exposed, and possibly becomes pressurized and gets released on the crust of the earth, creating a volcano.  The resulting ash and dust can cover a large area.  This dust and ash can be the darkness that is described in the gospels.

Lutherland Tour

The campus pastor, a former professor of mine, and a couple of good friends of mine are currently in Wittenburg, Germany for a tour.

You can check out their website here.  Lutherland Tour.


There are a lot of great pictures and great stories.

Jesus Christ: God's Trashcan

I am currently transferring some old reel to reel tapes of Dr. J. Vernon McGee for the folks at Church of The Open Door in California right now, and one of the tapes is a sermon called "The Prodigal Family," originally preached on December 4, 1966.  Of the five sides of tape I have transferred so far, this is the most interesting sermon so far.....Here's why.....

Dr. McGee first gives some definitions of some of the names in the book of Ruth, where the majority of this sermon takes place.

Bethlehem: House Of Bread
Judah: Praise
Moab: God's "washbasin" (see Psalm 108:9)
Elimelech: God is my King
Naomi: pleasant; "Mary Sunshine" as Dr. McGee said because of her chipper and positive attitude
Mahlon: unhealthy
Chilion: puny

Alright.  Since Elimelech left Bethlehem (House of Bread) because of a famine, he went to Moab (God's washbasin, or God's trashcan).

This family tree is from Wikipedia.

Now, since Ruth was a Moabite, she was a God's Trashcanian.  Since Obed was Moabite, he was God's Trashcanian.  Since Jesse had Moabite blood in him, God's Trashcanian blood ran in him.   Since David had Moabite blood in him, God's Trashcanian blood ran in him.

Go to Matthew and read the genealogy of Jesus.  Jesus is a descendent of David.  

Thus, Jesus was a God's Trashcanian.......

Jesse Harmon Productions: Audio Transfer plug

Hi folks.  This is a shameless plug for my company.  Jesse Harmon Productions now offers tape, vinyl, and shellac transfer to CD, tape, and flash drive.

*cue crazy announcer voice*

Do you have an old record that you want to listen to?  Do you like the sound of cassette tapes hissing through your speakers?  Do you like the sound of the crackle of your old Gershwin shellac records through an old Victrola?  LOOK NO FURTHER!  Jesse Harmon Productions can work with you!

We new offer transfer of these old obsolete formats to today's listening devices!  We can put your records on CD!  Contact me for more details.  Pricing is below.

1. Vinyl transfer: I can transfer old vinyl records to CD, tape, or flash drive.
2. Shellac transfer: I have an old Victrola that I can record onto CD, tape, or flash drive.
3. Tape transfer: Old cassette tapes do still exist (my grandpa uses them all the time). I can transfer these to CD, tape, or flash drive.

COMING SOON: REEL TO REEL TAPE

Pricing

EMAIL ME OR CONTACT ME USING THE FORM IN THE CONTACT PAGE ON MY WEBSITE.

http://www.jesseharmonproductions.com/transfer/

*end crazy announcer voice*

Reel to reel tapes will be coming soon.  I just have to get my reel to reel tape machine fixed.  Head on over to my website for more details.

Congressman Gipson and the Separation of Church and State

Congressman Andy Gipson of Mississippi recently used the famous Leviticus 20:13 verse in an attempt to justify his beliefs.  The Huffington Post erroneously wrote an article stating that Andy Gipson is calling for the death of gays and lesbians.  I have to say that this is not correct.  Andy Gipson is erroneously using this passage to further his own agenda....not to call for genocide.

I looked up Congressman Gipson's email address because I wanted to express my concerns to him in a polite way, so I sent him this email.




Dear Congressman Gipson,

Please carefully and prayerfully consider what I have written in this email.

Since you are a politician and a worker in a SECULAR institution, I believe you should keep your faith and religion out of your secular work.   If the United States Government were to be a sacred institution, our democracy would in fact be called a Theocracy, much like that of Iran or of ancient Hebrews.

However, I do have to point out the error in your judgment.

The Old Testament became moot the second Christ died on the cross.  The laws in Leviticus are from something called the Holiness Code, which was written for the children of Israel.  Christians do not need to follow these laws.

Jesus said he came here to fulfill the law and prophets.  We are to follow the words of Jesus.  Not the words Moses wrote in Leviticus.  Moses is dead.  Christ took over, and he still reigns today.

Reread Matthew 7 all the way through.  Ask yourself, "Who said this?" Then you can decide whether or not it's your place to judge someone.

It probably shames and saddens God that humans have ridiculed, taunted, teased, beaten, raped, and murdered homosexuals.  These things are hateful and wrong and anyone who does these things in the name of Jesus need to repent right NOW.

One of the bad things about we Christians is that we put sins in an order.  We put several sins in groups and put them in order of how bad we think they are.....ALL sins are bad and need equal treatment.  Not just homosexuality.

Sir, might I ask, what are your sins?

My sins include, but are not limited to, these.

1. lust
2. greed
3. anger
4. arrogance
5. bitterness
6. condemnation
7. doubting God’s presence (this is a big one for me)
8. hate
9. selfishness
10. swearing
11. ungratefulness
12. disobeying God’s will
13. worshipping false idols (another big one for me)
14. sexual immorality
    

All these are just as bad as (and sometimes worse than) homosexuality.

Congressman, I do hope you look back at your remarks and see how you have hurt so many people.  Please ask God to help you and to forgive you.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read this.

Jesse

I completely forgot a very important point though.  I forgot to mention that I do not think he was calling for the killing of thousands of people.  I knew what he was trying to say, but his choice of words and Biblical verses were wrong.  

I sincerely and whole-heartedly believe everything I said in my email to Mr. Gipson.  I believe that our morals are different from the morals of Moses' time.  I believe that Jesus came here to take our sins away.  I believe that ALL sins are bad, not just the cherry-picked ones that are easy to fight.  I believe in respect and tolerance for ALL human beings, no matter what race, religion, political party, sexual orientation, and gender orientation.  I believe Matthew 7 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible because it tells us not to do the one thing that humans are known to do the most; judge.

I'm sorry to inform you, but the Holy Bible is not United States Law.

Empty Wallet and a Heart of Gold

A K-Mart store in Kentucky is going out of business.  A man decided that he was going to buy up the rest of the stock, and donate it to charity.......Read the article below.....

Kentucky Man Buys Everything

We as Lutherans see the only way to righteousness is through faith.  That's all hunky-dory and everything, but what does God REALLY think?

If you regularly read my blog, you know that my church hands out water bottles to people stopped at red lights in town.  We are also encouraged to pay for the meals of other people in the restaurant or fast-food drive thru.

This man, however, BOUGHT AN ENTIRE STORE'S STOCK and donated it to charity.........I used to say doing good deeds makes you a real Christian.  Is this true?  I want to think so, but the Bible doesn't.

Romans 3:21-26 

But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood —to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished — he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

This man has a big heart, and an empty wallet now.  I'd like to see him as a true Christian.....

Thoughts Askew

Last year, in June, my mother was getting the mail (or doing something outside) when she saw a man with a large backpack walking down the road we live on.  He stopped by and chatted a little bit with mom.  His name is Alastair McCandless, and he is walking across the entire United States to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.  Here is the organization's mission and purpose.

• To raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

Mom came back inside and got him a bottle of water.  They chatted for a few minutes about dad and his liver transplant that he had back in December of 2010, and his broken hip a few months later.  She then told him about how he had missed several major festivals around the area: The Nelsonville Music Festival (where I had seen rockabilly and country artist Wanda Jackson), the Moonshine Festival (where I had seen Tommy Cash, brother of the late Johnny Cash), and the Washboard Music Festival.  Later that night, Mr. McCandless wrote a blog about his meeting with my mother.  You can read that blog post here.  His entire blog is very interesting and very funny.  


I was thinking about this chance encounter, and what my mother and Mr. McCandless talked about, I was reminded of this week's Gospel lesson and sermon at church.  

John 15: 12-13 [Jesus said,] "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (NRSV)

Dad has Hepatitis C, which is a disease that kills the liver.  The liver filters out the ammonia from the body, and when the liver is dying (or dead), the ammonia builds up in the brain.  For about six months, dad was not dad.  He was confused as to where he was, and maybe as to who he was. He had taken a leave of absence at work in May of 2010 just after I graduated from high school, and was finally admitted to the hospital in October after a terrible fall.  He was not doing well between October and December.  The last day of the semester at Capital University was the day the Cleveland Clinic called because they had found a new liver for dad.  I was not home two hours when that call came in.  I remember it seemed like it took us a whole day to drive from our humble abode in Southeastern Ohio to the bustling city of Cleveland.  I remember mom, my sister, and I were all silent the whole way up, save for a few words about going to the bathroom.  Also, I remember it was snowing, making our trip take longer than usual.

Dad received his liver early the next morning around 3am.  The surgery lasted until noon, where he lost nearly 25 liters of blood, a VERY large amount seeing that the body only holds about 7 liters.  We went up after the surgery to ICU.  Four years prior when mom, dad, and I took some time away from work and school to go to Cleveland for 3 days to get some tests done, we went around the whole Cleveland Clinic complex.  We walked into ICU to check it out.  I guess we did that so we can expect what to see when the actual surgery happened.  It didn't frighten me like usual.  Only two of us could go see dad, so I stayed behind while my sister and mom went into the room.  When my sister came out, I went in.  Dad had a respirator on, and two skin-colored pads on his cheeks holding it in.  The nurse there was shaving his face with a Gillette safety razor around the various tubes, knobs, buttons, and switches that were implanted in him.  We asked the nurse if he could be woken up, so she woke him up with some sort of medicine through his Peripherally inserted central catheter.  We talked to him a little, but he was still under a lot of drugs so he couldn't communicate very well.

Mom told him that he had lost 25 liters of blood, and his eyes widened and he pointed up to God with his hands still restrained to the bed.  We told him we loved him and that he will be ok, so he patted our hands.  The nurse then put dad back to sleep.

I honestly expected dad to be much worse.

We don't know much about the woman who passed away, but we do know that her organs were donated to save the lives of many, including my dad.  I think this kind of thing is what Jesus was talking about when he said to give one's life to his or her friend, (even if they don't know each other at all).  This woman died (how? I don't think it really matters), and her body helped save the lives of many others.

Sad Day for America

After NC's new law banning civil unions and domestic partnerships (gay marriage was already banned), I decided to search for what people are saying.  I promised I wouldn't get into politics here, but this is something I feel God is very upset about.....

Another school year complete...

....As I look back and reflect on the school year, I realize I have grown spiritually so much.

I have taken three religion courses (an introduction, Jesus Through The Ages, and Reformation and Enlightenment).  Not only have I learned more about religion and Christianity, but I have learned more about Jesus and myself.

Only lately have I been reading the Bible more thanks to a dear friend of mine to whom I look up to a lot and is an inspiration to me.  It breaks my heart to know that I won't be seeing him until next January, because I won't be at Capital next semester (it's my professional semester, which means I have to go to the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio, and my internship).

Things I have accomplished:

I have read all the Psalms.
I have read Matthew twice.
I have read Mark once, and I'm in the process of reading it again.
I have read Luke once,
and I've read John once.

I have read Jude, Titus, Hebrews, James, Peter, 1-3 John, and others that I can't remember.

Whenever I see a verse that questions me, I ask someone, usually my pastor, about how to interpret it.  For example, I had a question about Matthew 5:48.

[Jesus said:] "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

I got a quick response.  You can see the response here. 


I have also come to love writing more, even if I'm still not very good at it.  I have come to love writing here on this blog about my growth as a Christian.


I love responding to emails and comments.  Feel free to send me an email in the Contact page above, or in the many blog posts I have made.

I hope to keep up blogging throughout the summer because I know at least one person reads it.

Have a good summer!

Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

I was appalled by this article.  Please read this and consider how compassionate you are.