It’s interesting how we always seem to divide ourselves up into various groups. Whether political, geographical, cultural, racial, religious or whatever, folks feel the need to take sides and that’s how we get into the various global pickles like we are in today … and always have been. Divisions are drawn, enforced and invariably benefit the class at the top of whatever system they have created. Not surprisingly, once a system is established, the bias spreads to every group involved. It would be easy for me to cite dark moments in history or spin the globe and point to almost any nation to discuss examples of how we have classified and misused our fellow man. However, today I’d just like to share the following poem and let you see what comes to mind. Certain races, nations and religions seem to have suffered more through the centuries, but we each have our own lens of experience and concern. What I ask is that you think it through, or pray it through if that’s your nature, because simply taking a step back and looking at the world from a different perspective can be half the battle. Where are the walls built in your own life? Where are the lines drawn? Did you inherit them or come up with them yourself? If we consider such questions honestly the world could be a better place … and we owe that to our children. I hope you enjoy the poem and find it thought provoking.
Divided We Fall
Brick upon brick, we build our walls
With blocks of resentment and pride
We raise up lofty barricades
Then, drawing lines, step to one side
Proclaiming we, the elite, shall stand
Over here, where no one else may
We demand that everyone take his place
Or there will be hell to pay
Through the ages we've added more bricks
And a host of new rules to the game
Clouding the issues and stirring the pot
But the outcome is always the same
It is always the group who draws the lines
And imposes them on the rest
Which seems to have the most to gain
And which seems to become obsessed
With making sure that only a few
May have the privileges they have known
For if all men were equal they'd have to share
The spoils they claim as their own
While the rest of humanity cowers outside
Degraded and left in the cold
By a system which robs them of their rights
Crushing even the wise and the bold
Yet, the greatest injustice about the system
Each man has been shackled within
Is the shallowness of the parameters
Which doom him before he can begin
Neither race, nor creed, nor country
Are the sum of any being
They are merely the cover of a book
Which may contain treasures unseen
Any system that judges a man
By his temporal exterior
Has done a disservice to all of mankind
By promoting dissension and fear
For only a system which looks each man
In the eye without judging him first
Is worthy of judging a man at all
Without predestining him to be cursed
So the next time you find a brick in your hand
And you're tempted to work on a wall
Find a bridge that needs repair
And do a service to us all
By Frank Carpenter ©
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Long May it Wave
I saw the movie “World Trade Center” this past week and strongly recommend it. It’s a little slow in the middle, but that’s only because they are trying to tell the story of the agonizing time two NYPD officers spent trapped in the rubble between the towers. In this case, the attack on September 11 has been captured through their personal tragedy and the efforts of those who rescued them, which is an extremely relevant view point. Mercifully, Oliver Stone also gave us a movie unclouded by conspiracies or political commentary. I firmly believe that we, as Americans, need to see these movies and discuss them. What worries me the most however, is the underwhelming response to this movie at the box office. Just like “United Flight 93,” it will make a little money but folks aren’t flocking to see these important films. I find this troubling because it shows a lack of desire in our fellow citizens to relive the emotions of that important day in our history as a nation. September 11 is, if I may borrow a phrase from FDR, “a day that will live in infamy” forever. It has and will continue to define our domestic and international policy perhaps for decades to come. Yet, folks don’t want to think about it anymore. They want to watch reality shows, complain about air travel and talk about American Idol. After those fateful attacks we all hung out our flags, went to church together, sang patriotic songs and swore that we would never be the same again … that we would never forget. We rekindled a patriotism we had not known for decades and pledged allegiance like never before. Yet, folks have begun to forget and return to their original apathy. Our enemies have not. Those who sought to do us harm in 2001, and actually for twenty years prior to that, remain resolutely bent on the destruction of our way of life. We’ve made some significant inroads in the war on terrorism, but they are still out there and our resolve must not fail us.
I could fill volumes with partisan quotes, current events and the like. For now, however, suffice it to say that we must remain ever vigilant and our patriotism must not wane. This great nation could never be overthrown militarily by any country in the world, but we are highly susceptible to the slow poisons of apathy, adversity and partisanship. While we continue to be attacked from without, the real danger is that we shall fail to continue presenting a united front and lose the battle from within. We possess the most powerful and sophisticated arsenal of weaponry in the world and in history. We have the best trained and equipped military of any nation. However, our secret weapon, and our Achilles heal, is our national pride and patriotism. After the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto stated, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” I heard that quote repeated after 9/11, but we seem to be struggling to maintain our resolve. The question remains whether this giant can stay awake long enough to achieve victory in the current conflicts which face us. I hope and pray it may be so.
My literary offering today is a poem which I wrote during those emotional weeks following 9/11. I hope that my fellow citizens will take these words to heart and remember the way we felt back then. We swore we would never forget. Have you?
Long May It Wave
Everyone has their flags out lately
On cars and houses most everywhere
And the words of the God Bless America
Seem to be echoing through the air
Our response to the recent tragedy
Has been overwhelming, it’s true
With a nation rallying as one
Around the old red, white and blue
But once this current crisis is over
Once we have mourned our dead
Will our new found patriotism
Begin to fade in the months ahead
I hope and pray that it shall not
That our commitment will endure
That this is a new America
And not just the one du jour
For the way to honor our fallen
To prove our lofty words are true
Is to continue our patriotism
And stand by the red, white and blue
Let us cherish the land of the free
And remain the home of the brave
Taking pride in our mighty nation
And her flag, long may it wave
By Frank Carpenter ©
I could fill volumes with partisan quotes, current events and the like. For now, however, suffice it to say that we must remain ever vigilant and our patriotism must not wane. This great nation could never be overthrown militarily by any country in the world, but we are highly susceptible to the slow poisons of apathy, adversity and partisanship. While we continue to be attacked from without, the real danger is that we shall fail to continue presenting a united front and lose the battle from within. We possess the most powerful and sophisticated arsenal of weaponry in the world and in history. We have the best trained and equipped military of any nation. However, our secret weapon, and our Achilles heal, is our national pride and patriotism. After the attack on Pearl Harbor Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto stated, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” I heard that quote repeated after 9/11, but we seem to be struggling to maintain our resolve. The question remains whether this giant can stay awake long enough to achieve victory in the current conflicts which face us. I hope and pray it may be so.
My literary offering today is a poem which I wrote during those emotional weeks following 9/11. I hope that my fellow citizens will take these words to heart and remember the way we felt back then. We swore we would never forget. Have you?
Long May It Wave
Everyone has their flags out lately
On cars and houses most everywhere
And the words of the God Bless America
Seem to be echoing through the air
Our response to the recent tragedy
Has been overwhelming, it’s true
With a nation rallying as one
Around the old red, white and blue
But once this current crisis is over
Once we have mourned our dead
Will our new found patriotism
Begin to fade in the months ahead
I hope and pray that it shall not
That our commitment will endure
That this is a new America
And not just the one du jour
For the way to honor our fallen
To prove our lofty words are true
Is to continue our patriotism
And stand by the red, white and blue
Let us cherish the land of the free
And remain the home of the brave
Taking pride in our mighty nation
And her flag, long may it wave
By Frank Carpenter ©
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Some Additional Thoughts
In my previous entry I wrote of a friend’s recent heart attack and how that might help to put our daily lives into perspective. My thoughts, at the time, were more general in nature. However, upon reflection, I thought it might be appropriate to make some additional comments. Last time I glanced over the more difficult spiritual aspects of that subject, but today I wish to explore them a little further. This event serves as a reminder of just how frail our lives can be. We tend to think of life in terms of years, thinking statistically and actuarially. That’s fine for general purposes, but we must always remember that statistics are based upon averages, which by nature tend to mask the figures at each end of the scale that balance out in the averaging process. Some people live to 102 and others only live until 30. The averages we tend to rely upon emotionally help us to forget that life isn’t actually fair and offers no guarantees. That’s a lovely thought, but mark my words: life is not fair and there are no guarantees.
We tend to dwell on what we’ve got planned tonight, this weekend, next summer or during our retirement. Yet I am compelled to ask the burning question, “What are your plans for forever?” Ouch, that’s certainly politically incorrect, but it needs to be asked because it’s really the most important question of all. Perhaps it’s most important to anyone whom I may just have offended with that very question. Now before you hit the delete button and continue surfing I beg you to hear me out. It’s certainly easy to glance over the big religious questions. You wouldn’t dream of going away for the weekend or on a vacation, even camping, without making a reservation first. Most people purchase health insurance in case they get sick, auto insurance in case of an accident and they buy life insurance to protect their family in the event of an untimely death. Yet, they think very little about heaven and eternity. Yet in the event of an untimely death, spiritual life insurance might come mighty handy. After all forever, simply by definition, is really a long time. Ok, that’s my cute insurance metaphor, but please continue reading.
The fact is that this life doesn’t last forever and often times it turns out to be much shorter than we might have anticipated. It’s also filled with statistical anomalies so forever could technically begin at any time. We don’t like to think about the “bad stuff” but it happens. Let’s face it, as soon as you slip in the bath tub or choke on the odd chicken bone you basically skip all the second chances and advance straight to the end of the bible. I like to call it spontaneous revelation because the hereafter, whatever it holds, begins at that moment. I believe that there is a heaven and that the only way to get there is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the son of God and accept His sacrificial death and resurrection as payment for our personal sins. He is the bridge to God and to a heavenly eternity with our Creator. I don’t believe that God grades on a curve or that “all good people go to heaven” because there is no clear delineation of where that good/bad line is to be drawn. The New Testament clearly and repeatedly makes the case that Jesus is the only path to salvation and He said so himself on multiple occasions. Old Testament prophecy also points directly towards both Him and His message. Jesus is the undeniable link between our temporary lives here on earth and the eternal promise of a better life beyond this one. And if I’m right then the alternative, the one without Jesus, starts to look really ugly.
I’ve shared my personal beliefs with you and I’m sure that there are other people in your own life who would tell you the same if you seek them out. The main point is that we need to deal with these questions now instead of sometime in a hazy future someday which may never come. If you wish to converse with me directly, my email can be found at the top of this site. Just be sure to include your own contact information so that I can get back to you. In the mean time I offer the following poem, which takes a more humorous approach to this serious subject. Perhaps it even offers a light hearted introduction for some of you to begin discussing this subject with others whom you care about. Have a blessed day, but take time to consider your plans for the future as well.
Brimstones & Chicken Bones
(The Doctrine of Spontaneous Revelation)
We all have business to do with God
but we’re young and in our prime
So we put Him off year after year
assuming there’s plenty of time
We know Jesus is coming back someday
but who knows when that will be
People keep saying end times are near
but no one’s sure about prophecy
In fact, it’s so darn confusing
we don’t like to think about it at all
Since folks have been worried for centuries
and have yet to hear the trumpet call
So we kind of make this deal with God
that we’ll be good or better than most
Then we set the spiritual cruise control
so we can just kick back and coast
Figuring we’ve got a lifetime ahead
to sacrifice, give and serve
And if the Lord comes back just bad folks
will get what they deserve
However, the flaw in our reasoning
which so many of us fail to see
Is that if we should die unexpectedly
we advance from here to eternity
We have merely to slip in the bathtub
or choke on the odd chicken bone
And suddenly, all the choices we’ve made
shall be etched in eternity’s stone
In that realm beyond second chances
where each man answers to God at last
For all that he did, and didn’t do
in the irrevocable past
Let’s call it spontaneous revelation
that day when you go to the head of the class
To discover that God doesn’t grade on a curve
it’s strictly fail or pass
When your backup chute fails to open
whether or not your doctrine is sound
You better have your affairs in order
long before you reach the ground
Because the next stop is forever
so your fire insurance better be paid
You won’t get to choose between smoking or non
unless a reservation was made
Your cholesterol count doesn’t matter
nor how much dough you have socked away
Once you step onto the railroad tracks
you’ll be meeting God straight away
Don’t be lulled into complacency
for no matter how safe you feel
You may have one foot on solid ground
but the other is on a banana peel
So never put off until tomorrow
what the Lord requires of you today
Lest spontaneous revelation
should steal your second chances away
By Frank Carpenter ©
We tend to dwell on what we’ve got planned tonight, this weekend, next summer or during our retirement. Yet I am compelled to ask the burning question, “What are your plans for forever?” Ouch, that’s certainly politically incorrect, but it needs to be asked because it’s really the most important question of all. Perhaps it’s most important to anyone whom I may just have offended with that very question. Now before you hit the delete button and continue surfing I beg you to hear me out. It’s certainly easy to glance over the big religious questions. You wouldn’t dream of going away for the weekend or on a vacation, even camping, without making a reservation first. Most people purchase health insurance in case they get sick, auto insurance in case of an accident and they buy life insurance to protect their family in the event of an untimely death. Yet, they think very little about heaven and eternity. Yet in the event of an untimely death, spiritual life insurance might come mighty handy. After all forever, simply by definition, is really a long time. Ok, that’s my cute insurance metaphor, but please continue reading.
The fact is that this life doesn’t last forever and often times it turns out to be much shorter than we might have anticipated. It’s also filled with statistical anomalies so forever could technically begin at any time. We don’t like to think about the “bad stuff” but it happens. Let’s face it, as soon as you slip in the bath tub or choke on the odd chicken bone you basically skip all the second chances and advance straight to the end of the bible. I like to call it spontaneous revelation because the hereafter, whatever it holds, begins at that moment. I believe that there is a heaven and that the only way to get there is to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the son of God and accept His sacrificial death and resurrection as payment for our personal sins. He is the bridge to God and to a heavenly eternity with our Creator. I don’t believe that God grades on a curve or that “all good people go to heaven” because there is no clear delineation of where that good/bad line is to be drawn. The New Testament clearly and repeatedly makes the case that Jesus is the only path to salvation and He said so himself on multiple occasions. Old Testament prophecy also points directly towards both Him and His message. Jesus is the undeniable link between our temporary lives here on earth and the eternal promise of a better life beyond this one. And if I’m right then the alternative, the one without Jesus, starts to look really ugly.
I’ve shared my personal beliefs with you and I’m sure that there are other people in your own life who would tell you the same if you seek them out. The main point is that we need to deal with these questions now instead of sometime in a hazy future someday which may never come. If you wish to converse with me directly, my email can be found at the top of this site. Just be sure to include your own contact information so that I can get back to you. In the mean time I offer the following poem, which takes a more humorous approach to this serious subject. Perhaps it even offers a light hearted introduction for some of you to begin discussing this subject with others whom you care about. Have a blessed day, but take time to consider your plans for the future as well.
Brimstones & Chicken Bones
(The Doctrine of Spontaneous Revelation)
We all have business to do with God
but we’re young and in our prime
So we put Him off year after year
assuming there’s plenty of time
We know Jesus is coming back someday
but who knows when that will be
People keep saying end times are near
but no one’s sure about prophecy
In fact, it’s so darn confusing
we don’t like to think about it at all
Since folks have been worried for centuries
and have yet to hear the trumpet call
So we kind of make this deal with God
that we’ll be good or better than most
Then we set the spiritual cruise control
so we can just kick back and coast
Figuring we’ve got a lifetime ahead
to sacrifice, give and serve
And if the Lord comes back just bad folks
will get what they deserve
However, the flaw in our reasoning
which so many of us fail to see
Is that if we should die unexpectedly
we advance from here to eternity
We have merely to slip in the bathtub
or choke on the odd chicken bone
And suddenly, all the choices we’ve made
shall be etched in eternity’s stone
In that realm beyond second chances
where each man answers to God at last
For all that he did, and didn’t do
in the irrevocable past
Let’s call it spontaneous revelation
that day when you go to the head of the class
To discover that God doesn’t grade on a curve
it’s strictly fail or pass
When your backup chute fails to open
whether or not your doctrine is sound
You better have your affairs in order
long before you reach the ground
Because the next stop is forever
so your fire insurance better be paid
You won’t get to choose between smoking or non
unless a reservation was made
Your cholesterol count doesn’t matter
nor how much dough you have socked away
Once you step onto the railroad tracks
you’ll be meeting God straight away
Don’t be lulled into complacency
for no matter how safe you feel
You may have one foot on solid ground
but the other is on a banana peel
So never put off until tomorrow
what the Lord requires of you today
Lest spontaneous revelation
should steal your second chances away
By Frank Carpenter ©
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
As If It Were the Last
I was quite shaken to learn that a very dear friend had suffered a serious heart attack over the weekend. I thank God that he is fine and back home from the hospital now, but it was touch and go for a while. He didn’t just wander into the doctor’s office or hospital to have some tests run. No, he simply keeled over and stopped breathing. No warning. No cry for help. No final words of wisdom or blessing like in the movies. He is alive only because his golf buddies performed CPR, there was a doctor near at hand and a portable defibrillator was available. He was, in fact, spared because of a unique set of circumstances and, I daresay, divine intervention. Thank God my friend is alive, because it could easily have gone otherwise. His experience also brings back a host of related emotions from my own heart episode a few years ago. The point here is that life does not guarantee any warnings or second chances. In fact, this may be the only warning you get, which leads us to the rest of today’s message.
If you are anything like me, you probably keep putting some important things in your life off. We all have little (or large) health issues, relationships that need mending, wisdom we meant to impart to our children, issues we planned to resolve in the faith area of our lives. Oh, there’s plenty of time left, we’ll get around to those unresolved items “someday.” Ah, yes, someday. The proverbial procrastination until tomorrow. I’ll call and apologize tomorrow. I’ll start my diet tomorrow. I’ll pray or read the bible tomorrow. I’ll pay my taxes tomorrow. Feel free to insert your own tomorrow “to do list” into the equation. This is more than just a casual walk in the poetic park for me, it is the story of my ever-loving life. Defer, delay, deny ... until it screams or catches on fire. Let us, however, briefly consider that least considered of actuarial scenarios which each of us tries desperately to keep pushed beyond the fringe of our conscious thought. What if there was no tomorrow? What if I didn’t get a second chance in my marriage? What if today was the only legacy I’d have to leave my children? What if I was eternally stuck with the salvation and obedience choices I have previously made? Then, what if I had only one day to fix any or all of those things? What would you do? That is the subject of today’s poem. If you are anything like me, and I’m guessing you are, life is filled with potential regrets. So I take the liberty of asking the ultimate “what if” question. If this was the last day of your life, would you be spending it just the way you are right now? Me either. Consequently, I urge us all to reconsider the story of our lives and identify the parts of it which may need to be rewritten. Each of us is guaranteed only one second chance, and that is the one we grab hold of right now. Beyond this moment, this day, there is no sure thing. Perhaps we should live each day as if it were the last. Then, no matter what happens, we can be absolutely sure that we’ll have no regrets, nor will any be inherited by those we leave behind. Have a blessed day ... and make it count.
As If It Were the Last
What if you had only one day to live?
Just twenty-four hours to spend
To say or accomplish what matters most
Before your life reached an end
Who would you spend it with, where would you go
What would you do or see
What words of wisdom would you bestow
Knowing they were your legacy
How would you spend your money, your time
The last ounce of strength you possessed
Would you reach for the stars or wallow in pity
In light of an imminent eternal rest
Would you eat, drink and be merry
Or fall on your knees just to pray
To prepare for meeting your Maker
On that brink of your reckoning day
Whatever has raced through your mind just now
While these few simple stanzas you’ve read
About what you thought you needed to do
Before you were suddenly dead
I would urge you to make a list of them
And start living that way, even now
For we never know when our last day might come
There are no guaranties anyhow
We never know when the Master may call
When all of our second chances have passed
Then we are stuck with the life we have lived
So why not live each day as the last
Nobody gets advance notice like this
But the cement of your life isn’t set
There is still time to change it before your last day
So live a life you will never regret
By Frank Carpenter ©
If you are anything like me, you probably keep putting some important things in your life off. We all have little (or large) health issues, relationships that need mending, wisdom we meant to impart to our children, issues we planned to resolve in the faith area of our lives. Oh, there’s plenty of time left, we’ll get around to those unresolved items “someday.” Ah, yes, someday. The proverbial procrastination until tomorrow. I’ll call and apologize tomorrow. I’ll start my diet tomorrow. I’ll pray or read the bible tomorrow. I’ll pay my taxes tomorrow. Feel free to insert your own tomorrow “to do list” into the equation. This is more than just a casual walk in the poetic park for me, it is the story of my ever-loving life. Defer, delay, deny ... until it screams or catches on fire. Let us, however, briefly consider that least considered of actuarial scenarios which each of us tries desperately to keep pushed beyond the fringe of our conscious thought. What if there was no tomorrow? What if I didn’t get a second chance in my marriage? What if today was the only legacy I’d have to leave my children? What if I was eternally stuck with the salvation and obedience choices I have previously made? Then, what if I had only one day to fix any or all of those things? What would you do? That is the subject of today’s poem. If you are anything like me, and I’m guessing you are, life is filled with potential regrets. So I take the liberty of asking the ultimate “what if” question. If this was the last day of your life, would you be spending it just the way you are right now? Me either. Consequently, I urge us all to reconsider the story of our lives and identify the parts of it which may need to be rewritten. Each of us is guaranteed only one second chance, and that is the one we grab hold of right now. Beyond this moment, this day, there is no sure thing. Perhaps we should live each day as if it were the last. Then, no matter what happens, we can be absolutely sure that we’ll have no regrets, nor will any be inherited by those we leave behind. Have a blessed day ... and make it count.
As If It Were the Last
What if you had only one day to live?
Just twenty-four hours to spend
To say or accomplish what matters most
Before your life reached an end
Who would you spend it with, where would you go
What would you do or see
What words of wisdom would you bestow
Knowing they were your legacy
How would you spend your money, your time
The last ounce of strength you possessed
Would you reach for the stars or wallow in pity
In light of an imminent eternal rest
Would you eat, drink and be merry
Or fall on your knees just to pray
To prepare for meeting your Maker
On that brink of your reckoning day
Whatever has raced through your mind just now
While these few simple stanzas you’ve read
About what you thought you needed to do
Before you were suddenly dead
I would urge you to make a list of them
And start living that way, even now
For we never know when our last day might come
There are no guaranties anyhow
We never know when the Master may call
When all of our second chances have passed
Then we are stuck with the life we have lived
So why not live each day as the last
Nobody gets advance notice like this
But the cement of your life isn’t set
There is still time to change it before your last day
So live a life you will never regret
By Frank Carpenter ©
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