While looking to purchase our new home we are renting within a mile of my wife's school.




And the view of the Pacific.

Imitation, the imitation of Christ, is really the point from which the Orthodoxy shrinks. The main difficulty lies here; here is where it is decided whether or not one is willing to accept Christianity. If there is emphasis on this point, the stronger the emphasis the fewer the Christians. If there is a scaling down at this point (so that Christianity becomes, intellectually, a doctrine) more people enter into Christianity. If it is abolished completely (so Christianity becomes, existentially, as easy as mythology and poetry and imitation an exaggeration, a ludicrous exaggeration), then Christianity spreads to such a degree that Christendom and the world are almost indistinguishable, or all become Christians; Christianity has completely conquered – that is, it is abolished!

— Søren Kierkegaard (edited)

Conversely, those Christian organizations who imitate Christ in service and true charity, it is they who are really Christian.

Do you know what it means to live as Christ lived?

To the relief of many I am leaving soon, most specifically the 26th. Five Days. There will no longer be room for the virtual, as we are moving to Hawaii.

For so many of you, your name was called and a place behind the words was a cozy place to hide. Perhaps, I leave you to wander all alone eternally. God knows this isn't how it was meant to be. Butterflies are free to fly, and so you've stayed away.

Well, when quizzed you will be reminded everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent with only words to study. But remember, with my regular correction you can report that I was always on your side. If denied, He will confirm that, certainly, even through it all, I was always on your side.

All these thoughts are so neatly sung in the words below. It is a beautiful tune sung by beautiful voices. I suggest you download it or request I send you a copy.

Always On Your Side - Sheryl Crow (with Sting)

(Crowe as Me)
My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
But every now and then you come to mind
Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
But when your name was called, you found a place to hide
When you knew that I was always on your side

(Sting as Protestant)
Well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent
my demons and my angels reappeared
Leavin' only traces of the man you thought I'd be
Too afraid to hear the words i'd always feared
leaving you with only questions all these years

(Duet about Heaven)
Is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are you left to wander, all alone, eternally
This isn't how it's really meant to be
No it isn't how it's really meant to be

(Crowe, the World)
Well they say that love is in the air, but never is it clear,
How to pull it close and make it stay
Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away
And I'm left to carry on and wonder why
Even through it all, I'm always on your side

(Duet)
But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear

(Sting)
Or are you left to wander, all alone, eternally

(Duet)
But this isn't how it's really meant to be
Oh it isn't how it's really meant to be

(Crowe, Sting Mixed)
Well if they say that love is in the air, never is it clear
How to pull it close and make it stay
If butterflies are free to fly, why do they fly away
Leavin' me to carry on and wonder why
Was it you that kept me wondering through this life
When you know that I was always on your side

-----------------------------------------------

Goodbye.

The mantra of the Protestant theologian/apologist is "Our belief is not based upon tradition but upon Scripture." This is a statement from the Protestant Reformation and its rejection of the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, given the reformers (the Protesting fathers) could not abide the thought that tradition was of equal import to scripture. And although it has been identified as the Protestant "reformation", it remains a revolt between them and Catholicism, as well as within your own ranks. The Protesters have rejected the traditions of the RCC to establish their own, erring in their enthusiasm. Certainly the traditions of the Catholic Church was and remain corrupted. But when the Protesters rejected Tradition as fundamental to faith, they rejected Priesthood with it. The Priesthood is God's ordained tradition for man.

Again, "Our belief is not based upon tradition but upon Scripture" is deliberate deception. They pretend to have a belief separate from tradition. All organizations of men have established and developing traditions and their belief always take into consideration those traditions. The Baptists are the vision of conflicting traditions defining belief in the "conference", as are the AoG in their "Assemblies". We are not left to wonder what drives the tradition of men as opposed to the tradition of the God of Abraham. We can see the war there in the conference And there in the assemblies.

"Our belief is not based upon tradition but upon Scripture" you say.

Let me help you out with something very important to the Saints in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: The baptism provided by the Prophet John the Baptist was not based upon Scripture but upon Tradition. You see, for John the Baptist, scripture was changing as it always had been!!!! John became a new Prophet in a New Dispensation. This Dispensation was based upon traditions within the Holy Priesthood of the God of Abraham and before him, Adam. You see Jesus did not receive baptism to declare to all He believed in Himself but instead "to fullfill all righteousness". It was a Priesthood requirement that He submit Himself to baptism. Righteousness required it.

Further, the Protestant ministers now become a part of the Protestant tradition. As each Protestant theologian accuses each other in how preaching departs from scripture they err in having discarded the God of Abraham's Priesthood. And more so, there is nobody to correct any of them......Each, they say is a part of their protested priesthood.

The difficulty about moving to Hawaii is found in the decision of offloading so much of what 35 years of marriage generates. And that is more than possessions. But lets detail the problem of possessions first.

The first question to ask yourself: What do you own that is worth shipping to Hawaii (UPS Ground) for $4.00 per pound in forty pound boxes? As a matter of fact, UPS tends to charge more in line with the size of the box than in its weight. A box weighing 20 pounds of the same size will cost nearly the same.

Additionally, your car can be barged from California to Hawaii for about $900.00. And if your car is on the east coast, you can have it hauled across country to California for about $700.00. Or, are you better off auctioning what you own where you live and get 50 cents on every dollar?

Then there are your pets. If you have dogs, there is a 120 day quarantine for $1K per dog plus the cost of getting him there. Or you can leave your dog(s) with friends as we are and have them do the vet work on the mainland. Then it is only $200 per animal when released in Hawaii. Why all the precautions? Hawaii is a rabies free state and they want to keep it that way. Hey, they have entire species of animals forbidden on the islands. In particular, any breed of dog with a snub nose. For dogs going, they need to have an electronic chip placed under the skin, and a blood workup. If during the next 120 days there blood remains true blue, he can be released. If not they are flown back to the mainland. Aloha everyone.